Chapter 215 - She Detects a Change of Air

Robin jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Whenever the distance was too far, she would use air platforms to breach the gap. Finally, she arrived at the area where the magic beast had reportedly emerged. But, there was no sign of one. She jumped down to the street and paused, listening for any sounds that might give away its location.

'Ah, that's right...I could probably just use that.' She realized.

Christian and Keith caught up at that point, looking down from the top of the building. Noticing that Robin was busy trying to sense the beast's wherabouts, Christian and Keith also began to look about.

Hidden away in a dark nook, the magic beast could see all three of them searching about the area. It grinned maliciously as it turned its eyes to the most colorful person there...

"Ah! It's there!" Christian called out.

Crash!

He had immediately thrown a roof tile at a second story window, shattering the glass.

"Er..Ahem! It's in there. I saw its toothy grin." Christian explained, feeling somewhat embarrassed at not noticing the window pane had been still intact.

"Well, if it wasn't aware of us before, then it is now." Robin rolled her eyes as Keith patted Cbristian's back.

"Good job, Prince Aggro Attracter." Keith quipped, giving him a menacing grin.

"This is about what I said earlier, isn't it?" Christian suspected.

"Good that you know." Keith nodded. "Now let's hurry up and beat this beast."

They waited several moments.

"You sure it's in there?" Robin asked.

"Saw it with my own two eyes." Christian replied.

"Well, if it's not coming out, then I guess we'll have to go in after it." Robin declared, unsheathing her sword. The trio stepped towards the derelect house.

-----------------

-----------------

"I can't leave! I won't leave! I refuse!" The youth yelled out, struggling despite Liam's iron grip on his collar.

"Why are you so insistent upon staying?" Liam asked. "Your fellow men have been captured. Your base of operations is in ruins. The underground is teeming with magic beasts that will eventually discover this place. Moreover-"

Liam paused as the weight in his hand had grown noticeably lighted. He glanced at it only to see an empty shirt in his grasp. Looking around, Liam sighed. The lad had crawled right back into his cage, bent bars or no bent bars, and put the chains back about his own wrists.

One minute later, the lad found himself rubbing a large bump on his head with Liam's iron grip about his wrist. Needless to say, he was still shirtless.

"Ahem! Moreover, there's no steady food supply, so you would just end up killing yourself of starvation in two months time." Liam finished calmly.

"I don't care! I'm not leaving!" The lad pouted stubbornly. "Boukki will get me all that I need. I don't need to leave!"

"Boukki?" Liam looked about the room. Was there someone else in the room with them?

After scanning over the organized piles and compartments, he came to a conclusion. Unless the person in question was hidden under the floor, there was nowhere that could hid even a child, much less an a.d.u.l.t. He raised an eyebrow.

"This 'Boukki' of yours, he wouldn't have a penchant for walking through walls, would he?" Liam asked.

The boy made a face. "Yer just like all the others." He declared before falling silent and refusing to speak to Liam. Liam sighed and released his hold on the pouting lad. Clearly, they were at an impasse.

It wasn't that he didn't believe the lad. He knew very well that there are many creatures and existences with rare talents. But he felt the childling had somehow misunderstood him. And he was not experienced in pacifying children. While serving under the prince, he had never had to deal with the young. He worked with fellow soldiers, and grownups, but children kept their distance from him for some reason.

"Hah! I knew it!" The lad sniffed. "Going straight for the gold! You're obviously a thief!"

Liam looked flatly at the lad,then began rummaging through a pile of trinkets. He had obviously been trying to convince the lad to leave first. Besides, he was only looking for what was originally his. Was it stealing to take back his own possessions?

"H-hey, be careful!" The lad warned. "My dad said that those are all antiques, which are probably hundreds, if not thousands of years old!"

Liam finally let out a chuckle. "Well, you're not wrong." He replied in a rare playful mood. Long forgotten memories were returning to him along with the familiar presence. Finally, he picked up an ancient hairpin. Embedded within it was a large pearl.

"A hairpin?" The lad snorted. "You looking for something for yer lady friends back there?" Then a thought came to him. He skooched to the back of the cage. "Y-yer not gonna stab me with that, are you?" The lad squeaked.

Liam stared blankly at the child. The boy swallowed, visibly shaken.

Snap!

Just like that, the hairpin was broken, and the pearl was retrieved.

The lad was speechless for a long breath. "Did you...did you just destroy an antique!?" His voice grew higher with each word.

"I freed a natural treasure from its shackled of stone." Liam replied.

"Stone, my ass! That was King's Emerald Jade!" The lad forgot himself as he grabbed the bars and snarled at Liam. "That was a priceless artifact, and you just up and broke it!?"

"If it has no price, doesn't that mean it is worthless?" Liam asked.

"You-you're joking, right?" The lad was dumbstruck at how stupidly blunt this man was.

"Well, you could probably get quite the sum from the right person. However, a treasure that is hidden away underground can only be a hidden treasure." Liam mused. "And hidden treasures can do nothing but rot when they are not used or on display."

"What do you know of these things?" The lad sneered.

"Other treasures I can only estimate their worth." Liam looked down at the pearl in his hands. "But this? Yes. I am aware. To me, this is the third greatest treasure I had ever wanted."

"What's so great about a pearl?" The lad scoffed.

"Not much to most everyone else." Liam admitted. "It is only I, and my clan who finds this so valuable."

"...Then, what was the first greatest treasure you had ever wanted?" The lad asked.

"Freedom." He answered.

"What about the second?" The lad changed topic.

"Friendship." Liam replied stoically.

"That's it?" The lad asked.

"You might never understand their worth considering how you so adamantly shun the idea of them." Liam shook his head. "No matter what race, it seems there are self-destructive ones."

"Hey! Those aren't even things, how can they be treasures!?" The lad objected.

"A treasure is formed by three things: rarity, use, and sentimental value. What does it matter to you if I consider these a treasure?" Liam snorted, and held up the pearl. "At the very least, I find value in this where you do not."

"Then how about we strike a deal?" The lad proposed, opportunistically.

"A deal?" Liam asked, looking over at the lad. "...I'm listening."

----------

"Of all the places it had to go, why did it have to be a mirror store!?" Christian muttered. They had been through the entire store with no sign of the aforementioned monster. Instead, all the mirrors made it hard to navigate the place. Christian had almost planted his face in more than a few.

"Are you sure it was in here?" Robin asked.

"I'm certain!" Christian declared. "There's no way I imagined it."

Somewhere nearby, a toothy grin flashed as it was about time for the hunt to begin.

Robin paused.

"What is it?" Christian asked.

"The air has changed." Robin replied. After taking a moment to confirm, she pointed at a really large mirror. "Do you feel a draft coming from there?" she asked.