Nuri led Shay to the promised land.

And it was called... Perseus.

Perseus went all-in on its Greco-Roman motif. Clothing displays were hung on pedestals and amidst ornate white pillars. Instead of mannequins, they had body-realistic statues. The walls were even decorated with actual mosaics-- though with some explicitly modern imaging like sunglasses and purses.

The employees were dressed normally, though: black shirts and slacks. That could have been a missed opportunity. But, then again, wearing a toga in a modern shopping center sounded like a joke-in-progress.

The prices, though...

The price tags at Perseus were in numbers that matched the vibe.

Shay had learned from her previous mistakes, so she kept a straight face despite her heart chipping and cracking each time she found a blouse over the hundred-dollar mark.

And, as she kept searching... it did not get better.

Was it because they were at a mall instead of a regular store? Malls were stupid.

While Shay was mid-crisis, Nuri shuffled over, wearing a mischievous smile.

“Hey, ShaYyyy... y’wanna see some mMagic?”

The way she said it made it sound like she was some kind of shady drug dealer. And the product she was slinging...

Magic.

Magic was real. Having zero doubts to its existence was one of the benefits of being part of ❴The Kingdom❵.

Tyvan could turn invisible and put people to sleep by touching their shoulder. Raia could turn into a shadowy mist and reappear wherever she wanted. And even though Grandpa would hate it being called magic, he could literally punch people with lightning.

But if Nuri was trying to talk about-- or even use magic out in public... that wouldn’t be right.

Ahhhh. But she looked so confident.

“Is... is that allowed?” Shay asked.

“Hmph. Follow me~”

Nuri led her to another part of the store, separated by a white-marble archway into its own expansive section.

And the clothes back there...

Flashy and unique! Stylish but almost conservative? Everything Shay saw looked... provocative, but in a good way. It all looked like it was women’s clothing, but everything looked really fun and cute and gorgeous and... just as Nuri said, magical.

“This is the Eorzea line,” Nuri said. “It’s a new thing. It blew up during a fashion event in Milan, earlier this year. I think the designer’s name is Evelyn Voss-- or something like that. But yeah, this is the actual reason I wanted to come to this mall.”

Eorzea! Shay had worn an Eorzea outfit, before, and it was the nicest thing she’d ever worn in her life!

“I. Love. Magic,” she said.

Nuri laughed, “Yeah-- I figured you’d like the preppy shit. No hate, though.”

She turned to one of the employees. “Hi, excuse me. My cute friend and I are gonna be here for awhile--”

Then she... literally gave the girl an order for coffee.

Shay was horrified-- up until the staff-person repeated her order to confirm it. She even respectfully referred to Nuri as ‘Miss Park.’

--wait. The manager of the other store also called Nuri that.

Rich girls were... something else.

But that was probably fine? When in a Roman-themed shop, it was expected to do what the other Roman-themed shop shoppers did.

Shay politely asked for a passion fruit tea, to which the staff-person smiled and said that was her favorite too.

That was a nice interaction...

Shay took in the sight of all the clothing displays and... one, in particular, caught her eye. It was on one of the statues, sitting reservedly, yet also confident somehow.

And the clothes it had on... Shay had seen them before.

--worn... by... Ivy?

Huh.

Ten minutes later, Shay was in the dressing room. She held the hem of her long skirt, flipping it back and forth.

Cute. Super cute.

But... not... as cute as Ivy.

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--but what if she had her hair down?

Shay covered her twin ponytails with her hands. No. Didn’t help.

Maybe if she was a little taller? Or more mature-looking?

Glasses?

Glasses would have been perfect for her Student Council President persona. But unfortunately, Shay was cursed with 20/20 vision!

She sighed loudly, plopping down onto the changing-room bench.

Change...

Shay needed to change herself to move forward. She needed to be a rich girl to get close to Nuri. And to get closer to Tyvan...

Whew. A lot of things needed to change.

But even the biggest of changes had to start with a first step!

Soon-- holding hands again.

Sooooon-- kissing on a mountainside!

With renewed deTeRmiNatioN, Shay looked at herself in the mirror with a new light.

----------------------------------------

In another place, Tyvan Valorum took in a breath, savouring the air. Then, he opened the swing door of the men’s lavatory.

Montgomery Jiang held onto the struggling creature from behind, clasping his hands in front of its chest. It was dressed in human clothing-- a standard, casual outfit comprising jeans and a dark, hooded pullover.

It no longer breathed. Its injuries stank of rotten blood. And yet, it actively strived to escape from Jiang’s grasp.

Tyvan pulled the young man and his captive into the tiled room, the door swinging shut behind them.

The undead creature was remarkably simple to find. Its awkward and hastened gait made it easily identifiable amongst a crowd.

Its operational pattern-- the way it hunted, gave cause for concern. It wasn’t hunting for sustenance. It wasn’t loosened upon the population to incite chaos. It was... discerning. It was searching for some-thing or some-one.

Best practices dictated that he and Jiang stealthily follow in hopes to learn more-- of its goals or perhaps even its creator.

But unfortunately...

“Quit looking at me like that,” Jiang scowled. “Dudes don’t hold hands!”

Tyvan sighed and shook his head. As useful as he’d discovered certain humans to be, not all of them were as compliant as Yan Xue.

He’d established a respectable working relationship with Montgomery Jiang over so many sessions of training. Jiang complained-- and often. Complaining was the right of every warrior in every world. However, as of yet, the young man had never failed to meet or exceed Tyvan’s expectations.

He did remain rather wilful, though. Such was his nature.

But was hand-holding so abominable a concept? Shay had no issues with it.

Or was it inappropriate because one, either, or both of them were... dudes? If there was an issue of physical intimacy, then Jiang’s full embrace of their target should have been far more concerning.

“Boss?” Jiang squeaked. “Is it me or is this thing getting stronger?”

Humans weren’t like snakes-- they couldn’t hold onto prey, continually constricting. Their muscles would fatigue after several moments of contraction.

But that did not mean Tyvan could allow their captive to be released. He placed his palm on the creature’s forehead and began to hum a simple melody. It was a spell he’d termed ⌈River Flows In You⌋.

The ghoul ceased its struggling, its arms and head slackening in Jiang’s hold.

“You couldn’t have done that earlier, Boss?” Jiang asked.

It wasn’t necessary earlier. But Tyvan did not say that aloud. He was concentrating on his spell.

“And why the hell does this fucker smell so fucking weird!?”

That was because its internal fluids had been replaced with a chemical soup-- one Tyvan was loosely familiar with. But that was unimportant.

Jiang released the creature. It dropped to the tiles onto its face and chest. Then, pushing itself with its legs, it found the darkest corner of the room... underneath the row of lavatory sinks.

It was absolutely filthy down there.

Tyvan approached what he believed to be a storage closet. Locked. He kicked just below the door handle to break it open.

“What the hell, Boss?” Jiang whispered in a panic. “Isn’t that breaking into private property?”

Lawfully, Tyvan believed it was vandalism. But as he was still concentrating on his spell, he did not answer. He found an orange cone with a sheet of paper markered with the words ‘Closed for maintenance.’ He placed it outside the lavatory door.

“Boss?” Jiang said, his voice rising, “I think it’s coming to?”

That was unfortunate. Tyvan ceased his humming and knelt down to observe the creature.

It emitted a low, wet growl, its breath reeking of putrefaction. It was a travesty of a threat, considering that its arms were broken, dangling awkward and useless.

Ugh.

It needed to be killed.

“Rider,” Tyvan said. “Break it.”

“The fuck?! What if that thing bites me??”

Hm. Right.

As the newest member of ❴The Kingdom❵, Jiang had a snake pin to potentially guard him from lethal harm... but he had yet to be issued his armoured uniform.

As such, it was unreasonable to submit him to the thriving habitat of disease that was a human mouth.

Tyvan drew his telescopic baton from its belt holster.

“Grab hold of its legs so it doesn’t escape.”

“Got it, Boss.”

Tyvan offered his forearm to the creature. It lunged with a predictable bite. Tyvan then withdrew his arm while simultaneously applying his extended baton against the creature’s teeth.

He then grabbed hold of its hair, dragging it onto the open tile before continuing to apply moderate force to its head and mouth.

No sense of pain or self-preservation.

Amongst the scents it exuded, fear was not one of them.

What was it supposed to be? An assassin? A resolute warrior with a single focus? ...A threat with a specific and yet-unknown recipient?

And to whom did the creature belong to? It lacked any identifiable mana signature. There was nothing explicitly magical that could be discerned on or within its form.

Then... just how large in scale was the mastermind’s operation?