Ascenders Rift

Chapter 163: Odd News? Her Nature Exposed

The day was long, as by now it was only approaching the peak of noon. The inhabitants of the City of Hope were up and about in full as they traveled to handle various daily activities, causing both the sky and streets to be filled with crowds of vehicles and individuals.

At this hour, Evan and the others had long since registered for a resting quarter. They were now idly sitting back while waiting for Breya to recover.

After sorting out their fees, Leo had already gone ahead to speak with the city head and would be returning after a while, as his friends had accompanied him to handle their affairs.

Evan sat down on a sofa while leaning his back onto it and staring out the clear window. He looked at the sights of the different shaped buildings, and peaceful atmosphere, but sighed as he knew that it was only a facade, one done to hide their fears of the dangers both outside and on the inside.

'The things we humans do to forget our pain, always trying to force ourselves into a state of senseless delusions. Such a pity, this is always what leads us to our ends...' Evan thought as his eyes shone a recollective light, the images of various human tribes and their suffering the worlds he's experienced.

After removing these thoughts, Evan gripped his fists tightly as a determined look showed on his face. He concluded, 'No matter, I won't let it happen again, things might be different, but it will ultimately turn out the same as a victory for all sides of humanity.'

Finishing his thoughts, he rose to his feet and began to leave the room, Rick who was seated nearby, brushing through some details on a tablet-like device looked at him and spoke, "Where are you off to now?"

Evan glanced at him and replied, "Just some fresh air, I'll return soon."

Following those words, Evan opened the door and left the room. As the door closed, Rick stared at that direction for a while before focusing his thoughts on the device.

While staring at it, a bold headline was displayed on the screen titled - 'Missing citizens still not found after recent vanishing pub incident!'

Rick frowned as he glossed through the article while thinking, 'Missing Civilians? With the technology and surveillance system that we've seen thus far, how can there easily be cases of such massive disappearance of civilians at a popular pub? I fear that this might be more troublesome than it seems, being an act of some hidden inside party.'

As Rick thought to here, his eyes narrowed, recalling a few strange scenes he noticed upon coming here, but before he could focus on them, a nearby door opened as Joe walked into the living room while yawning.

"Man, that was good, a light nap, it's been a while since I've had a proper rest. Oh Rick, why are you still here? Why didn't you get some rest?" Joe said as he noticed Rick seated nearby.

Rick looked at Joe and replied with a sheepish look, "Rest? Ha, I don't know how you do it, but I can't just easily go to sleep in unknown territories, what would happen if something bad were to occur suddenly?"

Joe hearing merely waved one hand as he went to the fridge while speaking, "Blah-blah, I don't give a rats ass, rest is rest, your body needs it to fight against any potential threat and not slow down. Besides, what could happen to us when we don't have anything to do with their politics or world?" 

Rick chuckled at those words; he replied, "I'm surprised that you're speaking about reaction speed when even you are far from even achieving the normal standard. Heh, but enough of that, take a look at this..."

After Rick spoke, he tossed the tablet to Joe, Joe promptly reacted by catching it without even looking back as he spoke smugly, "What was that now, huh bitch? Now that's reaction speed..."

Rick merely snorted, not saying anything, as he no longer paid Joe any mind, he stared at the window with a slightly cold look, the image of Elumar flashing by causing him to grip his fist in silence.

Joe looked at Rick when he saw that he was silent, he naturally knew that when he got like this, he was more or likely thinking about his father or that brother that reigned over their empire.

Joe shook his head, not bothering to disturb him as he looked at the tablet. When he saw the title, he couldn't help but be stunned as he never expected such a thing to be in progress. 

"Well shit, to think we'd come here when such a darn thing is going on, it's best not to let our guard down as who knows what the hell might happen..." Joe said while browsing through the details.

He then cleared his mind and placed it down the tablet, rummaging through the fridge like a wild cat or stray dog in a garbage dump.

However, right as the fridge continued to make noise, another door opened, and Layla and Emilia walked out with a somewhat tired-looking Breya that had dark shades under her eyes.

Breya lowered her head in embarrassment as she recalled her previous actions, but as she saw Joe digging in the fridge, she couldn't help but frown as she spoke, "Hey, what's so good in there that you can't even turn around to greet us?"

Joe, hearing this, only now lifted his head out; he had a banana in his mouth that he chomped down before replying in a matter of fact tone, "Food..."

Breya rolled her eyes at this, as Layla and Emilia giggled at his response, even Rick, who was feeling a bit blue, chuckled slightly before covering his mouth.

Emilia couldn't help but notice the; she ran over to his side while tilting her head as she saw him try to cover his face. She spoke, "Eh? Did I see things? Or were just laughing at brother's joke, Rick?

Rick cleared his throat and replied, "Hmm, that was your imagination, I'd never do such an act..."

Emilia made a suspicious look as she placed her finger on her cheek and looked at him with her face leaned in close, her long eyes lashes and bright blue eyes capable of soothing a man's soul. 

Emilia then asked again, "Realy?"

"Ah...yes... such gorgeous eyes," Rick murmured, subconsciously feeling a bit mesmerized by her beauty and innocent charm. However, he soon quickly got himself together, as he knew right now wasn't the right time for such thoughts. He was about to reject her words again, but only now realized that he spoke his thoughts out loud by mistake. His eyes widen in surprise as he looked at Emilia, but at this time, he saw an entirely different appearance.

Emilia's previously innocent and naive look changed to one of maturity, and fascination. When she heard those words, she licked her lips and gazed at him with an intense, mesmerizing look that only a dominant woman in control could give a man, causing Rick to shudder slightly.

"Rick... what did you say just now? Can you repeat it?" Emilia said in a whispering tone, as her soft voice seemed no different from poison, weakening any man's defenses before the final kill. Her slender fingers ran across his cheek down his neck as she gazed at him with beautiful her blue eyes that were shining.

"I... I..." Rick stuttered at this, as he had no idea that she could have had such a persona, even the previous times she had never taken on such an approach, causing him to falter at this scenario.

Rick knew that he would do things that would startle all in the room if he didn't come out of this dilemma. Even Joe and the others seemed a bit distracted to help out. Yet, at his moment of peril, as if someone came to rescue, the door from the outside opened with a bang.

Creak! This noise drew everyone's attention from whatever they were doing as Leo, Julie, Razel, Oron, and Irene entered.

Emilia clicked her teeth while muttering softly, "Che, every time..."

Rick's eyes widened at this as he looked at her, but Emilia only showed an innocent and sweet smile as she spoke, "Dear Rick, thank you for your compliment. It meant a lot to me..."

As Emilia said this, she walked away from him in a happy tone, heading back to Joe, who was wolfing down food.

Rick sighed as he stared at her back while thinking to himself, 'I believe that from this day onwards, I will never be able to view her the same again.'

Not paying attention to Rick, Leo, who entered the room looked at everyone, noticing that Breya had awakened. He smiled and spoke, "Great, so she's awake, then I suppose that we can move forward. Eh? Where's Sir Evan?"

When the others heard, they looked at each other before they looked at Leo and shrugged unanimously. Leo and the others face sink as they sighed, knowing that they had to wait again.

****

Author's Note:

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Ascenders Rift - /book/16131271505970705