Swoosh!
Zipping through the air like a tomahawk seeking destruction was a bitter, annoyed pink-haired woman.
"That fucking bitch," she cursed under her breath. "What the hell is SHE doing!" Livian fumed, her tone abrasive.
Livian's shift had only ended several tens of minutes ago, but rather than enjoying that coveted break which she had rightfully earned, she had to deal with something annoying.
Thirty or so minutes ago, she had received a notification regarding her younger sister's current whereabouts via the tracking device she may have installed inside her.
From the data the tracker had sent, it seemed that Ayami had completely veered off the assigned route from the institute, taking a completely different unmanned path that led into and entered the territory of the Mist That Stalks.
Normally, this wouldn't have been an issue considering her sister's past antics, yet this differed from those past times.
For the past twenty or so minutes, her sister's vitals had shot up, indicating a feeling of fear, before sharply dropping into a state similar to that of an unconscious person.
Out of concern for her sister's state, Livian had bolted from her comfy glade and began to dash in the direction of Ayami's tracked location.
Fixing her eyes forward, Livian gritted her teeth and increased her speed.
Damn it Ayami! She thundered
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Cloaking her presence from perception, Livian—having reached her destination—watched from a distance.
Her sister lay on her side, with her hands perched softly under the side of her head, acting as makeshift cushioning.
She was sleeping?
Or so it seemed. From the app, Livian read Ayami's vitals, and sure enough—she was sleeping.
A stark contrast to her earlier spiked heartbeat and increased blood pressure.
Furrowing her brows, the pink-haired woman observed the rest of the scene.
Scanning the entirety of the surrounding hundred kilometers took less than a fraction of a second with the aid of her powerful mind.
She found only a few things that actually caught her limited attention—just a few simple Fourth Destination beasts, and a dozen or so Third Destination beasts.
As she said, nothing of note—just some weak pests loitering around here and there.
Noticing the petrified expression the black-haired fuckboy passed out with, she furrowed her brows.
Lifting her perception from the black-haired individual, Livian began to scrutinize the only suspiciously conscious person within the vicinity.
They were a mere Fourth Destination gray-haired kid, with some questionable choices in fashion.
Yet unconsciously, there was something abstractly striking about this gray-haired kid that drew her attention, though she couldn't quite place her finger on what it was.
He was captivating in all the wrong ways.
Glancing below him, Livian noticed the amassed pile of gore collected beneath him.
Was it his?
She didn't know—but after a few seconds, she shook her head, rejecting the thought.
It was almost impossible for a Fourth Destination to excrement so much flesh without dying, much less being able to stand in perfect health.
Should she just kill him?
From the looks of it, the man wasn't associated with the syndicate, evident by the absence of the mark on his wrist.
'Oh, isn't that interesting?' she mused.
The gray-haired fellow shifted his head, bearing his gaze directly at her.
After several seconds of tension, the fellow's expression contorted into hesitation, but his eyes showed a respectable, unwavering resolve.
Lifting his hand to his front, the boy summoned a large, cartoonishly oversized silver axe that began to tremble—now glowing with a distinctive, brilliant orange and ocean blue.
The weapon seemed on the verge of imploding from the sheer amount of energy being channeled into the armament, however, that never happened.
The gray-haired boy was able to expertly control the overabundant Will.
'How did he sense me?' Livian rhetorically asked.
She was sure she had veiled her presence from perception, but this kid was still able to sense her.
This was no small feat.
Actually, it was frightening.
A mere Fourth Destination practitioner was able to sense herself an Adapted, or in other words a Sixth Destination practitioner—even though she had deliberately hidden her presence.
Unprecedented… interesting?
Eureka!
'That settles it!' she exclaimed. 'That guy's mine!'
She was bored and fed up with work, and this kid was the perfect excuse to get out of doing it!
Did this make sense? No.
But at the end of the day, who really cared.
'I'll just detain him for battery, obstruction of military personnel, and with a spice of assault to seal the deal!'
'A talent like this would be the perfect person to choose as my disciple, but…' she continued. 'I'll need to do something about his lack of a mark.'
Livian shrugged.
She'd just give him one later.
As her sister simply lay there, her elder sibling plotted out an elaborate scheme to capture and claim the individual who had beaten the shit out of Ayami and her colleague.
During the entirety of these six or so seconds, Rue just stood there feeling like an idiot.
'Should I just charge them?' he thought. Considering it for a second, he shook his head and dismissed the idea.
[Rest your weapon aside,] transmitted the stern but soft voice of a woman in his head.
Debating whether he should or shouldn't comply with the command from the unknown person, Rue, after some contemplation, eventually decided that having a chance at survival was better than having none at all.
Swallowing his pride, Rue receded his channeled Will into his body before demanifesting his axe.
'The kid knows how to swallow his pride as well,' Livian thought with a smirk.
Rue's eyes widened slightly in surprise as a pink-haired woman seemingly teleported in front of him.
Meeting the gray-haired fellow's gaze, Livian's smirk widened.
Rue was the first to break the silence.
"Are you going to kill me?" he casually asked.
Livian shook her head. "Depends on what you did. Explain why my sister and this guy are in this state."
Hearing the demand, he didn't hesitate to explain the series of events that led up to this—of course, making sure to omit sensitive details regarding himself.
"That about sums it all up." he closed off.
Raising her eyes to the utmost left, she thought.
"They attacked first, because you taunted them?" Livian said in disbelief.
"Yes," Rue nodded
'Emotional brats.' Livian pinched her brows, now feeling a rising annoyance.
'If you're going to fight a stranger, Ayami, in order to protect your pride, at least make sure to win it!'
Two talents from the institute were beaten just like that, and from the looks of it, this kid effortlessly took them down.
"What's your name, kid?" she asked with a sigh.
"Rue," he answered.
"Rue, huh? Weird name."
Livian glanced at his large blue pelt coat. "I guess you're not from around these parts."
"Are you a foreigner?" she asked nonchalantly.
Rue nodded.
"I'm just a simple refugee."
"A refugee?"
After several more minutes of chat, Livian's confidence toward her earlier self-chosen decision of making Rue her disciple skyrocketed into the stratosphere.