At this point in time, Kai had already realized something important. Something that he ignored for the longest while now. Something even he himself never even thought could ever happen to him. What he felt toward Kaya and Eva… definitely wasn't simple trust anymore.
This wasn't a sudden realization and was in fact a gradual change that Kai was very much aware of. He had noticed how he went from seeing them as simple acquaintances who somehow ended up barging into his life to proactively protecting them even when his plans were under threat of being exposed.
'Do I… like them? Perhaps I do.' He thought to himself as he ran his hand through his hair.
What did it mean for Kai to like someone? At some point in time, he understood that feeling. In fact, the person who taught him about it is sitting next to him now. But, with what happened, he lost any sense of how to feel and ironically, it was the same person that he loved that made him lose that feeling.
Now, after 11 years, that feeling came back to him and it was akin to a foreign yet pleasant breeze. He didn't understand how or why it happened but he didn't care.
What surprised him, however, was how protective he felt of Kaya and Eva. He didn't simply want them to be safe, but to be next to him, and only look at him. That possessive side was certainly new.
But, Kai knew this wasn't the time to daydream, he was certainly facing a big problem that he needed to fix now.
'Eva had said that she left the city just to avoid raising suspicion around her so she's fine. Kaya is also not in the city so she's also fine. Even if I have to kill him, they won't be a part of the suspicion.' He thought to himself.
Though, the question still remains. What should Kai do? His options were few. But, they weren't completely impossible. The first one was simply killing him but it was something he would rather avoid currently. The second option was to simply stay hidden which could work temporarily but was still within the risk of being discovered.
'And then there is the third and final option.' He thought to himself as he sighed. It wasn't the best option but it was still better than the first two at least in name.
'If I'm correct then Arthur probably noticed my presence and is searching for me at the moment.' He thought to himself.
A few moments passed as Kai was trying to wrap his head around what he should do when he heard Aria clear her throat. Glancing at her, she seemed to have something to say.
"What?"
"Mmm, can I suggest something?" She asked.
"... What is it?"
"I think I know how to make him lose your track." She said.
Kai was a little surprised when he heard her words. So, he turned around and paid some attention to what she was going to say next.
As much as he hated Aria, he had to admit that she was smart… extremely so. She was in fact the smartest person he had ever met. Perhaps that was the reason he was tricked in the first place.
"Speak."
***
Meanwhile, in another part of the city, a particularly handsome young man was enjoying lunch with a relaxed smile when he felt a strong presence loom over the whole city that made his relaxed body tense for a second.
His eyes widened slightly as he instinctively looked outside.
"What the…"
This looming presence was far stronger than anything else he'd ever experienced before. It was even stronger than the one that he felt when he met the Black Phantom. Or to be more precise, it was of the same nature, albeit way more intense and suffocating.
Arthur's shocked face gradually changed to a smile of pure excitement as he stood up.
"You got to be kidding me. He covered the entire city and his aura was still strong enough to make me feel scared. Haha!"
Without hesitation, Arthur left the restaurant and headed toward the source of this aura as fast as he could. However, it wasn't that easy to find the source even though it was very strong as there were countless streets, alleyways, houses, buildings, and all kinds of people in the city.
Finding Eva was something he worked on for weeks so it didn't require him to feel her presence at all. However, this was a different matter altogether.
'I need to find him before his aura vanishes.' Thinking so, Arthur vanished from sight. Crossing tens of meters in a short period of time, he jumped from one building to another, away from the eyes of the public.
As he moved closer and closer to the aura, his excitement grew. He was now certain that he would find the Black Phantom. Perhaps even finally discover his real appearance and identity. That would be a historic moment.
'I will definitely be boosted to the skies and beyond if I'm to become the first person to reveal the Black Phantom's real identity!' The more he entertained that thought, the more Arthur felt like he was on cloud nine.
However, as he reached the suburbs of the city, he suddenly noticed something weird.
"Huh?"
Halting on top of a small building, his eyes that were looking in one single direction suddenly shifted to another completely different direction. There, he also felt another aura, very similar to that of the Black Phantom.
'What… Did he move there? But… I can still feel his presence in this direction.' Looking back at his initial direction, he was even more confused. The two auras were very similar so he had no doubt they belonged to the same person. But, how was it possible that there were two of them? Did he somehow stumble upon two Black Phantoms?
'No, that's impossible. There are no two identical auras in the world.'
An aura is an Origin User's equivalent of fingerprints. There are no two similar fingerprints in the world. So, for two to exist was impossible. In fact, according to research, the chances of two Origin Users' auras being similar was 1 in 64 trillion which was practically zero. In perspective, winning the lottery is thousands of times more likely than ever to meet two people with the same aura.
'Then, how?' Rubbing the back of his head, Arthur looked at the two directions. Then, he turned around and was about to head to the second place. However, at that moment, he felt a third aura appear in a third direction behind him.
"What the hell, now? Am I hallucinating?!"
A few moments, later, a fourth and a fifth presence appeared in two completely different places. Arthur was now surrounded by similar auras. His calm expression turned a little confused and sour. His smile also vanished.
It all was so odd and incomprehensible that the handsome Archangel found himself completely lost. And being lost was the only thing Arthur hated.
He was the one to control people, not the other way around.
"Am I being… toyed with?" Reaching that conclusion, his face frowned.
Then, he dashed in a random direction. He didn't care anymore if he found the Black Phantom or not, he simply wanted to understand how this was even possible. As he approached this aura, it suddenly started moving.
'It's running away!' Thinking so, he channeled his aura and enhanced his speed even more. Moving like a flash, he kept chasing after the aura. But, the distance between them wasn't getting closer at a fast rate. In fact, he was barely able with this aura.
'Bastard!'
But, Arthur wasn't going to just let this happen. He was an Archangel! The best in the world! A mere trick won't play him!
A few minutes later, Arthur found himself on the other side of the city as he continued this chase. They were now close to the borders of the city. Beyond that were vast plains and highways that led to other cities. In other words, this mysterious aura had no way of hiding anymore.
Arthur will be able to find it. The game was over!
But, as they were about to leave the city, the aura suddenly vanished out of sight as if it was never there in the first place.
"What?!" Arthur halted again as he looked around trying to pinpoint where it was. "Come on! Seriously? Is this some kind of joke now?" He laughed angrily. The Black Phantom was clearly toying with him out of fun.
That alone made Arthur even more annoyed. But, he knew he couldn't lose his calm now. That would basically be akin to announcing his defeat. He was getting tricked, that was for certain. So, he needed to know how. If he knew how, he could counter that trick properly.
'Where are you, Black Phantom? What tricks are you throwing at me?'