"So that’s how it is."
Kreyn blinked as he watched the blade hovering above his hand. The blade looked more like a cross woven from a myriad of threads and tiny shards of glass. It had no sharp edges, and only its tip was suitable for a single, precise thrust.
It was the Phantom Soul Blade.
The first Product that Kreyn had created, and... When he read its description, he froze for a moment, staring at a single point.
"So I’ll only be able to use it once? Huh... In that case, I’d better not miss." Kreyn smiled wryly.
Unexpectedly, this blade had become a crucial part of his plan, or rather, his chance to defeat his strongest opponent.
Kreyn looked out the window at the sun sinking below the edge of the stone plateau, bathing the Crooked Horn in the warm rays of the sunset.
"Alright, it wouldn’t be right to keep her waiting."
Tap.
The Phantom Soul Blade trembled and transformed into a silver ring with a white cross on his finger. He could use this Product at any moment. However, it was unlikely that Kreyn could use it to create an element of surprise.
At the Crooked Horn, there were many taverns and even places luxurious enough to be called restaurants. Kreyn could choose any of them, but his choice fell on a place in the far part of town, away from the gates and densely populated areas.
Groza was already waiting for him near the entrance. She was wearing new evening clothes and had even put on some light makeup and styled her hair.
’Are you kidding me?’ Kreyn thought before raising his hand.
Groza noticed him, and a warm smile spread across her face.
"Hey! I’m here."
"Hi." Kreyn nodded calmly. "You do realize this isn’t a real date, right?"
Groza puffed out her cheeks dramatically, which looked comical on her usually serious face, maybe even cute.
"You could at least pretend for a little while that it is! Tsk! You made me blush in front of them!"
Kreyn shrugged before nodding to the side.
"Shall we go?"
"Aren’t we even going to order anything?" Groza pointed to the tavern behind them.
"Hmm..." Kreyn hummed. "How about some water?"
Groza frowned.
"You’re damn boring, you know that?"
"That’s the plan."
...
Pop!
The cap flew off to the side as Kreyn raised the glass bottle to his mouth, and the sparkling water brought a wave of freshness.
They were sitting on a simple stone ledge in the far corner of the Crooked Horn. People came here for only one reason - to be alone, and since they were already here, it was unlikely anyone would bother them.
"Ah..." Groza sighed heavily. "Looks like dressing like this was a mistake."
As soon as Groza took off her military uniform and Gold Badge, a bunch of men started hitting on her. However, no one dared to approach her because Kreyn was right there, and everyone knew that he was a Hunter.
"No." Kreyn rocked his bottle. "You look good."
"W-What...?!" A slight blush spread across Groza’s cheeks.
"Just saying."
Silence hung in the air for a moment until Kreyn decided the time was right.
"Leora. She’ll be the first."
Groza understood what he was talking about.
"I see." She nodded. "I’ll help you, but we shouldn’t involve ordinary people in this."
"Sure, only if they get in our way."
Groza was ready to go along with that.
"Let’s say you take care of Leora, what’s next? Do you want me to deal with Arstar? I’m not sure I can do it, and... there’s also Garius and Kalysa."
True, they had more enemies than allies, but Kreyn saw a path to victory.
"No. In the best-case scenario, I’ll kill Leora, you’ll get her gauntlets, and together we’ll be able to take on Hargod. I have something that’ll help us do that."
"But..." Groza muttered. "Hargod and Leora are just two of the five. Do you think the rest will just give up?"
Before Kreyn could answer, another voice spoke up.
"What an interesting plan you have."
Tap.
A sharp dagger was pressed against Kreyn’s throat as the space behind him trembled.
Shreds of darkness scattered to the sides, revealing Kalysa’s silhouette. Kreyn saw her piercing gaze in the dagger’s reflection.
"What the...!" Groza jumped to her feet, ready for battle
Suddenly, Kreyn yanked her by the wrist, stopping her, though he himself didn’t move - the blade was too close to his neck.
"Good, you’re smarter than you seem after all." Kalysa nodded. "Don’t move, any of you, and answer my questions. Maybe then I won’t have to use my dagger."
Kreyn sighed.
"You have an unusual ability. I didn’t expect that, but it’s actually a good thing you’re here. I thought Garius would be the first to start talking to us."
"Don’t you dare mention him. Right now, I’m your problem."
Kalysa bit her lip, frowning deeply.
"Are you seriously going to kill Leora and Hargod?"
"Yes," Kreyn replied without hesitation.
Kalysa’s eyes darted from side to side. His clear answer left her stunned.
"What about Garius and me? Are we on your list, too?"
"Wait! Kreyn..." Groza’s voice trembled. "Think about your answer, you shouldn’t—"
"Yes."
Groza’s face paled at his sharp response.
Then, with no fear in his gaze, Kreyn raised the bottle to his mouth and took a sip.
"But it seems you’re not happy with that, are you?" Kreyn looked into her eyes through the reflection in the dagger. "You’re planning to fix this."
Kalysa narrowed her eyes.
"Why are you so sure about that? We’ve only met once..." She hissed. "What do you even know about me?"
"Not much, but your actions speak volumes."
Kreyn shrugged.
"If you were sure which side you were on, you would’ve already slit my throat or done something even smarter. You would’ve just waited until we left and gone to tell Hargod everything. We didn’t stand a chance."
His voice grew lower.
"But, from the looks of it, you’re not happy with Hargod’s rule for your own reasons as well."
Kalysa frowned.
"You can’t be sure of that."
"I can."
Kreyn slowly raised his arms.
"So far, neither Leora nor Hargod, nor anyone else, has asked me why I don’t use my red arms. I haven’t shown them my transformation, and you... you haven’t told them about it, have you?"
There was no reply, as Kalysa merely bit her lip harder.
"But you saw everything. You’ve been following us ever since we left the spider caves. So you knew everything but decided to keep quiet."
Silence.
A hush fell as Kreyn gave her time to think.
Kalysa’s eyes wandered from left to right. She could see that Groza was just as shocked as she was.
"So... You want to get rid of Leora and Hargod. Is there any way to take Garius and me off the list?"
Slowly, she pulled the dagger away from his throat.
"We treated you badly, I admit, but an enemy can become an ally, especially with a sincere apology, right?"
Kreyn smiled.
"Indeed. What’s more, I’ve heard that Garius wants to become the next captain. If everything works out for us, he might even rise to a position higher than that.
"That’s what you want, isn’t it?
"You want him to do well. That’s exactly why you’re here."
Kalysa waved her hands.
"Stop it! I get the gist of the situation, enough with these cheap tricks. Just tell me: are you agreed to work with us or not?"
Kreyn nodded.
"I have one condition."
"Hmm?" Kalysa raised an eyebrow.
He pointed at Groza.
"She’s wearing a nice outfit today, so it’d be nice if you took us to a cozy place with good food. I don’t want to spend my own money - I want to spend yours. Something like that."
The veins on Kalysa’s face were about to burst from the tension.
"You..."
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