"Who exactly are you?"
Serenity was playing with her long white hair , arms crossed together.
"...I am surprised if you expected an answer for this question...tell me you did not?"
He asked as if none of her words reached his ears.
"Why do you own this magic?"
"Straight to the point I see...go on…what else?"
Ash asked in a strict tone; his deep voice made his words sharp as a knife, as if it was a threat.
"Why does the butterfly on you resemble that of a 'mariposa'?... That doesn't make sense.... Even if you have elf blood, your bloodline is impossible to produce healing magic, yet I can feel it from you, and it's the rare bloodline mariposa on top of that. Can you even buy this shit yourself?"
Her eyes were glowing in red; the golden butterfly started glowing in her eyes, resonating with her feelings. Her serious expression made it clear there is no way this magic is simply that of a mariposa.
Serenity said full of confidence her voice itself carried an intense killing intent ,"That's because it's not a mariposa...a mariposa is a useless and far weaker creatures; don't compare my babies with those weaklings."
Ash felt intimidated by her look, but his face was as good as a stone; nothing appeared on him saying,
"Are you going to tell me or not?"
"Does it matter to you?"
"Pardon?!"
Serenity repeated herself again as she walked slowly towards him.
"Does it matter to you what power I have or... how exactly I got it?...will it affect our relationship as it is right now ?"
Ash didn't hesitate for a second before answering her, "Not in the slightest...just satisfying my curiosity."
"Curiosity, huh...Then I won't tell...Isn't it more exciting that way?"
She closed at him, holding his chin between her thumb and index finger. She lowered it, making his eyes look directly at her shining red ones, she lowered her voice.
"Try your best to pry open my secrets, pretty boy…"
Although his eyes were covered, they could tell both of them were looking at the soul of the other.
"That's more like it," he said.
The excitement Ash felt at the moment made a smile unconsciously draw on his face, but it was the kind that gives you chills. He grabbed her by the waist, removing what little space was left between them.
"Looking forward to our journey together, mysterious noble lady."
Ash let go of her waist and backed two steps with his left hand behind his back; he made a slight bow. Using his other hand, he lightly held her palm. He gave her a kiss with an intense look in his eyes. Amused, Serenity blushed while a mischievous smile slowly took over her face.
"You son of a bitch...you're crazy, man."
"Right back at you…" He let go of her hand, straightened his back, and dropped his act. "Enough with the chit-chat. Why did you bring me here?...I believe you didn't show me what your little kids can do for nothing."
Serenity leaned on the walls, pointing with her fan at the corner of the alley.
"Being all serious, huh... but you're right, first look over there."
When he looked, there was obviously nothing; the alley was empty, not a soul, not to mention it's a dead end.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Just wait a few seconds."
"Nothing but a dead end. What exactly are you trying to—"
Serenity cut him mid-talk, placing her index finger over his mouth, closing her eyes she started counting.
"...3...2...1...now see for yourself."
"?!".
Ash leaned on the wall to see what is supposedly going to happen; a group of people wearing masks and black clothing walked right into the wall.
"There is actually a portal in there....."
"More than just a portal, a small world opened at that spot, and it seems someone has taken control over it, turning it into a black market."
"And here I was thinking the herbal shop was shocking enough; turns out it's just the tip of the iceberg..."
Serenity gave him a know-it-all smile. "Although the herbal market can be called a national treasure, at least it has some legitimacy to it, but this place is the complete opposite; no one other than a few know about it, and all of them are wanted figures, so you know what it means, right?"
'This is a lot for just one day, and...where the hell did that information come from?' He felt suspicious, saying, "This actually sucks.... Did your eye tell you all that?"
"Language"
"Are you for real now?!" ,he was seriously annoyed the person talking right now is the same shameless and rude person, althought they met less than a day but he saw nothing but an out of line words and actions.
"no comment"
Feeling helpless, he dropped the subject and went directly to the main topic.
"So what exactly are we doing here?...You don't want to crash the place, do you?" Although he said it as a joke, the look on her face said otherwise.
"Shit!...you actually plan to crash the place."
"You think..."
Serenity adjusted her posture, standing straight, and she started talking seriously.
"You see, inside that small world there is something I want, so I am getting in there, whether you tag along or not."
He shook his head in helplessness, but somehow he expected it.
"I see no point in asking any further, so... what are the rules this time? I bet going in there is not going to be as simple as shopping."
"It's actually quite simple, but... we need to find a way to change your looks and give you a new mask, or when entering, someone might recognize you. By then it will be game over... Do you happen to have anything to change, or should I just do it myself?"
He raised his hands, making a sign for no.
"I can do it myself; no need to trouble you."
He crouched on the ground, placing his palm less than one centimeter away from it ,he placed a magical circle . The next second, a black aura started coming from between his fingers, covering his whole body.
He adjusted himself to stand up, and the black aura disappeared, revealing his new look: wearing a black suit with a red tie and white gloves, long black hair, and a black mask covering his face completely.
Serenity started mocking how they looked. "We look like we're going to a masquerade..."
Ash looked at what he was wearing, then looked at her again.
"Agreed."
She slammed her head, thinking, 'Only this single word? This is not right ...but on closer look he is still good-looking even with his face covered.'
Serenity opened her fan over her face and then closed it, for a golden butterfly mask to appear over her face.
Ash came out of their hiding spot and started walking towards the wall he knockedon the wall a few times.
-knock...knock-
"All i see is a normal wall ,if not for seeing people enter i would've thought it was a hallucination"
He thought ,'If it was that easy to detect i would have detected it long ago ...regis people are truly something else hiding so many secrets under everyone's nose is nothing but a ticking bomb'
"Don't be harsh on yourself even i couldn't feel it let along others"
Serenity extended her hand for him to hold; he seemed confused and asked,
"You can see right ... why the hell do you need my hand?"
She gave him a heavy punch on his shoulder. "I can...but I refrain from using this skill; it might cause some serious unnecessary trouble..."
"What kind of trouble can a mariposa cause?"
"I told you it's not...you see, my dear, those babies of mine love nothing but eating their own mother, so they are better off sleeping."
'Eating you say...such an interesting choice of words' Ash thought while rubbed his shoulder to ease the pain. "I see...by the way, can you refrain from using force next time...it actually hurts."
"Tch, whatever..." Her mood shifted back to serious as she started explaining, "The reason I am telling you to hold my hands is because the only way to enter that place is by owning a special dimensional key, and I happen to have it , so hurry up and hold my hand so we can get in."
Ash asked her suspiciously, "How did you get it? Did you steal it?"
"No!...I didn't...Why the hell do you think that?...Am I the type to steal?"
"Say this to someone who didn't witness you plunder the whole herbal shop a few minutes ago."
"I earned it with my ability."
"Tell this to the shop's owner; I bet he is crying his eyes out."
"He made the rules, so he bears the consequences."
"..." He was speechless, but she was actually right. '...Why do I feel like the more time I spend with her, the more I am putting my ethics and principles at risk?'
"Still, how did you get the key?"
"I found it with someone i plan on killing if we crossed paths once more....end of this topic. Are we heading inside or not?"
"Fine, fine, let's go."
A faint smile drew on his face. after hearing her words ,'holding a grudge ,huh...looks like this rebellious cat is not as innocent as she appears to be'
He took her hands, and walked towards the wall holding each other tightly. As the wall felt the key in her pocket, it's magic was activated instantly, and they got teleported to another dimension, where it was a completely different sight from what they expected.
"The portal dropped them on a huge bridge surrounded by water from all directions, but what was most surprising was the sky above, an ominous cloudy sky centered with a bright red moon on top of a tall building, the only building there.
Seeing other people appear out of nowhere beside them, they realized this bridge seemed to be where everyone who comes in has to pass through first.
Serenity let go of Ash's hand, moving forward. Ash followed her without a sound.
'This place gives me a familiar feeling... just like the demon realm....What is this place for real?' Trapped in his own thoughts, he didn't realize they reached the end of the bridge. As Serenity grabbed his hand tightly, she snapped him back.
"We've arrived. …"
"..." Ash looked at the huge wall in front of him. There was a huge sword engraved in the middle. He looked around, and all the people around them disappeared; only the two of them were left.
Without a sound, Serenity dragged him by hand. Using her fan, she tapped the edge of the sword a few times; a keyhole appeared out of nowhere. She removed her earring that looked like a sword with a black dragon on top of it and then placed it in the hole.
The gem representing the dragon eye turned red in color, and the wall split open. The next second it felt like entering the night market, so lively and completely different from the silent road they just walked before reaching here—a total opposite.
Serenity said seriously, "Hold my hands tightly; if you're lost, then forget about leaving here alive."
Ash removed her grip and placed her hand over his arm.
"Much better, let's go."
Serenity was confused but still kept going anyway, "O...okay?!"
Serenity kept walking nonstop, passing one vendor after another till she finally reached where she wanted, in front of a shop selling gambling stones.
"Is this where you wanted to go?" Ash asked Serenity, turning at her as if saying, "Are you kidding me?" and she felt it passing through her head.
"Stop giving me that creepy look."
"You!..Stop fooling around...what the hell are we doing here of all places?"
"We are here to buy, obviously."
"Buy what?!...These are gambling stones. It's illegal; if caught, you will be punished. Think it over."
"Are you seriously talking about being punished in here?...really?"
The way Serenity looked at him made him question himself: "Stop right there. Here, maybe yes, but once outside, if caught, it's not a good ending ,even your family won't protect you."
"I get what you're saying... Don't worry, I am not here for mana stones anyway; what I want is something else."
Even though she didn't say it, his worries were reasonable: 'Those stones were either stolen or acquired by some illegal means without a purchase record. If I were to be caught, it's a dead end for me.'
Serenity walked in with Ash, passing through one table after another till she reached one that was full of junk. After staring at them for a while, a smile was unconsciously drawn on her face.
'Found it!' She turned around and raised her voice, "Where is the person in here?"
A moody old man with a thick beard and messy hair, wearing some torn-out cloth, came from under the rocks.
"I am here. What the hell do you want, little girl?"
"Isn't it obvious I want to buy?"
The old man talked with indifference while playing with his ears. "Huh...stop fooling around, kid. Who in his right mind would want to buy this useless junk!?"
"You sure know your stuff, old man."
A man with a huge build and golden teeth covered in all kinds of jewelry approached Serenity from the side.
"Young lady, are you sure you want to buy from him?...If you want, I have even better ones, and I can even give you some extra service if you want."
He tried to touch her face, but she used her fan to slowly push him away and turned to the old man. "Old man, are you selling or not?"
"Of course selling...not every day can you stumble upon such crazy people…so how much do you need?"
"Are you both ignoring me?"
The old man shouted in anger and tried to throw a bunch on her, but Ash held his hand midair and broke it on the spot.
"You shouldn't have done that."
-crack-
"Aaaaaaaaah...my arm...you bastard, why the hell did you do this, huh?..."
"If you know it hurts, why do it in the first place?"
Ash kicked his leg, making him fall to the ground, then grabbed his face in one hand, and he stomped on his other. hand,
"If you ever act impulsive again, the next time a broken hand will be the least you fear, got it?"
His intimidating presence made him shut his mouth from fear of what might happen if his stubbornness kept kicking in.
"I...I am sorry."
She pushed him away, removing his white gloves, and started wiping his hand like a madman. In his mind, he was so disgusted from touching that trash he couldn't help but wonder,
'Why do you need to make a mistake to learn you weren't supposed to? Can't people just not do them?'
Serenity noticed the change in him and placed her hands over his, separating them from each other, removing the old gloves and placing a new one over his hands.
"Don't worry yourself about such dirty people...it's not worth it."
Seeing her understand his mind like that, his heart skipped a beat, and his harsh voice from just now disappeared, and with his mind cleared up, he gently answered her.
"You're right…it's not worth my anger."
"Good," Serenity smiled at him, then turned to the old man. "Old man, wrap the ones I tell you about."
"On it"
Serenity pointed at about 20 stones for the man. After he wrapped them for her, Serenity asked him,
"Hey, old man…tell me, where did you find those stones?"
"Ha...why would I tell you? It's my work secrets , how can i tell you...no, I won't tell."
Serenity slammed a pile of cash on the table.
"Double the money."
"Deal"
The old man actually took the mony into his pocket,
"Eh!?...that was fast.." ash said looking at the shameless man in front of him, 'what work secrets are this easy to get,he obviously wanted money '