An hour after Rex departed the city, Master Fixten went to the Sloth Bar like usual as this time he came to drink away the sorrows of the beast invasion.

Like every other soldier who participated in the great battle, he was affected. The beast invasion left a deep mark on every soldier and civilian who survived it.

Master Fixten was not a soldier but as a mystic educator of a battle department of Obedin Mystic Academy, he was obligated to protect the city and this was where a lot of his colleagues died.

Though he knew that they died for a good cause and that their death possibly saved a lot of civilian lives, he could not bring himself to simply forget them.

Like a great man once said- We can't change what it is, so we keep it light until it's time to get dark. And then we get pitch black. That's how we deal with death.

Since it was not his death time yet which was his dark time, Master Fixten agreed with this quote and decided to keep it light until his dark time came.

On entering the Sloth Bar today, Master Fixten saw the Butcher Mama and her 2 buddies in their previous spot drinking away like nothing happened.

He was about to just wave at them and go to his favorite spot, the balcony to drink away his sorrows but on second thought, why should he drink alone?

"Hey! Is there room for a 4th wheel?"

"Yeah, come on in".

Master Fixten did not stand on ceremony as he joined the 3 drinking pals. None of them spoke, it was as if they could communicate their sorrows telepathically to each other as they just kept on drinking.

As mystic warriors, it was very hard for them to get intoxicated by alcohol but like everything else in life, there was a limit to it also.

Master Fixten drank so much that he became intoxicated, this was when he started speaking. "Butch Mama.."

The Butcher Mama turned to him on hearing that but she didn't refute him.

"Why is it that good people are the ones who almost always die first?"

"Because they are good people".

"Hmm, does that mean they are stupid?"

"No, it just means that we're living in reality and not some fantasy world that you envisioned".

"Hehe, what of Scorpion, that bad guy, who is he to you?"

This time, the Butcher Mama took longer to speak but she did after sighing. "Scorpion was once my sworn brother".

"Hmm, interesting". Master Fixten supported his chin with his left hand which almost made him fall but he succeeded. "Continue, I'm listening".

The Butcher Mama turned to face the intoxicated Master Fixten, wondering if she should smack the drunkenness out of him but she decided to ignore him. Perhaps, it was better if he didn't listen.

"Over 2 decades ago, I broke into the mystic world as a promising intermediate mystic warrior of the Mystic Bounty Hunter Alliance".

"Then, I was recognized as a mystic warrior with a lot of promise and potential and like all my predecessors, I became arrogant".

"I was sent on a bounty mission to kill a notorious criminal of the Killin Mountains and this was when I met him, the brat with anger issues".

"Then, he was not Scorpion, he was just known as the Sting. Coincidentally, we took the same bounty mission which instantly made us competitors".

"Well, he called me fat, and you know," the Butcher Mama suppressed a laugh. "I flipped out and we had our very first battle".

"I was strong and heavy; he was swift and precise".

"We fought long and hard, he incapacitated my legs but not after my hammer hammered him enough to prevent him from using his legs for a week".

"So, there we lay alone in the Killin Mountains, defeated and deflated".

"I don't know how it happened next, but what is important is that we somehow became friends after that. Not just friends, we became best friends".

"We learned to respect others for the first time after that battle".

"From then on, we took on numerous bounty missions together and we never failed to complete one. We became known as the Hammer and the Sting".

"Of course, he still had his anger issues but I tolerated him".

"This friendship continued until it was interrupted by well, the love of his life". The Butcher Mama sighed. "I think her name was Sophia".

"After they came together, Sting became scarce, we rarely saw and he no longer took on bounty missions so I became a lone hunter once again".

"I was hurt by his decision to abandon our brotherhood but I took on more bounty missions to relieve the hurt. I was determined to forget about him and I did, not until I got the news a few years later".

"From what I heard, Sophia died, his 3-year-old daughter was taken and like expected, Sting went after them. That was the last I heard about him in a long time, I thought he was dead until Scorpion, the Sting Assassin broke into the scene".

"I worked with him for years so, on hearing of him and his assassination style, I instantly knew that he was the one".historical

"He came back angrier than ever before. Rumors say that he even gained an ability that could make him stronger the angrier he became".

"I didn't know what happened to him, but I knew that he was in a lot of pain".

"I didn't go back to him since I also found the love of my life a few years later. Together, we relocated to Obedin City and forgot about the chaotic life of the mystic world. I never expected to see him again 2 decades on".

After finishing her story, the Butcher Mama finally turned to face Master Fixten, expecting to see a snoring version of him but she was shocked to see an attentive version of this sword master, she frowned.

"You faked being intoxicated?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I really wanted to know the truth".

"Sigh, I feel like smashing you to death with my hammer".

"Sorry, sorry.." Master Fixten was quick to raise his hands in surrender. "So, do you know the relationship that Scorpion has with my student?"

"I don't know but I think it's somehow related to his daughter. She is the only possible reason for Scorpion to put so much effort into an endeavor at this age".

"Besides, I think that brat of yours has a huge secret".

Beep! Beep!

Master Fixten excused himself as his AOS smartphone rang. On picking up the call, he didn't speak once as the person on the other side said all the words before hanging up. When he turned, the others knew instantly that something was up.

"What happened?"

"Rex left town".

..

The news of 2 of the best students produced by Obedin Mystic Academy in this session going missing came like a bombshell to Obedin City.

After everything that the city had already went through, the news that both Turan and Rex were gone was the last thing that the civilians wanted to hear.

From their performance in the finals of the graduation tournament, everyone already saw them as the future stars of the city. And this came just after the news of them advancing to the intermediate mystic warrior realm came.

A massive search party was organized though the authorities knew that it was a futile effort. Since both parties were part of the army and left on their own volition, they would definitely employ measures to thwart any search effort.

Despite this though, the search party was still organized.

The only question now was why did the 2 best students leave the city? No one seemed to know the right answer, except Cassandra.

While everyone left to go search for them, Cassandra left for Bowling Town. On getting there, she easily saw clues about Rex's arrival here which eventually led to her going to the local church where Rex accessed an atlas.

On looking at the atlas board, Cassandra sighed. "Gundam Shelter huh?"

"Exactly the same as the future.."

"Rex, can't your fate be any different from the future?"

Cassandra had a lot of things going on in her mind at this moment, but in the end, she decided not to give up. She already sacrificed so much to give up now, she was determined to help Rex to change his future fate.

Cassandra destroyed the atlas to prevent anyone from tracking Rex before parking her loads in her storage ring as she also departed.

..

In the early hours of the next day, the search party returned fruitlessly.

As the city lamented over the disappearance of these 2 geniuses, Master Fixten once again locked himself up as he reflected on the decision of his student.

Hours later, he finally accepted the truth.

"I may not know what made you arrive at this decision, but I respect it".

"Carve your own path as a mystic swordsman".