Chapter 348: One Last Day

The next morning, Kai walked into the restaurant with Mina and Leo. Sera was already there, and she looked up. "You’re late."

Kai glanced at the clock. "I’m two minutes late."

"Exactly."

Leo looked at her. "You’ve gotten used to him."

"Unfortunately," Sera smiled.

Mina laughed. "I can still hear you," Kai sighed.

"I know."

Before he could sit down, another voice came from behind him. "Is that them?"

He turned. Mira was standing there, Raze, Elden, and Lily beside her, Emma next to Mira. The moment Emma saw Kai’s group, her eyes moved to Mina and Leo, then to Mira, then back at Kai. "These are your siblings?"

"Yeah," Kai nodded.

"It’s nice to finally meet you," Mira smiled.

"You too," Mina returned.

Leo looked at the group, his eyes stopping on Lily, then Elden, staring for several seconds.

Lily noticed. "Is something wrong?"

"No." He looked at Elden. "You’re Elden, right?"

Elden blinked. "Yes."

"And you’re Lily?"

"Yes."

Leo’s eyes widened. "I’ve heard about both of you."

Elden looked slightly surprised. "Really?"

"Of course." He looked at Kai. "You never told me they were this young."

"Young?" Lily raised an eyebrow.

Elden looked at Kai. "Is he always like this?"

"Pretty much."

Leo ignored them. "I read some of the reports."

"Then you’ve been doing your homework," Elden smiled.

"I like your work."

He paused. "My work?"

"The defensive systems." His excitement grew. "You helped design Version Three, right?"

"Yes."

"And Lily helped too?"

"Yes."

He looked between them. "That’s awesome."

"Thank you," Lily smiled.

Emma suddenly stepped forward. "Mira."

"Yes?"

She grabbed both of her hands. "I’m a huge fan."

Mira blinked. "A... fan?"

"Yes." Emma’s eyes were shining. "I’ve read almost every report about you."

"You have?"

"You’re amazing."

Raze laughed. "She’s going to make you uncomfortable."

Emma turned toward him. "Don’t ruin this."

He laughed harder. "Thank you," Mira smiled.

Emma nodded seriously. "I want to become a Hunter like you."

Mira crouched slightly so they were closer. "Then work hard."

"I will."

"And don’t copy everything I do."

Emma looked confused. "Why?"

Mira glanced toward Raze. "Because you’ll end up surrounded by idiots."

Raze immediately protested. "Hey!"

"She’s right," Elden nodded.

"You too?"

"Definitely," Lily smiled.

Raze looked around the table. "I thought this was supposed to be a friendly breakfast."

Kai sat down. "You brought this on yourself."

...

Once everyone had settled down, food began arriving. Leo immediately started talking. "So..." He looked around the table. "I have a house now."

Raze stopped eating. "You got a house?"

Leo nodded proudly. "A really good one."

Raze leaned forward. "Can I see it?"

"No."

"Why?"

"You’ll break something."

The table went silent. Then Mira burst out laughing. Elden covered his mouth. Lily smiled. Sera looked away, trying not to laugh.

Raze stared at Leo. "I won’t break anything."

Leo looked unconvinced. "You punched a wall once."

"That was training."

"You still broke it."

"It was a weak wall."

Kai started laughing.

Raze pointed at him. "Don’t encourage him."

Leo grinned. "You can visit."

Raze relaxed. "Good."

"But don’t touch anything."

Raze stared. "Why would I touch anything?"

"Because you’re Raze."

Everyone laughed again. Even Raze couldn’t help smiling.

Mina looked around the table. "This is the first time we’ve all eaten together."

"Yeah," Sera nodded.

Leo looked around. "So everyone here is going to Nexus?"

"Me, Kai, and Sera," Lily nodded.

He looked at the three of them. "All three?"

"Yes."

He thought for a moment. "Then who is staying?"

Mira raised her hand. "Me."

Elden lifted his cup. "Me."

"Me," Raze grinned.

"Good," Leo nodded.

Raze raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

He took another bite. "Someone needs to protect the city."

Raze looked offended. "You don’t think Kai can?"

"No."

Kai stared at him.

Leo pointed toward Raze. "I think he’s the strongest."

"Smart kid," Raze smiled.

Kai sighed. "Great."

...

After breakfast, they decided to walk through Mythal. The city had changed considerably since the disasters, still some construction sites, but most of the major roads were open, stores were operating, new defensive structures stood around the city, the Hunter Guild was busy, and people were returning to their normal lives.

Leo walked beside Lily, having asked questions for almost ten minutes. "So how does the defensive network know where an attack is coming from?"

"It uses several layers of detection."

"Can it detect monsters underground?"

"Some of them."

"What about flying monsters?"

"Depends on their altitude."

"What about invisible monsters?"

"More difficult."

Leo nodded seriously. "That’s really cool."

"You really like this stuff," Lily smiled.

"Yeah."

Elden walked beside them. "If you want, I can show you some of the basic designs later."

His eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Sure."

"Can you teach me how to build one?"

Mina immediately called from behind them. "Leo."

"What?"

"You’re not becoming a Hunter engineer today."

"I wasn’t."

"You absolutely were."

Elden laughed. "It’s fine."

Leo looked at him. "You really don’t mind?"

"No."

"Then I’ll take you up on that."

Kai watched them from a few steps away, Sera walking beside him. "You know he’s going to ask Elden a hundred questions."

"I know."

"He reminds me of someone."

He looked at her. "Who?"

She smiled. "You."

He shook his head. "I’m not like that."

She raised an eyebrow. "You asked Bahamut about twenty questions."

Kai froze.

"Exactly," Sera smiled.

"You don’t know that."

"I know you." She walked ahead.

He stared after her. "...That’s annoying."

She turned around. "I heard that."

...

They eventually reached one of the city’s training grounds. Raze looked around. "Perfect."

Kai immediately knew what was coming. "No."

"I haven’t said anything."

"You don’t need to."

Mira sighed. "He’s going to challenge you."

Raze grinned. "One final spar."

"We did this yesterday."

"That wasn’t enough."

"It was enough for me."

"Not for me."

Leo’s eyes lit up. "Fight!"

Mina immediately grabbed his shoulder. "No encouraging them."

"But I want to see."

Emma looked equally excited. "Me too."

Raze pointed at them. "See?"

Kai sighed. "Fine."

Raze smiled. "Yes."

Sera walked toward the edge of the training area. "Try not to embarrass yourself."

Raze looked at her. "Whose side are you on?"

"Kai’s."

"Of course."

Kai stepped onto the training field, Raze following, everyone else gathering around.

Elden adjusted his glasses. "Should I record this?"

"Why?" Raze asked.

"For analysis."

"No."

"I think we should," Lily smiled.

"I agree," Mira crossed her arms.

Raze looked at Kai. "Your friends are terrible."

"They’re your friends too," Kai smiled.

He paused. "...That’s worse."

The spar began. Raze rushed forward, his first strike fast, and Kai simply stepped aside. Raze swung again, and Kai ducked. Another strike, and Kai moved backward. Raze followed. "Stop doing that!"

"Doing what?" Kai smiled.

"Making me look bad!"

Sera immediately called from the side. "You’re doing that yourself."

Raze turned toward her. "Whose side are you on?"

"Kai’s."

"You already said that!"

"Then stop asking."

Leo burst out laughing. Emma covered her mouth. Even Mina was smiling.

Raze turned back toward Kai. "This is personal now."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Wasn’t it already?"

Raze charged, and Kai dodged again. He stopped, staring at Kai. "...You’re annoying."

"I’ve been told," Kai smiled.

Lily watched carefully. "His footwork has changed."

Elden nodded. "He’s using less movement than before."

"He’s making Raze commit to every attack."

"I can hear you!" Raze shouted.

"Good," Elden calmly answered.

Mira laughed. The spar continued for another few minutes, and Raze managed to land one clean hit. He immediately raised both arms. "Yes!"

"Congratulations," Kai said.

"I hit you."

"Once."

"It counts."

"It does."

"Finally," Raze grinned.

Mira shook her head. "You look way too happy."

"Because I finally hit him."

"Then we’re done," Kai nodded.

Raze’s smile disappeared. "What?"

"You won your victory."

"I want another."

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I don’t want to."

Raze stared at him. "That’s not fair."

Kai walked away. "It doesn’t have to be."

...

By late afternoon, they were back in the city. They stopped at a small café and spent the next hour doing absolutely nothing important. Leo talked about his new house. Emma talked about Mira. Raze complained about Kai. Elden and Lily discussed the next defensive improvements. Mina mostly listened. Sera sat beside Kai. For once, nobody was in a hurry.

The sun slowly began to set, and eventually they started walking home. Mythal looked different at night, streets filled with lights, restaurants busy, people sitting outside, families walking home, Hunters returning from training. The sounds of construction had mostly disappeared.

For a moment, Kai simply walked. He looked at the city, the same city that had almost been destroyed, the same city that had survived three Disasters. Now people were simply living. Laughing. Eating. Going home.

Mira noticed him looking around. "You know..."

He looked at her. "What?"

"You don’t have to worry about Mythal."

"I know," he smiled.

Elden adjusted his glasses. "We’ve got the defensive network."

"We’ve got the Hunters," Raze crossed his arms.

"And we’ve got me," Mira smiled.

Kai looked at her.

"That’s probably the scariest part," Raze added immediately.

Mira punched him in the shoulder. "Ow!"

"You deserved that."

"I was complimenting you."

"You weren’t."

"I absolutely was."

"You weren’t," Elden nodded.

Raze looked betrayed. "Why is everyone against me?"

Leo raised his hand. "I am."

"You too?"

"Yes."

Raze sighed. "I’m surrounded."

Everyone laughed.

The laughter slowly faded. Elden looked at Kai, his expression turning more serious. "Go."

Kai looked at him.

"Find what you’re looking for."

"I will."

"We’ll take care of Mythal," Mira smiled.

Raze lifted his upgraded weapon. "And if anything shows up..." He grinned. "We’ll handle it."

Lily looked at Kai. "We should leave early tomorrow."

"Agreed," Sera nodded.

Kai looked around at everyone, Mira, Elden, Raze, Lily, Sera, then Mina, Leo, and Emma. For a moment he simply stood there. He’d spent so long thinking that becoming stronger was the answer. But standing here, he realized something else.

Strength mattered. Knowledge mattered. Power mattered. But so did people.

Mira was the heart that kept everyone together. Elden was the mind that kept Mythal prepared. Raze was the strength that would stand between the city and anything that threatened it. And Kai, he didn’t have to carry all of it anymore. He could leave. Because they were here. Because Mythal was here. Because home no longer depended on one person.

He smiled. "Then I’ll see you when I get back."

"You better," Raze grinned.

"Be careful," Mira nodded.

"Good luck," Elden smiled.

Leo raised his hand. "Bring me something from Nexus."

"Like what?" Kai asked.

He thought. "Something cool."

"Me too," Emma immediately added.

Mira laughed. "You two are going to bankrupt him."

"I’ll see what I can find," Kai smiled.

Sera looked toward the road ahead. "Nexus."

"Aegis," Lily nodded.

Kai looked toward the horizon.

Tomorrow, they would leave.

But tonight, they were together.

And for once, that was enough.