Chapter 8. A Long Day Becomes Even Longer.

Rin looked around for Colt and found him having a stern conversation with Mr. Browning who had his head lowered while sweating nervously. It had been about mid-day when he entered the dungeon and now the sun had almost set, it seemed as though Mr. Browning had been berated for that entire time. Rin certainly didn't envy him. As if he had noticed Rin's gaze on him, Colt turned his head to look at him directly, his hardened gaze softening slightly, before he waved him over. Rin smiled to himself as he walked over, "Told you I'd be back." He stated nonchalantly, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets. 

Colt scoffed slightly before he returned to his regular straight faced expression. "Thank you for handling the situation as quickly as usual Mr. Haze. Mr. Browning will reimburse you for your assistance. If he doesn't, contact me directly."

Rin messaged his neck feeling tense from all his work. "Mr. Browing's guild needs to go under a thorough investigation. There were only three people on the dungeon clear team ad they were all inadequately geared for an A-rank dungeon. He shouldn't be allowed to run a guild given that he is wasting his money on lavish furnishings to inflate his own ego." 

"You can trust me, such an incident will not occur again and a proper investigation will be conducted that will determine if Mr. Browning deserves his position." Colt stated throwing a glare at the man.

Rin sighed, as much as he hated reckless guild owners there was something more important to discuss. "I appreciate that but there is something else I need to talk to you about." Colt raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. "There was an anomaly within the dungeon." 

"An anomaly?" Colt asked, his tone growing dark. 

"A monster that belongs in a desert dungeon in Korea appeared in that dungeon. It gave me quite a fright but it was interesting to see how a Spitfire Spider reacted to such a different environment." Rin stated.

"... Are you positive?" 

Rin nodded, "Positive. In fact an anomaly occurred in the S-grade dungeon I cleared earlier today. A SSS-grade monster appeared in an S-grade dungeon." 

Colt's face contorted with concern and displeasure as he ran a hand through his hair with a worn out sigh. "That's rather concerning. I will coordinate with the dungeon managers in other countries to see if this is an isolated incident in our country or if it is worldwide." He takes out his phone and begins tapping on it while speaking. "For now, go and rest Mr. Haze. The association organized a hotel for you to stay in for the time being. If incidents like this continue to occur I would appreciate it if you could extend your stay."

"I'll do what I can. Do you need anything else?" Rin states as Rocky shifts in Rin's arms getting into a comfortable position and yawning loudly. Rin smiles down at him as Puffy shuffles out from under his shirt, nuzzling into his neck and cooing tiredly. 

Colt glanced at the small creatures without any reaction, not showing any hatred or love for the monsters. "You and your monsters should rest, two gates in one day is a lot for one person to deal with."

Rin nodded slightly. "Even if I myself don't need it, I should rest for the little ones sake." Rin says, rubbing his cheek against Puffy and scratching behind Rocky's ears. 

Colt stared at Rin curiously, not really sure what to make of this side of Rin, the one who was smiling brightly and nurturing these monsters as if they were his own kids. "Did you bring any more monsters with you?" 

Rin shakes his head in response, "No, I could only get permits to bring these two over, the rest of my kids are waiting for me in Australia." 

Colt nodded, "I understand. If you need any more monsters brought over for your work here, I will do my best to make it happen." 

"I'd love to bring all of them over but I'll need one brought over, an S-grade especially if the gates continue to be unsteady and I'd also like to bring the youngest ones over if I am going to extend my stay here given that they need more care from me than the others." Rin lifted Puffy up to sit on his head while he let Rocky climb up his arm and wrap around his shoulders, both monsters were starting to fall asleep, completely worn. 

"Understood, head to the hotel for now. Once you've recovered I'll need a report about the dungeon."

Rin put his mask on his face as he prepared to leave before adjusting the gear on his back. "I will send you a report to you by morning. Always a pleasure working with you Mr. Burton. Have a good evening, I'll be heading off now." He gave him a small nod before walking away with Colt watching him go. 

Colt had sent through the location of the hotel in a text, it was a bit far but Rin wanted to go for a walk and he had to pick up a few essentials given how quickly he had to leave his home. He had Puffy tucked away in his jacket however he kept Rocky around his shoulders given that the monster could pass as a type of exotic cat. He passed by a night market set up in the street, illuminated by paper lanterns and street lights that were hung just out of reach. Rocky glanced around at the lighting and the stands, his mouth drooling at the smoking food stalls. Rin picked up a few snacks Rocky had his eyes on while getting some hand-made ice cream for Puffy to eat later, given that she would need to cool off. He then grabbed some food and essentials for himself when his eyes landed on something that made them sparkle. A knitted cat sweater with a rainbow patterning. He quickly darted over to the stand and spoke to the older woman standing there and serving customers. 

When she saw him coming she got startled, having clearly recognized him. This caused Rin to pause, she quickly glanced away from him and distracted herself with serving other customers. The message was pretty clear to Rin so he turned around, quickly exiting the market and pulling out his phone to get the directions to his hotel resolving to just finding a similar sweater online. 

As he walked down the street quietly, not doing anything in particular but somehow he kept drawing the attention of passerby's. He never felt overly bad about his reputation he felt like someone would have to deal with this burden so he was glad it was him and not someone else. He'd seen people torn apart by the loneliness his position brought. His footsteps came to a stop as he stared down at the ground just so he could take a moment. The slow clatter of his chains appeared as they stretched out from underneath his clothes as he gave a sideways glance to the car that had been creeping up behind him for the past ten minutes. "Can't even wallow in peace." Rin mumbled to himself, still disheartened. 

Suddenly the back door to the car flung open and Rin felt a tug on his arm. At the same time Rin reached out with his chains wrapping them around his attackers throat and arm. But an A-rank chain couldn't do much to an SS-ranker's skin. "Interesting weapon choice Rin, A-rank chains with psychic properties? These are The Chains of Hades, I'm pretty sure I saw these up for auction a few years ago, I didn't realize you were the one who bought them."

Rin's eyes widened a fraction but that was the extent of his shock as he quickly met his kidnapper with biting words. "Mr. Blackwell. Do you make a habit out of dragging people off the street and stuffing them into a car like a suspicious person?" Rocky, who had been sleeping peacefully in Rin's arms woke up as well at the sudden movement and growled softly at Cyrus. 

Cyrus flashed him a smile, "Rin my valued business partner, you are making assumptions. I only wished to give you a lift home." He brought something out from a nearby bag and offered it to Rin. "Here, as an apology." In his hands he held the sweater Rin had his eyes on earlier.

Rin stared at it for a moment before snatching it out of his hands. "I was fine with walking, sir. And I'd prefer if you didn't follow me." Rin states, removing his mask to give the person an annoyed look. Surprisingly, the persons smell wasn't a bother to Rin he had a mild musk that smelt slightly like smoke from a woodfire. It actually smelt rather good to him and reminded him of a better time.

Cyrus smiled at him before his gaze flicked down to Rocky who growled louder at the new attention. "And you brought another fun monster, it's an A-grade isn't it? A dungeon boss from Australia." 

Rin seemed slightly surprised by Cyrus's knowledge and nodded a bit excited at the prospect of meeting someone else who was interested in dungeon monsters. "Yes, I received him as an egg and he was tamable so it seemed like a waste to let him disappear in a dungeon clearance." 

"I couldn't agree more." Cyrus smiled brightly at Rin which caused him to growl more fiercely and step between Rin and him as if he were ready to protect him. Cyrus tilted his head at the monster. "It's odd, an A-rank monster would usually barely be able to look at me but this one seems to have no trouble baring its teeth to protect you even if the threat is non-existent."

Rin picked up Rocky, placing him in his arms. "Well, I think both of us disagree with you on that."

Cyrus tilted his head and contorted his face into a hurt expression. "Really? I thought I have been rather polite."

"You say that but yet you don't tone down your aura in front of me, like polite people would." Rin stated, clearing his throat. He'd felt the slight pressure of the high raker since he stepped into the car but he was acting unaffected as usual.

Cyrus smiles, his eyes narrowing in amusement. "Really? I didn't think it bothered you. Most C-rankers would quake in my presence and subvert their gaze, however you meet me with fierce words and glare at me."

Rin shrugged. "Your presence is enough to give me a slight discomfort and a light pressure on my throat. It's nothing major but still a discomfort." 

Cyrus smiled brightly and leaned closer to Rin, "How odd." He tilts his head slightly and examines him closely, getting inches away from Rin's face. "What skills have you got tucked away in there? A few S-grades, maybe even a SS-grade. The question is how would a C-grader obtain them?"

Rin glances at him, his eyes becoming cold and lifeless, the green hue darkening into a pale green-grey.

'Repent.' Something whispered, almost as faint as a breath in the air but it still sent a chill up Rin's spine. 

"Fuck off you bastard." He snapped. 

Cyrus stares back at him with a small amused smile on his face. "Hmmm. I wonder if I were to prod a little if I could find out?" 

Rin turns up his nose, the dull look in his eyes disappearing replaced with disgust. He leans away from him and sends his chains out instinctively, trying to stop Cyrus from getting any closer. "My C-ranker body doesn't handle prodding all that well." A SS-ranker playing with an C-ranker could be compared to giving a rhino a cat toy.

"Don't worry, I can be gentle."

"Your wording concerns me." Rin states, his hand reached out for the door handle behind him, deciding that he would just jump out of the moving car instead of being stuck in this oppressive atmosphere but to his dismay the car door wouldn't open.

"Apologies, I must have put the child lock on by accident." Rin stared at the man in disbelief as he debated breaking open the window and climbing out.

Just as he is about to take action on his thought Cyrus speaks again, "You must be pleased."

Rin raised an eyebrow at him, "What are you talking about?"

"The dungeon anomalies are going to increase the need for your services, you will be even more valued if this trend continues." He stated, a smile on his face.