Lustrous Horizon

Chapter Two

Stella and Cecilia follow Corinne past the wooden bridge connecting the eastern and western sections of the forest.

"So," Corinne said as she turned around and began to walk backwards. "Where are you ladies from? I haven't seen you around here. I know a lot of people here."

"We're from a town called-" Stella said, but was interrupted by her mom.

"Another Astro Orb." Cecilia answered. "We're on vacation. That's why you haven't seen us around."

Corinne looks at Cecilia in the eyes and turns back around facing forward. "That makes sense. So, why choose this forest to be your destination of choice?"

Stella looks at her mom who just quickly shakes her head as if signaling her to keep some information to herself.

"Just looking for paints for an artist to commission a self-portrait." Stella answered.

"So, yeah?" Corinne said. "Is the artist famous or something? I don't imagine you ladies would go out of your way to obtain some paints."

"Have you ever heard of Lucius?"

Corinne's eyes brighten up. "Oh! I know who he is! His paintings are always high value and nobody dares steal from him. He has people that will hunt you down and take you out."

Stella is confused. "Take you out? Meaning what exactly?"

"She's not talking about the good kind, dear." Cecilia said.

"Meaning what, Mom? I'm still confused."

Cecilia smiles and shakes her head slowly. "He'll kill you. That's what I meant."

"Oh…" Stella's face turns pale.

Corinne turns back around to face the mother-daughter duo while continuing to walk. "If you have commissioned him before, you must be well off. His price is expensive."

"Oh, yeah?" Cecilia said. "How do you know that, Corinne?"

Corinne nods to her left. "We're almost here! Just towards that building over there."

The building that Corinne was referring to looks to be north of the western section of the forest. It is surrounded by several other buildings.

Corinne scratches the back of her head. As soon as Stella takes one step, an Arrow coated with reddish Wind Midrash pierces the ground in front of her.

"Ah!" Stella cried out.

"Lily!" Cecilia shouted out and ran up to her daughter.

"Whoa!" Corinne also shouted. She looks around and sees someone on a tree holding a Bow and Arrow. "There!" She points to the tree. "Someone's out for us! We need to hide!"

Back at the bar, the bartender had just splashed a cup of beer onto Harold's face and told him to get out.

Harold calmly wipes the liquid off his face and controls his breathing. Edgar is shocked and staring at the bartender with a blank expression on his face.

While trying to keep his emotions under control, Harold calmly turns to the bartender. "Can you please explain to me why you did that?"

The bartender spits out a chunk of saliva from his mouth. "If you're not going to drink the beer, then I thought I'd do you a favor by splashing it onto your face! You're welcome!"

Edgar snaps to his senses. "You just assaulted a police officer. We can have you under arrest for that!"

All the customers suddenly stop what they're doing and turn to face Harold and Edgar.

Harold sighs and gently pulls Edgar and whispers. "We don't want anybody to know that we're police."

"Ah!" the bartender exclaimed. "Even if you boys are police, you have no jurisdiction here! The only law enforcement here is the-". The bartender suddenly stopped when the entrance door closed.

Harold notices this and turns to see who entered or left the bar. He counts the customers who are currently staring at him. The number of customers is the same as when he and Edgar first entered. Six being the total number.

"Who is the authority here?" Edgar asked the bartender.

"Tsk! If you're done here, just get out of my bar!"

Harold turns back to Edgar. "Come on, bro! Let's get out of here."

"But aren't we going to do something about this guy here? I mean he just splashed the beer onto your face." Edgar protested.

"Quickly! Let's go!" Harold ignored his partner and went for the door.

"Where you boys going?" the bartender yelled out. "You're not going anywhere!" He makes eye contact with the customers. "Get them, boys!"

The six customers stand up from their seats and surround Harold and Edgar. Three for each of the boys.

"What is this?" Edgar asked as if he were expecting an answer.

Harold looks at the three customers around him. "I'm not in the mood." He then smirks. "But if you guys insist, I can take my anger out on you guys."

One of the three customers throws a punch which lands on Harold's face. The punch didn't do much. Harold just stands there and grabs the customer's wrist and squeezes it with all his strength. He then pulls the customers towards himself and throws a Leaf Spellbomb onto his face. It explodes into green leaf particles. The other two customers quickly start to throw punches, but Harold is quickly enough to dodge and counter with his own punches. A punch to one of the customers' ribs, another punch to the face, and another punch to the back of the head. He finishes the fight with two Leaf Spellbombs. One for each of the remaining customers.

Edgar, on the other hand, struggles against three opponents. Since he has Metal Midrash, his defensive ability is enhanced. The three customers gang up on him and knock him down onto the ground. While being kicked by the three customers, he frantically throws a silvery-gray Metal Spellbomb up. The customers are so busy kicking Edgar that they don't notice that a Spellbomb had just exploded near their face. Edgar stands up and finishes the fight with several more Spellbombs.

Harold watches as Edgar wipes the blood off his nose. He stares at the bartender who quickly ducks under the counter to hide himself.

With that said, the two police officers leave the bar.