Chapter 149 148: Totally Swiped [Pt2]



Keith had no idea what happened to him. One second, he was standing in front of the previously-cloaked figure, the next second he was facing the tip of something sharp.

At first, Keith mistook the sharp edge as a blade and tensed up. But it did not take him long to realize that it was not a knife that was placed on his neck, but an umbrella.

The unexpected metallic touch caused Keith to take a step back but the sound of a gun loading up stopped him.

"Do not you dare try anything foolish with me! I know people like you and I am unwilling to play your games."

The white-haired woman threatened Keith but Keith could tell just how freaked out she was. She had not expected anyone to find her hidden place.

Keith made the mistake of gulping his saliva and he could feel the umbrella digging deeper into his neck. He was currently being held at the gunpoint.

"I asked you not to move. This is not an umbrella, but a gun. It would be in your best interest not to go against my words again. Also, are you following me? Why are you following me? What do you want from me?"

Keith had noticed that this umbrella was a gun a long time ago. But that did not mean he was going to let himself get shot.

"Alright, I understand. I think that has been a misunderstanding somewhere. I am not following you for any reason. It is a coincidence that I am here."

Keith had one of the best defensive skills one could ask for. But when faced with a gun, Keith's mind decided to draw a blank. He was unable to think of what to do next.

Maybe his opponent noticed that Keith was hopeless, or maybe she did not care enough about him to kill him off.

But the white-haired female decided to take a step back and allow Keith to breathe. 

"I do not believe you when you say that you have no interest in me but I guess I can allow you to live for a little longer. Think of it as the payment for allowing me to yoink your ticket from before."

The white-haired female sat down again once she was finished speaking. Whatever interest she had in Keith had blended away once she got back to her work.

It was only after Keith had calmed down did, he notice all the oddities of the female in front of him. 

First, Keith had noticed that she had white hair and red eyes. But only after some more careful observation did, he notice that the female also had a lot of scars on her face. 

Some looked like burn marks, while others were obvious marks of torture. This female was not alright and Keith felt sorry for her.

But the white-haired female noticed Keith's stare and she suddenly became defensive about herself.

"W-What is wrong? Why are you looking at me with those disgusting eyes? Have you never seen an abused person before?"

The white-haired female suddenly snapped and Keith was startled. He had not expected her to take offense to Keith's staring.

There was nothing Keith could say that would not offend his companion. So, Keith decided to keep quiet for the time being and observe the white-haired female a little more.

"My name is Luna Harper and before you ask, I was born with this head of white hair and red eyes. But I am 100% human in genetic makeup. I had it tested before so I am sure about this."

Luna sounded sure of her origins. This must be something that came up a lot with her and Keith felt his heart soften for the female in front of him.

But then he remembered that she had stolen his ticket and all his vengeance came running back to him.

"My name is Noah. I guess it is nice to meet you. By the way, did you submit your ticket back to our host?"

Keith's question was met with a hesitant yes. It was as if Luna did not know what to make of him.

"Well, that is good. It means you can pay me back for stealing my ticket from me. Do not worry, you will not need to do anything too dangerous for me."

Keith's smile was aimed at calming Luna down. But it made her even more nervous for some reason. That smile looked like it promised pain and suffering to her. 

Suddenly, Luna was not sure about wanting to help this man out anymore.

"Hey, can I back out of this promise I made? I suddenly remembered that I need to do something urgent-"

"Aww, do not be like that. I am sure we can get along splendidly if you want us to. You do not need to be shy."

Luna took a step back. She had suddenly gone from being the hunter to being hunted.

She was sure that she did not like her current position. And she refused to believe that the nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach could be counted as 'excitement.'

Even if the black-haired man in front of her was extremely handsome, there was no reason for Luna to fall for him.

"Step back and maintain your distance. I do not like what you are trying to do right now."

Luna's umbrella gun appeared out of thin air. It was aimed at Keith's face and he took a few steps back to avoid being accidentally fired at.

"Alright, I will give you space. Sheesh woman, what is wrong with you? Are you sure you are not getting triggered for no reason?"

Keith's words caused Luna's heart to skip a beat. She was not even sure why she had behaved like this.

It was as if her heart would leap out of her throat if her companion continued to stick so close to her.

'I need to keep my calm. I cannot allow myself to lose my focus.'

*cough*

Luna took one deep breath to calm her racing heart down. She also put her gun down now that she knew she was not in danger.

"A-Anyway, you want me to help you out? I guess I do owe you one so I will help you find the ticket. But do not expect me to be this generous in the future"

Luna tried to cough her awkwardness away. 

She stood up and followed Keith. They kept on walking deeper into the caves until Keith's flashlight battery began to give up.

"Shit, this had to happen now of all times? I did not think I have spare batteries with me as well."

Keith's lack of mana was a problem for him but he did not want to expose himself in front of Luna. So, he complained about his batteries to hide the fact that he could not make his light.

"Can you not just use your magic to create a light source?"

Luna asked and Keith was prepared for this question.

"I might be able to do so but I do not want to risk it. What if this place has an anti-magic trap that gets triggered if I use light magic? What if there are monsters that would get attracted by my magic and come after us?"

'This is bad. I think I am beginning to enjoy being a little melodramatic.'

Much of what Keith had said was what he believed. But much of it was exaggerated as well. Especially the part about anti-magic spells.

The monsters were a real concern he had now.

"Fine, I understand. You want batteries to put in the flash light, right? I think I can make it happen."

Luna did something that Keith was not able to see. But when she turned back, she had a pair of batteries in her hand. She quickly handed them over to Keith without a word.

Keith was curious about the ability Luna had used to make these batteries. As far as Keith had sensed, it had not been magic but something else.

But asking would be a little too personal at this moment. So, Keith decided not to ask this question. He silently took the offered batteries and continued his way inside.

Soon, the pair hit a dead end but Keith looked at his map. It showed that he needed to go to this place if he wanted to find the ticket.

The ticker was supposed to be on the other side of the wall he was currently facing.

"Hey, are you alright? You look a little tense right now."

Luna asked as soon as she noticed that Keith was not paying attention to her. He was currently looking at the wall with an intense focus.

"Do you want me to destroy this wall? I think I can find a way to do so If I want to."

Luna did not want to use more brain power than she already had but she would do so if it meant repaying her debt,