"'Shadow,' you can hide your gun."
The young woman's expression changed abruptly. She slowly turned her head and saw the barrel of a gun and the tall figure of an unknown man emerging from the shadows.
"Are you sure, Mr. Ember?" Pak Joon asked gruffly.
"Everything's fine, i give you my permission" Edward replied calmly.
Pak concealed the gun in the chest holster hidden under his jacket.
"I didn't expect this. Even with my heightened senses, I couldn't sense him," the woman said, slowly turning her head toward Edward.
"I myself can't always sense his presence," Edward replied with a smile, while concealing his swords in small portals that had reopened under his hands.
A message appeared on the screen:
( ゜ロ゜)
..I...
..I'm surprised too...
"Guys, I suggest we continue our conversation in a more comfortable place. We have a lot to discuss," Lin Fei said, finishing her whiskey.
"I suggest, we meet again in London, tomorrow at noon, at a place called 'Mama's Pies", it's my favourite spot'"
"I understand" Edward replied."
"Do you need me to escort you?"
"No need. I know the way," the woman said coquettishly and seemed to dissolve into thin air, leaving only a smoky trail behind.
Pak Joon jumped sharply as if he had been hit on the buttocks.
"I'll be waiting for you as well, handsome," Lin said softly into Pak's ear.
He turned around abruptly, but there was no one there.
(＾◡＾)／ - appeared on the screen.
"さようなら (Sayōnara)"
--
After a few seconds of silence:
*Snap*
"What the f*ck, Edward, what the hell was that?!!!" Pak exclaimed.
"What the hell is going on?!?" he added.
"I'll explain everything to you right now," Edward assured him.
"Yeah, please f*cking do," Pak said, still not fully recovered.
Pak approached the chair where Lin had been sitting and poured himself the remnants of the whiskey she had left behind. Sitting down in the chair, he downed the entire glass and continued, "What kind of sh*t was that? Some kind of ...."
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
"Magic," said Edward, interrupted.
"Magic... f*ck.., I nearly crapped my pants! Do you understand? I thought only you who could do that," Pak mumbled, still not fully himself.
"I thought the same, but as you can see, that's not the case," Edward replied.
Pak began to gather the pieces of the puzzle in his head.
"Sooo... you mean to say your 'contact' in Seoul..." Pak began.
"Exactly," Edward interrupted.
"Unbelievable! How many of you 'like' people are there?" Pak asked.
"I was told I'm the 13th, but I don't know if that's true," Edward replied.
"Ed, do you have more..." Pak gestured to the empty glass.
"Pluto, open the stash," Edward ordered.
-Executing-
A sound from the wall followed by a small minibar filled with a variety of alcohol opened up.
Pak's mood improved slightly :)
-----
----
---
Edward and Pak were getting closer to the meeting place. Edward, observing his companion's hangover, asked, "Pak!"
"Huh? What?" Pak responded quickly, still groggy.
"I have a question. How did you get into the laboratory?"
"I remember clearly that I entered there by myself" he continued.
Pak Joon pulled out a card.
"I have a 'key.'"
"A 'key' to our laboratory?" Edward asked, puzzled. "Where did you get it?"
"You have your secrets; I have mine," Pak replied. "My job is to protect you, and everything else is just details."
[How could I not sense his presence?] Edward thought.
[Talent?]
Upon arriving at the designated location, they entered the establishment.
"Pak!" Edward said with a serious expression.
"Everything you're about to hear stays here!" he addressed Pak.
"Understood" Pak Joon replied.
"At the "Mama's Pies" At the end of the hall, they saw their 'acquaintance.' She was dressed in completely ordinary clothes and didn't stand out among the other patrons.
Approaching her, she asked, "Espresso?"
"I'll have a triple," Pak Joon said.
Still not recovered from his sleepless night.
"And you, Mr. Ember?" she inquired.
"Coffee with milk, please."
"Perhaps something sweet?" Lin Fei asked flirtatiously, winking at Pak.
"No, thank you," Pak Joon declined, adjusting his tie.
After receiving their drinks, Lin asked, not even trying to fulfill the dialogue with some unnecessary questions, she went straight to the point.
"Mr. Ember, what do you know about the Gates?"
[For a moment, Edward paused, remembering that his answer to Artem wouldn't work in this situation.]
"They are a kind of door between spaces, between worlds, between ours and others," he began. "And, as far as I understand, the 7 Gates that have opened in our world lead to completely DIFFERENT parallels," he continued.
"That's correct. But do you know why all these 'doors' lead specifically to our world, Mr. Ember?"
"To be honest, I have absolutely no idea."
"What do you know about the 'Reaper of Worlds'?" she asked.
In that very moment, as soon as Edward heard that 'name,' his memories pierced his head like a blade. His muscles tensed, and his 'aura' spiraled out of control.
---
The 'Reaper of Worlds,' or 'Dark Keeper,' is a divine-type being that has absorbed the power of the abyss and hell.
It embodies the evil and hatred of all existence, as if all the suffering of humanity were concentrated into one entity. I
t has the ability to summon its 'generals' from the farthest corners of hell, granting them its powers to enslave worlds.
And one of these 'generals' was stopped by Edward on its path.