[Nightmare]

—Three weeks after Tyrene's funeral pyre—

"Wait… is that—" Helix asked with narrowed eyes.

"Whatcha looking at, Hellie?" Charlotte asked with excitement.

She was particularly fascinated whenever Helix pointed out a landmark, plant, or creature they passed.

"Hmmm? Is it something important?" Marie asked while stretching her arms.

Everyone was lounging around.

The group was traveling by wagon to Alzeria.

It was a boring trip along a trade route, so most of the time was spent lying around and playing games Tilo had in his item storage.

They had been on the road for three weeks, so their desire to play games was long gone.

Helix spent a lot of time reading to himself or the group.

"No way…." Helix gasped while pointing in the distance.

"The wagon around the bend?" Riley asked after a cute yawn.

Helix gave everyone an evil grin.

"That's right." He chuckled.

"What's so special about it? Wait…." Charlotte commented with narrowed eyes.

"That's the Alzerian Royal Seal, right?" Marie asked.

"That's right." Helix replied with a slight smile.

"I get the connection, but why are you so—" Charlotte began asking.

"Is… that a cat? Wait…."

Her voice was shocked.

Riley and Marie climbed closer to the driver to get a better look.

"That is a cat… and he has…."

"A suit on! There's an animation I've watched with a suited cat, but this is so much better!" Charlotte cried.

"This cat is in black! He kinda looks like—"

"Yooooooooo! Yakuza Cat!" Helix yelled with his hands cupped over his mouth.

His partners looked at Helix in bewilderment.

He rarely got animated unless he was riling up troops.

"Do… you know this… cat?" Marie asked in bewilderment.

"Yeah… you seem so…. How would I put this?" Charlotte mused while putting a finger to her lips.

"Smiley." She commented.

The group burst into laughter, but Helix wouldn't stop waving.

Kylon caught sight of Helix, and he was already gnashing his fangs.

His anger turned to nervousness every few seconds.

However, whenever he saw Helix's mocking grin, he got angry again.

"It's so cute…." Riley commented with a bright smile.

"Yeah! I want to hold it!" Marie followed with sparkling eyes.

"Hah… he'll probably like that because you're cute…." Helix replied with a wicked grin.

"But Yakuza Cat's Nightmare will turn him into [Grizzly Cat] if it feels threatened, and his Yakuza suit will get ruined."

The women looked at him with bewildered expressions.

"Wait, he can speak!?" Marie exclaimed.

"He's a Knight!?" Charlotte cried.

The two were practically yelling, but one expressed confusion and the other excitement.

Helix chuckled at the contrast.

"Yes, Yakuza cat is a Royal Army Knight, and he can speak." Helix chuckled.

"I wanna fight him!" Charlotte proclaimed.

Helix gave her a wry smile.

"You shouldn't… on second thought, that bastard abducted me—"

"Wait!?" Marie cried.

Charlotte and Riley started smothering him with requests for answers.

"This is the guy, Hellie? I'm going to fight him!

I'm going to bring that kitty down!" Charlotte declared.

Helix's eyes widened.

"Keep it down, he's almost here…."

The three were clobbering him, so they didn't notice that the wagon slowed down.

Helix chuckled nervously and looked out the wagon.

Kylon was sitting next to the driver with a nervous expression.

While he wasn't pleased by Helix's attitude or conversation, he knew how powerful the women were.

Helix gave him a slight wave before jumping out of the wagon.

"Yo. How's it goin', Yakuza?" He called out with a smug expression.

Kylon and his memory turned Helix into a monster subconsciously.

"I… uh…. Good day, Sir Helix." Kylon replied nervously.

He was trying to restrain his conflicting emotions.

Kylon's relationship with nervousness was akin to Helix's relationship with melancholy.

However, he was extra nervous at the moment and slightly thankful that Helix was annoying him.

"You're wearing your suit today." Helix commented while stroking his chin.

"Are you… perhaps on your way to kidnap some children?"

Kylon's eyes narrowed, and his whiskers started twitching.

The women looked at each other with bewilderment in their eyes.

They had never seen Helix be so forward or malicious to anyone but the Stalkwalker.

However, Helix had just explained [how] he met the talking cat.

"No…." Kylon growled.

"I'm here for…."

The talking cat stopped and looked at his suit with a humiliated expression.

"Ahhhhhhh. I see. You're here to make contact with me." Helix commented with a grin.

"I thought it was weird to see an Earthian suit in these parts."

"Look who's talking." Kylon replied with a twitching eyebrow.

"Hmmm?" Helix asked while looking down with a playful expression.

"This is a peacoat. However, it's not strange for an Earthian to wear something like this."

Kylon gave him a mocking grin.

"Hoh? Then why did none of the other heroes wear something similar?" He asked sarcastically.

Helix narrowed his eyes and turned around.

"Hey, Ladies! Did your emissaries wear a suit?"

The three looked at one another to confirm.

"Nooooooooope." Charlotte replied.

Helix's eyes gilded to the left in thought.

However, he turned back around and put his mocking expression back on.

"I see. Well, it's not a common fashion trend for my people." He chuckled.

"Anyway, why are you looking for me?"

Helix's slight smile irked the cat beyond words.

"What do you mean, [why]?" Kylon asked in bewilderment.

Helix scoffed lightly and turned his head in annoyance.

He matched gazes with Kylon again.

"You're here with a message, and I have no idea what that is." Helix pointed out.

"Are you here to arrest me, drag me back for questioning, or request help?

Do you want to know about Kozen? The Stalkwalker?"

Kylon's face paled when he understood Helix wasn't being frivolous.

"We…." Kylon began while fidgeting with its claws.

"Want your help. It's… sensitive for you to show up, so I was sent as an emissary…."

Helix's eyes glided to the left in thought.

He could tell by Kylon's suit that they were sending a buttering-up message.

"Sensitive for [my] sake, or Alzeria's stake?" He asked after a moment.

Kylon's eyes widened.

"Y-Yours, [obviously]." He replied.

Helix's mouth opened slightly, realizing something important—he was strong now.

In the past, he was weak and defenseless.

If he were returning temporarily with Alzeria's strongest fighters, he was doing them a favor while risking his life.

Now he didn't feel stressed by his journey.

Helix resolved to show up without a mask.

He did have one specialty made if he had to use his Nightmare openly.

However, he wasn't going to engage in that impractical cliche for other people's egos.

The question was—which cliche would he present himself as?

[Weak to Strong] vs. [Strong Acting Weak]

Not permanently.

Just to siphon information and get a better deal.

"I see…. Don't worry too much about that…." Helix sighed.

He gave up trying to push for a better deal.

He just didn't care.

Kylon gave him a quizzical expression.

"As you know, some teachers journeyed with me to Kozen.

So while my stats aren't anything like my partners' stats, I'm not weak, either."

Marie and Riley blushed, and Charlotte's face dropped.

"Hellie just boldly declared our relationship!" She cried under her breath.

The other two nodded in restrained excitement.

Kylon watched the young women's excited expressions with bewilderment.

"I see…." Kylon replied nervously.

He fidgeted some more.

"It's just…. Those three have been traveling for almost half of your time in Myriad." He reasoned.

"Now… that the Knights have been going on monster hunts, they're… strong…."

The cat's facial expressions showed how agonized he was about the ordeal.

Almost every Earthian had the potential to grow far stronger than he was. Eventually, their cheat strength would make winning fights boring.

No matter how skilled he was, he couldn't handle an earthquake! Or a volcano!

That reality, coupled with the travel logic, made Kylon believe there was no way that Helix stood a chance.

Helix turned to his partners with a devious grin. However, his eyes gilded to the left, and he turned back with a serious expression.

He considered pulling out a Stalkwalker finger but stopped himself.

If Kylon didn't know they fought the Colossus, the information had an intel classification.

"Kylon, please have your wagon lead the way and join us." Helix replied.

He motioned to the wagon with his hand.

Kylon's eyes widened when he heard Helix address him by his name.

He quickly nodded to his driver and entered the cart with Helix.