"What were you doing in his room last night, and what happened to his lip?" Ash asked bluntly while they were eating, effectively ruining the peaceful breakfast.
Natasha nearly choked.
"Um, I was… doing…" She wanted to answer immediately so it wouldn't seem suspicious, but she had no idea what to say. She couldn't exactly admit that they had fought because of a misunderstanding.
"Him." she said uncertainly, instantly regretting it.
She looked just as confused as everyone else.
Levi shot her a sharp look because of that lie, which had just raised the awkwardness to a whole new level. He couldn't deny what she had already said, so he had no choice but to go along with it.
"Natasha hurt me," he said, pointing at his mouth.
Ash and Azra stared at them in confusion while Natasha kicked Levi under the table.
"Yeah… it might not look like it, but she has some weird fetishes. She asked if we could use a knife in bed and things kind of got out of hand," Levi continued lying without hesitation while Natasha blushed furiously, completely shocked.
"I'm not surprised," Azra said casually, continuing to eat as if she hadn't heard anything strange.
"Spare me the details!" Ash shouted in disgust as he stood up from the table.
"Well, you asked," Levi replied with a shrug.
At that moment, Leonardo walked in, and he didn't look great.
Levi almost started yelling at him but stopped when he noticed the wounds on his face.
They weren't too serious, but it was still a surprising sight.
"What happened?" Ash quickly walked up to him.
⸻
A little earlier.
Leonardo occasionally enjoyed spending time with women. He wasn't someone who longed for love, but he did like having fun with girls he found interesting.
Recently he had met an intriguing girl at a club and was on his way to meet her again.
"Do you want to come to my place? I live nearby," the girl suggested after they finished their drinks, and of course he agreed.
While they walked, they talked about the incident that had made them meet in the first place.
"I couldn't wash the smell of alcohol off," Leonardo said calmly, which made her unsure whether he was upset about her spilling the drink on him.
"Ah! I wasn't even drunk. I'm just naturally clumsy," Carla said embarrassed.
Leonardo suddenly stopped when he noticed several demons emerging from the forest.
Among the shadows he could sense another type of demon—one that looked much more human.
He pulled out a small blade and cut his palms while wondering why he hadn't been informed about this. It was impossible that the soldiers responsible for patrol hadn't noticed several demons.
"Stay behind me," he told her as he pulled out his two pistols.
When his blood touched the guns, he felt his vision sharpen, allowing him to shoot accurately from a distance.
He fired both guns at the same time, killing two demons instantly. Carla stared at him in shock.
Only one demon remained, but for some reason Leonardo didn't feel confident about it.
He narrowed his eyes further to improve his vision and fired when he had the perfect shot.
The demon dodged both bullets.
Leonardo's suspicions were confirmed.
His vision worsened as nervousness made him lose focus, and he started firing without thinking.
"Maybe I could help if you give me a gun?" Carla reached toward his pistol.
"It won't work like that if someone else uses it," Leo said, stating a well-known fact.
Everyone knew that the powers only activated when used by members of certain families.
The demon was incredibly fast, dodging every bullet while getting closer.
Leo's heart started racing as it approached him. He managed to graze it a few times, but the demon didn't disappear.
Leonardo paused in confusion.
Normally, demons vanished the moment his bullets touched them.
Then he realized the truth.
This one had to be shot in the heart.
But by then the demon had already gotten too close.
Leo raised his arms and crossed them to protect his face as the demon aimed for it.
The powerful strike knocked him to the ground, and one of his pistols slipped from his hand.
The demon jumped on him and growled, but Leo quickly shot it in the heart.
The demon disappeared instantly.
Leo turned to check if Carla was okay.
At that moment, Carla fired his pistol straight at him.
But Leo reacted fast enough and fired as well.
His bullet collided with hers, creating a small explosion.
Leo quickly got up and chased after her.
He realized he might not catch her, so he stopped, took a deep breath, and activated his enhanced vision again.
When he got a clear view of the hand holding the gun, he fired and grazed her arm.
She screamed and dropped the pistol.
That forced her to stop.
"Oh shit!"
Leo ran toward her, but she abandoned the gun and managed to escape.
"I'll find you," Leo muttered angrily.
⸻
"Alright. I'll search the system and try to find her," Levi said, immediately standing up and leaving in a hurry. He felt like he was about to lose his mind because everything happening was completely out of their control.
The President usually organized numerous soldiers who patrolled day and night, killing demons whenever they appeared.
Guardians were only called for alarming situations because their lives were considered far more valuable.
Soldiers could be replaced.
Guardians could not.
Even the people currently training to become the next guardians couldn't replace them yet. They were relatives meant to inherit the weapons if something went wrong.
"How did the soldiers miss three damn demons?" Ash asked angrily.
"Maybe the demons killed them," Azra suggested.
"So fast they didn't even have time to send a distress signal?" Ash immediately shut down her theory.
"Calm down," Natasha said, trying to ease the tension.
"Levi will investigate and figure out what happened."
She wasn't nervous because she knew Levi would uncover the truth quickly.
Azra walked over and placed her hand on Leo's forehead.
"You're fine."
"I'm not poisoned," he said, shaking his head to push her hand away since he disliked physical contact.
"I'll find her and kill her," Ash said firmly as he suddenly stood up.
Natasha looked away, trying to suppress her laughter.
Azra wondered if Ash had taken this a bit more personally than the others.
Leo watched him silently without reacting. Even he found it slightly funny, but he kept that to himself.
"You need to rest," Ash said, grabbing him and pulling him to his feet.
"Alright!" Leo shouted in frustration as Ash dragged him toward the room, but it didn't stop him.
"I think you have some competition," Natasha teased once they were a bit further away.
"Shut up," Azra said irritably as she threw herself onto the bed.
"I wouldn't say Leo is gay," she muttered tiredly.
"Oh, trust me. He isn't," Natasha said with a strange smile.
"Ew." Azra frowned when she realized what Natasha meant and threw a pillow at her.
Levi didn't return that night, and Natasha didn't receive any message from him.
⸻
The next morning the President called and ordered all the guardians to come to his office immediately.
Natasha was driving fast—not because of the meeting, but because she enjoyed it.
Ash tried to keep his eyes closed, terrified of the ride, gripping the seat tightly.
Meanwhile, Azra was peacefully sleeping in the back, swaying with the movement of the car.
When they entered the office, Levi was already there.
"I don't have answers to any of your questions," the President said calmly as they took their seats.
"Carla isn't in the system, and no one at the club where you met recognizes her."
Leonardo frowned.
"Shit," Ash hissed.
"I don't know how you expect me to explain why these demons appeared only now," the President continued, sounding completely uninterested in the conversation.
"You learned about them during training. You should've paid attention. You were told they're not like ordinary shadows."
He was right.
It was their fault for not believing they actually existed.
Natasha looked at Levi in confusion. It wasn't like him to stay quiet like this.
He was staring at the President with a dark expression.
The President's lack of interest was highly suspicious.
Maybe he had already encountered demons like these before, which was why he wasn't as surprised as they were.
Or maybe…
he was hiding something.