Aiden was now sitting at the dinner table. Various dishes had been cooked for him by Meilin. He wasn't particularly hungry after eating the last two orbs, but her worried expression made the food look a lot more appetising.
"Thank you." He tried a smile, but it was more like an annoyed scowl.
He looked down at his chest, poking the holes along his shirt where threads seemed to barely be hanging on. It felt empty. Emptier than before, lonelier than before. After a small rundown of the situation earlier, he understood that the souls of the beast and all of the souls it had consumed came within him. But for once, he felt full. His chest felt like there was nothing missing.
And for that reason. Aiden's eyes were once more glazed over. They darted from girl to girl. Each doing their own thing, except Meilin, who was making sure Aiden was eating well. 'She really seems to care about me... It's weird.'
"Agh-" A burning sensation spread through his arm. It was searing; the smell of charring flesh tickled his nose. Just as he was about to dip his arm in the cold water, it was gone. As if it were never there. But he knew that it was, because runes began glowing along his arm.
Level: 1
Progress: 0
Souls Collected: 0
'What the hell is this shi-'
"What's wrong Aiden? Why did you scream like that out of nowhere?? Are you in any kind of pain?! Let me take care of it!" Before Aiden could respond to any of her questions, her shadow fell over him. Grabbing his wrist, she took a look at it, but there was nothing there. Still, however, she chose to rub an ointment along the groove of his veins just in case.
'I need to think about these runes..'
"I'm fine, don't worry about me. Just...I need some time, don't look for me." With that, Aiden left the house, his absence instantly displacing Meilin's mood. She did want to follow him, but it might lead to more trouble and cause a rift between them.
Instead, she began cleaning the plates, placing what food was unfinished into the fridge. The basement door shook for a second, but none of the girls paid it any mind; they had agreed to put off the extermination for a while. The Nine Tails had given them a new quest, a mere hour ago.
For that, the three girls found themselves sitting on the couch in the living room.
"That pesky fox, always changing plans." Lyra rolled her eyes while scrolling insistently on her phone.
"Lyra! Don't say that! You are a priestess of her shrine, what if she heard you??" Meilin slammed the notebook down on the coffee table. But she did kind of agree with Lyra deep down.
"Regardless, if this is the will of the Fox, that will be our will also. Before we get to that, though, I have found something peculiar. It is related to the orbs I gave Aiden..." Ryn paused for a second, a pool of sweat building up in the ball she formed with her hands. Liquid mercury ran through her spine as she struggled to voice just who she met.
"In the forest...When I left to collect the scales and other goodies. I came across a man. No. He came to me. I didn't feel his presence approach me. It was like he didn't exist unless you paid him mind. His very eyes shook my core; if I stared into them for too long, they would erase my mind..."
Tentacles began crawling up her legs, gripping her throat violently. Instinctively, she reached to tear them away from her throat, but they were gone in that same second. 'I-I see. That is the difference in our power.'
Meilin wanted to object, thinking she was exaggerating. But Ryn's face had twisted in pain, worse than any expression the girl had ever met.
"He asked for directions at first, which I obliged and gave them. Then he offered me the orbs. But by that point, the pressure from his gaze had built up too much; my whole body wanted to cave in if he whispered just a single word more. But near the end of our conversation, I felt the presence of another. Far, nowhere within eyesight. But I knew that if he so wanted, he would've been able to kill me there and then."
"You don't think-"
"Yes, I do."
Ryn paused for a moment. The blood in her veins coursed loudly; the gushing was deafening as the world continued to grow fuzzy.
"I believe the man who gave me the orbs is aligned with that deranged monkey."
Silence swept the room. What the Nine Tails seemed to want had been put on hold for good reason. This was something that couldn't be ignored; it was of utmost importance.
"I-I understand. I will let 'Her' know with haste. This turn of events will likely change her strategy too... And I hope that Aiden will be fine being in the middle of this storm. Lyra, please go check on the talismen I set up earlier. No one leaves the surrounding area alone again."
***
In the forest, Aiden trudged around. His body was still weak from both the fight and the countless souls that were trapped within him. He glanced from side to side, but nothing was around anymore. Everything was still, with the exception of a few birds still searching for food.
'Damn it. I was hoping there were a few demons around to kill.' His eyes widened after realising what he said.
'Since when...was I hoping to fight something?' That was a strange thought. It had been a decade of nonstop fighting for his survival. Being overwhelmed in both strength and quantity of enemies. It was only a few days ago that he was bleeding out on the floor after dealing with a large horde of monsters that could bite through steel, and they had taken huge parts of his body with their sharp teeth.
It was them, he thought. The girls were having an effect on him. Growing stronger was a given; that was one of his ultimate desires, but with them around, it seemed to have been amplified. 'It must be that trickster fox...Their nice act must be an order from her.' He brandished his silver knife.
Thack-
It landed squarely into a distant tree.
Squeal~
Blood spewed like a hose.
And its life was over. The small rabbit demon was no more.
'They will meet my blade if they think they can manipulate me.'
Level: 1
Progress: 2
Souls Collected: 1
'Ah. Perfect.'