"Why are you all so shocked? Is he a king or something?" Kichu asked, looking around.
"Uhmm... Hey, soldier, give them the bounty," Sam said.
The soldier took the boss away and returned with a large box.
"Here," he said, handing it to Kichu.
Kichu's eyes widened, a rich smile spreading across his lips.
"Kid, how did you do it? He had a tricky Sin. That bastard gave us a real headache," Hal asked, eyeing them curiously.
Kichu grinned and explained what had happened. As he spoke, Hal and Sam exchanged glances before bursting into laughter.
"I didn't know you had an Elementia," Hal said, turning to Roco.
"You never asked," Roco replied casually.
"Haha, fair enough. Now, be cautious. Don't try anything reckless, okay?" Hal warned.
"Yeah, yeah. We better head out—we've got a lot of work to do," Kichu said, already walking away.
As they watched them leave, Hal smirked. "What interesting kids, huh?"
"Yeah," Sam replied, his expression more serious. "One of them has an Elementia. That worries me. He's got a long road ahead of him."
"Says the Elementia wielder himself," Hal chuckled, slapping Sam's shoulder. "Come on, let's go deal with that paper bastard."
Meanwhile, Kichu and Roco were making their way to the restaurant.
"Get the spaceship ready. We need to leave this planet as soon as possible," Kichu said.
When they arrived, Roco pushed open the door and called out, "Hey, old man! Come out!"
Mr. Goat emerged from the back. "Did you bring the money?" he asked.
Kichu opened the box.
"Good." Mr. Goat nodded and motioned for a waiter to count the money.
"Take what you need and give me my watch," Kichu said, arms crossed.
After a moment, the waiter finished counting. "This is about 150,000 Xe. The bill was 100,000, so here's your excess money."
Mr. Goat handed over the remaining amount.
"50,000 Xe, huh..." Roco muttered, eyeing the counter. "Hey, old man, how much for that revolver?"
"Sorry, kid. Not for sale," Mr. Goat replied firmly.
"Name a price. Take this as an advance," Roco insisted, placing the money on the counter.
"Nope. I can't put a price on it. If you're done, leave," Mr. Goat said, already turning away.
Roco clenched his fists. "Hey, stop—!"
But before he could follow, Kichu grabbed his arm.
"What are you doing? We got the money and the spaceship—that's enough. You can buy another revolver with this," Kichu reasoned.
"You don't understand," Roco muttered before storming outside.
Kichu sighed. "Hah... what's up with this guy?" He shook his head and followed.
As soon as Kichu stepped outside, a small figure appeared before him. A young woman, masked, with a black flower tucked into her hair.
"Hey, Kichu…" she said sweetly.
Kichu frowned. "Do I know you?"
"Oh, it's really you!" She clapped her hands together. "When my master spoke of you, I dreamt about you every single day."
"Uh... I think you've got the wrong guy," Kichu said, uneasy.
"No, no. You're Kichu, right? The one from Earth?"
Kichu's eyes narrowed. "...Yeah. I am. Who are you?"
"Oh, forgive my late introduction." She took a small bow, then straightened. "I'm Elizabeth York. The Rook of the Flower in the Dark cult."
At the same time, Hal and Sam were interrogating Papers.
"So, spit out only the truth, so-called boss of the Flower in the Dark cult," Sam said, his eyes narrowing.
Papers smirked. "Haha... Ask anything. I'm happy to answer."
"I didn't expect the boss of the cult to be someone as weak as you. So the cult is all talk, huh?" Hal scoffed.
"Yeah... Haha..." Papers laughed harder.
"Why are you laughing? Is it because your beloved cult is gone now?" Sam asked coldly.
"Gone? Haha... It seems you've misunderstood something," Papers replied, grinning.
"What? Spit it out already. Where are your men?" Hal demanded.
Papers leaned forward slightly, his voice dripping with amusement. "The Flower in the Dark cult has always been a problem for you AUL. One of your captains died at our hands. And yet, you still think I'm the boss? Haha..."
Sam and Hal exchanged confused glances.
"Oh... so you're not the boss," Hal said, cracking his knuckles. "Good. Then give me a name. I'll kill him." With that, he landed a hard punch to Papers' face.
Papers coughed but kept his grin. "Beating me is useless. I don't have any information for you. But I can tell you one thing—today, this planet will know darkness. We have surprises for everyone... even you, Captain. Haha... And Hal, you've got the biggest surprise of them all." His laughter echoed through the room.
Just then, a soldier burst into the room.
"Captain, there are multiple cult members in the city! Our captains are dealing with them as we speak!" the soldier reported.
"How many of our captains are on the planet right now?" Hal asked, his tone serious.
"Six, sir. The others already left," the soldier replied.
"And how many of the enemy?" Hal asked, his concern deepening.
"Eleven," the soldier said, his voice laced with fear.
Meanwhile, Kichu was still talking to the masked girl.
"Oh, Kichu... I'm melting in your presence," she giggled. "If I take you to my master, he will give me anything."
Kichu frowned. "Who is your master, anyway?"
"Oh... you want to meet him? Come with me. I'll take you to him," she said, a strange smile playing on her lips.
"I have no interest in that. The only reason you're still talking is because you're a girl. Get lost. We need to leave this planet," Kichu said, turning away.
She tilted her head. "Oh... my dear Kichu, that's not possible. I'm really sorry. My master told me you'd be arrogant. You don't realize your value. The sword on your back proves it."
Kichu stiffened.
"Ah, what the fuck is all this? Master, cult... If you say another word, I'm gonna blow your fucking head off," Roco growled, his patience running thin.
Elizabeth turned her masked face to him. "Who said you could speak?"
In an instant, the ground beneath Roco exploded in a violent blast.
Screams filled the air as panicked civilians fled the restaurant.
"Roco—!" Kichu's eyes widened in shock. "You bitch!" He turned to her, fury in his gaze.
"Oh... I'm sorry, dear. I didn't mean to scare you," Elizabeth said sweetly. "I just don't like interruptions."
The smoke cleared, revealing Roco lying on the ground, severely injured.
"Shit! Roco! Wake up!" Kichu knelt beside him, shaking him, but Roco didn't respond.
"Kichu... come with me," Elizabeth said. "You have no one in this universe. With your power, you can do anything. And with you, our cult will be perfect. Join us. Let's spread darkness across the universe."
Kichu clenched his fists. "For your information, the universe is already dark. I have no reason to join your cult. Now fuck off," he snapped, lifting Roco into his arms.
Elizabeth pouted. "You're mean, dear. I—ah, I can't talk over all this noise. What is this, a fucking restaurant?" She raised a hand, and a massive fireball shot toward the building.
But something stopped it.
The fireball was suddenly repelled, veering off-course.
Elizabeth's eyes widened in shock. "What? No one has ever repelled my attack before. Who the fuck are you?! Show yourself!"
A few moments later, Mr. Goat stepped out of the restaurant, his expression unreadable.
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. "State your name. Who are you?"
"It's not relevant," Mr. Goat said flatly. "But I can't let you destroy my only wealth."
She scoffed. "I don't care who the fuck you are."
With a flick of her wrists, two massive rocket launchers materialized in her hands.
"Be ready to die."
She fired.
Mr. Goat simply raised his arms, and the rockets changed direction, spiraling harmlessly away.
"Tch... Then dodge this," she muttered, dashing toward him with a knife.
She swung—only to find herself stuck to the ground by an invisible force.
"What—?! What is this... invisible force?" she gasped, struggling to move.
"It's no use," Mr. Goat said. "I have a Class Two Sin—Force Control. I can manipulate any force."
He pulled out a golden revolver and aimed it at her head.
Elizabeth smirked. "Force... Haha... Thank you for the information."
She suddenly pulled a weapon out of thin air and fired.
The invisible force shattered.
Mr. Goat's eyes widened. He fired his revolver, but she dodged and shot back with a shotgun. A stray bullet grazed his arm, drawing blood.
Mr. Goat gritted his teeth and lunged forward.
Kichu was still trying to wake Roco, but his pulse was dropping fast.
"Fuck... what do I do?"
Desperate, Kichu grabbed his sword.
"If you can do anything, now's the time. I know you can absorb and transfer soul energy. I don't know if that can heal him... but please, do something!"
He placed the sword over Roco and pressed his hands against it.
"Take as much energy from me as you need!"
A soft glow emanated from the sword.
Roco's eyes snapped open.
"What the fuck? Where am I?" he muttered.
Kichu let out a relieved sigh. "Thank god."
Roco sat up, looking around. "Wait... where's that girl?" He turned and spotted Mr. Goat fighting her. "What the hell is that old man doing?!"
"He's fighting her, but I don't think he can beat her alone," Kichu said, gripping his sword.
"Then let's kick her ass," Roco said, standing up.
Kichu's eyes widened. "Roco—you're still wounded!"
Roco blinked and looked down at himself. His body was covered in injuries... but he felt nothing.
"What the fuck? Since when did I have these wounds? I don't feel any pain. More than that... I feel like I got a power-up."
Kichu frowned. "So the sword only transferred energy but didn't heal you? Stupid sword..."
"Well, whatever," Roco said, cracking his knuckles. "Are you in?"
Kichu smirked. "Fuck yeah, I'm in."
The two of them charged into battle.
A Few Minutes Earlier, on the Other Side of the City
"Those little fuckers... They're all afraid. Fucking cowards." Second Division Captain Pop Firstborn muttered as he walked through the city.
Suddenly, two masked men in cloaks adorned with a flower symbol appeared in front of him.
"Who the fuck are you?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
"We are the Rook and Pawn of the Flower in the Dark cult. We have come to spread the darkness," one of them declared.
"Flower in the Dark cult? Don't fuck with me," Pop scoffed and turned away.
Before he could take another step, the Rook lunged forward, slashing him with sharp claws.
"We're not joking, Pop Firstborn. We came with a mission—the mission to annihilate all of you," the Rook hissed.
"If that's your goal, you should've brought more people. Hah… what a drag." Pop sighed and swung the massive hammer off his back.
"Oh… the Second Division Captain. One of the Big Four sorcery hammer wielder… You're interesting." The Rook smirked as his body twisted and shifted. His skin hardened, claws extended, and a thick tail sprouted from his back. His mouth stretched wide, revealing rows of sharp teeth.
"Oh… shapeshifting. I've always wanted to see that," Pop mused, lowering his hammer.
"Pick up your weapon. Let me taste your strike," the Rook taunted.
"Oh, I can't use a sorcery hammer to kill a worm. You can taste my fist instead."
In an instant, Pop's fist connected with the Rook's face, giving him no chance to dodge.
The Rook's two front teeth went flying. He clutched his mouth and screamed.
"You bastard! Duck, fire at him!" he shouted at the Pawn.
The Pawn pulled out a bow and fired. Pop caught the arrow midair, snapped it in half, and smirked.
The Pawn fired again—multiple arrows this time—but Pop caught every single one before landing a devastating punch to his gut.
"I'm impressed by your speed, kid. You'd make a fine maid at my house." Pop wiped his fist with a cloth.
The Rook and Pawn charged at him together, their faces twisted in rage.
But it didn't matter. He mercilessly knocked them both down with his fists.
"Hah… You were the ones who were supposed to annihilate us? If you can't even scratch me, you'll never stand a chance against him." Pop sighed and sat down.
At that moment, an announcement echoed through the city.
"To every captain in the city. We are dealing with a terrorist attack. We need every captain at headquarters now. If you're already engaged in battle, call for backup. The situation is now under control. We have successfully evacuated every citizen. You know what that means."
The transmission cut off.
Pop grinned. "You son of a bitch, Sam. Now I can finally use my hammer in peace."
He picked up his weapon.
"I'm more of a crusher than him, you know."
With one devastating swing, he smashed them into the ground, leaving nothing but shattered remains.
Meanwhile, at Headquarters…
"I think they heard my announcement," Sam said to Hal.
"Yeah, they did," Hal replied.
"Wait… where's Herlic?" Sam suddenly asked.
"Oh fuck… Where did that kid go?" Hal muttered before running out of headquarters.
Sam followed close behind as they sprinted into the city, calling out for Herlic.
Suddenly, Hal felt a familiar presence behind him.
He turned around—but no one was there.
Then, out of nowhere, a figure stepped in front of him.
White hair. Blue eyes. A face too familiar to be mistaken. He was handsome—eerily so.
Hal's breath hitched. His body froze in shock.
"No… This can't be possible," Sam murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.
Hal couldn't move.
His breathing became heavy.
His chest tightened.
"No… no… you? No…"
The figure smiled.
"Hey, Dad. What's up?" The man spoke disrupting the moment.
-To Be Continued...