144 A Pathetic Nerd (1/2)

It is obvious now, all Elric needed to do is to stick with the siblings and disguise himself as an ordinary person. Then, he could bid his time and hope that the Shadows would try to attempt to snatch them or at least show signs of biting his bait.

It was then that he would immediately flip the table with brute Spiritual force and make the sneaky Shadows gasp for help in his hand.

\”If it could ask for more help, it would be much better. I will have more clue about the extent of their powers. Let's see if you guys can survive the combine Elemental-Dragon-Spiritual Flame.\” Elric muttered with burning excitement as a plan started to form in his mind.

\”Hey, granny! I think I pretty much figured out where to start and now I have a plan. Do you mind lending some hand?\” Elric asked.

\”Sure. How can I help?\” Granny Kahayag replied.

\”Not much. Just help me get into that snobbish younger brother's school.\”

\”That easy? Anything else that would at least let me stretch some of my bones?\”

\”Naah. But I am pretty sure we would be facing those Shadows in less than five months.\”

\”Really? How so?\”

\”Back when I was watching over that young man at the rooftop opposite the school. I manage to catch a faint glimpse of those Shadow's aura within the school perimeter.\” Elric answered with a frown.

\”Yeah, I know. That one, I have been trying to trace but he is constantly hiding and I am unable to pinpoint the bastard's exact location.\” Grandma Kahayag confirmed.

\”One? No. There were ten of them in total.\”

\”Ten!? Are you sure?!\” Kahayag looked at Elric with widened eyes. She was pretty sure that there was only one Shadow that had been sneaking around Long's school. But if Elric is right that there were ten, then how the heck did they find a way to escape her detection?

One must know, Kahayag had a unique spiritual monitoring system that will alert her of every soul's movement within her territory - Long's school included. It was because of this incredible spiritual sense that she possesses which allowed her to catch those Shadows before they could victimize anyone. As long as they are not a high ranked Shadow like the one who took grandma Beth's soul, Kahayag is confident enough to deal against all of the low tiered Shadows on her own.

But if the numbers that Elric mentioned actually turns out to be true, then there must be something going on on the enemy's side. How they managed to bypass her detection could pose a potential danger in the future and she might end up failing in her promise to protect those two.

\”Are you.. really sure there were ten of them?\” Granma Kahayag asked again.

Elric nodded and replied, \”There were nine of them who seems to have a weaker aura compared to the last one closest to Long's location. It was probably the one you have been tracing. But by the moment that you suddenly appeared, everyone except the one with the strongest aura had suddenly hidden. Like ghosts, they blended with the darkness. But the one who emitted the strongest aura remained there but kept his aura incredibly weak and pretended like one of those weaker ones.\”

Elric detailed everything he saw that day. From far away, he noticed this faint aura of shadow-like beings scattered across the school building.

At first, Elric had no idea what they were and thought maybe they are just another form of secret living entities in the human realm. And them trying to hide from Kahayag's presence might mean they are just trying to survive.

But as it turns out, they were the main culprit of his grandma's lost soul. And if only Elric knew about it, he would have made the first move right away.

Elric and grandma talked for a while and discussed their next actions to take. For the next five months, before the lunar eclipse and the opening of the realm gate to the Realm of Darkness, Elric has set his mind to protect the last two remaining Eastern Dragons and capture those shadows for interrogation, learn more about them, and possibly learn about the state of grandma Beth's soul.

Elric's first night back in his homeland was full of fortuitous encounters and revelation. Thanks to his superior mind, he was able to accept everything and device a plan with a clear head. Normal people would have ended up wailing in despair knowing their parent's soul was taken. But the Elric right now was not the same before.

Tempered by countless battles and life and death encounters, his mind has long been steeled. Not to mention the awakened blood of Lapu-Lapu inside him, he was not as stupid and naive as before. He now faces his challenges with a confident eye and a cocky grin.

The bad boy Elric is coming to town.

***

It was a day later and Lesse was busy cooking breakfast. Her elegant and beautiful face reflected in the silverware as she gracefully tasted the food she was preparing. Her flower painted apron covered her slender body as slowly, her red small lips took small sips of the soup she was preparing and a delighted glow from her eyes followed after.

\”I'm off to school now.\” Long's usually cold and snobbish voice came from behind. He was already wearing his light-blue school uniform paired with black slacks and shoes. His red and green sling bag dangling on the side.

\”Eat your breakfast first,\” Lesse commanded.

\”I am not hungry and I am getting late.\” Long continued walking without sparing her a glance but just when he was about to grab the doorknob...

SHOOOK~

STAB!

A sharp knife flew over across the kitchen and planted stiffly on the wooden door just inches away from the doorknob that Long was about to grab.

Seeing the sharp glint of the kitchen knife still vibrating from the impact, Long could feel his back suddenly drenched in sweat. He knew pretty much how scary Lesse becomes when she gets mad.

And right now, despite Lesse losing her Dragon essence, he could still feel her powerful and domineering aura, and the memories of his past getting his ass kicked so bad by his sister resurfaced again.

It was a memory that would hunt him sometimes in his sleep.