The elite returned back a while later and when Hayne ca out of the room to get what he had sent him out to buy, he t him severely bruised and battered—beaten to a pulp. Hayne was struck numb for a mont before rushing over to the elite at the door.
"What happened?" He asked, worry etched clearly on his face. His eyes scanned the elite from head to toe, perplexed he could be beaten to such an extent by soone other than Seiya, he is after all, an elite.
The elite, however, stretched out the bag containing the ran to Hayne without answering, seemingly unbothered by the situation.
"Tell , how did this co about?" Hayne asked, ignoring the ran that was being stretched toward him. "Did you cause yet another trouble?"
Hayne was both ntally and physically stressed, the day wasn’t at all his day.
"It’s nothing," the elite said, jiggling the bag of ran to get Hayne’s divided attention.
"Don’t tell , was it the Blind Fangs again?" Hayne pressed and the elite froze like he had struck a nail on the head. Hayne of course, didn’t miss the reaction so he knew right away.
He let out a frustrated sigh, overwheld by everything. He wondered just what trouble Seiya and his elite had caused for them to ambush the elite and beat him to a pulp—an elite and no ordinary person for that matter.
He had thought they could maintain their low profile and smoothly unfold their plans, progressing to the next level without any problem but not anymore.
Their plans aside, Hayne had to start thinking of a way to bypass the issue with the Blind Fangs. First, he needed to know what exaclty even caused the whole issue and for that, he needed Seiya to be present when he interrogates the elite since Seiya can’t be counted on to rember encounters.
He took the bag of ran from the elite and walked in while the elite followed behind.
Because of the trouble that kept unfolding on them, Hayne lost his appetite. He kept the Ran aside, filling his stomach with sothing light that he could easily pass down his throat—water.
Hayne also needed to take Seiya’s mom to the river for the ritual but since Seiya wasn’t ho, he decided to wait.
They all remained in the living room, including the elite, waiting for Seiya to return.
****
So ti passed before Seiya returned. The mont the others heard the door creak open, Hayne and Kaeliyus sprang forward, ambushing him at the threshold.
"My Lord," Kaeliyus breathed out as soon as he laid eyes on him.
"Where did you go?!" Hayne fired at him imdiately, eyes scrutinizing Seiya for any sign of trouble. However, Seiya was as clean as he had left. No bloodstain anywhere so Hayne was relieved.
But then again, a thought struck him: even if Seiya had run into trouble, he could still return looking this clean—after all, if his opponents weren’t so challenging, he would have dispatched them with ease.
Hayne’s eyes darted to Seiya’s staff instead for inspection and as much like Seiya, the staff was neat with no bloodstain. Only then did Hayne breathe out a sigh of relief.
"But where did you go?" He asked softly, finally relaxed. Kaeliyus’ eyes glead with curiosity, waiting for his young Lord to answer the question—because even he had been so worried.
Seiya, however, much like he had always done, remained silent. But Hayne understood that his silence ant he had no intention of revealing where he had been. Since Seiya never lied, he preferred silence over fabricating excuses.
"Fine. I just hope you didn’t cause us any trouble out there." Hayne arched a brow at Seiya, his gaze carrying the sternness of an older brother scolding his younger sibling.
Seiya gave a brief nod of affirmation. And though Kaeliyus wished to know more, he held his tongue, not pressing any further. Stepping aside to make way for Seiya, they followed behind.
As Seiya stepped into the living room, his gaze fell upon his elite, battered and worn. The elite lifted his eyes to et Seiya’s, who only returned the look in silence.
Seiya passed by him quietly but stopped mid-step the next second, a fair distance from him. He swiftly turned, facing his elite. "Who?" He asked.
Even though Seiya’s questions had always been brief and sohow incomplete, the people around him had always managed to understand him.
"The Blind Fangs," the elite replied simply and without hesitation. Hayne and Kaeliyus’s eyes darted to him—it was only now, prompted by Seiya’s question, that he spoke up, confirming their suspicions.
Seiya held his gaze at him for a mont, silent and unreadable, before stepping past him to take a seat.
"So it was indeed the Blind Fangs," Hayne muttered to himself.
Once more, Hayne walked to the center of the room, drawing their attention.
"Given the situation at hand, we’ll need to set aside our current plans and address the issue with the Blind Fangs," Hayne began. "We must find a way to navigate this, which is why I want to hear exactly what happened to trigger our current predicant." His gaze shifted from Seiya to his elite.
"But…" he continued, "there’s sothing far more important I must address first. The issue with the Blind Fangs will have to wait," he declared.
Hayne turned and started walking away but halted mid-step, glancing back over his shoulder.
"I’ll need your help please, Kaeliyus," He requested.
Kaeliyus’ face wrinkled with disdain at this, face flaring with evident anger— upset that a re mortal would ask sothing of him.
Noting this, Hayne turned fully toward him. "It’s connected to your ’Lord’," Hayne emphasized the last word dramatically, wiping off the disdain on Kaeliyus’ face instantly.
Kaeliyus cast a brief glance at Seiya before walking over to Hayne, ready to assist with whatever he needed.
Watching them both leave the living room, Seiya rose at once, his staff in hand.
"Let’s go," he said to his elite. Without questioning for a sec, the elite stood and followed Seiya outside.
They moved swiftly, leaping from building to building until they reached a vast terrace atop a towering seven-story structure in the city.
Though Seiya’s elite wondered what his next move might be, he asked no questions.
Silently, he stood behind Seiya on the balcony, watching from the shadows.
The night breeze swept over them, its chill soothing their tension as Seiya remained still at the center of the terrace, imrsed in the wind.
With a steady motion, he unwrapped his blindfold, letting it slip to the ground, then closed his eyes tightly, delving deep within his senses to search for sothing.
{Are you trying to find a heartbeat?} Ibyu, who felt Seiya’s intense focus, asked.
Mn. Seiya replied briefly, eyes still shut.
{Eh? In this vast city? Has your spatial vision expanded? Does it cover the whole city?} Ibyu probed.
Not yet, just so part. Seiya yet again replied briefly.
{Ehhh? Isn’t that cool?!} Ibyu chid. {But…in this busy city, it’ll be hard to locate a particular heartbeat though. And how did you even morize the heartbeat, I thought you had so severe brain damage?} Ibyu pressed, genuinely curious but Seiya offered no response.
Despite noting his silence, Ibyu persisted. {Who are you even trying to locate? Surely, it isn’t people from the facility is it?}
"Ibyu," Seiya’s voice ca out cold and calm, startling even his elite.
{Y-yes?} Ibyu replied nervously, sensing the edge in Seiya’s tone.
"One more word from you, and I’ll rip you out and crush you myself," Seiya stated coldly.
Ibyu fell silent at once, the weight of Seiya’s words sinking in. While it knew that if Seiya followed through, it would also an Seiya’s own end, it dared not challenge the harshness of his tone. Defying him was unthinkable.
Regaining his focus, Seiya’s eyes flooded through the city, the rhythm of countless hearts pulsing in his ears. He kept searching, kept listening, delving deeper and farther with each passing mont, his spatial vision stretching wider.
The steady beat of the hearts surged in his ears until one, distinct from the rest, pulsing with a different rhythm, hit his ears. Seiya’s eyes snapped open, breathing out, "Found you."
Seiya stepped forward without hesitation, leaping down from the high balcony, his elite quickly following suit.
They walked along the road, drifting into a quiet and secluded street, away from the bustling ones they had been on, and eventually stopped in front of a warehouse-like building. Seiya advanced, pushing open the heavy double doors.
With unbothered calm, Seiya entered, his eyes scanning the dimly lit space where a number of people were frozen in place—waiting to see who had dared step into their domain.
Boys, n, and girls alike sat or stood around the warehouse, all wearing identical black gloves with red stitched fangs on one hand, much like those the boys at the convenience store had worn. Every gaze turned toward the lone figure who had casually walked in uninvited.
"Huh?! Who’s this weakling with no presence, daring to stroll into our turf?!" one of them shouted, his voice rough and loud.
Without responding, Seiya swung his staff aside with a sharp swoosh, glancing over his shoulder at his elite as he entered. "Bolt the doors," he commanded.
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