"He's gone. I left the core in the kitchen, with the beasts' meat," Sylvia replied.
Advika stared at her sister for a moment, sighed, and walked into the house, heading for the kitchen.
"Who's Chris? And what core are you talking about?" Their mum asked, frowning slightly.
"Come in, Mom, and I'll tell you everything," Sylvia said with a smile.
The woman frowned at her daughter but entered the house nonetheless.
"Chris is a guy we met on the hunt. He helped us in the battle and also with the beasts' meat. He even helped us prepare them."
"Really?" The woman sat on the couch, staring at Sylvia.
"Did he ask for anything in return?"
"Nope. He also said—"
"—Sylvia! To the kitchen, now!!"
Sylvia flinched at her sister's loud yell. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing Advika standing at the kitchen door.
"Go. There might be something she needs. I'll check on your father." Their mother stood up and walked towards the bedroom.
Sylvia took a deep breath and exhaled, then walked towards Advika, who was waiting for her in the kitchen.
Sylvia opened the door, carefully stepping around the meat arranged on the floor, and stopped beside her sister.
"Have you checked this bag?" Advika asked, pointing to the bag on the tray.
"Nope," Sylvia shook her head.
Advika stepped aside, gesturing for her to open it. Sylvia was confused by her sister's actions, but cautiously reached out and slowly unzipped the bag.
She exclaimed, seeing the six cores inside. Sylvia turned to her sister in shock.
"Sister, you had all these cores, and you didn't tell me? I thought we promised to never keep things from each other?"
Advika facepalmed. "What the hell are you talking about, Sylvia?! Those aren't mine! I called you here so you could tell me who they belong to!"
Sylvia was stunned. She looked down at the bag, her eyes widening in surprise.
[Christopher: "This is your sister's core."]
"Chris put them in there," she whispered.
Advika was silent, knowing for sure there was only one core in the bag before she gave it to Chris to hold onto. Now... there are five extra cores.
'Did he really give us five perfect beast cores without asking for anything in return? Who are you, Chris?' she wondered.
Her thoughts were interrupted by her sister.
"Chris is such a good guy! Sister, what are these cores worth?"
"Hmm..." Advika thought for a moment, then nodded. "They're all perfect stage cores. One is worth 1,000 dollars, so six would be 6,000."
"Wow! Such a huge amount! We can pay for Dad's medical treatment with that, and even pay for your fees too!"
"My fees are 5,000 dollars, and Dad's treatment is 1,000. What about you guys? There won't be any money left for food or anything else," Advika pointed out, glancing at the meat on the floor.
"Unless... is the cart ready?"
"Yes," Sylvia nodded.
"Good. I'll take the things to sell. Stay with Mom and Dad. I'll be back... Vicki!"
The cat walked into the kitchen, its eyes sparkling at the sight of the meat.
"Don't even think about it, Vicki! We're selling this!"
The cat looked up at her and slowly nodded.
"Come on. Sylvia, help me take them outside." Advika picked up a large piece of dried meat and placed it on her shoulder, walking out of the kitchen.
Vicki bit into a piece and dragged it, following behind her.
Sylvia looked at the meat and picked up the lightest piece, carrying it outside.
After 30 minutes, they were finally done arranging everything on the wooden cart. Advika covered it with a black plastic sheet and smiled at her sister.
"We'll go to the black market first to sell the cores, then the regular market." Her cat grew in size, standing a meter tall, and began pushing the cart from behind.
"Okay, Sister! Be careful," Sylvia waved, watching them leave.
[Valhalla Family's Villa.]
"Sob-hick-sob! Why haven't they found my son yet?!"
Amara sat on the couch, crying heavily, tears streaming down her face.
"Look what you're doing to yourself, Mum? Would Big Brother be happy if he saw you ?" Katherine, sitting beside her, said, trying to calm her down.
"No! You must find your brother!" Amara cried even louder.
"Mum, Draki is flying all over the city looking for Brother. He'll give me a signal if he sees him. There's nothing yet," Adonis, sitting on another sofa, said.
"Yes, woman! Stop crying! It's not like Christopher is a child!" Ethan said.
"That's easy for you to say, old man! Keep quiet and let me cry! (Sobs!)"
'I wonder if you're even crying,' Ethan thought.
"Good morning, Mr. Ethan. We have some news about Master Christopher," The head of the security department said, walking in with two guards behind him.
"News? Where is he?!" Amara quickly asked.
"Calm down, Mrs. Ethan. Someone said they saw Master Christopher in Exurb."
"What?! What's he doing in such a place?" Ethan asked, frowning.
"Yes, Brother doesn't like that place. He finds the people living there disgusting. So why would he be in a place he hates?" Katherine was confused.
"I don't know, Miss Katherine. But it's our only lead at the moment, so I wanted to let you know. We're about to send forces to check it out," The man said.
"Don't you all get it?! My son has been kidnapped!!!"
"What are you saying, Amara?! If he'd been kidnapped, the kidnappers would have called!" Ethan said, frowning.
"Yes, Mrs. Ethan. And our source didn't say anything about kidnapping, or Master Christopher being held captive."
"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's get out of here and look for my brother!" Adonis stood up and rubbed the ring on his finger.
'Come back home, Draki! We got some information.'
He sent a telepathic message to his beast.
"I'm coming with you!" Katherine stood up.
"Okay, let's go." The head of the security department walked out of the villa.
"Don't worry, Mum. We'll bring Elder Brother back," Katherine said to their mum and followed Adonis out of the villa.