<h4>Chapter 116 - The Story of Twilight</h4>


    A torrent of information crashed into his mind.


    Twilight was the name of this body''s original owner. Unlike Li Wei, the owner of the Wind Elephant Tusk Pendant, Twilight was a man. A <i>real</i> man!


    Even Cassius found himself admiring this tough guy.


    Originally a resident of a region bordering the Hongli Federation, Twilight lived with his parents and a cute little sister. Although the family wasn''t wealthy, the four of them lived happily.


    However, ten years ago, on a certain day, a conflict arose between the Hongli Federation and a neighboring country which escted into a small-scale war. Bombs rained down, leaving ruins in their wake. Countless lives were lost in the chaos, including Twilight''s parents.


    His parents died, and his hometown was destroyed.


    At just ten years old, Twilight and his five-year-old sister became orphans. They were taken into the Tomorrow Orphanage. However, "tomorrow" did not exist in that orphanage. This was not a warm home; this was a ce filled with only filth and crime. Young Twilight had a stubborn streak and fought fiercely to protect his sister.


    Three yearster, Twilight spotted and seized the opportunity to escape the orphanage with his sister. The two wandered across the Federation, where he did odd jobs here and there. Since he wasn''t of working age, he could only take on low-paying, under-the-table work.


    They huddled in a leaky shack, gnawing on stale bread.


    Over the following years, he was extorted by thugs, exploited by shop owners, chased by dogs, and ridiculed by children. Yet, Twilight never let life beat him down. Despite his name, his heart held the light of dawn. He didn''t believe in fate; the only thing he believed in was himself. He even scrimped and saved to send his sister to school, making time to study amid his busy work schedule.


    Life was hard and exhausting, but he was hopeful.


    Eventually, Twilight got into college, working part-time to change his destiny. A few yearster, he graduated, and finally caught a glimpse of a brighter future.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    But fate had a cruel joke in store for him. His sister fell terminally ill, the cause of her illness going back to when they spent years as children living in that leaky shack.


    Twilight wanted to save his sister, but he needed an astronomical amount of money, far beyond what he could borrow or earn. Desperate, he tried every possible thing and just as he hit his darkest hour, he stumbled upon a piece of fantastical news. There were rumors of a ce called ck Rain Manor up in the coastal mountains of East Sea County where, as long as you found it, it would grant you anything you desired, including money.


    It sounded like an urban legend, but with no other options, Twilight went. By some miracle, he found the manor shrouded in mist and rain. It housed an organization called Hellsing, which resembled an assassin''s guild. But its true nature was far moreplex. The manor seemed to be a sentient being as it issued missions to Hellsing. Rather than killing people, these missions tasked them with hunting dark creatures that hid themselves among humans.


    If a Hellsing sessfullypleted their missions, they could choose any reward from the manor: wealth, longevity, even mysterious powers beyond human imagination.


    Twilight had no choice but to ept.


    After the Hellsings gave him basic training in using a mechanical crossbow, they sent him on his way. After half a month, Twilight returned, gravely injured but victorious, to ck Rain Manor. He had miraculouslypleted the novice mission.


    Without hesitation, Twilight exchanged his reward for arge sum of money. But when he rushed to the hospital full of hope, he was hit with a devastating blow. His sister had died while he was in the middle of his mission. From that moment on, Twilight was alone in the world.


    He held a funeral for her. There was a time when hepleted task after task for ck Rain Manor, hoping it might have the power to resurrect the dead. The period Cassius had arrived in was Twilight''s fifth mission when he was hunting the Blood Race.


    During this mission, Twilight would meet the second most important woman in his life. After getting severely wounded in his escape after killing a Blood Race member who had hidden itself among humans, a blonde woman named Julia would save him, at which point a bond would form between them. Twilight continued his missions, growing stronger in the hopes that he could revive his sister. But an old man, after hearing about his situation, informed him that ck Rain Manor, despite its mystic powers, couldn''t bring people back from the dead for he had tried and failed to revive a girl he once cared for.


    Crushed, Twilight contemted leaving ck Rain Manor. He didn''t want to risk his life on these missions anymore; he wanted to live peacefully with Julia in a remote town. However, Hellsings mustplete their missions regrly. Defiance would only bring the Decaying Knights who roamed the ck Rain Manor down on them.


    Twilight had no choice but to continue his tormenting tasks.


    During one of his missions, he learned about a potion that could induce a state of false death. The Decaying Knights would think the Hellsing to be dead and consequently leave. Twilight endured countless hardships to obtain said potion.


    He chose a secluded ce, took the potion, and entered the state of false death. As expected, the Decaying Knights left, believing he had died. A dayter, Twilight awok, ted. He hurried home to tell Julia the good news, only to find his home in ruins and Julia''s lifeless body.


    The power of ck Rain Manor had grown immensely over time. The marked-ones weren''t the ones affected; their loved ones were too. When the Decaying Knights left, they had left to kill Julia.


    Twilight fell into despair for the second time. His regret, grief, and sorrow were overwhelming, but above all, he burned with a fiery desire for revenge.


    Twilight wasn''t intimidated by the powerful and mysterious ck Rain Manor. He began targeting it, forming a team of like-minded individuals to fight against the tide.


    They battled all manner of beings, from dark creatures to Decaying Knights to the Hellsings sent by the manor. One day, he came across information in the ancient ruins which stated that killing all the Decaying Knights would shut down the manor. A massive uprising ensued. Although Twilight died in the end, the manor was gravely damaged.


    As the rainy night settled, Cassius couldn''t help admiring his bravery. Twilight endured countless hardships from childhood to death, but never bowed to fate. A true warrior loved life in spite of its harshness and Twilight was such a man. He fought his entire life for himself and his family.


    Twilight had left a simple wish in the bronze ring: destroy ck Rain Manor!


    "I understand," Cassius murmured.


    He raised his right hand, which bore an old bronze ring. This ring, picked from a garbage pile by Twilight''s sister during their struggle to survive in the leaky shack, was not valuable; it was just amon trinket found in street stalls. Yet, Twilight cherished it like it was a precious treasure.


    Cassius clenched his fist and smiled faintly.


    Thunder roared through the clouds, and rain poured heavily down. The thick rain became increasingly dense until everything became a transparent blur. A man stood in an alley beside Jasmine Mansion with an umbre held aloft.


    <i>ck Rain Mansion truly is a magical ce; it can even enhance physical quality andbat skills, so long as youplete the missions!</i> Cassius was intrigued. He wondered if there was a price to pay for such enhancements and whether he could retain these powers in the real world.


    He lifted the bag in his right hand, feeling its considerable weight. Twilight had learned to use the violent steam-powered mechanical crossbow in ck Rain Manor. It came with various arrowheads—silver-ted, poisoned, barbed, and triangr—as well as a range of agile movement techniques, some closebat skills, and dagger fighting techniques.


    The current Twilight was about as strong as a third to fourth-tier in the Federation and was a shield-level Hellsing from ck Rain Manor. Hellsing was a collective term for those marked by the manor, and were ranked based on taskpletion. The ranks were divided into four levels: shield-level, sword-level, badge-level, and knight-level.


    "This body is so weak..."


    Cassius flexed his limbs. Though a third or fourth-tier body was strongpared to ordinary people, it severely limited his potential. His abilities were drastically constrained by this body''s limitations. His Wind Elephant Covert Martial Arts had originally reached the mid-second stage, but now he couldn’t even bring out its full power; he was probably not even at the level of a pugilist.


    Fortunately, East Sea County had another ck Rain Manor. Cassius could quickly regain and even surpass his previous strength there. As for potential risks... he''d cross that bridge when he got there.


    His first task in this era? Eliminate the Blood Race members in Jasmine Mansion!


    Although they called themselves the Blood Race, the Hellsing members referred to them as bloodsucking ghouls due to their vampiric tendencies.


    Compared to other dark creatures, the lower-tier Blood Race members were pretty weak. For instance, the average adult man could best a blood ve. Despite their weakbat ability, Blood Race members were cunning and adept at hiding themselves within human society. Over time, they had learned to control their bloodsucking urges, taking small amounts from multiple people to avoid detection.


    Twilight''s current target hadbat abilities on par with his own. With the silver-ted arrowheads in his mechanical crossbow, Twilight stood a good chance of taking down the opponent unscathed or close to that at least. However, he had been severely wounded during this mission because a hostage had been there.


    Twilight wasn’t quite the seasoned Hellsing who hade to ept the cycle of life and death. He couldn’t help but try to save ordinary people. Although he hadn’t been foolish enough to lower his weapon, making himself vulnerable to an easy kill, the hostage situation had significantly affected his performance, leading to injuries for both sides.


    Cassius, however, was different. Threatening him with a random hostage? Idiots, he''d eliminate both the kidnappers and the hostage without hesitation. Don''t tell him how to do his job!


    He had made up his mind. Cassius surveyed the thick rain fog around him, then stepped back two paces and bounded over the wall with a single leap, his hand lightly touching the wall for support. His leather shoes sunk into the grassy ground with a soft, wet thud, as if they were stepping onto a spongy green carpet.


    Cassius walked forward, his shoes stepping onto the gray-white garden path. He nced around, found his bearings, and moved toward the mansion.


    A rectangr building close to the center of Jasmine Mansion where a birthday party had just taken ce was dimly lit by twomps in the corners. A couple, nestled in the soft sofas near the floor-to-ceiling windows, were whispering sweet nothings to each other and kissing.


    "Charles, I’m so happy today," Emily said. Her eyes were filled with joy, a blush dusting across her fair cheeks, and her lips slightly swollen from kissing.


    "I''m d to hear that. Oh right, are you still a virgin?" Charles asked casually, his hands around Emily’s slender waist. Emily, head a little woozy, didn’t find the question crass since this seemed like an intimate inquiry typically asked between lovers.


    Emily shyly nodded, burying her head in Charles''s broad chest. "...Yes..."


    Suddenly, a massive bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, and a thunderous boom resounded as if an explosion had urred, apanied by a faint shattering sound.


    "<i>Ah</i>!" Emily screamed and clung to Charles tighter. "I''m scared," she whimpered, her voice pitiful.


    But Charles did not move. He didn''tfort Emily nor wrap his arms around her back to hold her.


    "Charles? Charles... Charles?"


    Emily lifted her head, puzzled. Charles stood rigid like a wooden dummy, stunned. In the dim light, Emily noticed two sharp objects protruding from his head.


    "Charles, what’s wrong?"


    <i>Rumble! </i>


    Another lightning sh illuminated the mansion''s edge.


    A scream ripped violently out of Emily''s throat. The sharp objects were crossbow bolts, one protruding from each temple. Blood trickled down his temples and chin and onto the floor.


    Emily stumbled back in terror.


    The sound of breaking ss came from the floor-to-ceiling window. Three crossbow bolts whizzed through the air, piercing Charles''s chest, causing blood to spurt from his chest.


    <i>Crash!</i>


    The already damaged window shatteredpletely as a man in a suit kicked it in. As a shower of ss shards rained down around him, he strolled in. Lightning shed behind him, outlining his dark silhouette.