"Please open this website,"
An investigator from Libretanhya says, fiddling with his computer.
"What a mess!"
He looks at Slady, who just stares at him innocently and neutrally.
"You haven't explained to me why you want my computer yet."
Normally, Slady wouldn't let anyone touch his computer. But it was necessary due to the case involving his murders, which were requested and paid for by people.
The investigator scrolls through the website, seeing several requests for "X" to assassinate various criminals with large payments from Lynes.
"It's nothing different, just another one!"
The investigator says, frustrated.
"What else?"
"There's a hitman who basically hacked several computers and managed to insert several IP addresses into his website so no one can track him."
"I see..."
Slady puts her hand to her chin; her plan had really worked, very well.
"But he's a bad guy?"
"Yes, very much so!"
"Why?"
"He's already killed hundreds, even thousands of people; there's a lot of blood on this person's hands!"
"But from what I've seen, they're criminals. Isn't that great news?"
Slady asks, crossing her arms.
"No! He's not a judge to judge these men or women. If he has criminals to report, he should report them to us, the police, right?"
The investigator asks, looking Slady straight in the eye.
"Of course..."
He says, but in his mind, it's something closer to this:
"Sons of bitches! If you did your job right, I wouldn't have to kill those bastards!"
After the quick check, the investigator tilts his upper body down in an apologetic gesture.
"I apologize for interrupting your day, Mr. Slady. Good luck with your job as a librarian."
"No problem, take care,"
Slady says with a fake smile.
"Idiots..."
He rests his mechanical hand on his chin, thinking about a few things.
"At least I left the girls at Faller and Victoria's house; they're good enough friends to trust my daughters with."
He stands up, starting to pack a few things.
"Anyway, I have a free day to enjoy. I hope the girls are okay..."
***
In an apartment in Libretanhya, in a Japanese-themed neighborhood, Victoria was making lunch, and Faller was helping his wife prepare it. Elisa and Shaphira were in the bedroom, looking thoughtful about why Slady had left them there.
"Shaphira, I know Slady is very busy, but is it necessary for him to leave us here?"
"He told me some people would be coming to the library; he doesn't want them to see us."
"I understand him. You're a Renkai Creature, and I'm basically declared dead. I hope he gets here soon. I don't like being without him around."
"Why?"
"You know... despite everything that happened, I've gotten used to living with you and him."
"I know that. Let's just wait for him to get here, and we can even ask him to have lunch with Miss Victoria and Mr. Faller."
In the kitchen, Victoria was adjusting the temperature of the rice, and Faller was still slicing the meat and vegetables quickly.
"You've been with him these days, haven't you?"
Faller asked, not jealous.
"Slady? Yes, he seemed... a little out of sorts."
"Why?"
Faller put the meat in the pot, pulling his wife to sit on the counter nearby. She let out a surprised sound, but chuckled and continued the conversation, more seriously.
"He felt inadequate for Elisa and Shaphira."
"That doesn't make sense. From what I know of him so far and from what the girls have told me, he's very good with them."
Faller lowers the heat on the pan, now paying closer attention to Victoria's conversation. She moves closer to him and speaks more quietly, not wanting the girls to hear.
"I don't know much about him, but Slady doesn't seem to be good at showing affection with words or gestures."
"It must have been someone who didn't learn to love..."
Faller says, not wanting to judge, but still thoughtful. Suddenly, the apartment door slams shut. Victoria just goes to the door, confused.
"I hope it's not one of our fans..."
Opening the door, Victoria is met with the sight of Slady. She approaches him with a soft smile and hugs him.
"Come to visit, buddy?"
Slady lets himself be hugged.
"Yes, if I don't get in the way..."
"Slady, you're already part of our family. Don't be shy."
Slady nodded in thanks. As he passed, Faller surprised him with a friendly hug from behind.
"Are you going to lunch with us, buddy?"
He practically lifted Slady into the air with his strength, but he just remained impassive.
"I'm getting too close to them... but that's not a bad thing, strangely enough."
He thought.
***
At lunch, everyone eats politely, especially Elisa and Shaphira. Slady eats quickly but delicately. Like a couple, Victoria and Faller sometimes spoon-feed each other's food. A lovely sight from the girls' perspective, strange and unusual from Slady's.
"It's great,"
He says, placing the plate on the table to start washing.
"Honey, let me clean it,"
Victoria says in a friendly tone.
"Yes, you're the guests, let us take care of it,"
Faller says, equally friendly.
"Okay, then..."
Slady sits on the couch, quietly.
"They're friendly with their guests, I never thought this generation's Doom Hunters would be so... kind."
"How did they get this apartment? It's quite luxurious..."
Shaphira asks suddenly, genuinely curious.
"We work hard. Being a Demon Hunter pays good money, especially if it's in a class as high as ours,"
Victoria says, proud of herself, but without arrogance.
"Slady, can we be Demon Hunters?"
Shaphira asks, looking at Slady. Elisa remains silent, but there's also curiosity in her eyes.
"When you're ready, I'll help you both with that."
"We'll get stronger, Slady. I appreciate the training you give us."
Elisa says with a calm smile.
"Is he training you already?"
Faller asks, curious... but also thoughtful. As if remembering something from his past.
"Yes, he takes great care to ensure we don't get hurt and that we are efficient in our development."
Elisa says. Victoria listens to the conversation, giving Slady and the girls a small, approving smile.
"You're lucky..."
Noticing the tension in her husband's shoulders, she places her hands on his back affectionately.
"Love..."
Shaphira is curious about the gesture between the young couple. Elisa has a wiser look in her eyes, as if she knows a little about why.
"Is there something you want to talk about?"
Slady asks.
They are both surprised, then nod in agreement, wanting to vent. Slady glances briefly at the girls. Girls.
"Can you go to your room?"
"Yes."
"No problem."
The two of them get up, thanking them for lunch and heading to their room. Slady gets up and sits at the table; the couple sits next to him with their heads bowed.
"We've noticed you're very attentive to the girls, we just remember a bit of our childhood... we went through some difficult things, really difficult things."
Faller stated.
"I'm not very good at understanding people's childhoods..."
Slady says, trying to be a good friend, even though he doesn't quite know how.
"But I want to at least be a good listener."
"Thanks,"
Victoria says.
Then Faller and Victoria look at each other for a brief moment, as if they've reached a silent agreement.
"I'll start."
Faller says. Slady adjusts in her chair, crossing her legs.
"Victoria and I are childhood friends, we've practically known each other since we were kids. I, Faller, turned out to be the only child and someone born with the Mana Releaser already awakened.
Slady was surprised; it was very rare for someone to be born with the Mana Releaser already awakened. The only person he had in mind was Raizer himself.
"My wife and childhood friend, Victoria, happened to be born in the same village as mine, near Libretanhya and led by my family, the Noughters."
Slady seemed to remember that family, a name renowned for its incredibly strong members.
"My family had a tradition of training their most talented children to be Demon Hunters. But they applied that same rule to our entire village..."
Faller's voice grew heavier, as if he were holding back his negative feelings.
"Victoria and I were forced to undergo torturous and intense training, which often left my body with numerous injuries. This woman... besides my mother, was the only person who cared for me with these problems."
Victoria gave a small smile, remembering a bit of the past...
***
Faller was leaning against Victoria's chest, who was bandaging his injured back.
"This hurts..."
Faller said, almost in tears. Victoria, seeing her friend's pain, almost cried along with him.
"We'll get through this together, Faller."
She hugged him tightly. Faller surrendered to the only person he trusted, letting go of his pride and crying from the pain all over his body. Without regret.
***
Then Victoria began to tell him.
"But one day, the Second Renkai Awakening occurred, which allowed me to awaken my Mana Releaser, but... the Destroyers who had invaded the world that day ended up annihilating our entire village, leaving only the two of us as survivors."
She placed her hand on her chest, feeling the pain in her heart as she felt to remember.
***
Faller and Victoria ran together, their parents, friends, family, home, everything destroyed in that catastrophe.
Suddenly, a Destroyer, the Flame Destroyer, appeared behind them with a malevolent smile, creating a large tornado of fire.
"Humans won't make it through the night!!"
The being used its fiery wings to fly toward Faller, but Victoria stepped in front of it, unleashing a powerful blast of water that knocked the human, who had transformed into a Destroyer, away.
"Never touch my beloved again!!!"
Victoria said matter-of-factly, not realizing she'd just declared her feelings. She was furious. Faller looked at her, surprised, but determined to protect her.
"Please, let me face him..."
He placed his hand on Victoria's chest. She was surprised, but also unwilling to obey him.
"Faller, I—"
"Don't say anything else, I won't let you get hurt."
He looked at Victoria, no longer afraid, no longer desperate, but rather, a protective smile.
"You did everything for me, I will never let anyone harm you."
The Flame Destroyer lets out a furious roar, launching himself toward Faller, who unleashed a barrage of lightning at him.
Victoria wouldn't let him do it alone; she created a tsunami toward the Destroyer of Flame.
The two were determined to protect each other, even at the cost of their own lives.
***
"After all that destruction, we started over from scratch, and here we are today, fulfilled and together."
Victoria finishes. The couple lets out a sigh, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from their shoulders, confiding their story to Slady, who was deep in thought:
'Faller and Victoria aren't just random people who met by chance; they grew up together, cared for each other, went through the worst, and rose together. They're not just a couple, it's like a concept I saw in a book a long time ago...'
'The definition of true love.'