Rush Hour
Returning alone to the city's port, Leo immediately noticed the unusual atmosphere when he stepped off the boat. The law enforcements were patrolling around the perimeter; the civilians had a vigilant and weary look on their faces. However, the boy had no time to dwell on such details; he could sense that Komi was potentially in major trouble, and was eager to come to her aide.
When he rushed out into the streets to look for his appointed ride, a flashy motorcycle blitzed through the parking lot and stylishly drifted past him with a conspicuous brake. Although modest compared to the scale the boy was used to seeing, he could tell the biker was a woman given the curvature of her figure pasted tightly over the suit.
She tossed the boy a helmet and pointed to the rear seat.
"Who are you? Mommy told me to never take rides with a stranger." Leo asked in suspicion; the big sister he was expecting was a lot more busty than the female biker.
"Oh, that's right. I never showed you my bike. But your mommy is right~" The woman took off the helmet, freeing her blonde hair in the air and revealed the natural sharp demeanor of her pretty face.
"Jean! You didn't tell me you were going to pick me up."
But that's one sexy looking bike, Leo thought; better than the bland looking car she typically drove.
"The situation may be worse than we think, hurry up and hop on."
With the boy seated in the rear, Jean could feel a bulky bulge behind her hips. She knew that he was just naturally gifted and did not pay any heed to its burning sensation; now was not the time to feel horny.
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There were already police and special military forces spread throughout the city. Every few blocks they rode past, a police vehicle could be spotted parking by the road. The TVs were broadcasting the ongoing crisis while public announcements were made from the radio, advising the citizens to stay at home and watch out for signs of spiritual entities.
The dark influence from the town even reached all the way to the city; its direness had alerted the central authority to take action.
"A situation like this is most likely caused by that terrorist cult. I tried contacting Yurin as well when the anomaly occurred, but her phone was turned off."
Jean was rather frustrated that such a catastrophe happened when she had eyes on the organization. Preparing a massive summoning ritual of this scale should have been easily noticeable; yet, it came so suddenly without warning. Although the female agent herself had a few rough ideas, the higher ups overall had zero clue as to what exactly caused the outbreak.
"You think she betrayed us?"
"I don't know, but I'm afraid we should expect the worst."
At one point, Yurin handed the female agent a small talisman that could pinpoint her whereabouts as a token of trust. If the talisman cracked, it either means she somehow erased the connection herself... or she met an unfortunate end. When Jean examined the broken pieces before she called Leo, her guts told her that it was the latter.
"Anyway, if the chaos you sensed from the link is true, then the center of the problem is probably that girl. So, I am coming with you."
"I see, thanks for the ride then." The boy was worried about the girl as well.
The two had already gone over the details on the phone..
With things happening towards both the mother and daughter at the same time, they saw little prospect to their well-being. Through the bonding link, Leo was sensing a deeper desperation from Komi every second passed, which made him grow more agitated.
Their destination was the town's hospital, where a team of government agents had already been dispatched to evacuate the civilians. As the epicenter of the unstable anomaly, areas around the hospital had more foreign entities phasing into the plane. Jean took a quick leave from her post in order to pick up the boy. Since he was deeply intertwined with the case due to his connection with Komi; her foresight says that Leo was the key to ending the crisis.
"This is 1st line officer Jean Valentine. What is the situation in district C?" Sparing a hand from the bike, the female agent reported through the radio; but there was no response.
"Team Charlie, please respond!" And the silence continued.
"Dammit!"
But right when Jean cursed out, the boy suddenly felt a tingling spike through his spine. Without a word, he quickly jumped off the bike with the female agent within his arms. As they rolled over to the side, the unmanned bike continued down the road for a few seconds before it exploded after a flash of light.
"What just happened?" Hiding her flushed red cheeks while within Leo's clutch, the female agent quickly re-composed herself and asked.
"I felt someone was targeting us..." Forgetting to let go of the woman from his chest, the boy vigilantly inspected the surroundings.
"It is probably those fanatics from the cult, we were fighting a few of them earlier. Watch out!" She exclaimed.
This time, the two clearly saw a yellow ball of Anima flying towards them and were able to swiftly dodge the explosion. Yet, before they had the opportunity to retaliate, more projectiles were launched from different directions, which forced them to take cover and be pinned down behind an alleyway.
"Hmm... these attacks don't seem to be as strong as the first one. I can probably tank a few of those hits to get below them." Leo casually claimed after witnessing the destruction of these tiny yellow sprites laid on the street.
"Don't be ridiculous, you are not taking that risk, boy."
"But we are running out of time, this is the fastest way."
The suffering and torment he felt from the link had made him anxious and perhaps clouded his judgment. Even though it had not been long since he knew Komi, the boy had an inexplicable attachment towards the big girl.
This was when Jean realized that despite acting calm and collective most of the time on the surface, Leo was still a hot-blooded young man to his core, which was as expected for his age. She had personally experienced that intense heat and passion within her womb, those boiling thick seeds had the temperature of burning lava.
Wait a minute, that was slightly off topic... Jean quickly shook her head and came up with a simple plan.
"We will loop around the building instead, don't be rash."
However, before they began their action, cries of pain and clashes of battle were already heard from within the buildings across the street. Soon, as the sounds died down while they waited, several tall and busty ladies led by Anna walked out the buildings one by one with battered corpses towed in each of their hands.
The weapons of the enemies were makeshift artifacts crafted by the cult.
"Anna! You finally caught up." The boy was excited to see his big sister.
"What a naughty boy, to leave me behind without waiting." Anna flicked his forehead; she was supposed to be his appointed ride.
"Thanks for your help, Anna. How did you catch up to us?"
Jean had several occasions to acquaint with the infamous black flame when the Halfmoon family moved into the city; especially when Anna went on a hunting spree for those government contracts. Sensing that the female agent was marked with the heavy unremovable stain of her little brother, the big sister was a lot more receptive to her compared to when they first met.
Anna abruptly turned to Jean and looked deeply into her eyes.
"I did say you can make your play on my little Leo, but to think that you have stolen him from me... I am so deeply hurt." She playfully wept with a dramatic aching at her heart.
"..."
"..."
"Ahem...! Anna, I would like to know how as well." Leo brought his big sister out of her usual habit.
"Well, I found out it's actually faster to travel by foot." Anna said as her finger pointed up.
With the women's physical prowess from their training and enhancement from the blessings, traveling on the roof with their legs was actually more convenient than going through the chaotic traffics of the street. After Anna rallied the combat sentinels of the family, they leaped from buildings to buildings to reach their young master, leaving deep footprints above the concrete ceilings.
"You know... that is actually illegal. But forget about that, let's get going, we are close to the hospital."
Following the ambush and the silent response from the radio, Jean had a bad feeling looming over her thoughts. She continued to try all forms of communication with her team; however, all she got in return was some signal noises.
It was then, a wave of unstable Anima rippled in the air and rifts of space began to crack. Perhaps attracted by the energies expelled earlier during the combat, a horde of monsters was ascending from the abyss.
"You two are in a hurry, right? The girls and I will hold them back. Go on ahead, we will catch up soon." Anna and her sentinels were unfazed by the enemy's sudden appearance.