God of Destruction: Living Among Mortals

While Nova and Marcus were sparring, Elesch was back in her apartment, and Adam was in his house. Both had each other's numbers saved, since Elesch's phone was Nova's phone. Or, Nova's phone was actually Elesch's new phone.

They called each other, setting up their little "date" as they had thirty minutes until they had to meet up with Nova and Marcus.

Elesch prepared herself, no makeup, only applying some cream that Nova used for his body. After applying, she wore some of his clothes, all pretty big on her, then headed to the meet-up place.

On the other hand, Adam was in his bathroom, his chest rising and falling violently, as he was very nervous. It didn't speak to girls, nor boys, for that matter. He had just started to express himself in front of Nova and Marcus, so he was nervous about his date with Elesch. But he knew that he liked her, which meant he couldn't fuck it up, because this was his chance at experiencing what it meant to be in a relationship, or at least feel that he wasn't hated by girls.

He showered quickly, putting soap all over his body, then dressed, putting on deodorant and cologne, applying a moisturizing cream, since his face was usually very dry, and today was one of those days, then applied some Chapstick to his lips, making them even.

He looked in the mirror one last time, looking at his attire, a casual, outgoing attire. He wore a clean white T-shirt layered under a light denim jacket, paired with slim black jeans that fit well but weren't too tight. On his feet, he chose simple sneakers, comfortable, but stylish enough to show he'd put thought into the look.

Then, he walked towards their meet-up spot. He was accumulating his nervousness, which wasn't ideal, since he really liked Elesch, and he knew for a fact that she liked him back. He started to walk with a smile, a very blissful smile, as he tried to use breathing techniques along the way to calm himself.

Behind him, three unknown guys, in full black attire, looking like bodyguards, followed. They didn't seem to have a good intention for him, and he was oblivious to the fact that he was being followed, since he was too blissful to notice.

He went to the spot early, Elesch still walking slowly, thinking about Adam. She couldn't focus on anything but Adam, as if he were her new world. Well, a separate world, since Nova and Freya were much higher, but Adam wasn't that far behind.

Upon reaching the spot, Elesch found Adam patiently waiting for her, attending to his phone, smiling a little too hard at the screen, but then shaking his head to remove the smile. Her heart beat faster. He looked good. Too good. She would describe him as voluptuous.

And that made her nervous, though she tried not to show it. She walked toward him slowly, each step making her feel like she was walking into something that truly mattered to her, in terms of liking someone.

Adam looked up, and when he saw her, his smile got bigger. His chest tightened, but he forced himself to breathe the way Nova told him to. Slow in, slow out. He didn't want to look like a fool in front of her.

"Hey," Elesch said softly, a tad bit shy.

"Hey," Adam answered, his voice didn't crack, and he didn't stutter. It came out clean, calm, almost smooth. That shocked him, leaving her confused.

Elesch tilted her head, blinking at him. She was confused about why he was astonished by his dialogue. He had prepared the entirety of last night and morning in the infirmary and in his house.

"You sound different," she said, squinting her eyes like she was suspicious.

Adam scratched the back of his neck, a blush climbing up his cheeks. "D-different good?" He almost slipped with the stutter, but he caught himself at the last second. His lips twitched into a nervous smile.

Elesch stared at him for a moment. She was confused. His voice wasn't shaky. His words weren't stuttering over each other. He actually sounded confident. That wasn't the Adam he knew, which was a good sign, meaning he was improving.

"Yes, different's good," she said with a faint blush creeping on her cheeks.

Silence stretched between them, deafening. Not a bad silence, but the kind that made both of them way too aware of each other. Adam shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, trying to look relaxed even though his heart was pounding nervously in his chest. Elesch folded her arms, then unfolded them, then just let them hang, not knowing what to do with herself.

"You look… nice," Adam said finally, breaking the deafening silence.

Elesch blinked again, eyes darting down to her oversized clothes. They were Nova's, big and baggy on her, nothing special at all. She laughed nervously. "These? They're not even mine."

"Doesn't matter," Adam said quickly, shaking his head. "They look good on you. You look good in anything."

Elesch's face went red. She didn't know how to respond, so she just looked at him, lips parting but no words able to come out. Then she looked away, biting her lips to hide a smile.

Adam noticed her blush, and that gave him courage. He smiled wider, his own cheeks singeing.

"What? It's true." He said with enthusiasm, doubling down.

He had read a book somewhere that said to attract a girl towards you, you had to be confident and compliment the girl. As many compliments as possible, so that the girl would know how nice you are, and then that's your chance to ask her out.

Elesch turned back, bobbling out her cheeks like she was trying to keep her cool. Then he said teasingly, with a big bright smile: "You're weird."

"Maybe," Adam admitted, shrugging. "But I mean it."

They both laughed a little, the tension breaking just enough to let them breathe again. Then Elesch took a step closer. She didn't even think about it. Her feet just moved on their own accord. Adam's eyes widened, but he stood still, not daring to move away.

"Are you always going to be like this now?" she asked, her voice a whisper.

"Like what?" he inquired, dumbfounded by what she meant.

"Not nervous. Since I saw you, I knew I liked you, but you also had this shyness in you, which I adored, thought it was cute. But now... It's different."

Adam thought about it for a second. He wanted to say yes, but he also didn't want to lie. "I don't know. Maybe it's just because you're here. You make me not want to be shy. I feel like you make me more confident than anything."

That made Elesch's heart skip. She didn't want to admit it out loud, but she liked hearing that. More than she should have. For a moment, they just stood there, looking at each other. Her eyes locked with his, and neither of them could look away. Their cheeks were red, their smiles soft, their hearts racing like crazy.

Elesch broke the stare, coughing into her hand, nervously saying, "We should go to the guild and wait for Nova and Marcus."

"Yeah," Adam said quickly again, nodding. "Good idea."

Elesch turned around first, starting to walk, her hands hidden in the sleeves of Nova's oversized shirt. Adam followed right next to her, matching her pace even though his legs wanted to run. He felt light, almost floating, because he couldn't believe he had just said all that to her without stuttering.

Elesch kept sneaking glances at him from the corner of her eyes, cheeks still blushing. The more she thought about his words, the more her chest flustered, and it was distracting her steps.

They walked slowly, almost too slowly, like neither of them wanted this moment to end.

But behind them, the three men in black had closed the gap. Their footsteps were silent, shadows blending with the streetlights. Adam and Elesch didn't notice. They were too wrapped up in each other.

"You're smiling too much," Elesch said finally, teasing him, her voice soft.

Adam laughed nervously, rubbing his nose. "I can't help it."

She shook her head, but she was smiling too, even though she tried to hide it.

Then suddenly...

A large shadow fell over them. Elesch turned her head, and before she could even speak, a rough hand grabbed her arm, pulling her back. Another hand clamped a cloth over her mouth and nose. The sharp, chemical smell filled her lungs.

"Mmmph-!" she tried to scream, but it came out muffled. She kicked and struggled, but her strength faded quickly as her vision blurred.

"Elesch!" Adam shouted, spinning around, panic surging through his chest. He charged forward, but one of the men blocked him, shoving a cloth against his face, too.

Adam thrashed violently, swinging his fists, trying to hold his breath. "Let... go... !" he yelled between gasps, but his body betrayed him. His legs turned weak, his arms heavy. The cloth pressed tighter, the bitter smell forcing its way inside.

Elesch reached out weakly, her fingers twitching in Adam's direction before her arm dropped lifelessly to her side.

Adam saw her collapse, and his heart broke even as his vision dimmed. He tried one last time to pull free, but everything turned heavy, dark, and far away.

Within seconds, both of them went limp.

The men didn't speak. They moved quickly, lifting Elesch and Adam like they were nothing, carrying them into the shadows where a black van waited silently.

The doors slammed shut, and the vehicle rolled away into the night.