Sero found himself learning a lot about the pair as he ate dinner with them. Surprisingly, Kit was ranked the 6th strongest S-rank in the world, much to Enzo's annoyance. The Paradox was also a part of Calypso, a world-renowned guild that Enzo's younger brother Liam was a part of.

"How's he doing?" Enzo wolfed down a chunk of grilled beef.

"You could always ask him yourself, you know. I'm not his babysitter." Kit replied, pouring out another shot for her and Enzo. She glanced at Sero, pointing the tip of the tequila bottle at him quizzically.

"No, thanks." Sero shook his head. Kit shrugged, handing a shot glass to Enzo.

"He hates when I check up on him. Like he doesn't think I know he can take care of himself." Enzo growled, throwing his head back and downing the shot.

"Ah, to have a younger sibling." Kit seemed wistful for a moment before she downed her shot as well.

"I don't recommend it. Not that I had a choice." The Demonic Judge scowled, but then smirked. "Sero, if by some miracle you manage to face him, I want you to try your absolute best to beat his ass."

"Oh, uh, I'll try..." Sero shifted uncomfortably. There were a lot of things running through his mind. Like, how two of the world's strongest Ascendants were right in front of him, casually drinking and eating.

"So," Kit put her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her palms as she studied Sero with her mismatched eyes. "Earlier, you said you were revived at the beginning of this month, going from F-rank to A-rank in under two weeks, and now you're participating in the tournament the last week of June?"

"Yeah." Sero avoided her gaze. Though he was no stranger to pretty women, Kit was on a whole different level.

"What an interesting man. And you don't drink either?"

"I prefer not to. Just didn't have good memories associated with it." Sero made a face.

Kit hummed curiously, keeping her gaze on him. Then, she smiled.

"Drink with us, then. We'll give you good memories to replace the bad ones."

"Hey, don't peer pressure him," Enzo scowled. "If you're trying to make him your drinking buddy, just forget it, you alcoholic."

"Ah, but you can't keep up with me," Kit pouted and turned her attention to Enzo. "Your Relentless keeps your intoxication from dropping if you drink more, and then you pass out way too fast."

"Even then, I already have a high tolerance! How is anyone supposed to keep up when you can easily kill 10 bottles of vodka in an hour? Busted-ass Cat Paradox; you cheat using that skill."

Kit glanced at Sero, sticking her tongue out playfully and giggling. Sero awkwardly smiled back.

"Ok, I won't make you drink. But, be honest with me for a second. Are you nervous about the undercover operation?" She suddenly turned serious.

Sero looked at Enzo in surprise. The Demonic Judge's face twitched with annoyance.

"Kit knows about the investigation. She hounded us until we gave in and told her, but the old man thinks she'd be super helpful to us and asked her to cooperate." Enzo explained as he wiped his mouth.

"Oh," Sero turned back to Kit. "Well, I wasn't so nervous in the beginning until everyone started asking me how I felt about it."

"Oops," The Paradox smiled apologetically. "Sorry about that."

"No, it's ok," Sero shook his head. "It keeps me grounded about the seriousness of it all. But I mean, you guys will be around too, so I'm somewhat at ease about it."

"Ooo, I like your honesty," Kit purred as she licked her lips. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you're safe."

"Th-thanks..." Sero couldn't help but wonder if this was what it was like to be on the receiving end. Not that he minded.

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The trio continued to eat, drink, and converse, though it was more so Enzo and Kit than it was Sero. It was night by the time they finished and paid out.

"Fucking hell..." Enzo closed his eyes and rubbed his head as they stepped out into the night. "That was the most expensive bill I've ever had to pay."

"Thanks for the meal." Kit grinned as she playfully punched Enzo's arm. Sero couldn't help himself and ran his eyes over her outfit. Wearing tight-fitting dark blue jeans, and a simple black crop-top complete with black boots, Sero didn't realize he'd been staring a little too long until the Paradox turned around to catch him in the act.

"Like it?" Kit smiled mischievously and posed.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"Oh," Sero averted his eyes as his face burned up. "Y-yeah."

"For fuck's sake," Enzo growled as he began to walk away. "Stop trying to seduce him. Aren't you like 30?"

"I'm 26, same as you, stupid." Kit frowned as she fell into step with Enzo. Sero quickly followed the pair, feeling like a third wheel.

"Could've fooled me," Enzo turned back to Sero. "Need a ride back home?"

"Oh, yeah-"

"I can take him!" Kit stepped up to Sero. "You'd rather go with me, wouldn't you?"

"Absolutely." Sero blurted without thinking. The Demonic Judge shrugged.

"Suit yourself. Same time tomorrow, then." Enzo walked off, leaving the two of them standing on the sidewalk.

"Where do you live?" Kit asked as she offered a hand.

"Uh, it's an apartment near the Ascendants Association building." Sero hesitantly took her hand. He wondered if she was going to hold his hand the whole way there.

"Oh, I think I've seen it before. Ok then, close your eyes." Kit purred as her grip tightened.

"What, why?" Sero asked, but did as he was told. As soon as he closed his eyes, there was a nauseating chill that rushed over him and Sero almost fell to his knees. For a brief moment, it felt as if his head was split in two, and he was upside down. The feeling quickly passed, and Sero felt his body stabilize.

"We're here."

Sero opened his eyes and was shocked to find himself standing in front of his apartment complex. Kit smirked as she let go of his hand.

"Did you... make me close my eyes so I couldn't copy that Cat Paradox skill?"

The Paradox stuck her tongue out playfully. "You got me. I do want to show you eventually, but then you wouldn't depend on me to get you to places this quickly." She faked a pout, but her mismatched eyes sparkled teasingly.

"Right...thanks." Sero couldn't believe how stupefied this woman made him.

"I'll see you sometime later, then. Bye!" Kit waved and walked away, leaving him mesmerized.

"She's... something else," Sero mumbled as he walked up to the front door of his apartment building. Entering his apartment, he glanced at his phone to catch up on missed notifications. He saw Amaya's acknowledgement to his earlier text that he was eating with Enzo while Nala had sent him a photo of a watermelon. Sero wasn't quite sure what to do with it.

After washing up, Sero laid in bed, his stomach still full from dinner earlier.

"Aphiel?"

No answer. Sero assumed she was either upset that he had cut their connection earlier, or she was with the other gods and goddesses.

"Good night, Aphiel." He closed his eyes.

"Oh, champion?"

"Well, hey," Sero replied, slightly relieved that she didn't sound upset. "Just wondering what you've been up to."

"Ah, I've been learning more sorcery from Hecate and Isis. Apparently, it'd be useful for me since I finally have a champion of my own."

"Sorcery? Aren't you a goddess? Can't you just... impose your will to do stuff?"

"It's... complicated." Aphiel sounded embarrassed and hesitant to explain.

"All right," Sero rolled over on his side, deciding not to press any further. "Good luck with that."

"Thank you, champion."

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

The next few days were a blur as Sero gradually settled into his grueling routine. He woke up, got beaten up by Enzo for six hours, and went home, occasionally grabbing dinner with Nala and Amaya or Enzo and Kit.

"Hey, Sero," Nala said one evening as they ate dinner at a nearby diner. "I heard you've been hanging out with Enzo and Kit more. Is everything alright?"

Sero smirked when he caught Amaya perking up at the mention of the Demonic Judge. "Yeah. There's not much else I can say. At this point, I've gotten Enzo to use a little less than half his strength, and it's been incredibly difficult to handle. We've decided to focus on training my stamina now."

"Hmm." Nala quietly studied him. "You do seem a bit more... sharp? Like you're aware of yourself."

"I don't- I'm not sure what that means."

"You seem stronger." Amaya clarified for her. "Not to speak for Nala, but in a little under two weeks, I've noticed your mana aura has significantly grown denser."

"My mana aura?"

Amaya nodded. "Nala and I have advanced hybrid classes. Her Shadereaper is a hybrid of the Thief and Mage, whereas my Spellblade is the Warrior and Mage. All Mages have the Spellsense passive, which allows us to see the mana aura of other Ascendants, among other things."

"Oh, that's cool." Sero recalled the brief lesson Amaya gave him over classes a while back.

"Yeah, you seem to be getting a lot more control over your power," Nala chipped in. "It's actually quite impressive."

"I hadn't noticed it," Sero was slightly surprised. "Guess getting beaten up for hours on end really does work."

"Anyways, I have some good news and some bad news." Amaya shared a look with Nala. "Which one do you want first?"

"Gimme the bad news first."

"Well," Amaya chewed on the nail of her thumb. "The bad news is, you can't sign the lease for your new penthouse suite until the first day of the tournament this week. And your gold reward is also still pending. Not to mention, there's virtually no trace of your father."

Sero opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"Oh," he finally said after a while. "I hope the good news makes up for the bad."

"The good news is... the association will be paying for your meals starting today until the end of next month!" Amaya smiled apologetically.

"There was no good news, was there?"

"Sorry. I was hoping to sugarcoat it as much as possible." The liaison looked down at her glass.

"Well, we just wanted to also let you know that we're here for you. How are you feeling about the tournament?" Nala looked at him, a subtle hint of concern in her eyes.

Sero leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily. He wanted to be honest and admit that he was growing more and more anxious each time someone asked him how he felt regarding the event. To him, it seemed like everyone had no faith in his abilities.

"A little worried, because I feel like if I get the chance to fight against Elena, I'm going to throw the match."

Both women stared at him with varying levels of disgust and disappointment.