She's going to kill me...

Nick cursed inwardly the moment he heard Beast Slayer's grating voice.

Just the one thing he didn't need to hear at the moment.

However, while Beast Slayer was too busy laughing with his lackeys at Nick's public embarrassment, Nick decided to make a swift exit.

He was already in the square, and the teleporter was less than a hundred metres away from him. All he needed to do was reach it and pass through before Beast Slayer could react.

With that, he activated his Sabertooth Wolf Beast Armament and felt his speed become augmented several fold.

But he didn't keep the Beast Armament active for long, since his lungs would quickly give in if he kept it active for more than 10 seconds.

So he put his all into his legs and started running as hard and fast as he could, reaching the teleporter in less than 3 seconds, and immediately passed through it, skipping the orderly line of people already waiting their turn.

He couldn't care if his actions were rude to all those queuing, him making his escape from Beast Slayer's ridicule was more important than the scorn they already felt for him increasing a bit!

Of course, Nick couldn't care less about the words Beast Slayer had for him, he just wanted to make sure he made it through the teleporter before he did.

He could already see that Beast Slayer and his lackeys were heading towards the teleporter before he'd even begun prostrating openly in the street, it was just that his original plan was to remain lowkey and pass through the teleporter largely unnoticed after Beast Slayer and his lackeys had already done so.

…But his excitement of finding out about the Whiteclaw Snake King Beast Armament got the better of him, and attracted too much attention to himself.

As for using his trump card, his Sabertooth Wolf Beast Armament, to increase his speed — Nick wasn't too bothered about hiding it anymore.

He'd already showcased it when he was being chased by the Radiant Whiteclaw Snake King to Dido and her War Beast lackeys, so it wasn't like it was a secret anymore anyway.

Word would spread about his speed whether he liked it or not, so there was no harm in speeding the process up himself to help himself out of a tricky situation.

Besides, augmentation type Beast Armaments were the hardest to spot, as they didn't appear physically like weapons, armour or other types of Beast Armaments did, so proving that Nick had one was near impossible.

His speed could be accounted for with various reasons — all not worth looking into, unless you truly were out to get Nick.

…Nick hoped nobody was that desperate to go after him, though knowing his previous track record with such things…

***

"Fuck, finally free of that dreaded place…" Nick exhaled an intense sigh of relief, both mentally and physically exhausted.

He stepped away from the teleporter and was immediately hit with the cool night air of Terminus.

The sky was pitch black, with a few stars dotted about here and there. 

Nick blinked.

'Shit, it's already midnight on this side.' 

Night?

Middle of the damn night!?

He glanced at the time displayed on the corner of a nearby info board and swore under his breath.

"… That psycho Meylin lied to me! I wasn't out for 12 hours, I was out for 24 goddamn hours!?"

His body ached. His lungs still felt like they'd gone a few rounds with a warhammer, especially after his short sprint a few moments prior. But none of that mattered at the moment.

Because if it was already this late…

Luna…

Luna was going to kill him.

Nick limped his way over to the nearby maglev station. Thankfully for him, they ran 24 hours every day, so he wouldn't have to worry about making his way back to his apartment in his injured state.

"Closed for unscheduled maintenance. We apologise for the inconvenience this may cause you." A sign read, blocking off the entrance to the maglev station.

"Are you fucking kidding me!!!?"

But just like the rest of his day, shit just kept on piling up on him.

The one time he actually needed to use the train more than ever, it was under fucking maintenance…

Nick limped his way down the empty streets, taking the quieter alleys to avoid attention. Unfortunately, getting a taxi at this hour wasn't an option either, as his apartment was located in a rather unique spot where it was neither far nor close. It was close enough that he could get to and from the teleporter in just a few minutes using the maglev. 

But getting a taxi wasn't an option, as his apartment was considered too close to the teleporter to be profitable to accept him as a passenger…

The taxi company would spend more money on keeping the taxi hovercars fuelled, than they'd earn from Nick's fare…

His already sour mood just became even more foul, especially now that his few minute journey had turned into an hour long walk in his crippled state.

He finally reached his apartment door after what felt like walking endlessly, and unlocked the door, finally feeling some relief after such a taxing day.

But the relief didn't last long.

Nick braced himself.

The moment the door slid open…

"BROTHER. NICK."

Luna's voice cracked through the apartment, almost like a sonic boom.

Nick had no idea how a body as small as hers could produce such an ear shattering noise, but that was the last of his concerns.

He winced before he even fully stepped inside.

There she was. Luna, arms crossed, pacing like a caged animal.

Her hair was frizzy and her eyes were bloodshot from a lack of sleep, with probably hours of dried up tears surrounding them, causing her skin the turn red.

But Nick was sure they were bloodshot from rage…

"You absolute, unbelievable, braindead, soul damaged idiot, brother!"

Even though her body had long run out of tears to cry, a fresh supply started bawling from her eyes anyway when she saw Nick enter the apartment.