Chapter Three: The Demon in the Room (Part 2)

"Huh...? Did you say something, Leo?"

While I was staring off into the distance, letting my mind fly free with the wind, I thought I hear Leo saying something, but under the sound of such strong wind, I wasn't so sure if I was just hearing things or not.

And Leo himself didn't even bother to answer me, he, too, seemed to be staring off into something. I hope he had already turned on the auto flight mode, or else that'd be so worrying, having the rider driving absentmindedly.

Minutes later, he then landed us on the grass field, stopping at this one particular young oak tree that seemed to have nothing special, only the fact that it was young. Still, in this age and time, one of the hardest things to find was indeed big trees, softwood or hardwood alike, they had all become forbidden treasures not meant for man. Seeing a young oak tree still standing in the wild outside of Central Park like this, one could easily get rich overnight if they decided to cut it down and sell it to some stinky collectors in the City.

And yeah, most people would do it, in this sh*tty world we are living in, the only thing mattered was money. A tree couldn't fill your stomach unless it got turned into money.

Thinking about this sort of thing always pained me... so I always restrained myself from thinking about it. As if thinking about the problem would help solve the problem.

Most importantly, we, the tiny people, were just ants waiting to be crushed. Pardon my pessimistic self, but WE just couldn't change anything within this living hell.

"Stupid Adel, do you know why we stopped at this tree?"

"Huh? Oh... Uh..."

Anyhow, when Leo had pulled me out of the depths of thoughts with that question, I just blinked rapidly at him as I got struck dumb again and again.

My only reply was this 'So it's Stupid Adel now?' question in my head.

"Have no idea, huh? Then watch me."

Then my jaw almost dropped in that instance when Leo decided to kick the sh*t out of that tree in front of my very eyes, causing the leaves to fall down and my mouth opens wide.

D-Did he just kick a tree worth hundreds of thousands of dollars?

"Why the f*ck are you making that face...? Look at the ground!"

"...?" While my hands were basically shaking at the thought of seeing this precious young tree fall in the next minute, Leo had already come behind me and held my head in place, forcing me to look at the ground, and also causing me to yelp. At first, I immediately thought of wriggling myself out of his grip, but then, as I looked at the ground, I also found out what he was trying to make me see.

Because on the spots where those leaves had fallen down, some artificial light started to shine through the grasses and the soil, hinting at the true nature of... this whole tree?

How come all these leaves had such an effect on the ground?

Was this whole tree also... artificial?

"What's the meaning of this, Leo?" After realizing what I had witnessed, it was then that I started to feel interested instead of freaking out. But...

"It means 'Stop asking and use your head for once, motherf*cker'."

Uh. Oh--

"..."

I guessed that is how the gen beta flirts. When would I get used to it, I would never know.

"Well, I'm trying. But don't you think this is too hard to--"

As soon as I opened my mouth again, the ground beneath us then started to shake as if it was waiting for me to get berated by this brat first. The first two to three seconds, it was just shaking lightly, then it began to turn itself around about 180 degrees, revealing what was hidden underneath the oak tree.

It was... a circular underground entrance made of shiny white steel that seemed to be able to reflect moonlight, thus it was dimly illuminated and looked just like a silver coin under street light, and etched on it was the Order of the Hunters emblem.

"Adel, do you know why we thrive but many sectors failed?"

"Please enlighten me, Leo..."

"Because they thought they were heroes and they should fight like a hero would. But the truth is we are hunters, so we shall fight like a hunter would."

"Most of the time, hunters hide where their preys can't see, smell, or even hear them, the best would be where they can't reach them at all."

"And where do you think they can't reach us Hunters? Thousands feet beneath the ground, it is~"

Leo's face as he told me all of those things, it looked just like the face of an enthusiastic kid explaining Science. He was grinning all the way, and that grin felt so genuine, such was the beauty of retaining your childhood, I couldn't take my eyes away from it. 'Instead of hunting demons and risking your life, maybe you should be in school at your age.' Suddenly I had that thought come up in my mind.

However, I knew the harshest truth, that we need a boy like him out of school, so that we, the weaklings, could continue to thrive in this hell of a world.

*****

While Leo and I were going down the glass elevator, all the way to the parking lot floor, I just had to flicker my eyes from this kitty's face to that said parking lot like every 10 to 20 seconds, despite the parking lot being all translucent and also divided into a copious amount of individual box-like blocks, making all the parked vehicles seemed like they float on air, which I, myself, had never seen something like that before.

"Stunning, isn't it?"

"...?"

All of a sudden, Leo decided to ask that question, as a result, my entire body immediately froze while my eyes were still fixed on that parking lot.

"Yeah... Well, I've never seen a translucent parking lot before. It's stunning... indeed."

"I mean my face, not the parking lot."

"..."

Oh, wow. Alright...

I did try my best not to let this kid get carried away, but goddamn it--

"Now, you're stunned. As I thought, you'd start to feel something for me soon enough." As the kitty boy said that, his face was all serious, not even a playful smile was present, which means... he really meant what he said.

"..."

OK... Lemme just...

...

THE AUDACITY OF THIS ALPHA TOMCAT!!! F*CK ME!!!

"You really believe in yourself, huh?" As I asked that question, my face was all blank. To feel is to let yourself be consumed by negative energy, I tried telling that to myself.

"Of course, who do you think I am? I am Leo, the greatest Hunter in the New York sector. Try asking the weaklings around here and see who hasn't followed me on Instagram, there's none."

"..." In the end, I was utterly lost, ridden of all speeches, and I was pretty sure that I'm starting to experience that second-hand embarrassment. It didn't matter how good this kitty was at his expertise, it was just... Just thinking about it made me in pain, both mentally and physically!

Hence, when the elevator FINALLY arrived on the selected floor, I couldn't even tell if I feel like a wave of relief just washed over me or feel numb all over. Yet again, one thing I was sure of was that my palm would have been on my face already if both my hands weren't locked like this. Thinking about such a situation made me feel so depressed, after the glass elevator door got covered behind another black metal door and we couldn't see what lies beyond those doors anymore, I saw that my pathetic face got reflected on the glass surface, and I swore that this face of mine had never looked more tired in my entire life.

I just... couldn't take it anymore.

So my eyes automatically glanced back and forth between Leo and my wrists, this time I decided to look straight into those watchful red eyes, letting him know that I couldn't stand being treated like this any longer, even if just a second longer.

"...Want me to take those off?"

"Please do." Such a straightforward answer flew out of my mouth as soon as Leo finished his sentence, I bet he must be taken aback, at least secretly, in his mind.

"Well... Guess you're not fond of bondage play."

I swore I almost choke right after hearing that shameless speech. Oh my God...

KIDS THESE DAYS.

"Just take them off, please..." I'm begging you.

"I hear you! No need to repeat yourself!" The kitty boy, he then shouted at my face, clearly he got annoyed, even though he shouldn't be. It was ME who should get annoyed, heck, even pissed off would be reasonable!

Not even to mention that he suddenly became so slow, releasing me from these bracelets, just like a sloth trying to unlock a door. If I were more of a short-tempered person, I would yank my hands back to myself even before he could take those bracelets away.

And if one somehow thought that me being freed from this 'bondage' was the end of tonight's story, then they would be utterly wrong. Even after Leo had released me from the bracelets, he still refused to let my right hand go.

"You know... I've always wondered if your hands..."

"...?"

He then placed his own right hand above mine, not touching my palm, but... acting as if he was holding something in his own palm, and then he released it - letting it fall on my hand.

"I-I have always... Always..."

His voice was shaking as he was trying to say whatever he wanted to say. Such a peculiar manner confused me so much, but at the same time, deep deep down I also felt some strange feeling bubbling up. No... More like surging toward the surface.

"Leo?"

"Adel!"

In that split second, when his lips were hovering over my neck again, and his hands were placed on my waist, to pull my body closer to him...

"A-rank Hunter, Leonardo Rhys."

Suddenly, there was THAT voice coming out of nowhere, anywhere behind this elevator, stopping Leo in his track, again.

That robotic and emotionless voice.

"Violating the oath once may not be considered as guilty, as the deed could be accidental. But committing the same mistake twice, it shows that you have no remorse for what you have done, twice."

Before the boy could even turn around to find where exactly that voice was coming from...

"Therefore, I must declare you guilty."

That voice then rang through the elevator's door as the black metal door finally opened itself, consequently releasing some odorless smoke into the elevator, causing the air to become extremely opaque, I could see nothing but white.

"And I need not remind you what kind of punishment would be there for you, as you are the veteran."

"Sh*t? Oh, sh*t! Adel, don't look! Don't listen! Cover your ears, now!!!"

"Leo?! What's happening, Le--"

I couldn't finish that sentence when the air had finally cleared up and a loud thud got resonated through the whole elevator.

And then, what I saw next was... Leo's body hitting the floor, face down, and above his body was a foot in a black Oxford heel - the foot of a lady.

That said lady who then spoke with a voice so cold and toneless, I almost mistook her for an android.

"You know, for once, you were right."

"Most of the time, hunters hide where their preys can't see, smell, or even hear them, the best would be where they can't reach them at all."

So I assumed that the kitty boy just got his head kicked by that lady, rendering him instantly unconscious, and collapsed onto the floor.