After reaching the hotel, Zac pulled Marty aside and spoke in a low voice. "Do you know why the exam was stopped halfway?"

"I don’t know the details, but didn’t that Joseph guy say it was some kind of emergency?" Marty replied, spreading his hands.

Zac gave him a look. "I was there too, you know. What I’m asking is whether you know what the emergency actually is."

Marty narrowed his eyes. "From the way you’re talking, it sounds like you already know something."

Zac hesitated for a brief moment before answering, "Multiple beast attacks are happening across the Eastern Alliance, and Mellow City is one of the targets."

Marty’s body went still at the words. Without pause, Zac continued, "I have to go to Mellow City immediately."

Marty shook his head at once. "No. That’s not happening. Think about this rationally. I may not have seen a beast horde firsthanded, but I’ve read enough about it. Every one of them is filled with brutality and death."

"For new variants like us, this is beyond our level to care about. If you go there, death is almost certain."

Marty looked at Zac’s eyes, only to find them unwavering and filled with stubborn resolve. Letting out a deep sigh, he muttered, "No matter what I say, you’re still going, aren’t you?"

"Yes," Zac answered.

Marty ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Why does it have to be so difficult?"

"I killed Lily and Peter."

"Yeah, you sai...wait, what? How?" Marty was stunned once again upon hearing it. Zac gave a brief account of everything that had happened inside the portal.

Marty listened with a faint trace of disbelief lingering on his face.

When Zac finished, Marty frowned slightly. "Alright, let’s assume everything you said is true. What does that have to do with you going to Mellow City right now?"

Zac exhaled slowly. "The VSB didn’t record what happened inside the core zone, but everything before that is still there. Anyone who sees it will know I’m the killer."

"I have a few contacts in the Mellow City Variant Association. I need to see if I can handle this through them. The longer I wait, the higher the chances of getting caught."

Marty fell silent for a moment, weighing everything in his mind before turning to Zac. "Fine. If that’s the case, I’m coming with you."

Zac refused at once. "No. Absolutely not."

Marty’s voice turned firm. "My father is still in Mellow City, and I need to know if he’s safe. Don’t try to stop me. No matter what you say, I’ll follow you."

[He’s got a point.]

Seeing the resolve in his eyes and finding no words left to argue, Zac finally gave in.

"But what are we going to tell our mothers?" Marty asked, his voice laced with confusion. "If we tell them the truth, they’ll never let us go. At the same time we can’t just disappear either."

Zac gave a slight nod. "I have a plan."

He walked into the room and brought Carrie outside. "Carrie, how much do you like your brother?"

Carrie narrowed her eyes, sizing him up. "Hmm... looks like you need something from me."

"Is it that obvious?"

Zac let out a small breath, then slipped into a charming smile, lightly pinching her cheeks. "My cute little sister, can you do me a favor?"

"I knew it," she said, rolling her eyes. "No one asks about affection without a favor hiding behind it."

"Where did she learn to talk like that?"

"Listen, Carrie," Zac said, his tone turning serious. "There’s a problem in Mellow City right now, so we’re going there immediately. And you know how Mom is. If we tell her, she won’t let us go. That’s why we’re leaving without informing them."

"If they ask where we went, tell them we’ve gone to the exam campus and will return in a few hours, and if they get worried or try to follow us, you have to stop them. No matter what. Okay?"

Carrie tapped her cheek, eyes drifting upward as though she were carefully calculating her options. Then she looked at Zac with a sly smile.

"If I’m going to agree to that, it’s going to cost you. Is that okay?"

"You want money?" Marty asked.

Carrie let out a small snort. "What would I even do with money? Haven’t you been told not to give cash to little kids?"

Zac sighed. "Alright... what do you want?"

Carrie’s eyes lit up. "For one whole year, you have to buy me all the ice creams, chocolates, and cookies I ask for. Oh...and I want one of those flying beasts we saw yesterday."

Zac stared at her, completely speechless. "That’s impossible, and you know it. I can’t do all that and survive Mom’s yelling."

He paused for a moment, then tried to negotiate. "How about this? Not a year, just one month. And as for the flying beast... I can’t get you one, but I’ll take you for a ride on one. Deal?"

Carrie immediately nodded, her head bobbing eagerly. "Deal."

Marty blinked in confusion. "That was easy?"

Carrie giggled. "Because I know my brother won’t even fulfill half of what I ask, so I just asked for way more than I actually wanted."

[I wish it was your sister that I bonded with and not you.]

***

Zac and Marty left at once and made their way to the train station. At the ticket counter, Marty returned with his head lowered.

"What happened?"

"All transport to Mellow City has been suspended."

Zac fell silent for a moment, thinking. "There’s another way." He grabbed Marty’s arm and pulled him along into the city.

Before long, they stood in front of a large building. Marty glanced at Zac and muttered, "Why didn’t I think of this?"

Zac only smiled and led him inside. At the counter, he asked, "We want to hire a trainer with an aerial beast?"

The man behind the counter gave a brief nod. "You’ve got good timing. Most of the trainers left because of the emergency. Only one remains, and he just returned from his journey. If luck’s on your side, he might take the job."

Without wasting time, they went in.

Inside, an old man with a white beard and a turban sat calmly, smoking.

"Are you the trainer?" Zac asked. Marty let out a quiet sigh, already bracing himself. This isn’t going to be quick.

But Zac stepped forward with a faint smile. "We need to get to Mellow City immediately. Can you please take us there?"

The old man waved his hand dismissively. "I just returned from a long journey. I’m about to go home and close my eyes for a good long while. Go on, off with you."

He tried to shoo them away, but Zac stood his ground. "I have something important to do there. I must reach Mellow City, no matter what. I’m willing to pay any price you ask. Please take us there. It’s nearby. On a flying beast, it won’t even take two hours."

The old man smirked. "You think I don’t know that? Not just Mellow City; I know the travel time to every city in this country."

His eyes narrowed as he studied them. "Let me guess... you’re from Mellow City, aren’t you? There’s a beast attack going on there. That’s why you’re so desperate. Tell me, is your family there?"

Zac shook his head. "My friend’s father is there. And I need to meet someone urgently."

The old man studied them both in silence, his gaze lingering as though weighing something unseen, before finally speaking.

"Fine. I’ll take you, but on one condition."

"What is it?" Zac and Marty asked at the same time.

"Come with me."

He led them further inside and revealed an aerial beast.

It was a massive falcon, easily the size of two buses, its beak and talons sharp enough to rend steel, and the aura it exuded alone was enough to keep every other beast at a distance.

"This is my aerial beast," the old man said. "If either of you can go near it and touch it on the head, I’ll take you for free."

Marty immediately leaned toward Zac and whispered, "This bastard is trying to get us killed. Just look at it. Its size, its aura... I’m already scared just standing here."

[He is one sly old man.]

Ignoring both, Zac stepped forward.

The moment the falcon sensed his approach, it let out a sharp screech, releasing its full aura. The pressure crashed down on Zac like a collapsing mountain, making his body tremble as if it might give in at any second.

He immediately activated his divine aura, spreading it around him like a radiant shield, dissolving the crushing force and standing firm against it.

The falcon and the old man both felt it at once and froze, caught off guard.

Even though Marty was too low-level to understand what had happened, he could tell that something had definitely changed by seeing the reaction.

Step by step, Zac moved forward with his aura gradually filling the space.

The moment the falcon fully sensed it, its hostility faded. It grew calm and slowly lowered its head before him.

Zac reached out and gently touched it, his hand resting against the back of its head as he gave it a light pat.

The old man stared for a long moment before suddenly bursting into loud laughter, the sound echoing through the entire building.

He walked up to Zac and gave his back a firm pat. "What’s your name, kid?"

"Zac."

The old man noticed the absence of a last name but chose not to press. Without another word, he climbed onto the falcon’s back and gestured.

"Come on. Let’s go."

Zac and Marty exchanged a glance, a quiet smile passing between them before they followed.