Chapter 37: Monsters in the Face of Humans (1)
Disclaimer: I only planned 150 chapters for this story, so chapters will be locked starting at 35.
****
"I will do it."
"Thank you," Xan let out a breath of relief.
Neban nodded, even though Xan cannot see it through the phone, "What is your brother's name, so I can know who I am looking for?"
"To."
After hearing the name, Neban wished he never signed up to be a porter because he would not have met Xan. It seemed the world was small, no matter how big it was.
To is an S-level Warrior hunter who is the little brother of Angel.
"Are," Neban took a significant pause, trying to calm the anger surfacing within him, "you related to Angel? The SS-level Mage hunter?"
"Yes, he is also my little brother, do you know him? The last time he talked with the family, except To, was six years ago." Xan answered, sounding a bit confused on why Neban was asking him about Angel.
Neban was silent for a minute before saying, "I will bring your brother back in a few hours." Then he hung up the phone without saying anything.
He was staring at his phone, trying to ignore that his hand was clenching it tightly. Something must hate him because Xan is related to Angel. Was it a coincidence that man decided to work with him?
The man said that Angel hasn't talked with them for six years, but they still have a connection through To since they both spoke with the boy.
Neban bit his lip thinking about how he let Xan around his home and child, almost starting to regret it because he was related to Angel. And Angel was someone who betrayed him in the worst way while using Theo.
For now, he will save To and give Xan the benefit of the doubt, but it would be hard not to see Angel when he thinks of the man who is his representative/sponsor.
He looked back, feeling his back getting heavier as Theo was visible again and seemed to have fallen asleep. Neban moved his son from his back and laid him down on the bed while keeping his jacket on the boy.
Also, Theo kept a tight grip on it.
Neban looked at his son, sighing as he ran his hand through his hair. Maybe he should have chosen to be a stay-at-home dad because he has been doing the one thing he did not want to do: leave Theo.
'Sorry. I will be back.' Neban thought to Theo as he kissed the boy's forehead and walked out of the room, cracking the door behind him.
When he reached the living area, passing the kitchen, he noticed that Wey was cooking and Isona was sitting on the couch. She was reading a textbook with a stern expression while highlighting a few words.
Isona heard him walk in as she looked up and smiled at him, but it faltered a bit when she noticed that it looked like he was going somewhere. "Are you leaving?"
Neban nodded, feeling guilty because he was supposed to have a date with Isona and Wey (with his son included since the date was in the house).
"Yeah, I have to do something for Xan real quick. I will be back. If Theo wakes up, and I am not back yet, can you take care of him?"
Isona sighed, but she agreed before getting up and kissing Neban on his cheek, "Yeah, we can. Don't take long, okay?"
"I won't," Neban answered as he ignored the warm feeling on his cheek. He glanced towards the kitchen and his bedroom before leaving the house.
****
When he reached Qut Street (Neban put on his Obsidian mask), the surrounding buildings were demolished with cars missing parts around them. There was graffiti everywhere, and the area was darker than the others.
It even gave off an eerie feeling.
But that was not the only thing that Neban noticed. A vast portal rested on top of the only building in the area that was still intact (although the windows and door were gone).
Someone was sitting in front of the portal in a chair that resembled a throne. The person was lying across the chair with a bored expression as they watched their monsters walk around the area.
'That has to be the person I have to kill to close the portal.' Neban thought.
When the first portal came, the hunters found out that they had to kill the one that summoned it to close it. It was like killing the dungeon's boss.
Neban stayed quiet as he looked around, trying to see if he could spot To, but he could not see the boy anywhere. He walked into the abandoned area, making sure his feet were silent not to alert the monsters that roamed around.
He used [Absolute Sense] to catch an outline of where To could be hiding. Neban's eyes surveyed the area once again before stopping at one spot.
There was a person's outline that had rocks on top of their legs. There were also dead monster bodies surrounding them. Neban could see the person moving like they were struggling to set themselves free. 'That has to be To.' Neban concluded.
As Neban was getting ready to move, he saw the monsters' heads quickly turn as they smelled the air. After a second of smelling the air, they let out a call before marching towards the scent.
The person on the throne looked at the monsters as interest filled them because the monsters found something, but their eyes grew dull after a second.
Neban internally cursed, 'To must have cut himself, alerting the other monsters.'
He silently moved faster than before, trying to reach To before the monsters could surround the boy. Neban wished he could use shadow travel to be there instantly, but he did not know this area since it was an abandoned one.
As he raced over, Neban called for Siren, 'Siren?'
Siren calmed down a few minutes ago as they stayed eerily silent. They did not answer his call, meaning that Siren was not feeling better.
Neban pulled out a different sword, gripping it as he made it to To.
To's clothes had tears in them as there were bruises on his face and arms. Neban could see the boy's glasses were on the ground, broken beyond repair, meaning that To could not see well at the moment.
To was trying to free his legs that had a big piece of the building's wall on them. It must have fallen on him when he was fighting. The boy was hitting the piece, causing his knuckles to bleed as cracks appeared around the wall.
That is probably where the scent of blood was coming from, and the boy was only making it more robust by continuing to hit the piece of wall on him.
"To!" Neban silently yelled, causing the boy to stop and look around until he saw him.
To was squinting his eyes, trying to guess who called him. "Obsidian?"
Before Neban could reply, the monsters came into the area, looking at him and To; they started to make sounds like they found two meals after starving for so long.
Neban moved over to To, standing in front of the boy as he picked up his sword. He was waiting for the monsters to make the first move.
"I do not need protection; I have this." To spoke as he frowned while continuing to try to get his legs free.
Neban resisted the urge to roll his eyes. How was Xan the only one out of Angel and To that was not arrogant?
"I can see that you have the situation under control." Neban sarcastically said, trying hard not to think about knocking the boy out.
To clicked his tongue while Neban ignored anything else coming out of the boy's mouth when three monsters rushed forward.
Neban swiftly swung his sword, cutting the three monsters as their bodies froze. His sword even left the aftermath of ice floating in the air.
Neban was using his sword that he rarely used: Ice Queen (he was terrible at choosing names). The reason why he named it Ice Queen was because of how bluish-white and elegant it looked. And it can freeze anything it touched for ten minutes while leaving the illusion of ice behind with each swing.
He used [Shadow Beam] on the frozen monsters, causing the ice and their bodies to break apart.
The monsters growled as four more rushed towards him. As they were coming, To yelled, "Hey, use your sword to break me out, so I can help!"
Neban ignored those words because he knew the boy's legs were most likely useless at this moment. So he paid the boy no mind as he effectively cut the other monsters with no problems.
To was frustratedly complaining while Neban blocked him out, killing the monsters surrounding them with a silent quickness.
'These monsters are weak.' Neban thought it was easy to cut them down. He did not understand how the boy could end up hurt like he was when a 'roar' answered his question.
The other monsters stopped moving as they bowed down. To turned pale, before he started to freak out, "Obsidian, let me out! The general is coming!"