Me And My Pet Mico

"You motherfucker!!!" Kendrick's voice resounded through the entire warehouse.

"Language, bro. There are kids around." Nathaniel's voice shifted, his tone too casual, his entire aura shifting along with it. The mask he had worn for so long was gone. It was obvious now—everything Kendrick had known about him until this moment had been a lie.

Kendrick gritted his teeth. "Since when?"

"When I infiltrated, or when this was planned out?" Nathaniel asked with a smirk.

"When this was planned. I know for sure that Zarn wasn't part of your plan, so how?" Kendrick demanded.

"Yeah, he was never part of the plan, but you see, what just happened is eerily similar to what we had intended all along," Nathaniel explained casually.

"Mr. Isaac leaving us?" Kendrick was fuming. Mr. Isaac had been Arth's uncle, a true powerhouse, and the only reason Arth's parents had allowed him to come to such a small city. But an emergency in a nearby city had suddenly forced him to leave in a hurry, promising to return in a few hours.

Kendrick clenched his fist. He hadn't thought about it earlier, but when Isaac had been about to leave, he had paused. Just for a second. His gaze had landed on Nathaniel—not in suspicion, not in hesitation, but in silent warning. It had been subtle, almost imperceptible, but Kendrick had caught it. It was as if he had been telling him: Be careful.

"Yep, my boss was the one who lured him away," Nathaniel said with a satisfied smile.

At the mention of his uncle, Arth stirred, his expression darkening.

Nathaniel noticed, his grip tightening on Arth's shoulder. "Don't try anything stupid," he advised coolly, his gaze sharp as steel. "You know I'm stronger than you. It'd be a shame if this turned ugly."

Arth clenched his fists, his entire body tense. His instincts screamed at him to act, but Nathaniel's confidence wasn't unwarranted. He was stronger, and Arth knew it.

Zarn watched on with a deadpan expression, making no move to intervene. Mico stood by his side, watching as well, but there was a subtle restlessness in the way his tail flicked, his claws slightly unsheathing and retracting.

Meanwhile, the cloaked man took a step forward, his voice calm but laced with intent. "We calculated that my beast would be used to stop Mrath, but that seems unnecessary now that Mico took care of it. It changes little."

Kendrick's mind worked through the pieces, and then it clicked. "I see. You planned to use that beast as bait—to tempt the young master into a duel, which would inevitably lead us to a situation like this. Far deep in the slums, far away from any authorities."

The cloaked man gave a tired sigh in his mind. Such a hassle for such little pay. The top families are always up to something. If it weren't for the fact that our boss needs this done, I wouldn't even be here.

"You bastards," Kendrick cursed, his grip on his sword tightening, his aura surging.

The six men behind the cloaked figure shifted, their hands resting on their weapons, tension thick in the air. Kendrick, already drawing his blade, positioned himself defensively as they closed in. His beast growled, sensing the impending fight. This is a hopeless fight. Should I sacrifice Zora to escape with Arth? If only I could get the help of that beast, Mico… but who am I kidding? Who would put themselves in unnecessary danger for someone else's safety?

Then, before anyone could react, the air split with a sharp movement.

A deafening boom echoed as Mico lunged, moving of his own accord. His powerful form crashed into Nathaniel, a fiery claw swipe sending him sprawling backward. The force of the impact cracked the warehouse floor beneath them. A lemon-hued energy shield had taken the brunt of the attack, but the sheer force was too much to completely negate it.

Nathaniel gritted his teeth as he pushed himself up, shaking off the impact. His arms had absorbed most of the damage, but his gaze locked onto Mico, something unreadable flickering in his expression.

And then, everything fell apart.

Kendrick found himself instantly surrounded, the cloaked man and his six subordinates moving in unison. His beast reacted instinctively, positioning itself defensively. The numbers were not in his favor, but that wouldn't stop him. He pushed his body to its physical limit, flooding it with the maximum amount of Senar he could use at once.

Swoosh!

Kendrick turned into a storm of blades and destruction. His opponents, who had not come with the intention of killing him, were forced to match his rhythm or be cut down. Sparks flew as steel clashed against steel. Kendrick weaved between attacks, every movement sharp, precise, and lethal. He danced with death, a relentless force cutting through hesitation.

Nathaniel, still recovering from Mico's attack, barely had time to react before another strike came his way. Kendrick's beast vanished in a blur, switching places with Mico to take on Nathaniel. The battle splintered into chaos.

Arth, freed from Nathaniel's grip, wasted no time. A blade-like rope manifested in his hands as he charged at Nathaniel's beast—a Dark-Edge Sparrow. The bird may have been small, but it was terrifying. Each tiny sparkling mote radiating from its feathers detonated in small but concentrated explosions. Its speed was overwhelming, forcing Arth onto the defensive despite his status as a world-level young prodigy.

On the other side, Mico engaged the cloaked man's gorilla-type beast. The creature was massive, muscles rippling with raw power. Each strike sent tremors through the ground, unleashing shockwaves and earth spikes with every movement. Mico, nimble and fast, danced around the attacks, avoiding devastating blows with split-second precision. His claws lashed out, each swipe a blur, leaving deep gashes in the gorilla's thick hide.

The battlefield shifted rapidly. Each combatant instinctively moved away from the others, the sheer scale of their attacks making the enclosed warehouse unfit for prolonged battle. They pushed further out, the ground cracking beneath them as the power of their struggle intensified.

High above the chaos, Zarn sat on the half-broken roof of the warehouse, his gaze calm as he observed the unfolding carnage. He had no immediate intention to intervene—this was not his battle, and in his present state, he shouldn't fight. His main focus was on Mico.

He really was cooped up. I can tell he didn't attack Nathaniel to save Arth; he did it just to get in a fight.

To be fair, having this much power and not using it must have been suffocating. I just didn't know his true capabilities. I would have tested them—if he hadn't told me he was a lion and would rather sleep than do anything in the world.

As Zarn mused over the situation, a huge bird dived down from the sky, a beautiful girl perched on its back.

Elizabeth.

Her beast, the Skytreader Golden Eagle, let out a piercing cry as it neared the battlefield. Elizabeth leapt off mid-air, two daggers appearing in her hands as she joined Arth's fight against the Dark-Edge Sparrow. Her eagle soared higher, its sharp talons glinting before it dived toward Kendrick's opponents, alleviating some of his pressure.

The battlefield shifted once more. With Elizabeth and her beast's arrival, the fight was no longer one-sided.

Zarn watched the change with intrigue.

Politics and power… this was a game. A stupid game.