The black-haired woman stood amidst the decaying field, her grayish skin tinged with frustration. The battle remnants lay scattered around her—wyverns and trolls reduced to lifeless husks.
"Damnit, just where the hell did he fucking go?" she muttered to herself. The dagger in her left hand had a familiar red glow to it which she glared at "I can still sense him, but I just can't pinpoint his location yet. I feel like I'm getting closer."
As she spoke, she began to undo the transformation of her right arm, which had morphed into a long, black blade. The dark energy resonated within it, a lethal extension of her will. The blade retreated, revealing the woman's hand, veins pulsating with residual power.
A sense of unease washed over her. Hera's eyes snapped open, and she quickly transformed her arm again. A rustle in the bright midday foliage revealed Emerald, her friend, approaching cautiously.
"Woah! Chill out, Hera, it's just me," Emerald exclaimed, holding her hands up placatingly.
Hera's tense expression softened as she recognized her friend. "Em, why the fuck are you sneaking up on me you scared the shit out of me," she said, the blade retracting back into her human hand.
Emerald arched an eyebrow, eyeing the dozens of dead wyverns and trolls. "What happened here?"
"I couldn't sleep so I went out to hunt something" Hera replied shrugging her shoulders. "and I was gonna leave before you came"
"you had another nightmare didn't you?" Emerald smirked.
Hera embrassly shouted. "No, I just slept on the wrong side of the bed okay!"
Emerald laughed. "Yeah, sure!"
Hera glared at her but asked"Where is Dan by the way why didn't he come with you" sitting on the head of the wyvern behind her
"well he said he wanted to pack out things before we left and you weren't there when he woke up and he asked me where you were I said I didn't know then I went to look for you"
As they walked away from the decaying field, Hera couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was happening to the one she was searching for
Hera and Emerald strolled through the dense forest, leaves crunching beneath their boots as they made their way to the little cabin outside the city. The air was cool, and the rustling of leaves overhead provided a calming backdrop.
Emerald broke the silence with a wistful sigh. "I wonder what Zero's doing right now."
Hera shot her a sidelong glance. "Thinking of him again?"
Emerald nodded. "Yeah. It's just he disappeared without a trace, and there wasn't a body. I think he's just hiding from us or some shit."
Hera chuckled. "Or running away since there was a dead guy where he was last seen. Either way, he's got a knack for slipping away."
As they walked, Emerald wrinkled her nose, sniffing the air dramatically. "Speaking of slipping away, something here smells like ass."
Hera laughed. "It's probably the dead monsters in this bag." She pointed at the big bag made of shadows floating behind them as they walked, its contents shifting within.
Emerald gave her a skeptical look. "No way, it's worse than that. Let me check." She stepped closer and took a long sniff of the bag. "No not that."
Hera smirked. "Then what is it, Miss Bloodhound?"
Emerald, undeterred, sniffed her armpits. "Not me either. So, it must be you!" She stared at Hera with a suspicious expression.
Hera laughed. "Me? What, do I smell like dead monsters?"
Emerald nodded, her eyes narrowing. "NO, you smell like ASS, not monsters. Come on."
Hera rolled her eyes. "It's probably just a mix of sweat and monster goo. The glamorous life of a monster hunter, you know."
Emerald grinned. "Well, you might want to take a dip in the river before we leave. I don't want to walk into a bustling city with a stank-ass lady."
Hera playfully nudged her. "Fine, fine. I'll go bath later. if it'll get you off my ass, Detective Emerald."
They continued walking, their banter filling the forest as they made their way to the cabin, Hera already plotting how to get back at her friend for the accusations of her smelling like ass even though it was true.
Eventually, they reached the little cabin they rested in and Emerald kicked down the door surprising Dan who had just finished packing all their things
"The hell is wrong with you guys?! Don't just bust through the door like that!"
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Meanwhile, far away, in the bustling streets of the Massive city, Zero, and Ushin sat inside an empty buffet, indulging in the delicious food. As they both devoured their meal a lady walked through the door to the kitchen with another behind her
"W-W-Why do I gotta go ask them if they want more?!" The black haired waitress asked as she nervously held the tablet to her chest "Sis it's your job to take the orders Cause I'm the chef" the Blond lady wearing the apron exclaimed
"B-But the red-haired one looks s-scary" she stuttered as she looked across the room seeing the duo still eating but stopped as she looked at her sister who began poking her cheek "Look last time you tried to cook you nearly killed a man cause of food poisoning so you are banned from ever using cooking utensils ever" sighing in defeat she left and nervously walked toward the table Zero and Ushin sat at
"U-Um hello, I'm your waitress l-lila do you two want anything else to eat? Lila said staring at the two nervously pulling out her tablet to write down their next order
"I don't think I want to eat anymore can we pay?" Zero asked staring at Lila for a moment before turning to Ushin who was face first on the table "Daaaaaad I saw some cool outfits I wanna try out can we go already?" Ushin whined,
"U-um I guess you want the bill then?" Lila said trying to hide behind the tablet failing as Zero could still see her completely but he ignored how weird she was acting "But could we get those biscuits you gave us before we leave?" leaning back in the seats
"Alright, I'll be back with the biscuits and bill shortly!" Lila said before she quickly hurried off back to the kitchen
"What's up with her?" Ushin said raising her head from the table and watching as the waitress sped away from them "I don't know but she's weird" Zero said scratching his neck not bothering to look at the waitress as she ran away
looking at Zero Ushin stared at his face intently he noticed her stare asking "something wrong Ushin?"
"nothing it's just that, the scales on your face are a bit distracting Dad," she said as she leaned over the table to poke his face
Ushin joked around as Lila was speaking to her sister "Ya know Lila I don't get how you are scared of him he looks like a big softy I mean like just look at him and his sister, they look so happy," her sister said as they both looked as Ushin was poking Zero's face
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"Um that's his daughter dear sister" Lila whispered to her sister "Wait what! But how he looks like he's younger than me?!" she complained as she slumped over but she then heard the door be opened as a boy with dirty gray hair wearing an expensive suit entered the restaurant
"Lil sis go get their order I'll talk to 'him' this time" the blond sister exclaimed as Lila went through the door behind them
She groaned as she walked over to the person who entered her restaurant "Alright Cuckley! What the hell do you want this time?!" she yelled not bothering to keep her voice down
"It's 'Percival Chumley' Lori, I'm just here to pick you up for our date, and take you away from this shitty place!" Percival said slightly distastefully as tried his best to ignore her insults on his name and tried getting closer to Lori
"well look 1 I don't fucking love you so fuck off on that 'my love' shit!" Lori exclaimed angrily as she poked his chest "And 2 I love this place and even if it is shitty it's way better than being with some horny fucker like you who just wants me for my looks so get the hell outta my damn restaurant!" she said shoving Percival away from herself and was going to leave if not for Percival suddenly grabbing her the neck
"dear, you think I can't destroy this damn shack you got here? If you don't listen like the obedient fiance you are supposed to be I'll just destroy everything here and take you by force!" Percival growled as he choked her
As this was happening across the room over by Zero and Ushin's table Lila turned to see her big sister being choked by Percival and was going to rush to help her big sister if not for Zero grabbing her arm and pulling her back
"Hey, what are you doing I need to help my sister?!" Lila screamed at Zero who simply stood up pushing Lila into his seat and walked off heading toward where Percival and Lori were
"Don't worry bout ya sister let dad handle it" Ushin Mumbled to Lila as she stuffed her mouth with cheddar buns "Wait do you even know who that guy is?" Lila questioned Ushin who simply shrugged swallowing her cheddar buns before pointing at Lila with a cheddar bun "Do not care"
"Hey, do you mind letting go of her?" Zero asked deciding to ask nicely first but Percival arrogantly shouted "And who are you to ask me, Percival Chumley, what do to do!"
Zero seeing this guy wasn't going to budge swiftly grabbed the boy's arm forcing him to lose his hold on Lori's neck she fell onto the ground coughing while trying to soothe the mark on her neck as her sister Lila came to check if she was hurt
"unhand me, you bastard!" Percival shouted as he struggled to remove his arm from Zero's tight grip but barely managed to yank his arm away glaring at him and pointing at Zero's chest "Do you have any idea of who I am?! Filth like you can't grab me like that!"
Zero stared intently at Percival as he smelt something thinking"Blood" he thought as he began slightly flaring his mana "You should leave before I make you" Percival was enraged at Zero's threat but then remembered something and just stormed out leaving Zero a little confused at how fast the guy decided to quit and leave
Turning toward Lori and Lila he asked "You okay bun lady?" trying to give her a hand in getting back up but she waved it off "Nah I'm good don't worry bout me" She tried to get up by herself but fell over and was caught by Zero who scolded her "you shouldn't be moving too much he was a bit strong so your lucky he didn't crush your neck" he picked her up taking her over to a booth and gently placing her down
"See sis I told ya he was a big softy!" said Lori chuckling as her sister coughed into her hand telling Zero that they were grateful that he helped them and he didn't have to pay for his and Ushin's meal
"Nah I'll pay!" Zero dug in his pocket and placed down 5 gold coins asking the two girls if this was enough Lori responded "Yeah that's MORE enough for the whole meal not gonna lie!" Zero heard that and left with Ushin quickly
"Sis, shouldn't you have told them how much money they just gave us?" Lila questioned wondering if it was wrong to take the money from someone who seemingly didn't know how much money he was paying them but Lori reassured her sister saying that those two didn't seem to be struggling with money so it was not that bad
"Now let us go count all our MONEY!" Lori excitedly yelled as she ran to the back of the restaurant
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Zero was heading down the street with Ushin in tow walking past a multitude of stores and food stands they stopped in front of a store and Zero turned to Ushin "Ushin you want to check out this one?"Zero asked and Ushin simply nodded and they both walked inside
entering the store they were greeted by shelves filled with tons of books and a Red haired boy who was sleeping on the counter
Zero walked passed the shelves and stood in front of the counter tapping the boy's shoulder and said "Hello!" the boy immediately woke up and fell off his stool Zero stared at the clumsy boy he leaned over the counter and asked, "You okay?"
the red-haired boy rubbed where he hit his head and said"Yeah I'm fine!" and got up introducing himself "Hello customer my name is Sero and what's your name stra-?!" Sero paused at the end of his sentence when his eyes abruptly changed into a radiant, silver glow as he stared at Zero his eyes widened, and he suddenly screamed "COME WITH ME?!"
"What?" Said Zero before Sero excitedly grabbed onto his arm and dragged him into the back not feeling any bad intentions from the boy Zero let himself be pulled
once they got through the back they reached a room that had a shelf filled with books that were marked with certain labels on aspects of magic and mana such as mana skin, mana amp, mana attributes, and mana control
Sero who dragged Zero into this room let go of him and ran to the table in the middle of the room searching for something and pulled out an open book and read what it said before turning to Zero and saying "I've met a lot of mages but none of them have had mana like yours!"
Zero confused at his statement asked "My mana?" Sero nodded "Mhm your mana has a weird feeling as I can't deduce yours, man this is so confusing," Said Sero scratching his chin
"hmm, my mana feels weird. So did you bring me back here to tell me this?" Zero asked sitting down in a chair that was next to him
"Well, I want to make a contract with you where I help you find certain monsters using my research. in return you allow me to take part of the resources but you can decide what you want from the monster's corpses specifically" Sero explained to Zero who was thinking about the deal
"ok, but I want the hearts of the monsters you send me to hunt and you can have the rest mostly since I mostly just need the hearts," Zero said which caused Sero to give him a weird look as he was thinking Zero was some kind in some cult but nervously asked, "Um if I may ask why do you need the hearts exactly?"
Zero noticed the nervous look on Sero's face and responded "Well I should explain why I need them. I don't know how it works fully but from what I know whenever I eat the heart of a monster I gain an ability from the said monster that's all I know though"
'he gains abilities from eating monster hearts' Sero thought as he processed the information Zero gave him for a few seconds and got an idea "Okay I got an idea but first I want to enter a binding contract with you!" Sero said but Zero wasn't sure about it
"Can you explain how the contract works?" Zero asked rubbing his chin curious about the contract and Sero excitedly answered "The contract allows both of us to set rules which we have to follow and aren't allowed to break or the contract punishes us!" Zero understood but asked another question "What is the punishment for breaking the contract?"
"Well, that's the neat thing we get to choose that and I want to make the contract right now!" Sero said Zero nodded in agreement and so Sero continued "But as much as I want to make the contract right now, I have to leave to go gather some things pretty far away from this city so we won't be able to make the contract tomorrow so give me like 3 days!"
"Alright, then I'll see you in 3 days travel safely!" Zero said getting up from his seat and preparing to walk out but Sero stopped him "Wait before I leave I wanna give you something like a down payment!" going across the room and rummaging through a chest he grabbed two things out of it and went toward his fridge grabbing something rather large that was inside a box made of ice chucked them toward Zero who caught them
"what is this?" asked Zero confused at the items Sero gave him Sero explained, "The book is an ability manual the crystal has an ability called iron scale inside it and the ice box has a wyvern heart inside of it you can do what you want with those but think of them as a gift!"Sero handed him a bag to place the things in before Zero thanked him and walked out signaling to Ushin that it was time to leave
Sero sighed pressing on a piece of the wall behind him making a hidden entrance opened up and he walked through
______________________________________________________________________
"So Dad what are those things exactly?" asked Ushin curious about the stuff Zero got from the guy in the store "Well we can check in a minute so let's quickly go somewhere secluded and check so get on!" Ushin nodded hopping onto Zero's back and he began sprinting through the city leaving through the entrance and waving at the guards
Reaching a clearing in a small forest near the city Zero let Ushin down and sat on a rock taking out the ice box "Um Dad what's that?" Ushin asked Zero who explained "It's a wyvern heart"
"you gonna eat it?" she asked and Zero nodded before grabbing the box from both sides gripping it and slowly breaking it apart being careful to not destroy or damage the heart
"Woah this ones bigger than that Draco's heart you ate before!" Ushin said as Zero stared at the heart for a moment before scarfing it down and swallowing it but nothing happened he didn't feel any different. was the heart a fake?
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! is what Zero heard hearing his heartbeat as his body began burning up from the inside and his mana began wildly leaking
Ushin saw him fall to his knees and ran to his aid immediately "Dad!" she grabbed his arm to try and help him up but flinched and let go as his body was scalding hot "Dad your burning up right now!" Ushin worriedly yelled as she tried to help him up again but Zero roared creating a shockwave that blew her away from him and the mana covering Zero's body exploded into an orb
she was sent flying and would've instantly hit the tree if not for a woman with long and Untamed hair that cascades down her back like a tearing waterfall of ember
"need a hand?" the woman said and Ushin looked at Zero and immediately turned to the lady yelling "yes!"
The woman stared at Zero whose body had been engulfed by a dark crimson aura and looked up making a sign before she slowly stepped in front of Ushin
"This should be fun!" She declared with a fierce grin