"Jiso, you bastard...I'll have my revenge..." Tekker weakly muttered as he laid on the floor, bruised and beaten.
Phina then turned to Tekker, gritting her teeth. She was positive that she remembered the words 'Father', 'Sera' and 'Core'.
'Sera must have been my nickname...my dad was telling me something about the Core...please...just let me remember...please...' helplessness overtook her as she started crying and sobbing. She was wailing like a child for the first time since she left that bird's nest. "Waaaahaaaa...WAAAAAA..."
"Oh my Leo, shut the fuck up!!" Tekker yelled weakly, yet Phina kept crying. She didn't care. She, as a grown woman, was crying like a baby without its mother in front of a complete stranger, yet she didn't care. She was reminded of the feeling that held her back before she joined the Exodia...she was completely helpless once more.
"I said shut up!!!" Tekker threw a piece of rubble from the shattered floor at Phina, who just kept crying.
Whoosh.
A figure suddenly appeared in front of Phina. It was a figure that was glowing a golden Aura. Tekker looked at the male figure with furrowed brows. 'An Aura concealment Skill? It's an Apex-ranker!'
"Poor thing." the man gently whispered. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you right now. If you make it through this Wave, I will give you a reward. It will help you reach the Core. Okay, Seraphina?"
Phina saw a calm smile appear within the golden Aura. For some reason, it made her feel calm. It was comforting and...warm. She tried to hold back her sobs. "O-O...kay."
"That's the Seraphina I know." the figure smiled before disappearing like he never existed in the first place.
"Finally!!" Tekker sighed. "I thought you wouldn't shut up! Now, help me up! I need a Life Energy potion!"
"O-Okay." Phina replied as she calmed down. 'Maybe this will help.'
She grabbed her dagger as the Life Flash of the bloodbath appeared in her mind, a little more vivid than last time. She held back her puke before her emotions completely shut down. She stood up, grabbed a Life Energy potion, then directly poured the potion into Tekker's mouth without saying a word.
"What the hell? Were you acting just now?" Tekker looked at her as he appeared a little younger than before, yet he reverted quickly as he used up the extra Life Energy to heal himself. He stood up and cracked his neck. "Doesn't matter, but I do hope that this won't affect your ability to do your part of the deal and get me the Beginner-rank Lord's fangs."
"Do not worry. I will fulfil my end of the deal." Phina responded coldly. "On another note, I am quite ticked off by those people back there. They have irritated me beyond belief. I wish to pay them a visit. May I know their names?"
"You want to take on the Sharks all on your own?" Tekker widened his eyes in shock.
"I plan on doing no such thing. I merely wish to break a few of that large man's bones. I might cut his arm off if he irritates me further." Phina's bottomless rage was suppressed by her Ender State. That large man with the bald head, Brandon, was the one who triggered her Life Flash. He gave her hope just to take it away from her immediately after.
Jack had taught her that taking something from someone permanently was punishment enough if you can't, or don't want to, kill someone. The Exodia helped in engraving that teaching into her mind. The Exodia, or more specifically the Enforcers, would always leave killing as a last resort. While the Exodia is the most powerful organization in the Loading World, it couldn't keep throwing lives into every war, and such wars only appeared when a noble was killed. As such, killing was only a last resort within the Exodia.
While she had never killed anyone yet, she has cut a couple of limbs. The Exodia did this to train their minds to the sight of blood. They were not programmed killing machines and the Exodia knew that. That's why such methods were being used. They would bring a prisoner that was scum among scum, with no shred of remorse and have the Cadets cut their limbs off. Some were capable of killing their prisoners, but most could not. Phina was one of the ones who couldn't. She was more than confident that she would able to kill him without skipping a beat had she used the Ender State, but she disliked the State. It made her...different.
"Well, I don't care much." Tekker sighed as he stretched. "I just wanted to make sure you could fulfil your end of the deal."
"Very well, then." Phina said emotionlessly. "Give me a name and location, and I'll get you your revenge."
"Not a bad deal if you ask me." Tekker smiled.
"Well?" Phina inquired.
"Deal!" Tekker madly smiled. 'I hit the jackpot!!'
"Name and place." Phina demanded. "I'll also need some funds to last me a week."
"Jiso of the Sharks, go to the slums and ask around, you'll find them quickly." Tekker smiled. He then pulled out 14 Beast Repellants. "These will last you two weeks of a completely luxurious lifestyle. Have fun!"
"I will do just that after I take care of business." Phina replied. It wasn't that she had turned her emotions off, it was just that her rationality had held back her emotions greatly. She was even a little excited, even in the Ender State! 'I should stay in the Ender State for a while, my emotions are a mess right now.'
She took a step outside when she noticed a small figure stalking her from on top of one of the buildings. She was currently sensing her stalker with Life Energy. It looked to be of a young girl's figure. 'Whatever, I can barely sense her Life Energy, she might be a Starter.'
While Starters could technically have higher strength than even Early stage Adult-rank, they did not possess much Life Energy. Most Starters were people who were born from two Infant-ranks, or a Starter-rank parent. Such people were cursed to be weak forever.
'Off to find Jiso.' Phina thinned her eyes as she walked towards the downtown area of Lonely Strife Town.