The morning air was frigid, piercing through his clothes as he walked in silence beside the girl he'd saved a few minutes earlier.
A frail high-school girl of barely 18, with light-brown hair and deep-green eyes. Her baggy sweater fell over her trembling hands, and though she tried to hide it, Isaac could see that her body was still shaking.
She didn't speak, but he could feel her gaze on him repeatedly.
- "Thank you..." she finally whispered.
Isaac didn't respond immediately. He wasn't used to this kind of exchange.
- "You were lucky I was there." he contented himself with saying, in a neutral voice.
A silence settled in.
Elisa lowered her head, her fingers playing nervously with the sleeve of her sweater.
- "Do you do this a lot?" she asked suddenly.
- "Rescue girls in distress in the middle of the night."
Isaac raised an eyebrow.
- "Then why did you do it?"
He paused for a moment, staring at the road ahead. Why indeed?
It wasn't out of heroism. He'd never had the soul of a vigilante. Before today, he would probably have turned his head and continued on his way.
But seeing this scene... he'd seen her.
The girl from the other world.
The only person who had treated him like a human being there. He didn't know if she was still alive, and yet her memory had spurred him to action.
He resumed his walk without answering. Elisa didn't press him.
But she continued to watch him, discreetly.
There was something in her gaze. Something... gentle. Unexpected. Almost fascinating.
Isaac had seen it before in some people. A kind of attachment born of gratitude, fear, emotional shock. It wasn't really love, or even real affection. More an idealization of the hero who had pulled them through the worst.
He preferred not to dwell on it.
- "This is it." she breathed, stopping in front of a modest little building.
She looked up at him, biting her bottom lip lightly, as if hesitating to say something.
- "You... you want to come up for a drink?"
Isaac sensed a hint of hesitation in her voice. This wasn't just an invitation for a drink.
It was a desperate attempt to prolong this moment. To keep a link, however tenuous, with the man who had just saved him from irreparable harm.
- "No. I've got things to do."
She immediately lowered her head, embarrassed.
- "Oh... yes, of course. I... I understand."
Isaac said nothing more. He turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Elisa behind.
Isaac walked briskly, staring straight ahead, lost in thought. The early afternoon was calm, barely disturbed by the distant hum of cars.
Just then, his phone vibrated in his jacket pocket.
He pulled it out with a mechanical gesture, glancing distractedly at the cracked screen. Unknown number.
His instincts were already telling him it was them.
He picked up the phone.
- "You're in luck, kid."
A hoarse, deep, drawling voice, like a guy who'd smoked too much all his life.
Isaac tensed slightly.
- "We found an E-rank dungeon. You're due outside the portal in an hour."
Then Isaac answered simply, in a steady voice:
A slight chuckle answered him, followed by the sound of a lighter being lit.
- "Waste ground behind the gas station on Westwood Avenue. Just past the old railroad depot."
Isaac frowned slightly.
He knew this place. A dilapidated industrial zone, abandoned for years, where the occasional homeless person or less-than-stellar guy hung out.
Perfect for hiding the appearance of a portal without attracting attention.
- "Oh, and kid..." added Kraig in a nonchalant tone.
- "Don't come as a tourist. If you screw up, we'll let you die in there."
Isaac slowly lowered his phone.
His heart was beating faster. A cold, almost icy excitement was rising inside him.
His fingers tightened involuntarily on the handle of his katana.
He put his phone away and quickened his pace, disappearing into the streets.
The wind whistled between the dilapidated buildings, raising wisps of dust and abandoned garbage. The smell of burnt oil and rusty metal wafted through the air. Isaac stopped a few yards from the wasteland, his gaze immediately catching the huge oval rift suspended in the void.
The portal pulsed, a blackish mist rippling across its surface like ink diluted in water. Its edges crackled slightly, emitting an eerie bluish glow. A shiver ran down his spine.
The first to notice him was a massive man, an ice-cream cabinet at least four feet tall, his arms crossed over his torso, which was covered by a battered combat jacket. His head was clean-shaven, and a scar snaked along his neck until it disappeared beneath his collar. He turned his head toward Isaac, his dark eyes detailing him with a heavy gaze.
- "You the new kid?" His voice was stony, without warmth.
Isaac held his gaze without blinking.
A light chuckle rose to his right.
- "Seriously, is that him?"
A woman, thin and nervous, leaned against an old rusty container. She wore an oversized hoodie, and beneath it, Isaac spotted the handle of a dagger protruding from her cargo pants. Her eyes shone with mocking mischief as she chewed gum with exaggeration.
- "What's your deal, kid? You got powers? Or are you just here to count corpses?"
Isaac didn't answer immediately.
He could feel the stares weighing on him. It was always the same. Higher-ranking hunters looked down on those at the bottom of the ladder. He was an F-rank. In their eyes, he was nothing.
But he hadn't come here to please them.
A chuckle behind him.
- "Oh, he's 'managing', eh?"
Isaac turned his head. A lanky guy with brown hair tied into a catogan was leaning slightly to get a better look at him. He wore a torn leather jacket and patted the handle of a revolver strapped to his thigh.
- "You could have been more specific, my man. You know, it's not like we're going to risk our asses with you, right."
An annoyed click of the tongue silenced them.
Kraig had just arrived, striding nonchalantly toward them. His worn coat fluttered slightly behind him. He stopped beside the bald giant and swept his gaze over the group.
- This is Isaac. He's here because he signed in, so shut up and deal with it."
The woman in the sweater shrugged.
- "Yeah, yeah, it's okay, no need to get excited."
Kraig pivoted toward Isaac.
Isaac nodded and tapped the handle of his katana hanging on his back with his finger.
The dark-haired man with the revolver raised an eyebrow.
- "A saber? Seriously?"
Kraig, for his part, made no comment. He merely turned his head toward the portal, whose energy was crackling ever louder.
- "We'll be entering in five minutes. Get ready."