Free Web NovelChapter 255: _For Character Development
"Yikes."
"Yikes indeed, girl."
Devon smiled wryly as he and Alisha strode back into the hotel lobby. By now it was packed with a few Hunters from Phoenix Flight as well as emergency operatives.
The non-existence shroud surrounding the building cleared with Han Jae-won’s death. Avoiding public scrutiny as they’ve done for decades, the Pantheon left shortly.
Survivors had been rushed out and the establishment had shut down... due to the obvious fact that most of the ground floor was now endless void pockets that anyone could just fall into.
"So Han Jae-won," Alisha paused, folding her arms in front of her chest. She wore a full-body black Hunter suit, her hair made in a long ponytail. "He’s just... dead?"
"Basically." Devon whistled out an exasperated breath. "Tonight has been crazy."
"You think?"
They both chuckled softly at that, the sound type Esper lowering her head for a bit. When she looked up again her eyes narrowed.
"Hey, good riddance though, right? Don’t mean to be an ass but Jae-won was... well, a gargaturan ass."
It was supposed to be funny.
Yet Devon found his expression shifting with unease instead of laughing.
Alisha immediately noticed. "Too soon? I know he was your ex and all—"
"It’s not that," Devon shook his head. "He—before he died his eyes... he looked genuinely remorseful. Like he realised at the last second that he’d gone too far. Which is an understatement since he was literally possessed by the bloody Void Entity."
His best friend smiled at that.
Devon went on. "Ambrose was the first to notice he wasn’t totally gone. He... he said Han Jae-won wanted love. That’s what he’s only ever wanted."
"... Love?" Alisha repeated, seeming like she was one more sappy comment away from saying something cancel-worthy. "I’ll reserve my words on that."
Devon stifled a laugh. "I think it was true though." His golden eyes softened. "You should’ve seen the way Jae-won’s face relaxed like he was finally being understood. It was sad, you know? At the moment at least."
Alisha nodded calmly at that.
Then her head swerved to another part of the lobby. Beyond a pile of rubble stood none other than Ambrose. He appeared to be answering a few questions from officials from the Federation.
Something everyone else did.
"To think," Alisha muttered, "the one person who was able to see beyond the rottenness Jae-won hid with everyone else was the one person he might’ve hurt the most."
Devon followed her gaze, smiling warmly when he saw Ambrose. The latter seemed to notice the staring and turned to them. He gave a small wave before bringing his attention back to the officials.
"Yeah," Devon’s chest fell with a heavy breath. "Poetic, I guess."
Meanwhile, the officials talking with Ambrose had finally finished. To be honest, most of the conversation involved Ambrose watching them stutter due to his charm aura.
As they walked away the Guide could finally let out a relieved breath. ’When am I going to get an actual vacation one of these days?’
[Probably when you’re dead.]
’How original.’ he rolled his eyes, placing his hands on his waist. ’Seriously after all that drama I’m beat. I want nothing more than to crawl into a hole and enter a coma or something.’
[Don’t think little Orion and the others would like that.]
’They could join me.’
[Would you look at that? Growth. A month back you might’ve told me to go shit myself or something impossible for an AI system.]
’I still think you should do that actually.’ Ambrose caught himself smiling as he slowly made a beeline to the exit. ’Anyway, I can’t wait to get to sleep and—’
[ALERT! New special mission generated.]
Ambrose froze so hard he nearly tripped.
What?!
[OBJECTIVE: Create permanent links with both Gabriel Silverstone and the Pantheon member Loki within the next 72 hours.]
... BOTH OF THEM?
Wait a minute, LOKI?!
[REWARD: +5000 EP points boost and +2000 HP points. Host also gains a new S-Rank weapon for free.]
[PENALTY: Spatial awareness and charm aura skills face risk of removal.]
’What the fuck, Aura? Three days? How do I even begin—’
[Sorry, sweetheart. It’s for character development. Good luck though!]
Alisha caught sight of him before he made it halfway across the lobby.
"Hey," she called out, offering him a small smile. "From all Devon here has said... you did good tonight, Ambrose."
The Guide slowed.
For a second he wasn’t sure how to respond. After everything that had happened, praise felt strangely heavy.
"Thanks," he eventually said. "I appreciate it."
Alisha nodded once before heading outside to a group of survivors. The moment she disappeared, Devon slipped into step beside him.
"You okay?"
Ambrose nearly jumped. "Jesus, Devon."
"Well, someone looks like he’s seen a ghost."
The Guide laughed nervously. "I believe we’ve seen our fair share of ghosts tonight."
They both stared at each other for several seconds before Devon shrugged.
"Fair enough."
Thankfully the red-haired Esper didn’t push further.
Together they stepped outside the hotel and into the cool night air.
The contrast was surreal.
A few minutes ago reality itself had nearly collapsed around them. Now the city looked perfectly normal.
Traffic moved.
People walked by.
Neon lights glowed.
It almost felt wrong in a way.
Waiting near the curb were Valentine, Gabriel and Viktor. The ice Prince was carrying a half-asleep Orion.
The little boy’s head rested against his shoulder while he mumbled something incoherent about ice cream in his sleep.
Valentine released a tired sigh the moment they approached.
"Well," he adjusted his coat. "I suppose this means everyone returns to their respective homes."
"Actually," Devon immediately cut in, "you guys could just crash at ours."
Silence.
Viktor slowly turned his head, staring at him long enough that Ambrose almost laughed.
"You’ve finally lost your mind," the ice Prince concluded.
"What?" Devon shrugged. "It’s a big house."
Valentine looked mildly amused. "While the offer is appreciated, I do possess a penthouse in the city."
Gabriel nodded. "And I can simply teleport back to Canada."
Ambrose’s stomach dropped.
Canada.
Absolutely not!
The system mission flashed through his mind like a threat.
"Actually..." he spoke up, making everyone turn to him. "Devon’s right."
Gabriel blinked.
Valentine raised a brow.
Ambrose forced a smile regardless. "I mean... after everything that happened tonight maybe staying together isn’t such a bad idea?"
The space god narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
For one horrifying second Ambrose thought Gabriel somehow knew about the mission.
Then Gabriel simply sighed.
Valentine looked between them before shrugging. "I don’t particularly mind."
Gabriel hesitated longer. Much longer. Eventually he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Fine."
Victory!
As they headed toward Devon’s car, Ambrose climbed into the backseat beside Viktor and Orion.
Outwardly he looked calm.
Internally?
He was already preparing for whatever fresh nonsense Aura had planned for him over the next seventy-two hours.
