Saiber had to take a second take as he looked at Pluto, he opened his mouth like he was ready to laugh, but the expression that Pluto gave made it quite clear that he was serious. Saiber quickly went slightly out of the tent, and looked left and right to see that there was no one else nearby before continuing. "You mean, you used your strange powers and that still happened to you?" Saiber asked. Pluto nodded. "I didn't use them to my full extent or the entire time we were fighting. I didn't want to harm the young apprentice, but at the end of the fight when blocking the attacks I did utilize it." Rather than berate Pluto for having lost the fight, instead Saiber had his hand on his chin, he was deeply concerned. "Things have always been strange surrounding Blackjack, and now this as well? An apprentice defeating a five-star hunter with a lack of equipment has never been heard of," Saiber concluded. "There are two options, either he's extremely talented, a one in a million, or there's a chance both of them could be something a bit less human." "I'll keep an eye on them," Trixie said. "As much as I can during this task. It's quite possible that they could be sent to stop us from completing this mission." The three leaders agreed, and for now they would keep an eye on the situation. As night time came, the Altered hunters were getting ready to sleep. They would then make final preparations, before going in the following night, for the big attack on the city. Tomorrow they would move closer to the edge of Ruin city during the day, once they had received what they needed. Saiber was getting ready to head back to his private tent for some sleep, but there was one person who was there waiting for him with his arms folded. "Saiber, I think it's time the two of us talk," Blackjack said. "It's clear you have some grudge against me, and I don't blame you for that. For this mission to succeed we need to air out our differences, do you mind having a private word." With everything that happened, Saiber wanted to say no, but he felt like Blackjack wasn't going to accept that for an answer. The two of them walked off until they were away from the Altered hunters. They weren't too far, they could still see it in sight. Saiber wouldn't go further just in case Blackjack did try anything. They were both five-star hunters, so he did at least respect him in that aspect and didn't believe that he could just win a fight with ease. "Look, if this is about your apprentice not being able to come you can forget it," Saiber waved his hand. "I already made the decision and have said that you could bring two of them with you. Two out of the three is more than fair. Why are you so hellbent on his coming anyway?" "Because I don't want you to reject someone just because of your disliking of me. It's not fair," Blackjack stated. "So for the last time I'm going to ask you, are you going to let him come or not." "I've made a decision, and you can't force me," Saiber answered. "Right," Blackjack answered placing both hands on Saiber's shoulders. "The thing is, I can force you." Blackjack's eyes lit up red looking directly into Saiber's. He soon felt his mind, his consciousness almost slip into the back as the color of his iris started to fade. "You will accept the apprentice known as Gary. You have decided to change your mind, after we had a heart to heart conversation and I managed to convince you, that everything was to do with our old rivalry. In the end, you bested me in a one on one fight with ease, and you let all our troubles between each other go away. Tomorrow you will make the announcement about allowing the apprentice to come with us," Blackjack said. He continued on filling in more details, because he didn't want any questions to arise, but also he didn't go into too many details. The way Blackjack's power would work at times it would also fill in the gaps. The human mind was quite good at doing that. "Now, on your way back to your tent, and go straight to sleep," Blackjack said slapping Saiber's shoulder. Listening to the command, Saiber was on his way back to his tent. "It's a good thing that his mind's not so strong, I was worried things wouldn't work so well, but it's all panned out." The next day the sun had risen, and all of the Altered hunters were getting ready, they had prepared by placing the tents and other materials away, packing them up into large crates. Before that though, Saiber had an announcement. "It seems' I have been too harsh," Saiber stated. "The apprentice yesterday had shown great skill, and I believe that all three of them would be a good addition to the assignment. I hope we can all work together to achieve this." It was the only words that Saiber spoke, as he allowed them to continue getting ready. "You really somehow managed to do it?" Austin said amazed. "What did you do, other to do his laundry and be his servant for a month or something." "No it's nothing like that, as I said I was 80 percent sure I could convince him," Blackjack answered. For Kai and Gary they were thinking of when the Vampire king had arrived. Although Kai wasn't there he had witnessed what they were able to do. To clear the streets of sludge, on a mass level. Perhaps what had happened with Saiber was just a small version of this. On this trip, it was good for them to keep note as to what the vampires could do. "It appears that the package has arrived," Blackjack said. "A large van is stationed waiting where the motorbikes from before were. It's time for us all to move and head to Ruin city." *** For updates for MWS and future works, please follow me on my social media below. 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