"Viscount Brian, you think you can insult my sister and I will let it go?" Helios asked, looking down at the kneeling Viscount.
"Forgive my son, Sir Helios!" Brian pleaded, forcing his son to bow his head low.
"Why should I? It seems you have mistaken me for a kind soul. Perhaps I should simply destroy your Viscounty," Helios replied. His tyrannical pressure began to fade, allowing Viscount Brian to finally breathe again. "We can talk about this further at my organization," Helios added, his red eyes boring into the Viscount. "Now, get out of my sight."
The Viscount and his son scrambled away in a panicked run.
"Are you okay, Moon?" Helios asked, his face softening into a gentle expression as he looked at Luna.
"Yes. He won't bother me again," Luna said, watching the Viscount's son disappear into the distance.
"Are you two okay?" Helios asked, turning toward Harry and Lillie. His tone was noticeably less soft than when he spoke to his sister.
"Yes, thank you for asking, Sir," Lillie replied.
A man came running to their side. "It's your father," Luna noted, pointing at the approaching figure.
"Hello. I am sorry if my children have been bothering you," Frodin, the father of Lillie and Harry, said breathlessly.
"It's nothing. They took care of my Luna while I wasn't here," Helios said in a calm voice.
"Are you Luna's father?" Frodin asked, observing Helios with Luna still tucked under his arm.
"No, I am her brother, Helios," he clarified.
"Oh, forgive the misunderstanding! My name is Frodin, and these are my children. It seems you have met them already." Frodin paused, his blue eyes filled with an expectant curiosity. "Can I ask you a question?"
"You may," Helios said, putting Luna down with a small smile.
"Are you the Helios? The leader of the Order of Blackthorn, head of the Seeker Organization Alliance, and the one who killed a Morpeth alone—the one that had both a beast and human form?" Frodin asked, his voice thick with interest.
"Yes, that is me. I am Helios, leader of the Blackthorn. How do you know about the Seekers?"
"Because we are close to Area 1," Frodin explained. "We are essentially nobles, just without the official titles."
"I would like to invite you to my home to thank you for being my sister's friends and looking after her," Helios offered.
"It would be an honour. We will be there today after we get ready," Frodin replied.
Helios's car eventually drove off. Later, back at his office, Helios was preparing to head home.
"Leader, you're leaving early?" Sara asked.
"I have guests coming over, so I need to get home," Helios replied, his voice sounding tired.
"Lucky you, getting to leave early and still get paid," Seer joked.
"It is my organization, after all. There's nothing you can do about it," Helios said with a smug smirk.
"Don't forget, payday is coming soon and you have to pay the organization's taxes," Sara reminded him with a grin.
"Can't we just threaten the Royal Family so they stop asking us for taxes?" Helios groaned.
"I've always wanted to threaten those people," Seer added, sounding frustrated.
"Anyway, it's time for me to go. Make sure you handle our first mission well," Helios commanded, stepping out of the office and closing the door behind him.
The moon shone brightly as they waited for their guests. A car appeared in the distance, and Frodin, his wife Lily, and their two children, Harry and Lillie, stepped out.
"It's nice to see you again, Sir Helios," Frodin said happily.
"It's nice to see you too," Helios replied, shaking Frodin's hand.
Harry and Lillie looked around in awe. "Your house looks like a noble's mansion, Luna!" Harry exclaimed.
"It's even bigger than our house," Lillie noted, her green eyes wide with interest.
"You wanted to be an architect, right, Lillie?" Luna asked.
"Yes! And now I dream of building a house even bigger than this one," Lillie declared proudly. The group moved inside toward the dining room.
Elsewhere, the streetlights flickered over a dark road.
"Captain sent us here to fight a Morpeth?" the first man asked, trembling.
"We haven't even awakened our summons yet. We just have guns and increased physical abilities," the third man added, glancing nervously behind them.
"At least they gave us one awakened person," the second man said, looking at the fourth member of the group.
"The head of the combat facility gave our captain this mission," the fourth man explained.
"You mean Sir Riku?" asked the first man.
"Yes. The mission description is to kill a Morpeth. It has a smile that can't be called human, deer horns growing from its head, and eyes that look like the void. It might be as tall as a two-story building," the fourth man detailed.
"I heard it was stalking a woman after work. That's terrifying, especially if you didn't know about Seekers and Morpeths," the second man whispered.
"Guys... I think we found our target," the third man said, pointing into the shadows.
A massive creature with void-black eyes stepped into the light. Its skin was sloughing off its face and body to reveal coarse fur. Antlers sprouted from its head, and it stayed hunched over as if it preferred to move on all fours. Its mouth was distended, filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth. It stood as tall as a house, and its hands ended in claws stained with blood.
"The hell is that?!" the first man screamed, shaking as he pulled out his gun.
"Everyone, get your guns out! Don't show your back to it!" the fourth man ordered, summoning a sword.
In a fit of pure terror, the second man turned and tried to run. But the monster appeared instantly in front of him. It smashed his body into the ground with its massive hands, and when it lifted them, nothing but blood remained.
"Why did we have to fight a Morpeth that's almost reaching its beast awakening?" the fourth man stammered, his voice shaking violently. "I don't even have my abilities... I can only summon my sword!"