Chapter 61 61 – The Reason

"What takes him so long?" Kai let out a grumble as he waited for Griffin.

It had been 10 minutes since the man left him to give the registration paper to his boss, or so he said.

Kai had grown bored waiting for Griffin. He wanted the Slayer to return quickly so they could check the market. Not only that, but he also wanted to return to train his Spirit Power again.

According to Griffin, what he used earlier was too much. He wasted a lot of Spirit Power that could activate a normal-grade Talisman. While he didn't know about Talisman's grade, as he had never heard of it yet, he was sure a normal-grade was something in the middle.

"Maybe I will be able to find out more about it in the market. I also bought my phone and wallet, so I can buy something that catches my eye later."

Honestly, he needed to prepare something. His codename's choice had given the Slayer his intention if they understood its meaning. Of course, he took something from his favorite movie as a reference.

However, he didn't need to hurry. There was still time, as someone he asked to investigate him hadn't contacted him yet.

'What kind of commitment will I find, I wonder? Also, can the prophecy be fully trusted?'

The Boogeymen hadn't been defeated yet. Their main body was still out there in the world. The reason why he chose to register as soon as he returned was also to find information about the Boogeyman.

If the prophecy was real, then there was something he needed to do. And that something was the thing he could only do, no one else.

'I will follow the prophecy because it seems interesting, but I also want to know the truth about this Ruler thing. There is also the matter with my family… Shit, the problems keep piling up when I am excited to explore the Supernatural World. My luck has been shitty lately.'

While he wanted to grumble because the Supernatural World wasn't what he had expected at first, he was still glad to be involved. What Amber said lingered in his mind, and it made him smile wryly.

'She's right. The Supernatural World isn't as kind and as peaceful as I thought if something like that Boogeyman could suddenly appear out of nothing.'

Just when he was lost in his thoughts, the door was opened from outside, and Griffin appeared.

"Let's go." The Slayer simply said.

Kai was pulled back from his thoughts and turned to the man. Somehow he appeared to be more tired than before. Exhaustion was clear on his face.

"Are you fine?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Don't worry about me. Let's just go to the market at the end of the hallway and get it done. I am really tired."

"I can see that." He replied with a nod as he rose from his seat. "Then let's go."

He exited the room with Griffin, and they went to the market.

***

In the restaurant, Amber was wiping the table after they closed. The sign was already turned, and the two waitresses, Mai and Anna, had already left.

The people left in the restaurant were Ibaraki and her. Marcus was already outside with the usual people, drinking at a stall near the restaurant.

"Amber."

Ibaraki appeared from the hallway leading inside. She looked a bit anxious and worried. The Phoenix girl stopped what she had been doing and turned to the Oni.

"What's wrong, Ibaraki?"

"Can we talk? I have… a bad feeling." She simply said, but Amber narrowed her eyes because of that.

Many things caused a bad feeling. For example, a premonition of something that could happen in the near future. Then there was also a bad feeling caused by something that couldn't be explained or something unsettling.

Not many affected someone like Ibaraki. She was a Mythical creature who had gone down in history as Shuten Douji's subordinate and planted fear in Ancient Kyoto. While she was usually shy and aloof, she could be scary if she wanted to be.

"Is it about Kai's grandfather?" Amber quickly deduced the root of Ibaraki's bad feeling, and was answered with a slight nod. "As expected." She smiled at Ibaraki and pulled a chair for the Oni girl and herself. "Let's talk while we are sitting, shall we?"

Walking toward Amber, Ibaraki sat down on the chair that was prepared for her. Once she was seated, Amber asked Ibaraki.

"So, what made you have an unsettling feeling?" She intentionally avoided using bad feelings, as it wasn't correct to describe what they had felt.

Even Amber herself also felt the same way Ibaraki did when she first met the old man.

"Something dark is hiding in his shadow," Ibaraki answered. Her senses were better than most Supernatural races or even Mythical creatures. As an Oni with heightened physical abilities, she only fell short of some creatures in this world. "I know about it, but I can't remember it."

"So you noticed it?" Amber asked for confirmation, which was replied with a small nod.

Ibaraki looked a bit worried, not for herself but for her Master. Amber understood that, so she took her hands and held them.

"Don't worry, Ibaraki. That thing won't be able to harm our Master."

Even though Amber was younger than Ibaraki by a few hundred years, her emotion was more developed as she mingled with humans for a long time. So she could at least understand how to read the atmosphere and situation, unlike Ibaraki, who lived in a mountain all this time.

"Really?"

"Yes." Amber nodded. "If you know about it, then it must be something docile and not dangerous. We can only trust Marcus to keep its leash for now. If by any chance it tries to harm Kai, then…" A dangerous glint flashed in her golden irises. "I will burn it without leaving anything behind."

"That's reassuring." Ibaraki finally smiled softly after looking anxious the whole time. "I will help you stop it at that time."

"Fufufu, I am counting on you." Amber smiled and rose from her seat as Ibaraki returned inside to rest. The Oni girl hadn't recovered her Spirit Power fully yet from the fight with the Boogeyman yesterday.

After bidding goodbye to her comrade, she turned around and looked outside the restaurant.

The sky had turned dark. Creatures hidden in the dark would crawl out at this time, even in a big city where many dark emotions gathered. Some nasty creatures would surely be born when the sun had set.

Only one reason kept those creatures away from the restaurant and the area around Kai. It was because of the old thing hidden in Marcus' shadow, something that Kai hadn't noticed yet.

Kai also told her that he had never left Chinatown for too long as he was too busy with his restaurant.

"Maybe That was why he was ignorant and had never seen anything about Supernatural before he met me." She muttered in a low voice, smiling slightly.

"Then tonight will be his first time meeting some nasty creatures besides that one Malice in this city. I hope he will not be too shocked."