Chapter 66: The Vice Leader

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: The Vice Leader

Lyra and Fluffy came running.

They burst through the ruined doorway. Their faces were flushed. Their breathing was heavy. They had been running for a while.

Lyra saw Daniel first. Her face lit up with relief. Then she saw the destruction. The crumbled walls. The broken tables. The hole in the ceiling. Her relief turned to shock.

"What happened here?" she demanded.

Fluffy didn’t ask questions. She just ran. She ran straight at Daniel. She jumped. She wrapped her arms around him. She hugged him tight.

"Master!" she cried. "Fluffy was so worried!"

Daniel caught her. He held her close. He patted her head.

"I’m okay," he said. "I’m okay."

Fluffy buried her face in his chest. Her ears were flat. Her tail was trembling.

"Fluffy heard loud noises," she mumbled. "Fluffy was scared. Fluffy thought Master was hurt."

"I’m not hurt," Daniel said. "Well, I’m a little hurt. But I’m okay."

Fluffy pulled back. She looked at his face. At the bruises. At the blood. Her eyes welled up with tears.

"Master is bleeding," she said.

Daniel wiped his face with his sleeve. "It’s just a little blood. Don’t worry."

Lyra walked over. She looked at Daniel. At his wounds. At his tired eyes. She wanted to hug him too. But she held back. She was still angry about being sent away.

"You told me to leave," she said. "You commanded me to leave."

Daniel nodded. "I did."

"I could have helped."

"You did help. You got Fluffy out of here. You kept her safe."

Lyra’s expression softened. She looked at Fluffy. At the small rabbit girl clinging to Daniel. She sighed.

"Fine," she said. "But next time, I’m staying."

Daniel smiled. "We’ll see."

Elara cleared her throat.

Daniel looked at her. At the vice leader. At her calm face. At her sharp eyes.

"Oh," he said. "Right."

He looked at Lyra and Fluffy. "This is Elara. She’s Paul’s sister. And a vice leader of the guild."

Lyra’s eyes widened. She looked at Elara. At her powerful aura. At her confident posture.

"A vice leader?" she repeated.

Elara nodded. "Yes."

Lyra bowed quickly. "I’m sorry for the disturbance. We didn’t mean to cause trouble."

Elara raised an eyebrow. "You didn’t cause trouble. That man did." She gestured at the destruction. "And Paul. And Daniel. But mostly that man."

Daniel winced. "I helped a little."

Elara looked at him. "You helped a lot. I saw the fight. You held your own against a stage four. That’s impressive for an F rank."

Daniel blinked. "You saw?"

"I was watching from the roof. I was about to intervene when Paul got hit. But then I saw him switch places with you. And I saw you blink. And I saw you keep fighting." She paused. "You have potential."

Daniel didn’t know what to say. So he just nodded.

Elara looked at Lyra. At Fluffy. At Paul, who was still lying on the ground.

"I’ll deal with the report," she said. "The guild will need to know what happened. The teleportation user will be punished. He broke the rules. He attacked fellow members. He’ll be suspended. Maybe expelled."

Daniel nodded. "Good."

Elara looked at Paul. He was still on the ground. His body was broken. His face was bruised. But he was smiling.

"Paul," Elara said. "You need to see a healer."

Paul waved a hand. "I’m fine."

"You’re not fine. You’re bleeding."

"It’s just a little blood."

Elara sighed. She knelt beside him. She checked his wounds. She pressed on his ribs. Paul winced.

"See?" Elara said. "You’re hurt."

"I’m fine," Paul insisted. "Really. I’ve had worse."

Elara shook her head. She looked at Daniel.

"Did you know he reached stage three?" she asked.

Daniel blinked. "He mentioned it."

"He did?" Paul sat up. He winced. But he was grinning. "I reached stage three! During the wolf fight! I was so focused on protecting everyone that I broke through!"

Elara stared at him. "You reached stage three?"

"Yes!"

"And you didn’t tell me?"

"I was going to tell you! But then Daniel punched me in the face!"

Daniel winced. "Sorry about that."

Paul waved a hand. "It’s fine. It was a good punch. Very strong. You have nice form."

Elara shook her head. She looked at Daniel.

"He doesn’t know what stages are," Paul said. "He reached the third stage and he doesn’t even know what it means."

Elara raised an eyebrow. "Is that true?"

Daniel shrugged. "I’m new to this world."

Elara stared at him. "New to this world?"

"It’s a long story."

Elara looked at Paul. Paul shrugged.

"He’s weird," Paul said. "But he’s strong. And he’s a good guy."

Elara sighed. She stood up. She looked at Daniel.

"We’ll talk later," she said. "First, I need to deal with this mess."

She turned and walked toward the ruined doorway. Her aura was calm. But her eyes were sharp.

Paul watched her go. Then he looked at Daniel.

"You know," he said, "she’s single."

Daniel blinked. "What?"

"My sister. She’s single. And she’s a vice leader. And she’s beautiful. And she’s—"

"Paul," Elara’s voice echoed from outside. "I can hear you."

Paul’s face went pale. "I was just saying nice things!"

"Stop."

"Okay!"

Daniel laughed. Then he winced. His ribs hurt.

Lyra sat down beside him. Fluffy was still in his lap. They were all together. They were all safe.

Then a man appeared.

He walked slowly. Deliberately. He was shirtless. His muscles rippled with every step. His chest was broad. His abs were defined. His arms were like tree trunks.

He was carrying a man over his shoulder. The teleportation user. The man who had caused all this trouble. He was beaten. Bruised. Unconscious.

The shirtless man stopped in front of them. He looked at Daniel. At Lyra. At Fluffy. At Paul.

Then he flexed.

His muscles bulged. His veins popped. His skin gleamed.

"Me and the boys has arrived," he said.

He flexed again. His arm muscles grew larger. More defined. More impressive.

Daniel stared at him. His mouth was open.

"What," Daniel said, "the fuck."

Paul groaned. "Oh no. Not him."

Lyra looked at Paul. "Who is that?"

Paul sighed. "That’s Brutus. He’s a C rank. And he’s... he’s something else."

Brutus flexed again. "I heard there was a fight. I came as soon as I could. But it looks like I missed it."

He looked at the destruction. At the ruined walls. At the broken tables.

"Looks like it was a good fight," he said.

Daniel nodded slowly. "It was."

Brutus looked at him. At his wounds. At his tired eyes. At his clenched fists.

"You fought the teleporter?" he asked.

Daniel nodded. "Yes."

"And you’re still alive?"

"Yes."

Brutus grinned. A wide, bright grin.

"Nice," he said. "I like you."

He flexed again.