Aizel was deep in thought about his mental core while Alora enjoyed her ice cream.
He now knew how to heal his core to the next grade, when it would upgrade to the next grade and the dangerous situation with his cracked core and the limitations that caused.
Alora, on the other hand, was savoring the sweetness of her ice cream, blissful in the midst of their daily chaos. She'd never tasted anything better than ice cream.
"The food in this world is on a whole another level," Alora said and Aizel nodded.
"Let's head back home unless you would like to eat something else?" Aizel asked. Alora nodded in rejection.
"There are only two episodes left in the season; after that, I will start another show. Let's quickly head back."
Aizel sighed.
They called a taxi.
After a half-hour drive, they finally reached their apartment. Alora went straight to the hall, turned on the television, and resumed her K-drama series.
Meanwhile, Aizel was at a loss. He had no idea what to do; there was still time; it was only 9 p.m., and he didn't want to sleep that early.
"There's also nothing to do in Xelgar right now, and I'm not in the mood to watch any anime...hmm." Aizel pondered over how he could spend his time.
He remembered a book he'd been meaning to start for a while, so he grabbed it and decided to settle in for a night of pure, unadulterated reading pleasure.
And just like that, he read the book and went to sleep.
*****
Meanwhile in Xelgar...
A group of seven people dressed in robes and hoods slowly made their way toward the Aizel house. They snuck onto rooftops, keeping a close eye on their surroundings.
Their movements were calculated and precise, indicating they had done such things several times before. As they approached the Aizel house, they seemed to prepare for something big.
"Are you certain there is only one Grade II mage in the house?" One of the women asked as they slowly inched closer to Aizel's house.
"Yes, the information is completely accurate. Only one Grade II mage and five children live in the house." One of them replied.
"And what about the kids?"
"The orders are to make sure the Grade II mage dies first; ignore the kids; if they die in the scuffle then so be it. But if anyone remains, we have to bring them back to Paul's."
"So that they can turn them into their slaves and soldiers." The woman said.
"We've got nothing to do with whatever they wish to make of the children; the main objective of our mission is to kill that Grade II mage."
"But I heard he killed Elder Tristian the other day." Another person asked this time.
"He didn't do it alone; he had the help of Thomas and some other hunters." The men replied.
"Damn that Thomas managed to get lucky; I want to fight him; I really want to pluck his eyes out." As they approached Aizel's house, the group of seven people whispered amongst themselves.
One of them suggested they celebrate their success with some drinks, while another warned them to keep their voices down in order to avoid drawing unwanted attention. They all agreed and quickened their pace.
They arrived near Aizel's house after discovering complete silence. There was no movement or sound that emanated from within.
"They might already be asleep; this looks like it might be an easy mission if we don't make any mistakes."
They approached the door while paying close attention to it. They quickly broke it down, trying to enter the house as quietly as possible.
They spread out and searched the entire house for Aizel, but only found the children sleeping peacefully. There were no signs of Aizel himself.
The group used some herbs on the children to make sure that they would not wake up and make any noise as they brought them all into the dining hall.
"The mage is not here; what should we do?" the woman in the group asked.
"He might have gone towards the market side of the town; we should take the kids with us and leave for now; let the boss decide after that." One of the men who appeared to be the leader said. The others nodded in agreement.
"Oh my, what's the rush, guys?" Suddenly a woman's voice came from the front door, shocking the group of seven people.
They quickly assumed battle formation and turned their gaze to the woman.
It was Leah, with Alisha by her side and the rest of her family's mages dressed in light blue leather armor with a flying hawk symbol on it.
"Damn it, this was a trap." The woman said while everyone glared at each other without making any moves.
"Why don't we take it outside? We don't want the kids to wake up from their slumber, right?" Leah said. She didn't want to do anything stupid.
She did not care about the children's lives, but Aizel did.
She hoped that with his help, she could get rid of the ones who would attack at night while manipulating him into believing that the Paul family would not rest until they got rid of him.
She would have taken the children to her castle for safety, and with Aizel's help, they would have fought the Paul family head-on.
But she never expected Aizel to suddenly disappear, leaving the kids alone in the house. If anything happened to them, the entire plan she had concocted would be ruined.
"Aizel will never forgive me if something happens to them in my presence. How did it come to this? And where the fuck did he go?" Leah thought in anger but maintained a neutral expression on her face.
She didn't want to give away anything that could put her at a disadvantage.
The group of seven didn't move from their place. Each group was waiting for the other to make the move first.
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