"How handsome!"
Victoria, still drunk, hugged Slady tightly, who had his face between her breasts, but didn't care and closed his eyes briefly
"..."
He tried to say something, but it was only muffled. Shaphira and Elisa laughed at the scene, Raizer rolled his eyes, giving a small smile at the scene, Faller, despite being jealous, didn't get angry. He recognized that it was an innocent act by Victoria and Slady didn't have any dirty thoughts about it.
"Just enjoying my wife's breasts, right?"
Victoria's cheeks turned pink, separating from the hug and just stroking Slady's hair in the bun.
"Honey!"
She pouted her lips at Faller and then turned towards Slady
"Oh, sorry! I suffocated you!"
She turns to Faller again, walking towards her husband with a smile.
"Honey, he's a great friend, but only you can do more than look at my 'jewels'."
She sits on Faller's lap, placing her beloved's face between her breasts, who just chuckled softly and snuggled closer.
Slady watched the scene naturally, without any malice. Elisa and Shaphira blushed at the scene, covering their eyes.
"What's wrong? They're just breasts, you have them too."
He put his hand on the heads of both of them, who looked at Slady strangely, but noticed his innocence. Raizer laughed, looking at Slady.
"No matter how much time passes, your innocence is greater than your knowledge, Slady."
That's how the night began. Slady drank with Raizer, talking about life, Shaphira and Elisa stayed in a room, doing young things, and the couple, Faller and Victoria, stayed together in a corner, watching Slady carefully. Despite his innocence, they recognized the danger and wisdom he possessed.
01:30 in the morning...
Faller and Victoria are asleep, hugging on the floor, Shaphira and Elisa are sleeping with their heads on Slady's lap while he himself is sitting on a sofa, looking at Raizer, who was sitting next to him, still drinking his wine.
"Can I be honest with you, Slady?"
"Yes."
"Although these young people are a real mess, I feel happy about this night, especially enjoying it with you."
He puts his hand in Slady's hair, caressing it, it was so delicate and loving, as if he were taking care of a younger brother.
Slady remained impassive and expressionless, but let him stroke her head.
"Although I don't like going out at these times, I'm glad Shaphira liked it."
Slady put her hand on her adopted daughter's hair.
"I know she likes it, your daughter and mine are best friends, I'm grateful for that, my daughter never had many friends."
"Why? She's a good woman."
"In the past, people fear getting close to a woman whose parents were the strongest Demon Hunters of their time."
"I see..."
Slady looks at Raizer, seeing his bare chest due to the lack of a shirt.
"Your body is still strong, but your problem is still present."
He reaches out his hand to his friend's chest, feeling his heart.
"So fragile..."
Although he found Slady's gesture strange, he knew it was something innocent from his friend.
"Yes, after the Second Renkai Awakening, it's been hard to deal with this illness."
Despite his lack of expression, Slady felt sad, as if he was crying inside for Raizer.
"..."
"I know you don't like seeing me like this, Slady. But it's part of life, everyone will die."
He puts his arms around Slady, hugging his friend and placing his face on his chest. Slady felt uncomfortable with the gesture of affection, but allowed Raizer to express himself.
"..."
"Even if I die soon, I know I've had a happy life, I'll die without regret. Because I had the best wife, the best daughter... and the best friend a man could ask for."
He steps away, placing his hand on his knees and letting out a sigh.
"Anyway, let's take care of these people."
Minutes later...
Elisa was sleeping in her room, Slady was holding Shaphira's sleeping body, Faller and Victoria had left. Then as she turned to leave...
"Slady."
"Yes?"
Slady turned, looking at Raizer, who was still awake.
"That couple in love are good people, I know you can trust them, Slady. Don't be mean to them."
Slady just nodded, then left.
In the library, Slady had placed Shaphira on the bed, covering her body.
"I feel something strange..."
Truth suddenly appears next to Slady, floating beside him.
"I feel the same way."
"You should go outside and find out."
"That's what I'm going to do."
Then Slady leaves the library, then sees a dark smoke in the starry sky, which from the distance...
It's in La Taberna
"Shit!"
Literally, Slady and Truth say in unison.
"Go back there, Slady! Something must have happened to your friend!"
"I have a bad feeling..."
Upon returning to Libretanhya, Slady enters the tavern, then, for the first time in many years, tears flow naturally from Slady's eyes.
'Raizer...'
Raizer was in the middle of the flames, his dead body was lifeless and beginning to enter a state of carbonization. He didn't have time to think and cry, because his tears evaporated and his thoughts went higher.
'Elisa must be in danger!'
He ran as fast as he could, and upon entering the young woman's room, he found a blood cocoon...? That seemed bizarre. But he could hear her crying inside the structure.
"Father..."
Then Slady broke the blood cocoon with a punch from his bionic arm, the structure disintegrated into liquid, and there was Elisa, crying and with her body emanating a powerful aura.
'Raintalya...'
That was the only thing Slady could think of, before he heard Elisa crying.
"Uncle Slady, help me!"
She stretched out her arms to him, and without hesitation, Slady entered the flames and picked Elisa up in his arms, running away from the place.
Before leaving, Slady came across two things on his way: a camera that was in a corner of the place, which had not been broken yet, and a sword, a beautiful sword that belonged to Raizer.
'Take it!'
Truth's voice echoed in Slady's mind, who grabbed the two items with his normal arm.
As he left the library, Slady felt his body and Elisa's still on fire, his adrenaline was very high, not for fear of getting hurt, but for fear of seeing Elisa get hurt.
He ran extremely fast to the forest far from Libretanhya, being careful not to hit any trees on the way, then he threw himself into the first river he found.
When he felt the cold water on his skin, the few hairs on his chest stood on end, he emerged from the water and managed to hold Elisa, who coughed a little and clung to Slady, crying softly.
"Slady, don't leave me!"
"I won't let it happen..."
That night... was terrible for both of them...
The next day, Rin Yuang was in the area where the accident happened, taking notes in her notebook, Roger was in the middle of the wreckage, trying to find something that would make him understand what had happened.
Then Slady appeared next to her, trying to keep her cool.
"What happened here?"
The woman was surprised by Slady's presence, but maintained her professionalism.
"This place just caught fire this morning, everything indicates that it led to the death of Raizer, the last member of the Complexity Hunters."
"That's terrible."
"I know, the Demon Hunter Association wants to give Raizer a proper funeral..."
Suddenly, she seemed more thoughtful, so she approached him, trying to give her opinion.
"But I think that's wrong, it seems like they only want to give Raizer his value after his death, that's unfair."
Slady listens without judging, nodding.
"I understand your indignation."
Then, suddenly, Rin Yuang rests her head on Slady's chest, as if giving an indirect hug.
"Apart from the professional part, as a woman, I thank you for taking care of me that night."
Slady was surprised by that, but realized that Rin Yuang wanted to be grateful, even if it wasn't at a good time.
"No problem."
He says, letting the investor hug him. Noticing the permission, Rin Yuang sits up more confidently, putting her arms around him and hugging him tighter... a really remarkable strength.
"You can hug me, but you don't have to break my back."
"Hehe..."
She pulls away.
"Sorry, I was rude."
She tries to go back to work, but with Slady's presence it becomes more difficult for her. Noticing his difficulty, Slady stepped back out of respect, going to Roger.
"Did you find anything?"
"Hey, hey, hey..."
He puts his hand on Slady's chest to make him move away.
"You can't cross the line."
Slady looks back, noticing that there were indeed some signs approaching the place.
"I'm an investigator too."
From inside his shirt, he pulls out a badge, which despite being fake, was very well made.
"Oh, sorry."
"Don't apologize, everyone makes mistakes."
Slady starts searching the place, pretending to be just a professional, so Roger stands behind Slady, crossing his arms.
"I only saw you that day I went to take my sister to school, I never noticed you at my work, are you *really* an investigator?"
"An independent investigator."
Roger's suspicions grow even more, but he seemed to notice that Slady was good at what he did.
"This place has several cuts in the structure, some deeper, as if there had been a fight there."
Noticing a small blood stain on the floor, Slady discreetly removed his eyepatch, seeing the liquid with his black and red eye prototype.
Slady feels a brief headache due to the various things he saw at a molecular level.
"Shit..."
He mutters to himself, but tries to identify the blood with his prototype's intelligence.
***
Accessing Information...
***
Then the image of Raizer appears, showing who the blood belonged to.
"..."
Then Slady hides the prototype with the eyepatch, turning to walk away. But suddenly, he feels Roger touch his shoulder.
"Did you get any answers?"
"No, everything points to it being a fight that ended in flames."
Slady says with a certain coldness, moving away from Roger, who just watched him from a distance, letting out a sigh and continuing to work.
Rin Yuang, who was finishing her notes, approached Slady.
"You seem to have known Raizer to be like this..."
"Yes, he was someone important to me."
"I'm sorry... you deserve to rest a little."
She approached, putting her arm on Slady's shoulder.
"If you need any help, I'm here."
She offered a friendly smile.
"No problem, I'll call you if necessary."
Then Slady walked away, leaving. Meanwhile, Rin Yuang and Roger continued to investigate, still not having solved a single doubt...
Where is Raizer and Elisa's body?
***
Shaphira was lying in bed with Elisa, who was snuggled into her chest, sleeping.
Then, suddenly, Slady entered the room. Shaphira looked at him with a sad expression.
"She hasn't woken up yet."
"She's exhausted, Shaphira. She needs to rest."
He sits on the bed, placing his hands on Shaphira's ears, caressing them.
"She needs my help and yours more than anything, can I count on you, daughter?"
"Yes, of course you can, dad."
She lays down on the bed, hugging Elisa.
"I'm going to take off your clothes to keep you warm, can you not look?"
Shaphira asks politely. Although she doesn't mind the nudity in relation to Slady, she needs privacy with her best friend.
"I know that, call me if you need it."
Slady nods, then he leans in and places a kiss on Shaphira's temple. She is very surprised, but mostly, grateful.
"Thank you, dad. I love you."
"Me... too..."
Slady turns around, leaving the room, recognizing the intimacy the two young women had, but also the surprisingly emotional way he began to act.
'Strange... did I do it by instinct or by desire?'
"Instinct."
Truth appears next to Slady, floating next to him. Still shaken by what happened, but trying to keep her good humor.
"You're starting to learn more about having emotions, Slady."
She puts her hand on Slady's bun-haired hair, stroking it in approval.
"You may not have wanted to kiss your daughter, but out of paternal instinct, you did it to see her happy."
"That must have been it..."
Slady sighed.
"Thank you for making me understand."
"Don't thank me, we're a duo."
She disappears, making Slady remember the reality he finds himself in. Then he shook his head, going to take care of something...
in a small garden that was in an area close to Slady's library, there were beautiful flowers growing there. Slady entered the place, sitting on top of a tree.
"Anyway... a moment with my friends."