Dreambreaker

Chapter 117: Two different worlds

Noah's POV:

"I can't stand heat!", I grumbled, emphasizing the word 'stand'.

My words were barely audible over the scorching sun.

My shirt clung to my skin, damp from the intense heat.

'If only there were a spell to control the weather', I mused.

Suddenly, a gentle breeze embraced my body, offering some respite.

It danced through my hair, creating an ethereal sensation.

As weird as it may sound, it felt like the air was caressing me.

'Wind in this time of year?', I smirked.

Perhaps, my luck was working?

With quickened strides, I reached my room and shed my clothes.

"Ah, much better!" I exhaled.

Opting for a pair of black cargo trousers, I paid no mind to my bare torso.

Yes, my upper torso was naked, but who gives a shit.

Flicking on the ac, I refreshed myself in the bathroom.

Afterward, I took a seat at my study. I reached beneath the metallic table and tapped a concealed button.

Immediately, the table transformed into a state-of-the-art super computer, boasting four monitors that sprang to life, each system activating with a gentle hum.

"Now... let's see,"—Click!

Switching on the monitor, I could see several attachments sent by Nathan Rivers, aka Crimson Viper.

These attachments were related to laboratory 1817. The organization under whom Ketsueki works. Ketsueki—the assasin I want to recruit.

Yes, an assasin. Someone who can be my shadow. Now, why do I need that?

Months ago, during the Genova mess, I stumbled upon an intriguing case called the Memorial Diamond case.

Little did I know, it was just a tiny piece of a much larger puzzle.

A private entity called the Bloodhound Corporation, was smack dab in the middle of it all, working directly under the notorious Talgroups, a crime syndicate from the Elven domain.

But here's where it gets juicier.

After some serious digging and research, I started to piece things together.

I started suspecting that all these different entities and companies were mere puppets being controlled by one mastermind lurking in the shadows.

Funny how things connect...

It seemed that Laboratory 1817 has some kind of tie-in with Tal Groups, but the details aren't crystal clear.

But, it's safe to assume that their connection likely resides in the underworld.

When it comes to making global connections within the underworld, there's only one person who's earned a reputation for that—Nyutas Jackson.

The guy is a master at weaving webs of alliances and deals that span continents.

But here's the kicker: Nyutas is the same person who messed up Edward Wilson, leaving him crippled. The one from Midvale's dark hour, the reason behind mana enhancer.

And that incident with Nathan Rivers' mother? Yeah, that was Nyutas too, throwing her into a messed-up state of mana contamination.

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The burning question remains: why on earth is Nyutas connecting two different organizations which have no common ground?

There's got to be a grand puppeteer orchestrating everything behind the scenes...

Suddenly an ominous feeling began to stir up in my heart, as if a prelude to something or... someone.

"I need Ketsueki," I muttered to myself, fully aware of the gravity of the situation.

I want to gain control over the underworld.

And to truly gain control over the underworld, it was essential for me to have Ketsueki.

It was an important step to take, if I want to even stand a chance at facing the cataclysm2.

I examined the files displayed on the monitor one by one. The names —Krenada Dungeon Incident, Zenith Point Abduction, Mayday01, Gas-Man, and countless others.

With a swift click, I selected the Gas-Man file, prompting a video to play.

A CCTV footage revealed, showing an ethereal figure of a man entirely composed of gas, orchestrating a bank robbery.

Immediately my brows furrowed. 'A man made of gas? How is that possible?'

Before I could delve into my thought experiments, a sequence of knocks interrupted my musings. ??????! ??????! ??????!

Irritation crossed my face.'Who is it now?'—I frowned before switching off the super computer and going to answer the door.

"Nano stay on alert mode."

[Affirmative]

***

Svetlana Darkthorn's POV:

I silently followed Noah through the corridor, making sure to hide my presence with magic.

My enhanced perception was activated, so I could hear everything clearly, even his breath.

"I can't stand heat!" Noah suddenly growled, clearly agitated by the weather.

I smiled at his silly behavior before sending a gentle gust of wind in his wake, softly wrapping him up in my magic.

I followed him to the A1 hostel. My room was on the same floor as his.

I quickly went to my room and started preparing the food.

I freshened up and changed my attire.

Then, I took two cups of rice and began to wash them thoroughly.

As the water flowed through my fingers, I glanced at the clock.

Keeping check of time, I started to prepare rice pudding.

At the same time, I prepared noodles in a wok. After a few minutes, the food was ready.

I sealed the rice pudding and noodles in a steel container and headed out of the room.

'He will like it, na?' I thought to myself, my brows raising in an 'A' shape, as a nervous expression, lonful of positive outcome developed into my eyes.

"No, he'll definitely like it!" I cheered myself up, bobbing my head happily while humming as I made my way to his door.

??????! ??????! ??????!— I knocked on his door, waiting happily.

??????????!—Soon, the door swung open, revealing a chiseled sculpture of an intense physique. It was Noah, his torso bare naked. His body was... exquisitely intense... shaped and curved like a...

'Oh! gracious heavens. He's... spicy-'

What am I even thinking?! He's my friend, this is wrong!

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

No, no, no... Noah is my friend, I mean no disrespect to him.

I had to bite my lower lip.

Immediately, my face turned red, blood rushing up to my ears. I had to hold my breath under the steaminess infiltrating my vision.

For a moment, excitement boiled up in my heart with emotions I had never felt in my life before.

My eyes quivered, and the breath I was holding was released from my lungs in a trembling motion with sudden thrill.

Before I realised, I took a gulp releasing the pressure in my throat.

I closed my eyes shut.

A gentle palm clasped my lips as a voice entered my ears, "Don't scream."

Pulling me into his room, Noah closed the door behind.

***

Noah's POV:

I quickly changed into a black long-sleeved shirt, hiding my torso.

I sat down at the dinner table.

My room, as big as two houses combined, had a dining area. I was in Hostel A1, which provided such facilities.

My room even had a training area.

Svetlana was seated on the opposite side of the table, and on the table were two containers of warm food.

I tapped my left hand's index on the table in a figure four lock, my right hand underneath my chin as my head rested on it.

"Gonna explain what you were doing?" I asked Svetlana in a soft tone.

For some reason, she wasn't making eye contact, and her eyes were a little teary, her cheeks red.

"If you stay silent like that, what am I supposed to think?" I asked, sighing and closing my eyes.

"S-sorry," Svetlana said in a low murmur, her puppy eyes darting up to meet mine.

Her lapis lazulis bore into mine, and my heart melted.

I smiled softly. "Why are you sorry?"

"For ignoring you," she replied, hanging her head down.

"I'm not mad about that," I said. "You seem to be enjoying yourself with your new friends."

I paused, then added, "Especially that blondie."

Of course I knew that she ignored me for my own sake. But a part of me... kinda felt... sad or a bit jealous... ahem.

"He's not my friend," Svetlana replied.

"But you seem to enjoy his company?" I teased.

"No, I just..." She looked at me with puppy eyes before for a brief moment a look of mischief flashed in her eyes, which didn't go unnoticed by me. "He just looked cute, so I talked to him," she added. "Do you hate it? If you hate it, you can tell me, and I won't talk to him anymore."

"Nope," I stated firmly. "Why would I hate your happiness Svetlana?" I smiled.

"I would be cheering for you. You are my friend."

I wasn't lying. If she found someone, I would be happy for her. I truly considered her as a friend. A good friend. Svetlana has suffered much.

I think it's time for her to get an enjoyable life.

As soon as I said that, her eyes teared up and she spoke in a flared up tone, "I don't like that blondie! He is not my friend! I-I just..."

"Oh, but you just said he looked cute?" I smirked. This was getting fun.

"I like someone else!" She immediately stood up, glaring at me. "And that someone else is way, way better than Kenta. And I don't even like Kenta. Actually, I won't even talk to Kenta anymore since you hate it so much."

"When did I say I hate it?" I asked, perplexed.

'And who is this someone she's talking about? Did she have someone she liked?'

I didn't know she liked someone...

Before I could continue, she came dangerously close to my face and demanded in a ragged voice, "Y o u h a t e i t. Understand?"

Looking into her eyes, I understood that saying no would have dire consequences, so I nodded, acceding "Yes, I hate it."

"Good!", Svetlana finalized the agreement.

After a pause, she looked at me and demanded, "And why did you ignore my texts?"

"Ah... that, my battery was down," I lied.

"Is that so?" Svetlana asked, rubbing her eyes with her left hand, getting rid of the moisture.

"Did I startle you back then?" I asked Svetlana, seeing her teared up eyes.

She glanced at my stomach area before adding, "Kind of."

"By the way, who was that girl with you back there?" she asked out of the blue.

"Which girl? You mean Nola?"

"Her name is Nola? Is she your friend?" Svetlana asked.

"Something like that, I guess?" I replied, while eyeing at the food containers.

I pointed my finger towards the steel boxes, asking, "Those?"

"You didn't eat your lunch, so I brought you food!" Svetlana replied cheerfully.

I immediately squinted my eyes.

"How did you know that I didn't eat lunch? You weren't even looking at me... No, come to think of it, shouldn't you be in the cafeteria?"

I looked at the warm food containers, 'These were freshly made...'

I looked at Svetlana's puppy expression as she fidgeted her fingers. The pieces of the puzzle finally came together.

"You were spying on me?!"

"S-sorry. You are my friend, and I really wanted to see you," Svetlana replied with a subtle pout, not shying away from what she did.

I shook my head. She was really way too innocent. And friend? What kind of excuse was that?

She reached towards the containers and opened the one with rice pudding.

She passed it towards me.

I just stared at the food, realizing I didn't have a spoon.

Svetlana understood my dilemma as she brought out a spoon from her dimensional bracelet.

"Thank-" I was about to grab the spoon until I realized she already had a spoonful of rice pudding as she brought the food near her mouth. She opened her rosy lips as I watched in confusion.

But instead of eating, she blew at the hot food.

"What are-" my sentence was paused as Svetlana pushed the spoon into my mouth, ordering, "Eat."

I was about to complain, but my complaints melted down along with the tasty food.

"It's delicious...",I acknowledged truthfully.

After that, Svetlana kept feeding me. And I also kept eating.

'Why is she always feeding me? Is she my mommy?'

Annoyed, I grabbed the spoon before she could put it in my mouth and pushed it into her own mouth.

"Now you eat. You also didn't have lunch."

But unlike how I expected for Svetlana to be startled, or protest, she just stared into my eyes while swallowing the food. I could almost see the motion of her throat.

Her eyes were invading mine. They reflected happiness and completeness, as if she was blissed.

But they also carried subtle hints of greedy assertion of dominance, wanting to 'claim'something.

Her cheeks sprayed to a shade of begonia.

'What is up with her? And what is up with me?'

I was... smiling.

All my sadness from before, vanished. I was feeling light at heart after such a long time...

I looked at her nails, her neck, her soft skin. Her eyes, her eyelashes, her soft hands. The care in her eyes she had for me... Her rosy lips.

I was feeling an emotion in my heart I was not sure of. It was warm and soft.