Ralph stepped outside, backpack behind him and briefcase in hand.
The afternoon sun shone well on his face, he didnât squint his eyes.
"Hmm," Ralph stared at the sky, a look of confusion coloring his face.
He didnât know why but heâs been having strange feelings for the past year, exactly two months after that fateful day.
The strange feeling has been becoming stronger and stronger over the past week and Ralph couldnât help but become extra vigilant.
To him, it felt oddly familiar to how he felt when he was hunting one of his targets. Except, the feeling made him sense that he was being hunted.
Yes, Ralph felt as though someone was hunting him down, or trying to.
As far as he knew, only other werewolves would try to hunt him down in such a manner. They were the only ones who could hunt him down for such a long time without him finding out.
What was more eerie for Ralph was that this strange feeling was coming from the sky, as though an all-powerful god was finding amusement in his everyday life.
It was very uncomfortable.
Speaking of werewolves, Ralph turned his head to see the bartender walking over.
Ralph narrowed his eyes. He knew that the reason why Tatiana was here was probably because she had other mercenaries in the city and wanted to settle as many of them today.
It was a risky thing as Law Enforcers could get wind of it and try to catch them. After all, most mercenaries had committed serious crimes because of money.
As the bartender closed in, Ralph thought deeper. He couldnât find any police cars around nor did he see any on the way here.
In fact, the whole area looked rather scanty.
Tatiana was powerful, despite her enigmatic attitude toward Ralph, she was not to be underestimated in the underworld.
She was the type of person who had no choice but to be successful, extremely ruthless and had a touch of craziness in her life.
Did she fear the Law Enforcement? Probably not. She didnât even fear Ralph, who was feared by the Law Enforcement.
But she was also cautious and tended to prioritize her mercenariesâ well-being as they were her money makers.
*Click!*
The sound of a rifle gun being loaded with bullets.
Ralph didnât turn to check.
He already guessed that some of these buildings had gunmen who worked for Tatiana.
Ralph swiftly concluded that Tatiana just needed a secure place in the city to carry out her business and chose the Holy Sin Club.
Ralph wasnât the only mercenary she would be attending to today so it made sense that she would not care about his dislike for other werewolves.
Ralphâs mind had operated super fast.
The bartender passed by, and the strong stench of his kind wafted into Ralphâs nose.
"Hey..." The bartender spoke up, trying to engage Ralph in small talk for some reason.
However, Ralphâs hand shot out fast and clamped around the manâs neck. It was so fast that even the man with superhuman reaction time couldnât evade it.
He choked, scratching at Ralphâs arm while reaching over to Ralphâs face.
Ralph stared at the bartender coldly. His arm grip was so strong that any serious movement would cause the bartenderâs jugular to be ripped out.
The man tried to âchangeâ but Ralph tightened his grip, signalling that he would indeed rip out his throat if the man tried anything funny.
"What do you feel?" Ralph asked, his piercing yellow eyes locked with the manâs striking blue ones.
The man was confused, he couldnât move anyhow or hit Ralphâs hand for fear of injuring himself.
"What do you feel?" Ralph asked again coldly. He took a powerful step forward, almost lifting the grown man above the ground.
"F...fea..." The bartender tried to say.
"What?" Ralph tilted his head and asked.
"Iâm scared..." The man admitted. It was a strange thing to admit but that was truly how he felt in Ralphâs presence.
From the moment Ralph entered the club, the bartender felt as if he was in the presence of his natural enemy.
Just standing there and the bartender became extremely alert. From smell, looks, vibe, Ralph was a dangerous person.
The bartender knew that. Anyone who was to meet Tatiana today was naturally a dangerous person.
But, there was something different about Ralph, he didnât seem to be like other werewolves at all.
Not to mention that the bartender felt that he had seen Ralph somewhere before.
"Good, youâre scared, so Iâll assume you have common sense to avoid anything that will take your life," Ralph said.
He released his grip, letting the bartender go.
The bartender dropped down and stepped away while massaging his neck. It wasnât the first time he was very strangled but it was the first time he felt so close to dying.
"You didnât see me, you didnât hear anything about me. You never even met me,"
After saying that, Ralph handed a single 10 zalas note to the bartender who took it.
The bartender nodded his head and swallowed the word he wanted to say. Silently, he walked into the club.
He alone wasnât enough to serve as club security, he was just here to watch.
The real security was hidden in the rooms and buildings close to the club and some of them had seen what Ralph just did.
âMistake,â Ralph cursed himself. At least, he could smell that none of them were werewolves.
If not that he didnât want to make a scene, he would have killed the bartender. He couldnât risk another continent-wide chase.
With nothing left to do, Ralph walked away, strolling down the street until he arrived at a junction.
Once again, he looked up.
âSomethingâs wrong,â He thought as he narrowed his eyes. Whatever was causing him to feel this way was coming and it was coming extremely fast.
And then...
It stopped.
Ralphâs gaze came down as he began to look for a taxi to take him to his hotel.
He didnât stop thinking of that feeling of being hunted though.
He knew from experience that this just meant the hunter had either given up, or was resting.
///////
Exalon: Everyone is on edge because of the dragons, no one knows how far theyâre willing to drag this.
...
Kael strolled comfortably through the chamber world that had been dedicated to the wolves.
The wolves had created a nice place for themselves. They had wooden huts and metal buildings around.
Although they belonged to one caste, they were still divided into multiple large and small packs. They were still very territorial and strong with their pack mentality.
Even now, Kael could smell the different urines used to identify the huts.
Kael wasnât going to interfere in their civilization development as long as they served their purpose to him.
It was good for both parties. If they didnât ask for it, he wouldnât give it to them.
Although he hoped that once they found their Primordial, they could create a more advanced society for themselves.
He was just here to inspect for now, whether he would change his mind in the future or not depended on certain individuals.
Beside Kael, accompanying him in his casual stroll was the tall Commander Bibi who was the same height as Kael, but buff and more muscular.
Right now, Bibi was looking around while Kael was busy with the golden screen in front of him.
...
Kael: Are the lions afraid of going to war with the dragons?
Exalon: Donât say that Kael, we would never fear them. But we fear Ibadon.
Kael: Oh.
Exalon: That guy is a monster, hehehe. You should have seen me that day. Many cannot believe that I stood face to face with that abomination and still made it out alive.
Kael: But I heard you were the first to run.
Exalon: ...
Kael: In fact, they said you flew away before Ibadon even started attacking.
Exalon: RUMORS! BASELESS RUMORS! Who dared tarnish my name, tell me Kael, let me have a friendly discussion with that person.
Kael: Anyways, so you guys are confident that you can handle the dragons if not for Ibadon?
Exalon: Yes. Even lions that were skeptical before are coming to us to join the lion system.
Kael: I know, our common enemy has shown himself and they all want to feel safe and secure.
Exalon: Maâabu and some of his cohorts donât think that way though.
Kael: I see, thereâs word that he is reaching out to different races to ally with.
Exalon: I donât know why heâs so bent on doing this. Some of the Anti-Primordial Coalition members have defaulted after seeing the terror of Ibadon and the benefits of the Lion System.
Kael: It seems Maâabu has wrapped his whole identity around being against Primordials. He has made it clear that itâs not just me, but every Primordial he doesnât like.
Exalon: He has left heaven with his entire clan and many Lion Kings who support his vision of a future without any Primordial in the universe.
Kael: Do you think he is right?
Exalon: Depends, who is the strongest person you know?
Kael: Ibadon.
Exalon: Ibadon has been alive for so long yet he hasnât tried to do what Maâabu is doing, he just wants us lions extinct.
Kael: Whatâs your point?
Exalon: Ibadon tried to wipe out lions all at once when Noel was alive and didnât succeed. Maâabu is trying to wipe out all Primordials, which should be monumentally harder than genocide.
Kael: Perhaps. Unfortunately, I have to die for Ibadon or Maâabu to succeed. Ibadonâs chances of succeeding this time are higher because he has experience with Noel.
Exalon: Yeah, donât worry. All of us are battle-ready. We just need to stay very far from Ibadon.
Very very far.
What are you doing now anyway, where are you?
Kael: Iâm far away.
Exalon: I see, and what are you doing âfar awayâ?
Kael: Hunting a wolf.