Chapter 84 - Preparation
The next morning, sunlight filled the living room in Theo’s apartment.
Owen stretched his body with a groan, cracking his neck and shoulders loose.
"I swear Adrian pushes me too hard," he complained. "If this keeps up, I’m not gonna have any time to meet the ladies."
Theo didn’t respond.
He sat at the table, quietly staring at a map on his phone.
Two locations had clearly been marked in red inside a highlighted area.
Underneath, messages from Ethan kept coming in.
"I suspect they’ve also been hiding underground this whole time, safe from the sunlight."
"Which makes me confident they’re in either the drainage or sewage systems."
Theo’s eyes flickered.
’Underground...’
That meant he couldn’t use his strongest lightning spell during the fight.
His fingers tightened slightly around his phone.
He remained silent for a moment.
Then another message popped up on the screen.
"Also, there’s definitely going to be more than one creature besides the main host."
"Parasitic creatures always keep some guards around them."
Theo’s gaze lingered on the screen for a moment longer.
Fighting a battle underground against multiple opponents was nowhere near the ideal scenario.
’Especially considering that there could be more than one D-rank in there.’
Theo exhaled quietly, his eyes narrowing on the screen.
Another message appeared.
"There’s also another problem..."
Theo responded immediately.
"Which is?"
Ethan’s text bar kept popping up and disappearing, as if he wasn’t sure how to respond.
Finally, several messages appeared one after another.
"The parasitic host will recall all other parasites if it’s in danger."
"I can try to hold them off... but my light element isn’t strong enough to deal with several targets at once."
Theo’s gaze shifted slightly.
He understood exactly what Ethan was getting at.
"It’d be better if we had someone else to handle that."
Theo slowly lifted his head.
His eyes swept the room... landing on Owen.
Owen, who had just grabbed a bottle of water, paused mid-step.
"...Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
Theo didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he locked his phone and placed it on the table.
"We’re going out today," he said calmly.
Owen blinked.
"...We are?"
Theo nodded once, his expression serious.
"I need someone to hold back possibly over three dozen E- and F-rank creatures."
He paused for a moment.
"You can do that, right?"
Owen stared at him.
His mouth fell slightly open as he slowly pointed a finger at himself.
"Me...?"
"No—hold on, what?" he stuttered. "What is even going on?"
Theo leaned back slightly in his chair, unbothered by Owen’s outburst.
"It’s for a hunting mission," he said calmly. "Parasites have been spreading through the back alleys, and we’re going to kill the main host."
Owen’s mouth fell open even further.
He took a step back immediately, shaking his head.
"No. Absolutely not," he said, raising a hand. "Find someone else. I’m not dealing with those creepy things on my day off."
Theo remained silent.
He simply watched Owen for a moment.
"Alright," he finally said.
Owen tilted his head, confused.
Theo picked up his umbrella and stood up.
"I’ll search around for someone else then."
With that, he turned and started walking toward the door.
The room fell silent for a moment.
An expression of pure surprise formed on Owen’s face immediately.
"No, wait—" he said, following after him. "I was just joking! I have something I want to test anyway!"
Theo paused and turned back slowly.
Owen had quickly caught up to him, slamming his fist into his shoulder.
"How could you just leave me behind like that," he said, feigning disappointment. "I’d always go along with you, and you know that."
A small smile couldn’t help but appear on Theo’s face.
He shook his head lightly.
"Maybe don’t try to mess with me next time."
Owen scoffed.
"Yeah, yeah," he said, rolling his eyes. "You could have at least asked me again, you know."
Theo didn’t respond, though the smile remained on his face.
He simply turned back toward the door and held it open.
Owen clicked his tongue, grabbing his jacket along with a shiny new sledgehammer from the couch before following.
"So," he said, zipping his jacket up halfway. "What exactly am I dealing with?"
Theo closed the door behind them, locking it.
"I’ll tell you now."
With that, the two of them started walking.
First, leaving the apartment complex before heading down a road toward the outskirts.
By the time Owen had heard the full story, his expression had darkened completely.
"No worries," he said through gritted teeth. "I’ll kill all those low-rank fuckers."
Theo nodded once.
That’s when he came to a stop.
"We’re here," he said.
Beside him stood a small building, its flickering neon sign indicating that it was a diner.
Owen glanced up at it, raising an eyebrow.
"Come on," Theo said, stepping forward. "I’ll introduce you to our final member."
Theo pushed the door open, a small bell chiming as they stepped inside.
The diner was nearly empty.
Only one person sat in the corner booth, a laptop open in front of him.
He didn’t look up immediately.
Only when Theo and Owen approached did his fingers pause on the keyboard.
"...You’re early," he said, lifting his gaze.
Dark circles sat under his eyes, clearly showing he had trouble sleeping after last night.
Theo slid into the seat next to him.
"I wanted all the time we could get to go over our plan."
Ethan nodded once.
That’s when his gaze finally landed on Owen.
"...And this is?"
"Owen," Owen replied, dropping into a seat without hesitation.
After a moment of silence, he continued.
"Man, our party really is all men," he muttered, shaking his head. "We should get a woman in here next time."
His attention already drifted to the menu card.
"Well," he added under his breath, "at least there’s food."
Ethan just watched him for a moment.
Then he turned to Theo with a raised eyebrow.
"...Is he serious?"
Theo tilted his head slightly, a faint, forced smile on his face.
"I can assure you that he’s strong and capable."
Ethan held Theo’s gaze for a moment longer.
Then he gave a small nod, as if accepting that answer for now.
"...Alright."
He turned the laptop slightly, the screen lighting up their faces.
"Then let’s keep this simple."
They spent the next few hours going over the plan in great detail, from entry points and positioning to ways to deal with the swarm once the host reacted.
Eventually, the conversation came to a pause.
Ethan’s eyes shifted to the corner of his screen, watching the time blink.
"It’s a quarter before eight," he said.
Theo nodded once, his expression tightening.
He pushed himself up from the booth.
"Then it’s time."
Without another word, the three of them paid the bill and stepped out of the diner.
A cold breeze washed over them immediately.
Theo glanced at the sky, seeing the sun start to set.
’Whatever kind of parasite it is... it ends tonight.’