Chapter 645 Missing Ally (2)
Ashton's eyes narrowed as he recognised her. Mera was not exactly his favourite person, never had been, and their relationship was far from friendly. He tolerated her presence only because of his mother's insistence.
"Well, well, Ashton, always the dramatic one, I see. Training for some action movie, are we?" Mera raised an eyebrow, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"...what are you on about?" Ashton let out an exasperated sigh, rolling his eyes. "Mera, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be somewhere else ruining someone else's day?"
Mera smirked, undeterred by his hostility. "Ah, the sweet sound of your melodious voice. Don't you just love our little chats, darling?"
"Cut the nonsense, Mera. I have better things to do than engage in your banter." Ashton replied, recalling Balmond back to his hands.
Mera sauntered over, her athletic frame exuding confidence. She leaned against another tree, crossing her arms.
"Oh, come on, Ashton. You can't deny the thrill of our encounters. Besides, your mother would be disappointed if we didn't play nice."
"Someone like you does not need to worry about my mom," Ashton rolled his eyes.
"Ah, she didn't tell you?" Mera replied, looking at her fingers. "We have gotten strangely close over time, if you know what I mean."
Ashton clenched his jaw, unaware of what Mera was talking about and what relationship Ava had with Mera. Whatever it might have been, Ashton did not like the feeling, but what was the point of getting angry because of an ant?
"Fine, let's play nice. What do you want?"
"Oh, nothing much, just passing through. I thought I'd jog in this lovely area and stumbled upon your little show." Mera's eyes sparkled with mischief.
Ashton raised an eyebrow, unimpressed by her explanation. "You just happened to be jogging here right at this moment?"
"Well, it's a free world, Ashton. I can jog wherever I please." Mera shrugged nonchalantly.
"Fine, you've had your fun. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more training to do." Ashton decided it was best to change the subject before he accidentally let go of Balmond and chopped Mera into pieces.
He turned away, thinking he had enough training for a day. But before he could take a step, Mera's voice stopped him.
"You know, Ashton, you're quite impressive with that sword of yours," she remarked, her tone oddly sincere. "Besides, I wanted to talk to you because of a mutual friend... Rose. Do you remember her?"
Rose, of course, he did. She was the one who took care of him while he was in the academy and taught him how to efficiently use his Vampiric lineage properly.
That said, it had been a while since he had last seen her, and in all the chaos of the corpsification gas incident and then the undead, he had forgotten entirely about her.
Ashton paused, glancing back at her with a hint of suspicion. "What are you getting at, Mera?"
"She is in trouble... well, calling it trouble would be an injustice as Rose's life is in danger," She pushed herself away from the tree, her expression serious. "Donovan, that traitorous bastard, joined the Conundrum once my father died and kidnapped Rose."
"But why would he kidnap Rose?" Ashton mumbled, lost in his thoughts.
"Hell, if I know..." The anger finally showed on Mera's face. "All I know is that this is an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone."
Ashton didn't say anything. While he had problems with both Donovan and the Conundrum in the past, he had grown out of it. After all, he had bigger problems to worry about than some useless folks back on Earth.
Even then, if Rose was in danger like Mera said, it was his duty to protect her. After all, without her help, he wouldn't have survived the academy, let alone be a reasonably well-known name in the galaxy.
"Where are they?" he asked Mera, who shot her signature smile towards him. A smile he knew very well.
"Somewhere in Europe," Mera replied. "They are probably hiding in some forest, as it would be difficult for us to locate them there."
who quickly stepped aside, making Mera trip and fall into the stream.
"They should have thought about safety before p[utting their hands on Rose," Ashton said, flexing his hands. "Besides, I have a score to settle with Donovan and the Conundrum... the fuckers managed to escape the last time, but they won't be so lucky this time."
"That's what I wanted to hear!" Mera excitedly ran to hug Ashton, who quickly stepped aside, making Mera trip and fall into the stream.
"Just because I agreed to work with you doesn't mean we're friends," Ashton informed his former mistress as she got up, wet from head to toe.
"...I get that," she said, extending her arm towards Ashton. "At least be a gentleman and help a lady in distress?"
"You're a grown-ass adult," Ashton scoffed. "Feel free to help yourself."
"...Tsk, maybe I should have taught you a thing or two about etiquette before."
"You don't need to worry about that. I know how to treat a woman and a bitch differently," Ashton replied, walking back inside the stream to continue training. "Now, don't bother me again till you have prepared for us to leave and confront those bastards."
"Anything else, your highness?" Mera said mockingly before pointing at herself. "Perhaps you would like to taste this exquisite treat while resting?"
"Sorry, but I'm not into aged food."
"How rude..."
With that, she turned and continued her jog, leaving Ashton standing by the stream as Balmond floated around his head. He watched her disappear into the distance, a perplexed expression on his face.
Ashton couldn't deny that Mera's words had caught him off guard. After all, saving Rose was the last thing on his mind when he returned to Earth.
He sighed, recalling his sword and resuming his training. "Stupid bitch, always causing trouble for me..."
[She can trouble me any time she wants.]
'Of course, you would, fucking simp.'
[I'm a simple creature, Ashton. I see a beauty, and I simp. It's as easy as that.]
'...keep your thoughts to yourself.'
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l