Chapter 389: _There You Are...

Somewhere In The Streets Of Los Angeles

The woman who’d miraculously ’come back to life’ a couple of days back walked calmly, every sense scouring her surroundings.

It’s been millennia since she moved among a civilization like this one.

Apparently they tend to frown at the sight or smell of blood, forcing her to change her clothing. She also obtained the memories of the previous owner of this body.

Ramona Richards—the owner of her very own law firm and mother of two mini humans.

So far she’d used Ramona’s body to absorb information on the planet.

Today, though... she was merely out to relish the subtle pleasures this mortal vessel had to offer her.

"One espresso martini." She announced to the bartender of a club Ramona used to frequent before she was killed. "Don’t be shy with the lime."

As the bartender went ahead to make her order, she relaxed with a light breath.

At the very least, humans were decent when it came to their forms of sustenance.

Especially drinks.

Ramona set her purse aside, ignoring the blasting pop music coming from just about every corner of the club. Her eyes settled on the television—which currently had the news on.

Meanwhile, sitting at one of the VIP seats in the establishment was a man whose face had lost every trace of colour the second Ramona stepped in.

He paused his drinking, signalling his assistant to lower his head to him.

"Sir?"

"Remind me. You had one of our boys handle Attorney Ramona Richards. Correct?"

"That’s right, sir." The assistant nodded. "I showed you the photo evidence."

"I remember." The dangerous-looking man shifted with unease, anger and something he didn’t want to name. "Then tell me, Marcus... who the fuck is that?"

Marcus followed his boss’s finger, half thinking he must’ve seen someone identical. That’ll be the only possible explanation for—

His expression twisted.

The poor assistant had to adjust his glasses a few times to confirm he was seeing this right.

Sitting right there at the bar was none other than Ramona, dressed in a form-fitting sleeveless red dress, wavy blonde hair cascading down her back.

Even from this angle, it was obvious as hell that that was her.

"H-How?" He swallowed, cold sweat watering his palms. "She can’t be alive. That wound was fatal. Luther made sure she was no longer breathing before he left."

"Well, Marcus," His boss had the most sarcastic smirk on his face. "You better find Luther’s ass and get him to confirm the clip he sent wasn’t a damn AI deep fake."

Back at the bar, Romana collected her drink from the bartender, still focused on the news.

"Now to global Hunter-related news," The anchor cleared his throat. "Two days after the twenty seventh Grand Hunters Conclave, we’ve managed to get intel on some of the esteemed Hunters who attended the closed door meeting."

"Some of them include: Hunter Magnus Ferguson. Hunter Gabriel Silverstone. Hunter Valentine Lockwood. And even our country’s latest SS-Rank... Hunter Ambrose Hale."

A photo of Ambrose was shown at the side of the screen.

Ramona’s head tilted slowly.

"There you are..." She whispered, lips stretching with amusement. Taking a sip from her drink, she leaned forward a bit to hear more.

"Speaking of Hunter Ambrose Hale, he remains reclusive—having quit his job at Steel Falcon. Dozens of top-ranking Guilds in the country have shown interest in hiring the young SS-Rank."

"The CNN has tried reaching out to him and those close to him at Aurelia City. But that has proven fruitless. We hope to..."

The rest of whatever he had to say fell on deaf ears.

Aurelia city.

"Sneaky little human," She snorted, remembering the future Ambrose. "You managed to send the boy through time, but he still ended up in the same city we first laid to waste."

Ramona downed the rest of her drink.

Just when she got up, her next move already forming in her head... something metallic poked her back.

"Sit."

She froze.

Without looking back, she already knew who it was.

"Adorable." She turned, eyes locking on the idiot who dared point a gun at her.

Memories that didn’t belong to her surfaced almost immediately.

Luther.

The one who’d driven a screwdriver into this body’s neck before confirming her death.

Luther frowned. "You think this is funny?"

"No." Her head tilted ever so slightly. "I was simply wondering whether humans always mistake confidence for power."

He barked a laugh. "What the hell are you talking abou—"

An overwhelming silence swallowed the club.

The music disappeared. The bartender froze halfway through pouring another drink.

A woman laughing at a nearby table remained suspended with her head thrown back, wine hanging in midair after spilling from her glass.

Even the television had stopped, the news anchor frozen with his mouth hanging open.

Luther’s smile faltered. "... What?"

Ramona leisurely glanced around the club before letting out a pleased hum.

"There we are." She breathed. "Much quieter."

His breathing quickened. "W-What did you do?"

Ignoring the question, she stepped closer until only a foot separated them.

"So fragile," She murmured, lifting a finger toward his forehead. "Mortals truly are fascinating."

POP!

His head burst apart like an overripe fruit.

Blood and fragments painted the frozen air, his body remaining upright for the briefest of moments before collapsing onto the polished floor.

Ramona calmly bent over, picked up her purse and brushed an invisible speck of dust from her dress.

Such a troublesome body. She’d need a stronger vessel soon.

With unhurried steps she walked toward the club entrance.

The instant she crossed the doorway—time resumed.

Music crashed back into existence.

The bartender finished pouring his drink.

And then the headless corpse slammed against the floor.

For one heartbeat, nobody understood what they were seeing.

Until screams erupted throughout the club.

People shoved each other toward the exits, drinks shattered across the floor, and security guards rushed toward Luther’s corpse while others desperately searched for the killer.

None of them remembered seeing a woman in a red dress leave.

Outside, Ramona gazed toward the horizon, eyes glimmering with quiet amusement.

"Aurelia City," She whispered while space folded before her like silk. "Let’s see if you prepared enough for us this time."