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Chapter 69: Phantom Seekers\' First Stream

"Are you okay, miss?" Troy said, holding her by the shoulders.

"What\'s wrong with you?" Kathleen whispered. "Don\'t embarrass me, you heard?"

"I-I\'m o-okay. Thanks, Sir." Joana gulped her drink and stared in shock at the phoenix in the room\'s corner. "Excuse me, Sir. Can I ask you a question?"

"Anything, miss Joana."

"Where did you get that mount?"

"Do you fancy it? It\'s unique, isn\'t it? Astrid Bradford sold it to me," he said, rubbing his chin. "It\'s the least I could do after cutting ties with her guild. That gold won\'t solve all of her problems, but at least she promised not to hold a grudge against me. Since I needed something for the raffle anyway, I said, why not? Business is business."

"I see..." Joana muttered, glancing at her boss, who was unaware of the mount\'s history.

***

**

*

"I said that I can\'t hear you!" Emily was saying aloud to her sister through video chat.

++"I said, they\'re destroying my town!!"++ Clara cried while pointing her drone camera at what happened around her.

Emily snickered. "What town? The one you are an auto-proclaimed mayor?"

++"I am the mayor!"++

"And the winner is... Crusaders United!" Miss Cosmica\'s voice was heard through the speakers.

Calvin rose and adjusted his suit before taking a step. "See? I still got it." He snickered.

"N-NO! None of that!" Emily jumped out her seat and tackled him, tossing him into the ground. "You\'re not even a fan of her, jackass!"

"What lovely camaraderie," Miss Cosmica commented while Emily ran to the podium, getting a chuckle out of everyone. "What\'s your name, sweetheart?"

"I\'m Emily Dominguez! Crusaders United\'s Guild Master!"

"Co-leader!" Calvin could be heard shouting from his place. "We\'re both the leaders!"

"Well, Emily," Miss Cosmica continued, instructing an NPC to get close. "Your guild is now the owner of \'The Emperor\'s Messenger\', a legendary grade Flying Mount!"

"And the first step to conquer this world," Emily murmured, receiving the Summoning Gem from the NPC. "Oh, Miss Cosmica, I could kiss you right now..."

"Okay," the idol shrugged, and gave her a quick smooch in the lips, leaving Emily and the crowd speechless.

"You got it, Emily!" Carol cried, and the rest clapped and cheered for her.

++"Did you kiss Miss Cosmica!"++ Clara cried from her video chat, still active. ++"I hope someone took a photo, so I can pretend it\'s me!"++

"Who\'s that?" Miss Cosmica asked, leaning to Emily.

"Oh, this is just my annoying twin sister, alleging someone is destroying her town. It\'s the Beginner\'s Town, so who cares?"

"I care," Miss Cosmica said, frowning. "Everyone in the Eurola region started there. It\'s a place full of positive memories."

++"Well said, queen!"++ Clara cried from the video chat.

"B-But of course!" Emily corrected her posture. "Who could target such an innocent town, right? I\'ll enlarge the video, so we can--If I can manage to..."

"Do you need assistance?" the nearby NPC asked.

As everyone shared whispers, Miss Cosmica stepped aside and turned off the microphone to exhale.

"The way you treat your fans is so endearing," Kathleen said to her, handing her a cup.

"You think so?" the idol asked, staring at the drink.

"But of course," Kathleen continued, blushing. "I wish I could also..."

"Come on, Sis," Emily said to Clara. "I got you an audience, so don\'t mess it up."

The NPC projected a double-faced video in front of the podium, and Clara\'s voice could be heard through the place\'s speakers. ++"You did? Thanks, sis, I love you!"++ Clara cleared her throat before staring at the camera. ++"Viewer discretion is advised,"++ she said in a deep tone of voice, grabbed the camera, and captured the dozens of buildings buried in the ground. ++"This is what happens when High-Levelers think they can do whatever the hell they want. And this is only half of the story. Remember the Renovatio Caves? From where everyone started from?"++ Clara focused in the distance and zoomed the camera to show Caeruleum Mountain and the woods surrounding it, from where a violent fire could be seen.

"This is horrible," Miss Cosmica said through the microphone before Emily snatched it from her hands.

"Oh, what a tragedy! If there could only be a valiant guild that could beat those bad guys! Unus Mayor, Do you need the assistance from the Crusaders United?!"

Clara stared into the camera, a concerned expression on her face, before grinning ear to ear. ++"There\'s no need for that, for Unus Town has its own local heroes. The Phantom Seekers!"++ The camera focused on a young man\'s back, sitting on the ground, while a girl with platinum hair crouched in front of him. ++"See?! Their valorous Guild Master is currently accepting the enemy\'s surrender terms! Oh, what\'s this?!"++ A second later, the ghost-looking girl rose, as the aforementioned leader seemed to sink into the ground. ++"Oh, no! Could this be the end of Alan Warden?!"++

While watching the video feed, Miss Cosmica gulped her drink in one go. "Another," she ordered to an NPC, who swiftly brought her another cup.

"Someone\'s thirsty," Kathleen whispered to her, half-smiling.

The scene was followed by a burst of blue fire impacting the enemy, helping the young man escape. ++"Reinforcements have arrived, everyone! The gorgeous, the fearless, Amelia Laflamme!"++

"Look who it is... Yep, that town is totally fucked," Kathleen sneered, before whispering to the idol. "If those poor souls in Unus Town need help, I could send my men right away and get rid of the issue in a heartbeat. What do you say?"

"Yes," Miss Cosmica said absently, not taking her eyes off the transmission. "It\'s clear that the Administrator of Conduct won\'t interfere again, just like what happened in Londorus. But that\'s totally fine, for it\'s wrong to depend on her to solve every Novus\' issue. If we are in the presence of injustice or abuse of power and do nothing, then we\'re no different from the offenders."

Kathleen stared at her, captivated. "Such wise words, friend."

"Y-yeah..." the idol said, taking a sip.

++"My \'Spectacle Senses\' are tingling!"++ Clara cried from the streaming and ordered her drone camera to get closer, at the exact moment Amelia approached her Guild Master to kiss him on the lips.

A synchronized sound was heard from two different places in the ballroom. Miss Cosmica had spat out her drink all over Kathleen\'s face, as her purple-haired bodyguards had done too, all over Sir Troy\'s suit.

Joana jumped out of her seat immediately to aid her. "L-Let\'s go to clean you up, Guild Master."

"O-okay..." Kathleen muttered, in a state of shock, letting her protegé lead the way.

Meanwhile, the ten guilds reunited there chuckled, watching Alan\'s reaction: ++"Y-You stole my first kiss!"++

"End the stream," Miss Cosmica ordered to Emily, who frowned.

"S-sure."

The idol exhaled, snatched the microphone out of Emily\'s hands, and stepped forward. "Guys?" she began in a soft voice. "What are we doing here, mesmerized by such a show?! We should go help them!"

But her words did not resonate with the guild leaders reunited there, who whispered between each other.

+"Is she being serious?"+

+"How far is Unus, anyway? Like a 2-hour flight at full speed?"+

Miss Cosmica bit her lower lip and stomped her right feet, causing a strenuous echo that startled them. "An entire town is being destroyed and you don\'t even bat an eye?! Have you forgotten what you\'ve promised to me?! The citizens of Unus aren\'t in mortal danger, yes, but we shouldn\'t be minimizing their problems in the first place! We all formed guilds because we have something to protect, don\'t we?! So if that Alan fella is doing his best to protect his town despite his low level, does that mean he\'s braver than us?"

"Say no more, Commander," a buffed, long-haired man said, tapping the floor with his sword\'s hilt. "The Eternal Cavalry will provide any help necessary."

"The Plasma Knights at your command, Miss Cosmica!"

When more guilds answered her call, Miss Cosmica turned to Emily, who maintained a dumbfounded expression. "Miss Emily, share your sister\'s streaming link so we can follow the battle while we get there."

"R-right away, Commander!"

"If you don\'t hurry up, I\'ll leave you behind, turtles!" the idol said joyfully before dropping the mic, causing a strenuous sound.

The majority of the guilds stormed to the exit, as the rest remained in their seats. "The ceremony is over, right?" a bulky man said to his guild, folding his arms. "We don\'t have to go."

"Pussy!" Emily Dominguez cried to him, passing him by.

"What did you say, \'Last Place\'?"

"Let\'s go, guys!" Emily said to her guild, quickly devouring the rest of her dinner. "It\'s a personal request by Miss Cosmica, we have to go!"

"Not so fast, Emily," Calvin said, raising his chin. "Give me the mount."

"No way! It\'s the perfect opportunity to use it!"

"After the humiliation you made me go through, considering we\'re going to help your annoying sister, and accounting for the little extra gift you received from the pop star, the least you can do is give me that mount."

"Give it to him, Em," Carol agreed, making Emily bite her lower lip.

"Fine, I don\'t like it anyway, jackass!"

***

**

*

Miss Cosmica stomped out of the ballroom, making her high heels echo strenuously on the hallway. Her two companions rushed to her side.

"Are you okay, boss?" the gal with lavender hair said, giggling. "You look concerned."

"I\'m fine," the pop star replied, forming fists. "Nebuline?"

The purple-haired companion nodded. "Yes, boss?"

Miss Cosmica turned to her, showing a glare in her lit eyes. "Investigate what\'s happening. Now."

***

**

"That fucking bitch," Kathleen muttered from outside the restroom, watching the celebrity take off. "I bet she did it on purpose."

"I-I don\'t think that\'s the case, Guild Master." Joana tried to calm her by holding her by the shoulders, but Kathleen was already channeling something. Snowflakes could be seen hovering around them. "Don\'t do it, Kat."

"I wonder how much gold she\'s holding right now. It\'d be a waste if she suddenly loses a fortune! Major Ice Crafting!" Kathleen stomped, sending forward dozens of spikes in a straight trajectory.

"Celestine?" Miss Cosmica called, and her lavender-haired companion stood in the way.

When the ice stalagmites finally reached their destination, Kathleen grinned wickedly, imagining their bodies impaled. But the ice melted at a rapid speed in front of Celestine, as if she had absorbed the spell with her bare hands.

**I knew it,** Joana thought, exhaling. **Those are not regular dancers. They\'re her bodyguards.**

When the last remaining snowflake melted away, Celestine chuckled childishly, waving at Kathleen. "That spell of yours is quite dangerous. But it was just a prank, right? You should be careful next time. You would have gotten in trouble if you hurt Novus\' brightest star."

"What did you say?! Do you think I\'m afraid of some--!" Kathleen did not finish her sentence, after meeting Miss Cosmica\'s gaze in the distance. Those eyes were of someone who was not afraid of getting their hands dirty. Kathleen pursed her lips before falling on her knees, frustrated. "I\'ll never buy something with your face on it ever again, did you hear me?! I\'ll follow Lady Unicorn from now on, you bitch!"

"But Kathleen..." Joana muttered. "Lady Unicorn is not as good."

"S-SHUT UP!"