Chapter 2

La-la Point of View

As we waited for Yuna outside the phone store for MT , Axel confronted me, saying, "You lied to her." I was confused and asked, "Lied? What do you mean by that?"

"Life of Nature, that-" Axel shortly replied. I sighed, realizing he meant the fragility of our existence.

"Oh, that," I acknowledged.

"We don't have life. If attacked by wild MT, we'll be banished for good, and our existence will be erased. We don't have any heart, we are just partly a soul" he explained.

"You know- look how frightened she was when I mentioned we could die again? She just a child Axel" I shared with Axel.

"But it's better for her to know the whole truth, it’s still better to learn the truth than to experience it" Axel insisted. I looked at him, questioning, "Why?"

"What do you mean, why?" he retorted.

"You're too concerned for nothing. Wild incidents are once in a century or something. Scaring her might hinder her from moving on," I argued.

"But it is better to be strong. Cowards in our job are not for the good. Yes, we do have emotions, but we don't have a heart. But we feel pain, so it's better to face the truth," he said in a gloomy tone.

"You know," I said, stopping my sentences.

"What?" he irritably asked.

"Just leave if you're going to ruin the mood, I might kick you in the ass" I told him, annoyed.

"Jeez, your temper. Sorry, sorry, but remember I warn you" he apologized, and I rolled my eyes at him just as Yuna emerged from the store, looking excited.

"Did they give the department number and official number?" I asked her. "Yes," she confirmed.

"I never thought that we needed this type of technology. I just thought we would go to the office to report," she added. I chuckled, "Of course not. It's just an overall hassle to work at. Since technology is already far better, it's best for us to go with the flow," I explained to her."Did they explain how it works?" I asked her, and she nodded.

"Shall we proceed to your first task?" I asked her. "Already?!" she exclaimed, surprised.

"Yeah, already. I'm going to teach you. The faster, the better," I said to her.

"Just put on your ring and ready your gun. We will wait at the bus stop near here. It's better if the gun and the ring are the only things you carry, understood?" I asked her.

"Yes, senior!" she answered with enthusiasm.

A few moments later,

I advised her, "Don't look too much at the strings spread everywhere."

"But it's hard; it's everywhere," she exclaimed.

"You will get used to it," I said to her, then went near her side and held her shoulder. She flinched a little, but I smiled.

"Inhale, exhale," I said to her. Then she did what I said.

"Now, look everywhere. If you see a couple with connecting strings and near to each other," I instructed her. I already saw one at our 9 o'clock angle.

"Oh, I see one," she said.

"That's good," I praised her. She seemed about to run in that direction, but I held onto her. "Senior, what are you doing?" she asked me.

"There is no need to follow them," I reassured her.

"But we are going to lose them," she protested. I smiled.

"I don't think so," I said to her and pointed my hand to the couple, making the girl trip.

"Senior," Yuna reacted. "Now! Position your gun and point it as soon as they make eye contact!" I instructed Yuna. "Y-y-yes?" she asked in confusion. "Now!" I reiterated, and she immediately pointed the gun.

"Look carefully," I whispered to her. As the man caught the girl, the girl made eye contact with the boy first, so I instructed, "Shoot," and Yuna fired at the girl with her eyes closed. She gasped as the bullet hit the girl.

"We are not finished yet," I whispered. Now, as the boy helped the girl, he made eye contact to the gitl, and Yuna shot immediately. I looked at her in disbelief.

She is a fast learner. Now, we will wait for the couple to look at each other. Then the boy looked at the girl. "Thank you," the girl said to the boy and made eye contact; then, the string connected and it shine brightly and turn into a bright red. I heard Yuna gasp.

"I did it," she whispered to herself. I removed my hands that were holding onto her and stepped back.

"Senior!!! I did it!!!" she happily said to me and hugged me. "You did a great job," I said to her, and she let go of the hug and jumped happily.

Then her ring shone, so she stopped jumping and confusedly looked at me.

"W-w-what is happening?" she asked.

"Don't worry," I said to her. "Look at your wrist," I instructed her. As she did, she looked so shocked.

"W-w-what is this?" she asked me, as the number appeared on her arm. A number 2.

"That's the number of jobs you've done since you tied a soulmate knot. It's a total of 2," I explained. She looked at it again, smiled, and then ran towards me. I was confused for a moment, but she was trying to see my wrist. Does she want to know my number? So, I laid my wrist out for her to see. She stopped for a second, and her emotions suddenly turned upside down.

"Is that 4 digits?" she asked me. "Yes," I confirmed.

"Three thousand nine hundred and ninety nine," she read it aloud. "Yes," I replied. "H-h-h-how?" she asked me.

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"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, we have a designated number to reach before we can have another judgment, and we do not grow old or change age. Our current appearance will remain as we finish our job, so it’s still apply to not befriend human to avoid suspicious to our identity " I explained to her. "T-t-then that means... Senior, how long have you been in this job?" she asked me.

"Just a hundred years. You know, compared to others I've been a workaholic person," I said to her. She took a step back due to shock.

"O-one h—hundred y-y-y-ears?" she asked, clearly shocked. Well, a lot of a love hunter despises me with this fact since I take the job to seriously.

"Yes, it's actually a short year; some of our seniors live for almost 500 years," I told her, and she was baffled.

Did I just shock her too much?

"If s-s-so, how many do you need to achieve, senior?" she asked me.

"Four thousand is all I need for judgment again," I answered. She thought for a moment. "W-wait," she said.

"You mean you only needed 1 remaining?!" she asked, shouting. I just nodded. Then she looked at me as if she regretted something.

"So why did you let me have the couple earlier if you've just done the job and could ascend already?" she said.

"Don't worry, it's my job as your senior to do so," I said to her in a comforting tone. Then she reacted as if I were the best.

"It looks like you've already finished the job," Axel said as he arrived. We looked at him, and he was holding a milk tea in his hand.

He gave each of us a cup. Then we sat at the bus stop, people passing by and cars.

"Is he also a hundred years?" Yuna asked me, pointing at Axel.

"Oh, him? He is younger than me," I answered Yuna.

"I just arrived 3 years late, doesn't mean you're older," Axel said. "Is that so? Well, you look young, that also defined that you die younger" I said to him, and he stopped sipping.

"Is not my fault that they gave me this face, you know," he disagreed. I sighed, unbelievable, just the confidence he has.

"Uhm-mmm, excuse me," Yuna said, referring to Axel. "Is there any problem?" Axel asked Yuna.

'Senior only has 1 person left in her number, then that means she is going to leave soon, s-s-so how about you?" Yuna asked Axel. Axel smiled.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not a workaholic like her. It's far too long for me to ascend," Axel answered.

"Just a question, if senior leave. Are you not going to be sad?" Yuna asked Axel. Then that just gave a silent moment to us, as Axel and I looked at each other, he smiled.

"What do you mean by sad?" Axel asked Yuna in a low tone.

"I-is that, Senior, and you seem to be long friends. Ascending means also like dead since a person will be given another life and will be gone," Yuna said. "Yeah," Axel said, taking a sip of his milk tea and looking into the distance as if trying to find an answer.

"You know—" As I was about to say,

"Yeah, I might be sad, but I need to be happy since she will have another life. Lala won't wait for me; I just need to follow her soon as she ascends," Axel said, followed by a moment of silence again.

"That's cringe," I said, once again ruining the mood. Axel looked at me in disbelief. I just grinned and took a sip from the milk tea.

Then Yuna giggled. Axel and I were both puzzled. "It must be fun to have a friend like Sir Axel. I wish to have a friend, better yet a reaper like him," Yuna said. Axel and I once again looked at each other.

"I won't suggest that to you, Yuna. Hunters of Life or reapers are arrogant and self-centered. They are hard to befriend with; it's better to befriend the same MT like love hunters like us," I advised Yuna, then she looked at Axel.

"But he seems nice, though," Yuna added. I looked at Axel, who was sipping milk tea, keeping his silence.

"Him? He is arrogant type; it's just—how should I explain it?" I said, thinking about how to clarify my situation.

"I'm different," Axel declared, exuding confidence.

"Yeah, he is different," I said in a low tone, trying to agree. Different your ass.

"That's sad. It seems that the friendship between you two is unique. I just think it is fun to experience this way and also have someone to help me," Yuna said. Then her phone rang, so she opened it to see that the Head office is calling her.

"I think it's time for me to go," she said to us as if she is bidding goodbye. I smiled.

"Yeah, go on," I said to her. "Thank you so much, senior, for everything today. I will never forget this," she said, expressing her gratitude.

"You're welcome," I replied to her. Then she also looked at Axel.

"Thank you," she also thanked Axel. Axel just nodded at her, and then she picked up the call. "Hello," she responded to it and stood up to leave.

As she walked away from us, she stopped and faced us again, waving us goodbye. We reciprocated with a wave.

I sighed. "She is too far from realizing how scary our world could be," Axel said, throwing his drink into the trash can as he also removed his hat. I looked around, and it seemed there were no humans in our surroundings, so I also removed my ring to become visible.

Axel is right about how scary our world could be. Mythical Creatures, also known as MT, are under a company called MT Entertainment, which operates under the disguise of Mythical Creature Company. There are various MTs (Mythical Creatures), a total of 13, and we are called Hunters. The Hunter of Love ranks the lowest, also known as Cupid. Next in the low rank is the Hunter of Energy, the nine-tailed fox; Hunter of Wishes, a genie, ranks next; Hunter of Life, the Reaper; Hunter of Knowledge, the Griffin; Hunter of Sin, the Minotaur; Hunter of Dreams, the Sandman; Hunter of Pain, the Amusement Vampire; Hunter of Talent, a Goblin; Hunter of Curiosity, Misery, also known as the Banshee, Special Forces; and lastly, the Guiding Spirit. We depict every creature we had each job for, and it's a fulfillment to be done. Each Hunter has a different job, and each Hunter has different sins. But we don't know what sins we commit or what things we covet to be punished like this. Living far too long and behind. They removed our memories, living with new identities, and just to pursue a job that is given to us as a task. It's hard to hide our identity since if ever, humans tend to abuse us. The job of being a Hunter is scary as we fill our moments fulfilling others and also trying to invade, getting close to other people. We live in loneliness, and it's rare to get close to other MT creatures since it's just full of disadvantages and things. Mythical creatures are believed to be blessed from heaven, but actually not – since we are sinners. If we do not finish the assignment from the top in the right time, we will be punished and be gone for good, and it's scary. Our power is also good, just as we wanted to; we will also be punished if we use it for our own good. We can't be selfish. Those who covet selfishness, greed will be the ones who will lose and go into being wild. Wild ones covet others' powers as they suck up and dry up other creatures until they are gone into dust, and it's terrifying to see.

"Stop saying negative words; your emotion is infectious, you know," I said to Axel.

"Infectious? You treat me like a contagious disease," he said.

"Well, you're death," I said, leaving a sad remark on him. "The hell, Lala," he reacted.

"I am just kidding—don't you have any work to do, do you?" I said, trying to change the topic, then a bus arrived in front of us. Of course, the people inside the bus were full of amusement in their eyes. Who are they looking with amusement? Of course, Axel, this bastard blessed by the look of undying. This is just making chills run all over my body.

"If I leave this job, why don't you try to join the entertainment for MT?" I suggested to Axel.

"Why would I? Chasing death is just exhausting enough. Being under MT as their artist is just making me chills all over," he said, as if he is so against my idea.

"You just don't have any talent, admit it," I said to him, trying to annoy him.

"I don't need talent; my looks are just enough," he said. Ugh, I can't with this man.

"Just being blessed by your looks here, you seem to be thankful in that, maybe in your past life – you know," I said to him.

"You know what, huh?" he asked me. "It's just, you know," I said.

"Hideous? How can you say that to me?" he said in a dramatic tone. I didn’t say it you did.

"It's just maybe, you know the soul's appearance is usually different from physical appearance," I said to him.

"You keep saying that you hated my face but when we first met. You looked like them," Axel said, waving to people in the bus with a smile, making them enjoy their faces as the bus left. Ugh, I hate this!

"Me? On your face?" I asked, questioning him.

"Yeah—don't you remember the moment you saw me, you froze?" he said. The heck?—Wait—I do remember that—yeah, I froze. But...

"I already explained to you the reason why I did that, right?" I said to him.

It's not actually because I am fascinated by his looks. Axel looks like a man of dreams for everyone: the keen eyes he has, the deep pupils, sharp nose, perfect proportions of faces, pale skin, and lips that are juicy as fux** making him look like a deity. It's not the looks that he makes me freeze but something else.