My apologies for taking so abyssmally long to post an update. I have been getting busy quite a lot as of late and found rare amounts of time to invest into some writing. Combined with read-overs to ensure the worst of my grammar mistakes are gone, as well as continuously reading the past chapters to ensure I don't break continuity by accident, it became a very demanding endeavor for the lack of time, but at last, I have succeeded in releasing the finished product and can only hope you enjoy it.
Other than that, I don't have news from my end.
The sun was starting to disappear behind the horizon, basking the sky in its beautiful orange light which progressively overtook the lavish blue of daytime, thus signaling sunfall and the coming late afternoon times.
For Hunter, this means that it was time to get ready for his meet-up with Riveria. That means looking the part and also being prepared for potential topics that are intellectually challenging for the average person in Orario. The many hours he spent reading about... well, everything really... proved very fruitful. He got a good summary of the recent history of the city, the basic know-how of its whole infrastructure, the different types of familias and the names of those who dominate each type as a category, important knowledge on different races, traits and beliefs, non-affiliated associations like merchants or the guild and plenty more. Amongst which he also learned much more about the elves, specifically the royal high elf bloodline which is given the surname of 'Alf' as recognition. This made being prepaped for Riveria much more streamlined as he could now carefully assess these things against her personality and weight out which parts to mention and which to not mention.
And so, all of this preparation and gathering of knowledge lead him right to where he is now, in front of the Twilight Manor's gates... being laughed at by its two guards.
"Absolutely no way!" One of them spoke between howls of utter amusement, clutching his stomach from all the laughter.
"Miss Riveria? With you?" The second added, causing the two guards to only laugh even louder.
Apparently, as Hunter had to find out, these two had not been informed about this endeavor so not only were they not informing the executives that he was here, they were not believing the first thing about this ordeal and got a good kick out of it. A reaction not all that random and uncommon, given just who Riveria was, both in her status as an adventurer and as the heiress to the elven throne. A human you never saw before walking up and straight up saying 'I got a date with her' would illicit ridicule or rage from anyone with common sense.
However, Hunter was not the patient person when it came to mockery. "Gentlemen..." he started in a low tone, earning the guards attention, though they were only slowly calming their laughter. "I understand that this is funny to you, but I am not joking. Go and inform the executives, you will see for yourselves."
In the guards' mind, the man before them might as well be a lunatic. The first time it was funny, but now it was annoying. Ignorant to the truth of his words, they continued to believe he was just being an idiot trying to get some kind of score or looking to piss off elves. Either way, they were not gonna have it any longer.
"Yeah right... now piss off, we aren't entertaining it anymore" the first guard spoke.
The second wordlessly showed his agreement to the first by tapping the bottom part of his pike against the ground.
Hunter saw this was not going anywhere and the two were unwilling to believe him, so drastic measures were called. "Fine, then I will go in there myself" he said, but before he could take the first step, the two guards crossed their pikes to block his path. He gave them a sharp look, almost a glare that was asking if they understood what they were doing. "Gentlemen... last time I am asking. Either you get me the executives, or I will."
The two were stubborn and only tightened their hold on their pikes. "Buddy, it's no longer funny. We aren't just gonna let some random nobody walk past us and do who knows what. Unless you got some proof, we aren't letting you through. Now turn around... or else..."
'Or Else' echoed across Hunter's mind repeatedly, his eyes sharpening dangerously as he registered that the guards were now threatening to actively remove him from the premise. In other words, whatever happens next is in self defence.
"Fine... guess i'm going through then" Hunter declared and took his step forward, being met with his nose barely an inch away from where the pikes cross each others. "You had your chance to be reasonable, and you threw it away. Additionally, you threatened me, so... reflect on this during recovery."
Faster than either guard could defend against, but within the scope of being able to register it, Hunter threw his right elbow out and gutchecked the first guard, then swung the same elbow upwards for a strike at the lower jaw. Then, his upper body turned and his right fist decked the second guard right in his chest, sending him flying a few feet back. Within the same second as he started moving, both of them were on the ground.
"I'll be sure to mention to your captain that you were unwilling to report guest arrivals and even issued a threat" he spoke before pushing the gates open and stepped into the property.
As if some sort of silent alarm or something had been triggered, barely after a handful steps, Hunter watched the front doors of the Twilight Manor burst open and dozens upon dozens of people of all races rushed out. What Hunter noted right away, the vast majority was elves. And they had a very, very pissed off look on their face.
"Educated guess suggests they were waiting for me. Clearly a human taking an Alf on a date is very unbecoming for their racial isolationist beliefs." As Hunter was slowly surrounded, he simply tilted his head to crack his neck and rid some stiffness. "Very well, very well. If you insist on making this fun..."
Simultaneously, up all the way on the rooftops of the Manor were a few observers.
"Is it really such a wise idea to sicc all our lower level members on an unblessed person?" Finn questioned with an expression that showed some worry, mainly towards what the world would think if this came to be public knowledge.
"There ain't no fucking way an unblessed runt took out Arachnia by himself" Bete retorted immediately, a sour look on his face. "Nobody in the world has been that powerful since the Sword Hero."
Gareth picked up on it with a raised brow. "So it hasn't happened in a while, don't mean it is not possible."
"Oooh look! It's begun!" Tiona excitedly voiced, making all the executives and first class members return their attention to the man who wants Riverias hand for the evening.
"I just hope Loki knows what she is doing..." said High Elf mumbled to herself.
As the first attacker lunged, Hunter easily sidestepped and just whacked them square across the face with enough force to leave behind a deep red imprint of his hand on the unfortunate elven adventurer's face. The second that one hit the ground, everyone roared and simultaneously ran at the speedster.
Hunter himself however was not worried. He could move at speeds so fast the world looks like it is in standstill. Moving just the teensiest bit faster than his adversaries was no challenge and neither was fighting them off.
Hunter's Arcanum-based super speed, as it needs to be known, did not simply make him faster. It gave him power over 'velocity' as a concept manifested within ALL aspects of his physique. Many of the body's functions have set speeds, such as how fast muscles can become dense, how fast the neurons in our brains transmit signals and thoughts, how fast our nerves can process an activation. But also more fundamental things like the potency of his metabolism. Hunter has all those sped up too. And as such, his thoughts were exponentially faster than any other sentient beings' were. Information from his 5 senses was processed fully in the span it takes a normal person's nerves to start its initial signal.
This translated into a capacity to process all incoming information in real time so fast that he formulates complete plans before his opponents manage to blink once.
What would that mean for his current opponents?
That their Falna-based enhancements made zero difference. He was so much faster than them that he has the entire skirmish processed and planned out before the third attacker swung at him.
And in the oncoming 1 minute and 37 seconds, he made that very much known. The physical force from the acceleration made each punch he threw inflict the weight of a literal car, which would kill anyone who doesn't have enhanced durability from the Falna given he aimed those punches at their faces. To the Loki Familia, all it did was send them to a land of dreams far, far away where they will contemplate their life choices for the entire night and next morning.
"I don't fucking believe it..." Bete started, his eyes widened at the sight.
"He is good... damn, he is very good..." Finn joined, gulping to himself. "Under 2 minutes, he one hit K.O.'d them all. His evasion, his blocks, his counters... beyond flawless. His situational awareness and conscious awareness of every position is unlike anything I have ever seen."
Ais was silent, contemplating what she witnessed in her own mind. The way this unblessed man moved reminded her a bit of her father. Precision, Force, Timing, Follow-up. It was all perfect. She knew right away that this man could aid her in her pursuit of strength. Yes, Hunter can give her more power.
"I hate that this is what Loki came up with" Nine Hells chastized while pinching her nose. "Let us be glad he decided to knock them out rather than break any bones. I will have Lefiya, Raul and Anakitty tend to the unconscious ones" she added before she took a step forward and thus jumped off of the roof to descend.
Hunter let loose a sigh as he reveled in the thrill of victory, moving his hands up along his face to slick his hair backwards in a means to relax himself, and at the same time tilted his head back which lead to his gaze going up, enough to peek at the roof and see the executive members descend from it by leaping down. "Well now, isn't this an interesting development..." the speedster mused while the high-ranked Loki Familia members landed before him one after the another. He eyed them briefly with a tilted head, turned to look at the defeated members then returned his gaze to Finn.
Said Captain immediately understood, and he and Hunter had an unspoken exchange along the lines of 'so this was all a setup?' 'sorry about that, but yes' 'and was it worth it?' 'i wish it was not'.
Hunter's attention then moved to Riveria and he grew a small smile. "Shall we? It is rude to keep a woman waiting, or so I am told, and I figure you want to give the rookies some time to recover as they should be awake when you scold them, followed by the mastermind of this ordeal who I would guess is Loki herself."
Riveria was caught a bit off-guard by his deduction, but she masterfully hid it by remaining very regal and neutral in appearance, using her rather loathed childhood experience as the Elven Princess to maintain appearance. "A sound suggestion, I will say" she responded, stepping towards the human male before turning to the executives with a look that was as cold as death without changing her facial expression. "Let Loki know that I will be expecting her to be in the office when I return."
Finn and Gareth were Riverias friends for a very long time, so they understood that as tempting as it would be, they would choose to save all the teasing they had planned for another time.
Riveria and Hunter hadn't departed for more than a minute before the first conversation began, initiated by the High Elf Princess.
"I must confess that your fighting prowess is deceptive. How can an unblessed person move and engage combat as you do?" She asked, straight away going for the big question.
Hunter on his end contemplated his options. "If I am to earn enough trust to receive information of value, I need to demonstrate a willingness to give before I can take. Telling her will no doubt lead to Loki and her Executives knowing, but if I steer tonight's exchange the proper way, I will have gained a spot within Riveria's inner circle... high risk, high reward." He thought before sighing out. "If you really want to know, I suppose... but first, a demonstration to simplify."
"Wha-" but before Riveria could finish asking what he meant, the human man swooped her off her feet in a bridal carry before taking off at full speed, blitzing through Orario's northern district all up until they were in front of a certain, very famous restaurant known for serving adventurers some of the best food in the city.
There, in front of the Hostess of Fertility, Hunter set Riveria down on her feet before carefully dusting off her shoulders and hips, all while she had her mouth slightly hung open and her eyes wide in shock, processing what just happened.
"When I was a toddler, Evilus attacked my home, killed everything I held dear and scorched out my eyes. A local deity, Savitr, gave me his eyes and used his Arcanum to heal me and make my body accept the new eyes. I don't know precisely how, but that lead to me awakening motion-based powers in the form of super-speed. Everything about me is faster, my thoughts, my nerves, my reaction, my metabolism. Everything you can imagine about the body. And obviously my body also grew some secondary supportive enhancements to withstand this speed, otherwise everytime I took off the drag force would have snapped off my legs like dry twigs and insects would have turned me into Alteran Cheese with all the punctures I'd suffer on collision. That's about it, I think."
Riveria was still motionless, her brain investing all of its capacity in processing this information. A power born from a side-effect or mutation of residual Arcanum within a mortal, it was insanity, it was revolutionary, it was a first of it's kind. The discovery to end all discoveries, something that, if studied and understood, could bring so many new possibilities and futures into existence. The inner magic-nerd within her was so giddy that it threatened to escape into a laugh that could be mistaken for madness.
"Huh, guess I broke my date already. And here I thought to show you what I can do with my fingers" he commented and lifted his left hand as a fist with his index-finger sticking out and vibrating at a high frequency.
The lewd implication caused a full stop to all of Riveria's thoughts, her face turning red from chin to ears. "W-what impure suggestion!"
"Ah, still there, good" Hunter snarkily countered. "I half-considered just nibbling your ear instead since you were being unresponsive. Now come on, we don't want to just stand around at the entrance, yes?"
Riveria composed herself very quickly and exhaled as to calm down from his aforementioned tease and gave a nod. "Agreed. Lead the way."
Hunter then did just that, opening the doors to the Hostess, which immediately caused the lively noise from its interior to go up a few decibels.
After entering the establishment, much of that noise died down and Riveria quickly became the center of attention. Why, you may ask? Because it is very rare to see her anywhere without being accompanied by either Ais Wallenstein, alias Sword Princess or Kenki, Lefiya Viridis who is refered to as Thousand-Elf, or the Hyriute twins. It was an open secret that despite her clear distaste for age-related comments, Riveria does have exceedingly strong maternal instincts and is often the guardian for the youth of her familia.
So imagine seeing her all by herself, with a random man most people never saw or heard of before, one who was very clearly not a troubled youngling. Young, yes, but not a child. Combine the fact that drunkards love jumping to conclusion, and the gossip of the century was born. The mother of all outrages, a story that will have gods and mortals alike talking for months.
"I-is Nine Hells on a date?"
"He doesn't seem like one of Loki's young ones."
"Oi oi, that's a human, you know?"
"An Alf would never!"
"Yet here she is"
Whispers of such nature erupted all across the popular tavern, which made Riveria slightly anxious, not for her public image or anything, no. She was worried about the inevitably extreme reaction other elves will give, and if the scolding Lefiya received was any indication, Hunter would be rearing to clap back. The last thing she needs is Mia breathing down her neck about disturbing her business, indirectly as it may be.
"Come on, let's take a seat, I see a table for 2 that is free" Hunter spoke and, while very intentionally smirking in the direction of a large table of elves, grabbed Nine Hells' hand and guided her over. This had the desired effect of making said elves scowl and glare, but they were not dumb enough to start anything while inside the Pub. Nobody fucks with Mia Grande's business when she is on the clock.
Seeing that Riveria was in the Pub, Ryuu decided to take the initiative on taking their orders for two reasons. One was due to her respect as an elf to the Royal Alf bloodline, and the other was to get closer and figure out if this was what it really looked like. Ryuu may be quite far removed from her elven biases, but not completely, and her unnaturally high respect for the Alfs remained, and with it, a heightened waryness of non-elves interacting with one. As she approached the table, she noted that Riveria seemed to have her eyes drawn to the man in contemplation. It was clear the High Elf was processing something, but what that something may be eluded the former Level 4 adventurer and only served to further justify her vigilance.
"Welcome, Lady Riveria" Ryuu greeted towards the green-haired Royal Alf, making her return to the here and now and causing her to let loose a silent 'oh'.
"Ah, hello, Ryuu. And please, just Riveria is fine. I told you there is no need for honorifics amongst friends."
Ryuu would silently belay that request. Indefinetly. She just could not force herself to be casual to an Alf. Her eyes turned towards the human male, who was studying the waitress with a sharp look and a dangerous glint in his eyes. Ryuu knew right away, not who he was, but WHAT he was. "A killer..." She realized, and Hunter's eyes wordlessly caught on that she knew. But he came to the same realization about her. Two murderers, one drowning in guilt and self-contempt while the other thrives on it and basks in the blood of his victims.
They had a mutual understanding right away, a reciprocated threat to one another. 'Reveal who I am and I reveal who you are'. Like a reversed game of Chicken, where both held a dagger at the others throat, daring their opposite to slash first, knowing they too will be slashed. A perfect stalemate, in simple words.
"The name is Hunter. I am here for a dinner with Riveria. As I can tell, you are a friend of hers, yes?" The man asked, though the answer was already obvious. "In which case I am delighted to meet you."
Ryuu had to severely struggle with her poker face, because it was like the almagamation of all her fears sat there. A Ryuu who had a smile while covered in blood. However, she held up and managed to not crack from the self-induced pressure and anxiety, relying on years of serving customers under Mia's tutelage to keep her from making a scene.
"I must admit curiosity" Ryuu's monotone voice spoke, her eyes turning to Riveria. "I would not have thought you would go out with anyone anytime soon, given your ever-growing responsibilities as Lady Loki's executive."
Nine Hells actually grew a small smile at that. "Well, it was a bit sudden. Hunter here was rescued during that sting yesterday. He was actually the one who staged the outbreak of the prisoners and we have confirmed that he took down Arachnia by himself as an unblessed individual."
Ryuu's eyes, as well as those of everyone who was eavesdropping, which was pretty much the entire pub's population, went as wide as dinnerplates. "So he's the one-!"
"Please, don't" Hunter interrupted the waitress. "It was little more than exercising my right to free myself. I have been held captive by Evilus pretty much my entire life, with Valletta, or Arachnia as you call her, being the primary overseer. I had many years to study it all. Her thoughts, her moods, her moves, schedules and all. I was more prepared than anyone ever could be when I faced her" he lied as naturally as he breathed, though it was not EXACTLY a lie. Yes, he did study Arachnia, but it had no impact on the outcome of their fight. No, he did so for an underlying purpose, but no one needs to know. Not yet at least.
"It is still not anything to scoff at. Arachnia has been a nightmare to this city for over a decade, and as a Level 5, few were able to challenge her and even less could stop her escapes. She has never been caught before, so you have achieved a feat no one in the last generation could" Ryuu answered with, her voice still perfectly monotonous.
"I suppose" Hunter settled down with. "And as Riveria was about to say, after the little prison break, Loki and her executives came over to investigate and we met. I decided to break my long solitude by getting out into the world and promptly asked Riveria out."
Ryuu's brain short-circuited for a second. "You just... asked her out?"
"Yep"
"Just like that?"
"Just like that, Ryuu" Riveria confirmed. "He did not put up a big, pompous display, he did not raise me to a pedestal, he even stood up for my individuality. Though admittedly he could have been a bit kinder to Lefiya about it."
Hunter just shrugged slightly. "Maybe, but she had to hear it as it is for it to really sink in. You are a free person, Riveria. Nobody has a right to dictate who you can and cannot have in your life. Matter of fact, most cannot even hold an opinion about it, only those who care for you and grew up with you can. That is a very simple yet easily eluded point."
"And that is precisely why I said yes" Riveria continued. "For the first time since I met Finn and Gareth has someone treated me like I was just another person. I value that greatly, and wish to keep Hunter in my life, be it as a comrade, friend, future familia member or, well, even for romantic aspects."
"What she said" Hunter simply added. "I want to have people in my life, and I thought the best place to start is with someone who has both feet on the ground and her eyes forward, metaphorically speaking. Someone who is well spoken, realistic yet ambitious, mature and intelligent. Someone with whom I could nerd out for many hours and never think to myself that any topics were repeated. I knew at first glance Riveria was that kind of person."
The High Elf in question grew a tinge of red on her cheeks and the tip of her ears. "Flattery won't get you too far."
"So long as it's not nowhere~" Hunter fired back with a cocky tone.
Ryuu on her end however felt very conflicted. On one side, it was great that Riveria could have someone like that and Ryuu fought off any leftover elven zealotry in her mind to cheer for the Alf. But on the other... why him of all people? Why did it have to be a blood-starved killer, a predator of mankind like Hunter?
"Well, I do think that would answer all the personal inquiries" Hunter began and leaned forward on the table. "We would like to order."
Ryuu snapped out of it and nodded her head, though she made a mental note to keep an eye on Hunter. "Of course. What may we serve?" The Elven Waitress answered, returning fully to professionalism for the time being.
"I would like to have the Tofu Alfredo please, with a glass of water."
Hunter was amused at hearing this, partly because he did not expect Riveria to be vegan, and partly because apparently 'Chicken Alfredo' was a thing in this world, word for word too. He took the Menu card, skimmed it over in a second again and decided to order the first thing that stuck out to him. "I will have the Chicken Tikka Masala with a glass of cold water and a second glass of cold tea, please."
Ryuu wrote their orders down and nodded. "Very well, we will bring you your orders shortly" she spoke with a finality before turning around and going to the counter, to Mia Grande, to relay the orders.
"You have a good friend there, Riveria" Hunter suddenly noted, catching the green-haired woman off-guard. "She is very attentive, sharp, cares for you genuinely and wants only your best without inserting herself into the picture by force. I value people with her nature highly, you know?"
Once more having her curious bone tickled, metaphorically speaking, Riveria leaned forward in a physical display of interest for the topic. "You sound like you are proud of her as a person."
"I am. She has a dignified air around her, but not anyhow pompous. There is strength in her, and she is very observative. Whenever her gaze was on me, I felt like I was a book being read by her" Hunter continued, a small smirk on his face. "I am an observant person myself, so it sparked a bit of a competitive side within me..."
The way he trailed off let Riveria know right away that there was something more to be said, something not so positive.
"However, I also know that dying light in her eyes" he added, a small sigh leaving his lips as he relaxed himself backwards into the chair. "She hates herself, deeply so. She is depressed, and she blames herself for what is depressing her. I had the same look in my eyes in the past, I would recognize it anywhere."
Riveria was now much more serious. She was one of the very few people who knew Ryuu's true identity as Gale Wind, a former Astraea Familia adventurer who lost her comrades during a trap laid by Rudra 5 years ago going horribly wrong, and subsequently went on a murderous rampage, ending the harsh grip of the Dark Ages, but being branded as one of Orario's most notorious criminals in history with a record-breaking 80 million Valis bounty on her head. Few criminals in the thousand years of Orario's history had a bounty higher than this. So Riveria knew very well what was going on within Ryuu, and it alarmed her that Hunter is familiar enough with such a predicament that he can recognize it at a glance.
"And you are now wondering what I did about it, aren't you?"
Riveria's brow twitched lightly. "Are you per chance a mind reader?"
"Gods, no" Hunter answered while having an amused expression. "It's just logical deduction and a bit of a good guess. But, that's not important. What is important is that these thoughts lead to a tipping point, a choice that is absolute and irreversible. The day will come when she has to make that choice, and she will either heal, or become something far too dangerous for anyone's good."
A thick, tense silence gripped the table of two as Riveria was eyeing Hunter with a contemplative look. Seconds passed and she relented, exhaling strongly. "I know... and I dread that day. I can only hope that she will overcome her inner demons."
"With friends like you, she will" The man said in return, now growing his smile into a smirk. "Of that, you can be assured."
Her tension fell and Riveria felt herself relax, nodding slightly. "I appreciate your faith in my capabilities as a supporting pillar for my loved ones."
"Faith?" Hunter chuckled out and leaned forward once more. "Just stating it as it is. Not every observation has to be negative, or worded harshly for the sake of impact. You are a good person, I had a feeling since I laid eyes on you, but seeing it here and now, I can be sure without any hesitation. Anyone can count themselves lucky to have you in their lives."
Nine Hells was once more blushing on her cheeks and the tip of her ears, coughing into her hand slightly. "W-well, let's not get too carried away with compliments."
Hunter on the other hand was thinking a whole different direction. "Hook, line and sinker. This should ensure that I now have occupied space within her mind that will continue to circulate. Now I know for sure she will want to see me again, and once I am close enough to her, I can get what information her familia has on the Remnants of Evilus."