The floor shook softly as his steps brought him closer to the park. A digital ringing filled his ear. The gate clicked open and shut automatically after him. A dull ache spread from his feet toward his torso, but there was no time to rest. Finally, the ringing stopped.
"Hello?"
"Cassie, please come to the park in Quadrant 26! There will be five Category two Gnarlings."
"Who is this-" The call ended, his thumb leaving the red button and sliding the phone back in his pocket.
Green sparks shot forward from his hands, quickly taking the form of a lethal katana. There wasn't much time until the gnarlings would arrive. 'Should I try and usher the citizens out of here?'
He pondered it for a moment, but the memory of their murmurs and mocking remarks tickled down at his lips. 'I guess one or two dying won't be too bad.'
Corvus's eyes lingered on the kids running around with a rubber ball, grass flying in the air as they tussled with each other.
'Maybe let's keep it to zero casualties.'
His chest puffed out, and the air grew thicker with the familiar scent of death. Every person in this park reeked of it. Covus's eyes dulled against the lusterless blade. His finger slid across the blade, drops of crimson smeared across its surface.
His mouth was agape as the blade shone a burgundy hue for several seconds. 'This blade has more secrets than it's letting on...'
A familiar presence crept into the park; rather, she leapt onto the grass.
"Alright, everyone! The association has received a report that five Category Two Gnarlings are descending at any moment. Hurry and get out of here!"
Murmurs spread like wildfires among the crowd, but they were all shushed with the flash of the Vanquisher's badge. It had only taken a few minutes to evacuate everyone from the scene, leaving only two people in the park.
"Is it safe to assume that you were the one who called me?"
Corvus nodded, a wave of air pushed through his throat-
An earth-shattering impact knocked Corvus over. His blade barely caught the ground to crutch him. Crimson steel rained from above. Cassie's barrage of javelins brought down divine justice, her figure blurred between the creatures, slashing at their legs and knocking the great beings over.
A smirk flashed across his face, and his heart beat faster. 'So this...is what it feels like to live.' An ever-so-familiar scent lingered in the air, its putrid aura encompassing his blade, creating a chain that drew him to the beasts.
His blade danced as it sliced through the gnarling's hide without much effort. [Death's Deliverance] greedily drank the ichor that dared touch its surface. Its form shifted from the katana into a shield. Its lusterless alloy shuddered, knocking Corvus several feet away. His breath grew shaky, but the beast fell with him.
A drop of cold water permeated his body; at least that was the closest thing he could compare it to. It felt like it quenched a thirst that had existed long before his soul even flowered. His arm bled, red droplets staining his white shirt, but that smile couldn't be wiped off his cocky face.
Cassie cast a worried glance at him, but that sentiment was quickly deserted as his figure lunged at another beast, slashing through its joints and drawing its final breath.
"Four down!" Cassie yelled from atop a freshly murdered beast.
She shot her elbow into his side. "You want the last one?"
"He is all yours. I think...I spent too much Ichor on this."
She shrugged before making light work of the once fearsome beast. Five titanic bodies lay motionless on the red grass of the park. The sun had not even peeked from behind the city's distant walls.
His chest puffed, and he exhaled as he struggled to catch his breath. A warm palm patted him on the back, followed by a water bottle being shoved in his face.
Cassie smiled faintly at him, sitting him down on the ground.
"Thanks for today. Though I don't know where you got my number from, I will let it slide since we managed to avoid having any casualties...which is rare." She grimaced. Corvus thought he caught a glimpse of a tear, but it was nowhere to be found a blink later.
He rubbed the back of his neck, opened his mouth and asked the single question that had been badgering his mind relentlessly. "Could you...tell me more about the Tallyboard system?"
She blinked before bursting into a fit of giggles.
"Pfft- Sorry for laughing, just...that's a first for me. Most people avoid me, but the first person who called my phone number wants me to teach about The Tallyboard of all things."
She paused for a second, and the realisation that Corvus was not joking dawned on her. Her lips formed a visible 'Oh'.
"Sure, over dinner. I will text you the address later. If you are even a second late, I will be leaving."
Without so much as a goodbye, she jumped onto a distant rooftop. Cassie gifted him one last moment, their eyes meeting before finally disappearing into the distance.
He jammed the sword into the ground, propping himself up halfway before bursting into hundreds of shards and sending his face into the burgundy soil. "Saved some people, and this is still my luck...I better get to work at least, the boss will be livid if I am late again..."
===============
The doors burst open, and a dozen figures paced the pavement. Cars honked, and curses flew as traffic blocked every road.
"Yo Cor, you got any plans today? Wanna come hang out with us?" His best friend, Andrew, called out from the front of the pack. A toothy grin leered back at Corvus.
"C'mon, you know he never has plans-"
"Sorry guys, I am busy tonight...I got a date."
The world halted. Even the loud blaring of cars and screaming seemed to fade into the background. Twenty-two eyes pierced his body like needles.
"S-Sorry, I don't think I heard that correctly." Andrew crept back to the end of the party of friends, a lonesome hand shivering as it squeezed Corvus's shoulder. "And how come I am only hearing of this now?" A vein popped along his forehead.
"Well, uhm...it only happened that I was invited today..."
Andrew took a deep breath, huddling the rest of the team together, with the sole exception of Corvus, of course. Silent mutters were interrupted by the occasional glance at their single friend.
"Alright, Cor, before we proceed, tell us what her name is. Depending on the answer, you could be spared or put up to face death." It was not Andrew who spoke this time, but one of the younger staff members who was working on an internship.
A bulge rolled down his throat, splashing hard in his stomach. "Right..Uh...Her name was Cassie-"
""WHAT!? THE CASSIE? CASSIE THE VANQUISHER??""
His foot slid back, followed by a second. "No, you don't, Cor."
"Let us, your only- your best friends dress you up well for your date." Andrew cocked a thumb up and a wink.
Corvus sighed. "Alright...go easy on me..."
==============
The sky had since turned yellow and orange, a cool breeze settling through the streets of District Twenty-six. Bright lights shone from overhead, a sign consisting of several light bulbs in a metal case.
Corvus gulped down a frog. Several messages buzzed in his pocket, all from his colleagues waiting for information about his date. But he had a bigger mountain to get past...two actually.
"Did you wait long?" Cassie's voice rang from behind him, her soft eyes glowed under the soft light of the setting sun. Pink radiance had coloured her cheeks.
"Ah, no...I just got here. Shall we head inside?" Corvus held his hand out, and though hesitant, Cassie obliged and took it. The inside nearly knocked Corvus backwards, the air warming his skin, and many different aromas wafted through the air. Cassie had good taste in food, Corvus was certain of that much.
With relative ease, they found themselves in a corner of the restaurant. The menu came and went, and it hadn't taken long for the food to arrive either. A pair of steaks with red wine, the staple of romantic food. But...
'This is too awkward!' Though Corvus was not exactly a romantic man, he knew that the silence was embarrassing. He brushed her hand with a napkin. "Ah, sorry."
"Pay it no mind."
And his attempt at a conversation broke down. His shoulders fell, and a sigh left his lips.
But Cassie was no amateur at the dating scene. Or even kind gestures like these...calling her an amateur was a misplaced compliment. The only interactions she has with men were her superiors, random bystanders being saved or her father.
"This is a bit awkward, don't you think?" Corvus's lips trembled as they formed a smile. "So, how about we loosen up by killing some monsters?"
A blade of ethereal darkness formed in his hand, and he was the first to flee onto the street. Three large beasts descended from the sky, shaking the ground with their overwhelming weight. Before any of them could react, [Death's Deliverance] struck through, slashing the first beast in half. A small trickle of essence filled his soul, his muscles being reinforced slightly. That power was... exhilarating. 'I can see why people decide to join in hunts.'
Two javelins of crimson iron pierced the heads of the remaining fledglings. Their bodies shook the ground one last time as they hit the concrete.
"Get back inside, our dinner wasn't over." A chilling gaze pierced his heart, like a robot, he strode inside, finishing the last bit of his food.
'That is twice now that he predicted the descent of beasts...rather peculiar. Maybe it would be best to...'
"Hey, listen, could I ask for a favour?" Corvus tugged at a loose strand of hair like a teenage girl, but those craters at the bottom of his eyes did not exactly give *Girlypop*.
Cassie nodded, her eyebrows raised.
"Could you maybe...buy me a cake. It's my sister's birthday and I don't have enough saved up." His heart pounded. Why the hell would he ask such a thing? Because he promised it, not in this run, but in his first run. And Corvus would never go back on a promise.
Cassie giggled for a bit, breaking her cold mask. "Is that all? Sure, of course. But indulge me in a request of my own. I heard from my superior that the Ascended Academy were recruiting again, so I want you to set up!" Her pointer finger shot forward, and a grin spread from cheek to cheek.
"Deal!"
=======
Night had fallen, and the dark alleys were filled with darkness broken up by holographic campaign posters. The crowd of alley dwellers from the morning had been gone, replaced by stragglers looking for a quick buck. But no ordinary person could begin to hope to rob an ascended.
Two metallic clicks revealed an empty apartment. Or rather, it would be empty if it weren't for a young girl sitting on the couch. Her head rested on the cushion. A slight nudge of his hand woke her up.
"Happy Birthday."