"This is where strategies are devised, important announcements are made, and guild matters are discussed," Sia explained, her voice resonating through the hall.
As we walked through, I couldn't help but notice the gazes of some guild members directed at me.
"Why are everyone staring at me?" I couldn't help but ask Sia.
"About that, You see we can't let a cadet enter the guild because to others it will look like we snatching a promising hero, so everyone is worried about it. Please don't say to anyone outside that you came, Grace Guild." Sia said with a nervous chuckle.
'Ahh, this woman is not right in her head.' I just shook my head helplessly.
"Anyway let's go downstairs to the parking lot and then I tell you the real reason I called you here," Sia said I simply nodded my head, I knew that she would not call me here for anything important.
We descended through a series of stairs, away from the prying eyes of the guild members. The atmosphere shifted as we entered a more secluded area beneath the guild.
"Now, Lucas, I'll get straight to the point," Sia began, her tone becoming more serious. "I didn't just call you here to show you around. Have you ever fought a villain?"
I raised an eyebrow, curious about this unexpected question.
"Well if you are talking about people who tried to kill me so yeah I fought a villain and I also killed them," I said and remembered the faces of Samual, the assassin that I fought at Silva City, the blond woman who could control other, last but not least Tony stark who turned himself in Fallen human.
"That's good, now get in my car," Sia said and wake toward a red sports car
I followed Sia to the sleek red sports car parked in the guild's underground lot. The car exuded an air of luxury, fitting for someone of Sia's status.
As we got in, Sia started the engine, the powerful purr echoing through the parking lot. The car smoothly glided out of its space and into the illuminated tunnel leading to the surface.
There was silence in the car and my patience was reaching its limit.
I waited for a few moments, then finally asked:
"Uh... Miss Sia? Sorry, but what exactly are we doing?"
She briefly glanced at the control screen of her sports car, sent it into a sharp turn, and answered calmly:
"We are going to hunt down a Villain."
I frowned.
"Villian? What kind of a Villain?"
Sis remained silent for a few moments. Then, she glanced at me and smiled darkly:
"We are going to kill him, that's why I asked if you had ever killed any villain before."
Lucas looked into the window.
"...Ah."
Lucas looked out the window, not sure how he felt about that. Yes, what Sia said made sense. [B-] rank heroes were too powerful and too dangerous. If one of them lost control, then they needed to be dealt with, somehow. If they did not stop him he would continue to kill.
Although harsh, this was the sombre reality. He wasn't against the idea itself.
Finally turning to Sia, Lucas lingered for a few moments and then asked:
"So why me, of all people? Why ask me to come with you? You knew I'm just at [E] rank while this guy is at [B-] rank."
Sia glanced at him, then grinned.
"Three reasons."
She blew through an intersection, almost crashing into a heavy cargo vehicle, and then dodged it at the last second.
"First, I wanted to show you the harsh reality that is hidden from most people, including you."
"Second, you will see how a Hero fought a villain."
"Third, I'm hoping after all of this is over you will reconsider your decision and join the Grace Guild after graduating from Nova Academy."
Lucas let a big sigh and said in a quiet tone
"...I see."
Seeing a look of fear on Lucas's face, Sia said, " Don't worry you will be fine I'm a [S+] rank hero this will be over before you know it. You will be watching from the sideline."
Lucas's expression changed as soon as he heard that,
'So I'm not going to fight, that's good.' Lucas thought to himself.
"But I have to warn you about something."
Lucas raised one of his eyebrows and asked "What is it that I should warn about it?"
Sia gave him a long look and said "It's his magic affinity, He is a Shadow mage."