I was flying across the city—well, not technically flying. I was rapidly stepping across the invisible, folded space of my Event Horizon, gliding smoothly high above the pristine streets.
But then, without a single second of warning, the royal blue Ether coursing through my veins completely vanished.
The invisible platform beneath my boot instantly dissolved into thin air. I dropped out of the sky like a stone thrown from a cliff.
Ahhh, shit! Not now!
CRACK.
I violently slammed onto the flat roof of a nearby building, rolling hard across the stone tiles before crashing to a halt.
Shit, that hurts like hell! I screamed internally, gritting my teeth and clutching my chest. I was absolutely certain I had just cracked a few ribs, or at the very least, bruised half the bones in my upper body.
[Notice: You exhausted your entire Ether reserve executing those thugs.] [Notice: Better luck next time.]
I know that, Kallisto. Shit, I hissed, trying to catch my breath. How long until it recovers?
[Notice: Natural recovery would take approximately one full day. However, because you possess the 'Shadow Weave' ability, your core will regenerate 70% of its Ether within twenty minutes if you remain still.] [Notice: Please note that physical healing for your structural damage will require significantly more time.]
Okay. That'll work. Seventy percent in twenty minutes is a lot better than nothing, I muttered, carefully shifting my weight so I could sit up and lean my aching back against a stone chimney.
So, I waited. I desperately needed my Ether to regenerate before I could risk moving again. Plus, I definitely didn't want the King's authorities catching me limping through the streets. They were probably swarming that tavern right now, screaming and scratching their heads, trying to figure out who just blew three of their men to pieces and vanished into thin air.
Thinking about it made me let out a weak, smug chuckle. Lol.
"Oh, hey. That was a nice hunt."
An unknown voice echoed casually from the shadows directly behind me.
My blood ran ice cold.
Shit. Did the King's authorities already catch up to me? How? I didn't even have a single drop of Ether left to defend myself.
Driven by pure, panicked survival instinct, I whipped around, ignoring the agonizing pain in my ribs. I pulled Bad News straight from my coat pocket and aimed the massive, heavy barrel directly into the darkness where the voice had come from.
"Chill out, dude."
A figure stepped out of the shadows, his tone impossibly casual. "I'm just like you, okay?"
I kept the barrel of Bad News locked onto him, studying him through the gloom. To my surprise, he didn't look like a ragged pirate or a grimy slum dweller. He looked entirely clean, pristine, and composed. In fact, his face was almost as flawlessly handsome as Sera's. He had a messy blend of reddish-brown hair pushed back by a crimson bandana tied tightly around his forehead. A custom leather shoulder holster was strapped across his chest, housing his own heavy revolver, and he wore a pair of high, polished leather boots.
[Notice: Be extremely careful, Lucian. This individual is significantly stronger than you are.]
[Notice: The reason he appears so pristine is due to his Sequence level. As an Awakened advances through the higher Tiers, their physical body automatically refines and optimizes itself. Eventually, at the absolute highest levels, they cease to be human entirely and become the pure physical manifestation of their pathway's concept.]
Oh. Well, that makes sense, I sighed internally. Still, strong or not, I couldn't show weakness. Especially not with zero Ether in my veins and a fractured rib.
"Name. Business. Organization," I demanded coldly, keeping the heavy, useless gun aimed squarely at his chest.
"Hah. Not much of a talker, are you?" he chuckled. He lazily raised both of his hands in the air in a mock surrender, his posture making it painfully obvious that he didn't actually consider me a threat.
"You can call me Isaac Newton. Or just Isaac, for short," he said, offering a lopsided grin. "And to answer your questions, I'm a bounty hunter, just like you. As for my organization... well, it's a bit complicated. I work with pirates, but I also hunt pirates at the exact same time." He laughed at his own joke. "Isn't it funny, man?"
Ah, man. Why the hell is he talking so much? I groaned internally. My chest was killing me, and his laid-back energy was giving me a headache.
"Ah, hey, can I put my hands down now, man?" Isaac whined, shaking his raised arms slightly to emphasize his point. "I'm a bit of a lazy guy, you see. And honestly, it's starting to hurt my shoulders. Please?"
I gave a slight, calculated nod.
He instantly dropped his hands with a relieved sigh and looked at me, a mocking smirk playing on his lips. "And what may I call you, my good sir?"
I didn't offer any explanations. I just kept the heavy barrel of my empty revolver leveled directly at his chest and said one word: "Lucifer."
For a split second, a flicker of genuine confusion crossed his face. He quickly masked it, acting as if it were just a strange name he was hearing for the first time, but I caught it. He knows that name from somewhere, I realized. He recognized the title of my Patron.
"I saw you pop those pirates' heads back there, man," Isaac continued, completely unfazed by my gun. "It was fucking awesome. Honestly, I was a bit scared to even approach you after seeing that, but hey, look! I'm here and still breathing."
God, this guy is so damn talkative, I groaned internally.
[Notice: Ether regeneration is almost at 70%.]
Thank God, I thought. Just a little more. I almost had to risk tapping into the Cenotaph's raw power.
"Anyway, the reason I approached you is because I want to team up," Isaac said, casually leaning against the roof's low stone wall. "I've got a bounty hunt. Are you in?"
I paused, my paranoia immediately spiking. Wait. Isn't this exactly what happened with Raphael? Some ridiculously strong, overly friendly guy showing up out of nowhere to drag me along into danger? Shit. Is he an Angel too? Or a Grounded Angel sent by the church to hunt me?
[Notice: He is not at the Angel level. His Ether reading fluctuates between Tier 3 and Tier 4. However, his control over his aura is so absolute that it is difficult for me to get a precise reading.]
Damn. Tier 3 or 4? He's way out of my league. I definitely shouldn't fight him right now.
[Suggestion: You should take his deal.]
Oh, wow. So you're giving strategic life advice now too? I thought back.
I kept my face perfectly blank, lowering the empty revolver just an inch. "What's my cut?"
"Oh, the reward? We split it fifty-fifty when the job is done," Isaac said brightly.
Nah. "No," I said flatly.
"What do you mean, 'no', man?" Isaac whined, throwing his hands up again. "Look, it's hard work killing a high-level pirate, okay? We'll both be putting in equal effort, so half-and-half is perfectly reasonable!"
"Seventy-thirty," I countered coldly. "Final offer."
Isaac stared at me for a second, sighed dramatically, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Okay, okay, man! Seventy-thirty. You win. Sheesh."
"Better," I muttered, finally tucking Bad News back into my coat now that my Ether had regenerated enough to fight if things went south. "So, tell me about the job, Isaac."
"Right, the job," Isaac said. His laid-back tone dropped an octave, becoming significantly more serious. "I recently came across some nasty information. A Devil from the Sea of Concepts is here on the island. He's secretly controlling a large faction of pirates, and he has a dedicated crew working directly under him."
I frowned, genuinely confused. "Wait. Aren't Devils just mindless monsters driven by foul desires? They don't have the intellect to interact with humans, let alone run a pirate crew from the shadows."
"Hmm, that's an interesting point," Isaac said, tapping his chin. "But you see, not all Devils are the same. As you probably know, there are two types of Devils in this world. The first are Awakened humans who walk the Devil Pathway. The second are the pure, primordial monsters born directly from the Sea of Concepts."
He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Usually, the ones from the Sea are mindless beasts. But this one... this one has human intellect. It can walk like us, talk like us, and manipulate people."
"So, what's our job?" I asked, getting straight to the point.
"We need to infiltrate the underground market tonight. One of the pirate captains working for this Devil is going there to buy something extremely important for a ritual."
"Which is?"
"Human hearts," Isaac said grimly. "Specifically, he's planning to cause a ruckus and secure a massive batch of human hearts, along with four specific slaves that are being auctioned off today."
I raised an eyebrow, thinking about the bartender's warning. "Isn't the underground market strictly controlled by the Seven Pirate Kings? Are they really just going to let some Devil-worshipping pirate cause a violent scene in their territory?"
Isaac laughed, a dry, knowing sound. "It seems you really are new here. Look, Lucifer... the Pirate Kings don't have the time or the patience to micromanage the slave market. As long as the money flows, they let it happen. Besides, they are way too busy getting chased by the world's navies and hunting down the 'Treasures of the Old World' to care about a few missing hearts in the slums."