It was a truly beautiful place, blanketed in flowers. Anyone allergic to pollen would hate this city—but for Viktor, it was home.
The city's large, varied buildings were draped in vines, trees, bushes, and every kind of floral growth, much like Luminaris, the capital city of Nemoria—only Lightflower was covered with flowers throughout the entire terrain.
A city this beautiful should have been full of people, yet there was no one in sight—neither on the streets nor in the buildings.
The reason was obvious.
In the distance, on the far horizon, stretched a massive chain of mountains stretching from the ground to the clouds, and across the floral landscape—a mountain range. That range encircled the entire asteroid, now known as the Calem Mountains.
"That's twice in a month, huh..."
He frowned seriously.
Building a city so close to the asteroid's mountain range had never been a good idea. Although it wasn't a good idea to build an entire civilization on a continent plagued by Dimensional Portals and Abominations, not to mention everything that came with that danger.
Lightflower was built mainly for its beautiful views and abundant natural energy. It was a good tourist spot for those coming from other countries or continents. It also generated good money, but from time to time, things happened that were always considered ridiculous.
Take, for example, the outbreak of Situational Portals. It happened randomly throughout the city. Portals opened. Abominations poured out, raiding the city and slaughtering its people. Unlike normal Dimensional Portals, these appeared in large numbers throughout the area, including the nearby mountains.
In most cases, Aberrations of the same type came out of the Portals.
"Sometimes it's easy. Sometimes it's difficult. What do you think, Maia? Do you think dangerous Aberrations will come out this time?"
The dragon shook its head.
"True. Portals are always unpredictable. Let's go meet up with the others!"
The dragon roared alongside its human friend.
They flew over the city until they reached the foothills of one of the nearest mountains. A large number of Empaths above Fourth Level had gathered there. They all had very different appearances, from their clothes to the shape of their bodies.
Near a small tent where there were boxes with many supplies, stood a woman with very long black hair, tied back in a large braid that threatened to scrape the ground. In fact, her hair was decorated to look like a black snake.
Her clothes were something else. She wore a long dark purple dress adorned with chains at the waist and neck. Her attire, coupled with her unfriendly expression, gave her the air of a witch.
Next to her stood a man with his arms crossed. He was like a walking mountain, his muscles massive and terrifying, but his gaze was gentle and kind. His bald head reflected the sunlight, and for some reason, he was shirtless, wearing only tight pants that didn't fit him well...
And his shoes? Where were they? God only knew.
After recognizing the people, Viktor leaned close to Maia's ear.
"Looks like everyone's here. Come on, friend."
He made Maia land in front of the Empaths. The wind from Maia's wings caused everyone's clothes to dance around their bodies for a moment. The muscular man had to hold down the tent so it wouldn't blow away.
"Hello!"
Viktor greeted them warmly, jumping down from Maia's back with a soft landing.
Many were taken aback when they saw him, but he smiled at them and waved.
His presence made others instinctively recoil.
"Who called that jerk?!" said the woman, rolling her dark eyes in disgust. Her expression was very stern. "Did Li Hu not respond to the call, so this jerk came instead?"
"It doesn't matter who comes. He's very strong. He'll help us a lot," said the muscular man calmly.
When Viktor approached, some people moved away from him, striking up conversations with others and doing everything they could to ignore the weirdo.
"Everyone is very lively today," said Viktor.
Of course, he knows why they are avoiding him—he's not stupid—but he doesn't care. he kept approaching them anyway, even knowing they despised him.
"Bella from Azure. Arthur from Mystic. The Blood Crystal Faction is here to help," Viktor said as he gave a thumbs up.
"A faction with barely five members," Bella muttered.
"Hi, Viktor. It's good to have you back."
The muscular man, Arthur, shook Viktor's hand. His grip was stronger than he expected. When he let go of the mountain man's hand, he felt pain as if the bones in his poor little hand had been crushed.
He laughed heartily, and Arthur played along, but at that moment a loud explosion echoed behind the mountains. Suddenly, a large cloud of dust rose and spread through the trees.
"Have they already started the raid?" Viktor asked, keeping his eyes on the rising smoke.
Bella looked annoyed at only addressing Viktor, but Arthur was kinder and said:
"Yes. We were tasked with waiting for you, but Bella didn't know. Now that you're here..."
"It's time to smash the skulls of a few Aberrations, isn't it?"
"That's right."
"I see. That's great."
"Of course."
Arthur and Viktor looked at each other silently for a brief moment. Suddenly, they shook hands, flexing their muscles and smiling cheerfully.
They were two madmen who fought the Aberrations with all their might, after all. They loved the battlefield and the glory after each victory.
On the other hand, Bella rolled her eyes and walked away toward the mountains.
***
Nova finished explaining what had happened. He came home very tired last night. He didn't remember that Miyu was in bed because, like her, he was still a little drunk from the drinks in the Valley of Lux. He fell asleep without feeling anyone next to him and finally woke up, only to be hit with the power of a Category 7.
"I'm not lying. That's really what happened. You should have the notification on your communicator too, Miyu. You could even ask Kayn and Abby. They were there."
It was surprising how calm he looked as he spoke. That was always one of his best and worst qualities. Perhaps that relaxation made Miyu let her guard down, and her ears, thinking that this inquisition was just a misunderstanding.
She looked to another woman for support. Adelaide had crossed her arms as she analyzed Nova's speech.
She really had no reason not to believe her son. If there's one thing Nova isn't very good at, it's lying. Besides, there was an alibi and witnesses. The evidence was on the accused's side.
"The decision is yours, Miyu. Nova explained everything he had to explain."
"You're right, but," she frowned, looking at Nova analytically.
'What? Are you trying to read my mind? Go ahead! I have nothing to hide!'
He realized something.
'No. Wait... I do have things to hide! Don't do it!'
A clear conscience fears nothing. He even felt the uncontrollable urge to shout: "I'm a decent man!" But that would be very uncharacteristic of him. Shouting also hurts the vocal cords.
In the end, Miyu resigned herself. She sighed, dropping her hands on the table and nodding.
"The defendant is innocent," Adelaide said as she clapped her hands.
"I always was," added Nova with a slight, confident smile.
Miyu shook her head in exasperation, for Nova was a scoundrel.
"Shut up. If you try to be clever, I won't forgive you."
"Okay. I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
Nova had lived to tell the tale—another day earned.