CH 484: HANGED MAN

[France, Paris; 7th District,]

[Monday 9th December, 2030.]

The full moon was hanging high in the sky, giving adim light as the clouds partially hid it.

The temperature was negative 4 degrees Celsius, forcing even the boldest woman walking on the street to wear something to protect themselves. Even then, some women defying all expectations could be seen walking in mini-skirts and stockings, thereby proving that some people could indeed die for fashion.

Though the period of the black friday had already more or less passed, some stores were still open and displayed attractive discounts and as this district was one of the most known in Paris, it was not hard to see foreigners of all nationality walking around, and watching the Seine or the Eiffel Tower.

Christmas was not far away and some people, those smart enough to avoid the Christmas rush were already making sure to have their list covered, be it for their family, friends, or lovers.

It was a peaceful sight. Certainly a beautiful sight. But for some…It was also a rather loathsome sight.

Sitting on the balcony of the Eiffel Tower in a restaurant, holding a glass filled with beautiful sanguine-like wine, a man was watching the world come and go with a gentle smile on his face and an indifferent expression dancing in his eyes.

He was handsome. Very much so even.

Long golden hair attached with a ponytail giving him a frail appearance, shining amber eyes that were closer to gold, giving him a mysterious air were his most striking features.

Outside of this, even at first glance, it was easy to discern that he was a very tall man, he had a lean somewhat muscular appearance and he was wearing a chick three-piece suit.

Even sitting in silence like this, he attracted the eyes of many women who were wondering just what such a handsome man was doing here alone.

Some of them even gathered the courage to go talk to him, but for some reason, their legs would not move. It was as if even approaching him was a blasphemy that could not be permitted.

They could see on the back of his clothes a large white cross and the same went for the ring on his fingers.

This made them realize that this was most likely a priest and many women tsked in disappointment while some others seemed even more eager to rise to the challenge. As disgusting as it may seem, the fetishing of men and women of faith was nothing new. After all, few seemed to be more exhilarating than managing to seduce someone who had sworn chastity.

The one who was sitting could feel all of this and while his face stayed impassive, inside of him, his mood was slowly souring.

He hated this. He hated this society.

The people who hide behind a mask while living through their deepest desire, the people who have no respect and only think of themselves, selfish people, disgusting people, basking in the feeling of peace given to them by the sacrifice of other people.

He hated this country. The country that had sacrificed the sole light of life for nothing other than petty greed.

Hated the people of this country and had been doing so for nearly 600 years or more precisely…599 years.

599 long years during which he did nothing but hold his anger, his despair, his tears, and his disappointment.

At the same time…He loved them. Loved the people, loved the country that his beloved fought blood and tears to save and protect.

'How complicated.'

This was the woes of humanity. Eternal wells filled endless never ending contradiction;

"Baron Montmorency-Lava, I apologize for my tardiness. I had to discuss with a few elders."

Looking up, from his seat without surprise and betraying none of the dark feelings inside of him, the Baron stood up and shook hands with the young man who arrived.

He was a young man with rather healthy tanned skin and of Italian descent,

"Do not worry. As the representative of Her Highness, it's normal for you to be busy Mister Alberto."

The young man who was clearly in his twenties did not seem out of his depth even as he accepted the compliment. his age aside, he was in no way someone without the experience necessary.

Alberto Aldini.

One of the heirs of a powerful Italian Mafia and the pet of one of the vampire princesses.

For many warlocks and vampires alike, this young man was just a lucky one. Many people could not understand why a Damphir was favored by a princess as the Vampire were known for their extreme, sometimes mortals, views when it came to bloodlines.

A Damphir was nothing but a slave for them, an inferior species that was not even worth observing.

The Baron though had no such care. He was and would always be a human. Even if he sold his soul to the devil, his humanity was there and he had no wishes nor time to waste on some useless feeling of superiority because of something as stupid as bloodline.

Such feelings had long since vanished from him as he focused on his sole and absolute goal.

As the two sat together, Alberto did not turn around too much and went to the heart of the matter.

"Firstly, baron I would like the extend the gratitude of the Princess. She appreciated the bottle of wine you sent her and accepted your invitation. I have come in advance but she should land tomorrow."

"Oh? What may have caused the delay?"

The Baron was pretty surprised. He knew that the princess did not particularly like him. He thought she would come as soon as possible to end this discussion and go back to sleep or something of the like.

"Well…"

Alberto gave a bitter smile and shook his head,not knowing how to explain this without making his liege sound dumb.

In the end, he coughed slightly and explained, "Her Highness had not woken up in centuries and has become enamored with the technology of this time. As such she decided to take the plane by herself."

"I…I see."

An awkward air started to flow between the two men while Alberto continued to curse inwardly.

Truly, this was truly embarassing.

CH 485: KARMA POINTS

[Los Angeles; 9th December 2030]

In the wee of the night, Adam was sitting quietly on the table in Medusa's laboratory. His expression was impassive.

"So, how was your date with the wolf girl?"

"Hum. It was pretty good all things considered. Though we had to cut short as there are still many small problems from either side that needed to be taken care of."

"True. As for the girl that was possessed by your brother, you promised you would let me observe her body, right?"

"As long as you don't hurt her then do as you wish."

"Beautiful. I couldn't have asked for more. You might not understand but the body where a powerful entity descended irreversibly changes to better suit said body. It's something akin to a power-up that is nearly instantaneous and the more they sympathize and synchronize with the individual the more their body evolves to suit it. Until the day they can even be said to be true avatars."

"I guess this doesn't always end well."

"Avatars are akin to a key for gods and the like to enter earth with limited power but still high enough that few can dare to mess with them. As long as they don't have the intention or do not act in a way that will harm earth then the Scale of Equilibrium will not affect them too much."

She shrugged, "Most gods treat their avatars as spare bodies but they aren't treated too badly. After all, avatars are hard to raise and an avatar who is actively fighting is a pain to deal with. Better fatten them up and make them happy to receive their god's will."

However, there were also cases of gods who decided to simply wipe out the will of the body and ask the followers to take care of the body for them. In this way, gods were not much different from devils. It was all a matter of perspective.

Some evil gods could make even devils seem like righteous people.

"So, how is your eye doing?"

"Pretty fine? Honestly, I don't know what to say. At least the seal is helping."

"Yes. The problem is that your power evolved above what you should normally be able to bear. Your soul is not strong enough to accept and understand all the information that is being sent to your brain."

Adam had the same opinion. He was not foreign to such a thing. In the past, the growth of his World had always been ahead of that of his self. As such, using the World always came with some inner restrictions to avoid overwhelming himself.

After reaching the Rook level in terms of soul he had slowly caught up but now this thing was coming.

[Eye of Truth:

Rank Ex

Description: The eye of truth is slowly revealing its true might.

Effect 1: Through a connection to the vast sea of data that is the Eye of Truth, you can observe basic information on all beings.

Effect 2: All Observation type skills are assimilated and strengthened by the Eye of

Truth.

Effect 3: It's now possible for you to observe the basic laws of the world and innately understand them at a faster rate.

Effect 4: You can now observe the Past of an object and the person you observe. Beware, the deeper in the past you go the deeper the strain.

Effect 5: You are now able to faintly observe the threads of Karma.

Effect 6: Yet to be unlocked]

The skilled eye of Truth had changed tremendously. Outside of the first two effects that had always existed, he had obtained 4 new powers. This was something that he greatly appreciated. At the same time, Adam was now able to understand a little of what was going on.

Before the evolution of his eyes, he could only observe the Present. Now he was able to observe the past. Later on, he would most likely be able to observe the future of individuals just by observing them.

'This could be pretty funny.'

Eve had already told him that he was someone whose future was hard to observe. If such a person was able to observe the future, it would feel like cheating.

But this wasn't all. He looked at the other reward he obtained. Though calling it a reward was ambiguous at most.

[You who have broken the thread of Fate. You are now an Adversary.]

[Alias: Satan

Effect: #?*#% ##]

[Warning: The effect of the alias cannot be reflected but be careful, you should never let anyone know the existence of this skill. No matter how much you believe in them. The very act of pronouncing it would bring a level of Karma you might not be able to bear.]

[Reward for an unprecedented Achievement: 1 free pass to the Gold Library.]

[This is a reward off the chart and that will most likely be hard to obtain again. The Gold Library is the library reserved for the Gods or those who can match them. Whether you enter now or wait…The choice is yours.]

Adam stopped at this. Even Eve had told him that it would be very hard for her to bear the price for another Silver ticket any time soon. Much less a Gold one. It seemed like she had used this occasion to bestow it to him at a meager cost.

'The Gold Library, huh.'

If Adam had to be honest, his interest in the library had dwindled a bit. He barely mastered any of his existing skills. So it seemed silly to try to get more. If at least those skills in the library were instant powerups it would be different but a learning process was necessary.

Sighing, Adam focused on the last things.

[Epic Ordeal: White Knight

Description: An entity with the potential to destroy the world may appear if nothing is done as soon as possible. Protect the world, and kill the entity to avoid all possible dangers.

Reward: +20000 Karma points.

Additional Quest: Kill the body and mind to bring an end to all possible Danger

Reward: +10000 karma points]

[Epic Ordeal: Black Knight.

Description: An entity with the potential to destroy the world may appear if nothing is done as soon as possible. Discard the primary mind and tame the beast. Make him your Herald and show your power to the world.

Reward: +45000 Karma points]

[Epic Ordeal: Grey Knight.

Description: An entity with the potential to destroy the world may appear if nothing is done as soon as possible. Do the impossible and make the entity coexist with the primary mind.

Reward: +30000 Karma points]

[Against all odds you have chosen the path of a Grey Knight and succeeded in your endeavor. The World cheers at the new path that is open in front of it.]

[Reward: +30000 Karma points]

[Current Total: 80000 Karma points.]

Adam breathed in deeply.

What had once seemed like an impossible task was now so close. Just a little more and he would be able to reach the 100K necessary for him to open the Heart Chakra. More than his soul, his own body had always been an even weaker weak point.

But he was starting to wonder if increasing the strength of his body was conductive.

He would become harder to kill but becoming harder to kill would also mean he would have a harder time evolving.

Then again…Wouldn't dying in a stronger body mean better effects?

Adam sighed. Truly, it seemed like experimenting through death was something inevitable for him.

CH 486: CHANGE OF PLAN

Once Adam was finished with his inspection, he looked at Medusa quietly, "In a few hours, I will board the plane heading for Paris, anything you want to tell me?"

Medusa wiped away the blood that was present on her instrument. Now that she fully understood what Adam was and could talk with him without having to erase her own memories in a constant cycle to prevent the gods of her Pantheon from knowing everything, there were new options for her— avenues she could tread and a variety of options she could take and do some of her own studies.

One of the studies, of course, was the effect of Adam's blood on living organisms and simultaneously organisms of a supernatural nature. She had received enough blood from him to start the testing phase on a few lab rats as soon as possible. There were enough test subjects for her to yield sufficient results from this avenue.

Outside of the tests and the results they wield, there were many more small advantages to this endeavor. Medusa had a feeling that Adam's blood hid a profound secret within it, the secret of the Primoginetors. Well, this wasn't something so improbable that some feelings were necessary but she knew that his blood held the key to many of the mysteries she desired to unveil.

Perhaps…

"From what I have seen of your blood. You are still human. Just… different than your average human. Better, in a way, I guess?"

It was hard for her to accurately put the words together. However, she had observed and analyzed the blood of many Earthly Supernatural beings over the centuries of her existence and she knew that even though they looked like humans – their blood was, in fact, extremely close to that of a human – they were ultimately not human at the very core.

"Adam… Do you think you can perhaps break the limit of your body? The limit of humanity?"

Adam clearly did not tell her everything about his capabilities or his other secrets. He still had many mysteries hidden deep and this stance was perfectly normal of him. Similar to him, she had also been keeping secrets— secrets she was not willing to share with just anyone. At the end of the day, they had only known each other for less than two months. It would be quite weird if they could already share everything about themselves to each other.

"Sigh~ Professor, seems like you are avoiding my question."

"Well… Heh. There is not much I can say. I do not know what will happen if you go to Paris. What I do know though, is that if you don't… Paris will most likely be wiped out of the map."

She shrugged her shoulders, holding her small knife like she was caressing a gentle and fragile baby cat,

"The Fate of Paris is vague, too vague, but I see a big calamity incoming. Sadly, I can not see deeper into Fate so you will have to try things by yourself and see to it."

"What if me going is what caused the calamity?"

Medusa shrugged again, "That is also a possibility. This is why we warned the hunters going to Paris that something devastating may happen on this mission. But for many, since the Blind Saint has chosen to keep her quiet, this is just a diversion tactic from America to reap the artifacts without any other country intervening on this trip."

"The Blind Saint is the Zodiac of Virgo, right?"

"Yes. A powerful seer in her own right. Honestly, without my innate powers, I am most likely weaker than her when it comes to divination."

"And she found nothing?"

"Strange, right?"

A low laugh escaped her lips. At the end of the day, people underestimated how vicious or rather callous a Seer could be.

They might think that a seer would try to stop all bad things from happening in the world and in a way they were right.

Seers who first obtained their gift to glance at Fate would do everything to change things for the better. At least this would be the case until they went and became traumatized by their first self-realized prophecy and they would become quiet and subdued in their approach.

By then they would start observing futures and analyzing which could be changed and how to change them, while giving up on those that would be unable or too steep a price to pay to change and discard them. No one could even complain as seers are not omniscient themselves.

"I have another bad news for you. Well, this isn't bad news in a way. It depends on how you view things."

"What happened this time?"

"Well, this is about your mission. Your team members have changed somewhat."

"Huh?"

"Heh… You will have to see for yourself. I do not want to spoil the fun."

Adam was starting to feel uneasy about the change. It seemed like some serious weird shit was about to happen and there was not much he could do about it.

"Will it negatively affect the mission?"

"No. Well. Not exactly? Everything will depend on how you lead them."

"I can already feel a certain level of headache coming my way."

"Heh… It will be fun. At least for me."

It went without saying that she was a being that was infinitely in love with chaos.

In fact, in this situation, the truly unlucky one was not Adam. She smirked as she thought of a name on the new list.

'Poor girl. I hope she doesn't have a cardiac arrest because of what will happen.'

Thinking so, Medusa laughed once again.

CH 487: UNLUCKY LITTLE WITCH

[December 10th, 8 am]

Unexpectedly, the next day arrived much faster than usual for practically everyone else. The City of Los Angeles, at this time should have been full of sound and cars running around as people rushed to their jobs.

But, while the activities were certainly still elevated, there was no denying that a large number was missing as more and more people started leaving the city or were hiding in their houses.

In front of the large office, in the middle of Los Angeles, a car with no discerning logo, indicating its brand, skidded along the road before stopping there.

Inside the black-tinted car was a blonde young girl. She still had an air of innocence of someone who had just recently entered society, however, her eyes held a firm and steady will that was difficult to find in girls her age. She had her own set of stories.

"So this is the place, huh?"

"My lady, are you sure about this? It's still not too late to refuse. I believe the Matriarch will not be angry."

In the driver seat, driving the car to the office venue, was an old man with greying hair slicked back. He was looking at the girl in the back with worry and apprehension in his eyes and face, clearly, whatever was happening here, he did not have good thoughts about it.

"I know. Mother would never sell me out or force me to do something I do not want to. But… I have, no, need to do this. Our family is already in decline and as a lady who enjoyed all the advantages of being the child of the matriarch, I now need to return even if a little bit."

"Oh my… My lady has grown up so well. I am in tears."

The girl coughed in embarrassment as she could see the old man indeed crying a river in the front seat like a grandpa sending his grandson to war. It was overly emotional as always.

"Ahem~ Anyway, I have been trained in seduction techniques all my life. Surely, it won't be too hard, right?"

"Of course. Any young man who can not see the beauty of my lady should either be uninterested in women or a monk of extraordinary capabilities."

"Hehe, thanks for the confidence boost."

Thinking so… Luvia Osborn, a student of Bridget Bishop, stepped out of the car and entered the office while her driver waved at her with tears still running like streams from his wrinkled eyes.

She was confident.

She believed in her skill and beauty.

After all, how many people could boast of being Silver rank at only 19 years old in age? Even if the one she had to meet was a Gold rank at 21, it wasn't like it was impossible for her to do the same.

'I can definitely do it!'

Reaching the door where the team was stationed to wait for their leader, she psyched herself up and finally pushed open the door…

Bang~!

Only to immediately close it again behind her, fear and disbelief evident on her face.

'What the hell!?'

She hesitated a little, wondering if she somehow had illusions and simply saw wrong and carefully, very carefully, opened the door once more to peek inside… Only to be met with a sad reality.

"Hi! Are you perhaps lost?"

Luvia hiccuped a little and bowed immediately,

"Good Morning, Saint Elysia!"

"Fufu~ You don't need to be tense."

Even though the witches and church had eased their relationship over the years, Luvia still couldn't help but feel suffocated, having to meet the literal Saintess. Why wouldn't she be? It was a bonafide Saitess, not a cheap copy. At the very least, Saints and Saintesses were known to be between Gold to Executor rank thanks to their abilities of being able to summon angels in their bodies.

The worst? Elysia was only 18 years old.

But of course, this was not enough for Luvia to feel so much fear,

"H-Hello.."

She looked at the second girl sitting alone, exuding the aura of a sheathed blade ready to draw and taste blood at a moment's notice.

'The Lightning Blade! Why is she here as well?'

Luvia was beside herself at the moment. The Lightning Blade, a member of the Kaminari family. A young prodigy who obtained the famed title despite being from the branch family.

She was officially a Gold rank Hunter but could reach the Executor rank by utilizing her Divine Weapon.

Moreover… She was also only 18 years old this year.

In the end, Luvia let her eyes trail on the last person sitting in the room.

A woman with a voluptuous body and purple hair wearing a fox mask over her face,

"Oh? A witch?"

This time she quite literally paled from head to toe.

The Ghost Spider. Not much was known about her in the outside world and she had vanished from the frontline long ago for reasons unknown.

But of course, Luvia knew of her true identity.

Tsubasa Hanekawa. From the Hanekawa family and also a half-

disciple of the famed Heavenly Court.

An Executor in the flesh… and she was only 20 years old, just a year older than her.

Luvia had never felt so much pressure in the entirety of her life. Nor did she think it was possible for her to feel anything near this experience in the future.

'What in the name of Lucifer is going on in this place?'

She was seriously starting to consider the possibility of simply fleeing this space as fast as her body would allow her. All the girls here were far more powerful than her, more talented than her, and the family behind them could crush hers without any problem whatsoever. It would be a massacre without a doubt.

She even wondered if she entered the wrong room and joined some VIP meeting of these esteemed individuals by chance.

Fear took hold of her psyche and she started to take a few steps back only to bump into something or rather someone. Slowly looking up, she could see a young man with a handsome face and a black eyepatch on his right, smiling at her gently.

"Good morning."

Tears came in her eyes… Perhaps… Perhaps not everyone was weird in this mission, right?

Surely, the young man was not some freak, right?

'Please…'

Begging to all devils, gods, devas, and angels out there… Luvia prayed for this man to at least be normal.

'Please, God, Buddha, Confucius, anyone! Please don't let some weird things happen in this mission.'

Sadly for Luvia, no matter how sincere her prayers were, the reality would once again teach her that she should have simply listened to her instincts and left this place from the very start.

CH 488: TENSION

After a rather hard day and another sleepless night, Adam had been hoping to have more free time to enjoy his life. Sadly the mission he had accepted earlier was biting him in the ass and he was forced to think about what to do now.

Thankfully, his mental faculties were as high as ever and he could operate even without sleeping.

'I wonder what surprise Medusa was talking about.'

In moments like this, Adam had to restrict his power to stop him from seeing things he did not want to see yet. After all, the funny thing about surprise was being surprised.

It would be counterproductive to enter while knowing everything already. This made him understand a little more why characters in stories gifted with power related to knowledge generally regretted having it.

Sometimes Knowing too much took the fun out of life.

It was with this idea that Adam nonchalantly opened the door of the office where the meeting had to take place before immediately realizing that knowing was generally better than not knowing at all.

'Damn…'

Unlike Luvia he did not immediately close the door in fright at the view but he was truly one finger at closing it. But instead of leaving and fleeing the place, he took a deep breath and calmed down.

"Damn…"

His opinion still leaked from his mouth.

Three girls who were all at the top tiers young powerhouse of the current Generation if Adam was not counted of course.

Makoto Kaminari.

Saintess Lisia and finally

Tsubasa Hanekawa.

His eyes trailed over each of them. Young women of his age with great prowess and talent from all other the world.

But now they were all here in the same room.

Finally, he lowered his head and looked down at the young woman he had bumped into a few moments ago,

"Good morning."

He gave a polite salutation while wondering who the hell that girl was.

[Name: Luvia Osborn

Alias:

Age: 18

Race: Human

Affiliation: Academy of Magic

Overall Rating: B]

'Ah… Only Silver?'

How long had it been since he saw someone his age with a rating of B or lower? Speaking of which, B was pretty high for her age, right?

'I guess she is pretty talented.'

It was just him who had become too used to even more shocking others, a B rank was the end of the way for them. A rank most hunters couldn't even reach even if they tried all their life, this proved that she was undoubtedly very talented and a proficient witch.

He was starting to realize what happened. The team he asked for initially had a few hunters, two priests, and a wizard. It seemed like things changed to come to this.

Stepping away from the witch, Adma started walking before finally reaching the other three,

"Saintess. I knew about Makoto and Tsubasa. May I ask why you are here?"

"To keep an eye on you."

It was such an abrupt response but with a whoosh, one could see Makoto's blade resting right under the neck of Elysia but the young saintess showed no fluster.

"Interesting I did not think that you three were so close. I guess at least there will be no ambiguity about orders."

Elysia nodded to herself even as a side was on her throat ready to pierce her and a scythe was around her neck, ready to take it away at any moment.

The two had responded even more swiftly than Adam had anticipated, and they were both quite wary of her.

This was normal, for long the church had been the enemy of many forces in the supernatural worlds. Japan had not been spared with Shintoism slowly becoming rarer in Japan and more tourist spot

"Heh. I do not believe I have heard well. Why would the church care to observe Adam?"

Tsubasa's killing intent flickered slightly in her eyes. She was not just threatening. Every way, no matter which position she was in, her relationship with the church could never be good. If this girl dared to even cause the slightest problem for Adam, she would kill her here and now.

A dead genius was no longer a genius and the Church would not go to war against the Heavenly Court for a dead saint.

"I am telling nothing but the truth. I apologize if it soured the start of our journey."

"Speak."

Makoto was much more direct in her words.

Meanwhile, Luvia was looking everywhere like the cat that was witnessing three giant lions face each other.

She did not know what was happening. She did not know why people were about to kill each other.

All she knew was that…She desperately wanted to go home.

Finally, just as the tension was about to escalate, the door once again opened to show a rather gaunt and tired middle age.

"Hello. I received a message that everyone was here now. I apologize for the lateness. Hum?"

Mark, his face tired, looked all around and noticed the tension in the air…The draws weapons were also a good indicator he had to admit.

In the end, he sighed and squeezed his eyes slightly,

"Please…The incoming mission is both very dangerous and very important. If you will not be able to work as a team. It would be better to desist now rather than cause more problems."

"Hi, Mark. I see that you are still alive."

Mark gave a wan smile at Adam's joke, "I am happy to see you too."

Adam chuckled, "Tsubasa, Makoto, sit down. I am sure Elysia meant nothing bad when she said that. Let's not make Mark's work harder than it already is."

Makoto immediately retreated and sat back in silence while Tsubasa squinted a little as she watched Elysia before making her Scyth vanish.

Witnessing all this, Mark sighed.

At least — They could start now.

CH 489: A HEIST?

Mark was having a headache, pain throbbing every inch of his forehead. Lately, everything felt overly complicated – be it jobs, tasks, or living life in general – and after spending so much time outside of work, he did not expect to find himself in such a disastrous situation the moment he returned.

It felt like he was quite literally stepping on a bomb waiting to explode any second now.

The two members of the Kaminari family, one the literal heir, the other bearing the title of Lightning Blade; which also made her a pseudo-heir in some aspects.

The Saintess of the Church.

The Heiress of the Hanekawa family.

And lastly, the direct student and apprentice of Bridget Bishop, the great witch and headmistress of the Academy.

The absolute weakest of them, Luvia, was already more than enough – be it in status or her inherent power – for him to feel a heavy pressure press on his shoulders from all directions, making him thoroughly wonder about the prospects of changing jobs and just living a life far away from everything.

The five of them together? This was no longer a mission but a suicide mission that had been pushed on him. And the first one to die in this mission, undoubtedly, would be none other than he himself.

'I need to go find my sister.'

Recently, his dear sister was seen making some weird movements that went beyond her normal behavior, leading Mark to have thoughts of her awakening herself or maybe learning about the supernatural side of the world in some way, shape, or form.

A matter that he wished to keep from her for a few more years at the very least, however, he fancied a guess that he should have seen it coming from miles away. It was an impossible endeavor from start to finish, and he should have been aware that he could not hide anything from his sharp little sister for long.

What was destined to happen would transpire no matter what, and now his sister was talking about going to England to meet some of their extended family members— a sign of a great omen in itself.

'Did that woman finally take interest in us?'

He hoped desperately that was not the case here. And again, he had a feeling that such hopes would lead to nothing but disappointment.

"Mark?"

"I apologize for my conduct," Mark answered, waking up from his short trance— a state that he had gone under due to the duress of the current scenario. He was more tired than he believed possible if he was making this kind of mistake at work. "Today, I wish to inform you about our upcoming mission."

Mark clapped his hands and a large screen manifested in front of the crowd. On the large screen, a picture of a statuette depicting a woman with two wings could be seen clearly. At first glance, it looked like a relatively normal statue of an angelic woman, however, the people present in the room had the knowledge of it being anything but normal.

"I am sure all of you know of our mission already but I will still do a short briefing to get everyone on the same page, for courtesy's sake, if you will." He pointed at the picture hovering on the bright screen. "This is our target. Nike. The goddess of victory. Despite her name, she is a relatively minor goddess more seen as a tag-along in the Greek Pantheon. She is known for having protected Zeus during his fight against Typhon with her shield and is primarily an emissary of Athena— the goddess of war and wisdom."

A new picture was shown as the slide moved and Mark continued his speech. The picture depicted this time around showed two young adults with relatively similar features. A man and a woman— twins in everything but gender.

"The Shadow Twin. The preliminary ranking is theorized to be Gold. The chances of them possessing a divine weapon are deemed to not be low so the final ranking we are estimating is Executioner for both of them. They are not known for their fighting prowess but even so, they are relatively difficult to deal with as they specialize in assassination, theft, and illusions." Mark chuckled as he spoke, eyeing Adam with a knowing smile on his tired face.

"We will leave them to you if it ever happens. There will be a nice bonus for catching or killing those two as they have been a constant thorn for the Association for the longest time. They, however, are not our main target for this mission."

A third image slid into view on the screen— this time it depicted the image of a lavish house that seemed to be situated in a very wealthy neighborhood. "Le Louvre des Ombres. Held by one of the big shots of the Supernatural criminal world in Europe. He calls himself… Moriarty, I suppose."

Adam tilted his head in wonder, "Moriarty… As in the villain in the Sherlock Holmes novels?"

Mark nodded his head. Adam was so strong now, that he had forgotten that the boy had only entered the Supernatural world in recent times. Really recent times.

"Be it Sherlock or Moriarty, they are both historical figures who truly exist in this world. Their stories are honestly more biographies that were carefully modified to make them more realistic to the mortal eyes."

"Oh…"

"The current person holding the mantle of Moriarty is thankfully not the mythological figure that is depicted in the legends. He is a descendant and a rather powerful one at that. As he was once designed to be the Director in Paris before most of his crimes were brought to light. He is the greatest dishonor to the Hunter Association branch in Paris."

"And he is still alive, I assume."

"Yes. Despite everything… He is still alive."

Adam grimaced, as they said, fear the man who grew old in a work where people die young. Adam would bet one of his lives that the Association didn't let the villainous man live just because of the goodness of their hearts. Either he was too dangerous and killing him was thus not worth it or he had some way to threaten everyone into inaction.

The second one seemed rather likely by the look of things here.

"Our goal is certainly not Moriarty either. Attacking him would cause us nothing but a headache and to be honest, most Hunter Associations surrounding the world decided to not meddle in his affairs and let only the Paris Association suffer for housing the dishonored villain. Moriarty is generally only active in Europe so it's their problem anyway."

"So, even associations have power and check balance, huh." Tsubasa sneered but Mark simply shrugged his shoulders in response, "Everywhere there are humans there will be such a situation. Even the Church is not exempt from this rule. Much less us poor humans."

They looked at Elysia but all she did was smile and chose to keep silent. Clearly, she had nothing to say and was not interested in trying to defend the church. Elysia knew for a matter of fact that perpetual darkness, similar to all of humanity, existed in the depths of the Church but she did not completely reject that form of darkness. She simply needed to clean those who had gone too far and had led themselves astray.

"Okay. Now that the situation is clear. Let me proceed. Our goal is to get the statuette by any means. Theft, assassination, money, negotiation. You name it. Our initial plan was to buy it at the auction in the traditional sense but…"

He looked at both Tsubasa and Adam awkwardly, "Let's just say the coffers of Los Angeles are getting thin in recent times and we need to allocate more resources on rebuilding the city and making sure fewer citizens choose to leave the city bounds in the coming future. We also plan to hire more independent hunters. All of this is causing funding problems and so we decided to enter France incognito and simply steal the thing before leaving."

"A heist? This might be interesting."

"Do you think so, dear? With our power set, I believe a heist would be pretty boring for you."

"Oh… True."

Slowly, Adam was learning how to open a teleportation portal and Tsubasa already had the ability to open one for herself. Furthermore, with his power of illusions, he could just walk in and steal the thing before leaving and no one would notice before it was too late.

Of course, for that, they first needed to know where the goods had been kept.

"This brings me to my last news. For the need to go incognito and because of money issues… We will take the planes. No private jet."

Adam initially wanted to say he could bring them here by flying himself but, remembering how far the distance between France and the USA was… he wisely chose to keep his mouth shut.

The trips promised to be interesting at the very least.

CH 490: THE SITUATION

Once Mark finished the light summary regarding the objectives and contents of their mission while sharing the orders they were assigned, he continued in a deeper tone,

"I am your handler but I am not the leader of this mission. After this, I will discuss with The Magician so we can plan our next course of action. I will also share the data and information all of you gave with him which should paint a better picture for him in this situation.

If you are uncomfortable with this or refuse to participate you can abstain right now. But since you heard the details of the mission you will be under confinement until the success or failure of the mission. Any questions?"

"I am good. I believe in Darling."

Elysia clasped her hands together, a bright smile shining on her face, "I have already had the honor of discussing and fighting alongside The Magician before. I believe in his skills."

The only one left was now Luvia who couldn't help but hiccup when all the attention was now trained on her. She didn't have much to hide. It wasn't as if her powers were particularly noteworthy in the first place, at least in this team of monsters.

She fought to keep a composed appearance and stop her voice from breaking and showing the anxiety she felt to everyone around her. She never thought that her first true mission would be robbing the Dark Lovre. She was starting to wonder if she should simply abstain from the mission. After all, it was important for one to know the limits of their capabilities.

"I..."

She opened her mouth wide, only to trail off. She hesitated, battling with herself for a short while, before simply opting to sigh. Her family was in a dire situation and they could not rely forever on the Principal's generosity. At the very least, Luvia did not think she was shameless enough to keep leeching off on her master.

"I am okay with the arrangements."

Mark nodded his head toward her. He could see that this girl would definitely become a problem in this mission. He didn't care about her circumstances. Not because he was heartless but because this mission wasn't a joke.

"Miss Luvia. We are not forcing you to participate in this mission. This will more or less be your first official mission. So I will be honest, even if it may seem unjust to you, if I notice for even a second that you will prove to be a liability, I will bench you out. The particular mission we are taking is very dangerous and the magic user who was supposed to come with us originally has been replaced by you."

He knew very well that this was not normal. Clearly, Luvia's family had, for whatever reason, pulled strings to make Luvia participate in this particular mission for some reason.

Luvia's face shone crimson, embarrassment and dread shoving every inch of her heart and mind, however, her voice was the perfect example of conviction as she replied in a higher-

pitched tone, "I will do it!"

"Good. I believe this is all. We are moving in three hours. The first two hours will be used for you to familiarize yourselves with each other and the last hour for me to discuss with your leader about the finer details and battle plan. The mission will officially start tomorrow. For now, I will go prepare our support in France and activate a few sleeping agents."

Nodding to everyone one last time, he walked off from the room, leaving three young and ravishing women and one charming man in the room.

Adam had been relatively silent all this time. He had been more than happy to simply observe in silence and judge the situation for himself.

"So, I will be direct as well. We were interrupted earlier but should I take your statement as the Church wishing to become enemies with me, right?"

Even though Adam was speaking quietly, the air became perpetually heavy with that one sentence alone. He was still smiling and simply looked unthreatening but Elysia had a feeling that a blade even sharper than the scythe and the sword that had been trained on her throat a few moments ago had been trained on her at this very moment.

[Be careful. I have a feeling that I would not be able to save you if he decided to attack]

Elysia was not surprised in the least, she already knew that Adam was a very dangerous individual who continuously grew stronger after each strife he faced and overcame. She had no doubt that unless she fused with her angel, the current she stronger after each strife he faced and overcame. She had no doubt that unless she fused with her angel, the current she could not hold a candle with the overpowered Adam.

"You are misunderstanding something."

She placed her hands against her chest, folding them in prayer as she spoke to mitigate their misunderstanding, "The observation is nothing but my own desire. I apologize if I have made thing seems unpleasant."

"If any situation could be resolved with a simple apology, the world would be in peace don't you think so?"

"True." She dipped her head ever so slightly in a small bow before speaking, "I have accurate knowledge from a trusted source that otherworldly beings will attack during our stay in France. I do not know when, I do not know how, nor do I know where. But I believe I have no need to explain how dangerous it is for such beings to appear in this world."

Adam knew she was speaking about the events in the Park, "Why is everyone so sure something will happen and no one is acting to circumvent it?"

Elysia shook her head, "They are acting. The surface of the ocean may look calm but the undercurrents are fierce. All the forces are moving, intercepting, and hindering each other. They may act as if nothing is wrong but in Paris, there are already many dead among the low-level hunters who entered France with the same goal as us."

CH 491: I AM NOT USELESS RIGHT?

She gave a side glance at Luvia when she spoke of the low-level hunters before focusing on Adam once more, continuing her words, "The church is also acting and sending a few of our best executioners on the city and I was supposed to go with them."

"But?"

She chuckled to herself, "In just little under six weeks' time, there have been so many Calamity class events in Los Angeles, and in all those… you have been a common denominator. I simply decided that I would have higher chances of being at the heart of the matter by being close to you."

Adam did not lose his composure when she heard her point that out, "You are lying or rather, you are hiding many details about the situation from us. I have been dealing with women of your kind lately and honestly, it's starting to push on my nerves a little" He shook his head, "I do not want to have the church as an enemy but if you do anything that I judge to be dangerous for me…"

Elysia simply blinked her eyes slowly and then realized that his finger was just a few inches away from her eyes, "I will make you live your worst nightmare, and heed me when I say this… I do not make empty threats."

Adam's temper had never been one to go to the extreme no matter what the situation may be. He liked to be in control, be it the situation, or his emotions and psyche. However, ever since the time he had let go of himself while facing Lycaon, he had come to realize the importance of not being in control all the time. It was tiring and wearing his feelings on his sleeves on some occasions was necessary for him to not lose his mind.

He also hated how everyone around him seemed to be able to see the future in one way or another and try to push him toward the direction they thought to be the best and aligned with their goals.

It was tiring. It was exhausting. It was disgusting.

He finally turned to Luvia, and the chill that had crept up his face melted ever so slightly, "I am sorry you have to see all of this. Your name is Luvia, right? Do you know Sae?"

Luvia nodded hurriedly, "She is the main student of Lady Bishop. We are friends… I think?"

She seemed a little hesitant at the end of her speech, as though she were not sure herself what her relationship with Adam's lover was like. In essence, her bond with Sae was strange as she saw her more as a rival than a friend, she also didn't want him to think she was using her relationship with Sae to get closer to him and in his good graces. No, there were fewer things she wanted more than to get as far away from him as possible at the moment.

She had the feeling that she would be erased from existence if she were to show any signs of getting closer to The Magician in front of these women. Especially, the Ghost Spider.

"Sae talked a bit about you. She said you have been a great friend to her. She may be a little handful but thanks for taking care of her in the Academy. She won't tell you but your company definitely helped her in that isolated place."

Luvia waved her hand in a hurry, "We just generally fight. Ah! I mean. We don't fight as in being enemies! But, like… We fight for training? Or something like that?"

Her flustered appearance was quite cute and Adam did not wish to embarrass the poor girl any further.

"I understand. So, as a witch, tell me what you can do?"

"I know many useful spells that could come in handy for us on this mission. For example, mass teleportation. Though I need some ingredients and exact coordinates. I can also open Gates between two positions as long as I leave my mark."

"Oh. You mean like the Gate the Dwarves us?"

"Exactly! While this falls in the domain of space manipulation, it's in fact a pretty simple spell albeit limited in actual combat."

Be it mass teleportation or the gate between two points, she needed to set everything beforehand to fuel the actual technique. Of course, powerful witches who specialized in space might be able to instantly teleport them but it just wasn't her style.

"That is already pretty good."

She beamed at the praise. She had always been trained for fighting but Luvia had secretly learned many miscellaneous spells and skills that she thought would prove useful if she had to survive alone.

It seemed like she had been right given the approval of The Magician.

"I can also track people and erase our tracks, create water, and conjure food if it's necessary. Oh, I also learned how to talk to animals so they can also be a source of information for us."

She gave a few of her most useful skills, mentioning nothing of combat whatsoever. She knew it would be foolish of her to do that in front of people who could probably level city blocks.

The more she spoke of her skills the more Adam was surprised and he realized that he had been underestimating the Silver ranked girl a bit too much. She might be weak when pitted against them but she was certainly versatile, knowledgeable in many survival techniques and useful utilizations, and she was still very young. Once she became older and more experienced… it would be a sight worth seeing, he'd wager.

Something though was bothering him, "Are you a druid or a witch?"

He asked jokingly but Luvia nodded her head a bit too intensely for his liking, "I have a high affinity with elemental spirits and can also beseech nature spirits without signing a contract with them."

This time, even the other three women were impressed by her capabilities.

Seeing their looks, Luvia puffed a little proudly, showing a bit of her true self that had been layered by panic, stress, and tension.

At least— she wasn't completely useless to them, right?

Adam continued his discussion with her but at the same time, he was having a second discussion with Mark, who had left ahead of them.

Why waste time when he was capable of multitasking?

CH 492: SHE DOESN'T

A few moments ago, after Mark left the room with the group of young powerhouse, he released a sigh of weariness.

The situation was more than a little complicated for him lately and this mission was not helping in his stress.

But there was nothing he could do. He needed to go to Europe and this mission was his greatest chance. In fact, with this case involving the Dark Liuvre, he had even more reason to go.

"I hope everything will be alright."

"Worried already?"

Mark jumped away and rolled before taking out a gun from his holster and pointing in the direction where the voice came.

"I guess being a supporter didn't dull your senses."

Mark shook his head when he heard the voice once again close to his ear despite taking a distance. He finally recognized the voice.

A little pissed he simply pushed back his gun in after making sure the safety was on.

"Magician, this is not funny."

"It depends on whose point of view."

Behind Mark, Stood Adam in his full magician attire and great flourish. "You already finished discussing?"

"No. I am simply talking to all of you at the same time."

"Ah…You know this is freaky, right?"

"Heh. I know." Adam shrugged, uncaring about this. He had seen far more creepy. Compared to them, he was simply cute. "Wanna go out and relax a little?"

Mark hesitated a little before nodding, "Sure. Let's climb. The roof should be open."

"Ohh.. I like the discussion by the roof. All we lack is some good whiskey and a few smokes."

A small laugh escaped Mark's lips when he heard the rather unfunny joke of Adam. He knew the boy was trying in his way to make things easier for him and he appreciated that. He was happy to know that he had something of a friend and he knew that it was a very reliable friend in this case.

—-

The walk toward the elevator was a mostly silent one. The two of them were in a strange relationship where they were not close enough to be called friends but it would be a little too much to call them acquaintances. In the end, all of this came from this awkward situation.

It was only after reaching the rooftop that the two of them released a sigh.

The roof of the building was high and the wind was strong, it was not a place normal people should be visiting but for the two of them, this was nothing.

Standing close to the end of, Adam looked down at the cloud beneath and whistled,

"Do you feel like the King of the world when you are here?"

Adam smiled at this question, "I can fly much much higher than this."

Mark noticed that he did not answer his question and simply shrugged before taking out a packet of cigarettes and placing one between his lips.

"Do you have fire?" He asked belatedly to which Adam answered by forming a small flame on his finger and bringing it to the smoke, lighting it up.

"Thanks." He muttered under his breath before inspiring greatly and then, after holding it out, puffed the smoke out with a melancholic expression.

"I swore I wouldn't smoke again not long ago."

Mark started but soon started to stumper and have a coughing fit when the world around him became entirely monochrome white and black while some Jazz music sounded softly everywhere.

"What the hell?"

"Heh. Don't mind this. Just setting the mood."

Mark was speechless then helpless. He looked around walking a little toward the door of the elevator and passed his hand, only to see it take colors. Coming back, the color vanished.

It was — Intriguing.

"Your power over illusion is growing steadily and so is your way of acting like some old powerhouse."

"Heh. I learned using my power as I wanted was the way. So now, come back and talk. I already set the mood."

The jazz music that had lowered became a little louder again. Not only that, the light in the sky dimmed and became a perfect black with stars in the sky, a soft breeze picked up and his black suit was transformed in a brown trench coat with a hat on his head. Even his cigarette changed appearance and became a smoking pipe.

"Are you a fan of 90s thriller movies?"

"Just the mood."

Mark had to admit, at this very moment, that he was becoming scared of Adam. This kind of power was not something an illusionist should have. At the same time – giddiness filled his heart.

The mission that seemed so hard seemed now so simple. As long as they found the place where the statuette was stocked, stealing it would be so easy it wouldn't even be funny.

"So, where was I?"

"Smoking."

"Yeah, smoking." He waved the pipe around, "I had stopped smoking but recently, I am having troubles. Very big ones."

"Your sister?"

"Yes."

He took a breath, "We are orphans. Our parents officially died in an accident. Very young, I had to play the role, of a friend, a mother, father, and brother for her. I believe I did a good job raising her. At least as far as I could."

"She isn't a kid anymore. So, what problem did she have and what is her name exactly?"

"Theia" He puffed out another ring of smoke, "Theia Smith. My cute little sister entered the police force not long ago and now I learned that…She entered the supernatural world."

"Oh…"

Adam winced a little. He immediately understood who this was. Even though they did not have much exchange, Detective Smith was still very much in his mind and he remembered how unstable she had been back then.

This seemed like a recipe for disaster.

"So you decided to teach her everything?"

"Oh. She is going to learn. Just. Not from me. I guess I am getting what I deserve, I tried to keep her safe from it but in the end, she simply learned the truth in the worst way possible and now she hates me."

"She doesn't."

CH 493: IT WILL BE SIMPLE

Adam's voice was clear as he stated. No hesitation nor doubts could be seen in him.

"What did you say?"

"I said. She doesn't. No matter what she might have said. Those words will not be what she thought inwardly."

Adam was rarely this adamant when it came to things that did not directly concern him. But he wanted to push those words out. Mark was something of a friend after all.

Mark stopped and looked at Adam but Adam held his gaze without flinching. This time, his face had no joking expression, "I have been in a similar situation. So I can understand what your sister feels. Betrayal, doubts, fears, anger, and disconnect from reality. I felt all those things but — I never hated the one who did her best to protect me."

This situation was very similar to what he lived with Cecilia. No matter how one sliced it, she had been lying to him for 21 years about his origin.

Was it a good thing? Since hindsight was 20/20 it would be easy to say that in a way it was. But the reality was never so simple. One could never decide while anticipating whether it would be a success or a failure.

Cecilia did what she did for what she believed was his good and for that, she was ready to sacrifice her own life did suffered years of weakness and lost most of her power, all of this for him. A silent sacrifice for his well-being.

He didn't know how much Mark sacrificed but there was no way he was working as a hunter happily.

His eyes were intense, "Talk to her. Tell her what you feel. Make her understand that though you may have been wrong, this all came from a place of love and desire to protect and I am sure that she will understand you. Words are powerful and only when they are expressed can they be understood."

Miscommunication is a terrible thing and sometimes one might resent the others for not understanding the subtle signals they always sent.

As illogical as it may seem, this was the sad truth.

People could not read thoughts and Adam did not want such a thing to happen to a friend.

Mark listened quietly before muttering, "Thanks." He could already feel his shoulder lighten a little. It was quite pitiful that an old man like him was getting comforted by q young man. But Mark understood well that wisdom depended more on experience than pure age.

Adam patted Mark's shoulder and took one of his smokes, the Medusa brand "Take this one, should help your idea become clearer."

Mark hesitated, knowing fully well the prince but in the end simply shrugged and took it.

The two stayed silent until Mark sighed, "We need whiskey."

"Told you, right?"

Like this, young and old, the two men shared a laugh, electing to not talk further about this matter.

This was a simple discussion between two manly men in the 90s setting.

Adam smiled inwardly. It had been some time since he had a good discussion with a man. Lately, he was almost always surrounded by women.

"So. Let's talk about the mission. What do you plan to do? I will accommodate you as much as I can. We already secured a dwelling for you and established fake persona and ID for you. We will give you face face-changing mask if you wish."

"It seems like we have to make sure we are not seen."

"Yes. The simple fact that we have Luvia and the Saintess with us makes this mission even more complicated. France has deep ties with the church and it wouldn't do to create tension between them."

"So we will face frenches as well? Speaking of, why didn't they simply get the Statuette back themselves and deal with everyone."

"They could but whoever is in charge seems to want to bring hunters for all over the world and this is why I think this whole thing is suspicious. France is most likely trying to use us as cannon Fodder for whatever problem they have."

"Does this mean even Zodiac might move?"

"Might? Yes. They might. Zodiac won't intervene in mundane affairs so we don't have to fear them trying to steal. But once the fighting starts who knows? This is why the best way is to steal as fast as possible and then leave France."

"Should we have Luvia place the Gate?"

"Yes and no. We cannot leave any trace of coming and going from America that is as traceable as magic. But ideally, she should leave a mark here to open just in case of an emergency. There is no reason for us to risk our life for the to brass."

"Heh, I like your way of thinking. Always thought you were more rigid type."

"I am rigid when it comes to justice. This is not justice nor is it a fight of any worth. Nothing more than the Greed of a few influential individuals and countries. I am willing to work for them to secure my money but nothing more."

"Beautiful."

"Now I need to ask you. Will you be able to handle it? It's your first mission officially after all."

"Well, no better way to know than by experiencing ourselves, right?"

"You seem confident."

"I am. Honestly, as long as we find the place or simply wait until the Auction, I am sure I can easily steal the objects. What matter is afterward. I can secure our escape as well without having to use portals. Everything will depend on how good they are at detecting illusions, I guess."

"Good. But we need more detailed plan. After this, we are going to the airport. Is it good for you? Need anything else?"

"Thanks and no. I think we are good for the time being. No need to move heavy. Go, search, find, steal, flee, come back home. Pretty simple, right?"

Of course, if on the way he managed to copy the authority in the statute then it would be just his luck, right?

CH 494: IT WILL BE INTERESTING

Adam did many things during his preparation for the mission ahead. He polished the plan with Mark, perfecting some of the details and adjusting the minor issues, became closer to Luvia, and did his best to keep Tsubasa in check, restraining her so that she didn't lop heads off when he wasn't looking. All the while, even as he did many things big and small, he also pondered about some important matters by himself, in his mind.

Since about two days ago, he had the vague and ethereal feeling that he was somehow disconnected from the material world surrounding him. Thanks to his ever-growing soul, he had the impression that even one of his minds was enough to do the task of all four at the same time without much problem these days.

Weirdly enough, the more things he could do at the same time, the fewer things there remained that took up his interest, close enough for him to make his mind work for it actively.

'Say, Genesis, can I steal or copy the authority?'

His power, the power of Origin, seemingly had a random chance of activating. Even though it was his innate skill he had next to no control over it. It was truly a shame that after all this time, he still didn't have direct control over the skill that defined his existence. However, in hindsight, not much time has passed since he had awakened to his powers.

[Logically, you should be capable of doing that. But what the actual situation is, I am afraid I cannot say anything for sure.]

Adam nodded his head in acknowledgment… before shrugging with a wry smile. If worst comes to worst, he would just steal the damn thing and throw it in some deep sea to come and observe regularly. This was just one of the ways for him to deal with this matter, one of many.

"Well, Mark… Though there is still some time left for us, why don't we just head back? We have some luggage to prepare."

"All luggage has been prepared for you with new clothes and equipment added into the fray. After all, we do not know what kind of compromising objects you might bring out. The five of you will be forbidden from leaving the room. I know this cannot stop you but it's for the spirit of things. If you need anything else you simply have to call someone and they will buy it for you."

"You guys are prepared."

"The situation in France is extremely chaotic at the moment and the relationship between the EU and the USA is not the best it has been in recent times. Be it from the natural or supernatural side, the situation remains the same and we cannot afford to provoke them too much."

"I have the sudden urge to say that, this is not my problem."

"It isn't, of course. The association, unlike the Paranormal Department, is not under the direct supervision of the state they reside in. Nonetheless, we can't completely avoid being splashed by dirty water if it comes to it."

"Very well. Now let's finish the last bits of our preparation."

Once Mark returned to his post, things moved swiftly and with order. Mark, despite his rather complicated situation, had been more than ready for everything and was handling the situation like a maestro.

It was in moments like this that one could discern how precious having someone skilled could be even if said person was not particularly powerful in their destructive capabilities. They could take care of all the tedious matters that the truly powerful didn't have in them to care about, generally, that would only make things more efficient and seamless for everyone.

The ride afterward could only be described with one word— intense. Mark, the smart man that he was, immediately rejected transporting with them and gave the key of an SUV to Adam before telling them that he would be taking a taxi to their destination.

Now, driving carefully in the not-so-clogged road of Los Angeles, Adam understood why there was a saying that smart men lived the longest lives.

'The pressure is no joke.'

He wondered if the car would simply explode from the inside out with all the pressure it was being subjected to. It was a sound possibility due to their situation.

Adam's discussion with the girls, even in the room, had been one-sided. The girls had done the talking, the problem was though… they didn't talk with each other.

They would talk with him, answer his queries, and even ask him questions of their own in return and laugh at some of his stupid jokes. However, the whole flow of any conversations transpired only in his presence, and with him. They talked as though the other girls didn't even exist, even though every single one of them was present in the room.

A lesser man would have been scared by the attention.

Thus it was a relief that Adam was no lesser man, however, it didn't make the scenario any less scary.

It was to the point that he wondered if someone had somehow put some kind of illusion on the girls so that they would not be able to see each other or acknowledge each other's existence. Only his own.

That would make a hella lot of sense given the situation he had been observing for the past few days, but then again, if someone were able to pull them into an illusion with him present and not being able to detect it at all then it would be a problem in itself.

Currently, inside the black-themed SUV, Tsubasa was sitting in the passenger seat while Elysia, Luvia, and Makoto were sitting in the back seats.

The poor girl, Luvia, looked like she would faint any second now. However, the girl had some bravado in her at the very least, even though she didn't exactly have the strength to speak for it, as tried her level best to power through the pressure and simply ignore that there was anyone else beside her. It was sufficiently clear that she wasn't just some weak girl, her mentality and will were like cold and impenetrable steel.

"Okay, girls, we were given tickets for a first-class flight. I hope you won't create a scene in the airplane."

The Association was going through financial difficulties, yes, but they hadn't gotten so poor that they couldn't make sure that they at least traveled with the best service that was available for them. At least, they would be treated well on their journey toward surefire danger.

"Do not worry dear. We are all grown-up individuals. I am sure nothing bad will happen." said Tsubasa, chuckling as she looked at Adam with a mischievous grin. Adam was helpless, the only thing he was able to do was take her word for it. He was not fired up about the mission enough that he would play the bad cop of the group and warn them every ten seconds.

"Well. We are here, I guess. The flight will be long, I guess."

Adam had mixed feelings as he looked at the airport.

This would be his first time leaving the country. This was going to be an interesting experience, he was sure of it. Everything became tangled intriguingly once he was involved.

CH 495: FINALLY LEAVING

Unlike what he expected, the airport security had been quite lax, they had not been checked not nearly as unlike

There could be many possibilities— they might be unable to perceive the dangerous weapons Makoto had been wielding, due to their supernatural nature, or the suspicious grimoire held in Luvia's hand, for the same reason. Or perhaps they had just been given special instructions to turn their heads to the other side once they spotted their crew. There were more possibilities, but Adam wasn't sure which it was exactly.

What he did know though was that for every two perfectly normal employees in the airport, at least one human was a hunter or a being of supernatural origins. The sight was enough for Adam to understand the situation at hand, understanding how things worked in this place, and thus made him far more curious regarding the methods of how some ordinary people were able to hijack and control the planes with people from the supernatural side present in this scenario.

"The supernatural care only for the supernatural after all. The more we meddle in their affairs of the mundane the more complicated things become for us and as you may guess, we have no desire to complicate things for us. The more veiled our world is from those of the ordinary people, the better it is for everyone."

Elysia explained in soft mutters, ignoring the look of curiosity people were throwing at her. Since they were in the lounge of the airport, there were a few people surrounding them. Most were humans. Businessmen, young people from rich families, or just the occasional straggler who got lucky and got a boost to the first class.

All of them, be they men or women, were entranced by the beauty of the people of their group. Not only were the girls given side looks, even Adam wasn't spared from the looks of the people. Despite putting on a mask to veil his face, it was impossible to cover the inner charm and sheer charisma he exuded with his every movement.

Adam was not really used to the prolonged stares but it was insignificant to him. He could adapt to lava burning his body so he could certainly adapt to someone looking at him.

"Speaking of, why don't the supernatural just work on all the problems of the world?"

Adam alone could do more work than thousands of people altogether and with his perfect memory, there were not many things he was unable to do.

Outside of the common capability of the supernatural side, the technological superiority of the supernatural side was more than just a few hundred years ahead of the mundane world. It was astronomical, to say the least.

Even if they could not share everything nor talk about the supernatural due to the presence of the Veil, they could certainly work on getting rid of things such as world hunger and war, right?

"Our society is not perfect enough to even dare think of making the lives of ordinary humans perfect."

A bitter smile crept up her lips as Elysia muttered those words, her voice weak. She was a Saintess, capable of healing people on a far larger scale than anyone else alive. Sadly, there was not much she could do even with such absolute power in her hands.

Those rules existed to avoid more integration between the two worlds, worlds that had completely different rules governing them. It was necessary to protect the fragile balance that held the world in place and kept it running.

"The Balance, heh."

Adam chuckled and did not bother asking more questions to anyone. The so-called Balance established by the Scales of Equilibrium was laughable in his eyes. All it did was give more opportunities to those who did not respect the balance while stopping those who did respect its way of protecting themselves.

But he also understood that the world was not operating on the same scale as he was. For the world, while humans were important, they were not the absolute priority. As long as a sufficient number of humans survive to repopulate the world eventually, the death of billions was nothing for the Scales.

"Did any of you ever visit Paris?"

Luvia raised her hand, "I have been there for a discussion with the French Academy."

"Discussion?"

"Well, more like a small tournament. Every 5 years or so, Principal Bridget brings students from the main Academy to fight against others, branches that expanded from the original. The goal is to serve as a reality check for us to understand that just because we are from the Academy that started everything, it doesn't mean we are necessarily better than the others."

"So, did you win?"

"Heh." Luvia simply showed him a V sign with her fingers before catching herself, realizing what she had done, and hastily lowered her hand. Even though she had only met Adam for a few hours now, she had realized that he was in no way the stuck-up man she imagined and feared to meet.

He was young, handsome, cool, and many more modifiers that she was too embarrassed to even imagine. Moreover, he also seemed to be very powerful from what she had felt not long before.

If she was honest, she would have loved it if this mission was just for her and Adam, going to Paris and doing everything as a duo. After all, this was the city of Love, right?

Luvia was not the only one fantasizing. But compared to her vanilla way of thinking, the others had a more hardcore view of their fantasies.

After all. Tsubasa was thinking and drolling already when imagining everything that could happen in Paris.

Now that Adam was close to her, she was in no way content in simply staying still and doing nothing, merely observing her as she did before. Their current relationship was in an awkward state where they were neither really friends nor lovers nor companions.

This was certainly going to be fun and Paris might be the place for them to rekindle their old flame.

'Fufufu~ Since Adam wants to use me, he should use all of me, right?'

She couldn't wait for things to turn spicy.

CH 496: THOSE WHO WERE LEFT

While Adam and the others prepare themselves to board the plane heading to Paris, France for fortheir mission, a certain someone is having great difficulty dealing with a shadow from their past.

"Heh. So… the crybaby's here. How has it been since the last time we met?"

Standing in front of her house, Cecilia was sporting what could only be called a teasing smile as she gazed at the maid who came out of the car alongside Fedora and Natasha.

"Crybaby?"

Fedora looked up toward Aleksandra, an incredulous look plastered on her face, whose own prim and proper smile started twitching ever so slightly once she heard Cecilia speak. The gloom that was practically omnipresent in her eyes shaved off ever so slightly as her incredulous look was changed to a look of curiosity as she survein her eyes left slightly and were replaced by undeniable curiosity.

Aleksandra had many nicknames. But most of them evoked fear and respect as well as awe. Certainly not something as embarrassing as Crybaby.

"Oh, she didn't tell you about it? Then again, I am not surprised. It must be quite embarrassing;"

"Miss Kaminari. I see that your sense of humor is as sharp as ever."

"You can call me Gospel. I like that name more. Anyway. I won't tease you much more, don't worry."

"I am grateful."

Cecilia snickered and looked at the two princesses. Only a few days went by since the last time she saw them but the changes in them were…Astonishing to say the least.

"Good. Good. I cannot make a full evaluation. But indeed. You two have a great potential simply waiting to be unearthed. This is pleasing to see."

Natasha approached a little and bowed slightly, "Thank you for accepting us. I know you did not have to we will…"

"Yeah, yeah yeah, no need to go all formal on me, and if it's money you wanna talk about then no need to bother. I don't need to tell you that no amount of money can buy the tutelage of a zodiac, right?"

Cecilia stopped Natasha from continuing, "My baby son has been all grown up lately and doesn't need me anymore. So I was quite happy that he requested this of me."

Cecilia had been surprised when Adam asked her to train two werewolves but she was not against it. She knew that Natasha was his lover and that Fedora owed him her life.

'This was something I would have never imagined doing two decades ago.'

She had never been all hate on supernatural but after killing so many of them, it was hard to say that she had ever felt goodwill toward them.

This was one of the mysteries of life. Ever changing and flowing. Never statics.

"Well, will you guys enter, I feel like the bad guys by keeping you outside like this."

Cecilia snickered and approached Natasha before hugging her slightly, "Before we start training, I have a few, well…Many questions in fact for you. The last girlfriend my son had was batshit crazy. So I have to be sure."

She brought them to her house. She didn't know what kind of experience Adam would have in France but she hoped that, whatever it was, it would help him in growing stronger and would not break him.

'I am getting emotional now.'

There was not much she could do to help him this time and she knew this was a feeling she would have to get used to in the long run.

—-

Meanwhile in the LAPPD,

Theresa finished working on some important documents and the reports about the events of the last night. Her current position was in quite jeopardy. After all, just after becoming a Director, events after events happened and she was helpless. Worst was, even the case of her predecessor's assassination went nowhere as they did not have any clues to use and follow.

"Ugh ~I am beat. Makoto, would you like some hot chocolate?"

She waited for a second only to realize that…Makoto was not there.

"Oh…"

Theresa stopped herself. She had forgotten that Makoto had gone on a mission overseas.

"This feels weird."

She muttered to herself. Realizing that for the first time in a very long while…She was once again alone.

"What should I do?"

Theresa spoke to herself. She did not like being alone. This was the ground for many bad thoughts to sprout in her mind and she hated being that vulnerable.

Makoto had been a constant addition in her life for so long that she had started to feel like someone who would never go away.

"I guess all children must grow up."

This would be her first very big mission without having a powerhouse hovering behind her back. Perhaps only such things could help Makoto grow stronger and break her limits.

"Should I visit sis?"

She wondered. She had much to talk to Cecilia about. This was perfect the moment to do so.

Once her thoughts reached this, she nodded and stood up. She would visit her sister and have a good time. She didn't have to stay here alone like some pitiful woman.

"Also not everything was bad."

Makoto wasn't the only one who was gone. The same went for Adam, her nephew with whom she had barely any contact and Theresa had a feeling.

Soon…The current director of the Paris Paranormal Department would understand what it feels like to have the Calamity alarm sound in your district.

She had to say. This was not a great feeling. But this was not her problem anymore, was it?

"Poor bastards…"

She simply hoped he would be smart enough and move all civilians as fast as possible before anything big started otherwise…

"Well. Who knows? Perhaps I am wrong and nothing will happen?"

She laughed as she said this out loud and left.

She was already sure deep down that Adam was a trouble magnet or rather that he was attracted to places where troubles happened.

This was nothing new to her. Mei was like this and so was Cecilia in the past.

Perhaps it ran in the family.

CH 497: CLANDO

Adam and his team of association members were not the only ones leaving Los Angeles today. On another flight, a plane was cruising through the air, soaring above the clouds, heading in the direction of the European continent.

There was nothing out of the ordinary about the plane no matter how one would see the flying vehicle. However, there was one particular detail that most people would not be capable of observing no matter how they tried.

Directly above the streamlined-shaped hull of the plant, on its roof, a person could be seen standing rigidly with her arms crossed behind her. A large smile was plastered on the face of the person – a girl of otherworldly beauty – as she enjoyed the 'soft' breeze that tickled her body and fluttered her hair behind like a raging tsunami.

"Humans are truly such wonderful creations."

The heavenly beauty had a set of bluish hair, fluttering through the air like a tidal wave, and her eyes were special globes of multicolored lights blended into one and overlapped in different hues of the color blue. The colors were ever-shifting, sometimes cerulean, sometimes aquamarine, sometimes teal, yet other times the color of the blue sky— all in the shades of blue. It was as though her eyes were the color blue personified, an intriguing sight.

If Alberto had been present to watch this scene, he would have surely been covering his face in both shame and utter exhaustion. As it was none other than the Vampire Princess he was forced to who was the girl in question.

Currently, the princess was appreciating the first-class view, watching the world from above the vast skies, like a god observing his creations. After all, even for her, it was impossible to fly at such height and with such speed for too long. It just wasn't sustainable energy-wise.

The last few days, all she had been doing was watching the world and learning about all the things humans had brought to this world. The fact that they had advanced so far in their technological prospects in just a few hundred years made her once again affirm her belief that humans were incredible creatures and that their mortalities were exactly what made them so attractive and interesting.

This was why she had decided to take the plane all alone and make her way to Paris where she would be having a meeting with Gilles de Rais. Sadly, she had made a mistake and lost her plane tickets. She could have used her power to hypnotize the crew members but then she would have missed out on all the fun she was having now. As such, she decided to take the clandestine way of tackling this problem.

This reminded her of the time when she would take a ferry or enter a large ship to travel free without any cost or additional hassle.

"Heheh."

Reminiscing about the old times, the princess couldn't help but chuckle with glee. This was extremely fun. Truly so. But she couldn't help but wonder if she had missed something.

"This plane is going to Paris, right?"

She looked down, worried for an instant but then simply shrugged. It was of no matter to her. In the end, if the plane did not take her to her destination, all she had to do was take another one which would.

It was just… fun.

However, she still had to reach France as swiftly as possible. It would be quite problematic if she missed the recent auction that would be taking place in that location. After all, she learned that there might be a fragment of a divine weapon up for grabs in the auction.

She didn't have any need for a divine weapon in the least. But it would be a very beautiful piece for her collection and she didn't want to miss that. After all, her beloved Grandpa was also about to wake up from his deep slumber and he had a keen love for these types of presents.

"Though I wonder why Grandpa decided to wake up in this era of all times."

She also hoped he wouldn't choose her body to descend this time around. It was beneficial as it would lead to an increase in her powers, but it felt weird having two minds in her body and being unable to move as she wished.

"Oh…"

On the horizon, the vampire princess saw a large dark cloud just shy of forming in the sky. It seemed like the weather was becoming capricious. She looked down at her robe and while it was a little wrinkled because of the wind, it would be completely ruined if any rain fell on it.

"Well."

She hesitated a little before sighing and then, placing her hand upturned in front of her mouth, in the direction of the cloud— she blew a small breath.

Whoosh~!

A paintbrush seemed to cover the sky as a gust of wind rushed forward and chased away all the clouds that were about to form in the direction that the plane was headed towards.

Sitting in the cockpit, the two pilots' eyes opened wide in shock. The co-pilot looked down at the coffee in his hand with suspicion before looking at his friend and crew member.

"Jhon… Did you put anything in our drink?"

"Man, you know I don't do this shit when we're flying, right?"

"So… What the hell was that!?"

"Don't ask me!"

The weather had been worrying them and as it seemed like it would be a very strong one and while it wouldn't necessarily affect them too much, some shaking and such turbulences were expected.

But this…

"Was it an act of god?"

"I… Perhaps?"

Not knowing that she had caused two men to become fervently religious, the vampire princess gave a smile of satisfaction as she looked at the aftermath of her work.

She wouldn't have to dirty her dress after all. It was truly great. Now all she had to do was wait for the wonderful flying vehicle to take her to her destination.

CH 498: VISITING DREAMSCAPE AGAIN

Inside the plane headed for Paris, on the first-class section, both Adam and Tsubasa were sitting together while Makoto and Mark were seated on the other side, and Elysia was sitting in the front with Luvia at her side. The seats were lavish and housed 2 persons per section.

Their seatings weren't exactly random, spread out in such a manner that they could react instantaneously no matter what situation they may find themselves in if they were to be compromised. However, everything was ultimately useless as the whole plane and an extension of more than a mile in diameter in a spherical dome was under Adam's control, coming under the range of his domain.

If he just willed it, he could completely crush this plane to pieces, put a lifelike illusion in the heads of the pilots, or even change the flight path with just a simple mental command. This was quite literally his domain now.

The passengers in the first class were interesting in their own ways. Outside of a few obviously rich children from wealthy families, and some entrepreneurs, there were also a few members from the supernatural side of the world.

They were all hunters, making Adam wonder if they were also trying to get into Paris and test their luck. After all, while they were the official team designated for the mission, Adam very much doubted that the upper echelons of the United States of America would only send a single team if they really wished to gain control over the Divine Weapon.

"Should we incapacitate them?"

Tsubasa asked, knowing fully well that Adam was already controlling all the sounds that were being circulated inside the plane as well as the light particles. It was impossible for anyone to hear them or even read on their lips for that matter, unless Adam willed it of course.

"Don't mind them. They are of no importance."

Adam didn't really care how many people came after the weapon. In fact, he believed that it was good for there to be a large crowd. Numbers was meaningless against him in the first place and the more weaklings tagged along, the more cannon fodder he could have at his disposal when it came to the mission itself.

Adam had little to no consideration for the hunters. They were not innocent people, nor were they good-natured heroes. They were all mercenaries with more than just a small amount of blood on their hands; he had a good assumption of the endless greed that fuelled these hunters.

If they died in the incoming conflict, they could only blame themselves for willingly choosing to come to this dangerous place.

"Very well."

Tsubasa nodded, immediately losing interest in the hunters and simply gazed at Adam silently,

"Anything on my face?"

"No. I am just happy to be seated with you like this."

"Hum… You are truly easily satisfied. Not worried I will abuse it?"

"I don't mind. I already told you I am yours to use as you wish."

Tsubasa chuckled as she held his hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. "But you have to be careful, you know? After all, I am quite a dangerous woman. I might attack you in your sleep."

"Heh, then I guess you will have to taste the bitterness of disappointment."

After all, his curse didn't allow him to sleep nowadays, not in the traditional sense at least. Not that it mattered much anyways. He had never felt more awake than he did now, feeling that his mind had reached a new level of enlightenment. Adam had the distinct feeling that, soon, he would be able to one of the external chakra pathways— be it the Earth Star Chakra or the Soul Star Chakra.

No matter which Chakra pathway he opened, it would be the moment when his powers took a qualitative leap to a whole new dimension. He didn't know how strong he would become, but he might finally reach a level where he was nearly unbeatable or at least close to it.

[Don't inflate your ego too much…]

'Heh, do not worry. I am just hyping myself up. Gotta have something to look forward to don't you think?'

Adam chuckled, but he felt his glee die down when he felt Tsubasa inching closer towards him.

The seats they had chosen were a mix between beds and seats. You could basically extend it to make them into comfy beds to sleep on as well as blinders that would cover you from the other passengers. It gave a certain level of privacy but not enough like a cabin or something similar. This was more akin to couple seats than anything else.

"Since you are not going to sleep… Perhaps we should try something else?"

Her hand crept a little toward his thighs but did not go down too far, "I wonder. Since you want to use me, why not use my body as well?"

"Tsubasa…"

"My beloved Adam, ever so kind you are. You say you want to use me as a tool but in the end, you do not do anything that warrant those words."

She smiled as she took her hand away, "I am going to rest a little. Wake me up if you wish to join the Miles High Club. Having my first time in the air would be an interesting experience I think."

Adam sighed and shook his head, "I won't lie, with my short experience, you are triggering so many death flags it's mind-

boggling."

"Death flags, huh?"

Tsubasa, who was about to close her eyes muttered. "You know, I believe that death is not the true end. In fact, it's just another beginning."

"What do you mean?"

She shrugged and closed her eyes, "You will understand soon. At the very least for me, death might be something I cannot escape from if I wish to stay with you forever."

No other words leaked out of her lips as she slipped into the land of dreams.

Watching her sleep, Adam mused a little by himself. Even though he said that he wouldn't sleep, he might need to do something similar.

"Makoto."

"Yes."

"Protect me."

"Understood."

A simple exchange but Adam knew that this was the easiest way to converse with Makoto.

With that done, Adam took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His Prana focused and started sending a small pulse toward the chess piece in his soul.

It was time to pay another visit to the Dreamscape.

He had a succubus to meet after all.

CH 499: ARE YOU CURIOUS?

When Adam felt the pull of Dreamscape, he did not fight it but simply let himself be pulled along.

Now he had a better understanding of what this place represented and while it wasn't exactly his favorite sensation, he had come to have a certain appreciation of the void this place offered.

Thankfully didn't take long for him to reach the place he wished to go and finally, he could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

When Adam opened his eyes again, he could feel the soft breeze of the wind caressing his face, the light of the sun shining on him, and finally —

"Adam!"

He smiled bitterly as a cannonball seemingly punched him in the guts and looked down at the midget-sized trouble that had attacked him with no care for the damage she could create.

Laughing a little, he took her by the arms and lifted her, to bring her face to face with him. Her chest was as overwhelming as always as it created a natural distance between them.

"You should seriously stop greeting me like this"

"Heh. I am like a ray of sunshine. Gotta receive all of me."

"This sentence makes no sense, you know?"

"The meaning of a sentence depends on our own selves."

"I didn't know you were becoming a philosopher."

"Hah. I am more than a short girl with big boobs you know? I wasn't the third-ranked in our class for nothing."

The two shared a look before exploding into laughter.

Giving her a small kiss on the forehead, Adam let her down again and started walking with her.

"So, how was it? It must have been around 2 months since my last visit, right?"

"More precisely 3 months. Outside of that. It's the Same old. Same old. My growth rate lowered tremendously after I became a Bishop. Becoming a queen will be very hard. At least it will be impossible to reach that level unless we attack a few settlements."

"You know I am still a Rook, right?"

"Yeah. Your growth speed is even slower than mine but it's different. The base of your soul is stronger so it takes more energy to fill it."

Sae frowned then, "Honestly for you to reach the Queen level, I don't even know how many things we will have to kill. We will most likely have to quit this territory and move on to other dreamscapes."

Dreamscape was the world of imagination. It went beyond the simple human consciousness and was in a way a completely different universe with very different laws.

Each world could be seen as something akin to a planet and from there, it was possible to travel between different places using special gates known as Stargate.

"The current Zone we are in could be said to be the starting village if it was an RPG. The White and Black Queen have already killed nearly all the dangerous people or have them under their control."

"Nearly huh."

"Yeah. There are still monsters like those three-headed Dragons as well dangerous individuals like the Queen of Heart and others card Queen who allied and fought against the forces of the Black and White queen."

Both Adam and Sae were currently at the outskirts of a campement. Everywhere one looked, they could see a bunch of weird creatures working around and a few even standing on two legs and handling tools.

It made no sense but Adam had long since understood that trying to make sense about what was happening in Dreamscape was a waste of time.

This was Sae's army. All the creatures she had met and tamed or enslaved on her way and during her adventure.

Adam had to say, that though they both had the same illusion-

type power, the way they used it was very different.

Adam had tried taming and while he seemed to have some talent for it. He wasn't interested in wasting his time on this yet.

He knew some of his innate skills would be very useful in this case so it was something worth exploring at least.

One day ago, from his perspective, after Natasha woke up, she gave him the information about Sae and the two of them were finally able to meet.

He had to leave pretty fast though as his soul had been too tired then. But now he could spend one or two weeks with her when scaling to the time in the outside world it would take for the plane to reach Paris.

"So. What is the plan now?" Adam asked.

Sae's understanding of Dreamscape was far higher than his as such he was willing to listen to her.

"The plan?"

Sae smiled mischievously as they reached a cabin and she took his hand in hers, pulling him towards the room.

It was a simple cabinet with only one bed and a few sheets here and there. It gave a very wild feeling since it was created in the forest but there was also a certain coziness to it.

"I have many ideas and I already have a farming route that will be very efficient for both of our growth."

"This is great so–"

"Shh~ So, nothing." Sae tiptoed a little and placed her finger against her lip.

"Did you know? Our bodies here are a perfect and complete copy of what our bodies are like in the Real world."

Her grin became almost predatory.

"We have all week to plan. There is no hurry. But aren't you curious about something else?"

Adam gulped a little, the tension in the room was climbing continuously and by now it was clear what she wanted. "Curious about…?"

Sae pulled him and pushed him onto the bed before sitting on his lap and licking his right ear.

"Curious about what it feels like to have sex with a true succubus."

Adam had to say… Sae had very interesting questions.

Hugging her by the waist, Adam held her chin between two fingers and brought his face to her, sharing a wet and gentle kiss.

He certainly was very interested in having sex with a succubus.

CH 500: Sae (10)*

When Adam imagined himself having sex again, he had imagined something frantic, powerful, and endless pleasures that would melt his mind. But currently what he was feeling was completely different. Thankfully, in a good way. Sae was undoubtedly a woman with a very high sexual drive and an imagination without end.

But at this moment, be it her or Adam, none of them were intent on simply blowing their mind away. After all, even if in the real world, only two weeks or so passed since they last saw each other, in terms of Sae's time perspective, they had not seen nor touched each other for nearly a year and this was a few months from Adam's perspective.

Holding the petite woman full of life in his arms, Adam felt something he had not felt in some time. A certain feeling of contentment and fullness. It was as if everything was alright in the world and everything came to place.

"Adam…"

Her voice was like sweet honey to his ears and her heat was shared with him, warming his heart. Holding her even more tightly, he brought his face close to her, gazing in her demonic eyes before giving a light kiss to her forehead.

"I missed you."

Sae's expression changed slightly and she brought her forward, hugging him as well as they fell on the sheets of the bed.

"I missed you more."

Her voice was feeble and almost coquettish but Adam could also feel a deep feeling of need and hidden sorrow in her tone. But he did not pry. Not now, not here. This time was for them to reconnect and so he did.

Kissing her forehead once again, he brought his lips lower and gently kissed her eyelids, causing them to flutter slightly before bringing his face to her neck. Inhaling a little sent, Adam felt like he was entering a warm bath and all his senses seemed to come alive.

"You should be careful. I was told my scent is like an aphrodisiac."

Adam was immune to all mental type manipulation skills but he did not know if this counted as biological or mental. In the first place, since they were in the dreamscape, shouldn't everything count as mental.4

Adam chuckled while keeping his head in her nape. It was funny how even in moments like this he tried to over analyse. He decided to playfully bite her neck, causing Sae to groan quietly in pleasure.

"You are more sensitive. How much have you been waiting for this?"

He teased her by muttering those words to her ears before biting her earlobe as well. Then, raining down kisses, he kept going lower and lower until he reached her collarbone and gave a powerful kiss, leaving a hickey on her satin-like skin.

"You are mine."

Adam raised himself and looked down at her, his eyes shining with two different colors, one beautiful blue, and one powerful gold. His words were no question. But nothing but a statement and this was a statement Sae did not refute.

"And you are mine as well."

Holding his cheeks between her hands, she raised herself up to meet him hallways, their lips finally connecting in a kiss they had been waiting for so long.

'Ah…'

This was it. This was what they had been craving. Holding him like this, Sae realized that indeed the world was a beautiful place. Only their lips were touching, a chaste kiss unlike a sexual being like Sae or Adam but for them, this simple kiss went beyond mere pleasure.

This was a greeting, a sign of love, and the signal for something even more beautiful to start. No words were necessary as the two of them opened their lips at the same time, deepening their kisses. Soon their tongues moved and started battling in a beautiful dance of conquest.

When they finally separated, Sae's eyes started changing color, one of her pupils transforming into a beautiful heart-shaped form.

"You are beautiful."

"And you aren't too bad yourself. Certainly got a glow-up since I last saw you."

Adam chortled at her words. This was the Sae he remembered. Bubbly, sassy, sexy and soft. He was happy to have her back with him and he was going to let her writhe with the greatest pleasure possible even if this was the last thing he would do.

As if on cue, her clothes shimmered slightly before vanishing completely, revealing her naked body to his eyes.

It had been months since Adam saw her naked body but thanks to his perfect memory, he could remember every part of her, bringing his hand forward, he took hold of one of her massive breasts before starting to suckle on the nipple of the other one.

It was time for them to go to the next level.

CH 501: SAE (11)*

Holding her breast, Adam started massaging it lightly, going from the base while creeping slowly toward the tips.

"I heard somewhere that the larger the breasts the less sensitive they are. I wonder if it's just fake or if you are simply that sensitive."

sae, released a breath she had been holding as Adam leaned down and took one of her nipples in his mouth, licking it slightly before biting gently, her temperature was rising faster than she could have imagined and she could already feel her inner part get wetter as anticipation took over her.

How long had she waited for this? Adam was barely caressing her and yet, she felt like the floodgate was about to burst.

This was something Adam noticed as well as his hand trailed down until it reached her moist vagina. It was positively drenched and Adam wondered if there was even a need for more preliminary.

Chuckling, he started going down on her, leaving her breasts until he reached her outstretched leg, the heat that greeted him was welcomed as a sweet odor started to spread in the room. Her succubus physiology was at work and Adam noticed that he was not completely unaffected. This power seemed to be both mental and physical and he could feel his own penis grow hard with just a whiff of her scent.

"You are drenched."

Growling, he fought to control the urge to simply pounce on her and pushed her legs apart even further. Even for Sae, this was quite a shameful position as she was showing absolutely everything to him.

Her vagina, a beautiful pink-like flower, opened as if greeting him after a long absence and Adam knew what he had to do.

Kissing her tights, he continued going down, one kiss after another, causing Sae to twitch more and more while her breath grew ragged. Finally, when his head reached the place between her legs, all he did was blow a small breeze over her little pink jewel that had already come out and this was enough for the firework to explode.

Sae released a scream, one filled between pleasure and pain as this overwhelming sensation of freedom and joy took over her. This was a pleasure beyond everything she had felt in a long time and her conviction that Adam was the only one for her was once again reaffirmed.

Her vision grew dim while her body continued to shiver and go through an incredible climax until finally, she settled down, tired as if she had been fighting for days and nights with no pause.

"You will be the death of me." She spoke between intermittent breaths and all Adam did was laugh,

"Well, it would be the perfect death, right?"

The two laughed while Adam used his power to wipe out the juice that covered his face. The two of them spooned, hugging quietly. "You are still hard."

Sae brought her hand to hold on to his hardness and whistled as she came closer to him. "It's hard to think I swallowed all of this in me and I know Baby comes from this as well."

Adam, who had been about to report, closed his mouth, "Well, you got me."

"Oh. I got you indeed."

She flipped him on his back and jumped on him. Her weight settled nicely against him as she adjusted herself in a cowgirl position.

From this position, Adam had a feeling his view was being obstructed by two massive mountains and he had to say, he liked it very much.

"Now my turn."

Sae did not directly proceed to penetration. Keeping his penis flat against his stomach, she placed herself above it and started grinding.

The heat and wetness were transmitted directly to him as she grinded along his shaft while Sae enjoyed the feeling of the head bumping against her clitoris. Going back and forth like this, the two enjoyed pleasure in near complete silence, the only sound being their breath and groan escaping from their lips.

This continued for a few minutes before Sae finally lifted her hips and took hold of his penis with one hand.

"It's time."

Thirsty with anticipation and then she started going down. At first, only the tip entered but soon, Adam felt like he was melting by entering a true furnace. This was followed by a great feeling of tightness around the base as her wall closed around him while completely engulfing his penis until the root.

The two of them breathed harshly and Sae was overcome with a new feeling of fullness she had not felt in months and that she had missed dearly.

She was unable to move further as a second climax washed over her and her wall started to wiggle and move so much that Adam felt like he was not far from cumming as well. He had to give his all to clench and stop the release.

"Don't. We will not stop after one time."

She spoke quickly and understanding this, Adam stopped fighting the inevitable. His penis swelled inside of Sae until he finally released everything he had inside of her.

"Ahhh~~ "

Sae groaned out loud and screamed her pleasure to the world as she finally received her first injection of sperm as a succubus.

Lilith had once warned her to be very careful as this would be an experience she would never forget. Sae had dismissed those words in the past.

Now though — She felt like she was literally about to black out.

CH 502: End of the sexy time

What followed was something Adam, even with his perfect memory, had a hard time remembering.

What did it feel like to have sex with a succubus? Well, it was fucking fantastic, to say the least.

Her body was like a hot furnace, her smell, the way she felt. Everything about Sae seemed to have been optimized to make him go crazy with lust. There was no other way to explain this and Adam had no complaints.

He could understand now why they always said that once you had sex with a succubus, it was hard, if not almost impossible to be satisfied with sex with a normal person ever again.

The two of them continued to fuck nearly all day. Adam later learned that to mil their prey dry, their juice not only had an aphrodisiac effect, it also had a stamina enhancement and a very stimulant effect, all of this for better and more efficient hunting.

Thankfully, in this place, Sae had no intention to hunt him down. He had been so out of it that he had no doubt she might have been able to kill him once and while he was wondering what kind of resistance he would get after dying while fucking, he wasn't keen on finding this out.

Finally, as the sun started to rise on the horizon, Adam groaned as he released his semen one final time fully in Sae, causing her to twitch as the two of them hugged each other.

They breathed roughly. Normally after fucking for so long, it should have been nothing but pain. Despite this, Adam still had a feeling that he could go for more.

Far more.

As for Sae, she was completely out of it.

Succubi were creatures who lived off the essence they absorbed and grew stronger thanks to it.

The higher the level of the creatures they had a relationship with, the more powerful the effects would be and this was not just about power level but a difference in life level.

Adam was the epitome of the current humanity and the effects of his seed were extremely potent.

'If this was in the real world…'

Sae fought to gather the fragments of her mind even as she shuddered at the thought of what would happen if she had sex with Adam in the real world.

Would they fuck like bunnies for days on days without even thinking?

After all, she wasn't the only one whose power was not complete here. Succubi may be a dream mage but without her physical body, there was a limit to how much she could affect Adam.

"This was…Beautiful."

She muttered this had been every bit as exciting as she had imagined and even more.

"For me as well."

Adam kissed her on her forehead before pulling out.

"Ahh…"

Sae moaned when she felt his length leave her and the results of their lovemaking were all too evident as it appeared everywhere, coming out of her pussy in droves, dirtying the bed even more than it had already been.

Witnessing this erotic sight, Adam felt himself harden once again and he very much wanted to have another go at it.

But he knew that if they continued like this, they would most certainly spend all their time doing nothing but fuck and while this was certainly entertaining in its own way, it was not the time for that.

"Should we take a shower?"

Sae groaned and held her arms up. Adam, understanding the silent message helped her up.

"I feel disgusting and my legs are wobbling. Ugh."

Sae continued to groan as she could not even feel her legs anymore after the intense workout they went through.

"Isn't the woman supposed to be glowing in this situation while the male is all dried up?"

"You watched too much hentai."

"Or you are just abnormal."

"I rather say that I am simply built differently."

"Heheh. You certainly built different down there. At least from the few videos I have seen."

"Imagine someone who only had one experience talking like a pro."

"I mean. I am succubus. Should I say it's in our blood?"

"So sucking dick is in your blood?"

"Hey! Don't be gross. We suck life essence. How we do it though is a totally different matter."

"So you think."

The two continued their amiable banter while sitting on a branch, a black cat with a large grin slowly vanished from the premises.

—-

A few moments later, appearing in the castle of the Black Queen was Cheshire cat.

"Black Queen. I have something to report."

Thanks to Cheshire's power, she was only always a moment away from the Queen as long as she stayed in this domain.

She plopped on the lap of the black Queen who absentmindedly started petting her.

"Hum?"

Cheshire frowned a little. This way of petting was familiar. This means that while the body of her mistress was here, her mind was certainly elsewhere and she wondered where.

Lilith had many independent avatars walking through all creation and doing things on their own. So much that even two Lilith may not even know the existence of each other.

This was in part a way to show her power and also to conceal her actions. Lately, though, her mistress had been mostly unresponsive.

This could only mean that the true main body was gathering back as many fragments as possible to resolve some important matter.

"Well. I guess I can wait."

Her mission had been to prevent Sol and Sae from meeting until Sae was ready.

But ready for what? And following what standard?

At least the girl had seemed very ready in her own opinion. Be it because of how strong she had gotten or because of her skills as a succubus.

It was hard for Sae. to be any more ready.

"Heheh.."

Cheshire didn't know what the boss was doing nowadays. But she sure hoped it would still take some time before we completely returned.

She loved this kind of caressing, "Ohh, right here behind the ears."

This was fun.

CH 503: Fear?

Cheshire did not have to wait for too long as soon, she felt the Black Queen stiffen for a second before the way she petted her changed, becoming more domineering and possessive.

Cheshire also liked this kind of thing so she did not mind,

"How was it?"

The Black Queen stayed silent for a while before shrugging, "I was talking with an old friend so to speak."

Her voice was bitter and Cheshire caught it,

"Oh? You cannot say his name?"

"I could. But if I did, he would be able to find me here immediately and while I am sure he has some ideas about what is happening, I do not want to give him too much leverage. Well, not like he really needs more."

Lilith fought the urge to pinch her eyes. She had been wondering who would be attracted by the action of The Boy. She should have expected that he would be one of them.

No matter how much protection Eve gave him, it was impossible to completely block such a big karmic connection.

The good thing was that Lucifer did not seem interested in interfering negatively with what they were doing. But she knew the man.

He was a jester.

Things were never a matter of logic and reason for him but only of desire and interest. Still, she was not completely against it and one of the reasons for this was that if there was one person who could be a real ally in this situation, it was undoubtedly Lucifer.

After all, though he lost in the end, he rebelled against heaven. This was done despite him knowing that he had no chance of victory in the first place. Lilith herself had been one of his most fervent followers in that time and if he didn't backstab her with the case of Asmodeus about the Throne of Lust, she would still be one of his fiercest generals.

"Enough of this. Tell me, why did you come?"

Cheshire nodded and started explaining, sharing all the information she knew while Lilith listened quietly to her, not interested in stopping for now.

The meeting between the two of them was expected. If she was honest, she would have rather they wait a little more time. But she also understood that Sae's mental health had been at an all-time low and was still deteriorating.

"Well, I guess there is nothing we can change about that now."

Lilith shrugged. The relationship between Sae and Adam was unhealthy to say the least as it was and she was partially to blame. Showing everything that had happened on that day had been an error in calculation and the mind of Sae had been more affected by the trauma than she had initially expected it would be.

Adam was a great anchor for Sae and while she would have hoped she was more independent of him, the boat had already sailed long ago.

"It seems like you don't believe in him, my Queen."

"I believe in no one."

"Not even me?"

"Not even you."

"Heheheh…"

Cheshire let out a creepy laugh while Lilith continued to caress the fat grinning cat sitting on her lap.

By now, Eve should also be discussing with the Slave of Destiny and unlike her own discussion with Lucifer, Eve would be the one to have the advantage.

"The wind is blowing and the trumpet of rebellion are about to sound."

She grinned. Years after years, millennia after millennia, she had slowly built her empire, built relationships with powerful entities who had been staying silent, laying low in order to not catch the attention.

"My Queen? Something the matter?"

"Nothing. It's simply time for me to recuperate my rightful throne. I will accept his deal."

It didn't matter what Lucifer was planning. If he wanted to act mysterious so be it, even if he wanted to backstab her again, she was ready for it. She would use everything at her disposal. Be it Eve, Lucifer, or even…

"Adam, huh…"

She closed her eyes, her consciousness growing faint. It was time to visit an old friend of hers. Someone who in a way was her closest friend and also an alternative self. Someone who was Her yet was not her.

Echidna — The mother of Thousand Monsters.

—-

After a good shower, during which they had to fight to decide whether they would have sex again or simply rest, Adam now sat quietly in the bed with Sae, the two of them hugging in silence, and this time with no particular sex drive.

They were simply enjoying the moment and having a good time between the two of them.

"I will need to go soon."

"I know. I don't like it, but I know."

Sae muttered while pushing her face against his chest. She loved his scent and wished to bask in it all night and day long but she knew that this was not possible. Not now when they both needed to work hard toward their own goal.

"Tell me…What did you feel when you first became supernatural?"

Adam stayed silent as he caressed Sae's hair but she did not push him, waiting patiently for him to answer.

"To be honest. At first, I thought I was dreaming or that I was having a nightmare. After all, not only did I die because of some supernatural creature but I suddenly found myself in some kind of Library out of this world with a mysterious woman."

Sae snickered and Adam could only smile bitterly as he continued, "It was only when I woke up that I realized that ah…

This is truly reality and so fear came."

Fear of being hated by his mom. Fear of being considered a monster. Fear about this unknown new world that was unfolding in front of him.

Truly, fear was what filled his heart the most and it was because of this fear that he grew faster and faster, even if to do that he had to harm himself.

CH 504: End of Dreamscape visit

He feared losing everything and for that to not happen, he had to train harder than anyone else to catch up.

"Are you still afraid?"

Adam looked down, his eyes searching hers but she always did her best to hide her face. In the end, Adam answered after kissing her forehead.

"The day all of you leave this world is the day I will stop feeling fear. So, live long and well for me, alright?"

Because once he lost everything…There would be nothing else holding him back and Adam knew more than anyone else that the only reason his own morality had yet to completely collapse was because he had things keeping on earth.

People he cared for. People he loved and people he did not want to disappoint.

What about 500 years from now on? What about 1000 years? Or even more? Ten thousand years? Billion of years?

He did not know. He was sure that the Him at that time would be very different from the Him now.

Intellectually, he knew that he would live long enough to see the birth and death of stars. Would even witness the destruction of the earth or it being swallowed by the sun.

Time would inevitably change him and when this happens… It was hard to say who would be at his side.

"What about you, Sae? Do you want to share anything with me?"

Adam chased away the thoughts from his mind. His problems were for the future. He would let his future self-deal with them.

For now — He needed to take care of Sae's mental health.

Sae hesitated a little but in the end, she had her fair share to spread and there were many things she wanted to tell Adam.

"You know…I…Well, I don't really know how to explain in clear words."

Sae closed her eyes while she placed her face against his broad chest. Feeling him so close helped her feel confident and if she had to be honest, all the months she spent in Dreamscape alone helped her immensely and mentally.

Being able to fight as she wished and controlling so many monsters helped her get control of her own life and made her feel far less helpless than she had been feeling prior.

Time truly had a way of healing all wounds.

"I was shocked, you know? When I saw everything that happened. Well, frightened would be the exact word."

Up until that day, Sae had been a normal young adult woman. A little too horny for her own good but that was all.

Things changed on that day.

She discovered a new world and that in the most horrendous way possible. She had literal nightmares for days, jumping at every shadow and fearing what could happen to her.

She felt like she could become crazy at any moment and in fact, perhaps she did.

"Miss Bishop did her best to take care of my mental health. Making me participate in activities, pushing people towards me, and organizing sessions with a psychologist she hired. We would also have daily training with Luvia."

She shook her head, "Speaking of. Take care of Luvia during this trip. She is pretty young and very awkward but she has a big heart."

"I will. But now isn't the time to speak about her."

Adam caressed Sae's hair before kissing her, "I wish I was there with you."

"What matters is that you are here now and being a succubus is pretty cool you know."

Sae was not one to keep dwelling in negativity. Now that she had Adam close to her, all her anxiety had long since melted away.

Without a doubt, she would still have a few nightmares. But she was not the weak girl she once was. She had grown stronger. Both mentally and physically and she knew she could count on Adam.

She could still feel his warm energy swirling in her body and bringing her even more power. Without a doubt, she would evolve fast after this night.

Smiling, she hugged him tightly before finally closing her eyes. "Let's sleep like this?"

"Sure."

Adam closed his eyes. Be it in This place or the real world, Adam could not sleep. But he sure as hell could fake it.

At least closing his eyes would allow him to rest his mind a little bit.

"Have beautiful dreams."

"Same to you."

Like this, the two of them fell asleep. Even if one of them was only faking it.

For the next few days, Adam neither trained nor fought. For once in a very long while, he simply relaxed and enjoyed life.

Kissing, making love, exploring send overall just having fun with Sae.

From an outsider's perspective, the two of them looked like two newlyweds on their honeymoon.

They would fuck day and night or simply sit atop of hills and gaze at the moonlight.

It was a blissful moment. A moment of rest Adam did not know he needed but surely appreciated.

Finally, the two shared one last night, their bodies mingling together in the oldest dance in the world.

There were no frenetic movements nor unorthodox positions.

They were not fucking like wild beasts. They were making love and as Adam released himself one last time in her while Sae hugged him with all her strength, the two of them truly felt united.

Their relationship could not be said to have begun in the most healthy way and in the past, they had been more sex buddies than anything else.

Now though, saying that they were simply sex friends would be a disservice to all those involved.

They shared a kiss as Sae muttered, "Starting this relationship with you may have started as more of a hot ot headed decision. But I think this was undoubtedly the best decision in my life. Thank you, Adam."

"You were just a friend to me. A very annoying friend but now you are undoubtedly a part of me." Adam chuckled.

They did not share words professing their love at this moment. But the light in their eyes was unmistakable that of love and caring.

Like this, Adam drew a curtain in his adventure in Dreamscape.

CH 505: FINALLY

Before Adam even opened his eyes, he could feel a gaze on him and when he finally did open them, he squinted quietly before looking on his side.

"Awake?"

There Tsubasa was looking at him with her usual smile.

"How long have you been staring at me?"

"Watching you sleep is fascinating. It makes me feel serene and happy."

Tsubasa was becoming more and more shameless it seemed, and clearly, she was not even hiding her craziness anymore.

"You changed."

"No. I simply stopped hiding behind a mask." She shook her head, "In the past, I took my distance because you were humans. Nothing more. I am not ashamed of my obsession with you."

This was definitely the most shameless stalker statement he had ever heard. Not like he had heard many of them.

"Furthermore…" She chuckled and looked at him with a mischievous light dancing in her eyes, "It isn't like I am the only stalker. Hehehe. Two stalkers being together is such a beautiful thing don't you think so?"

Adam was speechless. He opened his mouth, wishing to give an excuse, but realized that there was nothing he could actually do or say that would make what he did with Shuri any less Stalkerish.

Even if it was indeed for her own good.

"I have nothing to reproach myself."

"I know." Tsubasa nodded gracefully, "You are stalking her for her own good. Because she is weak. Because she is a human. Because she is so vulnerable. All you want to do is to make sure she is alright. That no one or nothing can actually hurt her. Because this is your love. Because you understand the danger of this world.?You are not stalking her because you want to. You are doing so because you need to."

She looked with upturned eyes, "I understand perfectly. After all, I am the same as you."

"You are very creepy, you know?"

"Fufufu~! As long as it's for you, I can be even creepier. In fact, there is very little I cannot do if it's for you. One could say that I am demonically in love with you."

Adam had to admit…Her laugh as she teased him was truly beautiful. He also had to admit that he would never be able to win against Tsubasa in an argument.

They were simply not dealing in the same dimension when it came to their understanding of the world.

"By the way, I have a deal with your mother after this whole mission ends."

"I know. Though, I believe you do not need to become too close to her. I can become the House leader at any moment and anything you ask, I will give."

"Even the Hanekawa House?" He asked in jest but she simply shrugged. "Why not?3

"I was just joking." His smile twitched but Tsubasa was dead serious, "In the first place, the power of the Hanekawa, like all worldly power, is only temporary and illusory. To reach Nirvana, one must have no attachment to worldly matters."

This was a discussion about enlightenment. Perhaps the first Adam had since his time as Buddha.

"You say you have to, you are still strongly attached to love. Can you truly say that you have cut all worldly desire then?"

"Hah. But did you forget? Reaching Nirvana means reaching beyond the Cycle of Samsara. You are beyond Samsara and so you are the Budha in my heart that I strive to attain."

"Buddha said, the root of suffering is attachment."

She chuckled, "Buddha also said that nothing is forever except change. But your existence is eternal. Buddha is not perfect. Why then do I have to follow his words? As long as I follow the Noble Eightfold Path [1], my heart will be forever free from the dust of the mortal world. What I seek is not perfection. Only enlightenment."

She looked up, "They say when you meet Buddha, Slay him. Only by killing the Buddha in your heart can you walk the path toward Nirvana and enlightenment. But what if the Buddha in my heart cannot be slain? Then all I can do is embrace him."

The two of them looked at each other. Tsubasa, still with her elegant smile, while Adam was feeling nostalgic.

This short interaction reminded him of their relationship in the past. They would always have such weird discussions about random topics, philosophy, and more. Most of the time, he would lose any debates he had against her.

But they would always be extremely useful and would show him different ways of seeing things he might have ignored.

Intellectually speaking, the two of them were extremely compatible, of that there was no doubt.

Adam couldn't help but wonder. What if neither he nor Tsubasa were part of the Supernatural world?

How could their relationship have evolved? What would have changed?

Would they still be a couple now?

Adam was pulled from his thoughts as a voice came from the speaker, warning about the imminent landing.

This was perfect timing as he did not want to deal with this discussion any longer. It was important to focus on this mission that would most likely be perilous.

Adam sighed as he felt the plane land.

He felt like it had taken more than a year, with all the events that happened to him one after another but finally.

They finally reached Paris.

CH 506: FRANCE (1)

[France; Airport Paris Charles de Gaulle]

Once they landed, Adam and Tsubasa walked together and went through the procedure. Even though they were disguised, the full team separated into three groups. This was done for the sake of avoiding being too conspicuous and making sure they were not all grouped if everything went to shit.

To assure maximum security, Luvia, and Elysia, who had clear European features, were put together. In case of danger, Elysia could take care of Luvia with no problem and it was easy to make the two look like two sisters.

Elysia's objective was to visit the church and see if they could obtain any information. This would also help in knowing if a church wished to intervene in this matter. After all, for all intent and purpose, they were not very monolithic.

There existed more than a few 40K denominations in the world so this would be a mistake to believe they would all move as one.

Mark and Tsubasa, much to Tsubasa's chagrin, were put together. The information-gathering skills of Tsubasa were too high to not be put to use and she could serve as a tower of control alongside Mark who was the operator.

They were the ones who would coordinate everything and work on the sharing of information.

Tsubasa had been dissatisfied with this choice but she had not protested too much. In terms of experience on the terrain, she was basically even higher than Mark. She knew very well that during a mission it was important to put feelings aside and not cause trouble because of pride.

The final team was Adam and Makoto. They were the front face of this operation and because of this, they were the ones who had to ask with the most obviousness. They had to let everyone easily guess that they were hunters disguised. The brighter they were, the easier the others could hide.

Basically covering everyone with their shadow and making the operation smoother. Adam was given free reign with even the right to start a few fights if he wanted. As long as he didn't kill anyone or cause damage to civilians and infrastructure the French would not care.

This was the basic policy of most supernatural being society in most countries. They knew and understood that trying to control people with superhuman power with a leash too tight would only result in constant riots so they took a better way.

With the division of the team done, Adam and Makoto passed through with no problem.

The airport was pretty big but since they had paid for first class, they were able to have priority and advance faster.

They didn't have much luggage either so everything went fast. It was only after walking for a while that they finally reached the exit terminal.

"What do we do?"

Adam looked at Makoto as she asked with an apathetic expression. Makoto's hair had been changed, the silver color of her hair was gone to be replaced by a more common black and they were relatively shorter.

She was wearing a simple cardigan that seemed incredibly inadequate since everyone else was wearing clothes to protect themselves from the cold. But it wasn't as if Adam could speak. After all, he didn't even make the effort of wearing something heavy. He simply had a half-open shirt, showing his muscled chest.

"Well. Elysia has someone of confidence taking her while Mark decides to call for an Uber. The two of them will take relatively cheap accommodation. As for us, well…"

Adam grinned. He sent a message before taking the hand of Makoto. Suddenly, the two of them started floating.

At first, people looked at them with bewilderment. But soon, their expression became blank for a while before going back to normal and they continued walking away as if everything was normal.

For some, Adam and Tsubasa never existed. For others, they were climbing an escalator. Each of them would see something slightly different but they would have no time to care and soon would completely forget.

This was the power of the Veil. The power that had hidden the supernatural from the world of humanity for so long.

In the current situation, only two kinds of people could see them.

Supernatural creatures and Hunters.

—-

[Paranormal Department]

The interior of the PD of Paris was slightly different than the one in LA. For one, it was not underground or in another dimension.

Because of Moriarty and the damage he caused, the PD of Paris did not have the means or wealth sufficient for such things. All they could do was buy a three-floor building and use it as an HQ.

The good thing was, because of how open they were, no one would guess that they were the paranormal department outside of a very select few. The good thing was that they had at least a powerful shield to protect them in case of danger.

Sitting on his chair, the Director of the Paris department sighed greatly before standing up and walking toward the window.

Night had already fallen and from where he was, he could see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. This was a sight he had long since gotten tired of observing but at the same time, this brought a certain feeling of ease to him. He was a man going on his old age. Looking like an old man in his 70s. In reality though, he was already a little over 190 years old. This made him one of the few ancient hunters alive. After all, just because hunters could theoretically reach 300 years or so did not mean they could reach it.

More often than not. They died young or died because of all the hidden injuries they accumulated over the years.

Usually, the place of Director was given to relatively younger people in their 40s or 80s. This was the period when hunters still had ambition. Old men like him were no more.

Sadly, after what happened with the Moriarty case, no one wanted to join this bureau as director and he was forced to take office.

His name was Francois. A name as ordinary as his appearance suggested.

What was not ordinary though — were the two guests sitting in front of him.

CH 507: FRANCE (2)

Gazing at the beautiful world that was spread under the envelope of the night sky, Fran?ois spoke without turning his back to his guests, "You know, when I asked my parents, may they rest in peace, why they called me Fran?ois… The answer they gave me was rather simple. They wanted me to have an ordinary life full of ordinary and genuine happiness. It's a rather simple wish, all things considered, but every hunter knows how hard such a wish is for us in this line of work. They died not longer than ten years after I asked them the question. Dying as heroes while fighting vampires under the order of Dracula."

He shook his head from side to side, his eyes melancholic, "Ever since that day, my outlook on life has changed drastically. I bought an ordinary house for myself, far enough from the residential district that I do not seem like someone rich but not so far that I would seem poor and worthless either. I am not married yet, unfortunate as it may be, but I do plan to settle down and adopt a child very soon. Officially, I worked as a mid-of-the-line salaryman in an ordinary bank for decades and am now retired. I get home every day by 10 PM at the latest. I don't smoke, but I occasionally drink some wine, like any man born and raised in France would do. I'm in bed by midnight, and make sure I get eight hours of sleep as much as possible. Despite being nearly 200 years old, I am very healthy. Even healthier than many young men even…"

"Director."

The voice of a young woman echoed from behind him but Fran?ois continued, unperturbed. His eyes were now filled with apathy, as though declaring to the world that he was doing his utmost to be polite and not simply curse out loud.

"What I am trying to say is… I'm a man who merely wishes to live a very ordinary life. I take care not to trouble myself with any enemies, like winning and losing, that would cause me to lose sleep at night. That is how I deal with society, and I know that is what brings me the ordinary happiness that my parents wished I would have. I like being ordinary and I love this city of mine, Paris, in all its beauty and horror. Rarely, do we have such big events."

He turned around and finally faced his guests, still seated in the chairs in front of his desk. They were two women in their adulthood. Both were blonde and had surprisingly similar features. However, their features, their age, their descent, none of it really mattered to the ordinary old man. Their beauties did not shake his heart nor did it make him change his mind.

"Miss Holmes. You should understand without me having to explain it to you anymore. The fact that the Director of the London Paranormal Department is present in Paris without prior agreement from our respective countries is anything but ordinary. I do not appreciate things that make my ordinary life more difficult than it needs to be."

There were many ways of making someone feel unwelcome but Fran?ois really took the cake with his absolutely brutal direct approach.

"Is the French headquarters still angry about Moriarty?"

Fran?ois's eyes twitched ever so slightly at her remark, "You mean how you utterly failed to constrain Moriarty and now he has become our problem?"

"For what it is worth, I did not fail to catch him. I have indeed caught him in the past. But he managed to escape using the Great Fire of London that happened twenty years ago, as you may know."

"Truly a disaster, I do accept. That is why my goal is not to reproach you or ask you anything. What I am asking is rather simple. What… are you doing in France, Miss Holmes?"

Holmes chuckled quietly as she leaned back on her chair. Even though it was just a normal chair, one would have the feeling that she was sitting on a throne, all due to the very aura she exuded.

"Before I answer, I would like to ask… why bother to make such a long monologue at the start."

"You may be relatively young, but you are very renowned and it is not a secret that you inherited the [Eye of Deduction] of the very first Holmes. I have no interest in playing guessing games with you and neither do I have any secrets."

"My dear Director. If more humans were like you, the world would have been a very boring place for people like me. But it would be a much happier place for ordinary people. What a shame! What a shame, indeed…"

"It is, and I would like to ask that you may not think you have managed to distract me from my initial question, Miss Holmes."

Holmes nodded to his words and replied, "To start it off, you can call me Charlotte. I only use the name Holmes when I am on service."

"And you are not?"

"At the moment no. I have come to France, not as a Director but as a simple tourist. You need not worry about the workings of the London division. Watson is taking care of it."

"I will be honest. I care not for London. As long as the Queen is alive, only a Calamity level event could pose any threat to England and even then it's a long stretch. Had she been present in London during the events twenty years past, the Vermillion Knight would not have even needed to raise a single finger."

He squinted his eyes, "What I am worried about is you, Miss Sherlock." Fran?ois made a great deal of calling her Sherlock, clearly showing he didn't buy the tourist argument.

"You are wounding me."

"You are a trouble magnet. Your simple presence is already like an open challenge to Moriarty and he might cause trouble. Furthermore, you are a harbinger of bad luck. Wherever you go, trouble is sure to come and people are sure to die. The situation in France is already akin to a powder keg full of explosives and you are most likely one of the possible detonators."

He sighed but Charlotte Holmes simply shrugged her shoulders, as if she found this situation utterly amusing, "I will not bore you with statistics and probability. What I can say though is whether I am present or not, something big is bound to happen. Something you might not be able to handle. Wouldn't it be better if you just happened to have a second Director on hand at the ready?"

Fran?ois sighed to himself. He could see his calm life flying away with the east wind. But he knew that she was right and chasing away valuable reinforcements at this explosive moment was counterproductive at best. He needed all the help he could muster.

Even if said help joined him in a completely unofficial way.

"Very well. Before that, however, I would like to know who the lady is with you."

"Oh her?"

Charlotte grinned, "This is Themis Smith. She was part of the LAPD but soon she will be officially transferred to England. She is cute, right?"

Fran?ois had to fight the urge to facepalm himself.

CH 508: I AM GOING TO BEAT YOU UP

Adam was currently busy walking the street alongside Makoto at a leisurely pace. After their last stunt in the airport, they didn't fly fast or high, simply elevating themselves high enough so that they would be able to observe the environment and make themselves look as flashy as possible before getting down on the ground once more.

Adam had heard many things about Paris in his life, however short it may be. The city of romance, the city of fashion and boutiques among many, many others. The vision foreign people had of the illustrious City of Paris was often heavily romanticized and even Adam had to admit to himself that he did have dreams of visiting such a romantic and fashionable city in his life.

Now though he was forced to realize that… Paris was normal. Plain and utterly normal.

It was indeed a beautiful city, there was no way one would be able to deny that statement. The identical and heavily compact building structures had a certain aura about them that made them quite different from the high-rise buildings in Los Angeles. Watching the traditional architecture of the Parisian folks, one could easily feel their traditionalism and the amount of effort they must have put into creating these well-organized and compact structures.

But in the end, with all of its beauty and glory, Paris was still a normal place. Just like any other place in the world.

It wasn't a city filled with ethereal light. People were not somehow better or different from the ones he had seen back in his home. They weren't any less rude or any more gentle than anyone else in the world.

Like any other city in the world, there were good parts, the boring and mundane parts, and also the bad parts of the city of love.

Like everywhere else in the world, the poor and the rich shared the same compact world and yet managed to be far more distant than anything else one could ever hope to witness. Some districts were filled with clearly privileged people while others districts were filled with crimes and dangers.

Some were clean. Some were dirty. Some were attractive. Yet some repulsive.

Paris was just… normal, and Adam understood the fact faster than he was willing to admit. He could now also understand the phenomena called Paris Syndrome a lot more than when he merely heard the term and its explanation. [1] This was indeed quite shocking to him.

"So… What do you think?"

Adam asked as they entered one particular shop. It was a shop with an oriental vibe going on for it, a meticulous choice of the shopkeeper he presumed. It was a mixture and a kind of middle ground between Japanese and Chinese culture that were mixed to bring out something new. He could appreciate the thought, but they seemed to have more pressing matters upon them.

"We are being followed."

"I know. Forget them, they are of no importance. What I am asking is, what do you think of those things?"

Adam waved his hand dismissively. The ones following them were just poor agents of the FPD. They were of no importance, neither were they any form of threats to the two of them.

Clearly, they had been very much visible and this was what Adam wanted. In a few minutes, they would ditch them not to make it too obvious that this was a trap. He had no interest in harming people who were just doing their jobs and were fighting to protect innocents from harm.

What interested Adam now wasn't the thought of insignificant beings but rather the beautiful ceramic that was before him on the display.

This was a clear tourist bait but it was still quite beautiful.

"I need to bring something for Mom and the others."

If he wanted and focused, he could take the gift now, fly to America, and come back, and by flying he meant fly by himself, using his powers. Not just using the plane or anything. It would take anywhere between twenty to thirty hours for the round trip but it wasn't like he lacked the necessary energy to accomplish such task.

"It's real."

"Miss, it seems to me that have an excellent eye for art. This is an authentic ceramic vase from Japan made with the highest quality. The craftsmanship is beautiful, wouldn't you say so?"

"Oh. It is. Very beautiful. So beautiful one might wonder what such things are doing here rather than in their rightful place."

The one who spoke earlier was an adult man who seemed to be in his forties. He was wearing a simple but rather stylish three-piece suit and had a certain grace in his every movement that visibly showcased his extraordinary origins.

"Well. Let's just say that I have my ways."

His English was impeccable even with a slight accent. Adam was sure that for some women, this accent would only be a plus.

If Adam had to describe the man in question, he would say that he was facing some kind of Dandy.

"Your ways, huh…"

Adam caught the vase and toyed around with it, causing the man's lips to twitch ever so slightly, "Kind sir, if you are not interested in buying why not just put it down? It is quite a bit expensive, to say the least, and acquiring the item had not been easy."

"Oh. I am sure they weren't easy to acquire. Not everyone can live hundreds of years after all."

Adam grinned before tightening his grip and chugging the vase at the man. The vase was moving at such a high speed that anyone else in its way would have simply been killed in one hit. This was simply impossible for a normal human to catch or react to.

But… The man facing Adam was no human.

Whoosh~!

Soft energy formed on the palm of the man as he stopped the flight of the vase in such a way that it did not instantly break apart. This was such a display of skill that even Adam whistled and clapped his hands in admiration but the man only frowned.

"It seems like you were not taught good manners, young man."

"Oh, I was. My mother did a good job, you know? It's just I don't have to use manners when speaking to criminals who are weaker than me."

Adam grinned.

In normal times, he would not act like this. But since they needed to be high profile, Adam was willing to play the role of a prodigal young master.

"Oh…"

"Now you have ten minutes to tell me everything you know about the Dark Louvre."

"Or?"

"Or this young master is going to beat you up so much that even your mother wouldn't recognize you.."

Adam grinned, he could feel it, he was about to have a whole lotta fun.

CH 509: LEGENDS

Moments after their confrontation in front of the store, Adam was now sitting in a chair of the main office of said store with Makoto standing right behind him as he played with a porcelain glode with his powers. Meanwhile, the dandy middle-aged man could be seen standing further in the last corner of the office, his pristine suit now dishelved and tattered, his face swollen and bruised.

"What was your name again?"

"Rex."

"Rex, huh? Seems like the name of a loyal dog. Then again I guess that is quite fitting for a hound such as you ."

Adam chuckled to himself as he observed the name and the stats of the man standing bruised and battered before him.

『 Name: Rex Baskerville

Affiliation: The Familia

Alias: Loyal Hound

Race: Human

Age: 45

Emotion(s): Wariness 』

All of his information was pretty interesting to Adam as it represented a faction he had never seen before. As for his stats, one look was enough for him to realize that it was useless to gleam further. The man was barely equal to a bronze-ranked hunter. For a human, this wasn't exactly worthless per se, it was actually viewed as good. However, he was once again forced to realize just how many geniuses was surrounding him from all sides all this time.

An ordinary human of the supernatural world didn't grow as fast or as powerful most of the time.

"I thought you guys were supposed to be in England?"

Adam was once again met with the realization that both reality and fiction were weird concepts that intermingled in one way or another. He had never been a fan of the thriller genre, for all the rave it was about, but it was funny to see that so many concepts that he had only seen in books to really exist in the supernatural world. It was almost a bit absurd.

'All I need now is to meet the great Sherlock Holmes himself and I can say I have seen everything there is to see.'

He chuckled inwardly, wondering if such an encounter would actually be possible. It would be pretty interesting if he were to ever encounter the legendary detective.

"We were, until recently that is. It's impossible for our organization to just settle in one place and the Queen makes life quite hard for the criminals. Furthermore, after the Grand Fire of London that happened a few decades ago, many of the forces there decided to spread further into the other facets of Europe."

"Huh… The great fire…" Adam squinted at those words. This was the monumental event where Cecilia had pitted herself against the projection of Surtr, the mythical Norse figure, and eventually saved London, resulting in her triumph. One might say that casualties amounting to ten thousand and more were not really in the realm of saving. But for those used to calamities, they would say 'Merely ten thousand?'

The only reason the calamities Adam faced didn't cause more damage than what they did cause was because he was generally at the very heart of those incidents, witnessing its very formation and thus being able to stop it in time. Before it could progress into a true calamity and descend hell on the landscape.

It was a sobering thought for sure, showing how lucky he had been.

"You are pretty forthcoming now. See~ If you had acted a little smarter sooner, I wouldn't have had to ruffle your feathers. Don't you think so?"

The man, Rex, could only give a bitter smile in response, "It's in our policy to not risk our life for information. This is what our boss told us. Either way, I am just a foot soldier so to speak. I have no information about the Familia."

Adam waved his hand.

'Man. I wish I had a cat. That would have made this situation so much more epic.'

"I don't care about your Familia or whatever. I just want information about the Dark Louvre."

Rex hesitated a little before nodding, "The Dark Louvre will soon open for the auction of the year. But you won't be able to enter the Black Market Auction without a special permit."

"Oh?"

"The true black market is in another dimension altogether. This was a technology Doctor Moriarty stole from the FPD not long ago. This news is not widely known to the outside as the FPD wishes to save face."

Adam frowned visibly. This was becoming far trickier than he had hoped it would be. He didn't know how strong Moriarty was, but the fact that he was still alive despite everything proved that he was ever really strong or really tricky.

'Well, our goal is not to fight him. So it shouldn't be a pro…'

Adam immediately stopped this line of thought and sighed to himself. His eyes were twitching and he knew that now he must have planted some kind of stupid flag already with the mention of those words.

It seemed like he would have to get more information.

"Tell me about this Moriarty guy and how I can gain access into the dimensional realm."

"Well…"

Rex seemed clearly uncomfortable with the question, but in the end, there was not much in his hands. His life was obviously far more important to him than a blind sense of loyalty.

The simple fact that he was hesitating to answer though, was very forthcoming of the sheer danger that Moriarty possessed.

"Firstly and obviously. Moriarty is a Director-level threat and not just any small time."

Rex seemed to be looking far away, "Around 100 Years ago, The very first Sherlock Holmes and the First Moriarty alongside a group formed by different individuals were born at the same period. This was undoubtedly the golden age of Britain and it was the period during which Britain became the Largest Empire in the world." [1]

There was a sense of pride and awe in his voice. Clearly, even if he wasn't born during that period he must have heard many things of the so-called golden era of the British Empire.

"At first, the group of individuals who heralded this golden era, while under the order of Her Majesty the Queen were all united but soon dissatisfaction began to appear among the different factions, as it always does when a group of highly competent and individualistic people are united under the same banner. They asked themselves, who was the strongest? Who was the smartest? Who was the protagonist of this era?"

He spoke and his excitement visibly grew with each word he uttered.

"It didn't take long for them to start wreaking havoc. Some stayed on the side of the Queen. Some went away to faraway lands, while others decided to become criminals and create their very own empire. A great era of chaos started and many geniuses died subsequently. Only for the best to remain. Soon they realized the answer to the question. Who was the protagonist of the era?"

He smiled, "Professor James Moriarty and Detective Sherlock Holmes. The two of them were undoubtedly at the Zodiac level and perhaps at the very top of the whole hierarchy. Only a few special individuals like Musashi Kaminari and other renowned individuals could even be deemed as their equals."

"Sadly the two of them did not live long. Moriarty died at the hands of Holmes and soon Holmes followed because of all the drugs and enhancements he used in search of greater excitement to stimulate his boring life, don't know for sure what that meant. But this wasn't the end. The two had descendants and those descendants stayed nemesis.

"Thus we come to the current era. The current Moriarty is supposedly the Fourth of his name. As for the Holmes house. They had fallen after an incident related to demons wiping out 80% of their family. Leaving only Charlotte Holmes and a few others as survivors."

He shrugged, "Despite everything, Charlotte showed talents similar to that of the first Holmes and was about to arrest Moriarty but the Great Fire of London dished out and Moriarty fled to France before hiding himself. The rest that happened is known to everyone."

Moriarty entered France. Disguised as a hunter. Climbed the ranks. Became Director and finally epically backstabbed the Association before stealing a great amount of technology and knowledge.

Finally, he rose as the Emperor of Crime or as he liked to call himself— The Napoleon of Crime, just like the original Moriarty.

CH 510: Convincing

While listening to the epic legend of a rather contemporary figure of the olden times was exhilarating no doubt, Adam, as keen as he was, did not miss the mention of Musashi Kaminari, de facto head of the Kaminari clan. Evidently, his biological grandfather was one of the most well-renowned legendary figures in the supernatural world as a whole.

But now was not the time to worry or admire the man who was related to him only by blood and family. Moriarty, the fourth of his name and line, was certainly quite the tough nut to crack. Adam did not let his recent success make him lose his mind in the vain arrogance of his invincibility.

The chances of him being able to beat a true and taster Director, perhaps one of the best of its line, seemed slim at best. However, it wasn't like it was completely impossible for him if he were to really put his all into it. As long as they had no way of sealing or containing him by some means, he could potentially fight forever even if he had to die over and over again. His life was endless, the lives of his enemies, however, were limited.

Moreover, due to his traits, the more he died, the greater his resistance to the cause of death, and the whole notion of death as a whole would increase. The resistance would cause his opponent to have fewer and fewer means to dispose of him until they could not dispose of him at all.

So Adam wasn't quite as scared of Moriarty as he should have been of a top Director-level threat. But, if Moriarty's intelligence was anywhere close to that of the man he was portrayed to be in the legends, that man would immediately deduce his weakness without much of a struggle and immediately formulate a countermeasure to either contain or nullify him.

'Why I am thinking that I would be certainly facing that monstrous fellow? Has my mind already given up on the notion of steering clear of trouble?'

Adam sighed and decided that it was better to be safe than to be caught off guard and pay the price for it. Furthermore, they also had their own cards to play should such a dreadful scenario were to unfold.

He alone would definitely be a problem in taking on such a formidable foe but with the aid of Tsubasa, they might really have a serious chance of defeating Moriarty. Elysia also had an angel of unknown power alongside her, guiding and helping her from the shadows. From her position alone, one could make an estimate that the angel would have quite the power. And lastly, Makoto also had a Divine Weapon with her.

If the four of them fought against him and Elysia and Tsubasa used their Phantasm Realm at once while fighting alongside him then even a Director would have to be careful in handling them, right?

Adam visibly shivered when he remembered how his mom basically obliterated him in less than the full completion of a second once she became a bit more serious than her usual self. However, comparing his mother, Cecilia, to any Director-level individual other than the ones with the qualification to touch the heights of Zodiacs seemed like a disservice to anyone involved in the matter.

"Okay. The information is definitely drawing a clearer picture in my mind. So now this Moriarty guy is the top dog in the criminal world, you've made that clear. But why have no Zodiacs attacked him yet?"

Rex shrugged his shoulders in response, "Zodiacs don't care about anything that isn't a world-ending threat. Moriarty may be a criminal but he brought order in the criminal world of Europe at large and even supernatural forces from beyond the nation don't make too many waves in this place due to his sheer presence alone. He stopped many crimes against humanity in reality. Calling him a criminal in the truest sense is actually quite a bit of a complicated matter. He is more like a playful man in search of challenges. He rarely committed any heinous crimes.

"In fact, for many who live at the very bottom, such a man is far more welcome than any structure that follows the law, promising many things, veiled and often hypocritical, but ultimately doesn't change anything. Moriarty makes sure the supernatural creatures don't do too much damage. Many people think that Moriarty is in reality still working with the FPD but simply used the reputation of his family to control the underworld. They have more or less made themselves believe that this, in fact, is the reason the Association doesn't clamp down on him." [1]

"How likely is this theory?"

"Like any consOriginal theory, there is enough logical argument to make a leap. But for us, it doesn't matter. As long as he continues to support the underworld, then whoever he deals with on his own measure has nothing to do with us."

A very simple truth, and like all truths Adam had no desire to poke around at it.

"So in a way, Moriarty is the Strongest Mafia Boss in the world, I assume?"

He mused out loud, speaking to no one in particular. This was indeed funny. Not long ago he was also thinking of increasing his criminal empire. Though for now, Pantheon was not even an official organization and he was the only member with the mermaids working under him, he knew that they had the potential to change the whole game, reaching for the top.

After all, even the werewolves were now under his control, and soon Las Vegas would be completely his to rule. If he continued with this momentum, it wouldn't be impossible to make his dream of becoming the the God of Crime a reality, at least within the borders of America.

'It would be funny if I could steal some authority related to crimes. Might not be impossible in fact.'

With the people he was about to face, it was certainly not impossible for him to succeed on such an endeavor.

"Very well. Now that you told me everything about Moriarty. I want two more pieces of information and this time, I will pay you handsomely for them."

Adam snapped his finger and a paper filled with information appeared on his hand. "This paper has the information of a bank account I can fill with my personal funds. This is basically a dummy account but I can use it for you. I just have a few more questions to ask you."

Adam could have continued to force him but he knew that if he didn't give some small bonuses at least to make the tongues move more swiftly, he would have to struggle with partial information.

"I will give you one day to get the information I want. Of course, you can inform your boss about everything that happened if you want. I do not care. Just know that if you sell my information to anyone, I will make sure to flatten you and your family without the slightest hesitation. I hate traitors and I make sure to give them a swift yet a very painful end. Understood?"

Rex shook his head, "I understand perfectly. There is no need to warn me. I am not a rooky. But I will be honest now that my position was compromised, I need to move. Otherwise, I will have the department on my ass soon."

"Compromised?"

Adam smiled and the air around them seemed to disappear and become fuzzy as he snapped his finger.

When Rex came to himself, he found himself in his shop, as if nothing had changed. One look at his clock told him that barely a few minutes went by.

"Find me a place to rest."

Rex gulped to himself.

Compared to being beaten up… this bizarre experience was on a whole another level altogether.

He understood immediately that this man was certainly not someone he could afford to mess with.

"What kind of information do you want?"

His demeanor changed quickly as he asked while giving Adam a small bow of respect. He did not want to create more problems between them. He certainly did not want to create such an enemy for the Familia.

It was better to simply comply and make sure the man left happy and satisfied.

'I need to inform the boss.'

Evidently, the big guns were coming and this man might be the first of many more dangerous hunters.

Paris was certainly not safe during the curren chaos and evacuation was perhaps the best thing to consider now.

"I want Information about all the possible hunters who entered Paris lately. Information about how to join the auction and finally…Information about the shadow twin."

"It will be done."

CH 511: ONE CHOOSE VIOLENCE, THE OTHER CHOOSE KINDNESS

Adam was not the only individual trying his best to spread his influence in the city of Paris and get vital information from the city's supernatural inhabitants. The other members of his team were also slowly organizing their connections and means to try to understand the underlying matters of this mission and their environment in their own characteristic ways.

Among them, the team consisting of Elysia and Luvia was on the move at the moment. The two girls, who looked almost identical in their disguise, were seated in a Taxi as they traveled to their intended destination— a place to gather information. Elysia had, for some reason only she knew, chosen to sit in the passenger seat of the car, leaving Luvia with no choice but to sit on the back seats of the car by her lonesome.

The taxi driver was a relatively old man with African-American features. His voice was friendly and jovial as he conversed with the duo in his own way. Meanwhile, Luvia was busy surveying their surroundings with clear wariness in her gaze, even going as far as to pre-chant some spells and keep them prepared for any signs of danger. Sometimes she would steal glances at Elysia, directing a questioning look towards her when she saw how carefree and lax she was behaving. When she realized that Elysia was not paying attention to her at all, she could only sigh and make preparations of her own. Better be safe than sorry.

Elysia, on the other hand, seemed utterly relaxed as she started conversing with the taxi driver with a disarming smile on her face. As usual, she was wearing a mask of kindness while speaking to the elderly man who was trying his best to earn his living even at his wisened age. Elysia had worn masks of different kinds practically all her life and by now, it had become hard for her to differentiate her true face from the fake ones she had been using as camouflage.

In the current situation though, it did not really matter if she couldn't differentiate. They had no time for some internal introspection now and her masks would be more than a little useful in obtaining information and socializing with the French people.

"How may I call you?"

"My name is Ousman. What about you, young lady?"

Ousman was speaking in English. However, it was very broken and hesitant, trying his best to pronounce it in a fluid way, though it was able to get the meaning across to Elysia just fine.

"Elysia. Happy to be of your acquaintance, Ousman. If it doesn't bother you, I have a few questions."

"Questions…?"

He asked as if he was mulling her words before nodding, "I… am… listening."

Elysia's smile was unchanging throughout the conversion. Her voice was calm and soothing as she slowly posed her question to the elderly driver,

"So you are saying you drove many tourists like us in recent times?"

"Oui. Les touristes sont… I mean. Hum. The tourists? are…"

"Oh. Vous pouvez continuer en francais. I can speak both languages quite comfortably, you see." [0] - Starts conversing in French from here

"Hah. That's quite surprising. Your accent is also quite good, almost like a resident."

"Thanks. I worked hard to learn French."

"You did well. It's a very beautiful language. Hahah."

The man guffawed in pure joy, clearly happy to hear his country's language being praised by the beautiful foreigner. This made him more than happy to share and answer any of her questions,

"Well, about the tourists. Usually, this period of the year isn't really good for tourism, you know? It's cold and it rains a lot. No one is happy to come to my beautiful country. So we bring people from the inland to the airports and they go to the hotter parts of the world. This year though, everything seems to be the opposite. So many people are coming from different countries."

"I see. Was there anyone of interest among the individuals?"

As she spoke, she pushed a few bills of 10 toward his shirt pocket, causing the man to stop laughing and look at her with curiosity before he took them in his hands and shoved them inside.

The bills she was giving him were not euros but the paper version of Credits from the Supernatural World.

Those with those bills could be exchanged for achievement points from any part of the world and the amount on them was quite substantial, to say the least.

When Luvia saw Elysia give money to the man, she relaxed on her seat, only slightly though as nothing could bring down her wariness in a potential enemy territory. The reason she had been so tense from the get-go was because she had noticed that the man was quite certainly not the normal kind. Though she could not pinpoint exactly what about him made her feel a sense of danger, she had been prepared for a fight to break out any moment.

"So. What do you want to know?"

"Your tone has become less friendly, my friend."

Elysia chuckled to which the man merely shook his head, "I am friendly to humans in general. They are weak and cute. Even the rude ones are interesting to have a conversation with. I have less love for people from the other side."

"Fair. So I will not make this inconvenience last more than necessary. Tell me everything you know about the 'tourists' who came and any features worth remembering."

The black man sighed, "I don't want any trouble, okay? I like my business, I get good money and no one tries to kill me here. Don't make this complicated for me, is that clear?"

"Don't worry. I only want information. Even if superficial. I will not take back the money."

"Very well. So, most of the guys who came were wearing disguises. But like you, they choose my taxi to get some information. So I will mention in advance that if someone else pays me, you two will be part of the information being circulated. If you don't want to, take back your money and I will treat you guys as simple humans for the rest of the ride."

He gave Elysia a meaningful look while speaking those words and she understood that he was already giving her some precious information.

Someone or some organization was pushing supernatural creatures to appear and share information with everyone.

This made Elysia think about the plethora of events and places she had found suspicious along the way.

Since the news of the statuette being a possible Divine Weapon was leaked out in the world, why was Moriarty still proceeding with the Auction? No matter how strong Moriarty was, a Divine Weapon would always be a significant power boost. Even more so one that could potentially affect probabilities itself.

In the first place, how did the news even leak? Who leaked it?

'This case is becoming interesting. Then again, I guess this was to be expected from a case of this caliber.'

She hoped she was looking too much into it but her instincts were telling her that she had grabbed an important point of this mission and needed to capitalize on it to the best of her abilities.

Someone was stirring shit from the darkness, creating a large web to attract as many hunters as possible.

This could potentially lead to only one outcome…

'A large-scale sacrifice?'

She muttered to herself inwardly. The argument was plausible, far more than it should be with the information of the Old Ones' cults moving in the shadows.

This whole operation seemed like a very big trap and if nothing was done… The number of innocent lives lost might just be incalculable. An extinction-level event was looming on the corner. This was something that she could not accept. Her duty was to save as many life as possible and even do the impossible to save even more if this was deemed necessary.

She could not save everyone.

But she would make damn sure she could save more than anyone could think. She would not let the tragedy repeat.

CH 512: KINDNESS IS ALWAYS USEFUL

The moment Elysia reached such an ominous conclusion, she started grilling the supernatural taxi driver for more information, no matter what kind. Even the most seemingly insignificant bit of information was a way to get more clues about the matter for her, and the more she listened to the man the more worried she became about their current predicament.

From what she had gleaned from the driver, it seemed that the population of Paris was diminishing at a relatively small but steady pace over the years. Whoever was in charge of this movement, they were not stupid in the least. Either they had discovered the possible plot behind the events or they understood that such a high concentration of powerful hunters in one place could only lead to some big explosion. That was why they were initiating this movement that instigated the mass dispersion of information among the hunters.

"Despite knowing all this, you are still in this place? Is there a reason for your stay?"

She asked in a subdued tone as they slowly reached their destination. The elderly taxi driver merely shrugged his shoulders before responding in a light tone,

"When I was down my luck twenty or so years ago, this country became a bastion of hope for me and a place for me to start over from scratch. They helped me get back on my feet when I had nothing left for me. I have met many people here over the years of my stay. Some good, many bad, and even more who were far worse than everyone before them. There were also quite a few individuals who pursued neutrality, treading in between. This country definitely isn't perfect by any means but it has become my country over the years, and I won't be fleeing from what I call home."

His grip on the driving wheel tightened, mirroring his turbulent emotions, "Powerless and insignificant people like us can't do much. But we should do what we can at the very least. This is my way of repaying this place for everything it has done for me over the years."

Elysia was inwardly surprised by the man's passionate speech. More so due to the nature of her that powers allowed her to understand clearly that this elderly man of African-American descent before her was actually telling the truth from the bottom of his heart.

It was a heartwarming and rare sight in this cruel world that promoted violence and betrayal at every turn.

Nowadays, they were living in a society where the notion of selflessness was considered an outlier among people. To the point that, it was a notion that many people were not even able to afford fancying.

A world where evil was considered the norm and good was considered the exception.

Because of such a world, Elysia sometimes wondered if fighting for such a world was even worth it at the end of the day. She had seen her fellow sisters fight and die many times for people who in reality should not have been worth sacrificing their precious lives for.

People who would never know of their sacrifice and who would go on with their lives with no care or worse, evil people who would only commit more evil rather than repenting for their sins.

Even the church was not exempt from this reality and in order to make things work, Elysia had to dirty her hands many times and make many compromises along the way, compromises that often tugged and questioned her belief. Each of them was a stain, slowly but continuously gnawing at her Faith, like maggots that refused to leave.

It was sad, it was painful, and it was utterly disgusting. She could even feel her connection with her Angel become fainter in recent times. Clearly, the proof that she might not even be able to keep her power as a saint any longer if things were to continue.

But now, hearing this man utter those words… She was reminded once again that for every ten or hundreds of evil people in this world, there was at least one good person who was worth fighting for and that person was worthy of sacrificing their lives for, just so they could live and do more good.

"Your words have opened my eyes. Thank you."

"Hahaha~! I am just an old man with stupid ideals. That's what everyone tells me at least…"

"Your ideals might be stupid, yes, but that is why they are all the more precious and wonderful."

She smiled and placed her hands together, a small golden light formed between her fingers before she presented it to him.

"Do you mind?"

The man hesitated slightly at the gesture before bringing his hand forward. The light touched him and sank into his body before vanishing without a trace.

"There is not much we can do now but we can prepare. What I have given you is a talisman that should be able to protect you from evil and possessions. I do not know what might happen but this could be helpful to you in the future."

"I… Thank you."

His eyes turned a bit misty, at least it seemed that way to Elysia as she gazed at the 'good' elderly man. Soon, he suppressed his emotions and took a deep breath when they finally reached their destination.

"I believe we are here. Well then…"

Elysia was about to stand up but she was stopped as the man grabbed her hand,

"Sister…"

By now it was easy for him to understand that Elysia was a nun. Not many could use holy magic after all.

"Yes?"

"Take this."

He pushed something into her hand, "This will be very useful to you. If anyone asks who referred you, tell them it's the old snake. They will understand."

A few minutes later, Elysia watched as the Uber Taxi went its way forward, leaving her alone with Luvia.

"This was…"

Luvia looked in the direction of the taxi with a complicated expression before gazing at Elysia, "I could feel the power of dark magic from him."

"I know. But you should understand the notion more than anyone else, right? Dark Magic isn't inherently evil. It's all in the practitioner."

"I would have never thought I would hear this from a Saintess out of all people."

Elysia chuckled wordlessly and looked down at what was handed to her by the elderly practitioner of the unorthodox.

It was an invitation card.

[Welcome to the Dark Louvre. You are hereby invited to the greatest auction of this world. Each invitation holder can bring a +1 to the auction as their partner. Follow the indication on the back and come at the exact time mentioned to be able to join the one-of-a-kind auction.

Warning: There will not be a second chance and whatever happens in the Black Market stays in the Black Market…]

"Fufufu~ It seems like we got something very interesting in our hands here. Is it proof that kindness always goes a long way?"

She wanted to laugh and chuckle at the unexpected fortune that came her way. Who could have imagined that she would get her hands on something so precious?

"There is dimensional power on this card. Also, a tracking system, and there are a few other enchantments that prevent copying the card. Whoever created the invitation is a very powerful mage. One at the very top, I'd say."

"All the more interesting then."

She put back the card in the pockets of her robe and looked behind her, the place they had been trying to reach.

"So. This is the Legendary Notre Dame, huh?"

Luvia was much more relaxed now as they got out of the taxi. In a way, she was far more worried about the mission than the identity of the person they had been talking with in the taxi.

"Yes and No. The true Notre Dame was burned down around 11 years ago from now."

"Ah. I remember now. It was an angel summoning gone wrong, right? Well, that was what I was informed when we studied the case during our history classes back at the Academy. Don't know how much of it is true though…"

"Well…"

Elysia could only show her a bitter smile at those words.

"It was a summoning alright. Just not one for an angel."

The implication behind her words was more than just evident.

CH 513: I NEED A FAVOR

Finally, on Tsubasa and Mark's side, things were relatively less chaotic and interesting. They did not go threaten some gang members nor did they deal with special driver.

They didn't really need to. After all, Adam's actions and words were relayed to her in real-time while she shared the information with Mark.

Listening to her, Mark did not know whether he should be impressed by Tsubasa's information-gathering skill or feel fear.

'I definitely need to ask the guys back home to eliminate all spiders and any bugs they find.'

"Do not worry. I feel no interest in spying the association. For the last few years, outside of missions, the only one I observed was Adam. I am quite the ethical person you know."

"Ethical?"

The words slipped from his mouth before he could even stop them. After all, hearing about the word 'ethical' while she so proudly explained how she was spying and stalking her ex-boyfriend H24 was truly something only someone extremely shameless would say in such a prideful way.

"Well. I can see how from some outside perspective my actions may be perceived as…Well let's say slightly crazy. But I only have eyes for Adam. No one and nothing else."

She shrugged as they finally walked in the suit that was reserved with the money of the association.

It was a very large suite with 3 bedrooms and a living room. Truly a Kingly suit with all there was to offer.

"So, what do we do now?"

Mark mused. He had learned many interesting new fact the very moment they landed and they had to slightly change their plans.

"The initial mission was stealing and fleeing but if the auction happens in an alternate dimension, things will be more complicated."

The technology Moriarty used was stolen from the association and If this was anything even remotely close to what they used in America then it would be very tricky to deal with.

For one, the opening and closing would be done at the thought of the one with the master key and obviously in this case it would be Moriarty or someone Moriarty had full confidence in.

"Tsubasa, can you teleport through dimension?"

She nodded but added, "Yes and no. Yes, I can certainly enter and leave that place at will once I place my spiders and no, I cannot move from dimension. You guys use the word dimension but it's incorrect. It's more akin to an alternate space. By folding the space of this dimension, you were able to create a pocket dimension. But it's different from let's say, Dreamscape, Cyber dimension, Shadow realm or Astral Realm, and so on. Those places are true alternate dimensions that work on completely different laws."

Mark nodded, "Very well. I believe in this mission, you will be the one who will be able to escape with the target once we recuperate it. Everyone else will have to work on something. I do not think Miss Luvia will be able to make a gate in that space."

"She will not. Not to underestimate her but creating a gate within the same space is hard enough. If she tried to do so in that place, the coordinate would vary too much. Even so, I believe she is a good gate for escape. Adam and I have our own way to escape. Not even Moriarty will dare touch the Saintess. So during the mission, both Makoto and Luvia can stay with you to protect you then you guys can flee at any moment from France itself."

Mark smiled bitterly. He knew this was Tsubasa's polite way of saying that he was useless in this place and should vanish as soon as possible and if he was to be honest he was with her on this.

In the first place, he did not even want to come. He believed in Adam's skill and knew that he wouldn't have a problem. But it was always good to come with a hunter for their first mission.

He would have to contact the on-site team to see how they would deal with everything.

Finally, "Miss Tsubasa, I would like to ask you a favor."

"Oh? Do you need my stalking skills?"

"Well…You are quite perceptive."

"If you needed something else, You would have simply asked Adam. I am sure you two are quite close and he would be more than happy to help you. Well, having someone from the association owing me a favor is definitely something I am happy to see. So, tell me, what do you want?"

Mark hesitated. What he was doing was truly not ethical and Mark had always prided himself in following the ethical road even if it was not to his advantage. This was why he had stalled so much in the association, unable to go higher despite what his rank should have been.

He had avoided politics and backstage deals like the plague.

But this time…It wasn't about him.

It wasn't about his pride.

It was about doing something for someone he loved more than anyone else. Once his mind reached this point. Mark steeled his mind. There was no reason to hesitate. Not now. Not for this.

"Can you help me find my sister?"

"Sister? You are quite bold, sharing your family details with me."

The Hunter world was not a kind one and people always did their best to hide as much weakness as possible.

Sharing family details was extremely deadly in many cases as situations where family members were kidnapped or simply killed in vengeance were extremely common.

"I believe in your integrity."

"I know you are lying. You must have some insurance placed. But no matter. Your sister, huh. I need pictures and a name. Does she share the same energy signature? and in which country is she?"

"At this moment? She should be in England with someone I know but…It's exactly because I know that person, I think that there are high chances for that person to be currently in France."

"Why is that?"

Mark could only give a bitter smile, "She is a daredevil and an addict who seeks thrill and adventures There is no way she would not come."

She was Charlotte Holmes after all.

CH 514: BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

When Mark finished explaining things he could to Tsubasa, she seemed hesitant,

"So you are telling me you guys are related to the Holmes household? And currently, your sister is with Charlotte Holmes of all people?"

"More or less yes. My mother was a Watson. The Watson and the Holmes family have a blood tie since the children of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson married to each other. Either way, now my sister is under Charlotte's apprenticeship."

"Then I understand even less. I have heard many things about the current Holmes but she is definitely very skilled and powerful. She is also the current Director of London. Your sisters have all the advantages of being with her."

"On paper yes. But you do not know Charlotte like I know her. She is a selfish hedonistic woman who, when she is not drugging herself with Opium is always in search of new heights and dangers. She is the closest to what our ancestor, Sherlock was and this is both good and bad for obvious reasons."

While Sherlock holmes was hailed as a brilliant detective, he was certainly not a role model to emulate.

Sherlock was a prisoner of his own intellect. He was so smart, so intelligent, that everything in the world seemed bland and uninteresting.

This was one of the reasons why he targeted Moriarty.

More than trying to arrest Moriarty for moral reason or justice, Sherlock just saw Moriarty as his greatest challenge. Someone who could keep his mind active and working.

Most likely, the same went for Moriarty. Perhaps the greatest regret in Sherlock Holmes' heart would be the death of the first Moriarty.

Charlotte was very much the same.

"The current Holmes is dangerous and the situation in France is even more so. She will not leave until she captures Moriarty or have a satisfying showdown. But this means she is putting my sister in a very dangerous and deadly situation, all for her own selfishness. This is not something I can condone or accept."

He growled a little.

"So this is why you came."

"Indeed. I apologize for my selfishness."

"Do not apologize. I only joined this mission to protect Adam and make sure everything is alright. So I can understand your feeling. At the end of the day, we are not heroes. We fight only for our own selfish goal."

"I fear this is something my sister does not understand."

He searched for a bottle of wine and gave himself a hefty serving. He usually didn't drink when on service, But he really needed something strong now.

"She wants to become a Hero of justice. She wishes to create a better world. She is one filled with ideals and dreams."

Mark shook his head. He understood the aspiration of his sister and she was an adult so there was not much he could do to stop her.

But she was too inexperienced to deal with a potential Calamity event at her current level. This might destroy her heart irreversibly.

"Very well. I will find her. If she is in Paris, finding her would be very easy. But I make no promise about not being found. I think I can escape the notice of a Director but as a Holmes, she should have an innate instinct and insight defying the norms."

Tsubasa was not arrogant enough to believe she could spy on everyone. Even with Adam, this only succeeded more because of his lack of experience and knowledge. Now that he knew that she could do it, there was simply no way for her to spy on him without him noticing.

Holmes should be largely more experienced.

"Your best will be more enough."

He could not ask for much more.

The night came and ended in this way.

As always, Adam was unable to close an eye or sleep. He was not able to enter Dreamscape as well but since he did not die this time, he could enter tomorrow if necessary.

"You didn't have to stay awake with me, you know?"

He spoke as he turned toward Makoto.

"Sleeping while my Lord lay awake is not something I can do."

"Well…Firstly, I am not your lord, and secondly. If you keep this mindset; you will most definitely die from overwork and lack of sleep.

Makoto tilted her head and Adam released a big sigh, "I cannot sleep. As in never. Well, I can still sleep one or two hours if I force myself. But Soo, I will not even be able to do that."

"You were sleeping in the plane."

"This was different. I was not sleeping. My mind was still active."

"Meditation?"

"Something like that."

Tsubasa frowned a little before nodding, "So, I should learn how to not sleep as well."

"This is what you are concluding?" Adam chuckled, feeling like he wanted to face palm but the way Makoto acted was quite cute. In an oblivious sort of way.

"Why are you so obsessed with me being your lord or something."

"You are the righteous heir of the family. You should have been the one with the title of Lightning Blade."

"You earned that title and either way I don't even use a sword." Adam had too much on his arsenal to focus on a simple sword. But it was definitely possible to learn it if this was some incredibly powerful legendary weapon.

"It does not matter. The one who inherits the mantle must be from the main family. I am just a substitute until someone better come."

Adam raised an eyebrow at this and once again looked at Makoto. Her voice was calm as she recited those words but,

"Is it really what you think or simply what was repeated to you endlessly by a bunch of old farts?"

"..."

"I guessed so."

It didn't take rocket science to guess that Makoto was not really much appreciated in her family. Theresa had also explained a few things to him.

"Well, do you think those suck-up bastards would be happy to see me?"

Adam grinned and shook his head.

"Do not listen to the words of someone who hates you. They will only gloat at your downfall. You yourself should know how hard you worked, more than anyone else in the world. So you should be proud. You are the Lightning blade. No one can take that away from you. Not even yourself."

A few more chapters are posted on web novel but this is basically it. The last chapter is a summary of the rest of the volumes.