1340  Date in Kera

Inside the public square and right before a statue of Arthur was erected, a man in casual clothes but with a mask stood. His presence drew the attention of everyone around him. Although they could see his unblemished skin, the mask gave him an eerie, almost funny, vibe.

Julia entered the square while panting, and she found Li in an instant because everyone was pointing at him. As she saw how he was dressed, she thought it couldn’t be him. But how many people would wear a tree mask?

Li spotted her in the crowd almost instantly, and he came forward with confident strides. Julia wanted to surprise him, but he seemed capable of finding her rather easily, even though she looked nothing like usual.

“Greetings, Miss Julia,” he spoke with formality while bowing to her. “I must say that these eyes have never seen a beauty such as yours. You look breathtaking.”

At first, Julia blushed. But then, she realized that these words did not sound like Li at all. After a moment of thought, she realized what must be happening.

“Who told you to say those things?”

“Oriole,” Li gave her an instant confession without the slightest hesitation. Julia sighed as she realized how simple the man before her was. After a moment of thought, she decided to forgive him.

“I want you to be yourself over this… shared meal of ours,” said Julia with a stern look. “Don’t listen to anyone else about how to behave. Be yourself!”

“I understand, Miss Julia,” said Li with a nod. After a moment of silence, he said again. “My chest felt tight when I saw you three minutes ago.”

Julia stared at him with silence, knowing that he could say something like that. Then, her blush deepened even more than before as they began their ‘shared meal.’

Inside the same square, a man wearing a cloak and goggles watched the pair walk away through the crowd. He rushed after them when he bumped into someone and almost tripped face first.

“Are you alright?” asked the man who he bumped into while grabbing his arm to support him. “Wait… Oriole?”

Oriole was confused how someone could recognize him this easily, and raised his head to find a pair of golden eyes staring at him with confusion. It was Arthur, and beside him was Diana. Oriole had to blink twice in confusion.

“What are you doing here?” asked Arthur again while helping his friend regain his footing. “And what makes you dress like that?”

“You bastard! That should be my line! You just got engaged!” rebuked Oriole as he removed the goggles, but there were tears in his eyes. “My best friend got engaged and I wasn’t even there! How could you, Arthur Netherborne? How could you?!”

“I don’t think friends need to be there,” laughed Arthur as he held Diana’s hand. “I haven’t given it a lot of thoughts before I proposed, but I’m glad I did. Forgive me, Oriole.”

“You bastard!” Oriole shouted again with a sniff as he pulled Arthur into an embrace. Then, he began to sob as he congratulated them while the couple laughed.

Oriole explained what he was doing after calming down. Once he was done, he asked them to join him, expecting them to refuse. But instead, the pair agreed with excitement and the three began tailing Julia and Li.

The two agreed to share a meal, but most of their time was spent in the markets buying random things and talking. The trio followed after them from afar, hiding themselves from the crowd.

Arthur and Diana were still touring Kera when they ran into Oriole. Although tailing their friend was not a part of the plan, it was fun nonetheless. Julia showed them a side that they have never seen, and it made them smile with happiness.

Kera was crowding with awakeners because of the Divine Selection. Although his enemies planned on using humans as vessels, Arthur could not attack the Divine Selection before it begins for one reason: his dear wolf was still inside. Although it has been a long time since they last met, Arthur would never forget about it.

But because Kera boomed with visitors from all over the world, thugs began to gather in the alleyways to rob unsuspecting travelers. As they tailed Julia and Li, the three saw many people following after the couple. It enraged them when a group began following them.

Pew!

A small stone flew across the alleyway before striking a thug in the back of their head. His comrades turned to find three figures standing behind them with enraged expression. They seemed to recognize one of the three. Arthur Netherborne, the King of Wrath.

Boom!

And the thugs were taken care of in an instant, in order not to disturb their date. However, while the three were handling this group, a different one interrupted Li’s date with Julia.

Oriole was about to use some runic cards, but Arthur stopped him. Julia was unafraid of the thugs, but Li wouldn’t let her lift a finger. With a single tap of his foot, gravity intensified on the thugs and slammed them to the ground. And their date resumed.

Arthur and the rest stared at each other and decided to no longer intervene. Julia and Li continued on their date while the rest no longer followed after them, giving them some privacy.

The group decided to have fun on their own, choosing to walk around the public square and eat snacks. There were even some games that could win them prizes, which Arthur aced and got his friends some gifts. For Oriole, he won a small pair of binoculus so he could spy on people. As for Diana, he won her a giant teddy bear.

Arthur was once again walking through the city when he noticed someone running across the crowd. The man in question seemed to be carrying something in his embrace, treasuring it while screaming at others to leave him.

“What is that?” muttered Oriole with confusion. “Should we investigate?”

Arthur was silent before he turned toward Diana, who stared back at him and nodded. The three of them had to cut their trip short to know what was happening in Kera.

***

In the skies above Kera, Spade stood alongside two calamities. They were shrouded by a strange illusion that prevented others from sensing their presence, carried by a platform of bones and blood.

“Are you fine with standing in the sunlight, Kar?” asked the handsome man with silver hair while staring down on the people below. “Earthlings always believe the sunlight to be the enemy of vampires.”

“Weaker vampires might be harmed, but not me,” answered Kar with a smirk with his hands crossed across his chest. “How is the seed?” he asked the man.

“Growing faster than you would expect,” muttered the silver-haired man with a smirk. “My lust will spread between the people of this city like a plague, and even awakeners will be led astray.”

“Do not harm our future soldiers, Deluge,” warned Kar with a frown and turned to the bald man next to the sin of lust. “What was your name again?”

“Spade.”

“Alright, Spade. Open the portals once the barrier appears. Maintain them until my vampires enter the city,” demanded Kar. “Once we turn the awakeners in the city into our slaves, we need to escape using the portals too.”

“I don’t take orders from you,” answered Spade with a frown. Kar leaked out a hint of bloodlust, but it was strong enough to terrorize the pirate. Spade stood confident despite the suffocating aura, and Deluge raised a hand between them.

“Don’t threaten my followers, Kar,” said Deluge with a grin. “However, we are partners. Listen to his commands, Spade. We need the portals to escape before Ascent notices what’s happening.”

“Are they threatening enough for us to fear them?” asked Spade with confusion.

“Their Guild Master killed both of us calamities more than once,” answered Deluge while pointing at himself and at Kar. “We need to be wary of their arrival. The entire operation needs to take less than an hour.”

Spade nodded and prepared. After that, Kar scoffed at him and turned to form his barrier. Blood leaked out of his hands like mist, and it began to invade the surroundings of Kera at breathtaking speed.

This step was just one among many in their plan to build an army that not even Arthur Netherborne could face. The first step was to turn awakeners into vampires or control their mind using lust. It was for that reason the two calamities joined hands.

Arthur Netherborne was still a human, and not a very stable one. His desire to protect the world would work against him once they capture his beloved city and turn it into their strongest asset. The plan was to push him into losing control again like what happened almost ten days ago.

Deluge jumped from the platform, diving toward the ground. His hypnosis would work stronger if he was there in person instead of sending a projection. The Lust Spell could control an infinite number of minds as long as ‘seeds’ were planted beforehand.