Chapter 13: Athena

Sungha was a highly vigilant person.

He wouldn't allow Aria to stay unless she managed to prove her background.

He stood up and confronted Aria, not giving her any moment to relax.

"Hyung, you-"

"Yoo Jin, don't interfere," Sungha narrowed his eyes at Yoo Jin, who was preparing to stop him.

"...Yes, hyung," Yoo Jin heard the change in Sungha's tone and obeyed.

In the end, Yoo Sungha was someone he would forsake his life for, whereas he had only met Aria for a day.

To him, he would be forever indebted to Sungha. There was nothing that could pay off this debt of his.

Although feeling dejected, he didn't pursue the matter and let his brother do what he wanted.

"Get out of this house," Sung-ha didn't budge.

Aria was also not willing to budge.

"...Is that so. Thank you for housing me for the night, then," Aria properly showed her gratitude and went towards the door without looking back.

Now outside the house, she debated on her next move.

She definitely needed a place to stay.

In truth, if Yoo Sungha wanted her to prove that she lived in the mountains, she would've been able to ace the mission.

In her expeditions, she couldn't choose where to stay at. As long as there was a solid place to lay down on, she could fall asleep.

Water magic took care of her thirst and sanitary needs.

Food was procured from wild fruits and hunted animals.

In short, she only needed a place where she could hunt. That was it.

Her first action was to come back to the city.

Her speed was optimized to be at the fastest rate. Traveling by feet, she reached a residence in minutes.

Several houses decorated the street, all with a similar design with only slight differences.

Jumping on top of a roof, something caught her eye.

There were clothes hung over a rack, exposed to the outside air to dry.

Nothing seemed to be protecting it.

It was a very enticing offer.

'...Surely no one would catch me, right?' Aria was attracted by the easy target.

She needed clothes other than her current coat. It was rugged from both Il-hoon wearing it and her previous battle with the Ogre. If she wanted to enter the society, she had to look presentable.

At least to the point where she wouldn't stand out.

She quietly approached the rack with her agile body.

The owner of the house seemed to be a woman.

The hanged clothes were of various models. However, they were all mostly clothes that Aria would never think of when she imagined her past clothing.

"..Sorry but I will be stealing this," Aria took the clothes off the hanger and stored it inside her coat.

Feeling bad, she used the same hanger clip and pinned one paper bill out of the total money Il-hoon gave her.

It was necessary to relieve her of the shame.

She then saw another house. And another.

A thought rose.

'Should I...' Aria groaned. The enticing offer was too much for her.

A few minutes later, Aria had already 'visited' more than seven homes.

She continued to steal small things from others, one piece of clothing at a time. She managed to piece out a complete set of outfit.

A set of underwear, a top, a pair of short pants, and a pair of boots.

"This is a bit embarrassing," Aria facepalmed, wondering how she managed to stoop this low.

However, dignity was no longer a thing inside Aria's mind. She only wanted to fulfill her mission.

Her money decreased as she kept leaving one bank note to each victim.

Sometimes, she also took fruits from nearby trees.

"Dianthe!" Aria called out the spirit, who readily appeared.

Shamelessly, Aria told the water spirit to hold her items.

Not long after, her coat was filled.

She knew it was time to stop.

She jumped off the roof and continued her travels.

Aria scoured the area for a place she could change in.

She found a cubicle where people of both genders frequently went in and out of.

It had two signs, a blue one and a pink one. Both looked very similar.

She saw that females only entered the pink cubicle, whereas males entered the blue one.

With just casual thinking, she was able to recognize that the public cubicle was meant to be a private place.

She waited for the perfect chance.

For the cubicle to not be entered by anybody else. So that she could freely commence her business without being seen.

Currently, she was unaware of the convenient thing named a 'surveillance camera'.

The object was placed sporadically throughout the streets. One could even install their own security system to look out for thieves.

She didn't know that all of her actions would be caught on camera and filed as a crime.

Yet.

_________________________________

After changing, she continued to walk across the town and look for information.

On her way, she discovered a figure with a familiar name. Someone Sung-ha mentioned.

Blythe, real name Cha Jeong-in.

Hailed as a heroic figure by the masses, a myriad of people trailed behind his back everyday.

From the people who shared the same values as him to the people who wanted to eradicate his annoying presence, his life was constantly put on the risk.

Just like today.

Blythe was standing alongside a woman that had more or less similar features to him. He looked quite normal, donned in a white suit with a golden insignia portraying a raging lion puncturing the cloth.

Aria had unexpectedly caught this man's appearance on stage. They were holding a media press, so many reporters came. There were also bystanders like her.

'How admirable.' Aria almost wanted to roll her eyes at the stupidity the 'Hero' had.

It was one thing if he knew he prevailed over everyone, as his life would not be that endangered even with numbers.

However, Aria, who could judge a person's strength just by taking a good glimpse at them, begged to differ.

If it was Aria, she wouldn't risk her safety until she was sure that she was in the top 0.01%. Even better if she was the strongest.

From her experience, true experts tended to prefer being hidden- not associating themselves with the society that much.

'..I see. The woman behind him..' Aria narrowed her eyes as she masked her presence and blended with the crowd.

The woman behind Blythe made Aria's danger sensor tingle like crazy.

The next second, Aria widened her eyes.

Although she utilized no energy, the dangerous woman was still able to detect her presence.

The woman kept her amicable smile as she attended to the press by calming them down, but she had diverted her attention to seek for Aria, who had triggered her radar.

'She's bad news.' If Aria still had her original power, she would be fearless, but she couldn't afford betting her life with her current state.

Biting her lips, she knew that the other party was still trying to search for her even when she was fully intermingled with the crowd.

'I need to get out of here.'

"Sorry, please let me through. I'm in a hurry," Aria repeatedly announced, making her way through the crowded audience.

Voices of displeasure were raised at her unbecoming conduct.

Aria didn't care about their thoughts. She wanted to escape. No matter what.

'There's no way I'm facing that thing.. Not now.' Her heartbeat sped up. The ominous feeling she got from the woman was the exact opposite of the 'Hero'.

If the 'Hero' was a bright, sunny ball of light, then the woman would be a concentrated, completely blackened shadow ball, bringing you chills the moment you found it.

Before she knew it, her stomach started churning. The thought of encountering that disgusting menace firmly embedded within the woman's holier - than - thou disposition rubbed her in the wrong way.

She disappeared into the alleys and never looked back at the stage.

On the stage, the press continued. Only, Cha Seolhyun was a bit distracted. Her face also warped.

"What's wrong, Seolhyun?" Sensing his sister's rapidly deteriorating mood, Cha Jeong-in whispered out to ask her.

It was rare that his little sister was willing to display such a face in front of the public.

She of all people knew how big of a mission they were handling.

Not only as a Hunter, but as the entire Association.

Seolhyun normally wouldn't drop her act.

What caused her to go against that?

"...Nothing, brother," The woman, revealed to be the hero's little sister Cha Seolhyun replied, staring at the secluded alleys Aria disappeared into for a short while before turning back to the cameras and reporters.

"Do you feel unwell?" Unable to resist his inner mind that told him to pursue the matter, Cha Jeong- in bugged her one more time.

"Brother. I'm alright. Just focus on the press, this upcoming dungeon subjugation has to succeed by all means. It's an important step in Athena's growth," Cha Seolhyun reminded. She regained her calm and proceeded to attend to the press.

"..You're right. I'm sorry," Apologizing with haste, he kept his gaze on the cold little sister he trusted with his life.

Cha Seol-hyun had always been with him, supporting his rise to fame and preparing plans that he wouldn't be able to manufacture.

Although she once had a cheerful personality, it had been eaten up by the world's transformation by now.

"Remember. Athena has to thrive in order for the world to be salvaged," Those words were frequently said by her. That was their driving factor.

Their belief in being the 'saviors'.

"Athena has to thrive," Cha Jeong-in repeated, his voice turning smaller in volume. He let out a stressed sigh and fixed his composure. He was entrusted with a task that was essential to entirety of humankind.

"Mr. Cha, we heard that a recently identified A-rank dungeon has appeared in the middle of Gangnam. Many businesses have been bothered by it due to the public's fear. How will this matter be solved?" A reporter hired by the association asked. The question was one that everyone had in their mind, so Cha Jeong-in was instantly swept with curious and anxious gazes coming from all directions.

"Athena will be taking care of it," Cha Jeong-in announced with a reassuring tone.

"By Athena, you mean..?" The reporter questioned with a confused tone as she had not been informed of the new term.

"This new dungeon has been identified as one of the most dangerous ones up to date," Cha Seolhyun spoke up, as the cameras panned to her direction and the masses waited for her words nervously.

Taking a deep breath in, Cha Jeong-in chanted 'Athena has to thrive' multiple times inside his head.

In fact, he wasn't that adept at his hero act.

He just had to do it.

"Athena is the team we are preparing to introduce in the near future. In fact, in this very moment, we shall disclose one of Athena's members. Han Seong-woo, the stage is yours," Cha Seol-hyun announced.

A male figure started to climb up the stage's stairs. The camera turned to the robust male that walked up to the Cha siblings, effectively capturing every single angle of the supposed rookie.