Chapter 37: BMM Members

Nathan arrived three hours later, at exactly 2 a.m. He had his car parked right in front of the porch, doors wide open and prepared to drag anyone into the car without hesitation.

He had one hand in his pocket and the other behind him, loosely holding a small bell from his inventory. As he walked up to the door, he paused just as he reached for the doorbell.

A frown appeared on his forehead. Something was strange. He paused and took a step back slowly and silently.

’There’s no sound,’ he thought, raising a brow as his hands tightened around the bell in his hand. He quietly moved over to the windows. The blinds were drawn, but they were transparent, giving him a subtle view of the house.

He couldn’t see anything properly. All he saw was the television on the news channel and steaming cups of tea on the coffee table. No sign of life.

Stepping back, he summoned the bell back into his inventory, undid the button on his shirt, and rolled his sleeves up. Then his system screen flashed before his eyes.

[Would you like to use your abilities today, Player?]

Nathan frowned. This was the hundredth time this month he was asked that.

’I said no. What don’t you understand by...’

Crash!

He froze.

His eyes darkened almost immediately. He quickly reached into his pockets and took out his glasses, pulling them over his eyes. His vision sharpened, and faint coloured lines hovered around him.

He narrowed his eyes at the multiple shades of blue and red, then black...?

His eyes widened.

’Andeen!’

Without hesitating, he kicked the door with brutal force, cracking the wood from its hinges. The alarm system triggered instantly, and a loud noise echoed through the entire room, making him frown.

The sound was so shrill that Nathan’s face twisted in disgust.

He raised his gaze to the bell hanging above the door, and it instantly went off. Then the other bells followed.

Thump!

Thump!

"Andeen! Shit, who’s upstairs?! Nina?!" Cashel’s panicked voice echoed from the basement, his feet making loud stomping sounds as he hurried up the stairs.

Multiple footsteps sounded from the upper floors.

Nathan raised a brow, frozen in his spot as frown lines formed on his forehead. He glanced toward the kitchen. The aroma of food wafted through the air, four cups sat on the table, and Andeen’s staff rested against the sofa.

’What the hell... is going on?’ he wondered, just as Cashel emerged from the basement, covered in sweat and gripping a butcher knife.

"Nathan?"

"Cashel! What’s going on? Why did you ask me to rush over like that...?"

"Uncle?" Andeen’s voice came from the stairs, interrupting him.

Nathan turned and saw her standing there in her nightwear, her hair tied neatly into a bun. She looked completely fine. Too fine, considering the energy he had just seen.

’The black energy...’ He followed the flow of the energy, and it led back to Cashel. His frown deepened.

Nathan’s eyes remained fixed on Cashel. The black energy clinging to him was faint, almost invisible beneath the ordinary traces of mana with white signatures. That was normal.

But Nathan could see it clearly through his glasses. It wasn’t flowing through Cashel’s body.

It was attached to him.

Like he was marked.

"Cashel," Nathan called, his expression hardening. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something was wrong. "What did you do?"

Cashel blinked. He exchanged a look with Andeen and raised a brow. "Why are you asking me that?! Ask your niece?"

Andeen frowned, turning toward his voice. "What? I didn’t do anything."

Nathan ignored what they both said and looked at Andeen. He noticed something else.

There were three distinct energy signatures around her. One belonged to Andeen. The other two were almost identical to hers, yet different enough that Nathan could tell they weren’t ordinary copies.

Nathan’s eyes widened slightly. He slowly removed his glasses and stared at the house with his normal vision.

Nothing.

Then he put them back on.

There were three.

His mouth twitched. "You called me over like you were in danger. What the hell is going on?"

Cashel laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "I was actually hoping you would."

Nathan stared at him.

Cashel stared back.

Neither of them spoke.

Then another pair of footsteps sounded from upstairs and the basement stairs behind Cashel.

Nathan’s head snapped toward the ceiling.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

A figure slowly descended the stairs, tapping Andeen gently on the back as she walked past her. She was on her way to the kitchen when she paused just by the doorway.

Nina’s eyes darkened when she saw Nathan. She tilted her head, studying the strange man with glasses. She glanced at Cashel before walking over and standing slightly closer to him.

"Who is that?" she whispered, her voice carrying an almost instinctive suspicion and disgust. "Is he bad?"

Nathan’s face went blank.

Then the last footsteps came from the basement, and a completely white-haired woman popped up behind Cashel, with glasses resting on her nose and icy blue eyes.

She frowned when she saw Nathan and then sighed. "Nathan?"

She slipped through the gap, her eyes softening as she whispered something to Cashel before turning to him. "What are you doing here? And why is everyone standing around when we have work to do?" she asked, sparing no one a glance as she walked over to the coffee table, picked up one of the cups, and made her way to Nathan.

"Don’t just stand there."

She handed him the cup, and he took it without question, utterly speechless.

She then closed the door behind her and gestured to the sofa. "Dinner will be ready soon, so please wait a bit."

That was all she said before grabbing Andeen and making her way to the kitchen.

Leaving just Nina, Cashel, and Nathan in an awkward situation.

---

"I’ll ask again. What’s going on?" Nathan asked as he carefully cut up the meat on his plate, his gaze not leaving Andeen and Cashel seated in front of him. "Why are there... three Andeens?"

Cashel sipped his water. "That was what I wanted to ask when I called, but I didn’t know how to explain it. That’s why I asked you to come. Apparently, she already had them around."

Nathan hummed and took another bite, his eyes drifting toward the other two, who had chosen to eat on the sofa while watching television.

Nina was watching what was on the television, her legs crossed with a pleased smile on her face. Then there was Olga, her back awfully straight and her gaze fixed on Andeen’s phone while she ate.

"When you told me you had fragments sealed, I assumed they were weapons," Nathan carefully noted, observing the two women. "Why did you tell me they were fragments of yourself?"

"Because I thought it wasn’t necessary," Andeen admitted without a hint of remorse in her voice. "I knew if I told you, you’d try to do something about it, so I didn’t."

"I see," Nathan said, continuing to eat without saying another word.

After a while, halfway through dinner, Cashel finally spoke up. "Look, Nathan, you’re part of this, so I need your help."

Nathan frowned.

"I’ll pay you back, so just help me find a new place and help me with shopping," Cashel said, sounding desperate. "I have two days before my next job, so I have to get them settled in and maybe find a way to keep them safe without endangering Andeen."

Andeen nearly choked on her food before speaking. "I..." She coughed. "I don’t need protection, and besides, Nina and Olga have jobs."

Cashel’s jaw dropped.

"What?"

"They work for BMM whenever they have bodies... which was only twice, but anyway..." She shrugged slightly. "They take whatever assignments they can before they return."

Nathan’s knife stopped halfway to his mouth.

"You mean... they were the missing members seven years ago?"

Cashel’s cup stopped halfway to his mouth, still trying to process what the absolute hell he had just heard.

"Wait. What missing members?"