Lucian and Rosa looked at each other. Of course, they knew who the Owner was, only they didn't get the chance to be acquainted with him, so they didn't know his face.
"If you don't mind me asking," the Owner started, "but where is that halfbreed's master?"
Cecily restrained a gasp. If she knew that she would stumble with the Owner while on their mission, she should have changed Ryu's appearance. But what were the odds of meeting him in this vast sea? It was close to zero.
But here they were. . .
Kai was observing the situation on the side and decided to close his lips. Cecily was Ryu's master, and based on the Owner, he knew who Cecily was. It could either be that Ryu's seal was transferred or that Cecily was hiding her appearance.
If it was the latter, then there was a big chance that Kai stumbled on a secret, and he sweats buckets. Would Lucian and the others let him live after this? He wondered.
On the other hand, Ferris was calm. The Owner was the one who bought Ryu and made him fight in the coliseum. She was planning on how to kill him in her head.
While Ryu's eyes turned to slit and a growl rumbled in his chest. He didn't want to see the Owner. It made him remembered his past. It made him feel that he was still a slave from how the Owner was looking at him. Like he owned him.
Lucian and Rosa exchanged signaled through subtle eye contact.
"Why do you ask?" Lucian knew that the situation was terrible. Their mission could jeopardize just because they didn't change Ryu's appearance. And much worse, the one who knew was a notorious black market dealer who dealt with different realms.
But Lucian wanted to observe the situation first before he'd act. The Owner's two bodyguards by his side were Rank-A, and the rest of his groups were Rank-B.
But the real trouble would be the Owner himself.
The Owner fan himself and looked over their surroundings. "Oh, nothing much. She just owed me a debt, and if she's here, I wanted to collect what was owed to me."
Cecily bit her tongue, and her rage picked, and she shouted, "Murok and Dozla are dead because of Ryu. You can take that halfbreed if you want!"
.. .
.. .
Lucian ad Rosa sighed into the sky, and they looked at Cecily like she did a heinous crime.
Cecily bit her lips when she realized what she had done.
Kai cursed in silence because he was sure now that Lucian and the others would surely wouldn't let him go.
Ferris was still planning the murder in her head.
Ryu was agitated to fight and rip the Owner's head.
The Owner just laughed. "I see what's going on here."
The Owner raised his hands, and his amiable smile was back on his face. "I think I understand the situation somehow, and honestly, I don't care about your circumstances. I just want the young miss to honor her debt."
The Owner then snapped his fan in place and looked at Cecily. "If it's not a problem, I like to collect that now."
Cecily didn't know what to do. She looked at Lucian with an apologetic face, and Lucian took a step forward.
"If you would give us a minute."
The owner shrugged. "Take your time."
Lucian, Rosa, and Cecily huddled together, and Rosa cast a barrier so that no one would eavesdrop on their conversation.
"How can you be so careless?" Rosa spat.
"I didn't know that he's going to be here!" Cecily countered. "I never expected that I would encounter him in the Nightmare Sea!"
Rosa sneered. "You're still naïve as ever. Ryu is your servant. You take care of this problem."
Ryu. It was him again. Cecily gritted her teeth. That halfbreed was becoming a pain in her ass.
"Enough. We are equally responsible because we didn't care to change their appearance in the first place," Lucian said and looked at Cecily. "First, explain to us what debt he was talking about."
Cecily didn't want to recall the past, but she had no other choice. Lucian was angry, and she couldn't blame him. She should have been more careful and change Ryu and Ferris' appearance.
Things like the Appearance Changing Potion ran out or rare or expensive was not an excuse. Ryu and Ferris were her servants, so she was responsible for them.
"It was an open debt to acquire Ryu," Cecily said, voice exhausted as her face.
Rosa's face darkened. "You idiot. He's' a halfbreed who couldn't manipulate mana! He was never worth a single dime!"
"I didn't know he couldn't manipulate mana back then!" Cecily shouted back.
"Enough both of you!" Lucian hissed, and the two quieted.
Lucian took a deep breath and addressed Cecily. "What if we just give Ryu back to him?"
Now that Lucian was suggesting it, Cecily became hesitant. Though she still hated him, Ryu was the only one who would genuinely protect her if the time came. Ryu owed her that much.
Cecily shook her head. "I made a Seal of Promise."
Rosa clicked her tongue and looked away. If she looked at Cecily's face any longer, she might hit her.
"Can we honor that debt at a later time?" Lucian murmured to himself.
Rosa turned and snapped her harms in the sky. "Our only leverage is the debt to keep them quiet. What'd you think that sly two-face fox would do when we don't honor that debt now?"
He'd threaten us. Lucian and Cecily thought. Threaten to expose Cecily's location in the other realms. Rather, maybe he had something to do with the ambush in the first place?
Cecily was angered at the thought that it might be the Owner who sold her location in the Mortal Realm. That was why they were ambush, leading to Murok and Dozla's death.
"What if we kill them?" Cecil was serious.
Rosa looked at her with disbelief before she scoffed. "Of course. Let's kill them like they're just a bunch of low-level mercs."
Cecily was speechless and looked at Lucian. "We have Raphael with us."
Rosa folded her arms. "And you think that the Owner doesn't have anything up his sleeves? And have you forgotten? The Owner held his reigns over you. If you don't honor the debt, he could easily kill you."
".. ." Cecily couldn't refute.
They couldn't take their chances in a fight anyway. One wrong move could mean that their mission would end. The mission takes priority, and the safest route would be. . .
Lucian closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "Then there's only one thing to do."
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