Buzz Buzz!

Inside a bedroom, above the table, a phone buzzed loudly and vibrated uncontrollably beside another still phone.

Two people could be seen sleeping on a large bed, a man and a woman with blonde hair, as they looked at each other. They wore no clothes on, as they had just finished doing something every married couple did.historical

When they heard the buzzing phone, they wanted to ignore it and continued sleeping. One reason was they were too tired, and the other reason was the fact they were currently not in their home but in a hotel in another country.

However, the phone that buzzed was the one they used to communicate with a certain individual. An individual who was really scary and made the man swear with his Spirit Power to help him.

So the man, Robert, stirred awake and raised his body carefully not to wake his wife up. He reached out to the phone and noticed two new messages simultaneously sent to him.

"Ugh.." He grunted in displeasure as he massaged his temple.

"What's wrong, Robert?"

At that time, his wife, Rebecca, had also woken up and raised her body, hiding her naked figure with the pure white blanket.

"Is there something in your mind?" She continued worriedly.

Robert looked over his shoulder and smiled softly.

"Nothing. It's just.. That person sent me two messages which I haven't seen yet. But somehow, my feelings aren't good."

Hearing her husband saying that person, Rebecca immediately knew who he was talking about, and her face paled. She still feared him. That person.. The one who she had found out was the Ruler later on, was really scary.

It was their fault for antagonizing him, although not directly. So they paid the price to serve him. At the same time, the couple was also grateful for him because he saved their family.

Her body was shaking, and she cowered behind the blanket. She, herself, knew that she shouldn't be afraid any longer. But her instinct as a living being just refused it.

Then with a shaking voice, she asked, "W-what's the message?"

"I will read it now," Robert replied as he opened the messages sent to him, starting with the first one. "I am in Romania.. That's fast." His eyes widened in surprise.

"H-He's here too?!" Rebecca shouted loudly.

Yes. They were currently in Romania to investigate Boogeymen's location at Kai's request. In fact, they had been here for a few days before Robert sent his report about some rumors about Boogeymen to Kai.

"Apparently so." He replied to his wife with a calm voice. "It's only been 2 days since my report and him sending me a new clue of a paper. With how fast he moved, I guess he also did a private investigation by himself."

"Then, how about the second message?"

"Let me read it first."

Robert proceeded to read the second message. It was longer than the previous one and contained a few words that surprised him even more.

".. Also, I've contacted Grigori Tepes. The Vampire lord has agreed to help me, so contact his subordinate to find the Boogeymen and report to me ASAP.. That's the second message." He turned to his wife and noticed that she had fully hidden her body under the blanket.

Sighing, Robert replied to the message with 'Roger' and proceeded to say that he was also in Romania and would contact the Vampire lord's subordinates openly to join the investigation.

He also gave a summary of the result of his investigation about the symbol he sent through the picture.

Coincidentally, Rebecca was a person who was adept about symbols and runes. She could even modify a Talisman if given time and resources, so the investigation of the symbol was quite easy.

From their investigation for a day, they found out the meaning of the symbol could be translated as the number 5, and some small letters secretly written around the symbol were a chant of a ritual.

What that chant was used for was still a mystery even for the couple, so he asked to be given some time to decipher it.

But the fact that the symbol was written in Latin and there was a quote, 'Remember that you [have to] die' at the corner of the paper, meaning it was possibly related to Memento Mori. So they focused their investigation on the belief of death and Memento Mori.

"There. I've sent it." He muttered to himself and turned around. His wife was still hiding under the blanket.

No matter how it went before, he still had rather complicated feelings. The Ruler had indeed saved their family, but he also instilled fear in his wife. A fear that turned into a trauma, making Rebecca unable to use fire.

'I don't know whether I should be grateful to him or resent him. We can keep our lives also thanks to his generosity, so I want to repay that. But my wife's condition.. I also need to find a cure for it.'

He let out a long sigh as he slowly pulled the blanket away. Rebecca curled like a ball, burying her face in her knees. It was such a pitiful display for the previously strong woman. But, it was also their reminder not to chew more than they could handle. It was a reminder of their mistake.

"It's okay, Rebecca." He said softly, caressing Rebecca's hair. "You don't have to meet him. I will do it alone, okay? You can investigate his second request instead."

Robert's calm and collected words had managed to lessen her trauma a little. She slowly raised her face, which was filled with tears, as she nodded slowly. "Y-Yes."

"Good." He said. "Come here." And he pulled Rebecca into a hug to pacify her.

This had happened a few times before, so he was a bit used to it. The worst one was when he was away, and Kai contacted them. Rebecca had refused to eat a whole day after that and cowered in fear in the corner.

Thankfully, she could still fulfill the Ruler's request for an exorcism technique, even though the one she sent was the secret technique that belonged to Robert's family.

Still, he didn't mind about that. While his family's exorcism technique was different and deadlier, he believed it would be put to good use in Kai's hand.

'He's a monster, after all. I believe he will be able to master that technique in a few days.' He thought, remembering the young man's figure that time in the shrine.

The young man looked scary in his eyes as the fire, which he found out later was a real Phoenix fire, danced around his body. But then, it was replaced by the kind-looking young man he met at a bar and in front of the inn.

'But he's a kind monster.' He continued. 'That's why I don't mind serving him.. At least that's what I think now.'

***

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