"So… Just like this?"
Ray voiced his question, as Kai replied nonchalantly;
"Yup! Just like this."
Kai and Ray stood on top of the palace, where Ray stared at Kai with a disapproving look. Are you serious- his face expressed as he finally let out his words.
"At least give me a mask, will you!? What if someone saw me!? There might be some rumors going around tomorrow of me, the crown prince jumping around the roofs of the city in middle of the night!"
But to his questions, Kai just yawned and said he shouldn't overthink stuffs and just do what is needed to be done. If something goes wrong? - Ray asked, to which Kai just shrugged it off saying they will see what they can do if anything like that does happen.
"How can he be so carefree?"
Ray thought to himself, looking at Kai up and down. But then; as if giving up, Ray sighed and asked how they will start their work. Ray turned to Kai, but surprisingly, Kai had disappeared from his side. Looking around, Ray wondered where Kai went to when he saw Kai jumping out of the palace towards the city.
"He-! Kai! Wait for me!"
The air around Ray shimmered slightly, as a warm blue aura covered Ray's body. And in an instant, Ray levitated in the air; accelerating forward to the direction of the city.
Kai and Ray were now on their way to the suspicious café. And at the same time; Nino was making her way to Mono's room. On the way, she complained about going to find Ray, but he wasn't in his room. She looked in Kai's room too, thinking Ray would be there; but Kai's room was also empty. Now thinking that maybe Mono might have seen them, she's going to her room. But to her surprise, even she wasn't in her room.
"Where did everyone go!?"
Nino pouted, as she questioned while standing alone inside the empty room.
Back to Kai and Ray, the two were moving from one roof to another at the same pace. Ray floated next to Kai; who was jumping from one roof to another. Ray asked whether things will settle between Hiro and Sakura by tomorrow, since there's the banquet with the neighboring empire's guest. And if the important figures like them will be not there, it may leave a bad impression.
But Kai responded with a nonchalant attitude. Saying that everything will be fine, as long as Kai himself goes back to the mansion tomorrow and explains everything.
But Ray was uncertain. He wondered if it was the right thing for Kai to speak the truth.
Ray opened his mouth to question, but then Kai stopped as he turned to his left. Ray too came to a halt, asking what happened as he turned to look towards the direction where Kai was looking at. The two looked at their left for a while, where Ray was trying to figure out what Kai had seen; since all he saw was houses with lights off. But Kai was smiling while talking to himself;
"Guess it won't be just us two anymore."
But Ray couldn't hear what Kai spoke as he asked what Kai just said.
"Nothing," Kai replied as he patted Ray's back and says that it's best for them to get another helping hand as well.
"What does that mean?" Ray asked, but Kai just pulled him along the way asking him to just follow him.
In a few minutes, Kai and Ray were walking in the dark road ahead. Ray was still asking Kai about their business in here. But Kai just kept walking, reaching to a dark alley where he stopped by the entrance. Looking inside the dark alley, with Ray peeking behind from Kai's shoulder; they saw three to four bodies of some thugs laying on the ground.
Ray was shocked, but Kai's eyes followed further ahead where he saw Diark; holding up a person by their throat, lifting him in the air.
"Y-You are mes-sing… with t-the wrong pe-rson… Don't y-you know… who my m-master is?! I w-work fo…"
The person being held tried to threaten Diark. But Diark beat him to it. Tightening his grip on the person's throat, Diark spoke;
"Marquis Lucrus, right? Then I'm doing the right thing now."
Diark's voice began to shift into a vengeful tone.
"That foul bloodline has lingered for far too long. I'll tear it apart piece by piece, and he will witness it all—the fall of his kin, beginning with his precious son."
The person who was held by Diark began to shake, his eyes widening as his veins began to form around his head. Diark pressed further, as the person's breathing began to waver.
"If you want to live, then tell me… Where is Harold!?"
While Diark interrogated the man, Kai and Ray just observed from the dark. But the man didn't waver; and in the end he died by the hands of Diark.
Diark sighed, wondering what to do now.
"Why don't you come with us?" Just as Diark was thinking, Kai's voice rang to him as he turned and saw Kai and Ray standing by the alley entrance. Slightly shaken, Diark asked who they were but Kai spoke in between; saying he doesn't need to act of not knowing them.
"Since I already know who you are."
Kai said at the end, looking right into Diark's eyes. Diark took a step back, about to escape; but Kai's next words made him pause.
"I know where Harold is right now."
Diark's step froze, looking at Kai as he wondered if what he said is true. But Kai beat him to it, saying everything he said is true. While the two conversed, Ray wondered if he should say something as well or just stay silent. Since according to him, Diark is the most terrifying assassin in the entire empire.
He had no choice but to observe the whole thing, as Diark made his decision that he would follow the two. Extending his hand forward; Diark shook Kai's hand.
"I hope you speak the truth, or else-" Diark spoke, but Kai again spoke in between.
"You can't kill me." With a confident smile, Kai looked at Diark who was slightly overwhelmed by his confidence. He wondered who Kai was, but the thought quickly dismissed as Kai pulled him ahead and introduced Ray and Diark to each other.
"You guys already know each other, since you two did had a dual right?"
Diark simply nodded his head, but Ray was confused.
"When did I had a dua-!!"
Ray tried to ask, but Kai hit Ray with a reverse elbow on his chest; making Ray groan in pain. Diark just stood there in silence; thinking to himself on Kai might be, for him to freely hit Ray, who's the crown prince of the Lunara empire.
"I'll follow you for now, since you said you know where Harold is. And once I find him, our agreement is over."
Diark spoke with a bitter tone, clenching his darkened fist. It was dark, in a regular form of a normal person's fist; but Kai noticed the hidden meaning to it. He saw the black veins of seething energy crawling beneath the skin; as if…
"He's gotten stronger, huh…"
Kai thought to himself, while looking down at Diark's fist. But then Ray cut in between the two, playfully punching Kai's left shoulder as he asked why Kai had to hit him so hard. Kai just chuckled to his question; simply responding that they have more important issue to think about right now. Then he turned to Diark, telling him to follow them; as Diark nodded. The three were about to walk out the alley, when Ray spotted someone and asked them to stop in a hushed tone.
"Wait! Isn't that Kaelan?"
Ray was pointing his finger towards a bench by a tree shade. Peeking out their head from behind, Kai and Diark too looked ahead; as they saw Kaelan in a casual outfit sitting on the bench. He was holding a small rose in his hand, looking a little tensed.
"What's he doing there so late at night?" Ray questioned.
"And why is he holding a rose?" Diark commented, as confused as Ray.
"A night date it seems," Kai concluded, as Diark and Ray turned to him asking; how can he be sure about that. To this, Kai simply said that they will know it soon enough. And just then, they heard footsteps; turning around as they saw a girl dressed in a red cloak running to Kaelan. The two chatted for a while; seeming that the girl was apologizing for being late and Kaelan with a smile giving the rose to her. Then the two walked ahead, holding hands while the three from the alley watched them leave.
"So, you were right," Ray spoke first. "It's a night date, huh. But I wonder who's the girl. I couldn't see her face."
"But why at night?" Diark questioned, to which Kai responded that it's probably a secret relationship of the two. Diark shrugged, saying that even as a commoner; Kaelan was popular cause of his looks and being skilled with his magic.
The statement though, made Ray look at him in surprise as he asked about how Diark knows of Kaelan's abilities. But Kai intervened, saying they have other things to worry for first; as he pointed towards a woman walking in the street with a dazed look. Ray and Diark watched the woman as well; as Diark commented that she appears to be hypnotized or something.
"Let's follow her," Kai said as he stepped out, about to follow. But then he heard a sound of cry followed by a thud; as he looked behind and saw a little girl with tears trying to sit up from the ground. Quickly reaching to her, Kai, Ray and Diark first checked the girl's injury; slowly finding out that the woman whom they saw just now was the mother of the girl, and the little girl was running after her since her mother suddenly left her and went out of the house.
"You two go ahead," Kai said. "I'll take her home first. And remember, observe first. Don't land into combat right away."
Ray and Diark nodded, as the two ran ahead following the woman while Kai took the little girl; treating her wound first and trying to cheer her up.
Running from one roof to another, Ray and Diark carefully followed the woman. As they reached closer to the café, the two saw more and more woman coming forward from other houses.
"W-What's happening here…?" Diark spoke first, his voice and eyes held confusion. But Ray slowly began to understand what was happening; as he recalled the woman from the evening saying about the risk to innocent lives.
"Let's hide somewhere and see what's going on."
Ray whispered to Diark, who slowly nodded back and the two went into hiding. The two hide over the roof of the store right in front of the café; as they watched all the woman slowly entering the café one after another.
"Are we just watch them go in? Shouldn't we go in as well?" Diark asked, as Ray shook his head. Explaining that there might be the members of those who are causing this, its better for them to wait and see if any of them will come out or not. But Diark was still tensed; as Ray too understood his reasons.
"By the way," Ray spoke with a smile. "It seems like we don't have that much of an age difference. How old are you?" Ray asked, trying to lighten the mood. To this, Diark looked at Ray for a while before he slowly whispered that he's sixteen. Ray exclaimed in surprise, saying that he thought that Diark would be around twenty or so, based on how everyone fears him.
Diark slightly chuckled, as Ray too smiled and continued observing the people enter the café. In ten minutes, the entrance was now empty. The two were still waiting for any kind of movements, as the entrance door slowly opened again and two men walked out. The two men argued about the last woman being not there yet.
"Aren't they the guys who run the café?"
Diark nodded to Ray's statement, when they noticed another figure walking out of the café.
"Why are the two of you arguing in the middle of the street!?"
The voice was filled with urgency as it continued that they need to hurry before someone reports about the missing woman and the knights start their search. The figure walked out as it came to light; being revealed to be Harold. He marched forward arrogantly asking about his missing aid; who had gotten caught by Diark.
While Harold commanded the two men, Diark on the roof was seething with rage as his right fist began to take form of beastly claw.
"I'll kill him!"
"No! Diar-!" Before Ray could finish, Diark had already stood up. His shadow falling over the three on the ground as they flinched slightly, looking up. And on the roof, standing tall; Diark's cloak floated in the air as the twin moons shined over him and he stared at the three with intense eyes of vengeance.
-To be Continued