BANG!
Within an office of a rather extravagant-looking building located in the central part of the city of Zaril. A loud sound akin to that of an explosion resounded! The wall of the office was smashed to the point that one could easily see through to the other side of the room next door.
"Fuck! What do you mean that the bastard who killed my son got away!" A man who seems to be in his late thirties with a bulky build yelled! The man had neatly trimmed white hair and eyebrows as sharp as a blade.
The man was a famous businessman who owned one of the biggest companies within the kingdom of Barat. Wyatt Hart's fame was so high that not even high-ranked nobles would dare to go against him.
Kneeling on the ground was a man who was completely dressed in black, the one who was assigned the duty of protecting his son from the shadows, "You! How useless can you people be? You who came from the temple of shadows claimed to be the best of the best, and yet, your own Incompetence allowed the perpetrator of my son's death to escape!" Wyatt exclaimed, his face red in anger.
"Tch, forgive me... the boy was able to use lightning to increase his speed, even at my best, I can't contend with that kind of speed." The man's face grimaced as he explained, he couldn't help but bite his lower lip to control his rage at the thought that someone was looking down on the 'Temple of shadows' "Silence! I do not want to hear any excuses!" Wyatt said coldly, he was already pissed off that his one and only son was now dead, and the man who was supposed to be protecting him was making up excuses to save his face!
He was so angry that he really wanted to kill the man before him, but. Unfortunately, doing so was no different than declaring war on the 'Temple of shadows'. His influence was strong, but that influence was only strong within the kingdom of Barat, as for the forces outside the kingdom, he'd be nothing more than a mere ant before those great powers.
Not to mention the 'Temple of shadows' Was a part of the 'Temple of darkness'. Even though the temple of darkness had been silent for over a decade now, everyone who heard stories of them still feared them!
Wyatt wasn't dumb enough to think he would be able to go against the temple of darkness that even the kings and emperors don't want to provoke! Besides...
"You said that you saw that woman there?" He questioned. The man wearing black nodded his head seriously.
"Yes, and she wasn't alone. The crimson sword was with her." He explained.
"What! That man is here as well. Why would two big shots show up in a city like this?" Wyatt frowned.
Jessica Levine, also known as the "Queen of Beasts." No one in the current Era didn't know the weight that title holds. She is known as the strongest summoner and the most talented beast tamer.
Many ignorant folks had angered her in the past, only to have their entire city destroyed by her army of beasts! She is treated as a natural disaster by even the royals, as no one dared to go against her.
'I'm not surprised that she was with the crimson sword, as those two had always had a good friendship; if she is here, does it have anything to do with that man?' He wondered. It was no secret that Jessica came from the "Temple of power", one of the five great temples that existed in this world!
Unlike the Temple of Shadows and the Temple of Darkness, which are always in conflict with the Temple of Light, the temple of power was neutral and didn't get involved with any other outside sources. They didn't even get involved with the "Temple of Peace," One of the friendlier temples out there.
"Just what was their purpose in coming here?" Wyatt placed his hand beneath his chin as he pondered to himself. The man from the temple of shadows also frowned. He had only seen Jessica once at a gathering many years ago.
He remembered she once competed in a mock battle with some youngsters from the temple of shadows and easily defeated them. Her physical prowess was not worth mentioning; her beasts were powerful enough to easily threaten a major nation.
'No matter what, I have to figure out their reasons for coming here; perhaps I should also inform the elders about this.' He thought.
".... I will go and find out their purpose for coming here." He said as his body disappeared into the shadows. Wyatt sat back down in his seat with a frown.
"Sigh, that brat should still be somewhere in this city. I want you to find him and bring him to me." Wyatt said coldly.
"Understood." A feminine voice sounded from the window.
Standing on top of the roof of the building was a beautiful woman with her long black hair tied into a long ponytail.
The woman wore clothing akin to that of a ninja as her lower mouth was completely covered, and only her upper face was exposed. Soon, the woman's body became a blur as she disappeared from the roof.
...
Meanwhile, in another location of the city of Zaril...
Kenta was slowly walking among a group of people as he made his way back to the inn, where he was staying. Since news of what had happened within the clothes store had yet to spread to every corner of the city, he could walk peacefully without worrying.
Though he knew this was only temporary, and it wouldn't be long before he would have to leave this city. 'Sigh, how did things end up like this, even though I just wanted to go shopping?' He thought as he sighed inwardly.
He knew he would be making enemies sooner or later, but he didn't expect things to escalate this soon. He wasn't even close to being able to accomplish his goals yet, so many unexpected troubles keep happening one after another.
As Kenta was walking through the city and observing the many different stalls in the area, his eyes landed on a particular stall that sold many different kinds of masks, and his blue ocean eyes sparkled as the corner of his lips lifted slightly.
Since it wouldn't be long before trouble came knocking at his door, a mask would be perfect in his current situation. With an unbothered gait, Kenta slowly approached the stall, which had many different kinds of masks on display.
Kenta's blue eyes quickly scanned over the many different types of masks available on display; one had the face of a demon, while some had the face of a monster, while others had their faces half cut, which left the bottom half of the face exposed.
There were wide varieties to choose from, and Kenta didn't know which would be the best option. An old man with brown skin, who seemed to be in his late forties, sitting behind the stall, noticed Kenta's interest in the mask and smiled.
"Young man, if you are having trouble deciding on which to choose, would you like me to help you?" The old man asked, his body was slightly thin and weak, and he wore a blanket over his head. Kenta observed the man for a few seconds before nodding.
"Yes, can you help me?" He asked.
The man quickly got to his feet and took up a mask that resembled a clown, maybe because of Kenta's appearance, which looked like that of a child in his early teens. The old man decided to choose the ones kids would be attracted to.
However, "I'm not a child." Kenta responded coldly. He naturally understood the man before him had mistaken him for a regular youngster. "... I see... in that case, how about this one?" The old man pointed towards the ones that exposed the bottom parts of the face. Kenta observed them for some time before sighing.
"I don't want any of my face to show. Don't you have any masks that aren't overly flashy and fully cover the entire face?" He questioned.
The old man began to ponder as he placed his hand beneath his chin and went into deep thought.
Seeing that Kenta sighed, before he furrowed his brow, he could feel a weak magical energy somewhere near the stall. He quickly scanned over the mask to locate the weak magical energy he was sensing.
However, it didn't take him too long to find what he was searching for. Behind the old man was a black bag with many different masks inside.
"... Can you tell me what's inside that bag?" Kenta asked curtly as he pointed towards the black bag. The old man looked in the direction he was pointing and frowned.
"That bag is filled with the mask that is currently unavailable." The old man explained.
"Why isn't it available?" He questioned. The old man's brow twitched slightly as he heard Kenta's blunt words.
"Those are masks that I was lucky enough to get my hands on. Unfortunately, I am unwilling to part with those." The old man responded bluntly.
"... Is that so?" Kenta raised an eyebrow in interest.
'This magical energy is strange. Is it coming from one of those masks?' Kenta narrowed his blue eyes as he glanced at the bag in the distance.
"Can you at least show me?" Kenta inquired.
"... I already said I won't part with any of those masks, why do you want to see them?" The old man asked, perplexed. However, a small smile bloomed on Kenta's face as he replied casually.
"I'm just curious... if you are afraid, I might try to steal it. I can assure you I won't. We are also surrounded by many people, so I won't do anything funny." Kenta said with an innocent smile on his face. The old man observed Kenta's facial expression to see whether he was lying or not, but chose to believe him.
The man took out a mask from the black bag that was placed on the ground before showing it to Kenta.
The mask was white and had two holes on the face for the eyes; a red and blue pattern could be seen all over the mask. Kenta narrowed his eyes as he felt magical energy within the mask.
"Mind if I hold it? I promise I won't steal it." Kenta said, with a serious expression.
The old man handed the mask over to Kenta for him to get a better look. Indeed, when he held it in his hands, he could feel a certain amount of magical energy coming from the mask.
"... This, is this mask special?" Kenta inquired as he observed the mask. Seeing his reaction, the old man chuckled pleasantly as he replied.
"Yes, it was said that the mask was once owned by a powerful master of illusion magic in the past. Whoever wears the mask would be able to hide their real face from anyone who isn't able to see through illusions." The old man explained, 'Hide their face.' Hearing that, Kenta's eyes lit up.
'I have to get this Mask no matter what!' He secretly thought.