Recognition?

Heian Ciemnosc walked to the oldie standing before the building's entrance. The moment he was seen, Heian Ciemnosc felt a profound gaze as the oldie lowered his eyebrows and made a grimace. Heian Ciemnosc looked at the oldie, and the oldie looked at him until the latter finally asked, "Name and cultivation base? It will only be required today. You don't need to speak. It's just for the recordings happening around you. Grunt. Speak."

“Heian Ciemnosc, Blossoming realm 10th stage.” Heian Ciemnosc said, looking a little up as the graybeard was a mixed Titan-Human Race. The oldie nodded and was about to say something else when he became perplexed and slowly looked at Heian Ciemnosc again instead of writing on the holographic document. “10th stage?! Weren’t you in the 1st stage just 8 months ago? How come you’ve increased your cultivation base this fast? Are you using an evil cannibal Art or something, kid?!”

“...” Heian Ciemnosc looked at the oldie casually, not responding. Beto quickly leaned forward and placed his left hand on Heian Ciemnosc’s right shoulder to speak to the graybeard. “Eh, sir… Just for the record, ahem. Although my person here does eat Races’ corpses, he doesn’t target just anyone, only the Faction’s enemies, for example. He’s not a Human. In fact, he might not be any Myriad Race. Either way, he isn’t eating one of his own. He’s just… another living being doing his thing to survive and progress.”

“Huh… so he does eat others,” the elder spoke, with less grunting and more surprise. His eyebrows jumped softly before looking at Heian Ciemnosc, who was just turning from staring at the team leader that spoke for him. The graybeard grunted again and nodded towards Heian Ciemnosc before looking down at the hologram and asking, “Do you have any alias yet?”

“... … …” The crowd looking this way, approximately 60% of everyone in the headquarters, smirked when they heard this part. Others were supposed to answer this for the person being questioned, and it was always newbies getting caught off-guard before inventing some corny or cheesy stuff. However, teammates behind him called out before Heian Ciemnosc’s pale red lips formed a complete ‘o’ and said, “Of course, he has! It’s black monster. It has been a thing since he was at the Wrath Nihility Academy. Does no one remember now, or what?”

“Black monster? Hmph! Do you really think that’s enough-” The graybeard dropped his arms and looked at Heian Ciemnosc’s Team as if they were trying to fool him. However, before the oldie could say more, Moy took his Universal Conveyance and showed a scene from space. It was before Heian Ciemnosc was struck by the Frigate and after he effectuated All-Devastating, his mind-based Soul Art.

The crowd, already silent, and the graybeard looked into Moy’s Universal Conveyance’s images and became deadly silent. Nearly the entire headquarters became quiet as they watched Heian Ciemnosc’s dark blood stream further out from his nostrils and a little liquid body surrounding him from the medium-sized spaceship. It was as if he had caught a plague, and it was chasing him everywhere. It was dark and liquified but looked like glitches in reality as if someone had drawn the darkest sheets of paper one could imagine.

“See? Black monster! It made sense before. It makes sense now, too.” Clanton said, bringing the attention to himself. Everyone scrutinized the Team and noticed the approval medals in their emblems. After a few seconds of glancing at them, the crowd diverted their heads and went on with their usual stuff. On the other hand, the oldie looked at Heian Ciemnosc’s chest and grunted, lowly muttering. “Huh, he even got an Honorary Experience medal. What a world we livin’ in, grunt.”

“Thanks,” Heian Ciemnosc said as he received the final nod from the graybeard, nodding in return before stepping forward. His Team followed suit, but they weren’t stopped by the oldie for long. Only a few seconds after Heian Ciemnosc stepped forward, his teammates were already behind him as he waited for them to come in with him. Heian Ciemnosc turned around and was met with Beto and Ruo Wei right before his face. He said with stupefaction, “Should we enter? What’s there that I need to know beforehand?”

“Hmm,” Beto grinned, flashing a handsome smile, but not more handsome than Heian Ciemnosc. “This place? Ah, nothing. Just go in and let go of it all. Here, you can get intoxicated. It’s nothing like in that Second Step Academy. You better believe you can get wasted here. Come on, you take the first step. It’s every Team’s tradition for new members.”

“Mn… oh.” Heian Ciemnosc looked at his teammates, who were now naturally changed after the mission and the last few months of training together and knowing him better. Heian Ciemnosc felt, for the first time, like he was being taken care of by them, not just because he was their newbie. His darkest eyes fell on them, who looked at him not with smiles but confident expressions and eyes urging him to let them in to get drunk or something.

‘Sigh, new life, here we go.’ Heian Ciemnosc breathed in before taking that step forward. The moment his left foot landed on the floor inside, his vision changed, and from an ordinary place without a clear objective looking boring and stagnant, was turned into a gigantic reception hall where bars and meeting places in the open took place. Just as he was feeling astounded, seeing the honey-colored floors, bars, seats, and lights falling everywhere, with cultivators and citizens drinking alike, Heian Ciemnosc was brushed past by his teammate and team leader.

They went in like it was nothing, and they were treated by those already inside without a care as if walking in was just ordinary. It didn’t take Heian Ciemnosc any time to realize this was a hub for everyone to hang out in, at least for the soldier units. Maybe the auxiliary units had this benefit, too. Heian Ciemnosc watched his teammates walk in different directions, with a few going in ‘groups’ of 2 people. His darkest eyes watched everywhere else as he walked forward to not become an obstacle to dodge for others.

‘Hmm.’ Heian Ciemnosc exclaimed in his head as he watched some of his teammates start behaving intimately. Seeing how his Team was, one would’ve thought the tower-like, dorky Moy and the tomboy Ruo Wei could hit it off well, but despite the time they spent joking and teasing each other, she was with Beto while Moy walked off to the side with Sandra. Sandra was a very intelligent cultivator, and if she was a Craftsmaker interested in engineering or forging, she would’ve been the other top mechanic in the incomplete Frigate.

‘Well, I guess- hm?!’ Heian Ciemnosc was just about to walk to a semi-lonely open bar when he felt a presence suddenly appear behind him. Before turning around, already recognizing it, Heian Ciemnosc was astounded. But when he finished his body’s rotation motion and looked at the tight uniform hugging his wife’s body, Heian Ciemnosc nearly salivated. Kitty, his wife, spoke ‘strictly’ to him. “What? Did the cat steal your tongue?”

“???” Heian Ciemnosc looked like a complete idiot at his wife, who looked at him with narrowed eyes, looking insanely tempting and sensual. Milyy wore a Crimsonbreaking Faction uniform, and she even had a hat, which only some with a special medal could gain. She stood straight and faced him, only him. After 3 seconds of seeing his doofus expression, she smiled and dropped her stern attitude, walking up to him and nudging her head through the air to brag.

“So? What’ya think of yer wife? Am I perfect, or am I flawless? Hm?”

Whoosh- rustle~! Heian Ciemnosc didn’t waste a second as he flashed his body and reappeared before his wife, hugging her body immediately while in public. With Milyy’s appearance, of course, she attracted countless eyes towards them. When they watched Heian Ciemnosc embrace that impossible beauty, the impulse of breaking his lungs and filling it with shit wasn’t triggered, and they only frowned in displeasure at the outcast’s luck before slowly returning to their stuff.

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“Oooww, I bet you didn’t expect this, huh?” Milyy said, returning his embrace by holding his shoulders from below his armpits and rubbing her chin in his trapezius muscle as if that was supposed to be comforting for him and not just her. Heian Ciemnosc kept hugging her before separating, but just a little. His darkest eyes flashed before Milyy’s face, and she blinked at them as she fell in a trance for the umpteenth time looking at them.

“W-what?” Milyy tremblingly said as the tip of her nose flushed pink, looking insanely cute, bizarrely adorable. Heian Ciemnosc tapped that nose and grinned before keeping a calm countenance. “Say, Milyy. Are you content with me?”

“Mmmmm,” Milyy placed her forearms around Heian Ciemnosc’s shoulders and squinted her eyes for a pensive expression. Suddenly, she smiled and narrowed her eyes further, nearly closing them, purred, and finally said with joy in her tone. “I can’t deny it, only admit. I think I’ve become more free since Mother let me go around the world. Although we’ve only seen a small part of it, the Change is still young, no~? Being with you… I can only see it as fitting. I’ve definitely never felt like this before. And I’m not saying it because of the candy you brought me last time. Hehe.”

“... Wuoh!” Milyy tilted her head leftwards and looked at Heian Ciemnosc with dangerously narrowed eyes. She expected more of his smooth words while purring, but Heian Ciemnosc’s darkest eyes only looked at her calmly. Suddenly, Heian Ciemnosc embraced her again. This time, he held her gently yet locked her, as if trying to tell her she couldn’t move away from him, not now, not in the future. Milyy softly closed her eyes and rested her face on his neck as her hands landed on his upper back.

. . .

3 days later. In Choliac’s incomplete Fleet’s headquarters. Crimsonbreaking Faction’s base. Heian Ciemnosc’s Team’s quarters.

“Uggh…” Heian Ciemnosc lay on one of the 3 sofas in the Team’s quarter’s living room. He had arrived here just a day ago after returning from the Crimsonbreaking Faction’s forces meet-up after the return to the base. It was calm and quiet on the first day when Heian Ciemnosc first time at the hub, but when he returned there with Milyy, he was wasted and had to be dragged to the Team’s quarters by Milyy.

And now, just a few hours after being a lazy bum on the sofa, Milyy walked from the side with a few warm dishes in her clutches and a hot drink. Heian Ciemnosc’s darkest eyes struggled to open, and he smelled the pleasant scent only he could make when making food. He looked at Milyy, holding some of the plates he prepared for her daily so she wouldn’t improperly eat whenever he wasn’t around her. He ignored this detail and sat up, taking the dishes in his left hand and wrist while his right hand dragged the hot drink to his mouth.

“Gulp!” Heian Ciemnosc drank it all unhesitatingly under Milyy’s careful eyes. She wore an apron but smelled nothing like a small part-timer cook would. After wolfing the plates, Heian Ciemnosc looked at Mliyy and kept silent. The shameless kitty looked at her husband and tilted her head nonstop before asking, “Did you like what I made for you? My love?”

“Pff-” Heian Ciemnosc held his laughter and internally chuckled. Milyy grinned and sat beside him. She leaned her head on his right shoulder and let her ear tingle as she heard his heartbeat and barely distinguished his blood and energy flow. Heian Ciemnosc leaned his head over hers, spending this moment in peace as their ears heard people waking up from one of the bedrooms. From the same bedroom, 2 people were getting ready as they exited their warm bed.

Creak, step, step, step. Before long, a distant door was opened, followed by uniform’s shoes sounding on the floor, moving towards the living room. The quarters of each Team depended on the Team. They would gain a small profit from the contract they struck, while the Crimsonbreaking Faction kept the rest. The Team’s members' gains were what the contractor and the team leader agreed upon. Meanwhile, the Stones the Team itself gained were managed by the team leader only.

One can only make changes to the Team’s quarters with the money gained from the contract. Currently, the quarters Heian Ciemnosc recently met weren’t shabby nor luxurious, but it wasn’t so decent either. There were sofas, 8 bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and cultivation and meditation rooms for everyone, but it was only 1 floor and didn’t have a place for Craftsmaking. However, Beto said they were saving for a Frigate. They relied on merit and Stones to exchange it via the Crimsonbreaking Faction’s market. It would take a long time, but they were already 3 decades saving and only needed 2 more, approximately.

“Hey, you look cute.” Beto walked into the living room, enough for 30 people to stand with arms spread and not touching, as he looked at Milyy and Heian Ciemnosc still in their uniforms, although Milyy wore an apron for no reason since she didn’t smell of food. Heian Ciemnosc looked at Beto and nodded upwards. Milyy ignored the insect and continued to purr and rub her cheeks on her husband as the men talked. Young men.

“Look, I’ve got the Team another job. We’re departing in 2 hours, I hope the timing isn’t bad for you?” Beto spoke cautiously. One thing was Milyy’s unknown connection with the highly adored Chairwoman, but another was the genuine feelings of belonging Beto gave Heian Ciemnosc as he spoke. Heian Ciemnosc blinked his adorable to-die-for-darkest eyes and nodded, “I’ll be ready. Oh, just… my wife will come with us. She’s got commander Choliac’s permission.”

“But… that’s illegal?” Beto said, unsure of the reality and truth of the world. Heian Ciemnosc nodded again and flatly responded, “It is.”

“... Ah, well.” Beto shrugged his shoulders and walked towards the kitchen. But then, behind him, from the same door he came to, Ruo Wei walked naked with only Beto’s bed wrapped around her. She drowsily cleaned her spotless lacrimals and noticed Heian Ciemnosc and Milyy. “Ah! Hey there, pals. Have you eaten already? Hmm, that smells good. Beto, what did you buy?”

“Oh, I’ve already eaten,” Heian Ciemnosc answered. Then, he felt strange in his penis area and watched Milyy’s lips form a little grin. He mentally shook his head disapprovingly, telling Milyy that rape was not things a good girl should do via Soul messaging, and added. “Milyy has eaten, too. Eh? Why do you come out in a blanket as if you didn’t sound delicate and cute all-night-long?”

“!!” Ruo Wei became visibly stiff, but she continued walking towards the kitchen, where a sweating Beto checked his medallion’s configuration repeatedly. Ruo Wei stood before him and asked him via Soul messages. “Did you not place the array formation?! Do you want to die?!”

“Of course I did! I always do! Look! See? Why would I let my little brother hear what his sister-in-law sounds like?! You know black monster’s wife is mysterious. She might’ve gone through some barriers…” Beto said as he defended his honor. Ruo Wei looked at him side-eyed before letting him go. “Hmph! I’ll let you go, but only because she is very nice to us girls. Hmph!”

In the meantime, as Beto sweated and Heian Ciemnosc and Milyy spent a lovely time together on the sofa, the rest of the Team took slightly longer to wake up, with an hour rapidly going by. The Team and Milyy got ready to take on their new mission. Beto and the others had a meal before leaving, wondering why the kitchen smelled so good before the shit they always cooked ruined it. Afterwards, everyone left and took a transporting vessel towards the port.

… When arriving at the port, Heian Ciemnosc watched Beto walk elsewhere, where a group of a dozen cultivators from the Faction gave him documents. Heian Ciemnosc and the rest of the Team went to their Fighters to wait for Beto, with Milyy following Heian Ciemnosc and entering the Ornament to wait for her husband.

“Hey, we’re gonna take a 2-3 days journey there. But is a ‘friendly’ organization. They’re a Third Step organization with their own space station. Although it isn’t mobile, like ours, they are pretty good and often hire our people to establish a favorable relationship with the Faction.” Moy spoke to Heian Ciemnosc. Heian Ciemnosc looked at him and asked, “How do you know where we’re going to?”

“It’s always the same. Elder Brother wouldn’t have brought us so suddenly if the patrolling mission was in our space station. You don’t mind, do you?” Moy said and asked, nudging his head towards Heian Ciemnosc. Heian Ciemnosc shook his head lightly and commented, “Mn, it’s fine. I guess it is to prepare me for sudden situations?”

“Yep,” Moy answered and then kept quiet. They waited for Beto a couple minutes later when he finally walked towards his Fighters and sent information to everyone’s medallion. Heian Ciemnosc felt his medallion heat up and sent Spirit Sense to read through it. Immediately, a course was automatically made between the Crimsonbreaking Faction’s base and the ‘friendly’ space station. After setting the route, Heian Ciemnosc floated into space with the Team before flying towards a portal.

Milyy wanted to sit on a chair behind Heian Ciemnosc, but he picked her waist up as the Team flew towards the portal and placed her on his lap. She accommodated her bum after making grimaces at the evil husband and made herself comfortable. When they reached the portal and had to wait for their turn to take it, Milyy was already purring and nibbling on his neck. Heian Ciemnosc felt like a mini-god in his Ornament as he placed his anti-Spirit Sense barrier.

Just as Beto wanted to ask him what happened, Heian Ciemnosc blocked him off and just waited for the portal's platform's activation as his wife started eating his neck, then his ear, and then…

…