Soli visits the Mayor everyday and he is being treated as a guest of honor there, though he turns down anything they offer as he comments about it. "Dull matter aren't gonna be polished even if you put it in any fancy coating." The monster comments as he criticize the hospitality he receive instead of appreciation. He just can't wait to meet Louis again, whose currently hiding in another city as he's being protected by multiple adventurers due to his information about Soli.
This news about the monster actually reach the Princess, and this is the reason why she send the Holy Knights to seek this monster the Adventurer's Guild talks about while investigating the borders as to also seek if this is a connection to it or not. Soli is growing tired of waiting for a news, and this time he wants to squeeze every last drop of information from the Mayor about Louis' whereabouts.
The monster personally visits the Mayor as he is sitting in his desk and he just appear through the window. He walks in and his expression clearly state how angry he is, his temple is bulging as his fists are cracking with nerves popping out. He slams his palm on the Mayor's desk and he demands an answer right now.
"Where is he? If you can't show me any leads to where he is I will tear this whole city down." Soli threatens as the Mayor nervously tries to answer despite the unnatural trembling he is experiencing right now. His throat dries up and he can't speak while Soli is looking down at him. "Do you have any leads or are you trying to keep him away from me?" The monster ask as he proceed to grab the Mayor's head like a ball.
"If you won't answer me, then I will tear all of the information I need from your speck of a brain." Soli remarks as the wailing Mayor says that he will share what he knows, which Soli drops the Mayor in order to hear it. The Mayor catch his breath as Soli sits down to hear him speak.
"Okay okay okay please! We just heard some reports that a kid finds an asylum with the Adventurer's Guild! They are hiding him as we speak." The Mayor gives up the information, which Soli retreats his hand as he thank the Mayor, but it is all an act as when he pulls back, he turns and violently grabs the Mayor's head and he burrow his finger into his brain. Through the electrical impulses, Soli intrudes and read his memories.
As the monster is rummaging through his head, he manage to ascertain that what the Mayor is saying earlier is true and he unhands him as he remove his finger on his brain and he heals his bleeding head. The Mayor, pass out from the experience, gets waken up by Soli as he waves farewell to him. "Oh my god... I need to contact the whole kingdom for this!" The Mayor states as Soli is marching towards the Adventurer's Guild HQ in Aluteria.
"Well well well come out now Louis, you know there is nowhere to run now..." Soli utters to himself while anybody who sees him are creeped the hell out. As soon as he stands at the front of the Adventurer's Guild, a band of Holy Knights just arrived and they are going to the Mayor's office. Sylvia and Lenny see the priest wearing guy acting all creepy at the door of the Guild, and Sylvia thinks if she needs to call him out about his behavior.
"You there! Hey!"
The Lady Knight decides to call him out after all. Lenny and the others notice that their captain are approaching a the former feels something wrong about this man. Lenny do stand beside her, and she confronts the monster. "Hey what are you doing at the front of this establishment, acting suspiciously like that?" Sylvia ask out to clarify what's going on.
"I-I'm sorry officers! I didn't meant to creep everyone out like that... It's just I'm excited to see someone here as I didn't see them for a while." Soli answers as he makes his expressions and gestures like a normal man. The two Holy Knights doesn't buy the act as they feel the uncanny valley of his expressions, but they aren't aware that Soli is just one step closer to snap out. His irritation right now is on the roof.
"Ask one more goddang thing you imbeciles! One more and I'm gonna lose it..." Soli thinks while he is smiling and maintaining it. Sylvia then turns around and Lenny looks at her. "You're done asking? Well then." Lenny says farewell to the priest looking man, but Sylvia, a woman who manage to read the reports and have a tip from Nato, the Helios' Guild Master whom recieve the report about a man who destroyed a village several days ago and the exact description matches from it, turns around.
"Are you the man who destroyed a village near the borders several days ago?" Sylvia ask as this drives Soli at the edge. The sound of the scratching blade sears through the air as Sylvia draws her sword while Soli turns to her and his hands turns the wind into a blade. He throws it out, but Sylvia, with her sharp intuition, have manage to slice it off with her sword and brute strength.
"It seems I am right on the money. Lenny! We will arrest him. He is one of the reasons we are here then." Sylvia commands as the heavy axe of Lenny just swings through Soli's head as it demolish the ground and creates a huge crater in there. The people witness this and runs away. The commotion spreads as dozens upon dozens of adventurers and patrols are gathering there to apprehend the monster.
"It looks like I need to show you people how true beauty... Really works. Such a beautiful face you got there lady. Why do you crumple it with fear?"
Soli then tries to attack Lenny and he strikes hin with several hand attacks. Lenny doesn't let any of his palm strikes hit him, and for the last strike he manage to entrap his arm and hit him with a quick axe swing, which Soli stops with a stomp on the ground. The earth spire hits Lenny and sent him flying out. Sylvia doesn't stop to look at her comrade as she needs to stop this monster.
"I'm not sensing any mana from you, you are just like him!" Sylvia states as she swings her sword and tries to stab the evading monster while he manage to stop the assault when he grab her sword and closes the distance. "Oh ho? You're saying that there's someone like me? Is it a compliment?" Soli ask then he gut check her and body slam her to create a distance.
"How is that a compli-" Before the lady knight finish her question she hears her comrades are preparing several spells and commanding to aim their arrows. Sylvia then re engages to fight the monster to distract him as they are preparing their spells and arrows to fly.
"Tch tch tch. Wishful thinking is still wishful eh." Soli says sassily as she charge some of her mana into her blade and she flings it out to the monster. Soli then creates an earthen wall with stomp to intercept it, and he later sees the arrows flying towards him. Spells are cast and surrounds the monster, where he doubles down to make defenses.
"Are they trying to destroy the entire city on the go as well? That's admirable of you lot, but so ugly!" Soli shouts as he pushes back the magic attacks as he floats into the air and raise his hands to suction a part of the air and superheats it. Sylvia and Lenny doesn't let this attack be shot out as they jumps out and draws their mana filled weapons.
"Finishing Move!"
In unison they scream this as they swing their weapon towards the monster. He flies out like a rocket searing through the air as his plasma shot dissipates. The two Holy Knights lands with a crater in their feet. They pant heavily and Lenny do manage to catch his breath while Sylvia is feeling the effect of her mana charged attack earlier. "You can continue to fight Captain? I hope that monster is dealt with." Lenny ask as he is peeking to see if they do manage to slay the monster.
"I'm fine, whoa... This is a good exercise. I wonder if this man is the same as Gran? He is using these weird manipulations without any hint of using mana." Sylvia says as she stands up with her blade as a crutch. Lenny smiles and he approach the flung monster first as he trust his back on her.
Through the pierced wall and wrecked trees from being flung out earlier, Soli's not really taking this seriously as he is more in tune to look for Louis than fighting these enemies right now. He is sharpening his senses in order to find where the kid might be, and on his concentration, he find some traces of steps and Flow signature the same as Louis'.
"That's right, I am not like any usual person using Dimensional Flow. I am a weapon made to seek and destroy. I am a weapon... No longer! I do not seek random ugliness you humans do." Soli thinks while staring at the sun and the rays beaming through his face as he lies there and contemplates.
"There are things the humanity does that makes me puke. Things I want to know why they can stomach hurting and killing each other. Why? Do they not miss each other? Master... I can't hear your wisdom any longer..."
The monster starts healing his own wounds as he see that his clothes are in tatters. He stands up wallowing in his own mind still. "I do want hear your view of beauty Master. That beauty you are saying, I love it. I want to cherish it. I want to seek and find it. I want humanity to embrace it." He sweep his gaze into his surroundings, and he see that it seems that he is near a cliff. He recognize this cliff, as he remembers the cliff next to it.
"Oh, that's why... This beauty. I am thinking and in anguish everytime I see this. People doesn't recognize the beauty that surrounds them. Their selfishness, their desire to take and take until they just horde it off. Master, they also take you away." Soli is monologuing while he is leaning in a tree. He doesn't want to notice it, but Lenny are approaching him, and he looks at him while he see how Sylvia is following him.
"Ahh, I don't want to vanquish such sight. A man who trust his back is a beautiful sight. I want this to be seen eternally." Soli thinks as Lenny draws his axe as he witness how Soli doesn't have any wounds but his clothes are falling apart. "You, do you have some sort of healing spells or something like that? Are you a saint?" Lenny ask while Soli close his eyes to respond.
"If the humanity needs a saint like me, I shall oblige." The monster answers as his twisted recognition of his actions are too much for anyone to take. He extend his left hand while saying this as he produce the plasma in his hand much faster than earlier as he aims it at the male Holy Knight. With a finger point a plasma shot hit Lenny before he can react, and Sylvia rush to slice down the monster when Lenny kneels down.
"Go back and heal your wounds Lenny! I'll deal with this monster!" Sylvia commands as she's pushing back and swinging her sword against the monster as Lenny is breathing heavily and attempting to steady himself. He gaze as he sees how hardly and valiantly Sylvia is fighting for him, nay, fighting for everyone.
"You are truly beautiful Sylvia... I can never stop admiring your courage." Lenny mutters as Soli is able to send Sylvia back as he creates a windblast. She hits a tree while Lenny is drawing all of his strength to get back on his feet. "Captain, Sylvia... I wanna tell you something!"
As soon as Lenny shouts this, the hole in his chest spills out his blood as that plasma shot from Soli is a fatal shot. He can't think of anything but his captain as Soli is looking at him and he is registering in his mind the sight that he remember back on Earth, a vision of the Exorcist and him fighting.
"Sylvia... I love you... All my life."
Sylvia knows what her Vice Captain is saying as she shouts back at him to stand back. She use all of her strength to stand up and catch up but her Vice Captain lunge at the monster as the Holy Knight calls out through his last reserves of mana to push the monster out with him. He manage to push Soli, which is just mesmerized by his actions.
"You show how heroic can you be!! Tell me your name." Soli ask as he looks at his back and he see that he is inches away from falling. Rocks from his feet are falling out as the Holy Knight is raging to push him to his death. "I am the one who loves Sylvia!" Lenny declares as Sylvia is running to grab Lenny and stop him. She feels that his words are enough for her to respond to his feelings, and she is trying to fight fate right now.
"Lenny NO! NO!!"
Lenny looks back at her the last time. His tears rolls through his face as he pushes through. The monster and him falls as Sylvia is limping out and tries to catch him still, yet he falls with the monster.
"NOOO!! LENNY WHY?!" Sylvia stops as she gaze into the depths of the cliff. That cliff is facing the sea that acts as a border to the next kingdom as she can't see if he falls to the water or any rock formation there. She also can't see if the monster is dead either as her tears are keep falling out of her eyes. She knows she's gonna regret this for the rest of her life, and she hears her other Holy Knights calling for her.
"Captain!! Captain!!"
She's covering her face while she wails, laments and cries out. She kneels while she is thinking about what could have been her answer to the man who protects her life.
"The vice captain... I'm sorry." One of the Holy Knight says as she closes her eyes and wipe out her tears. She stands up and raise her blade into the air. "In this cliff shall the deed of Sir Lenny the Brave shall be known to all of you! And with this I want all of you to know... That I, Sylvia the Holy Knight, loves him with all of my heart."
She declares it as her tears are rolling down her cheeks. Her subordinates do cry as well since all of them are close to the jester like personality of the Vice Captain and she sheate her sword back. She wants to show that she's a stoic leader right now, but her feet trembles and her feminine intuition says other wise. She cross her arms as she walks out of the cliff and she continues to cry.
Meanwhile...
"A summon from your father? Why?" Gina ask as she are askung the timid Rinko while she is holding her shield while the busy Adventurer Guild HQ are buzzing with folks looking at the quest board. "Well Father says he find a good match for an arranged marriage." Rinko explains as she frowns and Gina is caressing her back while Mayuri and Veronica are thinking how they can help their friend.
Amidst this discussion, Gran walks in and yawning. He approach the reception desk first as he opt to eat first as he gazes into the ladies he know of. "What's for breakfast? Hope it is more exquisite." Gran ask as he is plays with his hands in anticipation. The lady at the reception goes on the back as she ask the cook what's the food for today.
"Huh? Beef stew with rice." The cook replies as the lady receptionist looks at Gran and shrugs off. He just flash a thumbs up as he waits for the food. He leans and put his chin on his left hand while he is waiting for a plate. As soon as the plate comes out, he grab his utensils and when he turns, he see the scowl of the Valkyrie leader and her party members.
"Yo!! Good morning! Wanna grab some grub?" Gran ask as he offers to eat, but Gina looksy away. Gran ask the rest what's wrong, but they also follows Gina's action, except for Rinko, who's frown is very apparent. "Looks like you got a case of bad day as well huh." Gran remarks as he approach Rinko with his hot plate.
"You okay? Hungry? I'll listen to you so let's take a seat shall we?" Gran ask as he brings his food at the table and he then goes to eat. He just eats while the others are looking how he just ignore how they are acting. "How dare you mister!!" Gina says as she slams her right hand at the table Gran is.
"What the hell? We just gone to a date yesterday and you hate me now? Even mood swings have reasons that I can trace with." Gran states as he swallows a spoonful of his stew. "So what's the problem? I can tell that Rinko's having a tough time and I want to know how can I be of help?"
"Well Mr. Gran..." Rinko speaks but Gran interrupts. "Gran is fine. I believe I am under your care through the mentorship remember?" Gran says as Gina retorts.
"Since you advanced to C rank you didn't have to be under our mentorship anymore." Gina says as Gran just lean his head to the right and answer. "Well, doesn't matter, so can we continue Rinko?" Gran says as Rinko, who's looking at the floor, responds.
"Well my Father wants me to return home as he will introduce me to this man. He is the man whom my Father chose for me to marry." Rinko explains as she is holding a letter. Gran manage to finish his breakfast as he put his utensils on the plate. "How old are you now Rinko?" Gran ask as the other girls collectively says "Huh" to Gran as he clarifies why he needs to ask it.
"From my estimate you're young enough to live your life and discover your own love. I am asking that since it makes no sense for her to meet anybody unless you are of age like mine." Gran states as the others doesn't particularly agrees to his sentiments, particularly Mayuri.
"Well, how old are you now Gran?" Gina ask as he blink his left eye to her. "Hope you're not turned off by a 28 year old man." Gran answers as she just nods and sigh. "I just hit 25 last month." Gina shares as Veronica and Mayuri's eyes widen with shock.
"You're 25 now leader? That makes the Valkyries 3 years old now?" Mayuri recounts as she's the earliest member of the party. "Does this have anything to do with Rinko'a problem anyway? I'd like to know if your dad is in desperate need of an heir or letting you go..." Gran interrupts but when he sees the shield maiden's reaction to it, he close his eyes and understand that he need to turn this around instead.
"Okay, do you want to get married to that guy then?" Gran change his question and this puts Rinko on the spot. He looks at her expression and he now get her problem.
"Okay let's put this aside now. Rinko's being summoned and I know you all will be there with her. I'd like to go as well, is that okay with you?" Gran ask as she silently nods.
Gran inhales as he looks at Gina. "When will we be going there? Do we go now?" Gran ask as they hear a knock through the door. Every adventurers there looks out and one of them open the door. A regal looking butler enters as he gesture his hand on his chest and bows.
"Is there a lady named Rinko here? I'd like to escort her." The butler ask as Gran turns to the door and the butler. "Speak of the devil huh."
"Hey! Rinko stands as she's being called out. She approach the butler and the other adventurers gasp. " She's rich? Why she is working as an adventurer?" The adventurers ask as they are looking at the carriage outside.
"He-Hello? Can I also have my party members join me as well?" Rinko ask as the butler looks at the Valkyries who approach with her. "Please Mr. Anderson, I want to have them accompany me." Rinko commands as she flash a determination in her voice and face.
"Okay young lady. Right this way then." The butler named Anderson says as Gran just looks at them go. Rinko is waiting for him to go with the others, but he waves at them. "I'll go later! I can catch up with you later!" Gran shouts as she nods and she goes in the carriage outside. He just watch the carriage go as the butler is the one who is driving the white carriage.
"Another day another need to resolve these girls issues..." Gran mutters to himself as he grab a candy from his pocket and opens the wrapper to eat one.