Chapter 204: In the Worst Way

Andrés was silent as he met his boss, Serena’s gaze.

Even though it was through a projection.

Unlike when she was playing or when she was talking about changing the password to something else that had ‘kittens’ in it, now Serena wore a solemn expression.

“I have already visited Giselle. She is doing well. The wounds were healed, and she is just a little fearful about what happened, but she is a strong girl, she will get better. Although for now she will be spared this kind of work,” Serena reported without changing expression and looking at Andrés, she commented. “Congratulations on your promotion.”

Promotion... Yes, when he woke up, he realized that he had moved up in rank and was now an A-Rank.

His mental capacity increased and gave him a feeling of understanding about every machine or electronic device that was connected, let alone his main AI.

Now he could be connected to it and work calmly while doing other things, not like before, where he had to strain to achieve it.

Still, it was hard to say he was happy.

“Enjoy your promotion for now, but don’t think this mistake is easily forgettable,” Serena said, and giving a cold look, she added. “You did well to move, but you made too many mistakes to be congratulated... I’m not going to congratulate you for the mistakes.”

Andrés was silent at Serena’s seriousness and deep down, he could understand her.

Just because everything ended well didn’t mean he did things right... In the same way that he acted right at the time, it didn’t take away that they had made mistakes.

Congratulating him for either was like telling him he was forgiven when it wasn’t that way, as this was a job.

A job where they were putting their lives on the line.

“Your mistake was helping Giselle even though you knew what she was doing was wrong,” Serena revealed and with a cold stare, announced. “But most of all, you two made the worst mistake... You didn’t warn me.”

Andrés was stunned, and Serena continued.

“Do you think in this job we let our partners die? Everyone’s ideals count and we try to help each other. If I had been warned that you would move this way, I would have gone to help you,” Serena said and, letting out a sigh, growled, “Don’t underestimate me.”

Serena was an S-Rank and despite her questionable personality and flamboyant attitude, she was an individual who could be in command of a medium-sized guild.

In that sense, she was just like Liam, who seemed untrustworthy, but in reality, were people who hid quite a bit of ability.

“I’m sorry. I thought what we were doing was wrong.” Andrés said with a sigh.

If he had known this was happening, even if he lost the chance to move up in rank, then he would try to avoid it.

While he hadn’t known Giselle for too long, if he could keep her from getting hurt, then he would do it without hesitation.

Maybe he wasn’t a hero with high ideals like his peers, but Andrés was like anyone else who protected the people close to him.

“Giselle asked me not to blame you. She said she kept what she was going to do from you until the last moment since you seemed so ‘strict’,” Serena murmured with a small laugh.

Andrés could only give a half-hearted smile at those words.

He didn’t mention that Giselle did it at the last minute and didn’t give him a chance to think about it and, in a way; she was right.

If he had known beforehand that his superior was going to act that way, he would have given her away.

After all, he knew what it was like to be near death, and just as he intended to perform, those kinds of actions could turn into deadly mistakes.

“Fine. Then we’ll talk when you get back. There are a lot of things to sort out and quite a few attitudes, problematic labors to correct,” Serena said and looking at Andrés, who was dressed in a suit, she commented. “Enjoy the party.”

Andrés sighed as she ended the call.

It was a sigh of relief to know that Giselle was safe.

As for the trouble and the scolding from his boss?

He took it in completely without trying to make excuses.

“Are you done?” a voice on the other end asked.

The voice belonged to Cristian, who realized that the work conversation was over.

Andrés got up and, straightening his suit, left the room.

Despite what had happened in the afternoon, the party was not canceled and now they were about to attend it.

“How did it go?” Cristian asked curiously.

“My boss scolded me for my performance, but at least I didn’t get fired,” Andrés joked, smiling amused.

Cristian let out a laugh, and they both walked out into the hallway.

Heading to the elevator, Andrés could notice the usual group standing at the entrance to Aurora and Alice’s room.

Cithrel, Venali, Leslie, Nicole, Érica and Clémentine, along with Alice, were outside.

Each wore a different dress, revealing a different charm.

Cithrel was wearing a long ball gown and gave a more formal feeling, expressing the elegance of a princess.

Leslie, on the other hand, was not wearing a dress, but rather a formal jacket and pants that gave her a more unique feeling that matched her serious expression.

Not in the masculine style of Venali, who could hide like a man fooling anyone, but in a more formal style like an office worker.

Érica and Clémentine were two very different styles.

The former was wearing a party dress that released a unique charm, while Clémentine was also wearing a dress but giving the elegant feel that she always had.

Nicole was dressed in a charming way, making everyone forget that behind that ‘cute’ dress was a fighter capable of shaking veterans.

Alice, wore a black dress that released a mesmerizing charm that was only tempered by the bag of chips in her hands.

“Is something wrong?” Andrés asked, letting out a hint of concern.

He knew Aurora, Érica and Cithrel killed thugs because of what happened.

He didn’t know if Aurora or Cithrel were ‘used to it’, but he understood that his former boss took matters seriously and was someone more mature than normal.

That didn’t take away from the fact that he wasn’t worried about some unexpected reaction.

“Yes,” Cithrel replied with a serious tone, and at Andrés’ look, he explained. “Aurora doesn’t want to wear the dress that I so kindly picked out for her.”

“...” Andrés’ expression broke into pieces and, opening or closing his mouth, he couldn’t say anything.

Nicole, Leslie, Érica, and Clémentine gave him looks of understanding with half-hearted smiles, but that was all.

“I’m not going to wear these dresses... They’re... They’re... They’re... Too much for me.” Aurora said from the other side of the door.

“Come on, they’re not that big of a deal!” Cithrel exclaimed and, as if relieved to hear that answer, she added. “You’ve got princess-style dresses, sexy styles, and normal styles... You’ll be the center of attention.”

Her tone sounded as if she had given her different dresses to choose from, being very ‘nice’, but...

“The styles are fine, but... Why do they have jewels? There are some with diamonds all over them... These aren’t dresses you can buy at the local store,” Aurora said from the other side with a slightly hard tone of voice.

This time everyone looked at Cithrel from this side.

If there was one thing they could understand about Aurora, it was that her style of dress was ‘simplicity’ and above all, she chose things that were not flashy.

It wasn’t about being ‘stingy’ or anything of that style, but her way of life seemed simple.

For someone who had a mercenary guild with a portal in her basement and a training room, with the budgetary capacity to maintain several students and give them the ability to obtain all sorts of equipment, she on a personal level, was quite modest.

In that sense, she was not one to show off wealth, and that was expressed in many aspects of her life.

Giving her fancy dresses would obviously earn her refusal.

Cithrel’s smile grew as she heard those words and gave the impression that she was happy, that everything was continuing normally.

Andrés agreed with those emotions.

If he was honest, he regretted asking Aurora and Alice for help, he trusted them too much, but it wasn’t as if he wanted to lead them into a bad time.

“Come on. We’ll leave you to choose wisely. When you finish your choice, let me know and I’ll come get you.” Cithrel said with an amused smile.

It was obvious she was teasing Aurora and enjoying it, but Andrés and everyone else wisely ignored that part.

Joining their group, Andrés followed them into the living room.

Then, with the entire academy group, Cithrel cast a space magic spell, and they arrived at the same entrance to the mansion as the other day.

Although they were attending early and it was still some time before everything officially started, they could see many people entering.

Passing through the large gate, the next moment they arrived at the ‘White Palace’ only this time, unlike last time, it was more hectic and it was in a different location.

In a huge throne room of tall pillars with the throne at the end of the hallway, now many students were enjoying themselves and having fun in their own way.

Unlike before, it was not so solemn and serious, there were several musicians playing quietly, while the corridors were open, creating portals that showed the other side.

To museum halls, training rooms and even the immense garden and backyard were available to visit.

“Why is he wearing a hero mask?” asked Nicole as she pointed to a student wearing a white mask with black tints and seeing that others had such masks, she hesitated.

“Today there will be a small concert. You know, world-famous groups will come to sing privately here and then I think in another area of the city,” Edward specified, and seeing Nicole looking at him with excited eyes, he reminded. “Also, ‘Seraphim’ is one of the individuals present.”

A psionic highly known in show business and despite her youth, she was highly famous as a singer and had fans all over the world.

Her voice and music were top-notch, but when one added her ability to convey emotions through her voice, then all of her songs were masterpieces that could carry her audience into a frenzy of emotions.

Andrés had attended the concert in Africa, and the truth was that everyone was impressed at the time.

“Good. I’ll go see if I can get an autograph.” Nicole declared with red cheeks of excitement and not caring about the stares, she asked a waiter for a mask and then went to the garden.

That frenzied fighter revealed a side of her that didn’t match the wild, combat-loving side.

They all parted, feeling equally excited by the atmosphere.

They had dropped the seriousness that this was a solemn event and began to show a looseness typical of young people at their age.

When Andrés was left alone, he approached Érica, who was in the same position, watching the party with a drink in her hand.

“Doesn’t it feel wonderful to be an A-Rank?” Érica asked as she watched him approach.

Just as he had recently ascended, Érica revealed to of all people that she had also managed to ascend to an A-Rank... Quite a bit earlier than everyone else.

“You kept it well hidden,” Andrés muttered in response, managing to get a chuckle out of Érica.

“Unlike the other professions, a mage when ascending has to learn many new spells, and even if we manage to increase our source of magical energy, only when we understand those spells will we be able to say we are a Rank A. Or else we will only have an increase in strength in the basic spells,” Érica explained in a simple tone.

The tone sounded like she was making an excuse for having kept it a secret, managing to make Andrés laugh this time.

Andrés understood that it was just as Érica mentioned, however, he couldn’t deny that it was quite an impressive feat and she kept it for quite some time.

After laughing, he remained silent for a second and then exhaled.

“Thank you for saving my superior... I...” He said, unable to continue with his words.

What was being said at this point?

He could not formulate his words.

Because of his plea for help, Érica ended up in a difficult position and ended up murdering two people.

Andrés had never murdered someone before and while he could say a lot of things now, the truth was that, like anyone else, when he found himself in that position, it would be difficult.

This time it was the second and third time for Érica, and Andrés, even though he didn’t know her perfectly well, felt guilty for pushing her.

He found that, like the ‘field’ work, being on the other side of the screen proved to be complicated in its own way.

Érica let out a long, turbulent sigh.

“It feels like crap,” Érica revealed, but looking at Andrés seriously, she commented. “But I don’t regret it... We saved her and that’s good enough for me.”

It was normal for her to feel bad, but all doubts and all possible questions or all thoughts about whether she could change things disappeared when she thought that she saved the hostage.

The ultimate test that made her realize that this outcome was the one she wanted.

Just thinking about the outcome made her not regret it.

Andrés fell silent, and Érica continued.

“That’s why you don’t need to worry. I helped Aurora on my own. I murdered people on my own accord,” Érica interjected, and patting Andrés’ shoulder, she added. “That’s all the comfort I need.”

With those words, she left with Clémentine, who was away chatting with the students of the Cernunnos Academy.

It was safe to say that Érica had more courage than he did... And that made Andrés laugh because it was true.

After all, unlike Érica, he wasn’t honest with his own feelings.

Taking a deep breath, Andrés let it all out.

He let out his relief that he had asked Aurora and Alice for help... Whatever it took for them to do; he knew they could bring about the best outcome.

It was hypocritical to be worried yet relieved, but that was part of human nature... Imperfection and the clash of emotions that sometimes seemed impossible to be in the same person.

“Andrés, do you want to give me a hand?” Cristian asked, who quickly approached, and seeing that I was looking at him seriously, he murmured. “I promised Leí Ming that I would ask her to dance, but now she is with a friend and I need a partner to give me a hand.”

Andrés blinked at his friend’s muttering and, seeing the man’s expression, he chuckled softly.

“Well, come on... Since I already helped you get his number, I don’t mind continuing a little longer,” Andrés commented and, with a smile, he joked. “But I hope that when you’re in a boyfriend relationship, you won’t ask me to hack her phone. That kind of ‘toxicity’ doesn’t go with me.”

Cristian, hearing his last words, almost stumbled at that joke that he strangely felt happened often.

“Yes. In the security company, there are several of these cases.” Andrés pointed out with an amused laugh.

Men believing their wives were cheating on him, women thinking their husbands were having affairs, overprotective fathers intercepting their daughters’ conversations... Jobs like that were frequent in a strange way.

When he was walking in the direction of Leí Ming and her friend, he noticed that they looked away from each other, along with everyone’s gaze.

Andrés followed the gaze and noticed a young man approaching, looking around the Hero Academy.

A young man with delicate and fine features, who, because of his seriousness and his very indifferent look, seemed mature and distant.

His sapphire-colored eyes wandered around calmly looking for someone and then his gaze went to Alice and Cithrel, who were with the others.

Approaching step by step, catching everyone’s attention, he gave a hearty smile.

“Do you know if Aurora is coming today?” The young man asked calmly.

Andrés noticed Alice’s gaze narrow in a moment and the man ignored that glutton’s pointed stare.

Strangely, Andrés felt that Alice’s gaze resembled those people who saw a pervert on the street and looked at him with disgust and revulsion, but also with enmity, as if they did not wish him to approach their loved ones.

Cithrel was about to respond when his holographic watch vibrated.

At the same time, so did the young man’s and moments later, all the holographic clocks vibrated at the same time.

The information of the message reached Andrés’ mind thanks to the connection with his AI and, as if he didn’t believe what he read, he opened his holographic watch, incredulous.

The abyssal portals let out something that was not human.

******

The black portal releasing an ominous feeling trembled and a nearby cameraman recorded that strangeness.

However, the next moment, the cameraman’s expression was filled with disbelief and fear as he saw a creature begin to emerge.

Tall and large, with green skin and long ears.

Yellowish teeth and a face that could be considered ugly.

Muscular and burly, he wore full body armor with a large sword in his right hand, while in his left hand he carried a human head.

When the cameraman looked at the head unconsciously, his expression was only filled with terror... Realizing that it belonged to the leader of the expedition that had gone in days before.

“...”

Before they could react, the creature raised his sword high in the air.

“Grrr!” Dozens of wolves came out of the abyssal portal with small green creatures riding it while other creatures of equal size to the first began to emerge.

Gunshots rang out, and the chamber went black as an arrow hit it, but the screams, grunts, and gunshots echoed.

Showing that the abyssal portals had exploded in the worst possible way.