Stepping down. Dean heard the crash as he half-turned to see the pillar they had just touched crumble to dust.
'That's no good–' he gulped as his eyes twitched.
Walking forward, every gaze was on him.
They'd seen blood knights and different beastial summons but none of them destroyed the pillar.
Dean had to admit that the different glances that followed him reminded him of a turning point in his former life.
The point that ended his career. Where he had killed a man in the ring.
The looks of horror that followed. Some were of awe but the feeling still troubled his thoughts. Even in another world.
Maybe the past didn't want to stay buried. But right now, his future was too glaring to ignore. it was a rollercoaster in the making. One that required his undivided attention.
Dean stepped off the platform and followed the path that the crowd opened up to him.
At the end of the path, there was a trio that seemed to have been waiting for him.
Dean rolled his shoulders and stepped away from their path but the blond haired boy blocked him.
Dean paused. And looked directly at the annoying kid, that came with eyes filled with opinions nobody asked for.
On either side of the boy were two others with curly brown hair. They were probably 17 or 18 and looked exactly like each other.
'Twins?' Dean raised a brow while he placed the slime on his shoulders, freeing up his hands.
His dark eyes dimmed and focused on the trio.
"What did your trash summon do?" Rogue said,leaning forward.
"... What?" Dean asked
"Yeah, what?" Rogue responded as visible lines formed above his eyes.
One of the twins held his shoulder softly causing his expression to settle.
He looked at Dean from up to down. Then to his slime and then back at Dean.
"That thing," he said. "What is it?"
Dean was now getting irritated. Who was this idiot. The summon police or what?
Deciding not to entertain this stupidity any longer. Dean moved to the left, attempting to walk away.
But once again, Rogue intercepted him.
"You think you can just walk away after messing with the dev-"
"Out of my way," Dean said coldly, interrupting the boy before he could even finish.
Rogue's eyes narrowed in shock. He was taken aback, he couldn't believe how rude Dean was.
"You prick," Rogue cursed loudly, feeling agitated almost immediately. His hands, now balled into fists.
The crowd began to murmur. Some moved closer but Dean didn't waver for a second.
His hands were still low and his eyes still carried an unsettling calm.
"Not now," one of the twin whispered in Rogue's ear.
The tension between them grew heavier, as Rogue's knuckles squeezed harder.
Their eyes remained locked before Rogue's fist finally loosened.
"Tsk…Enjoy it while it lasts, prick," Rogue said loudly, obviously infuriated by more than just Dean.
The boy bumped into Dean's shoulder in anger as he kept murmuring just loud enough, you knew he was saying something but not what he was saying.
Dean had leaned in slightly before being bumped into by Rogue and didn't move even as the boy marched away.
The twins on the other hand avoided Dean totally as if he was radioactive.
Dean sighed but he knew very well that a fight couldn't break out while they were still in the building.
It was a rule of law in this world, from what he could recall from memory.
Citizens, especially within the city, disapproved of unjustified fighting among summoners. With emphasis on unjustified.
As it was an everlasting notion, since the walls first stood, that their enemies were the monsters that plagued their lands and not each other.
Dean clenched his right hand on something as he walked to the exit quickly.
Behind him, A soft cracking sound could be heard.
A thin line appeared across the device on Cruff's hand.
The man had been speechless since the pillar turned into dust and had just being watching the exchange.
But for the first time since the ceremony began. His hand trembled...
<><><>
A minute later, Dean was outside the building and on the streets..
People filled the streets, moving to and fro on the stone sidewalks .
While horse-like summons rode carriages along the shabby cobblestone roads.
Dean walked to an alley by the side, and then he finally opened his hand to reveal a wallet.
He had slipped it off Rogue earlier when the boy had bumped into him. This was basically what was called sticky fingers in his old life, and Dean had a degree in the art.
Dean looked around to make sure he was alone. Once confirmed, he opened the wallet.
"Score.." he whispered.
Looking through the wallet, he found 100 quid, some paper cuttings and even a condom.
'They still have these even in the apocalypse,' he smiled while holding up the condom.
He looked at the 100 quid, and it meant one thing.
He definitely wasn't running back home like a mad man on the streets. And he could now pay for a ride back home.
He was about to toss the wallet aside when he noticed the slime glowing red on his shoulders.
The slime looked at him with wide, googly, and judgemental eyes.
"Don't give me those eyes," Dean clicked his tomgue.
The slime still didn't look away, almost like it was trying to reach into Dean's conscience.
"He called me a prick," Dean justified. Though it felt hollow.
"Fuck it!"
Dean concentrated by closing his eyes
and the space around the slime suddenly twisted and then it disappeared.
Dismissing the summon. He felt a little more relieved because he didn't like its judging eyes.
Not wasting another moment. He took the money and condom and tossed the rest of the wallet into a near-by dumpster.
Next, he was heading to a transit zone.
<><><>
He arrived at the transit zone, that was five blocks from where they conducted the summoning ceremony.
Immediately Dean got there, he witnessed a massive luminous manta-ray flew into the sky.
'Damn,' he thought. The sight of the ray floating through the air like it were swimming was something that fascinated him.
Without any dally, he walked straight to the ticket booth and was about paying for a ride, when a little girl suddenly ran past him.
"Mama. Mama. it's time to go," she exclaimed as she ran into her mother's arms.
Dean smiled softly at the sight, when a bolt of lightning streamed through his mind dramatically, sending a shiver down his spine.
'Holy shit, holy shit,' he nearly blurted out.
He withdrew his outstretched hand and sprinted out of the transit zone.
He ran through the streets and alleys with a familiarity that showed he had done this a hundred times before.
After ten minutes of running. He finally arrived at a small metal gate.
He looked from left to right, but only saw some kids in blue and white uniforms walking out.
Dean didn't wait, he walked past the gate with his eyes still searching when suddenly something stealthily pounced on him from behind like a tiger waiting to strike.
"You're late again Big Brother,"
Dean froze for half a second.
A/N: if you are enjoying the story, Add to Library and support with a powerstone or two. Thank You.