"Niall!!" Sabrina cried out as she hugged her brother tightly in front of the Heaven's Gates headquarters.
Nial's breath was nearly taken away as she tightly wrapped her hands around him and for a second he struggled to stay conscious.
'What the hell is that strength?!' He wondered while he continued to endure his sister's hug. She was still covered in a concealment robe and a veil covered the lower half of her head but that didn't matter. Nial was still able to tell that she was his sister.
He was relieved to have found her and smiled brightly despite the bone-crushing strength Sabrina used to hug him. The pain was something he would happily endure.
"How have you been, little monster?" Nial asked in a gentle tone as he patted Sabrina's back lightly.
Sabrina flinched for a moment as if it had been a long time since she had been called a little monster by her older brother. She didn't dislike it and simply hugged him even tighter.
"I'm still alive, cured, and much stronger than ever since I awoke my Origin...My mentor is the coolest and she teaches me a lot!" Sabrina answered in-between her sobs. His sister sounded genuinely happy, and Nial didn't think that she would be lying to him.
He visualized the woman behind Hana as well and quickly concluded that it was Kristine, Sabrina's mentor. She was simply staring at the siblings' emotional reunion and letting them have their moment.
This was somewhat unexpected in Nial's opinion because Sabrina's identity might get exposed as they were hugging each other right in front of the Heaven's Gates Headquarters but Nial didn't give that much importance.
After a few minutes passed, Sabrina was finally able to let go of Nial. She smiled teary-eyed at Nial as Hana and Kristine stepped forward.
"Looks like you're doing fine as well, Hana," Nial said lightly, showing her a faint smile before he turned toward Kristine, the Prometheus Original, who had caused all the trouble.
She had short blonde hair, which was the only distinct difference between her and Kirlia. Other than that, the appearance of both sisters was quite fierce and fear-indulging for most men.
Nial was unfazed even after he visualized Kristine's face.
"Greetings to my sister's Master. My name is Nial Orin, nice meeting you!" Nial introduced himself calmly before he extended his hand to greet Kristine.
Sabrina's mentor sized up Nial three times before she squinted her eyes before extending her hand to shake Nial's hand as well.
"Kristine Maverick, I am your Sister's mentor as you may have figured out by now," She introduced herself before pulling him a bit closer the moment she grasped his hand.
"I'm curious about you, little boy. You are not normal. Tell me, how did you defeat your parents' Guards?" Kristine asked without a trace of hesitation.
Her almost black eyes turned purplish and a trace of craziness seemed to appear on her face. Sabrina frowned and was about to intervene to prevent any untoward incident from occurring. However, the moment Sabrina saw her brother flash a bright smile at Kristine, she stopped.
"These Guards are like some dogs, they make lots of sounds and bark like there is no tomorrow, but they don't bite. It's just that your Guards shit their pants the moment I simply roughed them up a bit," Nial shrugged his shoulders after he wiggled his hand out of Kristine's tight grasp.
He continued to smile as he replied, "Many people are curious about me, and I know that I'm not normal...but what is normal, either way? Isn't that just boring?"
Being normal was not in the trend anymore. The stronger you were the fewer people would call you normal. In that regard, Nial was willing to become the least normal human and the strongest of them all.
"The Guards weren't really strong. Let's be honest, they're more talk less action. Why do you even accept Originals with Intermediate Origin rings in your organization? And even if you accept such Originals, train them properly, please. I was bored to death..." Nial kept hurling insults straight at Kristine's face but she didn't seem fazed by this, at all.
Rather, her smile widened, which made everyone around them uncomfortable. Only Nial and Kristine seemed to be somewhat comfortable about the direction in which their discussion was heading.
"I know that they're trash. But it should still be enough to defeat someone with one Superior Origin ring!" She answered nonchalantly, accepting the fact that the Guards were not exactly powerful.
"Masterrr!!!" Sabrina suddenly shouted out after she stepped between Nial and Kristine, grasping her master tightly.
"Let's go inside. You didn't want to attract too much attention, did you forget that already?" She asked while pulling her master back inside the building.
Nial smiled when he saw this and he realized quite a few things.
"Looks like there was no reason for me to be overly worried about Sabrina. Her mentor seems to be a decent human being," He mumbled before he stepped inside the Heaven's Gates headquarters as well.
Meanwhile, Maline and Miles looked at each other in dumbfounding.
"Our kids are not normal..." Miles mumbled and Maline could only nod her head.
"At least they still love each other. Their bond is still strong... It's just Sabrina's mentor, who is...confusing?" Maline said skeptically while trying hard to find the correct words.
She didn't think that it would be so easy to meet up with her lovely daughter, even less because Nial was not actually permitted to enter the headquarters, let alone to see Sabrina.
Ever since Sabrina had woken up her Origin, everyone treated her with the utmost respect, and only her mentor, Kristine Maverick, had been allowed to stay by her side all day. Even Maline and Miles were not allowed to meet Sabrina often because she received lessons all day around.
It was almost as if the entire Heaven's Gates organization was focused on nourishing her. Miles and Maline didn't understand why Sabrina received so much nourishment and attention but they couldn't really complain if their daughter was considered a bit special.
However, Kristine's sudden interest in Nial confused them once again.
"Nial should have told you about the things he has gone through by now, or not? Maybe you cannot understand how important Nial is to the entire human race because you are his parents and think of him as someone irreplaceable in your life since he was born but he is far more important than you seem to understand," Hana explained as she turned her focus back to Nial, Sabrina, and Kristine.
Her eyes looked a bit lonely and she seemed to be jealous that Sabrina was loved dearly by her parents and her brother. Hana knew that Nial had given his utmost efforts to become stronger to reunite with his family.
His strength was the result of his rather drastic choices, such as binding a curse to his mana core, his relentless efforts to become stronger, and making use of the opportunities that appeared in front of him.
"How nice it must be to have a family..." Hana sighed out loud, only to realize a bit late of what she had just muttered. Nial's parents looked over to Hana with a confused expression. First, they looked at their son as if he was the same feeble and weak young man he had been two years ago.
He was their little baby and that would never change. Hana's comment on Nial's importance was something they understood, especially after everything Gianna had told them but it was not as if they could fully accept what was going on. It was simply too confusing to imagine their little one suddenly becoming one of the most important humans on the planet.
He was a Runicier, the first one human to create Tier-0 runic armaments and there were numerous other factors that showed just how important and talented he was but all of that didn't matter to Miles and Maline. All they wanted for their son was to be healthy and that life would return to the same way it had been before they had been separated from him.
Only Sabrina's terminal illness was supposed to be completely cured and gone. Unfortunately, their dream was not something that could possibly come true. Both Sabrina and Nial had tasted how life was when they were ill and at their lowest. They never wanted to return to their old, weak selves and both desired to protect their family.
Strength was everything they needed for this, and if that meant that they couldn't always be together with their family, it had to be like this!
Meanwhile, as Maline and Miles were dreaming about the impossible future, Kirlia looked at her disciple with a sad expression.
"You can build your own family in the future..." Kirlia said to her disciple, who could only sigh deeply when she heard this.
"Is that so...even with my condition? Will I really be loved or will their mind be influenced by my Charm...?" Hana answered in a nearly inaudible whisper.
Nial turned around and he could hear everything around him clearly which made him smile sadly. It was impossible for him to imagine how she must be feeling but he sympathized with her. After all, he could tell how others had reacted when Hana's veil had been damaged in the slightest.
'I wonder if a concealment ability would help her...or a runic armament that conceals someone's natural charming presence, or their aura, or something like that...' He wondered while telling himself to look out for something like this when he was with Master Crevian, or when he would participate in the U21 Runicier tournament.
He turned back to Kristine, who was eyeing him intently. Nial didn't need to move his head to perceive and visualize everything around him with his range of perception and [Mana Sense], but others felt better when it looked like his entire focus was on them.
"Ms. Maverick, I want to thank you for curing Sabrina's terminal illness," Nial expressed his gratitude to Kristine all of a sudden, which caused her to look at him in astonishment.
She had expected him to hate her. After all, if Nial hadn't been powerful and with the capabilities to fight for his right to see his family again, he would have never met them again. In her opinion, Nial should be well aware of this too but it didn't look like that mattered to him at all.
His expression showed his genuine gratefulness and love for his sister. Kristine was baffled about that but she quickly regained her composure as she cleared her throat.
"No problem... don't call me Ms. Maverick, but Kristine," She corrected him before she thought of something.
"If I'm not wrong you said that you'll bring your parents to the Forest of Life and that you want Sabrina to come along as well," Kristine recalled that her sister had told her something like that. Nial nodded his head before he corrected Kristine,
"As long as my parents and Sabrina are willing to come, I would bring them to the Forest of Life, or to the land I was given in the new shelter that will be built near the Forest of Life. Sabrina's growth and progress wouldn't be hampered in any way in or near the Forest of Life. In fact, I'm pretty sure that she can grow faster.
Furthermore, the Heaven's Gates organization will probably branch out to the new shelter, or won't they?" Nial asked with a knowing smile on his face.
"That's correct, the Heaven's Gates wants to focus on the Forest of Life, especially since the dungeons around them have far more resources than the dungeons anywhere else. Hana, for example, is liked by the Elves because mana adores her. Sabrina will probably face the same situation because her affinity with mana is exceptional.
That means we might be able to start trading with the Elves, which would allow the organization to slowly restore its former glory...I hope," Kristine nodded her head. She didn't intend to hide anything, which made things much easier for Nial.
"In that casea���..." Nial was just about to propose something when he noticed that Kristine's demeanor changed and he quieted down.
"Don't even think about it! Hana and Sabrina have to complete their mission. This is of utmost importance!" Kristine declared with a serious expression and as if she didn't accept anyone to refute her.
"What the hell is that mission, to begin with?!"
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