Nero's arms tightened around Aurelia. He was lost in the moment.
*Thump!*
His heart was pounding.
So much so that he can't even hear his own breathing.
For the first time in his life, his brain stopped thinking about the snarky commentary he would usually make, and just let this moment last a little longer.
Of course, since he's very much near her, he could smell her scent.
And tell you what?
She smelled damn amazing.
Not like perfume or shampoo or any of that artificial junk girls tended to wear.
It was like… heaven itself.
Clean, otherworldly air fresh straight from the source.
The aroma of fresh flowers wafts from the paradise itself.
Something pure and heavenly that reminded him of areas where sunlight first kissed the earth.
'Is this what heaven smells like?'
His mind naturally thought so.
'Because if so, I'm converting to whatever religion gets me there quicker.'
No joke, the pain from the fresh wounds against that damned over-armored earthworm was slowly fading away.
He was fairly certain he was being a creep at this moment, but honestly?
He doesn't give a damn about it.
This was his waifu.
His angel.
His holy walking WMD, who could probably bench press a skyscraper.
If leaning in to sniff her hair when she wasn't looking was the worst he managed today, he'd consider it a success.
But then,
*Thump.*
A surprise reciprocation.
He could feel her arms slowly and hesitantly encircle his back.
… The hug was reciprocated.
He could feel the awkwardness behind it.
The angel wasn't sure exactly what she was supposed to do.
But then her hold went tighter… even just a little bit.
Nero's soul almost screamed and ascended into heaven.
His eyes actually welled up with tears.
'S-She's… she's hugging me back…'
The shock ran into him like a truckload of things he had no idea he could feel.
Like, for real.
A whole-ass truck.
With emotional damage stickers and all.
He didn't expect that she would react this way.
Not especially when he's drenched with monster goop.
And that almost made him cry.
This perfect, beautiful, divine angel of destruction was embracing him… though a bit awkward.
He could sense her trembling arms.
Her stiff breathing.
The heat from her ironically cold face.
She was nervous.
Shy.
And most definitely awkward.
… Had to say that three times.
But in some way, that made the moment rarer than discovering a mythic drop on your first time killing a boss.
***
"..."
At the same time, Aurelia's brain was going through what could only be labeled as a total system failure.
Her normal combat situational awareness was proven useless by the action of the man in front of her.
His arms were around her shoulders.
And his fast heartbeat, she could clearly feel across her chest.
Although she stayed silent, her cheeks were slightly flushed.
With her fragmented memories, she could faintly remember being hugged before…
But it was just quick glimpses of… someone.
Others who look like her, probably.
Her comrades.
But those moments felt unclear and distant, like trying to remember a dream.
While this one felt closer… and more intimate.
Intimate in a way that caused her heart to feel like butterflies.
All her training had prepared her for war, tactics, and combat.
But none of it made her prepared for the overwhelming feelings inside her chest.
It made her heart flutter with emotions she hadn't felt before.
"..."
The moment lasted. It was perfect and delicate.
Unfortunately, the peanut gallery was close to them.
"Well, well, well, look who finally stood up for himself." Kaito gave a knowing look.
"About time, we were thinking you were going to wimp out forever."
Haru chimed in, but he genuinely felt happy for the relationship progress of the divine blender and the comedian.
"Aww, t-they're adorable together!"
Yui had her hands clasped against her face as if she were witnessing the last episode of some romantic drama.
'Oh my god! Oh my god! This is just like when Prince Aldric finally confessed to Lady Seraphina in "Moonlight's Embrace"!' The girl was almost buzzing with excitement.
Lisa stared at the scene with wide eyes; Her red cheeks were getting deeper.
All of the romance books she had read secretly while lying in bed with a flashlight beneath the covers were running through her mind.
'The handsome warrior and the exotic lovely lady! So romantic!'
Her mind wandered to the wild side of imagination.
The peanut gallery's side commentaries immediately snapped Nero and Aurelia's lovey-dovey moment.
'Tch.'
Nero mentally clicked his tongue.
He regretfully had to let go.
Although his hands rested on Aurelia's shoulders for a moment longer than absolutely required.
Bro was attempting to savor every moment…
But that didn't last long, as that thought only flashed for a moment before he coughed,
"Sorry… I just… thanks. For the sword and everything."
Aurelia nodded, trying her best to get her default face back.
Though if you looked closely, a very slight red flush still colored her cheeks which hadn't existed previously.
"You are… welcome, Lord Nero," she answered, the stiffness in her tone barely concealing her emotions.
As Nero turned to make his way towards Robert and Lisa Chen…
"..."
Aurelia just stood there.
Her golden eyes unconsciously followed Nero's movement.
Her mind was in a mess.
*Thump!*
*Thump!*
There was that thing again.
That odd, fluttering feeling in her chest.
She'd experienced it slightly in the course of their training sessions when he'd executed a particularly good technique by the end days of their basic training.
At first, she had just regarded that as pride at her Lord's advancement.
But now…
There was something different.
She could tell.
But she can't fully tell exactly what this feeling in her chest is.
'...'
Her hand slowly touched her chest.
The beating was still there.
The flush in her cheeks grew to a soft rose hue that could've made any man in a five-mile radius immediately suffer an instant nosebleed.
Her usually stern and icy golden eyes sparkled with emotion that could charm anyone.
For a moment, she felt less like an experienced warrior and more like a girl finding her first true love.
It was really mindblowing.
It was an instance of weakness.
But too bad, Nero and the others failed to see that.
Nero would've banged his head in regret if he knew he missed it.
***
While others failed to witness such a side of Aurelia, Nero's interview with the Chen family intrigued everyone.
"So you're from a survivor camp?"
Nero was asking questions, with his tone returning to its normal laid-back tone.
Robert nodded, still visibly shaken by their recent experience with the Ravager.
"About 30 people are barricaded in an abandoned warehouse complex roughly two miles outside of here. We've been able to secure it fairly well, though… we're always short on supplies."
"Me and dad were on a supply run, we had five people in our crew to start."
Lisa continued to look at Nero with eyes as if looking at a hero.
"What happened to the other three?" Yui asked softly, although her face implied she already knew the response.
"... W-We discovered a decent supply depot around six blocks from here. It was an old corner shop that hadn't been fully pillaged. We were filling our packs when a group of goblins ambushed us."
Robert's expression grew ominous.
"Goblins we could manage," Lisa went on, "Our team leader, Jin, she's excellent as our vanguard. Sarah has fire magic, Marcus has some physical enhancing capability… We were all doing okay."
"... Until that thing arrived," Robert concluded with a grim nod, pointing toward the now lifeless Ravager.
"The second we were spotted, it burst out of the ground. Jin called for everyone to fall back. It was a procedure we talked about in case we encountered a stronger enemy."
Lisa's voice scaled down.
"Lisa and I got confused in the panic. By the time we figured out which way to go, that creature was right above us. We tried to go back and catch up with the others…"
Robert looked torn.
"... But more monsters had arrived, we could hear a fight going on, but we couldn't get close enough to intervene."
Lisa explained, finishing her story.
The team listened to their situation in silence.
"So your team is still out there, maybe dealing with other monsters?"
Haru broke the silence first.
"... We hope so. Marcus is a hard man to kill, Sarah's magic isn't to be underestimated… and Jin is resourceful. But…"
Robert replied. He didn't have to continue.
Everyone was aware that hope and reality were different things, no one could hope to combine.
Just as Nero was about to respond, he suddenly heard Aurelia's voice in his mind.
'Lord Nero, three people are coming from the northwest. They are approaching at a considerable speed.'
It was the summon's link.
His head jerked upward, he immediately went on high alert.
"Everyone, someone's coming."
He alerted others.
The group stiffened, reaching for weapons.
But Robert and Lisa's faces immediately brightened.
"That's our team!" Lisa cried out, turning to gaze in the direction Nero was looking.
Sure enough, three figures appeared around a building's corner.
They were human-shaped even from a distance.
"Jin! Sarah! Marcus!" Robert shouted as he flailed his arms.
The three figures changed their directions, coming directly towards their location.
By the time they arrived, Nero was able to get a clear image of their appearances.
The first woman looks rough but still looks pretty with her short brown hair and worn-out tactical clothing. She sprinted with vigor, while scanning her surroundings carefully.
She gives off the senior vibes, to be honest.
The second woman looks younger.
Her black hair was tied in a ponytail style.
She looks determined but also worried.
Nero noticed burn marks on her sleeves, confirming she was the fire mage Lisa was talking about.
The third was a big, muscular guy who appeared more suited to being in a gym than being a home guy.
'Must be Marcus.'
He was lagging behind, and even from afar,
"..."
There was something in the way he moved that irritated Nero.
"Robert! Lisa!" the first woman cried out as they came near.
"Thank god you're alive!"
Just as she started talking, a big man interrupted with a loud voice.
"See, Sarah? I told you they'll be fine. We wasted precious time looking for these two when we could have been securing the area, to be honest."
"Marcus, are you serious? These are our teammates, and yet you're still complaining about taking thirty minutes to check if they were okay?"
The younger woman, Sarah, quickly responded with disbelief.
Robert and Lisa were completely shocked by the words of Marcus.
It was clear he didn't want to look for them in the first place.
"I said I was sorry."
That's what he said, but it was clear he didn't really mean that.
And then he added,
"But we have to look at the bigger picture. The camp needs us to—"
"The camp needs us to not leave people behind, that's not what we do."
But the first woman broke him off sternly.
She then turned to Robert and Lisa, her face immediately relaxing.
"I'm sorry we're late. Are you two all right? We heard some sort of ruckus and…"
Her voice faded away as she finally spotted Nero's group standing in the background.
More precisely, her eyes fell upon Aurelia's unmistakable wings and godly aura.
"Holy crap…"
Sarah looked surprised, her mouth slightly open.
"I-Is that…?"
"A true angel! She and Mister rescued us from that huge worm monster!" Lisa exclaimed.
The three newcomers all stared over at the carcass of the Burrowing Ravager, still with a decapitated head like a butchered pig.
"You killed a B-tier monster?" the first woman asked with an amazed expression.
"Actually… Nero there brought it down pretty much on his own. Ms. Aurelia didn't even need to do anything... nor did we need to anyway."
Kaito had a prideful look on his face as if he were the one who killed the monster.
"Wow…"
The woman gave a nod of approval as she reached out her hand towards Nero.
"I'm Jina Martinez… Jin, for short, I'm the team leader on this little rescue mission… This is Sarah Kim, our mage, and Marcus Halner, our heavy hitter and tank."
Nero shook her hand and noticed her strong grip and her palm full of calluses.
It definitely showed she had been wielding something rough to earn that kind of hand.
"Nero Walker. These are my teammates: Kaito, Haru, Yui, and..."
He gestured at Aurelia, who looked professional during the introductions.
"This is Aurelia," he said simply. "They're my teammates."
Aurelia nodded but didn't speak.
Jin looked like she wanted to ask questions about Aurelia's unique appearance.
But then,
*Step…*
Marcus stepped forward unexpectedly.
He stared at Aurelia so intensely that it could make anyone uncomfortable.
"What a beauty…"
His eyes moved all over Aurelia's body… focusing on her perfect curves and clear face that her combat armor couldn't fully hide.
His gaze looks intense.
As if he saw something to be crazy about.
An over-appreciation for something.
But it wasn't the kind of appreciation you feel for someone's skill or appearance.
This was something raw and possessive that made Nero clench his jaw without thinking.
It's like the man is a predator who's looking at his prey.
"Well, well," Marcus said, his voice sounds disgusting and predatory no matter who hears it.
"What do we have here?"
He started walking towards Aurelia while ignoring everyone else around him.
"I don't think I've ever seen a beauty quite like you before, sweetheart. You know, our camp could always use someone with your… talents."
The way he used the word "talents" made it plain he wasn't referring to her fighting skills.
Aurelia's golden eyes narrowed.
But she stayed unresponsive, while her face was impassive.
"What do you say?" Marcus went on, seemingly unaware of the danger he was inviting.
"Besides, why keep company with a group that makes a beauty like you do dirty work like sword fighting? … Why don't you return with us, instead? We could always use an extra set of hands…"
A disgusting smile was stuck on this man's face.
"... Especially for such a pretty flower as you. It's a waste if you cannot retain your looks, y'know?"
And then,
"Here, I'll assist you."
Just as his twisted hand was about to touch Aurelia's chest.
"...!!!"
A hand, thinner than his, clutched his arm.
The hold was tighter than he expected, which made Marcus squint his eyes and looked at the thin man next to him.
And there,
"..."
A look that sent chills to all those around him was on Nero's face.
His eyes flattened and became cold.
His lips formed a stiff line.
Add the monster blood to his appearance; Nero looks completely menacing.
The temperature around him dropped several degrees as he glared back at Marcus.
The usually laid-back and joking appearance of Nero was nowhere to be found.
It's an expression no one had ever seen him make before.
Yui literally took half a step back, her entire body shaking in terror.
Kaito and Haru shared shocked looks.
Both were seeing that the normally laid-back and joking dude had become something truly dangerous.
The street fell dead silent.
Even the sounds of the devastated city in the distance seemed to dissipate.
And Marcus, whose forehead was filled with a frown, heard Nero's coldly calm voice.
"Hey buddy,"
A voice that said,
"Can you fuck off?"
Marcus had just crossed a boundary that was never supposed to be crossed.
***
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