Identity

Achilles went to a nearby park, then sat down on a bench with Sia in his lap to let her cool down a little.

He had no idea what caused the sudden change in the beauty's action but figured that it shouldn't be too serious.

"Calm down yet?" He asked while patting her head.

"Yes..." She nodded cutely in response.

"I need to go buy armor. If you stop acting crazy then we'll have fun tonight. Understood?"

Sia's face turned a little red when she heard Achilles' words, but she didn't disagree and followed his words.

"Yes..."

'I'm amazed how both obedient and domineering this woman is sometimes. Oh well, doesn't matter, I can relieve my stress a little tonight.' Achilles thought in anticipation while licking his lips.

On a side note, Mark Walter would have never approved sleeping with a woman whom he doesn't have any romantic feelings for.

He would only do such an intimate activity that meant to connect two people together with the one whom he would give his heart to.

Achilles Morningstar, however...didn't give a damn about that thought!

As long as he can have fun and savor the most divine beauty he had ever met, why bother with such a dumb rule?

Achilles believed that if both parties enjoy the feeling of the other's body and are willing, there is no reason to deny the sweet feeling of the forbidden fruit at all.

The sudden realization once again confirmed to him about his current identity, distancing him further away from his former self.

...Somewhere deep in his soul, Achilles could feel Mark begging for him to come back. But of course, he ignored the pleas.

This did not mean that the two were no longer one, though.

Because Achilles Morningstar's very foundation was built from what remained of Mark Walter, after all.

Achilles turned his eyes back to Sia who had calmed down somewhat, he motioned for her to stand up as they started leaving the park.

A while later, the duo arrived at a large amory store with people coming back and forth within.

'This place is pretty huge...'

They came inside the store and were greeted by a female staff — The woman asked them what would they like to buy in an enthusiastic tone.

"I'd like to buy a light armor that has a decent defense but doesn't hinder movements much." Achilles voiced out his request in a polite voice.

"Very well sir. Please follow me."

The employee led Achilles and Sia to a section on the second floor. There was a variety of different armor with unique styles, the woman pointed to a particular piece of armor which also caught Achilles' attention.

"May I suggest this type, sir? It's made from an enchanted metal which is known for its durability and lightweight."

Achilles scrutinized the armor up and down carefully while weighing its pros and cons.

"I think you should take this." Sia suggested next to him.

"You sure?"

"Yes. This thing is made by a rather skilled blacksmith." Sia commented with a slightly impressed tone.

"Hmm...I'll take this then."

Achilles then headed to the counter with the armor in his hands, he looked at it a bit and thought:

'This is much better than my old armor...Having an expert coming with you is really convenient.'

They soon finished the purchase and left the store when it was past noon. Achilles and Sia walked together in silence before the former spoke:

"Thanks for helping me out today."

Even though the latter had teased him a little too much throughout the date, without her help then he wouldn't be able to choose all this good stuff, so he still somewhat felt grateful for this peculiar elf.

"No problem...Do you still want to hang out a little maybe? I mean it's still early and..." Sia twirled her hair and said in a small voice that was slowly trailing off.

Achilles could pretty much guess what she wanted, but before he could reply...something else happened.

BOOOOM!

A loud explosion seemed to have shaken the entire world which made both of them freeze for a second, before turning toward the source of the explosion.

What they saw made their eyes open wide.

A part of the large wall surrounding the city...had been blown off.

""""GAARGGHHHHH!!!!""""" Multiple loud, bestial screams rang out.

The surrounding citizens started screaming and then running away in a panic, the whole section was chaotic now as looks of terror could be seen on everyone's faces.

Achilles had once been taught about this phenomenon, but never did he imagine that he would actually be able to witness it unfolding before his very own eyes.

A large horde of Corrupted began running into the city, they destroyed everything that crossed their paths and the surrounding citizens could only freeze in fright.

Sia turned on her watch and began calling someone, the other side picked up a second later and she screamed into the watch:

"SOUTHEAST SECTION! GET EVERYONE HERE!!"

She hung up her call after that as Achilles turned to look at her worriedly.

Just one glance and they knew the other party was thinking the same thing:

""...Horde invasion.""