Parallel Vol. 6

Chapter 30: I'm Back Home

A great hushed silence hung over the plains, every visitor stunned to silence by Skyrm's divine deterrence. Even the more restless visitors behaved themselves from thereon out. If a Divine Dragon treated mere guards with respect, who were they to prattle on about some time delays?

'That... That is Kashi of the Twilight Wolves," said one of the guards, his gaze exuding near worship and fanatism. "Perhaps I should reconsider joining the guild."

"Heh. You assume they're in need of us," the other guard scoffed, but his eyes also held admiration while watching Kira disappear into the crowds. "Let's get back to work. Even without joining, we can still do our part to aid their endeavour."

"Yes. You're right." The guards returned to their duties with fervour. Which, it turned out were much easier now that everyone had seen a glimmer of what the Wolves had hidden in Kerta.

*****

Twilight Wolves HQ,

Kerta.

"Hm... It's bigger than I remember," murmured Kashi as he stood at the large, open gates, examining the building, which looked at least twice the size of what he remembered. The building's height had not changed much, but it had certainly expanded outward, adding many more buildings, presumably for more departments. Not for the first time, Kashi realized he did not know much about the daily running of his guild.

But... he did not care.

Kashi chuckled as he walked through the gates. Beyond, several Wolves lined up straight on either side of the main pathway. The guild, dressed to the nines in domineering black outfits, stomped their hands against their chest and greeted in loud, booming voices that shook all of Kerta, "Welcome Back, Guildmaster!"

"Uh... Oh, wow." Kashi barely stopped himself from stumbling over in shock. Fortunately, his draconian muscles were not as expressive as his fleshy counterparts, so he hid his embarrassment from his guildmates. 'Damn it.' If Kashi had his way, he would have long since fled, but Leila, the vice-guildmaster, stood at the end of the procession. He could not care less about his reputation, but Kashi could not bring himself to embarrass Leila and leave her hanging, not after all her effort in raising the guild.

Resigned to his fate, the draconian grinned stiffly and walked down the path.

Fortunately, the Wolves knew their leader enough to keep the festivities to a minimum—at least in his direct presence. Soon, under his guildmates' excited gazes, Kashi reached the end of the line and faced Leila, whose normally cold face bore the faintest hints of a teasing smile.

"You should say something," advised the vice-guildmaster. "They have gathered just for you. At least honour their commitment with a few words."

Kashi's eyes twitched as he whispered in protest, "Suzuki's the one who pranked you, not me."

"I am advising you as Leila, your vice, not Ayumi, Suzuki's friend."

Kashi opened his mouth but then helplessly shut it after a few seconds. He never thought he would be on the receiving end of Suzuki's trademark rebuttal. Once again resigned to fate, he turned around to face the hundreds of Wolves present at the large compound.

"Use this."

Kashi accepted a microphone from Leila. The device was much lighter than he remembered, suggesting the R&D team had obtained some improvements since his last visit. The draconian shook his head to clear his scattering thoughts and focused on the expectant crowd. "So, guys, that was one hell of a battle, huh?"

Many Twilight Wolves hesitated in the face of Kashi's opening sentence. No one knew what they expected, but Kashi's mundane casualness shocked even their wildest imaginations.