The Innkeeper

Lex was not expecting such a response, especially in the midst of such a large crowd of monstrous insects. It was one thing for him to remain nonchalant surrounded by a few thousand blood hungry vermin, but it was quite another case for other people.

Even if he were not wearing his defensive suit, his body in itself was nothing shy of a tank, yet the ballerina before him, despite being well equipped, was not nearly in the same league. Though admittedly, her movements were phenomenal, and she had yet to suffer a single injury, it was not really enough of an excuse to ignore a safe retreat.

In the midst of battle was not really an ideal time to converse, so Lex moved closer so that he could envelope both in his shields. Under normal circumstances, relocating when being assaulted from every angle was not an easy feat that one could just accomplish because he wanted to. Lex was effectively fighting against the force of a stampede when he moved through his foes, but he had enough physical strength to back him up, not to mention his ever increasing deftness in battle.

Although the situation did not really call for it, he could not help but enjoy the new sensation that he was feeling during combat. But at the same time, he could feel his improvements slowing down. There was only so much pressure this particular horde could give him, and if he wanted to continue to improve he would need to find a bigger or stronger horde.

But unlike Lex, who had all these advantages stacked up for him, the ballerina seemed to use nothing but absolute skill to allow her movement through the insect army. The flow of her movements never stopped, and each lift of the leg or wave of the hand hid a lethal intention behind it. With efficiency far greater than Lex himself, she was leaving behind insect corpses, though admittedly Lex was not really trying.

Lex could not help but compare her current appearance to the one he had seen at the Inn. The hair was the most prominent. Back then, it had been a deep brown, evoking nostalgic feelings such as hot chocolate during winter, the smell of pine wood, a warm crackling fire over freshly chopped logs and more. 

Yet now, in comparison, her fiery red hair lit his mind ablaze as if it was tinder, awaiting a lit match. The way it flowed in the air, free and wild, filled him with a feeling of excitement and energy, like he had adrenaline coursing through his veins and he needed to seize the day.

Her skin had been flawless and fair, like a marble statue of a goddess. Now, however, she had freckles on her cheekbones, though admittedly they had a charm of their own, albeit quite different from the regal and distant impression she had given previously.

Her phoenix eyes had been tiny and cute, yet filled with boundless excitement. Now, she had lost that feature, and had large green eyes, though somehow larger eyes suited the boundless emotions they stored.

Her lips…

Lex snapped himself awake from his random thoughts. Was this really the time and place to be ogling a random woman? He felt slightly embarrassed. It was not as if he had never seen a beautiful woman before.

Anita, the lich that worked for him at the Inn, was nothing short of breathtaking herself, breaking all stereotypes for the undead. Moreover, Zuri Adisa, the four leaf clover that had ultimately become a big shot in the Origin realm, also had a humanoid appearance that was nothing short of absolutely legendary.

With a clear mind, he finally reached her and immediately put up several Imperial Shields around the two of them so that they could talk without interference.

The abrupt emergence of a barrier disrupted the ballerina's flow for just a moment, but she recovered instantly and took a step back to analyze the situation. Upon realizing that the insects could not break the shields, she finally turned towards Lex.

"Is there something else you need to do?" Lex asked, guessing the only possible reason he could think of for why someone would reject safety.

"There are a couple of kids I was taking care of. I left them in the Jotun stronghold. I cannot leave without them, and if there's anywhere on this planet that's safe, it's there. Once I regroup with them, if the situation looks bad, I will consider retreating to the Midnight Inn."

Although Lex did not mention the Inn, upon looking at the key Lex gave her, she knew exactly where he had meant to send her.

"Do you know what's happening? These insects don't look native to this planet. Don't tell me that they were unleashed to attack the rebels?"

Although Lex did not want to believe that any government would use such a genocidal tactic to eliminate resistance, he knew full well the lengths that people would go to, to get what they wanted.

"What happened… we can probably only discover at the stronghold. All communication lines are down, even the emergency broadcast networks, so something pretty major happened. I don't see how the rebel or official forces could build up the courage to affect official Jotun networks,something else must be happening."

The woman paused her answer, and took a look at Lex top to bottom. A man fully suited looked incredibly out of place on the battlefield, especially when the suit remained creaseless even after a fight. He seemed strong, and though she had not paid attention to him too much, the barriers he put up were at least useful.

"What about you? Are you on a rescue mission, or was this something you just encountered as you passed by?"

"There was an attack of some kind on the nearby rebel fort, and it was not something I would expect in a conflict of this scale. Something, or someone, has definitely interfered. I was also heading towards the Jotun stronghold to find out what was happening."

The two did not explicitly state it, but seeing as how their objectives aligned, they seemed to reach an agreement to work together.