The Author's POV

Within a tranquil region of the human domain.

The grass swayed in response to the passage of a light breeze, with its movement consistent with the direction in which the wind was blowing. At this very instant, the air abruptly began to warp, and a number of little footprints appeared on top of the grass.

"So this is the human domain?"

A rough and groggy voice sounded.

Randur, who was looking at the enormous metropolis in the distance, was the one who spoke. Night had fallen on Ashton city, and the bright city lights were visible from where he suddenly appeared, making it all the prettier.

"It doesn't look too bad."

Another voice sounded from behind him.

"...Although it looks more beautiful than efficient. From just a glance, you can tell that the defensive system is filled with flaws."

"You're right, Jomnuk."

Randur caressed his beard.

He took a minute to etch the scene of the city in the distance, and then he materialized a small round object from thin air.

"Let's see. We should be in the right location. "

Randur took his sight away from the item and looked around him.

"...But I don't see anyone. Are they perhaps late? Weren't we supposed to meet here?"

His brow furrowed a little.

It was essential to emphasize that Randur was not a patient person in any way. As a matter of fact, his patience was notoriously short, and all of the more senior dwarves were well aware of this trait of his.

A while ago, back when Ren was in the dwarven domain, he was successful in deceiving the majority of elders in the congress due, in no small part, to the fact that he possessed this particular character trait.

"If it weren't for the fact that I owe him one and that he promised to show me something interesting, I never would have come here."

Randur reacted angrily by crossing his arms and harrumphing.

Jomnuk and the many other dwarves who were standing behind him were not the least bit taken aback by his antics. When they found out that the guy who was scheduled to receive them was running late, they had more or less anticipated that he would behave in this manner.

"I'm sorry I'm late."

At the very moment that Randur was about to throw another tantrum, a hushed voice echoed from some distance, and a man dressed in black with two crimson red eyes appeared from behind a tree.

He was none other than Kevin.

In the instant that the eyes of the dwarves fell on him, they immediately stopped talking. Observing him from afar, Randur's eyes furrowed. Meanwhile, Kevin continued to head in their direction with a friendly smile on his face.

"I apologize for my tardiness. I wasn't made aware of the exact location where you would show up. The only reason why I was able to find you was because of the fluctuation that came from the portal that you guys came out of. "

Kevin scratched his head in embarrassment. Then, sweeping his eyes toward the other dwarves, he secretly counted inside his head.

'Eighteen dwarves, what exactly are you planning on doing, Ren?'

It had been on Ren's orders that he was instructed to come here on the fourth day that he left for Immora to pick up several people, among them there were a handful of prominent figures from the dwarven domain. Jomnuk and Randur. Despite the fact that he wasn't quite clear on Ren's objectives, he went ahead and promised to assist him.

There were also several other instructions that he had left with him, which he was planning on carrying out after he was finished with the current task.

'...This isn't the first time that I'm following Ren's arrangements.'

A bitter smile crossed his face when his thoughts paused there. The smile faded not long after, but it soon re-emerged on his face. After casting his eyes over the other dwarves, he took a few steps to the side and motioned for them to come with him.

"Please come with me for now. I'll lead you to the location. "

"Let's go."

Randur gave Kevin a quick glance before waving his hand at the other dwarves. Kevin sighed in relief when he saw the dwarves moving. Turning his back on them, he started to lead them toward the location that Ren had told him to lead them to.

'Oh, right, I'm also supposed to tell the others.'

Recalling something, Kevin lowered his head to check his watch, he tapped the screen and dialed a number.

Beeep. Beeep.

***

Demon Hunter Guild, uppermost floor.

"Amanda, where will you be going for the next couple of days? ...and why are you refusing to go with the bodyguards I assigned to you? You are only <A> rank, and with how popular you are, I'm afraid that something might happen to you."

The anxious tone of Edward's voice could be heard across his office. Amanda sat opposite him with her legs crossed.

"Don't worry dad, I'll be going on a short trip, and it won't take too long. "

"What trip? Is it dangerous? "

"...Maybe?"

There was a tinge of uncertainty in her tone.

If Amanda had to be honest, she wasn't sure. She was just given a brief overview of what she needed to do and what was in store for her in the upcoming days.

'It shouldn't be anything too dangerous, but I can't guarantee that something won't go wrong.'

Those were the exact words Ren had told her when giving her a brief rundown of the situation.

"Is there any way I can change your mind about going alone?"

Her father's voice took her out of her thoughts.

Amanda shook her head as she cast a glance his way.

"No...I'm sorry, but I've been told that I can't bring anyone with me, but don't worry. I'll be fine. "

This was true. Nobody else but her and a few other individuals knew about the operation that was being carried out, as it was conducted in a manner that was exceedingly covert. Leaking even the smallest piece of information about the operation might result in catastrophic consequences.

This was especially true in the event that the knowledge was obtained by demons or someone connected to them.

"I'll take my leave now, dad."

Amanda stood up from her seat and checked her watch.

"I won't be able to talk to you for the next couple of days, so please don't worry. Even if it takes longer, don't worry. I'll be fine. I'm with Ren."

"...Okay."

Edward relented after seeing just how stubborn Amanda was being. Taking a sip of the cip of whisky that sat beside him, he commented quietly.

"Have a safe trip, and make sure to protect your body at all costs. You might never know what that beast will do."

By 'beast', he was referring to Ren.

As Amanda listened to her father's comments, she couldn't help but roll her eyes. Ever since the event that date a few years back, in which she went missing for more than a week, Edward had become particularly overprotective of her.

When Ren went to him to apologize for what happened, Edward was infuriated. Despite that, it led to nothing as he never did anything. Although Edward was angry, he was understanding and knew that Ren wasn't actually at fault in the situation.

Nonetheless, he still developed a little 'grudge' as one might say. One that became more evident when the two of them started dating. It wasn't anything big, more like petty remarks here and there, similar to the ones he just blurted out a couple of moments ago.

Amanda honestly found his reactions funny, especially when they made Ren's expression change. She liked seeing all the different types of expressions Ren made...

They were cute.

This was probably why she never told him to stop.

'I'm bad.'

Riing. Riing.

The moment she was about to leave her father's office, her phone began to ring, interrupting her train of thought. She pulled out her phone, checked the caller ID, and saw that it was Kevin.

Before opening the door and walking out, she gave a quick glance in the direction of her father and waved her hand.

"I'm leaving."

She softly whispered.

Clank.

The door closed behind her.

She then picked up the phone after leaving his office.

"Yes?"

"Are you ready?"

Kevin's soft voice echoed into her ears after she spoke.

Amanda nodded her head.

"Yes, I'm ready."

"Alright, come to the location that I sent to your phone. Make sure to be here in less than an hour."

"Understood."

Amanda's face turned solemn.

She then posed a question.

"Who else is coming with me?"

"Several people."

Kevin ambiguously replied.

Amanda's brows furrowed.

"Anyone that I know in particular?"

"Jin, Melissa, and...Emma."

There was a slight pause during the mention of the last name.

Amanda's brow raised.

"They're coming too?"

"Yes, Ren requested their help too. I didn't think they would accept his request at first, but they surprisingly all readily agreed to help."

"I see..."

Amanda lowered her head and massaged her chin. She had a thought.

"What about you? Are you coming?"

"...No, I won't be."

"You aren't?"

Amanda was a bit surprised by his answer.

Kevin followed up not long after.

"I can't leave at the moment. With the impending war, my absence will be quickly noticed by the executives of the Union."

"Ah, right."

She almost forgot that he was someone from the Union.

His explanation did make sense.

"Also..."

Kevin paused for a moment and the line went quiet.

'Did I lose signal?'

Amanda looked at the phone display after the line continued to remain quiet for the next half a minute. Once she made sure that the connection was still on, she called for his name.

"Kevin?"

"...There are several things that I need to do during those four days."

His voice echoed not long after.

Amanda opened her mouth but no words came out. She let out a long exhale shortly after.

"I understand. I won't force you to come. I'll be arriving shortly. Please wait for me. "

"Alright."

Amanda hung up the phone shortly after.

But she stood rooted on the spot for a couple of minutes following the call.

'There is something wrong with Kevin...'

Amanda thought to herself. She had a keen awareness of the world around her and the people. Her past had contributed to the formation of this aspect of her personality. She was able to deduce a number of things from someone's statements by paying close attention to what they were saying and by carefully analyzing the tone of their voices, alongside the contents of their words.

Most notably, she was able to pick up the pause right before he said Emma's name.

'Is something going on with their relationship?'

Could that possibly explain why he sounded so glum while he was on the phone talking to her? Amanda was currently juggling a lot of thoughts in her head.

"It is unfortunate, but this is none of my business."

After some time had passed, she decided to let it go. If it was true that it had something to do with his relationship with Emma, then she had no business interfering. She wouldn't like it if others butted in her relationship with Ren.

"I better get going."

Amanda put the phone away and made her way toward the bottom floor of the guild. Along the way, she had a thought.

'I should still pay close attention to the situation in case I'm wrong.'