TRAILING SHADOWS

He frowned.

He wasn"t expecting that reaction from Ibiyemi. She had always been the scared one who would take to hiding once a confrontation was sensed. His weak little sister.

But now, she had ascended. An early Elite cla.s.s who accepted willingly, a duel from General Folarin. She seemed more confident.

But, confidence was not necessarily strength.

After all, her father was just telling only one fighting fro her interest here. But if the worst came down, he would certainly have no qualms, disposing the essence of his fallen sister, anytime, any day.

But for now, she was nothing to him.

And so, he ignored her.

"Father, I should take my leave now. After all, you have a big decision to make today." He smiled, taking backward steps towards the exit.

He had just threatened his father and he was not going to make any casual mistakes. Such as showing his back to Folarin.
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A minute later, father and daughter remained. The younger staring at the back of her father, still with a registered look of calm spirit. While the elder stood with dropping shoulders, each arms heavy, seeming to be mere attachments to his shoulders.

After what seemed like an eternity, Folarin turned.

"You must hate me, don"t you?" He asked, observing her from head to toe.

"It"s not your fault,father, you just happened to be in this circ.u.mstance. Don"t take it too hard on you." She replied, her voice having a slight tinge of emotions.

At that, Folarin shook his head bitterly.

"Train me father. Help me get stronger." Ibiyemi added, taking out her Saarins that were attached to her waist. So doing, she pointed both tips at her father.

Meanwhile, Afolabi pulled himself away from the door, laughing silently. He had been standing a a corridor along a bend. The walls of the corridor bordered an entrance to stairway that spiralled upwards. He smote his cheek playfully with dreary eyes as he processed what he had just heard.

Ibiyemi wanted to get strong?

"What for? So her father"s thoughts have sunk into her and she believes that she can get strong enough to best me. Hehe...

How sweet.

But I won"t be waiting till long before acting. And unless she can pretty be Omega before then, the crown would be tipped off.

By me, of course.

No one wins but that would put me in the favour of the guild.

Which increases my chance of having the crown for me. Especially with the Trump card up my sleeve."

"Oh, father, you have no idea of what is coming." He sleepy-yawned as he stretched.

"Now to phase 2! Wole you can come out now." He spoke into the air.

Walking forward, he took some cautionary looks behind him. When he was certain there was no one, he moved to the stairs. And from the stairs, a figure emerged from the shadows, wearing a brown hooded gown.

He came Into light now, observing Afolabi carefully for some time. As he did, spirals of energy whispered off him into a ring that was slowly been pulled off. Afterwards the hooded persona whisked the ring into a pouch by his side.

"Artefact users. You know that won"t have kept you hidden if any high Cla.s.sed Irunmole had walked past, Wole." Afolabi noted, walking past him.

"I know. That is why I am offering you my services in return for the vast resources at this guild"s disposal." Koboju said.

The same Wole who had Ascended just a few days ago. Now he looked all different. Grim faced, wearing a hood that he pulled back now, he seemed to have come into sudden realization. His eyes contained a fire that burnt wild. One that signified that he would play dirty if need arose.

Afolabi stopped short.

Putting his hand to his chin in thoughtful manner, he asked

"And what would your service be?"

"Don"t play games with me, Afolabi. Without my ability to sense agbara, you would never had had this lead on your father. I"d rather you play it by my rules." Wole said, his eyes burning with rage.

"Ho ho... Shey o mo kpe mo le kpa e si be?(0) And no one would know." Afolabi responded, turning to gaze at Kobuju

"You wouldn"t. You still need my ability for much longer." Wole replied, shuffling his feets over the flight of stairs. He stopped just when he heard Afolabi"s question..

"What is your main aim? Why are you doing this...supporting me?"

He shifted uneasily, his eyes darting here and there as if he were mapping out the place he stood in.

"Lets just leave that, for now." He finally spoke after some minutes of silence. Silence whereby Afolabi had walked over to him.

"I know just what happened, Wole. Your friend couldn"t ascend. I imagine how that would tell on the reputation of the two big bad bullies in Ijinle Orun. Oh, the ridiculous gaze you would receive from those you once bullied. I understand perfectly. But what I don"t understand is why you side with me, exactly. Why not someone else? What do you want?" Afolabi lashed.

At that, Wole swallowed.

"You seemed to have done some digging about me, right?" Wole responded, hands coming to rest on his waist. He stared ahead, in a rather carefree manner, impressed.

"Well, what can I say? So why would a bully want to be working with the brother of his once bullied teammate, Ibiyemi?

What could be his real motive?" Afolabi asked, walking away.

Behind him was Wole trudging behind. They soon reached the summit of stairs which was a wide room with guards placed at strategic places. At the centre of the room was an executive chair behind a desk. On the desk sat some paperwork and files along with a couple of drinks and objects randomly placed on the table.

They walked to the entrance, stepping out into a corridor whilst the guards bowed slightly to them.

"You still haven"t replied me, Wole. What do you seek? To humiliate my sister?" Afolabi queried. Now that they had come out into the open, there were people walking here and there. Most of them having the insignia of MoonDust Mercenary Alliance Guild on their arms or belt and wielding a sword, axe and other deadly weaponry.

The air about became tenser and dense as these mercenaries interacted with one another, each trying to outdo themselves in a show of power and ability.

However Afolabi and Wole seemed not to mind this as they walked past. The former earnestly expecting a reply from the latter.

Soon they arrived at a hall with two arch doors that served at entrance. At the hall was even a more denser atmosphere as various Irunmoles t.u.r.dged about, each going about their business and as expected, each trying to outdo each other in an exchange of auras.

Despite the awkward show by the mercenaries, there were strategic guards placed at specific points. These guards each held a weapon that glowed a dull blue whenever anyone pa.s.sed by them. A sort of identification that relied on fate essence to fish out those who may likely cause trouble within the guild.

Opposite the entrance was a long table containing floating files and whatnot. Behind this table or counter were beautiful Irunmole women acting as receptionist or guides. These receptionist helped whoever came in with whatever they needed and conducted the daily registration for the mercenaries. It was all business at the hallways.

And through all that business, an Irunmole walked unnoticed except for the guards with glowing swords. He wore a single piece of loin Cloth attached to his shoulders via a strap and a spatial brown pouch at his waist.

He moved to the counter and leaned on it with one hand while exchanging greetings with the heavily bearded mercenary beside him. The latter returning the greeting with a grunt.

"h.e.l.lo, Malinton, Its nice to see you again here." The attendant spoke up, her dulled face suddenly taking on Sparks of familarity.

"Oh shut up... Stop acting like you know me when you just read through fate to identify me." Malinton replied annoyed, slamming a fist on the counter.

"Ah..." The counter attendant mouthed, equally annoyed. "Ishe mi ni mo she na(1). I am not the one that ruined your day so stop taking it all on me."

The mercenary beside Malinton just shook his head wearily. Scenes like this were a regular occurrence at the Alliance House. "Easy both of you, sho gbo? (2)" He muttered.

"Well well, that aside. I have a bounty on some heads." Malinton spoke back to the attendant.

Her eyes beamed and the familiar smile sprung up again. She leaned in closer to Malinton, earning him a cursory look from the bearded mercenary.

"What bounty? And what is the price for that?" She asked curiously.

"Well, won"t you take my official statement down. It"s from a Council House, you know. " Malinton replied, unfazed by the sudden interest in him.

"Oooh..." The attendant cooed. "And Malinton, I am Roselle. Nice meeting you." Roselle said, weaving symbols into the air as a scroll appeared.

"For a bounty to proceed from a Council House, that must be pretty much. Alright sir, I"ll like to have the details of the bounty and the reward thereafter. The reward, I trust it be big, of course." She chattered excitedly.

"Wait... Roselle, something"s not right about Malinton here." The bearded mercenary spoke, a gust of Aura exploding subtly Into the air.

"He might as well be a spy." The mercenary spoke, pulling out a dagger with a threatening look, he pointed the blade to Malinton. "Who are you, exactly?"

___________________

(T/N)

(0) You know I can just kill you here

1. I am only doing my job. 2. You hear?