"Y-you're the one from last time..." At the sight of the figure who had suddenly appeared at the mouth of the alley, Xio's face filled with undisguised surprise.
"Why are you here?!"
"Who knows..." Lorne shrugged. "Maybe this is what they call fate~"
"I saved you again, you know."
This time, it really had been nothing more than an accident.
Although he had previously considered taking the initiative to approach Xio, he had yet to put that plan into action.
Today, he had simply come to attend a small Beyonder gathering in the East Borough. Who could have expected that, halfway through the gathering, a group from the official Churches would appear out of nowhere and raid it!
The whole place had descended into chaos. If his premonition of calamity hadn't alerted him that something was wrong, he wouldn't have escaped so easily.
Yet he had barely gotten away before he ran into Xio, who was being driven into a corner.
So Lorne had taken the opportunity to lend her a hand.
"He won't stay like that for long."
Lorne pointed at the "Nighthawk" still standing frozen in place.
The fellow probably wasn't a very high Sequence. A single surprise Mental Storm from Lorne had done the trick.
However, Mental Storm wasn't a particularly powerful control ability, and its effects wouldn't last long.
"We should get moving. There are plenty of official Beyonders around here."
"...All right."
Xio didn't hesitate much. Under the circumstances, she could only follow Lorne and flee this troubled spot as quickly as possible.
Somewhere in the East Borough.
Klein and the other "Red Gloves" were carrying out the "official duty" of transferring-or stealing-the contents of a secret warehouse belonging to the Aurora Order.
"Are we... really going to do this?" Klein lowered his voice, his