Now that he had freed himself from the trial, Nova returned to his room.
If there was one thing he wanted to do at that moment, taking advantage of the fact that he could see Miyu walking away from the house from the comfort of his bedroom window, it was to take a shower.
'I smell like charcoal and alcohol.'
He drank with his friends and helped Kayn and Abby fight a Category 5. It would have been strange if the smell hadn't lingered on his clothes.
So he did what any decent person would do.
He took a bath and put on clothes exactly like the ones he was already wearing. In fact, his closet was full of black trench coats with details in different dark colors.
All his clothes were black. The reason? There really wasn't one.
Then he looked at himself in the bathroom mirror in the hallway outside his room, tilting his head slightly.
'I guess I don't look weird.'
And with that, he left the house. As always, he said goodbye to his mother before leaving. She just smiled kindly at him before the door closed.
As he walked through the streets in complete relaxation, he looked at the smoke still rising from the site of last night's fight. It was relatively close to his house, so it was no surprise.
Even today, early in the morning, the voices of many people could be heard in the surrounding area. And that's no surprise either. Luminaris is a large, busy city.
'Aberrations, huh. They're such a headache.'
With the roads and buildings destroyed, it would be difficult for anyone to get around. The Dimensional Portals themselves were a headache for anyone. They are random, unpredictable, and dangerous.
There were times when nothing came out of the portals, but the Empaths couldn't afford to wait for something to come out. Even entering the Portals is strictly prohibited in the contracts of most factions.
'At least there are alarms. There's no better way to know that everything is going to hell.'
Alarms are the government's method of informing civilians about an evacuation.
Speaking of Aberrations, Portals, and destroyed cities, Nova stopped.
'That's right...'
He raised his eyebrows, remembering what Abby had told him last night about Lightflower.
'Uncle went to Lightflower.'
Various Portal incursions were taking place in that city. Supposedly, that would be the reason Viktor was called.
'Why didn't I think of that before? How silly of me.'
He took the communicator out of his pocket and dialed the correct code. The glass screen displayed a photo of Viktor painted as a clown.
It seems that clowns were one of the few things that survived the apocalypse along with bad jokes.
'Answer.'
Even though he spoke into the communicator, the call would not be picked up immediately. Three dots appeared on the screen, indicating that the call was on hold.
After three seconds, someone answered.
"Uncle?"
No one answered. Instead, there were loud explosions that distorted the call, humanoid screams, and strange words that sounded like babbling underwater.
"What's going on?"
Suddenly, Viktor's voice was heard, panting tiredly.
[Oh. Nova. You called me at a bad time. I'm busy.]
Nova replied:
"You went to fight Lightflower and didn't take me with you. Abby told me there are raids there. What do you have to say in your defense?"
An unfamiliar battle cry was heard over the speaker, accompanied by a dozen gunshots. Then Viktor was heard laughing like a madman.
Nova grimaced.
[There you go, you stupid beast! How does that eye look now?! Huh? You don't have any eyes! You don't even have a head!]
Nova sighed.
'This guy... He's a fool.'
When the gunshots and laughter died down after a few seconds, Viktor returned.
[Oh. Sorry. I'm done here. What were you saying, Nova?]
"Why didn't you take me with you?"
[Oh, that. Because you'd die in the first second. There are Category 5 and 4 Aberrations coming out all the time here. Do you think anyone would have enough time to protect you in the middle of the slaughter?]
"I'm a support, so I can handle myself. I'm fast and agile. Besides, you're in the Lightflower mountain range, right? There's a lot of vegetation there. I could control the whole area if I wanted to."
[I don't think you understand.]
Viktor could be heard sitting down somewhere.
[I know you want to become as strong as your great uncle, but rushing headlong into a fight against Aberrations that outnumber you is not a good idea. They'll tear you apart before you can empower another Empath's Spectrum.]
Nova opened his mouth, but said nothing. There were no flaws in Viktor's words. When he stubbornly closed his mouth again, he smiled.
"I'll go there right now."
[What? Didn't you hear anything I said?]
"Yes. I heard you, but I'm not going to fight. I'll just go wait for you on the outskirts of the city. I could bring my team. What do you say? It'll be like one of those field trips we used to take in elementary school."
On the other end of the call, Viktor shook his head. He looked at the tall mountains and rocky ranges that stretched around like large, misshapen mounds threatening to tear the sky with their height.
There were many trees and all kinds of undergrowth. Even now, explosions, screams, and the buzzing of abilities could be heard in the distance, a sign that the other Empaths were fighting.
In the midst of it all was a mountain of humanoid monster corpses holding primitive firearms made of wood and branches. Apparently, they were functional weapons, as there were charred holes in the nearby trees and the smell of burnt leaves hung in the air.
The appearance of the Aberrations was curiously similar to that of humans. Two arms. Two legs. Crimson red skin. Milky white eyes. Their fangs were certainly larger, and their heads were entirely covered with white hair. They were dressed in primitive clothing: loincloths, mysterious animal skins, and dark, dull-colored stones.
Viktor was sitting on top of that pile of corpses.
He sighed, resigned. He already knew Nova wasn't going to obey him.
[I guess the only person you listen to is Ada.]
Nova paused before responding.
"What does my mother have to do with the proposal I made to you?"
Viktor let out a slight laugh that was almost inaudible.
[Nothing. It's just that if they kill you, she'll kill me next. But since you're not going to listen to me, bring me something to eat.]
"Fine. Stew?"
[Stew.]
"Then I'll let you get on with it. I'll be there early tomorrow with the equipment."
Before Viktor could say anything else, Nova hung up. He put the communicator in his pocket and looked at the road.
'Okay. It's time.'
He jumped and climbed onto the roof of a small store. Then he jumped again between the rooftops to rise very high.
Jumping so high is a great feat for a Seventh Level support, which made some people watch in amazement.
There was a big difference between an Empath and ordinary people. While ordinary people have very weak abilities, Empaths develop those abilities to a higher level.
An example of this is Adelaide. She can freeze water just by touching it. She is not an Empath, she never was. However, she had the ability to control the power of her Spectrum with minimal energy control.
Everyone in the world has a Spectrum, as well as innate abilities that develop over time. But only those with talent and courage take their Spectrums further and fight against the Aberrations of the Asteroid and the Dimensional Portals.
Finally, after a few minutes, Nova stopped in front of the condominium where Miyu's apartment is located.
'She's probably sleeping now, but—'
It was worth taking her with him to see more of the Elite Empaths.
He approached the condominium. It was a two-story building with apartments spread out along its length, with brown wooden walls and dark, metallic ceilings.
This place was not covered in vegetation, as many people with different preferences live here. It was better to leave it that way so that the tenants wouldn't complain.
Miyu's apartment was right on the second floor.
He climbed the stairs and stopped at a door with the number 23. He knocked twice and waited for someone to come out.
'Anyone there?'
No. No one answered the call.
On second thought, he took his communicator out of his pocket and dialed Miyu's code. The call waiting tone was a very cheerful and adorable ringtone that echoed from inside the apartment.
Thanks to the noise, it seemed that Miyu had woken up, as there was a sound of something falling to the floor.
Finally, she answered the call.
[What?!]
He had to move his ear away from the communicator. This girl's voice was very powerful. He almost went deaf.
"I'm outside. Open the door."
[What? No. Wait—]
More banging was heard. Nova raised an eyebrow, wondering if coming here was the best decision. When the banging stopped, Miyu opened the door.
"Seriously. I'm going to kick your butt. Why are you always so untimely?"
Nova smiled relaxed.
"Maybe it's one of my Spectrum skills."
Miyu sighed. Her clothes were messy and wrinkled, as was her red hair. She still looked sleepy, so Nova's deduction was correct. She was sleeping.
Although she fell asleep very quickly after arriving home.
"It doesn't matter now. What are you doing here? I've told you many times not to come to my house."
"Okay. I wanted to tell you to get ready because we're going to Lightflower."
"What?"
She opened her eyes with a glimmer of hope. She looked around as she tried to find the right words to continue the conversation.
"To Lightflower? Just the two of us?" her voice showed a little excitement.
It even seemed as if all the sleepiness and hangover she had before had completely vanished.
"No. Elara and Rober are coming too."
But Nova's response was completely disappointing.
Anyway, why would Miyu consider this disappointing? It's a trip to Lightflower! The entire city is empty due to government safety regulations! It's a great opportunity!"
"Oh... Sure..."
"So, do you remember that my uncle went to that city because other factions called him?"
"Yes..."
She was still disappointed, but she looked curious to know more.
"It turns out that right now there's a big incursion across the entire eastern mountain range of the Asteroid. Many portals are opening, and there are very powerful Empaths fighting to close all the portals."
Hey. That really interested Miyu.
Her disappointed expression changed considerably. Now she was really focused on what Nova was saying.
"That's... interesting. Tell me more!"
'Good. I've got her.'
That had been enough to convince Miyu.
"I talked to Uncle earlier and he said we can go. What do you think? Do you want to see crazy, disastrous battles?"
Miyu lowered her head. She put a hand on Nova's shoulder, and when she looked up, she gave a thumbs up in approval.
"Let's not wait any longer. Let's go right now."
'How easy.'
If there's one thing everyone on this team agrees on, it's that they love battles against Aberrations.
Many legends of local heroes arose based on raids in the Calem Mountains. And seeing something similar is the dream of every promising youngster in the world of Empaths and Factions.
"Excellent. So... you're going like that?"
Nova looked her up and down. This girl's clothes were a mess.
She already knew that, so she slammed the door in Nova's face. The boy raised his eyebrows when multiple bangs, things falling, and meows were heard chaotically from inside the apartment.
When the door opened again, Miyu was ready for battle. She was wearing her adorable fish-shaped bag, her big red boots, and her fighting clothes.
"Now we're ready. Let's go!" she said cheerfully.
Nova nodded, and together they set off in search of the other two team members.
***
Next on the list is Rober. He's the closest because Elara lives a little far from the city center.
His house is located in the suburbs of Luminaris. It is a marginal place, so to speak, where people who don't have much money live. But in itself, it was not a place where there were poor people or homeless people.
On this side of the world, that is something very rare to see.
Anyway. The place was full of single-story houses made of bricks that were less resistant than those of the houses in the city center. In addition, there is not much vegetation because it can cause the buildings to deteriorate more quickly.
Rober's house, in particular, was located at the entrance to the suburb. It was only one story high, like most of the houses here.
As we passed by, we could see a motorcycle in the garage, whose door was open. There was someone there, next to the motorcycle. It was Rober, obviously.
The boy was dirty and stained with grease. Apparently, he was repairing the motorcycle.
"Rob! We're here!"
Miyu burst into the house, kicking open the wooden gate that marked the boundary of the property.
Noticing the visitors, Rober brought his hand to his face in exasperation. He smeared some of the grease from the motorcycle on his face as he did so.
'I understand you perfectly, bro,' Nova thought as he walked behind the girl.
Having a wild Miyu storm into your house is a very difficult situation to handle. As someone with experience, Nova knows exactly what to do to keep poor Rober from getting even more upset today.
The boy got up from the floor, where he had been sitting, and looked at Miyu with annoyance.
"You have no right to step foot in my house, cat woman. Get out. Only Nova stays."
"Oops. How bitter," Miyu countered, pretending to be offended.
Nova had to intervene between the two.
"You just saw each other and already you want to fight. Calm down a little."
"Yes. Whatever you say, boss. Why are you here? Aren't we supposed to use the communicator to meet up?"
"Oh. Right. We didn't come here specifically for a meeting or a fight against the Aberrations."
Miyu interrupted, grabbing Nova by the shoulders.
"We're going to Lightflower! There's a big raid there! You'd better not go!"
Rober raised his eyebrows, interested.
"You should have started there. I don't have much to do, so when are we leaving?"
"Right now," said Nova.
Rober's tail began to dance from side to side at the good news.
Miyu was noticeably disappointed that this guy was joining the trip, but they were a team, after all. Besides, Rober was the strongest physically speaking.
His height and age could fool anyone, but that was just his appearance. His strength would one day rival Kayn's.
"Right now? Great. Give me a moment."
Closing the garage door to protect the motorcycle, Rober looked at one of the windows of the house. Then he shouted:
"Fern! I'm going to another city with my friends!"
A voice responded from inside the house, shouting.
"I don't give a damn, loser!"
"What?! You're the loser! Get a job and a girlfriend!"
"Fuck you!"
A vein bulged on Rober's forehead.
"No! Fuck you!"
Nova raised his eyebrows in surprise.
'You two never change, huh. What a strange pair of brothers.'
Fern is Rober's older brother. Apparently, they love and respect each other very much as true brothers, right?
Now that they had Rober, they could leave for Lady Luzbel's grand mansion, that is, Elara.