Chapter 24

Suddenly, the air around the three of them seems to have frozen and become awkward.

Albert was still smiling, waiting for Toneri's answer. Toneri on the other side, however, became dead serious and looked at Albert as if he was looking at a person VERY dangerous.

"Whatever do you mean, Mr. Reed." Toneri replied, squinting his eyes

Soon, the silence was broken. What followed was a laugh from Albert and Sigh from Ryuu

"Hahaha! It was a joke! I mean, come on! You look like you're some kind of a main character of some shounen anime!" Albert replied, patting Toneri's back

"Don't take this idiot seriously... And don't take him for a mentally-challenged person... He's just like that." Ryuu said, facepalming

"Hey... It was just a joke!" Albert replied to Ryuu

"Uh-huh, suuuureee... Anyways, why are you here?" Ryuu changed the topic

Calming himself down, Albert sat down on a seat nearby and replied. "Haven't you heard the news?"

"What news?" Ryuu asked back

But soon, noises from the people around them started to arise. And they were all aimed at Albert.

"Hey, isn't that..."

"Yeah, I think that's him. What's he doing here?"

"What else? To participate, of course."

"No way... But didn't he just..."

"Yeah..."

While all of these were happening, Toneri was currently in the corner, still busy analyzing Albert. Even though Ryuu told him to pass it off as a joke, he was still cautious around Albert.

When Ryuu picked up some of the noises, he got some gist of the situation. "What did you do now, you idiot."

"Well... It might shock you but..." Albert said, clearly enthusiastic about what he was about to say.

"I became a hunter!"

When Ryuu heard this, one of his eyebrows rose. "When?"

"Last week."

"How?"

"Late awakening."

"Why?"

"I dunno."

"..."

"... You just became a hunter yet you immediately went here... Do you know what exactly you're doing? And your brother—" Ryuu said, though, there was a trace of infuriation in his voice. But he was cut off midway

"It's fine~ it's fine~ My brother doesn't really mind me doing this as long as I don't die." Albert replied

"..."

"I better not find your cold retarded dead body in some dungeon somewhere... Or else I'll make you regret being killed in the first place." Ryuu said as he walked away

Seeing the conversation between the two, Toneri couldn't help but think that they are super close to the point that if one were to die, the other would curse them.

Seeing Ryuu walk away, Albert sighed helplessly and mumbled "Seriously... You've always been overprotective..."

He then noticed Toneri and coughed and said to him "*Ahem* Sorry you have to see that... Haha."

"It's fine. Other than that, why exactly did you ask that question earlier? That seemed a bit... Weird, don't you think?" Toneri asked.

He wasn't letting this man go. Even if it was a joke, he would go dig up his secrets and see if he would be trusted or not. Precautions and all that.

"Eh? Oh, that... Don't worry about it. You just looked too inhumanely pale so I couldn't help but ask, haha." Albert replied

'This guy...' Toneri knew something was wrong with him. He just couldn't point his finger at specifically what it was.

"Alright. I've just been tensed lately, sorry for pursuing this matter." Toneri apologized

"However... I am curious for one thing." He added

"What are you curious about?" Albert asked

"You and Ryuu seem awfully close... I recently got acquainted with him and don't know much about him. Can you tell me some things?" Toneri asked.

He was curious about Ryuu's power from the start. Why? Simple. His transformation looked similar to that of a dragon's. As far as Toneri knows, there's a certain powerful monarch that has full control over everything that falls under the dragon category.

The Monarch of Destruction: Antares

Toneri clearly remembers that this monarch is also a dragon.

However, something doesn't add up. If Ryuu does indeed have a connection to this monarch and can transform into a dragon, then why is his mana not surging like crazy?

When Toneri first met Ryuu, his mana was similar to that of every S-Rankers, but slightly above average. And if he is somehow given something by the monarch of destruction, like a transformation, then his body should be surging with mana as stated by the original series— no human could carry the monarch of destruction's power.

However.

It also said that the shadow monarch can't find a vessel as he has the similar situation as Antares— he too was too powerful. Yet he was able to pass down everything he had to a human.

So, who could say that Antares couldn't do the same? Since the Architect already sided with the shadow monarch, then Antares would have no one to make his 'own' system to pass down. So WHAT IF he passed down his power but nerfed by many times?

Yes, this was Toneri's theory. Albeit unheard of and really absurd in the original series, the world he is in now is no longer the original series, nor a measly manhwa. This was now the real world. Anything can happen at anytime that can change the course of everything. Especially since Toneri is an 'outsider'.

When Albert heard Toneri's question, his eyes lit up, and started telling their story. "Oohhh! I'm glad you asked! Me and Ryuu go waayyy back!"

Toneri didn't interrupt his story and listened diligently, as Albert may say something important.

"I still remember it. During my vacation here in Japan with my father, we met his business partner. It was also at that time that me and Ryuu first met. And from that moment on, we became best friends! (Though, I was the one approaching him as he was why.)" Albert whispered the last part but Toneri heard it clearly.

'An extrovert.' Toneri judged.

"Anyways, he and I continued being friends until our early teens when he suddenly told me that his father got him a fiancé."

"At that time, I was shocked. My best friend finally found someone to look out for him!" Albert said smiling as a small tear slides down his eye. "But despite a forced engagement, Ryuu really did love her."

Soon, Albert's joyous eyes immediately turned dull and a sad smile appeared on his face. "A bit of forward in time, we were in the US, the same time 'The unextinguishable flame, Kamish' appeared."

"At that time, Ryuu was a B-Rank Hunter, aspiring to succeed in his family's business. And his fiancé was an A-Rank Hunter."

"During those troubling times, all the hunters in the US were mobilized to fight Kamish. And as you know, almost everyone that faced Kamish died."

And the gentle sad smile on Albert's face slowly turned to a frown. "Ryuu and his fiancé, Hanako, were no exception."

"When the battle was dragged on to Las Angeles, it was there where Hanako and Ryuu were stationed."

"When Kamish arrived, well... Some thing happened and..."

Albert seemed unwilling to tell the rest of the story and Toneri sensed his vibe. Toneri said, "If you don't want to talk about it, then it's fine."

However, Albert just wiped his eyes and answered "No, no, it's fine. Just don't let Ryuu know that I told you this."

"... You have my word." Toneri replied.

He had to admit. Albert's storytelling about Ryuu seemed a bit like a drama series mixed with fantasy for him. And in the depths of his mind, he kinda liked it.

"Okay... Let me continue..." Albert said

He then continued "It was at that time that Hanako and Ryuu were at their weakest states. I was there too, but I can only provide medic as I'm not awakened at that time."

Then, he looked at Toneri and said with a hit of an amused tone "But did you know? During the time when I was providing them medic... Kamish appeared."

Hearing this, Toneri raised an eyebrow. 'Wait what? Kamish appeared specifically where they are?' He thought

"At that time, I truly felt like I was gonna die. Add the fact that fire and magma were starting to form in the throat of Kamish, I guess I passed out..."

"Everything went blank at that time." Albert said as he swayed his fingers in the air. "The last things I saw were the raging flames nearing us and Hanako hugging Ryuu. As for the latter, well, that was something didn't manage to see."

"The next thing I know? I was in a hospital room beside Ryuu who had black markings all over his body. Though, I didn't find Hanako anywhere..."

"And that concludes the story!" Albert said, removing his sad face almost instantaneously

"Now you may now get why Ryuu is a bit overprotective... Hehe" Albert said as he rubbed the back of his head

He then looked behind him and his eyes turned serious all of a sudden. "I'm sorry, I have to go now. Oh! And yeah, don't tell Ryuu that I told you this, okay?" Albert begged Toneri

"... Alright." Toneri simply replied

Hearing his response, Albert smiled and walked away "Thanks~"

Now, Toneri is left alone sitting in the corner of the lobby room. And some hunters were looking at him curiously. Mostly females because of his appearance. 'Oh boy.'

* * *

After Albert left Toneri alone, he went inside a restroom and washed his hands, and looked at the mirror.

Confirming that there was no one else inside, It was then at this moment that Albert's eyes turned completely white.

So white that they look like they were glowing.

"•••"

"•••"

Then, his reflection in the mirror started saying something but it was hard to comprehend. If the fact that reflection can talk is weird enough, then this language won't even be that surprising.

After a few seconds of conversing with his reflection, the white light in Albert's eyes disappeared as he muttered the words: "Aye~ Aye~"

•—•—•—•—•

A/N: I hate cars. They give me car sickness and make me throw up every time.

I wrote half of this while having nausea from car sickness so there might be some errors. Add the fact that I only got 4 hours' worth of sleep today cuz I can't sleep in my family's van.