"There is nothing interesting…" Kai spoke in disappointment as he walked out of the building. His expectation was shattered in a bad way as Griffin followed him from behind. "They only sell some weak Talismans."
"What do you expect? That's the store on the first floor. Unfortunately, we haven't processed your registration, so you can't go to the market with a higher clearance. Just wait a week, and you will be able to browse all items available in the market."
"Is that so? Why don't you say that faster?"
"You look so excited that I feel bad not showing the market to you," Griffin replied dryly.
The Slayer's fear of Kai was lessened considerably after they talked for so long. At first, he didn't know Kai's personality and was afraid of the Phoenix's power. But it turned out Kai was reasonable, and he didn't need to get scared of him.
"I can't blame you when you said that." Kai smiled wryly. True, he was the one who got excited over nothing. "Well then, I will return to my home. Thanks for guiding me, Griffin."
"You're welcome. Be careful of a dark place."
"Yeah."
Kai waved his hand slightly before walking away from the building. He exited the alleyway and passed the thin layer of the barrier. This time, he could feel it as he knew its existence.
The everyday sight of New York City came into his vision. A bustling night and neon light filled the city. Many people walked on the sideroad, wearing various clothes, from ordinary to abnormal such as clothes filled with spikes.
Sometimes he wondered if the people in New York City were part of a Supernatural World. However, he didn't even see a sign of Supernatural races among these people. Talking about strange, as they certainly looked out of this world.
'Come to think of it, that's really strange. Even in Japan, I saw one or two Oni and youkai with animal tails walking on the street. But in this city… the population is filled with humans.'
Whether that was a good thing or not, maybe that was the reason why he had never found a trace of Supernatural things in New York City. Because Marcus was strict with him, the only time he left New York was a few days ago when he visited Japan.
He didn't complain about it, as all his needs were fulfilled. But the old man suddenly allowed him to leave New York once Amber arrived.
'Now that I know grandpa is aware of the Supernatural World, maybe he's strict with me to protect me. I just left New York once, and I got into a problem and a few new titles in the Supernatural World, with the Ruler being the most troublesome one.'
Maybe Marcus already knew all this time, but Kai had no way to find out about it. His grandfather was bound by a Spirit Power contract, possibly, that made the old man unable to tell him anything.
Kai walked down the street, hands in his pockets, as he put up an aloof face. Many people were joking around rowdily. Some people were in a group, holding a smartphone and a camera, and stopped the passerby from doing something.
He cast a side glance at those people. They were just making content for their videos. He quickly went away from that place and entered some empty street, a shortcut he often used to return to Chinatown.
Some street lights between buildings dimly lit the road, but it was enough for him as long as he was able to see the road. He wasn't afraid of the dark.
The rowdy and loud atmosphere from the main street disappeared, replaced by a cold and eerie atmosphere.
However, Kai smiled. He thought he was freed from the content creators who always asked people on the main street and those who wanted to get some exposure by willingly cooperating with those content creators.
Personally, he didn't feel like entering a video or something similar. He would like to keep himself hidden, especially before the Boogeymen were defeated. For some reason, he was sure he would meet the Boogeymen sooner or later, and that scarecrow's main body would try to kill him.
'I'd rather attack instead of being attacked. Insufficient preparation and unpreparedness are two worst enemies that can make me get killed.'
The road he took was somehow quiet. Indeed it was already quiet since it was detached from the main one, but… there was a creepy feeling in this silence as if something would just pop out and…
"Excuse me!"
"Woah."
A sudden voice called out to Kai from behind, causing him to get surprised. That should be impossible, considering his newly heightened senses could easily pick up people's presence.
He turned around to see who called out to him and found a brown-haired woman wearing a tube top and shorts, holding a smartphone with its camera pointed at him.
"Can I ask you a question for a video?" The woman beamed with a smile and asked with a polite tone.
'This again…' Kai scratched his head as he tried not to make any kind of expression.
Dealing with a content creator needed some kind of patience, and he shouldn't get angry over them. You wouldn't know what kind of people were following them, and if you said something that could be used against you, then people in a bluebird application would surely make your life miserable.
As a restaurant owner, he had dealt with a few content creators who visited his restaurant because they heard a rumor. Fortunately, all of them were honest and gave him good publicity.
However, there was a kind of content creator you should be wary of. And that was someone who asked you a question in a detached place like this.
"I am sorry, but I can't answer any questions now." He refused with a kind smile, trying to give her a good vibe like some kind of a sociable person.
However, the woman wouldn't give up.
"Come on! Just one question!"
"I'm sorry, miss. But I need to return right now."
"Come on! Just one question! Just one!" The woman repeated while her expression changed. No, it wasn't just her expression. Her face also morphed like some kind of black slime as her smile mouth ripped from side to side.
Kai narrowed his eyes as he took a step back, wary of the woman. Her clothes turned gooey, like some kind of liquid, and her skin turned dark.
"Just one… JWuST WonE QWeStiONN!!" Her voice became distorted as some kind of half-transparent thing escaped her body. She no longer had a human shape. Instead, she looked like a blob with some soul-like tentacle moving around from her back.
"What is it?" Kai muttered in horror as he prepared himself. "Some kind of Supernatural disaster?"
It was then the one who previously looked like a kind woman opened its mouth wide. The tentacle rose to the air as it let out a deafening scream.
"One QwestiONnn!! FamOOOuuss!!!"
Kai responded to the scream by sending a torrent of fire to burn the blob's whole body. However, what happened next shocked him. He retracted the fire he sent to burn the creature and found out that the creature was completely fine, not harmed a single bit.
"What the–?" He let out a surprised voice, but it was interrupted by another scream.
"MEeEEEE FammoOOUuusS!!!"