"No way…"
Ollie just chuckled at Alune's expression. Ollie turned her eyes towards Yvonne, who was being bashful because of Alune's reaction.
Alune's smile widened. "Yvonne de Gerald, daughter of two powerful people known as the Eyes of Eagle… the young girl who signed a commission as a part-time model at the biggest modeling agency in the world, and the youngest one who won the long-range competition!"
Alune kept going. Yvonne coughed a bit and flipped her hair to the back.
"So yeah, I am," she said smugly.
Alune could not contain her happiness as she met someone who was very talented around her age.
"You can keep praising me if you want. It's not like I mind." Yvonne turned towards Ollie, who just chuckled at both of them.
Suddenly, a knock made all of them turn towards the door. A girl wearing a uniform looked at them with a smile.
"Hello, sorry to disturb, but there are two men standing at the entrance of the dormitory waiting for a girl named Alune Lourent."
Alune slapped her forehead. "Oh no, I forgot about them—I need to go!" Alune quickly ran towards the door as fast as she could.
at the entrance of girl dormitary
Aoi glared at Aiyen, who was just scrolling through his phone.
"How the heck did you raise this rude girl, huh?"
Aiyen turned off his phone and turned his head towards Aoi. "Mind your business. This is her first time in a dormitory."
Aoi just rolled his eyes after hearing Aiyen's words.
Alune stepped out from the dormitory and ran towards both of them. "I'm so sorry, I just met my roommates and they are so—"
"Could you please hurry up?" Aoi cut her off.
Alune closed her mouth, not saying anything. Earlier she could try to be brave, but now she felt like she was just a burden.
Aiyen glared at Aoi. "What? She is the one who wasted our time."
Aiyen sighed and walked towards Alune. "Don't mind him. Aoi is very well known for his potty mouth and bad temper… well, he lost to me for sure." Aiyen ruffled Alune's hair and held her hand.
"Fuck…" Alune could not believe it. She thought Aoi was just a nonchalant guy who kept his cool, but he was actually a bad-tempered man who always lost his cool in front of his friends.
...
The three of them walked around the mall trying to find the best clothes for Alune.
"Yo, Yen, I think she looks good in this." Aoi showed a flashy top with old-fashioned shorts.
Aiyen sighed and closed his eyes. He looked straight at Aoi, who was just smiling, thinking his choice was the best.
"You're really not suitable to be a dad…"
Aoi felt attacked by Aiyen's statement.
"Bro, I'm 24 and still young."
Alune just chuckled at both of them. The three of them kept searching for clothes.
Once they finally chose the clothes, they walked towards the counter to pay. Of course, the one who paid was Aiyen Lourent. Alune still pushed her brother's offer to pay, but Aiyen was stubborn and insisted on paying for the clothes.
Aoi, who was just secretly enjoying the environment around them, was startled by the siren and the beeping on his watch.
Aiyen and Aoi made eye contact and nodded.
"Alune, stay here—Aoi and I need to go out… take care, okay." Alune nodded her head and held the things they had just bought tightly.
BEEP BEEP. "UMBRA ALERT. EVERYONE, PLEASE STAY INSIDE THE BUILDING AND HIDE."
The alarm kept going, and everyone was screaming in panic. Alune hugged the things they had just bought tightly, trying to calm herself.
"I trust you, brother… you can…" Alune whispered to herself.
Everyone stayed quiet, making sure not to make any noise after they all found a hiding place. Suddenly, they felt the ground vibrate.
Alune could not keep herself calm. She cried silently while praying that no Umbra would attack them.
"KRAUUUWRRRR—" Alune heard a very loud animal cry near her. She held her mouth, trying not to make any noise, as tears streamed down her face.
Suddenly, she felt heavy footsteps walking towards her. She slowly moved under the cashier counter. Brother… she thought.
She could feel the vibration of the Umbra walking very near her. The Umbra roamed around the area near Alune as it searched for something. It smashed everything in front of it.
Suddenly, on top of the cashier counter, there was a phone. Unfortunately, the phone started ringing, making the Umbra run towards the counter. Alune quickly stood up and hung up the phone.
Yet it was too late, as the Umbra spotted her. The Umbra looked like a giant lion with a snake's head.
"KRAUWRRR—" The Umbra ran towards Alune and quickly tried to bite her. Alune ran and jumped to the other side.
"Urgh—" She fell to the ground.
The Umbra roared in her face as if she were food on a silver platter. Alune crawled with all her might and tried to stand up and run again.
The Umbra opened its mouth and sprayed a green liquid from its teeth. Alune dodged the liquid and looked toward the place where it landed. The spot that touched the liquid was slowly disappearing.
"Oh no." Alune ran again, and the Umbra kept chasing after her.
"PLEASE DON'T CHASE ME!" She ran again and again. Every place she thought the Umbra could not enter was destroyed as it smashed through everything in its sight.
Alune ran until she found a retail shop. She tried to hide but failed, as the Umbra was faster than her. She slowly stepped back.
"Trust me… I'm not very delicious…" she tried to stay calm, but her mind was a mess.
Her leg slipped on something, making her fall onto her back. "Urgh!" Her eyes stayed on the Umbra. The Umbra opened its mouth wide and tried to chomp her in one bite.
"NO!"
Alune shut her eyes tightly, thinking it was her last moment. But it felt strange—it should have hurt, yet it felt warm and safe.
"Alune… open your eyes." An unfamiliar voice rang near her ear. She slowly opened her eyes.
She saw a very handsome man holding her in his arms. His black hair and pale skin, with a small smile on his face, while his eyes looked directly at her.
"Are you okay?" the man asked.
"Am I dead? Are you… an angel?" The man laughed at her words.
"No, you are alive, and I'm just a human." The man gently put Alune down.
Alune felt a bit shy as the man in front of her was very handsome and had just saved her life. "Wait—what about that Umbra?!"
The man just smiled. "It's okay, it's already done." There was no Umbra or any pieces of it in sight.
Suddenly, a long vine came out of nowhere and wrapped around both of them. The vine, full of thorns, made both of them cry out in pain. The man tried to escape, but more vines kept wrapping around them tightly.
"Don't try to escape." A voice came from the shadows. A woman with a very curvy body, wearing a tight green short gown, walked towards them.
The man glared at the woman, while Alune cried from the pain.
"Oh my, lucky me… I caught one of the respected Ascendants…" The woman laughed as she tilted the man's face. She licked his face as if tasting ice cream.
"Ivy, let me go or I will tear you apart!" he shouted at her, yet she just smirked and laughed.
"Nah, you are a very charming one… I want to taste you a bit, so—" Her eyes then turned towards Alune, darkening.
"I want to taste her too…" The vines tightened around Alune's arms and legs.
"No!" Alune screamed in tears. The woman just laughed maniacally in front of her.
Alune cried again, yet the woman did not care. The man still tried to escape but failed.
"Bon appétit." A sword appeared in the woman's hand. Alune shook her head and cried.
"ALUNE!" the man screamed her name, but it was too late. The woman, Ivy, had already pierced the sword into her heart.
"AHAHAHAHA DIEEE!" Blood splurted from Alune's body.
The man's eyes widened as he saw Alune's body being pierced.
Ivy walked away and turned toward the man. "Now it's your turn…" She pulled the sword out from Alune's body and untied her, leaving her lying unconscious.
Ivy licked the blood from the sword and smiled wickedly at the man.
Ivy was about to cut the man into pieces, but her body suddenly felt like it was being pierced multiple times at once. She looked at her body, now full of holes.
"You should check whether that person is dead or not… Ivy." A familiar voice suddenly spoke.
"Y-You!" Ivy tried to hold herself from the pain of being stabbed multiple times.
"Alune…" The man's eyes softened as he saw Alune still standing, her wound completely gone.
"Stupid Variant." Alune smirked.