Birth Of The Crafts-God

Before the evening of the same day, the commissioner of police —Munroe Bergs of the Bergs family— had already drafted a statement for the press conference in accordance with the city lord, Noah Bergs' wish.

Once it was evening, Baylands City Patrol Corps (BCPC) public relations department, held a press conference where they finally released an official statement. The speaker in the conference, who just happened to be the director of the BCPC for the Central Prefecture district, explained the situation just as it had happened. He only omitted the fact that the terrorist organisation behind the attack was the Stygian Abyss, as this was the order of the city lord.

Naturally, once this conference was over, the public was stunned. Many media channels had already been reporting about the incident ever since it was over. So, when the press conference was announced, they chose to broadcast it live.

The viewer ratings were sky-high for every media channel, with the most popular ones like the Baylands City News Network (BCNN), having the highest viewer ratings. The evening programme, Evening News Updates, broke previous records for the most viewed programme on the channel.

Compared to the report after the Alleva district desolate beast tide was taken care of, the programme of the day had even more viewers. This was because the incident today occurred, not in any of the fifteen districts, but Baylands City which was the capital of the city-state. Furthermore, it took place at the centre of the city; the centre of wealth, power, and authority. As such, it was bound to happen that the incident would attract more attention than past events.

"The death count currently stands at, at least, three hundred and seventy-two hyumans. The number of heavy injuries is at least five hundred and thirty-six, while light injuries come close to one thousand. All emergency networks, hospitals, and agencies have been working for over seven hours already. Search and rescue efforts have been ongoing for the past couple of hours, and it is possible for changes to be made to these numbers. Fiona Von Aurst, the famed presenter on the BCNN, spoke.

The news was like a prelude to chaos and confusion, but the only good thing was that it was currently dark. The Patrol Corps had also been dispatched to ensure that no riots sparked. However, to many, this simply felt like the calm before the storm.

"This is terrible." Kelvin frowned as he watched the news broadcast.

Even Melissa, who happened to be downstairs at the moment since the store was now closed, shivered a bit. There was fear in her eyes as she watched the scenes of destruction and terror.

Lucas didn't say anything, but the look on his face wasn't a pleasant one. For some reason, Lucas could feel a sense of foreboding as he watched the broadcast.

'Is this what he meant?'

Lucas recalled the visit four days ago by the man from Digress city-state.

The visitor had hinted to him that drastic changes would soon take place in the city following a monumental event that would occur. According to the man, Lucas would get caught up in the event and would be a victim of it, even if he did nothing but sit back.

The man had even suggested that Lucas leave Baylands city-state for his own safety, but he had refused. It wasn't such an easy thing to just pack and go, and since he knew nothing about the man, Lucas couldn't simply trust him because of some scary words.

'But, how does this affect?' Lucas frowned as his brain whirred into action.

He began thinking of various possibilities that would have him involved, but nothing solid came to mind. The best Lucas could think of was that the event would cause a massive shift in perspective for the hyumans in the city. They would begin to treat humans and hybrids more terribly than they had ever done before. However, that wasn't enough to be called a threat worth relocating.

'Then what? The best I could think of is linking me with the terrorists, but how is that possible? Everyone has seen me present in the store for the majority of the time I've been here. Even the major companies have sent their spies to monitor me, so they can also serve as my alibi. There's no solid evidence to hold me responsible for anything.' Lucas thought.

Despite that, the feeling of apprehension was still on the rise.

Lucas sighed and prepared to walk into the work-station. In times like this where he was filled with worry, Lucas would retreat to his safe zone which was the work-station. There, he would carry out his therapy session to calm his mind. Naturally, this therapy session was simply Lucas creating a vestige.

It was then that he noticed Melissa who was slowly beginning to spasm. Worry immediately flashed through his eyes as Lucas yelled at Kelvin.

"Turn it off."

He threw away his stress and anxiety, rushing forward to hold the little girl in his arms.

"It's alright. It's alright. You're safe." Lucas whispered in her eyes and he hugged her tightly.

Lucas guessed that she was reacting like this due to the trauma she had experienced in Alleva district. Melissa might have lost her memory, but she occasionally had nightmares about the destruction of her village. The event had left a scar in her memory and heart, but it had only shown itself through nightmares. Today was the first time that Melissa had reacted so violently.

After a few minutes of comforting her, Lucas realised that Melissa was now better. He then gave up his plan of visiting his safe zone and decided to stay with her through the night.

"You can leave early today." Lucas said as he carried Melissa upstairs.

. . .

The next day came about soon. The sun rose in the air, brightening the city with the scent of the morning dew faintly noticeable. It seemed like just another busy day, but the air in the famous Baylands City was different from the usual energetic feeling it always had. There was a feeling of apprehension, worry, and anxiety even as people went about their daily lives. It was clear that the event of yesterday was still fresh in their minds, and it was beginning to have an effect on the citizens.

Meanwhile, Lucas woke up early and came downstairs to prepare for the new day. The work-station doubled as his kitchen, so Lucas usually made his way there early in the morning to make breakfast. But before he could open the door to the workshop, Lucas' actions were interrupted with a loud bang on the door.

*Bam* *Bam* *Bam*

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