C42: The Leader of the Midnight

After the kiss, Owl's cheeks didn't stop flushing. But, he had to keep it in.

'That was just a friendly kiss on the cheek! That's not even close enough!' He argued with his head while the others surrounded Elijah to talk to her.

"Elijah! What the hell!? Why didn't you tell us about this before, huh!!?? Wha —" before Lucy could finish, Elijah spoke up.

"Right, right! I know... I made a mistake not telling you guys about this... But Owl was the one I trusted the most and... I needed to do something crazy."

Elijah's face turned gloomy. "I just couldn't overlook the matter of these Blood Alchemists for a second and went after the Midnight for killing Endier! I —"

"We're sad too, Elijah. But if Endier was alive, he would've told you to stay put, instead of chasing the wild and murderous Midnight!" Riza told her, patting her on the back.

"But... We need to go and finish him off because he is on to me. Before this case digs deeper, we must finish off these people! They even know that I use the Wind Dragon style, also the Wind Eagles! I can't just overlook this matter, Riza!"

Everyone went silent upon hearing this.

"Owl... How bad was the situation? Tell them!" Elijah declared to Owl who was leaning against the wall in the back of the team.

He was disturbed in his well-placed dream about Elijah kissing him on the lips.

"Umm... It is bad." That was all he told. His shyness in crowds had awakened once more.

"Like... How bad?" Luke asked him once more, raising his eyebrow at him.

"I used... My soul destroyer."

"Goddamn! That bad!??" Luke cried out, covering his mouth with his hand. "Jesus! I didn't know..."

Lucy wondered about this matter, and Elijah was right. This wasn't easy if the enemies were that strong. They had to think quickly and make a decision.

"So... What do you suggest, Elijah?" She asked Elijah, holding her hand within her grasp.

"Let's go, Lucy. I have a feeling... if we follow this, we might end up getting something we wanted for years! I just... Feel it." Elijah answered.

Riza looked at Luke and he shrugged. "I... Might just go with what Elijah says. She's our leader after all."

Riza looked back at Elijah's face. Elijah's eyes were wide open,like a cute kitten's face. Almost like begging for her to come.

"Ok! But I don't know if anything happens! And where are the other four! Aghh!!! So many problems!!"

The others chuckled upon hearing this. Though, she was right about one thing. What was taking them so long? Did they find the Blood Alchemists? Everyone pondered about this.

"So... How are we tracking the Midnight down?" Luke jumped into the conversation with a question everyone needed an answer to.

Owl placed his hand on Luke's shoulder and pulled out his left hand. "With this."

He opened his hand and on top of his palm, there was a small insect. "A tracking bug!" He said.

A tracking bug, an insect used as a magical device for tracking. It comes in two pairs and while the green one is used for tracking the victim, the user casts a spell upon the red bug to locate the man on a map where he had been walking in.

A map of the world from the user to track the victim.

"Ho? So you guys did have a full-fledged plan! Man..." Luke jabbered.

***

Darkness... There was nothing but darkness until her brother's voice echoed in her head.

"Sister... Wake up, sister. We have to go! Please..." her young little brother shook her awake, sitting on her body. Her face reddened as she saw him mounting her. "Sister —"

"Wake up! In the name of God! Are you hibernating??" Rick shook the sister but she didn't seem to awake.

"Ahh... She made a new friend and had a drink with her." The bartender told them with a smirk, drinking the beer in his hand.

Rick shook his head in annoyance. "What the hell are you doing sister... Wake up!" He shook him once more, and this time, her conscience fully came to her.

"Wha – Ricky —" she stopped before she said anything more. Her hand was raised when she was about to speak to them.

'No! It was a dream!!! No!!!' She winced.

"What are you thinking!? Come on! We have to move!! The sun is setting!" Rick said, helping her back to her feet.

"Aw... Okay, brother." She said standing back from her own feet. It took her a minute to come back to her senses.

"Haa... Feels so good!" She said with a yawn, stretching her arms.

Alan and Winry looked at each other's faces and Winry instantly looked away.

After what happened that evening, Winry didn't even budge to look at Alan's face. Alan didn't know why, whether it was because she was shy or whether he didn't tell her 'I love you too.'

But before saying that... He needed to think about it a lot more.

***

"Hmm... The moon has surged partway. It's past noon, and we got here right on time. Still... Nothing in sight!" Rick cried out, overwhelmed by the never-ending wait.

He couldn't wait till he saw that Midnight guy. And most of all, he couldn't wait till they get to see the Blood Mage everyone was talking so much about.

After awaking Katie, they walked down the town streets to St. Rivin's church and climbed over the roof of the building next to the church.

For some bad luck, the rain had begun right at the moment they stepped out of the inn.

"See anything yet?" Rick questioned her sister who was lying right next to him. They were all lying down on the roof so no one would easily spot them.

"No... Wait patiently, lil bro." She muttered to him kindly.

"Jeez... Don't call me lil bro, woman."

"Awww! You like it!" The sister hugged Rick forcefully, as he struggled to break free from her embrace.

"What is wrong with you!!? Come on! I'm not a kid anymore!!"

"Silence, people... Be silent. Someone is approaching!!" Alan whispered to them, pushing Rick and Katie down so they were covered.

The rain was getting heavier by the second and the roads were empty, except for the dark figure who walked down the street towards the church.

Even though their cloaks were built for surviving in heavy rain, their clothes beneath them were soaked wet because they were lying flat on the rooftop.

"Hmm... That guy's totally —" before Katie could finish, the guy lifted the umbrella to gaze at the sky. She didn't even have to be suspicious... The guy was wearing the mask that had a crescent moon imprinted on it.

"The leader of the Midnight!!? Here in West Lake!??" Katie muttered upon seeing this.

"Shh!!" Winry shushed her.

The team was silent once more. However, the tall figure who was wearing a black overcoat did not see any of them because all of them were wearing dark cloaks to be camouflaged in the twilight, and with the heavy rain, there was no possible way he could hear them from down there.

The man with the dark overcoat walked up the steps of the church and finally reached the door. And just as he was about to open it... A voice came from behind.

"Don't move... Or I will kill you right away..."