Vision 8 - She will be... (1)

The person in front of me was asking too many questions at once. It was annoying, so I casually slapped him.

He stopped talking and sat back down on the bench.

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"That must have hurt."

No, it wouldn't hurt him. With his 'Strong Self Defense' and stats far higher than mine, the slap was just to make him think rationally.

"Have you calmed down?" I asked in a commanding tone.

He looked at me, confusion clear in his eyes. "Yes."

"You must have questions. Ask them slowly."

This scam character, Ducas, should have died in that church. But since he is alive now, things would change slightly. Still, I needed strong people like him, so this was for the better.

Ducas took a deep breath, apparently realizing he'd been talking too fast before. I hated it when people spoke without listening to themselves.

"Umm...who are you?"

He'd asked nervously, which was strange considering his power.

"Arthur."

I gave just my name - there was nothing else he needed to know.

"Where is this place? And how did I get here?" This time he spoke slowly and clearly. Better.

"The city is called Brigians. I found you inside the church here and took you with me while escaping."

A frown appeared on his face. He seemed to be thinking about the church people - probably remembering his fight with them and subsequent capture.

"So you helped me escape?"

Huh? I thought he'd been thinking about the church. Why do people keep assuming that I am helping them?

"I didn't help you. I took you while leaving. Pure coincidence."

Ducas looked at me with a strange glint in his eyes that made me uncomfortable.

"If you understand your situation now, I'm leaving. Goodbye and take care."

It was time to go. The world now has one more strong person, which is good. Now, I just have to get powerful on my own and interfere only when it seems to me that I have to.o.

"Ummm..."

"What is it?"

My distant attitude seemed to make it hard for him to ask whatever he wanted to say.

"Speak."

"Yeah, right. I was wondering...are you just going to let me go?"

"What else would you want me to do?"

"Usually isn't it like 'I saved you, now you owe me' or something like that?"

A bizarre question. Does he think I am some villain or godfather? I waved my hand dismissively.

"You've watched too many movies."

He might have seemed thankful, but there was no reason for him to feel that way. He wouldn't remember anything about the church or my actions while under high-grade hypnosis. He was probably just trying to figure out if I was telling the truth.

"Ah...so do you live nearby?"

"No."

"Oh...somewhere far?" Ah, he is fishing for information.

"Nowhere. I'm leaving town tomorrow."

"...I see."

His questions seemed normal, but I got the feeling that I should leave. He was studying me, and it could become a scary situation.

I turned and started walking toward Bob's house.

But after a few steps, I stopped. Someone was following me. I turned around.

"Why are you following me?"

Ducas looked at me as if the answer was obvious. "I don't have any place to go."

Suddenly I realized his situation. He'd just escaped captivity - of course he had nowhere to go.

"I had no one to return to as well, and-"

"Stop."

He was trying to play pitiful, to get more information out of me. I might have fallen for it if I hadn't seen his stats.

Sigh...

I took out a bundle of cash from my storage ring.

"Take this and go to a hotel."

Ducas looked at me, then at the cash. His eyes widened - I'd probably given him too much. But with all the church's wealth and cash becoming useless after the overload, it meant nothing to me.

I walked away. This time, Ducas didn't follow.

"I don't understand. You let him go that easily after saving him?" Persephone asked with a questioning look. She was walking beside me instead of flying, which was new.

-The world needs strong people like him.

"Still, people usually keep strong allies close or eliminate them."

She isn't wrong. Normally I would do the same, but I can not just keep a person with me whom I can not control. I am weak right now - what if he retaliated?

-I'll think about it in the future. Besides, I have you for now.

"I don't know if you're relying on me or just using me."

-Maybe both?

It might have sounded bad, but it was the truth.

"I like honest words."

-I do too. It's easier to understand someone when they're honest.

Persephone nodded. We talked a bit more before reaching Bob's house. The window was still open. I flew inside and went straight to bed.

Sigh...

"What a night."

"But it was worth it, right?"

I smiled. It really was - I'd gotten all the church's wealth and items. I was probably one of the richest people now. Plus there is also a strong person that should ease the weight on my shoulder in the future.

Everything had gone well.

The church would be in chaos tomorrow morning though. My smile grew imagining the officials' reactions. That kid who stored the church's wealth would have a massive headache.

I wanted to see their faces.

Persephone flew over and lay beside me on the bed, running her fingers through my hair again. I let her. It was relaxing, and I was exhausted. Before long, I fell asleep.

***

The Next Morning

Inside a big dome-like hall, a large table was placed in the middle. Each side of the table had six seats, and there was a head seat in the middle.

It was the same hall where the church officials gathered. Currently, all the seats in the hall are occupied. There were six females and six males sitting at the table, and the head seat was occupied by an old man.

"What is the current situation?" The older man - Gerald Elliot, head of The Church organization - spoke first.

"Yes, sir." A person behind him stepped forward with papers in his hand. "Starting off this month. We got a report of the officials of Legion getting an anonymous mail-"

"Oh come on, we know this shit. Tell us what happened yesterday night." The person reading the report was interrupted by a man. He was the same man who lashed out at the previous meeting - huge and muscular, with arms the size of normal people's heads, making him look intimidating.

The reporter, Tyler, calmly looked at the muscular man. Though not physically strong, he wasn't scared of anyone present.

"Hugo, stop shouting and let Tyler complete his report," Gerald ordered.

"But we already discussed it at the previous meeting," Hugo protested, glaring at a specific person - a kid sitting at the table. Everyone knew about last night's events. The kid, Lucas, ranked sixth, wore an ashamed expression.

"Tyler, skip the details of the previous meeting."

"Yes sir. Report regarding recent events: Lucas the Sixth put all of the church wealth in the small Church of 'Brigians' which was blown last night."

As Tyler spoke, frowns spread across the table. Lucas turned red.

"How was it blown?"

"According to the guards, they were patrolling when suddenly a ray of light came out of the facility underneath the church, and later it was found destroyed."

"It was those guards' fault! How can someone just go inside?" Lucas lashed out.

"Don't put fault on the guards," the woman in chair number three - Angela - cut in sharply. "They didn't even know anything about the facility underneath."

"But Angela-" Lucas tried to argue, but one look from the mature, sisterly woman silenced him.

"What about the gold, diamonds, and items?"

"All items except those with tracking devices were gone."

"And the test subjects?"

"All test subjects were gone as well."

The atmosphere turned grim. Their entire wealth had vanished, along with all their captives - a complete rip-off.

"Damn it! Those people will come looking for The Church!"

"Yes, they might try to work with Legion and give away our secrets."

"What do we know about the person who caused this?"

"Nothing. No one saw anything. There was already minimal security since it was a small church, so we have no information on the perpetrator."

As officials debated the consequences, Gerald listened before taking a deep breath.

"Cash and gold are not a problem - we can make more. We need to focus on replacing the items."

"Agreed," said the woman in the first chair - beautiful and mature like Angela, but with an indifferent, motherly aura. "We can request items from the Messenger of God, though it will cost tremendous points. Alternatively, we could steal from others."

Gerald nodded at the practical suggestion. "We'll discuss that later. As for the escapees, they're a threat we must eliminate or recapture."

"I'll handle it," said the man in the second chair - Victor, The Church's second-in-command. His expensive suit and long black hair gave him a refined but deadly appearance.

"Victor will lead the recapture effort. Karen will oversee item recovery. Everyone else will assist them and give Tyler detailed reports."

With nods all around, Gerald dismissed the meeting.

Outside the Hall

Hugo approached Victor. "Hey Victor. Let me know if I can help."

"I don't need your help."

"Oh come on, I want to fight too. You could use someone like me, right?"

"...Fine."

Meanwhile, Karen called to Angela. "Angela, come with me. We need to discuss the items."

"Sure. Why do men always fight? There are no rational men around."

"They're not our problem. We need to focus on the items."

"I wonder who dared rob The Church. I wish it had been a rational man."

"Wishful thinking. When we find him, he'll be a dead man."

In the hallway, Lucas stood with a red face - his youthful features making him look ashamed, though he was actually furious at the person who screwed him over.

Meanwhile...

The person who caused all this chaos was just waking up in a cozy bed.

"You look happy," Persephone observed as I opened my eyes.

I touched my lips - I was smiling. I made the smile wider as I responded, "I had a good dream."