PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

Saved by the bell or the kettle in this case, both Desmond and Claire breathed a quiet sigh of relief when they saw Katya’s mood change faster than turning a page in a book.

Back in her calm state, Katya didn’t even make a physical gesture when one of Estela’s freshly poured cups of tea flew into her elegant hands. A refreshing citrus flavor-filled Katya’s palate followed by a hint of mint and other nuances she couldn’t identify; both the combination of flavors and sensations accompanied by the faint aura imprinted with mana by Estela made that cup of tea something worthy of being enjoyed by a Celestial.

“You Natura are certainly good at preparing all kinds of delicacies.” A rare compliment escaped Katya’s now fragrant and moist lips followed by a hint of her appreciation that Estela enjoyed very much.

With a hand covered in a layer of solar-like energy, Katya stroked Estela’s surprisingly soft and supple metallic hair as she added another compliment to the Natura race: “I have never met a Natura who was not an artist of some kind, beautiful and charming are all of you children born of the natural order; truly a blessing”

Katya’s overflowing appreciation was even disconcerting to Claire and Desmond, but the latter quickly remembered something about Katya’s title. She was called the archangel of justice and balance according to the hunter’s book, given what Desmond knew about the Natura being to some extent existences born from the natural order; it was completely normal for Katya to appreciate a race that in one way or another was also made up of agents of the law.

This was not entirely unfounded, to date Desmond had met three members of the natura race in addition to the little golem maiden Estela and they all had one thing in common and that was that as extraordinary as their gifts and chaotic that seemed their existences; this three natura brought some kind of order to the world.

Kryzsha brought order to the chaotic wild beasts in the mountain range she lived in, Sasha always lived off the forest maintaining some kind of balance to its ecosystem and though Desmond didn’t know of Kyuru’s previous way of life; the adorable little fairy had brought Desmond the peace of mind he so longed for... she brought balance to his mind.

Whatever the case, as far as Desmond is concerned it’s already a victory to have appeased the archangel, after seeing what the six-winged girl in front of him was capable of; the last thing Desmond wanted was to upset her.

.....

But the world is cruel and women have never been the kind of creature that forgets, which apparently also applied to the Celestials because after having finished caressing the adorable Estela, Katya’s gaze turned slightly contemptuous again at the same time her gaze fixed on Desmond as she commented, “An insincere but lucky man, I wonder what kind of destiny you were born under to be able to surround yourself with such beautiful creatures... Even that daughter of mana is completely obsessed with you; though fairies have never been known for their excellent decision making.”

At the end of the day, it didn’t matter how much Desmond feared Katya, the archangel had been insulting him almost from the moment they met today and she didn’t even bother to hide her contempt so Desmond ended up losing his patience: ” I don’t think you came all the way here just to show me your constant contempt, do you?”

Interestingly Katya didn’t seem to be insulted in any way and on the contrary she seemed pleased to see Desmond act honestly for the first time today: “You’re right, I didn’t come for such a trivial reason, I have too many responsibilities to have the time to worry about little things, the truth is that I came here because I have a job for you”

With an expression of knowing exactly what was going on, Desmond replied, “So you were the person who gave me a mission in the association?”

Finding no reason to deny it, Katya just nodded softly before adding, “As I said before: I don’t think a hunter would deny a debt.”

Immediately Desmond felt wary about the whole situation, there was something about all of this that was bothering him and it wasn’t just Katya’s sudden intrusion into his life, no; it was something else.

It was a small feeling that Desmond had that night when Katya showed him a premonition allowing him to save his life, everything was too fortuitous, the timing too perfect as if everything was within the archangel’s plans.

In the first place, Katya had no real reason to save Desmond’s life, and no matter how much she said it was just for him to do her a favor in the future; Desmond didn’t believe her.

The simple reality was that Katya would not need anyone’s help even to annihilate an army since that was something she could easily do on her own. It also made no sense for her to decide to save his life just to get a favor, since she is a Celestial it wouldn’t be strange at all for her to simply give the association a mission to request help.

There was also that phrase that Katya said to him the first time Desmond observed the archangel from a distance: “Now it is in your hand hunter.”1

With all of the above added to Katya’s uncanny ability to see beyond the veil of time, Desmond had reason to believe that she needed him so specifically because she was trying to orchestrate another prophecy.

And while there was nothing fundamentally wrong with it, for a little control freak like Desmond, feeling like your actions and destiny were being controlled by someone else was incredibly uncomfortable.2

“You think too much hunter, just bring the daughter of mana with you and everything will be fine; At the very least you should be sure I have no intention of doing you any harm.” With two suns glaring in Desmond’s direction, Katya pointed out the only reason Desmond should stop worrying.

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Desmond had to accept that Katya’s words were true, she was simply too powerful to resort to elaborate means of harming Desmond.

If she wanted, Katya could just show up and slaughter every living thing in Desmond’s house, bathe in their blood, and hum a song as she flies away.

That’s how powerful and tyrannical Katya really was, on the other hand, she was a Celestial, so Desmond had even less reason to distrust her; in the end, it was only his obsession with control that made him wary of her.

“Looks like you’ve got it... well you have a day to prepare” After giving a statement that didn’t give rise to discussion, Katya’s wings let out a faint golden glow with an instant flash of light; the archangel was gone.

Irritated and with no one to take it out on, Desmond dove into his cup of hot tea trying to forget the whole encounter while Claire on the other hand still seemed fascinated at the thought of meeting an angel.

Unfortunately for Desmond, the moment Claire snapped out of her daze, she immediately asked the question Desmond least wanted to hear: “Who is that girl in your shadow?”

Immediately all traces of Desmond’s newfound peace vanished from his face as he caught sight of Claire with a smile that wasn’t a smile as she pointed at his shadow.

Desmond wanted to ask the goddess of fortune what he did to deserve everything that had happened to him today, but he was afraid to hear the answer because he knew his conscience was unclear.

Only a few minutes ago Claire had entered the lab to find him and Sasha making passionate love, which was followed by a visit from another beautiful woman with six wings accompanied by the sudden appearance of another beautiful woman who stepped out of his shadow.

That’s not even mentioning how difficult it was for Desmond to explain the origin of Revna and the girls of , from the beginning Desmond always had a conscience charge for what he was doing to the girls by turning them into weapons and tools that would serve to his benefit.

If one added to the list of things Desmond didn’t want to talk about the fact that Revna was a yandere obsessed with him who would not only do anything for him but also spent most of her time following him around while watching everything that was going on in his life... well, let’s just say Desmond didn’t have any confidence to explain any of it to Claire.

But the goddess of fortune had not abandoned her spoiled child, materializing from the shadows, the extremely curvaceous figure of Revna who was wearing her usual black sportswear stepped forward causing her curly hair to sway slightly as she leaned forward before Claire.

“The master’s wife should not worry, I am just a pathetic child who was taken under the master’s care, now I serve as his shadow and make sure that the master does not have to taint his hands with dirty work”

Somehow Revna’s explanation didn’t seem to faze Claire at all, who seemed delighted to hear that someone referred to her as Desmond’s wife, lost in her fantasies Claire only half processed the information she was told and ended up taking it all as one of the many things Desmond secretly did for the good of his family.

Sure, Claire didn’t find it entirely pleasant that the shadow that followed Desmond around was a woman of exquisite nordic beauty, but she was well aware that she had little use in being jealous about it.

Feeling like he had just dodged a bullet, Desmond quickly used every last ounce of his boyfriend skills to distract Claire for the rest of the day, with Sasha basically out cold and Kyuru out of the house, Desmond shrugged off Revna as usual and spent the entire afternoon with Claire having some much-needed romantic moments.

When evening came, Sasha went straight to her room to get some more rest after putting a few things to work on their own in the lab, and both Claire and Desmond spent an incredibly hot night that ended with both of them drenched in sweat, panting from exhaustion and pleasure.

Looking at Claire’s flushed and satisfied face as she slept, Desmond wondered what kind of adventures awaited on his new mission and if he would be able to come back alive again.

“Desmond” With a smile a soft murmur came from the lips of the sleeping Claire who seemed to be having a good dream.

That angelic face, the memory of another girl with vermilion hair sleeping a couple of rooms away, a mischievous fairy always full of joy; Flashes of all the beautiful things Desmond now had in his life flashed through his mind as his gaze grew more determined with each passing moment.

“Not angels, not demons, not saints or villains; there is no forgiveness for those who block my path back to you... my love... my life.” Overflowing darkness tinged Desmond’s words, the greater it is the light in his life the deeper grows the darkness that was born from the desire to protect that light, and even the heart of Revna skipped a beat as she sensed her master’s chilling intentions.