ã€ŠAdopted Soldierã€‹


 Chapter 1

    Chapter 1

    @@

    Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock . The sound of the clock ticking was the only sound the seven year old boy could hear . At this very moment the boy was looking at a man with a gun in his hands . This random man came into their home and killed his parents, because they wouldn¡¯t give him what he wants .

    The killer kept on hitting the boy until he bled, still no matter how much he hurt the boy, the boy didn¡¯t faint nor did he scream .

    He aimed his gun at the boy but hesitated in shooting him . The boy on the other hand looked at killer of his parents and stared at the gun with no visible emotion on his face . There was no anger, no fear, no sadness, nor regret in that emotionless face of his .

    The killer was scared by the boy¡¯s nonchnce, he out of fear was going to shoot the boy, just to put an end to this scene . He was ready to pull the trigger .

    BANG!

    The killer fell to the ground dead, a hole was seen in his forehead . The boy looked at the one who shot his enemy dead . There in front of him stood a man who looked to be around the same age as his father . The man who was wearing something simr to a military uniform, stepped forward .

    He looked at the boy and started smoking, afterwards he pointed his gun at him .

    "Do you want to live?"

    The boy couldn¡¯t answer immediately since he was injured, but he looked at the man and with thest bit of his strength answered .

    "I want to be strong . "

    The man smiled at the boy¡¯s answer .

    "Heh, nice answer kid . If you want to live and be strong . First you must die . " The man aimed at the boy and shot his gun .

    BANG!

    Before the boy fainted he heard the man speak .

    "From this day forth you¡¯re my son, Alexander Samarita . " @@

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 Chapter 2

    Chapter 2

    The world of Esterorht had many wars, which were due to it having many countries . Each country of course had different opinions . The opinions being something in rtion to religion, opinions in rtion to who owns which territories, or opinions such as to who was the more powerful country . These are some of the examples as to why war happens in Esterorht a lot .

    In this war torn world, being a mercenary is the fastest way to be rich, as well as the fastest way to die .

    It has been eight years since Carlo Samarita, adopted his son Alexander . He who was called the messenger of death by his enemies, and even his allies, suddenly adopted a seven year old boy which shocked everyone on his squad .

    Carlo¡¯s squad was a special one . None of them are any good in anything else aside from their specialty, Carlo was the only one who could somehow do most of everything . Though they couldn¡¯t do anything aside from their specialty, but they were the best in their own specialty .

    They had the best demolition expert, the best marksman, the best stealth operative, the best driver of any kind of vehicle, the best hand to handbat specialist, the best researcher, and the best supporters . With all those factors their little squad was feared throughout the world .

    They had apletion rate of 99 . 70% out of numerous missions they had only failed once .

    The squad didn¡¯t know how to handle the new recruit which was also the adopted son of their leader . When they first met Alexander no one knew what to say to Alexander, so they just started teaching him their skills and knowledge as ordered by the leader .

    Alexander was like a sponge who was able to learn quickly . Now after eight years of training, and real life battle, Alexander could be called the perfect soldier . By himself Alexander had the stunning achievement of a 100%pletion rate in all of his missions .

    The boy had a drive like no other, once he hears the word mission from his father, something in his mind is triggered . So whenever he hears the word mission he will try with all his might toplete the mission no matter the cost .

    At the age of ten he was able to get his first kill, at the age of twelve he was able to infiltrate an enemy base and kill the enemy leader without no one noticing, at the age of fourteen he was able to blow up the enemymand center .

    Though he retained his indifferent expression, he was able to find new warmth in thepany of the mercenary squad . Alexander was somehow satisfied with his life . He had be strong like his father had promised him .

    Yet this kind of lifestyle came to an abrupt end, when Carlo had made a mistake and got his right leg cut off . This was not a failure of the squad, but more on Carlo¡¯s ability . Since he was getting older he had misjudged the opponents abilities and was caught off guard . Though in the end the squad was able to finish the mission, but Carlo needed to retire .

    After appointing a new squad leader for his mercenary group, Carlo alongside his son Alexander returned to his homnd .

    Carlo has been thinking of going back into normal society, ever since Alexander turned fifteen . He wanted his adopted son to be something more than a soldier, who only knows how to fight and kill . Now that he has given him strength, he wishes to give him a normal life, and a normal happiness .

    He wanted to go back to his homnd but couldn¡¯t find the right opportunity to tell Alexander, so it was postponed for a few weeks . Then the incident happened, though it was unlucky to lose a leg, but now he had a real solid reason to retire . If a leg is needed to be sacrificed for my son¡¯s normal life then its worth it, Carlo¡¯s thought .

    After years in the battlefield Carlo had amassed a fortune, and with it he made numerouspanies . Thepanies he owned were varied, he owned a gamepany, a shopping mall, a brand line of bags and shirts, and so on and so forth .

    In his home country, in normal society no one knows his true self as the former leader of the Unique Squad . All the normal people know him as the owner and founder of numerouspanies .

    Using his money and status Carlo was able to easily hide the truth from the public eye .

    Once the father and son where standing in front of their mansion, a bunch of maids and butlers greeted the two . After which the butlers took their luggage and fixed their rooms . Carlo and Alexander on the other hand where at the living room discussing some important matters .

    "Nope it¡¯s final you¡¯re going to a public High school . " Carlo said with finality in his tone .

    "Dad I don¡¯t understand why you want me to attend school . With all the knowledge I have, not even mentioning High School but I can probably pass a doctorate level exam . " Alexander asked his dad confused at the whole situation .

    Carlo knew his son was smart, and didn¡¯t really need to go to school, since he can just inherit thepanies he owns, or he could just go back to the battlefield . But that was not the point, he didn¡¯t want his son to return to the gloomy battlefield, he wanted his son to find a normal happiness, and step one to achieve that, is to get him a girlfriend .

    A public school is the best ce to find someone his age that might be able to tie him down, and bring him normal happiness .

    ¡¯Tsk I didn¡¯t want to do this, but you gave me no choice Alex . ¡¯ Carlo looked at the stubborn Alex and sighed .

    "Fine then, I have a mission for you Alexander Samarita . " When Alex heard the word mission from his father, he stood upright and did a military salute . When Carlo saw Alex¡¯s reaction he nodded .

    "The mission objective is to find a girl in the public High School you¡¯ll be attending and protect her . "

    ¡¯This way he could bond with a girl, and try his absolute best . ¡¯

 Chapter 3

    Chapter 3

    When Alex heard the mission his father gave him, he started to shift gears into his mission mode .

    "How long is the duration of the mission?"

    "Until you graduate, or if there is an extension you will be informed promptly . "

    "What weapons can I use?"

    "You are permitted to use your specialized handgun, but only use rubber bullets . If the situation truly needs it, inform me first and wait for approval to use deadly force . " Carlo knew that his son wouldn¡¯t really need to use deadly force, since he could subdue most threats without killing anyone . The only reason he said those things is to make what he said seem like a real mission .

    "Also is any girl suitable for this mission or do you have anyone in mind?"

    "The choice is yours, any girl you deem suitable to be protected will do . "

    "Affirmative!" Alex saluted once more and headed towards his room, he needed to prepare for the uing mission .

    . . .

    The following day Alex was walking towards his new school, and was thinking deeply . ¡¯Who should I protect? Dad said it must be a girl I find suitable to protect . . . But who could that be? What kind of girl is suitable to protect? . . . I¡¯m getting nowhere with this kind of thinking, better keep it simple . The first girl that I see that is a student of my school will be the girl I protect . ¡¯

    Once he was done with his own internal dilemma Alex headed to school with a new sense of vigor . Noticing that he was going to bete if he doesn¡¯t hurry, Alex was about to sprint . Yet as if destiny was ying with him, someone bumped him at the back . Before the other party was able to have a crash contact with him, Alex with his fighting reflexes grab hold of the person behind him and threw her .

    When Alex finally notices that his body automatically reacted to the surprise hit, he tried to soften the other party¡¯snding .

    The other party that was thrownnded on their buttocks . It was a girl wearing a red zer, a red ribbon tie, and a blue skirt barely reaching her knees . This was the uniform of Huriel Public High School that Alex was attending .

    The girl stood up and red at Alex . She was a beautiful girl with long ck hair, that was tied in two messy low pigtails . She had a fringe just above her blue eyes, her body was fair and slim . She seem to be exuding an almost haughty aura .

    "Hey you why the hell did you throw me?" The girl asked Alex in an irritated tone of voice .

    Alex who stood in front of every kind of battlefield without worry on his face, was now extremely worried . He didn¡¯t know what to say for a situation such as this, he didn¡¯t even know how to talk with people his age, much less a girl his age .

    "Sorry Ma¡¯am for throwing you . It was an ident . "

    "Ma¡¯am? Why are talking that way? Huh shit! I¡¯m going to bete!" The girl wanted to say something more, but suddenly remembered that the she was going to bete for ss .

    "Fine then I¡¯ll ept your apology weirdo, since I have no time . " The girl sprinted away without waiting for Alex¡¯s reply .

    Alex stood their dumbfounded by the whole situation, then he remembered what he said before the girl bumped into him . The first girl from the same school he meets would be the target that would need to be protected .

    ¡¯So that¡¯s the girl who I need to protect at all cost . . . Fine then let the mission start . ¡¯ Alex sprinted forward, immediately catching up with the girl . He jogged exactly one meter behind her, the girl being in a hurry didn¡¯t notice that Alex already caught up .

    When the two reached the school grounds the girl headed towards her ssroom, Alex tried to follow her but when he saw that her ssroom was 1-B he stopped and looked at his memo . It was written there that he was assigned to ssroom 1-A .

    Alex then made a call to his father .

    "Hey Alex, did you get to school properly?" Those were the first words Carlo asked his son when he picked up the phone .

    "Affirmative, I reached the designated ce on time . "

    "So what¡¯s the matter? Aren¡¯t you suppose to be in ss right now?"

    "Yes, but I ran into a little problem . " When Carlo heard his son say a little problem his face turned serious .

    "Did you kill somebody already?"

    "Negative, I have not used lethal force as of now . " When Carlo heard his son¡¯s answer he sighed in relief .

    "So then what¡¯s the problem?"

    "The target I have picked is situated in ssroom 1-B, while I¡¯m in ssroom 1-A . Asking permission to threaten the Principal into cing me in ssroom 1-B . "

    "What! No rejected!" Carlo almost dropped the phone shocked at what Alex just said .

    "Then can I use force and enter ssroom 1-B"

    "No!"

    "Can I use a drone to monitor ssroom 1-B"

    "No!¡¯ Carlo said exasperated at his son¡¯s ideas .

    "Then what can I do Dad, how can I protect the target when she¡¯s in another room?"

    Carlo sighed, "I will handle that, just give me a minute . "

    Carlo then started making some phone calls, and after a few minutes Carlo called Alex back .

    "There it¡¯s done, you just need to wait and a teacher will be there . " Just right after Carlo said so, a teacher who was running frantically arrived in front of Alex .

    "Alexander Samarita?"

    "Yes that is me . "

    "Follow me, I¡¯m your new homeroom teacher David Lorand . " The guy calling himself Alex¡¯s homeroom teacher was an average looking person who was a head shorter than Alex, who stood at a 172 cm .

    David looked at Alex warily, since the grumpy old Principal actually ran to the teacher¡¯s lounge looking for him, telling him an important student was waiting in the hallway .

    David was wondering what kind of identity Alex had to make the prideful old grump act that way .

    "So please wait here while I introduce you to the ss . "

    David entered the ssroom, when the door was opened Alex heard the noisy insides of the ssroom .

    "Everyone sit down, I¡¯ll be introducing a new friend to you all . "

    When David said those lines the students started whispering .

    "A transfer student?"

    "I thought ss A will be getting a transfer student, were there two of them?"

    "I wonder what kind of person the transfer student will be like . "

    "Ahem . . . Alexander pleasee in and introduce yourself . "

    Alex entered the room and once he did a female student shouted .

    "It¡¯s the weirdo!"

    This was the start of Alex¡¯s weird, yet fun High School life .

 Chapter 4

    Chapter 4

    Alex saw the target shout at him, and call him a weirdo . Everyone looked at the girl surprised, even the teacher looked at the girl stunned .

    "Do you know each other Miss Rachel?" David asked a bit confused at the sudden outburst .

    Rachel noticing that everyone¡¯s attention was directed at her, blushed and shook her head . "Sorry I guess I got the wrong person . " Rachel red at Alex, ming him for the embarrassment she was facing .

    "Ok why don¡¯t you introduce yourself then . " David gestured at Alex to make his introduction .

    Alex stood in an upright position and was about to salute but stopped himself from doing so . "I¡¯m Alexander Samarita nice to meet you . "

    Alex felt that his introduction was good, but when he looked at his ssmates he felt something was off . Everyone in ss thought that the transfer student was too formal or something simr, they couldn¡¯t describe what they felt with words .

    Sensing the awkward atmosphere David asked Alex to take the extra seat at the back of the ss . Once Alex sat down he kept on staring at Rachel . Homeroom was now over and the math teacher entered . The teacher saw that Alex wasn¡¯t listening but kept on staring at Rachel .

    Infuriated the math teacher wrote a hard math problem she herself had difficulty solving back in her own university days . This problem was well beyond what a High School student is capable of answering .

    "Mr . Samarita will you please answer the question on the board . " The math teacher saw Alex look at the board once, and went back to looking at Rachel who finally noticed that Alex was staring at her .

    She red at Alex who was staring at her, but Alex didn¡¯t bother with that and continued staring as he went near the ckboard .

    Everyone was confused as to what the transfer student was doing . Rachel was indeed one of the top beauties of the school, but did she do something to the transfer student to make him this interested in her?

    Then the group remembered Rachel¡¯s reaction upon seeing the transfer student, she called him a weirdo . Perhaps the two already knew each other and the transfer student already confessed to Rachel .

    Alex didn¡¯t even look at the ckboard while answering and kept on looking at Rachel . All of his focus was on Rachel at the moment, he needed to understand her basic quirks, and the only way to do that quickly is by watching her .

    Alex put down the chalk and returned to his seat still looking at Rachel . The math teacher saw the answer Alex gave and waspletely shocked . The answer was correct, and the way he answered the question was in a much more efficient manner than what she knew of .

    "Correct . . . " The math teacher was in a daze the whole subject, since she wasn¡¯t able to understand how Alex was able to answer so wlessly .

    The next ss came and this time Rachel couldn¡¯t handle Alex¡¯s staring anymore . She raised her hand and told the teacher about her problem with Alex¡¯s inappropriate staring .

    The teacher decided to make Rachel and Alex switch seats . So that Alex could be situated in the front while Rachel was at the back . Rachel didn¡¯t really want to be ced at the back, but right now she just wants Alex to stop staring at her .

    Yet when they switched seats, Alex simply turned his head and continued to look at her . Rachel was starting to be creeped out by Alex¡¯s actions . The teacher noticing Alex seemingly having no ns to listen to the lesson, he asked Alex twenty questions of different importance, and Alex was able to answer him without facing him . Alex just kept on answering as well as exining why the question the teacher posed was wrong, all while facing Rachel .

    Alex started exining all the mistakes the teacher said, and gave a detail report as to why he was wrong, he did all this while continuing looking at Rachel¡¯s every movement .

    This kind of scene repeated until recess time, where Rachel pulled Alex out of the ssroom and headed towards the roof . Their ssmates who saw this, were in shock . They stopped moving for a moment, and then burst into an uproar . Some boys even started to cry, because they thought that they were losing their Goddess . Some of them tried to follow the two, to the roof . When they got there, the door to roof was closed . They thought that Alex and Rachel just went to a different ce, so they started searching for them in other ces .

    They didn¡¯t know that Rachel simply locked the rooftop door, because she knew that some of her ssmates would follow them . She then faced Alex with a serious expression .

    . . .

    In the Principal office, three teachers stood before the Principal . These teachers were the teachers in Alex¡¯s morning sses, they came to the Principal¡¯s office to fileints . They exined the situation they had this morning, they wanted the Principal to do something with boy called Alex .

    The Principal knitted his brows, stroked his tiny goatee and asked .

    "Did he made a mistake when answering your questions?"

    "No, he answered all the questions perfectly . " The three teachers answered almost simultaneously .

    "Did he, caused a disturbance that affected the whole ss?"

    "Aside from that one girl, no he didn¡¯t cause a disturbance . "

    "Then what are youining about?" The Principal asked almost frowning .

    The three teachers found the behavior of the Principal weird . If it was before, the moment this old man of a Principal heard that there was a disturbance in ss, he would immediately call the student that cause the problem and reprimand him/her .

    Yet now he was actually defending the student who was actively causing problems .

    The Principal looked at the three teachers¡¯ confused face and could only sigh . ¡¯As long as Alexander doesn¡¯t cause too much of a problem, and he keeps his grades high we cannot move against him . The boy¡¯s father actually donated a whole building and proposed to give all studentsptops for sses . Alexander¡¯s background is obviously not simple, so I can¡¯t mess with him as long as he doesn¡¯t do anything majorly wrong, he¡¯s basically untouchable .

    . . .

    Rachel looked at the boy called Alex and observed him . This guy kept on observing her all day, without moving his sight away from her .

    Alex was a bit taller than most boys his age, his face was also above average some might even say he was a pretty boy . His body type wasn¡¯t too skinny, nor was it too muscr or fat . He was also very smart based on his performance in the previous sses .

    Rachel thought that this boy might actually be close to her ideal type, if only he wasn¡¯t a weirdo that speaks so formally and acts so randomly .

 Chapter 5

    Chapter 5

    Rachel looked at Alex who looked at back at her . "Hey why do you keep staring at me? You do know its creeping me out . "

    Alex who heard Rachel¡¯s question started to think as fast as he could for an answer . He couldn¡¯t say anything about the mission, so he needed to exin why he was staring as something else .

    "I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t help it . . . I couldn¡¯t stop staring because of your beauty . " Alex tried to say those lines, without showing anything on his face . Seeing Alex¡¯s earnest gaze as he said she was beauty, Rachel couldn¡¯t help but blush .

    "I already know I¡¯m a beauty but still staring too much is no good . " Alex sighed inwardly for sessfully fooling Rachel .

    "In the first ce you shouldn¡¯t . . . " Rachel started exining why Alex shouldn¡¯t act the way he does . Alex wasn¡¯t listening to Rachel¡¯s speech as he was focused on the object flying around Rachel . He slowly approached Rachel his right arm stretching out .

    When Rachel saw Alex¡¯s outstretched arm she backed away . ¡¯What is this guy doing? Is he about to assault me? Did trapping myself on the roof alone with this guy backfired?!¡¯ While Rachel was having this internal dilemma she realized that she was backed into a wall and couldn¡¯t escape .

    Alex then mmed his hand onto the wall, ¡¯it was just a fly . ¡¯ The moment he mmed the wall he looked at the meek looking Rachel who was blushing furiously, he was about to ask if she was alright when he heard the bell ring, break time was over .

    "It seems like break time is over, we better get back to the ssroom . " Rachel stood there dumbfounded by Alex¡¯s reaction . ¡¯Huh what? He didn¡¯t do anything? What the hell was all that about anyway?!¡¯ Before Rachel could get her bearing back, Alex took ahold of her hand and started walking back to the ssroom .

    ¡¯What! He just suddenly held my hand! This guy must be crazy!¡¯ Rachel was blushing, her face was red from ear to ear . "Hey! Who told said you could touch my hand!"

    "You¡¯re right we will never make it on time if I just hold your hand . " Alex then picked up Rachel into a princess carry . Rachel was bewildered as to what had happened . She started iling her arms .

    "Don¡¯t move like that, don¡¯t be worried I won¡¯t drop someone light like you . " Alex held Rachel tighter and started running back to the ssroom .

    ¡¯Seriously what¡¯s with him, he wasn¡¯t satisfied with holding my hand and now he¡¯s carrying me, in a princess carry no less!¡¯ The students who saw Alex dashing back to the ssroom holding Rachel in a princess carry started getting excited .

    "Kyaa! Did you see that!? He was holding her in a princess carry!"

    "So Rachel has a boyfriend already, and its a good looking one too . "

    "NOOOO! Our Goddess Rachel!"

    "Someone needs to punish that BASTARD!"

    Numerous screams of excitement, anger, and resentment were heard in the hallway . Rachel who was fully concentrated on her own thoughts couldn¡¯t bother with the people¡¯s reactions .

    When the two entered their ssroom, the whole ss erupted into an uproar seeing Rachel being carried by Alex .

    "So it went well, congrattions Alexander, congrattions Rachel . "

    "Damn it! I want a beautiful girlfriend as well to carry like that!"

    "Heh, dream on how about you look in the mirror . How can your flimsy arms carry anything, much less a girl . "

    "A pretty girl, and a pretty boy they actually make a cute couple . "

    "Our Goddess Rachel, why have you forsaken us!"

    The reaction inside the ssroom varied, Rachel wanted to deny her rtionship with Alex but was too flustered to do so . Rachel just absentmindedly returned to her seat not denying or agreeing to anything .

    Alex also returned to his sit and continued to observe Rachel . The ssmates especially the girls had changed their opinion of Alex, at first theybeled him as a weirdo but now he wasbeled as someone passionate .

    Rachel couldn¡¯t be bothered by Alex staring at her anymore, as she was preupied by her own thoughts in regards to the recent events . ss started again and same as what happened in the first three sses; the teacheres in and notices Alex¡¯s tant disregard for the lesson , the teacher tries to embarrass him by asking a question above the standards of a High School student, Alex is able to answer the question wlessly and sometimes corrects the teacher all while looking at Rachel . In the end the teachers leave the ssroom embarrassed .

    School ended and before people could approach Rachel and Alex the two left swiftly . Rachel was absentminded while she was walking home . Alex on the other hand was following her a meter behind .

    When Rachel got her bearings back she turned around and looked at Alex . "Why are you following me?"

    "I¡¯m not following you . . . It just so happens that we¡¯re simply walking in the same direction . " Rachel looked at Alex suspicious of his statement .

    "Really? . . . Tell me were do you live?"

    "Over there . " Alex pointed in a direction behind him .

    "So your telling me that we passed your house and your still following me . " Rachel was getting a bit used to Alex¡¯s weird behaviour and sighed .

    "Like I said I¡¯m not following you . . . It just so happens that I felt like walking in the same direction . "

    "Really?"

    "Really . "

    Rachel didn¡¯t bother to talk with Alex anymore and turned in a corner street . Alex followed her exactly one meter behind .

    "You see! I knew it your following me . If you don¡¯t stop stalking me, I¡¯ll be forced to call the police . " Rachel dangled her smartphone in front of Alex and threatened him .

    "Call them then, like I said I was just walking in the same direction . "

    Rachel shrugged her shoulders and called the police . A few minutester the police came, and Rachel exined her situation to the them .

    "Is what she saying true?" One of the police officers asked Alex .

    "Somewhat, but like I said I was just walking on the same path . I¡¯m not stalking her, it just so happens she was walking the same way I was . "

    "No matter . . . How about you follow us to the station, and will sort this out . "

    "Ok then officers please handle this situation . " Rachel then started walking away, Alex tried to follow but was blocked by the two police officers . Seeing Alex¡¯s reaction when Rachel left the police officers felt like Rachel¡¯s story was even more believable now .

    "Sorry, she can go but you need to follow us to the station . "

    "Fine then, but before I follow you can I make one phone call . " The police officer nodded in consent .

    Alex once again called his dad .

    "What is it this time?" When Alex heard his dad pick up the phone, he briefly exined his situation .

    "So can I subdue the threat?"

    "No!"

    "Can I put on a mask and eliminate the obstruction?"

    "NO!"

    "Then what do you want me to do dad! The target is getting farther away from me . Any longer and she will be outside the range of what I can see . "

    "Calm down Alex! First go to the police station and I will bail you out . We will talk about the mission once we return home . "

    Alex was reluctant to do as his dad says but he had no choice but to do so .

    "Affirmative . "

 Chapter 6

    Chapter 6

    At the police station inside an interrogation room, Alex was sitting in front of a grumpy police officer .

    "Why don¡¯t you just admit that you were stalking that poor girl?"

    With an emotionless face, and an indifferent tone Alex responded . "Like I keep on saying I wasn¡¯t following her, it just so happens she was going the same way as me . "

    "Really I know your in the height of your youth, and falling in love is something you¡¯ll be experiencing right now, but stalking is no good . " The other police officer responded, the two police officers seem to be ying the roles good cop, and bad cop .

    Alex could only sigh and continue to persuade the officer that he wasn¡¯t stalking Rachel . "Like I said I wasn¡¯t stalking her, also what are you talking about falling in love? I just met the girl today when I transferred . "

    The bad cop mmed the table and shouted . "You¡¯re wasting everyones time! Why don¡¯t you just admit you were stalking her!"

    The good cop tried to calm down his partner . "Why don¡¯t you just admit your wrongdoings and we¡¯ll write this off as your first offense . That way everyone can go home already . "

    "Like I said I was not stalking her, I was just walking at the same path . So you¡¯re telling me you¡¯ll arrest me if I just walk on a public sidewalk if there was a girl there? Then that would mean you should be capturing a lot of people walking along the sidewalk . " Alex answered with his indifferent tone and emotionless face .

    The supposed bad cop got angry at the statement that seem to be ridiculing them . "What the hell did you say punk!" The good cop was going to stop his partner but was unable to, the bad cop then grabbed hold of Alex¡¯s cor .

    "Don¡¯t me me for this, you attacked first . " Alex grabbed the hand that held his cor and flipped the bad cop . Once he flipped the bad cop he attacked the cops forehead using his knee . When the good cop saw his partner unconscious, he got his stun baton out and was about to attack Alex . Unfortunately he was too slow, Alex took hold of the hand that held the stun baton and pushed it towards the good cop¡¯s neck, rendering him unconscious as well .

    Alex took the CZ 75B handgun inside his bag and loaded it with rubber bullets, while he was doing this he started counting down .

    "7,6,5,4" Alex positioned himself in front of the only door of the interrogation room, and pointed his gun at the door . "3,2,1,0"

    Once Alex counted down to zero a bunch of police officers holding stun guns entered the room . Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! The four police officers that entered the interrogation room got shot in the head by rubber bullets, rendering them unconscious .

    Alex got out of the interrogation room, slowly peaking his head to see if the area was cleared . Once Alex got out of the interrogation room, a siren was going off in the police station .

    ¡¯Beep¡¯ "To all officers in the station, a criminal has escaped from interrogation room 2-D . Warning criminal is armed and dangerous, Six officers are already down . I repeat . . . " The message was in a loop, Alex took a stun baton from one of the unconscious police officers, and went to the room beside the interrogation room . Alex then turned on the stun baton and sticked it on the door handle .

    Once he was done Alex entered the venttion and started crawling . He then heard some officers got shocked from his trap . When Alex first entered the police station he started memorizing theyout of the area, so it was easy for him to find the path towards the entrance .

    When Alex got to the entrance of the police station, as expected a dozen officers were blocking the entrance . These officers were serious they held real guns now and were ready to use deadly force on Alex .

    When Alex got close enough they opened fire, Alex calmly hid behind the front desk . Before Alex got behind the front desk he was able to determine the positions of all the officers . Alex started calcting under the torrent of bullets .

    Alex reloaded first, then he aimed his handgun at the wall .

    BANG!, BANG!, BANG!, BANG!, BANG!, BANG!, BANG!, BANG!, BANG!, BANG!, BANG!, BANG!

    Alex shot at the wall and the rubber bullets ricocheted off the wall . After hearing all of his bullets hit their targets Alex calmly stood up and walked out of the front door . All the police officer in the police station that were present had all been subdued .

    When Alex got out of the police station what greeted him was his dad¡¯s serious face alongside a muscr man wearing the same uniform as the police officers inside .

    "It seems I was toote . . . You already beaten them all . " Carlo said exasperated by everything that has happened in a single day .

    "Affirmative, one of the officers used force so I retaliated . " Alex answered with a serious tone .

    Carlo could only smile wryly by his son¡¯s answer . "Whatever as long as you didn¡¯t kill anyone . . . Did you kill anyone?"

    Alex shook his head, "I didn¡¯t kill anyone all of them are just unconscious . . . By the way dad . . . Who is this person?" Alex looked at the muscr man who seem to be assessing him .

    "This is the Police Chief, Renold Gold . I knew you would do something stupid that¡¯s why I asked for his help . "

    Renold extended his right hand wanting to shake Alex¡¯s hand . "I have heard a lot about you ¡¯the silent sh¡¯ your exploits are legendary among soldiers and mercenaries . I¡¯m d that you came today to train my foolish subordinates . "

    Alex shook Renold¡¯s hand and immediately understood his n when he heard Renold say the words to train . ¡¯So Renold was going to brush this whole thing as surprise training . ¡¯

    "So Alex what do you need to say to our friend the Police Chief . "

    Alex was a little irritated that Carlo was treating him like a little kid in front of the Police Chief, but he couldn¡¯t do anything about it .

    Alex bowed in front of the Police Chief, "Thank you for your help!"

 Chapter 7

    Chapter 7

    When the father and son duo returned to their mansion, they headed towards Carlo¡¯s study . Carlo looked at his son¡¯s indifferent expression and felt a wave of regret . ¡¯Why didn¡¯t I teach my boy a bit ofmon sense? Was I such a fool to only teach him how to fight?¡¯ Carlo the feared messenger of death was having a internal dilemma on how to raise his son .

    Alex looked at the silent Carlo and said nothing, waiting for Carlo to speak first was basic etiquette, since Carlo was the one who had a higher rank .

    Carlo looked at his son who was not sitting down and standing in an upright manner . ¡¯Since Alex thinks of this as a formal mission he would definitely act like he did back in our days as mercenaries . ¡¯

    "So what happened at school today?"

    Alex recounted the events of the day . He talked about how he met Rachel, how he acted in school, and how he was detained by the police .

    When Carlo heard the whole story from Alex, he facepalmed himself . "Listen up Alex, I¡¯m going to add some revisions to the mission . "

    1 . Do not bother the girl

    2 . Do not make the girl ufortable

    3 . Get close to the girl, without her hating you

    4 . Find a friend that is not the target for protection

    When Alex heard Carlo¡¯s add ons in the mission, he saluted and answered without hesitation .

    "Sir, yes sir!" Alex headed back to his room nning for the following day .

    . . .

    In a room of a girl which was filled with dog stuff toys, a beautiful maiden was screaming at her pillow . Her long ck hair was disheveled as she rolled around her bed .

    "What I did was not wrong!"

    This girl was of course Rachel, she was feeling a bit guilty about calling the cops on Alex . She knew as long as Alex talks to the police officers nicely they would just give him a warning and let it be . . . That is if he talked to them nicely, but remembering all the weird things he did today, Rachel had some doubts that Alex could talk nicely to anyone .

    Rachel started to remember the weird happenings of the day . First she was in a hurry to go to school since she woke upte . When she turned at a corner she bumped into someone, and that someone namely Alex threw her .

    She thought that the throw would hurt her, but she had a very softnding . Surprised she got angry at the guy .

    Then when she got to school she was surprised to see that he was a transfer student .

    "Not only was he smart he was also pretty good looking, and based on his actions today it¡¯s clear that he likes me very much . He even openly admitted that he was stunned by my beauty . "

    Rachel was then reminded of the princess carry she was in awhile ago . She remembered those strong arms that seem like they could protect her from anything . . . .

    Rachel started blushing and screamed again . ¡¯What the hell am I thinking!!! Do I actually like the guy?! Well he is interesting, his looks and academic ability are right up there . Even his strength was top notch . . . The only problem is his personality, even though he likes me to that extent where he can¡¯t look at anything else but me, even following me home, most probably worried about me . . . . Wait a minute! Howe it sounds like I¡¯m giving in to him!?¡¯

    These were the thoughts of teenage girl who has never considered falling in love before . Rachel was having trouble sleeping since she couldn¡¯t get the stupid Alex¡¯s face out her mind .

    . . .

    The following day Alex was still pondering over, how to get close to the girl without making her hate him . It was a difficult problem . . .

    "Alexander, Alexander . . "

    Even now he could hear her voice calling him . . . ¡¯Wait why would I hear her voice?¡¯ Then suddenly Alex felt like someone was about to strike him from behind, but before the opponent could do so Alex threw the opponent .

    Alex who wanted to throw the opponent saw who it was and like their first meeting he tried to soften hernding .

    Once she safelynded on her buttocks she stood up and same like yesterday got angry at Alex . "What the hell are you doing?! Do you like throwing people?!"

    Alex knew he couldn¡¯t make this girl ufortable, so he bowed deeply sorry . "I was wrong please forgive me . " When Rachel saw Alex¡¯s actions she got bewildered .

    "Ah no need to bow . . . I wasn¡¯t hurt anyway, so how about you lift your head . . . Ummm, I did surprise you so I guess it was kinda also my fault . "

    Alex lifted his head and saw a frantic blushing Rachel, and for a moment thought ¡¯wow she¡¯s cute . ¡¯ It was only for a moment but Alex for the first time in his whole life blushed . Rachel saw that moment, but since Alex immediately stopped blushing Rachel wasn¡¯t sure if what she saw was real .

    The atmosphere turned rather awkward, noticing this Alex remembered that he wasn¡¯t suppose to make the target ufortable .

    "Um So Rachel why were you calling me?" Rachel hearing Alex¡¯s question, remembered that she wanted to ask something .

    Rachel hesitated for awhile and asked awkwardly "So did it go well at the police station?"

    "Oh that, there was no problem we were able to solve the problem by talking . " ¡¯Talking to the Police Chief . ¡¯ Alex didn¡¯t want to say the truth since that would vite number 2 in the revisions of the mission .

    "Oh good thing, sorry about that I guess I overreacted a bit . . . But you can¡¯t me me, I know you appreciate my beauty but stalking is no good ok . "

    "But I was worried about you getting home safely . " ¡¯Better tell her the truth so that I could protect her better without making her ufortable . ¡¯

    Hearing Alex¡¯s statement Rachel was red from ear to ear, so what she was thinkingst night turned out to be true .

    "Then why didn¡¯t you tell me that properly, instead of saying such roundabout things?"

    "Well . . . " Alex didn¡¯t know what to say, since the reason he said those things yesterday was so that she wouldn¡¯t find out about the mission .

    Rachel seeing Alex hesitate to answer thought that he was too embarrassed to say those things yesterday .

    "Well whatever, its fine now . . . Hey Alex I know it¡¯s not what you wanted but we can start as friends first . "

    Rachel extended her hand waiting for a handshake .

    Alex was surprised by Rachel¡¯s suggestion . . . ¡¯Being Friends huh? . . . Well I guess being friends would solve most of the problems in regards to the mission . ¡¯ When Rachel saw Alex hesitating she thought he did so, because he wanted to be her boyfriend not her friend . When she was about to retract her hand a warm and powerful hand grasped her¡¯s .

    "Then for now let¡¯s be friends . " ¡¯For the mission¡¯

    "Then let¡¯s be friends" ¡¯To see if you can be my boyfriend . ¡¯

 Chapter 8

    Chapter 8

    Alex and Rachel walking side by side to school caused a stir in the students emotions . Some of the students who heard the rumor that Rachel one of the three Goddesses of the school had a boyfriend didn¡¯t believe it, but when they saw the scene of her walking with the transfer student they had their mouths wide open in shock .

    Among the three Goddesses Rachel was deemed to be the hardest to conquer since her standards were higher than normal, even the other popr boys like the captain of the tennis club was rejected by her .

    Yet now the transfer student who just came yesterday had conquered her . Was the other rumor true as well, the rumor that Alex and Rachel are childhood friends and they just had a fateful meeting yesterday .

    "I heard they were separated because Alexander¡¯s family went overseas . "

    "Well I heard that Rachel was from a distinguished family and she¡¯s just studying here to learn aboutmoners . Alexander being from a rival family found a chance and followed Rachel to this school . "

    "That sounds to farfetched don¡¯t you think? My theory is more realistic, Alex is a super bodyguard sent by Rachel¡¯s family to protect her . That¡¯s why he wouldn¡¯t stop staring at her . "

    "Realistic? I think your confusing realistic for one of your dramas . "

    "Please I don¡¯t watch live action, 2-D is supreme!"

    The students were a buzz, Rachel could only sigh at the students weird assumptions . ¡¯Well the truth is Alex is in a trial period as my friend first . When he gets good results in the trial run, I might spare a moment to think if he could be my boyfriend .

    Alex looked at all the students warily and stood beside Rachel even closer, since he thought that someone might attack in all the excitement . ¡¯Why is everyone staring at us? Is this a form of distraction and someone was waiting to ambush us?¡¯

    Everyone who saw Alex¡¯s actions mistook it as him being overprotective of his girlfriend .

    "I wish I have a boyfriend who would get jealous if others even stare at me . "

    "I¡¯ll be that guy, how about you be my girlfriend?"

    "Sorry, I¡¯m not looking for a boyfriend at the moment . "

    "But you just said you wish for a boyfriend . "

    "Sorry" " . . . . "

    "I wish that my boyfriend would protect me from the stares of others . "

    "Is anyone even staring at you?"

    Rachel noticing Alex closing in on her looking like he was protecting her from everyones¡¯ stares and hearing the the studentsments, Rachel started to turn crimson red like an apple . Alex noticed Rachel¡¯s changing state and made her face his way .

    "Are you alright Rachel? Are you having a fever?" Alex ced his forehead upon her¡¯s and noticed that Rachel¡¯s face got even redder .

    "It¡¯s nothing I¡¯m alright, let¡¯s just go to the ssroom already!" Rachel walked away from the scene with a huff, Alex followed after her confused at the weird reaction .

    Everyone else who saw the scene was ck jawed and after awhile started screaming .

    "KYAAAAA!" "NOOOOO!"

    . . .

    When the two new friends Alex and Rachel opened the door to their ssroom, their ssmates had the same reaction as the people outside .

    Due to their being no effect, the teacher ced the Alex and Rachel back to their original sitting arrangement .

    Once Rachel sat down on her chair at the front of the ssroom she was immediately surrounded by her female ssmates bombarding her with questions .

    Alex on the other hand was red at by the boys, which confused him . They were ring at him but they weren¡¯t releasing any killing intent, so is is it alright to do nothing? He started pondering why the male ssmates of his would re at him but not a speck of killing intent could be felt . Though he felt something different he just couldn¡¯t understand what it was .

    While Alex was thinking of the reason of his ssmates res, someone suddenly opened the ssroom doors with a bang . Alex quickly reacted and tried to reach for his handgun hidden in his bag, but before he could do so the boy who entered the room pointed at him .

    "You there its no use, you were too slow!" The boy wearing a disheveled looking uniform, ck gloves, and a Salomon Quest 4D GTX Boots, somehow had a cold glint in his eyes . The boy who told Alex to stop approached him .

    "Your the same as me, aren¡¯t you?" Alex gulped dryly, was his cover blown? Is this guy also a mercenary?

    "Don¡¯t worry, I wont bother you . I was from the shadow mercenaries, and simply did that out of habit . "

    ¡¯Shadow mercenaries, I have never heard of a group like that . . . I¡¯ll inform dadter . ¡¯ Alex was on high alert, while the boy who did the dramatic entrance felt excited . ¡¯How was that! I was cool right?! Hmph not like I¡¯m not cool all the time . "

    "So who are you exactly?" Alex¡¯s hand was slowly reaching for his handgun but was stopped by the mysterious boy¡¯s who was looking at Alex while grinning, he was staring at Alex¡¯s hand that was slowly reaching for the handgun . It was as if he was saying that Alex could try to reach for his handgun, but he was still confident on winning . ¡¯Shadow Mercenaries, what kind of fearsome group was it?¡¯

    "Hmph I¡¯m James Bourne, but you could call me by my alias Oliver . Don¡¯t worry we are not enemies . . . Instead at this very moment we are allies in the same situation . So for now how about a truce?"

    Alex didn¡¯t know who this boy called Oliver truly was but he¡¯s intention seemed genuine, he truly wanted to have a truce . It was then Alex remembered number 4 in the mission revision, find a friend that is not the target for protection .

    "Fine then will you be my friend?" Everyone who heard Alex and Oliver¡¯s conversation was shocked . Oliver himself looked at Alex his mouth almost opened up in shock, but he didn¡¯t want to break character so he kept looking at Alex with a serious expression . ¡¯Is this guy serious, he actually wants to be friends?¡¯ Oliver looked at Alex¡¯s indifferent yet serious expression and was sure he wasn¡¯t joking .

    "Oliver was actually able to trick the transfer student into bing his friend . "

    "No way . "

    "Is this for real?"

    While everyone was having their own reactions . Oliver bit his left thumb until it bled, ¡¯Ouch! That hurt more than I thought it would!¡¯ Even though he was screaming inside Oliver didn¡¯t break character and still had a serious look on his face not showing the slightest twitch . Oliver then wiped the blood from his thumb onto his right hand he then extended it towards Alex .

    "To our brotherhood . "

    Alex was bewildered by Oliver¡¯s actions . ¡¯This guy is serious he really wants to berades . . . No brothers in arms . ¡¯

    Alex then nodded his head, bit his left thumb and wiped the blood onto his right hand . He shook Oliver¡¯s hands .

    "To our brotherhood . " Alex responded to Oliver¡¯s weird actions .

    Rachel who saw the entire scene was freaking out in her mind . ¡¯You were already weird to begin with, I wanted to reform you so that you can turn into better boyfriend material . . . But before I could do anything, you made another weirdo into your friend!¡¯ Rachel then noticed Alex was smiling, it was a natural smile that she hasn¡¯t seen from that emotionless face of his . Rachel sighed and smiled as well, ¡¯Well I guess having a friend that gets you is a good thing . ¡¯

 Chapter 9

    Chapter 9

    Alex was surprised by Oliver¡¯s stories he was part of the ever elusive Shadow Mercenaries, while everyone thinks that he¡¯s delusional and that¡¯s what makes it the perfect cover up . Alex thought hisrade has truly became one with normal society .

    The two talked about events in other countries battlefields and the current situation of each nation . Alex was thrilled to have this kind of conversation with one his age .

    Oliver on the other hand was also having fun since someone actually went along with his scenarios, this new friend of his was very knowledgable about the military .

    While the two new friends were chatting in ss the teacher couldn¡¯t help but grit his teeth . Yesterday it was clear as day that the Principal was protecting Alex, so that would mean someone powerful and influential was backing Alex . Since Alex was also someone able to answer all of his questions no problem, giving Alex a difficult time was an impossible task .

    Even Oliver the so called delusional kid was not as simple as he looks . He always scores at the top 10 in the whole school, and has amazing athletic ability even though he keeps on talking gibberish . The two weirdos were also the the two who were at the top of the ss .

    In this ss the only one who could match up to the weirdos was Rachel, who is also part of the top ten in the whole school . Yet this girl turned out to be the girlfriend of one of the weirdos, it wouldn¡¯t be weird that she as well might turn into a weirdo . The teacher sighed he had no power whatsoever to scold Alex and Oliver for talking in ss .

    The teacher who had difficulty conducting ss was being pitied by the students . The students didn¡¯t understand why the teacher was not scolding the two for talking while in ss, but they could somehow guess it was has something to do with weird yet mysterious transfer student .

    . . .

    The next ss was Physical Education so the students were required to change into their P . E uniforms, white shirt and blue shorts . The girls needed to head to the locker room assigned for them, while the boys stay behind the ssroom to change .

    Oliver who removed his uniform was actually wearing a bullet proof vest, and once he removed it what was shown was a body of pure muscle . Oliver had a case of Chuunibyou or basically he was just delusional, his setting, his background story, everything to do with the fictional character James Bourne was created by him .

    Yet Oliver truly wanted to believe that he was a special agent of some secret organization . He trained his body and watched youtube videos of how to fight so he could be closer to his own delusion . Yet in truth he was a boy who was scared of pain, even with the muscles he umted he was afraid of getting hurt . Still the boy who had watched numerous videos of soldiers and mercenaries fighting their own personal war was deeply impressed .

    When Alex saw the muscles Oliver had, he was impressed there was no scratches in his body not even a blemish of a prick was seen in his pce of muscle . ¡¯For someone who went into dangerous missions on a daily basis he has never been hurt? . . . I thought I was already the best, but here stands before me someone my age who has been to the same, no maybe even worse missions than me and has never been damaged . ¡¯

    Alex could only sigh at realizing his own arrogance, as he was changing into his own P . E uniform . The moment Alex took off his clothes everyone stared at him . Alex¡¯s body with the uniform on looked really slim, but what was hidden underneath the uniform was a body of steel . Alex¡¯s muscles weren¡¯t that of a bodybuilder they were that of a fighter, lean muscles with no excess fats .

    Yet what truly caught everyone¡¯s attention were the numerous scars all over Alex¡¯s body . There were burn marks, sh wounds, and even something that look simr to bullet wounds . What the hell happened to this boy?

    Oliver took a look at Alex¡¯s scarred body and was amazed, ¡¯Wow! Are those real? He really ismitted to his own setting . ¡¯ Oliver mistook Alex¡¯s wounds to be something he himself inflicted . One of the boys in ss suddenly had the courage to ask Alex about his wounds .

    Alex hearing his ssmates question started to have cold sweat . He couldn¡¯t possibly say that he got it from being in different battlefields, his identity as a mercenary must be kept a secret . Alex started to think as fast as he could on what to say .

    While Alex was thinking deeply, the ssmate who asked looked at Alex¡¯s troubled face . "Sorry Alexander, was that question too personal? I didn¡¯t mean to pry I was just a bit curious . " The ssmate bowed his head apologizing to Alex .

    Alex shook his head and responded, "No its alright its not a secret or anything . . . I was just reminiscing about how I got them . Well you see my dad is a Martial art enthusiast and a Survival enthusiast, I got these wounds while training . "

    When the ss heard Alex¡¯s exnation most of them epted it, but some felt it was an exaggerated excuse . Those some actually thought that wounds might have been from his father hurting him, but they quickly dismissed the idea and just epted his exnation as well .

    Oliver on the other hand was greatly interested on Alex¡¯s father . "Hey myrade, can I meet your father?"

    When Alex heard Oliver¡¯s request he looked at him dumbfounded . ¡¯What does Oliver want with my dad? Is he going to scout him for the shadow mercenaries . . . But dad can¡¯t fight anymore . ¡¯

    "Sorry Oliver, my dad has his left leg cut off . It¡¯s just a prosthetic leg now he can¡¯t move like the way he use to . When you see him you might be disappointed . " ¡¯Sorry Oliver dad can¡¯t join shadow mercenaries . ¡¯ Alex didn¡¯t say thest part of his thoughts since others might hear .

    Oliver¡¯s eyes sparkled in interest, ¡¯I wonder how he lost his leg? Did he lose it while doing survival training in the woods, and a bear swiped it off . ¡¯

    "It doesn¡¯t matter Alex what state your father is in . A warrior of his caliber can still go on and fight!" Oliver said those lines trying to console Alex in regards to his father being attacked by a bear, also it was an opportune time to say something cool .

    Alex was touched by Oliver still believing in his dad who made a mistake in a mission and lost his leg . Alex nodded his head, "I will inform my dad about your intentions of meeting him . "

    "Thank yourade, here is my number just call me when he is ready to meet me . " Oliver threw a calling card at Alex . Oliver was super happy that he was able to act cool twice in a row . He and Alex¡¯s synergy was extremely good .

    Alex who caught the calling card looked at it and nodded his head .

 Chapter 10

    Chapter 10

    Alex was done changing into his P . E uniform, so he was waiting for Rachel to head towards the stairs . In truth Alex wanted to check on her inside or even just at the entrance of the locker room, but he felt that action might make Rachel ufortable . So thepromise Alex could make was to wait for Rachel at the stairs .

    When Rachel was walking down the stairs she saw Alex waiting for her . Rachel was already somehow used to his actions . Even though they just met yesterday based on past examples she was sure Alex would do something like this . She even thought Alex would barge into the girls locker room .

    "So Alex where is your new friend Oliver?" Rachel asked Alex as she walked pass by him . Alex followed Rachel and was walking right beside her .

    "He left telling me that being a third wheel was not his style . He also told me to enjoy my youth . " Hearing the reason why Oliver wasn¡¯t with Alex surprised Rachel . ¡¯So that guy does have some sense to him . ¡¯

    When the two reached the school field together, a bunch of students still couldn¡¯t get used to the idea that the Goddess of their ss was with someone, especially someone who just recently transferred . Rachel herself didn¡¯t bother exining that Alex wasn¡¯t her boyfriend but just a friend, she did this so that people confessing to her will lessen or better yet entirely stop .

    The P . E teacher who saw everyone was already gathered decided to make the ss run fiveps under the scorching heat .

    When the ss started running, Oliver was at the head of the pack with his superior athletic ability . Alex on the other hand was jogging at a leisurely pace right beside Rachel . Since Alex was taller than Rachel he was able to block the harmful rays of the sun from reaching Rachel, he became Rachel¡¯s shade .

    Obviously Rachel noticed this kind gesture of Alex, and was once more reminded of how much Alex cared for her . ¡¯Why does he care for me this much? Didn¡¯t we just meet yesterday, and it wasn¡¯t even a romantic meeting, it was a bad start . . . ¡¯

    "Hey Alex what do you think your doing?" Rachel asked Alex while continuing to run .

    "What do you mean?" Alex asked genuinely confused at the question .

    "You could easily caught up to Oliver at the front, but your deliberately slowing your pace to match mine . Why are you doing that?"

    "Well I¡¯m protecting you from the UV rays of the sun . "

    "Why do you need to protect me? Look at everybody else they don¡¯t need someone to block the UV rays for them . How am I any different from them that I need you to block the sun¡¯s UV rays?" Rachel asked with a bit of irritation at the end .

    "They¡¯re them, and you¡¯re you . To me your special, your someone I must protect . " As Alex responded to Rachel¡¯s question, he suddenly thought . ¡¯Was that alright? I didn¡¯t really say anything about it being my mission, it will seem like it was just my desire to protect her . . . Ok I guess I¡¯m safe . ¡¯

    Rachel on the other hand was blushing, she doesn¡¯t know how many times she had blush ever since meeting Alex . She just couldn¡¯t help it, this guy who looks like he has zero idea about girls or dating one would always sessfully deliver a surprise attack . He would always say the most unexpected thing at the worse timing .

    Rachel just continued jogging without saying another word . As she jogged beside Alex she felt a sense offort and security . Alex¡¯s body was not big nor was he too tall, yet to Rachel the man jogging right beside her at this very moment look like he could shield her from everything . She smiled at the sense offort she felt .

    The two silently continued their jogging, the students who heard their conversation could practically see the pink atmosphere the two created .

    The boys who liked Rachel had now truly lost . Their Goddess since the start had been blushing and smiling as she stood by the transfer student . . . By Alexander¡¯s side . They who had tried to make her smile had ultimately failed, and it was only Alexander that was able to achieve it .

    . . . .

    When the group was done running, the P . E teacher gave them free time . The boys invited Alex to y Basketball with them, but Alex declined . Firstly he needed to protect Rachel and right now she was tired from running, making her more vulnerable at the moment . Lastly Alex didn¡¯t know how to y Basketball, he would only be a liability to any team he joined .

    The group of boys misunderstood this as Alex just wanting to have some alone time with his girlfriend . The group of boys approached Oliver and asked him instead . Oliver looked at Alex and Rachel¡¯s direction, he gave the two a thumbs up and smiled . Rachel also misunderstood Alex¡¯s actions as him wanting to spend more time with her .

    Rachel sat at a shade of the tree near the school field, Alex followed after her like a loyal dog . The two sat down side by side . There were no words only silence as a gentle breeze blew by, the two simply looked at their ssmates y happily . Some of the girls who noticed the two felt a bit giddy seeing the two so close to each other, It was as if they had a world of their own .

    The silence continued for awhile before Alex spoke . "It¡¯s so peaceful . " "Why did you suddenly say that?" Rachel asked Alex interested why he would say such a line at this moment .

    Alex was caught by surprise by another of Rachel¡¯s questions . "Nothing really just sitting here with you watching the clouds looking at our ssmates having fun feels real peaceful to me . " Alex didn¡¯t look at Rachel trying to avoid her gaze as he continued looking at the clouds . He averted his gaze because he was afraid Rachel might notice something suspicious .

    Hearing Alex¡¯s answer and the way he continued to look at the clouds made her think that it really was peaceful .

 Chapter 17

    Chapter 17

    Alex who was following Kumiko and Joseph deeper into the house, was studying theyout of the ce . He couldn¡¯t help but notice the numerous ancient weaponry hanging on the walls . There were Spears, Halberds, Longswords, Katanas, Nodachis, ymores, Bows, and many more . There were even armors of different countries and eras . Noticing Alex¡¯s attention was on the numerous articles of weapons and armors Kumiko smiled .

    "These things are my husband¡¯s collection . The founder and creator of the Ultimate Dojo was my husband . He loved the ancient people¡¯s way of fighting so using his understanding of all the martial arts of the past created a modern day martial art that can be used to fight people using modern day weapons such as guns . "

    When Alex heard her introduction to how their martial art was made he smiled . The father of Rachel was really simr to his own unarmedbat master . The movements of their martial art was like an inferior version of his master, and even their gaudy naming sense was the same . When Alex was happily thinking of one of his masters the trio finally reached their destination .

    "Behind this door is my husband, I hope you greet him properly . " When Kumiko said those lines a trace of sadness was seen in her deep dark eyes, even the hearty Joseph looked a bit mncholic . Alex opened the sliding door, when he entered he stood their speechless at what he saw .

    Their in front of him was an altar to honor the dead a bunch of candles were lit, though that by itself was shocking enough, but the thing that truly shocked Alex was the picture on the altar . In the picture was a man wearing the same Gi as Kumiko he was smiling while holding a trophy of an amateur martial arts contest . His distinctive dyed blond hair and deep blue eyes could have captivated anydy .

    Alex was dumbfounded at the picture, wasn¡¯t the guy in the picture his unarmedbat master?! Alex immediately looked at Kumiko and asked as politely, and calmly as possible .

    "Um, Kumiko what was the name of your husband?" Alex whose face which almost always showed a poker face, looked a bit nervous right now . Not knowing the internal conflict happening inside of Alex, Kumiko answered .

    "My husband¡¯s name is Dan Regius . " When Alex heard Kumiko¡¯s answer he was trying very hard to suppress his trembling .

    ¡¯What the hell isn¡¯t this one of my Masters?! Same name, same personality, same looks down to his very bone structure, wan¡¯t this Instructor REGIUS!¡¯

    "What¡¯s the matter Alex? Are you that surprised that my husband has passed away?" Kumiko looked at Alex confused at his silently staring at her husband¡¯s picture .

    Alex hearing that Kumiko thinks her husband is dead was screaming inside . ¡¯What the hell! How did this happen? Should I report to dad? Should I tell them their dad/husband is alive? Maybe he just looks like master and just has the same name . . . ¡¯ Alex knew how absurd his thinking was .

    "Um, Kumiko this may sound rude but can you tell me how your husband died?"

    "Oh that . . . It really is no problem telling my future son-inw what happened to his father-inw .

    When my husband finallypleted his martial art he wanted to prove to the world that his martial art can really fight effectively with modern weapons . So he decided to go to battlefields in different countries . As he expected he was able to defeat people with guns, he would show us pictures of piles of men beneath his feet . Then one day he wrote to me saying that it was not enough beating people with guns, he wanted to fight people riding tanks .

    At first I thought my husband had gone crazy, but a few weekster he showed me a video of him fighting a tank . He was able to dodge the tank¡¯s shells, and once they were reloading he charged forward broke the entrance and proceeded to attack the people inside . The next letter . . . The final letter he sent was him saying he wanted to find a way to fight heavy weaponry more effectively . That was thest letter he sent, it has been ten years now and we haven¡¯t heard anything . The people of that particr battlefield had im the blond devil had died while gleefully fighting a tank . "

    Hearing Kumiko¡¯s exnation Alex was now a hundred percent sure that the blond devil Kumiko¡¯s husband was his Master . No one other than him could im to beat a tank with his bare flesh .

    "Sorry Kumiko for asking such a rude question . Can you please excuse me for a moment I need to make a phone call . " Before Kumiko could respond Alex dashed off towards the exit .

    Bewildered by the whole scene Kumiko and Joseph stood at their spots motionless for awhile . "Was that story too shocking?" Kumiko asked Joseph .

    "Well I did tell my friends what happened to my father and they allughed saying I was just joking . Still after I showed them father¡¯s pictures and videos they would suddenly believe me and as you know they¡¯re now the disciples of our martial art . Still this is the first time I saw someone react like that . "

    Kumiko nodded at Joseph¡¯s opinion . "Yeah, his reaction was a first . He didn¡¯t question the authenticity of the story, he reacted like he believed every word I said . If a normal person heard the story without seeing the pictures and the video they would react the same way as your friends . . . Yet Alex reacted differently . . . " While Kumiko and Joseph were analyzing Alex¡¯s bizarre reaction, Alex was making a phone call .

    Of course Alex was calling his dad . Carlo once again hearing his ringing phone and seeing Alex¡¯s name pop up on the screen sighed . "Hey Alex did you greet the girl¡¯s parents properly?" Was the first thing Carlo said as he answered the phone . Alex without answering the question asked his own question .

    "Dad did you know, Instructor Regius had a family?!"

    "Yeah I did . . . Why are you asking this now?"

    "Well Rachel¡¯s father is Instructor Regius!"

 Chapter 19

    Chapter 19

    Alex was finally able to leave Rachel¡¯s house, around eight o¡¯clock . The family wouldn¡¯t let him go, and kept on asking him weird questions, like what kind of girl he likes, what type of food he prefers eating, what music he likes listening to and other such nonsensical questions .

    While walking home Alex started thinking about the bits of information he got while they were having dinner . Kumiko the wife of Instructor Dan, wishes that his death was just a joke and he would suddenly appear before her smiling that wacky grin of his .

    The three brothers of Rachel respect their father very much, and never believed that he was dead . The three always thought that their father had just gotten into a much worse battlefield training his techniques to perfection, that¡¯s why he wasn¡¯t able to contact them . If he ever returns the three would want to show their father the improvements they made while he was gone .

    The only one who felt differently from the other members of the family was Rachel . She doesn¡¯t want anything to do with by her own words her deadbeat father . She hates her father so much that, she refused to continue practicing their martial art . Even if he was alive and returns home she might not forgive him .

    . . .

    Alex after returning home, headed straight to his dad¡¯s study . The moment he entered Alex saw that his dad was talking on the phone . When Carlo spotted Alex he ended the call immediately .

    "Alex report everything regarding today¡¯s events . "

    "Sir, Yes, Sir!" Alex saluted and recounted today¡¯s events . Starting from his meeting with Oliver until his dinner with Rachel¡¯s family .

    When Carlo heard Alex¡¯s report he was silent for a moment . Carlo was contemting on how to deal with Dan and his family, but what worried him even more was the so called Shadow Mercenaries . This James codenamed Oliver wanted to meet him, yet Carlo knew nothing of this so called Shadow Mercenaries . If Carlo meets Oliver right now without any information in regards to Oliver and his organization he wont be able to feel at ease .

    Carlo contacted Luke the best investigator they had in the squad . Once Carlo sent a message to Luke saying to find out everything in regards to the Shadow Mercenaries, Luke called back almost instantaneously .

    "Boss is it true? Are you really trying to investigate the Shadow Mercenaries?" Carlo was surprised to receive a call from Luke who likes to change locations and phone numbers every five hours . Even more surprising was that Luke¡¯s voice actually had a trace of fear as he spoke .

    Alex was still standing there waiting for his dad¡¯s next instructions . Carlo signaled him to leave the room for awhile . Alex saluted and left the room .

    "Yes it¡¯s true . . . Why is there a problem?"

    "Boss how did you even find out about the shadow mercenaries? I¡¯m sure I never reported anything to you in regards to them . "

    When Carlo heard that Luke didn¡¯t report to him in regards to the information of the Shadow Mercenaries, that could only mean one thing this organization was dangerous .

    "A ssmate of Alex is suppose to be from the Shadow Mercenaries, and it seems like he wants to meet me . "

    "Boss what was the name of Alex¡¯s ssmate?"

    "He was called James Bourne . " Carlo could hear Luke stumbling on the other side of the line .

    "Boss did you just say James Bourne?!" If the fear in his voice wasn¡¯t evident awhile ago the moment Carlo said the name James Bourne Luke¡¯s voice was now slightly trembling with a higher pitch .

    "Do you know him?" Carlo was now taking this seriously . At first he thought Alex¡¯s ssmate was a tad delusional and it was just a coincidence that he was able to stop Alex from drawing his gun, but hearing Luke¡¯s fearful voice made him think otherwise .

    "Boss that person is one of the most sessful agents in the Shadow Mercenaries . James Bourne is just a codename no one know his true name . He like Alex is a young genius of the battlefield . "

    "Ok so he¡¯s like Alex, but what¡¯s making you so scared?" Carlo was confused, so what if he was like Alex? Does that warrant such fear?

    "Boss you don¡¯t know since we¡¯ve always been by Alex¡¯s side, but if you face him as an enemy . . . Then you could only hope you die a quick death, cause that¡¯s the best oue when facing someone like Alex . Still the reason I¡¯m afraid is not because of that, it¡¯s because someone with the same abilities as Alex plus an organization on the same level or above ours backing him, is a real fearsome opponent . "

    Carlo calmed himself and tried to regte his breathing . "Okay then send me all the information regarding the Shadow Mercenaries . I will see what I can do, but based on what Alex said he and him had form a pact of brotherhood . "

    "That¡¯s our Alex for you, even the ever elusive James Bourne wants to be his friend . He might have decided that they¡¯re on the same level that¡¯s why he initiated the pact of brotherhood . " Luke was a bit excited at the new information he got about James Bourne .

    . . .

    In a room full of military merchandises and a bunch of dumbbells scattered around, a boy was resting under his bed . The reason why he was under his bed was because he believed that when an enemy attacks he would think that he was dead after attacking the decoy dummy sleeping in his bed . This was Oliver, he was recording the events of the day in his personal recorder .

    "Today I have form a pact of brotherhood with a newrade Alex . He is someone with great potential, I wish to learn more from him . He even promised to introduce me to his father . I hope his father could teach me a thing or two about survival training . "

    Unbeknownst to him he was being gravely misunderstood by Alex and his father . Coincidentally the name of his made up organization turned out to be real, even the fake name he made was real as well, it was even rted to the organization that he made up . Turns out all of his delusions were real the only thing not real was he himself wasn¡¯t James Bourne .

    He who was just an a bit above average high school student was being feared by two of the greatest mercenaries that ever walked the battlefield . If he knew what kind of misunderstandings were ensuing no one knows if Oliver would¡¯ve been excited or scared .

 Chapter 23

    Chapter 23

    After ss Alex¡¯s group headed towards the Student Council room . While they were walking to the room Oliver was panicking, he was actually very frightened of meeting the student council president, even though on the outside he looked the same as usual because of his pure desire to stay in character, yet deep inside he was shivering in fear .

    The student council President Evangeline Kain was the daughter of one of the most influential families in the city . The reason she even attends a public high school is for a test set by her family . No one knows the exact details of the test and everything about it is merely spection .

    Evangeline Kain the moment she entered the school as a first year she was immediately ced at the top of the beauty rankings, and after a week she reced the old student council President and became the new one . Ever since she started her reign a month ago, she quickly stabilized the club funding problem, and gave funds depending on the clubs merits . The better you perform the more funds you get, and in reverse the less you perform well the less funds you get, there is an actual chance for not gaining any funds at all .

    This side of the President was called the wise benevolent side, the other side of the President was called the smiling queen . In general Evangeline Kain was a kind hearted person, but if someone breaks the rules she has set, a scary fate awaits . The first sacrifice was the rock n roll club who lost all of their budget since they weren¡¯t able to sell even one cd . They kept one pestering the President until they actually stole from the light music club, the President quickly found out, and the events that happened afterwards no one knows what actually happened, but in the end the rock n roll club disbanded .

    When asked why they disbanded, the members would only cry and shiver in fear not able to answer the question . This kind of event happened two more times before the students realized the their kind beautiful student council president who was always smiling her calm smile was actually very frightening .

    The three stood in front of the door to the student council room . Alex and Rachel would wait outside while Oliver will be the only to enter as he request to form a circle . Oliver looked at the doors of the student council room, hesitating for a little bit before entering .

    Upon entering the room, the first thing Oliver noticed was the tworge windows overlooking the school grounds in front of the windows was a desk , and in the middle of the room was a table and chairs surrounding the table . The desk and the table were filled with paper, but the chairs were empty, the only one in the room was Oliver and thedy sitting on the desk .

    Long silver hair that reaches the waist, dark blue eyes, and pale white skin, and a mature body that doesn¡¯t look like a fifteen year old¡¯s body, if one was to see her for the first time, they might mistake her for a vampire with such beautiful features . This was Evangeline Kain the Student Council President of Cromer Public High School .

    Evangeline smiled at the new arrival and stood up from her sitting position . She slowly walked towards Oliver, once she stood in front of him she looked upwards since she was a head shorter than Oliver .

    "So student Oliver what brings you here in the student council room?" With a melodious voice Evangeline spoke, her gaze on Oliver felt very seductive but she wasn¡¯t trying to be .

    "I¡¯m here to apply to forming a circle . " Oliver handed Evangeline the application form to create a circle . Evangeline took the form from him with her long slender hands . She silently read it and saw Rachel¡¯s familiar name in the form, Evangeline was surprised to see her name pop up in a form to create a circle with Oliver . She then proceeded to look at the other name written in the form, Alexander Samarita . This name was unfamiliar to her, she had been busy for the past week so she couldn¡¯t look at the new papers that came this week, Alexander must be a transfer student .

    "Of course Oliver, I can easily approve of your request to form a circle, but before I do so can I meet the other members?" Evangeline was truly curious about the reason Rachel joined this circle, if her conjecture was correct the reason should be rted to the transfer student Alexander .

    "Very well then, I will call myrades . " Oliver went out of the room and called Alex and Rachel .

    As the two entered the room the President was calmly looking at Rachel, ¡¯She really did join . . . So let¡¯s see who Alexander is . ¡¯ When Evangeline looked at the one beside Rachel, she stepped backwards in shock .

    ¡¯What is he doing here!¡¯ Evangeline was looking at the boy who looked at her with the same emotionless face he showed in the past . Two years ago Evangeline was kidnapped by a terrorist group and was even about to be raped by one of the perverts in the group, but before that could happen a boy with the same age as her appeared . The boy annihted the terrorist group with extreme precision all without showing any signs of emotions . With that emotionless face of his that looked more handsome than any other in Evangeline¡¯s eyes spoke to her and asked, "are you alright?" This was how Evangeline¡¯s first love came to be .

    After rescuing her and bringing her back to her family without a scratch ,the boy disappeared . Using all the resources of the Kain family, Evangeline tried to find the boy to thank him for the deed . Yet no matter how hard she tried she couldn¡¯t find a trace of him, yet now here he stands in front of her as a student of the same school .

    ¡¯God really must be looking out for me . ¡¯ Evangeline basking in the novel like meeting, saw Alex was slowly approaching her . The calm demeanour Evangeline had suddenly broke, and she was now panicking .

    ¡¯What¡¯s happening?! Is he going to confess?! Right now?! I¡¯m not sure if my heart is ready yet!¡¯ While Evangeline was panicking, Alex was already right in front of her pointing at the window .

    "Your windows are too big, and the position of your desk is not ideal . You might easily get sniped from the building a few hundred meters away from here . " Alex could not remember the lovestruck girl in front of him, and pointed out a security w he noticed .

 Chapter 24

    Chapter 24

    Evangeline almost stumbled from the words Alex said . The emotionless eyes of his weren¡¯t even looking at her , so after a moment of rity Evangeline finally noticed something was wrong . ¡¯Does he not remember me?¡¯

    Evangeline was shocked that Alex couldn¡¯t remember her, its not that she was being arrogant but she knew that she was a true beauty . So she was truly shocked that Alex didn¡¯t even have an impression of her .

    Rachel noticing the weird reaction of Evangeline went close to Alex and held his arm and bowed toward Evangeline . "Sorry Student Council President Evangeline, this guy just doesn¡¯t know how to interact with people properly . Sorry if he offended you . "

    Evangeline couldn¡¯t concentrate on what Rachel was saying since she was fully focused on Rachel hugging Alex¡¯s arm .

    ¡¯What the hell? Why are you holding his arm like its normal!?¡¯ Evangeline was grinding her teeth while still maintaining her smile . Evangeline then got between Rachel and Alex to separate the two .

    "It¡¯s alright I understand his entric behavior since we met before . " The tension suddenly rose, and Oliver gulped . Rachel and Evangeline stared at each other without blinking, still maintaining their smiles .

    ¡¯So I was right Evangeline knows Alex, and she actually likes him . . . Too bad for you Alex already chose me . ¡¯ Rachel was smiling smugly sure of her victory .

    ¡¯What is the rtionship between Alex and Rachel . . . Alex doesn¡¯t even seem to mind Rachel hugging her!¡¯ Evangeline the top beauty of the school was panicking inwardly as she looked at Rachel .

    Oliver seeing this situation could only wryly smile, after hearing Evangeline say that she and Alex met before he could somehow understand what was happening . ¡¯Oh my dearrade are you actually a ro protagonist . Why does all this youthful situations happen to you? Well that is the path of youth you wish to tread, very well as yourrade I will support you no matter what . ¡¯

    Alex on the other hand was still thinking of preventive measures against attacks from the outside .

    "How about we all sit down . " The four of them sat on a chair at the table . Rachel sat on the right side of Alex, Evangeline sat on the left side of Alex, while Oliver sat at the other side of the table .

    "Ms President?"

    "What is it Ms . Rachel?"

    "Howe you¡¯re sitting here beside us while one of our members is the one on the other side of the table?"

    "Oh my, I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t notice . How about we just sit were we feel mostfortable . "

    None of them moved, seeing no one changed their sits Evangeline nodded her head in approval of the current sitting arrangement .

    "So to start off, Alex why don¡¯t you tell me your rtionship with Ms . Rachel?" Evangeline tried to say those words without making her tone tremble .

    "Ms . President how is that a relevant question to the situation at hand? We are here to make a circle not to have a social talk . " Evangeline happily red at Rachel, you could practically see the sparks fly between the two .

    "Well as the student council president it is my duty to make sure that there are no students having inappropriate rtionships while on campus . "

    "Then why don¡¯t you ask what¡¯s my rtionship with Oliver as well?" Rachel started hugging Alex¡¯s arm again which made Evangeline¡¯s always smiling face darken a little . Evangeline then had a brilliant idea and hugged Alex¡¯s other arm .

    Alex seeing the Student Council President hug his other arm didn¡¯t respond to it . Alex thought since Rachel was doing it as well, this might be something most girls do . Also since Evangeline wasn¡¯t really a threat he decided to let this action slide .

    "What do you think your doing Ms . President?" Rachel was getting a bit angry at the tant actions of Evangeline .

    Evangeline only responded with a more splendid smile, since she was able to hug of the guy she was thinking about for the past two years . She didn¡¯t mind Rachel¡¯s irritation of her .

    "Well since I saw Ms . Rachel enjoying hugging his arm, I thought I might as well enjoy it too . "

    "Whatever, can we please get back to the topic of allowing the creation of our circle?" Rachel said so in an ice cold tone .

    "I will allow its creation, after I learn the rtionship between you and Alex . "

    "Fine then, Alex tell our President what am I to you . " Rachel already knew what Alex would answer so she wasn¡¯t really bothered by the question, just a bit irritated at how Evangeline was acting .

    "Affirmative . . . Rachel to me is someone I must protect at all cost . She is someone very important to me . " Rachel who already expected the first part of Alex¡¯s statement was still alright but hearing the unexpected second part of that statement Rachel was once again turning red from ear to ear .

    Evangeline on the other hand was looking at Alex¡¯s emotionless eyes staring only at Rachel . ¡¯So you already have someone you want to protect at all cost . . . It seems I was toote . . . I guess I¡¯ll have to give up now . . .

    . . .

    . . .

    . . .

    ¡¯No! Why should I give up it¡¯s not like he said they were dating! No even if they are dating as long as they aren¡¯t husband and wife yet, I still have a chance . I don¡¯t lose out in terms of beauty, and my intelligence is actually above her¡¯s, I also have the backing of the Kain family . Not to mention my chest is more abundant than her¡¯s . ¡¯

    "Okay then I approve of the creation of your circle . " Hearing this and seeing Evangeline not asking anymore questions about Alex, Rachel thought that Evangeline gave up .

    Evangeline took the student council stamp and stamped on the application form . "From this day forth the Mercenary Circle has been created . So to celebrate, how about we have some cake . " Evangeline was about to get some cake, when somebody burst into the room . It was a second year girl wearing sses who entered .

    "There you are President . I have been looking all over for you . You should be at the meeting with the tennis club, in regards to their increase in budget since they won thest tournament . " The sses wearing girl took hold of the president without even bothering with Alex and his group .

    "Wait! I still need to have some time with ALEX!!!" Those were thest screams of the Student Council President as she was dragged away from the room .

    When Oliver saw this he couldn¡¯t help but feel disillusioned by the image he had of the President . Rachel hearing Evangeline¡¯s scream, once again renewed her view of the president as someone problematic .

    ¡¯So she still hasn¡¯t given up on Alex . I wasn¡¯t expecting anypetition for this weirdo . ¡¯ Rachel looked at Alex¡¯s emotionless face and sighed . ¡¯Is this guy really worth fighting over? Still I don¡¯t like losing so noway am I giving up now . ¡¯

 Chapter 25

    Chapter 25

    After getting approval from the president, the group was now following the Public Rtions officer of the student council to their new room as advised by the Vice-President . When they reached the room, it turned out to be the old storage room outside of the school building .

    Rachel was already expecting this, since they were a circle created a week after most people created there own circle¡¯s, so this must be the only remaining avable room . Oliver on the other hand saw the old storage room, as something with a lot of potential .

    Oliver opened the door, and a bunch of dust spread out . Inside the old storage room were spider webs, old tennis rackets, broken balls, and a bunch of broken misceneous things . Rachel who entered the storage room, thought that the inside looks much worse than she expected .

    Alex on the other hand was scanning the inside for potential bomb threats, and structural hazards . He quickly killed all of the spiders he saw, since he had no time to check if they¡¯re able to harm Rachel or not .

    "Okay then myrades let¡¯s borrow some brooms and clean this ce up . " Oliver said with an excited voice . The three immediately went to get the materials they needed to clean up . When the three returned, Oliver was surprised to see Alex and Rachel surrounded by a ton of people who held brooms and mops .

    "Where did all these peoplee from?"

    "Well I told them we created a new Circle and the room we were given was the dirty old storage room outside, so a bunch of our ssmates in the going home club volunteered to help . " Rachel was smiling at everyone present, which warmed the hearts of those who came .

    ¡¯She scammed them . ¡¯ Oliver quickly figured out what had happened . Seeing as most of the people who came were boys Rachel must¡¯ve enticed them to help . There were also some girls which were attracted by Alex . Oliver seeing the scene of a bunch of people cleaning the inside of the old storage room just to help them, made him feel that the circle the three of them created would be sessful one way or another .

    Once the cleaning was done, some of the boys even brought three chairs and an extra table they got from the new storage room and ced them inside . Oliver, and Rachel happily thanked the kind helpers, Alex on the other hand simply bowed his head .

    Alex once again looked inside the room as well as outside and double checked everything . He actually found two wiretaps hidden outside of the room, near the open window . One of the boys who helped clean must¡¯ve ced it there .

    ¡¯This is a recorder that is connected via wifi . . . Who could want to use such an obvious wiretap? This is the work of an amateur . Still since they decided to wiretap this ce they¡¯re target must be one of us . It can¡¯t be me cause if they know who I am they would have used better equipment . The same reasoning could be applied to Oliver, so that leaves . . . I see their target was Rachel, then it¡¯s time to eliminate the threat . ¡¯

    Alex was ready to hunt down the boys who ced the wiretap to protect Rachel from them, but before he could do this Oliver and Rachel noticed the wiretaps in his hands .

    "Really those peeping toms what we¡¯re they trying to achieve with this? . . . " Rachel sighed at the pointless practice the boys did .

    "This equipment came from the newspaper club right?" Oliver asked Rachel, and Rachel nodded .

    "Newspaper club? Are they our enemy?" Alex asked confused why the newspaper club would even try wiretapping their room . The only reason he could think off was that they were the enemy .

    "No, they most probably wanted to get some dirt on us so that they can write exaggerated news on this week¡¯s newspaper . Well whatever let¡¯s just keep these things as our spoils of war . " Rachel suggested with a wicked smile on her face . Alex and Oliver nodded at Rachel¡¯s suggestion .

    . . .

    In the newspaper club¡¯s clubroom the president who was listening to the talk of keeping their recorder made him angry .

    "Whose the one who hid the wiretap in an obvious ce that they actually found it?!" All the members were looking at one guy . The one they were looking at was one of the boys who helped clean the storage room .

    The boy started panicking as he exined it was not his fault . "I didn¡¯t hide it in an obvious ce . I hid it where you told me to hide it president! I hidden it outside of the room on top of the window of the storage room . "

    "If you really hidden it there, then why was it found immediately after you left?"

    The people of the newspaper club start arguing, not knowing even if they hidden it underground Alex would¡¯ve still found it .

    . . .

    Back in the new room of the Mercenary Circle, Rachel was writing a message on her smartphone . "What are you writing Rachel?" Alex asked Rachel as he was observing her like usual .

    "I¡¯m trying to advertise our new circle, and asking people from the clubs toe if they need help . " Rachel responded without looking at Alex .

    "Do you think that would workrade Rachel?" Oliver was a bit skeptical of this tactic . Rachel stopped looking at her phone for a moment, and looked at Oliver as if he was the most stupid person to ever exist .

    "I hope you haven¡¯t forgotten, but unlike you two I¡¯m actually socially active . The only reason why I¡¯m not talking with my other friends is because they¡¯re giving me space to be with you guys for now . " After answering Oliver¡¯s question Rachel went back to staring at her phone .

    Alex suddenly noticed something outside . "I¡¯m going to step out for a bit okay?" Alex informed Rachel, who simply waved her hand still focusing on her phone .

    Alex took a step outside and picked up some pebbles, he then started to throw the pebbles in different ces .

    From afar he could hear some thud sounds .

    ¡¯Hmm are those still from the newspaper club? They¡¯re really persistent, are they really not an enemy?¡¯ Alex started to think of ways to stop the newspaper club without using force .

    . . .

    Back in the newspaper club the members were panicking .

    "President all six of our cameramen who went to the new circle established by Rachel, have fainted . "

    "What? How? How could they all faint at the same time!?" The president of the newspaper club couldn¡¯t understand what the hell was happening .

    "Yes, our people who went to pick them up, noticed a small lump on their foreheads, it seems like something hit them . "

    "Nice observation Sherlock! Of course something hit them, but what was it that hit them and who was the one who threw it?" The newspaper club had no idea that they were now being targeted by something they shouldn¡¯t have provoked .

 Chapter 26

    Chapter 26

    After escorting Rachel home, Alex sprinted back to school . Currently it was 4:30 p . m, and school closes at 7:00 p . m so usually the clubs who stayte leave at around 6:30 . Alex started to gather information about the newspaper club, After asking here and there hearing the testimonies of some of the 2nd and 3rd year students, Alex was now sure that the newspaper club was nothing but trouble .

    The newspaper club ever since Dexter the new president of the club was appointed, has started bing more of a tabloid than an actual newspaper . The newspaper club would gather some rumors and take picture that resembled those rumors and write an article about it . The whole point of the club was to inform students of what was happening in the school, but now it simply turned into a gossip corner .

    There have been many incidents that led to fights, breaking up of groups, destruction of friendships, scorning of ssmates, and the worst was making a student turn into a shut-in not wanting to ever leave his room . All of these were the results of the exaggerated news the club writes . The new president Dexter only seems to care about poprity, since they are able to sell their newspaper well enough and they were popr, the student council who uses a merit based system turns a blind eye to them .

    Now that Alex was sure that the newspaper club poses a threat to Rachel¡¯s safety he arbitrarily decided to force the newspaper club to either disband or change their president into someone new, but he preferably wishes for them to disband .

    Alex started preparing for his assault, but first he called his dad and exined the situation to him . Next he asked his dad if he could give him whatever information he can about the members of the newspaper club .

    Carlo who didn¡¯t like how the newspaper club operated supported his son . After ten minutes with his resources Carlo was able to gain a lot of information about the past records, family background, and other such information on the members of the newspaper club . Carlo then proceeded to email the information to Alex .

    While waiting for his dad¡¯s intel, Alex continued gathering intel on the members of the newspaper club by asking around .

    . . .

    In the newspaper club¡¯s clubroom, it was already 5:30 p . m and the members were still discussing on how to get information about Rachel Regius¡¯s new circle . When suddenly the light¡¯s in the room turned off, next theirptops also suddenly turned off even their smartphones had turned off .

    "What happened a power outage?" One of the members asked, Dexter started panicking and shouted back .

    "Are you stupid?! If this was a power outage then why are theptops and our smartphones affected as well, they¡¯re at full bat and we haven¡¯t plugged them yet . . . This feels more like an EMP than a power outage . . . First we need to check out what¡¯s happening in the other rooms . " After the initial shock of the event, Dexter started to calm down .

    When the members of the club tried to leave the room, they found out the door was jammed, and they couldn¡¯t open it . "Something is jamming the door from the other side!" The newspaper club members started panicking again .

    "Is this someone¡¯s idea of a joke! The person out there, you should open up the door or I¡¯ll get you expelled!" Dexter shouted at whoever was at the other side of the door .

    "No one will answer you from the other side, and I made sure no one will hear you screaming . " The newspaper club members turned around looking at where the voice originated . There in front of them stood a handsome boy with an emotionless face, his tone full of indifference .

    This was Alexander Samarita, the rumored boyfriend of one of the three Goddesses Rachel Regius . "What do you think your doing Alexander? Do you know this kind of thing could get you expelled?" Dexter was now finally able to calm down since he can see the person who started the ckout . Still Dexter was wondering how Alex was able to turn off all of their electronic devices . Well they could use this prank of his as ckmail material to gain personal information from him about Rachel .

    Seeing Alex not responding, Dexter assumed that the threat of expulsion frightened Alex . "So Alexander how about answering some of our questions, and will forget that this little incident ever happened . "

    Alex still not responding took something out of his bag, it was a handgun . "What the hell are you doing with something like that?!" Dexter screamed in fear, his fellow club members were frozen on the spot by the sight of the handgun .

    "Hahaha that¡¯s fake right? You can¡¯t possibly have brought a gun into school?" Dexter desperately said, Alex with his emotionless face pointed the handgun at Dexter .

    "Do you want to see if it¡¯s real or not?" With his indifferent tone of voice made the whole thing more believable . Dexter couldn¡¯t control it anymore and peed his pants .

    "What do you want?" With a pale face Dexter finally asked Alex .

    "I want you to disband the the newspaper club . " When everyone heard Alex¡¯s demand they all thought the same thing . ¡¯That was it?¡¯ All of these just for them to disband?

    Dexter was about to agree since once they were able to escape from this room, he could report Alex to the police for illegal possession of firearms and attempted murder . Yet what Alex said next totally destroyed that idea .

    "So that you wont change your mind after agreeing I prepared a failsafe . If you guys ever go back on your word after disbanding or if you even mention this event to anyone else then my n B will be implemented . n B consists of attacking all of you individually . You Jason Lee, your father works for miracle pharmaceutics if you ever leak what happened here or not follow through with the disbandment your father will lose his job, be unemployed and have difficulty finding a new job . You Rita Han, you have a little brother attending Mirage Nursery if you do something stupid something bad might happen to your brother like being kidnapped . Even you Dexter, you have a dog name Odin that you love very much, if you go against our deal you might find your dog dead because of a random car ident . " After this Alex started exining detailed information of every club member and told of them what might happen if they fail to uphold their end of the deal .

    "How could you even do half of the things your saying?" Dexter asked his face paled even more, he was already frightened at the idea Alex was able to gather all these information about them, his only hope was Alex was just bluffing to get out of this situation . Even though deep down he already knew what Alex was saying could actually happen .

    "Don¡¯t you see this gun, where do you think I got it? Also how do you think I acquired all of these information on you guys? Finally don¡¯t you know myst name is Samarita?" When Dexter heard Alex reminding him hisst name was Samarita, he started shivering in fear .

    The only family with thest name Samarita that could aplish all of Alex¡¯s threats can only be that family . One of the richest man in the country, he who is said to practically own the whole city, Carlo Samarita . If Alex was rted to that man then all of his threats weren¡¯t a bluff they were all real .

    Seeing the newspaper club members reactions Alex knew they understood what he meant . He turned around clicked something from his pocket, allowing the lights to turn back on, he opened the door and said, "Newspaper Club you¡¯re dismissed . " With those parting words Alex left the room, leaving behind the dazed former newspaper club members, who were still thinking if everything that happened was all a dream .

 Chapter 30

    Chapter 30

    Hillman High School was a private school that ims to be the gathering ground for elites, and the elite of elites in this school were the people in the sports division . Right now the Kendo Club of Hillman High School is pitifully at third ce in the whole nation . This was the first time Hillman experienced this, for the High School which ims to have most of the second and first ce rankings in almost every sport, this was a smudge in their almost perfect record .

    Of course those of Hillman High School¡¯s upper management couldn¡¯t let this continue so this year they hired an incredible swordsman who won numerous times in the battlefield with only using a sword . He had retired from the battlefield fifteen years ago and had entered seclusion to retrain himself . Now he stands as the coach of Hillman High School¡¯s Kendo team .

    "Why are we even going to this dump? If I remember correctly this ce was only able to reach second ce in a regional tournament . Isn¡¯t this cecking too much as an opponent?" One of the members of Hillman¡¯s kendo team spoke, irritated at going to a public high school .

    "We¡¯re only here to look at Robert¡¯s skills . If he¡¯s as good as what Master says, then we are to offer him a full schrship at our school, allowance included . " Another member of the kendo team responded, he was arge character almost asrge and muscr as Oliver, looking at his face no one would¡¯ve guess he was a third year high school student . Most people who see him would think he¡¯s a middle age man . This was the captain of Hillman¡¯s Kendo team the growling bear Souske Kimura .

    The master he was talking about was Ken Seto a former legend of the battlefield . Ken Seto looked at the irritated student and asked . "Are you questioning my judgement?"

    Hearing Ken asking him a question it felt like a de was being held against his neck the student started sweating heavily . "I¡¯m sorry master I wasn¡¯t questioning your judgement . " Hearing the student¡¯s answer, Ken stopped looking at him .

    "Hehehe, Master sure is moody . Still I wonder if I can get a decent battle from that Robert guy?" The one who spoke was the ace of Hillman¡¯s Kendo club as well as Ken¡¯s one and only direct disciple . He was a first year that had a messy ck hair, a sharp glint in his eyes, and a vicious grin stered on his face . Those who know him knew of his personality . This ace of their¡¯s was a battle junkie who very much enjoyed the thrill of battle .

    "You might actually get to have a bit of workout today, Setsuna . " When Setsuna heard what his master said his battle fervor increased .

    "Really master?! I might actually get to go all out!" Setsuna was now really pumped up for the uing match .

    Yet when the Hillman kendo group reached the gymnasium, all they felt was disappointment Robert their target was out sick for the day, even the captain was not present, and one other member was out cold . What was this? Now they want to have a match with three people, and one of them is even a recement that¡¯s not from the club .

    Souske wanted to tell them that their team feels insulted and after saying want the whole team felt was going to leave, but before he could do anything he was stopped by Ken . Souske looked at Ken confused as to why he was stopping him, he saw that Ken was looking at one of the recement members, it was the boy who had an emotionless looking face .

    Ken who at first felt disappointment that Robert was not here, was about to leave but then he saw Alex . When he saw Alex, Ken had the urge to attack, since he smelled the familiar stench of the battlefield from him . Alex was also eyeing Ken, he noticed the way he stood and carried himself and determined that he must be quite the fighter .

    Ken who was also assessing Alex was awestruck . Alex who was simply standing beside a girl almost as if he was protecting her from every possible assault had no openings . His center of gravity was like that of a tree, and his eyes that seem to be looking at the whole surrounding area was unnerving . Ken noticed that even his disciple Setsuna was itching for a fight when he spotted Alex .

    Ken then looked at Noel with his piercing sword like gaze he spoke . "We will allow the match consisting of three fighters but he must be one of them, Also he needs to be the first to fight . "

    Ken was pointing at Alex, seeing he was being called upon Alex didn¡¯t respond at all . Rachel on the other hand wasn¡¯t surprised at the deration of the other party since she felt that they saw right through Alex¡¯s strength .

    Alex unresponsive nature was also something that didn¡¯t surprise Rachel anymore, since the first time she met him, Alex only seems to respond to her and her well being . When Rachel thought of that, she couldn¡¯t help but blush . ¡¯What the hell am I even thinking at a time like this!?¡¯ Rachel screamed in her mind . The Ice Queen that she used to be seemed to be gone forever . What was left was her current semi-tsundere self .

    Noel was surprised at the other side¡¯s request, but seeing that this was an opportunity to witness the strength of the third strongest kendo team in the nation, he couldn¡¯t refuse . Noel approached Alex and with a look that was saying hew as very sorry asked Alex . "Will you please help us?" Noel bowed his head .

    "We went here with the intention to help, so there is no need to bow, I will help you . " Alex responded with the same indifferent tone of his, there was no kindness in his voice he simply stated a fact .

    Noel epted Hillman¡¯s request, upon agreeing to the terms presented the two groups got ready . Setsuna who stood on one side was smiling viciously at Alex his excitement raised on a whole different level from awhile ago .

    Alex on the other hand was still showing his emotionless expression as if nothing that happens could faze the calmness of his mind .

    The two ready their shinai and stood in their starting positions . The referee of the match dered the start of the match . Just like the match with Ryuuji, Setsuna who was about to attack hesitated after seeing Alex¡¯s wless defense, but unlike Ryuuji, Setusuna¡¯s hesitation onlysted for a second and he slides forward towards Alex . He¡¯s suri-ashi was exquisite despite his wild nature it was as if he was gliding on air .

    When Setsuna was about to hit his opponent and shout MEN, he felt something heavy hit his helmet . Upon receiving the hit he fell to the ground unsure at what just happened, while he was confused he heard Alex¡¯s voice .

    "Wasn¡¯t that a hit? Didn¡¯t I win already?"

    "No you idiot you need to yell the area you hit exactly the same time you hit it, then you can score . Did none of you tell him the rules?" Rachel asked the kendo club members . Yet despite her question no one responded, they were still stunned by Alex¡¯s move that they almost couldn¡¯t see . In their eyes the move was simply a blur, yet they heard the sound of something hitting, and the fact that Alex¡¯s opponent was on the ground proved that he was able to hit .

    The one who was the most shocked was Setsuna himself, the opponent didn¡¯t even know the rules and he was fighting in a match with him .

    The one who kept on insulting Cromer High School¡¯s kendo team had his mouth wide open, stunned at what had happened .

    Ken on the other hand who saw the whole thing clearly, was frightened by Alex¡¯s talent . That one strike was precise and concise that it had no superfluous movements . Alex had abandoned any of those flowery movements modern martial artist use and kept to the basics and perfected it to the extreme . At this moment Ken remembered the battle that forced him to retire, when he remembered this he grew excited .

 Chapter 35

    Chapter 35

    When Alex was training his body by doing one finger push ups his mind was in a total mess . He started reflecting on what has happened in the past four days . This was the first time he has hesitated in a mission, no this was the first time he had hesitated in his entire life, and he did it not only once but more than twice . He couldn¡¯tprehend what he was feeling and why he was being like this .

    Alex intensified his training to distract himself from his current emotional turmoil . So many things had happened in the span of four days, he had gain not only one friend but three of them . Friends . . . The feelings he had when he thought of the word was a bit . . . bubbly? Those were the only words he could think of that could describe his current feelings .

    Alex knew he was changing bit by bit as the mission progressed, he was now unsure at what would happen by the end of the mission . . . Will he still be Alexander Samarita? Or will he be someone else entirely, like the time he first met his foster father .

    At the beginning he wasn¡¯t Alexander Samarita he was someone else entirely, a somewhat normal boy . Now he was Alexander Samarita, a mercenary, a soldier . . . So then who would he be in the end of this mission? Alexander the student? The bodyguard? The friend?

    Inside his room full of guns, swords, and makeshift explosives, Alex felt safe, relieved, but for outside this walls, in that group of happy faces, he felt anxiety? . . . What was he afraid off? Was he afraid that his world might affect their peaceful world? Was he afraid that the mission information might leak and he would bebeled as a liar a traitor? Or was he afraid on seeing her depressed and betrayed?

    While Alex was thinking thisplicated thoughts he heard his phone ring . It was five o¡¯clock in the morning and it was a Sunday, who could be calling?

    Alex had received a message from Oliver stating all members of the Mercenary Circle should meet up in front of the cafe at Elmers street at exactly 08:00 .

    Elmers street was themercial street near their school¡¯s premise . It was a ten minute walk from Alex¡¯s home to there . Still since Rachel was going there Alex must do a proper reconnaissance to see if it was safe for Rachel .

    . . . .

    Alex after doing a proper recon of the area, was now waiting in front of the cafe thirty minutes ahead of schedule . People were looking at him as he waited for the others . The ones who were looking was mostly girls, since Alex was good looking they thought that he was model waiting for his photo shoot to start .

    The reason people were staring more than usual was because of Alex wearing clothes other than his school uniform . At the moment he was wearing a simple t shirt with a leather jacket over it along with a denim pant which is rolled at the bottom, apanied by military boots with a leather heel, on his neck was ne with a wolf¡¯s teeth which he hunted down when he was eleven .

    Of course this look of his wasn¡¯t designed by him, his father learning that he was having a meeting with friends . . . When Carlo heard his son said the words friends he almost cried on the spot, but held himself back and asked what Alex was wearing, which he predictably answered "my school uniform . "

    Hearing his son¡¯sck of a fashion sense he decided to be the one to pick out his outfit, which resulted in his current look .

    The next one toe was Oliver who was wearing a peacoat over a blue shirt, matched with the tactical boots he always wears .

    The next ones toe were a pouting Rachel, a smiling Saya, and even a giggling Eva . Rachel was wearing a grey cardigan, jeans and grey ankle boots . Saya on the other hand was wearing navy ripped jeans and a pretty white top, finished with a nude zer, and some sneakers . Finally Eva was wearing a woman¡¯s military style jacket and slim tight leather jeans with ck military boots . .

    Seeing the three pretty girls dress up, made a very refreshing mood . The girls on the other hand saw the boys wearing a more cool casual look was surprised . The surrounding people were looking at the group of good looking boys, and beautiful girls fully expecting that they were filming a drama of sorts .

    "Hey you actually look good for once . Who knew you have an actual sense of style . " Rachelplimented Alex .

    "Wow so even you have a fashion sense . . . Still my Oliver looks better . " Saya rushed towards Oliver who evaded her iing hug .

    "Alex as I thought you look wonderful in anything you wear . So what do you think about how I look?" Afterplimenting Alex, Eva immediately asked Alex his opinion on her look . She wore this kind of military style outfit that she thought Alex might like, just to get apliment from him .

    "I can¡¯t give an opinion since I don¡¯t understand the question . . . To me you still look the same . " When Rachel heard those words she sighed . She already knew that Alex might answer like that, so she didn¡¯t bother asking .

    Eva on the other hand was still staying as positive as ever . ¡¯So no matter what I wear my beauty will never change is that what he meant . ¡¯ The filter for a girl in love was incredible .

    "Hey what are you and Ms . President doing here? Didn¡¯t I say members of the Mercenary Circle only . " Oliver asked the attached Saya on his arm .

    "I was staying at Rachel¡¯s ce when you texted about the meeting, I saw it so I decided toe, and I even invited Eva to have fun . The more the merrier right?" Saya said with a bright grin on her face .

    Eva on the other hand was feeling a bit guilty . "Was it not alright for me toe?" Eva asked with a bit of a guilt ridden tone .

    Not really equipped to deal with sad looking girls Oliver responded as kindly as possible . "No Ms . President it¡¯s alright for you to join . This one here is the only one I wouldn¡¯t invite . " Oliver pointed at Saya .

    "Hey that¡¯s discrimination! I demand fair treatment!" Saya pouted .

    "Fine then you cane with us, but this isn¡¯t going to be anything fun . To begin with, I was just nning to have a normal meeting to decide what would be our circle¡¯s next step . " When Saya heard what Oliver said, she had another brilliant idea .

    "Hey what if I quit the kendo club and join you guys instead . That way you get a new member and be one step closer to bing a real club!"

 Chapter 36

    Chapter 36

    The group was shocked at Saya¡¯s outrageous statement . . . Then they thought about it for awhile and there shock disappeared quickly, when they were reminded on how spontaneous this girl acted it seemed natural that she would do this .

    Oliver knew he was no match and no matter what he said, this girl called Sayaka nicknamed Saya will forcefully join . Without any other option Oliver looked at the other members of the circle .

    "Myrades are you willing to allow this . . . This person into our group?"

    "Aside from her personality which is rather . . . Erratic, her foundation is pretty good . I have no objection adding someone like her into the group . " Alex gave his opinion on the subject . Since if Sayaka was around Rachel, it would be better for the mission . Someone of Sayaka¡¯s level could easily subdue even a Rank B mercenary .

    "Heh, your one to talk . . . It¡¯s not like your personality is any better . Also I vote yes as well to Saya joining . If Saya wants to join let her join . It would be good to have another girl in the group . Also it fulfills the other objective on getting closer to bing an official club . Its not like we set a prerequisite to join us" Rachel gave her opinion as well, and it was obviusly in favor of Saya .

    Hearing his tworades siding with the outsider, Oliver felt a bit betrayed . Saya on the other hand was thrilled . "Yay! I get to join, now I can have as fun as I can with you guys . It¡¯s actually perfect timing since Eva is here it would be easier to process my resignation from the Kendo club . "

    Saya looked at Eva who seem a little bit out of it . "Oh it¡¯s alright I will allow your resignation from the Kendo club, you just need to fill some forms tomorrow . I will handle the rest . " Hearing Eva¡¯s response made Saya smile mischievously at Oliver, who felt that the days ahead will be hard on him .

    Eva on the other hand looked at the happily smiling Saya with envy in her eyes . She too wanted to join the Mercenary Circle with everyone and enjoy her youth with Alex, her friend Saya, and entric Oliver, she even wanted to enjoy it with her rival in love Rachel .

    Eva at this very moment was regretting on being born a Kain . She seems to have everything but in reality she had nothing .

    . . .

    In the street near the cafe where Alex and his group were having their meeting a very confident and handsome young man was walking at the sidewalk, while enjoying the the light breeze . This tall, handsome model like teenager was Niel Rayheart the most popr boy in Cromer Public High School . He was the envy of all the boys in school they all wanted to be him, and he was the number one guy, girls want as their boyfriend .

    Not only did he look good, he was the second highest scoring student in the whole school, second only to Evangeline . He was also good at any sport he tries, he himself believed that he was a perfect human . The only reason he even loses to Evangeline academically is because he has never tried to surpass her, nor did he feel the need to do so . Effort was what the lowly masses give to get what they wish, he could get anything he wants even without said effort .

    So you might be thinking that his family might not be that well off, but in truth his family was of the upper middle ss . The only reason why he attends a public high school such as Cromer¡¯s is because it was the closest to his house .

    The only w to this so called perfect human was he himself believed that he was perfect . His acts of kindness was to make himself look better in the eyes of the masses . Even now as he was walking people who see him keep on gasping, what was surprising was not just the girls were doing this even some of the boys were gasping as well .

    When other people look at Niel they see a sort glowing radiance surrounding him . This narcissistic perfect human was able to notice Alex¡¯s group .

    He noticed the group consisted of two of the three Goddesses of the school . The freshaman weirdo, the cute little devil Sayaka, and the supposed mysterious transfer student, whose poprity was growing by the day . It was believed that his poprity was due to the rumor that he was the boyfriend of one of the Goddesses .

    ¡¯Oh it seems like my juniors, who are considered almost as stunning as me are gathered in that cafe . Hmm they seem to be having a lot of fun, might as well give them even more joy as they bask in my radiance . ¡¯

    Niel entered the cafe, and Saya immediately noticed who the newer was . "Hey what are you doing here Niel?"

    Niel smiled at the group who were looking at him and answered . "Nothing much I was just enjoying my Sunday walk and noticed my juniors were having fun in this cafe . So what sort of fun things are you guys doing?"

    Niel sat on the empty sit that was beside Oliver .

    "It¡¯s nothing much we were just discussing things to do in our new Circle . " Saya answered not bothered by the look Oliver was giving her .

    "Oh a new Circle? Who was the one who created it? Was it the new student over here? Sorry for thete introduction my junior I¡¯m Niel your upperssman . " Niel extended his hand for a friendly handshake .

    Alex was wary of the guy who entered the cafe full of confidence . He looked at Niel¡¯s hand that was extended towards him and concluded that he was just a friendly upperssman .

    "I¡¯m Alexander it is nice to meet you . " Alex looked at Niel with his emotionless face, which made Niel feel a bit weird .

    Ever since he entered this cafe the staff and the other customer were either gasping at his looks or staring at him . Yet the group gathered around this table don¡¯t seem to care who he was . This was the first time, that there was no reaction upon meeting him .

    He understood why Saya had no reaction since they already met before, and she reacted then . Evangeline didn¡¯t even bother looking at him, as she was focusing all her attention on Alex . Rachel did look at him but didn¡¯t have any major reaction aside from her initial shock . Oliver made a slight twitch when looking at him, before nodding . This reaction Niel could ept, sinc guys do have a weaker reaction to his presence than girls . . .

    Yet here stood a guy who had absolutely no reaction to his presence . His deadpan eyes reminded Niel of a dead fish .

    While Niel was shacking Alex¡¯s hands he was intrigued by this group of juniors of his . ¡¯Maybe they might quench a bit of my boredom . ¡¯

 Chapter 37

    Chapter 37

    Alex first impression of Niel was pretty good . While he was talking to Saya, he would even chime in on Rachel and Eva¡¯s conversation, he was even able tomunicate with Oliver quite well . The man before him was a very open and social person .

    Niel was able to quickly implement himself into the group . To those who was looking in a third person perspective, It was like Niel was part of the group since the beginning .

    "So tell me what is this Mercenary Circle that you have created Oliver?" Niel with his charming smile asked the question facing Oliver . The people seeing this smile of his couldn¡¯t focus on their coffee and were staring dumbly at Niel, whose radiance seem to be blinding .

    Oliver didn¡¯t care about the reaction of the people and with a slight excitement in his tone, exined the purpose of the mercenary circle . Once he was done exining, Niel nodded his head in understanding .

    "So it¡¯s a circle to help people . I see I understand now . . . So you need one more person to upgrade your circle into a club right?" Oliver nodded his head in affirmation .

    ¡¯I see so this is the perfect ce for me to show the masses how truly perfect I am . Not only will they witness my skill, they will know of my unrivaled kindness . It was like this club was made specifically for me, to show the lost sheep my eternal radiance . ¡¯ Niel stood up and made a deration .

    "I would like to join the Mercenary Circle . . . Will you allow me, Niel Rayheart Second year student of Cromer High to join you in your quest to help all the clubs in the school?!" Niel then bowed his head showing his sincerity . . . This is what he wants people to see, deep down inside he knows that he will be epted, since even God was on his side .

    Oliver overwhelmed by Niel¡¯s sudden deration looked at his fellow members for support . Alex simply nodded his head, and Rachel shrugged, Saya gave a thumbs up to Niel . Seeing the almost disinterested answers of his club members Oliver almost sighed, but was able to stop himself since that¡¯s not something James Bourne would do .

    "We would dly ept you . " Those where the only words Oliver was able to say in this situation . Niel already expecting he would be able to join, lifted his head .

    "Thank you for letting me join, hope we all get along . "

    "Hey Eva since there are five members now, we can officially be a club right?" Saya asked Eva expectantly . Eva could only smile wryly at Saya¡¯s enthusiasm .

    "Yup having five members is a prerequisite to bing a club, but now you need to find a teacher to be the advisor of your club . " Eva gently responded .

    "As the Student Council President, I bet you know the avable teachers that can be our advisor . " The one who spoke was Rachel, which made Eva frown a bit .

    "Yes I do know of one teacher that could be your advisor . Actually you already met him before . " Eva¡¯s sour expression was gone as quickly as it came, and was reced with her perpetual smile .

    "Who is it? Come on Eva don¡¯t keep as in suspense!" Saya yelled in excitement . Usually at this point the staff of the cafe would have kicked them out, but they didn¡¯t . The reason the staff wouldn¡¯t kick Alex¡¯s group out of the cafe was because they were attracting customers . The people who pass by the cafe seeing a bunch of good looking guys and cute girls talking in the same table was quite intriguing . Some of them were even trying to find the camera, thinking that they were filming a show of sorts .

    "Please tell us Ms . President we would like to know who this teacher is, so we can proceed to ask nicely . " Oliver as the president of this future club asked Eva .

    "Well its Sir . Lyner . " Aside from Alex, Eva, and Niel all those in the table looked Shock . Even the facade of Oliver faded for a second in shock .

    "Wait I thought Sir . Lyner was the Kendo Club¡¯s advisor . " Asked Rachel in confusion .

    "Yeah that¡¯s what I thought as well . I joined the Kendo club when school started, and his the only teacher I know who¡¯s the advisor . " Saya supported Rachel¡¯s question .

    "Well since we¡¯re first years we didn¡¯t know who were the advisors of the club¡¯sst year so of course we wouldn¡¯t know that Sir . Lyner wasn¡¯t the advisor . He was actually just the recement advisor, while the real advisor is dealing with some personal matters . Actually the real club Advisor of the Kendo Club Teacher Feng will be returning tomorrow . "

    "So Sir . Lyner is not a club advisor of any club? Howe? Didn¡¯t anybody ask him to be their club advisor?" Rachel asked a bit interested in Sir . Lyner¡¯s circumstances .

    "It¡¯s not that he wasn¡¯t asked, it¡¯s more like he rejected everyone of them . " Eva said so with a tired voice .

    "Why did he reject them?" Saya asked quite curious as to what¡¯s happening with her former club Advisor .

    "He keeps on saying its boring and not worth his time . " Eva answered Saya¡¯s question with a sigh .

    "Is a teacher allowed to do that?" Rachel was really confused at the whole situation regarding this teacher Lyner .

    "No if he was a normal teacher he wouldn¡¯t be able to reject being an advisor . That is . . . If he was a normal teacher . Sir . Lyner is a special existence to the school, that¡¯s why most of what he does is always being tolerated . Like his excessive sleeping . "

    "Special existence?" This time even Alex was curious about the teacher called Lyner . Since the first time he met the teacher he was sitting in a char snoring, so he couldn¡¯t really asses him properly .

    When Eva heard Alex was the one who asked the question, she really wanted to answer him but couldn¡¯t . "I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t divulge information such as this to anyone aside from those who need to know . "

    Alex hearing Eva¡¯s exnation nodded his head, in total understanding of her situation . ¡¯So its ssified information . ¡¯

    Seeing Alex nodding his head, Eva with her girl in love filters saw this nod as an expression of understanding her situation and he was worried about her, which was not really that far off .

    "So we just need to convince this teacher that our club is not boring and is worth his time . " Oliver getting excited by this mysterious circumstances was smiling viciously . With that smile alongside his big frame made him look very intimidating .

    "Well whatever, will think about that tomorrow . . . Excuse me mister waiter . " The four waiters, and waitresses who heard Saya call for one of them, immediately charged forward to be the one able to interact with the group .

    The first one to reach was a twenty year old waiter who was smiling triumphantly over his fellow employees . "How can I help you Miss . "

    "Can you please take a picture of us?" Saya handed her phone to the waiter .

    "Most certainly Miss . I would be honored to do so . "

    "Hey everyone gather together, we need tomemorate this day as the official beginning of the club . " Saya said so in her upbeat tone .

    "We haven¡¯t even gotten our Advisor yet, how is this official . " Rachel said trying to control the situation .

    "That¡¯s a minor detail, we would easily be able to convince that teacher no doubt about that, so let¡¯s go take that picture . " Rachel could only wryly smile at her best friend¡¯s positive outlook and enthusiasm .

    The group of people clustered together, when the waiter felt they were ready he took the picture . In the picture Alex was being held by two beautiful girls, on his left was Rachel who was looking at Eva holding Alex¡¯s other arm with a little scowl, which made her look even cuter than normal . Eva who was holding the other arm was smiling brightly making her seem almost divine .

    Alex who was in the middle of the two was nonchnt about the whole situation as he stared at the camera . Beside Rachel Saya was doing a peace sign as she was hugging Oliver¡¯s right arm .

    Oliver had a look like he has given up on the whole situation, as he stared sighing at the camera . Finally Niel who was sitting at Oliver¡¯s left side was smiling a winning smile, that could make any girl swoon . Even in the picture you could somehow see a halo surround him .

    This was the very first picture of the members of the Mercenary Club, as they begin their eternal legend .

 Chapter 38

    Chapter 38

    While Alex and his group where taking their group photo, some foolish intruders entered Carlo¡¯s mansion . The robbers thought that this would be like any other job they had . Since it was just another random rich guy¡¯s mansion in a small city . Yet what they got was a ce filled with traps inside the venttion, trap doors in random rooms .

    Kind looking maids and butlers holding rifles, swords, and knives . The pets were also dangerous, there were dozens of trained Dobermans and Wolf like dogs, but the worse pet was the one guarding a particr door, it was a freaking Tiger .

    The five intruders got separated as they were running away from everything in the mansion that was trying to kill them . The team leader of the intruders was running in a suspiciously empty hallway, where he started screaming to himself .

    "What the hell! This isn¡¯t anything like he said it would be like! Shit! How is this a simple job?! A mansion owned by a wannabe neer wouldn¡¯t be anything for your skill, that¡¯s what he said?! But what the f*ck is this! Even the maids are armed to the teeth!"

    The team leader heard some of the butlers running towards him, so he entered a random room . The room he entered was full of different books, history books, psychology books, human anatomy books, and plenty more . ¡¯Is this the library? Rich people do like to pose as intellectuals . ¡¯ The leader thought as he walked deeper into the room full of books .

    Once he reached a certain point he saw a man sitting cozily in a chair reading a book called my teenage son is going through puberty what to do? . . . The leader who saw the middle aged man reading such a peculiar book with such a specific title felt a bit weirded out . The middle age man stood up from his chair, and the leader noticed he had a prosthetic leg .

    The leader then proceeded to point his gun at Carlo¡¯s face . "Who are you, and what are you doing here?!" The leader shouted at Carlo, who looked at him bewildered . . . After a short silence Carlo started to chuckle .

    "How funny, an intruder asking me, the owner of the house what I¡¯m doing in my own library . " Carlo smiled at the leader¡¯s stupidity .

    The leader who saw Carlo smiling as if he was the most idiotic thing he has seen, got angry . "So your the owner of this loony bin! If I capture you I¡¯ll be able to leave here alive, I might even get more than I thought I could . "

    "Then what about yourpanions? Are you going to ask for their safe passage as well?" Carlo asked the smirking leader .

    "Huh? Why would I do that? Those guys knew what they were getting into, when they joined . "

    When Carlo heard the answer of the leader he sighed . "So there really is no honor among thieves . . . You fail as a person, as a leader, and as a thief . "

    "Huh what the hell are you going on about?" The leader felt something coiling around his hand that held the gun . When he looked at it, he saw a sword like whip tightly coiling around his hand . The sword like whip came from Carlo, who he didn¡¯t even notice was able to pull out the weapon, much less use it .

    Carlo pulled at the handle of his weapon snatching not only the opponents weapon, but also his whole hand . The leader screamed in pain, as blood gushed out of his sliced forearm . Carlo slowly approached the leader but stopped himself, when he heard a familiar beeping sound . Carlo started running to hide behind a table .

    BOOM!

    The leader who was screaming in pain suddenly exploded . Their was nothing left of his body except a metal disc shaped object . Carlo slowly approached the object and when he got near enough, it started to project something .

    Name: Carlo Samarita

    Age: 44

    Date of Birth: February 12, 1974

    Nationality: Berdonian

    A war orphan who at the tender age of seventeen went to the battlefield to find his fortune . Was a Rank C Mercenary until he was twenty two . Ranked up to B a yearter, and after seven more years founded his own squadposed of excellent individuals of various skills . Two years after the founding of the squad Carlo Samarita had be a rank S Mercenary, at this point in time he had gained the nickname ¡¯the messenger of death . The origin of the nickname came from the enemy soldiers who had heard rumors, that no matter who you are if Carlo Samarita has proimed you dead, then you are dead .

    At the age of thirty six Carlo had Adopted a youngd which he had named Alexander Samarita, who will beter feared as ¡¯The white sh . ¡¯ Alexander Samarita¡¯s Mercenary Rank is currently at S nearing the highest rank of SS which there are only three alive that have acquired the rank .

    The final mission of Carlo in the battlefield had cost him his right leg, and his life as a mercenary . Carlo alongside his son Alexander had return home to Berdonia where with his vast wealth are currently living a carefree life .

    Carlo who was reading what was written in the projection, clicked his tongue . When Carlo thought it was over, a voice was heard from the metal disc . The sound was filtered by different frequencies so he couldn¡¯t recognize the voice .

    "Greetings Sir . Carlo I hope you like my surprise its something I nned for about five minutes . WellI just wanted to say hello to the legendary mercenary who has betrayed his countrymen . Sure you help our country every now and then, but you also help our enemy countries . Well such is the life of mercenary yeah? Still I don¡¯t care! You are Berdonian, who should work for the glory of Berdonia! If you would help our cause with that squad of yours then it would be child¡¯s y to destroy the enemymand centers . Of course you have your own rule like keeping the bnce and such . . . But I don¡¯t give a shit about that! Berdonians are the best humans in this world, why do we need bnce?! We just need to show the other countries that we¡¯re on top and they¡¯re below us . . . Well that¡¯s all for now, hope to y with you again in the future . . . Also this message will explode and all that shit . " The moment the synthetic voice said so, the metal disc exploded .

 Chapter 39

    Chapter 39

    Alex was heading home after escorting Rachel back to her ce . When he reached the mansion he noticed something was different, he smelled the familiar scent of gunpowder in the air, and sprinted inside . When he met the maids he asked what had happened .

    The maids started exining to Alex about the intruders and how they exploded upon capture . Alex immediately ran towards his dad¡¯s study . Their sitting in his chair as if nothing has happened Carlo Samarita was drinking something from a cup which looked like coffee .

    "Oh Alex back from your outing? So how was it, was it fun?" Carlo asked Alex after sipping from his cup .

    "Are you ok Dad? I heard that they used a stronger explosion against you . " Alex was worried for his dad, cause the once invincible father in his eyes has turned frail and weak, ever since he saw him make a mistake that cost him his leg .

    "I may have gotten a bit rusty since I¡¯m getting older, but that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m a greenhorn . I noticed the smell of gunpowder on that thing, and was already prepared for it to explode . It was nothing that strong anyway . Hmph even a fledgling Rank E merc could¡¯ve escaped almost unscathed much less me . "

    Hearing his dad¡¯s calm answer, Alex was able to feel relief . "So who was the one who attacked?" Carlo started exining to Alex what had happened, from the attack, to the exploding intruders, and the message from a very obvious deranged patriot .

    "So what is our next move?" Alex eyes turned serious and the killing intent emitting from his body was growing sharper .

    "Nothing . . . We do nothing . " Carlo answered with a shrug . Hearing his dad¡¯s answer Alex felt like he was sshed by cold water .

    "Why? If this-" Alex was about to say if this was the old you, we would¡¯ve never waited . But before he was able to say anything he stopped talking . Alex simply gritted his teeth and stayed mute .

    Carlo already knew what his son was about to say, and lit a cigar . "We can¡¯t do anything but wait . The attack was a surprise . . . It was disguised as a simple break-in the people who entered were not that good, but they were professional thieves . So even with their subpar skills they were able to disable all the cameras for a brief moment, so we couldn¡¯t get anything from them . They even exploded and not even ashes remained . The object that sent the message also exploded, there are only a few clues, and with those clues we can¡¯t actually track the perp . . . So now that we know the existence of this enemy the only strategy we have at the moment is to wait for them to move and counter . "

    Alex was not happy at what his dad was saying, but he could not defy his orders . "Very well then I will await for further instructions . For now I will continue the guarding mission . "

    "Okay then do that, also the meeting between father and daughter will be moved on Wednesday . "

    "Roger that . " After saying his piece and saluting Alex left the room .

    . . .

    Back in his room Alex was trying to sleep but couldn¡¯t . He just can¡¯t ept his dad who had trained him to be strong was actually using a defensive strategy . In his whole career Carlo Samarita had not use anything remotely resembling a defensive strategy, he was the kind of guy who believed the first to strike wins .

    Yet now for some reason his dad was being passive . What was changing . . . Ever sinceing back to the homnd, he as well as his dad was slowly changing . . . Had their fangs been pulled?

    . . .

    Carlo on his end was also thinking about the conversation he just had with his son . This was the first time the boy actually shown a face of hesitation and disapproval . Carlo smiled, ¡¯I guess it really was the right decision to bring him here . He who was slowly slipping away from what it means to be human is now slowly getting his humanity back . . . For this mission no need to trouble yourself Alex, me and your uncles will deal with it, you just need to enjoy your school life . ¡¯

    . . .

    The next day Alex was able to control his emotions and got back to focusing on his current mission which was protecting Rachel . Alex once again stood in front of Rachel¡¯s house and as expected he saw Rachel and Sayaing out together .

    "Heya Good morning Alex! Let¡¯s go and get ourselves an advisor!" Saya happily greeted Alex who responded with a nod .

    Rachel on the other hand was looking at Alex¡¯s ever stoic face . Rachel hadn¡¯t been with Alex long, and she couldn¡¯t really discern much from the stoic emotionless face of his . . . But Rachel was feeling something was off with Alex .

    "Hey are you alright?" Hearing Rachel ask him this, Alex was confused if he was actually showing his worry on his face .

    "What do you mean? There doesn¡¯t seem to be any problem?" Alex answered trying to probe how much Rachel knows .

    "Really you feel a bit off somehow? Are you sure you¡¯re alright?"Rachel asked this time with a bit of worry in her tone .

    Looking at the worried expression Rachel was giving him, Alex smiled gently at her . This girl who he was protecting was worried about him the one who was suppose to protect her . "No really, I¡¯m alright, thank you for worrying about me Rachel . "

    When Rachel and Saya saw Alex¡¯s smile they looked at him dumbly, then they heard him actually say thank you which made them pinched themselves . This wasn¡¯t a dream? This was real? "Wow stoic Alex could actually smile! So you show your smile to Rachel and no one else is that how it is? . . . You can be cute sometimes, you know that stalker Alex . "

    Rachel who was stunned by Alex¡¯s sudden smile, was reminded of the day Alex made Oliver his friend, at that time he also showed a smile simr to this . . . A smile straight from his heart . Rachel responded with her own smile, seeing the two smiling at each other made Saya feel a bit creeped out .

    "Hey you two, can you flirtter? . . . We still need to go to school . " When Rachel heard Saya speak, she was released from the moment she was having with Alex and shouted . "WHO THE HELL WAS FLIRTING!? I was just helping a friend out of his troubles . " Rachel followed Saya trying to attack her .

    Seeing this scene made Alex feel a tad warm inside . . . He started wondering if he was getting sick .

    . . .

    As the three proceeded walking they met Eva on the way . Of course this was nned since Eva knew the route Alex and Rachel take to school . The three greeted each other, and continued onwards to school, of course while Eva and Rachel were bickering .

    The next to join them was Oliver who was immediately pounced by Saya . Oliver had seemingly given up on his fate to be hugged by Saya every time they meet . Saya seeing Oliver give up was both happy and disappointed .

    Finally even thest member of the Mercenary Club, Niel was there on the way to school . Since his house was near he would usually leave a bitter but for some reason he felt like going to school earlier . He greeted his juniors with his perfect smile, and apanied them while they walk .

    Alex who looked at the group of people that has surrounded him, made him feel a bit weird . At the beginning it was only him and Rachel who at the beginning tried to get rid of him, then Oliver came into the picture followed by Evangeline, Saya, and then Niel . Their group was growing bigger and for some reason Alex was actually feeling . . . Happy? . . . He wasn¡¯t sure if this was happiness but it was a good feeling all the same .

    "Hey Alex what are you dozing off for, where already near school we still need to discuss our strategy on how to convince Mr . Lyner to be our advisor . " Hearing the voice of the girl who started it all, Alex nodded his head and followed .

 Chapter 40

    Chapter 40

    It was during lunch time when the group gathered in the old storage shed, that now looks better than the new one . Someone had clean the ce up and now there where new furniture in ce . There was a book shelf filled with books regarding all the school rted sports clubs, their history and rules . Even aptop suddenly got into the room . Alex already knew who did this, since he had ced some hidden cameras all over the room . This was the work of Evagngeline Kain, yesterday after the meeting in the cafe, it seems like Evangeline and a bunch of workers where in this room putting new things in it .

    "What the hell where did all of this stuffe from!?" Rachel was looking around shocked as she saw all of the new things in the room .

    "Yay! We got a lot of free things! Hmm what¡¯s this?" Saya who was happily bouncing around the new couch saw a letter on the table . Alex and the others gathered around Saya trying to read the letter .

    "From a fan, hope your club does well . :)" That was it . . . Everyone who read it had only one person in mind who could¡¯ve afford to buy all of these things . Seeing as the group doesn¡¯t know Alex himself is loaded there could only be one suspect .

    "Really she could¡¯ve just said that she wanted to give us some things . " Rachel felt a bit guilty that Eva used her money for their own club, that isn¡¯t even official yet .

    "I¡¯m sure she just doesn¡¯t want to look like she was being biased . . . Well now that the Newspaper Club is gone no one will be making weird rumors about this . At most the people will just assume since Rachel and Niel are in this club a bunch of their fans might¡¯ve ce all these things here . " Oliver nodded his head satisfied by the new look of the clubroom .

    "No need to think so seriously . . . Eva wants to help since she is kind of part of this club right?" Saya looked at the other club members who responded with a nod .

    While the four of them were appreciating the new things in the clubroom, they suddenly heard a bunch of gasping and screaming girls . The group who heard the noiseing closer, started to feel confused as to why their was much noise .

    Alex was about to go out, but when he saw through the window the person who wasing, he didn¡¯t move anymore .

    The person on the other side of the door knocked first and after that, without even waiting for a response entered the room . "I¡¯ming in my juniors . " Niel with his perfect smile appeared surrounded by a bunch of second year girls, while a bunch of first year girls where scattered behind the group .

    Niel seeing everyone in the club was here, tried faking a pouting face which with his acting skills looked authentic . "Hey my beloved juniors how could you do this to me? Aren¡¯t I a member as well? Why didn¡¯t you guys tell me that we were having a meeting here? I went to your ssroom and you guys weren¡¯t there, good thing these cute little kittens knew where you went . " Niel pointed at the first year ssmates of Alex and gang .

    The girls hearing what Niel said started shouting at Alex and his group . "Yeah what kind of club are you?! leaving behind a member?"

    "Yeah you should inform all members if you have meeting!"

    "Right why did Niel have to join this shitty club, how about joining our club instead? We would never leave you behind there . " When one of the girls suggested Niel joining her club instead, a more chaotic scene urred . The girls started promoting their own clubs to Niel, who at the torrent of suggestions could only smile in response .

    Oliver seeing the chaotic scene, decided as the club president he must fulfill his duties . He with hisrge frame stood up from the chair and approached the group of girls, who cowered behind Niel .

    Oliver bowed in front of the girls . "I¡¯m sorry it was my mistake as the club president . " A true man must know when to say sorry, this were the words repeating in Oliver¡¯s head as he continued bowing .

    Seeing the sincere act, the girls didn¡¯t know how to respond . Niel seeing the situation of both parties responded appropriately . "Now has everyone calm down? See what you made my Junior do . . . I hope everyone here with apologize to him . It was my fault as well for not asking their contact numbers so that we couldmunicate better . " Niel who was iming a part of the me, as well as showing his radiant smile and aura that could envelope the whole area . Made the girls who knew that they were also overreacting bow at Oliver and said sorry, after that the group of girls slowly dispersed and what was left were the members of the Mercenary Club .

    "Sorry about that, those girls tend to overreact . I hope you didn¡¯t find what they said offensive . " Niel apologized to the members of the club .

    Oliver shook his head, "no it¡¯s my fault I should¡¯ve informed you about this meeting . "

    "No it¡¯s alright . No need to feel bad, I was the one who brought an army of girls and made you look bad . " Niel with his perpetual smile started looking around the clubroom . "You actually have a better clubroom than most of the clubs . "

    "Hey you did great Oliver . " Rachel patted Oliver on the back . She really thought that Oliver was going to say some delusional things again, but he responded in an appropriate manner .

    "It¡¯s what I should do, I am the leader of this club . " Alex nodded in approval of Oliver¡¯s statement, he then looked at Saya who he was sure was suppose to be the one reacting the most to this . Yet for some reason Saya just stared dazedly at Oliver .

    "Oh never mind that . Lunch break is about to end and we haven¡¯t even started talking about our strategy on how to ask Mr . Lyner to be our club advisor . " Saya for the first time actually said something sensible which made the group look at her funny .

    "What?" Saya blushed making her look so innocent which she wasn¡¯t .

    "No its nothing, you¡¯re right we should start formting a n . Any suggestions?" Rachel decided to ask what was going on with Sayater when they were alone . For now they needed to formte a n to convince Lyner to be their advisor .

    "I think asking him sincerely is the best way" Niel suggested .

    "That wont work a lot of other clubs tried that already and it failed . " Rachel responded, which provoked Niel a little .

    "Well I¡¯m pretty sure it might turn out differently if I¡¯m the one asking . " Niel said confidently, truly believing the world revolved around him .

    "Hmm let¡¯s keep that as a back up n . Any other suggestions?" Rachel didn¡¯t bother with Niel anymore, which made him fell shocked and embarrassed, but as a perfect human he didn¡¯t need to feel bothered too much .

    "How about we put a bed in here and tell him that he could sleep here, if he bes our club advisor . " Saya suggested, which garner the approval of the other club members .

    "What is with you today? You¡¯re actually being sensible . " Oliver asked Saya confused at her current act .

    "Did I make you fall in love with me all over again?" Saya asked Oliver while clinging onto his arm .

    "Nope, never mind, your still the same as before . " Oliver answered Saya with a bit of relief in his voice .

    "That¡¯s actually good suggestion . How about you Alex do you have any suggestions?" Rachel looked at Alex who was as usual quiet the whole time while looking out the window .

    "If you really want this person to be our advisor, I have my ways to make him agree . . . If you leave it to me I could have him agree by tomorrow . " Alex responded calmly already thinking of ways to threa- to kindly ask Lyner to be their advisor .

    "What ways are you talking about exactly?" Rachel and the others looked at Alex suspiciously .

    "That is confidential . " "Then its rejected! Next Oliver how about you?" Alex shrugged not really caring about this topic, since he was more concerned of Rachel safety . Well it would be a lie to say that he wasn¡¯t interested in Sir . Lyner and his background .

    "Sir . Lyner didn¡¯t agree to be the advisor of the other clubs since he found it boring and not worth his time right? So if I exin what kind of club we made I¡¯m sure he would surely be interested . " Oliver answered seriously like usual .

    "So the same idea as Niel . . . " Rachel said a bit disappointed .

    "How about you Rachel? You didn¡¯t suggest anything at all . " Saya slyly smiled at Rachel, knowing her best friend, she most probably couldn¡¯t think of anything and just forced others to think for her .

    ¡¯You thought you could corner me Saya . I already knew you would try something like this . ¡¯ Rachel sneered .

    "I¡¯m good with Saya¡¯s n as well . . . But seeing as that would cost us, how about we try asking him properly first, like Niel and Oliver suggested . "

    "So in the end the n you rejected in the beginning will be the one we use . " Saya sighed at her two faced best friend .

 Chapter 41

    Chapter 41

    After school Alex¡¯s group headed to the faculty¡¯s office . When they got their they asked for Mr . Lyner the teachers who were there said he didn¡¯t bother showing up saying he was going to take a nap after ss .

    "On a day like this when it¡¯s not so hot he should be sleeping on the roof . " One of the teacher¡¯s advised .

    The group then headed for the rooftop . When they got there they saw a man wearing a normal white shirt and pants sleeping . At first nce no one would have guessed that this man was a teacher . The man was snoring as heyfortably on the floor . Alex who looked at Lyner¡¯s body properly noticed that he may look thin on the outside by in reality his muscles where made for battle same as him .

    He was not massive like Oliver but the quality of his muscles was simr . Oliver slowly approached Lyner .

    "Sir . Lyner please wake up we have something to ask . " Oliver¡¯s voice couldn¡¯t reach the sleeping teacher .

    Alex tried directing Killing intent at Lyner, if he really is one from the battlefield this amount of killing intent should be able to jolt him, but contrary to Alex¡¯s belief nothing happened . Alex was now confused, was his analysis wrong? Was this bum of a teacher just someone who likes working out? Still the words bum and working out doesn¡¯t sound like they should go together, but bum and merc still somehow doesn¡¯t feel like they fit together .

    Rachel was the next to try, she approached Lyner and tried to shake his shoulders . Yet before Rachel could touch Lyner, Alex quickly moved and tightly held Rachel holding her back .

    Suddenly being hugged by Alex made Rachel¡¯s head look like a tomato . "What the hell are you doing Alex?!" Rachel screamed in embarrassment .

    "Heh, so you don¡¯t want your woman touching any other man is that it?" Saya snickered at the whole situation, even though she too noticed the weird movement from Lyner, when Rachel was about to touch him .

    Niel was looking at his juniors that were hugging and shrugged . ¡¯Even though they are in front of a perfect being such as me, they have the audacity to flirt around . They must really like each other . ¡¯

    Oliver simply nodded at the actions of hisrades . ¡¯Now this is youth... Now if only the witch was as reserved as Rachel . ¡¯ The witch he was talking about was of course the irritating Saya .

    Alex on the other hand didn¡¯t care about what the others were saying all of his focus was on the sleeping Lyner .

    ¡¯What was that? My whole body was screaming there was danger! Before Rachel was able to touch him, Lyner was actually trying to reach for the hand that was about to touch him . If Rachel¡¯s hand was able to get a bit closer, I¡¯m sure she would¡¯ve been grievously injured or worse killed . Why? When I sent killing intent his way he didn¡¯t move or was it that he deemed it was not necessary to move? Did his body react to the movement Rachel was making coupled with the killing intent I directed? Did he by instinct was about to neutralize the threat?... I don¡¯t know?! What is this? Who is this guy? Thest time I felt this much danger was when I was starting out as a Rank C merc facing a Rank A merc... NO this feels even more dangerous than that . ¡¯

    While Alex was contemting, he was still hugging Rachel, who was now somehow enjoying Alex¡¯s warm embrace .

    "You really are enjoying it aren¡¯t you Rachel?" Saya was smiling mischievously at Rachel, who upon hearing Saya¡¯s voice snapped out of her trance like state .

    "Hey Alex how long are you going to continue this? . . . LET GO!" Rachel was about to attack Alex with her elbow but before it could hit Alex instinctively let go of her .

    "So Alex why did you do that?" Rachel angrily stared at Alex .

    ¡¯Shit If I don¡¯t answer right I will vite number two and three of the mission¡¯s revision . ¡¯ Alex started to think of what to say so that he wouldn¡¯t make Rachel ufortable and hate him .

    "It¡¯s nothing really I just didn¡¯t want you to touch that guy . " ¡¯Okay I hope this works, telling her honestly is the only way to go . ¡¯

    Hearing his response Saya startedughing, while Rachel¡¯s head look like it was overheating .

    "So he really did want you to not touch any other man . Hahaha Alex even with that stoic face of yours, you can be cute... Well still not as cute as my Oliver . " After saying that Saya rode on Oliver¡¯s back hugging him .

    "No matter what, hugging me like that without any warning is not good okay . " Rachel said a bit sternly, but her mouth was slightly curved upwards .

    "Sorry I wont do it again . " Alex responded with his usual indifference .

    "So Rachel you would allow hugging, if he warned you? Is that it?" Saya teased, when Rachel heard this she was about to respond out of embarrassment, but then Lyner suddenly shouted .

    "What the hell! How about taking your ro bullcrap elsewhere! Someone¡¯s trying to sleep here!" Lyner was now awake and shouting at them . He then started to scan the area looking at each of them present in the rooftop . When finally his gazended on Alex .

    "You, that amount of killing intent can¡¯t even faze a tiger cub, much less a lion . " The others couldn¡¯t understand Lyner¡¯s incoherent words but Alex did .

    So this guy was the real deal . That amount of killing intent would make even the most veteran of Rank A mercs¡¯ sweat profusely, yet this guy didn¡¯t even take it as a wake up call .

    Lyner then started to stretch his body and with a yawn looked at the kids gathered on the rooftop .

    "So what the hell do you want? Even disturbing me during my naptime, if this was in the past your heads would already be flying . " Lyner yawned and scratched his eyes as he said this .

    Everyone aside from Alex took this as a crude joke .

 Chapter 42

    Chapter 42

    Oliver was the one who broke the ice by asking Lyner directly . "Sir . Lyner can you please be the advisor for our club?" He said this as sincerely as he could possibly say it . His eyes looked straight at Lyner showing his resolution . Yet Lyner took a look at him and quickly dismissed it .

    "That it? If that¡¯s all your offering . . . Pass it sounds boring, I don¡¯t want to do it . You guys woke me up for this? I¡¯m going back to sleep . " Lyner was about to go away but Oliver blocked his path .

    "What do you think your doing kid?" Lyner asked Oliver almost growling . Oliver and the others aside from Alex backed away a bit when they heard Lyner¡¯s threatening voice, but Oliver stopped himself from backing away and stood firm .

    "Sir, Lyner please let me exin what our club does before you reject it . " Oliver then started exining what the Mercenary club does, which caught Lyner¡¯s interest for the time being, but after the exnation Lyner felt a bit disappointed .

    "That¡¯s it? that¡¯s all? Your concept is ok, but your club basically has no goal . . . Help the other clubs? Up to what end? Is your help only a temporary thing, or are you willing to help to the end of their goals? If that¡¯s all your selling, sorry kid but I¡¯m not buying . Well see ya, it¡¯s back to sleeping for me . "

    "We have a bed in our clubroom!" Saya added which made Lyner stop dead in his tracks .

    The word bed made him hesitate for a moment . "Does your clubroom have an AC?" The answer to that was a no, when Rachel was about to answer, Alex answered before her .

    "We will have an ac installed tomorrow . " Alex said with his usual nonchnce as if buying an ac was cheap for a student . The other members like Rachel started shouting in her mind, ¡¯What the hell is this idiot saying?!¡¯

    "Really?" Lyner would have dismissed it if any other student said that they could install an AC by tomorrow, but aside from Evangeline Kain, Alex was the only other student that could afford to waste money like this .

    Rachel tugged on Alex¡¯s arm . "What are you saying we can¡¯t afford an AC!"

    "Don¡¯t worry I can afford one . I¡¯ll even buy itter . You cane and help me pick" Alex said this like he was going out to be some eggs . Rachel on the other hand forgot for a moment that what Alex was saying is ridiculous and could only focus on one thing . ¡¯Is this guy actually inviting me to a date? A shopping date?¡¯

    Everyone looked at Alex dumbfounded, was this guy actually loaded . Saya who could never stop her curiosity asked . "Alex how much is your allowance?"

    "Allowance?" Alex tilted his head confused at the question .

    "How much money do you have?" Saya rephrased the question, remembering the guy in front of her had little to nomon sense .

    "I have about 30,000 zigs right now . " Everyone aside from Lyner was shocked hearing this number, even the supposed perfect human look perturbed by this information . 30,000 zigs! With that kind of money you could buy 10 AC¡¯s! That¡¯s as much money a normal sry man makes in a month .

    "Alex are you perhaps rich?" Saya the spokesperson of the group asked Alex .

    "If your talking about, rich in a sense of having a lot of money then yes I am Rich . " When they heard Alex¡¯s answer the group dryly gulped .

    "How rich are you? As rich as the Kain¡¯s or like someone who owns a building or a small business?" Saya continued the questioning which confused Alex even more .

    "Is this relevant to the situation at hand?"

    "Yes it is!" Saya shouted in which everyone aside from Lyner nodded their head . Even the delusional Oliver agreed that this piece of information of how rich Alex was is relevant to the situation .

    "Hmm alright then, if youpare my personal wealth to Evangeline¡¯s family then I would say we are about the same, but if you add my father to the mix then my family would be richer . " The group from the Mercenary club gasped except for Niel who just stood their dumbly his aura of perfection was flickering on and off .

    "You did it Rachel! You hit the jackpot! This guy is freaking loaded! His personal assets alone match those of the Kain family! You know the Kain¡¯s who own most of the shopping malls in the nation! Alex himself is as rich as that!" Saya was getting excited but Rachel only looked at Alex dumbfounded .

    She started thinking does it matter if he was rich? No it doesn¡¯t! ¡¯I have already been asked out by a bunch of rich guys, none as rich as Alex, but still if I was only looking at money I would¡¯ve dated those rich yboys long ago . ¡¯ Rachel main concern right now was the supposed shopping date with Alex .

    "Are you done with your Q and A? So do you or don¡¯t you have an AC in your clubroom?" Lyner who was getting impatient asked .

    "Yes we will have one installed tomorrow if you be our advisor" Alex dered .

    Lyner started thinking of how to answer and after a short silence Lyner smiled mischievously . "Alright I¡¯ll agree to be your advisor"

    "Yes!" Most of the Mercenary Club members rejoiced, but before they can bask in their sess, Lyner continued what he was saying .

    "I will agree IF you win in a game of tag . "

    "Tag?" Oliver and the other asked at the same time .

    "Yup tag, but this is not an ordinary game of tag . In this game of tag you can use anything to touch me . You can use arrows, stones, guns anything at all if you so much as graze me you will win . Later at around seven o¡¯clocke back to school, the gates would be open and we would have the whole school to ourselves . Don¡¯t worry about destroying things I will handle that . So any questions?"

    Everyone aside from Alex was bewildered, did this teacher say that they could use actual weapons like guns in a game of tag is he crazy?

 Chapter 43

    Chapter 43

    "Sir did you just say that we could use weapons in a game of tag?" Rachel asked hoping that she had heard wrongly . Alex was the only one who felt like that handicap wasn¡¯t enough to level the ying field .

    "Yup it doesn¡¯t matter what you use, I don¡¯t think you kids will be able to hit me anyway . Also if you¡¯re scared of actually killing me don¡¯t be . I¡¯m pretty sure that girl Evangeline told you that I¡¯m a special existence in this school, so no matter what happens even in the case of my death you would not be the ones at fault . It would be judged as a suicide instead of homicide . . . So feel free to use anything . . . If you¡¯re still hesitating well that¡¯s your problem not mine . So do we have a deal?" Lyner looked at the group impatiently, as he waited for their answer .

    Oliver and the others could actually see how impatient Lyner was getting looked at each other for a brief moment . With no words spoken the group could somehow see the resolution in each of their eyes . ¡¯It¡¯s just a game of tag what¡¯s the worse that could happen?¡¯ These were the thoughts of the majority of the members .

    "Deal . " Oliver responded for the entire group .

    "Nice, the lot of you start preparing, I¡¯ll be waiting for you at the front gates at exactly seven o¡¯clock, you should be here on time . If not all of you are here at exactly seven o¡¯clock you guys will be losing by forfeit, and without even trying I would win . " After exining the rules Lyner went back to his position he was in awhile ago before the group entered . He then proceeded toy down, and start sleeping .

    . . .

    Alex separated from the group and started preparing on his own . The target this time was highly skilled so Alex needed to prepare thoroughly . That would mean he needed a background check on Lyner . Alex hesitated for brief moment before calling his dad again . Alex like usual needed to rely on his father for a quick info gathering .

    Carlo who was also preparing for his own mission of finding the psycho who ordered the attack on him was busymunicating with his former squad, when he received Alex¡¯s call .

    "What do you need Alex?"

    When Alex call got connected, he told Carlo the experience he had with Lyner . Carlo was intrigued, someone who could make Alex feel danger must be of some renown . Carlo told Alex he would call back after investigating a bit .

    Alex then started to double check all the cameras he ced around the school the other day . He then proceeded to scout the best sniping positions . Alex would have to wait for the other students to leave at six, before cing traps .

    When Alex was checking the whole school grounds and analyzing the battleground, he received a call from his father . It actually took his father an hour before calling back . That would mean Lyner¡¯s information was not really open to the public .

    "Alex you¡¯ve gotten yourself a big fish this time . At first I tried to look at the schools registry to see the full name of you teacher Lyner, but he wasn¡¯t registered as a teacher in that school . He wasn¡¯t even registered as a citizen of this country, its like his whole data was wiped out . I then started to ask some buddies of mine in the government, and what I got was shocking news . "

    Hearing Carlo exining who Lyner was, made Alex feel that his earlier assumptions of Lyner which was being more than what he seems, was a correct assumption . He held his phone tightly, listening carefully to his father¡¯s report, not wanting to miss a word of it .

    "Your teacher Lyner, whose full name is unknown, turns out he is one of the three living Rank SS mercenary . "

    When Alex heard this new information he was shocked beyond belief . The three super powers of this world The Granado Empire, the Southern Union, and Berdonia . Each of these so called super powers have a Rank SS mercenary . The only reason that three nations haven¡¯t dered full war on one another and only did small skirmishes, is because the three keep each other in check . If one nation attacks another super power, then the remaining third power would easily beat whoever wins the war between the other two nations . Another one of the reasons for this stalemate was because each nation had a Rank SS mercenary . If one of these nations SS merc disappears or dies, the two remaining would instantly attack that nation . This was the current world and its precarious bnce which was held by three individuals .

    Alex¡¯s teacher Sir . Lyner was one of those super Legendary beings .

    "Good thing he proposed a simple game of tag . . . Well if its you even if he did propose to fight, I still believe you could handle it . " Alex felt touched hearing the confidence his dad has for him .

    Alex then returned home to get the materials he needed for the uing game .

    . . .

    It was 18:56 the Mercenary club members were all gathered in front of the gate of the school . Alex was now wearing casual clothes that were bullet proof, while holding a briefcase, Oliver was in a full military attire, and was holding two bb guns, Rachel was wearing tight fit clothes that seem to emphasize flexibility, while holding a bow, and some arrows, Saya had her shinai ready, and she looked like she brought some hidden weapons as well, Niel brought nothing but he was still brimming with confidence .

    The group didn¡¯t make any ns cause they felt it was unnecessary . Since the five of them were above average than most students they quickly understood, that ast minute try for coordination was useless . The best they could do was not get in each others way .

    It was now exactly 19:00 the gates opened and there stood Lyner with a smug grin on his face .

    "It looks like you kids came fully prepared, fine then I will run and after thirty seconds you guyse after me . " After saying his piece Lyner sprinted away . At exactly thirty seconds the Mercenary Club members charged forward into the school .

    It was at this moment the game of tag with a demon started .

 Chapter 44

    Chapter 44

    Alex headed straight for the ce he nned to snipe from, the other members also started to do their own thing .

    . . .

    Rachel and Saya have teamed up as they dashed towards the hallway of the second years . This was the ce where they saw Lyner run towards, and like they thought Lyner was there standing with a smug expression on his face .

    "So it¡¯s you girls first let¡¯s see what you can do . " Lyner gestured with hands saying to bring it . Saya with an excited expression charged forward, Rachel backed her up by firing an arrow with a wooden head .

    The arrow reached first, Lyner evaded it easily by tilting his head, but right after the arrow passed through, Saya swung her shinai downwards, Lyner once again simply evaded by moving one step backwards . Saya already knew he would do this so she threw a needle from her hands, Lyner tilted his whole body sideways to evade, but once he did this another arrow came flying towards him which made him sidestep . The girls didn¡¯t give him the chance to take a breather . Saya kept on pressing on her attack,s using her shinai and hidden weapons, with the support from Rachel they were doing quite well . . . Yet no matter how much they attacked they just couldn¡¯t hit Lyner who was now even yawning .

    Finally Rachel was out of arrows, and Saya had no more needles to throw . Also even though the whole fight onlysted a few minutes Saya was now breathing heavily . The pressure Lyner was emitting in close range was immense which made it very difficult for Saya who was fighting him up close .

    "You guys have good coordination, well good enough for little girls who live peaceful lives . . . That is except for you" Lyner looked at Saya . "You seem to have your own share of experiences . "

    Saya hearing Lyner¡¯sment about her family¡¯s secret life smiled slyly, but she couldn¡¯t reply since she was so tired at the moment .

    "You on the other hand seem more fit for hand to handbat, based on the way you present yourself, so I¡¯m confused as to why your using a bow . . . " Lyner looked at Rachel a bit confused . Rachel could only look elsewhere since Lyner¡¯s eyes seem like they could very well look into ones soul .

    "Well I have seen enough of your abilities, so I guess it¡¯s good night for now . " Lyner moved suddenly, both Rachel and Saya saw him suddenly disappear from their sights .

    Lyner was already behind Saya, and in front of Rachel . Lyner hit Saya on the back of her neck using a chop of his hand, with the exact force needed to render her unconscious . He was then about to do the same to Rachel when he suddenly evaded .

    BANG!

    Something pierced through the window, it was a 7 . 62x63mm bullet . ¡¯The kid actually used a real bullet, heh . . . He¡¯s seriously trying to protect that girl . ¡¯ Lyner smiled as he backed away .

    "Hey girl bring your friend outside, its going to get rowdy in here . " Rachel who was in a daze heard what Lyner said, and simply nodded as she carried Saya out of the premise .

    Lyner on the other hand was running to a different location where Alex couldn¡¯t snipe him .

    . . .

    Niel was simply running around the school building trying to look for Lyner without any clue as to where he went . Niel simply believed that his luck which was also a gift from God could easily make him meet Lyner . As if following his expectations Lyner appeared in front of him near the stairs going to the old school building¡¯s rooftop .

    "We meet atst Mr . Lyner . " After greeting the teacher politely, Niel took a boxer¡¯s stance . Lyner who was looking at Niel¡¯s stance and his body type smiled viciously at Niel . ¡¯A born genius . . . No effort was given to have those kind of muscles, he simply has it . His defense as a boxer might make even some newborn pros feel inadequate . This club and it¡¯s members seem interesting enough, but let¡¯s see what they truly got . ¡¯

    Niel noticed that Lyner was contemting something which gave him the opening he needed . Niel stepped in Lyner¡¯s range, and unleashed a one, twobination . A Blindingly fast jab and then a perfectly timed cross . This attack of Niel was actually faster than Saya¡¯s sword, yet Lyner easily evaded, and is if to mock Niel, Lyner took the same boxer¡¯s stance .

    ¡¯Interesting . ¡¯ Instead of getting angry, Niel was actually smiling brighter than he ever has . Niel Rayheart had never given any effort to anything he did, since no matter what he does, he would always seed . So Niel was always bored beyond belief, the feeling of sess was nothing to Niel since he always wins . Yet now right here, standing in front of him was a person his natural talent can¡¯t simply surpass . Niel finally showed a true smileing from his excitement a true vicious smile .

    Lyner also felt a bit excited and smiled as well . ¡¯This club is nuts, all of them seem battle oriented . Who knew there where many kids in this school that actually feel like they belong in the battlefield . This kid in particr, he stinks of one of those pampered kids, but at the same he has the insane craze look of a battle junkie . ¡¯

    Niel stepped in, and started attacking Lyner who evaded by weaving his head . As the fight continued Lyner noticed that Niel¡¯s attacks where getting faster and sharper . The kid before him was evolving right in front of him . The natural talent of this kid was crazy . When Lyner was distracted by Niel¡¯s fast improvement, Niel suddenly kicked . It caught Lyner by surprise but he was still able to evade . That kick was a front kick, a kick boxers uses . ¡¯So this time he¡¯s going to use kick boxing? Fine then show me everything you got . As a teacher of this school let me properly guide you . ¡¯

    While they were fighting Alex was actually supporting Niel by sniping, but even using ricochet shots didn¡¯t work . Alex determined that long range sniping won¡¯t work on this opponent . The opponent was also able to easily evade all the traps that were set .

    Alex concluded that n A failed . He then calmly proceeded to n B . Alex opened the briefcase he brought and took out two handguns that were specially customized for him, a MRI Desert Eagle and a customized Colt Government Model M1911A1 .

    Alex proceeded to head towards the rooftop of the old school building .

 Chapter 45

    Chapter 45

    Niel who lost the support of Alex sniping, was now having difficulty finding an opening to attack . Lyner who was simply evading all of the attack was simply waiting to see what else Niel had to offer . Niel who was always trying to be perfect, instead of feeling irritated that his attacks weren¡¯t working felt ecstatic . He changed his stance from a boxer¡¯s stance to a karate stance . This was a decision he made when he noticed how much faster Lyner was than him . Niel was now focused on countering, an attack from Lyner . He simply stood there with an open stance waiting for Lyner to attack .

    Lyner knows he doesn¡¯t need to do anything if the opponent doesn¡¯t attack, since he wins if they don¡¯t touch him, but he wanted to see what other moves the kid in front of him has . Lyner charged forward suppressing his speed to what Niel could react to . Lyner punched out, in which Niel evaded and was about to deliver a spear hand strike . When he sessfully evaded, Niel was about ready to strike, but the moment he was going to counter, Lyner was nowhere to be seen .

    "Your timing, insight, battle instincts, technique, are all top notch . . . Yet I know you haven¡¯t trained at all based on your build . " Niel heard Lyner¡¯s voice from behind . Niel backed away expecting Lyner to attack his blind spot, but Lyner didn¡¯t do anything .

    "Thank you for the praise Sir . Lyner . You really are a good teacher . I truly hope you be our club adviser . " Niel¡¯s vicious smile was now gone, and was once again reced by his charming winning smile .

    "You really are a good actor . I can¡¯t really tell which personality of yours is the true one . "

    "Both of them are real . . . But enough about that, Sir . Lyner I hope you can teach me more . " Once he was done responding to Lyner, Niel changed his stance again . This time Niel was in a Taekwondo stance .

    ¡¯So this time he¡¯s going to focus on kicks . Let¡¯s see how good you are . ¡¯ The fight between Niel and Lyner restarted . Yet not much has changed, no matter what technique or martial art Niel used he couldn¡¯t touch Lyner .

    After awhile Niel¡¯s vigor was slowly weakening . He was breathing heavily same as Saya, but unlike her, hested longer since Lyner was interested to see all of his tricks . When Lyner determined he has seen enough, he looked at Niel and sighed .

    "You have such God given talents but in your hands its all wasted . I hope after this you¡¯ll do things a bit more seriously . " After saying what he wanted, Lyner silently got in front of Niel and struck his sr plexus .

    Niel before losing his consciousness smiled . "Thank you for your guidance teacher . "

    . . .

    Alex who was heading towards the rooftop saw Niel unconscious on the way . Alex carried him and ced him in one of the ssrooms, afterwards he headed towards the rooftop .

    When Alex opened the door to the rooftop he was greeted by a gunshot . Alex wasn¡¯t hit as he looked at the person who shot him . There stood Lyner holding a Colt 1911 on both hands, Alex was a bit surprised since Lyner actually used live ammunition .

    "Where you trying to kill a student, Sir . Lyner?" Alex asked with his stoic face and indifferent tone of voice, as he stood in front of Lyner . Hearing Alex¡¯s question Lyner startedughing heartily .

    "HAHAHA, if you were hit by that then it would be truly funny . I wasn¡¯t even aiming at you . . . You of all people should know that, Alex Samarita ¡¯the silent sh . ¡¯ What a extravagant nickname you got there . " Lyner said all this mockingly .

    "You also live up to your reputation Sir . Lyner SS rank merc . "

    "Okay now that we¡¯re done with the greetings . Allow me your senior in the battlefield as well as your senior in life, see what you are truly made of . " Lyner shot at Alex as he moved forward .

    . . .

    Oliver was searching the whole school but was still unable to find a trace of Lyner . ¡¯This feels more like a game of hide and seek, than a game of tag . ¡¯ Oliverined in his mind .

    When Oliver was searching the school, he identally saw Alex¡¯s sniper rifle that he left hidden in the rooftop of the new school building .

    . . .

    The battle between the living legend of mercenaries, against the rising legend has begun . The two were fighting at a super close range using their handguns . Alex would deflect using his guns and then shoot, Lyner did the same with his two handguns . Deflect, aim then shoot, the two of them looked like they were dancing amidst the torrent of bullets .

    That was not all they were doing, When their shots miss the target, the bullet would hit something else and the bullet would ricochet back, to try and hit the opponent, who would then evade perfectly . Both of them were using simr gun moves and their closebat skills felt the same .

    Lyner was truly enjoying this, it was a feeling he had long lost . Ever since he became a SS rank merc, he wasn¡¯t able to fight anyone worthy . The people at his level, which were the other SS rank merc¡¯s never wish to fight, since they represented their countries, so identally dying was not allowed .

    At some point he had given up on finding anyone worthy to fight . He decide to spend his dayszing around in a remote region . He randomly picked a ce, and the government made a fake identity for him as a teacher . His former self that was like the God of War, had turned into azy bum who only knows how to sleep .

    Who knew that in this ce where he was slowly dying from boredom, someone who was worth fighting wille .

    Lyner was happilyughing at the exhrating feeling of death trying to tightly hug him . He had forgotten this feeling, the feeling of the possibility that he could die at anytime .

    Alex on the other hand was still showing his poker face, as he analyzed Lyner¡¯s way of fighting . As expected of a legendary mercenary, who was at the highest rank, there was virtually no openings to exploit . Alex who was getting dull by living his normal carefree life, was once again being sharpened by Lyner .

 Chapter 46

    Chapter 46

    Alex who noticed a close range gun fight was useless, distanced himself from Lyner and started shooting at long range . Lyner who saw Alex changing tactics smiled, shooting at the same time as Alex . It was then that Alex saw something he has never seen before happen, right before his very eyes, the bullet he shot was deflected by another bullet . Alex was bewildered at what he had witnessed, but only for a moment and continued shooting . In a battle one mustn¡¯t lose concentration even for a second . Alex started to analyze how Lyner was able to deflect bullets with bullets . When Alex finally came to a conclusion, he tried shooting and deflecting Lyner¡¯s bullets as well .

    Lyner seeing Alex copy his technique was getting even more excited, this was truly the fight he hoped for, a fight were the stench of death surrounded them . The fight with guns at hand felt endless, but even though the two¡¯s stamina couldst longer than most, their bullets couldn¡¯t . The two had finally used up all their bullets .

    "It seems like our marksmanship is about the same . Truly I¡¯m surprised Alex, you¡¯re practically at my level . Most probably the only reason you haven¡¯t gotten to SS rank yet is because you¡¯re too young andck the experience . . . " Lyner started to ponder while facing Alex, as if showing he had room to spare . Alex didn¡¯t really care for this gesture, this was clearly an act to lure him in .

    "I don¡¯t really care about that right now . How about you just admit defeat and be our adviser . " Alex calmly asked Lyner .

    "And miss out on all this fun!?" Lyner attacked Alex whileughing joyfully .

    Alex and Lyner started fighting but this time with their fists . The fight between the two made other hand to handbat specialists look like they were just exercising . A punch, a kick, evading, deflecting, all there movements were precise, and left no room for mistakes .

    Alex finally noticed that this old man called Lyner, is an equal to him in both speed and technique . If they fought like this it would take hours, and Alex would eventually lose the game of tag by default .

    ¡¯It doesn¡¯t seem like n B will work either, time to initiate n C . ¡¯ When Alex was about to change strategies, something from the distance shed, it darted pass Lyner .

    BANG!

    Lyner who was having the time of his life, while fighting Alex, finally noticed that a bullet had grazed his right shoulder . Between a fight of individuals with simr abilities, a moment¡¯s distraction was fatal . Alex who saw an opening reacted quickly and was able to hit Lyner at his chin .

    Lyner who was too slow to react smiled as his consciousness faded . ¡¯I forgot what it felt like to lose . . . It really isn¡¯t that bad . ¡¯ After that thought pass his mind Lyner fainted .

    Alex looked at the direction where the shot came from, there he saw Oliver leaving the premise . He was at the sniping position Alex was at . ¡¯Oliver must¡¯ve found my gun and waited for the perfect moment to shoot . As expected of him clean and efficient¡¯

    Alex saluted at Olvier .

    . . .

    Oliver was shocked that the gun was real . When he first saw it, he simply thought that it might be a replica, but when he pulled the trigger the recoil was too great to be a fake, and an actual bullet came out . He looked at where he fired the rifle at, there he saw Alex and Lyner, it seems like no one got hit . Oliver ced the rifle aside and retreated . As long as no one saw him it was alright he was safe, that¡¯s what he thought . Oliver quickly left the rooftop, to escape the scene of the crime, but little did he know Alex already saw him .

    . . .

    Alex looked at the fallen Lyner and felt like the ending of this battle was a little bit anticlimactic . It wasn¡¯t like Lyner was weak, in fact he was the strongest opponent he has ever faced, but he felt like a SS rank merc should have more to offer than this . When he was about to approach Lyner to pick him up, the unconscious Lyner stood up .

    Lyner stood up as if he didn¡¯t receive any damage from Alex¡¯s strike, which made Alex¡¯s perpetual poker face break a bit, it was seen by the widening of his eyes .

    "Well that was fun . . . I guess I lost . . . Hm fine then, your group does interest me a great deal, so I don¡¯t really mind being your adviser . " Lyner who started yawning told Alex his decision . Alex looked at Lyner a bit dumbfounded at how quickly he recovered .

    "Sir . Lyner did you go easy on me?" Alex asked Lyner since this surely wasn¡¯t all a Rank SS merc could do .

    Lyner hearing Alex¡¯s question shrugged his shoulders . "To tell you the truth, I haven¡¯t had a real battle in ten years . The moment I became a Rank SS merc, I became something like a national treasure, so I couldn¡¯t fight those of the same rank as freely anymore . A merc is suppose to do what he wants when he wants to, but the moment your rank increases you be like those boring soldiers, you gain shackles called your country . I haven¡¯t been to the battlefield in a long time . Our fight is the first decent fight I had in years, so maybe I¡¯m a bit rusty . "

    ¡¯I see this was Sir . Lyner at his weakest state . . . Well I wasn¡¯t really in my best state as well but the difference in experience is clear for anyone to see . . . So this is a Rank SS merc, I truly became too arrogant . . . What 100%pletion rate? What youngest S ss mercenary? . . . I guess I¡¯ll need to retrain my techniques and go back to the basics . ¡¯ Alex solemnly swore to himself to be stronger . For some reason the faces of the members of the Mercenary Club, pass through his mind when he thought of bing stronger .

    Alex didn¡¯t know why he thought of their faces, but for some reason Alex felt even more motivated now .

 Chapter 47

    Chapter 47

    When Alex who was carrying Niel exited the school premise with Lyner, he saw Oliver, Rachel, and Saya waiting for them . Alex set aside Niel and looked at the group, who were looking at him and Lyner expectantly . This was except for Oliver who seem to be trying to evade Lyner¡¯s gaze .

    ¡¯I¡¯m sure no one saw me . Yup if they did they would¡¯ve said so already . ¡¯ Oliver was reassuring himself as he tried to act calm .

    ¡¯Is Oliver trying to deny his involvement in the fight? It is true Sir . Lyner was really focused at fighting me, that he shouldn¡¯t have noticed Oliver . . . Fine then, if Oliver wants to stay low profile in this situation then so be it, as hisrade I will support him . ¡¯ Alex once again misunderstood Oliver¡¯s actions .

    "So what¡¯s the verdict?" Saya anxiously asked, this was the first time Alex saw this expression on her face . Saya who was like a cloud in the sky was acting worried? . . . Alex didn¡¯t bother to understand what was going on inside Saya¡¯s head, since the moment he says the result, she would most probably scream in happiness .

    Before Alex could answer Saya¡¯s inquiry, Lyner answered for him . "Before I say the verdict . First I need all of you to listen since I wont repeat this twice . So that means I need to wake this guy up . " Lyner then tapped some of Niel¡¯s pressure points, which jolted Niel awake .

    "What happened?" Even though he was confused and disoriented by suddenly waking up, Niel still asked this question with a bit of elegance to it .

    Rachel started exining the current situation to him, which made Niel look at Lyner with a smile of expectation .

    "So the conclusion of our game of tag . . . It¡¯s the Mercenary club¡¯s victory . Be happy I¡¯m going to be you¡¯re adviser . " When Lyner announced the result of the game, Rachel, Saya, and Niel looked happy . Specially Saya for some reason she was even crying tears of joy . Seriously what¡¯s going on with her? Oliver on the other hand seem distracted by something and doesn¡¯t seem to be enjoying the result like he should be .

    "Yay! We¡¯re now officially a new club! Let¡¯s go celebrate!" Saya announced her intention to go and have fun, but the response she got was not what she expected it to be .

    "Nah you guys go and have fun, I¡¯m going to sleep . My bones aren¡¯t like they use to be, I need to rest after a workout like that . So go enjoy your youth and all that sh*t" Lyner yawned as he rejected Saya, with his usual reason of sleep .

    "I can¡¯t go, I have another mission I need to aplish . Farewell myrades until tomorrow . " Oliver didn¡¯t even wait for Saya to respond before he left .

    "I and Rachel cannot attend as well . " Alex told Saya with the usual indifference .

    "WHY?" Saya said aloud a bit irritated that no one wants to celebrate their sess, she started pouting . While it was drowned by Saya¡¯s loud voice, Rachel shouted as well since she couldn¡¯t understand why Alex answered for her .

    "Have you guys forgotten? We still need to buy an AC for Sir . Lyner . Right now it¡¯s exactly 20:10 only a few more shops selling AC¡¯s are open so we need to find one . We also need to buy a bed . " Alex started to exin to the Saya the reason for his rejection .

    "So the two of you are going to a da-" Saya who was about to say something was stopped by Rachel who covered her mouth .

    "Since everyone will be doing something . I will be escorting junior Saya back home . " Niel told the remaining three his ns to apany Saya back home .

    "Fine then, thank you Niel . Rachel you better text your mom where you¡¯re going . " Saya who was leaving with Niel reminded Rachel with her little devil snicker .

    "Of course I will! Don¡¯t treat me like I¡¯m the child here!" Rachel shouted to the leaving Saya, who then turned around and stuck her tongue out .

    Rachel who saw this gesture wanted to say something else, but was unable to since Niel, and Saya had already turned at a corner street .

    "So shall we go?" Rachel awkwardly asked Alex .

    "Inform your mom first, I¡¯ll be informing my dad as well . " Alex answered Rachel while typing something in his smartphone .

    Carlo who received a message from Alex, when he read he had a variety of emotions, confused, happy, thrilled . The content of Alex was as usual concise and simple .

    ¡¯Going to buy an AC and bed with Rachel . ¡¯ When Carlo read this message he was confused at first . ¡¯What the hell happened, first he tells me his going to y tag with a SS rank merc, now his going on a nighttime shopping date . . . ¡¯

    It took Carlo a bit of time to understand the words he just thought off . ¡¯Wait Alex is going on a date? . . . Did it finally happen, has my boy¡¯s spring finallye!? Did he finally hit puberty? . . . ¡¯ After a his moment of excitement, Carlo finally had his moment of rity .

    ¡¯Wait his said they¡¯re going to buy an AC . . . That kid most probably needed someone to guide him to the appliance store . ¡¯ Carlo sighed his excitement dissipated .

    "Well I guess this is okay for now . " Carlo stared at the window in his room . Then he suddenly jolted . "Wait did he say he¡¯s going to buy a bed as well!?"

    . . .

    Rachel also texted her mother which also had a big reaction .

    Rachel texted ¡¯Going to buy an AC and bed with Alex, wille back home a bitter . ¡¯

    Kumiko who was reading this message was smiling happily . ¡¯First she went out with her bow and arrows, then now she¡¯s telling me she¡¯s going on a date . Did she perhaps have a duel with that Evangeline girl? Maybe the two of them fought, and the prize was Alex . . . Well with my daughter¡¯s personality that wont happen . Still this is a huge improvement for her, going out at night with a boy . . . Wait a minute did she text buying a bed as well?¡¯

 Chapter 48

    Chapter 48

    Rachel was leading Alex to a home depot, since they were buying a bed and an AC . The two were wearing casual clothing, and Rachel was even wearing some tight fitting clothes which emphasise the curves on her body . This look of Rachel attracted a lot of boys to look at her, but when they saw the equally handsome Alex beside her, they could only sigh .

    The girls who saw Alex were being mesmerized by his stoic face, they wanted to approach him but was stopped when they saw Rachel who looked like a cool beauty . A stoic man, and a cool faced beauty, they looked perfect for each other .

    As Alex and Rachel were walking people would stare at them . If they were walking by themselves this wouldn¡¯t have happened, true they will attract attention since they were a handsome boy and a beautiful girl, but walking side by side increased their overall look . Now the two of them looked breathtakingly beautiful, as they walked the streets it felt like a king and queen were in a royal procession . The people that where in the way of their walk would move and they would stand at the side gawking at the two .

    Rachel who looked like a cool beauty and was even showing a bit of a displeased face, was actually panicking inside . ¡¯It¡¯s just the same as usual, it¡¯s just the same as usual . No need to be tense, it¡¯s just Alex for crying out loud!¡¯

    Alex on the other hand was walking as near to Rachel as possible, just so that he could react to any possible dangers . This action of his made the surrounding girls hearts beat faster .

    The long walk was finallying to an end, the two have finally reached their destination . Inside the home depot, the two first went to the area where they sell the AC¡¯s .

    The saledy that approached them had a ver friendly smile, when she saw the two she was surprised . ¡¯What a beautiful young couple!¡¯

    "Sir, Ma¡¯am how can I help you?" The saledy kindly asked Alex, and Rachel .

    "We¡¯re looking for an AC . " Rachel who had a cool queen like appearance suddenly smiled at the saledy, which made her turn from queen, to cute fairy . The saledy was stunned by the sudden change but quickly answered, showing her professionalism .

    "How big is the room you¡¯re going to ce the AC in?" The saledy asked, in which Rachel answered the exact size of the clubroom . When the saledy heard the answer her eyes widened a bit .

    ¡¯That¡¯s a big room for a young couple . . . Hmm they actually do look like they came from good families . . . Maybe the room is actually too small . ¡¯ As the saledy was thinking about what Alex, and Rachel¡¯s family situation was like, she had led them to the best AC for that size of room .

    Without even looking at the price, Alex immediately said that he would buy it . Rachel then asked if the AC could be delivered and installed by tomorrow . The saledy answered that there were additional fees for delivery and instation, there was actually even an additional fee if the two wanted it to be done tomorrow .

    The saledy like the pro she is, gently exined about the additional fees, with a calm soothing tone of voice . She knew that this was the part where the customer gets a bit angry, no matter how much money the buyer had, they would still get a bit mad when they heard the words additional fees .

    Yet contrary to her expectations, Alex with his stoic face simply answered . "I understand just install the AC tomorrow, I will pay all the additional fees . " The handsome stoic faced boy, doesn¡¯t seem to care how much it cost and simply stated what he wanted .

    The saledy was a bit turned on by Alex¡¯s nonchnce, but controlled herself . Even though she was an attractive slightly olderdy, she was still no match for Rachel . The saledy could only sigh, ¡¯when can I get a man like that?¡¯ she thought as she looked at Rachel a bit jealous .

    Rachel who noticed the saledy¡¯s look, could only smile wryly .

    "We would also be needing a bed . " Rachel suddenly remembered and told the saledy, who for some reason started blushing a bit .

    When they got to the section where the beds where . Rachel immediately picked the single sized bed . The saledy who saw her pick a single sized bed, was bewildered, ¡¯why pick a single size bed? It¡¯s not like her husband doesn¡¯t have money? Or do they want to be that close all the time?!¡¯ The saledy¡¯s imagination was now going on overdrive as her face was getting redder and redder .

    Still as a professional saledy she must pick what she thinks is best for her customer and the store . The saledy then pointed at the most expensive queen size bed they had to offer .

    "Dear customers, I understand that as newlyweds you want to be close, but please this model is better for you in the long run . Some space is always needed . "

    When the two heard what the saledy said they couldn¡¯t understand it, but after awhile Rachel¡¯s head was burning red, it felt like steam woulde out of her ears .

    "Newlyweds?" Alex repeated the word he couldn¡¯t understand .

    "W-w-w-w-w-what are you saying!" Rachel that was stuttering at the beginning shouted near the end of her sentence .

    The surrounding people then looked at Rachel wanting to know what was going on . Rachel who had calmed down after shouting, noticed the surrounding people staring at her .

    So she lowered her voice and spoke to the saledy . "We aren¡¯t like that, he¡¯s just my friend!"

    "Oh my! So you two are like that . . . I¡¯m sorry for the mistake . " The saledy lowered her voice as well . Rachel who heard the saledy¡¯s response, knew that the saledy had another different impression, so Rachel decided to exin what they were doing and why they were together . She didn¡¯t want to be misunderstood even by sales clerk .

    The saledy who had heard Rachel¡¯s exnation bowed her head in embarrassment . "I¡¯m sorry for the misunderstanding . "

 Chapter 49

    Chapter 49

    When Alex and the others were readying themselves to y tag with Lyner, it was 18:00 and Eva was workingte in the student council room . The improvements of the every clubs performances had increased ever since she became Student Council President . Eva had made the clubspete for merit like they were in a battlefield . The club with the lowest merits get the smallest fundings, so gaining merit, instead of having fun became the main focus of the clubs, but it¡¯s not like all the clubs aren¡¯t having fun while gaining merits .

    Eva smiled as she saw the increase of recognition the students of this school has gained . The test given to her by the Kain family head, who was basically her father seems to be going smoothly . Another reason Eva was happy was the document she had received awhile ago .

    The father of one of the students actually donated the plot ofnd next to the school, and was nning to build a new gymnasium with brand new equipment in it, not only that he even promised to give each student a brand newptop .

    The one who donated all of this could only be Alex¡¯s father, Carlo Samarita . Eva felt ecstatic since it felt like Alex¡¯s family was helping her with her family¡¯s test . With renewed vigor Eva zed through all the paperwork .

    It was now 18:40 Eva packed up and left the school premise . Her chauffeur was as usual waiting for her at the entrance .

    "Good work, Mydy . " The chauffeur bows at Eva, then opens the door of the car for her . Eva enters while sighing . ¡¯I wonder what Alex has been doing? Did he like the improvements I did with his clubroom? Well he could buy all of those himself, but still I hope he appreciates the sentiment . I wonder if he¡¯s having a meal right now?¡¯

    After a hard day as the student council president, the first thing Eva does after a job is think of Alex . There are only two things filling Eva¡¯s head right now, number one is her family, and the next was Alex .

    On the drive home, for some reason Eva felt like eating out today . "Robert can we drop by a family restaurant, I feel like eating something different today . "

    "Very well mydy . "

    The chauffeur changed the direction he was heading to, and started heading towards the nearest family restaurant .

    Eva entered the restaurant which attracted everyones attention . Evangeline Kain was a great beauty with a perfect figure, so no matter where she goes, the ogling eyes of men was normal for her, even the jealous stares of women didn¡¯t bother her anymore .

    Even if she wore a mask, her beautiful silver hair was very unique, and would still attract attention . Without minding the stares Eva found her sit . She called a waiter and ordered everything in the menu .

    When the people heard her order, they had their mouths agape . Did this beautiful, sexy thin girl just order everything in the menu!? Was she going to eat all of that herself?!

    While everyone was shocked by her order, Eva started to evaluate her current situation with Alex .

    ¡¯Alex my prince, my savior, he doesn¡¯t seem to remember me . . . Well that must be normal it has been two years now, and my looks and figure had changed greatly since then . . . Also I¡¯m sure he has saved many more people since then, I might just be one of the thousands he has saved . . . Still howe, even now with my looks he hasn¡¯t even looked at me properly . The only thing he sees is Rachel, no other has caught his eyes like her .

    Howe its her, howe Alex? I have loved you for two years, I have rejected all offers for marriage for you . . . I . . . I . . . I don¡¯t know anymore . Alex what should I do? I remember the you back then would never do the things your doing now . Efficiency is key right? Then is it efficient to like Rachel?

    There must be something I could do . . . I might have the backing of the Kain family, but Alex¡¯s backing is muchrger, so I can¡¯t offer him material possessions . I could offer my all to him, but I¡¯m scared . . . What if he rejects me, how could I face him after that? Fine calm down Evangeline Kain! This is like any other problem, to solve it you must acquire an understanding of the subject . So I just need to know Alex¡¯s likes, and dislikes . That¡¯s it! I just need to do this slowly . . . Rachel doesn¡¯t seem like she would do anything yet . I still have a chance! Yup go go, you can do it Eva!¡¯

    When Eva was getting pumped up, her food had arrived . The whole table was now filled to the brim with food . Eva who was in a better mood ate happily . The people who saw how she ate were stunned and confused, where does all that food go in that little body of hers?

    Does it all go to that ce, everyone unconsciously looked at Eva¡¯s bouncing chest . It kept on bouncing as Eva happily ate her food . Some of the men started drooling not at the food but at Eva .

    It took Eva half an hour to finish her meal . Not only does she eat more than the average person, she eats faster than the average person . Eva asked for the bill, when the single men saw that she was finished eating and asking for the bill, they stood up wanting to hit on her, but before they could approach her somerge men wearing suits blocked their way .

    "Sir I insist that you go back to your seat . If you try to approach thedy again, then we will be forced to take drastic measures . This is your only warning . " When the frivolous men heard the threat, they cowered back to their seats .

    Eva payed for her meal and happily left the restaurant . If she had turned her head, before entering the car, she would¡¯ve spotted Alex and Rachel, but unfortunately she didn¡¯t . Eva happily went back home, without any knowledge that Alex and Rachel were having a date . If she knew, she would¡¯ve used all her power to be a third wheel, and join in .

 Chapter 50

    Chapter 50

    When Alex and Rachel exited the home depot, Rachel felt extremely tired for some reason . The task was done and she was finally able to go home . The first thing she will do when she gets home is take a shower, since she smells like sweat . It was then that Rachel finally noticed that Alex was standing very close to her, so she tried to distance herself from him, since she didn¡¯t want him to smell her .

    Yet every time she tried to move away Alex would closely follow her . She was already used to Alex sticking this close, but this time was different since she was really smelly at the moment . Rachel gave up in moving away from Alex, since if Alex decides to stick to her this much, there¡¯s nothing much she can do about it . She could try saying something to make him move, but she was scared that he might say something unexpected again, resulting to her blushing and feeling embarrassed .

    The silence while they walk continued, Rachel couldn¡¯t say anything since she was fully concentrated on her problem of being smelly, Alex on the other hand was looking at the surrounding area, trying to see if something dangerous mighte up .

    On the other hand the people who saw them simply walking without talking, felt like they were a picture perfect couple, unaware of the current awkwardness that was happening . Once the two were in a more deserted street, they were approached by some overly dressed men .

    "Heya princess, how about ditching the boring guy over there, and have fun with us instead?" Alex who saw the approaching men, didn¡¯t bother to engage them since they didn¡¯t look to be any threat to him or Rachel . All they did was talk to Rachel, they haven¡¯t touched her yet, nor do they show any signs of attacking . . . Yet when Alex heard how the man so casually talked to Rachel, he felt a bit irritated for some reason .

    "Not interested . " Rachel refused the man with an iced cold re . Instead of feeling demoralized one of the men felt even more excited, while one of the men from behind whistled .

    "Come on, what¡¯s a hot fox such as yourself, doing with this scrawny loser?" One of the more muscr men in the group pointed at Alex . Since Alex¡¯s muscles aren¡¯t really the bodybuilder type the men couldn¡¯t see it while he was wearing his shirt .

    "It¡¯s none of your business . I decide who I want to be with . So just leave while your bones are still intact . " Rachel warned the frivolous men, while ring at them .

    The four men who were surrounding them startedughing . "Hahaha that¡¯s funny princess . Are you actually threatening us? Who¡¯s going to break our bones that guy?" The man who seem to be the leader pointed at Alex . "That guy doesn¡¯t seem like he could even break a toothpick much less my bones . "

    Alex didn¡¯t react to the man¡¯s provocation, ever since he had reentered normal society, his father had warned him numerous times not to strike first . Seeing Alex nonchnce and poker face, made the man a bit irritated, but he didn¡¯t bother with Alex, and focused his attention back to Rachel .

    "You got three things wrong . First I¡¯m not threatening you, I¡¯m simply stating a fact . " The men who heard Rachel¡¯s ice cold tone of voice, started frowning .

    "Oh really? Then what, pray tell are the other things I got wrong?" The leader of the frivolous men asked Rachel, feeling a bit angered by Rachel¡¯s act .

    "Second, this guy is not the one who¡¯s going to break your bones its me!" When the men heard Rachel dere that she could break their bones, the men startedughing .

    "Really princess? Enough with the jokes, juste with us . We promise will show you a good time . " The man was about to touch Rachel, but Alex didn¡¯t move since it looked like Rachel wanted to do this herself . If Alex moved now, he might break the third use in the mission revision, which was don¡¯t make the target hate him .

    When the man¡¯s hand extended towards Rachel, she reacted by trying to reach for her bow, but then she remembered that she left it back in the clubroom before leaving the school . Rachel evaded the man¡¯s hand . ¡¯Tsk, I didn¡¯t want to use it, but these guys are really making me angry . ¡¯

    "Hehe little kitten don¡¯t run away . " The man smiled lewdly at Rachel . When the man was reaching for Rachel, a sudden heavy feeling hit his chin, and just like that he had fainted . The other guys who where with the lewd man saw Rachel had punched theirpanion with a fast palm strike to the chin .

    Alex who saw the move, and the stance Rachel has taken smiled . This was the stance of the Ultimate martial art Dan Regius invented . Dominant hand extended a bit forward, dominant foot also facing forward, while the other hand is opened up for defense . This was the basic stance of the martial art her father made .

    Rachel didn¡¯t wait for the other men to move, and swiftly attacked them . The men caught by surprise couldn¡¯t react on time and are practically cannon fodder to Rachel¡¯s attacks .

    The only one left standing was the man who had a bodybuilder¡¯s body type . Due to the weight difference, and Rachel¡¯s inability to use the techniques of her style properly, the man was still able to stand .

    ¡¯It¡¯s been awhile since I used that deadbeat¡¯s martial art, if it was me from before, I could¡¯ve ended this guy with one strike . ¡¯

    Thest man standing from the frivolous group, no longer took Rachel lightly and raised his arms in a guarding position . Yet even with this Rachel got near in one step and pierced through his defense with a straight punch aimed at the body . That punch form a tiny girl who was three times smaller than him, took his breath away, in a literal sense . Thest man dropped to his knees .

    Alex who had watched the whole scene, felt a bit sad . Rachel clearly had talent, but it was obvious she hadn¡¯t practiced the art for a very long time . ¡¯This must be because she hates her father and everything rted to him . I hope everything goes well, when they meet on Wednesday . ¡¯ Alex was now feeling a bit anxious in Rachel meeting her father again .

    "Oh right andstly, this guy you¡¯re trying to diss, can actually kill you if he felt like it . " Rachel said her final line to the remaining guy who was still conscious . ¡¯Also don¡¯t you dare get in the way ofdy and her bath time . ¡¯

 Chapter 51

    Chapter 51

    Ever since he has been adopted by Carlo, Alexander Samarita has been trained to be the perfect soldier for battle . He had trained for three years and now his adoptive father Carlo thinks he¡¯s ready for a mission . Alexander had recently registered as a mercenary but because of his rtion to Carlo¡¯s squad, he had shot up two ranks and directly became a rank C mercenary .

    The ranks given by mercenary¡¯s isn¡¯t given by allies there were given by the enemies . The Ranks are given to see the threat value of an enemy . The reason Alex was given a higher rank than most newb¡¯s is because he was part of a squad who the weakest mercenary is Rank A .

    So now that he has gained his official status as a mercenary, his dad decided to give him his first mission to test him . The mission was suppose to be a simple reconnaissance mission . Find the enemy¡¯s position, check the surrounding area for traps, then return to report . That was all he needed to do, but what had happened was unexpected, he had set off an rm, and now he was being chased by a famous Rank A mercenary in a godforsaken forest .

    The Rank A mercenary had an eyepatch in his left eye, and his build and looks indicated that he was around thirty something years old . Based on how efficiently he was finding Alex, while he runs and hides made him look like a mercenary that is good at tracking . Alex while running tried to remember the files his dad had given him about the enemy force .

    There was only one Rank A mercenary on the other side and that was Mark Stone, a tracking specialist whosebat style revolves around knives . While Alex was thinking of countermeasures he noticed that the person following wasn¡¯t there anymore . Alex didn¡¯t let his guard down, it was impossible that a first rate tracker such as Mark, could lose track of him . He must be nearby, when Alex thought of that someone spoke from behind him .

    "What¡¯s this? It¡¯s just a brat?!" Mark looked at the tiny ten year old Alex and looked a bit angry . "Is Carlo looking down on us so much, that he actually sent a f*cking ten year old for recon?!" Alex who was looking at Mark had felt the same feeling he had three years back, this was the feeling of death .

    "Well whatever . . . Sorry kid, it¡¯s your fault for stepping on the battlefield . " Mark was trying to grab Alex, and quickly end him . Alex seeing the approaching hand, got his M1911 handgun and shot at Mark, who had quickly evaded . "So you n to resist?" Mark took out his two Ka-Bar USMC Fighting Knives, and dashed towards Alex .

    Alex was shocked at his speed but not too much, since he had seen people who where faster . Alex calmly started shooting at Mark, while increasing their distance from each other . Mark on the other hand used the trees as cover, and charged at Alex without slowing down .

    Alex in his very first mission, was facing a merc who was better than him in every way . Still even in this dire situation Alex showed his abnormality, instead if running in fear Alex was trying to remember theyout of the area, while shooting the enemy in a systematic order .

    Alex had long ago buried his fears and insecurities . To be human was to be weak, he needed to be strong, so he needed to more than human .

    Mark had finally closed in on Alex, and was able to cut a bit of Alex¡¯s right forearm . Due to the shock, even though Alex¡¯s face wasn¡¯t showing it, he was actually very hurt . The pain made him loosen the grip on his gun and let go . Mark seeing Alex let go of his gun pressed on the attack, and shed at Alex with no mercy . Alex having a very small body frame used it to his advantage . Mark couldn¡¯t get a clear hit, since it was difficult even for him to hit an enemy who was at least three time smaller than him .

    Alex was trying to understand the opponents rhythm like he was taught . He was trying to see what quirks andbinations Mark like to use when fighting .

    "Kid in battle don¡¯t be distracted!" Mark almost sliced Alex¡¯s head off . Alex took his own military grade knife and held it in his left hand .

    "So you¡¯re going to fight back? Whatever kid, no matter what you do the oue is still the same, you dying by my hands!" Mark with renewed vigor attacked Alex . This time the attack was not just simple shes he started to throw the knives as well . There was a thin wire, attached to the knives, so every time he throws it, the knives would simplye back . Alex had already figured out that Mark could do this, based on the way he stabbed and sliced, as if he was trying to do something else . Yet even though he knew it wasing he couldn¡¯t react in time, so Alex still got nicked a bit .

    Alex finally figured out the rhythm of Mark¡¯s attacks, and was now barely able to evade . Alex waited and waited for the right time to attack . Mark finally showed an opening, Alex attacked the opening, but it turned out to be a trap . Mark purposely showed that opening, to lure Alex in and attack .

    Mark had countered Alex¡¯s attack with a kick to his gut . Alex was now in the ground trying to control his breathing . Mark slowly approached him, and sighed . "You really are too green kid . You couldn¡¯t even tell it was trap . You should¡¯ve stayed back home kid, now your going to die . "

    BANG!

    "huh?" Mark fell to the ground dead . It turned out Alex was the one who lured Mark into thinking he had fallen into a trap, but instead he forced Mark to kick him to the area where his gun was at . "You talk too much . " Alex said as he looked at Mark¡¯s dead body . This was the first time he had ever killed another human being, Alex felt like he wanted to puke, yet he held it in . Alex kept on repeating to himself, I need to be strong, I need to be more than human . He kept on repeating these words until he felt nothing from killing Mark .

    This was the beginning of Alex¡¯s perfect mission record .

 Chapter 52

    Chapter 52

    Once he was done escorting Rachel, who had gotten home safely, Alex headed home as well . When he got back the first thing he did was give a report to his dad regarding his day . When Alex reported about his fight with Lyner, for a brief moment Carlo felt excited . His son was actually able to hold his own against the legend of legends, a Rank SS merc! But this excitement quickly died down .

    ¡¯What the hell was I thinking?! I made Alex leave the battlefield to return to a normal life, but I allowed him to fight an SS rank merc! . . . I guess I haven¡¯t really left the battlefield . . . Not yet . . . ¡¯

    Alex seeing his dad in deep contemtion, left the room .

    . . .

    A girl was tossing and turning in her bed, this girl was Rachel Regius . She was utterly angry and ashamed, not only did she used that deadbeat¡¯s martial art, she actually had Alex smell her sweaty body! Every time she remembers what happened awhile ago, Rachel would start squeezing her pillow, as if she wanted to suffocate it .

    ¡¯What the hell am I doing!? Wasn¡¯t I suppose to change Alex¡¯s personality to make him into a better boyfriend material? . . . Yet I allowed him to join a weird club, be surrounded by weird people, and now we even have a mysterious weird adviser! Not only that, it seems like I¡¯m the one who has been having a change in personality! Still, I guess Alex has been more bearable now than when we first met . . . Fine then, I¡¯ll just change him bit by bit, no need to rush . ¡¯

    . . .

    Saya came home, once she entered inside her house, there where no lights, the whole ambiance was dark and dreary . A single de suddenly sh by her side, "Oh your back? So how was it? Was he powerful?" Saya looked at the person who spoke to her . It was a shadow of a man, whose face couldn¡¯t be discerned even if you look with all your might, as he was blending in, being one with the darkness .

    Saya smiled when she saw the man, "Yes father, he was absurdly strong . He didn¡¯t even fight seriously, and it seems like his body wasn¡¯t at its peak at the moment . Still even in this condition he could crush you in a matter of seconds . "

    The man in the shadows felt like he was smiling, no one would be able to tell, since he had perfectly blended into the darkness . "Oh?"

    "Well that is, if you fought directly out in the open . . . If you fought in your terms, I think it would be an even match . " Saya giggled at his father .

    "Heh, so even in my own home ground, I¡¯ll just be able to fight evenly . . . Well that¡¯s a merc for you . There not like those who operate in the light, like those soldiers . . . They¡¯re more like people who travel between the light and the darkness . Us on the other hand purely operate in the darkness . " After saying what he wanted Saya¡¯s father disappeared from sight .

    "You better sleep early, you still have school tomorrow . " Saya¡¯s father¡¯s words echoed through the hallway .

    "Good night father . " Saya headed to her room, smiling slyly as she was thinking of new ways to tease Oliver .

    . . .

    Oliver was trying to sleep but couldn¡¯t, for some reason he was having a dream, no it was a nightmare . . . It was nightmare that felt so real .

    The incident of him firing a rifle, was still in his mind, but since no one got hurt he quickly tried to forget it . He didn¡¯t even question where the rifle came from . . . Well he did think about it for awhile, but since no clear answer could be discerned from the few clues he has, Oliver didn¡¯t bother to think further about . It¡¯s not like thew forbids people from owning guns, everyone from the age of 16 years is allowed to buy one firearm . This was the world they were currently living in, a world where war is happening in ever corner, so the mystery of who owned the rifle didn¡¯tst long in Oliver¡¯s mind .

    Yet for some reason he was now having a nightmare, of him being kidnapped, and people with mask killing everyone . He even remembered being shot by someone, in the nightmare . The nightmare was incoherent, he could only recall bits and pieces every time he wakes up . The worst part was every time he tries to remember the content of his nightmare, the more he forgets .

    Oliver had a very ufortable night as he kept waking up, breathing heavily and sweating profusely .

    . . .

    Niel inside his room was actually doing push ups,te at night . This was a first for him, since he believed that effort was for the masses, and he a perfect being could always get what he wanted without effort . Yet now Niel started to exercise with a vicious grin stered on his face .

    This was the first time, he had felt this excited . The person his senses told him he couldn¡¯t beat, even with all his talents, was beaten by Alex . Alex a boy who was a year younger than him, actually beaten the guy he couldn¡¯t even touch .

    Niel¡¯s pride wasn¡¯t hurt, but a different kind of passion was now burning within him . This was but the beginning of Niel¡¯s journey to be a true perfect human .

    . . .

    Alex was in the middle of cleaning his sniper rifle to calm his nerves . The fight with Lyner reminded him, of the sky filled with gunpowder smoke, where the roaring winds drown out all the screams . Lyner was like the manifestation of the battlefield . Alex started to remember the days he had back in the battlefield . Those days where death was your closepanion, where morality was but a word, and where dreams became apanion for the weak .

    ¡¯Do I actually miss those days? Where I trained myself to feel neither sadness, nor loneliness . ¡¯ When Alex thought of these things, the faces of Rachel, Oliver, and the others pop up in his mind . ¡¯Right now, I¡¯m neither sad nor am I lonely . . . I no longer see the smoke of gunpowder, nor the birds made of scrap iron . Now I only see a clear blue sky, and beautiful birds of different sizes and feathers . ¡¯

    Alex felt like he started to finally understand why his father wanted to return and quit being a mercenary .

 Chapter 53

    Chapter 53

    After their conversation with the others after finally bing a semi official club, Rachel invited Saya back to her ce to sleep for the night . Of course they already asked permission from Saya¡¯s parents who seem to be okay with anything .

    The two girls were eating dinner with Rachel¡¯s mother and brothers, when Kumiko suddenly asked .

    "So Saya how¡¯s the rtionship between Alex and Rachel?"

    "It¡¯s going great that guy doesn¡¯t seem like he could live without seeing Rachel¡¯s face . " Saya smilingly said .

    "What the hell are you saying SAYA! Mom it¡¯s not like that . . . " Rachel wanted to say something to defend herself but thinking back on Alex¡¯s usual antics, she couldn¡¯t really argue with what Saya said .

    Noticing her daughter¡¯s hesitation Kumiko smirked . "Cat got your tongue Rachel? So what now are you still going to y hard to get?"

    Rachel couldn¡¯t answer her mother¡¯s question and begrudgingly red at her . Joseph the eldest brother stopped eating for awhile to say something .

    "Hey Rachel are you really alright with this? Isn¡¯t brother inw going to be taken away if you keep on hesitating?"

    "Oh right speaking of being taken away . Alex has another girl trying to snatch his heart . " When Saya said these words the whole table erupted withments .

    "What that guy actually dares two time my sister!"

    "Who the hell is this other girl? Where does she live I will want to have a private talk about how life works"

    "Shit! See like I said brother inw is such a good kid of course there are others willing to take him . "

    "SAYA!" Rachel shouted at Saya who caused this chaotic scene . Saya didn¡¯t bother with Rachel¡¯s angry look and kept on eating .

    "So Say tell us more about this girl that darespete with our Rachel for Son inw?" Kumiko¡¯s smiling face was emitting a scary pressure on the group .

    Saya started exining who Evangeline was . The moment Kumiko and her sons heard more and more about Evangeline they felt more and more disheartened .

    "Sorry sis you stand no chance . "

    "Yah, better find someone else . "

    "See this is why I told you to bind brother in . . . No to bind Alex to you . "

    "So this Evangeline is rich, looks beautiful, has a bountiful chest, is smarter, and the student council president . To top all of that off she actually is trying to woo Alex?" Kumiko seriously said .

    "Yup that¡¯s pretty much correct . " Saya nonchntly answered .

    Kumiko could only sigh . "Well he was a good kid, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find someone better . "

    "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU ALL TALKING LIKE I LOST!" Rachel shouted to her whole family, and stormed off to her room .

    . . .

    In her room Rachel was contemting what her family said . Were they right? Did she already lost to Evangeline right from the start?

    ¡¯Now that I think about it what does Alex like about me? It couldn¡¯t be my looks, since Evangeline looks way better than me . . . Does he like my stye? That can¡¯t be it as well, Evangeline has a curvier body than mine . Then what was it? What attracted him to me? It¡¯s not like he can¡¯t get any other girl, aside from his rigid personality he¡¯s actually quite kind . He looks good, he¡¯s smart, he¡¯s strong, and he¡¯s very caring . . . What is this? Am I actually thinking that he¡¯s so much better than me . ¡¯

    Rachel started feeling really mncholic at her current predicament . She kept on testing Alex as if she was the better one . Now she felt like he had no right to even stand by his side .

    Rachel was starting to get confused . At the beginning he didn¡¯t really care about Alex, he was just another one of her fans . . . But now he was slowly creeping into her heart . It has just been five days since she met him, but the times she spent with him were so much fun, it felt like they have known each other for a very long time .

    If she loses to Evangeline will she still be able to have as much fun as she was having now? Will she still be able to be friends with him?

    As Rachel kept on thinking further into the future the more depressed she became .

    "Hey Rachel you moping around like a loser?" Saya entered the room and started teasing Rachel . She thought that Rachel would attack her with the usual jab, but she didn¡¯t . Rachel simply look at her with a sad almost heartbreaking expression .

    "Hey Saya am I really not good enough?" Rachel asked Saya with the look like she was about to cry .

    Saya closed in and hugged her best friend . When Rachel felt Saya¡¯s warm embrace she started crying .

    "Of course your good enough! It¡¯s that Alex who¡¯s not good enough! Making you cry like this, he¡¯s a bad man . " Saya kept on hugging Rachel who was sobbing loudly .

    "Can I reallypete with Eva? What if I finally realize I like him, but then its toote . "

    "It¡¯s going to be alright, its Eva I feel pity for . Since no matter what she does, Alex will only look at you . " Saya tried tofort Rachel but it had the opposite effect .

    "What if her effort finally has an effect on him . Wouldn¡¯t he leave someone who doesn¡¯t even try, and keeps on rejecting him? . . . You know he hasn¡¯t even said that he loves me, or even likes me for that matter . All he said was he was overwhelmed by my beauty . Does he even like me?" Rachel started to act in a frantic manner .

    "You know Alex, that guy with his stoic face wouldn¡¯t even try to say that kind of cheesy thing to just anybody . He only said that to you and you alone . He has never said those words to me, nor has he said it to Evangeline . So have confidence Rachel . . . Even if he does switch sides to join Evangeline, when you¡¯re finally able to sort your feelings, you can still fight back . . . Can¡¯t you? Is my best friend actually admitting that she has lost?" Saya said thatst line a bit teasingly .

    Rachel felt a bit of her courageing back . "Of course I will not lose without a fight . I just need to sort of my feelings faster . When I do understand what I truly feel, Alex better be ready cause I¡¯m going all out!"

    Seeing her best friend finally regaining her usual spunk Saya smiled . ¡¯Alex I don¡¯t know if you were a hero in your past life or something like that, but these girls Eva and Rachel I really think they¡¯re too good for you . ¡¯

    Saya and Rachel started talking about Oliver, the club, Niel and many more things as the night went on .

 Chapter 54

    Chapter 54

    The day after the extreme game of tag, Alex, Rachel, Saya, Oliver, and Niel where at the school gates . When they got there a sudden swarm of students surrounded them .

    "Hey Alex I heard your looking for new members to join your club . How about letting me your ssmate join you guys?"

    "Huh? . . . Why would he pick you? Just let me join Alex we¡¯re best buds aren¡¯t we? We sit next to each other in ss . If that¡¯s not enough to persuade you, I¡¯ll even lend you some DVD¡¯s from my secret collection . "

    "Rachel, howe you only invited Saya to the club, why didn¡¯t you invite me as well? Aren¡¯t we friends as well?"

    "Don¡¯t you have your own club already? Also when have you ever been Rachel¡¯s friend? You even called her an attention hog yesterday . So Rachel don¡¯t bother with this b*tch and invite me instead . "

    "Saya let me join your club! You know me right?! You and I together will make the club the most fun ce to be in . "

    "Niel, I¡¯ll quit my club and join your¡¯s instead!"

    "Yeah! I will quit my club as well! Niel I will follow you forever!"

    "Oliver you¡¯re the club president right? Why don¡¯t you let me in, and I¡¯ll make it worth your while . "

    "Oliver don¡¯t bother with that guy, he¡¯s one of those who keep on calling you delusional . I on the other hand believe you 100% . "

    Numerous students surrounded them, the wave of students utterly confused the members of the Mercenary club . They couldn¡¯t understand why all of them suddenly wanna join their club . . . While they where being overwhelmed by students a familiar voice greeted Alex in excitement .

    "Hey Alex, a bed and AC came early this morning . Don¡¯t worry I handle all the procedures, it¡¯s already installed in your clubroom . " Eva happily greeted Alex . She was happy since she found out immediately when she got home, that Alex made a purchase in one of her family¡¯s stores . So without dy, she had ordered for the delivery to be done as early as possible .

    Alex on the other hand couldn¡¯t be bothered by what Eva was saying since they where surrounded . Though right now he can¡¯t sense any threat by the surrounding students, he didn¡¯t want to let his guard down and be ambushed .

    "Hey Eva do you know what¡¯s happening here?" Rachel asked the cheerful Eva, a bit irritated by her cheerful attitude as they were being surrounded by students .

    Eva finally realized that there where a bunch of students surrounding Alex¡¯s group . When she saw the rabid students, and the confused members of the Mercenary club, she finally remembered the poster she saw .

    "They must be here because of this poster . " Eva showed Alex, and the others a poster . The poster that Eva showed was well made with pictures of each member of the mercenary club, except for Alex, and Oliver .

    Written in the poster, were the words JOIN US NOW, ONLY TWO SLOTS AVAILABLE . When the group saw this poster, they could think of only one person who would do this . It was obviously their newly appointed adviser Sir . Lyner .

    "Ok then everyone sses are about to begin . So you better get to ss, or there might be consequences . " When everyone heard The student council president¡¯s announcement that sounded like a threat, the crowd had disperse as quickly as possible . "You better get ready for lunch, since they will try to bother you again . " When they heard Eva¡¯s warning the group form the Mercenary Club felt a shiver ran down their spines .

    . . .

    Lunch time quickly came, and as Eva predicted the students came swarming Alex, Oliver, and Rachel in the ssroom . Oliver quickly escaped while using hand signals, telling Alex and Rachel to meet in the clubroom . When Alex saw the situation at hand he immediately carried Rachel and jumped out the window . Since they were located on the third floor, Alex obviously didn¡¯t jump the whole way down, If he was alone he could do that, but he was carrying Rachel . So instead he jumped to the neighboring tree, and proceeded to descend from there .

    Everyone who saw what Alex did was shocked at Alex¡¯s swift and nimble movements . Rachel on the other hand didn¡¯t bother with the amazing parkour skills of Alex, since her mother and brothers¡¯ could do the same, what bothered her more, was Alex once again suddenly carried her without permission .

    Once the two reached the ground, Alex put Rachel down, who then proceeded to smack his head . Alex not knowing the reason for this move, simply evaded .

    "Just get hit properly ok!" Rachel angrily shouted at Alex .

    "Why?" Alex asked, clearly confused at the whole situation .

    "When you do something wrong, you need to obediently get hit . " Rachel responded trying to calm herself .

    "What did I do wrong?"

    "You carried me without permission!" When Alex heard Rachel¡¯s answer, he had finally realized something . Wasn¡¯t this the same as that time?! Alex hadn¡¯t forgotten about the event of him carrying Rachel, but when he saw her in trouble, his body automatically reacted to protect her .

    ¡¯Did I perhaps made her feel ufortable?! Am I about to fail the mission!?¡¯ Alex mind was in disarray, with his usual indifferent tone trembling a bit, he asked "Did I perhaps made you feel ufortable?"

    When Rachel heard Alex¡¯s question, and noticed that his usual indifferent tone was a pitch higher, Rachel knew something was up . She then noticed that Alex¡¯s poker face wasn¡¯t as dull as it usually was, it had tinge of something else . . . Is this anxiety?

    ¡¯Is he worried that he made me ufortable? This guy really cares so much about me . . . ¡¯ Rachel could only sigh at her current feelings .

    "You didn¡¯t make me feel ufortable, just a bit surprised . Next time before doing something like that, ask my permission first, alright?" Rachel told Alex as gently as possible .

    Alex sighed in relief, for some reason he wasn¡¯t just scared of failing the mission . . . For some unknown reason he felt scared that Rachel might actually hate him, and then he felt relief that Rachel didn¡¯t actually hate him . He couldn¡¯t understand what he was currently feeling, but for now the mission was not a failure, so he was still okay .

    "Roger that!" Alex saluted at Rachel .

    "Also stop saluting, a simple okay would do . "

    Alex startled by the sudden request, didn¡¯t reply immediately . After a short pause he answered, "Okay . "

    Rachel hearing Alex¡¯s answer couldn¡¯t help herself from smiling . She had finally seeded in changing Alex a bit . ¡¯If I knew it was going to be this easy, I should¡¯ve just told him everything that I want to change about him . . . No Rachel, you need to calm down, who knows what this idiot would do if you ask him to change drastically like that . Better do it one step at a time, baby steps . ¡¯

 Chapter 55

    Chapter 55

    When Alex and Rachel reached the clubroom, the other members were already there sitting on chairs, near the table . Lyner on the other hand was sitting in the new bed, Alex and Rachel bought . When Lyner saw Alex and Rachel enter the clubroom, he rubbed his eyes and yawned . The aura of a veteran he was exudingst nightpletely disappeared and what was reced was hiszy bum self .

    Alex couldn¡¯t help but think, if this was going to happen to him as well? Is this the result of merc when he¡¯s in a peaceful setting?

    Unaware of Alex¡¯s worries Lyner started scratching his barely shaven facial hair . "So Sir . Lyner can you please exin to us, what this is?" Oliver showed the poster that was being distributed . Lyner looked at the poster, and yawned .

    "Oh that . . . That¡¯s a poster I made this morning . " Lyner shrugged his shoulders and was about to go back to sleep .

    "We already know that! What we want to ask, is why did you make this poster?" Rachel tried to stop Lyner from sleeping, by asking the question everyone was thinking .

    "Huh? Didn¡¯t I write it clearly in the poster? I¡¯m looking for two new members . " Lyner answered in matter of fact manner .

    Rachel couldn¡¯t help but facepalm, Saya and Niel on the other hand couldn¡¯t stop themselves from smiling . Alex didn¡¯t bother with the topic, since no matter how many are added, they wouldn¡¯t be able to disturb him frompleting the mission . As long as they don¡¯t disrupt the mission, Alex was alright to whoever joins . Oliver found Lyner¡¯s style interesting, and didn¡¯t want to ask further, but Rachel¡¯s re felt threatening .

    It¡¯s not like he was scared . . . No it¡¯s totally not because he was scared, it was simply because it was his duty as the club president .

    "No Sir . Lyner we just wanted to ask . . . Why we needed to add two more members? Isn¡¯t our current members enough?" When Lyner heard Oliver¡¯s words his eyes opened wide, and his sleepy look disappeared .

    "Your sh*tting me right? You guys don¡¯t understand why we needed two more members?" Lyner looked at the people in the club . Alex had his usual poker face, Saya was simply enjoying the situation, Niel had his angelic smile on and seem like he would simply allow any new members to join, Oliver had a serious look, and like Alex no one could discern what he was thinking, Rachel was the only one who looked displease at the whole situation .

    Lyner sighed at the bunch gathered in the clubroom . "You guys . . . Do you think that your current members are enough to handle the ideal you set for this club?"

    This time all of them reacted to what Lyner said, all the members suddenly looked confused . ¡¯Ideal?¡¯ What was the ideal of this club?

    Seeing everyones confusion, Lyner started doubting if it was really alright to be the adviser of this club . On paper the members of this club were the best of the best in this school . The ones with the highest academic scores where in this club, they were also the one with the best physical abilities . Yet it seems like they created this club haphazardly . It was obvious they just went with the flow .

    "Fine then, it seems like all of you are clueless . First let me ask you this, didn¡¯t you guys created this club to help other clubs?" Lyner acting like a teacher for once, asked the members of the club a question .

    The members of the club nodded their heads, answering Lyner¡¯s question . "Then that means the ideal of this club, is to be able to help other clubs in their problem areas, correct?" When the members heard Lyner, they finally understood what ideal he was talking about .

    "Yes" Oliver was the one to answer for all of them . When he wanted to create this club that ideal of helping other club, was what the thing that inspired to make the club, also he wanted to create a club, named Mercenary Club, but that was secondary .

    "To help other clubs do you think the current members are enough?"

    The members of the Mercenary club, where the most egotistical in the whole school, they are also the best the school had to offer . It was just by extreme circumstances that this group who are way above the standards of this school, have gathered here . So to answer Lyner¡¯s question they wanted to answer yes, but before any of them could do so, Lyner spoke first .

    "The answer is a resounding NO! The current members aren¡¯t enough . You might think, you guys are the best, but that doesn¡¯t mean you could do everything . Who here knows every club in this school?" When Lyner asked this question no one answered nor raised their hands .

    "Then who among you can gather data in regards to the clubs we are going to help?" Alex was about to raise his hand, but was stopped by what Lyner said next . "That is gatheringplex data without asking help from an outside source?" When Alex heard this he stopped himself from raising his hand . The only way Alex knew to gather data efficiently was to ask his dad .

    "Then who among you can, organize the current club members and tell them what to do, and which club to help?" Once again no one raised their hand .

    "See that? You guys aren¡¯t prepared enough to start a club like this . . . Even the name sounds wrong, Mercenary club? A true merc wouldn¡¯t even try to help others if there¡¯s nothing in it for him . " When Lyner said those words, Oliver reacted .

    "Sir . Lyner I don¡¯t think that a mercenary, will simply do a job based solely on their interest, I think that they have their own principles, and their own justice to prove, as well as their own pride . "

    "Heh, what do you know kid? Principles? Justice? Those are just meaningless words thrown around by the weak dregs who lost their fangs . . . Whatever, no use arguing with you about that . " When Lyner said those words, he remembered back in his youth, he too had those principles, and a sense of justice only he could understand . . . But that was a long time ago, he quickly discarded the thought and announced, some shocking news to the members of the club with a grin on his face .

    "Just know that we need two more members, and I already found the two best candidates that can handle what weck . "

    When the club members heard Lyner¡¯s announcement they were stunned once more . This guy works really fast, yet every time they saw him, he was always sleeping . When did he have time to think of this n, make a poster and find the members?

 Chapter 56

    Chapter 56

    It was after sses, a guy with ck hair, ck eyes wearing the Cromer school uniform, who looked like he was a side character based solely on the fact that he could blend into the background, was currently extremely anxious . He was standing in front of a door . . . This door where he was about to enter, was the holynd of cute girls, and cool looking guys, this doors leads to a magical ce where high level people gather . . . He was about to enter the Mercenary club¡¯s clubroom .

    Kei Kaido was a guy you could find practically anywhere, he had no distinguishing features, nor did he have a secret ability or a profound family background . He was your ordinary boy that fills up the background . So you might be asking why was he here, in the ce where the most distinct characters gather? Where the people who could be the protagonist of a story stay, why was he an ordinary person here? It was because he was called here .

    "So your finally here . . . we¡¯ve been waiting for you . " The person who spoke to Kei, was the adviser of this peculiar club . He too is someone famous in the school, the snoring teacher . Sir Lyner was called that by the majority of the students, since every time they see him he would be snoring in odd sleeping positions .

    The teacher pulled him into the clubroom . Now Kei was face to face with the club members his body stiffened . Right in front of him where a bunch of beautifuldies, and handsome men . There was Rachel Regius one of the three Goddesses of the school, her aloof and cold personality simply enhances her beauty . Next was Sayaka Mutsu, her cheerful and bright personality makes her popr with both guys and girls, she might not be as cute and beautiful as the three Goddesses but she¡¯s the next best thing .

    Then in the boys side there was Oliver Muller, with his gigantic build, and delusional personality he had be famous the moment her entered high school, but don¡¯t let his outward appearance fool you, he is actually very smart and is ced in the top 10 of the entire student body in terms of grades .

    Next was Niel Rayheart this person was literally the most popr person in school . Not only is he good looking he¡¯s also smart, athletic, and a kindhearted individual, he was the exact opposite of Kei .

    Finally the most mysterious member of the club, Alexander Samarita . He suddenly transferred a few weeks after school started, which was a weird time to Transfer . Next he is rumored to be the boyfriend of Rachel, and is very intimate with the student council president Evangeline Kain . Not only that, it is said that he was smarter than even the teachers . His stoic cool face makes even the coolest of girls squeal .

    Kei couldn¡¯t stop himself from thinking, should a nobody like me even be here?

    "This is one of the new members I picked out . Hey how about Introducing yourself . " Hearing Lyner call to him, Kei¡¯s body felt like it turned to stone .

    He, like a robot who was full of rust, slowly went to the front .

    "Hello, I¡¯m Kei . " That was it, he couldn¡¯t continue to say anything else and simply stood in front of the group in a daze . The silence that followed onlysted a few seconds, before the the loudest person in the club spoke .

    "Nice to meet ya, the name¡¯s Sayaka but since your a member of the club you can call me Saya . " Saya greeted the new member with her cheerful personality .

    "Wee to the club! If Sir Lyner has approved of you then I shall as well . Allow me to call yourade Kei . I am James Bourne but if you wish you can call me by other name Oliver . "

    "Hello my name is Rachel, I hope you don¡¯t regret joining this club . " Rachel looked at Kei with a bit of pity in her eyes .

    "Greetings my junior, I¡¯m your senior Niel . I hope we can get along as club members . " Niel with his trademark smile shined brightly at Kei . The smile of Niel could not just beguile all of the girls it could even beguile most men .

    "Alexander . " That was all Alex said, and he didn¡¯t bother to say anything more . Still this stunned most of the members knowing Alex¡¯s personality, they were sure that he wouldn¡¯t even bother to respond .

    "So now that we know each other, can I ask why you made him into a member?" When Kei heard Rachel¡¯s question he almost cowered behind Lyner, in fear of her ice like aura . Lyner totally unaffected by Rachel¡¯s ice cold re answered .

    "This guy believe it or not is good at acquiring data, without breaking any rules . He can get most of the information we need, while going through the proper procedures . " Everyone of the members understood what that meant . This unremarkable looking guy actually has such a skill?

    Kei couldn¡¯t handle the stares any longer and simply lowered his head . Seeing his reaction, Saya smiled her little devil smile, since another one she could tease suddenly appeared . In this club the only people who are affected by her teasing were Oliver, and Rachel . Alex with his stoic face can never be teased, Niel with his perfect smile and attitude was also not an option, Lyner the teacher who was always sleeping didn¡¯t even bother with her .

    "Finally let me introduce to you the next member . " When the group heard Lyner¡¯s statement the clubroom grew silent . What was this guy saying? There¡¯s no one else here .

    Even Alex grew a bit wary as he became even more vignt . When Lyner saw everyone¡¯s reaction he couldn¡¯t help but smile . Before he could even say anything everyone¡¯s phones rang except for Alex¡¯s .

    Everyone received the same message "Hello everyone my name¡¯s Emily . Hope we all get along,

 Chapter 57

    Even though they were confused they didn''t question it any further, everyone has their secrets even them. Another text appeared, "Can you ask for Alex''s email address so I can contact him?"

    Rachel was the one to ask Alex, and when they heard Alex''s answer all the club members took note of his email address. Emily was finally able tomunicate with Alex. "Hi Alex ?? it seems like your phone is heavily guarded, even your email is quite something. Ever since you gave it to me, I''ve been trying to ess it, but no matter what trick I use, I can''t seem to get in ?????? What kind of magic are you using?"

    Alex for some reason didn''t want to make Emily feel ufortable, so he did something he wouldn''t be doing in the past, he actually replied to Emily.

    ''I hope we get along.'' It was a simple message, but everyone who saw Alex message Emily back was astonished. Even Lyner made an expression that he wasn''t expecting Alex to do this. Rachel on the other hand felt a bit happy with Alex''s progress, even though what he emailed was in no rtion to what was asked.

    Saya as per her character was as usual having fun, while messaging Emily. The two seem to be quitepatible with each other, and they had a st messaging each other.

    "Hey Saya no need to message me, you just need to talk. I had tapped into you phone''s microphone??so you just need to talk and I will hear you." Reading this message, Saya was amazed at Emily''s skill and happily replied. "You''re amazing Emily!"

    Niel and Oliver on the other hand where trying to ease the newer Kei, who was in a daze like state.

    Lyner seeing everyone already warm up to the new recruits, spoke. "So now that everyone is acquainted, let us-" Before Lyner could speak he heard the bell. "Fine I''m going back to sleep, you guys juste back after sses. Will continue our conversation then."

    Lyner without even waiting for anyone''s replyid on the new bed and cozily hugged the nket and went to sleep. The group wasn''t even shock anymore to see how fast Lyner falls asleep, they didn''t bother him anymore, and since Lunch break was over the group needed to go back to ss.

    When Alex, Rachel, Oliver, Saya, and Kei where walking back to their respective ssrooms, a lot of people notice the new addition which was Kei. This ordinary guy who didn''t seem like he had any redeeming feature was actually standing side by side with the idol like group. What was happening? Where there eyes working properly? Is there a hidden camera somewhere, and they where being punk''d.

    "Hey, am I seeing things? I think I see some random guy walking with Rachel''s group..."

    "I don''t think you''re seeing things, cause I''m seeing it too."

    "Howe someone like him is with them?"

    "Do you think he was one of those that got epted to join their club?"

    "Can''t be... I heard even Rnd Grey the second most popr after Niel was rejected."

    Hearing everyone''sments about him, Kei was overwhelmed. He knew he wasn''t fit to be in this group. Yet before he could separate himself from the group, Oliver ced his hand over Kei''s shoulder. Saya then came face to face with Kei and smiled. "Don''t bother with what they''re saying. You''re one of us now, so hold your head up high. If anyone bothers you just ask these two and they''ll help you out" Saya pointed at Alex, and Oliver.

    When everyone heard what Saya said the crowd suddenly erupted with conversations. The boy who looked like he was meant to be a background character like them, turned out to be part of the protagonists. These news shocked everyone who had heard it.

    "Sh*t so it''s true! He is part of that club!"

    "Holy f*ck how did he join?!"

    All of them where a buzz on how someone like Kei was able to join the Mercenary Club. Even though they wanted to discuss more about the topic, they couldn''t continue their conversations since sses was about to start.

    ...

    Kei was sitting down for ss but he couldn''t concentrate on what the teacher was saying, since the people behind him where staring at him. Even though he was ced in the middle of the ss, usually no one would bother with him, but now everyone was noticing him.

    Kei wasn''t used to this much attention, even his parents haven''t given him this much attention ever since he turned fourteen.

    It was an ufortable experience, thatsted all throughout the teacher''s lecture. When the teacher left, a bunch of students surrounded Kei.

    "Hey how did you get into the Mercenary Club?"

    "How does being in the same room with Rachel feel?"

    "Is Niel really in the same club as them?"

    A lot of them kept asking question after question without giving Kei a chance to talk back. Before anyone noticed the next teacher had arrived for the next ss. Everyone was forced to stop their questioning and returned to their seats.

    The sses passed and finally school was over, the crowd immediately surrounded Kei, but before they could say anything a bright cheerful voice was heard.

    "Hey Kei let''s go to the club together." A bright cheerful girl appeared before Kei, holding a sturdy looking guy. Who was apanied by a beautiful girl beside a stoic looking boy. This was Alex''s group, when they saw them approaching the students surrounding Kei made way so that the group can get near Kei.

    The students in the ss, could only stare at the group, since none of them had the courage to start a conversation with them.

    "Hey Kei let''s go already." Saya told the bewildered Kei.

    Kei didn''t respond, since he was still trying to process what was happening before his very eyes. Finally remembering that he was now part of this group, Kei could only nod in response.He then stood up and followed the group with reluctance.

    Seeing Kei leave with Alex''s group caused an uproar in his ssroom.

    "Did you see that?! They actually went here to fetch him!"

    "No sh*t how can someone like him make Goddess Rachel move?"

    Kei could hear other suchments while walking with Alex and the others heading towards the clubroom. It was about this time he realized that he had no choice but to follow this group, now that he has been identified as a member he couldn''t escape anymore... Wait wasn''t this what he wanted all along? To be one of the protagonists? Now that he had the chance, isn''t he suppose to clench it harder?

    Kei casted away his worries and stood tall as he walked side by side with main character level people, now he too wasn''t just a side character!

 Chapter 58

    Alex and his group where passing by students who kept on looking at them which wasn''t different from any other day, but this time most of their focus was on Kei. The whole way to the club room was a difficult task for Kei, but he soldiered on.

    When the group got to the clubroom, Niel was already there so was Eva. When Kei saw Evangeline Kain for the first time up close, his reaction was the same as most guys, which was stare dumbly at her beautiful face and body while gulping.

    Eva noticing the new person within the group and greeted him. "Hi you must be Kei Kaido. I''m the student Council president Evangeline Kain." When Kei saw Evangeline extending her hand wanting to do a handshake, Kei didn''t react and just looked dumbly at Eva.

    "Is there something wrong?" When Kei saw Eva''s confused face as if she did something wrong. Her beautiful face coupled with her troubled look made Kei''s heart beat faster.

    He immediately grabbed Eva''s hand and shook it. How can anyone right in the brain resist that charm of her''s? Every single one of the members here are extremely charming. Eva, Rachel, and Niel in particr were above the rest when ites to charm.

    "It''s nice to meet you Ms. President... By the way howe you know my name?" Kei finally let go of Eva''s hand and asked her the thing that bothered him since awhile ago. This was the first time he had met the student council president, so howe she knows him?

    "Oh no need to be so formal, you can call me Eva. Also don''t be too surprised that I know your name, I know all the students, faces and names." Before Kei was able to reply, Eva''s phone suddenly rang.

    "Hi Eva! The name''s Emily I know you already know that???? You''re email add is kinda hard to get into, but I''m still able to do it a bit, not like Alex''s email add ?? Well anyway hope we get along?? ?? Oh right no need to message back, just answer normally I hacked into your phone''s speaker. No need to be rmed I will not listen to your private conversations ?? "

    Eva was a bit shocked when she read Emily''s email, but she quickly regained herposure since she already understood Emily''s abilities.

    "Nice to meet you as well Emily, don''t worry I already know you joined this club, so this phone and the email address I''m using are just recements of my real phone and email address. I know of your abilities so no need to feel bad. I hope to get along with you as well."

    When the club members heard what Eva said about using a receable phone they all unconsciously looked at her phone. Her phone was thetest smart phone that most celebrities use, and she''s saying that''s receable?

    Emily quickly messaged Eva back, "You''re pretty scary ?? I love it!"

    When Eva was done greeting the new members, Rachel went near Eva and asked "hey is it alright for you to be here? Are you done with your work?"

    Eva smiled at Rachel when the eyes of the two met for some reason one could see an aura of a dragon surrounding Rachel, and the aura of a tiger was being emitted by Eva. Alex couldn''t understand how these twodies who haven''t even step foot on the battlefield have such auras. Still this aura of theirs seems to only show when the two meet.

    Alex was a bit impressed by the two and their unyielding personalities. Still for some reason Alex felt that this was getting a bit dangerous so he went in between the two. Of course he covered for Rachel since she was the one he was assigned to protect.

    Not knowing about the mission, the people who saw Alex had different reactions. Rachel felt a bit touched that Alex sided with her, but after thinking for awhile Rachel remembered that Alex has always sided with her.

    Eva felt like her heart might break, but strengthened her resolve, she already knew she was at a disadvantage since the beginning.

    Oliver was pretty happy for hisrade, two absolutely gorgeous girls were fawning over him all the time. Hisrade also seems to know how to act the way girls like.

    Saya who saw the scene was amused to no end, also still questioning why two beautiful girls like such a stoic guy. Well it didn''t really matter to her, as long as none of them go overboard, all things are just for fun.

    Niel was already getting used to this interactions between his juniors. So he didn''t react too much. aside from showing a, can''t be help kinda smile.

    Kei who was new, was bewildered at the situation. The atmosphere was tense... ''Was there something going on between Alex and the student council president as well? Alex is like a protagonist from a VN.''

    Emily who couldn''t see what was happening couldn''t react, she wanted to hack into one of the club member''s camera, but then she thought it was pointless since the owner needed to point the camera to what she wanted to see.

    "No need to worry Rachel, I was just here to greet the new members of your club. I''ll be returning now... Alex, everyone good day." Eva decided to retreat for now, since she won''t be able to gain an advantage anyway.

    When Eva left the clubroom, A loud yawn sounded.

    "Ok now that your ro event has ended, how about we start talking about our club activities then." Lyner who was trying to wake himself up spoke. When he saw all the attention was on him Lyner continued speaking. "Emily tell them the club their going to help next."

    Once again an email was received by all the club members, but this time it was in a group chat. Emily created a messenger group called MERC CLUB.

    "The next club we will be helping is the Gaming Club."

    "Gaming Club?" Alex was the first to ask, which made a lot of them weirded out. Alex today was actually acting kinda sociably.

    "The Gaming Club of this school, was created to simply enjoy ying video games. But ever since the merit system was implemented the Gaming Club has been in a constant threat of being disbanded. Though the members like ying games, they aren''t good enough to win any tournaments. So they have requested the Mercenary Club to help them in their current predicament."

    When the club members read Emily''s report they started to think who among them here actually knows how to y video games?

    Alex had no idea what a video game even was. Oliver knew a bit but not at the level of being able to win a tournament. Saya and Rachel had zero experience with video games. Kei was a normal level yer, who ys video games just to pass the time. Only Niel who ims to be good at most everything, and Emily who was tech savvy had the ability to actually win tournaments.

 Chapter 59

    Chapter 59

    Alex and the other members of the club started heading towards the Gaming Club¡¯s clubroom . Lyner didn¡¯t follow the members, since he believed he had done his job as the adviser . So to him now that work was done the next step was obviously going back to sleep . The area where the Gaming Club was located was at the third floor of the old school building . They use to be located at the first floor of the new school building since they had arge amount of members, and by the former standards for clubs, they had a big portion of the school funds set for clubs .

    Yet when the implementation of the merit system happened, the Gaming Club had a sudden sharp decline . The once numerous members of the Gaming Club was now left with exactly five members, they barely pass as a club anymore . They where nothing now, than but a shadow of their former glory .

    When Alex¡¯s group reached the Gaming Club¡¯s clubroom, they tried knocking on the door, but no one responded . Alex with his superior senses heard gunshotsing from inside the room . Though the shots sounded muffled and weird, it still had the distinct sound of a gunshot but it was too soft . Alex couldn¡¯t understand how this was achieved, so he needed to be doubly vignt . Right now he couldn¡¯t rm the group, nor could he make them leave, that would make Rachel ufortable which is in direct vition of one the revisions in the mission .

    There might be some kind of conflict going on inside the Gaming Club . Alex almost rxed for a second, since he thought that even if the students inside the room have guns, they still pose no real threat to him . He wanted to p himself for thinking of such a thing, how can he be so arrogant? Preparing for the worst possible situation is suppose to be standard . Alex had no time to admonish himself, nor had he the time to think of why he was thinking of such random things .

    Alex seeing his fellow club members trying to enter the room stopped them from doing so . He then checked that the only weapon he has at the moment was a hidden butterfly knife . The group couldn¡¯t understand why Alex was acting this way . Before any of them could ask why Alex was acting weirder than usual, he suddenly kicked the door open .

    Alex peeked through the open door, and what he saw was unexpected . The shooting were simply done on a screen, and the sound of gunshots was what he heard from the headphones of the people in the room . There where exactly five people looking at aputer screen, in a dimly lit room . It seems like they were ying something simr to fighting in the battlefield .

    ¡¯Is this a video game?¡¯ This was the first time Alex had encountered video games ever sinceing back from the battlefield . Since he was busy trying to protect Rachel, he had no time to check out these kind of things . Even though his house had all the avable consoles, as well as a whole library of games . They literally had one room dedicated for the whole library of games .

    The other members of the Mercenary Club came running in, Rachel was about to smack Alex¡¯s head . When Alex noticed Rachel¡¯s movements he was going to evade the p like usual, but then he remembered what Rachel said about getting hit by her, if he had done something wrong . Knowing that he indeed seem to have done something wrong, Alex allowed Rachel to hit him .

    When Rachel got a hit in, she was truly surprised, but it was not only her who was surprised everyone from the group aside from Kei was looking at the scene dumbfounded . Alex who they have never seen get hit before was actually hit by Rachel .

    "I was able to hit? . . . " Rachel look at her hand amazed by her aplishment . ¡¯Did I finally be a superhuman? I was really able to hit the idiot, who has beast like reflexes . ¡¯ Rachel was happily thinking so, and was immersing herself in the joy of actually hitting the idiot . While Rachel was still happily looking at the hand that had manage to p Alex, her happiness faded a bit when she heard Alex speak .

    "Is this really something I should do? I didn¡¯t evade since I know I did something wrong . . . But why do you seem so happy about it?" Rachel after hearing what Alex had just said, felt a bit disappointed at the same time grateful . She felt disappointed since she thought she was able to hit him with her own abilities, and at the same time she felt grateful to Alex since he was actually listening to her words .

    The others finally understood why someone like Alex was hit, it was because he and Rachel had an agreement of sorts . The only one who couldn¡¯t understand the situation was Kei, as he looked at the strange reactions of everyone .

    "I¡¯m not happy or anything . . . Still it¡¯s good that you know you did something wrong . " Rachel sighed as she looked at the Gaming Club members who where still busy ying .

    Even though Alex broke in and all that, the Gaming Club members didn¡¯t even know that they hadpany . Their headphones made them unable to hear anything else aside from their game .

    Alex looked at the game they were ying and found it a bit interesting . Though the movements of the characters seem restricted, and the coordination of the Gaming Club members where subpar . The game graphics where pretty good, and the recoil from the gunshots of each of the different guns, seem pretty urate . . . Well that is if you judge it by the normal standards, but if Alex or someone like Lyner was holding the gun the recoil from shooting wouldn¡¯t be that much of a hindrance .

    The Mercenary Club members didn¡¯t bother the Gaming Club members as they yed their game . Since the whole reason they were here was to improve their ying, and gain some merit from winning a tournament, stopping them from practicing isn¡¯t really something they should do .

    Rachel was looking at Alex who was immersed in watching the members of the Gaming Club y . This was the first time she saw him so interested in something . Well that is aside from her .

 Chapter 60

    Chapter 60

    Alex was having a bit of fun watching the Gaming Club members y their game . The actions they were taking had not much effect in the real world, killing the enemy in this gaming world brings out noplications in the real world . To Alex who had killed, time and time again, he who kept repeating to himself that he needed to be something more than human, as he killed endlessly in the battlefield, felt like the game they were ying was for some reason enjoyable .

    Though in his mind Alex was suppose to think this game was something horrible, and this might make some extreme people feel like killing is ok . Still in Alex¡¯s opinion this was an ok mindset, in their current world they didn¡¯t know when a full out war will happen, so kids desensitization to killing might be good .

    Alex had numerous conflicting feelings while watching them y, that he couldn¡¯t understand most of them . The enemies in the game were nothing like those in real life, their expression were already lifeless like those of the dead . The enemies didn¡¯t beg for mercy their eyes weren¡¯t clouded, and the thick smell of blood was not around .

    ¡¯So this is what the kids my age are ying . . . ¡¯ Alex¡¯s feelings were getting weirder and weirder . When he was out in the battlefield fighting for his life, trying to be stronger, the kids his age were ying this sort of games, in the safety of their homes .

    Rachel and the others weren¡¯t watching the game anymore, all of their attention was on Alex right now . For the first time since they met him, Alex was actually having different expressions showing on his face . It was amazing that his face could turn from happy to tragic, in a matter of seconds .

    The group couldn¡¯t understand what was happening to Alex . . . The game the Gaming Club members were currently ying, was it truly so captivating that Alex who usually has a poker face on, was now showing these different kinds of expressions?

    The game was finally over, and the Gaming Club had barely won . When the members of the Gaming Club removed their headphones, almost all of them stumbled from their chairs, when they saw they were surrounded by unfamiliar people .

    Only one person didn¡¯t do so, it was a girl with an androgynous looking face, and short hair . Currently she wasn¡¯t wearing the school uniform and was wearing a tight fitting ck tank top, and skinny jeans . The girl was not as cute as Saya, nor as beautiful as Rachel, but she wasn¡¯t exactly ugly either, with her sexy body and cool looksbined, her overall look could rank up there with the top beauties of the school .

    She looked at Alex and his group with a bit of irritation shown in the expression of her face . Then one of the guys who fell on his butt, screamed at the group .

    "WHO THE F*CK ARE YOU GUYS!?" The man who shouted stood up, his height was pretty average, and his face wasn¡¯t anything spectacr either, the only thing that sets him apart from most people was the angry re he gives, which makes him look like a delinquent .

    "We¡¯re from the Mercenary Club . " The one who answered the angry looking delinquent was Oliver . Seeing Oliver¡¯s powerful looking body, the delinquent wasn¡¯t intimidated even a bit, instead he sneered at the group from the Mercenary Club .

    "What the hell does the oh so famous club want with us? Are you here to gloat that the student council president is your b*tch and you g-" Before the delinquent looking guy could finish his sentence he was suddenly surrounded . Alex was pointing his finger at the delinquent¡¯s throat . Niel was standing behind the delinquent his palm ced at the delinquent¡¯s back . Saya had a ballpen almost pierce the delinquent¡¯s right eye . Even Rachel had her fist ced on the delinquent¡¯s stomach . Oliver was simply standing in front of the delinquent looking doubly intimidating .

    Kei who saw everyone move from beginning to end, couldn¡¯t even discern some of their movements . Rachel, and Niel¡¯s moves were still within the range of normal, that is if youpare them to Alex, and Saya¡¯s movements which go beyond the realm of his understanding .

    Alex moved from point A to Point B within a blink of an eye, Saya¡¯s movements were just as swift . Kei couldn¡¯t believe what he saw ¡¯what hell is this? Am I inside a battle manga?¡¯ Kei was amazed at the sudden movements everyone did .

    The delinquent like guy on the other hand was shocked and scared . There was actually a f*cking ballpen about to pierce his eye, if he moves his head even a tiny bit the ballpen might pierce his eye . The biggest issue was the finger that was ced at his throat, for some reason he was dreadful of this finger . The finger felt like it could pierce his throat and take his life .

    The other members of the Gaming Club just looked at their club president being surrounded with a dumb look on their faces . Even the androgynous cool looking girl had her eyes wide open in shock as she saw game like movements performed in real life .

    "Who the hell do you think you are? Do you want to disappear?" Oliver said those words as threatening as possible . His voice started sounding low and gravelly .

    "That¡¯s not a good thing to say . Saying such things to someone like our cute little hardworking student council president, is not something you should do . " Niel said so with his usual smile, but the tone of his voice felt a bit icy .

    "Hehehe, You think you can call Eva something like that? I think you¡¯re blind, well if I pierce your eyes you will be blind . " Even though Saya was speaking in her usual cheerful voice, the action she was taking was extremely scary .

    "Even though she is a bit irritating, she is still my friend, and no one talks about my friends that way!" Rachel clenched her fist tighter .

    Alex didn¡¯t say anything but the intensity of his aura made the delinquent looking guy wanna pee his pants . Alex was truly angry at the moment, because ever since meeting Evangeline, she had done a lot of things for him . He owed Evangeline too much, for her to be disrespected right in front of him, this made Alex so angry that he wanted to rip the delinquent looking guy¡¯s head off . If it was not for the restrictions given to him by his dad, the guy in front of him should be dead .

 Chapter 61

    Chapter 61

    The delinquent looking guy was extremely scared at the moment, but he still didn¡¯t apologize for his statement, since he was very angry at the student council president . It was because of the the merit system the student council president implemented, his beloved club was dying, he had been a member of the club ever since his first year, and now that he was a second year, he thought the fun will continue . Yet now even the former club president has left, and the once fun club, filled with excited gamers, was left with five members .

    Theputers they were using where all that¡¯s left of the once great club . So when he saw the student council president go back and forth from inside the Mercenary Club he grew curious . What he saw from the window of the clubroom, made him angry beyond belief . The clubroom of the recently made club had nice furniture, an AC, a bed, and other assortment of things . How could a newly created club get all of these things if they haven¡¯t gain enough merit? That would mean the student council president was favoring them .

    Then he heard the members of the club were some popr freshmen, and even the super popr Niel was a member . Hearing that Niel the guy who gets everything he wants without even trying was in the club, he figured that it must be because of Niel that Evangeline Kain, who was a girl is so nice to that new club .

    There where none that could resist, especially girls that could resist Niel¡¯s charms, if he decided to go all out .

    He was sure that his assumptions were correct, Kim Suho couldn¡¯t forgive the biased president nor the so called Mercenary Club . He couldn¡¯t move nor could he fight back, but he will never say sorry for what he said .

    "Ok let¡¯s all calm down, I think there has been a grave misunderstanding here . " One of the members of the Gaming Club spoke . It was a girl who had a child-like appearance, as she has a petite physique, and is t-chested . She has long, shiny, ck hair that reaches her calves, and grey sleepy eyes .

    The girl with sleepy eyes went near Alex and his group . "I¡¯m the one who called you, so please can you let our club president go?" Even after hearing the girl¡¯s request, none of the Mercenary Club members moved .

    "We¡¯ll only stop, if this guy apologizes . " Oliver answered the girl with the sleepy looking eyes . Kim Suho looked at the sleepy eyed girl with an angry re .

    "The president here just has some misgivings, about your club¡¯s rtionship with the student council president . It¡¯s just a misunderstanding that he has . So no need to take him too seriously . " The girl was trying to persuade the Mercenary Club members to let go of the club president, which was somehow working on Oliver .

    "Tell us the misunderstanding first, and we will decide what to do after . " Hearing Oliver¡¯s reply the girl could only sigh, but before she could answer, someone answered before her .

    "Kim Suho age seventeen, a second year in Cromer High School . Was made into the President of the Gaming Club, after the previous President quit . Based on some sightings of students, Kim Suho has been looking at the window Mercenary Club¡¯s clubroom every now and then . In conclusion Kim Suho must think that the Student Council President is favoring us, since we have-" Kei who was reading some of his notes stopped talking because everyone was now looking at him funny .

    He only answered cause he thought this was the right time to prove his skills to the club . Since the whole reason he was invited to join the Mercenary Club was because he had good information gathering skills .

    Alex hearing Kei¡¯s exnation, remembered the weird guy who kept on showing up in the camera ced outside the clubroom . Still because he did nothing unusual aside from looking from the window, Alex didn¡¯t bother with him, also because Lyner was currently located in the clubroom, Alex didn¡¯t need to look at the clubroom cam that much anymore, since they had acquired the strongest guard dog .

    The other members now finally understood the reason for the stupid delinquent looking guy¡¯s reaction . He was being extremely paranoid, and his anger for the student council president has clouded his mind from thinking straight .

    "All the items in that room where bought with our own money, also we haven¡¯t even received any financial support from the school yet, since we just started out as a new club . " Oliver exined to the angry looking Kim Suho . Of course he didn¡¯t say that the furniture was bought by Eva, cause that will cause a whole other issue .

    "So now that you know, you¡¯re in the wrong . Apologize for calling Eva the b word . " It was Saya who spoke, still not moving the ballpen away from Kim Suho¡¯s eye .

    Kim Suho didn¡¯t want to apologize even knowing that the whole situation was a misunderstanding . True that he misunderstood the situation regarding the Mercenary Club, but to say sorry for calling his most hated enemy a b*tch? The girl who created the merit system and destroyed his happy high school life .

    Kim Suho was extremely conflicted inside . He knew he was wrong, but at the same time he knew that what he said about the student council president being a b*tch is true, though not for the reason of the misunderstanding but because of her creation of the merit system .

    Because of the merit system, dozens of clubs had disbanded . The happy times of the school had disappeared and the remaining clubs had turned superpetitive .

    "Fine I will apologize for the misunderstanding, but I won¡¯t apologize for calling her a b*-" Before Kim Suho could finish the word b*tch, Alex pressed his finger on Kim Suho¡¯s throat which made him scared, and what frightened him even more was the ballpen that Saya was holding seem to being closer .

    The girl with the androgynous face approached the group, and held Saya¡¯s hand . "I know the president is in the wrong for saying such things . But your reactions are too much . The President has his own reasons for hating the Student Council President . This club is everything to the president it¡¯s were he finds his happiness in his high school life . The student council president is the reason for the current decline of the Gaming Club that the president loves, so at least allow him to feel the way he does, without doing this . "

    The Mercenary Club members except for Alex, understood why Kim Suho was acting like this but . . .

    "No matter the reason, he had no right to call her that . Unless he apologizes, I¡¯m really going to pierce his eyes . "

    The androgynous girl was trying to stop Saya from moving her hand, but the strength Saya was using seem to be double than hers . Saya was moving closer and closer to the eye, Kim Suho gritted his teeth, as the ballpen inches closer to him .

 Chapter 62

    Chapter 62

    "Fine I apologize for calling Evangeline Kain a b*tch . " Kim Suho reluctantly apologized . When the members heard him, they released Kim Suho, that is except for Alex and Saya .

    "I already apologized what more do you want!" Kim Suho started shouting since the two people who were the most threatening didn¡¯t move from their previous positions . Alex indeed heard Kim Suho¡¯s apology, but he didn¡¯t care for it, since he was still a bit mad . Saya on the other hand didn¡¯t remove the ballpen from in front of Kim Suho¡¯s eye since she knew that the apology was insincere, all the other members knew, except for Alex .

    "Alex, Saya that¡¯s enough . . . This guy has his own pride as well, and he wont go beyond this, even if you do kill him . . . He will never apologize as sincerely as you wish . " Rachel with a tired tone of voice was the one who spoke, hearing her voice Alex pressed his finger a bit and made Kim Suho¡¯s throat bleed a little, before getting behind Rachel .

    Everyone from the Gaming Club as well as Kei who saw that Kim Suho was bleeding a little, had finally understood that Alex, could literally kill him at any moment . The Gaming Club members were scared at the same time excited, it was like there was an actually fighting game character right in front of them .

    While everyone was amazed at Alex¡¯s action, Saya¡¯s hand blurred a bit, and Kim Suho¡¯s eye was pierced, or that¡¯s what he thought had happened . The ballpen for a moment felt like it pierced through his eyes, was that an illusion? . . . Kim Suho was sweating profusely, the moment the two monsters released him from their grip, he felt all the strength from his legs disappear, as he fell down on his butt and breathed heavily . He looked at Alex, and Saya with a bit of fear, but their was more resentment in that look than fear . Kim Suho might not be a powerful individual, nor did he had the backing of a powerful family, but he had his own pride which he had shown as death was knocking .

    "Well I guess that¡¯s enough as punishment . " Saya smiled devilishly at Kim Suho before retreating back to the other members of the Mercenary Club .

    The girl with sleepy looking eyes sighed . "Now that¡¯s done, can we please speak civilly now?" Oliver was about to answer, but the androgynous looking girl spoke first .

    "What where you thinking Luvia?! Inviting these guys!" Luvia looked at the angry face of the androgynous looking girl, she then proceeded to look at the two other members who stayed quiet the whole time, after looking at their expressions, Luvia closed her eyes, thinking for a bit . After a bit of thinking Luvia opened her eyes and answered .

    "I did it for the club, ir . " When ir heard Luvia¡¯s simple answer she could only shut up . The situation of the club was pretty desperate . Kim Suho wanted to say something, but gritted his teeth . This was like selling one¡¯s soul to the devil, just to gain one wish . Still Kim Suho loved the Gaming Club so much, he didn¡¯t mind selling his soul to the devil, who was in this case the Mercenary Club .

    After confirming that her fellow club members were done talking, Luvia once again faced the members of the Mercenary Club .

    "I¡¯m sorry about all of that . . . Since I was the one who invited you here, without the knowledge of my club members, please ept my apology . " Luvia bowed her head . Seeing this move most of the resentment Alex¡¯s group had was slowly going away .

    "It¡¯s alright, everything you guys are doing, is simply a reflection on how much you love your club . " Oliver was the one who spoke as the representative of the group since he was the club president and all that .

    Luvia lifted her head and looked directly at Oliver¡¯s eyes . Her sleepy looking eyes didn¡¯t betray any sort of emotion, her poker face was actually at the same level as Alex¡¯s .

    "Thank you for epting my apology . So for starters allow me to introduce myself . I¡¯m the vice-president of this club, my name is Luvia Reinfordth . These are my fellow clubmates, you already met the president of course, Kim Suho . Here is the ace of our club ir, the one standing behind her, is our resident know it all Shin, andst but not the least Richard our all rounder gamer . "

    Aside from the three that the Mercenary Club members already saw, the two who where hiding in the back of the room stepped forward . The one they called Shin was a tallnky looking boy, he was easily the tallest one in the room, but because of his skinny frame he looked like a stick of sorts . Richard after bowing his head greeting them, went back to ying .

    "Nice to meet you all, allow me to introduce my fellow club members as well . " Oliver introduced all the members present, even Emily was introduced to the Gaming Club . Knowing Emily¡¯s existence made the members of the Gaming Club excited . Emily was a legend in the gamingmunity of this city . At first they weren¡¯t sure if this Emily was the same as the Emily in the urban legends, but seeing her hack into their phones proved that she was the real deal .

    "Now that we are all properly acquainted, I would like to officially request the Mercenary Club to help us . There is an uing tournament thising Sunday, and we would like you to help us win that tournament . " Luvia directly asked what she wanted from the Mercenary Club .

    "What kind of tournament is it?" Rachel could already guess what kind of tournament it was but still asked the question, since they needed to be sure .

    "It¡¯s an FPS tournament . The game is the newly popr game created by Battlefield Gaming Studio, it¡¯s called Perfect Soldier . The game is simple, one team will be Soldiers, while the other team are Mercenaries . The Mercenary team needs to nt a bomb in a certain location depending on the map, and wait for it to explode or they could kill all the enemies . The Soldier team on the other hand needs to deactivate the bomb if it has been nted properly, or kill all of the enemies . Those are basically the rules, the game is going to be a race to sixteen, the first team to win sixteen matches is the victor . "

 Chapter 63

    Chapter 63

    The Gaming Club members started to show the Mercenary Club members how the game was yed . After showing them one game, the two clubs headed out since it was already 17:00, and they needed to get home .

    Once Alex got home after escorting Rachel as per usual he headed to his dad¡¯s study . After reporting the day¡¯s happenings, Carlo reminded his son that tomorrow was the meeting of Rachel¡¯s family and their lost father Dan Regius .

    When Alex was reminded of this fact, his face grew serious and he saluted, before leaving the room . Alex was walking towards his room, the anxiety he was feeling was something even more than the anxiety he felt as he faced death .

    Alex gritted his teeth, and calmed his mind by repeating the chant he kept on saying to calm his nerves .

    ¡¯I need to be strong, I need to be more than human . Fear and anxiety bring nothing but hesitation, hesitation brings death in the battlefield . ¡¯ This was the chant that kept him going from one battle to the next .

    Alex kept on repeating this chant in his mind, but for some reason it wasn¡¯t working like it always did . That was when Alex remembered about the game he saw awhile ago . He needed to practice ying that game anyway so might as well y it .

    Alex approached one of the maids and asked where the game room was located .

    "The game room? Isn¡¯t that beside the young master¡¯s room?" When Alex heard the maid¡¯s answer he immediately headed towards the room beside his own, and like the maid said this was truly a game room .

    It was arge room, that was filled with a library of games, and in the middle of the room, where four TV sets, with surround sound . All of the past and current consoles, where plugged into different forms of television . Finally behind the TV sets was a PC with three monitors .

    The feel and look of the CPU was like it came from a sci-fi novel, the PC itself as also sci-fi-ish . There was even a VR setying there at the side . Alex was overwhelmed by the new world he had entered, he was both confused and excited .

    Alex had used aputer before, but that was just for training purposes . This time he was going to us theputer for entertainment purposes . Alex sat in front of theputer, turned on all of the screen, and the PC¡¯s start up button . When theputer got booted up, Alex stopped moving .

    ¡¯How do I y that game?¡¯ The library of games was astounding but at the same time, it made things difficult . If one wanted to find a specific game, it would take hours to look and check the whole thing . The order of the games was not chronological, nor alphabetical . Alex had no time to find out how the games where ced and in what order .

    So the fastest way to find the game was to call the maid or butler that was assigned to clean this room, surely he/she would know where the game Alex was looking for was ced .

    Alex took the phone located beside theputer, and dialed the local number for the head butler . The call connected and Alex asked for the person in charge of cleaning the gaming room . After a few minutes a maid came into the room, Alex asked her if they had the game called Perfect Soldier .

    The maid enthusiastically answered Alex, and started to exin how wonderful the game was .

    "No need to exin how good the game is . I will find out for myself . So first I need you to find the game, and then install it . " When the maid heard Alex¡¯s request she immediately found the game from the massive library and started to install it .

    When Alex saw how fast the maid found the game, he was surprised since that means there was a pattern to how the games where arranged in the shelf .

    "How did you arrange the games? It¡¯s not chronological or anything simple like that . . . So how did you arrange them?"

    "Huh? I arranged the games depending on how much I love them . The best games for me, are ced near the center . Since Perfect Soldier is one of my top 10 favorite games, I ced it near theputer . This way whenever young master felt like ying he could enjoy the games I like . " The maid happily replied .

    . . .

    The game was now finished installing and the maid taught Alex the basic controls . Once she was done exining she wanted to stay and watch her young master y, but since she had other duties she reluctantly left .

    When the game started, Alex was given the option to start with story mode, or multiyer . Since Alex didn¡¯t know much about games, he started with the story mode .

    The game started with a cutscene, a man was in the middle of a war zone . The man who seems to be Alex¡¯s game character was hiding in the trenches . Suddenly another soldier pops up out of nowhere, Alex reflexively pulled out his gun, then he remembered he was ying a game .

    Alex put away his gun and continued watching the cutscene . The soldier that approached him seem to be an ally, he then proceeded to teach Alex the basic controls of the game . When that was done, he gave a mission objective, it said give support fire to allied troops .

    It was a simple enough mission, and Alex had done it numerous times in real life . So when he headed to an ideal position, he was blocked by something like an invisible wall . He tried as hard as he could but failed to go through the invisible barrier . So when Alex tried to turn his character around he got shot in the head and died .

    MISSION FAILED

    Alex stared at the screen dumbfounded, he couldn¡¯t process what had happened . He couldn¡¯t hear the enemying, since the game had too many background noises, he couldn¡¯t feel the killing intent of the enemy since it was a game . All in all he couldn¡¯t notice the enemy approaching him before it was toote .

    Worst of all he saw in the screen words written in big letters, the words were MISSION FAILED . Those words struck him the most, he who had a 100%pletion rate in real life, was bested by a game . Even though this failure wouldn¡¯t reflect his actually record, just seeing the words MISSION FAILED made Alex feel like something wanted toe out from deep inside him, and destroy everything in sight .

    How could he ept such a result? Ever since, he had be a mercenary this was the first time he was told he failed, and the feeling he got from it was not pleasant .

    Alex proceeded to press the restart mission button and this time, he will win .

 Chapter 64

    Chapter 64

    It was the summer of his fifth grade Oliver was happily walking home . Since his house was quite close Oliver would y with his ssmates a bit before heading home . Today was no exception Oliver had gone home after ying a bit of football with his friends .

    While walking a van suddenly stops in front of Oliver . The van¡¯s doors open, one man got out and forcefully took Oliver . When Oliver entered the van he was confused, and scared he tried to scream but a foreign object covered his mouth . Oliver got to see that there were a bunch of men wearing mask surrounding him . His eyes were then covered by something .

    The whole ride was nothing but silence, the men in masks never talked to each other . The only thing that could be heard was the whimpering of Oliver, who was crying .

    The masked men were eerily quiet which made Oliver who had stopped crying even more scared . It has been an hour since the men took Oliver, during this past hour Oliver who was feeling fear and worry was also thinking about his parents .

    Where they looking for him right now? Where they crying as well?

    ¡¯Mom, Dad, I¡¯m scared please save me! I¡¯m scared! I¡¯m scared! I¡¯m scared! I¡¯m scared! Help! Help! God anyone, please help me!¡¯ Oliver was screaming for help in his mind, truly scared as what was about to happen .

    Finally the van stopped and Oliver was being dragged somewhere . When the mask covering his eyes was removed he saw that he was in a jail of sorts . They even removed the thing in his mouth . When he was able to speak again Oliver shouted at the men wearing masks .

    "Where am I? Who are you? Let me out of here?! Please I want to go home?" Oliver started to cry again but the men in mask didn¡¯t bother with him and left .

    Oliver continued crying for a while and then he heard his tummy growling . He was hungry but it doesn¡¯t seem like those men will feed him anything . Oliver then started to look around the jail like room, checking if there was a way to escape . But unlike in cartoons reality was harsh . There doesn¡¯t seem to be anything that could help Oliver escape .

    Oliver simply hugged his knees in the corner silently crying . He remembered his mom¡¯s cooking for some reason, and it made him even hungrier . It had been a few hours and the men in masks don¡¯t seem to being back...

    Oliver started thinking as to why he was kidnapped . Was this like those shows where he would be experimented on? Or was something much crueler awaiting him?

    Bang! nk! Boom!

    Oliver suddenly heard noisesing from the floor above him; it was the sound of gunshots and explosions . Was someone attacking the men in masks? Was he finally going to be rescued?

    Oliver who was despairing a while ago found his hope being rekindled . As his expectations were rising he saw someone came running down the stairs . At first Oliver thought it was his savior, but then he saw that the person was wearing the same ck uniform and mask as the others .

    The person wearing the mask approached Oliver¡¯s cell . When the man wearing the mask was close enough, Oliver was finally able to notice that the height of this person was the same as him .

    The man in the mask suddenly talked to Oliver . "Hey are you alright?" The voice that came from the mask was that of a kid .

    Oliver gathering up his courage asked the kid with the mask . "Who are you? Are you one of them?" It didn¡¯t need to be said who ¡¯them¡¯ was .

    "No I¡¯m not, I¡¯m here to save you!" The kid in the mask responded . He ced something on the door of the cell and asked Oliver to step aside .

    When Oliver got to the corner of the room, the masked kid moved away as well and pressed something .

    BOOM!

    The device the masked kid ced exploded . The door broke and the masked kid entered . "Come on let¡¯s get out of here!"

    Even though his savior finally came Oliver couldn¡¯t move because of fear . "I can¡¯t I¡¯m too scared!" Even though it was illogical Oliver said what a kid his age would say in this situation .

    Even though they were having such a long talk the masked men doesn¡¯t seem to being . This was because the masked kid was not alone in this rescue attempt he was apanied by four others who were freeing the other kids and dying the enemy .

    The masked kid who seem to be the same age as Oliver sighed . "You¡¯re scared?" Oliver nodded at the question .

    "That¡¯s fine I could give you courage . "

    "Really?" Oliver meekly looked at the masked kid .

    "Of course I know some magic words that could give you courage . "

    "Please tell me!" Oliver clung to the masked kid¡¯s arm .

    "All you need to do, is shout I¡¯m James Bourne from the shadow mercenaries! None are my equal!" Oliver looked at the masked kid as if he was a lunatic .

    "Don¡¯t look at me like that, just try it . " Oliver was hesitant but he still decided to try it .

    "I¡¯M JAMES BOURNE FROM THE SHADOW MERCENARIES! NONE ARE MY EQUAL!" When Oliver shouted these words he felt empowered .

    "Say it again this time louder!" The masked kid said .

    Oliver didn¡¯t notice but some people where approaching them, so he still shouted those magic words but this time louder .

    "I¡¯M JAMES BOURNE FROM THE SHADOW MERCENARIES! NONE ARE MY EQUAL!" While Oliver was shouting as loud as he can, the masked kid had shot two people with his gun .

    Oliver didn¡¯t notice the two dead bodies as he felt his confidence rising . "Are you still scared?" Oliver shook his head .

    "By that way who is James Bourne?"

    "Oh him, that¡¯s me . " The masked kid proimed, which made Oliver look at him in a dumbfounded expression .

    "Well now that your okay to move let¡¯s get out of here . " Oliver started running alongside the kid called James Bourne .

    Every time a masked man would appear like a hero of justice from his TV shows, James Bourne was able to easily subdue them . James didn¡¯t kill the opponents¡¯ cause that might frighten Oliver making him even more of a liability .

    "Your amazing!" Oliver shouted at James .

    "Of course I am! I¡¯m the best of the best in the shadow mercenaries . " James arrogantly proimed .

    "Hmph! well your ego is indeed the best in the shadow mercenaries that¡¯s for sure . " Another voice soundeding from the front . A man wearing the same mask as James¡¯ appeared before the two kids .

    "Well I¡¯m really the best don¡¯t you think specter?"

    "If you were the best you wouldn¡¯t be shouting your real name all the time and be using your codename . "

    "What do I have to hide? Let theme for me, I¡¯ll bring them all to their knees . "

    "That¡¯s why I keep saying, in a ce of people who think they¡¯re the best, your ego is the worse of the lot . " The man called Specter responded .

    "So your one of them? One of those with a big ego?"

    "Of course . " Oliver couldn¡¯t see pass the mask but he felt like Specter was smiling .

    "Well let¡¯s talkter we need to get out of here . "

    ...

    The group of three was able to escape the ce, and when they got out they were greeted by a group of crying kids .

    "Is everyone finally here?!" "YES!" The other masked men answered . While the three older masked men were talking to each other Oliver approached James .

    "Hey thank you for saving me . You were really cool . "

    "Heh, keep on praising me but it would¡¯ve been better if you were a girl . "

    "James can we be friends?" James was taken aback by what Oliver said . After awhile the shock he felt was reced by a smile .

    "Sure let¡¯s be friends, you might not remember me, but I will remember you . As long as one of us remembers will be friends . Do not forget if you get scared, confused, or simply need the confidence boost; just proim that you are James Bourne from the shadow mercenaries . " Oliver couldn¡¯t understand most of what James said but he nodded his head .

    James joined with the other masked men and then they started shooting at the kids . Oliver was shocked and couldn¡¯t react in time, so he was hit by something like a dart, his consciousness started fading .

    ...

    Oliver woke up to what seem to be a long dream . When he opened his eyes he saw an unfamiliar ceiling .

    "Oliver!" Oliver looked at his side; he saw his crying mom and dad . What has happened?

    "Mom where am I?" Oliver asked weakly .

    "You¡¯re in the hospital a group of kind strangers found you copsed on your way home, and brought you to this hospital . "

    After hearing his mom¡¯s exnation Oliver went back to sleep .

    ...

    Oliver was to be released from the hospital tomorrow morning so for now he needed to stay and rest .

    Oliver started to remember parts of a weird dream, which felt more like a nightmare . He couldn¡¯t remember much but he did remember something very important . In the dream he had acquired courage, and the magical words to summon that courage .

    ¡¯I¡¯m James Bourne from the Shadow Mercenaries . None are my equal . ¡¯ From this point on Oliver had a very good impression of the mercenaries who fought on the front lines and wanted to be like them .

 Chapter 65

    Chapter 65

    Alex continued ying all night until he was halfway from finishing the story mode of the game . The game was very restrictedpared to real life, and the hit detection was not that good . Most of the time when he thought he had hit the enemy it turns out he didn¡¯t . Still as Alex slowly progressed through the game, he felt his understanding of it was increasing . Alex finally noticed the time, it was now actually three in the morning! It was an hour before his unarmedbat instructor Dan Regius wille, so that they he could reintroduce himself to his own family .

    Alex was feeling a bit drowsy but this was still within the range of what he can handle . He evensted three days without sleeping, and that was while he was in enemy territory, so this shouldn¡¯t affect him much, or so he thought .

    Though Alex can stay awake and move about, but he couldn¡¯t stop his fatigue from showing . Alex¡¯s eyes were red, and his body felt a bit sluggish, his ability to think straight was reduced but not too much . When Alex was getting ready to take a bath, so he opened his closet to get a change of clothes, but when he did so he suddenly evaded to the right . Something flew past him from above, and without missing a beat Alex raised his right hand to block an iing kick aimed at his head .

    The kick was so strong it made Alex skid a few meters . Alex¡¯s reaction time was slower than usual, so he couldn¡¯t initiate a counter, but he already knew who the person attacking him was .

    Alex looked at the happily smiling face of a man with blue eyes, and dyed blond hair . There was no greetings between them, the man simply continued to attack Alex, and Alex continued to evade and block . Finally noticing Alex¡¯s sluggish movements, Dan stopped attacking .

    "What the hell happened to you? How can my very own disciple be this weak? Your breathing is all over the ce, your muscles seem tenser than usual, and your reactions speed has slow down by twenty percent since Ist saw you . Did leaving the battlefield turn you into a weakling? How can I allow you to protect my daughter if you¡¯re like that? Do I need to retrain you in the basics?"

    Dan couldn¡¯t believe his greatest student would be this weak . He had fought Alex¡¯s other instructors, and there where three of them that Dan could never beat . Yet Alex this student of his had fought them using their specialty to a standstill . Even he himself had barely won against Alex when they had fought unarmed, Alex would have won if they fought with everything they had, that was how much of a monster Alex was, and that monster of a student who was standing before him, was bing weak and frail .

    While Dan was lecturing Alex, he finally noticed that Alex was showing signs of sleep deprivation . "Huh? What¡¯s this, you couldn¡¯t sleep Alex? Why? Are you that worried about me meeting my family? Or . . . Alex I¡¯ll tell you this now, I treat you like you¡¯re one of my sons but . . . "

    Killing intent suddenly filled the room, Alex could feel Dan¡¯s fighting spirit rising . This instructor of his was about to get serious . At Alex¡¯s current state he would only be able tost about thirty moves, before Dan could kill him, that is if they fight unarmed .

    The only chance of victory Alex has was if he could get the gun hidden underneath his bed . ¡¯Wait what was I thinking? Was I actually thinking of killing Instructor Dan? Actually why is he acting this way?¡¯

    Alex started to be confused by his current predicament . Dan on the other hand spoke in a low voice, as if threatening Alex .

    "Even if it¡¯s you Alex, I wont give my daughter to you!" Even though Dan couldn¡¯t remember much about his daughter, since he had amnesia, yet he still retained the feelings of a father . When he saw the picture of his family, he was sure that Rachel with her looks would gather a bunch of flies .

    "Alex I know my daughter is very beautiful, cute, smart, elegant, amazing, and everything awesome in the world, so I was sure a bunch of flies would gather . " Dan looked at Alex and thought ¡¯So are you one of those flies?¡¯

    Alex couldn¡¯t concentrate on what Dan was saying, since he hadn¡¯t slept, coupled with the anxiety he has about the meeting between father and daughter . Alex right now was truly at his weakest, he even consumed a bit of his stamina fighting Dan, so right now Alex could only understand bits and pieces of what Dan was saying .

    In Alex¡¯s ears all he heard where the words a bunch of flies, gathering around Rachel . "Don¡¯t worry Instructor, even flies wont be able to get near Rachel . " Alex looked at Dan with a serious face .

    Dan was overwhelmed by Alex¡¯s answer and the look of determination he was showing .

    ¡¯WOAH there, is Alex seriously telling me that he will eliminate all the flies, so he will be the only one for Rachel? . . . Well this is Alex were talking about, so he just might have took what I said literally . . . Still he has been with my lovely daughter for a week now, that¡¯s enough for any man to fall in love with her, no that¡¯s enough time for any man to be obsessed with her . ¡¯

    Dan couldn¡¯t understand what Alex truly felt about his daughter . He has known Alex for eight years now, and he was sure that this boy in front of him was anything but normal . So most of the time, he wasn¡¯t sure if his feelings, and thoughts where the same as most people .

    So the only way to confirm his feelings was to ask him directly . . . Still if Dan did that and Alex answers with an affirmative, Dan might identally kill Alex . If Alex was in his normal state, even if Dan goes on a berserker like rage, Alex would¡¯ve calmly dealt with it, but now he wasn¡¯t in the state to be able to do that .

    Alex on the other hand was losing consciousness every now and then . If Dan didn¡¯t attack him, and if he wasn¡¯t forced to use up much of his adrenaline, Alex would have been fine . With all of the factors, of anxiety, sleep deprivation, and loss of stamina, Alex was at the edge of losing consciousness .

    Dan clenched his fist and finally decided to ask Alex the question he wanted to ask since awhile ago .

    "Alex do you like my daughter?"

 Chapter 66

    Chapter 66

    Alex couldn¡¯t hear what Dan was saying, all he heard was something buzzing in his ear . Not knowing what was said Alex couldn¡¯t answer . Alex was trying his best to understand what Dan was saying, but try as he might he was still unable to do so . Dan who saw Alex was not responding to his question, asked him once more, "do you like my daughter?"

    Alex couldn¡¯t understand most of the words, and his vision was failing him, so he couldn¡¯t read Dan¡¯s lips . In truth Alex didn¡¯t sleep for two days now because the anxiety was eating at him, added with the loss of stamina, he was barely hanging on .

    Still Alex was trained to the limit, so this much was still bearable for him . Dan kept on repeating the question, unaware of Alex¡¯s current hardships . Dan wanted to hear Alex¡¯s answer no matter what . Alex on the other hand could only hear bits of what Dan said .

    In Alex¡¯s mind he thought he heard Dan say something like, ¡¯Do you like me?¡¯ Why would Dan ask something like that? Alex couldn¡¯tprehend why Dan would ask something like that now, at this moment before meeting his family . . . Still if Dan Regius one of his instructors ask him such a question, then there must be some meaning to it .

    "Yup I do, we¡¯re like family . " Alex smiled at Dan .

    Dan hearing Alex¡¯s answer and looking at his innocent like smile, was stunned . ¡¯Alex thinks of her as family? Does that mean she¡¯s like a little sister to him? Nah based on their emotional maturity I guess, Alex will be the little brother . . . Well I did treat Alex like he was one of my sons . . . We all did . . . ¡¯

    Dan sighed in relief, it seems like he didn¡¯t need to kill Alex after all . Alex didn¡¯t like his daughter as a woman . He simply treats his daughter as a sister of sorts . Dan looked at the smiling Alex, and finally noticed that his consciousness wasing and going .

    "Hey Alex are you sure you¡¯re up for this? I can go by myself you know . " Dan who got the answer he wanted, was now starting to worry for Alex¡¯s health . Even though moments ago, Dan wanted nothing to do but destroy Alex¡¯s health and everything about him .

    Alex couldn¡¯t hear much of what Dan was saying, as he was really trying to make himself stay awake . His consciousness was flickering between being asleep, and being awake . It was then that he finally noticed the time, it was 03:28 already, if they don¡¯t leave now, the might get therete . Alex had no more time to take a bath, so he just changed his uniform to a clean one . After getting changed Alex sprinted out of the room .

    Dan didn¡¯t need to hear Alex¡¯s answer as he saw him running out . ¡¯The kid will always stick to his orders, until told otherwise by that guy . ¡¯ Dan knowing Alex¡¯s particr quirks, gave up on letting him rest, and started running after him .

    Alex¡¯s body was heavier than he thought , suddenly bursting out running, took more of his stamina than he anticipated . Normally even in such a situation, Alex would be thinking rationally, yet now because of his anxiety, Alex was not thinking straight . Alex couldn¡¯t understand why he was being anxious in the first ce .

    Alex was now slowing down as he tried to catch his breath, Dan was right beside him . The two had actually already arrive in front of Rachel¡¯s house . Alex was still trying to regain some of his stamina, as Dan looks at the house his family lives in .

    Dan couldn¡¯t remember most of anything, but he was sure that this was his home . The que saying ultimate made him feel like he was meant to be here .

    Dan couldn¡¯t contain his excitement anymore, and shouted at the top of his voice . "Hey you lot! Come on out! The master of the house has returned!"

    Alex who was feeling floaty, covered his ears because of Dan¡¯s loud voice . It didn¡¯t really help Alex wake up, but it did surprise him .

    The other neighbors were irritated, and tried to look for the person who shouted, but when they saw that the man was in front of the dojo, the people all hurried back inside their homes . Who among them didn¡¯t know about the ultimate dojo¡¯s infamy .

    One time there was a biker gang that wanted to mess with them . The gangposed of hundreds of people flooded the streets, once they entered the dojo they all lost . The group of hundreds couldn¡¯t stand up to the three brothers, but what scared them the most was the witch inside the dojo .

    The neighbors were sure something big was about to happen, but they couldn¡¯t rely on the police for this situation because they didn¡¯t want to get involved with the people of the dojo . So the neighbors decided to not bother with it anymore and went back to sleep .

    Hearing the loud shout, Joseph, Rnd, Gabby, Rachel and Kumiko immediately started running to the front door . When they saw the man in front of them, the Regius family members stood therepletely stunned . The minds of the family cked out for a moment .

    Dan who saw them came running out of the dojo smiled . These people are his family . Even though he can¡¯t remember who they were, Dan felt a deep connection between them .

    The Regius family finally got their bearings back, and was now sure that the man in front of them was the missing Dan Regius . The family wanted to rush at him and hug him tightly, except for Rachel who had a multitude of mixed emotions .

    Dan seeing their stunned expressions smiled viciously and gestured them toe . When Kumiko saw this gesture of his, she remembered what kind of man her husband was . The three brothers understood this gesture as well, the only one who couldn¡¯t understand what was going on was Rachel . She was too young when her father disappeared, so she knows little to none about the man .

 Chapter 67

    Chapter 67

    Joseph and his brothers¡¯ who their father gesturing them toe, made them truly excited . Their father had finally returned and their wish to show him what they can do has finally arrived . Without any signal the three brothers charged forth .

    The three seem faster and more coordinated,pared to when they fought Alex . It was because the fight they had with Alex showed them howcking they were . So the three started to retrain themselves, and this was the result .

    Dan seeing the iing attacks from all sides, smiled . He evaded the attacks with ease, he then noticed the style of fighting that was used by the three, was the same one he taught Alex, though iplete it was still the same .

    Joseph did an upward front kick, which Dan simply sidestepped to evade, after sessfully evading Dan pushed the leg that kicked upward, making Joseph lose bnce and fall on his butt . Rnd and Gabby attacked Dan on both sides, Rnd did a roundhouse kick, while Gabby did a simple jab . Dan added a bit of force in the direction their attacks where heading . The added momentum disrupted Rnd and Gabby¡¯s sense of bnce thus making them trip .

    The brothers couldn¡¯t care less that their attacks weren¡¯t hitting, nor did they care that they were being toyed with, all they wanted to do, is show their father the improvements they had . They wanted to show how they polish their skills to this degree . They wanted to convey to their father all the hard work they have done to catch up to him . So the next time he goes on a trip, they would be able to follow him .

    Dan could feel what his sons wanted to convey to him . Though their skills where leagues away from a monster like Alex, but to be this strong for their age, and without even stepping into the battlefield, was an aplishment by itself . He could really feel how much the three had pushed themselves to be this strong .

    Dan kept on evading, until the three brothers decided to stop attacking . Dan who looked at his three sons knew what they wanted . They wanted their father to attack them, and see how far they can go .

    Dan was happy his three sons have grown to be manly men! There where no words said but they could understand each other using their fists . Truly men of the Regius line .

    Dan finally released a bit of his bloodlust . The three brothers who have never been in a life or death situation before, shuddered before their father¡¯s bloodlust, that was born from countless killings .

    The brothers tried their hardest not to cower before their father¡¯s bloodlust . What is this? the fear of death? What is merely dying, in the face of showing an embarrassing reaction such as cowering in fear in front of their father? Death would have been the better choice . These where the thought of the three who withstood Dan¡¯s bloodlust .

    Seeing his sons showing such impressive resolve, made Dan extremely proud . This level of bloodlust would have made a normal new recruit pee their pants . Alex was actually jolted awake for a bit, he even pointed his gun at Dan, but when he noticed where the bloodlust wasing from, he hid his gun . It was a good thing all the focus was on Dan, so nobody noticed him draw his gun, actually nobody even noticed he was around . While the family was distracted with their abrupt reunion, Alex was trying to rest while he can .

    Rachel looked at her father with disdain . ¡¯So what if you got stronger? Was it worth it to leave your family? Mom did her best in taking care of us for thest ten years, and where were you? You where out there having fun, thinking only about yourself!¡¯ The more Rachel thought of her father, the angrier she got .

    Unaware of his daughter¡¯s anger Dan changed his stance . When the three brothers saw their father change his stance, they knew what wasing will be thest strike .

    "You have shown me your growth, as well as your impressive resolve . . . Fine then my sons let me show you the final secret technique I invented . This might hurt a little, but I trust you trained your bodies well . " They didn¡¯t answer their father¡¯s question with words, the three brothers answered with their actions .

    Seeing that his three sons taking defensive stances, made Dan smile with glee . The three brothers who where looking at Dan without blinking saw something was starting to change in his demeanour .

    Dan was trying to remove the restraints his mind has ced on his muscles . This was the final technique Dan created as he fought things like tanks, helicopters, and even bunkers . The human flesh had more potential than anyone could imagine, so as he fought Dan found a way to unleash that potential, he called it ¡¯RELEASE . ¡¯

    RELEASE was indeed a powerful technique, that makes Dan turn into a superhuman . This was also the same move, he used to defeat Alex on theirst confrontation . Alex was able to use RELEASE as well, but only around sixty percent of it . Dan on the other hand could use, ny percent of the full capability of the technique .

    Dan was trying to surpass this limit, but unfortunately his age has made it difficult to use this move at full force, without him dying from it . The RELEASE is ast resort move, since every time it is used, after a few minutes depending on how strong your body is, the technique will backfire .

    After awhile the human body wont be able to handle the stress of using more muscle power than what was intended . So the user of RELEASE will give the user extreme muscle pains, and will also make the user, be incapacitated for a few minutes or a whole week depending on how much strength was used .

    If timed properly the use of RELEASE will not lead to too much muscle pains . Dan can use this technique for around five minutes without getting hurt from the side effects, but if he goes beyond that five minutes, the pain will make even the battle hardened Dan lose consciousness . That was also the end result of the fight between him and Alex . Since they fought for more than ten minutes, with the use of RELEASE, Dan fainted from the sheer pain of the bacsh . Dan might¡¯ve won that fight, but it wasn¡¯t a clean win .

    Seeing the changes happening to their father¡¯s muscles, the three brothers had be even more vignt . Dan moved, to a third person¡¯s perspective Dan simply passed by the three, yet after that move the three brothers where holding their stomachs in pain . Something fast and heavy hit them in the gut, and they were sure it was the fist of their father .

    Dan looked at his sons truly proud of their growth . The strike that he used was meant to incapacitate them, even though he controlled his strength to make sure they survived, still Dan had judged that strike wasn¡¯t something their current bodies could handle . His sons are most probably still conscious simple because of their fighting spirit .

    Dan was relishing in the victory which led him to let his guard down, and without him detecting her, Kumiko was already right beside him ready to strike .

    The whole fight between her husband and their sons, Kumiko was simply waiting for an opening in Dan¡¯s defense, and like she thought the weakest time for her husband was when he was rejoicing in victory .

    ¡¯It has been ten years and he has grown into a superhuman, but he still couldn¡¯t fix this problem of his . ¡¯

    Kumiko attacked while Dan while he was distracted, but because he was in his RELEASE state, he could easily dodge this attack, or so he thought . Kumiko¡¯s upper palm strike suddenly increased in speed . Dan could barely evade the attack, so after evading Dan quickly distanced himself from Kumiko, when he got a good look at Kumiko he noticed the changes in her muscles .

    Dan was shocked this was the technique RELEASE, but he was pretty sure he hadn¡¯t created this technique until just recently so how was Kumiko able to use it as well?

    What Dan didn¡¯t know was Kumiko herself was shocked to see Dan used a much morepleted version of the technique RELEASE . Still she wasn¡¯t surprise for long, her husband who was a martial arts nerd, would¡¯ve probably reached the same conclusion as her, and realized that the human body has so much potential . Thus allowing him to achieve a simr technique .

    Dan who saw his wife use RELEASE was super excited, he felt a bit aroused from the situation . He didn¡¯t wait for Kumiko to attack, Dan was the first to initiate the attack . Kumiko not wanting to be the one on defense also attacked at the same time . The two of them where fighting in a speed the normal human eye couldn¡¯t follow .

    Joseph, Rnd, Gabby, and Rachel looked at the fight between their parents, and it was a jaw dropping scene . Dan and Kumiko where having their long awaited dance, this was a dance only this couple could perform . It was a violent, awe inspiring dance .

    Dan couldn¡¯t remember anything about Kumiko, aside from the knowledge that she was his wife . He couldn¡¯t remember their first date, nor their first kiss . He couldn¡¯t even remember how he fell in love with Kumiko, but seeing her bewitching smile, and her perfect body move as she evaded the torrent of punches and kicks, and the perfect motion of her kicks using those beautiful legs of hers was enough to make Dan fall in love once more .

    Kumiko looked at her husband¡¯s smiling face, and felt satisfied . The man who she thought had died had finally returned to her, and as promised he has gone beyond fighting unarmed against guns, now he can fight against tanks . The long years in the battlefield couldn¡¯t remove that childish smile of his, and the excitement he felt was also shared by her .

    The couple didn¡¯t need to speak, theymunicated using their bodies . Dan and Kumiko stopped moving, and they both returned to their normal forms .

    Without saying another word, Kumiko jumped towards Dan¡¯s chest . Kumiko ced her head on Dan¡¯s muscr chest, and hugged him tightly . Dan patted Kumiko¡¯s head, after awhile Kumiko let go of Dan and looked at him, the two smiled at each other, a childish innocent like smiles . It felt like they returned back in time, back to the time when they where still teenagers, Kumiko couldn¡¯t take it anymore, and kissed Dan .

    The three brothers who saw this scene felt happy for their parents . Rachel on the other hand had conflicting feelings, she was happy that her mother was able to meet her father again, and she truly did look happy to see him again . Even her brothers look genuinely happy . Still Rachel felt anger at how easily her father was epted back into their family, even though he left them to fend for themselves for ten whole years .

    After kissing his wife, Dan hugged her again, he then looked at his children and gestured them toe and hug him as well . The three brothers who had recovered a bit ran towards their parents and did a group hug .

    Dan noticing Rachel wasn¡¯t moving from her spot, spoke to her . "Rachele and hug your Dad . "

    Hearing Dan call himself her Dad, something inside Rachel snapped . "DON¡¯T YOU DARE CALL YOURSELF MY DAD!" Without listening to what Dan was about to say Rachel ran off . Alex who noticed Rachel running away followed her .

    Dan looked at Rachel¡¯s shrinking silhouette, and sighed . ¡¯So it really isn¡¯t going to be that easy . ¡¯

    "It¡¯s alright dear . . . Rachel has a lot going on in her mind, it might take time, but I¡¯m sure we can be happy again . . . Also dear, I saw Alex follow after her . . . Alex came with you right?" Hearing Kumiko¡¯s question Dan wryly smiled .

    "Well it¡¯s a long story . "

    "We have all the time in the world . " Kumiko embraced Dan¡¯s right hand and the couple slowly walked back into their house . The three brothers where a bit worried about their little sister, but since their brother inw was following her, they weren¡¯t that worried . So the three followed their parents into the house, wanting to listen to their father¡¯s riveting tale on why he was gone for thest ten years .

 Chapter 68

    Chapter 68

    Rachel fled from the scene, she couldn¡¯t take it anymore . Her deadbeat father suddenly returned, and now without any difficulty the family simply epted his return . Why? Was she the only one who truly hated their father for leaving them?

    Rachel was now at an empty park near her house . She sat at a bench looking dazedly at the sky . Rachel couldn¡¯t understand what was happening . Everything was happening too fast, a mysterious boy suddenly appears and disturbs her daily routine . Then they created a club full of the most colorful characters in the school . Now her supposed dead father miraculouslyes back . . . All of these events happening in a span of a week and a half, It¡¯s a lot to process, and it all started with a single boy .

    As if hearing her thoughts, Alex suddenly appears . Rachel whose eyes had turned hollow looked at Alex, and smiled a bit . Of course this guy will show up at this exact timing, like a protagonist of some story, Alex would appeared at the right moment .

    Rachel after looking at Alex went back to staring at the night sky . Alex who saw Rachel¡¯s hollow eyes felt pained . Alex walked slowly towards Rachel, but was stopped by Rachel suddenly talking .

    "Hey Alex, do you think my feelings are wrong? Do you think, I should be like them? Simply forgive and forget . . . Is that the correct path?" Rachel was talking while looking at the sky which was still a bit dark . She waited for Alex to answer, but like she thought Alex had no answer to her question .

    Alex hearing Rachel¡¯s words somehow made him feel even more pain in his chest than ever before . Alex clenched his teeth, and walked onward, he then sat beside Rachel .

    "There is no such thing as the correct path, there is only the path you choose . Whether it bes the correct path, that you are talking about, depends on you . " Rachel who heard Alex¡¯s answer was bewildered for a moment, and looked at him . She then went back to staring at the sky, with a gentle smile on her face .

    "As usual, you don¡¯t give me a proper answer . . . Right now I¡¯m feeling conflicted, and I don¡¯t know what I should do . On one hand even though he¡¯s a bastard, and a deadbeat, he is still part of my family, and I¡¯m happy that¡¯s he¡¯s alive . . . On the other hand, the bastard actually came home, proceeded to beat up his sons and expects to be weed with open arms, and the irritating part is, he actually was weed with open arms . " Rachel clenched her fist, and continued talking .

    "So now, not only am I like the bad guy, for going against my family¡¯s wishes . I actually feel like the bad guy, for hating that shit*y father of mine . You know Alex, in the past ten years, I have seen my mom doing the best she can, to support the family . Before the dojo became a sess, my mother had to work in multiple part time jobs . She would alwayse home tired, but even in the face of all the hardships, there was always a smile on her face . . . At some point when I was eleven years old, I saw my mom crying in front of my father¡¯s picture . My amazing, powerful mom, who I thought could do anything, was actually crying so pitifully, wishing for him toe back . . . She was practically begging the picture toe to life . . . It was at that point when I truly started to hate my father . Yet now he has returned and my mom who was crying for him, is now smiling so cheerfully . . . " Tears started falling from Rachel¡¯s beautiful face .

    "I¡¯m happy for my mom, and my brothers, truly I am . . . But for the first time, my home doesn¡¯t feel like a ce where I belong . . . I can¡¯t understand my feelings . . . All I know is, right now, I hate him, I hate him soooo much! Yet my family simply epts him just like that! Is it wrong for me to hate him for leaving us?! Is it wrong for me to hate him for making my mom cry?! Is it wrong for me that I wish that he should never have returned?! HAHAHA . . . thest one was too much I guess, but this is what I¡¯m currently feeling, and I can¡¯t stop it . " Rachel was chocking while saying those lines, as she looked at Alex, her hollowed eyes had tears flowing down her face like a broken faucet, her sad, forced smile, could make anyone who looked at her hear their heart breaking . It was so beautiful and the same time so tragic .

    Alex who was looking at her eye to eye, felt the pain in his chest getting heavier . Alex didn¡¯t understand the changes that was happening inside him, all he understood was that he wanted to somehow ease the pain of the girl in front of him .

    Alex stopped looking at Rachel, and had his head lowered . "Let me tell you a story . " Alex sighed, not wanting to look at Rachel¡¯s sad face . He continued on with what he was saying .

    "There was a child, who was like any other child, he had a family, he yed around with his friends, and he lived a normal, boring, blissful life . Then one day a man who his father thought as a friend came into their house, and started arguing with him . The child unaware of what was happening was shocked to see his parents die in front of him . " When Alex got to this point of his story his voice trembled a bit .

    Rachel unaware of the significance of this story to Alex, simply listened on .

    "Did you know what the boy felt, after his parents died? . . . He felt nothing . . . That¡¯s what it looked like from the outside, but in truth the boy was scared, he was angry, he was sad, the boy felt a multitude of emotions at that one moment, and locked them up inside of him . " Alex noticed that he was getting a tad emotional, so he stopped for awhile to calm himself down .

    "The boy was then adopted, he had gained another family . His new father, uncles, and aunts, loved him like they were a true family, with that the boy felt the pain of loss was slowly going away . . . But every now and then, the boy would wonder, if it was alright for him to survive that day . . . Will his parents resent him? Will they curse him, for living on, and leaving them behind? Yet the thing that haunts the boy the most, was that, he simply wants to meet them once more . . . Rachel I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re going through, but your father is still alive, and that¡¯s something worth celebrating . " Alex voice cracked a little in the end, but the expression he shown, will forever be unknown, since he was looking downward, blocking Rachel¡¯s view of him .

    Rachel who heard Alex¡¯s whole story, wasn¡¯t stupid to not understand the boy in the story was Alex himself . Compared to the pain Alex had felt, her minor inconvenience seemed so trivial .

 Chapter 69

    Chapter 69

    The smoke in the sky, and the smell of gunpowder, had made a man smile . The man who was smiling had ck hair in a crew cut, was wearing some casual clothes . He was scratching his chin as he smiled viciously . Behind him was a mountain of dead bodies .

    This man with overwhelming strength was Lyner an S rank merc . Currently twenty six years old, this battle junkie had been in the battlefield, for sixteen years, currently he was the youngest to ever be a merc, also the youngest to reach S rank, and this was without the help of a squad . He got the rank with his skill alone .

    Lyner was holding a katana in his left hand, and a Smith & Wesson . 500 in his right . Lyner was stretching his body, "Now that warm up is over, better finish off the enemy squad . " Lyner was getting excited, as he had gained info that the enemy squad consisted of three S rank mercs, and the remaining are A ranks .

    Lyner¡¯s thirst for battle skyrocketed every time he remembers how disadvantageous his current predicament was . Without a care in the world Lyner strolled through the battlefield, where the sound of explosions, gunshots, and sirens drowned the screams of the dying, this was the luby of the battlefield, and he loved it .

    To everyone else this ce was hell, but to Lyner this was his yground . Lyner merrily hummed as he walked through the dead bodies . Every now and then bullets would pass through Lyner, but he could easily dodge since he could feel the difference in the vibrations in the air .

    Being in battlefield after battlefield, searching for the ultimate battle, Lyner could feel that the battlefield was a living organism, the movements of soldiers, the change in the air when shots are fired, Lyner could feel it all .

    "Die you monster!" From the bushes a soldier started shooting at him, but Lyner easily evaded and shot the enemy soldiers head .

    Boom!

    In that range using his Smith & Wesson . 500 the enemy soldier¡¯s head exploded . Lyner continued walking leisurely as enemy soldiers appeared, he would either blow them up with his gun or sliced them up with his sword . The unbelievable thing in this scene was not how he killed them, it was how not one drop of blood manage to stain his shirt .

    While walking towards the enemy base, Lyner was suddenly surrounded on all sides, yet the ones near enough was a group of three . Lyner was sure who these three were, he smiled showing his teeth, he looked like a predator ready to strike at his prey .

    "I know that you guys are hiding, show yourselves, and let¡¯s all have fun! If you guys don¡¯te out, well then you will die without knowing how you¡¯re killed . " When Lyner made his threat, three men showed up from behind the trees . One of them started reciting something .

    "Run, run, run, cause here hees .

    Run, run, run, for the monsteres .

    A Swish of his de and your head begone

    With the shot of his gun, you¡¯re all but done" The man who recited those words, smiled at Lyner .

    "Do you know that was a verse created to scare new soldiers, and mercenaries who just enter the battlefield . You know the inspiration behind the verse is you . The God of War Lyner, he who lives and breathes for battle . Many people from the Empire are scared of you . You could have bother fame and fortune, and easily leave the battlefield to live a leisurely life . Yet you went and killed somebody you shouldn¡¯t have . You actually killed the son of the patriarch of the Tang n, now he hired all of us to kill you . "

    Lyner didn¡¯t care for the reason as to why they¡¯re trying to kill him, all he cared about is if they can give him the excitement he wants .

    "I don¡¯t care about that! If he has set foot on the battlefield, then he must have been ready to die! Who cares about the sh*t Tang n! All I want from you guys is an epic battle! As long as I get to fight that kind of battle it doesn¡¯t matter if I die! Come on, I know it¡¯s not just you three! I can sense it, hundreds are currently surrounding us!"

    The three men smiled, "Fine, let¡¯s get this over with . " The leader made some hand signals, and after a minute a hundred soldiers all equipped with rifles, had surrounded them .

    "ept your fate Sir Lyner, even for you this is-" The leader of the group wasn¡¯t able to finish his sentence, because Lyner suddenly shouted .

    "NOW THIS IS WHAT I¡¯M TALKING ABOUT!" Without saying anymore Lyner dashed forward and started shooting, two soldiers instantly died . Seeing Lyner suddenly shoot, all the soldiers started to fire back .

    Yet with nimble movements, Lyner evaded the gun fire, and the enemy soldiers actually hit their own . It was obvious that the soldiers were afraid of Lyner, with them making such rookie mistakes .

    The three S rank mercenaries, tried to support the soldiers . Every now and then Lyner would get nicked, even for him this much of a quantity disadvantage was a bit hard to handle . Yet Lyner did not despair, quite the opposite he got even more excited .

    While his excitement was rising, Lyner made a mistake and was hit by a a sniper bullet in his right shoulder . Another bullet grazed his left knee . He was getting in an even more disadvantageous situation, but that only made him even more happy .

    Lyner started throwing shurikens with wires attached . The surrounding area after a few more minutes was full of wires .

    "NICE! AWESOME! COME, COME! TRY WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT AND KILL ME!"

    . . .

    None but one soldier survived that day, and he would forever remember the demon he saw . He kept on repeating the words "that wasn¡¯t a God, that was a demon in human skin . "

    The only reason Lyner didn¡¯t kill this soldier was simply because he was the only one who didn¡¯t direct killing intent his way .

    After this battle, Lyner¡¯s mercenary Rank rose to the legendary SS rank . It was this battle which gave Lyner his greatest joy, and it was after this battle that Lyner gained his misery . The ultimate battle Lyner sought could never be found, and he was forced to leave the battlefield .

 Chapter 70

    Chapter 70

    Rachel who heard Alex¡¯s story felt her irritation to her father lessen, but it was still there . She felt pity for Alex, and thought that her problemspared to his was so trivial, but still she couldn¡¯t turn off her feeling just like that . Yet now she decided to listen to her Sh*tty excuse of a father, all because of what Alex has said .

    Rachel felt like some weight had lifted from her shoulders, as she kept looking at the sky . While doing so Rachel unconsciously held Alex¡¯s left hand .

    "Sorry Alex, it must¡¯ve been hard for you . I guess hearing mein about my trivial problems, made you remember things you just want to forget . . . I¡¯m sorry . " Rachel didn¡¯t look at Alex and simply kept staring upwards, trying her best to stop herself from crying .

    Alex hearing Rachel¡¯s apology made his mouth curve slightly upward . It was only a moment yet it passed by as quickly as it came, Alex returned to his usual stoic expression .

    "What are you talking about? That was not my story, it was just something I made up . . . " Rachel wiped the tears off her face, and looked at Alex¡¯s indifferent expression . If it was the first time she saw his face, Rachel would not have noticed it . . . But in the past week and a half, as Alex was looking at her, she too was looking at him .

    Rachel was slowly able to see beyond Alex¡¯s stoic face, in his eyes, his bodynguage, Alex was showing relief .

    ¡¯This guy, even though his situation was so much worse than mine, he only thinks of my well being . . . ¡¯ Rachel felt something suddenly bursting forth from within her . She couldn¡¯t understand what it was, but it made her a bit scared, at the same time hopeful .

    "Really that story was something you made up? Who knew such a stoic guy like you, can actually imagine such a setting . . . So tell me what happens to the boy, does he gain redemption? Does he really think his parents, wish for him to follow them?" Rachel was now showing an amazed expression, alongside a forced smile . Her tears have stopped flowing, but one could tell she had cried, since her eyes where so red .

    Alex was surprised by the unexpected question . At first he didn¡¯t want to answer, but then he saw Rachel¡¯s gaze . Alex¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change much, but Rachel could somehow discern the slight twitch Alex did .

    "Hmm, are you really interested in a story, made by such a boring guy? How about I bring you home, so you can hear the exnation your father has for leaving . " Alex tried to divert the topic, but it was no use . Rachel right now felt like this chance was the only one she would get, to understand even a tiny bit about Alex .

    "Boring guy? A guy like you is boring? You have little to nomon sense, you¡¯re smarter than most, and your fighting prowess is off the charts . If you¡¯re a boring guy then I can¡¯t imagine what an interesting guy would be like . Don¡¯t worry about that shit*y father of mine . The reason for leaving his family, he will exin it to me one way or another, but right now I¡¯m much more interested in the story you just made . . . So tell me Alex, how does the story end? Tell me does the boy gain the redemption he sought? Does the boy really think his parents wish for him to follow them? A story needs to end right? I for one, want to know the ending of the story you made . "

    Alex couldn¡¯t help it, but his mouth once again curved upwards . This time he didn¡¯t notice it, but Rachel saw it, and it made her do the exact same action .

    "Fine then . The story doesn¡¯t have an ending yet, so I can¡¯t really tell you how it ends . . . What I can tell you is, the boy, even now is still looking for redemption . . . He is still ming himself for what happened to his parents . He keeps on thinking, if only I had the strength . . . Now that he gained the strength he desired, he felt nothing . . . The boy once thought if he gained strength the weight of his sins might lessen, but it did not . The stronger he got the more pain he felt . . . He kept on thinking, if only I had this strength back then . But what ifs are nothing more, than a dream, a very sad dream . "

    Rachel could see the sadness in Alex¡¯s eyes, and she felt pained for him . Alex on the other hand still kept his poker face, but inside of him, various emotions where trying to break out .

    "So the simple answer to your question is, no, the boy hasn¡¯t found redemption . Then let¡¯s move on to the other question, does the boy really think his parents wish for him to follow them? . . . The answer to that is a no as well . The boy obviously knows his parents who love him very much, wouldn¡¯t want their son to follow them . It was the boy himself, who wanted to follow his parents, but knowing the moment he does follow them . . . He was sure his parents will be very disappointed in the boy . So knowing that, the boy never really does follow . . . So there, does that answer your questions? Can we head back to your house now?"

    Rachel who had listened to Alex¡¯s story, felt her understanding of him grew a bit . Of course she can never im to understand his loss, and his hardships, but she might as well try .

    Rachel stood up from the bench and started to stretch her body . The talk the two had didn¡¯t seem long, but the sun was now starting to rise .

    "Hey Alex, that story of yours was dumb and depressing . " When Alex heard Rachel speak that way about his very own story, he felt at a loss, and could only wryly smile .

    "So allow me to help you write, thetter half of it . I¡¯m sure with me helping, thetter half of your story will be much better . We could even ask Oliver for help, that guy seems like he can make any story funny . If we add Saya, and Niel they might be able to make the story even more interesting . We can even ask Evangeline to help us, even though she¡¯s a pain to deal with, I think she can help make the story better . Heck why don¡¯t we ask everyone in the club for their own opinions in creating a better story . I¡¯m sure with everyone¡¯s help your story will have a great ending . " Rachel whose back was facing Alex, suddenly turned and she faced Alex with a bright cheerful smile .

    Alex didn¡¯t know if it was because of the sun rising up, or if it was because he was affected by Rachel¡¯s enthusiasm, but the smile she was showing, at this very moment was the brightest thing Alex has ever seen .

 Chapter 71

    Chapter 71

    Alex and Rachel returned to the Regius household, when they arrived inside the house, the two saw Rachel¡¯s family was all crying . It would seem that Dan told them a heartbreaking tale of anguish and the hardships he had to endure due to his amnesia .

    When the Regius family started exining to Alex, and Rachel why they were crying, the two felt a bit helpless, especially Alex . He already knew what kind of story Dan was going to say, but hearing how dramatically he exined it, made Alex feel like sighing .

    Of course he didn¡¯t say anything about Alex being a merc . Dan told his family that Alex¡¯s father hired him to be Alex¡¯s personal martial arts instructor .

    Rachel hearing his father¡¯s reason for noting back, was all because of amnesia felt a bit irritated .

    ¡¯What the hell is this!? Is my life some sort of T . V drama series?!¡¯ This was the thought that Rachel was screaming in her mind . Dan then informed Alex that Rachel wouldn¡¯t be going to school today, and he had no need to guard her for now, since he was with her .

    At first Rachel resisted, screaming at her deadbeat father . "Why the hell should I miss school for you!?" Rachel truly didn¡¯t want to miss school just to bond with this loser of a father . Yet because of her mother and brothers¡¯ coercion, Rachel reluctantly agreed .

    Kumiko wanted to invite Alex as well, but every time she tried to extend an invitation to join them, Dan kept on interrupting her . To her it seems like, even though her husband has amnesia he was still a doting father, same as before .

    Seeing as Rachel was with his Instructor Dan, Alex decided it was safe to leave Rachel¡¯s protection to him . Also Alex didn¡¯t want to disturb their family bonding time . So after bidding goodbye to the Regius family, Alex proceeded to head towards school .

    It was then Alex¡¯s phone for emergencies started ringing . Alex immediately answered the call . "Alexander here, what¡¯s the situation?"

    "Young Master, Evangeline Kain has been kidnapped . " The one speaking was one of the maids Alex employed for surveince .

    After the incident where Alex needed to follow Rachel the whole Sunday, without being seen . Alex thought that way was too inefficient, so he made a more efficient way to monitor the area, and everyone rted to him . Alex didn¡¯tck money nor personnel, so he created a surveince team consisting of some of the maids and butlers in the mansion .

    He had set up a bunch of CCTV cameras in key areas of the city, under the guise of police work . The cover story was the cameras where there to help improve the safety of the city for the citizens . Of course he asked a favor from the police chief, and even made a detailed report for his dad, before implementing the n .

    Alex hearing that Eva has been kidnapped, tried to focus . "Tell me the current location of the kidnappers, and give me intel of the enemy . "

    . . . .

    (fifteen minutes before the call to Alex . )

    Eva was heading to school like usual, which was being driven to school . At first Eva found nothing strange, but then she noticed that the usual car filled with bodyguards wasn¡¯t following them, not only that but the car she was in, has been suddenly surrounded by three simr looking sedans .

    "Excuse me, Mr . Ned can you please speed up and pass those strange looking cars? I have a bad feeling about them . " Eva told her driver to speed up, but the driver didn¡¯t do so . Mr . Ned who was Eva¡¯s driver for thest year gritted his teeth, as he looked at the back mirror apologetically .

    Eva seeing the driver¡¯s expression can already guess what was going to happen . "I¡¯m sorry Ms . Kain, they took my baby . . . I had no choice . I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry . " Ned kept on apologizing to Eva, as he stopped the car .

    Eva sighed helplessly at the current situation . "It¡¯s alright Mr . Ned, I do understand your predicament . There is no need to apologize, it was also my fault for not ensuring your family¡¯s safety . Being my personal driver does have some danger to it . It¡¯s was an error on my part, I guess I shall try better with next driver . "

    Even though Eva knew she was about to be kidnapped, she was being still as calm as ever, She was even nning what to do for the next driver, as if this kidnapping was but an every day thing . This made the driver feel a bit unnerved .

    Evangeline Kain has been kidnapped numerous times, but only one of those times was truly dangerous, and that was also the time when she met Alex .

    The door of the car suddenly opened, and some rough looking men tried to pull her out, but before he could touch her, Eva pped the hand trying to reach for her .

    "No need to be so rough, I can get out by myself . Well then Mr . Ned, I guess you¡¯ll be needing another job after this . Don¡¯t worry after this incident I will try to find you new employers . " Eva then bowed her head, and proceeded to get out of the car .

    "So gentlemen, what is it that you want?" When Eva was about ready to negotiate with her kidnappers, she heard an electronic voice telling one of the kidnappers, to knock her out . The moment she heard those words, something heavy hit the back of her head, which made her lose consciousness .

    . . .

    "We identified the kidnappers, most of them are from random minor gangs in the city, but the ones wearing mask, seem to be professionals . . . There has been an update on the location of the kidnappers . They seem to be heading towards a shoe factory . I¡¯m sending you the coordinates now . "

    Alex then received the exact location of the shoe factory on his phone . It was quite a distance by foot .

    "Tsk! Prepare my personal motorcycle, and bring me equipment D, I¡¯ll meet you in the front gates of the mansion . Also inform my dad about the current situation . "

    "Roger that . "

    Alex was a tad irritated, since he was only able to take a power nap for five minutes, so he wasn¡¯t in a good condition . He was truly angered by the kidnappers that decided to this today of all days .

    Alex mumbled under his breath . "What else could happen?"

 Chapter 72

    Chapter 72

    Alex got home and as nned his motorcycle was ready, and a maid carrying a briefcase and a bag was waiting for him .

    "Did you inform my dad about the current situation?" Alex took the bag, and started to change his clothes in front of the maid without shame . He was still inside the premise of the mansion so no one but the maid could see him .

    Alex had no shame as he removed his clothes, and put on the new ones prepared for him . The maid in question didn¡¯t have any reaction to it as well . She simply answered Alex¡¯s question while he was changing .

    "Yes I have informed the Master about the current situation . He has given the young master the green light to use extreme lethal force . He also said if the young master wants, he can treat this like a rescue mission, plus an annihtion mission . "

    Alex was done changing and had double checked the equipment he was going to use . Before putting on his helmet Alex spoke, in a deep serious tone . "Roger that . " After Alex said his acknowledgement he put on his helmet and darted off into the distance using his personal customized motorcycle .

    . . .

    In Carlo¡¯s room he was looking at his window, seeing Alex dash off in his bike, Carlo sighed . ¡¯It seems like getting you to have a normal life is getting harder and harder . . . Still seeing you move without me giving you an order, and to actually worry about someone else, you surely are maturing . . . Still those people that kidnapped Evangeline Kain . . . Obviously someone is using them as pawns, making use of minor gangs, and having a few elites ced here and there . I wonder if this is rted to that guy who ims, Berdonia is the greatest . . . ¡¯

    Carlo started to think that the events that where happening was rted to the incident awhile back . He didn¡¯t like the feeling he was getting, so he started to contact some of the more veteran mercs in his old unit .

    . . .

    Eva woke up in a dimly lit room, she didn¡¯t panic like a normal person would, instead the first thing she did was sigh . She then proceeded to check if she was able to move . It seems like the kidnappers didn¡¯t bother restraining her movements . Well it was not like she could do anything in her current situation even if she didn¡¯t have restraints .

    Eva then proceeded to inspect the room she ced in . It was little room, with a barred window, a locked metal door, a dimly lit light and one chair . Aside from that there was nothing else in the room, it was actually unusually clean . Eva started to check if there was a way to bypass the barred window, but as she expected with only the few things in the room, there was no possible way to escape .

    Eva then sat on the chair which was the only furniture in the room . She breathed deeply and exhaled, ¡¯once again I¡¯ve been kidnapped . ¡¯

    ¡¯I wonder what those guys want with me? It doesn¡¯t seem like their the normal sort of thugs any of the rivalpanies will send to harass the family . This could also be a plot by Uncle, wanting to force my father to relinquish his position as patriarch . . . No that can¡¯t be it, my uncle isn¡¯t smart nor ruthless enough to hire someone to kidnap the baby of my driver, and threaten him . Hmm still that move does give rise to the question of security for the families of our employees . ¡¯

    Eva started thinking of ways to improve the security for the families of their employees . Since Eva didn¡¯t know what the kidnappers want, nor can she escape, she decided it was more meaningful to think of future steps once she gets out .

    Eva wasn¡¯t scared that she wouldn¡¯t be able to leave, since if the kidnappers wanted to kill her, they would¡¯ve done so by now . But since they kept her alive, that must mean that they need something from her .

    Eva has been trained by her family to deal with this kinds of situations, so no matter what Eva faced she wouldn¡¯t panic . The only time Eva ever panicked in a kidnapping situation was back then, when she first met Alex . The kidnappers back then where a terrorist group, and they didn¡¯t want anything from Eva, they simply used her as a human shield . Since they didn¡¯t want anything, Eva and her family was unable to negotiate with them . That situation was the first time Eva had seen people who didn¡¯t do things with logic at mind, they simply where doing things based on their feelings .

    In her family most of the people moved based on logic, it didn¡¯t matter if they were part of the same family, to them everything was simply business . The only ones who truly cared about Eva were her father, mother, and her older cousin . Aside from those people everyone else was simply wearing facades .

    Eva then started to reminisce on how she first met, Alex . Actually the situation she was in, seem kinda simr .

    "I wonder if Alex noticed that I¡¯m missing? . . . Heh, obviously he wouldn¡¯t notice . To Alex the only thing important to him is Rachel¡¯s safety . I¡¯m nothing more than a person that he can easily forget . . . Still it would be great, if Alex storms in and rescues me, just like that one time . . . Who am I kidding, in truth . . . I guess that would be impossible . "

    Eva silentlymented that her first love, was in no way interested in her . Little did she know, that Alex who she thought couldn¡¯t be bother by her, was now actually racing towards her area now .

    . . .

    Alex finally reached the shoe factory, and was now at a neighboring building, observing the ce using binocrs .

    The images shown in the camera in his leather suite was being ryed to the surveince team .

    "So tell me, what do you know about this shoe factory?" Alex asked the maid in charge ofmunicating with him .

    "The shoe factory is a simple cover up, and with ess to all the information given by Mr . Luke, we now know that the factory is used for gic experimentation . "

    ¡¯Gic experimentation? What would this guys want with Eva?¡¯

    "So are there any civilians inside the factory?"

    "There are none, young master . Everyone inside is either a mercenary, an assassin, or part of the local gangs . "

    "That¡¯s all I need to know, send me theyout of the building . I want to know every nook and cranny, of that building . "

    "Affirmative young master . "

    While Alex was waiting for the maids to send him theyout of the building, Alex started to hype himself up, like he used too back in the battlefield . Back then he did a certain ritual, before he started any dangerous mission .

    ¡¯The mission objective is to rescue Evangeline Kain . I need to infiltrate the enemy building without being spotted, once the target has been acquired I can proceed to phase 2 . Annihte all enemy forces . ¡¯

    He confirms the mission objectives, and tries to visualize himself doing it . This was one of the ways Alex used to do, to make him even more focused .

    Right now the kidnappers are blissfully unaware of the danger that ising . Today these kidnappers will learn why Alex had gained the moniker ¡¯Silent sh . ¡¯

 Chapter 73

    Chapter 73

    After learning theyout of the building Alex learned that the only route he could take without getting seen was, the entrance on the rooftop . Of course there were people there on the roof, who seem to be guarding the door . . . Or not, upon closer inspection using his binocrs, Alex saw it was just two gang members having a drink, while smoking .

    Alex put a suppressor on his sniper rifle, and with great uracy shot one of the men, and before the other could react he got a bullet pierced through his head . Now that Alex had dealt with the men on the roof, he needed to stealthily pass the cameras .

    Alex took something from the bag he brought, it was a grappling gun, he aimed it at the roof of the shoe factory . There was no cameras pointing upwards, so he was easily able to bypass the outside security .

    Once Alex got to the roof of the shoe factory . He looked at the map of the ce, the maids made for him . It seems like there was a control center of sorts on the upper floors, which monitors the whole factory .

    ¡¯It looks like I wont be able to get into the control center, without an id card . Those thugs from the local gangs most probably don¡¯t posses the qualifications to enter the control center . Then maybe those professionals have one . Most likely the ones in masks are mercenaries, don¡¯t know what squad there in, nor what rank they have, but epting such a low ss mission such as kidnapping, means that there the lowest kind of mercenaries . ¡¯

    Alex then proceeded to carry the two gang members and hid their dead bodies in one of the boxes he found on the roof . After doing away with the bodies, Alex entered the factory and hid into the the vents .

    . . .

    One of the mercenaries hired to guard the factory was doing a routine check on the area . Unlike the easy going thugs of the local gangs, the mercs in the factory where a bit restless . The boss had warned them, after kidnapping the girl one of the most vicious merc of Berdonia woulde looking for them .

    The boss imed that the one who would be infiltrating the factory was the ¡¯Silent sh . ¡¯ All the mercs who have been in the battlefield for thest three years would know who the Silent sh is . The merc could the Silent sh was more of a fairy tale than a real being .

    In Berdonia there are five beings that are the most feared by the Southern Union and the Granado Empire . The first was the ¡¯Demon¡¯ Lyner, the strongest merc of Berdonia, he who longs for the ultimate battle . There was even a verse made about him to scare new recruits

    Run, run, run, cause here hees .

    Run, run, run, for the monsteres .

    A Swish of his de and your head begone

    With the shot of his gun, you¡¯re all but done . This verse was created to teach them that the battlefield was not simply a ce for glory, money, nor fame, it was a ce where death and true danger lurks within .

    The second was the ¡¯Shadow . ¡¯ This was an assassin that hasn¡¯t failed to kill his target, he has a few kills under his belt, but all of them where high profiled and difficult to assassinate, yet he was able to kill them . It was said that even if you see his silhouette you could never discern anything about him . Not his gender, his age, height, nor his face . Everything about him was all a blur .

    The third was the ¡¯Blond Devil¡¯ this was a merc who destroys everything with his bare fists . You could see him running around the battlefieldughing hysterically as he fought tanks, and helicopters, with nothing more than his bare hands as weapons .

    The fourth was the ¡¯Messenger of Death . ¡¯ This was a merc that has been in numerous missions, it is said once he has proimed you dead, no matter where you hide, no matter who you are, death was inevitable .

    Then finally the merc that suddenly appeared out of nowhere the ¡¯Silent sh . ¡¯ Many had imed that this mysterious merc was part of the squad created by the Messenger of Death . Some have even said that he was the child of the Messenger of Death, but most where not sure of this im .

    The ¡¯Silent sh¡¯ has a perfect mission record, even the three current SS rank mercs, can¡¯t im to have achieved this kind of feat . The reason he was called the ¡¯Silent sh¡¯ was because once you see a sh of light there are only two fates avable for you, the lucky ones, who see the sh are simply rendered unconscious, the unlucky ones, are offered a quick death .

    Unlike the four beings mentioned, the ¡¯Silent sh¡¯ is the only one who hasn¡¯t been spotted by others, nor has he talked to anyone, the mission he epts are random as well . The only way tomunicate with him was true the squad of the Messenger of Death, which birthed the rumor of him being part of them .

    That¡¯s why the mercs who where currently guarding the factory are nervous, only some of them treated the ¡¯Silent sh¡¯ as a fairy tale character, made by the Southern Union, or the Granado Empire . He was created as a sort of motivation, so that the people of one of the two nations would be forced to improve their soldiers . Since if Berdonia had a prospective SS rank that was in the making, chaos will ensue, and the mes of war will grow brighter, with Berdonia gaining the upper hand .

    Still most of the mercs feared the ¡¯Silent sh¡¯ even more than the ¡¯Demon . ¡¯ Since the ¡¯Demon¡¯ was real, and they could identify him, unlike the enemy that they know nothing about . the ¡¯Demon¡¯ was way better .

    The mercs guarding the factory had paired up, as they do their rounds . One of the mercs who where near the control center heard something in the vents, being on high alert he checked the vent where he heard the sound, while hispanion guarded his back . When he looked in the vents their was nothing there .

    Relieved that he was just being a bit paranoid the merc sighed, he then got out of the vents, he was about to make a joke at his partner, but when he looked back, his partner wasn¡¯t there . Unnerved by the sudden disappearance of his partner, he was about to radio in for back up, but then, he saw a white light sh by, and before he could respond with any sort of action, he felt his vision dimming, his consciousness was slowly fading . The merc died, and thest thing he thought was that the fairy tale was actually a nightmare .

 Chapter 74

    Chapter 74

    Alex had killed the two mercenaries guarding the area near the control center . Of course he fooled them into going into an area that wasn¡¯t under surveince . Alex killed the first one by breaking his neck, thetter one he killed using his knife by quickly piercing his throat . Alex took the outfit of the merc that wasn¡¯t bloodstained, and as he predicted he had an ID card .

    Alex needed to move fast, because once he went out of this room, and the people who were watching from the control room notice he was alone then it would be game over for him, and the hostage .

    From this room to the control room, if Alex walks it would take around ten seconds to reach, two seconds to swipe the card, and another two to kill the enemies in the control room . So overall fourteen seconds to move .

    After he was done wearing the mask and outfit of the fallen merc, Alex took the dead merc¡¯s weapon . Alex breathed slowly as he left the room .

    ¡¯One, two, three, four, five . ¡¯ Alex was counting in his head as he walked towards the control room . When he got to the door, he took out the ID card and swiped it . Once Alex had entered the room, he immediately noticed four guys looking at him .

    "What the hell are you doing here? What happened to your partner?" Alex didn¡¯t bother to answer, he dropped the rifle he took from the dead merc, and immediately got his handgun with a silencer on .

    The four were shocked at Alex¡¯s action and were about to make their move, but before they could do anything Alex as if like magic, using his handgun had quickly dispatched the four without even making a sound .

    The final thoughts of the dying mercs were simply ¡¯He was real . ¡¯

    Alex on the other hand was thinking something irrelevant to the situation . He was thinking that if the game perfect soldier was as easy as this, he wouldn¡¯t have seen the game over screen as much as he did .

    He then contacted the maids in the surveince team .

    "I¡¯m in the control center . I just need to stick this USB in one of the CPU¡¯s here, right?"

    "Affirmative young master . After doing that we will be able to hack into their system, and we¡¯ll be the ones in control . "

    "Roger that . " Alex ced the USB stick he got into one of the CPU¡¯s . He then proceeded to look at the monitors and he found Eva sitting down in a chair, contemting something . Even in such a situation she kept her cool, Alex was a bit impressed by her .

    Now knowing the exact location of everyone in the building . Alex could easily reach Eva, but something felt wrong, everything just doesn¡¯t add up . Why kidnap Eva? Money? There are many more families, and ns richer than Eva in the nearby cities . Is it not Eva¡¯s family that they need, is it Eva herself?

    Alex didn¡¯t feelfortable with the current situation, so he decided to prepare just in case .

    . . .

    Eva was still in the middle of her silent meditation, when she heard an irritating electronic voice echoing in her room . She was sure that this was the same voice, as the one who ordered the thugs to knock her out .

    "Hello mic test, mic test, do you hear me?" Eva could finally try to negotiate .

    "Yes I can hear you . . . So who are you?"

    "It doesn¡¯t matter who I am little princess of the Kain¡¯s . I just wanted to talk to you, since you are about to die and all that . . . See I¡¯m a kind captor, I¡¯m going to listen to whatever you want to say . You can scream at me, get angry, curse at me, and any other thing you want, since this is your final moment . "

    Eva hearing the electronic voice, talking to her and proiming her death, didn¡¯t even made Eva flinch . She calmly continued the conversation .

    "Why do you want to kill me though?"

    "Hmm, Well I guess it¡¯s alright to tell you since you¡¯re going to die anyway . Your family the Kain¡¯s is one of the oldest family in Berdonia . Your family has been a merchant family ever since the beginning, and you know what kind of business your family runs?"

    When Eva heard the electronic voice¡¯s question, she couldn¡¯t answer immediately . Obviously the electronic voice wasn¡¯t asking about the business everyone thinks they run, it¡¯s the real business their family deals with .

    "Not going to answer? Whatever, the family business is all about weapons correct? No need to answer that, it¡¯s a rhetorical question . I wouldn¡¯t have cared whatever kind of business your family runs, but your family as Berdonians have done the most despicable thing you could¡¯ve done . Your family actually does business not only with Berdonia, but with the Southern Union as well . Hell you might be doing business with those Granado Empire dogs, you traitors!"

    "So you¡¯re going to kill me? Because my family is having dealings with the Southern Union? That¡¯s it? So it could have been anyone in my family, you could¡¯ve kidnap and killed? I was just unlucky enough to be picked . . . " Eva even in the face of such a crisis, was calm and collected, but hearing that she was randomly picked, made her feel a bit depressed . Was she really this unlucky?

    "Yes I brought you here to kill you . It was to serve as a warning to your family, that if they continue being traitors, then I will erase your family from Berdonia . Also I did not randomly pick you, aside from being a warning, you also serve as bait . "

    ¡¯Bait?¡¯ When Eva heard that word, her mind started to think as fast as she could . Bait for who? Who among the people she knows, has the capability to find out she was kidnapped, and attempt to rescue her . It was then Eva came to the only conclusion, the electronic voice was targeting ALEX!

    "Hmm it seems like your knight is about to reach this ce, I better put you to sleep . It¡¯s better to be safe than to be sorry . " When the electronic voice said those lines, a weird kind of gas started to fill the room .

    Eva tried to block her nose, but it was useless . Her consciousness was slowly going, and the final thoughts she had before sleeping were ¡¯Got to warn Alex it¡¯s a trap!¡¯ Even in the end, all she could think of was Alex .

 Chapter 75

    Chapter 75

    Alex used the ID card for the iron door where Eva was held hostage, but it didn¡¯t work . "Can you open the door, where Eva is held captive?" Alex asked, but the maid assigned inmunications, was confused by the question .

    "Young Master, the door is already unlocked . "

    Alex was confused by what the maid said, he ced his hand on the handle, and indeed it was open . He then noticed a faint odor,ing from beyond the door, it was an incapacitating agent . The smell was pretty weak, it would seem that the gas has already disappeared from the room .

    Alex quickly entered the room . Once he got inside the room, he saw Eva sleeping on the floor . This scene was truly different from what he saw on the monitor . Alex was about to pick Eva up when, he heard the door locking from the outside .

    "Hey what happened? . . . Respond . Can anybody hear me?" Alex was trying tomunicate with the maids but was unable to . Alex sighed, ¡¯so it truly was a trap, good thing, I checked the area before heading in here . ¡¯

    "Hello Alexander Samarita . " The electronic voice once again echoed in the room . Alex wasn¡¯t surprised, since he had a feeling that something like this would happen .

    "You¡¯re as stoic as they say . Not even surprised that you have been trapped? . . . No, well that¡¯s a bit boring . " The electronic voice seem disappointed by Alex¡¯sck of reaction .

    Five minutes passed and none of them talked . "WHAT THE HELL! Aren¡¯t you going to ask anything? Like who I am, why did I lure you here or trapped you? . . . Nothing . . . Really? Not even a, curse you kinda deal? No . . . Fine then, go act cool and all that, in the afterlife!" The electronic voice, got tired by theck of a proper reaction, even a proper talk was denied . So it decided to blow them up .

    What about his subordinates one might ask, he didn¡¯t care . All the mercs guarding the factory, where mercs hailing from the Southern Union, and from the Granado Empire . It didn¡¯t care what happens to those who aren¡¯t Berdonian .

    What about the gang members then, they¡¯re Berdonian right? No the person behind the electronic voice doesn¡¯t care about the lives of thugs, them dying for their country is the best they can do for Berdonia .

    "You know, I was going to tease your father about saving you, then he would race here, and once he got here, BOOM! You¡¯ll be dead, and he was toote . That was my original n, but since you¡¯re just irritating me, I just want to blow you up NOW!" The person behind the electronic voice clicked something on its end .

    It was watching from a camera with a bird¡¯s eye view of the factory . Excited to see the fireworks, but a few seconds passed and nothing happened . The person behind the electronic voice tried to press the button again, but the explosion never happened .

    "No matter how many times you press that button, nothing will happen . " Alex finally talked back, after checking Eva¡¯s current state .

    Hearing what Alex said, the electronic voice asked . "What did you do?"

    "I disabled all the bombs inside the building, as well as those you ced outside . . . Did you really n to kill even your own subordinates?" Alex asked the question he wanted to ask, ever since he found the bombs .

    "As expected of true blue Berdonian! Such intelligence, such skill, too bad you and your father decided to not help your very own country . Such a shame . . . "

    "You haven¡¯t answered my question . " Alex didn¡¯t care about being praised by a lunatic, he just wanted to know what the person behind the electronic voice felt, about trying to kill his subordinates .

    "Your question? . . . Oh, killing my subordinates right? No, what I¡¯m killing are Southern Union scum, and Grando Empire dogs . Those things aren¡¯t my subordinates, there just pawns in my little game against you . " When Alex heard the answer, he felt bad for the mercs working for this person . Even though they were the worse kind of mercs, they still didn¡¯t deserve this kind of employer .

    "Are you done with your questioning? . . . Well since you didn¡¯t die by the explosion I nned . I guess a more painful death is in order . . . Here let me show you something Alexander . " Alex could here something moving within the room .

    Alex shielded Eva, since he didn¡¯t know where the attack wille from, he decide to cover Eva using his whole body .

    It was then that one of the walls opened, and beyond the opened walls Alex saw a girl . A little girl, that looked like she was around eight or nine years old was in a tube . Alex couldn¡¯t understand what he was seeing, why would his enemy show him this girl?

    "Alex meet Lilitth, the perfect artificial human, or she was suppose to be . She is the closest thing that this factory has made that was usable . She was born smarter, stronger, and more adaptable than the current human race . She was suppose to be the first in a long line of super soldiers, but the project turned out to be a failure . We couldn¡¯t elerate her growth, since that seems to cause damage to her brain . So we needed to wait for her to grow up! Not only did we wait, for years, we waited in vain . Once she was at a proper age to be used, we tried to train her, but with her high intelligence she questioned our motives, and wouldn¡¯t follow orders . "

    "So we needed to wipe out her memories, and retrain her . Still that didn¡¯t work and the same problem happened again . So then we used an experimental object, we haven¡¯t given it a name yet, but let¡¯s call it a mind control chip, since it works with the same principles . So now she follows every order, but guess what, simply following and not improving had made her obsolete . I couldn¡¯t find any use for her, until now that is . "

    The tube holding the girl opened, and the little girl who just awoke looked at Alex, her eyes shown nothing but ckness, it was like Alex¡¯s in the past .

    "Lilitth kill the enemy!" Once themand was given Lilitth moved from her spot . Alex could barely follow her movements, but he was still able to block and redirect the punch the little girl released . Yet that punch from a little girl that looked like she weighed less than thirty kilograms was able to push Alex a meter back, even though he blocked and redirected the strike .

    Alex looked at the little girl called Lillith, and in his heart he asked for forgiveness, since Alex knew that the girl was simply being controlled . . . But it was either her or them, Alex had no choice but to fight seriously and kill the loli .

 Chapter 76

    Chapter 76

    Alex steeling himself, used RELEASE and attacked the loli, using his gun . With the effects of RELEASE Alex¡¯s kic vision had gotten far better, and he was now able to see Lilitth¡¯s movements much more clearly . Alex then tried to shoot Lilitth¡¯s legs but she was easily able to dodge .

    ¡¯Tsk, it seems like long range attacks wont work, same as when I fought Lyner . Fighting people with reaction speeds this fast, really is a problem, they wont be hit by weapons that are linear in nature . ¡¯

    Alex discarded his gun, since he knew that it would just weigh him down . He then proceeded to ready himself for a close range fight . Alex held two military grade knives on both hands . Lilitth continued her assault, even while using RELEASE Alex could barely fight properly .

    Even though he already convinced himself that he needed to kill the girl, some part of Alex was hesitating . Alex continued to be passive as he blocked the attacks of the loli .

    "Hahaha! So that¡¯s it?! That¡¯s all the ¡¯Silent sh¡¯ is capable of? I didn¡¯t really need you after all, I-" The electronic voice was cut off, because Alex had found the hidden speaker and camera in the room, and threw one of his knives at it .

    Though Alex was a bit irritated by the voice, he had to admit, being this hesitant will cost him, not only his life, but the life of Eva as well . Alex gritted his teeth, and started attacking, this time he was serious .

    Lillith might have the advantage in terms of pure physical abilities, but the way she attacks was simple and direct . This kind of movements make her no different from a wild animal, there was simply no technique disyed . She¡¯s relying too much on her super human strength to attack, making her attack pattern easy to predict .

    Alex finally getting used to her movements was able to dodge, and with no more hesitation he tried to pierce her heart using his knife, but the moment his knife made contact with her skin, the knife shattered . It did not just break, the knife actually shattered .

    Alex backed off, surprised by how hard her skin was . Lilitth unperturbed by the knife attack simply kept on attacking Alex, unrelenting to her assault . Seeing how hard Lilitth¡¯s skin was, Alex came to the conclusion that the weapons he had on hand wasn¡¯t going to do anything to the loli .

    ¡¯So in the end, my preparations weren¡¯t enough . If I brought ¡¯that¡¯ this battle would have been easier . No use thinking of what ifs, I¡¯m no longer that little weakling that couldn¡¯t do anything . This body of mine is my greatest weapon . ¡¯ Alex began attacking the girl with his bare hands, using them like they were swords .

    This was the ultimate technique his sword instructor thought him . Anything could be a sword, and the ultimate path of a swordsman was to be one with the sword, his sword instructor took that in the most literal sense . He trained Alex¡¯s body to be tough enough to be the sword itself, now coupled with instructor Dan¡¯s RELEASE, Alex was using his best moves in close range .

    . . .

    Lilitth had been in a dark ce for a very long time, and when she opened her eyes for the very first time, she saw the world of light . In this world she learned that she had no parents, but she had many siblings . When she learned she had siblings, she wanted to meet them . Yet when she asked the adults around her, if she can meet her siblings . The answer they gave her made her realize what kind of ce she had in this world .

    The adults told her that all her siblings are dead, and she was nothing more than a weapon . She needed not to think about such things, and only needed to follow orders, to the best of her capabilities .

    Though Lilitth, looked like a little girl, her way of thinking wan¡¯t that of a little girl . The innocence of youth was still there, but the logic of an adult was also present . Lilitth questioned why she needed to follow their orders, and she started attacking them trying to escape from the facility, but then without her noticing the room started to fill with some sort of gas, and she was payed, but only for a moment, the antibodies inside of her was not like normal humans and worked at a frightening pace to remove the paralysis .

    The researchers knowing this, did something to her . Lilitth started to forget, and once again she was ce back into the dark ce .

    The second time she woke, the same results happened .

    The third time she woke, she was now facing someone, and her body wasn¡¯t moving, she couldn¡¯t control it . She then heard an unfamiliar voice, saying she needed to kill the enemy . When she heard the order, her body moved without her consent, she then started attacking the man in front of her .

    She didn¡¯t want to do this, but no matter how she struggled she couldn¡¯t control her body . She wanted to scream for help, but stopped herself from doing so . Even though she was sure she couldn¡¯t scream even if she wanted to, even if she was able to ask for help, no one wille to help her .

    Why would anyonee to help, a weapon like her? She wasn¡¯t even truly human, she was simply a tool . Knowing these facts, Lilitth suddenly felt empty .

    She then noticed that the man in front of her seems to be hesitating, his subtle movements didn¡¯t go unnoticed by Lillith who had superior senses . She noticed the dy of his attacks . . . Why? Why is he hesitating?

    Lilitth couldn¡¯t understand why the man in front of her was hesitating in killing her . She was attacking without reason, and so fiercely . Right now as she couldn¡¯t control her body, she wouldn¡¯t hesitate to kill the man in front of her . Yet even in such as situation he hesitates .

    This situation was not something she couldprehend, surely this man knows she was not normal . Surely he knows that Lilitth was simply a weapon . Then why does it look like he was the one getting hurt every time he attacks?

 Chapter 77

    Chapter 77

    Alex kept on attacking Lilitth, and ever time he hits, he noticed that he was doing some damage to her body, but her wounds looked liked they were instantly healing . It was not too fast that you can really call it instant, but it was fast enough for the naked eye to see it healing .

    Alex simply wanted to end this quickly . He didn¡¯t like the feeling of hurting this loli even further . Yet every time he gets a decisive hit, the damage dealt wasn¡¯t deep enough to stop her, she simply kept oning . So the more time passes the more Alex had difficulty attacking Lilitth . If he could, he just wanted to escape from this room, with Eva .

    Yet to open the iron door, will take some time, and he was sure that this girl called Lilitth wouldn¡¯t give the time he needs .

    ¡¯Tsk, so many idle thoughts as I fight . . . Seriously what is happening to me? . . . ¡¯ While Alex was confused by his own thoughts, Lilitth who was monotonous in her own attacks, was finally able to hit Alex properly . Alex who got hit by a punch to his ribs, reflexively jumped back to cushion the blow . Even thought Alex did lessen the force by jumping backward at the time of impact, the attack still hurt him, and he actually felt like one or two of his ribs got broken .

    Not giving Alex any room to have a breather, Lilitth continues her assault . Yet this time something was different . Alex looked at the face of the doll like girl, and what he saw surprised him . She was crying, Lilitth the one he thought was in an absolute mind control was crying . She continued crying as he tried punching Alex .

    Alex who was dodging, stopped attacking as he looked at the crying girl . Howe she was crying? Why?

    ¡¯I thought she was nothing more than a soulless doll, yet why does she cry? This feeling . . . I see she¡¯s the same as the me back then . . . ¡¯ Alex who was having a difficult time awhile ago, suddenly smiled .

    Alex¡¯s fighting spirit started to rise . The girl in front of him, must be going through the same thing he had went through . Yet unlike him, she didn¡¯t find a chance for salvation . So this time Alex decided he will be the person who will liberate her, and fulfill her wish, like how Carlo, his dad fulfilled his .

    "Lilitth, let me ask you, do you want to live?"

    . . .

    Lilitth kept on attacking the man, as she was doing so, she had finally understood what the adults have done to her . They have found a way to control most of her Cerebrum, something foreign must be attached to her, yet she herself is unable to remove it .

    She didn¡¯t like fighting the man in front of her . The pained look in his face, as she attacks made her feel pained as well .

    ¡¯Why? Why did I have to be born this way? Why was I born as a weapon? Why did I have to hurt this kind looking Onii-san? . . . Just kill me already! Please Just end my suffering!¡¯ Even though Lilitth was scared of death, she still thought it would be better than this .

    The Onii-san in front of her, was the first person that made her feel like she was actually human . He didn¡¯t say anything, but Lilitth could feel the kindness in his actions . He must be hesitating to kill her, because he felt pity for her .

    He must be in pain not only because Lilitth was hitting him, but because he didn¡¯t like doing this to her . ¡¯Such a kind Onii-san . . . I don¡¯t want to hurt him anymore!¡¯ Yet even though she tried all her might, she couldn¡¯t stop, it was then, she was able to hit the Onii-san . Even thought she felt that the hit wasn¡¯t strong enough to kill him, she knew that she must¡¯ve broken a bone or two .

    It was then she noticed that she was crying . Even though she couldn¡¯t control her body, she was still able to cry . She just wanted it to end, and she hoped that in the next life, she can be reborn . She wished in the next life, she can get a kind father, a caring mother, and a good Onii-san, much like the one in front of her .

    Those idle thoughts made her want to cry even more . When despair was about to fill her heart, she saw the Onii-san suddenly smile . He actually smiled at her, that was the first time, someone actually smiled at her . Not a forced smile, not a smile full of secrets, not a sinister looking smile, but a natural smile that seems to being from deep within ones heart .

    It was then Lilitth heard the question that will forever change her life . "Lilitth let me ask you, do you want to live?"

    When Lilitth heard that question, she was confused . Yet even though her mind was confused, her body kept on attacking . Why did the Onii-san asked her that question? Did she want to live? If it was such a literal question then, her answer would be a simple no .

    What was the point of living if she was going to be treated as a weapon? There was no point in living such a life, that isn¡¯t really a life . . . But Lilitth was sure the Onii-san in front of her was looking for a different answer, a much deeper answer .

    ¡¯It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to live . . . I do want to live! But much more than that, what I truly desire is-¡¯

    . . .

    After asking the question Alex kept on dodging Lilitth¡¯s attacks waiting for her answer . Even though his mind told him, that an answer will nevere, Alex still waited .

    Lilitth then started to slow down, her attacks that were unrelenting, was finally slowing down . Until finally she stopped moving entirely . Her body started trembling violently, as if she was forcefully stopping herself .

    Her mouth started to move, her voice was trembling, as if it took all her power to speak . Yet slowly but surely words came out of her mouth .

    "I . . . W . ant . . . to . be . . . free" When Alex heard her answer, he smiled even wider than before . As if reenacting the moment he was saved himself, the moment where salvation was offered, Alex said a line simr to his dad¡¯s .

    "Roger that, but if you want to live and be free, first you must die . "

 Chapter 78

    Chapter 78

    Alex who proimed that, Lilitth must die first to live, was simply saying the same line as his dad . He wasn¡¯t truly nning to kill Lilitth, quite the opposite he was truly nning to save her . Though he was indeed nning to hurt her until she loses consciousness .

    Alex who was full of fighting spirit, started to finally truly think of a way to make the loli he was fighting fall unconscious . The things he understood, as he fought the girl was limited, but he was sure that cluey hidden within that limited information .

    The first thing he noticed was obviously her physical capabilities, which go beyond what a human can do . Yet even with her enhance abilities, she still wasn¡¯t able to kill Alex simply because she was fighting like a wild animal .

    The next thing he noticed was her skin, muscles and most probably even her bones were harder than metal . Way harder than the knife Alex was using, since it shattered .

    ¡¯Still those are strengths, not weaknesses, there must be something I¡¯m missing . ¡¯ While Alex was thinking of ways to make Lilitth faint, her attacks which slow down came back to the usual pace . When Alex saw Lilitth up close, a sudden realization had dawn to him .

    Lilitth might be a super artificial human, but in the end she was still within the realm of a being human . That would mean she still suffers the same weaknesses as a human does . She needs to eat, she needs to sleep, even though her body regenerates like crazy, she still bled . She still had the same body parts a human had .

    That would mean Alex just needed to shake that brain of hers, since no matter how strong her outer body was, her insides should still be the same as a normal human . Alex was not sure if the people in this research facility, had made Lilitth¡¯s insides as strong as her outer body . Still this was the only n Alex could think off at the moment, so it was the worth the gamble .

    He just needed her to stay unconscious for a few seconds, so that he can find that chip imnted in her, the way the electronic voice exined about the chip, made Alex feel like it was somewhere on her body, not inside it .

    Still if it was inside it might be harder, but he would still try to save her . Alex¡¯s motivation to save Lilitth was growing stronger . Since it felt like, if he saves her, it might lessen his burden, he might feel that a bit of sins will be forgiven, as if he had saved himself .

    Alex increased the rate in his use of RELEASE, he felt his body screaming, but this was the only way to save the child in front of him, so he didn¡¯t mind the pain, nor did he care about the future damage this might give . All that matters to Alex was the here and now, what matters to him at this very moment, was that a little child was asking for salvation, same as the him back then . So no matter what, he must give this child a chance to gain that salvation .

    Alex released thetent power of his body, he felt an overwhelming rush flow through his entire body . Without dy Alex burst forth, only aiming at Lilitth¡¯s head, and chin . Though his attacks would have killed a normal person, Lilitt was unscathed . Yet because of Alex¡¯s strong continuous attacks, she couldn¡¯t move .

    . . .

    Lilitth who heard what the kind Onii-san said was bewildered at first, but then she smiled a bit sadly in her mind . ¡¯So in the end, the only solution was death . ¡¯

    When Lilitth heard Alex say the words she must die first in order to live and be free, she thought he meant it literally . That only in death can she be reborn, so the slight hope that she held, finally shattered . Still she was truly grateful to the Onii-san, since he was about to relieve her from her suffering .

    She was lucky enough to meet such a kind Onii-san in the end . Finally the hesitation in the Onii-san¡¯s attacks were gone . He was finally showing his true skills, the speed, and strength of his attacks, were extremely different from what he had shown before .

    Not only that, he was concentrating all his attacks on Lilitth¡¯s head . It was very obvious that he wanted to end this quickly . Lilitth who wasn¡¯t in control of her body, knew that right now, at this moment, even if she had control, she wouldn¡¯t be able to escape this torrent of attacks .

    The attacks were heavy, but they didn¡¯t really hurt, but she somehow felt the damage piling up . She felt weird, it was a different kind of sensation . The only way she can exin the feeling, was it was like she was floating . Those were the only words she can think of that can describe the current sensation she was feeling .

    It was finallying, the ending she so desired, her consciousness was slowly fading . She was just a bit sad, that she wouldn¡¯t be able to meet this kind Onii-san anymore . Yet the moment before she lost consciousness . He heard the Onii-san¡¯s final words, which confused her .

    "From this day forth you are the daughter of Carlo Samarita, and the little sister of Alexander Samarita, from today onwards you are Lilitth Samarita . " Those were the final words Lilitth heard before losing consciousness .

 Chapter 79

    Chapter 79

    Alex finally got to make Lilitth faint, he then started to look for the chip on her body . This was the first time, he really got a good look at Lilitth . The little girl was actually quite cute, she was like a doll . She had purplish white hair, her eyes shone like amethyst, her skin was kinda pale, no matter how Alex looked, she looked like a doll .

    Alex was amazed how such a tiny girl, could wield such power . As he searched her body, when Alex looked at Lilitth¡¯s back, he noticed something inside of Lilitth¡¯s skin . There was a big lump on her back, which made her delicate white skin, look frightening .

    It was obvious to anyone that the chip was inside her back, Alex needed to cut open her skin to get it out, but he hadn¡¯t the equipment to deal with such a thing . Lilitth¡¯s skin was literally harder than steel . Alex noticed that Lilitth was starting to wake up . So he hadn¡¯t much time, yet even in such a dire situation, Alex kept his cool . The clock was ticking and there was no solution . . . That is if you wanted to do it delicately .

    Alex sighed, he really didn¡¯t want to hurt his new little sister, but desperate times, call for desperate measures . The foreign object inside of her, was a huge lump that Alex could hold with his hands, so that¡¯s what he did .

    Alex gripped the foreign object on her back, and while in the state of RELEASE, Alex pulled the foreign object out of her .

    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH" Arge amount of blood gushed out, and spluttered everywhere, as Lilitth¡¯s scream echoed inside the room . The pain had overwhelmed the little girl, so at the moment she woke up, she immediately fainted again .

    After a short while, as Alex expected the wound on her back healed . Alex sighed as he held the object on his hand . He will hand this over to his dadter . Alex then looked at Eva who had slept throughout all of these events .

    He wasn¡¯t sure if the incapacitating gas she inhaled was really potent, or if Eva herself was just weak to that kind of thing . Still now that everything is over, he decided they better leave now . Alex headed to the Iron door, and inspected it . The iron door had no handle, there was nothing to swipe the ID card as well . There was nothing that indicated that it could be opened, it seems like this door could only be opened from the other side .

    While Alex was trying to figure out a way to get out, it suddenly happened . An intense pain attacked Alex . His muscles started to feel like they were being torn apart, his bones felt like they were being hit by sledgehammers . Alex gritted his teeth, and endured the pain . This was the bacsh from using RELEASE, for such a long period of time, and he even used the power of RELEASE that was beyond his current capabilities .

    While the pain was increasing, Alex heard a tapping sound from the iron door . This was Morse code, it was telling Alex to get away from the door . Alex quickly moved Lilitth¡¯s and Eva¡¯s bodies away from the door .

    BOOM!

    The iron door was forcefully opened by an explosion, and beyond the smoke was a familiar figure . "Alex are you alright? You¡¯ve been in radio silence for half an hour . " It was Carlo Samarita, who had entered the room .

    "You¡¯re ten minuteste dad . " Alex smiled as he saw the man who entered the room which such swagger, was his dad .

    "Well you know, I was a bit preupied at the time . Some third rate assassins bothered me a bit . But enough about that, what¡¯s happening here?" Carlo looked around and immediately noticed the unconscious Eva, which of course he expected to be here, what surprised him was the little girl, that for a second he thought was a doll .

    "Who is that? Don¡¯t tell me you finally sumbed into some evil desire, and forcefully kidnapped a little girl . " Carlo smiled as he made a joke . He had guessed that the little girl was a captive same as Eva, and Alex rescued her as well .

    Alex who was in a lot of pain because of the bacsh of using RELEASE, was feelingforted by simply hearing his dad¡¯s stupid jokes .

    "This little girl, happens to be my little sister, and your daughter . " Carlo who heard what Alex said, nearly stumbled and fell . His mind was rattled by what Alex said . He stood there in a daze and looked at the girl .

    ¡¯Who is this girl? My daughter, but from whom? Was it Mary? Lisa? or was it Yuki? No based on her doll like look, it might have been Riza . . . No the age does not match, she looks to be around eight to nine years old . Who was I with at the time? . . . ¡¯

    While Carlo was thinking of who the girl¡¯s mother was, Alex who could pretty much read his mind, gave him an answer .

    "This is not your biological daughter, I just promised her that she could be my sister . You don¡¯t have any objections do you dad?" Carlo who was thinking frantically, was relieved to hear that he didn¡¯t make a mistake . He was then about to make a joke about Alex¡¯s preference but then he saw his son¡¯s serious look, and sighed .

    "Fine I will adopt her, what¡¯s her name?"

    "Lilitth . "

    "Lilitth Samarita . . . Well we got another addition to our family . Who knew I could get two kids without a wife . Hmm, I guess I should seriously think about getting you kids a mother . " Alex who was in pain, looked at his dad that was actually thinking seriously .

    "Dad, here, I leave everything to you now . . . I¡¯m just going to have a little nap . " Alex tossed the chip he held to Carlo, and before Carlo could respond, Alex¡¯s body had gone soft, and he fell face first to the floor . Alex had fallen asleep, almost instantly .

    Not really that surprising considering, that the whole day was extremely tiring for him . Alex hadn¡¯t slept for 48 hours, coupled with his anxiety, the fight with Dan, having a heart to heart talk with Rachel, trying to save Eva, and battling Lilitth, even using RELEASE for such a long time, obviously he would sleep like he was dead .

    Carlo who saw his son, sleeping so peacefully on the floor, inside an enemy base, sighed . He wasn¡¯t sure if his son was just that confident, or he simply trust him that much, or it could be both .

    "Sleep well Alex, I¡¯ll handle things from here . "

 Chapter 80

    Chapter 80

    Eva whose consciousness was shifting from being awake, to being asleep . While her consciousness was flickering from off to on, she saw glimpses of the events that had transpired . She saw Alex shield her from something, but before she could find out what it was he was defending her from, she lost consciousness again . The next time she awoke, she saw him as he fought a doll like little girl .

    It would seem like Alex really dide for her, but she couldn¡¯t hear the electronic voice anymore . The next time she awoke was when she saw Alex saying something incoherent . To her it sounded like, Alex said he wanted the girl who was trying to kill him to be his little sister .

    He then proceeded to beat the little girl up, he was using strength and speed that a normal human shouldn¡¯t be able to posses . After the ensuing battle, she saw Alex looking at the little girl, and inspecting her body .

    Eva who saw this, had a very extreme thought . ¡¯Is this why Alex doesn¡¯t respond to my body? Is it because he likes smaller, slimmer girls? Is that why he likes Rachel better?¡¯ While Eva was having such stupid thoughts, she saw Alex ripped something from within the girl . Seeing all that blood gush out from the small helpless child, made Eva faint .

    The next time, she awoke she was in a bed, while a maid was taking care of her . She then began to look around to figure out where she was . Yet it didn¡¯t take much time to guess her current location, she was in her room .

    "What happened to me?" Eva asked the maid beside her .

    "Ojou-sama was brought here, by the patriarch of the Samarita family . You have been rescued by the young master of the Samarita family . It would seem like you were captured partly because of the young master of the Samarita family . So right now the patriarch of the Samarita family is giving the Master some sort ofpensation, at this very moment they are talking in the living room . "

    Hearing the maids detailed exnation of the events, Eva wanted to stand up, so that she could greet Alex¡¯s father . Yet the maid held her down, Eva tried to remove the maid¡¯s hand but she was too strong .

    Eva red at the maid, "what¡¯s the meaning of this? Why are you stopping me?" The maid didn¡¯t let go of her grip, and answered .

    "The Master has ordered me, to tend to you, and to not let you leave this room . " When Eva heard, that her own father had ordered this, she couldn¡¯t continue to resist .

    "Fine then, I will not leave this room . . . I¡¯m alright now, you may leave me . " The maid curtsied, before speaking .

    "If you need anything else Ojou-sama, I will be by the door, waiting for your instructions . " After saying her piece the maid left the room .

    Eva finally alone in her room started to think about the recent events . She had thought that Alex, would nevere for her, but in the end he did . This made Eva feel ted, but at the same time guilty . She clenched her fist, a bit irritated at her weakness, but at the same time smiled at the thought of Alex worrying about her .

    She felt ted since, Alexing to her rescue meant, that Alex somehow cares for her . Yet she felt guilty since, Alexing to her rescue, led him to a trap, and now he got hurt because of her . Still, even with all that, and even though she felt guilty, her happiness outweighed her guilt .

    ¡¯Alex actually came for me! Once again he became my savior, my shining light in the darkness, my knight in shining armor . Is this a sign Alex? Are you telling me not to give up on you? Heh, who am I kidding, of course he simply went there not because it¡¯s me, but because Alex is simply like that, he just wants to save people in need . If it had been anyone else, he would still have gone . . . I¡¯m sure that¡¯s it . . . Still he responded rather quickly, so I¡¯m also sure somehow Alex is finally noticing me . Is this a reward for all the effort I gave?¡¯

    Eva was happily recalling at the events that transpired with rose colored sses . These sequence of events might have been unfortunate, but if looked at differently it was at the same time fortunate . Eva couldn¡¯t help herself but squeal in delight .

    . . .

    The maid who was listening in, heard Eva squealing, when she heard that sound the maid giggled .

    "I guess she was alright after all . Still that Alex really is trying to capture the hearts of two girls at the same time . He truly is such a b*stard same as his father . Well in his case he¡¯s doing it unconsciously . . . Hmm, but that doesn¡¯t make it better . Whatever as long as Eva is safe, I guess I will forgive him for now . "

    The maid who was talking as if she understood Alex, and Eva better than most started walking towards the window . She pulled of the skin of her face, and as if tearing her face off, a new face was revealed . This was the noisy member of the Mercenary Club, Sayaka Mutsu .

    "Good night Eva, I hope you have a good rest . " Saya jumped from the third floor of Eva¡¯s mansion, and in the next moment her body disappeared from sight .

 Chapter 81

    Chapter 81

    Alex was in deep sleep, his body was aching all over, but because of his training over the years, this level of pain was nothing to him . While asleep Alex¡¯s body was slowly but surely repairing itself, every cell in his being, was trained for battle, sogging behind wasn¡¯t really an option . He continued to sleep knowing his dad was on the job .

    . . .

    Lilitth finally woke up after suddenly fainting . She was a bit disoriented and thest thing she remembered was being controlled while fighting the kind Onii-san, did she lose? If so why isn¡¯t she dead?

    She then looked at the room, she was in . It was a different room, from the one she used to stay at .

    ¡¯Wait a minute . . . ¡¯ Lilitth finally noticed that she was able to move her body with her own free will . The lonely little girl started crying .

    "So that wasn¡¯t a dream, it was all real . " She finally remembered the question that was given, and the final words she heard at the end .

    From this day forth you are the daughter of Carlo Samarita, and the little sister of Alexander Samarita, from today onwards you are Lilitth Samarita . Those were his words, so from this day forth, the weapon Lilitth has died, and Lilitth Samarita is born .

    Lilitth who couldn¡¯t stop from crying was smiling at the same time . "Why? Why can¡¯t I stop crying? This is suppose to be a happy asion . . . So why don¡¯t my tears stop falling?" Lilitth couldn¡¯t understand what was happening to her body, there wasn¡¯t anything wrong with her body, but even thought there wasn¡¯t anything wrong she couldn¡¯t stop the tears from falling .

    Wasn¡¯t one suppose to smile in such a happy asion? She couldn¡¯t understand, but she was sure that her tears were falling because she was happy . It was then that Lilitth finally noticed that she wasn¡¯t alone in the room .

    A man who seem to look like he was in his forties appeared . He smelled of blood and gunpowder, same as that kind Onii-san, still Lilitth didn¡¯t feel threatened by the man .

    The man who saw her crying, made a serious look . "Why are you crying my daughter?" Lilitth was startled by what the man said, his daughter? Then she remembered what the kind Onii-san said, she was now the little sister of Alexander Samarita, that must be the Onii-san, then the man in front of her was .

    "Carlo Samarita? . . . " Carlo seeing the crying little girl confused, made something inside Carlo snap .

    "No that¡¯s not how you should address me! You are now officially my daughter Lilitth Samarita, and I am your father so you should call me Daddy, Papa, or Tou-chan take your pick!"

    Lilitth looked at Carlo stunned by his sudden outburst, and she unconsciously called him "Tou-chan? . . . " The girl with her teary look, and tilted head, coupled with her doll like face, saying those lines to Carlo, made him feel like he got hit by 50 BMG - 750 grain AP .

    "Say that once more my daughter!" Lilitth who was surprised by Carlo¡¯s enthusiasm, repeated her words, still confused .

    "Tou-chan"

    When Carlo heard that line again, coupled with the cute look of Lilitth, the attack power was devastating . The merc called the Messenger of Death, stood still and took a pic of his daughter, using his phone, and immediately made it his wallpaper .

    ¡¯If I knew having a daughter, was like this, I should¡¯ve tried getting one years ago . ¡¯ Carlo started having weird thoughts as if having a daughter was like buying some bread in a bakery .

    "Yes, your tou-chan is here now . So please stop crying . . . Okay?" Carlo sat beside Lilitth, on her bed . He then proceeded to wipe her tears, while smiling at her . Lilitth who felt his affection was overwhelmed and started crying again .

    Carlo who thought that she had finally calm down, was shocked by her suddenly crying again . Carlo who started to panic, confused as to what to do . The Messenger of Death, able to be calm in any and all battle situations was actually panicking right now, in front of a crying little girl . If only the other mercs who fear him, can see him now .

    "Is . . . It . . . Alright? . . . " Carlo could hear Lilitth saying something, but her voice was too soft, that he could hardly hear it .

    "What is alright? What do you need Lilitth, just tell your tou-chan and I will give you whatever you want . So please stop crying, okay?" Lilitth who heard Carlo¡¯s words, started crying even louder, and then she suddenly hugged him .

    Carlo a bit surprised by the sudden hug, as well as finally learning of the little girl¡¯s insane strength, Carlo endured it, and hugged her back .

    "Is it really alright?! Is it really alright for me to be happy?! Can . . . Can . . . I really have this warmth? Am I really allowed to be your daughter? Can I stop being a weapon?! Am I really . . . Am I Really allowed to be his little sister?! Please tell me!" The desperation in her voice, the fear, the sadness, it made Carlo hugged her even tighter .

    Carlo felt extremely angry, he wanted to find out who the hell made his cute little daughter be like this, he wanted to crush his body and his soul . He wanted to tear the body of the one who did this limb per limb .

    When he was attacked by that psycho, Carlo didn¡¯t feel anything except he needed to counter attack . But now when he heard the words of his daughter, he wanted nothing more that to find that b*stard who did this, and kill him a thousand times . Carlo was now truly motivated to find the fool who dared mess with his family .

    Carlo then patted Lilitth¡¯s back and gently spoke to her . "Of course, it¡¯s alright . You are no longer a weapon . You are Lilitth Samarita, the daughter of Carlo, and the little sister of Alexander . WE are now family, so be sure to be happy as much as possible . "

    Lilitth who heard Carlo¡¯s answer hugged him even tighter . She then wiped her tears away and with a sniffle she looked at Carlo . She finally smiled a beautiful smile and spoke to her father .

    "Thank you . . . Tou-chan . "

 Chapter 82

    Chapter 82

    Alex had slept for ten hours, it was now dark outside when he woke up . Alex then stood up and did some stretches . He then closed his eyes and tried to feel the current status of his body . As expected even for him, his ribs that were punched will take some time to heal . Alex could only sigh, when he was done checking his body, he finally noticed that there was someone outside his room . He could hear the footsteps going back and forth, and would stop for a second in front of the door, then the person on the other side of the door, after what seems like he or she was hesitating oning in will continue to pace back and forth again .

    The process repeated over and over again . Alex could already guess who was on the other side of the door . Alex opened the door, and as he expected a startled Lilitth was looking at him .

    "Umm, ano . . . ah, umm . " Lilitth who was startled, started saying some iprehensible things, and was fidgeting . Alex who had seen numerous new expression, aside from fear, and anger, had some understanding on what Lilitth was feeling right now . She was most probably feeling, stunned and overwhelmed by the sudden change in her life . She who was a weapon, turned into his little sister, she must be feeling a bit awkward and shy in front of Alex .

    Alex felt a bit relieved after seeing her cutesy appearance, different from the emotionless face she had shown back then . Seeing how much difficulty his little sister was having, just to talk to him, made Alex¡¯s ever stoic appearance smile for a bit . He hasn¡¯t notice yet, but for the past few days Alex was showing more emotion than he used to . Especially his smile that was so rare to see before, was now seen every now and then .

    Alex started to pat Lilitth¡¯s head, which made Lilitth smile a bit . Gaining her courage from that pat, Lilitth spoke to Alex .

    "Onii-sama, thank you for saving me! Thank you for making me your little sister! Thank you for giving me my freedom! Thank you . . . Truly thank you . " Lilitth was trying her hardest not to cry as she spoke to Alex saying her thanks .

    ¡¯So it¡¯s Onii-sama now I upgraded from Onii-san . ¡¯ Alex knelt bringing himself to the same height as Lilitth . He looked at her eyes, that were barely able to hold her tears, it was even a bit red indicating she was crying before this .

    "We¡¯re family now no need for thanks . Also about your freedom, I wasn¡¯t the one who gave that to you . You took it yourself, so there really is no need to thank me, my little sister . " Hearing Alex calling her his little sister, was the final straw, Lilitth couldn¡¯t stop it anymore, and she started crying again .

    Alex who saw his little sister crying allowed it to happen naturally . He was already aware that she was on the verge of crying, so he simply gave her a little push . Alex knew from experience that keeping in wasn¡¯t really a good thing . He wanted his little sister to tread a different path from the path he took .

    . . .

    After a few minutes Lilitth stopped crying and Alex proposed to give her a tour of the mansion . Then he remembered that he himself was clueless about theyout of his own home . Alex could only do one thing now, call someone to guide them .

    After Alex called the head butler, a maid appeared before the siblings and smilingly curtsied . Short brown hair, ck eyes, diamond shaped face, and the extreme enthusiasm that rivals Saya . This was the same maid that had arranged the gaming library .

    "Greetings, young master, Ojou-sama . I will be your guide this evening . " The maid smiled a bit mischievously at the siblings, but with thereck of EQ the siblings couldn¡¯t discern this .

    "We¡¯ll be in your care . " Alex spoke, seeing her Onii-sama saying such a thing, Lilitth copied him and said the same thing . "We¡¯ll be in your care . "

    "Okay leave it to me . So first thing in the tour is Young Master¡¯s room . This room isn¡¯t just any normal room . This room is soundproof, and is basically like a panic room . The thick metal walls hidden withing the wallpaper is enough to stop even a tank¡¯s shell . " After saying such a thing with some funny gestures, the maid entered the room .

    Alex didn¡¯t react much, but Lilitth was really invested in this so called tour . When the maid entered Alex¡¯s room, she turned on the lights, and what was shown sparked Lilitth¡¯s interest . The room was filled with weapons, from knives and swords, to hand guns, and grenades . Alex room looked more like an armory rather than a room one sleeps in .

    You couldn¡¯t even see Alex¡¯s bed from all the stuff lying around . Lilitth was super interested in what her Onii-sama¡¯s hobbies were, and as she thought it was something battle rted . Still Lilitth¡¯s eyes were shining with curiosity . She had a bit of knowledge about some weaponry since, the people who made her, forced her to learn about weapons, but this was the first time she actually seen them in reality, right in front of her .

    "As you can see, the young master¡¯s room, is littered with weapons . He even has a dummy sleeping on his bed, and of course as per usual the young master sleeps under the bed, like some kind of boogeyman . Well that¡¯s all for Young Master¡¯s room, now let¡¯s head to the next room . " The maid, left the room, and headed towards the room beside Alex¡¯s room . Alex of course knows what this room was for . This was the gaming room, where Alex tried to practice ying FPS .

    Once they entered the room, Lilitth gasped in amazement, hundred upon hundreds of game titles was surrounding her .

    "This is the video gaming room . This is my favorite ce in the mansion . Ie here every time I have free time . You see these things surrounding you ojou-sama, these are all games . In here you can y with the young master until you¡¯re satisfied . "

    She had heard of a library full of books, but this was the first time, she had ever heard or seen of a library full of games . Yet what truly made Lilitth excited was that in this room, the maid said she could y with her onii-sama . She has never yed before, but if she could she wanted to y with someone like her onii-sama .

 Chapter 83

    Chapter 83

    The maid seeing the excited face of Lilitth, knew that her n had work . She also noticed that her young master was having a hard time trying to reply to some of the messages on his phone, but that didn¡¯t dy the maid¡¯s n . All she needed was for the littledy Lilitth to be excited .

    Alex was replying to all the messages Rachel, and the rest sent him . Rachel was somehowining at the same time praising her father . Niel was asking why none of them were at school . Saya simply messaged him some random emojis . Oliver, informed him that he wouldn¡¯t be able to attend ss today since had an emergency mission . Kei, and Emily didn¡¯t message him, which surprised Alex . He could understand Kei not messaging him, but Emily who was a message freak not messaging him, was truly surprising . While Alex was in the middle of messaging back, the maid took the chance and spoke .

    "So this ends our little tour, let¡¯s go y instead!" The maid cheerfully said, Alex and Lilitth who heard this had two different reactions . Alex was confused as to why the tour should end, while Lilitth was excited at the prospect of ying .

    When Alex saw Lilitth¡¯s excited face, he shrugged his shoulders . The maid seeing even Alex had given up on the tour, made her smile slyly .

    "So the first thing I would rmend ying, is this game . It¡¯s a fighting game called Killing Fury . " The maid turned on the console, ced the disc inside the console, and handed Alex and Lilitth controllers .

    Seeing the design of the controller Alex was quite curious . It didn¡¯t have as much buttons as a keyboard, and it fits snuggly in his hands . On the left side, it had arrows pointing up, down, left, and right . On the right side, it had four buttons withbels, A, B, C, and D .

    The game had started, unlike the game Perfect Soldier, this game had a lot more options on the title screen .

    "Okay then, please pick multiyer . Let¡¯s have you two fight . " When Lilitth heard the word fight she reacted in a frantic manner .

    "I don¡¯t want to fight Onii-sama anymore! Please don¡¯t let me fight Onii-sama!" Even though Lilitth could somehow understand, that the maid was most probably referring to the game, but Lilitth couldn¡¯t respond properly due to the recent fight she had was still fresh in her memory .

    Alex knowing about his little sister¡¯s dilemma, patted her head . "It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s just a game . Let¡¯s y it and have a bit of fun . " Hearing her Onii-sama¡¯s assurance, Lilitth felt relieved . The two siblings then proceeded to y the game .

    Of course before they started, the maid exined how the game is yed .

    "The game is a fighting game, each yer chooses a character that they want to use, and selects it . The objective of the game is to knock out the other yer¡¯s character . The directional buttons on the left side of the controller, moves the character to the direction the arrow is pointing at . The buttons on the right controls the four limbs of the character . Inputing a certain sequence of buttons will allow the character chosen to do specific moves, and even special moves . "

    When Alex heard the maid¡¯s exnation, he thought the game was simple enough . So then after the two had picked their characters, the game started .

    Both Alex and Lilitth first checked the controls . So they started moving their characters, by pressing all the buttons . When they understood what each button does, the two started attacking each other . The maid had failed to exin that moving backwards makes the character block the attacks, but after some trial and error, the siblings figured it out by themselves .

    Both Alex, and Lilitth had higher than average intelligence . So the two had immediately noticed that the first one to figure out thebos, and the way to use the special moves would be the winner in the end .

    Yet because of the time limit of each match the two didn¡¯t have a K . O win and Alex won by default . So now seeing the two sibling, were super invested on the game, it made the maid giggle . Now she had two others interested in this game . She can even make her ojou-sama Lilitth y with her every now and then .

    Alex didn¡¯t like losing, so he was fully focused on learning the bestbos for the character he had chosen . Of course he had chosen the same character, as he was fully intending on mastering this character .

    Lilitth on the other hand picked a different character, she also wanted to win, but not as much as Alex . To her the experience of ying was already fun by itself, winning was just secondary .

    The next match began, both Alex and Lilitth had finally look like they sorta understand the game . The maid who was watching was shocked by the sudden improvement of the two . This time the two had pulled off a bunch of decentbos . Still even in this match Alex won, and the next match ensued .

    In this match Lilitth had finally won one round but still lost the match . Alex and Lilitth were both having fun but for different reasons . Alex then finally understood that the best way to win, was to juggle the opponent¡¯s character upwards, without making it fall . Lilitth also came to the same conclusion .

    Now after four matches the two actually looked like pros, as they alternate between defending and doing a continuousbo . Alex had made a mistake, and Lilitth was able to recover, seeing her chance after Alex broke hisbo, Lilitth then proceeded to make Alex¡¯s character fly upwards . She then kept on attacking, without making Alex¡¯s character fall, unable to recover, Alex finally lost a match .

    "YAY!" Lilitth got excited and raised both her arms in the air . Alex seeing that his little sister was having fun, didn¡¯t mind that he lost, and the two continued ying .

    The maid who had witness the siblings rapid rate of improvement as they yed, had her mouth wide open . ¡¯Seriously what¡¯s with this pair of siblings . ¡¯

 Chapter 84

    Chapter 84

    At the same time, Alex was trying to save Eva, Niel was in school noticing the disappearance of the other members of the Mercenary Club .

    It was lunch time, and usually the Clubroom would be noisy at this time . Yet right now it was awkwardly silent, Lyner was sleeping in his bed, while Kei kept on staring at Niel for some reason he was even fidgeting like a girl .

    The first thing Niel did after he was done contemting, was approach Kei . When Kei saw the approaching Niel, he began to feel even more anxious . In Kei¡¯s point of view, even amongst the high spec people in this club, he thought Niel was a cut above the rest, not knowing the true backgrounds of the other members, of course he would think this way .

    That¡¯s why today, when he noticed that the others, didn¡¯t attend school, he started to panic, when he knew he was alone inside the clubroom, with the most popr guy in school . Of course due to him panicking, Kei forgot about the presence of Lyner .

    In Kei¡¯s mind, he was the exact opposite of Niel . So seeing he was alone with someone who was beyond him, he didn¡¯t know what to say, and the moment he saw him approaching, for some reason he felt like he needed to get away from this awkward situation .

    Once Niel stood in front of Kei, his glowing aura doubled, and he showed Kei his shining smile . "Hey my junior, no need to panic . It might just be the two of us today, but we still need to do our best alright?"

    Kei who was in a daze, unconsciously nodded his head . Seeing the response he wanted, Niel pressed on with his agenda . "So my junior Kei, you¡¯ve been brought here to be our information gathering guy correct?"

    Kei could only nod at Niel, since he was having difficulty using his words . When Alex and everyone else was here, he could somehow have a proper conversation . But now that it became something like a one on one talk with the most popr guy in school, Kei just had noway to respond .

    "So my awesome junior, since we were assigned to help the Gaming Club, why don¡¯t you scout on the people who actually joined this tournament, and learn their skill level . Here I got you, a pass, this was given by our kind vice-principal, so that you can skip the sses today, and focus on gathering intel . Don¡¯t worry I already informed the gaming club, that you will be using one of their PC¡¯s for gathering intel . " Of course Niel had a simr kind of pass . It was easy to get since he had high grades, and was very charismatic, finally the vice-principal was a woman so to Niel it was a piece of cake to get this pass .

    Kei robotically took the pass, and left the clubroom . He wanted to get out of the awkward situation as fast as possible . When Niel saw Kei finally leave, he walked towards Lyner and tried to wake him up . Before Niel was able to touch him, Lyner took hold of the hand that was trying to touch him, and as if wanting to tear off Niel¡¯s arm, Lyner¡¯s grip was tightly holding onto him .

    Niel who was in great pain, shouted at Lyner . "Sir Lyner it¡¯s me, Niel!" Once Niel shouted, Lyner¡¯s grip loosened, and Niel could see that Lyner was now wide awake looking at him .

    "What is it kid? Why did you try to wake me up? If you didn¡¯t scream at that exact moment, I would¡¯ve teared your arm off . " Lyner with his usual yawning, questioned Niel, as he did some stretches .

    Niel looked at Lyner his usual, smiling face had disappeared, and what reced it was a serious looking Niel, though he was surrounded by his radiant aura, one could still feel the seriousness in his gaze .

    "Sir Lyner, I know that you aren¡¯t a simple teacher . It¡¯s pretty obvious on the day we had that game of tag . "

    Lyner who had witness the changing mood of Niel, finally started to take him a bit seriously . He looked at Niel, with his own piercing gaze .

    "So? What is it to you?" Lyner suddenly released a bit of his bloodlust at Niel . Feeling Lyner¡¯s bloodlust, Niel felt a bit disoriented, and was even almost about to faint . He then bit his lower lip until it bled, forcefully waking him up .

    Lyner seeing the resolution in Niel¡¯s eyes, even going so far to make himself bleed . He receded his bloodlust, and sighed .

    "Tell me kid what is it that you want? If I find what you say to be stupid, I won¡¯t hesitate to kill you . Let me tell you this, what I said isn¡¯t a bluff, or a joke, I will do it . Even if I kill you, the government wont fault me for it, they would instead try their f*cking hardest to cover it up . So think of what you will say next, for it might be yourst . "

    Hearing Lyner¡¯s tant threat, Niel knew that he truly wasn¡¯t bluffing, he will kill him, and as efficiently as possible . Yet Niel still wanted to continue onwards and directly ask what he wanted from him . The reason for this resolve of his, was because on that night when he yed that game of tag with Alex and the others, something started to burn from within Niel .

    The excitement he felt on that night as he fought Lyner, was the greatest thrill he had ever felt . It was like a whole new world had opened up for him . Not only that, on that night Niel had witness something his inborn talent couldn¡¯t ovee, and he found out there was something even beyond that .

    This realization made Niel¡¯s heart race, as if he was in love . He felt a thrill like no other, and he too wanted to step on the same world as those two . He wanted to go beyond what he was now, and truly be as perfect as he ims to be . If talent isn¡¯t enough then one needs to add in a bit of hard work as well .

    But Niel doesn¡¯t know where he should ce his hard work . He didn¡¯t know how to step on that world, so he needed a guide, he needed a teacher, someone who was already in that world would be ideal . So the man in front of him, Lyner was the perfect candidate to be his guide .

    "Sir Lyner, please teach me!"

 Chapter 85

    Chapter 85

    Lyner looked at Niel dumbfounded at his request . Is this kid nuts? Why would he want him to be his teacher? Also what should he teach him, Lyner was simply a teacher in name only . He wasn¡¯t really a certified teacher .

    "Kid you¡¯re asking the wrong person . What do you want me to teach you, anyway?"

    "I want you to teach me on how to be a merc . " When Lyner heard Niel he thought he heard wrong, so he asked him just to be sure .

    "Did you just say, that you want me to teach you, how to be a merc?" Niel nodded his head resolutely, seeing this action made Lyner sigh .

    "Hey kid, I don¡¯t know what kind of misconception you have on being a merc, but being one is more difficult than walking through hell . . . Well not like I can talk . " Lyner shrugged his shoulders at his own exnation . Cause he himself didn¡¯t treat being a merc seriously . He simply thought being a merc would give him the freedom he wanted, and bring him to the ultimate battle . That was true at the start, being a merc gave him wings to fly freely, but now being a merc became his chains instead .

    "I know being a merc brings in a lot of money, fame, and glory . Is that wrong?" Niel asked, since most countries promote mercs, of course being a soldier has better benefits, but nowadays being a soldier is solely made for the upper ss . Basically a merc, can be anyone, while a soldier is basically the elite of the elite . Training soldiers nowadays is much more expensive than, simply paying mercs to do their jobs . Of coursepared to a merc, soldiers are more loyal, and better trained .

    So right now the Berdonian government promotes being mercenaries, than one to be a soldier . The opposite is happening in the Granado Empire, which almost basically denounces mercenaries, and promotes soldiers . Of course they couldn¡¯t do anything to the truly strong mercs like their own SS rank merc, but his situation is quite controversial to begin with .

    "Hmph, what you said isn¡¯t truly wrong, but it isn¡¯t right as well . Money, fame, and glory is indeed what most people think they can have once they be a merc, but that¡¯s simply because of this country¡¯s propaganda . The truth is those three things, are only avable to the truly strong mercs" .

    "Money is only good to those who survive, fame you will obviously get if your strong enough, but most of the truly strong mercs stay hidden, and the public really doesn¡¯t know much about them . Unlike that idiot Ryan Gold, who made himself into something like a superstar, even though he is the bottom of the barrel for an A rank merc . Finally glory, that¡¯s the easiest to achieve, it only depends on what type of glory you¡¯re looking for . So which of the three are you hoping to get?"

    After exining about the truths of being a merc, Lyner looked at Niel thinking that saying such things would finally dissuade him . Yet the opposite happened instead, Niel¡¯s eyes started to sparkle even more brightly than usual, his golden radiance intensified, and his smile turned fierce .

    "Sir Lyner you told me those things so I would back out, didn¡¯t you? But to tell you the truth, what you just said made me even more excited . I really don¡¯t care about money, since with my skills, as long as I graduate even in some random college I can still get a decent amount of money . Also not being arrogant or anything if I wanted both money and fame that would be easy for me as well, since I¡¯ve been offered numerous times to be a model, I was even scouted to be an actor . Finally regarding glory, like you said it¡¯s the easiest thing to gain so no need to expand on that . "

    "Yet I don¡¯t really care about all of that! What I care for is the thrill of it all, the freedom it will give me! Also based on what you said the three things, Money, Fame, and Glory are the hardest to achieve if one bes a mercenary . To gain all three while being a mercenary will be the most difficult as well as the most fulfilling . So once again I ask of you, Sir Lyner please teach me on how to be a merc . "

    Lyner who heard Niel¡¯s reply looked at him with a dumb expression on his face, but that onlysted for a moment before he started tough .

    "HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Lyner wasughing heartily, and deep inside he felt a bit good . When he looked at Niel¡¯s face which was grinning so viciously, Lyner remembered the past him . He too thought of the exact same thing as Niel, which was the reason why he became a mercenary in the first ce .

    ¡¯This kid does indeed posses the talent, his way of thinking is also to my liking . . . But does he have the will necessary enough to endure? Well he did stood strong in the face of my bloodlust, so he has potential . ¡¯

    "Kid why do you think I can teach you how to be a merc? Though you im I¡¯m not an ordinary teacher, but who¡¯s to say what I am . Are you truly sure you want me to teach you?"

    "You are right that I am not sure, on what you truly are Sir Lyner . . . But seeing as how you responded to my earlier question, I¡¯m sure you know a lot more about mercenaries than you let on . So no matter what I want you to teach me! Truthfully I do have some doubts about you teaching me, since all I¡¯ve ever seen you truly do is sleep, but when we yed that game of tag, something deep within me told me, you are the one who should be teaching me how to be a merc . So once again no matter what I truly wish for you to teach me!" Niel bowed his head .

    "Fine then kid, I will teach you, but I do have one condition for me to agree to teach you . " Lyner finally gave in, hearing this Niel was overjoyed .

    "What kind of condition?" Niel asked with a bit of excitement in his tone .

    "The condition is simple, for the next two weeks I will teach you a bit on how to be a merc, and after that two week period, I will give you a test . Fail that test, and don¡¯t bother even thinking about bing a merc . So do you agree?" When Niel heard Lyner¡¯s condition for agreeing he started to think .

    After thinking for awhile Niel asked, "What will the test be about . "

    "It could be anything in rtion, to what I¡¯m going to teach you in the next two weeks . So do you agree or do you not?" Without any further hesitation Niel answered .

    "I agree!"

 Chapter 86

    Chapter 86

    It was four in the morning and Lilitth who had a good sleep, woke up . When she woke she saw that she was in a beautiful room, with paintings for decorations . The first thing she thought of when she scanned the room was ¡¯it wasn¡¯t a dream . ¡¯

    Lilitth felt extremely happy, and once again started to cry for a bit . She doesn¡¯t know how many times she had cried ever since she got here, but to her this tears were evidence of how happy she truly was . She then got out of bed, and proceeded to fix her bed, as if it was something so fragile . After which she headed to the room, of her onii-sama, while walking she was smiling happily .

    . . .

    Alex woke up at his usual time of three in the morning . He proceeded to check his equipment, after which he started to exercise, and right now he was in the middle of practicing his stances . He then heard a knock on the door, Alex could already guess who it was based on their footsteps .

    "Come in . " The door opened and as expected the one who entered was the doll like girl, Alex¡¯s little sister Lilitth Samarita .

    "Onii-sama, good morning . I hope I haven¡¯t disturbed you . " Lilitth seeing Alex in a weird pose, asked, since she didn¡¯t want to be an annoyance . She wanted her Onii-sama to like her, so she needed to be a good girl .

    Alex didn¡¯t stop his practice, and answered Lilitth . "You¡¯re no bother, I¡¯m just practicing . So do you need anything Lilitth?"

    Lilitth who heard his question had her face looking downwards, and she started fidgeting . If any other person so this action, they might have died due to the cuteness, but Alex was different and just found it confusing .

    Lilitth kept on hesitating, as she kept on sneaking peeks on Alex, who at this point was still doing his practice . It¡¯s not like Alex didn¡¯t care, but since Lilitth was having difficulty saying it, he didn¡¯t want to force it .

    After a few more minutes, Lilitth was finally able to calm down, and spoke . "Onii-sama, will I really be going to school today?"

    Last night while they were ying with the maid, Carlo entered the room, and told them that he had made some calls, and Lilitth will be attending the grade school, near Alex¡¯s school . He was even able to immediately procure a uniform that fits Lilitth perfectly .

    ¡¯So that¡¯s the reason for her hesitation . This girl she truly is like the past me . . . ¡¯ Alex who was still practicing his stances almost broke stance, when he remembered his past self .

    "What is it? Don¡¯t you want to go to school? If you want, you can just stay at home and be homeschooled . "

    "No that¡¯s not it! . . . I really do want to go to school, I want to be like any other kid . . . Its just that . . . Is it really alright for me to do so? Is it really alright for me to go? You know I¡¯m a we-" Before Lilitth could finish, Alex cut her off .

    "Don¡¯t finish that sentence . . . Lilitth tell me do you think of me as family?"

    "Of course!" Lilitth replied immediately .

    "Then you are like any other kid . You have a home, a family that cares for you, and you are definitely not a weapon . You are Lilitth Samarita, my little sister . How many times must I say it until you ept it? Like our dad said, how can our cute little Lilitth be a weapon? So don¡¯t worry and have fun alright . "

    Lilitth really wasn¡¯t used to such warmth, and affection . She almost cried again, but she stopped herself . She instead showed a bright smile to her beloved, kind Onii-sama .

    "Thank you Onii-sama, I will go change into my school uniform, and show tou-chan . " Lilitth bowed her head, and merrily skipped towards her room .

    Alex then looked at his phone, which had three new messages . The first message was from Rachel, it was message were she keeps onining, that she was still not able to go to school . It seem like they extended their family trip, and will being home on Sunday morning, so she wouldn¡¯t be able to attend the FPS tournament . The message continues with a bunch moreints about her father .

    The next message was from Eva . She simply wanted to say thank you for rescuing her again . Even though Alex couldn¡¯t remember the first time he rescued her, he simply epted the thanks . The message continues, with Eva inviting Alex to dinner as a form ofpensation . Alex promptly declined, which Eva message back, that she will find a different way topensate him .

    Thest message was from Niel, it seem like it was in a group chat . He informed everyone that he hoped everyone was alright, since no one but Kei and himself, came to school yesterday .

    Alex found this a bit intriguing, he knew of Rachel, Eva, and even Oliver¡¯s circumstances, but what about Emily and Saya, what were they doing yesterday?

    While he was thinking, he heard a scream, and it sounded like his dad . What could possibly make his dad scream like that . Alex ran towards the location of the scream, it was inside Carlo¡¯s study . When Alex entered he saw a bewildering scene .

    There was a cute doll like girl wearing a school uniform, a checkered skirt, and a white blouse with a little neck tie with a matching blue zer . She was in the middle of room, while a middle age man was picturing her with a very expensive looking camera .

    Of course the little girl was Lilitth, and the middle age man was the always calm and collected, Carlo . But right now he wasn¡¯t as calm or collected as usual .

    "How cute! My daughter you truly are the cutest thing in this world!" Carlo was having fun picturing Lilitth, who seem to be happy that Carlo was happy .

 Chapter 87

    Chapter 87

    After the fiasco regarding the new uniform, Alex, and Liltth were now heading towards school . It was a bit weird for Alex, to not head to Rachel¡¯s house to pick her up . Alex almost chuckled at the thought . How scary is it to change, and it has only been about two weeks, since he came back to integrate into normal society . . . Well somehow normal, he did just rescued a friend from a kidnapping situation .

    Alex then started to wonder, about what Rachel was doing right now . He could imagine her, pouting with a slight smile, while her father clings onto her . Well she should be slowly epting the return of her father . While Alex was thinking of such foolish things he heard a scream .

    "WHOOOAAAH! What have you done myrade?!" Alex saw Oliver running towards him . Seeing a muscr fellow ran towards you, with that kind of speed, might¡¯ve frighten a normal person, but Alex wasn¡¯t normal, so when he saw Oliver ran towards him, he was simply wondering why he was screaming .

    When Oliver was in front of Alex, his hands shakily pointed at Lilitth . "Comrade Alex have you fallen to the dark side? When you already have Rachel, and Eva? Wait a minute is that why, you didn¡¯t seem to have an interest in them, since your interesty elsewhere?"

    Alex couldn¡¯tprehend what Oliver was talking about, and simply look at him confused . Lilitth on the other hand, was surprised by the sudden charge of the person in front of her onii-sama . But based on the way he was talking, he and her onii-sama must be friends of sorts, so as a good little sister, she needed to introduce herself .

    "Good morning Onii-sama¡¯s friend . It¡¯s nice to meet you, my name is Lilitth Samarita, and I¡¯m the little sister of Onii-sama . " Oliver who was still in a world of his own, heard Lilitth¡¯s introduction .

    "Little sister? Onii-sama? Alex tell me who is this little girl?" Oliver confused at the whole situation, couldn¡¯t understand what the little girl was saying . It was then that Alex finally understood, Oliver was confused about Lilitth .

    "This is my little sister Lilitth . " As per usual a concise answer, even with that Oliver was still trying toprehend what was just said .

    "You have a little sister? Howe I haven¡¯t seen or heard about her till now? Myrade, don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t trust me? You¡¯ve been hiding your little sister from me?"

    Hearing Oliver question him, Alex was now seriously thinking, if he should tell Oliver the truth .

    "She¡¯s been away from quite some time, studying in a student exchange program in the Southern Union . She felt lonely there, so she returned home yesterday . That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯te to school yesterday . I haven¡¯t told you about her, since I didn¡¯t really think it was necessary . " In the end Alex decided to keep things about Lilitth a secret .

    Hearing Alex¡¯s exnation, Oliver was half convinced, but he didn¡¯t pry further since every family has there secrets, even his own .

    "Is that so . . . Well anyway, sorry for thete introductions . Alex¡¯s little sister, Lilitth, I am a blood brother to you onii-san, and my true name is James Bourne, but you can call me Oliver . "

    "It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you Oliver-nii-san . " Lilitth did a little curtsy . When Oliver heard what Lilitth called him, with her elegant little bow, and cute doll like features, something from within Oliver was struck, but it didn¡¯t develop any further from there .

    "The pleasure is all mine littledy . " Oliver matched her curtsy with a bow . It was such a surreal situation, a doll like little girl was doing a curtsy, while a huge muscr man bowed before the little girl .

    After the introductions, the group of three started walking towards Lilitth¡¯s school .

    . . .

    When the group of three were nearing Lilitth¡¯s school, they noticed a man with an almost holy like aura, alongside his perfect look and smile, anyone would immediately know who it was . It was Niel Rayheart .

    When Niel spotted the trio, he smilingly approached them . Even though he saw Lilitth for the first time, he wasn¡¯t flustered by the doll like beauty, nor did he react like Oliver, and Carlo . He simply asked who she was in a normal manner, well normal for him .

    "Oh my, who is this cute littledy?" Niel knelt in front of Lilitth, and took her hand . When Alex saw this for some reason he wanted to get his gun, and shoot Niel¡¯s hand . Of course he didn¡¯t do that, but he was still confused by the sudden impulse .

    "Mydy my name is Niel Rayheart, may I have the honor of knowing your name . " Lilitth who had her hand held, by stranger was confused, but seeing Niel¡¯s charming smile, and holy like radiance, it felt like some mysterious force was overwhelming her .

    "Umm, my name is Lilitth Samarita . It¡¯s nice to meet you . "

    "Oh Samarita? How are you rted to Alex?" Alex forcefully got in between Lilitth and Niel, before answering .

    "She¡¯s my little sister . " Niel who summed up Alex¡¯s reaction as being overprotective chuckled .

    "Oh she¡¯s your little sister . . . Hmm she¡¯s wearing the uniform of Private Cromer Academy . That¡¯s the same private school my sister goes to . "

    "Really such a coincidence . " Oliver spoke up, wanting to get into the conversation .

    "Well it was the grade school, nearest to our house, plus my parents and I dote on our little angel very much . So we wanted her to go to the best grade school in the area . It was truly a Godly coincidence that the nearest school was also the best school . " Niel chuckled, knowing full well how lucky he and his sister was .

    "So littledy, what grade are you in?"

    "I¡¯m in third grade . " Lilitth respectfully answered, now knowing he was someone rted to her onii-sama, she felt a bit better .

    "Third grade? Truly such a great coincidence, my sister is in the third grade as well . Her name is Niki Rayheart . I hope when you meet her you two will be the best of friends . "

 Chapter 88

    Chapter 88

    It was now lunchtime, and the Mercenary Club was iplete . Everyone aside from Rachel were in the club room . Even Eva was still on a sick leave, Emily wasn¡¯t responding as well, it looks like she was busy with something . Seeing Alex¡¯s empty sides made the other members feel weird .

    "Hey Alex I heard from Oly that you have a little sister . " It was Saya who broke the silence .

    "How many times must I tell you to stop calling me Oly! If you must, you can call me James, but don¡¯t shorten Oliver to Oly . " Oliver said a bit exasperated . It would seem like this two had be closer after a day of Alex not going to school .

    ¡¯Wait a minute, both Oliver, and Saya were absent yesterday, were they together at that time?¡¯ Alex was a bit curious but he stopped himself from asking .

    "Yes I do have a little sister . Why? Do you want to meet her as well?"

    "Obviously! Why have you hidden such a fun fact about yourself! I heard from Oly that your sister is even cuter than a doll!" Saya said enthusiastically, Oliver on the other hand gave up on making Saya say his name properly .

    The whole lunch break was simply a conversation about Alex¡¯s little sister .

    . . .

    After ss the Mercenary Club members headed towards the Gaming club¡¯s clubroom . When Kim Suho saw them, he frowned .

    "Where were you guys yesterday? I thought you¡¯re here to help us? So then why were all of you absent yesterday? Are you guys really taking this seriously?" The moment they entered the first thing Kim Suho did was get angry at them .

    "We aren¡¯t cking off, we were all practicing yesterday, that¡¯s why we were all absent . " Saya who didn¡¯t like Kim Suho not even a bit, lied to his irritating face .

    "Really then, why don¡¯t we have a match? Just to see how much you guys improved . " ir suddenly challenged them .

    Oliver also heating up because of the challenge responded without even thinking . "Sure let¡¯s have a friendly match . " Luvia who was watching the whole thing at the side, could only sigh . The two groups where never in good terms since the start . So maybe this match might ease the tension . That¡¯s what Luvia thought .

    "Fine then, let¡¯s all head towards the nearby Inte Cafe . "

    When Alex heard that they will be having a match, he immediately thought that he might get homete, and wont be able to fetch Lilitth . So Alex proceeded to message Carlo about his current predicament . Immediately after messaging him, Carlo had replied .

    "Okay then, have fun with your friends . Don¡¯t worry I will be the one to fetch your super cute little sister . " Alex who read Carlo¡¯s message sighed, what happened to the feared merc? When did he be such a doting dad?

    Remembering his dad¡¯s current behavior made Alex feel like his head was aching . ¡¯I hope even like this, dad can still properly find clues from that chip I gave him .

    The two clubs then proceeded to head towards the nearby inte cafe .

    . . .

    When Alex entered the inte cafe he was once again stunned by the difference of reading about it and actually seeing it . The inte cafe smelled like carbonated drinks, and it was quite noisy, some other group seems to be shouting at each other .

    Alex was quite curious as to what kind of games everyone was ying . Ever since he talked to the energetic maid, Alex and even Lilitth were influenced a bit by the maid, now they thought that gaming was kind of fun .

    After talking to the person in charge, Luvia was able to get a spot where each team can talk to each other . The game was Perfect Soldier, it was a five versus five, first to win five matches wins the challenge .

    The two groups headed towards their respective PC¡¯s and booted up the game . Currently Saya was the only one who hasn¡¯t truly yed the game, but she does have prior knowledge about FPS so she was good to go .

    The first match started, Alex who hasn¡¯t tried the game aside from single yer didn¡¯t know what was the appropriate thing to do . But since their side were the soldiers that would mean they needed to protect the bomb site, with this information Alex decided to pick a sniper rifle, and started camping near the bomb site . Saya on the other hand picked the massive machine gun, since she thought this was like the other FPS game she yed, the bigger the gun the better . Only Kei, Oliver, and Niel, picked the standard assault rifle .

    Both teams started moving, Alex already seen this map, when the Gaming Club was ying the other day . So he knew where the bomb site was, and he already figured out the best area to snipe .

    Saya on the other hand just charged on her own . The moment she got into a tunnel, a sh grenade blinded her, and before she knew it, she died .

    After which, Kei was next to fall, then Oliver, then finally Niel, but before he died, he was able to take two down . The individual skills of the gaming club except for ir and Richard, were pretty much average . The only thing noteworthy was their teamwork .

    Alex¡¯s group on the other hand had one extremely good yer which was Niel, and the rest were pretty varied in skill level . Worse of all their coordination was almost nonexistent . Alex on the other hand was still waiting on the bomb site .

    While he was looking through the scope of his character, he could hear Oliverining to Saya .

    "Hey why did you charge first?! You should¡¯ve stayed with us, so we could have backed you up . "

    "Well it¡¯s your fault for being slow . "

    "That doesn¡¯t make any sense!" There conversation continued on, but Alex didn¡¯t bother to listen anymore, since he was now fully immersed in the game . He then saw an enemy peeking and without dy shot him .

    The shot didn¡¯t kill the enemy but it did take away majority of its life . Seeing the timer running out, the Gaming Club decided to use human wave tactics and charged forth . Alex then proceeded to shoot them with extreme uracy, but because he wasn¡¯t moving and the reload time of a sniper rifle was slow, the Gaming Club was able to gun down Alex .

    The first match ended with the Gaming Club¡¯s victory, they started to celebrate with hi-fives . Alex on the other hand saw the victory in a bigger picture . The Gaming Club might have won the battle, but now they might not win the war .

    With this one bout Alex was able to determine the most efficient way to win with his current team . It was still a theory in his head, but in the next match he was going to try and see if his theory was urate .

 Chapter 89

    Chapter 89

    When the next match started, Alex decided to buy the Desert Eagle handgun, since it didn¡¯t really matter what he bought, also this was the gun in which he was ustomed using in real life . Saya who died without doing anything in thest match had insufficient funds to buy the same machine gun so she bought an SMG instead . Oliver, and the other two bought simr equipment same as the previous match .

    Alex also bought smoke grenades, and a sh grenade . After buying their things both teams started to move . Before Saya moved forward, Alex spoke to her using the in game chat system .

    ¡¯Saya stay in formation with Oliver, and the others . ¡¯ When Saya read Alex¡¯s message she simply disregard it . Even Oliver insisted that Saya follow what Alex was saying . But as per usual Saya didn¡¯t give a damn about there opinions . She charged forward, and as if it was a repeat of the previous match another sh grenade was thrown towards Saya¡¯s direction .

    Alex already predicted that Saya would not follow hismand, but he still wanted to try just in case . So when he saw Saya charged forth, he immediately threw his smoke grenade, after which he also threw a regr grenade .

    The moment Saya got blinded by the sh grenade, she started to randomly shoot . Yet even with that she still died . Alex immediately typed, ¡¯Throw all your grenades into the tunnel, do it now . ¡¯

    The three who read Alex¡¯s message did as they were told, and threw the grenades into the tunnel, and as if like magic, the match was decided and they had won .

    Alex¡¯s guess proved correct, the other team knowing that aside from Niel the other members were basicallyplete amateurs, decided to use a formation simr to a line . They were all congested into a singr spot .

    Alex knew that this tactic would only work with this one match, and the next match the Gaming Club will finally y seriously . Yet even if they do y seriously they¡¯re bound to make a lot of mistakes .

    ¡¯I¡¯m sure Kim Suho, who seems to hate us so much, is extremely angry at the moment . Even the other members are bound to be angry at dying so shamefully like that . So their going in scattered and will try to kill us all . They wont be thinking of nting the bomb, since they¡¯re angry and ashamed for losing like that they will try to kill us all for revenge . ¡¯

    Alex who heard that even now Saya will still do her own thing, decided to ask his teammates first before using his n .

    ¡¯Do you guys want to win?¡¯ All of them typed back .

    ¡¯Of course . ¡¯

    ¡¯No matter what?¡¯ When the others read Alex¡¯s message they started to hesitate a bit, based on Alex¡¯s previous behaviour he might actually do something drastic . . . But remembering Kim Suho¡¯s face urged them onwards .

    Saya was the only one who truly knew, what Alex was capable off, but she didn¡¯t really care, even if Alex did try to kill the opposition, she wasn¡¯t really against the idea . Coming from an assassin family, she wasn¡¯t a stranger to killing .

    The other members of the Mercenary Club seem to have the wrong idea, about what Alex was nning, but they still responded .

    ¡¯No matter what . ¡¯ When Alex saw this message, he was now in the green to use his strategy . The other members who saw Alex wasn¡¯t moving away from hisputer, didn¡¯t understand what was going on .

    Didn¡¯t Alex say he was going to do something, then why is he just sitting there? All of them thought the same thing, but couldn¡¯t dwell much into it, since the match started .

    Alex¡¯s group bought the same equipment same as thest match, but this time, Alex didn¡¯t give outmands . His character was standing behind everyone else, while Saya once again charged forth .

    This time, she didn¡¯t die instantly, but was finally able to deal damage to one enemy before dying . The others on the other hand kept a tight formation and moved forward together .

    The group finally found one of the enemies, Alex used Kei as a human shield, and was able kill one of the enemies . He did the same to Oliver as well, it was at that moment the Mercenary Club members finally understood what Alex meant, when he wrote any means necessary .

    Alex has decided to discard them as teammates all their worth right now was as meat shields . In the end, they won, but it wasn¡¯t really a satisfying win . Even in the end when they noticed what was happening, the Gaming Club didn¡¯t try to nt the bomb . It would seem like their anger against the Mercenary Club was for real .

    Still it was a bit confusing cause Luvia, and Shin didn¡¯t hate them, why did they agree to such a game n . While Alex was pondering about what to do in the next match, Oliver spoke to him .

    "Alex can you change your strategy? If we y like this, even if we do win, it will be meaningless . " Oliver was the one who spoke for the whole club .

    Alex as usual was confused, "Why? Didn¡¯t you guys say to win by any means necessary?"

    "Yes we did say that . . . But after thinking about it for awhile, we decided this is not the right way to win . It¡¯s true we must win, but at the same time we need to maintain a bit of honor . " Alex was about to answer Oliver but then he saw there was a message on his phone . It was from Lilitth, seeing this Alex didn¡¯t bother with the others anymore and read Lilitth¡¯s message .

    ¡¯Onii-sama! Pleasee to school, tou-chan is out of control! Please help!¡¯

    Reading this message Alex immediately stood up . "What the hell is happening to dad! Damn it!" Alex blurted out loudly, shocking Oliver and the group .

    "Sorry I have a family emergency!" After saying that Alex didn¡¯t wait for a reply and immediately sprinted off .

 Chapter 90

    Chapter 90

    When Lilitth separated from her onii-sama, she stood in front of the school gates . The people who saw the new girl were all staring at her . Not only because she was not someone they knew, it was also because the little girl in front of them was extremely cute, like a doll crafted by a master .

    The teachers, the security guards, and most of the student body passing through the gate, were staring at her . Lilitth didn¡¯t notice all the staring, because she was looking at the surrounding area full of curiosity .

    When she was about to enter the premise, a fat man came running towards her . She was surprised by the man who suddenly stood in front of her sweating profusely and panting .

    "Good day Lilitth Ojou-sama . I¡¯m the Principal of this school, you may call me Raymond . I¡¯m sorry if you weren¡¯t greeted upon your arrival . I wasn¡¯t expecting you woulde so early . Here let me guide you to my office, so that we can finish your transfer procedures . "

    Lilitth wasn¡¯t able to respond at all, and couldn¡¯t do anything but follow the man who named himself the principal . When the two figures finally left, the whole area suddenly bursted into conversation .

    "Who was that?! She was so pretty . She looked like a doll . "

    "I know right, she¡¯s as pretty as Niki Rayheart . "

    "Yah she really is pretty . . . "

    When the sixth graders were talking, the teachers were talking about Lilitth as well .

    "Did you see how respectful the principal was to that little girl?"

    "Yes I know right, she must be the daughter of a very important person . "

    "Yah . . . I need to remember that girl¡¯s face, not like that¡¯s hard to do . "

    . . .

    While everyone was talking about Lilitth . The principal was sweating buckets, as he was guiding Lilitth to his office . He started to remember the conversation he had with the superintendent,st night .

    The superintendent called and told him with great urgency, that the daughter of a super important figure, will be attending his school . He warned him explicitly that if anything untoward happens to the littledy then their lives were over, and he didn¡¯t mean it figuratively he meant it quite literally .

    At first he thought the superintendent was just trying to frighten him a bit . He thought in the end the superintendent will say it was all a joke, since they¡¯re many children of influential people in this school, and none could frighten the superintendent this much . So the principal truly thought it was all a joke, but this morning when he woke up there were sticky notes all over his room .

    Written in all of them were the words, ¡¯I¡¯m watching you . ¡¯

    That wasn¡¯t even the scariest part, all the cameras in his house have been destroyed, and there was even a gun left on his table, with a sticky note attached to it . ¡¯You better kill yourself if you make a mistake, cause the fate that awaits you, will be a fate worse than hell itself . ¡¯

    Scared he even called the police, he knew themissioner, since his son was studying in his school, so he called him directly . Themissioner hang up on him, he then proceeded to call everyone he knew that could help him, but they all hang up him, they were avoiding him like the gue . That¡¯s when he truly epted that the little girl who was following behind him, was something akin to a national treasure .

    Unaware of the Principal¡¯s internal struggle, Lilitth was curiously looking around . As she walked down the hallway, she felt even more excited . She would finally be able to be a normal girl . She would have friends, be able to y with kids her age . She would be able to do thing she could only dream of doing before .

    Once the two finally got to the Principal¡¯s office, the Principal immediately offered his own seat to Lilitth . The little girl who was bewildered by how the Principal was acting decided to politely decline .

    "Oh I¡¯m sorry Lilitth ojou-sama, you want me to bring a different seat?" The Principal nervously asked .

    "Um, no need to do that . Also Mr . Raymond, please don¡¯t call me Ojou-sama, just Lilitth is fine . " When the Principal heard Lilitth¡¯s offer he was about to ept, but before he could open his mouth, he felt a sudden shiver . He then looked behind him, and he saw two men, on the roof of the building opposite them, and they seem to be pointing guns at him . He knew that those people were some kind of bodyguards of Lilitth Ojou-sama .

    He then turned around and answered Lilitth with an even more respectfully . "I¡¯m unworthy to call you by that name . Please allow me to call you Lilitth Ojou-sama . "

    When Lilitth heard the Principal¡¯s response, she felt a bit sad . It was at that moment the Principal received a call from the superintendent .

    "RAYMOND! Please don¡¯t make our little VIP ufortable . Call her by her given name like any other student! Anymore mistakes, and I promise you, before I die, I will deal with you first!" The call ended with that .

    "I¡¯m sorry for that, please allow me to call you Lilitth instead . Is that alright?" The Principal immediately revoked what he said .

    Hearing the Principal finally treating her like any other student, Lilitth smiled . "Of course Mr . Raymond . "

    . . .

    The whole ordeal of talking to Lilitth, briefing her about the rules and regtions of the school was very taxing to the Principal . He couldn¡¯t understand how to treat the girl in front of him . He then sighed in relief as he brought Lilitth to her new ssroom . Now he would be able to pass the problem to the teacher in charge .

    The moment Lilitth entered the ssroom, the teacher in charge as well as the students, stared dumbly at her . Lilitth¡¯s cute doll look affected them badly and they weren¡¯t able to respond at the moment . Seeing the situation, the Principal did a little cough warning the teacher in charge .

    The teacher finally getting her senses back, stood up and spoke to the ss .

    "Everyone, we have a new friend joining us today . Please introduce yourself . " The teacher gestured to Lilitth toe in front and introduce herself .

    Lilitth went to the front, and elegantly did a curtsy . "Good day to you all . I am Lilitth Samarita . I hope to have a wonderful school life with you all . " Lilitth smiled truly excited to start her school life .

 Chapter 91

    Chapter 91

    While the others were bewildered by the cute doll like girl in front of them, one student was only a tiny bit impressed . This girl was equally as cute as Lilitth, she had long ck hair almost reaching her waist, deep meaningful ck eyes, which didn¡¯t match her age . The girl even had a glowing like aura surrounding her . This was the little sister of Niel Rayheart, Niki Rayheart .

    It was no coincidence that Lilitth, had be Niki¡¯s ssmate, since the Principal heard Lilitth whispering to herself, with a cute little smile saying "I hope me and Niki Rayheart can be friends . Just like how our brothers are friends . " Every time she thought of this she would start giggling . The Principal who fixing all of Lilitth¡¯s paperwork identally heard this .

    Upon hearing this whisper that didn¡¯t really sound like whisper, he thought that Lilitth was actually giving him a subtle order, so without confirming with her, he made her Niki¡¯s ssmate .

    After her introduction Lilitth saw the girl with a radiant aura and immediately figured out that the girl was most probably Niel¡¯s little sister . The teacher then told Lilitth that she could sit in any chair avable . When the Principal who was watching on the side heard this, he got flustered and spoke to Lilitth .

    "Um Lilitth, don¡¯t listen to her, you can sit anywhere you want to . So don¡¯t mind what your teacher said alright . " The Principal red at the teacher in charge, who responded with cute little squeak . Lilitth on the other hand nodded at the Principal¡¯s statement .

    She then proceeded to walk towards Niki Rayheart, who was situated in the middle of the ssroom . Niki who saw the approaching Lilitth, smiled a bright smile simr to her brother¡¯s . At that moment, she thought that her cuteness might actually have captivated the new transfer student .

    In her mind her cuteness was second to none, both guys and girls, wether they were young or old, wanted to spoil her . So she was fully confident that her charm has won over the transfer student .

    "Hello, are you Niki Rayheart?" Lilitth looked a tad excited, making her actions look cuter than usual .

    When Niki heard Lilitth¡¯s question she was shocked, but her face failed to show such an emotion as she kept smiling . She was also somehow shocked that someone could almost match her cuteness, well almost .

    ¡¯Wait how does the transfer student know my name?! Is it possible that she transfer here because of me? Is she something like a fan of mine? So being a fan of mine she wanted to be close to me so she transferred in? That is possible . . . ¡¯ While Niki was having such thoughts, she responded to Lilitth¡¯s question .

    "Yes, that is me? Do we know each other?" Niki tilted her head a bit, coupled with a confused expression, made her look so cute . This of course wasn¡¯t natural, Niki had practiced in front of teh mirror many times, to apply her cuteness to its maximum effect .

    The teacher in charge wanted to stop the conversation between the two, and continue her lecture, but was unable to do so, due to the ring look the Principal was giving her . Not only that for some reason, she felt a cold chill as if something dangerous was going to happen to her, so as the circumstance demanded she didn¡¯t speak up .

    Lilitth hearing Niki¡¯s answer happily sped the other¡¯s hand . She was super excited that she found Niel¡¯s sister so fast . So without even noticing what she had done, Lilitth started to smile sillily . Confused by the sudden move, Niki could only stare at Lilitth, with a stunned look .

    "So it really is you! Your brother told me you would be here . Who knew we could be ssmates . " Lilitth joyfully informed Niki .

    "You know Nii-Nii?" When Niki heard Lilitth knew her brother, her demeanour somehow changed, she was still showing a bright smile, and her aura was still as radiant as before, but there was a somehow creepy feeling being emitted by her now .

    "Yes, your brother, and my onii-sama are friends . So I was hoping we could be friends as well . " Niki who had heard Lilitth¡¯s innocent answer was finally able to calm down . She reacted that way since she thought Lilitth was simr to the other girls who knew of her brother, for some reason or another most girls wether they be young or old, try to get close to Niki, so that they can get close to her Nii-Nii which irritated her to no end .

    Yet it would seem like, this girl Lilitth wasn¡¯t here for that reason . She truly simply wanted to be her friend . This confused Niki a little, this was the first time, she saw a girl her brother knew that wasn¡¯t all over him . Lilitth who saw Niki¡¯s bewildered expression started to look a bit sad .

    This look of hers would be able to make any normal person who looked at her, feel their heart ache and will have an extreme impulse to make them want tofort her . "You don¡¯t want to?" The Principal suddenly had a call, he didn¡¯t want to pick it up, but he still did so, and upon receiving the warning he knew woulde, he wanted to run over to Niki¡¯s side and forcefully make her Lilitth¡¯s friend .

    When Niki heard Lilitth¡¯s meek voice, she finally got a hold of herself, and smiled with a very cute happy expression .

    "No, that¡¯s not it . I really do want to be friends . So let¡¯s be friends Lilitth-chan . " When Lilitth heard Niki¡¯s answer her sad face immediately changed into a very bright smiling face .

    "Yes, you¡¯re my very first friend Niki-chan . I hope we can be the best of friends . "

 Chapter 92

    Chapter 92

    Upon bing friends with Niki, Lilitth felt over the moon, and couldn¡¯t focus on ss . Well third grade level education wasn¡¯t really a problem for her . The reason being, the researchers literally tried to cram a bunch of stuff into her head . Though most of them weren¡¯t able to stay ever since the mind control chip was imnted on her . Still even with the limited knowledge she still possesses Lilitth could easily breeze through middle school without a problem .

    Well with her intelligence just reading the textbook once would keep her up to date . While Lilitth was happily thinking of things to do with her new friend .

    The teacher who was talking about riddles was looking at Lilitth a bit irritated . Before entering the ssroom, the Principal specifically warned him, to never under any circumstances do anything to upset that littledy . Why should he a respected teacher, care about that? He shouldn¡¯t let anything upset Lilitth? The brat that doesn¡¯t respect him enough to even try to listen to his lesson .

    He didn¡¯t care about what the Principal said anymore, it¡¯s time to teach this little girl a lesson . "Lilitth, can you answer this riddle for me?" Hearing her name being called Lilitth stood up . Since she was having a fun time day dreaming about the wondrous things that could happen in school, she was a bit startled, .

    "Certainly . " With Lilitth¡¯s immacte smile, the teacher almost stopped himself from giving the riddle, but he was able to endure, and continued .

    "They try to beat me, they try in vain .

    And when I win, I end the pain . So Lilitth, do you know the answer . "

    "The answer is Death . Since death cannot be beaten, trying to beat it really ends up in vain . If death wins, it would end ones suffering thus ending the pain . Am I correct sir?" Seeing Lilitth¡¯s innocent smile as she easily answered the riddle made the teacher a tad irritated . Even though that smile was so innocent, in the teacher¡¯s head Lilitth was mocking him .

    "That is correct onto the next riddle then, can you still continue on Lilitth?" Lilitth was having fun with this experience . The teacher seemed really kind, is what she thought .

    "I can most certainly continue sir . " The teacher seeing Lilitth act all cutesy, made him even more irritated .

    "Ok then here is the next riddle .

    A precious stone, as clear as diamond .

    Seek it out while the sun¡¯s near the horizon .

    Though you can walk on water with its power,

    try to keep it, and it¡¯ll vanish in an hour . This one is a bit harder can you answer it Lilitth? If you cannot it¡¯s alright to say so . "

    The teacher thought that this one was a tad hard for a third grader to be able to answer, but he wanted to make a point, that it¡¯s not alright to not listen in his ss .

    "No need Sir, I know the answer and it¡¯s ice . Ice is as clear as diamond . It wouldn¡¯t melt as fast if the Sun is near the horizon . Depending on how hard the ice is, people can definitely walk on water with its power . If you keep it outside a certain area, it will vanish, because it will melt . Am I correct Sir?"

    The teacher gritted his teeth, and forced a smile . So instead of embarrassing his student, to teach her a lesson, he was the one getting embarrassed .

    "That is correct Lilitth, very good . So I have final riddle, but it is too hard maybe you wont be able to answer . So if you want, I can call on another student to answer for you . "

    "It¡¯s alright Sir . I¡¯m actually having fun answering these riddles . " When the teacher heard Lilitth say she was having fun, he almost lost it .

    "I can be quick and then I¡¯m deadly,

    I am a rock, shell and bone medley .

    If I was made into a man, I¡¯d make people dream,

    I gather in my millions By ocean, sea and stream . "

    The teacher thought with this kind of riddle, he would finally be able to teach the little girl a lesson, but like all the others, Lilitth didn¡¯t give much thought before answering .

    "Oh, that¡¯s an easier one, the answer is sand . It could-" Lilitth was about to exin how she got to the answer, but the teacher stopped her .

    "That is the correct answer . Okay then, there is something I need to do first, so everyone it¡¯s free study . " Without saying anything else the teacher left the room . Once the teacher was gone, Niki spoke to Lilitth .

    "That was amazing Lilitth! That teacher is suppose to be ournguage teacher, but all he ever talks about are riddles . His ss is the most boring of all, and if you stop listening to him, he gets really angry . "

    "Really? . . . I thought he was a kind teacher, picking me to answer the riddles, so that I don¡¯t feel left out, since I just transfer in . "

    The two cutest girls in the school started talking to each other . Their ssmates wanted to join in, but weren¡¯t able to, since there seem to be a kind of atmosphere building up that no normal person could be able to enter .

    After the morning sses it was now lunchtime, Niki was about to guide Lilitth to the cafeteria, but before they could even get out of their chairs, somebody suddenly busted into their ssroom .

    The one who entered was a boy who looked older than them . He had brown hairbed properly to the back, he was a bit taller for his age, and had a good overall body type . His face though still young in nature, had the makings of a future handsome hunk of a man .

    He came into the room, and scanned it, when he spotted Lilitth he approached her with a confident kind of swagger .

    "Hello there as cute as ever Rayheart . "

    "Why hello Seiji . Can I ask what is a sixth grader such as yourself is doing here?" Even though Niki was smiling one could feel a cold chill blowing from her .

    "Oh nothing much, I just want to see your cute self . Oh? Who is this? A new friend of yours . " The moment Niki heard this, it was pretty obvious what this guy wanted . Unaware of what was going on, Lilitth introduced herself .

    "Hello I¡¯m Lilitth Samarita . " Lilitth giggled, every time she says her name a sudden bubble of happiness burst forth from within her . She was not Lilitth the weapon anymore, she was Lilitth Samarita . She was the daughter of Carlo, sister of Alexander, and friend to Niki . Every time she remembers these things, she couldn¡¯t help but giggle .

    Seeing the giggling Lilitth, Seiji¡¯s heartstrings were struck . His aniue had already told him, people from their family could only pick the best as their partners . At first he thought Niki would be his best partner, but after a bit of investigating, he found out that Niki came from a normal a bit above middle ss family .

    Even though she is cute, and smart, her family background seem to becking to be his best partner, to be a part of the Amami family . So he simply decided to make her his side woman, that¡¯s what his aniue called the women he likes that cannot be a part of the family .

    Yet this Lilitth was definitely the one . She is as cute as Niki, supposedly she was smart as well, if you believe the messages he received in his smartphone . It would also seem her family background is quite special, her family can even make the Principal of this school treat her as a super VIP . Maybe her family was no match for his, but their level shouldn¡¯t be that far apart .

    So at the moment he saw Lilitth, Seiji immediately decided to make her his . Unknown to him, a monster was waiting to eat him whole, if he makes even one wrong move .

 Chapter 93

    Chapter 93

    After Lilitth¡¯s introduction, Seiji introduced himself as well . He did a grandiose bow that he copied from his aniue .

    "I am Seiji Amamami, a sixth grader . As you have heard I am from the Amamami family . So you must know how influential my family is here in Berdonia . " The little guy smiled confidently .

    It is true the Amamami family is indeed one or two levels above the Kain family and they too are an old influential family in Berdonia, but Lilitth doesn¡¯t know or care about that kind of details .

    "Umm, sorry I don¡¯t know any Amamami . . . " Hearing Lilitth¡¯s reply most of the students in the ssroom were shocked . The students here ,though they were around eight to nine year old kids, they understood who the Amamami family was, since they were children of influential people in the city . They were even told that if they have a chance they should get close to Seiji . That¡¯s why they were shocked when they heard what Lilitth said .

    Even Seiji was confused, since this was the first time he had heard such a response . Yet he didn¡¯t care at this point, he might as well exin to her how great his family is . "My family the Amamami family is one of the oldest aristocratic family of Berdonia . My family has a lot of people in major positions in the government . My father is even an associate Judge in supreme court . "

    Hearing all these things didn¡¯t really impress Lilitth . She could only nod a bit as he heard Seiji bragging about his family . Seiji being kind of an idiot thought Lilitth was impressed .

    "So without further ado, I need to tell you something Lilitth . " After bragging about how great his family was, Seiji returned his focus on Lilitth .

    "What is it?" Lilitth was still a bit confused by Seiji¡¯s weirdness .

    Seiji then proceeded to say the words, his aniue told him to say in front of a girl he likes . "Lilitth be my woman, be a part of the Amamami family . " Seiji didn¡¯t really understand the true implications of what he said, and simply followed what his aniue told him .

    Niki and the others who witness the whole thing, were very confused as to the meaning of what Seiji just said, all they understood was basically Seiji wanted Lilitth to be his girlfriend .

    "Sorry I don¡¯t want to be your woman, or part of the Amamami family . " Lilitth was the only one who truly understood what Seiji just said . She understood that it was a proposal, so she quickly denied him, for three major reasons .

    First off she was too young to be proposed to . Second she didn¡¯t know anything about Seiji, except for the facts he so graciously brag about . Third and final reason she didn¡¯t like the idea of changing herst name .

    When Seiji heard Lilitth¡¯s response he couldn¡¯tprehend what was said immediately . Did someone actually reject him, and even rejected to being a part of the Amamami family?

    "Did you just say no?" Seiji asked just to be sure .

    "Well I did say more than that, but yes, basically I said no . " Lilitth calmly replied, in which the stunned Seiji just stared dumbly at Lilitth . This was the first time in his whole life, that someone had rejected him .

    For some unknown reason he was suddenly boiling in anger . In his mind he kept on asking, who was this person to actually reject an Amamami . How dare she! Those were the only things going through his mind at the moment .

    "I wasn¡¯t asking for permission, I was stating a fact!" Seiji then held Lilitth¡¯s right arm . Lilitth was about to do something, but Niki responded first .

    "Seiji stop! You¡¯re hurting her!" Niki tried to hold Seiji¡¯s hand, but he flung Niki away .

    "Get out of my way! How dare someone like you touch me! Someone lowborn like you!" The moment Lilitth saw Seiji pushed Niki aside, she was already irritated, but when she heard what Seiji said she got angrier .

    Using her superhuman strength Lilitth lifted Seiji using the arm he was holding . Seiji wanted to let go of Lilitth, but she held onto him tightly . Then everyone heard a loud crunching sound, Seiji¡¯s right arm broke .

    "AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" Lilitth finally let go of Seiji .

    He started crying and screaming hard . The pain was unbearable, hearing the noise a teacher finally came . Upon seeing the situation and hearing about it from the students, the teacher couldn¡¯t make any judgement, since the two students involved were beyond him .

    The teacher could only bring Seiji to the clinic, and after which call the Principal and inform him of the events that transpired .

    . . .

    After awhile Seiji who had finally calmed down, after being given first aid medication and some pain relievers, called his dad .

    "Dad! Somebody broke my arm!"

    "WHO THE HELL DARES! WHO DID IT, TELL ME!" Seiji¡¯s father was screaming angrily .

    Seiji hesitated to tell his father who did it . Since for one he was scared of his father, and secondly he didn¡¯t want to tell his father that the one who broke his arm was a little girl . Yet as he hesitated his father got even angrier .

    "WHY ARE NOT SAYING ANYTHING!" Hearing his father¡¯s angry scream, Seiji decided to just tell the whole truth .

    After exining the whole sequence of event to his father, it just made his father even angrier, at Lilitth, Niki, and his own son Seiji .

    "WHAT THE HELL! You got your arm broken by a eight year old girl! Just wait for me, after this meeting I¡¯ll go directly to that school of yours . I will make the family of Niki, and Lilitth suffer until they¡¯ll beg me, on their knees, crying to just kill them . "

    Seiji hearing what his dad said, had mixed feelings . He really wanted to get back on those girls, and he rejoiced in hearing their doomed fate . . . But at the same time he was scared of the punishment waiting for him .

    Little did the father and son duo know, that while they were nning what to do . Someone was actually nning something much more horrible .

 Chapter 94

    Chapter 94

    The Principal of Private Cromer Academy, Nathaniel Girby was sweating profusely . He was shivering in fear inside his office . The two students that he wasn¡¯t allowed to even think of touching, had a fight, not only one of them broke the arm of the other . He wasn¡¯t sure in which bandwagon he was suppose to side with .

    On one side is Seiji Amamami, the second son of Kenzo Amamami, a judge, an associate Justice, and the current patriarch of the very powerful Amamami family . He could easily destroy him with the snap of his fingers . Just one word from him, his friends , his family, and everything he holds dear will be either tortured until death, or be sold to the Granado Empire as war ves .

    While on the other side is Lilitth Samarita, someone with an unknown background . Though there is no information on Lilitth, Nathaniel knew that she must be from a very powerful, and influential family . A family who may be on par with the Amamami¡¯s the reason for this hypothesis, was simple .

    First the way they entered his house without triggering any rms, while destroying all the cameras without being caught on screen . That makes him think that they were professionals . Second they hired two snipers to keep watch on Lilitth . Third they could threaten most of the people Nathaniel knew . So at this point he could only think that Lilitth¡¯s family could either be rted to the mafia, are assassins, or is military rted .

    Anyway you look at it, Nathaniel couldn¡¯t ally himself with either one . Yet if he doesn¡¯t ally himself with one of them, then he might not survive to see tomorrow . When Nathaniel was in his most desperate, he got a sudden call . It was from the superintendent .

    "No matter what happens, even if you are threatened with death, never side with the Amamami¡¯s . Protect Lilitth at all cost . " He then hang up . The superintendent didn¡¯t even greet him, he just simply stated what he wanted and ended the call . The way he delivered the message, was full of fear, and desperation, the same feelings he was having now .

    Still having that phone call with the superintendent, actually helped him understand that Lilitth¡¯s family was way more dangerous than he thought .

    . . .

    Kenzo was in the backseat of his car, trying to figure out who Lilitth Samarita was, but no matter how hard his subordinates try there wasn¡¯t much to find out . The only thing they have so far is her name, and birth date, that was it . On the other hand it was quite easy to find out everything about Niki Rayheart .

    Even though Kenzo did not fear theck of details in Lilitth¡¯s profile, he did find it extremely odd, how hard it was to gather information on a little girl . Yet the Samarita name wasn¡¯t that hard to investigate about, since they have been getting poprtely in the business world .

    The Samarita¡¯s were a new uing family, that suddenly appeared during the past twenty years . The Samarita¡¯s were indeed a wealthy family with some deep ties to the government, but he was sure they weren¡¯t at the level were they could hide information from the Amamami¡¯s .

    ¡¯There must be a third party involved . They must be using the Samarita girl, to get me to lose their scent . They used the Samarita girl to seduce my son, and when he was surprised she broke his arm . Hmm, this might be a n from the Tang n, of Granado Empire . . . Or it might be done some new force . Either way, I just need to make an example using the Samaritas and the Rayhearts, after which they¡¯ll all know that the Amamami¡¯s are still as strong as ever . ¡¯

    Kenzo¡¯s thoughts didn¡¯t even acknowledge that he could lose in any scenario . He just kept on wondering what kind of idiotic person even dares try to y this game with him . While thinking about all of these things, Kenzo suddenly sighed .

    At this very moment, he was really disappointed in his second son Seiji, and how easily he was manipted by the third party . Not only that, he got his arm broken by a little girl, in front of a lot of people . This might actually affect the image of the Amamami¡¯s since most of the students in that room were children of influential people .

    While thinking of a way to silence all the children and their families, Kenzo noticed he was already nearing the school .

    . . .

    "You shouldn¡¯t have done that! I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry . I¡¯m sorry Lillith it¡¯s all my fault!" Niki was crying in front of Lilitth .

    After Seiji was brought to the nurses office, Niki suddenly broke down and started crying . She was indeed hurt, but more than that, she was scared of what might happen to Lilitth, and her own family .

    Her brother already warned her multiple times, not to get involved with Seiji . He even informed her that if Seiji tries to do anything to her, she needs to feign innocence and act as if she doesn¡¯t understand a thing, of what he was saying . But now she actually fought him, and her new friend Lilitth, broke his arm because she was angry for her .

    She didn¡¯t know what to do she wanted to cry out for her Nii-Nii . Lilitth tried her best tofort her, by hugging her and telling her everything will be alright, but she wouldn¡¯t stop crying .

    Lilitth on the other hand wasn¡¯t really worried, since she was sure her onii-sama will do something about this situation . While Lilitth was busyforting her crying friend, an announcement was made telling the two of them to head to the Principal¡¯s office .

    When Niki heard this, she started to cry even harder, her perfect girl image was no longer present, even her radiant aura was now but a dim light . Even though she was trying her best to be as radiant as her Nii-Nii, deep inside she was only a normal little girl .

    Lilitth and Niki headed towards the Principal¡¯s office, unaware of all the chaos that will ensue a few minutester .

 Chapter 95

    Chapter 95

    Kenzo was furiously striding into the school, alongside four of his bodyguards . Two of which are B rank mercs, while the other two were mid level soldiers . These four were just a small part of his battalion of bodyguards, the others were hiding nearby . His family has even got one S rank merc, and a Grade 1 High level soldier .

    The students were scared by the presence of Kenzo and his group . So seeing that school was practically over, the other students immediately left the school premise, while the others were forced to wait for the people that are going to fetch them .

    Kenzo was now in the ce where his son was . When Seiji saw the person in front him was his father, he felt a lot of different types of emotions, but the most prevalent one was fear .

    "So it¡¯s true, you really did get your arm broken by a little girl . Care to exin yourself?" Kenzo looked at his son with both irritation and disappointment .

    "It wasn¡¯t my fault father, she took me by surprise!" Seiji protested, but even that was met by a scornful look .

    "I don¡¯t need your excuses . Come with me to the Principal¡¯s office . I will show you how a true Amamami handles the situation . After we¡¯re done here, we¡¯ll go to the hospital, and you¡¯ll be transferring schools . I¡¯m thinking, the Southern Unions military school will make you into an elite . "

    Seiji wanted to protest, since the Southern Union Military schools, were not any better than Berdonia¡¯s but they were much harsher in training, they¡¯re especially harsh to those that aren¡¯t from the Southern Union . Yet seeing his father¡¯s re, Seiji could only push down the words he wanted to say .

    Kenzo without saying anything else turned around and headed towards the Principal¡¯s office, followed by his bodyguards and Seiji .

    . . .

    Lilitth was stillforting the crying Niki, but no matter what she said Niki wouldn¡¯t stop crying . She then stared at the Principal wanting to ask for help, but it seemed like the Principal was getting himself ready for something . He was staring resolutely at the door .

    After a short while, somebody entered, it was a tall man wearing something simr to a business suit, but for some reason it also looked informal . With him were four men, two of which were heavily armed, andst but not least, there was Seiji as well .

    Kenzo gave Lilitth, and Niki a dangerous look . The Principal noticing this, stood between Lilitth and Kenzo . Seeing Nathaniel blocking his way, made Kenzo surprised and a bit angry .

    "What do you think you¡¯re doing? Did you really just blocked me?" Kenzo¡¯s voice sounded menacing, but Nathaniel didn¡¯t budge . Since he knew that something much, much worse was awaiting him, if he didn¡¯t protect Lilitth .

    Seeing Nathaniel not saying anything, and just standing there, Kenzo signaled on of his bodyguards to remove Nathaniel . When the bodyguard approached Nathaniel, the Principal tried his best to not move, but he was easily subdued . It was at that moment, a weird sound was heard, and without anyone noticing it except for Lilitth who covered Niki¡¯s eyes . The bodyguard¡¯s head was sliced clean off his body .

    The cut was so clean it took a few seconds before blood started to gush out . Nathaniel, was scared sh*tless by the scene, the other bodyguards who didn¡¯t know what happened got in front of Kenzo .

    Seiji who saw the blood fainted on the spot, seeing this reaction from his son, Kenzo felt even more disappointed .

    "You did well . " Someone suddenly appeared out of nowhere, he had a prosthetic leg, and was holding a whip like sword . It was Carlo who hidden himself, using a cloth like object that uses optical camouge . He approached Niki, and tapped a part of her back, making her faint .

    "Tou-chan?" Lilitth was a bit shocked by her adoptive father¡¯s appearance . Carlo looked at Lilitth with a gentle look .

    "It¡¯s alright now Lilitth, tou-chan is here to make the bad guys go away . . . So how about we talk outside, it¡¯s kinda getting crowded in here . " Afterforting his daugther, Carlo spoke in an ice cold tone, at Kenzo and his men .

    "Who the hell do you think you are?! Killing one of my men and then telling me what to do!" Kenzo spoke back with a voice full of anger .

    "I¡¯m the man holding your worthless life in the palm of my hands . " Carlo then snapped his fingers, and some men from the outside who were all heavily equipped entered the room, and surrounded Kenzo and his group .

    "Now it really is crowded in here . So how about going out so that we can talk properly . " Kenzo knowing he was in a disadvantage couldn¡¯t say anything anymore . He allowed Carlo¡¯s men to guide him outside .

    Carlo then looked at Lilitth, and patted her head . "Don¡¯t worry my cute little Lilitth, this will be over real quick . So for now just stay in this room, and tend to your friend . " After saying that he signaled one of his men, to clean up the dead body . After which he left the room heading towards the grass field .

    Nathaniel who saw the entire thing was still a bit rattled, but at the same time relieved that he had chosen the correct side . If he for some stupid reason chosen to side with Kenzo, then he would already be dead by now .

    Lilitth seeing her tou-chan leave the room, made her panic a bit . She really didn¡¯t like Seiji but she didn¡¯t want him to die for this . So the only solution she could think of was to tell her onii-sama . So after sending her message, she then requested the Principal to take care of Niki .

    . . .

    When Kenzo was being guided to the grass field, he finally noticed that the whole ce was too quiet . There was not a soul here except for Carlo¡¯s men, and his own bodyguards . When they got to the open field, Carlo¡¯s men opened up the formation .

    Seeing their movements, made Kenzo¡¯s bodyguards tighten their guard even more .

    "So, tell me what the hell did you n to do to my daughter?" Carlo¡¯s bloodlust was at an all time high, it even scared some of his own men . Kenzo on the other hand wasn¡¯t that much affected .

    "Do you know who you¡¯re dealing with here? Do you understand what I can do to you? I am an Amamami!" Kenzo thought that saying his family name could make Carlo a bit fearful, but instead it just made Carlo chuckle .

    "So what? Is that it? You¡¯re an Amamami, then what? If you haven¡¯t noticed I have evacuated everyone near this area, and a dozen or so of my men have you surrounded . " Kenzo who felt a bit embarrassed clenched his fist, and with a lower ice cold tone he replied to Carlo .

    "If you dare kill me and my son, then you forfeit everything you love . The Amamami¡¯s will never let you live in peace . " Hearing Kenzo¡¯s threats made Carlo want tough, but he stopped himself .

    "So you¡¯re confident because you think your family has your back? You think that your influence scares me? Fine go ahead, call someone . " Kenzo who heard Carlo¡¯s mocking tone, got even more angry .

    ¡¯Who the hell does this upstart think he is?! Fine I will let your arrogance be your downfall . ¡¯ Kenzo then started to call the other members of his family, but none were picking up . He then started to call his influential friends, but none of them picked up his call either . He then started to panic inside, but on the outside he still showed a stern face .

    "What have you done?" It was obvious to anyone, that Carlo had done something .

    "I did nothing much . Let¡¯s just say my influence is way greater than yours and your puny family . Here watch this . " Carlo then proceeded to call someone, after talking for awhile he ended the call . A few secondster Kenzo received a message from the chief justice .

    ¡¯Kenzo there has been evidence found that you have tampered with official documents . So while you are under review, it is my displeasure to inform you that you are suspended as an associate justice . After the investigation is finished and you are found guilty then you will be disbarred . ¡¯

    "I can also do this . " Carlo took out a remote of some kind, and pressed a button . A few secondster Kenzo received a call from one the family¡¯s employees . "Sir! It¡¯s terrible one of our factories suddenly exploded . It was a good thing no one was inside, since someone alerted us that there was a bomb . "

    When Kenzo read the chief justice¡¯s message and heard the panicking voice of his employee, he felt weak in the knees . His face paled, in fear and anxiety . What kind of monster had they provoked . Carlo then got near him and whispered in his ear .

    "Have you finally realized it? I control your fate, as well as the fate of your whole family . Not only can I make you lose your job, I can kill you here and no one will bother to investigate . You are nothing to me, I can crush you like this . " Carlo took Kenzo¡¯s phone, and squeezed it, crushing it with his hand .

    Carlo then backed away from Kenzo, and opened his arms . "Do you understand now Kenzo? You probably came here thinking that you could easily deal with this matter . You thought that your family was such a big deal, that you could do anything you want . Heh, how does it feel to be on the receiving end? How does it feel to be the one that could easily be dealt with? Tell me oh mighty Kenzo Amamami . "

 Chapter 96

    Chapter 96

    Kenzo was at a loss, he couldn¡¯t say anything, he simply looked at Carlo in a daze . Who could¡¯ve thought that he the patriarch of the Amamami family would be treated like a baby . He wasn¡¯t even qualified to called an opponent for the other party .

    All of his arrogance had left him, he simply stood there wallowing in regret . He even thought for a moment that this was all a bad dream, a simple nightmare . . . But of course at the end Kenzo had no choice but to ept that this was reality .

    ¡¯How did this happen? Isn¡¯t he suppose to be an upstart? Howe he has so much power? Who is he really? SHIT! DAMNIT! What have I done?! What kind of monster had we provoked?!¡¯ Kenzo who was kneeling on the ground his face pale, was now having very disoriented thoughts . It was at this moment Carlo threw a gun at him .

    "Kill your son, then yourself . If you do this I¡¯ll spare your worthless family . Well it doesn¡¯t matter if I don¡¯t destroy your family or not, at some point based on how your family operates, you will once again provoke someone you shouldn¡¯t and that will be the end of you . Still if you do what I say and kill your son and yourself, your family mightst longer . So decide and do it quickly, I need to cuddle with my cute daughter . " Carlo spoke to the distraught Kenzo, like he was nothing more than a minor annoyance .

    Kenzo looked at the gun on the ground in a daze . The man in front of him wasn¡¯t even willing to kill them himself, it was as if he was saying that the killing them was beneath him . This was the first time in his whole life Kenzo felt so ashamed .

    He picked up the gun, since he already knew that there was no other choice . Kenzo looked at his unconscious son who was being carried by one of his bodyguards, and pointed the gun at him . The bodyguards who were with Kenzo were shocked by this action of his . So the prideful tiger has really fallen, the bodyguards were not strangers to death, so at that moment they already epted that they would die on this day .

    Kenzo who was pointing the gun at his son, started to tremble . After awhile he threw the gun back at Carlo, who caught it . Kenzo who had a pale face awhile ago, had color return to his face, and now he was even smiling .

    "What¡¯s so funny? Do you think I¡¯m bluffing? Do you think I wont really destroy your whole family?" Carlo who was in total control a minute ago, was now confused by Kenzo¡¯s bizarre actions .

    "No I don¡¯t think you¡¯re bluffing . I really do believe that you¡¯ll do what you im . " Kenzo calmly replied .

    "So then, why?" Carlo asked a bit confused .

    "Why? Why wont I kill my own son? Well even if he is a wimp, and a disgrace, he is still my son . Or are you asking me, why I¡¯m smiling even though you told me you will annihte my entire family . Well as I was pointing a gun at my son, and even considering doing what you said, to kill him . I had a sudden thought, why should I?" Kenzo started to chuckle as he was talking, which made Carlo look at him as if he was looking at a lunatic .

    "Why should I kill my own son? For the Amamami¡¯s? It¡¯s just as you said, my own family has been corrupt, and it might not be you who finishes us off, but at some point we will be killed . So I thought why not now, why don¡¯t I let you have the honor, or maybe the disgrace of killing off the Amamami¡¯s . At least this way I decide how I die, and who will kill me . So Carlo Samarita, I know that this means nothing now, but I truly regret not teaching my son properly, and arrogantly thinking I was the one on top . " Kenzo¡¯s solemn voice, and slight chuckles, made him look a bit dignifiedpared to the way he looked like awhile ago .

    Carlo then pointed the gun at Kenzo . "Hmph, it¡¯s toote for regrets . It¡¯s toote for suddenly gaining a little humility . Still I appreciate that you understand your mistakes, and you took responsibility as the patriarch . I respect that resolution your eyes are now portraying . So as a sign of respect I will kill you first, so that you wont see how your son dies . "

    Kenzo who heard what Carlo said, had the right side of his lip curve upwards . "Heh, well I wont say thanks . So then, see you in hell, I¡¯ll be waiting for you . Saving a seat just for you . "

    Carlo who was about to pull the trigger was stopped by a sudden shout . "TOU-CHAN NO!!!" Lilitth suddenly ran towards her tou-chan and stood by his side .

    "Lilitth, go back inside and tend to your friend . This will be over soon . "

    "No tou-chan, please don¡¯t kill them . " Lilitth then hugged one of Carlo¡¯s leg, and looked at him with upturned eyes, begging him to stop . Seeing this devastating cute attack by his daughter made Carlo reconsider for a moment, but then he gritted his teeth and, tried to endure .

    "Sorry, my cute little daughter, that¡¯s one thing tou-chan can¡¯t agree too . Even if you look at me like that, even if Lilitth, might . . . might . . . might . . . . h-h-h-haate tou-chanter . I still need to do this for Lilitth . " Carlo was having a difficult time, saying those words . Simply imagining Lilitth telling him that she hates him, was threatening to kill him from the inside .

    "So tou-chan, will kill because of Lilitth . I don¡¯t want that! So please tou-chan, please don¡¯t do this!" Lilitth tried her best to convince Carlo, but it was to no avail .

    "I¡¯m really sorry Lilitth, but someday I hope you would understand why tou-chan did this . " Carlo was once again ready to shoot . Lilitth on the other hand wanted to forcefully stop Carlo, but she simply can¡¯t do that to her tou-chan .

    When Carlo was about to pull the trigger, something shed from the distance . It was a military grade knife, and it was able to urately get stuck on the muzzle of Carlo¡¯s gun . Lilitth who was surprised by the sudden events, looked at the ce where the knife came from .

    A motorcycle was fast approaching, and riding it was a stoic looking high school student .

 Chapter 97

    Chapter 97

    After leaving the inte cafe, Alex was running towards Lilitth¡¯s school, but being really worried, he decided he had no choice . Alex saw a guy riding a motorcycle, he knocked the guy out, ce him on the sidewalk, and wrote a cheque that was more than the amount used to buy the motorcycle .

    When the people saw what Alex had done, they started panicking, some even tried to video the event, but were unable to do so, since Alex did everything smoothly and quickly . By the time they got their phones out, Alex was already gone .

    . . .

    Even in a motorcycle it took Alex a few minutes to get the school . When he finally reached Lilitth¡¯s school, he noticed theck of people in the vicinity . He then saw a blockade, and some of his dad¡¯s men .

    Alex could already pretty much guess, what had happened . His dad dotes on Lilitth to an extreme, and Lilitth messaged him that their dad was going out of control .

    ¡¯The most probable cause was someone did something to Lilitth, and dad reacted in an excessive manner . ¡¯ While Alex was assessing the situation, he already bypassed the blockade .

    Alex looked at the roof of the surrounding buildings, and saw snipers aiming at one specific spot . With all these clues, Alex easily guessed that his dad was most probably in the grass field of the school . Alex entered the school motor bike and all .

    He finally spotted his dad, pointing a gun at a stranger, while Lilitth was clinging onto his leg, seemingly begging him to stop . Seeing the situation, Alex got the knife he hides on his left leg, and threw it at the muzzle of his dad¡¯s gun .

    He finally reached his dad, and stood between him, and the unknown person he was trying to kill . Alex surveyed the situation . After a short look at the position of the people gathered, Alex had a rough picture in his head of what had happened .

    There was an unconscious boy who seem to be a bit older than Lilitth, there was a man who had some facial features simr to the boy . His dad was trying to kill the man behind him, while Lilitth clung to his leg a bit teary eyed . As well as the message he received awhile ago .

    Alex had concluded that the boy who was simr to Lilitth¡¯s age, must¡¯ve done something to Lilitth, making their overprotective dad go berserk . Then the dad of the boy came to school, also based on the guards surrounding him, he must be wealthy . There was also a chance that the unknown man had arrogantly stated his terms to his dad and little sister, which made his dad who likes to crush his opponents until no hope is left, made a counter argument which he could not refuse .

    "Dad I can pretty much guess what had happened here . Still do tell me with your own words, what happened, just to be sure . Also Lilitth tell me your side as well . " Alex asked his bewildered dad, and little sister to recount the events that had led to this .

    . . .

    After hearing his dad and Lilitth¡¯s exnation, Alex was pretty much correct on his assumptions . He just wasn¡¯t sure what the boy did, but now he knew . After knowing the truth of what the boy did, and how his father responded to the situation, he too wanted to kill them, but he couldn¡¯t do so, seeing Lilitth¡¯s expression .

    If he killed them, the their deaths will haunt Lilitth forever, same as the deaths of his own biological parents .

    "So dad I assume, you gave your favorite speech, about how you control their fate in the palm of your hand . " Alex started a conversation, while thinking of a way to save the Amamami¡¯s .

    "Of course I did, now Alex get out of the way so I can kill this fool . You give me your gun . " Carlo asked one of his men to hand him a gun . The merc that was position behind Carlo tossed his handgun to Carlo .

    After catching the gun, Carlo was going to shoot, but something unexpected happened, Alex kicked the gun out of his dad¡¯s hands . The hand gun that flew upwards fell right into Alex¡¯s hands .

    Alex then out of reflex pointed the gun he caught at the person he stole it from, which was his dad .

    "Alex what do you think you¡¯re doing? Are you actually pointing a gun at me?" Carlo asked Alex, which Alex responded by lowering his gun .

    "Why are you protecting this b*stards anyway? You do understand what they did to your little sister, and her friend, who is the little sister of one of your friends . "

    "Even so, Lilitth will never approve of this oue . Also as her brother I wont ept this oue as well . If you kill these fools, it will not only be blood on your hands, there will be blood on Lilitth¡¯s hands as well . "

    When Carlo heard Alex¡¯s reasoning he started to look even more serious . "You do understand, if we let these guys go, they might be a problemter on . . . Also I do love my cute little daughter . " Carlo looked at Lilitth who was hugging his leg with a gentle smile, after which he returned to looking at Alex, with a solemn expression .

    "But she is a Samarita . At some point blood will not only cover her hands, it will cover her very soul . That¡¯s what it means to be a Samarita . I thought that bringing you here, back into normal society, we might be able to avoid it, but still it was useless . "

    Alex closed his eyes for awhile, as if contemting something, and then after a few seconds opened them .

    "You might be right, as a Samarita, she my little sister your daughter might not be able to avoid shedding blood . But as her big brother, who she calls wholeheartedly her onii-sama . I want to protect her from that fate until the very end . " Looking at Alex¡¯s ever stoic face, and hearing how seriously he delivered those lines, without being embarrassed, made Carlo a bit proud .

    It also made Lilitth feel extremely touched . Yet Carlo couldn¡¯t change his mind .

    "Even after saying all that, I still wont change my mind, Alex . Move aside and let me end this . " Seeing as his dad wasn¡¯t nning on backing down, Alex was left with no choice .

    "Dad I dere the start of our annual bet . " Hearing what Alex said surprised Carlo, more than anything that was said this day . Alex was willing to use the annual bet, for the Amamami¡¯s .

 Chapter 98

    Chapter 98

    The annual bet, was something that Alex and Carlo started back when Alex became a merc . It started off, as something like a reward system for Alex, at the same time it was made to test Alex¡¯s current abilities . The annual bet like the name implies, can only be done once in a year .

    The stakes of the bet is always set by Alex, and Carlo is the one who sets the parameters for the bet .

    Carlo had always honored the rules of the annual bet . So even in this situation he needed to honor the rules, cause if he didn¡¯t honor the rules, something really bad might actually happen .

    "So Alex what do you want? I can already guess . " Carlo sighed as he looked at his son .

    "I want the Amamami¡¯s to walk away alive, if I win let¡¯s just forget that this incident ever happened . Of course if you win, you can kill them and I wont do anything to stop it . "

    When Kenzo heard Alex speak on their behalf, he didn¡¯t feel touched, instead he felt confused . Based on the conversation Alex was having with Carlo, any idiot could guess, that this young man was the son of Carlo, the heir of the Samaritas .

    So why does he want them to live? Is it really because of his little sister? Or is it for something else entirely?

    ¡¯What¡¯s with this family? A little girl could break an arm with no problem, the father could easily subdue a B rank merc, and he even has the wealth and influence that could destroy the whole of the Amamami family . The son isn¡¯t normal either, he actually threw a knife from quite a distance and was able to urately get the knife stuck in the muzzle of a small handgun . Are they really human?¡¯

    While Kenzo was thinking of reasons why Alex would help them, Carlo epted the stakes of the bet .

    "Let¡¯s just keep things simple . I will give you a thirty minute head start, and you will try to run away from me . I on the other hand will track you down . If I¡¯m able to capture the father and son Amamamis then it will be my win . If your able to protect them from capture, until 22:00 then it¡¯s your win . Also you must stay within the city, going beyond that means you forfeit . " Carlo gave simple rules for this year¡¯s bet rather than his usual borate ones, since he just wanted to get this over with .

    "Give us at least a forty minutes head start . Everything else I will agree on . "

    "Fine forty minutes it is, the timer will start in 3,2,1" Both Alex and Carlo set the timer on their watches to rm after forty minutes .

    Once they were done talking Lilitth approached Alex, looking a bit worried .

    "I¡¯m sorry onii-sama . It¡¯s all my fault . " Lilitth had her head down as she apologetically spoke to Alex .

    "Don¡¯t worry about it . . . You better follow dad, since I don¡¯t have much time . Don¡¯t worry I will not let these people die . Also bring your friend with you, and send her home, I¡¯ll inform her brother about it . " Alex spoke as concisely as possible .

    Hearing Alex having no more time, Lilitth simply nodded and trotted away . After Lilitth left, Alex looked at Kenzo his son and their bodyguards .

    "First off, wake your son . I don¡¯t want to repeat what I¡¯m going to say . " Alex with his ever stoic expression, made him look like he meant business . This unreadable expression of Alex, made Kenzo a bit ufortable, still he needed to do what was asked, he ordered one of the guards to wake up Seijii .

    Once awake Seiji, started to panic . "Whoah! Where am I? What happened? Wait! Someone actually died!?"

    Kenzo pped his panicking son, and started to exin the situation, as fast as possible . Once Kenzo was done briefing his now pale looking son, as to what happened, Alex spoke .

    "First I need to get this out of the way, so that there are no misunderstandings . I want to kill you people, and be done with it, but since my little sister doesn¡¯t want you dead, I will do my best to keep you alive . . . But do not for a second, think I¡¯m doing this for you, I¡¯m doing this for my sister . If it were up to me, I wont kill you immediately I would¡¯ve slowly tortured you people, until you beg me to kill you . " Looking at Alex¡¯s expressionless face, matching that icy cold tone of his, made the father and son duo, think that they would rather face Carlo again .

    "Ok now that I said that, we already wasted six minutes . So the first thing I want you to do, is tell these bodyguards of yours to acquire, eleven sunsses and caps, as well as eleven huge coats . " Without waiting for Kenzo¡¯s instructions the bodyguards set off to immediately acquire those things .

    Alex then called Oliver, who immediately answered . "Hey myrade, you couldn¡¯t believe what happened after you left, Emily came and won the whole thing . " Oliver excitedly informed Alex, without even saying a word of greeting .

    "Oliver this is an emergency I need you and the other members of the club to do something for me . "

    . . .

    Lilitth, decided to stay with her friend Niki, for the night . Niki¡¯s parents happily obliged since it made them feel like they had gained a second daughter . Carlo wanted to oppose at first, but stopped himself, seeing how worried Lilitth looked .

    So after leaving Lilitth with Niki¡¯s family, Carlo returned to the mansion . He went and used the surveince team Alex formed to watch over Rachel . The room where the surveince team was located, was a huge one, with dozens of maids and butler sitting in front a bunch ofputers . In front of them was a huge monitor . In one side of the monitor was a map of the whole city, while on the other side were surveince videos .

    "I ced four trackers on Alex . Can you show me the locations of the trackers . " One of the butlers who heard Carlo, did as he was told . In the big monitor small red dots suddenly lit up on the map .

    All four of the trackers were still at Lilitth¡¯s school . "Do we have a camera set up in Cromer Private academy?"

    "Yes . "

    "Bring it up on screen . " The butler who answered, tried to disy the footage of that area but was unable to disy it .

    "Sir, Cameras 203-218, have been hacked into . We cannot disy any footage from the surrounding area within Cromer Private academy . "

    Carlo chuckled, of course Alex would have someone hacked into the cameras . It was also probable that Alex found the trackers, but he wont be able to remove them, since once removed the trackers will explode . He could disarm them but that would take too much time .

    "Send someone to monitor Alex and his group . " The butler beside Carlo nodded his head, and left the room .

    . . .

    After awhile the blinking lights on the map suddenly started to move . Alex was heading northwards, it was already twenty minutes after the countdown started . So in another twenty Carlo will move .

    "Can you show me what Alex is doing right now . Or are those cameras in the highway also hacked?"

    The maid in charge of that, got through and was able to disy the footage . On the screen Carlo saw Alex driving Kenzo¡¯s car, but he wasn¡¯t really sure if it was Alex who was driving, since the people in the car were all wearingrge coats, sunsses, and caps . The coats made it difficult to discern what kind of body type the person wearing them had .

    "What happened to the person that was suppose to monitor Alex?!"

    "Sir, young master had already dealt with the recon team . " Carlo sighed, he already understood that this would happen, but it still wasn¡¯t pleasant to hear .

    While Carlo was thinking of the next move, the side of the screen that was showing footage of Alex and his group entering a tunnel, was suddenly cut off . All that was seen now was a ck screen .

    Carlo then looked at the blinking lights in the map that showed the trackers, the four of them started to head to different directions .

    Carlo smiled, "so the game begins . "

 Chapter 99

    Chapter 99

    Carlo looked at the blinking red lights with interest . Alex¡¯s n was pretty obvious, he must¡¯ve called his new friends, and asked them to head towards four different directions . Such a basic n and with this time limit, might¡¯ve proven effective if his opponent wasn¡¯t Carlo .

    Yet Carlo who was suppose to be smiling, because of the simplicity of Alex¡¯s move, was actually looking at the screen very seriously . In this whole room, nay in this world, there was no one who knew Alexander better than he . So when he saw Alex use such a childish n, he knew something was up .

    The four trackers he ced on Alex¡¯s group, couldn¡¯t be removed, so that means, the two Amamamis weren¡¯t together, since he ced a tracker on each . Was Alex n to separate the two, as to make it harder for Carlo to capture them?

    ¡¯No there must be something more to this . . . Yet what is it? There¡¯s this irritating feeling in the back of my head, that I just can¡¯t get rid off . . . What¡¯s the y here Alex? What is it that you n to achieve with this childish tactic?¡¯ Thinking on how his very own son, was trying to outwit him, made Carlo smile in glee .

    His son, who has never disobeyed an order, who has always done things for the sake of strength, was changing and it was happening right before his very eyes . Carlo was getting excited his n of bringing Alex back home, might actually have a breakthrough . He might actually gain true blue grandchildren sometime in the near future .

    ¡¯Wait! No, let¡¯s not get ahead of ourselves Carlo . I just need to wait patiently, that Rachel girl or even that Kain girl, it doesn¡¯t matter who, I just hope they can get together already . Okay getting too far ahead, I need to concentrate in this bet first . Why the hell is my mind wandering . . . Wait what¡¯s that?¡¯

    Carlo who was daydreaming, finally noticed Alex¡¯s suspicious movement . Of the four trackers, one was heading towards the mansion . He was heading towards Carlo . This must be the real y, but what does it mean? Carlo was getting a bit excited in witnessing what Alex had nned, he then looked at his watch there was only six minutes left before he truly begins to try and capture them .

    "Keep me informed of their exact locations . Also send out three teams to do recon on each of the trackers location, of course aside from the one that¡¯sing here . It should be a six person team, make sure each team consists of B and A ranks . Also if you spot Lyner, do not engage no matter what, and inform me immediately . " After informing the butler in charge of surveince, Carlo headed outside to greet the person with the tracker on him .

    Once Carlo got outside he was surprised to see who it was that came directly to him . It was actually Alex . Carlo couldn¡¯t understand this move of Alex, but he still retained his cool looking demeanor, even though he was thoroughly confused .

    "Oh Alex what are you doing here? What about the bet, are you here to forfeit?" While Carlo was saying this, he had a sudden thought, Alex was alone? Without waiting for Alex to answer, Carlo checked the car he came in, there was no one there .

    Carlo then contacted the head butler . "Do a thorough sweep of the mansion . Leave no room unchecked, look into the venttion, checked the underground passageways . Make sure to inspect every corner of the mansion . "

    After giving hismand, Carlo looked at Alex whose stoic expression never changes .

    ¡¯Even after I gave that order, Alex as usual has the perfect poker face . Not even a twitch, does that mean I was wrong and no one is in the mansion? Usually even a tiny bit of a reaction could be a clue, but as per usual Alex is not giving me any . ¡¯

    It was at that moment, both Alex and Carlo¡¯s rms started to ring . It signified that Carlo can start to chase the targets . Carlo was about to move out, but Alex spoke before he could do so .

    "Dad where is Lilitth?" Hearing that it was a question about his adorable daughter, Carlo felt he was obligated to answer .

    "She¡¯s at her friend Niki¡¯s house . She will be sleeping there this evening . " Once he was done answering Carlo wanted to head out, but was once again stopped by what Alex said .

    "Don¡¯t you want to know, why I came here? If you like I could tell you . " Carlo looked at Alex¡¯s ever stoic expression, and started to think about what Alex said .

    ¡¯Wait a minute! He is obviously trying to dy me . ¡¯

    Carlo didn¡¯t bother to answer Alex, and continued to head towards the garage . Alex followed him, obviously going to try and dy him, is what Carlo thought .

    Carlo picked the fastest car he owned . As he was readying himself, and was about ready to leave, Alex once again spoke stopping him .

    "I¡¯ll tell this to you now, Seiji Amamami is here in this mansion . I secretly brought him here, and now he is hiding right under your nose . " Carlo who heard what Alex said, tried to discern if what Alex was saying was true based on his expression, but same as before it proved pointless in the face of Alex who was ever stoic .

    "Also I¡¯m not really Alex, I¡¯m just someone who dressed up as him, and I¡¯m currently wearing a very sophisticated mask that looks exactly like Alex¡¯s face . " This was once again delivered with Alex¡¯s signature indifferent tone of voice .

    Carlo didn¡¯t even bother to respond anymore, and quickly left the garage, lest Alex say something distracting again .

    As Carlo headed to the nearest tracker, he kept on thinking about what Alex said . He just couldn¡¯t get it out of his system . What Alex did was obviously a dying tactic, but what if it wasn¡¯t just that, and he was actually telling the truth .

    This was the second time, Carlo felt that the situation wasn¡¯t under his control . The first time was when he lost his leg .

    ¡¯Am I truly getting that old? I¡¯m just forty four, I¡¯m not that old yet . Still just to be sure . ¡¯ Carlo informed the head butler to keep an eye on Alex .

    "It doesn¡¯t matter what you n Alex . This year¡¯s annual bet will end with my victory, same as usual . " Carlo who had won five years in a row, was confident that he would win this year as well .

 Chapter 100

    Chapter 100

    As carlo was nearing the first target, he had a sudden realization . The Alex who was talking to him was still wearing the long coat, he also spoke to him at a certain distance . Was that Alex actually telling the truth? Was he really a fake? Was Seiji Amamami really in the mansion?

    Carlo couldn¡¯t head back, since he was already near one of the trackers . So instead he contacted the head butler .

    "Simon, I want you to casually ask Alex to give you his coat, afterwards I want you to see if there is any difference in Alex¡¯s physical appearance . See if he¡¯s too short, or too tall, if he is bulkier than usual, just report to me if there is anything different about him . "

    "Roger that . " After hearing the head butler¡¯s response Carlo hanged up, and proceeded to the area where the tracker¡¯s signal was .

    Carlo then arrived in an abandoned building, he then met with the recon team who was designated to follow this specific signal .

    "So who is it? Is it one of the Amamamis?" Carlo asked the team leader of this recon team .

    "Sir, we couldn¡¯t confirm who it was . They were all wearing a long coat, sunsses and caps . Also the three here had hidden themselves inside the building . " The team leader reported .

    "I have no time for this, smoke them out . " Carlo gave the team leader an order, in which the team leader responded by equipping his men with 38mm anti-riot guns .

    The recon team then proceeded to fire Tear Gas Solution into the building . After a few minutes, the three people who were inside got out, while crying out .

    Their sunsses were gone, and it was revealed that this group consisted of Kei, and two of the Amamamis bodyguards .

    "Why did you do that?!" Kei cried loudly at Carlo . He had no idea what was happening, he simply followed Alex¡¯s instructions, toe to this ce alongside these two people, while wearing some kind of disguise .

    He wasn¡¯t expecting he would be bombarded by tear gas . He knew Alex¡¯s father was after them, but that¡¯s all he knew . He really wasn¡¯t expecting Alex¡¯s father to use something like tear gas .

    Carlo approached Kei, "I¡¯m sorry about this, don¡¯t worry kid I willpensate you for this, but first let¡¯s clean you up . " Carlo then ordered the recon team to give first aid to Kei . The recon team who were ready for such an order had already started to flush Kei¡¯s eyes with sterile saline .

    "Once again, I¡¯m sorry about this . If you need anything just ask my men . I will tell Alex to give whatever you want aspensationter, but for now I¡¯m in hurry . " After saying what he wanted Carlo then proceeded to go to the next location .

    While driving he was contacted by the head butler . "Sir, I have done as you instructed . There seems to be nothing different with the young master¡¯s physical appearance . His height and even weight are exactly the same as his past records . "

    "Wait a minute, you got to weigh him?"

    "Yes sir, the moment I ask for the young master¡¯s coat, he suddenly asked me if this was the request of the master . I of course didn¡¯t respond to that, and the young master didn¡¯t wait for a response, he simply proceeded to take the coat off, and said that if I want I could even weigh him and measure his height . "

    When Carlo heard the head butler¡¯s report, he had this irritating feeling like he was the one who was dancing in the palm of Alex¡¯s hands . It was always him who did this to his opponents, but now he was in the receiving end, and it was done by his son no less, Carlo felt both proud and vexed .

    "Okay then, continue to keep an eye on him, also inform me if he does anything unusual . "

    "Roger that . "

    . . .

    A few minutes after the call with the head butler, Carlo received another call from Recon team C . "Sir! Emergency Lyner is-" The team leader of Recon team C wasn¡¯t even able to finish his sentence before the call was cut off .

    Tsk, Carlo clicked his tongue, he then changed the direction he was going towards, and headed to Recon team C¡¯s location instead . He guessed that Lyner must¡¯ve done this to force him to go his location, this meant that it was the final tracker that had the Amamamis, but even with this information he needed to go to Recon team C, or Lyner might actually kill them .

    He had heard from Alex how unpredictable Lyner was . So Carlo didn¡¯t want to risk the lives of his men, just to kill the irritating Amamamis .

    . . .

    The area where Lyner was spotted was in Alex¡¯s school, in the club room of the Mercenary Club . Carlo checked the time, It was now exactly 19:28 just a few more hours and Alex would win . Yet Carlo had no choice but to do this .

    Carlo knocked on the door, but there was no response . Seeing that he was losing time, Carlo entered the room without waiting for a response .

    Upon entry he didn¡¯t step forward, since he immediately noticed that the whole room was filled with something simr to piano wires, but much thinner . The only reason Carlo noticed the wires immediately was because there was a tiny bit of blood in one of the wires .

    Carlo then saw Recon Team C tied up in the other end of the room . It seem like only one of them sustained a minor injury and he was already bandaged . Carlo then tried to look for Lyner, he then remembered the report Alex gave him about Lyner, and as expected he was sleeping soundly on the bed .

    "Sir Lyner, sorry for disturbing your sleep, but may I have my men back? . . . I¡¯m going to assume that your silence means that your answer is a yes . " Carlo who was holding his whip like sword in his right hand, carefully cut the wires .

    He then slowly approached his men, and wanted to try and free them, but the moment he got close enough, he felt an immense pressure behind him . Carlo ducked and rolled backwards, he then looked at where he felt the pressure from .

    As expected the immense pressure was from Lyner who was now awake sitting on his bed . He looked at Carlo with a vicious smile stered on his face .

    "As expected from the father of that child . You really are as good as they say . " Lyner then threw a red zer at Carlo .

    When Carlo caught the zer he noticed the tracker he had ced, this must be Alex¡¯s zer .

    "When those kids came and begged me to help them I wanted to refuse, but since I am kinda the adviser of the their club, and the request was simple enough, I reluctantly epted . Take Alexander¡¯s zer and keep it by my side . It was a simple request, which I could do while I slept . Who knew that doing this will actually summon forth the famed Messenger of Death . I don¡¯t know what you and your son are doing, and frankly I don¡¯t care . . . But if it means I can y with the very famous Messenger of Death, then this request wasn¡¯t so bad after all . "

    Lyner¡¯s eyes squinted a bit, as his fighting spirit rose . Lyner the merc who wanted to find the ultimate battle, was getting extremely excited .

 Chapter 101

    Chapter 101

    Carlo gulped dryly, face to face with this much pressure was something new for Carlo . ¡¯Alex manage to fight this guy alone?¡¯ Carlo was surprised that his son, could fight this kind of monster to a standstill . Unknown to him, that after that battle with Alex, Lyner was secretly sharpening himself, to get back into shape . So the Lyner in front of Carlo was so much stronger than he was a few days ago .

    Lyner was actually practicing during the night, that¡¯s why he was always sleepy in the morning . But because he was doing this even before he started to practice at night, so no one noticed the difference from before he started to practice .

    At this very moment Lyner was nearing his peak state . Carlo gritted his teeth, as he prepared himself to face off against the monster in front of him . If he does this, it would mean that he would most certainly lose the bet, and he might lose his life as well .

    The moment Lyner was going to move, he stopped himself . When Carlo looked at Lyner¡¯s face he saw a look of disappointment .

    "Tsk, this is not worth it . . . You aren¡¯t worth it yet . I¡¯ll face you once you get used to that new leg of yours . The stance you are taking, is the same stance you used to take, when you still had a proper leg, am I right? But now that you have that phony one, the stance you¡¯re using will break that phony leg of yours . . . Ah . . . How disappointing . . . Fine then take your men and leave . "

    Carlo looked at Lyner a bit bewildered as to what had happened . He couldn¡¯t move even after the pressure Lyner was emitting suddenly disappeared .

    "Why aren¡¯t you moving? Go take your men . . . Also see me again once you get used to that leg of yours . " Lyner didn¡¯t bother to wait for a response from Carlo, he just left .

    Carlo got hold of himself, as quickly as he could . He released his men from their bindings, and told them to head back to HQ . Carlo felt a bit bad, since his first meeting with the legendary SS rank merc wasn¡¯t a good one . He even told him that he was not worth it, not in his current state .

    Carlo didn¡¯t dwell too much on this, and continued on . It was now 19:43 it took less time to deal with the situation with Lyner, than he expected . Carlo then proceeded to head to the final destination, which was a mall .

    Recon Team A which was assigned to this ce, had split into two teams . Team Alpha surveyed the outside of the mall, while team Beta was inside of the mall, blending with the crowd .

    Carlo spoke to the leader of team Alpha, and asked what was going on . The leader of Team Alpha reported, that they spotted three individuals who were most likely one of Alex¡¯s friends, and the Amamamis going inside the mall . When Team Beta followed them, they had lost track of two of the targets, but they were still able to spot one of them . It was a very muscr boy, who was wearing a simr uniform as Alex .

    He was seen in a coffee shop, he even waved at the members of team Beta as if he was saying that he knew there positions, and they shouldn¡¯t bother hiding .

    When Carlo heard the description of the person, he immediately knew it was Oliver, a . k . a James Bourne . This was going to be the very first time, Carlo will actually meet Oliver . He was Alex¡¯s first friend, no at this point Oliver might actually be Alex¡¯s best friend .

    Carlo hid his sword in a cane, since he had a prosthetic leg, the cane actually felt right, even though he doesn¡¯t really need it . Carlo needed to be extremely cautious, since among Alex¡¯s friends aside from Lyner, Oliver was the most dangerous, that is if he truly is James Bourne of the shadow mercenaries .

    Carlo entered the mall, and upon entering he could immediately spot Oliver, since he was very eye catching . Alex wasn¡¯t exaggerating when he said that Oliver¡¯s body was a pce of muscle . His muscr body coupled with his handsome face, one couldn¡¯t really tell that this boy was sixteen years old .

    Carlo approached Oliver, who was drinking coffee . Oliver noticed and smiled at him . "It¡¯s good to finally meet you Mr . Carlo . I have heard many a tale about you from myrade Alex . " Oliver gestured at Carlo to sit at the chair in front of him .

    Carlo did so, and he looked at Oliver with an inquisitive look . Yet before he said anything he bowed his head in front of Oliver, which shocked the boy .

    "Thank you for being friends with my son . "

    "Please raise your head . There is no need to bow, both Alex and I have be blood brothers . We are more than just friends, we arerades, brothers in arms . So you Alex¡¯s father am a father to me as well . " Oliver proudly announced so to Carlo .

    Carlo looked at Oliver with a smile on his face, but thatsted for a few seconds before his expression changed into a serious one . Oliver who saw, Carlo¡¯s changing expression in a drop of a hat, made Oliver think that Alex and his dad are really different from each other .

    "So Oliver care to tell me, where the Amamamis are? Or are we going to do this the hard way . " Carlo had no more time, to assess Oliver, since with a quick look at his watch he saw that the time was at 20:07 . He had roughly two hours left to find the Amamamis .

    Oliver didn¡¯t mind the urgency in Carlo¡¯s tone, nor did he mind about the threat Carlo made . Olive simply sipped his coffee in a carefree manner . Since to Oliver all of these was all a game . A few hours ago, Alex exined about the bet, and he gave each of them a specific action to take .

    Alex told Niel and the others a different story, which evaded the topic about the killing, and him being a merc . On the other hand Alex told Oliver the whole truth, which made Oliver think that they were going to do some role ying .

    Oliver chuckled at Carlo¡¯s statement . "Really did you actually say do it the hard way? Even if I respect you as myrades father, Mr . Carlo but I think you seem to be confused about the situation . You are not the one with all the cards, I¡¯m the one with all the cards . SO if someone is going to say, do you want to do it the hard way, that someone should be me . Don¡¯t you think?"

    Oliver who was really feeling his role at this moment, just kind of threatened the merc feared as the messenger of death, while sipping a cup of coffee .

 Chapter 102

    Chapter 102

    Carlo looked at Oliver, and tried to assess him . The kid in front of him was so carefree, it seem like Carlo¡¯s reputation hadn¡¯t even faze the young man . Carlo grabbed his cane, he wanted to test Oliver, by scratching him a bit, using his sword .

    Oliver who had already imagined this kind of talk in a coffee shop with a simr kind of scenario multiple times in his head, also each time he was imagining it he was talking with different characters . This made Oliver ready to say a bunch of stuff depending on what Carlo said or did .

    So when he saw Carlo grip his cane, Oliver chuckled .

    "What are you going to do now? Hmm, are you going to test me, by attacking me with that sword of yours disguised as a cane? Well of course, now that I said it out loud, you wont do it anymore, since you think the element of surprise is gone . Also don¡¯t bother doing your next move, which is most probably ordering the men you have inside this mall, to shoot me with tranquilizers . Oh I¡¯m sorry that I said that out loud . You see Mr . Carlo I have been in many simr situations, so it¡¯s going to be a very difficult task for you, to try to catch me off guard . "

    Carlo looked at Oliver, stunned . It was like Oliver could read his mind . Was every move he made really so predictable? This was the first time he ever met Oliver, and vice versa this was the first time Oliver met him . So then why is it, he who was a much more experienced merc, was having trouble reading his opponent, who has live less than half the amount of time he has . Even more surprising was this opponent could read him like an open book .

    Carlo looked at the time, and the end was of the bet was nearin . He had no time for this charade, so Carlo raised his hand and did some weird hand signs that look like they had no meaning . This was the secret code Carlo and his men used that even Alex didn¡¯t know about .

    He basically told his men, to not bother with Oliver, which was so clearly the distraction, and just find the two Amamamis that are hiding in this mall .

    "Sending a secret signal to your men . You do know it¡¯s pointless now . No matter what you do at this point, we basically won already . " Oliver proudly dered, which made Carlo frown .

    "Kid, I know that you are my son¡¯s friend and all that crap, and I do know you think your some hot shot merc, but let me advise you, stop talking like you¡¯re looking down on me . If you don¡¯t stop, then it doesn¡¯t matter if your from this so called Shadow Mercenaries, or that you are my son¡¯srade in arms . I will discipline you in such a way, that you would regret ever living in this world . " Carlo who was backed into a corner, nearing the moment of his loss was a getting a tad angry at Oliver .

    He was even openly directing his bloodlust at Oliver, who simply mistook it as a sudden chill, which basically didn¡¯t bother him . Though it did bother him a little that his friend¡¯s dad was looking a bit angry at him . But he got over it the moment he remembered that they were in some sort of game and this was all just role ying .

    ¡¯Alex¡¯s dad is really good at this . I better up my game as well . ¡¯

    Oliver unaware of the dangerous situation he was in, continued to drink his coffee without a care in the world .

    "Why are you so angry? Is it because I told the truth? Also please don¡¯t threaten me like that, it just makes you look like a sore loser . Oh well, I guess it¡¯s about time anyway, so I guess I can just tell you . The people you are looking for are not here . "

    When Carlo heard Oliver¡¯s statement he was about ready to strike, but then he stopped himself, when he heard what he said in the end . He looked at Oliver and asked , "why should I believe you?"

    "I don¡¯t need to answer that question . It really doesn¡¯t matter to me if you believe me or not . So it¡¯s your call . "

    It was at this moment, Carlo had a sudden realization . He had looked into this too deeply, what if everything was as simple as it sounded . That would mean . . . Carlo felt like he wanted to p himself in the face, but he hadn¡¯t much time .

    "Oliver the next time we meet you better improve your manners . " Without waiting for a response, Carlo left the table .

    . . .

    Once Carlo got outside he was met with the leader of Team Alpha, who was restraining a man . "Sir, we have located Kenzo Amamami . " Yes the man who was here right in front of him was Kenzo Amamami .

    "Good job, bring him back to HQ . I¡¯ll be going back first . "

    "Sir, won¡¯t we search for the other target?" The leader of team Alpha, was confused . Since he was pretty certain the remaining target Seiji Amamami, was the third person in the group that entered the mall .

    "No need, the other target is back in HQ . Isn¡¯t he Kenzo?" Carlo looked at kenzo, who didn¡¯t answer . Well Carlo didn¡¯t even bother to wait for a reply, and simply ran off into his car . He still had time to get home, and will have only a few more minutes too spare .

    While driving back, Carlo contacted the head butler .

    "Simon, you didn¡¯t give me a report, so I¡¯m guessing Alex didn¡¯t do anything out of ce . "

    "Yes, he simply stayed in his room . " Carlo, who heard this answer felt even more sure now . Even his stoic son Alex, who could keep cool in almost any situation, wouldn¡¯t just do nothing . This could only mean, he was so sure of his victory that it he didn¡¯t bother anymore .

    "Simon, did you do that thorough sweep of the mansion, like I asked?"

    "Yes sir, we checked every ce, every corner of the mansion, even the underground passageways, as well as that ¡¯room¡¯, but we couldn¡¯t find anything out of ce . "

    "Did you check even Alex¡¯s room? As well as Lilitth¡¯s?"

    "Sir those were the two rooms we checked first . We even actually searched everything thrice, just to be sure . "

    "That¡¯s all I need to know . Just keep your eyes glued to Alex . "

    After hanging up the phone, Carlo smiled since he finally figured it out . He finally knew where Seiji Amamami was hiding .

 Chapter 103

    Chapter 103

    Carlo got home with a few minutes to spare, he went to Alex¡¯s room without dy . Once he entered he saw Alex doing his usual gun maintenance .

    "You came back a bit earlier than I anticipated, as expected of my dad . " Alex continued doing his regr maintenance of his guns while talking to Carlo .

    "Alex I already know that Seiji Amamami is in this room, so are you going to give up now?" Carlo was looking around Alex¡¯s room, while Simon the head butler was outside the room, guarding the exit . A maid was also directly below the window of Alex¡¯s room, just in case, one of them decides in that route .

    "Why should I give up? The bet was if you could capture the two Amamamis, before the time limit . So as long as you haven¡¯t captured Seiji Amamami, I can still win . Seeing as you have only a few minutes left, victory seems to be in my favor . Don¡¯t you think so dad?" Alex calmly replied to his dad, without even looking at him .

    Carlo smiled at Alex¡¯s actions, he wasn¡¯t looking at him, in fear of giving away the position of Seiji Amamami . Howe he came to this conclusion, simple because this was the first time, Alex didn¡¯t look him eye to eye, as he was talking to him .

    Carlo hadn¡¯t much time, and it seems like Alex wont willingly give up .

    "Hey Alex can you stop doing that for a moment, and look at me . " Alex ignored Carlo .

    "That¡¯s an order . " Carlo didn¡¯t want to do this, but victory and defeat depended on this . Alex who heard Carlo say it was an order, ced his gun down . He set aside his things and looked at Carlo eye to eye .

    "So Alex, where did you hide Seiji Amamami . I already know his in this house alongside your friend right? Sayaka Mutsu was her name correct?" Carlo looked at Alex¡¯s eyes which shifted for a bit when Sayaka was mentioned .

    "Are you trying to interrogate me dad? You do know that wont work . The only possible way to get the information out of me, is if you ordered me to do it . But seeing as this is part of the annual bet, you wouldn¡¯t do that would you?" Alex as per usual calmly replied .

    "I know that . . . Do you know a funny thing I learned when I heard thest name of Sayaka, which is Mutsu . The Mutsu¡¯s were very famous craftsmen in the past, yet their abilities are best remembered when making masks . I¡¯m sure you friend Sayaka is part of this bloodline, seeing as Mutsu is a very rarest name to have . " Carlo noticed every time he mentioned Sayaka, Alex¡¯s eyes would shift .

    "Why are you telling me this?" Alex asked Carlo while looking at the time .

    "Nothing much, I just wanted you to know I finally understood how you got Seiji Amamami here inside the mansion . The Alex I talked to awhile ago, told me he was a different person, and was simply wearing a mask of your face . At first I thought that was a dying tactic, or you simply said it to confuse me, but in truth what he said was true . He truly wasn¡¯t Alex my son he was Seiji Amamami wearing a mask of your face, you told him to tell me those things to confuse me . What happened afterwards were all simple dying tactics, weren¡¯t they? And I fell for it hook line, and sinker . I got to hand it to you Alex, you have improved in the art of deception . Well I guess you owe that to the various social interactions you currently have . "

    While talking Carlo headed towards the ce where Alex kept on looking at, upon mentioning Sayaka Mutsu¡¯s name .

    "So Alex you most probably stealthily entered the mansion, while your friend Sayaka and Seiji hid in your room . That¡¯s why thest tracker I ced which was attached to Seiji¡¯s back was always blinking in this room . You had two trackers on you, one you gave to that friend of yours Kei, and the other to Sir Lyner . Of course the tracker on Kenzo was still on him, since you hadn¡¯t enough time to disarm the explosives I ced inside the tracker . So the final tracker which was on Seiji is here, meaning his here correct?"

    When Carlo said those words, he opened the closet Alex kept on looking at . Once he opened the closet he saw another Alex sitting in it .

    "Here you are Seiji Amamami, I caught you meaning I won correct?" Carlo held the fake Alex, and announced his victory . No one responded and after a few seconds the rm Alex and Carlo set when the game was over rang .

    "No dad I won . " The Alex, Carlo caught responded, and he stood up . His height was exactly the same height as his real son Alex, which was impossible . How did this happen? If this was the real Alex who was the one sitting over there?

    "It can¡¯t be you¡¯re Seiji Amamami? How is that possible, the motions you used as you did gun maintenance was exactly the same as Alex¡¯s"

    "No dad that¡¯s not him . " After Alex said those lines, the Alex on the bed, grabbed a portion of his skin by the neck and pulled it revealing a smiling girl . The girl was Sayaka Mutsu .

    "How was my impression of Alex? Perfect right?" When Saya said perfect right she was imitating Alex¡¯s tone of voice which was truly shocking cause it really sounded like him .

    "Then where is Seiji?" Carlo was bewildered at everything that was happening .

    "He¡¯s under my bed . Come on out Seiji . " Once Alex spoke, a boy came crawling out from under the bed .

    "Heh, impressive my son, you really did improve a lot . You actually tricked me all through out the bet . Who knew you could n something like this . Simple yet at the same time,plex . " Carlo who was stunned moments ago, was now smiling .

    "Actually this n was inspired by Oliver . I wasn¡¯t sure how I could beat you, since I knew you would be using my surveince team, and with that you would be able to monitor my every movement . So because I promised Lilitth, I couldn¡¯t lose this bet, so I called my friends for advise . "

    Carlo seeing Alex, say friends with that stoic expression made him wannaugh .

    "So I called Oliver, and told everyone the current situation . We then started to brainstorm, and Oliver said that this reminded him of a mission he had back in the day . He needed to hide from enemy soldiers, so he picked the best hiding spot . Do you know where that best hiding spot was located? It was inside the enemy¡¯s HQ . The moment I heard that, it gave me an idea, which was to hide one of the Amamamis in the mansion . "

    "So what I nned next was all dying tactics, I just needed you out of the mansion going on a wild goose chase . But how do I fool you into thinking not to look inside the mansion yourself? The answer was to go back willingly, and the front entrance without hesitation . Still how could I sneak one of the Amamamis into the mansion was also a problem, which Saya gave a solution to . " Alex gestured at Saya who waved her hand merrily .

    "Saya then told me about her family¡¯s business which was making masks . "

    "Well obviously we improved as time went by, and I already made a bunch of masks of my friends back when we made the club official . " Saya responded with her usual cheerful tone .

    "I also got my clubmate Emily to hack into some of the cameras I ced all over the city . Knowing the ins and outs of the system, I was able to easily support Emily into hacking . So once we met under the tunnel, everyone was grouped into teams of three, well except for Sir Lyner, since he doesn¡¯t really need a team . I drove home, with Saya and Seiji, Saya then proceeded to wear the mask and coat . Now looking exactly like me, she went and talked to you . "

    "She distracted you long enough for me to be able to sneak Seiji into the mansion . Of course even with my skill that would be hard knowing the mansions defense system, if I was alone I could probably get in and out with no one noticing, but I had some baggage that needed to be carried . So I asked for help, there was one maid I knew who would side with me, instead of you . She helped me bypass the security system . "

    "After that everything was pretty easy . I knew after what Saya said, you would think she was simply dying you, which was partly true, but at the same time she made you overthink things . Knowing you, the next course of action you would take was to double check things . So you ordered the sweep of the mansion, which I anticipated . The maid who helped me get in was also the one who was assigned to check my room, since the head butler thought it would be less awkward if he sent someone I know . So every time she checked the room, she would simply report nothing to the head butler . She didn¡¯t even really check the room, she simply came in and reported to me about your current status . "

    "I was also hoping that once you got to Sir Lyner, he would take up all your time, because as he told me, he would want to y with you . I knew Sir Lyner¡¯s y involved a physical confrontation, but there was a chance that once he saw your prosthetic leg, he might not want to fight you . So of course I nned for that as well . The next people you would go after was either Oliver¡¯s group or Kei¡¯s group . Kei was headed to the very limit of the city, which would most probably eat most of your time . Then once you got to Oliver, I told him to have an extensive talk with you . He was also apanied by Niel, who would distract your men, while you talk with Oliver . "

    "Then just in case, you figure out the ruse, faster than anticipated I had one final trapid, which you fell into . " After hearing Alex¡¯s very long exnation on how he tricked him, Carlo pped his hands .

    "Well done, really well done . You finally won one . As we agreed upon, the Amamamis can leave this mansion . We will forget that the events of today ever happened . "

    Carlo epted his lose whole heartedly, as he heard Alex¡¯s whole n, it made him feel better . The n that he made wasn¡¯t a n were he would do all the work, he actually nned with other people . He cooperated with others that weren¡¯t his Aunts and Uncles in the mercenary squad .

    . . .

    After the events of the bet, Kenzo and his son Seiji were sent home safely . All the mercenary club members also returned home .

    Alex was lying down his bed, a bit tired by the whole shenanigans that transpired . It was at this moment, for some reason as he remembered how he and the Mercenary Club cooperated with each other, the face of one person shed in his mind .

    He couldn¡¯t understand why he thought of her . . . It might be because he actually missed her, or it could be because they did something as a club, and she wasn¡¯t there, he really couldn¡¯t tell . So instead of just thinking of an answer to a question that has no answer, Alex called Rachel .

    "Hey, this is the first time you ever called me, what¡¯s up?" Rachel answered immediately . Her voice was a tiny bit flustered .

    "Nothing much, I just kinda want to talk to you . " As usual Alex¡¯s tone was indifferent one, but to Rachel it sounded like some sweet mutterings .

    "Why do you always do that?" ¡¯Why do you always say such things, while my guard is down . ¡¯ Rachel of course didn¡¯t say that out loud, and simply thought about it .

    "Do what?" Alex oblivious of what was happening with Rachel asked .

    "Nothing? So how¡¯s school? Did you call cause you missed me?" Rachel tried to fire back at Alex with a bit of teasing of her own . Yet this n of hers immediately backfired .

    "Yah . . . I guess I do miss you?"

    When Rachel heard what Alex said, she almost dropped her phone .

    "W-w-w-what did you just say?" Rachel started to stutter a bit .

    "I miss you . . . It feels a bit weird walking to school without you there . "

    "Oh that¡¯s what you mean . . . Well I too missed walking to school with you, beats being with my crappy father . " Once Rachel talked about her father, the awkwardness, and embarrassment she was feeling disappeared .

    Alex listened to Rachel¡¯s stories about the events in her so called family vacation, and somehow feltforted hearing Rachel¡¯s voice .

 Chapter 104

    Chapter 104

    The following day after the bet, Alex as well as Carlo headed towards Niel¡¯s house early in the morning . Lilitth who already heard that her Onii-sama was able to save the lives of the Amamamis, was very happy, so as she saw her onii-samaing, she charged in and hugged him .

    Carlo whose arms were wide open ready to receive his daughter¡¯s loving hug, was stunned as Lilitth passed him by . He simply stood there his arms wide open like a statue .

    "Thank you Onii-sama!" Lilitth continued to hug Alex . Carlo on the other hand, slowly turned around and looked at Lilitth, hugging Alex .

    Why is it you? Why is it you that gets a hug? Isn¡¯t that suppose to be for me? Carlo couldn¡¯t stop himself from thinking such things, as he enviously look at Alex being showered with affection by Lilitth .

    "My daughter, how about me? Where¡¯s my hug? Why don¡¯t you hug your tou-chan . " Carlo desperately looked at his daughter .

    Lilitth really wanted to appease her tou-chan, but due to recent events, she wanted to punish him a bit as well . She knew that her tou-chan likes it when she hugs him, so this was the perfect punishment for him .

    Yet when Lilitth looked at her tou-chan¡¯s pouting face, she wanted to give in and simply hug him . It was then when Lilitth had this thought Alex spoke .

    "Why are you pouting like that? It¡¯s your fault for being so obstinate yesterday . " When Carlo heard what Alex said, he suddenly knelt on the floor in a daze .

    Seeing her tou-chan like this, Lilitth felt a bit relieved, the tou-chan she saw yesterday really frightened her . So seeing her clumsy tou-chan was back to normal, made Lilitth feel that it¡¯s alright now . So she let go of Alex and slowly approached her tou-chan .

    Carlo slowly lifted his head and looked at his daughter . "Lilitth?"

    "Tou-chan I really didn¡¯t like how tou-chan acted yesterday . . . But tou-chan did that for me, so even though I don¡¯t approve, I understand . You¡¯re only looking out for my best interest, but I really think you overreacted yesterday tou-chan . So if tou-chan apologizes, Lilitth will forgive you . " Hearing what Lilitth said, Carlo without hesitation bowed his head .

    "I APOLOGIZE PLEASE FORGIVE ME!" Carlo loudly dered, which shocked Niki and her family who were watching .

    "That¡¯s a quick, turnaround . " Alex said with his usual indifference .

    "I already lost, so why should I cling to such tiny pride . I only want Lilitth to hug me . " Carlo without lifting his head answered Alex .

    Lilitth started to panic seeing her tou-chan¡¯s reaction . She couldn¡¯t help but go near him, and tried to lift his head, which Carlo resisted .

    "I wont lift my head until you forgive me . " Carlo as usual was being extremely stubborn, well he the messenger of death only acted this way in front of his children .

    "I forgive you already, please lift your head tou-chan . " The moment she said those lines, Carlo stood up, and hugged his daughter .

    "Yay! I have been forgiven . Okay now for some hugs!"

    . . .

    Once the embarrassing hugging scene was done, Alex and Niel escorted their little sisters to school . For some unknown reason Niki kept on looking at Alex, as if she was scrutinizing him . Once the two had properly escorted their little sisters, the two headed towards their own school .

    On the way to school the two met Oliver who told Alex if he needed him for anything like the mission yesterday he could call on him any time . The next to appear was Saya, who told Alex that she would send him the bill for using her specially made mask .

    Finally the group saw Kei and approached him . Kei was a bit angry at Alex for what happened yesterday, so when he greeted him he spoke with a bit of anger in his tone .

    Alex sensing Kei¡¯s hostility tried to calm him down . "Kei I¡¯m sorry about what my dad did yesterday . So as a sort ofpensation regarding that, I will give you anything you want, just name it and it¡¯s yours . "

    Hearing what Alex said Kei felt a bit better . "You said anything right? Okay then, help me get the limited edition Valkyrie card in my favorite card game, Angels and Demons . " Kei asked for the hardest thing to get, that he wanted .

    "Okay good, I will get it for you . So where can I buy that card?"

    "That card is extremely rare, there are only five of them in existence . The only way you can get one, is if you find one of the owners and buy it from him . " Kei exined, in his mind this was an impossible task . The reason why he ask Alex this, was because he was really angry at what happened yesterday .

    Even though Alex, and Carlo have already apologized, and promised to give him whatever he desired . Kei was still a bit mad, so he just wanted Alex to tell him can¡¯t get the card, and apologize once more, then he will just ask for a free meal or something simr after which he will forgive him .

    Yet what Alex said next, totally derailed his ns .

    "Okay then, I have informed some of my dad¡¯s employees, and they said they can get you the card and it will be given to you tomorrow morning . It will be delivered right in front of your doorstep . So anything else you want?" Alex after a short call, informed Kei about the great news .

    "Umm, no that¡¯s all I need . I forgive you Alex . . . " Kei didn¡¯t know what else to say .

    "Hey everyone how aboutter, since it¡¯s Friday let¡¯s have fun after school . " Oliver suddenly suggested out of nowhere . Ever since yesterday Oliver was in a pretty excited state, since he was able to do some cool role ying . So now to follow up on the excitement he wanted to invite his newfound friends to have some fun .

    Oliver has been a loner for most of his life, because of the way he talks . So now that he had so many friends he wanted to experience having some normal fun with them . He thought now was the right moment since they know each other for a few days now .

    "Damn it Oly! Now you invite me out! I can¡¯t go even though I want to . . . I need to do some work for the family business tonight . So I can¡¯te . . . Oly are you doing this on purpose? Did you choose today of all days since you somehow knew I wont be able toe?" Saya who was always cheerful, and in the eyes Alex was the most mysterious of the club members, was now sounding really pissed .

    "How should I know that you needed to help out at home . Also stop calling me Oly!" Oliver replied with a bit of irritation as well .

    "Hmph! Fine I will let it go for now . But in return you need to invite me out on a date, just the two of us . " Saya told Oliver a bit poutingly .

    "Huh, why should I do that?" Oliver asked confused as to why she thinks he would do what she says .

    "Just do it my junior Oliver . It¡¯s not really nice, making ady mad . " Niel advised Oliver with his usual radiant smile . "Also I wont be able to go with you guys, I have some important things to doter . " Niel¡¯s important thing was his training with Lyner . Since he hasn¡¯t told them, that at the moment he was under the tutge of Lyner, he didn¡¯t exin what the important thing was .

    "So it¡¯s going to be just me, Alex, and Kei?" Oliver spoke a bit disappointed .

    "Oliver is it alright if I bring my little sister as well?" Alex asked .

    "Of course myrade . At least with your little sister we have more people . Let¡¯s go out and have some fun . " Oliver who was a bit disappointed a while ago, was happy to wee more people .

 Chapter 105

    Chapter 105

    Once school was over, Alex Oliver and Kei headed towards Lilitth¡¯s school to pick her up . When they got there, the three waited at the school gate . While standing outside the school premise, a bunch of sixth graders, and female teachers kept on staring at Alex and Oliver, especially Oliver whose age didn¡¯t match his looks . So when the female teachers saw Oliver¡¯s uniform, some of them felt it was regrettable, that he was still so young . But some didn¡¯t mind this, because their ages weren¡¯t that far apart .

    The younger female teacher started to surround Alex¡¯s group . They kept on asking who they were waiting for, what school are they from, and other such questions . Kei was in a sorry state, since he was being pushed aside by the female teachers .

    Alex with his stoic face, and indifferent tone of voice as he answered each question, was for some reason a big hit with the female teachers .

    "I¡¯m waiting for my little sister . " When they heard the answer as to why Alex¡¯s group was in front of the school gates, the younger female teachers started to be even more aggressive .

    "Who¡¯s your little sister? Maybe she is someone in my ss?"

    "Is your little sister having trouble in school? If you want I can go to your house to give her private lessons, I could teach you as well if you¡¯re having any problems . I can teach you anything, even bits about the how the female body works . "

    "I¡¯m sure your little sister is proud to have such a kind older brother . "

    "How kind of you to apany your friend to get his little sister . "

    "Oh my what big muscles you have . It¡¯s like your arms are made of iron . "

    "Your girlfriend is a really lucky girl . What you don¡¯t have a girlfriend, how about you consider me . Of course I¡¯m just kidding . "

    "Actually now that I look at you, the way you are blushing looking all innocent makes you quite cute . "

    The female teachers who had surrounded them were now, not only talking to them all at the same time, they even started to try and hold Alex¡¯s hands which he easily evaded, some of them were touching and slowly caressing Oliver¡¯s muscr arms . Even Kei was finally being noticed, as some of the female teachers felt thatpared to Alex, and Oliver, Kei was quite cute with his innocence .

    After a few more questions, Lilitth was finally heading outside . The moment she and Niki got outside, she immediately spotted her Onii-sama . Alex as well spotted her real quick .

    "Onii-sama what a pleasant surprise . You didn¡¯t need toe and get me, I have already memorize the routes going here, and I¡¯m capable enough to get home by myself . "

    When the female teachers saw Lilitth, and heard her call Alex onii-sama, most of them backed off . To them Lilitth was someone even the superintendent feared, and is capable of making the son of the Amamamis transfer schools . That would mean that she is from a much stronger lineage .

    Yet some of the female teachers saw this as a chance . If Lilitth was calling Alex onii-sama that would mean he was the heir of the powerful family that could easily eliminate the Amamamis . If they could seduce him, then they would be set for life, as a bonus Alex was young, handsome, nicely shaped boy .

    "Oh wow you¡¯re little sister is so cute . A cute little sister for a handsome brother . " When Lilitth saw how close the female teacher was to her onii-sama, she suddenly had this weird feeling that she wasn¡¯t sure what it was .

    "Um, who are you auntie?" Lilitth looked at the young female teacher who wasn¡¯t even pass twenty five and called her auntie . When the teacher heard what Lilitth said, she was stunned .

    "I¡¯m a teacher in this school . Sorry I need to go, I still have something left to do . " Hearing what Lilitth said about her, calling her an auntie with those innocent cute looking eyes, was too much of a blow for her .

    The remaining female teachers snickered, since now they had one less rival to worry about . As if they were in a line another took a shot at Alex .

    "Hey Lilitth, are you having any difficulties in school? If you have anything you want to talk about, you can always talk to me . " This teacher decided to attack Lilitth instead, since if she¡¯s able to get close to the little sister, it would be easier to get close to Alex .

    "No thank you . " It was a simple answer, yet it made the whole situation awkward . The teacher who offered the free consultation felt really awkward at the way Lilitth answered her . Such a direct rejection was new for her .

    "Okay then . . . But if you just need someone to talk to you can find me anytime in the faculty room . " Feeling ashamed about what happened, the teacher quickly retreated .

    The next teacher was up to bat .

    "Hello, I¡¯m sorry for thete introductions, I¡¯m Sarah Resti an art teacher of this school . It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you . " This teacher was trying to know Alex the normal way first, so she extended her hand for a handshake .

    Alex seeing that the teacher wanted to shake hands, did so without hesitation . "I¡¯m Alexander the brother of Lilitth, please do take care of her . "

    It was a normal answer but for this teacher she felt like it was a sess .

    "Of course, I will . I do love all the students in this school . " The teacher was now trying to show of her seductive smile, but was interrupted by Alex .

    "You must really be dedicated to your work . " Alex said, which surprised the others teachers present . Was Sarah actually ahead now?

    The teacher called Sarah was ecstatic, since this was the first time Alex was the one to start a conversation .

    "Why yes, I do love art, so it¡¯s fun for me to teach it . The students are also quite lovable, and easy to teach, since they¡¯re all such smart children . . . Um, How did you know?" Sarah answered, and asked a question at the same time .

    "Know what?" Alex asked confused at the question .

    Sarah thought Alex was being silly on purpose, which was a great contrast from his serious looking face . This made her look at him in a different light .

    "How did you know I was dedicated to my work, silly . " Sarah giggled as she said this .

    "Oh that . . . It was a simple deduction really . The moment we shook hands, I felt the calluses in your hand, so I knew that you must really be quite the hard worker . "

    When Sarah heard Alex¡¯s answer, she felt extremely embarrassed . She wanted to find a hole and hide in it forever .

    "Oh is that so . . . Why thank you . . . Um I need to get back to work since . . . Um . . . Oh yes, I am the adviser of the art club . So I hope you visit me again Alexander, I can teach you a bit of sculpting if you¡¯re interested . " After saying her piece Sarah fled the scene .

    After this only a few teachers tried to somehow seduce Alex, but they all failed either by Lilitth¡¯s innocence or because of Alex¡¯s thickheadedness .

    Niki who was watching the whole sequence of events, was simply staring at Alex . She then thought that Lilitth¡¯s onii-sama was quite cool, but nowhere near as cool as he nii-nii .

 Chapter 106

    Chapter 106

    When the group left Lilitth¡¯s school, Niki casually asked if she could join them in going to the arcade . She even did her signature cutesy move the upward look with a tiny bit of tears in the eyes . Of course Oliver wasn¡¯t really affected by this, and he didn¡¯t really need her to do this . Oliver who wanted more people to join them agreed almost instantly, but asked Niki to inform her brother and parents first . After that brief stop over, the group headed towards the arcade .

    While walking many people kept on staring at the group, since they were a very eye catching group of people . An uber muscr handsome boy, a stoic pretty boy, two lovely cute little girls, and a boy who seem so out of ce in the group, he made the group even more eye catching . Of course seeing such a group walking together was almost certain to draw attention .

    Yet it didn¡¯t bother them, well that is except of course for Kei, who was starting to get a bit embarrassed by the people looking at him . After what seem to be an eternity for Kei, the group finally arrived in the town¡¯srgest arcade .

    Alex and Lilitth were looking around curiously as this was the first time, either of the two seen or had been to an arcade . The supposedrgest arcade of the town, was only a bit bigger than the gaming room back in the mansion . Still this didn¡¯t lower Alex or Lilitth¡¯s interest, in fact it sparked it even more .

    Why are there so many kids? Howe there are some weird stuff toys inside a box . Also what are the tickets for? The sibling duo, who are basically killing machines found the arcade to be quite stimting .

    Niki found the reactions of both Alex and Lilitth to be quite exaggerated . Even though Alex still had his expression set to stoic, one could feel his curiosity as he kept on looking at the things in the arcade left and right . His attention kept going away from one thing to another .

    On the other hand Oliver who had invited them to the arcade felt a bit happy . This was the first time he came into the arcade with other people . Once the group bought their tokens, Alex asked what he should do with them .

    "Huh haven¡¯t you¡¯ve been to an arcade before,rade?"

    Alex came closer to Oliver and whispered in his ear . "You do know my particr circumstances, I haven¡¯t been back in a very long time . My little sister also has a simr problem . "

    When Oliver heard what Alex said, he was truly impressed, at his friend¡¯s attention to details . Oliver who was something of a pro in this kind of thing, nodded in appreciation .

    "Of courserade . I¡¯m sorry about that . So the tokens are used to y the various games in this arcade . Here let me show you, hmm this game might interest you . " Oliver went in front of a gun game, in which he inserted tokens .

    Alex who saw this was watching very closely, even Lilitth who knew nothing of the arcade as well, was also watching Oliver closely . Once the tokens were inserted the game started . It asked if the yer would y alone or with another, Oliver picked solo y .

    When the game began, Oliver skipped the opening sequence and went straight into the gamey . Oliver who was holding a gun that looked like a peacemaker, got into a proper stance for shooting . The moment the enemy terrorist appeared, Oliver with great uracy hit the targets with extreme efficiency .

    Alex who was watching Oliver was greatly impressed by his form as he was shooting . The way Oliver was ying this game felt like he truly knew how to hold a gun . While watching Oliver, Alex noticed something weird . Every time Oliver was about to reload he would aim the gun downwards and shoot .

    "Oliver why do you keep on doing that? If this wasn¡¯t a game wont you get hit? Or worse your bullet might ricochet, and you might hit a possible ally . "

    "Comrade, you¡¯re forgetting, this is a game . So you do not need to apply those rigorous things, in this . I know this isn¡¯t anything like real battle, but it¡¯s a fun way to pass the time . Also this way you can just shoot without thinking about the consequences since this is simply just a game . "

    While Oliver was exining all this, he was still shooting so urately . Alex thought that what Oliver said made sense . So he decided to try and have fun . He then for some reason remembered that maid, that like to y video games .

    Alex told Lilitth that he wanted to take a picture tomemorate their first time in an arcade . Which Lilitth replied with a yes, extremely happy that Alex asked her .

    After taking the pic of them in the arcade, Alex sent the photo to the maid in question .

    . . .

    ¡¯Ding¡¯

    The maid who was in front of aputer looked at the message she received . She saw that it was from her young master . When she looked at the message her young master sent, she was surprised, sad, angry, happy, and a bunch of different emotions flooded out of her .

    "The young master, and Lilitth-chan went to an arcade, and they did so without me! I had so many ns, that I wanted to implement when we went to the arcade for the very first time . Now it¡¯s all ruined! Damn it! Whoever is responsible for doing this better watch his back . "

    The maid was fuming mad, as she typed even faster and harder at her keyboard .

 Chapter 107

    Chapter 107

    Alex who was unaware of the rage within the maid, felt like he should send a message to Rachel and Eva, since the two didn¡¯t know that they went to the arcade . He wanted to inform Rachel since she was part of the club, but it also felt like Eva was a part as well . It would be better to keep them posted as to what was happening, while the two were away .

    Alex was going to send them different messages, but in the end he decided to simply forward the message he sent to the maid .

    . . .

    Rachel was in the middle of dodging her father¡¯s attacks, which was getting even more difficult to do . This supposed family trip, turned out to be family training instead . Of course in the first day of their supposed family vacation they did have some family fun, ying at the beach . Going to an amusement park, and other such things, but on the second day the whole family except for Rachel decided to head to the mountains .

    At first Rachel thought that they were going on a simple camping trip, or just going to have a simple hike, but no, it turned out her family wanted to have a fun training session . Rachel being the weakest of the group had difficulty in the first day, but after a few times being beaten down continuously by her father, the rage she felt for him rekindled greatly, and using that rage she got better and better until finally she was able to dodge some of his attacks .

    Today was yet another horrible day, of her whole family fighting against her father, the one who isn¡¯t able to touch him will be the one to catch lunch today . Seeing as catching lunch meant stalking the wildlife and killing it barehanded, Rachel was desperately trying to hit the b*stard of a father, until finally she was able to scratch him, it was by ident, but a hit is a hit .

    Rachel finally fulfilling the quota of the day went back to the tents, where she picked up her phone . Upon picking up her phone she saw that she had received a message, and it was actually from that guy .

    Excitedly she read the message, as she was reading the message her excitement turned into confusion, then into anger as she saw the picture he sent .

    . . .

    Evangeline Kain was in the main vi of the Kain family . She was sent here to discuss about what transpired during and after her kidnapping . She of course gave a detailed ount about what had happened, how the driver betrayed her, how the mastermind called her a true blue Berdonian, and how her family was called traitors . Yet she skipped the part on how Alex saved her, as well as the bits and pieces she knew about Lilitth .

    The elders of her family were deliberating about what to do next, in regards to this recent threat . While all of these was happening the Kain family had heard news of what happened to the Amamamis . When they heard this news, the patriarch of the Kain family, Eva¡¯s father was greatly shaken .

    While talking to Carlo Samarita back then, he thought he was the one in the superior position, cause even though Carlo was richer than him he thought his family had more influence than him, as they were an old distinguished family . Now he finds out that Carlo Samarita had trampled upon the Amamamis . A family much more influential than theirs .

    Right now he as the patriarch was in a dilemma, it was a good thing that Carlo doesn¡¯t seem to mind his actions back then . . . If he did mind and he decided to crush his family, just a snap of his fingers could obliterate his whole family .

    Eva found it amusing how her father who was always so haughty act this way . Of course she wasn¡¯t worried about the Samaritas retaliation, since she believe that the family of her prince charming, would never do anything overly excessive .

    Before her thoughts could go deeper into this topic, she received a message from the person she was thinking about . At first she was super excited to receive a message from Alex, since this was the very first time he messaged her first, but when she saw the contents of the message, she was reeling in envy, and squirming in jealousy .

    . . .

    A few seconds after he sent the message Alex immediately got a reply, from both girls at the same time .

    "Alex who is that little girl with you? Did you do something illegal? Are you actually that kind of person? I knew you were weird ever since the first time we met, but I didn¡¯t think you would do something like that . Did you go crazy because you haven¡¯t seen me for a few days?" (Rachel)

    "Alex I¡¯m sorry if you think I¡¯m overstepping beyond my boundaries, but I think that going for someone so young is no good . " (Eva)

    Alex wasn¡¯t really sure as to what they were talking about, but they must be misunderstanding something, actually they might think that he had kidnapped the little girl .

    "The girl in the picture is my little sister Lilitth . " After pressing send, as if they already had a reply ready, the two women replied immediately .

    "A little sister?! Why am I just finding out about this now?! Howe you never mentioned your sister to me? Are you sure you¡¯re not just tricking me to get me off your back?" (Rachel)

    "Is that girl Lilitth? Did you actually made someone who tried to kill you into your little sister?" (Eva)

    Alex was surprised that Eva knew about Lilitth, that would mean she wasn¡¯t fully asleep back then . This time he replied with two different messages .

    "You didn¡¯t ask so I didn¡¯t think you wanted to know . Also my sister just got home, from studying in a prestigious school in the Southern Union . That¡¯s why I haven¡¯t been able to introduce you two . She came a day after you went on your family vacation . " This was the reply Alex gave to Rachel .

    "So you know the truth, I hope you don¡¯t tell the others about it . Everyone thinks Lilitth is my blood rted sister, that came home from the Southern Union . " This was Alex¡¯s reply to Eva .

    "Really?! She came after I left, what a coincidence . I think she¡¯s really cute, I hope to get home quickly so that I can meet her . Also Alex thanks for sharing this with me . " (Rachel)

    "Of course I wont tell anyone . " (Eva)

    "Well you are my friend, and a part of the club . So I think you are obligated to have this information . " Alex replied to Rachel .

    "Thank you . If that is all, I hope you have a good day . " This was the reply to Eva .

    When Eva saw Alex¡¯s reply it felt like Alex wanted to end the conversation . Still she wanted to message Alex more, but held herself back since she didn¡¯t want to push him too much . Also the time for her to speak with elders again wasing close, so she needed to prepare for that as well .

    Rachel on the other hand didn¡¯t reply as well, since she was being called back by her deadbeat father . She decided to call Alexter tonight for a more thorough investigation about his little sister .

    Alex who wasn¡¯t receiving any new messages, decided it was now alright to start ying .

 Chapter 108

    Chapter 108

    Alex was going to y the same game Oliver showed him, but before he could ce the tokens in, someone started tugging at his shirt . When he looked he saw that it was his little sister Lilitth, who was tugging while looking at him, her eyes were saying that she wanted to say something .

    "What is it Lilitth?"

    "Umm, Onii-sama can I y with you?"

    "Hmm you can, but what about your friend? Don¡¯t you need to apany her?" Alex looked at Niki who was beside Lilitth .

    Noticing the attention shifted to her, Niki smiled elegantly as she looked at Alex . "Do not worry about me Lilitth¡¯s onii-sama, I am content to just watching you two y . "

    "Oh right I forgot about something . . . I¡¯m sorry due to the excitement awhile ago, I haven¡¯t introduced myself properly . I am Lilitth¡¯s older brother Alexander, but you can call me Alex . Thank you for being friends with Lilitth . " Even though he was saying such things, Alex¡¯s expression remained stoic, his voice as well remained indifferent . The content of what he said and his facial expression as well as his tone of voice doesn¡¯t match, which made Niki a bit perplexed .

    Niki who was stunned for a second, regained her senses and curtsied . "Nice to meet you Alex . I am Niki Rayheart, I as well am sorry for thete introductions . " As Niki was surprised by Alex¡¯s indifference, Alex was surprised by Niki¡¯s mannerism that wasn¡¯t like any child he had seen .

    Once Niki was done introducing herself to Alex, Oliver and Kei went near to see what themotion was about . When they heard Alex¡¯s exnation, the two were a bit embarrassed that they actually forgot to introduce themselves to Niki .

    Once Kei and Oliver were done introducing themselves, Niki did the same thing twice . It was after this, Kei who was really embarrassed stood in front of Lilitth, who tilted her head in confusion .

    "Um, I¡¯m sorry I haven¡¯t introduced myself to you . I¡¯m Kei Kaido, a clubmate of your brother . It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you . " Kei who was flustered after talking to Niel¡¯s cute little sister, had remembered that he hasn¡¯t introduced himself to Lilitth as well . So while flustered he bowed his head and extended his right hand forward, It now looked like he was asking for a handshake or something simr .

    Lilitth who saw Kei¡¯s flustered reaction, found it funny and started giggling . Kei who had his head bowed, looked at Lilitth who had started to giggle . When he saw the giggling Lilitth, he found it so cute . Actually it was not just him who found it absolutely cute, the surrounding people who were ying in the arcade got distracted by Lilitth¡¯s giggling and looked at her .

    When they saw the doll like girl giggling, the people wether they be boy or girl, were entranced by Lilitth . Niki who saw the reaction of the people smiled happily .

    ¡¯As expected of my friend, she was able to captivate everyone here with just herugh . Still I bet I could do it better, but she really isn¡¯t that bad . ¡¯ Niki even in this situation wasparing her cuteness to Lilitth¡¯s cuteness .

    Lilitth unaware that people were staring at her, took Kei¡¯s hand and shook it . "I¡¯m Lilitth Samarita, Alexander Samarita¡¯s little sister . Thank you for being friends with onii-sama . "

    Kei lifted his head, and stared at the little girl who looked like an exquisite doll, but now in his eyes Lilitth turned into a little angel somehow . Some people wanted to approach Lilitth, after seeing her amazingly cute smile .

    When Alex noticed the approaching people, he sent them away by ring at them and sending out his bloodlust . The people who saw Alex¡¯s re felt all the hair in their body stand up . It was their primal instinct that told them, if they get near they will die . In the end no one was brave enough to approach the danger zone .

    "Okay now that our introductions are over . Can we start ying?" When Kei heard what Alex said, he finally noticed that he was still holding Lilitth¡¯s hand, which he immediately let go off .

    "Oh right, I¡¯ll just be going over there ying the new fighting game . " Kei retreated immediately out of embarrassment .

    "Oh right I need to return to my position and secure the top score . " Oliver went to a different shooting game, aiming for the top score .

    "Um, so onii-sama can I y with you?" Remembering that Alex hasn¡¯t answered her, Lilitth asked him again .

    "If it¡¯s alright with Niki, I¡¯m fine with it as well . " Alex looked at Niki waiting for her answer .

    "Like I said before, please don¡¯t mind me . I just want to watch you two y . " Alex nodded at Niki when he heard that she hasn¡¯t changed her answer .

    When the two siblings got in front of the game they finally noticed that Lilitth was too short to point the gun at the screen, so Alex took one of the stools in front of a different game that no one seems to be using and ced it in front of the game he was going to y .

    "Here Lilitth use this . " Lilitth stood on the stool and was now able to point the fake gun at the screen . Alex inserted the tokens for both of them . When the game started they chose the co-op option of the game .

    The two did the same thing as Oliver and skipped the games cut scene . When the terrorist appeared, Alex reflexively shot them all with extreme precision . Lilitth who was watching Oliver do it, tried copying the way he was shooting but it resulted in shots being missed .

    When it was time to reload, Alex with his years of training automatically registered the gun in his hands a peacemaker so he reflexively tried to reload it, the same way as he would reload an actual peacemaker . While he was doing this, he was doing some evasive action as if he was truly being fired by real guns .

    When he finally got a hold of himself, and remembered that this was a game it was toote . Lilitth who was inexperienced with holding a gun both in game and real life was useless . So in the end the sibling got to see the game over screen only a few seconds after the game started .

    Niki who was watching them, was at first impressed on how cool Alex looked as he fired the toy gun . But was greatly disappointed when he couldn¡¯t reload and was actually dodging video game bullets . Alongside his ever stoic face made the whole scene quite hrious .

    "Do you two want to try another game?" Niki suggested since, she didn¡¯t want them to embarrass themselves, and of course embarrass her as well .

    "No need . " The sibling were in sync as they answered Niki . Once again Alex put some tokens into the game machine and started the game .

    This time when the game started Alex same as before was able to precisely hit every target, and when it was time to reload he had done so properly, and so quickly to boot .

    Lilitth who had difficulty hitting the targets before had adjusted her aim to fit her frame . Now she was able to fire urately at the enemy as well, albeit slower than Alex .

    Niki was amazed at how much the siblings improved after one game . It was like they were totally different people . Some people who were watching Oliver trying to achieve a high score, shifted their focus on the siblings .

    It was amazing, they weren¡¯t even damaged as the game progressed, and they uracy which is shown after every stage says they had a 100% uracy . This made the people in the arcade excited . Can the two of them finish this gun game without getting hit once, and without missing a single shot .

    The people were truly excited some of them even started to video the two . Oliver who had finally acquired the top score in the game he was ying, noticed themotion . He went and looked at what was happening, when he saw it was Alex and Lilitth ying he stood beside Niki to watch .

    ¡¯Wow, your good even in this kind of thing? Alex you really are like a character from some novel or game . ¡¯ Oliver was deeply impressed by Alex¡¯s skill as well as Lilitth¡¯s . But what truly impressed him was that the realization that everything Alex has done seems to be done so perfectly .

    It wasn¡¯t long before Kei noticed the gathering crowd as well . He stood beside Oliver and for some reason even started cheering for Alex and Lilitth, which made other people cheer for them as well .

    It was the final stage of the game and both still had perfect scores, the final boss had appeared at this point even a veteran who had yed this game for years would have made a mistake . Yet Alex with his unchanging expression made the final boss look easy to beat . Lilitth who was supporting him hasn¡¯t made a mistake as well .

    Just one more hit and the game was over, and as usual Alex finished it wlessly . When the final shot was made the surrounding people screamed and apuded in excitement .

    The manager of the store who was watching as well, decided to give Alex and Lilitth a chance to pick any prize of their choosing . Once the two had picked randomly the manager asked if he could take a picture of them right beside the game they beaten .

    The two agreed and had their picture taken not only by the manager, but by the surrounding people as well .

    "That was amazing myrade, and you as well little sister . " Oliver said in excitement .

    "You were really good at this Lilitth . . . You as well Alex . . . You looked cool . . . Well not as cool as my nii-nii" Niki praised Lilitth, and hesitantly praised Alex as well .

    . . . .

    "I want to try that next onii-sama . " Lilitth pointed at a fighting game, that was different than what they yed back home .

    Alex and Lilitth approached the game, and sat on opposite sides . The people who were watching them awhile ago as they y the shooting game, once again surrounded the two . They felt like this two would do something extreme again .

    When the two yed a versus match against each other, they decided to choose random characters . When the people saw that the two had chosen random, they felt disappointed . Since the only people who choose random were either newbs or someone who wanted to practice .

    And as expected when the match started the two started to press random buttons without hitting each other . The round ended with a draw since no one was able to hit the other . When the crowd was about to disperse, the thing they saw next was amazing .

    Lilitth the little girl suddenly initiated a perfectbo in which Alex wasn¡¯t able to block at all . The character Alex chose wasn¡¯t even allowed to hit the ground . This made the crowd open their mouths in amazement .

    Is it really possible to keep the opponent in the air without hitting the ground even once? What was that? Was that a bug? Is the little girl using a bug character?

    The people who usually yed this game, thought that the little girl had found a bug in one of the character¡¯sbos . Which they decided to tryter after the sibling were done ying . Yet what happened in the next round shocked them again .

    Alex who was using a different character did the same perfectbo that didn¡¯t allow the opponent to hit the ground .

    Everyone who was watching the siblings were unsure what the hell was happening, but it was awesome . Some game bloggers who were at the scene were praising God for their luck to have met the Samarita siblings .

    The two then started to y all the games in the arcade, which even attracted some people who were outside the arcade .

 Chapter 109

    Chapter 109

    The siblings had yed almost all of the games in the arcade . At this point the only thing left were the dancing games and the rhythm games, as well as some random category games . Lilitth was very excited to try those games . Oliver and Kei gave Alex and Lilitth all their tokens, since they didn¡¯t feel like ying when they saw the Samarita siblings perverse way of ying .

    Niki on the other hand was very satisfied watching the siblings y . She wasn¡¯t expecting them to be this good . It almost felt like it was her nii-nii ying .

    Every game in the arcade that they had yed was beaten by them so perfectly and it was an amazing site to behold . The way the siblings yed was the same in every game . First they would lose so badly it made them feel like they were newbs, but when they yed for a second time, they looked like they were pros . No actually they were better than pros, they yed like machines, with perfect ability .

    Most of the people who were watching the siblings y, thought that the siblings lose the first time to entertain the people watching . Yet some of them, truly think that the siblings were newbs at the beginning, and were simply able to fully understand the game after one try .

    The only ones who truly knew the truth about the siblings were the people they came with . Oliver who had known Alex for some time now, understood that this guy with the ever stoic expression, wasn¡¯t faking not knowing how to do those things at first, but is able to quickly understand the entirety of something after one try . It would seem like his little sister also has a simr trait .

    ¡¯Is this the ability of one with the Samarita bloodline? It¡¯s like one of those animes that I watch . An ability made solely for one family . ¡¯

    Oliver was getting excited as he spected why Alex and Lilitth were so good after ying just one time .

    The siblings in question started to y a dancing game, which with their usual pattern lost hriously on the first try . On the next try what happened wasn¡¯t the awesomee back everyone was expecting .

    The siblings had determined that the way to win this game wasn¡¯t how elegant you move . It¡¯s if you can press the buttons on the dance pad at the opportune time . So both Alex and Lilitth decided to move in what they felt was the mostfortable and efficient way, so that they can step on the buttons on the dance pad, with better timing .

    This made them look hrious, the people who were watching were either trying to hold theirughter or simply gave in andughed as loud as possible .

    Alex with his expressionless face doing such weird movements, without moving his arms and only using his legs, made the scene really funny . It looked like he was tap dancing but in a more cartoonish way .

    Lilitth on the other hand, with her cute looks, was trying so hard to step on the buttons with her short legs . It was absolutely adorable to watch .

    And with that, once again the siblings won the game with a perfect score .

    . . .

    At this point it was like there was no game that the siblings couldn¡¯t beat . The bloggers who were doing a live broadcast, had a sudden increase in viewership . Some of theizens came to watch because of how cute Lilitth was, others because of how handsome Alex was, but most of them came because of how amazing the siblings were at ying arcade games . Theizens started to flood the bloggers broadcast room .

    ¡¯Oh my God! What¡¯s the name of the cute little girl?! I want her as my little sister!¡¯

    ¡¯To the one above do you want me to call the police?¡¯

    ¡¯So many pedos in this room, how about kicking them out? Anyway the one you guys should take notice off is the hottie . I wonder if he has a girlfriend?¡¯

    ¡¯You guys are forgetting the real reason you should watch this, it¡¯s because of their gaming skills! What the hell were those moves it was unreal!¡¯

    ¡¯Mysterious hottie I want to have your babies!¡¯

    ¡¯To the one above, how can he be with an ugly fart like you?¡¯

    ¡¯Who the hell are you calling ugly? For your information, I¡¯m sexy like a Goddess, and my beauty is unparalleled . ¡¯

    ¡¯F*cking c*nt b*tch the hottie¡¯s mine!¡¯

    ¡¯Stop fighting! You see you guys are currently impure, why don¡¯t you love the little loli instead? If you do, it will calm your heart . ¡¯

    ¡¯STFU Lolicon!¡¯

    ¡¯No you STFU b*tch!¡¯

    ¡¯At least I¡¯m a sexy b*tch unlike you fat turd of a lolicon!¡¯

    ¡¯Stop fighting guys! Didn¡¯t you notice the hottie and the cutie are actually lovers!¡¯

    ¡¯To the one above, what the hell are you saying that doesn¡¯t make any sense?!¡¯

    ¡¯Who cares about what you guys are talking about . Hey host how about asking those two for an interview?¡¯

    All the bloggers present were having simr problems within their own chat rooms . Theizens were going crazy over Alex and Lilitth . They kept on demanding the bloggers on site to quickly interview the siblings . The bloggers wanted to do so, but every time they tried get near the siblings, they felt like they were going to be killed . So no matter how much the audience demanded it, they couldn¡¯t do anything about it .

    The only game left was a boxing machine, which Lilitth couldn¡¯t reach . Alex on the other hand was unsure what to do with this machine . It looked fairly simple just hit the punching bag and that¡¯s it . The question was how strong should he hit it?

    Alex looked at Oliver for guidance . "Oliver how strong should I punch the bag?" When Oliver heard Alex he couldn¡¯t understand why he asked such silly question .

    "You should obviously hit it with your strongest punch,rade . "

    "Are you sure?" Alex asked Oliver still hesitating to do so . Can this machine even handle his strongest punch?

    "Don¡¯t worry about it, just hit it with your best shot . " Even after hearing Oliver¡¯s assurance Alex hesitated .

    He then decided to simply hit the punching bag without using RELEASE . He would just use his best punch in his normal state, that¡¯s thepromise he made in his head .

    Alex took a stance, and steadied his breathing . When the people watching saw Alex take a stance just to hit a boxing machine, they felt how serious Alex was taking this .

    The people in the random bloggers chat rooms were very interested in Alex¡¯s stance .

    ¡¯Mysterious hottie knows martial arts!¡¯

    ¡¯He¡¯s just trying to act cool since many people are watching . ¡¯

    ¡¯Ya to the one above I agree with you . That stance he¡¯s taking is not a stance I know of, and I¡¯m kinda like a nerd of martial arts . ¡¯

    ¡¯To the one above you¡¯re just ignorant . That¡¯s the stance of the Ultimate martial art¡¯

    ¡¯And that is?¡¯

    ¡¯That is what?¡¯

    ¡¯What¡¯s the name of the martial art?¡¯

    ¡¯Ultimate is the literal name of that martial art . ¡¯

    ¡¯What the f*cking sh*t Kind of name is that!?¡¯

    ¡¯Who cares about all that?! All that matters is that the way he looks right now, makes him look super sexy . ¡¯

    ¡¯STFU you horny b*tch!¡¯

    Theizens started to have a heated discussion about Alex¡¯s stance . When the discussion started to heat up more, Alex finally made a move . The people who were watching could barely see Alex move his hands, but what they heard couldn¡¯t be falsified .

    It sounded like thunder had echoed inside the noisy arcade . It actually frightened some of the spectators .

    The group of people wanted to learn what score Alex got, but what they saw was the most amazing thing they saw all day . They already seen a lot of amazing things while the sibling were ying, but this has to be the most amazing .

    The punching bag attached to the punching machine broke off, and flew straight at the scoring counter shattering the ss, and actually getting stuck into the machine . The soft punching bag was able to prate the machine that was made of metal .

    After a few minutes pause of shock and awe, the chat rooms exploded with a flood ofments . The video instantly spread throughout the inte .

    Alex¡¯s face was now all over the inte .

 Chapter 110

    Chapter 110

    When Oliver, Kei, and Niki saw what Alex did, it made their jaws drop . Yet after awhile Oliver got super excited at what he saw . Someone his age got to be so strong, that would mean he too had the possibility to be just as strong or even stronger .

    Kei on the other hand couldn¡¯tprehend what had happened . Was Alex some sort of superhuman? Was he an alien or something? A cyborg perhaps? Or does this incredible strength of his is attributed to the martial art he was learning .

    Niki on the other hand just kept on convincing herself that her nii-nii was better, stronger, and cooler than Alex .

    When Alex noticed what he had done, he immediately called his dad . Which made him a bit irritated, cause ever since he came back, he kept on calling his dad to fix something he did .

    Carlo picked up the phone, and without waiting for Alex to say anything he spoke .

    "I already know what happened . Don¡¯t worry after a few more seconds the wifi signal in that are will disappear and the broadcasting of that video will disappear as well . Every share, and passing of the video will be removed . The only thing you need to do is bribe the ones who originally took the video and make them delete it . . . Hmm I guess you¡¯re not really good in that kind of negotiations . . . It¡¯s fine, just distract them, for about ten minutes . I¡¯ll be there as quickly as possible . "

    Alex who was suppose to distract the audience so they wont leave, first decided to pay for the boxing machine he broke . Alex went near the stunned manager and asked how much the machine was . The manager couldn¡¯t understand what Alex was saying at first, since he was in a daze .

    When he finally got ahold of himself he was able to answer Alex, and gave him a rough estimation of how much the machine cost . Alex then gave a cheque to the manager with the exact amount that he was told the machine cost .

    Alex then turned around to the people in the arcade and announced . "Who wants to y this fighting game with me? If you win I will give you 20,000 zigs . " When the people heard Alex¡¯s announcement they got excited .

    No matter how good Alex was, he shoult make a mistake sometime . Also 20,000 zigs is a lot of money . That¡¯s basically what the manager of the arcade made in four months of work .

    Oliver who heard Alex¡¯s announcement went near him and whispered in his ear . "What do you think you are doingrade? Why bet that amount of money?"

    "I need to distract them long enough, until my dad gets here . Cause I need to delete the videos of me destroying the boxing machine . " Alex exined to Oliver, after which he epted his first challenger .

    Kei who was still in shock by how Alex destroyed the boxing machine, was now shocked on how rich Alex was .

    "Um Oliver, is Alex some kind of young master of a very rich family?" Oliver who heard Kei¡¯s question looked at him confused, wasn¡¯t this already exined before? Then he remembered that Kei joined the club after Sir Lyner, so that meant he hasn¡¯t heard how rich Alex was .

    "Do you remember Evangeline Kain?"

    "Yes, but what does that have to do with Alex?" Kei asked confused .

    "Do you know how rich her family is?" Oliver didn¡¯t bother to answer Kei¡¯s question .

    "I know her family is super rich . Still what does this have to do with Alex?" Kei still asked confused as to how this was relevant to his initial question .

    "Alex¡¯s wealth matches the whole Kain family¡¯s wealth, and that¡¯s just Alex¡¯s personal wealth . If you count his family they¡¯re wealthier than the Kain¡¯s . " When Kei heard the answer to his question, he felt like his eyes would pop out of his eye sockets, like a cartoon character .

    ¡¯So Alex is that rich! He¡¯s even handsome, strong and extremely talented . Also if rumors are to be believed he¡¯s incredibly intelligent as well . What kind of guys is this? Is somebody so perfect suppose to even exist? He¡¯s like one of those characters in harem novels who are always perfect in whatever they do . . . So there was another person who was like Niel, no wait now if I factor in everything I know about Alex, isn¡¯t he on a higher level than Niel? Also that would exin why he wasn¡¯t fazed by the rare card, I wanted . I also thought that the men with his father were his friends, but those might just be his employees . ¡¯

    Kei was having a very extensive monologue in his mind . While Alex was already on his third opponent . After a few more rounds Carlo finally appeared .

    "Tou-chan!" Lilitth trotted towards Carlo, and hugged him . Carlo happily hugged Lilitth back . When the people heard the cute little girl shout tou-chan they all looked at the person who came into the arcade .

    It was a middle age man, wearing a very expensive suite . He was quite a handsome gentleman . "Thank you foring dad . " Alex greeted Carlo in his usual indifferent tone .

    The crowd were even more surprised when they heard Alex called Carlo Dad . That would mean that the little girl and the mysterious hottie were rted, they were actually siblings!

    The chat room was quiet at the moment, ever since awhile ago the bloggers couldn¡¯t get any wifi signals and were disconnected from the inte . So when they saw the shocking scene in front of them they were very sad and irritated that they couldn¡¯t do a live stream at the moment . So instead they just took videos of the whole thing .

    "Alex Lilitth take your friends outside, I¡¯ll be talking with the people here about something . " When the two heard themand of their father they did as they were told .

    Alex took Kei and Oliver outside with him, and Lilitth took Niki . Outside of the arcade there were two men wearing butler uniforms blocking the entrance .

    "Young master, Ojou-sama . " The two butlers bowed towards Alex and Lilitth . Kei who saw this, had more proof that Alex was really a young master of a rich family .

    Niki on the other hand felt really amazed . "So Lilitth you were a rich youngdy?"

    "I guess so . " Lilitth didn¡¯t know how to reply to that question .

    "You guess so? No you really are one! You¡¯re like a princess, since not only are you rich, you as cute as me . " This was the ultimatepliment one such as NIki could give . Comparing another as an equal to her cuteness was what she felt was the bestpliment .

    "Thank you Niki . " Lilitth smiled at her excited friend .

    "Hey myrade Alex, where did you learn that move you used to destroy that punching machine?" Oliver asked with an excited tone .

    "Huh? Oh that, it¡¯s a move thought in the Ultimate martial art . "

    "What¡¯s the name of the martial art? I want to learn it as well . " Oliver got extremely excited when he heard the words Ultimate martial art . At the moment he was learning sword y from the old man Ken Seto from Hillman High school

    "That¡¯s it¡¯s literal name the martial art I use is called Ultimate . Rachel¡¯s father owns the Dojo, that teaches the art . "

    "What a coincidence! Is that how you met withrade Rachel? Did you guys really know each other before transferring to our school?"

    "No it was by coincidence that Rachel was the daughter of my instructor . I didn¡¯t know at the time . "

    While the group were having there own conversations, Kei was simply listening in on Alex and Oliver¡¯s conversation .

    . . .

    In an apartment without furniture, someone was watching a video of someone breaking a punching machine, but then the video suddenly disappeared, but the person had enough time to see who the man in the video was .

    The person smiled and spoke . "I finally found you Alex . This time you wont escape me . For you are mine and mine alone . "

 Chapter 111

    Chapter 111

    Once Carlo was done bribing the people in the arcade, he greeted Oliver and Kei . He once again apologized to Kei, while ring a bit at Oliver . When Oliver noticed Carlo ring at him, he smiled .

    "Oh myrade¡¯s father, Mr . Carlo . I¡¯m sorry aboutst time, I didn¡¯t mean to be rude or anything . It was just part of the mission . "

    As he heard Oliver¡¯s exnation, Carlo sighed . Oliver and his son, seem to follow the same principle in regards to a mission . Which is do what you must for the mission . Once he heard that exnation from Oliver, he couldn¡¯t stay angry at the youngd .

    "It¡¯s alright, it doesn¡¯t matter anymore . " Carlo smiled wryly at Oliver, and shook hands with him . Oliver¡¯s grip strength had amazed Carlo, since that handshake they did was a casual one, and Oliver didn¡¯t even truly put any strength to it . He tried to grip Oliver¡¯s hand a bit for a little revenge, but Oliver unconsciously responded by adjusting his grip strength .

    Once they were done, with greeting each other Carlo got Alex, Lilitth, and Niki to ride in the car he brought . Kei and Oliver were old enough to be able to get home on their own, so Carlo didn¡¯t bother to send them home .

    After dropping off Niki at her house, the family of three returned to their own mansion . In there the two siblings reported everything that happened in the arcade . Once they were done with their report, the two headed to their rooms .

    Alex who was walking side by side with Lilitth in the hallway, noticed that she was cheerier than usual .

    "Did you have fun Lilitth?" Alex didn¡¯t know why he asked such a weird and stupid question . It was in to see, anyone with eyes would¡¯ve noticed that Lilitth did indeed had fun . So there was no need to ask her . Yet here he was, asking her a question with an obvious answer .

    Lilitth looked at her onii-sama, with a bright cheerful smile and answered . "Yes"

    . . .

    Oliver after parting ways with Kei, headed towards a mountain trail . Even though it was nighttime, for some reason he can still see quite clearly . This is was an ability he had since young, it was like he was wearing night vision googles .

    You might be wondering why Oliver was walking down this mountain trail . The reason is simple at the end of the trail is where his master lives . Once he got to the end of the trail he saw a man dancing with sword at hand, this was Ken Seto .

    When Oliver saw his master dancing with a sword he was entranced by it¡¯s beauty . While watching his master¡¯s sword dance he suddenly disappeared from sight . This was a trick that could fool any normal person . But Oliver wasn¡¯t exactly normal, he knew that his master already noticed him, so he tried to move into his blind spot .

    "What is it Oliver? Whye here at this hour? Have you already mastered the second sword move?" Ken who was already behind Oliver asked .

    "Oh about that, I finally got a hang of it awhile ago, but that¡¯s not what I came here for . " Oliver then started to exin what happened in the arcade, about how Alex broke a punching machine with his bare hands . Using a martial art called Ultimate, and how he wanted to learn the same martial art .

    Upon hearing Alex¡¯s name, Ken¡¯spetitiveness was roused .

    ¡¯So Ryu allowed his disciple to learn from another . How can I let his disciple be better than my own disciple . You might have trained a monster Ryu, but I will train a monster killer . ¡¯

    "It¡¯s okay Oliver, you can learn that martial art . Just remember toe for your daily sword training . Also what happened to thatdy who came with youst time? Is she ready to learn from me as well?" Hearing his master consented made him happy, but hearing thetter half made Oliver¡¯s face scowl .

    "She is busy doing something . . . Master why do you want to take her in as a disciple as well? Didn¡¯t you sayst time she already knows a different set of sword techniques . Is it because her sword techniques are weaker than yours?" Oliver asked his master confused .

    Ken didn¡¯t answer Oliver, as he started to recall the littless called Sayaka . The girl had the stench of death, which was the same as Alex but the way she carried herself was different . Ken who noticed all these was told off by the girl . "Please keep this a secret from Oliver . I will tell him and the others about it sometime in the future, but now isn¡¯t the time . "

    The girl made him promise to not tell .

    ¡¯Still I didn¡¯t decide to make her my disciple because her sword techniques are weak . On the contrary her sword techniques are most probably almost as good as mine and Ryu¡¯s sword techniques . Her way of the sword seems to also derived from efficiency like Ryu¡¯s . It just made me feel itchy that another set of sword skills are derived from that guy¡¯s philosophy . ¡¯

    Oliver seeing that his master seems to be in a deep reflective state, decided to head home . But as he was about to leave the mountain his master spoke to him .

    "Oh right next time you spar with Setsuna, you are only allowed to use the second move of the sword dance . " Oliver smiled and raised his thumb upwards as he left .

    . . .

    Saya was in a dimly lit room, as she stopped herself from sneezing . ¡¯Someone must be thinking about me . . . It must be Oly . ¡¯ While she was thinking this, Saya was about to head out of the room .

    Inside this room besides her there was another person . He was a dead man who looked like he hanged himself . This person was a corrupt police officer, and he didn¡¯tmit suicide Saya killed him .

    Before leaving Saya took a pic of the dead police officer and sent it to her dad . She also sent a message saying mission aplished .

    A few minutester when Saya was already in a more popted area, she received a message from her dad .

    "3/10 that¡¯s your score for this job, since you scratched his hand with your nails . Beforeing home, he didn¡¯t have that scratch . Now when the police investigate, if they aren¡¯t stupid they wont simply pass this on as a suicide . You have seeded in killing the target, but failed to make it look like a suicide . The target must¡¯ve evaded your first strike and blocked it with his arm, and you were able to kill him with the second strike by choking him . What have I told you about waiting for the opportune time? You were being sloppy . "

    Saya who read her father¡¯s message was already aware of her mistake . So she replied to her father as to why she failed to kill the man on the first try .

    "Well I was indeed waiting properly, and I also hidden my presence quite well, but as I was waiting

    I saw that he was about to touch himself . It felt gross and without noticing it, I couldn¡¯t stop myself and attacked him . "

    "That is not an excuse . We are assassins, when we are doing our job we must keep our human emotions at bay, and be a single killing weapon that pierces the heart without mistakes . I will head over there now and fix your mistake . "

    "I¡¯m sorry father it will not happen again . " Saya messaged her father who didn¡¯t reply after this .

    ¡¯I could be having fun with Oly and the others, but here I am doing this stupid job . ¡¯ Saya sighed as she headed home .

    . . .

    Niel was on the ground breathing heavily . At the moment he was on a privately ownnd which was Lyner¡¯s . Today¡¯s lesson from Lyner was extremely difficult, so difficult that he almost died a couple of times tonight .

    Yet this kind of difficulty didn¡¯t make Niel scared, it actually made him excited . With this much difficulty the moment he rises above it, he would surely have improved leaps and bounds .

    . . .

    While the other members where doing different things . Alex was the only one who was actually practicing for the FPS tournament tomorrow .

    Well ever since the other members of the club saw Emily¡¯s skill, they all thought the same thing . With her around victory is all but assured .

 Chapter 112

    Chapter 112

    The day finally came it was Sunday, and the FPS tournament was going to begin a few hours from now . Alex as per his usual routine was about to head out early to do some recon before the tournament starts . When he left his room, Lilitth had also left her room at almost the exact same time .

    The little girl woke up a bit earlier than Alex . When she heard the sound of her onii-sama opening the door of his room, she went out as well .

    "Good morning onii-sama . " Lilitth happily greeted Alex .

    "Good morning . " Alex greeted her as well and afterwards was about ready to leave .

    "Onii-sama, where are you going? Can Ie with you?" Lilitth suddenly asked when she saw her onii-sama seem to be in a hurry .

    "No, not today Lilitth . Also I heard dad and you are going to do something together for today . " When Lilitth heard what Alex said, she finally remembered what her tou-chan told herst night . She had forgotten that detail, and felt a bit embarrassed as she bowed her head in front of Alex .

    "Oh that¡¯s right . I¡¯m sorry for dying you onii-sama . " Once the two had cleared that up, Alex proceeded to head out of the mansion into the garage to get his motorcycle . When he got out the front door of the mansion, Alex saw a person who wasn¡¯t suppose to be there .

    She was a beautiful girl who had long ck hair tied into two messy pigtails . This girl was none other than Rachel Regius . Alex spotted her in the distance hesitating to ring the door bell . When he saw Rachel, Alex felt a bunch of mixed emotions, but the most prevalent feeling he had at the moment was panic . Alex didn¡¯t like the feeling of being unprepared, so this made him a tad irritable .

    Alex spoke at the ear piece he was wearing . "Surveince team, why didn¡¯t you warn me she was here?!" Though Alex still had a stoic look, and still sounded indifferent, there was a minor change in the pitch of his tone, it was just a tiny bit, but the maid in charge ofmunications noticed it .

    "It was to surprise you young master . It would seem thatdy Rachel came here with that intent, so as to not look suspicious we didn¡¯t inform you . Good luck young master . " The maid who was talking to Alex, was trying to stop herself from giggling, so before she identally giggled she ended the call immediately after responding to Alex¡¯s question .

    Alex couldn¡¯t believe what he had heard . Even though the maids were employed by his dad, Alex was still technically also someone in charge . The maids were also former soldiers and mercs, so that means they had a better understanding about the meaning of ranks .

    ¡¯How could they do this to a superior officer?!¡¯ This was the sole thought screaming in Alex¡¯s mind at the moment . While he was thinking about what to do next, Alex saw Rachel still in front of the button of the door bell hesitating .

    Her finger would almost press the button, but then she would stop . Afterwards she would start to walk around in a circle, then she would stop head back to stand in front of the button of the door bell, try to press it then once again stop . She would then repeat the process all over again .

    Watching her do this made Alex feel quite amused . After awhile Alex decided to greet her, since watching her do this made it feel like he was bullying her .

    . . . .

    "How long are you going to hesitate?" Hearing a voice out of nowhere, Rachel panicked and took a defensive stance . The gate of the mansion opened, and the person who appeared before her, was the person she kept on thinking about, while on that training trip with her family .

    ck hair, sharp ck eyes that seem to pierce ones soul . An ever stoic expression, and that calm indifferent voice, this guy was none other than Alexander Samarita . Rachel who saw Alex just stared dumbly at him while still maintaining her defensive position .

    After a few seconds of awkward silence Rachel spoke in a stutter . "H-h-h-h-ooo-w how long have you¡¯ve been there!?"

    "If you¡¯re talking about how long I¡¯ve been watching you, the answer would be around ten minutes ago . I can actually see you while outside the front door . " Alex pointed at the front door of the mansion .

    When Rachel heard Alex¡¯s answer her face started to turn red . Without warning she attacked Alex out of embarrassment . This was a reflexive reaction she had acquired during the trip with her family . This was caused by her deadbeat father always doing embarrassing things . So for the time being every time Rachel¡¯s embarrassment reaches a certain point she attacks .

    Seeing Rachel¡¯s movements surprised Alex . He evaded the iing attacks easily but the improvement she had after a few days was incredible

    ¡¯As expected of Instructor Dan . . . Or is this because Rachel is talented?¡¯

    At some point, Rachel wasn¡¯t attacking Alex because of embarrassment anymore, she was now attacking Alex to show him how much she improved . So when Rachel saw her attacks weren¡¯t working, she decided to use her trump card . Rachel suddenly sped up, which as she predicted caught even Alex surprised . Ever since awhile ago Rachel used a speed that was only slightly faster than what she had shown Alex before, but now she was using a speed that was greatly different .

    This was her one and only chance, Rachel did an attack with as much speed as she can muster . To her at this moment, it doesn¡¯t matter if the attack wasn¡¯t strong, it doesn¡¯t matter if it does no damage . All Rachel wanted to do was reach Alex and be able to hit him . This was so that she can convey to him that she was catching up, and she too could walk side by side with him .

    It was to show that lonely boy that he wasn¡¯t alone anymore . Yet as per usual Alex went beyond what was expected of him . He caught Rachel¡¯s fist and pinned her down . This was out of reflex since Alex had somehow determined that attack of Rachel¡¯s was actually dangerous .

    Rachel was surprised that was a move that caught even her father off guard . Yet it didn¡¯t work on Alex, and now she was pinned down . Alex immediately let her go, and apologized .

    "I¡¯m sorry it was a reflex, you¡¯re attack was about to hit so I unconsciously moved to stop it . " Hearing Alex¡¯s exnation made Rachel smile .

    So that means somehow she was getting closer to that lonely boy¡¯s back . "It¡¯s alright I was the first to strike anyway . "

    Rachel was satisfied with this, if it was before she would try to change Alex to her liking . But that was wrong, she liked Alex just the way he is . She was the one who had to change to match up to Alex not the other way around . Some girls like to be pampered and treated like a princess, but not Rachel Regius, not anymore .

    After not meeting for a long time some girls would want to hug the other person that they like, but this exchange of blows and casual banter was something only she and this idiot could share . It was their special bond their little joke .

    Thinking about that, made Rachel smile at Alex . The ever stoic boy who saw Rachel smile at him, felt like saying something . This feeling of her being with him, felt so natural to him now . It might have been just a few weeks since they met one another but aside from his dad, and sister Rachel was the only other person he had opened up like this .

    "Wee back Rachel . " Rachel was surprised at what Alex had said . Yet even though she was surprised, she still happily replied at the foolish boy who was still showing that ever stoic face of his .

    "I¡¯m back Alex . "

 Chapter 113

    Chapter 113

    After the reunion between the two, Rachel started to talk to Alex about her supposed family trip . Alex had no time to spare to listen to Rachel, but he also couldn¡¯t deny Rachel, since that might make her feel ufortable which goes against the mission¡¯s priorities .

    "Rachel I need to head to the venue of the FPS tournament . Since you¡¯re here why don¡¯te with me?" Alex gave the suggestion of going to the FPS tournament¡¯s venue . When Rachel heard Alex¡¯s suggestion she looked at the time . They still had around three hours before the tournament starts .

    "Isn¡¯t it too early to go there? We still have a lot of time, so why are you in a hurry?" Obviously Alex couldn¡¯t tell Rachel he was going to do some recon before the tournament . . . Wait is it really not okay to tell Rachel? At this point Rachel might already be ustomed to Alex¡¯s peculiarities, so it might actually be okay just to tell her the truth .

    Yet as Alex looked at the impatient Rachel, he felt that it might not end well if he told her the truth . It might actually end with her hating him, thus making this mission a failure . So Alex needed to think fast and tell her something real quick .

    "I haven¡¯t been to that area yet so I wanted to get there early to look at the ce . " This was the only thing Alex could think of saying to her, that doesn¡¯t sound suspicious .

    When Rachel heard what Alex said, she immediately found it suspicious .

    ¡¯This guy always seems unusually prepared, so it doesn¡¯t make sense that he hasn¡¯t been to that area before this . Based on his personality he would¡¯ve already looked around the whole city, the very first day he got here . So then why does he need to get there so early?¡¯

    While Rachel was thinking of a reason, it finally hit her . The reason why Alex wanted to go so early and bring her along . It could only mean one thing, Alex wanted to go on a date!

    "Then it¡¯s alright, let¡¯s head there early . "

    When Alex saw Rachel¡¯s blushing face he got confused . Why did he suddenly ept? Did what he tell her, actually work? Well there was no time to ponder, Alex needed to get to the area of the venue now .

    "Okay then wait here, I¡¯ll bring out my bike . " Rachel simply nodded at what Alex said . She then imagined herself riding at the back of Alex¡¯s bike leisurely strolling the venue .

    ¡¯That guy might actually be pretty romantic if he wants to be . ¡¯ While she was in the midst of her overactive imagination, Alex came back with his bike .

    It was a huge customized motorcycle, when Rachel saw this she was stunned . She thought that Alex¡¯s bike was a bicycle, not this thing .

    "Alex I thought you said you had a bike?"

    "Yah, this is my bike, here catch . " Alex threw a helmet at Rachel, who caught it .

    "Wear that and let¡¯s go . " Alex rode his bike and started the engine . Hearing the loud sound of the engine surprised Rachel . At first she hesitated to wear the helmet, but in the end she decided that this was nothingpared to the training trip she and her family had .

    After wearing the helmet, she rode at the back of Alex¡¯s motorcycle, where she hugged him tightly from behind . Once Alex confirmed that Rachel was secured behind him, he without warning drove off .

    This was the first time Rachel had rode a motorcycle, and it frightened her . This made her hugged Alex¡¯s back even more tightly, as she was suppressing herself from screaming .

    . . .

    Kim Suho and his group where in front of the venue of the tournament . It was thirty minutes before game time, and none of the Mercenary club members had shown up . This made the gaming club worry a bit . Since all their hopes rested in the hands of the Mercenary club, well to be more specific in the hands of Emily .

    The Emily who was an urban legend, and who easily dominated them in a game a few days ago . After a few more minutes of waiting, the first to appear from the Mercenary club was Sayaka .

    She greeted Kim Suho¡¯s group and looked around, and smiled . "WOW! I¡¯m first? I¡¯m actually first to arrive? I was faster than Mr . Perfect, and the two timing dense guy . This is really surprising . . . Wait a minute . "

    Sayaka then ran into a crowd of people, and got somebody who was hiding behind the statue of an old hero . This guy who was hiding was Kei a member of the Mercenary Club, and his been here a few minutes before Sayaka arrived . He couldn¡¯t find the right timing to greet Kim Suho¡¯s group seeing that his own clubmates weren¡¯t here yet .

    "Why are you hiding there Kei? Come on, greet our friends from the gaming club . " The gaming club was surprised at how sharp Sayaka¡¯s senses were, noticing the hidden Kei .

    The next to appear was Mr . Perfect himself Niel, but the current Niel felt a little bit off . He still had that annoying smile, and that radiant aura of his, but there was something else, something more to him .

    "Hi guys I¡¯m sorry I just got here . I hope I haven¡¯t kept you waiting for long . " The moment Niel said this, Oliver suddenly appeared . Upon seeing Oliver, Sayaka immediately pounced at him .

    "OLY! Howe you just came? Aren¡¯t you suppose to be our Club leader? Shouldn¡¯t you be the first to arrive?" Not minding Sayaka hugging him, Oliver bowed his head to the members of the gaming club .

    "I¡¯m sorry I waste, I had some things to attend to . By the way hasn¡¯trade Alex arrived yet?" Oliver looked around and didn¡¯t see Alex .

    "Speak of the devil . There he is . " Kim Suho pointed at the distance . When the mercenary club members looked at where Kim Suho was pointing at they were surprised . Cause not only Alex was there even Rachel was there as well .

    "RACHEL!" Sayaka let go of Oliver¡¯s arm and charged at Rachel, who looked a bit tired .

    "Saya, it¡¯s nice to see you¡¯re still energetic as usual . " Rachel had an awkward smile on her face as she said this .

    "Why do you look like that? Did this idiot do something to you?" Sayaka pointed at Alex .

    Before Alex could respond someone spoke for him .

    "Oh I can answer that question . The reason Rachel is like that, is because Alex over there made her go around the whole area without stopping for a break . Rachel¡¯s obviously tired and disappointed seeing as she thought there was something more, to them walking around . " When everyone heard a mischievous tone of a girl speaking to them, they all looked at the direction where the voice came from .

    There stood a cute girl with purplish blond hair, wearing a gothic lolita style dress, she looked a tad short for her age, as she smiled mischievously at Alex . This girl was Emily but to the shocked Alex this girl was the maid who liked ying video games .

 Chapter 114

    Chapter 114

    <h4>114 Emily</h4>

    Alex was still stunned as he looked at Emily . This was the maid from his house, the one who taught him and his sister how to y video games . So it turns out she was Emily the hacker all this time, Alex wanted to question her but before he could say anything he had received a message . He took out his phone and read the message which stated .

    "Heya young master, I know you have a lot of questions . So I¡¯ll answer themter, for now you gotta chill . Also don¡¯t tell them I¡¯m a maid working for you . Why, shouldn¡¯t you tell . . . Well, think about it yourself, the only thing I can say is telling them might result in a chaotic event Either way everything is fun for me "

    Alex looked at Emily and sighed . Ever since the beginning this maid seems to be ying with him, not only in game but in real life as well . This maid was like Sayaka, and what Sayaka was to Oliver and Kei, Emily was to Alex .

    "Nice to finally meet you two in person . Alex and Rachel it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, I¡¯m Emily Hunt" Emily who was wearing a gothic lolita style dress did a curtsy . While doing all this alongside her cute features attracted a lot of attention from the surrounding people .

    "Whoah look at that chick, is that cosy?"

    "I think so . . . "

    "OH MY GOD! It¡¯s bloody princess Eva! Have I finally transmigated into the 2-D world!"

    "Are they shooting a live action series of Bloody Princess? The other girls are cute as well!"

    "Eva please say your catchphrase, and after please take a picture with me . Then after that please go on a date with me, then marry me, then start a family with me, then grow old together with me!"

    The people started to swarm towards Emily . Turns out Emily was doing a cosy of a very famous magical girl type anime character .

    Emily who had a lot of people taking pictures of her didn¡¯t get angry, instead she did a weird pose ,and spoke in a different tone of voice .

    "It¡¯s time for the eternal night . Bow down before me . " Emily¡¯s whole persona seems to change as she looked down on the people surrounding her . Some of them actually knelt in front of Emily . Alex and the others looked at Emily dumbfounded at the whole situation .

    "WHOAH! It¡¯s the real thing!"

    "Who knew I would actually hear that line IRL! I can die now with no regrets!"

    "EVA the angel of death and darkness has descended before us!"

    "Quiet down you peons! Kneel before your queen . " Emily pointed her index finger downwards, and the shouting people all knelt in front of her . It was an amazing spectacle .

    "OUR QUEEN!"

    There was only thirteen minutes left before the start of the tournament, so while Emily was having fun, Alex and everyone else held a group meeting .

    "It seems like Emily is preupied at the moment . I apologize for this . Anyway let¡¯s go to the registration booth, so do we each need to register individually?" Oliver asked Kim Suho who responded with his usual irritated tone .

    "No need I already registered the yers . It¡¯s going to be Emily, Niel, ir, Alex, and me . Also the actual game will start an hour from now, so Emily can have her fun for the moment . "

    "Actually who is Emily cosying as?" Sayaka finally asked the question most of them wanted to ask .

    "That¡¯s the main character from the hit anime series Bloody Princess . She¡¯s Evangeline Cromwell, a . k . a Eva . Here I¡¯ll show you a pic . " Shin showed everyone a picture of Eva . When the group saw the picture of Eva, they were amazed on how much Emily looked like the character .

    "Wow, so not only is she a God level gamer, a great hacker, she¡¯s also A high level cosyer . Emily is so awesome!" Sayaka happily, and excitedly spoke what she thought .

    Kei on the other hand, once again confirmed that he was the only normal person in his club .

    "Can someone tell me what cosy is? Based solely on the word and the topic at hand I can only assume that it¡¯s suppose to be costume y or something simr . " Alex asked confused at the whole conversation .

    "You are right to assume that . Here let me exin, Cosy is an act of dressing up to look like an anime, manga, video game character . The ones who do this are called cosyers, which Emily is one of . Also Cosy can be divided into two parts, basic cosy and masquerade cosy . Both types of cosy involve trying to physically look like the character, including speaking like the character, memorizing quotes and so on . Masquerading, or "The Masquerade," usually refers to a cosypetition where cosyers demonstrate their skills in creating costumes, putting on skits, and in technical matters . Right now Emily is doing the basic cosy . " Shin suddenly bombarded Alex with information .

    While the group were having this discussion, things were bing even weirder on Emily¡¯s side . The people had form a line and were now asking for Emily¡¯s autograph .

    "Mydy will you grace this lowly one, with an autograph?"

    "Heh, are you asking me for something? I don¡¯t feel like you¡¯re showing enough respect . Why should I reward a worthless peon like you?"

    The man in front of Emily bowed down his head hitting the ground .

    "Oh beautiful, wonderfully powerful Princess . The night is yours tomand, please grant this lowly one an autograph . " The man said the lines of what the servants under Eva usually say in the anime, when they were being the most respectful .

    "Hmph, you have done well to show me such respect . Very well I shall grant you what you desire . " Emily then signed the piece of paper the guy brought to her .

    The next guy did the same, so did the next, and the next .

    Emily was actually having fun doing this . While she was doing this she suddenly thought of something .

    ¡¯Oh how about I show young master, and Lilitth-chan the world of anime . Once I get them hooked we could all cosy together . ¡¯

    Alex who was having a conversation with the gaming club members, felt a sudden chill . He felt like something ominous was about to happen .

    ¡¯Oh right I should punish that Oliver as well . I¡¯ll force him to cosy, that might be interesting . ¡¯ Emily suddenly remembered what happened with the arcade event .

    Now it was Oliver who felt a sudden chill . He couldn¡¯t understand what was happening, all he knows was this was the second time he felt this chill . He might have a cold, is what he thought . Unknown to him that feeling was something much, much worse than a simple cold .

 Chapter 115

    Chapter 115

    "Kukuku, I am the Queen of the night! The noble of darkness! All are beneath me . Let me grace all of you with the embrace of the eternal night . " While saying all of these things, Emily was doing various poses . At the entrance to the venue of the FPS tournament, there were now even more people surrounding her .

    Due to the area being the ce were the FPS tournament is being held, a lot of people who were originally gathering for the tournament, were now gathering for Emily .

    "We stand by our Queen! Let the eternal night descend upon us all!" The people were really getting into the role of being Emily¡¯s minions . Emily had created a group of fanatics, after a few minutes . Some people who were watching from the side, really thought that they¡¯re was really a filming for some anime¡¯s live action series .

    "Emily it¡¯s almost our turn to y . " When Emily heard Alex calling her, she elegantly bowed to her audience .

    "My lovely peons it would seem that there are those who wish to challenge me . They foolishly bare their fangs towards me . Kukuku, I shall show them the warm embrace of the eternal night . So watch and see the graceful form of your Queen . " Emily smiled like a mischievous little devil, as she showed a cold glint in her eyes . Her audience felt a chill ran down their spine as they saw that look in her eyes . It was only Alex who knew that she released a bit of her bloodlust at the audience . Which made Alex wonder if this too was part of the act for a more authentic feel, if so Emily was truly good at this .

    "For the eternal night!"

    "For the Princess!"

    The audience was in a total uproar as Emily left, and they started to chant some weird things . Alex was confused at the whole thing, sometimes they say Queen, then they call her princess . Even the title of the anime is called Bloody Princess, so what is her actual rank? He simply couldn¡¯t understand no matter how hard he thought about it .

    Alex asked the one with the most knowledge about this topic, which was Shin .

    "Oh that¡¯s part of the feel of the anime . Evangeline Cromwell¡¯s actual title is that of a princess . Her subordinates simply call her Queen because of her atmosphere . " Even though Alex heard the answer, in such a concise way he still couldn¡¯t understand it .

    ¡¯She was a princess, but her subordinates call her Queen? What does that even mean?¡¯

    While Alex was trying toprehend the meaning behind the Queen thing, Emily was walking towards Alex¡¯s group with a happy smile on her face . Her demeanor had return to normal, it was such a great change that Alex truly thought of her as amazing .

    "That was really fun . " Emily happily reported even though no one asked her about it .

    "Hey Emily, you¡¯re so awesome! Where did you get those clothes? I want to try cosying too . " Sayaka asked with her usual cheerful tone . Even though her house was littered with clothes all meant for disguises, they were all normal kinds of clothes for different professions, none of them were like the clothes Emily was wearing which caught her interest .

    "Oh this thing, I made it myself . If you want I can make you one as well . We can go to events as a duo cosyer team . " Emily responded excitedly, since she finally found someone with simr interest .

    "Really!? Sure let¡¯s go cosying together! You¡¯re really amazing Emily since you¡¯re even able to make your own clothes . I bet you can even cook nicely, and are good at cleaning . " Sayaka responded really impressed by Emily .

    "That¡¯s right, I can cook and clean . " ¡¯Since that¡¯s part of my job¡¯ Emily didn¡¯t say thest part, since she didn¡¯t feel like telling them what her current part-time job is like .

    "Oh my, what¡¯s with your girl power it¡¯s off the charts! Rachel, you and I really need to learn from Emily, especially you Rachel . " When Rachel heard Sayaka¡¯sment, she quickly looked at Alex and denied Sayaka¡¯s statement .

    "I don¡¯t really need to learn anything . I¡¯m good at cooking and cleaning as well . " Sayaka who saw the frantic reaction of her best friend, smiled mischievously .

    "You are good at cooking? If I remember correctly you actually mistook sugar for salt, and you even failed to cook a simple egg, like multiple times, and the one sess you had was extremely burnt . You¡¯re good at cleaning? Doesn¡¯t your mother do all the cleaning? Not once have I seen you clean . "

    Rachel who heard Sayaka say all those things in front of Alex, wanted to deny all her ims, but before she could do so Kim Suho cut her off .

    "Sorry if I¡¯m interrupting your embarrassing conversation, but we have a tournament we need to win . " Kim Suho with his irritated tone, finally stopped Emily, and the other girls conversation .

    "We¡¯ll continue this talkter . " Rachel looked at Sayaka with a re, who then responded with sticking her tongue out .

    . . .

    The group had entered the venue, which looked like a arena of sorts . In the middle of the arena were a bunch ofputers, at first there wasn¡¯t much people sitting on the seats were the audience was suppose to be . Yet the moment Alex¡¯s group entered, a bunch of people followed them into the venue .

    There was a fee needed to be paid to be an audience but the people didn¡¯t care, since they wanted to see their Queen, a . k . a Emily win, so they paid the entrance fee without hesitation .

    Noticing the increase of the audience, some yers got a bit unnerved . Oliver, Rachel, Sayaka, Shin, Luvia, Richard, and Kei headed towards the audience area, seeing as they weren¡¯t going to y .

    Alex and the other yers of his team proceeded to thene ofputers that they were going to use for this tournament . The preliminaries were about to start, but before it did Emily stood up and waved at her fans . Which responded with a roar of cheers .

    "QUEEN! QUEEN! QUEEN! QUEEN! QUEEN!" The stadium felt like it trembled for a bit with Emily¡¯s fans thunderous cheer .

    The other yers looked at Emily with disdain .

    ¡¯What¡¯s the use of showing off like that? You¡¯re going to lose real fast . ¡¯

    ¡¯Can this cosying girl even y?¡¯

    ¡¯Is she lost? Maybe she thought this was a cosying event . ¡¯

    ¡¯Hmph! I¡¯m so much prettier than her, they should cheer for me instead . Well they¡¯ll learn the name the shooting Goddess once they witnessed my skills . ¡¯

    Since this is the first time Emily had physically attended a gaming event lots of the yers, didn¡¯t know she was the gamer in the urban legends . So most of the yers in the venue thought Emily was simply a poser . Little did they know that most of them will be crushed without even being able to do anything .

 Chapter 116

    Chapter 116

    The host for this FPS tournament was overwhelmed by the thunderous cheering of Emily¡¯s fans . He couldn¡¯t even get a word in and he was even using a microphone which was supported by a lot of speakers, obviously Emily noticed what was happening and walked towards the host .

    The host of the tournament was shocked to see a girl walking towards him, and the girl was even wearing a Bloody Princess Eva cosy . The girl in question then swiped the mic from him, which stunned him even more .

    "Um Miss you¡¯re not suppose to be here . " The host tried to calmly remove Emily from the stage .

    "It would seem like you needed my help, so I came to help . " Without saying anything further to the host, Emily spoke using the microphone .

    "My lovely peons!" When the crowd heard Emily speak, the cheering quieted down . The people who weren¡¯t fans of Emily were confused as to what was happening . While the other yers were getting even more annoyed by Emily¡¯s shenanigans .

    "The battle is about to start . . . Watch me as I show these fools who challenge me the embrace of the eternal night! No need to cheer, no need to jeer, just admire my beautiful form in battle . It will be over quickly . " After saying what she needed to say, Emily returned the microphone to the host, who just stared dumbly at Emily¡¯s back .

    The noisy audience had finally quieted down, but at the same time they felt extremely excited . The person who had cosyed as their favorite anime character, had not only looked like her, she even acted like her . The very motion of her movements seem like she was the very person she was cosying as, it was like she jumped out of the T . V screen and came into the real world .

    This person who perfectly acted out as Eva, had now dered she will crush all thepetition with overwhelming force . The yers who heard her deration were now truly angered on how arrogant she was .

    ¡¯That b*tch, thinks to highly of herself . ¡¯

    ¡¯I¡¯ll be sure to kill her and do some teabagging after killing her in game of course . ¡¯

    ¡¯Hmph let¡¯s see how arrogant you can be after losing on the first round . ¡¯

    While everyone was having their own thoughts about what Emily said, the host then started to exin the rules of the tournament .

    When Emily returned to her seat most yers were looking at Alex¡¯s group with irritation . Alex who saw what had happened whispered in Emily¡¯s ear .

    "What are you nning Emily? Now everyone here will try to destroy us using their full power . They will try every means necessary to destroy us . I don¡¯t understand why you would do this? Our mission clearly states we need to help the Gaming Club win . Doing this doesn¡¯t help our chancing of winning . "

    Emily started giggling after hearing what Alex said .

    "Tsk, tsk, tsk, young master there¡¯s no need to be civil with small fry like this . Also I was in character, need to please my fans and all that . Come on, don¡¯t be so tense young master, with me here victory is all but assured . . . Or are you worried because you don¡¯t have enough confidence in your skill?" Emily teased Alex who when he heard what Emily said felt like she was also provoking him .

    "I just want to be careful, cause this game same like in the battlefield, you will never know who lives and who dies . No matter how skilled you are, the other party can still kill you . It may be by luck, or something else, but no matter what I do not like being overconfident . " Alex spoke sternly to the happily smiling Emily .

    "Rx young master, we will win this I promise you . "

    "Like I said overconfidence might be the end of you . "

    "I say young master, don¡¯t you trust me? I did help you on multiple asions . . . How about this, let¡¯s make a bet . The one with the most kills in the whole tourney wins . If the young master wins, I will admit that I was being overconfident and I will also grant you one wish, you can tell me to do anything you want, and I will fulfill your wish to the best of my capabilities . You can even ask me to do some hi things and I wontin . " Emily showed Alex a devilishly cute smile .

    When Alex heard what Emily had proposed he was slightly interested by the chance to get Emily to do him one favor . Obviously it was not for the chance to do echhi things but something else . Alex was interested in hacking into Carlo¡¯s personalputer and to look at the files hidden in there . The reason for wanting to do this is because he noticed that ever since the incident with Evangeline Kain Carlo has been hiding something from him . He clearly had more information than what he was telling him, and Alex wanted to know what it was .

    "Fine, I¡¯ll ept that bet of yours . . . But what will I bet? What is it you want me to bet?"

    Hearing Alex¡¯s answer Emily was really surprised, she wasn¡¯t expecting her ever stoic young master to actually agree to her bet idea . She was expecting him to simply disapprove some more .

    ¡¯Is it because of the hi thing? That must be it, even young master under that stoic gaze of his, is still a teenager . . . Well enough jokes obviously that¡¯s not it, with that rigid personality of his, he might need help in something he himself cannot do by himself . ¡¯

    "Oh my young master, are you really that interested to do some hi things with this maid of yours? How scandalous . " Alex didn¡¯t respond to Emily¡¯s teasing as he waited for her reply as to what she wants if she wins .

    Emily who saw that expressionless face of his, simply shrugged her shoulders failing to tease him .

    "What I want from young master if I win, is to make young master watch some anime with me, and then cosy afterwards . Also I want young master to convince Lilitth ojou-chan to join us in watching and cosying . "

    "I am okay with doing that, but regarding Lilitth . I can try to ask her to do what you want but I will not force her into doing what she doesn¡¯t want to do . "

    "That¡¯s fine with me, let¡¯s shake on it . " Emily extended her hand in which Alex grabbed and shook .

    The two had entered an agreement, and with this agreement the tournament had gain another prize for the two of them .

 Chapter 117

    Chapter 117

    The tournament had officially begun and both Alex and Emily were pumped up . When the opposing team saw that their first opponent was Alex¡¯s team, they were thrilled since they can finally let off some steam . Some of the other teams in the tournament wanted to y with Emily¡¯s team as well, since they wanted to embarrass her in front of her fans .

    In their first game Alex¡¯s team were the mercenary¡¯s the opposing team were the soldiers .

    "Hey guys no need to move I will do everything myself . I¡¯ll kill them all, so please don¡¯t nt the bomb . " Emily informed her teammates about what she was nning to do . Obviously they didn¡¯t want to sit idly by as Emily does all the work, so the other members still did what they could .

    Both Alex and Emily picked the same weapon which was a sniper rifle . Yet the way they used it were totally different . After Emily bought her sniper rifle she immediately used the scope mode, and didn¡¯t remove it all throughout the game . Alex on the other hand didn¡¯t even use the scope as he killed the opponents .

    The audience weren¡¯t shown what was happening while the tournament was in the preliminaries, they were simply told which team won and which team lost . The games would only be shown once they get to the quarter finals .

    If they could see how Alex and Emily were ying the crowd would¡¯ve been amazed by it . The only ones who noticed how Alex and Emily yed were their teammates . Seeing how much Alex improved made both ir and Kim Suho feel like losers . They weren¡¯t even better than a person who was a total newb a week ago . Only Niel could somehow ept Alex¡¯s amazing improvement .

    ¡¯As expected of the person who is in the way of my perfection . ¡¯

    The first game ended with total victory for Alex¡¯s team . Emily got three kills, while Alex got two kills . The next round of the preliminaries was going to start after two more minutes . While they were waiting the other teams that have finished early were shocked at the results .

    ¡¯So she can somehow y after all . But I bet she was simply there because her team needed five yers and she¡¯s just an extra or a mascot . ¡¯

    ¡¯They actually won and quite fast too . . . ¡¯

    ¡¯It must¡¯ve been a fluke . ¡¯

    ¡¯The other team must be pretty weak . ¡¯

    ¡¯Hmph, well I guess I will acknowledge you as rival to this shooting Goddess . ¡¯

    The other yers started to specte on why Alex¡¯s team won . Since none of them could watch the other y, they had no idea how good Alex¡¯s team was .

    With that the next round of the preliminaries started . Same as the first round Alex and Emily chose simr guns and did the same thing as the first round . They were unstoppable, with Emily¡¯s understanding of all the game¡¯s maps, and Alex urate shooting and fast reactions the two were ying the game two vs five .

    This time around the other yers were truly interested on how Alex¡¯s team keeps on winning . So before the eliminated team left, the other yers questioned them about how they lost . The eliminated team only answered by saying they were hit by headshots .

    With that the other yers only got even more curious . Who among the five could be the Godly yer that can do headshots all the time? So after the next three rounds of the preliminaries, the other yers couldn¡¯t deny it anymore, Alex¡¯s team was strong . Since theirst opponent at the end of the preliminaries had A God level yer . That could only mean either Alex¡¯s team had great coordination or they too posses a God level yer that was better than the one that lost .

    At this point Alex and Emily could care less what the other teams thought of them . To the two of them the other teams weren¡¯t really the enemy, it was their teammate that was the enemy . The score for their kills were Alex with twelve kills, while Emily had thirteen . No matter what Alex did he couldn¡¯t catch up, but even then he couldn¡¯t just give up . He just needs to understand how his opponent will move and predict what they will do next . That way he could kill the enemy faster than Emily .

    Emily on the other hand was also feeling pressured, she didn¡¯t know that her young master was this good . Thest time she saw him y, he was still making some mistakes using a handgun . Now he was ying using a sniper rifle and he had high uracy . To top it all off he was doing this no scope .

    Still Emily felt like she couldn¡¯t lose . If this pace keeps up, and as long as her young master doesn¡¯t improve too drastically, victory was hers for the taking . She was now imagining what kind of cosy would best suite her young master, as well as Lilitth ojou-chan . She also started to think of a costume for Oliver, and everyone in the Mercenary club . Seeing as everyone in the club aside from Kei were handsome boys and pretty girls if they all started cosying the effect would be devastating .

    Emily was happily imagining various cosy designs for her and her clubmates this made her excited and almost made her nosebleed . While Emily was imagining about cosying, the preliminaries had ended and the next round would be the quarterfinals .

    The host of the event started to exin that for the quarterfinals the first two teams that will y against each other was to y on the stage provided and their fight will be broadcasted on the projector showing it to the people in the stadium .

    This is were the game truly starts, but before it would start, the host announced that there was going to be a thirty minute break . When the host announced the thirty minute break, Emily¡¯s fans started to cheer again .

    "Queen! Queen! Queen! Queen! Queen!" The host seeing the same exact situation happen again like the start of the tournament . The host had no choice as he reluctantly gave his microphone to Emily, who happily took it .

    "My peons! Rejoice! On the next round you will finally witness my beautiful fighting form! Burn the scene into your eyes, for it is your honor, and your obligation to witness my glorious form!"

    "May the eternal night descend upon us! May the Princess¡¯s gloryst forever!" The fans were going rabid for Emily . While Emily was having fun on stage the other yers didn¡¯t seem to mind as much as before . Since Emily¡¯s team had already proven that they weren¡¯t all talk .

    Alex and the others aside from Emily headed towards the audience area to see Rachel and the others who couldn¡¯t join the tournament . When Alex saw Rachel¡¯s expression he felt a bit threatened, Sayaka on the other hand couldn¡¯t help but snicker . Oliver looked at Alex with sympathy in his eyes, Kei on the other hand was cowering in his corner unable to even look at Alex .

    When Alex saw everyones expressions he was unsure as to what had happened, but his instincts told him to make a quick tactical retreat .

 Chapter 118

    Chapter 118

    Alex was about to make a tactical retreat, so he slowly backed away but to his surprise Niel blocked his escape route . He wasn¡¯t expecting this kind of betrayal from arade .

    "What are you doing Niel?!" Alex who was always calm and collected was a bit flustered by this unexpected move . Ever since he returned from the battlefield, Alex has been affected too much by his emotions, and the one who triggered this response the most was Rachel .

    As long as the matter was about Rachel Alex felt a bit lost . He was sure that he was feeling this way because he was afraid of failing the mission . . . But there were times that he thought that there was something more going on . He couldn¡¯t understand it, but since it was affecting the efficiency of the mission Alex decided to not think too much about it .

    "Running away is a bit rude . One must always treat ady with proper respect . So Alex how about facing Rachel head on . Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re afraid of Rachel? Have you be a coward?" Niel had noticed Rachel was in a bad mood, the obvious cause would be something rted to Alex . Ever since he met the two, he had always perceived them as a couple, but he found outter that they weren¡¯t like that . Though it was obvious that the two had some feelings for each other . Being in this kind of ambiguous rtionship was quite fun to watch . So he also found great joy in teasing these little juniors of his .

    "Who are you calling a coward? Me? No you misunderstood, I¡¯m not running away this is simply a tactical retreat . " While Alex was exining his actions to Niel, Rachel was slowly closing on them .

    Alex who saw Rachel¡¯s smiling yet not smiling face felt threatened by her, rm bells started to ring in his head . He wasn¡¯t sure why he was feeling something like this . All he knows is at this very moment his instincts were telling him to retreat . It didn¡¯t matter if this might make Rachel feel ufortable or not . Alex could smoothen that outter, but for now he needed to survive .

    After a moment of reassuring himself, that what he was doing was not bad . He decided to decisively act on what he thought was the right thing to do at the moment .

    Alex slipped out of Niel¡¯s blockade and sprinted towards the nearest exit . Seeing Alex ran from her, Rachel immediately gave chase . Watching the whole scene transpire before her very eyes, made Sayakaugh so hard, She was amazed at how fast Alex escaped from Rachel .

    Even though he always had a stoic look, when something involves Rachel, you could see that stoic look of his change bit by bit . It was truly hrious to think that this was a merc everyone feared .

    ¡¯If only the others who know him could see him now . One of the strongest mercs in Berdonia is actually running away from a girl who hasn¡¯t even seen the horrible sight of killing, of death, or the final hour of desperation . How truly funny . . . ¡¯

    Sayaka felt a bit at peace whenever she saw Rachel after doing her part time job for the family . Yet now she found a sense of relief every time she saw Rachel and Alex¡¯s shenanigans . She also felt a bit better being beside Oliver, and teasing Kei every now and then . The people in the Mercenary Club had somehow became her safety .

    . . .

    Rachel who was chasing Alex noticed that she doesn¡¯t seem to be closing in on him, no matter how fast she ran . It was also obvious that Alex was slowing down every time she was getting to far away from him or whenever she gets a bit tired . Alex was simply letting her follow him in a precise distance he chose .

    This was one of the things she loved and hated about Alex . It always seems like no matter how hard she tries to catch up, Alex was always going farther and farther ahead of her . The only reason she can even see his back is because in all circumstances Alex would always slow down for her so that she could catch up .

    It was then that Rachel decided to stop chasing Alex, and as she expected Alex stopped running as well . If Alex truly wanted to escaper her, he would have been long gone by now . Yet as usual he was there slowing down for her .

    "I¡¯m not mad anymore, so can we just talk?" Sensing that Rachel wasn¡¯t hostile anymore, Alex approached her .

    Now face to face with Alex, Rachel couldn¡¯t help but sigh as she smiled at him .

    ¡¯The only reason he was running was because he felt I was angry at him . Now the reason he came back to face me was because I told him to . This guy as usual, always thinks about me first and foremost . ¡¯ Rachel now felt it was really silly that she was jealous because of how close Alex and Emily were awhile ago .

    "Hey Alex you just met Emily today right? Howe you¡¯re so close all of the sudden?" When Alex heard this question he wanted to answer truthfully, but then he remembered that Emily wanted to keep her being a maid a secret .

    Still if Alex didn¡¯t answer properly, Rachel mighte to hate Alex . If that were to happen it would be difficult to fulfill the original mission objective, which will result with him failing the mission . So Alex needed to think of something as quickly as possible . He needed to say a convincing lie to Rachel .

    "Oh that, it turns out Emily was a childhood friend of mine . You see my dad was a very busy man so we needed to relocate a bunch of times . That¡¯s also the reason why I transferred in such a weird time . " Alex had told I lie with no problem at all . With his natural expressionless face and indifferent tone of voice, lying was easy for Alex . Also Alex mixed in some truths into his lie, making it even harder to notice that he was lying .

    As expected Rachel couldn¡¯t tell Alex was lying, but she felt that something was off .

    "You were childhood friends with Emily?"

    "Yes" Alex answered without dy nor hesitation .

    "Then howe you acted like you didn¡¯t know her, when she first messaged you?" Rachel intensified her questioning . Yet even with that Alex was still as stoic as ever, as he calmly .

    "That¡¯s because when she introduced herself she simply stated that her name was Emily . There are a lot of other people called Emily . If she called herself Emily Hunt then I would¡¯ve reacted . "

    "Okay that makes sense . . . Wait a minute then why did she say awhile ago, that she was d to meet you and me for the very first time?"

    "That¡¯s because at that point she and I haven¡¯t realized that we were childhood friends . It was during the game when it dawn on us that we have met in the past and that we were childhood friends . "

    "Is that why you were so close awhile ago?" Rachel was still unconvinced, but everything that Alex said did make some sense . The only thing she could do now was verify this with Emily .

    "Yes that¡¯s the reason . " Rachel was about to ask some more things, but an announcement cut her off .

    "To all the yers that are part of the quarterfinals please return to the stage . I repeat to all-"

    "Looks like we need to head back . " Alex nodded his head in response . When Rachel turned around and was about to head back, Alex quickly typed on his phone and sent a message to Emily .

    He messaged her about the lie he made up to trick Rachel . Emily who was on stage speaking with her fans, received the message and while reading it, she smiled .

    ¡¯It would seem like I need to act out a new character . How exciting, young master¡¯s childhood friend is it? . . . Well if you think about it, I am kinda like a childhood friend to him . Even though we only met a few times before on the battlefield, since he was the only other person near my age on that camp . So I guess I was really a childhood friend of sorts . ¡¯

    Alex who had met numerous people during his mercenary days, couldn¡¯t remember most of them . The only people he remembered properly were the people in Carlo¡¯s squad . Everyone else was were like a fleeting cloud to him .

 Chapter 119

    Chapter 119

    Since the tournament was about to resume, Emily spoke some final words to her adoring fans . "My lovely peons! It is time! bare witness to this beautiful form of mine!" Once again the cheers of Emily¡¯s fans echoed throughout the building . Once she was done she gave back the mic to the host who had mixed feelings about this whole thing .

    The thought that Emily should be the host instead of him shed his mind every now and then, as he watched her speak to the audience . He noticed that even the former non Emily fans started chanting and cheering for her midway through her speech . Her ability to control the mood of the audience was amazing . It was almost like she was hypnotizing the audience into liking her .

    . . .

    When Alex was about to return to the yers area, Rachel spoke to him, or more like she ordered him . "You better not lose . " Alex who looked back and saw Rachel¡¯s arms crossed while ordering him, made him remember something from back when they first met . This somehow made Alex smile a bit, before returning to his ever stoic expression .

    "Roger that . " After responding to her, Alex headed back to his teammates . There Emily was waiting for him .

    "So young master I powered up from being a maid, to being your clubmmate, to now bing your childhood friend . If this trend continues, wont I end up as your wife?" Emily joked about their current circumstances .

    "About that we need to get our stories straight so there wont be any confusion, if we are questionedter . " Alex didn¡¯t bother with any of Emily¡¯s jokes .

    "Don¡¯t worry about that young master, just follow my lead and there wont be any mistakes or loopholes in our stories . " Emily giggled for some reason as she said this . Alex who saw her reaction couldn¡¯tprehend it but he didn¡¯t bother knowing why she giggled .

    "How can I be assured that there wont be any mistakes, if you don¡¯t exin to me what kind of backstory you thought off?" Same as Sayaka Alex has bit of trouble talking with this kind of person .

    "Don¡¯t mind it young master, or should I just call you Alex now . "

    "I don¡¯t care either way, but you still need to exin to me the backstory of how we met and how we parted . The reuniting part I already exined to Rachel, but the other bits of our supposed backstory haven¡¯t beenid out yet . "

    "It would be better if I just keep you in the dark, about that . This also part of the n okay, trust me Alex . Haven¡¯t I helped you in numerous asions already . Aren¡¯t we friends, heck right now we are actually childhood friends . " Emily smiled at how good it felt to tease Alex like this .

    Alex thought about what Emily said and indeed she had helped him a lot of times, ever since he started going to school . Emily had helped him not only as a maid of the Samaritas but also as a friend and colleague .

    "Fine I will trust you . I hope this goes well . " Emily who heard Alex¡¯s reply hugged him . Alex was shocked by this sudden move of Emily .

    "What are you doing Emily?!"

    "Don¡¯t worry Alex this is all part of the n . We¡¯re suppose to be childhood friends right? Being this close isn¡¯t weird for childhood friends that suddenly get reunited . In fact if we weren¡¯t this close we might seem even more suspicious . "

    " . . . I guess what you¡¯re saying does make sense . " Emily then started to do some hand signals without Alex¡¯s knowledge . She was sure based on how Oliver reacted awhile ago when she was doing various poses, he noticed the hand signals she gave . Which if somone understood the hand signals you would know Emily said I love you to her fans .

    When she did this awhile ago, Oliver reacted by averting his gaze trying hard not to blush . It would seem like Oliver was a fan of this anime as well .

    With all the above information Emily knew Oliver could understand her hand signals, and he would most probably ry the information to Rachel .

    . . .

    In the audience area Emily¡¯s fans were in an uproar because of her sudden movement of hugging Alex . Yet even though they were noisy as hell . Rachel couldn¡¯t be bothered by them as she saw Emily suddenly hug Alex, she started to get a bit jealous . ¡¯The hell even if they are childhood friends they don¡¯t need to be that close!¡¯

    It was at that moment Rachel saw Emily looked at her then winked . ¡¯What was that?! Is she challenging me?! Is that it!? Is she telling me I stand no chance against the childhood friend archetype!¡¯

    While Rachel was getting angrier and angrier, Oliver who saw the same thing, was able to decipher Emily¡¯s hand signals .

    "Hey don¡¯t worry I will put in a good word for you . Be sure to do your best . That¡¯s whatrade Emily seems to be saying through her hand signals . Do you understand what she meant?"

    When Rachel heard what Oliver said, this made her bite her lower lip . ¡¯Are you saying that we aren¡¯t even in the same level? Are you helping me your rival because you feel pity?¡¯

    Rachel who wasn¡¯t thinking straight had misunderstood the message, but Emily had noticed Rachel¡¯s distorted expression . Emily then let go of Alex and proceeded to message Rachel .

    Rachel who received a message from Emily quickly read it, thinking it was another mocking message .

    "Heya Rachel, I heard from Alex that he told you we were childhood friends . He thinks that you don¡¯t trust him that¡¯s why you needed to verify with me . But don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll put in a good word for you, so that he wont be too much disappointed in your act . So be sure to do your best in apologizing alright . "

    When Rachel read Emily¡¯s message, she finally noticed what she had done . She had doubted Alex, who had always had her best interest in mind . Emily wasn¡¯t issuing a challenge she was helping her smoothen out what happened with Alex .

    She made a blunder, she actually made Alex think she didn¡¯t trust him . Yet it didn¡¯t feel like Alex was any different from normal since awhile ago . . .

    ¡¯Is she able to notice Alex¡¯s change in mood because she¡¯s a childhood friend?¡¯ Rachel who was panicking a bit messaged Emily .

    "Thank you, please help . I didn¡¯t mean to doubt him . " In which Emily quickly replied .

    "No problem I¡¯ll talk to this idiot . Just make sure to apologizeter . "

    "Alright . Once again thank you Emily . "

    When Emily received Rachel¡¯s message, she was now sure that she had convinced her that she and Alex were childhood friends . Since only someone like a childhood friend could possibly understand Alex¡¯s mood even with that expressionless face of his .

    Afterying the ground work, Emily approached the panicking host . In her mind this host wasn¡¯t all that good, but it was her fault as well for heating up the crowd . Emily took the mic from the host once more .

    "My peons, didn¡¯t I say to quiet down when I¡¯m in battle? Are you disobeying me? Are you trying to shame your Queen?" When Emily¡¯s fans heard her ice cold voice, they all immediately shut their mouths, and quitted down . Since Emily is was an actual former merc, her ice cold voice and her killing intent were very much authentic . Which resulted in a very persuasive way to make the audience feel that their Bloody Princess was irritated by their noise .

 Chapter 120

    Chapter 120

    When Emily was done she gave back the mic to the host . The host who received the mic couldn¡¯t understand if he was suppose to be angry at Emily for heating up the audience, or if he should be grateful that Emily had made the audience calm down . In the end he simply decided to ept whatever is happening .

    The next match was about to begin and it was between Alex¡¯s team, and a team who was famous around the area . After the two teams greeted each other, they went to their designated seats . The game had begun, and the gamey was being projected in two big screens that was ced behind the yers so they couldn¡¯t see . The crowd didn¡¯t know what Emily¡¯s in game name was, the only thing they know was her team¡¯s y will be projected on the screen on the left .

    When the game started Alex and Emily didn¡¯t change their y style they quickly chose the usual sniper rifle . Like usual Emily was going in scope mode at the beginning . When her y was being highlighted everyone was amazed that she was moving without removing the scope . This showed that she had perfect understanding of theyout of the whole map .

    The crowd at this point didn¡¯t know that this was Emily who was ying, so they were amazed and in awe but they weren¡¯t going fanatical like awhile ago . Yet after a few seconds when an enemy peaked and was caught in her scope, she fired which resulted in a headshot . Emily got first blood, and when she did so, she raised her in game rifle upwards, and raised her actual right arm in a clench fist indicating that was her .

    When the crowd saw this, they went wild . They finally knew how good their Queen was . The other yers were amazed that the cosyer that they were mocking at the beginning turned out to be a Godly gamer .

    "The eternal night has descended!" One of Emily¡¯s fans shouted, which resulted into a continuous cheer . The fans were having a st, Emily then signaled them to stop . It was at this moment when most of the people were distracted by Emily¡¯s shenanigans, Alex had killed two more enemies .

    When the rey for the kill was disyed, it was another amazing y . Alex didn¡¯t use the scope of the sniper rifle and simply shot twice without the crosshair, hitting the moving targets which resulted into headshots . So it was not just Emily who was God level yer there was someone else in Emily¡¯s team that was as good as her . This excited the audience even more . The only people watching that knew who the other yer was, were the Mercenary club, and the Gaming Club members .

    The other yers finally understood what the defeated yers meant, when they said it was all headshots . These two yers since the beginning had never made one mistake and their uracy at this point was nearing a hundred percent .

    ir and Kim Suho who heard the screaming fans felt a bit conflicted . They wanted to win, but at the same time they wanted to show that they weren¡¯t just decorations either . They too were yers, and it¡¯s not like they were bad yers . Both of them were really good, and ir was better than most of the yers here .

    Yet if you ced them beside Alex and Emily they just be normal yers . They did try their hardest to contribute something, but before they can even shoot Alex or Emily had already killed all the enemies and that would be the end . They were winning, but at the same time they didn¡¯t feel like they were winning .

    Niel on the other hand, didn¡¯t try to match up to the two . He knew from the start the difference in skill . So instead of forcing himself to kill an enemy he decided to devote all his attention to support . Since the beginning of the tournament Niel had been silently supporting both Alex and Emily .

    He would throw a perfectly timed sh grenade . He would provide cover fire for Emily, and Alex when they needed it . He even knew where to ce the smoke grenades to distract the enemies long enough for either Alex or Emily to kill them .

    The audience were so bewildered by Alex and Emily¡¯s gamey that they didn¡¯t notice the one supporting the two was no slouch either . The only one who noticed Niel¡¯s style of ying was the ace yer of another team .

    To that ace both Alex and Emily¡¯s aggressive one man y style was dangerous . But the one he considered the real threat was the one supporting the two Niel . If Niel was removed from the equation both Alex and Emily would have a significantly harder time to kill .

    So once the support is gone, it would be easier to pick on Alex and Emily as a separate unit .

    ¡¯This game isn¡¯t suppose to be yed alone, I will show you how wed your way of ying is . In the semi-finals I will beat the two of you . ¡¯ The ace of this team was also a God level yer . The more he watched Alex and Emily¡¯s way of ying the more angry he got .

    To him this way of ying was a total sacrilege of how the game was truly meant to be yed . There was a reason this was team based game .

    . . .

    The game ended with overwhelming victory for Alex¡¯s team, at this point Emily was still in a one point kill advantage .

    The moment the audience saw that Emily¡¯s team won, they went berserk . "The enemies have embraced the eternal night!"

    The crowd cheered for Emily, who responded with a twirl and an elegant curtsy . The crowd who saw Emily¡¯s actions felt their hearts beating faster . Then Emily smirked at the them, the audience who saw her smirking in such a cute way captured their hearts . Even thedies couldn¡¯t help but be captivated at this point .

    Emily¡¯s stage presence was undeniable, and she was on stage with Alex, and Niel who both looked cool and handsome . Yet even with their looks they couldn¡¯t captivate the audience as much as Emily did .

 Chapter 121

    Chapter 121

    The next match was about to start, Alex and his group went to the designated seats for yers waiting for the next round . Once he got seated Alex started to watch intently at the other yers matches . The skills he has currently was not enough, if he doesn¡¯t do something there was no way he can win against Emily . So he needed something, anything that could give him some kind of edge .

    Emily on the other hand didn¡¯t bother to do any of that since watching the opponents y style wont really help her improve . So instead of watching she went to the audience area to y with her fans, while it wasn¡¯t their turn .

    Niel on the other hand approached ir and Kim Suho . The two yers of the Gaming Club who were just looking at their feet . Kim Suho had a look of irritation, like he couldn¡¯t ept what was happening .

    Yet he knew that if he and the other Gaming Club members entered this tournament without Emily or Alex, then they would¡¯ve lost in the quarterfinals . Kim Suho wanted to win and save the Gaming Club from disbanding . He thought at the beginning that they could do it even without the help of Alex and Emily . He thought that they had a better understanding of the game and practicing together with his clubmates would give them victory .

    When he saw their improvement he was filled with pride that the Gaming Club wasn¡¯t only for fun and they could nowpete properly . Yet what was the reality of the situation even ir their ace wasn¡¯t a match for either Alex or Emily . One of which just learned how to y the game recently .

    They weren¡¯t even helpful at doing anything, he and ir simply stood there doing nothing . He just wanted to win and go back to the old times, when they can have fun ying games . . . Was it really alright if they win?

    Even if they win now, they would extend the life of the club for a bit . They would still need to prove themselves by winning other tournaments . At this point no matter how hard he tries, they can never go back to those fun filled days of casual gaming .

    ¡¯Even if we save the Gaming Club, will it still be the Gaming Club I know?¡¯

    While Kim Suho was questioning the existence of the Gaming Club, ir was feeling a bit ashamed .

    She the supposed ace of the club wasn¡¯t able to do anything at all . She even told Luvia that they didn¡¯t need the Mercenary Club . She told her that all they need was to get better by themselves . In the end she believed that there teamwork would prevail .

    That¡¯s what she thought, but reality would prove otherwise . When they yed with the Mercenary Club for the first time, she was shocked . Alex the one who didn¡¯t even have an ounce of experience ying FPS before meeting them, actually improved so much that he could basically kill them all in game . Though he did sacrifice his teammates in the process .

    Then Emily came and proved that she and her team weren¡¯t really anything special . The moment Emily joined the game it didn¡¯t matter if they had the better teamwork . Heck it didn¡¯t matter if Emily had a team or not, she by herself was capable of wiping them out .

    In the end they were simply inadequate . At first ir simply though Emily was special, that she was just a cut above the rest . At this point ir still believed that they could win the tournament without the help of Mercenary Club .

    Yet once more reality was cruel . If it weren¡¯t for Alex and Emily she and her team would¡¯ve lost on the third round of the preliminaries . There opponent had a God level yer and she wasn¡¯t a match for him . It didn¡¯t matter if you have teamwork as long as the opponent and you have a great gap in skill . If you don¡¯t have someone equally skilled to suppress the other, then losing was only inevitable .

    While the two members of the Gaming Club were being depressed while their heads look downwards, ashamed by their own incapability, Niel approached them .

    Niel Rayheart was a true genius, as he was born that way . He never truly needed to work hard for anything until recently . Yet at this moment he was working hard to be the best he can be . So seeing the two Gaming Club members looking like that, after a simple setback made him feel disappointed .

    He wasn¡¯t expecting extreme dedication like Oliver¡¯s, or perseverance like Evangeline¡¯s, or even the stubbornness of Rachel . He just expected them to fight until the end for what they love, in this case is the Gaming Club .

    It wasn¡¯t good topare yourself to such people like Alex or even Emily who are outside the norm . Even he who was blessed with talent could only support the two .

    "Hey you two how long are you going to mope around?" The two didn¡¯t even lift their heads to respond .

    "How disappointing, is that all you¡¯re worth? I thought you¡¯re doing this because you don¡¯t want your club to disappear . If so then how about doing your best?" When ir and Kim Suho heard what Niel said they both red at him .

    "What do you know Mr . Perfect? We¡¯re not like you guys that can do anything without much effort . How can you understand the frustration of being able to do nothing?!" Kim Suho got angry at Niel¡¯s statement and shouted at him . While ir simply red at Niel even harder .

    "Hmph, not much effort? I heard from Rachel that ever since Alex learned how to y the game he kept on practicing without sleeping for the past few days . He even watched videos of different y styles, studied all the maps and such . Is that not much effort? Also before you im that you can do nothing, how about doing something first? You see I haven¡¯t killed a single enemy in the game and all I did was support the two . So I suggest you change the way your thinking . Isn¡¯t this game suppose to be yed as a team?" When Niel was done with saying what he wants to say, he showed his usual radiant smile at the two and left .

    The two Gaming Club members felt even more ashamed as they understood what Niel was trying to convey to them . After a few seconds of silent contemtion they lifted their heads and a burning passion could be seen in their eyes, their resolve had been fortified .

    . . .

    Rachel was watching Alex who was currently in deep concentration watching the other yers ying their matches . While looking at him she remembered what Emily said about Alex being disappointed in her for not trusting him . Was that really the truth? If so why was Alex doing this? It doesn¡¯t really feel like he even cares anymore . Did Alex even care that much in the first ce?

    It was at this moment she realized that even now she couldn¡¯t understand much of how Alex¡¯s mind works, she still couldn¡¯t understand what makes Alex tick . It was not from theck of trying either, since she has been observing him ever since he transferred, but it seems that wasn¡¯t enough . Rachel then decided after she apologizes to Alex, she will ask Emily to teach her about all the things she knows about Alex .

    Like what are his favorite games, what he likes to eat, what are his fears and such . It is possible that Emily knows all those things since they are childhood friends . When Rachel remembered that face she felt extremely conflicted .

    . . .

    The quarterfinals had finally concluded and now the tournament was heading towards the semi-final matches . The next opponent of Alex¡¯s team was the team considered to be the most likely to win the whole tournament . Not only does this team have the best coordination in the whole tournament, they also had two God level yers on their team . Seeing as Alex¡¯s team also had two God level yers the match was most probably going to be about who has the better coordination . So knowing Alex¡¯s team had two bystanders, the audience felt like this might be it for Alex¡¯s team .

    Even the fans of Emily felt a little unenthusiastic about their chances . Still they had to support their Bloody Princess .

    "For the eternal night!" The fans started chanting in support for Emily .

    The game started and same as before Alex and Emily didn¡¯t change the way they yed, even though their opponents were better than the past ones they faced . To the two the only real opponent they had were each other .

    Niel who was supporting Alex and Emily like usual had suddenly been surrounded . He was being shot at in three different directions . Alex and Emily tried to save him, but neither of them expected this to happen so they werete to react . For the first time since the tournament started Alex¡¯s team finally lost a man .

    The other team felt ted that their n had worked . Now they only needed to face Alex and Emily separately and finish off the scrubs afterwards . Yet as they were now going to phase two of their n something unexpected happened .

    One of the two bystanders threw a nicely timed sh grenade on their side . This moment of confusion was enough time for Alex to shoot two of the surprised enemy yers .

    The enemy team was in utter shock at the sudden turn of events . The two bystanders who did nothing the whole tournament finally moved and they supported both Alex and Emily in near perfect coordination with each other .

    ¡¯Was this part of their n all along? Was this their fail-safe if ever that guy died? Damn it! They got us . . . Everything was just bait . ¡¯

    The ace of the other team, who had no idea what happened before the match, thought everything that was happening now was all part of the other team¡¯s n . Still they can¡¯t give up now . They still had two God level yers alive in their team, with that they can still turn this around .

    Yet while the game continued they finally noticed the huge difference in skill between them and Alex and Emily . The four of them at this point were ssified as God level yers, but they weren¡¯t at the same level of skill . The only person as skilled as Emily or simply near her skill was Alex, and vice versa the only one skilled enough to beat Alex in this whole tournament was Emily . Yet unfortunately for everyone the two of them were teammates .

    With the renewed vigor of Kim Suho and ir, the semi-final match wasn¡¯t as exciting as everyone thought it would be . It didn¡¯t even end in the result everyone expected . The actual winners of this match was an unknown team, with two God level yers .

    This was a shocking upset . The team that everyone thought was most likely to win wasn¡¯t even able to reach the finals . When Emily¡¯s fans saw the result of the match most of them cheered like deranged lunatics .

    "QUEEN! The eternal night is your domain may the glory of your victory resound throughout thend!"

    Niel looked at the two members of the Gaming Club and smiled . He raised his hand which the two responded by giving him a hi-five .

    "See that, now you can say you actually tried . "

    . . .

    The final match of the tournament was anticlimactic . The enemy team wasn¡¯t even remotely as good as the one in the semi-finals . The only reason they even got to the finals was because they got lucky . All the teams they face were mostly second rate . Now in front of Alex¡¯s team that were ying together better than during the start of the tournament, with two attackers and three supporters .

    The final match ended with Alex¡¯s team¡¯s overwhelming victory . The cheers were even rtively weaker than when they won in the semi-finals . Now it was time to dere their victory on the tournament also to decide who won the bet .

    After counting all the kills the winner of the bet was . . .

 Chapter 122

    Chapter 122

    The winner of the bet was in the end no one . The final tally of both Alex and Emily¡¯s kills were the same in the end . All of this happened because of Niel Rayheart, though you can call it a lucky shot Niel was able to kill one guy which ended the match and pretty much surprised everyone . Well everyone except Emily who smiled at what happened . Even Alex noticed the irregrity that happened .

    Yet before he could question Emily about it, their group was called to go up on the stage and take their trophy . The host handed the trophy and que, which Emily dly received . They were also handed the prize money, which Alex passed to Kim Suho .

    Emily then passed the trophy and the que to Alex, and once again took the mic from the host, who at this point already expected Emily to do this . When Emily took the mic she made a grandiose bow with some graceful movement using her hands . After bowing she looked up to the audience with a bright fearless smile .

    "My lovely adorable peons! Have you seen my beautiful, elegant, perfect fighting form? I hope you burn that scene into your minds . Since what you have witnessed is a supreme honor and privilege . Tell the story to your children and grandchildren, that you have witnessed that ultimate fighting form . That you have witnessed the victorious Bloody Princess Evangeline! Let the eternal night embrace you all!"

    The crowd who heard Emily¡¯s speech responded with a thunderous apuse . Some of them started screaming different things .

    "Princess Eva please have my children!"

    "Who dares taint our princess!? Kill him!"

    "May the eternal night fall upon us and embrace us all!"

    "I don¡¯t understand what this Bloody Princess thing is, but you¡¯re cute and cool that¡¯s all I need . "

    "QUEEN! I pledge my eternal loyalty to you!"

    Alex who heard every word the crowd was shouting, still couldn¡¯t understand why they were so worked up . Was Emily¡¯s cosying really that good? He just couldn¡¯t understand it . Emily is indeed wearing some weird outfit that looks cute but it could dy her movements when in battle .

    ¡¯Still Emily is a maid in our house and is always wearing that maid uniform, so I guess this outfit of hers isn¡¯t really that much of a hinderance . That¡¯s not the point why are they like this? Does her clothes being like that truly excite them? Or is because of her acting?¡¯

    While Alex was thinking as to why Emily was gaining such a reaction from the audience, Emily started to sing the theme song of the anime .

    "Will you make a contract with me?" Once Emily said those lines the bgm of the blood princess theme song suddenly yed . In which Emily¡¯s voice floated throughout the arena .

    "Blood and darkness cover my soul

    as I drown in death and sorrow .

    Will youe o dear heart of mine

    in this eternal night will you shine"

    Every word that came out of Emily¡¯s mouth was sung with such passion that the audience thought that her version of the song was better than the original . Emily sang while dancing which excited the audience even more .

    After singing the theme song of the anime Emily raised her hand and bowed . This was met with another round of apuse . Rachel and the others who heard Emily sing were truly surprised . She was practically an idol at this point .

    "Not only is she a hacker, able to cook and sew, her acting is superb, even her singing and dancing is incredible . " Sayaka was getting excited the more things she found out about Emily .

    Kei on the other hand felt even more dejected . ¡¯What¡¯s with these superhuman people! Aren¡¯t we suppose to be high schoolers?¡¯

    "To all my fans here today, thank you for enjoying the show!" Emily¡¯s tone of voice changed . She was now using her normal speaking voice . The sudden change of character stunned the audience making them look at Emily dumbfounded .

    What happened to their bloody princess? Her change in tone was apanied with a change of atmosphere which resulted in the crowds confused state .

    "Thank you for enjoying my act as the bloody princess Evangeline Cromwell . If you want to see more of me cosying and acting as your favorite anime characters check out my website . It¡¯s kawaiiememcosying ., I¡¯ll be waiting for you guys! I Emi will be waiting for you guys!"

    Once she was done advertising her website Emily handed the mic back to the host . The audience who heard what Emily said was stunned at first, but the others immediately wrote down the name of her website .

    "Emi you¡¯re the cutest girl of them all!"

    "How about bing an Idol Emi-chan?! I¡¯m sure with all of us supporting you, we can aim for the number one idol!"

    "Will you cosy as Magical girl Rin-Rin next?"

    While the audience was still in an uproar, Rachel and everyone from the Gaming and Mercenary club in the audience seats headed out before it gets harder to leave .

    . . .

    After she was done consoling the host, Emily headed towards Alex and his group . Seeing that Emily was finally with them, the group decided to head out of the arena to meet up with the others .

    "You guys go out first, I have something to discuss with Emily . " Niel nodded in acknowledgment of what Alex said and left the arena with Kim Suho and ir .

    "Oh my Alex, are you going to confess? Did my act awaken something in you?" Emily smiled teasingly at Alex .

    "Emily, you did that on purpose . Why?" Alex didn¡¯t mind Emily¡¯s teasing and simply asked the question he wanted to ask since awhile ago .

    "I don¡¯t understand the question Alex, you need to be more specific than that . "

    "Thest shot that Niel did, the one that decided our bet was a tie . You could have killed that guy first . You were positioned near enough in that angle and with your skill that was suppose to be an easy kill . Why did you let Niel take the shot? Why did you lose on purpose?"

    "First off I couldn¡¯t hit the guy since I didn¡¯t spot him quickly enough . Also I didn¡¯t lose on purpose, why would I do that? I really wanted to see Alex and Lilitth ojou-chan cosy . " Emily shrugged her shoulders while shaking her head with a sigh of disappointment .

    "So what happens to the bet now?" Alex asked Emily for confirmation . In which Emily responded with a cunning light shining in her eyes .

    "It depends on you Alex do you want us to both be losers or do you want us to both be winners?"

 Chapter 123

    Chapter 123

    "What do you mean?" Alex looked at the now smiling Emily with a bit of caution . This was the first time Alex thought of how dangerous this person was . This is irritating feeling like he was following someone else directions without his knowledge was quite rming . The only other person he knew who can control the situation to this extent was his dad . Emily might not be at his level on other things, but he was sure that her level of nning was two to three steps ahead of him simr to how his dad ns .

    Even though Emily has helped him numerous times before, he still couldn¡¯t let his guard down . Noticing Alex¡¯s increasing tension Emily couldn¡¯t help but giggle .

    The monster of the battlefield, the strongest merc of the younger generation, was actually cautious of her . This was a very interesting scene to behold if you were a merc . She a B rank merc who specialized in hacking and information warfare, was actually being highly evaluated by a named merc, an S rank monster, whose specialtyid in destroying enemy bases and annihting squads of mercs and soldiers .

    "Don¡¯t be so tense Alex I wont hurt you or anything . Even if I tried someone of your level could easily crush any n with sheer force . Also aren¡¯t I your friend? Actually right now I¡¯m your childhood friend . I treat you as a friend so I hope you treat me the same way . "

    When Alex heard what Emily had to say he loosen up a bit, but he still remained vignt, even a friend, arade in arms can still stab you in the back .

    "Ok I¡¯ll trust you, but do exin what you mean? What do you mean we can be both losers or winners?"

    Feeling the tension lessen, Emily sighed . If Alex considered her a threat and attack at that very moment there was no way she could win . Only death was to await those who mess with the five strongest of Berdonia, well it would be a simr story with the ten generals of the Granado Empire, and the three saints of the Southern Union .

    "It¡¯s simple really, if we both lose then the bet is voided . On the other hand if we both win then both of us get what we want . "

    . . .

    Rachel and the others were outside the venue waiting for Alex and Emily . While waiting for the two of them toe out the gaming club members were celebrating their victory . While Rachel was a bit distracted by what was taking Alex and Emily so long .

    Were they talking about her, about what she did awhile ago? Rachel really wanted to go in and look for them, but if she did so Alex might misunderstand and think she doesn¡¯t trust him .

    Sayaka noticed her best friend¡¯s distress and patted her back . "Hey don¡¯t think too deeply . You know that guy Alex, he¡¯s not someone that will do anything to hurt you . " Hearing Sayaka¡¯s words of encouragement made Rachel calm down a bit .

    "I know, thanks Saya . "

    "What are friends for . " Sayaka happily hugged the wryly smiling Rachel .

    . . .

    Sayaka who seeded in cheering her best friend had a sudden thought while doing so .

    ¡¯Still Emily is quite the curious one . I get this irritating feeling like I met her somewhere before . . . Herst name was Hunt, that also sounds a bit familiar . I wonder where have I seen her before . . . Well whatever it doesn¡¯t really matter now . ¡¯

    . . .

    Alex and Emily had finally exited the arena . The moment Rachel saw Alexing out, she ran towards him and bowed her head .

    "Alex I¡¯m sorry about not trusting you . I should¡¯ve believed you when you said that Emily was you childhood friend . " Rachel didn¡¯t spare another second and directly apologized .

    Alex was surprised by Rachel¡¯s sudden actions and after looking at Emily who simply shrugged her shoulder, Alex sighed .

    "No it¡¯s alright Rachel . I don¡¯t really mind . " Rachel who heard what Alex said was about to respond but Sayaka cut her off .

    "Well it¡¯s not alright with me! You two are childhood friends! Howe you didn¡¯t say anything! I expected that from stone faced Alex but not from you Emi!" Sayaka pouted .

    "Well we just figured it out as well . You know we haven¡¯t seen each other in years . Sorry about that Saya . " While Emily was trying to appease Sayaka, Oliver approached Alex .

    "Well that was unexpected . . . You must be quite ecstatic to see your childhood friend after so long . " Oliver¡¯s impression of Alex was over the roof at this moment .

    ¡¯Not only is he a mysterious transfer student, who has connections with two of the three school beauties . He is also super athletic, with high intelligence . Now he even has a sudden childhood friend reappearance . This guy really feels like he¡¯s the protagonist of some story . ¡¯

    "Yeah it¡¯s really a surprise to see her again . " Alex answered dispirited but as he was usual like this and always speaking in a an indifferent tone of voice, Oliver wasn¡¯t able to notice any difference from his usual replies .

    When Emily was done consoling the pouting Sayaka, she pped her hands loud enough to make everyone present look at her .

    "To everyone from the Gaming Club, congrattions for winning the tournament . "

    "We couldn¡¯t have done it without you guys . " Luvia was the one to answer since Kim Suho felt a bit conflicted at the moment .

    "So how about we celebrate our victory?"

    "Sure, since you and Alex were the ones who contributed the most to our victory . We the Gaming Club will try our very best to answer any request you have . "

    When Emily heard the words she was expecting to hear, she couldn¡¯t help but smile .

    "Really anything?"

    "Anything within what we can do . If we can do it, we will do it . Right guys?" Luvia looked at the other members of the Gaming Club who all nodded in response . When Alex saw their response he felt a bit sorry for the Gaming Club . This was like watchingmbs going into the lion¡¯s mouth willingly .

    "Then let us the Mercenary Club and the Gaming Club, do a Cosy coboration!"

 Chapter 124

    Chapter 124

    When the members of the Gaming Club as well as the Mercenary Club aside from Alex, heard what Emily said they all widened their eyes at the shocking request . Cosying? Isn¡¯t that too embarrassing? Majority of them thought it was embarrassing, except for Niel, Oliver, and Sayaka .

    Niel was confident that no matter what he wore, he would shine more than anyone else . Oliver on the other hand had a hidden love for anime . While Sayaka was simply interested in wearing cute clothes .

    "Are sure that¡¯s what you want to do?" Luvia asked Emily a bit hesitantly .

    "Yeah that¡¯s what I want! Alright everyone let¡¯s go!" Emily answered with a smile as she enthusiastically walked forward towards her favorite shop .

    . . .

    In a ck sedan a young man waszily looking outside his window . Surrounding his own vehicle were four more cars of simr make and color . This young man was part of a very powerful local gang who controls a portion of the city .

    In the recent days he has been in a bad mood, since his father always keeps on scolding him . He couldn¡¯t understand why he shouldn¡¯t have fun . He was the son of the boss of arge scale gang . His father has been doing shady deals ever since he was little, so why shouldn¡¯t he have fun?

    ¡¯That old man of mine, if I¡¯m not allowed to have fun, then who is?¡¯ The young man sighed, every time he remembers his father, made him a bit angry . Right now he was heading towards one of his father¡¯s biggest investors, he had heard rumors that this family had a very beautiful daughter . It might be interesting to have fun with her, he thought . That¡¯s when he saw them, a group of the cutest girls he has ever seen .

    "Hey you stop the car . " The young man ordered his driver .

    The driver immediately stopped the car since he knew about this young man¡¯s temper . Thest driver that didn¡¯t follow his orders was never to be seen again .

    Once the car stopped the young man got off . The other cars following him stopped as well, and eight rough looking men stood behind the young man .

    "Young master what is it?" One of the men asked .

    "I saw some girls I¡¯m interested in collecting . "

    "Oh another group of girls to add to your collection . It¡¯s their honor to be picked by you . "

    "Yeah, yeah, so tell the guys to block this area for awhile . Also call our contact in the local police station, tell them to help us out . I¡¯ll be done after an hour or so . Don¡¯t let anyone pass through this street . "

    "Ok young master . " That one man started to talk to drivers and went ahead and called their contact in the police .

    The young man alongside seven of what looked to be his bodyguards approached a group of teens . The young man didn¡¯t care about the stoic pretty boy, the muscr dunce, the idol like guy, the angry looking guy and the three average looking guys .

    What he set his sights on was the cutely dressed gothic lolita, the pretty blond hair chick, the sexy short haired chick, the hot sses woman, and especially the pigtailed girl with beautiful blue eyes . Even among the high level group of girls she was above them all in beauty .

    "Heya girls, wanna have fun with this young master here . The name¡¯s Tetsuo Harima, now how about you ditch these losers ande with me . " The moment he said this Tetsuo¡¯s seven bodyguards surrounded the group, they even held their batons in threatenigly . They did this because the guards were a bit worried about Oliver when they saw the frame of his body .

    . . .

    Oliver who saw the men surround them was confused as to why did so .

    Niel shrugged his shoulders as he thought that there was never a dull moment if you stick with this juniors of his .

    Sayaka was thinking wether she would y with these guys or let Oliver protect her .

    Emily felt pity for Tetsuo and his men, how unlucky can you get and hit on the one girl you should never touch in this whole city .

    Kei alongside the Gaming Club members were the only ones panicking in the group .

    Alex on the other hand reacted when he saw Tetsuo¡¯s bodyguards surround them . He naturally stood in front of Rachel . Tetsuo who saw what Alex did snickered . While Rachel decided to let Alex deal with these fools since it would be faster that way .

    "Oh are you her boyfriend? Well it doesn¡¯t matter, since she¡¯s mine now . So how about you move aside, before you get hurt . " Even with Tetsuo warning him, Alex didn¡¯t move . Tetsuo was confused at Alex¡¯s actions . Didn¡¯t this kid noticed that he and his friends were surrounded by his bodyguards . Even if the big guy attacked, his bodyguards were professionals and they could easily subdue him .

    "You there make him move . " The guard Tetsuo pointed at walked towards Alex, intending to drag him away . Yet before he was able to grab Alex, he felt an intense paining from his stomach . The pain was so intense the bodyguard knelt and fainted .

    Tetsuo, who saw his bodyguard lying on the ground unconscious, suddenly felt a chill ran down his spine .

    ¡¯What the hell was that?! What just happened?! Damn it! Is that guy dangerous?¡¯ While thinking about what happened, Tetsuo tried to calm himself down .

    "You call for backup! All of you get that guy!" Tetsuo pointed at Alex . The other bodyguards who saw what happened topanion were wary of Alex . Still they had weapons and if they attack all at the same time, they¡¯ll be able to overwhelm him .

    Yet the moment some of them got near enough, Alex would kick them hitting their vital points with a speed that was hard to follow using ones eyes . The three men who were closer to Alex fainted, upon receiving his kicks . The remaining two men wanted to escape, but Oliver punched one of them in the face, and with a loud sound of something breaking the man fainted . The remaining one bodyguard that attacked wanted to retreat as well, but before he could do so, something hit the back of his neck and as a result he fainted . Niel had sneakily hit the back of the neck .

    Tetsuo and hisst remaining bodyguard stared dumbfounded at the scene . Six supposedly highly trained bodyguards were defeated by some random teenagers . The two of them couldn¡¯t believe their eyes .

 Chapter 125

    Chapter 125

    Tetsuo simply stood there confused as to what had happened . He couldn¡¯t understand the scene that happened before his very eyes . One moment his men were about to attack the teenagers and in the next moment they all fainted .

    "Hey where are those reinforcements!" The panicking Testsuo shouted at his only remaining bodyguard . That bodyguard that was with him was still standing stunned at what he just saw and was unable to respond .

    "Damn it! You f*cking useless piece of sh*t! Give me that!" Tetsuo forcefully took the phone from the bodyguard . It was a good thing he was still connected to the others .

    "All of you get to Georgia street right this moment!" Without waiting for a response from the person on the other side, Tetsuo hanged up .

    "You guys just you wait, once my other mene, you¡¯ll be sorry . " Tetsuo pointed at Alex¡¯s group showing some false bravado, even though at this very moment his legs were still shaking . When they heard Tetsuo¡¯s threat each member of the Mercenary club except from Kei and Alex looked at each other and were trying to stop themselves fromughing .

    The Gaming Club members on the other hand were as bewildered as Tetsuo and his bodyguard . They already knew the members of the Mercenary club were the most athletic in the school, but they didn¡¯t expect this kind of sh*t .

    Though they knew that the Mercenary club members can fight based on what they did to Kim Suho, but what they weren¡¯t expecting was this level of fighting ability .

    These guys actually beat up trained bodyguards and in one hit as well . Weren¡¯t these guys suppose to be students of the same normal school as them? Or were they actually part of that specialized school that trains soldiers?

    Oliver approached the trembling Tetsuo, who seeing the overly muscr Oliver approached him hid behind his one remaining bodyguard . The bodyguard who saw the approaching Oliver was also shivering in fear . In his mind all he could think of was this guy casually punched one of hispanions and it looked like his jaw broke .

    "What do you want?! If you do something to me you¡¯ll be killed without mercy . " Tetsuo started to threaten Oliver from behind his bodyguard .

    "So you¡¯re telling us to wait for your people toe and beat us up? You¡¯re also telling us that if we harm you, you¡¯re going to kill us? Then what¡¯s stopping us from just holding you hostage? Even if your men doe, we just need to call the police while holding you off . Since we did nothing wrong and only responded in self-defense then you and your people will the ones getting in trouble here . "

    Tetsuo who heard what Oliver was nning wanted tough but the fear he felt wouldn¡¯t subside . So instead he pointed at Oliver while looking at him mockingly . Which was quite funny since he was hiding behind his bodyguard while shivering .

    "You don¡¯t know sh*t! Fine call the police let¡¯s see what happens . The police are on my side you f*cking b*stard . So if I were you, I wont think of doing something so stupid . "

    While he was threatening Oliver his men finally arrived . Right now there were about thirty men that greeted Tetsuo .

    "Young Master!" The bodyguards bowed in front of Tetsuo who stopped shivering at this point .

    His courage once again restored, Tetsuo looked at Ren¡¯s group arrogantly almost sure about his triumph .

    "Heh, now you better apologize to me, if you ever want to leave here alive . Unlike the previous guys, these ones are a dozen time stronger . Also they came with better equipment . Show them!" Tetsuo¡¯s men got their swords out .

    When the Gaming Club saw the bodyguards of Tetsuo wield swords, they backed away in fear . Awhile ago they thought they were already safe . Since they thought that if the Mercenary Club could defeat the previous bodyguards with ease, the next batch wouldn¡¯t be that much better . Yet now that the Gaming Club members saw that Tetsuo¡¯s bodyguards were actually wielding lethal weapons, they felt extremely scared .

    On the other hand the Mercenary Club members except for Kei and Alex, almost wanted tough . To them even with swords at hand the opposition wasn¡¯t really much of a threat .

    ¡¯I practice with swords all the time nowadays, since I trained with master Ken . ¡¯ Oliver was happy that he could test some of the techniques he learned from Ken that didn¡¯t require wielding a sword .

    ¡¯Compared to the hellish training I go through with Sir Lyner such things, are but toys in my eyes . ¡¯ Niel was as confident as ever, but it was now doubled after surviving training with Lyner .

    ¡¯This guy is really pushing it now! If he dys us anymore, then we might not be able to get to the shop on time! If I don¡¯t see Alex in cosy because of this, I will destroy this Tetsuo guy¡¯s everything!¡¯ Emily was now getting a bit pissed about the situation .

    ¡¯Based on how they hold their swords, these guys know a thing or two, but with the people here that doesn¡¯t really mean anything . Even if there was a hundred of them with the same skill, they can never win . Alex by himself could probably kill all of these guys in a sh . " Sayaka felt like the situation was just a tad stupid .

    ¡¯Really? These guys think they can take us, with those sloppy stances? Heck even I by myself can probably take them all . ¡¯ Rachel same as Sayaka felt like this situation was getting a tad stupid .

    "Heh, so you¡¯re all speechless due to fear . Hmph, where is all the bravado that you guys showed awhile ago? Don¡¯t worry I¡¯m not a demon, I¡¯ll give you a chance to live . All of you just need to beg me for forgiveness . Then all of you prettydies should apany me for some-"

    Tetsuo wasn¡¯t even finished talking when he heard a peculiar sound . When he looked at where he heard the sound, he saw Alex in front of two of his bodyguards . The two bodyguards in front of Alex had the de of their swords cut in half .

    When Tetsuo and his guards saw this, their minds couldn¡¯tprehend or ept what just happened .

    "You talk too much . Instead of threatening your opponent, you should¡¯ve initiated a surprise attack . Your men should¡¯ve attacked us when we weren¡¯t ready . They also shouldn¡¯t showed their weapons in the get go . In the first ce you shouldn¡¯t have told us you had reinforcementsing . By doing what you did, you lost the element of surprise in all aspects . " Alex started to lecture Tetsuo about his ineffective attack .

 Chapter 126

    Chapter 126

    Tetsuo was extremely angry after hearing what Alex said . The one he threatened and is looking down upon, is now the one looking down on him . This situation was not right, this was all a mess . Not only did Alex not beg for forgiveness or cower in fear, he actually lectured him and his men .

    "What are you doing?! Attack! F*cking kill that bastard!" When they heard Tetsuo¡¯s screaming voice, the men in front of Alex who got their swords broken, used whatever remained of their swords to attack . When Alex saw the iing attack he was surprised since he though that these guys wereplete amateurs, but it seems that they weren¡¯t totally hopeless .

    Attacking with a broken weapon is indeed a bad idea, depending on the weapon . But the way Alex sliced the the de of the sword those two were holding, was still left with a sharp edge that could be used . So when Alex saw that they didn¡¯t discard their weapons nor did they panic or flee, he was truly impressed .

    Yet their attacks were a still too slow for Alex, he simply evaded by standing sidewards, grabbed ahold of both of their sword arms, and broke the two men¡¯s arms . The sound of their bones breaking was heard by the surrounding people . Even upon seeing this happen to theirrades, the other bodyguards continued to attack .

    Just them not being fazed by this proved that they were leagues above the bodyguards from awhile ago . Yet they forgot to take into ount Oliver and the others . They were so focused on Alex, that they neglected hispanions .

    Oliver urately hit the wrist of the men approaching Alex making them loosen their grip on their swords . Niel then followed up by throwing needle like objects that had some thin wires attached to them . Using this weapon of his Niel was able to surprise the enemies and entangled them with wires .

    Tetsuo¡¯s bodyguards finally noticed that Alex¡¯spanions were also a threat, so they dived their attention to the three . One of the bodyguards was about to use a girl from the Mercenary Club as a hostage . Yet before he was able to approach the girl wearing a gothic lolita dress, the girl in question got a hold of him, and took hold of his joints and easily subdued him .

    Tetsuo who saw what Emily did to one of his supposedly highly trained bodyguards was stupefied .

    ¡¯What the hell is wrong with these people!? Even the girls are so powerful! Sh*t what the hell is this!¡¯

    "Hey you f*cking sh*ts what is my father paying you guys for?! You¡¯re all useless if you can¡¯t even beat up a few teenagers . So get your asses up and running and start winning!" Tetsuo who was once again feeling his fear riling up within him, was getting angrier by the second .

    The bodyguards who heard what Tetsuo said started to fight like there was no tomorrow . If they run or do this inadequately the boss would make them wish that they could die . The most that these teenagers could do is hurt them, but the boss would do something that goes beyond death or getting hurt .

    Yet even with their renewed vigor they were still no match for Alex¡¯s group . After a few seconds the thirty men that Tetsuo called for were now all lying on the ground either unconscious, or screaming in pain .

    "That was it?" Oliver who got into this kind of fight for the first time, was still in an excited state . He finally had the body and the technique to slowly be what he always wanted to be . Now that he had this fight his confidence was soaring towards new heights .

    "Hey do you have something more to show? If not just go away! You took up too much time! If I don¡¯t reach the store while it¡¯s open and make my friends here cosy . . . I will promise you that you will have a horrible future . " Emily pointed at Tetsuo and started to threaten him .

    The Gaming Club who heard what Emily said, couldn¡¯t believe what they heard . Was this real or were they simply dreaming? They already been attacked by grown men from a local gang, and a powerful one at that, and she simply treated them as a moments distraction . Emily even after all of this, ns to have them cosy?

    Tetsuo who heard Emily threatening him, got angrier . As he gnashed his teeth in frustration . He was now beyond feeling fear, he was simply getting angry at the whole situation . As if they timed it the police finally arrived at the scene .

    "Hey what happened here?" One of the police officer payed by Tetsuo¡¯s family acted as if on script . He looked at Tetsuo for the report of the situation . Tetsuo snickered as he exined to the police officer his own version of what happened .

    When the others heard Tetsuo¡¯s bogus recounting of the events, they tried protesting but it was to no avail . The Police officer didn¡¯t listen to their statements .

    "Hey bring them all to the station for questioning . " When the other police officers on the scene were about to take action, Alex had finished making a phone call . A few secondster, somebody contacted the police officer paid by Tetsuo¡¯s family .

    When he received the call at first he was a bit angry and after few moments his face paled . Once he was done talking with the one on the phone he shouted at the others .

    "Do not touch them! Capture all the men on the floor and bring them all to that station! This is a direct order from the Police Chief! Bring him as well . " The leader of the Police officers that came, pointed at Tetsuo .

    When Tetsuo saw the officer pointing at him, he was shocked . "What the hell are you talking about?! Why are you capturing my men? They¡¯re the ones who attacked first get them!" When the Police officer didn¡¯t seem to listen to him made Tetsuo even more angry .

    "The f*ck you¡¯re just a rotten cop that my father pays! Once I¡¯m done here, expect your life to be over!" When he noticed that he will still be dragged away no matter what, Tetsuo started to threaten the cop . He then looked at Alex and red at him angrily .

    "You think this is over? You don¡¯t know sh*t! My family is a subordinate of the Kain family! Even if you have the backing of the Police Chief, he still wont be able to protect you from the Kain¡¯s . "

    When Alex heard Tetsuo¡¯s threats, he sighed . He then called Evangeline .

    . . .

    While Evangeline was preparing to go back to her house from the main branch, she received a call from Alex . When she saw the name pop up from her phone, she rubbed her eyes unable to believe what she was seeing . Alex actually called her!

    ¡¯Okay Evangeline Kain you need to calm down . Breath in, breath out . ¡¯ After a few more seconds of trying to calm herself down Evangeline picked up the phone .

    "Hello Alex, how can I help you?" ¡¯Damn it Evangeline! Why do you sound like call center agent!¡¯

    Alex who was a bit in a hurry, had no time for pleasantries and went direct to the point .

    "Eva do you know the Harima family?" Evangeline who was still beating herself up by how she answered the phone, calmed down when she heard Alex say the Harima family . When Eva heard that name she knew that this wasn¡¯t a casual call to a friend .

    "Yes, they are one of our subordinates . Why do you ask Alex? Did they cause you trouble?"

    "Yes a bit, but that¡¯s now what this call is about . First I want you to tell the boss of the Harima family that his son is going to jail for awhile, since he did something stupid . I also want you to give me the Harima family and make them my own subordinates . Tell your father that this is a request from Alexander Samarita . "

    When Eva heard Alex¡¯s request she was truly surprised . What was Alex thinking wanting to gain a family like the Harima¡¯s what does he need them for? Still this is a pretty easy request to fulfill .

    "Okay Alex I will do as you say . "

    . . .

    After talking to Evangeline for a few more seconds, Alex hanged up and looked at Tetsuo .

    "Tetsuo Harima, you have made a lot of mistakes today but you made three major mistakes . First you attacked without knowing how strong the opponent was . Second you attacked without any n whatsoever which is equivalent to a death warrant in the battlefield . Finally you tried to touch someone you shouldn¡¯t have . "

    The moment Alex expressionless eyes looked at Tetsuo, he felt a chill surround his body . It was at this moment Tetsuo received a call from his father .

    "Father! Help me! There is this f-"

    "SHUT THE F*CK UP! YOU IDIOT OF A SON! Do you know who you provoked! Because of you we lost everything! The Kain¡¯s have offered us up as a sacrifice to that esteem personage in front of you . " When Tetsuo heard what his father said, his grip on his phone loosed dropping it on the ground .

 Chapter 127

    Chapter 127

    Tetsuo was now a lifeless husk of his former self . He couldn¡¯t understand what went wrong . He was suppose to be the son of one of the most powerful person in the underworld . Yet he was now being treated like amon criminal, like somemon thug you can find anywhere .

    All of these happened simply because of the boy standing right in front of him . Who was he? Howe the Kain¡¯s needed to please him? Tetsuo didn¡¯t know nor will he have the chance to know, the answer to those questions . The moment that he was leaving in the police car might¡¯ve been the longest moment in his life .

    As the despair and regret he felt slowly sinks in . It was toote, there can never be a second chance in this . There was no medicine for regret, if there was then maybe Tetsuo would gain a bit of hope .

    . . .

    As the police cars slowly fade into the distance, the Gaming Club members were still in a state of shock and confusion . They didn¡¯t understand what had happened . Everything that just happened seem more like a short film of sorts, as it didn¡¯t feel real .

    It was at the moment when everything turned quiet when Emily suddenly spoke in a loud voice . "Come on guys! Quickly if we run now we can still barely make it!"

    "Umm" When Kim Suho was about to say something Emily simply red at him which shut him up .

    The Gaming Club members didn¡¯t want to argue with Emily, since they saw what she can do . Also they did owe her a favor, for winning the tournament and also helping them out in the recent fight . But the members of the Mercenary Club were another thing altogether .

    "Sorry Emily, I still have something else to do . Any other day I would dly apany a charmingdy such as yourself, but I truly can¡¯t today . " Niel was the first to speak, which was like a signal for the others .

    "Sorry Emi, I got to go home as well . My dad needs me to do some errands . " This time it was Sayaka who spoke and sounded genuinely disappointed . Unlike the rest of the group she truly wanted to try cosying . If she could she wanted to ditch these so called errands .

    "I¡¯m sorry I need to go home too . My irritating excuse for a father wants me to go home, and for some reason like everything else he does he doesn¡¯t want to exin why . "

    "Comrade Emily I as well cannot attend your cosy session . I have an urgent mission I need to finish . Time is of the essence . " Oliver who got a message from his Master Ken a few minutes ago, was asked to meet him immediately . The message sounded urgent, and he didn¡¯t notice it until the fight was over . So after telling his excuse, and without waiting for anyone else to speak Oliver left .

    Emily looked at the group of people with a weird mixed expression of anger and sorrow .

    ¡¯How could this happen? I nned for everything, didn¡¯t I? I even got Alex to agree to a deal I thought he would deny, and this is how it ended up? No! I can still do it! As long as I could see Alex cosy I will still be somehow satisfied . ¡¯

    While Emily was having a mental debate with herself, Alex spoke to her . "Emily I need to apany Rachel home . So I guess we should reschedule this for ater date . "

    Emily who heard what Alex said looked at him with eyes of desperation and extreme sorrow . When her hope finally rekindled it was immediately burnt out! She was so happy to have won, and was able to make Alex and the others agree to her cosy idea . Yet now all of them, even Alex was backing out .

    What she was left with were the scared Gaming Club members plus Kei . At this very moment Emily was refusing to acknowledge this oue, and like an angel Rachel said some magical words .

    "It¡¯s alright Alex, go with Emily . I can go home by myself or do you think I can¡¯t do that without you? For your information I have been going home by myself for years and I never needed you back then . "

    Rachel looked at Alex with a re . Alex who heard what Rachel said was in quite a conundrum . He needed to protect Rachel and for him to do that properly, he needed to make sure that she got home safely . Yet it was also part of the mission not to make Rachel ufortable or make her hate him . So no matter what he does, he would still fail the mission .

    Alex couldn¡¯t respond immediately and was still thinking of what to say . "Do not worry Alex, I will apany Rachel back home . It is on the way to where I¡¯m going . "

    When Alex heard what Niel said he felt a bit relieved . Niel who he thought was a slightly more athletic student than others was actually really good at fighting, as evidence by what he did earlier . So he felt a bit of relief to hear him say that he would apany Rachel home . Alex also had the surveince team keeping an eye on things, so if anything happens they would call him . So he guess it was alright to go with Emily for now .

    "Rachel I hope you get home safely . Thank you Niel . " Niel responded with a slight nod of his head . Rachel on the other hand blushed .

    "You worry too much about me, you big idiot . "

    "Okay then thank you for everyones help and input . So can we go now!" Emily didn¡¯t wait for the other to say goodbye as she dragged Alex away . The Gaming Club and Kei didn¡¯t even had time to say anything before Emily signaled them to follow quickly .

    . . .

    When Emily¡¯s group finally reached the shop, the sign she saw devastated Emily to her core . She knelt on the ground as her eyes emotionlessly looked at the sign that hang on the shop¡¯s door . The most horrifying words were written on that sign . The words were

    "Sorry we¡¯re closed . "

 Chapter 128

    Chapter 128

    Emily who was thoroughly disappointed by what happened left the scene sad . Kei and the members of the Gaming Club were standing confused as to what happened . Emily simply left them their without saying goodbye, as she wobbly walked away .

    Alex on the other hand apologized to the members of the Gaming Club and Kei for Emily¡¯s behavior . "Is she alright?" ir asked Alex with a bit of worry on her face . Even though awhile ago she was a bit scared of Emily, she knew that Emily was a good person and did what she did out of self defense . So now her fear was leaning more into worry, seeing the bright and cheerful Emily lifelessly walk away like that .

    The other members of the Gaming Club and Kei were getting a bit worried too . The sudden change of atmosphere Emily held was all over the ce, so it felt weird seeing her like that . They all voiced their concern to Alex, who answered them in a reassuring manner .

    "Don¡¯t worry I know how to cheer her up . I am her childhood friend after all . So thank you for doing all of this for her . " Alex bowed his head and left .

    The members of the Gaming Club as well as Kei who heard what Alex said, didn¡¯t actually think he could do it . They knew he was her childhood friend and all that but the words cheer up and Alex don¡¯t seem like they could go well together .

    That ever stoic guy can actually cheer up somebody? How can he do that, when it seems like he himself doesn¡¯t know how to cheer himself up .

    . . .

    Alex followed the now lethargic Emily walking directly behind her . In truth Alex didn¡¯t know much about Emily . So at this point it was impossible for him to know how to cheer her up . The only thing Alex knew about Emily, were she was a maid in the mansion . She was good withputers and other such things, and that She enjoys cosying that¡¯s all he knows .

    So Alex only n of attack was to ask Emily directly what could make her happy . Since he did owe her, for a lot of things . So doing this for her seems like it was necessary .

    "Hey Emily, I know we couldn¡¯t do what you wanted, but I still owe you for that deal we made . So tell me is there anything else I can do to make you happy?"

    The moment Alex said those words Emily stopped walking, and turned around to look at Alex . When she turned Alex saw that her eyes were shining brightly, and her paleplexion had color returned to it . It seem like once again Alex was tricked by Emily¡¯s superb acting .

    ¡¯Hehehe, I knew it! I knew you would say those words, as long as act sulkily enough . You fell for it hook line and sinker . I can¡¯t believe how easily I get to trick the silent sh . ¡¯ While Emily was snickering in the inside, she smiled brightly on the outside .

    She even rubbed her eyes as if she cried, which she did for a moment . Then she looked at Alex with a bright smile on her face . Alex who saw how drastic her changes were wasn¡¯t fooled, but he still needed to do what he already said .

    "I want to watch anime, with you and Lilitth ojou-chan . " Emily excitedly answered . Watching her you would think that she was like a kid . Yet the way she ns and acts, doesn¡¯t feel kid like at all .

    "Anime?" In just this one day Alex had learned a lot of things that he had no knowledge of, and it all came from Emily .

    "Yes anime! It¡¯s a show you watch on television . You know this costume I¡¯m wearing was also from an anime I like . The character I¡¯m is called Evangeline Cromwell I was acting like her during the tournament . She¡¯s from a show I¡¯m currently in love with called Bloody Princess . " Emily twirled around emphasizing the dress she was wearing .

    "So you want me and Lilitth to watch the show called Bloody Princess with you?"

    "No, not that show . That¡¯s too high level a show to watch for a beginner like you and Lilitth ojou-chan . "

    "There are levels in watching anime?"

    "Yes there are! For you to understand anime, you need to start at the first level . The first level of anime are works that evenymen like you could understand . Still if I show you a war anime, that would be too boring . Also I need to consider Lilitth ojou-chan while picking an anime . . . Hmm . . . . I wonder what should we watch? . . . I got it! We need to watch Magical Girl Harurun!"

    "Magical Girl Harurun?" Alex felt that the name itself was already confusing enough, and this was in a low level? Was the high level anime, something he couldn¡¯t evenprehend?

    "Okay now that we picked what to watch we need to head home immediately and get Lilitth ojou-chan!"

    Emily was like a roller coaster, with a lots of ups, and downs, sideways, and loopy loops . Yet this was a ride Alex was forced to ride since the beginning . He had no choice at the matter as he was happily dragged away .

    . . .

    It was a this moment that Rachel and Evangeline felt an ominous feeling attack them at the same time . It felt like there positions were beingpromised .

 Chapter 129

    Chapter 129

    When Alex and Emily got home they were greeted by a cutely dressed Lilitth . She was wearing a very cute purple cat eared pajamas which match the color of her hair and eyes . She was already pretty eye catching, but now with her pajamas her cuteness doubled, making her even more eye catching . Lilitth who was wearing cat pajamas jumped at Alex who caught her in his arms .

    "Onii-sama wee home . " Lilitth happily greeted Alex, while looking upwards at him wearing a cute cat pajamas, any other person might have already have a nose bleed by the sheer cuteness they saw, but not Alex . He simply acknowledged Lilitth¡¯s existence with a nod .

    "How about me Lilitth ojou-chan? Aren¡¯t you going to greet me?" Emily who saw Lilitth hug and greet Alex felt a little left out . Lilitth who finally noticed Emily¡¯s presence let go of Alex and did a little curtsy as she greeted Emily .

    "Wee home Emily nee-san . " The moment Emily heard Lilitth and saw her little curtsy, it felt like Emily¡¯s heart would explode . Emily couldn¡¯t stop herself and hugged Lilitth .

    Seeing the slightly bigger Emily who was wearing a gothic lolita dress hug Lilitth who was wearing cat eared pajamas was the cutest thing ever, but unfortunately the only one to witness this scene was Alex . Who in his eyes saw the scene as wasn¡¯t really anything special .

    "So Lilitth what happened to dad?"

    Lilitth who was being tightly hugged by Emily answered without breaking free . "Tou-chan went to his room and edited the pictures we took today . "

    "Pictures?"

    "Yeah me and tou-chan took lots of pictures today . We went out and tou-chan bought me dozens of dresses! We took a lot of pictures with me and tou-chan in different attires . So when we got home tou-chan immediately locked himself in his study and said he needed to edit the pictures and create a holy album of some sort . "

    When Alex heard what Lilitth said, he almost face palmed . What had happened to his dad? Is this the result of staying away from the battlefield for so long? His dad turned into something he couldn¡¯t understand . What happened to the person who was always the voice of reason and logic?

    While Alex was questioning what was happening to his dad, Emily stopped hugging Lilitth .

    "Hey Lilitth ojou-chan me and your onii-sama are going to watch some anime . Want to watch with us?"

    "Anime? I don¡¯t know what that is, but if onii-sama and Emily nee-san are watching then I want to watch as well . "

    "Good then, let¡¯s get going! Onward towards the audio visual room . " Emily who heard Lilitth¡¯s answer didn¡¯t wait for anymore confirmation and dragged the two siblings towards the audio visual room .

    . . .

    Emily had a better understanding of the mansionsyout than Alex or Lilitth, since she does clean the different rooms of the mansion . With Emily guiding them, Alex and Lilitth were able to get to the audio visual room using the shortest route .

    When the three entered the room, the two siblings were amazed at what they saw . The room was bigger than Alex and Lilitth¡¯s roomsbined . In the middle of the room the seats were positioned escting upwards . The seats were surrounded by six speakers, and in the front was a huge 110-inch Ultra HDTV .

    "We¡¯re going to watch here, you two seat anywhere you want . I will set the anime we¡¯re going to watch . Magical girl Harurun!"

    Emily excitedly started to set up, while the two siblings got a bit overwhelmed by her enthusiasm . Alex and Lilitth sat on the middle seats, and waited for Emily to finish setting everything up . Lilitth in this period of time, kept on ncing at Alex .

    "Do you want to say something Lilitth?" Alex had obviously noticed Lilitth¡¯s nces, and her hesitation to say something .

    "Umm onii-sama . . . Did you win the tournament?"

    "That¡¯s an affirmative, victory was achieved thanks to Emily . " Alex who thought that Lilitth was going to say something else, was surprised by her simple question .

    "Congrattions onii-sama! I know Emily nee-san would¡¯ve done well base on her skills alone, but I¡¯m sure onii-sama was needed to win as well . "

    "Thank you, but it¡¯s the truth that Emily¡¯s technical skills are better than mine . " Alex wasn¡¯t bothered in giving Emily all the credit, since she was the better yer between the two .

    . . .

    While the two siblings were having their conversation about the tournament, Emily who was preparing was formting a n in her head .

    ¡¯I need to slowly ease Alex, and Lilitth ojou-chan into the word of anime . If they see too much, they might be repulsed instead . So it¡¯s a good thing we start with this very light, very easy to understand magical girl genre . Magical Girl Harurun has been around even before I became a merc, and it¡¯s one of the animes I myself first watched . This was my gateway to the anime world, so I¡¯m pretty sure that this could be Alex and Lilitth ojou-chan¡¯s gateway as well . ¡¯

    Emily who was getting excited by showing the show to the two siblings was speeding up her work .

    ¡¯Still, what if they might not actually like this? I need to prepare a back up? Alex would most probably be entertained by a war rted anime, while Lilitth ojou-chan could like light hearted story lines . . . Okay a fantasy genre it is! I guess if this fails I can just show them a fantasy anime . I¡¯m the demon lord but I died and now I¡¯m the hero¡¯s best friend is quite good . Though the tone sometimes shifts to happy go lucky to tragic and back to happy go lucky . Though the tragic events happen during the second season . . . I guess I should only show them the first season . ¡¯

    When Emily was done preparing her back up as well as setting up, she went in front of the TV . Emily briefly introduced the anime, before pressing the y button on the remote .

    "Now let¡¯s watch Magical Girl Harurun . "

    As Emily started the show, she was unaware at this point what childhood crushing events would ur .

 Chapter 130

    Chapter 130

    Alex, Emily, and Lilitth started to watch the anime . After a few minutes into the story Alex asked the first question he encountered .

    "That cat like thing talked?" Alex pointed at the furry mascot character that looks like a cat but obviously wasn¡¯t .

    "That¡¯s a magical creature not a cat . " Emily who was enjoying the show patiently answered Alex .

    "Okay then, another question why is the magical creature, that is not a cat, picking a little girl that looks to be just twelve years old and making her save the world? Aren¡¯t there more qualified people to this?" Alex pointed another thing that he noticed .

    "That¡¯s because he needed someone with a pure heart to wield the power of the other world . "

    "Okay, then how does that little creature determine who has a pure heart? I haven¡¯t seen it use a scanner or anything of the sort . He just literally falls on that little girl¡¯s head, and because she helps it recover from its wounds that makes her pure of heart? That doesn¡¯t make any sense?"

    "There is more to it than that . He picked Haru because not only did she help him recover, she also showed her bravery in the face of danger . " When Emily was about done answering Alex¡¯s question . She saw Alex was about to ask another question, so she cut him off before he was able to speak .

    "Alex let¡¯s just watch this episode first then I will answer all your questions . " Emily couldn¡¯t get into watching one of her favorite anime¡¯s because of Alex¡¯s constant interruptions . So she just wanted to finish this one episode before answering Alex¡¯s questions .

    "Fine . "

    While the two were talking Lilitth was wholly focused at watching the anime . Even though in her mind she knew about the imusibility of what she was watching, but she just found it weirdly entertaining . The bright colors, the fast pace action sequence, and the girl who was practically her age being the lead was one of many reasons why this show interested her .

    When the episode was over, Alex wasted no time to ask his questions .

    "Okay the episode is done . I have a ton of questions to ask . "

    "Bring it on!" Emily readied herself for what was toe .

    "Following my question earlier, wasn¡¯t the little creature called Kerun looking for a warrior to save his world, and in turn save the world of Haru? So then why among the millions of people in that whole world did he pick Haru? She was just a little girl that, who was a bit above average in both courage and intelligence, yet that was it just a bit above average for the standards of a girl her age . Your answer awhile ago doesn¡¯t add up . I¡¯m sure there were many people in that show that had that supposed pure heart, and I¡¯m sure they would have been more qualified than a little girl to save the world . "

    Emily wanted to answer this with a don¡¯t take it too seriously because this was a kid show kinda answer . Yet if she answered like that it would be a total betrayal to her status as a fan of Magical Girl Harurun .

    "The reason Kerun picked her and no one else in the whole world is because like you said it was a time sensitive mission . So he didn¡¯t have time to thoroughly look at all the candidates . Haru was the first candidate he saw that fit all the requirements, to acquire the power of the other world . Seeing as he was in a hurry he chose Haru . "

    "Okay so next question, what¡¯s with that transforming scene? Does it really take that long for her to transform into her magical girl outfit? If so then why doesn¡¯t the enemies attack during that interval? Or why does she even transform in front of them? Couldn¡¯t she transform before going into battle?"

    "The magical transformation happens instantly that was just a frame per frame showed to us viewers for dramatic effect . "

    While the two were having there own Q and A . Lilitth had her eyes glued at the T . V waiting for the next episode . She waited for awhile and noticed that it wasn¡¯t going to the next episode so she went and took the remote to press y . The next episode started ying which stopped Alex and Emily¡¯s Q and A .

    When the two noticed what was happening, Emily wanted to press pause again, but saw Lilitth¡¯s look . Wasn¡¯t this her n all along to get the two siblings hook on anime . So first she just needed to hook Lilitth, then try to hook Alexter .

    Alex seeing Lilitth was fully engrossed in watching Magical Girl Harurun, decided to wait for all the episodes to end before asking his questions .

    . . .

    It took a whole five hours to finish the whole season of the anime . When thest scene was shown Lilitth who was crying moments ago, because she thought Harurun was dead, was now doing poses of the transformation scene . Lilitth was so into the show, that she found it fun to do the poses and say some of the lines .

    "The smile on everyones faces is the true magic . " Lilitth copied one of the poses and lines in the final episode . When Emily saw this she couldn¡¯t help but squeal . Even though Lilitth was wearing cat ear pajamas the way she delivered those lines were so serious, which mad Emily actually think she saw Lilitth wearing the Magical Girl uniform .

    Alex on the other hand wanted to continue his questioning .

    "Hey Emily why does nobody die in that world? I saw how powerful most of Magical Girl Harurun¡¯s attacks were . They were strong enough to st a portion of a high rise building . Don¡¯t tell me everyone had evacuated by the time she attacked? Actually didn¡¯t she kill all those other monsters, why does she not seem fazed by that? But she was fazed by the idea that she could have identally killed a random thug? Wasn¡¯t it at that point she already killed dozens of monsters? That would mean she killed a lot already so why did she acted fearful at the possibility that she actually killed a human being? Does she treat the monsters as something not alive? While it was already exined by Kerun that those monsters were formerly residence of his world . "

    Emily who heard Alex¡¯s question answered as best as she could . Then Alex would question her something else, until finally Alex was almost able to suck away most of the magic the anime once gave Emily . The only good thing showing this anime brought was that Lilitth was now hooked .

    It was at this moment that Emily decided to use her n B . She told Alex they needed to watch another anime called, I¡¯m the Demon Lord but I died and now I¡¯m the hero¡¯s best friend . Lilitth thinking that this would be simr to the Magical Girl Harurun anime was excited to watch .

    Alex on the other hand was a bit hesitant but decided to watch as well . The moment the first episode was over, Alex had a bunch of questions, but when he watched the second episode most of his questions were answered . The whole anime was like that, one episode left Alex full of questions while the next episode answered those questions .

    By the end of the anime Alex had only one thing to say .

    "That was pretty good . "

 Chapter 131

    Chapter 131

    No matter how much Emily tried she just couldn¡¯t get Alex hooked in watching anime, like she expected . She just couldn¡¯t understand it, he was able to quickly get into gaming but why not anime? Well Alex did need to do his best because of the club . . . When Emily reminded herself on how Alex started to y, she suddenly had a brilliant idea and was now able to think of her next move .

    Today she might not be able to hook in Alex, but she was still able to hook in Lilitth ojou-chan, so that was good enough . Still Emily wouldn¡¯t just give up . She now had a new n on how to get Alex interested in anime as well .

    . . .

    The following day to Alex¡¯s surprise Emily was going to attend school today . She was actually waiting for Alex and Lilitth in the front gates of the mansion .

    "What made you, suddenly decide to go to school today?" Alex couldn¡¯t help but ask .

    "Nothing much . . . I just felt like going to school today . " Emily who was wearing the school uniform with her tied in twintails . She actually looked like a middle schooler pretending to be a high schooler, but still she looked cute .

    "Okay, but I need to go and fetch Rachel first . If you want you can go to school ahead of me . "

    "No, it¡¯s alright let¡¯s go get Rachel . "

    Lilitth who was holding Alex¡¯s left hand, reacted when she heard the name Rachel . Every now and then when the siblings talk Alex would sometime blurt out this name . So this must mean that this Rachel person was someone important to her onii-sama, so she as the little sister decided to check her out .

    Before they left Alex looked back and felt a bit weird . He was sure that at this point Carlo would suddenly appear and fawn all over Lilitth, but surprisingly the only person to see them off was the head butler .

    Intrigued by this turn of events, Alex asked the head butler what had happened to Carlo . Which the head butler answered in a tone of voice that sounded like he was trying to suppress a sigh .

    "The Master is in his study still fixing the so called Holy Album . " When Alex heard this reply he wanted to smack his face . He was having difficulty epting this sudden change of Carlo, but it was a fact that he was already like this so why deny it .

    Without saying anything anymore Alex and his group simply left .

    . . . .

    A few meters away from the mansion Emily suddenly spoke .

    "Hey Alex aren¡¯t you going to ask me about my progress in hacking into the master¡¯sputer?"

    "No not really . I haven¡¯t even fulfilled my end of the bargain so I wasn¡¯t expecting for you to fulfill yours at the moment . "

    "As usual how very rigid of you . Well anyway I started to try and hack it yesterday, and it would seem like it might take me a week or two to hack into it . The defense system of the master¡¯sputer is simply Godly . The one who created that system must be a part of that squad . "

    Alex didn¡¯t bother to say anything to Emily, since it felt like she already knows the answers to her own questions .

    . . .

    After a few more minutes Alex and his group finally reached Rachel¡¯s house, and the person waiting for them, was none other than Dan Regius who was standing at the front door .

    "Alex as punctual as usual, early even . So I heard you ran into trouble yesterday . I hope you didn¡¯t make anyone of those punks touch even a hair of my daughter . " Dan was smiling at Alex, but while doing so he was also sending an immense bloodlust directed at Alex .

    "Don¡¯t worry Instructor Dan, I¡¯ve protected her properly . "

    Dan then touched Alex¡¯s shoulder and squeezed it using a great force . When Lilitth saw what Dan was doing, she was about to hit the bad man hurting her onii-sama . Yet Alex stopped her by holding her right hand tighter .

    "Really did you actually protect her? Then howe you guys got attacked in the-" Dan wasn¡¯t able to finish his sentence as he dodged an iing attack . The one who attacked him was no other than Rachel herself .

    "What the hell are you doing you old man!"

    "I was just worried about you my one and only daughter . "

    "Don¡¯t talk like that! You¡¯re giving me the creeps, also mom has been looking for you . She was saying something about who ate her yogurt . "

    "Oh sorry about this but I need to go . Have a good day in school my precious angel . Alex you better protect her properly . " Rachel was about to retort, but Dan already disappeared from sight .

    "Sorry about that . The sh*tty father of mine, is just being overprotective . . . Oh who is this? You must be Lilitth, I¡¯m Rachel nice to meet you . " Rachel knelt on the ground to be on eye level with Lillith and then smiled at her .

    Lilitth who saw how aggressive an entrance Rachel made, didn¡¯t leave a good impression of her, but she still needed to properly answer as Alexander Samarita¡¯s little sister . She did her usual curtsy and responded .

    "Hello I¡¯m Lilitth . I¡¯m Alexander Samarita¡¯s little sister, it¡¯s nice to finally meet you Rachel . My onii-sama talks to about you a lot . " Hearing what Lilitth said Rachel started blushing .

    "Really? I wonder what kind of things he talks about?" Rachel shyly took a peek at Alex before smiling brightly at Lilitth .

    "Oh something like you always attack when your embarrassed . Also that you always seem to be in need of protection, despite having sufficient fighting capabilities of your own . " Lilitth was still smiling ever so cutely but the words she was saying were prickly in Rachel¡¯s ears .

    "Really he talks about me like that?" Rachel took a peek at Alex, but as usual his stoic face betrayed no emotion .

    "Sometimes he talks about you like that, but I¡¯m sure onii-sama was just exaggerating . I¡¯m sure you really aren¡¯t exactly like that . " Alex who heard what Lilitth said, didn¡¯t correct her since what she said were indeed the things he said . Though Lilitth simply didn¡¯t say the other things about Rachel that he talks about .

    Rachel on the other hand thought about her previous behavior, and she couldn¡¯t deny anythign Lilitth said, since she acted exactly as Lilitth described her . It was a good thing that Alex hasn¡¯t told her about yesterday, when she didn¡¯t believe in him .

    It seems like her first impression on Alex¡¯s little sister wasn¡¯t all that good, but she can still turn it around .

    "Hey Lilitth how about we hang outter, after school . You can bring your brother along . I¡¯m sure will have tons of fun . " Rachel was now determined to make Lilitth see her in a good light .

 Chapter 132

    Chapter 132

    Lilitth was surprised by Rachel¡¯s sudden invitation . She was caught off guard and wasn¡¯t able to respond immediately . Seeing the confusion in Lilitth¡¯s face, Rachel pressed on her attack .

    "I have an idea! We could go to the nearby amusement park . There will be a lot of games and cute prizes . I¡¯m sure Lilitth will enjoy it . " Lilitth who heard Rachel¡¯s offer didn¡¯t know what to say . She even forgot that she was suppose to see if Rachel was good enough for her onii-sama .

    Lilitth like usual looked at her onii-sama asking for help . The way Lilitth looked at Alex troubled by what to say to Rachel looked really cute . Alex who saw the look on her face could guess what kind of difficulty she might be having .

    "You decide what you want to do . No matter what you decide I will support it . " Alex¡¯s answer was simple as usual, yet it was enough for Lilitth .

    "Sure let¡¯s hang outter . I¡¯m really excited to see the amusement park . Oh, also can my friende too?"

    Seeing how excited Lilitth was, Rachel felt really good . Her n had actually seeded . "Sure you can bring as many friends as you want . " Rachel who was feeling good about herself, answered Lilitth without any thought .

    Hearing Rachel¡¯s answer Lilitth who had already forgotten the whole point of her assessing Rachel, was now excited for school to finish so she could go to the amusement park .

    When the two were done talking an unexpected person suddenly butted in . "Um, can I join you as well?"

    Rachel had finally noticed Emily¡¯s presence . ¡¯Huh? Did the three of them got here together? Did Emily go to Alex¡¯s house and picked him up, or did Alex picked Emily up before me? Well she is his childhood friend, but still . . . Let¡¯s stop thinking about that for now, she asked if she coulde to the amusement park with us? I wanted it to just be me and Alex as the adults apanied with some of Lilitth¡¯s little friends . Still if I deny her now I might sound like a jerk . What should I do?¡¯

    While Rachel was having her usual internal conflict, Lilitth happily hugged Emily . "Yay, Emily nee-san ising as well!"

    "That hasn¡¯t been decided yet, Lilitth ojou-chan . We still need to hear Rachel¡¯s answer . " Both Emily and Lilitth looked at Rachel . Seeing the looks of the two pressured Rachel, it seems like she had no other choice .

    "Sure she coulde as well . " Rachel had difficulty saying this .

    "You hear that Emily nee-san, Rachel agreed! Now we can have fun together, I also want to introduce you to my friend . "

    "Sure, any friend of Lilitth ojou-chan is a friend of mine as well . "

    While Emily and Lilitth were happily talking, Rachel finally noticed something . Lilitth actually called Emily, nee-san while she was simply called Rachel . Not only that the way she acted in front of Emily was totally different on how she acted in front of her .

    ¡¯Is this the power of a childhood friend? She must have known Lilitth since she was a baby . Damn am I in such a disadvantage?¡¯

    "Myrades I want to join in as well . " Out of nowhere Oliver suddenly appeared and joined the conversation .

    "The more the merrier, what do you think Rachel?" Emily was the one who responded . Rachel who was still confused at the sudden events, was having a hard time keeping up . So when she heard Emily¡¯s question it took awhile before she could answer .

    "Ah, sure . . . Of course you cane Oliver . "

    Oliver who had failed to bring the Mercenary Club members to the arcade, felt like this was the chance he has been waiting for all his life . He could finally have fun with all his friends .

    When they thought that it was finally over, somebody once again appeared out of nowhere, and it was someone unexpected .

    "Could I too, join you guys at the amusement park?" Someone suddenly walked out of the corner of the street . It was a beautiful girl with a wonderful body and long silver hair . This girl was none other than Evangeline Kain .

    "It¡¯s been awhile everyone . I hope you all have been in good health . " After greeting everyone Eva suddenly went in front of Lilitth who was beside Emily .

    "I don¡¯t think we three have been properly introduced before . I¡¯m Evangeline Kain, the Student Council President of Cromer High school . It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you two . " Lilitth was amazed by Evangeline¡¯s extremely proper introduction, with such harmonious tone of voice .

    "It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you . I¡¯m Lilitth Samarita, Alexander Samarita¡¯s little sister . " Lilitth did her usual curtsy as she introduced herself .

    "Heya president I¡¯ve already messaged you before, but sure, I will introduce myself again . I¡¯m Emily Hunt a member of the Mercenary Club, also Alex¡¯s childhood friend . "

    Evangeline who heard Lilitth¡¯s introduction already knew about her, but when she heard Emily¡¯s introduction she almost chocked . She wasn¡¯t expecting Emily Hunt to be a childhood friend of Alex . This truly shocked her to her very core, but she didn¡¯t show such an ugly expression on the outside .

    "Oh what a surprise . . . " Eva still answered as elegantly as before .

    "Yeah, it was a surprise for the two of us as well . We just figured it out yesterday . " Emily hugged one of Alex¡¯s arms . Seeing this action made both Rachel and Eva jealous . It even actually made Eva a bit angry .

    ¡¯What the! How envious! I want to hug his other arm as well . ¡¯ Eva was about to make a move, but she noticed that Rachel was also about to make her move .

    "Oh my Rachel, I haven¡¯t heard your answer . Can I join you guys in going to the amusement park?" Eva distracted Rachel with a question .

    "Of course you cane . You¡¯re practically a part of our group . " Rachel answered without letting her guard down . The two stared at each other, and like usual an unseen spark was in between the two .

    When the two were about ready to pounce on Alex¡¯s arms, Lilitth took Alex¡¯s free arm . When the two saw this, they both wanted to scream out loud but they couldn¡¯t, so instead they screamed in their minds .

    ¡¯NOOOOOOOOO!¡¯

 Chapter 133

    Chapter 133

    The group had finally finished talking and headed towards Lilitth¡¯s school . Same as before on the way to her school they met Niel, who was quickly filled in by Oliver as to what they nned to doter .

    "Oh the amusement park and your bringing my sister as well . Of course I wille . " With his never changing winning smile, Niel happily agreed to join the fun . When the group safely brought Lilitth to the front gate of her school, everyone was amazed by the sight of the group .

    In front of the gate was a lineup of beautiful and cute girls, and handsome looking guys . They even dropped off a bundle of cuteness such as Lilitth . If they hadn¡¯t seen Lilitth¡¯s brother and Niki¡¯s brother before they might have been even more surprised .

    Still seeing the new faces such as Eva, Rachel, and Emily made them think that everyone rted to Lilitth must be of a certain level of beauty . Actually if they didn¡¯t know that Lilitth was a student of their school the people in the school might think that Alex¡¯s group was shooting a drama or something .

    . . .

    When the group was finished with sending Lilitth to school, they all headed to their own school . On the way they spotted Sayaka who seem less enthusiastic than usual .

    "Hey guys your all together as usual . . . Oh even Emi and Eva are here, how surprising . " Sayaka¡¯s response was so different than her usual perky self, that the others were getting worried .

    "Hey Saya is there something wrong? You seem out of it . " Unexpectedly it was Oliver who first voiced his concern . Sayaka who at this point usually reacts happily hugging Oliver with a tease, didn¡¯t do so today .

    "Oh Oly, you worried about me? Don¡¯t be . . . It¡¯s just that,st night in my part time job for my family business some random things happened and it turned into a whole mess . Long story short it took the whole night to fix that mess, so I¡¯m pretty tired right now . "

    "Oh I see . . . I guess you wont be able to go to the amusement park with us . " When Sayaka heard what Oliver said she suddenly perked up a bit .

    "amusement park?" Oliver started to exin what happened awhile ago, and that they decided to go to the amusement park after school today .

    "I¡¯m tired, but I¡¯m not dead! Of course I want to join you guys in the amusement park! Alex, Emi, Eva, Rachel, and Lilitth in the same group is sure to bring me some matter of enjoyment . " Thetter half of what Sayaka said was said in whispers so no one was able to hear .

    . . .

    Kei was thest one to join the group and also agreed to join them after school to the amusement park . So now the whole Mercenary Club was together in full force as they headed to school .

    Seeing all these good looking people side by side walking together was an amazing sight to behold . The only drawback for those who don¡¯t know them was Kei, who looked so normal they questioned what he was doing in a group such as this .

    Was he perhaps super rich? Is that his contribution to this beautiful group of people . Many of them all somehow spected that Kei was the richest in the group which was quite the wrong assumption . Not only was Kei the most average looking, he was also the poorest person in the group .

    Alex was so rich that he didn¡¯t even bother knowing the prices of some products he buys, and simply paid for them without a care of how much they truly cost . Evangeline was obviously rich as well, being a part of the main family of the Kain¡¯s . Rachel and Sayaka were also quite rich thanks to their father¡¯s contributions .

    Emily had umted a lot of money as a merc, and she was still gaining a lot as a maid of the Samaritas . Niel¡¯s family wasn¡¯t as rich as the other members but his family was above average and had a decent ie . Even their adviser Lyner was extremely rich, heck he was the third richest person in Berdonia and is considered the most famous mercenary of his time .

    Even in wealth Kei was pretty ordinary, so when he noticed that most of the focus was once again on him, he felt a bit embarrassed . Yet he was considerably less embarrassedpared to before, when he just started in this group .

    . . .

    When the group arrived at school as usual all the attention was on them . Nowadays the people¡¯s reactions were more tamed, but when they saw the new addition to the group the surrounding students and teachers once again reacted in an exaggerated manner .

    "Whoah look at that! Is their group actually growing?"

    "Sh*t you¡¯re right they added one more person and it¡¯s someone I haven¡¯t seen before . "

    "Is she a middle schooler? Did she go here by mistake?"

    "You idiot, look at her uniform she¡¯s wearing the high school uniform . Also she entered the school in Rachel¡¯s group, they even have the student council president on their side . So I¡¯m sure if she walked in by mistake the president would have guided her to her proper school . "

    "Wait a minute that girl looks familiar . . . Oh holy f*cking sh*t that¡¯s Emi Emi! I saw her yesterday acting out as Evangeline Cromwell!"

    "You¡¯re right that is her! I saw the video everyone posted titled amazing cosyer . Who knew that she was a student of this school!"

    "Emi Emi please sign my bag!"

    When one of the fans of Emily suddenly barge into the group this triggered all the other fans to swarm around Emily .

 Chapter 134

    Chapter 134

    It took awhile for Alex¡¯s group to get out of the encirclement of Emily¡¯s fans . Even the school¡¯s disciplinarymittee needed to step in, as the start of ss was getting closer, and a lot of the fans were blocking the path to the entrance of the school . There were even some from outside of the school that started to surround Emily .

    So with the help of some teachers, and the members of the disciplinarymittee they were able to disperse Emily¡¯s fans . Some of the girls who saw how popr Emily was wanted tosh out at her, and demean Emily . Yet they just couldn¡¯t do it, not only was Emily part of the Mercenary Club, which was full of influential students, she was also friends with the student council president the most powerful student in this school . If you even count her family background she was even more powerful than the principal himself .

    So the girls even though they were jealous of Emily¡¯s fame couldn¡¯t do anything to her . They just started to gossip about her, trying to spread a bit of bad rumors about her . Even though Emily and Sayaka were of almost the same personality the girls liked Sayaka because she doesn¡¯t actively draw attention to herself, and they known her for quite some time now . Emily on the other hand didn¡¯t care about what the girls thought of her, as she did whatever she wanted .

    In the first ce the only reason she came to school today was to initiate her n to make Alex like watching anime, and maybe in the process like cosying too .

    . . .

    It turns out that Emily was a ssmate of Alex, Rachel, and Oliver . The moment she stepped foot inside the ssroom it was like a new transfer student arrived . Everyones attention was on her . Even the teacher in charge took notice of Emily .

    Emily Hunt was a student that was suppose to be here since the beginning of the school year, yet through a bunch ofplications she was allowed to attend ss only if she deems that it is needed . The teacher in charge wasn¡¯t sure why there was so much leeway for this student, but he knew that he shouldn¡¯t dwell too much into it .

    It was also the first time he had ever seen Emily . Though David as the teacher in charge of this particr ss, he was able to see a picture of Emily . This was shown so that he wont be surprised when Emily suddenly decides to go to school .

    Now that Emily attended ss for the first time since the start of school . David as the teacher in charge of this ssroom needed to help Emily transition nicely into ss .

    "Ms . Emily, is it okay for you to introduce yourself to the ss?" David spoke politely as possible not wanting to offend anyone even though he was the teacher .

    Emily smiled at him, and stood in front of the ss . She then bowed in front of the ss showing her cute dimple smile .

    "Hello everyone I¡¯m Emily Hunt . I like cosying and ying video games . I¡¯m someone other people might call an otaku . We might not be together for long, but please take care of me . " Emily bowed her head, in which the boys responded with thunderous cheers, while the girls didn¡¯t know what to say .

    . . .

    It was around lunch time and once again before Alex¡¯s group could get surrounded by their ssmates they immediately escaped to the clubroom .

    When they got the clubroom, as usual Lyner was asleep yet surprisingly Kei was already there . The group waited for the other members to arrive before they started eating .

    When every member of the Mercenary Club was present inside the clubroom as they were prepared to eat their lunch, it was this moment Emily spoke .

    "Hey guys I know we just finished helping the Gaming Club, but I know of a club that needs our help . So I was hoping that we could start helping them tomorrow . "

    The members of the club looked at each other with a confused expression . Oliver as the president of the club was the one to speak for the others .

    "Did youe to school today, just to say that directly?"

    "Of course! This club is really important to me . If I coulde to school on a regr basis I would¡¯ve joined that club by now . " Emily was very dramatic as she said this lines . She even emphasized thetter part of her response .

    "What club is it Emi?" Sayaka was now getting a bit interested as well .

    "Well it¡¯s the Drama club . " The moment Emily said this, she was trying very hard to stop herself from smiling, as she continued to show a sad face . Phase one of her n was going pretty smoothly .

 Chapter 135

    Chapter 135

    "The Drama Club? What do they do?" Alex asked still unaware of what the majority of the clubs in this school do . Everyone who heard Alex¡¯s question was already used to Alex¡¯sck of knowledge in random things .

    "The Drama club is a club made for students that like to learn about acting, y production, and stage work . Basically they act out stories . " The one to answer Alex¡¯s question was Emily, who was trying to contain her excitement .

    "So how do we help them? What do they need from us?" After knowing what the Drama Club does, Alex as usual just directly asked what needs to be done .

    "They just need some extra people for some vacant positions . I actually think that Alex will be the best fit for this . "

    The moment Emily said those words, all the Mercenary club members even the sleeping Lyner stood up and looked at her as if she was crazy . Did this girl, who is supposedly Alex¡¯s childhood friend suggest this friend of hers that has practically one expression in his face, can act?

    "Hey Emi, I think I misheard you . Did you say that Alex? Alexander Samarita, will be a good fit for ying a role in the Drama club¡¯s y?" Sayaka who was as mischievous as Emily couldn¡¯t understand were she was going with this .

    "Yup Alex is the perfect person for this . " Emily simply repeated what she said awhile ago, without exining any further .

    "You mean as an extra right? The Drama Club just needs extras right?" Even Rachel was confused hearing what she just heard .

    "No, actually its the main role, the protagonist of the story . " The Club Members almost spitted out the lunch they just ate, when they heard this .

    "Why Alex? Isn¡¯t Niel a better fit for this role? You know this guy is a pretty good actor, so why not him?" Even the usual sleeping Lyner gave his opinion on this matter . The others couldn¡¯t help but nod at what thezy teacher suggested .

    "Hmm, it¡¯s true that Niel is the better actor between the two, but I believe that Alex would give a more authentic feel to it . "

    "Really?" Even Oliver who always believed in Alex was doubtful .

    "Yeah, why don¡¯t you guys believe me? Here I already have the script of the Drama Club¡¯s next y . How about all the guys in the club try saying a line from this epic war drama, and then we all judge who did it better . "

    When the other club members heard the theme of the y they now somehow kinda understood what Emily was iming, but even with a theme that felt okay for Alex, wasn¡¯t Niel who can act better still the best pick?

    "Okay that sounds like fun . Sure let¡¯s do it . Let¡¯s see here, what line should they use . " Sayaka took the script from Emily and started scanning the script for a good line .

    "Oh this one, the line the protagonist says to the other soldiers after the death of theirrade . "

    "Oh that¡¯s pretty nice who should go first . . . How about you Oliver, seeing as your the President and all that . " Oliver who was suddenly called out took the script from Sayaka, and read the line he was suppose to say .

    "I just need to read this right?"

    "Yup . "

    Oliver who was obsessed with anything to do with soldiers and mercenaries, had seen a lot of movies and shows about this topic, so he felt like he could say this line with a perfect movie quality to it .

    "This is war we¡¯re having do you think one man¡¯s death means anything? We are soldiers! We do what we are told nothing more, nothing less!" Oliver delivered his lines with such an intensity coupled with his muscr body was truly a scene to behold .

    "Wow! That was better than expected! Who knew Oly can act . " Sayaka and the other members started pping at Oliver¡¯s unexpected performance .

    "Okay next is Kei . " Sayaka handed the script to the nervous Kei, who had never acted before . He hasn¡¯t acted not even during a school y . So he was a bit nervous, but he still delivered his lines, the best he could .

    "This is war we¡¯re having do you think one man¡¯s death means anything? We are soldiers, we do what we are told nothing more, nothing less . " Kei delivered his line in such a normal nd manner, it was actually quite surprising to hear that such lines could be delivered in such a normal way .

    The Club members still pped for the embarrassed kei .

    "Okay then, next is Niel . " Sayaka tried to give Niel the script .

    "There is no need Sayaka, I know the lines now . "

    "As expected of our Niel . Okay then, lights, camera, action . "

    "This is war we¡¯re having . . . Do you? Do you think one man¡¯s death means anything? . . . We are soldiers! Soldiers do what they are told to do . . . Nothing more , nothing less . "

    Niel added some lines here and there, but the passion the sadness in his voice was so good, that nobody even cared that he did so . Oliver who was a fan of war movies, almost actually teared up when he heard Niel .

    "That was amazing Niel! After seeing that Emily, do you still think Alex has a chance?" Sayaka looked at Emily with a questioning gaze .

    "Yes I do . It¡¯s as expected Niel is very good an actor, but I still think Alex could top that . "

    "Well if you say so . Here Alex it¡¯s your turn . " Sayaka handed Alex the script, who read at how the scene progressed to that line .

    "So I just need to say these words?" Alex asked Emily, who was trying her hardest not tough .

    "Yes you just need to say those words, with the emotion you think that fits the scene . "

    "This is war we¡¯re having, do you think one man¡¯s death means anything? We are soldiers, nothing more, nothing less . " Alex said those lines while imagining himself back in the battlefield . His conviction to see the mission through could be heard in his indifferent tone of voice . Even his facial expression which was stoic fit the scene perfectly alongside the way he delivered the line .

    Everyone who saw how Alex did it, felt like they were really there, it was as if they were transported into the battlefield . Everyone except for Emily was stunned speechless at the way Alex delivered that line . Emily on the other hand was smiling in glee in her mind, as things were going just as she expected .

 Chapter 136

    Chapter 136

    Everyone who heard Alex speak simply stood there looking at him in silence . They couldn¡¯t understand what just happened . The way Alex delivered his lines, made them actually feel like they were in the battlefield . Just for a second they actually hallucinated Alex being surrounded by wounded soldiers .

    "That . . . Was . . . Amazing!!! How did you do that? Did you guys see that too? Did you see the almost dying soldiers near Alex? Did you feel the weight of his role?! It was soo amazing!" Sayaka excitedly asked all the other members, if they all experienced the same thing she did .

    "I got to admit, you are better than me for this role . . . Alex . " Even Niel who always feels like he was perfect had to admit that Alex¡¯s portrayal was better than his .

    "As expected of you myrade . "

    "Now do you all believe me? So who do you think is the best fit to y this role?" Emily was totally enjoying herself, as it seem like this time everything is going her way . It was time to redeem herself from the mishaps that happened yesterday .

    "Alex . " All the members of the Mercenary Club unanimously agreed that Alex was the best person to portray this role .

    "Are you guys sure, I should be doing this? I have no experience in the art of acting . "

    "As long as you do the same thing you did earlier then it¡¯s all good . " Once Rachel said that, the group changed topics and started talking about their trip to the amusement park . Lyner who was listening in got bored and went back to sleep .

    . . .

    It was after school and Alex¡¯s group was waiting for someone at the school¡¯s gate . Everyone except for Evangeline was ready to leave . After waiting for a few minutes without Evangeline showing up, Alex¡¯s group decided to head towards the student council room . Upon entering the student council room, the fist thing that greeted them was stacks of paper .

    It looked like the whole student council was extremely busy today . Eva who noticed Alex¡¯s group entering stopped looking at documents, to talk to them . Evangeline¡¯s secretary who saw this frowned at Alex¡¯s group, but didn¡¯t say anything .

    "Sorry guys there seems to be a lot of work that piled up when I was out of town . So I guess I¡¯ll be finished after an hour or so . I¡¯ll just catch up with you guys, a bitter . "

    "You sure Eva? Alex and I can pick up Lilitth and the others can wait here . " Sayaka suddenly made a random suggestion .

    "Why should you apany Alex? Shouldn¡¯t I do that, since I already know Lilitth while you don¡¯t . " Rachel suddenly interrupted Sayaka¡¯s suggestion .

    Sayaka who heard what Rachel said, really wanted to back out and allow her best friend to apany the guy she likes, but aside from her all of the club members have seen Lilitth . Heck even Eva has already seen Lilitth . Sayaka just wanted to see Lilitth as soon as possible, because she doesn¡¯t want to be left out, also she heard that Lilitth was extremely cute and wanted to see if that was true .

    "By your Logic Rachel, shouldn¡¯t I apany Alex? Since both of us are childhood friends and Lilitth ojou-chan adores me . "

    Rachel who heard Emily¡¯s counterargument wanted to respond but didn¡¯t have anything to counter with . So Rachel simply stood their silently, while Emily was having tons of fun teasing Rachel, which Sayaka obviously noticed . Sayaka was about to help her best friend out of this dilemma was cut off by Evangeline .

    "No need to fight guys . It¡¯s alright to leave me here . Truthfully you guys being here is just slowing things down . I can finish faster if you guys just leave . You don¡¯t need to worry about me, I¡¯ll be there for sure . "

    "If you say so Eva . Just contact us once you get to the amusement park . Oh, also the amusement park will be going to is called Fun Land . " Rachel told Evangeline the name of the amusement park and left the room .

    The other members said farewell to Evangeline as well, before leaving towards Lilitth¡¯s school .

    . . .

    Alex¡¯s group upon arriving at Lilitth and Niki¡¯s school, saw the two talking to each other . Lilitth and Niki who saw them dashed towards their respective brothers . "Onii-sama!" "Nii-Nii!" The two little sisters jumped towards the chest of their brothers .

    Sayaka who saw Lilitth and Niki was thrilled to see how cute they were . She wanted to snatch them from their brothers and hugged them like stuff toys .

    While this was happening Alex noticed that there was even a woman who was waving goodbye to the two . This was Sarah Resti the one with the callous hands due to her devotion to the arts .

    She was one of the few teachers that actually stuck to what she said to Alex, and actually helped Lilitth . Seeing her waving goodbye Alex bowed his head, in which Sarah responded with her own bow and a blushing face . Rachel quickly took notice of this and asked

    "Hey Alex who is that?"

    "Oh that person? That¡¯s Lilitth¡¯s art teacher, she¡¯s really kind and a very proactive person . She really loves what she teaches, as evidence by her callous hands . "

    "Howe you know so much about her? Have you known her for a long time? Also are you into older women?" Emily and Sayaka who heard Rachel¡¯s question started to snicker .

    "I don¡¯t really know much about her aside from her love towards the arts . Also I don¡¯t understand your question about older women . Are you asking me if I¡¯m physically more attracted to older women, is that your question?"

    Rachel who heard Alex rephrase her question, finally noticed how upfront she was being, and started blushing as she nodded her head .

    "In truth I don¡¯t really have a preference between old or young . Since I haven¡¯t really thought about it before . "

    "Can you think about it now?" Rachel for the first time pushed forward in her attack .

    "Sure, but I wont get an answer immediately . I need to think this through . . . Why do you need to know anyway?" Alex was confused at this whole Q and A . Even Lilitth who was in his arms got confused at Rachel¡¯s questioning .

    "Fine, think it through . Just tell me when you have an answer . " Rachel done with her questioning turned around .

    "Roger that . " Still confused by the series of questions, Alex who didn¡¯t get any answers decided to justply to Rachel¡¯s demands, since noplying might result to her being ufortable .

    Rachel who was not facing Alex anymore was smiling cheerfully . The other members of the mercenary club simply shrugged their shoulders, already used to the two¡¯s shenanigans . Emily on the other hand was excited to see a real ro situation happening before her very eyes .

 Chapter 137

    Chapter 137

    While walking towards the amusement park Alex received a call from one of the butlers back in the mansion .

    "What is it?"

    "Someone is looking for you young master . He ims to be the head of the Harima family . What should I do with him?"

    "Oh, he came quite earlier than expected . Give him the key to Safehouse B-21, tell him to wait for me there . Also tell him to bring about ten of his best men . "

    "Very well then young master . Is there anything you wish to add?"

    "No that¡¯s all . " Once Alex was done giving his instructions he hanged up .

    . . .

    Alex¡¯s group finally arrived at the amusement park . Alex and Lilitth who were first timers had different reactions seeing the structures in the amusement park .

    Alex analyzed the ce and saw that there were a lot of hazards . He determined it would be difficult to maneuver himself in an emergency if he rode rides like the roller coaster . Yet he determined the ferris wheel and other slow moving rides to have a tiny room for him to maneuver properly in case of emergencies .

    Lilitth on the other hand was giddy with excitement, when she saw the tall rides, the beautiful and colorful structures . Lilitth was amazed by the sight of the amusement park whose whole purpose was to entertain .

    "So what do you want to try first?" Rachel who saw the excited Lilitth was happy for her .

    "I want to try it all! Can I onii-sama?" Lilitth answered Rachel¡¯s question but looked at her onii-sama for permission .

    "It¡¯s alright Lilitth . You can do whatever you want . "

    "Alright now that¡¯s decided, let¡¯s try the nearest one first . " Emily pointed at the bumper cars .

    . . .

    The group headed towards the bumper cars, after waiting for awhile they finally got their turn . Seeing as both Lilitth and Niki were still too short to ride by themselves, they rode with their brothers .

    Before they got to the front of the line, Alex asked Emily what the whole point of the bumper cars was . Emily then thought for awhile before smiling, she exined to Alex that the whole point of the bumper cars was not to get hit by the other cars .

    So now as Alex sat down in the bumper car he picked alongside Lilitth, he looked at everyone¡¯s positions . Alex was now ready, when he heard the beeping sound indicating that they could move, Alex immediately headed towards the corner .

    Oliver and the others then started to bump into each other while having fun . Then they noticed Alex who was in the corner doing nothing, Sayaka smiled mischievously as she charged towards Alex and Lilitth¡¯s bumper car .

    Seeing the iing Sayaka, Alex waited for the right moment, before moving forward evading Sayaka . Rachel was the next to attack but Alex turned the wheel making the whole bumper car do a 360, evading Rachel .

    When the other people who noticed that Alex was actively avoiding getting hit, they all decided to charge at Alex . Seeing the others heading towards him, Alex used the other bumper cars that had no one inside as shields .

    Lilitth who was sitting beside Alex was having fun at all the erratic movement her onii-sama was making . Niel who saw that Alex¡¯s movements weren¡¯t truly erratic but calcted decided to not do anything and just have fun with his own little sister .

    Emily on the other hand was having fun her own way . Seeing everyone try to hit Alex and fail to do so was quite entertaining in her eyes .

    Another beeping sound was then heard indicating that the ride was over . When everyone got out of their bumper cars, they told Alex that he was really good at evading and he made the whole bumper car experience enjoyable .

    Lilitth had also expressed to Alex that she had fun . Rachel decided that asking Alex why he was evading the others would most likely be met with an answer such as . They wereing at me so I evaded . So feeling that she knows the answer already, Rachel didn¡¯t bother to ask Alex anything, instead she spoke to Lilitth .

    "So did you have fun Lilitth?"

    "Yeah I had a lot of fun . Thank you for inviting me to go here, Rachel nee-san . " Lilitth smiled at Rachel for the first time since meeting her . Lilitth was enjoying the atmosphere of the amusement park so much, that she even forgot her original objective regarding Rachel .

    Rachel on the other hand was screaming in glee inside her mind . Lilitth actually smiled at her, and not only that she called Rachel nee-san!

    While Rachel was basking in the joy of being acknowledge by Lilitth, the group already decided where to go next .

    . . .

    The next attraction they entered was a haunted house . Alex was in total denial of the possible existence of ghost . So the whole point of being scared of them was pretty stupid in his mind .

    So when the group entered the supposed haunted house, the first thing Alex noticed was that everything looked dirty and dusty, but in truth the whole ce was actually clean . The ce was made to look dirty but if it was really dirty and dusty the smell of the ce would be different .

    So now while walking onwards Alex noticed that they were some people at the other side of the wall . This was most probably the actors Rachel warned him about . She told him some people wille out in surprise to try and scare them . Rachel warned him specifically not to hurt the guys that pop out since that was their job .

    So the moment someone came out and roared, scaring Niki and making Lilitthugh, Alex did nothing . He simply looked at the costume and found a lot of ws .

    . . .

    The man wearing a werewolf costume was bewildered by the reaction of the group he scared . He had seen many reactions but this was the first time he saw a group like this . The normal reactions of kids that saw him was to be frightened like the little girl holding onto the arms of the handsome young man in front of him . The other little girl instead of being scared wasughing at him instead, and the one she was with who was most probably her brother started to speak to him .

    "The way you appeared was too noisy . If you want to surprise someone you should have appeared in silence and then silently hid behind the people you were suppose to frighten, and once your position was secured then you should¡¯ve roared . "

    Alex found fault in how the guy who wore the werewolf costume did his job . After exining how his approach was wrong Alex then started to scrutinize the costume itself .

    "Also if you¡¯re trying to scare someone with your costume, you should have properly inspected it first . The costume you¡¯re wearing has too much ws . First off the mask that¡¯s suppose to cover your face, it has little rip at the side . Second your fake ws are too fake . The moment you see them you can actually notice they are fake . If you want to scare someone even for a second, you need to-"

    Alex continued to say all the ws of the werewolf costume . Rachel and the others didn¡¯t bother to stop Alex from exining how to improve . The reason they didn¡¯t stop Alex from exining was because Alex¡¯s exnation was more interesting than the haunted house itself .

    It took Alex a full ten minutes to exin about how the haunted house attraction could be improved upon . Now it wasn¡¯t just the werewolf costumed man was there, all of the staff of the haunted house was listening to Alex .

 Chapter 138

    Chapter 138

    Once Alex was done giving his lecture, the manager of the haunted house came and thanked him for the advise . He happily told Alex that even though they didn¡¯t have the budget to change the costumes as of now, they will try to improve itter on . The manager even offered Alex a job as a consultant, in which he turned it down .

    It took a whole fifteen minutes to convince the manager to stop bothering Alex with the job offer . When that was done the group started to look for other rides Lilitth and Niki could enjoy, but due to their heights that was a difficult thing to do .

    Then finally the group found something Lilitth was interested in, it was a shooting game where you can win a prize . The game was simple enough to understand, shoot the prize you want, and if you¡¯re able to knock it down it¡¯s yours .

    "Nii-nii I want that one . " Niki pointed at the a doll inside a box . It was marked as the third best prize .

    "Alright my little princess, let your Nii-nii get it for you . " After Niel reassured Niki that he would win the doll for her . With his ever enchanting aura and smile, Niel approached the man who was stationed in the booth .

    The man who was saw the approaching Niel got confused for a moment . He thought an extremely hot girl was approaching, but upon closer inspection it was just an extremely good looking boy . He was still in a state of shock that he wasn¡¯t able to speak at first, and just dumbly stared at Niel .

    "Excuse me Sir, how much for a game?" Even though Niel had spoken to him, the man who was in charge of the booth was still in a dazed state .

    "Excuse me Sir, are you alright?" Even Niel who was used to being stared at, was weirded out by this reaction .

    "Oh sorry about that . . . I . . . I was just remembering something . So how can I help you littledy, I meand, how can I help you youngd?" The man was still in confused state as he spoke to Niel .

    Still the ever perfect guy, believed that he had charmed the man in the booth so much, that he might have actually mistaken him for a woman .

    ¡¯Well it¡¯s only natural with my charms . ¡¯ Withplete confidence in himself, that was the only reason Niel could think off, seeing the reaction of the man in the booth . Either that or the man has a thing for boys . Well either way Niel¡¯s charm still proved a powerful force .

    "How much for a game?"

    "Oh, a game? . . . Oh right 50 zigs for three shots . If you¡¯re able to make the prize you want fall, then it¡¯s yours . "

    Niel took some money from his wallet and payed for one game . When the man received the money he handed Niel a BB gun shaped like a rifle .

    "How heavy is the ammo?" Niel asked a weird question at the man in the booth . This was the first time the man was asked such a question and he didn¡¯t know the answer to it . Still he has been handing out those guns for a few months now, and he could probably estimate the weight .

    "Around half a gram I guess . I¡¯m not really sure . . . Why do you ask kid?"

    "Nothing much, thanks for the info though . "

    Niel then positioned himself in the mostfortable position he could take holding this kind of BB gun . Niel for the past few days has held a real rifle, and the weight of this BB gun felt a bit off for him, so he took an unorthodox stance .

    Alex who was observing Niel, noticed that Niel holding the BB gun felt that he might actually have experience shooting a real rifle . Well ever since Alex had met Niel the atmosphere Niel held was different from the others .

    Niel felt unreal to Alex, to him Niel was like the clouds in the sky . Not bothered by anything or anyone, simply going were the wind takes him . Quite the opposite of himself who is bound by numerous chains, ever since childhood .

    Niel who was unaware of Alex¡¯splex thoughts about him, was aiming the BB gun at the box the doll was in . The BB gun was a lever action gun, so the next shot would be dyed a few seconds .

    Once he was done with his internal preparations, Niel shot the BB gun, the bullets all aimed at the top of the box . With great uracy Niel was able to make the box fall winning him the prize exactly after three shots .

    The man in the booth was shocked to see Niel able to get the third best prize quite easily . This was the first time he saw someone shoot using a BB gun with that kind of uracy . Still a bit shocked, he handed the prize to Niel .

    "Here you go my darling little sister . " Niel who was handed the prize gave it to his cute little sister . Niki who saw how awesome her Nii-nii was, happily received the prize .

    "Thanks Nii-nii you¡¯re the best . " Niki gave out her very own cute like smile, which Niel responded with his own smile . The two Rayheart siblings together had an ever brilliant shining aura surrounding them .

    Lilitth who saw how happy Niki was felt a bit jealous and looked at her own brother .

    "Umm . . . Onii-sama can you do that as well?" Lilitth who hasn¡¯t been Alex¡¯s little sister for long, shyly asked her brother .

    Alex looked at Lilitth confused at the question . "Of course I can do that as well . You should know that Lilitth, why do you ask?"

    Rachel who heard Alex¡¯s answer tried to kick him in the knee, but Alex evaded . "Why are you trying to kick me? I thought I only receive an attack when I do something wrong? What did I do wrong?" Alex asked confused by the sudden attack .

    "You¡¯re obviously wrong, you idiot! Lilitth was asking you to win her a prize as well . " Hearing her desires being shouted out loud, Lilitth lowered her head in embarrasment .

    "Is that true Lilitth?" Alex knelt and looked at the embarrassed Lilitth face to face . Lilitth looked at her brother and shyly nodded her head .

    When Sayaka saw this action of Lilitth, she wanted to charge forth and hug the little Lilitth, but now wasn¡¯t the right time . So she tried to very hard to control herself . Emily on the other hand was taking pictures on her phone nning to sell the pictures to the Master a . k . a Carlo . Niki looked at her friend with a bit of pity, since her friend¡¯s brother wasn¡¯t as social and observant as hers .

    "I see . . . I¡¯m sorry about that . Rachele on hit me then . " Alex looked at Rachel who shook her head .

    "No need, as long as you get it . " Alex nodded in response to what Rachel said .

    "So Lilitth which prize do you want? Tell me I will get it for you . " Hearing her brother agree to her selfish request, Lilitth pointed at the giant bear stuff toy in the middle . This was the first prize of the booth . Based solely on its size, anyone who saw it will think that it was impossible to win it, even if they try a hundred times . How was someone suppose to make that big ass bear fall with just a BB gun?

    Alex on the other hand wasn¡¯t like everybody else and started thinking about a way for him to win . After thinking for awhile Alex approached the man in charge of the shooting booth, and handed him 200 zigs .

    "Load up four of those BB guns . "

    . . .

    While Alex was preparing to win his little sister a big bear stuff toy, a meeting between two sword masters was happening .

    Ken who was in a meditative state, opened his eyes with a grin on his face . "It has been a long time Ryu . "

 Chapter 139

    Chapter 139

    "It¡¯s been a long time Ryu . " Ken who was in a lotus position, stood up and looked at a specific tree behind him . He spoke but no one answered, which made Ken chuckle .

    "No matter how hard you try to hide from me, you¡¯re a swordsman not an assassin . Your way of being stealthy is a bit good, but not as good as an assassin . Those guys can actually be one with the environment . The best ones not only be one with the environment, they go beyond such a simple concept . You on the other hand . . . I guess you¡¯re pretty good but not that good, that I can¡¯t sense you . "

    The leaves of the tree that Ken was looking at suddenly shook, and as if appearing out of thin air was a middle aged man . The man wasn¡¯t too tall but he was indeed a bit taller than most . His face had tworge scars, one across his forehead and another on his left cheek . He was wearing a normal red polo shirt, with a grey jacket, as well as some jeans . On his waist was a sword that looked to be at least 1 . 6 meters long .

    This man had a very sharp aura surrounding him it was as if touching him was enough to cut you in half . This man was none other than Alex¡¯s sword instructor, Ryu Yamato .

    "It looks like your skills have improved Ken . "

    "Well I don¡¯t want to always be called the second best swordsman of this generation . "

    "Aren¡¯t you suppose to call yourself the third best at this point?"

    "Heh, are you talking about your student? True he is strong, and the me of fifteen years ago might not be able to face him . . . But if both of us were just using a sword, the current me can still beat him . Not only him, I dare say I can beat his master as well . "

    "You really talk too much, same as before . "

    "Well I¡¯m charming that way . Also the only time I talk this much is when I talk with you . Since between the two of us, you¡¯re not really much of a talker . "

    "I guess you¡¯re right . "

    Even though the two were talking like normal friends, the atmosphere surrounding them was deadly . This was their sword intent, it was as if their understanding of the way of the sword was shing with each other .

    "Tell me Ryu, what is the sword to you . "

    "My answer is the same as before . The sword is a tool for murder . Sword techniques are just killing skills . Since it is for killing, then obviously it should seek to kill in one strike . Superfluous things are all abandoned in pursuit of the limit of speed and power . Concise and precise movements are all one needs . How about you Ken what is the sword to you?"

    Hearing Ryu¡¯s question the right end of Ken¡¯s lip curved a bit upward, before he answered .

    "To me the sword is endless possibilities . It is a thing of beauty, that can show me the path towards eternity . It is my friend, my lover, my preciouspanion . To me the sword is my everything, my one true desire . "

    "As usual such an idealistic answer . I guess we can never agree with each other, when ites to the sword . "

    After saying what they wanted to say, the two stood in front of each other in silence . The distance they had from each other was around five meters, to a normal person this distance will take them a few seconds to reach, but to these two masters, it will only take them a step to breach that gap .

    Without any warning both of them moved at the same time . Ryu didn¡¯t used the sword on his waist nor did Ken used any of the swords he hadid hidden on the ground . The two masters only used their hands to attack .

    In that one sh of an instant the two had already passed each other by . Ryu¡¯s polo shirt had been sliced, and even a bit of his skin started to bleed . Ken smiled, as he ced his hands on his neck that started to spray blood . Just a tiny bit more and Ryu would¡¯ve been able to cut hismon carotid artery .

    "You have indeed improved Ken . "

    "So have you Ryu . "

    "To think the man that wasn¡¯t even able to see my sword strike, is now able to avoid my lethal blow . Well you did escape that lethal blow before as well, but this time it seems it wasn¡¯t by luck . "

    "How lucky to be able to make the famous Ryu Yamato to talk so much . I¡¯m truly honored . " Ken chuckled, even while he was bleeding .

    " . . . "

    "So Ryu, how about we see who among our disciples is better? Right now you are a tiny bit ahead of me, but that doesn¡¯t mean you are a better teacher than me . "

    "Your student might die . Alex is not at the level of a disciple . Though he isn¡¯t really at the level of a master swordsman as well . He relies too much on his superior physical abilities, than he does technique . . . Fine if you are okay with the chance that your student might die, then our two disciples can fight . "

    "So arrogant as always . . . Do not worry my disciple isn¡¯t as weak as you think he is . "

    "Fine let us continue this conversation another time . I still have some other bussiness to attend to . "

    After saying what he wanted Ryu walked down the mountain path . Ken looked at the fading back of his rival and smiled .

    "So I still haven¡¯t attained it yet . The way of the sword is truly deep and endless . "

    . . .

    When the two masters had finished their sword fight, Alex had already won the giant bear for his little sister . The way he won the bear was truly outrageous that a group of people had gathered to watch .

    "Here you go Lilitth . " Alex tried to hand over the bear, but seeing that the bear was even bigger than Lilitth, he decided to hold onto it for now .

    "Thank you onii-sama!" Lilitth happily hugged a portion of the bear as well as her brother . Everyone who was watching this scene couldn¡¯t help but have this irritating itch of wanting to hug Lilitth . Sayaka on the other hand couldn¡¯t help it anymore, so once Lilitth was done hugging Alex, she charged forth and hugged her .

    "Lilitth-chan! How can you be so cute!" Sayaka shouted in a high pitch voice, as she thoroughly savor hugging Lilitth .

 Chapter 140

    Chapter 140

    Evangeline was finally done with her student council work and headed straight to the amusement park Fund . She was about to contact Alex and ask where they were at, but before she could do so, she noticed a crowd gathering .

    When Evangeline saw that crowd gather in one ce, she immediately thought of Alex¡¯s group . Just their mere presence draws in this kind of crowd, not to mention when they do something . Evangeline followed the crowd and as expected she saw Alex doing something outrageous .

    Followed with Sayaka hugging Lilitth, while screaming how cute she was . Even in a ce as big as an amusement park it was easy to spot the group .

    "Hi everyone, are you having fun?" Niki who saw Evangeline for the first time, introduced herself .

    "Hello, I assume you are a friend of my Nii-nii . I hope we get along nicely . " Alongside her cute smile Niki curtsied .

    "Oh my, what an adorable little sister you are . You must be Niki Rayheart, the little sister of one of the best students in our school, Niel Rayheart . " Hearing her brother being praised, Niki couldn¡¯t help but smile even wider .

    "You finally made it Eva . " Sayaka who was still hugging Lilitth, made Eva intervene .

    "Umm, Saya I think you had enough of hugging Lilitth . Being hugged that tightly isn¡¯t really that nice . "

    "Oh it¡¯s alright Evangeline, this isn¡¯t ufortable at all . " Lilitth who was being hugged so tightly was not bothered by Sayaka, whose hugs can make any normal little girl cry in pain .

    "You hear that Eva, Lilitth-chan is alright with it . "

    "Still Saya, we can¡¯t move onto the next attraction if you keep on hugging her . " This time, it was Rachel who intervened .

    "Oh fine, I¡¯ll stop, but I want to take pictures with Lilitth-chan and Niki-chanter . "

    "If my little sister is alright with it, of course you can have a picture with her . " Niel informed Sayaka the he was okay with his little sister taking pictures .

    "It¡¯s alright Sayaka let¡¯s take a bunch of pictures together . " Niki as usual was acting as cute as possible, which made it extremely hard for Sayaka to stop herself from running towards her .

    When Sayaka¡¯s shenanigans was over the group alongside Evangeline headed towards the next attraction . The crowd that gathered saw that the show was over, wanted to follow Alex¡¯s group to see if they¡¯ll do something more, but decided not to in the end . Since that sounds like they were stalkers .

    . . .

    While walking in the amusement park, Alex who was holding the huge bear stuff toy was having difficulty holding Lilitth¡¯s hand as well . Rachel who noticed this, quickly took action .

    "Hey Lilitth, it seems like your onii-sama is having a hard time . You can hold my hand instead . " When she heard what Rachel said, Lilitth finally noticed that her brother was having a bit of a tough time .

    "Okay Rachel nee-san . " Lilitth let go of Alex¡¯s hand and held Rachel¡¯s . Evangeline finally took notice of what Rachel did . Not only was she able to get Lilitth to hold her hand, she was now called Rachel nee-san . She upgraded from being called Rachel, to Rachel nee-san, while she was still Evangeline .

    "Lilitth do you want some cotton candy?" Evangeline was now walking at Lilitth¡¯s left side, while Rachel held Lilitth¡¯s right hand .

    "Cotton Candy? What¡¯s that?" When the group heard this they all thought the same thing . Lilitth like her brother seems like she had littlemon sense as well . Though it was more understandable for Lilitth who is still a grade schooler, unlike Alex who was sixteen .

    Evangeline on the other hand had a different take . She knew that Lilitth was an artificially made human, so she was sure that she hasn¡¯t experience a lot of things .

    "Cotton candy is a form of spun sugar . It¡¯s super sweet, I know you¡¯ll love it . . . Wait here guys I¡¯ll go get some . " Without waiting for an answer, Evangeline went to find cotton candy and bought two . When she returned to the group she handed one to Niki then Lilitth .

    "Thank you Evangeline-san . " Niki¡¯s impression of Evangeline was getting higher and higher . If her evaluation goes higher at this rate, Niki might actually approve of Evangeline being with her Nii-nii . . . Well might just might . . .

    Lilitth who also received some cotton candy took a bite . The taste was an ocean of sweetness, which surprised her . Ever since she started living in the mansion of the Samaritas, Lilitth has tasted numerous dishes, but this was the first time she tasted something like this . It was so fluffy like eating a cloud .

    "How is it?" Evangeline who saw Lilitth¡¯s blissful reaction already knew the answer, but she wanted to hear Lilitth say it out loud so Rachel could hear it too .

    Lilitth who was having so much fun answered Evangeline in joy . "It¡¯s delicious, thank you Evangeline nee-san . "

    Hearing what Lilitth said, Rachel felt like this kid was too easy to please, still seeing herself enjoy the cotton candy so much made Rachel¡¯s heart feel warm . At this moment it didn¡¯t matter that it was Evangeline who gave her the cotton candy, all that matters was Lilitth was having fun .

    Evangeline on the other hand was having mixed emotions . She knew that Alex truly treated Lilitth as a little sister, and Lilitth herself was a good adorable little girl . . . But she couldn¡¯t forget the detail, that she was an artificial human . Still seeing Lilitth enjoy everything so much, Evangeline did genuinely feel happy for her .

    . . .

    From the distance around four kilometers away somebody was looking at Alex¡¯s group using the scope of his sniper rifle . He was watching on top of a high rise building . The man in question was wearing a normal white T-shirt and jogging pants . He was smoking a cigarette as he looked at the scope every now and then . The man looked to be around thirty something years old .

    This was Alex¡¯s long range weapon instructor Kyle Hunt . He was also the older brother of Emily Hunt .

    "Commander Carlo, Alex is still in the amusement park with Lilitth . It doesn¡¯t look like he knows anything about the operation . "

    "Just keep on watching him . You know Alex, he tends to surprised people . " Carlo who was on the other end of the line responded .

    "Copy that . " Kyle then continued to look at Alex¡¯s group in the distance .

 Chapter 141

    Chapter 141

    Kyle Hunt continued to observe Alex¡¯s group from the farthest distance, he can go while still being able to observe them . Even though the surveince team could do this, he was needed to respond if Alex¡¯s group does something that might bring them to the operation . He wanted to observe them in a closer proximity but Alex has a knack for sensing someone, and the girl called Sayaka looks to be especially trained to spot people .

    So even though it might seem like an exaggeration to watch them from Kyle¡¯s current distance, it was a necessary precaution . Also there¡¯s his little sister that has no idea that this operation was happening . Commander Carlo chose to do this operation immediately, after learning that Emily will be going out of the mansion .

    If she were in the mansion right now, she would be reporting everything she finds out to Alex . Obviously now that Carlo knows Emily is one of Alex¡¯s allies he needed to guard against her too . It wasn¡¯t because Carlo treated them as enemies, no it was because Carlo noticed that Alex was slowly bing a normal teenager . If he told him about the mission, he might revert back to his old ways, and discard his progress .

    It was a hard decision for Carlo, and he was tempted numerous times to have Alex join them in this operation . With Alex around the operation would run even more smoothly, but Carlo wanted Alex to be a normal teenager . He wanted Alex to have fun in his youth like Lilitth . Even when they returned to normal society leaving the battlefield, it seems like the battlefield chased them here .

    They even met Lyner the strongest person in Berdonia, its final defense its guardian . Then they encountered that extreme patriot, well because of him they became Lilitth¡¯s family, so at least that¡¯s one thing the guy did right .

    Seeing as Alex still needed to deal with such things, made it difficult for him to simply have fun . Even the mission to protect Rachel wasn¡¯t that urgent anymore since Dan returned to his family . Also unlike Evangeline Kain who gets kidnapped a lot, it will take more than a few men to deal with the daughter if Dan Regius, the blond devil .

    So learning that Alex and Lilitth went to an amusement park with their friends, made Carlo almost burst into tears, okay it wasn¡¯t almost he literally burst into crying . The Carlo of before the one called the messenger of death wouldn¡¯t have done this . Yet the Carlo now was having fun, being with Alex and Lilitth .

    He couldn¡¯t imagine himself as a father back in the day, but now he was one, and a very doting one at that .

    . . .

    Back in the mansion inside Carlo¡¯s study, Carlo was sitting in his chair looking at the three people standing in front of him . Ryu Yamato, and Dan Regius was in front of Carlo, and the third one was Michel Dodger .

    Michel Dodger was the same age as Carlo Samarita and one of his very first team members . She was there when Carlo formed his legendary squad . She was also Alex¡¯s meleebat instructor . She stood a head shorter than Carlo, ck hair with a boyish hair cut . She wasn¡¯t bad looking, but she wasn¡¯t beautiful or cute either, her beauty could only be expressed by the word cool .

    Though she wasn¡¯t as good as Dan in hand to handbat, or as good as Ryu in swordsmanship, she was good in every other melee weapon . She wasn¡¯t going beyond the extreme of a single art like the two, but she was one of the top practitioners of every meleebat style .

    Her ever changing weapons andbat style made her a very difficult opponent to deal with . The fact of the matter was in terms of purebat ability Carlo was the weakest one in the room, followed by Dan, then Michel, the strongest one basing purely onbat ability was Ryu .

    "I¡¯m sorry to call all of you here, even though I already retired and I¡¯m no longer the leader of the squad . " Carlo stood up from his chair and bowed his head .

    "No matter if you retired or not, to me you¡¯ll always be that idiotic leader I met all those years ago . " Michel smiled at the bowing Carlo .

    "That young guy that reced you, has yet to gain my acknowledgement . To me you have never retired . " Ryu gave his opinion on the matter .

    "Huh? Are you talking about the young guy, who thinks he¡¯s the best since he was chosen as the new leader of the squad? I don¡¯t really care about him, also I¡¯m currently having a very long break . So helping a friend in trouble is not a big deal . " Dan also gave his opinion on the matter .

    Carlo raised his head, and sighed as he looked at hisrades .

    "Thank you everyone . So I called you three here, since you guys are the best in fighting inside buildings and enclosed spaces . Also you guys are my most trustedpanions . This is a mission we are not allowed to fail . This mission determines if Alex will be able to live a normal life or not . So please once more lend me your strength . "

    "No need to ask us like that . You know we treasure Alex as much as you . Also don¡¯t act like your some weak sh*t . When we had a real life and death battle before, didn¡¯t you overwhelm me with ease . " Michel started to remember that fateful day, when she met the idioticmander of hers .

    "That was a long time ago, and I still had both my legs . " Carlo answered while shrugging his shoulders .

    "Alex is my disciple, and you are my friend of course I will help" Ryu answered .

    "Well Alex is like a son to me, and Rachel does seem kinda sorta fond of him . As long as they don¡¯t go beyond what is allowed then it¡¯s alright . . . If they do cross that line, then I might need to do something a bit extreme . . . Oh right, of course I will help you Carlo . You have helped me tons of times, now its my turn to help you . "

    "I couldn¡¯t ask for betterrades than you guys . Alright then let me exin the operation, let¡¯s call it Operation Providence . "

 Chapter 142

    Chapter 142

    Unaware of his dad¡¯s operation providence, Alex was still apanying Lilitth walking around the amusement park . Well at this point it looked like it was Rachel and Evangeline apanying Lilitth, while Alex was just there to hold the huge teddy bear .

    The group had already tried almost every possible ride that allowed Lilitth and Niki to ride . The only ride left was the carrousel which didn¡¯t have much of a line . Alex who saw the carrousel was having a hard time understanding how that would be a fun ride .

    Actually throughout the entirety of their trip in the amusement park, Alex was never truly amused . The haunted house had too much ws if there purpose was to surprise and frighten . The ferris wheel was just them going up to see a better view of the city, which was not as good as looking down from a fighter jet . The other attractions were the same as they just couldn¡¯t amuse him .

    Alex was confused, Lilitth who had no experience whatsoever with these kind of things same as him, and pretty much has almost the same technical knowledge as him, was amused by this experience . Why? What was the difference? Why could Lilitth enjoy these things, while he could not?

    While Alex was thinking, Rachel and Evangeline were still trying to please Lilitth as much as they can . Emily was still taking candid pictures of Lilitth . Kei was now looking at his phone essing the inte, and double checking on then information about the members of the Drama Club . Oliver was truly enjoying himself, going around the amusement park with his newfound friends .

    Oliver was so happy in fact that every now and then he would actually go out of character, and forget about being James Bourne . Niel and Niki were also enjoying the amusement park like any normal siblings .

    Sayaka was also enjoying the amusement park while thinking about what kinds of games she could y with the two lolis, but as she was blissfully thinking such things, Sayaka¡¯s daydreaming was interrupted by a message .

    She wanted to ignore it at first, but it was from her other phone, the one she uses for the family business . It was a message from her father telling her toe home immediately . She didn¡¯t want to go, but she needed to .

    "Hey guys, something came up and I need to go home . So can I please get that picture with Lilitth and Niki, before I leave?" Sayaka said all of those things, with irritation and even a mncholic feel, both emotions you wouldn¡¯t expect from Sayaka .

    "Is everything all right?" Rachel asked concerned for her friend .

    "I¡¯m not sure, but I don¡¯t have much time, so can I please get that picture?" Sayaka was really in a hurry now, so she wanted to get this over immediately .

    The two little girls stood beside Sayaka and hugged her . Sayaka excitedly handed her phone over to Oliver, and asked him to take a picture .

    Once she got the picture she wanted Sayaka reluctantly said goodbye and left . Seeing her so reluctant the group wanted to tell her to stay, but they knew that if Sayaka was that reluctant and still went, something must have happened back home that needed her immediate attention .

    The group was curious but they didn¡¯t want to dig in too deep . If Sayaka wants to tell the reason to them she would . Sayaka was the most open person among them, so if she wanted to say something she would .

    . . .

    After a few minutes of talking about Sayaka¡¯s abrupt departure, the group were finally going to ride the carrousel . Before they got to the ride, Lilitth tugged at Alex¡¯s shirt to get his attention .

    "Onii-sama can you sit next to me on one of those horses?" Ever since they won the bear, it was either Rachel or Evangeline that rode with her, and not her brother . So for thisst ride Lilitth wanted to enjoy it with her brother .

    Rachel hearing Lilitth¡¯s request immediately took the big teddy bear from Alex . Evangeline who was also thinking the same thing, was too slow to act .

    "Alex go and ride with your sister, I¡¯ll be skipping this one to hold onto the bear . " After Rachel said this, somebody took the bear from her .

    "No, I¡¯ll be the one holding onto this teddy bear . Go on and enjoy your youth myrade . " Oliver easily carried the huge teddy bear, looking at the muscr Oliver, holding a cute huge teddy bear, looked so surreal that it could make some peopleugh .

    Actually some people looking at Oliver wanted tough but seeing his enormous biceps they hesitated to do so .

    "Thank you Oliver . " Rachel wholeheartedly thanked Oliver, as she wanted to ride the carousel with Alex and Lilitth .

    "No problemrade Rachel, go have fun . " Rachel and Evangeline took a seat inside a carriage right behind Alex and Lilitth . The two looked at each other and didn¡¯t speak .

    Oliver and Kei were both not joining this ride, since one was busy doing some research, while the other was holding onto a huge teddy bear .

    . . .

    The ride started and a song began to y . As they went round and round, Lilitth was smiling so brightly that everyone looking could feel the joy oozing out of her . Alex who was looking at Lilitth couldn¡¯t help but ask .

    "Lilitth why are you so happy? Why are you enjoying this so much? I know you understand that we are riding a fake horse, simply going round and round to the same song . Why do you find this so enjoyable?"

    Lilitth who heard her brother¡¯s sudden question, looked at him and started to think for a bit before answering . Lilitth answered with a smile simr to when she was first acknowledged as a Samarita .

    "I¡¯m having fun because I¡¯m experiencing something new, and I¡¯m experiencing it with onii-sama, and everyone else . I do not think of why I should enjoy it, I simply enjoy it . "

    Such a simple answer, but the truth in it was rather profound . Lilitth was enjoying every moment not because the ride or anything else was so fun, but the experience itself was fun . She enjoyed it simply because she felt it was enjoyable, nothing more nothing less .

    Alex was too busy analyzing the rides, and looking at its ws that he failed to enjoy the ride the way it was . He was surrounded by his friends and sister, that were enjoying the whole experience because they were together having fun .

    Alex for a moment discarded his logic, and for that moment Alex enjoyed the experience . He smiled, Alex smiled as he was finally enjoying the experience . It was at thest moment but he still felt the enjoyment .

    Lilitth who saw her brother smile for the first time, was shocked for a moment, but then she smiled even brighter than before . Her brother was finally having fun, this made Lilitth even happier . She was truly d that Rachel invited her to the amusement park . This ce had given her a lot of new experiences .

    The other members of the mercenary club, except for Rachel looked at Alex stunned . Alexander Samarita the one they thought would have the same stoic expression, even if the world would blow up was actually smiling . Emily who was taking pictures of Lilitth, snapped a shot of the smiling Alex, with her mouth wide open .

    Evangeline on the other hand was trying to memorize Alex¡¯s smile, each and every detail of it .

    Oliver felt happy for hisrade, he was happy that they¡¯re are things that even that stoic face could enjoy . Kei on the other hand was so busy looking at his phone that he didn¡¯t notice this moment .

    Niel and Niki were also stunned to see that kind of expressioning out of the expressionless face of Alex . Still the siblings didn¡¯t show a stunned expression, since that would go against their image .

    Rachel on the other hand who has seen this smile of Alex every now and then, couldn¡¯t help but smile as well .

    ¡¯Like I told you Alex, as long as everyone pitches in, your story will be a happy one . ¡¯

 Chapter 143

    Chapter 143

    Alex, lilitth, and emily got back to the mansion, carrying the huge teddy bear . When they arrived Alex noticed that the atmosphere in the house was very different, it would seem that Emily, and even Lilitth noticed the change in atmosphere .

    "What happened to dad where is he?" Seeing as his dad who usually greeted Lilitth wasn¡¯t around, Alex asked the ever present head butler, who bowed his head .

    "The master has left for some urgent business . "

    "What kind of business?"

    "The master told me that it was confidential, and gave me no details . He also told me to pass this letter to you, since you wont be able to contact him for the next week . "

    The head butler handed the letter to Alex .

    "To my son, and cute daughter .

    Something urgent has happened that needs my immediate attention . Don¡¯t worry it¡¯s nothing too big, and I will handle it as fast as I can . The quickest I can return would be a week from now, and the longest would be around a month or so . Alex I know you¡¯re curious about what I¡¯m doing, I also obviously found out that Emily was trying to hack into myputer for you . So I hope you stop doing that and just believe in me . Who the hell do you think I am anyway . I¡¯m Carlo Samarita, the messenger of Death, the father of Alexnder Samarita the silent sh, and the leader of a mercenary squad that was the stuff of legends . So you and Lilitth take care, and don¡¯t bother trying to get information in myputer, I deleted all the files .

    From your loving Dad

    Carlo Samarita . "

    Reading the letter made Alex really want to figure out what needed his dad¡¯s immediate attention . His sudden departure, that happened the moment Alex, Emily, and Lilitth were not home, and the the way he even bothered to add the detail that he knows Emily was trying to hack into hisputer; obviously indicates that this urgent matter was likely rted to the one who kidnapped Evangeline .

    Alex really wanted to delve deeper into this, but Carlo told him to believe in him . If he Alexander Samarita couldn¡¯t believe in the person who saved his life and raised him, who else should he believe in .

    "Onii-sama will tou-chan be okay . " Lilitth looked into Alex¡¯s eyes worry evident in her face . She was truly scared at this moment . The life she dreamt about was in her hands, but at this moment it could all easily fade away .

    Alex patted Lilitth¡¯s head, as he knelt in front of her . Alex¡¯s expression that revealed neither joy nor anxiety looked at his frightened little sister .

    "Don¡¯t worry Lilitth, everything will be alright . Our dad, Carlo Samarita is not one to fall so easily . If he says we should believe in him, that¡¯s what we should do . "

    . . .

    Riding in a military transport airne, Carlo felt a weird sensation .

    "What is it Carlo? Are you actually getting cold feet before a mission? You just recently retired like a few weeks ago . Don¡¯t tell that was enough to tame you?" Michel asked as she noticed Carlo¡¯s weird look .

    "No that¡¯s not it, even with this prosthetic leg I could never have cold feet . . . But I suddenly have this weird feeling . I don¡¯t understand what it is, but it¡¯s a bit of an irritating feeling . I seem to be restless for some reason, and even though we are in this ne with enough oxygen I still find it a little hard to breathe . "

    "You¡¯re having an anxiety attack . " Dan gave out his opinion, after hearing Carlo¡¯s symptoms .

    "Anxiety attack? Me? I have been in hundreds of missions, and I never had an anxiety attack . "

    "It¡¯s because you had nothing to lose at the time, and you were confident in your victory . Now not only do you have Alex, you even have that cute little daughter of yours to worry about . "

    "That doesn¡¯t make any sense . . . If what you¡¯re saying is true then why haven¡¯t I felt anxiety before? I didn¡¯t have Lilitth before but I did have Alex to worry about, so then why didn¡¯t I feel anxiety then and only now?"

    "That¡¯s because the you feel that the dangers now are real . Also you and Alex had no other ce but the battlefield, that¡¯s why you always epted death . . . But now you have tasted a normal life, and you know that the stakes are real now . You have finally matured enough to understand it, unlike before . " This time it was Ryu who gave his opinion on the matter .

    Carlo who heard what his friends had to say, realized that they might be right . Unlike before dying seemed more terrifying than ever . If he died he wouldn¡¯t be able to see Alex, and Lilitth grow up . He wouldn¡¯t be able to carry his grandchildren . He wouldn¡¯t be able to punch the guy who steals his little girl away .

    Death would take all of that from him . Realizing this, got Carlo even more anxious . It was at this moment, someone ced their hand on his shoulder .

    "You don¡¯t need toe with us for this mission . The three of us are more than enough to handle some psychopath and his goons . " Michel tried to calm Carlo down by giving him a way out, but this only made Carlo smile wryly .

    "Heh, Michel actually worrying about me? Have I fallen so low? There is no need for that, I will go with you guys . Like I told my children in that letter, I am Carlo Samarita the messenger of Death . I will not allow this mission to fail, for the future of my children . "

    Carlo spoke with renewed vigor . Since anxiety was a new feeling for him, Carlo was simply surprised by it, but he didn¡¯t let it consume him . He wasn¡¯t some weak as* dad that sits on a couch, while his children¡¯s future was on the line . He was a man of action, how can he let his friends go clean up his mess . If Alex learned of this, that boy might actuallyugh at him .

    "Thank you guys, I¡¯m alright now . So let¡¯s make sure this mission is going to be a sess . If we fail Alex might give us one of his long as* lectures . "

    When the three heard Carlo, they all started tough as even Ryu chuckled .

    "That¡¯s not something I want to go through . "

    "Yeah you¡¯re right, so we better seed . "

    "Really that disciple of mine is such a nag . "

    "So we are all in agreement, let¡¯s finish this mission as efficiently as possible . So Alex wont nag at us . "

    "SO ALEX WONT NAG AT US!" The four adults screamed, their supposed battle cry . After which they looked at each otherughing .

 Chapter 144

    Chapter 144

    The following day it was after school, Alex and the other members of the Mercenary Club headed towards the Drama Club¡¯s Clubroom . The clubroom was on the second floor of the new school building . This club unlike the Gaming Club was a sessful club . Thest performance they had was a full house meaning that they were able to sell all their tickets . So the room they were given was bigger, than most clubs . They were even allowed to use the auditorium whenever they wanted .

    They were the third best club in the school . Since the expectations were so high, a lot of the club members quit, after thest production . Now they only had eight members left, but since they were one of the clubs with bigger budgets, the student council gives them their full support . The crafting club even makes their sets . The music club also helps them with their background music .

    Still now that they had fewer members, the ones left were the elite of the club . Yet because of some mishap the lead actor, Kevin wasn¡¯t able to make it for the next y, which will happen next week Friday .

    This is where the Mercenary Clubes in . Emily who was a friend of Katrina the President of the Drama Club via cosying . Told her friend that she knew someone who could rece Kevin . This recement she was speaking about was of course Alex . On the other hand the recement Katrina was thinking abuot was the most popr boy in school Niel .

    . . .

    When the Mercenary Club reached the Clubroom of the Drama club, they could hear some dramatic music ying inside . They could also hear two people talking to each other .

    "We wont be able to make it . . . "

    "I know that already . . . I guess this is goodbye . "

    "Heh, will you look at that . I still have two left, want one?"

    "Thanks . . . Onest cigar before we go to hell . "

    "Do you think Leo made it?"

    "If anyone could finish this mission it would be Leo . "

    While the two people where having this conversation the Mercenary Club couldn¡¯t enter the clubroom, since it was obvious that they were practicing . Then the sound of gunfire could be heard, the music also changed tones .

    "Here theye . "

    "Right on schedule, how many bullets do you have left?"

    "I have ten rounds, you?"

    "I got one shot left, and two grenades . "

    "Not much, but let¡¯s give them a surprise present . "

    "Sure let¡¯s do that . "

    The gunfire intensifies and after a few more seconds a loud explosion happened .

    "Cut! That was perfect!" This time the one talking was the voice of a girl . When Alex¡¯s group heard this, they found their chance to enter the clubroom .

    Upon entering the clubroom, they saw a lot of costumes on one side, a bunch of background pictures in another and in the middle of the room, were four people reading a script, two who looking at each other, and one person sitting on a chair holding a fan .

    The girl sitting on the chair noticed Alex¡¯s group had entered, and happily approached them . The girl approaching Alex¡¯s group had sses on, and looked very aggressive for some reason . Emily started walking towards the girl and the two begin to hug .

    "Emi! Long time no see!"

    "It¡¯s good to see you Kat . When thest time again?"

    "When we went to cosy as Lara and Hilda . So are you going to join us here in the Drama Club? With your skills you can y any role you want . "

    "No, I¡¯m happy with the club I¡¯m in right now . . . Oh right, So Kat here we are and I brought you your new star . "

    "I know, who would¡¯ve thought that we can actually get the Niel Rayheart to y the protagonist of the story . " Katrina looked at Niel assessing him .

    "No not him . This is the new star Alexander Samarita . " Emily pulled Alex into the spotlight . Katrina then looked at Emily with a weird expression, and then looked at Alex confused .

    "What? He is the one ying the role? Not Niel, but Alex? The one who is rumored to have an expressionless face . Granted he is good looking, and I hear he is very athletic . . . but really, him?"

    "Don¡¯t dismiss him just yet . We all agreed even Niel stated that Alex is the one most suited one to y this role . At least try,e on do this one scene and see what you think . "

    Emily showed her copy of the script and pointed at the scene Alex did yesterday . This time they wont just say one line they would do the whole scene .

    "Very well let¡¯s see what he can do . Everyone will be doing Act 5 scene 3 . Alex here will be ying the lead . Hand him a script will you . " One of the Drama club members handed Alex a script, and the three boys from the Drama Club as well as Alex stood center stage .

    "Okay everyone get to your positions . . . Action!" Upon hearing katrina¡¯s signal the actors started saying their lines, alongside some music .

    "Damn it! How can we allow Jason to die!"

    "I can¡¯t do it anymore, this is it for me . There is no more glory in this . We¡¯ll just get massacred . . . Face it, we failed . "

    "This mission isn¡¯t allowed to fail . " Alex said his line the same way he would in the battlefield . Full of conviction and confidence . His tone was still indifferent, but by simply seeing his bodynguage you could actually feel his conviction .

    The Drama Club members were a bit surprised, but they still continued on . As expected of the best actors this school has to offer .

    "What the f*ck Leo! There¡¯s nothing left! We can¡¯t finish this d*mn mission anymore . "

    "Why? Because we lost one man?" The stoic expression coupled with a bit of confusion was perfect . Katrina was getting sucked in by Alex¡¯s acting . Even the other actors saying the lines with Alex, really felt their roles even more . They actually felt like it was getting real .

    "Of course you can¡¯t understand! You . The perfect soldier! To you lives mean nothing! To you as long as the mission ispleted, nothing matters . You may be the perfect soldier, but you are a worthless human!"

    The next line Alex did was the same line he used yesterday, and same as before it was a perfect delivery .

    "This is war we¡¯re having, do you think one man¡¯s death means anything? We are soldiers, nothing more, nothing less . " The moment Katrina heard Alex say that line, coupled his voice and his stoic expression . She really believed that Alex became Leo the perfect soldier . Katrina felt that she and the members of the Drama Club were transported into the battlefield .

    The conviction in his voice, the resolve in his eyes . The chilly atmosphere of the battlefield his aura, his presence emitted was perfect . It was like he was born to y this role .

    "Amazing!" The members of the Drama Club all pped at this moment . Katrina was so amazed that she didn¡¯t even get to say cut, before saying Alex¡¯s performance was amazing .

    Emily who was watching at the side was as usual having fun, seeing her n going as smoothly as possible .

 Chapter 145

    Chapter 145

    Kyle Hunt is a twenty seven year old man . He is the older brother of Emily Hunt who is currently sixteen . He and his little sister had lost their parents when Emily was just six years old, and because of this seeing as Kyle at the time was seventeen, his sister was suppose to be taken away from him . When he learned of this, he registered as a mercenary and escape his homnd with his sister and ran into the battlefield .

    Ten years have passed since then, and now he was one of the best mercs out there . His sister was now also enjoying her life to the fullest . Yet now he, who was one of the best mercs in the business, was actually ordered by his former boss, to look after his kid . Not Alex but the other one, the little girl called Lilitth .

    He was also ordered by Carlo that if something unfortunate happens to him, he should bring Alex and Lilitth to the Southern Union . Still Kyle doubted that Carlo would make a mistake and fail the mission . Thest time he made a mistake that cost them finishing the mission was because of his humanity, and Kyle couldn¡¯t fault him for that .

    As Kyle was thinking about those random things, he was getting a bit bored watching Lilitth . He had rented the whole rooftop of the building next to Lilitth¡¯s school . He also told one of the maids to ce a hearing device on Lilitth¡¯s uniform . So alongside his trusty rifle and some binocrs, Kyle had been observing Lilitth since she left the mansion .

    At the time, Alex was too busy talking to someone on the phone, that he wasn¡¯t able to notice Kyle . Well even if he did try to spot him he wouldn¡¯t be able to, since Kyle wasn¡¯t hostile and was also very good in blending in, unlike Alex .

    Still this mission was so boring, uneventful, andck the tension he was used too .

    . . .

    The whole morning Kyle who was watching Lilitth, noticed nothing unordinary except for finding out Lilitth was super popr . He couldn¡¯t understand why the little girl was so popr, but that just made the surveince a bit harder, since she was always surrounded by people .

    While watching Lilitth have fun in school, Kyle suddenly remembered his own sister . His sister Emily Hunt was an unfortunate little girl, same as Lilitth, but in a different way . She at the tender age of six was moved around to one battlefield to another, without knowing any of the joys any little girl her age should know .

    Kyle has always felt his heart ache when he sees his little sister walking in the mud, always fearing for her life . Sometimes he even questions himself if bringing her to the battlefield, instead of leaving her in an orphanage was the right choice .

    . . .

    One day Kyle couldn¡¯t take it anymore seeing his little sister go through all that . So he decided to tell her, that he will be leaving her in an orphanage . Yet unexpectedly when he told her this, her reaction was extreme .

    "An-chan are you going to leave me like dad and mom? Are you going to leave Emi as well? Why? Is it because Emi is worthless? Is Emi holding you back?" The seven year old Emily clung to her brother, and started to cry . Kyle was so shocked at her sudden outburst, that he just looked at her unable to speak . He didn¡¯t know what to say . He thought that Emily was better off without him but was he wrong?

    "An-chan, Emi promises to do better . I will eat all my food, I wontin about the insects anymore, I wont say bad things about this being An-chan¡¯s fault . I will be a good girl, I promise! Please An-chan don¡¯t leave Emi . " Some snot started to fall from Emily¡¯s nose, as she cried her heart out . Kyle without caring about all the snot and tears, hugged his little sister .

    "It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want you anymore . . . It¡¯s because this ce really isn¡¯t fit for someone your age to be in . I was so caught up in the moment, that I didn¡¯t think of your needs . I just wanted us to stay together, but now I see that . . . I was a fool, a selfish fool . I want you to be happy Emi . I wanted you to go to school, like every other girl . I wanted you to have friends and hang out with them . I wanted you have your first love . . . I wanted you to experience all the happiness mom and dad wanted for the both of us . . . Yet here I am being a lousy brother . . . I¡¯m sorry Emi, I¡¯m sorry that your An-chan is such a worthless piece of cr*p . "

    Kyle couldn¡¯t help but tear up as well . He started crying while remembering his parents . He was such a worthless son, and now he saw that he was also such a worthless big brother . Was this his punishment, for only caring about himself when his parents were still alive? Is his little sister also suppose to be punished because of his selfishness?

    At this moment Emily hugged her big brother even more tightly .

    "An-chan is not worthless! Emi only wants to be with An-chan . So An-chan doesn¡¯t need to be sorry . Emi loves the confident An-chan, Emi loves the An-chan that takes care of Emily, even though he wants to cry as well . To me An-chan is the greatest brother in the world . "

    The two cried their hearts out on that day .

    . . .

    Kyle who suddenly remembered that scene from the past, was trying to stop himself from crying . ¡¯Still you finally got what I always hope for you . You can go to school, you can have fun ying games . You have a lot of hobbies, and you even have friends now . . . I¡¯m still waiting for you to tell me about that first love . I wonder who among those guy friends of hers will be the one . ¡¯

    Kyle smiled just thinking of all the trouble his little sister¡¯s future boyfriend will be having .

 Chapter 146

    Chapter 146

    After an hour of practice with the Drama Club, Alex¡¯s group left the school . They picked up Lilitth and Niki at their school and headed home . Of course Alex apanied Rachel home like he usually does . Upon arriving both were surprised to know that Dan wasn¡¯t there . Rachel was even thinking that the deadbeat father of hers just came back, now his gone again . Resulting in Rachel having conflicting feelings .

    Alex already had a guess where Instructor Dan went, didn¡¯t tell Rachel his spection . He instead said see you tomorrow and left with Lilitth and Emily .

    When he got back to the mansion with Lilitth and Emily, he immediately changed clothes and went out . But before he left he told Lilitth that he would being home a bitte, so she should eat dinner with Emily . Lilitth asked where Alex was going, in which Alex simply answered, "I just have some business I need to take care off . "

    Before Lilitth could say anything else, Alex left in a rush . He took his motorcycle and headed out . Alex headed towards Safehouse B-21 the ce where he left the ten subordinates given to him by the Harimas .

    When he left them yesterday he told the ten to practice using a bow and arrow . Of course he showed them the proper form they should use, before leaving them to practice .

    . . .

    Alex finally arrived in Safehouse B-21, which basically looked like a warehouse on the outskirts of the city . Alex entered the warehouse, and unlike the shabby appearance it had outside, the inside waspletely different . It was like a gym mixed with a shooting range mixed with weapon storage .

    On the walls of one corner of the warehouse was varying array of weapons ranging from swords bows, spears, to guns, grenades, and rocket propelled grenades or better known as RPG¡¯s .

    Alex headed towards the shooting range to see how his new subordinates were doing, but once he got there he saw no one . He checked the whole ce, but there was no one there . Alex then checked the footage from the security cameras .

    Yesterday the supposed Elite men of the Harima family practiced for about an hour, then checked the surrounding area of the warehouse, and yed with weapons on the walls, finally leaving in the morning and not yet returning .

    Alex took out his phone and called the head of the Harima family, Reo Harima .

    . . .

    While he was in a meeting with the his most trusted aides Reo suddenly received a call . At first he was angry that someone would actually call him, during such an important meeting, but when he saw who the caller was, he immediately left the room without saying anything to his aides .

    "Young Master Alex, how can I help you today . " Reo the big boss of the Harima family was actually speaking in a subservient manner . If the other members of his family would see him now, they might actually pee their pants, trying to figure out who could make Reo act this way .

    "The men you gave me, the supposed ten best of the Harima family have disappeared . Based on the footage taken by the security cameras, they left the Safehouse this morning, and haven¡¯t returned yet . Do tell me Mr Harima is this really the best your family can give me?"

    Reo hearing what Alex said with his indifferent tone of voice started to sweat buckets . He was cursing the men he brought . Who the hell do they think their messing with? Some random rich kid?

    Reo who went to the Samarita¡¯s mansion was now fully aware of Alex¡¯s status . Not only is Alex himself strong enough to beat up a dozen men by himself, every staff member in his house were trained professionals .

    Just a dozen of those maids and butlers could pretty much annihte his whole family . So at this very moment Reo was scared sh*tless .

    "I¡¯m sorry young master, I will locate them and bring them back . "

    "This is thest time, I will tolerate this kind of behavior . Do it one more time, then I would need to rethink of why I didn¡¯t crush your family, in the first ce . "

    "Of course young master . Once again I¡¯m really sorry . " Without saying anything more, Alex hanged up .

    The moment Alex hanged up, Reo breathed out loudly . He wanted nothing more than to skin those f*cking idiots alive . He called one of them and they immediately answered .

    "Good evening boss . "

    "You f*ckers where the hell are you!"

    "Rx boss, where at the usual ce, getting a cold one . "

    "The hell! You¡¯re having drinks! Do you even know what you have done?! The young master called looking for you! You f*ckers! You might have doomed the whole family!"

    "No need to scream boss . Why are you so scared of the snot nose brat anyway?" One of the ten men that Reo Harima introduced to Alex asked . He couldn¡¯t understand why his boss was panicking so much .

    Even if the brat came from a powerful family, he shouldn¡¯t be that much more powerful . The Harimas have been one of the top families in the underworld of Berdonia, for years . So why should they fear some snot nose brat from one of those prestigious families?

    He himself had been a mercenary back in the day, he even got an A rank before leaving . He thought he could take it easy by bing a top level henchman of the Harimas . But now he needed to train shooting some arrows because a kid told him to . That was not something he wanted to do .

    "You f*cking imbecile! The young master¡¯s forces could annihte all of the Harimas in a single night . Heck his forces could decimate us, within an hour . That¡¯s how strong his backing is . Not only that, the young master himself is extremely strong . ording to those idiots that fought him, he moved in an inhuman way, and beat them with extreme efficiency . If you and those other idiots don¡¯t go back right this instant, then I will deny you sh*ts as being part of the Harimas . Once that happens the young master would probably have you killed . "

    Reo not wanting to talk anymore hanged up .

    . . .

    Alex who was waiting for the men of the Harima family to return, started to think of a fitting punishment . He was going to train them in a more leisurely way, but after this stunt . Alex figured that a light approach like this wasn¡¯t for them . Instead he decided, he was going to train them, using fear and violence .

 Chapter 147

    Chapter 147

    The ten elite members of the Harimas were confused as to why their boss was acting so scared of a little kid, but hearing how serious the boss sounded, the backing of that kid must be something else . The ten of them entered the warehouse, and as they all entered the warehouse and closed the door, they were greeted by raining arrows .

    The ten men wanted to dodge but were unable to do anything, since the arrows came down not only in numbers but they were urate as well . It was like the archer who was shooting could predict their every movement .

    The man who used to be an A rank merc was now extremely frightened . He who had the most experience of the ten was easily subdued, he wasn¡¯t even able to see the arrowsing . How many men were there? Were there four God like archers, hiding in the shadows?

    "So you guys have finally returned . " Hearing a voice echo throughout the warehouse, made the ten men even more alert . They looked at the ce where they heard the voice, and then they saw who spoke, it was none other than Alex .

    When they saw Alex the brat they where ridiculing awhile ago show up with bow and arrows, they couldn¡¯t ept that it was possible he was the one who fired the arrows . The leader of the group didn¡¯t want to believe it either, but he couldn¡¯t see anyone else but Alex .

    "I told you to train using the bow, but not only did you do it for a measly one hour, you even left the Safehouse, when I didn¡¯t tell you to do so . It seems like you guys don¡¯t respect me as your superior . I would need to fix that wont I?"

    Alex nocked another arrow, and this time with all of the ten men looking at him Alex fired an arrow . Alex¡¯s form was near perfection, and the moment he fired the arrow, it passed by one of the men, and slightly scratched his cheek .

    The ten men seeing this couldn¡¯t move from their spot, as they were scared sh*tless by Alex¡¯s skill . If Alex wanted to, he could easily kill the ten of them from a long distance . The arrogant man who was supposedly the leader of the ten, simply believed that Alex was only good in using a bow, but if they all had weapons he could probably do something to the overconfident brat .

    Alex noticed the look the leader of the ten gave him . He knows that look since he has seen it many times on the battlefield, it is when a soldier thinks if . If I was able to shoot on time, if I was able to throw the grenade, and other such nonsense . Still Alex needed to show these fools that he was not a person they want to mess with .

    He then threw the bow and arrows to the side, and gestured to the men toe and get him . The ten men seeing Alex discard his weapon didn¡¯t bother to think anymore and simply charge at him . The leader on the other hand ran towards the weapon storage area .

    Alex noticed the leader of the group heading towards the storage area, and let him go . He needed to show these guys that no matter what they did in their current level, they wont be able to do anything to him .

    The nine men started to attack Alex, but for some reason they went ahead and attacked not in a group but one at a time . Alex of course subdued them individually and he did it quite easily .

    "Why are you guys attacking one at a time?"

    "Because it is not honorable to attack a lone man with many . " The man whose arm Alex was twisting answered .

    "Huh? In a fight there really is no need to be honorable, all you need to think about is how to survive . So this timee again, but all at the same time . "

    The nine men looked at each other, and hesitated to attack Alex seeing that it went against what they believed in .

    "If you guys don¡¯t attack at the same time, I will be forced to get a bit serious . I was holding back a lot awhile ago, but if you don¡¯t want to fight properly, maybe if you feel like you¡¯re going to die you men might fight better . "

    When the nine men heard that Alex was going easy on them, and that he would attack in full force if they don¡¯t gang up on him, made them tremble . This one statement from Alex, stripped them of their pride and honor . Alex¡¯s strength was beyond what they expected, and they were afraid of what he meant by they will feel like they¡¯re going to die .

    Now without any of their supposed honor, the nine men attack at the same time . Their coordination was surprisingly better than expected, but it was still not enough . Same as before they were quickly subdued by Alex .

    "You guys are much worse than I expected . " When Alex said this, as if on cue the leader came back, and he was holding a rifle . Alex who saw the rifle he was holding figured at a nce that it had thirty rounds .

    The leader of the supposed elite men of the Harimas, saw the other nine on the ground moaning in pain . When he saw this, he did not hesitate and fired at Alex .

    Seeing him about to pull the trigger, Alex when into his RELEASE state . The leader who fired at Alex, expected to see Alex with a hole in his shoulder bleeding, but what he actually saw made him doubt if this was reality or simply a bad dream .

    Alex was able to dodge the bullet, and was now slowly walking towards him . Seeing the demon like Alex approach him the leader started shooting continuously but like a ghost none of the bullets could hit Alex .

    When he finally ran out of bullets Alex was standing right in front of him . The leader who saw Alex, trembled in fright as his knees gave in and he fell on his butt .

    Alex sighed as he saw this . He was expecting more when he heard this man was supposedly a former A rank merc .

    "This is really worse than I anticipated . . . Fine then, I will train you ten from scratch . I hope you had fun awhile ago, since that¡¯s thest time you will ever have fun . "

 Chapter 148

    Chapter 148

    "From now on you no longer have names, you will be called henceforth as number one, you number two, you number three . You number-" Alex pointed at each of the ten men, the leader of the group the supposed A rank merc was now called number one .

    "Finally you are number ten . From this day forth you are now my subordinates and I yourmanding officer . When you wish to speak to me, you must first ask for permission . Also when you speak to me, the beginning and end word you should be using is Sir . Understood?" Even though Alex was still talking in his usual indifferent tone, the pressure in his words were real . Now knowing how frightening Alex¡¯s level of strength was, the ten men didn¡¯t dare to not follow his orders anymore .

    "Sir Yes Sir!" The ten men answered in unison .

    "At this point forward, I will train you into a powerful force . The training will be torturous, it will be demeaning, and it will be painful . You might wish for death as the training goes on . You might think that my training is hell, but trust me when I say, hell is a paradisepared to what you are about to go through . Still no matter if you are in the verge of dying I want you to stand up and continue on, If I order you to . Do you people understand?"

    "Sir Yes Sir!"

    "If any of you disobey an order, I will dislocate each of your joints, and I will leave you like that for about ten minutes, then I will put them back just to dislocate them again . That¡¯s what you going to get for the first offense, for the second offense the punishment wont be as kind . Do you people understand?"

    "Sir Yes Sir!"

    "That¡¯s good to hear . So let¡¯s begin training now . all of you follow me . "

    . . .

    Alex headed out of the warehouse and to the back . There in the open area behind the warehouse was a customized pool that had a depth of twenty feet .

    "All of you put your hands behind your back . " When the ten men heard Alex¡¯s order they followed it without hesitation . Now Alex proceeded to tie their hands .

    "Okay then will start simple . All of you will jump into the pool, and while your hands are tied behind your back . I want you to swim from this end to the other end and swim back . " The ten men looked at the distance Alex was talking about . This pool was around sixty meters long .

    "Well then begin . " The ten men hesitated at first, but when they heard Alex¡¯s voice telling them to begin they had no choice . The ten men all jumped into the pool . They tried swimming without their hands and as expected it proved more difficult than they thought . While they were still having difficulties swimming, Alex added something as they surfaced every now and then .

    "Oh right thest one to reach the goal will be the lucky one to start off the next training course . No rest for the losers . " Hearing what Alex said the ten men started to swim faster . When the first one finally got to the other end, and was ready to swim back, an arrow suddenly whoosh passed him .

    "In realbat you never know when the enemy will strike . So you got to be ready at anytime . Don¡¯t you worry I will not hit your vitals . "

    Does that mean you¡¯ll try to hit any other part instead . Alex continued to fire arrows at the ten men, but of course he wasn¡¯t really aiming at them . He was simply aiming close enough that they think they were going to get hit .

    . . .

    It took them a few minutes but all ten men were able to swim back . As they got out of the pool, Alex untied them .

    "Number seven front and center . " The heavily panting number seven stepped forward .

    "You are thest to finish, so you get to start off the next training . Follow me . "

    . . .

    Alex brought the ten men into the area of the warehouse they haven¡¯t been to yet . This area was like an open field, and in it were six hoops . Alex then handed each men a loaded rifle .

    "Okay number seven, while holding that rifle I want you to run and jump through those hoops . " When the ten heard what Alex said, they felt a bit relieved wasn¡¯t this easier than the swimming with their hands tied . They were felt relieved too soon . Alex approached the hoops and lit them up, now they were ming hoops . "Also since you guys got wet, I better dry you up . "

    "Begin!" Number seven didn¡¯t want to do this, since a loaded gun and mes don¡¯t really go well together . Still he had no choice and he started to run . Number seven who was running while jumping through ming hoops, felt an extreme adrenaline rush . Midway through the run he stopped being scared .

    The other nine also experienced the same thing .

    "Okay now that the warm ups are done, time for the real training . " When the ten men heard what Alex said, they almost copsed in fear . That was a warm up!

    "Follow me men . "

    . . .

    The next location Alex brought the group was in the forest, near the warehouse . Alex and the group walked deeper into the forest . This time the ten men had backpacks each having different stuff inside .

    Once the group was deep enough into the forest Alex spoke .

    "Okay then, now I want you men to get back to the warehouse from here . You will set out after five minutes . This training will test how you will cooperate with each other . Let me warn you before hand, I have ntednd mines in this whole forest . If you can¡¯t remember the safe path we took, then you got to figure a way to find thend mines and pass them safely . Don¡¯t worry thend mines I nted aren¡¯t strong enough to kill you, but they¡¯ll still hurt very much . You will feel like your flesh is tearing . Also if you people don¡¯t get back to the warehouse two hours from now, I¡¯ll start shooting you from afar . Don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll be using rubber bullets . "

    When the ten men heard what Alex said, they wanted to say something but couldn¡¯t . What the hell is wrong with this kid! No this wasn¡¯t a kid, this was a demon! How the hell was this training?!

    "Okay then, timer starts now . " Alex retreated back to the warehouse, while the ten men looked at him in a daze .

 Chapter 149

    Chapter 149

    While Alex was training his new subordinates, Rachel was talking with her mom, in their living room . The two were sitting across from each other, while some tea was on the table .

    "So mom tell me why did you let that deadbeat of a father leave again? Just, why?" Rachel was trying her hardest not to scream at her mom, but it was proving to be a difficult task . Kumiko on the other hand simply sip her tea, as she calmly replied .

    "Well your dad needed to go and help a friend . "

    "What kind of friend is more important than his family?! He just got back and he left again! So what kind of friend is this that he actually went and left without hesitation . "

    "Well the kind of friend that helps a person who has amnesia . The kind of friend that took your father in when he had no where to go . The kind of friend that helped him when he was most helpless . " When Rachel heard what her mom said, she looked at her in shock .

    "You mean, Alex¡¯s dad asked for help? . . . Wait a minute, isn¡¯t Alex¡¯s dad supposedly a CEO of some hugepany or something? . . . What can dad do to help that kind of person? The only thing that deadbeat is good at, is fighting . "

    "Then your dad must be helping him for security reasons . "

    ¡¯Did Alex know about this? No it can¡¯t be, he was shocked as well when he heard dad left . . . Maybe he didn¡¯t know my deadbeat of a dad will be apanying his own dad . ¡¯

    As Rachel started thinking, Kumiko interrupted her thoughts .

    "So is that all you wanted to talk about? Or do you have anymore questions?"

    "Huh? . . . Oh yeah, that¡¯s all I wanted to know . " As Rachel said this, she took a sip of the tea her mother prepared .

    "Okay then it¡¯s my turn to ask some questions . How are things going with you and Alex? Are you guys officially a couple now?" The moment Kumiko asked this, Rachel was so surprised that some of the tea she just drank came out of her nose .

    "Why are you asking this now mom!" Rachel was coughing a bit, as she wiped her nose .

    "No need to react that way . I just wanted to know how your rtionship is progressing . I don¡¯t know if this might motivate you or not, but your father doesn¡¯t approve of Alex as your boyfriend . Well to be fair your father doesn¡¯t approve of anyone as your boyfriend at the moment, since he ims you¡¯re too young . "

    "It doesn¡¯t matter if he approves of it or not! It¡¯s my decision who I want as my boyfriend, not his! Also why are we having this conversation?!"

    "Well as your mother I am curious about your love life . Also I heard from Saya that you got newpetition . Emily was it? I hear she¡¯s Alex¡¯s childhood friend . Not only that I hear that Alex¡¯s little sister favors her more than you . "

    "Alex and Emily are just friends, alright . There¡¯s nothing going on between them . Also Emily told me that she supports me . "

    "Supports you in what?" Kumiko smiled mischievously .

    "Support me in my fee- Wait a minute! . . . Well anyway bottom line is, Emily and Alex are just friends . Okay? They¡¯re just friends nothing more, nothing less . " Kumiko couldn¡¯t help but giggle at her daughter¡¯s innocence .

    "Why are you so shy my baby girl? It¡¯s alright to tell your mother that you like a guy . In my book Alex is a great catch . Also I heard from Saya that the Emily girl, is of the scheming kind . So if I were you I would be more wary of her than the Kain princess . "

    "Enough of this! I¡¯m going to my room!" Rachel whose face was turning red, headed to her room . Kumiko seeing this sighed at her naive daughter .

    "You better snatch his heart, before someone else steals ahead . "

    . . .

    Rachel was now on her bed looking at the picture Emily sent her . It was a picture of Alex smiling .

    "Hey you big idiot, are you interested in Emily? She is your childhood friend, and she does know you better than me . . . Damn it! Your such an idiot Alex! I already know you like me and all that, but not once have you invited me out on a date . . . Okay, you did invite me to shop with you, but that doesn¡¯t count . "

    Rachel was talking to the picture of Alex, while getting irritated .

    "Howe your so good in everything else, but not in this? You just need to ask me out, and I would have dly say yes . " Rachel started to roll on her bed .

    "So why don¡¯t you ask me out? Are you not interested in me anymore? I¡¯m sure that¡¯s not it, is it? No it can¡¯t be, he still sticks to me like glue . . . Well not as much as before, but that¡¯s an improvement, or is it not? Damn it Alex now I¡¯m the one confused . "

    Rachel who was talking to the picture of Alex, was looking a tad crazy . If anyone else saw her like this they might think she had gone insane .

    "Well I can be the one to ask you out, but that might make me look desperate . . . Wait do I really care if I look desperate? I¡¯m sure I like Alex, I already understood that, but does that really mean we need officially be a couple? If we do that I don¡¯t know how Eva will react, and it¡¯s not like I hate her or anything . I do somehow like her as a friend . . . Damn it what should I do? . . . Should I make a move? Or should I wait for Alex to make a move?"

    "I should wait for Alex to make a move . Since if I¡¯m the one to make the move they might think I forced Alex . That idiot does follow my every order for some reason . . . " As Rachel got even more confused, she once again looked at Alex¡¯s picture .

    "What the hell are you smiling at?! You know this is all your fault!"

 Chapter 150

    Chapter 150

    It was in the middle of the night . Emily who was typing away in her keyboard, noticed something happening in one of her personal security cameras, that she ced outside the mansion . There was a flickering light from the house nearest the mansion . It was Morse code, telling her to go to that house . The Morse code used was even the special kind that only she and one other could decipher .

    Emily who saw this Morse code smiled as she ran out of her room .

    . . .

    Kyle Hunt who was as ordered keeping tabs on Lilitth was given the house near the mansion . Right now he was on the roof of the house looking at the starry sky, beside him was his trusty rifle . While he was admiring the night sky, someone climbed up from the window below .

    "Leaving your door open, what if some maniac enters?" Hearing that familiar voice, Kyle smiled .

    "No one that I don¡¯t allow can enter anyway . The moment he or she tries opening the door their head would have blown off . "

    "It¡¯s been awhile aniki, I hope you¡¯ve been doing well . " Emily sat beside her brother as both the siblings look at the starry sky .

    "Of course I have . I don¡¯t want my crybaby of a little sister worrying about me now do I?" Kyle chuckled .

    "Hmph, who are you calling a crybaby? Aren¡¯t you talking about yourself? Aniki is the one who was a crybaby . " Emily who was usual so scheming, and almost aloof was actually pouting and this time it wasn¡¯t an act at all . If Alex could see her now, he would be confused if whether she was acting or not, and shocked to know that she wasn¡¯t .

    "Well I guess you could call us the crybaby siblings . " The two of them started tough . Afterughing for awhile Emily spoke .

    "So Aniki what are you doing here? I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯te simply to say hello to this awesomely cute little sister of yours . "

    "Cute? You? Well whatever . . . Actually I¡¯m here to look after another person¡¯s cute little sister . Not that I think she needs someone looking after her, seeing that she has that overpowered brother of hers . " Emily who heard Kyle said cute with a question mark questioned her brother .

    "Why did you say it like that? Don¡¯t you think I¡¯m cute aniki? Are you saying this little sister of yours, who is practically the most awesome little sister in the world, is not cute?" Emily discarded the announcement that Kyle was here to look after Lilitth, and was instead showing dissatisfaction that her brother dismissed her as not cute .

    "Well first off, calling yourself cute isn¡¯t cute . Second you just dismissed my shocking announcement . Finally do I look like the kind of big brother that openly admits his little sister is cute?

    "Counterargument, calling myself cute is just me referring to a fact . Second your news isn¡¯t really shocking, the master who is an extreme doting parent, wouldn¡¯t leave his precious daughter alone . " Emily quickly shot down two of her brothers statements .

    "Finally you¡¯re saying that your not openly admitting it I¡¯m cute . So that means deep inside yourself you are admitting it? . . . Wow so you¡¯re the one being cute aniki . Well your personality is cute, but not your looks . I mean seriously, why don¡¯t you shave that beard of yours? Do you think it¡¯s cool or something? FYI it¡¯s not cool it just makes you look older . What would people think if we walk side by side? Instead of being your sister, they might actually think I¡¯m your daughter . You know, this is why you can¡¯t get a girlfriend no matter how hard you try . "

    "Look who¡¯s talking, how about you? I¡¯m pretty sure your single as well . "

    "Well unlike you I have a lot of suitors . Also how can I get a boyfriend, if my aniki who is older than me by ten years hasn¡¯t even gain one girlfriend . "

    "Many suitors is it? I wonder who among them is a prospective future boyfriend?"

    "Avoiding the topic are we? . . . Hey, aniki, you know I can take care of myself now . So there is no need for aniki to be worried about me . How about settling down and finding not just a girlfriend but a wife instead . Don¡¯t you have enough money, to live a life offort? So why not settle down?" Emily suddenly turned serious as she spoke .

    ""This topic again . . . The reason I don¡¯t have a girlfriend is not entirely because of you . It¡¯s simply because I don¡¯t want to settle down yet . I have been a merc since I was seventeen, and I know nothing else . I even just recently gained the S rank a few years ago . If I settle down now, wont life get a bit boring?"

    "You can only say that, because you haven¡¯t been in love yet . I¡¯m sure if you fall in love and start having your very own family, you will find that it wasn¡¯t so boring after all . "

    "Howe I find that hard to believe . Oh that¡¯s right, it¡¯s because a sixteen year old girl that hasn¡¯t fallen in love is the one telling me this . How can you say that, if you haven¡¯t experience it yet . Where do you get the confidence to make such a statement?"

    "Umm, you know I read it in a bunch of manga and light novels . I also watched it in a lot of anime and T . V dramas . " Emily blushed a bit when she said this .

    "So you¡¯re telling me to believe in manga and anime?"

    " . . . " Emily had nothing to respond to that .

    "Got nothing else to say? . . . Well in any case, no need to worry about me finding a wife . I will settle down, when I meet the right person . You tell me not to worry about you . But you are my one and only little sister, of course I will worry about you . Even if I settle down and gain wife and kids, I will still worry about you . I am after all your big brother . "

    The two siblings didn¡¯t say anything anymore, and looked at the starry sky in silence .

 Chapter 151

    Chapter 151

    It was the following day, and once again the mercenary club went to the Drama club . When they got there they proceeded to head to the auditorium to practice .

    The moment they got to the auditorium they started their practice . rehearsing lines, doing some action sequence . While they were doing one take with all the members present Katrina notice something troublesome . Alex¡¯s clubmates were to eye catching .

    Seeing how the other members of the mercenary club aside from Alex were simply extras . Katrina knew that this was a bad setup . When she noticed this, she felt it was weird . The extras look so much better than the main cast, that they most of the people¡¯s attention will shift to the background characters .

    If Katrina allowed this to continue, the moment the people a . k . a the audience see that Niel wasn¡¯t part of the main cast, they might actually get a lot of negative reviews . Negative reviews would lead them possibly failing their next production as well . If they don¡¯t perform adequately the Drama Club might disappear entirely . They can also expect that the audience might get a bit rowdy . That¡¯s how popr Niel was, and it was no joke what his fans might do .

    Do not underestimate Niel¡¯s fans which are mostly young female teenagers . The mere thought of their ballistic rage frightened Katrina .

    Well it wasn¡¯t only Niel, there was Rachel as well who was one of the three beauties of the school . If they don¡¯t give her a big enough role they the audience might hate it as well . There was also Emily who had her fair share of fans .

    She wanted to give them bigger roles, but it would be unfair to the Drama Club members . Still she just could not use them as extras . It would have been better not use them at all . But once the crowd sees Alex is the protagonist, the audience will quickly find out that the mercenary club is helping them out .

    Was there no other way? Even if Katrina reces the main cast with the people of the mercenary club they might not be able memorize the script, or perform well . . .

    Who was she trying to trick? Those three, had already memorize the whole script, and now they don¡¯t need to read it anymore . Heck Alex just read it twice and now he doesn¡¯t need to keep reading the script, as he performs on stage; and that performance of his was almost absolutely wless .

    Now knowing how good Alex was for this role . Katrina was unable find a better recement than him . So even though Alex solved their problem with recing David . His help also resulted into making more problems .

    . . .

    Emily who noticed her friend Katrina¡¯s dilemma couldn¡¯t help but smile . Everything was simply going so smoothly as she nned . Emily approached Katrina with a smiling face . Katrina seeing Emily nearing her, stopped thinking about how to implement the mercenary club into the y, and greeted Emily .

    "Hey Emily . what¡¯s up? Do you need something from me?" Katrina changed her facial expression from troubled to happy .

    "Not it¡¯s not that . . . I just couldn¡¯t help but notice that troubled look you were having . As your friend I wanted to know what¡¯s bothering you?"

    "Huh? What troubled look? There is nothing of the sort . Really nothing¡¯s bothering me . Why would you even think that?"

    "Well I just noticed that you were thinking very hard while you were sitting there . You haven¡¯t even said anything at all while everyone is practicing . Usually you would havemented here and there . . . So Don¡¯t bother hiding it from me . I know you are having some problems . Hmm, let me guess what¡¯s giving you problems . I¡¯m guessing you are having difficulty deciding what role to give the other members of the mercenary club . Simply put that Niel alone would make the audience have a strong reaction, if you don¡¯t give him a bigger role . "

    Emily obviously predicted that this would happen . It was a pretty obvious conclusion, if you bring the popr members of the Mercenary Club to the Drama Club .

    Katrina who heard Emily, sighed and shrugged her shoulders .

    "So what? Do you have a n?"

    "Of course I do . I already kind of predicted that this might happen . So I wrote this . " Emily presented a newly revised script to Katrina .

    "You remade the script? Let me see that . " Katrina took Emily¡¯s script and read it . The plot and essence of the y was still the same as before, but this one had more characters . It will also pushed the y to be longer by thirty minutes .

    Katrina looked at Emily in awe, this kind of revision wasn¡¯t possible to make overnight . That must mean, either Emily is simply really that good, or she prepared this the moment Katrina gave her the script . Thetter is the most probable, but how did she predict that they will need someone to rece the lead?

    Was David in on this too? How much control does Emily actually have? Katrina had a lot of questions, but surely she will never get the answers to them, but who cares . This script written by Emily was too good to pass up . It was actually even better than the original . The characters are given more depth in this version making the original, feel kind of boring .

    "This is perfect Emily . So who should y which role?"

    "Aren¡¯t you the director? Why don¡¯t you decide that?"

    "Well your the one who wrote the revision, and you know your club members better than I do . So who do you think fits each role? Also I noticed you added a lead actress, even though there wasn¡¯t any before . Is it because you wanted to take the lead?"

    "No not really, it¡¯s more like, I felt that the audience would like some womanly charms in that sausage fest . Also a little romance and drama in a war epic is kinda good too . "

    "Okay I get why put that there . So back to my first question who should y the female lead?"

    "I think she will be the best one to do the job . " Emily pointed at the person she wanted as the leadingdy .

 Chapter 152

    Chapter 152

    While Alex and the others were practicing, in the Drama Club . Kyle as he was ordered by Carlo was watching over Lilitth, who was talking to her friend Niki . The two little girls were chatting and giggling as they waited for their brothers to fetch them .

    Kyle who has been watching over Lilitth for three days now, was bored beyond belief . There was nothing happening . He wasn¡¯t even allowed to interact with either Alex or Lilitth, he was only allowed to interact with them if an emergency urs .

    What categorizes as an emergency as stated by Carlo was very strict . Carlo had exined to Kyle that he was only allowed to have direct contact with Alex or Lilitth only if the situation is truly dire . What constitutes as dire is if Kyle has determined that he was unable to deal with the problem from the shadows, then and only then could he show himself .

    Kyle always admired Carlo for his preparedness, but this time he thought that this seems a bit too much . Though There is a possibility of enemy forces going deep into enemy territory just to try and kidnap Lilitth, but that possibility was very miniscule . Not only is Lilitth almost always near Alex, the whole city is under surveince by the maids and butlers of the Samarita household .

    Doing anything to Lilitth would be much harder than kidnapping the prime minister of Berdonia . It would take a lot of manpower and nning to do anything to this one little girl . Well to be fair every time Lilitth goes to school is when she is most vulnerable . If anyone would want to do something to Lilitth the time she was in school, would be the perfect opportunity .

    Still knowing that there is a chance someone might actually try something stupid, didn¡¯t really make it any easier for Kyle . As Kyle continued watching Lilitth from the scope of his rifle, Kyle finally noticed someone suspicious . There was a man in the neighboring house one much nearer to the school than the building Kyle was renting . The man was standing on the third floor veranda of the house looking at the school grounds . He seemed to be looking directly at Lilitth and Niki . Kyle wasn¡¯t sure what the man¡¯s purpose was, but it was obviously not a good one .

    Kyle loaded his rifle with some rubber bullets, since he wasn¡¯t sure what the purpose of the man was but waiting for him to do something was idiotic . If he was wrong well at least he didn¡¯t kill him .

    The man was getting something from his bag, but before he could take anything out, Kyle shot at him . One shot exactly barely hitting the back of the man¡¯s head . This one shot was more than enough to make the man faint . Kyle then checked the surrounding area and once he saw that everything was clear, Kyle headed towards the house the suspicious man was at .

    Once Kyle got to the house and went to the veranda . He saw the man on the ground was a seemingly fat middle aged man . Kyle then saw the bag the man had, and inside was a slr camera . Kyle checked the contents of the bag, and saw a lot of pictures of little girls . This guy wasn¡¯t a kidnapper, well he could be . . . But he was basically just a pervert .

    Kyle contacted one of the maids in the mansion and informed them to take care of the thrash . Once he was done with that he went back to his position .

    . . .

    Kyle continued watching Lilitth, waiting for Alex and his group who will arrive thirty minutester . Alex was a punctual person and is also a person of habit, so you can always count on him to do things in a schedule .

    While waiting for Alex to fetch Lilitth, Kyle noticed something weird happening . There were three people looking at the school in the veranda of nearby houses . The first one might be a coincidence . But this time around was too much to be considered a coincidence .

    Kyle didn¡¯t hesitate and shot all three of the men in quick session . He then immediately contacted the people in the mansion . He told them to send out a recon party . He proceeded to tell them the address of the men, he just shot .

    Kyle was talking on the phone while still looking in the scope of his rifle . Something big might happen, but a few minutes passed and nothing else happened . Finally Alex and his group arrived and took Lilitth and Niki with them .

    . . .

    When Alex and his group left with Lilith and Niki, Kyle contacted the recon team . "So who were those people?"

    "Two of them looked like they were perverts same as the previous one, but when we checked their identifications, we learned that they weren¡¯t citizens of Berdonia . Based on a quick investigation they might be from the Granado Empire . We need to conduct further investigations to learn more . " The maid who was part of the recon team responded .

    "You said two, what about the third one?"

    "The third one had an actual gun, and it seems like the two were simply distractions . We also have another thing to report Sir Kyle . "

    "What is it?"

    "The third one, the one with the gun . He left his equipment here, and escaped . "

    When Kyle heard that the third one escaped he was shocked . He was sure his shot was perfect, and the rubber bullet he used was non lethal but it was still powerful enough to knock out a grown man .

    "All right . . . Continue your investigation and report to me when you made progress . Also do not under any circumstances inform Alex . "

    "Sir yes Sir!" After hearing the maid¡¯s response Kyle hanged up .

    ¡¯The Granado Empire is making a move . . . But why try assassinating Lilitth? Was Lilitth really the target? Or was it someone else on the school grounds that was the real target? This job got even more tiresome . . . I wanted it to be a bit more exciting, but not this exciting . ¡¯

    Kyle sighed as he lit a cigarette, and started smoking .

 Chapter 153

    Chapter 153

    Niel and Niki headed home after saying goodbye to Alex¡¯s group . The moment Alex¡¯s group was out of sight, Niel had an uneasy feeling . For some reason Niel felt a presence following him and his sister . He wasn¡¯t sure if what he was feeling was right or just his imagination . So he did what Lyner told him to do in this kinds of situations . Niel concentrated on his sense of hearing and smell .

    "As you are now, you wont be able to sense your opponent until it¡¯s toote . . . You also wont be able to replicate how I sense opponents . Since I sense opponents using something like a sixth sense . This new sense goes beyond what sight, hearing, feeling, smelling, and tasting can show me . It¡¯s a sense I have acquired after going through numerous battles . So as of now you can¡¯t sense the enemies the same way I do . Instead I want you to focus on two of the senses you do have . First I want you to focus on your sense of hearing . Listen to the vibrations of thend . Listen to the whistling of the wind . If you concentrate hard enough and reach my level you will be able to even hear the crawling of the worms underneath the soil . "

    "The next sense I want you to focus on is your sense of smell . I want you to concentrate in using that nose of yours . I want you to smell the different odors of the surrounding area . But the most important smell you need to familiarize with is the odor of a human being . Though if they are good enough they can probably mask their odors . Still you can also use that to your advantage as well . It all depends on how you think . "

    Niel did as he had practiced and used his sense of hearing and his sense of smell in unison . Niel started concentrating as hard as he could while walking towards his house .

    Niki who saw her brother doing something weird wanted to say something, but stopped herself since it felt like her brother was really concentrating on something at the moment . She didn¡¯t want to do something that would trouble her brother .

    Niel who was concentrating on his senses of hearing and smelling, finally noticed the person who was following them . He wasn¡¯t following them on the ground . Niel could hear soft footsteps on the rooftops . He could also somehow smell a unique kind of cologne from the stalker .

    Niel didn¡¯t show any kind of reaction after he noticed the stalker, as he continued home without picking up the pace . This was another lesson taught to him by Lyner . Fighting begins with information . The more you know and the less the opponent knows the better .

    At this moment Niel knows that someone was tailing them . On the other hand the stalker doesn¡¯t know he was already spotted by Niel .

    . . .

    When the Rayheart siblings got home, they did their usual thing . Niel and Niki greeted their mom and changed out of their uniforms into their everyday clothes .

    They ate their dinner with their mom and after eating dinner their mom headed out to hand their dad his nighttime meal, seeing as he was going to work overtime again today .

    Once they were done eating the siblings had a bath, and then proceeded to do their homework . Yet this time around Niel didn¡¯t go to his room . He went and helped his little sister do her homework .

    Since Niel already knew that the stalker was on the roof, he didn¡¯t leave Niki¡¯s side . When they were done taking their bath, Niel took Niki and brought her to his room .

    Niki was delighted to have her brother help with her homework, but she felt that something weird was going on with her brother . Even though he would help her every now and then, somehow this felt different .

    Niel who brought Niki to his room, looked for the gun given to him by Lyner . It was Lyner¡¯s colt 45 peacemaker, he gave it to Niel when he acknowledge him as a his personal student . Niel then hidden the gun behind his back . He then proceeded to check the throwing knives he hidden in his socks .

    "Niki how about studying here in my room for awhile . I¡¯ll be getting some food, so just wait for me here okay? Here wear this headphones I hear studying while listening to music helps improve your work . "

    "Okay Nii-nii . "

    "That¡¯s a good girl . " NIel patted his sister¡¯s head, which she joyfully received .

    . . .

    After leaving the room Niel sent a message to someone, before he proceeded to climb to the roof from Niki¡¯s window . Before he got to the top, he could somehow sense that the man was still sitting in one position on the roof . This guy was obviously a professional, so before heading up he called for back up .

    The moment Niel¡¯s head peeked to look, a foot was suddenly going to smash on his head . Niel evaded while climbing onto the roof .

    There in front of him was a man around seven feet tall, and his muscles could almost match Oliver¡¯s . He was for some reason wearing a business suit, and in his left hand was abat knife . The way he stood on top of the roof with uneven flooring clearly indicates how much he has trained .

    The man in the suit looked at Niel with cold intensity . Niel then pointed his colt 45 at the man in the suit .

    "I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯ll tell me, why you¡¯re doing this?" The man didn¡¯t respond and simply continued to look at Niel . He wasn¡¯t even stunned to see Niel point a gun at him .

    "So no response . . . I bet once I beat you up, you¡¯ll be a bit more talkative . " Niel then proceeded to shoot the man in the suit . He wasn¡¯t aiming at his vitals only at his hands and legs . Yet the man in the suit easily evaded and charged at Niel .

    Niel ducked as the enemy¡¯sbat knife shed sidewards . The man then did a low spinning heel kick, which Niel evaded by jumping . The man in the suit already predicted this and somehow did a rising kick from his position .

    Niel who was in midair had no way to evade, so before getting hit, he quickly took one of the throwing knives hidden in his sock and threw it at the man¡¯s foot .

    Niel was pushed back by the rising kick, and had two fractured ribs because of how powerful the man was . But Niel was still able to retaliate, and now the man¡¯s left foot had a throwing knifing pierced through it .

    Even though his foot was bleeding, it didn¡¯t seem like it was bothering him . The man in the suit continued to look at Niel with a cold re .

    Niel then started to shoot at the man . Yet even with his injury he was still able to evade the bullets like it was nothing . Niel wasn¡¯t experience enough to be able to predict the movements of abatant of this level . Also he was still not that ustomed in using this gun given to him by Lyner . So his shots were extremely good for a first timer, but sloppy overall .

    The noise of the gun also didn¡¯t alert anyone for some reason . Niel was confused cause he was sure the moment he started shooting one of their neighbors would hear it and call the cops . Yet no one responded .

    ¡¯This looks like it¡¯s going to be a bit troublesome . I hope youe quickly Sir Lyner . ¡¯

 Chapter 154

    Chapter 154

    Niel continued fighting the man in the suit, but as they continued fighting Niel was getting nicked her and there . He now had a bunch of scratches on his left arm, a pretty deep cut on his right shoulder, and many more minor injuries all over his body . The only part that remained injury free was his face .

    The reason for that was because that was what Niel defended the most . He didn¡¯t even allow the man in the suit to graze his face . To Niel who believe in perfection on both the outside and the inside . His face was one of the most important things he has . Even at this point in the battle, where Niel had no more bullets and was barely hanging on, he still defended his face .

    Also even though the man in the suit was equally, no was even more injured than Niel, he didn¡¯t seem to be slowing down . Niel on the other hand was pretty much nearing his limit . This was Niel¡¯s first true battle, and he was actually doing superbly . For someone of his level facing the man in the suit and actually fighting on even ground was already a miracle .

    ¡¯This is harder than I thought . ¡¯ Niel who was simply evading with all his might, was waiting for the right opportunity to strike . This fight was dangerous and one mistake could lead to his death, but this wasn¡¯t the hardest fight he had .

    Compared to training with Lyner, who gave the feeling that no matter what you do victory can never be achieved . This death battle with the man in a suit wasn¡¯t all that hopeless . There was still a chance for victory .

    The man in the suit started to get impatient, he wasn¡¯t expecting this much resistance from Niel . He needed to finish this before some kind of mishap happens . The man then got even more aggressive in his attacks .

    Niel noticing the man in the suit getting impatient didn¡¯t miss this chance . He continued to wait for the perfect opportunity to attack, and like he thought the man in the suit finally revealed an opening . Niel immediately took at advantage of that opening and attacked .

    Yet this was but a trap . The man in the suit was experienced enough to know what Niel was aiming for, so he showed an obvious opening in his defenses . This resulted in Niel attacking the gap in his defense, and the man in the suit was able to counterattack .

    Niel caught by surprise was barely able to block the stab aimed at his chest . Niel used his left hand to block, and now he couldn¡¯t move it properly .

    ¡¯Is this it? Am I going to die here? No . . . I don¡¯t think this guy wants to kill me . Since the beginning he was avoiding hitting my vitals, that¡¯s the reason why I was able to hold on for this long . He wants to capture me alive . ¡¯

    While Niel was thinking about all these things . The man in the suit didn¡¯t let up and pressed on his attack . Niel couldn¡¯t handle it anymore and he was about ready to lose consciousness, when he suddenly heard the sound of an aproaching motorcycle .

    Shocked by the sudden sound the twobatants for a split second diverted their attention to the sound . The next moment they saw someone jumped onto the roof . It was a stoic looking boy holding a long de, that looked like abination of a longsword and a katana . This boy was none other than Alex .

    "Are you alright Niel?" Alex didn¡¯t even look at Niel as he was focused at the man in the suit . Niel on the other hand hearing Alex¡¯s voice felt a bit relieved for some reason . He knew how abnormal Alex was, so maybe he could handle this guy .

    "I¡¯ve been better . " Niel even in his current state smiled his winning smile .

    "I see . . . Now that I¡¯m here you can just rest for now . I will finish this in a sh . "

    The man in the suit who saw Alex was on high alert . Every fiber of his being was telling him to run now . All his senses told him that there was no hope for the mission to be a sess, now that this boy showed up .

    It was safe to say that all of the other members of his squad have been done in by the boy in front of him . That is the only exnation that he could think of, as to how the boy was able to get here .

    Also looking at the boy, the man saw that the boy had not even a scratch on him . This for him was a frightening sight . That would mean the boy had defeated all of hisrades that were on standby, without getting hurt .

    The man in the suit was about to flee but Alex blocked his path . As if like lightning Alex had stabbed the shoulder of the man in the suit . After which he proceeded to stab both the man¡¯s legs . The man in the suit who gave Niel so much trouble was easily immobilized by Alex .

    Niel who had already fainted, might not believe how quickly Alex subdued such a strong opponent . Still the man in the suit was already injured all over which made it even easier for Alex .

    . . .

    In a distance sitting on top of a pile of unconscious men was Lyner, looking at Niel¡¯s battle using some binocrs . The men that he was sitting on were thepatriots of the man in the suit, that upied the neighboring houses .

    Lyner when he received Niel¡¯s message quickly headed towards his disciple¡¯s house . On the way some men came out of their houses and attacked him . The men obviously knew who he was, because they attacked without hesitation and they attacked fully equipped .

    Their gear was top notch and based on how they moved, it was safe to say that they were soldiers of the Granado Empire .

    Still even though they knew who Lyner was and their equipment was top notch, it was obvious that this men were not prepared to deal with him . This force was meant for a different target . Lyner with overwhelming might subdued all the men present, and took one of their binocrs .

    Using the binocrs Lyner looked at the direction of Niel¡¯s house . There he saw Niel fighting a soldier wearing a business suit . Seeing as how it was only one man . Lyner decided not to interfere and see how much his disciple has improved .

    Lyner used the pile of bodies as a chair as he watched Niel battle it out with a veteran .

    . . .

    After watching for awhile Lyner concluded that Niel will lose no matter what . He rated Niel¡¯s strength to be about the same as a C rank merc . His hand to handbat skills were impressive, but his gun skills were not even worth mentioning in the eyes of Lyner .

    Lyner felt that this battle was a good experience for Niel so that he could grow stronger than before . Lyner was about to make a move to save Niel, but before he could do so someone unexpected arrived . It was Alex jumping onto the roof of Niel¡¯s house .

    The moment Alex arrived, Lyner didn¡¯t bother to help Niel anymore . He then proceeded to call someone, asking the other party to pick up the illegal immigrants that he just beat up . The next thing Lyner did was message Niel saying nice fight .

    After which Lyner started looking for a phone from one of the unconscious men . One of them most probably the leader must have some way to contact their boss . After searching for awhile Lyner finally found what he was looking for . Using that phone Lyner sent a message to the guy who ordered this attack . Lyner could pretty much figure out who was the one who sent this soldiers . So with that Lyner headed back to his beloved bed ready to go to sleep .

    . . .

    In a room decorated with the exquisite paintings and sculptures, an old man was sipping his tea while listening to some ssical music . This old man was the patriarch of the Tang family a powerful force in the Granado Empire . He was also one of the ten generals of the Granado Empire .

    While the old man was sipping his tea someone knocked on the door, disturbing his tranquility .

    "Enter . " The old man with a dignified voice spoke . Hearing that he was granted permission a young man who looked a bit panicked entered the room . The old man who saw the expression of the one who entered sighed .

    "The mission has failed, hasn¡¯t it?" The young man hearing the old man¡¯s words was trembling in fear .

    " . . . Yes, the mission to capture the Rayheart siblings has failed . I beg your forgiveness lord Jing, but there was also a message sent to you . " The young man could hear his heart beat faster as he said those words .

    "A message from who?"

    When the young man heard Tang Jing¡¯s question he couldn¡¯t speak another word . He was so scared to report the name of the one who sent the message .

    "Don¡¯t worry young man . I can already guess who sent the message based on the fear in your eyes . So tell me who gave the message . "

    " . . . Lyner . . . " Hearing that name made Tang Jing grow angry but he suppressed that anger, and asked, "what was his message . " The scared young man handed Tang Jing the phone with the message .

    "Hey old man Tang . It¡¯s been awhile since we met, I hope you¡¯re still alive and kicking . So I just want to say thank you for sending those men to kidnap my disciple . It was good training for him . I guess you aren¡¯t mad anymore about me killing your son, seeing as you sent these ymates for me and my disciple . Though I do hope next time you send some more people, and I hope they¡¯re better than these guys . . . Cause you know I appreciate the gift and all that, but these guys weren¡¯t even good for a warm up . Well that¡¯s all I want to say, hope you have great day old man . "

    The moment Tang Jing was done reading Lyner¡¯s irritating, sarcastic message he crushed the phone he was holding .

    ¡¯Lyner, I swear on the grave of my son, I will make you suffer!¡¯

 Chapter 155

    Chapter 155

    Alex was informed by the surveince team that something was happening in Niel¡¯s house, so he headed there in a hurry . Once he got to the house he saw Niel, wounded all over, and the enemy wanting to flee .

    So using his sword Alex had immobilize the enemy threat and was going to question him . When Alex was about to start questioning the enemy, the enemy suddenly copsed . Alex with one look already figured out the the enemy was dead . He most probably has a poison pellet or something simr hidden in his mrs, which he activated the moment he was sure that he couldn¡¯t escape .

    Well though he couldn¡¯t talk, as long as the body is intact he could still gain some information regarding the enemy . Alex then proceeded to call the police chief telling him toe over with some of his men .

    Once he was done with his call, Alex looked at the unconscious Niel . At first nce it looks like he was badly wounded but on closer inspection aside from the stab wound on his left hand, everything else were tiny nicks and scratches .

    Alex after checking Niel¡¯s injuries administered first aid, and bandaged him up . He then waited for the police to arrive .

    . . .

    While Alex was waiting for the police, Niel woke up after a few minutes . Alex was quite impressed by this . Seeing that this was obviously his first time in battle, and he was pretty much exhausted, waking this quickly was really impressive .

    Niel who saw his hand in bandages, recalled what happened and looked at Alex .

    "Where is the man in the suit? What happened to him?" Niel was still on high alert as he asked this . Alex then pointed at the dead man . When Niel saw the dead body he was about ready to puke but because of his amazing self control, as well as the image he needed to maintain he stopped himself from doing something so unsightly .

    " . . . Alex . . . Did you kill him? . " Niel spoke in an eeriely tranquil voice .

    "No . . . He killed himself via poison . " Alex answer was as usual concise and direct to the point, without any emotion in them . Niel who heard Alex¡¯s answer felt relieved . Even though he was going to ept any answer from Alex, he was happy to hear that Alex didn¡¯t kill the man . He would still ept it if Alex killed, but hearing he didn¡¯t really felt different .

    Niel already had some suspicions on what Alex¡¯s life was like before . But he would deal with that when the timees, for now Niel didn¡¯t need to know that part of Alex¡¯s life .

    "Thanks Alex, thank you for saving my life . . . Still how did you know I was in trouble?"

    Alex hearing Niel¡¯s question was silent . He didn¡¯t know what he should say, so he said the first thing that popped up in his mind .

    "I was having my usual night drive in my motorcycle, when I noticed something going on in your roof . That¡¯s when I came to save you . It was all a coincidence, it was a good thing I passed by . Seeing as you were almost killed . "

    Niel who heard Alex¡¯s answer obviously knew that he was lying . Still it was true Alex did save his life, and he didn¡¯t like forcing out information from a friend, so Niel decided not to press the topic further .

    "Is that so? . . . I truly am grateful that you happen to drive pass here . " Niel just smiled at his secretive friend .

    "Why were you being attacked anyway?" Alex changed the topic while he could, both to evade even more questions, and to learn about the situation better .

    "I don¡¯t really know . That guy wasn¡¯t really talkative, he just attacked in silence . " Niel who was sitting down on the roof shrugged his shoulders, unable to answer Alex¡¯s question .

    "I see . "

    "So Alex what do we do now? Are we going to call the cops?"

    "Don¡¯t worry I already did that . "

    "Seriously?" Niel was surprised on how Alex didn¡¯t hesitate to call the cops, even in this kind of situation .

    "So what are we going to say? Are we going to im that we killed him out of self defense? Or do we tell the truth? I¡¯m not sure the police will believe that the guy died by poisoning himself, seeing his body like that . "

    "Don¡¯t worry I will handle it . " Alex spoke in his usual indifferent tone of voice, which didn¡¯t really inspire confidence . Still Niel already knew what kind of guy Alex was, if he says that he will handle it, he will .

    . . .

    The police finally arrived, and the police chief himself was there . Niki who had no idea what was going on, was scared . She even saw her brother covered in wounds which made her even more scared . The moment when she saw Niel wounded all over, Niki rushed to his side crying her little heart out . She was so scared and kept repeating the words, don¡¯t die Nii-Nii don¡¯t die . Even though it was obvious that Niel was doing pretty well now .

    While Niel was trying to calm Niki down, Alex was talking to the police chief Renold . He exined to Renold what had happened . Hearing Alex¡¯s exnation of the events made Renold worry a bit .

    "Renold, I will be taking the body with me . I and the butlers back home will be conducting a thorough investigation regarding the origins of that man . I hope this is alright with you . "

    "It¡¯s no problem at all Alex . I am one of the few people that know who you truly are, so I know that you¡¯ll be able to do a better job than the forensic team back in HQ . I just hope that you keep me in the loop when you find something . " Renold who knew Alex as the ¡¯silent sh¡¯ was aware of his many capabilities .

    "Roger that . Also can you file this case as attempted robbery . I want you to inform Niel¡¯s parents that the man that died tried to rob them, and Niel was able to stop him until you arrived and killed the man . Can you do that?"

    "Yes I can . . . But Alex how about your friend will he go with that story?"

    "I¡¯ll exin it to him . I¡¯m sure he will understand, after all we are . . . friends . " Alex hesitated for a bit before saying thest word, but the moment he said it he felt a warm sensation in his chest . It was a different sensation from what he gets when he is around Rachel . The sensation he felt when he was around Rachel was much more than this, but still this sensation somehow feels simr yet at the same time different .

    All he knows at this point was that everyone in the Mercenary Club and even Evangeline were truly his friends .

 Chapter 156

    Chapter 156

    While Alex was exining some things to Niel, another event was happening with another member of the Mercenary Club .

    In a dimly lit room Sayaka was sitting in front of her father . Even now as he sat right in front of her, Sayaka still couldn¡¯t sense her father¡¯s presence . She sometimes even forgets what her father truly looks like .

    As the father and daughter sit face to face, their was nothing but silence . Sayaka was still having trouble believing what her father just told her .

    "Is this true father?" Sayaka was the first to break the silence . She looked at her father, with a look of anxiety and confusion .

    "Unfortunately it is . " Hearing her father¡¯s solemn response, Sayaka felt even more anxious than before .

    "Why is she a target?" Sayaka once again looked at the picture that was ced in front of her . It was a picture of a young beautiful girl with long ck tied in two messy low pigtails . This girl was none other than Sayaka¡¯s best friend Rachel .

    "The one who ced a hit on her didn¡¯t exin why . "

    "Obviously we aren¡¯t taking this job, right?" Sayaka who was usually calm was panicking at this moment .

    "Our family wont take this job . We may be assassins but we do have our own rules . Still, even if we don¡¯t do this, many others in our profession will try . Since the pay for this job is very tempting . "

    Hearing what her father said, made Sayaka resolve herself . "Father I need to go . " As Sayaka stood up ready to leave, her father was there blocking the door .

    "Where are you going Sayaka?"

    "I need to go to my best friend . I need to protect her . So please father move aside . " Even in this moment of anxiety and panic, Sayaka couldn¡¯t raise her voice at her father .

    "You an assassin, protect someone? Do you really think with your capabilities you¡¯ll be able to stop those thate for Rachel¡¯s life?"

    Sayaka gritted her teeth as she knows what her father was saying is true . She was not exactly good enough to defend her best friend, hell she wasn¡¯t sure that she could protect herself against those that wille for Rachel .

    "Even so, I still need to go . I need to protect my best friend . She¡¯s important to me father, you should know that . So please let me go . " Sayaka pleaded to her father, but he still wouldn¡¯t move .

    "Sayaka calm down and think . Your friend is a daughter of the Regius family, do you think those people will fall so easily? Also don¡¯t you have a friend who is better suited to protect Rachel?" Sayaka¡¯s father was calm as he gave advise to his daughter .

    Sayaka who heard what her father said was still anxious, but she started to think about what was just said . There was only one friend that she knows of, that could possibly deal with a a bunch of assassin while protecting a girl and doing all that without breaking a sweat .

    Sayaka took out her phone and made a call .

    "Alex please help!"

    . . .

    In a room filled with paintings and sculptures an old man was looking at a picture of a young man holding a rifle while smiling at the camera .

    "Son . . . I will avenge you . I will make Lyner, the b*stard that killed you, suffer . . . Oh how I will make him scream . . . I promise . " Tang Jing held back his tears from falling . He as one of the ten generals must never show weakness, but as a father was he not allowed to grieve? Tang Jing continued to sit on his chairmenting the death of his son in silence .

    Someone then knocked on his door . "Sir, they have arrived . " Tang Jing sighed as he answered, "bring them in . "

    Hearing the approval of the master, five men entered the room . They entered in a marching formation . When they stood face to face with Tang Jing they saluted him .

    "At ease soldiers . " Upon hearing Tang Jing¡¯smand the five soldiers went into their at ease position, which was basically standing straight with their hands behind their back .

    "You five are the best of the best among my men . You each have the abilities and the strength of a true soldier . I have called you five here today, to give you a mission . This mission will be the hardest, most dangerous mission that you will ever receive in this lifetime . "

    Tang Jing walked back and forth while looking at the five soldiers faces, there was no fear, only eagerness to serve their general .

    "Have you five heard of this verse before?

    Run, run, run, cause here hees .

    Run, run, run, for the monsteres .

    A Swish of his de and your head begone

    With the shot of his gun, you¡¯re all but done .

    So have any of you heard of this verse before? It¡¯s alright you can answer me informally . " When they heard their general say so, one of the men stepped forward and answered .

    "Sir that verse is was made to describe the monster of Berdonia . . . Lyner . All soldiers and mercenaries back in the battlefield tell this verse to the newbies . They used this verse to frighten the neers so that they¡¯ll keep their awareness up . "

    "Very good soldier that is indeed correct, but what do you five know about the man who the verse was talking about? What do you five know about Lyner?"

    When the five heard the new question of their general, another one of them stepped forward to answer .

    "Lynerst name unknown, even his age is unknown . The time he first started out as a mercenary is unknown . All data about him seem to be nonexistent . The people that supposedly know more about him are either dead, or are now insane . The only thing we do know about him at this point, is that he is Berdonian and that he is one of the three living SS rank mercenary . His nickname was ¡¯the monster of the battlefield . ¡¯ That¡¯s all we the information we have on him . " After giving out his answer the soldier went back in line with the other five .

    "Everything you say is correct, there is nothing much we know about him . Still there is one piece of information you must know, before I tell you what the mission is . Lyner killed my son . . . " When Tang Jing said thosest words their was extreme hatred that you could feel surrounding him .

    "So now that you know that, I will brief you on your mission . I want the five of you to go to Berdonia specifically the city were Lyner lives and-"

    The five soldier continued listening to their general¡¯s orders, mentally preparing themselves for what¡¯s toe .

    . . .

    In a manmade underground cave, Michel and Carlo were sitting in front of a campfire . While Dan and Ryu were out scouting the area .

    It has been two days since they got into enemy territory and what they saw was unexpected . The enemy base was located near the border limit of Berdonia . The base was a huge fortress with an army defending it . Making Infiltrating the ce harder than expected .

    So now Carlo, Michel, Dan, and Ryu needed to reformte the n . They needed to scout the area first, learn how many enemy forces there were, and other important information, and so for the past two days, all they¡¯ve been doing was recon .

    Which led them to make a hidden base within enemy territory . Using Dan¡¯s brute strength and Ryu¡¯s abilities the four of them made this manmade underground cave .

    So now in the present time, Carlo was deeply thinking about something and out of nowhere spoke to Michel .

    "Hey Mich, how about we get married?" Michel who heard Carlo¡¯s sudden proposal had her eyes widened in shock .

    "Huh? What? . . . What are you talking about? Are you kidding me? Why ask that now?" Michel in a state of confusion asked question after question .

    "I¡¯m not kidding . I really do want to marry you . " Seeing how serious Carlo was, Michel calmed down .

    "Okay . . . I believe you, but why tell me that now?"

    "Well I was thinking back to the time when we first met . I thought I would never get into a serious rtionship . I also didn¡¯t believe I would ever have kids, but look at me now . I have two kids and I don¡¯t have a wife . I kinda did the order in reverse got kids first before getting a wife . Seeing as you are kinda my first love and all that, and I do still, kinda, you know, love you . I think it would be appropriate to ask you to be my wife . "

    Hearing Carlo¡¯s answer made Michelugh . Carlo smiled awkwardly seeing Michelugh so hard . When she was doneughing, Michel looked at Carlo stood up approached him and out of nowhere kissed him .

    "Sure, Carlo Samarita . I will marry you, and be your wife . "

    There in the most unromantic of ces, using the most unromantic proposal, Carlo Samarita had gained a wife . Also unknown to Alex and Lilitth they had gained a mother .

 Chapter 157

    Chapter 157

    Rachel unaware of what was happening to the other members of the clubs, was still thinking about what Emily said during their practice .

    They actually changed the script, and they added a female lead, but Emily and Katrina wouldn¡¯t tell who the female lead was . They said they would announce it tomorrow . Why? Wasn¡¯t the y suppose to be showing next Friday? Do they really have time to do this?

    While Rachel was still thinking over what was going through Emily¡¯s head, she suddenly sense something ominous . Thanks to her family trip, Rachel¡¯s awareness has improved greatly . Being constantly attacked by someone of Dan¡¯s level had greatly improved the family¡¯s detection skills .

    At this very moment Rachel knew that there was someone aside from them in their house . Knowing this she proceeded to head towards the dojo . Rachel¡¯s mother and brothers had a simr idea .

    . . .

    "Mom, how many are there?" Rachel asked, as the Regius family clustered together into a circle .

    "Two, three, fifteen, I can¡¯t sense all of them, they seem to be adept in hiding their presence . The only thing I¡¯m sure of is this house is surrounded . The neighboring houses have also been upied . "

    Kumiko calmly told her children what their current situation was like . Joseph, Rnd, and Gabby were already getting ready to fight .

    "So what do we do? Do we call the police?" Rachel as usual was the only one who was thinking normally . When they heard what Rachel said Kumiko and the three brothers look at Rachel in a weird way .

    "Sorry honey, I don¡¯t think the police will be able to help us, even if we do call them . Actually they might only add to the body count . "

    "Okay . . . Then what do we do?" Rachel was a getting a bit tense at the abnormal situation . Although she has already experienced a lot of abnormal situations, but this was the first time, she actually felt real danger to her life .

    Kumiko hearing her daughter¡¯s question smiled a smile of excitement . Even though she wasn¡¯t as obsessed as her husband, but in her core Kumiko also like the feeling of improvement in her martial art . She wanted to test her skills on others and prove that her husband¡¯s martial art was the best . So now that this opportunity presented itself, she was getting excited, and so were her sons .

    "What are you talking about Rachel? What do we do? Are you really asking that question? We bear the name Regius, practitioners of the ultimate martial art . The only thing we can do in this situation, is fight!"

    Kumiko and her three sons fighting spirit was on the rise . Rachel on the other hand was shocked by her mom¡¯s statement . She was once again reminded how crazy her family really is . Still because of what her mom said, she didn¡¯t feel anxious at all anymore .

    As the family¡¯s moral was rising up, a strange kind of gas was being released into the dojo . When Kumiko saw the gas she acted quickly, she used RELEASE and punched towards the area towards the exit .

    The sheer wind pressure of her punch was able to push back the gas . With that one punch the gas that wasing from the exit had dispersed . It was an unbelievable sight to behold, but Kumiko was able to do it .

    "Everyone run outside now!" Kumiko shouted at her children, who responded by sprinting at full strength towards the exit .

    Once they were outside, they were greeted by a bunch of people with weapons . Guns, swords,nces, knives, and other assortment of weapons were seen . These were assassins, mercenaries, and even some random desperate people that were given information that might change their lives . All of them were aiming to kill Rachel .

    If this was any other target, the other assassins and mercenaries would have attacked each other by now; but seeing as the target this time, is the daughter of the blond devil they all decided to cooperate for now .

    They all came to an understanding not to bother each other . Killing Rachel will depend on ones luck and skill, fighting amongst themselves will only lessen their chances .

    "What do you people want?" Kumiko stood in front of her children . No one gave a verbal answer to Kumiko¡¯s question, but a response came in the form of killing intent . The moment Kumiko and her children felt the dense killing intent they were now all in high alert .

    Kumiko and her children without anymore hesitation were the first to attack . The assassins were caught by surprise but they didn¡¯t back down and counterattacked .

    . . .

    Alex who had received a call from Sayaka was riding his motorcycle at full speed . Sayaka had just told him that Rachel has a bounty on her head . She could be in trouble at this very moment . Alex didn¡¯t question how Sayaka got this information, he just believed in her as he hurried to Rachel¡¯s house . While riding he contacted the surveince team back in the mansion . Yet no matter how much he called them, he just couldn¡¯t connect .

    Alex had a bad feeling about what¡¯s happening but he decided that the people in the mansion can handle themselves . At the moment Rachel was his top priority . How could he let this happen?! Why did he let his guard down?! Alex was getting angry at himself for the first time in ages .

    At this moment Alex was actually praying with all his might that Rachel was okay . He couldn¡¯t think straight as he sped up even faster .

    ¡¯Is it going to happen again?! Am I once again going to lose someone?! Even though I already have the strength, am I once again going to go through that?!¡¯

    Alex who was suppressing certain emotions and memories deep in his subconscious, was having a difficult time at the moment . The emotions he buried deep inside to be something more than human was trying to burst out of him .

    At this very moment Alex¡¯s ever stoic face has finally shown a different emotion . He was showing a look of fear and anxiety, something that hasn¡¯t happen in a long time .

    . . .

    Rachel and her family was holding up pretty well against the hitmen, but Rachel had made a fatal mistake and was now about to be stabbed . Kumiko who saw her daughter was in trouble wanted to save her, but was stopped by one of the hitmen .

    Rachel¡¯s brothers were also blocked from saving Rachel . The four of them were now fighting like mad men as they tried their hardest to reach Rachel .

    Rachel on the other hand was seeing things in slow motion, she wanted to move but was unable to . As Rachel saw the de getting closer and closer to her heart, she saw her life sh before her very eyes, and in the end she saw him with his ever stoic face smiling at her . Even at the moment near her death, Alex was the person who filled her mind .

    ¡¯Heh, who knew that in the end I would be thinking of you . My only regret is never telling you how I truly feel, you idiot . ¡¯ As Rachel was about ready to face her death, someone barged in the middle of her and the de . Like a knight in shining armor, he once again appears in her most dire moment . Seeing that strong back of his protecting her, made all of Rachel¡¯s anxiety go away .

    Alex without looking at Rachel spoke to her . His voice was no longer that indifferent tone, his voice sounded relieved as he spoke . "Like I said before . I will protect you . "

 Chapter 158

    Chapter 158

    Alex was feeling relieved as he was able to get there in time to stop the de of the enemy from taking Rachel¡¯s life . He looked at the surrounding people and they seem to have a lot of people on their side . Still it wasn¡¯t a problem for him to deal with this much .

    Alex calmed himself first before looking at Rachel . He saw that Rachel had been wounded all over, but not as much as Niel .

    While Alex was looking at Rachel¡¯s wounds, the man who was about to stab Rachel got a bit angry that he was being treated like he was a nobody . It was obvious that Alex didn¡¯t treat him as a threat, that¡¯s why he was showing his unguarded back to him . So without hesitation the man attacked Alex from behind, but before he could get close enough he felt a piercing pain on his chest .

    He looked at where the pain wasing from, and he saw an unusual looking sword stabbing at his heart . The man was shocked as his life slowly faded away . The other people who saw the way Alex killed the man were stunned . Most of them weren¡¯t even able to see how Alex moved to make the kill .

    Alex who had just killed a man, blocked the view from Rachel . He then picked Rachel up and asked . "Rachel are you alright?"

    Rachel who heard Alex¡¯s stupid question smiled . "Do I look okay to you?"

    "Don¡¯t worry I¡¯m here now, and I will protect you . " Alex with a calm voice reassured her that everything will be alright .

    "I know, you will . You, my knight in shining armor . " Rachel reached out her hand to touch Alex¡¯s face . As she was about to reach him, a bullet had pierced her head .

    Alex who saw what happened was stunned . His mind couldn¡¯t process what he just saw . He was confused as he now held the lifeless body of Rachel . Kumiko who saw her daughter get shot in the head screamed in anger and grief .

    "Rachel!" The three brothers shouted their sister¡¯s name as well . Alex who was still holding Rachel¡¯s body heard Kumiko and the others screaming Rachel¡¯s name . Feeling all the warmth disappearing from Rachel¡¯s body . Alex started to palpitate, he couldn¡¯t understand what just happened there right in front of him, as he held her in his arms, as he told her he would protect her, she died! Rachel died!

    ¡¯No this isn¡¯t happening! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! Didn¡¯t you promise me that my story will be a happy one if you where there! No! No! NO!!! This can¡¯t be happening to me again! This must be a joke! This isn¡¯t happening! This isn¡¯t real!¡¯ Alex¡¯s sanity was slowly disappearing .

    Alex then gently carried Rachel¡¯s body and ced it on the side . It was also at that point that Kumiko and her three sons have finally arrived beside Rachel . Kumiko hugged the body of her dead daughter and cried her heart out . The three brothers knelt on the floor as all the blood drained from their faces when they saw Rachel¡¯s lifeless body .

    "Kumiko please take care of Rachel . I will finish this in a sh, and once I¡¯m done will bring Rachel to a hospital . "

    "Alex Rachel is already . . . "

    "NO! SHE IS NOT! . . . Don¡¯t worry just stay there and wait for me . " Alex then used RELEASE at full power . Alex readied his sword, and moved . The road were Alex was stepping on started to crack and in a sudden burst of movement a loud boom happened . Alex suddenly disappeared from sight, and after two seconds Alex reappeared three hundred meters away from his initial spot .

    All the enemies Alex passed by suddenly burst into piles of sliced flesh . Their blood rained all over the street . The other enemies on the roof weren¡¯t even able to react before Alex moved again and once more bursting bodies could be seen .

    Now the only one left was the man who had shot Rachel . He wanted to flee from the monster, but he just couldn¡¯t . The fear had gripped his very soul . At this moment his legs were shaking badly, as they slowly gave in and he fell on his butt .

    When he felt the dread of hopelessness ovee him, Alex suddenly appeared before the man, and cut off his fingers . As he saw his fingers detached from his hands, the man screamed in pain . He looked at Alex with utmost fear . The next thing Alex cut were his legs, next were his two arms . Then finally Alex used his right hand and pierced through the man¡¯s chest clenching his heart, and squeezing it from the inside .

    When he was done with the man who shot Rachel, Alex stopped using RELEASE and slowly walked towards Rachel¡¯s side . This was the first time Alex had used RELEASE beyond one hundred percent, and it was taking an extreme toll in his body . The pain was so much, that Alex actually fainted twice as he was walking . His body was slowly dying as he continued onwards to Rachel¡¯s side .

    When Alex got to Rachel¡¯s side, he could no longer see properly and some of his bodily functions had stopped working . He wasn¡¯t even able to see Kumiko who was hugging Rachel, nor Joseph, Rnd, or Gabby . All he could see at this point was Rachel .

    Alex was now crawling his way to Rachel¡¯s side . Kumiko and the others who saw Alex current state felt even more pain . The boy who her/their daughter/sister loved was now in this kind of state . The four of them started to cry even harder, as they saw the boy who knew Rachel for such a short amount of time, was actually suffering so much more than them .

    Alex who was finally able to sit right beside Rachel, was now breathing heavily . He took hold of Rachel¡¯s cold lifeless hand and spoke .

    "It¡¯s alright now Rachel, all the bad guys are gone . They wont hurt you anymore . . . Hey . . . why aren¡¯t you talking? Are . . . you . . . mad that I . . . was . . . . too slow in . . . .ing to . . . your rescue?" Alex was now having a difficult time speaking, but he still continued talking .

    "Okay . . . I was . . . wrong . . . so why . . . don¡¯t . . . you . . . hit me . . . Rache-" Alex was unable to finish what he wanted to say as his consciousness and his life was fading away .

    . . .

    Alex felt his body was extremely light . When he opened his eyes, he was in his usual school uniform, as his body was going upwards towards the clouds, there midway before he reached the clouds . He saw someone waiting for him .

    It was a familiar looking girl ,wearing that familiar looking school uniform . She was a beautiful girl with long ck hair, that was tied in two messy low pigtails . She had a fringe just above her blue eyes, her body was fair and slim . She smiled a bright smile at Alex .

    "You idiot why did you follow so quickly?" Alex smiled at the girl as he answered .

    "Well I did say I will protect you . So of course I need to follow you wherever you go . "

    Rachel shrugged her shoulders and smiled even wider . "At least you aren¡¯t throwing me this time around . "

    "Well I got to learn sometime, somehow . "

    Hearing his answer Rachel giggled as she held out her hand and Alex took it . There the two then began their journey towards eternity together .

 Chapter 159

    Chapter 159

    Alex was feeling extremely relieved as he was able to get to Rachel¡¯s side in time to stop the de of the enemy from taking her life . Alex then looked at the surrounding people . It would seem that they do have a lot of people on their side . Still it wasn¡¯t a problem for him to deal with this much . Since it look like they were just numbers with no quality .

    First off Alex quickly dealt wit the man that was about to stab Rachel . Using his sword that was as long as a longsword, and shaped like a katana . He knew that Rachel was watching so he couldn¡¯t kill the man, so he stabbed the man¡¯s legs instead, making him unable to move . The man who was stabbed couldn¡¯t react at all, since Alex moved without showing any signs that he was going to attack .

    Alex then proceeded to attack all the enemies near Rachel . With his inhuman speed and reflexes Alex was able to beat them with ease . He subdued the enemies by stabbing their legs, breaking their arms, or just doing both .

    The quality of assassins and mercenaries here wasn¡¯t all that good . The best they got was practically a B ranked merc . Even the assassins were of low quality . Well this is what happens when the client doesn¡¯t tell the reason as to why he wants to kill the target . The top notch assassins would be wary or irritated by this . While the higher rank mercs wouldn¡¯t care, since they don¡¯t need that much money anymore .

    Alex looked around double checking if everyone within Rachel¡¯s area was immobilized . Once Alex was sure that no one within the area near Rachel was left standing, Alex took a look at Rachel¡¯s wounds .

    "Are you alright?" Alex who was sounding relieved awhile ago, was now back to his usual indifferent tone .

    "Do I look alright to you?" Hearing Alex¡¯s indifferent tone of voice, made Rachel feel truly relieved . Hearing his voice, made her feel like everything will be alright . She was now even able to smile at Alex¡¯s stupid question .

    Alex who was looking at Rachel¡¯s injuries was relieved that none of them were life threatening . They were all simple scratches that would heal after a few days . Seeing this Alex felt relieved and at the same time extremely angry . Even though his face was betrayed no emotions as per usual, deep inside he was boiling in anger . It has been a long time, since he couldn¡¯t suppress his emotions, but for now he wanted, no he needed to release it .

    He wanted to kill all the fools that were blinded by greed and show them something scarier than death itself . He wanted to torment them for every wound they inflicted on Rachel, but he couldn¡¯t since Rachel was watching . He needed to simply beat them all up, without killing them .

    "Don¡¯t worry I¡¯m here now, and I will protect you . " Even while saying this line Alex voice remained indifferent . Alex then carried Rachel and ced her in a safer spot . Once he was sure that Rachel couldn¡¯t be hit in the spot he ced her in, Alex bursted into the fight . The first target was the people dying Kumiko .

    Looking at Alex¡¯s back Rachel whispered, "I know you will . . . After all, you are, my knight in shining armor . "

    . . .

    Kumiko looked at how Alex efficiently subdued the three men she was having difficulty with . When she saw this, she was now sure that Alex really was going easy on her the first time they met .

    "Kumiko can you please, go and protect Rachel, she¡¯s the target . . . " When Kumiko heard what Alex said, she wanted to ask for more details, but seeing the current situation she decided to ask againter .

    Now that Alex was sure Rachel will be properly protected, he decided to go all out, and end this farce quickly . Alex stabbed his sword into the ground, this time he will be simply using his hands to beat them into submission . He did this so that he can inflict as much pain as possible before the opponent faints . Alex then used RELEASE and charged forth to help Rachel¡¯s three brothers .

    . . .

    The moment Alex arrived the battle became one sided, as he easily mowed through all the enemies . Even when they decided to set aside their differences and attack together, they weren¡¯t even able to touch a single hair on Alex¡¯s head .

    Alex was truly angry as he punched and kicked the enemies with power sufficient enough to give them extreme pain, but not kill them, just barely keeping them alive .

    Kumiko and her sons who were watching Alex, looked on in amazement . Aside from Dan, this was the only other time they saw someone with such a perfect martial form . Alex had literally no openings, and even if he did he was too strong for anyone to exploit that opening .

    The only one who wasn¡¯t shock by this scene was Rachel, who could only smile wryly .

    ¡¯So even after all that training, I still needed you to protect me . . . How pathetic am I . . . I at least wanted enough strength, as to not be a liability, but it doesn¡¯t seem like I¡¯m there yet . But someday surely . . . ¡¯ While Rachel was strengthening her resolve, Alex was finishing off thest remaining enemy .

    When he was done, he proceeded to call the police chief again . This was the second time he called in this one night . It was like all of this incidents were coordinated .

    Still Alex wasn¡¯t sure if this was a coincidence or a coordinated attack, all he knew was he needed to protect Rachel at all cost .

    . . .

    When Alex was done exining about how he knew Rachel was the target . The Regius family instead of gaining answers to their question had even more questions now . Like why is Rachel being targeted? Why did someone ce a bounty on her head? What does Sayaka know about the bounty on Rachel¡¯s head? and other such inquiries .

    Rachel also wanted to know howe Sayaka knew about this, and didn¡¯t tell her immediately . . . ¡¯Well I guess its because, she wanted to send Alex to help me . If she called me first, Alex might not have arrive in time . She could also-¡¯ While Rachel was convincing herself why Sayaka telling Alex first was the right thing to do . Alex said something that shocked everyone present, especially Rachel .

    "Rachel, pleasee live with me . " He said this out of nowhere, and without any context . Making the whole Regius family look at him in stunned silence . Rachel almost fainted on the spot because of the confusion, as her face was getting redder and redder .

 Chapter 160

    Chapter 160

    Rachel was confused when she heard what Alex said . At first she thought he must be joking, then she remembered that this was Alex . The guy who was basically the poster boy of seriousness . Obviously he wasn¡¯t kidding around . If he wasn¡¯t joking, then what did he mean by what he said?

    ¡¯Live with him? Did the idea of losing me, scare him so much? We haven¡¯t even gone on a date yet! Now we¡¯re skipping a bunch of steps and heading near the finish line! Does he want to do hi things? Is that it? Is that what he wants? Is it really?¡¯

    Rachel couldn¡¯t understand what was happening, and as her thoughts was going deeper and deeper into uncharted territory, she felt a bit dizzy . Kumiko on the other hand was quick to act . She pushed her confused daughter in front of Alex .

    "She¡¯s all yours Alex . I hope you treat her well . " Kumiko and her three sons bowed in front of Alex presenting Rachel to him . Rachel who heard what her family members said made her face look redder than before, she practically looked like a tomato .

    "What are you guys saying! Why are you giving your one and only daughter away! Even you guys! Aren¡¯t brothers suppose to be like, ¡¯We wont hand over our sister to you . First you must beat us in a fight . ¡¯ or some other cliche like that! How about that deadbeat father, I¡¯m a hundred percent sure he wont allow this!"

    Rachel spoke in such a quick manner that it was making some of her words sound weird to those who were listening . The more she spoke the more embarrassed she felt . Alex noticed how red she was getting, and was starting to get worried . He approached Rachel and now stood face to face with her .

    Rachel who saw Alex suddenly approach her, tried to take some distance away from him . Yet before she could even move, Alex got a hold of her hand .

    "W-w-w-what do you want?! W-w-w-why are you holding my hands?! What¡¯s happening! Why did you suddenly got more assertive after fighting?! Did you get hit on the head or something? Huh? Huh? Say something damnit!"

    Rachel was getting even more confused as to what was happening . Everything was going way too fast for her . She couldn¡¯tprehend why Alex was being so aggressive now .

    Alex on the other hand wasn¡¯t listening to Rachel¡¯s questioning, he was fully focused on checking her pulse on her wrist .

    ¡¯Her heart rate is on the rise . Did she get hit by some kind of poison? No that can¡¯t be it . . . Hmm well for now I need to check her temperature first then I¡¯ll decide what to do next . ¡¯

    "Why aren¡¯t you talking Alex? Why aren¡¯t you answering my questions? Huh? Wait, Wait a minute! Why are you closing in on me? Wai- time out, time out, I¡¯m not ready for this! Wait! Not in front of my family . "

    Alex¡¯s head was slowly getting closer and closer to Rachel¡¯s face . Rachel who was still under a stat of confusion was now focusing on the nearing lips of Alex . kumiko, Joseph, Rnd, and Gabby were getting super excited, as they watch . It was great to see that they will be able to witness Rachel¡¯s first kiss .

    As Alex¡¯s head got closer and closer, Rachel gave in and was ready to kiss, but Alex didn¡¯t head for her lips . Instead Alex ced his forehead directly against Rachel¡¯s forehead .

    "It seems like you might have a slight fever . We¡¯ll head to my ce tomorrow . For now you need to rest immediately . Also you don¡¯t need to worry about enemy attacks . I¡¯ll be sleeping on the floor in your room just in case something else happens . " Alex carried Rachel who was still confused as to what was happening .

    "Kumiko can you please guide me to Rachel¡¯s room, she needs to rest . I know I just decided this on my own, but can I sleep here for now? Just in case something else happens . Also I¡¯ll just be sleeping on the floor in Rachel¡¯s room if that¡¯s alright with you . "

    Kumiko was also confused as to how everything progressed to this . Alex just said what he wanted to do, and it seems like he wasn¡¯t expecting no for an answer . Still this was going to help her daughter snatch Alex¡¯s heart with with more ease . It was pretty much guaranteed that their rtionship will progress after tonight .

    ¡¯As long as Rachel does everything right, then this is a sure win . The mood is right, and they just survived a life and death situation . This is the perfect opportunity for Rachel . After tonight there¡¯s a chance that I might actually be a grandmother . ¡¯ Kumiko was getting a bit excited as she smiled .

    "It¡¯s no problem Alex, you did save our lives . Come follow me, it¡¯s this way to Rachel¡¯s room . "

    Rachel who was still processing what was happening suddenly had an outburst while Alex was carrying her in a princess carry .

    "Alex let go of me! Who told you, you can sleep in my room! Mom why are you willingly offering up your daughter to the big bad wolf!" Rachel started screaming and kicking while Alex was carrying her . Still because of Alex¡¯s strength this wasn¡¯t enough to even shake him .

    "Calm down Rachel . Alex here, is just worried about you . " Kumiko spoke to her daughter trying to calm her down . Rachel was about to say something more, but Alex spoke before her .

    "Rachel, I know that this might be really ufortable for you, but I need to do this . I want to protect you . Please allow me to protect you . " Alex looked at Rachel, and for the first time in a while . Rachel saw a new expression on Alex¡¯s ever stoic face . Even though he still looked a bit expressionless, Rachel noticed some difference here and there, and it made Alex actually looked like he was distressed .

    At this point even though Alex knew that making Rachel ufortable was going against the mission . He needed to take that risk . This time, for the first time ever he wanted to protect Rachel not because it was his mission, but because he wanted to do so .

    Rachel, Evangeline, as well as the other members of the Mercenary Club have be important to him . They were his friends, they represented the fun times Alex had after he left the battlefield . At this point he wasn¡¯t sure of it, but he felt that Rachel was a bit above the rest . He didn¡¯t know why this was so, maybe it was because she was the one he was assigned to protect, or it might be something else entirely . Alex couldn¡¯t understand it yet, but slowly and surely something was changing within him .

    Rachel on the other hand who saw Alex¡¯s distressed face, couldn¡¯t deny him anymore . She had no choice but to simply sigh in resignation .

    "Fine you can sleep in my room, but you need to be blindfolded when you sleep on the floor . " Alex wasn¡¯t really bothered by thepromise . Being blindfolded wasn¡¯t really going to affect his ability to protect Rachel .

    Kumiko hearing her daughter finally agreeing to Alex¡¯s request, couldn¡¯t help but giggle . She then proceeded to show Alex the way to Rachel¡¯s room .

    . . .

    Dan who was doing recon on the enemy forces, felt a sudden ominous feeling . ¡¯Why do I have this sudden urge, of wanting to attack Alex?¡¯

 Chapter 161

    Chapter 161

    Alex was now in front of Rachel¡¯s room, but before he could enter Rachel stopped him . "Alex wait! Do not enter yet! Okay then, first put me down . I need to do something in my room before letting you in . You wait here, and I¡¯ll tell you when you cane in . Don¡¯t you dare peek or even try to eavesdrop . "

    Alex didn¡¯t want to do this, since he wanted Rachel to immediately rest, but seeing that determined look on her face Alex reluctantly agreed . He put down Rachel and waited outside of her room .

    While waiting for Rachel to do what she needed to do in her room, Alex suddenly received a call from the head butler .

    "Sorry young master someplications had arisen . That¡¯s why we weren¡¯t able to call you immediately, but we finally dealt with the problem"

    "What kind ofplications? Is everyone alright? How about Lilitth what¡¯s her status?" Alex who has been through a lot in this one night wanted to learn more about the situation . It was getting a bit tiresome moving around with no knowledge of what¡¯s going on .

    "Someone was able to hack into our systems, but we were able to stopped the hacking, before they got into any sensitive data . Still because of that hacking, the mansion was blinded for about five minutes . As of now we aren¡¯t sure what the purpose of the hacking was . As for Lilitth ojou-chan she is unaware of the current problems that had arisen, as she is ying with Emily at the moment . "

    "Hmm, I see that¡¯s good to know . Please inform Lilitth that I will be sleeping in Rachel¡¯s house, for the night . Tell Emily that I hope she is able to bring Lilitth to school tomorrow . "

    "Roger that young master . "

    "Also what happened to the body I brought back? Is it still secured?"

    "Yes young master the body is secure . Currently we are still in the middle of examining the body . We might have some results tomorrow morning . "

    "Brief me the moment you figure out something . "

    "Roger that young master . "

    . . . .

    While Alex was talking to the head butler, Rachel has also contacted someone . It was none other than her best friend Sayaka .

    "Rachel! Thank goodness you¡¯re alright! Was Alex able toe on time?"

    "Yes he came on time, but enough about that for now . I still want to know how much you know about the bounty on my head, but I¡¯ll save that forter . For now I want you to give me your advise . " Rachel really wanted to know about the reason Sayaka was able to get the information she had, but that was a less important matter, than the matter she was currently facing .

    What was truly important right now was Alex going to sleep in her room . Just thinking about it makes Rachel blush .

    "Huh? Advise about what?" Sayaka wasn¡¯t surprised by Rachel¡¯s sudden call . Since if Rachel survived and Alex saved her, this call was inevitable . What surprised her was Rachel actually pushed the topic of how much Sayaka knew about the bounty and instead deem something even more important than that . What could possibly be more important than the information of the person that wants to kill you?

    "Yeah I need your advise . Alex wants to sleep in my room, what do I do?" The moment Rachel said those lines, Sayaka¡¯s mind stopped working when she heard what Rachel said .

    "Huh? Alex wants to sleep in your room? That Alexander Samarita wants to sleep in your, Rachel Regius¡¯ room? Am I hearing that correctly?"

    "YES! That Alex wants to sleep in my room, with me! Help me Sayaka, I don¡¯t know what to do!"

    "WOW! Who knew beneath that face that has as much expressions as a rock, he had this perverted side as well . Congrattions Rachel! You have awakened the inner man within Alex . . . I still can¡¯t believe stoic Alex actually said he wants to sleep with you . Wow, my best friend is actually about to step foot on the world of adults . Now I feel kind of lonely . "

    "What the hell are you saying SAYAKA! What you¡¯re saying isn¡¯t really helping me, it¡¯s just making me nervous all the more! Tell me what should I do? Is this a bad idea . Should I just have rejected him even more strongly?" Rachel was once again panicking .

    "Calm down Rachel! This is the most amazing chance you will ever get . Just wear your winning underwear, you know the one on the third drawer . Show it to Alex and just tell me when the wedding will happen . Of course I¡¯m going to be your maid of honor . "

    "Huh? That¡¯s not the kind of advise I wanted to hear from you Sayaka! How did you even know which drawer my underwear is in?"

    "How long have we¡¯ve been friends Rachel? Obviously as your best friend I look around you room, and check where your underwear is located just in case something like this happens . It¡¯s what a best friend is expected to do . "

    "That¡¯s not right! I can¡¯t believe you snooped around my room . . . Okay fine, I can believe you¡¯ve snooped around my room . But I don¡¯t want to do that with Alex! . . . Well not right now . . . I¡¯m still not ready and I¡¯m a bit scared . " Rachel who started out screaming at Sayaka was mumbling thetter part of her statement .

    "I can¡¯t hear you Rachel, speak up . Also did you just say you weren¡¯t ready, does that mean you¡¯ll be readyter?" Sayaka with her sharp sense of hearing, heard everything Rachel mumbled and decided to tease her about it .

    "I didn¡¯t say anything of the sort! Just tell me what to do with Alex . I already told him that he should be blindfolded while he sleeps on the floor . "

    "Huh? Why would you say that? You should¡¯ve said to Alex, that you wanted him to snuggle right beside you on your bed . Why make your savior sleep on the floor? Come on Rachel just give in to you desires already . As your best friend I approve of your rtionship with Alex . "

    "I don¡¯t need your approval for something like that!" Sayaka continued to tease Rachel, while Alex waited outside of the room .

 Chapter 162

    Chapter 162

    After Rachel finally finished talking with Sayaka who was of no help whatsoever . That best friend of hers didn¡¯t even give on good advice . She just kept on pushing her to do something with Alex . What kind of best friend does that?

    Rachel sighed as she looked around her room . Talking with Sayaka took so much time, and led to nothing . Now she needed to clean up her room, while Alex was still waiting patiently outside . The first thing Rachel did was take all the underwear she had scattered all over the room, and ced them in aundry basket .

    Next thing she needed to do was get her diary and hide it somece Alex wont identally see . Rachel then remembered all the magazines she was reading about how to get your boyfriend to listen to you . She needed to hid those as well .

    . . .

    Alex who was done talking with the head butler, was waiting outside of Rachel¡¯s room . Noticing It was taking Rachel quite some time to do what she needed to do . Alex knocked on the door to check up on her .

    "Rachel is everything all right?"

    "Yeah, everything is good . Don¡¯t peek okay, I just have to do something before you can enter . It will just take a few more minutes . "

    Alex didn¡¯t ask anything anymore and continued to wait for Rachel to finish whatever she was doing . kumiko and her three sons were watching everything unfold while they peek from the room across Rachel¡¯s, the four of them sighed at how nothing was happening even now .

    Alex obviously noticed the four of them watching him, but wasn¡¯t bothered by it since he knows that this was their house, and this might be something they usually do .

    While waiting Alex received another call, and this time it was from Emily .

    "What is it Emily, did something else happen?"

    "Yeah something happened . "

    "What? Give me a full report . "

    "You are actually sleeping in Rachel¡¯s house! That¡¯s what¡¯s happening! Who knew you had it in you Alex . "

    "What are you talking about Emily? Are you actually just reporting to me what I¡¯m doing? Is that it?"

    "No there¡¯s more, Lilitth wants to talk to you . " Emily handed her phone to Lilitth, who was looking a bit sad .

    "Onii-sama are you really noting home anymore? Are you really going to stay there with Rachel-nee-san forever?" Lilitth sounded distressed while she said this, which confused Alex .

    "Huh? Who told you I¡¯m staying here forever? I¡¯m just staying the night so that I could protect Rachel, seeing that someone might attack again . I¡¯ming back home tomorrow . "

    "Really? You¡¯re not lying to me are you?"

    "Why would I lie? Also have you ever heard me lie to you before, Lilitth?" When Alex said this, he heard Lilitth screaming at Emily telling her that Emily was a meanie .

    . . .

    While Alex was trying to calm Lilitth down, Sayaka who was in her room felt surprised and relieved . After she told Alex about Rachel¡¯s situation, she too wanted to go to where Rachel was, but her father didn¡¯t allow it, saying .

    "If Alex is already going, there is no need for you to go . Tell me my daughter, if you went, will it change anything? or will you just get in the way of Alex? Let me remind you, we are assassins . Direct confrontations isn¡¯t our forte . If you went and joined that kind of melee, that¡¯s happening out in the open, you wont be as effective as normal, making you another target to be protected . Is that what you want?"

    Sayaka wasn¡¯t able to answer her father after he said that . So she reluctantly stayed home, waiting for some news .

    It didn¡¯t even take an hour for Rachel to call her telling her everything was good, and now Alex was actually going to sleep in her room . Most likely Alex wanted to sleep in the same room, so he could better protect Rachel . Still even though Sayaka could easily guess this, it was still enjoyable to tease her best friend about it .

    Sayaka who had just teasing Rachel on the phone was nowying in her bed, thinking about how useless she was in this situation . She had the ability to protect herself, but not her best friend . She might be better than most kids her age in the art of battle, but in face of something like what happened awhile, she was just another cannon fodder .

    Assassins weren¡¯t really people that are meant to protect . So protecting Rachel with her skill set was obviously not going to work, she knew that, but it was still frustrating .

    ¡¯I didn¡¯t really want to be an assassin, it was just a family thing . . . But now when I thought I would be able to use my skills for something I wanted to do, it turned out it was useless . I just wasn¡¯t good enough . This kind of thing might happen again and the next time I don¡¯t want to say I wasn¡¯t good enough . I want to be able to do something . . . I guess I need to resolve myself for what¡¯s toe . ¡¯

    Sayaka who hated her family business had now decided to truly master the art of assassination of her family . Sayaka stood up and exited her room .

    "Father, teach me the ways of the shadow . " Without making even the slightest sound Sayaka¡¯s father appeared beside her . To anyone else they might¡¯ve jumped in fright, but Sayaka was already used to it .

    "I knew you would say that . As the next sessor of the name ¡¯Shadow¡¯ you were always meant to learn the techniques . I will train you and once you seed in the final test you will be given the name ¡¯Shadow¡¯ . Are you ready for this Sayaka?"

    "I am ready . "

    . . .

    As Sayaka was experiencing a life changing event . Emily too was about to make a life changing decision . It was whether to tell Evangeline that Alex was going to sleep in Rachel¡¯s room, or not . If she told Evangeline about it a fun event might start, but it could also ruin something precious, or it might not . Basically it could go either way . If she doesn¡¯t tell her one way or another Evangeline will eventually find out, and by that time Emily might not be able to control the situation .

    "To tell or not to tell that is the question"

 Chapter 163

    Chapter 163

    Emily was having a very big moral dilemma, of either doing what¡¯s fun, or letting things flow naturally . She who was hesitating while holing onto her phone, finally decided what to do .

    ¡¯Never mind, it doesn¡¯t matter if I tell it now or not . The end would still be the same . At least if say it now, I can somehow control the situation . ¡¯

    Emily who decided to message Evangeline did so immediately . She also sent the message to all the members of the Mercenary Club . Once she sent the message to everyone, Emily happily went straight to Rachel¡¯s house .

    . . .

    Oliver¡¯s phone was ringing since awhile ago . Not only did Emily message him, even Sayaka messaged him a few hours prior . But Oliver wasn¡¯t able to notice the ringing of his phone, because he was practicing his sword dance .

    He was in a trance as he swung his sword, that was handed to him by his master . Oliver was doing his practicing with his sword, in his backyard .

    The more he swung, the more he became on with the sword . His master Ken hadn¡¯t taught him this, but for some reason this way of training felt familiar to him, it felt part of him .

    As Oliver swung his de familiar scenes keep shing in his head . It was like his dream, but this time it was now clearer, than it was in his dreams . It was also different than his dreams, The differences were here and there . Oliver wasn¡¯t kidnapped, he wasn¡¯t taken hostage, it was something different .

    He was there in that ce for a different purpose . As Oliver continued to swing his sword, he fell deeper into his subconscious deeper into his self . It was getting harder and hared to concentrate on the sword, as the memories he knows off and a different set of memories was being yed in his mind .

    Oliver wanted to know more about the images in his mind, which broke his trance like state . He then stopped swinging his sword, as he breathed heavily .

    Oliver couldn¡¯t understand what those images were . He wasn¡¯t able to make sense of those scenes, that were so different from his actual memories . It was even different from the dreams he keeps on having every now and then .

    Oliver tried to replicate the feeling he had when he swung his sword, but he couldn¡¯t get back into that trance like state .

    ¡¯What was that? That memory, it was so different from what I remember, it felt so real . I wasn¡¯t one of the kidnapped children, I was the one who kidnapped them . . . But why? Why was I the bad guy in that memory? Was that even a memory? Or was it another delusion?¡¯

    Oliver couldn¡¯t make heads or tails about the memories he just saw . He wanted to ask his parents about the events of the night he got kidnapped . But they would most likely tell the same suspicious answer . Someone saved him and left him in a front of the hospital doors .

    Unfortunately the security cameras weren¡¯t working on that day, so there was no video evidence of the events that transpired . If that wasn¡¯t suspicious enough the medical records of Oliver in that hospital were all burned to the ground, in a fire that happened a few dayster .

    Oliver had a lot of questions, without any answers . So he decided to once again investigate that day . This time he has friends that could help him . So maybe this time, something new might pop out .

    When Oliver was done making this decision, he restarted practicing his sword moves . After a few more minutes, he figured that he couldn¡¯t concentrate because of what happened . Oliver took a break and finally saw the messages that were sent to him .

    He first checked on Sayaka¡¯s message which was basically her reminding him not to train too hard . It was the same thing everyday, ever since Oliver started to train under his master Ken . Sayaka has been nagging at him every now and then, about taking it easy, or doing something fun with her .

    Of course every time Sayaka asks, Oliver had no hope to reject . He has always been pushed around by Sayaka . At first this was irritating and sad, a grown muscr guy like him being pushed around by a small, wellpared to him, a small naggy, kinda somehow cute girl like Sayaka .

    Yet nowadays Oliver was getting used to her telling him what to do . He wasn¡¯t as ufortable like in the beginning, Sometimes he actually feels like he loves hanging out with Sayaka alone .

    . . .

    When Oliver was done replying to Sayaka¡¯s messages, he read the next message from Emily . As he read the message, Oliver¡¯s mouth slowly opened in shock . He couldn¡¯t believe what he just read, Alex that Alexander Samarita, who was always serious, and had that ever stoic face, was actually going to sleep in Rachel¡¯s room .

    Oliver read it thrice before he actually believed what he read was real .

    Based on the message sent by Emily, it was even him that suggested he sleep in Rachel¡¯s room . The more shocking thing was, Rachel actually agreed to it . Oliver knowing Emily¡¯s personality, knew that he must not be the only one she messaged .

    It was probably okay to assume that she messaged everyone in the Mercenary Club, including Evangeline . Oliver jumped over his fence and sprinted towards Rachel¡¯s ce . In his mind he was saying that he was going there to prevent any idents from happening, but truthfully he just wanted to see a good show . Also he was somehow worried about hisrade Alex, who in his mind was his sorta kinda best friend .

    ¡¯Comrade Alex, I hope you don¡¯t do anything to aggravate the situation . ¡¯

    . . .

    Evangeline Kain was already in her bed sleeping, when she heard her phone ringing . She rubbed eyes, and looked at her phone . It was a message from Emily . She wondered what was so important that Emily decided to message her in the middle of the night .

    Evangeline who was reading the message was stunned . She couldn¡¯t immediatelyprehend what she just read . She wasn¡¯t even sure what she was reading was even right, or that if it was even real . She started to think that maybe she was delusional or that she was having a nightmare of sorts . That¡¯s how surprising the message was to her .

    So she read the message again and again, and she even pinched and pped herself to make sure, she wasn¡¯t dreaming . Once she was sure that she was neither delusional, nor dreaming she stood up and changed her clothes .

    She contacted her father, and told him she needed to head out because of the Samaritas . When Evangeline¡¯s father heard that it was something to do with the Samaritas, he allowed his daughter to do what must be done .

    Once she got permission to leave by her father, as well as permission to do what needs to be done . Evangeline immediately asked for twenty of their best men to apany her . When they were ready and got fully equipped they left . She left with them without even briefing her men about the situation .

    She just told them that they needed to head to the Regius¡¯ house .

 Chapter 164

    Chapter 164

    Kei who was doing some research on the Drama Club members, suddenly heard his phone ringing . When he saw that he had a message and it was from Emily, he quickly read it . The contents of the message he received was different from the message Emily sent to the other club members .

    She messaged Kei saying that most of the members of the Mercenary Club were going to Rachel¡¯s house and will be having a sleepover . If Kei wanted toe, he was wee to join them . Emily even sent a picture of Rachel¡¯s house along with the address .

    When Kei saw this message he started thinking, if should go or not . It was a pretty hard decision for him to make . On one hand it was already prettyte, and he wasn¡¯t sure if his parents would allow him to go . On the other hand he did join the Mercenary Club, so that he could change, and be more than what he was .

    "Screw it! You only live once right?" After he was done motivating himself, Kei took a bag and packed his school uniform, his toothbrush, and other things he thought he might need . Once he was done packing he went straight to his parents room, and told them what he decided to do .

    Kei was expecting a lot of things, but what his parents said were not one of them .

    "Sure you can . Your friend Emily already exined all of this, over the phone . " Kei was shocked to hear what his father just said . Emily actually called his parents and was able to convince them to let him go . He was silent for awhile and was scared to even think about how Emily did all that, and seems to be in good terms with his parents .

    . . .

    As Kei was still shocked by his father¡¯s answer and while some of the other members of the club plus Evangeline were heading straight to Rachel¡¯s house . Rachel had finally finished cleaning her room, and was ready to let Alex in, but before he could enter Rachel handed him a piece of cloth .

    "Use that to blindfold yourself . " Alexplied since he already agreed to do this . Once he was done blindfolding himself, Rachel let him in .

    "You can stay in this corner . Here are some pillows and a nket if you need it . " Rachel then proceeded to guide the blindfolded Alex to a corner of her room .

    "I don¡¯t really need any of these, but still thank you . " Alex who was handed some pillows and a nket ced those things on one side, as he sat at the corner of the room .

    "I know, I have no right asking this . Seeing as I told you to blindfold yourself, but can you sleep in that kind of position?"

    "It¡¯s alright, because I don¡¯t n to sleep . I stayed here to protect you . How can I do that if I¡¯m asleep?" Hearing Alex¡¯s ever serious reply, Rachel felt both bad and touched . Bad because she was the cause of him doing this . Touched because Alex was willing to be blindfolded not sleep, and protect her . He was doing all this for her .

    Rachel then stood up and pulled on Alex¡¯s arms . "I guess if you want to protect me better, you should be nearer to me . . . You know just in case . " Rachel guided Alex to sit at the side of her bed . She knew she was being weird by giving him a blindfold, but also cing him so close to her . Yet she couldn¡¯t help it, this was a first for her, to feel this way . She wasn¡¯t sure how to act with this kinds of emotions .

    She wasn¡¯t sure what to do, and she was just going by what she felt was right at the moment . She was also beings stopped by her embarrassment, which made it doubly hard for her to decided what to do .

    "Here you can hold my hands, so that you¡¯re sure that I¡¯m safe . " Alex wanted to say that he didn¡¯t really need to hold her hands, since even blindfolded he can pretty much sense the surrounding area . But he decided not to, since it feels like Rachel wanted to do this .

    As Rachel felt Alex¡¯s warm hand holding hers, she felt secure . It was like all the anxiety she had awhile ago just disappeared . Feeling safe Rachel was now slowly falling asleep, that was until she heard someone ringing the doorbell .

    Alex who also heard this stood up, he removed the blindfold and looked outside Rachel¡¯s window . There in the front door of the dojo, Alex saw twenty fully equipped men, and a familiar looking face .

    Rachel too looked outside the window and saw Evangeline . ¡¯What¡¯s she doing here?¡¯ When Rachel thought of this question, she proceeded to look at Alex, and was able to answer her own question . She could also guess that either Sayaka or Emily told Evangeline about this .

    Evangeline who was ringing the doorbell, looked up and saw Alex and Rachel . The two of them were like Emily said inside the same room! Evangeline who saw this almost fainted on the spot . She looked at Alex and Rachel with her eyes almost bulging out .

    Evangeline then started to calm herself by thinking that she wasn¡¯t toote . It looks like they were still dressed . When she was done calming herself, Evangeline forced a smile as he waved at Alex and Rachel .

    . . .

    Alex and Rachel were now face to face with the creepily smiling Evangeline . "So what are you doing here Eva?" Rachel asked a bit miffed, that her alone time with Alex was interrupted .

    "Emily messaged me, that you were being targeted, so I brought twenty of my family¡¯s best men . With them around you could sleep even more soundly . "

    "It is unnecessary Evangeline . I alone am enough to protect Rachel . " Rachel blushed when she heard what Alex said . Evangeline on the other hand was on the verge of crying, but she stopped herself . The twenty men Evangeline brought, didn¡¯t know Alex and felt quite offended by his statement .

    "Still Alex, having more men in the vicinity could prove useful . Don¡¯t you think so?" Evangeline tried to convince Alex, but it was to now avail .

    "Like I said I alone am enough . " When the twenty men heard Alex¡¯s indifferent voice, saying that they were unnecessary, like he was so much superior than them, it made the twenty men extremely angry .

    "Ojou-sama I think this boy is overestimating his abilities . Why don¡¯t we forcefully relieve him of his duty, so that he could rest . " When Evangeline was about to scold the man for saying something so stupid and rude . Alex moved before she could say anything .

    Like a sh of lighting Alex was now in front of the man who spoke, as his finger was about ready to poke the man¡¯s throat . The man and hispanions were shocked at Alex¡¯s quick movement . The man who spoke was even more shock to feel the extreme pressure radiating from Alex .

    "Like I said you guys are unnecessary . Also how long are you going to hide there, Emily . " Emily who was watching the show from the roof of a neighboring house, jumped down in front of Alex .

    "I wasn¡¯t really hiding . I was just waiting for you to finish . " Emily smiled her mischievous smile .

 Chapter 165

    Chapter 165

    Alex approached Emily and whispered in her ear . "Emily what are you doing here, what about Lilitth?"

    "It¡¯s alright she¡¯s back in the mansion sleeping . Also I¡¯ll be back before she even notices that I¡¯m gone . " Emily whispered back .

    While Alex and Emily were whispering to each other, Evangeline and Rachel were looking at the two in envy . Rachel already understood that Emily and Alex weren¡¯t in that kind of rtionship, and that they¡¯re just friends, but seeing how close she is to him . . . That they¡¯re able to have secrets between on another was envious .

    Evangeline on the other hand was also jealous of how close Alex and Emily were, but she looks at the two differently from how Rachel does . To Evangeline Alex and Emily looked more like brother and sister, or something greater than that, it doesn¡¯t feel like they were just friends . Still it doesn¡¯t feel like they were lovers either .

    Unaware of the thoughts of the two girls, Alex and Emily continued their whispering conversation . "So what are you nning on doing here Emily?"

    "Nothing much, I¡¯m just waiting for someone . " Emily couldn¡¯t help but smile her cute mischievous smile, as she said this .

    "Who?" When ites to Emily, Alex couldn¡¯t let his guard down . Emily might be on his side, but she really does not make things easier for him .

    "You¡¯ll see who it is, when he gets here . " Emily as usual continued to remain cryptic . Unable to get anything out of Emily, Alex decided it was a waste of effort to continue talking . Since it would seem that Emily would do whatever she wants . She might be a maid in the mansion, but it seems like that and this were two different matters for her .

    When the two of them were done talking Rachel approached them with a somehow forceful smile . "So what were the two of you talking about?"

    "Nothing much, it was just something trivial . " Alex answered with his usual poker face, which made it difficult for anyone to determine whether he was lying or not .

    "If it was nothin much, why don¡¯t you tell me?" Rachel unperturbed continued to press on with her questioning . Emily who saw Alex wasn¡¯t able to answer spoke in his defense .

    "Its nothing really, Alex here was just reminding me, that he was going to return what he borrowed tomorrow . Don¡¯t ask what he borrowed from me . Alex might think you¡¯re being too pushy if you do that . " The second half Emily whispered to Rachel .

    "Okay . . . By the way Emily how did you know what was happening here?" Rachel had now changed her target of questioning from Alex to Emily .

    "Oh that well, you see . . . I-" While Emily was being interrogated by Rachel, Alex spoke to Evangeline .

    "Evangeline, now that you know I can protect Rachel better than your bodyguards, you may return home . " Evangeline¡¯s heart felt like breaking when she heard Alex say this . She already knew that to Alex she was just a friend and Rachel was something more than that . . . But still being made to realize this over and over again, was just agonizing . Still she needed to press on, from the start she knew that it wouldn¡¯t be easy .

    Alex was a single minded person, and his devotion was second to none . Those are the traits that Evangeline loved about him, that¡¯s why she couldn¡¯t just give up or get disheartened by something of this level .

    While Evangeline was strengthening her resolve, the twenty men who came with her were feeling ashamed . They imed to be the final defense of the Kain family, but they weren¡¯t even able to see through the movements of a sixteen year old boy . But based on how Alex was talking to Evangeline, he might be someone special, maybe that¡¯s why they couldn¡¯t follow his movements .

    "Alright I understand . I will send the men back home . . . But I¡¯m staying . "

    "WHAT!" Before Alex could say anything, Rachel interjected by screaming .

    "What do you mean you¡¯re staying? Why do you need to stay?" Rachel asked Evangeline confused at the same time irritated .

    "Rachel, I know you and I aren¡¯t really in good terms, but I really am worried about you . Also even though we are like this, we¡¯re still friends . . . We are friends, right?"

    When Rachel heard what Evangeline asked, she knew where this conversation was going . Yet she had no choice but to say it, if she says otherwise, who knows what Alex might think .

    "Yes, Eva, we are friends . " Rachel gritted her teeth as she said this, but at the same time she was alright with it . Evangeline even though she had ulterior motives, Rachel was sure that she was still actually worried about her .

    "So as friends, I want to stay by your side during this trying times . I hope you don¡¯t have a problem with that Alex . I¡¯m sure you wont say that adding one more girl will make it difficult for you . If that is so, we can still use my bodyguards . "

    "No need, like I said in the beginning I alone am enough . " When Alex said those lines, one of the twenty men Evangeline brought noticed someone running towards them, and ced in his back was a sword .

    The twenty men tried to intercept the iing person, but the muscr boy bypassed them with ease, as if he was dancing . This boy was none other than Oliver, who came running the moment he read Emily¡¯s message . When he got to Rachel¡¯s house he saw that Alex and the others were being surrounded by a weird group of men, so he thought that they were enemies .

    So when he got to Alex¡¯s side he drew his sword . "Alex what¡¯s going on here? Are those guys hostile?"

    "Negative, they are Evangeline¡¯s bodyguards, and they were leaving . " Evangeline felt ashamed of the level her bodyguards were at . They weren¡¯t even able to stop Oliver from getting to them . Evangeline might¡¯ve been ashamed but the men were devastated .

    This was a friend of Alex, and presumably someone his age, and he was able to easily evade their capture . Are kids this days just that good? Or were they just lousy .

    "You men go home, as you can see you are not needed here . " When the twenty heard what Evangeline said, they hung their heads low . before they left they simply nodded their heads acknowledging Evangeline¡¯smand and headed back to the cars .

    . .

    When the Evangeline¡¯s bodyguards left, another person came running, this time it was Kei . "Even you? What are you doing here?" Rachel who saw the approaching Kei couldn¡¯t help but ask .

    "Huh? Aren¡¯t we gong to have a sleepover? That¡¯s what Emily told me . " Once Kei said that, everyone¡¯s attention was now on Emily .

    "Well I guess that¡¯s everyone . Three boys and three girls, let¡¯s get this sleepover started!" Emily as usual just went with her own flow, without exining anything at all .

 Chapter 166

    Chapter 166

    When Emily said that they should have a sleepover, the group had different reactions . Alex was as usual showing no change in his stoic expression, but in his mind he was wondering what Emily was nning by doing this .

    Rachel on the other hand, had a lot of experience with people like Emily . So she simply sighed already epting whatever will happen, it was no use no matter how much sheins . Her mother would most probably allow this as well .

    Evangeline on the other hand was thanking Emily in her mind for this opportunity . Though she was really worried about Rachel, she still wanted to somehow use this chance to get close to Alex .

    Oliver was getting excited as well . This was going to be his first time having a sleepover with his friends . He always wanted to do this, but one needed friends first . So now that he has some friends this experience was making him feel happy .

    Kei was confused by all of this, he thought that everyone already decided to have a sleepover . He wasn¡¯t expecting that Emily was the only one who decided everything . In his mind Emily was dangerous, among all the members of the Mercenary Club Emily was the most dangerous .

    It was at this moment that Kei decided to study Emily and gain a bunch of information about her . He wasn¡¯t sure what other ns Emily had in store for them, but it was better if one of them was prepared for her shenanigans .

    "What are you guys staring at, let¡¯s all go inside . " Emily who was walking ahead looked at the dumbfounded group . Looking at the cheerful Emily walking ahead, the group could only follow behind her . Once they were inside the dojo, Emily faced Rachel and asked .

    "So where do we stay Rachel?" Rachel could only sigh at the upbeat Emily . As usual she just did whatever she wanted, and it¡¯s not like what she wanted to do was bad or anything .

    "Hmm, we don¡¯t have that much extra rooms . . . I guess, since this is a sleepover we should be sleeping together . We can all sleep here in the dojo . I¡¯ll get some futons and ce them here . "

    Rachel went inside her house, alongside Alex and Oliver who helped her bring the futons and pillows .

    . . .

    When they were done setting up the futons . The six of them picked their spot . The three girls were ced together at the other side of the dojo, while the three boys were also ced together in the other end of the dojo .

    Once they were done fixing the futons, the six of them sat in the middle of the dojo forming a circle .

    "Okay now that we are done picking where to sleep . Let¡¯s start the real sleepover!" Emily happily spoke to the group .

    "What else do you need to do in a sleepover? Doesn¡¯t being in a sleepover, just mean going to sleep?" Alex didn¡¯t know what a sleepover entailed, but based on the name it just sounded like some people would go to another persons house and sleep there .

    "No, no, no Alex, sleepovers aren¡¯t about going to sleep . Quite the opposite it¡¯s about not going to sleep . " Alex hearing this got even more confused .

    ¡¯It isn¡¯t about going to sleep, but instead about not going to sleep . . . Then why call it a sleepover?¡¯

    While Alex was trying to figure out, why someone would name this kind of event a sleepover, even though it wasn¡¯t about sleeping; Oliver spoke to the overly excited Emily, as he himself was also excited .

    "So myrade Emily what are we going to do first?"

    "d you askedrade Oliver . First thing will do is y truth or dare . " When the others heard what game they will y first, they weren¡¯t that surprised . Based on Emily¡¯s personality something like truth or dare, or the king¡¯s game was going to be her top picks .

    Alex on the other hand had no knowledge about gaming, aside from video games, so he needed to ask . "What¡¯s truth or dare?"

    No one was surprised to hear Alex ask this question . So Emily being something like the host, answered him .

    "Truth or dare is a game yed with multiple people, preferably with more than three people . The rules of the game are fairly simply . We spin this bottle, I got here . " Out of nowhere Emily showed an empty bottle of wine and ced it in the middle of the circle .

    "Then whoever is facing the open end of the bottle after it¡¯s finish spinning has to take up a task . The yer who was chosen would need to pick between truth or dare . If the yer chooses Truth, the other yers can ask him or her any question about his/her life, rtionships, past experience or any other random question . The chosen yer should answer honestly without telling a lie . "

    When Alex heard this part of the rules, he couldn¡¯t help but think that this was dangerous . Unaware of Alex¡¯s dilemma Emily continued exining the rules of the game .

    "If someone from the group realizes the chosen yer is lying, the chosen yer gets a penalty . Next if the chosen yer chooses dare, the group that weren¡¯t chosen will discuss amongst each other what they would make the chosen yer do . It might be anything from dancing, singing or anything that the chosen yer is physically able to do . That¡¯s all the rules do you understand Alex?"

    Emily who was done exining the rules, had a little grin on her face . She didn¡¯t exin all the rules properly . Like the chosen yer can decide not to do a dare, and ask for new one, or she didn¡¯t exin about double daring, and other such things .

    The others didn¡¯t notice her not exining some of the rules, all except Rachel who had been wondering why Emily omitted some parts of the rules . Well it wasn¡¯t too much, and removing those rules wont really affect the game, so Rachel decided not to be bothered by it too much .

    After thinking for a bit Alex answered Emily . "I understand . "

    "Well then . . . Let¡¯s begin the game shall we, or does anyone have anything else to say?" Emily looked at the others, who didn¡¯t say anything .

    "Nothing else? Okay then, let the game begin . " Emily spun the bottle, where it stops nobody knows .

 Chapter 167

    Chapter 167

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    I do realize that maybe majority of you guys are unsatisfied by the recent chapters, but all of those things are needed for the plot of future chapters . Would guys want me to suddenly write that Alex and Rachel get together without writing how the hell that happened .

    Even if I do write how that happens do you think you would believe me? Based on Alex¡¯s current understanding do you think he would understand the meaning of love? That¡¯s also the reason for Emily and her behavior . She is there to push the two into feelings things and question those feelings .

    Also I hope you guys understand I am not dragging this out as someone justmented . All these are needed chapters for a more dramatic and feels kind of eventter . Which is more satisfying remembering how the mercenary club¡¯s bond gets stronger because of the various events they did . Or simply going straight to the point and just remembering some bits and pieces .

    Finally about the idea that some of you guys think that the Mercenary club and their connections, are too O . P making the fights boring because you know they will win . That assumption is half right and half wrong . The Merc Club and their family are indeed the strongest but that¡¯s only in Berdonia their home country their are two other countries each with their own group of strong people . Which are equal or more than the level of the MC¡¯s group . Also their are a bunch of other strong characters that haven¡¯t been introduced yet .

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    For those of you who can join me until the end of this work of mine thank you, for those of you that can¡¯t well thank you as well . Also I decided to take a break to cool down and recharge .

 Chapter 168

    Chapter 168

    The moment the bottle spun, the first one it pointed to was Evangeline . It was quite a shock to see that she was the first one to be picked . Usually her luck was quite good, so this was a real surprise to even Evangeline herself .

    "Eva, truth or dare?" Eva hearing Emily ask the question, was awoken from her daze . She then started thinking about which one to pick . Seeing that it was taking Evangeline quite some time to decide Rachel spoke to Emily .

    "Hey Emi, why don¡¯t we add a time limit, so that all of us can have a turn . " Hearing what Rachel said Evangeline who was thinking looked at her with a little re, but that onlysted for a moment .

    "Okay then, how about if one doesn¡¯t decide after the count of ten . The choice will automatically be a dare . Any objections?"

    "None . " All the others even Evangeline agree with this new rule .

    "So the timer starts now, one, two . "

    "I pick truth . " When the others heard this they started a discussion on what to ask Evangeline .

    "So what do we ask her?"

    "I want to know how she and Alex met . " Rachel gave her suggestion of what to ask .

    "Hmm, I¡¯m more interested on asking her what she feels about Alex . " Emily gave her opinion .

    "I just want to know how much is the overall budget for all the clubs . " Kei who was usually thest to speak up, spoke his thoughts .

    "I will abide to whatever you guys want to ask . " Alex didn¡¯t care what question was asked . Evangeline who heard this felt a bit pained . Now that everyone gave their opinion it all depends on what Oliver decides .

    "Actually I¡¯m also quite interested in hearing how Alex and Evangeline met as well . " Oliver felt that among the three questions, asking Evangeline how she felt about Alex, was forcing it . On the other hand the question about how Alex and Evangeline met each other seem quite interesting, and it wont really hurt anyone if they knew .

    "Okay then it¡¯s settled, Eva can you please tell us how you and Alex first met . " Alex was also quite interested by this question . He had no idea when he and Evangeline first met, but he was sure that she should¡¯ve met him before .

    It was at that moment when that thought came to Alex, he started to panic a bit on the inside . It was highly likely that Alex and Evangeline had met in one of his missions . So if Evangeline tells the truth, wont he be exposed .

    Evangeline was also aware of this, it was obvious that Alex wants to keep the secrets of his past to himself . So she looked at Alex, who also looked at her . The others also noticed that sudden look between the two, which garnered a bunch of different reactions .

    Emily who was aware of everything decided not to say anything . She simply decided that she would just help Alex out if need be . Though she likes having fun, she didn¡¯t like doing things that might go beyond her control, thus making a situation that was bad for everyone . She also felt that at Rachel¡¯s current state if she learned the truth about Alex, she might get broken .

    Rachel who saw the look Alex was giving Evangeline felt like it was a look of worry . Though Alex still retained his stoic look, Rachel could somehow, sometimes, see pass through that expressionless face of his . Right now she was pretty sure that Alex was a bit worried . Was his meeting with Evangeline such a secret that it would warrant him to feel anxious?

    Oliver had also noticed the look between the two, but it wasn¡¯t the same feeling he got when Rachel and Alex looked at each other . It was like they were hiding something, which made Oliver even more curious about the meeting between the two .

    Kei also had some thoughts about that look shared by the two, among all the members of the club, Alex seems to be like the center of the club . Alex had different kinds of rtionship with all the members of the club, well except for Kei, who he has never talked to before . Still Kei was curious to what kind of rtionship, Alex and Evangeline shared . At first he thought that maybe Rachel and Alex were an item, but he found out quite fast that they weren¡¯t like that . . . Yet .

    Evangeline also had her own thoughts about that look Alex was showing her . ¡¯Did Alex finally remember our first meeting? That might be it, that¡¯s why he is looking at me like that . I¡¯m sure he doesn¡¯t want other people to find out what he was doing in the past . Don¡¯t worry Alex, this will be our little secret . ¡¯

    Evangeline had quickly thought of a story she could tell the others . "You see me and Alex met years ago in a social gathering of all the powerful families in Berdonia . That being the first time I¡¯ve been to such an event, I felt a bit nervous . Alex with his usual calm self approached me, and helped me on that day . That¡¯s pretty much it, boring right?"

    When the others heard Evangeline¡¯s exnation of her and Alex¡¯s first meeting they felt a bit disappointed . It was a more normal meeting than they anticipated . Though some of them, specifically Rachel and Kei felt like the information given by Evangeline was false . Still because they had no proof showing that she was lying they had to ept her exnation .

    "Okay then, let¡¯s see who¡¯s next . " So that the others wont ask anymore questions about this topic Emily begun to spin the bottle again .

    The bottle spun and spun until finally it stopped in front of Kei . Everyone except for Alex felt relieved to see that they weren¡¯t picked .

    "So Kei, Truth or Dare?"

    "Truth . " Kei who wasn¡¯t sure what kind of things this people will make him do if he chose dare, decided that picking truth was the safest bet .

    Hearing how decisive Kei was, everyone was shocked even Emily was surprise by this sudden confidence boost of Kei . It was only Alex who remained as is .

    It took awhile before the others got over the shock and started to discuss what to ask him . Unlike with Evangeline the group had a unanimous decision on this question .

    "How much information do you have on all the students in our school?" Evangeline was the one who asked Kei .

    "All the students in our school . . . I have most of the information on all the students in school . The only ones I have an iplete file on, are the members of the Mercenary Club, the adviser Lyner, the student council president Evangeline Kain, and third school beauty Azura Miaz . Even among everyone in the whole school, she remains the most mysterious . Even Alex I have a some information on, but Azura I have zero info except for her name . I don¡¯t even know what she looks like, actually most of the students have never seen her face, not even the teachers . So that begs the question howe she was considered one of the three beauties, If no one has ever seen her face, who decided that? The only ones I know form the school that could possibly have seen her face is, the student council president Evangeline Kain, and the Principal . "

    Kei¡¯s answer went beyond what he was suppose to answer, but no oneined . Still now they have a new question in mind, who was Azura Miaz? The others then looked at Evangeline who could only sigh before speaking .

    "I¡¯m sorry to say this, but even I have no idea who Azura Miaz is . I even got someone to investigate her, because I was worried about her, she has a worse attendance rate than Emily . Yet unlike Emily, Azura has never been recorded attending school . Unfortunately the guy I sent to investigate came back with nothing . I even asked the school principal about her, but no matter how nicely I ask, using ever mean avable the principal wont speak . "

    Hearing Evangeline¡¯s exnation gave them no answers, only more questions . Who was Azura Miaz? Even Alex at this point had noted to himself to ask some of the maids to investigate this mysterious student . She might be a spy of some sorts, but I good spy wont do something like this that draws attention to her .

    Emily was also interested in this Azura Miaz, but for a different reason than Alex . She was curious about what Azura looks like . If she was considered part of the three beauties then she should at least be in the same level of Rachel and Evangeline, someone that beautiful would certainly gather attention . Yet Emily who usually looks at security footages in the city has never seen someone like that .

    Oliver has always been curious about this things . He was already nning for this to be the club¡¯s next activity once their done helping the Drama Club . He wanted to solve the mystery of who was Azura Miaz .

    Kei on the other hand after hearing Evangeline¡¯s exnation had acquired new information . He started to type on his phone and sent himself an email . He finally found a lead on Azura Miaz . Still Kei wasn¡¯t that confident anymore to find out who Azura Miaz was . Since even the professional Evangeline hired wasn¡¯t able to find anything out, then what more can he do . Nevertheless Kei decided to try his luck, and see if he might get lucky and gain more information on Azura Miaz .

    While everyone was still thinking about who Azura Miaz was, Rachel who wasn¡¯t really that interested on the topic, spun the bottle, and this time when it stopped spinning it was pointing at Alex .

 Chapter 169

    Chapter 169

    When everyone saw that it was Alex turn to pick truth or dare, the group got excited . Since no matter what Alex picked either truth or dare, it would be quite the fun experience to see . The group waited for Alex to answer, Emily was then about to start the countdown but Alex spoke before her .

    "I choose Dare . "

    Alex reason for choosing dare was simple . Even though he could lie and tell false statements, Alex would somehow feel bad by doing that . He was actually feeling a bit bad, when Evangeline lied for him . So instead he chose dare, cause no matter what kind of thing this group of friends of his choose, he was sure that he will be able to do it .

    Now herees the problem, hearing Alex choose dare, each and every person present wanted to make Alex do something for them . This dare was a chance to be able to ask the nearly perfect Alex to do almost anything they could think off .

    The moment each member looked at each others eyes they knew they were all thinking the same thing .

    "Okay before we start this battle royale, how about we tell each other what we want Alex to do . " Emily suggested, since just staring at each other was getting them nowhere .

    "I want to use the dare to make Alex carry me in a princess carry . " Evangeline spoke her true desire, which irritated Rachel a bit .

    "That¡¯s s a stupid dare, only you would be satisfied with that . " Rachelmented, in which Evangeline returned fire .

    "Really? You think it¡¯s stupid . Well I guess it is,ing from the princess that has always been carried in a princess carry by Alex . " Hearing Evangelinement that out loud made Rachel blush in embarrassment . On the other hand, Evangeline wanted to p herself after saying thatment, seeing Rachel¡¯s reaction just irritated her . Not only that she just reminded herself that Rachel was carried multiple times by Alex in a princess carry .

    "Okaydies let¡¯s stop fighting for awhile, alright? . . . Okay then so, Oliver how about you what do you want Alex to do?"

    "Nothing much, I just want to see Alex punch something with his full strength . " Oliver couldn¡¯t forget the time in the arcade, when Alex showed him that a person can be something beyond human . That frightening strength he disyed was etched into Oliver¡¯s very soul, it was what made him even more motivated to be stronger still .

    "Rachel how about you?"

    "I want Alex . . . " Rachel was a bit embarrassed to tell what she wanted Alex to do . Then she remembered that even Evangeline directly told what she really wanted without fear or embarrassment, so she spoke . "I want Alex to give me a hug . "

    "Oh, and you call my dare stupid, isn¡¯t your dare the same thing?" Evangeline said in with a bit of ridicule .

    "Well I did go through a traumatic experience, so don¡¯t I deserve a hug?" Evangeline wasn¡¯t able to argue with that kind of logic, but then she wanted to respond that she too had been in traumatic experience, so Alex should hug her too . Yet before she was able to say anything Emily cut in between Rachel and Evangeline again .

    "Like I said no fighting . . . For now . . . So how about you Kei what do you want Alex to do?" Kei was also thinking about what kind of dare he wanted Alex to do . He hasn¡¯t seen much, but he was sure Alex¡¯s physical skill was beyond any high schooler . So that would make him very valuable in information gathering .

    ¡¯Well I guess that¡¯s too much, this is a simple game of dare after all . Well then, I¡¯ll just say a ssic dare, since I can¡¯t think of anything else . ¡¯

    "How about asking him to kiss one of the girls?" When the others heard what kei said . They all looked at him as if they weren¡¯t sure who this man was . Kei who was so decisive awhile ago, which shocked them, has now given them such a bold dare .

    ¡¯I thought this guy was the normal one, but he was just hiding this side of him . So I guess no one in the Mercenary Club is normal . ¡¯ Rachel sighed as he thought about Kei, while inadvertently admitting that she too was abnormal .

    ¡¯So he was just a closet pervert, that changed into an open pervert . ¡¯ Oliver had his own mess up idea about the situation as well .

    ¡¯I need to revaluate Kei, he might get into trouble a bitter . ¡¯ Emily who was usual in control of the situation was thinking of new ns .

    "Hey guys, why did you stop talking? Are we going to tell Alex dare or not?" Kei was now really confused, because everyone suddenly turned silent, when he told what kind of dare he wanted to tell Alex .

    ¡¯Wasn¡¯t that a normal dare? I¡¯m sure it was, I¡¯ve never been invited to a sleepover before, but I read about it in different mediums . So I¡¯m sure that was a normal dare . . . Or is it because this people aren¡¯t normal that¡¯s why they found it strange . Yes that must be it . . . ¡¯ While Kei was trying to understand if what he said was right or wrong, Emily spoke .

    "I vote for Kei¡¯s idea . Any objections? . . . None, okay then . " Emily then faced faced Alex and told him what the dare was .

    "Alex we dare you to kiss one of the girls present here . " The moment Emily said this, the area became tense, which frightened Kei a bit, and also made Oliver chuckle .

    ¡¯Oh such is youth . ¡¯ Oliver who was still doing his James Bourne persona thought so . Emily on the other hand finally realize the problem of that dare .

    ¡¯Wait a minute, I forgot I¡¯m a girl as well . . . . ¡¯ Alex might actually pick her, because of some BS reason such as she was seating nearest to him .

    Rachel and Evangeline on the other hand had all of their attention on Alex¡¯s ever move . They were screaming in their minds, for Alex to pick them .

    Alex on the other hand was also in quite a dilemma . He was about to pick Emily seeing as she was the closest person to him, but when he was about to do so, he felt an ominous pressure assail him . He then tried to move to Rachel, but the same ominous pressure assailed him . On the other hand when he tried to move to Evangeline, his instincts told him that was the wrong choice as well .

    At this point Alex was confused as to who to pick between the three girls present . He was thinking as hard as he could .

    ¡¯Why are you hesitating Alex should you already pick me?¡¯ Rachel was confused by Alex¡¯s hesitation .

    ¡¯Alex is hesitating, is he actually going to pick me over Rachel? . . . or perhaps . . . ¡¯ Evangeline on the other hand was looking at Emily .

    ¡¯Damn it, I miscalcted . If Alex chooses me that will bring about a whole lot of other problems . I hope he at least he understands that choosing me is the wrong choice . ¡¯ Emily who wasn¡¯t really a firm believer of God was actually praying her hardest right now, hoping Alex wont pick her .

    Alex who was thinking deeply finally figured out the solution to his problem . The dare was to kiss one of the girls present . That was it, there was no other rule . So Alex stood up from his spot, and headed towards the girl he picked .

    When Alex did this, the tense atmosphere got even tenser .

 Chapter 170

    Chapter 170

    Everyone¡¯s attention was now on Alex who had stood up . Who was he going to pick? Will it be Rachel, Evangeline, or Emily . The tension in the room was on a sudden rise, and the silence was eerie . One could even hear a pin drop in this situation .

    So when they saw Alex scanning the area everyone had different thoughts going through their minds . The only one who was truly calm at the moment was none other than Oliver, who felt that this wasn¡¯t really going to affect him .

    Kei on the other hand was getting a bit excited as well as anxious . The atmosphere in the group right now, wasn¡¯t all that great, but Kei was still excited by the notion that some more information could be added on Alex¡¯s file .

    Alex who stopped looking around was now seemingly looking at Rachel and Evangeline¡¯s path . The two girls seeing that look of his, felt their hearts beating faster than ever . Alex then walked towards the two, seeing this made Emily feel relieved . On the other hand the male members of the group were really getting excited to see who Alex would pick .

    Alex was nearing the two girls, and then walked pass them, and headed towards the door of the dojo that leads to the house . Everyone was shocked by Alex sudden move, what was he doing? Wasn¡¯t he suppose to pick between the three girls? Why did he walked towards the door instead?

    A lot of questions floated in the minds of the group, as they waited to see what Alex would do next . From beyond the door Alex could hear some sudden movement, he already noticed this presence ever since they went to get the futons .

    Alex opened the door, and as expected Kumiko and her sons were there, having their ears against the door .

    "Oh Alex we were-" Before Kumiko could say an excuse, Alex pulled her close, and kissed her on the cheek . Kumiko was surprised by this sudden kiss, but wasn¡¯t really that bothered by it, just surprised . To her, it was like getting kiss by one of her children nothing much to say about that .

    On the other hand everybody else reacted in the same way, when they saw what Alex did . They first were stunned into silence, and then all of them started to tremble, then as in if they were in sync with each other, they all shouted in unison .

    "WHAAAAAAT!!!"

    "Alex what did you just do to my mom! Y-y-y-you kissed her! Why did you kiss her? Huh? Why my mom of all people? . . . Is it because she looks like an older, maturer version of me?" Rachel who saw something so shocking was unable toprehend what she just saw . She wasn¡¯t able to think logically since the boy she likes actually kissed her mother . Many ideas popped into her head, but all of them were blown away by that image of Alex kissing her mom . Even though it was only on the cheek, it was still a kiss .

    "So you¡¯re aiming for the mother first . That¡¯s a pretty good idea myrade . " Oliver who was pping his hands was having fun watching things unfold . In his mind all he could think of was that, as usual Alex does things in such an abrupt way . It was like he didn¡¯t care what other might think .

    "Huh? What the? Why the mom? Is Alex going to be killed?" Kei was also confused at the sudden event . Seeing Alex kiss Rachel¡¯s mom, made him fear for Alex¡¯s life . The reason for this fear was because, he had long ago gained information about Rachel¡¯s family, since the dojo was famous in the area . Kei was sure that the information regarding Rachel¡¯s mom states that she was a very violent person . It was said, that she beat up a man until his face wasn¡¯t recognizable, she did all this because she thought the man looked at her lewdly .

    Kei was actually afraid that Rachel¡¯s mom would attack Alex, but fortunately that didn¡¯t happen . Rachel¡¯s mom simply looked at Alex, like it wasn¡¯t a big deal .

    Emily who was watching the scene felt like what Alex did was within expectations . If he didn¡¯t pick her who was the closest to him, when the dare was initiated . That would only mean, Alex sensed danger in doing so, making the three girls present a threat . So he decided to pick a girl outside the three, but was also present . Emily was able to quickly see through Alex¡¯s thought process . If it was before, Alex would¡¯ve picked the most efficient path despite the consequences, but now he was actually thinking about other people¡¯s feelings . This was proof that Alex was slowly maturing .

    Evangeline also had a different take on the situation . She wasn¡¯t bothered by the fact Alex kissed Rachel¡¯s mom . She was more concerned by what led to the choice of choosing Rachel¡¯s mom to be the person that was kissed .

    ¡¯Alex didn¡¯t choose Rachel from the get go, actually at first I noticed that he was going to pick Emily . Since his line of sight was on her, for the longest time . . . Still I guess that would be because of the efficiency that Alex likes so much, seeing Emily was the closest to him, he would think that it would be easier to finish the dare if she picked her . Then after that he didn¡¯t do it, he changed his focus and looked at Rachel then me . Alex actually hesitated, I haven¡¯t seen him do that before . Is Alex¡¯s feelings, actually wavering? Is this my chance?¡¯

    While everyone was having there own thoughts about the current situation . Alex who noticed them staring at him, was confused .

    "Did I vite a rule? You did say that I could kiss any girl present . Kumiko was present so I thought she was eligible, but was I wrong?"

    When all of them heard Alex¡¯s question, the group could only sigh . Of course that was to be expected of Alex . It was them who was being weird not him .

    "No it¡¯s all good, you did the dare properly . . . But I guess, after that no would like to y truth or dare for awhile . " Emily looked at the others wanting to hear their opinion .

    While that was happening, seeing everyone was distracted Kumiko left the scene .

    "Yeah I don¡¯t feel like ying anymore . That gave me a lot of mental damage . " Rachel agreed with Emily, that they should stop ying truth or dare .

    "Yeah, if I saw something like that again, I might actually have a heart attack . " Kei who was usually so shy around them, was finally able to speak in a more casual manner .

    "Whatever you guys decide, I will follow your decision . " Oliver wasn¡¯t really bothered by the event, but still understood that the group doesn¡¯t want to y truth or dare anymore . Still to Oliver as long as the sleepover continues, everything was all good .

    Alex and Evangeline just nodded their heads, without saying anything .

    "Okay since we are all in agreement, will stop ying truth or dare . . . Let¡¯s see what time is it? . . . Ten, twenty two, pm . I see, how about we tell some ghost stories before we got to sleep?"

 Chapter 171

    Chapter 171

    "Ghost stories? Are we really going to do this? It¡¯s not like I hate it or anything, but isn¡¯t that too boring considering our ages?" Evangeline who was usually calm andposed except for when it¡¯s considering Alex, actually looked a bit shaken now .

    Rachel who saw how Evangeline reacted spoke . "Oh? Is that so, well I actually like ghost stories, how about you Emily?"

    Rachel who was already used to people like Emily, seeing her mom, brothers, and even her best friend was like Emily, knew what kinds of things to say to somehow make the other person do what she wants .

    Emily who saw the expression of Rachel as well as Evangeline¡¯s, smiled slyly . It was obvious to see what Rachel wanted from her . She didn¡¯t really like the idea of her being the one used, but it was too fun to pass not to do .

    "Oh I like ghost stories as well . I don¡¯t really think it¡¯s just for kids, also don¡¯t most adults have fun watching horror films, so isn¡¯t this genre set for all ages?"

    "But Ghost stories and horror films are different . So telling stories about ghost wont really frighten you right?" Evangeline knew that the two girls were against her, so she looked at Kei for backup .

    Kei who noticed the president looking at him, was perplexed . ¡¯Is she telling me to answer?¡¯

    "Um, truth be told, I am a little bit frightened by ghost stories . Well it all depends on how it¡¯s told . Just like not all horror movies are scary, I guess it¡¯s the same thing . " Hearing Kei¡¯s answer, Evangeline didn¡¯t know what more to say .

    "How about you Oliver do you have anything to say?" Seeing Evangeline¡¯s defeated expression, Emily looked at Oliver .

    "Nothing really . . . Just that, whose going first?" Oliver shrugged his shoulders . Emily didn¡¯t asked Alex anymore, since it was obvious what he was going to say .

    "Okay then, first let¡¯s set up the atmosphere . Rachel do you have any candles?"

    "Yes we do . What do you need them for?"

    "Like I said to set up the atmosphere, could you give us a candle each?"

    . . .

    After getting the candles from the house, Rachel handed everyone a candle . After lighting the candles, Emily turned off the light . The moment the lights were turned off, Evangeline¡¯splexion changed a bit .

    "So who wants to go first?" Emily asked the group, and in excitement Oliver answered .

    "I will do it . " When Oliver spoke all the attention was now on him . Aside from bing James Bourne this was also one of Oliver¡¯s dreams . To be able to have fun with his friends .

    "This story is a true story I heard from one of myrades who heard it from a friend of his . " From the start it was already feeling like it was fake, this was the thought of most of the people present . Seeing that they knew Oliver had no otherrades, this story must be something he read online .

    The only ones convinced were Alex, who fully believes in Oliver, and Evangeline who wasn¡¯t able to think clearly at the moment .

    "It¡¯s about the old tunnel near the park . You guys must know what happened there, eight years ago . " Everyone except for Kei had a nk stare when they heard this .

    Evangeline was out of the country eight years ago, so she has no idea about this incident . Emily was in a war zone at that time, and Alex was in the same situation . Rachel and her family were going through some tough times, and was unable to hear that piece of news .

    "Sorry I have no idea about the incident you¡¯re talking about . " "Sorry Oliver, I don¡¯t know either . " Most of the people present had no idea what Oliver was talking about . So in the end Olvier needed to exin about the incident that took ce eight years ago .

    In that old tunnel there was once a homeless person living there . One day a group of teenagers went there to make fun of the homeless person, but when they started to make fun of him, something unexpected happened . The homeless person suddenly attacked and killed all the teenagers . The police were able to apprehend the homeless person, and he was given the death sentence .

    When the group who didn¡¯t know the story heard the exnation from Oliver, they could already kind of guess what kind of story Oliver was going to tell .

    "So now that everyone knows the background story of the tunnel, I¡¯ll be able to tell my story . So one day a student was heading home, when it started to rain . He had no umbre at hand and he knew the tunnel was a shortcut to get home quicker . Knowing this and even knowing the history of the tunnel, the student decided to go in anyway . In his head he thought that the rumors of there being ghost in there was just a joke . Since he knew there was no such thing as a ghost the student went in the tunnel . While walking inside the old tunnel that hasn¡¯t been clean in ages, the student noticed a group of kids kicking a man . The- HEY! Why are you guys not listening!"

    Oliver who saw that some of the people there, mainly Rachel, Emily and Kei weren¡¯t listening anymore made him stop talking . Evangeline who was also listening in, seem to be focused on Oliver¡¯s story but in truth, she was in a state of mid faint . Alex on the other hand was as usual being attentive to the story .

    "Sorry about that Oliver, but your story was pretty straight forward . Obviously the twist is that the group of kids that were kicking the man, were the souls of the dead teenagers, while the homeless person was the soul of the killer, and they were there to take the student to be one with them, and killed him . Am I right?" Rachel who practically told the end of the story looked at Oliver, who was shocked that his story was seen through .

    "Wait a minute if what Rachel said is true, then who was the one that ryed the story . If the witness has died, then why is there a story such as this? Howe this is called a true story?" Alex asked confused .

    "Well, it¡¯s just that kind of story . " Rachel didn¡¯t know what to answer Alex . Still confused Alex was about to ask another question but then Emily cut in .

    "I will exin it to youter Alex, for now it¡¯s my turn to tell a story . first let¡¯s set the mood . " Emily took out her phone, and yed the sound of the ticking of a clock . The silence plus the ticking sound actually made the dark atmosphere even creepier .

    Evangeline who was already frightened by Oliver¡¯s boring story was now truly scared . She knew that based on Emily¡¯s personality, that her story could probably even scare most of those present here . Evangeline really wanted to leave, but if she did so, it will just give Rachel and Emily an opportunity to make fun of her . Also it might make Alex think she¡¯s a coward, so with no other choice Evangeline just gritted her teeth, while thinking of various things to drown Emily¡¯s voice out .

    "Okay then, first I want everyone to hold the hand of the one next to you . As I tell the story, no matter what, you should never let go, lest you anger some beings that shouldn¡¯t be angered . "

    When Emily said this so seriously, even Kei and Rachel felt a bit scared . The group held each others hands, Evangeline was trying to control the trembling of her hand . When Emily saw that everyone was holding hands, she told her tale .

 Chapter 172

    Chapter 172

    The moment Emily spoke, the whole room got a bit colder . They held each other hands as tight as they could, Evangeline in particr looked like she was going to rip off Oliver¡¯s arms . Oliver could already pretty much guess, that Evangeline was really scared so he didn¡¯t mind Evangeline¡¯s gripping hand . To Oliver Evangeline¡¯s grip strength couldn¡¯t even leave a dent in his outer muscles .

    On the other hand Rachel who was also holding Evangeline¡¯s hand was kind of irritated . Though Evangeline¡¯s strength wasn¡¯t much her grip still hurt a bit . Knowing that it was also her fault why this happened, Rachel sucked it up, and just held on, this will onlyst until Emily¡¯s story finishes .

    "So my story is going to be a bit of fun, it¡¯s going to actually summon a ghost . " When everyone heard this, they didn¡¯t react much, but knowing Emily she might have something nned . On the other hand Evangeline was trying really hard to drown out Emily¡¯s voice as she thought of different things while humming weakly .

    "To summon this alleged ghost, one must tell her tale to a group of people . That someone would be me, and the group of people would be you guys . Once the tale is done the ghost will be summoned, and will be able to ask it, one question each . But here¡¯s the hard part, after we ask our questions, the ghost will try to trick us to escape . The circle we made by holding hands is a prison that the ghost can¡¯t escape, so the ghost will try to lie and trick you to make you let go of the other person¡¯s hand . Still I trust everyone present isn¡¯t gullible or stupid enough to fall for a ghost¡¯s trick . So the next step is to unsummon her, to do that we must face the ghost look it in the eye and say goodbye . Once all of us say it, the ghost will disappear . So any questions? Oh right do not raise your hands, since the ritual has begun . Letting go of the other person¡¯s hands is now risky . "

    Evangeline who was trying to drown out Emily¡¯s voice heard only parts of the exnation . All she knew was that Emily was trying to summon a ghost, and that letting go of the other person¡¯s hands during the process will have dire consequences . Evangeline wanted to ask for Emily to repeat the exnation, but at this point she was too scared to even talk .

    Oliver and Alex had remained cool throughout the entire exnation . Kei was having some misgivings about this event, while Rachel really wasn¡¯t scared of ghost .

    "Alright since there are no questions, let me begin . There was once a little girl called Alice, she was a normal little girl you can find anywhere . There was nothing special about her, well except for her mother . You see Alice¡¯s mother was not right in her mind . Yet even though she was like that, she still treated Alice with the love a mother should give . But here¡¯s the thing, Alice¡¯s mother thought Alice was a doll . She treated her as a precious doll . So as Alice grew older, and was looking less and less like a doll, the mother got frightened . "

    When Emily got to this part of the story, her voice got quitter and quitter . Still since her story was intriguing, no one except for Evangeline wanted to stop listening . Kei who had information about a lot of urban legends had never heard of this story before, making him even more interested .

    "Okay now that we are in the final parts of the story I need all of you to close your eyes . No matter what, until you need to say goodbye do not, not matter the circumstances open your eyes . " When they heard Emily say this, everyone closed their eyes, at this point Evangeline was having trouble even thinking properly .

    Seeing that everyone had closed their eyes Emily continued the story . "Witnessing her doll grow older had frightened Alice¡¯s mother to death . Thinking that the doll was out to kill her, the mother acted first . Alice¡¯s mother came to Alice¡¯s room, and violently chopped her daughter with an axe . When the mother saw the blooding out of the thing that she thought was a doll her mind copsed . Alice¡¯s mother for that one moment was able to understand that she had killed her daughter . Within that moment of rity the mother killed herself . Now Alice who died with a lot of regrets, and was unable to have her vengeance roams around as a spirit, finding a ce to vent her anger . . . Alice the story has been told, show yourself . "

    After Emily said thest line, everything turned quiet . The only sound that could be heard was the ticking of the clock . The atmosphere was getting tenser and tenser as time passed by . A few minutes had passed and Emily hadn¡¯t spoken since, Rachel and Kei were already getting a bit worried . Evangeline was so scared that she had almost fainted, Oliver on the other hand wanted to open his eyes to look at what was happening, but before he could do so, someone spoke .

    "What is it you wish to hear?" It was voice that none of the members knew . Even Alex was surprised by the voice, even with his eyes closed he could still sense the surrounding area, and he was sure that there were still only six people in the room . Yet the voice he was hearing waspletely different from everyone else¡¯s, it sounded like the voice of a ten to twelve year old girl .

    Everyone else who heard this voice felt their bodies grow a bit colder . Evangeline was now shaking uncontrobly . Rachel was getting a bit scared as well, in this unexpected situation . Kei was also scared by the unknown being that spoke, while Oliver wanted to open his eyes wanting to see what a ghost¡¯s looks like .

    "Why did you tell my tale! . . . What is it you wish to hear!" The voice of the little girl was getting angrier as the group remained silent .

 Chapter 173

    Chapter 173

    "What is it that you wish to hear?" Hearing that eerie voice of a little girl echoing through the room made the members present feel a drop in temperature . Most of them even Oliver, felt a tiny bit frightened at the moment . Alex on the other hand was perplexed, he was trying to locate the source of the voice, but he unexpectedly couldn¡¯t .

    The sound he heard wasing from different directions, it was so clear and crisp that he couldn¡¯t determine if the sound was from a speaker or not . Alex was baffled as to what was happening, all his senses told him that there was still only six people in the room, and the seventh shouldn¡¯t exist, but then where is the sounding from . It was echoing throughout the room, but he couldn¡¯t pint point the location . It was also weird that Emily stopped talking when the supposed ghost appeared . It was possible that this was just a joke that Emily prepared . . . Though it was also possible that it wasn¡¯t .

    "Tell me what is it you wish to hear!" When no one in the group spoke the supposed spirit was getting angrier . With no one else daring to speak Oliver decided to ask first .

    "How much do you know?" Every member present who heard Oliver¡¯s question, was surprised . They all knew that the question was a probe . ¡¯So there was also that way¡¯ All of them thought at the same time .

    "I know as much as I do . " When the other members heard the supposed ghost¡¯s answer, they started to think of what to ask next . This was now not about being scared of a spirit, instead it was to prove whether the ghost existed or not . Though this could all be solved if they opened their eyes, but if the ghost was real going against the rules was a bad idea . So instead figuring out the identity of the ghost by questioning it, was a better option .

    The group started to think about what to ask next . After a short period of silence, Rachel was the next one to ask a question .

    "What is my height and three sizes . " At this moment Rachel didn¡¯t care if Alex heard the answer . She really wanted to know if the spirit was real or not . Also she wan¡¯t really ashamed of her measurements .

    "Height 163 cm, three sizes are 79-56-83 . " The moment Rachel heard the answer she was really surprised, she wasn¡¯t expecting the ghost to answer correctly . There were only a few people that knew her exact measurements and none of them were present here .

    "That¡¯s right . " When the others heard Rachel say that what the ghost said was right, they were surprised . They weren¡¯t really concentrating on what Rachel¡¯s three sizes were, the most important thing was the ghost knew Rachel¡¯s height and three sizes .

    The next question must then be something much deeper . Since there are some extreme people out there, that could probably look at Rachel and be able to discern her height, weight and three sizes same as the ghost .

    "What kind of information do I have about Lisa Norrid?" This time it was Kei who asked a question . Lisa Norrid was a girl Kei once had a crush on . She was the reason he suddenly had interest in gathering information . In a way she was the first person on Kei¡¯s files . The secret info Kei has on her, was hidden in an oldputer, that has never been plugged into the inte . The only way someone could hack into it, is if they broke into kei¡¯s home and messed with hisputer directly .

    "You know everything about her . You have information ranging from simple information like her birthday, to hard to find information like how many times she went to visit a puppy near the bookstore found beside her house . " Hearing what the voice of the little ghost girl said, made Kei truly surprised .

    Was the ghost really omniscient? "Correct . " Kei acknowledged that what the ghost said was correct . He did this to inform the others what to ask next . The only ones remaining that haven¡¯t asked a question was Alex and Evangeline .

    Evangeline was too scared to say anything at the moment, which made Alex be the next on to ask a question .

    "What is it that you wish to hear?" When Alex heard this question he felt it was weird . Why did this supposed ghost, ask what is it that you wish to hear? Instead of what is your question? The differences of both questions was minuscule, but at the same time great . Both can mean the same thing depending on the question .

    Alex was thinking about the past questions . Oliver asked a very simple question, and the ghost gave a vague answer . Rachel asked a personal question that most probably only few know the answer to, but the ghost answered without hesitation . Kei on the other hand asked a question that supposedly only he could answer, but the ghost was still able to answer .

    Though it seem like the ghost girl was omniscient, but in truth she might not be . All the answers to the others questions could be found using an outer source . Oliver¡¯s question was something anyone could answer . Rachel¡¯s question could be gained by asking the other people who knows the answer . Kei¡¯s question was also possible to obtain if the person was able to get the information from where kei hid it .

    "Tell me what was the most important day in my life . Tell me what changed my fate . " Alex now asked a question that had no data surrounding it . It was a vague question with only one right answer . This time the ghost didn¡¯t answer immediately, which already made her seem less omniscient .

    "The day that was the most important in your life and had changed your fate, was the day you met Rachel Regius . " When Alex heard this, he figured out the extent of what the so called ghost knew . Though the meeting with Rachel was indeed fate changing, that wasn¡¯t the most important day of Alex¡¯s life .

    "You are wrong . " When the other members heard Alex say that the ghost girl was wrong, a bunch of different thoughts ran through their minds .

    ¡¯So our meeting wasn¡¯t the most important day in his life . . . I wonder what it was . . . ¡¯ Rachel wasn¡¯t that interested in the ghost anymore as her focus was now with the question Alex gave to the ghost .

    Even Evangeline who was so scared awhile ago was now thinking about the question Alex made . ¡¯So the most important day for Alex wasn¡¯t meeting Rachel . . . Then perhaps it was the day he saved me . . . Heh, of course not, he doesn¡¯t even remember how we met . ¡¯ While Evangeline was feeling sorry for herself, she once again heard that scary eerie childish voice .

    "What is it that you wish to hear?" Even though Evangeline was scared, she needed to ask a question to make this event end . Also at this moment she was less scared than before, since there was a chance that the ghost wasn¡¯t really a ghost . The ghost was already proven to be not omniscient, so the next question she should make must prove that the ghost wasn¡¯t really a ghost .

    Evangeline strengthened her resolve and asked her question .

 Chapter 174

    Chapter 174

    "What do you think about the event that Alex stops ying with Emily?" The moment Evangeline asked this, she expected the ghost to hesitate before answering . Yet the supposed ghost did the opposite, and answered without hesitation .

    "I don¡¯t care about that . . . Now all have answered . . . Hey your name is Evangeline right? I know you like that boy called Alex . " After answering all the questions, the supposed ghost called Alice, talked to Evangeline, but this time it didn¡¯t echo throughout the room . This time Alice was actually whispering to Evangeline, or that¡¯s what it felt like .

    "I know you like Alex, if you let me go, I can help you with your love life . " Evangeline even knowing that this was a trick couldn¡¯t help but hesitate . It wasn¡¯t just her, everyone at this moment was being talked to by the supposed ghost .

    "Don¡¯t you wish that you were like any normal boy? I can grant you that wish, if you just let me out . " Alex who was being offered such a thing was confused . He was confused not by the offer, but by the voice of the little girl, it changed tone and pitch also it was not echoing in the room anymore .

    ¡¯This feeling is familiar . . . But what is it?¡¯

    While Alex was figuring out what was happening, Rachel was also having some trouble of her own .

    "I know that you want to know how Alex really feels about you . I know that even though you think he loves you . You are never truly sure, since he has never said it directly . Free me and I can tell what it is that is in his heart . "

    Rachel who heard the voice of the little girl right beside her was amazed . It was like Alice could read the deepest parts of her heart . At this point Rachel could no longer hear the ticking of the clock, but she could still smell the burning of a candle .

    Kei was also being offered something by Alice .

    "I know you want to know everything about the members of the Mercenary Club . Your curiosity is enormous . I can grant you the information you so desire, just set me free open your eyes and let go of the hand you hold . "

    . . .

    While everyone was being offered something by a ghostly voice of a little girl, Oliver was having a different experience . His head was aching and at this point it felt like it was going to explode . In front of his very eyes the scenery was changing into something hellish .

    Oliver saw a very young him, standing in front of some soldiers that looked to be Berdonian . He using a pistol shot right in the middle of their foreheads . The young Oliver had no remorse in his eyes, and his face was like Alex¡¯s emotionless .

    He kept on moving forward in the field of raining bullets . He killed a soldier, picked up his gun and continued to kill all that was in his way . Oliver saw this scene and was frightened at how efficiently his younger self was killing the soldiers and mercenaries .

    Until finally Oliver saw andmark that made him realize where this was taking ce . This was the fields of the Hertia Province . Then this must be the battle nine years ago, when Berdonia lost the Hertia Province to the Southern Union .

    As Oliver was trying to figure out if what he was seeing was true or not, the scenery changed into a different ce . The younger Oliver had a grown a bit taller, and he no longer had that nk expression on his face .

    He looked a lot like the boy he keeps on seeing in his dreams . This Oliver was fully equipped with a rifle, two handguns, three grenades, a ker vest, and two knives . Abat knife and a hunting knife .

    This Oliver looked cocky and overconfident as he smiled fearlessly at a battalion of soldiers . This time based on their uniforms they were from the Granado Empire . The cocky Oliver engaged the enemy and with his little body danced wildly in the battlefield .

    The scene of a ten year old boy massacring an elite unit of the Granado Empire was a amazing sight to behold . Oliver even as he got hit here and there continued his attacks . Once he was done, and had no more ammunition to spare, the young Oliver escaped . But before escaping the young Oliver shouted something at the enemy .

    Oliver couldn¡¯t hear what his younger self was shouting, since everything happening in front of him was like watching a silent movie, it was only moving pictures with no sound . Yet even without the sound Oliver felt the he knew what the young him was saying .

    As if matching the young Oliver speaking to the enemy, Oliver mumbled something under his breath .

    "I am James Oliver H . Bourne, remember that name . For that is my gift to you, for surviving me . " Oliver was unsure why he said this, but he felt like this was the thing the young Oliver said .

    Oliver couldn¡¯t understand what he was seeing, he couldn¡¯t understand what he was feeling . Were these his memories? Then what about his current memories, were those real? Or was this real?

    Oliver felt like his head was being pounded by a hammer . He couldn¡¯t understand what he was seeing . It was getting harder to breath for him . At this moment, Oliver was having trouble remembering what was happening, before he saw this visions .

    While he was in a confused state, Oliver could hear a voice calling him .

    "Oliver! Wake up! Oliver wake up! Oliver!" This voice was familiar to him, but Oliver couldn¡¯t remember who it was . He then heard other voices, of people that felt familiar to him .

    "Oliver!" They kept on repeating his name . Oliver with great difficulty opened his eyes, and saw some familiar people . They were all wearing something like a gas mask covering their mouths and noses .

    He also noticed that he was also wearing one .

    "What happened?" Oliver asked the surrounding people, still confused at the weird thing that happened to him . Emily who was in front of him, bowed her head and spoke .

    "I¡¯m sorry Oliver, please forgive me!" Oliver surprised by the sudden apology didn¡¯t know what to say .

 Chapter 175

    Chapter 175

    Emily was really regretting what she did . She wasn¡¯t expecting that kind of effect on Oliver . The moment everyone else seem to be hallucinating about the ghost girl Alice, Emily noticed that something was wrong with Oliver .

    Oliver was having a different reaction than everyone, he didn¡¯t look like someone was talking to him . Also his eyes were open, but they were unfocused . He was also sweating a great amount .

    Emily couldn¡¯t understand what was happening to Oliver . So she took one of the gas mask she hidden in the bag she brought and put it on Oliver . The effects of the hallucinogen, from the candle she switched should be wearing off after a few seconds, since it wasn¡¯t that strong to begin with .

    Yet even after a few seconds pass, Oliver didn¡¯t wake up from his hallucinations . Emily at this time started to panic for a bit . She knew the contents of the hallucinogen and was sure that there was nothing in there that could harm the body . This was the first time in a long time, Emily didn¡¯t know what to do .

    While she was confused as to what to do, the first person Emily thought of that could help her was her brother . Then she remembered that he was doing a mission, so the next person she thought of, was right beside her . Emily took another gas mask and put it on Alex . She then proceeded to put out the candle . After which Emily proceeded to put a gas mask on everyone else .

    . . .

    After a few seconds Alex was finally released from his hallucinations . When he woke up from the hallucination the first thing he noticed was the gas mask . He then surveyed the area and saw everyone else was wearing a gas mask . Alex also saw that Oliver was sweating profusely while Emily look like she was panicking .

    The moment Alex saw this, he figured out what had happened . The reason why he was hearing voices of a little girl, the reason why he couldn¡¯t pin point the location of the voice . Everything was a hallucination, Emily most probably used an hallucinogen alongside the power of suggestion she was able to make everyone present hear the voice of a little girl . She was the one answering the questions, using the hallucinogen she was able to trick even Alex¡¯s senses .

    ¡¯The moment it started speaking in the end without the echo, was most probably the moment the hallucinogen was taking full effect within our bodies . ¡¯

    While Alex was analyzing what had happened Emily noticed that he was awake . She jumped into Alex¡¯s side, looking like she was about to cry .

    "Alex help me, something is wrong with Oliver . " When Alex heard what Emily said, he hurried to Oliver¡¯s side and checked his condition . Aside from the sweating nothing seems physically wrong with him .

    "Emily tell me what ingredients did you use in making that hallucinogen . " Emily quickly told Alex, every ingredient she used . Hearing the list of ingredients used to make the hallucinogen, Alex was confused . The ingredients Emily used to make the hallucinogen shouldn¡¯t have this kind of effect on Oliver .

    There must be something going on with Oliver that he didn¡¯t know about .

    ¡¯Oliver is a mercenary just like me . . . He might have some sort of mental trauma and the hallucinogen is doing something about it . . . Or he could be injected with something that is trying to counteract the effects of the hallucinogen . . . That can¡¯t be it . . . . It could be-¡¯ Alex couldn¡¯t make heads or tails with what was happening . He had a few guesses but with the information he has, they were all useless guesses .

    While Alex was thinking about what to do, the other members started to wake up from there hallucinations as well . Emily who was feeling guilty about the whole thing, seeing what happened to Oliver, quickly apologized to everyone present .

    Still confused as to what had happened the group asked Emily to exin why she was apologizing . Emily then started to exin everything from the start, about how she switched the candles with a candle that smokes out a drug that makes one hallucinate . She exined the whole trick she used, which was simr to what Alex thought she did .

    Emily then further exined that something was happening to Oliver that she and Alex couldn¡¯t understand . Though some of the members were a little pissed in what Emily had done, they pushed that aside because they were worried about Oliver, who was sweating so much it was like he took a bath .

    None of them had any knowledge in this field except for Alex, but his knowledge was more within the range of first aid . Rachel then suggested to bring Oliver to a hospital, yet the moment she suggested this something happened to Oliver, he started to speak .

    "I am James Oliver H . Bourne, remember that name . For that is my gift to you, for surviving me . " They couldn¡¯t understand what he was saying all they knew was that Oliver was waking up . Seeing this Emily started calling Oliver¡¯s name, and the others did the same and called to Oliver .

    After a few seconds of calling his name, Oliver finally woke up from his hallucinations . He looked around confused as to what was happening . Emily who saw him finally wake up, went in front of him and bowed her head .

    She asked for forgiveness, and this time she really meant it . Unlike other times, what happened now wasn¡¯t something she was expecting . Hearing what happened from Alex, Oliver got the gist of what was going on .

    ¡¯So that was a hallucination? . . . Was it really? It felt like it was real . . . Alex did say I had a weird reaction to the hallucinogen . Maybe that hallucinogen was a catalyst for remembering . . . ¡¯ While Oliver was thinking about the visions he just saw, Emily was still bowing waiting for a response .

    Oliver who saw the usual confident girl bowing while trembling and actually apologizing, could only sigh .

    "Do not worryrade Emily, I wasn¡¯t hurt . Also I think what you did, might¡¯ve been something good for me . So there is no need to apologize, I forgive you, actually I should thank you . So thank you for thatrade Emily, thank you for making this sleepover a little bit more fun and exciting, as well as opening up a new path for me . "

    When the others heard what Oliver said, they couldn¡¯t understand it . The only thing they knew was that Oliver had forgiven Emily .

    Hearing that Oliver had forgiven her, Emily then bowed to the other members and apologized to them again . When they saw Emily do this, some of them had mixed emotions . These some being Evangeline and Kei, they didn¡¯t like the idea Emily used a hallucinogen on them, but seeing how sincere she was in apologizing and seeing how no one was hurt . It felt like getting too angry was a waste .

    "You got to learn how to limit your pranks Emily . . . For now I will forgive you, but the next time I might not . . . Understand?" Evangeline looked at the bowing Emily with a sigh .

    "Thank you Evangeline, I understand . . . This will not happen again . Thank you for forgiving me . "

    After Evangeline forgave Emily, all the others did so as well . To Rachel this was something she was used too, she had even experienced something worse from Sayaka . Alex wasn¡¯t really that bothered by what Emily did . What bothered him was he was affected by a low level hallucinogen . He was also bothered that he wasn¡¯t able to detect the hallucinogen .

    ¡¯It seem like not only the Harimas need to train more, I do too . ¡¯

    Seeing as everyone forgave her, Emily sighed in relief . Still up to now she was wondering what had happened to Oliver . Also after he woke up, Emily noticed there was something different in Oliver¡¯s demeanour, it was subtle difference, but because her main use as a merc was doing recon she was sensitive to these kinds of things, so she noticed the change no matter how subtle .

    "So what do we do now?" Rachel asked the others .

    "How about we just go to sleep?" Evangeline suggested, in which everyone nodded their heads in agreement .

    . . .

    As everyoney in their futons, they couldn¡¯t sleep because of various thoughts going through their head . Rachel was wondering if what the Alice in her mind was saying was actually her questioning herself . Seeing as it was a hallucinogen and not a real ghost, that question must be from her, which she hidden deep in her subconscious mind .

    ¡¯Does Alex really love me? Or was that my misunderstanding?¡¯

    Evangeline and Kei were also having simr problems . The voice in their head was obviously not a ghost it was them thinking it .

    . . . .

    Emily was also having trouble sleeping . She knew and understood that this time she went too far, and almost got hated by everyone . If it were any other group, she would already been kicked out of it . Normally Emily wouldn¡¯t care about being kicked out of a group, but these people were special and Emily really liked them, so she was d that she wasn¡¯t kicked out .

    That was one thing that was on her mind, and the other thing was the changes happening to Oliver . She just couldn¡¯t understand what happened, also she couldn¡¯t quite pin point what changed with Oliver .

    . . . .

    Alex on the other hand was trying to figure out, how he could retrain himself while protecting Rachel . He could let three of the butlers and maids at home protect her, but she might get really ufortable with that .

    ¡¯I guess I need to ask for help . ¡¯

    . . .

    Yet the person who was having the most difficulty sleeping was none other than Oliver . Even now he was in a state of confusion .

    ¡¯That boy, those scenes, everyone of them felt so familiar at the same time not . ¡¯

    He wasn¡¯t sure what was real or what was fake anymore, but he knew that there was something going on with his memories . At the moment he has four different realities battling in his head . He wasn¡¯t sure which one was the real one, but he was going to find out one way or another .

 Chapter 176

    Chapter 176

    It was a terrible night for all of the members that went to the sleepover, but it was also very educational for them as well . They learned things about themselves that they didn¡¯t noticed or tried to ignore .

    Emily headed back to the mansion to pick up Lilitth, while the others started to get ready for school as well . Alex who was in a hurryst night wasn¡¯t able to bring his uniform, good thing Emily brought it for him .

    Evangeline called for her driver to bring her uniform as well as escort them to school . Oliver on the other hand bolted out and went back to his house to get changed, since he wasn¡¯t expecting this to happen . Good thing his parents were really cool with almost everything . . . Now Oliver started to think, if there was a reason for that .

    Kei was the only who was truly prepared for the sleepover . He took a bath changed clothes and was ready to go .

    It took Rachel and Evangeline some time to prepare . Once the two were done, the group went inside the car Evangeline requested . Usually Kei would hesitate to get in, but after tonight he felt a bit morefortable with being in this group .

    . . .

    When the group got to the gates of the school, Sayaka was there waiting for them . When she saw them the first thing she did was hug Rachel .

    "Sorry about not being there for you Rachel . "

    "It¡¯s alright Saya, but you need to tell me how you knew about the bounty on my head . " Rachel smiled gently at her best friend .

    "Sure . . . I will exin itter at lunch when everyone is present . " While Sayaka and Rachel were talking, Alex had noticed something different with Sayaka . The presence she was giving off was almost nonexistent, for someone like Alex who is used to sensing the presence of others more than using his eyes, he found this situation really weird .

    Not only was he unable to detect the hallucinogenst night, he was now having difficulty sensing the presence of others . If this continues he might not be able to protect Rachel properly .

    ¡¯I guess I really need to retrain myself . I hope hees quickly . . . ¡¯

    . . .

    While the group was having this conversation in front of the school gates . Emily was sending Lilitth to her school .

    "Emily nee-san, are you alright? You haven¡¯t spoken since we left the mansion . " Lilitth looked at Emily a little worried . The outspoken Emily hasn¡¯t talked since awhile ago . Usually when they were alone, Emily would immediately talk about her favorite anime .

    "Oh . . . Umm, it¡¯s nothing Lilitth, I was just thinking about something . No need to worry . . . Oh see were here already . . . I guess I¡¯ll see youter Lilitth . "

    "Emily nee-san-" As Lilitth was calling her name Emily left without hearing her out . Lilitth was really worried at this point .

    "I wonder what¡¯s happening to Emily nee-san . " As Lilitth thought about that, she suddenly saw a familiar person running to her .

    "Lilitth! Waaah!" Niki suddenly appeared and hugged Lilitth while crying .

    "Whoah, what¡¯s the problem Niki?"

    "Nii-nii, nii-nii has, nii-nii has waah!" Niki began to cry again and hugged Lilitth even tighter .

    . . .

    Back in Alex¡¯s school the students looked on in shock . Niel who stood in front of Alex and the gang with his usual radiant aura and smile, had something really different from yesterday . The almost, always perfect Niel had bandages on his arm .

    "What happened to our Niel!"

    "Who dares do that to Niel?! I¡¯ll kill him!"

    "Niel are you alright? Where does it hurt,e here I¡¯ll kiss it to make it all better . "

    "What the hell are you saying b*tch! What are you trying to do in the midst of the confusion . If anyone is going to kiss Niel¡¯s arms it¡¯s me!"

    A hugemotion happened when the student body saw Niel¡¯s bandaged arm . Even the other members of the Mercenary Club aside from Alex were shocked to see Niel¡¯s arm bandaged .

    "What happened to you Niel?" Rachel asked a bit worried .

    "It¡¯s nothing much, a criminal came into my house and tried to steal some stuff and I stopped him . . . Well unfortunately, he got the better of me and was able to stab my left arm . It was a good thing that I was able to contact the police beforehand and they were able toe and save me . "

    Niel told the others the story he and Alex approved of . The moment the other students heard what Niel said another uproar started .

    "Damn robber! Hurting Niel like that, it¡¯s a good thing the police were able toe on time . If not who knows what could have happened to Niel . "

    "Niel¡¯s so cool! Able to stop a vicious criminal all by himself!"

    "As expected of Niel, even when the criminal had a weapon he didn¡¯t back down . "

    Though the other students were convinced by Niel¡¯s exnation . The people of the Mercenary club plus Evangeline didn¡¯t believe what Niel said . It must have been some kind of amazing criminal if they were able to wound Niel so badly . If it were a normal robber Niel would¡¯ve dealt with him with ease . Still knowing that Niel doesn¡¯t seem like he wants to talk about it, the group decided not push him for answers .

    . . .

    It was now lunch time, and as usual everyone was in the clubroom, while Lyner was sleeping . All the members seem to be going through something at the moment since it wasn¡¯t as lively as usual .

    Emily and Sayaka who were usually the life of the group were silent as well . Seeing as no one was willing to speak, Rachel decided to be the one to break the silence .

    "So Saya, you told me that you would exin how you knew about the bounty on my head . Will you care to exin that, to me, now?"

    Sayaka who was quietly eating her meal, looked at Rachel . She saw that though Rachel¡¯s voice seem calm the look in her eyes said otherwise . Sayaka seeing her best friend like that, could only sigh before answering .

    "I guess I should, shouldn¡¯t I? . . . *sigh* Well Rachel and all my friends gathered here today . There¡¯s no easy way to tell this to you guys but . . . I¡¯m an assassin . "

    The moment Sayaka said this everything went quiet and after a few seconds, almost all the members shouted in unison .

    "WHAT?!"

 Chapter 177

    Chapter 177

    Everyone couldn¡¯t calm down after hearing what Sayaka said . She was an assassin! None of them couldn¡¯t have guessed that, even Emily was surprised . Everyone was silent for awhile trying to take in the new piece of information they acquired .

    Everyone was a bit shocked, but seeing how all the members present has a thing or two hidden in their past, hearing Sayaka was an assassin was surprising but it wasn¡¯t beyond imagination . Kei was the only one, who was truly shocked by this sudden reveal . After a short while of stunned silence Rachel spoke .

    "An assassin? The ones that kills for money?"

    " . . . Yah . " Sayaka decided just to be truthful about it

    "That would mean you have . . . " Rachel was hesitating to ask the question she wanted to hear an answer to . Sayaka saw the hesitation in Rachel¡¯s gestures . She had been Rachel¡¯s best friend for ten years now and she could easily understand what her best friend was thinking .

    "Yes, I have killed . . . Also I¡¯m not saying this to defend myself or anything, but just so you know . The people I kill are usually murderers, rapists, con artist, kidnappers and other such scum . "

    Alex the now awake Lyner, Emily and even Oliver didn¡¯t feel much when they heard that Sayaka has killed . Alex Emily, and Lyner had killed numerous people, and unlike Sayaka the people they killed were not necessarily bad .

    Sayaka hasn¡¯t even killed nearly enough peoplepared to the three of them . If there was a ranking of Kill count for the people in the room . Lyner would have first ce . Even though he has retired for a few years now, his kill count is the size of an army of a small nation . Alex would be second ce, his kill count nears the thousands . Third ce would be Emily who has killed a little over a hundred and then it would be Sayaka who has killed only a dozen or so .

    Meanwhile Rachel, Kei, and Niel were trying to take in what they heard . Rachel and Niel were just having a little trouble processing the new information, but Kei on the other hand was getting scared .

    He wanted to join this group to change himself, but he didn¡¯t want this kind of extreme changes . Now he knows someone that¡¯s a killer for hire . Though Sayaka said she only killed bad people, but who¡¯s to say if she was lying . Kei has only known these people for a couple of weeks and learning something like this was both exciting him, and scaring him .

    "I see . . . Since when have you started this job Sayaka? Does your father know what you¡¯re doing?" Rachel was still trying to ept the new information about her best friend, but keeping quiet made her feel a bit worse . So she just asked the next question that popped out of her mind .

    "I did my first assassination job two years ago . . . The answer to the other question is that my whole family knows, since it¡¯s you know . . . The family business . "

    When they heard that it was family business, the group was once again shocked by the statement . So that would mean every time Sayaka said she has to help doing a job for the family business she meant killing someone .

    ¡¯So the quality masks they produce is for infiltration and for them to be able to blend in without anyone noticing . ¡¯ Alex finally had some answers to questions he had, ever since meeting Sayaka .

    "I see . . . " Rachel hadplicated look right now . Sayaka was always afraid of seeing this kind of reaction from her best friend . This is why she said that she was an assassin in a straight forward manner, like it was a joke, it was to ease the tension .

    "Rachel, and everyone I understand if you don¡¯t want to be my friends after this, and if need be I could transfer schools . . . But before that, I just want to say . . . The only reason I told my secret to you guys . . . It¡¯s because I trust everyone in this room . . . I¡¯m sorry if I made you guys ufortable for being with someone like me . . . " Sayaka stood up from her position and was about to leave but before she was able to get near the door, someone held her arm .

    "What are you saying? Who doesn¡¯t want to be your friend? We¡¯ve been best friends since kindergarten . . . I was just a bit shocked in learning about your job . . . I guess in a way everyone is sorta like a killer, we kill to eat and all that nonsense . . . Aaargh! I guess what I¡¯m saying is . . . That no matter what your family background is like, you¡¯ll always be my goofy, lovable best friends Saya . " Rachel spoke in a weird, gentle, and annoyed tone .

    "She¡¯s right! You are ourrade, and no matter what I will never leave arade behind . " Oliver proudly proimed .

    "Oly . . . "

    "Truth be told I am a little scared of you at the moment Sayaka, but at this same time I¡¯m excited . I have only known you for a few weeks, but if your personality that I saw isn¡¯t a facade and is real, then I can somehow ept you being an assassin . " Kei gave his input as well .

    "You and me were tight like sisters, so no need to act so emotional . " Emily tried to lighten the mood, as she smilingly ced her hand on Sayaka who was taller than her .

    "What kind of Senior would I be, if I don¡¯t try to understand the situation of my junior . I would be bad one if I did that . But more than that, what kind of friend would I be, if I let you feel bad about yourself . So there¡¯s no need for all that nonsense about transferring schools . We¡¯re your friends and I¡¯m sure everyone in the Mercenary Club acknowledges you . " Niel with his usual radiant aura and smile, encouraged Sayaka .

    "Kei, Emily, Niel . . . "

    "I might not understand much, but you are my friend Emily . . . That will never change . "

    When everyone heard Alex say this, even with his usual poker face and indifferent tone of voice, it was still a surprising statement .

    "Alex . . . Thank you . " Even Sayaka was overwhelmed by what Alex said, much more than when Rachel stopped her from leaving .

    "Ohrade are you going soft on me? . . . Heh, well that¡¯s a good thing . " Oliverughed heartily and others followed suit .

    "Damn it! It¡¯s not like I care, but just to get this over with, while all of you people are in some sort of mood . I will say this once and only once, so listen up . I your teacher and club adviser, is the one and only SS rank merc of Berdonia . That means I¡¯m the most powerful f*cking thing in this country . . . Oh now I feel better, with that out of the way, I guess I¡¯ll go back to sleep . . . Good night . " Out of nowhere Lyner suddenly dropped a bomb at his students .

    "WHAT!!!" Once again almost all the mercenary club members screamed in shock .

    ¡¯What is this? Is there a virus that makes people want to reveal their real identity? Don¡¯t tell me Alex would be next? Or worse me!¡¯ Emily was having weird thoughts after hearing Lyner¡¯s confession .

    Alex on the other hand was actually feeling a bit guilty, the other members even Lyner had revealed a portion of their secrets . Should he do so too?

    ¡¯I can¡¯t do that . . . It would jeopardize the sess of the mission . . . ¡¯ Alex at this very moment was feeling very conflicted . This has never happened before on past missions, only now in this particr mission, and it didn¡¯t happen just once . It happened on numerous asions, all throughout this one mission .

    The emotions that he had sealed deep inside his subconscious were slowinging out . Alex at this point hasn¡¯t noticed anything yet, but the gates have been slowly opening .

 Chapter 178

    Chapter 178

    The news of Lyner being the one and only SS rank merc of Berdonia was a shock to the group, but not as much as Sayaka being an assassin . The way Lyner acted and talked was already a dead giveaway, so hearing him proiming himself to be a merc wasn¡¯t that surprising .

    What truly surprised the group was his rank of SS . The mercs known to the public were usually B rank mercs, the most famous one was a movie star . On the other hand A rank mercs above were always unknown figures some even thought that there was no rank above B .

    Seeing how the B rank merc who was a movie star, did all his stunts which were all unbelievable . They couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of skills Lyner truly had .

    The guy who was usually asleep turned out to be someone unbelievable . . . Still now that they think about it, this could exin why he was treated like a King by the other staff members, and why he gets paid even if he sleeps all day .

    . . .

    Same with Sayaka the group wanted to do some Q and A with Lyner, but that proved difficult since once again he was already in deep sleep . Alex warned everyone present, if someone was stupid enough to get near Lyner while in that state, they might actually die .

    After hearing what Alex said no one tried to wake up the sleeping dragon .

    . . .

    Lunch time was now over and everyone went back to their ssrooms, except for Kei who directly went into the restroom, and hid himself in there . Kei was now sitting down on the toilet seat shivering in fear .

    Awhile ago he looked like he epted the idea of Sayaka being an assassin, as well as Lyner being the one and only SS rank merc of Berdonia . But in truth he was scared sh*tless, worse of all he was alone in this fear . Based on how everyone reacted it would seem like he was the only one scared .

    In his head, that could only mean one thing . The other members had equally scary backgrounds .

    "Okay I need to calm down . " Kei tried to control the shivering of his body, as he started to hyperventte . He then began to look at his phone and typed SS rank merc theories . This was something he does to calm down, when he learns a shocking news, he tries to gain more information .

    This might sound counterproductive to some, but to Kei it wasn¡¯t . There were many theories about SS rank mercs, it said that each of threergest countries had one . Yet the one who was most famous was the recently appointed SS rank merc of Berdonia .

    That merc even had a verse dedicated to him .

    Run, run, run, cause here hees .

    Run, run, run, for the monsteres .

    A Swish of his de and your head begone

    With the shot of his gun, you¡¯re all but done .

    This new piece of information made Lyner seem like the boogeyman, but much scarier since he was real, and he was his club adviser . The more Kei searched online, the more Kei understood how frightening Lyner was .

    Of course some of the information was bogus, but Kei knew which ones were lies, and which one were real . This was one of the skills he acquired after a long time gathering information, it was like a sixth sense of sorts .

    ¡¯Sir Lyner has once raided the base of two of the ten Generals of the Granado Empire . He was even suspected to have killed the son of one of them . ¡¯ At this point Kei was looking for information in the deep web . Some of the things written here about Lyner was too exaggerated to be true .

    ¡¯This can¡¯t be real right? Sir Lyner was once ambushed by four S rank mercs, with one hundred B rank mercs, and even mid tier soldiers . It even says he left only one alive to tell the story . This is too much to be true . . . ¡¯ Even though he was saying it was too much, Kei¡¯s instincts was telling him otherwise .

    As he went in deeper Kei was shocked to see, that Lyner was not only involved with the top ranks of the Granado Empire, but the Southern union as well . He read that one of the three Saints, the female Saint had actually proposed to Lyner, and he fled .

    That female Saint has tried numerous times to enter Berdonia to chase Lyner, but the government wouldn¡¯t allow it . Even though Berdonia and the Southern Union weren¡¯t antagonistic like the Granado Empire, they weren¡¯t friends either . The rtionship between the two nations was in a neutral stance . So seeing that one of the Saints wants to mess around with an SS rank merc of another country, of course the country protected Lyner .

    There was a lot more information about Lyner, but Kei wanted to check about Sayka¡¯s family too . He looked online and all it says was Sayaka¡¯s family is a respected old family of Berdonia, that existed since its making, when Berdonia broke away from the Empire .

    Obviously there was no mention about them being assassins, but there was a lot of information about them being great artisans . It was even mentioned that the masks they make were second to none .

    Kei kept on digging until he found an old thread in one of the forums about famous killings . It was said here, that there was a theory that in Berdonia lives a fearsome family of assassins . This assassin family was so good that all there murders would look like idents or suicide .

    It was also said that this family produced the strongest assassin called . . . It was only up to there and the post doesn¡¯t continue anymore .

    Kei tried to dig into it deeper but there was no more information about this so called legendary assassin family of Berdonia . All the forums and threads pertaining them don¡¯t exist, except that one old thread .

    It was like they left that thread to be a warning for the others that were trying to learn more . Kei was now unsure, if he could truly look Sayaka in the face and not shiver in fear . Though for some reason it was not only fear, he was feeling, Kei was also feeling excited as well .

    It was like he was part of something bigger . It was like he was the protagonist of a story, where he stumbles upon an exciting new world he wasn¡¯t suppose to be a part off, yet now he was .

    Kei always dreamt of breaking away his normal mundane life . That¡¯s also one of the reasons he liked collecting information about other people, since it felt like they were living a more exciting life than he was .

    Yet now he was actually living in that exciting life, and he wants to back out? Could he even back out at this point? Kei was feeling really conflicted . He was just a normal high school boy, that was a bit better than most in collecting information . That was it, aside from that there was nothing special about him .

    His scores in school weren¡¯t high nor were they low . His athletic ability was a bit better than most, and his looks were pretty much average . If you look at him in a crowd of people you would have difficulty finding him .

    ¡¯This might be my only chance to join this kind of world . . . What should I do?¡¯ Kei was in a crossroads in his life .

 Chapter 179

    Chapter 179: 179

    Kei was scared to make that step forwards, towards the unknown . He was unsure of what might happen if he did continue onwards with this group of people . Will he be able to change? More than that will he be able to survive? Though this world¡¯s main trade was war, Kei had no experience in fighting .

    He was unsure if he could defend himself, if a problemes . Based on what he has seen, and the other information he has gathered . All the members of the Mercenary Club except for him, has the ability to defend themselves .

    Still if he passes this chance to join this new world, he might regret itter . He knew like everyone else that a war was happening outside the borders, but being a normal citizen Kei never expected to find people rted to that world so near him .

    He was scared to make a decision, but if he doesn¡¯t decide now he might hesitateter and lose the chance to go forward . ¡¯What should I do?¡¯

    . . .

    While Kei was having his dilemma, Lyner was also having a little dilemma of his own . He waited for the kids to leave the clubroom, before he sat on his bed .

    Lyner sighed as for the first time in a long time, he was having difficulty sleeping . "What the hell did I just do? Why did I tell them that?"

    Lyner was caught up in the moment awhile ago, which is why he just said a national secret to some students . Worse case scenario if the information is told to anyone else, and the government finds out that they leaked his identity . Worse case scenario, the kids would be terminated, or in the best case scenario they¡¯ll only be ced under surveince .

    Well he wasn¡¯t worried too much about that, since all of them were tight lipped, and he was sure they understood the significance of this information .

    This event got him thinking . It has been years since hest went to the battlefield, and he was already nearing forty . It doesn¡¯t seem like he would be able to find that battle he was craving for .

    ¡¯Is this the end of my adventurers? Lazing around in school and always sleeping? Those kids are moving forward, while I stayed the same for the past few years . Even though I did take that one kid as my apprentice, but . . . ¡¯

    Lyner was now contemting what he should do next . He wasn¡¯t allowed by the country to leave . He wasn¡¯t even allowed to go to the battlefield because of his country . Seeing as he was thest line of defense against foreign invaders, he was a deterrent to the other powers .

    It was at this point Lyner felt even more constricted .

    ¡¯Heh . . . How funny, I used to be the most free of them all . Now I¡¯m the one with the most restrictions . . . I guess I should have taken Anita¡¯s offer and became her husband, at least that would have less restrictions . . . ¡¯

    Lyner the strongest merc of Berdonia sat on his bed feeling sorry for himself . He who was feared all throughout the battlefield was now sitting down on a bed, in a school, as some kids club adviser .

    ¡¯What the hell happened to me?! When did I care about what the government thinks?! Screw the government, if they get in my way then I just annihte them . I¡¯ll do what I want! When I want to!¡¯

    Lyner was feeling fired up as he thought about this, but then that fire burnt out .

    ¡¯Now that I think about it, what is it that I want to do? I can¡¯t fight the other SS rank mercs, since that could start another all out war . Even I¡¯m not that stupid to do that . . . I could finish off old man Tang, but that could prove to be boring . . . Oh, this time I could propose to Anita, sincest time she was the one who proposed marriage it could be fun to see her reaction if I did it . . . I guess I¡¯ll just put that in the back, since that could make most of the Southern Union men hate me . . . What else could I do . . . ¡¯

    Lyner sat there on his bed continuing to think, what other things he could do to amuse himself .

    . . .

    While Lyner was thinking about what to do next, Alex was having his own internal problems as well . Sayaka and Lyner had told the others what they truly were . This made Alex feel a bit guilty .

    Even though he had no obligation to tell the others he was a merc, also they didn¡¯t even asked about it, so why should he go out of his way to tell it . Still it somehow felt like he wronged them .

    ¡¯Why am I even thinking about this? What merit is there to telling them the truth? . . . There is none, so then why should I do it?¡¯

    Alex couldn¡¯t concentrate in ss at the moment, which the teacher noticed, but didn¡¯t bother to point out . Since based on past experiences pointing it out would only lead to him shaming himself as a teacher .

    . . .

    Oliver was also having some thoughts about what happened recently . Not only was he dealing with the idea of his memories being false, but now he finds out that Sayaka was an assassin, and their club adviser Lyner was a SS rank merc .

    He had epted their situation, but it was still hard for him to fully take in the situation .

    . . .

    Emily had epted the situation regarding Lyner quite easily, since Alex had already briefed her about it before . The only thing that surprised her awhile ago was the news that Sayaka was an assassin .

    ¡¯Still the two of them decided to say who they truly were in front of the others . I wonder if Alex is thinking of doing the same thing? . . . Hmmm, if he decides to tell, then I guess I¡¯ll tell as well . I wonder if he tells, will he also tell about Lilitth? I hope he doesn¡¯t, I would hate to see the others treat Lilitth differently after hearing she¡¯s an artificial human . . . Still they did ept Sayaka, so why not Lilitth? . . . No matter, I¡¯ll just wait and see what Alex decides and just follow his lead . ¡¯

    . . .

    Rachel too had many thoughts about the news she recently heard, which made her question if the others were hiding something as well . Alex and Emily obviously felt like they were hiding something . Kei even though he acts like that, he could also be hiding something . If he could hide something, how about Oliver?

    When Rachel got to that point in her thoughts, she stopped . If she keeps on thinking everybody is hiding something, she might actually suffer from paranoia .

    ¡¯What does it matter? Everyone has secrets that they don¡¯t tell, I just need to be patient and maybe just like what Sir Lyner did they might feel like opening up . ¡¯

 Chapter 180

    Chapter 180: 180

    The day in school pass by faster than usual, as each member of the mercenary club had numerous thoughts going through their minds . Some of them had an epiphany, others had made a life changing choice, while some remained the same .

    The day was over and it was once again time to head towards the Drama Club¡¯s clubroom . The members of the Mercenary Club who were heading there, told Niel that he should rest for today since he¡¯s injured . Niel hearing his juniors suggestion simply smiled his radiant smile, and still went with them .

    When everyone got to the clubroom, they were still waiting for one more person before they make the announcement about who would y the female lead . Kei was the only one missing, if he didn¡¯t show up after five more minutes, they decided to simply message him about the decision of who will y which role .

    After a few short minutes, Kei had finally arrive in the clubroom, seemingly a bit a different from before . He looked like a person who had a weight finally lifted from his shoulders . He actually looked like he was enlightened . Without any hesitation, he directly went in front of Sayaka with a serious face and spoke .

    "Sayaka there is something I need to say to you . " The people of the Drama Club as well as the Mercenary club member were shocked to see Kei¡¯s aggressiveness . He was usually the meekest and the least known in the group know as the Mercenary Club . So seeing this sudden change in him shocked most of the people watching .

    Usually at this point Kei would have been self conscious at all the staring people, but this time he didn¡¯t mind it at all . His eyes were burning passionately about something, as he looked at the confused Sayaka .

    Oliver seeing this was somehow feeling a bit ufortable about the situation . He didn¡¯t understand why, but he kinda felt like he wanted to punch Kei in the face .

    "Sayaka I want you to hear this, and know I¡¯m serious about it . " When the others heard Kei say this, they gotten all excited . This felt like it was going to be a confession of love . The drama club, as the named implied live for this kind of thing, which excited all the members present .

    At this point even Emily felt a bit weird, and wanted to stop Kei from doing what he was going to do . She didn¡¯t understand why she wanted to stop it, but she did and it made her feel ufortable . Not only did the eventst night go beyond her expectations, even the person she felt the mostfortable with was doing something she wasn¡¯t expecting .

    ¡¯What is this weird feeling?¡¯ Though Emily seemed like she knew it all, but in truth she was like Alex and Lilitth, she had almost no knowledge of how to act normal . The only clue she got was from reading a bunch of shoujo manga, watching anime, and hearing second hand discussion about it . All that didn¡¯t prepare her for this kind of stuff .

    Alex was also looking at what Kei was doing and found it weird . Why did he keep on pausing? Why doesn¡¯t he just say what he wanted to say, also why is everyone reacting weirdly?

    . . .

    Even Rachel was shocked by this sudden scene, even though she has been confessed to a bunch of times, this was the first time she saw someone else¡¯s confession, and it was two people she knew . One of which was her best friend .

    Sayaka who was in the middle of this was having difficulty thinking . She had a lot of experience being confessed to, but this was the first time a boy had such resolve in his eyes . It was overwhelming to see that kind of look from the average looking Kei .

    Kei on the other hand was getting a bit conscious about the people watching, since it felt like their stares were intensifying . Still he gritted his teeth, and mmed his hand on the wall shocking Sayaka and pushing her backward, making her back lean on the wall .

    Kei looked Sayaka in the eye, while strengthening his resolve .

    "Sayaka . . . No Saya, I know we¡¯ve known each other only for a few weeks, and that isn¡¯t really much time to truly understand a person . . . Still I believe after what happened at lunch, I think I¡¯ve took a glimpse at the real Saya . . . The person that believed in her friends and chose to show her vulnerable side, that person look so charming to me . . . Damn . . . This is kind of difficult to say . . . So I¡¯m going to say this only once and I hope you listen closely . "

    Sayaka who was still confused and overwhelmed simply nodded her head . She could hear her heart pounding, ever so loudly . At first she was going to reject Kei as kindly as possible, but now she wasn¡¯t sure . She might actually say yes, because of the atmosphere .

    Oliver who was watching in the sidelines, somehow felt like if he didn¡¯t act out now, he might regret itter . Still what should he say in this kind of situation?

    Emily was also having some difficulty watching this . She felt excited and weirdly disappointed . She knew she felt excited because of how manly and aggressive Kei was being at the moment . Which made it look like one of her shoujo manga¡¯s . Also it was such a major change in personality from his background character state, that she felt really weirdly excited . On the other hand she also felt disappointed which she couldn¡¯t understand the reason as to why .

    Niel who was watching as well looked at everything with eyes like a parent looking at his children growing up . Alex on the other hand felt like he should take notes about what¡¯s happening and ask his dad about it, when he talks to him again .

    "Saya, I have strengthen my resolve to say this to you . I know I don¡¯t seem like the type of guy to say this, in front of all these people, but what you did awhile ago gave me the strength and confidence to move forward . So Saya I-" Everyone who was watching was holding their breaths at this moment and waited for Kei to continue .

 Chapter 181

    Chapter 181: 181

    Everyone was on the edge of their seats as they waited to hear what Kei had to say . When Kei noticed that everyone was staring at him so intently he was kind of having second thoughts in saying what he wanted to say . Now that all the adrenaline was dying out he thought that this was a bad idea .

    Sayaka who was waiting anxiously for Kei to speak got confused as Kei stopped speaking mid-sentence . What happened?

    "Kei, is everything alright?" Sayaka asked now a bit worried .

    "Oh, it¡¯s nothing where was I yes . . . Oh right, Saya I-" Before Kei could say anything more, Oliver suddenly butted in .

    "Saya, I like you will you please go out with me!?" Oliver suddenly shouted out of nowhere . At first, everyone was stunned to hear what he just said, but after a few moment, almost everyone squealed .

    "It¡¯s an actual love triangle!"

    "This is great, everyone gather around and take notes on how they¡¯ll react . "

    Rachel who was beside Oliver when he had that sudden outburst was shocked . She couldn¡¯t believe that Oliver the delusional Oliver told everyone he loves Sayaka . Alex was also shocked to hear what Oliver said .

    Wasn¡¯t this life just a cover up for his real life? . . . Or is it because Oliver now knew that Sayaka was an assassin that¡¯s why he was willing to take this risk and bring her to his real life .

    Emily, on the other hand, felt like rooting for Oliver and was getting even more excited .

    . . .

    When Sayaka and Kei heard what Oliver said they were both shocked . Sayaka, in particr, couldn¡¯t believe her ears . Was she perhaps dreaming is that why all of this was happening . Still, she might have misheard it, so just to make sure she asked .

    "Oly what did you just say?"

    "I said that I like you Saya, and I want you to be my girlfriend . " As Oliver was saying this he approached Saya and Kei . Oliver with hisrge body frame made Kei look like a little kid, as he stood face to face with him .

    "I¡¯m sorry for cutting in Kei, but I just needed to say that . " Kei looked at Oliver in confusion . He wasn¡¯t sure why Oliver burst out like that .

    While Sayaka was still in a state of shock, Kei still continued on . "It¡¯s alright Oliver, do you want to answer him first Saya or do I finish what I was saying . "

    Whoah at this moment too many of the Drama club members Kei was looking very cool . Even though his confession was intercepted and someone else, confessed to the same girl he didn¡¯t mind . Sayaka was still in a stunned state so she wasn¡¯t able to answer .

    "Seeing as your not talking, I¡¯m going to continue saying what I wanted to say . So Sayaka all in all I just wanted to say that I wasn¡¯t honest with you during lunchtime . I said I epted you but in truth, I was scared of you . But now I want you to know, I understand and I¡¯ll stick by you no matter what because you are my friend . . . Oh, that felt good, to get out of my system . "

    The moment Kei was finished talking, everyone else was bewildered and a bit disappointed . So it wasn¡¯t a love triangle, Kei was just apologizing for something, using a long-winded manner that confused everyone . Why the hell would he do that?!

    . . .

    Emily who heard what Kei said for some reason felt relieved, she couldn¡¯t understand why, but she had no time to deal with that now since something fun was about to happen .

    Sayaka and Oliver were the most shocked about what Kei said . They were expecting something different which made them feel a bit ashamed, but now that was cleared up a different problem arisen .

    Oliver who was still stunned by the unexpected ending to Kei¡¯s speech was waiting anxiously for Sayaka¡¯s answer . Even though what Kei did forced him to this situation, but he didn¡¯t regret it one bit . He was going to realize his feelings one way or another, so why chicken out .

    Sayaka who was still in a stunned state looked at Oliver . He too looked a bit shocked but that was only for a moment . The shocked state he was in, changed into one with a strong resolve same as Kei¡¯s awhile ago .

    Seeing Oliver like that, she was sure that Oliver was serious . With that in mind, Sayaka was finally able to calm herself down .

    "Oly, just to make sure . . . You did confess your feelings to me, right?"

    "Yeah . "

    "You did say you like me, right?"

    "Yeah . "

    "You said you wanted me to be your girlfriend, right?" Oliver nodded his head and answered .

    "That¡¯s right . So what do you say?" Sayaka smiled when she heard Oliver confirm everything with such conviction .

    "Can you wait for the answer Oliver, I just need to think about it for a bit . " When everyone heard Sayaka¡¯s answer they were really disappointed they wanted to hear her say yes, making them all over react to the situation, so that they could practice just in case a scene like this pops up in a future y .

    "It¡¯s alright, take your time . " The moment Oliver said this, the group of people dispersed . When everyone else seem to go back to doing there own thing, Sayaka pulled Oliver closer and whispered something in his ear .

    "Meet me after school in the coffee shop we went to the other day . "

    . . .

    Emily walked towards Kei and spoke him . "That was a nice thing you did Kei . "

    "Yeah . It¡¯s what Sayaka deserves . " Hearing what Kei said with a conflicted expression Emily walked away . In truth Kei wasn¡¯t really going to just say he epted Sayaka as a friend, he was going to go beyond that, and was going to do the same thing Oliver did and confess . But true to form, he kept on hesitating and the girl was taken just like that .

    ¡¯Well I guess I wasn¡¯t really in love or anything, it was probably just the fear from awhile ago changing into something else . Yeah that must be it . ¡¯

    Seeing Kei feeling a bit better, Emily couldn¡¯t help but smile at the guy . She knew what he really wanted to do . She also knew why he changed what he wanted to say . Knowing all this, made Emily a bit more intrigued by Kei .

    . . .

    "Okay then now that all of that is done and over with, back to the announcement of who will be the female lead . " When everyone heard Katrina speaking they finally remembered what they were doing before Kei interrupted .

 Chapter 182

    Chapter 182

    Everyone gathered to hear what Katrina was going to say . The war story that they were going to act out had changed . They also needed to change out some parts to fit what happened to Niel¡¯s right arm, seeing as it wouldn¡¯t be healing any time soon . He was now the hot-headed rookie that got his arm shot off and will die in the ze of glory .

    Now that everyone¡¯s attention was on Katrina she finally announced who would be the female lead . "Everyone of you knows that Emily and I have changed the script to fit the added actors . So because of these changes, we decided to have a female lead in our story . So without further ado, our female lead for the uing y is none other than Kei Kaido . "

    When everyone heard Katrina¡¯s words they got confused . They all thought that they had misheard what was said .

    "Sorry Katrina, did you say Kei?" One of the members of the Drama Club asked .

    "Yep . "

    "As the female lead?" Another asked .

    "Yep . "

    "You do know Kei¡¯s a guy, right?" This time it was Rachel who chimed in .

    "Of course I do know that . I¡¯m just saying we¡¯re going to dress him up and turn him pretty . " Katrina smiled mischievously .

    "Oh . " All the girls said in unison . Kei who was still in a state of shock due to the failed confession he did, was once again shocked by the sudden announcement .

    "I¡¯m not doing it, no, I¡¯m not!" After saying this Kei made run for it .

    "Get him!" Katrina yelled, in which Alex responded and gave chase . Seeing it was Alex who was giving chase no one else moved .

    "Is this your idea, Emily?" Rachel came close to Emily and asked her .

    "Not entirely, at first I said let Niel be the female lead . Can you imagine that guy wearing makeup and dressing up . " Rachel thought of it for a second and imagined Niel wearing such a thing . She imagined the tall Niel wearing a gown, and wig, with some make-up the result was a hot olderdy with long silky ck hair .

    "Oh my God, she¡¯s even prettier than my mom . "

    "Right . . . But seeing as he has bandages covering his arm, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do it . So the next choice was Kei . Even though he wouldn¡¯t be able to match up to Niel, but he would be still very cute . Here is a picture I made using some photoshop . " Emily gave Rachel the picture, she printed off a Kei wearing a wig and some make-up .

    "He is pretty cute, but why choose a guy to do this? Won¡¯t it be better to use an actual girl?"

    "We could do that, but where is the re in doing that? Wouldn¡¯t it be more exciting to shock the audience by showing Kei¡¯s transformation?"

    "I guess you¡¯re right . . . Also, we could have fun dressing him up, and applying make-up on him . " Rachel couldn¡¯t help but smile mischievously as well, as she thought about it .

    . . .

    After a few more minutes Alex was able to capture Kei and bring him back to the clubroom . Some of the members of the Mercenary Club was shocked to see that it took Alex awhile to capture Kei . Seeing speed wise it wasn¡¯t even a contest .

    Even Alex was shocked that Kei was able to elude him for so long . This strengthened his doubts that he was getting a bit rusty .

    Unknown to everyone else, the reason why Kei was able to elude Alex for so long, was because he knew theyout of the school better than Alex . He knew every shortcut, every timed appearance of a person passing by, he knew it all .

    Even though Alex did some recon on theyout of the building as well, he wasn¡¯t all as adept and knowledgable as Kei .

    . . .

    Kei who was knocked out by Alex finally woke up . He felt like something was different . He wasn¡¯t wearing his uniform anymore . He was wearing a nurse¡¯s uniform and was even wearing a bra with some apples ced in it .

    He then noticed everyone was taking pictures of him . It was at this point his rity came back and he knew what had happened .

    He was going to get angry and rip off the nurse¡¯s uniform in rage, but before he could do so someone stopped him . His right hand was being held down by Rachel while his left hand was held by Emily .

    "You don¡¯t want to do that Kei, not only is the uniform a rental, the moment you undress in front of all these people taking pictures, while you are wearing make-up wouldn¡¯t really do well for you," Rachel whispered to Kei .

    "Besides when you like this you stand out more . Wasn¡¯t that one of your goals to stand out more, well right now you¡¯re doing it . " Emily jokingly spoke to Kei as well .

    Kei then noticed Alex, Oliver, Niel, and the three boys of the Drama Club . Kei looked at them signaling them to help him, but no one did anything . Oliver put his two hands together while saying sorry with no sound just his lips moving up and down . The three boys of the Drama Club weren¡¯t much help as they were also taking pictures of Kei .

    Niel just showed his fits, as if saying you can do it . Finally, Alex didn¡¯t understand why he was asking for help . To him, Kei wearing the nurses uniform with a wig and some make-up was what he needed to do, to help the Drama Club .

    If Katrina the Drama Club president told Alex to cross-dress as well, he would¡¯ve done so, if it was for the club .

    . . .

    Seeing as the other guys were of no use, Kei had no choice but to ept his fate . Not only was his confession a bust, but he was now put in this embarrassing situation . While Kei was feeling sorry for himself Emily suddenly whispered something .

    "I¡¯m sorry about this Kei, at first Niel was suppose to do it, but you know what happened to his arm . . . Let me make it up to you . This Saturday how about we go out and do something you like, or eat something you like, my treat . "

    When Kei heard this, he remembered that steak ce he wanted to try, but was unable to get into because he had no budget . Seeing his reaction Emily smiled . "It seems like you¡¯re not against it . I¡¯ll be waiting in front of the statue near the park, you know the statute of the founder . It¡¯s a date . "

    Kei who heard this was brought back from his daydreaming and was about to cancel, but before he could do so, Emily already left the scene . He was then about to follow, but the group of girls surrounded him while giggling and taking pictures of him .

    When Kei saw the fading back of Emily, he could now only sigh . What a day this was, first he was scared sh*tless about learning that Sayaka was an assassin . Then he failed to confess his feelings of infatuation, while one of his friends did so instead . Now he was dressed up like a girl, and then finally he was invited to a date by Emily .

    What a day it was .

 Chapter 183

    Chapter 183

    While his son was having a very weird and amazing high school life, Carlo was in the middle of the enemy base, with his future wife, and his two best friends . The four of them had finally figured out the wholeyout of the building . It took them quite some time but they finally did it .

    They were now heading towards the ce where the mastermind of this whole mess was hiding in this building . The four had bypassed the security and were now inside a room filled with paintings of historical events . It even had two balconies on opposite sides . At the end of the room ced in a higher ground sat a fifteen-year-old boy, who was wearing the formal wear of an ancient Berdonian nobleman .

    "Oh, so you¡¯re finally able to reach me here . It¡¯s really nice to see you face to face, and you even brought your friends . " The boy stood up from his chair and looked down upon Carlo and his group .

    "So who do we have here . Carlo Samarita the messenger of Death, Dan Regius the blond devil, Ryu Yamato the silent de, and even Michel Dodger thedy with a thousand weapons . Four of the seven strongest of Berdonia are gathered here today . What a delight this is, I would¡¯ve liked it if your son was able toe as well, Alexander the silent sh . You should¡¯ve invited his teacher as well, Lyner the monster of the battlefield . Then if everyone was present I would have called for the Shadow as well . "

    The fifteen-year-old boy who hasn¡¯t named himself was obviously the mastermind of all the cr*p that was happening to Carlo and his family . He even in front of four strong mercs, was casually talking as if he were meeting his longtime friends . He may look like a young boy but Carlo and the group knew he was very dangerous .

    "How rude of you, you know our names but we don¡¯t know yours," Carlo spoke with a wry smile on his face .

    "Oh, you¡¯re right, how silly of me . I am Reghinald Berdonia . " When the four heard the name of the boy, they were a little surprised . He had the exact same name as the brother of the founder of Berdonia . He either named himself as such, or there was a deeper meaning behind this .

    "Don¡¯t be so tense, why don¡¯t you guys seat for a minute while I call one of my men to bring us some refreshments . "

    "Don¡¯t bother we¡¯re not staying for long . " When Carlo said this, he and hispanions got their weapons out .

    "Oh, so we¡¯re going straight to business, Very well . " Reghinald snapped his fingers, and a torrent of soldiers came from the other side of the walls . Some were even positioned in the balconies aiming the rifles at them .

    "How about taking a seat while we talk business?" Reghinald once again offered .

    "No thank you, we prefer to stand . " Even in this situation, Carlo kept his cool . He then proceeded to do some hand signals behind his back . The hand signals he used is only known by him and hispanions . When they saw his signals they knew what to do next .

    "I see, as you wish . So why did youe here? Heh, who am I kidding it¡¯s obvious you came to assassinate me, seeing as you four are traitors of Berdonia . . . "

    "How are we traitors? We¡¯re mercenaries and whatever BS you¡¯re ming on us, it¡¯s just part of our job . "

    "Hmph, mercenaries . . . Lyner the strongest merc of Berdonia has never taken a mission against his country . Unlike you four who has sometimes dealt with Berdonian forces . "

    "Heh, you mean those killers, that were attacking a civilian group . "

    "Those weren¡¯t killers, they were the angels of justice for those things . Those things that they killed weren¡¯t people, they were Granado Empire scum . It was their bad luck to be born as those disgusting creatures . They should thank those soldiers for killing them, if they¡¯re lucky they would be reborn as Berdonian . "

    Carlo and the others knew that Reghinald was crazy, but when they heard what he said, they just reaffirmed it .

    "Oh, I see that foolish looks in your eyes . It¡¯s the same look my brother showed me all those years ago . He thought I was crazy! He said that if we do it my way, we would be the thing we hated the most! Yet look who is still alive, and who¡¯s rotting in the ground! If only he listened to me, he would be standing here right beside me!"

    Carlo and his group couldn¡¯t understand what Reghinald was ranting about, as they remained vignt of the surrounding soldiers .

    " . . . Sorry about that, I lost my, what do the kids say again . . . Oh, right I lost my cool . So let me ask you for onest time . Will you join me, and save the world . "

    Carlo looked at hispanions and the four of them nodded at each other .

    "Before I answer can you tell me, what you mean by saving the world . " Hearing what Carlo said made Reghinald smile .

    "So you are interested, well obviously you are since you¡¯re Berdonian . What I mean when I say save the world, it¡¯s by ridding itself of all the other inferior races . Only Berdonians can be called human, everyone else is just a pack of wild animals . So, Carlo, can I expect you and your team asrades? Of course, you should kill all the non-Berdonians in your group before we could ept you . "

    "Sorry to disappoint you Reghinald, but no way in hell would I and my team will join a psycho like you . That¡¯s my answer, the long one, and here is my short answer . " Carlo and his group all showed Reghinald their middle fingers and pointed at him .

    Seeing this made Reghinald frown . "I expected more from a Berdonian . " Reghinald was about to give the signal to shoot, but before he could do so Carlo smilingly showed Reghinald a button, which he pressed .

    The moment Carlo pressed the button something under the floors exploded .

 Chapter 184

    Chapter 184

    After the fiasco with Kei, the group was able to do some practicing . Kei was as expected unable to act well, his voice was also a bit husky making it sound weird with his new looks . So after a brief discussion, they decided that Rachel would be doing a voice over for Kei .

    Seeing as she wouldn¡¯t be able to be the female lead, being the voice of the female lead was good as well . It was quite hard to match up to her voice with Kei¡¯s moving mouth, but after a few more tries she was able to get the timing right .

    After an hour of practicing the group from the Drama Club as well as the Mercenary Club needed to leave .

    . . .

    As the group was heading towards Lilitth and Niki¡¯s school, Emily and Rachel sandwiched Sayaka in between them .

    "So Saya what are you going to do about Oliver?" Rachel whispered to Sayaka .

    "You¡¯ll find out tomorrow, it¡¯s going to be a surprise . "

    "Oh, don¡¯t act coy, we all know that you¡¯re going to say yes . " Emily chimed in, and the girls started giggling .

    On the boy¡¯s side, Alex closed in on Oliver . He then whispered something to his friend . "Oliver are you sure about this? Asking Saya to be your girlfriend . "

    "I¡¯m sure . "

    "Even though she is an assassin, do you think she would be able to handle your lifestyle?" Alex was obviously referring to his Oliver¡¯s lifestyle as a mercenary . When Oliver heard Alex say this, another thought pass through his mind .

    Oliver¡¯s mind was currently in a very weird state that he couldn¡¯t understand so it might have some problems with the rtionship he wanted . Still as a man and one who wants to stand in the pinnacle of strength, sweating the small stuff such as this, didn¡¯t feel right .

    "It¡¯s alright Alex I can handle it, and I¡¯m sure she could as well . If she can¡¯t, then I¡¯ll protect her . " Oliver spoke with assurance as he answered .

    Alex who saw the resolute Oliver felt something weird . ¡¯To make Oliver decide to do this, he must really love Saya . . . ¡¯ For some reason, Alex looked at Rachel for a moment, before he shook his head .

    ¡¯What the hell am I thinking? Why am I thinking about it? Damn it, what is this feeling? These people have opened up to me, and I remained the same . What¡¯s the point of all this strength that I gained? What¡¯s the purpose, why did I do this?¡¯

    Alex had gone silent as he started to question himself . Oliver unaware of what was going on thought that he and Alex were having a moment .

    . . .

    Kei, on the other hand, was having even more problems now . He was having a roller coaster of a day . A lot has happened and it was really a lot . At this moment Kei couldn¡¯t help but look at Emily and think about that supposed date of his with her .

    He had failed his confession to Sayaka and was now going on a date with an equally cute girl . Was everything happening right now, really happening, or was he still in a fever dream because of the hallucinogens Emily spread .

    Noticing Kei was staring at her, Emily smiled at him and winked . Seeing that cute disy from Emily, Kei couldn¡¯t help but avert his eyes and blush . Emily on the other hand couldn¡¯t help but smile even more seeing on how cute Kei was acting .

    ¡¯What the hell is wrong with me! First I think Sayaka is the one I like and was about to confess to her . Now I think Emily is cute and I want to confess to her! What the hell is this?! Am I just another f*cking h*rny teenager? Skipping from one girl to another . ¡¯

    Kei was scolding himself in his mind .

    . . .

    Niel who was watching all the varied expressions of his juniors found all of these quite interesting . All of them seem to be improving . He couldn¡¯t help but chuckle on how nice everyone¡¯s rtionships, were flowing so smoothly .

    ¡¯Hmm, I guess I should also try my luck . ¡¯

    . . .

    The group got Lilitth and Niki from school and went their separate ways . It was at this point Alex remembered the thing he asked Rachel to do .

    "Emily I want you, to head home first . " Emily didn¡¯t ask any questions and simply followed what Alex ordered . This surprised Alex but he had no time to deal with this at the moment . With Lilitth at hand, Alex approached Rachel .

    Seeing Alex nearing her got Rachel confused for a bit . If Alex were a normal guy, with everything that happened as well as seeing his best friend confessed to a girl, Alex would¡¯ve thought about confessing to her; but seeing as Alex was far from a normal boy, she didn¡¯t expect much .

    "Rachel, pack what you need and like I said yesterdaye with me back to my house . "

 Chapter 185

    Chapter 185

    When Rachel heard what Alex said, she finally remembered what they were talking about yesterday . Alex did indeed tell her to go with him back in his mansion . She who finally remembered that one little detail stood there in front of Alex with wide eyes .

    Lilitth who heard this new piece of information for the first time was also shocked, but after a short thought, she quickly adapted to the situation .

    "Rachel nee-san is going to live with us?" Lilitth looked at Alex with her round innocent looking eyes .

    "Yes, just until Instructor Danes back . "

    "Yay! We¡¯ll have so much fun Rachel nee-san . " Lilitth suddenly hugged the stunned Rachel .

    "Um . . . Ah . . . Fine . " Rachel couldn¡¯t contradict that cute little thing, so she reluctantly agreed .

    "Give me one day to prepare, I promise I will go with you tomorrow . "

    "Do you want me to stay here for one more night, just in case something else happens?"

    "There¡¯s no need . I¡¯m sure afterst night, no one will try today . Even if someone did I¡¯ll make sure to call you . So go home, don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll be safe . "

    Alex didn¡¯t want to leave Rachel¡¯s side but if he pushes himself while she was like this, she might not agree toe home with him .

    "Alright then, I¡¯ll wait one more day before bringing you home . " Hearing what Alex said made Rachel blush, but she knew that there was no deeper meaning ced into that statement .

    Lilitth released Rachel from her hug and waved goodbye .

    Alex was obviously not going to leave Rachel alone in this kind of situation, also the person he called hasn¡¯t arrived yet . So he needed to keep an eye on Rachel, not by cameras he was going to camp out and watch her from the nearby empty house that he rented just case something like this happened .

    As Alex was thinking about a lot of different things, he suddenly remembered the day his parents died . He couldn¡¯t understand why these memories suddenly resurfaced while he was thinking, but before could even blossom into a thought he pushed it back into his subconscious .

    ¡¯Not yet, I need to hold it in . ¡¯ Alex has tried for a very long time, but something he hid inside himself was trying toe out, but he wasn¡¯t ready for it yet .

    . . .

    Oliver who had separated from the group minutes ago was now heading towards the coffee shop Sayaka was talking about . He was pretty nervous as he walked towards the shop . His usual confidence was nowhere to be seen as his hands started to sweat .

    He didn¡¯t know what Sayaka¡¯s answer was going to be, but no matter what she decided he would understand and go with it .

    When Oliver got in view of the coffee shop he saw Sayaka being surrounded by some boys . Sayaka seeing the approaching Oliver waved at him .

    "Oly you¡¯re finally here . " The boys who were trying to flirt with Sayaka wanted to see what kind of guy, she was waiting for . Since they had the superior numbers they wanted to scare the guy a bit and take the girl .

    Yet the moment they turned around and saw Oliver they were surprised by his physique . They were thinking that seeing as Sayaka was wearing a high school uniform the guy she would be with was also in high school, but seeing that muscr man they got confused . Then they saw his uniform and were surprised to know that he was in high school as well .

    Sayaka happily approached Oliver and took a hold of his right arm . "I¡¯ve been waiting . "

    "Sorry about that . So who are these guys?" Oliver pointed at the three boys bothering Sayaka .

    "Oh them, I¡¯m not sure . . . But I think they were saying that I should ditch you since you were a spineless weakling or something like that . "

    When the three boys heard what Sayaka said to Oliver, they didn¡¯t defend themselves and started running without looking back .

    "Want me to chase them?"

    "No, they¡¯re not worth wasting our date time . " Sayaka said with a bright smile on her face . Oliver who once again remembered that this was a date, felt like his back was sweating .

    "Umm . . . Oh . . . Yeah, you¡¯re right . But before that our, you going to answer me now?" Oliver gathered his courage and once again asked .

    "Don¡¯t worry let¡¯s do this first, and once we¡¯re done, I¡¯ll give you an answer . "

    "Ok, so what are we going to do first . "

    "First we¡¯re going to have something to eat, and then I¡¯m going to do some shopping . " Sayaka happily pulled Oliver to the coffee shop .

    . . .

    Sayaka ordered some coffee and pasta, while Oliver just had some coffee . While Sayaka was eating she suddenly spoke .

    "So Oly, tell me when did you know that you love me?" When Oliver heard this question, he almost spat out his coffee, but he was able to hold it in . He knew that Sayaka was going to ask this at some point, so he had an answer prepared . Well, the answer was going to be the truth since he couldn¡¯t really think of what to say .

    "Actually I just thought about it when Kei was trying to say something to you . When it looked like you would be taken away by him, something within me started to scream . Then I started to imagine you going out with Kei, which made me want to punch him in the face . "

    Hearing that kind of answer from Oliver, made Sayaka giggle . Since he was being so cute at this moment .

    "I see . "

    Hearing Sayaka say just two words, made Oliver a bit anxious .

    . . .

    After they were done with their coffee, Oliver and Sayaka headed to the mall . "So what are we going to do next?"

    "As I said a minute ago, I¡¯m going to do some shopping . The first item in the list is some clothes . "

    While the two of them were waling Oliver was surprised when they finally arrived at their destination .

    "You said it was a clothing store! This is not a clothing store, it¡¯s an underwear store . "

    "Well underwear is a type of clothing, so I wasn¡¯t lying or anything . "

    Oliver looked at the different kinds of clothingid out in rows, or swirling like a vortex into a small hill, or forming their own universe . Oliver was about to bolt but remembered that Sayaka has a hold of his arm .

    "I need your preference as a basis for judgment . So why don¡¯t you start, tell me which style you¡¯d like me to try?" Sayaka smiled mischievously at Oliver, who was trying hard not to blush .

    "I don¡¯t have a preference, so buy whatever you want . " Oliver answered in a quick pace . Sayaka who was satisfied by Oliver¡¯s reaction pulled him into the store . The people in the store seeing the beautiful couple made them feel a bit jealous, of Sayaka .

    Oliver was not only muscr but his face was handsome as well . He had a nice body and a nice face, which made the surroundingdies look at him while smiling and winking at him . Yet Oliver didn¡¯t notice them since he was preupied with Sayaka picking some underwear and asking him if it would look good on her .

    It took a half an hour for Sayaka to pick out the underwear she wanted to buy . All throughout the process, she kept on teasing Oliver .

    . . .

    "Okay now that you bought that, what¡¯s next?" Oliver felt really exhausted as he said this .

    "Next how about we watch a movie?"

    "So when you said shopping, you just wanted to buy that?"

    "Yeah, do you have a problem with that?"

    "No, none at all . So a movie right what do you want to watch?" Oliver was going to say something more, but the cold glint in Sayaka¡¯s eyes dissuaded him . Knowing she was an assassin made that look she kept on giving him, make sense .

    . . .

    The two were now in front of the ticket booth trying to decide what movie to watch .

    "So what do you want to watch?" Oliver was the first to ask .

    "You decide I¡¯ll watch whatever you want . " Oliver was about to answer, but then he remembered something Niel told him before . He said that sometimes a girl says something but ones something else . It was entirely possible that Sayaka was waiting for him to give the perfect answer .

    Oliver was about to say something, like ¡¯I wasn¡¯t really nning to watch anything, so how about you decide?¡¯ But before he could say anything he stopped . This whole event might be a test to see whether he was good enough for her or not . If he couldn¡¯t even decide what to watch, she might think he had no opinions .

    So once again Oliver decided to be truthful .

    "I actually wanted to watch that new action movie, if it¡¯s alright with you?"

    "Of course it is, I¡¯m also interested in that movie . " Seeing how long Oliver thought about what to say before he spoke, made Sayaka think how adorable he was .

    . . .

    The two watched the movie and to Oliver¡¯s surprise, Sayaka was actually really into it . She even exined about some easter eggs she found here and there in the movie . Turns out she was even more of a movie buff than Oliver, which was more surprising than her being an assassin .

    While walking in the mall, they talked about the movie they watched, then their topic shifted to how Kei looked dress up as a girl . They were having so much fun, that Oliver actually forgot about his confession and that he was actually waiting for an answer .

    The two of them headed out of the mall and sat on a bench in a nearby park . The sun was setting quite beautifully as they continued talking about random things . Like how was Oliver¡¯s sword training going, was he getting good or still the same as before . As well as some harder to deal with topics, like what Sayaka felt when she first killed a person .

    The two of them were learning so much more about the other person, and to two of them were surprising each other .

    Turns out Sayaka was a fan of old school RPG¡¯s, while Oliver kinda liked a kids show about a princess . The two of them talked and talked whileughing at each other¡¯s experiences .

    "Hey Oliver, before I give you an answer, can you answer one thing . " When Sayaka asked this, Oliver finally remembered that he was waiting for Sayaka to answer to his confession of love .

    "What is it?" Unlike moments ago, the Oliver right now wasn¡¯t as anxious as before .

    "Answer me honestly, did you have fun, being with me today?" Oliver saw that Sayaka was actually looking a bit anxious about this, which made himugh .

    "I¡¯m serious here, don¡¯tugh . "

    "I¡¯m sorry but seeing you so anxious, made me think you really look cute . " When Oliver said this, it was Sayaka¡¯s turn to blush .

    "Whatever just answer the question!" Sayaka was now shouting out of embarrassment .

    "Of course I had fun, do you think I would waste my time if I didn¡¯t?"

    "Are you just saying that, to get me to give you a positive answer to your confession?"

    "I thought you said only one thing? Now you¡¯re asking two things?" Sayaka pouted when she heard this, which just made Oliver happy to see her like that . Even though she exposed herself and told the others she was an assassin, Sayaka remained the same .

    "At this point to me, it doesn¡¯t matter if you say yes or no . As long as I can be by your side, I think I¡¯ll always have fun . Is that good enough an answer for you?"

    Sayaka suddenly hugged him, afterward without warning her lips ovepped with his . This made theughing Oliver¡¯s eyes pop out .

    "Now that¡¯s my answer . " Hearing Sayaka¡¯s voice made Oliver snap out of his trance, and he smiled at Sayaka and said, "I didn¡¯t quite get that can you please repeat it?"

    Sayaka couldn¡¯t help but giggle when Oliver said that and proceeded to give him an even deeper kiss .

    "Did you get that?"

    "Loud and clear . " The two of them looked at each other¡¯s eyes and startedughing for no reason at all .

 Chapter 186

    Chapter 186: 186

    The loud sound of the explosion was heard, and a hole was made to the floor below . Carlo and his group jumped down to the floor below, but before Dan did so, he tried to nab Reghinald . Yet the moment he moved something blocked his path and he was not able to get a hold of Reghinald .

    Failing the first attempt Dan didn¡¯t proceed to do a second since there was no time . He then followed Carlo and the others down ready to flee .

    "Sorry Carlo, I wasn¡¯t able to get a hold of him, he¡¯s unusually prepared . " While running Dan apologized to Carlo .

    "Don¡¯t worry about it . What we do need to worry about right now is how to escape . " Carlo was having a bit of difficulty running, seeing his other leg was just a prosthetic leg .

    The group was running to the escape route they nned to use, but when they got into intersecting corridors, the group saw that there were soldiers heading there way from all directions .

    "Tsk, no choice I¡¯ll stop them here . " Dan took a stance in the middle of the intersecting hallway .

    "Dan . . . I¡¯m sorry . " Carlo knew that Dan¡¯s decision was the only path they had left . If no one holds their ground here, then none of them would be able to escape .

    "You¡¯re talking like this is my final moment . I can handle this much without breaking a swear, so just go . "

    The group had no more time so they moved onward, without looking back . Ryu cut open a path and shouted .

    "Dan my friend, I¡¯ll be meeting you in warriors paradise!" Seeing the fading figure of his friends Dan smiled at what Ryu said while facing the enemy forces .

    "That¡¯s a stupid thing to say, Ryu . You¡¯re basically telling me I¡¯m going to die . " Dan faced the enemy forces with no fear, as he smiled joyfully . As he fought he could only think that he was grateful that he saw his family again . He was grateful to know that even without him, they could survive .

    With that knowledge at hand, Dan Regius fought with a smile on his face .

    . . .

    Carlo and Michel were nearing the end of a corridor where the exit was . It was only them left since Ryu separated from them to distract some of the soldiers . They promised to meet back at the extraction point .

    It was at this point that, Carlo¡¯s prosthetic leg finally gave in . It would seem that a bullet had broken it . Michel who saw this tried to help Carlo up .

    "Michel this is it for me . "

    "What are you saying, I¡¯ll carry you there!" Michel could already guess what Carlo wanted to say, but she didn¡¯t want to hear it .

    "You and I both know if you bring me along we won¡¯t make it . . . So at least you should be able to make it . "

    "What are you saying you fool, aren¡¯t we suppose to get married?! What about the children, what would Alex and Lilitth do without you . " Michel started to cry, Carlo used his finger to wipe away her tears . He then tried to stand up and gently kiss her .

    "They¡¯ll be alright, I know because they would have an awesome mother by their side . "

    "You fool . " Michel couldn¡¯t help but smile, while tears flowed down her face . It was at this moment they two of them heard the footsteps of approaching soldiers .

    "Michel go now! . . . Go!" Carlo tried to push Michel aside, but she just stood there without moving an inch .

    "Michel please do this for me and our children . They still need a parent to guide them . So please . . . " Hearing Carlo say that telling her that it was their children made Michel grit her teeth closed her eyes and started running .

    She didn¡¯t say anything anymore since if she spoke at this moment she felt like her resolve would crumble . Carlo seeing her run smiled gently as he cut off his prosthetic leg, and stood on one leg . He faced the enemy forces, with the same feeling he had when he started out as a merc, leaving the orphanage .

    He felt enlightened .

    . . .

    Reghinald walked in a corridor with three of his best bodyguards . There in that corridor were hundreds of dead soldiers, and in the middle of all the dead bodies and pool of blood, stood a one-legged man with sword and gun at hand . His whole body was covered in wounds, it was a miracle that he was still standing .

    "Carlo do you regret it now?" Reghinald asked the barely standing Carlo, who looked like he smiled at him .

    "I had a very fulfilling life, I¡¯ve been to many ces and had great adventures . I got wonderful children and a beautiful wife . What¡¯s there to regret?"

    "You do know after I¡¯m done with you, I¡¯ll be hunting down your family and the family of your friends as well . Knowing that do you still not regret?"

    "Heh, you won¡¯t be able to do that . " Carlo tried to chuckle but he couldn¡¯t, so instead, he just smiled an even wider smile .

    "Do you think, they¡¯ll be able to do something against me? Even you couldn¡¯t do anything how can they?"

    "I¡¯m the messenger of Death and I havee to send you a message . " Carlo lifted his shaking hand, and showed Reghinald he was holding a switch . Reghinald who saw this, felt a wave of fear go over him, as he reached for his gun in a panic to shoot Carlo, his men were doing the same, but before they could pull the trigger Carlo was able to press the button .

    BOOM! BOOM! The whole corridor was filled with explosives and they all started exploding . It wasn¡¯t just the corridor the whole base was filled with mini-explosives, that Carlo and the others have been setting up for the past few days .

    As Carlo¡¯s body was being broken and burned by the explosion, he saw for a brief moment that the same thing was happening to Reghinald .

    ¡¯With this, I guess I was able to pay for my sins . Thank you for giving me a great dream, Michel, Alex, Lilitth, Thank y-¡¯ Those were the final thoughts of Carlo Samarita .

 Chapter 187

    Chapter 187

    An explosion suddenly happened and a hole was made to the floor below . Carlo and his group jumped down to the floor below . Dan, on the other hand, went into his RELEASE state and while everyone was shocked by the explosion burst forth and grabbed Reghinald, the speed that Dan used to move could easily have broken the bones of a normal person, but Dan whose body was practically made of steel wasn¡¯t affected by the force of his movements .

    Dan had sessfully captured Reghinald without no one noticing . Reghinald who was captured was shocked by the whole scene . He wasn¡¯t expecting that Dan would be able to easily capture him . Still even while being captured Reghinald remained calm .

    It was a bit surprising to be captured, but it wasn¡¯t beyond his imagination . He had a n prepared just in case this happened . As long as he isn¡¯t dead he could still do something about it, and it was pretty obvious that Carlo and his group had something they want from him . If they wanted him dead, he should already be dead the moment Dan caught him .

    Dan who had caught up with the others reported his sessful capture of Reghinald . "Target secured . "

    "Roger that, is the target conscious?" Carlo who didn¡¯t look back asked Dan, but before Dan could answer Reghinald cut him off .

    "Yes, the target is conscious . " When Carlo heard this, he proceeded to get something from his pocket . In his pocket there were numerous wireless buttons that had different uses, he took one of them and pressed it . The button he just pressed was a disruptor of sorts, which will make the security cameras useless for the next ten minutes .

    "Can you please check if he has any weapons and also put something in his mouth since his voice is kinda irritating . " When Reghinald heard what Carlo said he was going to say something back, but Dan had already stuffed his mouth with something .

    Hearing the gagging sound Reghinald made Carlo said, "Thank you . " After gagging Reghinald, Dan proceeded to check what kind of things was on Reghinald¡¯s body . There was a handgun, a ceremonial knife, a pocket watch, a handkerchief and an HT (Handheld Transceiver . ) Dan threw away the gun and kept the ceremonial knife .

    "Carlo this guy has an HT," Dan reported after throwing away the gun .

    "Hand it to me . " Dan threw the HT a Carlo who didn¡¯t even look as he caught it . Carlo started to concentrate and breathed deeply . He then proceeded to use the HT and spoke .

    "The guests are trying to leave in the northwest exit, intercept them . " The voice Carlo used was the same as Reghinald¡¯s .

    "My lord where are you?" The person on the other side responded sounding truly worried .

    "I was able to escape from them and headed towards a secure location . Do not ask where it is since they might be listening in on this conversation . "

    "As you wish my lord, but have you forgotten the code again?" When Carlo heard this he started to think as fast as he can . The code was most probably used to make sure it was truly Reghinald that was talking .

    The person on the other side of the HT was about ready to try and locate where the other HT was at, but before he could do so, Carlo spoke .

    "The second Sun of Berdonia will rise for its people . " This was the favorite line of the historic figure Reghinald Berdonia the brother of the founder . Seeing as this Reghinald had the exact same name, this line was the one with the highest possibility he would use as a code .

    Carlo waited for the response, a bit anxious . "All is for my lord . I will send all of the soldiers to the Northwest exit . "

    Carlo was almost about to sigh in relief but stopped himself . "Do not send that much, our guests likes ying games . So you better send some men to the east exit as well . "

    "All is for my lord . " Once they were done talking, Carlo tossed the HT to Dan again .

    "Crush it . " Dan after catching the HT heard Carlo¡¯s order and crushed the HT with his left hand .

    "That¡¯s going to give us around twenty minutes to reach the extraction point . We¡¯re almost in the clear . "

    Reghinald who was listening in while gagged was pretty impressed by Carlo . Not only was he a skilled fighter and tactician, but he also had various other skills as well . He was able to mimic his voice and quickly figure out the code he made . Well hearing his name was a very big clue, but to think about that little detail in history that most people didn¡¯t know off, while under pressure was an amazing feat .

    ¡¯Why did you decide to use all your talents against your own country? With you, on the frontlines as themander of Berdonia¡¯s armies we would have gotten rid of the Granado Empire scum, that infests this world . Yet here you stand as a traitor, how truly disappointing . ¡¯

    . . .

    Carlo and his group were already out of the base and were nearing the extraction point, but before they could reach it someone blocked their way .

    The one who blocked their way was a man wearing an all-ck outfit and a white mask . "Carlo Samarita, will you please hand over Reghinald Berdonia . "

    Carlo and his group stopped and looked at the man wearing ck, the first thing the four of them immediately noticed was that the man had no weapons at hand .

    "Why should I give him to you? Who are you anyway?"

    " . . . I guess there is no harm in telling you people . I¡¯m specter from the Shadow Mercenaries . " When Carlo heard the man in ck say he was from the Shadow Mercenaries, he was surprised .

    "Oh, so you¡¯re one of James Bourne¡¯s ally . " The moment Carlo said the name James Bourne, Specter who was wearing a mask looked visibly shaken .

    "How do you know that name?! How do you know James?!" Carlo wasn¡¯t expecting this kind of reaction from the man, but still, he continued talking .

    "He¡¯s a friend of my son . So out of respect for him can you please let us through?" Carlo and his group were about to move but stopped when they sensed Specter¡¯s rising bloodlust .

    "DON¡¯T YOU DARE LIE! It¡¯s impossible, it can¡¯t be! What you¡¯re saying can¡¯t be true!" Carlo was once again surprised by Specter¡¯s aggressive reaction . Ryu was even holding at his sword tightly since he felt that Specter was the biggest threat they¡¯vee across .

    "I¡¯m not lying, I¡¯ve even talked to him once . My son even said that he proimed right to his face and announced I¡¯m James Bourne from the shadow mercenaries, none are my equal . "

    "That can¡¯t be! But the way he said it, that line, only he was arrogant enough to say that, but no . . . It just can¡¯t! How the hell do you know that line! Tell me!" Even though he was wearing a mask Carlo and the others could actually feel that he was ring at them .

    "I already told you, he¡¯s my son¡¯s friend and he told him that . Why won¡¯t you believe me?"

    "I can¡¯t believe you . . . I just can¡¯t, because James Bourne . . . Myrade . . . Has been dead for five years . "

 Chapter 188

    Chapter 188

    When Carlo heard what Specter said he was now really confused . He wasn¡¯t sure if Specter was lying or if Oliver was the one lying . Both seem to believe what they say was true .

    Well at the moment it didn¡¯t matter what he thought, and also they had a time limit before Reghinald¡¯s soldiers would show up . Carlo proceeded to signal Dan and the others on what to do .

    "Sorry Specter I want to talk more, but we have a schedule to keep . " Carlo aimed his gun at Specter and shot him in the chest . Specter who was hit dead center wasn¡¯t even fazed . The ck suit he was wearing was as Carlo thought bulletproof . Still, Carlo continued to shoot at the same spot .

    Specter who got shot finally moved his body . He dashed at Carlo but when he did so, he noticed that Michel was now carrying Reghinald and was running away . Specter out of nowhere now held a throwing knife and threw it at Michel .

    The knife was intercepted by a sword blocking its path . Seeing this Specter out of nowhere summoned more knives to throw . The more he threw he somehow got faster . Ryu who was blocking the knives wasn¡¯t able to keep up and let some through, fortunately, Dan was able to catch the ones that got past him .

    When Specter was about to summon more knives to throw, he suddenly ducked . Carlo¡¯s whip sword sliced through the air . Specter then rolled on the ground as Carlo kept on shooting him . He then pushed himself upward only to be greeted by a fist, from Dan .

    Before the fist was able to make contact with Specter, another object came in between the two of them and it was a shield . Same as the knives, Specter was able to summon a shield this time . Carlo had no time to question how he did this, as they continued their attack .

    They attacked Specter while slowly retreating towards the extraction point . It was an amazing spectacle the three of them were S ranked mercs and they were even considered as one of the strongest in Berdonia, but this one guy was able to keep up with them .

    At some point, Dan even got into his RELEASE state, while Ryu finally used the hidden sword in his back . Though Carlo was already a handicapped person he was still able to fight somehow well enough to beat A rank mercs . Yet even with them taking this seriously, they weren¡¯t able to bring Specter down .

    Instead, it felt like Specter was the one on the verge of beating them down . They couldn¡¯t do much because of the ck shield and armor . Even Dan who could pummel tanks with his fist wasn¡¯t able to prate through Specter¡¯s shield .

    Ryu on the other hand who was able to bypass the shield wasn¡¯t able to cut deep enough to get through the armor . Though Specter had a few scratches here and there it wasn¡¯t able to slow him down . The scary part was the longer they fought the faster Specter seem to be .

    This stalemate continued on until Carlo and his group arrived at the extraction point . The extraction point was a runway, and a cargo jet was there waiting for them . Michel and Reghinald were already inside .

    Seeing as they were already far enough, and Carlo needed to distract Specter long enough to escape . He took out the wireless button for the mini-explosives they set all throughout the enemy base . Carlo then signaled Dan and Ryu, after which he pressed the button and a loud explosion was heard over the horizon . Since they were still pretty near the enemy base, they could feel the ground shaking .

    This sudden explosion distracted Specter for a second or two, which was enough time for Carlo and his group to run towards the cargo jet . Dan picked up Carlo and run towards the cargo jet while carrying him .

    When Michel saw that Carlo and his group were now a bit far away from Specter, she started to provide cover fire, for their escape . She couldn¡¯t do this awhile ago since the fight was fought in such high speeds that it was possible she might identally hit her allies . If it was Kyle who was here, he would¡¯ve been able to provide appropriate cover fire . Yet Michel did the best she could given the situation .

    Specter who was being bombarded by bullets was trying his hardest to follow Carlo . He now regretted holding back, because he wanted to ask more about the James Bourne, Carlo knew about . If he had decided to kill them from the start this wouldn¡¯t be happening .

    Though the three of them were formidable fighters, their weapons weren¡¯t able to get through his defense . If he actually aimed for their vitals, Carlo would¡¯ve been dead, while Ryu would have been gravely injured . The only problem would¡¯ve been Dan, the body of that man was actually as hard as Specter¡¯s own defensive equipment . He wasn¡¯t even sure if Dan was human .

    Specter could see that Carlo and his group were able to board the cargo jet, and were about to take off . Specter was helpless as he just watched the cargo jet flying away .

    Specter saw the cargo jet slowly fading in the distance . He had failed a mission, it has been a long time since a Shadow Mercenary failed a mission . Thest time was when James Bourne, the youngest of the group failed a mission and died in the process .

    Specter took out his phone and called someone . "Mission failed . "

    When the person from the other side of the phone heard what Specter said, he was a bit surprised .

    "Was Carlo Samarita and his group really that good?"

    "Yes . . . But more than that, Carlo ims that James Bourne is alive, and is friends with his son . " When the person on the other side of the phone heard this, he went silent . The shame of the Shadow Mercenaries was still alive . . . Only he the leader knew of the real reason James Bourne died . While the others only heard how James died, he was actually there when it happened .

    "Did Carlo say anything about Phil and Margie?"

    "No, why?" Specter was surprised that their leader would mention, Phil and Margie those traitors . This made Specter realize that there must be something more going on, about the death of James .

    "Nothing . . . For now, return to HQ, we will have a proper discussion when you get back . "

    "Roger that . " After saying this Specter hanged up .

    "James . . . Are you really alive? If so, then why didn¡¯t youe back? Is there really something going on within the organization?" Specter had a lot of questions, and he knew the leader wouldn¡¯t answer them . It was obvious he was hiding something, there was also a possibility that the leader would order for his termination .

    ¡¯If I go back, nothing might happen, but there is also a chance that I¡¯ll get killed . . . I already read up on Carlo, during the mission briefing so I¡¯m sure he lives in Cromer city . If his son is truly friends with James, that would mean James is also in Cromer city . I guess I should head there for now . ¡¯

    With a new goal in mind Specter headed towards Cromer City . Unaware of the situation, Alex and his group were about to face a crisis .

 Chapter 189

    Chapter 189

    Alex who had left Rachel¡¯s house brought Lilitth home, and took some equipment and headed to the house he rented near Rachel¡¯s ce . He chose the best spot to monitor Rachel¡¯s ce .

    . . .

    When Alex got to the house he rented he set up his equipment in the room on the third floor . Alex¡¯s set up was the same set up as Kyle¡¯s . After setting up he stood in front of the window and checked on what¡¯s happening in Rachel¡¯s house using his binocrs .

    Obviously, Alex had no way to look through the walls, but all he needed to do now was to look at the people passing by . Alex also noticed that the light on Rachel¡¯s room was on, and saw her shadow going back and forth . She seems to be in distress .

    Alex decided to send her a message just to make sure .

    "Are you doing alright?"

    When Alex sent this message he saw that Rachel¡¯s shadow was jumping around the room, and she wasn¡¯t replying as quickly as he thought . Was she really alright or was there actually something wrong?

    While Alex was thinking about what was happening to Rachel, he received a message .

    "I¡¯m alright, are you really that worried?"

    "Of course I am, you¡¯re a very important person to me . " When Alex sent this message to Rachel, he saw Rachel¡¯s shadow from her window falling down . Does she always do that when she¡¯s in her room?

    After she fell she stood up and started punching the air . It was a weird thing to do after receiving that kind of message .

    "I¡¯m alright so no need to worry . I¡¯m a pretty sturdy girl if you haven¡¯t noticed . " When Alex read this message for some reason he couldn¡¯t help but smile . It was a surprising thing, Alex who usually had a stoic expression, every now and then would smile .

    He found it very cute when he sees Rachel act all tough .

    "Have you eaten already?"

    "No, I¡¯m just about to do that . How about you, have you eaten?"

    "I had the necessary nutrition . "

    "Wow, this is the first time I¡¯ve seen you message me this much . "

    "Am I disturbing you?"

    When Alex sent this message, Rachel¡¯s continuous messaging stopped . This made Alex ask himself, was he really disturbing her? Alex then saw Rachel turn off the lights in her room .

    "No, you¡¯re not disturbing me . I was just going down to eat . You really must be worried about me . "

    "Like I said I¡¯m always worried about you . "

    Alex and Rachel went back and forth with their messaging . Rachel was having so much fun since she hasn¡¯t seen Alex be this chatty, even though it¡¯s just by messaging . She sent him a picture of what she was eating, and he messaged back that she was eating too little for a growing girl .

    Rachel was having too much fun, to get angry at thatment . Instead, she changed the topic .

    "What do you think about Oliver¡¯s confession?"

    Alex wasn¡¯t expecting the conversation to head into that direction . He then remembered what Oliver said to him, and every time he tried to understand what happened, something in him wanted to burst forth . He needed to control his thoughts and just answer with the first thought he has .

    "I¡¯m happy for him . "

    "I am too, but it was really shocking . I was actually more shocked by that than learning about Saya being an assassin . "

    Alex didn¡¯t really like where this conversation was going . Alex had no choice but to go back to the confession topic, or else if this topic continuous he might be forced to tell what he was doing before he became a student .

    "I have a question, do you want to have a confession like that?"

    . . .

    Rachel who received Alex¡¯s message telling her if she¡¯d like to have a confession simr to Sayaka¡¯s surprised her . Was Alex finally nning to confess to her, so that they could be an official couple? Sayaka who just finished taking a bath started tossing and turning on her bed .

    ¡¯What¡¯s happening? Why is it happening now?! Is Alex actually being influenced by the flow of events? What should I do? What should I message? Should I ask Saya what to do? Wait why should I do that, this is my rtionship so I should know what to do . . . Shouldn¡¯t I be, umm?¡¯

    Rachel was having very confusing thoughts in her head . She didn¡¯t know what to tell Alex, but if she doesn¡¯t respond quickly enough he might think that she doesn¡¯t want to be confessed to .

    "Yeah, I want to have a confession like that . Still, I want it to be a bit more romantic . Maybe during sunset under a tree, after a great date . "

    . . .

    When Alex read Rachel¡¯s message, he noticed that she had a very specific preference . Does that mean she already has someone she likes? When Alex thought of that, he felt somehow hurt . He felt irritated, actually, he felt angry . Then he messaged, "I see . "

    While Alex sent this message he suddenly remembered what Oliver said awhile back, and thought of what he was feeling right now . Was he actually jealous? Does that mean he liked Rachel, the same way Oliver likes Sayaka?

    When Alex came to this conclusion, he felt something trying to burst out of him, and he tried to push it back down . His head suddenly felt like it was being hammered .

    "Why do you ask?" When Alex received Rachel¡¯s message, he couldn¡¯t continue messaging her back, since his headache was killing him .

    "I¡¯m sorry I got to sleep now, good night Rachel . "

    Rachel who received Alex¡¯s message felt like he was just running away from the topic, which she found to be cute . Rachel who was satisfied by this conversation between them messaged back .

    "Good night Alex . " Once she sent this message she started to squeal on her pillow .

    . . .

    While Rachel was squealing Alex clutched his head with both his hands . He finally understood what he was feeling, he actually likes Rachel . He was interested in her not as a target for protection, but as a target for affection .

    This new feeling he was having, was opening up a door that he had closed for a very long time . He needed to push this feeling back down . He didn¡¯t know why but he was afraid of opening that door . He didn¡¯t know what was on the other side of the door, but he knew if he had opened that door something he didn¡¯t want to know wille out .

    Alex was feeling very parched as he had difficulty breathing . It was at this moment a memory resurfaced in his head, it was the memory of what the killer of his parents looks like . Alex concentrated very hard to stop the image of the killer from showing up in his mind .

    He didn¡¯t want to remember who that killer was, he didn¡¯t want to feel those emotions he once had . He distracted himself by thinking about who ced a bounty on Rachel¡¯s head, and why would someone ce a bounty on Rachel¡¯s head in the first ce .

    Alex who had sessfully distracted himself had his headache slowly disappear . Yet deep down in his subconscious mind, Alex knew that he was only dying the inevitable . As long as he interacts with Rachel and the others, the emotions he hidden deep within himself woulde out .

 Chapter 190

    Chapter 190

    Kyle was still monitoring Lilitth, and aside from that one time that some people tried to kidnap Niki there was no action to be had . Kyle was bored by this assignment, since it wasn¡¯t really interesting looking at little girls .

    The only interesting thing that was happening, was that not only are the Rayheart¡¯s being targeted by some Granado Empire spies, Rachel Regius also had a bounty on her head . Maybe it would have been more exciting to monitor those people instead .

    He also felt that there was something going on with Alex . After Alex came back from his own monitoring, he would sometimes ce his hand on his forehead . He actually looked to be in pain .

    This was the first time Kyle has seen Alex in pain .

    . . .

    Kyle was one of thest few to join Carlo¡¯s mercenary squad . When he joined he found it weird to see a ten year old kid staying as a merc .

    Carlo introduced the kid to be his son Alex, and asked Kyle to teach him the ways of long rangebat .

    At first Kyle thought Alex would be like those irritating young masters he met . Seeing as he was the son of themander he was expecting him to be an extremely proud kid .

    Yet contrary to his belief Alex turned out to be something different . He wasn¡¯t arrogant, or obnoxious or full of pride . He wasn¡¯t anything like that, he was just empty . Kyle almost thought he was an android, a robot that looked human .

    If he didn¡¯t bleed during training Kyle would have really convinced himself that Alex was an android .

    Kyle was amazed by Alex the first time he tried to train him, Alex did everything he said perfectly . He followed every order to the letter . It took Alex four months to learn everything about how Kyle uses long range weapons .

    He wasn¡¯t as good as Kyle, but he was close . The only thing Alex needed to improve was experience . All throughout his horrendous training sessions Alex never showed any indication he was in pain .

    Kyle even saw Alex have two daggers stuck on his shoulders when he was twelve . The blood that gushed out of that wound was overflowing . Even with that kind of wound Alex¡¯s face remained ever stoic .

    Yet now that kid that could pretty much take a bullet head on and not even blink from the pain was showing actually weakness .

    Kyle seeing Alex like this for the first time felt something ominousing . He needed to be more vignt now than ever, but watching a little girl going to school doesn¡¯t really help Kyle¡¯s motivation .

    As he was monitoring Lilitth¡¯s movements, Kyle felt it was weird that Carlo hasn¡¯t contacted him yet . Was the guy they were trying to capture really that dangerous? Or was there something else going on .

    While Kyle was thinking about Carlo and the others, he noticed that a teacher was approaching Lilitth . This was the same teacher that seems to be helping her all the time . If the information Emily gave was correct, that teacher was Lilitth¡¯s art teacher Sarah Resti .

    She was a twenty two year old teacher . Single, lives alone and has normal family background . She wasn¡¯t a threat or anything special .

    Kyle was wondering why that teacher was so nice to Lilitth . At first a lot of teachers cuddle and help Lilitth, this could be because of her family background, but after awhile those teachers slowly stopped helping her and treated her like any other student . It was only Sarah Resti that remained the same .

    ¡¯Could it really be because of Alex, like Emi said? Or could it be because she was a good teacher? Or it could be both . Well no matter the cause, she is a bit interesting . I wonder why she¡¯s single? She has a good and stable job, she¡¯s nice to look at, and she¡¯s still pretty young . Is she just a very picky person and wants the perfect prince charming? Or is there something wrong with her? . . . ¡¯

    Kyle who was bored watching Lilitth, found it interesting to look at the teacher . She was very good at sculpting, and her paintings felt alive to him . She was a really pretty teacher, well most of the teachers in Lilitth¡¯s school were pretty and handsome . It was like they were chosen not just by their skills but also their looks .

    As Kyle kept on monitoring Lilitth for the past few days he was also monitoring Sarah since he was a bit interested in her . Kyle then remembered what he and his sister were talking about a few days ago, about him getting a wife . Kyle couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at this thought .

    ¡¯I guess it would be better to test the waters and see where it goes . . . Sarah Resti I got you under my scope, and once I¡¯m sure, I¡¯ll pierce that heart of yours with a single shot . ¡¯

    Kyle hunt the best marksman has set his sights on the unsuspecting art teacher .

 Chapter 191

    Chapter 191

    Alex who was still having sudden headaches every now and then, felt it was a bit irritating . The pain wasn¡¯t something he couldn¡¯t handle, the problem was the memory that keeps on resurfacing when his head hurts . It was a memory of the person who killed his parents . Alex who had closed off most of his emotions, and even created a fake memory of that event to lessen the burden on his mind . Was now suddenly having his emotions and memorye back to him .

    He thought that he had full control over it, but as it turns out he does not . Alex didn¡¯t want that memory toe back . Even though he was strong now, Alex feared that he was still not prepared for what¡¯s toe when he remembers the truth .

    So he tried as hard as he could to once again suppress the memory . Alex was in great pain in the inside while on the outside he remained ever stoic, Rachel seem to be looking at him every now and then . She looked at Alex a bit worried, but not because of the pain he was going through . No, actually she was worried about what Alex messaged to herst night .

    Rachel was blinded by the fact Alex might confess to her at any moment . Alex on the other hand was confused by her giving him stolen nces .

    . . .

    Alex who was having difficulty concentrating in ss right now, suddenly felt his spine tingling . He could sense that there was danger nearing him . Alex looked out the window and saw a familiar looking boy pointing a rifle at him . Alex could see his smile a very sadistic looking smile as he pointed the rifle at him .

    Alex knew why the boy didn¡¯t fire at him, since he wanted to prove his superiority not by a surprise attack but by fighting Alex directly .

    Alex raise his hand and when the teacher called him, he exined that he needed to dismiss himself . Alex without waiting for the teacher¡¯s answer stormed out of the room .

    Oliver and Sayaka were too focused on each other that they failed to notice the boy hidden in the trees . They only noticed something was amiss when Alex suddenly left the ssroom . In a normal situation the two of them would have spotted the boy as well, but because they were in their own little world they didn¡¯t notice it .

    Still it wasn¡¯t weird for Alex to suddenly burst out of the ssroom since he has done this several times in the past . Rachel was thinking that Alex might be actually preparing for his confession to her .

    . . .

    While everyone in the ssroom was thinking about the reason Alex stormed off, the man himself was standing on the rooftop of the school waiting for the person holding the rifle . Alex took out the colt 1911 and desert eagle he hidden in the rooftop . He also double checked the knives hidden in his uniform .

    The enemy that came this time, was someone he has known for a very long time . The boy with the sniper rifle look at the ever stoic Alex from a tree he was hiding in . He was a bit irritated that even now when he has the advantage of equipment and the element of surprise, Alex remained ever stoic, ever confident .

    It was as if he had everything nned, and he was dancing in the palm of his hands . The boy then recalled the first time he met Alex a few years ago .

    . . .

    Alex wasn¡¯t the only one to be consider a prodigy on the battlefield . There were three of them with the same age that were considered true geniuses of the battlefield . These three were thought to be the closest to be the next generation SS rank mercs . Though no one knew Alex¡¯s true age as the silent sh, everyone knew he was pretty young so he was part of the three .

    The other two were James Bourne and Matthew Zephyr . These three made even old veterans a bit scared of their talent .

    . . .

    James Bourne was the monstrous prodigy of the Shadow Mercenaries, an almost legendary band of mercs, that existed since the beginning of the mercenary system . It was said the system was created because they existed . Even in this kind of legendary mercenary group, James Bourne was still able to keep up and surpass most of the members . He was rumored to be only a child barely even ten years old .

    Last among the three was Matthew Zephyr the holy son . He was the one and only apprentice of the strongest person in the Southern Union . The heavenly Saint that protects the Southern Union was his master . The heavenly Saint also known as Arthur Glory was the strongest of the Southern Union not only was he a Saint he was also the only SS rank merc of the Southern Union .

    Matthew being the only pupil of such a person took much pride of his status . He was sure that he was the best of his age group, and that he would be the strongest once he matures enough . It was at that time, Matthew heard about other two boys near his age that could equal him .

    James Bourne and the silent sh . Both of these mysterious mercs were hard to find but between the two of them the silent sh was easier to contact . It was a well known fact that the silent sh has very deep ties with Carlo Samarita¡¯s mercenary group . He found it funny that a person near his age would be able to keep up . Since he was able to kill even B rank mercs that were older than him .

    So Matthew decided to hire Carlo¡¯s mercenary group for a job, he requested for silent sh to have a spar with him . He even offered a huge amount of money . Carlo seeing him request for such a thing, asked Matthew .

    "Why do you want to fight the silent sh?"

    "I want to prove that I am the strongest of my generation . "

    "Just for that?" Carlo said a bit confused by the kid¡¯s request .

    "Don¡¯t just dismiss it as just that! That is everything I want and it is everything I desire . It is my dream and my one and only wish! So do not just dismiss it like that!" Seeing the fierce look of Matthew made Carlo think that he was theplete opposite of his son . Yet their desire for strength was real .

    "Ok then, I will allow it . You can spar with the silent sh, only if you agree to keep his identity secret . If you ept this then you can spar with him . " Carlo knew with Matthew¡¯s immense pride that once he agrees he would never go against his words .

    "I agree . I swear on my master¡¯s name as well as my own pride, that I would keep the silent sh¡¯s identity a secret . " Matthew answered without hesitation . Carlo hearing the boy¡¯s answer nodded his head .

    "Very well . . . Alexe here . " From within the crowd of mercs a little boy who looked to be the same age as Matthew . He was already expecting this, but seeing it was still surprising .

    The boy called Alex looked at Matthew with an uninterested gaze, which felt like he was mocking him . Matthew couldn¡¯t wait to beat up the kid before him .

    . . .

    Carlo asked Matthew what kind of sparring he wanted to do . What where the weapons he wanted to use .

    "Anything is fine, choose anything that he is good at . " The he Matthew was talking about was obviously Alex . Carlo smiled at how arrogant the is little kid was .

    "Alex is good at using almost all weapons so, you need to choose what weapon to use . " Hearing this made Matthew a bit irritated .

    "Fine, let¡¯s use all the weapons avable . I will spar with him using all the weapons in this base . Is that alright?" Matthew who was really itching for a fight said this with a bit of impatience .

    "You¡¯re the client so if that¡¯s what you wish for then so be it . " Carlo who sounded like he thought that Matthew was being stupid, and snickered as he faced Alex and exined the situation .

    . . .

    The two kids got into position and the first weapon that they were using was a gun loaded with rubber bullets . The rules were simple the first to hit wins .

    The fight started and Matthew with perfect uracy tried to hit Alex, but Alex was able to evade the bullet in an odd fashion . Matthew wasn¡¯t that surprised cause he has seen some people dodge bullets, and even he could do it as well . So instead of wasting bullets Matthew charged in and tried to hit Alex in close range .

    When Matthew got into close range, Alex¡¯s muscle started to bulge a little, and suddenly out of nowhere Alex disappeared from his sight . Then he suddenly felt something painful hit his back, it was at that moment of shock that Matthew heard Carlo¡¯s voice .

    "Match over, Alex wins . "

    Matthew couldn¡¯t believe his ears, he lost . He lost to someone his age . Matthew was shocked by this revtion but that didn¡¯t keep him down . He stood up and continued to fight Alex .

    Alex and Matthew had a total of sixty eight fights . They used all manners of weapons and even their fists . In all the fights, Alex won sixty seven times, and Matthew won only once . The only time Matthew won was when they were using a spear, Alex¡¯s spear handling wasn¡¯t up to par with his other abilities .

    Matthew who was thoroughly defeated was convinced that the only reason Alex could win was because of the weird technique were his muscles start to bulge .

    After that fight with Alex, Matthew tried to have a sparring session with Alex again, but he always avoided him . Until one day Alex aka the silent sh disappeared from the battlefield all together . Matthew tried every possible means to find him, but he couldn¡¯t let others know of Alex¡¯s identity so it was very difficult to look for him .

    Yet one day while he was on a resort in the capital of Berdonia, he saw a video of Alex hitting a punching machine and breaking it . It took Matthew quite awhile to find out where the video came from, seeing as all sources disappeared a few minutester .

    Still through undying perseverance Matthew finally found Alex, and he was now about ready to get his revenge .

    ¡¯You might have the advantage before, because of RELEASE, but I and my master created a simr technique that releases all the potential of the human body . Let¡¯s see who wins if we are on equal grounds . ¡¯

    . . .

    Alex who was waiting on the rooftop of the school, heard somebody climbing on the side of the building . A few secondster somebody jumped onto the roof . It was a boy with ck hair, and fierce ring ck eyes . He has grown quite a bit from thest time they met, but Alex was sure this was the Holy son Matthew Zephyr .

    Matthew smiled at Alex and spoke, "It¡¯s been a long time Alex . I see that you still have that irritating poker face . "

    "It¡¯s been a long time Matthew . So why did youe here?" Alex as usual went straight to the point .

    "Oh don¡¯t be like that, aren¡¯t we friends and rivals . Can¡¯t I just see my friend and say hi?"

    "Is that so . . . Did youe here just to say hi?"

    "You know me better than that . What I truly came for is this . " Matthew suddenly had his veins erge and you could see it covering his body . This move look like it was RELEASE but it wasn¡¯t since Matthew¡¯s muscles didn¡¯t bulge .

    Matthew who was in a weird state suddenly burst forth and stood in front of Alex his rifle pointing at Alex¡¯s face .

    "I came for a rematch Alexander Samarita, the silent sh . "

 Chapter 192

    Chapter 192: 192

    Alex who was shocked at first by Matthew¡¯s sudden movement was still able to react on time . When Matthew had pointed his rifle at Alex¡¯s face, Alex was able to do the same and was pointing his two guns at Matthew¡¯s face and heart .

    Matthew seeing the reaction of his rival and so-called friend made him smile a very joyous smile . Alex pushed the rifle using his left hand, while his right handgun still pointed at his opponents face . Matthew then changed the position of his rifle and pointed it downward evading Alex¡¯s hand, and pushing it to the side . While his free left hand pushed Alex¡¯s handgun that was pointing at him .

    Alex seeing the moving hand of Matthew and followed it, by pushing the rifle downwards . While backing up the right handgun and changing the direction of where his handgun was pointing at .

    The two of them didn¡¯t move from their spot as they kept changing the position of their guns and pushing the opponent¡¯s weapon to the side . Neither of the two made a shot since they only wanted to shoot if they were sure they would hit . Wasting bullets against an opponent near one¡¯s level was asking for death . This exchange kept on going for a few more seconds until finally the two of them heard someone yawning .

    "This is more boring than I thought . When I saw the Matthew kid, I thought I will get to see a good fight . But what do I see here, it¡¯s just two kids jerking off . "

    The one who spoke was none other that Lyner the strongest merc of Berdonia . He was standing on the fence at the edge of the rooftop while smoking . The two fighters, Alex and Matthew didn¡¯t even notice his arrival .

    Alex wasn¡¯t that surprised to see Lyner here, Matthew, on the other hand, was stunned . He wasn¡¯t expecting to see someone like Lyner in this kind of school . Lyner exuded a presence that reminded Matthew of his own master .

    The moment that thought pass through Matthew he knew who the man standing before him was . It was none other than the youngest SS rank merc, that made some mercs shiver in fear by hearing his name .

    Lyner looked at the two boy¡¯s thinking that maybe they weren¡¯t able to fight properly since they were in school premise and they didn¡¯t want to make amotion . So Lyner decided to bring them to the ce he was training Niel every now and then .

    LYner jumped upwards andnded behind the two young mercs that were fighting . He grabbed their cors and carried them on his shoulder like a bag of rice . Matthew who was suddenly manhandled started to resist . He even went into the state that was like the RELEASE . Yet no matter how hard he struggled he couldn¡¯t free himself .

    "Oh, that¡¯s cute . You¡¯re trying to release the potential of your body by making the blood circte through your body faster . You do know that would strain your heart, and the way you¡¯re using it might actually kill you . . . Well, I guess I can understand wanting to be stronger at your age, but there¡¯s a proper way . Didn¡¯t your master tell you this? . . . I wonder was he trying to test you, or did he really not know? . . . I hope he did, seeing as he is considered to be on the same level as me . "

    When Matthew heard what Lyner said he got very angry . Lyner was bad mouthing his teacher, but he couldn¡¯t do anything against the man . Lyner had actually pointed out the w in this technique, Matthew wanted to refute him, but he couldn¡¯t . His master knew of this w and most probably this was a test of sorts for him . Since his master has never specifically said to not use this technique .

    Once Matthew stopped struggling and kept quiet as he was thinking about something, Lyner suddenly jumped downwards . Even though Lyner was considered to be beyond human understanding, falling from this height would surely kill them . Alex was still calm as they fell because he knew Lyner won¡¯t do something he couldn¡¯t handle . Matthew, on the other hand, thought Lyner was crazy, since not even his master would remain unscathed from a fall from a six-story tall building .

    As they were falling down, they suddenly stopped at the third floor . Lyner looked like he was floating in mid-air but in truth, he was standing on some wires . After which he gently jumped from on wire to the next . Once he was down on the ground he sprinted towards the ce he wanted to go .

    . . .

    All throughout the trip, none of them spoke as they waited to see were Lyner would take them . When Alex saw a familiar mountain, he figured out that he was taking them to Ken¡¯s ce . Lyner sped up as he brought the boys to the top were Ken¡¯s house was located . At the moment it was empty as Ken was in school training the Kendo club .

    Once they were on top Lyner drop the two boys and spoke .

    "Now you can fight seriously since there¡¯s nothing here to disturb you guys . " Matthew who was finally released by Lyner stood up and stared daggers at Lyner before sighing .

    "I don¡¯t feel like fighting anymore . I guess I¡¯ll try again next time . " After Matthew said that, he was about to leave but before he could do so, Lyner blocked his path .

    "You do know you suddenly break in my school try to attack one of my students and you want to leave just like that?" Matthew wanted to retort that weren¡¯t you the one who wanted me to fight? But he couldn¡¯t do so since Lyner was now directing his bloodlust at Matthew .

    This was the first time he has been at the receiving end of this kind of bloodlust . Unlike Alex, Matthew has never trained in real battle . He didn¡¯t even have a merc rank since he hasn¡¯t registered . He had always fought people that were on good terms with his master .

    Alex was the only one he ever fought that his master didn¡¯t scout for him . Yet Alex never directed any killing intent or bloodlust towards him . That¡¯s why the moment Matthew felt Lyner¡¯s bloodlust he couldn¡¯t move as he shivered in fear . Matthew¡¯s legs finally gave out and he stumbled backwards . When Lyner saw this he looked at Matthew disappointed .

    "Is that it? Is that all the famous holy son is worth? You¡¯re nothing more than a baby . . . I see, even if you do fight Alex, you won¡¯t be able to win . "

    When Matthew heard this he snapped . He didn¡¯t care about the difference in their abilities . He didn¡¯t care that right now he was in a total disadvantage, but Matthew couldn¡¯t let go of his pride . He couldn¡¯t ept what Lyner was saying . So he gritted his teeth and stood up, he then pointed his rifle at Lyner and started shooting .

    The uracy of his shots wasn¡¯t like his usual shooting . He was shooting like a child, just blindingly holding down the trigger without even properly aiming . Lyner didn¡¯t even move from his spot since none of the bullets seem to be heading his way .

    "Now you¡¯re throwing a temper tantrum . You really are a baby, aren¡¯t you . " When Lyner said this, it just made Matthew angrier, he went into the same state as RELEASE and charged at Lyner, who easily dodged his telegraphic punch .

    Matthew was so angry right now, that there was no sign of technique or skill in his way of attacking . He was just trying to trample on Lyner with power alone . Of course, this wouldn¡¯t work on Lyner who was faster and stronger than Matthew even in the state he was in .

    "I already told you, that technique is going to kill you if you keep on using it like that . " Lyner who was simply dodging all of Matthew¡¯s attacks once again reminded him . Seeing Lyner wasn¡¯t even considering him a threat, made Matthew even angrier .

    "AAAAHHH!!!" Matthew screamed at the top of his lungs, as he kept on repeating in his mind that he needed to go faster and that he needed to at least scratch Lyner .

    Alex who was watching on the side felt sorry for Matthew . If he fought Lyner in a more calm manner, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to win, but at least he would¡¯ve been able to do better than this, sorry disy .

    Matthew who was trying to make his heartbeat go faster, to pump more blood . He then finally felt the bacsh Lyner was talking about, his chest suddenly started to feel like it was burning as his it tightened .

    Matthew stopped using the technique and started panting . He looked at Lyner full of hate and irritation .

    "Well you did better than I thought you would, but that¡¯s it . I don¡¯t understand why they praise you as the next uing SS rank merc . You¡¯re nothing special, even my own apprentice that hasn¡¯t been training for long is doing better than you . "

    Hearing Lyner¡¯s words made Matthew even angrier . He was still having a hard time and he still couldn¡¯t move properly, but once he was able to he decided to attack Lyner again . It doesn¡¯t matter if he dies today, as long as he gets to punch that person that keeps on looking down on him .

    "I can pretty much guess what you¡¯re thinking . Face it kid no matter what you do, you won¡¯t be able to even touch me . Your body might have been trained beyond human limitations, but your mind hasn¡¯t been trained at all . You¡¯re easily taunted, you¡¯re emotionally unstable, and you don¡¯t seem to know your limitations . Your nothing but a bore, go back to your master and retrain from scratch . Also tell him this for me, if he wants to avenge you, he knows where to find me . "

    Matthew started grinding his teeth in anger . This was the first time in his life that he was being looked down upon so much .

    "I don¡¯t need my master toe and help me deal with someone of your level . I just underestimated you, that¡¯s all . Once I¡¯m done resting for a bit, I¡¯ll show you what I can truly do . "

    "You got guts kid, and a lot of pride I¡¯ll give you that . " Lyner turned around and was about to leave . Seeing Lyner about to leave, Matthew wanted to say something . He didn¡¯t want it to end like this . He didn¡¯t want to feel like a loser, same as before .

    "Are you running away? So much for the strongest of Berdonia . I can¡¯t believe many people fear you, seeing as you¡¯re nothing but a coward . " Lyner who was about to leave stopped . The air surrounding him seem like it was heating up .

    The pressure he was emitting was unlike before, and the killing intent he was releasing was suffocating . The animals in the mountain to started to run away, the birds in the mountain all flew almost blocking a portion of the sky .

    "What did you say?" Lyner spoke, not in his usual I don¡¯t care tone of voice, but in a much deeper menacing tone . It was frightening and all of this was directed at Matthew . At this moment Matthew wanted to answer back, but he couldn¡¯t speak .

    "Did you just call me a coward?" Lyner asked full of anger . This was the one word no one was supposed to say to him . It was the word he hated the most . Lyner knew that the kid Matthew was justshing out and taunting him, but hearing the boy calling him a coward, even if it¡¯s not true made Lyner mad .

    "I was going to wait until you fully matured before fighting you, but you said something you should have never said . Tell me your final words kid and I¡¯ll remember it . "

    Lyner who eased up his bloodlust waited for a reply from Matthew .

    "Bite . . . Me . " Matthew even in the face of overwhelming strength spoke in defiance . Once Lyner heard Matthew¡¯s final words he moved . Alex who was standing by moments ago also moved and blocked Lyner¡¯s outstretched arm that wanted to crush Matthew¡¯s head .

    "Don¡¯t get in my way Alex . I¡¯m not in the mood . " Lyner then directed his killing intent at Alex . Faced with Lyner¡¯s overwhelming bloodlust, Alex still remained ever stoic .

    "Sir Lyner . . . I ask of you just this once, please forgive him . "

 Chapter 193

    Chapter 193: 193

    Hearing what Alex said didn¡¯t make Lyner¡¯s anger dissipate, he just redirected his anger at Alex for the time being . Feeling the full brunt of Lyner¡¯s overwhelming bloodlust, Alex remained calm . Though he was a bit surprised to see the easy-going teacher act this way .

    This might be his actual personality showing, Alex wasn¡¯t sure but he needed to be extremely wary .

    "Alex I¡¯ll say it again, I¡¯m not in the mood . So you better let go, or I might not be able to hold back . "

    "Sir Lyner I know you¡¯re angry, but you must forgive my friend . He might sound boastful and arrogant, but that¡¯s just his way to hide his insecurities, and like you said he¡¯s just a child . So shouldn¡¯t a grown man like you be magnanimous to a junior like him . "

    Lyner looked at Alex, his eyes were like daggers trying to pierce him . After a long silence, Lyner¡¯s bloodlust lessened a bit, but Alex didn¡¯t let his guard down . It was never simple with the man called the strongest of Berdonia . He was a person who sometimes looks foolish and impulsive, but at the same time, he also feels intelligent and wise . What you get when you mixed those things together is whatever Lyner was .

    Matthew seeing Alex defend him was shocked . He knew the trouble he was getting himself into, and still went and said what he said . He was alright with dying in the hands of the strongest of Berdonia, thinking wouldn¡¯t that be a great honor . Still, if there was a way not to die, he would still take it . But seeing that it was his rival that he wanted to beat that was saving him, made Matthew feel mixed emotions .

    He was grateful at the same time irritated and angry . He also didn¡¯t like the feeling that Alex was actually pitying him . He then noticed that Lyner was looking at him, which made him clench his fist in frustration .

    Seeing the look of distress hiding behind the arrogance, Lyner sighed .

    "I cannot let his insult slide, but you are right he is but a child . So I will give you a chance . If you two are able to flee from me for about twenty minutes, and I¡¯m unable to catch both of you within that time limit . I will not do anything to that friend of yours, but if I do catch you, I¡¯ll be taking an arm from him, and you¡¯ll be my sparring partner for the next three days . Of course, while I give chase you two can try and kill me, that¡¯s if you can . "

    When Lyner said these words he shrugged his shoulders, he then continued speaking . "Do not worry the killing rule only applies to you, I won¡¯t try to kill you, but I can make this chase extremely painful . Do you agree to these conditions?"

    " . . . I agree, but before we start can Matthew rest for a few more minutes?"

    "Whatever, I¡¯ll give you about-" Lyner with his sharp eyes looked at Matthew before he continued his answer . "Fifteen minutes, that¡¯s enough time for the baby to recover . " Alex nodded his head in agreement and left Lyner¡¯s side to approach Matthew who was trying to catch his breath .

    "Why did you do that? I could have handled the situation myself!" The first thing that came out of Matthew¡¯s mouth was not words of gratitude, but his usual condescending words . Alex had no time to fight it out with Matthew, so he pushed the already tired Matthew and made him sit down .

    "I have no time for whateverints you have Matthew . I don¡¯t care if it damages your pride, but you have to follow my orders . "

    Matthew was about to open his mouth to argue, but Alex shut it close by pinching his lips shut with his fingers . Alex who was now kneeling in front of Matthew looked at him eye to eye and spoke .

    "Like I said I have no time for yourints . We are about to face the strongest of Berdonia, and it will take everything we got just to escape . So I want you to listen carefully, the rules of this game are simple as long as he doesn¡¯t catch both of us, we win . Meaning that victory is assured as long as one of us escapes . So here¡¯s the n . "

    . . .

    Lyner watched the two kids nning what they were going to do against him . He couldn¡¯t hear them from this distance, but even if he could he wouldn¡¯t bother listening . This was the arrogance thates with overwhelming strength .

    Lyner took a cigaret from his pocket and a lighter and started smoking . While he waited he started to think about what happened moments ago . After all these years, he was still affected by the word coward .

    It¡¯s been twenty years since that incident and he thought he already stopped caring, but turns out he still cared . Lyner silently smokes his cigaret as he remembered that time when he lost everything and became the man that he was now .

    He remembered the scared faces of his ssmates, as they looked at him asking for help . He remembers the tauntingugh of the man who called him a coward . Every time he remembers that moment Lyner no matter the circumstance gets unbelievable angry . Right now he was still able to hold it in, but for some reason he keeps on hearing Matthew¡¯s voice calling him a coward, making him want to rip off his head .

    He made up this idea of a chase so he could let loose, and maybe calm himself down enough to not want to kill the kid . Cause at this moment he really wanted to tear him apart .

    ¡¯It¡¯s been so long, but I guess I¡¯m still a kid as well . ¡¯ Even smoking his favorite cigaret wasn¡¯t helping him calm down today .

    . . .

    Once Alex was done briefing Matthew on what to do he let go of his mouth .

    "Do you understand the n?" Matthew red at him and answered back .

    "Of course I understand the n, I¡¯m not an idiot . Still, your n has a lot of what ifs in it . I was sure you were the type of person that ns every detail and doesn¡¯t rely on guesses and hunches . "

    "We are facing a person strong enough to crush us with his bare hands . We are unsure were his limitsy . I do not like facing an opponent I haven¡¯t researched thoroughly, but that¡¯s what we¡¯re about to do . All the data I gathered, everything I observed about Sir Lyner has been used to make this n . " Alex who usually had a stoic expression looked at Matthew with an icy re before continuing what he was saying .

    "This n is just an improvise version of my real n on how to take down Sir Lyner just in case I needed to . "

    "Why are we using the improvise version, can¡¯t we use the actual n?"

    "The actual n consists of twenty fully equipped people, in a designated ce I have scouted in advance and filled with traps . Right now we only have two people, one is even injured, and the equipment we have is at most sub-par . So I hope you stopining and just do as I told you . Also, stop antagonizing Sir Lyner . . . No, how about you just stop talking altogether . "

    Matthew was about to respond to that, but Alex once again pinched his lips stopping him from talking back .

    "I don¡¯t expect you to thank me or anything, but I do expect you to follow my orders so that we can survive this ordeal . "

    Lyner approached the two and spoke . "Are you ready? There is only a minute left until rest time is over . "

    "We¡¯re as ready as will ever be," Alex responded with his usual indifferent tone of voice, but this time he ended it with a sigh .

    "Okay then, I¡¯ll give you guys a twenty-second head start . The timer starts now, 1,2 . " When Alex and Matthew heard Lyner counting they started to run deeper into the mountains . They knew they had more of a chance to escape Lyner if they hide deeper into the mountains than in the open space down below .

    Lyner seeing the two boys sprinting away continued his counting . Once he was done he also moved forward jumping up a branch of a nearby tree and chased the two by jumping from branch to branch .

    . . .

    Alex and Matthew who were running away from Lyner could pretty much feel him nearing since he wasn¡¯t really hiding . There was no possible way not to notice that immense bloodlust that was chasing after them, slowly but surely nearing them .

    At this moment Matthew finally understood why Lyner was called the monster of the battlefield . It wasn¡¯t because of his overwhelming strength, it was because of his presence . The way he gives chase was like that of a monster . Moving fast enough to catch up, but not fast enough to be able to reach them immediately .

    The fear of him reaching you weighed down on you, as you try to go faster . When you do that you noticed that he too was going faster, but just fast enough that he was barely catching up . This entire experience was very stressful to Matthew who has never gone through such hardships .

    Alex, on the other hand, was as usual calm and collected . He already knew that Lyner would be toying with them, which will give them the chance they needed to win .

    Lyner was even taunting them by repeating the verse made for him .

    "Run, run, run, cause here hees .

    Run, run, run, for the monsteres .

    A Swish of his de and your head begone

    With the shot of his gun, you¡¯re all but done . "

    He kept on repeating that verse as he chased Alex and Matthew . It didn¡¯t really affect Alex too much since he already expected Lyner to act like this, but Matthew was not as mentally prepared as him . The intense bloodlust, the slow chase, as well as that verse, made him very anxious .

    Alex who was running right beside Matthew spoke to him .

    "Sir Lyner will continue this chase until there are only a few minutes left . Once he¡¯s done attacking us mentally, he will begin his assault . When he¡¯s trying to catch us he will try to tire us out, slowly like a predator ying with his prey . The moment he is sure of victory is our only chance, got it?"

    Matthew gritted his teeth and nodded in response .

    "As long as you follow my n, we will have a chance of winning . "

    . . .

    Lyner who was looking at his watch while chasing Alex and Matthew saw that there were ten minutes left .

    ¡¯Now it¡¯s time for the real game . I¡¯ll start with that kid Matthew, I might have promised not to kill him, but I never said that I¡¯m not going to torture him . ¡¯

    Lyner then sped up and was about to begin the real chase .

 Chapter 194

    Chapter 194: 194

    Lyner suddenly moved faster than the eye could see, he charged at Matthew trying to hit him . Yet before he could reach his target he dodged, as a bullet pass by him . Alex who was expecting Lyner to attack Matthew shot blindly behind Matthew¡¯s back . He wasn¡¯t able to see how Lyner moved, but the moment he felt Lyner¡¯s intense killing intenting close, Alex just shot randomly behind Matthew .

    It was a lucky shot, but it gave them the time they needed to do the next step . They now know that Lyner stopped his mind games, and was now going on the attack . Alex and Matthew looked at each other when Alex suddenly started blinking . That was the signal to initiate the n .

    Matthew suddenly went into his pseudo RELEASE state and started to run faster, deeper into the mountains . Alex also went into his own RELEASE state ready to face Lyner .

    Alex knew that this time it would be different from thest time they fought . The Lyner he was facing now was in a totally different league from the Lyner he fought a month ago . This was the true form of the SS rank merc . An incredible speed that the eye couldn¡¯t follow, amazing reflexes that could dodge any and all attacks, he even had the senses of a wild animal . Not to mention the overwhelming pressure of his killing intent, that could suffocate a normal person .

    This was the monster Alex was facing, but even in this situation, Alex remained ever calm . He had simted a bunch of scenarios in his head if he ever needed to face the strongest merc of Berdonia . First, he needed to see how much of a difference they had in terms of overall performance .

    Alex who was in his strongest state jumped up to the branch were Lyner was going to jump to . He intercepted Lyner who wasn¡¯t focusing on him . Alex knew that Lyner¡¯s priority right now was to capture Matthew and y with him . Based on Alex¡¯s understanding of Lyner, the merc that loved to battle was at times intelligent and wise, but when he is agitated or excited, he was prone to follow his wild instincts .

    So even though Lyner most probably knew it would be better to deal with Alex first, his irritation of Matthew would shine through . So he would try to bypass Alex and head straight to Matthew . Knowing all this Alex was sure Lyner would be a bit impatient since he wanted to chase Matthew .

    Alex who was now on a branch on the same height as Lyner started shooting with his M1911 pistol . Lyner who saw Alex shooting at him continued to move forward, Alex¡¯s shooting was very urate, which made them very predictable . Lyner easily dodges all the bullets while moving forward .

    Seeing Lyner so close to him now, Alex initiated a melee, but before he could strike, Lyner took hold of Alex¡¯s cor and swung him downwards . Alex whonded safely on the ground was about to jump back up but was stopped for a second . There was a knife pierced onto the ground that had caught onto Alex¡¯s pants .

    Alex didn¡¯t even notice Lyner threw a knife at him, he was like a magician with his use of misdirection . With that moment dy, Lyner was able to sessfully bypass Alex . This was still within Alex¡¯s expectations . After removing the knife that stuck to his pants Alex followed Lyner .

    . . .

    Matthew who has an overwhelming head start running was now in his normal state . It was like Lyner pointed out he couldn¡¯t stay in that pseudo RELEASE state for a prolonged period of time . Still, he was running at full speed and Alex was dying Lyner so with this he might not need to do what Alex said he needed to do .

    As Matthew was feeling a bitfortable, he suddenly felt an intense suffocating bloodlust . He knew immediately who it was . He couldn¡¯t believe that Lyner was able to follow after him so fast .

    Matthew didn¡¯t want to do phase two of the n, he wanted to do anything else but that . Still, he knew that Alex¡¯s n was the best bet he has to win this game . Matthew gritted his teeth andy on the on the ground in a turtle position . His hands were covering his face, and his legs covering his body . He hardened his body to the utmost waiting for Lyner to attack him .

    Lyner who saw what Matthew did knew that the arrogant kid wasn¡¯t the one who decided he wanted to do that . It was obviously a ploy by Alex to waste his time, but Lyner didn¡¯t care . He wanted to beat up the snot-nosed brat that called him a coward .

    So without hesitation, Lyner kicked Matthew at full strength . Matthew who weighed ny-eight kilos flew three meters away hitting a nearby tree . The tree hit his back pretty hard but Matthew still remained in his turtle position hardening his defense even more . Lyner, on the other hand, continued kicking him . After a few more kicks Matthew¡¯s hands were beginning to turn numb, but still, he persevered . He gritted his teeth and continued to defend himself . Lyner getting bored of kicking Matthew around, dug his left foot onto the ground and scooped Matthew up, he then kicked upward, making Matthew fly up a few feet of the ground . Lyner then followed that move with an axe kick, with that kick plus gravity Matthew who hit the ground finally opened up his defense vomiting blood .

    When Lyner was about to pick up the now defenseless Matthew he sensed danger and jumped backward . He then heard a gunshot, and saw Matthew was holding Alex¡¯s desert eagle .

    "You could even evade that . . . You really are . . . as strong as master . " Matthew who stopped vomiting blood spoke as he slowly stood up . He saw from a distance Alex¡¯s signal telling him the n was heading to phase three .

    Lyner who saw that Matthew was ready to fight felt like something was going to happen . At this moment Lyner who was angry felt a bit excited . His blood started to boil as his fighting spirit rose . Even though it was soft, Lyner could hear Alex was right behind him . He looked at his watch and saw there were only three minutes left before the game ends .

    Matthew was pointing his gun at him, and Alex was most probably hiding behind him pointing his gun as well . Two of the strongest of the younger generation were about to face him, and the time limit of the game was nearing, with all these conditions Lyner couldn¡¯t help but smile his ever vicious smile .

    At this point, Lynerpletely stopped being angry and immersed himself in the fight . He didn¡¯t wait for the two young ones to attack as he initiated his own assault . He charged at the already weakened Matthew, who tried shooting at him, Alex at the back also started shooting at him .

    Lyner twisted his body evading the predictable shots of the urate shooters and threw a knife at the position he guessed Alex was at . Afterward, he continued sprinting towards Matthew who went into his pseudo RELEASE state while continuing to fire at Lyner .

    The SS rank merc used the trees as cover as he continued onward to Matthew who was backing away as he wasted bullets . Lyner then did a sidestep as Alex who was in his RELEASE state did a flying kick . Once Alex missed him Lyner was about to tackle Alex but was unable to since Matthew provided cover fire .

    Lyner without even looking threw a knife at Matthew¡¯s way as he lowered his stance to evade the iing bullet . Alex and Matthew were really trying to kill Lyner because they wouldn¡¯t win if they didn¡¯t .

    Matthew stopped firing since he only had three bullets left, instead, he lunged at Lyner trying to start a melee, while Alex who still has bullets provided cover fire .

    The two young boys even without practicing were somehow in total synchronization with each other, but even with that, as well as the advantage of numbers and equipment they were still losing ground .

    Lyner who was having so much fun fighting noticed that there was but a minute left before the game was over . Sighing Lyner was finally ready to take this seriously . Noticing the change happening to Lyner the two rivals knew that thisst minute will be the hardest to ovee .

 Chapter 195

    Chapter 195

    Lyner¡¯s stance changed as he lowered his stance . Even the aura he was emitting changed . Moments ago he was bursting with bloodlust and fighting spirit, but now it felt frigid . Seeing this Alex and Matthew prepared themselves and before Lyner moved Alex took a throwing knife hidden in his shoulders and threw it at Lyner . As if that was a signal all three of them then started to move in inhuman speeds .

    One second:

    Lyner caught the throwing knife Alex threw at him and threw it back at the owner . Matthew who was already near Lyner punched him .

    Two seconds:

    Lyner evaded Matthew¡¯s punch and grabbed it, he was about to put Matthew in a hold, but he saw Alex was about to shoot at him . Lyner then pushed Matthew towards Alex blocking his shot .

    Three seconds:

    Alex seeing Matthewing towards him, did a sidestep but was greeted by Lyner trying to grab hold of him .

    Four seconds:

    Alex shot at Lyner¡¯s feet making him slow down for a bit, with that additional time, Matthew who finally regained his bnce also shot at Lyner, but this time he didn¡¯t shoot directly at him, he tried to predict where Lyner would stop .

    Five seconds:

    Lyner was surprised by Matthew who looked like he was improving as the fight continued . . . Though it looks like an improvement, but it felt more like Matthew could finally disy his true abilities . Most likely Matthew had finally got used to Lyner emitting his killing intent .

    Lyner buried his foot onto the ground stopping himself from moving, making Matthew miss his shot .

    Six seconds:

    Lyner kicked up the ground where he pierced his foot into . This move made the dirt go upwards making something simr to a smoke screen . Lyner suddenly vanished from sight .

    Seven seconds:

    Seeing what Lyner did both Alex and Matthew stuck together and were now standing back to back, to deal with their blind spots . They couldn¡¯t sense, hear, or smell Lyner at this moment even his suffocating killing intent vanished .

    Eight seconds:

    Alex and Matthew were getting tense as they didn¡¯t know where Lyner would suddenly pop out from .

    Nine seconds:

    Alex and Matthew suddenly heard something from above, and when they looked up they saw a silhouette of something falling down .

    Ten seconds:

    Alex started to shoot at the falling silhouette until he only had one bullet left . Matthew who saw the iing silhouette shot at it as well until he too only had one bullet left .

    Eleven seconds:

    The silhouette that the two saw was nothing more than the shirt Lyner was wearing . Alex and even Matthew felt the danger they were in and jump upwards .

    Twelve seconds:

    Lyner who has sessfully distracted the two boys was about to pull on their legs winning the game, but both of them had jumped . Still, even with that action, Matthew who was a bit slower was captured by Lyner .

    Thirteen seconds:

    Matthew seeing as he was captured toss the desert eagle at Alex .

    Fourteen seconds:

    Alex had caught the desert eagle and without dy aimed at Lyner¡¯s arm, and using the m1911 pistol predicted how Lyner would evade and shot at the position he predicted .

    Fifteen seconds:

    Lyner evaded Alex¡¯s bullet instinctively but the moment he shifted his arms another bullet actually nicked him, shocking him and making him loosen his grip on Matthew¡¯s leg .

    Sixteen seconds:

    Matthew feeling Lyner¡¯s grip loosen used all his strength to struggle free . Alex helped as well seeing that Lyner¡¯s was almost off bnce by being surprised, Alex went close .

    Seventeen seconds:

    Alex did a sweeping kick, in which Lyner was forced to release the squirming Matthew before he could jump upward to evade .

    Eighteen seconds:

    Alex signaled Matthew telling him to initiate the final phase of the n .

    Neen Seconds:

    Alex and Matthew who were in there RELEASE and pseudo RELEASE state ran in two different directions . Seeing as there was little time left, as long as they make Lyner waste his time they would win .

    Twenty seconds:

    Lyner noticed what the two boys were nning and threw another knife with a wire attached at Matthew .

    Matthew who was on high alert and was also getting used to this kind of battle was able to sense the iing knife and was barely able to evade .

    Twenty-one seconds:

    Lyner seeing that Matthew evaded his attack pull back the knife with a wire attached and gave chase to Matthew, who felt easier to capture .

    Twenty-two seconds:

    Matthew who felt a shiver down his spine, knew that Lyner decided to capture him first . Matthew then stopped running . This was part of Alex¡¯s n, whoever Lyner decides to capture first should dy Lyner to the best of his abilities, while the one who wasn¡¯t facing Lyner escapes further away .

    Twenty-three seconds

    Lyner who saw Matthew stop was confused for a moment . This sudden move actually shock Lyner and was able to stop him for a second .

    Twenty four seconds:

    Lyner who was confused for a moment didn¡¯t care anymore . He charged forth at Matthew with blinding speed .

    Twenty-five seconds:

    Matthew who lost sight of Lyner had a decision to make . Lyner could attack from behind, above or below . Depending on how he acts Matthew will be able to dy Lyner for at least three seconds or more .

    Twenty-six seconds:

    Matthew decided that Lyner would attack from above and without even looking did a back step .

    Twenty-seven seconds:

    Out of nowhere Lyner appeared from above andnded on the spot Matthew was at, before he did a back step .

    Twenty-eight seconds:

    Lyner moved again and was now in front of Matthew, who saw Lyner was about to hit him with his right fist . Matthew seeing that move was going to block .

    Twenty-nine seconds:

    Matthew who was ready to block Lyner¡¯s right fist suddenly felt something struck the back of his neck and he lost consciousness .

    Thirty to thirty-four seconds:

    Lyner was amazed at how Matthew reacted to his attack . This was the first time someone who was so much weaker than him was able to evade his attack at full speed . Matthew even reacted to the feint with his right fist . Matthew might not have noticed but in the end he was finally able to see Lyner¡¯s movements .

    Thirty-five seconds:

    Lyner had no more time to be amazed by the kid he wanted to beat up . He needed to move fast and find Alex . Knowing that kid he might already be hiding in a secure location that is difficult to spot .

    . . .

    Fifty seconds:

    Alex found a spring while running and decided to hide there . Alex submerged himself in the spring while holding his breath not moving .

    Fifty-four seconds:

    Alex felt some movement from the other side of the spring and could already guess who it was .

    Fifty-five seconds:

    As expected the person who suddenly jumped into the spring was Lyner . Who even in water was able to move quite fast .

    Fifty-six seconds:

    Alex knew that this was now a do or die situation . He waited for Lyner to get within his field and move .

    Fifty-seven seconds:

    Lyner was now faced to face with Alex his hands about to grab the boy, but before he could that a throwing knife came flying out of the water .

    Fifty-eight seconds:

    Alex who flung a throwing knife he was holding in between his toes, took thest throwing knife he had and threw at Lyner¡¯s face .

    Fifty-nine seconds:

    Lyner who wasn¡¯t expecting a throwing knife to suddenly appear from below had only one second left to win . He evaded Alex¡¯s knife and stretched his arms towards Alex at the fastest speed he could muster .

    Sixty seconds:

    Alex didn¡¯t know what Lyner would do next but as long as he could evade thisst shot he and Matthew would win . Alex who was on high alert didn¡¯t know why, but his instincts were telling him to move his head slightly forward .

    Lyner was surprised by Alex sudden move, and was unable to pinch the back of his neck . The time limit was over, Alex and Matthew actually won .

    Lyner stood there with an expression of surprise, cause in thest sixty seconds he was actually trying and he was still unable to win . Lyner who lost suddenly started tough heartily . He looked at Alex and spoke with a smile on his face .

    "Heh, be proud Alex . Though it wasn¡¯t a real life or death fight, you and your friend were actually able to win against a serious me . "

 Chapter 196

    Chapter 196

    Alex who expended too much energy in the fight sat down at the edge of the spring . He wasn¡¯t sure what had happened in the end, but hearing Lyner tell him that they won surprised him .

    There were a lot of coincidences that happened, and Lyner wasn¡¯t even taking it seriously for the first neen minutes .

    Also even though he said he was taking it seriously near the end, he wasn¡¯t really trying to kill them or anything his only objective was to capture them . The difficulty of killing a target and capturing a target were totally different .

    Killing a target was easier since one can do that even if he is weaker than the target, since there are a lot of factors in killing, like equipment, location, weather, and other such details . If everything was ced in the right order even an untrained child could somehow kill Alex .

    Yet capturing a person was a different matter, especially if the other party is even trying to kill you . The person trying to capture the other party would have to be stronger than the other party . Not to mention Lyner was going easy on the two even though he was saying he got serious .

    There were many restrictions to the current Lyner which is why he couldn¡¯t really go all out, but even with that Lyner felt satisfied . Alex, Matthew, Oliver, and his own disciple Niel, while Lyner was fighting he suddenly thought of the future of this four . Once the four of them have matured and gain enough experience, would his wish finally be granted?

    That wish to fight an amazing battle and die in the most glorious way possible . Lyner smiled his ever vicious smile as he thought of that future . The strongest merc of Berdonia in truth wasn¡¯t just looking for a fight . He was also looking for a ce to die .

    Yet the death he seeks was a death that was gained after a glorious battle . A battle that would make him use all his resources, all his strength, all his cunning, until he used everything in his being, and even by using all that he would still lose, and die, he wanted that kind of death . Lyner who has traveled to every battlefield he could find has never found the fight he so craved . Yet now seeing the two teens and the others he finally so a glimpse of his end .

    . . .

    While Alex and Matthew were resting, Lilitth was having a difficult time at school . The reason being that Niki was still very depressed because of her brother¡¯s injury and no matter how hard Lilitth tried to cheer her up she just wouldn¡¯t .

    Lilitth didn¡¯t know what else to do, seeing her best friend like that made Lilitth depressed as well . Seeing the two cute girls being depressed made the surrounding people depressed as well . It was lunch time and what usually was a time for eating and chatting with friends turned into something gloomy .

    Lilitth tried to talk to her, but she would only respond with a yes and that¡¯s it . Lilitth didn¡¯t know what else to do . It was at this moment Sarah Resti the art teacher approached the two .

    "What¡¯s troubling you two?"

    Lilitth and Niki who were being depressed look at the new arrival and said nothing .

    "I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening to you two, but if you want to tell me I¡¯ll listen to your problems . You never know your teacher could be able to solve your problems . "

    Sarah smiled at the two little girls trying tofort them . Feeling a bit morefortable Niki finally spoke about her problems to the teacher .

    . . .

    Kyle who was watching from afar while listening in on the conversation between the students and teacher smiled . She was much better than he expected her to be . It was at that moment Kyle decided to approach Sarah once he was done with this lousy bodyguard mission .

    . . .

    Lyner left the two teens while they were resting . He was now on his way back to the school, as he started thinking . That fight brought about a lot of memories, some were good the others were bad . While thinking about this Lyner couldn¡¯t help but smile at his own foolishness .

    ¡¯I guess I truly am a coward . . . Hehehe, I hated that word so much that I keep on denying it, but in the end, the truth is I was coward back then and I am a coward now . . . I already killed the man responsible for that incident but . . . ¡¯

    Lyner who was still weak back in the day was once part of a squad of young mercs . They did some small jobs here and there, until they finally felt like they could do a bigger mission . The mission was simple enough they just needed to apany a newly made squad .

    They were suppose to be something like escorts for the new squad, so that they could get a feel of the battlefield . At first Lyner and hispanions didn¡¯t find anything suspicious with the newly made squad . They acted like any new squad would act and asked questions any new squad would ask .

    So with how good their acting was, Lyner and his group were unable to see the trap thaty ahead . After passing by a certain area the members of the newly form squad started to snicker and before Lyner and his group could react, they were surrounded .

    A man from the group the group that just arrived stepped forward and without saying anything he smiled a sadistic smile as he signaled his men to attack . The group that arrived were made of B rank mercs, they were too strong for Lyner and hispanions .

    Lyner who saw hispanions being killed one by one, saw that they were looking at him their looks seem to be telling him something . They look like they were asking why Lyner was not doing anything why was he just standing there . Lyner at that time was so scared, and when he saw an opening he ran .

    As he was running away he heard the leader of the group who attacked them speak . "Are you just going to leave yourrades like that? . . . Well whatever it¡¯s boring to kill cowards like you anyway . HAHAHAHA!"

    Lyner didn¡¯t stop running as he heard that crazeugh of the man .

    . . .

    Lyner who had escaped with his life, immediately regretted his decision . He was human scum! He left hispanions to die and run away to save his own skin without even hesitating . The crazed man was right he was a coward .

    It was at that moment Lyner decided something .

    "I swear on your souls I will avenge you all! Curse me, hate me, and haunt me until my life ends! If that is what you guys wish then so be it! I will ept it all!"

    Lyner suddenly shouted at the surrounding area where no one was there to hear his oath . It was at this moment the start of his journey for vengeance began .

    . . .

    Lyner after a year of training in the battlefield by fighting many life and death battles was finally able to kill the squad that massacred hispanions . He even made the leader die in the most horrible way possible .

    Once he was done with his vengeance he still felt empty . He didn¡¯t know what to do next . . . While thinking about what to do, Lyner thought about killing himself . But stopped that train of thought, since hispanions even if they hated him to the core wouldn¡¯t want him to do that . He didn¡¯t want to die a coward¡¯s death . Doing so would just prove the crazed man was right . It was at that moment Lyner realized something .

    ¡¯I don¡¯t want to die a coward¡¯s death, then I¡¯ll find a way to die in the most glorious way possible . That way when I meet those guys again I¡¯ll be able to give them a story, not of the cowardly Lyner that fled to save his life, but a story about the brave Lyner who fought with everything he had and died a glorious death . ¡¯

    It was a foolish thing to look for, but Lyner was that kind of foolish person . He at that moment onward roamed around from battlefield to battlefield, trying to find the best fight he could find and in the end meet his glorious demise .

    But no matter how hard he looked he couldn¡¯t find it, not only that as he fought so many battles his strength was now on a different level . It was getting harder to find the end he wished for, until finally there were no more opponents left to fight .

    It was at that point Lyner gave up and just waited for the end in some school, bored out of his mind . Until a day came when a student appeared before him, once again reminding him of that long forgotten dream of his .

    . . .

    Lyner who was thinking back to that past he wanted to forget, chuckled at his foolishness .

    ¡¯It was such a foolish dream of someone trying to run away from a past that only he remembers . Thinking back to it now, I was just scared of dying and created a reason to keep on living . ¡¯

    Lyner looked at the bright blue sky and felt refreshed as he finally epted that long forgotten past . He knew it was those kids that made him confront this scar from the past . With his experience now, Lyner could finally ept what he had done then . Those eyes that used to haunt him the eyes of his deadpanions, now felt like they were showing a different meaning now .

    Most probably hispanions were looking at him in worry and wanted him to escape . He was just angry at himself from escaping that he just assumed that hispanions were angry at him as well .

 Chapter 197

    Chapter 197

    Alex who was resting saw that Lyner had left Matthew by a tree near the spring . He almost thought that Lyner would have tortured Matthew some more, but instead he left thinking about something else entirely . Before Lyner left it felt like he was on the verge of something, Alex wasn¡¯t sure .

    Alex dragged his body and rested at Matthew¡¯s side underneath the tree . He used all the strength he had left to move underneath the tree and sat there . At this moment Alex was unable to move his body . This was happening since, he had used RELEASE beyond what his body was capable of handling . He was even tempted to use RELEASE at a hundred percent, but that would cause more problems than just losing to Lyner .

    Still in the end he and Matthew had won against an SS rank merc . Lyner might have had a lot of handicaps but a win was still a win . That¡¯s what Alex was trying to convince himself off, but he just couldn¡¯t . That was the most pathetic victory he had achieved, over the recent years . He won by dumb luck, if he didn¡¯t listen to his instincts at thest moment, he would¡¯ve lost .

    Alex thought he had gained the power to be the strongest, he even sacrificed his emotions and a bit of his memories to be what he was now . Yet this battle proved that he wasn¡¯t quite there yet . Lyner was stronger, faster, and had better technique than him, and it didn¡¯t feel like he had to give up something to gain that strength .

    Was it really all about experience? If that is so, then what was the point of giving up everything he was, the him of the past, the him before meeting Carlo, he gave him up for strength . Yet here was a person who had given up nothing, who fought for fun, and was only trying to find a worthy challenge . He had the strength Alex had hoped to gain .

    While Alex was thinking about how Lyner got to be so strong he heard Matthew started groaning beside him . After a short while Matthew opened his eyes . He couldn¡¯t move a muscle same as Alex, since he overused his pseudo RELEASE state .

    He couldn¡¯t feel his body, and it seems like at the moment only his head could move . He looked around by moving his head and saw Alex sitting next to him .

    "So did we win?"

    "Yeah . "

    "I see . . . " Matthew¡¯s boisterous self seem to calm down for the moment, as he sat there in silence . Matthew was currently having conflicting feelings, beside him was the rival he wanted to defeat but at the moment he didn¡¯t feel like fighting Alex .

    His pride has been damaged a bunch of times, ever since he met his rival again . He thought that he was already at the top of the food chain, and everyone else aside from his master was not worth mentioning .

    He knew about the other SS rank mercs but he believed the only thing going for them was their experience . Yet today as he faced one that wasn¡¯t his master, he felt the disparity of their skills . Lyner was at a level that was far beyond him, and unlike his master who was already old . Lyner was a young SS rank merc . It would mean that Lyner could still improve, and if he does the gap between him and Lyner would only getrger .

    Matthew didn¡¯t want to acknowledge Lyner¡¯s strength, since it would wound his pride even more, but he had no choice . Lyner¡¯s strength was the real deal . He and his master might be at the same level at the moment, but what about a few yearster? His master was getting older and getting weaker by the day . While Lyner was still able to improve himself .

    "We won . . . But why do I feel so sh*tty?" Hearing Matthewining by his side Alex felt the same way . He knew what Matthew was feeling right now, since he too felt the same, Alex was nearing his limit as well .

    "It¡¯s because we only won by luck . " Hearing Alex answering his question that he didn¡¯t want answered made Matthew click his tongue .

    "I hate it when I agree with you . . . " After saying that the two of them once again turned silent . Right now the two had nothing else to do but look at the surrounding area .

    They were under the shade of a tree, they could smell water from the spring . While the gentle breeze tickled their skin . This ce was very calming, and the weather was perfect .

    The two sat their in silence as they appreciated the scenery .

    . . .

    "Hey, Alex back there . . . Why did you save me?" Matthew finally asked the question he wanted to hear an answer to . He was now able to ask Alex nicely as his pride at the moment was in tatters .

    " . . . I¡¯m not really sure, but I think it was because you called me your friend . " When Matthew heard this he was shocked, and looked at Alex . As usual Alex¡¯s expression was his same old stoic face, but somehow at this moment it felt different .

    "Just because of that? If Lyner wasn¡¯t able to control his rage, we could¡¯ve died back there, and you saved me risking your own life, just because I said we were friends? . . . " Matthew couldn¡¯t understand it, the Alex he knew was someone cold and calcting . He wouldn¡¯t move based solely on emotions, and that was another thing . Matthew always thought Alex had no emotions, but turns out he had some, Matthew just couldn¡¯t see beyond that poker face of his .

    "That¡¯s more than enough reason . . . You know Matthew ever since I came here, I met all kinds of people . I learned a lot from these people, they reminded me of things I have long discarded and forgotten . " Alex who recalled all the events that transpired ever since he came back from the battlefield, couldn¡¯t help but smile .

    Matthew who was looking at Alex was surprised to see him smile . This was the most shocking thing he had ever witnessed in his whole life . He was sure that Alex¡¯s poker face would remain the same until the day he died, yet here he was smiling .

    Matthew seeing this old rival of his smiling so cheerfully made him chuckle .

    "It sounds like you¡¯re having fun . "

    " . . . Huh, I guess I am . "

    "These people that you met what kind of people are they?" Matthew couldn¡¯t help but ask . He was really curious about the people that were able to change Alex so drastically .

    "They¡¯re my friends . " Alex answered without hesitation, which made Matthew smile .

    "I see . . . Hey Alex, can you tell me the story of how you met these friends of yours?"

    "It might take a while to tell that story . "

    "We got nothing else to do, so why not?"

    "You¡¯re right, very well . It all began when I came here with my father who gave me a very weird mission . "

    Alex started telling the story of how he met his friends . How he had a lot of fun times with them . How he started to grow as a person .

    Matthew sat their silently as he listened to his rival¡¯s story .

 Chapter 198

    Chapter 198

    Niel who had his arm injured was looking at a group message he received . It said that most members of the Mercenary Club needed to do something, so there was no need to go to practice . Niel didn¡¯t know why they all decided to do something at the same time .

    He was sure that Oliver and Sayaka wanted to do something as a newly formed couple . Alex was going to do the same thing as usual apanying Rachel . Emily would most probably try thinking of fun little ploys to have even more fun . Of course Kei who seem to be weirdly attached to Emily will follow her .

    ¡¯Hmm, I guess I do know what everyone will be doing . ¡¯ Niel smiled as he walked out of his ssroom . Niel as usual was surrounded by girls from all year levels . He being the most popr boy in school, as well as being single, made him the target of many girls fantasies .

    Niel didn¡¯t mind the attention and as usual he was courteous to all the girls . Sometimes their were girls thate to him a bit strongly, but showing them his winning smile always makes them stop . Usually every boy in school would hate him for monopolizing all the girls, and being too good looking or other nonsensical reason like that . But not to Niel he was too far above the average and was kind to both boys and girls, that no one not even the boys can hate him .

    Niel¡¯s charisma was unrivaled, but seeing his fellow clubmates hook up left and right made Niel start thinking , what about me?

    . . .

    After talking to the girls for awhile Niel headed towards the clubroom . He wanted to talk to Lyner and ask if he could do some training even if his arm was wounded . Of course Niel was expecting Lyner to happily reply to him .

    "A wounded arm? You call that a wound? Even if you have two broken arms, and legs, you could still train . As long as your mind is still functioning and your able to move some part of your body, you can still train, no problem . "

    Niel could already imagine Lyner telling him something simr to that . When Niel entered the clubroom, he saw that Lyner wasn¡¯t there, but then he noticed that there was something glittering above Lyner¡¯s bed .

    There was a secret code written on the ceiling above Lyner¡¯s bed . This secret code was the special code created by Lyner to be used between him and Niel . When Niel saw this he immediately tried to decipher it, since this might be another test by Lyner .

    It took Niel two minutes to decipher the message, it was fast but not as fast as he would hope . Still the message Lyner left was weird .

    "My cute weak little apprentice, read the letter I left you under the bed . Be careful I set up a bunch of traps there . Still I already taught you how to bypass all the traps, but if you aren¡¯t able to then you¡¯ll die . We¡¯ll if you aren¡¯t able to bypass the security of such traps, then you weren¡¯t worthy to be my apprentice, I would be ashamed so you dying in that situation would be something like an atonement, anyway good luck . "

    Reading this message from Lyner made Niel sigh . He was fully aware what kind of person his teacher was .

    So without hesitation, Niel got the tools Lyner hides underneath the closet near his bed . Niel who double checked the tools he would be using started working to get the letter hidden under Lyner¡¯s bed .

    . . .

    It took Niel about half an hour to get through all the traps Lyner ced, and he finally found an envelop . Inside the envelop was a key card and a letter .

    "To my cute semi-weak little apprentice, first off congrattions you have done an adequate job of getting through all the traps . Now onto the real topic, if you are reading this letter it means I have already left the city . I¡¯ll be gone for awhile and I¡¯m heading to the Southern Union . I decided to steal something important from them, just for sh*ts and giggles . Don¡¯t you worry about Berdonia¡¯s rtionship with the Southern Union, I¡¯ll deal with that . " Niel sighed as he read this part, he was pretty scared to hear his teacher telling him he would steal from the Southern Union .

    His teacher being the SS rank merc of Berdonia stealing from the Southern Union would have serious implications, but he did say not to worry . In Niel¡¯s mind there was nothing Lyner couldn¡¯t do . After he was done clearing his mind Niel continued to read the letter .

    "So while I¡¯m away you need to continue your training . Also if youe across something life threatening, you can use my secret safe room hidden underneath the stage of the auditorium . The key card I left there is what you need to get into the safe room . The safe room has food rations for five people that couldst for a week . Well that¡¯s all I wanted to say, see you about three days from now . "

    . . .

    Once Niel was done reading the letter he ced the key card in his wallet . It would most probably be a good idea to stay there, if someone else attacks his house . Still he would need to tell his family about him being trained by the strongest of Berdonia . . . Niel decided that he will think about it when the timees, for now he decided to check on Evangeline .

    Niel was a bit interested in Evangeline seeing as his sister likes her . Also Niel himself found Evangeline quite interesting, with her never give up attitude towards Alex .

    Even though she was clearly on the losing side, as Alex had only eyes for Rachel, Evangeline still remains ever hopeful . Niel was also confused by this obsession of Evangeline has with Alex . With her status, beauty, and talent she could get any guy she wants, but she picks someone that she couldn¡¯t have . . . Maybe that¡¯s why she likes him because he¡¯s an unattainable thing for her .

    When Niel got this far with his thoughts he decided not to think deeper into it . There was too many missing information to draw a conclusion . Well he could always ask Evangeline directly but that would be a bit crass .

    . . .

    Niel was now in front of the student council room, when he suddenly heard a shout .

    "AAAAAHHHH!!!" rmed Niel burst into the room, only to see a messy haired Evangeline standing on top of her desk .

    Niel was about to back away and close the door, but was stopped by Evangeline .

    "Niel, perfect timing! I have a favor to ask of you . " Hearing his name suddenly being called Niel had no more time to retreat .

    "Whatever do you need of me?" As Niel asked this, Evangeline approached him with a scary look in her eyes . The first thought that came to Niel¡¯s mind was did she finally lose it?

    Evangeline who was now standing in front of Niel, held his hand and said . "Will you please grant me strength?"

    "Huh?" Seeing Niel¡¯s confused expression, Evangeline rephrase her question .

    "Will you teach me how to fight?"

 Chapter 199

    Chapter 199

    A few minutes before Niel entered the student council room, Evangeline was once again the only person left in the room . She was as usual double checking all the files to make sure that there were no mistakes made .

    While she was doing this, she received a message from Sayaka, who told her that their group wouldn¡¯t be doing any practice today . Receiving this message from Sayaka reminded her of what Sayaka told her yesterday . She and Oliver were finally an official couple .

    This was surprising news for Evangeline, since she didn¡¯t know that Oliver actually had feelings for Sayaka . She knew that Sayaka liked Oliver, but not the other way around of him liking her . So when Sayaka told Evangeline this news, she was both happy and surprised .

    ¡¯Even Sayaka was able to snatch the man she wants . ¡¯

    When Evangeline¡¯s thoughts got to that point, she remembered Alex . It has been quite some time since she had talked or even looked at Alex . Thest time was two days ago . She was so swamped with paperwork that she had no time to see him . . .

    ¡¯Or did I unconsciously admitted defeat? . . . That can¡¯t be! . . . Still, even if I had a lot of paperwork, I would always have time to see Alex, but nowadays it¡¯s like I¡¯m actively avoiding him . . . ¡¯

    Evangeline¡¯s thoughts were once again in a mess . She thought she already resolve herself to fight it out with Rachel, but for the past few weeks she had done nothing in particr to make Alex look her way . She even got him in trouble with her kidnapping, and even those under her like the Harimas cause him trouble .

    Was she really just going to lose just like this? In all the chaotic thoughts she was having, one idea stood above the rest .

    ¡¯I need to get stronger . ¡¯ If she had the strength, she wouldn¡¯t have trouble with kidnappers, and she would be able to defend herself . Not only that when something troublesomees Alex¡¯s way she would be able to help .

    ¡¯Actually now that I think about it, maybe Alex is attracted to girls with fighting prowess . Most of his friends that are girls know how to fight . Well that is except for me . . . Actually now that I think about it, that is one of the few advantages Rachel has over me . . . I see! So I just need to get stronger, so that Alex will look my way . ¡¯

    When Evangeline reached this conclusion she decided to learn how to fight . So she needed a teacher, her family can obviously afford to hire an instructor that will teach her the ways of fighting, but that might take some time, and she would need to interview all possible applicants to see who seem to be fit to teach her .

    This could also invite disaster to her family, what if the instructor she hires was an assassin, that was after one of her family members or herself, then that would defeat the purpose of learning .

    So she needed to pick someone that she already knows and can trust . Now that she thinks about it, doesn¡¯t she know a ton of people like that . There was the teacher Lyner the one and only SS rank merc .

    Still he would most probably not teach someone like her . The guy was very entric and has his own way of picking apprentices . She could learn from Oliver¡¯s teacher the powerful swordsman Ken .

    ¡¯I guess I could ask Oliver to introduce me to his teacher, when he has free time . So who else can I ask to teach me . ¡¯

    Evangeline thought of Oliver¡¯s girlfriend, and her own friend Sayaka . Evangeline already knows that Sayaka was an assassin, so maybe she could teacher her the ways . . . Scratch that, Evangeline didn¡¯t want to kill people, if not needed . She just wants to defend herself, so maybe Sayaka is not the best choice to be a teacher .

    Of course Evangeline already thought that Rachel¡¯s dojo was the best choice seeing as they used their fist to fight, and can incapacitate an opponent without killing them . Still Evangeline didn¡¯t want to ask help from the family of her love rival .

    She could ask Alex directly to teach her, so that she can learn and spend more time with him, but Evangeline was scared that Alex might reject teaching her . Fearing that conclusion Evangeline decided to not do that .

    Finally she thought of thest person in the club that could teach her how to fight . It was Niel the most popr boy in school . Niel was known by all the students to be a boy that could do anything . Evangeline has heard that if Niel joined the karate club, he could¡¯ve won every tournament with ease .

    Niel was also a good teacher, and the martial arts he knows off is most probably the ones known by the general public . So the difficulty of learning them might lessen .

    ¡¯I guess I can ask Niel for help . With his personality he would probably ept . ¡¯

    When Evangeline decided this, she told herself she would contact Niel once she was done with her paperwork . Now that she was done thinking about those random thoughts, Evangeline went back to work .

    When she saw the almost endless amount of paperwork, she felt at a loss . If she wanted to be stronger she needed more time to train, but this paperwork wouldn¡¯t magically disappear, and even if she finishes this, tomorrow there would most probably be more paperwork . If she left it to the other student council members, who knows if they¡¯ll be able to do it right . If they don¡¯t do it right she might fail the test of session, but if she did focus on this she might lose Alex .

    Evangeline with this messy thoughts, scratched her hair in agitation, and swiped all the paperwork out of her desk . She then proceeded to jump on it and screamed on the top of her lungs .

    "AAAAHHHH!!!"

    It was at that moment when she did this a person entered the room, and that person was none other than Niel . It was as if the world was telling her to take the chance .

    "Niel, perfect timing! I have a favor to ask of you . "

    Evangeline slowly approached Niel while she was thinking . ¡¯I¡¯m sure father will understand if I tell him this is part of a n to get closer to Alexander Samarita . It doesn¡¯t matter if he misunderstands my true intentions, but I¡¯m not giving up on Alex . ¡¯

    Evangeline with her resolve strengthened more than ever asked Niel .

    "Will you please grant me strength?"

 Chapter 200

    Chapter 200

    While Evangeline was talking to Niel, Rachel was having a hard time with Alex and Lilitth . After the three of them apanied Niki back home, the siblings started to keep on telling Rachel that she needed to go home with the two of them .

    Rachel couldn¡¯t say anything to the two, since she already agreed some time ago that she would go home with them, and her family wasn¡¯t much help either . It was like they wanted to give her away to Alex . Still she wanted to stall them for as long as possible, since her heart wasn¡¯t ready yet . If she stays at Alex¡¯s home, what about his parents¡¯, are they okay with this? . . .

    ¡¯ Wait a minute . . . Oh right, his parents¡¯ surely they wouldn¡¯t approve that their young son would suddenly bring home a girl and make her stay . ¡¯

    The moment Rachel thought of this, she immediately asked Alex .

    "Hey, Alex how about your parents? Are they okay with me living there?"

    "Don¡¯t worry about that, it¡¯s just me my sister, the maids, and the butlers that are home . "

    That was a dead end, Rachel tried thinking of other ways to convince Alex, but before she could think of any they already reached her house . In front of her house were her brothers and her mother . They even brought her suitcase, which was fully packed .

    "Here I packed everything you could possibly need . Have a great time honey . " Kumiko smiled at her daughter as she handed her the suitcase .

    "I hope you don¡¯t forget about us sis . "

    "Yeah, don¡¯t forget to visit us . "

    "I will miss you sis . "

    Even Rachel¡¯s three brothers were there to bid her goodbye .

    "What the hell! Are you guys really my family?! I am your one and only daughter, and you guys I¡¯m your one and only sister! If that deadbeat of a father was here, he wouldn¡¯t have allowed this!"

    "You misunderstood us honey . We are not giving you away, we¡¯re protecting you . We all know that it¡¯s much safer in Alex¡¯s house than ours . We love you and we don¡¯t want you to go, you should know that . We¡¯re just thinking about what¡¯s best for you . "

    kumiko hugged her daughter tightly as she said this . Rachel pushed her away and answered her mother . "I would really like to believe in what you just said, but seeing you guys smile so widely like that makes me think otherwise . "

    Kumiko and her sons were unable to stop themselves from smiling . Right now all four of them had wide grins on their faces .

    "You know about tears of joy right? Well this is a smile of sadness . " Joseph the eldest among the siblings made an excuse and everybody went onboard with it .

    "Yeah that¡¯s right, we are so sad that smiling is just a mask we put on to not make you worry . "

    "That¡¯s right deep down inside the four of us are already crying . "

    " . . . Whatever, just give me that . " Rachel took the suitcase from her mother, and spoke to Alex .

    "Let¡¯s just go . " Rachel moved away from her irritating family, while Alex stood in front of Kumiko and her sons .

    "Take care of her for us Alex . " Kumiko smiled gently at Alex as she said this . She might like to joke around with her daughter, but she and her sons were truly worried about her .

    "Leave her to me . I will protect her with my life . " After talking to Kumiko, Alex with Lilitth at hand followed Rachel who was already a few blocks away .

    "Do you even know where you¡¯re going?" Alex who caught up with Rachel asked .

    "Not really I just wanted to get away, and make a dramatic exit . "

    "Don¡¯t be to angry with them, they really are worried for you . " Alex still had the same stoic expression as well as the same indifferent tone of voice, but the content of what he was saying was not the same as before . He was growing, which really shocked Rachel, but at the same time, made her feel proud .

    "I already know that they are worried about me . . . "

    "Then why did you act that way? Like you didn¡¯t know . "

    "That¡¯s just the way we are . They know, I know already . . . Since we¡¯re family . "

    . . .

    When the three arrived in Alex¡¯s mansion, Rachel who once again in front of the huge mansion was amazed . Last time she was here, she couldn¡¯t take it all in, but now that she looked at it properly, it seem bigger than she remembered, and this was only the front .

    Once the three entered the mansion a row of butlers, and maids were lined up to greet the three of them .

    "Wee back, young master, young mistress, anddy Rachel . " When Rachel heard the greetings of the butlers and maids, she was overwhelmed, but then she noticed a minor detail . She went close to Alex and asked in a whisper .

    "They know who I am?"

    "You did visitst time, also the people that work in the mansion knows every person that I¡¯m acquainted with . "

    While Alex and Rachel were talking a maid was suddenly appeared beside Rachel .

    "Lady Rachel, let me help you with your luggage, and please follow me to the room we had prepared for you . "

    "No need I will be the one to show her the room . " When the maid heard what Alex said, she bowed her head .

    "As you wish young master . " After saying this she went back in line with the other maids . Alex without asking Rachel took hold of her luggage and walked onward with Lilitth still holding his hand .

    Rachel who was usually more outspoken than this couldn¡¯t get a word in . She just stood there confused as to what was happening .

    "Rachel please follow me, I¡¯ll show you to your room . " Rachel who was in a daze, got a hold of herself when she heard Alex¡¯s voice and followed him .

    . . .

    "Here is your room . If you need anything just dial zero one on the phone over there and a maid wille to cater to your needs . Don¡¯t be shy and just tell them whatever you need, the maids will give it to you . So for now we¡¯ll just leave you here so that you can settle in . Dinner will be ready in about thirty minutes . "

    When Alex was done saying this he left the room alongside Lilitth . While he was speaking Rachel still couldn¡¯t say anything, since everything was happening so fast, and she was unprepared to see this kind of room .

    She and her family once stayed at a five star hotel, and the room she slept in was a presidential suite . That room cannot even bepared to the room Alex had prepared for her . There was a Caesar size bed in the middle of the room . The whole room was decorated with beautiful paintings that seem to be extremely expensive, the window at the side was an exaggeratedrge window .

    There was even a private bathroom for her . The bathroom was even bigger than her own room, and their was tub, but it size was pretty much the same as a small pool . There was even a fountain that was a statue of a lion .

    When Rachel looked at the other things in the room, she saw that the closet was another room, that was the same size as her actual room back home . It was filled with branded clothes, bags, and shoes . Aside from that, there was arge OLED TV, in front of the bed, and in the corner of the room there was a whole corner just for putting make-up on .

    Rachel knew Alex was rich, but she didn¡¯t know Alex was this rich .

 Chapter 201

    Chapter 201

    Rachel who was still being overwhelmed by the atmosphere wasn¡¯t able to even check her things . When she finally got a hold of herself and was ready to check her suitcase, someone knocked on the door .

    "Lady Rachel, dinner is ready . "

    Rachel didn¡¯t know how to respond so she just said whatever first came into mind .

    "Wait a minute . " Once the words came out of her mouth, she was confused as to why she said that . So in a panic, Rachel quickly got out of her school uniform and changed into her normal everyday clothes . Once she was done changing she suddenly had a thought .

    ¡¯Is what I¡¯m wearing appropriate?¡¯ Alex¡¯s mansion coupled with the numerous maids and butlers made Rachel confused . Still, she didn¡¯t bring any dresses that seem to be appropriate for this kind of ce . Because she was panicking Rachel had forgotten that there was a whole room filled with designer clothes that she could¡¯ve worn .

    "Lady Rachel, is everything alright? Do you need any help?" When Rachel heard what the maid said she finally calm down a bit and answered .

    "No, I¡¯ll be right out . "

    Without any other choice, Rachel went out of the room as is . Outside of the room, was a young maid, that looks really cute . Now that she thought about it, most of the maids in this ce, as well as the butlers, were above average in the looks department, and they were all in different age categories .

    The maid who saw Rachele out of the room did a curtsy and spoke .

    "Lady Rachel, I am Ate I will be your personal maid for the duration of your stay . "

    "Sorry for the trouble Ate . "

    "No need to worry Lady Rachel . This is my job after all . " Ate with her business smile looked at Rachel .

    Rachel didn¡¯t know what to say to that, she also felt a bit weird because Ate was older than her, but she was speaking so formally at her . In this situation had no other response but to nod her head .

    Seeing Rachel had nothing else to say, Ate spoke first .

    "Please follow me to the dining room . "

    Ate then guided Rachel to the dining room .

    . . .

    While walking to the dining room, Rachel couldn¡¯t help but think that Alex¡¯s mansion was actually bigger than the school . Cause they have been walking for quite some time, and they still weren¡¯t in the dining room .

    The hallway was filled with precious items, from sculptures to vases, and all of them look like they cost at least more than a few hundred thousand .

    Rachel was admiring the decor, but she didn¡¯t have the guts to get close, seeing as she was scared to break them .

    . . .

    It took the two of them quite sometime before they were able to get to the dining room . The moment Rachel step into the dining room, she was transported . It felt like she was now inside a fairy tale . The dining room had one long table, and at the side were numerous maids and butlers, on top of the table was a chandelier .

    Alex and Lilitth were already sitting down when they saw Rachel .

    "I hope you found your roomfortable . "

    Alex spoke as Rachel approach the two and sat beside them . The first thing she noticed was the casual wear the siblings were wearing . Alex had a pretty normal look of a shirt and some shorts, which made him look a bit out of ce in this room .

    Lilitth, on the other hand, was wearing a dress, which made her look like a cute little princess . Now she was the one that felt like she was meant to be living here .

    "Yes, it¡¯s a beautiful room . Thank you for having me . " Alex noticed that Rachel¡¯s movement seem a bit awkward so without knowing the reason why, of course, Alex asked .

    "Is everything alright Rachel?"

    "Yeah, why do you ask?"

    "You seem to be fidgeting, and the way your talking seems a bit more formal than usual . "

    "You¡¯re just overthinking things again . I¡¯m okay . " Of course, Rachel was not okay since this was a new experience for her . After she answered Alex, she felt a small hand holding her left hand . This hand was of course none other than Lilitth¡¯s hand .

    "Rachel nee-san, are you really okay . " Lilitth who was more emotional today than usual because of Niki looked at Rachel with upturn eyes full of worry . This was a devastating move from Lilitth, which made Rachel pat the little girl¡¯s head .

    "I¡¯m alright Lilitth . Just trying to get used to the new environment . "

    "Really?" Lilitth asked still a bit worried about Rachel . Seeing herself making a little girl worried, finally calm Rachel¡¯s nerves . She smiled at the cute little sister of Alex and answered .

    "Really, really . I¡¯m alright if you want after this, we could y a game . "

    "Really?!" This time hearing what Rachel said, the worried Lilitth smiled cheerfully and excitedly asked .

    "Of course, you pick whatever game you want to y . I¡¯m sure your onii-sama over here would love to y with us . " Seeing the excited Lilitth beaming with joy, made Rachel less nervous . Lilitth who heard that her onii-sama could join took a peek at Alex and hesitated for a bit before asking .

    "Will you join us onii-sama?"

    Alex looked at the hesitating Lilitth, and the smiling Rachel answered . "Sure I will join, but I can only y one game . I have something else to do after this . "

    ¡¯Something else? What would Alex be doing during this hour?¡¯ Curious Rachel was about to ask Alex what he was going to do but was cut off by Lilitth¡¯s delighted scream .

    "Yay! Onii-sama is going to y, and even Rachel nee-san is going to y! I wonder, what should we y? Oh right, how about we invite Em-" Before Lilitth could finish her sentence she saw her onii-sama blinking his eyes, it was morse code, he was telling her not to speak about Emily .

    "Em?" Rachel asked confused as to why Lilitth stopped talking .

    "Emma is one of the maids that y with Lilitth . Sorry about that Lilitth, today Emma can¡¯t y with us since she has work to do . " Instead of Lilitth answering it was Alex who answered, and it seems like he was diverting the conversation away from Em?

    This was very suspicious, and Rachel was about to ask for more details, but as if it was timed, a bunch of maids and butlers entered the room, bringing the food for dinner .

    They cut in between Rachel and Alex and ced the food on the table . The table was instantly filled with different kinds of food, from normal everyday food to exotic food . After cing all the food on the table, one of the butlers spoke to Rachel .

    "I¡¯m sorry Lady Rachel since we weren¡¯t sure as to what you might like, the head chef made an assortment of food . If this is not to your liking, then please say so . Just tell us any food you would want, and the head chef will cook it . "

    Rachel shook her head and responded . "No, it¡¯s alright the food looks fantastic . Please tell the head chef, thank you for the meal . "

    The butler bowed and left the room .

 Chapter 202

    Chapter 202

    Lyner who left Cromer city went into a secure military base and came to do a fake inspection . Lyner who never used it was finally able to use the Id the government gave him when he became an SS rank merc .

    With this Id he had ess to all military bases, he was even given more authority than Generals . The only one who outranks Lyner in Berdonia was the President . Still, even though he was a high ranking individual he just can¡¯te in and take a jet out of the country .

    Actually, at the moment, Lyner wasn¡¯t even allowed to go out of the country . This detail actually made Lyner feel even more excited .

    . . .

    Right now Lyner was with the Captain of the base who was showing him around .

    "It is quite an honor to meet a living legend such as yourself . "

    "No need for ttery . So how about you show me to your hangar . I need to tell you something privately . " Seeing Lyner¡¯s serious look the Captain didn¡¯t have time to question why they should talk in the hangar . Lyner was a high rank individual, maybe this sudden inspection wasn¡¯t so sudden after all .

    "This way sir . " The Captain led Lyner to the hangar .

    . . .

    Once the two reached the hangar . The captain ordered all the men to leave and no matter the circumstances to not let anyone in .

    When all the soldiers left the hangar, the Captain approached Lyner cautiously . "Sir, the hangar is now empty . "

    "Very good Captain . Nowe a bit closer, what I¡¯m about to tell you is top secret . " The Captain came closer as Lyner requested, and when he was near enough he suddenly felt a heavy impact hit the back of his neck .

    The Captain was losing consciousness but before he did he heard Lyner¡¯s voice . "Sorry about that . "

    . . .

    When the Captain copsed onto his arms, Lyner ced the body to the side . He then proceeded to steal one of the fighter jets . Of course, no one was going to open the hangar doors, so Lyner blew them up .

    When the path was clear Lyner started his jet, and before anyone from the base was able to react he was able to take off .

    . . .

    A few minutes after stealing the jet, Lyner received a radio call from a Captain from another base .

    "Sir Lyner what are you doing?! Please stop and head back to base . "

    "Sorry, I can¡¯t do that I have something to do . "

    "If you do not return with the jet you just stole, I will be forced to order my men to shoot you down . "

    Hearing the heavy-handed words of the Captain, Lyner couldn¡¯t help but chuckle .

    "Well you can try, but I advise you not to do that . If your mene here and try to shoot me down, then I¡¯ll consider them as an enemy . I¡¯m sure you have been informed about me . Will you take that risk, and send your men to their deaths?"

    The Captain hearing what Lyner said couldn¡¯t respond . Every soldier above the rank of major has been informed about Lyner . When they were given all the ssified information about Lyner, they couldn¡¯t believe that one human being could do so much .

    Knowing the truth about Lyner, the Captain couldn¡¯t send his men after him . He clenched his fist and decided to bear the consequences of letting Lyner go .

    Lyner who didn¡¯t hear any response from the Captain, already guessed what his was thinking .

    "Don¡¯t worry Captain, I¡¯ll make sure to put in a good word for you once I¡¯m done with my business . "

    . . .

    Lyner was now five kilometers away from the borders of the Southern Union . Hended the jet in a remote region before he headed to the border on foot .

    Lyner wasn¡¯t allowed to leave the country, and the Southern Union wouldn¡¯t allow him into their country . So the only way Lyner could get to the Southern Union is if he sneaks his way in .

    This was especially difficult to do at the moment since everyone in the border knew of his arrival . The soldiers at the border were already given a heads up about Lyner¡¯s movements . So both sides were on extremely high alert .

    The Soldiers at the checkpoint were tripled, because of Lyner . There were even some soldiers patrolling the river that separated Berdonia and the Southern Union .

    . . .

    Unknown to everyone Lyner had already cross the border . He did take the river route and dived deep below . There was a secret passageway underwater that he found when he was escaping from Anita .

    Of course, the Southern Union Soldiers were aware of this underwater tunnel, but they would never expect Lyner would use it . Since the tunnel was too small for a submarine to fit . It only had enough space for barely one human to fit, and even if Lyner dived in and swam in the tunnel he wouldn¡¯t make it to the other side . Seeing as the tunnel was a one-kilometer distance to the end . No one could hold their breath for that long and swim that distance underwater without equipment .

    Everyone had clearly underestimated how superhuman Lyner was . He could have swum an extra hundred meters and still be okay .

    . . .

    Once Lyner had safely crossed the border, the first thought that came to his mind was that he needed to blend in . The Southern Union was a tropical country, which only had a dry and wet season, and right now it was the dry season .

    Lyner who was wearing wet clothes, that didn¡¯t seem to be because of sweat would attract attention . So he stayed hidden until he found an unsuspecting victim . When Lyner saw a guy wearing clothes that seem like it would fit him, he ambushed him .

    Lyner took the guys clothes and switched it with his own clothes . Once he was done changing he hid the man¡¯s unconscious body somewhere no one would see, and left him with some money .

    Lyner then went into a crowded street and blended into the crowd . Because the Southern Union had many ethnicities Lyner had easily blended .

    ¡¯Now that the easy part is done . All that¡¯s left is the hard part . ¡¯

 Chapter 203

    Chapter 203

    It has been two days since Rachel started living with Alex . A lot of things have happened during that period . Emily was forced to leave the mansion and stay at an apartment near the school . Sayaka who found out about it couldn¡¯t help but tell the others about the news .

    When the others heard the news about Rachel staying in Alex¡¯s ce, they all wanted to visit . Evangeline was also overwhelmed by the news and without even thinking told Alex that she should stay with him too .

    The reason she gave was pretty out there . She said that Rachel would feel out of ce in such an environment . Being with someone familiar might calm her down . Of course, Alex didn¡¯t suspect anything and allowed Evangeline to stay with them .

    Her room was beside Rachel¡¯s . When Rachel heard that she felt irritated at the same time relieved .

    . . .

    During those two days, Niel was teaching Evangeline the basics of self-defense . Nothing to extreme just some tricks that she could use just in case of an emergency . She was a really talented student when her physical strength increases Niel thought he might be able to teach some of Lyner¡¯s moves .

    He needed to ask first if he could teach others his techniques . Niel then tried to imagine his teacher in front of him, when he asked the question .

    "Huh? Why the hell are you asking me for? If you want to teach someone then teach . I don¡¯t care if someone else knows my moves or not . Hell if you think about it, it would be better if the opponent does know my moves . That would make it an even more thrilling fight!"

    Niel could even imagine Lyner showing that vicious overconfident grin of his .

    ¡¯Maybe I¡¯m overthinking it, if Eva¡¯s done with physical training I bet she can handle some of Sir Lyner¡¯s moves . ¡¯

    . . . .

    Alex during the past two days was waiting for the backup he needed to protect Rachel, but he never came . He was a bit worried since he lost contact with that particr instructor . It happened yesterday when he said that he would get to the mansion at exactly 0600 hours . Yet he never came, that particr instructor was always on time .

    He was even on time to a meeting after sustaining heavy damage . Alex was worried, very worried . First, his dad went on a trip, which most probably was a mission . Next someone tried to kidnap Niel and his little sister . Then Rachel suddenly has a bounty on her head . Now his instructor has gone missing .

    What was going on? Alex didn¡¯t know but it was pretty obvious something big was about to happen . So he ordered some of the maids and butlers to search for the missing instructor . He even let the Harimas apany them .

    It has been a few days since they started training, and Alex thought that their skill has be adequate enough to handle their first mission . They didn¡¯t show it on their faces, since know they had almost the exact same poker face as Alex, but their eyes were practically sparkling with anticipation .

    ¡¯I won¡¯t be able to train properly if I can¡¯t leave Rachel¡¯s side . . . I guess I should do the best I can with what I¡¯m given . The battlefield does not care for one¡¯s time or circumstances . It will deliver death equally no matter the status . To think I almostined about this . . . I guess I am bing something different . . . ¡¯

    . . .

    While Alex was nning what to do next, Oliver and Sayaka were on the mountain house were Ken lives . The two were now on what they called a training date . Sayaka decided to learn a bit of swordsmanship from Ken, who was happy enough to teach her .

    Ken was pretty impressed by Sayaka¡¯s talent, but he more impressed by Oliver¡¯s improvement . Ken didn¡¯t what happened to Oliver, but his recent improvement was a bit scary . His movements were much sharper and fluent than before . It was like he wasbining Ken¡¯s swordsmanship with something else .

    Of course, Ken didn¡¯t tell him to stop, since he always believed that everyone had a different way of understanding the sword . Like how Ryu and Alex, treat the sword as a tool for efficient killing . While Ken treated it as his parent and teacher . So he was really quite excited to see what kind of understanding Oliver was having in the way of the sword .

    . . .

    As everyone was doing their own thing, another person from the mercenary club was waiting at the founder¡¯s statue . This was none other than Kei who was waiting nervously for Emily . Until now he still couldn¡¯t understand what Emily wanted from him .

    He knew Emily was a person who likes to have fun and likes to prank people . So maybe this was one of her pranks . . . While Kei was convincing himself of that he heard a voice from behind .

    "Did you wait long?"

    Surprised Kei jumped backward and looked at where the voice came from . It was Emily who was wearing a pretty white sundress . This was a surprise since Kei was expecting her to wear a goth lolita type dress or even something like cosy . Kei who was so surprised at Emily¡¯s choice of what to wear made him stare at her unknowingly .

    "Can you please stop that, it¡¯s pretty embarrassing . " Emily blushed under Kei¡¯s staring . Of course, this was all an act that Emily saw in a manga once . Kei who couldn¡¯t see beyond the acting blush as well .

    "I¡¯m sorry about that . It¡¯s just that the dress you¡¯re wearing looks good on you . " Kei unconsciously spoke, it took him quite some time to register in his mind what he just said, but when it did Kei¡¯s face turned red as an apple .

    Emily who saw this found it quite cute and giggled . This was not an act since she found Kei really amusing .

    "Thank you . So Kei did you wait long?"

    "No, I just got here . " Emily found it funny that Kei was answering like a protagonist from a manga .

    "Well then let¡¯s get going . " Emily forcefully hugged Kei¡¯s right arm and pulled him forward . This was how Emily and Kei¡¯s first date started .

 Chapter 204

    Chapter 204

    Lyner who has been in the Southern Union for two days had tried to find information about Anita . Yet no matter where he looked or who he asked no one could give a definitive answer . It would seem that Anita has been moving around from one ce to the next .

    The Southern Union obviously knew the reason for Lyner¡¯s supposed visit to the country . Most of the higher-ups of the Southern Union knew of the rtionship between Lyner and the Saintess . Of course, they told the Saintess that she was being targeted by an unknown force and needed to be careful .

    The Saintess Anita was one of the three Saints of the Southern Union . Unlike the other two Saints who were made for battle, Anita was more of a healer . She was considered to be the best doctor in the Southern Union . Her medical skill was Godly as long as you were still somehow in one piece, no matter the injury she would be able to heal you . Though she could also hold her own with even some of the S rank mercs .

    Not only that Saintess Anita would heal anyone no matter their nationality or the status in life, to her all who ask for help are worth saving . Not only was she a good doctor, and has a kind heart, she was also extremely beautiful . With her amber hair tied in a ponytail, and her pure white skin coupled with her slender waist and long legs, made her extremely desirable . With these three factors, Saintess Anita had overwhelming poprity among the citizens especially the men .

    If she knew that Lyner was in the country same as before she would stop everything she was doing and head towards him without the care in the world . That¡¯s what most of the higher-ups believed . They then remembered her reaction ten years ago when Lyner left the country . She was a twenty-two-year-old woman at the time and was very passionate . So learning of Lyner¡¯s departure without saying goodbye or answering her proposal she went into a frenzy .

    That was the first time the people of the Southern Union saw their beloved Saintess act that way . It was like an angel suddenly turning into a demon . She demanded the Berdonian Government to hand over Lyner .

    Of course, the Berdonian Government protected their strongest citizen from the ursed witch . They denied her request which made her even madder than before . It took the other two Saints cooperating to calm her down .

    Who knew after ten years the unlucky star woulde back .

    . . .

    Anita was in a hotel room, with guards in the other rooms supposedly here to protect her from some unknown terrorist . She didn¡¯t like this arrangement since she didn¡¯t like the idea of other people getting hurt for her sake .

    Still, she had no choice since the people on top insisted . Anita saty down on the bed wondering what was happening . Why would some unnamed terrorist group go after her life at this time?

    ¡¯Though this has happened before, never did the Government deem it necessary to protect me this heavily . There must be something deeper going on . . . ¡¯

    While Anita was thinking of what to do next, she turned on herptop and started to check her mail . After doing that she started to look at some popr videos online . When she was looking around she found a live video that caught her interest immediately .

    In that video, there was a familiar looking man . The man wore a casual shirt and shorts and wasying on the beach in a long chair while sipping from a coconut . This one man who looks like he was there simply enjoying a vacation was surrounded by more than a dozen men with guns at hand .

    After showing this the video suddenly cut off . Anita was so surprised to see that man in a video . That man was the man she kept on remembering every now and then . The one and only man who was able to steal her heart . This man was none other than the monster of the battlefield, Lyner .

    She started to search for more information about the incident in the video, but most forums that had this topic were immediately brought down for some reason . Seeing this Anita finally understood who the unnamed terrorist group was . It was Lyner all along, the higher-ups wanted to hide the information that Lyner was in the Southern Union .

    Based on them actively hiding her, Anita had guessed that Lyner was here for her . She couldn¡¯t ask the bodyguards since she knew that their purposes were not to help her but to keep her safe for Lyner .

    Anita then started to contact the people she knew that were good withputers, to see if they can find that video of Lyner and track where he was . Or it could be he would head there . . . It was possible that he would go to the ce where she proposed to him .

    Anita decided to take the chance and head there to that ce .

    . . .

    Lyner who had antagonized a local mafia group knew that they would attack him and attract some kind of attention . He was resting as he sipped from the coconut that he was holding . Doing this made the men who surrounded him furious of his actions .

    They were the ones with the superior number and were pointing their guns at him, but why does it feel like they were the ones who were cornered .

    "I bet somebody got a picture or a video of that, or somebody could have hacked into the CCTV camera over there . Well, it doesn¡¯t matter how I hope Anita gets the message and heads there . "

    The surrounding men couldn¡¯t understand what Lyner was talking about, but it was clear he wasn¡¯t talking to them . It felt like to him they were nothing but air .

    "Better clean up the trash, before heading out . " A sudden sh came out from Lyner¡¯s hands, the surrounding men couldn¡¯t react on time, and before they knew it their heads were pierced by throwing knives .

    "I¡¯m already done with cleanup? . . . As expected cleaning trash isn¡¯t even a good warm up . Well, I¡¯m sure when I get to that ce, maybe the two Saint wille to stop me . . . How exciting . " Lyner couldn¡¯t help but smile just thinking about the uing battle with people on his level .

 Chapter 205

    Chapter 205

    Emily held Kei¡¯s hands to see if she would have any kind of reaction, and as expected she didn¡¯t feel any different than normal . Kei, on the other hand, had his heart beating faster, and he couldn¡¯t help but blush .

    "Hey Kei so where do you want to eat?"

    "Huh? Eat? What?" Kei who was still trying to get a hold of himself got confused when he heard what Emily said . Emily who saw Kei¡¯s reaction giggled . She could practically read Kei¡¯s mind since he was so simple .

    "Don¡¯t you remember I promise you, that I will treat you to a meal . So Where do you want to eat . "

    Finally getting ahold of himself Kei remembered the steak ce he wanted to try when Emily told him that she would treat him to a meal .

    ¡¯I¡¯m already here, there¡¯s no backing out now . ¡¯ Kei decided to just go with the flow .

    "Yeah, there¡¯s this ce that supposedly serves good steak for a very cheap price . I want to try eating there . "

    "Oh, I think I know where that is . " Emily who was hugging Kei¡¯s right arm pulled him forward .

    . . .

    When the two reached the shop that Kei was talking about, they were surprised to see that it was now closed . There was a letter posted at the front door, stating that the Department of Health has found several issues with the food served which forced the shop to close .

    When Kei saw this he sighed .

    ¡¯I knew that kind of cheap steak that tastes good will have some problems . Well luckily I didn¡¯t eat it or I might be in a hospital by now . ¡¯

    "Sorry Kei, we won¡¯t be able to eat here . So what do we do now?"

    "It¡¯s alright that¡¯s everything I wanted to do for today . Since the shop¡¯s closed why don¡¯t we call it a day and head back home . " Kei for some reason felt both disappointed and relieved at the same time .

    "I can¡¯t allow that, I said I will treat you to a meal, so that¡¯s what I¡¯m going to do . " Emily still couldn¡¯t understand what kind of feelings she has for Kei . So she didn¡¯t want this pseudo date to end prematurely . She needed more time to understand what was going on with her emotional state .

    Emily pulled Kei to a shop that she knows sells good steak . It was a bit pricey but seeing as she was the one paying Emily didn¡¯t really mind .

    . . .

    Kyle who had left his guarding duties followed his little sister on her very first date . When Kyle looked at Emily¡¯s partner, he felt his trigger finger itching .

    ¡¯That¡¯s the guy she picked? Isn¡¯t hepletely ordinary? Can that guy even keep up with my little sister?¡¯

    Kyle was watching the date of his little sister in the scope of his beloved rifle . Five times he wanted to shoot the guy .

    ¡¯Even though Emi was the one who initiated the hug, he should¡¯ve pushed her away . . . Damn it! If he did that I would¡¯ve blown his brains out . Now their holding hands! This guy obviously seems troubled by this, his looking at my sister¡¯s hand as if it was something dangerous . Damn him who does he think he is!¡¯

    Kyle was fuming mad as he watched Kei bumble about . It irritated Kyle to see his sister with such a wishy-washy kind of guy .

    ¡¯What does Emi see in him?¡¯

    Kyle continued watching over the two as they went from one ce to another . After they ate at Emily¡¯s favorite restaurant, the two proceeded to head to a cosy shop . Emily kept on making Kei wear female clothes . Kyle who was watching had to admit that Kei actually looks pretty okay in female clothes .

    ¡¯Is Emi just interested in this guy cause he¡¯s a pushover that looks pretty okay in girly clothing? Is she making this guy into a dress up doll? Still, it does look like she¡¯s enjoying her time with him . . . ¡¯

    . . .

    After making Kei dress up in anime girl clothing, Emily made him dress up in cool anime guy clothing . Unexpectedly Kei also looked pretty good in this type of clothing . It would seem because of his average looks, he could look like anything as long as the make-up artist is good enough, and Emily was pretty good .

    Once they were done looking at costumes, Emily bought Kei a bunch of clothes and items . She insisted that Kei shoulde with her in cosy conventions .

    "If you go with me, I can finally wear pair costumes! This is going to be so much fun . "

    Kei didn¡¯t really want to go, but seeing Emily so excited made him feel like it would be fun . After going around from ce to ce, Kei felt a bit morefortable with Emily than he was earlier today .

    While Kei was thinking that he enjoyed this much more than he expected he heard, Emily¡¯s voice .

    "Hey, Kei I really enjoyed our little date today . I know I said this was my way of saying sorry for making you dress up as a girl in our y . . . But . . . It was really fun hanging out with you . " Emily smiled at Kei with her actual genuine smile, a smile that came from her heart and was not an act . This was the first time she has shown this smile to anyone else aside from her brother .

    Kei was stunned by the sight of Emily smiling at him . He had already seen her smile numerous times, but this time it looks different . Kei could actually feel that this was different from all the other times Emily smiled .

    In response to this, Kei also smiled at Emily before answering .

    "Yeah, I had fun hanging out with you too . "

    "Hey after going to the cosy convention next week . How about we ask the guys to help us make a manga . " Emily suddenly asked out of nowhere . Getting used to Emily¡¯s randomness kei responded .

    "Sure, that does sound like fun . " Seeing Kei agree with her, made Emily smile even wider as she nodded her head .

    . . .

    Kyle who was still watching the two felt mixed emotions . Ever since their parents died, Kyle has always wanted to see her sister like this . Still actually seeing her have fun with another boy aside from him, was kinda irritating at the same time heartwarming .

    ¡¯I gotta beat up that kid one time . I¡¯ll be like, I won¡¯t hand over my sister to a weakling like you . . . I guess I won¡¯t be able to do that since that might make Emi hate me . . . I wonder if there is a way to legitimately beat up the kid . ¡¯

    While Kyle was thinking this, Emily and Kei¡¯s date drew to a close .

 Chapter 206

    Chapter 206

    Oliver and Sayaka instead of going on a regr date were training in Ken¡¯s residence again . The two had more fun training swordsmanship together, than going to the mall, or watching a movie . Ken seeing the two students of his smiling happily as they improve in such a fast pace made him feel excited . At this pace they could probably fight Ryu¡¯s student after a year or so . That is if they fought using just swordsmanship .

    . . .

    While the three of them were having their training routine someone was watching them from a distance . This man was none other than Specter from the Shadow Mercenaries . He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes, as he saw a dead man was right in front of him training .

    Though the demeanour has changed as well as the size of his body, but that face and the birthmark he had on his left hand as well as Specters feeling of familiarity . His instincts were telling him that the person he was watching was none other than hisrade James Bourne .

    Specter couldn¡¯t wait anymore and headed towards Oliver .

    . . .

    While Oliver was swinging his sword, someone suddenly appeared before him . It was a man wearing an all-ck outfit and a white mask . Ken was surprised to see someone got so near without him noticing, as he went into full alert .

    "Damn you James! I thought you were dead man . All this time you were just hear having a vacation and flirting with a cute girl . "

    Oliver who heard the man wearing a mask call him James and talk as if he knew him made him confused . ¡¯Wait a minute isn¡¯t this one of the people in my dreams . ¡¯

    "You¡¯re . . . Specter right?" Hearing Oliver call his code name made Specter really delighted . His old friend was alive and his still remembered him .

    "Why are you talking like that? It¡¯s as if you don¡¯t know me . " Specter thought that confused look of Oliver was him joking around .

    "Sorry but I¡¯m not sure if I do know you . . . "

    "What are you saying James, it¡¯s me your old buddy Specter . "

    "Is everything alright Oly?" Sayaka felt like something was going to happen so she decided to join the conversation .

    "I don¡¯t know who you are, and I don¡¯t care . Me and my friend over here are talking so don¡¯t butt in . " Specter was now a bit agitated since Oliver wasn¡¯t responding the way he thought he would, and was irritated by Sayaka suddenlying in between their conversation .

    "Right back at you, I don¡¯t know who you are, but don¡¯t talk to my girlfriend like that . " Oliver¡¯s tone dropped an octave as he spoke .

    "You really don¡¯t remember me? Then how do you know my code name? It¡¯s Margie and Phil they did something to you didn¡¯t they . . . Oh, I see, they used the memory wiper on you . What was the trigger again . . . Right it was The light of Valha is covered by the darkness of Hades . "

    When Oliver heard what Specter said something in his mind snapped . His consciousness was slowly fading as he felt immense bloodlust take over him . Noticing something wrong had happened Specter backed away, while Sayaka approached Oliver worried .

    "Oly are you okay?" Ken who sensed something was wrong dashed towards Sayaka¡¯s side and pushed her away . He then tried to block the iing attack but was unable to do so because of Oliver¡¯s overwhelming strength .

    Oliver who didn¡¯t seem like he was in the right state of mind was about to attack Sayaka but instead had punched through Ken¡¯s stomach . The old sword master was dying while Sayaka watched on in horror .

    Looking at the situation turn for the worst, Specter decided to retreat for the moment, since he knew how strong Oliver truly was . Oliver was even in a berserker state making him even more dangerous . Seeing this Specter knew Phil and Margie might have done something to him . It was possible that the two traitors programmed Oliver to attack everyone in sight when he hears the trigger words .

    ¡¯Damn you traitors, for doing this to my friend I will make sure you two have the most horrible deaths . ¡¯

    . . .

    Oliver who had killed Ken threw the body away, and shifted his focus on Sayaka . When she saw that Oliver¡¯s attention was on her Sayaka knew that this was the end . She was sure that with her abilities she wont be able to flee from Oliver . Still she needed to try something to bring Oliver back to normal . Sayaka opened her arms and waited for Oliver toe .

    Oliver silently approached Sayaka and without warning she hugged him . "Oliver it¡¯s alright, none of this is your fault . "

    Oliver hearing Sayaka¡¯s voice as well as feeling her tears flow down her face sobered up . He then felt something warm on his hands . He looked at his hands and saw that he had pierced right through Sayaka¡¯s body .

    Oliver felt all the blood in his body freeze over, as his face paled . "Huh?" Sayaka who was barely hanging on noticed Oliver¡¯s change in expression and tried to smile but couldn¡¯t .

    "Don¡¯t worry Oly, it¡¯s not your fault . . . It¡¯s . . . not-" Sayaka wasn¡¯t able to finish what she wanted to say and closed her eyes . Oliver removed his arm that had punctured a hole into Sayaka¡¯s body and ced her down . When she saw the dead body of the girl he cared for dearly something in him snapped .

    His sanity slowly fading, Oliver screamed at the top of his lungs and went into a wild frenzy .

    . . .

    After that event Oliver headed into the city and went on a rampage killing hundreds of civilians and soldiers . After a long struggle he was finally killed by Kyle and Alex . It was a devastating blow to Alex, killing his best friend and it was also very devastating for Rachel knowing about the death of her own best friend .

    This event made Rachel spiral into depression, until finally she couldn¡¯t take it and killed herself . Alex unable to ept Rachel¡¯s death and his inability to save her from her depression shot himself in the head .

    . . .

    Yearster Lilitth became one of the SS rank mercs and vowed to destroy the Shadow Mercenaries, who took everything from her .

 Chapter 207

    Chapter 207

    Oliver and Sayaka instead of going on a regr date were training in Ken¡¯s residence again . The two had more fun training swordsmanship together, than going to the mall, or watching a movie . Ken seeing the two students of his smiling happily as they improve in such a fast pace made him feel excited . At this pace they could probably fight Ryu¡¯s student after a year or so . That is if they fought using just swordsmanship .

    . . .

    While the three of them were having their training routine someone was watching them from a distance . This man was none other than Specter from the Shadow Mercenaries . He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes, as he saw a dead man was right in front of him training .

    Though the demeanor has changed as well as the size of his body, but that face and the birthmark he had on his left hand as well as Specters feeling of familiarity . His instincts were telling him that the person he was watching was none other than hisrade James Bourne .

    Specter wanted to approach Oliver, he wanted to talk to his friend that he thought had died, but he couldn¡¯t . He knew that Margie and Phil would be monitoring the situation, they might have set a trap if someone form the Shadow Mercenaries made contact with Oliver .

    ¡¯First I need to find the two traitors . Then I¡¯ll find out what the hell have they done to James . ¡¯ After thinking this, Specter disappears from the mountain .

    . . .

    The ten subordinates of Alex who were given numbers instead of names, were with some of the maids and butlers from the mansion . They were ordered by Alex to find out what had happened to his Instructor that was suppose toe to the mansion and help protect Rachel .

    This was the first mission the ten were given after bing Alex¡¯s subordinates . Deep inside they were really excited but their outer appearance disyed no emotion whatsoever . Alex had trained them not to show any expression on their faces no matter the situation, since facial expression might show ones intent .

    Alex even trained them to withstand all kinds of torture . Now they knew what it means to beg for death . Alex¡¯s way of torturing without killing made the idea of hell feel like paradise, just remembering those times made the ten Harimas shiver in fear . Now that training to withstand torture was over, even if the enemy force catches them and tortures them continuously they wouldn¡¯t talk .

    The ten Harimas plus the maids and butlers that apanied them had finally reach their destination . It was a condominium where Instructor Jay was staying at, and it was also thest ce anyone has seen him .

    . . .

    The group went into the missing instructor¡¯s room and did a thorough search . There wasn¡¯t anything out of ce, and they found no signs of a struggle . Based on the information given to them by Alex, Instructor Jay was a very strong merc whose specialty was the usage of wires as abat weapon . He was an A rank merc, it was unthinkable for him to get captured or killed without a struggle . He was even a very cautious man who made a lot of backup ns just in case something happens .

    One of the maids then showed number 1 the footage of the day Instructor Jay disappeared . Of course it was just a shot from outside the room . Number 1 saw Instructor Jay enter his room at 13:45 and never left .

    No one came close to the room nor did anyone pass by, which was weird since there were five more people on this floor . How could they not have pass by Jay¡¯s room for that whole day? Number 1 then told one of the maids to ask the neighboring people, what they were doing on that day .

    "Bribe them, threaten them, do whatever you must to get an answer . " Number 1 said this with an indifferent tone . This was also part of Alex¡¯s teachings . When the maid heard the order she saluted Number 1 and left the room .

    The Harimas didn¡¯t like to return to Alex without any leads about Jay . That would make their first mission a failure, and learning that theirmanding officer has never failed a mission made them think that they too should be able to do the same . Alex wasn¡¯t just theirmanding officer but he was their teacher as well, and they didn¡¯t want to disappoint their teacher by failing the very first mission that was given to them .

    After a short wait the maid that went out to question the neighbors returned . It seem like all of them were given a free two day pass in an exclusive spa for that day and the next . Obviously seeing as it was free all of them decided to go .

    Number 1 hearing this information almost frowned . It was obvious that whoever dealt with Jay wanted no one their on that day .

    "How did they receive the pass?"

    "They received an anonymous letter a day before . We asked if they still had their letters but they have thrown it away . "

    "Do you have any information about the spa they visited?"

    "Yes sir . "

    "I want you to go there and asked about the five that went there . I want you to see if they know anything about who gave them the two day free pass . "

    "Yes sir!" The maid saluted and was about to leave but before she could do so, number 1 spoke .

    "Wait a minute . Are you sure that there was no tampering done on the footage?"

    "Yes Sir . We have double checked on that and no tampering has been done to the video, we are certain of that . "

    "Very well, you may leave . " The maid saluted again and left the room .

    Number 1 was a bit frustrated there were no clues whatsoever . The only thing that resembled a clue was the two day pass given to the other residents on the day Jay disappeared . If they get nothing out of that, then they have nothing else .

    The ten of them started to feel a bit scared as well, what kind of fresh hell will Alex show them if they failed this mission . They strengthened their hearts as they thought about this .

 Chapter 208

    Chapter 208: 208

    Alex who was doing a one hand stand in his room, was worried about the current events that had transpired . He felt that something bad was about to happen . Since not only did his Dad not return yet, Sir Lyner left, and Instructor Jay disappeared . He was also worried about the current status of his rtionship with Rachel . A few days ago, Alex finally understood that he has feeling of liking Rachel as a woman . Yet even with this knowledge he didn¡¯t know what to do with it .

    He was also scared of Rachel finding out the true purpose of why he was protecting her . It is true that he is protecting her now because of his feelings for her, but that was not so in the beginning . In the beginning he merely associated with Rachel because of his mission .

    Now that he actually has feelings for her, finishing the mission might prove even more difficult . Alex has great sess inpleting missions because he did things in an efficient and logical way that was within the parameters of the mission .

    Now that he was confronted with this new unknown feelings, he didn¡¯t know what to do since this new feelings made it difficult for him to think straight . He was someone who had sealed majority of his feelings and memories deep inside his subconscious mind to be stronger, so now that a new emotion sprouted from within him, it was only a matter of time before the floodgates open .

    Alex understood that the future that he was dreading wille no matter how hard he tries .

    "It seems like I can run no longer . . . " Alex was sure that when the timees, when his emotions burst forth, and when the memory of his parents killer returns, things will change . The time when he either tells Rachel the truth or Rachel finds out the truth for herself is also nearing .

    Even with the strength to fight an SS rank merc for a few blows, Alex still felt weak . Should he tell his friends about his past? If he does it now, instead of the time everyone confessed, Alex was sure everyone will be a bit angry at him .

    Alex wasn¡¯t sure what will happen, but he was sure it won¡¯t be something nice . He then imagined a world were his friends hate him and deny him . He imagined a world were Rachel was crying and cursing at him learning the truth about his mission .

    Thinking about all these things made Alex¡¯s chest tighten . It made him feel like he wanted to throw-up . Still he held it in and continued his muscle training . Alex shifted from his right hand to a left hand stand .

    ¡¯I wonder what will Dad think about all these? Will he understand what I¡¯m going through? Will he even allow me to date the protection target of the mission? . . . Also the most important question will Rachel even want a person like me?¡¯

    Alex then remembered that he was a fraud, how could he start a rtionship with Rachel if she keeps on lying to her . Actually was it even alright for a person like him, who only knows how to live in the battlefield be with a girl like Rachel, who hasn¡¯t even seen the battlefield?

    It was at that moment Alex started to question himself . In the first ce was he the right person for Rachel? Will he be able to give the things Rachel deserved? Alex then imagined a future with Rachel, and after a short thought he got his answer . The answer that he arrived at was no .

    The moment the memory of the killer of his parents return as well as the emotions he has pushed back inside of him get out . Alex felt like when that time arrives something will change, an unavoidable change will happen, and when that timees he would not be able to give the kind of future Rachel deserved .

    Even if some miracle happened and he was able to keep on suppressing his memories and emotions until the day he dies, Alex still can¡¯t imagine a future with Rachel . Since Alex was a registered Merc, the moment an all out war breaks out, he will be forced to enter the battlefield once more .

    He could try to get himself unregistered, but he knew that when an all out war broke out he would like to be there in the frontlines, since unlike before he had many more people he wanted to protect .

    In the past he only had a mercenary family, who were all ready to die anytime . To him them dying was a bit sad but at the same time something to be expected, but when he thinks about Rachel, Lilitth, or even Evangeline dying just the thought of that made him feel a myriad of emotions boiling up .

    Alex then switched back to his right hand and this time he only used one finger to stay upright .

    ¡¯I wonder what I should do? Should I tell Rachel and the other the truth? If I do it now, maybe I could somehow control the situation . . . Who am I kidding, that¡¯s impossible . What would I even say? Rachel I am a mercenary same as Sir Lyner . That¡¯s not all, you know the reason why I started following you around ever since we first met, that¡¯s because I had a mission to protect you . Obviously that won¡¯t work, I may not understand human emotions that much, but based on my own understanding of Rachel she would hate me forever if I told her that . ¡¯

    Alex was starting to sweat as he was getting frustrated . This was the first time in a long time, since Alexst felt frustrated . He now remembered why emotions get in the way of bing stronger . Emotions stop you from thinking rationally and sometime forces you to make rash decisions .

    ¡¯I hope Dad gets back soon, I really need his advise now . I would even take advice from Sir Lyner if he was here . I can¡¯t really tell Oliver first, cause once Rachel figures out I told Oliver first about my secret that would be another set of problems . ¡¯

    In the end no matter how much Alex thought about it he couldn¡¯t find a solution . Now he only hopes that his Dad would return sooner, since he always knows what to do .

 Chapter 209

    Chapter 209

    While Alex was having his dilemma Lyner was at the ce where Anita proposed marriage to him . The ce was a top a small mountain overlooking the great forest of the Southern Union . On top of this mountain was a single tree where cherry blossoms bloom .

    Lyner remembered the day Anita proposed to him . It was quite a funny event, Lyner was hired as a bodyguard for Anita . At that time the Southern Union was having trouble with her, since she wanted to go to different war zones to help those in need .

    She didn¡¯t care about what the Government thought and just wanted to go and save as much people as she could . At that time she was a person that has the strength equivalent to an A rank merc and when in a dire situation she could strengthen her abilities to the utmost limit to match the best S rank merc, but only for a short burst .

    With this ability of hers she was confident that she could go anywhere and leave the ce safely . Of course the Higher-ups of the Southern Union didn¡¯t feelfortable sending their most beloved female saint to such dangerous ces, so they proposed that she needed bodyguards .

    At the time, Anita was very stubborn and didn¡¯t like the idea of people babysitting her, so she didn¡¯t like the idea that she needed bodyguards . Also she didn¡¯t want people weaker than her to be her bodyguards, since they might get hurt and in the end she would be the one protecting them .

    Giving that counterargument the higher-ups agreed with her, she indeed needed a bodyguard who was stronger than her . That was when they started recruiting the best they could find, but no matter who they sent Anita would beat them up, and send them packing .

    At this point the only ones who could actually win against Anita in the Southern Union were the other two Saints, but the government couldn¡¯t ask the other two to be bodyguards for Anita . So they had no choice but to look outside the country . Since they were a neutral country, asking help from either side was hard, but among the other two super powers they were closer to Berdonia . So they decided to search there .

    After a few days of searching they finally found Lyner . He was the strongest S rank merc not only in Berdonia but in all countries, he was just missing one more criterium to enter the SS ranks . So learning of Lyner, they got him to do the bodyguard job .

    Of course once Lyner appeared before Anita, the first thing she did was attacked, but to her surprise Lyner was able to quickly restrain her . She even used her limit breaking ability but it did nothing . It was a like a fight between a ten year old and a fully grown man .

    It was at that point Lyner said the line that Anita would never forget . "You¡¯re pretty good for a little girl . " It was the first thing Lyner said to her and it was an insult .

    After this even Anita was forced to ept Lyner as her bodyguard, all throughout their time together Anita hated Lyner for that one line he said, since it was both sexist and insulting . So all throughout their humanitarian journey to save lives, she tried to find any chance she got to get back at him, but no matter what she did Lyner simply found it cute or funny .

    Then one fateful day the two were tricked into thinking someone was in need of help, but in turns out it was all a trap to capture Anita . Seeing the situation Lyner had no choice but to stall the enemy forces so that Anita could escape .

    Anita not wanting to leave Lyner begged him to think of another way, but Lyner simply smiled and told Anita that everything will be ok . He reassured her before pushing her away .

    . . .

    Anita had sessfully escaped the enemy base, and reported about what happened to Lyner . Of course the higher-ups decided to show that they were doing everything they could to save Lyner, but behind the scenes they weren¡¯t really doing much . Lyner was not from the Southern Union so wasting resources for him was not something they wanted to see .

    Even if the Berdonian Government does something aggressive, the Southern Union could just say that they are trying everything in their power to help, even though it was Lyner¡¯s decision to take the job and sacrifice himself .

    Anita learning of what was happening behind the scenes was furious but in the end she couldn¡¯t do anything . She hated herself for being so weak, she then remembered when she said she could easily escape any situation if need be, but if Lyner wasn¡¯t there she would already be dead .

    Anita couldn¡¯t concentrate in anything and all she could think of was Lyner . She waited and waited until finally one day he returned . He came back to her with that smug smile of his . The moment she saw him again something within her blossomed . That is how her feelings for Lyner began .

    Lyner continued being her bodyguard for a few more months, and as they stayed together Anita¡¯s feelings just grew stronger and stronger . Then one day Lyner said to her that he found a beautiful spot that he wanted to show her . They went up a small mountain, and when they finally reached the top Anita saw a beautiful view of the forest .

    It was an amazing sight which Lyner happily bragged about . Overwhelmed by the sight and the bursting of her emotions, Anita couldn¡¯t help herself and confessed her love for Lyner . Immediately after she proposed marriage . Lyner who was shocked by the sudden turn of events, rejected her and fled .

    . . .

    In the present time Lyner who finished his recollection of that day turned around and saw the beautiful Saintess he left behind . She was there looking at him, like she was looking at a ghost . She was trying hard to stop her tears from falling .

    "Hey it¡¯s been a long time Anita . Is that offer of yours still up for grabs?"

    "What a lousy proposal, from an old man . So what changed your mind?" Anita smiled while the tears she was holding in flowed down her face .

    "Well you know, it¡¯s because you¡¯re pretty good for a little girl . "

 Chapter 210

    Chapter 210: 210

    Hearing what Lyner said made Anita smile as she continued to cry . The words that he said that made her hate him so much turned into something so sweet to hear . Looking at Lyner¡¯s face Anita couldn¡¯t really stop herself from crying .

    The Lyner right in front of her was different from the Lyner she remembers . For starters his face had more hair, he had a beard that was barely shaved, and he had more scars now than he used to have . It might have been hidden by his beard and his other facial hair, but Anita spotted new scars here and there . She even saw some wounds on his hands, that looked to be recent .

    All these were proof of how many dangerous situations he has been in, after theyst met . Anita approached Lyner and caressed his face . Lyner didn¡¯t move and allowed Anita to do whatever she wanted . After a few minutes of just looking at each other Anita spoke .

    "So just to make sure, you can all the way here, and eluded the soldiers looking for you . Got in a fight with the local mafia to send a cryptic message to go to this ce . Now finally you¡¯re asking me if my offer to be your wife is still up for grabs, and you¡¯re doing this because I¡¯m pretty good for a little girl . Am I right?"

    "Yeah, more or less that¡¯s what I did, so what do you say?" Lyner rolled his eyes and nodded a bit, before asking what Anita thought .

    "Well Lyner, let me see . You rejected me the first time I asked, and afterward, you left me behind in this ce . You fled the country as if a ghost was chasing you and then when I asked you to talk to me, you didn¡¯t even show yourself and you made look like a crazy person . So what do you think my answer will be?" Anita showed off her Saintess like smile .

    Lyner already knew that this would happen, and it wouldn¡¯t be so easy .

    "Okay then, I just wanted to see if the offer was still up for grabs . Seeing as I just wanted to have a family on a whim, so if you¡¯re not going to take me, maybe Alisa would . " After saying this Lyner let go of Anita and jumped down the mountain .

    Anita was shocked to hear what Lyner said . This scene as he jumps down the mountain was so simr to what he did in the past . Anita was in a daze, she just wanted to tease Lyner, and teach him a lesson because ofst time . Who knew that by doing that this would be the result him once again leaving her .

    ¡¯Who the hell is Alisa?! Why is her name so simr to my name is he doing this on purpose?!¡¯ Anita who has been praised to not only have the face of a Goddess, was also praised to have a true heart of a Saint . This very same Saintess was using various curse words in her mind .

    Was she once over her surprised by what Lyner did Anita shouted at the top of her lungs .

    "HEY YOU F*CKING SH*THEAD LYNER! COME BACK HERE YOU COWARD, COME BACK AND FACE ME! NOT ONLY DID YOU LEAVE ME HERE ONCE, YOU¡¯RE GOING TO DO IT FOR A SECOND TIME! DAMN YOU LYNER YOU B*STARD!"

    If anyone who knew her saw this scene they wouldn¡¯t believe their eyes or ears . The Saintess Anita who has saved thousands of lives was now screaming at a person cursing him .

    "Hahaha, that was quite a scene . I knew you weren¡¯t different from what you were back then . Why the hell were you trying to act all mature like that . A little girl like you should act like a little girl . "

    Anita was shocked to hear Lyner¡¯s voice . She went to the ce where she heard his voice . Anita saw that Lyner was hanging on the edge of the mountain using one of his knives to stab on the side of the mountain .

    Lyner seeing that he was spotted swung himself upwardnding behind Anita . His face had a wide smug smile . Seeing that irritating smile of his Anita charged forward and silently threw a needle at Lyner¡¯s face, in which Lyner responded by catching the needle using his teeth .

    "Who the hell is she Lyner! Who is this Alisa! Tell me where this f*cking b*tch lives and I¡¯ll give her a piece of my mind for thinking that she could steal my man . "

    "When did I be your man? I thought you didn¡¯t want to marry me?" Anita finally remembering what she said a while ago pouted . She knew that Lyner knew what she was thinking, she was pretty sure that Lyner already figured out her real intentions which made her puff up like a balloon .

    "You already know my real answer, why are you so mean to me . " Anita continued to pout which Lyner found incredibly cute . All her dignity as the Saintess was lost at this moment . Well, she would only show this kind of face to Lyner, which made himugh .

    "Still I want to hear it from your mouth . Or do you want me to go to Alisa?" Anita clenched her fist and answered Lyner a bit miffed that she continued to tease her .

    "Fine then, Lyner can I be your wife?"

    "Let me think about it . . . Alisa does have a better figure-" Hearing this Anita punched Lyner¡¯s chest continuously . If it was anyone else they would have some broken ribs as Anita punched continuously like that, but to Lyner it felt like some random kid¡¯s punch .

    "I¡¯m just joking, of course, I¡¯ll take you as my wife . " Lyner hugged Anita, who was shocked at first but then responded by hugging him too .

    "Okay then, first order of business tell me everything about this Alisa person . " Anita didn¡¯t want to let go, she was determined to find out everything about this mysterious Alisa . In which Lyner simply responded with a heartyugh .

    ¡¯Now that the medium part is over . Time to face the difficult part . ¡¯

 Chapter 211

    Chapter 211

    It was Sunday morning and Alex wasn¡¯t able to rest at all, as he went all out with his muscle training . He didn¡¯t notice how much time had passed by, as he was thinking ever so deeply about many things . Still ever since he learned about this new feeling he had for Rachel, Alex gets distracted a lot in practice, making him unable to notice that he went beyond the time frame he wanted to train in .

    Making Alex who already had the perfect muscle structure for battle, have muscles that looked more refined than before . It was a subtle difference that only people on the level of Carlo and Lyner could notice, but there was no denying Alex¡¯s body was getting stronger .

    This was because of his training and because he was still a growing boy that was still in his teens .

    . . .

    Alex who just finished training took a shower, and headed towards the dining room . In there he heard the giggling of three girls . The three were none other than Rachel, Lilitth, and Evangeline .

    Ever since Evangeline came to live with them as well, the two girls that were guest proposed that they would do the cooking . Lilitth intrigued by this also joined the two to help in cooking, and for the past few days, the three cooked for breakfast, and dinner .

    Rachel was actually quite good in cooking, Evangeline was a quick learner, and Lilitth was pretty good for her age . The meals they had weren¡¯t even near the level of the cooks in the mansion, but for some reason the girls enjoyed eating their cooking more than the chefs, but what they enjoyed even more was to serve Alex their cooking .

    Alex didn¡¯t bother to stop them, since he could literally eat anything . In times of need he could even eat poison food and won¡¯t be affected that much . In the past few days Rachel and Evangeline stayed in the mansion, Alex noticed that the two girls who used to be always quarreling with each other were getting along better than before .

    He also noticed that the two had made Lilitth into their own little sister . Well that wasn¡¯t so surprising with the way Lilitth acts she could make anyone think she is their little sister .

    . . .

    During meals when the four of them eat, the maids and butlers no longer surround the table . This was a request Rachel made a few days ago, since she didn¡¯t really feltfortable eating while a bunch of people were staring at her .

    Once the four finished eating their meals, the usual ritualmenced .

    "So Alex how was it? Was it better than yesterday . " Rachel asked as she squeezed Alex¡¯s left arm .

    "It didn¡¯t taste too salty, did it?" Evangeline on the other hand squeezed onto Alex¡¯s right arm .

    "Onii-sama I hope the food was to your liking . " Lilitth who had gotten less formal and more attached to Alex, sat on hisp as she said this . Alex being surrounded by three pretty, beautiful, and cute girls would be hated and envied by every man in the nation, but to the person in question this daily routine after eating was a bit troublesome .

    In the beginning he told the truth, and exined to them how they could improve, but that just made the three girls sad and dejected . He then tried topliment them as much as he could, but they told him that their was no need to be so fake, and once again felt dejected .

    After that Alex tried different ways to react to their cooking, until finally he got the right answer . These girls wanted to be praised, but not too much . They also wanted to be told on how to improve but only little by little .

    "It was a nice meal, but you could have added some more ginger and garlic in the chicken, to make taste a bit more . "

    "Oh you¡¯re right, we¡¯ll try that next time . " After hearing Alex say that the meal they made was nice, the three girls started talking to each other, ignoring Alex who was squeezed in the middle of the three .

    This went on for a few more minutes, until Rachel received a message from Emily . After reading the message she stood up and spoke to Alex .

    "Hey Alex Emily just told me that she won¡¯t be able to get the costumes for the y this Friday . She says we need to go get them . She told me that she¡¯s stuck in some line to get a prop we need for the y . "

    Alex knew that it was near impossible for Emily to make a mistake like that and ask someone else to do it . He was nearly a hundred percent sure, that this was some ploy she thought off to mess with him . So Alex decided to call her, but before Alex could do that, Lilitth and Evangeline interrupted him .

    "Onii-sama and Rachel nee-san are going out . Can Ie too?" Lilitth asked Alex using her cuteness to her advantage . Niki had thought her various ways to make peopleply to what she wanted to do by using some poses . The one Lilitth was using now, was her looking at Alex with upturned eyes, as well as showing a little bit of tear drops ready to fall .

    "Of course if you guys are going out, then I should apany you as well . Seeing as this is a y for the school and I¡¯m your student council president, it is my job to help every student in need . "

    Rachel before she moved in with Alex, would¡¯ve wanted to push Evangeline away and make this a date between her and Alex, with Lilitth on the side . But now after a few days of living together she felt a bit closer to the three of them, so she didn¡¯t react as strongly as she used too .

    Alex who noticed that Rachel wouldn¡¯t say anything about this, felt a bit tired . This situation didn¡¯t even allow any other answer except for a yes . So without any choice in the matter, Alex told the other two that they could tag along .

    The three girls then dashed back into their rooms to change . This is how Alex¡¯s Sunday morning started .

 Chapter 212

    Chapter 212: 212

    Once the three girls were done dressing up, they appeared in front of Alex full of anticipation . Living with these girls for the past few days, gave Alex a bit of understanding on how girls work . Alex came to understand that girls were moody, prone to changing opinions, and likes to be praised .

    The greatest thing Alex learned during Rachel and Evangeline¡¯s stay was that girls like to hear the truth but they want to hear it with ttering words .

    "You guys look cute . " Alex said this and tried to smile . The two teenage girls were already blushing when he said those words, that they didn¡¯t notice that Alex¡¯s smile was forced . All they could see was a very handsome Alex smiling at them .

    Lilitth was also very moved that she hugged Alex while giggling merrily . With that out of the way, the four of them went out of the mansion .

    . . .

    As usual, while walking in the streets, the four of them were attracting a lot of attention . Alex was holding hands with Lilitth while the other two tried to take the other free arm, but in the end, Rachel was able to take it . Evangeline then reluctantly let Rachel have Alex¡¯s arm, and held hands with Lilitth .

    Evangeline finally noticed what this scene looks like and smirked . Rachel who noticed Evangeline smirking, also noticed what happened . Alex, Lilitth, and Evangeline look like a family, making Alex the father, Lilitth the daughter, and Evangeline the mother . Rachel, on the other hand, looked like the eldest daughter .

    "Hey Eva, how about we switch ces . I know you want to stay on this side, so . . . "

    "No need Rachel, it¡¯s alright . I know how much you wanted to hold Alex¡¯s hands . So don¡¯t mind me, I like holding hands with Lilitth-chan . "

    Knowing that Evangeline won¡¯t give in, Rachel changed tactics and asked Lilitth instead .

    "How about it, Lilitth-chan don¡¯t you want to hold Rachel nee-san¡¯s hand more than Eva¡¯s?" Rachel pointed at her face and smiled at Lilitth . The little girl then tilted her head and thought for a bit before answering .

    "Hmmm, I¡¯m okay, as long as I get to hold hands with onii-sama, then it doesn¡¯t matter who¡¯s holding the other hand . " Lilitth cheerfully smiled .

    While the three girls were talking with each other about their cement while walking Alex . The one and only guy in the group Alex could hear the jealous voices of the surrounding people .

    "Hey look at that guy, he has three girls sticking to him . "

    "Yeah I know right, and did you notice he got three different kinds . A loli, an older sister type, and a childhood friend type girl! Damn it if that wasn¡¯t enough he¡¯s good looking!"

    "Calm down man, no need to scream it out . "

    "I know but shouldn¡¯t harem routes only happen to boys with average looks . "

    . . .

    "Hey doesn¡¯t that girl look familiar?"

    "Which one?"

    "The one holding the cute little girl . "

    "Oh, now that you mention it she does seem familiar . . . Holy sh*t isn¡¯t the Evangeline Kain!"

    "Oh my God, you¡¯re right! I only saw her in a magazine once, she was the in the cover . If I remember right she was posted as in the top ten beautiful heiresses . "

    . . . .

    "Hey do you see that guy being squeezed with those three, isn¡¯t he hot?"

    "I know right, those cold eyes that seem to pierce right through your soul is actually turning me on . "

    . . .

    Alex kept on hearing a lot of these kinds ofments by the surrounding people . It was always like this when he and his friends walk . Sometimes Alex wonders why these people keep on talking about them but never approach .

    While he was thinking about this, Alex heard a familiar voice amongst the crowd .

    "Hey if it isn¡¯t my friend and rival Alex . " When he heard this, he turned around and as expected there stood Matthew grinning at him .

    "Who knew that within that stoic expression of yours, you were actually a yboy . "

    "I¡¯m no yboy . This is my little sister and the two of them are my friends . "

    "Alex, who is this?" Rachel chimed in .

    "This is Matthew a friend of mine from the Southern Union . Matthew this is Evangeline, Rachel, and my little sister Lilitth . "

    "A pleasure to meet you,dies . " Matthew bowed and took hold of Evangeline¡¯s hand and kissed it, and was about to do the same with Rachel, but before he could do so, Alex caught his hand . Seeing Alex do this, made Matthew chuckle .

    "I see so that¡¯s how it is . . . Well, I guess you are Alex¡¯s little sister, I can¡¯t believe something as adorable as you is rted to mister stone face over there . "

    "It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you Matthew-san . Thank you for thepliment, but please do not insult onii-sama, even if you are his friend I won¡¯t allow it . "

    Hearing the little girl threatening him, made Matthew grin even more widely . "As expected of my friend and rival, even his little sister is so fierce . Don¡¯t worry little one, I¡¯m not insulting your onii-sama, this is just the way me and Alex talk . "

    Lilitth looked at Alex for confirmation in which Alex simply nodded . Seeing this, Lilitth bowed her head and apologized .

    "I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t know . " Matthew seeing the little girl apologize to him with such sincerity made him want to pat her head and so he did .

    "It¡¯s alright . . . So Alex what are you doing walking around with such beautifuldies? Are you doing it to make everyone else jealous, cause if that¡¯s what you wanted, then you¡¯re definitely doing it right . "

    "No that¡¯s not it, we¡¯re just going to get some costumes for the uing y that we are in . "

    "Alex in a y! Now I got to see that . . . Hmmm, hey how about I join you guys since it looks like you¡¯ll be needing the extra hands anyway . "

    "We don¡¯t want to bother you, since this is a school thing . " Rachel spoke . Even though they really do need help carrying the things, she didn¡¯t want to inconvenience someone that¡¯s not really rted to their school y .

    "It¡¯s not a bother at all . I owe Alex here, so take this as me trying to give back to him . " With this Matthew joined the group to the shop where they would pick up their costumes .

 Chapter 213

    Chapter 213 Matthew is amused

    Alex thought that Matthew showing up would make things moreplicated. Since he wasn''t sure what this person will say. There is a possibility that he might actually tell his secret from the get-go. Knowing this Alex didn''t really want Matthew to join them but since he was here already he had no choice.

    Alex separated from the three girls and went near Matthew, they were so close that their faces were rubbing each other.

    "Matthew, please don''t tell them about me being a merc, or you being the only student of the strongest Saint. If they ask I met you in the Southern Union in one of my trips there with my Dad."

    "Oh, that''s surprising the silent sh is actually sounding a bit scared. Well, alright I won''t tell them about me being my master''s student, nor about you being a merc. Is that alright with you?"

    "Thank you, Matthew."

    "Oh, also did you hear about Lyner?"

    "What about Sir Lyner."

    "I heard from my master that he went to the Southern Union to steal away Saintess Anita."

    ...

    While the two boys were whispering to each other, the surrounding people reacted fiercely.

    "Hey did you see that, the guy with the pretty girls, left them for that other dude."

    "Is that why he was so indifferent when he was with the girls."

    "Why are the good looking guys always ying for the other team."

    "I kinda feel sorry for the girls."

    ...

    Rachel noticing the changing atmosphere approached the two whispering boys. "Hey what are you two doing over there?"

    "Oh, it''s nothing just catching up for a bit." Matthew smilingly said.

    "Is that so?" Rachel still not that convinced looked at Matthew warily. "Well, can you guys catch upter we still need to get the costumes."

    "Sorry about that. Please, by all means, lead the way." Matthew gestured Rachel to go forward. Once he did so, Rachel and the other girls once again surrounded Alex.

    ...

    As the group of five were walking Evangeline spoke to Matthew. "So Matthew how did you and Alex meet?"

    "We met when his father visited the Southern Union. He and my own father were martial brothers, so my father and Alex''s father made us fight each other."

    "Oh, that''s interesting so who won?" Rachel joined in the conversation.

    "Well me and Alex were equal in every aspect, but after a long and grueling battle Alex won." Even though Matthew was lying right now, he couldn''t lie about the result of the fight, since his pride won''t allow it.

    Lilitth who heard of her onii-sama''s victory made her beam with pride. Rachel, on the other hand, looked at Matthew a bit differently. Though she wasn''t sure about the full extent of Alex''s abilities, but she was sure that someone that could match him, must be a monster as well.

    ...

    Once thedies were done with their Q and A with Matthew, they went back to arguing about who is suppose to be holding Lilitth''s other hand. Watching Alex in between such an interaction made Matthew smile.

    The Alex of the past who was filled with cold calcting killing intent was nowhere to be seen at the moment. All Matthew could see was a normal young boy surrounded by girls. Well, normal might be too much to describe Alex, but still, this was such a big difference from the Alex from before.

    When Matthew first saw Alex, he couldn''t imagine this guy to be in any other setting aside from the battlefield. To Matthew, Alex wasn''t just a rival, but the ideal form of a soldier, one that does whatever the higher-ups order him to do, no matter how ridiculous. That Alex would always follow orders to the t.

    Yet the Alex right in front of him wasn''t like that. He even noticed that Alex was smiling every now and then. This scene greatly amused Matthew, but what amused him the most was the dynamic of the rtionship between Alex and the two girls Rachel and Evangeline.

    It was obvious both Rachel and Evangeline were love rivals, but what wasn''t obvious was Alex''s feelings. Matthew wasn''t sure if Alex was in love or anything like that, but it was obvious from his reaction from a while ago that Alex was more concerned with the girl called Rachel.

    If it was any other normal person Matthew would have assumed that Alex liked Rachel, and the reason he stopped him from kissing her hand was that he was being overprotective. But because the other person was Alex, Matthew wasn''t so sure. Nothing was simple when it came to Alex.

    ''I wonder did Alex leave the battlefield because he fell in love with that girl Rachel? I wonder... It''s also possible that Carlo ordered Alex to protect Rachel for some reason. Hmmm based on my past understanding of Alex, that would be the most likely scenario, but seeing the current Alex that might not be true anymore... Whatever, I''ll just watch from the sidelines and see what happens next. Still, Alex is surrounded by such cute looking girls, especially that Evangeline she has the figure of my ideal girl. Still the girl Rachel is also equally interesting.''

    Matthew then stared at Rachel from head to toe. Comparing her to Evangeline she would lose out in every category except for the looks department.

    ''If Alex really is in love with Rachel, I wonder what he sees in her. Evangeline has a better overall figure, and the way she moves even while walking has a certain elegance to it. Rachel, on the other hand, walks like a martial artist, well she most probably is... Is that a desirable trait to look for in a woman? I guess I should just keep on observing and see what else there is in this Rachel girl.''

    Matthew who was walking behind the four couldn''t help but chuckle at Alex''s current situation. It would seem while he trains here in Berdonia, he would be able to watch a fun sideshow.

 Chapter 214

    Chapter 214 Finally I¡°m able to go home

    While the five teens were out shopping, in a remote region, inside an underground safe house, Carlo and hispanions were taking turns torturing Reghinald. Yet no matter what they did, Reghinald just wouldn''t talk. Carlo and the others have tried everything. They tortured him, bribed him, and even tried tempting him. Yet no matter what they did Reghinald just wouldn''t answer any of their questions.

    On the other hand Reghinald would always have a counter offer. He tried to bargain with Carlo, telling him he would give a little bit of information in exchange for his release. Obviously Carlo didn''t agree since he needed to know what Reghinald was truly nning.

    When Carlo was thinking of how to persuade Reghinald to talk, he finally remembered something. Reghinald imed to be the actual Reghinald Berdonia, the brother to the founder. It doesn''t matter if he was crazy or if he was telling the truth, all that matters was Reghinald truly believed this, and Carlo could use it to his advantage.

    ...

    Reghinald who was given the bare minimum of water and food, was now extremely pale, yet he still felt confident. As long as he was alive he could still turn the tables, and even if he dies, he would still live on.

    While he was thinking this, Reghinald heard footsteps.

    "I wonder, what wonderful torture awaits me today." Even though his voice was weaker than before, Reghinald as arrogant as before.

    "No torture today. I just wanted to see the traitorous prince of Berdonia." The moment Carlo said this he felt Reghinald radiate bloodlust.

    "Oh, did I hit a nerve? Reghinald Berdonia, the one and only younger brother of Raul Berdonia the founder. After the victory against the Granado Empire, Raul Berdonia and his men created the free nation of Berdonia, which was once called the Kingdom of Berdonia. Once the kingdom had settled down, the younger brother who was getting arrogant because of their victory against the supposedly invincible empire decided that they were strong enough topletely annihte the Granado Empire. Of course our wise founder knew that his brother''s n was a foolish endeavor."

    When Carlo got to this part of his story he noticed that Reghinald was trembling in anger. ''This guy truly believes his Reghinald Berdonia. Well just a bit more and he will finally snap.''

    "Raul knowing his brother''s ambitions stopped him. Of course the foolish Reghinald wouldn''t go down without a fight. He with his influence gathered other like minded individuals to start a coup, but our ever brilliant founder expecting that his brother would do that, had suppressed the coup with ease. It was then Reghinald spouted hisst words, Why brother? With that the young prince died, and peace was restored in Berdonia. Nice story right? If I was the founder I would be ashamed to have such a selfish, self-centered brother."

    The moment Carlo said those things, Reghinald couldn''t contain his anger anymore and screamed at Carlo in anger.

    "Who the hell are you calling selfish and self-centered if anything it was my older brother who was selfish! I only thought about Berdonia, and what''s good for Berdonia! Was it wrong for me, to wish for true absolute freedom! If we attacked the Empire back then, we would have ended it all and be truly free! Yet now look what has happened, our armies and the people of Berdonia have grown weaker and more treacherous and became people like you! If my brother was smart, and ended the Empire back then, do you think we would still be having constant skirmishes with them? It might look peaceful for those people in the cities, but they don''t know how many are truly dying to keep this fake form of peace!"

    Hearing Reghinald shout out his beliefs and conviction made him really look like the actual Reghinald Berdonia. Carlo then shook his head and sighed.

    "Are you stupid? If your really are the actual Reghinald Berdonia, which I''m sure you aren''t because he died on that day, and I''m sure no human can live that long, but still even if you are him, you must know how stupid you are. If Berdonia attacked back then, the Empire would have crushed them. The only thing they could do at that time was defend, and your stupid coup made it even harder to do that... Still if Berdonia did attack and somehow won, how many men do you think would die, how many women and children would have be widows and fatherless. Do you still think Berdonia would exist up to this point... What am I doing... Exining such things to a crazy person, who thinks he''s a dead prince from long ago. You''re nothing more than a fake that thinks his real."

    "What would amoner like you know! What do you understand if you weren''t able to live at that time! How dare you call me a fake! I am Reghinald Berdonia and none other! If my brother was really so great, then why did they revive me instead of him?! Why would they make a dozen clones of me, instead of him!? Why would they-" Reghinald wasn''t able to say anything anymore and simply fell t on the ground dead.

    Carlo surprised by what happened look around and found nothing suspicious. He then checked the dead body and saw that there were no external injuries. Then he thought it might be poison or something simr hidden within the body.

    ''The problem is how did it activate? Does it work when he says a keyword of some sort? Still I guess he wasn''t entirely lying. A clone of a dead prince with extreme ideals, and he''s not the only one based on what he just said whoever cloned him made a lot. He did say they, obviously someone that could make clones of a dead prince and revive his memories is part of arge organization. I wonder what they could be nning... Hmmm, I''ll just think about itter, for now I can finally go home... I wonder what my two cute children are doing at the moment.''

    As Carlo was thinking this, he headed to the meeting room and exined to hispanions what happened .

 Chapter 215

    Chapter 215

    Lyner who has been in the Southern Union for a few days now was about to embark on the most difficult part of this quest of his, leaving the Southern Union with Anita . Entering and leaving the Southern Union by himself was easy, but doing that with Anita at hand was practically impossible .

    Knowing all this Lyner couldn¡¯t help but feel extremely excited . He who had been bored beyondpare, waiting for a glorious death that might nevere, finally feels like he did in the past . When he killed the b*stard that destroyed his unit, he still felt shackled . When he gained power to the point of absurdity he felt even more restricted . The only time he truly felt free was the time, when he was still trying to be strong, while looking for a glorious death .

    He had forgotten this feeling of letting go, and doing whatever he wanted . Lyner had a n to get out of the country and force the Southern Union to give him Anita, but to be able to do this n, he needed his biggest opponent in the Southern Union not to interfere . This was Arthur Glory the Strongest Saint, and also the oldest living SS rank merc .

    . . .

    At this very moment on top of a pyramid like structure in some sort of religious ruin of the Southern Union, stood Arthur Glory who was in a deep meditative state . Lyner was surprise to see an old man who is said to be at least a hundred and fifty standing on top of a single point using only one toe to stand upright .

    Sensing his presence the old man opened his eyes and looked at Lyner . After a quick look at Lyner, Arthur jumped down from his position at a height forty feet . The moment hended there was no sound it was as if he was as light as a feather .

    Seeing this one move of his made Lyner extremely excited . Even though age has robbed him of his past strength, Arthur had reced it with extreme skill .

    "Why are you here young one? Why did youe to visit this old man?"

    "I¡¯m sure you know why I¡¯m here old man . Still if you want to hear it straight from my mouth, I¡¯ll tell you . I want to make Anita my wife, and in order to do that I need you not to interfere with my ns . "

    Arthur smiled hearing how direct Lyner was . Looking at the boy in front of him, actually reminded him of his youth, back when he was as reckless as this .

    "I¡¯m sorry young one, I do know of you and the little girl¡¯s feelings, but same as me she is a symbol of the Southern Union, as you are the symbol of Berdonia . If it is for my nation, and its people then sacrificing a love like yours is something I¡¯m sorry to do, but will do . "

    Lyner smiled his ever vicious smile and started doing some stretching exercises .

    "I knew you would say that o Guardian of the Southern Union . If talking doesn¡¯t work then I just need to make you submit with power . " When Lyner said this his bloodlust rose, and as he was about to take a stance, he lifted his left arm and grabbed something .

    With a speed that rivaled his own, Arthur instantly closed the gap between him and Lyner and was about to deliver a decisive blow, unfortunately Lyner was able to react and caught his left arm .

    "Oh, you truly are strong young one, but-" Lyner who caught Arthur¡¯s left hand, felt a wrinkly old hand touching his lower abdomen . It was at that moment he felt extreme danger, and let go of Arthur¡¯s hand, he then felt a massive force pass through his lower abdomen blowing him away .

    "You¡¯re still inexperienced . " That was one of Arthur¡¯s ultimate moves, zero impact . As long as he is able to touch an opponent using his arms or legs for about two seconds he could send a massive shockwave through their body . This move was the umtion of all his years of training . Arthur thinking he had won the battle was about to leave, but then his sense an immense pressure from behind him .

    "Hahahaha! What was that old man! That was awesome!" Lyner who was blown several meters away stood up with little to no damage at all, only his clothes were a bit tattered . Arthur was truly surprised to see Lyner stand up after that move that was equivalent of being hit by arge truck .

    "You seem surprised old man . I can pretty much guess what you¡¯re thinking, how did I survive unscathed? The answer is simple I evaded, the moment I sense danger from your attack I let go of your hand and jumped backwards, evading and absorbing most of the impact . Still that technique you used was interesting, did it go something like this . "

    Lyner ced his open right palm on a nearby statue, he then twisted all of his joints at the exact same time, and the statue he ced his open palm on crumbled into dust . Seeing that move made Arthur shiver, the umtion of all his years of training was copied just like that . The old man couldn¡¯t help butugh at the man in front of him .

    "That was splendid young one! I now understand why you gained the nickname the monster of the battlefield . I¡¯m sure all the opponents you face only knew despair as they faced a monster such as you . "

    Lyner smiled at the old man and answered . "You¡¯re one to talk old man, aren¡¯t you a monster same as me . " When Lyner said this, his left cheek was cut and in his hands were stones that he had caught . While the old man was speaking a while ago, he was also attacking Lyner by throwing stones by picking it up with his toes . Lyner was able to catch most of them but was unable to detect one and it was able to bypass his defense .

    "Actually in my eyes, aren¡¯t you more of a monster than me . Being as old as you and still be so strong . " Arthur hearing what Lyner saidughed heartily .

    "You¡¯re mistaken young one, I no longer have the same strength that I used to have . Being this old my bones and muscles have long deteriorated . Still I might not have the strength that I used to have, but in exchange I gained technique that could rival that strength . " Arthur then took a stance, seeing this made Lyner even more excited .

    "Very well old man, show me the extent of this so called technique that you have . In exchange I will show you the reason why I¡¯m called the monster of the battlefield . " After saying this, Lyner threw away the hidden guns he had on his body, and even the sword he hid on his back . All he was going to use for this battle were the throwing knives that had strings attached to them .

    "Arthur Glory SS rank merc, ready for battle . "

    "Lyner SS rank merc, ready for battle . "

    The moment they announced their names the tension in the area increased, and treating that as a signal the two charged at each other . The battle between two of the known strongest alive had begun .

 Chapter 216

    Chapter 216: 216

    Lyner and Arthur were moving in speeds that no human eye could follow . If a normal person saw them fighting they would only see blurry figures moving around, and confused them for ghost . Lyner knew the moment Arthur attacked that he wasn¡¯t going at his top speed . So to be able to match up to the old man¡¯s speed Lyner needed to lose some of the things that weighed him down, which were his guns and sword .

    Still Lyner was amazed at the way the old man moved, there was no excessive movement at all . He uses the least amount of strength as he attacks . It was obvious from the start that Lyner had an overwhelming advantage in strength, but Arthur made up for that with experience and skill .

    While Lyner was being amazed by how an old man like Arthur was able to fight the way he did, Arthur was also amazed by how Lyner was fighting .

    In Arthur¡¯s eyes Lyner was like an animal who moved on instinct . Though he did use techniques every now and then, Lyner¡¯s core fighting style was relying on his monstrous capabilities . Well if you have the same speed, endurance, strength and animal instincts as Lyner you wouldn¡¯t really need the use of technique . You could simply wave your arm around and your enemies will die .

    Once the two were done sizing each other up, they upped their speed . Arthur started throwing rocks at Lyner again using his toes, and kicking them towards Lyner, who evaded everything . The speed of the rocks was so fast that bullets shot from a gun look like turtles . Not only that the power of each rock throw was able to prate the pyramid like structure behind Lyner .

    Seeing this, Lyner then started to throw his knives not at Arthur but at the surrounding statues and trees . After a few throws the whole area was now like a spider web . The wires attached to the knives were so thin, that it was impossible to see with the naked eye .

    Arthur was finally put to a halt . Lyner who was about to attack noticed something happening to the old man . Arthur¡¯s veins were starting to bulge a bit, Lyner knew what this move was, it was the pseudo-RELEASE form Matthew showed him, yet this one actually looked more contained .

    Once Arthur was in the pseudo-RELEASE form he stomped on the ground actually making it shake . Not only that a huge dust cloud was formed, spreading throughout the area . The once invisible wires were now clearly visible . When he was done doing this, Arthur went back into his normal state and evaded the wires as he dashed towards Lyner who couldn¡¯t help but smile andugh .

    "This is amazing old man!" Lyner dashed towards Arthur as well evading his own wire trap . Once the two were face to face, they started to attack in close quarters . Lyner was now weaponless and faced Arthur with nothing but his fist . Lyner with his superior speed and strength was pushing Arthur, but only for a little while . After a few punches and kicks, Arthur was finally able to understand Lyner¡¯s rhythm and using that knowledge he not only perfectly evade his strikes he was able to redirect them as well . Still even with this new advantage he wasn¡¯t able to hit Lyner who with his animal like instincts allowed him to evade all the strikes heading his way .

    This deadlock went on for a few minutes, as the two punched, kicked, stabbed, sliced, chop using their hands . The two didn¡¯t noticed that the wires Lyner ced all around were nowhere to be seen . This happened because the statues and trees Lyner stabbed into were now gone . They were either pulverized or sliced apart .

    The two SS rank mercs were so concentrated in battle that they didn¡¯t notice the destruction they had done to the environment, and a historical site . Lyner who was having the time of his life, finally noticed that the old man was slowing down as the fight went on .

    What he didn¡¯t noticed was that Arthur wasn¡¯t slowing down, it was just Lyner¡¯s technique was improving making him able to somehow predict Arthur¡¯s next move . The old man also noticed the change happening to Lyner, he was actually evolving in battle . His every movement was getting more and more efficient . Lyner¡¯s excessive movement was slowly disappearing . Now not only did Lyner had the strength his technique improved as well .

    It was at this moment Arthur finally understood, why Lyner was called the monster of the battlefield . Arthur who was once again being pushed into a corner needed to make an important decision . He would either continue this battle until one of them dies, or he could surrender and fight again another day . It didn¡¯t take much time before Arthur made his decision, as he raised his hands .

    "I give up . " Lyner who was about to punch Arthur in the face stopped before he could even hit . The sheer wind pressure from Lyner¡¯s punch was able to make Arthur¡¯s soggy skin p a little . Arthur decided to give up, since if he died today who would protect his country from humans such as Lyner and the great one of the Granado Empire . It was not his time yet, as there was no one to rece him .

    "Why!? Why are you giving up old man, just when it was getting exciting!" Lyner actually looked really frustrated as he said this . It has been a long time since he has fought someone at the same level as him, and it ended in such an anticlimactic way which really irritated him .

    "I know my limits young one . Unlike you I am old and tired, I can no longer fight for long periods of time . Knowing this, I already foresaw the ending of our battle . I¡¯m sorry young one, if I was at least twenty years younger we could have had a better battle . "

    Lyner hearing Arthur¡¯s answer clenched his fist and bit his lower lip, after which he sighed . Lyner then picked up his weapons and showed his back to Arthur .

    "Since you admitted your defeat, I hope you do not interfere with my ns tomorrow . "

    "Of course, I will listen to the victor . "

    "Fine then old man . I¡¯m leaving but we¡¯ll be having a rematch, and when that timees don¡¯t hold back, and show me your killing moves . Also make sure to bandage your right shoulder . " When he was done saying this Lyner left the area . Arthur who saw Lyner¡¯s figure disappear started to smile .

    "Heh, so he noticed . " Arthur was holding back his killer moves, since he wanted to save a trump card or two from Lyner . He wasn¡¯t sure if they would actually face each other in life or death battle, but it was a good thing not to show all his cards on the table . Still Arthur couldn¡¯t figure out what Lyner meant at the end . As if timed the moment Arthur thought of this, his right shoulder suddenly gushed out blood . His right shoulder de was also dislocated . Arthur pressed some pressure points using his left hand to stop the bleeding .

    ¡¯He was able to attack me so cleanly without me noticing . ¡¯ Arthur who had lived for more than a hundred years, after so long felt his blood boiling in excitement .

    ¡¯If only I met you sixty years ago, I¡¯m sure I would have reached greater heights . . . What am I saying I¡¯m still young, a hundred and sixty eight years old isn¡¯t that old . I¡¯m sure I can live for another hundred years more . I can still keep on going, I can still get stronger . ¡¯ With renewed vigor Arthur started to train harder than before .

 Chapter 217

    Chapter 217

    It was Monday morning as Alex and the others were preparing to head to school, Alex was watching the news .

    "As you can see, this ancient burial ground has been totally destroyed . Even the surrounding trees have been uprooted . It looks like it was hit by a huge hurricane . Here is-" Alex who was watching the news, saw from the video that there were holes on the surface of the pyramid, and some of the statues had skid marks .

    It was obvious to him that this was not a natural disaster, instead it was a fight between people . The way the trees were uprooted, the skid marks on the statues, and the holes on the surface of the pyramid . All of these things were man-made . With all the clues present, Alex quickly deduced that this was a fight between two extremely strong individuals, and knowing that Lyner was in the Southern Union, it was pretty easy to guess he was part of it . The only opponent that could face Lyner on equal ground in the Southern Union was Arthur Glory .

    Alex with just looking at a video quickly deduced that Lyner fought Arthur Glory . The only thing he couldn¡¯t get from the video was the conclusion mainly the answer to who won . In Alex¡¯s mind it was near impossible for Lyner to lose to one man . You could do a carpet bombing and that person would still survive .

    Still Lyner was facing another SS rank merc, Arthur Glory the strongest Saint . This particr merc has survived numerous battles, and has the longest known career as mercenary . So in the end Alex really couldn¡¯t figure out who won .

    . . .

    Alex was already in school but was still thinking about the oue of Lyner¡¯s battle . The situation of Berdonia will be extremely different if he would die . Though Berodnia was doing alright before having an SS rank merc, but those times were less peaceful . The little skirmishes they had with the Empire would always make them lose somend . The Empire was slowly conquering Berdonia, that was until Lyner became what he was now . With him around the Empire stopped sending the great one, the strongest person of the Empire, which made the battles equal once more .

    While Alex was thinking about this, his homeroom teacher was announcing something .

    "Your teacher Mr . Raymond is being sent by the school to a seminar in the Southern Union . Recing him coincidentally is someoneing from the Southern Union . He is a young prodigy that got his teaching license when he was fifteen . I am pleased to introduce Mr . Matthew Zephyr, the new freshman history teacher . "

    Alex and Rachel were shocked to hear this name pop out in this situation, and they were even more surprised to see that it was actually true, since there was no denying the person who entered the ssroom was Alex¡¯s friend and rival Matthew .

    The female students seeing Matthew¡¯s appearance all squealed in joy . Seeing that the teacher that reced Mr . Raymond was a hot young one, that was the same age as them .

    Matthew eyed the shocked Alex and winked at him . Doing that made some of the girls even more giddy .

    . . .

    Alex couldn¡¯t believe that Matthew went to his school, not to mention he went to school not as a student but as his teacher . This made Alex feel a bit ufortable . Right now Matthew was teaching history more specifically world history and he was exining the creation of the Southern Union .

    "Can anyone tell me when the Southern Union was established . . . No one? How about you Mr . Samarita will you please answer the question . "

    The ss was already expecting Alex to answer this question perfectly as he always did .

    "The Southern Union was established on July 26, 1921 . "

    "I¡¯m sorry Mr . Samarita, but that is wrong . The correct answer is July 24, 1921"

    Alex¡¯s ssmates hearing a teacher say he was wrong was really surprised . This was the first time that Alex answered a question wrong . Actually at this time even Alex was surprised, but only for a moment, he quickly got a hold of himself and questioned Matthew .

    "Sir, I am sure that that the answer is July 26, 1921 . Our book titled World History by: Olfred Seerman, in page 216 paragraph two, in the second sentence it is clearly written there that it was July 26, 1921 . "

    When Alex said this all of his ssmates got their books out, and checked the page Alex stated, and exactly as he said it was written there in ck and white July 26,1921 . Everyone in ss knew that Alex was smart, but they didn¡¯t knew he was this smart . If he knew the exact page in the book where to find this information, that would mean he memorized the whole book, every detail of it .

    Matthew already knew that his rival was this good, but instead of feeling shamed, Matthew smiled .

    "Well the author of that book is Berdonian and like any other history book written by an author from another country it has some biases and wrong information . Though it was announced publicly on July 26, 1921, the founding of the Southern Union was agreed upon by all leaders of each small country that joined on July 24, 1926 . Making that date the actual establishment of the Southern Union . "

    "Well Sir, with all due respect . That information was not given to us prior to this, and the books that were handed out never mention this piece of information . So I find that you expecting us to have the answer you want, being too much . "

    "That is true Mr . Samarita, but I expected that the students would do research on their own time, in regards to the subject matter that they are learning . I¡¯m sure that if you and every other student here searched a bit in say your public library, or even in the inte you¡¯ll be able to find the information needed to have answered my question . "

    "I¡¯m sorry that we have disappointed you and you unfair expectations . The idea that you expected-" Alex and Matthew just kept on arguing in a rather polite way as to who was right . The students were already used to Alex questioning teachers, but this was the first time that a teacher was able to answer back .

    So not only were they unable to go beyond the first question, the whole ss was just Alex and Matthew arguing . Once the bell rang and ss was over, Alex immediately went to face Matthew .

    "What are you doing here?"

 Chapter 218

    Chapter 218

    "What are you doing here Matthew?" Alex who was beside Matthew whispered softly so that only he could hear . Matthew on the other hand acted as if he didn¡¯t know Alex and answered .

    "Please do not speak to me like that Mr . Samarita . I am your teacher . " Alex already checked and knew that no one was following them, so he answered .

    "Stop messing around Matthew, and answer the question . " The moment Alex said this he directed a bit of killing intent at Matthew¡¯s way . If Matthew kept on messing around he would attack him regardless of the situation .

    "Hey no need to be so aggressive, I was just joking around . " Matthew raised his hands as if to say he surrenders .

    "So answer me already, what are you doing here Matthew?" Alex¡¯s voice got a bit colder as he said this . Matthew was truly surprised, every time he thinks Alex has changed he shows him that deep down he was still the same .

    "Yesterday my master called me and told me that Lyner came and defeated him . It was a close battle and master didn¡¯t reveal any of secret moves, but a win was a win . So because of this, master ordered me to stay here for the time being, and learn what I could from Lyner . Seeing as I can¡¯t be a student here in this school, knowing that I already graduated, I decided to be a teacher here instead . "

    Alex hearing Matthew¡¯s answer was surprised so Lyner won against another SS rank merc .

    "Tell me everything . "

    . . .

    While Alex and everyone were in school, someone had entered Oliver¡¯s home . This man was none other than Specter . After following Oliver yesterday he learned of the location of his dwelling . Specter waited the whole day for Oliver to leave the premise, once Oliver headed to school Specter entered the house .

    On the outside the house look like any normal house, but inside it was anything but normal . Inside the house was full of gadgets littered all over the ce . The ce was filled to the brim with weird looking gadgets . Though the house had still the normal everyday items, what filled it more were items that look like there suppose to be in a sci-fi film . Still the items in question looked like toys, Specter knew that they were not as simple as they looked .

    Specter was now even more sure that Phil and Margie were living with Oliver, since those two were once the top inventors of the Shadow Mercenaries . They were the ones whopleted the mind swiper . There were also the ones responsible for the start of the nano machines project . They weren¡¯t there when it waspleted but they were the reason it started, and now Specter was using it as his weapon .

    . . .

    Specter checked all the rooms, he saw one room in particr and knew immediately that it was Oliver¡¯s room . The room was filled with model guns, and airnes . The posters on the walls were that of war heroes . He even had some heavy looking weights on the floor . Yet the most noticeable thing was the sword that had it¡¯s own shrine . Even with his mind swiped and his memories most probably erased Oliver, remained the same on the inside . He was still James Bourne of the Shadow Mercenaries .

    Specter looked around Oliver¡¯s whole room and found nothing of interest . He then continued to search the house, but was unable to find anything useful . He saw the room that was supposedly Phil and Margie¡¯s room but there was nothing there as well . It even looked more normal than anything in the house, it was a normal looking room . It had a T . V, a bed, a closet, and everything else that you would normally see in a room .

    . . .

    As Specter was checking all the rooms, he found it was weird that Oliver¡¯s supposed parent¡¯s never left the house, yet yesterday though he didn¡¯t get a good look, Specter saw the silhouettes of other people inside the house .

    So howe they weren¡¯t here? He was watching the ce the whole time, and he saw no one aside from Oliver leave the house . There must be something that he was overlooking . Specter did another clean sweep of the house and found nothing .

    ¡¯Both those traitors did like making those hidden doors and such . They would always make a switch that no one would suspect to open a hidden door . It¡¯s been a long time since Ist saw them so I¡¯m really not that sure, but whatever I have no other leads at the moment . ¡¯

    Specter then began pulling on every book in the bookshelf . He started to see if there was a switch hidden in the random objects in the house . While pressing, pulling, and checking all the things in the house, Specter finally noticed that all the pictures present were only of Oliver .

    He wondered what was happening . It couldn¡¯t be that Oliver didn¡¯t notice that his mom and dad never took a picture . Maybe he did ask it and was told some excuse, or Oliver¡¯s mind was programmed not to ask this question .

    As Specter was thinking about this, he finally gave up and sat on the couch . He looked everywhere, pressed, pulled, and pushed everything in this house yet nothing happened . He checked every nook and cranny of the house, even the rooftop and found nothing .

    ¡¯Those b*stards really do know how to hide . Maybe if I confront James directly he might be able to remember me and be back to his good old self . Still when ites to Margie and Phil one must always expect the unexpected . Those two had a lot of failsafes just in case something happens, so they might have done something simr to James . . . Maybe I can befriend James as a transfer student in his school, and slowly gather the information from him . Yeah, that might be possible . I can definitely do that . "

    When Specter finally decided what to do next, he noticed that arge picture of Oliver was crooked . He was about to leave the house, but he also noticed that the whole ce was wrecked by him . This will most probably alert Phil and Margie, so Specter was thinking if he needed to clean up . It was at this moment Specter found something strange, there was no security cameras inside the house .

    He had checked everything and he was sure that the whole house had no security cameras . Phil and Margie would never leave their house this defenseless and easy to infiltrate . Specter felt that this was a trap of some sorts, and waited in the living room in full alert but after a few minutes of waiting nothing happened .

    ¡¯If there are any security cameras here, Phil and Margie must beughing there butts off watching how stupid I¡¯m looking . ¡¯ Specter sighed as he was also getting a bit irritated, by the crooked picture on the wall . He then couldn¡¯t help it and fixed it, when he did so he heard something opening in the master bedroom .

    Specter quickly headed there and saw the closet had move a few inches to the right, now revealing a hidden area . Specter smiled as he finally found what he was looking for .

 Chapter 219

    Chapter 219

    Specter entered the secret entrance he found and saw a switch on the side . Since it was dark and the switch was near the entrance Specter assumed that the switch was for the lights and flipped it . As he expected it turned on the lights, but it had another effect aside from that . The switched shut the entrance, making it impossible to exit from where he came from .

    Specter decided to see if he could break the entrance apart, but with the lights on he saw that the backside of the closet wasn¡¯t really made of wood, it was made of heavily fortified metal . He then tried flipping the switch again on and off but it did nothing, not even turning the lights off . Specter seeing this knew that the exit or a switch to open up the entrance was waiting for him deeper in .

    While he was walking Specter started to feel ufortable, howe when he opened the door the lights were off . If Margie and Phil were here then shouldn¡¯t they already have turned on the lights, or does the lights automatically switch off after a certain period of time . . . Specter who was thinking to deeply about this decided not to sweat the small stuff and continued on .

    The staircase led to an area that looked like an elevator . There was a lock of some sort and it required a passcode and ID to operate . Specter didn¡¯t bother with this and tried to use his nano machines to bypass the lock . Yet to his surprise the moment his nano machines touched the lock they cease to function .

    Specter clicked his tongue a bit irritated at himself, since it was obvious that those two would be prepared for something like nano machines seeing as they were the one who started that project . Specter had no other choice but to force his way in . He was sure that at this point the two traitors were already aware of his existence and that he had infiltrated their house .

    Specter broke the elevator door, and immediately jumped down . Specter who was now falling felt that it was taking too long . He wasn¡¯t expecting the trip downward to be so deep, so the moment he felt a bit ufortable he grabbed hold on a nearby ledge and slowly descended .

    After a few seconds of climbing down Specter finally hit the bottom floor .

    "Those crazy scientist, what the hell are they thinking making their secret base so deep underground . " After voicing out hisints Specter continued forward . While walking Specter noticed that the underground base built by the two traitors was eerily simr to the base for the shadow mercenaries .

    It was possible that the two traitors created a familiar environment to work in . Still why recreate the shadow mercenary base that calls them traitors .

    "Oh, isn¡¯t that Raphael . It¡¯s been a long time hasn¡¯t it . " Specter backed away surprised that someone actually said his real name, and as he looked around he saw the two people he was looking for . It was none other than Phil and Margie who seem to be carrying some boxes .

    Phil was a tall clean looking man with a perpetual smile, for people that know him, the moment that smile widens they knew that they will experience the most frightening moment of their lives . Since Phil widening his smile means that he is getting angry . Margie was the same with showing her never changing smile . She was a beautiful maiden with long blond hair, if you look at her she would seem to be in her early twenties but in truth she was already nearing her fifties . Yet the moment you talk about her age is the moment you die .

    Specter who was surprised by the sudden appearance of the two who were carrying boxes, decided to attack the traitors to catch them of guard . Yet the moment he activated his nano machines, Phil took out something that looked like a T . V remote, pointed it at him and pressed something deactivating Specter¡¯s nano machines .

    Specter who uses the nano machines as his clothes, was now butt naked . Phil then tosses him some spare clothes, expecting this oue .

    "Wear that . "

    "Why should I?" Specter didn¡¯t even bother to catch the tossed clothes, since he didn¡¯t want to wear something a traitor gives him .

    "Suit yourself it doesn¡¯t really matter to us if your naked or not . " Phil simply shrugged his shoulder as he answered Specter . Learning that he was in the palm of his enemies hands made Specter angry . He arrogantly thought that no matter what happens he could overpower the two scientist . He was also fairly confident in the nano machines he was using . Since Phil and Margie gave up on the project he thought that they had no way to do what they just did, yet here he was butt naked, and about to wear the clothes handed to him by the enemy .

    Specter wanted to attack, but his instincts were telling him the moment he attacks he would be killed instantly . He was now regretting his decision of going in gung-ho .

    While Specter changes, Phil and Margie proceeded to sit on a sofa . "Come on now Raphael, sit . " Specter did as he was told since he had no choice .

    "How about some tea, while we talk . "

    "I don¡¯t want your tea! I want answers!"

    "Sure you do . Of course you¡¯reing here for some answers regarding James right? Well you were kinda like his best friend back in the Shadow Mercenaries . Knowing your best friend that you thought was dead being actually alive is indeed very shocking . Still it¡¯s better to have some tea while I tell the story don¡¯t you think?"

    Phil who was talking in a calm manner smiled a bit wider . When Specter saw this, he gulped dryly and nodded his head .

    "Oh, it¡¯s good that you¡¯vee around . Margie please brew some tea for our little friend . " Margie nodded in response, stood up from her seat and headed to the kitchen .

    "Before I exin things about James . I want you to know that he¡¯s called Oliver now . "

    "I already know that . I¡¯ve been following him since yesterday . "

    "I see . . . Another thing before we start . Who is the current leader? Is it still Gabriel?"

    "No the leader has changed, it¡¯s now Hektor . " Hearing Specter¡¯s response Phil¡¯s smiling face twitched a little .

    "I see, so he really did take over . . . What happened to Gabriel . " Even though Phil already knew the answer, he still asked just in case he was wrong .

    "Has it been that long, that you have forgotten how we change leaders? . . . He died, to be more precise he was killed, in one on one against Hektor . "

    "Thank you for telling me . " Phil answered with his usual smile, but Specter noticed that Phil looked a bit sorrowful .

    Phil already knew the customs of the Shadow Mercenaries . Anyone in their ranks can be appointed leader, and all you need to do to take over the job is kill the person who is currently leader . This must be done under the watchful eye of all the members present .

    "Do you have anymore questions or are you going to finally start exining things to me?"

    "Very well, let¡¯s begin at the time of the supposed demise of James . "

 Chapter 220

    Chapter 220: 220

    "Why do you think James died? Were you there when it happened . " The start of Phil¡¯s story was a question to Specter who answered quite quickly .

    "I wasn¡¯t really there when it happened, but was informed after the fact . "

    "Then why did you believe in this information? Surely you of all people know the truth behind the Shadow Mercenaries . We do not abide by camaraderie or friendship, what really makes us stay together is the overwhelming power of the one hiding behind the curtain, and a simr goal of hoping for a better world, but each of us has a different take on what a better world is . So why did you believe in the information that you haven¡¯t seen with your own eyes? Who was it that gave the information, that you never doubted its authenticity . "

    Specter finally caught on with what Phil wanted to convey . He then started to recall who was it among them that actually witnessed James¡¯ death . At that moment Specter finally recalled who was the one who gave that report .

    "It was the former leader, Gabriel . "

    "Bingo, Gabriel was the one who gave the report regarding James Bourne¡¯s death . Next question who was it that dered me and Margie as traitors?"

    Specter tried to remembered who it was that said both Margie and Phil were traitors, once he remembered he was once again surprised .

    "It was Gabriel as well . "

    "Correct again . Now onto the final question when were we dered traitors, and when was James dered dead?"

    This time it took Specter a bit of time to remember the answer to this question . Phil and Margie were dered as traitors long before James was dered dead .

    "If I remembered correctly you two were dered traitors six years ago, and James was dered dead a year after that . "

    "Do you think that¡¯s a coincidence? Of course not . Gabriel noticing something amiss from the way Hektor was moving decided to let me and Margie his most trusted friends escape the organization . Of course at that time, it wasn¡¯t possible to fake our deaths, so we were made into traitors . A yearter once we finished our preparations Gabriel sent James to us . "

    Specter was amazed by this revtion and was about to ask a question but Phil motioned him to stop .

    "All questions will be entertainedter, for now I just want you to listen . So where was I, oh yes, Gabriel sent us James . Now unlike you, Hektor wouldn¡¯t simply believe in Gabriel¡¯s report so we needed to stage James Bourne¡¯s death . At that time we have finally perfected cloning, and we were able to clone James Bourne perfectly . Aside from Gabriel, Hektor was there as well to confirm James¡¯ death . Actually Hektor was the one who orchestrated the demise of James Bourne . Too bad for him on that fateful mission where James dies, we already switched the real one with a clone . "

    "Once the whole of the Shadow Mercenaries believed that James Bourne was dead, Margie and I wiped James¡¯ memory and reced them with new memories, thus Oliver was born . We became his parents, and treated him normally . We made him experience a life without killing, a life without fearing the next day . Still because James was somehow fighting the effects of the memory wiper, his past manifested as dreams . Due to this we needed to add some more background memories for Oliver, not to be confused with his old memories, but nowadays it seems like it¡¯s only a matter of time before he remembers everything . "

    Phil was finally done exining what had happened and it was a shocking story . Specter who was listening intently didn¡¯t even realize that Margie came back and his tea was getting cold .

    "I have so many questions . "

    "Of course you do . Since you¡¯re here better ask away . "

    "Why did Gabriel go through all this trouble just for James?"

    "Not many know of this fact, but James is the actual son of Gabriel . The only people who knew of this fact were Margie and I as well as Hektor and of course Gabriel . "

    The answer to the first question was shocking enough that it took Specter a minute to process the information he just heard .

    "What?! James is actually Gabriel¡¯s biological son! Then who was the mother?"

    "Hektor¡¯s sister Patricia . "

    Specter was being bombarded by new information that was so intense he needed time to process each new information he received . Patricia was a former agent that was now deceased, same as Gabriel, and Hektor med the death of his beloved sister on Gabriel who was unable to protect her . It was an amazing fact, and made the whole family¡¯s situation soplicated .

    "Okay then, if everything you said was real, then why did Gabriel not tell Oliver the truth? Why make him suffer? Why make him think that he was an orphan unloved by his parents?"

    "It was also because of love that Gabriel never told Oliver the truth . His mother had passed away and it was father¡¯s fault that she died . Gabriel didn¡¯t want James to know this fact and make him grieve because of it . He also knew the world James was going to live in, would be harsher if he everyone knew he was James¡¯ father . If he acted as his father many of the members would¡¯ve tried to kill him, or use him as ckmail material to be the next leader . Knowing this, Gabriel decided to watch over his son from a distance . "

    Specter was not convinced by this reason, but he still epted it as is .

    "Then why did he need James to die and be Oliver?" This was the question that Specter wanted to ask, since the beginning of the story .

    "It¡¯s all because of Hektor . His uncle who believed that his beloved sister was killed because of Gabriel¡¯s negligence hated the man to his very core . He wanted to tear him apart and make him pay, yet he was feeling conflicted since Gabriel was the man his sister loved, and she even gave birth to his child . In a way James and Gabriel were his family as well . Still Hektor was already mentally unstable because of his sister¡¯s death, and his conflicting feelings of wanting to kill Gabriel but couldn¡¯t made him even more unstable . Years of this mental torture slowly but surely broken Hektor, until it was obvious that Hektor had finally lost any semnce of his former self and decided to kill Gabriel . With this knowledge at hand, Gabriel knew that someday Hektor would try and kill him . If he seeds he might try and kill James as well . Knowing this Gabriel devised a n to save his son from his own uncle . "

    Hearing the whole truth from Phil made Specter simply looked at him in a daze . The current leader Hektor was someone like that . Though most of the members of the Shadow Mercenaries were already on the verge of insanity but none of them were really on that deep level Hektor was at .

    With this new information at hand, Specter started doubting Hektor¡¯s ability tomand them . It also raises the question, does Hektor still believe in making a better world, now that his beloved sister is gone?

 Chapter 221

    Chapter 221

    Specter was still deep in thought about the various revtions he received in one sitting . He was now confused as to what to do next . Beforeing here, he had a different n he wanted to execute . In his n he thought that he could force Phil and Margie to turn Oliver back to his old self, and once he was done doing that, he would just go back to base and present the traitors and say he found James Bourne alive and well . He hoped if he did all of that the punishment he would receive from not following Hektor¡¯s orders would be lighter .

    Yet now he had all these new pieces of information, making him unable to decide what to do next . Seeing that Specter was taking some time to digest the new information, Phil sipped some of his tea, but after a few sips he suddenly remembered something important .

    "Oh, I forgot to say, there was actually something even more shocking than what I just told you . " The moment Specter heard that Phil had even more outrageous news than what he already heard made him feel like his head was spinning . He then raised his right hand stopping Phil from speaking .

    "Wait! Wait a minute! Please, just give me a while to get bearings back . " Specter tried to calm his breathing down, as he rubbed his temples . Once he was done doing that he looked at Phil and said, "Okay, I¡¯m ready . "

    "When we noticed that Oliver¡¯s old memories wereing back in a more rapid manner than we expected, we decided to monitor his situation . We haven¡¯t done this before, because we wanted him to have a somehow normal school life . Of course circumstances changed so we decided to do what we did . Anyway, while we were watching him we found out about his extraordinary friends . Of course we already heard about them from his stories, and we even met his girlfriend already since she came here to greet us . Still his other friends were nothing but names to us, but when we saw their faces we were surprised to see one of them . Seeing that face of his, we were sure that he has some rtion to the Shadow Mercenaries . Sorry I was wrong to say that . He doesn¡¯t just have some rtion we are sure that he is someone really important to the organization . "

    "You keep on calling him in such an ambiguous terms, and not saying his name . Are you doing that on purpose?" Specter said getting a bit irritated on how Phil was talking . Did he like teasing Specter like this . He could never tell since Phil always smiles .

    "No it¡¯s not that . Actually we don¡¯t really know what his name is . Like I said, all we know about Oliver¡¯s friends, were their names but not how they look . So we can¡¯t really match the name to the face . Still that doesn¡¯t really matter here, all that matters is the person in the picture . Here I¡¯ll show you a picture of that person and you¡¯ll understand as well . "

    Phil took out his phone and showed a picture to Specter . The moment Specter saw the picture of Oliver with his friends, one of them caught his attention . The moment he saw that face Specter felt that the person in the picture looked very familiar . He then looked a bit closer and finally figured out who that person looked like . Specter¡¯s mouth was agape as he sat there stunned

    "It can¡¯t be . . . How is he in that picture? He even looks so young . " Specter couldn¡¯t believe his eyes, since the person in the picture was indeed someone very important to the Shadow Mercenaries . He wasn¡¯t just a simple VIP he was VVIP .

    "I know right, he looks exactly like him, when he was young . He looks exactly like the dozens of pictures in the Shadow Mercenaries HQ . He must be rted to that family right? Actually it¡¯s impossible that he isn¡¯t . I¡¯m a really sure that he is an actual living descendant of that man . "

    Specter knew that man Phil was talking about . It was none other than the person hidden behind the curtain that supports the Shadow Mercenaries . Hektor might be the leader on the outside but the true leader was the man hidden behind the curtain . To be more specific it was the family of that man that is the true masters of the Shadow Mercenaries .

    It is said that the Shadow Mercenaries were the reason for the creation of the Mercenary system, but in truth it was that family who was the real reason for the Mercenary system .

    "What do we do with this information? This guy could change everything . " Specter was now even more shaken up than before . If his head was spinning before, because of Oliver¡¯s family ties, this new information practically blew his head off .

    . . .

    While Specter was panicking on what to do next, Alex was watching some news in Matthew¡¯s phone . It was after ss and Matthew pulled Alex away and headed to the rooftop, where he showed a video feed from the Southern Union .

    In the video there was a beautiful woman announcing something . This woman was none other than Saintess Anita .

    "To my beloved countrymen, I have found love and he is Berdonian! I know this might sound sudden to all of you, but I have loved this man for years now, and yesterday he proposed to me . I know that this might sound selfish of me, but to my beloved countrymen please support me and my love! The Government has informed me that I couldn¡¯t marry this man who I love so dearly . The reason being he was Berdonian and I¡¯m from the Southern Union . Not only that the Government told me the citizens would never approve . If you my beloved countrymen do not approve of this union between me and my love, then I would not take his hand in marriage even though I love him sooo much . To me, you my beloved countrymen are as important as him . So I truly hope from the bottom of my heart you my beloved countrymen would support my marriage with him . He may be Berdonian but he is the one man I truly love . "

    The Saintess who was speaking was smiling while crying . The impact of that beautiful face of hers smiling like that as if in pain as well as crying made her look divine .

    "This was on the news a few hours ago . After this video was broadcasted all throughout the Southern Union, people started protesting to the nearby Government offices . The people are all demanding for the Saintess to be able to marry . "

    "I don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re telling me this . " Alex even though he still had a stoic look, Matthew could somehow discern that he was confused .

    "Didn¡¯t you know, Sir Lyner is the man the Saintess is talking about . "

    "Huh?!" Hearing this news, the people hiding behind the door screamed as well . Both Matthew and Alex already knew of their existence behind the door, but didn¡¯t bother to shoo them away since they were somehow part of this as a well .

    "Sir Lyner is getting married!?" All of the members of the Mercenary club as well as Evangeline shouted in unison .

 Chapter 222

    Chapter 222

    The members of the mercenary club were shocked to hear the news of Lyner getting married . Not only that but he was actually getting married to the beautiful Saintess Anita of the Southern Union . This was amazing news, that made their mouths drop open . Due to Anita not saying who she was marrying, the other people of Berdonia were trying to guess who the mystery man from Berdonia truly was .

    Those in the know, knew who she was talking about . The people in the Berdonian Government were in total chaos at this very moment . On one hand some of the higher-ups didn¡¯t like the idea of the strongest being in their nation was to be wed with a VIP of another nation . On the other hand the others thought that this could be a chance for the two nations to officially have an alliance with the Southern Union .

    This could make the situation regarding the Empire lean towards their advantage . Since the only reason the Empire never goes all out is in fear of the Southern Union attacking when they¡¯re in their weakest state . If the Southern Union truly stands beside Berdonia, the Granado Empire might act differently, and stop their monthly skirmishes .

    Though the two factions had different reactions, the person in the middle of it all Lyner didn¡¯t really care what anybody else thought . If this statement of his soon to be wife doesn¡¯t work in his favor, then he decided to just force it .

    . . .

    The other members had a lot of question about Matthew and his rtion to Alex, but when they heard the news about Lyner marrying the Saintess, the other members now have a new set of questions . They kept on bothering Matthew asking him what he knows, but Matthew simply answered with a smile .

    Matthew couldn¡¯t tell them how he knew that Lyner was the person the Saintess was talking about, since the reason he knew was in rtion to his master . If he told them about his master, it would put Alex¡¯s involvement with him into question .

    So no matter what the others asked, Matthew never answered . After a short while most of the members gave up on finding out how Matthew knew that Lyner was getting married . The only one who remained persistent was Emily .

    When everyone was done questioning the tight lipped Matthew, they left him alone and got ready to leave for home . The moment Emily and Matthew were the only ones alone on the rooftop, Emily closes in on Matthew and whispers to his ear .

    "So tell me holy son, how much do you know about Sir Lyner and Saintess Anita¡¯s rtionship . " When Matthew heard Emily call him holy son, he knew she was someone who was part of Alex and his world .

    "Not much really, I only know as much as some . Nothing special in particr . " Emily hearing Matthew¡¯s response looked at him eye to eye . After looking at him for a few seconds, Emily backed off .

    "Boring . " After saying this Emily left Matthew standing, alone on the roof . The moment he was alone, Matthew started to smile, and after a while he startedughing . If any other student saw the handsome young teacherughing at nothing they might have thought he has gone crazy . knowing that there was no one on the roof but him, Matthew kept onughing .

    "That group was amazing! I always thought only Alex and James would be a match for me in our generation, but who knew that there was so many from the younger generation that¡¯s nearing my level . Not only that all of them are Berdonian, I wonder if there are also some hidden gems in the Southern Union that I haven¡¯t seen . Obviously the Empire the supposed strongest must be hiding a prodigy or two in their nation . "

    Matthew who was getting a bit excited, remembered the members of the Mercenary club, and to his surprise the friends Alex made were as abnormal as him . Hey down on the roof as he thought of the group of youngsters .

    ¡¯All of them were a bunch of little monsters, well all except for those two . What were their names . . . Oh, right Kei and Evangeline . Those two don¡¯t seem built to fight . On the other hand there was one who seems to exist only to fight . What was that huge monster, Oliver . Unlike Alex and I who look thin on the outside but have impressive muscles underneath, Oliver¡¯s muscles, on the other hand, were tremendous . Though there were some excesses here and there overall his muscle tone was nicely built . He also had something about him, that actually made me a little scared . ¡¯

    Matthew who was checking out the members of the Mercenary Club, actually felt a bit of fear when he saw Oliver . It wasn¡¯t just because of his overwhelming physique but there was something else . Matthew would never be afraid of someone simply because they were big . Matthew has seen many others that have a bigger physique than Oliver, but none of them gave him this kind of fear by just looking at the person .

    ¡¯Well it wasn¡¯t just Oliver that was amazing . There was that guy called Niel . That guy seems closer to me and Alex in general style and physique . All throughout our conversation not once did he let his guard down . His movement and way of guarding his upper torso by moving his hands while in conversation reminds me of someone . . . Oh, that¡¯s it! Even though his movement weren¡¯t as natural as his, but that guy Niel reminds me of Lyner . They must be rted in some way, maybe Niel is his disciple of sorts . . . It¡¯s actually possible, well I¡¯ll just ask Alex when I get the chance . ¡¯

    ¡¯The girls were amazing as well . That girl Sayaka who was clinging onto Oliver, I didn¡¯t sense her presence, no I couldn¡¯t sense her presence . At first I thought it was because she was sticking to Oliver who had an overwhelming presence, but when she separated herself from Oliver I still couldn¡¯t get a sense that she was there . My eyes could see her, I could definitely perceive her with my eyes, but that was it . My other senses couldn¡¯t determine that she was there . My sense of hearing failed me as I couldn¡¯t even hear her footsteps . My sense of smell also faltered, since even when I was so close to her, she didn¡¯t have any distinct smell, it was like she was one with the surroundings . ¡¯

    Matthew then remembered his encounter with Sayaka, as she was talking to him, Matthew thought he was talking to a ghost . If the others didn¡¯t acknowledge her existence, Matthew might have thought she was a real ghost, or that he might have been hallucinating .

    ¡¯Now there was Rachel, the one who holds Alex¡¯s interest . She obviously uses a simr hand to handbat style as Alex, since her the way she moves had that distinct shift of her center of gravity . It was also obvious that she hasn¡¯t trained that much, but I can tell she is indeed stronger than most C ss mercs . Still that doesn¡¯t exin Alex¡¯s interest in her . I wonder what he sees in her . ¡¯

    Matthew was really intrigued by Rachel . He kept on wondering what was so good about someone of Rachel¡¯s level . Alex who was rich, handsome, and powerful, could pick any girl he wants but he chose Rachel .

    ¡¯Then there was the most frightening of the bunch . Emily Hunt, I know of her brother Kyle Hunt, but I wasn¡¯t expecting his sister to be such a monster . Those eyes of hers seem to be able to see through everything . That smile she shows seems to be always concealing something . Overall she is definitely dangerous . Solely based on the sound of steel that I could hear in her body, I¡¯m sure she isn¡¯t a slouch in a fight . I can¡¯t really say how strong she is in actualbat, but her type doesn¡¯t really fight head on . I¡¯m not really good with that kind of opponent . ¡¯

    Matthew was then reminded of that fake smile Emily kept on showing . There was even a cold glint in her eyes, when she asked how much Matthew knew about Lyner . It was at this moment that Matthew thought his master was right . He could definitely get stronger by staying here .

    . . .

    While Matthew was thinking back to his first impression of the members of the Mercenary Club, Alex and the others had fetched Lilitth from school . Now he, Lilitth, Rachel, and Evangeline were heading back to the mansion . Unknown to them the moment theye home, a life changing event will happen .

 Chapter 223

    Chapter 223

    Alex and his group were heading back home, as they got near the mansion Lilitth saw someone waiting for them at the entrance . The moment she saw the person waiting at the front gates Lilitth went into a mad dash . Of course Alex immediately noticed who was waiting for them .

    "Tou-chan! Tou-chan!" With her incredible bodily strength that went beyond human norms, Lilitth who suddenly sprinted towards Carlo left an after image beside Alex and the others . When Rachel and Evangeline saw this, they were both surprised for a moment, but that surprise onlysted for a second . Since Lilitth was Alex¡¯s sister they were already expecting her to be somehow abnormal . This superhuman feat she just did was not as surprising when you think that she¡¯s rted to Alex . That¡¯s what Rachel thought, Evangeline on the other hand already knew of Lilitth¡¯s true nature as an artificial human . Still every time Evangeline sees Lilitth¡¯s super human abilities, she¡¯s always surprised .

    Carlo who had his arms wide open, waiting for his cute little daughter to jump into it, was blown away by Lilitth¡¯s enthusiastic tackle . Since she wasn¡¯t controlling her strength, Lilitth was able to break a part of the wall surrounding the mansion . Luckily Carlo was able to soften the blow by jumping backward . The destruction of the wall didn¡¯t really hurt Carlo, since before he was about to hit the wall, he sliced a portion of it using his sword . The wall was already crumbling when he hit, making him sustain only a bit of damage .

    Evangeline and Rachel who were watching weren¡¯t able to see Carlo¡¯s movements . So in their minds Carlo who was able to handle Lilitth¡¯s tackle and the destruction of the wall without even a single scratch, was incredible .

    ¡¯Amazing, these people are amazing . ¡¯

    ¡¯Of course the father of such children would be a monster as well . ¡¯

    All the two girls could think off at this moment was how powerful each and every family member was . They were now wondering if the mother was powerful as well . After thinking for a moment the girls then noticed the real problem regarding their situation . This would be the first time either of them would be talking to Alex¡¯s parents . Thinking about that fact the girls started to feel a bit anxious .

    "I¡¯m home my little angel . " Carlo patted Lilitth¡¯s head and hugged her .

    "Wee home tou-chan . " Lilitth smiled at her beloved father, which made Carlo swoon . He then started to hug Lilitth even tighter . If she was an ordinary child this hug from Carlo might have chocked her, but because of her sturdy body, this vise like grip hug was nothing much for her . It didn¡¯t hurt her but actually felt quitefortable .

    Alex approached Carlo and with his usual indifferent tone spoke to his father . "How did the mission go, was it a sess?"

    "Hello as well Alex . Aren¡¯t you going to hug and greet your father first, before asking such things? Also it seems like you brought home two beautifuldies with you . Hello, I¡¯m Carlo Samarita Alex and Lilitth¡¯s father . "

    The two girls who Carlo suddenly talked to where stunned speechless . They just stood there for a while . Once they got their bearings back, Rachel and even Evangeline bowed their head as they greeted Carlo .

    "Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Rachel Regius a friend of you son . " ¡¯Why the hell am I bowing!¡¯ Rachel screamed in her mind .

    "It¡¯s a pleasure to make your acquaintance . I¡¯m Evangeline Kain, also a friend of your son . " The moment Evangeline said this, without doing a curtsy she regretted what happened with every fiber of her being .

    "Oh, is that so . Thank you for being friends with my boy . Hmm and it would seems like you took care of my daughter alongside my foolish son . Thank you for that as well . "

    "It¡¯s our pleasure!" The two rivals in love were at this moment totally in sync as they answered Carlo .

    Seeing the two girls reactions, Carlo approached his son and put his arm over his shoulders and whispered .

    "So who are you gunning for? Oh, of course you wouldn¡¯t get that . I mean who do you like more between the two?" Carlo asked this question half jokingly, since he expected Alex to simply say that he liked them equally . Yet to his surprise Alex didn¡¯t answer and instead, his face twitched . Carlo was amazed by this unexpected reaction .

    Thest time he saw Alex show such a reaction, was back when he was a kid . Even at that time Alex would only show a minor reaction once in a blue moon . This reaction from his son, surprised and excited Carlo . Since this reaction meant that the n he set in motion, when they came to the city has finally moved forward .

    "Oh, who is it? Who do you like, is it Rachel or Evangeline?"

    "Can we talk about thister dad . " Seeing his ever stoic son actually look a bit embarrassed, almost made Carlo drop his jaw .

    "Fine, I will wait to hear your report about your situation with the girl you like . For now I just want to know, why the two of them are still here, and not going home . "

    Alex who had forgotten about their little arrangement, exined to his father a summary of what had transpired when he wasn¡¯t home . Carlo who listened to Alex¡¯s story felt a bit concerned, since this attack on Rachel might be rted to whoever cloned Reghinald . But for now, Carlo decided to not think to deeply about it, and just enjoy the reunion with his children .

    "Oh right, Alex, Lilitth, there is someone inside the mansion I want you to meet . " Carlo happily carried Lilitth and grabbed Alex¡¯s hand as he guided his two children into the mansion . The two girls who were watching such a scene unfold, didn¡¯t know what to do, as they stood their silently .

    "You twoe in as well . You two need to meet this person . " Hearing what Carlo said, the two girls were shocked . It took them a few seconds to realize what Carlo just said, after which they followed the Samaritas inside their mansion .

 Chapter 224

    Chapter 224

    As Carlo led the group to his study, the two girls who were following were getting very nervous . They didn¡¯t know what they were going to be shown . They were very anxious that they might make a bad impression . Not knowing what to do, the two girls timidly followed the Samaritas .

    After a short walk, Alex and the rest finally reached Carlo¡¯s study . It has been quite some time since Alexst went inside, since the only one who has the key to the study was Carlo . In the mansion the most secure area was Carlo¡¯s study, even Alex would have some trouble trying to infiltrate the room .

    Alex who was behind Carlo started to think about what his Dad was so excited about . What could be behind this door, that he needed to show the four of them . It¡¯s obviously unrted to any mercenary business, since the two girls with him are unrted to that world .

    Alex didn¡¯t know what to expect as Carlo opened the door . When the door fully opened the first thing all of them noticed was that there was already someone inside the room . It was a cool lookingdy wearing a ck snap button front top, ck leather jacket, tight ck jeans and leather boots . With her cool beauty type look, she looked almost the same as Alex, and she did have the simr stoic look .

    ¡¯Why did dad want me to see Instructor Michel?¡¯ As if he was able to read Alex¡¯s mind, Carlo smiled .

    "Rachel, Evangeline, I want you two to meet my wife, Alex and Lilitth¡¯s mother Michel Samarita . " The moment Carlo announced this, not only did the two girls get surprised, even the two siblings were surprised . Luckily for them they were in front of the two girls, so both Evangeline and Rachel didn¡¯t see Lilitth¡¯s surprised reaction .

    Alex, on the other hand, couldn¡¯t react and needed to follow the flow of the conversation . Since if he showed them that he didn¡¯t know that Michel was his mother it would be surprising for Evangeline and Rachel . Alex was about to react appropriately but was intercepted by Lilitth .

    "Kaa-chan! Kaa-chan! Kaa-chan!" Same as with Carlo Lilitth jumped onto Michel . Still because they were already in close proximity of each other, Lilitth didn¡¯t need to run and simply jumped into Michel¡¯s chest . Michel wasn¡¯t expecting such a warm response but still opened her arms to receive her new daughter .

    Lilitth didn¡¯t really care about theplicated things, all she knew was that in the past she was an artificial human with nothing not even freedom, but now she was the daughter of the Samaritas and she now had a loving father, a cool brother, and a pretty mother . She was so happy that she didn¡¯t care that she didn¡¯t really know Michel .

    All Lilitth needed was the knowledge that Carlo called her his wife and her mother . That¡¯s all she needed to hear to ept Michel as her mother .

    Seeing his little sister quickly ept Michel, Alex couldn¡¯t help but smile . He could ask how this suddenly happenedter, but for now he just needs to be happy that his dad and new mom returned home safely .

    "Wee home, mom . " Michel hearing what Alex said almost made her cry, but same as Alex she remained ever stoic and simply nodded her head . Seeing the interaction between mother and son, the two girls were convinced that she was indeed Alex¡¯s mother .

    ¡¯So this is where he gets it from . Alex is so much like his mom, and Lilitth looks to be as free spirited as their dad . ¡¯ Rachel couldn¡¯t help but think so .

    Evangeline on the other hand was surprised for a different reason . Once she got over the fact that she was meeting Alex¡¯s mother, she looked at Michel and thought that she seemed familiar . After a few seconds of thinking she remembered . Michel Dodger, this person was a famous fashion designer . It was surprising to know that she was actually Alex¡¯s mother .

    ¡¯Howe she uses her maiden name, when being represented? . . . Well it doesn¡¯t really matter . Still, who knew that Alex¡¯s mother was that Michel Dodger . ¡¯

    Aside from being a merc, Michel same as Carlo had a normal job . She was nning on retiring as well so she needed something to fall back on . She didn¡¯t expect that she would be so talented as a fashion designer .

    . . .

    After a few more seconds of hugging the super cute, and super excited Lilitth, Michel shifted her attention onto the two girls present . Noticing the piercing gaze from Michel made the two girls stiffen .

    "I¡¯m sorry for thete introduction . I¡¯m Michel Samarita the mother of these two . I wonder who you two might be?" Hearing Michel¡¯s question with that stoic face of hers made Rachel and Evangeline unconsciously think that they were talking to Alex .

    "I¡¯m Rachel Regius, Alex¡¯s friend and ssmate . I¡¯m also someone from the same club as him . "

    "I¡¯m Evangeline Kain also a friend of Alex, as well as his student council president . "

    The girls didn¡¯t stutter as they said this, but the speed in how they spoke was like they were trying to end their sentence as quickly as possible . Still Michel understood them and nodded her head in acknowledgement .

    "I see, thank you for taking care of my son . Now that we are properly acquainted, you may go home . Alex will escort you . "

    The two girls didn¡¯t know what to say, and were about to leave as ordered, but then Alex stopped them .

    "I¡¯m sorry mom, but these two are currently living here . " Hearing this Michel looked at Alex in shock . Carlo who knew the conversation would reach this part, couldn¡¯t help but snicker at this situation . Michel who was carrying Lilitth looked at Alex, then at the two girls .

    "Are you two having an improper rtionship with my son?" Michel asked, in which the two girls responded by having their faces turn red in embarrassment . They couldn¡¯t verbally answer Michel, since they were still shocked by her question . Instead it was Alex who answered for them .

    "My rtionship with them is nothing like that . The reason they¡¯re staying here is because of-" Alex then started to recount some of the events the events that transpired, during their absence .

 Chapter 225

    Chapter 225

    When Alex was done exining Rachel¡¯s situation to his new mom, he also started to exin why Evangeline was staying in the mansion as well . Once he was done exining the situation of both girls to his new mom, Michel came closer to the girls and out of nowhere hugged the two girls, her stoic expression now gone . What reced it was a look of worry and understanding .

    "It must have been hard on you . " Michel who was hugging Rachel, kissed her forehead while saying this line .

    "You¡¯re a really good friend,ing here to help out despite the danger . " This time Michel kissed Evangeline¡¯s forehead .

    The two girls who were suddenly hugged and kissed, by the mother of the boy they liked, were truly surprised . One minute she was showing a stoic look, now she was showing such a kind motherly expression . This sudden change was too much, and the two girls couldn¡¯t keep up .

    While the two were stunned there was a sudden booming sounding from the door . This surprised everyone present . Seeing as the door into Carlo¡¯s study could only be opened by Carlo who has the key, and the person inside the study . Other than those two ways there was not other possible way to open the door of the study . The person on the other side can only knock and wait for Carlo to open the door .

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The door which was made sturdy enough that it could survive even a missile strike, felt like it was about to bend . This was unexpected since in the whole house Carlo¡¯s study room is literally the most secure area in town . It¡¯s the fourth most secure ce in the country . So the moment the people in the room heard the booming sound, they readied themselves for whatever it was on the other side of the door .

    . . .

    The first thing that the Samaritas thought off was that the perpetrator was able to subdue the hundred and forty strong mercs inside the mansion . Not to mention the three tigers, and lions that they have as pets .

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The booming kept getting louder and louder, Carlo then tried to contact the head butler, but he wasn¡¯t responding . He then tried to look at the footage from the cameras installed outside the room, but they were all offline . That would mean that the intruder had destroyed the cameras outside .

    BOOOM!

    The heavily fortified door suddenly burst open, Michel shielded her new daughter Lilitth, and Carlo stood in front of Rachel and Evangeline . Alex, Carlo, and Michel took their guns out and pointed them at whatever suddenly bursted into the room .

    "Where¡¯s my daughter!" An angry voice was heard, it was a familiar voice of someone that most of the people in the room knew off . With his eye catching blond hair, and his fist that was bleeding from punching the heavily fortified door .

    This person was none other than the blond devil, Dan Regius . One of the strongest of Berodnia, he who has walked through the battlefield with nothing but his bare hands .

    "Dad! What are you doing!" Rachel suddenly shouted from behind Carlo .

    "Rachel what did that wolf like scum do to you?! Did he hurt you? Did he do something unspeakable to you? Tell your dad everything and I¡¯ll end him . " The first part of Dan¡¯s lines were of him shouting, but as he continued talking, his tone got frostier and frostier, until it sounded ice cold .

    When Dan said thest line, he looked at Alex filled with killing intent . This massive amount of killing intent frightened Lilitth, who hid behind her mother scared . Seeing this both Michel and Carlo got angry .

    "What the hell are you doing Dan!" Michel angrily shouted at Dan, while taking out a three section staff that she hid in her back .

    "How dare you scare my little girl!" Carlo discarded his gun since he knew that it wont work on Dan, and took out his whip sword . Lilitth then ran over to Alex and was cowering behind him . Seeing this, Alex picked up his little sister and hugged her tightly, telling her everything will be okay .

    Seeing how scared Lilitth was only angered Carlo and Michel even more . Even Rachel was extremely angry at her father right now .

    "How dare I! How dare you! Your son is the one who kidnapped my little girl, and brought her innocent self, back to his stinkyir and forced her to stay with him . Not only that I heard he even brought back another woman as if my daughter wasn¡¯t good enough for him! Bring that piece of sh*t over here so I can teach him some manners, then kill him . "

    Dan was screaming at the same time not making sense, since he was saying things that make it look like he didn¡¯t want Alex together with his daughter, at the same time he didn¡¯t like that Alex was picking someone else over his own daughter .

    "Not only are you scaring my daughter, you dare insult my son to my face! My son is the only reason your daughter is alive right now, so you better apologize Dan or else!"

    "Why the f*ck should I apologize to a bunch of kidnappers!"

    "Stupid Dad! Alex didn¡¯t kidnap me, he was trying to protect me! Stop acting so foolish and apologize already!" Saying this, Rachel expected that her father would calm down, but instead he started to cry .

    "What have they done to you Rachel! You brainwashed my daughter! Damn you people, and I even treated you people like family and this is how you repay me!" Dan was obviously in a berserk state as he was crying while releasing a massive amount of killing intent .

    "It would seem nothing we say will get through to you . Will just beat you up to calm you down . " While Carlo was saying this, Dan already charged passed him and was heading for Alex who was holding onto the shivering Lilitth .

    He was so close to Alex now and was about to strike, but instead was knocked away by Michel using her three section staff .

    "You¡¯re not going toy a single finger on my children . " Michel who has only been a mother for about twenty minutes, was bursting with maternal instincts .

 Chapter 226

    Chapter 226

    The moment Dan was pushed back by Michel, he finally took a proper stance . He had concluded that attacking Alex wont work if he doesn¡¯t deal with Carlo and Michel first . Michel seeing that Dan was about to get serious, decided to also get serious .

    She removed her leather jacket revealing the weapons hidden underneath . The weapons she had were different kinds of knives, different kinds of handguns, she even had a tonfa . Michel then discarded the handguns since those would only slow her down, in this kind of fight inside such a close space . She also might hit one of the children identally . So she kept only the weapons that could be used in a melee . Seeing that most projectile weapons don¡¯t really work on Dan .

    Though she wasn¡¯t able to bring out even half of her weaponry, Michel was serious in beating up Dan . She was truly enraged by Dan who was scared her daughter, and was about to attack her son . On the other hand, Carlo who used to be one of the best mercs around, knew that he wont be able to keep up with the two fighters, since his right leg was gone . Instead he decided to simply support Michel every chance he got . The moment he sees an opening Carlo was sure to take it .

    . . .

    As things were heating up between the three, the kids aside from Alex, were getting a bit frightened . Even Rachel who was good enough to beat armed thugs felt a bit scared of her own father .

    Evangeline and even Rachel who were frightened by the sudden fight, were now standing behind Alex . When Dan saw Alex being surrounded by girls including his own daughter, that scene made him angrier . His mind got even cloudier as his rage was filling it .

    Dan then went into his full RELEASE state, his muscles started to bulge into an enormous size, but after a few seconds his muscles suddenly got smaller and firmer . Dan now looked to be a head shorter than before . Even his body and face seemed to look a bit younger, this was the final form of the RELEASE state . the first form of RELEASE was that of bulging muscles, but the end form was that ofpact muscles .

    Dan doesn¡¯t like entering this state, since once he was done fighting, his whole body would feel like breaking . The pain he would feel was so much, that even someone like Dan whose body was literally harder than steel, feel like he dying . With that kind of bacsh, his body would be unable to move for a couple of days . Even knowing that, Dan was to angry to think things through . He was then about ready to attack, but before he could do so, he felt a familiar presence closing in on him . After which he felt a heavy hand hit his head . Normally who would¡¯ve evaded or countered, but the person who did this was one of the only few that was allowed to so without receiving retaliation from Dan

    This person without any fear was none other than Kumiko, Rachel¡¯s mother, and Dan¡¯s wife . After telling Dan what happened when he was away, her husband suddenly turned furious and headed straight to Alex¡¯s abode wanting to crush him .

    Kumiko followed her husband but his speedpared to hers was overwhelmingly different . She just couldn¡¯t keep up . That¡¯s the reason why she only arrived just now . The moment she saw her husband she immediately hit him in the head to calm him down .

    "Honey, get a hold of yourself!" Dan who heard his wife¡¯s voice screaming into his ear, was finally able to calm down . He then went back into his normal state . Since he didn¡¯t use the RELEASE state for long, his body was still in the clear .

    "But Kumi, that b*stard took our daughter and brought her to hisir!" Dan pointed at Alex who was carrying the scared Lilitth . Seeing that Kumiko gave her husband another smacked in the face .

    "I was the one who handed Rachel to Alex, he didn¡¯t kidnap her . " Dan who heard this looked at his wife in shock .

    "Kumi how could you! Why did you sell our daughter to a fiend who likes to surround himself with other girls?!" Dan was once again being unreasonable, since his mind was clouded by his feelings for his family . Seeing her enraged husband, Kumiko started exining everything from the beginning . This time Dan who was cooling down a bit, was able to hear the whole story .

    After listening to the whole story, Dan¡¯s anger was then redirected to whoever put a bounty on his daughter¡¯s head . Understanding how her husband¡¯s mind works, Kumiko once again smacked her husband in the head .

    "I know your itching on killing that fool that dare ced a bounty on our daughter¡¯s head, but isn¡¯t there something else that you need to be doing right now?" Dan sighed and then bowed deeply before Carlo, Michel, Alex, and everyone else .

    "I"m sorry about what I did . You know me when ites to my family especially my daughter, it doesn¡¯t seem like I can think clearly . I¡¯m truly sorry about breaking your stuff, and saying such awful things, as well as trying to harm you . I¡¯ll pay for the damages Carlo, once again I apologize . "

    Seeing Dan apologize, Carlo and Michel also calmed down, and hid their weapons . Rachel on the other hand approached her dad and pped him .

    "Stupid Dad! I understand your worried about me, and I¡¯m grateful for that, but seriously think before you do something!" Hearing his daughter scold him, Dan was about to cry, but he kept it in and apologized to Rachel harder than before .

    "Alright now that this whole misunderstanding has been cleared up, let¡¯s have a meal . Evangeline call you mom and dad and tell them we are inviting them for a meal here . " Out of nowhere Carlo suggested something that left the people who were tensed moments ago, looked at him confused .

 Chapter 227

    Chapter 227

    Robert Kain the father of Evangeline was at the back of his car feeling a tad nervous . He was sweating a bit even thought the inside of the car was quite cold . He was also apanied by his wife Molly Kain, who looked equally nervous . Even though she didn¡¯t know what kind of family the Samritas were, she knew that a family that could make her husband this nervous was noughing matter .

    The two of them were heading to the ce were the Samaritas live, the two Kains were heading there to have dinner with the Samaritas . This was a family that wasn¡¯t only rich, but was led by a person who had actual fighting strength . In wealth alone, the Samaritas surpass the Kains, but not only that they surpass the Kains almost in all areas . Even the personal strengths of their people were far too different .

    The only thing the Kains had an advantage in was that they had a long family history . They are one of the few existing families that were there during the creation of Berdonia . Aside from that history the Kains hold no advantage whatsoever to the Samaritas . In face of that overwhelming difference they had no words to say .

    Not only that a close friend of the Samaritas will be dinning with them . It was none other than the Regius family . At first Robert didn¡¯t know anything about the Regius family, so he did a quick search about them . After a few minutes his subordinates found a lot about the Regius family . It would seem that they are a very famous family in the city .

    The Regius were a martial arts family that has created a powerful barehanded martial art . The father in particr was a very famous individual . He was so famous that some of Robert¡¯s men who were former mercs immediately noticed who he was when they saw his picture . The moment those former mercs that were his bodyguards saw the picture of Dan Regius most of the started to tremble in fear, some even knelt and started to pray . While the others started to scream .

    "It¡¯s the devil! It¡¯s the devil! It¡¯s the devil!"

    Robert was confused as to why all these hardened veterans of the battlefield suddenly got so scared . The oldest one of them who wasn¡¯t panicking answered this question .

    "In the battlefield there are some individuals that most mercs would run away from . There are the ten generals of the Empire . Then there are mythical mercs of the Shadow Mercenaries . Then the three saints of the Southern Union . Finally the five strongest of Berdonia, well some say that it¡¯s the seven strongest . Well that¡¯s not that important, what¡¯s important to know is that man Dan Regius is part of the five strongest of Berdonia . He is the one they called the blond devil . "

    ¡¯Well that exins why the others keep on screaming devil in fright¡¯

    "Among the five strongest Dan Regius is the second most feared merc . He is only second to the strongest merc of Berdonia Lyner . "

    "Does that mean he is the second strongest?" Robert asked wanting to gain a bit more knowledge about Dan . The former merc shook his head as he answered .

    "That¡¯s not necessarily true . The number one spot obviously goes to Lyner, the so called monster of the battlefield . His strength is so above the others that spot would be handed to him by the other four willingly . Now the second strongest position is a bit confusing as to who owns the position, since among the four only Dan is known by the majority of the mercs . The other three exist but those who are targeted by them are killed in secret so not much is known of the three by normal mercs . Dan Regius on the other hand likes doing things out in the open, and those who witnessed his way of fighting barehanded in a ce full of fully armed men was awe inspiring . "

    Listening to the former merc go on and on about the stories of Dan Regius, made Robert a bit scared of the man . Well in his defense any normal person will be scared if they were about to meet a man that can crush tanks with nothing but his bare hands .

    . . .

    After hearing all those stories about Dan made Robert a bit nervous . It would seem that he and his wife would be in the lowest position when they get there . Seeing her husband who was usually so fearless look like that, made Molly a bit worried as well . She then held the shaking hand of her husband and spoke in the calmest tone she could muster .

    "It¡¯s going to be alright . It¡¯s just dinner . " Hearing his wife reassure him that everything will be alright, just made Robert feel bad . What kind of man was he to make his wife worry and tell him it will be alright . Wasn¡¯t he the one who was suppose to reassure his wife . So to show that he was alright, Robert showed the best smile he could and nodded his head in agreement .

    . . .

    The two Kains finally reached the mansion of the Samaritas and as they expected, even in the distance they could see how much bigger it is than there own mansion . When they got out of the car, they were greeted by a beautiful maid, who guided them inside the mansion . As they entered the mansion they were once again greeted this time by a row of maids and butlers .

    "Wee!" Their voiced echoed throughout the hall . Robert and Molly were from the upper ss, but even they were overwhelmed by what they saw . The whole mansion was filled with priceless objects, and even though he wasn¡¯t a fighter Robert noticed that most of the maids and butlers had weapons and seem to be quite proficient in using them .

    ¡¯They must double as bodyguards as well . ¡¯

    The two Kains who were guided deeper into the mansion were amazed by most of what they saw . This truly showed them that the difference in wealth between the Samaritas and them, wasn¡¯t just a few zeroes .

    The maid who was guiding them, stopped in front of a door .

    "We have arrived at the dinning table . " Hearing what the maid said, Robert and Molly readied themselves to what¡¯s toe .

 Chapter 228

    Chapter 228

    The moment the Kains arrived in the dinning table their daughter approached them . Evangeline who was in such a tense atmosphere moments ago, felt relieved to see the faces of her parents .

    "Wee it¡¯s been a while since west met, Robert . " Carlo approached Robert and Molly Kain . Alongside him was Michel .

    "Yes, it has been quite some time, Mr . Samarita . " Robert greeted Carlo with a smile on his face .

    "No need to call me Mr . Samarita . Just call me Carlo, seeing as our kids are close friends . Why don¡¯t we adults be good friends as well . " Carlo extended his hand toward Robert for a handshake . Robert was surprised for a moment, then smiled as he shook Carlo¡¯s hand .

    "Very well, to our newfound friendship Carlo . "

    "To our friendship . Oh, by the way this is my wife Michel . " Carlo gestured at the person behind him . Michel hearing her name went forward .

    "I¡¯m Michel Samarita, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you . " The cool lookingdy beside Carlo spoke to Robert, and his wife . They already knew that they were about to meet Alex¡¯s parents, which was basically the mother and the father, but seeing Michel still surprised them a bit . They knew who this was since she was quite a famous fashion designer .

    "It¡¯s our pleasure as well . Allow me to introduce my wife, Molly . " Robert did the same as Carlo and introduced his own wife who stepped forward .

    "It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you two . I hope our friendship willst for a long time . " After their introduction the four of them started doing some small talk . While the four of them were talking, Dan and Kumiko approached the group to introduce themselves to the new arrivals .

    The moment Robert saw Dan approach him, he had his guard up . The stories told by the old former merc, really spooked him . This man in front of him with a childlike smile was actual called a devil, and not only that he fought tanks with his bare hands . Little did he know that there were three others in the room, who were just as scary as him .

    Once the parents were done introducing themselves, the dinner finally started . On the left side of the table, the Regius family sat in afortable manner . On the right side of the table, sat the Kains, a bit tense . While at the end of the table sat the Samaritas . Lilitth was happily sitting between her new mother, and her father .

    The moment the food was served, Dan didn¡¯t bother with manners, and started eating like a starving wolf . Since he was in battle awhile ago, his right fist that was bleeding was patched up, and he actually used the full force of RELEASE, Dan was really hungry . Seeing how her father ate like an animal, made Rachel embarrassed .

    On the other hand Robert had a different opinion, seeing Dan eat so leisurely in another person¡¯s home, meant that he was that much closer to the Samaritas .

    While they were eating, the dinning table was a bit silent, and toe everyone¡¯s surprise the one who broke the silence, was Michel .

    "So Evangeline what is your current ss ranking?" Not expecting Michel to actually speak to her, Evangeline couldn¡¯t respond immediately and just looked shocked . Seeing her daughter not responding Molly pinched Evangeline . Finally regaining her wits Evangeline answers with a smile .

    "I¡¯m first in my ss ranking, third in school ranking, and tenth on the national scale" Both Robert and Molly were proud as they heard their daughter say she was tenth on the national scale . Even with all her extracurricr activities, plus her duty as a Kain, she was still able to have such a high ranking .

    "How about you Rachel?" When Rachel heard Michel ask Evangeline that question, she was already expecting that she too will be questioned in the same way . So without dy she answered .

    "I¡¯m third in ss, fourth in the school ranking, and eleventh on the national scale . " Aside from her third in ss remark, Rachel was actually one rank lower than Evangeline, in every category . This just made Evangeline and her parents feel like they somehow won something . Rachel, on the other hand, didn¡¯t like the feeling that she was losing to Evangeline of all people .

    "I see, how about you Alex?" Even though Michel already knew the answer to this question, she still asked it, since seeing the other parents look proud of their kids aplishments, she too wanted to show them that her son was the best .

    "I¡¯m first in ss, first in the school ranking, and recently on the national scale I am also number one . " Evangeline¡¯s parents were shocked to hear Alex¡¯s level was higher than their daughter . So not only is Alex richer, in a more influential family, he was also smarter than their daughter . Seeing the surprise face of Evangeline¡¯s parents as well as Kumiko made Michel feel proud . It actually also made Lilitth look proud, while Carlo simply enjoyed listening in . Dan on the other hand didn¡¯t care for the conversation and continued eating .

    "I see, so are you a good cook Rachel?" Michel started asking another question .

    "I more or less know how to cook . "

    "How about you Evangeline?"

    "I¡¯m sorry but I have never tried cooking before . "

    "How about cleaning? Rachel . "

    "I¡¯m average . "

    "Evangeline?"

    "Actually I¡¯m quite good in cleaning . I think it¡¯s actually quite fun . "

    "How are your extracurricr activities?" Michel once again asked another question .

    "I¡¯m in the same club as your son . It¡¯s called the Mercenary Club . " Rachel was the first to answer .

    "I¡¯m the student Council President . " Followed by Evangeline¡¯s answer .

    "What is favorite sport, Rachel?"

    "My favorite sport is full contact Karate . " Rachel decided to tell the truth, instead of opting to saying tennis which she didn¡¯t find that much fun . Usually when people ask her what her favorite sport was, she would answer tennis, since that sounds more feminine . But now she answered the truth since she felt like Michel could see right through her .

    "How about you Evangeline?"

    "My favorite sport is archery . "

    Hearing the answer of the two girls, made Michel smile a bit . The two girls in front of her might look very girly and a bit frail, but somehow hearing their answer, Michel thought they weren¡¯t all that frail after all . Michel then continued asking question after question .

    Alex who was listening in, was confused as to why Michel was questioning the two girls like it was an interrogation . The two girls in question felt like their in job interview . While on the other hand, the parents of the two girls excluding Dan, felt like this was a marriage interview . It was like Michel was picking the best candidate to be her son¡¯s lover between the two girls .

 Chapter 229

    Chapter 229

    Michel kept on asking the two girls a bunch of questions . From what there hobbies were, to weird questions like giving her a schedule of their menstrual cycles . It got even weirder as Michel went close and checked their teeth to see how well they cleaned it .

    Evangeline¡¯s parents didn¡¯t react to Michel opening their daughter¡¯s mouth to see her teeth . They didn¡¯t react since they were a bit scared of the Samaritas and it didn¡¯t really seem harmful to their daughter . Kumiko wasn¡¯t also bothered, since just showing ones teeth was nothing . Dan who was still stuffing himself with food looked at Michel for a while . He didn¡¯t bother to do anything since he wanted to show off how perfect his daughter was . Also it was Michel who was touching his daughter, if it were any guy present touching his daughter¡¯s mouth, Dan would once again go berserk .

    After thoroughly examining the two girls mouths, Michel asked if they could follow her to a nearby room . Even though they weren¡¯t able to understand what Michel was doing, the two girls quietly followed Michel into another room .

    A few secondster the people in the dinning room could hear the screams of the girls .

    "W-Wait! Please don¡¯t touch there Ms . Michel!"

    "Kyaaaa!"

    "Please enough!"

    "No, No, not there!"

    "Aaaah! S-Stop please, I can¡¯t take it anymore!"

    The people in the Dining room could hear the screams of the girls in the other room . The moment Dan heard his daughter screaming, he stopped eating and was about to dash forward but was stopped by his wife who held his hand .

    "Are you stopping me again Kumi?" Dan who loved his wife so much, was very conflicted right now . He wanted to save his daughter from whatever is making her scream and moan, but his beloved wife seems intent on stopping him . It would be easy for him to tear away from Kumiko, since his and her strength were as different as heaven and earth, but he didn¡¯t want to hurt his beloved Kumiko . So at the moment Dan was extremely conflicted at what to do .

    "Calm down Dan, our daughter is alright . Aren¡¯t these people your friends? Why do you keep on thinking that they¡¯re going to do something bad?" Hearing what Kumiko said Dan finally calm down a bit . If this was said by anybody else Dan wouldn¡¯t listen and wouldn¡¯t be able to calm down . But because it was Kumiko who asked, Dan actually reflected a bit .

    . . .

    Robert Kain was watching Dan who was causing a ruckus and felt weird . That was a person who could dismantle tanks and casually walk in a hail of bullets like he was walking in the park . That person with overwhelming fighting prowess was being held down by his wife . This could either mean that his was whipped, or his wife was more powerful than him . Well either way Robert decided to not mess with the Regius family .

    Molly Kain on the other hand was more focused on her screaming daughter . Based on how Michel acted Molly could guess what she was doing in the other room .

    ¡¯Most probably Michel is assessing my Evangeline, and Rachel Regius . She¡¯s doing all this to see who is the most suitable person for his son . If it was anybody else, I wouldn¡¯t have allowed them to do this to my daughter, but the Samaritas are a different matter . I can understand why Michel is being this thorough, her son is just that good . Smart, decent looking, rich, and based on Evangeline¡¯s reports powerful . The only w I could see is that he looks a tad bit cold . Since a while ago his expression hasn¡¯t changed . ¡¯

    . . .

    While everybody was reacting to the screaming girls, Carlo was amused to see the reactions of other people . One of these couples will be his inws and Carlo was wondering who . Still their overall reaction to how Michel was assessing their daughters was quite amusing to Carlo .

    Dan was as expected furious, since the guy really loves his family as much as he loves getting stronger . It was a good thing Kumiko was with him, if not a repeat of what happened in his study would happen . Carlo already knew Dan was whipped but he didn¡¯t know how much, now seeing this he had an answer .

    After looking at the Regius he watched the reactions of the Kains . Robert was looking at Dan a bit nervously . Actually Carlo noticed that Robert kept on staring at Dan with a bit of fear in his eyes . This made Carlo think that Robert somehow knew Dan, since the only people who show that kind of face was the people who watched Dan fight . Well to be fair anyone would show the same expression if they see a person fighting a tank whileughing like a madman .

    On the other hand, Molly seems to be thinking deeply . This made Carlo a bit curious unlike the fathers of the girls, it would seem that the mothers were the calm ones . He then shifted his attention onto the whole reason all of this was happening . When Carlo looked at Alex he was shocked . His son who was ever stoic was actually blushing!

    This son of his that didn¡¯t even react when in front of a naked girl that had nice proportions was actually reacting to the voices of the girls in the other room . If other people looked at Alex, they would still only see his stoic expression, but Carlo has been watching over Alex for a long time so he saw what no one else would notice . Even though it was faint Carlo saw Alex blush .

    Seeing that reaction of his son made Carlo smile .

    ¡¯This kid is finally, actually maturing . It waste, but it¡¯s finally happening . My n worked, I was expecting this to be a failure, and had other ns to help Alex along his road to bing a normal citizen, but I see that there is no need for that . . . Who knew giving that mission would actually produced this kind of result . That boy who knew only how to kill, who only wanted to get stronger, turned out to be like this . I know most of his current self was my fault, but-¡¯

    Carlo then remembered the little boy with eyes that looked devoid of emotion, but in truth was filled with determination, that same boy was now like this . As Carlo was thinking about the past, he felt someone tug on his sleeve . He looked and saw that Lilitth was looking at him in worry . Actually now that he looked at the surrounding area, he saw that everyone¡¯s attention was on him . The maids, the butlers, Dan and Kumiko, Robert and Molly, even Alex who was blushing seconds ago was looking at him in worry .

    Carlo was confused as to why everyone was looking at him like that, but before he could ask about the situation, Lilitth spoke .

    "Tou-chan why are you crying? Are you alright tou-chan?" When Carlo heard what Lilitth said, he was surprised and touched his face, and like what his daughter said he was indeed crying .

    "Huh? What? . . . " Carlo wiped away his tears and smiled .

    "I¡¯m alright, I guess it¡¯s because I was just thinking about something a bit sad, but it¡¯s alright now . "

    "Are you sure Dad?" Alex remained looking stoic and sounded indifferent, but Carlo could hear the tremor and worry in his voice . Knowing this Carlo couldn¡¯t help but smile ever so slightly .

    "Yeah everything is alright now . " ¡¯Mission aplished . ¡¯ Is what Carlo thought as he said what he said .

 Chapter 230

    Chapter 230

    Sayaka who got home from her after school date with Oliver, was once again greeted by a de from her father . She was able to smoothly evade and hid herself in the darken hall of her house . This was how she was greeted ever since she agreed to train in the ways of the Shadow . The moment Sayaka returns home it basically bes a game of hide and seek . She would hide while her father will seek her .

    The only way to win was to evade her father¡¯s sight, and be able to steal the coin hidden in her father¡¯s breast pocket . The purpose of this game was to enhance Sayaka¡¯s ability to blend into the shadows . Once she is able to fully blend making it harder for her father to spot her, she would be able to snatch the coin from his breast pocket, which incidentally was at the same height as his heart .

    This was a test, a test of Sayaka¡¯s patience . Since the only time an assassin should strike is when she is sure that she would be able to kill her target in one strike . Failing the first strike and dealing with it with a second is the way of second rate assassins, but not the Mutsu¡¯s . The Mutsu¡¯s have been assassins since the beginning of Berdonia, and they were a first rate assassin family . The only time you would spot a mutsu in a job means you were about to die .

    The mutsu¡¯s had a secret technique that could make them blend into the surrounding area without anyone noticing them . They are quiet and deadly and the moment they strike you are sure to die . This family has operated for a hundred years, and none of their targets ever live to tell the tale . The best and the strongest of the family gets to inherit the name Shadow .

    Currently Sayaka was in the middle of training to be the next Shadow . She had been improving greatly in the past days, and was now able to somehow hide her presence from her father . The only problem was her father was also hiding making it difficult for her as well . Still there was a handicap ced on Sayaka¡¯s father . Every ten minutes he would show himself for about five seconds and in that seven seconds Sayaka has the opportunity to strike .

    Yet every time Sayaka¡¯s father shows up he shows a deliberate opening, making Sayaka think it¡¯s a trap . Of course if she doesn¡¯t do anything she won¡¯t be able to win as well . Yet no matter how long she thought about it, she couldn¡¯t think of a way to steal the coin from her father . The moment she fails once the game will be over, and she would get an appropriate punishment for her failure .

    She only had one shot at this, and it needs to be done with extreme speed and precision . Another problem was her father was faster than her, so she needed to strike in a closer range . Yet she wasn¡¯t able to get within ten feet from her father, since she wasn¡¯t that adept on blending in the shadows .

    Still to get the coin she must at least be five feet from her father for it to have even the minimum chance to be sessful .

    ¡¯Wait a minute, that old man Ken didn¡¯t he have that footwork that let¡¯s you travel short distances instantly . If I do that move coupled with my basic speed, I might be able to pull this off . ¡¯

    Now that Sayaka had a n for attack she calmed herself and waited for the next ten minutes to pass . Sayaka who now had an actual n for winning was having trouble containing her excitement . There was now a real chance for victory, but if she doesn¡¯t calm down the moment of her victory will be easily snatched away .

    When she tried to calm herself down, Sayaka actually remembered Alex . Wasn¡¯t that boy who was always calm no matter the situation suitable to be an assassin? Even his nickname as a merc was silent sh . Meaning he dealt with his enemies in the shadows and attacked silently . He was theplete opposite of Lyner who beats everything upfront with overwhelming power .

    Now that she remembered about him, wasn¡¯t Lyner about to marry the Saintess of the Southern Union? Was that already happening, actually where are they going to get married? Also once they were married where will they live? Will Lyner quit being their adviser and live with Anita in the Southern Union? or will Anita stop being the Saintess of the Southern Union and live here in Berdonia .

    Sayaka then started wondering why someone like the nice Saintess would want to marry the battle hungry Lyner . After short while of thinking Sayaka decided that she would never get the answer, so she stopped thinking about it .

    Still thinking about Alex and Lyner, actually help Sayaka calm herself down . Now the moment of truth was approaching . Her father was about to appear from where he was hiding . Exactly after ten minutes Sayaka¡¯s father once again appeared from the shadows, and once again he showed an opening to exploit, but Sayaka didn¡¯t bother with that .

    She closed in on her father, and stood the nearest she could without him noticing her . The moment Sayaka got eleven feet near her father, she used the wind step she learned from Ken . Her version wasn¡¯t as good but it got the job done . Sayaka was able to move six feet almost instantaneously .

    Now that she was five feet away from her father, she dashed forward with only one thought in mind to snatch the coin from his breast pocket . Sayaka moved the fastest she could with her arm extending forward trying to grab the target right in front of her eyes .

    Yet the moment she got an inch close, her father was able to evade, and caught her . Sayaka not wanting to lose, extended her left hand that was free and tried to steal the coin, but she was once again evaded by her father . Sayaka knew at this point there was no more chances and even if she did somehow get the coin with her left hand, she would still be graded with a fail .

    The first strike was the only strike that should have mattered, the moment she failed on the first strike was the moment she lost .

    "That was really close my daughter, but as a Mutsu you should¡¯ve resolved yourself for death, the moment you missed the first strike . . . Still that unwillingness to lose, how uncharacteristic for an assassin, but I guess that¡¯s fine as well . . . For now do your homework, once you¡¯re donee meet me in the training hall . We will continue practicing your stealth . You have improved Sayaka, as expected of my daughter . "

    When Sayaka heard her father actually praise her, she was about to make a guts pose, but was able to hold herself back . Still she couldn¡¯t help but smile . This was the first time her father ever praised her during training .

    With that nice feeling, Sayaka happily went to her room to do her homework .

    . . .

    While that was happening Oliver was in the middle of a weird conversation with his parents .

 Chapter 231

    Chapter 231

    After his daily after school date with Sayaka, Oliver went home . The moment he entered his house he felt something was wrong . Oliver¡¯s body tensed up a bit, as he slowly moved forward . He didn¡¯t call his mom or dad, since it was already weird that they weren¡¯t here to greet him . Oliver wanted to call someone for help, but the moment he stepped into his house he knew that if he tried to leave something bad would happen .

    So instead Oliver moved in a different manner and quickly went into his room to pick up the sword given to him by his master Ken . The moment he got his weapon he felt a chilling sensation from behind him . He quickly dodged and a spear of ck appeared before him . Oliver turned his head, and saw a man d in all ck and wore a mask to hide his face .

    The moment Oliver saw that mask he remembered one of the men in his dreams . The way he fought was eerily simr . The spear the ck armor he d himself in, were all nano machines that he made into a weapon . The ultimate spear that could pierce through anything the ultimate shield that could withstand anything . That¡¯s how this man described his masterpiece .

    Oliver didn¡¯t talk since there was no time, he charged forward . Specter who saw Oliver foolishly charging towards him, tried to pierce him, but Oliver evaded by side stepping to the right . Specter then moved his spear into a shing motion to hit Oliver to the right . Yet once again, Oliver as if anticipating this move was able to evade by ducking . Specter then tried to m the spear downward, but Oliver blocked it with his sword, and pushed the spear upward making Specter lose bnce .

    This moment gave Oliver the chance to dash forward and used his sword to pierce into Specter¡¯s armor . Specter who saw what Oliver was about to do, didn¡¯t bother since he fully believed that no matter what Oliver did his armor could withstand it . Yet once again Oliver did something surprising as he switched the way he held his sword .

    So now instead of the de pointing at Specter it was the hilt of the sword pointing towards Specter . Oliver pounded the hilt onto Specter¡¯s armor, he did it in quick session . Even though the armor wasn¡¯t destroyed and the attack couldn¡¯t have bypassed the armor . Specter still felt like the attack Oliver was using was actually hurting him .

    Specter then pushed Oliver by kicking him away . Unlike before when Specter knew Oliver as James Bourne, this version of him had much more muscle that hitting him actually hurt a bit . Oliver then shifted his stance, in which Specter responded by attacking in quick session .

    Oliver who somehow knew how Specter would attack was able to easily avoid all of the iing attacks . It was at one moment when Oliver saw an opening that he knew woulde . He seeing this opening dashed forward and was able to get so close to Specter that he could practically hear him breathing . His sword was now by Specter¡¯s neck that was the most defenseless spot, was actually seized by Oliver . This was a feat that not even Dan, Carlo, and Ryu could aplish, but Oliver did .

    The only reason he was able to do this was because he knew in advance how Specter would move . As he pointed his de by Specter¡¯s neck he couldn¡¯t help but smile and blurted out the words .

    "You need more training Raphael . " When Oliver blurted out his real name, and even said the lines only James Bourne would say, Specter couldn¡¯t help but tremble .

    "Do you remember me, James?" When Specter asked this question, Oliver finally snapped out of his dazed state .

    "Huh, I don¡¯t know who you are . Tell me what have you done to my parents?!" When Oliver asked this question he heard someone pping from behind him . He needed to evade, he had no chance in taking Specter as a hostage . Oliver with all these information in hand then made a snap decision and evaded, distancing himself from Specter and the person who pped .

    When Oliver looked at who was pping he was surprise to see that it was his Dad .

    "That was a nice fight Oliver . Still you two are going at it so seriously . " Seeing his dad¡¯s perpetual smiling face, got Oliver confused . What the hell was happening here!

    "Dad who the hell is that! Also why the hell did he attack me?!" Oliver red at the mask man, who stood there without saying anything .

    "Huh? Don¡¯t you remember Oliver? That¡¯s your childhood friend Raphael . You use to call him Raphy . He didn¡¯t attack you, that¡¯s just how the two of you greeted each other . Well I guess the level has increase since when you were smaller you two used your fist . Now Raphael uses nano machines and you use a sword isn¡¯t that great . The two of you have really grown up . "

    ¡¯The hell Dad! That¡¯s not normal . Who the hell just gets nano machines . I¡¯m sure that tech isn¡¯t even known to the public . Childhood friend? Is dad for real?¡¯

    Phil who was looking at Oliver could pretty much guess what he was thinking .

    "Don¡¯t you remember him Oliver?" When Oliver heard his dad¡¯s question he looked at Specter, and felt something familiar from him . He knows he saw him in a dream once or twice, but was that because he actually knew him . Oliver who wasn¡¯t sure simple shook his head .

    "I see, I guess the trauma you received when you were kidnaped has wiped away the memory of Raphael . Well that doesn¡¯t matter since you two can just get to know each other all over again . Seeing as Raphael is going to be living with us from now on . "

    Oliver who was trying his hardest to remember a childhood friend called Raphael, suddenly heard something weirding out of his dad¡¯s mouth .

    "Huh? What did you say dad?"

    "About your trauma?"

    "No, not that, what you said after that . "

    "You and Raphael will be getting to know each other all over again . "

    "No! The one after that . "

    "Oh, about how Raphael will be living with us from now on . " Oliver who heard it again, was even more shocked since he wasn¡¯t just hearing things .

    "WHAT?!"

 Chapter 232

    Chapter 232

    Kyle hunt who has been guarding Lilitth for the past few weeks was now finally relieved of his duties . He has finally been released from the boring job of guarding a little girl . Well to be fair it wasn¡¯t all that boring . There were some exciting parts as well, and he got to see quite a nice wife candidate .

    Overall it wasn¡¯t as bad as he expected it to be . Now that he was free, Kyle was going to interact with the teacher called Sarah Resti . Still he didn¡¯t know how to go about talking to the woman, seeing that like Alex he had no experience in dating . Kyle wanted to ask his sister Emily for some tips, but also remembered that girl also has zero experience in dating . She might like to mess around but in the end she too was simply inexperienced .

    The only other people Kyle could ask for help were Dan, Ryu, and Carlo . Dan was no good since he was a muscle obsessed freak, Ryu was also no good since he had dedicated his whole life to the sword . Carlo was the only actual optioon, since among the people in the old unit, he was the one with the most experience .

    Still Kyle didn¡¯t want to bother him as he was having his family time . So in the end Kyle simply decided to just talk with Sarah and see what happens . He was sure that nothing bad would happen as long as he doesn¡¯t push too much .

    The first thing, Kyle decided to do was to buy new clothes . First he checked online what clothes seemed stylish . Once he was done checking he quickly went shopping .

    . . .

    Like his sister Kyle was a good looking person and the moment he stepped foot in the clothes shop, most of the female staff¡¯s attention was on him . They actually started to swarm him and asked what he needed, but because Kyle already knew what he wanted, he didn¡¯t really need much assistance . He took the things he needed, bought them and quickly changed into them .

    He was now wearing a blue denim jacket, ck round neck shirt, blue jeans, and brown topsider shoes . His overall look made him look even better than he did a while ago . Some of the salesdies gave him their numbers telling him that they could provide him with some discounts and other such things .

    Kyle didn¡¯t care about those things, and quickly left the clothes shop . The next thing he needed to buy was a gift . The gift needed to be something that couldst for a long time, but it also shouldn¡¯t be too intimate like a ring . In the end Kyle simply bought a music box that yed a ssical piece that he didn¡¯t really know off .

    Kyle then proceeded to buy other things, once he was done shopping he set off towards the school .

    . . .

    Alex and Lilitth just left a few minutes ago, and Kyle appeared . In front of the gates, the other teachers noticed another hunk of a man appearing . Ever since Lilitth came to school it seemed like a lot of people on that level keep on appearing on school grounds . One teacher approached Kyle and asked if he was waiting for someone . Kyle of course answered that he was waiting for Sarah Resti .

    When the teacher heard who Kyle was waiting for, she was surprised . Was this teacher Sarah¡¯s boyfriend!? The teacher then told Kyle that she would call for Sarah .

    . . .

    "Hey Sarah, you¡¯re boyfriend is waiting for you at the front gate . " Sarah who was cleaning up the ssroom, was surprised to hear the statement of Vilma another teacher of the school .

    "Boyfriend? What are you talking about?" Sarah asked with a confused look, in which Vilma responded with a sly smile .

    "No need to act like that . Come on let¡¯s go and see that boyfriend of yours . " Vilma then pulled the confused Sarah towards the gate .

    . . .

    Sarah who was now at front gate, saw an unknown man standing at the front gate . He was a good looking guy, and the way he dressed made him look a bit cool . When the man saw her he smiled at her .

    "You must be Sara Resti the music teacher . "

    "Yes, I am . Um I¡¯m sorry but do I know you?"

    "I¡¯m Kyle Hunt, a friend of Alex the brother of Lilitth . "

    "Oh, I see, Alex and Lilitth just left . "

    "Yeah I know I just passed by them . I¡¯m not really here to see them, I¡¯m actually here to see you . " Hearing what Kyle said made Sarah even more confused .

    "Me? Why did you want to see me?" It was at this moment a bunch of other teachers had surrounded the two, listening in on their conversation as if that was normal .

    "Actually I heard a lot about you from Alex . Hearing his first meeting with you and how you help Lilitth in a bunch of stuff, got me quite interested in you . So here I am, oh, I almost forgot here I brought a gift for you . " Kyle then took out the music box and handed it to Sarah .

    "There¡¯s no need for that . " Seeing Sarah denying his gift, Kyle showed her the best smile he could muster as he forced the gift onto Sarah .

    "Please ept it . This is for all the hard work you put into teaching children music, I really do admire that . " Kyle who kept on pushing the gift onto Sarah, while showing a smile that could probably match Niel¡¯s, Sarah couldn¡¯t help but ept the gift .

    "Also if you don¡¯t have any nster this evening . Can I take you out for dinner, my treat . "

    Sarah didn¡¯t know what to say in front of Kyle¡¯s forceful style . So before she could even think of what to answer, Vilma the teacher beside her answered for her .

    "She would love to go . " Seeing it wasn¡¯t Sarah who answered Kyle asked again .

    "It¡¯s alright if you don¡¯t want to go . I just wanted to get to know more about someone as special as you . " Sarah hearing what Kyle said, sighed before she answered .

    "I would love to have dinner with you . "

 Chapter 233

    Chapter 233

    Unknown to Kyle who just asked Sarah out on a date, Emily was watching them via the security cameras nearby the school, and listening in using the mini mic she ced on Kyle sometime ago . Kyle hunt only lets his guard down with his sister making it easier for her to nt such things .

    The reason Emily did this was because she noticed that her brother was acting weird for the past few days . He acted especially weird when he heard that Carlo had returned . At first Emily thought he was just excited that he was finally relieved of the duty of protecting Lilitth . Since he kept onining that it was boring .

    Still Emily who was good at discerning things felt something was off, not only that seeing as she was really close with her brother made her suspect that something had happened . Emily knew that if she asked her brother what was happening he would never answer properly, since he hasn¡¯t told her anything that meant he wanted to keep whatever this was a secret .

    Naturally curious about her brother¡¯s life, Emily ced numerous bugs in his person . Now that she witnessed her brother asking out a teacher from Lilitth¡¯s school to a date, Emily was amazed, happy, and extremely curious .

    The first thing she did when she saw her brother asked the teacher called Sarah out to a date, she immediately pulled all the files she could find about her . She even messaged Kei who was better at this kind of stuff to give her everything he could dig up about Sarah Resti .

    While waiting for Kei¡¯s response, Emily looked at the files she could find . Sarah Resti born on September 18, 1997, current age twenty two . She was five years younger than Emily¡¯s brother . She¡¯s from an average family, her father is also a teacher of music, her mother is a nurse in the the newly built St . Anita hospital .

    Sarah Resti had no criminal records, and her test scores back when she was a student, were a little bit above average . Overall there was nothing remarkable about her at the same time there was nothing bad about her . This information made Emily even more curious . Why did her brother who avoided getting together with anyone suddenly have an interest with this kind of person .

    Emily who was thinking hard about the answer to her question, saw something happening in one of the screens where her brother was walking with Sarah Resti . Somebody was actually foolish enough to try and steal Sarah¡¯s bag while she was with Kyle .

    Emily saw her brother pick up a random object from the street and threw it at the thief . Her brother¡¯s aim was as usual perfect, the object that he threw hit the head of the thief, knocking him out . He then took the bag back and called the police . As he handed the bag back to the startled Sarah, Kyle smiled at her and then patted her head .

    "It¡¯s alright, there¡¯s no need to worry . As long as I¡¯m here, I¡¯ll shoot down all the bad things away . " This was the same exact line Kyle told Emily back when they were younger, as he was still new at being a merc .

    "Come on onii-chan, why are you treating her like a little kid . " Emily thought that Sarah would be offended that Kyle was treating her like a little girl . So as she watched on she expected Sarah to get a bit angry . Emily couldn¡¯t see clearly because the security cameras weren¡¯t all that good, still she saw that Sarah actually didn¡¯t swat her brother¡¯s hand away .

    "Hmm, you¡¯re getting a bit red, are you alright . " The moment Emily heard her brother ask Sarah this, she immediately understood that Sarah was greatly affected by this move of her brother .

    "No, I¡¯m alright . It¡¯s nothing, thank you for getting my bag back . " Sarah hastily replied . Hearing this made Emily even more sure that Sarah was actually embarrassed . It would seem that her brother was actually quite good at this .

    Emily was then surprised to see that her brother was actually closing in on Sarah¡¯s face . Was he actually nning to kiss her! Getting a bit excited Emily went nearer to the screen as well as trying to close up the image . Sarah who saw the approaching Kyle, was stunned and felt like Kyle was moving in slow motion .

    She was confused as to what was happening, and why he was moving to this stag so fast . She closed her eyes, ready to ept whatever was going to happen . She then felt Kyle¡¯s forehead bump into her own forehead .

    "It doesn¡¯t seem like you have a fever . " Emily who was listening in, finally noticed that Kyle was treating Sarah like how he handled Emily when she was smaller . It would seem that because the majority of female interactions Kyle had was with Emily, he only knew how to act this way in front of a girl .

    Emily was surprised by her discovery, but was even more surprised that this was actually working . Kyle then took one of Sarah¡¯s hands and held it as he walked forward . Sarah obviously once again surprised didn¡¯t move as she looked at Kyle¡¯s hand that was holding her own hand .

    Kyle who finally noticed what he did, didn¡¯t let go of Sarah¡¯s hand instead he asked something . "Oh, I¡¯m sorry . This is just a knee jerk reaction for me . Since when my sister isn¡¯t feeling well, I would hold her hand like this, to make her feel a bit better . If you¡¯re notfortable with this, please tell me . "

    Sarah who was still surprised by the numerous surprise attacks she received was still in a daze . After a few seconds she finally got a hold of herself, and answered .

    "Oh, it¡¯s no problem . I actually feelfortable holding your hand . "

    "Is that so, then let¡¯s continue on . " Hearing Sarah¡¯s answer Kyle kept on holding her hand and walked on . Sarah, on the other hand, who was in walking side by side with Kyle, was actually screaming in her head as to why she said that .

    Emily who was watching all these transpire was really impressed at her brother . ¡¯As expected of the best sniper, he sessfully pulled off numerous surprise attacks, and all of them were deadly shots . ¡¯

 Chapter 234

    Chapter 234

    Alex who had witnessed his new mom interrogate the two girls Evangeline and Rachel started getting confused . Then he saw his dad the one they called the messenger of death, the person who was only second to Lyner in inducing fear to the enemy, was actually crying . This was the first time Alex had ever seen Carlo cry, which almost made his brain shutdown from the confusion .

    The whole sequence of events were something Alex could never anticipate . He who was trained to always expect the unexpected was caught off guard . Well in truth ever since starting this bodyguard mission for Rachel, Alex had been caught off guard numerous times .

    After a few tear drops Carlo had stopped crying and instead started smiling randomly . Michel was also done with her interrogation and brought out the two girls from the other room, in which they came out looking extremely exhausted .

    After these weird events the group continued eating, and afterwards the two girls returned home with their families . Rachel could finally return home since Dan was there to stand guard . With Dan in the house, anyone who dares try to assassinate Rachel would have all their bones crushed into dust . The enemy would wish for death, but will never be granted it, he would then be tortured by Dan until hisst breath .

    Seeing as Dan felt very strongly for his family that he hasn¡¯t met for years, made him even more scary . The others knowing Dan¡¯s personality, knew that the man would never show mercy, especially to enemies that try to harm his only daughter . Knowing this Carlo felt a bit sorry for the assassins .

    Seeing as Rachel was going home, Evangeline needed to go home as well, since the whole reason she was staying was because of Rachel . Now that Rachel wasn¡¯t present she had no more passable reason to stay .

    The girls who were finally going home, after quite some time actually looked reluctant and a bit sad . Lilitth who saw the two girls going home, made a face that looked like she was about to cry . When Carlo and Michel saw this, they quickly dashed towards the two families demanding them to leave their daughters behind .

    Of course Dan disagreed and another round of fighting happened . This round was quickly finished since Alex and Lilitth stopped their parents, while Kumiko stopped her husband . After another quick discussion, Lilitth exined that she felt a bit sad that the two older sisters she grew ustomed with were going home, but she understood that they needed to go home . She exined that she did feel sad but she could deal with it, so there was no need for her parents Carlo and Michel to act the way they did .

    Once everyone had calm down because of Lilitth¡¯s exnation . Everyone was now able to leave without anymore incidents . What had happened also made Carlo and Michel aware that they were at the mercy of Lilitth¡¯s emotions . The moment she showed that she was sad, it felt like they had gone crazy and would do anything to make her stop being sad . The two adults knew this was wrong and decided to train themselves to not be too susceptible to Lilittlh¡¯s flow .

    . . .

    After a while Michel took Lilitth to her room and the two started ying . Alex on the other hand was called over by Carlo, and headed to Carlo¡¯s study . While they were walking in the hallway Alex messaged Emily telling her that she coulde back to the mansion, in which she replied with, be back tomorrow emoji wink face .

    . . .

    Carlo and Alex were now in Carlo¡¯s study that had a no door . The door that Dan busted was a special made door that could take hits from a rocketuncher and remain unscathed . So recing it wasn¡¯t possible at the moment, and Carlo needed to wait for a few days before he could get a new one . He had forgotten about this, and unconsciously walked to his study .

    Now that he was reminded of the broken door, he and Alex instead headed towards Alex¡¯s room . Once the two got there, they closed the door and double checked the room to see if there were any bugs . They needed to check thoroughly since Emily had a hobby of cing bugs in hard to reach ces .

    When they were done with checking and found the room clean, Carlo smiled happily at Alex .

    "So Alex who between the two will be my future daughter-inw?" Alex who heard Carlo¡¯s very direct question was startled . Usually he was someone who would answer immediately without any changes in his look, but he actually hesitated . Not only that Carlo once again saw his son blush, but this time it was much clearer . This made Carlo even more excited and happy . Seeing this changes of his son, was proof of his growth not physically nor mentally, but emotionally . This son who had extreme growths in both the physical and mental aspect was now having trouble with the emotional aspect .

    Carlo knew it wasn¡¯t good to be happy because of his son¡¯s difficulty in expressing himself, but he couldn¡¯t help it . Alex was more mature than most children and was exceptionally obedient . Seeing his son actually have a trait that made him look like a real normal teenager made Carlo really happy .

    "Nice, who knew that you could make a face like that Alex . So who is it? Who¡¯s the girl?" Alex was confused as well . He already epted that he liked the girl, but why was he like this? He was acting too differently from his normal self . It might be because he was talking to his dad, that might be the reason he feels a bit safer to show his new emotions dwelling within him .

    Carlo was looking at him in anticipation . Alex seeing that excited look of his dad, sighed before speaking .

    "I think I like, no I¡¯m sure that I fell in love with Rachel Regius . "

    "Rachel! And you actually said that you fell in love! Amazing this is great!" Carlo hugged his son in his excitement . The mission he gave at the start, actually bore fruit in the direction he wanted . His son actually fell in love with the target girl . He knew it was the right decision to make Alex choose the target for protection . If he was the one who chose this events might not have transpired . Alex might not have fallen in love, and greatly improved his emotional state .

    Carlo knew that if Alex picked the girl, he knew it would be because he found the girl interesting . Unknown to Carlo, Alex actually picked Rachel randomly . All of the things that happenedter resulting to him falling lover, were all circumstantial .

    "Still Rachel huh . That would mean you will need to deal with Dan . That guy will be hard to convince . The only truenguage Dan understand is the fist . The only way you¡¯ll be able to convince him that you¡¯re serious is if you beat him in a fight . I¡¯m pretty sure, the moment you ask Rachel out, he would intervene with an idiotic thing like saying . You can have my daughter after you kill me . "

    Thest line Carlo said, was actually something he would say as well, if someone ask to be Lilitth¡¯s boyfriend . Alex who was listening to everything his dad said, looked at him with eyes full of resolution .

    "I will do my best to win her heart . Then I will deal with Instructor Dan afterwards . If he wants to fight then I will fight until he¡¯s satisfied . "

    Carlo was impressed in the resolution in Alex¡¯s eyes as he said what he said . Still he felt sorry for Rachel and Evangeline, especially Evangeline . This idiotic son of his didn¡¯t notice their feelings . He actually said that he will try and win Rachel¡¯s heart, without knowing he had already won it .

    Carlo decided that this was also something Alex needed to learn on his own . He could tell Alex the truth, but learning about the two girls feelings on his own will help him improve emotionally .

    No matter what Alex¡¯s chooses to do, when he learns the truth about the two girls feelings, Carlo wishes that Alex would have no regrets . In the end Carlo simply hopes that the choices Alex¡¯s made will lead him to his happiness .

 Chapter 235

    Chapter 235

    After Alex was done talking to his dad about his current rtionship with Rachel, he headed back to his room . As he was walking through the hallways back to his room, his phone started ringing . Alex saw the caller Id, it was an unknown number, but Alex knew who was calling . This was the number of one of the burner phones he gave the Harimas, specifically the Harima he called number one . Knowing this Alex answered the phone call .

    "Sir, number one here to give a status report . "

    "Very well, give me your report . What happened to Instructor Jay?"

    "Sir, I will begin the report . We asked everyone in the apartment . We watched all the footage that caught Instructor Jay on camera . We have scoured the whole city for him, but unfortunately sir everything was a dead end . We even checked on the two day pass for a spa that was given to the people in the same floor as him . Yet that one was also a dead end . "

    "Number one, enough with the drivel and just get to the point . "

    "Sir sorry Sir! I will get to the point Sir! Unfortunately sir we have done everything in our power to find Instructor Jay, but have failed to show any result . I on behalf of myrades will take all the responsibility and ept any form of punishment! Sir that is all Sir!"

    While number one was saying this, he sounded the same as Alex with his indifferent tone of voice . Yet deep inside he was already trembling in fear . He was unsure what kind of punishment Alex would give him, but he was sure it would be another fresh hell, no hell is too light a word to describe how Alex would punish his subordinates .

    Still number one knew that if he didn¡¯t im responsibility as the leader of the group, Alex might have gotten angry and the punishment might have turned even more severe .

    While number one was waiting for whatever punishment he will receive, Alex who listened to number one¡¯s report was impressed by his improvement . If this was before training number one would have sold out hisrades, and try to push the punishment onto them . Yet now he was actually willing to get punished .

    This made Alex actually think that number one deserved not to get punished, but like him who was told in training that failure wasn¡¯t tolerated, he told his subordinates the same thing . Failure equals a punishment . Though Alex himself has never failed a mission, he was sure that the people in his squad were serious when they said they would punish those who fail a mission .

    If Alex allowed number one to get out of this without any punishment they might think that they could get out of punishment as long as they had a good reason .

    "Alright I have received your report . You and everyone in your team can now return home . Expect to receive your punishment once you return . "

    "Sir yes sir!" Alex had hang up already, but number one couldn¡¯t let go of the phone for a while . He remained stoic as he was taught by Alex, but deep inside he was already crying in fear . The other nine Harimas look at their leader and felt pity for him . They knew that their leader had sacrificed himself so that they wouldn¡¯t be punished, but they still felt a bit relieved .

    They who had experienced Alex¡¯s training and were told that was the easy part, were now afraid to know what kind of training was regarded as hard by Alex . If easy training was already more horrible than hell, then what kind of thing were the punishments . Will they be able to survive such punishments? This was the question they had ever since, they heard Alex tell them that they would be punished for every failure .

    After a short time of thinking about it, they were sure that they could survive these punishments knowing theirmander, Alex¡¯s capabilities . That person knew just how much to push you that you feel like dying but weren¡¯t actually near death .

    Number one, who had finally epted his fate dropped the burner phone and stomped on it . This was another part of what they were taught to do after using a burner phone . Ideally they would crush it, then burn it, but stomping on it works as well .

    "Everyone gather around!" Once number one issued this order, the maids and butlers that were scattered around stood in a single line .

    "Themander has issued our return to base . This mission is a failure, so pack up and get ready to leave in ten . " The moment number one gave the order to pack up and finish in ten minutes, everyone present started to move around packing everything they used .

    Number one was feeling a multitude of emotions, even though he wasn¡¯t showing it in his face . He was feeling disappointed, sad, and scared . He was feeling disappointed since after training with Alex he and his otherrades felt like they could do any mission wlessly . Yet the first mission they were given ended up in failure . He was feeling sad because of a simr reason of failing the mission .

    He was feeling scared, not only because of the punishment that awaits him, but because number one started to think, that maybe even though they trained so much they weren¡¯t really fit for this kind of job . They used to be thugs, well above average thugs . That was until they met Alex who taught them how to act with dignity and respect . He taught them many ways of how to survive in different kinds of situations . He even taught them camaraderie . Number one was scared that he wouldn¡¯t be able to pay back Alex for teaching them how to actually be better people . He was afraid that Alex who had taught them how to be something more than amon thug, would abandon them .

    Number one might have been a mercenary before, but that was only in name . Alex had made him and hisrades into real mercenaries . So this mission¡¯s failure was a big blow for him . Number one could not even sigh, since he and the others were trained by Alex not to even do that . Instead he strengthened his resolve, he promised himself that the next mission they do will end with a great sess .

 Chapter 236

    Chapter 236

    It was Thursday afternoon, Alex and and the group did the final practice for the y tomorrow . Once that was done, Alex stayed behind telling the others he had something to do . The reason he did this was because for some reason, he felt like something was wrong . Alex wanted to double check all the cameras he ced in school, he also wanted to see if the hiding ce for his weapons weren¡¯tpromised .

    As he was about to check the first ce, he felt someone was behind him, even though the whole hallway was suppose to be empty now . Alex without hesitation did a spinning back kick . The person he was going to kick was able to evade by ducking . Alex then took out one of his guns and pointed it at the person who was behind him, the person who evaded by ducking had now pointed his sword at Alex¡¯s neck .

    "What are you doing?" Alex seeing the person behind him was none other than his best friend Oliver, surprised him .

    "That¡¯s suppose to be my question, why did you suddenly attack me?" Oliver who held his sword upward the tip was near Alex¡¯s neck, felt surprised as well . He was just about to greet Alex by surprising him, that¡¯s why he hid his presence, but he didn¡¯t expect Alex would react so violently .

    Alex and Oliver who were still stuck in their positions pointing their weapons at each other heard someone closing in .

    "Oh, what do we have here? I understand if you guys want to suddenly fight, but as a teacher I can¡¯t allow students to fight on school premise . " The person who suddenly appeared was Matthew Zephyr . He too was pointing a weapon at the two . Alex and Oliver hearing what Matthew said redrew their weapons, seeing them do this Matthew did the same and redrew his own weapons .

    People in the mercenary circle would be ecstatic to see these three together . The three gathered here, are considered to be the strongest of the younger generation . Alex Samarita, the silent sh, Matthew Zephyr the holy son, and Oliver Minx real name James Bourne, the mythical merc . Even though Oliver hasn¡¯t remember that he is truly James Bourne, there is no denying that he was the real deal .

    "So what are you two doing? If I remember correctly, you two are suppose to be best friends, so why are you guys fighting?" Matthew asked while looking at the two .

    "We weren¡¯t fighting, I was just surprised that someone was behind me, I thought it was someone trying to attack me, so I initiated the attack instead . I¡¯m sorry Oliver . " Alex answered with his usual indifference, making it seem like he wasn¡¯t sincere in his apology, but both Oliver and Matthew already understood that he was sincere .

    "It¡¯s a good thing that it was me who you suddenly attacked . If it was someone else they might have had their head flying into the wall, that was a pretty sharp kick . "

    "Once again, I¡¯m sorry about that . In the first ce what are you doing here Oliver? I thought you already went home with the others . "

    "About that, I¡¯m not really sure myself . I just feel like there was somethingpelling me to go here . Also I felt like something ominous might happen tomorrow . This feeling this tingling sensation, it¡¯s pretty much the same feeling I have when battle ising . " Oliver answered the first half seriously, but because of the atmosphere the second half of what he said was something that came out from him being a chuuni . Alex and Matthew didn¡¯t understand that Oliver was someone like that, took what he said seriously .

    "I see, so you felt it as well . . . How about you Mr . Matthew, I¡¯m pretty sure that you didn¡¯t juste here by coincidence . " Alex looked at Matthew, who was silent the whole conversation .

    "Actually my reason is pretty much the same as Oliver over there . For some reason I feelpelled toe here, and who knew the moment I walk in I see the two of you . Oliver Minx who are you really? I already know the truth about Alex, but you, who exactly are you?"

    Matthew stared at Oliver as if he was trying to see through him . Alex who already knew the real identity of the two present, decided to simply watch and see what happens . Oliver thought that Matthew was ying some sort of role same as him . Thinking this, Oliver felt like the number ofrades he has had increased .

    "No need to stare like that Matthew Zephyr, I¡¯ll answer your question . Oliver Minx is nothing but a fake name I use to blend in . My real name is James Bourne from the shadow mercenaries . "

    Matthew who heard what Oliver said was amazed as well as surprised . He was already expecting a lot of different answers, but he wasn¡¯t expecting to hear that kind of answer . He wasn¡¯t expecting that the legendary nearly mythical James Bourne was now right in front of him . That might be the reason he felt like Oliver was dangerous . He looked at Alex who didn¡¯t say anything, this meant that he already knew of Oliver¡¯s identity .

    Matthew couldn¡¯t help it and startedughing . It would seem that among the three of them, only he knew the significance of the three of them being here .

    "Why areughing? Do you think that what I said was funny?" Oliver wasn¡¯t used to peopleughing at him, since no one who saw him has the guts tough at what he says, no matter how ridiculous .

    "I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m notughing at you . I¡¯m just feeling a bit happy . It¡¯s truly a pleasure to meet such a famous merc like you James Bourne . That would mean you already know my real identity, don¡¯t you?"

    "You¡¯re real identity?" Oliver asked a bit confused . Was this young teacher, also going to im a double identity like him .

    "Seriously, you don¡¯t know who I am? I¡¯m Matthew Zephyr the holy son, the only apprentice of the strongest saint of the Southern Union . Unlike you and Alex, I¡¯m the only one who is basically known to the public . "

    "I¡¯m sorry but I still don¡¯t know you . Well it doesn¡¯t really matter what kind of title you have . Alex is Alex, I¡¯m me and you are you . Who cares about what other people think of us . " Alex was impressed by what Oliver said while in chuuni mode . Matthew on the other hand, felt that what Oliver said was true .

    "Okay then now that we are all properly introduced, can I go now?" Alex who was simply listening in, butted into the conversation . He was in a hurry since he needed to double check on his equipment .

    "Oh, yeah sure . I actually have something I needed to do as well . Oliver, no James Bourne, I Matthew Zephyr challenge you to a duel . " Matthew said this, while his excitement was rising .

 Chapter 237

    Chapter 237

    Oliver was surprised to hear what Matthew said . This was the first time anyone actually asked to have a duel with him . The term duel and the way Matthew asked him got Oliver excited .

    "Heh, well what kind of youth am I if I don¡¯t ept such challenges . Sure let¡¯s have a duel . Alex can be the judge . So what kind of duel will this be?"

    Matthew seeing Oliver¡¯s confident smile, made him even more motivated . His rival Alex always had a stoic face, and moved like a machine, his way of fighting felt like victory was all but certain to him . Oliver on the other hand had theplete opposite feel from Alex, he was showing a face that says that no matter what Matthew did victory was his to take .

    Though they had different styles and attitudes, in the end the feeling they give their opponent was the same . The feeling that no matter what the opponent did, victory was all but certain for them . Matthew couldn¡¯t help but smile at this feeling, since he already met the ultimate person who gave off a simr feeling . The person whose very existence tells you that no matter how hard you struggle, you will never win, you will never be able to be at the same level as him .

    That person was none other than the monster of the battlefield Lyner . He gave off a simr feeling of despair, but the level he exude, was not the same as Alex and Oliver¡¯s, his was on a different scale all together . Still Matthew knew to the opponents he faced might have had a simr feeling, when they faced him .

    Ever since he lost to Alex, some of the mercs who knew of their sh, have considered Matthew the weakest of the three prodigies . Seeing as James Bourne was right in front of him, Matthew wanted to see if he truly was the weakest of the three . If it was before he met Lyner, Matthew would have challenge Oliver to prove he wasn¡¯t the weakest, but now he simply wants to challenge Oliver to better himself, and to see what kind of fighter the mysterious prodigy of the shadow mercenaries was .

    "Seeing as you have a sword at hand, how about we have a match using swords . " Matthew confidently suggested to Oliver .

    "Are you sure? We can have a different kind of duel, like with our hands or a sprint or something else . Are you sure you want to have a duel with me, using swordsmanship?"

    Oliver asked this not because he was being arrogant, but because after the fight with Specter, for some reason his skill had greatly improved . He was unsure if he could properly hold back if they fought with swordsmanship . As if he could read Oliver¡¯s mind, Matthew answered .

    "I¡¯m sure of it, don¡¯t worry about us going overboard, since we have Alex as the judge he could stop the fight if it gets too out of hand . "

    Oliver nodded his head and finally agreed to have a duel using swordsmanship . Alex who was watching everything unfold sighed . He wasn¡¯t even given an option not to judge the fight . He wanted to check his equipment, but it would seem he needed to deal with this first before he could do anything else .

    . . .

    The three of them headed to the empty gymnasium . They were going to use blunt des for the spar . Even though the des won¡¯t be able to cut, but they could still be used as blunt weapons and with sufficient strength one could use them to break bones .

    Oliver and Matthew stood a few feet away from each other . They weren¡¯t wearing any protective gear . Usually Oliver would wear some protective gear due to his fear of getting hurt, but like his sudden increase in skill, his fear of injury was dwindling ever since he met Specter . He couldn¡¯t understand why it was happening, but he was grateful for this turn of events .

    When Alex saw the two get into their own stances, and he could feel their battle intent, he signaled the match to start . The moment the match started Oliver used the move wind step, this was the footwork his master Ken taught him . With this move he could travel short distances almost instantly . Oliver suddenly appeared right in front of Matthew and entered his striking range .

    Matthew wasn¡¯t surprise to see Oliver appearing in front of him after one step, many masters could do the same much less someone of Oliver¡¯s level . Matthew then without being flustered attacked with a stab of his sword .

    Oliver responded to this move, by deflecting it with his own stabbing motion, redirecting Matthew¡¯s stabbing sword slightly so that he wont hit, while Oliver¡¯s sword was nearing Matthew . Seeing the iing sword, Matthew used the palm of his empty hand to push the t side of the de making the attack miss him .

    Matthew after the failed attack didn¡¯t relent the offensive . After that first exchange, Matthew quickly determined that Oliver¡¯s skill with the sword was above his . As the fight goes on, Matthew¡¯s chances for victory will slowly dwindle . Knowing this he decided to push onto the offensive and give no time for Oliver to do anything, once Oliver shows an opening Matthew will go all out and try to end it then and there .

    Unfortunately while Oliver was defending from Matthew¡¯s attacks, he too was thinking of the same thing . He had guessed Matthew¡¯s battle n, and was now in the process of thinking of a way to attack, he was doing this while defending himself from Matthew¡¯s relentless offensive .

    Once he decided what to do, Oliver did what he intended without hesitation . He showed an opening for Matthew to exploit . Matthew who saw the opening he was waiting for, didn¡¯t take the bait . This was an obvious trap, since it hasn¡¯t been that long since they started to fight . Someone of Oliver¡¯s prestige wouldn¡¯t show an opening this early in the game .

    Oliver was actually quite surprised that Matthew didn¡¯t take the bait .

    ¡¯That just means he isn¡¯t that desperate yet . I just need to wait it out, he would get tired eventually, and will have no choice but to attack the opening I make . ¡¯

    The sword fight continued in a stalemate . To a third person¡¯s point of view it would look like Matthew was the one winning, seeing as he was on the offensive, while Oliver couldn¡¯t do anything but block and evade . Yet the truth was they were in the same situation . Matthew couldn¡¯t hit Oliver, while Oliver couldn¡¯t find a timing to counter attack .

    This went on for quite some time, until finally Oliver noticed that Matthew was slowing down . This was the chance he was waiting for, once again Oliver showed an opening inviting Matthew to attack . When Matthew saw this he knew that it was another trap, but he had no choice but to take it . So without anymore hesitation he attacked Oliver in the opening he showed .

    The sheer speed of this one attack surprised Oliver, who wasn¡¯t expecting Matthew to suddenly move like that . Even though he set a trap, he couldn¡¯t do anything with that speed . Oliver had no choice but to do an all out attack as well .

    Alex who was watching was amazed on how the two reacted in that final sh . The ending of the sh was unexpected .

    "The fight is over . "

 Chapter 238

    Chapter 238

    It was a very close battle, especially at the end . Oliver who showed an opening to exploit was astounded by Matthew¡¯s sudden increase in speed . The tip of Matthew¡¯s sword was near Oliver¡¯s chest, but was stopped by Oliver who had pinched the tip of the de using his index finger and thumb . The only reason he was able to do this feat was because of his incredible strength .

    So in the end Oliver was somehow able to stop Matthew¡¯s attack and at the same time counter . Oliver was able to stop his blow before hitting Matthew, but the sheer force of the attack was actually able to make Matthew¡¯s neck bleed a little, even though it didn¡¯t hit .

    "The winner is Oliver . " The moment they heard Alex¡¯s announcement the twobatants, Oliver and Matthew lowered their weapons . Matthew who had used an excessive amount of stamina,y t on the floor with a smile on his face .

    ¡¯So in the end, I really was the weakest among the three of us . Still I won¡¯t let this get me down, I will use this to move forward ever farther, so much farther that the two of them will be the ones chasing me . ¡¯

    Unlike before with his excessive pride, Matthew quickly epted his defeat . This could be attributed to Matthew¡¯s fight with Lyner, he learned a lot from that encounter . He was full of pride since he thought that not only was he talented but he also had a good teacher . These factors made him arrogant thinking that he was the best of his generation . Yet he had lost to Alex in almost all categories . In his head he simply thought that he lost to Alex not because he wasn¡¯t as talented as the guy, but simply because Alex had more experience than him . That¡¯s why he tried to gain as much experience as he could, but for all his talent, pride, and experience, none of that helped him in the face of that absolute power called Lyner .

    That person was the only other person aside from his master, that Matthew truly respected . If his master taught him the skills to be the best, Lyner had taught him that there will always be someone above him . He didn¡¯t really feel that way towards his teacher since he was his teacher, he didn¡¯t feel that way when he faced Alex since their level was pretty close to each other . Lyner was the only one that had made him feel that he had nothing to be arrogant about .

    That¡¯s why the moment he lost to Oliver, Matthew simply epted the fact and decided to learn from this fight and improve himself .

    Oliver extended his arm towards Matthew, and helped him up . "That was a great spar . You would have won if you choose anything else aside from swordsmanship . " Oliver gave his honest opinion about the fight, in which Matthew responded with a bright smile .

    "This isn¡¯t a fight to the death, but a spar . If this was a fight to the death, I would have picked everything to my advantage, so that I could beat my opponent, but this wasn¡¯t a fight like that . This was simply a spar, something that would help me improve . That¡¯s why I chose something that look like what you¡¯re best at . Since I wanted to learn as much as I can . I will acknowledge that among the three of us, I am indeed the weakest, but that won¡¯t be for long . I will take everything I can, and make whatever I take turn into my strength . So the next time, I¡¯m going to be the strongest and you guys will be the one trying to chase after me . "

    Matthew dered this with a smile, in which Oliver couldn¡¯t help but get excited, since he was into this kind of stuff . Alex on the other hand, didn¡¯t know what to say . He was someone who pursued strength just for the sake of it . He didn¡¯t do it to catch up with anybody, he didn¡¯t get strong for anyone¡¯s acknowledgement, he simply wanted to be strong for the sake of strength . Since in his mind only the ones with strength can avoid tragedies .

    "Heh, so you want to surpass me? You wish to gain my skills and grow stronger . Fine Matthew Zephyr I await for your next challenge . " Oliver said in an excited tone . He then looked at Alex after . When Matthew said he was the weakest among the three, Oliver came to the conclusion that Matthew had already fought Alex and lost . He on the other hand, has been by Alex¡¯s side for quite some time now, and has seen many of his superhuman feats, but now that he thought about Oliver has never sparred with Alex before .

    "Hey Alex, how about we see who between us is the stronger one . " Oliver faced Alex, with a wide grin on his face . After beating Matthew for some reason Oliver¡¯s confidence rose a bit .

    Alex hearing what Oliver said looked at him . He was perplexed, he didn¡¯t really want to spar at the moment, he just wanted to check on his equipment . Still he somehow felt Oliver¡¯s rising fighting spirit . Alex then faced Oliver head on, and the whole area grew tenser . Matthew who was watching on the side, wanted to see these two fight for real . Since seeing the two fight in an all out manner, he would be able to understand more of their skills, and use some of them for pointers, so that he could grow stronger .

    Oliver who saw Alex looking like he was up for it, shrugged his shoulders . "I was just joking . I¡¯m still no match for you Alex . I need to train a bit more, to be able to face you . So I will admit that among the three of us you are the strongest . So the ranking goes Alex first, me second, and Matthew third a . k . ast . "

    "Huh, don¡¯t say it like that . It makes me sound like I¡¯m a loser . "

    "Well technically you are a loser . "

    Oliver started to joke around with Matthew about the ranking . This was done so that he could mask his embarrassment as a joke . He knew the moment Alex took his challenge seriously, that in his current state Oliver had no chance of winning . Just that slight shift in Alex¡¯s stance made Oliver realize how far apart they were, he couldn¡¯t understand it but he knew instinctively that in his current state, he would only make a fool of himself if he fought Alex right now .

    Alex on the other hand, was confused by the sudden change in atmosphere . A moment ago it felt like Oliver was going to attack him, so he readied himself, but now it turned into this scene of the two acquaintances joking around like they were old buddies . Seeing this Alex couldn¡¯t help but once again sigh .

    "Can I go now? I still have other things to do . " Alex asked the two who seem to be having fun .

    "What is it you¡¯re going to do anyway? Why don¡¯t you join me and Matthew instead . We¡¯re heading out to have some fun . "

    "Not today, maybe some other time . I hope you two have fun . " After saying this Alex turned his back on the two and was about ready to leave .

    "Do you need any help?" Oliver asked, in which Alex answered without turning around, and as he kept walking forward .

    "No need, thanks for the offer though . " This one answer was a great indication of how much Alex has grown . If it was before he would have simply answered no . Without saying anything else, Oliver and Matthew looked at Alex walking away .

 Chapter 239

    Chapter 239

    Alex who was finally free from the two, started to go to where he hid his weapons, but while he was walking he felt someone following him . He was hearing the slight sound of footsteps,ing a two pairs of feet . The two that were following were pretty good, and of course Alex could guess who the two of them were .

    It was possible to simply let them follow him and show them were he hid all his equipment, but Alex wanted to keep the ces where he hid his equipment a secret . If more than one person knows of their location the it was possible that even more people will find out . It was that moment Alex decided to escape from them .

    Oliver and Matthew who were silently following Alex, saw him suddenly run . They knew that they were somehow spotted by Alex, so in the end they didn¡¯t hide anymore and tried to follow Alex . Yet the moment they turned in one corner Alex suddenly disappeared .

    In case of emergencies, Alex made some alterations in the school building . He did this, ever since Kei almost outran him, with his knowledge of the schoolyout . Alex instead of simply doing the same thing as Kei, and learn theings and goings of the students, decided to alter some parts of the school, to make it easier for him to go from point A to point B . Seeing as he was able to stop Oliver and Matthew from following him, the alterations he made were working .

    . . .

    Once Alex was free from the two distractions he was now able to double check on the equipment he hid all over the school . While he was hiding his equipment, he also found a safe room, which was most probably Lyner¡¯s . This gave Alex an idea to do the same thing, and so he had six other safe rooms all over the school . Granted that the safe rooms, he had other people make, wasn¡¯t as good as Lyner¡¯s safe room but it¡¯s still usable and that¡¯s all that matters .

    As Alex continued walking around the school looking at the hidden ces he used to hide his equipment, he started remembering what happened in these halls . Even though he has only been in school for a few months, he has experienced a lot of things . He wasn¡¯t sure if all these experiences were good, but he was sure that these experiences were things that he would cherish until the day he dies .

    The memories he had in this school were irreceable . It¡¯s because of this school, that he met the girl he fell for . In this school, he gained friends . Here in this school, he didn¡¯t need to be the S ranked mercenary the silent sh, he just needed to be Alexander Samarita . The things he gained on the battlefield weren¡¯t as much as the things he gained in this school .

    Actually it wasn¡¯t just this school, the time he spent in this city has given him many things . A sister, a mother, his subordinates . Even the mundane things like a favorite arcade, his favorite movie house, a game shop and other things . If it was the Alex of before he wouldn¡¯t even care about such things . Yet now all of those things, even the crappy ones, like his favorite street stall was special to him .

    Still the most important thing he gained here was the revival of his emotions . The emotions he long ago pushed aside to be stronger . Alongside those emotions was the memory of the death of his parents . Alex knew that the day was closing in that the memory he had long sealed in his mind was about to be set free .

    Still he needed to move forward no matter what happens, that¡¯s what he learned from Oliver . He needed to be strong andugh away the fear that is slowly encroaching him, that¡¯s what he learned from Lyner . He needed to be open to feel the way he wanted to, that¡¯s what he learned from Emily and Sayaka . He needed to show morepassion and understanding to strengthen the bond he currently has, that¡¯s what he learned from Niel . He needed the courage to step into the unknown, that¡¯s what he learned from Kei . He needed to persevere even through all the pain emotions bring, that¡¯s what he learned from Evangeline and Rachel .

    . . .

    While ALex was reminiscing about what he experienced in his stay in this city, he was nearly done looking at all his hidden equipment . All of them seem to be functional and nothing was misced . Even after checking his equipment, Alex just can¡¯t shake off this ominous feeling he was having .

    He wasn¡¯t sure what this feeling was, but it felt simr to the feeling he got when he did his first mission as a mercenary and was attacked by an A rank merc . This feeling was the feeling that death was approaching .

    He could practically feel it in his skin, every fiber of his being was warning him that danger was approaching . He knew that either tomorrow or day after, something will most definitely happen .

    ¡¯It doesn¡¯t matter whates, I promise I will protect those that are important to me . ¡¯ Alex¡¯s face distorted for a moment if anyone saw that face he made they would be scared . Even his dad has never seen Alex make that face, but it was good thing no one was present to see what kind of face he made .

    Alex who was recently forced to watch a romance film, tried something he found interesting in that film . He ced his hand on his chest and mumbled .

    "Please give me strength, Rachel . " After he did this, Alex slowly calmed himself down, and clenched his fist, his face now showing his resolve to die for his loved ones .

    Alex who was in the silent hallway, was hearing the sounds of gun firing, the screams of pain and agony, he was hearing the sound of war . This was how Alex was hyping himself up, for the battle tomorrow, as well as his role in the y . Since both things needed this kind of intensity, Alex thought that it was alright to begin his mental preparations .

 Chapter 240

    Chapter 240

    Niel who was brought to Evangeline¡¯s home, was now in an arge empty room . This room was used by Niel and Evangeline for training purposes . Niel has been training Evangeline for quite some time now . At first he tried to see how good Evangeline¡¯s physical capabilities were, and asked her to do some simple moves .

    It was good, her physical abilities were above average, her abilities were far superior to most girls her age, but that was it . She wasn¡¯t as extreme as the others in the Mercenary club . Her aptitude in learning fighting techniques, was pretty good as well, but to Niel it was nothing special .

    Niel thought that because Alex and everyone¡¯s level except for Kei were so abnormally high, that Evangeline who stuck close to them and was called a near perfect woman was in the same ridiculously high level .

    Yet to Niel¡¯s disappointment, though Evangeline was indeed a cut above the rest, her abilities weren¡¯t as extreme as Alex and the others in the mercenary club . Still Niel found Evangeline¡¯s never give up attitude, as well as her extreme perseverance, and drive to move forward to be amazing, and he admired her for that .

    Yet today as he was training Evangeline in close quartersbat, Niel noticed something strange . The usual aggressiveness and passion to be stronger was missing . It was like she was now an empty husk of her former self .

    Niel who had just thrown Evangeline to the side, helped her up and looked at her confused .

    "Did something happen Eva? You seem really out of it today . " Niel asked really concerned for Evangeline¡¯s well being . Evangeline on the other hand didn¡¯t respond, it was like she was thinking about something really deeply . Her eyes were staring at an empty space .

    "Hello, Eva is anybody there?" Niel started talking right next to Evangeline¡¯s ear which surprised her, making her jump backward .

    "Huh? What?" Evangeline was looking at Nielpletely confused . She didn¡¯t understand what was happening, or what she was doing right now .

    "What¡¯s happening to you Eva, is everything alright?" Niel looked really concerned as he looked at Eva¡¯s eyes, Niel saw that her eyes that shone bright with determination were now growing a bit dimmer .

    "Niel . . . It¡¯s over, I just can¡¯t . . . I just can¡¯t do it anymore . " Evangeline sat down on the floor feeling helpless . She felt all her strength disappear from her body, as he heart felt even more pained .

    "What¡¯s over? I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying . How about you try and tell me what happened . I am your senior in school, and also your mentor so you don¡¯t have to worry about telling me your problems . Justy it on me, and I will try my very best to help you . " Niel showed Evangeline a sympathetic smile as he said what he said . Due to Niel¡¯s high level charisma, him showing such a sympathetic smile, made him look almost holy . Evangeline who saw this felt a bit morefortable and started to talk .

    . . .

    Evangeline told Niel about how Alex had saved her two years ago, about how she fell in love with him in first sight . She told Niel about her rose colored reunion with him, about how she never gave up in finding him, and how happy she felt when he met him again .

    Since the beginning her battle was an uphill one . Alex was obviously more interested in Rachel . Still Evangeline took hope from the fact they still weren¡¯t dating, and to her it looked like Alex treated her more like sister, than a lover . This was her hope, that someday Alex¡¯s eyes would finally fall upon her .

    She struggled to be someone Alex would look at . She put all her effort into bing better for him .

    "Yet no matter how I struggle! No matter how I wished for it, he will never look my way!" In Alex¡¯s eyes there was only Rachel, someone who he just met recently . She didn¡¯t struggle, she didn¡¯t do anything . It just so happens Alex fell for he instead of Evangeline .

    Evangeline truly believed she had a chance, but when she was walking in an empty hallway she spotted Alex standing in one spot . He was concentrating so much that he didn¡¯t even noticed Evangeline approaching . Evangeline who saw a chance wanted to surprised Alex, by shouting boo, but before she could do anything he heard Alex mumble something under his breath .

    "Please give me strength, Rachel . "

    The moment Evangeline heard his voice with so much affection, she ran away . She didn¡¯t understand why but she ran as far as she could, and ended up in the student council room . In that room full of papers, she started weeping in one corner .

    . . .

    Niel who listened to her whole story was surprised . He already knew that Evangeline and Rachel liked Alex, but he didn¡¯t understand how much they liked him . Hearing Evangeline¡¯s story, Niel thought that her love felt more like an obsession .

    "Why isn¡¯t it me?! Tell me Niel, why can¡¯t it be me?! Why can¡¯t Alex look my way?! Why does Rachel get to be in his heart?! Why does she get him to speak her name so lovingly?! Why?! Did my love that I cherished for two years, lose out to Rachel¡¯s?! Is all my effort . . . Is all my struggles worthless?! Tell me Niel, please tell me . . . How can I make Alex look my way . . . "

    Evangeline was now crying in Niel¡¯s chest, who for the first time in his life didn¡¯t know what to say . He was confused by Evangeline¡¯s raw emotions .

    "Why aren¡¯t you answering Niel? . . . . I see, so even you have no answer . . . . I knew it, everything I did was worthless . . . I shouldn¡¯t have tried . . . From the start I was bound to lose . . . I . . . "

    Smack! Evangeline¡¯s face felt a burning sensation on her right cheek . Niel had actually pped her . Evangeline looked at the always smiling Niel, but now saw he was no longer smiling . This was the first time Evangeline saw Niel make such an angry face .

    "Is that all? . . . What the hell are you saying Eva! You¡¯re telling me this is it! You imed that you tried your best, but you¡¯re giving up now, just because things got a bit harder?! You haven¡¯t even done anything yet! Have you confessed to Alex? No, you have not! In truth you haven¡¯t started anything, you aren¡¯t even in the starting line, and you¡¯re giving up? You¡¯re just a scared little girl, that cries for what she wants, without even doing anything . I misjudged you, I was actually admiring how hard working you were, but in the end this is all you have?"

    Hearing what Niel said, Evangeline looked at him in surprise . She wasn¡¯t angry that he pped her, or called her a coward, and basically said a lot of mean things about her . She was instead enlightened . Niel was right, she hasn¡¯t even begun to truly fight back . She wasn¡¯t even in the starting line yet .

    "No, this isn¡¯t all I have! I still have more to give! . . . Thank you Niel, for showing me the way . " While her eyes were a bit red from crying, Evangeline smiled a very beautiful smile . This smile of hers was actually able to captivate even Niel for a moment .

    "It¡¯s nothing much . I just did my job as a senior . "

 Chapter 241

    Chapter 241

    After leaving Alex in school, Kei was forced once more to follow Emily . For the past few days he and Emily had been going around the city following a couple . To be more specific they were following Emily¡¯s brother and the teacher he was courting Sarah Resti .

    A few days ago, Emily asked Kei to find out everything he knew can Sarah Resti . Kei did as he was told, and gathered a lot of information about her . Emily was interested in what kind of movies she liked, what kind of food she likes, what¡¯s her preference cats or dogs, and other such things .

    Emily wasn¡¯t interested in learning her educational background or her family background, since she was able to dig up those stuff in herputer . What she wanted from Kei was an in depth look into Sarah Resti .

    Kei was actually able to find out a lot of stuff about Sarah, since he was in good terms with some of the teachers in Lilitth¡¯s school . He owed this to his frequent visits to the school, since Alex and the others go there frequently after ss .

    Aside from that, Kei found one of Sarah¡¯s ssmates back when she was in high school, and got a lot of information from her as well . Emily had given Kei some allowance to use for this investigation of his, so gaining the info he needed was easier to acquire than usual, since this time he had the power of money on his side .

    After handing out every information he had to Emily, the girl suddenly said, these are all outdated, we need current information . That¡¯s how their daily stalking mission started .

    . . .

    Emily¡¯s brother always goes to the school to pick up Sarah once she was free to leave . At first the two of them would walk around, and enter a store that Sarah took interest in . Kei who was pretty good in shadowing someone, felt like somehow Kyle has already noticed them since day one, when they first started stalking them . It felt like he just didn¡¯t bother with them, and continued having fun with Sarah .

    Emily on the other hand, thinks that her brother hasn¡¯t noticed them, and feels that Kei was being too cautious . So in the end Kei couldn¡¯t get out of this stalking mission and continued to follow Emily .

    "Hey Emily, w-" Emily pressed her finger onto Kei¡¯s lips to stop him from talking .

    "It¡¯s Emi . Don¡¯t call me Emily, okay . "

    "Fine, Emi, why are we even stalking your brother? Based on the files we saw on Sarah, she seems to be okay . "

    "We¡¯re not stalking my brother, that sounds creepy . We¡¯re simply here following them around, as a second party . Also I¡¯m not doing this because I don¡¯t trust Sarah Resti or anything like that . I¡¯m doing this because I don¡¯t trust my brother going on a date . The guy has zero experience, I don¡¯t want him to mess this up . "

    "Oh, that makes it sound like you have tons of experience . " Kei looked at Sarah a bit intrigued .

    "I don¡¯t have any actual experience per se, but I do know some things, which I got from shoujo manga . "

    "So basically zero experience . "

    "Hey Shoujo Manga teaches a girl more about dating, than you think . "

    " . . . Okay fine, let¡¯s say your shoujo manga does somehow give you the expertise for this kind of thing . How do you n on helping your brother, if he doesn¡¯t even know we¡¯re here watching him?"

    "I¡¯ll just . . . You know . . . Give him some subtle hints when he gets home and stuff . . . Whatever I just need to watch him and help just in case something big happens, alright . Howe you¡¯re acting like this now . I liked you better when you were acting meeker . "

    Kei could only sigh as he heard what Emily said .

    "Look there changing locations . " Kei pointed out, and Emily answered by nodding her head . The two of them waited a bit, then followed . While they were walking a few meters away from Kyle and Sarah, Kei asked Emily a question .

    "I got to ask, I know your family has a lot of money . "

    "Oh, what makes you think that?"

    "The money you gave me to investigate Sarah . The state of the artptop you seem to always be carrying, and two days ago we rented a whole building just to follow your brother and his date . But that¡¯s not what I wanted to talk about . What I wanted to ask is why isn¡¯t your brother buying a car? It would be so much easier for him if he had a car . "

    "Actually I asked him the same question . He said that he liked walking around with Sarah . If he had a car the time they spend with each other might lessen . He also said in his situation that walking has a lot more advantages than owning a car . "

    "I see, so how much longer are we going to follow them? Actually how long do you n on spying on your brother? It doesn¡¯t seem like your brother needs any help . "

    "You can only say that because you don¡¯t know him, my brother might seem like he has it altogether, but the truth is he doesn¡¯t . At some point my brother will make a mistake and he¡¯ll be needing my- Wait a minute where are they?"

    Emily looked ahead and couldn¡¯t spot Kyle or Sarah . Kei who was listening to Emily¡¯s speech about how her brother needed him, also lost track of the two they were following .

    "Damn it! This is all your fault Kei, for distracting me with that question . " Emily red at Kei .

    "Hey it¡¯s not entirely my fault . You kept going on and on about how your brother needs you to help him in his love life, even though he doesn¡¯t . Distracting me from watching them . "

    "What the hell! I wouldn¡¯t be exining that to you, if you didn¡¯t ask that distracting question . "

    "Well we-" Kei was about to say his rebuttal, but was interrupted by another person .

    "How about you two stop your little quarrel, and let the four of us eat dinner, since you know I¡¯m starving . " Kyle who disappeared in front of them, suddenly reappeared with Sarah, behind Emily and Kei .

    "So Sarah, this is my sister Emily, and this is her friend Kei . "

    "Nice to meet you two . " Sarah extended her hand and shook, Emily and Kei¡¯s hands .

    "So how about you two stop what you¡¯re doing and just join us for dinner . Also Emily FYI we noticed, since the first day you started following us . Sarah here told me not to do anything since she understand how you¡¯re feeling about her showing up stealing my a . k . a your brother¡¯s attention . "

    "W-w-what! That¡¯s not it, at all . You have it all wrong Sarah, I have no problem with you . I was just afraid that my brother might do something stupid, that¡¯s all . " Emily said flustered . Kei who was watching in the sidelines found this reaction of Emily¡¯s to be quite interesting . The normal Emily always looks like she was acting, and everything that was happening was part of her n of sorts . Yet now the emotions she was showing seem to be real .

    ¡¯I guess they are pretty close siblings . ¡¯ While Kei was reevaluating Emily in his head, Kyle shrugged his shoulders .

    "Ok fine, let¡¯s just go with what you said . Soe on, let¡¯s head to a restaurant and eat, since I¡¯m really starving . " Kyle held Sarah¡¯s hands as if that was the most natural thing to do, and walked ahead . Emily and Kei who were still a bit shocked in what happened, silently followed the two .

 Chapter 242

    Chapter 242

    After having a meal with Emily, Kyle, and Sarah, Kei went home . As he was updating his database, he noticed something weird . The usual flow of traffic was different . Usually this wasn¡¯t something to be concerned about, since no one could predict if some sort of ident might happen changing the flow of traffic .

    Yet Kei noticed today that the flow of traffic, was heavier than usual, and there were no reports of an ident in the area . Not only that he noticed while he and Emily were following Kyle, he noticed that the former empty condominiums had actual people in it, even without going inside he noticed some movement inside the rooms .

    It wasn¡¯t just that, he also noticed that there were many unfamiliar faces in the streets, as he was walking . It was true that Kei doesn¡¯t have anything like an eidetic memory, but still Kei had a very good memory . He has been walking around the city since he was seven years old and the people he meets everyday were usually the same, with some differences every now and then . Those different people he sees every now and then, were sometimes tourist, or people visiting from a different city . Yet today, it wasn¡¯t just a few people that Kei didn¡¯t recognize, but a lot of them .

    This sudden flow of strangers was abnormal, since there were no events in the uing days to warrant such a crowd . Kei feeling something was amiss started to investigate .

    . . .

    While Kei was doing his investigation, back in the Samaritas home Litth was ying . Lilitth who was watching a cartoon a few minutes ago, suddenly wanted to do something she saw on T . V .

    She wanted to y with Emily and her mother Michel, and so she called them to her room . Of course Michel and Emily were always happy to y with Lilitth . Especially Emily who had quite a crappy day because of her brother . ying with the cute little Lilitth would make her feel better since the littledy always brightens the mood .

    Carlo who saw Lilitth calling for ymates approached his daughter in her room .

    "Lilitth how about tou-chan? Can tou-chan y with you?" Carlo smilingly pointed at himself, as he acted cutely in front of his daughter .

    "Sorry tou-chan, no boys allowed . This is for girls only . " When Lilitth said this, Carlo simply stood there, not moving his smile not leaving his face . Michel who was on the other side of the door smirked at Carlo .

    After saying what she said, Lilitth closed the door, and after a few seconds you could hear the three girls giggling inside the room . Alex who was watching from the sidelines wondered what the three of them could be ying .

    It was then Alex noticed something weird, his dad Carlo was simply standing there, in the same position he was in when he asked Lilitth if he could y with her . Feeling something was wrong Alex slowly approached his dad .

    "Dad are you alright?" There was no response, as Alex got a bit closer he could here his dad mumbling something .

    "She doesn¡¯t want to y with me . She doesn¡¯t want to y with me . She doesn¡¯t want to y with me . She doesn¡¯t want to y with me . She doesn¡¯t want to y with me . She doesn¡¯t want to y with me . "

    Carlo kept on repeating the same thing over and over again . Alex who heard his mumbling wanted to back away, but the moment he did so, Carlo suddenly shifted his attention towards Alex . He then proceeded to hug his son .

    "Alex! Li-li-littth said she doesn¡¯t want to y with me! She said she wanted to y with that b*tch of a mother instead . "

    "That¡¯s your wife dad . "

    "Who cares! Damn it! Howe no boys are allowed? Should I perhaps have my s*x change?"

    "You¡¯re not thinking straight dad . "

    "But, but, but Lilitth, I want to y with her . Tou-chan wants to y with Lilitth . " Alex seeing his dad act like this made him sigh . What happened to the calm, cool, and suave merc called the messenger of death? He turned into something like this . If the soldiers, mercs, assassins, and political figures he killed were to see him now, they would question how someone like this was able to take them down .

    . . .

    Afterining to Alex for a few more minutes, Carlo suddenly had an idea . He then approached the door of Lillith¡¯s room and knocked .

    "Lilitth, it¡¯s tou-chan, I have something I need to tell you . " The door then opened revealing Lilitth wearing a cute dress .

    "What is it tou-chan?"

    "Why are you wearing that?" Carlo who was holding himself back from suddenly hugging Lilitth asked .

    "Oh this, we¡¯re ying fashion model . I¡¯m trying on different dresses of kaa-chan¡¯s design . " When Lilitth said this, Michel once again smirked at Carlo . Seeing that smirking face of Michel, made Carlo really want to attack Michel . What kind of wife keeps on provoking her husband like that! Carlo held himself back and continued to smile in front of Lilitth .

    "Oh that¡¯s wonderful Lilitth . Tou-chan actually wants to do something with you, Kaa-chan, and Alex . So how about we take a family picture . "

    "A picture! Let¡¯s do it! Tou-chan, kaa-chan, onii-sama, and I will take a picture, as a family . " Lilitth was so happy she suddenly jumped towards Carlo hugging him . As Lilitth was hugging him, Carlo looked at Michel and did the exact same smirk as hers . This made Michel a bit angry as she gritted her teeth .

    . . .

    After the butlers were done setting up the cameras the four Samaritas were trying to decide their positions . At first Carlo and Michel were trying to get Lilitth to sit beside them, after theypromised and made Lilitth sit in the middle, the little girl a suggestion of her own . She wanted to sit beside her onii-sama . When the two doting parents heard this, they had conflicted feelings .

    As parents they liked Alex, but they adored Lilitth . At this moment they were a bit angry, jealous, and a bit happy . Still in the end they decided that the two children should sit down beside each other on chairs, while the two parents would be standing up behind them .

    The Samaritas were very happy as they took this picture, especially Lilitth who finally had proof that they were truly a family . Unknown to the Samaritas that this was the first andst time, they could take a family picture with everyone in it .

 Chapter 243

    Chapter 243

    Rachel Regius the youngest child of the Regius family and its only daughter . Right now she was having a serious conversation with her father . Not only her the whole family was taking part in this conversation . The whole family was in the dojo having a family meeting .

    Though the Regius Family was not one with a long tradition, as they haven¡¯t existed for that long, but they were still a family of martial artists . All of them felt this ominous feeling that something bad was about to happen tomorrow .

    They couldn¡¯t exin how they knew this, all the can say is that there was something different in the air . Even Rachel the weakest of the six could feel the changing atmosphere .

    "What do you think this means?" Joseph asked, looking at everyone present .

    "It does seem like, it was going to be something worse than the time we had to deal with those assassins . " Answered Rnd, feeling a bit ufortable about the tension .

    "Why the hell are you two acting like that? It doesn¡¯t matter what it is, as long as we stick together we¡¯re invincible . We are the Regius family, and the Ultimate martial art was made for these kinds of events . Our bodies are made of steel, heck our bodies are actually harder than steel . As a family, we can deal with any situation . Isn¡¯t that right Dad?" Gabby the youngest of the three brothers spoke a bit irritated by his two elder brothers reactions .

    Dan who was listening to his sons thoughts about the situation, and nodded his head before speaking .

    "You¡¯re right my son, we the practitioner of the Ultimate martial art, have the strength to deal with any situation, still your brothers are also right to worry . Even though all of you you have trained in our martial art, and have acquired bodies that are stronger than steel, you three . . . No you four siblings have little to no experience in realbat . The only time you fought for real, with your life on the line was that one time with those assassins, and based on what your mother has said about your performance at the time, you four didn¡¯t do so well . She told me that your movements slow down, as you faced opponents directing killing intent your way . That¡¯s a very fatal w, in fighting life and death battles, the battlefield isn¡¯t so kind to such a weakness . "

    "Well they did try their best, and were able to survive the ordeal . " Kumiko who was sipping her tea, gave out her opinion and tried to help out her sons .

    "That¡¯s not enough, you feel it too don¡¯t you Kumiko . This uing crisis isn¡¯t something half ass skills could handle . " When Dan said this the tension got even heavier, Kumiko was unable to rebut him . The feeling Dan was getting right now was something close, to the feeling he got in the skirmish he participated in against the empire . Even Kumiko could feel the danger, even someone of her level would have difficulty participating in the uing crisis, much less her children . Especially Rachel who was the weakest in the family .

    "So what are we going to do? I was hoping that even though you¡¯re a sh*tty father, that is pretty much only good in fighting, I always thought, no I always believed that with your skills you¡¯ll be able to protect us . Was I wrong in my assumption?" Rachel joined in and gave her opinion about the situation .

    Even though Rachel pretty much hated her father for leaving them and making her mother suffer because of his supposed death, she already forgave him in her own way . Still she didn¡¯t stop calling her sh*tty father since that was a sort of defense mechanism for her .

    Dan who heard what Rachel said was happily surprised . That was the first time her daughter actually said she believed in him . This gave Dan a sudden burst of joy .

    "OF COURSE! Of course I can protect you guys . I promise I will protect you all with this fist of mine . It doesn¡¯t matter what kind of enemy appears, I will crush them into dust!" Dan punched forward, his fist making a sound simr to a sonic boom .

    "Okay then, now that we solved that problem, can I go back to my room?" Rachel was about to stand up and leave, but was stopped by Dan .

    "Oh no, we¡¯re not done with this family meeting . We still have one more topic to talk about . Rachel tell me what¡¯s your rtionship with Alex?" Dan looked at Rachel with a serious expression .

    "Why should I tell you anything about that?" Rachel answered while ring at her father . Dan who saw this, was actually frightened for a moment, but he didn¡¯t back off .

    "I¡¯m your father that¡¯s why . "

    "Some father you are, you weren¡¯t even there for more than half of my life . You¡¯re pretty much a stranger to me, so why should I tell you anything?" Even though Rachel said this with a casual tone, it still hurt Dan a bit . Dan Regius who had a body and mind made of steel was hurt by what his daughter said .

    "Don¡¯t be too harsh on him Rachel, your dad really wanted toe back, but you do know he had amnesia . Can you please just answer his question . " Kumiko interrupted protecting her husband from Rachel¡¯s emotional attacks .

    "Fine, if it¡¯s for you mom, I¡¯ll answer . I like Alex, not as a friend but as a man . " The moment Rachel announced this, Kumiko, Joseph, Rnd, and Gabby started smiling and pping . Rachel who was adamant in saying she had no feelings for Alex, had now finally admitted it .

    She did this, because there was no longer any point in denying it .

    While the four were very happy, Dan had a nk expression in his face .

    "Do . . . Do you like Alex more than Daddy?" Dan said this with a soft voice, which was very different with his usual boisterous voice .

    "Huh? . . . Of course I like Alex more than you . Also don¡¯t call yourself daddy it sounds creepy . " Dan who was hit by two verbal attacks, was extremely damaged as he held his chest in pain .

    "DAMN IT! I¡¯ll kill that kid, making my daughter into someone who hates her dad!" Dan suddenly shouted denying the current situation .

    "Shut up you sh*tty dad . Alex didn¡¯t make me hate you . It was by your own doing, that made me hate you . Also if you do anything to Alex I will never forgive you, and I will truly hate you forever . "

    Dan hearing this suddenly knelt down lifelessly, and then he kept on mumbling something .

    "My daughter will hate me forever . My daughter will hate me forever . My daughter will hate me forever . My daughter will hate me forever . " Dan kept on repeating this over and over again .

    Rachel who saw her father act like that, actually thought she went too far .

    "Well as long as you tolerate my feelings for Alex . I will try and tolerate your hugging, and your goodnight kisses on my forehead . " The moment Dan heard this, he suddenly revived and appeared in front of Rachel and suddenly hugged her .

    "DEAL!" Dan happily agreed as he continued to hug Rachel, who looked like she was now regretting what she said .

 Chapter 244

    Chapter 244

    Alex woke up earlier than the usual time, since for some reason he just couldn¡¯t calm down . Today was the day of the y, but he wasn¡¯t squeamish because of something like stage fright it, he just couldn¡¯t calm himself down from something else entirely . He just couldn¡¯t help but feel something bad was about to happen . Right now he didn¡¯t sleep in the mansion, he slept in the safe house where the Harimas were staying .

    He camest night to tell number one the time when he will be punished was moved to another date . Alex exined that he needed the ten of them in their best condition this Friday . What added to the ominous feeling was that today was Friday the thirteenth .

    . . .

    Alex woke up the ten Harimas, and did some morning exercises with them . After they were done with their exercise, they had a quick meal then went straight to once again memorizing theyout of the school . Alex had all the ten Harimas memorize the newyout of the school, and showed them were the safe rooms where located .

    He exined that if something happens, they should immediately help the civilians head to the safe rooms . He gave a detailed exnation of what positions to be wary of in case there were snipers . He even allowed the ten Harimas to use lethal force if necessary .

    He gave each Harima a role to y, and handed out equipment whichplimented their role . As Alex was doing this, he remembered what his dad saidst night, when he told him about this ominous feeling .

    . . .

    "I felt it too, but don¡¯t worry too much Alex . Leave this kind of problems to the adults . Why are looking at me like that, don¡¯t you trust your dad?"

    . . .

    Alex even after his dad told him to leave it to him, just couldn¡¯t . This time he really felt like his dad was underestimating the situation . Even Emily who was usually ahead of him by a few steps, wasn¡¯t taking this as seriously as he wanted too . Even though Emily was already trying her best, Alex just couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that they needed to do more .

    While Alex and the ten Harimas were checking their equipment, Alex received an email from Kei .

    "Mercenary Club members, I have discovered something weird please check this out . " In the email there was an attachment . It was numerous pictures, with some people that had been circled, which pointed out suspicious .

    "Everyone head to the clubroom, A . S . A . P . " Alex also sent a message to the members of the mercenary club, in which they responded with an okay . Alex also forwarded the pictures to his dad .

    "All of you gather around . " Alex gave amand to the Harimas, and sent them the pictures .

    "I have sent you some pictures of suspicious people . I want you to stay within the Cromer¡¯s school perimeter, and report to me if you see anyone from this pictures hanging around the school . Am I clear?"

    "Sir, yes, sir!" The ten Harimas answered in sync with each other . Seeing this Alex gritted his teeth, and spoke in a loudmanding voice .

    "I must warn you . In truth I am unsure what the threat is, or how strong the enemies forces are . I cannot guarantee any sess in this mission, and as yourmanding officer I cannot force you into a mission that even I have no full understanding of . So to those of you that wish to leave, may leave now . "

    When Alex said this, he saw that none of the ten even moved an inch . their expression remained as emotionless as his . Yet their eyes showed their unbreakable determination .

    "Are you sure? You have no obligation to do this . I have already given a way out, and you still wish to stay?" This time, Alex¡¯s indifferent tone of voice was actually breaking, and you could hear the emotion in his voice . This surprised the ten greatly . Themander that they thought would never change, someone who was as hard and steady as steel was actually showing such a vulnerable side of himself .

    Ever since they were trained by Alex, they no longer saw Alex as a teenage boy, but someone with far greater experience than them . Yet now he was actually looking like a boy his age . Number one seeing hismand officer, as well as his mentor like this, spoke up .

    "Sir, permission to speak sir!"

    "Permission granted . "

    "Sir, we do not do this because we have no choice . We do this because, we do have an obligation, and it¡¯s to you . We do this because we are your students . We do this because you have shown us how to be proper humans . You sir are the one who gave us a true purpose in life . " Number one looked at hisrades and they all nodded to what he said .

    "Knowing that we might be able to save a lot of people, made it clear that it is truly worth following you . Who knew that I a failed merc, and former gangster would be able to do something so noble, and I owe that all to you sir . We your subordinates, will once again pledge our loyalty to you . " The other nine stepped forward and gave a military style salute .

    Alex was confused as he saw this . He wasn¡¯t expecting these guys to be this loyal . He was actually expecting the opposite from them, running away in the first chance they see . He was expecting something like that, since he was aware of how much he pushed this men to the brink . Yet here they stood with undying loyalty to him, and they were even grateful .

    Seeing this made Alex feel something warm in his chest . Alex responded to their salute with his own salute . He smiled at his subordinates, he smiled to stop the tears from flowing . Once again the ten Harimas were surprised to see Alex show so much emotion .

    "Very well, let us go men! Let us go towards our battlefield!" Alexmanded with a firm voice .

    "Sir, yes sir!" In which his subordinates responded in kind .

 Chapter 245

    Chapter 245

    Alex ordered his subordinates to hide in the surrounding area of the school . The ten of them hearing Alex¡¯s ordered saluted and run to different ces . Good thing it was early morning and no one was passing by . If they saw how the ten went to ten different locations while doing parkour, jumping over walls, and all that, they might have gathered a crowd .

    Once he was done giving out that order, and seeing his subordinates now out of sight, Alex immediately headed to the clubroom . While walking to the clubroom, Alex¡¯s feet felt heavier than normal . It was like he was wearing heavy weights on his ankles . Not only that as he was moving he started to reminisce about the start of the club, when they were still a circle . Alex couldn¡¯t help but smile at the thought .

    So much has changed since then, and the stoic Alex was now even smiling at simply remembering things from the past . This was something impossible to even consider before . Yet now Alex was actually showing his emotions so naturally .

    This made it clear to Alex, the clubroom was such an important ce to him . It was the ce that made him feel the mostfortable, which made him feel he could rx in thepany of his friends, yet today it was different . Today the entrance to the clubroom felt heavy .

    Alex didn¡¯t understand it, but he could feel it, the changing tides . The moment he opens this door, the moment he enters this room, will be thest time he will do so . When Alex thought of this, he froze and held the doorknob not knowing what to do . On the other side of the door, he could hear subtle breathing, and some movement here and there .

    This told him that the other members got here before him . Well that¡¯s to be expected, they must have headed here the moment he sent that message . Still didn¡¯t they have the same problem as him when they tried to open the door, or was it just him that felt this way?

    ¡¯Wait a minute why aren¡¯t they talking . By now they must¡¯ve noticed that I¡¯m standing outside the door, then why hasn¡¯t anyone tried to wee me in . . . Are they waiting for me to make a choice?¡¯

    The moment Alex got to that point of his thoughts, he got confused . He didn¡¯t understand what was happening but he felt a lot of different emotions flowing through him . It has been ages, since hest felt like this, no actually it has been ages since hest felt anything this deep, Alex was confused on how to handle the situation .

    He then started wondering what kind of choice does his friends want him to make . What will they do if he decided not to enter and run away like a coward . Alex shook his head, does it really matter what choice he makes now? No matter what he does, what will happen, whatever it is, will definitely happen . Then what was the significance of opening this door, and why does it feel so heavy?

    Alex couldn¡¯t understand this, heck if he wanted to he could rip the door open and break it into two pieces with his bare hands . So why was it so heavy at this moment?

    ¡¯I see, I¡¯m scared of losing them . . . Of losing those fun times, and then turning back to the me of the past once more . Opening this door, means I¡¯m ready to ept what¡¯s toe . Everyone on the other side, either they didn¡¯t feel the same way I did, or they weren¡¯t as weak and cowardly as me . ¡¯

    Alex shook his head thinking about the former of the two choices . He believed that the people on the other side of this door didn¡¯t have the same dilemma . That would mean they, unlike him were neither weak nor cowards .

    Unknown to Alex the only reason why the group inside didn¡¯t have the same problem entering even though they felt the same way as Alex, was because they all arrived at the same time . Even then they had difficult turning the doorknob . That simple action was so difficult for them to do . Yet because they were together, the ominous feeling that they had was somehow lessened and they were able to open the door without any other problem .

    Yet the moment they entered the room, none of them spoke, not even Emily or Sayaka who were usually so noisy . They all just sat there quietly . Kei who was looking around noticed the different atmosphere than normal and was also quietly waiting .

    All of the members present plus Evangeline, were waiting for Alex toe . They then unconsciously looked at the empty bed . In that bed the usually sleeping adviser Lyner was not found . All the members present were sure, that if the usual snoring Lyner was here this ominous feeling they were having will be blown away for sure .

    That was how secured they felt when Lyner was here . It didn¡¯t matter what the threat was, as long as they knew he was around they felt safe . They knew that staring at his bed wouldn¡¯t magically bring Lyner back, but they couldn¡¯t help but look .

    After a few minutes they heard thest member arriving . They could hear him touch the doorknob, but same as them, Alex was simply standing there frozen on the spot unable to turn the doorknob . Everyone then started to wonder, if Alex would turn the doorknob, since unlike them Alex was alone outside . They could stand up and help him in, but for some reason the members wanted Alex to decide if he wanted to do that himself .

    ¡¯Of course he will do it, if it¡¯s Alex anything is possible . ¡¯ At this very moment all the members present in the clubroom all thought of the same thing .

    . . .

    Alex who was hesitating moments ago, was finally able to resolve himself . He knew that this was unavoidable, and running away like a coward won¡¯t solve anything . So instead he decided to face the problem with his friends .

    Alex then turned the doorknob and entered the clubroom .

 Chapter 246

    Chapter 246

    The moment Alex entered the clubroom, he saw the solemn faces of the people inside . Even the usual cheery Emily and Sayaka were showing such faces . This was how grave the situation there were in, even Evangeline who wasn¡¯t really a part of the other side could vaguely sense the impending danger . Kei who couldn¡¯t feel anything at all, only knew something big was about to happen, based on the information he has gathered .

    "So what do we do now?" The one who asked this was Rachel . Hearing her question some of them started to look at Alex¡¯s direction, while some looked at Oliver¡¯s direction . Emily, Evangeline, Niel and Oliver were looking at Alex, while Rachel, Kei, Sayaka and Alex were looking at Oliver . This ufortable staringsted for a few minutes

    "Well since Alex was the one who called us over, he should be the one to speak . " Oliver was the one who broke the staring contest between the two sides .

    "Actually I just wanted to talk about the situation we¡¯re in, and that¡¯s it . In reality I don¡¯t have any kind of n . Since I have no concrete information, and just have some bits and pieces . I decided making a n in this kind of situation was impossible for me . So in the end I decided that I would respond to the problem no matter what is, the moment I see it . "

    Alex as usual gave his usual blunt opinion . The others hearing Alex had no n of any kind was feeling a bit disheartened .

    "I see, so even you don¡¯t have one . . . " Oliver looked upward and sighed .

    "How about you Oliver, do you have anything?" This time Alex asked Oliver . Hearing Alex¡¯s question Oliver shrugged his shoulders .

    "It¡¯s not a n or anything, but I just want us to stick together as a group . Also I have the same opinion as you Alex . I think we can only respond to the problem, once we actually know what the problem is . "

    "How about you Emily, you keep on thinking of outrageous ns . Do you have something in mind for our current situation?" This time it was Rachel that spoke . Emily was surprised to be suddenly called . She responded by pointing her finger at herself and tilting her head a bit, making her actually look cuter than normal .

    "Are you talking to me?" Out of nowhere, the solemn atmosphere suddenly broke . That one line plus action from Emily destroyed the seriousness and tension in the air .

    "Yeah, I¡¯m talking to you! Weren¡¯t you listening to the conversation we¡¯re having?!" Rachel suddenly shouted, getting a bit irked by Emily¡¯s cutesy y .

    "Oh, is that so? . . . I was just thinking of something, so truthfully I wasn¡¯t listening that much . " Emily answered as she shrugged her shoulders acting as if she was helpless to do anything about it .

    "Then pray tell, what were you thinking that so important, that you weren¡¯t listening . " Even now Rachel was a bit irritated by Emily, but she understood that this was how Emily usually operated . Still there was a time and ce for everything .

    "I was thinking about the episode of Vampire Princessst night . The VA of one of my favorite side character changed, and it felt a bit off for me . I was wondering what the heck happened to the original VA . " When Emily finished speaking, everyone was looking at her with a dumbfounded expression, except for Kei who seems to be agreeing with her, by nodding his head . He had the same thought as Emily regarding the new VA .

    While everyone was dumbfounded, Rachel¡¯s muscles started to bulge, she was about to use RELEASE . Noticing the danger Alex signaled Sayaka who moved without anyone noticing, she then suddenly appeared behind Rachel and patted her shoulders .

    "Don¡¯t be so agitated Rachel . You know Emi she just likes joking around a bit, same as me . " Everyone was surprised by Sayaka¡¯s movements, but the most surprised were Niel, Oliver, and Alex .

    Niel who has been training with Lyner¡¯s techniques, was surprised to see that he couldn¡¯t detect Sayaka¡¯s movements . He was tor- trained by Lyner to feel even the slightest presence of the person, using all his senses, the smell, the feel of the wind, instincts and if possible eyesight . Yet none of those worked with Sayaka¡¯s movement .

    Oliver was surprised on how much Sayaka improved . At the beginning Olvier could still somehow sense hering, yet now, she was literally like a ghost, this made Oliver smile . The improvement in skill his girlfriend was having, made Oliver feel happy for her .

    Alex on the other hand, had a different opinion from the two . Since the start when Rachel showed signs of using RELEASE, Alex was already looking at Sayaka signaling her to do something, since she was the only one who could control the two, the two being Rachel and Emily . So Alex¡¯s attention was on Sayaka since the beginning, and the moment she moved she suddenly disappeared and reappeared . It wasn¡¯t that she moved too fast, it felt more like she teleported, but that can¡¯t be it, since her disappearing reappearing wasn¡¯t done instantaneously . There was a dy in her disappearing and her reappearing, Alex just couldn¡¯t understand what happened in between the two actions, and was very curious but decided to ask Sayaka about itter .

    Rachel hearing her best friend¡¯s words was finally able to cool down, she then red at Emily . "So why are you thinking about such things, while we¡¯re all worrying about our situation here?"

    "Well it¡¯s because there is no need to worry about something you cannot do anything about . It would be good if we knew what wasing and prepare, but since we have nothing but pictures of people, that when I check seem to be all official Berdonian citezens since birth, and have no criminal record of any kind . With that information, we really can¡¯t tell what¡¯s going to happen can we? . . . Basically what I¡¯m saying is, we got nothing to do . We can¡¯t n around something that isn¡¯t there, so I believe what Alex and Oliver said is the best course of action . We should act together, and we can only act when the threat appears . So we just need to respond to whateveres in an appropriate manner . Thinking about these things to deeply serves no purpose . So instead I started thinking about the change of VA in my favorite show . "

    Hearing Emily¡¯s full exnation, made everyone including Rachel think that she was right . What she said was indeed right, but still it felt wrong somehow .

 Chapter 247

    Chapter 247

    After talking for a bit more, the group decided to simply act in a wait and see manner . The sses went on, as usual, nothing out of the ordinary happened . The whole day panned out the same as every other day, the only difference was that the Mercenary club members didn¡¯t gather in the clubroom for lunch . Each one of them had something else they had to do .

    Alex double checked the position of his subordinates, making sure that they were in the most optimal positions in case of emergencies .

    Oliver on the other hand was talking on the phone with Specter a . k . a Raphael . He was making sure if he was reallying to the y this afternoon . Once he was done confirming that, he also called his master which he reminded about the y this afternoon . Oliver was trying his very best to bring in some reinforcements no matter how small . He even included that person who was a little bit irritating to him .

    . . .

    In the back of the school, Rachel was on the phone talking to her irritating father .

    "Is everything alright?! Did those sh*tty assassinse again? I actually beat the sh*t out of sixst night and two this morning . So did theye bothering you again?" Dan¡¯s explosive voice bursted out of Rachel¡¯s phone .

    "Can you stop shouting all the time? No one showed up here, and even if they do Alex would¡¯ve handled them . " Rachel answered with an irritated voice . Hearing what his daughter said made Dan even angrier .

    "What the hell! How can that kid who¡¯s just my disciple, that can¡¯t even use full RELEASE without hurting himself actually be better than me! Open your eyes, that kid is fooling you!" Dan kept on shouting over the phone, which irritated Rachel even more .

    "Shut Up! Damn it, stop screaming you sh*tty old man! Look at what you did, my eardrums are ringing . Also, when did I say Alex was better than you? All I said was Alex could handle the situation, if an assassin shows up . "

    "Damn it! Open your eyes, my little girl! Your dad can easily wipe out the assassins as long as they show up, can Alex do the same thing?!"

    "Oh God! This conversation isn¡¯t going anywhere, I just wanted to ask if you and the others are stilling to the yter," Rachel spoke feeling tired by this conversation . She didn¡¯t really n on calling her father and called her mother instead, but for some reason, this sh*tty father of hers was the one who answered the call .

    "Of course we¡¯reing, how can¡¯t we go! We need to see-" Once she heard what she wanted to hear, Rachel didn¡¯t continue to listen to Dan¡¯s nonsense and ended the call . Rachel felt tired by that whole ordeal .

    . . .

    Sayaka was on the rooftop of the new school building at the moment no one was there with her . Well, that¡¯s what other people would see if they looked, yet aside from Sayaka, there was another person present .

    "So father what do you think?"

    "It¡¯s a bit tricky, to do here in this school . Aside from that, other powerful people will be presentter . Which raises the difficulty of fulfilling the task at hand . As the current Shadow of the Mutsu family, I do not wish to undertake a mission such as this . . . Still, it would seem that there is no escaping what¡¯s toe . " A voiceing from all around sounded out . To anyone who was listening in, the voice would sound like it wasing from all directions .

    "I see . . . " Sayaka sighed, as she looked at the blue sky . The clouds were gathering rather nicely, it would seem that it would rainter .

    "Do not fret my daughter, deathes to all, from the weak to the strong, from the sinner to the innocent, from the poor to the rich . Deathes equally to all . As an assassin, I hope you truly understand that fact . " When he was done saying what was needed Sayaka¡¯s father, the Shadow left the rooftop .

    "I already know that . . . Still I-" Sayaka once again sighed, her face showing an unknown expression .

    . . . . .

    Emily was double checking all the traps, she ced around the school . She even checked all the security cameras Alex so graciously installed all throughout the school . Once she was done doing that Emily contacted her brother .

    "Hey Onii-chan, I hope you bring Miss Sarahter to my school y . "

    "Of course I¡¯ll do that . No need to tell me twice . "

    "Hey Onii-chan, I-"

    "Hmm, what is it Emi?"

    "It¡¯s nothing . "

    "I see, you¡¯re scared . " Hearing what Kyle said, Emily couldn¡¯t help but smile . Of course, this was her beloved onii-chan, the person who knew her the best .

    "Hey Emi, have you forgotten what I promised before? Didn¡¯t I promise you that no matter whates, I promise to shoot down all the fear away . "

    "Heh, of course, I remember . . . How could I forget . "

    "So don¡¯t worry Emi, as long as your onii-chan is alive no harm wille to you . "

    "Sure thing, I believe you onii-chan . " After this, the two siblings kept on talking until Emily felt trulyfortable .

    . . .

    Niel was holding the key Lyner gave him . This was the key to Lyner¡¯s personal safe room inside the school . Conveniently it was hidden underneath the stage in the auditorium . The problem was the moment, troublees, Niel wanted to save his family first, but then how about the others? There is only a bit more space to fit a few more people, and the supplies inside were meant for seven to eight people .

    Niel stood in front of the entrance of the safe room, with a single dilemma . Who will he allow inside the safe room aside from his family? It was a fact that whoever gets to stay in this particr safe room, was sure to survive for as long as the supply of food and water holds . Lyner even assured him that no matter what happens no one without the key could enter the safe room, even if they use extreme force .

    ¡¯Why aren¡¯t you returning Sir Lyner . . . If only you were here, I wouldn¡¯t have this problem . Heh, actually if you were here, I¡¯m sure none of us would have felt this scared and insecure . . . Or is this another test that you set up for me? If it is, it¡¯s a very cr*ppy test . ¡¯

    Even though Niel was saying bad things about this being a test of Lyner¡¯s, but in truth, he would dly wee this being some sort of test, since that would mean Lyner was around watching if he would pass or not .

    . . .

    Kei who didn¡¯t fullyprehend the extent of the uing crisis felt even more pressure than the others . He knew that something wasing, but unlike the others, he figured this out not by the feeling, but by the facts he has gathered . Still, none of these supposed facts could give him a clear answer .

    He even contemted calling the police and reporting all the information he gathered about the sudden influx of people in the city . Still, after thinking for a while, he came to the conclusion that he didn¡¯t need to do that . Kei had information that Alex¡¯s family was close to themissioner, and since Alex knew that something was happening, it was likely that he already informed the police beforehand .

    So instead of doing that, Kei decided to try and gain even more information regarding the people who suddenly came to the city . The more information he had the better .

    . . .

    While every member of the Mercenary Club was preparing for what¡¯s toe, Evangeline Kain did so as well . She was aware that she wasn¡¯t as good as Rachel inbat, she wasn¡¯t as good as Kei in gathering information, nor was she as good as Alex in training subordinates . She knew that she wasn¡¯t anywhere near the extremity of skill that the members of the Mercenary Club had, but still, she wanted to help . No, she knew she needed to help .

    Using every channel avable to the Kain family, Evangeline requested for as much reinforcement she and her family could muster for what¡¯s toe . Even though somewhere in her mind, her logic was telling her that the probleming couldn¡¯t be all that big, if the government didn¡¯t even notice it . But since Alex and the rest said otherwise, Evangeline chose to believe in that instead .

    . . .

    Almost all the yers were now heading towards Cromer high . The fires of battle were nearing as the friends of the Mercenary Club prepare for the worst .

 Chapter 248

    Chapter 248

    It was after ss most of the students headed to the auditorium, some people from the outside also gathered into the school¡¯s auditorium . Today was a special day for Cromer high, since the highly praised drama club was about to do a y that they im was like no other . This was an exciting thing to hear for the people who knew Cromer high¡¯s drama club . This was a club that was so good, that some couldn¡¯t believe they were a club from a second rate school . Some couldn¡¯t even believe that they were high school students .

    . . .

    The members of the Mercenary Club were with the Drama club members, making sure that everything was in order . While the others were getting out of the dressing room, wearing their costumes . Alex who was wearing a soldier¡¯s uniform looked so natural wearing it, that one might think he was an actual veteran . Technically he was a merc, not a soldier .

    The others who were exiting the dressing room, were now wearing their costumes as well, which also looked incredible . Yet the moment another person exited the dressing room, everyone stopped what they were doing and kept quiet as they were surprised to see who came out of the dressing room . This person was a beauty, not on the level of Evangeline . It was a different kind of beauty which made her iparable to Evangeline or Rachel . This person¡¯s beauty felt more gentle, and at the same time somehow had a manly vibe . It was a confusing trait to have together, yet there was no denying that this person was beautiful, and the costume she was wearing was that of a female soldier which made her look awe-inspiring for some reason .

    This person that made everyone turn their heads, was none other than, Kei who was forced to crossdress, as the main heroine . Emily and the other girls all helped to make Kei look the way he did . Even they were surprised by the final product .

    Emily and even Sayaka wanted tough before while they were doing the make-up yet the moment they finished they couldn¡¯tugh at all . Kei was actually so much better looking as a girl, than as a boy . It made some of the Drama club membersment that Kei wasn¡¯t born as a girl, but as a dude instead . It was a total waste with that look of his . Who knew the ndest member of the Mercenary Club could look this way, it was surprising at the same time hair raising .

    Kei, on the other hand, wanted to cry . Not only was he forced to wear make-up and crossdress, but the looks he was getting, that were a mix of pity and awe was making him feel bad about his original looks .

    . . .

    The family members of the Drama club, and the Mercenary Club, were given front row seats for the y . In the front stage, you could see Lilitth excitedly looking around while sping Michel¡¯s hands . Carlo and Dan were once again fighting about who had the cuter daughter . Phil, Marge, and Specter were also sitting on the front seats and no one from Carlo¡¯s group noticed Specter, since he was not wearing the annoying mask he usually wears .

    Kyle was sitting beside Michel¡¯s group and sitting next to him was none other than, Sarah Resti, Lilitth¡¯s art teacher . The two of them were acting like a couple, even though technically Sarah hasn¡¯t given Kyle an answer yet .

    Niel¡¯s family was also present, his sister Niki was behind Lilitth¡¯s seat . The two little girls were looking around while having a fun conversation .

    Evangeline was also seating in the front row seats as the student council president . She was pretty disappointed that she couldn¡¯t join the y, but still felt a bit excited to see Alex acting .

    Once all the other people had sat on their chairs, the lights in the auditorium suddenly dimmed, and the sound of gunshots being fired echoed throughout the auditorium . Carlo¡¯s group were shocked to hear the sounds, and were about to stand up, and take cover, but they noticed that this was the sound of somethinging out of a speaker .

    . . .

    The y started and it was pretty obvious that the budget for this simple school y was actually quite big, because of the props and the costumes used . Some of the audience actually forgot that this was a y made by high school kids . They actually thought it was a professionally made y, since even the actors were so good, especially the main lead, which was Alex .

    The moment Alex entered the stage, the intensity of his character and his facial expression coupled with his deliverance of the lines, the audience felt like they were transported to the front lines .

    After a few more scenes as the audience were in the edge of their seats, the female lead appeared . She was a stunning beauty, which surprised the students watching the y .

    "Was there someone like that in the Drama Club?"

    "Isn¡¯t she part of the Mercenary Club?"

    "So there was another one, on that level in our school . Howe this is the first time I¡¯ve seen her?"

    "Is she a transfer student?"

    The student body started to chatter about the appearance of the unknown female actor on stage . Yet the moment she spoke, it was a familiar voice .

    "Isn¡¯t that Rachel¡¯s voice?"

    "You¡¯re right, so does that mean that¡¯s Rachel?"

    "That can¡¯t be, I know the person acting on stage is pretty, but she¡¯s nowhere near Rachel¡¯s beauty . "

    "Then howe they have simr voices?"

    The students just got even more confused as the tried to analyze the new girl .

    . . .

    The y continued on, and Alex¡¯s acting pretty much stole the show . The overall atmosphere he emitted on stage, was different from everyone else . It was like he truly became one with his character, it was as if he and the character in the story were one and the same . The resolution in his voice, the bloodlust he showed every now and then, made everyone have goosebumps .

    It was then, during the climax of the y, Alex received an urgent report from the earpiece he was wearing .

    "Commander, we have lost contact with number seven!" He could hear the panicking voice of number ten reporting . The Harimas that he trained never to panic no matter the situation was actually panicking right now .

    Alex uncaring that he was in the middle of the y, pressed the earpiece deeper in as he answered .

    "Number two and three head to number seven¡¯s position . "

    "Roger that . "

    The audience, as well as the others present on stage, were confused as to what Alex was suddenly saying . Yet still the other actors, somehow were able to ad lib .

    "Commander, there is something form the-" Number ten¡¯smunication cut off, before he could finish what he was about to report .

    "NUMBER TEN RESPOND!" Alex suddenly shouted, but no one answered .

    This time, everyone stopped moving . The audience was confused by this sudden change in lines, but still thought it was part of the y . All except for Carlo¡¯s group who were now readying their weapons .

    The other people on stage didn¡¯t know what to do as they froze on stage . Alex who still hasn¡¯t heard a response from Number ten, contacted all the Harimas .

    "Everyone aside from number two and three converge on point B-2 . " Point B-2 was the auditorium .

    "Roger that . " When Alex heard the response of the remaining Harimas, he faced the audience and announced .

    "Everyone the y is over, please form a line and follow me!" When no one responded to what Alex said, Carlo pulled out his gun and started shooting at the ceiling . This made the audience jump out of their seats and were stunned into silence .

    "Everyone, please follow what that boy just said . That is if you want to live . " Some of the people near the exit of the auditorium sneakily tried to head out, yet before they could open the door, Dan immediately dashed towards the group . Before one of them had his foot outside the door, Dan was able to pull the person back . After that, a bullet passed through, putting a hole into the door . Seeing this the people who were about to escape through the exit, were scared sh*tless .

    "Just f*cking from a line already!" Dan shouted, which forced most of them to do as they were told .

 Chapter 249

    Chapter 249

    The people present be it the students, the teachers, or the guest were now scared and confused . They couldn¡¯t understand what was happening . The boy wearing the soldier costume who was acting on stage suddenly told them to form a line and follow him . Then another person suddenly took out a gun and shot at the ceiling, and as if that wasn¡¯t enough another person shouted at them while cussing . Not only that everyone saw what happened to those who tried to leave, they looked at the hole made by a bullet . These sequence of events happened so fast that most of them were still in a state of confusion .

    They couldn¡¯t understand what was going on, but they couldprehend that something bad was currently happening to them . The people in the auditorium in a state of confusion formed five lines and waited for their next instruction .

    That was when Niel went to Alex¡¯s side and whispered something to him . After hearing what Niel had to say, Alex surveyed the guest present and saw no one else that brought young children like Lilitth and Niki . Niel hearing what Alex said, nodded his head with a look of relief .

    . . .

    "Commander, we are now in front of point B-2, but we are under fire . " Number one suddenly reported .

    "How many enemies can you see?" Alex asked since he had no idea what was happening outside, he could hear the some screaming, but he wasn¡¯t too sure since there was the heavy sounds of guns firing, also seeing as most of the security cameras he installed were destroyed . Alex had no visual image of what was happening .

    "There are two snipers, and five heavily armed people within the vicinity that I could see . There could be more, but I am unable to determine it," answered number one .

    Alex ryed this information to his dad and the others . After hearing what the situation was like outside, everyone looked at Dan who nodded his head already guessing what needed to be done . He started to do some stretching as he waited for the moment he needed to move .

    "Everyone from here on out, listen to my orders if you want to survive . " Alex announced, hearing this the people present once again caused a ruckus . Why should they trust this high school student for their survival? Was he confusing himself with his character in the y, and actually thinks he¡¯s a war veteran .

    "What makes you think we would follow you? How can we be sure that following your orders will help us survive? Heck we might actually die, if we follow you, can you take responsibility for our lives if that happens?"

    Suddenly one of the audience members spoke and asked Alex something every one of the audience members were thinking about .

    Alex looked at them with a his stoic face . The way Alex looked at them caused the civilians in the audience felt like something was crawling under their skin . Alex¡¯s indifferent look actually frightened them .

    "I have no guarantee, nor do I have the willingness to take responsibility for your lives . Your lives are your own responsibility, I¡¯m just here giving you an option to choose from . If you do not like to follow my orders, then you don¡¯t need to follow the . I am not forcing you to do anything you do not wish to do . You people may do whatever you see fit . " Alex was neither a hero nor a saint, and his only priority was to protect those important to him . He just wanted to help the others given the circumstances, but if they don¡¯t want to listen then that¡¯s on them .

    When they heard what Alex said, those that chose to listen to Alex were the students and the teachers who understood him better . The outsiders who had zero knowledge about Alex, decided to do their own thing . Some of them them approached Carlo for help, since it felt like he was their best bet for survival .

    "Huh, if you want someone to help you, why don¡¯t you just follow my son?"

    "Your son?" Carlo then proceeded to point at Alex . With this new piece of information more people decided to join Alex, and listen to his orders . There were still some people that didn¡¯t want to follow Alex¡¯s orders, and felt like Carlo was also part of the people outside, and he was just trying to trick them into gaining a sense of false security, those people that thought that way decided to form a group of their own .

    Once everyone had joined a group, Alex exined to the people present that Dan would create an opening, and when Alex signals them, everyone present should run towards the old school building .

    . . .

    After everyone was aware of the n, Dan burst outside . The snipers who saw Dan moving towards them started focusing fire at Dan . Even the heavily armed men who were slowly moving forward with their machine guns started focusing their firepower on Dan .

    Yet Dan who was in a half RELEASE state easily evaded the gunfire . His speed was so great that it made it very difficult to follow him with the naked eye . Dan after dashing at full speed was able to easily subdue the two snipers . Once he was done with snipers, he shifted his focus on the five heavily armed men . After a few more seconds that was able to subdue the five heavily armed men . After doing that he signaled Alex that they were in the clear . Alex who saw Dan¡¯s signal, told the people in the auditorium to run to the old school building . Seeing the civilians running like crazy, Alex signaled number one, four, five, six, eight and nine to protect the civilians .

    The Harimas seeing Alex¡¯s signal, helped the panicking civilians to quickly enter the old school building .

    . . .

    On the other hand, the men that didn¡¯t follow Alex¡¯s instructions started running towards the school gates . When they saw the school gate so near, they felt relief . They thought that they were safer away from Alex¡¯s group . Yet the moment they stepped out of the school premise they were all gunned down . Their bodies were mercilessly turned into swiss cheese, by the focused gunfire . The others who saw that scene ran even faster into the old school building, as their fear doubled . Alex and the others provided cover fire .

    While protecting the civilians into the old school building, Alex could hear the sound of explosions and smelled the stench of blood and gunpowder in the air . It wasn¡¯t just the school that was under attack the whole city was under attack .

    ¡¯How was this possible?¡¯ Alex had no time to dwell on this question, as he needed to move .

    . . .

    Once all the civilians have safely entered the old school building, Alex and the others went back into the Auditorium . Seeing that the outsider were not present anymore, Niel finally opened Lyner¡¯s safe room . He didn¡¯t do so when all the people were present a while ago, since they would obviously try to use the safe room for themselves . Niel needed this safe room for his family .

    . . .

    After opening the safe room, Niel¡¯s parents and sister were the first to enter, followed by Michel and Lilitth . Kei, Sarah, Evangeline and Rachel also entered this safe room . Seeing her brother wasn¡¯t going in, Niki dashed towards him and held his hand .

    "Nii-nii, why aren¡¯t youing in with us?" Niel¡¯s parents also had a simr question . Lilitth was also questioning Alex and Carlo regarding this, even Rachel was protesting to her father that she didn¡¯t need to be cuddled like this, and that she could fight as well . Emily and Kyle were trying to calm Sarah down, as Kei was concentrating on calming himself down .

    "It¡¯s alright, me and my friends have another ce to hide in . Don¡¯t worry once everything dies down I wille back . " Niel assured his family that he would return . They still showed a face of worry, but knew that Niel had a n of his own .

    . . .

    Lilitth on the other hand, easily epted that Alex and Carlo weren¡¯ting with them into the safe room . The reason Lilitth wasn¡¯t worried about the two as much, was because she believed that Carlo and Alex could handle everything . Carlo hugged his daughter and his wife, and whispered something to Michel . Alex also hugged his little sister, and his new mother .

    "Tou-chan, please protect nii-sama . "

    "Of course, my little princess . " Carlo smiled at Lilitth showing a thumbs up .

    "Be careful you two, me and Lilitth will be here praying for you sess . " Michel smiled gently at the two, who nodded in response .

    . . .

    Rachel was also telling her family to be careful, and once she was done telling her goodbyes, she noticed that Alex was approaching .

    "Rachel I need to tell you something, since this might be thest-" Alex couldn¡¯t continue what he was going to say since Rachel blocked his lips with her own . Rachel¡¯s soft lips was now touching Alex¡¯s own lips . Everyone who saw this scene was stunned into silence . Carlo, Kumiko, Michel, and her three sons were holding Dan back, as he was suddenly in an enraged state . Niel looked at Evangeline and noticed that the girl was holding back her tears, but there was still the light of determination in her eyes . It was obvious to him, that this wasn¡¯t enough to stop Evangeline .

    Alex the recipient of the kiss had his eyes wide open as he looked at Rachel confused by the sudden attack . Rachel then parted from Alex and looked at him with a sweet smile . She couldn¡¯t help but giggle as well, seeing that surprise look of his .

    "No need to tell me anything now . You mustn¡¯t tell me anything because of that kind of reason . No matter what, Juste back to me once this is all over . I will listen to you then . . . Since I also have something to tell you when that the timees, so you bettere back to me you idiot . " Rachel didn¡¯t like the idea, that Alex sounded like this was their final meeting, so she gave Alex a reason toe back to her . Whatever he wanted to say, he could say it once they were out of this predicament .

 Chapter 250

    Chapter 250

    Alex was still in a daze as he was so shocked by Rachel¡¯s sudden kiss . He knew that the lips of a human was soft, but he wasn¡¯t expecting it to be that soft . Not only that the smell Rachel emitted as she kissed him was nice .

    ¡¯Did she always smell this nice?¡¯ Alex who was confused by what was happening suddenly heard his dad¡¯s voice .

    "Alex, we need to go now . " When Alex heard the urgency in his dad¡¯s voice, he looked at Rachel .

    "I wille back for you . " When Alex said this, Niel was now closing the door of the safe room . The people inside the room, looked at their rtives and friends that were not going inside . They didn¡¯t want to think about it, but it was possible that this might be thest time they could see those faces .

    The door slowly closed as Alex and the others stared at those inside the safe room, as if they were trying to memorize their faces .

    "Nii-nii, you bettere back for me!"

    "Niel we are proud to have a son such as you . "

    "Onii-sama, tou-chan please be safe . "

    "Carlo, Alex show these foolish intruders what fear is . "

    "Everyone I¡¯m sorry that I¡¯m so useless . Emi and everyone else please be careful . "

    "Alex I will always pray for your sess . "

    "Mother, brothers, and even you stupid dad give them hell . "

    As the door finally closed their voices could no longer be heard . It was then Alex finally noticed something weird . Oliver and his family were nowhere to be found .

    ¡¯I guess it¡¯s alright, I¡¯m sure Oliver knows what he needs to do . ¡¯ When Alex had convinced himself of that, he looked at the enraged Dan .

    "Alex, after we deal with this, we need to have long, long, looooong talk with each other . UNDERSTOOD?" Hearing Dan¡¯s growling voice, Alex nodded in response .

    "I understand . "

    "Okay then, now that we got all of that out of the way, we need to bring the civilians to the safe rooms that Alex had made in the school . " Carlo spoke to everyone, in which everyone nodded .

    "Wait a minute, what about back-up? The maids and butlers in the mansion won¡¯t you have them gather here? We need every hand avable . "

    "I would, if I could, but I can¡¯t . Right now the whole city is under attack . The police force doesn¡¯t have enough manpower to handle the situation, so I lent them the maids and butlers . We¡¯re on our own here . "

    "I see . " Alex face looked grim as he heard what his dad said .

    . . .

    While Alex and the others were heading towards the civilians, Oliver and his family were moving towards the football field . Phil and Marge, were already expecting this to happen at some point so they made a secret base underneath the football field in Oliver¡¯s school . They needed to get some equipment in there to help everyone .

    Oliver learning about this underground secret base, was shocked, but had no time to question his parents because of the urgency of the situation . As they were running to the football field, Oliver and those with him felt bloodlust and jumped backward .

    Out of nowhere some people fell from the sky . It was two individuals, they were wearing a simr style of clothing to what Specter was wearing before . Yet unlike Specter they didn¡¯t wear masks, so one could clearly see their faces .

    One of them looked a grizzly old veteran with lots of scars he carried two M4A1¡¯s, and on his waist and the side of his armpits, as well at his legs were different kinds of pistols . He even had a lot of knives on his belt . The other one was a brown skinhead smoking a cigar . He looked to be around his mid thirties, and he didn¡¯t seem to be carrying any visible weapon .

    The aura these two were emitting was not normal . They were obviously not normal opponents . Oliver and Specter had their guard up, seeing the two in front of them . While Phil and Marge were still showing that perpetual smile of theirs, which was so out of ce in the current situation it looked a bit frightening .

    "It¡¯s been a long time, Kris and even Joseph is with you . You two are looking very scary as always . Well anyway to what do we owe the pleasure, of this sudden reunion?" Phil was was as usual smiling even in this situation where the two supposed friends of his had so much bloodlust and it was directed at him . It was very creepy to see how unfazed he was . The grizzly old veteran, spitted in front of Phil and red at him . His fingers already ready to pull the trigger .

    "Shut the f*ck up you traitor!" The grizzly old veteran spoke in a growl . He never really liked Phil, even back when they were allies . That creepy smile of his was always unnerving .

    "Oh, don¡¯t be that way Kris . Aren¡¯t we friends?" Marge replied to Kris¡¯ biting words .

    "I¡¯m no friend to a f*cking traitor . Tsk, even you be traitor huh, Specter . " Kris looked at Specter who simply shrugged his shoulder . It was then Kris noticed the fourth person, and had his eyes wide open . Noticing the sudden change in Kris¡¯ expression Joseph looked as well, and when he saw Oliver, the cigar in his mouth fell onto the floor .

    "The sh*tting f*cking hell! That can¡¯t be . . . Is that you James? Mother f*cking b*llsh*t! That can¡¯t be, are you a clone?" Kris stared at Oliver confused . Oliver as well hearing what Kris was saying was also confused . These people in front of him, knew his parents same as Specter, and same as Specter they knew Oliver as well .

    "Hey you mad scientists! What kind of sick joke is this?! Even if you lot are traitors, there¡¯s a certain line you mustn¡¯t cross! James was our ally, he was the one who made this sh*tty job a bit more fun . HOW DARE YOU F*CKING TRAITORS DO THIS TO HIM!" Joseph suddenly shouted at Phil and Marge . Unperturbed by the killing intent and the shouting, as well as the cursing of the two, Phil still smiled as he answered them .

    "I don¡¯t know what kind of misunderstanding you¡¯re having, but the one you¡¯re looking at isn¡¯t a clone, he¡¯s the genuine article . " Phil pointed at Oliver, who was now really confused as to what was happening right now . These people kept calling him James Bourne, the character he made up and dreamed off . Not only that his parents called him the genuine article, and most of all for some reason Oliver felt that these guys were familiar to him .

    "The hell are you saying! James Bourne died five years ago! Tsk . . . Whatever I will find out the truth, after we capture you guys . " Without saying anything anymore kris started shooting at Phil and Marge . He was aiming at their vitals even though he said that he would capture them .

    The four of them then took cover in the nearby school building . As they were running into the school building, Joseph took out some gloves from his pocket and wore them . After which he flicked something using his fingers, momentster a part of the building exploded .

 Chapter 251

    Chapter 251

    As the members of the Mercenary Club were in a crisis, the adviser of the Mercenary club Lyner was currently at the border of the Souther Union and Berdonia . Lyner and Anita who were recently just married, was standing in front of the Border . On a side note during their marriage ceremony, no one was there as they got hitched, and the government only approved because of the masses wanted it to happen . The civilians were starting to get a bit aggressive, and in the end the people on top decided that having the two married had some benefits, while keeping them separated has too many demerits .

    Now the problem was getting back to Berdonia . Lyner who was going to have his honeymoon in the Southern Union had gained info that there was an attack happening in Cromer City . Not only in Cromer City was under attack, but in most of the cities within a hundred miles near the border of the Granado Empire was being attacked .

    Not only that, the current Emperor of the Granado Empire, for some reason decided today was the day to dere all out war against Berdonia! The sudden attack caught Berdonia by surprise, and had difficulty fighting back . Heck the Empire didn¡¯t even follow the internationalw of war, iming that they were in Berdonia to punish there unfaithful servants . This statement that they broadcasted internationally made Lyner very angry .

    . . .

    Lyner decided that he needed to return to Cromer city immediately, so he asked his wife Anita to stay behind . Yet of course Anita didn¡¯t want to leave Lyner and decided toe with him . Now that they were in front of the border, the soldiers of the Southern Union were blocking Lyner and Anita¡¯s path .

    The soldiers didn¡¯t want to make Anita go to the currently dangerous Berdonia . Lyner on the other hand was being told by some of the Berdonian soldiers, that he needed to head to the Capital .

    Lyner being thest line of defense of Berdonia, needed to be on standby, since making use of him right at the start wasn¡¯t a good thing . So he was ordered to head to the capital and for now function as the President¡¯s bodyguard .

    Lyner didn¡¯t like this order, his country was being attacked and he was ordered to do nothing . Why does he need to protect the president? Wasn¡¯t it better to go and protect the citizens instead? This didn¡¯t make sense to Lyner .

    "Sir Lyner, we cannot allow you to do what you want . Please understand, this is what needs to be done to win this war . " The soldiers from Berdonia begged Lyner . The battalion of soldiers, knew that they couldn¡¯t stop Lyner . They were simply here to escort him, so they wanted to plead to him not to do anything . They did this, since if Lyner decided to leave them behind there was nothing they could do .

    "Saintess Anita, I understand that you want to be with your husband, but you are the treasure of the Southern Union . We¡¯re sure even your husband Sir Lyner would want you to stay here in a safe location . Instead we will be the ones to go with Sir Lyner making sure that he will be okay . "

    The husband and wife didn¡¯t like where this was going, and the first to counter was of course the SS rank merc Lyner .

    "I don¡¯t give a sh*t what you guys think . Every second you waste my time here, is a second more that I couldn¡¯t protect the people of our country . The f*ck you telling me? Go to the capital and hide like a coward, waiting for the enemy who has already kicked the door open and is about to burn the house! You want me to abandon my students! To hell with orders! All the privileges those sh*theads at the top gave me, they can have it back and shove it up their a*ses . I¡¯ll do what I want, and if you guys really want to protect our country and its people you would follow me, instead of blocking my path!"

    When the soldiers heard what Lyner said, something within them resonated with Lyner¡¯s speech . It was true that they were soldiers, and soldiers needed to follow orders . But it was also true that soldiers were made to protect the fathend and its people . It didn¡¯t matter anymore, orders be damned! The battalion of soldiers then formed up and saluted Lyner, the leader of the group stepped forward .

    "The sixty-eight battalion will now follow your lead Sir Lyner . " Seeing this made Lyner smile a very vicious smile .

    "Now that¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about! Follow me men, and let us protect the fathend! The people and their futures! Let us head towards our deaths and achieve evesting glory!"

    "SIR YES SIR!" The thundering response of the soldiers of Berdonia echoed throughout the border . Seeing that Lyner had convinced the people on his side, Anita wanted to speed thins up on her side . Unfortunately she was having difficulty convincing the people on her side .

    "Sorry Saintess Anita, but no matter what you say, we cannot let you go . " Anita bit her lower lip until it bled .

    "So you¡¯re telling me to hide here, while my husband goes out to war!? Let me remind you that I¡¯m a more capablebatant than most of you . " Anita started to scold the soldiers with an angry look, but still the soldiers stood firm .

    "Even so, we cannot let you go . " Anita was now considering to simply use force on these soldiers, when someone suddenly got between her and the soldiers .

    "I will go in your stead Anita . " The man who suddenly appeared was none other than, the strongest person in the Souther Union, Arthur Glory .

    "Don¡¯t worry, I will keep your husband safe . "

    "But-" Anita was going to argue some more, but was stopped by Lyner .

    "Anita I understand that you want toe with me, but this isn¡¯t a fight that you should take part in . So please stay here and wait for me . I¡¯m sure with me and the old man over here, we wille back without a scratch . So please Anita, for my peace of mind stay here . " Seeing the sincerity in Lyner¡¯s eyes, Anita couldn¡¯t say otherwise .

    "Fine, go you stupid idiot! Just promise me that you¡¯lle back to me . Don¡¯t make me wait ten years again . I hope you remember that we still need to finish our honeymoon . " Anita showed Lyner a gentle smile, in which he responded with a kiss .

    "Don¡¯t worry I¡¯lle back no matter what . "

    "Sir Arthur, please take care of this idiot for me . " Anita bowed her head in front of Arthur .

    "That¡¯s such a big request to make, considering my age . Still I guess I can protect thed with these old bones of mine . " Arthur chuckled as he answered Anita .

    "Thank you Sir Arthur . " Anita giggled as well .

    "Huh? Shouldn¡¯t it be the other way around . You do know I already beat that old bag of bones . So shouldn¡¯t you ask me to protect him instead?" Lynerined to Anita .

    "Sure, if that¡¯s what you think . " Anita looked at him with a bit of pity in her eyes . Seeing her make that expression Lyner felt insulted . Arhtur on the other hand, found the young couple a bit cute .

    "Whatever! Let¡¯s just go!" With that as a signal, Lyner and the soldiers Berdonia, alongside Arthur Glory headed to Cromer City .

    Anita who saw the slowly fading back of her husband, prayed for his victory in battle .

 Chapter 252

    Chapter 252

    While Lyner and his men were heading to Cromer city . Alex and the others were steadily moving the civilians, and as Oliver and his family were fighting mercs from the Shadow Mercenaries . The group all somehow forgot about one person that suddenly disappeared, this person was none other than Sayaka Mutsu .

    She had hidden herself from view after looking at her best friend onest time as the doors to the safe room closed, her father was also close at hand . Even with a beast like Dan present, he couldn¡¯t sense the two assassins .

    The father and daughter duo had been hunting down assassins and snipers on the vicinity that were rated as extremely dangerous . After killing some of them, Sayaka noticed that the assassins had different targets . These group of assassins were divided into two groups, that Sayaka noticed .

    The first group of assassins which seem to be of an adequate level of ability were all targeting Niel, or to be more specific the whole Rayheart family . Though now that the other Rayhearts were inside Lyner¡¯s safe room, most of the assassins attention was now solely on Niel, who was out in the open . They started to get more aggressive seeing that Niel was the only one present among their targets . Sayaka was the one dealing with these assassins from the shadows . She was doing this since Alex and the other were already hard pressed in fighting the units out in the open . They had too little manpower to deal with the assassins as well .

    ¡¯An assassin to deal with an assassin . ¡¯ Thinking about this made Sayaka smile .

    . . .

    The second group of assassins were targeting Oliver, and they weren¡¯t any ordinary assassins . These assassins were the so called named assassins, and most of them had a track record of a hundred percent kill rate . These assassins each had a kill count that easily numbered in the hundreds . Seeing as Oliver and his group were already having an extremely difficult fight against the Shadow Mercenaries and it was entirely possible that Oliver might be killed by these assassins . So the one dealing with the assassins that were after Oliver was Sayaka¡¯s father, the man with no name, who has been nicknamed the Shadow .

    . . .

    Assassins point of view:

    I was sent here to deal with a boy named Oliver Minx . The target was supposedly an ordinary boy, with greatbat potential . That was all the information they gave me, and so I thought that this was going to be an easy mission . Still knowing that they hired me to kill the kid, that would mean it wasn¡¯t as easy as it might sound . Well in reality nothing is ever easy when you get to my level . All the work they give me is always the hard crap .

    Still knowing all that I couldn¡¯t help but shout in my mind, what the hell is this?! I was now running inside a school building and for some reason the whole floor was dark . I know for a fact that it was afternoon, and the sun has yet to set, but what is with this, the whole floor was covered in darkness .

    Is this the work of another assassin, trying to kill Oliver? When I infiltrated the school, I noticed an assassin or two, and even recognize some famous names . Still did someone really have an ability to do something like this?

    I then heard footsteps from behind me, and without hesitation I fired my gun at whoever it was . Yet I hit nothing but air, it was then I heard multiple sounds of footsteps, slowlying towards me . I could feel my heart racing in fear, as an assassin who has lived in the dark side of the world, I knew a thing or two about scare tactics, but this was on a whole other level altogether . It was like I was in a horror movie .

    I moved my legs and headed into a nearby ssroom, which I thought was empty . When I entered I smelled a very familiar smell . This was the smell you usually get to sniff in my line of work, this was the smell of blood . Looking around I saw inside the room was piles of flesh upon flesh . It was a pile of dead bodies!

    "What the hell is this?" I whispered to myself as I approach the mini tower made of flesh . Upon closer inspection of the bodies, I saw some familiar faces . Weren¡¯t this the other high level assassins, that infiltrated the school . What the hell happened here? Did a fight break out or something . It was at that moment when I thought that, I felt a spine tingling sensation from behind me . Every fiber of my instincts were telling me to run but for some reason I couldn¡¯t move . Was I afraid? Gritting my teeth, almost gnashing at them, I took out a knife and stabbed myself .

    I used the pain from the knife wound as something to ovee the fear . I just need to focus on the pain . After confirming that I could move again, I heard a voice echo throughout the room .

    "Pretty impressive, as expected of the ck hound of the underworld . Quick to act no hesitation in attacking, and even in such a situation where you couldn¡¯t understand what was going on, you kept your cool and acted in what you deemed was most efficient . Truly impressive, my daughter should learn from you . "

    I don¡¯t know where the voice wasing from, and I had little to no information about my opponent, while he knows everything about me . Isn¡¯t this a checkmate already?

    "Hey how about showing yourself . It¡¯s bad manners talking to someone while hiding . "

    "Hmmm, I guess you¡¯re right . " When the voice said that, a silhouette appeared before me . I wasn¡¯t sure if it was a man or a woman who stood before me . I tried to focus all my senses on him, but no matter how hard I look I wasn¡¯t sure, if the person I¡¯m seeing was really standing in front of me .

    I see so the man before me is that guy .

    "What an honor to meet the legendary assassin Shadow . "

    "Oh, you know about me?"

    "Anyone worth mentioning in the underworld knows you . The immortal Shadow, the assassin who has held the most kills throughout history . They say you existed since the beginning of Berdonia . Well anyway now that I know you¡¯re here as well, I¡¯ll resign from this assignment in killing Oliver Minx . I hope you let me go . "

    It was a long shot but I might as well try and retreat .

    "You really are a good assassin, knowing when to fight and when to retreat . Fine, I¡¯m not really under contract to kill everyone in sight, just those who wish harm upon the boy called Oliver . So sure you could go . "

    "Why, thank you . " I bowed at the silhouette of Shadow in front of me, as I tried to get something from my back pocket . Yet before I could pull out the object from my back pocket I felt a long knife stab through my chest . I coughed up blood, as I felt my body getting colder and colder .

    "Why?" I asked even though I already know the answer . Shadow¡¯s voice that was once masked by multiple noise now sounded like a middle age man whispering into my ear .

    "You really are a good assassin, masking your killing intent . Acting out like you would go and do nothing else, even though the truth was you had no intention of backing out . Still you must work on that bodynguage of yours, as well as your poker face . It was easy for me to tell you were about to do something . . . Oh right you won¡¯t be able to practice anymore seeing as you¡¯re going to die now . "

    Hearing the real voice of the man called Shadow, I chuckled .

    "Who knew the legendary assassin, was such a talkative man . "

    "Well you were a special case . I truly didn¡¯t want to kill such a talented man . Truly what a shame . "

    "What an honor to be praised by a legend such as yourself . " It was at that moment I could no longer feel strength from my body, as it slid down like a puppet whose strings had been cut . I then heard Shadow telling me something .

    "Tell death for me, tell him that the Shadow approves of you . " That was thest thing I heard when everything turned ck .

 Chapter 253

    Chapter 253: 253

    A random soldier¡¯s POV:

    I was in front of one of the ten generals . All the people in my unit has been called as well, and now that I look around me, there are a lot of different units present here . This might be a bigger deal than I initially thought . It has been a long time, since I received orders aside from the order to simply protect the Border .

    I started checking my surroundings, and noticed that the others seem to be somewhat confused . It seems like, the same as me they had no idea why they were called here . Still as Soldiers of the Empire we remained disciplined and simply stood in our positions until ordered otherwise . While I was thinking about the reason for this summons, the general spoke .

    "Soldiers of our great Empire, hear me . The time hase for us to show those pretentious ves that they are nothing more than the servants of the Empire! The time hase for us to stop sharpening our fangs, and use them to bite onto our enemies . It is my pleasure and privilege to announce that our great and powerful Emperor, has finally decided to allow us to showcase our might to the world! Let¡¯s take back what is ours, from those ves! For the fathend! For the Emperor! For the Empire¡¯s evesting glory!" The general who spoke with so much passion, made our bloods boil in excitement . A burning sensation suddenly filled our bodies .

    "HAIL THE EMPEROR!" "GLORY TO THE FATHERLAND!"

    "HAIL THE EMPEROR!" "GLORY TO THE FATHERLAND!"

    "HAIL THE EMPEROR!" "GLORY TO THE FATHERLAND!"

    I and the others couldn¡¯t help but scream . The time has finallye to make those cocky Berdonian b*stards know their ce . We can finally retake thend they took from us . Those dogs that bit their master¡¯s hand should all be killed .

    The adrenaline and the rage of excitement were now taking over me . I could feel the bloodlust of mypanions as we geared ourselves for war .

    . . .

    It has now been three days since that announcement of our invasion into Berdonia . We were waiting for the signal at the borders . It would seem that General Tang had already ced five men to infiltrate the Berdonian borders, for weeks now .

    As expected of the oldest among the ten generals, the foresight he has was incredible . While I was thinking this, I saw the signal re . We all charged into the fortress that we always thought was invincible, but today the door was wide open for us .

    The enemy wasn¡¯t prepared as we stormed in . It didn¡¯t even take that long before we took the base under our full control . From the distance, I saw the general talking to themander of this fortress .

    "What are you doing, this goes against the internationalw of war!" The general then smacked the noisy enemymander onto the ground . Seeing that felt so satisfying .

    "This isn¡¯t a war, this is us just cleaning up the trash . " After saying that, the general proceeded to shoot the enemymander .

    "There is no need for mercy! Clean up all these thrash!" Hearing the general¡¯s order we proceeded to kill all the soldiers present in this base .

    . . .

    On the fifth day of our purging of the Berdonians, most of the battalions headed to different cities near the border . Yet I and some other soldiers were called by the general . It would seem like he would be briefing us for an important mission .

    As we stood before the general, his face showed a stern expression . He scanned all the soldiers present, before speaking .

    "What I am about to tell you is a top-secret mission . This mission might be the hardest mission any of you will receive in your whole lives . The chances of sess are low, and the chance of dying is almost certain . So to those of you that wish to leave, may leave now . If you choose to stay, then you must be prepared for death . "

    Hearing what the general said none of us left the room .

    "I see, so you are true men of the Empire . Very well, this mission is a mission to capture two individuals . First priority is this boy . " The first picture the general showed us, was that of a handsome young man smiling at the camera .

    "This is Niel Rayheart, the one and only apprentice of Berdonia¡¯s monster Lyner . " The moment we all heard that name, we unconsciously shivered in fear . There was not a living soul in the Empire that didn¡¯t know of the dreadful Lyner .

    He was one of the few Berdonians that truly posed a threat to the Granado Empire . The kill count of Empire Soldiers under his belt was staggering . He was so strong, and so bloodthirsty, that Empire Soldiers created a verse about him .

    Run, run, run, cause here hees .

    Run, run, run, for the monsteres .

    A Swish of his de and your head begone

    With the shot of his gun, you¡¯re all but done .

    That verse was created to warn all new recruits to run away when they saw Lyner . It wasn¡¯t bravery or honorable to face that monster . If you die by Lyner¡¯s hands since you decided to face him, you¡¯ll be treated like a fool and a reckless youth . In the Empire fighting Lyner even in a group, was treated as a suicide .

    "The second target is this boy . " This time the general showed a picture of a boy with a stoic face . It was an eleven-year-old boy .

    "This isn¡¯t the current look of the target . This is an outdated photo, but it is the only photo our Intelligence Deptarment, has acquired over the years . Expect that this boy is around fifteen to sixteen years old . This target is the son of another strong merc of Berdonia, Carlo Samarita the messenger of Death . "

    First, it was Lyner¡¯s apprentice, now it was the son of the messenger of Death Carlo . This truly is a suicide mission .

    "Carlo and Lyner, are two of the strongest threats to the Empire . If we can capture those two who are important to them, then we can use that as leverage . This mission might sound dishonorable since we are indeed taking hostages, but still, this is for the fathend . Knowing this will you men still ept this mission?"

    The general once again gave us a way out . Yet no one took it, and we all answered with our voices full of conviction .

    "Sir Yes Sir!"

    "I expect no less from men of the Empire . " After saying that, the general proceeded to give us information regarding the targets . Between the two of the boys, it would seem that Alex Samarita will be the harder one to capture .

    There is no evidence, nor any eyewitnesses, but the intelligence division spectes that Alex Samarita is none other than the S rank merc the Silent sh . If that wasn¡¯t problematic enough based on the information given by the intelligence division, the five strongest of Berdonia is staying in that City .

    This mission is truly dangerous, but even so, if it is for the fathend, if it is an order for the Emperor then I and any soldier of the Empire will do his best to make this mission seed or die trying .

 Chapter 254

    Chapter 254

    After leaving Sarah Resti and the others in Lyner¡¯s safe room, Alex and his group went back to help the civilians . Since they didn¡¯t know how many enemies there were, or what kind of firepower they had, Alex and everyone on his team moved cautiously . Facing an unknown enemy with civilians isn¡¯t an easy feat to pull, even for them .

    While Alex¡¯s group were cautiously heading to the safe rooms, the Hunt siblings went a different direction . Emily and her brother headed to the secret room that was created specifically for Emily . It served as a sort of safe room as well . Once they got there, Emily booted up herputer, while Kyle looked for the rifle he had hidden inside the room .

    "Are you ready for this Onii-chan?" Emily who was waiting for herputer to boot up asked her brother .

    Kyle who was double checking his rifle loaded a bullet and then answered his little sister .

    "Does it matter if I¡¯m ready or not?" Kyle answered with a cool looking pose, with his rifle .

    "You could have answered with a, I¡¯m always ready, after doing something like that! Yet you went with, does it matter if I¡¯m ready or not! Why do you always ruin the mood!" Emily suddenly screamed as her otaku blood started boiling in rage .

    "Look who¡¯s talking, aren¡¯t you a mood breaker as well? Heh, isn¡¯t this, that saying with the pot calling the kettle ck . " Kyle shrugged his shoulders as he looked at his sister as if she was stupid .

    "Whatever! There¡¯s just no winning against you, is there onii-chan!"

    Even in this kind of horrible situation, where you could hear the scream of agony of numerous people, and the sound of guns firing all around, with matching explosions . Even with all that happening, the Hunt siblings remain ever light hearted . Well to them the sound of traffic, gossipingdies and giggling children was the weird scenario . To them the sound of pain, suffering, and gunshots were the norm . So at this very moment the atmosphere was were they felt the mostfortable .

    "Never mind that . . . You did give Alex the earpieces, so that we canmunicate with each other?"

    "Of course I did . Who do you think you¡¯re talking to, I¡¯m your awesome little sister that could do everything . " Emily answered as she was typing on her keyboard like she was going to break it .

    "Okay, Okay, so did you already sync up our earpieces?"

    Emily didn¡¯t respond as she continued typing even faster than before, after a few seconds she dramatically press the enter button, even though she didn¡¯t really need to do so .

    "There, I¡¯ve sync all the earpieces as you wished . Let¡¯s test it out shall we . " Emily then wore one of the earpieces, and adjusted it a bit .

    "Hello everyone this is your operator Emily, can you hear me?" Kyle who was also wearing an earpiece heard Emily¡¯s voice through it .

    "I hear you . "

    "Affirmative . "

    "Pretty impressive . "

    "You¡¯re really quick to act . "

    Emily could hear the other voices in her earpiece, and knew that all of them were working properly . She then looked at her brother with a smug look on her face .

    "See I did it properly, so you better praise me well after all this is done . . . Well then let¡¯s get this thing started . Onii-chan you better do what you need to do, I¡¯ll stay here and guide Alex . "

    "Roger that . Stay safe Emily . " Kyle nodded his head and left the room .

    . . .

    Emily who was the only one left in the room, turned on all the monitors and did a little stretching motion with her hands . She then smiled joyfully as she typed on her keyboard, and clicked her mouse like she was going to crush it .

    "Alex there are enemiesing your way from the north side . You can easily avoid them if you turn left on that corner . " Emily who was looking at numerous monitors instructed Alex what to do .

    "Roger that . " After responding to Emily, the Alex in the screen alongside the people he was with turned left on the corner like Emily instructed . She then saw the enemy closing in from the north side . They were a dozen or so people . Even though Alex and his group could easily subdue this group, Emily decided that it was better to avoid them instead, seeing as Alex had civilians with him . They might identally get shot, and if that happened it might make it harder for them to move .

    "Okay then, let¡¯s block your path shall we . " Emily then typed something on her keyboard and a shutter suddenly closed blocking the enemies path . Surprised by this, the leader of the enemy group started to look around . After checking the surroundings he finally saw the security camera and proceeded to destroy it . When one of the footage in the monitors turned ck, Emily licked her lower lip .

    "Destroying my precious equipment . Seeing as you guys won¡¯t pay for that, you¡¯re not getting out of their anymore . " Emily then closed the shutter behind the enemy group trapping them in an enclosed space, making them unable to retreat . After doing that Emily saw from another camera angle that the enemy force was trying to forcibly destroy the shutters Seeing their futile effort Emily smirked then she pressed a button on her keyboard, which released a poisonous gas in that enclosed space .

    "Then the rats die . " Emily then continued to guide Alex, making him avoid the traps she had ced, a few days ago . It was hard since the enemy forces were trying to break most of the traps by force .

    . . .

    While Emily was doing what needed to be done, Kyle was positioning himself on the rooftop of the school . In that position he could see what was happening outside the school premise . The first thing he noticed was that the enemy forces were killing everyone on sight, some would spare the children, but others won¡¯t .

    The police force with the maids and butlers from the mansion seem to be doing their best, but it was still difficult . Kyle also noticed what kind of situation they were in . Most of the enemy forces seem to be focused on this school . The whole school has been surrounded, and the enemy force was blocking the maid squad from giving reinforcements .

    Their movements weren¡¯t shabby, basically the enemy forces were well trained and the way they stood in formation, their basic shooting stance, and the equipment they were using . Kyle who was seeing this quickly figured out who was attacking them .

    He spoke in the earpiece .

    "It¡¯s the Empire, the Empire is the one attacking us . These guys that infiltrated the school are mostly Granado Empire soldiers . "

    "Those f*cking Empire scum, have they finally lost it!" Dan screamed out in irritation .

    "So they stopped following the internationalw of war . That means this isn¡¯t any ordinary war, this is going to be something else altogether . " Carlo said in a sudden realization .

    While everyone was talking about the sudden news that the Granado Empire was the one attacking, Kyle who was looking at his scope, spotted several snipers, and shot at them . After sessfully shooting the nearby snipers, Kyle took his rifle and changed positions . He was now headed for the third floor of the school .

    Once Kyle was in a good position, he started shooting at the enemies trying to enter the front gates . After that he moved to another position and started shooting some people, once doing that for a while Kyle would proceed to change his position . He did this every time, as he kept on shooting and moving .

    Though Kyle¡¯s shots were a hundred percent fatal, and everyone he shot had their heads burst, there was a weakness to Kyle¡¯s style and it was the amount of bullets he has . The amount of bullets he could bring around was limited . So once he was nearing the end of his stock of bullets, Kyle headed back to the room he left Emily in .

    Once he gets there, Kyle proceeded to once again take some bullets and goes back to continuing killing the enemies outside . Yet no matter how many he killed, others reced them immediately .

    ¡¯It would seem that the Granado Empire had sent arge force to this city . Well since the five strongest of Berdonia were located here, of course they would send such arge amount of soldiers . ¡¯

    Kyle sighed as he thought of this, and decided to keep on shooting until he has no more bullets left to shoot .

 Chapter 255

    Chapter 255

    Phil and Marge weren¡¯t really all that bad inbat, but to the standards of the people in the Shadow Mercenaries, the two wereughably weak . Still, the reason they were part of the Shadow Mercenaries, wasn¡¯t because of their physical strength, it was their intelligence . The intelligence that create numerous weapons and gadgets that could be used effectively in battle .

    So now they weren¡¯t able to do anything since they were without any weapons . The most they could do at the moment was to wait for a chance to sprint to the hidden base they made underneath the football field . On the other hand, Oliver and Specter were trying their best to fight Kris and Joseph .

    Oliver was fighting Kris, while Specter was fighting Joseph . At the moment the two parties seem to be equally matched .

    . . .

    Oliver was having trouble getting near Kris who was firing relentlessly at him, with such speed and uracy to boot . As he was running around trying to find an opening, Oliver started to pick up some rocks and threw them at Kris . Oliver threw the rocks of varied sizes, in the hopes of distracting Kris long enough so that Oliver could charge in . Yet the moment the rocks got near, Kris was able to urately shoot at them . This was a shock to Oliver, who wasn¡¯t expecting that to happen .

    He had now no idea of how to close the gap between him and Kris . In this situation, Oliver thought he could wait for Kris to run our of bullets, forcing to stop shooting and reload .

    Yet Kris who kept on firing his gun was able to reload it without needing to stop firing . Making it feel like he never runs out of bullets . It was an amazing skill to have especially for Kris who does seem to have such an incredible amount of bullets on his person . The way he never runs out of bullets make it look like he was a walking armory .

    This was the basic standard of an agent in the Shadow Mercenaries . All the mercs in the Shadow Mercenaries were one man army type people . This was also the reason why their organization was feared and was the stuff of legends .

    After shooting for a while Kris stopped firing at Oliver . He looked at Oliver with a frown on his face . Oliver was confused to see Kris stop attacking, at that very moment he wanted to charge in, but he didn¡¯t do so since it might be some sort of trap . Now that both of them stopped moving, Kris red at Oliver .

    "Hey James, why are you going easy on me?" Kris asked obviously irritated .

    "Why do you think I¡¯m going easy on you?" Oliver unsure what this was about, asked . He did this so that he could rest, as well as slowly move forward . Hearing what Oliver said just made Kris even more irritated .

    "Well like right now, if it was the past you, the moment I stopped firing you would¡¯ve shortened the distance between us and attack . Also not once did you use that sword you¡¯re carrying . If it was the you of the past, you would¡¯ve sliced some of the bullets, take a few hits, and then charge at me like a madman, not giving me a chance to distance myself from you . Yet now you¡¯re actually fighting safely, based on looks alone, your muscle mass has tripled, and your speed seems to be double of what it was . Yet you still haven¡¯t gotten near me . Based on what I have observed, I could onlye to the conclusion that you are holding back and taking it easy . "

    "I don¡¯t really know what to say to that . " Oliver shrugged his shoulders as he answered .

    "Tsk, the way you look down on others thinking you¡¯re the best hasn¡¯t changed at all . Tell me, James, why did you side with the traitors?"

    "You keep on saying they are traitors, but to me they¡¯re family . " Oliver answered a bit irritated by the constant talk of his parents being traitors .

    "What have they done to you, James? . . . Did they wipe your memory and reced it? Hell, are you really James Bourne?" Oliver who heard Kris¡¯ question felt something burning within him . He couldn¡¯t understand it but when he was asked if he was really James Bourne, Oliver felt very irritated . He felt even more irritated than when Kris called his parents traitors . He couldn¡¯t understand it but something deep within him was boiling, seething, in rage . He then unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Kris .

    "You keep on asking the same sh*t all the time am I really James Bourne?! How about youe and find out yourself, instead of barking all the time . Come I¡¯ll f*cking show you who I am . "

    Kris who suddenly felt an overwhelming, suffocating feeling of killing intent, felt his body shiver a bit . Still, instead of backing away in fear, Kris smiled .

    "Oh, finally! Are you about to get serious? This feeling, this sudden wave of killing intent . This very heavy pressure, and that cocky way of talking . You really are James aren¡¯t you . If so then-"

    Kris wasn¡¯t able to finish what he was saying, as he saw Oliver¡¯s silhouette disappear right in front of him . He then heard Oliver¡¯s voice from below .

    "Like I said you bark too much . " Oliver was about to slice Kris in two, but then Kris dropped a grenade and backed off . Oliver who saw the grenade unconsciously jumped backward as well . This created some distance between the two . Kris then proceeded to shoot at Oliver .

    Yet unlike before Oliver didn¡¯t back away and instead charged forward . At this moment his fear of getting hurt was reced with something else, as the adrenaline rushed throughout his veins . Olive with his inhuman reflexes and kic vision was able to dodge and sliced apart some of the iing bullets .

    He allowed some of the bullets that weren¡¯t aimed at his vitals to hit, as he continued to mindlessly charge forward . After a few moves, he was once again at close proximity of Kris . Seeing Oliver get so close again, Kris was about to use the same trick as before and dropped a grenade, but this time instead of backing away, Oliver stuck closely to Kris .

    Knowing he would be in a disadvantage in this distance with the M4A1s, Kris discarded them and took out two Beretta M9s . Kris entered a close rangebat stance with his guns . The reach of Oliver¡¯s sword made it good for mid-range attacks . So to surprise him Kris charged forward as well and tried to shoot Oliver in close range .

    Sensing the change in tactics, Oliver quickly kicked Kris away . When Oliver¡¯s kick hit Kris¡¯ stomach he flew backward creating some distance between them . Seeing the distancing enemy, Oliver quickly chased the flying figure of Kris, yet as he flew backward because of the kick, Kris was still able to shoot at Oliver making it hard for Oliver to dash at full speed .

    "Sh*t the hell happened to your power! That f*cking hurts, and I¡¯m wearing thetest ballistic vest created by our organization . Yet your kick hurt more than a f*cking rifle shot! Still this style of fighting, this intensity, you really are James!"

    "Like I said stop barking!" Oliver was about to charge forward again, but Kris signaled him to stop .

    "I give up, James . With your style of fighting, I won¡¯t be able to win . This is a mismatch . . . Now and before I really can¡¯t beat you . . . I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re helping the traitors, but I¡¯m sure you have a good reason for doing so . Still, James, how abouting back to HQ, to the Shadow Mercenaries . I¡¯m sure if you meet the others we can sort things out . "

    Oliver was about to answer, but someone interrupted him .

    "He can¡¯t do that since the current leader wants him dead . " The one who spoke was Phil, who suddenly appeared behind Oliver .

    "The leader wants him dead? That doesn¡¯t make sense, why would he want to do that? I don¡¯t know about you, but I know what rtionship James has with the leader, and I¡¯m sure he wouldn¡¯t want to kill James . "

    "He¡¯s his nephew . " Kris was shocked to hear Phil say that, and that shock was shown in the expression on his face .

    "If you know that, then howe you¡¯re telling me he wants James dead?"

    "James is Gabriel¡¯s son . "

    "Wait, what! Gabriel¡¯s son!" Kris knew about James being the son of Hektor¡¯s sister Patricia, but he didn¡¯t know who the father was . Yet now Phil was telling him James was Gabriel¡¯s son, this made the whole wants to kill James theory more usible . Oliver who was listening in the conversation was confused . Did his dad just say he was the son of another man?

    "So do you think the leader wants James to live?"

    "So what is it you want us to do?" Another person suddenly intruded in the conversation . It was Joseph, who tossed a beaten down Specter on the floor . The fight wasn¡¯t fair since Specter didn¡¯t have the whole force of his nanomachines .

    "Do what you want, I¡¯m just giving you some facts . I can¡¯t really stop you from doing anything . " Phil shrugged his shoulders .

    Kris started to think, now that Specter was out of the equation and he was paired with Joseph it was now possible to capture the traitors and James . Still was that the right move to do . It seems like there was something deeper at y here, and their leader was manipting them .

    Hektor might be the leader of the Shadow Mercenaries, and the members listen to him because of the rules . Still the members of the Shadow Mercenaries were people with huge egos and great strength . So the idea of not being told everything and being manipted like puppets didn¡¯t really sit well with either Kris or Joseph .

    "Fine, I¡¯m going to retreat for now and do some digging . How about you Joseph?"

    "I guess I¡¯ll do the same . "

    "Very well . If we find out that you¡¯ve been ying with us Phil, then the next time we meet, we won¡¯t try and capture you, we¡¯ll f*cking kill you . " After saying that both Kris and Joseph retreated .

    Once their figures disappeared from sight, Oliver faced his dad .

    "Hey, dad, what were you guys talking about? Please, can you tell me, do those people have something to do with the dreams I keep on having? Also, why did you say my real dad was Gabriel? Am I really James Bourne not Oliver Minx?"

    "I¡¯m sorry son, but we have no time for that now . I promise once this is all over I will exin everything to you . Also about you being James Bourne or Oliver Minx, didn¡¯t you already answer that yourself?"

    Hearing what his dad said, Oliver was stunned for a moment before he started to mumble something under his breath .

    "I am who I am . "

 Chapter 256

    Chapter 256

    While everyone was having a difficult time outside, the people in Lyner¡¯s safe room were looking around the ce . They turned on all the lights, and their first impression of the safe room was that it was like a presidential suite in a five star hotel . The ambiance of the ce made the people inside momentarily forget what was happening outside .

    After the initial shock of seeing the ce, the group inside the safe room, started to roam around . While they were walking, the group found out that they were on the second floor, and that there was staircase leading downstairs, which the group designated as the first floor . On this first floor of the safe room which seem to be underground, were a lot of food and water . It looked like an underground convenience store . Also while they were looking around the first floor, they also found that there were six rooms, and each one of them had a bunk bed, table and chairs .

    The second floor where they were before, was like the living room . It had a huge QLED TV, some gaming consoles, a library of games, sofas, a table, chairs, and a library of books . The whole ce, was cold because of the AC . It was surprising to see how big the safe room was, when looking at it from the outside . Not only that this safe room was morefortable than some of their very own rooms .

    . . .

    After everyone was done exploring the safe room, the oldest of the group which was Niel¡¯s father spoke .

    "Hello everyone, I¡¯m Noel Rayheart the father of Niel, and Niki Rayheart . Seeing as we are all in the same situation, I hope we can get along and share some of the information we have, if there is any regarding our situation . "

    As expected of Niel¡¯s father the moment he talked he caught everyone¡¯s attention, and that smile of his that invited confidence was the same as Niel¡¯s . Not only that when he stood beside his wife and daughter, made the aura of the family shine even brighter . The others nodded their heads in agreement in what he said .

    "Very well, first let¡¯s introduce ourselves . I¡¯ll go first, I¡¯m Michel Samarita, the mother of Alex, and this is my little girl Lilitth . " When Michel included Lilitth in her introduction, the little girl pouted .

    "Kaa-chan, why did you introduce me too . I wanted to be the one to introduce myself . " Seeing the upset look of Lilitth, Michel started to panic a bit . She was simply going with the flow, she didn¡¯t expect her cute little daughter will be upset because of that .

    "I¡¯m sorry, how about we ignore what I said before, and you introduce yourself . Okay, we¡¯ll treat it like nothing happened . " Hearing her panicking mother, Lilitth nodded her head .

    "Hello everyone my name is Lilitth Samarita . It¡¯s a pleasure to meet all of you . " Seeing how Lilitth acted surprised Evangeline who knew about Lilitth¡¯s origin . No matter how you look at her now, she seemed like any other little girl . Very different from that girl that tried to kill Alex .

    "I¡¯m next, hello everyone I¡¯m Niki Rayheart, a friend of Lilitth, and the little sister of Niel . " After introducing herself Niki did a curtsy and smiled .

    After Niki¡¯s introduction the other people started to introduce themselves . The mood in the safe room was now a bit lighter than it was initially .

    "So does any one of you know who¡¯s attacking us and why?" Noel asked the people present, which made them look at each other . Seeing the nk look in everyone¡¯s faces coupled with the silence made it clear that no one knew who were attacking them .

    After that Noel continued to ask a bunch more questions, but only a few of them were answered . Since none understood what was happening, the grown-ups decided to adhere to a wait and see policy . So for now they just needed to conserve the food to the best that they could . If no onees after their food and water run out, the group decided that situation left them no choice but to leave the safe room, and see what happened to the others .

    . . .

    As the others were talking with each other, Evangeline pulled Rachel to the first floor . The two then proceeded to go to one of the empty rooms .

    "What is it Eva?" Rachel looked at Evangeline confused as to why she suddenly took her in this empty room .

    "Rachel I have something I want to tell you . " Evangeline looked at Rachel with an intense look . Her face was one that had a look of determination .

    "What do you want to tell me Eva?" Rachel asked this time, in a more serious tone . She has never seen Evangeline with that kind of look before . Whatever Evangeline wanted to say must be something of extreme importance .

    "Before we get to that, I need to get this out of the way . Rachel Regius, the first time I met you, I didn¡¯t like you not one bit . "

    Rachel hearing what Evangeline said wasn¡¯t really a surprise since it was obvious from the start that Evangeline never liked her . So she didn¡¯t say anything and continued to listen to Evangeline .

    "To me you were an obstacle, a crook that took away the person I admire the most and yearn for . When I saw you, I thought it wasn¡¯t fair . I liked Alex for two years, and then the moment we met again, the moment I thought I would have a story book ending, you were there beside him . Not only that, it would seem that Alex was solely focused on you and no one else, just you . . . In my mind I always thought it was unfair, howe it was you and not me! Howe you who just met him has all his attention, while I who has been nursing my feelings for him not even get a nce . You had everything I wanted, without even trying! You know how that made me feel? It made me feel insignificant . "

    Evangeline voiced out all the feeling she had at this very moment . Her tone was that of pain, and at the same time anger and eptance . There was a multitude of feelings she was showing Rachel at the moment . Her very soul was made bare to Rachel .

    "I see . . . is that what you wanted to say to me?" Rachel took Evangeline¡¯s feelings in a calm manner . She did feel sorry for Evangeline, but that didn¡¯t mean she would give her what she wants . As they say all is fair in love and war .

    "No, that¡¯s not even half of what I wanted to say . Still, I guess we do have more time in this ce to talk about those kind of things . . . So I¡¯ll tell you more about what I feelter, I just want to add that even though I hated you at the beginning, I now consider you a good friend, and a worthy rival in love . So this is what I wanted to say, Rachel Regius, I Evangeline Kain will not be giving up on making Alex love me!"

    Evangeline pointed at Rachel with a smile on her face . Hearing what Evangeline said, shocked Rachel for a bit, but then she answered with a smile as well .

    "Very well, I don¡¯t really mind the challenge, but you do know that you¡¯re in a disadvantage against me . Have you forgotten I already marked Alex . " Rachel then tapped on her lips . Seeing her do that made Evangeline a bit angry, since she knew what she meant by marking him .

    "That was an unfair move and you know it! . . . But it doesn¡¯t matter . . . The next time I meet Alex, I¡¯m going to give him my mark as well . " Evangeline mumbled to herself, while touching her lips . Rachel who had pretty good hearing, heard Evangeline¡¯s mumbles .

    "Well that is if you can even get Alex¡¯s attention . " Rachel shrugged her shoulders, showing a confident face that victory was all but assured to her .

    "I sure will . After all I have a secret weapon that you don¡¯t have . " This time Evangeline folded her arms and brought her breast into full view emphasizing them . The two girls looked at each other and startedughing .

    "Let¡¯s have a fair match Eva . " Rachel extended her right hand to Evangeline .

    "Sure, let¡¯s do our best for that man we both fell in love with . " Evangeline shook Rachel¡¯s hands, and the two started giggling at a joke that only the two of them understood .

 Chapter 257

    Chapter 257

    Matthew had left the school premise before the start of the y, since he wanted to buy a quick snack . Once he was done buying what he wanted, he immediately headed back, but it was at that moment something surprising happened .

    When he got back he saw that the school was surrounded by heavily armed men . They even made a blockade as the police and people wearing maid and butler uniforms were trying to break through . It wasn¡¯t just the school, it would seem that the whole city was under attack .

    Matthew couldn¡¯t understand what the hell was happening . He just bought some snacks and this sh*t suddenly happens .

    Matthew headed to the top floor of a nearby building to check out the situation . When he got on the roof of the building, he looked around and saw dozens of smoke rising from the ground . He could see numerous building on fire, he could also hear the sounds of heavy artillery being fired . The smell of blood was heavy and the sound of civilians dying could also be heard .

    Everywhere he looked he saw that the police, the maids and butlers were trying their best to help the civilians yet were having difficulty controlling the situation . Matthew then started to wonder, how long it would take for the Berdonian armed force to arrive . Seeing as the situation was so dire, once the Berdonian armed forces arrive, it might be toote .

    He also noticed that the enemy forces were using heavy artillery on random ces, but they never hit the school or any ce near it .

    ¡¯Then why were the majority of their forces seem to be focusing on the school . What was the n here, what do they want?¡¯

    ¡¯Based on their extremely efficient movements, these guys are highly trained, and well equipped obviously they were not terrorists, so that would mean a military force from another nation . Of course the Southern Union won¡¯t start attacking Berdonia, especially now that Lyner and Saintess Anita, are a married couple . So that only leaves the Granado Empire . Only those b*stards are capable of attacking Berdonia in this manner . ¡¯

    ¡¯Have they finally gone insane? They did this knowing full well this is a breach of the internationalw of war . This would make them an enemy to both Berdonia and the Southern Union . Could the Empire really think that they could handle both our nations at the same time? Where does their confidence stem from? Do they have some sort of secret weapon?¡¯

    As Matthew was thinking about this, he heard a sudden explosioning from one of the nearby buildings . Seeing the destruction happening in the city Matthew clenched his fist . Even though he wasn¡¯t Berdonian, he was still someone who stayed in this city . Also he liked the Berdonians and he finds it quitefortable here in the city .

    ¡¯Tsk, fine first I need to do is to take out the enemies heavy artillery . ¡¯ After confirming what he needed to do next, Matthew headed to the area where the heavy artillery was located .

    . . .

    Once he got to the area where the heavy artillery was, he saw numerous soldiers guarding it . Not only that he saw the dead bodies of both civilians and police officers scattered about . He couldn¡¯t simply use force on these people . It was obvious he would be overwhelmed with their superior numbers . Matthew needed to do this stealthily .

    There were two guards guarding the entrance of the makeshift base . He needed to move them far enough so that he could do something about them without anyone noticing . That was when Matthew saw an empty cardboard box .

    . . .

    The two soldiers guarding the entrance suddenly saw a cardboard box suddenly appear before them, and then it moved . It was obvious that someone was in the cardboard box, but was he crazy heading to an enemy base? They ran after the cardboard box and started shooting at it . One of their bullets finally hit the erratic moving box, and the soldiers slowly approached it .

    One of the soldiers kicked the box open and saw that they hit a cat, it¡¯s leg was bleeding badly .

    "Sorry about that . " The two guards then heard someone behind them, one of them had their head snapped . The other was about to shoot, but Matthew was able to pierce his throat using his bare hands .

    After confirming the deaths of the two soldiers, Matthew proceeded to bandage up the cat he used as a distraction .

    "Sorry about that little buddy . Don¡¯t worry once I¡¯m done here, I¡¯ll feed you a great meal . " When he was done bandaging the injured cat, Matthew set it aside . He then heard the radio from one of the dead soldiers beeping .

    "Private where are you? Why are not in position? Private respond!" After asking the dead private to answer a few more times, the voice stopped . Matthew knew that this ce will soon be swarmed by soldiers . He took the gun of one of the dead soldiers, as well as ammo . After which Matthew stealthily headed back to the base .

    He saw that a dozen soldiersing out from the base, heading towards the bodies of the dead soldiers . Once they were out of sight, Matthew sneaked in from the front entrance, seeing as no one has yet to rece the two guards .

    While going around the enemy base, Matthew was able to stealthily kill everyone he saw . It was after his sixth kill did the enemy forces started to actively look for him . They were truly well trained soldiers, but that wasn¡¯t enough to hinder Matthew . As long as he didn¡¯t fight them head on, and just took them down by two¡¯s or three¡¯s then he could easily decimate this base, and destroy the three Haubits FH77 artillery .

    Still it would be more efficient to simply destroy the three Haubits FH77, since they¡¯re still using them to kill the civilians . Matthew who had picked up a few bombs in the base, decided to head straight to the Haubits FH77s .

    Of course once he got to the ce where the Haubits FH77s were located he saw numerous soldiers guarding them, and as if pulled by destiny, Matthew saw that they were about to fire another round . Having no more time, Matthew decided to switch to a more direct approach .

    "Hey you f*cking Empire dogs, die for me!" Matthew started to shoot at the soldiers as he dashed towards the Haubits FH77s . Once he got near enough, he proceeded to nt the bombs under heavy fire . He got hit here and there, but none were lethal . Once Matthew was done nting the bombs, he quickly retreated .

    He went into his pseudo RELEASE state and started running, a few secondster he could hear the sounds of explosionsing from the enemy base .

    . . .

    Matthew then returned to the ce where he left the cat . He picked up the cat from there, and hid himself in one of the abandoned buildings . While he was treating his injuries Matthew started thinking .

    ¡¯What should I do now? Should I head back to the school or should I go and help out the civilians? I guess Alex and James could handle whatever situation they¡¯re in . They even have the blonde devil, and the messenger of Death on there side, so I¡¯m sure they¡¯re alright . ¡¯

 Chapter 258

    Chapter 258

    Once Kris and Joesph retreated Phil and Marge headed to the switch hidden on the football field . The ground started to shake, and after a few seconds, the ground opened up showing a staircase and a steel door .

    Oliver who was carrying the injured Specter was surprised to see something like this underneath the school¡¯s football field .

    ¡¯When did they have time to build this thing!? They even did it without anyone noticing . I¡¯m sure Emily told me that Alex had ced surveince cameras all over the school ever since he came here . That would mean Dad and Mom did this before I attended this school, or they somehow changed the footage in Alex¡¯s surveince cameras . Well either way, this is way too much . ¡¯

    Oliver already knew that his parents could be considered something like mad scientists . Still this structure was a surprise to him .

    . . .

    Phil and Marge headed straight to the steel door, and were about to use their ess cards that they created . Yet the moment they looked at the steel door, they noticed that someone had tampered with the system ced on the door .

    This meant that someone was already inside waiting for them . Still they had no choice but to go in, there were too many important equipment in this secret base . The two headed inside, and Oliver who was carrying Specter followed .

    . . .

    Phil who was ahead of the group saw that the lights of theb were turned on, and he could hear the sound of someone tapping on the table . Phil and the others looked at each other and took out their weapons . Even though both Phil and Marge were scientist, but their skill in battle was not something to brush off . Even if you were not part of the field agents in the Shadow Mercenaries, there was still a minimum strength requirement to join . The strength of a person that wants to join must be at least near the upper limits of an A rank merc .

    So both Phil and Marge were at that level, even if skill wise they were the weakest in the organization, but in the outside they were part of the higher echelons . So with Oliver by their side they thought they could handle whoever it was that broke in . Yet the moment they saw the face of the man that was waiting for them, the perpetual smile Phil and Marge had disappeared for a second .

    The man in front of them was the most dangerous person they could meet at this point . He was also the person they wanted to avoid at all cost, but as usual fate was really unpredictable .

    There in front of them was a man of medium build, that look a bit simr to Oliver and was wearing a ck suit with matching ck gloves . This man was the uncle of James Bourne, Hektor .

    Seeing the group of people he was waiting for, Hektor smiled at them . He then looked at Oliver and that smile of his got even wider .

    "Oh, if it isn¡¯t the new leader of the Shadow Mercenaries, to what do we owe the pleasure?" Phil initiated a conversation with his usual smiling face .

    "Do I really need a reason toe and see my one and only nephew?" Hektor looked at Oliver and spoke to him . "It¡¯s been a long time James . Look how much you¡¯ve grown, as expected of my nephew . "

    Hektor was about to approach the utterly confused Oliver, but Phil and Marge blocked his path . Seeing this made Hektor frown .

    "What do you two think you¡¯re doing? It would seem that you two think, I gone soft or something . Daring to block my path, even though I didn¡¯t kill you immediately since you took care of my nephew so well over the years . I¡¯ll give you a chance, apologize now, and move out of the way . "

    It was at that moment everyone present could feel a suffocating pressure envelope them . Even Specter who was unconscious was jolted awake by the pressure . Phil and Marge knew that they won¡¯t be able to stop one move from Hektor . This was the guy who was the top of the Shadow Mercenaries, a ce where the strong gather to reach their ideals . The only one who was stronger than this guy in the organization would be the man behind the curtain .

    Still even knowing this, Phil and Marge didn¡¯t back down . They knew that the moment Hektor reaches Oliver, would spell his death .

    "He doesn¡¯t remember anything anymore . He no longer remembers who James Bourne is, and is now Oliver Minx . "

    Hearing what Phil said, made Hektor stood in ce stunned by the sudden revtion . Using that brief moment of confusion, Marge was about to press a button, but before she could do so was suddenly stabbed by Hektor using his bare hands like a knife .

    This move created a hole in Marge¡¯s stomach . Oliver who saw this wanted to move in rage, yet Phil signaled him to stop, while Specter tried to hold him down .

    "Do you really think, I won¡¯t notice . I¡¯ve known you fools for a long time, obviously I know the tricks you like to use . So Phil your wife is about to die, how about you say your final goodbye . "

    Hektor was about to pull out his hands from Marge¡¯s belly but was stopped as Marge held his hands as tightly as possible . Phil also dashed forward and restrained the surprised Hektor and injected something simr to a tranquilizer . This was something that could even stop a raging bull, but it was only able to restrain Hektor for a bit .

    "No need to say a final goodbye since we¡¯ll all be together . " Phil who was restraining Hektor looked at Oliver who was about ready to charge and help .

    "STOP!" Hearing the serious look of his dad that usually had a smile on his face, Oliver stood in ce .

    "Oliver, I know I promise to tell you the truth, but it would seem that¡¯s not going to be possible now . Raphael over there would do that in my stead . "

    "What are you saying dad!? Sh*t, we got to help mom now, this is no time for your jokes!" Oliver was about to move forward again, but he felt something stab onto his neck . Specter had just used the same tranquilizer that was used on Hektor . He found it at a nearby table .

    Oliver couldn¡¯t move his body as he fell down looking at Phil and Marge, who were smiling at him .

    "Thanks Raphael," Specter simply nodded his head in response as he tried to pick up Oliver .

    "Oliver thank you for being a spectacr son . . . I love you . "

    Marge who was bleeding badly, also said something as she kept that gentle smile on her face . "Oliver honey, remember that no matter what, you can only be you . I love you my wonderful son . "

    Oliver was trying his hardest to move, as he cried . He didn¡¯t like what his parents were telling him, since it felt like a goodbye . Oliver wanted to respond as well, he wanted to say I love you too, but his whole body was numb and even his mouth was unable to move, yet Phil and Marge understood even without him saying anything .

    "It¡¯s alright son, we know . . . Raphael there is a switch on the right side of that wall, that will open up an escape route . Please bring Oliver with you, the drug we injected Hektor with, is losing its effect . "

    Hearing what Phil said, the weakened Specter knew what to do . Even in this situation where Hektor couldn¡¯t move an inch was extremely dangerous . Even if Specter and Oliver try to kill Hektor in this situation, they might not be able to do it, heck the adrenaline Hektor would get in a near death situation might make him ovee the drug instantly . There were too many unsure elements when facing someone like Hektor .

    So Specter took Oliver and headed to the escape route Phil was talking about . He saw the switch, which opened up a hole on the floor, making Specter and Oliver fall in .

    Phil seeing Oliver fall into the escape hatch, then took out a button . "Marge it has been a fun life hasn¡¯t it . "

    "Of course it has been fun, since I¡¯ve been with you . "

    "Thank you for everything Marge . "

    ¡¯Gabriel, Patricia, I have a great story to tell you . Our son James has be a fine man . ¡¯ With thatst thought, Phil then pressed the button, and the secret base exploded .

 Chapter 259

    Chapter 259

    Oliver who was being carried by Specter, still couldn¡¯t move an inch, as the two were now in an underground path . While Specter was walking with Oliver on his back, the two of them felt a sudden tremor . Specter could also hear the sound of explosions from up above . With that he could guess what had happened .

    Oliver heard the explosions too, and could guess what had happened as well . Still he denied it, he denied it with all his heart . No matter what his mind says, it must be false . He wouldn¡¯t, he couldn¡¯t ept what was happening .

    Specter knew that it was possible that even with that kind of explosion, Hektor will still be alive, that¡¯s just how powerful he was . Also that suit he was wearing wasn¡¯t just an ordinary suit, it was the strongest shield of the Shadow Mercenaries, only the leader gets to wear it . Of course during the fight for the position, Gabriel wasn¡¯t wearing it .

    Still Specter had no time to think about these things . He needed to get as far away as possible . If Hektor was somehow able to recover quickly and chase them, then it would be over . There was only a one percent chance of that happening . Still as long as it¡¯s not zero percent Specter didn¡¯t want to risk it .

    He was already injured and Oliver was quite heavy so the progress of their escape was slow . Still Specter kept on going, even as he felt the pain of his injuries burning his body . He kept on going, he kept on walking forward .

    Specter wasn¡¯t going to allow his friend to die a second time . He would protect him, even if his friend didn¡¯t want him to . Since Oliver was the only friend he ever had, that made his ce in Specter¡¯s heart irreceable . Not only that, he told Phil he would do it . Even though he never liked that guy, Specter was still filled with respect for him and Marge . Until the end they stayed true to their friends wishes, and protected Oliver .

    . . .

    After a few more minutes, Specter was finally reaching his limit, but he still needed to move forward . He clenched his teeth and continued to walk . As his wounds started to hurt even more, the weight suddenly lightened .

    Oliver could finally move, and he looked at Specter with a look of mixed emotions . There was anger, despair, as well as gratitude mixed in .

    "Why?" Oliver softly whispered as he looked at the wounded Specter .

    "There was nothing more we could have done . " The moment Specter said this, Oliver couldn¡¯t contain himself anymore and punched the wounded Specter . Due to the drug that was injected into him, Oliver¡¯s punch wasn¡¯t as powerful as it usually was, but it was still enough to blow away the wounded Specter .

    "What! Nothing we could have done!? Are you f*cking with me?! There was a lot of things we could have done! But you f*cking drugged me! You made me unable to even say I love you to my parents! We could have beaten that guy, who was unable to move, and my parents were holding him down . We could¡¯ve done a sh*tload of things!"

    The pain, the sorrow in Oliver¡¯s voice had so much weight in it . Specter stood up and wobbled a little as he stared at the enraged Oliver . He might sound angry and menacing, but Specter couldn¡¯t really take him that seriously, since he could only see a little boy crying for his parents .

    Oliver was crying so much, his manly face was actually tearing up and snot wasing out of his nose . It was a weird look to have for someone as big and muscr as Oliver .

    "Tell me! Why did you leave them there!" Oliver screamed at Specter, who looked at Oliver as if he was looking at a whinny baby .

    "Heh, do you think I wouldn¡¯t help those two beat Hektor if we could? Don¡¯t be stupid, didn¡¯t you hear what your parents said they wanted you to escape! They knew from the start we wouldn¡¯t be able to take down Hektor! So stop f*cking whining and telling me that we could have done something, when you don¡¯t even know and understand how strong the opponent was!"

    Hearing what Specter said Oliver knew he was right, but he still couldn¡¯t ept it . What kind of child would ept such a thing!

    "Tell me who was that . . . Tell me the truth about me . . . Tell me everything . " Oliver¡¯s voice went down an octave as he asked this . Hearing him speak like this made Specter tremble in fear . He didn¡¯t really want to talk about this while they were escaping, since Hektor might suddenly appear . Still hearing Oliver sound this serious, and that look he was giving him made it seem like he had no choice in the matter .

    Specter tried to check his jacket to see if he had a cigarette, but unfortunately he didn¡¯t find one . They must¡¯ve fallen off when he was fighting Joseph . Specter could only sigh at how unlucky he was . Specter then started to exin, who Oliver truly was . Who his father was, who he was before his memories were erased . Who Phil and Marge truly were, and who Hektor truly was .

    Oliver who was listening silently, was grinding his teeth, as he heard more of Specter¡¯s exnation . The main thing he understood about the whole story was that Hektor his b*stard of an uncle, has killed his biological father, and even . . . Oliver shook his head as he tried to not think about that .

    "Then I truly am James Bourne . . . Specter . . . No, Raphael, do you know how to unlock my memories . Can you tell me how to regain my old memories?"

    "How about we retreat first, then talk about this . Staying here isn¡¯t really safe, and I¡¯m not sure when Hektor wille for us . "

    "Fine let¡¯s get out of here first, and head back to my house . " Specter nodded in agreement . The two then started running towards the exit . As they were running, Oliver couldn¡¯t help but look back and thought .

    ¡¯Hektor I will kill you!¡¯

 Chapter 260

    Chapter 260

    Ken was about ready to head to Oliver¡¯s supposed y after doing his regr practice swings . Once he was done he was about ready to go, but then he sensed numerous presences approaching him . They were quite a few of them, and it was obvious that they were here for Ken, since he was the only one living on this mountain .

    Ken took out his favorite de, and sighed . ¡¯What do they want from an old man such as myself? The way things are going, I¡¯m going to bete . ¡¯ After a few seconds of waiting, Ken saw who his unexpected visitors were . These people were wearing the old uniform of the Empire, and were heavily armed .

    ¡¯Ah, I see . . . ¡¯ It was pretty obvious who these people were . Ken could had a few guesses why they came to him .

    Once the group of soldiers reached Ken¡¯s home, the leader of the group of soldiers stepped forward .

    "Sir Ken, it has been a while . " Ken looked at the youngd before him, did he know this boy? As he stared long and hard at the Empire Soldier, he finally remembered who he was .

    "Oh! If it isn¡¯t little Billy, what are you doing here?" Ken was happy to see the boy who told him that he would create a sword style much stronger than his . It has been several years, and the boy was now a man .

    "I¡¯ve been well Sir Ken . It seems like you¡¯ve improved greatly Sir Ken . "

    "Oh, just a little bit, so what brings you here? You even brought some soldiers with you . " Ken was eyeing the soldiers that were hidden behind the trees .

    "I¡¯m here to ask for you help to show the ves of the Empire their ce . " As if it was timed, the moment Billy said this Ken could hear the sounds of explosion from the distance . Numerous rising smoke could be seen in the direction of the popted area of the city .

    "I see, so you guys have finally gone mad . . . " Ken drew his sword, and took a stance .

    "What are you doing Sir Ken? Do you n to go against your own country? Aren¡¯t you a man of the Empire?" Billy sounded like he was really confused by Ken¡¯s actions .

    "I¡¯m a human being, before I am a man of the Empire, and the Empire has thrown what it means to be human, and became wild dogs that bite on everything . " Ken said this with a stern expression .

    "I see, so Ken Seto has be an enemy of the Empire, how unfortunate . . . Kill him!" Billy signaled his men to start shooting at Ken . Yet the moment he gave the signal for the attack, Ken suddenly disappeared from his sight .

    Billy then sensed danger, and was about to block whatever wasing, but then his body slid diagonally to the right . He was sliced in half, and before his consciousness faded into nothingness he heard Ken¡¯s disappointed voice .

    "Here I thought you would have created a wonderful sword, but it turns out it was wicked . "

    . . .

    Seeing theirmander die, didn¡¯t stop the Empire Soldiers from attacking Ken . They didn¡¯t stop since Empire Soldiers were expected to fight until their bodies break . So even if theirmander died, they just need to follow thest order given . Ken was already aware of this mentality of Empire Soldiers, so he used the trees as cover, while dashing towards a nearby soldier . Once he got near enough Ken would proceed to slice the soldier in half, one sh one kill .

    Yet even seeing theirrades being cut in half, as if their bodies were nothing but butter, didn¡¯t deter the soldiers . They just kept on attacking Ken . Even for the sword master, this was a difficult battle . Even though he was stronger than this unit of soldiers by a lot, still in the end Ken was only human . He was getting tired as he kept on running and dodging enemy fire .

    Yet even in this state he kept on hacking at them . As he continued to hack and sh at the enemty soldiers, Ken was improving his swordsmanship . The more stamina he lost, the more he focused on attacking more efficiently to conserve his stamina .

    After a short while Ken noticed something horrible . He was actually beginning to use the same sword style as his eternal rival Ryu . When he noticed this, Ken couldn¡¯t help butugh at himself . So in this situation he actually used the same sword as his rival .

    ¡¯In the end was he right? No, the sword isn¡¯t just for killing it has other purposes as well . It is a form of life an art . I guess his way and my way can both be right . . . ¡¯

    When Ken thought of that he felt like he was about to gain some sort of enlightenment, but because of the disruption of the soldiers, he couldn¡¯t quite grasp it yet .

    . . .

    It took Ken more than an hour to clean up the soldiers that invaded his mountain home . Right now there was only one soldier left alive . Thest remaining Soldier was being pinned down by Ken .

    "I only have one reason why I kept you alive . I want you to deliver a message to yourpatriots . Tell them that if they step foot on my mountain they better be prepared to die . "

    After saying this Ken released the soldier and watched him retreat .

    ¡¯Now I better get ready for the iing visitors . ¡¯ It was pretty obvious that this kind of threat wasn¡¯t enough to stop the crazy soldiers of the Empire .

    ¡¯Will this be my grave? Well I guess it¡¯s alright . Setsuna, Oliver, and Sayaka, I have already passed on most of my techniques to them, so it doesn¡¯t matter if I die, my swordsmanship will live on . . . I guess my only regret is that not once have I won against Ryu . "

    Ken shook his head, to stop thinking such thoughts . Thinking of dying wasn¡¯t like him . He just needs to survive, so that he could have another match with Ryu .

 Chapter 261

    Chapter 261

    Alex and his group were steadily heading to the safe rooms when he heard Number two¡¯s voice in the earpiece .

    "Commander, number seven is dead . " Even though he was trained to always sound indifferent, number two still couldn¡¯t help but choke a little . This person was arade he was with ever since he worked for the Harimas . Even Alex had a moment of silence before he answered .

    "I see . . . Number two and three head to point C-" Before Alex could finish what he was saying, he heard the sounds of numerous explosions happening . This was from the fight between Specter and Joseph .

    "Emily report, what¡¯s happening!" Alex shouted at his earpiece .

    "I don¡¯t know the cameras in the area where the explosions are happening have been destroyed . All I know is the explosions are happening near the area of the safe rooms . Tsk, it doesn¡¯t seem like you can head to the safe rooms anymore . Alex how about you bring them to the tunnel you made, the one you made just in case you needed to escape . " Emily who was doing multiple task, gave her suggestion to Alex .

    Alex was surprised to hear what Emily said . Even his dad wasn¡¯t aware of the tunnels he had made just in case he needed to retreat from school . Still, he didn¡¯t really want to bring the civilians to the tunnel, since once they got outside then what . Also the tunnels were unstable, since just made it haphazardly . He never imagined that this kind of attack could happen in this city . It was an oversight on his part . In the end it was much safer in the safe rooms, but it does seem it won¡¯t be possible to head there now .

    "Fine, we will move to the tunnels instead, guide us Emily . "

    "Roger that . "

    "Also number two and three, head to point D-3 . "

    . . .

    The group slowly moved inside the school building, and every time Emily warned them of an approaching enemy force, the group would quickly subdue them . The school wasn¡¯t that big, but it still took them quite some time to reach their destination . On the way, the group met number two and number three .

    They now stood in front of the storage room . The teachers and students present were confused, as to what they were doing here . Could it be that Alex thinks of hiding in the storage room? Without saying anything else, Alex headed in the storage room, he then tapped on the wall of the storage room and it opened .

    The wall had a hidden staircase leading down to the secret escape route Alex secretly made .

    "Instructor Dan please take point . Kumiko, Joseph, Rnd, and Gabby please follow after him . " Hearing Alex actually giving him something close to amand, made Dan frown, but he knew the situation was dire even for him . So with a dissatisfied expression, Dan headed down first followed by his family .

    "Okay then, next are all the civilians, followed by Niel, then me then my dad, while my subordinates will take the rear . " Hearing what Alex said, the civilians headed downstairs, while Alex and the others guarded the door of the storage room .

    . . .

    "Alex, what do you think is happening?" While they were waiting, Niel who was silent for some time finally spoke .

    "I¡¯m not sure as well, but the uniform these people are wearinge from the old uniform of the Empire, back when it was at its peak of power . So I¡¯m assuming these people are from the Granado Empire . "

    Niel was shocked to hear Alex¡¯s assumption . He already knew that Berdonia and the Granado Empire, didn¡¯t really have friendly rtions, and were in fact enemies, but he could never imagine that they would initiate this kind of attack . Not only that, this attack of the Empire was going against the internationalw of war .

    Niel was about to say something but was interrupted by Emily suddenly shouting in their earpieces .

    "Alex! Big troubleing your way!"

    "What is it?" Alex calmly responded at the screaming Emily .

    "My brother has no more bullets left, we can¡¯t defend from this position anymore . The enemy forces areing in! It¡¯s a wave of soldiers!"

    Niel hearing what Emily said, actually felt nervous for a moment . Alex, on the other hand, remained ever calm and sighed .

    "Emily, you and Instructor Kyle, should retreat from your position . Are you able to do that?"

    "Who do you think you¡¯re talking to Alex . Like you I made an escape route just in case . We¡¯ll be meeting you outside . "

    "Fine, once you see a chance head to safe house 11 . I¡¯m sure you know where that is . "

    "Roger that . . . I¡¯m going on radio silence . . . Good luck Alex, Niel, may we meet again . " Emily¡¯s tone sounded serious on thatst line, which surprised Alex and Niel .

    "You too, Emily . " Alex answered with a solemn voice .

    "All of us will meet again, I know we will . " Niel answered with a smile on his face . Even without seeing their faces, Emily could guess what kind of expression the two had .

    "See you guys, Emily out!"

    . . .

    After talking to Emily, Alex forced the civilians to move faster . Hearing the urgency in his voice, the people knew that something must have happened . Once everyone was in, Alex and the others followed from behind .

    "Instructor Dan is everything clear on the front?" Alex contacted Dan, who responded still a bit irritated that Alex was the one giving orders not Carlo .

    "Yeah, everything¡¯s fine here . "

    "Copy that . "

    . . .

    The group continued walking in a rather fast pace, but then a huge explosion was heard above ground . The ground started shaking, and some of the people started to panic . Alex who built this tunnel didn¡¯t really build it to handle this excessive shaking like an earthquake . He made it in a hurry, so it wasn¡¯t actually stable to say the least .

    He was hoping that everything would be alright, but unfortunately, things never seem to go right when you need them to . The rear which was closer to the unknown explosion made the tunnel very unstable . Seeing the roof above him was going to fall, Alex evaded by running forward .

    After sessfully evading the falling roof, the tremor from the explosion stopped . Alex then saw Niel was trying to calm himself down . It was at that moment, Alex noticed that his dad and his subordinates were nowhere to be seen .

    He looked back and saw a huge pile of rocks . Alex mind went nk when he saw this, and he started screaming at the earpiece .

    "Dad! Are you alright!?"

    "I¡¯m alright . " Hearing the voice of his dad, Alex sighed in relief .

    "Number one, two, three, four, six, eight, nine, are you still alive?"

    "Sir yes, sir!" His subordinates answering in unison, which could be heard from the other side of the wall of rocks .

    "Instructor Dan, is everyone alright in your front?"

    "No problems here . "

    After hearing that everyone was fine, Alex looked at the wall of rocks . It was not possible to forcefully remove them, or destroy them since that might cause a bigger problem, like making the whole tunnel even more unstable .

    "Alex continue on without me . " While Alex was thinking of a way on how to move the obstruction he heard his dad in the earpiece . He was about to answer but was interrupted by Dan¡¯s sudden shout .

    "What the hell are you saying, Carlo! Are you telling us to leave you here, where enemies are swarming all around?!" Dan sounded extremely angry as he said this .

    "Yes Dan, that¡¯s what I¡¯m saying . I leave my son in your care for now . " Carlo answered Dan in the same way he used to answer him, back when he was still the leader of their squad .

    "Tsk, sh*t! You know I can¡¯t really say no when you talk to me like that . Fine, Roger that, but you better give me some good wine for babysitting the punk . "

    "Sure, thanks, Dan . " Dan didn¡¯t respond anymore, and the line turned silent . After a short while, Alex finally spoke to Carlo

    "Dad, I can¡¯t . "

    "Hmm?" Carlo waited for his son to say something more than I can¡¯t .

    "I can¡¯t just leave you here! I¡¯m breaking down this wall of rocks!" Alex sounded so desperate at this moment . It was so unlike him to act this way . Dan who was listening in was so surprised that Alex could sound like this . Even Niel who was beside him was surprised to the point that he thought he was hallucinating .

    "I see . . . So you finally stopped sealing them in . . . Alex . . . You and I know that you can¡¯t do, what you¡¯re nning to do . " Carlo spoke calmly to his panicking son .

    "But Dad! There must be another way! There is always a way! Isn¡¯t that what you taught me . " Alex gritted his teeth and spoke in a loud voice . Even he was surprised by how he was acting . He was already aware that releasing his sealed emotions and memories would result in this pain, but he wasn¡¯t expecting to receive it so fast .

    This was one of the reasons why he thought emotions only get in the way of bing stronger . This pain, this distracting thoughts, this emotional struggle, were everything that he once discarded long ago, to be stronger . Yet here he was experiencing the pain, he never wanted to experience . He would rather have a thousand bullets in his body, than receive this kind of pain .

    "Alex, let me ask you do you trust me?" Carlo could somehow feel his son¡¯s internal struggle . He never seen Alex like this, but he was aware that at some point this would happen . The emotions he locked away, was always there, and would someday be released .

    "Of course I do!" Alex responded without hesitation . Of course he trusted Carlo, if he couldn¡¯t trust Carlo, then who else can he trust?

    "Then trust me that I¡¯ll be able to escape this situation . I even have the subordinates you¡¯ve trained . "

    "Sir leave your father to us, we will protect him with all our might!" Number one butted into the conversation, and tried his best to ease Alex¡¯s pain .

    "You hear that son? Trust in me and the subordinates that you have trained . I wouldn¡¯t be this confident if I was by myself, but with your subordinates, there is a chance . Also have you forgotten to who you¡¯re speaking to? I am Carlo Samarita, the messenger of Death . "

    Hearing what Carlo said, Alex couldn¡¯t say anything in response to that . His mind was telling him there was nothing he could do, but his heart, his emotions were telling him otherwise .

    ¡¯Was unsealing my feelings really the right choice?¡¯ Alex shook his head, as he tried to focus on what was happening now .

    "I will trust you, dad . Number one, two, three, four, six, eight, nine, I leave my dad in your care . "

    "Sir yes, sir!" His subordinates answered with a louder voice than usual .

    "Alex, before I go into radio silence there is something I want to say . " Carlo was now speaking in a more serious tone .

    "What is it?"

    "Alexander Samarita! This is the final mission I will assign to you . This will be my final order as yourmanding officer . "

    "Da-" Alex was going to say something since he didn¡¯t like where this conversation was going, but he was stopped by Carlo¡¯smanding voice .

    "ALEXANDER! You¡¯remanding officer is speaking!" This made Alex unconsciously shut up, as he continued to listen to his dad . Alex wasn¡¯t aware that at this moment he was already crying . Niel who was beside him, never expected to see Alex this weak . He didn¡¯t know what to do, all he could do was witness this moment .

    "This is your final mission Alexander Samarita . . . You need to live a fun and happy life . . . Also, this isn¡¯t amand but a request, from a father to his son . Please protect our family, especially the unborn baby in your mother¡¯s womb . "

    Alex was about to say something when Carlo went into radio silence .

    "DAD! DAD! DAD! DAD! DAD! DAD! DAD! DAD! DAD!" Alex kept on screaming, but no one responded .

 Chapter 262

    Chapter 262

    Alex unable to hear his dad¡¯s voice was in state of shock . It was then a single thought pass through his mind, what the hell was he doing? He already agreed to believe in his dad and his subordinates, but his mind was affected by his emotions . The feeling that he had when he talking to his dad, made if seem like it was the final goodbye . This feeling he had was so strong, it actually irritated him . Giving him that final mission made it feel even more ominous .

    Still he shouldn¡¯t be acting this way in this situation . He should concentrate at what was happening right now, not in what could happen . Alex inhaled and exhaled, as he slowly calmed himself down . This was a breathing technique Kyle taught him to calm his nerves . He has never needed to use it except for now . It was good thing he tried to learn every technique he could .

    ¡¯Tsk, I already expected that the bacsh of all the emotions I sealed back then suddenlying out would be unpredictable, but I wasn¡¯t expecting this . Illogical, and abrupt that¡¯s what emotions are . If I could, I didn¡¯t want them back, especially right now in this situation . Still there was something good that came out of this . "

    Alex suddenly remembered the kiss Rachel gave him, and couldn¡¯t help but blush .

    ¡¯Damn this is no time to be thinking about those kinds of things . ¡¯

    . . .

    As Alex was deep in thought, while trying to control his rampaging emotions, Niel who was right beside him was amused . The ever stoic Alex was now showing different kinds of emotions . It was so random and out of nowhere that it surprised Niel . Still these ever changing expressions finally stopped as Alex returned to his stoic look .

    It was at the moment when Alex looked like he finally calmed down, Dan suddenly spoke through the earpiece .

    "Kid, have you finally calmed down?"

    "Affirmative . " Alex answered in his usual indifferent tone .

    "I see . . . Don¡¯t let it get to you kid, you know your dad is one tough son*vab*tch . Even with his current disability, he could still make a toon or two run away from fear . He is after all Carlo Samarita the messenger of Death . "

    Alex hearing Dan sound a bit kinder than usual, felt like he was trying to console him . This made Alex chuckle for a bit . The usual overprotective dad, that wanted to literally kill him was now actually trying to console him .

    "Hey you b*stard, did you justugh?! Did you actuallyugh at me?!" Dan suddenly roared at the earpiece . At this moment, he was actually blushing a bit . The blonde Devil known throughout the three super powers as a crazy man who fought tanks with nothing but his bare fists was actually feeling embarrassed .

    "Of course not Instructor Dan . I would neverugh at a superior officer . " Alex answered in his usual indifferent tone, even though he was currently smiling . At this very moment, in this very second the group felt like there was nothing wrong .

    "If you¡¯re alright now, then you better get going . We already dyed too much, because of you . "

    "I¡¯m sorry about that, Instructor . I will continue the mission, and bring the civilians to safety . "

    . . .

    Alex and Niel finally started moving again, since they hadgged behind, the two were currently running forward . While they were running, Niel was looking at Alex a bit weirdly . Of course Alex noticed this .

    "Do you want to say something Niel?" Alex without looking back asked .

    "It¡¯s nothing, I¡¯m just surprised that you could actually show emotions . I always thought you only had one look which was being stoic . "

    "What do you think I am, a robot? Of course I feel things as well, it¡¯s just harder for me than most to show those feelings . "

    "I see . . . " Niel then went quiet and the two of them silently ran side by side . After a short while Alex suddenly spoke as they continued running .

    "Hey, Niel . . . "

    "Hmmm?"

    "Aren¡¯t you going to ask me?"

    "Ask you what?"

    "I¡¯m sure you noticed how weird my family is . I¡¯m pretty sure you also noticed the term messenger of Death, Instructor Dan spoke off . Someone as smart as you, should have some suspicions already . . . So aren¡¯t you going to ask about it?"

    Niel who was now running a bit behind Alex couldn¡¯t see his expression at the moment, answered him .

    "I have a guess or two, but of course I¡¯m not going to bother you about it . You and I are friends, I trust you, and I¡¯m sure you have your reasons for not telling . So I¡¯ll just wait until you feel like you can tell me and everyone else about it . "

    Alex didn¡¯t answer immediately, but after a short pause he spoke .

    "Thanks Niel . "

    "No problem . " Niel smiled seeing his junior act like this .

    . . .

    After a little bit of running the two finally reached the civilians . Once they got back with the group, Alex started to think about what to do next .

    ¡¯So mom¡¯s pregnant . . . I guess dad will finally have a child that¡¯s really his . . . Damn it! What is this feeling? Happiness and Jealousy are mixing together, to form this weird bittersweet feeling . Why the hell are emotions soplicated!?¡¯

    Alex who was once again getting a bit too excited controlled himself .

    ¡¯Let¡¯s not think about that for now, first I need to figure out what to do after cing the civilians in the safe house . In the first ce, why did the Granado Empire suddenly attacked? Also they did it against the internationalw of war, that would mean they don¡¯t care if they became the enemy of all the nearby countries . What is it that makes them so confident?¡¯

    ¡¯I won¡¯t get an answer no matter how much I think about it . Even if I kidnap an Empire soldier, those guys will never break, and will never sell out their country . So let¡¯s not think about the reason for the attack . After I bring the civilians to the safe house, I need to rescue the people we left in Lyner¡¯s safe room . Based on the information Niel gave me, their supplies will onlyst them about two weeks . So I need to save them before two weeks is over . . . ¡¯

    ¡¯Getting out wasn¡¯t a problem, since I made an escape route, but getting back in, might prove a problem the longer I dy rescuing them . Based on the Granado Empire¡¯s military power, and the passive ways of our current president, Berdonia might abandon Cromer city, after trying to evacuate the remaining citizens in the city . ¡¯

    ¡¯I could try to force myself in, if I had Instructor Dan by my side, then it is possible, but the enemy forces might box us in . . . Knowing mom is pregnant, I can¡¯t really allow her to fight . This would have been easier if Sir Lyner was here . ¡¯

    Alex suddenly paused his thoughts, and then suddenly screamed in his mind .

    ¡¯What the hell am I doing!? Was I trying to rely on someone else, one that wasn¡¯t even here? Tsk, I¡¯m not thinking straight right now . . . I¡¯ll just formte a n when I get to the safe house . ¡¯

    In the back of Alex¡¯s mind he remembered the final mission given to him by his dad . He promised in his heart, that no matter what happens he would definitely aplish that final mission of his .

 Chapter 263

    Chapter 263

    Once Emily and Kyle sessfully escaped the school, the first thing Emily tried to do was blow up the school and all the soldiers in it . She had unconsciously moved her hands and was trying to make the ce explode . This was something Emily usually did when a base of hers waspromised .

    When Kyle saw this habitual move of Emily¡¯s he immediately held her hand .

    "Emi!" Hearing her brother call her name, Emily finally realized what she was about to do . She quickly closed herptop, and sighed . That was an extremely close call . Even if Lyner¡¯s safe room was extremely sturdy there was a chance that it might get broken if she blew up the entire school . She ced those bombs under the assumption that everyone would have evacuated .

    "Thanks Onii-chan, my body just moved on its own . It¡¯s a good thing you were here with me . If I was alone, I might¡¯ve done something irreversible . " Emily sighed as she felt relieved while feeling a bit jittery .

    "I understand, when you get used to doing something frequently, you just do it unconsciously . It¡¯s the same thing, as when I¡¯m reloading, I unconsciously know when I¡¯m out of bullets, and get to a reload position even if I have one bullet left . " Kyle shrugged his shoulders as he said this .

    "Yeah, Yeah, you¡¯re so cool Onii-chan . Enough of the bragging already . " Emily started shaking her head as she said this .

    "Who¡¯s bragging?" Kyle asked genuinely confused as to why his sister was saying he was bragging .

    The two siblings, were doing this skit of theirs right in front of some Granado Empire soldiers . These soldiers were confused as to where this two popped out from . Not only did they ignored them, who were pointing their guns at the two, but the two siblings even started having a random conversation, right in front of them .

    The Empire soldiers were confused at first, and didn¡¯t shoot immediately, but after the initial shock they were now ready to shoot the siblings, but before they could pull their triggers, something electrocuted them . That level of electrocution wasn¡¯t something that could kill them, but it was enough to stun them .

    This was a trap Emily set up when she made her escape route . Of course she needed to secure the exit area of her escape route, so she ced some traps there just in case .

    While the Empire soldiers were stunned, Kyle had his bow ready . Since he ran out of bullets a while ago, he needed to resort to using his bow and arrows . Kyle was able to shoot five arrows at a time, and all of them were aimed at the enemies skulls . Kyle¡¯s arrows were specially made for him, and they were able to easily prate the skulls of his enemies .

    Emily and Kyle had efficiently killed the enemy forces, and then continued to bicker .

    . . .

    After a short back and forth between the siblings, Kyle looked around and then asked .

    "So what do we do now?"

    "Alex, said his group was heading to safe house 11 . That¡¯s located at the city limits . I guess Alex is nning to make the civilians retreat after stocking up . Do we head there or do something else, what do you think Onii-chan?" Emily looked at her brother, asking for his opinion .

    "Alex is already with Carlo and Dan, I¡¯m sure the three of them could handle whateveres their way . "

    "Then what do you want to do Onii-chan?"

    "Obviously I want to rescue Sarah, but under this circumstances, that won¡¯t be possible . Now if my whole squad the one Carlo created was here, then we could easily rescue them . It¡¯s also possible if Lyner the monster was here, he could easily do that . Yet my squad isn¡¯t here and I heard some of the members went missing, and of course Lyner isn¡¯t here either since he¡¯s in the Southern Union at the moment . "

    "I wasn¡¯t asking you to exin all of that Onii-chan . What I want to know is what we should do right now . " Emily said this while massaging her forehead .

    Hearing his little sister¡¯s question, Kyle started thinking . It was like he said, Alex and his team won¡¯t be needing them . It was also impossible to rescue Sarah and the others at the moment . So what should they do in the mean time? What could they do at this very moment?

    "Hey Emily, can you check how many bases the enemy forces made within the city . Also can you find out who the enemymander is, and where he¡¯s located . "

    "I can totally find out where the temporary bases of the enemy are located and see how many there are . As for who themander is, that would be a bit more difficult, and finding his location is even more difficult . He might not even be present in the city . "

    As Emily was saying this, she started typing on herptop . After a few seconds Emily gave the answer to the first question .

    "There are eleven temporary bases within the city, six of which have heavy artillery . It seems that one of the bases have already been destroyed by someone . Also a huge amount of soldiers seem to be converging in a nearby mountain and are dying, I think Ken Seto lives there . Hmm, as for your question about who themander is, and where he¡¯s located, I don¡¯t know . "

    Kyle hearing the information Emily has given him, was a bit confused . Wasn¡¯t Ken Seto a man of the Empire then why are soldiers attacking him, and why is he killing them all?

    ¡¯Well it doesn¡¯t matter, as long as he¡¯s siding with Berdonia from here on out, the I see no problem with him . Still I wanted to learn the enemymander¡¯s location, so I could have assassinated him . One arrow to the head and the soldiers would be forced to retreat for the meantime . ¡¯

    "Emi, how about we just go destroy some things and kill some enemies . What do you say?" Kyle who couldn¡¯t think of what to do next, just decided to simply do whatever . Emily who heard her brother¡¯s question was at first surprised, but then she showed a very cute smile .

    "That sounds like fun . Let¡¯s do it!" Emily happily agreed, in which Kyle nodded while smiling at his little sister . The two Hunt siblings, didn¡¯t understand that their current conversation was abnormal . This simply proves that they no longer able to go back to being normal, and something in them had broken down when they entered the battlefield all those years ago .

    . . .

    Random Soldier¡¯s POV:

    I don¡¯t understand what was happening, I and myrades were just looking for any survivors we might have missed, but then out of nowhere three arrows fell from the sky and pierced the heads of myrades . I and my otherrades were lucky enough to be able to hide inside a nearby building, after the first attack .

    One of myrades who had a sniper rifle with him, tried to look around using his scope, but the moment his head was raised was the moment an arrow pierced his head . Seeing this we were shocked beyond belief, and tried to call for back-up . As long as we don¡¯t look up, we should be able to evade the archer¡¯s sight .

    Feeling reassured, another arrow came in and closely behind it was another arrow . It wasn¡¯t aimed at anybody in particr, and we all thought it was a warning shot from the archer, but as this thought came to mind something incredible happened .

    The second arrow that was fast approaching the first arrow hit it, which made the first arrow change its trajectory and finally it ended in the head of another one of myrades .

    It was already an amazing feat to be able to hit your own arrow, but he made it change trajectory to hit another one of myrades . Even while we were hiding from his sight, he was still able to urately hit us . Did he had some kind of all seeing eye?!

    In fright I and myrades started to scatter about inside the building .

    . . . .

    Emily who had hacked into the security cameras of the building the soldiers fled to, told her brother the exact locations of the people inside . Using this information, Kyle was able to urately hit his targets .

    The two siblings were now started their hunt of the Empire Soldiers inside the concrete jungle .

 Chapter 264

    Chapter 264: 264

    It was already night time as Carlo and Alex¡¯s subordinates were moving slowly towards the school exit . The enemy soldiers would try and box them in, but since Carlo and Alex¡¯s subordinates knew theyout of the school better, they were able to somehow outmaneuver the enemy soldiers .

    Of course Carlo was aware that heading to the exit of the school was just asking to be surrounded . So instead he made the enemy soldiers think he and his group were heading towards the front exit . Yet in reality they were actually heading towards the back of the school .

    After a few more enemy encounters, Carlo and his group were finally able to leave the school grounds . Now that they escaped the school, the next thing they needed to do was converge with Alex¡¯s group .

    It was night time, so it was easier for Carlo and his group to silently move around . Still it was a lot harder than anticipated to move around . The number of Empire soldiers seem to grow as more time passes by .

    Even Carlo found it difficult to get passed them . It would have been better if the group was fully equipped but at the moment, Carlo and his group were almost out of ammunition . They couldn¡¯t afford to confront the soldiers in their current situation . Not only did they not have enough ammunition, but once their group gets spotted then the enemy would hound them until they die .

    . . .

    The group continued to use the empty houses to hide . They spent the majority of the night in different houses while trying to move forward .

    ¡¯I wonder did Alex and the others make it? . . . What am I thinking, of course they made it . Still who knew that Alex would react like that . The pain in his voice actually shocked me . I never expected to hear Alex speak like that . It was like I was talking to a different person . I see, so this was the drawback in the n . I never anticipated the Empire to attack while Alex was trying to adjust himself from the influx of emotions . Now that this is happening, will his emotions be what leads him to his downfall? . . . ¡¯

    Carlo shook his head as he thought of this .

    ¡¯No that can¡¯t be, even if in this state Alex will not fall . Even if his emotions at the moment distracts him, it will at some point be his strength . It would make him strive forward even harder than before . Surely once he epts his emotions, that will be the catalyst for him to surpass his limits . . . Well that¡¯s what I believe . ¡¯

    Carlo closed his eyes and sighed, it was at this moment the sound of gunfire could be heard . Carlo was surprised, the enemy soldiers had found them, but how? He then noticed that one of Alex¡¯s subordinates had identally turned on one of the lights . Even though the light was turned on, in but a second they were still spotted .

    Calro had no time to get angry by such a rookie mistake . They needed to escape, but at this point without much ammunition left, and the enemy aware of their position, made it really difficult to escape .

    While Carlo was thinking about what to do, number one spoke to him .

    "Sir, I have a request to make . Please escape with the remaining men, I will attract the enemy forces in this position, while you and the others escape in the back . "

    "What are you saying?! Are you telling me to leave you behind?!" Carlo didn¡¯t like the idea that he needed to sacrifice one of Alex¡¯s subordinates for this .

    "A good merc gives as much as he¡¯s paid, and I have been paid by themander, enough for my whole lifetime . "

    While the two of them were talking the gunfire outside the house had intensified . The Empire Soldiers could see the movements of the people inside through the windows, and they heard some voices as well .

    Alex¡¯s subordinates even fired back when they saw a chance . Seeing this the Empire Soldiers using their overwhelming firepower to continue shooting at the house .

    Carlo disregarding the sound of theing enemies, and was now looking eye to eye with number one . What he said was right, a merc must work as much as he is paid . Carlo knew what number one was saying was the only way to get out of here with fewer casualties .

    "Everyone give number one, all your ammunition and the three remaining grenades . " The others hearing Carlo¡¯s order, did as they were told . As each one of them handed their ammunition to number one they also gave him a salute . They knew that this was thest time they would be able to see this fierce leader of theirs .

    "Number two, you¡¯re in charge now . Take care of themander for me . "

    "Sure . . . Number one, I¡¯ll see you in Valha . "

    "Yes until we meet again in Valha . "

    "Everyone move out!" Carlo shouted his orders . as the group were slowly exiting the house, Carlo looked at number one for onest time and gave him a salute as well . In which number one responded by showing a smile .

    . . .

    As his team was exiting the house, number one started to throw a grenade at the enemy soldiers . After using two grenades in the beginning, number one then switched to the use of his gun . Number one had limited ammo so shooting continuously like this obviously made him lose all of his ammo quickly . As he was shooting, number one also got hit numerous times . Though this was enough to have killed a normal person, number one kept on going, by sheer will alone .

    Without any ammo left, number one held onto hisst grenade . He could no longer throw it since his body had no more power left . As he heard the enemy forces nearing the house, number one suddenly thought of hismanding officer Alex .

    "Commander, have I finally be a true merc?" When number one heard the enemy soldiers nearing the door of house, he smiled as he used all his strength to pull the pin of his hand grenade .

    ¡¯I will kill as much as I can . ¡¯

    The enemy forces seeing number one sitting down smiling at them, they started shooting at him . It was then the grenade in number one¡¯s hand exploded killing the enemies within its range .

 Chapter 265

    Chapter 265

    Alex and his group had easily reached safe house 11, seeing as the escape route Alex had made was actually directly heading there . It took the group three hours of continuous walking to reach the end of the tunnel .

    The moment they surfaced from the tunnel . What greeted them was a warehouse filled to brim with weapons . It turned out that the exit of the tunnel led to the weapon storage area of the safe house . This was made so that Alex could quickly get a weapon if someone was chasing him through the tunnels .

    . . .

    Once everyone had surface Alex proceeded to show the people with him around the safe house . He showed them where the food storage was located, where the rooms were, where the bathrooms were, and all the other things . He showed them how to operate the numerous defensive systems in the safe house . Out of all of Alex¡¯s safe houses this one was the most secure, and the biggest . With the supplies inside this safe house, it could feed all the civilians for the whole month .

    The reason he was teaching this civilians theyout of his safe house was because Alex was nning to immediately head back and save the others in Lyner¡¯s safe room . With that in mind Alex started to gear up, for the operation .

    "Where do you think you¡¯re going?" Dan suddenly entered the weapons storage room .

    "I¡¯m going back to save Rachel and the others . " Alex answered with his usual indifference as he continued gearing up .

    "Without me? You do remember I¡¯m the one who has the key? What¡¯s happening to you Alex, you¡¯re not one to make this kind of mistake . " Niel also appeared behind Dan . Alex hearing Niel¡¯s question didn¡¯t answer instead he showed the key he took .

    "Huh, how? When did you get that?" Seeing the key in Alex¡¯s possession, Niel checked if he still had the key, but it was nowhere to be found in his person .

    "I took it from you, the moment we exited the tunnels . You might be growing stronger really fast, but you still aren¡¯t in my level yet . "

    "It doesn¡¯t matter brat, this kid and I will being with you . " Dan told Alex while pointing at Niel .

    "It would be better if only I try and save them . A bigger group will attract more attention, and Instructor Dan isn¡¯t really the stealthy kind . As for you Niel, you aren¡¯t good enough yet, to join me for this kind of mission . " Alex with his usual indifferent tone of voice exined his reasoning of not wanting to bring the two on this venture .

    "The f*ck I don¡¯t care about that! I can¡¯t allow you to go alone as you save my family . If they aren¡¯t save by this two hands of mine, then my anxiety won¡¯t disappear . " Dan angrily replied while smashing his two fist together, which resulted in a booming sound .

    "He is right Alex, please allow us to apany you . I also want to be there, tofort my family . " Alex who had finally unsealed most of his emotions, could now understand what the two were going through . If it was before Alex would always pick the most efficient route to achieve his goals, but now he couldn¡¯t just do that .

    ¡¯Still, it would be good to be bring Instructor Dan with me, just in case we need to mow down arge amount of enemy soldiers . As for Niel, he could serve as the scout . ¡¯

    Alex started to assess the situation and tried to convince himself that it would be alright to bring the two .

    "What are you thinking about you brat! It doesn¡¯t matter what you think, I¡¯m going no matter what you say . How can I hand my daughter to a wishy-washy person such as you . . . What the hell am I thinking! I will never hand over my daughter to anyone! That reminds me you actually kissed my daughter you b*stard!"

    Dan who was speaking about different things randomly, suddenly concluded in remembering that Alex and Rachel kissed . Upon remembering this, Dan attacked Alex who nimbly evaded .

    "First off, Instructor Dan, It¡¯s not your ce to decide who your daughter dates . Second you talk as if she¡¯s an object to keep, she¡¯s a living breathing person, she can decided what to do by herself . Lastly I didn¡¯t kiss her, it was the other way around . "

    Alex started exining his side while dodging Dan¡¯s attacks . It was at that moment, Alex and the others suddenly felt their bodies shiver . Dan finally stopped attacking and looked at the other two with him . Both Alex and Niel were exhibiting the same reaction of trembling .

    When the three of them felt this, Niel took some weapons before the three of them headed out . When they passed by the civilians, all of them were huddled into one corner hugging each other . They didn¡¯t understand what was happening, but they felt true terror at this very moment .

    They felt fear that surpassed the fear of death itself . It was a weird scene to see as they each triedforted each other, but were unable to convince themselves that it would be alright .

    . . .

    Alex, Niel, and Dan got out of the safe house, and there on the street under a street light stood an old man with grey hair and a wrinkly face . He wore a uniform simr to the people from the Shadow Mercenaries, but his was more grand in overall look . He was also wearing a coat that seem to be hiding multiple weapons .

    Alex and the others knew that this overwhelming pressure that creates fear came from the old man . This pressure was on a simr level as when Lyner gets serious . The old man looked at the three that came out of the safe house . His eyes thennded upon Alex who he thoroughly appraised .

    Alex who felt something was wrong, calmed himself and tried to analyze every movement the old man made . Niel who wasn¡¯t as trained as the two beside him, unconsciously pointed his gun at the old man .

    Seeing Niel pull out his gun, the old man silently walked forward . Step by step the old man walked towards Niel . Alex and Dan who saw this wanted to move, they knew that they needed to move, but instead they just kept on looking at the old man silentlying near them .

    Dan went into FULL RELEASE, the muscles in his body be leaner, and his overall look bes younger, still even in this state he couldn¡¯t recklessly move . He instinctively knew that the enemy before him was even more dangerous than a tank .

    The old man finally arrived in front of Niel and took hold of Niel¡¯s gun . After which he dismantled the gun, which he had done in a blink of an eye . Once he was done doing that he started to look at Niel from head to toe .

    "Very nice, has a lot of potential . His physique and stance tells me he just recently found a good teacher, and has started training forbat just a few months ago . His overall potential is astonishing, a very good piece . The boy is currently not in a state that would be able to be of any use in an actual battle, but after a few more years, or maybe a few months he will be battle effective . Overall assessment twenty-nine out of a hundred, but if you included his future potential, I guess it would be a ny-two out of a hundred . "

    After saying his evaluation of Niel, the old man moved onto Dan . He checked Dan from head to toe as well . Dan who was now face to face with the old man wanted to punch him, but for some reason his body was unresponsive . He was like a mouse being stared down by a lion .

    "Pretty old now, around his mid forties . . . This one¡¯s overall strength has surpassed the meaning of what it means to be human . He is even using a strange technique that makes use of his muscles in a hundred percent efficiency . Based on the structure of his hands, this man hasn¡¯t been able to hold a gun, or any sort of weapon, he treats his body as the weapon itself, which limits his overall fighting power . This man is more beast than human . Overall assessment sixty-eight out of a hundred, he would have been a ny if he knew how to use weapons . "

    Once he gave his assessment of Dan the old man moved onto the final person . Staring at Alex for a good long while, he thoroughly checked Alex¡¯s body more so than the other two .

    "A body forge like steel, your stance is the same as the mid forties man . Yet unlike the man before, you could use more than one weapon . . . Thousands of techniques and knowledge seem be crammed into your body . . . The cool look you are giving me as you assess the situation, waiting for your chance to bite my neck is very good indeed . You have grown very nicely my boy . You look exactly like me when I was younger . "

    Alex was confused as to what the old man was saying, it was like he knew him from way before .

    "Who are you?" Alex who was silent all this time, felt the pressure lighten so he was able to ask that question .

    "Oh, have you forgotten who I am? Have you decided to wipe me out of your memory? Well I guess for a young one such as yourself I understand why you did so . Very well I will once again introduce myself to you . I am Richter Greyhound, the grandfather of Dalvir Greyhound who is now known as Alexander Samarita . In short I am your grandfather . "

 Chapter 266

    Chapter 266

    When Alex heard the old man call himself his grandfather, a memory of the past triggered in Alex¡¯s mind . The face of the unknown person that killed his parents, that face that use to be so blurry, got clearer in his mind, and the killer he had forgotten was the man in front of him . He could finally remember what happened on that day .

    . . .

    Eight years ago, in Alex¡¯s fake memories his childhood was happy and normal, one you could see anywhere in the world, but the truth was of course different . Alex who was known at the time as Dalvir Greyhound was part of a family that ruled over the legendary Shadow Mercenaries . In truth they were the true Shadow Mercenaries, while the current Shadow Mercenaries were simply a facade . The Greyhound family simply gathered people who they considered usable and trained them, to be adequate servants . The Shadow Mercenaries was in truth what their family was called when the Granado Empire was beginning to expand its borders .

    They weren¡¯t part of the Empire or any existing nation at the time, but they rendered their services to the highest bidder . Following their example, a lot of other people decided to that as well . In a world where fighting and killing was normal, they thought how about gaining money as they offer their skills . That was when the mercenary system was created . The people took the name Mercenaries from the legendary family called the Shadow Mercenaries .

    . . .

    Alex at a young age was groomed to be the next leader of the Greyhound family that controlled the Shadow Mercenaries . He was trained not to show any emotions, even though deep inside he wanted to y outside and be like every other kid out there . He wanted friends, he wanted to go to school normally, and he didn¡¯t like training, since it hurts so much .

    Everyday he would get battered and bruised . He would almost always cry in front of his father, yet his father was unperturbed and kept on training him .

    The only reason that he was able to endure such training was because of his mother . After practice his mother would always help him sneak out and y . It was the mother and child¡¯s little secret and it always made Alex happy . Of course Alex¡¯s father Richard Greyhound already knew about these secret outings of the two . Yet he allowed it, since he too didn¡¯t really like doing this to his own son .

    . . .

    There was a time Alex dreaded more than training, and it was a visit from his grandfather . Every time his grandfather visited he would beat Alex up . He did this to see Alex¡¯s improvements, but every time he did so he would always leave disappointed .

    . . .

    Then one day his grandfather came to the house and did the usual spar, but this time something different happen . Alex¡¯s grandfather Richter, didn¡¯t stop even though he already won . It was obvious to his parents that Richter was nning to kill Alex .

    Of course the two blocked the old man¡¯s path .

    "Father why are you doing this?" Alex¡¯s father screamed at the old man .

    "This thing is a failure . You were already mediocre, but you still had uses to make the next generation so I allowed you to live, but this thing isn¡¯t worthy to be a Greyhound, so he must die . I hope you and your wife will create a better offspring next time . "

    Alex¡¯s mother who was hugging Alex trembled in fear . Everyone in the Greyhound family knew that Richter Greyhound was the strongest monster that the family has ever produced . He was even stronger than the first Greyhound, who was told in fairy tales .

    Alex¡¯s mother and father knew they were no match, but still they protected their child . Richter unable to control himself identally killed his son and daughter-inw . Old man Richter looked at his blood soaked hands, and as if it was just a minor problem sighed . He was only able to hit Alex with one shot and wasn¡¯t able to hit any vitals . The two protected their son until the end .

    Richter then looked at his useless grandson, and saw that his expression changed . It turned into something emotionless, there was neither rage nor sorrow in those eyes, there was only nothingness . Seeing this Richter couldn¡¯t help but smile .

    "I see! . . . So that¡¯s what needed to happen to prove your true worth as a Greyhound! A Greyhound needs to throw its young down the mountain and whoever climbs back up will be worthy . "

    Richter then approached Alex, and whispered in his ear .

    "Dalvir I¡¯m sure you understand now, your parents died because you were weak . You need to be strong for this to never happen again . You must remember useless human emotions aren¡¯t needed to be strong . You must discard what it means to be human, and focus solely on bing strong . Once you reached the limit on your own . . . Once you reach the height that would allow you to be a Greyhound, I will appear before you . Dalvir, prove to me that you are a true Greyhound!"

    After saying that Richter left, and momentster Carlo Samarita a friend of Alex¡¯s mother appeared . Carlo at this time didn¡¯t know the rtionship of the Greyhounds and the Shadow Mercenaries . Actually on the surface the Greyhounds were a normal average family . So Carlo thought all this time, his friend was doing well in a normal easy going family life .

    Yet today as he was going to visit, he saw the family dead . Well not all of them were dead as he saw that Alex was barely alive . It was then he heard Alex muttering something .

    "I want to be strong . "

    Even in the face of death, the young boy showcased his determination .

    "Heh, nice answer kid . If you want to live and be strong . First you must die . " Carlo then manually pulled out the bullet inside of Alex . It was this very moment he thought .

    ¡¯I guess I will be taking care of your son now . . . ra . ¡¯ Carlo thought of that name for thest time, as he remembered that girl in his orphanage who always kept on smiling with that bright smile of hers . He then whispered in the barely conscious boy¡¯s ear .

    "From this day forth you¡¯re my son, Alexander Samarita"

    . . .

    Alex who suddenly remembered this, screamed in rage as he red at his grandfather who simply smiled at him .

    "Do you finally remember who I am?"

 Chapter 267

    Chapter 267

    Alex who finally remembered the truth of his past looked at his grandfather with hate filled eyes . It has been years since hest saw him, but the old man remained the same, yet he wasn¡¯t the same as before . Now he could finally fight his grandfather with a chance of actually winning .

    Alex who truly hated his Grandfather could not attack him . Even though he only had vague memories, Alex knew that attacking his his grandfather at this moment was suicide . Alex calmed himself as he took some distance from his grandfather .

    As Alex took some distance from Richter, Dan was finally able to move his body . In his FULL RELEASE state, Dan was able to move faster than the speed of sound . He could only remain in this state for about three minutes .

    Dan who was now able to move, started attacking Richter by moving so fast that the human eye couldn¡¯t keep up . Yet Richter was able to urately sway his body and evade Dan¡¯s onught of attacks . While the old man was dodging Dan¡¯s attacks Alex was waiting for the perfect moment to shoot as he had his gun out .

    It was hard to get an urate shot since Dan was moving too fast, and Alex didn¡¯t have a clean shot of his grandfather . Richter who had finally got a feel of Dan¡¯s speed, ced his leg on the path of Dan¡¯s attack . Getting hit the unexpected obstacle in his path Dan stumbled about . Richter making this opening got a hold of Dan¡¯s head with his iron grip . Alex even in this situation didn¡¯t have a clear shot on Richter¡¯s vitals, since the old man was using Dan¡¯s body as a shield . Still it was possible to shoot Richter in non-vital areas, knowing that was better than nothing Alex started shooting at Richter .

    Seeing Alex shoot at him, Richter simply smiled as he let Alex¡¯s shots hit him . While that was happening Richter kept on pounding Dan¡¯s face onto the ground until his head was practically buried under the asphalt . Dan whose body was stronger than metal, had his brain shaken numerous times as he was being banged onto the ground . He then slowly lost conscious .

    "You better not get involved in my reunion with my beloved grandson . "

    While Dan was getting pounded onto the asphalt, Alex kept on shooting Richter at the non-vital areas, but the results of this shots surprised Alex . The bullets that pierced into his flesh was spitted out of his body . Alex couldn¡¯t understand how to properly describe what he saw, except to say that Richter¡¯s body literally spitted out the bullets . Not only that the wound that was inflicted healed itself almost instantaneously .

    Though Alex remained stoic in front of his grandfather, Richter noticed Alex twitch and he could guess why .

    "Surprised? I had the scientists back in HQ inject nanomachines into my body . The result is as you can see . My body will self heal given enough time, the only way to kill me now is if you can somehow destroy my brain . So now that I got to exin that, let¡¯s have a little spar my grandson . Let grandpa see how strong you¡¯ve gotten . "

    . . .

    Niel couldn¡¯t do anything but watch Alex fight off his grandfather . The level of their fight wasn¡¯t something he could join in . So instead Niel approached the now unconscious Dan . Upon picking him up Niel noticed that Dan¡¯s face which had been continuously smashed into the ground had no external wounds, there was only dust that he got from the asphalt .

    Niel also noticed that Dan looked like he was simply sleeping soundly . Of course Niel didn¡¯t bother to wake him up, since based on the previous fight with Richter even if Dan was awake he wouldn¡¯t be able to help as well .

    Niel could only watch Alex fight desperately against his own grandfather .

    . . .

    Alex could already guess from fighting head on against his grandfather that he and him were not at the same dimension, strength wise . Not only that any damage that Alex inflicted on him, be it by luck or skill was instantly healed by the nanomachines . Still Alex did not despair as he continued to observe Richter, same as his fight with Lyner . Even against that man who was the strongest Alex found the weakness of his overconfidence which made him make a mistake . Surely his same as Lyner his grandfather will make a mistake at some point, and when it happens Alex would use all his power and take victory for himself .

    . . .

    Richter who was fighting his grandson was genuinely pleased at the boy .

    "It has been eight years and look how much you¡¯ve grown . Even in the face of the overwhelming difference in ourbat ability, you still look as calm as ever, calmer even . It¡¯s obvious to me that you¡¯re waiting for me to make a mistake, so that you could bite onto my neck like a true Greyhound . "

    Alex and his grandfather were now in an intense close range gun battle . Yet even in this kind of tense situation, Alex¡¯s grandfather had time to speak as the two of them continued to redirect the opponent¡¯s arms and shoot .

    Richter then let go of his guns, and took hold of Alex¡¯s guns and threw them .

    "I see that your close range gun skills are good . How about your unarmedbat?" Richter smilingly asked, in which Alex responded by trying to grab Richter and throwing him . Yet Richter knowing that he was being thrown jumped with the perfect timing, and instead ofnding head first into the ground, hended properly on his feet and used a counter throw . Alex reacted the same way as his grandfather, and the two of them continued to try and do a counter throw on the other .

    Once Alex figured out that this won¡¯t work on his grandfather, he started using striking techniques . The two started to exchange punches and kicks, Alex was even in his RELEASE state, but was only barely able to keep up with Richter .

    "Superb!" After saying this Richter took some distance from Alex .

    "Your long range skills are good, your use of guns no matter the distance is good as well . Your close quartersbat is near perfection . Your calmness in battle as you continue to analyze me goes beyond my expectations . You have finally reached the realm that makes you worthy to be a Greyhound, but you¡¯re still far from perfect . "

    Richter who was happily exining this, suddenly turned serious and he looked at Alex with the same emotionless eyes he shown as he killed his parents .

    "I still sense some unneeded emotions during battle . For example your rage even though you try to suppress it, I could feel it by your gaze alone . This forced you to attack prematurely which ended up in you losing the perfect chance of actually beating me . You¡¯re even actually hesitating to kill me . . . Is it because no matter what I did I am your grandfather? Such sentimental drivel is unneeded in the heart of the leader of the Greyhounds . Your body might have be strong but your mentality remains that of a child . The only time you can act that way is if you were the stronger one between the two of us . "

    After saying this Richter approached Alex and was stretching out his hand towards him . Seeing this Alex reacted by trying to get some distance while shooting, but it was no use Richter got a hold of Alex, and punched him in the gut . The force was so strong that even Alex¡¯s steel like body couldn¡¯t take it, and he slowly lost consciousness . Thest thing he heard was his grandfather whispering something in his ear .

    "Don¡¯t worry my boy, after I¡¯m done with you, you will be the living embodiment of what a Greyhound is . "

    . . .

    After easily making Alex faint, Richter looked at Niel .

    "Your potential is really good, and you seem to be a friend of my grandson . How about youe with me as well . "

    Niel seeing the approaching Richter wanted to retreat, but same as before he couldn¡¯t move an inch . Richter was finally nearing Niel, but before he could do anything a knife that had a piano string attached to it darted pass through almost hitting his head .

    Richter was surprised that he couldn¡¯t sense the iing attack and was only able to evade at thest second . After sessfully dodging the attack Richter turned to look at the new yer that arrived . There in front of him was a man with a vicious looking smile on his face . He was looking at him, a Greyhound like he was prey .

 Chapter 268

    Chapter 268

    The man that suddenly appeared was none other than Lyner, the strongest of Berdonia . Richter seeing the man was a bit offended by the gaze of a predator Lyner was showing him, but he understood for this man that was the norm . Richter didn¡¯t dare move without fully understanding the opponent in front of him . It would seem that this opponent was actually someone near his level . People near Richter¡¯s level could only be counted with one hand, so he could pretty much guess who the person in front of him was .

    From a distance a huge explosion was heard . Yet Niel didn¡¯t really care about that since explosions were a normal sound in their current situation . So instead he excitedly headed towards Lyner while carrying the sleeping Dan .

    "Sir Lyner how did you know we where here?"

    "I saw you from the jet I borrowed . I had a feeling you guys were in some sort of trouble, so I ditched the unit I wasmanding, and left them with Arthur . I saw you were about to be taken by that weird old man, so i ejected from the fighter jet I was using . "

    Niel who heard what Lyner said remembered the explosion he just heard . With the current information he had he could already guess what had happened to the fighter jet Lyner was using . Lyner noticing Niel¡¯s strange gaze could understand what this apprentice of his was thinking .

    "I properly crashnded the fighter jet towards the heavy artillery of the enemy . That¡¯s why the explosion was louder that it was suppose to be okay . So don¡¯t look at me like that . "

    While Lyner and Niel were talking, Richter couldn¡¯t make a move . It was because, even though Lyner seem to be mucking about, but in truth he was entirely focused on Richter . Knowing that he wouldn¡¯t be able to fight properly while carrying his grandson, Richter signaled one of his subordinates toe . It would take them seven minutes to get to him . So he needed to fight Lyner with a handicap of holding his grandson for seven minutes .

    Richter could feel his blood boil at the prospect of an actual challenge .

    . . .

    Lyner who was done talking to Niel spoke to Richter . "Hey old man, how about handing my student back to me . " Lyner pointed at the unconscious Alex who was being carried by Richter like a sack of rice .

    "Oh, you¡¯re his teacher? . . . Well it doesn¡¯t really matter, as his biological grandfather, I don¡¯t need to hand over my grandson to you . "

    Hearing what Richter said made Lyner smile . He didn¡¯t really care that Richter was Alex¡¯s biological grandfather . That information didn¡¯t even faze him . What mattered was that it was in to see that Alex was being forced by his grandfather toe with him .

    Of course that isn¡¯t what Lyner really cared about, what he truly cared about was right now at this very moment a being that was as strong as him was now there standing in front of him .

    ¡¯Things have been going my way recently . Just the other day I got to fight Arthur Glory, now I¡¯m able to fight this person who seems to be stronger . ¡¯

    Lyner took out a pair of ck gloves, that had special kinds of wires hidden within it . This was Lyner¡¯s real main weapon . He hasn¡¯t used it in years, ever since he got too strong for his own good . Yet now he had finally found a person worthy enough to use them on .

    Richter who was assessing the man in front of him had determined that this was a person who was nearing his ownbat prowess .

    "Do you n to fight me Lyner?" Richter finally got serious as he faced the monster of Berdonia .

    "Oh, you know who I am . So to be fair how about you tell me your name as well?" Hearing Lyner¡¯s question Richter shrugged his shoulders .

    "I guess you are worthy to hear my name . I am the patriarch of the house of Greyhound, Richter Greyhound . "

    "Richter is it? . . . Let me ask one more time, how about handing over my student . " The tension was rising as Lyner said this . Niel who knew that something big was about to happen distanced himself from the two .

    "Like I said I don¡¯t n to hand over my grandson to you . " The moment Richter said this Lyner bursted forward closing in on Richter who flipped his coat showcasing numerous fire arms . Richter then threw Alex upward into the air alongside all the guns in the left side of his coat . Richter then jumped upward, he got a hold of his guns and started shooting at Lyner . The speed in which he switched gun after gun while firing made the firing rate of a gatling gun lookughable .

    Lyner waved his hands and wires came out of his gloves, with incredible dexterity Lyner was able to make the wires surround him cutting all the iing bullets in half, even redirecting some back to Richter .

    Seeing the bulletsing back to him, Richter took hold of some other guns floating in midair and fired at the returning bullets redirecting them as well . He then got a knife and threw it at Lyner who was surrounded by an orb shape wall of wires .

    After which, Richter proceeded to shoot the handle of the knife with five bullets tripling its prating power . Lyner wasn¡¯t able to stop this knife from approaching him using his wires, instead he was only able to slow it down . Once the knife was near his face Lyner caught the knife and threw it back at full force .

    Richter seeing the iing knife tried to catch it but was surprised to feel how strong the return was . In the end he was still able to catch it and ce it back in his jacket . He also caught all the guns he threw and ced them back in his jacket . As Richternded on the ground he also caught Alex¡¯s falling body .

    This concluded the first exchange between the two . Richter was surprised to see how strong Lyner was . Of course he had heard of the man, and has a detailed report about him back in HQ, but he wasn¡¯t expecting him to be this strong .

    Lyner as well was surprised by the supposed biological grandfather of Alex . He was actually able to keep up with him as he went all out and he even had a handicap of carrying Alex . Lyner could feel something deep within him wanting to burst out . At this very moment, his blood was boiling, his heart beating in excitement, his smile ever joyous .

    If it was this man, he might be able to fulfill his most cherish wish . He might finally put a stop to his boredom, and bring him the most glorious death of all .

    "Where have you been all my life?! This excitement, this exhration, this burning passion that epasses my soul! Now this is a fight! This is a real battle! Show me more Richter!" Lyner then started screaming at Richter with a smile as vicious as a lion¡¯s .

    Richter who was looking at Lyner had an opposite reaction . The more they fought, the more excited Lyner got, Richter on the other hand got even calmer . Richter was now truly fully invested in this battle .

    It had been a few decades since an opponent brought him to this state . The fight between the monster and the hound was now truly about to begin .

 Chapter 269

    Chapter 269

    Lyner was getting excited as he charged forward while weaving his hands . The wires scattered about surrounding Richter, cutting off all areas of escape . This was the move that had spell death for all of Lyner¡¯s opponents . In the heat of the moment Lyner had even forgotten that Alex was being held by Richter . As he was about to tighten his grip making the wires close in on Richter, effectively squeezing him to death, Lyner heard Niel¡¯s voice .

    "Sir Lyner!" Niel who was watching noticed that Lyner was about to make the killing move . It would seem that even Alex was going to get killed by this move . So Niel shouted at his overly excited teacher . Lyner who heard Niel shouting at him, was able to snap out of his battle trance and remembered that Richter was holding Alex . So in thest moments he shifted the positions of his wires . The wires that were suppose to squeeze Richter¡¯s whole body was now simply going to wrap around Richter¡¯s arms and legs .

    ¡¯So it¡¯s not only a handicap for Richter, Alex turned out to be a handicap for me as well . ¡¯ Lyner licked his lips in delight, at the thought that he and Richter were actually having a somewhat fair fight .

    Seeing the wires enclosing in on him, Richter tried to cut them apart using hisbat knife, he even tried shooting at the wires, but those moves of his did nothing . Lyner¡¯s wires were interlocked with one another making them thicker than normal . The wall of wires were imprable with the weapons Richter had in hand .

    Richter then sighed as he clicked on a switch for the mini explosives he threw at the beginning of the fight . When he threw Alex and his guns, Richter also threw some mini explosives as well . He used misdirection to fool the monster of Berdonia .

    Upon clicking the switch, the mini explosives started to light up, this alerted Lyner who then noticed that the mini explosives were near him and were about to explode .

    Lyner who was not expecting there to be explosives in that location had Lost concentration for a moment as he evaded the explosives, giving Richter a chance to escape from the wires that surrounded him .

    Lyner who had sessfully evaded the explosives, knew that Richter could have heavily wounded him if he waited for Lyner to move in closer . Yet he activated the explosives early most probably to escape from Lyner¡¯s attack .

    That level of nning was beyond someone like Lyner who went about battle by instinct alone .

    This only made Lyner even more excited as he once again tried to surround Richter with his wires . Yet now that he was aware of that move, Richter started moving erratically and in a speed that was hard to follow with the naked eye .

    Richter then got near Lyner and was able to get behind him . He once again threw Alex¡¯s body upwards so that he could attack properly . If it was anyone else that was being tossed around like this, they might have died but Alex¡¯s body was stronger than most so his body could take the rough treatment .

    As Richter was about to attack Lyner in his blindspot, wires suddenly appeared before him . Richter could only back off as he saw this . He jumped backward and caught the thrown Alex .

    ¡¯He uses his wires for both offense and defense . . . Wait a minute . . . Why am I trying to fight him anyway?¡¯ Richter suddenly realized that he was drawn into Lyner¡¯s pace . He wasn¡¯t even suppose to be fighting the man, since he just needed to escape . He could deal with Lynerter, what¡¯s more important now was to secure his grandson .

    Lyner who saw the old man stop moving, was confused as well . What was he nning? When Lyner thought of this question, Richter suddenly threw all his guns above Lyner¡¯s head . Seeing this unexpected move, Lyner unconsciously reacted by surrounding the area within a meter of himself with wires .

    Richter knew that once he threw his guns, Lyner who fought by instinct would automatically react like that . Once Lyner was distracted Richter fled the scene with Alex in tow . As he was running Richter checked his watch and saw that there was only two minutes left before his subordinates arrive to pick him up .

    . . .

    Lyner who saw the fleeing Richter clicked his tongue and chased after the old man . The two superhumans started doing parkour as one fled and the other chased . While Lyner was chasing Richter, the old man ced explosives on key areas that helped to slow down Lyner .

    Seeing as the two of them had nearly the same speed, Richter who was carrying Alex couldn¡¯t outran Lyner who was as fast as him . So slowly but surely Lyner was catching up, but at the moment Lyner was about to reach Richter, he heard a choppering near them .

    One person inside the chopper started shooting at Lyner . This gave Richter enough time to toss his grandson onto the chopper . Lyner who saw this was going to catch Alex using his wires, but the moment he did so he was blocked by the old man .

    After sessfully blocking Lyner¡¯s wires, Richter threw all of his mini explosives at Lyner which he then made them explode at the same time . Lyner knew what was going to happen next, so instead of avoiding the explosives, he jumped forwards . Using his wires he was able to fling most of the explosives away from him, but the others still hit him hard .

    The explosion tore his shirt and bits of his skin, his forearms which he used to cover his face was burnt a bit . The overall damage Lyner received was enough to have killed a normal man . Yet Lyner simply gritted his teeth, and pushed onward .

    He then stretched out his hands and was about to grab onto the chopper, but then before his hand could reach, Richter got a hold of Lyner¡¯s outstretched hand . Lyner was going to struggle, but because of the damage he has taken from the explosives, he couldn¡¯t escape from Richter¡¯s grip .

    Richter whose damage was already healed by the nanomachines held up Lyner and spoke to him .

    "You¡¯ve surprised me monster of Berdonia . I didn¡¯t expect you to be this strong, but your chase ends here . You get to live today since I have more important matters to attend to . Next time you meet me, you won¡¯t be so lucky . "

    Richter then let go of Lyner¡¯s hand making him free fall a few hundred feet above ground . Lyner who was falling from such a height was still calm as he smiled at the old man inside the chopper . While he was falling towards the ground, he used his wires to stop himself from going st onto the street .

    Lyner threw a knife with a wire attached to it onto one building and another onto the building next to it . This created a tform for which Lyner stood bncing himself .

    Lyner who was now standing in a thin wire that he attached to the nearby buildings looked at the fading helicopter . He could see Richter look at him onest time before turning his back on him, as if he didn¡¯t care anymore .

    "Richter Greyhound . . . Who knew such a person existed . I guess today was your win, but the next time won¡¯t be as easy . " Lyner who had lost, and was unable to rescue Alex, still smiled that fearless smile of his .

 Chapter 270

    Chapter 270: 270

    After Lyner failed to secure Alex he returned to where Niel and Dan were with a hearty smile on his face . The look on Lyner¡¯s face made Niel think that he had sessfully rescued Alex, but when he saw that Alex wasn¡¯t around he looked at Lyner and asked .

    "Where¡¯s Alex?"

    Lyner who was still thinking about the uing battle between him and Richter, momentarily forgotten about the crisis the country was in, even about his failure in rescuing Alex . When he heard Niel¡¯s question Lyner snapped from his daydream back into reality .

    "I was unable to rescue the kid . Don¡¯t worry too much, the old man won¡¯t kill him or anything . So I still have a chance to save him . " Hearing Lyner casually say it like that, made Niel take a few seconds to register what Lyner just said .

    Once he understood what was said, he just stood there bbergasted he never expected his teacher Sir Lyner to ever fail . He always believed that no matter the problem Lyner would solve it . Still looking at that fearless smile on his teacher¡¯s face, made Niel feel a bit better .

    ¡¯Sir Lyner is right, as long as Alex is alive we can still save him, somehow . ¡¯ With renewed resolve Niel promises to himself that he would save Alex no matter what, same as how Alex saved him .

    . . .

    Day 1:

    After the incident of Richter kidnapping Alex, Carlo and the remaining numbered subordinates arrived at safe house 11 . Upon arrival Lyner exined to Carlo what had happened, with Niel adding his side of the story, and Dan apologizing to him . Hearing their report, Carlo could now finally understand what happened to his childhood friend .

    Still he had no time to grieve or feel sorry for himself . He needed to act, as long as Alex was alive he could be saved, but the priority now is to save the ones inside Lyner¡¯s safe room .

    Day2:

    After nning on how to save the people in the safe room, the group headed back to the school . It was an easier task than expected since they had Lyner with them . Seeing Lyner¡¯s skill up close, and knowing how strong Dan was in FULL RELEASE, Carlo now had a basic understanding on the minimum strength Ricther needed to have, for him to do what he had done .

    Overall his assessment of Richter Greyhound was iplete, but he knew that Richter must be hiding something more .

    . . .

    Once the group rescued the people in the safe room, the little girl Lilitth burst out and hugged her tou-chan . She alongside the two big sisters Rachel and Evangeline who seem to get along better than before noticed something .

    Where¡¯s Alex, this was the question all three of them asked at the same time . Carlo gritted his teeth and exined the situation to his daughter . He didn¡¯t like the look of his daughter who was smiling happily, slowly turn dark and grim . Seeing his daughter like this almost broke Carlo¡¯s heart . Even Michel wanted to smack Carlo from continuing his report, but she knew that this must be said .

    Dan was also exining what had happened to his own daughter . He even knelt and pounded his head onto the floor as he asked his daughter for her forgiveness . He knew what Alex meant to his daughter, even though he didn¡¯t like it he had to acknowledge it . So Dan didn¡¯t know how Rachel would react hearing this news .

    Niel was also exining the situation regarding Alex¡¯s plight to Evangeline . He felt that based on what Evangeline had been through, she might be able to take this better than other two . Since her faith in Alex was almost unshakeable .

    When the three girls learned of what happened to Alex, they each had different reactions . Lilitth started crying, she kept on screaming at her tou-chan that he promised to protect her onii-sama . He promised that the two of them wille back . She told her that everything would be alright .

    "Tou-chan you liar! You liar! You liar! You liar!" Lilitth¡¯s wailing could be heard all throughout the hallway .

    Rachel on the other hand closed her eyes and whispered something to herself . "I told you toe back to me, you idiot . " After saying this she looked at her father who kept on pounding his head onto the floor, which didn¡¯t make his head bleed instead his pounding broke the floor .

    "No need to act this way . . . I know you did your best to protect him . Anyway, he¡¯s not the kind of guy to fall from this . I¡¯m sure that no matter what he will return to me . If not then I just need to save him myself . "

    Dan hearing what his daughter said looked up, jumped onto her side and then started to embrace her .

    Evangeline reacted differently as well, her eyes dimmed for a bit, then after a few seconds a determined look appeared .

    "This time, it¡¯s my turn and try to save you . "

    . . .

    While the group was having their reunion, in the mountains where Ken lives, corpses of hundreds of soldiers were littered everywhere . At the edge of the mountain the figure of a lone swordsman dragging his bloodied body could be seen . This swordsman was none other than Ken, he moved his body trying to leave the mountain . He then disappeared into the thick forest behind the mountain .

    Day 3:

    Lyner¡¯s group tried to help as much civilians as they could . Once they gathered the remaining civilians into safe house 1,1 Lyner suggested that the civilians should retreat to the capital .

    Day 4:

    The Hunt siblings bumped into Matthew while they were disrupting enemy forces . After which the group tried to destroy some bases together, but ever since Matthew¡¯s sessful attack the defense of the bases had tighten . So they messed around for a bit more and retreated from there .

    . . .

    Forty percent of the maids and butlers of the Samaritas had died in their efforts to save as many civilians as possible . The police force on the other hand, were down to only three people left . It was then the maids and butlers of the Samaritas were contacted by Carlo and ordered to retreat alongside the remaining three police men .

    . . .

    Day 5

    As Lyner was overseeing the retreat of the civilians to the Capital of Berdonia Regon, he heard the voice of a familiar person . His voice echoed throughout Cromer City .

    "Lyner! I have finallye to take my revenge!" This was General Tang of the Granado Empire .

    "You have been surrounded Lyner! The ten generals have surrounded this city! You have been a great source of fear to the Empire but today that ends! For today this city will be your grave!"

    At this exact moment Carlo contacted Lyner .

    "Sir Lyner the road has been blocked by General Royce¡¯s men . " General Royce was another one of the ten generals of the Empire .

    "Break through! No matter what you need to breakthrough! Focus all the manpower into breaking through! I alone will be the rearguard . "

    After giving out those orders to Carlo, Lyner smiled as he thought how lucky he was for the past few days . The boredom has finally been quench all that¡¯s left was to have a glorious death .

 Chapter 271

    Chapter 271: 271

    It has been a week since Alex was captured by his grandfather . Once he woke up he was already in this small isted room . The only things to be seen in the room were the four walls, the light on the roof of the room, as well as the two security cameras on the sides, and finally a thick metal door . Aside from those things there was nothing in this empty room . There was only enough space so that Alex couldy down and sleep . The first thing Alex tried when he woke up was to destroy the metal door, even in his RELEASE state he couldn¡¯t open the door, or even dent it .

    He tried even means possible to escape but it was to no avail . He wasn¡¯t even fed any food for the past week, he was only given some water one time on the third day . They first filled the room with a powerful sleeping gas, forcing Alex to faint . Once he woke up from that, there was already a bottle of water right in front of him .

    Alex didn¡¯t know how long he would stay like this, so he drank only when necessary . Alex wasn¡¯t antagonized by the situation and kept his calm . As of now it was obvious his grandfather wanted something from him, so it was not like he was going to kill Alex . That may be one of the reasons as to why he was even allowed a bottle of water .

    ¡¯This might be another one of that old man¡¯s tests . ¡¯ Alex who had finally remembered the past he so dreaded, now had memories of all the tests his grandfather put him through . Though none of them were this extreme . That might be attributed to him being older, or because his parents were no longer there to shield him from his grandfather .

    When Alex¡¯s thoughts reached a point where he was thinking about his biological parents, Alex gets a bit agitated . Especially when he remembers his biological mother . It takes him quite some time to calm himself after this . So instead Alex tried to stop thinking too much, and simply focus on surviving .

    . . .

    It has been a few days since theyst gave him water . He wasn¡¯t so sure about the time, it could¡¯ve been days, or weeks, he just couldn¡¯t tell anymore . Even his internal clock was getting messed up the longer he stayed in this cube .

    As Alex continued to remain perfectly still the light was turned off . Now there was only total darkness and silence . It didn¡¯t matter if his eyes were open or shut tight, since it made absolutely no difference . Still Alex kept calm and continued to wait for what¡¯s next . He kept on telling himself, as long as he can survive he can escape .

    . . .

    After a few more days Alex¡¯s supply of water was finally running out . He was now losing consciousness every now and then . It was then Alex heard a knocking sound . It was morse code, it was telling him to brace for impact .

    After a few secondster, the door was blown away . Beyond the door was his dad Carlo and even Lyner was with him .

    "Alex are you alright?" Carlo looked at the malnourished looking Alex angered and worried . Alex seeing that face of his was finally feeling relieved . Even Lyner was here that made feel doubly reassured .

    "It¡¯s obvious that he isn¡¯t f*cking alright, look at the kid . It seems like he hasn¡¯t eaten for days . Here kid, I knew that old sleeze bag would do something like this, so I brought you some food and water . " Lyner tossed a piece of bread, and a bottle of water towards Alex who caught the two items and started eating and drinking .

    "Come on Alex, we got to move fast before the guards arrive . " Carlo said in a hurry, Alex stood up and started heading out of the room, the moment his foot was out of the room, darkness once again surrounded him .

    Seeing this sudden change, got Alex confused . He didn¡¯t what happened was this another trick by his grandfather . In his state of confusion Alex started to call out for Carlo and Lyner, yet no matter how loud he shouted there was no response . What had happened? Was everything just a hallucination, did he just dreamt of escaping?

    "But the bread, the water, they felt so real . . . " Alex mumbled still in a confused state . The darkness didn¡¯t really help rify anything, and no one was there to answer his questions . He wasn¡¯t even sure if he was talking out loud or just thinking the about it . Everything was in a mess as his five senses failed him .

    Alex was about to panic again but was still able to calm himself due to Kyle¡¯s breathing technique . After calming down Alex decided that what happened was nothing more than a dream . There was no point in deluding himself that was reality . In the first ce Alex was sure that even his grandfather would have a difficult time capturing Lyner and dad, that easily . He needed to remain calm and wait for a chance, since no matter the situation there should be a chance .

    . . .

    It has been quite some time now, and Alex had no more water left . It was at this point he had seen numerous daydreams, or hallucinations of peopleing to his rescue . Sometimes it was the whole Mercenary Club with Matthew and Arhtur Glory, sometimes it was Lyner by himself, sometimes it would be Michel and Lilitth, sometimes it was Rachel and Evangeline, most of the times it would be either Lyner or Carlo or simply both of them . There was even a time he hallucinated that Oliver was able to take over the whole Shadow Mercenaries . Yet the weirdest one was the time his own biological mom came to his rescue, iming that she never died, and was only in aatose state . It was only now that she woken up and saw Alex in trouble and came to his rescue .

    . . .

    Alex at this point didn¡¯t even know if he was alive or dead, he even started to think that this was some kind of hell . He was already nearing a state of insanity, or it could be that he was already insane . Still he liked talking to the fake Rachel, seeing her even as a hallucination gave him the motivation he needed to stay alive .

    Yet today it was different, Alex was still trying his best to survive, but unlike in the beginning he wasn¡¯t sure anymore what his grandfather wanted from him . So while he was talking to the fake Rachel in his hallucinations, he started to apologize .

    "Sorry Rachel, I¡¯m not sure if I could make it or not anymore . I wanted to tell you face to face what I truly felt about you, but if this is the end, I guess I¡¯ll settle with this hallucination of you . Rachel I don¡¯t know when it started, or how it happened, but I Alexander Samarita am in love with you . "

    As Alex said this he smiled or he thinks he did . Still it didn¡¯t matter since he felt happy that he was able to say that . His sense of reality was now all over the ce . He licked his extremely dry lips, as he continued to smile like a fool .

    . . .

    As Alex sat perfectly still feeling thatst bits of his energy fading, he then was blinded by a sh of light . It was like his eyes had directly looked at a sh bang . He was disoriented for a few more minutes, before he could finally regain focus in his eyes . As he regained focus, he could now see the walls of room again . Nothing has changed only that the light was finally turned on .

    He then heard the door opening, and came in his most hated enemy . The only living biological rtive he had, his grandfather . Alex wanted to attack and escape but his body was not responding . Richter who was now looking at his malnourished grandson pped his hands .

    "That was an amazing feat Dalvir, or should I call you Alex? . . . I guess Alex works, since you¡¯re more familiar with that name now . Well anyway I congratte you Alex . You actually survived for a month and a half, with nothing but a little bottle of water . That¡¯s the longest time anyonested in the room of istion, which we use to train our agents mentality and ability to survive with nothing but one bottle of water . As expected of my grandson you beat the record by a huge margin . For you information thest record was twenty days . "

    As Richter was happily exining this, Alex continued to re at his grandfather, unable to do anything else .

    "Do not re at me like that . I know what you¡¯re thinking, what have you done, how can I get back in top shape after this? Don¡¯t worry using the technology of the Shadow Mercenaries, I¡¯ll be able to bring you back into shape, after just one day . So all you need to do is close your eyes and rest . Once you open them you¡¯ll be back to how you were before we started this test, well physically anyway, mentally that¡¯s another thing . When you get back to tip top shape, we¡¯ll proceed to the next test . "

    Once he was done saying what he needed to say, Richter wore a gas mask, after doing that the whole room was once again filled by sleeping gas . This was a weaker version of sleeping gas, than the one use at the beginning but because of Alex¡¯s extremely weakened state it still worked .

    Alex couldn¡¯t help but slowly close his eyes, as he continued to re at his grandfather right until he lost consciousness .

 Chapter 272

    Chapter 272

    In a dark basement that had only a single light turned on, the shaking of the house could be felt . The tremors of battle threaten to destroy the house . In this basement a voiceing from the radio could be heard . It was the voice of an energetic young man .

    "It has been two months since the initial attack of the Granado Empire, on our beloved country of Berdonia . Kei Kaido here to bring you the news from the front lines! As of now the Granado Empire has taken control of the eastern cities of Berdonia . I along side my friends were also part of the people in those cities . To be more specific I was in Cromer City when all of these happened . At that time the Granado Empire soldiers were killing citizens left and right . It didn¡¯t matter if you were a nonbatant, it didn¡¯t matter if you were old or a child, as long as you were Berdonian the Empire soldiers would kill you . It was a horrific scene to remember, piles of flesh scattered everywhere, the person I once saw in a bus shot dead . A random stranger that I could have passed by while walking mutted beyond recognition . The brave policemen tried there best alongside some volunteers, both groups tried their very best to protect everyone as they retreated from the city . Yet even they perished in that attack, sacrificing themselves for the people . It was a nightmare for Berdonian citizens, and the Granado Empire soldiers loved every minute of it; but unfortunately for them Sir Lyner our country¡¯s one and only SS rank mercenary came to the rescue, he alongside the brave soldiers of the sixty-eight battalion saved thousands, from the initial attack . "

    "They gathered all the surviving citizens of each city and led an exodus towards the capital . Some even headed to the Southern Union for shelter . As Sir Lyner was leading the retreat the ten generals appeared, threatening Sir Lyner to surrender . "

    "Even in the direst of moments, when the ten generals of the Granado Empire had him surrounded, Sir Lyner stayed behind as the rearguard protecting the citizens! In the end he was able to sessfully save the survivors of the initial attack, and they were able to retreat safely . Such power, such a selfless action! This is how a true Berdonian should act! Unlike our former president who when the citizens cried for help, responded by hiding in his secured walls . He didn¡¯t even bother to send the military to protect our borders, no he actually recalled them back! He ims that he did this to protect the capital, but we all know he did this for himself! Then there was that crazy guy iming to be the brother of our dear founder . "

    "He said that he was Reghinald Berdonia, and he was the rightful ruler of our country . With him in charge, he imed that we would be able to wipe out the entire Granado Empire . What the hell is this lunatic saying! Really now iming to be the brother of our founder that had died a thousand years ago . If you¡¯re going to make a story for people to follow you, why not tell them that you¡¯re the founder himself . Why use the image of his brother who died an idiotic traitor to his country . It¡¯s a good thing most of the citizens didn¡¯t listen to his call . However I heard some people actually believed the fool . To each his own, I guess . Well, anyway, the new president that has been appointed in this time of war, is someone who is way better than our old passive one . "

    "This new president ns to actually protect our people, and to push back the foreign invaders, and punish them for their war crimes! This president even ns to head out into the front lines! This president is none other than our former secretary of defense Ray Hilt!"

    "Right now Sir Lyner and his wife Saintess Anita have be the bodyguards of our new beloved president . Saintess Anita is also his current physician . Today the group of three are heading towards the Southern Union to make an alliance against the Granado Empire, who decided not to follow the internationalw of war . "

    When Kei got to this part of his talk, the sound of heavy gun fire could be heard in the background . It made the whole talk feel even more real and urgent . It would seem that Kei really was in the front lines .

    "Oh, it seems like I need to say goodbye for now . Thank you listeners for tuning in, to my very first radio show . Just a word of advise to those brave young men and women that wish to fight for our country, you can sign up as a mercenary and join the war . Of course for those of you that have military training bing a soldier is the way to go . You can also sign up as volunteer nurses . Well then this has been your host Kei Kaido, hoping for a better tomorrow . "

    After saying his final line Kei¡¯s voice could no longer be heard, as the radio turned silent . The final words were said with the sound of explosions as the background, which made some people worry about the host of the radio show . Once that was done the muscr man who was listening in, smiled for a bit .

    "Who knew that guy could talk like that . " After saying this he stood up, and headed out of the basement, upstairs waiting for him near the door was a man wearing a mask .

    "Are you ready James?" Specter asked Oliver, while looking at what was happening outside .

    "Let¡¯s go . " Specter opens the door to the outside, and you could see buildings that looked like ruins, charred forests, smoke rising up everywhere, dead bodies scattered about . The sound of gunfire could be heard everywhere . nes fly around dropping bombs on the battlefield . The screams of death echoed throughout the ce, as the smell of blood filled the air . This was the forefront of the war, which was near the borders of Berdonia .

 Chapter 273

    Chapter 273

    It has been a few weeks now since Oliver regained his memories . He decided that he would retain the name Oliver, but allowed Specter to call him James . The memories of his past was that of a horrible yet exciting life . Now that he had his memories back, it felt like he had two different people within him . The Oliver Minx in him was excited to know that his delusions were real, while the James Bourne in him was irritated and angered by the idea he had no knowledge of his memories were wiped clean .

    Still he could not find fault in his biological father Gabriel who wanted to protect him . The only thing he could do now was to avenge the deaths of his parents, his fathers Gabriel and Phil, as well as his mother Marge .

    With his memories back, Oliver knew that the explosion that happened on the secret base won¡¯t be enough to kill Hektor . He remembered that Hektor was wearing the strongest shield of the Shadow Mercenaries when he came to find him . So dying to that level of explosion was not possible, if he really died from something like that all the past leaders of the Shadow Mercenaries, wouldugh at him .

    Still now that Hektor knows he was alive, Oliver was sure that Hektor would try and find him yet he hasn¡¯t seen his b*stard of an uncle for months now . What was he nning? Why wasn¡¯t he trying to kill him now? Oliver didn¡¯t understand what that crazy psychopath of an uncle of his was trying to do, but now that it was evident that Hektor wasn¡¯ting for him, he needed to go and hunt down his uncle himself .

    Right now Oliver and Specter were heading towards the HQ of the Shadow Mercenaries . Specter knew where the base was located, but it was possible that they moved it, since they now knew Specter was a traitor .

    The base of the Shadow Mercenaries, was a movable fortress that could pass through every border with no problem . So for now even though it was unlikely the two will find it on the same location, they still needed to head to thest ce the base was seen .

    The problem was the base was located right in the middle of the Granado Empire . Even with thatplication Oliver was extremely motivated, since he needed to send his uncle to hell no matter what .

    . . .

    At the moment Oliver and Specter where using the Kirion mountains, trying to evade the Empire¡¯s detection as they cross its borders . Going through the mountain ranges was the right choice, since there was little to no patrol going around the area .

    It was a long and dangerous hike to the other side, but Oliver who was fueled by anger and the desire for revenge could only move forward . It didn¡¯t matter what the obstacle was, what kind of hardships he would face, but he ns to go onward until he gets the chance to take his uncle¡¯s life with his own hands . He wanted to see his uncle apologize, and cry for forgiveness . He wanted to cut him apart and feed him to the pigs . He wanted to clone and kill all the clones until he was satisfied .

    Specter who was with him, was here to help his one and only friend . He was also here to fulfill his promise to Phil and protect Oliver . He didn¡¯t really care about what crazy sh*t Hektor is thinking, he didn¡¯t really care anymore about the Shadow Mercenaries . It was now obvious that the goals and ideals of the people in the Shadow Mercenaries were somehow manufactured . That was no real freedom within that group .

    Specter was already sure that the people in the Shadow Mercenaries were somehow being manipted to do things that wasn¡¯t really their idea . Those guys who were the full of strong egos would never do this crazy sh*t that Hektor orders . The problem was how and when did they start to stop acting like themselves . Specter himself didn¡¯t realize it and only noticed when he stayed away from HQ for a few months .

    . . .

    As Oliver was hiking through the mountains, he suddenly remembered about his friends in Berdonia, especially Sayaka .

    ¡¯I wonder what her current situation is like? Is she out there worrying about me?¡¯

    It was a passing thought but it lingered longer than usual . He never did get to say goodbye to everyone not even his girlfriend .

    ¡¯Was everyone able to escape? . . . What am I thinking of course they¡¯re able to escape, Alex is with them, and based on what Kei said, even Sir Lyner is with them . Sir Lyner by himself could assure their escape and with Alex with him it would pretty much guarantee sess . Still . . . ¡¯

    Oliver suddenly remembered the usual mischievous smile of his girlfriend . He has been with Sayaka for only a few months but he felt a bit lonely without her . It was not at the level of the loneliness he gets when he remembers Phil and Marge, but it was still something that nagged on his mind .

    ¡¯It¡¯s alright, Sayaka is a Mutsu, and that would mean his father should be the famous Shadow . ¡¯ When Oliver regained his memories, he also regained all the information that was drilled into him, regarding the strongest people of each of the super powered nations . One of those strong people was the Shadow, that hailed from the family called Mutsu .

    Unlike what others believe the Shadow Mercenaries has detailed intelligence regarding the Mutsu family, especially those family members who were named Shadow . Oliver knew that the name Shadow was something passed down onto the next leader of the family . It was a named given to the next in line in the main family, but it could be contested since only the strongest could be Shadow .

    Yet the main family has never lost the position to the branch families . The main reason for this was the secret technique only the main family knew off .

    That was a part of the information Oliver knew about Sayaka¡¯s family, which was one of the reasons why he wasn¡¯t afraid for Sayaka¡¯s safety .

    "Hey James we need to climb upward . The scout drone will being in around ten minutes, if we aren¡¯t up by that time, the drone will spot us . "

    After saying his remainder Specter started to climb up the mountain, and Oliver followed .

    ¡¯Tsk, this is no time to be thinking such idle thoughts . I have a mission to aplish! I need to have my revenge! I need to kill that son*vab*tch no matter what! If I can¡¯t do that, I won¡¯t be able to live freely as I want to . ¡¯

    While Oliver was climbing he suddenly remembered Hektor¡¯s face and a dark emotion started to rise within him . His killing intent was immense, Specter who was ahead already felt this rising killing intent but didn¡¯t bother to say anything . Ever since Oliver regained his memories, his emotions would fluctuate like this every now and then . He would be able to calm himself down after a short while .

    Oliver who was thinking of dark thoughts, and was about to lose himself in rage, but was stopped by a memory of everyone in the Mercenary Club, talking, eating lunch, and just having a good time . In this memory he once again saw that cute mischievous smile of Sayaka¡¯s, the smile she shows when she was about to do her next prank .

    ¡¯I promise Sayaka, once I give my b*stard of an uncle what he deserves I wille back to you . ¡¯

 Chapter 274

    Chapter 274

    General Tang was sitting in front of the other ten generals with a face full of anger . He then pounded on the table in a rage .

    "HOW THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN?! HOW WAS HE ABLE TO ESCAPE?! We had him, he was there surrounded by thousands of soldiers, tanks, and even fighter jets! We had the superior equipment and superior numbers, but he was still able to escape! If that wasn¡¯t shameful enough, Lyner was protecting some civilians, and was unable to retreat until they could escape . Yet you Royce let the civilians escape!"

    Hearing the angry shouts of old man Tang, Royce got a bit irritated as well .

    "Why me me? I was able to hold down the messenger of death for three whole hours! What about you people? The nine of you weren¡¯t able to kill one person that was surrounded and outnumbered, for a whole three hours! How should I know that you people were so ipetent . "

    The other eight aside from old man Tang, were offended by what Royce said, but they couldn¡¯t rebuke him, because what he said was the truth .

    "Enough! We clearly underestimated how strong Lyner was . With his strength it would seem that dropping a Thermobaric bomb like the ATBIP at him would be needed to kill him . Of course with his speed and unusual battle instinct he could avoid the bomb altogether . "

    When Andrew spoke his point of view, the other nine suddenly went silent . It was the truth, Lyner¡¯s strength especially when he is near death, or backed into a corner went beyond logic or any human understanding . This was a man that could literally fight an army by himself, and live to tell the tale .

    "How about sending our very own monster, to fight that monster . An eye for an eye, a monster for a monster . "

    Hilda the only woman in the ten generals spoke, giving out her idea .

    "You don¡¯t mean to use that arrogant crazy b*tch!?"

    "Yes I want to send her to the battlefield . The SS rank mercenary of the Granado Empire, Rika Saunter . "

    "You do know we cannot control her . She does whatever she wants . " Royce voiced out his worries in trying to bring Rika into this war .

    "We have no choice . . . At this point when the Southern Union joins the fight, we might use our trump card earlier than nned . If we use it near the beginning of the war, it might be the reason of our loss . On the other hand, if we let Lyner be and he rampages about, with the help of the Southern Union specifically Arthur Glory, then the lives of our soldiers will be extinguished by the thousands . Right now even with thebine might of Berdonia and the Southern Union, they barely match the number of soldiers we have, but as the war rages on, without using our trump card it is certain that we will lose a significant amount of soldiers . . . So in the end we really need to send her to the battlefield, to deal with the two other SS rank mercs . "

    The room grew silent once more, until Hilda once again broke the silence .

    . . .

    Deep underground in the most secured prison of the Granado Empire, that was made to hold one prisoner . In a barely lit room, a beautiful woman, with silver hair was in a straitjacket bound by chains . She was also wearing a heavy metal mask that covered her mouth . If that wasn¡¯t enough at her back there were syringes that were set to inject into her if she moves too much . The syringes were filled with tranquilizers that could take down an elephant .

    This person that was heavily guarded was Rika Saunter the one and only SS rank merc of the Granado Empire . She was also known as the strongest of the SS rank mercs . To the people not within the higher ups of the Empire, they all though that Rika Saunter was being treated like a queen by the authorities, but in truth she was being treated as a dangerous animal .

    Rika Saunter was being treated like this, due to her immense strength, that the Empire couldn¡¯t properly control . To the Empire Rika Saunter was a weapon, and a weapon that the Empire cannot control was defective .

    The only reason Rika was alive, was because the Empire needed an insurance just in case something unforeseeable happens . Also the only reason why the Empire was able to lock up Rika, was because she herself allowed it . Though she didn¡¯t like the higher ups of the Empire, she in general liked the Granado Empire itself . She loved her homnd, but the people feared her, and rightfully so, since when she is in battle Rika loses herself and goes into a berserker state .

    So the only way to make the people in charge feel safe, she needed to be chained down like this . Still it didn¡¯t really bother her much, since she was still able to eat and sleep, which was basically all Rika needed .

    And as to why she was called the strongest SS rank merc, that was because she was indeed the strongest . Unlike Lyner and Arthur who trained to be stronger, Rika was already strong upon birth, She didn¡¯t need to do anything in particr, she from the start was already powerful .

    She registered as a merc, a little bitte, and that¡¯s why Lyner was considered to be the youngest to ever receive the SS rank, but if Rika registered earlier that title would¡¯ve been hers . She was a deviant of the human race .

    As Rika continued her silent imprisonment, something different happened . She had a visitor, and it was someone she knew well . It was Hilda of the ten generals .

    "Rika Saunter SS rank mercenary, your country needs you . " As Hilda was saying this, the soldiers with her were removing Rika¡¯s restraints . Once she was free from the straitjacket and the chains, Rika looked at Hilda and spoke .

    "Who do I need to kill?" Her voice sounded like a beautiful harp, but the words she said didn¡¯t match her peaceful sounding voice .

 Chapter 275

    Chapter 275

    Arthur Glory: SS rank merc of the Southern Union .

    Arthur Glory was a youngd when he became a merc . The time he became one was back when the Southern Union wasn¡¯t the Southern Union, but still different smaller countries at war with each other .

    At the time, Arthur Glory wanted to avenge his father¡¯s death . His father was a soldier, and his only living rtive . Yet due to the war his father¡¯s life was taken . Arthur being too young to train and be a soldier, instead became a mercenary, which allowed anyone of any age to register as long as they could hold a gun and shoot they were allowed to be a mercenary .

    Arthur had no talent in using guns or any sort of firearms, he was also unable to use melee weapons such as swords and spears well enough to defend himself . The only reason he survived for so long was because of sheer luck .

    When he failed another mission, the other mercenaries told him that the merc life might not be for him . Arthur frustrated that he couldn¡¯t do anything started to train . He knew that he had no talent whatsoever in using weapons, so he decided to make his body the weapon . If he had no talent even in that, then he would give five times the amount of effort that everyone else does .

    Arthur then headed to the the side of an unnamed mountain which was a famous training ground for masters . It remained unnamed and no one knew why . There were many legends as to why the mountain remained unnamed but none could find proof for those ims .

    Arthur who had finally reached the mountain of legend, thought that there would be tons of practitioners training themselves, but found that there were none . It would seem that over the years, the famous training ground became deste . Due to more modern ways and techniques, training in the unnamed mountains became obsolete .

    Still that didn¡¯t bother Arthur as he set up camp and trained at the mountain side . Arthur never left the mountain side, as he hunted for food and continued strengthening himself there . At the end of the day as he was done training, Arthur would punch the side of the mountain to supposedly strengthen his fist .

    This routine of his, Arthur did for days, which turned into weeks, which turned into months, and then turned into years . Arthur who has gotten obsessed with training, didn¡¯t noticed the years go by .

    After a few more years Arthur¡¯s body changed into one with lean muscles . He didn¡¯t even notice that he had continued punching the side of the mountain for months now and he also hadn¡¯t notice that he had been punching without rest, as he didn¡¯t eat nor did he drink water . At this moment his mind was clear and there was nothing else but his fist . He felt every muscle in his body was moving in perfect harmony . Arthur could feel that he was nearing it, he was nearing something . He kept on punching as he felt that he was gaining something unimaginable .

    Yet the moment he punch out once more he felt something different, it was then he was sent out of his dazed state . He looked around and the mountain was no longer in front of him, when he looked behind him there stood the mountain and the hole he made right through it .

    Arthur finally noticed the changes in his body, and he was then assailed by hunger and thirst . Arthur went out to hunt, when he noticed that his body even though he was hungry was moving way better than before . He was able to easily hunt the wild boars that he had difficulty dealing with before .

    After eating his meal, drinking a ton of water, and sleeping, once he woke up Arthur could finally feel how powerful he had be . He needed to test this out quickly, and went back into civilization, it was then Arthur took on the hardest mission he could find . He did it with no problem whatsoever, and by doing this mission he was able to save thousands .

    With this one mission Arthur shot up in rank and became an SS rank merc, and not only that due to his care for the citizens as he protected them while fighting enemy forces, he became a Saint as well . A few years after this rise in fame and power the small countries became one and named themselves the Southern Union .

    Arthur Glory had be the strongest defender of the Southern Union . At this point Arthur already forgotten his original purpose of vengeance .

    . . .

    Rika Saunter: SS rank merc of the Granado Empire

    Rika Saunter was considered a monster right after birth . Not even a two days old, Rika was able to squeeze the finger of her father and made him feel pain . This was not the strength of a little baby . The doctors who had checked Rika¡¯s body were surprised to see that the bones of this little baby, were thicker and denser than normal . Not only that her skin which looked clean and smooth was actually hard and thick .

    As Rika grew up even more, it became more evident that she was nothing like a normal human being . She was faster and stronger than everyone . She didn¡¯t need to train or anything and she just grew stronger as she grew older . If that wasn¡¯t weird enough no matter how much she ate, she never grew fat . Not only that she was so beautiful that even the goddess of beauty would weep in front of her .

    Yet no matter how beautiful she was many were afraid of her overwhelming strength and perfection . When they look at Rika they found themselvescking . She was far too good to be the same species of human as them .

    It was yet unknown to the people and even Rika herself, that there was something sinister hidden within herself .

    . . .

    One day Rika Saunter was forced to be a mercenary, after her parents were taken hostage by the government . They didn¡¯t want her to be a soldiers, since soldiers in the Empire were harder to control since they only needed to listen to the generals and the Emperor himself .

    The government officials wanted a power that was equal to the ten generals . They wanted this power since on the outside it would seem that they and the ten generals were on equal standing, but in the nation that loves strength, the ten generals were in fact of a higher standing than them . If the ten generals killed one of them, they would only be under house arrest for a few years, before being forgiven .

    So they wanted to show the ten generals that they had something that could match their military might . Rika having her parents held hostage had no choice but to follow the orders of those higher ups .

    Yet on her first taste of battle, Rika felt a blood curling rage that she couldn¡¯t control . Something within her snapped as she proceeded to massacre an entire battalion of rebel forces . She even killed the leader of the rebel forces that she was supposed to capture .

    It took her a few hours to cool down from her berserker state . When she came back to report what had happened, the higher ups were of course not pleased by her actions . They told her because of her failure they killed her father, and would torture her mother if she would fail again .

    With what was said, Rika went into another berserker like rage and attacked the higher ups and their bodyguards, once she was done with them, Rika headed to the ce where her parents were supposedly imprisoned . When she got there, what she saw horrified her . Her Father was indeed dead, but her mother was also dead and not only that, her beautiful mother¡¯s dead body was being defiled by some men, who were supposedly government officials .

    Since the beginning they would never allow Rika¡¯s parents to live . They nned to trick her all the while without admitting that they already killed her parents . They also nned to dispose of her once she proves to be useless . Yet they didn¡¯t expect someone like her who had no fighting experience to be this strong .

    Rika killed everyone in sight, and as she wept she buried her parents with her own two hands . After that incident Rika went on a rampage in different battlefields, until she reached the rank of SS after a few months . That was when Rika met General Hilda, the person whom Rika allowed to capture and imprison her .

 Chapter 276

    Chapter 276

    In a spacious white room, Alex was fighting numerous people while naked . These people were all members of the lowest tier in the Shadow Mercenaries, but even though the in lowest positions, strength wise they could be considered to be at the top of the A ranks in the mercenary system .

    Also even though these members of the Shadow Mercenaries might be the lowest ranked members, but they still had their pride . Since everyone in the Shadow Mercenaries were people with huge pride and ego . They couldn¡¯t ept the fact that they needed to fight Alex as a group, and they were even fighting him armed, as he remained naked with nothing .

    The man hidden behind the curtain the true boss of the Shadow Mercenaries actually said it was alright to kill Alex, if they were able to . This was a direct provocation on their skill . Alex was unarmed while they had their weapons at hand, and they were told they could kill the boy if they could . They were even told that if one of them was able to kill Alex, they could get a very high position as the vice-leader of the Shadow Mercenaries . This position doesn¡¯t even exist at the moment, but it would be specially made for anyone who could kill Alex .

    It was like the higher ups were telling them, that no matter what they did they wouldn¡¯t be able to kill Alex . So with their angered egos they first tried attacking Alex one by one . That proved to do nothing, even though they shoot at him with actual guns, Alex could easily dodge . Even if they got near enough and shoot at him, Alex could still easily dodge a bullet . They then tried to fight Alex using melee weapons, but they were still easily subdued .

    At that point they figured that Alex, even though he was a kid wasn¡¯t someone they could kill one on one . So they then fought Alex in groups . At first they went inside by fives, then by tens, then it reached twenties . Now every time one of them falls another reced him .

    At the beginning Alex would need to attack twice or thrice to take down an opponent, but as a day passed and he was given no time to rest, Alex¡¯s movements got even more minimized . Now he hits his opponents only one time to subdue them . He no longer moved erratically and instead only moved the minimum amount needed for that moment .

    As Alex continued to fight his body moved in a way that preserved energy . He only had a millisecond to catch his breath as he continued to fight . By the third day he fought, Richter released some lions and eagles into the room .

    Alex seeing the meat that wasn¡¯t humane into the room, quickly moved to kill them . The agents of the Shadow Mercenaries, that were inside the training room, were all ordered to stop Alex from killing the animals . Yet no matter how the animals and the agents of the Shadow Mercenaries struggle to kill Alex, they weren¡¯t able to stop Alex from killing the animals . Alex at the moment had no other choice but to eat the meat raw . As he continued fighting the members of the Shadow Mercenaries inside the white room, he ate right in front of them as he fought .

    This wounded the prides of the agents fighting Alex even more than before . Richter who was watching his grandson decimate many of the agents from the organization was beaming with excitement .

    ¡¯Will you finally be the perfect Greyhound, the one who would bite the throat of the Emperor, and the other foolish nations that left ours to die?¡¯

    . . .

    Alex continued fighting the agents for days and every now and then, he would be given some meat to hunt and eat, he also had water that came from the sprinklers to drink, but he wasn¡¯t able to rest as he continued to fight . His body was now beyond fatigued, still he had no choice but to continue onward . The moment he rested was the moment he who would rest forever .

    . . .

    On the sixth day of fighting, Richter sent in actual high ranking members of the Shadow Mercenaries . These guys would be ranked mid tier S ranks if they were registered as Mercenaries . The lower tier agents moved out, as they allowed the two to enter the room . Before they enter the white room, the two agents spoke to each other .

    "Why should we be fighting a naked dude? What the hell are the higher ups thinking?"

    "I don¡¯t know and I don¡¯t care . The only reason I¡¯m doing this, is because of that chance to be vice-leader . "

    "I know how you feel man, so who¡¯s going first? I think-" The moment the two stepped foot into the room, Alex disappeared from his spot and a jumping axe kick came out of nowhere . The man who was about to get hit, saw Alex¡¯s attacking and was about to block, but he couldn¡¯t make it in time . Thest thing he saw was Alex¡¯s uninterested face as his neck snapped .

    Alex after finishing off one of the two was about to attack the other one, but as expected of a high level agent he was able to back away quickly . Still that distance wasn¡¯t enough for him to get away from Alex . Seeing that Alex was about to move towards his direction, the agent threw some grenades and used his pistol to ward off Alex .

    When the smoke cleared Alex was no longer in front of the man . Obviously the agent didn¡¯t believe that Alex was blown away by the grenades . He then felt something behind him and quickly ducked . The agent saw that Alex was already behind him and was almost able to pierce the agent¡¯s heart using nothing but his bare hands .

    Alex was able to move like this, because he no longer needed to consciously go on a RELEASE state, within the numerous days he kept on fighting Alex figured out a way to always be in a RELEASE state . Basically he was now able to use eighty percent of his muscles potential all the time, without his body getting any kind of bacsh .

    The agent was now a bit fearful of Alex, but he was still an agent of the Shadow mercenaries so he was still able to somehow keep calm . First he needed to get some distance from Alex . Yet as he was about to move aside, he saw that Alex had his back wide open .

    ¡¯Does he no longer think I¡¯m an opponent? Damn brat!¡¯ The moment the agent thought this, he felt a pain in his chest . He looked at his chest and saw that there was a big hole right where his heart was suppose to be . It seems that he wasn¡¯t able to dodge Alex¡¯s attack after all .

    Those were hissts thoughts as he died without being able to fight back .

    . . .

    Richter who usually had a neutral expression was now smiling in joy and excitement . His grandson was nearing his level at a rapid rate . It was just matter of time before he would surpass him .

    Richter then clicked a button on his side, making the room Alex was in fill up with sleeping gas . Alex like before was already used to this, and as he expected he once again heard the same line from his f*cking sh*thead of a grandfather .

    "Alex you pass this test with flying colors . Onto the next test . "

 Chapter 277

    Chapter 277: 277

    It has been three months since Rachelstid eyes on Alex, and right now she was looking at her father with a defiant face . Rachel getting a bit agitated couldn¡¯t wait anymore and was about to leave so that she could try and save Alex, but was instead intercepted by her father Dan .

    "Where do you think you¡¯re going?"

    "Where else? I¡¯m going to save Alex . "

    "Huh? . . . Rachel . . . I understand that Alex is important to you, and I know you want to do everything you can to save him . Still . . . I¡¯m sure you are aware that with your current abilities, you won¡¯t be able to do it . First off, you don¡¯t even know where he is, and even if by some miracle you do find out where he¡¯s being held . You won¡¯t be able to do anything, except head towards your death . . . I¡¯m sure you remember what I told you about Alex¡¯s grandfather . That guy is unbelievably powerful . Even in my FULL RELEASE state I wasn¡¯t able to do jack sh*t, what more can you do?"

    Dan clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, as he remembered that fight . He was treated like a child by that old man . It was a very shameful experience for someone like Dan who dedicated his life to his martial art . Rachel seeing her father look like he was suppressing himself, understood what kind of opponents she was about to face .

    These people weren¡¯t the everyday thugs and perverts that she had to deal with, they were people that would not think twice when trying to kill her . Still, Rachel wasn¡¯t just twiddling her thumbs for the past three months . She practiced her martial art until she sweated blood, and her fist bled . Not only that in those three months she met Arthur Glory, who saw her practicing one day, and actually helped her improve .

    . . .

    Two months ago, Arthur was passing by the capital of Berdonia when he saw Rachel practicing . The style she was using was something amazing to Arthur . The only problem with the martial art Rachel was using, was that all of her movements seem to indicate that her attacks were meant to beat the opponent in one shot . There was no follow through to any of her movements, which were all one shot one kill type moves .

    This was a weakness most practitioner of the Ultimate martial art style had, well aside from Dan who actually made follow up moves . Most of the practitioners of the so called Ultimate martial art didn¡¯t have much options for using follow up moves, as they focused more in beating the opponent in one hit .

    The original idea was one hit for victory . This has already been fixed by Dan, but he wasn¡¯t able to teach the others the new set of moves . The only other person that had follow through moves, was Dan¡¯s wife Kumiko, who also notice the problem once one was facing someone way beyond ones level .

    Arthur who saw this, thought that the style would have been near perfection if it had morebinations . Seeing how valiantly Rachel was practicing, piqued the interest of the old man . Not to mention that he was truly interested in Rachel¡¯s martial art . So Arthur went ahead adn introduced himself to Rachel and started teaching her some moves that she could incorporate into her style .

    . . .

    Two monthster, Rachel was now face to face with her father, who was stopping her from rescuing Alex .

    "Don¡¯t worry Rachel me, Carlo, and the others will be the one to bring Alex home . This time I promise I won¡¯t fail and that I will bring him back no matter what . "

    "So you¡¯re telling me to simply wait around hoping for good news? I can¡¯t do that anymore dad . . . I just can¡¯t anymore . . . I . . . This is something I need to do, so I hope you support me on this . So please step aside . "

    Dan was momentarily stunned as this was the first time Rachel so naturally called her dad, and there wasn¡¯t even a b*stard or a sh*thead before it . Her eyes didn¡¯t even have the usual look of disgust or disdain in it . Instead what Dan could see in her was a burning passion, a drive that forces her to move onward . This was the same look Dan had, when he created his martial art .

    Rachel then took a stance, and actually used FULL RELEASE . Upon entering the state of FULL RELEASE, Rachel¡¯s body got a bit taller, and her muscles tightened making her look a bit slimmer . Dan was once again shocked by this sudden move . He wasn¡¯t expecting his daughter to be able to use FULL RELEASE .

    "Then you leave me no choice dad . Like you use to say to me, we of Regius line, only with our fist can we truly understand each other . " After saying this, Rachel dashed forward and did a low spinning heel kick . Dan was able to see through this move of hers and jumped upward, but then Rachel shifted her body and did a backward somersault kick .

    Dan being in mid-air couldn¡¯t dodge, so he blocked instead, but because of Rachel¡¯s power in FULL RELEASE was so great, Dan was blown away by that one kick, making him hit a wall . Seeing her dad being blown away Rachel quickly escaped . She knew the only reason she was able to even touch Dan, was because she caught him by surprise . Dan didn¡¯t even use RELEASE, so he might be out for a few minutes, giving Rachel enough time to leave .

    . . .

    When Rachel¡¯s silhouette could no longer be seen, Kumiko appeared beside her supposedly unconscious husband .

    "Are you sure this is the right choice?"

    "To tell you the truth . . . I¡¯m really not sure . " Dan who was on the ground stood up and answered .

    "Then, why?" Kumiko asked Dan, of course Dan knew what Kumiko¡¯s question entails, without her saying more . He then sighed as he looked at the direction his daughter ran off to .

    "Well it¡¯s because she¡¯s our daughter . The more we tell her not to, the more she would want to prove us wrong . . . Also those eyes, and her fist told me everything I needed to know . After all a Regiusmunicates through his fist . Rachel¡¯s fist told me of her determination, her struggles, and all the effort she put in for the past three months . You don¡¯t get that strong, that quickly without a good enough drive . "

    "Still as her mother, I can¡¯t deny that I¡¯m worried . " Dan embraced his wife, and spoke in a gleeful tone .

    "What kind of parent doesn¡¯t worry for their children? . . . Still our daughter is someone who won¡¯t fall that easily . With her wits, and the martial art I¡¯ve taught her it would take a lot to bring her down . Also she¡¯s not alone, She has those friends of hers . I¡¯m sure that the lot of them had the same idea as her . So don¡¯t worry too much Kumiko . . . I¡¯m positive that our little girl would bring back that fool of student of mine, even if she needs to beat him ck and blue . "

    Dan grinned from ear to ear, just imagining that scene .

 Chapter 278

    Chapter 278

    After escaping from Cromer city Sarah Resti alongside the others retreated to the Capital of Berdonia, Regon . It was a good thing that her family was currently in the Souther Union were it¡¯s rtively safer .

    Right now Sarah was in an newly created orphanage helping the children who suddenly became orphans, due to the sudden attack of the Granado Empire . In this orphanage she became the children¡¯s teacher and was using art to help the children calm themselves . She knew that this was in the end was something that wouldn¡¯t truly help them . . . But she hoped, she truly hoped that somehow this would make them forget for even a moment all the horrible things that happened . It has been three months now since that incident and she hasn¡¯t seen Kyle or his sister Emily for all that time .

    She knew that Kyle was a mercenary, since he told her when he left her in that safe room . So it was possible for him to be doing his part in this war . Sarah didn¡¯t know Kyle for that long, but it still felt somewhat weird for him not to pick her up after work . It was a weird feeling, she didn¡¯t know if she liked him or not, but he was indeed in her mind a lot for the past days .

    She wondered if at this point did she really like him, or was it like what some call the suspension bridge effect . She just couldn¡¯t understand her current feelings due to the rapid changes that was happening in the world around her .

    While Sarah was thinking about her current feelings, a little boy came near her, bringing his drawing with him .

    "Teacher look . " The little boy happily sat beside Sarah as he showed her the picture he drew .

    "What is it?" Sarah who was deep in thought looked at the boy and smiled . She saw the drawing it was a bit messy drawing, that one should expect from someone that young . Still Sarah was able to piece out what the picture represented . It was a picture of a happy family .

    "Look, I drew Daddy and Mommy, and there¡¯s me . I¡¯m the one holding that cool robot toy . Daddy promised to buy me one, if I was good boy . . . Teacher, when do you think Daddy and Mommy wille back from their work?"

    When Sarah heard the little boy¡¯s question, she gritted her teeth, as she tried to stop herself from crying . She couldn¡¯t look directly at the little boy¡¯s honest eyes .

    ¡¯As an adult, what am I suppose to do in this situation?¡¯ Sarah smiled back at the little boy .

    "Your Mommy and Daddy need to stay at work for a bit more . So while waiting for them, you better behave well . So that when your daddyes back, you¡¯ll see him carrying the robot toy you¡¯ve been asking for . "

    "For real teacher?!" The boy joyfully asked . Sarah simply smiled at the little boy while nodding her head . Seeing his teacher do that, made the little boy happy as he scurried off back to his friends .

    Sarah who saw the little boy happily talk to his friends about the robot toy he wanted, made Sarah want to cry, yet she couldn¡¯t . It was at that moment she heard someone actually crying . Sarah stood up and headed towards the direction of where she heard the crying, there she saw a little girl .

    "What¡¯s the problem, are you hurt?" Sarah worriedly approached the little girl .

    "I want my Mommy! Where¡¯s my Mommy! Why hasn¡¯t Mommye to pick me up?" The little girl suddenly screamed at Sarah .

    "It¡¯s alright little one, your mommy¡¯s just a little bitte . We just need to wait for her here . " Sarah hugged the little girl as the girl continued crying . Sarah¡¯s heart was breaking, as she heard the little girl continue crying until she tired herself out and slept .

    . . .

    Sarah who has been trying to calm down the kids who were getting a bit more agitated, since its been months since theyst saw their parents . Sarah who has been really stressed out by the events that happened today, started painting .

    In her painting she drew the little boy and the little girl reuniting with their parents .

    "At least in my painting they could be reunited . " Sarah softly whispered while she continued painting . As she was fully focused in her painting, Sarah didn¡¯t notice that someone was behind her, watching her paint .

    Once she was done painting, Sarah heard a familiar voice .

    "Such a beautiful painting . " Sarah hurriedly look back, and as expected there stood Kyle Hunt .

    "Long time no see my pretty little teacher . " Kyle stood there smiling at Sarah, who almost cried when she saw him . It has been one hectic day for her, she was almost force to tears multiple times . Seeing that smiling face of his, made Sarah smile a bit as well .

    She approached Kyle and embraced him,ying down her head on his chest tired from the events of the day . Sarah under thefort of Kyle¡¯s chest fell asleep in his embrace .

    "Good work . " Kyle softly whispered in Sarah¡¯s ears .

    . . .

    For the first time in the past few months, Sarah was able to sleep well . She somehow felt safe and secured as she believed that Kyle was watching over her . She woke up and looked around seeing that she was in her bed . Sarah then finally noticed that Kyle wasn¡¯t here with her .

    "Was that all a dream? Did I actually dream of Kyle?" As Sarah mumbled this she noticed a letter on the table beside her .

    It was a letter that was obvious addressed to her . She opened the letter and read it .

    "To my pretty little teacher,

    I wanted to talk to you some more, but it seems like you¡¯re very tired today and needed some rest . It was fun watching your sleeping face . . . Wait . . . Did that sound a bit creepy? Oh well, but it¡¯s the truth you know, you looked really pretty while you slept so peacefully . Yet I saw that you were a bit stressed as well, don¡¯t bother lying I have the eyes of the best sniper in the world . I can spot your anxiety from a mile away . I hope you stop thinking of those negative things, so that you can stay healthy and happy . If you continue to stress over the things you can¡¯t change, the kids you¡¯re trying to help will notice something and it might make them a bit more gloomy . So smile my pretty little teacher, smile for the children that you¡¯re trying to save, and most importantly smile for yourself .

    Don¡¯t worry about the small stuff . Like I said before, everything is going to be alright, there¡¯s no need to worry . As long as I¡¯m here, I¡¯ll shoot down all the bad things away . So Sarah I will do my very best to end the war, and when that happens I have something important to say to you .

    P . S . I¡¯ll being back to look at you¡¯re beautiful paintings .

    From yours truly

    Kyle"

    Reading the letter made Sarah smile as tears fell down her face . She then startedughing a bit, as she hugged the paper hoping that it would somehow give her courage .

 Chapter 279

    Chapter 279

    In a condominium in Berdonia¡¯s capital Regon, sat a family of four eating their meal like any family would . The only and major difference this family has from other families was the radiant aura they were emitting . These people with shining auras as if they were halos were the Rayhearts .

    After escaping Cromer City the Rayhearts with their amazing luck were able to quickly buy a condo unit at the capital, the moment they tried to find one . Not only that both parents were able to find jobs so easily, that it happened just like that . The Rayhearts luck was something that could only be matched by their charisma . It was like the very Gods themselves were helping them . If they truly wished for it, they could even run for President and win the election . Still because of their overwhelming charisma and luck they weren¡¯t really attach to such things such as fame and fortune, since they only wanted what they needed .

    As the family of four were eating they had very fun conversations, regarding their day . If anyone else saw this they might think that they were watching a T . V show . Mainly because the people at the table all look extremely good looking and cute, and also because their stories don¡¯t sound like they could happen to anyone else aside from them .

    After eating his meal and cleaning the dishes, Niel as usual went straight back to his room . This was his usual routine every since they arrived at the capital . Niel¡¯s dad and mom were truly worried about their son, who suddenly looked like an introvert . Yet they decided that it would be best to leave Niel alone, and for him to solve what it is he wanted to do . At the moment Niel was still in a state of confusion, and the only way for him to solve this self conflict within him, is if he himself realizes what he wanted to do .

    . . .

    Niel even without Lyner there to instruct him, continued his training by himself . Due to him witnessing the exchange between Lyner and Richter, Niel had a visual representation of what to aim for, which proved extremely beneficial in his growth as a warrior . After doing his image training Niel turned on the radio he had bought recently . The reason he bought the thing was because of his friend Kei who was doing a radio show in the front lines .

    Once he tuned in the radio he heard Kei¡¯s familiar voice . He didn¡¯t say anything much different, it was all the same from thest show; which was basically that Berdonia was still in a stalemate with the Granado Empire, since no one from both sides was doing anything drastic yet .

    After Kei¡¯s radio show Niely down on his bed trying to rest, yet he couldn¡¯t . Ever since he faced Alex¡¯s grandfather something deep within Niel wanted to burst out . That was the second time Niel had failed to do something that he was trying to achieve, and it excited him .

    Always winning, always getting what he wants, never failing . This was Niel¡¯s life before he met Alex and it was a life that was too easy and boring . There was no challenge in his life, and sometimes Niel thought that he was in a long dream, since everything goes his way .

    Yet this idea was blown away when he met Alex, who was better than him in almost everything . It was not only him, shortly after meeting Alex he met Lyner, someone who was leagues above him . Now he met Alex¡¯s grandfather which was another superhuman beyond his current abilities .

    This was the first time Niel had lost even before the battle started . This made Niel extremely happy, it made him feel like he was truly alive . Then came the question .

    ¡¯What am I doing now?¡¯ This thought suddenly came into Niel¡¯s mind . After that confrontation with Alex¡¯s grandfather, he and his family retreated to the capital with everyone else, and now they were living like the war wasn¡¯t happening . He was stuck here with his family ying house, while his friends were out there doing there part to help end the war . Even Kei who was the weakest of them all, was doing his part in the front lines .

    ¡¯Shouldn¡¯t I as a citizen of Berdonia do something for my country? . . . ¡¯ When Niel thought of this he smiled and started tough .

    "Who the f*ck am I trying to fool . I don¡¯t want to go to war for such noble reasons . I just want to fight and see the limits and breakthrough them . I want to feel alive, I want to feel like I¡¯m truly living in this world! Winning all the time is a bore, but losing over and over again is an excitement I can¡¯t really exin . This burning passion deep within me, was only achieved because I kept on losing . I want to feel more, I want to see more, and I want to struggle my way to the top!"

    Just thinking about the battles he would have made Niel giddy with excitement . He was simr yet at the same time different from his master Lyner . Though both of them were talented and above most people, both of them also found life a bore, and only truly felt alive through hard exciting battles . Yet unlike Lyner who loved battle, especially tough ones, since that may lead to his glorious death, which was his final wish . Niel on the other hand wanted battle for the sole purpose of making himself better, to make himself feel alive .

    One wanted a death that would be ever glorious, while the other wanted to feel alive and be true to himself .

    . . .

    When Niel finally understood what he truly wanted to do, the fog in his head was finally gone . Now he was once again sure of himself . Niel without dy started to pack up, and once he was done he look at his door and spoke .

    "How about you guyse in . " When he said that, three people came into his room . Niki charged forward towards her brother and hugged him with tears flowing down her cheeks .

    "Nii-nii, I don¡¯t want you to go, but I also want Nii-nii to be happy . . . " Niki suddenly said confused as to what was happening . The only thing she understood was her brother was going out to find his happiness .

    Niel¡¯s father Noel looked at his son and smiled .

    "I see that you finally made your decision, and when a man makes a decision he needs to follow through until the end . Just promise this old man of yours, that you¡¯lle back when you¡¯re done . "

    "Of course Dad . . . Thanks . " After Niel said this his mother suddenly hugged him .

    "I can never understand what kind of things you men think about, but as your mother, I only hope the best for you, and wish that your dreams be a reality . . . So I will not stop you, but just remember there are people here waiting for you . "

    "Thanks mom . " After hugging his mom and sister, Niel looked at his dad who had extended his hand asking for a handshake . Niel sped his dad¡¯s hand and tightly gripped it, after one shake they said nothing more .

    On that day Niel left, and registered as a Mercenary .

 Chapter 280

    Chapter 280: 280

    In a darken hallway Shadow was surprised and happy to see that his daughter Sayaka was finally able to deal a blow at him . This meant that Sayaka has finally understood the secret behind the final Shadow technique, that was passed down to the first born of the main family of the Mutsus .

    "You have finally grasped the essence of the technique . Now that there is nothing left to teach you, I can finally go do my mission worry free . "

    Sayaka was surprised to hear that her father had an actual mission and didn¡¯t do it immediately . Instead he went ahead and trained her first, before even deciding to go . This statement triggered warning signals inside Sayaka¡¯s head .

    "Father, is the kill that difficult this time?" Sayaka couldn¡¯t help but ask, since this was the first time she felt her father actual feel unsure of the kill . The current Shadow, that was her father was only second to the founder of the Mutsu n in terms of skill . He was once even called the seconding of the Mustu family¡¯s forefather . Yet this father of hers, who has never failed once in killing a target was actually exuding a feeling of uncertainty .

    Her father who usually never showed his true form, as his body face and everything else was hidden in a blurry image, had now actually shown his face . This was the first time Sayaka has seen her father¡¯s face . . . No that wasn¡¯t right, it was a faint memory but Sayaka was sure that he has seen his face when her mother died .

    Yet now his face was obviously different as it looked a bit older than thest time she saw him . Still even though her father was a bit older now, he still looked like a dignified young noble . While Sayaka was still in a state of stunned surprise, her father smiled at her . He then patted her head before speaking .

    "I won¡¯t hide anything from you Sayaka . My mission this time was given to me by the current President of Berdonia . I the head of the Mutsu Family, the one who bears the name Shadow have been given the honor to take the life of the Granado Empire¡¯s Emperor . "

    When Sayaka heard this she was really surprised, then her face turned serious . She was now sure that her father knew that this mission would be hisst . Showing his face, even to his own daughter, wasn¡¯t something, someone who had the burden of being called the Shadow was allowed to do .

    Sayaka, even though she was long ago aware that in their family¡¯s line of business, death was always close, it was beside them like their best friend . Still she never expected her father the best assassin to ever fail .

    "Father . . . I . . . You-" Shadow ced his finger on top of Sayaka¡¯s lips and smiled at his daughter . It was a gentle loving smile, that Sayaka never expected to see from her father .

    "Sayaka, I know what you want to say, but as a Mutsu you must never say it . We are the n that holds Berdonia¡¯s hands through the darkness . It is our mission, our duty to protect it from the darkness . So do not worry my Daughter, the Shadow never dies . "

    After saying that line Sayaka¡¯s father kissed his daughter¡¯s forehead, and once again hid his face and body type in a blurry figure .

    . . .

    That was the conversation Shadow and Sayaka had a month ago, and right now Shadow was near the throne room of the Emperor . It wasn¡¯t easy to infiltrate such a heavily guarded ce, but Shadow was still able to do it .

    He waited for the right timing, when the Emperor was about to go to sleep . The Emperor¡¯s room was hidden behind the throne room . After a few rounds of scouting Shadow was able to find the room¡¯s exact location .

    This was his chance, since all of the ten generals were out today, this was the best time to kill the Emperor . Shadow could feel his heart beating faster than normal . This made him smile as this feeling he had was the same feeling he had, during the first time he was sent out to kill someone . He was ten at the time, when he was given his first kill target . At the time the anxiety and the excitement had both mixed in as he did his mission .

    That feeling slowly went away as Shadow got better at his job . It even got to the point that no matter what happened, his heart rate remained ever steady . Yet today it was like he was that young inexperienced assassin once more .

    . . .

    Once the darkness of the night enveloped the Emperor¡¯s room, Shadow went in for the kill . Before he assassinated the Emperor, he double, no, triple checked if he had the right person . Once he confirmed that the person sleeping soundly on that bed was in fact the Emperor, Shadow swiftly went in for the kill .

    Yet the moment the deed was done, the lights in the room were turned on . Not only that the whole room seem to went into some kind of lockdown . Shadow was confused as to how this happened . He moved in perfectly and he hid his presence perfectly as well . There was no mistakes made . . .

    Still he was already expecting his death this time around, so he was ready for whatever it is toe . An assassin that was caught in the act was second rate assassin, so Shadow was already counting this as a failure . Yet even though he considers this a failure, Shadow was still able to sessfully kill the Emperor . When he thought of this he heard a familiar voice that shouldn¡¯t exist in this world anymore . The person in question was not present, but his voice echoed throughout the room most probably from a speaker somewhere .

    "Look at what we have here . How nice of the traitorous ves to send out their best assassin to kill me . Still as expected of lowly ves, the assassin they sent has failed spectacrly, since the one you killed was nothing more than a clone . "

    When Shadow heard what the Emperor said, his body jolted . Not only was he trapped and was discovered, he even failed to kill the target . This was the greatest blunder he had made in his life .

    "Now that you failed to kill me, that would mean the hundred percent kill rate of the Shadow no longer exist . It is the end of a legend, how sad . " Hearing the sarcastic tone of the Emperor got no reaction from Shadow .

    "Emperor of the Granado Empire, the Shadow never fails to kill its target . The next time would be yourst . "

    Hearing Shadow¡¯seback made the Emperorugh .

    "How will there be a next time, if you die here?"

    "Shadows never die . " The moment Shadow said this he used his tongue to tap a tooth . The moment he did this, the sound of ticking could be heard .

    ¡¯Sayaka, I hope you no longer be bound by the Shadows . ¡¯ That was Shadow¡¯sst thoughts before his head exploded . After the explosion of his head, Shadow¡¯s body exploded right after . Turns out the thing Shadow tapped on his tooth, was something that activated the explosives inside his body, that were ced just in case he failed a mission .

    The body of a Mutsu held too many secrets, that¡¯s why once they failed, the members of the Mutsu family would readily destroy their bodies .

    The Emperor was shocked to see what had happened . This move that Shadow made was something he wasn¡¯t expecting, right after Shadow dered that Shadows never die . This made the Emperor feel a bit anxious, as the final words of Shadow became a somewhat ominous prophecy .

    . . .

    When the Mutsu family heard that Shadow had failed, the sessor of the title was appointed, but it wasn¡¯t Sayaka who was appointed as the next Shadow . It was someone from the branch family . It would seem that Shadow named a child of the branch family as the next sessor of the title . He did this to ensure that his only daughter could break free from the Shadows influence . Yet Shadow wasn¡¯t able to properly predict what Sayaka would do next .

    Sayaka could obviously understand what her father wanted to happen, but she didn¡¯t want to ept it . So Sayaka challenged the current sessor for the title of Shadow .

    "Father I know this isn¡¯t what you want from me, but . . . In the end I am a Mustsu, and your daughter . It could never be anyone else . . . Only I am allowed to finish yourst mission . . . Shadows never die . . . Right?"

 Chapter 281

    Chapter 281

    Sayaka challenging the current head for the title of Shadow, gathered different reactions from the family . Yet the majority of them understood what she was currently feeling . As she was preparing herself for the uing fighter, her eldest cousin came to talk to her . This cousin of hers was the one appointed as the new head of the family the current Shadow .

    "What do you want cousin? If you¡¯re here to tell me not to continue the challenge then forget it . "

    The cousin that already forsaken his name and is now called Shadow appeared in front of Sayaka, without making any sound .

    "Sayaka, I know that you¡¯re going through something hard to deal with, but still you cannot call me cousin anymore . For now and until the day I die, I will be called Shadow . "

    Hearing her eldest cousin call himself Shadow made Sayaka bite her lower lip and clench her fist . It was right for him to call himself that, since he already inherited the title, yet Sayaka couldn¡¯t ept this . She looked at her cousin and was about to re at him, but when she looked she saw nothing .

    Those who have acquired the title Shadow, have all been allowed to read the final scroll of stealth . The ability to make your opponents unable distinguish who you are, even if you are caught on camera the only thing they will see will be nothing but a blur .

    Sayaka seeing him already use this technique right in front of her almost made her cry . She looked at her cousin and red at him .

    "This is one of the reasons why I don¡¯t think you should be the Shadow . I understand that you are the most affected by the recent death of the former head, but we are a family of assassins . Death is nothing but our business partner . So the idea of revenge that you so clearly want doesn¡¯t work well with our lifestyle . "

    "So what?! You want me to just take itying down! You want me to stand aside and ept the death of my father!"

    Seeing the sudden outburst of his cousin, the current Shadow sighed . He looked at the young girl brimming with life and vengeance and knew that what his Uncle wanted was for her to shine brightly outside the influence of the Shadows .

    "Do you really think someone like you, who has this kinds of outbursts is fit to be the Shadow? Sayaka Mutsu, please think about what you¡¯re father wanted for you . In truth, if you are worthy I would dly hand over the title of Shadow to you . . . But knowing what uncle wanted for you and seeing how your acting right now, makes it impossible for me to hand over the title . "

    "What the hell are you saying?! Do you think I don¡¯t know that?! Do you think, I don¡¯t understand what my father wants from me?! How dare you say it, like you understood him more than me!"

    Seeing the anger and sorrow in Sayaka¡¯s face made the current Shadow sigh once more . He knew, no everyone in the family knew, Sayaka Mutsu wasn¡¯t cut out to be an assassin . It¡¯s not because shecked the skill to be one, no . . . In fact she had too much skill and talent . Her kindness and mentality was the problem .

    It was true that an assassin can be kind, but he/she shouldn¡¯t be bound by that kindness . An assassin cannot do better or worse depending on his/her emotion . An assassin must be able to seed in killing his target with nothing but pure efficiency .

    "Sayaka you do understand to take the challenge for the title of Shadow, the current Shadow and the challenger will try to kill each other and whoever lives gets the title . Are you okay with this? . . . "

    Sayaka already knew what it meant to challenge the head of the family, but still the anger she had at the time clouded her judgement . Now that she heard the rules again, she couldn¡¯t help but waver . She wanted to be the one to finish her father¡¯s mission but she didn¡¯t want to kill her cousin .

    Seeing her wavering and her determination lessen, made the current Shadow sigh again . This girl was truly being dragged around by her emotions . She truly was a defect as an assassin, but is good as a human being .

    ¡¯Uncle what should we do we did this girl?¡¯

    "Sayaka I know what you want to do . You don¡¯t really care about the title of Shadow, all you care about is the mission . You want to be the one to finish the final mission of the former Shadow . . . How about this, though you cannot take the mission from me the current head, but I can allow you toe with me, are you willing?"

    "Of course I¡¯m willing! . . . But cousin, even though I agree with you and I will no longer challenge you for the title, I still won¡¯t call you Shadow . The only Shadow, the only person I acknowledge to have that name is my father and no one else . "

    "I will not force you to call me Shadow, but you shouldn¡¯t call me cousin as well . Are you willing to call me Head instead?"

    "Anything is fine as long as I don¡¯t need to call you Shadow . "

    "Very well then . Now that we have agreed to these terms, we will leave tomorrow evening . Be ready by then . " After saying what he needed to say, the current Shadow disappeared from sight . This move made Sayaka scoff a bit .

    ¡¯Tsk, showing off right after receiving the title . Why the hell is he trying to act like he¡¯s so cool . . . Still I guess I should thank him . ¡¯ Afterining at her cousin in her mind, Sayaka bowed in the empty space where her cousin stood .

    . . .

    The news that Sayaka took back what she said about challenging the current head, had quickly spread to the family . The elders of course found itforting that Sayaka finally understood her father¡¯s wishes, but then they heard that she wasing with Shadow to finish the mission .

    When they heard this, a lot of them started to convince Sayaka not to do it . Yet no matter what they said, no matter what they did Sayaka was already determined to go and finish her father¡¯sst mission .

 Chapter 282

    Chapter 282

    Alex was now right in front of what look like a gaming console . He was even given a controller of sorts . This confused Alex a lot, since this was so much different from the usual supposed tests his crazy b*stard of grandfather makes him do . As always once he was strapped in, the irritating voice of his grandfather could be heard .

    "Alex all the other test that has been given to you was to get a better feel of the physical aspects of your abilities, now we¡¯re going to test your mental capabilities . Right in front of you is a little game I created just for you . I know you like ying games Alex, I¡¯ve seen footages of you ying a lot . So this little test of mine, might actually help in making you rx . Since I¡¯ve noticed that you haven¡¯t been rxing at all . As you grandfather I can¡¯t help but worry . "

    ¡¯My stress is all because of you! You crazy old man!¡¯ Alex screamed in his mind, as he gritted his teeth continuing to listen to Richter¡¯s annoying voice .

    "This game is like a prize after passing your tests . The game is a simple strategy game . In this game you are given different units that have different roles, which you will utilize to annihte the opposing factions . Well isn¡¯t that simple enough, to learn the controls you just need to read the manual beside you . Hope you have fun ying the game"

    Once Richter was done saying what needs to be said, he stopped talking and watched silently at the monitor .

    After listening to his sh*tty grandfather¡¯s introduction to the game, Alex immediately started reading the manual . Even though Alex didn¡¯t like to do these tests his grandfather gives him he still continued doing them . He continued since he knew that the moment he failed any of the tests his crazy grandfather would kill him in a second . If he proved to be nothing more than failure then, his grandfather would kill him without a second thought, just like that time with his parents .

    Alex could vaguely understand what his grandfather wanted from him . Before and now, his grandfather only cared about one thing and that¡¯s the strength of the Greyhounds . Alex didn¡¯t understand why his grandfather was so obsessed into making the Greyhounds even stronger, seeing that they were already strong enough . Based on the quality of the facilities he has seen, and the level of the subordinates in this hidden base, Alex could vaguely understand just how strong the Greyhounds were .

    Not to mention based on how proud his grandfather was about the strength of a Greyhound, Alex could deduce that a normal family member of the Greyhounds was beyond any of the normal S rank mercs . So why does this man who already has so much power want more? Alex didn¡¯t have time to think too much about this and continued to read the manual .

    Once he was done reading the manual he started to y the game . For some reason the graphics of the game was close to nonexistent as they were simply dots withbels on them . Alex then saw a message pop up, which indicated the mission objectives of the game .

    The main objective was to use the units Alex has, to annihte the opposing forces . The difficulty was that the enemy forces outnumber Alex¡¯s forces one to twelve . So the first thing Alex did was study theyout of thend, which was basically mountains and forests . When he clicked the map function it showed a very detailed map . This made Alex suspicious and confused, if this game was able to show this level of graphics, then why were the units only dots?

    Alex had a bad feeling about all this, but had no other choice but to move onward and finish the game . Alex then started to moving the units to their positions . He noticed that there was some timeg between movements . It took some time for the units to acknowledge hismand and move . So he needed to keep that in mind as well .

    After cing the units to the right position, he made one unit into bait . Alex used the fastest unit which were basically the scouts as bait . Once the enemy forces saw the scouts, they gave chase . The enemy only sent a few units to track down the scouts, which Alex immediately decimated .

    Seeing theirrades haven¡¯t returned, the enemy forces were now wary . Still Alex used the same tactic and made the scouts even more visible to the enemy forces . Now that the enemy forces have confirmed the existence of the scouts, they sent in even more men to attack the unknown enemy .

    Once they gotten deeper into the mountains, Alex sprang the units for the nned ambush . The enemy forces have been outmaneuvered and surrounded . Not only that Alex¡¯s units had the advantage of a surprise attack, cornering the enemy forces making them unable to put up a more decent fight . While that was happening, seeing the defense of the base was now as low as it could be, Alex sent in his remaining forces to capture the enemy base .

    The whole battle took three hours to finish in real time . When Alex won, the first thing he thought about was how sh*tty this game was, which was basically as sh*tty as his grandfather . Upon winning the game, he was shown a casualty report . eighty of his men had died in that mission, twenty of them were gravely injured, fifteen had light injuries, and the remaining eighty five were lucky enough to sustain no injuries . Overall the mission was rated a great sess .

    As always once the test was over his grandfather¡¯s voice echoed through the speakers .

    "Congrattions Alex, you once again proven how superior Greyhound genes are . Yourmanding skills were outstanding . Even though capturing the base without destroying it wasn¡¯t part of the objectives you still did it . Gaining that base was an excellent bonus for us . "

    When Alex heard what his grandfather said he was confused, and then after second he quickly understood what his grandfather meant . What he was ying wasn¡¯t a game, the dyed movements of the characters, the detailed map, everything was real .

    Alex didn¡¯t say anything, as he tried to calm himself . He didn¡¯t know, no . . . He already had a vague suspicion that was what¡¯s happening, but he did it anyway . He used his grandfather¡¯s men to kill people that he doesn¡¯t know anything about . Were they from Berdonia, Were they from the Southern Union, Were they from the Granado Empire, or were they from some other country? He didn¡¯t know, nor did Alex care to find out . He needed to survive so he killed them, that¡¯s was all .

    Alex even knowing that the game might be something else entirely, still continued to y it . This was for his survival . Alex was no stranger to killing, so this didn¡¯t affect him as much . He was sure that the people he killed weren¡¯t civilians, they were trained soldiers, so that made his guilt feel a bit lighter .

    All Alex could think off at the moment was to survive, so that he could return to his family and friends . He needed to survive, so that he could fulfill his promise to Rachel, and tell her how he felt .

    For him to survive he needed to make his crazy grandfather still think he is useful for the future of the Greyhounds . If he fails even one test, death is what awaits him, or something far worse .

 Chapter 283

    Chapter 283

    Once Alex was done with the other tests, he was once again put to sleep and ced inside this little room . Yet this time he was able to wake up earlier than usual . This meant that the sleeping gas that they were using on him was bing less and less effective . Alex didn¡¯t really bother being excited by this revtion since they might have already noticed this, and was probably going to use something stronger the next time .

    Alex who was now fully awake felt a bit tired this time around . The tests seem never ending, as they kept oning . Doing this for what seem to be nearing a year now was finally taking a toll on Alex . He doesn¡¯t know how many months he has been inside this prison of a base, and it was actually making him frightened .

    The psychological damage the previous tests have given him, was no slowly encroaching his mind and soul . Having no knowledge what date it was or how long he has been in captivity wasn¡¯t helping either .

    ¡¯Will I really be able to escape? . . . I¡¯ve waited and waited but the chance has I needed never came . . . Is it really possible to outwit that monster of an old man?¡¯

    When Alex had these thoughts his body started to tremble a bit . A very new kind of emotion was assailing him . This was an emotion that he had never felt before, even before he sealed his memories .

    ¡¯What is this? What is this feeling? My heart is beating rapidly, my chest is tightening . I¡¯m even sweating a lot, breathing is getting difficult, I¡¯m also feeling a bit cold, which could be the reason for my body¡¯s trembling . What is this? Was I attacked by some biological weapon? Is this another test?¡¯

    "Hey you f*cking old man! What the hell have you done!" Alex couldn¡¯t take it anymore and started shouting at the camera ced inside the room .

    "Is this another test?! Answer me! I know you¡¯re watching this! I know you can hear me! Answer me, you f*cking batsh*t crazy old man!"

    Alex kept on screaming, but no one answered . Still after shouting those things he felt a bit better, but only a bit . This situation confused Alex, as he didn¡¯t know what was happening . He stayed quiet and sat down, as he contemted as to what was actually happening . He went deep into the knowledge he has, and tried to pinpoint the phenomena that was happening to his body .

    . . .

    Richter was as usual watching Alex, and knew what was happening to his talented grandson . He was actual gaining a sense of fear . Richter decided not to say anything believing that this dilemma would only serve to make Alex even stronger than before . Seeing as there was a difference between bing unfeeling and oveing that feeling with your own will .

    . . .

    Alex sat silently as he recounted the symptoms he was having . His current symptoms could be the result of a number of diseases, but none of those fit his current circumstances . It was then Alex figured out that he was looking at it in the wrong direction .

    "Am I actually scared? . . . " When Alex got to this point in his though process, he figured that this was the right answer . He, Alexander Samarita, the silent sh was actually scared . Even back when he was a kid, he was never scared . Even when his parents were murdered before his very eyes he wasn¡¯t scared, he was more angry than scared at that time . He had faced Death numerous times, and he was never scared . Yet what was different now than before .

    Alex quickly got the answer he was looking for . He had more reasons to live now, and he had more promises to keep . When he got to this answer he was suddenly assaulted by even more fear . He started to fear the future where he could never fulfill his promises . He started to fear for the safety of his loved ones .

    Alex with this newfound feeling sat there helplessly . Was there really a chance for survival? Will he really be able to escape? These questions circled around Alex¡¯s mind as he grew even more scared .

    . . .

    Richter who was watching Alex through the monitor, had a sudden thought that his grandson was going to do something stupid, and that it will ultimately disappoint him .

    ¡¯Can¡¯t even ovee such a tiny fear . If he starts to beg and cry, then that would mean he hasn¡¯t really improved much from the time he was a little boy . Such a grandson is unneeded, if he does do that, then I¡¯ll just stop treating him as my grandson, and instead treat him like a stud to make me the new generation of Greyhounds . ¡¯

    As Richter was thinking about what to do next, he noticed Alex was looking directly at the camera . Seeing this made Richter sigh in disappointment .

    ¡¯So he really gave up, after such minor trivialities . What did I expect from a failure . I had hope that he just wasn¡¯t old enough that¡¯s the reason for his weakness . Yet now he still remained a failure, how disheartening . ¡¯

    Richter didn¡¯t really care about how Alex did great in all the tests he has given him . All Richter saw was that if Alex failed here then everything else he did was meaningless . One failure was enough for him to feel that his grandson that he kept on praising for the past few months was nothing more than a failure .

    Alex started looking at the camera and with renewed determination he shouted at his grandfather who was listening in .

    "You crazy sh*tty old man! Whatever tests you give me, I¡¯ll finish it and I¡¯ll show you how superior I am to you . I¡¯ll prove to you that you¡¯re the failure not me! And once I get the chance, if you show even a tiny opening, I¡¯ll bite you to death . Remember that old man, you better be ready since the moment you make even the slightest mistake I¡¯ll devour you!"

    Alex started to threaten his grandfather, he did this to empower himself . He did this to make the fear he was feeling go away . Getting afraid won¡¯t solve anything, being afraid of death and failure was normal, but giving up because of that fear was uneptable .

    . . .

    Richter who heard his grandson scream at him, was showing a very creepy smile . "That fool, he doesn¡¯t have any respect for his elders . What kind of grandson threatens his grandfather? How can he even think about threatening me, while I¡¯m in the superior position? I better discipline the boy better . "

    Even though Richter was saying all of these, he was really happy deep inside .

    ¡¯This is how a true Greyhound should act! Arrogant beyond belief, with the power to back it up . Calmly waiting for the chance to bite his opponent to death even in the most direst of situations . He even threatened me in such a situation, where I basically control his very fate . Truly a a fine descendant of the Greyhounds, able to ovee his fear, and turned it into aggression how delightful . ¡¯

    If someone else could hear Richter¡¯s inner thoughts, they might think he has bipr disorder . Still at the moment he was truly proud of his grandson oveing his fears and turning it into a strength . He was now anticipating what kind of growth Alex will have from this point onward .

 Chapter 284

    Chapter 284

    After his outburst Alex was ced in a chair where he was he was bound by chains . If he was to somehow escape from the heavy and sturdy chains, he would be pierced by the needles ced below the chairs which would not kill him but instead render him unconscious .

    The only thing Alex could move around freely at the moment was his head, and right now he was ring at the enemy before him . This enemy that made Alex¡¯s killing intent rise to an extreme level was none other than his grandfather, who was smiling at him which irritated Alex .

    "Such a lukewarm killing intent, well I guess that¡¯s barely passable for someone your age . " Richter said this as he shrugged his shoulders slowly approaching his grandson . "Alex do you know why I don¡¯t kill you even though you¡¯ve insulted me? ring at me like that while emitting killing intent directed at me, oh, and you even threatened to take my life . Do you understand why even though you did all that, I don¡¯t just rip off your head from your body . " Richter asked this as he took a chair and sat in front of Alex .

    "Isn¡¯t that because you¡¯re f*cking a** of a grandfather?" When Alex said this Richter punched Alex in the gut . The power behind his strike could¡¯ve knocked out a normal adult man, but not Alex who simply continued to re at Richter .

    "You better behave more Alex . You should realize by now that I¡¯ve been treating you rather nicely . If you go and continue being a bad boy, then I¡¯ll be forced to get a little bit more rough with you . "

    Alex knowing that his grandfather was nothing short of psychotic knew that what this old man was saying was the truth . He knew that he really meant it when he said he was being nice . Alex knew in the head of the crazy old man this was already nice, and Alex couldn¡¯t even deduce how much worse, a bit more rough was . So for now Alex decided to shut up and listen to his insane grandfather . Seeing that Alex returned to his basic stoic expression made Richter smile a bit .

    "Well that¡¯s better, so back to what I was saying . The only reason I haven¡¯t killed you yet, is because you and I are the only remaining Greyhounds left in this world . "

    When Alex heard this he was really shocked, he didn¡¯t expect to hear something like that . He was under the impression that the Greyhounds were arge secret force that controlled the whole operation of the Shadow Mercenaries . He was sure that there were more of them . Even though Alex has never seen his other family members, he still couldn¡¯t believe that he and his grandfather were the only ones left .

    "Even though your face remains indifferent and stoic, I your grandfather can obviously see the slight twitches you make . I know what you¡¯re thinking, how can we be the only ones left of the great and powerful Greyhound family? The answer to that question is that I have killed everyone else . I killed my brother, his wife, and his children . I killed my Uncles, my Aunts, and all their offsprings . "

    When Alex heard this he was dumbfounded . The way Richter said that he basically killed all his family members, in such a nonchnt manner was so surreal . This piece of news and the way Richter delivered it actually made Alex¡¯s thoughts stop for a second . Once the news finally sinked in, Alex started screaming at Richter .

    "What the hell did you do you sick f*ck! Why?! Why did you kill them all?! What¡¯s the purpose of all this madness!? I thought you wanted to make the Greyhounds strong then why did you do this?!"

    Even though Alex didn¡¯t really know those people, they were still rted and he could still feel a bit of sympathy for them . Still Richter knew them, and he knew them well but he still killed them all without hesitation . He even said it like it was no big deal, like he was just killing some random ants .

    "Of course I want to make the Greyhounds strong, and that¡¯s why I killed them all . Those fools were all defects, they couldn¡¯t be true Greyhounds! If my father saw them, he would have wept for the future of our great and powerful family . That¡¯s why I killed all the failures, my brother wasn¡¯t suppose to be one of them . . . My brother used to be a true Greyhound, that¡¯s before he met his wife . I thought by killing that b*tch my brother would return to his former self, but instead he foolishly chose to fight me until the end . . . He even said that joke of a line in the end . "

    Richter remembered that day very well . He had just killed his brother¡¯s wife and children, he asked him if he would finally return and be the head of the Greyhounds, but instead ofing back he attacked Richter . Of course in the end Richter won, but his brother looked at him with a look of sadness and sympathy, and said .

    "I¡¯m sorry little bro . . . I know of your loneliness, and I know what it is you wish of me, but . . . I can no longer stand by your side, even if tried . . . I¡¯m sorry . . . That I couldn¡¯t keep my promise, to be someone you will forever chase . . . I¡¯m sorry little bro, I truly am . "

    His brother died just like that . He didn¡¯t die with resentment against him, but he died feeling sorry for Richter . He killed his wife and children, but he looked at Richter not with vengeance but with sympathy . Richter¡¯s older brother was never nning to win, he was already ready to die .

    Alex looked at his crazy grandfather who suddenly turned silent and saw that there was an actual tear falling down his face .

    ¡¯Does this monster actually know sadness?¡¯ Alex couldn¡¯t help but think this . After a short pause Richter continued speaking .

    "So Alex, I hope you don¡¯t disappoint me like everyone else . " Once he was done saying what he wanted to say, he proceeded to brutally beat up Alex until he lost consciousness . As Alex¡¯s consciousness was flickering on and off, he heard his grandfather say something in a more somber tone .

    "I hope you be the perfect Greyhound . I truly hope you be one . . . "

 Chapter 285

    Chapter 285

    The Greyhound family was a family that was once the royal family of a fallen nation . Their country might have been small, but every citizen in it was an elite fighter . It was a country of warriors where even women were trained to fight . Yet it had fallen in the face of therger more powerful country of the Granado Empire . The royal family of this long forgotten country were forced to shamefully escape from the enemy .

    The first thing the Geyhounds did upon sessfully escaping was to try and form an alliance with the other nations, to stop the advancing Granado Empire . That¡¯s what they tried to do, but failed horribly . The other nations at the time were at war with each other, and couldn¡¯t trust the each other to keep their word . So no one rallied to the Greyhounds call, soon after the other smaller nations surrounding the Granado Empire were defeated as well .

    Seeing that facing the Granado Empire in their current state was nothing short to suicide, the Greyhounds decided to strengthen themselves . They then started doing random jobs for the different countries nearby, and they called their group Shadow Mercenaries . The Greyhounds as the Shadow Mercenaries started bing famous for their always perfect ways of doing their job . This made the unknown group into stuff of legends, that even gave birth to the Mercenary System were the people, mostly warriors do different jobs in the battlefield for money .

    Yet after years went by the legendary Shadow Mercenaries became nothing more than a fairy tale in the battlefield . They had hidden themselves very deeply, until everyone even forgot the existence of the Greyhounds . The Shadow Mercenaries fearsome name lived on as stories, while the Greyhound family that created them was lost in history .

    Still no matter the generation the Greyhounds had one goal, and only one gaol in mind, theplete destruction of the Granado Empire that destroyed their country . Because of this drive for revenge the fifth generation head of the Greyhounds helped the ves of the Granado Empire revolt .

    They were expecting that the newly found Berdonia could help them take out the Granado Empire, unfortunately for them the leader of this group of revolutionists had no courage to fight the Granado Empire, instead they yed a defensive battle .

    The sixth generation head of the Greyhounds then tried to gaud the more aggressive younger brother of the founder of Berdonia, which proved to be quite easy to do . Yet that nned failed, as the brother was killed . After this event the Shadow Mercenaries didn¡¯t make any more significant moves, and instead tried to make their power grow, as they recruited the most powerful and talented people they could find .

    The Shadow Mercenaries used these powerful individuals as studs to breed the next generation of subordinates, that was supposedly going to be more powerful than thest . Well that was the eight generation head¡¯s idea, it seeded and at the same time failed . The offsprings produced by these individuals were indeed powerful and more talented than thest generation, but it made their egos and beliefs bigger than life . It made them rtively harder to control, which forced the Greyhounds to sometimes kill such excellent subordinates .

    So when the ninth generation Greyhound became head he quickly stopped the inbreeding and simply recruited people with different ideals but have the simr end goal of destroying the Empire .

    . . .

    The next major significant thing the Greyhounds did was force the smaller nations of the south to form an alliance . Seeing Berdonia was slowly losing the war, and a few more decades will result in their total defeat, the Shadow Mercenaries had sessfully convinced the smaller nations that the Empire would devour them as well, after they dealt with Berdonia .

    Unlike before when the Greyhounds did this no one believed them, the current people knew of the Granado Empire better now . They knew that what the Shadow Mercenaries were saying was the truth, so the smaller nations of the south allied themselves with one another creating a new powerful force called the Souther Union .

    With this new addition to the game, the Granado Empire grew a bit wary . It was possible that even if they won against Berdonia the equally powerful Southern Union would strike them, at their weakest . This thought made the Granado Empire slow down their advances, as they simply did some small skirmishes against Berdonia every now and then .

    During this time the eleventh head of the Greyhounds had a second son called Richter . This second son of his was eight years apart from his older brother, but his talents were unbelievable . Seeing how overly talented his son was the eleventh head taught him many things at a young age .

    Richter was able to easilyprehend and apply everything he had learned . He was even able to get his first kill when he was but a measly eight year old . No matter what he did Richter would always win, even in a family full of elites Richter was different . Everyone knew he was different and they treated him that way, even his own father .

    The only one in the younger generation that could keep up with him and treated him normally was his elder brother Leon . This person made Richter a little less lonely, since no one in his age group wanted to be with him due to his superior abilities . Even his own father kept on saying he was different, that he was the best and near perfect representation of what a Greyhound should be .

    Still because of his abundant talent Richter felt extremely lonely seeing as even his father ced him on a high pedestal, not treating him as a son but some kind of rare object . The only reason Richter didn¡¯t feelpletely lonely was because of his elder brother Leon .

    Leon was the back that Richter always chased after, he was the only one in the younger generation of the Greyhounds that was able to fight Richter and even win against him . This made Richter truly happy, since it was possible that his brother was the true perfect Greyhound his father was talking about .

    That was what Richter thought until Leon suddenly married and had children . When this happened Leon could no longer train as heavily as before, since he had other priorities now . It was then for the first time Richter actually won against Leon . The moment he won, he looked at his older brother with both shock and fear .

    After that event they had a few more battles and Richter won each one, and he would always win a bit faster than thest . This would mean he was getting farther and farther away from his older brother . At this point Richter was truly scared, he was so scared .

    ¡¯Am I truly meant to be alone?¡¯ Due to his fear of loneliness at the top, where all the pressure will fall upon him, Richter decided to make the ying field even again . Richter found a suitable candidate to be his wife, and like his brother Richter gained a child .

    It was then, Richter once again challenged his older brother to a battle . Surely this time with them having the same circumstances his older brother could finally win again, and stay by his side at the top and will be able to hold the weight of expectations that was currently on him .

    Yet even now Richter was already too far ahead, and Leon could no longer keep up . The psychological damage this had on someone like Richter was huge . He had always thought his brother would be there for him so he wouldn¡¯t be lonely, so he wouldn¡¯t be shunned by the others; but instead because he beaten his older brother repeatedly, it made Richter looked even more monstrous to the eyes of his family . It made his life even lonelier and more heavy than before .

    If that wasn¡¯t enough when his father died, he actually named Richter as the twelfth head of the family, not his older brother but him . This made all the pressure fall onto Richter, the sudden increase in pressure made him finally snap .

    It was at this point in time, Richter had killed his son and daughter-inw . He was overwhelmed by everything that was happening, he was trained to be the perfect Greyhound, but he alone couldn¡¯t fulfill the final wish of the Greyhounds . They had schemed for hundreds of years, but always failed . Richter knew he needed someone beside him, someone to carry the weight with him, another true Greyhound .

    He then had a thought that maybe he could pass being the head to his older brother, and then both of them could carry the weight together, but his current older brother was not fit to be the head . It was the past Leon before he got married was the one who was truly worthy to be called a true Greyhound .

    With that idea in his head Richter proceeded to kill his sister-inw as well as his niece and nephews . They put up a fight but against Richter it proved meaningless .

    ¡¯Surely now that the b*tch is gone my older brother could finally be himself again . ¡¯ This was Richter¡¯s very optimistic thought, but reality was different . Leon was still killed, and he even told Richter that he was sorry . This made Richter go even more mad, as he proceeded to kill his wife and all the unworthy Greyhounds .

    If the whole family was worthless then why bother keeping them . He alone would suffice in making the final wish of Greyhoundse true .

    . . .

    Several yearster Richter would once again meet his grandson, and much to his delight Alex proved to be someone that could be called a True Greyhound, no he was someone with the possibility of bing the perfect Greyhound . One that would bite the neck of the Emperor of the Granado Empire . He might be the Greyhound that would finally make the Granado Empire disappear from existence .

 Chapter 286

    Chapter 286

    After the incident in Cromer City the Kains had sessfully escaped to the capital . Upon arrival in their mansion in the capital city Regon, the first thing they did was to quickly change the prices of the weapons they were selling . Seeing that an all out war was already underway the need for weapons would be greater . They started to increase the production of their weapons and started selling to the huge amount of newbie mercs .

    In this time of crisis many young people delude themselves into bing the heroes of a story, so many of these young ones don¡¯t go to military school, instead they would directly apply as mercenaries . These people came in waves, and the Kain family was able to get quite a huge sum from them .

    Even though they lost a lot from the attack in Cromer city, the Kains had got back what was lost and made triple the amount . Now they were wealthier than ever .

    . . .

    Using their now enormous wealth that could nearly rival that of the Samaritas, Evangeline hired C ranked Mercenaries to help her train . She also scouted some newly registered mercs and veteran mercs as subordinates . Due to the current situation of the three countries, mercenaries have more use now than ever before . The payout for most mercenaries now had doubled, so most people registered to test their luck and see if they can get a fortune . While others became mercs to fight for their country . The easiest to recruit were the people who wanted money, but those that wanted to fight for their country were more loyal but harder to recruit .

    Using her charms and of course her money Evangeline was able to make a small unit that consisted of Fifty D rank mercs, thirty C rank mercs, twenty B rank mercs, five A rank mercs . Most of the D and C rank mercs Evangeline hired had the potential to be A or S rank mercs .

    Though most of these people followed Evangeline because of money, but it was obvious that some of them have actually fallen in love with Evangeline and followed her because of that love . Of course Evangeline exined to these people that she already has someone she likes, but these people followed her regardless of whom she liked . To them as long as Evangeline and that person weren¡¯t actually together they had a chance .

    Evangeline could only sigh at the reaction of these people, since she could see herself in them . The way they never gave up even though the attention of the one they like wasn¡¯t directed at them .

    . . .

    It has been a few months since Evangelinest saw Alex, and there hasn¡¯t been any news on the others from the Mercenary club except for Kei and Niel, who seems to have made a name for themselves .

    Evangeline was now tired of waiting for something to happen . Seeing as most of her subordinates had ranked up in the couple of months they¡¯ve been with her made Evangeline a bit more confident, but the thing that made her even more confident was her own abilities .

    Right now Evangeline could already take on a B rank merc and win . Her current strength was that of the higher end of a B rank nearing A rank . Evangeline hasn¡¯t register as a merc, but she decided to do it now, since the only people who can go to the front lines were mercenaries and soldiers .

    Now that she was fully confident of her own strength Evangeline decided to make a move, and save Alex herself .

    . . .

    After registering as a merc Evangeline was quickly promoted to C rank because of her family background, the strength of her unit, and her very own strength . Once she was done registering herself as a merc, she also registered her unit as her own personal unit . Once she was done doing all that Evangeline called a meeting with her busy parents .

    . . .

    In the living room, the family of three had sat down in their chairs, once they werefortable Evangeline spoke .

    "Father, Mother, I became a mercenary today, and I wish to go to the battlefield . " Evangeline said her lines without hesitation, which made her father and mother looked at her dumbfounded unable to understand what she just said . It took them a few seconds toprehend what was just said, but once it sank in their reaction was incredible .

    "What are you saying!? You became a mercenary?! Why, why would you that?!" Evangeline¡¯s mother started to panic . Evangeline¡¯s father on the other hand could only sigh . He already knew what Evangeline was nning, he just didn¡¯t know when she would implement it .

    It wasn¡¯t that difficult to figure out his daughter¡¯s ns seeing as Evangeline kept on gathering mercenaries for whatever reason, and she even gave her all in training, until she became quite capable herself .

    "Molly that¡¯s enough, our daughter has already made her decision . " Evangeline¡¯s father tried to calm his wife down .

    "What are you saying Robert, do you want to let our little girl go out there where it¡¯s dangerous! Where she could die!"

    "No, of course I don¡¯t want her to go out there to die . . . If it were up to me, I would never allow it . . . But, times have change, in the world we¡¯re living in now, there is no ce that is safe, not even here . I cannot gurantee our safety, nor the safety of our daughter even if she stays here . Hell the only reason we have survived back in Cromer City, is all because of Evangeline¡¯s friends . . . Also even if we do stop our daughter, I don¡¯t think she would listen to us . "

    Robert looked at his daughter with a sad smile on his face . He was sure that no matter what he said at this moment, Evangeline would do what she wanted to do . Since Evangeline was showing the same look Robert showed his parents once upon a time, when he too wanted to rebel and go out in the world . It was a journey that made him the man he is today .

    Who was he to deny his daughter¡¯s own journey . The possibility of her dying out there was high, but so was the possibility of her dying in the capital as well . So wouldn¡¯t it be better to let her do what she wanted until the end . That¡¯s what Robert kept on telling himself, so he can ept what was happening before his very eyes .

    "Father is right, Mother, I¡¯m just informing you what I will do . This isn¡¯t up for debate, I will be leaving no matter what . " Evangeline already found her resolve before speaking to her parents . Nothing they say will change her mind .

    Molly then looked at her daughter, then at her husband . She looked at them back and forth before once again sitting down .

    "Fine do whatever you want . If you want your mother to die of worry then go . " Evangeline seeing her mother be that distraught simply bowed her head and left . If she stayed for a while longer she might hesitate to leave .

    Seeing his daughter leaving the room, Robert said onest thing before she left . "I hope you find what you¡¯re looking for my dear daughter . "

    "As do I father . . . I¡¯ll be going now . . . Mother, father, I love you . " After saying that without turning around, Evangeline left the room .

 Chapter 287

    Chapter 287: 287

    It has been a few months since Niel became a mercenary, and in those few months Niel had risen through the ranks in such a terrifying manner . The moment Niel registered as a merc, he was ced as a D rank .

    After gaining his rank Niel immediately took the most dangerous mission he could find . The person who gave out the mission didn¡¯t really care what rank of a merc Niel was as long as the job was done then it didn¡¯t matter . If the kid dies then it¡¯s the kid¡¯s own fault that he died . Seeing as the expected rank needed toplete the mission was of that a lower A rank merc, or at least a six man team of B rank mercs, but Niel took on the mission by himself, making the man who gave out the mission quite sure that Niel was one of those fools that thinks he¡¯s some sort of hero in a story . There were many of those dreamers that suddenly popped up when this all out war started .

    The man who gave out the mission never expected Niel toplete mission, so he waited until he heard the news of Niel¡¯s failure or death, yet neither of those things happened . Instead Niel was able to sessfullyplete the mission, even though hepleted it with some broken ribs, a bullet wound on his shoulder, and knife wound near his galldder .

    Even with that kind of damage Niel returned to the person who gave out the mission, with an angelic smile on his face as he handed the proof ofpletion . The person in question couldn¡¯t believe what he saw and had to double check if Niel was actually able to kill a rogue squad, that was attacking both the Empire and Berdonian forces . Yet after checking the corpses Niel brought back, the man who gave out the mission had confirmed that this was that rogue squad in question . He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes, as he absentmindedly handed Niel the money forpleting the mission .

    This was but the start of Niel¡¯s career as a merc . With his always angelic smile on his face Niel continued doing the hardest missions he could find, and immediately ranked up to C rank . This speed of ranking up was nearing the speed in which Lyner got through the mercenary ranks .

    . . .

    Granado Empire Soldiers POV:

    I kept on running as I tried my hardest to head back to base . It wasn¡¯t suppose to be like this, it was just suppose to be a normal scouting mission! Why did we have to find that monster while scouting .

    As I continued running I couldn¡¯t help but remember the killer of myrades . The person we faced was a young man, with a radiant angelic smile that could lower anyones guard when they saw it . At first that was the initial reaction we all had when we saw the boy, but then I felt something ufortable, and then I remembered that rumors of a new up anding young merc that zed right through the ranks . It was said that this young man was a second monster of Berdonia like Lyner, they called him the Smiling Demon, or the Angel of Death .

    When I realized who the enemy was, I immediately stepped back and tried to warn the others, but before I could say anything I saw myrades heads detached from their bodies . The Angel of Death showed me his iconic smile, and spoke to me .

    "Oh, you were able to evade . . . Are you perhaps strong? Are you another one who will confirm that I¡¯m alive right now!?"

    The Angel of Death¡¯s smile grew wider, as he looked at me with an enchanting gaze, but at the same time a frightening horrific look could be seen beyond that smile of his .

    The moment I saw this, I immediately started running . I needed to quickly inform themander about the enemy that wasing .

    I was so frightened I didn¡¯t have time to look back . I couldn¡¯t hear the Angel of Death following me, but I just couldn¡¯t stop running nor could I gather the courage to look back . When I saw the base in front of my eyes I felt a bit relieved .

    I immediately tried to warn the guards in front of the base .

    "ENEMY ATTACK!" The moment I said this, I heard the sounds of gunshots from behind me then I saw the heads of the guards be blown into mush . It was then I heard the Angel of Death¡¯s voice for thest time .

    "Thanks for leading the way . " Those were thest words I heard when everything turned dark .

    . . .

    Granado Empire Captain¡¯s POV:

    I suddenly heard the sounds of gunshots being fired in the base . The first thing that came into my mind was a night attack from those Berdonian bast*rds . Of course they would use such cowardly tactics which was expected of ves .

    As I was about to go out of my tent, my second inmand came inside .

    "Second lieutenant report what¡¯s happening outside? How many enemies are there?" Even in this tense situation, my second inmand still had time to give me a proper military salute . I on the other hand, didn¡¯t have time to reprimand him at the moment, but once the danger is gone, I need to exin to him that there is a time and ce for everything .

    "We¡¯re under attackmander!"

    "I already know that you fool! How many enemies are there, do they have tanks or air support?"

    "There is only one enemy, and it¡¯s a named merc!"

    "A named merc from Berdonia? Is it the monster Lyner, is it the messenger of death Carlo, or the infamous silent sh? Who is it?"

    "It¡¯s not any of those people Sir, it¡¯s-" My second inmand couldn¡¯t finish what he was saying when I saw his head being decapitated . Once the second lieutenant¡¯s body fell down, I saw a young boy smiling at me . The smile he had on his face was so radiant that he looked like an angel .

    That would have been my actual impression if the boy wasn¡¯t stained by the blood of my men . So instead of an Angel that brings peace, he looked more like an Angel that bring only Death .

    "I see . . . So, it¡¯s the Angel of Death, Niel Rayheart . "

    "You must be themander of this base . I already killed most of your men . They weren¡¯t anything special and I didn¡¯t get the feeling that I was alive . So Mistermander I hope you¡¯ll give me that thrill, I hope you will grant me a battle that would prove that I¡¯m alive!"

    That angelic smile from the Angel of Death didn¡¯t disappear, it still looked angelic, but to me personally it looked like the smile of a crazed person .

    I aimed my rifle at the Angel of Death and started firing . The moment I started shooting, the Angel of Death jumped outside of the tent . I of course followed after him, but when I got out of the tent I couldn¡¯t spot him . I then felt something dangerous so I evaded by jumping to the right . Out of nowhere the Angel of Death fell from above and stabbed the ground I was standing from awhile ago .

    He then pointed his Peacemaker at me and started shooting . I tried to evade, but then I felt something caught my leg, I saw that some wires had entangled my right leg . Because of those wires I wasn¡¯t able to evade properly, and got hit in my left thigh .

    I was above to distance myself from the Angel of Death, but the moment I tried to move, I felt a cold steel object pointed at my forehead . The Angel of Death looked at me with a look of disappointment .

    "I guess, you weren¡¯t someone on that level yet . So before you die, do you know anything about Alexander Samarita?"

    I didn¡¯t know who he was talking about, but I needed to talk like I know who that is to give me more time .

    "Why do you ask?" The Angel of Death looked at me, and sighed .

    "So you don¡¯t know anything . How about the Shadow Mercenaries, do you anything about them?"

    Now he¡¯s talking about fairy tale characters . Is this young man right in his head? Never mind that, I shouldn¡¯t make it obvious that I don¡¯t know anything . Before I could answer I heard a gunshot, and then everything went dark .

    . . .

    ¡¯So he doesn¡¯t know anything as well . ¡¯ Niel was able to easily figure out what the Captain was thinking base on his subtle changes in expression . If he wasn¡¯t on the same level as Alex or even Emily with their poker faces, he wouldn¡¯t be able to fool Niel .

    "That battle wasn¡¯t much, but I was sure that themander of this base was someone who knew the Shadow Mercenaries . I guess the information I gathered was false once again . If only Kei was here, this would be much easier . I wonder where he is now? . . . I guess it would be easier to find Kei than Alex . Once we team up we might be able to figure out where Alex was taken to . "

    Once he decided his next course of action, Niel took the dog tag of the Captain, as well as his uniform as proof of the kill . Seeing as he destroyed the head of the Captain beyond recognition he had no other choice but to bring these items instead for him toplete his mission .

    Niel then silently left the base that had nothing left but corpses .

 Chapter 288

    Chapter 288

    It has been exactly a year since the war between the Granado Empire and Berdonia started, and currently the Granado Empire held the upper hand . The Southern Union at this point still had some reservations regarding having an alliance with Berdonia . Even though the threat of the Granado Empire was evident some of the higher-ups in the Southern Union didn¡¯t wish to send too much troops, less they themselves be defenseless .

    Some of them even had delusions that they could wait and see how the war turns out . Even if the Granado Empire wins the war, they would still be exhausted making way for the Southern Union to take everything from them . That¡¯s what some of those in high positions in the Government of the Southern Union were thinking about . Though most were sympathetic to Berdonia, and knew full well what wille if they don¡¯t help Berdonia now .

    So even with the mixed opinions, the Southern Union did send a significant amount of troops to help their neighboring country Berdonia . The current Berdonian president was still residing in the Southern Union and was protected by Saintess Anita a former Southern Union citizen, while her husband Lyner was out in the battlefield . The Berdonian President didn¡¯t leave the Southern Union, no he wouldn¡¯t leave the Southern Union, not until he could form a proper alliance with them . Cause right now the rtionship between Berdonia and the Southern Union was not of allied nations, but that of a troubled neighbor and a neighbor who is there to somehow help .

    The treaty of alliance hasn¡¯t been sign since majority of the ones on top do not wish to take part in the war until it was absolutely necessary .

    . . .

    Still even with the vague alliance with the Southern Union, all three of its Saints came to help the people of Berdonia . Unfortunately The third Saint has fallen in battle, which made the proposition of a true alliance even more shaky .

    It wasn¡¯t just the third Saint that had fallen, rumors of the Shadow the greatest assassin of Berdonia failing his mission of killing the Emperor of the Granado Empire has spread, causing morale to fall . If that wasn¡¯t enough the SS rank merc of the Granado empire, had wreaked havoc in some major Berdonian bases .

    Still it wasn¡¯t such a one sided battle as two of the ten generals has fallen in the hands of Berdonia¡¯s strongest merc Lyner . Not only that but there have been a huge increase in mercenaries since the war started, and Berdonia has seen an increase in skill in the low ranked mercs . One such merc is Niel Rayheart, who recently shot up to B rank and has been nicknamed the Smiling Devil, but most of the time is called the Angel of Death .

    . . .

    At the moment most of the former northern cities of Berdonia have been captured by the Granado Empire, who had given an ultimatum to the citizens to either serve them or die . Most of the citizens decided to serve the Granado Empire for the sake of survival, but their humans rights have been revoked and are treated worse than animals .

    . . .

    Berdonia had no chance to turn the tables and still continues to stay on the defensive, same as before . Yet unlike before this time the Granado Empire was ying to win, as they keep on marching forward with frightening tenacity .

    . . .

    The Berdonian navy was having a better fight as they now control the eastern seas of the Granado Empire, still it was hard to keep that under their control .

    . . .

    In the skies both sides were at a stalemate since both sides knew that the one who has air supremacy will have a better chance of winning . The Berdonian engineers have been trying toe up with a jet that could easily outmanoeuvre the Raptors of the Granado Empire . On the other hand the Granado Empire was trying not to improve their jet fighters, instead was trying to make more of them . Fighting quality with quantity, seeing that the Granado Empire has many trained soldiers that could take to the skies, but not enough jets for them to fight in .

    . . .

    In a nce it would seem that the Granado Empire has the upper hand, which at the moment was the truth, but their tenacity and aggressive tactics won¡¯t be able tost for long . Once they tire themselves out, Berdonia will be able tomence a counter attack . So all the Berdonian mercenaries and soldiers could do at the moment was try their best to defend their positions .

    . . .

    While the war intensifies the fanatic group of the supposed brother of the founder Reghinald Berdonia, has been seen stealing from Southern Union bases . This made the situation with the negotiations of an alliance between the two countries even more difficult .

    Now tobat this, Berdonia dered that the fanatics that follow Reghinald Berdonia were terrorist . The people who were part of this group were to be brought back dead or alive . In T . V¡¯s on the inte a bunch of pictures were shown of the supposed terrorists, anyone rted to to Reghinald Berdonia is to be either killed or captured .

    When this order was issued some of the fanatics got scared and tried to remove themselves from the group, but unfortunately for them, Reghinald Berdonia doesn¡¯t take kindly to traitors . Those who tried to leave the group were all hanged to death .

    . . .

    While the three super powers of the continent were fighting each other, the smaller nations that surrounded them were mysteriously silent . It was as if something was happening within these nations, that no one could notice, since the all out war that was happening was too eye catching .

    It was only Kei Kaido that noticed these mysterious happenings . Still no one but him cared about what was happening to those smaller nations, seeing that their very own country was in a state of national crisis . Kei on the other hand was a bit interested in what was happening, so he hired some mercs to do some spying in those different countries .

    Kei somehow had a hunch that what was happening to the smaller nations, will be a deciding factor in ending the war .

 Chapter 289

    Chapter 289

    Once Matthew escaped from Cromer City alongside Emily and Kyle, he immediately headed out to meet his master Arthur who came to support Berdonia . Upon meeting Arthur, his master told him that he should do what he wants .

    "If you want to fight for Berdonia, then do so . If you want to go back to the Southern Union then do so . If you want to do something else the do it . No need to ask this old master of yours what you need to do . "

    After saying that to Matthew, Arthur left and headed out towards the front lines, Matthew could only bow in front of his master until he could no longer see his back . Once his master was gone, Matthew started to stretch his body . He looked at the bright blue sky and smiled .

    "Thanks for everything master . . . I guess it¡¯s time to repay that favor I owe Alex . " Matthew started to make his move . A few minutester he would receive a message from Kyle telling him Alex got kidnapped .

    That was a year ago, even now Matthew is still wandering around the battlefield trying his best to get any information regarding Alex .

    . . .

    In a secured location unknown to anyone, a girl wearing a gothic lolita dress was typing hard on her keyboard . This was none other than Emily Hunt . After escaping from Cromer City with her brother and Matthew, Emily learned from Niel that Alex had been kidnapped by his supposed grandfather .

    So the first thing Emily did upon learning this, was looked at Niel dumbfounded . The story of how Alex was kidnapped even with Lyner and Dan with him was unexpected . If that wasn¡¯t surprising enough, even Kei suddenly disappeared and left her behind . The timid Kei who only knew how to gather information, was out there right in the middle of the front lines, were death was everyone¡¯spanion .

    So now Emily was using all her resources to try and track down Kei, but no matter how much she tried she just couldn¡¯t pin point his exact location . Kei was even doing that bizarre radio show, which should make it easier for her to find him . Yet the first time she found a trace of him, he quickly changed locations, and from then on, every time she found him it got even more difficult to locate him .

    At this point it was obvious to Emily that Kei was actively avoiding detection, or to be more precise he was actively avoiding Emily . This made the gothic lolita girl angrier than before .

    "What the hell are you doing Kei! What kind of man runs away from such a cute girl like myself! If you¡¯re going to do something fun like going out in the front lines, doing a radio show, you should¡¯ve brought me as well! We could even upgrade it into a televised show, and we could have been co-hosts! Damn it! Why am I even thinking about that guy anyway?! Shouldn¡¯t I be more worried about Alex? Damn it! It¡¯s all that guy¡¯s fault for making me confused . "

    Emily who kept on typing on her keyboard got angrier as time passed by .

    . . .

    In an underground bunker filled with Berdonian soldiers and Mercenaries an ordinary looking teenage boy, that looked like he wasn¡¯t suppose to be there suddenly felt a shiver down his spine . This boy was none other than Kei Kaido .

    ¡¯Is she perhaps cursing at me again?¡¯ Kei suddenly thought about that mischievous girl . Of course she was going to curse at him, since he was actively avoiding her at the moment .

    ¡¯It¡¯s not yet time to meet up, so I¡¯ll be avoiding you some more . ¡¯ Kei then suddenly thought of Emily¡¯s angry expression and chuckled .

    . . .

    Oliver and Specter had sessfully infiltrated the Granado Empire, and it took them a whole year to find thest known location of the hidden base of the Shadow Mercenaries . Yet when they got there, as Specter expected the base was no longer there .

    Still Specter was able to find some clues which indicated the general direction the base was heading to . Though it was weird direction to head to, but the base seems to be heading outside of the Granado Empire, towards the little nations outside its borders .

    As Specter was thinking about what the Shadow Mercenaries were going to do there, he saw Oliver looking at the sky a bit frustrated . In this past year, Oliver had been getting stronger and stronger than before . He was now at the very least in the peak of what it means to be an S rank merc, he was practically banging at the door to the SS rank .

    Specter was a bit worried, since the more strength Oliver gained, the less emotion he had, well outside of anger, which felt constant within Oliver . Still when Specter talks about the people in the Mercenary Club, he noticed Oliver¡¯s expression would always soften .

    ¡¯As long as he isn¡¯t fully invested in revenge, then he could still be saved . ¡¯

    . . .

    In a forest somewhere near the northern border of Berdonia that has been recently upied by Granado Empire Soldiers, a beautiful young girl wearing a ck tank top and ck bike pants was running . Her ck hair flowed gracefully in the wind, as she jumped towards a tree branch .

    This girl was Rachel Regius, a recently registered merc, current rank C . Like most of the Mercenary club members, Rachel was trying her hardest to gain any information she could about Alex and the Shadow Mercenaries; but as expected of the legendary group that is considered nothing more than a fairy tale, it was hard to track them down .

    Yet a few days ago Rachel had heard rumors that members of the elusive group were hanging around the forest near the city of Rinto . Rachel kept circling around the area avoiding the eyes of the soldiers present . It was a good thing that the Granado Empire didn¡¯t really care much for this location that¡¯s the reason for thecking personnel . Even the soldiers present weren¡¯t that good, which made Rachel¡¯s job easier .

    ¡¯I wonder if you¡¯re doing well . . . Of course you aren¡¯t . Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll find you no matter what, and I will rescue you . . . Alex . . . ¡¯ Rachel felt her heart tighten a bit, this happens whenever she thinks of Alex, which was almost always .

    . . .

    In the residential district of Regon, a man with a prosthetic leg was carrying two babies . He gently smiled at the twins, who seem to be smiling back at him . He then handed the twins to their mother . The little girl who was sitting beside her mother looked at her father curiously as he handed her siblings to her mother .

    "Michel take care of our children . " Carlo smiled at his wife who looked so beautiful holding the twins, while Lilitth sat beside her .

    "Of course, leave them to me . As long as I¡¯m here no one will be able to harm even a single hair on them . " Carlo nodded his head and then looked at Lilitth .

    "My little Lilitthe give your tou-chan a hug goodbye . " Lilitth stood up and pounced at Carlo who hugged her tightly .

    "Promise me that you¡¯lle back tou-chan, of course with onii-sama by your side . "

    "I promise, so you better be a good girl and wait for me . Also take care of your little brother and sister . " Carlo gently patted his daughter¡¯s head . Lilitth looked at him with a confident smile and answered .

    "Of course I will take care of them . Mirai and Yuuki are my precious little sister and little brother . Like how onii-sama protected me, I will protect them as their nee-sama . "

    Hearing his daughter¡¯s answer made Carlough . "Good girl . . . " Carlo then turned around and was about ready to leave, but before he stepped out Lilitth and Michel spoke in unison .

    "Have a safe trip . " When Carlo heard them say this, he smiled as he stepped out .

 Chapter 290

    Chapter 290

    It has been a year now since Alex was captured and forced to do numerous tests by his crazy grandfather . Over this past year Alex¡¯s body had significant changes . His body which was full of wounds, scars, and burnt marks was now as smooth and clean as a baby¡¯s . It was also noticeable that Alex was now taller than before, as he was now one-hundred-eighty-eight centimeters tall . Not only did his height increase, his overall strength and skill was now beyond anything than before .

    At the moment Alex was on the verge of reaching the level of the monsters on the top of the food chain, those with the strength of SS rank mercs . This was his current strength that has been pushed to the very limits by his crazy grandfather . The only thing limiting Alex¡¯s growth right now was his age, and his still not yet fully developed body .

    . . .

    In this past year Alex tried to escape twice, and failed both times . The first attempt failed as five high level people from the Shadow Mercenaries, had intercepted him . The second attempt went better than thest, the five intercepted Alex again, but this time he was too strong for them to handle . It was then Alex faced two monsters that weren¡¯t on Lyner¡¯s or his grandfather¡¯s level but nearing it .

    These two were at the very top of the organization only second to his grandfather . One of them was Oliver¡¯s uncle Hektor, and the other was a hooded figure that seem to be on the same level as Hektor . These two were able to somehow recapture Alex and brought him back to his isted room .

    . . .

    Richter seeing how Alex has grown so quickly that he was able to fight the two strongest subordinates he had, made him both proud and depressed . He was obviously proud because of his grandson¡¯s increase in strength, but strength alone was not enough for one to be a true Greyhound . His grandson would sometimes show him that he had that spark of a true Greyhound, but something was holding him back to fully realize this potential .

    . . .

    A true Greyhound was ruthless and will bite the neck of its prey until death . A true Greyhound should only think about vengeance and destroy the Granado Empire . A true Greyhound does not need friendship,passion nor sympathy . These were the things Richter¡¯s father told him when he was young, and engraved it into the little boy¡¯s very body .

    So seeing Alex with that glimmer of hope in his eyes, rubbed Richter the wrong way . The only thing he wished to see in the eyes of his grandson was nothingness . Richter who tried to gain all the information about his grandson, during the years he hasn¡¯t seen him knew what was holding him back and giving him that glimmer of hope .

    There were quite a few people that were holding his grandson back to achieve his full potential . Yet there was one specific person who was truly an obstruction to making Alex realize his full potential as a Greyhound .

    Richter who read every report about Alex, and saw some video footage of his so called normal life, knew of the person that was currently the most important to Alex . This person was Rachel Regius, Richter couldn¡¯t understand why but his grandson was greatly enamored by the girl .

    This was the same problem his older brother had, that made him weak . This time Richter was going to do it right . Last time even though he killed the b*tch his brother didn¡¯t go back to his old self, instead he simply felt pity for him and died .

    ¡¯This time I won¡¯t make the same mistake . Killing this girl wouldn¡¯t make Alex into the Greyhound I wish for . . . Hmm I guess for the time being I don¡¯t have any ideas of what to do . Well first I need to capture her, then I can freely think about what to do next . ¡¯

    While Richter was thinking about what to do next, he suddenly smiled . Richter suddenly thought of something interesting to do . It would also help him decide what to do next . Richter immediately headed to Alex¡¯s room .

    . . .

    Alex who was once again in the room with nothing in it, was thinking up a new escape n . For some reason no matter what kind of distractions he uses, the people in this base could quickly find him . In his current state being weaponless, he wasn¡¯t able to ovee the two he fought before .

    If it was that crazy grandfather of his that showed up, then it would have been impossible .

    ¡¯I need to find a way to somehow avoid their detection . ¡¯

    While Alex was thinking hard on how to escape, he saw the room suddenly being filled up with gas . Was another test about to happen, just after he was beaten up? Alex then felt his whole body suddenly go numb . This wasn¡¯t sleeping gas, it was something used to paralyze him, a nerve agent . Alex then saw that the door to his room opened . The person who came in was none other than his sh*tty grandfather . Alex was sure he was going to start beating him up, but seeing his grandfather¡¯s face made Alex suddenly feel something unwanted was about to happen .

    "Alex I have wonderful news . " Richter happily spoke as he entered the room . Seeing his grandfather this happy was a signal for Alex that something extremely bad was about to happen .

    "I¡¯ll be bringing a friend of yours here . I think you¡¯ll feel even more motivated once she¡¯s here . "

    When Alex heard Richter say he was bringing a friend and that it was a she, he¡¯s mind nk out for a moment .

    "I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll appreciate the lengths you grandfather goes through, just to make you better . I¡¯m sure Ms . Rachel Regius will have a fun time with us here . "

    When Alex heard his grandfather say Rachel¡¯s name his killing intent rose, as he looked at his grandfather with a murderous gaze . Even though his body was fully paralyzed he still tried to move, as he was able to bite his lower lip until it bled .

    His mouth was shaking as he tried with all his might to speak .

    "YOU F*CKING B*STARD!" His voice echoed throughout the room which sounded like it came from the depths of hell . It wasn¡¯t Alex¡¯s normal voice that came out, at this moment he sounded like an actual demon .

    "IF YOU DARE DO ANYTHING TO RACHEL I¡¯LL MAKE SURE TO GIVE YOU A FATE WORSE THAN DEATH!"

    When Richter heard his grandson threaten him this way, unable to move as he red at him with eyes of pure hatred, this made Richter shiver in delight .

    ¡¯Yes this is it! Those are the eyes of a true Greyhound!¡¯ Seeing that Richter had seen the intended reaction he wanted, he took it a step further .

    "Oh I would really like to see you try my little grandson . Don¡¯t worry too much, Ms . Rachel won¡¯t be lonely since I n to bring all your little friends in that beloved club of yours . What did you call it? . . . Oh, right the Mercenary Club . "

    When Alex heard his grandfather say that, his body that was full of rage was finally able to ovee the nerve agent that had spread throughout his system . He then jumped at his grandfather at full strength, but he was caught by an iron grip to his face . He was then mmed onto the floor by his grandfather . Richter did this repeatedly until Alex was barely conscious .

    "Don¡¯t worry my grandson, I¡¯ll be a good host to all your little friends . " This was thest thing Alex heard when he lost consciousness .

 Chapter 291

    Chapter 291: 291

    It has been a year since the war started and Lyner was having the time of his life . He was finally freed from that boredom . Battle after battle has been promised to him, and all of them were the most dangerous . Life at this point was full of excitement and never ending battle . It was like Lyner died and went to Valha, the ce where all warriors who died in battle end up in .

    Still even after doing all these dangerous life threatening missions, that could pretty much kill anyone else, was nothing in face of Lyner who was now able to easily aplish these missions . Not only that as he kept on going from one battle to the next like the old days, Lyner was actually getting stronger and stronger which made it even more difficult to fulfill his final wish .

    The final wish of a glorious death seem to be getting farther and farther away from him . Every time he tries to do a life threatening mission that could potentially bring him the glorious death he desires, had a very bad effect when he survives . Every time he survives he gets stronger, which makes it even more difficult to die in battle . At the rate he was going Lyner might not be able to find that glorious death he seeks .

    Still on the bright side because of all the excitement, he was actually able to get his wife Anita pregnant . This made Anita unable to do her duties such as being the President¡¯s guard . So instead she was now fully focused at being the President¡¯s physician .

    . . .

    Everything was in a bnce state right now . Yet Lyner had heard some rumors that the strongest merc, nay the strongest human had been released from her cage . The bloody Valkyrie of the Granado Empire was now on the loose .

    Lyner has always been curious of the girl called Rika Saunter . It was said she was only in herte twenties, and she was the second youngest merc to achieve the the SS rank right after Lyner . It was also rumored that she was the Strongest of all the current SS ranks .

    This rumor of course had gotten Lyner quite excited . Since this was a person who has been called the strongest, even though she hasn¡¯t truly faced him in battle .

    . . .

    It was right after Lyner finished his current mission and was heading back to his wife¡¯s side, he was greeted by another mission . When he read the contents of this mission, he couldn¡¯t help but show that vicious smile of his .

    "Finally! Am I finally gaining my final wish! My glorious death!" Lyner couldn¡¯t help but get intoxicated by the idea, as he said this out loud .

    . . .

    Five days after receiving the message Lyner headed towards the site where the mission objective was located .

    In the middle of an open area near a recently evacuated city, the advancing Granado Empire stopped . While the defending Berdonian Soldiers and Mercenaries looked confused . Lyner who was in the front of the group, on the other hand, was getting excited .

    It was at that moment when everything turned silent that she appeared . A helicopter passed by and someone was falling down . She was like an angel as she fell from the sky, without any parachute . The moment she fell down a crack on the ground was made .

    The beautiful maiden that fell from the sky was wearing full ted armor and had a huge sword that just looks like it came out of a video game . The ce shended on was near the bunkers that where recently built . The soldiers inside the bunkers started shooting at the maiden, but it was no use as the maiden could easily dodge gunfire, and even if it does hit the bullets could not pierce the skin on her face, nor the olden like armor she was wearing .

    The maiden then swung her de cutting the bunker into two . The men inside the bunker have been effortlessly killed .

    After sessfully destroying the bunkers, the soldiers from the Granado Empire who saw the beautiful maiden with long silver hair, all retreated farther away until only she remained on the battlefield . Her deep blue eyes then looked at the man on the other side .

    When Lyner noticed that Rika was looking at her, he smiled .

    "Get your men to retreat, the further you are from this ce the better . That¡¯s not someone even a full battalion could handle . That¡¯s the bloody Valkyrie Rika Saunter . . . This isn¡¯t going to be easy . " Themanding officer who was beside Lyner was confused as he couldn¡¯t fully digest the order he was given . Seeing themander still standing there in stunned silence made Lyner shout .

    "Are you deaf, I said retreat!" Themanding officer finally snapped out of his trance and quickly ordered a retreat . As the soldiers were fully retreating themander looked at Lyner for onest time . He saw the strongest of Berdonia smiling a very vicious smile .

    . . .

    Once the soldiers were able to retreat, Lyner was now able to fully focus on the enemy before him . He approached Rika who was standing there not doing anything .

    "Hey why are you wearing such old fashioned knight¡¯s armor, are you cosying or something? This isn¡¯t some medieval y . " Lyner started talking and he spoke like he was talking to an old friend of his . Even in this kind of situation where even someone on Lyner¡¯s level felt a bit pressured, he still continued to talk very casually like it was nothing .

    "Lyner the monster of Berdonia . I have heard you have killed hundreds upon hundreds of Empire soldiers . You the sinner that has gued the innocent citizens of the Empire with fear, today I shall end you . " Rika pointed her sword at her enemy .

    Hearing what Rika was saying made Lyner scratch his hair, as he looked at Rika with a calm mocking expression .

    "Oi, oi, telling me that I killed hundreds upon hundreds of soldiers, is true, but, calling them innocent is too much don¡¯t you think? Sure I killed all those soldiers, but they too have killed my fellow countrymen . Even you have killed thousands of Berdonians . So don¡¯t talk like you¡¯re here for some sh*tty justice . I hate those kinds of people who spout such nonsense! Were the soldiers of Berdonia who valiantly tried to protect their country, evil? Were the Empire soldiers who are now attacking Berdonia because of their own beliefs evil? The answer is, who the f*ck cares! Both sides think they are in the right, and both have different ideas and beliefs . So don¡¯t gobelling someone else a sinner . "

    "As expected of some lowlife descendant of ves . It is your people who truly started this war, going against the Empire that took you in and fed you . Biting that hand that feeds you makes you worse than dogs . "

    "Don¡¯t give me that righteous crazy Granado Empire logic . . . " Lyner was about to say something more, but then sighed . "Whatever, it doesn¡¯t seem like the two of us can talk properly . I don¡¯t really care about changing your mind or anything like that . Let¡¯s just-"

    "Let¡¯s just, what?" Lyner who suddenly stopped in the middle of what he was saying made Rika a bit confused . She then saw Lyner checking his equipment in front of her who was his enemy . It was at that moment when she felt a bit disappointed at the person they called a monster, she saw Lyner disappear before her very eyes .

    Rika then ced her huge sword behind her and heard the clinking of steel .

    "Let¡¯s just fight already!" She saw Lyner behind her with a creepy smile on his face . It was a very vicious smile, like that of a predator eyeing his prey .

 Chapter 292

    Chapter 292

    Rika who was being attacked by Lyner was thinking, she knew what the monster of Berdonia was saying was right . She knew that the people on the top of the Empire¡¯s food chain, weren¡¯t actual good people . She knew that attacking Berdonia wasn¡¯t right, but she must still do it for the people of the Granado Empire . Even though she knew all these, she couldn¡¯t stop since the Granado Empire has done too much, that they have passed the point of no return .

    The reason she was able to figure this all out was because when Rika was released from prison to kill Lyner, the first thing she did was to gather information so that she could understand what had happened . Also to figure out what kind of person her opponent was .

    Using her status as an SS rank merc, and a person under General Hilda she was able to gather the necessary information, to figure out what happened in the past few years she was imprisoned . Reading through all the reports, it was in to see that the Granado Empire was wrong since the beginning . They should have left Berdonia alone, but instead the people on top used the Granado Empire¡¯s education system to promote that Berdonia was evil . Even Rika herself was fooled by this misinformation once upon a time .

    Still she knew that most Empire citizens never leave the country, no they weren¡¯t allowed to do so . That¡¯s why they have a distorted look of things, making them truly believe that they were in the right . The system made the people think that justice was truly on their side . Rika who knew the truth didn¡¯t really want to do this, but she knew, nay she predicted what will happen in the future .

    If the Granado Empire loses now, the resentment they have gained would lead the allied nations of Berdonia and the Southern Union to attack the defeated Granado Empire . The Berdonians especially would never forgive the Empire, nor its citizens . The best oue at that point would be envement while the worse oue was genocide .

    Knowing all this, Rika had no choice but to fight for the survival of the Granado Empire and its people . She needed to help them win this war, and the best way to help them was to kill the person right in front of her . Lyner the monster of Berdonia, currently hailed as the greatest hero of his country, and the most feared enemy of the Granado Empire .

    With his bare flesh alone, this man has killed and destroyed numerous soldiers and bases . He alone was able to threaten most of the Granado Empire . Well on the other hand, Rika was also in the same position on her side . So the moment one of them dies, and the other survives, in that moment the winner would be able to tilt the war greatly to their side .

    Rika then clenched the hilt of her sword tightly and steeled her resolve . It was like Lyner said, it doesn¡¯t matter what the reason is, we just need to fight . Rika once again epted the part that she needed to y, even if that part is to y the delusional viin then so be it .

    ¡¯If it is for people of the Granado Empire that my father and mother loved, then so be it . I will be the devil itself!¡¯

    Rika then fully epted her berseker instinct and started fighting for real .

    . . .

    Lyner who was attacking Rika noticed that she wasn¡¯t fully invested in the fight and was distracted . He used this opportunity to get a feel of his opponent . He first started shooting at Rika using his S&W . 500 magnum, in different ces . Of course with her speed and intuition she was able to dodge most of the bullets, but Lyner took ount of that and was able to hit her in various spots .

    Lyner noticed that Rika¡¯s armor was bullet proof but it couldn¡¯t handle the strain of his gun and was still visibly damaged a bit; but that wasn¡¯t the problem, the problem was Rika herself . Lyner was actually able to get a clear hit on Rika¡¯s head, the bullet prated through her skin, but bounced of her skull .

    Her head that should¡¯ve exploded or at least have a bullet in it was simply bleeding a bit . Her skin was tougher than most metals, and her skull was actually the same as a bullet proof vest or even better . That would mean her bones itself doubled her defense aside from her already ridiculous armor .

    The sword she was carrying could also deflect bullets easily . Lyner also tried attacking using his wires that were hardly visible to the human eye, but Rika instinctively defended against it . Lyner tried attacking using his gun and the wires at the same time, but Rika would allow the bullet to hit, and instead would defend against the wires .

    While Lyner was thinking of the best way to attack Rika, he suddenly felt something different from her making him distanced himself from the bloody Valkyrie . Rika¡¯s clear blue eyes started to get a bit red, her thin body suddenly bulged a bit with muscles . She then charged forward with a speed that was faster before, this was the start of her attack .

    ¡¯So the real fight starts now . ¡¯ Lyner used his wires to try and bind Rika, but that did nothing but simply slow her down a bit, as she started shouting or was that more of a growl . Once she was close enough she swung herrge sword downward . At first Lyner was going to try and block the attack using his own sword plus the wires, but then his instincts told him to evade, so he did so .

    The sword that Rika swung downward was so strong that it actually made a small crater . Lyner who saw that attack knew that if one of those hit him it would fatally injure him . Rika who missed wasn¡¯t bothered as she continued attacking Lyner while growling like an animal .

    Lyner for a moment was overwhelmed by the pressure she was emitting, which made him smile even more . Rika who was on the offensive didn¡¯t let up and forced Lyner to retreat into the city .

    Lyner who was being pressured by an opponent for the first time in a long time, was smiling viciously . He then spoke as he continued evading Rika¡¯s attacks .

    "Finally! This is what I¡¯m talking about! It is you isn¡¯t it, the one who will grant me my final wish! Come let¡¯s see what you got! Time for me to get serious!"

    Lyner then lowered his center of gravity, and had actually used RELEASE . This was the first time Lyner has ever used this technique . If Alex or Dan were here, they would be surprised to see Lyner use this technique since no one taught him how to do so . Lyner was only able to do use this technique since he already saw Alex used RELEASE many times before, and even witnessed Dan¡¯s original version . Using the information he acquired when he fought Alex, and when he saw Dan, Lyner was able to copy the technique . Seeing as he knew the basic principle behind the technique, it was quite easy for him to copy .

    The moment Lyner went into his RELEASE state, the berserk Rika actually stopped attacking . Even though at the moment Rika was in a frenzied state, and her reasoning was almost nonexistent, she still stopped attacking because her body was for the first time feeling fear . Yet this onlysted for a moment and she started her attack once more by charging towards Lyner .

    "Come on, let¡¯s y!" Lyner happily weed her attack . With her momentum and using her strength that surpasses the human limits plus gravity, Rika swung her sword downward while Lyner received the attack with his sword and wires .

    The moment Rika¡¯s attack had contact with Lyner¡¯s weapons, Lyner who was in his RELEASE state was still blown a few meters away . Lyner who was able to instinctively jump upon contact with Rika¡¯s strong force was able to somehow negate some of the force he received . Still he was pushed away as his feet skid through the pavement when hended .

    Lyner who received the attack felt his right hand getting a bit numb, but this didn¡¯t discouraged him, instead it made him even more excited . Rika didn¡¯t give Lyner time to take a breath as she charged forward again, and swung her sword downward again . This time Lyner did something different he didn¡¯t wait for the attack toe to him, instead he initiated his own attack and hit Rika¡¯s sword head on .

    When both weapons collided, Lyner was only pushed back a bit, but this time he was able to take Rika¡¯s attack better . Yet the strength of Rika¡¯s attack was actually so strong that the wind pressure from her attack and Lyner¡¯s was able to create a crack on the building behind Lyner even though she didn¡¯t hit it .

    Now both of them had locked swords as Rika was still growling like an animal, while Lyner was still smiling .

    "THIS IS WHAT I¡¯M TALKING ABOUT!" Lyner shouted this line with pure joy on his face .

    . . .

    In a nearby city Anita who was waiting for Lyner to return felt something ominous, and immediately ran off .

 Chapter 293

    Chapter 293: 293

    Lyner who was now fully pumped up started to get a feel of Rika¡¯s attacks . The current Rika was indeed a couple of times stronger than Lyner, actually not just that if this was a game, Rika¡¯s stats would be that of a true final boss, while Lyner¡¯s was that of a simple final boss . The difference in strength wasrge, but Rika¡¯s way of fighting was like that of a beast, it had no technique and relied more on her abnormal physical abilities .

    Normally that would be enough to handle most opponents, but Lyner wasn¡¯t your typical opponent . Unlike Rika who solely relied on her strength due to being strong from birth, Lyner was of a different breed , he was one who was weak at the beginning and slowly strengthened himself with astounding technique . He was one who umted his strength through hard work .

    . . .

    Rika whose attacks were being negated, continued attacking even harder as her strength seemed to increase as time went by . The more she attacked the faster and stronger her attacks got . Lyner, on the other hand,pensated the power gap with sheer skill .

    It was also worth noting that as Lyner continued to fight he was gaining a better understanding of the RELEASE state . Once he got a better feel of it, Lyner was able to figure out some of its ws and rectify them . He couldn¡¯t help but smile as he went toe to toe with an opponent such as Rika . The enemy forces might have called him a monster, but the woman in front of him was a true deviant of the human race . She deserves the title of monster more so than Lyner .

    . . .

    In the distance the Soldiers of the Grando Empire were watching the fight between the two SS rank mercs using drones . On the other side the Berdonian soldiers were doing the exact same thing . Each side were cheering their merc on, but when the battle got even more intense, both sides got a bit scared .

    Most of the Soldiers present on both sides have seen numerous S rank mercs, but the disparity in strength between those mercs and the two SS rank mercs was huge . It was likeparing a pistol to a tank, the difference was that huge .

    The buildings that were all over the city were being destroyed by those flesh and blood humans, using nothing but swords and wires . They weren¡¯t even really aiming at the buildings, just the shockwaves from their fight was able to make cracks on the building . Some that were hit directly had crumbled after a few strikes .

    Now at this moment both sides had the same thought in their heads .

    ¡¯Are those two really human?¡¯ The sight of the two SS rank mercs made the people watching question, if the two were really part of the same human race as them .

    . . .

    Lyner who had finally gotten used to Rika¡¯s attacks was now able to gain the upper hand . The path to gain that upper hand came with a price, as some of Lyner¡¯s bones have been broken, and he was also bleeding in a lot of different ces .

    Still for him the tradeoff was satisfactory . Rika was bleeding all over more so than Lyner, the amount she bled was enough to kill a normal person; but of course Rika Saunter was anything but normal . In her berserker state she was unable to perceive the damage she had umted, and was forced to keep ongoing . She would only get the bacsh from the damage she has taken once she gets out of her berserker state .

    Lyner didn¡¯t mind that the battle wasn¡¯t ending as he continued to fight with a smile on his face .

    . . .

    After a few more minutes of battle Lyner noticed a problem . Though his body could still keep on fighting the same can¡¯t be said of his weapons . The de of his sword had been chipped away, the wires that were hidden within his gloves have been lessened greatly, finally he had no more bullets so his gun was pretty much useless . Not like it was useful in the first ce .

    On the other hand, Rika¡¯s arsenal proved superior to Lyner¡¯s . Her armor had been broken down with only bits of it left . Still her sword had withstood most of everything as it didn¡¯t look any more damaged than before .

    Still even in this disadvantageous situation Lyner continued to smile that vicious smile of his . He no longer cared about victory or death, as he was now fully immersed in the fight . He could no longer feel the injuries in his body as adrenaline pumped through his veins .

    "Hahahahaha! This is so much fun!" The smile on Lyner¡¯s face was simr to that of a child that was having the time of his life, ying with his friends . Still even in this state, Lyner noticed a lot of things about his opponent Rika Saunter .

    There was a lot of hesitation in her swordy, and even in her berserker state Lyner noticed that some tears were falling down her cheeks . This person didn¡¯t really want to fight, but was still doing so for some higher purpose .

    She was the total opposite of the current Lyner who was only fighting to fulfill his own self interests .

    . . .

    As the two mercs headed deeper into town, Lyner and even the bersker Rika noticed something . They weren¡¯t the only ones in the city . Lyner saw a little girl at the distance, she seemed to be looking for someone .

    ¡¯What the f*ck! I thought they evacuated everyone already?! What the hell is a little girl doing here?! Sh*t!¡¯ Lyner shouted in his mind as he noticed that Rika¡¯s attention seemed to now be on the little girl .

    Rika who was fighting with her instincts taking control, had shifted her target to the little girl . Seeing as the little girl was easier prey, her instincts made her attack the weaker one first before dealing with the stronger Lyner .

    Lyner who saw Rika suddenly running towards the little girl, was now running at full speed, but Lyner was certain he wouldn¡¯t be able to save the little girl . Seeing as Rika had a head start and she was faster than him, making him unable to catch-up .

    The little girl who finally noticed the speeding Rika had frozen in fear . She covered her body while screaming for her mother and father to save her . It was then Lyner saw that Rika had actually slowed down, when he noticed this gap Lyner took advantage of it by running faster than ever .

    sh! The sudden sound of flesh and bone being teared could be heard . The little girl due to her immense fear had actually passed out . The sound of flesh being cut was noting from her body, instead it came from Lyner .

    The monster of Berdonia tried his very best to block the attack or redirect it . He had not time to do it properly, so he instead blocked the attack with his own body, making the de cleave through his left shoulder actuallying near his heart . Lyner at this point was coughing up blood as he continued to smile at his opponent who had fainted due to her injuries .

    The moment before the de reached the little girl, Rika who was in her berseker state actually awoke from it, and tried to stop the strike . Yet the moment she was relieved of her berserker state the bacsh of her injuries got to her making her faint . Still the force and gravity of her attack was still about toe down on the little girl . That was when Lyner was able to intervene and block the attack using his own body .

    . . .

    Lyner stood there as he pulled out the de on his shoulder making the blood gush out even more . Now that the de was out of the way, one could see how deep it prated as you could see Lyner¡¯s heart beating through the open wound on his shoulder . If it was anyone else they would have died at this moment, but Lyner still remained conscious as he stood proudly before his fallen opponent .

    "Thank you for granting my final wish . " Lyner spoke with all his might as his right hand sped tightly on his sword that he was using as his cane . Lyner¡¯s consciousness was now fading as he started to see a vision .

    He saw all the members of the Mercenary Club, Alex, Oliver, Rachel, Sayaka, Niel, Kei, Emily and even Evangeline was there . Then he saw his wife Anita wearing the school nurse¡¯s uniform holding a child in her hand . Everyone of them was rxing in that clubroom of theirs, getting ready for another event .

    Lyner who knew that this was nothing more than a daydream mumbled . "What a wonderful dream that was . " When he was about to truly close his eyes, he heard the voice of his wife shouting desperately at him .

    "Lyner!" Anita who arrived at Lyner¡¯s location . The first thing she saw when she got there was her husband¡¯s left shoulder gushing blood out . Seeing this almost made Anita faint from the shock, but she steeled herself as she sprinted towards her dying husband . She checked the left shoulder and actually saw Lyner¡¯s now slowly beating heart, in her mind she knew that there was no hope, but her heart continued to deny it .

    "Lyner wake up! Don¡¯t worry I¡¯m here now, so don¡¯t give up! You know me I¡¯m the best doctor there is, I¡¯ll be sure to save you from this!" Lyner who heard the desperate plea of his wife shook his head and spoke in a hoarse voice .

    "Don¡¯t bother, I won¡¯t make it . So instead please save the girl, since she too has lived a hard life . How about giving her a second chance, like the me of back then . Also help the little girl behind me as well . " Anita looked at the woman who wasying in front of Lyner . Anita knew that this person was the one who did this to her husband, but it was also this person that her husband asked to be saved .

    "I will do it!" Anita agreed with no hesitation on her face . This made Lyner smile weakly .

    "Thanks Anita . . . Take of our kid . . . " Those were thest words Lyner spoke before he died .

    . . .

    Lyner who died was able to open his eyes, and there right in front of him were therades he lost long ago . All of them were sitting on a table drinking, they looked at Lyner and one of them spoke .

    "Hey Lyner, been a long timee join us and have a drink . " Lyner¡¯s friend raised his mug as he said this .

    Lyner hearing the voice of his friends smiled as he answered .

    "Sure, boy, I have a lot of stories to tell you guys . "

    . . .

    Yearster Lyner¡¯s tale has been recorded in history books, as the people remember him as a great hero . He also became the role model of most mercenaries . There was also the greatest fighting tournament that was made in his honor but that is a story for another time .

 Chapter 294

    Chapter 294

    Kei who was reading a report started trembling uncontrobly . He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes as tears started to fall down his face . The person who gave the report understood what Kei must be feeling at this moment, since he was one of the people closest to the hero .

    "It can¡¯t be . . . It¡¯s impossible . . . You¡¯re joking right? . . . This is another one of those tricks you guys like to pull . . . It¡¯s not funny! It¡¯s not funny! No way would he lose! There¡¯s just no way he would die like this! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!"

    Kei looked to be in pain as he crushed the letter in his hand . At this very moment he was on the brink of copsing due to mental exhaustion . Aside from his friends in the Mercenary Club, Lyner was Kei¡¯s greatest source of confidence .

    Kei truly believed that as long as Sir Lyner was there, nothing bad could ever happen . With that usual bored sleepy expression of his, he would protect them all . That was what he and most people believed . Yet what was this? His teacher actually died, and he did so with a smile on his face .

    Kei couldn¡¯t believe the report he just read, so he checked into it and saw the whole video that the Berdonian soldiers recorded of the fight . He with his own two eyes, saw the end of his teacher . He died while protecting someone, and even in the end he won against the enemy as well . He stood there without falling down, he stood proud and tall even in death . He showed that he was never going to fall . When Kei saw this he couldn¡¯t help but clench his chest .

    Kei then checked on what had happened to Lyner¡¯s enemy Rika Saunter . It was quite easy to find the information since one of the people Kei hired already has the information .

    Rika Saunter SS rank merc of the Granado Empire was in a critical codnition where she could¡¯ve died . Yet Anita Resteti the wife of Lyner Resteti saved her, since that was thest request the fallen hero made . Kei with all the information he gathered as well as seeing the video quickly understood what had transpired .

    With all these information at hand Kei had no choice but to believe that hiszy teacher, the adviser of the Mercenary Club has died .

    ¡¯Sir Lyner . . . Fine then, I need to report this to the others, I¡¯m sure most of them will be listening in on my radio show . Also I can use this to light a me in the people of Berdonia . Even in the end you remained true to yourself didn¡¯t you . . . Sir Lyner . . . ¡¯

    Kei smiled as tears kept on falling, while he kept on thinking of that confident yetzy smile of his teacher .

    . . .

    "Everyone I have some sad news to report . Sir Lyner Resteti the strongest man of Berdonia, died yesterday . He died while protecting a little girl against the BRAINWASHED Rika Saunter the SS rank merc of the Granado Empire . When Sir Lyner fought Rika he knew that she didn¡¯t want to fight and was being controlled by one of the evil ten generals of the Empire . That¡¯s why Sir Lyner fought to save not only the little girl, but also Rika Saunter who was his enemy . Truly a true hero!"

    Kei kept on going as he praised Lyner¡¯s actions, and pushed the idea that Rika was a good person and that she was simply a victim as well . Kei gave credible information and some data to back this im, making Hilda of the ten Generals into the true bad guy .

    ¡¯This is what you wanted . . . Right . . . Sir Lyner . ¡¯ Kei smiled as he thought of this while continuing his radio show .

    . . .

    Niel who had finished a mission was listening to Kei¡¯s radio show and had his eyes wide open, while his body trembled . The people who were there in the same room as him, all looked at him shivering in fear . At this moment Niel was emitting a very strong killing intent . Most of the mercs who were also listening to radio show knew why Niel was reacting like this . For Niel was Lyner¡¯s one and only apprentice . Even they who never personally knew Lyner were shaken by the news how much more for someone so close to him .

    "Sir Lyner . . . Master is dead? . . . " Niel mumbled this words and stormed out of the building . He immediately got on his car and started driving back to the capital were Lyner¡¯s funeral was going to take ce .

    While driving like a mad man Niel was crying . He knew what Kei was saying must be the truth, since even though he sounded normal during the radio show, Niel noticed that Kei¡¯s voice was a bit different like he just finished crying .

    ¡¯Damn it! Damn it! Weren¡¯t you suppose to be the pinnacle of what it is to be a merc?! Didn¡¯t you teach me that only the strong survive?! Weren¡¯t you suppose to live through all of this? What about your kid Sir Lyner? Didn¡¯t you call me back then, telling me how excited you are about raising your kid . . . You can¡¯t . . . You just can¡¯t die like that! . . . I knew your wish was to have a glorious death . . . But, still how can any death be glorious? . . . ¡¯

    Niel startedining in his mind, but he knew no matter how much heined Lyner wouldn¡¯t revive . shes of memories regarding his sleepy master started going through his mind . This only made Niel who was usually always smiling cry even more .

    . . .

    Emily who was also listening to Kei¡¯s radio show quickly hacked into the military servers . She then found the video of Lyner¡¯s final battle . When she saw thest part where Lyner sacrificed himself for the little girl, Emily gritted her teeth as she covered her eyes . Tears started flowing down her cheeks .

    "Why? Didn¡¯t you once say that there was no use being a hero? The only thing that matters in the end is that you survive . . . Then why? . . . Damn it, I already know why . . . But still . . . Why? . . . "

    Emily continued to cry silently . After a while she then started to download the video, and then she uploaded it on the inte, so that everyone could see how wonderful her teacher was .

    . . .

    Rachel who was near the border of the Granado Empire and Berdonia, was also listening to Kei¡¯s radio show . It took her a few minutes toprehend what was just said, as her mind nked out for a minute . Once the information she just heard finally sunk in, Rachel couldn¡¯t help but cry .

    She then started to remember the first time she met her teacher and then how he became their adviser . Most of her memories of him were about him sleeping . So when she learned of his secret that he was the strongest merc of Berdonia she was truly shocked . Still that shock onlysted a short while, since even after revealing that information Lyner remained the same .

    Rachel was sure, she was so sure that no matter how bad the war got, he would remain the same . He would still be there beingzy and at the same time being the greatest source of confidence for them . Rachel was so sure, that no matter what, he would be there to back them up when things go astray .

    "Weren¡¯t you suppose to be azy teacher? Why did you go out there and work? Look at what happened when you did something you weren¡¯t used to . . . You died, just like that . . . Sir Lyner . . . " Rachel slowly walked toward the main road, she needed to return to the Capital . She needed to see her teacher for onest time .

    . . .

    Oliver and Specter were listening to Kei¡¯s radio show as well . Oliver didn¡¯t cry nor did he show any emotion . Yet deep inside he was screaming in pain, he was crying on the inside .

    "I know you like sleeping Sir Lyner . . . Going for the eternal rest, howzy can you get . " Oliver started talking to himself . Specter who was watching in the sidelines patted Oliver¡¯s shoulders .

    "Do you want to go back, and see him?" Oliver shook his head .

    "No . . . It¡¯s alright . . . I can¡¯t go back just yet . I will visit him once this is all done . "

    . . .

    Sayaka who also received the news of Lyner¡¯s death as she and her cousin the current Shadow were about to leave the border heading towards the Granado Empire . She was stunned by the news .

    "I know how you must feel right now Sayaka . . . But, the mission must go on . Can you still do it, or do you wish to return and see your teacher?"

    Sayaka who was silently processing the news she heard, looked at her cousin and smiled . The smile she showed was one of great sadness, it even affected the current Shadow .

    "No, I will continue this mission until the end . If I go back now, Sir Lyner will onlyugh at me . He would tell me that I should have done what was best for me . . . Also I can¡¯t face Sir Lyner like this, I need to face him as the Sayaka he knows . "

    When she got to thest word Sayaka couldn¡¯t help it and started to cry . Her tears wouldn¡¯t stop flowing, no matter how hard she tried, they just wouldn¡¯t stop .

    . . .

    Evangeline didn¡¯t say much when she heard the news . She simply sat on her chair not talking to any of her subordinates . She didn¡¯t eat nor drink for the whole day . On the following day, she stood up from her chair and got into her car .

    "Go to the Capital . . . I need to say my thanks to my teacher . " She directly ordered her driver, who looked back and saw her eyes were extremely red .

    . . .

    Alex who was in a room sitting on a chair while bound by chains was looking at a monitor . His crazy grandfather was sitting right beside him .

    "Today won¡¯t be a test . Will be watching a good show, I saw recently . " Alex was confused what kind of show would this crazy mother f*cking grandfather would find good .

    The monitor then started to show Lyner¡¯s battle against Rika Saunter . At first Alex was impressed on how easily Lyner got used to that overwhelming power gap, and used techniques to lessen that power gap . He was extremely surprised when he saw Lyner use RELEASE, but then Alex smiled and thought ¡¯as expected of Sir Lyner . ¡¯

    Then nearing the end he was shocked to his very core . His teacher, the strongest person he knew DIED . . .

    "You see that Alex, that¡¯s what you get if you havepassion . Even someone as strong as Lyner is weakened because of that emotion . He had victory in his grasp, but he let it all go because of one little girl . He even died because of that weakness . I thought he would¡¯ve been a fine candidate to be an honorary Greyhound, but in the end he was nothing more than a fool . "

    "WHAT THE F*CK DO YOU KNOW YOU OLD PIECE OF SH*T! HOW DARE YOU CALL MY TEACHER A FOOL! YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE STRONG, YOU BELIEVE YOURSELF TO BE MATCHLESS! BUT YOU AREN¡¯T EVEN ABLE TO MATCH A SINLGE FINGER OF MY TEACHER! HE WAS THE STRONGEST! HE WAS THE GREATEST MERC I KNEW! WHO THE F*CK ARE YOU TO SAY MY TEACHER WAS A FOOL! I WILL-"

    Before Alex could say anything more, he saw Richter was already wearing a gas mask, and the room was already filled with sleeping gas .

    . . .

    Once Alex was asleep Richter removed his gas mask and sighed . "It seems that I need to be stricter in my education . If you didn¡¯t see how foolish Lyner was in that video, then you need to be taught how to think more logically . If Lyner didn¡¯t save that girl and killed Rika Saunter, then Berdonia would have all but won the war . Without there ace no one else would be able to match Lyner . So while Lyner is attacking from the front, I would be attacking in the shadows, with that the Granado Empire would¡¯ve been doomed . Yet he sacrificed himself, and even left his enemy alive . If that¡¯s not foolish then what is?"

    Richter shook his head .

    "No matter, even without Lyner, Berdonia and the Southern Union still has Arthur Glory . As long as they y their cards right, and I attack in the perfect time the Granado Empire will still fall . "

    Once he was done exining that to his now unconscious grandson, Richter picked him up and left the room .

 Chapter 295

    Chapter 295

    Genaral Tang, had already heard news of Lyner¡¯s¡¯ death and was visiting the grave of his son . He reported to his son, about the death of his most hated enemy . He was suppose to be happy about this oue, but for some reason General Tang only felt empty inside .

    . . .

    Lyner¡¯s body was moved towards the harbor were his funeral was going to be held . The body of Lyner even in death stood proud and tall as his smile never faded . Many doctors who saw his body were confused as to how Lyner¡¯s body stood upright even after the body died . Of course they wanted to study this but Anita never allowed it .

    Instead the people were forced to move Lyner¡¯s body without changing his standing position, this was the request of the wife of the fallen hero . Seeing as this wasn¡¯t such a difficult request, they decided to do it, especially for someone like Lyner, who has done a lot for Berdonia .

    Lyner¡¯s body was not moved, instead they moved the ground he was standing on . A lot of money and manpower was used to move the body along with the ground it was standing on, but that was what was needed to be done .

    . . .

    Five days have passed and on Regon¡¯s harbor, thousands of people havee to honor the fallen hero . Many saw the body of Lyner standing on the helm of a wooden ship using his sword as a cane . This was the final position Lyner was in before he died . The people who saw this were in awe, some even felt that this was such an awesome way to die . Anita was the one who cleaned his wounds, and stitched Lyner¡¯s left shoulder .

    Most of Lyner¡¯s students have attended the funeral, the only ones missing were Alex, Oliver, and Sayaka . Every past student who was present there looked at their oncezy teacher standing tall and proud even in his death, with a smile was on his face .

    Seeing him like that pained some of the students, while the others who understood that smile of his were both saddened and happy for their teacher .

    . . .

    The people that had attended Lyner¡¯s funeral threw some flowers on his ship . The more artistic ones gave out some paintings to bring on his ship . While most of the students who attended threw pillows and nkets on the ship . The Mercenaries and soldiers present threw some wires attached to knives, this was there own way to honor the fallen hero .

    The President of Berdonia on the other hand gave Lyner two presents one was a statue of him . The statue was like an exact replica of his final moments, as he stood tall and proud with a vicious smile on his face . The bronze statue radiated Lyner¡¯s joy and pride which made most of the members of the Mercenary Club happy with it .

    The second gift the President gave was a rank for Lyner, he gave Lyner the rank of GA (General of the Army) . Now not only was Lyner the highest rank merc with SS but he was also the highest rank soldier with GA .

    No one went against the President when he gave the rank of GA to Lyner . Some of the other officials didn¡¯t like this, but they had no choice but to follow along, seeing that if they oppose this decision they would be enemies of the public . This was the result of how Emily and Kei made Lyner into a hero to the public, which made it hard for this officials to do anything at the moment .

    . . .

    After everyone had offered their gifts to Lyner, some people were chosen to say somethings about the fallen hero . Some of them talked about how Lyner saved them in the front lines, some of them talked about his great military exploits, and some of them talked about how kind he was .

    Most of what these people said, were just a portion of what made Lyner who he was, it was nothing more than lip service . Niel was thest to speak, he represented the Mercenary Club, the group of students Lyner was the closest with . He was also Lyner¡¯s one and only apprentice, he was also a named merc, and a handsome man . Which made his speech even more eye catching to the people present than when the President spoke .

    Niel stood in front of and closed his eyes, he started to remember things about his teacher . Niel then calmly looked forward with a sad smile on his face .

    "Everyone let me tell you about a man named Lyner Resteti . This man had lived a life with a lot of regrets . He also lived a life with no regrets . I know it¡¯s contradictory to say that, but that¡¯s just how Sir Lyner was, that was the very essence of what made him who he was . My teacher Lyner was a person that was full of those kinds of contradictions . He was azy man who liked to sleep all the time, yet he was also the most hardworking person I knew . He was a self centered person, that did anything and everything he wanted to do without a care in the wold, but at the same time he was also a person that cared for others the most . He was a person who looked for death, but was also the person who survived the most . "

    Niel then started to say more things that were contradictions but perfectly described Lyner . While he was talking he smiled a very wide smile . He couldn¡¯t help butugh on the inside, thinking about how much Lyner would¡¯veined if he heard this . He looked at the people in the audience and saw that they were confused . The only ones who seem to understand what he just say said, were those who truly knew Lyner .

    "Well that was my master, my teacher, Sir Lyner . Even in the end he remained true to himself . . . He was the wisest at the same time the most foolish, he was the strongest and the weakest . To everyone here he was a hero . . . Yet to me and my friends he was a teacher, he was our teacher . . . To those who saw him back then, it might seem that he hasn¡¯t taught us anything, but in truth he has taught us everything . For that I thank him from the bottom of my heart . "

    Niel looked up to the clouds and tears started to flow down his cheeks . Everyone watching who saw Niel¡¯s smiling yet tearful face, felt the pain he was feeling . The students who were listening in started to cry, while the members of the Mercenary Club stood up from their seats and bowed their heads before Lyner, Niel who was on stage did the same thing .

    Anita who was watching the reactions of Lyner¡¯s students suddenly remembered something Lyner said before . It was before they got married, at that time Lyner had told Anita that he became a teacher, and he said . "Even though I¡¯m their teacher . . . I was nothing more than azy teacher, and most of my students would most probably remember me as such . "

    Anita who remember what Lyner said, and seeing the scene before her eyes made her smile . "It doesn¡¯t seem like they only remember you for beingzy . " Anita mumbled to herself .

    Arthur Glory was also present he didn¡¯t say anything and only watched as he silently payed his respects . He sighed as he thought . ¡¯So that rematch can never happen . . . That¡¯s pretty unfair Lyner leaving while you¡¯re ahead . ¡¯

    . . .

    When everyone was done saying what needed to be said, the ship Lyner¡¯s body was on had moved out into the sea . Once the ship was far enough, the soldiers and mercenaries present saluted . The other soldiers and mercenaries who weren¡¯t saluting had bow and arrows ready, they then lighted their arrows on fire .

    Anita looked at the wooden ship her husband was on, and breathed softly before ordering the people to fire their arrows . The arrows were released and most of them hit the wooden ship which started to burn .

    This was the old way of how Berdonian people sent their warriors to the afterlife . Nowadays this kind of funeral was only done to the most respected of warriors . This was how the people of Berdonia showed how much they honored and respected Lyner¡¯s sacrifice for his country .

    This event has been broadcasted to every part of Berdonia and the Southern Union . Anita was holding a pair of Lyner¡¯s gloves that had wires in it . She held it tightly as she looked at the burning ship .

    ¡¯I can¡¯t cry now, I need to show these people that I am the wife of the Monster of Berdonia . So instead I will smile that vicious smile of yours . ¡¯ Anita showed a smile that was simr to Lyner¡¯s as he got excited in battle .

 Chapter 296

    Chapter 296: 296

    Rika was on a bed faking her unconscious state . When she lost consciousness after losing to Lyner, it took her only a few seconds to wake up . Though her consciousness was wide awake her body wasn¡¯t . The battle with Lyner was more taxing than she ever anticipated, without being able to move a muscle, she heard what Lyner requested his wife to do .

    ¡¯He actually said that they should give me a second chance, and that I¡¯m like him . . . Even though I was there enemy, even though I was the cause of his death . It would seem that even in the end he never resented me . . . Why?¡¯

    Rika was confused as to why she was shown mercy, since that was the first time an enemy showed her any mercy . Actually most of the time the enemies she fought would only look at her in fear or anger . Lyner on the other hand simply smiled at her joyfully, even in the end when he was dying . Well to be fair Lyner was the very first opponent that was an actual threat to her . Not only was he a threat that could match her, but the longer the fight went on the stronger he got . He was in the end the de facto winner of that battle, but he was the one who died .

    Rika couldn¡¯t forget that smiling face of his as he fought . Why was he smiling? What kind of person could smile so joyfully in front of an enemy . Rika felt it that that person with that vicious smile of his was different from her . They were both SS rank, they were both people that went beyond what it means to be a normal human, but he was different .

    He was different from her, he was not bound by anything . It felt like he was more free than anyone else . The way he fought told Rika a lot about him . He felt like those clouds in the sky, unhindered and free . While Rika was thinking about Lyner she heard the sound of the door opening . She continued to close her eyes and pretended to be asleep .

    The person who entered was none other than Anita Resteti the wife of the man she killed . Rika found her confusing as well . Even though she didn¡¯t need to do it, Anita stayed true to her word and saved her from her wounds . It was Anita who nursed her back to health as Rika wasn¡¯t able to move at the moment .

    It was a surreal thing that the wife of the enemy you killed, was the one who worried about you the most . It has been a week and it would seem that the Granado Empire has given up on her . Her own country hasn¡¯t bothered to do anything to save her, as she already served her purpose . On the other hand, the wife of her enemy was more caring .

    "Oh Rika, still pretending to sleep I see . You do know that closing your eyes doesn¡¯t make you look like your asleep . . . Still not willing to talk to me? It¡¯s been a week now . I thought by now you¡¯re bored with this sleeping act . "

    While she was talking Anita started to check on Rika¡¯s body . Even as a woman Anita was a little bit captivated on how beautiful Rika was, no matter how many times she looked . Her looks, her abilities, everything about her makes it seem like she was no longer human . No it felt like she was the next step of what a human was suppose to be .

    "No matter how many times I see it, I am always amazed . If it was anyone else, even my husband who is said to be a monster, if he was the one or anyone else who sustained your injuries they would still be in aatose state and their bodies would still look injured . Yet look at this, you remained conscious even after that fight, not only that your body¡¯s healing itself four times faster than normal . Some of the injuries in your body is already healed and gone . If everybody had a body like yours it would be amazing"

    Anita started happily talking to Rika . After saving Rika from her wounds, Anita had continued to talk to her like this . Aside from her parents this was the first time anyone has talked to Rika like a human being . Everyone else would look at her as if she was some higher life form or a monster . So listening to Anita talking to her made her quite happy, and at the same time extremely guilty .

    She couldn¡¯t simply talk to Anita since she felt extremely guilty and confused . She was the one who had killed her husband, his blood stains her hands . Yet even with this fact in mind, she was the one who treated her the best aside from her parents . Anita treated Rika not only as human being but as a friend .

    She the murderer of Anita¡¯s husband was being treated as a friend .

    . . .

    After talking for a bit Anita left the room . Once she was alone again, Rika opened her eyes and felt a pain in her chest .

    ¡¯What should I do? . . . ¡¯

    . . .

    The following day Anita once again started a conversation with Rika . Anita thought her talk with Rika would end up the same but something different happened today, Rika actually spoke to her .

    Rika¡¯s beautiful ruby red eyes looked at Anita .

    "Why do you do this? Don¡¯t you hate me? I was the one who killed your beloved husband . I know he told you to save me, but do you need to be so kind?" The pain in Rika¡¯s voice was easily heard and felt . In response to that Anita smiled .

    "Why would I hate you? You are the person who granted my husband¡¯s final wish . You might not have understood my husband, but I did . I knew at some point he was going to die, that¡¯s why we treated everyday like it was thest day and had fun . Though the war limited our options of having fun, but we still had fun nheless . He even left me someone to be with, so that I won¡¯t be lonely . " Anita caressed her tummy, smiling at her unborn baby .

    "So please don¡¯t think I¡¯m doing this because my husband told me so . No, I¡¯m doing this because I¡¯m thankful to you . "

    Rika who heard what Anita said was confused, Lyner¡¯s final wish was death? She couldn¡¯t understand why Lyner was like that, nor could she understand Anita¡¯s reasoning .

    "Aren¡¯t you going to ask me, to help you in fighting your enemies?" Rika couldn¡¯t help but ask, since that was the only thing anyone has ever asked of her . She was nothing more than a weapon . Anita hearing Rika¡¯s question tilted her head confused .

    "Why should I ask someone else to do that?" Rika was even more confused when she heard Anita¡¯s answer .

    "Then what do you n to do with me?"

    "I don¡¯t really n to do anything with you . You may leave anytime you want, you¡¯re free to do what you want . I just hope you tell me when you¡¯re leaving so I can prepare a farewell feast . "

    "I . . . I¡¯m free?"

    "Of course you are . "

    Hearing Anita¡¯s answer made Rika stop talking and suddenly suddenly started to look like she was contemting something . Seeing her like this made Anita smile, as she silently left the room .

 Chapter 297

    Chapter 297

    After burning the wooden ship where Lyner¡¯s body was, the members of the Mercenary club gathered in a nearby restaurant . There were a lot of people inside the restaurant, most of them were people that came to Lyner¡¯s funeral .

    Yet even in this kind of situation the Mercenary Club still drew attention . The people who were there during Lyner¡¯s funeral knew that the former students in the so called Mercenary Club were people who were close to the dead hero . They saw most of these kids near the stage, and couldn¡¯t forgot Niel who spoke with a lot of charisma .

    They were supposedly Lyner¡¯s favorite students . So with their current reputation plus their looks everyone¡¯s attention was currently on them . Still the members of the club didn¡¯t mind the looks they were getting . Even Kei who was usually the most meek among them was unusually calm .

    Niel seeing the changes in hispanions smiled his usual smile . The usual radiant aura of Niel¡¯s hasn¡¯t changed even though he has been to the battlefield . In the face of his juniors he wish to remain the perfect senior that they knew .

    "It¡¯s been a while everyone . I see that all of you are doing well . . . Also, what¡¯s wrong with you two?" Niel was talking about how Emily had Kei in a chokehold . She wasn¡¯t tightening the chokehold too much, but just enough so that Kei couldn¡¯t escape . Hearing Niel¡¯s question Emily started to pout .

    "This fool has been avoiding me for a year now! He keeps on hiding from me . I¡¯m getting sick of ying hide and seek! So this time I¡¯m making sure he won¡¯t be able to escape . "

    Kei kept on tapping on Emily¡¯s hand while he answered .

    "I wasn¡¯t doing that because I was trying to run away from you . I was going around evading the surveince of other people due to my radio show . Also I was gathering information and needed to move a lot . I promise I wasn¡¯t doing this to avoid you . " Kei tried to exin himself, even though everything he just said was only half truths .

    ¡¯I hope she doesn¡¯t notice . ¡¯ Kei felt Emily¡¯s grip got lighter, which made him feel relieve for but a moment, then the chokehold on him got a even tighter than before .

    "Who are you trying to fool! The way you avoided my detection, and the way you changed location the moment I found you makes it clear you were trying to hide from me!"

    The others were watching the two and smiled . It would seem like even after a year the good rtionship of the two remained the same . Rachel on the other hand was quite curious about their situation .

    "Are you two dating?" When Emily and Kei heard Rachel¡¯s question they both tilted their heads .

    " . . . " Kei started contemting after hearing that question . He looked at the girl who stopped her chokehold and was now thinking as well . ¡¯Now that I think about it, what exactly is our rtionship? More than friends but less than lovers?¡¯

    " . . . " Emily was also thinking about the question Rachel asked . She looked at Kei and started to think . ¡¯Do I actually like this guy? Well if someone asked if I like or hate him, then I would answer that I like him, but . . . Is that enough to date someone? True he doesn¡¯t have the look that I like . Still I am fond of him and his ways . . . Hmm . . . ¡¯

    Seeing the two went silent and in deep thought made the others a bit confused . Kei was one thing, but Emily would usually answer without hesitation . After a few seconds of thinking Emily tapped on Kei¡¯s head .

    "Hey, do you want to be my boyfriend?" Everyone was stunned by what Emily said all except for Kei who was still thinking about something .

    "Well I guess that¡¯s the natural progression from where we are now . I guess that¡¯s fine . " Everyone was shocked in how easily Kei answered the question . It would seem that in the past year, Kei has blossomed out of his meek self and turned a bit . . . really confident .

    "So does that mean we¡¯re girlfriend and boyfriend now?" Emily finally let go of Kei and pointed at herself then at him when she asked her question .

    "Well, yeah I guess so . We¡¯re now officially dating, does that answer your question Rachel . " Niel, Rachel, and Evangeline were looking at the two who became an item and were stunned by the sudden event . Everything happened so fast that they it took them a moment to fully digest the event .

    "What the hell!" Rachel suddenly screamed .

    "Congrattions you two . " Niel simply showed his best smile and gave a thumbs up to his two juniors .

    "Hahaha . " Evangeline on the other hand startedughing . It has been a long time since shestughed . Being with these people truly made her feel that there was no war going on . It made her feel nostalgic, like they were all back in that clubroom of theirs . Even though she wasn¡¯t technically a part of the Mercenary Club, but to them to her she was already a part of it a long time ago .

    "Why are you suddenlyughing Eva? Do you find this funny?" Rachel looked at Evangeline seeing this once cool beauty act like this made her feel a bit weird .

    "It¡¯s nothing, its just that . . . We might have all changed over the past year, but for some reason we still remained the same . I don¡¯t know how to exin it properly, but that¡¯s what I feel . Seeing you guys here doing these kind of things as usual made me remember the old times . "

    Hearing what Evangeline said the other four smiled as well .

    "Yeah it¡¯s like we¡¯re back in that clubroom of ours . Where Sir Lyner is still sleeping, Sayaka is messing with Oliver while he is talking about our next event . Alex would stay beside me quietly watching . Niel would like he is now, be smiling at us . Kei would be taking down notes, while Emily would be messing around on herptop . Then you would drop by to join in the fun . . . Yeah, those were the days . "

    Rachel couldn¡¯t help but smile while tears flow down her face . The other who were listening to what she said also started to tear up .

    "Yet now . . . Alex has been kidnapped by his grandfather . Oliver is gone and we have no idea where he is . I haven¡¯t heard anything from Sayaka either, but I did hear rumors that Sayaka¡¯s dad has died, and she would most probably take his position . . . . Also now . . . Now, Sir Lyner is gone . . . "

    The group suddenly turned gloomy when they remember those events . While the group was now sinking into depression as their heads were lowered they suddenly heard a familiar voice . It was the voice of someone who shouldn¡¯t exist anymore .

    "What the hell are you brats doing sulking like that . Your friends have been captured, are missing, and some might be heading towards their deaths, sulking wont help you there . So instead of feeling sorry for yourselves, how about you brats go out and find them yourselves . "

    When the club members heard what the familiar voice said they all raised their heads . Was it possible, was there teacher actually alive . Was he able to actually fool everyone . It was surely possible if it was him . The group then started to look around trying to find where the voice came from . Yet they saw no one resembling Lyner, instead they saw Niel touching his throat .

    "Where you the one who did that?" Rachel asked Niel, who responded by showing a vicious smile that was simr to Lyner and answered in his normal voice .

    "Yeah I was the one who did that, I was the one who was talking in Sir Lyner¡¯s voice . Don¡¯t me me for doing that, it¡¯s because you guys made faces the look like the end of the world wasing . If Sir Lyner was here I¡¯m sure he would have said the same thing . "

    Hearing what Niel said the others wiped the tears from their faces . Niel was right if Lyner was here, he would most probably say the same thing . Seeing the others finally perking up, Niel spoke to Rachel .

    "Rachel now that Oliver and Alex aren¡¯t here, you are the only one left of the original starting members . I guess leadership should fall under you . So leader what should we do?"

    Everyone was now looking at Rachel . Feeling everyone¡¯s gaze on her, Rachel closed her eyes and sighed . She then looked back at her fellow club members and smiled confidently as she announced .

    "Isn¡¯t it obvious what we¡¯re going to do next . Of course we the Mercenary Club are going out, to save our friends!"

 Chapter 298

    Chapter 298

    Inside a mansion in the center of the Capital of Berdonia, Regon . There was a cute little girl with long ck hair, and heterochromatic eyes, one of her eyes shined blue while the other was gold . Her overall look made her seem inhuman, it was like she was a walking talking doll . This girl was Lilitth Samarita, and she was currently looking at the cribs of her two siblings . Yuuki was the boy on the left, while Mirai was the girl on the right, these two babies were twins .

    Lilitth was watching the two cute little babies with an attentive gaze . She found the sleeping face of the two to be so cute, that she wanted to pinch their cheeks . Michel looked at her children with a smile on her face as she felt truly happy . She then noticed that it was time for training .

    Michel called for one of the maids to look after her twins, and then she told Lilitth that it was time for training . Ever since Carlo left, Michel has been training Lilitth inbat . At first she didn¡¯t want to teach her cute little daughter something so dangerous, but when Lilitth argued that she was doing this so that she could protect herself and her siblings, Michel had no choice but to agree . Not only because her request was reasonable, but also because of that determined looked Lilitth showed Michel at the time .

    . . .

    While the mother and daughter were walking towards the training area, Michel was thinking deeply about something . A few days ago she was watching the final fight of Lyner against Rika . When Michel saw that fight she finally understood why the SS ranks were likened to nuclear arms . With that kind of strength that could mow down everything and anything with speed and efficiency . It was true that the SS ranks were somehow better than nukes in some aspects . At least if you use the SS ranks they may have a simr effect like that of a nuclear weapon, and without the drawbacks thate from a nuclear strike . It was like they were eco friendly nukes .

    Yet that wasn¡¯t what interested Michel greatly, since even before watching that video she already understood that those that go beyond the S rank were monsters . No, the thing that truly interested her was how Rika Saunter fought . Rika¡¯s abilities were simr to Michel¡¯s very own daughter Lilitth .

    Actually in terms of physical abilities, Rika¡¯s strength was greater than Lilitth¡¯s but Lilitth¡¯s regenerative abilities were much greater than Rika¡¯s . Unlike Rika who needed a few days to heal those kinds of wounds, Lilitth could heal most wounds almost instantly . This made Michel think that it was possible that the best way for Lilitth to improve was to copy Rika¡¯s style of fighting .

    As she continued to contemte on the subject, Michel felt someone tugging on her sleeves .

    "Kaa-chan we¡¯re already here . " Hearing Lilitth¡¯s voice woke Michel up from her thoughts .

    . . .

    The mother and daughter finally reached the training grounds, which was basically arge field, outside of the mansion . On one side of the field was a weapon rack . Michel then took two simple quarterstaves and handed one to Lilitth .

    "Come on then Lilitth, show me how much you improved . " When she heard her mother telling her to go, Lilitth didn¡¯t hesitate and moved to attack . Her movements were now much more refined than the time she faced off against Alex .

    Yet even though her speed was great and her movements a bit better, she was still easy to read . Even though Michel couldn¡¯t match Lilitth¡¯s speed she knew where she would being from, it was a telegraphic attack that was easily countered .

    Michel ced her quarterstaff in the position she guessed Lilitth would take . She did this to disrupt Lilitth¡¯s movement, which was easily achieved . Once her flow got disrupted Lilitth was unable to recover quickly enough before her mother¡¯s quarterstaff was near her face .

    Lilitth had no time to avoid the iing attack and was ready to receive a heavy hit, but no matter how long she waited the attack never came . It would seem that her mother stopped before hitting her . This made Lilitth pout, which looked extremely adorable . If Carlo were here he would¡¯ve fainted already and lost .

    "Why did you stop again kaa-chan?! I told you to take this seriously!"

    Hearing what Lilitth said coupled with that adorable pouting face, Michel couldn¡¯t help it anymore and hugged her cute little daughter . She knew that Lilitth was angry, but her cuteness was too much for Michel .

    "But, but, hurting my little Lilitth isn¡¯t something I can do! I can¡¯t, I just can¡¯t! How can a mother hit her own child! If I ever do that I think I¡¯ll puke blood . No! If I ever hit Lilitth I would cut off my arms instead!" Michel started to panic as she hugged Lilitth a bit tighter . She was even close to crying .

    Hearing what her mother said made Lilitth sigh . She knew that no matter what happens, Michel would never harm her . It would seem that the idea alone was able make her mother Michel who was usually so strong, turn pale in fright . Lilitth really loved her mother, and couldn¡¯t fault her for this, but even so how will she learn what needed to be learned if Michel was to baby her like this .

    It¡¯s not like those attack will have anysting damage on Lilitth, seeing as most every kind of damage is easily healed . Lilitth already exined that to Michel once, but she just wouldn¡¯t allow it . Michel didn¡¯t even want Lilitth to think about taking a hit no matter how great her regenerative abilities were .

    "I guess, that¡¯s fine . . . Let¡¯s continued then Kaa-chan . " After their little hug the mother and daughter pair continued their training .

    . . .

    After two hours of continued attacks, not once was Lilitth able to hit Michel . All her moves were easily countered, but instead of reprimanding her Michel kept on praising Lilitth¡¯s improvement . This only made Lilitth sigh some more .

    . . .

    Now that training was over, Michel needed to head back to the twins . Lilitth on the other hand stayed in the training grounds to continue practicing . Michel looked at her daughter, who was cutely swinging around the quarterstaff which made her smile before leaving .

    . . .

    Lilitth was a bit frustrated since she thought that she had improved enough that she would at least be able to get a single hit in . Yet the result of the spar was, she was unable to hit her mother even once, and to make matters worse Michel didn¡¯t even move from her spot .

    Though Lilittth thought she wasn¡¯t improving, the truth of that matter was she was improving in an incredible rate . If it was a normal B or A rank merc that fought Lilitth they wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything but die . Still that was because of Lilitth¡¯s outrageous physical abilities, but still the techniques she was taught made her a threat even to some S rank mercs .

    The only reason why Michel was able to easily beat Lilitth was because she knew Lilitth well enough that she could pretty much guess most of what the little girl would do . Not only that during their practice sessions it wasn¡¯t only Lilitth that was improving even Michel herself was improving .

 Chapter 299

    Chapter 299

    Alex who had just finished another one of his grandfather¡¯s crazy test was now resting inside the room provided for him . As he was resting Alex tried to sense the changes in his body, he felt that his body was somehow changing, he was once again growing . His current strength was way beyond what it was back when he was still an active merc .

    It would seem that not only was his immature body bing stronger, something else within him had burst out . That crazy f*cking b*stard of a grandfather was actually able to release Alex¡¯s full potential . The numerous tests that Alex had endured had push him to his very limits as he needed to go beyond those limits to survive . So after surviving those numerous tests Alex felt that if he grew up a bit more and reached the full potential of his body, he felt like he could breakthrough the shackles of human limitation and reach the realm were Lyner and the other SS rank mercs stood .

    Yet even with this knowledge, knowing that all he needed to do was wait, Alex wasn¡¯t satisfied . Alex wanted that power to be his now . He wanted it so that he could beat his grandfather and im his revenge . In oder to do that he first needed to release the shackles that bind him to his human limitations .

    If he can¡¯t reach the realm of the SS rank mercs, Alex knew that he stood no chance against his grandfather . The desire for power felt like it was corrupting him . This made Alex feel a bit scared, since he never had to deal with this kind of urges back when he was still an active merc .

    As fear was slowly creeping near him, Alex clenched his right hand and ced it on his chest .

    ¡¯Rachel please grant me strength . ¡¯ When his emotions returned to him Alex felt the real significance of this action, he really did feel courage surge forth whenever he did this .

    . . .

    While Alex was being sentimental, Richter had ordered the ten highest ranking individuals in the Shadow Mercenaries to gather . These people were nearly on the same level as the current Alex, and they were also Richter¡¯s most efficient subordinates .

    . . .

    Now in front of Richter stood, Hektor, Kris, Jospeh, and seven others . The ten of them were standing at attention in front of Richter . Even though all of the members of the Shadow Mercenaries hadrge egos and pride, they weren¡¯t able to show an ounce of that in front of this old man .

    Seeing as all ten of them knew the true face of this always calm looking old man . Once Richter gets truly serious even all of them together won¡¯t stand a chance . The ten of them understood that the man in front of them owned their very lives .

    "Gentlemen, I have called all of you here today to do a simple errand . " When the ten heard what Richter said they all had the same thought .

    ¡¯The hell it¡¯s going to be simple . ¡¯ Seeing the slight changes in the expressions of his subordinates, Richter could practically hear what they were thinking about .

    "Don¡¯t worry, it truly is a simple task . All you people need to do is bring the friends of my grandson back to the base . It seems my grandson misses them dearly and I want them toe here to have fun . "

    When the ten heard what the old man said, they once again all thought of the same thing, well all but Hektor . This task wasn¡¯t as easy as the old man im to be, seeing as his grandson was Alex the so called silent sh . Meaning his friends could only be those freaks from Berdonia .

    "Hey I know we¡¯re your subordinates and all that, but I didn¡¯t join this group to be a babysitter . " One of the ten spoke . He was a man with zing red hair, he had two customized handguns in his waist . When the other nine heard what this guy said they all thought that he was an idiot . Still this was within his character to say this . Since even among all the members of the Shadow Mercenaries who were prideful, this man had an abnormal amount of pride .

    "Oh, what did you just say Flynn?" The killing intenting from Richter was so great, that even the powerful members of the Shadow Mercenaries like Hektor was actually affected by it . Even though he knew he was no match, Flynn didn¡¯t back down .

    "You heard me old man, I didn¡¯t join your group to be a babysitter . You might be a little bit stronger than me, but you can¡¯t force me to do what I don¡¯t want to do . " The moment Flynn said this, he felt someone¡¯s hand on his head and was forcefully smacked down onto the floor .

    Everyone was shocked to see Richter do such a thing . Flynn usually does this, and Richer would usually respond by giving Flynn a few ps then Richter would simply send Flynn into one of the istion chambers . Yet this time Richter was doing something different . He was actually trying to kill Flynn . Normally Richter wouldn¡¯t think of killing Flynn, since Flynn was one of the few somehowpetent subordinates he has .

    This would mean that this mission was that important to Richter, and saying otherwise would result in death . The others that figured that out, simply stood as they saw Richter mercilessly pounding Flynn onto the floor .

    Flynn who was being pounded finally felt the danger he was in . He knew now that the old man was truly nning to kill him . Of course he wouldn¡¯t allow himself to die so easily . Flynn was trying to get the guns on his waist, but the moment he tried to reach for them Richter held both his arms with his left hand, while Richter¡¯s right hand continued to pound Flynn¡¯s face onto the floor .

    Flynn tried his very best to break free from the vice like grip, but was unable to do so . Unlike the old man who was good at everything, Flynn was more of a mid range fighter, so among his peers his physical strength wasn¡¯t much . Though normally Flynn could overpower A rank mercs with his physical strength, but faced with someone like Richter he could do nothing but struggle for his very life, knowing that no matter what death hase .

    . . .

    After a few more minutes of pounding Flynn onto the floor, he finally died, his face now unrecognizable . Once Richter was done killing Flynn he looked at the remaining nine .

    "Does anyone else have something to say?" The remaining nine shook their heads . Seeing them do that made Richter smile . The killing intent that was surrounding the room quickly dispersed as if it never existed .

    "Good, so back to the topic of bringing my grandson¡¯s friends . As you know my grandson is a special kind of boy, and so are his friends . So for this mission I will send two pairs, to handle two of my grandson¡¯s very special friends . The others I¡¯m sure they can handle some children by themselves . "

    Kris and Joseph then stepped forward, which made Richter stop talking .

    "Sir, can you give us the mission of brining James- Oliver back to base . " When Kris said this Hektor looked at him with a re .

    "Oh, I was going to hand that mission to Hektor and Brent . Seeing as he is Hektor¡¯s nephew I thought it would be better for him to bring Oliver back . "

    "Sir, Hektor is indeed Oliver¡¯s uncle which might affect his performance inpleting this mission . Since aside from Hektor, I and Joseph know Oliver the best, we canplete this mission no problem . "

    Richter seeing the reactions of everyone else, couldn¡¯t help but smile .

    "Sure, you can be the ones to bring Oliver back to base . "

    "Sir, thank you, sir!" Kris and Joseph saluted, while Hektor red at them for a second before calming himself down .

    "Next is Niel-"

    . . .

    After assigning his nine subordinates on who to bring back, he ordered them to aplish the mission as fast as possible . Once all nine left the room, Richter sat back on his chair and looked at some files that Hektor was reading .

    Richter noticed that Hektor was up to something years ago . He also knew and understood what Hektor was nning but never stopped him . Richter did this, since believed that what Hektor was doing could help bring down the Granado Empire . It doesn¡¯t matter what kind of sacrifice must be made, all Richter wanted was to fulfill the ultimate wish of the Greyhound family .

    That was the reason he was born into this world, and that would be also the reason why he would die in this world .

 Chapter 300

    Chapter 300

    Alex unaware of what his grandfather was nning to do, was now contemting what he himself should do . A year ago he was so sure that he would be able to escape, but look at what happened . He tried multiple times to escape but no matter what he did he wasn¡¯t able to do anything . Everything he did, everything he thought of was anticipated and countered by his grandfather .

    Since the beginning Alex was ying on the palm of his grandfather¡¯s hands . If Emily were here, she would¡¯ve said that in this situation Alex wasn¡¯t even a yer, but merely an npc .

    Even the hope of someoneing to the rescue was slowly fading from Alex¡¯s mind . Ever since the death of his teacher Sir Lyner, Alex had lost faith in a rescue mission . Even though Alex wanted to believe that his father Carlo would rescue him, he couldn¡¯t . He understood what kind of abilities Carlo had,pared to what the Shadow Mercenaries plus his grandfather had, Carlo wasn¡¯t there match .

    ¡¯Damn it! What should I do? I¡¯m sure that crazy sonuvab*tch was nning to do something that would go against my own will . If I don¡¯t escape he might brainwash me or do something worse to control me . If that¡¯s the case should I die instead? I can¡¯t escape and no matter what I do he¡¯s always ahead of me . The only thing that sh*tty grandfather won¡¯t ever guess would be me killing myself . ¡¯

    Alex¡¯s thoughts were going somewhere even darker, as he actually thought that dying would be much more preferable than whatever ns Richter had for him . That was when he remembered something . It was a memory of Carlo handing out a mission .

    ¡¯That¡¯s right Dad gave me a final mission . . . To live and be happy . . . Am I actually thinking of quitting on a mission? Am I actually even considering failing a mission?¡¯

    Alex started to remember all the people he met, the people he called his friends . Those guys might have lived sheltered lives, but Alex was sure, if they were in the same situation none of them would ever give up .

    ¡¯Did those guys ever gave up on anything? No, they would never even think of giving up . If Niel was here, he would remained calm and collected, as he tries to figure what to do next . If Emily was here she would assess the situation and would¡¯ve gotten in the nerves of the people present . She would then distract them with her antics so she could think of a n . If Oliver was here he would find the whole situation interesting . He would have endured even more than I could . If Sayaka was here, she would have used her trickery to escape . If Rachel was here she would never backed down towards that old man . If Evangeline was here, I¡¯m sure she would treat this like any normal kidnapping . If kei was here . . . Hmm . . . I wonder what he would have done, unlike the others he wasn¡¯t really that sturdy . . . ¡¯

    When Alex was happily trying to think of what his friends would do if they were in a simr situation, he remembered the final member of the Mercenary Club . He remembered that person, even the confident smile of his that betrayed no fear .

    ¡¯If Sir Lyner was here, he would haveugh at the whole situation and then he would say . "A ce where I can sleep and eat, plus every other day I get to fight strong guys . Well isn¡¯t this a nice ce, isn¡¯t this a vacation home . " I guess he would¡¯ve said that to my grandfather¡¯s face with that vicious smile of his . ¡¯

    Alex couldn¡¯t help butugh at what he thought Lyner would say . He could really imagine Lyner saying that right in front of his grandfather¡¯s face, without a care in the world . It¡¯s been a long time since Alexughed . . . No, now that he started thinking about it, wasn¡¯t this the first time Alex trulyughed .

    Even back when was still Dalvir Greyhound, he would neverugh . He would smile from time to time, but neverugh out loud . When Alex thought about that, it just made himugh even harder than before .

    Once he was doneughing Alex shook his head . ¡¯Heh, that felt nice . . . I guess giving up isn¡¯t really something I would do . ¡¯

    . . .

    While Alex was thinking of new ways to escape, Richter entered the room Alex was in . Alex who looked at his grandfather entering the room, noticed that the old man was wearing his battle gear, and he could see the guns hidden within his coat . Richter then approached Alex and removed his restraints .

    Once Alex¡¯s restraints were removed he distanced himself from his grandfather, while looking at the old man confused . Alex wasn¡¯t sure what this was, but he was now on full alert . Richter without saying anything tossed something towards Alex . When Alex saw that, at first he thought that it was a grenade or something, but it wasn¡¯t instead what Richter tossed were his weapons .

    Not only his weapons even his bullet proof vest was given back . Alex was still very wary, so he started to inspect his weapons, his guns, his sword, and every other equipment . All of them don¡¯t seem to be tampered or anything . He couldn¡¯t find a trace of anything .

    "What does this mean old man?" Richter smiled hearing his grandson¡¯s question and answered .

    "Wear those things, then I¡¯ll tell you of the surprise I have in store for you . " Alex didn¡¯t want to do what his grandfather said, but he knew that he needed to follow the old man¡¯s order . Once Alex was done wearing his equipment, Richter spoke .

    "Now that you¡¯re fully equipped I can tell you the surprise . Remember when your birthday passed by and we didn¡¯t celebrate it due to your tests . I as your kind grandfather have decided to hold a celebration for you . In this celebration I invited your friends toe and y . Oh, I know that you¡¯re shy little boy my little grandson, and you don¡¯t want them toe . So I¡¯m going to give you a bted birthday gift . If you are somehow able to beat me, or better yet kill me, then of course you can do whatever you want . . . "

    Alex was still stunned as he was having a hard time processing what his grandfather just said, no it was more like he didn¡¯t want to believe what his grandfather just said . Richter seeing Alex¡¯s reaction didn¡¯t care and continued saying what needed to be said .

    "But if you lose, of course we¡¯ll need to invite your friends to join in the fun . Well there is also the chance, that you¡¯ll disappoint me too much . If that happens I guess as punishment you won¡¯t even get to see your friends . So Alex I-" Richter wasn¡¯t able to finish what he was going to say, as he suddenly dodged a bullet that came from Alex¡¯s direction .

    Richter smiled as he saw the expression on Alex¡¯s face . Basically there was none, Alex right now waspletely stoic . This was the situation Richter was hoping for, as he was getting happy from his sess he started to evade, while he retreated for the moment . The limited space of the room they were in wasn¡¯t really ideal for Richter .

    Seeing his grandfather exit the room, Alex followed suit as he reloaded his gun . At this moment Alex had only one objective . Kill his grandfather without mercy or remorse .

 Chapter 301

    Chapter 301

    Alex who was chasing after his grandfather took out another pistol from his waist . Now he was holding two handguns on both hands . Alex continued shooting at his grandfather who evaded by running towards a corner of the hallway . Seeing that Alex reced the bullets with his specialized rubber bullets, and started shooting at the walls . The bullets Alex shot ricochet off the walls and bounced towards the corner Richter ran towards .

    Once Alex turned towards that corner, he couldn¡¯t spot his grandfather . Alex then felt dangering and leapt forward, secondster he heard gunshots . Alex looked behind and saw his grandfather hiding above .

    Richter who had failed his surprise attack jumped down from his hiding spot . The moment Richternded Alex was already inches away from him . Alex¡¯s gun that was on his left hand was now pointing at Richter¡¯s face, while the gun on his right hand was pointing at Richter¡¯s heart .

    Richter swayed his head to evade the bullet aimed at it, while he didn¡¯t evade the bullet that would pierce his heart . As Alex expected the bullet couldn¡¯t prate the armor like clothes of his grandfather . Yet if one shot didn¡¯t work then all he needed to do was hit it more times . Richter on the other hand was about to get one of the weapons hidden in his coat but Alex was able to anticipate this and shot Richter¡¯s hand that was reaching for the gun .

    Alex then started to shoot at Richter in close quarters . Richter countered by pushing one of Alex¡¯s hands to the side, and using that opening tried to get a weapon within that interval . Yet Alex¡¯s flow wasn¡¯t disturbed by that move as he spun his body to use the force of the push to his advantage and delivered a kick to his grandfather . The iing kick stopped Richter from reaching his gun and was forced to block using both his hands .

    Richter who was able to catch Alex¡¯s leg flung it upward, making Alex lose bnce as he was now in a mid-air somersault . Now with this opening Richter was finally able to get a gun out . He then started to shoot at the defenseless Alex . Seeing that Richter was about to shoot, Alex knew he couldn¡¯t evade mid-air, so instead Alex matched the timing of Richter¡¯s shot and shot his own bullet . The two bullets collided mid-air and were forced to change trajectory .

    Seeing that stunned Richter for a moment, and then he smiled . The better his grandson was, the better it was for the Greyhound legacy . Alex thennded on the ground, seeing that Ricther tried to distance himself from Alex, but Alex wouldn¡¯t allow that as he continued to stick close to Richter .

    The two began a melee with their guns . Most of the shots were evaded the other attacks were deflected by hitting bullets with their own bullets . Sometimes Richter would simply take a hit, since he was able to regenerate the damage using the nanomachines injected into him .

    Alex knew that this was really not enough to kill the b*stard . He knew the only real way to finish the enemy off would be destroying Richter¡¯s brain, but it might also be possible if he destroys Richter¡¯s heart . Still that proved to be quite difficult since those were the only things that Richter was truly defending .

    . . .

    The attacks of the two were going so fast, that the human eye couldn¡¯t keep up anymore . Even in that kind of speed, Richter suddenly shifted gears and gotten faster, Alex also followed suit . The warm-ups were finally over, now it was time for the real thing .

    Alex and Richter¡¯s killing intents were overflowing and made the whole atmosphere heavy . The two finally broke off from the melee and distanced themselves from each other . The gun on Alex¡¯s right hand was busted so he threw it away, and got his sword out instead .

    Richter on the other hand removed his coat, and all the weapons he was carrying made a loud thud sound when they hit the floor . Richter then picked up twobat knives and took a stance . Once the two were ready they once again began to attack each other .

    . . . .

    The sh of steel with steel was intense, while the sound of gunfire was now fewer than before . The two of them seem to be equal, but in truth Alex was in a huge disadvantage . The only targets he could try and hit were the head and the chest, but no matter what he just couldn¡¯t hit those .

    Also Alex had an irritating feeling that his grandfather was actually holding back on him . Even though currently it doesn¡¯t look that way, but Alex couldn¡¯t help but think otherwise . Still he had no choice but to attack .

    After a few more rounds Alex was surprised to see that his sword actually pierced through Richter¡¯s heart . Once he pulled out his sword, Alex was still stunned as he saw the blood gushing out of Richter .

    ¡¯Did that do it? Have I won?¡¯ When Alex thought of this, another unexpected thing happened . The wound that pierced right through Richter¡¯s heart healed as if nothing happened . Alex was sure that even Lilitth who had exceptional regenerative abilities wouldn¡¯t survive that . Yet here stood a person that could . Seeing Alex¡¯s stunned expression Richter sighed a bit disappointed .

    "Have you forgotten what I said before? The only way to kill me is if you¡¯re able to make my brain stop functioning . Every other wound aside from an attack to my brain will notst . "

    As Richter was exining this, Alex found an opening . He knew that his sh*tty grandfather would show an opening when he starts exining things . That¡¯s why he showed a surprised expression to lure Richter into talking . Alex then charged forward with a speed that couldn¡¯t be considered possible with the human body .

    Caught off guard Richter was pinned onto the ground, as Alex pointed his gun at Richter¡¯s head . The gun was now pointnk range from Richter¡¯s head, but even in the face of eminent death Richter¡¯s expression remained calm .

    Alex who was about to pull the trigger actually hesitated for a moment . Even though this bast*rd was evil, in the end he was the only living biological rtive Alex had left .

    "What is this are you hesitating? A greyhound that hesitates shouldn¡¯t exist . "

    The moment Alex heard this he gritted his teeth and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened . Alex who looked stoic on the outside was actually burning with rage in the inside, and due to his rage he wasn¡¯t able to notice that he had no more bullets left in the chamber . Alex then heard a sigh before he lost consciousness .

    Richter stood up before once again sighing as he picked up his grandson¡¯s unconscious body .

    ¡¯How disappointing, even though he looked calm, he let rage fill him . He wasn¡¯t able to think properly and even made the foolish mistake of not counting his shots . Though his overall performance was indeed better than a year ago . The only things hecks now, is a Greyhounds true killer instinct . Hecks the calm cruelty a Greyhound needs to finish its prey . Well I can easily fix that problem once his friendse here . . . It is also possible if I just use that prototype brainwashing machine Phil and Marge left behind . . . Hmmm . . . I guess I¡¯ll reserve that move as a final option . ¡¯

    After concluding his own thoughts, Richter carried his grandson back to his isted room .

 Chapter 302

    Chapter 302: 302

    When Alex woke up from the surprise attack Richter did, he saw that he was once again inside the isted room . Yet this time he wasn¡¯t bound in chains and he still had his weapons . At first Alex was confused as to what was happening and wanted to figure out what n the b*stard of a grandfather was concocting this time,

    Alex then checked his gun and saw that it had no bullets . So the only thing Alex could use at the moment was his sword . While Alex was assessing the situation, Richter looked at him amused by his actions .

    ¡¯Hmm, it would seem that he was finally able to calm down . I guess the sudden influx of different emotions had momentarily blinded my brilliant grandson . Just a little more, just a tiny push and he would finally be the perfect Greyhound . ¡¯

    The two simply look at each other for some time . Both of them said nothing, as the other simply observed the person in front of him . Alex who was still a bit agitated was the first to speak .

    "What do you want this time? Are you here to gloat of your victory? Heh, what a petty old man you are . If-" Alex was about to say, if you didn¡¯t have the those nanomachines, you would have already died a hundred times . Alex didn¡¯t continue to say those words, since he knew that the old man only took those hits because he knew they won¡¯t affect him . ming the other person because the tools he has were better than his, isn¡¯t really something Alex should say .

    Seeing Alex suddenly stop talking made Richter chuckle a bit . After chuckling, Richter¡¯s face suddenly turned serious, with that the atmosphere became tense .

    "Alex your strength is undeniably that of a Greyhound¡¯s . You have all the strength, and intelligence of a true Greyhound . Yet youck the most important factor that could make you into the perfect Greyhound . What youck is a Greyhound¡¯s calm cruelty, the calmness to logically and efficiently think of the best course of action . The cruelty to do anything to efficiently achieve your goal . Even if you lose the strength and intelligence of a Greyhound, as long as you had the calm cruelty, both of those things could be attained overtime . Unfortunately the ideals and thirst of the Greyhounds isn¡¯t with you . Unfortunately acquiring calm cruelty isn¡¯t gained by training, it needs toe from deep within you . Still as a Greyhound I¡¯m sure that rage, that thirst, that insanity lies within you . Nay, I believe most humans have that characteristic and they simply mask it with their supposed rationality . So with that thought in mind I had an idea . "

    Richter looked at Alex with a cruel smile on his face . Seeing him like that actually frightened Alex a bit .

    "How about you kill your friends?" Alex was stunned the moment he heard the crazy sh*t his grandfather said .

    "Huh? You really are an insane old man . What made you think I¡¯ll actually do that?"

    "I think you will agree with me Alex, after you hear my offer . "

    "No matter what you offer I would never kill my friends . Do you think that you can give something that could actually sway me? Even in the face of death or torture, I would never harm my friends!"

    "Really, are you sure about that? What if my offer is that I won¡¯t kill Rachel . If you kill your friends I will allow Rachel to live, I could even allow her to be your wife . If you don¡¯t take this offer, then I¡¯ll simply kill all your friends including Rachel . I would kill them in the most horrific way you can think off . I could even torture them until they themselves wish for death to embrace them . "

    Alex¡¯s mind nked out for a moment and he started shaking a bit, but after a few seconds he was able to think of something to say to counter his grandfather¡¯s n .

    "I know you won¡¯t do that . " Alex who was shaking in fear moments ago, looked at his grandfather with resolute eyes . Richter was stunned to see a reaction he wasn¡¯t expecting .

    "Oh, what makes you think that I won¡¯t do what I say? If you haven¡¯t notice, not once did I do anything contrary to my words . "

    "It¡¯s because you need me to be your sessor or some sh*t like that . You need me to be a true Greyhound, right? It¡¯s like you said before, you and I are the only remaining Greyhounds . If you kill my friends, I would kill myself joining them . "

    Richter looked at Alex with eyes of disappointment .

    "I thought you came up with something more creative, how disappointing . Let me tell you Alex, I already guess that you would do that, actually I already thought of all the different ways you would react if I killed all of them . That¡¯s why as a final measure after showing you their gruesome deaths, and depending on what actions you take, I would most probably wipe you memory . "

    Alex who heard that his grandfather nned to wipe his memory, made him start formting different scenarios in his head . Was there another route he could take that would lead to a better ending? Killing his grandfather was impossible with his current abilities . Tricking his grandfather doesn¡¯t seem remotely feasible . Faking the deaths of his friends would be seen through quickly . Alex though as fast as possible as to what was the best course of action, to avoid the death of his friends, and he could only reach one answer . It doesn¡¯t matter if this would make him fail his mission, there was no other choice .

    Alex quickly unsheathed his sword and was about to kill himself, but before he could do so, his grandfather was able to stop him .

    "So the only conclusion was suicide . Well even that route will be blocked . " Richter then wore a gas mask as the room was once again being filled with an incapacitating agent . Breathing in the gas that was filling the room, Alex consciousness was slowly fading . He could no longer use much strength, as he heard his grandfather speak .

    "Once you wake up, your friends will be here . By that time I hope you have made your decision . "

 Chapter 303

    Chapter 303

    After the meeting they had, each member of the Mercenary club was given a mission . So in ordance to that mission Emily was now following Kei while clinging to his arm smiling gleefully . Ever since the time Kei agreed to be her boyfriend Emily was in a very joyous mood . She wanted to quickly do some cosying as a couple . Seeing as there were tons of costumes that Emily wanted to try that she wasn¡¯t able to since she didn¡¯t have a partner . She happily tried to ask Kei but he denied the idea since there was more work to do now . Emily wasn¡¯t affected by the denial and instead said the line, next time then .

    This was so different from the normal Emily that it stunned Kei for a few seconds . He wasn¡¯t expecting this at all . The Emily right now was too happy that she wasn¡¯t really bothered by such things . As long as they were together they could cosy any time they wanted to .

    Kei who was stunned for a moment smiled, as he finally figured out what was going on inside the head of his so called adorable girlfriend .

    . . .

    Right now the two of them were heading to one of Kei¡¯s informants . The final goal of the members of the Mercenary club was to find Alex¡¯s whereabouts and rescue him . Now that Kei has Emily by his side, with her hacking expertise they might be able to find some traces Alex this time . So for now the two of them decided to gather more information from other people .

    The informant was currently hiding in one of the abandoned cities near the former border of Berdonia . Once the Granado Empire conquered the ce, they only left a few soldiers to monitor the situation, as they continued to push inward towards Berdonia¡¯s capital . These soldiers don¡¯t do their jobs properly, as they sometimes leave their post to do something else and onlye back once a week to check on the situation .

    The informant stayed here to hide, seeing as it was the least likely ce he would get caught . That wasn¡¯t the only reason he stayed here, the other reason was so that he could gather information from the lower ranked soldiers, which was easy since some of them weren¡¯t as patriotic as the others .

    . . .

    Kei and Emily were stealthily passing through the city . They don¡¯t really need to do this, since the next time a Granado Empire soldier woulde to inspect the city, would be two days from now . Still Kei thought that it was better safe than sorry .

    . . .

    While Kei and Emily were sneaking around, two individuals were looking at them from a distance . One of them was a very alluring woman wearing the Shadow Mercenaries uniform . She had no visible weapon present and the only thing noteworthy aside from her sexy look was her excessively long finger nails . The one with her was a man that looked to be around forty years old . At first nce you would think he had no weapon as well, but the truth was he had numerous knives hidden in his body .

    "So those are the targets, Emily Hunt and Kei Kaido . " The man spoke as he was looking through his binocrs .

    "Based on the reports I¡¯ve seen of these two, I can tell that they aren¡¯t really that good in battle . They¡¯re the type that are good in gaining information . So let¡¯s just go and get them, I¡¯m sure this would be easy . Don¡¯t you think so, Daryl?"

    "Hmmm . . . Yeah, among the six of them these two are supposedly the weakest inbat . Okay then, let¡¯s do this Amica . "

    The two members of the Shadow Mercenaries started to move .

    . . .

    Emily who was clinging closely to kei felt something was wrong and pulled Kei to the side . Momentster a woman appeared in the spot they were standing on . The woman looked at the two a bit surprised .

    "Oh, you¡¯re able to dodge that? I was nning to get you in one strike . Impressive . "

    "I see, so even though she¡¯s a hacker and a scout type merc, she¡¯s still A rank . " Another one appeared before them and this time it was a man . When Emily saw Amica and Daryl, a lot of warning bells started ringing in her head .

    The two people wearing something that looked like a uniform were dangerous . Kei who saw the uniform worn by the two was shocked as he spoke .

    "Shadow Mercenaries . " When Emily heard what Kei said made her even more worried . The people in front of them were actual members of the mythical Shadow Mercenaries .

    "Heh, so you know about us . That makes it simple then . We¡¯re here to pick you up, and bring you back to base . Your friend Alex is waiting for you there . "

    When Kei and Emily heard Alex¡¯s name, they both were surprised . They were able to get a new lead by chance . This might also be a chance to meet Alex . Still the two of them were reluctant to follow these two people of the Shadow Mercenaries .

    Firstly they don¡¯t know if these people from the Shadow Mercenaries were telling the truth . Secondly it was entirely possible that they would be used to force Alex in doing something . Third if they really meant no harm, and just wanted to pick them up, then why did they initiate a surprise attack . Aside from those three there were numerous other reasons not to follow them . The only good reason to follow them, was that they might be able to see Alex .

    Seeing that there were more cons than pros, Kei and Emily looked at each other, and as if they could telepathically talk the two knew what the other was thinking . Kei then started looking for an escape route, while Emily was prepared to stall the enemies .

    "It doesn¡¯t seem like they woulde willingly . Let¡¯s just use force and get this over with . " Daryl spoke with a bit of irritation in his tone . Amica hearing Daryl¡¯s suggestion nodded her head and was about to approach the two, but then she suddenly dodged . A bullet flew by, using this opening both Kei and Emily started running .

    "A sniper! Daryl you catch those kids . I¡¯ll deal with the sniper . "

    . . .

    In a distant building Kyle was on the roof giving Kei and Emily cover fire . Since the beginning he was protecting his little sister, but didn¡¯t attack since it felt like the enemies would continue talking giving more information . So once he saw that the situation was going badly he started shooting . After the initial shot, Kyle could no longer see the woman called Amica . He didn¡¯t have time to try and find her, so he continued to shoot at the enemy chasing Kei and Emily .

    The man called Daryl was really good in predicting were his shots would head towards, and with that he was able to evade the bullets with ease . Seeing that Kyle was about to chance tactics and equipment, when he suddenly felt someone was behind him . Without even looking he took out his pistol and started shooting behind him and then ran leaving his sniper rifle behind .

    As Kyle was running towards the room where his other equipment were located, he heard the voice of a woman behind him .

    "Hey Mr . Sniper can you please give me your eyes . I want to add them in my collection of snipers eyes . " .

 Chapter 304

    Chapter 304

    Kyle felt that he was like some guy in a horror movie, as the woman behind him kept on repeating that she wanted his eyes . She even said those words in a cutesy way which almost made Kyle barf . Thisdy from the Shadow Mercenaries was actually starting to frighten Kyle a bit .

    As he was running Kyle continued to shoot at Amica, but for some reason his shots won¡¯t hit . This was the first time in a long while that Kyle actually failed to kill the target in the first shot . He would usually end the battle in the first shot, but this time he was actually forced to shoot continuously .

    ¡¯This people from the Shadow Mercenaries truly are something else . Still does she have to be so creepy?¡¯

    . . .

    After a few seconds of ying tag with Amica, Kyle was finally able to reach the room where he ced all his equipment . The first thing Kyle took was a gun he didn¡¯t really like using, which was a shotgun . His uracy greatly drops when he uses this kind of gun, but with people like Amica, this would be a better weapon to shoot them with .

    Once kyle got his shotgun, he quickly pumped the gun and started shooting . Amica who was following behind saw that Kyle was now using a shotgun and quickly jumped off the building . Kyle was surprised to see this action and was about to look at what happened to Amica, but the moment he went into the hallway, Amica came back up . This moved surprised Kyle, as he saw Amica¡¯s long nails nearing his eyes .

    Kyle quickly blocked using his shotgun, but Amica¡¯s nails actually pierced through the shotgun . It was then Kyle saw that underneath the finger nails, there were small des in between her nails and fingers . She used her fingernails as cover to hide the des .

    Kyle kicked Amica away as he darted back into the room, this time he took out some shurikens . Kyle threw the shurikens at Amica, who easily dodged them . Kyle then proceeded to throw shurikens again but this time they weren¡¯t aimed at Amica .

    When she saw the trajectory of the shurikens, Amica was confused . Based on how skilled Kyle was she couldn¡¯t believe that this guy who up to this point had only missed because of her dodging, has now actually missed for real .

    That was when Amica heard a clinking sound from behind her, she finally understood what happened and ducked down . The shurikens had changed direction .

    ¡¯This guy is changing the direction of his shurikens by hitting them with other shurikens! Amazing, this guy is the best one yet! I really must have his eyes now!¡¯

    While Amica was thinking about this, she was continuously dodging the barrage of shurikens . Kyle on the other hand had no way to deal with her speed and prowess in evasion . This truly was a bad match up for someone like him who wasn¡¯t really that good in close quarters battle .

    ¡¯Tsk the moment I didn¡¯t kill her in my first shot, was that already a death sentence?¡¯ Kyle gritted his teeth and increased the speed of throwing the shurikens . Amica who was already getting used to Kyle¡¯s attack pattern was able to slowly move forward .

    Seeing her closing in, made Kyle move backwards, but then Amica suddenly bursted forward when she saw the second dy in Kyle¡¯s attacks . She quickly got near Kyle, they were now only a few inches away from each other .

    It has been a long time since anyone been able to force Kyle into closebat . It wasn¡¯t that Kyle wasn¡¯t any good in close range, butpared to his long range style of fighting, his close range was average at best .

    The two stopped attacking each other . Amica who was finally able to get close to Kyle started looking at him from head to toe .

    "Oh, you¡¯re a pretty handsome guy, and not only that your skills are impressive . Instead of giving me your eyes, how about be my boyfriend instead?" When Amica said this she made a seductive pose . If it was any other man they would have reacted to how seductive Amica was . Her body looked like it was made to drive men into lust induced rage .

    Still Kyle wasn¡¯t affected by this one bit, instead he started thinking . ¡¯Is this chick right in the head? Who would want to be her boyfriend after hearing her say she wanted to have your eyes as part of her collection . Also we were in a heated battle where we were trying to kill each other . Thisdy isn¡¯t really right in the head is she . ¡¯

    On the other hand Amica was thinking something else, seeing Kyle was not answering and simply looking at her . ¡¯Oh, as expected no man could resist this body of mine . It¡¯s alrighte and be mine already . Unlike all the others I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to keep up with me . ¡¯

    "I¡¯m sorry, I already have someone in my heart . " When Amica heard this, she was shocked and had her head lowered covering her expression . As her head was lowered she spoke .

    "Are you sure you won¡¯t be my boyfriend? I¡¯m sure I can satisfy you in every way possible, more so than whoever is supposedly in your heart . "

    "Sorry, I¡¯m not budging on this . I can¡¯t just shift my feelings to someone else . " The moment Kyle said this he heard Amica mumble something .

    "I see . . . Then how about I just get the eyes of my first love!" After saying that Amica suddenly darted forward surprising Kyle . Due to them being so close, and Amica being faster than him, Kyle couldn¡¯t dodge and tried blocking her attack using his left hand .

    Amica¡¯s ded finger nails pierced through Kyle¡¯s left hand . Kyle was then about to retreat but felt his body bing heavy, he then tripped falling onto his butt .

    "What . . . Have . . . you . . . done?" Amica looked at Kyle a bit surprised .

    "Oh, you¡¯re able to move even after getting hit by my des coated with sedatives . You really are the best! So how about it, this is your final chance how about you be mine?"

    Kyle who was listening to Amica, was slowly dragging his body backwards with a smile on his face, as he shook his head .

    "I see . . . " Amica slowly moved forward about to gouge Kyle¡¯s eyes out, when she was interrupted by a call .

    "Tsk, Daryl this better be important! I¡¯m in the best part!"

    "I¡¯ve captured the two kids, you bettere here now!"

    "Just wait a bit more, I¡¯m about to finish here!"

    "Fine do what you want, but I¡¯ll be reporting this to the leader . "

    "Tsk, fine I¡¯m heading back . " Amica then looked at Kyle and smiled at him seductively .

    "Not only do you look good, and have great skill, your luck is pretty good as well . So I hope you give me a better answer the next time we meet . The name¡¯s Amica I hope you remember me . " After saying what she wanted to say, Amica headed out of the room .

    Kyle who was having trouble moving felt really irritated because of that call Amica received .

    ¡¯Just a little bit more, and it could have been my win . ¡¯ Kyle was looking at the wire trap he set up before hand . If Amica just moved one more step she would been shot to death .

    ¡¯Damn it! I failed to protect my sister and my future brother-inw! Damn it!¡¯

 Chapter 305

    Chapter 305

    Hektor and Lisa were currently tracking down the second strongest friend of Alex, Niel Rayheart . This boy who registered a year ago quickly rose through the ranks, and was even granted a nickname by his fellow mercs, he was called the Angel of Death . The reason for that quick rise wasn¡¯t only due to his formidable skills, but because of his looks and his status as Lyner¡¯s one and only apprentice .

    Due to him being so famous it wasn¡¯t that hard to track him . Hektor and Lisa took only a few days to figure out his current location . It would seem most of the members of the so called Mercenary club were trying to gather intel on Alex¡¯s whereabouts .

    Currently Niel was in Cromer City, which was one of the first cites to fall in the initial attack of the Granado Empire . It was easy to move around this city seeing as most of the fallen cities had loose security, since most of the soldiers were needed on the front lines . With Niel¡¯s skills he was able to easily maneuver through the city without being spotted .

    Hektor and Lisa have been following him for some time and found his abilities impressive . Niel whp was moving finally stopped . He was currently at the safe house where Alex was kidnapped . It was in this ce Niel truly understood how weak he was .

    . . .

    Hektor and Lisa were confused as they watched Niel simply stand in front of the safe house with his looking downward .

    "Hey should we engage?" Lisa spoke to Hektor who was simply looking at Niel . She was getting impatient since Niel was doing absolutely nothing .

    "I wanted to see if he was going to do something else, but it doesn¡¯t seem like he would do anything at all . Fine then, let¡¯s just knock him out and head back to HQ . " The moment Hektor and Lisa were about to move, Niel looked at the direction of where the two were hiding .

    "Are you guys finally going to do something . I¡¯ve been waiting here for hours . " Niel showed his radiant smile when he said this . Hektor wasn¡¯t too surprised to know that Niel spotted them, it was only Lisa who was stunned . She was so sure that she and Hektor hid themselves properly . It was surprising to see the boy who was still in his teens be this skilled .

    Knowing that they already been spotted, the two showed themselves in front of Niel .

    "You¡¯re as good as the rumors made you out to be, no you¡¯re even better . " Hearing Hektor praise him, Niel smiled at made an elegant bow .

    "Thank you for the praise . If it¡¯s alright with you, can you please tell me how I may address the sir anddy . " Niel said yfully as he winked at Lisa .

    "I¡¯m Hektor and she¡¯s Lisa . We¡¯re from the Shadow Mercenaries, and we need you toe with us . " When Niel heard Hektor¡¯s introduction, he was at first shocked, but then he was able to quickly calm himself down as he continued to smile confidently .

    "Oh, the Shadow Mercenaries . . . I have heard of your legendary name from numerous rumors . So what does sir Hektor anddy Lisa want from me?"

    "Like I said, we are here to invite you to our base . All your friends will be there, to celebrate Dalvir Greyhound¡¯s birthday . " Hektor decided to tell the truth and omit Alex¡¯s name and use his real name instead . Unfortunately for him Niel knew who Dalvir Greyhound was .

    Even before hearing Alex¡¯s real name, Niel was already agitated since Hektor said all his friends were now in the Shadow Mercenaries HQ . So the moment Hektor said Alex¡¯s name, Niel couldn¡¯t stop himself from emitting killing intent . He then started speaking in a cold tone .

    "Do you know Richter Greyhound?" The two who felt the increasing hostility from Niel and decided not to answer . Instead the two were now getting ready to fight . Hektor took a fighting stance, while Lisa had her assault rifle ready .

    "Oh, so the great and powerful Shadow Mercenaries are now kidnapping children . It seems like you guys been downgraded from legends into low ss kidnappers . So tell me what have you done with my friends?"

    The moment Niel asked this question it felt like the surrounding area was colder . Even Hektor felt a little bit of a chill . The two members of the Shadow Mercenaries remained silent as they waited to see what Niel would do .

    If this was any other target, the two of them would have already pounced at him . Yet based on the information gathered about this boy, they couldn¡¯t just move willy-nilly . Niel Rayheart was extremely dangerous so they needed to be a bit more cautious .

    Seeing that the two remaining silent Niel sighed as he got his gun out and pointed it at Hektor, who didn¡¯t seem to mind . In response to that move Lisa was now pointing her assault rifle at Niel .

    "Are you going to tell me where my friends are or not? . . . I see talking won¡¯t work . " The moment Niel said this, he started shooting with his peacemaker, and Lisa fired back while Hektor remained standing in the same position and deflected the iing bullet with his bare hands . He was able to redirect the bullet¡¯s trajectory with his bare hands .

    Normally this would shock other people, but not Niel, seeing as he already witnessed his master do something simr before .

    After Niel started shooting at the standing Hektor, he evaded the iing bullets fired by Lisa and used the wires inside his gloves to trip Hektor by wrapping his right leg with wires and pulling .

    Yet Hektor didn¡¯t even budge, he was steady as a mountain . Niel tried pulling on the wires with his full strength but this resulted with nothing happening . Hektor remained standing in the same stance he had since the beginning .

    Niel seeing that his attacks weren¡¯t working on Hektor started to smile as he evaded Lisa¡¯s iing attacks . The air surrounding Niel started to change, as the pressure he was emitting doubled . The killing intent started to fill the whole ce, even making someone as battle hardened as Lisa a bit nervous, Hektor on the other hand simply concentrated even harder .

    "This is the first time I¡¯m going to use this on another person aside from my master . I hope you guys survive, so that I can interrogate you about my friends¡¯ whereabouts . If you don¡¯t survive then I¡¯ll just figure out a way to capture another person from your organization . "

    Niel lowered his stance and was now using his two hands and his legs to lift his body up like an animal . He was now ready to finally get serious . On the other hand Hektor and Lisa were getting a bit irritated by how confident this boy was . He actually told them that he hoped they survive, as if they were at his mercy .

    That statement really got to the two, if only they were allowed to kill Niel this would be easier . It would seem that this boy thinks that the two of them were easy, since they weren¡¯t able to go all out and kill the target .

    "Richter didn¡¯t say that they must be delivered unharmed . He just said to bring them alive . " Hearing what Hektor said Lisa smiled and nodded her head .

    "Roger that . "

    "Are you guys done with your little talk? If so, then allow me to attack you seriously now . " When Niel said this he suddenly disappeared .

 Chapter 306

    Chapter 306

    Niel suddenly disappeared from Hektor and Lisa¡¯s sights . Hektor then saw an iing sword from his left side, he was able to easily dodge this move by swaying his body a little . Lisa who finally spotted Niel started shooting at him, but then he used the wall and bounced of it disappearing from sight once more .

    The sword that Niel threw then changed trajectory and was once again headed towards Hektor¡¯s head . Hektor seeing the iing sword was about to swat it away with his hand but he was about to do that he noticed that he couldn¡¯t move his hands . He finally noticed that both his hands were wrapped tightly with wires .

    Lisa who saw what was happening to Hektor started firing at the iing sword which knocked it away . While Lisa was firing at the sword she suddenly felt someone was behind her . She quickly ducked and saw that Niel who was on all fours had pounced at her like an animal .

    Lisa then saw Niel point his gun at her, which made her roll to evade the bullets . After shooting and missing, Niel once again disappeared from sight . His movements were too fast and erratic to follow .

    . . .

    Hektor who was trying to remove the wires that bound his hands felt that his whole body was being squeezed . It was then he saw that his whole body was now actually being wrapped tightly by wires . He wasn¡¯t even able to perceive when this happened . Still Hektor was able to quickly counter the move by tightening his muscles .

    Niel who saw that he won¡¯t be able to finish off Hektor by using his wires, charged forth . He pulled back the sword he threw using his wires, and was now about to pierce through Hektor¡¯s heart with it; but the moment his de hit Hektor¡¯s ck uniform Niel¡¯s sword couldn¡¯t fully pierce through it and instead the sword gifted to him by Lyner was only able lightly stab Hektor¡¯s back .

    It was not deep enough to cause too much damage, but the sword got stuck in Hektor¡¯s muscles . Failing to kill Hektor using his sword, Niel tried to smash his knee onto the back of Hektor¡¯s head, but was intercepted by Lisa who shot at Niel forcing him to back away .

    Lisa then headed towards Hektor and stood back to back with him . Niel¡¯s speed was too much for them to subdue him without harming him too much, which meant it was possible that they might identally kill him . It was not hard to hit him, even with his speed, the real problem was the uracy of the shots would fall greatly . Since the beginning killing Niel identally wasn¡¯t an option . They were here to capture him, and failure would result to them dying in the hands of Richter .

    Hektor tightened his muscles and then expanded them breaking free from the wires . He then picked up the sword that was stuck on his back .

    When Niel saw this he stopped moving, and tried to pull the sword back to him using his wires . Yet no matter how hard he pulled, Hektor just wouldn¡¯t let go . Hektor then noticed the desperate look on Niel¡¯s face . Hektor was able to quickly figure out that this sword was very important to Niel .

    "Niel Rayheart, how about we make a deal . "

    Hearing what Hektor said, Niel who was in a position that looked like a lion that was about to pounce simply red at Hektor . Seeing that Niel wasn¡¯t speaking Hektor continued to speak .

    "If youe with us silently, I will give back your sword . If you don¡¯t agree then I¡¯ll break it into two . What do you say Niel, deal?"

    Neil closed his eyes and sighed . He was overconfident and attacked poorly without knowing the full extent of the opponents abilities .

    ¡¯I either surrender and get the sword back, but be a prisoner of the Shadow Mercenaries or I let sir Lyner¡¯s sword break and continue the fight . The gun, the sword, and the gloves were the only things I have that was given by him as my master . . . ¡¯

    Seeing Niel was in deep contemtion Hektor and Lisa waited . They then saw a vicious smile show on Niel¡¯s face . This smile was different from the fun and easygoing smile he was showing a while ago, this was the smile of a predator toward its prey .

    ¡¯Of course if Sir Lyner was alive, he would have scolded me . A sword is nothing more than a tool, don¡¯t you dare put any sentimental drivel in it . I¡¯m sure that¡¯s what he would say to me . Instead of keeping an object of him survive . . . How about I keep the joy of battle sir Lyner had, burn alive within me . ¡¯

    "NO Deal! Do what you wish with that sword . Break it, use it, do what the f*ck you want with it! In exchange I will be taking your lives, and offer it up to my teacher! I will send you two to where my teacher is, so that he can have some decent opponents in Valha!"

    Hektor and Lisa were shocked at this very moment, since Niel¡¯s whole demeanour suddenly changed . It was like he was someone else entirely, his whole vibe had changed . Even the way he talked became more rugged and unrefined . Still they had no time to stay shocked as Niel suddenly burst forward and attacked .

    He no longer moved erratically, he changed tactics and did a frontal attack . Niel started shooting at hektor who dodged instead of deflecting the bullets . He did this because of the speed and the different vitals that were being targeted . It was like Niel shot six shots at the same time . As Hektor dodged to the right, Lisa dodged to the left and returned fire .

    Niel used the wires to block some of the bullers, but unlike Lyner he was still an amateur in using the wires, making him unable to block most of it . So instead he forcefully dodged, but still got hit by some .

    "Enough of this farce!" Hektor shouted while stomping on the ground, which made it shake a little . If Niel was standing using only his two legs he would¡¯ve lost bnce, but he was standing using his hands and legs so he was unaffected by this move .

    Yet that was simply a distraction by Hektor, which gave Lisa the opening to throw a stun grenade in front of Niel . This disoriented Niel¡¯s senses, and while disoriented Niel tried to quickly back away, but felt something hold onto his right leg .

    Hektor was able to grab Niel¡¯s right leg as he tried to jump back into a safe distance . Right now Niel was being dangled upside down by Hektor, who then saw Niel aiming his gun at him and started shooting . This forced Hektor to let go of Niel .

    When Niel was about to escape from Hektor¡¯s grip his gun was shot out of his hands . He then felt a massive force hit his head . Hektor actually kicked Niel as he was falling down headfirst . The kick was so strong that it felt like Niel¡¯s head was about to be ripped off, as Niel¡¯s body flew a few feet away .

    Still that wasn¡¯t enough to put Niel down, as he was about to stand up he felt something pricked him . After that he could no longer move and lost consciousness .

    Lisa was finally able to get a clear shot and used a tranquilizer gun . Hektor seeing Niel finally fainting sighed in relief .

    "That was harder than anticipated . . . Well then mission aplished let¡¯s head back to HQ . " Hektor picked up Niel and carried him like a sack . With that target at hand, Lisa and Hektor headed back to HQ .

 Chapter 307

    Chapter 307

    The mercenary system was a system created to replicate the Greyhound Family¡¯s Shadow Mercenaries, who do random jobs for a price . The people who started this system were the citizens of smaller countries that have been destroyed by the Granado Empire . Without a country to serve and live in, these people had difficulties aside from being refugees . So in order to survive they created the Mercenary System .

    At first the Mercenary System was only used by those that had no countries those who no other choice, butter on people of other countries implemented the system into their own countries . The reason they implemented the system into their countries was because most of them were unable to be knights or soldiers, since those jobs were only allowed to the upper ss, or sometimes to those of the middle ss . The lower ss citizens had no way of gaining such jobs, so in the end they implemented the Mercenary system, and created mercenaries within their very own countries .

    Now that each country had mercenaries, the idea that mercenaries being free from nationalities could no longer hold true . This was the reason for the implementation of a new ranking system . Now that not all mercenaries were of the same organization, the ranking system that use to gauge the ability of each individual merc, was changed to gauge their threat level .

    This was made since the opponent of a merc, would most likely be another merc . They changed the ranking system so that the organization could send out the most appropriate merc to face off against the enemy country¡¯s merc . Of course this forced the soldier ss to implement their very own ranking system .

    . . .

    In current times the ranking system has evolved and turned into thebination of both its past and current self . It is now use to gauge not only the ability of a merc inbat, but as well as the merc¡¯s overall threat level .

    The one who usually assigns the rank of a merc, is an enemy nation, or if there is no enemy nation, then a neutral nation would assign the rank . The way they assign rank is after gathering intel on the merc, and looking at the missions the merc has finished . Once they are done deliberating the rank is given .

    The rankings are as follows:

    E rank: The beginning rank of every merc (there might be some exceptions) .

    D rank: Given to mercenaries that have aplished at least ten missions .

    C rank: The rank given to slightlypetent individuals .

    B rank: The rank that is given to those that have truly be mercenaries . This rank is a symbol,

    it is a sign that the mercenary is no longer a babe of the battlefield, but a true citizen of

    the battlefield .

    A rank: The rank that separates the average, from the elite . Mercenaries in this rank are people

    that could change the course of a battle . When a mercenary receives this rank he/she

    bes a part of other countries watchlist .

    S rank: This is the rank of people that have achieved the peak of human abilities . The only way to

    acquire this rank is if you have achieved two superhuman feats . The people of this rank are

    usually people that have be human weapons .

    SS rank: This is a special rank made for the people that have gone beyond what it means to be

    human . This rank is filled with superhuman individuals that have devastating power . A

    strength so powerful that they are usually liken to nuclear weaponry . There have only

    been eighteen people in all of history that have been given this rank .

 Chapter 308

    Chapter 308: 308

    Evangeline was resting inside her office which was currently dimly lit, when her phone started ringing . When Evangeline saw the message she couldn¡¯t help but smile . It would seem that her prediction was right . Two days prior, Evangeline was alerted to the fact that Niel, Emily, and Kei have disappeared . Their bodies could not be found, and the time they disappeared were very close to one another . Evangeline gaining this information quickly figured out that they were captured and she had a hunch which group captured them .

    Even though she was of the information gathering type, Emily was an A rank merc . It was also rumored that her brother that was an S rank merc was protecting her . So that would mean someone that could match or surpass an S rank appeared to capture Emily and Kei .

    The same could be said of Niel . Even though he was currently a B rank merc, Niel has never really shown his full power . Evangeline could specte from the reports that Niel was keeping a trump card hidden just in case something happens .

    With that knowledge at hand, Evangeline knew that Niel¡¯s current strength would be that of an A rank merc, but if he uses his trump card he would most likely be rated as an S rank merc, well only when ites tobat that is .

    So that would mean he to was captured by someone as strong or stronger than S rank merc . Now only a few people fit this description, one of them being Arthur Glory, but he has no reason to capture the people from the Mercenary Club . So after a process of elimination Evangeline came to a conclusion that it was Alex¡¯s supposed grandfather that¡¯s behind this .

    It was entirely possible that Alex¡¯s grandfather was a member or the leader of a huge organization that doesn¡¯t belong to a specific country and most of the members seem to be absurdly strong . There are only three organizations that currently fit this description . Based on Evangeline¡¯s understanding the other two couldn¡¯t possibly have done this, and the only one left should be the answer .

    "It was the Shadow Mercenaries, right?" Evangeline turned her chair around and saw a man in the middle of the room . This man was wearing an all ck attire, on his right hand was a whip, and on the left was a sub machine gun . The man¡¯s face was that of an average looking citizen of the Souther Union, ck hair with a dark brown skin color .

    The man was currently looking at Evangeline a bit confused . He wasn¡¯t expecting Evangeline to act so calm in front of him, and it would seem that she had been expecting him since the beginning . He suddenly thought that might be the reason why there was no one guarding her office . Base on the reports about her, she was more of amander type, than a fighter . She had a lot of subordinates that were above average in most areas . Yet none of them were here, making the man from the Shadow Mercenaries feel like he was in a trap .

    Still as a member of the powerful group Shadow Mercenaries the man wasn¡¯t that worried . So what if it is a trap, so what if she has something nned . In front of overwhelming power she won¡¯t be able to do anything . These were the thoughts of the man from the Shadow Mercenaries .

    "Yes, it is like you said Evangeline Kain, I am indeed from the Shadow Mercenaries . You can call me Drake . I¡¯m here to offer you an invite to a party of one of your friends Dalvir Greyhound, or better known to you as Alexander Samarita . "

    When Drake spoke Alex¡¯s name he noticed Evangeline¡¯s expression changed, it happened for a brief moment, but he was sure that the face the littledy shown was something that was a mix of different emotions . Well Drake didn¡¯t really care about that and continued what he was saying .

    "So Evangeline Kain,e with me and I will escort you back to my base where the party will be held . I was recently informed that some of your other friends have already arrive . "

    Drake then waited for Evangeline¡¯s reply . Of course he could just force her toe, but that would be more of a hassle than just letting her go with him on her own free will . Evangeline looked like she was contemting, but then she looked at Drake and smiled .

    "Sorry I can¡¯t go yet, I don¡¯t have a present to give . So I want more time to find the best present . "

    "There¡¯s no need for that . Evangeline Kain you bettere with me now, while I¡¯m asking nicely . " Drake was now getting a bit impatient and directly threatened Evangeline who responded by shaking her head .

    Unable to take it anymore Drake was about to charge towards Evangeline, but felt something snap onto his leg . It was pretty painful and when Drake looked at what had harmed him, he saw that he actually stepped on a bear trap . At first nce he couldn¡¯t see it since the trap blended nicely to the floor .

    Evangeline stood up with a smile on her face, this made Drake even more irritated . "Do you think this kind of sh*tty trap can actually stop me?! I was going to bring you back without any injuries, but I changed my mind! Richter never said to bring you back unharmed, he just said to bring you alive!"

    Drake was about to charge forward in a rage, but then saw Evangeline gesture to stop . Of course Drake didn¡¯t want to listen, but for some reason his instincts told him to do as Evangeline said .

    "Good boy . " After saying that line, Evangeline turned on the lights, that was when Drake finally noticed the numerous traps on the floor . He also finally noticed that their were people hiding behind the paintings surrounding the room . Not only that Drake could hear the footsteps of people entering the building and heading to the room he was in .

    "So Mister Drake, I hope you cooperate with me so that I can give Alex the best present ever . "

 Chapter 309

    Chapter 309

    When Drake saw that he was already surrounded he first felt shocked, then he felt ashamed that a little sheltered rich girl got the better of him . Finally he felt truly irritated, he got even more irritated while he was looking at Evangeline¡¯s smug face . Even though it was true that he was caught in a trap, Drake who was one of the top fighters of the Shadow Mercenaries didn¡¯t like seeing a little girl looking down on him .

    "You think you have trapped me! It¡¯s not over yet!" Even though everyone in the room was pointing their guns at Drake, he still had the balls to say those words with confidence . Evangeline could only smile at his reaction . When Drake saw Evangeline¡¯s mocking smile he pointed his submachine gun at her .

    Evangeline¡¯s subordinates wanted to open fire, but then they saw Evangeline signaling them not to do anything . When Drake saw this he started grinding his teeth fuming with anger .

    ¡¯This little girl is actively mocking me! Does she take me as a joke!¡¯ Drake who was now furious started shooting at Evangeline . Seeing Drake shoot at her, Evangeline responded by doing nothing to evade the iing barrage of bullets . All she did was to simply stand there without a care in the world .

    The bullets then hit something beforeing into contact with Evangeline . All the bullets hit some sort of bullet proof ss . When Drake saw the ss wall he finally knew where all Evangeline¡¯s confidence came from . Still that bullet proof ss won¡¯tst long, so Drake continued shooting . Once he broke through the bullet proof ss, anotheryer was waiting for him .

    ¡¯The hell!¡¯ When Drake saw that it was possible that there were multipleyers of the bullet proof ss, he knew that it was no use shooting at it .

    Drake stopped shooting and he looked at Evangeline in utter confusion . He was surprised by the ss wall, but he was confused about something else entirely . He couldn¡¯t understand how Evangeline was able to speak properly with him through such a thickyer of ss . He knew it was so out of ce to think of such a thing during a battle, but he couldn¡¯t help it . Evangeline who saw the expression Drake was making, spoke to him .

    "Why the confused face? Are you confused because of the bullet proof ss, or are you confused as to how I¡¯m talking through said bullet proof ss?" Evangeline saw Drake¡¯s face twitch a bit when she spoke about her talking through the bullet proof ss .

    "It¡¯s getting easier and easier to read you Mr . Shadow Mercenary . Well never mind that, how about I answer the question in your mind . "

    Even though Drake was truly irritated by Evangeline¡¯s haughtiness, he was still interested in the answer of how she was able to talk through such a thick ss wall . Also it¡¯s not like he could do anything at the moment . It was obvious that everything that¡¯s happening right now was going perfectly with the little girl¡¯s n . So instead of continuing his attack without a n, Drake decided to listen to Evangeline¡¯s exnation .

    "So you still haven¡¯t noticed? Hasn¡¯t my voice change a bit from a while ago . " When Drake heard what Evangeline said he finally understood what happened .

    "You¡¯re using speakers . "

    "Bingo . "

    "But then how was your voice so clear when I entered the room? I remember it being so much clearer, than the way your voice is sound right now . Also how are you able to hear me from your side?" Drake didn¡¯t care that he was shoving his pride into the corner right now . All that mattered to him at this very moment was to hear the answers to his questions . Hearing Drake¡¯s questions made Evangeline smile even wider than before .

    "When you entered the room, there was no bullet proof ss in front of me . It only appeared moments before I turned on the lights . When I was acting, showing you a face like I was actually thinking ofing with you . At that time I was actually distracting you, as I flipped two switches under my desk . One of the switches alerted my men, while the other made the multiple bullet proof ss walls slide right in front of me . These bullet proof ss walls slid from within the regr walls . Nice right? Now onto the next answer, I¡¯m not actually able to hear you, but I can read your lips . Okay then, Q and A is over, so how about you just surrender peacefully . "

    Drake knew that there was absolutely no possibility of him taking Evangeline in this situation . So he decided to retreat first and try againter . Seeing as the floor was made of wood, Drake stomped on it breaking the wooden floor he was standing on .

    At this point Drake thought that he would fall to the floor below, but then he hit something hard stopping him from falling . Only half of his body fell into the hole he made, while the upper half was still on the floor with all the guns being pointed at him .

    Evangeline who saw this couldn¡¯t help butugh at the poor Shadow Mercenary .

    "That¡¯s hrious, you thought you could escape that way? Well I thought so too, that¡¯s why I had a metal floor made a foot apart from the wooden flooring . There is no way to escape Drake . I already predict all the possible escape routes you would take . I even took into ount of the possibility that you are superhuman . You thought that the traps you see are the only traps in this room? That¡¯s a wrong assumption, I really prepared for every possibility I could think off . Even with the most absurd possibilities, I ced in some countermeasures just in case . "

    When Drake heard what Evangeline said, he felt a shiver running down his spine . When they were being briefed about the targets they were to capture, Evangeline was rated even lower than Kei . Yet it would seem that they had grossly misinterpreted her abilities . As if she could read Drake¡¯s mind Evangeline spoke to him .

    "Among my friends I might look like the weakest link, seeing as I don¡¯t have a specialty . I¡¯m not like Kei who could easily gather intel, nor am I like Emily who could hack into most things . I¡¯m not like Rachel and Niel who are gifted in battle . I¡¯m not like Sayaka who could blend into the shadows . I¡¯m not like Oliver and Alex who seem to be in a league of their own . So topensate for mycking self, I surrounded myself with subordinates thatpensate for what Ick . Not only that, I n and I n and I n, thinking of all the worse possible scenarios and trying to figure out a way to stay on top . If you came here on the same day Niel and the others were taken, I might have been easily kidnapped, but you gave me time to prepare, which turn into your loss . Now I¡¯m the one kidnapping you . "

    Drake who was listening to Evangeline started sweating . When Evangeline saw Drake¡¯s reaction she couldn¡¯t help but giggle . So in the end even the infamous Shadow Mercenaries were human .

    "Drake, ever since you step foot into this room, it was already checkmate . " Evangeline dered with an evil grin on her face .

 Chapter 310

    Chapter 310

    Henry was assigned the most troubling task and that was to bring back Sayaka Mutsu to HQ . Among the members of the Mercenary Club, Sayaka was the hardest to locate .

    Henry was currently tracking her down near the capital city of the Granado Empire . It has been five days since Henry started his search for Sayaka, and he finally found a trace of her in Rektor City the capital city of the Granado Empire .

    ¡¯Damn it, why am I the one who gets this kind of target! She could be anyone at this point . The Mutsu¡¯s ability to blend into their environment is legendary . They even have those realistic looking masks, that can make them look like anyone . She could even have taken a real citizen¡¯s identity, which would make my search even harder . ¡¯

    Henry hated going to Rektor since the people in the Capital City of the Granado Empire were widely known to be crazy . In this city there are three factions present . The first one were the those loyal to the current Emperor . The second faction were people who believe that the Emperor must be the strongest person in the Empire . While thest faction were people that were loyal to the senate .

    Then there was also the fourth hidden faction, those that believed that the Granado Empire should change . They were the people who believed that the Berdonians have the right to their own freedom . They were the people who didn¡¯t like the conquering ways of the Empire . Among the factions there the only ones who stayed hidden, since they were the weakest group, and their ideology wasn¡¯t weed by the majority of the Granado Empire citizens .

    With all these various factions in the capital, everyone was always alert in the Capital City . There was even a saying that here in Rektor if one doesn¡¯t know how to scheme or fight, then you were nothing but a dead body .

    . . .

    Henry didn¡¯t want to mess around with these fanatics so he wanted to leave as fast as he can . If he was caught by one of those factions, especially the faction that ims strength is everything, he would be ced in an arena to fight until he dies .

    One of the more famous forms of entertainment in the capital, was the underground fighting ring . The people who fought there were ves, people in debt, battle junkies, and of course prisoners of war . Once you enter the underground fighting ring you may never leave .

    . . .

    Henry kept on searching through the city while hacking into the security cameras of the city . He didn¡¯t dare question the citizens, since they might do something crazy .

    . . .

    After a few hours of searching Henry was able to find a footage that seemed important . from the mountainside of the city, a shadowy figure that couldn¡¯t be properly caught on camera appeared . He came from from the mountain¡¯s forest area, and entered the city . The shadowy figure was being followed by someone else, another person that was also able to easily avoid the sight of the security cameras .

    While Henry was tracing where these two have disappeared to, he suddenly did a dodge roll . He looked at his surroundings and saw no one was there .

    ¡¯Did I imagine that? . . . No that¡¯s impossible, someone else is here . ¡¯ Henry was currently inside a hotel where he rented a room which had two bedrooms . After checking the whole room, and seeing no one, Henry still didn¡¯t let his guard down . His instincts have told him that something was wrong, and up to this point his instincts have never led him astray .

    Henry was currently holding onto a pistol and abat knife as he warily looked at his surroundings while backing onto a corner of the room . He stood there in that corner without letting his guard down for three hours straight .

    . . .

    While waiting for the opponent to strike, Henry could already guess who this person attacking him was . The only people that have this much skill in stealth were the Mutsu¡¯s and currently the strongest Mutsu, Shadow was here . Seeing as Henry was looking for Shadow¡¯s cousin, it was obvious that Shadow woulde to strike him down .

    ¡¯Damn ying a game of attrition with these level of assassins isn¡¯t good for me . I¡¯m obviously going to be the first to fold . ¡¯ It was at this point that the hunter suddenly became the hunted .

    Henry started to clench his teeth as he started to think of the best solution to win at this moment . While Henry was thinking of a solution to his problem, he started to think about Richter, he couldn¡¯t understand what that guy was thinking sending him to capture someone like Sayaka .

    Among the ten he was the second weakest of the group, which made it weird to send him to face someone of this level . ¡¯How does Richter expect me to face off with someone like Shadow? As usual our leader is so f*cking unreasonable . ¡¯

    . . .

    An hour more passed and Henry still couldn¡¯t move from his position . That was when he suddenly thought of something . He didn¡¯t know if Sayaka was here, but if she was he might have a chance .

    "Shadow and Sayaka Mutsu, I know you two are here . I¡¯m Henry from the organization called the Shadow Mercenaries . " Henry suddenly shouted, but as expected no one responded .

    "I¡¯vee to give you an invitation to attend a celebration for your friend Alexander . All of your friends will be there as well, Rachel, Emily, Evangeline, Niel, Kei, and even Oliver will be there . "

    When Henry said Oliver¡¯s name he saw something move beside the closet . Henry started shooting at that position where he saw the movement, but nothing happened . At this point Henry was getting a bit irritated .

    "Fine, if you don¡¯t want toe then you don¡¯t need to . I already told you about the celebration, if you don¡¯te, I¡¯m sure your friends might be a little disappointed . . . Oh right, I heard that Oliver was hurt pretty badly when-" It was then Henry saw that someone was already beside him . He shed at the shadowy figure, and then out came Sayaka who was hiding in the shadows .

    Henry didn¡¯t follow up his attack on Sayaka, since he knew, the moment he strays away from the corner would be the moment he dies . Since there was still the more threatening Shadow hiding in the room . So for now henry decided to talk to Sayaka .

    "So Sayaka, are youing to the celebration?"

 Chapter 311

    Chapter 311

    Sayaka who has been in the Granado Empire for a few weeks now, was slowly getting used to the environment . She and her cousin were currently posing as citizens of the Empire, as they were still waiting for a chance to get into the Imperial Pce . While they were waiting for that chance, Sayaka who was having her daily walk, heard that an outsider was snooping around looking for someone . This of course caught Sayaka¡¯s interest as she started to investigate what was happening .

    . . .

    After confirming the person snooping around looking for someone was actually looking for her, she reported it to her cousin .

    "I see . . . I wonder what he wants from you? Could it be a family member of one of your kills?" Shadow spoke in a neutral tone, but deep inside he was concerned, since this might affect thepletion of the mission .

    "I don¡¯t think that¡¯s it . All of our kills are made to look like idents, and I¡¯m sure none of us that are still alive, has ever failed before . Even if we do somehow mess up another person from the family will help deal with it . So I don¡¯t really think this guy is looking for revenge . The only other reason someone would be looking for me, would be, because of my rtionship with the people in the Mercenary Club . I hear that most of my friends are bing famous recently . Of course here in the Granado Empire they¡¯re infamous . "

    When Sayaka said thest line, she couldn¡¯t help but smile . The people from her club were all indeed extraordinary . So during their school days, Sayaka felt that it was a shame that they were all students . Yet now that a full out war happened, their abilities have now been fully realized for all to see . Sayaka was both happy and sad, she was happy at the fact that her friends were doing so well, but at the same time she felt bad that they were forced into such a situation .

    "Either way, we need to eliminate all that threaten the mission . You stay here and I¡¯ll deal with the enemy . " After saying what he will do, Shadow was about ready to leave, but then Sayaka blocked his path .

    "The enemy is looking for me right? So then why should you be the one to handle this? I should be the one to deal with the enemy . So you stay here while I figure out what he wants . " Sayaka looked at her cousin with a re .

    "There¡¯s no need to figure out what he wants . We don¡¯t need to know what he needs from you, all we have to do is kill him . Nothing more nothing less . " Shadow stated his opinion as tly as possible . He didn¡¯t care to hear what the enemy wants, for right now there was a mission to finish . It was even his first mission as Shadow, no one was allowed to get in the way of the mission .

    "Fine, but let me be the one to do the job . " Sayaka continued to re aggressively at her cousin . Shadow who saw that his stubborn cousin won¡¯t change her mind sighed .

    "Very well, you be the one to finish the enemy . I¡¯ll just stay hidden just in case you need me . "

    . . .

    After the two decided to kill the enemy, they headed out and quickly found the person in question . Sayaka was about to strike but then the person wearing all ck suddenly did a dodge roll .

    After the failed first attempt Sayaka proceeded to wait for the next time to strike, but the chance never came . The enemy didn¡¯t let his guard down, and they have been in a stalemate for hours now . Still this was pretty much the norm for Sayaka . This wasn¡¯t even that bad, seeing as she once needed to wait in one position for three whole days to be able to assassinate a certain someone in the past .

    ¡¯Surely this guy doesn¡¯t think he can oust a Mutsu in a battle of attrition . ¡¯ Sayaka continued to wait patiently for the moment to strike . She observed the man in ck¡¯s every movement . The moment he showed an opening, will be the moment he dies .

    . . .

    A few hours have passed by, and the man wearing all ck kept his guard up, still Sayaka noticed that he would probably fold after a few more hours . Unlike Sayaka who could see the enemy, the man wearing all ck couldn¡¯t see Sayaka, which would add a psychological burden to the man .

    ¡¯Hmm this guy is pretty good . . . I wonder who he works for . . . Well that doesn¡¯t really matter, with my cousin watching us, this guy is not going to live for long . ¡¯

    When Sayaka was thinking about what the man would do next, he suddenly started to talk in a loud voice .

    "Shadow and Sayaka Mutsu, I know you two are here . I¡¯m Henry from the organization called the Shadow Mercenaries . "

    Sayaka was surprised to hear that the man called Henry was actually a part of the legendary organization, Shadow Mercenaries . What could her friends have done that could have made the legendary band of mercenaries turn into their enemies?

    "I¡¯vee to give you an invitation to attend a celebration for your friend Alexander . All of your friends will be there as well, Rachel, Emily, Evangeline, Niel, Kei, and even Oliver will be there . "

    Sayaka felt weird when she heard Alex¡¯s nameing out from the enemy¡¯s mouth . ¡¯So it was about Alex . ¡¯ When Sayaka was thinking what could have happened to Alex, she heard the names of her other friends, and then she heard the name of her boyfriend . When she heard Oliver¡¯s name she couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit shaken .

    That was a mistake, since the moment she thought of Oliver being captured, her shadow blend was momentarily disabled . When that happened she quickly changed her position and once again blended into the shadows . Henry who noticed her movements started shooting at the position she was in before .

    ¡¯What the hell!? They captured everyone!¡¯ Even though she was thinking about every one of her friends, the truth is Sayaka was more concerned about Oliver at the moment . Sayaka wanted to end this person¡¯s life as quickly as possible, but she first needed to capture him . She now wanted to know where her friends were being held captive .

    As Sayaka was slowly closing in on Henry, the man suddenly spoke again .

    "Fine, if you don¡¯t want toe then you don¡¯t need to . I already told you about the celebration, if you don¡¯te, I¡¯m sure your friends might be a little disappointed . . . Oh right, I heard that Oliver was hurt pretty badly when-"

    Sayaka couldn¡¯t help it anymore and killing intent erupted from deep within her . This gave Henry the opportunity to spot Sayaka and attack . After the failed attack Sayaka was forced to show herself .

    "So Sayaka, are youing to the celebration?"

    When Sayaka heard this, her anger was nearing the peak . It was at that moment he heard her cousin whispering in her ear .

    "Are you really the daughter of the strongest Shadow?" When Sayaka heard this, she was finally able to calm down . Once she was fully calm, she looked at Henry with an ice cold re .

    "Tell me, where are my friends? If you don¡¯t answer your death will be full of pain, but if you answer your death will be swift and honorable . Tell me which do you choose?"

    "Hmm . . . How about I choose none of the above . " When Henry said this, he suddenly felt paining from the right side of his chest . He saw that a needle had pierced his chest .

    ¡¯Was Shadow the one who attacked me, or was it her?¡¯ Henry looked at the ice cold expression of Sayaka and knew instantly that she was the one who threw the needle . When he was about to pull the needle out he felt his body was starting to feel a bit numb .

    "You should have told me where they are . Now you will die a painful death, but before you die you will tell me where my friends are . " Sayaka slowly approached Henry, who was nowying on the ground unable to move .

    She then flipped Henry¡¯s body upward . Henry who was now facing the ceiling saw Sayaka pull out another needle . The needle she pulled out was slowly nearing his eye .

    "You don¡¯t really need your eyes to talk, do you?" After Sayaka said that line she pierced Henry¡¯s eyes with needles .

 Chapter 312

    Chapter 312

    When Sayaka pierced both of Henry¡¯s eyes, Henry wanted to scream but couldn¡¯t so he started to convulse instead . Sayaka was really angry this time, and she continued putting needles into Henry¡¯s eyeballs . It was when she was about to pierce some more needles in, Shadow appeared behind her .

    "Sayaka, don¡¯t you think that¡¯s enough? Just kill him already . " Shadow said a bit disgusted by the methods employed by Sayaka . He was a firm believer of the silent kill, he believed that when an assassins strikes it¡¯s only suppose to be one time . Shadow was indeed aware that some members of the family use torture to bring out confessions, but truth be told he didn¡¯t really like those methods . So seeing it first hand was a bit ufortable for him .

    "Hmph, I won¡¯t kill him quickly . HE threatened me with Oliver¡¯s name! He deserves to die slowly and painfully . . . Also I need all the information he can give . " When Shadow saw Sayaka¡¯s ice cold re, he felt shivers down his spine . At this moment even the current Shadow was a bit scared of Sayaka .

    "What will you even do when you gain that information? Are you going to abandon killing our target, the whole reason we are here? Are you going to leave the mission halfway to try and save your friends?"

    When Shadow asked this question, Sayaka closed her eyes and seem to be contemting something . Shadow thought that he was able to convince his cousin to stop what she was doing . A few secondster Sayaka smiled at Shadow, this smile was not the cold one she was showing before . It was a different kind of smile, she was smiling a beautiful smile, but when Shadow saw her smile like this rm bells started ringing in his head .

    Sayaka was at her most dangerous at this moment, it was possible that she would attack Shadow . Feeling danger Shadow took a step back .

    "Cousin, how about you leave now . You continue the mission, and I¡¯ll be back after I¡¯m done with this . "

    Shadow wanted to say something but stopped himself when he saw Sayaka¡¯s expression . Without saying anything more Shadow left, leaving Sayaka alone with Henry .

    . . .

    "Now that my cousin is gone, let¡¯s get back to our talk . " Sayaka walked back to the paralyzed Henry¡¯s side .

    "So Henry, how about you tell me what I want to know . If you don¡¯t talk the torture will continue . " When Henry heard this he wanted to give an answer, but he couldn¡¯t speak at the moment, his body just shook a bit .

    "Oh right, you can¡¯t speak right now . Well, that¡¯s too bad, then let the torture continue . . . Hmm . . . Let¡¯s see here, what else don¡¯t you need, so that you can speak . I guess you don¡¯t really need your fingers to speak . Seeing as your body is pretty sturdy, I¡¯m sure you can survive longer than most . "

    When Henry heard what Sayaka said he tried desperately to talk, but his body just won¡¯t respond . He then felt a cold de touching his fingers . He could no longer see but that¡¯s what it felt like, it truly felt like a knife of some sort was ce on top of his fingers . Henry then heard Sayaka suddenly singing a nursery rhyme .

    "Daddy finger, daddy finger where are you?" Henry then felt something cutting through his thumb . He felt a burning sensation from where his thumb was before . The pain was still bearable, but it still hurt like hell . Sayaka who cut off Henry¡¯s thumb pressed it onto his face .

    "Here I am, here I am . How do you do? Your thumb is asking you, how do you do Henry . How about answering? . . . No, you don¡¯t want to, let¡¯s see if you¡¯re willing to talk to your other fingers . "

    After saying that horrifying line Sayaka stopped the blood from gushing out of Henry . When she was done doing that, she continued her song .

    "Mommy finger, Mommy finger, where are you?" Henry¡¯s index finger was also cut off . Sayaka then asked the same question as before . She then proceeded to do the same thing until all of Henry¡¯s fingers in his right hand were no longer attached to his body .

    "Oh, so you weren¡¯t willing to talk to you right hand¡¯s fingers, then how about your left?" When Henry heard Sayaka¡¯s yful tone, he was starting to get scared . Being unable to see but feel what was happening to you, was so much scarier than he thought .

    "S . . . St . . . o . . . p" Henry was finally able to speak again .

    "Oh, so the numbing effect is finally wearing off . That¡¯s pretty quick, I guess that¡¯s to be expected of someone from the famed Shadow Mercenaries . "

    "I . . . I¡¯m willing . . . to . . . talk . . . so please . . . stop . " Henry was still having difficulty speaking, but he was able to say what he wanted to say .

    "What was that? I can¡¯t seem to hear you properly . I guess I¡¯ll just have to cut off some more of your fingers . "

    "No! I . . . I¡¯ll talk . . . So please . . . Stop!" Even though it was so difficult to speak at the moment, Henry tried his very best to speak louder .

    "Alright I¡¯ll stop (for now), so tell me what I want to know . Tell me where my friends are" Henry then started to tell Sayaka how to find the Shadow Mercenaries HQ . He did this no longer hesitating, since it was obvious to him now, that Richter sent him here to die .

    . . .

    "You should¡¯ve told me all these when I asked nicely . Now look at you . . . " Sayaka said sounding a bit exasperated .

    "Just end me already . I have told you everything, so please at least let me die with whatever little dignity I have left . " When Sayaka heard this she couldn¡¯t help but giggle .

    "You think you have the right to choose? The moment you didn¡¯t tell me what I want to know, when I asked you at the beginning, meant that you already agreed to die in the most miserable way . You no longer have any honor or dignity . So Let me tell you what will happen from this point onward . First I will continue to cut off your fingers, then I will cut off you toes . After doing that, I will proceed to cut off you forearms, then your whole arm . Then when I¡¯m done with that I will cut off your legs . If your screaming gets annoying, I guess I¡¯ll cut off your tongue first . If you¡¯re able to survive up to that point then I will start beating you up until you die . So I hope you show me your willpower Shadow Mercenary . "

 Chapter 313

    Chapter 313

    When Richter heard that they lost contact with Henry, he could no longer contain his rage and screamed . He then proceeded to destroy his room, he punched the walls, kicked the closets, and started shooting randomly at the air .

    . . .

    Henry who was now dead would be surprised to see Richter this angry . Henry before dying truly thought Richter sent him to Sayaka to die, yet the truth was different . In Richter¡¯s eyes no matter how famous the current Shadow was, he was nothing but a second grade assassin, not to mention the target was the weaker Sayaka . Richter truly believed that one of his subordinates was enough to handle such a situation . Since in his eyes both the current Shadow and Sayaka were nothing but babes that could barely survive a real battle .

    He really didn¡¯t expect that his subordinate that has been carefully handpicked by the Greyhound family to be this weak .

    So once Richter was able to calm down a bit, he called for the four who had finished their mission properly .

    . . .

    When the four entered Richter¡¯s private room, the first thing they saw were the cracks on the wall, and then the destroyed metal closets . The four of them seeing this scene knew that their boss wasn¡¯t going to act reasonably .

    There were only two times their boss acted like this . The first time was the time when he just recently killed his brother . The second time was when he was forced to retreat from Lyner . Every time he got this angry he would first startining, then he would ask his best subordinates to spar with him, that was basically him asking to beat everyone until they were near death .

    When Richter saw the four enter his room, he sat down on the remains of a broken chair . He then sternly looked at his subordinates while radiating killing intent . The four could practically hear each others heart beating faster, because of fear .

    The four of them, no, it was not only them but the majority of the members of the Shadow Mercenaries, were afraid of this person . They who were people who were mostly fearless . Their pride and courage was so big that not even the threat of death could get them to act like this . Yet in front of Richter, his sheer presence alone was enough to make them fear him .

    "Do you know why I called you here?" Richter asked while looking at each of them . None of the four knew the answer so they remained silent .

    "As expected, of course you ipetent fools can¡¯t even answer such a simple question . What was I expecting . . . " Richter stood up and slowly walked towards the four . When he got near them he looked at them one by one with a menacing re .

    "I called you here today, because of the failure of two of yourrades . I also heard that most of you had some difficulty kidnapping the targets . Of course, as humans that aren¡¯t Greyhounds I wasn¡¯t expecting much from you people . Still I was hoping that you my very own subordinates the ones who inherited the title of Shadow Mercenaries from my family, would be somehowpetent . Yet what have I found out, you all weren¡¯t able to perfectly and easily kidnap children who haven¡¯t been in the battlefield for as long as you people . Not only that, two of you actually failed to capture their targets, and instead one of them was the one captured, while the other was killed! Do you know how utterly ashamed and disappointed I was when I heard this!? Do you four know?! I was so ashamed that I even contemted changing the organization¡¯s name into something else . I really wanted to avoid the shame that one of our members was captured by a little girl!"

    Richter then punched each one of the four, the pain of the punch was great but they withstood it without changing their expressions . The reason they did this, was because once they show any weakness at that moment they would be killed by Richter . Seeing that not one of the four moved or expressed pain, didn¡¯t really impressed Richter . To him this was suppose to be normal . After punching his subordinates he continued speaking .

    "I promised my grandson that all of his friends would be here . Are you people trying to make me into a liar!" Once again Richter punched one of them .

    "If I knew this was going to happen, I should¡¯ve personally done the job . How was I suppose to know that my subordinates that supposedly survive through numerous life and death situations would be so weak that they can¡¯t even kidnap some teenagers properly . . . Now this begs the question, if you people are so worthless that you can¡¯t even do this kind of mission properly, what do I need you for? I guess being my top ten subordinates made you guys even more arrogant andcent . Did you guys think because you are the top ten in here, that means your are strong? I guess that¡¯s my bad, making you people feel that way . So as my way of saying sorry to your delusions, how about I kill all of you swiftly without pain . It¡¯s not like its going to be hard to pick a new top ten, and rece you people . What do you four think, should I do that?"

    The four of them dryly gulped, they knew that this old man wasn¡¯t joking . He really would kill them if they don¡¯t say something . Hektor then stepped forward and spoke .

    "Sir, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a fair assessment . I did my job perfectly, lumping me together with the two weaklings that got caught, is an insult . Also I¡¯m sure that if you kill us, the next ten would never evene close to how good we, the current ten are . "

    "Oh, you certainly grown some bigger balls Hektor . " Richter started emitting the full extent of his killing intent and directed it at Hektor . Normally those who felt this kind of pressure from Richter, would faint or even die . Yet Hektor stood proudly without flinching . Still deep inside he felt terrified, as he currently feeling that he was staring at the face of the embodiment of Death itself .

    Richter who saw Hektor remaining calm, made Richter feel truly impressed . After seeing some form ofpetence from his subordinate, he was finally able to calm down . Richter then stopped emitting killing intent and sighed .

    "Fine, I will give you people another chance, but be warned this is thest chance . Seeing as I seem to have miscalcted howpetent you people are, I don¡¯t have any confidence on Samuel capturing Rachel . I¡¯m going to send you four as his backup . Knowing that, she among all the others is the one who should be caught at all cost, I hope this time you people will do your job properly . Once your done capturing her, bring her back immediately, afterwards continue on as a group and capture the other two that haven¡¯t been captured . Finally if you see Drake kill him . "

    "Sir, yes, sir!" The four of them saluted . The easy going attitudes they had when they started this mission could no longer be seen, this time they would treat this mission as seriously as possible . Failure was no longer an option .

 Chapter 314

    Chapter 314

    Rachel was already informed by Evangeline about the n of the Shadow Mercenaries to capture the members of the Mercenary Club . Still that information was given to her a bit toote, as she was currently engaged in a game of tag with one of their agents . She and an agent of the Shadow Mercenaries were currently ying tag in a dense forest area .

    The agent she was chasing was a man called Samuel who imed that he was here to bring her to where Alex was . Obviously he was here to bring her in as a hostage to control Alex . So without listening to anymore of his spiel, Rachel was about to charge at Samuel .

    Rachel was expecting a fierce battle to happen but for some reason the man called Samuel started to run after she denied his invitation . Rachel could leave him alone and retreat back to where Evangeline was, but based on what Evangeline said her captive doesn¡¯t seem to be willing to talk . Evangeline used every form of torture she knew but the person called Drake simplyughed as the pain intensified .

    It was obvious now that no information would be gained from Drake, so Rachel decided she needed to capture the agent in front of her . So here she was chasing the would be kidnapper, which she found really weird . She wanted to listen to the warnings her subconscious was giving her, but she also needed the agent to gain information .

    Now that Niel, Kei, and Emily were gone, only she and Evangeline remained . Oliver and Sayaka were off doing their own thing, and they had no idea how contact them . Also it was possible the two of them were captured as well, which gave Rachel even more reason to capture this agent from the Shadow Mercenaries .

    Rachel sped up by using RELEASE for a second, but Samuel easily evaded her attempt to catch him . This started to annoy Rachel, as she continued giving chase . After a few more minutes of running through the forest, Samuel finally stopped moving .

    When Rachel saw this, she thought that he decided to fight, but then she felt numerous presences within the area . She wanted to retreat but noticed that she was surrounded and one wrong move might spell defeat . She wasn¡¯t worried of dying since it was obvious that the other party wanted to capture her alive .

    Rachel stayed in one position and hid behind the trees .

    "What an honor, so many members of the renowned Shadow Mercenaries actually came to escort me . " Rachel started talking to distract her opponent as she was now trying to think of a way to escape .

    "How about now, are you willing toe with me quietly? Surely with this much people escorting you, you would find it worthy enough of your time . " Samuel spoke to Rachel while signaling the others to tighten their guard on the perimeter .

    "It¡¯s not like I can¡¯te with you, but I was wondering why such a big group from such a renowned organization came to pick me up?" Rachel still hadn¡¯t found a way of retreat so she continued to stall .

    "The reason for the special treatment, is because you mydy, are a VIP . Seeing as it is possible that you would be the future wife of the next big boss of the Shadow Mercenaries . "

    "Oh, what an honor . Pray tell who is this person that wants me to be his wife? . . . Well it doesn¡¯t really matter who he is, can you please tell him that I already have someone in my heart . "

    "Well, that¡¯s a bit disappointing . I thought you and he were already a couple, turns out he wasn¡¯t even in your mind . "

    "The way your talking suggests I already know this person, am I right? Still I¡¯m pretty sure I don¡¯t know anyone from the Shadow Mercenaries . Can you tell me his name? If I hear his name I might remember who he is . " Rachel still couldn¡¯t find a way out of this situation, so she continued the conversation .

    "His name is Dalvir Greyhound, but you might know him better as Alexander Samarita . " When Rachel heard the answer, she was stupefied . She already kinda figured out that Alex was someone important to the Shadow Mercenaries, she was also expecting Samuel speak of Alex¡¯s name in this conversation . She was already expecting this answer, yet when she heard it with her own two ears, she was still surprised .

    ¡¯Richter Greyhound was the boss of the Shadow Mercenaries . ¡¯

    This answer made the most sense, and was within what the members of the Mercenary Club predicted . The Mercenary Club members already figured out that Richter was a person with a high position within a certain organization . Evangeline figured out which organization it was, the only thing they haven¡¯t figured out about Richter was his position in this certain group . Now that Rachel heard the answer she was surprised .

    "I see that makes sense . . . Well aren¡¯t you guys lucky, the person in my heart is Alex . "

    "Then are you finally willing toe with us?" Samuel thought that Rachel would finally agree toe back with them to HQ . Seeing as she was already cornered, and its not like what they were offering was a bad deal . She was looking for Alex and they would bring her to him, making her finally reunite with the person she so dearly wanted to see .

    "No . "

    "Alright, you just need to . . . What? Did you just say no?" Samuel asked confused as to wether he heard correctly .

    "Yup, I said no . I don¡¯t need to be escorted by you people . So how about we reach apromise . Just tell me where he is, and I will go on my own . That way, both sides are satisfied . "

    Hearing Rachel¡¯s answer, Samuel looked at Hektor¡¯s direction . To Samuel the deal Rachel was proposing wasn¡¯t that bad, as the target would stille to their ce . Still he needed to confirm it with Hektor who knew Richter the best among the ten of them .

    Hektor who saw Samuel¡¯s questioning gaze, shook his head . When Samuel saw that he sighed and answered Rachel .

    "Sorry I cannot allow that . If you won¡¯te with us quietly, then you leave us no choice but to be a little bit rough with you . "

 Chapter 315

    Chapter 315: 315

    The five members of the Shadow Mercenaries started to close in on Rachel . When she saw that there really was no chance of escape, Rachel decided to fight until she could no longer continue . She knew that there was little to no chance of winning, but she believed that as long as the chance wasn¡¯t zero, then it was good enough chance . Rachel then went into a FULL RELEASE state for a fraction of a second to pull out a tree from the ground, lifting it roots and all . Once it was uprooted Rachel went into a semi RELEASE state, this state was something she invented tobat the recoil from using RELEASE .

    Upon entering her semi RELEASE state Rachel held onto the tree she pulled out and started swinging it . The power of her swing made all the other nearby trees get smashed into piles of broken wood . The charging members of the Shadow Mercenaries stopped for a moment to evade the iing strike .

    They looked at the thin little girl, and were amazed by the power her little body possessed . They already read the reports about this technique called RELEASE that uses the full potential of a human¡¯s muscles . They have all been given a detailed report of the martial art Rachel uses and even though they knew about it, seeing it first hand was something else entirely .

    They all stood their stunned by the destruction Rachel¡¯s strike disyed . This was someone they had to capture alive?

    When Rachel saw she didn¡¯t hit anyone she charged forward with her thirty feet long tree . She swung the three again and this time, Hektor took a defensive stance and wanted to take the strike head on . In the whole organization Hektor was the one who had the strongest defensive techniques, and his current equipment was only second to Richter . So he was confident that he could take the iing strike and redirect it, giving them an opening to lunged at Rachel .

    When Rachel saw what Hektor was nning to do she sneered, and used full RELEASE for a second . The moment the attack was about to reach Hektor, Rachel went into full RELEASE making the power of her strike went beyond what it was before .

    Hektor who was in a horse stance unknowingly took the strike head on and was surprised as he felt how powerful the strike was, and he knew that he couldn¡¯t stop it . Still he was quick to react, the moment he realized the strike was too powerful he loosened his muscles and jumped at the direction the attack was heading towards . Doing what he did lessened the damage he received but it was still able to damage Hektor which resulted in his right hand being slightly numbed . Still that wasn¡¯t enough to bring down Hektor as he stood there with his right arm slightly bruised .

    While trying to recover a bit from thest strike, Hektor signaled the others to attack . When the other four were about to begin their real attack, Rachel stood there momentarily stunned at what she saw . She wasn¡¯t expecting that the strike she unleashed that was meant to kill the opponent only damage the enemy that much .

    ¡¯These Shadow Mercenaries are much stronger than expected . ¡¯ Rachel didn¡¯t have enough time to contemte, as the other agents started to open fire . Rachel blocked making use of the huge tree she had as a shield . That was when she heard something weird .

    The sound the bullets made when they hit the tree was different . Rachel then noticed that the bullets weren¡¯t made of lead, copper, nylon or anything like that, they were made of rubber . They were using rubber bullets as they face her! When Rachel saw this, she got a really angry .

    She knew that these people weren¡¯t here to kill her, they were here to simply to capture her . Still what was with this difference in treatment, based on the report given to her by Evangeline, the agent that attacked her used live ammunition .

    "You guys are actually looking down on me! Fine, I won¡¯t win this way anyway . It¡¯s all or nothing . " When Rachel said this she threw the tree she was holding at one of the enemy agents . The enemy agent who was Daryl saw the iing tree and unsheathed the sword that was hidden behind his back and used it to slice through the tree .

    Once he was about done cleaving the tree into two pieces, he saw Rachel above him ready to punch . Daryl seeing this was about to counter using his daggers, but then he remembered how powerful this girl was, that not even Hektor was able to block her attack . So instead of counterattacking Daryl jumped away to evade .

    Daryl was able to barely dodge Rachel as she pounded the ground with her fist, upon contact with the ground, thend within the area they were fighting in trembled like a makeshift earthquake, and the ground she struck turned into a crater . When Daryl saw this he had cold sweat all over his body . That strike would¡¯ve made him into mush .

    Even the others watching this scene couldn¡¯t believe their eyes . This wasn¡¯t the strength of a B rank merc, heck this wasn¡¯t the strength of an A rank merc . This was definitely the strength of a S rank merc, nearing SS rank .

    Right now Rachel was using full RELEASE, which temporarily boosted her strength making it close to Lyner¡¯s peak strength . Her version of full RELEASE was even better than her father¡¯s which made it possible for her to boost her strength this much without killing herself . Still the technique had a drawback, she can only maintain this strength for about five minutes . Once that five minute mark was over the recoil from using the technique would make her body feel extreme pain, then she would faint and will only be able to move after three days of sleep .

    Still at the current situation she had no choice, seeing as this was the only way she would have a chance of winning . Though escaping was also an option, Rachel was so angry at these people for capturing her friends and Alex, she wasn¡¯t really thinking straight, which made her unconsciously toss the thought of escaping aside .

 Chapter 316

    Chapter 316

    Rachel had no time to stop moving as she went to attack the nearest agent . The next person in her line of sight was Lisa, who was continuously firing rubber bullets at her . This wasn¡¯t really a problem, since not only was Rachel¡¯s strength enhanced when she was at her full RELEASE state, but all her senses get enhanced as well .

    Rachel seeing the iing rubber bullets dodged some of them and caught the others . Upon catching the rubber bullets she flicked them back at Lisa . Rachel¡¯s firing rate by flicking the rubber bullets was actuallyparable to Lisa¡¯s full auto firing rate . Seeing this inhuman act made Lisa scream in her mind, as she evaded the iing rubber bullets .

    ¡¯The f*ck is that! This isn¡¯t S rank, this is f*cking SS rank! That girl isn¡¯t human anymore!¡¯ Lisa started screaming this in her mind . It was at that moment that she just blinked, and Rachel was no longer in front of her . Lisa then heard a loud boom from above, Hektor was there and she saw that he had kicked Rachel away .

    Rachel was about to hit Lisa from above with a kick, but then Hektor intervened . Rachel who was kicked away was able to bnce herself quickly and once again charge forward . Rachel then felt someone was behind her which made her do a spinning back kick, blowing away Amica who tried to stealthily attack .

    Amica who blocked the attack with her two arms, coupled with the armor provided by the Shadow Mercenaries uniform, still had her right arm broken . Samuel who was watching from afar suddenly signaled the others to disperse . When he saw the others move aside Samuel threw all the grenades he had, and the others followed suit .

    Rachel who saw the iing grenades stomped on the ground, lifting arge portion of earth upward, making a makeshift shield . After doing this, Rachel quickly stepped back as far as she could . The grenades hit the wall of earth and exploded . The explosion was so strong Rachel¡¯s eardrums couldn¡¯t stop ringing . The surrounding trees were no longer present, as the area they were fighting had the trees blown into tiny bits .

    While smoke filled the area, the shadow mercenaries who saw the destruction couldn¡¯t help but facepalm . Some of them especially Samuel were regretting their decision at the moment . They needed to capture Rachel alive, but they actually attacked with the intent to kill .

    The reason they did this was because that got a bit confused by Rachel¡¯s strength and aggressiveness . They weren¡¯t expecting her to be so powerful, it was like they were fighting Richter himself .

    "Sh*t did we actually kill her?!" Daryl suddenly shouted, and at the same time he screamed something bursted out of the smoke . It was rocks, Rachel was now throwing rocks at them, and with that speed and power of hers, the rocks look like speeding bullets . Hektor was able to take all the damage as he blocked most of the rocksing his way .

    Daryl who was caught by surprise was unable to dodge on time and was hit on his right leg . When Rachel saw that she got Daryl, making him unable to move properly now, Rachel dashed towards him . Seeing Rachel heading his way, Daryl had no choice but to take her head on .

    Lisa and Samuel provided support fire, but that did nothing, not even slowing Rachel down . Amica on the other hand, was now hiding from a distance waiting for a chance to strike, while Hektor stood in front of Daryl blocking Rachel¡¯s way .

    Seeing Hektor in front of her Rachel was about to punch him with all her strength, but then she saw a throwing knife nearing her . Daryl was able to throw that throwing knife, without Rachel noticing since Hektor was blocking her view . Rachel now needed to choose, if she would evade or continue her attack .

    Hektor was so sure that Rachel would dodge, that he wasn¡¯t nning to defend, instead the moment Rachel evades he would start attacking her . That was when the opposite happened, Rachel got hit by the throwing knife . It pierced onto her left shoulder, Rachel who was full of adrenaline couldn¡¯t feel the pain as she initiated her attack .

    Hektor who wasn¡¯t expecting Rachel to continue her attack couldn¡¯t defend on time, as Rachel punched him in his sr plexus . Hektor had no other option except to tighten his abdominal muscles, as Rachel¡¯s punch finally hit him . That one punch from Rachel literally took his breath away . Rachel¡¯s punch felt like he was being hit by a somethingrge, like an elephant or maybe something even bigger . Hektor who was blown away coughed up blood, andy unconscious a few feet away .

    When Rachel saw this she couldn¡¯t help but smile, as she finally had a chance to finish one of them . Without any hesitation Rachel charged forward towards Hektor¡¯s position . When the other Shadow Mercenaries saw what Rachel was nning, they started to attack her from behind . Lisa and Samuel continued to shoot Rachel with rubber bullets, while Daryl kept on throwing daggers at the non-vital parts of Rachel¡¯s body .

    Amica on the other hand used a blowgun that was loaded with a tranquilizer dart that could even make an elephant faint . Yet even though she was able to hit Rachel from behind, this didn¡¯t seem to stop Rachel from charging forward .

    . . .

    Right now Rachel was full of bruises, and she had some daggers sticking out from her body . Still she continued onward towards Hektor, with only the thought of finishing off at least one enemy . As she neared Hektor and was about to unleash the final blow, she felt extreme pain all throughout her body .

    ¡¯No! Not now, please not now!¡¯ Rachel screamed in her mind, as the bacsh of using full RELEASE finally came . While feeling intense pain, her body suddenly stopped functioning and she fell onto the ground with a thud . The pain made her cry even though she didn¡¯t want to . As the pain increased her conscious was gradually fading, until finally she fainted .

    The members of the Shadow Mercenaries who saw what happened to Rachel, didn¡¯t feel any joy . They looked at each other ashamed by the oue . They were actually pushed back this much by one girl . Once Richter sees them in such a sorry state, he might actually kill them .

    They couldn¡¯t me him, since they too wanted to kill themselves . They already said that they would take this seriously, but what happened?! They ambushed Rachel and outnumbered her but they were still the ones who were almost defeated . If not for the limitations of the technique RELEASE Hektor would be dead now .

    If they actually set up traps before hand, this battle would¡¯ve been much easier . Heck when they saw Rachel use full RELEASE they shouldn¡¯t have engaged . They should¡¯ve tried wasting time, while stopping her from escaping until the bacsh of full RELEASE took her down .

    In the end they still acted arrogantly, thinking that even if a little girl like Rachel uses such a technique it wouldn¡¯t amount to much . This time the members present truly discarded their arrogance . When they head out to capture Evangeline, they would do it as cautiously as possible . They would treat Evangeline with the same threat level as an SS rank merc .

 Chapter 317

    Chapter 317

    While the members of the Shadow Mercenaries were heading towards the next target Evangeline, someone was sneaking around HQ . If anyone saw this person they would be surprised and confused . The one who was sneaking around the base was none other than Hektor the current leader of the Shadow Mercenaries .

    The one that was with the other members currently out on the mission to retrieve the members of the Mercenary Club, was a clone he made way before the war happened . The real Hektor hasn¡¯t shown himself ever since he killed his brother-inw Gabriel . The one who has always shown himself to the outside world was an imperfect clone . The clone had around seventy percent of Hektor¡¯s strength back when he fought Gabriel . Unfortunately the clones could no longer grow and stayed the same no matter how much it aged or trained . The clone also had a perfect copy of Hektor¡¯s memories, and at the beginning in its mind he wasn¡¯t a clone, since he had never seen the original . Still the clone¡¯s intelligence only equals a little bit above half of the original¡¯s intelligence .

    The clone might think the reason for its decrease in strength was simply because of the wound inflicted by Gabriel . Also even if the clone figured out it was a clone, it would never jeopardize Hektor¡¯s n since it shared the same emotions and thoughts as the original .

    Hektor didn¡¯t really like his clone to be so imperfect, since that would make figuring out his ruse easier, but the only ones capable of creating a perfect clone have already died . Still Hektor wasn¡¯t that worried, since no one has ever witnessed him going all out . So no one would notice if he had weakened or not . Also in regards to his intelligence, he wasn¡¯t much of a talker, and he mostly kept to himself, only giving out orders every now and again . So with having less interactions with everyone, even if they did somehow force the clone to talk to them in a prolong period of time, they wouldn¡¯t notice anything different . Even Richter who knew Hektor¡¯s true strength wouldn¡¯t notice since he thinks the difference between the strength of ants was insignificant .

    Even if Richter did find out about Hektor¡¯s ns, it doesn¡¯t seem like Richter cares, since he hasn¡¯t done anything to counter Hektor, even after all these years . The arrogant Richter might think Hektor¡¯s ns were nothing and it would fail, or it could be that Richter actually approves of his ns . Either way Hektor simply needed to continue onward and finish what he has started .

    . . .

    ¡¯Patricia . . . A world without you is nothing to me . . . My precious sister, let me wipe out those who have guided you to your death . Not only that, I want everyone to experience the pain I have suffered . Only then will my anger be quenched . Surely my beloved sister, you who loved me so much, surely you would understand me . . . Humans are such worthless creatures aren¡¯t they?¡¯

    These were the thoughts that filled Hektor¡¯s mind ever since the death of his sister . At first he thought killing Gabriel would satisfy his anger, but it didn¡¯t . He then proceeded to kill everyone involve with his sister¡¯s death . The only one who couldn¡¯t kill at the moment was Richter . Still even after all the deaths the anger never disappeared instead it just grew, it grew so much that he wanted to kill his only nephew as well . Still even after being fooled by Oliver¡¯s fake death, Hektor¡¯s anger didn¡¯t disappear as it still continued to grow, until finally Hektor wanted to wipe out the human race . Surely if no one was left, then his anger would surely be quenched .

    He didn¡¯t just want to wipe them out, he wanted to instill fear and despair into everyone¡¯s hearts . The same fear and despair he felt when he lost his sister . Hektor was no longer of sound mind, and as the days go by, the more his sanity deteriorated . At this point he was no longer thinking of anything but destruction .

    He went around moving the Shadow Mercenaries base to the nearby smaller countries . Since the start of the all out war, it was easier to move the base without raising too much suspicion from the other members . Seeing as the movement of the base was suppose to be random, and going through the countries outside of the Empire truly felt random, so no one truly noticed that Hektor was controlling the base¡¯s movement . Hektor did this to kidnap the most brilliant scientists of each country and forced them to work for him . He was hiding them at his personal space within HQ which was made for whoever was the current leader of the Shadow Mercenaries . There he supplied the scientist with the equipment they needed, to continue his research . After waiting for so long the research of the biological weapon that would bring despair on humanity was nearingpletion .

    The only one who noticed Hektor¡¯s ns was Richter and he didn¡¯t bother to stop Hektor, since he could already guess what Hektor was nning . Hektor¡¯s n if implemented would first affect the northern countries that the Granado Empire didn¡¯t really care to conquer, due to the harsh winters of the north . After that the next to ce that would be affected by the weapon Hektor was trying to make, would be the Granado Empire . If everything written in the reports he copied were true, then the destruction of the Granado Empire was almost inevitable .

    The subsequent destruction after that wasn¡¯t of much concern to Richter . Since all Richter cared about was the destruction of the Granado Empire, he didn¡¯t really care if the human race survives or not . As long as the cherished wish of the Greyhounds was fulfilled then it everything else really didn¡¯t matter .

    After all Richter truly believed in thew of the jungle, which was survival of the fittest . If the human race would die because of what Hektor had nned, then that meant that was the limit of the human race .

 Chapter 318

    Chapter 318

    While each one of the members of the Mercenary Club were being hunted down, Matthew was in the Southern Union getting ready for his journey to rescue Alex . He wanted to stop by his old home were he hid most of the weapons he had collected over the years .

    As he was walking through the streets a cute cat was following beside him . This was the cat he used as a distraction in that one operation to destroy an enemy¡¯s base . After feeding it twice, the cat wouldn¡¯t leave him alone and followed him everywhere . It even snuck into his backpack and joined him on his trip back to the Southern Union .

    Knowing that this cat would not leave him alone, Matthew decided to name him . The cat was now called Leo . Matthew called that cat as such, because he felt like it sounded cool . Leo the cat was a pretty smart cat, so when it heard its name it responded with a meow showing his agreement in being called as such .

    . . .

    When the two reached Matthew¡¯s old home, the first thing Matthew did was put water in a bowl and gave it to the cat . Even with his limited knowledge about cats, Matthew knew that giving out milk to an adult cat wasn¡¯t a good idea . After giving water to his cat, Matthew decided to buy the essentials for the cat after packing his own things .

    Matthew took out a huge sturdy backpack that he had customized specifically for training trips . Once he double checked the backpack Matthew started to fill it with some gear . After packing everything he needed, his backpack looked exaggeratedly big as if it came out of an anime . It was huge, and it weighed around fifty kilos . Matthew didn¡¯t mind and carried the backpack on his back . Once Matthew carried the backpack the cat Leo climbed on top of the backpack . Since the top of the backpack had a t surface Leo was able toy down on it .

    When Matthew saw what his cat did he couldn¡¯t help but smile as he left his old home .

    . . .

    While walking towards the nearest pet store, people kept on looking at Matthew . Most of them knew the face of this famous person . Still they weren¡¯t looking because he was famous they were all looking because of the backpack he was carrying .

    "That¡¯s the holy son right? I wonder what he¡¯s going to do with all that stuff?"

    "Are you an idiot, can¡¯t you see some of those are weapons . Obviously the holy son is going to help Saint Arthur in the war . "

    These kind of conversations could be heard all around, as Matthew was walking on sidewalk . Matthew was already used at being stared at and he was usually the subject of gossips, so he wasn¡¯t really bothered by this .

    . . .

    When Matthew got to the pet store, even before the staff member of the pet store could greet him, Matthew spoke first .

    "I¡¯m buying everything cat rted in this store . " When the people in the pet store heard what he said, they couldn¡¯t believe it . That was when Matthew shed a ck credit card . When the people of the pet store saw the ck shine of the card, they were stunned into silence .

    The nearest salesdy was the first to get her wits about, as she bowed in front of Matthew and spoke in the tone that sounded respectful but at the same time subservient .

    "We will quickly get all the things prepared young master . Is there anything else you need?" When the salesdy said this, another staff member had gotten a chair and ced it behind Matthew . It was then the people in the store finally figured out who this super VIP was, he was the one and only disciple of the strongest Saint . The person in front of them was the holy son Matthew Zephyr .

    "Please have a sit young master . " This time the salesdy sounded even more respectful .

    "No it¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll remain standing . Here, I want you to send all the goods to this location . " Matthew handed a piece of paper to the salesdy, who respectfully took it from Matthew . As she received the piece of paper, the salesdy treated it as if it was a priceless treasure .

    "Also I want you to get everything a cat needs for a trip and put it into a sports bag . " The salesdy wanted to say that they had no sports bag, but she knew that was foolish thing to say . So instead she replied without hesitation .

    "As you wish young master . " The salesdy told one of her coworkers to head out and buy a sports bag . The staff of the pet store moved as fast as they could . On the other hand, the salesdy who greeted Matthew remained by his side just in case Matthew asked for more things .

    Leo who was napping on top of Matthew¡¯s backpack jumped down and looked curiously at the shop . The salesdy who noticed the cat spoke to Matthew .

    "Young master is that your cat? It¡¯s such a wonderful looking cat, as expected it¡¯s a pet worthy of the holy son . " When Matthew heard what the salesdy said he couldn¡¯t help but smile . For some reason he somehow liked it when someone praised Leo .

    When the salesdy saw Matthew smile, she couldn¡¯t stop herself from blushing .

    . . .

    After a few more minutes, everything was prepared, and all the staff of the pet shop were now in front of Matthew . The manager of the store handed the receipt to Matthew . All the staff members were bowing respectfully as the manager was handing out the receipt .

    "Here, a tip . " Matthew then handed a bundle of money to the salesdy that praised Leo . When the salesdy got a hold of the money she couldn¡¯t help but have her hands tremble, since that was a huge sum of money . She couldn¡¯t believe how lucky she was . This amount was equivalent to what she would earn in a year .

    "Thank you for your kindness young master . " Matthew simply nodded his head in response . He then took the sports bag that was filled with the cat¡¯s necessities and left the store .

    . . .

    "Okay now I¡¯m ready . Time to save that helpless rival of mine . "

 Chapter 319

    Chapter 319

    Oliver and Specter were walking around a country to the east of Berdonia . The citizens of this country seem to be unaffected of what was going on in the bigger world . To them the war was a foolish thing the bigger countries decided to do . In this little country called Linowa that was at the edge of the continent, the mercenary system wasn¡¯t being used . This was a country that had little military power, but because it was being shielded by the bigger country of Berdonia and two other friendly countries, it didn¡¯t feel the need to strengthen their own military power . In fact they found the idea of military power sickening .

    Most of the people in Linow found the actions of the people of the three super powered countries idiotic and disgusting . They hated the Granado Empire that kept on attacking the surrounding nations, states, and countries . They didn¡¯t like Berdonia either, as the way they handled the situation was too barbaric in their point of view . The people of Linow believed the only reason Berdonia was attacked was simply because they didn¡¯t try to find a proper diplomatic solution . Finally the people of Linow also didn¡¯t like the Southern Union for squeezing themselves into the conflict of the two countries .

    Oliver who was currently staying in this country while looking for the base of the Shadow Mercenaries, was starting to get a bit irritated . He wanted to so badly hit these idiotic people of this idiotic country . Hearing them keep on spouting BS as if they were so much better than everyone else got on Oliver¡¯s nerves . It¡¯s not like their country was special or anything, they weren¡¯t even that technological advanced . The only thing the Linowans had going for them, was that there country has the lowest crime rate in the continent, aside from that they had nothing .

    ¡¯What the f*ck do this people think will happen if Berdonia falls to the Empire? Do they think the Empire wouldn¡¯t do anything to them? Do they truly believe the BS that they¡¯re spouting? I hope they aren¡¯t thinking that as long as they try and talk to the Emperor, the Emperor of the Granado Empire would listen to them? The same Emperor that¡¯s called the "Blood stained Emperor . " These people are fools, why are the Berdonians dying in droves while these fools get to live and mock them?¡¯

    Oliver just got even more irritated as he was thinking about it . He was actually hoping the Empire would try and invade Linowa¡¯s sea borders . Once they experience the threat of the Empire, he was sure all their arrogance will disappear . The moment the Empire invades this ce, Oliver was sure they would beg the other countries to help them . Just thinking about that made Oliver feel a bit better .

    . . .

    While Oliver and Specter were walking on the sidewalk, both of them noticed that they were being followed . The two looked at one other then nodded . After that brief interaction Oliver and Specter quickly started running towards a nearby alleyway .

    The people pursuing them followed the two into the alleyway, they then saw Oliver and Specter turning right at a corner . The moment the pursuers were about to turn right, they quickly got their guns out and pointed it at Oliver and Specter, who were also aiming weapons at the two stalkers .

    "Kris, Joseph . . . What do you two want? Are you finally here to execute us traitors?" Oliver spoke to the two familiar faces, with a frown on his face .

    "No, we¡¯re here to do something else . " Kris responded calmly, while talking to Oliver he and Joseph hid their weapons . Seeing the two hiding their weapons Oliver and Specter did the same thing .

    "So you finally figured out that Hektor was fooling everyone . " Specter spoke while looking at his two formerrades, still a bit wary .

    "Yeah, that b*stard was even able to somehow trick the old monster . He¡¯s been nning this for such a long time . " Joseph joined in the conversation . When Specter heard what Joseph said, he couldn¡¯t help but sneer .

    "Do you truly believe that the old man wouldn¡¯t notice? I bet he¡¯s allowing this, since to him nothing we do that isn¡¯t rted to him is worth anything . "

    "That¡¯s were you¡¯re wrong . This n of Hektor doesn¡¯t just involve us, it involves everyone in this continent, that includes that old monster . If the old monster knew Hektor¡¯s n and did nothing, then that must mean he¡¯s truly crazy, or he¡¯s just that confident that he would survive . If you ask me thetter would be in line with the old monster¡¯s personality . "

    When Specter and Oliver heard what Kris said they got confused . At first the two thought that Hektor was simply nning on killing Oliver and Richter, but based on what Kris said that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case .

    "Kris will you tell us everything you know about Hektor¡¯s ns . " Oliver suddenly spoke in a very cold tone . The moment the other three heard Oliver¡¯s voice they shivered . Their reaction could be considered normal, since not only was Oliver speaking coldly he was also emitting bloodlust that could make even the most hardened merc shiver .

    "Sure, we dide here with the intention to tell you guys everything . " Kris then started to tell everything they could figure out about Hektor¡¯s ns . It was just a roughyout of the n, and Kris and Joseph didn¡¯t know how Hektor ns to implement it, but just the basic thought was enough to make anyone feel fear .

    After hearing everything Kris had to say, Oliver suddenly hit the wall of a building making a huge crack .

    "What the hell is that b*stard thinking?! He really has gone insane, or was he insane from the beginning?! Sh*t what the hell does he hope to aplish with such a n?! Is this really all for getting revenge for my mother? . . . "

    Oliver shouted in anger, but thest part was said in a whisper . Specter on the other hand, had a different reaction when he heard of Hektor¡¯s real n . Specter felt extremely irritated at himself for being so naive . He wasn¡¯t expecting the n to be this grand .

    While the two were having a mental breakdown after hearing Hektor¡¯s ns, Joseph remembered something important that he needed to tell Oliver .

    "James, there was something else we needed to tell you . The old man has ordered us to capture your friends from the Mercenary Club . "

    Oliver who was contemting what to do next, was stunned to hear that Richter ordered to capture his friends . That old man didn¡¯t really care about anything else aside from destroying the Granado Empire . Why would someone like that care about a bunch of high school students?

    "Why? What does he want from them? Does he n on using them to threaten me, and show me what happens when one of us betrays the organization?"

    "No, it¡¯s not because of that . Do you really think the old man would care about your betrayal that much? To him we¡¯re nothing more than dogs . " Kris looked at Oliver as if he was stupid .

    "Then why?"

    "It turns out, your friend Alexander Samarita, was actually Dalvir Greyhound, the living breathing grandson of the old man . "

    Oliver looked at Kris dumbfounded, Alex was the old monster¡¯s grandson?

 Chapter 320

    Chapter 320

    While Oliver was still surprised by the revtion that Alex was actually Richter¡¯s grandson, he and the others suddenly felt something dangerous was right behind them . The four of them quickly got their weapons out and went back to back with each other to cover their blindspots .

    Someone was here, and it was someone on the same level as Hektor or possibly even stronger . The only people stronger than Hektor at his full strength that are alive, were only a few . Yet all of those people were monster in human skin . The four of them who had their guards up heard footsteps echoing through the alleyway .

    At the corner of the alleyway they saw a hooded figure with a scythe at hand, the scythe wasn¡¯t the typical war scythe nor was it the same as the scythe used for farming . The scythe the hooded figure carried was the same as the one the Reaper of souls carried, it was a death scythe .

    Each of the four then directed their guns towards the hooded figure . All of them knew who this person was, this was a person who had a simr status as Hektor inside the organization . He was a person with a mysterious origin, that only Richter knew of . No one in the organization even knew his name, all except for Richter .

    The person who was most loyal to Richter, his right hand man, the person everyone called the Executioner . He was the one who dealt with all traitors inside the Shadow Mercenaries . The only traitors he allows to live, were the ones that Richter has approved of .

    The executioner was now face to face with the four traitors . His face covered by a mask and only his eyes could be seen, his cold brown eyes which was looking directly at the four .

    "James Bourne, Raphael Rihan, Joseph Herald, and Kris Braun . Our leader, Richter Greyhound, has told me to give you four onest chance . He ordered me to tell you four to ept your punishments and return to the organization . If you do notply then I was given the privilege to decide the fates of you four . So what are your answers?"

    "Sorry, but I can¡¯t go back to such an organization . Not only did you guys kidnap my friends, one of your members is nning to destroy humanity, and the old man is allowing it . Such an organization needs to be destroyed . " Oliver answered with a smile on his face .

    "I¡¯m with Oliver, my mission and the organization¡¯s mission no longer coincide with each other . " Specter gave out his answer as well .

    "Heh, we might have the same goals, but the way you guys want to deal with it crosses a line a cannot cross . " Joseph spoke while frowning .

    "I can no longer follow the crazy old man . I always thought he was someone worth following, because of his overwhelming strength, but turns out he was just an insane old man . " Kris answered while shrugging his shoulders .

    While answering the four never let their guard down, since all of them were extremely wary of the Executioner . The man in front of them has never allowed a person to escape his grasp . He was the only one Richter truly trust as his subordinate . The old monster evenmented once, that the Executioner was the only one he approves as a worthy subordinate .

    That alone showed the quality of the Executioner¡¯s work . Hearing the answers of the four former members of the Shadow Mercenaries, made the Executioner sigh as he got his scythe ready . He then pounded the t end of the handle onto the ground .

    " Very well, I have heard your answers . . . The four of you are all used of treachery, as your judge, jury, and executioner I have decided that your sentence to be death . " When the Executioner said this he suddenly threw his scythe .

    In the confine space of the alleyway, the four had no room to dodge properly . The only way they could dodge the iing scythe, was either to jump upward or duck . The four of them quickly decided to duck . The scythe passed by them and as they were about to stand and start shooting at the executioner, they saw that he suddenly disappeared in front of them .

    Oliver¡¯s instincts kicked in, which made him raise his sword which was greeted by a downward blow by the Executioner¡¯s scythe . When Oliver was able to sessfully block the attack, the other three had their guns pointed at the Executioner, but they couldn¡¯t get a clear shot since Oliver was too close .

    Seeing that the other three were about to shoot at him, the Executioner let go of his scythe, which made Oliver lose bnce, because of the sudden release of weight which caught him by surprise . The second he lost his bnce, the Executioner gave him a kick right at his abdomen .

    Oliver was quick to react as he changed the position of his sword to block the iing kick . Even though he was able to block using his sword, the kick was still able to push Oliver backward . Seeing that Oliver was now fully blocking their shot, Joseph took out a grenade and threw it at the Executioner .

    Seeing the iing grenade the Executioner cut it in half using his scythe and at the same time he jumped backward . The moment he cut the grenade in half it exploded but the strength of the explosion was lessened . When the four saw that the grenade made the Executioner distance himself from them, they quickly started to run away .

    In that short exchange with the Executioner, the four of them knew that they were in a disadvantage fighting the Executioner in such a narrow space . So without even nning it, the four of the came to the same conclusion which was to run away to a better location .

    The four of them started to wall jump upward, until they reached the rooftop of the building . Without stopping the four of them kept on running and jumping from building to building . They didn¡¯t even bother to look behind them .

    Kris who was the slowest among them due to how heavy his equipment was, felt something strange . He quickly tried to discard his weapons to lighten his load . The moment he was about to finish throwing his extra rifle, he felt a burning sensation on his left hand .

    When he looked at his left hand, he saw that it was no longer there . Kris didn¡¯t panic when he saw this, as he continued running while stopping the blood flowing out his left arm . At that moment he knew that the Executioner was right behind him .

    The other three who were in front of him, haven¡¯t notice anything yet since all of them were focus on running as far away as possible . Kris made a decision not to say anything, since it was possible that his warning might dy them from escaping . Even a second matters if they wanted to survive against the Executioner .

    That was when Kris decided to stop and dy the Executioner for as long as he could . He knew that by doing that he was signing his death warrant, but he also knew that if he didn¡¯t fight he would die anyway, since he couldn¡¯t outrun the enemy .

    ¡¯I hope you guys will be able to kill this b*stard . ¡¯ Kris who was looking at the backs of the other three, wryly smiled . After that, Kris took out a pistol and started shooting behind him . Kris then stopped running and faced the Executioner .

    Seeing Kris stopping in front of him, the Executioner quickly figured out what Kris was nning to do . Knowing that if he was dyed too long, the other three would be escape, the Executioner needed to finish Kris as fast as possible .

 Chapter 321

    Chapter 321

    The Executioner was a person who recently joined the Shadow Mercenaries . He was someone the old monster, Richter Greyhound, brought back from somewhere, He joined the Shadow Mercenaries, right before James Bourne was supposedly killed . So Oliver had seen the Executioner but only a few times, yet for some reason felt some kind of familiarity with him . Even the others from the Shadow Mercenaries were able to quickly ept the Executioner, not only due to his strength but also for the sense of familiarity he brought with him . It was like he was someone they all knew from a long time ago .

    The Executioner himself actually had no idea who he was . When he woke up he was in ab of sorts, and Richter was the first person he saw . Of course the first question that popped up in his mind, when he got up was, "Who are you? Where am I? . . . . And Who am I?"

    When Richter heard the Executioner ask these questions, he couldn¡¯t help but show a sadistic smile on his face .

    "You are my subordinate, my most trusted subordinate . Right now you¡¯re in myb, where I tried to revive you from certain death . As you can see it was a sess, but it looks like your memory has been wiped clean . Well no matter, losing ones memory in exchange for life isn¡¯t such a bad trade . . . Hmm, I know you have a lot of questions right now, but I need to ask this of you now . Are you once again willing to be my subordinate?"

    When the Executioner heard Richter¡¯s question, he silently looked at the old man . He had no memories and had no idea what was happening right now, but the man before him was his benefactor . Richter was the one who saved him from certain death, and Richter had also imed that he was his subordinate before . Also for some reason he feltpelled to listen to Richter .

    "What will happen if I say no?"

    Richter shrugged his shoulders before answering .

    "Well I can¡¯t really force you, and I don¡¯t need a subordinate that I can¡¯t trust . I already have a lot of those kinds of subordinates . So if you don¡¯t want to be my subordinate once more, then so be it, you are free to live your life the way you want to . "

    While the Executioner was listening to Richter¡¯s answer, he felt something within himself got triggered . The Executioner got out of the bed he was on, and knelt in front of Richter .

    "I will dly be your subordinate . " Seeing the Executioner act like that, made Richter smile as if everything was going as nned .

    "I once again ept you as my right hand man . So for now you need a new identity, your old name, and your old ways need to be reced . Hmm . . . . I new name, since you already died once, you no longer need a name, a person that has lost and died in battle is no longer worthy of having a name . So instead I will give you a new job and that job will be your name, from now until your second death you will be called the Executioner . Your job is as the name implies you are an Executioner, you will be my de to cull out the traitors . Oh, how about I give you this as your main weapon . "

    Richter gave the Executioner a scythe that looked like the reapers scythe .

    "Though as a weapon it¡¯s pretty hard to use, but I¡¯m sure you would be able to effectively use it . I want you to use this weapon to give an image of fear . Every time they see you holding that scythe, they will all think that Death hase to im them . "

    After that Richter started to exin about the Shadow Mercenaries and what kind of organization it was . The Executioner didn¡¯t really have any opinion about being a mercenary, he didn¡¯t even quite understand why the Empire was evil . Yet for some reason all he cared about right now, was to serve Richter to the fullest of his capabilities .

    . . .

    A few years have passed and the Executioner had stayed within the Shadow Mercenaries . He had met various members of the organization . He now understood thatpared to the people of the outside, those in the Shadow Mercenaries, were made for battle . They were a group specially made to face the horrors of the battlefield . Their numbers might be little, but they could hold their own against a small nations army .

    Still because they were above average, and they were all extremely talented, they also had very big egos . Every now and then an agent woulde out that believes he could be the top dog, or he was not being used correctly in the organization . These people would usually start trouble, some of them would try and be the new leader by trying to kill Richter, the others wanted to create their own organization and wanted to destroy the Shadow Mercenaries from within, others would sell ssified information to outside organizations, and most would try and leave the organization after stealing something valuable .

    All of them were considered as traitors and it was the Executioner¡¯s job as Richter¡¯s de to kill all traitors . Over the years, ever since he became the Executioner he had killed over a hundred members of the Shadow Mercenaries . No matter who they were, or how many they were he killed them all with ease .

    It didn¡¯t matter what their reasons were, nor did it matter what kind of person they were . All that betray Richter, will die by the Executioner¡¯s de .

    Even through all these years the Executioner never questioned Richter, actually every time he tried to do that, his head would start to hurt, so in the end he thought that only happened because he had treacherous thoughts and he wasn¡¯t suppose to have any .

    He continued to be the de that would strike fear among all of those who oppose Richter¡¯smands . He had no sense of self, and was in the end only a weapon, and he lived as a weapon . If he ever had a human self it died on the day he was revived by Richter, and there he was reborn as the Executioner¡¯s de .

 Chapter 322

    Chapter 322

    Oliver and the others had safely distanced themselves from the Executioner . They were so focused on running they that they didn¡¯t notice that one of them was missing . The three of them with no knowledge of what happened to Kris, kept on running forward heading outside of the city .

    . . .

    Kris who was left behind tried his very best to dy the Executioner for as long as he could, but that proved to be quite difficult since he was outmatched in every way . The few seconds he tried to dy the Executioner, Kris got some of his toes cut off, and he had numerous scratches on him .

    The Executioner was surprise to see Kris still alive, since from the start all of his attacks were meant to im the enemy¡¯s life in one strike . Yet here stood Kris who was able to survive ten shes from him . The Executioner could no longer see Oliver and the others . Well not that it matters that much to him, it will only make the job a bit more tedious, but that was all . In the end all shall die by the Executioner¡¯s de .

    "Damn it, if I¡¯m going to die then I better go all in! I hope you¡¯re ready Executioner!" Kris took out two Syringes and injected himself with it . One of the syringes had the nanomachines in it . Unlike Richter, Hektor, and the Executioner, Kris wasn¡¯t a person that could handle the nanomahcines . To be able to fully utilize the nanomachines, a person must have a strong mind bordering insanity, and a body strong enough to withstand the infusion of the nanomachines into the bloodstream .

    Kris wasn¡¯t someone capable enough to use the nanomachines, that¡¯s why he injected himself with a serum that enhances his body¡¯s functions for five minutes . The drawback of using this serum, was after the five minute mark the person who uses it would feel extreme exhaustion, and the body would be paralyzed for about twenty seconds, which would give the enemy all the time to kill him ten times over .

    Kris didn¡¯t really care about the side effects since this might be hisst time breathing . After he injected himself with the two, Kris felt his body heating up . The lost hand and toes could no longer be healed, but the pain was now gone .

    The Executioner wasn¡¯t really bothered by this final stand, and attacked . Kris tossed a gun upwards then he took out another pistol and started shooting . The Executioner was able to easily deflect the bullets, and was now close enough to slice the opponent¡¯s head off .

    Kris who was being boosted by the serum that was injected into him could now clearly see the Executioner¡¯s movements . So with that boost he was now able to somehow predict and counter the Executioner¡¯s moves, Kris then tried to kick the Executioner¡¯s abdomen . The Executioner was able to react on time and blocked using the scythe¡¯s shaft . Kris strength which was enhanced was able to make the Executioner stagger from that kick, with that dy Kris was able to jump upward and caught the gun he tossed seconds ago .

    Kris then started raining bullets at the Executioner . The Executioner was unable to regain bnce in time and got hit by some bullets, before he was able to evade by jumping backward and dodging sideways .

    This was the first time he had gotten damaged while hunting traitors . Though the wound quickly healed because of the nanomachines, the shock he received was still there . The Executioner was expecting Kris¡¯ abilities to rise because of the things he injected into himself, but the Executioner didn¡¯t expect it to be to this degree .

    The Executioner who was momentarily shocked in his mind, continued evading Kris¡¯ shots . Once Kris ran out of bullets the Executioner charged inward and chopped downward . Kris was able to block the scythe using his handgun, but then he felt something pierced through his skin .

    In retaliation Kris did a somersault kick hitting the Executioner¡¯s mask . The mask the Executioner was wearing was blown away as he staggered a bit . Kris on the other hand, was also feeling a bit unstable .

    The Executioner was actually able to throw a knife coated with poison while they were shing . The knife stuck into Kris¡¯ stomach . Kris got a hold of the knife and took it out, the pain assaulted him but only momentarily . The nanomachines inside of Kris wasn¡¯t able to fix the wound while the poison was spreading .

    So first the nanomachines made Kris puke out the poison . Kris started coughing out blood, and with it the poison . Once the poison was gone the nanomachines started closing the wound . While all of these was happening Kris was looking at the Executioner . Even though he was a bit dizzy he couldn¡¯t let his guard down .

    The Executioner who no longer had a mask on, stabilized himself and calmly looked at Kris . When Kris saw who was in front of him, he couldn¡¯t hide his surprise .

    "How could it be you!? Aren¡¯t you already dead?"

    The Executioner already knew that Kris was moving on borrowed time, and the other prey he was hunting down could never escape him . So the Executioner decided to indulge Kris with a conversation, since it looked like he knew him before his death .

    "You are correct I already died once before . I no longer remain the me of before . I¡¯m no longer a human, and have been reborn as a weapon, as the leader¡¯s Executioner¡¯s de . "

    When Kris heard what the Executioner said, he looked at him with a confused expression .

    "Huh? Why are you talking like that? Are you really him . . . How are you still alive? . . . It can¡¯t be, that old monster actually revived you? No, that¡¯s not possible, you¡¯ve been dead for quite some time . If he was able to resurrect dead people, he would have resurrected the first Patriarch of the Greyhound family . . . Also the way you look it doesn¡¯t seem like you aged from thest time I saw you . Are you perhaps a clone? But that can¡¯t be possible as well, even Richter couldn¡¯t perfectly replicate Phil and Margie¡¯s skill to create clones . If you¡¯re a failed clone you shouldn¡¯t be this strong . . . Tell me who are you really?"

    Kris started to babble in front of the Executioner, forgetting he was using borrowed time . Well that just goes to show, that seeing the real face of the Executioner was that surprising . The Executioner himself doesn¡¯t know the answer to Kris¡¯ questions, and really didn¡¯t care to answer any of those questions .

    "Like I said I already died, and the me right now is no longer the me of the past . It would seem that you knew me, but I¡¯m no longer the person in your memories . "

    When Kris was about to say something more, he finally felt the bacsh of using the strength enhancing serum . His body suddenly went numb, and then he felt the nanomachines inside of him going crazy . It was like thousands of ants were eating his innards .

    The Executioner seeing that the bacsh of using the strength enhancing serum, slowly approached Kris .

    "I no longer remember who you are . . . Still at some point you and I seem to be well acquainted with each other . So as a mercy, before the wild nanomachines inside of you go and devour you from the inside out, I will kill you . "

    The Executioner raised his scythe and sliced Kris¡¯ head off . Once the brain was detached from the body, the nanomachines that lived inside Kris¡¯ bloodstream stopped functioning . The Executioner then took a picture of Kris¡¯ head . This was the proof of the kill that he needed to send to Richter .

    After taking the picture, the Executioner walked towards the mask that was blow away . He picked it up and wore it . He then remembered what Kris said, ¡¯Revival or a clone? Richter did say he revived me from near death . . . Was that the truth?¡¯

    When the Executioner thought of that, his head suddenly started to hurt real badly . ¡¯Sh*t! I don¡¯t have time for such idle thoughts I need to go and chase the traitors . ¡¯ Once the Executioner¡¯s thoughts veered away from his question the pain he felt disappeared .

    Every time he started to think of who he was, this would happen, and the only way to stop the pain was to think of something else . The Executioner was already used to this, so he was able to quickly change his thoughts .

    The Executioner no longer continued to think about whatever Kris said, and once again initiated his chase of the traitors .

 Chapter 323

    Chapter 323

    After dealing with Kris the Executioner sent the picture of Kris¡¯ head to Richter . The Executioner also sent a message asking Richter if he could go all out . He exined that the three remaining traitors would be harder to kill, especially since he needed to capture Oliver alive .

    Richter who received the message didn¡¯t really like the idea of the Executioner going all out on some small fry . The whole reason he was making the Executioner always hold back was for training purposes . When he revived the Executioner he immediately noticed that he was weaker than before, so to regain his former strength he set some restrictions for the Executioner to retrain his body and techniques .

    One of the restrictions ced on him was that he could only use half of his strength at all times . Another restriction was the weapon he could use which was limited to the scythe and knives . Aside from those two weapons the Executioner couldn¡¯t use any other weapons, especially a gun, even though he was most proficient in using that . Richter had ced other restrictions but those two were the most important .

    Still, even with those restrictions in ce, the Executioner was stronger than most . The only people that could match him one on one in the Shadow Mercenaries, were of course Richter and the real Hektor .

    When Richter saw that the Executioner was finally getting back into his top form, he was excited . Almost as excited as he was when he saw Alex was finally nearing the stage of bing the perfect Greyhound . Now that the Executioner was so near to bing stronger than he was before, Richter didn¡¯t really like him to release any of the restrictions .

    Still, Richter also needed Oliver to be brought back alive for the reunion he had n for his grandson . He didn¡¯t really care about the other traitors, since they don¡¯t really amount to anything in his eyes, and he could always rece them .

    After a few minutes of thought Richter replied to the Executioner¡¯s message .

    "You can use seventy percent of you strength, and the weighted cloak that your wearing you can remove it . "

    When the Executioner read Richter¡¯s reply he immediately removed the cloak he was wearing . The moment it fell onto the ground it made a heavy thud sound . The cloak he was wearing was one of the restrictions ced on him, as it had the same weight as the Executioner himself .

    After the Executioner removed the cloak he felt extremely light . He started jumping up and down to get a feel of the weight, since it¡¯s been years when hest had no cloak on . Richter didn¡¯t allow him to remove the cloak he was even forced to bathe with it . Which was another difficulty that he had to figure out .

    . . .

    When the Executioner got a better feel of his body and was about to give chase he received another message from Richter .

    "Now that I have allowed you to remove two of your restrictions, I no longer expect you to kill Raphael and Joseph . You should bring them back to base, for some reeducation . I have a lot of things I want to try out . "

    The Executioner replied with one word, "Affirmative . " Once he was done replying to Richter the Executioner went into a four point start position . He then bursted forward making a crack on the ground where he stood . The speed he was moving while running and jumping from building to building made him look like a human bullet .

    . . .

    While he was fighting Kris, the Executioner was able to keep his attention on both Kris and the fading figures of Oliver and the others . So he was able to see where the three were running towards before he lost sight of them . He just needed to guess which direction they would head to . The amount of time they had to distance themselves from the Executioner was only seven minutes tops, which means that they couldn¡¯t have gone far .

    Also they must be thinking of fighting in an open space to maximize their advantage in numbers . In the direction they escaped towards there was only one ce that fit all the requirements . Now that he had a direction in mind the Executioner sped up . After a few minutes of running he finally saw the backs of the three that fled .

    It would seem that they were about to reach their destination as the rice field could be seen . The Executioner that could no longer kill Joseph and Raphael, couldn¡¯t just finish them off by throwing the poison daggers he had at hand . If he threw them now, with the element of surprise he should have been able to instantly kill one of them .

    . . .

    So instead of doing that, he just overtook them . When Oliver and the others saw the Executioner passed by them, they finally stopped running . At this point they didn¡¯t really mind stopping since they finally reached the destination they wanted to reach .

    When the three of them stopped running, they finally noticed that Kris was no longer with them . They didn¡¯t even need to ask since the three of them could already guess what happened to Kris . The three of them then took out their weapons and surrounded the Executioner who allowed them to get into position .

    Seeing how rxed the Executioner was than before, made the three even more wary . Aside from noticing that Kris was no longer with them, they also noticed that the Executioner was no longer wearing his hooded cloak, that exposed his very toned body which was wearing the same uniform as them . They also noticed that the Executioner was no longer in a hurry as he didn¡¯t immediately attacked them . Which meant that the Executioner was no longer messing around .

    When the three got into position, while the atmosphere was getting even more tense the Executioner spoke .

    "Rejoice I have been ordered to no longer kill you and instead simply capture you three . That is an order I have never received, except for now . So forgive me if I show you my ipetence . "

    Even while surrounded and all the guns pointed at him the Executioner remained ever calm . Since to him at his current state, the retaliation of the three was simply an opportunity to finally let loose a bit .

 Chapter 324

    Chapter 324

    The surrounded Executioner continued to wait for the three to attack . Even though he could end this battle in a sh, now that he had some of his restraints removed, he didn¡¯t do so since he wasn¡¯t sure if he might identally kill the three . Now that Richter ordered him to bring the three back alive, he just couldn¡¯t attack carelessly . Also he didn¡¯t really like the idea of ending the battle too quickly . Seeing as this was the first time he would be able to use at least seventy percent of his strength he wanted to get a better feel of it .

    The Executioner would always do his job in the most efficient way possible . Seeing as his job was just basically killing traitors, he just needed to kill his opponents in one strike . He was also ordered to show the opponent fear before death, so sometimes he needed to slowly approach the opponent, and once it was established that he was getting scared, the Executioner would kill the enemy .

    Yet now he was ordered to capture people alive . This was something new to him, so for now he nned to toy with his enemies until they show an opening giving him the chance to make them faint .

    . . .

    Joseph was the first to move as he threw a grenade . The Executioner using the scythe as a baseball bat swatted the grenade towards Raphael who shot it down in mid-air . This one move was the signal for the start of the battle .

    Raphael and Joseph started shooting at the Executioner who simply lowered his stance to evade the initial shots, and then swayed his body back and forth to evade the others . He then noticed that Oliver had gotten close enough to sh at him . The Executioner scooped arge amount of water from the rice field he was standing on and threw it at Oliver¡¯s face .

    Due to Oliver being extremely tense and wary, when he saw the Executioner move he was about ready to counter . So when the water was about to get close to his face Oliver did a chopping motion trying to slice the water . This gave the Executioner an opening to attack . The Executioner spun like a top and was about to hit Oliver in the face using the shaft of the scythe .

    Oliver let go of his sword and blocked the attack with his right hand . When he felt how strong the attack was he immediately used his other hand to block as well . Oliver was able to stop the strike and got hold of the Scythe¡¯s shaft . Oliver then tried to steal the Executioner¡¯s scythe .

    When Oliver tried to pull it away he couldn¡¯t even make the scythe budge from the Executioner¡¯s hands, it was stuck onto the Executioner¡¯s hands . Oliver who was taller and had a bigger frame than the Executioner was confused as to howe he was being outmatched in strength .

    ¡¯Is he using something simr to Alex¡¯s RELEASE technique?¡¯ When Oliver was about to change tactics he felt his body being lifted up . The Executioner was actually able to lift the scythe up alongside Oliver . The Executioner was then about make a move, when Oliver suddenly tried to strike him with a kick . The Executioner moved the scythe making Oliver who was holding onto it miss his target .

    While the two were fighting in closebat, Raphael silently snuck behind the Executioner . He created a spear using his outer nanomachines, and was about to strike but then the he felt an arm gripping his neck . The Executioner already noticed himing near, and just waited until he was close enough to grab onto Raphael¡¯s neck .

    Joseph who saw that both Oliver and Raphael were caught by the enemy threw a sh grenade right in front of the Executioner . Seeing the iing sh grenade the Executioner threw Raphael¡¯s body towards the grenade pushing it back towards Joseph . The sh grenade exploded hurting Raphael a bit and making both him and Joseph slightly disoriented .

    While he was distracted by Raphael and Joseph, the Executioner felt pain at his right hand . He looked and saw Oliver biting his hand like a wild animal . The Executioner even when his hand had Oliver¡¯s teeth being sunk in, didn¡¯t lighten his grip on his scythe .

    Oliver then wrapped his whole body onto the Executioner¡¯s hand and wanted to break it, but even using his whole body¡¯s weight he couldn¡¯t move even one hand of the Executioner .

    At this moment the Executioner already knew that he could easily capture Oliver and the others, but he felt like it was a waste . He then whispered to himself, "This isn¡¯t enough . " Oliver didn¡¯t hear what the Executioner said, but he felt like the person was mocking him . Oliver let go of the Executioner¡¯s hand then took out a gun he hid and pointed it at the Executioner¡¯s head and pulled the trigger .

    The Executioner even in such a close distance was actually able to catch the bullet with his mouth and spitted it out .

    "What the f*ck are you?!" Oliver couldn¡¯t believe his eyes, when he saw this . ¡¯Does this monster have any weaknesses at all?¡¯ Oliver then started shooting at the Executioner¡¯s face . He shot and shot until all the bullets have been used, but as expected even in this distance the Executioner was able to evade with ease . After shooting thest bullet, Oliver charged forward and threw a punch with all of his weight behind it .

    The Executioner was going to deflect the strike, but when he tried he was pleasantly surprised to see that it was too strong for him to deflect . The Executioner then instead disrupted Oliver¡¯s bnce by kicking his shin . Once Oliver was off bnced he felt a pinch to the back of his head and lost consciousness .

    . . .

    The Executioner made all three of his targets faint, and then proceeded to inject them with Propofol . When the Executioner saw the unconscious body of the three he felt slightly disappointed . The fight with Kris was harder than this . Still a mission was a mission and he hadpleted his perfectly .

    "Time to head back to base . "

 Chapter 325

    Chapter 325

    Alex finally woke up from the humiliating defeat at the hands of his grandfather . Upon waking the first thing he did was to sit down in his isted room and think in silence . Thest fight proved that his grandfather wasn¡¯t really fighting him that seriously . This made Alex have a question, of how could a sixty year old man even move like that . It also seems like for each passing day instead of getting older Richter was instead getting younger .

    Alex shook his head, as his mind started to flow into that direction . That¡¯s not the thing he should be thinking about right now . What he should be thinking about right now, is how he and his friends are suppose to survive the uing trial .

    Alex knew that his friends were extraordinary individuals, but this time they would be facing a true monster . This would be the same as the time they yed tag with Lyner, but this time it¡¯s with a psychopathic monster of an old man .

    Alex was sure that no matter how strong his friends have gotten, when Richter makes a move, Alex was sure his friends wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything . In front of that person all of them were but helpless children . Even though Alex hated his grandfather to his very core, he still acknowledge the old man¡¯s inhuman strength and abilities .

    Now that Richter has proimed he would bring all his friends from the mercenary club to have a reunion with him, that was all Alex needed to hear to know that it was good as done . He hasn¡¯t seen the old man go back on his word, since everything he said has happened .

    ¡¯What should I do Rachel . . . Dad . . . ?¡¯ Alex hated this, not only was he imprisoned by his very own grandfather, his friends were also being affected by his own problems . Because of him, they might die, because of him they were being pulled into such a horrible situation .

    Once again because of him, the people he loves would die . Once again because of his weakness he felt only hopelessness . Alex gritted his teeth, as he tried to stop himself from crying .

    "What the f*ck am I doing!?" Alex shouted as he punched the floor making his room shake a bit . ¡¯Why the hell am I about to cry?! The f*ck will crying do?! Instead of feeling sorry for myself shouldn¡¯t I do something about this situation?!¡¯

    Alex then remembered the confident smile on the face of his teacher, Lyner . Wasn¡¯t he the one who showed him, that no matter how dire the situation, and no matter what kind of disadvantage you might have, as long as you persevere a way to victory would always appear .

    As Alex gained a renewed sense of purpose he started racking his brain until he could reach an answer to his predicament . Yet no matter how much he thought about it, in his mind his grandfather was able to counter anything and everything he thought of . Richter was there in the back of his mind, always looking at him in disappointment .

    In this one year Richter was able to deeply ingrain in Alex¡¯s mind, that he could pretty much predict anything Alex would do . That was when Alex reached the conclusion that the best course of action was to kill everyone else and let Rachel live . When the thought of this came into his head Alex started pounding his head onto the wall of his room .

    "What the hell are you thinking Alexander Samarita! This is what that old b*stard wants you to do! Are you truly willing to once again be Dalvir Greyhound, the sad little boy looking for his grandfather¡¯s approval . The sad little boy who lost his parents because of his weakness!"

    Alex started angrily berating himself, while he continued to pound his head .

    If it was the Alex before he regained his emotions, he would have chosen to kill all the others without any hesitation . Seeing as his mission was to protect Rachel, and in the end be happy . In his current state to protect Rachel he needed to kill all his other friends, and to be happy after the fact Rachel was needed .

    Yet now that he has regained his emotions and memories, killing his friends would never lead to happiness, for that would haunt him for all eternity . Alex who was hitting his head onto the wall, hated himself for even thinking about it .

    Killing his friends for Rachel¡¯s sake wouldn¡¯t make him happy, it would even make Rachel hate him . Alex finally calmed down when his head started to bleed .

    Richter who was watching as usual, was feeling amused by his grandson¡¯s dilemma . As long as he is able to go beyond this, he would be practically touching the realm of being a perfect Greyhound . Richter could already see it, the future where Alex finally bes the Greyhound he had envisioned . At that time his grandson with his very own hands would kill him .

    While Alex kills him he would look at him with those emotionless eyes . The same eyes Richter saw when Alex was six . Those same eyes that could make even Richter shiver in both fear and excitement . Those eyes would be looking directly at him as his life slowly fades away .

    The eyes Alex showed him that one time, the potential he saw in them was amazing . Those were the eyes that had nothing in them, only pure logic and rationality . When Alex reaches that stage one more time, would be the time Richter would die, and he would have willingly give his life .

    ¡¯If my death would bring about the strongest Greyhound, the most perfect Greyhound, then so be it . The life of a failure like me is a small price to pay, to witness the birth of the pinnacle . ¡¯

    Richter smiled as he thought about his approaching end, and the birth of the Greyhound he continued to look for .

    . . .

    Alex who was finally able to calm down, started to think about other ways to escape and once he wasn¡¯t able to think of anything new, Alex started punching the wall where the exit of his room was located .

    Alex continued to punch the wall with all his strength . His punches now were so strong each one of them had the strength to pulverize boulders . Alex kept on punching and punching, as the sound of booming echoed throughout his room .

    After a while Alex¡¯s hands started to bleed from all the punching he was doing . ¡¯What the hell was all that training for?! If in the end I still couldn¡¯t protect anyone . What¡¯s the reason for the strength I amassed? Wasn¡¯t it so that I would never feel the same pain I felt back then . That pain that led me to seal all of my emotions and memories away . All that I sacrificed just so that I would never feel that helpless again . Yet look at me even after all those years, I¡¯m still that helpless little boy in front of his grandfather . ¡¯

    Alex finally stopped punching, and started to silently cry as he knelt down on the ground .

    . . .

    Richter who saw Alex crying sighed . "Still too weak . . . Don¡¯t worry my beloved grandson, I¡¯ll be sure to grant you the strength that you so desire . "

 Chapter 326

    Chapter 326

    While Alex was feeling the hopelessness and despair engulfing him, Richter finally received a piece of good news . The most important guest has finally arrived . Samuel had already brought her to the detention room near Alex¡¯s .

    Richter excitedly headed towards the room, where he saw Samuel guarding the outside . In one look Richter could guess what kind of difficulty Samuel and the others had to go through in order to capture Rachel . The wounds were treated, and the ones that could be seen outside of the uniform were all covered up . It was obvious that his subordinates were hiding how disappointing they were .

    Still Richter didn¡¯t bother to reprimand Samuel, he would do thatter when all of them were here .

    "You¡¯re dismissed . . . Samuel, in light of recent events I expect you to train harder than before . " When Samuel heard what Richter said, his body started to tremble in fear as he saluted the old man and then retreated from his position . Once Samuel was gone from his sight, Richter opened the door to Rachel¡¯s room .

    Upon entering the room Richter saw a girlying on the floor asleep . It would seem that Samuel was forced to drug her . Richter slowly approached Rachel¡¯s body, but when he got close enough the lifeless body suddenly bounced awake and attacked Richter .

    Rachel was in her basic RELEASE form as she attacked Richter, but even with that, Richter was able to easily catch Rachel¡¯s punch . She then saw the old man in front of her smiling at her .

    "Oh, that¡¯s a pretty good punch . Your power is a bit lower than your father¡¯s, but with that one punch I can sense that you would surpass him eventually . "

    Rachel didn¡¯t bother talking to Richter, as she tried to pull her hand away from Richter¡¯s grasp, but couldn¡¯t . Rachel was shocked to learn even in her RELEASE state she couldn¡¯t overpower the old man in front of her . With what she has seen, Rachel had now a good guess on who she was facing at this moment .

    "You¡¯re Alex¡¯s grandfather . " Richter hearing what Rachel said smiled as she tossed the girl back .

    "Very good, now little girl show me more of what you¡¯re capable of . " Richter stretched his arms outward giving himself a lot of openings to exploit . When Rachel saw how Richter acted, she felt that the old man was mocking her . Still she didn¡¯t charged in, since now that she knew who she was facing, Rachel became a bit cautious . This person in front of her was able to easily defeat her father, Alex, and Niel . If that wasn¡¯t enough he was also a person who was able to escape the chasing Lyner .

    When Richter saw that Rachel wasn¡¯t making a move, he frowned .

    "Being cautious is good and all, but what happened to overflowing energy of youth . . . Little girl nothing will happen if you just stare at my face . Hmm I guess you aren¡¯t motivated enough . I wanted to see what kind of girl my grandson fell for, but if you keep on being silent like that, and don¡¯t start moving I won¡¯t see anything at all . . . Let¡¯s see how about I give you a prize, if you¡¯re able to beat me or kill me, you can have the master key hidden somewhere in my body . That master key is something that unlocks every room in this base . You can use it to escape with Alex who¡¯s just next door . "

    When Rachel heard that Alex was in the room next to her, Rachel¡¯s heart shook greatly . This was the closest she got to Alex after a whole year . Just a little bit more, and she could meet him again . Still that wasn¡¯t enough for her to simply attack Richter . It was obvious that he was agitating her into attacking .

    Richter looked at Rachel and found it amusing that even with that kind of incentive she wasn¡¯t charging in . ¡¯This girl has a lot more self control than her father . ¡¯ Richter now understood that Rachel wasn¡¯t the hotblooded type like her father, so he decided to do something else . Richter took an earpiece from his pocket andmunicated with a subordinate .

    Rachel who was watching Richter closely, waited to see what he would do next . A few moments after talking in his earpiece, a tv screen came down from the ceiling . It then showed a room with a boy sitting down in a corner, his face was bleeding and so was his hands . The boy was crying as the clear look of despair was shown in his face . Rachel was able to quickly identify who that boy was, it was none other than Alexander Samarita .

    Rachel couldn¡¯t believe her eyes, the boy whose expression remained always stoic, was now crying in a corner with a mix of despair and fear showing on his face . Rachel couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine what kind of horrors Alex must¡¯ve endured to be like that .

    "What have you done to Alex!" Rachel suddenly shouted at the old man in front of her .

    "Nothing much, I was just training him . " Richter nonchntly replied .

    "Training!? You called that training?! That¡¯s your own grandson, your own flesh and blood! How can you treat him like that!"

    "Don¡¯t talk like you know anything little girl . What I¡¯m doing is showering my grandson with my love and affection . I¡¯m giving him the greatest gift that I could give . I¡¯m giving him the chance to be the perfect Greyhound . " Richter¡¯s tone suddenly got a bit colder as he answered Rachel .

    "That¡¯s your way of showing love!? Making your grandson cry, and making him have that look of despair on his face, is your way of showing love? Your mind must be a messed up ce if you think that way . "

    Hearing what Rachel said made Richter shrug his shoulders . "It doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t understand how great my love is for my grandson . Also it¡¯s not my fault he¡¯s showing that look of despair . For that one, the fault lies in you . "

    After saying what he wanted to say, Richter had the tv screen returned from where it came from . At this point he was no longer interested in talking to Rachel . Richter showed Rachel his back as he was about to leave .

    "What do you mean I¡¯m the one at fault for Alex feeling despair?!" Seeing Richter getting ready to leave, Rachel shouted at him . Richter didn¡¯t bother to answer anymore and was really about to leave, but before he could do so, Rachel bursted forward blocking his path .

    "Tell me!" Rachel looked at Richter angrily, but even then Richter didn¡¯t bother to look at Rachel as he continued onward without a care . Rachel then went into her full RELEASE state and attacked .

    Richter seeing the iing attack tried to block it, using the same move as before, but the moment he caught the punch, he felt his hands being pushed back . Richter then quickly tried to redirect the attack, but it was toote, his right hand got dislocated . He was surprised on how much power Rachel had, since he actually felt like his right hand would be blown away from his body .

    The nanomachines inside Richter¡¯s body started to fix the dislocated right arm . While that was happening Rachel continued to attack Richter . Now that he knew how strong Rachel was, he didn¡¯t bother to block the iing attacks anymore and instead started dodging the whole barrage of attacks .

    Richter couldn¡¯t help but smile seeing Rachel¡¯s reaction . ¡¯In the end she¡¯s still a kid . ¡¯ Even now, it turns out the whole flow of events were within Richter¡¯s expectations .

    ¡¯Now little girl show me if you are worthy to bear a child of a Greyhound . ¡¯

 Chapter 327

    Chapter 327

    Richter was quite amused by the way Rachel was attacking . Unlike her father who lived by the philosophy of one hit one kill, Rachel knew how to keep a chain of attacks going . It was obvious that she had another person teach her this, which she then implemented into her own martial arts . In pure power and speed alone Rachel wasn¡¯t at the same level as her father Dan, but in the technique department she has her father beat . This wasn¡¯t because Dan couldn¡¯t create properbination moves, he created some, but ultimately he never truly improved them to be able to be used in properbat, as he was focused in creating a martial art that needed only one attack to win . Rachel on the other hand used what Arthur Glory taught her, and mend them into her father¡¯sbination moves, thus creating a style of her own .

    A minute passed by and not once was Rachel able to hit Richter after that one time at the beginning . She noticed how calm the old man was being, as she barraged him with life threatening punches and kicks . His calm demeanour made her think that the old man was not of the same type as her teacher Lyner, who loved to battle and got excited while fighting .

    Yet their strength was simr as they were both went beyond human capabilities . Rachel was now fighting beyond her limit, while the opposing side was treating it as nothing more than a simple breeze .

    She only had around three and a half minutes left, until the bacsh assaults her . Rachel gritted her teeth and concentrated even harder as she tried to hit Richter . She already guessed that beating Richter by herself was near impossible, but hitting him wasn¡¯t, as proven by her earlier attack .

    At this point Rachel discarded her anger, and instead went into a state that was simr to the void state . Rachel was so concentrated in her goal of hitting Richter, that at this moment, she had discarded everything, her fate, her thoughts, her fears, her heart . She discarded it all as she focused her everything into hitting Richter .

    . . .

    Richter then saw the light in Rachel¡¯s eyes seem to be a bit darker, her eyes almost resembled Alex¡¯s that one time . It was at that moment Richter suddenly barely dodged one of Rachel¡¯s kicks . The kick simply nicked him a bit, but it was enough to rip a bit of his uniform . That was when Richter noticed that Rachel¡¯s moves became sharper . It was as if she discarded all excessive movements in favor of the more simpler ones .

    He was amazed at how much growth Rachel had in just a minute or two . She even did it while fighting him, though throughout the whole fight he never hit her, nor tried to counter . Since Richter knew the moment he attacked, Rachel would fall . Seeing as he wanted to see how much Rachel can do, this was the exact scenario he wished to see .

    To him this whole fight was nothing more than him ying around with his future inw .

    . . .

    Even though Rachel¡¯s speed didn¡¯t change, she was now able to somehow make Richter actually take her a bit seriously . There were two reasons for this . One her movements have be more direct and she no longergged in thinking about what to do next, so her punches and kicks had less intervals . Second she no longer telegraphed her attacks by looking at her targeted area . Before she entered this state, Rachel had the bad habit of looking at what she was about to hit, before hitting it . Even though she only looked at it for a fraction of a second, that was enough for Richter to notice her intent . Yet now that weakness wasn¡¯t there, so Richter needed to dodge the attacks as they wereing, since Rachel¡¯s bodynguage doesn¡¯t betray her intentions .

    After the four minute mark passed, and Rachel had only one more minute in using full RELEASE, Richter finally felt danger . Richter was forced to evade Rachel by distancing himself from her . When Richter saw what he did, he couldn¡¯t help but smile a bit .

    ¡¯I see, you are a bit worthy to bear the child of a Greyhound . My grandson did choose well in picking a mate . Now that we had our little fun, I guess it¡¯s time for a nap . ¡¯

    Richter who was passively dodging Rachel¡¯s attacks, suddenly bursted forward to attack . Rachel who was in a state of void wasn¡¯t surprised by this and instead of defending she initiated her own attack . Richter seeing this smiled, her choice was the right one . If she were fighting anyone else, then the opponent knowing her power would try and dodge . Yet that wasn¡¯t what Richter did, instead he went deeper into her attack range .

    Richter¡¯s left hand was punched making it bend in a very weird way . This was all within Richter¡¯s expectations since he was already nning to sacrifice that one arm to get near Rachel . Once he got near enough, Richter kicked Rachel in the gut, but because of her current state of being in full RELEASE this wasn¡¯t enough to stop Rachel . Richter already knew that, so the moment he kicked her pushing her upward a bit, Richter slipped to the side and did a a 360 spin going upward, and hit Rachel from above, making her fall into the hard floor . When Rachel¡¯s body hit the floor it made a loud booming sound, and the floor that was reinforced with the current technology of the Shadow Mercenaries had a little dent in it .

    Still even with that move Rachel was still conscious, Richter who saw that, continued his attack . After a few more strikes from Richter, Rachel even in her full RELEASE state was beaten into unconsciousness . Once that was done, Richter looked at Rachel in approval, her tenacity was incredible . That¡¯s when Richter noticed something weird going on with Rachel¡¯s body . He did a quick check on her and was surprised on what he found out .

    ¡¯Her RELEASE technique is different from her father¡¯s and what Lyner used that one time . Her technique is a double edge sword that could possibly make her into a cripple . If she continues to use her version of RELEASE she might really be disabled . . . Well it doesn¡¯t really matter if she¡¯s disabled or not, seeing as all she¡¯s good for is making the next generation . Though Seeing her performance, I¡¯m quite curious with the other girl who also likes my grandson . ¡¯

    ¡¯Based on the reports about her, and how she was able to capture Drake . I can see that she¡¯s more of amander type, which is different from this little girl who¡¯s more like a front line soldier . Rachel Regius has the physical abilities, while Evangeline Kain has the intellectual abilities . I wonder which of them is a better fit for my grandson . ¡¯

    While Richter was musing about the possibilities of both women, he called for some subordinates, and told them to bring Rachel into a more heavily fortified room . A room that was simr to Alex¡¯s, seeing how strong she is, that kind of security is what she needs . If they kept her in any other ce, she might breakout with sheer physical force .

 Chapter 328

    Chapter 328

    It has been a month since Rika stayed in Anita¡¯s home . In the time she stayed with the gracious doctor, Rika was able to be friends with Anita . Once Rika was able to move again, the first thing she did, was to take a look around town . As she was walking in the streets of the capital she was expecting to see, serious faces, hateful gazes, or faces filled with fear about the future . Yet the sight she saw was different from what she thought she would see . The people of Berdonia were smiling, they were living their lives as if the war wasn¡¯t happening . The students walk side by side to school . The businessmen talking through their phones, as if the world would end if they weren¡¯t able to make the meeting . The street carts selling their food without a care in the world .

    She knew that the Capital of Berdonia was currently the safest and most secure ce in the whole country of Berdonia . Yet even with that knowledge they shouldn¡¯t be this chipper, should they? Rika was unsure if the sight she was looking at was real or not . Yet here it was in front of her eyes, and still she couldn¡¯t believe it .

    Rika was also sure that the people of Berdonia would hate her for killing their hero, yet after a brief interaction with some people on the streets and looking at some articles through the inte, she found out that not only did the people not hate her, they were sympathetic to her plight .

    It would seem the idea of her being used like a weapon by her own country was being told by one of Lyner¡¯s students, Kei Kaido . Still even with the support of such a person, there were still some people that truly hated Rika . They hated her not because she killed Lyner, but because she was a citizen of the Granado Empire . To these people everyone from the Empire was to be hated . These people full of hate were the ones who lost their homes and families .

    Rika wasn¡¯t really bothered by that, since that was the reaction she was expecting in the beginning, but in the end it turns out that they were the minority . The people of Berdonia actually epted her . They weren¡¯t even afraid of how monstrously strong she was . They treated her like any other normal person .

    ¡¯Where these the monsters, that I was taught to hate? Where these truly the evil ves that disrupted the Empire? How foolish we all were, and how arrogant we are now . ¡¯

    Now that Rika was able to see both sides of the coin, she now understood that this whole war was nothing more than a farce . The whole reason for the war was a farce since the beginning, and she was sure that the Emperor knew of the whole truth . Most probably the ten generals knew as well, wait they¡¯re now the five generals .

    ¡¯So in the end not only was I used by those higher-ups, but everyone else was as well . ¡¯ Rika felt sorry for the people of Berdonia, but she also felt sorry for her own people in the Granado Empire . She wanted to save them, but in the end she couldn¡¯t figure out how to do it . Even if she told her people about the maniption the Emperor was doing, they wouldn¡¯t believe her . They would simply brand her as a traitor .

    Rika hated this feeling, even though she was gifted with incredible abilities, she was in the end powerless .

    . . .

    Aside from learning different things about Berdonia, and bing best friends with Anita, Rika was also going back and forth to a certain orphanage . A few days after she was able to move again, Rika asked Anita to apany her to meet the child Lyner saved .

    The child like many others in the war, were left parentless . It took Rika a great amount of courage to visit the little girl . Yet the moment she came into contact with the girl, the little girl started to panic and threw everything she could at Rika .

    "Monster! Monster! Give me back my Mommy and Daddy! Give them back to me you monster! Why did you eat them?!" The little girl just continued screaming and throwing whatever she could at Rika, who simply stood there receiving everything .

    Once the little girl was out of things to throw she cowered into the corner of the room, and started crying . Seeing this, Rika no longer stayed and went out of the room .

    "It¡¯s alright Rika, you just need to give her some time . Once she calms down, you¡¯ll be able to apologize . " Anita tried tofort Rika, as they left the orphanage .

    . . . .

    After that incident with the little girl, Rika woulde back to the orphanage and visit everyday . After a while she was able to find out the name and age of the little girl . She was called Hina, and she was currently six years old . Every time Rika visited Hina, the little girl would react in the same way of crying and screaming, but then a few days ago, Hina actually started a conversation with Rika .

    "Lady monster, why did you eat my mommy and daddy?" When Rika heard Hina¡¯s question she felt her heart ache . She couldn¡¯t help but swallow her saliva as she tried to answer . She opened her mouth but no words woulde out . Rika didn¡¯t know what to say and simply left without saying anything .

    . . .

    A few dayster Rika returned to the orphanage this time there was something different about her . She once again sat down with Hina, but this time the little girl didn¡¯t start talking to her, so instead she initiated the conversation .

    "Hina I didn¡¯t eat your parents . " Rika said firmly to Hina, who looked at her with confusion which then turned into hope .

    "Then can you bring mommy and daddy back?" Hina¡¯s voice carried a trace of excitement as she said this . Rika clenched her fist and steeled herself once more .

    "I cannot bring them back . . . " When Rika said those words, the light in Hina¡¯s eyes slowly dimmed .

    "Why? Why can¡¯t you bring them back? . . . Mommy! Daddy!" Hina then started to cry louder than before . Rika hugged the little girl and patted her back . As her crying became softer, Rika spoke to Hina .

    "Hina I can¡¯t bring your parents back, and the only thing I could do is stay by your side . If you would allow me, from her on out I will stay by your side until the very end . I¡¯m not here to rece your parents . . . I¡¯m not here to save you because of sympathy . I¡¯m here simply to make amends and fulfill my selfish desires . I understand your loneliness since I too have felt the same loneliness . So please allow me to make you feel a little less lonely . "

    Hina who listened to everything Rika said, couldn¡¯t understand most of what was said, but she was able to feel Rika¡¯s sincerity . She also understood that she wanted to be there for her . Hina then looked at Rika who also had tears in her eyes . The little girl seeing the tears falling on Rika¡¯s face wiped them off . Rika smiled at Hina¡¯s actions .

    "I hope to have a new start to my life, and I hope you start it with me . " This was Rika¡¯s wish, one that wasn¡¯t forced onto her, but something she thought for herself .

 Chapter 329

    Chapter 329: 329

    In a dark lit room, Evangeline was admiring the night sky through her open window . She sat there waiting for her guest to arrive . The moon could be seen from her viewpoint but there were no stars in the sky, only the twinkling lights of the city . Evangeline used to love this view, but nowadays it just made her a bit sad, since in the middle of the city, in clear view of her office stood the tall statue of her teacher .

    Every time she sees that statue she¡¯s reminded of the past, when everything was still simple . When her problems were only about seeding the family business, and winning against her love rival Rachel . Yet now everything was soplicated .

    She became a merc and not only that, she became themander of a squad . She now literally holds the lives of dozens of men in her hands . Each one of her choices could either lead to their deaths, or prolong their lives . Yet even with this burden Evangeline decided she would always move forward, just like Niel her friend and senior advised her .

    At the thought of Niel, Evangeline started to think about her friends, who were now either captured or in hiding .

    ¡¯Even though I said I¡¯ll stop thinking about the past, my thoughts always go back to that time . I would always think, what if the war never started, what would be happening to us now? . . . ¡¯ Evangeline couldn¡¯t help but smile while imagining the possibilities .

    The group of friends would¡¯ve helped another club after the y, and she as the student council president will try and make their task easier . After that task the mercenary club would¡¯ve be even more famous at school . It was possible that because of all them being athletic, the different sports clubs in school would ask for their help . Once that happens the mercenary club and their school would¡¯ve be famous, since it was obvious that no matter what sport they would y, with the superior athletic prowess of the group they would win all the time .

    Then when summer break came they would¡¯ve gone out and had fun like any normal high school kids . They could¡¯ve gone to the sea where she and Rachel would¡¯ve tried to seduce Alex using their swimsuits . They could also have gone to the mountains, and had fun watching the stars in the beautiful night sky . They could¡¯ve enjoyed some fireworks afterwards .

    While Evangeline was imagining of things that could¡¯ve been, she couldn¡¯t help but smile while tears fell down her beautiful face . What¡¯s done can never be undone . When Evangeline was about to dive deeper into her imagination, she felt the presence of other people in the room .

    "Wee my dear guests, what can I do for you?"

    Evangeline spun her chair and there she saw six figures wearing the same uniform as Drake . As expected of agents of the Shadow Mercenaries none of the cameras she had ced all over the building had caught their movement . They didn¡¯t even trigger any of the defense mechanisms inside the building .

    "First, can you tell me where Drake is?" Hektor asked while he kept his guard up . Unlike the other members of the Mercenary club, Evangeline was extremely cunning and tricky . So it was possible that she would do something while having they were having this conversation .

    "Oh, yourrade . . . I¡¯m sorry to say he died, when he got the chance hemitted suicide . " Evangeline answered sounding sincerely apologetic .

    "I see . . . Then onto the real business, we came here to once again invite you to the party . "

    Hearing what Hektor said Evangeline smiled and stood up from her chair . The moment the six saw her smile they went into a box formation . Two facing the front looking at Evangeline, a pari facing the back, and a pair facing right and left . When Evangeline saw how wary they were against her, made her giggle .

    The feared group of mercenaries that could make anyone shiver in fear, were now actually so wary of a weak little girl such as herself . Evangeline raised her hands to show that she surrenders .

    "Sure, I¡¯ll go with you . " Hektor and the other five never expected Evangeline to answer that way . They were so sure that she had something nned for them, yet now she¡¯s telling them to taker her away without a fight .

    All six of them thought of the same thing, ¡¯this is obviously a trap . ¡¯ The six of them heightened their senses to the extreme, as they tried to sense if there was anyone else inside the room . They just couldn¡¯t take this tricksters words as the truth .

    "My dear guests there is no need to act this way, there is no one else here, aside from us . " Evangeline turned on the lights as she said this . The members of the Shadow Mercenaries checked the area and saw that what she said was the truth, no one was in this room aside from them . Also there were no traps present in the room .

    "Why?" Hektor asked sounding bit more rxed, since there was nothing there .

    With that one word as a question, Evangeline understood what Hektor wanted to know . She smiled at the six agents of the Shadow Mercenaries as she answered .

    "It¡¯s because I¡¯m amander . I cannot in good conscience send my men to die, in a battle that cannot be won . Strategies and tactics can only get you so far, if the strength between the two opposing parties were somehow close . If you¡¯re good enough a extremely weaker force could win against a stronger force if all the pieces were ced correctly and luck is on your side . Yet against overwhelming power no amount of strategy or tactics would work . That¡¯s howrge the difference between you and my men are . After you sessfully captured Rachel, and learned that I captured one of yourades . I was sure that you would be extremely wary of me, which has been proven by the actions you took when you people saw me simply standing up . So the only option I had left was to surrender and follow . Death can wait for now, I really wish to meet Alex and my friends . " Evangeline once again showed a radiant smile as she said thest line .

    When Hektor heard Evangeline¡¯s answer she nodded his head in approval .

 Chapter 330

    Chapter 330: 330

    Evangeline was put to sleep and blindfolded by the agents of the Shadow Mercenaries . It took them a few days before they were able to get back to the base which was always changing its location . Upon the return of the group, Richter was there to greet them .

    "What of Drake?"

    "He¡¯s dead . "

    "Good . "

    That was the quick interaction between Hektor and Richter as they talked about the death of a long time ally . Seeing as Drake was one of the weakest in the group of ten, losing him wasn¡¯t that much of a blow . After hearing Hektor¡¯s report, Richter shifted his attention to Evangeline .

    "ce her in my study . . . Without her pawns she¡¯s pretty much a weakling . After you¡¯re done with that, I want you to prepare for a guest¡¯s arrival . " The six who heard what Richter said saluted at him, and left . Hektor headed to Richter¡¯s study, while the other five started to prepare for theing guest . It was easy for them to tell who this mystery guest was .

    . . .

    Evangeline who had been sound asleep opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was an old man wearing a simr yet different uniform from the other people in the Shadow Mercenaries . His presence alone made it easy to tell who this person was . Evangeline who was ced sitting on a chair in front of Richter stood up and did a curtsy .

    "It¡¯s a pleasure to meet the grandfather of Alex . I¡¯m Evangeline Kain a friend of your grandson . " Richter smiled amused, seeing how Evangeline acted theplete opposite of how Rachel reacted upon meeting him .

    "Hmm, interesting . . . Very well I shall introduce myself as well, I am Alex¡¯s grandfather, Richter Greyhound . Now the tedious pleasantries are over let¡¯s get down to business, little girl, I heard you like my grandson . . . What if I tell you, I can give you his love?"

    Evangeline was already expecting this to be one of the question Richter would ask her . Ever since the death of Drake, she knew that she would stand face to face with Alex¡¯s grandfather at some point . With that scenario in mind she started to think of numerous ways of how their conversation would go, and how she would respond .

    "Your offer is enticing, but I will decline . I want to gain Alex¡¯s love with my own efforts . "

    "I see . . . Another question then, aren¡¯t you angry at me?"

    "Why should I get angry at you?" Evangeline said this line with a calm smile on her face, which betrayed nothing of her inner turmoil . Richter who was great at deducing what people really feel, couldn¡¯t get a good read on what Evangeline was truly feeling at the moment . If she were hiding her anger she was doing it so well, that she was able to fool even him .

    "Aren¡¯t you angry that I have captured your friends?"

    "Captured? Weren¡¯t they invited to a party like I was?" Evangeline looked genuinely surprised when she said this, which made Richter smile in amusement .

    ¡¯She really is the total opposite of Rachel Regius . ¡¯

    "I see, so you¡¯re going to keep up this charade . " Richter who was sitting across the room from Evangeline, ced his hand on the table in front of him and leaned his head on it a bit .

    "Hmmm?" In response to what Richter said, Evangeline tilted her head acting as if she was confused at the whole situation .

    "Let¡¯s see if you can keep up this act of yours once I show you this . " Richter took out a remote and clicked on one of the buttons, which made a huge screene down from the ceiling .

    When Evangeline saw what was on the screen, her facial expression twitched a bit, before returning to the confused expression she had . In therge screen six different locations were being shown . Each one of the locations had a friend of Evangeline¡¯s .

    In a normal looking cell, Kei was there and for some reason he was doing pushups . In another jail like ce, sat Emily who had both her hands and legs bound . Niel was also present and when Evangeline saw what was done to him, her facade nearly broke . Niel was ced in a small room, his whole body was being bound by chains, and there was a steel mask covering his mouth .

    Oliver was also ced in a simr situation, while Rachel was being detained even more harshly . Rachel was ced in a simr small room same as Niel and Oliver . Rachel had not only been bound by chains, but she was also wearing a straightjacket, like both Niel and Oliver she was wearing a metal mask . Yet her mask was different from the other two, her mask not only blocked her mouth, it blocked her eyes as well . She was also being suspended up in the air using the chains that bind her .

    Seeing her rival and friend being treated like that, made Evangeline extremely angry, yet she kept it hidden within herself, as she didn¡¯t changer her facial expression .

    Evangeline then shifted her attention to thest person on screen, it was Alex . Unlike the others, he wasn¡¯t bound by anything, in fact he was only wearing some tattered looking shorts . Yet he looked like he was having the hardest time among them, Evangeline who saw Alex¡¯s expression was about to tear up, but she held it all in . She couldn¡¯t believe what she saw, Alex was sitting in a corner of the room crying while clutching his forearms while they bleed, and he also kept on mumbling "There must be a way, there must be a way," repeatedly like a broken record .

    Evangeline who tried to to keep a confused expression, couldn¡¯t fool Richter . The moment Evangeline looked at the screen, Richter noticed some twitches in her facial expression every now and then . He also noticed that Evangeline clenched her fist involuntarily .

    "Why are you showing me this? I already know you have my friends, so what¡¯s the point?" Evangeline still tried to y it cool, but Richter already knew what she was truly feeling . So before Richter answered Evangeline¡¯s question he stood up and took something from a nearby closet .

    It was a chessboard which he ced on top of his desk and started to set it up . While he was cing the pieces on the chessboard, Richter finally answered Evangeline .

    "Nothing much, I just wanted to know what you truly felt, and as I expected showing you that, gave me the answer I needed . "

    When Evangeline heard what Richter said, she knew that she somehow blew it .

    "So now that I know what you truly feel, how about a game of chess?"

 Chapter 331

    Chapter 331

    Evangeline felt that it was weird for Richter to offer to y some chess . She had nned for many scenarios but none of them included a game of chess .

    "Why are you hesitating? I know you y chess, so don¡¯t try to fool me . " Richter frowned while looking at Evangeline who was simply standing there .

    "I¡¯m sorry Sir Richter, but why do you want to y chess? Shouldn¡¯t you be preparing for the party instead?" Evangeline tried to change the topic, but to her disappointment Richter didn¡¯t take the bait .

    "You don¡¯t have to worry about that, my subordinates will handle the preparations for the party, and as for why I want to y chess, well it¡¯s so that I can learn more about you . Seeing as you are a candidate for bing my future inw, getting to understand you better is a must, and for me ying chess would achieve that goal . "

    It doesn¡¯t seem like Evangeline had a choice in the matter, so she carried her chair to the front of the desk and sat down . Richter who saw her reluctance with ying chess with him, had a devious looking smile on his face .

    "Hmmm, it seems like even if we do y you won¡¯t take this seriously . . . So how about we have a wager to make things more interesting . If you are somehow able to win against me, I will release all of your friends, and I¡¯ll even let my grandson go with you . Now if you lose, hmmm, I wonder what should I get if you lose . . . I can¡¯t really think of anything right now, so I¡¯ll put a pin on that . I guess what I¡¯ll gain and what you¡¯ll lose will depend on how well you y the game . If you turn out to be unsatisfactory, then expect what will be taken from you will be something dear . So now that the wager has been set, which do you want to use, the ck or white pieces . "

    Richter was smiling kindly at Evangeline, but all she felt was enormous pressure looking at that smile of his . It was obvious that she couldn¡¯t escape ying with him . It would¡¯ve been alright to y with him, and lose, if she knew what she needed to pay if she lost . Though the prize for winning was extremely tempting, Evangeline knew that nothing was so simple . She wasn¡¯t even sure if she could beat Richter in a game of chess .

    ¡¯Damn it, if only I knew what he wanted from me if I lose . Still victory and defeat haven¡¯t been decided yet there is a chance I could win . . . Tsk, I hope that those guys were able to properly find this ce . ¡¯

    "Very well Sir Richter, I would love to y a game of chess with you . " Evangeline showed a smile that masked the anxiety and inner turmoil she was having deep inside .

    "Good, so white or ck?"

    "I¡¯ll go with white, I hope you don¡¯t mind . "

    "Very well, then let¡¯s begin the game . " Richter took out a chess clock and it was set at fifteen minutes for each side .

    Evangeline quickly moved a piece e4, then Richter respond with e5 . Nf3, Nf6, Nxe5, d6, Nxf7 . Evangeline couldn¡¯t believe she was able to use the Cochrane Gambit on Richter . Since the beginning of the game the two of them had exchanged moves almost instantly, but this time Richter didn¡¯t quickly respond to Evangeline¡¯s move and instead spoke to her .

    "The Cochrane Gambit, a very aggressive chess opening . I can now see a bit of what kind ofmander you are . Usually the one using the Cochrane Gambit would expect his opponent to take the knight using the king . Yet of course going against that flow is another strategy . "

    ¡¯So he allowed me, no, he made me use the Cochrane Gambit . Even so if he won¡¯t take the knight, I would be able to take either his queen or rook . " Evangeline didn¡¯t know what Richter could be nning, so she decided to simply counter him depending on what she saw next . In her mind surely after a few moves, Richter¡¯s ns would be clearer to see .

    "You see, I believe that a great king that has pawns to use shouldn¡¯t move about . Instead he should order his pawns in such a way that they could handle those minor inconveniences with ease . Sacrificing himself for his king is also a very noble way of a pawn . "

    Richter finally moved a piece and it was Be7 . This one move confused Evangeline a bit, it was obvious that Richter nned to take her knight after she takes the queen . It was also possible that he was pushing her to take the queen by using that move, and won¡¯t expect her to take the rook instead . No, it was entirely possible that everything was a feint and he really nned to make her take the rook .

    Evangeline who was so sure that she would take the queen moments ago, couldn¡¯t do so . as she started to overthink . The way Richter spoke, the things he said, and the pressure he gave off by simply sitting there, made it even harder to think of what was truly the right move .

    Evangeline finally noticed that she was taking too much time in thinking of which one to take, and quickly picked one .

    ¡¯Damn it!¡¯ Evangeline quickly move her knight, NxQd8 . After she moved and took the queen Evangeline was so sure that her knight would be taken by the bishop, but instead, Richter made a different move . 0-0 Richter did castling on the king¡¯s side .

    Evangeline who was now a bit short on time had no time to be confused by this move of Richter¡¯s and quickly moved her knight, Nxb7 . Richter smiled when he saw how Evangeline moved her pieces and once again took some time to talk before making his move .

    "I can now see a bit deeper into what kind ofmander you are . It would seem that you tend to overthink things . nning for every step, and having multiple contingency ns . For example this tracking device that was found inside of you . " Richter showed a small object that he was holding in his finger to Evangeline . When Evangeline saw what it was, she was shocked but she didn¡¯t show it on her face . That was the tracking device she swallowed before she was captured, that was suppose to help her squad to find out where the HQ of the Shadow Mercenaries was hidden .

    "You see, nning too much and heading straight forward without looking back is great, but against an opponent like me, you¡¯re just asking to be used . " Richter crushed the already deactivated tracking device and made his move .

    BxNb7

    Evangeline who was even more anxious, now that her tracking device was found, finally noticed what was happening on the board . Even though she had captured more units of Richter¡¯s and she was literally ahead in points, but the position of the pieces showed that Richter was in control of everything .

    Evangeline bit her lower lip in frustration, finally showing a different emotion on her face . Seeing her difort made Richter smile even wider .

    "Your poker face has finally broken down . I guess overall you were pretty good . So let¡¯s continue the game and see what happens . Depending on your performance from here on out, will be what determines what I will ask once you lose . "

    Richter was now basically telling Evangeline that no matter what she did, losing was inevitable . Evangeline continued the game and tried her very best, but she fell deeper and deeper into Richter¡¯s traps .

    Until the final moments of the game Richter was in full control, Evangeline stood no chance . It was already over once it started .

    "Victory is mine, now I wonder what I should ask for . Hmm, seeing that you yed better than I expected, I guess, I won¡¯t take anything from you . . . Well it¡¯s not like you have anything I want . " Evangeline who was a bit tense while waiting for what Richter was going to say finally eased up when he heard what Richter said .

    Evangeline was then about to respond, but felt something pricked her neck and she fell unconscious . Richter sighed as he looked at Evangeline who was easily hit by a tranquilizer dart .

    ¡¯This one is indeed smarter and more cautious than the other girl, but she¡¯s incredibly weak . Both of them have their merits and demerits . . . Well Alex can have them both, I¡¯m sure one of them will be able to give birth to a great Greyhound . ¡¯

 Chapter 332

    Chapter 332: 332

    Richter who was in his room looking at different monitors that showed the different areas of the base . While he was watching he noticed that something was going on outside the base . When he looked closer he smiled and made an announcement to the whole base .

    "Attention everyone, our guest has finally arrived . I hope you give her a warm wee . Also can someone check the package she left behind at the front entrance . "

    Daryl who was the nearest to the entrance went out and took what was left there . It was a huge package, Samuel took a look of what was inside the package and saw the chopped body parts of a human . He wasn¡¯t that surprised to see it, but then he noticed another smaller package and in it was Henry¡¯s head .

    Daryl knew what to do, and pointed the head towards the security camera . When Richter saw what was done to his subordinate he couldn¡¯t help but smile a bit .

    ¡¯This girl is of a better ss than both Rachel and Evangeline . I really want her as my inw, but she doesn¡¯t like Alex the same way Rachel and Evangeline does . . . Well, the other party¡¯s input is of little consequence to me . The three of them can all be Alex¡¯s wives . ¡¯

    Richter decided all that in his head, before he once again speaking to all his subordinates .

    "Our guest has started a game of hide and seek . All of you y with her a little, and once she¡¯s done and happy bring her to me . "

    That was all Richter said, but they all knew what he truly meant . He wanted them to quickly find the guest and force her to head to him .

    . . .

    Sayaka who used the opening Daryl made to get into the Shadow Mercenaries base, also heard the announcement and clicked her tongue .

    ¡¯Tsk, That must be Alex¡¯s granddad he¡¯s going to be a hard one to deal with . Still now that everyone¡¯s on high alert, being able to get out safely, with everyone in tow is going to be a bit hard . Well it¡¯s not like I wasn¡¯t prepared for this to happen, after showing them the mutted corpse of their friend . ¡¯

    Sayaka was currently inside the Shadow Mercenaries HQ, and was walking inside the base like she was one of them . Right now Sayaka was wearing a disguise, and she took the identity of what seem to be a top member of the organization .

    ¡¯Okay first order of business, I got to find out where they¡¯re keeping Oliver and the others . ¡¯ While Sayaka was thinking about what to do next, she suddenly swayed her body to dodge left and right, as two darts flew past her .

    Sayaka then ducked her head as a hand with long finger nails that had hidden des underneath them passed by and almost decapitated her head . Sayaka then took some distance from the woman who suddenly attacked without any provocation .

    "Why did you suddenly attack?" Sayaka asked confused, was her cover blown? That can¡¯t be it, her disguise was perfect, she even had the height down to a millimeter .

    "Oh, so you really aren¡¯t Daryl . Then that must mean you¡¯re Sayaka Mutsu . What an honor to meet someone from the famous Mutsu n . Among all the assassin ns yours is the oldest and most well received . I hope to y with you a little, but the leader isn¡¯t really that patient . "

    "What the hell are you talking about? Have you finally broke?" Even in this situation Sayaka didn¡¯t give in, and kept on ying the role of Daryl .

    "Still keeping up appearances are we? As expected of someone trained by the Mutsu n . Even though your disguise has already been seen through, you¡¯re still trying to continue the act . " Amica smiled as she lowered her stance .

    "The hell are you talking about woman? If you¡¯re talking about the guest, then you better look elsewhere cause that isn¡¯t me . Now that I think about it, your acting really suspicious, maybe your our guest in disguise?" When Sayaka said this she took out a dagger from her waist .

    "Oh, now your doing that, howme? Anyone who sees the two of us fighting will quickly figure out you¡¯re the fake . "

    Sayaka who took out her dagger was confused, why was this woman so sure that she was a fake . Since the start she saw right through her, which made Sayaka really confused . It would seem that unlike Henry who was the weakest of those on the top, this woman was on a different level .

    "I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, but I just need to beat you up, and bring you to the leader . "

    "You really think that you¡¯ll be able to do that? At this point you already made three mistakes . First you didn¡¯t learn about the rtionships we have on this team . Second you didn¡¯t even check what kind of weapon Daryl uses . Finally, your ultimate mistake was bumping into me . "

    When Amica said this, she bursted forward . Sayaka saw the des of Amica¡¯s finger nails were about to pierce her eyes, but before they were able to reach her, she once again ducked her head and countered with the dagger she was holding . Amica backed away evading the dagger strike .

    "Rtionships? What the hell are you talking about? Also you can always change the weapon your using depending on the situation . Why do I need to use my good weapons on you?" Sayaka made an irritated face using Daryl¡¯s looks .

    When Amica saw that, she finally calmed down .

    "Oh, so its really you, Daryl . I really thought you were the Mutsu girl . . . How disappointing . . . Well whatever, I¡¯ll just go around and see who she disguised herself as . " Once she was done saying what she wanted to say, Amica dashed off .

    Sayaka who was left alone sighed in her head .

    ¡¯That whole thing was just a ruse to get me to slip up . Good thing I didn¡¯t let up and continued the act . I guess it wasn¡¯t a good idea using this guy¡¯s face . Got to find someone less important that he wouldn¡¯t attract too much attention, and at the same time important enough that he could walk around some restricted areas . ¡¯

    Once she decided what to do next, Sayaka took of the mask she was wearing and hid herself within the shadows .

 Chapter 333

    Chapter 333

    Sayaka was able to silently incapacitate a member of the Shadow Mercenaries that didn¡¯t look that high leveled . After finishing him off in the shadows, she took his form and once again started searching for her friends .

    When Sayaka was outside she couldn¡¯t see the base properly since it was somehow cloaked, but she did find the entrance, and even though her eyes couldn¡¯t register how the base looked, she could still feel the ground trembling slightly .

    On the outside she was imagining that the HQ of the Shadow Mercenaries to be quite big, but she never imagined it to be this big . She already scoured the area for hours, but there was no signs of Oliver and the others .

    Sayaka who was so focused on finding her friends finally noticed that something weird was going on . She¡¯s been looking around the base for hours now, but it seems like the people have stopped searching for her . She also finally noticed that there was no one present in this hallway . Actually thest time she saw someone else was a quite some time ago .

    Sayaka noticing this weird urrence tried to go back the way she came, but it only led to a dead end . She then looked around and saw that most areas were now in lock down, and there was only one way she can head towards . It was obvious that she was being led to a specific location .

    ¡¯Tsk, so they figured out who I was . . . ¡¯ Sayaka removed the disguise she made, and stood there while looking at the security camera . She showed her middle finger to the person on the other side .

    Even though she did this to show her bravado, the truth was Sayaka was a bit nervous . At this very moment she was a mouse inside a trap, and it was possible that she won¡¯t be able to save her friends .

    ¡¯No, I don¡¯t need to give up like that . First I need to see what they have in store for me at the end of this maze . ¡¯

    . . .

    Richter who saw Sayaka giving him the middle finger through the video feed, was now smiling from ear to ear .

    ¡¯This girl is pretty gutsy, and her abilities seem to be top notch . Aside from me, the Executioner and Hektor whose ns seem to be nearing the end game, no one else noticed her . ¡¯

    Richter was really pleased with Sayaka, her very nature seemed to remind Richter of his mother . Even though his mother died early on, it was said that she was also a true genius of the house of Greyhound .

    ¡¯I¡¯m really liking this girl, still let¡¯s see how she deals with my present . ¡¯

    . . .

    Sayaka finally reached the end of the road, and ended up in an area that was simply a big empty space . While she was wondering what she was supposed to do here, the door behind her shut closed . After that Richter¡¯s voice echoed throughout the room .

    "Wee Sayaka Mutsu to the Shadow Mercenaries training grounds . My grandson¡¯s party will be held a bitter, so for now how about you y around here . . . I heard that you were the girlfriend of one of my subordinates, James Bourne . . . Oh right, you call him Oliver now . "

    Sayaka was truly irritated when she heard Richter speak Oliver¡¯s name . She wanted to go inside the security cameras and head straight to Richter¡¯s ce, so that she could rip his throat . Yet for now she needed to keep all her anger in, since there was no way for her to do what she wanted to do to Richter at the moment .

    "SO, I remember a failed product I made a few years back . It might be trash in my eyes, but it might be a jewel in yours . "

    After saying that the door on the other end of the room opened . Sayaka got ready to attack the neer, but stopped herself as she was shocked to see who the other person was . Though the muscles weren¡¯t as thick as what she remembers, and he might seem a bit younger, but the person in front of her was without a doubt her boyfriend Oliver .

 Chapter 334

    Chapter 334

    Sayaka couldn¡¯t believe her eyes, there in front of her was the person she wanted to see the most . She didn¡¯t mind that he looked a bit different, Sayaka just wanted to hug her beloved . Sayaka started running towards Oliver, but when she got close enough she felt danger and shifted her head a bit to the side, and at that very moment she heard a gunshot as a bullet passed by her .

    Oliver actually shot at her! Her Oly actually aimed at her head and tried to kill her . Sayaka instantly backed away because of the danger . She then looked at Oliver confused as to what had happened to him .

    "What the hell have you done to Oly!" Sayaka shouted which echoed throughout the empty room .

    "I haven¡¯t done anything, this here is not Oliver Minx, but a knock off version of James Bourne . " Without even waiting for Richter to finish talking, James charged forward with a sniper rifle at hand . He suddenly shot at Sayaka who evaded the iing bullet and threw her knife as a counter .

    James caught the iing knife and threw his sniper rifle upwards . James then dashed towards the retreating Sayaka, as he was charging forward he threw the knife back at Sayaka, who dodged . Sayaka then threw some shurikens at the fast approaching James .

    James didn¡¯t bother to dodge the shurikens as his eyes were looking straight at Sayaka like a predator to its prey . When the shurikens were about to hit him, James swatted the shurikens that were aimed at his vitals, while the others that were heading toward non-vital areas, he didn¡¯t bother and allowed them to stick to his skin .

    When James was finally near Sayaka, the sniper rifle he threw at the beginning fell down into his hands . The timing and the way it fell so snugly on James¡¯ hands was amazing . The barrel of the gun was now pointing at point nk range at Sayaka¡¯s head . James was about to pull the trigger, but then he was forced to duck his head and pulled the trigger a secondte, which gave Sayaka the chance to evade .

    The reason James ducked was because of one of Sayaka¡¯s shuriken, that she threw a few seconds after she threw the first batch . She threw it in an angle that would curve towards James¡¯ blind spot, yet even though she was able to throw it without any signal, he was still able to dodge it .

    Sayaka who was once again able to distance himself from James, couldn¡¯t help but marvel at the difference in this James and her own Oliver .

    ¡¯This younger Oliver is more aggressive and has far better dexterity and speed than the older one I know . Also his eyes are quite frightening, it¡¯s actually making me shiver . ¡¯

    . . .

    Richter who was watching the battle was amused to see how the girl called Sayaka was handling the situation . Even though the James Bourne in front of her was a failed clone, that was thirty percent weaker than the original; it was still amazing to see how she could actually match that James Bourne, the young merc who was once called the wolf of the battlefield .

    Even though he seems incredible and was really close to having the original¡¯s fighting prowess, he was in the end nothing more than a failed product . James Bourne who was a failed clone, has all the techniques and memories of the original, yet he wasn¡¯t able to improve . That was one of the problems of the failed clone, no matter how much he trains his body would remain the same . He would never grow as he will forever be stuck in his current form .

    ¡¯No matter how hard I tried to understand the notes Phil and Marge left behind I could never create a perfect clone . The only time I ever saw a perfect clone was back then . . . It would seem that Phil and Marge took the secrets of cloning to their graves . Such a disappointment if I could make a perfect clone, I would¡¯ve made hundreds of clones of myself . ¡¯

    Richter couldn¡¯t help it, but at one time he dreamt of a Shadow Mercenaries that only consisted of him and his clones . Yet because he knew that the clones wouldn¡¯t be an exact replica of him, he didn¡¯t want to make them . A clone that wasn¡¯t a full copy of himself was worthless, and it was nothing more than a disgusting abomination in Richter¡¯s eyes .

    Richter who was daydreaming shifted his attention back to James and Sayaka¡¯s fight .

    ¡¯Oh, the fight seems to be at the climax . ¡¯

    . . .

    James had his body covered in wounds, and Sayaka had no scratches on her, but she was the one cornered . At this moment Sayaka was on the ground in a corner of the room, while James was pointing two pistols at point nk range towards Sayaka¡¯s head and heart .

    "Why were you hesitating? Are you holding back, because I look like the fool you call a lover? I am not him! I am not some copy of Oliver Minx! I AM JAMES BOURNE, AND I¡¯M THE STRONGEST!"

    James looked at Sayaka with irritation as he screamed his identity . Ever since he was created, he was always been called a failure by the old man . He was alwayspared to the original James, and was forced to remain hidden inside the base .

    Due to the clone having all of James¡¯ memories, he and James even had the same personalities . So the moment he was called a failure and waspared to another person with the same face, he hated it to his very core . James Bourne was a verypetitive child, so when the old man said all that, about him being a failure, James quickly started to train his body . Yet no matter how much he trained and trained, his body doesn¡¯t grow and remained the same . So instead James tried to enhance his techniques topensate for hiscking strength .

    Sayaka who looked at the irritated James smiled .

    "Of course you¡¯re not a copy of my Oly . " When Sayaka said this, James finally noticed that his hands were no longer attached to his body . He was then about to react, but before he could move he felt something pass through his neck .

    "My Oly is way cuter than you . " Sayaka¡¯s sweet voice drifted towards the clone and those were thest words the clone ever heard .

 Chapter 335

    Chapter 335

    Sayaka who just killed a person who looked like Oliver, felt a bit irritated . Even though she knew that this James Bourne was different from the Oliver that she loves, it still felt weird killing someone that looked like him .

    "That¡¯s pretty impressive killing the wolf of the battlefield, even though he was a weaker version of the original he was still pretty good . Yet as expected a failure can never amount to anything but be trash . "

    When Sayaka heard what Richter said it made her a bit angry . She now kinda understood why the cloned James was acting like that in the end . This old man treated him like trash after creating him . It was obvious that he was alwayspared to the original and never treated as his own individual person . Even though she didn¡¯t really like the clone, she somehow still felt a bit sorry for him .

    Sayaka could now somehow see what kind of person Alex¡¯s grandfather was . This was a person who saw everyone as tools, you could either be useful or useless to him .

    "Hey, you old man, how can you say something like that?! Aren¡¯t you the one who created him, then doesn¡¯t that mean if he¡¯s a failure your a failure too?"

    After saying that, Sayaka was expecting a response from Richter, but he didn¡¯t say anything at all . Sayaka waited a few more seconds but Richter remained mute .

    "What¡¯s this don¡¯t have anything to say?"

    "Oh, little girl I have a lot to say . " When Sayaka heard the reply her focus immediately shifted from the security cameras towards the area in front of her . There in the same entrance James entered stood an old man who was wearing a slightly different version of the uniform the other members the Shadow Mercenaries wore .

    It was also worth noting that the old man in front of her had this overwhelming feeling that made it hard to approach him . It was extremely obvious to Sayaka as to who this man was .

    "Then tell me Alex¡¯s granddad what do you want to say?" Sayaka had both her hands inside the pockets of her pants, as she was fiddling with the hidden daggers ced in them .

    "You called me a failure and I won¡¯t deny that for I am a failure, but unlike that piece of trash I¡¯m a failure of a different level . A failure of a Greyhound can never be matched by normal people . A true Greyhound even a failure is still better than most everyone . "

    ¡¯This old man is really crazy . ¡¯ Sayaka couldn¡¯t help but have such thoughts . So she immediately voiced them out .

    "You really are crazy, aren¡¯t you old man?"

    "Am I crazy for telling the truth? Well that doesn¡¯t really matter . I wasn¡¯t here to convince you about my sanity . I came here because I felt a bit itchy watching the fight between you and James . Among Alex¡¯s friends it would seem that you have the most experience in killing . Of course that¡¯s to be expected from someone of the Mutsu n . Did you know your ancestors and mine used to be the greatest of enemies . The Greyhounds who were once called the strongest warriors of the past and the Mutsu¡¯s the best assassin n were-"

    ¡¯Now he started to monologue, this guy really is an old man . Still Alex really was a Greyhound, that would exin some of his superhuman qualities . Dad once told me that the Greyhounds were a family of super prideful b*stards with extreme battle prowess and that they were in constant conflict with my ancestors . Everyone thought the Greyhounds all died out during the war a few hundred years ago . Wait why am I even thinking about this? Damn this old man he could even control the flow of my thoughts . ¡¯

    While Sayaka was scolding herself, Richter was finally done with his talk about the past .

    "Ok, now that we¡¯re done with my history lesson-" Richter was now suddenly in front of Sayaka . She didn¡¯t even notice all this happening, while he was talking Richter was actually slowly approaching her .

    ¡¯Damn it, I was too distracted by that boring talk about our ancestors, I didn¡¯t notice him get so close . ¡¯ Sayaka once again scolded herself inside her head . Still she understood that it wasn¡¯t just because she let her guard down that Richter was able toe this close, another reason was because Richter was just that good .

    Sayaka who was holding her daggers and was about to attack stopped, when Richter suddenly started speaking again .

    "At first I came here because I was itching to fight you, and see how good you truly are, but now I changed my mind, instead I want to give you an offer . " Richter showed Sayaka a kind old man¡¯s smile . This was the kind of smile Grandfathers usually show their granddaughters as the watch them happily y .

    "What offer?" Seeing that smile only made Sayaka feel that the old man was creepy, which only heightened her wariness .

    "You see I n on killing all your friends, well except Rachel and Evangeline . If you agree to bing Alex¡¯s woman and bearing his child then I will let your other friends go . So what do you think of my offer?"

    Sayaka was already expecting to hear a very ridiculous offer, but this went beyond what she expected . She was momentarily stunned, ¡¯this old man really has a lot of screws loose in the head . ¡¯

    "Why are you asking me? Don¡¯t you know your grandson likes Rachel, shouldn¡¯t you give this offer to her?"

    "Oh, she¡¯s already part of Alex¡¯s women, I just wanted to add you in the mix . You see I and Alex are the only Greyhounds left, so we need to start from scratch . More women giving birth to Alex¡¯s children is a good thing for the Greyhounds, so I want him to create a harem . Obviously the girls in his harem need to be exceptional, and I find you quite exceptional . So what say you, will you ept the offer or not?"

 Chapter 336

    Chapter 336

    Sayaka stood there a bit dumbfounded at what Richter said . This old man was actually trying to make Alex a harem, and he even wanted her to be in it . The first thought that popped into Sayaka¡¯s mind was, this man really is one crazy m*therf*cker .

    ¡¯Still the offer really is enticing . This old man is really really strong, the moment he entered the room I could already instinctively tell, he¡¯s the same kind of monster as Sir Lyner, Arthur Glory, and Rika Saunter . This old man is on the same league as an SS rank merc, I have no chance in winning in a direct fight . There¡¯s no ce to hide here in this empty room, and this old man seems to know most of the tricks the Mutsu n uses . I really have no other choice do I? I could ept the offer for now and think of a way to escapeter . Still iming to be another man¡¯s woman aside from Oliver doesn¡¯t really sit well with me . ¡¯

    When Sayaka got to that point in her thoughts she couldn¡¯t help but smile the same vicious smile as he teacher Lyner . She was now backed into a corner, and the choices she was given don¡¯t really sit well with her . ¡¯This old man is trying to confuse me using the situation and the pressure he¡¯s emitting . If he truly wanted to kill them all, he wouldn¡¯t have captured them alive . This must be some sort of trick . . . . Well either way, as Sir Lyner use to say everyone dies someday . ¡¯

    Sayaka already made her decision . Richter who saw that smile of Sayaka¡¯s was reminded of Lyner . He already knew the answer the little girl had the moment he saw that smile of hers .

    "Thanks for the offer, but I¡¯m afraid I have to decline . My teacher told me to always be true to myself, even if it is to save my friends I can never lie to myself . I¡¯m sure everyone from the Mercenary club would understand me . That¡¯s because we all have the same teacher . Sir Lyner would never back down no matter the situation, he would never give in, even in the face of death . Until the end he will always show that fearsome smile of his . I as one of his students should follow such an example, right?"

    When Sayaka was done saying what she wanted to say, she suddenly felt an enormous pressuree down upon her . It was like a huge boulder came down onto her shoulders . Sayaka finally noticed the Richter¡¯s face that was like a kind old man, turned into a demon¡¯s face . She could pretty much feel the killing intent prickling her skin .

    "So it¡¯s like that, I guess that¡¯s to be expected from students of that retard . So you¡¯re going to make the same foolish choice as him . Doing what you want is fine and all, but you need the appropriate strength to back it up . Your retard of a teacher had the strength but hecked the mentality . You on the other handck everything, what do you n to do against me? You and I are of different sses, if I was serious I could kill you using only one arm while blind folded . What¡¯s the point of doing what you want, if the end result is death?"

    Richter¡¯s voice became ice cold making Sayaka feel like she was in a a frozen tundra . Yet even in the face of that overwhelming presence Sayaka smiled .

    "Giving in to your demands, to me, is a fate worse than death . " Sayaka threw one of her hidden daggers at Richter, where she aimed for his eyes . Richter caught the iing dagger between his fingers, when he was about to flick it back, Sayaka was already so near Richter and was about to pierce his right eye .

    A few more centimeters and she was about to pierce Richter¡¯s eye but stopped in the middle . Richter using his other hand was able to catch Sayaka¡¯s arm that was about to pierce the dagger into his eyes .

    Sayaka was then about to use her free arm to attack, but Richter suddenly twisted the arm he caught . Sayaka was lifted up from the ground while her arm was bending in a bad way . Sayaka gritted her teeth and endured the pain and was about to attack using her legs but then she felt pain in her right leg . She then noticed that the dagger Richter caught had stuck into her knee .

    Richter then got a hold of both Sayaka¡¯s hands and pressed her down onto the ground, as his foot was weighing down on Sayaka¡¯s face .

    "An assassin like you fighting someone like me head on, your ancestors must be rolling in their graves . I thought you would be somehow different from the rest of them, but as expected all of you are fools . "

    Richter who was pinning Sayaka down, saw that even in this situation she was showing that vicious grin . When Richter saw this, he pressed his foot onto Sayaka¡¯s face even harder . In this intense situation Sayaka finally lost consciousness, but even then Richter continued to press his foot on her head . Just a little bit more and Sayaka¡¯s head would¡¯ve burst, but Richter finally stopped himself .

    ¡¯What the hell am I doing?¡¯ Richter who finally let Sayaka¡¯s body loose asked himself this question . He was extremely irritated on how much influence Lyner had on this children with great potential . Even his own grandson was duped by the fool .

    ¡¯Even in death you irritate me . The only thing I regret after meeting you was that you didn¡¯t die by my hands . ¡¯ Richter clicked his tongue and contacted a random subordinate using his earpiece .

    "Someone bring this girl to the healing station, and once she¡¯s fully healed chain her up like the rest of them . Also put her in the doorless room . "

    Once he was done giving out his orders, Richter looked at Sayaka who was unconscious on the floor and mumbled the words, "how foolish," before leaving the training room .

 Chapter 337

    Chapter 337: 337

    Richter Greyhound was the second son of the eleventh head of the Greyhounds . He was a deviant even when one used the standards of the Greyhounds, his strength, his intelligence, were beyond someone his age should have . Still Richter even with all these gifts wanted to be like any normal child . Every now and then when he goes outside with his mother, brother and father for training, he would see children ying on the streets . They yed without a care in the world .

    Every time Richter saw how happy they were he wanted to join in . Of course he needed to ask his father¡¯s permission, yet every time he would ask, Richter would always get the same answer .

    "Richter you don¡¯t have time to y . Those kids will never amount to anything and that¡¯s why they can fool around, yet you will be someone great, so you need to train even harder than the rest . "

    The seven year old Richter hearing his father tell him this over and over again, understood the logic behind it, but didn¡¯t know why he needed to do it . Even if he did y with the children, he wouldn¡¯t suddenly be weak would he?

    . . .

    Unlike his father, Richter¡¯s mother was a kind woman, and every time Richter would sulk because of his father forcing him to train, she would try her best to cheer him up . She would be her son¡¯s friend and y with him, all the games he wanted to y . This was Richter¡¯s relief time, and it always made him happy . Every now and then Leon, Richter¡¯s brother would also join in on the fun .

    Yet even with thatfort time, Richter¡¯s situation was still hard . Though he would have fun sometimes, but most of the time he would be training harder than all the others . Still the time with his mother would always make him feel safe, warm, and happy, as if he was part of a normal family . Yet of course all thingse to an end .

    Richter¡¯s mother had passed away after a failed mission . She was defeated by two existing SS rank mercs of the Granado Empire at the time . Richter was eight when this happened, and when he saw his mother¡¯s lifeless body he cried in front of his mother¡¯s grave . Yet the moment he cried his father smacked him right on the face .

    Richter¡¯s body flew and hit the nearby wall . Leon wanted to help his brother but when he saw the look on their father¡¯s face he stopped himself .

    Richter¡¯s father slowly approached his second son with a face that was akin to a demon¡¯s . The other members of the Greyhound family couldn¡¯t do a thing, since he was the head of the family .

    "How dare you cry in your mother¡¯s funeral! Your mother died a proud warrior of the Greyhounds, as her son you must not mourn her death, but rejoice since she died the most noblest of deaths . "

    The eight year old Richter clenched his fist and wiped the tears away . Even though the injury he received was great, he didn¡¯t falter and he stood up with no more tears . Seeing his son act like that made the eleventh head of the Greyhounds nod in approval .

    . . .

    After the ceremony was over Richter was called to his father¡¯s room . He was sure that he would be beaten until he was barely breathing, so Richter prepared himself mentally for that possibility .

    "Son the conduct you have shown, isn¡¯t something a son of the Greyhounds should ever show . Still, I understand what you are feeling, but you must suppress those feelings . A true Greyhound is one who pursues the destruction of the Granado Empire above all else . He has no time for such weak feelings such as sadness, instead of wasting your time crying for the fallen, how about you strengthen you resolve and train some more . You are the one who is closest to bing the perfect Greyhound, to us you are our hope, the one who will finally achieve the Greyhounds one true wish . I don¡¯t need a weak son like the one I saw a while ago, what I need is a son that would fulfill our family¡¯s long cherish wish . If you aren¡¯t up for it, kill yourself now . "

    Richter¡¯s father then threw a gun which Richter caught . It was obvious what he wanted his son to do with this . Richter pointed the gun onto his stomach and shot himself . The pain was excruciating but the eight year old Richter didn¡¯t falter as he stood proudly in front of his father . Richter then looked at his father with a deadly re, even as he was bleeding, Richter spoke words that no other eight year old would say .

    "The weak Richter has died as of this moment, now the strong Richter is born . I will no longer falter as I will make sure the Granado Empire falls . "

    From that point onwards Richter no longer had any naive or childish thoughts, and he solely focused on bing stronger and stronger, as he followed everything his father instructed him . He listened to his father¡¯s words on how a true Greyhound must act . Still even at this point Richter still had a bit of humanity left, and that was ced on the shoulders of his older brother Leon . He lost more than he thought, when he killed his older brother, and from then on he became Richter the twelfth head of the Greyhounds .

 Chapter 338

    Chapter 338

    It has been one year and four months since the war started and the Granado Empire was still on the winning side, even with the Southern Union and Berdonia teaming up . Yet a sudden turnig point happened which shook the Empire, Upon the death of Lyner, and the disappearance of Rika Saunter, Arthur Glory was the only remaining SS rank merc, and this finally gave the two nations a chance to turn the tables .

    The Granado which was on an unstoppable offensive, was finally forced into a defensive state . Losing Rika Saunter was a huge blow to the Empire, since they Empire believed that they needed at least two Generals to match up with Arthur Glory, and they needed at least four to kill him . Yet at this point in time the Granado Empire has only five Generals left, using all the Generals to kill one man, was a huge gamble .

    It was possible that Arthur Glory could win against the five, it was also possible that even if the five win against Arthur they would lose most of the generals . That¡¯s just how ridiculous an existence the SS ranks were .

    It was at this moment when everyone thought that the Granado Empire wouldn¡¯t take such a huge gamble by sending all their Generals to face Arthur Glory, that the Granado did the exact opposite of what everyone thought .

    The five remaining Generals of the Empire took to battle . The two sides had battled for days, until finally only two of them remained . On the side of the Granado Empire was the old man Tang Jing who had small bruises all over his body . While on the other side was Arthur Glory who had bullet wounds, knife wounds, and a missing finger .

    If someone saw the two they would be shocked to see two old grandpas fighting to the death . Yet it was undeniable that the two old men were two of the strongest of each side .

    "As expected of an SS rank merc, being able to kill four of the Generals . Yet I¡¯m also quite disappointed, I thought you would be as strong as Lyner, but looks like the rumors were true, you are indeed the weakest of the SS rank . If it was Lyner with that cocky grin of his, he would have won while sustaining less injuries . "

    Old man Tang said all this with a bit of nostalgia in his eyes . Even though Lyner was his most hated enemy, he also treated the young man as a rival to be beaten . Arthur seeing how much Tang Jing respected Lyner made him smile .

    "I¡¯m sorry for disappoint you, if we were a bit younger I guess we would have had a battle worth remembering . Yet even people as powerful as us, cannot fight the unforgivable hand of time . "

    "No matter, this is fate as well . Even if I win in this battle, I guess I would no longer be able to fight . " Tang Jing said with a bit of mncholy .

    "That¡¯s alright, our generation has long died," Arthur happily replied .

    "Don¡¯t lump me together with you . I¡¯m not as old as you, in fact base on your age you could be my great-grandfather . "

    The two old men started to chuckle as if they were old friends .

    "It is a shame we are enemies, but still it was a pleasure to have this battle with you . May we meet again in Valha . " Tang Jing said thest line with a joyous expression . Ever since his son died he felt absolute hatred for Lyner, but after Lyner died he only felt emptiness inside . Yet now facing Arthur Glory he felt excited, as if the bygone days of his youth returned to him .

    "May we meet again in Valha . " After Arthur said those words the two old men suddenly bursted into action .

    After a short battle, Arthur was able to pierce through Jing¡¯s stomach, while Jing was able to stab a knife into Arthur¡¯s chest reaching his heart . The two old man smiled at each other and fell at the same time .

    Tang Jing whose consciousness was slowly fading away, saw an illusion of what looks to be a Valkyrie with the same face as his wife when she was young . ¡¯I see you came to bring me to Valha . ¡¯ Those were Tang Jing¡¯s final thoughts as he died, with a satisfied expression on his face .

    . . .

    Arthur Glory who was slowly dying had seen his whole life sh before his very eyes, as if he was watching a movie . The moment he reached the end, Arthur knew that he had only one regret . He wasn¡¯t able to fight Lyner in an all out battle using all their trump cards .

    ¡¯Well it doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll meet that battle crazed guy in Valha . ¡¯ When Arthur had that thought he finally felt that he was nearing death . ¡¯I guess it¡¯s all up to the younger generation now, to seek the future . ¡¯

    Arthur then remembered his haughty disciple and smiled . There and then the two strongest forces of both sides have lost their lives .

 Chapter 339

    Chapter 339

    In a forest near Cromer city which was now upied by the Granado Empire, the sound of de shing against de could be heard as two swordsmen were sparring . These two were none other than Ken and Ryu .

    A year ago when the Granado Empire first attacked Berdonia, Ken was injured until he was near death . Fortunately for him Ryu was near the area, and was able to save him before death came to him .

    Even though they were once enemies on the battlefield, Ryu actually had great respect for Ken . He was the only swordsman besides Alex that has faced him, that didn¡¯t die and didn¡¯t despair after losing, instead he improved himself . His respect for Ken had doubled when he learned that the reason for him being at death¡¯s door was because he rejected his home country and tried to protect Berdonia .

    Ryu knowing the circumstances that led to his near death experience, decided to protect Ken for as long as he wasn¡¯t fully healed . After a few months Ken was able to get back into shape, but at this point the two sword masters couldn¡¯t leave the forest . Since for some unknown reason Cromer City was heavily fortified, and the Granado Empire kept on bothering them by sending soldiers into the forest to either kill or capture them . The two overwhelmed by the number of their opponents implemented guerri warfare as they slowly dwindled down the number of soldiers that entered the forest .

    So for the past year the two sword masters have continued to stay inside the forest, disrupting and sabotaging the Granado Empire soldiers . While they were not doing that, the two sparred and sparred with each other until they got a bit better in cooperating with one another .

    . . .

    In the year they stayed inside the forest, the Granado Empire tried multiple times to kill them as they sent squad after squad, but that always ended up badly for them . They then tried to bomb some of the areas in therge forest to see if they might be able to hit the two . Yet after a few tries they ultimately stopped the bombing . Seeing them wasting air bombers to kill two people, wasn¡¯t really good for morale and the budget . Now that the Granado Empire, and the alliance of Beronia and the Southern Union were at a stalemate in the war, using too much ammunition on two swordsmen wasn¡¯t really a good idea .

    . . .

    "Hey Ryu are we friends?" Ken suddenly asked Ryu one day after training . Ryu who was swinging his sword looked at Ken confused .

    "That¡¯s a stupid question," Ryu answered while continuing to swing his sword .

    "I see . . . "

    "We¡¯re not only friends, we¡¯re rivals aren¡¯t we?" Ryu spoke this time without looking back . Ken who heard Ryu¡¯s reply chuckled . Even though the two of them were now middle aged men, hanging out in the forest training made it feel like they were back in the days of their youth .

    "I see, of course we are," Ken happily replied . These two were considered the most exalted experts in the way of the sword, yet right now they were acting like two teenage boys that were in a field trip, but to the two middle age men this was alright .

    To the two of them the war proved to be a good way to train . They weren¡¯t really that worried about the repercussions of the war, nor were they worried about the lives of their disciples . To the two swordsmen, the war was nothing more than a training ground, that could enhance their skills as well as their disciples¡¯ .

    . . .

    A whole year went by with the two swordsmen haven¡¯t left the forest near Cromer City . The enemies that they encountered have lessened, as the recently built fortress was fortified even more . The soldiers no longer tried to capture the two and instead started to slowly amass their forces inside the fortress .

    Both ken and Ryu found it strange, but couldn¡¯t do any recon since the two of them weren¡¯t really good in doing that . The moment they would step out of the forest they would be immediately spotted . So the two decided to not bother with what was happening, whichter on proved to be a bad decision .

    . . .

    "So they finally found us . " Ryu who was meditating opened his eyes and sighed .

    "They even sent in their elite soldiers, in merc rankings these guys should all be B to A rank . " Ken who was sharpening his sword gave his opinion .

    "I guess today we either fall and head to Valha, or we live and try to reach perfection of the sword . " Ryu unsheathed his de and so did Ken .

    "Both those oues sound good to me . "

    The two swordsmen knew that they were surrounded but they faced their opponents with sword at hand, standing back to back with no fear . The two of them took a stance for a technique that they have trained for the whole year . This technique was something they created to be used together, it was called dancing dragon and tiger . Basically one individual would pounce and attack the enemies while the other would stick close and defend them from all attacks .

    The first swordsman needed to be fully focused on attack, while the other was focused on defense . The two must have extreme mutual trust for this to work, a little bit of a dy might cause the other to die . Even the two of them who were hailed as the strongest swordsmen of their time, weren¡¯t able toplete the technique, but for today at this very moment they felt like they could do it wlessly .

    . . .

    The soldiers have finally arrived and had them surrounded . There was no warning as all the soldiers started shooting at them . Ken with sword at hand spun around slicing and deflecting all the iing bullets . Ryu then started to charge forward slicing the throats of the nearby soldiers . The two of them swinging their swords look like they were dancing with their swords . It was very elegant, but at the same time wild, violent dance .

    Yet, even though the technique was executed perfectly, and their sword skills were a bit better than a year ago, the two of them were still overwhelmed by the number of their enemies . Ryu without even bothering with defense kept on slicing and slicing, as he felt like no matter what, Ken had his back, so what¡¯s there to fear .

    Ryu who kept on cutting the throats of his enemies finally saw their numbers dwindling . Even though his body was screaming at him, even though he felt like he could no longer swing the sword he still kept on swinging, until finally none remain .

    Ryu who felt the back of his rival and friend lean on him, knew immediately what happened .

    "Thanks for having my back . . . It was fun . . . May our swords once again cross in Valha, my friend . . . " Ken¡¯s voice was getting softer and softer as he spoke .

    "Yeah, it was fun," the ever stoic Ryu smiled for the first time in a long time . "I hope you have a fun time up there in Valha, my rival, my friend . . . " Ryu didn¡¯t need to look back to know what happened to his friend, as his very own consciousness started to be blurry .

 Chapter 340

    Chapter 340

    In a secure location hidden from the eyes of all nations, six men sat on a table that had a lot of empty chairs . Sitting in the middle seat was, Carlo Samarita, frowning while looking at his surroundings .

    "Is this all that¡¯s left?" Carlo spoke in a dire tone . The squad that used to be the strongest, the one said to be near-invincible that even an SS rank couldn¡¯t beat was reduced to this . Only six of them were left .

    "I¡¯m sorry boss, I let you down . " Kira the new leader stood up and apologized .

    "Even Ryu isn¡¯t here, do you think he¡¯s done for?" Dan spoke a bit irritated at the situation . Moments ago he was raging when he heard from Luke that his daughter was captured . Yet with thebined effort of everyone present he was able to calm down .

    "I heard a rumor that two swordsmen have been killing some Granado Empire soldiers in an unnamed forest near Cromer city . I¡¯m sure one of the swordsmen is Ryu . " Luke answered Dan¡¯s question .

    "This is quite a troubling situation . With only us left in the squad, this mission might be quite difficult . " The one who spoke was a man who looked to be extremelyzy as he flipped his knife over and over again .

    "Viktor stop ying with your knife . " This time a man who looks like a teenager spoke with an irritated look .

    "Huh, who are you to tell me what I can and cannot do? Do you want me to kill you, Sora?" Viktor pointed his knife at Sora, while saying his words with a low growl .

    "Is that how you speak to your elders? As always you¡¯re such a sh*tty brat aren¡¯t you Viktor! How about I kill you instead?!" Sora then took out some bottles out of his bag .

    "Heh, how can I treat you like an elder if you look like that, might as well call you little bro," Viktor sneered . This action of his triggered Sora even more . When the two were about to break into an all-out fight, the two heard a gunshot .

    "The two of you stop acting like children! Tsk, we are all that¡¯s left of the squad, we have no time to be quarreling amongst ourselves . Alex has been captured, even Rachel, Dan¡¯s daughter and all of their friends have been captured by that b*stard who ims to be Alex¡¯s grandfather . He¡¯s the one who killed his own son and daughter-inw, I can¡¯t imagine what kind of torture Alex and his friends are enduring . . . I want to save my son, and I can¡¯t do that without you guys!"

    Carlo who was usually calm mmed his fist onto the table . His face distorted with both pain, anger, and sorrow . Sora and Viktor who saw the face of their leader stopped fighting and sat back down .

    "Sorry about that leader . " Viktor apologized, and so did Sora .

    "Still what are we suppose to do, most of us have been killed off, by a mysterious hidden force . They took us out one by one . " Sora continued the conversation, with a bit of worry that could be heard in his tone .

    "I know that, and until now we don¡¯t know who our enemies are . . . Still . . . Even in this situation, I want to save Alex and his friends . " Carlo was very irritated at the current situation since he thought that his old squad would be able to help him, yet here they were a sorry excuse of what they used to be .

    "I understand what you¡¯re feeling right now boss . I and everyone else treated Alex as a true nephew, we loved him as he was part of our family . Still, we¡¯re up against the Shadow Mercenaries . They¡¯re a group that has numerous legends backing them up . If we were still at our peak I wouldn¡¯t mind shing with them, but at our current state, I-"

    Before Kira could finish speaking a loud booming sound was made, the table in front of everyone was smashed in two . The only one capable of doing this feat with his bare hands was looking angrily at Kira .

    "Do you have something to say Dan?" Kira responded to the ring Dan, while his hand was in a position to pull out his gun .

    "Do I have something to say?! I have a f*cking lot to say! You keep on talking like a coward, isn¡¯t your sh*tty ways the reason that this squad turned into this?! If you ain¡¯t going to help me, then I¡¯ll go by myself and save my daughter and rescue those other brats as well . "

    "Fine, do what you want! No one in their right mind would just mindlessly follow an idiot like you without a n . " Kira shouted at Dan whose back was facing him .

    "Hey Dan, I¡¯ll be going with you . "

    Kira was surprised to hear the always calm and collected leader of his say something like that . The same leader that would always move with a n in mind, was actually going to the enemies base without any strategy at all .

    "Sure, let¡¯s get our kids back from those as*h*les!" Dan started grinning from ear to ear as he spoke with gusto .

    "Mind if I join you guys?" Someone suddenly entered the room without making a sound . The others were about to draw their weapons until they saw who came in . With a sniper rifle on both shoulders, and two pistols on his chest, and two pistols on his waist, this man was none other than Kyle Hunt .

    "Those b*stards took my sister and my future brother-inw . I need to get them back no matter what . "

    "Now this is what I¡¯m talking about! Let¡¯s go and destroy those f*cking Shadow Mercenaries!" Seeing the new arrival made Dan even more pumped up . The three of them were about to leave when someone spoke .

    "Hey leader mind if Ie with you? Beating the legendary Shadow Mercenaries, will make us all famous for years toe . Of course, I won¡¯t want to miss that . I¡¯ll be taking all their heads, as trophies," Viktor enthusiastically spoke .

    "I want to join you guys as well, there are some new concoctions I¡¯ve made that I want to test . I¡¯m sure the people from the Shadow Mercenaries will give me excellent data . " Sora with his baby face spoke with a creepy smile on his face .

    "I¡¯ll always go wherever boss wants me to go," Luke spoke up as well .

    "Of course you can join us . Even though we no longer have the others with us, I still believe we are the strongest squad . " Carlo who saw hispanions were still willing to follow him, made him truly happy . He then looked at the confused Kira and spoke to him .

    "How about you, are you going to join us?"

    "You guys are insane! Of course, I¡¯ll be joining you as well! It¡¯s either victory or Valha!" Kira who was hesitating moments ago quickly got over it and pumped himself up .

    The squad that was once feared as the strongest no longer exists, but to its members that didn¡¯t matter . They move onward with powerful determination .

 Chapter 341

    Chapter 341

    As the war continued to rage on, life in the capital of Berdonia remained never changing . The people of Berdonia knew that arge scale war was happening, but they weren¡¯t that bothered by it . In the history of the world, there was never a time when the war between countries has ended . There was always constant war, this predates the establishment of the Granado Empire, which was the oldest existing country in the current world .

    Not only that Berdonia has always been fighting against the Granado Empire, but they have yet to fall . Even if they did fall, the pride they had as Berdonians would never falter . They truly believed that they would win the war . So they were thinking of what will happen next . Even if the war continues on, and many brave men and women have died, life in Berdonia would continue .

    This was the reason, that even now the children needed to go to school .

    . . .

    Niki was absentmindedly walking to school as she couldn¡¯t stop thinking about her brother . Usually every week her brother would call her and keep her updated about his situation . Yet for the past few weeks, her brother hasn¡¯t called .

    This made Niki extremely worried as she felt something bad had happened . She knew that her brother¡¯s line of work was dangerous, and it was entirely possible that he was in an area where he couldn¡¯t make calls . Her parents had exined that to her multiple times, but that didn¡¯t stop Niki from worrying . While she was absentmindedly walking she heard someone calling beside her .

    "Niki! Niki! Niki!" The one shouting right at her ear was none other than her best friend Lilitth . Niki finally got out of her dazed state and looked at Lilitth .

    "Sorry, did you say something Lilitth?"

    "Niki, we already passed the school gate . " Lilitth was holding Niki¡¯s hand and pointed at the school gate behind them .

    "Oh," Niki finally regained her senses and walked towards the school gate .

    . . .

    All throughout the morning sses, Niki was in a dazed state and wasn¡¯t able to listen properly to anything that teachers said . So during lunchtime, Lilitth forcefully brought her best friend to the back of the school building to confront Niki about her situation .

    "Niki, can you please tell me what¡¯s bothering you . " Lilitth looked really distressed this time . The moment Niki started acting weird Lilitth asked her if there was something troubling her . At first, Niki answered by saying, it wasn¡¯t anything big . After a few more days Niki became even more absentminded, which made Lilitth worry even more, so she tried to ask again . Niki then responded by telling Lilitth to not ask her again, and she just needed time to think about things .

    A little girl saying something like that was weird, but both Niki and Lilitth were more mature than other ten-year-old girls . So at first Lilitth decided to respect Niki¡¯s wishes and left her alone, helping her here and there . Yet now she couldn¡¯t help it anymore, Niki was getting worse every passing day . This made Lilitth extremely ufortable and worried .

    Niki who saw her best friend in so much distress because of her, finally spoke about what happened to her brother . Lilitth listened to Niki without saying a word, once Niki was done talking Lilitth suddenly hugged her .

    Feeling Lilitth¡¯s warmth made Niki who was suppressing herself suddenly cry .

    "Nii-nii! Nii-nii! Nii-nii!" Niki kept on repeating this as she cried on Lilitth¡¯s shoulders . Lilitth who heard Niki cry for her brother remembered her own brother . She was in a simr situation as Niki, but she didn¡¯t feel as depressed like this .

    ¡¯Is it because onii-sama isn¡¯t rted to me by blood? . . . No that can¡¯t be it! I¡¯m sure it¡¯s because I believe in Tou-chan and Nii-sama! I¡¯m sure that two of them wille back and give me lots of hugs . ¡¯

    When she thought of that, tears suddenly came falling down and she started crying too . Lilitth then noticed the tears falling from her cheeks, and got a bit confused .

    ¡¯What¡¯s this, why am I crying? I don¡¯t understand? . . . I know I believe that onii-sama and tou-chan will return safely, I understand, I do . So why am I crying? Tou-chan told me to protect Yuuki and Mirai, how can a big sister protect his younger sibling while crying? This isn¡¯t right, onii-sama never cried and he protected me with that huge back of his . ¡¯

    Lilitth then remembered the time her onii-sama saved her from her hell, and then protected her from thereon . It was the same with Carlo and Michel, even though they weren¡¯t rted by blood, the still treated her as a daughter and sister .

    When Lilitth suddenly imagined a world were Alex and Carlo wasn¡¯t there, tears started to flow down her cheeks harder than before .

    ¡¯Why am I thinking of such things? That¡¯s impossible! Onii-sama and tou-chan will never lose! Tou-chan promised that they¡¯lle back . I just need to believe in tou-chan . I¡¯m sure onii-sama wouldn¡¯t abandon me as well . I¡¯m sure he¡¯lle back and pat my head telling me I¡¯m a good girl . ¡¯

    Lilitth who was spiraling down to depression could no longer hold it in, and started crying as hard as Niki .

    The two little girls who were crying behind the school building, were noticed by a teacher who was passing by and heard them crying . The teacher that found the two girls, didn¡¯t know what to do at first, and tried to calm them down . It took him several minutes to be able to calm down the two little girls .

    . . .

    The school day passed rather quickly after Niki cried her heart out . As the two were heading home, Lilitth suddenly spoke to Niki .

    "Hey Niki want to have a sleepover?"

    "Huh?"

    "Let¡¯s have a sleepover, I¡¯m sure that¡¯s going to be fun . " Without waiting for Niki to respond, Lilitth took out her phone and called her mom . After a short conversation with Michel, Lilitth looked at Niki with a wide smile on her face .

    "Kaa-chan said you cane over and y, she also said that she would call your parents and tell them you¡¯re staying at our ce tonight . "

 Chapter 342

    Chapter 342

    Niki who was forcefully dragged into a sleepover by Lilitth, was now standing at the front gate of the Samarita¡¯s mansion . Even though she already knew that her best friend was rich, she didn¡¯t imagine her to be this rich . The house she lived in was a very tall building, that looked more like a corporate building than a house .

    From the front gate, you could see the house from a distance, meaning you need to walk quite a distance to reach the house . While Nike was distracted by the scene before her, Lilitth pressed on the doorbell . The moment Lilitth press the doorbell, someone immediately came to greet them .

    The person that came out to greet them was wearing a butler uniform, this was the first time Niki has seen someone wearing a butler¡¯s uniform aside from people in anime .

    "Wee home ojou-sama . " The butler bowed in front of Lilitth and Niki . When Niki saw the butler bowing she panicked and bowed as well .

    "There is no need to bow our dear guest . "

    "Um, is that so, I¡¯m sorry . " Niki said panicking while bowing again . Lilitth who was watching at the sideline started giggling . Niki who heard Lilitth giggling looked at her best friend and pouted . Due to Niki¡¯s incredible cuteness seeing her pout was a heart-pounding experience . Coupled with Lilitth¡¯s giggling, the two extremely cute little girls packed a real punch . Even if one weren¡¯t a lolicon (pedophile) the extreme cuteness of the two girls would make their hearts swoon .

    It was a good thing that the butler that greeted them had extreme self-control, otherwise, he would have fallen already from the cuteness of the two . The butler then opened the door of the car that was already in front of them .

    "May the twodies please enter . " Both Lilitth and Niki entered the car .

    . . .

    Even with the use of a car, the building that Lilitth called home was pretty far . While on the road there, Niki noticed that the scenery on the way to Lilitth¡¯s house was quite beautiful . There was an assortment of rare flora and fauna, there were even some animals that you would only see in a zoo, an example of which was a giraffe .

    Niki who was watching from the car was amazed at what she saw . It was like she suddenly came to another world . At that moment, even though it onlysted for a second she was able to forget her brother¡¯s plight . Yet, after that very second, she immediately thought, ¡¯I wish I could share this experience with nii-nii . ¡¯

    When Niki once again thought of her brother, she became a bit depressed . Lilitth who noticed the sudden shift of her best friend¡¯s emotions spoke to her .

    "Niki, look over there . "

    Niki who was in a daze, thinking of her brother again, looked at the direction her best friend pointed at . The moment she turned her head she saw something amazing .

    She saw a huge waterfall and below that waterfall was a beautiful rainbow . Once again, Niki was amazed that this was all part of Lilitth¡¯s front yard . If this is what the front yard looked like, Niki couldn¡¯t imagine what she would see inside Lilitth¡¯s house .

    "How long does it take to get to your house?" Niki asked Lilitth .

    "Hmmm, at the speed we are going at, we¡¯ll get to my house around . . . Thirty minutester? . . . " Lilitth answered with a bit of uncertainty .

    "What?! Thirty minutes?! That long?! How big is this ce anyway?! . . . Also, why do you sound so unsure?" Niki spoke in a very fast manner, surprised and confused at what she heard .

    "How big is this ce? . . . I¡¯m not sure, let¡¯s ask kaa-chan when we get to the house . Also, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m not sure, it¡¯s just that the way to the house is different every week . Kaa-chan likes to change things every now and then . "

    Niki was amazed by Lilitth¡¯s answer . Her mother also has the same problem, she would change the position of the furniture every now and then, but the scale of Lilitth¡¯s mother was in a whole different league . Lilitth¡¯s mother didn¡¯t just change the position of furniture, she changes the road to their house .

    Niki once again needed to reassess how rich her best friend was . This was at a level that bordered the absurd .

    . . .

    When they were near the building which Lilitth calls her "house", Niki saw her favorite animal . A panda was eating bamboo leaves . When Niki saw the panda, she couldn¡¯t help but ask Lilitth if she could somehow pet the panda .

    "Sure you can," Lilitth answered with a smile on her face . Finally, it seems like her best friend was slowly moving her focus away from her brother . The two little girls got off the car and headed towards the panda .

    "Is it really alright to pet him? He won¡¯t bite me, will he?" Niki asked Lilitth cautiously .

    "Well first of, she¡¯s a she and her name¡¯s Su Lin, who my mother got her for my two younger siblings . Su Lin is a sweetheart, not only can you pet her, you can even ride her . "

    When Niki heard what Lilitth said her eyes balls almost burst out of her eye sockets . as she couldn¡¯t help but get even more excited . So without further ado, the two little girls rode on the panda . Seeing the two girls, one who looked as beautiful as a doll, and the other that looked cuter than a kitten, ridding a panda was a scene that seemed to be from a fairy tale .

    Michel who was wondering what happened to the two girls started looking for them . When she saw how much fun they were having, she took out a high-end camera and started taking pictures . Lilitth who had superhuman abilities, would usually already notice that her mother was taking pictures of her, wasn¡¯t able to notice at this moment, for she was having so much fun with her best friend .

    Niki was also unable to notice that she was getting her picture taken, as she was having the time of her life riding on a panda . This was how Lilitth and Niki¡¯s sleepover started .

 Chapter 343

    Chapter 343

    The two little girls were having so much riding Su Lin the panda that they didn¡¯t notice the passing of time, it was already five in the evening when Michel snapped out of her picture taking craze .

    "That¡¯s enough ying around, you two it¡¯s time toe inside . " When the two girls heard Michel¡¯s voice, they were surprised . The two then immediately got off Su Lin and trotted towards Michel .

    "Kaa-chan how long have you been there?" Lilitth who saw Michel¡¯s camera already knew what her mother was doing, but she didn¡¯t know for how long .

    "I¡¯ve been here since you two started happily ying with Su Lin . " Michel answered honestly, since she didn¡¯t think what she did was wrong in any way . What¡¯s so wrong in a mother appreciating how cute her daughter was .

    "If you¡¯re here then who¡¯s taking care of Yuuki and Mirai?" Lilitth suddenly questioned her mother .

    "The two are sleeping, and if they wake up there are numerous maids looking after them, and if it¡¯s something they can¡¯t handle they¡¯ll inform me . "

    "That¡¯s no what I¡¯m talking about Kaa-chan!"

    While the mother and daughter duo were having their little chat, Niki was standing at the sidepletely embarrassed . She was so happy to be riding on a panda that shepletely forgot she was here as a visitor, and should¡¯ve greeted Lilitth¡¯s mother first .

    . . .

    "So Niki your mom and dad told me you can stay with us through the weekend . " Niki who was waiting for a chance to greet Michel, was instead surprised by what she said .

    "Really?! Niki can stay with us for that long!" Lilitth spoke excitedly .

    "Yeah, her mom and dad already told me that it¡¯s alright for her to stay . " Seeing her daughter looking really happy, Michel replied with a smile on her face . Ever since Carlo left to look for Alex, Michel noticed that even though Lilitth looked and acted the same as usual, every now and then she would see her daughter with a sad look on her face . Michel wasn¡¯t sure if Lilitth noticed herself doing this, but when Michel saw her daughter making that face as if the world was ending, made her heartache . So seeing Lilitth act excitedly like this was a really nice improvement .

    "Yay!" Lilitth happily responded to her mother¡¯s confirmation .

    "Good evening Auntie, thank you for having me today!" Niki suddenly burst out . Since she couldn¡¯t find an opportunity to greet Michel, Niki could no longer hold it in, and suddenly spoke in a loud voice . When she noticed that the mother and daughter were looking at her weirdly, Niki couldn¡¯t help but blush in embarrassment .

    Seeing the little girl blush so hard that it made even her ears red, Michel and Lilitth startedughing . This made Niki even more embarrassed .

    . . .

    After greeting each other, the three-headed inside the building . The moment she entered the building Niki was amazed at what she saw . The first floor of the building looked exactly like the lobby of a five-star hotel, but this one had maids and butlers in two straight lines greeting and bowing at them .

    Michel told the two to go ahead to Lilitth¡¯s room, while she asks the maids to make them some snacks they could eat .

    Niki was then led by Lilitth to her room . They took an elevator going up to the twentieth floor . The elevator¡¯s floor was see-through, while the side was made of something that looked like ss, and the two were able to see the outside from the elevator, so it looked like they were flying upwards . At first, this frightened Niki, but then after they reached the fourth floor, she found it quite fun and exhrating . As the elevator headed upward, Niki saw the view and was amazed to see the city from the distance, until finally, they reached the twentieth floor . When the two girls got off the elevator, Niki was amazed to see that the whole floor seem to be just one big room .

    The whole floor was decorated with Bloody Princess merchandise and even magical girl L was all over the ce . Poster and figurines were ced in different portions of the room . The room looked more like a lonely teenager¡¯s room than a ten-year-old girl¡¯s room .

    "This is my room," Lilitth warily weed her best friend into her room . Shepletely forgot that her room was like this . She was too excited hearing the news that Niki would be staying over the whole weekend that she forgot that she wasn¡¯t able to hide her collectibles yet .

    "You never told me that you were such a fan of Bloody Princess Eva . You even have the limited edition, Revival of the Princess figurine!" Niki happily looked around the room . Seeing her friend so excited at looking at the collection made Lilitth sigh in relief .

    "Sorry that I didn¡¯t tell you about me liking Bloody Princess Eva . I thought you might be weirded out, since I heard the other girls say that people who watch anime are gross . "

    Niki who heard her best friend sound so weak looked at her eye to eye .

    "Even if I didn¡¯t really like Bloody Princess Eva, I would never think you¡¯re gross . Who cares what those girls say, as long as you like it then it doesn¡¯t really matter what they say . Also, I¡¯m pretty sure, if you and I say that we like watching anime, no one would be on their side, and most of them would even say that the anime was really good . "

    "Really?" Lilitth looked at Niki with a bit of reluctance to believe what she was saying .

    "Of course, the two of us are the two most popr girls in school, whatever we say goes . "

    "Really? I always thought you were the popr one, and I was just an add on . "

    "Of course not, I know for a fact that Lilitth is really popr with both the boys and the girls in school . Well let¡¯s stop talking about that, I want to see more of your collection . " Niki immediately changed the subject, since she didn¡¯t want to admit that the truth was Lilitth was even more popr than her .

    "Sure, I¡¯ll show you everything, but I also have a request I hope you hear me out," Lilitth asked shyly . In which Niki answered without any hesitation, "Sure . "

    . . .

    The two girls were now inside a room filled with costumes, and both Lilitth and Niki were cosying . Lilitth was wearing a gothic lolita style dress while carrying a gorgeous looking one-handed sword, as she was cosying as Bloody Princess Eva . Niki, on the other hand, was wearing a long white priestess gown, with a velvet cape as she held a stic mace as a prop . Niki was cosying as Eva¡¯s best friend and rival, Holy maiden Lara .

    The two then started to do some poses from the anime . Michel who came up to bring the two girls some snacks was able to witness the glorious scene . She immediately took out her phone and once again started taking pictures .

    "You two are adorable, how about a photo shoot!" Michel couldn¡¯t help herself anymore and spoke in a loud voice, surprising the two girls .

    Without waiting for their answers, Michel was able to force the girls to do a photoshoot while cosying .

 Chapter 344

    Chapter 344

    After they were done with the photoshoot, Niki had already gotten a bitfortable with cosying . Michel on the other hand, was very happy to be able to take pictures of her cute little daughter with her friend . It was at that moment Michel decided to create a new line of clothes, simply for cosy purposes . She even started to think of paying the manga artist of Bloody Princess, to have the main character change their clothes every episode, making Lilitth who likes the show so much want to dress the same way .

    . . .

    Once they were done changing clothes, the two little girls followed Michel to the Nursery . The Nursery was located two floors below Lilitth¡¯s room, the nursery was also on the same floor as Carlo, and Michel¡¯s room .

    The twins were awake, and two maids were cradling them . Lilitth who saw her sibling were awake, happily introduced her them to Niki .

    "These two are my little brother and sister . The cool-looking guy here is Yuuki, and the cute lovable one over here is Mirai . Yuuki, Mirai, this is onee-chan¡¯s best friend in the whole world Niki . "

    As if the twins understood their big sister, both of them looked at Niki with little smiles on their faces .

    "Hello Yuuki, Mirai, I hope from here onward we¡¯ll have lots of fun . "

    The two little girls started to y with the twins . When Michel saw this scene she almost had a nosebleed . She once again took out her camera and started taking pictures .

    ¡¯This is such a wonderful day to be alive! It¡¯s a bit sad Carlo isn¡¯t here to appreciate this heaven on earth . . . Well, I guess I¡¯ll just bask in this wonderful moment for the two of us . Well, I¡¯ll just send him these pictures onto his emailter . ¡¯

    Once Michel was done having that little thought in her head, she then continued to take countless pictures of the adorable scene before her .

    . . .

    After ying with the twins, the group headed to the dining table where they were treated with a big feast . Niki couldn¡¯t help but get a bit irritated at herself for being overwhelmed by almost everything she saw inside Lilitth¡¯s house .

    Moments ago Niki thought she wouldn¡¯t be embarrassed or surprise anymore, yet now that she was surrounded by dozens of maids and butlers watching her eat, made her feel both things at the same time . Still, that didn¡¯t stop her for having a wonderful meal .

    . . .

    The next thing the girls did after eating was y some video games . Niki who thought she was rtively good at video games, due to her experience of ying with her brother at the arcade every now and then, was dealt a huge blow when Lilitth defeated her effortlessly .

    At first, Niki thought Lilitth was only good at fighting games, but sheter found out that Lilitth was good at every game . She kept on challenging Lilitth, in different games, but no matter what she did she just couldn¡¯t win . They yed up until 22:00 when entered the gaming room and told them to go to sleep .

    . . .

    Lilitth¡¯s bed was so big that it had space enough for five of her, making it rtively easy for the two little girls to share a bed . Once they changed into their pajamas, the two little girls went straight to bed, and it didn¡¯t take long for them to fall asleep .

    Michel who saw the two sleeping soundly went out of the room and headed to the floor below to speak with the maids and butlers .

    "Everyone please protect my children, while I deal with the rats scurrying about," Michel spoke while showing a very serious expression, the total opposite of her easy-going look moments ago .

    "YES, MA¡¯AM!" The maids and butlers responded with gusto . The head maid then stepped forward and spoke to Michel .

    "Madam, you do not need to deal with some rats . We are all perfectly capable of doing that . I hope you reconsider and allow us to do the extermination for you . "

    "I know that, but it¡¯s been a while since I moved my body properly . So allow me to have my fun, all you guys need to do is protect my children, and of course our guest . Also, don¡¯t forget to guide the rats towards that area, I don¡¯t want to there to be a mess . "

    "Very well madam, if that is your wish, we will do as youmand . " The head maid did a curtsy . Seeing that there was nothing more to say Michel left the room .

    . . .

    Intruder¡¯s POV:

    We and my fellow brothers that have been graced with an important mission by the true ruler of Berdonia, Reghinald Berdonia . He has given us the way to finally destroy the Granado Empire, and one of the tools needed to reach that goal was the doll hidden inside the Samaritas home .

    It turns out that the Samaritas were a part of the group that goes against our dear leader, and they even stole the doll he created . Now it was our job as his loyal servants to get it back .

    Entering the premise wasn¡¯t as hard as we had thought, the security seems to be a bitxer than we initially anticipated . There were guards dress up as maids and butlers, but their numbers were a bitcking from what we expected . We easily evaded detection, until finally, we found ourselves inside a huge dark room .

    It didn¡¯t make sense, we couldn¡¯t understand what happened and how it happened . It was then I realized that this was a trap, we were being herded into this position . When I was about to escape with myrades we found ourselves locked inside the room . It was then the lights suddenly turned on, and at the middle of the room were numerous weapons, and at that middle of that was a cool looking beauty . That must be Michel Samarita, also known as thedy with a thousand weapons .

    "May I ask what are you doing here?" Michel suddenly spoke, we didn¡¯t bother answering her and instead drew our weapons . It wasn¡¯t part of the n, but killing Michel Samarita would help are great lord . All of us who were pointing our guns at her were about to shoot, but then the lights were turned off, so without hesitation, I and myrades, activated our night vision goggles .

    The moment the goggles activated, the battle was already over, I saw all myrades down on the ground dead . Michel was now actually in front of me pointing what looked like a halberd at my face .

    "So are you willing to talk now?" The beauty smiled at me making me very soul shiver in fear .

 Chapter 345

    Chapter 345

    Michel who had cornered a single intruder was about to make him talk, but then she saw something sparkling inside the intruder¡¯s mouth .

    "All for our beloved ruler!" The intruder suddenly shouted and with that, his body suddenly exploded, when that happened Michel quickly backed away and took out a towering shield . It was a good thing that she responded quickly, as the bodies of the other intruders all started exploding .

    The power of the explosion wasn¡¯t enough to destroy the room or break through the shield Michel was holding . It was obvious that this wasn¡¯t meant to take down an enemy, it was to keep their secrets safe . Still, thest intruder made a mistake, as he shouted for our beloved ruler . With that information at hand, Michel was able to narrow the suspects down to two people .

    ¡¯This is either the work of the Emperor of the Granado Empire, or the crazy fool who calls himself the brother of the founder, Reghinald Berdonia . ¡¯ While Michel was thinking about what to do next, she suddenly heard the sound of explosions, outside the room . She immediately came out and saw that the twentieth floor were her daughter and her friend were sleeping had smoleing out of it .

    "LILITTH!"

    . . .

    A few hours before the explosion, another group of people had infiltrated the Samaritasnd . Since all the maids and butlers were focused on the first intruders, they weren¡¯t able to detect the second wave . When the maids and butlers finally noticed the disturbance it was toote, the intruders got to the twentieth floor, and they had an S rank merc with them, which easily dealt with the two guards protecting the floor .

    "You guys hold back those maids and butlers . I¡¯m sorry, but it¡¯s sad to say that this is it for your lives, you will die here today . " The S rank merc spoke to hispanions .

    "It¡¯s alright John, if it¡¯s for our king and his dream of making Berdonia great, then we die happily . " One of the men answered, John wanted to say something more, but the maids and butlers of the house finally reached the floor and started attacking .

    "May we meet again in Valha!" John said as he sprinted towards the bed were Lilitth and Nikiy .

    . . .

    The head maid was biting her lips in frustration, this was the biggest blunder in her life . She had only one job, and she wasn¡¯t able to do it properly .

    "Bring Yuuki-sama, and Mirai-sama to safety . Also, Contact Lady Michel immediately!" She knew the moment she saw John, that without Michel there might be more people dying today . That was a named merc, John the quickdraw, though he wasn¡¯t at the level of the five strongest of Berdonia, he would still be able to hold them off, and if he wanted too, he could easily escape from them .

    "We can¡¯t contactdy Michel, we¡¯re being jammed . " The butler in charge ofmunication responded in a dire tone .

    "Damn it! Push forward we must protect Lilitth ojou-sama at all cost!" The head maidmanded while she herself joined the battle .

    . . .

    Lilitth had awaken because of the noises, and immediately got a hold of the steel rod she hid underneath her bed . Niki was also awake now and still a bit groggy . It was at that moment that the two heard a gunshot . Lilitth¡¯s legs hands had a bullet pierce through it .

    Niki who saw her best friend bleeding started screaming .

    "It¡¯s alright Niki, I¡¯m alright!" After she said this Lilitth¡¯s wound healed, and showed her best friend . Niki was surprised at the sudden changes in the situation . Yet there was no time to exin anything .

    "Niki, please hide in the closet . "

    "I can¡¯t leave you here alone Lilitth!"

    "It¡¯s going to be alright . . . If you stay here, it will be harder for me to fight . " Niki looked at Lilitth and clenched her fist . She knew what Lilitth said was the undeniable truth, which made it hurt even more . Withoutining anymore Niki immediately ran towards the closet .

    "Now that the girl is gone, how about youe quietly with me, you doll . " Lilitth looked at the man who spoke . He was a middle-aged man, that had four handguns dangling on his waist .

    "Sorry mister, but my parents told me to never go with strangers . "

    "A doll-like you . masquerading as a human . . . Well, whatever, if you won¡¯te quietly then I¡¯ll have to use force . " Once he was done speaking, another sound of gunshots was heard, yet Lilitth with her enhanced senses couldn¡¯t fully see the moment John drew his gun and fired .

    The shots were aimed at Lilitth¡¯s hands and legs, making her drop her weapon and kneel on the ground . Yet even with that much damage, the wounds healed quickly, and the moment she could move again Lilitth picked up her weapon and charged at John .

    John was a bit surprised to see how quickly Lilitth moved, but that wasn¡¯t enough to get him . John was able to easily evade the first strike since even though Lilitth was much faster than him, her movements were too linear . As he evaded John countered by shooting numerous bullets at Lilitth .

    "If one shot isn¡¯t enough, I just need to shoot you until you stop moving . It doesn¡¯t seem like you¡¯ll die even if I do that . "

    . . .

    Lilitth who was getting shot at, with no way of evading made it difficult for her to fight back . Even though her wounds were getting healed almost instantly, the pain she receives from the attacks were real . There were moments during the fight that she wanted to scream and faint, but she gritted her teeth and kept moving forward . Wasn¡¯t the purpose of her training, was so that she wouldn¡¯t be a burden so that she would be able to protect the ones she loves . With that motivation giving her strength, she kept on moving against an opponent that was beyond her current skill .

    . . .

    John was amazed by the doll¡¯s tenacity . It also seemed that as they continued fighting she was getting better . It was then John decided he needed to end this faster . When John decided to go all out, he heard the sound of multiple explosions behind him . It would seem that hispanions have started dying .

    "I don¡¯t have time to y with you anymore!"

    . . .

    Michel was extremely angered as she got a hold of a grappling gun from her armory while holding a halberd . She used the grappling gun to reach Lilitth¡¯s room, since the elevator was currently unavable, and taking the stairs was too long . So with her customized grappling gun Michel was able to reach her daughter¡¯s room faster .

    When she got to the floor were Lilitth was at, she saw her daughter breathing heavily while kneeling on the floor, bloodstains were all over her beautiful skin . Though there were no visible wounds, Michel knew that her daughter was severely injured and because of her body healing there were no visible wounds . Yet it was obvious that she lost too much blood to be able to move . The one who did this to her was looking at Lilitth, with contempt and disgust . When Michel saw this she screamed at the man .

    "How dare you! How dare you do this to my beloved daughter!" It was at that moment, something deep within Michel snapped, and her body moved beyond what it was capable of . She felt some bullets pierced her shoulder and scratched her cheeks, but she didn¡¯t care as she swung the halberd down .

    John was able to dodge, but was a bit toote, making him lose an arm from that attack . Right now he was looking at Michel with a bit of fear . Thedy with a thousand arms was fomous and was considered a top merc, but he didn¡¯t expect her to be this frightening . It seems like the very air trembles before her presence .

    "No one, not even God mayy a hand on my daughter!" Michel suddenly proimed as she stood in front of Lilitth .

 Chapter 346

    Chapter 346

    John who had his left hand cut off was trying to stop the bleeding . It was a good thing Michel didn¡¯t follow up her attack if she continued then it would¡¯ve been hard for John to survive . While he was stopping the gushing of his blood, John heard the continued booming of explosions .

    ¡¯Damn it! This mission is a failure, if only I knew that the doll was this persistent, then I would have done things differently . ¡¯

    John seeing the situation turn dire, decided that he should escape first, and try again some other time . He took out a stun grenade and a smoke grenade, he pulled the pin of both grenades using his teeth . Michel saw what he was about to do and threw her halberd at John . Yet John already got used to such speeds and was able to dodge the attack while throwing the grenades at the same time .

    John knew he was too close to the stun grenade that it would¡¯ve worked on him too, but he needed to take the risk since he was facing an enraged Michel . Even though the two of them were both S rank, their experience and abilities were worlds apart . If he were to fight Michel in her current state, he would die while inflicting little damage on Michel .

    So the moment he was blinded by his own stun grenade, John started running towards the window where he saw Michel enter . Even though he couldn¡¯t see at the moment, he could somehow remember the way to get to the window . He just needed to follow the path he remembers, if he fails then its death if he seeds he could escape with his life intact .

    While John was running, he suddenly ducked as he heard a whooshing sound pass by him . It seems that Michel had attacked, and she was able to pinpoint his exact location .

    ¡¯Did the effectivity of the stun grenade wear off?¡¯ It was looking bad for John, as he took some distance . His senses were finallying back to him, as he saw a blurry figure charging right at him . John by instinct took out his guns and started shooting, but it was a bit slower since he had recently lost on arm .

    Even while he was in a state of confusion John¡¯s attacks still hit the mark . Yet the blurry figure didn¡¯t stop charging at him, once it got close enough John saw Michel about to swing the halberd she was holding . He wanted to evade but knew that he wouldn¡¯t make it . The only option he had left was to block the attack .

    John threw three of his guns at Michel trying to disrupt her attack for a bit, but that move failed to achieve its objective as Michel wasn¡¯t bothered by it as she swung her halberd down at full force . John had no choice but to lift up his right arm while using his one remaining gun to block the attack . Yet as expected Michel was able to slice through his hand and gun like butter .

    It was at this point John knew he had no more chances . He then same as the ones before him shouted at Michel .

    "All for our be-" John wasn¡¯t able to finish what he was about to say when his head was pierced by Michel¡¯s halberd .

    "Who the hell cares about what the f*ck you gonna say . Just f*cking shut up and die already . " Michel spoke with disdain and irritation . After she confirmed that John wasn¡¯t going to explode, she immediately rushed to her daughter¡¯s side .

    "Lilitth, everything is alright kaa-chan beat up the bad guy . " Michel who looked horrifying just moments ago changed into one with a look of concern .

    Lilitth who lost so much blood from that fight could only respond in a whisper . "I¡¯m okay kaa-chan, thank you for saving me . "

    Seeing her daughter look so weak like that made Michel tear up . When Lilitth saw that she weakly raised her hand and wiped the tears of her mother¡¯s face .

    "It¡¯s alright kaa-chan, it¡¯s my fault for being too weak . "

    "Of course, it¡¯s not your fault Lilitth! You did you¡¯re very best and kaa-chan is so proud of you . " Michel held onto Lilitth¡¯s hand that wiped away her tears .

    While the two were having their moment, Niki who was hiding inside the closet came near . When she saw her best friend stained with blood she couldn¡¯t help but cry . She rushed towards Lilitth¡¯s side and hugged her best friend .

    "I¡¯m sorry Lilitth, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry!" Niki kept on repeating the words sorry as she tightly hugged Lilitth, who couldn¡¯t do anything but simply stroke her best friend¡¯s head . Michel who saw that Niki was alright, and confirmed that her daughter isn¡¯t in a critical condition stood up ready to kill the remaining intruders . Yet but as she was about to move, she saw the head maid running towards her .

    "Lady Michel!" The head maid saw Michel, and then saw the crying Niki holding the bloodstained Lilitth . When the head maid saw this scene, she quickly figured out what happened . Without any dy she knelt on the ground, her forehead touching the floor .

    "Forgive medy Michel, we¡¯ve already annihted the remaining intruders, but we weren¡¯t able to defend Lilitth ojou-sama . That is my failure as the head maid, and I will take responsibility . I hope that you would pardon my subordinates, for it is solely my mistake as theirmander . If you wish for it I will dly take my life as repentance . "

    The head maid then pulled out her gun and pointed it at her head, but before she could pull the trigger, Michel was able to stop her .

    "There is no need for that, you did the best you could . Send me a detailed report of the casualtiester, for now, I want you to double-check if there are any more rats left . "

    The head maid stood up and saluted Michel, before heading out to fulfill her duties . Once Michel was done talking to the head maid, she noticed that Niki was no standing right in front of her .

    "What is it Niki, is there something wrong? Are you hurt anywhere?"

    "Auntie Michel, I have a request . " Niki looked at Michel with eyes burning with determination .

    "What is it?" Michel responded with a smile on her face, trying to make the situation less tense .

    "I want you to teach me, how to be a merc . " If Lyner saw this scene he wouldugh at how absurd it was . This event was exact same way Niki¡¯s own brother ask Lyner to teach him how to be a merc .

 Chapter 347

    Chapter 347

    When Michel heard what Niki said she was ckjawed at the sudden request . After a moment of stunned silence, Michel spoke, "if your parents are alright with it, then I suppose I can teach you . " Niki nodded her head in response and took out her phone . She immediately called her parents and started exining what had happened, as well as her decision to learn how to be a merc, so that she could get strong enough to defend herself .

    Niki¡¯s parents were aware of the current situation of the current world . They were also aware that they could not say that they could protect their children in this kind of world . So Niki learning how to defend herself is a good thing . So after talking for a bit the two agreed and allowed Niki to learn from Michel .

    Niki then handed her phone to Michel, who then started talking to her parents . After a short talk, the two sides came into an agreement .

    Michel sighed as she looked at the determined Niki . Lilitth who was stillying down on the floor was confused with the sudden turn of events .

    "Your Dad and Mom, have agreed in me teaching you how to fight, and how to survive in being a merc . So, for now, you¡¯ll be living with us, is that alright with you?"

    "Of course," Niki answered with a smile on her face .

    "Niki, why?" Lilitth was finally able to sit up straight looked at her best friend in the eye, confused about her decision . Since she started staying in normal society, she finally understood that their family¡¯s way of life, which was being mercenaries was an extremely dangerous job . She learned from her ssmates, that even though there was a huge return in being a merc, usually no one wanted to have the job as a merc, if they weren¡¯t forced by extreme circumstances . There are some that want to be mercs even with the danger because of the possibility of getting rich quickly .

    Niki looked at her worried best friend and answered with a smile .

    "I want to be stronger, so I won¡¯t be a burden to you or my family . I want to be a merc, so that I can continue to be your best friend Lilitth . " Hearing Niki¡¯s reply Lilitth couldn¡¯t help it and started crying, in which Niki responded by hugging her best friend . Michel who was watching at the side couldn¡¯t hold it in and joined in the hugging .

    . . .

    In the distance from the Samaritasnd, Reghinald Berdonia watching . He was already aware that there was the chance for the mission to fail, so he wasn¡¯t really that disappointed . This was just a trial run to see how strong the security was . Still, now that they know he was after the doll, they will probably tighten the security around, which he might be able to use to his advantage .

    ¡¯Who would have expected the doll, to improve so much . I always thought she was a failure, but it would seem that she was more valuable than I initially spected . With her at hand, I will be able to make Berdonia great again . ¡¯

    After looking at the chaotic scene in the Samaritas ce onest time, Reghinald left with a smirk stered on his face .

    . . .

    A week after the night attack, inside the training room that was located underground, Lilitth and Niki were training . Lilitth was now using arge sword simr to Rika Saunter¡¯s, while Niki was practicing on how to shoot a gun .

    At first, Niki found it difficult to shoot without being pushed by the recoil, but after a few days, and Michel¡¯s excellent guidance she was now able to shoot without falling on her butt . On the other hand, Lilitth felt using the sword was better than when she was using a staff .

    She found that the weight of this heavy sword was veryfortable as she continued swinging it . For the whole week, Michel didn¡¯t teach Lilitth anything about the sword, except telling Lilitth to feel the sword as she swung it .

    "Lilitth today I want you to fight this person I hired . He ims to be your brother¡¯s rival . " Michel introduced the new arrival, who was carrying a sword .

    "I¡¯m Setsuna, and I¡¯m really am Alex¡¯s rival . His master and my master have been rivals for years, and so as their students, we followed in their footsteps . "

    Lilitth stood in front of Setsuna and bowed her head . "I¡¯ll be in your care," Lilitth said with a smile on her face . Setsuna was caught by surprise as he wasn¡¯t expecting Alex¡¯s sister to be this cute .

    ¡¯How could someone as stoic as that guy, get a sister like this?¡¯

    . . .

    While Lilitth and Setsuna were greeting each other Michel approached Niki . She saw that the little girl had improved greatly, but her uracy was still too low to be used for actualbat . This was hard to see what weapon was good for Niki to use, seeing as unlike Lilitth she wasn¡¯t a person with superhuman abilities . Niki¡¯s overall stats were the same as that of any regr ten-year-old girl, the only advantage she had over the others, was her amazing ability to learn quickly . She was the same type of fighter as Lyner, able to copy a move she has just seen once . Yet unlike Lyner her body was too weak to perform the move .

    So aside from learning how to use a gun, Michel made a training course that would improve Niki¡¯s overall physical ability .

    "It¡¯s time for your jog up the temple today . This time you need to get to the top ande back down in about half an hour . If you don¡¯t make it back on time, I¡¯ll be increasing the weights on your legs . "

    The temple Michel was talking about, was a temple of the old Gods of Berdonia, and it was located atop a hill that had a flight of stairs with five hundred steps . The best time Niki had in going up and down the temple, was fifty minutes, and that was without the weights . Currently on her ankles were weights that weigh around two kilos each .

    Even though she was given such a hard task Niki wasn¡¯t demoralized as she simply saluted Michel and started running towards the temple .

    This was Niki¡¯s starting point to bing strong .

 Chapter 348

    Chapter 348

    Alex was sitting down still unable to find the answer to what he needed to do . It seems that no matter which route he took, someone from his group was going to die . If this was the old him, he would have chosen the route with the least deaths . Yet now he could not even let one person die .

    It has been a few days since Richter told Alex to either kill his friends or watch Rachel die . By now the probability of his friends being captured was high . If it was anyone else trying to capture his friends, he would have some hope, but seeing that it was that grandfather of his doing the capturing Alex could not even hope .

    As despair quietly sunk deeper into his body, Alex heard the door to his room open . He didn¡¯t even bother to lift his head up to see who came in since there is only one person whoes to talk to him .

    "Alex I have good news, all your friends havee to y," Richter spoke in a cheerful tone, but Alex didn¡¯t respond . Since he already knew this was inevitable Alex wasn¡¯t surprised by the news . Richter looked at Alex a bit surprised since he wasn¡¯t expecting Alex to have no reaction at all .

    "So now that your friends are here, I hope you already decided what you will do . Just a reminder if you forgot, your choices are to kill all your friends and I¡¯ll let Rachel live and not only that I will even let Sayaka and Evangeline live . Your second option is not to kill anyone, which will make me kill not only Rachel but everyone else, so what do you wish to do? Are you going for option A or option B?"

    Alex didn¡¯t respond as he continued to curl up in the corner of the room . Richter was confused this was not part of the n . Thest time they interacted Alex was nearing perfection, he was so close to the ideal but only failed at thest moment . Now it seems like he went into a totally different direction from before .

    Richter came closer and tried to attack Alex with a real intent to kill, yet as his hand got closer Alex didn¡¯t move, not even an inch . Richter then held Alex upward and looked at his grandson¡¯s eyes and saw a deadpan expression . This was different from the stoic look that was full of logic, this was the look of one waiting for death toe . This was the look of one who has given up in life .

    Richter was truly disappointed when he saw Alex like this . Even that foolish Lyner continued living even while looking for death, he didn¡¯t even give up until the end . Yet here his grandson was being even more foolish than that person, he actually gave up while he was living . At this state, he was no different from a dead person .

    Richter gritted his teeth in irritation as his hand that was holding Alex up were shaking in anger . If he and Alex weren¡¯t the only Greyhounds left he would¡¯ve killed Alex this very moment . Richter then tossed Alex to the side and left the room .

    ¡¯Fine, I will help you get back up again . If I didn¡¯t see the potential within him, even if we were the only two left of the Greyhounds I would¡¯ve killed him already . ¡¯

    . . .

    A few minutester, Alex once again heard the door open . He was expecting Richter to try and kill him this time, but then he heard the voice of someone he was longing to see .

    "Alex?" When he heard that sweet loving voice, Alex couldn¡¯t help but lookup . The moment he looked up he saw a girl with long raven ck hair, that was tied in two messy low pigtails . She had a fringe just above her blue eyes, her body was fair and slim . This was the girl Alex had dreamt to see all this time and he was there right in front of him .

    "Rachel?" When Rachel heard his voice her eyes started tearing up . The Alex that she remembered was now different from before . His face no longer showed that stoic look of his, now he was showing a wide range of emotions . Rachel was so happy to see him again that he wanted to run to him and she was about to do that until she felt someone clutching her neck . She wanted to go into her full RELEASE state, but for some reason, her body wasn¡¯t responding normally . She was helpless in the face of Richter¡¯s iron grip .

    Alex who saw Rachel being held by the neck was about to charge in, when Richter suddenly shouted, "STOP!" Alex stopped midway as he looked at Richter with a murderous gaze .

    "Hmm, not the reaction I wanted to see, but it¡¯s good enough . So Alex are you not going to thank your grandfather for making this reunion possible . " Alex wanted to respond with vulgarities but he was unable to since he didn¡¯t know what Richter was nning to do now . This grandfather of his seems like he was doing everything with a n but it felt like it was also at random . So he wasn¡¯t sure what Richter would do if he misspoke .

    "Nothing to say? Well, it doesn¡¯t matter, so now that you know Rachel is really here . Now that you can see her with your very own eyes, how about you tell her your choice? Will you abandon her, or will you kill your friends for her?"

    Rachel who was struggling to get loose from Richter¡¯s hands was stunned to hear what was just said . Killing their friends, to save her? She then saw the look Alex had on his face, it was not the stoic look that inspired confidence, it was not the look of the man who always seems to know what to do, instead, it was the look of a man caught in despair .

    She didn¡¯t like seeing Alex like this, but what she hated, even more, was it because of her that he was showing such an expression . If she wasn¡¯t captured this psychopath wouldn¡¯t be able to use her as ckmail .

    "So Alex, decide now," Richter spoke as he looked at his grandson who was radiating such thick and heavy bloodlust .

 Chapter 349

    Chapter 349

    Alex looked at Rachel who was struggling to get free from Richter¡¯s grip . It would seem that the old man had done something to her . Even though he was strong, Alex could see that Rachel was unable to exert much strength . He knew that this crazy grandfather of his was serious, if he doesn¡¯t answer now he will really snap Rachel¡¯s neck . If only Alex had a gun at hand, he would be able to shoot Richter¡¯s hands, forcing him to let go of Rachel .

    "So what are you going to do Alex? Will you kill your friends, with your own hands and spare this girl¡¯s life, or will I just kill them all?" Richter asked while tightening his grip on Rachel . Alex seeing Rachel in pain felt that he was also in pain . It was as if Richter was tightening his grip on Alex¡¯s heart . It was at that moment Alex decided something as he started to calm down, and his overall look when back to his stoic look . He stood up and looked at his grandfather, the atmosphere changed as Richter felt a weird coldness envelope his body .

    "Oh, are you going to fight me here and now?" Richter couldn¡¯t help but smile at what he was seeing . Alex was finally going back to the right path . The emotionless eyes that showed that he had given up, was now showing a different light . Alex overall countenance felt like a de that could cut everything in its path .

    Richter readied himself for what¡¯s toe next, he was excited at what his grandson would do in this kind of situation . If Alex was able to kill him at this moment, then that would be great, his death would not hinder his ns . Since Richter already prepared a few ns that would initiate upon his death . These ns will force Alex to have no choice but to fulfill the wish of the Greyhounds to destroy the Granado Empire .

    Richter didn¡¯t care about if he dies since he too was a failure of a Greyhound . He just wanted to see Alex be the perfect Greyhound before death . As long as he was sure that Alex was going to destroy the Empire, dying was of no consequence .

    . . .

    Alex who was quiet all this time suddenly went into his full RELEASE state and bit his index finger at full force, he tore his index finger off his left hand . Blood started gushing out of the wound yet that didn¡¯t faze Alex, but it did surprise both Rachel and Richter .

    Using the strength of his full RELEASE state Alex threw the finger at Richter¡¯s hand that was holding Rachel . The speed and strength of the throw cut through the air . Richter who wasn¡¯t expecting Alex to do something like that was unable to dodge . The finger hit his forearm and actually prated deeply making him loosen his grip on Rachel, who was now able to free herself . Once Rachel was free she tried to run away from Richter but wasn¡¯t able to go that far, Alex on the other hand, dashed forward taking this once in a lifetime opportunity to initiate a surprise attack on Richter .

    Rachel wanted to help as well, but for some reason, she couldn¡¯t gather strength in her body . She could only look on as Alex faced the monster known as Richter .

    Alex with the speed that made him look like a bullet flying through the air, felt his muscles were screaming in pain . Yet even with that, he mustered up all the strength, all the anger he had, and ced it into this one attack .

    The floor that was reinforced with different materials that could withstand a bombardment from tanks actually cracked into a something shaped like a spider web . Alex with all the power he had, punched . The speed of his fist actually made a sonic boom sound as the pressure tore his flesh . Even through the pain, Alex didn¡¯t stop as his attack which was aimed at his grandfather¡¯s head, that he wanted to smash into pieces . At that moment everything seemed to slow down as something deep within Alex got out, making his body felt lighter, it was as if he was chained down by something invisible but now it was no longer there .

    It was an awe-inspiring sight as Alex finally broke through the shackles of human limitations . This was the birth of a new legend . Richter who received Alex¡¯s full-on strike knew immediately that his grandson was able to go even further . Even though both his arms were broken, his ribs were also shattered by the simple wind pressure of that strike and were still being fixed by the nanomachines, Richter couldn¡¯t help but smile delightedly at Alex .

    ¡¯It¡¯s so near, it¡¯s finally within his grasp, just a bit more and he will be perfect . ¡¯ While Richter was getting delighted at his grandson¡¯s improvement, he saw the second attacking which was once again aimed for his head . He could no longer block so he needed to evade no matter what . Richter at thest second was able to evade by a hairsbreadth but the wind pressure was still able to cut a bit of his skin .

    Yet that didn¡¯t matter since the nanomachines were finally able to fix his arms . He was now ready to y with his grandson, but as he waited for the third attack toe, nothing happened . He then saw his grandson on the floor sleeping . It would seem that going beyond his limits and finally casting off the shackles of human limitations, coupled with the stress he was having made him faint from fatigue .

    Rachel who saw what happened tried her best to move towards Alex and covered him using her own body as a shield . Even though she couldn¡¯t move her body properly she could still somehow block one attack from Richter .

    The old man who was so excited moments ago, sighed as he saw the scene before him . A proud Greyhound being protected by a little girl . Richter shook his head and decided to forgive Alex for this since he was able to get so near to the perfect Greyhound Richter always wished to see .

    He looked at Rachel who was hugging Alex and spoke with a kind smile on his face .

    "Don¡¯t worry I won¡¯t hurt my grandson, you can stay here with him . Once he wakes up, tell him that he will need to decide . If he doesn¡¯t make a decision, I will no longer indulge his selfishness and will use stricter methods . "

    Richter then pulled out Alex¡¯s index finger that was pierced into his forearm . He went closer to Alex, but then Rachel stood up with wobbly legs and blocked Richter¡¯s path .

    "Don¡¯t worry little girl, like I said I won¡¯t hurt my grandson . I¡¯m just going to stop the bleeding and reattach the finger he lost . "

    Rachel looked at Richter warily, she knew that Richter didn¡¯t need to lie to her, since if he really wanted to, Alex would¡¯ve already died right now . So with great reluctance, Rachel stepped aside and allowed Richter to pass .

    Richter who was now in front of the sleeping Alex cleaned the bleeding hand and then ced the index finger to where it used to be . He then took out something from his pocket and sprayed it on Alex¡¯s detached finger, after a few seconds the finger reattached itself . Rachel who was watching at the side was amazed to see that there were no signs that it was cut off .

    Richter then stood up and once again looked at Rachel .

    "Don¡¯t forget to tell him what I said . " Once Richter was done talking he left the room leaving behind the confused Rachel .

 Chapter 350

    Chapter 350: 350

    Alex was sleeping soundly as Rachel ced his head on herp . It has been a year since theyst met, but it seems like a lot of things have changed . This face of his remained the same yet the expressions it showed was more than before . The look Alex gave her was the look of despair and hopelessness, it was a look Rachel could never associate with Alex before this incident . That just proved how much Alex had to go through while being trapped in here for the past year .

    Rachel looked around the room, it had a lot of bloodstains, a lot of cracks from the walls to the ceiling, it even had scratches here and there . This showed Rachel all the struggles Alex had to endure while staying in this small room .

    She then saw Alex¡¯s body through his torn up shirt and saw his numerous wounds, there were a lot of different types from gun wounds, stab wounds, burns, and many more .

    ¡¯After not meeting you for a year, I always yearned to see you . . . But, not like this . . . How much suffering must you have gone through . . . If I could, I would¡¯ve dly apanied you through your suffering . . . NO, if I could I would¡¯ve never allowed this to happen . I¡¯m sorry that I was so weak, I¡¯m sorry that you always get hurt and I can do nothing about it . ¡¯

    Rachel caressed Alex¡¯s face as tears fell down her beautiful face, falling onto Alex¡¯s cheeks . She couldn¡¯t help it, right here in front of her was the boy she so longed to meet . Yet the way they reunited wasn¡¯t how she dreamt it to be, it was a bittersweet feeling as she felt both happy and sad at the same time .

    While Rachel was wallowing in her feelings, she felt a warm hand touching her face wiping away the tears .

    "Why are you crying, Rachel? Did that b*stard make you cry? Don¡¯t worry no matter what I¡¯ll protect you . "

    Rachel who saw Alex finally wake up, couldn¡¯t help but cry even harder as she hugged him tightly, feeling his warmth envelope her body .

    "Stupid, idiot, then who would protect you . " Alex was surprised to see Rachel cry this much, so he didn¡¯t know what to do in this situation . The only thing he could think of doing was continue hugging her while patting her back, saying, "it¡¯s alright . "

    . . .

    After crying for a while Rachel finally stopped and told Alex the message his grandfather said .

    "What choice does that monster need you to make?" Alex couldn¡¯t respond to that question as he hesitated on what to say . Rachel was quick to notice his hesitation and spoke first .

    "Alex, no matter what it is you can tell me . Please trust me, and tell me the situation so that I can help you . "

    Rachel looked at Alex who was in pain and felt that she too was in pain . Alex who saw the pained look of Rachel couldn¡¯t decide on what to do . If he told her what will happen, it might break her, and Alex didn¡¯t want that to happen . But if he doesn¡¯t tell her what the choice he needs to make was, that too might break her .

    Alex thought for a moment before speaking . "I¡¯m sorry Rachel, I know this is selfish of me, but I want you to trust me . I will do whatever it takes to protect you . "

    Rachel still couldn¡¯t gather enough strength but she still raised her arm and tried to p Alex¡¯s face . The p was so weak that it felt like a feather touched him, but the action surprised Alex for a bit .

    "YOU IDIOT! I¡¯m not some princess to be protected, if you haven¡¯t noticed you¡¯re the one who¡¯s like a princess here, getting captured waiting for someone to rescue you . Alex, please, I don¡¯t need you to cuddle, tell me what that mad man wants from you . "

    Alex could see from Rachel¡¯s eyes a burning determination like no other . It would seem that they shared the same sentiments of wanting to protect each other . If he were in the same position as Rachel, wouldn¡¯t he want the same thing as well?

    Alex sighed and started exining his lunatic grandfather¡¯s ns .

    . . .

    While Alex was exining to Rachel the choice he needs to make, Richter was now face to face with Oliver talking to him .

    "It¡¯s been some time James, or should I call you Oliver now," Richter spoke while he was cleaning his firearms in front of Oliver .

    "Oliver is just fine . . . So what is it you want from me?"

    "Nothing much, I just wanted to talk to a former subordinate . I heard you lost Marge and Phil a year ago . That must¡¯ve been devasting losing your real parents, and even your foster parents . Still, I guess you can keep on going because you have that greatss as a girlfriend, what was her name again . . . Oh, right Sayaka, she¡¯s a pretty wonderful woman, you have chosen well Oliver . "

    Oliver simply continued to listen, even though he got angry when he heard Richter speak of his parents, but he kept it in . He knew what kind of person this person in front of him was . Even if he did go and attack out of anger, he wouldn¡¯tst for long against this old man, especially now that he was weaponless .

    Yet the moment he heard Richter talk about Sayaka, Oliver¡¯s whole demeanor changed as he suddenly radiated with killing intent .

    "What have you done to Sayaka! Tell me!" Oliver stood up as he shouted in rage .

    "Calm down Oliver, I¡¯m here to give you a choice . So you better sit down and listen, if you identally piss me off, I might just kill you right now . "

    Oliver bit his lower lip and sat down with reluctance .

    "Good boy, okay then now that we can talk like civilized people, I¡¯m going tell you the choice you need to make . I want you to try and kill my grandson Alex, and if you are able to do that I will release you and all your friends . If you aren¡¯t able to do that then, I¡¯ll kill Sayaka right in front of you, then I¡¯ll kill all your other friends . "

    Oliver trembled at the sudden choice he needed to make . It was either all of them or Alex . . .

    . . .

    After talking to Oliver, Richter told a simr speech to Kei and Niel . Once he was done doing that Richter couldn¡¯t help but get excited at what will happen the following day .

    . . .

    It was night time and outside the base of the Shadow Mercenaries, number two the only surviving member of Alex¡¯s subordinates was watching the movement of the base as he reported it to Carlo and the others .

    Once Carlo received number two¡¯s report he and the others got ready .

    . . .

    Dan who was standing by finally received the report to start the operation . He went into his Full RELEASE state, his body changed into a form of his younger self, not only that the strain to his body was less than before . This was the result of his training, he rewatched the video of Lyner¡¯s fight multiple times until he somehow understood how Lyner improved the RELEASE technique .

    Now his full power was twice what it was before . Dan then at full RELEASE jumped towards the moving underground base of the Shadow Mercenaries and with his full power punched the ground forcing the base to surface .

    "Oh yeah! This is what I¡¯m talking about! You b*stards better give back daughter before I annihte you all . "

    . . .

    Alex and the others felt the sudden shaking of the base, but they simply thought it was an earthquake . Richter on the other hand knew what was going on and ordered his subordinates to kill the intruders .

    . . .

    Kyle was the first to enter the base, he knew that inside a small confined space his effectivity will greatly lessen but he had no choice . They were only a few of them and everyone needed to enter and search the base .

    After looking around for a while Kyle finally understood just how big this base was . Not only that it was crawling with Shadow Mercenaries agents . It was a good thing that Dan and the others were loud and aggressive drawing in most of the agents . Kyle only needed to deal with some attacks from the enemy . It was pretty hard seeing that the basic level of these people was pretty high .

    "Oh, you came to see me again, I knew that you love me . " Kyle then suddenly ducked when he heard that voice . A needle flew by, as Kyle tried to get some distance . He then looked behind him and saw that enticing deadly beauty that was Amica .

    Kyle red at her, but that only made Amica even more excited . "My, Oh my, your eyes are truly beautiful . Just you looking at me is already making me wet . "

    After she said that she suddenly dashed forward, Kyle got his rifle out and started shooting . Due to this being a small confined space Amica couldn¡¯t move as erratically as before . Kyle was sure that he was able to hit her, but then he saw that she actually jumped upward and was now falling down onto his position .

    ¡¯So you dodged the first bullet, but there¡¯s no way you¡¯ll be able to dodge mid-air . ¡¯ Kyle pointed his gun upward and shot at Amica . When Amica saw Kyle pointing the rifle at her she smiled, using her left leg she used the wall as a medium to push her body into a different direction . She then threw three daggers at Kyle who took out his pistol and shot down the iing daggers . This gave Amica enough time to get close to Kyle .

    Her intentions were obvious as her hands went straight for Kyle¡¯s eyes . It was at that moment Kyle knew that he had no chance of dodging and made a decision to counter instead . The two of them were fast, Amica who was expecting Kyle to dodge was unable to evade the bullet that pierced her chest . Yet she got the better of the deal as she was able to pluck out Kyle¡¯s eyes .

    The once-feared sniper that could shoot you from all angles no longer had his eyes . Amica who finally got what she wanted had a looked of disappointment .

    "That was easier than I expected . " She looked at Kyle and was surprised to see him smiling while holding something that looked like a button .

    Amica then looked at the bullet that had pierced her and saw that it wasn¡¯t a bullet but something else .

    "Yeah, that was easier than expected . " Once he said that line, Kyle pressed the button and Amica exploded making her insides stter all over the ce . Kyle who was victorious sat down tired, as blood continued to flow out of his eye sockets . That wasn¡¯t the only wound he received it was sneaky but Amica was able to stab him as she plucked out his eyes .

    ¡¯Sorry Sarah, it doesn¡¯t seem like I¡¯ll be able to appreciate your beautiful paintings any longer, nor will I be able to see your beautiful face . . . Emi . . . Kei . . . I really wanted to s-¡¯ Kyle¡¯s thoughts stopped as his consciousness turned into nothingness .

    . . .

    Dan was able to get a bit farther and already defeated Samuel and Daryl . The battle was intense but in the end, Dan was able to crush them with his fists . Still battling two of the top of the Shadow Mercenaries was harder than he expected . Dan was now filled with wounds, as he was about to move on to the next ce he stopped in his tracks .

    A person wearing a mask suddenly appeared and he was carrying the severed heads of Viktor, Luke, and Sora . When Dan saw this he immediately attacked the Executioner . Even though he didn¡¯t really like most of them, they were still hisrades his family .

    Dan was about to deliver one-hit KO move but he suddenly felt something wasn¡¯t right and retreated . A sudden gush of blood came out of his chest, he was actually sliced .

    "Hmm, I was going to kill you in one strike like I did the others, but it doesn¡¯t seem like you¡¯ll be as easy as this three . " It was then Dan was finally able to see how the enemy cut him, the Executioner was using a huge death scythe . Dan licked his lips and smiled at his enemy .

    "Fine then you damn b*stard bring it!"

    . . .

    While Dan was fighting the executioner, Carlo identally, no it felt more like he was forced to head into this room . Now right in front of him was the person he hated the most in the world Richter Greyhound .

    "Richter Greyhound," Carlo was practically growling as he said Richter¡¯s name .

    "You must be Carlo Samarita, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you . I really do want to thank you for taking such good care of my grandson . " Richter spoke with a pleasant smile on his face .

    "You killed ra, and not only that you killed your own son! Now you¡¯re here and torturing your grandson!" Carlo got his gun out and pointed it at Richter who even in this situation remained unperturbed .

    "How rude of you, even though I¡¯m grateful to you raising my grandson, but telling me I killed my son and daughter-inw, as well as torturing my grandson are all false usations . I didn¡¯t mean to kill my son and daughter-inw that got in my way and I identally pierced their bodies . As for torturing my grandson, I didn¡¯t do that I was training him . "

    "Say whatever you want, but what you did was unforgivable!" The moment Carlo shouted this he felt something stab him . He saw that a knife had pierced his chest . This distracted him for a second and that was all the time Richter needed to get close to him without Carlo knowing .

    Carlo wanted to distance himself from Richter but was unable to, as it was so easy for Richter to pierce through Carlo¡¯s body using his bare hands .

    "Oh now look at what you made me do . You made me kill you identally the same way I killed my son and daughter-inw . " Carlo took hold of Richter¡¯s hand as his consciousness was slowly fading .

    ¡¯I¡¯m sorry Lilitth, tou-chan couldn¡¯t fulfill his promise . Michel . . . I¡¯m sorry as well, I hope you and the kids have a wonderful life . ¡¯

    Richter tried to pull his arm out, but when he noticed that he wasn¡¯t able to . He quickly shielded his head . Carlo then exploded trying to bring Richter down with him . Despite that strong explosion, Richter was somehow able to survive .

    Every part of his body was scorched, making him unrecognizable . Yet after a few minutes, his skin regenerated and it went back into his normal looking self . Carlo had failed in hisst mission, the messenger of death was no more .

    Richter who was the final victor looked irritated, to say the least . He wasn¡¯t expecting Carlo to do something like that . It was a good thing his uniform was able to withstand such an impact if the explosion was just a little bit stronger his uniform wouldn¡¯t have been able to handle it making him be disabled . He would still be alive but he would no longer have his arms and an ear .

    ¡¯Damn it! I was actually caught by surprise! From someone of that level!¡¯

    . . .

    Kira who was separated from the group had identally discovered Hektor¡¯s real body and saw what he had nned to do . It was a crazy n that would plunge the world into chaos . Kira wanted to escape and warn the others, but before he could do so he saw a hand pierced through his chest and held his heart it then squashed it .

    That was the end of Kira, it was an anticlimactic end that someone of his fame and power should never have .

    . . .

    Unaware of the fate that befell his father and his formerrades, Alex was trying to calm down Rachel who was trying to kill herself . After exining to her the circumstances of the choice he needed to make, Rachel was the same as him and came to the conclusion that she needed to kill herself .

    If she wasn¡¯t there Alex would never follow Richter¡¯smand . She became the one thing he didn¡¯t want to be a burden to Alex .

    "Alex please this is the only way we can save our friends!" Alex hearing what Rachel tried to reason with her .

    "Rachel even if you die, our friends might be in a simr situation where Richter uses something they love as a bargaining tool to kill me . Even if you kill yourself that would only make me sad, but it won¡¯t stop what will happen tomorrow . If somebody has to die it should be me . Yet I already failed to do that, and now no matter what I do it¡¯s toote . If I had died before you guys were captured, then none of this would¡¯ve happened . Yet now that you¡¯re all here there is no other choice . It¡¯s either we die or our friends die, or all of us dies . "

    When Rachel heard what Alex said she could no longer take it and knelt down on the floor as despair filled her soul . Alex tightly hugged her and knocked her out, before she lost consciousness she heard Alex whisper in her ear .

    "Leave everything to me . "

    . . .

    The following day Alex woke up and Rachel was no longer there, and he was no longer in his room . Not only that he was now fully equipped . He then noticed that he was in one of the training rooms, and right in front of him where three people that he hasn¡¯t seen in a while .

    It was Oliver, Niel, and Kei, the three of them was looking at Alex with conflicted feelings . It was at that moment Alex knew that his sh*tty grandfather said something to them . When he saw that none of the girls were present he knew that Richter gave them the same conditions as him .

    "So what did you guys decide to do?" When Niel heard Alex¡¯s question he could not show the same sparkly smile he used to show as he answered in a solemn voice .

    "The same answer you have . "

    "I see . . . How about you Oliver, Kei, did you reach the same conclusion?" Alex saw Oliver clenched his fist, as the veins in his muscles look like they were going to pop .

    "I¡¯m sorry Alex . . . I need to do this . . . I just can¡¯t let her die . " Oliver started to cry as he looked at his best friend .

    "I understand Oliver . . . Kei?"

    " . . . " Kei didn¡¯t say anything but he started crying as well .

    Once they were done talking a screen came down from the ceiling . On the screen was the face of the group¡¯s most hated enemy, Richter .

    "It seems like everyone is ready, so how about we get this party started! Also just so you guys don¡¯t forget what¡¯s one the line, here¡¯s a reminder . " The image shifted and showed Rachel, Emily, Sayaka, and Evangeline who were bound and gagged .

    "If you guys don¡¯t start killing each other, I might identally kill one of them . " Richter got close to Sayaka and pointed a gun to her head . When he did this Oliver could no longer hold it in and shouted as he suddenly attacked Alex . At that moment Niel joined in the fray as he attacked Alex as well . Kei who had a rifle at hand went into the corner of the room waiting for a chance to fire the gun .

    . . .

    While the four friends were killing each other the executioner came into Richter¡¯s room . Richter who saw the Executioner was surprised to see that he had lost an arm and his pinky finger in his remaining arm .

    "What happened to you?"

    "Sorry sir, this one was harder to deal with than I thought . " The executioner showed Richter the head of Dan Regius . Rachel who was bound at the corner of the room saw the head of her father . The moment she saw that she went into her full RELEASE state . Richter was surprised to see her able to do that, she was drugged so much that she wasn¡¯t even supposed to be conscious .

    Even though her father was a loser, and she didn¡¯t really get along with him that well . He was still her father, the father that doted on her despite her openly showing how she hated him . The father that obviously came here to rescue her . That father that deep down she loved, was now dead .

    "YOU B*STARDS!" The first attack Rachel did was aimed at the Executioner who didn¡¯t have time to dodge or block or do anything . The speed of Rachel¡¯s coupled with the executioner not expecting that attack, Rachel was able to smash his head with her fist .

    That one attack instantly killed the Executioner, Rachel was then about to attack Richter but then her whole body stopped moving . She then felt extreme paining from her chest, her heart felt like it would explode . As she was about to die, she heard Richter¡¯s voice .

    "So that was your limit . How unfortunate that you would die by self-destructing . "

    . . .

    Alex who was fighting with Niel, Oliver, and Kei saw what happened to Rachel through the screen when she saw Rachel wriggling in pain, and then finally she stopped breathing . The moment Alex saw that something inside of him snapped, his rage filling his whole body . The only thought he had then was one thing, "KILL EVERYONE!"

    Alex no longer held back and as if he was beast used his teeth and fingernails to attack Oliver and the others . Without being able to do anything, Oliver and the others could not evenst for a few minutes under Alex¡¯s rage as he killed them by tearing apart their bodies . Among the three Kei¡¯s final moments was the worst, as he was filled with fear and regret, he died while begging Alex to stop .

    . . .

    Richter who was watching Alex¡¯s fight was getting excited . Alex had finally acquired the rage he needed, now if only he could control it . He was already thinking of what to do next until he saw what Alex did . Alex was actually able to destroy the walls of the room and escape, he then saw through the monitors that Alex was proceeding to kill all in his way while heading to his room . It didn¡¯t even take a few minutes before Alex was right in front of him full of rage .

    Richter knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to match the current Alex, so he offered himself up willingly, instead of showing a disgraceful fight . As Alex tore his head off, Richter had only one thought as he died .

    ¡¯I was so close . . . ¡¯

    After killing Richter Alex proceeded to kill all the other girls, Emily, Sayaka, and Evangeline . The three girls were already ready to die when they saw Alex kill everyone else . At least this way they could join their loved ones in the afterlife . Evangeline was the only one who had a different reason for her eptance of death . To her dying by her beloved hands was a better fate than most .

    . . .

    Hektor who knew what was happening decided to use his biological weapon before Alex killed him . At least then he would¡¯ve died knowing he aplished his goal, of making humanity suffer even more . Yet before he could use the weapon Alex got to him and killed him .

    After he was done killing everyone in the base, Alex proceeded to go outside and started killing everything in sight . He continued to kill and kill may the be soldiers, mercenaries, civilians, criminals, children, everything that came into his path was killed without mercy, until finally his body could no longer move and he died of fatigue, dehydration, and starvation .

    He waster on branded as the worst criminal of the great war . His family was harassed because of this, whichter on led to the deaths of the remaining Samaritas, both physically and socially .

 Chapter 351

    Chapter 351

    Alex was sleeping soundly as Rachel ced his head on herp . It has been a year since theyst met, but it seems like a lot of things have changed . This face of his remained the same yet the expressions it showed was more than before . The look Alex gave her was the look of despair and hopelessness, it was a look Rachel could never associate with Alex before this incident . That just proved how much Alex had to go through while being trapped in here for the past year .

    Rachel looked around the room, it had a lot of bloodstains, a lot of cracks from the walls to the ceiling, it even had scratches here and there . This showed Rachel all the struggles Alex had to endure while staying in this small room .

    She then saw Alex¡¯s body through his torn up shirt and saw his numerous wounds, there were a lot of different types from gun wounds, stab wounds, burns, and many more .

    ¡¯After not meeting you for a year, I always yearned to see you . . . But, not like this . . . How much suffering must you have gone through . . . If I could, I would¡¯ve dly apanied you through your suffering . . . NO, if I could I would¡¯ve never allowed this to happen . I¡¯m sorry that I was so weak, I¡¯m sorry that you always get hurt and I can do nothing about it . ¡¯

    Rachel caressed Alex¡¯s face as tears fell down her beautiful face, falling onto Alex¡¯s cheeks . She couldn¡¯t help it, right here in front of her was the boy she so longed to meet . Yet the way they reunited wasn¡¯t how she dreamt it to be, it was a bittersweet feeling as she felt both happy and sad at the same time .

    While Rachel was wallowing in her feelings, she felt a warm hand touching her face wiping away the tears .

    "Why are you crying, Rachel? Did that b*stard make you cry? Don¡¯t worry no matter what I¡¯ll protect you . "

    As he said this, Alex touched her face and slowly caressed it . Rachel took hold of Alex¡¯s hand and the two looked each other in the eye and felt a burning desire within them . Without even thinking Rachel suddenly pounced on Alex and kissed him . At first, Alex was surprised by the kiss, but then he responded in kind .

    The kissing started with a peck on the lips, and then it escted to deeper kisses . The two of them took each other¡¯s breath away . If not for the cameras installed in the room that Alex couldn¡¯t destroy, this kissing session would¡¯ve escted into something more .

    After a few minutes of making out, Alex and Rachel finally stopped . It was then Rachel remembered what Richter told her . After telling Alex the thing Richter said, she noticed his face twitch a bit . If it was the Alex from before, it would be nearly impossible to guess what he was thinking, but now it was a bit easier .

    "What choice does that monster need you to make?" Alex couldn¡¯t respond to that question as he hesitated on what to say . Rachel was quick to notice his hesitation and spoke first .

    "Alex, no matter what it is you can tell me . Please trust me, and tell me the situation so that I can help you . "

    Rachel looked at Alex who was in pain and felt that she too was in pain . Alex who saw the pained expression of Rachel¡¯s couldn¡¯t decide on what to do . If he told her what will happen, it might break her, and Alex didn¡¯t want that to happen . But if he doesn¡¯t tell her what the choice he needs to make was, and she eventually finds out that too might break her .

    Alex thought for a moment before speaking . "I¡¯m sorry Rachel, I know this is selfish of me, but I want you to trust me . I will do whatever it takes to protect you, this I swear . "

    Rachel looked at Alex¡¯s serious expression and sighed . Even though he was more expressive than before, Alex to her remained the same Alex she knew . Seeing him like this, and acting with such resolve, as the person who ims to love him she felt that this was a time where she needed to trust him .

    "Fine, I won¡¯t ask about it anymore . I trust you, Alex . . . So you¡¯re the one and only heir to the legendary Mercenary group the Shadow Mercenaries . I also-" Alex blocked Rachel¡¯s lips with his finger, stopping her from talking .

    "Before you say anything else, I need to get this out of my system . Rachel first off I want to say that I love you . I don¡¯t know when it happened but, I know right now that I love you Rachel Regius . "

    When Rachel heard what Alex said her heart could no longer take it as it started beating even faster . She wanted to reply in kind, but before she could say anything Alex once again stopped her from talking .

    "I also need to tell you the reason why I kept on bothering you on the day we met . " Alex then started to tell Rachel everything about him being a merc and the mission his father gave him .

    "I know that this is a huge vition of your trust, and I hope you forgive me . I know it might sound weird, but I really do love you . " Alex bowed his head as apologized . He didn¡¯t lift his head and the room was totally silent . After a few seconds Rachel suddenlyughed . Alex raised his head and saw that Rachel wasughing her heart out .

    "That¡¯s what¡¯s troubling you all this time, is that what you wanted to say to me before we separated a year ago? If so, then I already guess all of that, and pretty much everyone in the Mercenary club kinda knew . "

    "Really?"

    "Yeah, the way you acted, your weird skills and abilities, all of these things gave a clear picture as to what kind of past you had . "

    "I see . . . " Alex looked a bit dejected that his escort mission was that bad . Rachel who saw Alex practically sulking couldn¡¯t help but smile .

    "Also Alex . . . I don¡¯t think I said this out loud, but I love you too . "

    . . .

    While Alex and Rachel were confirming their love for each other, Richter was now face to face with Oliver talking to him .

    "It¡¯s been some time James, or should I call you Oliver now," Richter spoke while he was cleaning his firearms in front of Oliver .

    "Oliver is just fine . . . So what is it you want from me?"

    "Nothing much, I just wanted to talk to a former subordinate . I heard you lost Marge and Phil a year ago . That must¡¯ve been devasting, losing your real parents, and even your foster parents . Still, I guess you can keep on going because you have that greatss as a girlfriend, what was her name again . . . Oh right, Sayaka, she¡¯s a pretty wonderful woman, you have chosen well, Oliver . "

    Oliver simply continued to listen, even though he got angry when he heard Richter speak of his parents, but he kept it in . He knew what kind of person this person in front of him was . Even if he did go and attack out of anger, he wouldn¡¯tst long, against this old man, especially now that he was weaponless .

    Yet the moment he heard Richter talk about Sayaka, Oliver¡¯s whole demeanor changed as he suddenly radiated with killing intent .

    "What have you done to Sayaka! Tell me!" Oliver stood up as he shouted in rage .

    "Calm down Oliver, I¡¯m here to give you a choice . So you better sit down and listen, if you identally piss me off, I might just kill you right now . "

    Oliver bit his lower lip and sat down with reluctance .

    "Good boy, okay then now that we can talk like civilized people, I¡¯m going tell you the choice you need to make . I want you to try and kill my grandson Alex, and if you are able to do that I will release you and all your friends . If you aren¡¯t able to do that then, I¡¯ll kill Sayaka right in front of you, then I¡¯ll kill all your other friends . "

    Oliver was first stunned into silence when he heard this statement and then after a few seconds, he startedughing . Richter not expecting such a response grew a bit irritated and asked, "do you think this is funny?"

    "Of course I find it funny . Your threats won¡¯t work on us, not one of the students of Sir Lyner would ever sumb to such a foolish threa-" Before Oliver could finish what he wanted to say Richter kicked him in the gut . The calm old man was now showing his true face, one that of an angry demon . The killing intent he was exuding surpassed anything Oliver has ever felt before .

    "You dare call me foolish! You dare insinuate that a dead man was better than me!" Richter then proceeded to mount Oliver and punch him on his face . Oliver who has his hands chained down couldn¡¯t block, it was a good thing that with his current state he was more tolerant to pain .

    After hitting Oliver a few times, Richter was able to calm himself down . He looked at Oliver and saw that the boy was actually smiling, this irked Richter and he simply said, "you will regret making me this angry . "

    . . .

    After talking to Oliver, Richter told a simr speech to Kei and Niel, where he received a simr response as Oliver¡¯s . Richter who was walking towards his office was very irritated .

    ¡¯Really even in death your ideals and ways are irritating me . Even in death, you¡¯re such a loud man, Lyner . ¡¯

    . . .

    It was night time and outside the base of the Shadow Mercenaries, number two the only surviving member of Alex¡¯s subordinates was watching the movement of the base as he reported it to Carlo and the others .

    Once Carlo received number two¡¯s report he and the others got ready .

    . . .

    Dan who was standing by finally received the report to start the operation . He went into his Full RELEASE state, his body changed into a form of his younger self, not only that the strain to his body was less than before . This was the result of his training, he rewatched the video of Lyner¡¯s fight multiple times until he somehow understood how Lyner improved the RELEASE technique .

    Now his full power was twice what it was before . Dan then at full RELEASE jumped towards the moving underground base of the Shadow Mercenaries and with his full power punched the ground forcing the base to surface .

    "Oh yeah! This is what I¡¯m talking about! You b*stards better give back my daughter before I annihte you all . "

    . . .

    Alex and the others felt the sudden shaking of the base, but they simply thought it was an earthquake . Richter, on the other hand, knew what was going on and ordered his subordinates to kill the intruders .

    . . .

    Carlo, number two, Viktor, Kira, and Sora where at the entrance of the base drawing attention . Dan, Kyle, and Luke entered the base to find Alex andpany and escape . Majority of the forces from the Shadow Mercenaries rushed out to apprehend Carlo and the others, this was a sign that the distraction was sessful .

    . . .

    Amica who was patrolling the area, was unfortunate enough to spot Dan and the others, at first she was going to call for backup but then Dan initiated an attack once he spotted her . This made Amica hard-pressed to contact the others and ry her position since she was being pushed back by Dan and Kyle¡¯s cooperative y . It was after a few strikes that Dan and Kyle were able to defeat Amica with rtive ease .

    Luke who wasn¡¯t bothered by the fighting was studying the structure of the base . Once he got a feel of the size and positions of the rooms, Luke had a rough guess on where Alex and the others where being held .

    . . .

    Richter who was watching everything happening from his study ordered the Executioner and Hektor to kill the intruders inside the base . While Dan and the others destroyed the surveince cameras everywhere they went, Richter was able to guess their current location by which camera was destroyedst .

    . . .

    It didn¡¯t take long for Dan and the others to locate, Specter and Oliver whose cells were right next to each other . Once they were free, Hektor and the Executioner arrived at the scene .

    "Long time no see nephew . " The moment Oliver saw Hektor his anger rose, and he was about to attack but Dan blocked his path .

    "Get out of the way! I¡¯m going to kill that mother f*cking b*stard!" Oliver who was a leaving breathing mass of muscle was looking extremely frightening as his veins were popping out . Despite the menacing look, Oliver was showing Dan didn¡¯t back off .

    "Go and find your other friends and save them . Leave these guys to us, or is revenge more important than you friends?"

    When Oliver heard what Dan said he gritted his teeth and escaped alongside Luke and Specter . The only ones remaining now were Dan, Kyle, Hektor, and the executioner .

    "It was nice of you guys to let us finish talking," Dan spoke to Hektor with a smile on his face .

    "It¡¯s thest time you¡¯ll get to talk to them, so I showed you mercy . " After he was done saying that both he and the executioner attacked . Dan who was in his full RELEASE form intercepted as Kyle supported him from the back .

    . . .

    The next one Oliver was able to release was Sayaka and Niel . When Sayaka saw Oliver after a year of separation she immediately pounced on him and started kissing him .

    "Oly! It¡¯s really you!" The two lovers continued to hug for a minute or two before separating and greeting Niel .

    "It¡¯s a good thing to see that the two of you are still the same love birds . " Niel with his iconic radiant aura and smile was happy to see his friends safe and sound .

    . . .

    Richter who was watching from his office saw that one by one his guests were escaping, this forced him to stand up and gear up .

    "If you want something done, you need to do it yourself . As expected everyone else that¡¯s not a Greyhound is useless . "

    . . .

    After saving Emily Kei, and Evangeline, the next one to be released was Alex and Rachel . When the group saw Rachel was in the same cell as Alex, the group when into a frenzy . It was then Rachel excitedly told the group in the middle of the enemy base, "We¡¯re a couple . " All the girls except for Evangeline was thrilled by the news .

    Niel stood beside Evangeline and whispered to her, "you¡¯re not giving up are you?" When Evangeline looked at the smiling Niel, she smiled back . Evangeline once again found her courage and move towards Rachel and Alex .

    When Rachel saw Evangeline she was going to say something . She knew what this girl felt for Alex, and she was a good friend and rival . Rachel was about to say something, but Evangeline spoke first .

    "First off, Alex, Rachel congrattions on bing a couple . Now then onto the real business . Alex, I love you! I know you¡¯re in a rtionship with Rachel right now, but I¡¯ll say this I¡¯ll never give up . "

    The moment Evangeline confessed her love, both Rachel and Alex were dumbfounded . The others, on the other hand, found the whole scene to be amusing . The whole mercenary club except for Alex knew about Evangeline¡¯s feelings, now that she has confessed, they were wondering what Alex would do .

    Alex who was in a state of shock was about to say something but was interrupted by Rachel .

    "That¡¯s a very bold move, as expected from my rival, but I won¡¯t hand over Alex so easily . " Thedies then looked at each other and smiled . Once he was sure that no one was going to speak, Alex tried once more to talk, but then someone once again interrupted him .

    "Oh my, my grandson and his friends, what are you guys doing? It is very dangerous to be walking out right now . There seem to be intruders lurking around . I hope you all go back to your rooms, and if you go nicely I¡¯ll even hand over some cookies . "

    The group went into battle-ready stances, they might be unarmed but they were still strong and they outnumber the opponent . If this was any other opponent then the chances of victory would have swayed on their side, but this person was none other than, Richter Greyhound . The chances of him winning against all of them who were weaponless were high .

    "Sorry, but none of us want to follow your st*nky orders," Emily spoke for the group .

    "I see then naughty children need to be punished . " Richter threw some knives and took out two of his guns and started shooting . The group then started running away, as they headed towards a more open area .

    "Rachel, Evangeline, and Kei, I need you guys to find the armory and get some weapons we can use . Once you find some head to the room on the corner over there . " Alex pointed at the room with a huge door . Rachel and the others had no time to argue with Alex¡¯smand and simply did as they were told .

    Richter wanted to stop the second group from leaving, but Alex and the others blocked his path .

    . . .

    Dan and Kyle who were fighting Hektor and the Executioner had won the gruesome battle . Kyle lost one eye, while Dan lost his left arm and an ear . The battle was a close call, strength-wise the executioner outssed them all, but because of Dan and Kyle¡¯s superb cooperation, they manage to win .

    With their bodies bloodied the two still continued onwards and stumbled upon Luke who was hiding at a corner . Luke who saw them signaled them to keep quiet . The two listened to Luke¡¯s instructions as they saw another Hektor looking a bit agitated .

    Dan then started to do some hand signals and told Luke and Kyle that, this was the perfect time to attack . If this Hektor was the same as the Hektor they already killed then taking him by surprise was the best way they could win . Dan also stated that for some reason this Hektor felt more dangerous than thest one . If they missed this chance to attack, they might not get another one .

    The two nodded in agreement with Dan¡¯s ns . Kyle then silently readied his rifle and shot at Hektor¡¯s head . Hektor was surprised and was able to barely dodge the attack, but then he saw Dan was right in front of him about to smash his head with his fist . Hektor was unable to react on time and got his head pulverized by Dan¡¯s unstoppable fist .

    "That was easier than expected," Dan muttered after killing Hektor .

    . . .

    Alex and the others were barely holding on, as they tried to fight Richter barehanded . Alex was surprised to see just how strong Richter was . He already thought he was at the same level but it turns out, all the time Richter fought him, he was simply ying with him . Now that he was actually trying it was harder than ever .

    Richter¡¯s ability to handle a gun was divine, making the weapons hidden within his body seem to be a part of him . He could do numerous trick shots, but the most dangerous one were the shots that he ricocheted the bullets using the walls, and then using his own bullets hits the other bullets making them move even more erratic .

    Alex also noticed that no normal bullet could achieve such a feat, that would mean Richter was using some specialized bullets for the asion .

    It was then the moment when the fight was getting even more difficult, Rachel and the others entered the training room, and they brought tons of weapons . Richter immediately tried attacking the neers, but Alex Niel and Oliver blocked his path . Once Rachel and the others were done handing out the weapons, they wanted to join in the battle as well, but Alex stopped them .

    Alex who was now fully equipped stood before his friends . "Can you guys let me handle this . Even though he¡¯s psychotic and evil, he is still my grandfather . . . I hope you guys understand . "

    The others were at first shocked to hear what Alex said, but then they all started tough .

    "What the! Alex can actually show such an expression that¡¯s incredible!" All of them said the exact same thing . They weren¡¯t surprised at what Alex said since that was something Alex could say, but they were all surprised by the changes in Alex¡¯s expressions .

    After they all agreed to leave things in Alex¡¯s hands, Alex stood in front of Richter with his gun in his left hand and sword in his right . It was a good thing that during the whole fiasco with his friends Richter didn¡¯t attack .

    "Discarding your friends to do it alone . As expected of my grandson, you think the same way I do, if you want something done you need to do it yourself . "

    "Don¡¯tpare me to you . If I fought with my friends you won¡¯t be able to do anything . As your grandson, even though I hate you from the bottom of my heart, I¡¯m giving you a fighting chance . "

    "Hehehahaha! That¡¯s so nice of you Dalvir!" Richter then suddenly attacked, and Alex responded in kind . The two began their dance of death, as they countered each other bullet with a bullet, steel with steel .

    The battle was intense as the two moved with superhuman speeds . The people-watching at the side were amazed . They already knew that Richter was a monster, but they never imagined the extent of Alex¡¯s strength to be like this . Even the strongest of the group Oliver was barely able to keep up with their movements .

    The battle between grandfather and grandson didn¡¯tst for long . After a few moves, the both of them had figured out the timing of each of their attacks . The two of them stopped and the next would be decisive .

    The two once again charged at each other, Richter was wary of an attack to his head since he believed that was the only way to kill him . He even saw that Alex was about to make a slicing motion aimed at his head . The moment that failed he would counter, but then what happened next surprised him . Alex dropped his sword and shot Richter at the chest, and then with swift movements, Alex¡¯s hand pierced right through Richter¡¯s chest .

    Alex got a hold of Richter¡¯s heart and pulled it out . The nanomachines could have regenerated the heart if it was still inside but Alex had pulled it out . Richter instead of fearing death smiled at his grandson and spoke in a happy tone .

    "You are now the head of the Greyhounds . . . Discard the name, or take it and fulfill the duty thates with the name . . . It¡¯s your decision . . . Take care Dalvir, live and be happy . . . Finally, I can finally rest . . . " Those were Richter¡¯sst words . Alex stood there in front of the corpse of hisst blood rtive and felt confused . He really thought that once he achieved revenge, he would be feeling better than this . Yet why does he feel even worse than before?

    ¡¯Why were you smiling like that?! Weren¡¯t you suppose to be the ultimate viin?! Why did you loos so pleased upon your death? Why did you tell me to live happily?! You were supposed to be an a**hole until the end!¡¯

    While Alex was kneeling down in confusion, Rachel approached him and hugged him . Evangeline wanted to do the same thing but gave way for Rachel .

    ¡¯It¡¯s alright Rachel you can have this one, the next time I¡¯m going all out . ¡¯

    . . .

    After the death of Richter and the other high-level people of the Shadow Mercenaries, the legendary was disbanded . Alex alongside his friends returned home . The war with the Granado Empire was also brought to a stop when the Emperor was assassinated by the legendary Shadow . With no central figure to rule them, and with different factions trying to seize power, in the end, the Berdonia and Southern Union alliance teamed up with one of the Empire¡¯s factions that advocated peace .

    It took only a few months until the Empire was ruled by the peace faction and became simply Granado .

    The warsted for two years, and everything finally returned to normal . No, it turned out even better than before, because the three superpowers have agreed to form an alliance, to foster peace and stability .

    . . .

    In Cromer City, in the back of a school building, a scared-looking boy was in front of a door hesitating to open it . Yet after he gathered the courage he turned the doorknob and entered the room . The moment he entered he saw a boisterous scene, as a group of good looking people were having funughing and ying games . When the group noticed the new arrival they smiled and spoke in unison .

    "Wee to the Mercenary Club!"

 Chapter 352

    Chapter 352

    Alex was sleeping soundly as Rachel ced his head on herp . It has been a year since theyst met, but it seems like a lot of things have changed . This face of his remained the same yet the expressions it showed was more than before . The look Alex gave her was the look of despair and hopelessness, it was a look Rachel could never associate with Alex before this incident . That just proved how much Alex had to go through while being trapped in here for the past year .

    Rachel looked around the room, it had a lot of bloodstains, a lot of cracks from the walls to the ceiling, it even had scratches here and there . This showed Rachel all the struggles Alex had to endure while staying in this small room .

    She then saw Alex¡¯s body through his torn up shirt and saw his numerous wounds, there were a lot of different types from gun wounds, stab wounds, burns, and many more .

    ¡¯After not meeting you for a year, I always yearned to see you . . . But, not like this . . . How much suffering must you have gone through . . . If I could, I would¡¯ve dly apanied you through your suffering . . . NO, if I could I would¡¯ve never allowed this to happen . I¡¯m sorry that I was so weak, I¡¯m sorry that you always get hurt and I can do nothing about it . ¡¯

    Rachel caressed Alex¡¯s face as tears fell down her beautiful face, falling onto Alex¡¯s cheeks . She couldn¡¯t help it, right here in front of her was the boy she so longed to meet . Yet the way they reunited wasn¡¯t how she dreamt it to be, it was a bittersweet feeling as she felt both happy and sad at the same time .

    While Rachel was wallowing in her feelings, she felt a warm hand touching her face wiping away the tears .

    "Why are you crying, Rachel? Did that b*stard make you cry? Don¡¯t worry no matter what I¡¯ll protect you . "

    As he said this, Alex touched her face and slowly caressed it . Rachel took hold of Alex¡¯s hand and the two looked each other in the eye and felt a burning desire within them . Without even thinking Rachel suddenly pounced on Alex and kissed him . At first, Alex was surprised by the kiss, but then he responded in kind .

    The kissing started with a peck on the lips, and then it escted to deeper kisses . The two of them took each other¡¯s breath away . If not for the cameras installed in the room that Alex couldn¡¯t destroy, this kissing session would¡¯ve escted into something more .

    After a few minutes of making out, Alex and Rachel finally stopped . It was then Rachel remembered what Richter told her . After telling Alex the thing Richter said, she noticed his face twitch a bit . If it was the Alex from before, it would be nearly impossible to guess what he was thinking, but now it was a bit easier .

    "What choice does that monster need you to make?" Alex couldn¡¯t respond to that question as he hesitated on what to say . Rachel was quick to notice his hesitation and spoke first .

    "Alex, no matter what it is you can tell me . Please trust me, and tell me the situation so that I can help you . "

    Rachel looked at Alex who was in pain and felt that she too was in pain . Alex who saw the pained expression of Rachel¡¯s couldn¡¯t decide on what to do . If he told her what will happen, it might break her, and Alex didn¡¯t want that to happen . But if he doesn¡¯t tell her what the choice he needs to make was, and she eventually finds out that too might break her .

    It was then Alex once again looked at Rachel and saw that determined look of hers . He also noticed other things, it would seem that the one year he hasn¡¯t seen her Rachel has been through a lot . Rachel¡¯s beautiful skin that used to be smooth and clean now has scars here and there . She even has burnt marks . It wasn¡¯t at the same level as Alex¡¯s but it was still a body that went through numerous battles .

    ¡¯I see . . . Rachel isn¡¯t the same weak girl as before . She has be someone strong . . . ¡¯ Even though Rachel was already strong before all of these events happening, Alex has always viewed her as someone weak and feeble, but now he wasn¡¯t able to say she was weak . Rachel without knowing has earned Alex¡¯s approval as a merc .

    "I¡¯m sorry Rachel, it seems that I have offended you . . . You truly became someone strong . . . Way stronger than someone like me . . . Fine, I will tell you what the choice I needed to make was, but before that, I need to tell you something else . "

    Alex started to exin to Rachel why he was bothering her the first time they met . He told her that he was a merc and that he was on a mission to protect her .

    "At first I wanted to protect you because of my mission, but now I want to protect you because you are important to me . I want to protect you because I love you . So please forgive me Rachel for my deception . "

    Alex knelt as he bowed his head which was now touching the floor . He waited for Rachel¡¯s response, he was even ready to get pped in the face, but none of that happened, instead, he heard Rachel suddenlyughing at him .

    "I already know you were a merc . You didn¡¯t really hide it that well . " Alex raised his head and saw a smiling Rachel .

    "Really? I thought that everyone needed to act with a little bit of caution . . . Was I really that obvious?"

    "Yeah you were, I guess most of the students had a feeling you were a merc but didn¡¯t say anything . It¡¯s not like being a merc is special or anything . It was just the way you acted and move, it was obvious to anyone you were something along those lines . Also, truth be told, I really thought at first, the reason you kept on sticking to me was because you liked me . . . Turns out you just followed me because of a mission . " Rachel said this with a bit of a gloomy expression .

    When Alex saw Rachel¡¯s expression he started to panic . He didn¡¯t know what to do in such a situation, so he hurriedly said, "it¡¯s not like that! I was, no I¡¯m . . . I love you and that¡¯s the truth please believe me!"

    Rachel who had a sour expression just moments ago suddenly giggled . It turns out her reaction moments ago was all a ruse .

    "You tricked me . " Alex looked at the giggling Rachel dumbfounded .

    "Oh my God, you were so cute! Stoic Alex was cool and all, but emotional Alex is so cute!" Rachel spoke with glee .

    "I can¡¯t believe you did that! I was really worried you know!" Alex started shouting a bit angrily . In which Rachel responded by kissing Alex shutting him up . After the two parted lips, Rachel showed Alex her most beautiful smile to date and said, "Even with all your faults, stoic Alex, emotional Alex, no matter which side you show me, I love everything about you . "

 Chapter 353

    Chapter 353

    After Alex and Rachel were done reconfirming that they loved each other Alex started to exin the choice he needed to make . First, he told her what he needed to go through while he was here, then he exined what his grandfather has nned for him . As Alex¡¯s story progressed Rachel¡¯s expression was getting worse and worse . Once Alex was done telling his story, Rachel¡¯s face looked like the face of an angry monster .

    "The hell is wrong with that guy! What kind of grandfather treats his grandson in such a way!" Rachel then looked around the room and started to scream even louder . "I know you¡¯re watching this you so s*nuvab*tch! How about youe an-"

    Alex suddenly blocked Rachel¡¯s mouth from shouting and whispered something into her ear . After hearing what Alex had to say Rachel finally calm down . Alex then positioned himself in a way that the cameras inside the room, won¡¯t be able to capture his hand movements . He was now telling Rachel what he was nning to do .

    . . .

    While Alex was telling Rachel his n through hand signals, Richter was now face to face with Oliver talking to him .

    "It¡¯s been some time James, or should I call you Oliver now," Richter spoke while he was cleaning his firearms in front of Oliver .

    "Oliver is just fine . . . So what is it you want from me?"

    "Nothing much, I just wanted to talk to a former subordinate . I heard you lost Marge and Phil a year ago . That must¡¯ve been devasting, losing your real parents, and even your foster parents . Still, I guess you can keep on going because you have that greatss as a girlfriend, what was her name again . . . Oh right, Sayaka, she¡¯s a pretty wonderful woman, you have chosen well, Oliver . "

    Oliver simply continued to listen, even though he got angry when he heard Richter speak of his parents, but he kept it in . He knew what kind of person this person in front of him was . Even if he did go and attack out of anger, he wouldn¡¯tst long, against this old man, especially now that he was weaponless .

    Yet the moment he heard Richter talk about Sayaka, Oliver¡¯s whole demeanor changed as his bloodlust filled the atmosphere . Yet even in this kind of situation Richter remained calm and collected, as if everything was under his control .

    "What have you done to Sayaka! Tell me!" Oliver stood up as he shouted in rage .

    "Calm down Oliver, I¡¯m here to give you a choice . So you better sit down and listen, if you identally piss me off, I might just kill you right now . "

    Oliver bit his lower lip and sat down with reluctance .

    "Good boy, okay then now that we can talk like civilized people, I¡¯m going tell you the choice you need to make . I want you to try and kill my grandson Alex, and if you are able to do that I will release you and all your friends . If you aren¡¯t able to do that then, I¡¯ll kill Sayaka right in front of you, then I¡¯ll kill all your other friends . "

    Oliver was first stunned into silence when he heard this statement and then after a few seconds, he startedughing . Richter not expecting such a response grew a bit irritated and asked, "do you think this is funny?"

    "Of course I do, that kind of threat won¡¯t work on me! Is this amateur hour, leader? Besides I¡¯m sure the others won¡¯t fall for such a threat either . Even though Sir Lyner never taught as much through his words, his actions, especially in his death, taught us a lot of things . I¡¯m a hundred percent sure that not one of the students of Sir Lyner would ever sumb to such a foolish threa-" Before Oliver could finish what he wanted to say Richter kicked him in the gut . The calm old man was now showing his true face, one that of an angry demon . The killing intent he was exuding surpassed anything Oliver has ever felt before .

    "You dare call me foolish! You dare insinuate that a dead man was better than me!" Richter then proceeded to mount Oliver and punch him on his face . Oliver who has his hands chained down couldn¡¯t block, it was a good thing that with his current state he was more tolerant to pain .

    After hitting Oliver a few times, Richter was able to calm himself down . He looked at Oliver and saw that the boy was actually smiling, this irked Richter and he simply said, "you will regret making me this angry . " Richter left the room and headed to the next one .

    . . .

    Richter told a simr speech to Kei and Niel, where he received a simr response as Oliver¡¯s . Richter who was walking towards his office was very irritated .

    ¡¯Really even in death your ideals and ways are irritating me . Even in death, you¡¯re such a loud man, Lyner . ¡¯

    Richter couldn¡¯t forget the faces that Alex¡¯s friends shown him when he used the same threat . The look they gave him, was like they truly believed what he was saying was absurd and hrious . Especially Niel that conversation was the most irritating .

    . . .

    A few minutes back after Richter offered Niel a chance to save all his friends, if he could kill Alex . The boy that was always smiling showed Richter a very radiant smile before answering .

    "That doesn¡¯t make any sense, Alex is my friend as well . Wouldn¡¯t following your deal which is killing Alex in exchange for my friends to be able to safely exit this ce, contradictory . If Alex is dead that would mean not all my friends will be able to leave safely correct?"

    Richter was getting a bit irritated at this point but held it in as he answered, "you know that¡¯s not what I¡¯m talking about . I know you understand what I meant when I made you that offer . "

    Niel then tilted his head as if he was confused before he spoke, "Huh? I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m just a stupid boy that¡¯s in no way near your greatness . How could I an ordinary mortal even begin to understand your thought process? In my view your proposal is contradictory, but in your view, it is not . I wish you would ex-" Richter couldn¡¯t take it anymore and kicked Niel which forced him to faint .

    . . .

    ¡¯All of these students of Lyner¡¯s, they just want to irritate me to no end! Very well, it doesn¡¯t really matter what they say now, tomorrow when the time for killinges they will show me their true colors . ¡¯

    Richter who was looking extremely pissed just moments ago was now smiling . He was just a bit irritated since this was the first time anyone has talked to him like that . Usually, when anyone talks to him like that, their heads would already be rolling . Well, there was one person who talked c*ckily like that him and survived . . .

    ¡¯Lyner I truly wish I could¡¯ve killed you with my own hands . ¡¯

    . . .

    As Richter was heading back to his own room, Alex was done telling Rachel the finer details of his n . In which Rachel responded with hand gestures as well, ¡¯do you think this n will work?¡¯

    Alex responded simply by gesturing, ¡¯I hope so . ¡¯

 Chapter 354

    Chapter 354

    The time for the battle between friends was nearing, Richter found that the tension from the participants wasn¡¯t high enough, especially his grandson who was sleeping on Rachel¡¯sp . This wasn¡¯t the tension-filled atmosphere, he wanted, Richter wanted a more life or death feeling .

    With that in mind, Richter called for the Executioner . Momentster a man wearing a mask holding arge scythe entered the room . This was of course none other than the second strongest in the Shadow Mercenaries, the Executioner .

    "Leader, what do you wish for me to do?" The executioner asked while bowing his head .

    "My grandson is going to have the fight of his life, seven hours from now . So I want you to have a mock battle with him so that he could warm-up . Don¡¯t worry about hurting him, as long as you don¡¯t kill him you can inflict as much damage as you want . Our ability to heal people is obviously good enough, that as long as they¡¯re not dead it¡¯s alright . So go ahead give my grandson a very good warm-up . "

    Richter who was watching Alex sleep on Rachel¡¯sp was now smiling slyly .

    "As you wish leader," After saying his piece the Executioner left the room .

    . . .

    Alex who was moments ago was sleeping on Rachel¡¯sp, woke up fully equipped and was once again inside the training room . At first, Alex thought he was finally about to face his friends, but then he saw a masked man holding a huge scythe .

    The aura the man in front of him exuded was no less than what his crazy grandfather emits . This was a person who was near his grandfather¡¯s level . Alex quickly got into a stance, since it was obvious what was about to happen here .

    When the Executioner saw Alex draw his weapon, he immediately attacked . Alex seeing how fast his opponent was started shooting while trying to get some distance . Yet the Executioner simply blocked the attacks aimed for his head, aside from those he allowed the bullets to pierce through his other body parts . It was then Alex saw that his body actually spat out the bullets and healed himself .

    ¡¯This guy is the same as Richter!¡¯ Alex now understood that the conventional way of fighting would work on this guy . He needed to use his sword, and if he was going to use his gun, he could only aim for the head, since any other part would be pointless to shoot at .

    Alex then changed tactics as he charged onward with his sword drawn . The Executioner was quick to react, the moment Alex got within his range he shed down at him . Alex blocked the attack and was actually pushed back .

    Alex was surprised to feel how strong the Executioner was . Ever since hisst battle with Richter, he was sure, that he finally went beyond the shackles of human limitation . Yet this person in front of him was actually as strong or even stronger than him .

    ¡¯So there was someone else that was this strong!¡¯ Instead of fearing the unknown strength of his opponent, Alex was actually getting a bit excited . This was a great chance to see just how strong he has be, with this kind of opponent he would finally see where his limitsid . This was also good practice before he killed his psychotic grandfather .

    Alex dashed forward, which prompted the Executioner to do a sideward sh . Alex then jumped over the head of the Executioner and shot at him . The Executioner waste to react, which made his mask crack a little from the power of the shot .

    Alex kept the pressure on, as he was now ferociously attacking the Executioner with his sword . The Executioner likely confident with his strength didn¡¯t back off and instead matched all of Alex¡¯s attacks .

    The two of them kept on attacking and evading in such high-speeds, that it was hard for Richter¡¯s cameras to be able to focus on them . The two were now engaged in a battle of des as if they were dancing . Evade, attack, block they exchanged blows this way, while swaying their bodies and every now and then spinning around . Instead of a fight, it looked more like a dance exhibition .

    Alex was amazed in his newfound strength, the current him felt like even without using RELEASE, he would still be more powerful than his past self . Yet was even more amazing was the opponent he was facing, with only a scythe at hand he was able to keep up with Alex . The scythe he was using that looked to be based on the grim reaper¡¯s scythe was an unpractical weapon to use, especially in this kind of high-speed battle . Yet this person was able to fight the current Alex evenly .

    . . .

    The battle between Alex and the Executioner has already been going on for half an hour and no one was hitting anybody . It was then something different happened . Alex who was getting used to the Executioner¡¯s movement was finally able to get a hit in, which knocked the mask the Executioner was wearing .

    When Alex saw the face behind the mask, his eyes bulged . He stopped attacking and looked at the Executioner with an expression full of shock and confusion . The Executioner seeing Alex stop attacking did the same thing, he did this since he could no longer feel Alex¡¯s willingness to fight . As the Executioner was getting a bit confused as well, was about to question Alex why he stopped, but then Alex spoke first .

    "How is it possible? I thought you were dead! He killed you, everyone was sure of it! They told me that you were dead . . . They told me stories about you . . . If you¡¯re alive then Why . . . Why are you helping him? Weren¡¯t you suppose to be the better person? That¡¯s what everyone told me . . . "

    The Executioner got a bit confused as to what Alex was saying and asked, "what are you talking about? Do you know who I was?"

    "Did he erase your memories, or did you seal them just like me? . . . Fine, I¡¯ll tell you who you truly are . . . You are the pride of the Greyhounds, the one who should¡¯ve been the next head instead of that monster . . . I heard you were the only one he ever respected . . . You¡¯re Leon Greyhound . "

 Chapter 355

    Chapter 355

    The Executioner who was now named Leon by Alex, looked at the boy confused . The name sounds very familiar which made Leon look at Alex with a bit of doubt .

    ¡¯I guess I really might be Leon Greyhound . . . ¡¯

    Richter who was watching through the security cameras was also interested in what happens next .

    . . .

    It was true that the one greatest regret he ever had in his life was killing his brother . This was the reason he tried everything in his power to resurrect him, and in the end, he seeded . Richter¡¯s former subordinates Phil and Marge were able to make a specialized cryo coffin, that was able to somehow preserve Leon¡¯s body at the time of his death . It was then Leon¡¯s time stopped moving . The next step in the n was to create a clone of Leon . This was not as easy to achieve even for Phil and Marge, but after a few years of research, they were able to make a perfect clone .

    This clone was simply used to harvest organs and transnt it into the real Leon . The transnt was a sess, Leon¡¯s time was able to move again . Yet when he woke up he was no longer the brother Richter remembered, he had no recollection of his past . Still, Richter considered this a good thing, since he believed that his brother¡¯s past was shameful .

    Now that Alex brought it up, Richter was rather curious how his brother would react .

    . . .

    "Grandfather Leon . . . Please stop this, please help me end your brother¡¯s insanity . " Leon looked at Alex and saw the sincerity of his request, yet he didn¡¯t respond in the way Alex wished . Leon who was feeling a bit weird now shook his head .

    "Though I cannot remember who I was before if it is as you say then that would mean the leader, Richter is my younger brother . If so that would make you my grandson as well, that would make you part of my family . Then why should I kill my own brother? Well, aside from that I¡¯m no longer Leon anyway . . . It is as the leader said, Leon Greyhound the past me, has already died . I am no longer that person, now I¡¯m only the Executioner . "

    Leon then took his stance signaling Alex to keep on fighting . When Alex heard Leon¡¯s answer he couldn¡¯tprehend it . Even though his memories of Leon were almost non-existant, Alex¡¯s father has told him stories about Leon . This person was supposedly the only Greyhound that truly didn¡¯t like the idea of revenge . He was the sanest of the Greyhounds, and also was one of the most powerful .

    ¡¯Then why did he answer in such a way? Was it because of his lost memories? That must be it! I just need to remind him of who he was . ¡¯

    "Leon! Are you truly okay with the path your brother has taken? As the older brother will you not bring him back to the correct path?"

    Leon didn¡¯t bother to answer Alex as he once again started attacking . Alex didn¡¯t bother fighting back and was dodging while trying to convince Leon .

    "I know you¡¯re still in there somewhere! Please listen to me!" Alex who was a bit distracted wasn¡¯t able to properly dodge the iing kick as his mind was elsewhere . Leon¡¯s kick to Alex¡¯s gut blew the young man into the wall .

    This was the first good hit Alex had after he gained his new strength . Yet it didn¡¯t hinder him instead it woke him up .

    "I guess you won¡¯t talk to me if I use the normal methods . So let¡¯s do this the Greyhound way!" Alex spat a mouthful of blood and then sped forward while shooting at Leon . It was easy for Leon to dodge gunfire, if he wanted to he could even catch a bullet using his teeth . In their current level, unless the other party could predict the next move of the opponent, there is no way a bullet could hit . Since Leon and Alex were almost equally skilled with Leon having an advantage, Alex didn¡¯t have the capability to make the battle flow his way .

    Alex then blocked the shat of the scythe using his sword, but then Leon pulled the scythe closer aiming to cut Alex in half . Alex followed the de as he stepped forward towards Leon and punched him . Leon tried to sway his head to dodge but was unable to as Alex¡¯s punch suddenly elerated hitting him at the head .

    "Did that wake you up?"

    . . .

    It was already an hour since the battle between Alex and Leon started, and it would seem that a winner couldn¡¯t be decided . Based on their skill their battle couldst for days before a victor would appear . So Richter decided to end the match prematurely .

    . . .

    Leon who just finished his bout with Alex was now talking to Richter .

    "So what do you think?" Richter asked filled with curiosity .

    "About what?"

    "About you being my older brother, it¡¯s the truth you know . Do you wish to once again be Leon Greyhound? If you so wish it, I could even hand you the position as head of the Greyhounds . So what do you say?" Richter looked calm on the outside, but on the inside, he was trying to hold in his excitement .

    Leon looked at Richter for a few seconds before shaking his head .

    "I don¡¯t want to be the head of the Greyhounds . As for being your brother, does it matter? . . . It¡¯s as you said before I already died as Leon Greyhound, and I am no longer him . My name alongside everything else from my past has been wiped clean from my memory . I can no longer be who I used to be . . . Now I can only be the Executioner, nothing more nothing less . . . "

    Richter who was excited moments ago was now feeling a bit depressed . "I see . . . You may leave . " Leon bowed his head and left the room, leaving a disappointed Richter behind .

    ¡¯In the end . . . I can only rely on myself . . . ¡¯

 Chapter 356

    Chapter 356

    Alex who just had a fight with his other grandfather was once again put to sleep . When he woke up the first thing he noticed was that he was in one of the training rooms, and right in front of him where three people that he hasn¡¯t seen in a while .

    It was Oliver, Niel, and Kei, the three of them was looking at Alex with conflicted feelings . It was at that moment Alex knew that his sh*tty grandfather said something to them . When he saw that none of the girls were present he knew that Richter gave them the same conditions as him .

    "It¡¯s been some time guys . Even though we¡¯re in such a situation I still think it¡¯s nice to see you guys again . "

    Alex looked at his friends with a refreshing smile on his face . The three guys who saw Alex was shocked to see him smile like that . It was an amazing sight to see, the ever stoic Alex was actually smiling so naturally, it was a smile that could even match Niel¡¯s .

    "Alex, are you smiling? You are, you¡¯re actually smiling! Hey, guys, you see that Alex is actually smiling . " Oliver got a bit excited as he pointed at Alex . Niel was also surprised but he had a more calm expression . It was only Kei who had a grim expression on .

    "Why are you guys acting this way! You do know what we are about to do, right?!" The other three looked at each other then smiled at Kei .

    "It¡¯s alright Kei, we¡¯re all friends here no matter the circumstance," Niel spoke in a calming tone, coupled with his confident smile and the charisma he was known for, Kei was able to immediately calm down .

    " . . . Sorry about that . . . I guess I really ain¡¯t able to fully be part of your group . " Kei looked downward a bit disappointed by his outburst .

    "What are you saying Kei, of course, you¡¯re part of our group . As the president of the Mercenary Club, I assure you Kei, you are a part of our group . " Hearing what Oliver said, made Kei smile wryly .

    While the group was talking in a very happy atmosphere, Alex who was smiling moments ago returned to his stoic look and spoke .

    "So what did you guys decide to do?" When Niel heard Alex¡¯s question he could not show the same sparkly smile he used to show as he answered in a solemn voice .

    "The same answer you have . "

    "I see . . . How about you Oliver, Kei, did you reach the same conclusion?" Alex saw Oliver clenched his fist, as the veins in his muscles look like they were going to pop .

    "I¡¯m sorry Alex . . . I need to do this . . . I just can¡¯t let her die . " Oliver started to cry as he looked at his best friend .

    "I understand Oliver . . . Kei?"

    " . . . " Kei didn¡¯t say anything but he started crying as well .

    While Alex was speaking to them, he positioned himself so the cameras won¡¯t be able to see his lips moving . In between his sentences he was speaking to the others using nothing but lip movement . Alex believed that with his friends¡¯ capabilities they would be able to discern what he wanted to say .

    ¡¯Oliver, Niel, Kei, if you are able to understand me, I want you to act natural . I have a n and I want you guys to trust me . ¡¯

    Alex saw Oliver and Niel respond by blinking their eyes . This was a morse code that they invented when Oliver, suggested they needed a way tomunicate if ever one of them was taken, hostage . Kei was in a position that the cameras would be able to get a good look of his face, making him unable to respond . Still, Alex knew that Kei was onboard . There wasn¡¯t actual confirmation but he knew that his friends would be able to do pull this off .

    Once they were done talking a screen came down from the ceiling . On the screen was the face of the group¡¯s most hated enemy, Richter .

    "It seems like everyone is ready, so how about we get this party started! Also just so you guys don¡¯t forget what¡¯s on the line, here¡¯s a reminder . " The image shifted and showed Rachel, Emily, Sayaka, and Evangeline who were bound and gagged .

    "If you guys don¡¯t start killing each other, I might identally kill one of them . " Richter got close to Sayaka and pointed a gun to her head . When Oliver saw this he gritted his teeth in anger, it was then he saw the others blinking sending them a message . While Richter was distracted with Sayaka and looking at Alex and the others through the screen . Emily was blinking, using the mercenary club¡¯s very own morse code .

    ¡¯We know about the n, Rachel already filled us in . I hope you guys don¡¯t mess it up . ¡¯ When Kei and the others saw Emily do this, they didn¡¯t show it on their faces but they were smiling on the inside . Oliver started attacking Alex, with a look of anger and sadness . He needed to do this much acting, to be able to trick someone like Richter . Oliver and the others could probably win the award for best actor, with the act they were showing right now .

    He and the others needed to make it look real . No the reason it looked real was because they were really trying to kill Alex at this very moment .

    A while ago, while Alex was talking to them via lip reading, he told them that they can go all out . Also, they don¡¯t need to fear identally killing them, cause no matter what they do they won¡¯t be able to match up to him anyway .

    Of course, this irritated both Oliver and Niel who a bit of difficulty holding it in .

    . . .

    Richter who was confused at the start, since the way the boys were acting at the middle of their conversation was a bit abnormal . Yet seeing how hard the boys were fighting, Richter¡¯s suspicions have lessened, but they were still there . So this time Richter was watching the fight ever so closely .

 Chapter 357

    Chapter 357

    Oliver was not one to hold back even when the fight was rigged . Alex already told him that he and the others should go all out since there was no way they would win . Oliver was a little bit, just a tiny bit irritated by that statement . Now that he had all his memories back, he knew that he and Alex were considered to be equals, and now he was telling him that he was left in the dust .

    Niel and Kei started shooting at Alex, who simply diverted the trajectory of the bullets using his sword and evaded Oliver¡¯s attacks by swaying his body . The way he moved and smiled was like he was simply enjoying a little game with his friends, but the truth was one slip-up could possibly injure Alex severely . To make the fight look real, Oliver, Niel, and Kei were all aiming at Alex¡¯s vitals . Yet no matter how much they attacked they couldn¡¯t hit Alex who was moving around like a monkey .

    . . .

    Richter who was watching the fight between friends was at first skeptical, but as the fight proceeded and he saw the expressions of the four boys fighting, this made Richter almost fully believe that they were really trying to kill each other . He was really pleased to see how arrogant Alex was acting like they were all beneath him . This was the way of the Greyhounds, their true original nature .

    It was in their nature to be full of pride, Alex might think he was above that, but Richter knew deep down he was the same .

    Still, Richter¡¯s suspicions weren¡¯t fully gone, as he remained a tiny bit skeptical .

    . . .

    Oliver was getting a bit irritated that no matter what he did he couldn¡¯t hit Alex . What made it even more irritating was that cocky smile Alex was showing . As Alex evaded his spinning back kick Oliver spoke to him .

    "I liked it better when you were stoic . "

    "Really? I kinda like the new me . " Alex happily replied while shooting at Niel who evaded while running towards him .

    Niel knew that shooting Alex from afar while covering Oliver, was pretty much useless so he tried to fight up close with Oliver . They only needed Kei for the cover fire . Also, Niel was better in close quartersbat than range . Niel used the wires from his glove to entangle Alex¡¯s leg, but it was too obvious which made it easy to avoid .

    Even though Niel has been using the same fighting style as Lyner, his skill was nowhere near enough to handle the wires as fluently as Lyner . Though he could still use them for distractions .

    Alex who was evading the onught of attacks from all sides was still finding it pretty easy . He was amazed at how fast his reflexes were . Even though he fought Leon before, he couldn¡¯t really get a feel of how strong he was since they were both of equal strength . Now that he was fighting people that used to be at the same level as him, Alex finally knew just how much he had improved in this one year apart . Though it was apparent that Oliver and Niel, even Kei had improved greatly over the past year, butpared to Alex¡¯s improvement it was nothing much .

    . . .

    Seeing how calm and collected Alex was, coupled with that cocky smile of his, Niel, Oliver, and even Kei shared a look and nodded their heads . The three of them only nned to fight a bit realistically so that they won¡¯t alert Richter to their ns but seeing Alex like that was pissing them off a bit .

    Well even if they went all out, base on Alex¡¯s current strength he would be able to handle it, at this point they weren¡¯t even thinking about how they¡¯re being made to kill each other . All the three of them were thinking was to get a hit on Alex, and pull him down a peg .

    The three of them stopped attacking and changed their stances . Oliver lifted his sword in an overhead position . Niel went down on the ground and looked like he was a lion about to pounce on his prey . Kei, on the other hand, changed from kneeling pose, to crawling pose .

    Alex who saw them changed their stances, knew that things were about to escte . He for the first time in the whole fight took a stance and was ready to receive his friends . Without any signal, Niel was the first to move . Even Alex wasn¡¯t able to see Niel¡¯s initial movement, but he felt a wind blow which alerted him of Niel¡¯s location, which was behind him . Alex lifted up his sword, but Niel¡¯s wires got a hold of it . While Alex was trying to pull his sword away, he suddenly let go of the hilt and did a dodge roll . A bullet passed by where Alex was standing moments ago, Kei was able to shoot without Alex noticing he fired .

    Alex who had sessfully dodged, lifted his hand in a prayer position as he caught a sword that came falling down from above . Oliver had attacked with perfect precision, it was a good thing Alex¡¯s reflexes have improved or else he would have been sliced in half .

    ¡¯These guys are seriously trying to kill me now!¡¯ Alex screamed in his head . He then felt Niel was about to strike, so using the downward sword momentum, Alex made Oliver bump into Niel . Using this opportunity Alex charged at the weakest member, Kei .

    Kei who saw the fast approaching Alex tried shooting at him but to no avail . Alex then punched Kei in different points of his body with speed and precision . After that onebo attack, Kei fell his body stopped moving .

    Oliver and Kei were surprised to see that happen to Kei . ¡¯Did Alex actually kill him?¡¯ Both of them thought of that at the same time, which was not a good idea . Even getting distracted for a fraction of second was enough for Alex to exploit . He used the same attack on Niel next, which gave a simr result as Niel fell down looking lifeless .

    "Alex what have you done! Why did you kill them! I thought you had a n!" Oliver suddenly screamed as Alex attacked him the same way . As Oliver¡¯s consciousness was fading he heard Alex speak to him in his normal stoic voice .

    "Killing you is part of the n . "

 Chapter 358

    Chapter 358

    Evangeline, Emily, Sayaka, and even Rachel looked at the screen confused as to what happened . Richter, on the other hand, was not convinced, he immediately used a machine to scan the room . After a thorough scan of the bodies, it was clear that their heart had stopped beating . When Richter got his confirmation, he couldn¡¯t help but smile .

    The girls who were tied up and forced to watch saw the result of the scan had different reactions . Evangeline was confused, Emily was in a state of shock, Sayaka had a look of hatred, while Rachel had a veryplicated expression on her face . She didn¡¯t know what to feel, Alex told her of a n, but this wasn¡¯t that n .

    Alex simply said he would fight the others, but drag it out until both sides could no longer fight to force a draw . Afterwards Richter would probably stop the match, and wait for them to get back in shape . He would continue to do this until a winner emerges, or he could get bored and simply kill everyone . Either way, that n would¡¯ve given the group some time to think of a way to escape . Yet now Alex did the unexpected and actually killed his friends .

    Sayaka looked at Rachel and wanted to get angry at her, but then she saw her best friend crying . Seeing her like that made Sayaka realized that even she didn¡¯t know that Alex really nned to kill the others .

    Emily was still in a dazed state as if her soul was no longer within her body . Kei, her beloved Kei was actually killed, and the person who killed him was Alex the person she respected the most . A torrent of feelings had assaulted her, but the feelings that resonated strongly within her were the feelings of anger and despair .

    Evangeline was also in a daze, as she was confused as to what had happened . Before they were brought here, Evangeline and the others were gathered in one single, the room where Rachel exined Alex¡¯s n . Yet what was happening now wasn¡¯t even remotely near Alex¡¯s n . Did the Alex that she knew off change . What happened in that one year they were apart .

    Richter who saw the different expressions of the girls felt a bit happy . This meant even they weren¡¯t expecting this to happen, which made the deaths of the three boys even more real . While Richter was feeling happy by the turn of events, he heard Alex¡¯s voice through the speakers .

    "I see . . . You were right grandfather, these people could never be my friends . " The cocky smile on Alex¡¯s face could no longer be seen, and at this moment he reverted back to his stoic look . In fact, he looked even more emotionless than before . "They were weak therefore they died . . . " Alex sighed before looking at the camera . ced within the room . "Grandfather I wish to speak with you . "

    "Very well my grandson," Richter called for Leon and asked him to escort Alex to his room .

    . . .

    Alex was following Leon silently, while Leon felt something was amiss . "Alex, why did you bring those dead bodies? You even brought their weapons . "

    "Hmm, even though they weren¡¯t worthy of being my friends, they were still my friends . I simply wish to bury them alongside their weapons, nothing more, nothing less . " Alex said those lines without any hint of emotion, right now to Leon, Alex felt like a ghost .

    When the two arrived in Richter¡¯s room, Alex noticed that the girls were ring at him, Sayaka was even emitting arge amount of bloodlust, but that didn¡¯t bother Alex at all . Richter, on the other hand, was curious about the dead bodies Alex was carrying and asked the same question as Leon . Of course, Alex gave the same answer he gave Leon .

    "I see . . . So Alex tell me what is it that you want to talk about? I assume you want something from me, tell me what is it you desire?"

    "Before we start talking I want to do something . " Alex approached the girls and ced the dead body of his friends on theirps . Alex ced Niel on Evangeline¡¯sp, Oliver on Sayaka¡¯s, Kei on Emily¡¯s and he looked at Rachel with those emotionless eyes of his . Rachel who was looking at him wanted to hear his reason for doing this, but Alex didn¡¯t say anything and turned around .

    Evangeline looked at Niel the person who supported her love and wanted to cry . The once confident, radiant senior of hers was now dead, and the one who killed him was the man she loved ever so dearly .

    Emily who didn¡¯t believe what she saw through the monitors, was now looking at Kei¡¯s dead body . She wanted to deny what she was seeing, she didn¡¯t want it to be true, yet here he was no longer there to fool around with her . She just became his girlfriend, she wanted to do lots and lots of fun things with him, but now he could no longer do anything with her . Emily didn¡¯t notice but tears were already rolling down her face .

    Sayaka who saw Oliver¡¯s dead body was full of rage and sorrow . After her father died, Sir Lyner died, and now Oliver was gone . All the important men in her life were leaving her behind . There were a lot of things she wanted to tell Oliver . . . She even dreamt of bing his wife someday, where she and he could smile happily, while raising their children . She had a dream that her children and her friends¡¯ children would be best buddies, and they would go to school, have the same antics as she and her friends once had . Yet now all of those things will never happen . At this point rage, hatred, and despair were boiling up within Sayaka . She would never forgive the Shadow Mercenaries for doing this, but the person she really wanted to drag to hell was the person her loved one considered his best friend .

    ¡¯Alex no matter your reasons I will never forgive you!¡¯ Sayaka red angrily at Alex .

 Chapter 359

    Chapter 359

    Alex was now facing his grandfather with an emotionless look in his eyes . Richter was happy about this result but then he was also a bit confused . This was the most ideal result he could ask for, but he wasn¡¯t expecting it to happen . Based on his past interactions with his grandson, Richter was doubtful that Alex would react this way . What had changed? What factor was added that he didn¡¯t know about? While a lot of things were going through Richter¡¯s head, Alex spoke in his stoic voice .

    "I did as you told me to, I hope you fulfill your side of the deal . " Richter who was deep in though moments ago looked at his grandson with a smile on his face .

    "Of course Alex, not only will I keep Rachel alive, I will even allow the other girls to live as well . All of them can be yours, and the four them can give birth to the next generation of Greyhounds . Powerful, intelligent Greyhounds, with your genes and theirs it is likely you might produce a very powerful being . "

    Richter told his speech with excitement and passion, yet his eyes that were supposed to be filled with ambition was instead filled with nothingness .

    "I don¡¯t need anyone else aside from Rachel, how about you let the others go? They have served their purpose . "

    When Alex said that he wanted to let the other girls go aside from Rachel, the four girls had different reactions to that statement .

    Evangeline who was still trying to process what Alex had done to their friends, felt her heart sting . Even though Alex had killed their friends she was willing to forgive him, she was still willing to love him no matter what, yet now he was discarding her like trash . This nearly broke Evangeline¡¯s will, but because of her numerous experiences and the perseverance she had endured to love Alex, she wasn¡¯t fully broken .

    Emily who finally understood what was happening felt empty inside . The man she finally gave her heart to was dead, and the man she respected the most had changed . Not only did he change, but he was also the person who killed her man . Now she was sure if they were able to leave this ce alive, Alex would be an enemy the next time they met .

    Sayaka, on the other hand, was full of hatred . She had a deadly look on her face as she stared at Alex if looks could kill Alex would have died hundreds of times .

    ¡¯Now you¡¯re showing somepassion! Where was thatpassion when you murdered your friends when you murdered my lovely Oly! Alex, I don¡¯t care what your reasons were, if I¡¯m able to get out of this, I will hunt you down and kill you!!! Then I will kill myself . . . ¡¯

    As Sayaka was shouting in her mind, Rachel was still in a state of confusion as she looked at Alex .

    ¡¯Alex, is this really what you want? . . . Was this the only way for some of us to survive? . . . Fine, if you are willing to carry this sin and be a demon then I¡¯ll be a demon as well . ¡¯

    Rachel who was thinking about various things finally came to a conclusion to her thoughts about the situation . She believes that Alex did all these things because he knew that there really was no escape, and there was no way to trick his grandfather .

    He must have told her that fake n because he didn¡¯t want her to worry . Maybe he knew that there was no choice so he decided to kill the guys to at least save the others . This theory was what Rachel desperately wanted to believe was true .

    . . .

    "What are you saying Alex, even if they won¡¯t be your women, these lovelydies could still prove useful to us . Their strengths and potential is something that you don¡¯t just find anywhere . " Richter was trying to probe Alex and see what his reaction would be, but same as before Alex remained expressionless . Not even a twitch could be seen as he answered .

    "What you say is true, but no matter what these girls will never follow you . Especially now that I killed the men they loved so dearly . "

    "I get what you mean, but here in the base, we do have a brainwashing machine . It¡¯s not asplete and has some ws here and there, but it will still do the job . So how about that, if they don¡¯t remember anything we can make them into anything we want . Of course, I won¡¯t do that to Rachel, but the others well as you said we have no choice . So now the problem with their loyalty is solved, what do you say?"

    "I still don¡¯t like it . Making them forget their past, with a defective brainwashing machine won¡¯t exactly work in our favor . It is highly probable that they won¡¯t be as strong as before if we do that . I guess that¡¯s one of the reasons you didn¡¯t use that machine on me, cause you know of its defects . "

    Hearing Alex¡¯s answer made Richter his mouth curl upward into a smile .

    "I guess you are correct Alex . So since we don¡¯t need them and they¡¯re pretty much a dangerous element to you and this organization, how about you kill them already . That¡¯s the only logical approach . "

    Alex still remained unnerved and retained his stoic look, but he didn¡¯t respond at Richter¡¯s order . Yet after a while, he took out his gun and then pointed it at Evangeline . When Evangeline saw Alex pointing his gun at her, she wasn¡¯t afraid instead deep inside she felt a bit happy . Though it may sound weird she was happy at the idea Alex was the one who takes her life .

    Alex then pulled the trigger, but the bullet that was going to pierce through Evangeline¡¯s head was instead heading straight to Richter¡¯s head who evaded the bullet with a smile .

    "As expected this was all an act!" Leon who was beside Richter was about to attack Alex but then was blocked by a huge body of muscle .

    Sayaka who saw the dead body of her Oly moving was stunned . She then noticed that she was no longer bound to the chair, she was free . Because of her confusion and anger, she didn¡¯t notice that Oliver was setting her free while pretending to be dead . Sayaka then looked around her and saw the others ready for battle . The friends they thought were dead, were now brandishing their weapon ready to fight .

    While the girls were still trying toprehend the events that transpired, Richter started pping slowly .

    "Amazing Alex! Even though I saw through it in the end, you were still able to trick me . As a reward I will no longer order you to kill your friends, instead, I will just make them all into mindless minions, or if the brainwashing fails, then they be retards . Well, either way at least they¡¯ll be alive . "

    Alex was about to retort to that statement, but then the whole base shook . Richter was now looking genuinely surprised as he shouted at Alex .

    "What did you do?!"

    Alex didn¡¯t respond, which Richter misinterpreted as Alex has a secret n of sorts . Yet the truth was Alex might have looked stoic on the outside, but in the inside, he was as equally shocked as Richter .

 Chapter 360

    Chapter 360: 360

    A few hours before Alex¡¯s confrontation with his grandfather, Matthew was walking down a mountain path . He was heading towards the border of a small country, where he heard rumors of some underground people spotted in this area . Alongside the information on the rumors regarding the Shadow Mercenaries, Matthew came to the conclusion that the Shadow Mercenaries were hiding in an underground base .

    Matthew and his cat Leo who was sleeping on top of Matthew¡¯s bag felt the ground trembling . When Matthew felt that tremor he smiled happily and started running towards the source . When he got nearer to the area with the greatest reaction, Matthew felt that someone was already behind him .

    This immediately sent warning signals in Matthew¡¯s mind . Someone skilled enough to get so close to him without him noticing, meant the other party was a powerful individual, or it could be an extremelypetent assassin . Either way, Matthew knew what to do, he charged forward to avoid the person behind him . The next thing he did was to get a hold of his weapon and aim it at the person who snuck behind him .

    Leo who was on top of Matthew¡¯s bag was clinging onto the dear life because of the erratic movements Matthew made . After it was able to stabilize its position it looked at the neer and hissed .

    The person who snuck behind Matthew looked surprised at the sudden movements of the boy . At first, he was amazed to see someone so young to be able to feel his presence even though he was sure that he masked itpletely . Yet when he got a good look of the opposing side he finally understood the situation, when he was about to say something Matthew started shooting at him .

    All this time Matthew knew that attacking first and securing the initiative was key to winning, especially after the numerous encounters he had .

    . . .

    Viktor who was about to talk to Matthew was now trying his best to survive . He wasn¡¯t really all that good in a gunfight . Usually, he would have rendered his opponent unconscious before anyone notices him, but since his surprise attack didn¡¯t work, he had little to no choice in the matter .

    Viktor wanted to tell Matthew he wasn¡¯t an enemy, but he had no chance to speak under Matthew¡¯s attacks .

    ¡¯This guy is like Dan, attack first asks questionster, if they die then whatever . I really hate this kind of people . I always thought the holy son was calm individual like his master, turns out his the total opposite . F*cking b*stard making things so difficult for me!¡¯

    While Viktor was cursing Matthew in his head, he tried to once again hide from Matthew, but before he could mask his presence he saw a cat beside him . The cat who saw him suddenly hissed, which once again alerted Matthew to his presence . Every time Viktor tried to hide the cat would be able to spot him and alert Matthew .

    At one point Viktor wanted to kill the cat but then decided against it . If he did kill Matthew¡¯s pet cat, even if their misunderstanding goes away Matthew would still try to kill him .

    Viktor had no choice was about to make a move, but then he spotted Sora in the distance . Viktor signaled Sora to help him, but the other just smiled and winked at him . Viktor who was evading the hail of bullets was totally enraged by Sora¡¯s actions .

    Matthew who was attacking Viktor without pause noticed the shift in the other party¡¯s attention, that was when he spotted Sora . Without any hesitation, Matthew attacked Sora as well .

    . . .

    Now that a majority of Matthew¡¯s attention was on Sora, Viktor had the chance to tell Matthew that they weren¡¯t his enemy . Yet looking at Sora being cornered, Viktor decided to dy his announcement .

    ¡¯You didn¡¯t help me, so I won¡¯t help you . . . Well, I¡¯ll just make Matthew stop . . . After a while . ¡¯

    . . .

    Sora who noticed the situation has turned for the worse for him looked at Viktor who was smiling smugly at him . Sora knew that this was some sort of karma, because of his deeds earlier, but he decided to simply me everything on Viktor .

    ¡¯I¡¯ll get back at you Viktor!¡¯

    . . .

    Matthew who was attacking Sora with a passion felt it was weird . He waited for Viktor to attack him, he even showed an obvious opening but the person in question simply stood there smiling at the one he was shooting .

    ¡¯Are they not allies? Actually, are they even enemies?¡¯ Matthew knew that his attacks normally left no room for a counterattack, but base on the way the two people he tried attacking were able to dodge his attacks in a way that made it look like it was easy, made Matthew start to have doubts . Given their apparent skill level, why weren¡¯t they fighting back and simply dodging?

    Matthew then took a gamble and stopped shooting . He waited for a few seconds but an attack never came . He then saw that the two people question were no arguing and fighting each other, instead of him who attacked them both .

    This scene before his eyes left Matthew utterly dumbfounded .

    "Why the hell didn¡¯t you help me youzy bum!" Sora shouted at Viktor as he tried to overpower his self-proimedrade .

    "Right back at you! Why should I help you, when you didn¡¯t help me!" Viktor shouted as he tried to push Sora down to the ground .

    "Well, I thought you were ying with one of Alex¡¯s friends . I didn¡¯t know you were really in danger . "

    "The hell! Getting shot at doesn¡¯t look dangerous to you?! What the f*ck makes you think you were ying!"

    "Didn¡¯t Dan and Alex use to y a simr game?"

    "Don¡¯t you think it absurd topare me to those fighting monsters!"

    Matthew who was listening in on the two¡¯s conversation heard something he could not ignore . He went near the two who were in some kind of tug of war and spoke with a bit of excitement in his tone .

    "You two know Alex?"

 Chapter 361

    Chapter 361

    After listening to Viktor and Sora¡¯s exnation, Matthew had a basic understanding of the situation . He was on the right track and now he even had allies that he could join with as they storm the enemy base . When he voiced his desire to help, Sora told him he should talk to the leader . Matthew obviously knew who was talking about .

    While walking Matthew suddenly asked, "What¡¯s that smell?" Viktor started smelling his armpit and then shook his head . Sora, on the other hand, asked, "What smell are you talking about?"

    "I¡¯m not sure, but it smells like sulfur with some scent of strawberry . I really can¡¯t tell, it¡¯s just a weird smell overall . "

    "Oh, you¡¯re smelling my new concoction . Good thing you told me in advance . " Sora took out a small vial then plugged it, making the smell a bit faint . "It must¡¯ve opened when I was running away from you . Good thing you noticed, If you didn¡¯t notice, you and Viktor might have died . "

    Hearing that Matthew took some distance from Sora, while Viktor started attacking Sora while shouting, "You mad Scientist!"

    . . .

    The three of them walked for a bit until they finally saw a group of people having some sort of meeting . In the middle of that group was a person with a prosthetic leg, this was none other than Alex¡¯s father and the former leader of a renown mercenary squad, Carlo Samarita .

    When Carlo noticed the neer he smiled . "Oh, Matthew it has been some time since Ist saw you . . . It seems that you¡¯ve improved quite a bit . So, may I ask what you¡¯re doing here?" Even though Carlo was showing a friendly smile, was talking nicely, while also emitting a heavy pressure that threatened Matthew .

    Still, as someone who has been in some rough patches the past year, Matthew was now a bit more experienced in such matters and wasn¡¯t as affected as he used to be . He responded to Carlo by showing a smile and saying, "I¡¯m here with the same reason as you . I want to save Alex, so if you need an extra hand I¡¯m willing to help . "

    When Carlo heard Matthew¡¯s proposal he looked at the other party with a bit of a frown on his face, and then after a second or two Carlo¡¯s smile returned as he nodded his head . "Sure the more helping hands the better . Good thing you arrived now since we are about to storm the secret base of the legendary Shadow Mercenaries . Here¡¯s my n . "

    Carlo then told Matthew what he and the others nned to do . It was a very simple and direct n, there wasn¡¯t too much to do . One can even argue if you could still call that a n . Though straight and simple was something Matthew came to like nowadays .

    "Nice and simple, I like it . Of course, I¡¯ll be part of the infiltration group, right?" After hearing the n, Matthew voiced out his opinion .

    "Truthfully I want you to be part of the distraction group, knowing your capabilities I think you¡¯re a better fit for that, than going in . " Hearing Carlo¡¯s response made Matthew frown .

    "Are you looking down on me? You might think my level is the same as before, but I¡¯ve improved greatly since thest time you saw me . Not that I¡¯m doubting your decisions, but I think I would be a better fit to be a part of the team that¡¯s going inside . " As Matthew said his piece, the atmosphere suddenly felt a bit hostile . Seeing the boy was ring at him made Carlo sigh .

    ¡¯Still such a kid . ¡¯

    "I understand that you¡¯ve improved Matthew, I could tell at one nce that you are no longer the greenhorn that you were before, but I still believe that with your abilities, you¡¯ll prove more useful as part of the distraction . "

    Hearing that Carlo was still insisting that he should stay out and be a distraction made Matthew even more irritated . Leo who was sleeping on top of Matthew¡¯s backpack jumped away in fright . He and everyone else felt it, Matthew¡¯s killing intent . The moment he emitted such a thing, all of the squad members weapons were pointed at Matthew, all except Carlo who was still looking at the boy calmly .

    "I know you used to be the leader of that famed mercenary group, but now your a washup has been . Even your squad isn¡¯t up to the same standard that it used to have . So how can someone like you tell if I¡¯m good to go or not? You¡¯re telling me that you don¡¯t question my skill, but you ce me in such an insignificant position? I-"

    Before Matthew could finish what he was about to say, Carlo suddenly shouted at him .

    "Shut the f*ck up you stupid brat! I¡¯ve had it up to here with your arrogance . I¡¯m about to go in and save my son, who has been captured for over a year . I¡¯m not about to waste this chance that I got because of some prideful overzealous brat, that doesn¡¯t even understand anything! You do understand I told you that you¡¯re a better fit for distraction than infiltration, I said that because it¡¯s the truth . Unlike Dan who is a close-quartersbat specialist, and Niel who can fight in all ranges, you are someone who is a better fit for one against many in an open field . In a tight narrow space, that¡¯s inside the enemy base, your way of fighting isn¡¯t going to hack it! So do you understand, why I told you that you aren¡¯t the best choice to go inside? If not then you don¡¯t need to follow us, if you mess up the n I will not hesitate to kill you!"

    When Carlo got to that part of his speech, he took out his gun and pointed it at Matthew¡¯s head . At this point, the tension between the two was at an all-time high .

    "My son and his friends¡¯ lives are at stake! So either follow my orders or get the f*ck out of here!"

 Chapter 362

    Chapter 362

    Matthew looked at Carlo who was ring at him, he then looked at the other people that surrounded him . All of them were S rank mercs, with only one being an A rank, but based solely on fighting ability then Carlo was currently A rank due to his leg . Still, if Matthew decided to fight these guys while he was surrounded, the chance of victory was below point zero, zero one percent .

    "So what do you say, Matthew?" Carlo¡¯s voice was filled with killing intent, Matthew could practically feel the bloodlust of the other party prating his skin .

    Matthew once again looked around him and sighed . He already wasted a lot of bullets when he was trying to kill Viktor and Sora, and even if he did have all his bullets ready, he wasn¡¯t even sure if he could take one of these guys down .

    Among the mercenaries he has met these people have the best repertoire in terms of cooperation . This meant since the beginning he had no choice . Matthew raised his arms and once again sighed .

    "Fine, I¡¯ll listen to your orders . " Hearing Matthew¡¯s response Carlo didn¡¯t put down his gun as he spoke to the famed Holy son .

    "When I say you will listen to my orders, I mean that for the duration of this mission I will be your superior officer . If you fail to listen and do as you are ordered, I will take that as insubordination and I will kill you on the spot . If you understand this, I will allow to follow us . So knowing all this will you still join us?"

    "Yeah, even hearing all that I wish to join you . Should I fail to live up to your expectations then, I guess it would be alright for you to kill me, I will allow it . " Matthew who was frowning moments ago was now smiling at Carlo . Finally hearing the answer he wanted to hear, Carlo and the others hid their weapons . Even though Matthew answered quite arrogantly, Carlo allowed it . He knew that Matthew was already bringing down his pride to the limit of what he can, to give Carlo that answer .

    "Very well, you cane with us . I hope you don¡¯t make any mistakes . This mission to save my son and his friends is an extremely important mission . We will begin an hour from now, so you better prepare . We have our supplies over there, take whatever you need . "

    Carlo pointed at a nearby tent . After picking up Leo, Matthew headed towards the supply tent to rece some of his equipment . Once he was done, as he was heading out Dan blocked his path .

    "Hey kid, I know Carlo already warned you, but let me remind you . I won¡¯t allow any mistakes here . My precious little girl is in there as well if anything happens to her because of your irritating pride, then aside from the enemies in there, I¡¯m going to crush you as well . "

    After saying his piece Dan was about to leave, but then Matthew said something .

    "You guys keep on saying I¡¯m the one going to make a mistake as if all of you are better than me . In my eyes, aside from Alex all of you from this squad are all old hands that overestimate themselves . What if you¡¯re the one who makes a mistake will you kill yourself?"

    Even though Matthew agreed to follow orders, hearing, again and again, such things, like him making a mistake as if he was child that doesn¡¯t know better had poked his pride .

    When Dan heard what Matthew said his fighting spirit, as well as his bloodlust, rose . He looked at Matthew with a weird look of disdain and anger .

    "Heh, Just because you and Alex are called the geniuses of this generation, doesn¡¯t mean you guys are the strongest . I was already battle worthy when you were still wearing diapers . I was already a merc when you were still trying to learn how to walk . A single finger of mine has more experience than every fiber of your being . So if someone is going to make a mistake among us, it¡¯s going to be you brat . If you don¡¯t believe me then how about a little spar, so I can show you how truly weak you are . "

    Matthew then took out his gun and was about to shoot, but then he saw Dan was already near him . Matthew instantly went into his pseudo RELEASE form and tried to retreat, but Dan was able to stick close to him . Matthew then took out a knife and decided to fight Dan in close quarters .

    Dan seeing Matthew¡¯s decision to fight in a melee made him smile . Even though this kid was full of pride, he was also gutsy which Dan liked . When he got near enough Dan was about to punch Matthew in the gut, while Matthew was trying to block Dan¡¯s fist using his knife . Yet before the two of them could hit the other somebody interrupted them .

    "ENOUGH!" Carlo suddenly shouted which forced both Dan and Matthew to take some distance from each other .

    "He¡¯s the one who started this . " Matthew pointed at Dan .

    "Carlo this brat, needs to be taught a lesson in respect . I decided to-" Dan wasn¡¯t even able to finish what he wanted to say before Carlo once again interrupted him .

    "I don¡¯t want to hear your excuses! I don¡¯t need you guys getting injured and wasting bullets before the mission . If you really want to kill each other, wait until the mission is over, but right now both of your lives are mine tomand . The only time you fight is when I tell you to fight . The only time you die is when I tell you to die . Do both of you understand?"

    Hearing Carlo¡¯smanding tone, made the prideful Matthew, and even the reckless Dan stand at attention before answering .

    "Sir, yes, sir!" The two even saluted, Carlo then responded with a nod of his head .

    "As long as you guys understand . The mission will begin in ten minutes . So instead of fighting, how about you guys get ready . "

 Chapter 363

    Chapter 363

    A few days after Sayaka left the current Shadow to finish the mission by himself, and he was now inside the pce disguised as a butler . The security inside the mansion was the best Shadow had ever seen before, but to someone with Shadow¡¯s capabilities, it was no problem to get here . The problem was what came afterward .

    Based on the former Shadow¡¯s death, he too was able to get this far, the problem was finding the real Emperor . With the information the past Shadow gave, it meant that the Emperor had numerous doubles inside this pce of his .

    Shadow currently looked like a thirty-five-year-old man, ck hair waxed backward with a goatee . His face wasn¡¯t ugly nor was it something one would call handsome, it was a normal face that wouldn¡¯t garner a second look from others .

    "Harold, what are you doing here?" While Shadow was looking snooping around the second floor, someone called for him . Shadow who was now called Harold for the duration of the mission looked behind him and saw a rtively older man with regal feeling to him .

    "Head butler, I was just double-" Shadow wasn¡¯t able to finish what he was about to say when the head butler interrupted him with a re .

    "I do not wish to hear your excuses, Harold . It is already ten a . m that means you and the others in your team should be cleaning the fourth floor right about now . " The head butler took out his pocket watch and double-checked the time before looking back at Shadow and sighing .

    "It has been a week since you arrived here Harold, I had hoped that by now you would be used to the workflow . " The head butler was now looking at Shadow with a bit of disappointment in his eyes . Shadow then bowed his head and responded, "I¡¯m sorry head butler, I just wanted to double-check on the work we did on the second floor . I was about to head back with the others after I saw that everything was alright . "

    Hearing Shadow¡¯s exnation the head butler looked at him for a bit before speaking . "There is no need to do that, there are others assigned for such a job . All you need to do is follow your group and do your job properly . . . Well, what¡¯s done is done, this conversation is over . Head back to your group now . "

    "Thank you Head butler . " After saying that Shadow passed by the head butler and headed towards the stairs . Seeing the fading back of Shadow, the head butler couldn¡¯t help but sigh again .

    ¡¯I wonder why that guy would rmend this kind of person for this job . He even rmended him so aggressively . He¡¯s pretty good but he¡¯s not up to the standard for the pce . If he doesn¡¯t improve after one more week, I¡¯ll just fire him . ¡¯

    . . .

    While the head butler was thinking about what to do with the new employee, Shadow went to the fourth floor as promised . For the whole day, Shadow did his job a bit better, but not too much that it would gain suspicions . After the day was over and each one of them headed back to their rooms, Shadow who had already found the hidden camera in his room changed the footage into one of him sleeping . Once he was sure that he was free to move, he Shadow took out what he stole this morning .

    It was the master key that he stole from the head butler . The reason he was on the second floor was because he knew the head butler would be there, and as he expected the moment the head butler noticed him, they had a pretty lengthy conversation, giving him enough time to spot where the master key was hidden . Shadow then passed by the head butler and took the master keys without him noticing . He was sure that the head butler wouldn¡¯t dare say he lost them, which would put him in an awkward position . He would try to solve the problem without informing anyone, which will make things easier for Shadow .

    Now that Shadow had the master key, he had ess to most of the rooms in the pce . He started searching around, but as expected he couldn¡¯t find anything on the first night .

    Shadow then improved his work as a butler, so that he wouldn¡¯t be kicked out, but he didn¡¯t improve too much that the head butler would grow suspicious of him . So while during the night Shadow would scour the whole pce for any clues as to where the real Emperor was hiding .

    Shadow kept on doing this for two days until he finally found three rooms that the master key couldn¡¯t open . The only people who had ess to these rooms where the Emperor and the scientists that were part of some project . Gaining this new information, Shadow decided to quit as a butler . The head butler who was aware of his improvements was confused about this decision, but since Shadow wasn¡¯t that particrly skilled he wasn¡¯t really affected that much and allowed him to leave .

    . . .

    Once Shadow was out and about he took some time to fake his death, or to be more specific the death of Harold the butler . He made the death look like the work of a terrorist group that wanted to gain information about the pce . He took the body of an enemy soldier, that had the same height and physique as Shadow, and killed him, he even changed how the soldier looked .

    It was a perfect crime scene which made everyone think that an enemy spy killing the butler . When he was done with that the next thing Shadow did was to stalk one of the scientists that enter the pce . He waited for the perfect opportunity to kidnap said scientist, it didn¡¯t really take that long for him to get that opportunity since one scientist likes going out on Fridays to y with some girls .

    Being a Mutsu trained assassin Shadow was able to change his look into a pretty girl, and was sessfully able to seduce said scientist into a quiet room . When the two were alone, it was rtively easy for Shadow to capture the scientist and live his room looking like said scientist .

    ¡¯Now I can learn the secret of the Emperor . Then he will finally understand why Shadows never die . ¡¯

 Chapter 364

    Chapter 364

    Dan Regius the most powerful hand to hand fighter in the squad was now standing on top of tree gathering his strength . He stood there waiting for the enemy base to arrive, for he was the one who was going to signal the start of the operation . Now that he was in this position, now that he was so near his goal of rescuing his daughter, Dan felt nervous . This was the first time he ever felt this way since he lost some of his memories . The famed blond devil who knew no fear was now feeling weird inside .

    Dan then noticed his hands were trembling, but not because of the usual excitement he gets before a battle, instead his hands were shaking due to his anxiety . Seeing his trembling hands Dan clenched his fist trying to stop them from shaking .

    ¡¯Damn it! I¡¯m getting scared?! I¡¯m so close to saving my daughter, and now am I actually getting cold feet?! This is uneptable!¡¯

    As the anger in himself rose Dan suddenly bit the back of his left hand . He bit hard enough that it started bleeding . The pain from the bite was really helping Dan to rx . Once he was calm enough Dan started to control his breathing .

    ¡¯I can¡¯t be too tense or it might affect the mission . The more anxious I get makes my chances of saving my daughter lessen . I need to be calm, I need to treat this like any other mission . . . ¡¯

    Dan was finally able to calm down as he waited for the base toe to his direction .

    . . .

    Carlo was standing by with the others as they waited for Dan¡¯s signal . While he was waiting he took out a photo of his family, in the photo was Michel holding onto two babies, beside her was Lilitth smiling ever so cutely, while Carlo was standing behind them . In this photo, only one person was missing .

    He was finally going to rescue his son who had been missing for a year now . Based on the stories he used to hear from his friend ra, Carlo couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine the torture Alex had to go through this past year .

    Carlo gritted his teeth, as he clenched his open hand .

    ¡¯Don¡¯t worry Alex, I¡¯m going to rescue you now . When we get back I want you to meet your new baby brother and sister . Also, Lilitth has always been waiting for you . Today is the day I fulfill my promise, I will bring you back no matter what . ¡¯

    Carlo¡¯s determination was now zing, he felt that no matter what the enemy throws at him, he would surely be victorious .

    . . .

    Matthew who was waiting for the signal was talking to his cat Leo .

    "I¡¯m sorry buddy, but I need you to stay here . If youe with me, I won¡¯t be able to protect you when the fighting starts . So you better stay here, cause if anything happens to you . . . Nevermind, you just need to stay here okay . "

    The cat then looked up at Matthew, and as if he understood him answered with a meow .

    "Good boy . " Once he was done talking to his cat, Matthew started to check his equipment one more time . Making sure that everything is working properly will allow him to see if he would be able to survive this ordeal or simply die a dog¡¯s death .

    When he was done checking his equipment, Matthew noticed Carlo looking at a photo . It was his family, but there was no Alex in it .

    ¡¯Hmm, I guess I can understand his side, not wanting this rescue mission to fail . . . But still, I truly believe I should be one of the people infiltrating the base . . . Also, why are they so anxious? If Alex and the others die, then that¡¯s it they¡¯re dead . Everyone dies at some point, especially those who are this line of work . Death should be a constant friend . Even a monster like Lyner and my teacher had met their end in this war . Still, I didn¡¯t cry or grieved when I learned of my teacher¡¯s death, unlike Alex . . . The only thing I didn¡¯t like was that the people treated Lyner¡¯s death as a much bigger deal than my teacher¡¯s death . He literally killed half of the enemy¡¯s main power and his funeral wasn¡¯t as fancy as Lyner¡¯s . . . ¡¯

    As Matthew¡¯s thoughts were shifting towards a different topic from his initial thoughts, he suddenly felt the ground trembling . After a few more seconds he heard a loud explosioning from Dan¡¯s location . Matthew then saw a cloud of dirt rise to the sky, this was the signal for the mission to start .

    "EVERYONE GET READY! This might be our final mission, so I just want to say it¡¯s been an honor fighting beside every one of you . . . NOW LET¡¯S MOVE OUT!"

    After Carlo gave hismand he and the rest started sprinting towards Dan¡¯s location .

    . . .

    Dan who had punched the ground with all his strength was now hiding as he waited for the others . Once Carlo and the others arrived they started attacking the now resurfaced base of the Shadow Mercenaries . A few seconds after that a torrent of people came out of the base . Carlo, Viktor, Sora, Luke, and Matthew started luring these people away from the base .

    When he saw an opening Dan silently sneaked into the base . Kyle who also saw that opening came right after him . Once the two were inside, they went into radio silence as they looked at each other .

    The two then nodded their heads at each other, this was the signal which started phase 3 of the n . Dan and Kyle showed their watches to one another, once they confirmed that their watches were in sync they went their separate ways to find the missing children, and after searching for an hour no matter if they find them or not, they needed to converge back at the entrance .

    Kyle was running sneaking around the base trying to avoid detection from the security cameras felt his spine tingle . His instincts kicked in and without even thinking about it he ducked .

    A needle flew by, as Kyle tried to get some distance . He then looked behind him and saw that enticing deadly beauty that was Amica smiling at him .

    "Oh, you came to see me again, I knew that you love me . "

 Chapter 365

    Chapter 365

    Kyle red at the beauty before him, this girl was extremely dangerous especially for Kyle . He was all ready for a fight, but that only made Amica even more excited . "My, Oh my, your eyes are truly beautiful . Just you looking at me is already making me wet . "

    Amica suddenly made some suggestive poses as she touched her lower regions . She was truly getting excited by Kyle ring at her .

    "Can you please stop that, I already have someone I like . " Kyle started to have a conversation with Amica, hoping to stall for time while he was checking out his surroundings . Kyle also wanted to see if Dan mighte and help him .

    "As I said before, it doesn¡¯t matter . You and that girl won¡¯tst, it¡¯s you and me that¡¯s going to be forever . So drop the b*tch and choose me already, you could even propose to me now and I¡¯ll say yes . Just give me your eyes as the wedding ring and we¡¯re set . "

    Hearing what she said Kyle was once again reminded how crazy this person was . He ced his hands on one of his rifles while he continued to smile at Amica .

    "Sorry, I really can¡¯t give you my eyes, I need them to do my job . Also, it¡¯s very convenient to have eyes than to have none . So I¡¯ll be keeping them, thank you very much, and you and I don¡¯t really click . It¡¯s not you, it¡¯s me, so how about we part ways as unlikely friends and go on with our lives . "

    Amica hearing Kyle¡¯s answer licked her lips seductively and lowered her stance as she answered back .

    "No need to be shy Kyle, all you need is a little push!"

    The moment she said those words Amica suddenly dashed forward, Kyle got his rifle out and started shooting . Due to this being a small confined space Amica couldn¡¯t move as erratically as she did during their first encounter . Knowing her style ofbat, Kyle was sure that he was going to hit her, but then he saw that she jumped upward and was now falling onto his position .

    ¡¯So you dodged the first bullet, but there¡¯s no way you¡¯ll be able to dodge mid-air . ¡¯ Kyle pointed his gun upward and shot at Amica . When Amica saw Kyle pointing the rifle at her, she smiled . Using a knife she pulled out, she stabbed onto the wall stopping her movements and then using her left leg she used the knife as a medium to push her body into a different direction . She then threw three daggers at Kyle, who quickly took out one of his pistols and shot down the iing daggers . This gave Amica enough time to dash forward again and finally get close to Kyle .

    Her intentions were obvious as her hands went straight for Kyle¡¯s eyes . It was at that moment Kyle knew that he had no chance of dodging and made a decision to counter instead . The two of them were fast, Amica who was expecting Kyle to dodge was unable to evade the bullet that pierced her chest . Yet she got the better of the deal as she was able to pluck out Kyle¡¯s eyes .

    The once-feared sniper that could shoot you from all angles no longer had his eyes . Amica who finally got what she wanted had a looked of disappointment .

    "That was easier than I expected . " She looked at Kyle and was surprised to see him smiling while holding something that looked like a button .

    Amica then looked at the bullet that had pierced her and saw that it wasn¡¯t a bullet but something else .

    "Yeah, that was easier than expected . " Once he said that line, Kyle was about to press the button, but Amica suddenly shouted .

    "Stop!" This sudden shout was able to stop Kyle from pressing the button because of shock . This gave Amica enough time to try and dash forward to attack again . She was also hoping that Kyle would get cold feet seeing if she exploded near him, he would be within the st radius .

    That¡¯s what Amica thought, but Kyle was not thinking of such weak thing and pressed the button which made Amica explode, her insides sttered all over the ce . Kyle who was a bit too near the explosion was as Amica envisioned caught within the st radius and was sent flying due to the shockwave . Kyle hit a nearby wall and felt his ribs being broken as blood continued to flow out of his eye sockets, and as he coughed blood . Though he was victorious he didn¡¯t look the part . The injuries to his eyes and ribs weren¡¯t the only wounds he received, it was sneaky but Amica was able to stab him as she plucked out his eyes .

    ¡¯Sorry Sarah, it doesn¡¯t seem like I¡¯ll be able to appreciate your beautiful paintings any longer, nor will I be able to see your beautiful face . . . Emi . . . Kei . . . I wished . . . I wanted to s-¡¯ Kyle¡¯s thoughts stopped as his consciousness was shutting off, but before he was fully fell into the darkness of death he heard a voice .

    "Kyle!" It was a voice he knew very well . It was Dan Regius, after hearing Dan¡¯s footsteps nearing him, Kyle felt that Dan started hitting him in various locations in his body . Kyle then started coughing out even more blood .

    ¡¯You see I¡¯m dying and the first thing you do is hit me?!¡¯ Kyle suddenly screamed in his mind, but then he noticed something he was no longer hurting that much, and he was now wide awake .

    "I stopped the blood from going out, and I¡¯m about to stitch some of your wounds, but even after I¡¯m done, you¡¯ll no longer be able to continue this mission . So I¡¯ll need to bring you out . "

    While Dan was doing some basic stitching, Kyle was surprised to hear what Dan said, he was expecting something a bit more selfish, like Dan saying . "How dare you get injured while trying to save my daughter! Do you want my daughter to die?!" Kyle was sure Dan would say something like that .

    "Thanks Dan, I¡¯m sorry for slowing you down . "

    "You should be, this is stopping me from saving my daughter faster . Also, I didn¡¯t do this to be thanked, I did this because your sister knows how to hold a grudge . " After he was done doing the stitching, Dan picked up Kyle while he was talking to him .

    "The f*ck man! I¡¯m yourrade! You should be doing this because we¡¯re brothers in arms . We¡¯ve been together through numerous life and death battles . Well, I already know you¡¯re like that so I won¡¯t bother waiting for your apology, just tell me why the hell are you so afraid of my sister bearing a grudge?"

    "First off, you know it¡¯s Bros before hos, but for me, it¡¯s my daughter before bros okay . I know my priorities, also why do you expect me to apologize? I saved your f*cking life, you should be thanking me, instead . "

    "I did already thank you, weren¡¯t you listening, but that¡¯s not what I want to hear now . Why are you afraid of my sister?"

    "You don¡¯t know it, but that girl is a real demon . . . " Dan who was usually so fearless was now shaking a bit while carrying Kyle like a sack of rice .

    ¡¯The hell did you do to Dan . . . Emi? . . . ¡¯

 Chapter 366

    Chapter 366

    "So your foster father came to the rescue, heh, how trite . " Richter scoffed as he watched through the monitors what was happening throughout the base . While Alex and the others were a bit busy fighting Leon . Even though Leon and Alex were evenly matched with Leon having a slight advantage, he was still able to keep the whole Mercenary Club at bay . His tenacity and the ability to heal from most damages were able to help him keep up .

    ¡¯This guy is even more powerful than before . Damn it! We¡¯re already having trouble with this one guy if leader joins in it might be an impossible task to beat them . ¡¯

    Oliver thought as he, Alex, Niel, and Rachel were fighting at close range, while Kei, Emily, and Evangeline were providing long-range support . Sayaka, on the other hand, was waiting for the perfect timing to give a lethal strike, yet no matter what they do Leon doesn¡¯t make any mistakes nor has he shown any openings to explot .

    Rachel wanted to finish this fight as soon as possible before Richter joins the battle . It was then Rachel tried to enter her full RELEASE state, but then she felt something wrong was happening to her body . It felt like her body was getting destroyed from the inside . She might not have shown it on her face but she was truly hurting on the inside . Alex who was focused on fighting was able to notice the change in Rachel¡¯s expression .

    He immediately backed away and took hold of Rachel . Oliver and Niel who were left on the front lines were now having an extremely difficult time .

    "What the hell Alex! Why did you retreat?!" Oliver shouted as he blocked one of Leon¡¯s strikes . Yet Alex didn¡¯t answer andpletely ignored him .

    "Rachel are you alright? What¡¯s wrong?" Alex looked at Rachel full of worry . Hearing what Alex said made the others finally realized why Alex backed away . If you think about it, this was the only way to make someone like Alex do something so illogical .

    "I . . . I don¡¯t know . . . My body hurts so much . . . " Hearing Rachel¡¯s weak reply made Alex feel hurt as well . When Alex was about to check on Rachel¡¯s body, Richter suddenly butted in .

    "Oh, you don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening to your own body? Fine, I¡¯ll give you an answer to that question since my grandson likes you so much . Your body is reaching its limit, and if you continue using that technique of yours then I¡¯m guessing after two or maybe one more use you¡¯ll die . "

    When Rachel heard that answer she waspletely shaken, Richter didn¡¯t even need to say which technique he was talking about for Rachel to understand . The others who heard what Richter said were also shaken to their core, even though the old man in front of them was a b*stard he wasn¡¯t a liar .

    "Rachel . . . " Alex was about to say something, but then Richter interrupted him again . This time he didn¡¯t say anything but the intoxicating feeling of his bloodlust could be felt in the entire room . Leon backed away and everyone on the mercenary club¡¯s side got back to their corner of the room as Richter walked forward massaging his shoulders .

    "Well enough of this ytime, I grow tired of it . I guess I can give you some praise for tricking me, but that¡¯s it . You still weren¡¯t able to reach that final goal, so I¡¯m going to judge this experiment as a failure . Now as I promised, I¡¯m going to kill all of your friends . "

    Kei who wasn¡¯t used to feeling this kind of pressure started puking on the spot . Emily could not bother with what Kei was doing as her whole body was frozen as she couldn¡¯t stop focusing on Richter . Her survival instincts told her to flee, but it also screamed not to look away from the old man not even for a second .

    Evangeline was also trying her hardest to stop her body from trembling in fear, and she even noticed that she had already backed away a few steps . Niel, who had been trained by the strongest merc to ever walk the continent was also wary of the old man . He had seen him battle his master before, but Niel had a feeling he was never going all out . This made the man trained by that battle crazed person extremely excited .

    Even though they were in such a dire situation, Niel was truly getting excited as he held onto his weapon tighter than before . In the face of the overwhelming pressure, Niel smiled the biggest and brightest smile he ever had .

    Sayaka who was hiding within the shadows couldn¡¯t concentrate anymore, forcing her to stop her shadow blend . She was in the line of work of killing, and she was sure that she had killed more than even Alex or Oliver, but this level of bloodlust was a first for her . It was a suffocating experience as if you could hear the screams of every living thing this insane man has killed .

    Oliver who had known Richter for a very long time knew that this former boss of his was about to get serious . A part of him was scared for the safety of his friends, but another part of him was excited to see the very limits of the person deemed by the warrior family as a deviant .

    Alex, on the other hand, couldn¡¯t be bothered by everything that¡¯s happening around him as he noticed that Rachel was trying to use RELEASE again .

    "Rachel stop!" Alex hugged Rachel tightly .

    "Sorry Alex, but there¡¯s no way we can face that monster without-" Rachel wasn¡¯t able to finish what she wanted to say as she lost consciousness . Alex had struck the back of her neck with enough force that Rachel fainted . He then stood up and handed Rachel to Oliver who was surprised by what he had done .

    Alex stood in front of his grandfather with his weapons drawn . Richter seeing his grandson facing the full might of his bloodlust without flinching made him smile .

    "Oliver take Rachel and the others and escape . "

    "Ale-"

    "I said go already!" Oliver saw the look Alex gave him and knew what needed to be done . This best friend of his was fully determined, he might not have known Alex for very long, and they were even separated for a year, and a lot has changed, but Oliver could understand what Alex thought .

    "Let¡¯s go guys . . . we¡¯ll just be a burden if we stay here . " Oliver started running towards the exit, the others followed him while looking at Alex for onest time before leaving . Evangeline wanted to stay as well, but she knew that even though she wanted to help she¡¯ll only be a liability .

    "Finish them," Richter ordered Leon who ran out following the kids . Alex didn¡¯t even bother to block Leon as he continued to re at his grandfather .

    "Are you not going to help your friends fight Leon?"

    "They can handle him, I, on the other hand, have a different task I must fulfill . " Alex took a low stance pointing his sword at Richter . "I¡¯m finally going to end you . "

    "HAHAHAHA! My boy, my precious grandson! Now that¡¯s a fine dream to have!" With that as a signal, the final battle between grandfather and grandson began .

 Chapter 367

    Chapter 367

    Explosion after explosion was happening throughout the Shadow Mercenaries¡¯ base, and all this damage was caused by two individuals, Alex and his grandfather Richter . Alex was no longer using his gun since that proved pretty useless against someone like Richter . On the other hand, Richter kept on using different guns which were interchanging mid-battle .

    His skill in predicting how Alex would move was bordering precognition . He was like a machine as his timing for each shot was perfect and almost undodgeable . If it was anyone else they would have already gotten hit or even killed many times .

    Alex then did two mid-air spins before shing down on Richter . Seeing this move the old man took out two desert eagles and started shooting, he then took out gun after gun from his coat and shot six times with almost no dy . The bullets were able to stop Alex¡¯s downward spinning sh, and it even made him stumble on hisnding . This gave Richter enough time to take out another gun and shoot . Alex who couldn¡¯t dodge properly nor block decided to shift his body a bit and take the hit on a less vital area . The bullet pierced through Alex¡¯s left thigh, which would slow him down a bit .

    Even Richter was surprised for a second making him lower his guard for but a fraction of a second, which gave enough time for Alex to counterattack . Alex quickly threw a dagger aimed at Richter¡¯s head . Of course, Richter noticed the iing dagger but was a bit toote . The speed that the dagger was traveling was even faster than a bullet, it was a good thing Richter was able to react fast enough and blocked using his left hand .

    The impact of the dagger to his hand made the gun he was holding fly out . This distraction gave Alex an opening to charge forward . Being weighed down by the multiple guns hidden in Richter¡¯s body made fighting Alex in a melee extremely difficult .

    As Alex finally got to his preferred range, Richter had no choice but to defend and dodge all the iing attacks . At this range, his fists were faster than his guns . Richter quickly assessed the situation and acted without any hesitation as he discarded all his weapons that were simply dead weight at this point .

    He threw his heavy coat at Alex, who tried to sh it but upon contact noticed that the coat was something simr to a bulletproof vest, which made Alex make a mistake on how much force he needed to use to cut it .

    ¡¯The hell! This was swayiing and moving like it was an ordinary coat, how the hell is it so hard and heavy!¡¯ Alex screamed in his mind and he didn¡¯t continue to sh down on the coat but evaded it instead . When he evaded to the side a fist came flying towards him, Alex dodged by swaying his body backward . He then saw Richter¡¯s leg high up and about to drop on him . Alex was going to counter using his sword but it turned out that was a feint and Richter did a sweeping kick on Alex¡¯s feet making him fall .

    Now unarmed Richter had a slight edge on speed and his striking techniques left no room for a counter . It was like a heavy rain of punches and kicks . Richter¡¯s techniques, be it on gunmanship or his hand to handbat style, had no errors to speak of, as his precision was beyond human . Once he got you following his rhythm it was near impossible to counter .

    Alex then discarded his sword since it was useless at this point and he started to fight Richter unarmed as well . Usually, if an unarmed person fought an armed person with the same skill level, the person who was armed would win, but not for people like Alex and Richter . The sheer speed on which they fought made them look like blurry figures to the untrained eye, their punches and kicks were faster and stronger than any gunshot .

    Richter who was enjoying ying with his grandson did an outside crescent kick while Alex countered with an inside crescent kick . the two were equally matched in speed and strength that they got pushed back a bit, but then Alex did a back kick, in which Richter evaded by ducking and doing another sweeping kick . Alex evaded that move this time by doing a butterfly twist kick, seeing Alex do that, Richter quickly reacted and did a rising uppercut . Alex who was in mid-air couldn¡¯t do anything but block the iing fist, which made him fly upward towards the ceiling .

    Before his back hit the ceiling, Alex was able to do a mid-air flip and his feetnded on the ceiling, where he pushed his body back down . He was going to kick Richter with double the force, but he was able to move away on time, the moment Alexnded the floor cracked .

    Seeing Alex still unbnced from the roughnding, Richter charged forward and did a skipping axe kick, in which Alex blocked by crossing his arms above his head . Yet that was a simple distraction as Richter immediately did a hook kick, which caught Alex¡¯s neck and proceeded to try and smash Alex¡¯s body to the ground, but before Alex¡¯s body hit the ground he stopped by using his hand . He then squeezed Richter¡¯s leg using his thighs .

    Alex got Richter on a good hold, but then before he could emphasize on this, a sudden surge of power came from Richter and he was able to forcefully release himself from the hold using nothing but raw power . When he got out he took some distance from Alex and smiled, Alex, on the other hand, looked at his grandfather shocked .

    "That was RELEASE," Alex said the words, but still couldn¡¯t believe what he saw and felt . Richter couldn¡¯t help but smile even wider .

    "You keep on using this technique, and Lyner even used it on his final battle . I keep on seeing it so much, I learned it . Now that we¡¯re done with the warm-ups, how about we y a bit more seriously . "

    Richter¡¯s whole body started to bulge, and then it shrunk . His face regained its youthful vigor and he looked like time turned back when he was at his peak . This was the form of full RELEASE, that Dan uses, but for some reason, it seems to be improved upon .

    ¡¯I gotta say, even though he¡¯s the worst grandfather ever to exist, he is extremely talented . ¡¯ Alex praised his grandfather Richter but only inside his head, he would never admit that the crazy b*stard has any good qualities .

    "Surprised? This technique is quite amazing, it can even return me to my peak state back when I was at my prime . It¡¯s a really a convenient skill to have . No wonder you like using it so much . I guess that blondy wasn¡¯t all that worthless, I should reevaluate him . " Richter was pleasantly surprised by his first real use of full RELEASE was quire please by the effects .

    "So what do you say Alex, how about we start round two . " Richter did a hand gesture provoking Alex, telling him to bring it . Alex seeing his grandfather act like this made him sigh, as he too went into his own version of full RELEASE .

    With that round two of the grandfather and grandson bout began .

 Chapter 368

    Chapter 368

    Now that the two were fighting in their full RELASE state, the battle became even more intense . Their punches and kicks were as powerful as tanks . Each strike was meant to kill the opponent . It was at this moment their whole body became literal weapons . Not only were their bodies moving at speeds that shouldn¡¯t be possible with human bodies, but even their minds were also working just as fast . The information that their minds were processing as they fought would make some supeputers fry . They even passed some members of the Shadow Mercenaries, but they all became dead bodies as they got caught between the crossfire while the two of them passed .

    ¡¯He might be a monster with various outside enhancements, but he¡¯s still an old man . Even if those so-called nanomachines were helping him stick his parts together, he should still be having a hard time . His body must be deteriorating even if it¡¯s happening slowly, it is surely deteriorating . Even Arthur Glory the man who lived the longest couldn¡¯t stop the passing of time . Using full RELEASE should put a huge strain on his body . No matter how much he improved upon it, he could never make the defects disappear . There is no such thing as a perfect technique, I just need to wait it out and he will self-destruct . Just a bit more and I can finally end the life of this pitiful old man . ¡¯

    While Alex was thinking about all of that, he was dodging punches and kicks that could pulverize the body of any other human being, save for Rika and Lyner . Yet that was a mistake he shouldn¡¯t have made, with apse of judgment due to not focusing entirely on the fight . In a fight of this level even a singlepse, could mean death . Richter who was able to exploit Alex¡¯s single opening, grab hold of Alex¡¯s shoulders .

    "Getting distracted, how disappointing!" Richter then threw Alex upward at full force . Alex was still able to stop himself before he hit the ceiling, even though he was able to stop, he still felt his legs get a bit wobbly, and as he was about to fully stop Richter did a followed up attack . Alex had no choice but to block the attack .

    "Idle thoughts during a fight is stupid!" When Richter shouted this, Alex who was watching Richter¡¯s ever detailed movement saw a w in the attack and was able to divert it . This was the first time Richter made a mistake throughout the whole fight . When Alex saw this he couldn¡¯t help but smile, as he once again started dodging Richter¡¯s onught . This mistake had given Alex a bit more confidence in his theory .

    "How transparent you¡¯ve be Alex! Even now you still can¡¯t grasp the mentality of a true Gryehound! I can read your mind like it was an open book! Even back then when you had that poker face on, your very thoughts were like my own . Do you think you can oust me using full RELEASE? You think because of my old body, I¡¯ll be the first to run out of gas? Heh, how naive my grandson, how truly naive!"

    After saying that Richter¡¯s speed suddenly increased, making it more difficult for Alex to dodge . The pressure Alex was receiving intensified .

    ¡¯I¡¯m sure this is a trick . He¡¯s burning himself out faster, just to trick me that there¡¯s more to him . . . But . . . Just in case this isn¡¯t a ruse, this might be really dangerous . ¡¯

    Alex started thinking about all the possible scenarios from the flow of the fight . He took into ount if Richter truly had an ace up his sleeve . After thinking for a few seconds, Alex finally came to a single conclusion .

    ¡¯It¡¯s do or die!¡¯

    Alex who was dodging attack after attack suddenly fought back . At first, Richter was confused and shocked, but then after a few seconds of thought, he finally understood why Alex finally started attacking . Richter couldn¡¯t help but smile happily at this action, ¡¯you finally came to a single logical conclusion based on what I said and the flow of the fight . The way your thinking is the same as me, how truly wonderful!¡¯

    Richter felt his whole body burning in excitement as he yed around with his grandson, exchanging blow after blow . Each strike ready to take his life, but to him, it all felt like it was a present his grandson was giving him .

    "You truly are a Greyhound! Full of pride! Full of confidence! A master of all battle!"

    Richter and Alex then punched out at full power-hitting each other¡¯s fist . When their two fists collided a shockwave was produced that pushed both of them back a few meters away . This one attack made Alex¡¯s left arm feel like it was about to tear off . Richter, on the other hand, had his left arm almost broken, but the nanomachines were quickly fixing it . It was obvious without the nanomachines Alex would¡¯ve won that exchange, but unfortunately, it didn¡¯t go that way .

    Alex was about to charge again and continue his offensive but then he saw Richter¡¯s weird stance . Alex had learned numerous martial arts, but this was the first time he saw such a stance . It was like abination of modern karate, ancient kung fu, and tribal martial art . It was a weird stace, but what made Alex unable to approach Richter, was himself . Every fiber of his soul and being was telling him only death awaited if he approached the current Richter .

    Throughout his life, Alex¡¯s instincts for battle has never been wrong . Following this feeling he has always achieved sess . Richter seeing how fearful Alex was chuckled .

    "You really do have the same instincts as a wild animal . It¡¯s a good thing you didn¡¯t charge like a crazed bull if you did you would¡¯ve died instantly . This is a secret technique . . . No this is the final technique the head of the Greyhounds learns . This one technique is the reason why our family continued to be feared by the Empire, even after our downfall . I¡¯ll warn you now getting hit by this will only result in you bing nothing but cosmic dust . "

    Richter who was smiling and chuckling now and then, suddenly looked at Alex with a serious expression, before he continued talking .

    "So Alex let me ask you onest time . Are you truly unwilling to be a true Greyhound? DO you really wish to forsake our families dearest wish?"

    Hearing Richter¡¯s question made Alex look at the old man in surprise . Even though he was evil to the bone, Richter was truly dedicated to fulfilling that one wish of their ancestors . He sacrificed everything for that wish . Alex closed his eyes memories of the time he met his adoptive father, meeting his friends and going throught numerous ordeals sh before his very eyes, then after a second or two he opened eyes and smiled .

    "I¡¯m no longer a Greyhound . . . Dalvir Greyhound has died long ago . . . I¡¯m Alex Samarita, and my family is waiting for me to return home . "

    When Richter heard Alex¡¯s answer it ovepped with Leon¡¯s answer which made him slightly irritated, as he bit his lower lip before sighing .

    "I see . . . Then I guess I am thest Greyhound . I no longer have a brother nor a grandson . . . Come Alex Samarita, let¡¯s end this!"

 Chapter 369

    Chapter 369

    Alex stood there feeling a bit sad at Richter¡¯s response . The old man was crazy, dangerous, and evil, but he was still his grandfather . He couldn¡¯t understand the pain or the sorrow that this crazy grandfather had experienced to be like this, but Alex was sure that it should be a devastating experience for him to be this broken . At first, Alex felt angry at his grandfather, he was full of hatred towards the old man for killing those that he loved, butter as he kept on talking to the old man . As he saw the expressions in the old man¡¯s face as he fought, that even the old man himself never noticed Alex came to realize the truth . Everything was a facade, a hoax, nothing about the old man was the truth . He was a man who kept on lying to himself .

    Same as Lyner who was lonely at the top, his grandfather was lonely as well, but in a different way . He was also simr to Lyner for he was also looking for a ce to die . . . But he didn¡¯t just want to die, he wanted to make sure that fulfilled his responsibility as the head of the Greyhounds . Even though on the outside he seemed to be proud almost fanatical about the legacy and wish of the Greyhounds, but deep inside he was full of hatred for the name . Alex could not understand why, but he knew that Richter hated his family name . He would smile with pride every time he said the name, but that was a ruse, an act, nothing more than a scam for he hated it to the bone .

    When Alex¡¯s mind was full of anger and was filled with only thoughts of killing his grandfather he never truly noticed these things, but now that he could finally think properly without any biases he noticed the hidden truth .

    ¡¯I may never understand your reasons for doing everything you did, but as a parting gift, I will fulfill your true wish . ¡¯

    Finally deciding what to do, Alex took the most basic stance of the Ultimate martial art that Dan created . It was a stance that emphasizes the right fist for one quick and fatal attack . Seeing him get ready Richter nodded his head at his grandson . He too was ready for this final attack between them . After this one of them or both of them will cease to exist .

    The tension between the two was now at an all-time high . The silence just made the situation even tenser . It was so silent that you could practically hear the beating of their hearts . The two looked at each other, eye to eye, almost synchronizing their breathing . The floor in which they stood was starting to crack as they tightened their grip onto the floor using their toes .

    Alex closed his eyes and spoke the words that gave him courage throughout his year of imprisonment . "Rachel please grant me strength . " This was his special prayer, a private prayer to his very own angel of victory . Just speaking her name was enough to give Alex the courage he needed to move onward . He then took a step forward and charged towards Richter for the final time .

    . . .

    Richter who saw the approaching Alex felt like time suddenly slow down . Usually, he was sure that victory was his, but not this time . This time death was practically holding his heart hostage . This was the first in a long time that he truly thought that there was a chance for defeat .

    Once Alex was near the range for him to use the final technique, he had initiated the strike but then he saw a figure suddenly get in the way of his strike . It was not Alex who got hit it was someone else . As Richter was trying to figure out who had intervened at the crucial moment, he felt Alex¡¯s hand stabbed right through his chest, he then felt that his heart was taken out of his body .

    It was at that moment Richter knew death wasing for him . As his life was slowly fading away, a memory sh through his mind . It was a memory of his wife the SS rank merc at the time, Tanya . She was a beautiful maiden, that Richter met during one his missions when he was still working as a merc . The two had fought on numerous asions and every time they would meet he would win, but for some unknown reason he could never finish her off . Usually, Richter would show no mercy and kill off every enemy he met, yet, for some reason he could never seem to force himself to kill Tanya . Richter couldn¡¯t understand it either but he always left her alone after beating her .

    When he proposed marriage to her she agreed readily . The two of them got along surprisingly well and even had one child together . Though that child was a disappointment, because his skill wasn¡¯t up to par, even though he was the offspring produced by the two of them who were far superior to other human beings . Still, even though he would never admit it and didn¡¯t show it, deep within the frost of his heart Richter truly loved his son .

    When it was time to kill his wife, she didn¡¯t really struggle which shocked him . She just caressed his face while bleeding and said, "I understand . . . I¡¯ll be waiting for you in Valha my love . " That was the first time Tanya had ever said the word love in front of Richter . That line really surprised him, but what surprised him the most was that, she imed to have understood his reasons? Did she truly understand the truth behind him killing everyone from the family? Based on the face she made that day as she died, Richter truly believed that she knew the truth .

    ¡¯Ah, I was a bad brother, I was a bad father, I was a bad husband . . . I was an evil grandfather . . . But I have no regrets . . . I could not save myself from the curse of the neverending hatred of the Greyhounds . . . I wanted to use my grandson as a scapegoat, which I built up to kill me . . . In the end, he was finally able to do it . . . I truly was a selfish man . . . ¡¯

    When Richter thought of that only a second had passed by in the real world, as his consciousness was going away, he once again saw that smiling face of his wife . Even though he never said it, and he made it look like he married her because of other reasons, but in truth he really loved her . Richter who was barely awake saw the face of his surprised grandson and spoke his final words to him .

    "You are a true Greyhound . . . "

    A true Greyhound, not what became of the Greyhounds after their defeat in the war against the Empire . No, Alex became a true Greyhound, the type of Greyhound that existed when they were still the royal family of a nation . A family that was filled with love for their people . A family that treated their allies and friends like family . A family that holds its head up high filled with pride for their strength and righteousness .

    "Alex you are truly a true Greyhound . . . " Richter smiled, a smile that truly came from the depths of his soul .

 Chapter 370

    Chapter 370

    Alex was charging forward towards Richter . He was moving extremely fast, but in his point of view, he and everything else was moving ever so slowly . Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as he watched every movement of Richter¡¯s . Even with his enhanced senses, Alex couldn¡¯t see anything unusual . There was no movement at all, Alex couldn¡¯t figure out what this final technique would be like . He had no idea where the attack would being from or what it was going to be like . Was it going to be a kick? Was it a punch? Or was it something else altogether?

    Alex at this point was truly scared, ever since he met Rachel he has been scared numerous times, yet this time was a bit different . The idea of dying was never a problem before, but now it truly frightened Alex to his very core . Death meant he could no longer see his family again . He could no longer see his little sister grow up . He would no longer be able to y games with her . He would no longer be able to have fun with the members of the Mercenary club . . . He would no longer be able to see Rachel¡¯s smile, nor would he be able to hear her voice, he would no longer be able to express how much he loved her .

    Death meant an end of what he had, or what was suppose to be . He Alex Samarita would no longer exist, and his name would only bring sorrow for those who remember . Alex was truly scared at this point, but it was this fear of losing everything that also made him brave, as he charged forward to gain everything as well . In a gamble such as this, one must always bet something of equal value . To gain everything he must bet to lose everything .

    Now it was not just Rachel that was giving him strength, all his friends were giving him the bravery to move onward . They left believing of his victory . He thought of his friends and started thinking about what they would be feeling at this decisive moment if they were here in his ce . His best friend Oliver would have continued fighting with his do or die attitude, and even if death was closing in he would never give up . That¡¯s who Oliver was, that was Alex¡¯s best friend the ever amazing James Bourne .

    If Niel was here, he who inherited Lyner¡¯s will, he would surely be having a st fighting to his heart¡¯s content . He would fight and fight even if losing was evident he would fight happy and content . Unwavering even in the face of such a powerful foe, he would show a bright smile as if he was having the time of his life .

    If Kei was here, he would¡¯ve been scared shivering, trembling in fear . . . But he would have never bowed down to Richter without a struggle . He might feel scared, he might feel the need to run away, but in the end, he would never do that . He would gather up all his courage and fight . Even though among all the members of the Mercenary Club, Kei was the weakest, he was also the bravest .

    If Sayaka was here, she would¡¯ve been the calmest as she analyzes the options she has . Even if there was no chance for victory, she would¡¯ve waited until a chance for victory arrives, she would¡¯ve waited for eternity until the chance for victory will arrive . Even though she keeps on saying she¡¯s a part of the Shadow but in truth, Sayaka was the clouds in the sky . Truly free and undaunted by almost everything .

    If Emily were here, she would¡¯ve hide and cheat, and do everything within her power to survive until she saw a chance . She would¡¯ve lied, provoke, bartered, use every means she knows, She would¡¯ve done everything and anything for victory . Carfree and unperturbed she would have continued onward without hesitation .

    If Evangeline was here, she would¡¯ve use every trick she knew off to finish the enemy . She was someone Alex respected, mainly because of her incredible perseverance and dedication to whatever she does .

    If Rachel was here, she would¡¯ve fought head-on, without a care in the world . She would¡¯ve fought straight and true, no matter how outssed she was she would¡¯ve fought with that burning passion of hers for her friends . She who held his heart was someone who would never ever back down from a fight .

    Alex was nearing Richter and as his courage was overflowing he remembered one more person . If Sir Lyner was here, he would¡¯ve smiled that arrogant vicious smile of his . That smile that could blow away all your fear, all your anxiety, making you feel as if everything was going to be okay .

    When Alex remembered that person he couldn¡¯t help but smile the same vicious smile like his . That smile that could make the darkness that encroaches Alex go away . Alex¡¯s fighting spirit rose and his confidence was now at an all-time high, Alex charged forward with no more hesitations .

    . . .

    The two who were so different but at the same time, simr these two were about to put an end to their ill-fated rtionship . Richter who lost his mother and vowed to be strong and fulfill the Greyhounds dearest wish, he who was raised to hate and despise his weakness . In the end, he was left with nothing but loneliness and sorrow .

    Alex who lost his parents because of his grandfather, and because of his own weakness vowed to be strong so he could never feel as powerless as before . He was raised with both love and friendship .

    The two of them grew with the same vow of gaining strength, but the ways they achieved that strength were different .

    . . .

    Alex with his renewed determination sped up even faster than before . The fear of death, the fear of losing was blown away as he smiled a vicious smile . When he got close enough he finally saw Richter moved . At first nce, the final technique didn¡¯t look special in any way, that was when he noticed that Richter¡¯s whole body was vibrating at a high speed . It was weird, what was even weirder was that Alex wanted to dodge and counter, but for some reason, his whole body was moving towards the attacking hand of Richter¡¯s .

    In an act of pure desperation, Alex no longer bothered to dodge and counter, instead, he closed his eyes and stuck out his hand hoping that he would be faster than Richter . He then felt his hand pierced right through Richter¡¯s chest, his hand was now holding Richter¡¯s beating heart which he squeezed until it busted in his hands .

    As Alex slowly opened his eyes to see the aftermath, he heard Richter speak in the most gentle tone he had ever heard from the old man . "You are a true Greyhound . . . Alex, you truly are a true Greyhound . . . "

    Hearing his grandfather say such words, with such kindness Alex opened his eyes to look at what kind of expression the old man made, but then the moment his eyes were finally wide open, what he saw was a horrific scene . The reason Richter¡¯s final technique didn¡¯t reach wasn¡¯t because he was faster, but because someone stood between them . Alex quickly took a hold of the body that was slowly dying and was on the brink of tears, his heart nearly breaking from the sight .

 Chapter 371

    Chapter 371

    Richter¡¯s death wasn¡¯t as impactful as it was supposed to be when faced with what Alex saw in front of him . A body that was slowly dying, the life of the person fading in his very hands .

    "Why did you do that?! Why?!" Alex couldn¡¯t help but scream at the person he held . Alex¡¯s eyes teared up as he started crying . The person in question then lifted his hands and wiped away Alex¡¯s tears . He couldn¡¯t help but smile when he saw Alex¡¯s tears .

    "There¡¯s no need to cry . I did . . . What needed to be done . " His voice was calm as his body was eroding . It was an unknown response but the body of the victim of the final technique Richter used was turning into ashes from the hole made from the strike, which started from the belly and was slowly spreading . No blood came out of the hole instead it was like his body was slowly cracking while turning into dust .

    "No! You didn¡¯t need to do that! You didn¡¯t need to do that!" Alex held onto the hand of the person who saved him numerous times and continued to cry .

    "Of course I did, after all, you are my son . . . " Carlo smiled weakly at Alex who was crying so much . This was a pleasant surprise for him since this was the first time Alex has shown so much emotion . This was another sign of his growth as a person, which made Carlo happy .

    "Dad! Please survive! If it¡¯s you, I know you could do it!" Even though the oue was already determined, Alex refused to ept it .

    "Of course! Who do you think I am? . . . I¡¯m the messenger of death, of course, my boss would never take me . . . So no need to cry Alex, this old man of yours will live long enough to see you get married . . . That reminds me, I have some great news, your mother Michel gave birth to twins . Their names are Yuuki and Mirai . "

    Alex hearing the calm tone of his father, felt a bit relieved but then he saw Carlo¡¯s body was continuing to turn to ash, making him unable to stop crying . He was no fool, he knew what was about to happen, but he still couldn¡¯t ept it and he will never ept it!

    "Really, mother gave birth? So I have two new siblings . . . Our family is getting bigger and bigger . " Alex who was refusing to ept the truth before him held on tightly to his father¡¯s hand and continued to talk to him as if nothing was happening as they catch up .

    "Yeah, I¡¯m sure the two of them will love you . Lilitth has been missing you so much . Now that I was finally able to save you, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll get to see her true smile again . "

    "It¡¯s been a hard year for all of us hasn¡¯t it? . . . "

    "Yeah . . . " Alex and Carlo then started to talk about random things, they talked about what Alex had to go through for the past year, they talked about what Carlo did to find him . They talked about how Lilitth was improving in battle techniques . Anything they could think off they talked about it .

    "Hey, how about once we get home, let¡¯s have a family trip . We can go around city to city exploring new ces, we can even go head to different countries that aren¡¯t affected by the war and taste different kinds of food . "

    "Of course dad, we can do all of that together . We can even have an updated family picture that includes the twins . . . " Alex who was saying this while holding onto Carlo¡¯s hands, finally felt the hand of his father turned to ash . Alex didn¡¯t look downward and only focused on Carlo¡¯s head . He wanted to believe that as long as he couldn¡¯t see it happening it wasn¡¯t truly happening . Carlo¡¯s hand might¡¯ve slipped because he was tired .

    "Alex . . . If Lilitth ever brings home a guy, can you please tell him that he would never rece me, and put the fear of God into him . Tell him that if he ever makes my little girl cry I would drag him to hell . Can you do the same when Mirai grows up . . . Can you tell Yuuki stories about me, telling him how great I was . Tell him that there was no man manlier than his dad . Also please make sure Michel is never lonely, what am I talking about, of course, she would never be lonely she has all of you . . . Please tell them . . . Tell them that I love them . . . "

    Alex gritted his teeth and shouted at his father while tears continued to flow down his cheeks .

    "You can tell them yourself! You can tell all of that yourself! You need to be there, for this to work! You need to be there when Lilitth gets married, you need to walk her down the aisle! You need to do the same for Mirai! You need to show Yuuki the ropes on how to be a man, the same way you did for me . You got to be there for mom, she needs you! I, need you!!! I need you to be there until I finally fulfill the final mission you gave me!"

    Alex¡¯s face was full of snot and tears as he continued to scream at his father, who simply smiled a sad and lonely smile .

    "Alex, I . . . " Before Carlo could say more, Alex violently shook his head .

    "No, please, no . . . Please dad, even if it is a lie, please tell me, assure me that everything is going to be alright . Please tell me that you can handle it, same as you always did . . . Please . . . I need you . . . "

    Richter who no longer had arms to gently hug his son, felt a lot of pain as he watched his son who loved him so much act this way . He truly wanted to assure him that everything will be alright, but he knew that wasn¡¯t what needed to be said at this point .

    "Alex, do you remember the first time we met?" Alex nodded his head .

    "Do you remember what you ask of me, you said you wanted to gain strength . I have given you that strength, and look at what you have aplished . . . My mission is already over, but yours isn¡¯t, is it?"

    Alex didn¡¯t want to answer as he bit his lower lip .

    "Of all the things I did and have aplished throughout my life, raising you was the greatest thing I have ever done . Meeting you on that day and making you my son, did not just save you, it saved me as well . . . For that I thank you, and . . . I¡¯m . . . proud . . . of . . . you . "

    Carlo who only had his head left was now truly at the end of his line . Alex who saw this wanted to grab hold of the head, but stopped scared that the moment he touched it, Carlo would disappear forever . Carlo looked at Alex with a smile on his face, all of his worries were gone and he felt at peace .

    "You . . . Alex were my pride . . . and . . . joy . . . I . . . love . . . y-" Carlo couldn¡¯t finish his sentence as his head turned to ash . When Alex saw Carlo turn into ash, he started panicking and tried to collect all of the ashes before they disappear into the wind . Yet he was unable to do anything as the ashes scattered . Alex¡¯s face distorted with pain as he bellowed in sorrow and grief .

    "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"

    Thus ended the life of the messenger of death .

 Chapter 372

    Chapter 372

    A few years ago while Alex was away to do a solo mission, the others from the squad were paired off to do other jobs . Emily and Dan were paired off for a mission, where Carlo decided to use Emily, because of her skills as a hacker . Kyle and Dan were who were always the best partners when it came to subjugation missions, since Dan was the strongest melee fighter in the squad, while Kyle was the ultimate long-range specialist . Knowing the good rtionship between Dan and Kyle, Carlo thought that Emily would share the same affinity with Dan, which turned out to b true in the end, cause with Emily¡¯s support Dan was able to finish the mission quite easily .

    After the job was done, the two of them stayed in the city where they finished the mission . They needed to wait for a week or two to see if there was going to be any development regarding the situation they were assigned to . Once they saw no further movement that would mean the mission was a true sess and they could head back to base .

    One morning Dan felt a bit hungry and when he looked at the fridge he saw numerous yogurt-based products, he checked and saw nothing else bu yogurt . Seeing as there wasn¡¯t anything else to eat at the moment, Dan started eating the yogurt without any hesitation . While he was eating he didn¡¯t notice the note that fell from one of the yogurt containers, which said ¡¯this is Emily¡¯s¡¯

    . . .

    When Emily returned from her shopping, She quickly noticed the empty yogurt containers . She immediately knew what had happened . Dan who was sleeping peacefully after eating all the yogurt suddenly felt an immense pressure fall down upon him .

    Dan woke up from his sleep took some distance from the one emitting such pressure, and quickly went into his full RELEASE state . Dan took a look at the formidable opponent he was about to face, only to see a little girl was smiling at him ever so sweetly .

    Dan was confused but he didn¡¯t lower his guard as he looked around but so no one else aside from Emily . That¡¯s when he noticed that the one who was emitting such a strong bloodlust was none other than Emily herself .

    "Huh? Is there an enemy? Why are you emitting bloodlust, and why does it seem to be directed at me? Is there something wrong Emily?"

    "Mr . Dan, are you the one who ate all my yogurt?" Emily continued to smile while emitting a serious amount of bloodlust . Yet now that he knew it was Emily who was emitting it, Dan was finally able to lower his guard and rx .

    "Oh, that, yup I ate it all since I was hungry . "

    "Is that so? Are you going to apologize for eating my yogurt? You ate it, even though I explicitly wrote that it is mine . " Emily continued to show a happy smile but her whole demeanor was showing everything but happy .

    "Is this why you¡¯re so angry? Don¡¯t sweat the small stuff kid . I was hungry and there was nothing in the fridge so I ate whatever I saw . I¡¯m sorry about eating it, don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll pay you back for all that I ate . " Dan acted a bit apologetic but that was it . He didn¡¯t get why Emily would get so angry about some yogurt .

    "I . . . " Emily started to mumble something, but Dan couldn¡¯t hear it so he got a bit closer .

    "What did you say?"

    "I waited in line for that yogurt! It was the limited Sakura vor! The next time they¡¯ll be able to sell the same thing would be two years from now, or never! Thepany is already going bankrupt that¡¯s why they tried to save it with a bunch of these gimmicks . I won¡¯t be able to get one of those ever, that¡¯s why I bought a ton of them . "

    Surprised to hear Emily suddenly screaming Dan backed off a bit . Now that he heard the reason for the yogurt Dan felt genuinely bad this time, but not that much, since it was just yogurt .

    "Don¡¯t worry kid, here you can have all these in exchange . It¡¯s just yogurt no need to get so angry . " Dan then handed Emily a ton of cash that was bigger than the annual wage of a normal office worker .

    Emily hearing what Dan said epted the money and stopped emitting bloodlust . She looked at Dan with a smile on her face, which disturbed Dan for a bit .

    "You¡¯re right Mr . Dan I was being overly dramatic it¡¯s just yogurt . By the way how long before we return to base?"

    "About a week from now . Why do you ask?"

    "Oh, nothing much . . . Well thank you for the money, I have something else to do . " Without waiting for Dan to say anything more Emily left him behind .

    . . .

    On dinner that day as they were about to eat Emily made a meal for herself but not for Dan . Being a person that knew nothing of the art of cooking Dan usually let Emily handle the cooking duty .

    "How about my meal?"

    "Oh, yours? You already ate all that yogurt, eating more than that will upset your stomach . " Knowing this was about the yogurt again, Dan decided to let this slide . It was just one meal, and he did eat all that yogurt so it was alright .

    . . .

    After morning practice Dan would usually eat a full meal to maintain his muscle mass, and usually, Emily would already prepare a meal for him, but not today . Today Emily left a note saying she needed to take care of some urgent business .

    Dan clenched his fist a little bit annoyed . ¡¯Heh, do you think not cooking for me is going to get me? I can cook for myself, as long as I try I¡¯m sure I can do it . ¡¯

    Thus Dan Regius started to try cooking . Throughout the process, Dan was able to sessfully burn all his eggs even after numerous attempts . He was even able to make a pot explode . After all his trial and errors, Dan was able to make something that resembled food that came out of a horror movie .

    It was at that moment Emily suddenly returned . When she saw the devastation that happened to the kitchen she acted really surprised .

    "You finally returned . How about you cook me a meal?" Dan spoke with no shame whatsoever .

    "There¡¯s no need for that, is there? Mr . Dan has already made a spectacr meal for himself . Or are you telling me that the great and powerful blond devil can¡¯t even eat his own cooking? Is it perhaps possible, that you are scared?"

    "Huh? Who the hell is scared? I was just asking if you wanted to cook a meal since you seem to enjoy cooking . I was also going to share with you the masterpiece I made, but if you¡¯re going to act that way then I will eat this by myself . "

    In a moment of passion, Dan took a hold of the monstrosity he made and ate it whole . The moment it went down his throat Dan felt like his insides were burning . He even went into his RELEASE state to be able to resist the pain . After a long horrible minute, the pain subsided .

    . . .

    During dinner time, Dan was expecting Emily to do something else and was going to scold her if she provoked her some more, but to his surprise, Emily cooked up a feast and presented it to Dan .

    "You seem to be a bit more hungry than usual, so I made a lot more food . I hope you like it . " Emily innocently smiled at Dan who didn¡¯t, couldn¡¯t suspect a thing from a person showing such a pure smiling face .

    "Thanks for the meal . "

    Dan quickly gorged himself with food . It was a very delicious meal, but for some reason, Emily seems to be eating modestly at the side . It was at that moment Dan finally noticed something and he started puking as his whole body started shivering, making him feel like he was going to die .

    "What happened Mr . Dan!" Emily looked at Dan full of worry, but Dan knew that something was up .

    "What did you put in the food?"

    "Nothing, I just made it with the usual spices, wait I did add a special ingredient but it shouldn¡¯t make you react like this . Let me see, where was it?" Emily left Dan¡¯s side and started looking for something in the kitchen .

    "Oh, I found it . . . Wait! So that¡¯s what it was . I¡¯m sorry Mr . Dan I mixed up the ingredients instead of putting this special spice, I identally put in poison in your food . "

    Dan who was feeling the full effect of the poison looked at Emily with a weird expression on his face .

    "POISON?!"

    "Don¡¯t worry Mr . Dan the poison isn¡¯t that effective, with your body you¡¯ll be able to get over it after a few hours . You just need to rest . "

    "The . . . Antidote?"

    "Sorry, I don¡¯t have the antidote, this poison is usually myst resort move, just in case I need to escape . I can¡¯t have an antidoteying around so that the enemy could find it and give chase . Well, it¡¯s no biggie, just like you said before, you don¡¯t need to sweat the small stuff, right?"

    When Dan heard what Emily said and saw that smile of hers, he couldn¡¯t help but shiver in fear . This girl really knew how to hold a grudge .

    After this event for the whole week before they headed back to base, Emily continued to torment Dan and made it all look like an ident . This whole event became a very traumatic experience for Dan .

 Chapter 373

    Chapter 373

    Back when there was no Lyner, no Rika, and Arthur Glory was simply a new SS rank merc, there was only one other besides him who was at that level, and she was Tanya Ritter . The SS rank merc that was born in a small country to the north of the Empire . She was considered the most beautiful merc of the time . Not only was she the most gorgeous looking she was also the most vicious .

    Her fighting style tended to focus on the use of spears . Her weapon used to only be a stick, but as her fame and power grew so did her weapon . In the end, as she became even more powerful no normal weapon was able to withstand her strength, so she had her weapon forged by the best of the best . Her weapon was forged was not only made by the best but also with the best materials which made it nearly unbreakable but at the same time, it was heavier all other melee weapon created to date . Not many can even lift the spear, much less use it in a fight, but Tanya did and she was devastatingly powerful with it .

    As her fame rose as a merc, so did the fame of her beauty . Many suitors have tried to woo her over the years, but none could crack her icy exterior, and those who were too forceful never saw the light of day again .

    Yet most of them even after their initial rejection woulde back to pester her . It was a neverending cycle, but Tanya just couldn¡¯t kill them for no reason, unlike those forceful b*stards which made the whole ordeal even more infuriating . That was when Tanya got an idea .

    She told every one of her suitors that she would only wed the person who can beat her in battle . When they heard this, some of them couldn¡¯t help but quit on the spot knowing how strong Tanya the ice queen was . Yet most of them continued, believing that with their love they could ovee any obstacles, but in the end, they were proven wrong, they were shown the cruel reality that there was no such thing and got beaten up .

    Tanya¡¯s idea was good and for some time the suitors seem to decrease, there was arge decrease from what it was initially . Every day was less than before, but even if a thousand turned into five hundred it was still too many that it was irritating . This cycle of being proposed to, rejecting then fighting the suitor, continued day in and day out . It even affected her job as a merc . Not that the current Tanya needed money, she didn¡¯t even need to do any merc jobs anymore, but she liked doing them . Yet now she wasn¡¯t even able to do that . Day by day the suitors continued to irritate her, until one day, a man came in front of her and same as the others told her he wanted to challenge her to a fight . Tanya thought that this was another new suitor and initiated the fight without warning .

    At first, she thought that the other party would fall after her first strike like most of them, but he didn¡¯t . Not only that, the aura he was exuding was enormous that it actually made Tanya who had fought numerous battles feel a bit suffocated . Because of her battling with weaklings one after another, she wasn¡¯t able to quickly see that this person was a master until it was toote . She then changed her stance and took the fight seriously for once .

    The mysterious man kept on dodging all of her attacks which surprised her . He then lifted his hand, Tanya thought that a big move wasing, but then he just signaled her to stop .

    "Since you are using a weapon I can use one too, right?" The man asked while looking extremely disinterested and even seem like he was in a hurry . The moment Tanya nodded her head, the man jumped upward and broke a branch of a nearby tree . He then took a stance while still showing the same disinterested face . Tanya thought that the man was mocking her, as she was about to say something the man interrupted her .

    "Seeing how strong you are, I need to get a bit serious . I thought I could win with just my bare fists but that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case . Be proud that you are one of the few that could get to see me get serious . " The moment he said this, the man disappeared from Tanya¡¯s line of sight . She then shifted her head to the left, as a branch passed by from behind her . She then did a backward kick, in which the mysterious man jumped onto her leg . After that, he countered by doing a downward sh using the branch in his right hand . The branch hit Tanya¡¯s forehead and she felt a bit dizzy, as she was about to take a defensive stance, she felt the man pointing his finger at her neck .

    "Victory is mine, correct?" With a tone that seems to say he could care less, he spoke, but then he suddenly smiled at Tanya . Seeing him do that made Tanya¡¯s heart skip a beat .

    "That was a good fight . "

    "Name . . "

    "Huh?"

    "Tell me your name!" Tanya who usually had an icy expression on her face was now actually blushing, the merc that was called the ice queen was blushing like a teenage brat in love .

    "I guess you deserve to know, seeing how strong you are . Very well, be honored as you are about to hear my name . I am Richter Greyhound . "

    "Richter . . . Greyhound . . . Now that you have won the battle, I guess you will be my hu-" Richter then ced his finger onto Tanya¡¯s lips which made the girl¡¯s face turn redder than before .

    "Just a moment . Hey, I know you¡¯re watching! I have fulfilled the terms of the contract and defeated the SS rank merc, Tanya Ritter . Come here and give me mymission . "

    Once Richter shouted those lines, a cool looking man came out from behind the trees and approach Richter with a wide smile .

    "Yes, of course . That was an amazing battle, you were worth every penny I paid . Here¡¯s your prize . " The cool, slick-looking man then handed Richter a briefcase full of money . After Richter counted the contents of the money he thanked the client, then looked at the confused Tanya .

    "I don¡¯t understand why this man wants me to beat you, he even paid me a ton of cash for such an easy job . I don¡¯t really understand, but, I did beat you, and it was fun . I¡¯m d I met someone that wasn¡¯t a Greyhound that was as strong as you . You better improve the next time I meet you, so I can have a more satisfying battle . " After he said what he wanted to say, Richter left the confused Tanya with the cool looking man .

    "Now that the third wheel is gone, how about you greet your husband to be . " After a few more seconds of looking confused, Tanya was finally able to snap out of it and looked at the man with a bit of irritation .

    "Huh? The guy that left was the one who beat me, not you . You did nothing, so why should I marry you?"

    Hearing what Tanya said made the man smile . He then started swinging his index finger right to left, right to left and said, "No, no, no . I found a loophole in what you said, my dear . You never said that I can¡¯t hire a representative to fight you . All you said is, as long as I beat you in battle I get to marry you . Now that my representative won, you need to be my wifey alright?"

    Tanya then looked at the man who was acting so smug . Her expression then went back to her default icy expression . ¡¯This guy must be the most idiotic person I ever met . ¡¯ While thinking this, Tanya didn¡¯t bother to respond to the guy and started walking away . She was really irritated at the moment . She embarrassed herself moments ago and thought Richter challenged her because he wanted her . Turns out it was just a job .

    ¡¯Richter Greyhound . . . ¡¯ While she was thinking about Richter¡¯s smiling face, and was blushing a bit, the man who was shouting iming to be her husband to be, blocked her path .

    "Get out of my way . "

    "I won¡¯t until yo-" Tanya then flipped the guy down to the ground, she then looked at him full of contempt . "I don¡¯t n to ever marry a weakling like you, so either leave me alone or die!" Feeling Tanya¡¯s killing intent the man started running as he peed his pants .

    Seeing the man run away like the coward he was made Tanya sigh . ¡¯There really is no good man out there . . . ¡¯ She then once again remembered Richter . ¡¯Oh, I guess there is one good man . . . I better get stronger, so the next time I meet him I can surprise him . ¡¯ Tanya couldn¡¯t help but smile as she skipped towards her training area, daydreaming about meeting Richter again .

    That was how the ice queen first met, the deviant of the Greyhounds . The two will meet numerous times afterward, and every time they met Tanya would initiate the fight wanting to show Richter how much she improved . Yet for some reason every time they fought Richter seem to show a pained expression . There was even a time when he looked like he just wanted to die . Tanya at the time couldn¡¯t find out more about Richter¡¯s feelings as the only way theymunicated was through fighting . Then one day out of nowhere Richter proposed to her, of course without any hesitation she said yes .

    Because in her mind, since the day he beat her, she was already his .

 Chapter 374

    Chapter 374: 374

    Leon was in hot pursuit of the kids, as he was faster than them even with all the obstacles they set in ce, after a short chase Leon was able to catch up to them . Once he got to near, the members of the Mercenary Club had no choice but to fight this man called the executioner .

    Seeing that they don¡¯t n on running away anymore the executioner removed his jacket and his shirt, he took off his shoes . At first, the members of the Mercenary Club were confused, all except for Oliver who could already guess what was going to happen next . While the others got their answer when Leon moved .

    His movements became even quicker than before, Oliver and Niel were almost unable to react . It was a good thing that they were able to raise their weapons blocking their necks, else they would have be headless . Leon was now going all out at a hundred percent . Not only did his speed increased so much, even the power of his attacks was no longer like before, as that one attack made Oliver and Niel¡¯s hands feel a bit numb .

    Leon didn¡¯t halt his onught as Oliver and Niel, who more offensive-oriented fighters couldn¡¯t do anything but defend for their very lives . It was a total suppression, the others couldn¡¯t even provide back-up in such a high-speed battle .

    Seeing as the other members except for Sayaka were unable to even follow Leon¡¯s movements, even if they tried to join the fight they won¡¯t be able to do anything . The situation was never in their favor, but now it seemed almost hopeless for them . Sayaka who alongside Evangeline was carrying the unconscious Rachel stood up . She looked around and saw and felt no other enemy was near them . She then shifted her sight to Emily who seems to be trying hard to watch the battle before her .

    "Emi can you see his movements?" Emily shook her head . Seeing Emily¡¯s answer made Sayaka sigh .

    "Eva, Kei, Emi, take Rachel and escape from here . I¡¯ll help the guys hold back that demon . " Sayaka look at the enemy and showed a smile that was the same as Lyner¡¯s as he got excited from battle . It was a smile that could make ones fear go away .

    "Are you stupid?" Sayaka was surprised as he looked behind her, Rachel was awake . She stood in front of Sayaka and frowned .

    "There¡¯s no need for me to go anywhere else, I can fight as well . " Seeing her best friend act like that, Sayaka pushed her . The speed of her hands wasn¡¯t all that fast, and the strength she used wasn¡¯t much, but Sayaka was able to push someone like Rachel down to the ground .

    "How can you fight in your condition? You can¡¯t even stand after a simple push . In your current condition, if you fight with that demon you¡¯ll die! Even if you fight you¡¯ll only be a liability, you¡¯ll slow everyone down, and it would just make it easier for us to be killed . If you think you can still fight if you use that secret technique of yours, then you can¡¯t! I know what Alex¡¯s grandfather said was the truth, if you use it again you will surely die . I can¡¯t let that happen to you, Rachel! It¡¯s better if some of us can escape, than all of us dying!"

    When Kei and the others heard what Sayaka said, they only half approved . It was the most logical move, but then deep inside they wanted to stay with their friends . Even Kei who was the most afraid of them all, Kei who wanted to run with all his might, couldn¡¯t because the thing he wanted to do the most was to stay with his friends .

    "We . . . We are the Mercenary Club!" Kei suddenly shouted . This caught the attention of everyone, even Leon who was focused on killing Oliver, and Niel was distracted for a moment . Which gave Oliver and Niel a bit of a breather .

    "This club was created with the idea of helping others . How can we help others, if we abandon our friends?! We either escape together or die together! . . . You know, unlike all of you guys, I don¡¯t really have anybat experience, and my physical abilities are only a bit better than the average guy, but here I stand in the most ridiculous ce and in the most ridiculous situation . Still, here I am and even now I want to run the farther the better . . . But if it isn¡¯t with all of you then I can¡¯t, if I leave you here like a coward and run away from battle, Sir Lyner wouldugh at me . "

    The moment they heard Sir Lyner¡¯s name, they remembered hisst stand, where not once did he retreat, not once did he fall, not once did he show any fear, where he only showed that memorable vicious smile of his . All of them couldn¡¯t help but look at each other and show the same vicious smile . Even Oliver and Niel showed the same smile as they barely defended Leon¡¯s attacks .

    As the group¡¯s overall fighting spirit was on the rise, Leon was able to get past Oliver and Niel and tried to attack the easiest person to kill at the moment, which was Rachel . When the others saw Leon initiating his attack on Rachel, they couldn¡¯t react on time, even though Rachel wanted to defend herself, she couldn¡¯t¡¯ move her body properly . As she saw the death scythe was about to sh her, she felt helpless . She didn¡¯t want to die this way, she still had a lot of things she wanted to do, she still wanted to have fun with everyone, she wanted to see Alex one more time . She then wanted to scream Alex¡¯s name, but then another person¡¯s face came into mind as her life was threatened .

    She shouted something unexpected as death neared her . "Save me, daddy!" The moment she said those words as if it was timed a shadow appeared and kicked Leon away . Leon who wasn¡¯t expecting someone to barge in was only barely able to defend from that powerful strike . He was about to look at who entered the fray, but then he saw a fist was about to hit him, and he dodged . Leon then countered with an upward swing of his scythe, but the mysterious figure was able to dodge by jumping backward .

    Leon then stood there not wanting to follow through his attack, he simply stood there assessing the neer . When heid eyes on the new challenger he immediately knew who it was . A blond-haired man, with a physique that seems to be made solely for battle, this was the blond devil Dan Regius .

    Dan looked at Leon with a fierce gaze and shouted at him . "You f*cking dared! You actually tried to kill my daughter! I¡¯ll make sure to break every bone in your body!"

    Rachel who was saved from death looked at her father in shock, then a few secondster she started blushing in embarrassment . She actually shouted save me, daddy . She actually called her father, daddy . Even though she was embarrassed at the moment, but she was also relieved . The moment Dan appeared it felt like no matter what, her father would protect her from the monster before her . The only reason she could be her embarrassment now was because she truly believed that her father will be able to settle their current problem .

    As the tension was rising between Leon and Dan, thetter looked at his daughter and the serious face was reced with a sad face . "Rachel my daughter, what did they do to you?! Howe you¡¯re in this state?! . . . Don¡¯t worry daddy is here now . " Dan suddenly hugged Rachel in the middle of battle, Rachel was about toment about her father¡¯s behavior when she saw Leon was about to attack Dan from behind . She was about to warn Dan about the iing attack, but then Dan lifted his hand and caught the scythe¡¯s de .

    "No need to show such a worried face, my sweet little daughter, daddy is here now . So Rachel burn this image in your memories, as you watch on how powerful your daddy has be . " Dan then stood up while lifting the scythe, he was about to attack Leon, but Leon without any hesitation abandoned his weapon and took some distance from Dan .

    Rachel, on the other hand, was looking even more embarrassed since her father kept on saying daddy this and daddy that . It was obvious he would never let the thing she said in the moment of distress, pass .

 Chapter 375

    Chapter 375

    Leon who stood in front of Dan remembered Richter¡¯s past assessment of the man . Richter said Dan¡¯sbat skills were better than his own, but only in close-quartersbat . The only reason Richter was able to defeat Dan so easilyst time, was because for some reason Dan was already injured, and he was able to catch Dan by surprise . Now that the man ims to be stronger than before, Leon couldn¡¯t follow Richter¡¯s rules, he needed to fight without any more restrictions .

    Leon sped up and got near Kei and Evangeline . Dan who saw this reacted fast enough and blocked Leon¡¯s way, unfortunately for him Leon wasn¡¯t really aiming for the kids, but their weapons . Leon took Kei¡¯s rifle and Evangeline¡¯s pistols .

    When Dan saw Leon holding those guns he felt a chill down his spine, it would seem Leon was even more dangerous when he uses such weapons .

    "All of you guys back away!" Dan suddenly shouted before he dodged an iing bullet . Leon then proceeded to fire three more shots, trying to get a feel of how fast each bullet travels using each gun . Once he was done with his practice shots, Leon proceeded to shoot at the wall using the pistol . The bullet he shot ricochet off the wall, Dan was first dumbfounded, as he barely dodged the ricocheted bullet that came flying towards him . Once he dodged Dan saw Leon point the rifle at him, he was prepared to once again evade, but then Leon shot at the first bullet making it ricochet back to Dan . Of course, Dan was able to dodge that as well, but then the rifle bullet had grazed the side of his chest . He didn¡¯t notice that bulleting at him at all .

    He then saw Leon shoot a few more rounds, none of them aimed at Dan . It was difficult to dodge these bullets, usually, people at Dan¡¯s level could easily dodge bullets, by predicting the trajectory of the iing bullet by looking at where the muzzle of the gun was aimed at . Now he was unable to do that since the beginning Leon wasn¡¯t aiming at him, he was shooting in different ces, forcing the bullets to bounce towards him . Dan could only rely on his instincts as he dodged bullet after bullet .

    Oliver and the others wanted to help, but to interject themselves in such a fight could possibly make it harder for Dan to fight properly . Rachel hated this feeling of helplessness, that she couldn¡¯t even help her father . She was simply watching him get cornered . The members of the mercenary club knew that the best thing they could do at the moment was to retreat farther away and escape . If they weren¡¯t there they wouldn¡¯t be such liabilities, yet at the same time, they wanted to stay and wait for an opportunity to help Dan fight .

    It was at that moment Rachel thought of something . She didn¡¯t want to do it, but she had no other choice in the matter . Rachel gritted her teeth and the shouted at Dan . "What are you doing daddy! I thought you¡¯ve be stronger? Is this what you call stronger?! You can¡¯t even win against some half-naked guy . I¡¯m totally disappointed in you daddy!"

    The moment Rachel shouted those words, she really couldn¡¯t help herself from blushing intensely from embarrassment . On the other hand, Dan who heard what Rachel said suddenly shouted at Leon in anger .

    "You sh*tting mother f*cking b*stard! Not only did you try and harm my sweet cute, little daughter! Now you¡¯re even making me look bad in front of her and her friends! You f*cking c*nt this time you really made me mad!"

    Dan charged forward without caring about the onught of bullets . He hardened his muscles to the extreme and decided to take the hits from the ricocheting bullets . Since the bullets have ricocheted their speed and force lessened, and Dan¡¯s body was as hard as steel . The bullets pierced his skin but they didn¡¯t go in deep making Dan look like he only had a few cuts .

    Leon seeing Dan¡¯s change in tactics changed tactics as well and started shooting Dan directly . Dan who saw that Leon changed the way he was shooting, could no longer simply take the hit but instead needed to evade . Still seeing as it was now simple and direct shooting Dan could dodge properly, but after each shot and as Dan got nearer, Leon¡¯s shooting started to change as if he was now able to predict Dan¡¯s movements .

    Dan gritted his teeth and charged onward tanking some of the bullets allowing himself to get hit at none vital areas . Dan who was now bursting with energy finally got close to Leon .

    "I finally caught up you b*stard, now it¡¯s time for your beating!" Dan was about to strike Leon with his left fist, but then he saw Leon¡¯s mouth curve upward a little bit . Dan feeling something was wrong wanted to stop his attack, but he couldn¡¯t pull back his arm on time .

    Dan¡¯s left arm was sliced off . He finally noticed that throughout the fight Leon was slowly moving towards the area where Dan tossed Leon¡¯s scythe . As Dan¡¯s arm was cleanly cut off, blood started to spray all over . Dan pressed some of his pressure points stopping himself from bleeding to death . Leon then tossed the guns away and took a stance with the scythe .

    "Dan Regius, you have proven to be a great foe . I will allow you to say your final goodbye . " For the first time since meeting him, Leon spoke . He had allowed Dan to say hisst words to his daughter since he was now sure of victory . Without his left hand, Dan was in an extremely disadvantageous situation .

    The members looked at Dan with both worry and fear for him . They wanted to help, but they didn¡¯t know what they can do . It didn¡¯t matter if they won¡¯t be able to do anything, they needed to help Dan . As Oliver and the others once again strengthened their resolve to fight, Dan looked at the group with a smile on his face . He approached his daughter who was now looking at him full of worry .

    Rachel was confused by this action, was her boisterous father really about to say his final goodbye?

 Chapter 376

    Chapter 376: 376

    Dan looked at his little girl with a smile on his face . In the ten years he has been away his little girl has be a wonderfuldy, his sons have be manly men of the Regius family, and his wife remained ever beautiful . When he lost his memories the him of the past died, but then as if the heavens pitied him, he was given a second chance . He was able to meet his family again, his memories returned and all was blissful in his life . Every day from then on was a miracle by themselves .

    Rachel was confused as to what her father was doing and simply stared at him while Dan looked at her with a weird smile on his face . He started to look at Rachel¡¯s body then pressed his fingers on Rachel¡¯s wrist .

    "Hmm, it seems that you¡¯ve been using an incorrect version of full RELEASE . " Dan then started to press Rachel on different parts of her body . After a few presses, Rachel felt a bit better than before .

    "You shouldn¡¯t use that kind of full RELEASE, here this is what you should use . " Dan then handed Rachel, a scroll . "I¡¯ve written down in this scroll all of my techniques, I even put some pictures so you can understand them better . In there is a better version of full RELEASE . I improved on it after I watched Lyner¡¯s final fight, and I also created a new technique after I lost to Richter . "

    Rachel was about to say something, but then Dan continued talking giving her no chance to talk .

    "You know after fighting Richter, and seeing Lyner fight using RELEASE, I realized something . To people who have surpassed human limitations, using RELEASE only gives them a little boost . It¡¯spletely different from when someone normal uses RELEASE, which gives them an extreme boost in capabilities . Since people in Lyner¡¯s level already use most of their muscle strength efficiently people they could only get a bit from RELEASE, but then Lyner did something amazing in hisst battle, he improved on RELEASE . The whole point of RELEASE was so that I can use my muscles to one hundred percent efficiency, but it was still within the limits of what my body could handle . Lyner surpassed that, even though it only happened for a few seconds he was able to do it . That¡¯s when I realize I could further improve RELEASE and create a new technique, a technique that could make you go beyond your limitations! In the end, I seeded and I call this new technique TRANSCEND . If RELEASE was meant to release oneself from the restrictions of the mind and body, TRANSCEND was created to go beyond what it means to be human . "

    Dan who was excitedly exining his new technique to his daughter, suddenly had his facial expression turn serious before he continued talking .

    "Still since this is a new technique, there are many problems with using it, that¡¯s why I didn¡¯t use it in the beginning and stuck with RELEASE . The first problem of TRANSCEND is the time limit, in my current state I could only use it for two minutes . While in my peak state I can use it for five minutes . The second problem, seeing as TRANSCEND goes beyond what the human body can handle, using it puts a great strain to the body . After using it your whole body will feel like it would be torn apart from the inside, every muscle in your body screaming in pain and if you can somehow handle the excruciating pain you would wish you have fainted instead . In that state, you wouldn¡¯t be able to move for quite some time . Thest problem, using it turns you a tad bit more aggressive, it¡¯s not much but in a battle to the death that might prove fatal . "

    "Why are you telling me all this?" Rachel asked confused by the long exnation in the middle of such a tense situation . It was a good thing Leon was true to his word and allowed Dan to talk for so long .

    "I want you and Alex to figure out how to make those weaknesses of the technique disappear . I wrote all you need to know in that scroll I gave you . " Dan smiled gently at his daughter .

    "I don¡¯t like this . . . I don¡¯t like at all, you¡¯re talking like this is going to be yourst fight! Why are you passing your techniques onto Alex and me?! If you want to improve them, do it yourself! If you don¡¯t win this fight and return home with me, I will never call you daddy again . If you don¡¯te back home to mom, I will never, ever forgive you! Losing you the first time was already devastating for her, but if it happens for the second time . . . I . . . " Rachel gritted her teeth . "Just . . . Just don¡¯t die . . . Please . "

    At the beginning Rachel was full of burning anger as she spoke, but as she got near the end of her speech, she wanted to say more, she wanted to say if he doesn¡¯t return she would kill him herself, she wanted to say if he doesn¡¯t return she would never acknowledge him as her father again . She wanted to say that win or lose it doesn¡¯t matter as long as he¡¯s alive . She wanted to say a lot of other things, but none of those words coulde out of her mouth . She could only say please, begging her father toe back safe and sound . Even though she never showed it, but ever since he returned home alive, deep down inside Rachel was truly happy for her mother her brothers, and herself .

    Seeing the conflicting feelings within Rachel made Dan chuckle . He stood up looked at his opponent with a smile and said, "then that means I can never die . I don¡¯t want my cute little daughter to hate me . "

    He didn¡¯t bother to turn around to look at Rachel¡¯s expression as his entire being was now focused on the fight before him .

    "Are you done saying your final goodbye?" Leon asked as he remained in his stance while Dan was talking .

    "It¡¯s not yet time for that, but I¡¯m about ready . I just need to show my daughter onest thing . " Dan responded with an excited smile on his face .

    "I see . . . "

    "Rachel! Burn this view into your eyes! I will show you my final and greatest technique!" Dan¡¯s body that was in full RELEASE, started to change back into what Dan usually looked like . When Dan uses full RELEASE his body optimizes itself into his peak state, making him look younger, but now his body reverted to his older self, but there was something different happening . Dan¡¯s muscles seem to erge but only a little bit . Not only that Dan seems to have grown a bit taller than before . It wasn¡¯t that much of a changepared to full RELEASE, but the aura Dan was emitting was at this very moment was frightening . It actually made Leon feel a great sense of difort .

    "This is TRANSCEND!" Dan was getting excited since this was the first time he actually tried using the technique in actualbat . "Now time for round two!"

 Chapter 377

    Chapter 377: 377

    Dan who was in TRANSCEND state moved just a single step and a sonic boom happened . Dan¡¯s movement had surpassed the speed of sound, which made it difficult for him to control his body . Even when he was creating the TRANSCEND technique, he found controlling his body in this state to be quite hard . Still, he could somehow control it to an extent that it could be used in battle . He could no longer do fancy moves, but simple moves that even a kid could do was doable .

    Still, the feeling of going beyond the very limits was exhrating . Dan was now affected by the rush of adrenaline when he uses TRANSCEND . He couldn¡¯t help himself and startedughing a bit as he got behind Leon . He was about to smack Leon to the ground, but even with his speed that surpassed the speed of sound, Leon was still able to react .

    Even though he was surprised by Dan¡¯s sudden increase in speed, Leon kept a cool head and predicted that Dan would either attack the front or the back, and he gambled on Dan attacking from behind . Leon was able to ce his scythe behind him covering most of his vital areas from behind . Yet that didn¡¯t stop Dan from attacking .

    Seeing his opponent was still able to keep up even with this kind of speed, made Dan happy . He was going to be able to test his technique against someone who naturally surpassed human limitations, unlike him who used TRANSCEND to bypass that stage .

    Dan didn¡¯t stop his only remaining hand to punch Leon . The moment Dan¡¯s fist came into contact with the handle of the scythe, Leon immediately knew that he needed to do something if he wanted to survive . Leon tried to divert Dan¡¯s strike but it was no use, the force of the strike was something even he couldn¡¯t handle . At that moment Leon wanted to evade but it was toote, the punch had broken through the handle of his scythe .

    With that one attack, Leon was blown away, it was at that moment the base¡¯s rm started ringing . Some sections of the base were closed off . Then in the middle of Leon flying backward, a shutter door came down to block his path . Leon hit the shutter door and felt his back almost bending, as he fell down onto the floor he started coughing up blood . Before he could try and do anything Dan stood in front of him and clutched his head .

    . . .

    While Dan was trying to finish off Leon, Rachel was panicking and screaming . The shutter doors suddenly came down . One of which blocked the mercenary club¡¯s view of the fight . Oliver tried attacking the door but it did nothing . Some of the shutter doors have malfunctioned due to the fights that were happening all over the base, and even outside, but most of them were working and everything was slowly closing . They had no time left before the mercenary club members get stuck inside the base . They had no choice but to move quickly .

    Rachel didn¡¯t want to move at all, but she knew she had no choice . So as they were about to leave Rachel shouted with all her might hoping Dan would hear . "Daddy! I¡¯m going to wait for you toe home!"

    . . .

    Dan who was clutching Leon¡¯s face felt like he heard something but disregarded it since he needed to focus on killing the enemy before him . As he was squeezing Leon¡¯s cranium Dan also pounded Leon¡¯s face onto the shutter door . Yet even in such a situation where he was so close to death Leon was calm .

    Leon with the broken half of his scythe that had the de was able to sneakily ce it behind Dan, then afterward he pulled the scythe towards him trying to cut Dan from behind . Yet the moment it hit Dan¡¯s back muscles it got stuck . No matter how hard Leon pulled it just wouldn¡¯t budge, Dan didn¡¯t even seem to notice it as he continued smacking Leon around .

    Leon was now losing consciousness, but as his consciousness dimmed, memories he had long forgotten started to return . At the brink of death, he was now remembering his past . Leon who had regained his memories hated it . Why give them back now that he was about to die .

    ¡¯No there must be a chance!¡¯ Leon who felt that his whole body was as heavy as the weights he wore tried his best to get the daggers he hidden in his pants . Once he got the daggers out Leon stabbed Dan¡¯s wrist . He believed that with that Dan would let go of him, but unfortunately for him, Dan was unaffected . With Leon¡¯s current strength he wanted to use the two remaining daggers he had for onest struggle .

    ¡¯I need to survive, and tell my little brother he no longer needs to be tied down to the Greyhound name! I need to save him from himself!¡¯

    Leon with his remaining strength stabbed the two daggers onto Dan¡¯s chest . The stab wasn¡¯t deep enough to cause damage, so with everything he had left Leon pushed the daggers deeper into Dan¡¯s chest using his legs . Yet even that wasn¡¯t able to stop Dan who was now like a zombie in Leon¡¯s mind .

    Leon felt Dan¡¯s grip get even tighter, he could no longer feel any strength left in his body . Leon was extremely regretful at this moment, as he faced his second death . He was given a second chance in life to get rid of his regret but he was still unable to do anything .

    ¡¯I¡¯m such a failure of a big brother . Even in my second try, I couldn¡¯t save my younger brother . Now I¡¯m going to die such a lousy death, where I wasn¡¯t able to fight back at all . ¡¯

    Thinking about this Leon felt like he was also a lousy Greyhound, so as a form of a final struggle, Leon tried biting Dan¡¯s hand . Yet as expected that did nothing to stop his enemy, it didn¡¯t even dy him . Still, it was weird that the noisy Dan was quiet for a while now .

    ¡¯Richter . . . Your big bro is such a failure, even in the end, I was a failure . . . Richter . . . I¡¯m sorry . ¡¯ Those were Leon¡¯s final thought as he head was ttened .

 Chapter 378

    Chapter 378

    Rika Saunter alongside her new daughter Hina Saunter were packing their things . For the past month, Rika and her daughter Hina have been staying with her friend Anita Restiti, but now that she was able to be a true citizen of Berdonia, she was able to buy a house beside Anita¡¯s .

    At first, she wanted to leave the country and head back to the Granado Empire but seeing her daughter that was barely seven years old, Rika changed her mind . Going back to the Granado Empire with her daughter at this moment in time would be hard for her daughter . This made her decide to stay in Berdonia as a citizen, and she vowed not to go and fight anymore if it is not necessary .

    "Do you really need to go?" Anita who was already seven months pregnant looked at Rika with some reluctance .

    "Yeah, me and my daughter can¡¯t stay here forever . Also, I don¡¯t want to be an inconvenience to you . It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to move far away, I¡¯m just moving next door . If you need something I¡¯m always there to help . " Rika smiled gently at Anita who was now pouting .

    "I know that but, when you and Hina leave, it will turn a bit lonely in this house . . . You know I and Lyner bought such a big house because he believed that we would get a much bigger family . He jokingly told me we would have so many children that we could form our own unit . . . Of course, that would nevere true now . . . "

    After saying that Anita¡¯s facial expression turned gloomy . Even though in front of others she would usually act easy-going and strong but when it was just her and Rika she would sometimes show a weak side, but now she was actually showing something more as this was the first time Rika saw Anita tearing up like this, which looked like she was about ready to cry .

    A few weeks ago Rika asked Anita why she doesn¡¯t seem to be mourning for her husband¡¯s death . Anita with her usual carefree smile answered, "If I ever show such a weak side, I would be ashamed to call myself the wife of Lyner Resteti . My husband all throughout his life, after that fateful incident, has never shown a weak side . He would always show that confident arrogant smile of his, never wavering, never showing any regret . I as his wife show him respect by doing this . . . Also if Lyner could see me, and he saw me cry and mourn for him, he wouldugh at me . "

    That¡¯s what she said, but looking at her now made Rika confused as to what she needed to do . She wasn¡¯t someone that had good social abilities, which made this situation especially hard for him .

    "Sorry about that Rika, I was just reminded of Lyner again . . . I don¡¯t know why, but I keep on dreaming about him this past few days . Sometimes I even forget that he¡¯s no longer with me . I wake up thinking he would be there right next to me, then momentster reality would strike . . . Then . . . He disappears, and he¡¯s no longer there teasing me . . . I . . . I . . . I don¡¯t know what to do . . . I wanted him to be here but saying that would be selfish of me . . . I knew . . . I knew what kind of man he was . The moment he set out and faced you, I knew that he was about to reach his end . . . I wanted to stop him on that day, but I didn¡¯t . I already pushed myself on Lyner too much, asking for more would be selfish of me . . . "

    Hearing what Anita said while holding back her tears made Rika cry . She couldn¡¯t stop herself, as she knelt down on the ground crying .

    "I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry . I¡¯m sorry . " Rika started saying sorry repeatedly as she continued to kneel crying . Hearing her mother cry Hina hugged her mom tightly .

    "Don¡¯t cry, it¡¯s alright Hina is here now, so don¡¯t cry . " Seeing the little girl hug her adoptive mother was heartwarming, especially knowing that it was probably Rika¡¯s fault why the little girl¡¯s real parents are no longer with her .

    Anita was shocked to see Rika kneel and cry . If other people who knew Rika as the iron Valkyrie they would be stunned as well seeing this scene . This was a woman who was born powerful, her body, her intelligence, her beauty, everything about her was beyond the current humans . She was called the next evolution of humans, yet here she was crying like a newborn babe

    Anita with her now bulging stomach tried kneeling and patting Rika¡¯s shoulders . The little girl looked at Anita and with her innocent eyes asked, "Auntie why did you make her cry?" Hina was still having a bit of difficulty calling Rika her mom, so usually she wouldn¡¯t call Rika using her name, instead, she would refer to Rika simply as her .

    "I¡¯m sorry little Hina, I didn¡¯t mean to make your mother cry . Rika I¡¯m not ming you for his death, I was just feeling a bit lonely, also because of my pregnancy I¡¯m turning a bit more emotional than normal . "

    After trying tofort Rika for a short while, the three of them started hugging a bit . Once she was done crying, Rika picked up Hina ced her in herp then she proceeded to bow her head in front of Anita embarrassed by her behavior .

    "I¡¯m sorry for my behavior, I was supposed tofort you, but then you were the one whoforted me . "

    "It¡¯s alright, I understand why you felt that way . "

    "Maybe I shouldn¡¯t leave for the moment . I can move out into my new house after you give birth . "

    "No, you don¡¯t need to dy your ns because of me . Just do what you want to do . Like you said you¡¯ll just be moving on to the house next door . . . Oh, I almost forgot, a friend of mine is also moving into the house next to yours . She and her family will be moving there a week from now . I heard her daughter is close to your age Hina, now you¡¯ll get a new friend . My friend also told me that she wanted me to tell you if it¡¯s possible could you teach her daughter your way of fighting?"

    "I can, but you must know not just anyone can learn my style of fighting . . . Who¡¯s this friend of yours?" Rika asked confused by the sudden request . Truthfully her fighting art wasn¡¯t really suitable for most people since her way of fighting can only be used by people who have superhuman strength . She was sure that Anita knew this, so that means the person in question knew of it as well . Meaning the child Anita wanted Rika to teach was superhuman like her . This made Rika extremely curious .

    Hina on the other hand, felt a bit excited when she heard that the new neighbors have a daughter that was close to her age . Will she finally be able to gain a friend? The ce where Anita currently lived was not that popted since thend here was very expensive, and only the truly rich people could afford it . So Hina would usually see old people, and the youngest person in the street would be her, and next would be a high school student . So she had no one near her age that could y with her, even though Rika does y with her every now and then, she really wanted to y with someone her age .

    When Anita saw the curiosity in the eyes of both the mother and daughter, she couldn¡¯t help herself as she giggled before answering .

    "She¡¯s Michel Samarita, and the daughter she wants you to teach is Lilitth Samarita . "

 Chapter 379

    Chapter 379

    Alex who was mourning his father¡¯s death couldn¡¯t help but remember all they have been through together . Since the first time they met, Carlo had not only been a father to him, but he was also his mentor and savior . Everything he is, it was because of Carlo . Alex wanted to repay Carlo for everything he has done for him, yet now that was impossible .

    He wanted Carlo to retire quietly and he would manage everything for him . Yet now the debt he had, would never be repaid . Alex felt frustrated, he felt anger, and most of all he felt pain . Unlike Lyner and Richter who wanted to die, who sought after death like madmen, Carlo didn¡¯t want that since he had a lot to live for . Yet in the end, he still died happily in front of him . He even showed a face that seemed content .

    Alex couldn¡¯t move from his spot looking a bit lifeless as he watched thest ce he saw Carlo . Even as he was dying he kept on praising Alex and he even smiled at him at the end . It was as if Carlo was telling Alex for onest time that everything was going to be okay .

    ¡¯Why did you do that? Between you or me, you should be the one to live! Will my siblings now be fatherless? How about mom you just married her?! . . . Why did this have to happen?! Damn it, how many times do I have to go through this! How many times will I fail!¡¯

    While Alex was wallowing in sorrow, an rm was sounding off inside the base . The shutter doors were closing, but this didn¡¯t bother Alex much since with his current strength breaking the shutter doors was rtively easy for him .

    Still, now that Alex kept on hearing the rm bells ringing, he felt a bit better for some reason . ¡¯I can no longer change the past, grieving for dad¡¯s death willeter . For now, I need to get return home with everyone . ¡¯ Alex looked at the ce where hest saw his dad and smiled as he whispered, "Dad that final mission you gave me, I¡¯ll be sure to aplish it . "

    When Alex was about ready to leave, he heard something weird . He then looked behind him and saw Richter¡¯s lifeless body started twitching . Alex was surprised to see this as he was sure that he had crushed Richter¡¯s heart, and based on what he saw and understood, he felt that the nanomachines shouldn¡¯t be able to grow an organ .

    ¡¯Was destroying his brain really the only option? Damn it! I made a mistake because of my emotional state . ¡¯

    "You sh*tty grandfather why won¡¯t you stay dead?!" Alex stood there waiting for what¡¯s toe next .

    Richter who was dead moments ago stood up, but for some reason, his eyes remained shut, and the way he was moving was weird . Alex saw that the hole he made in his body was still there but was slowly closing . Still that was enough time for him to see Richter still had no heart, if so then why was he still alive? The moment Alex asked himself that question he immediately gave himself an answer .

    ¡¯The nanomachines are still working, and they¡¯re controlling his body!¡¯ Alex gritted his teeth as he picked up the sword he dropped . Alex took a stance and shouted at the dead body of his grandfather . "This time I¡¯ll make sure you stay dead!"

    . . .

    While Alex was about to start the final round with his grandfather, Oliver and the others were having a bit of difficulty escaping the base as the shutter doors keep on closing on them . As they continued running Oliver saw a familiar face in the corner of his eyes .

    The moment he saw that face without even thinking Oliver sprinted towards the area he saw the person, he ran while carrying Rachel . Sayaka and the others who saw Oliver¡¯s reaction were startled but then they followed him from behind .

    Rachel tried talking to Oliver asking him what happened to him, but Oliver didn¡¯t respond as his rage was slowly building up . All he could think off right now was him killing that b*stard that had killed his parents, and even his foster parents .

    . . .

    Matthew and the rest have already finished off the majority of the agents that were sent outside to deal with them . It was a long battle against powerful enemies, and of course, Matthew couldn¡¯t get out of it unscathed . He found the fight especially difficult when the person called Hektor appeared .

    He couldn¡¯t understand it but even though Hektor was powerful, Matthew felt that throughout the fight Hektor was holding back . Even as Hektor was dying it felt like Hektor never went all out, and there were also those iprehensible words he said in the end .

    "It doesn¡¯t matter if I die, I am after all nothing more than a fake . . . Heheheh, in the end, I will always win . My revenge will finallye true . . . Are you watching Patricia!" As he screamed those final words Hektor died . Matthew was confused and didn¡¯t know what to make of that, but it didn¡¯t really matter to him since they won .

    Matthew and the others went back to the position where they set up camp . When they arrived they were surprised to see a bloody Kyle . Even without eyes, Kyle¡¯s senses were amazing as he heard the people approaching him, he took out one of his rifles and pointed it at the direction he heard the sounds .

    "Kyle!" When Kyle heard the familiar voice of Sora, he sighed in relief .

    "What happened to you?" Viktor came closer and started to look at Kyle¡¯s condition .

    "You know this and that, nothing much . Just fought a crazydy that wanted my eyes and killed her . Unfortunately, she took my eyes, well I guess she can consider those a farewell gift . " Kyle said jokingly as he chuckled .

    Leo who looked to be guarding Kyle¡¯s body jumped towards Matthew . "Thanks, Leo for keeping an eye on him . " Matthew patted Leo¡¯s head as he whispered thanks to his cat .

    "Sorry Kyle, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to see again . . . She wrecked it pretty good in there, she really did pluck out your eyes . "

    When everyone heard what Sora said, there was a long silence .

    "It¡¯s alright as long as I¡¯m alive everything can be fixed . If I lost my eyesight then so be it, I have already umted enough wealth to live a life of luxury . . . When I get back I even n to ask a girl I¡¯m in love with to marry me . " Kyle despite his wounds, happily smiled as he thought of Sarah .

    Hearing what Kyle said everyone happily congratted him . Though the situation looked bleak, the others still found hope in this situation . This was the life of a mercenary, it was pretty normal .

    "It¡¯s going to be a grand wedding right," Luke spoke in excitement .

    "Of course . Even if I won¡¯t be able to see it I want it to be the most spectacr wedding ever . I even n to ask Michel to design and make the wedding dress as well as the dresses and suits for everyone else . " Kyle happily responded .

    "Yeah, that¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about! I can finally get a suit made by Michel . Even though I ask a hundred times she would never agree to make me a personal suit . " Sora couldn¡¯t help but smile at the news .

    Matthew who was watching at the sidelines was a bit confused, these people were in the middle of enemy territory, but they were still acting like they were talking inside a bar . After a while, Matthew simply sighed, ¡¯I guess this is how real mercs act . ¡¯

 Chapter 380

    Chapter 380

    Alex tried to quickly end the fight, by shing at Richter¡¯s head, but the moment he did so the Richter¡¯s dead body evaded his attack . Richter then proceeded to attack Alex rather sloppily . The speed and strength were beyond what Richter showed Alex while fighting him, but there was no longer any trace of Richter¡¯s exquisite technique or control . It seems like the nanomachines are truly controlling Richter¡¯s body and can release its full potential, but all the techniques Richter polished to perfection were now gone .

    It was like fighting a ten-year-old who was in a martial art master¡¯s body . Still, Alex was already exhausted both physically, emotionally, and mentally from thest battle, which made this battle harder than it was supposed to be .

    While dodging the attacks of dead Richter, Alex picked up his father¡¯s favorite weapon . It was the whip sword his father loved to use so much . Using the sword Alex was able to capture Richter¡¯s body with one swift flick of his wrist, and then when the sword had entangled Richter, Alex pulled the handle of the sword slicing Richter¡¯s body into four parts . Alex was sure that would finish it, yet the moment he thought the body would break, it didn¡¯t . The nanomachines kept the body intact, the moment the sword was no longer there they reattached the body before it could even notice it was sliced .

    Alex then tried to pierce Richter¡¯s head with his sword, but no matter what he did, the nanomachines protected the head tightly . It didn¡¯t matter how many times Alex cut off the different body parts, as they were immediately reattached upon being sliced . It didn¡¯t matter whatever he did, as the nanomachines seem to be getting faster in their repairs as the fight dragged on . It would seem that Alex had no other option than to destroy Richter¡¯s brain . That was Alex¡¯s only road to victory .

    Alex who was now starting to feel a bit exhausted was breathing heavily as he looked at the irritating abomination that used to be his grandfather . Even in death, the crazy a*s grandfather of his was giving him a hard time . Alex then tried to stabilize his breathing as his sword and his father¡¯s sword dangled in his arms .

    "Fine then! If it¡¯s going to be this way, then I¡¯ll destroy you until there¡¯s nothing left to fix!"

    . . .

    While Alex¡¯s battle with the dead Richter was heating up, Oliver and the others were looking at a very worrying sight . Fiverge looking missiles were being checked upon by numerous people that look to be scientists and engineers . In the middle of the panicking scientists and engineers was a huge man screaming orders .

    The man who was screaming orders felt something and turned around, he then saw Oliver¡¯s group . When he saw Oliver he couldn¡¯t help but smile a sinister-looking smile .

    "Oh, its been ages my nephew! I¡¯ve seen a lot of your pictures from the clone¡¯s room, but seeing you in person is really different . You¡¯ve really grown so big, hahaha!" Hektor suddenlyughed a very heartyugh .

    Oliver seeing his uncleughing made him even angrier . This was the man who killed not only his real dad but also his foster parents . The anger that was going through Oliver¡¯s head made him miss the crucial term which was a clone . Still, no matter what, Hektor was saying didn¡¯t really affect what Oliver wanted to do right now . Oliver ced Rachel down and then without a moment¡¯s hesitation, he attacked Hektor by punching .

    Of course, it would¡¯ve been more effective if he used his sword or gun, but Oliver didn¡¯t want to hit Hektor using weapons, he wanted to feel Hektor¡¯s pain in his hands . He wanted to repeatedly punish Hektor with his own flesh and blood .

    The other mercenary club members were confused, they couldn¡¯t understand much of what was happening . Sayaka, on the other hand, didn¡¯t really care about what reason Oliver had to attack, all she needed to know was that Hektor was an enemy .

    . . .

    Hektor who blocked Oliver¡¯s punch chuckled at his nephew . "It would seem that all those muscles are just for show . Also what kind of nephew greets his uncle like this? If you¡¯re going to greet me, do it properly . LIKE THIS!" Hektor then kicked Oliver away, as Oliver was flying onto a nearby wall Sayaka moved . While watching Oliver fly across the room hitting the wall, Hektor noticed a dagger was nearing his neck . He was able to catch the dagger in his hand, but then he felt something stab his chest . Hektor looked down and saw a surprised Sayaka, who was unable to pierce through Hektor¡¯s chest .

    Hektor then grabbed Sayaka by the wrist and smiled at her . "You¡¯re the littless my nephew is infatuated with . You¡¯re pretty good, actually, you¡¯re better than he is . If only you knew that with your weapon and strength you won¡¯t be able to get through my defensive wear . Still, you are too good for my nephew, I wonder what do you see in him?"

    Sayaka didn¡¯t bother to answer as she tried to stab Hektor using her free hand, but Hektor held that hand as well . When Hektor was about to discipline Sayaka he threw the girl forward . Several wires then tangled Sayaka, Niel¡¯s surprise attack failed .

    "All of you back off! He¡¯s mine!" Oliver shouted as he once again lunged at Hektor this time he attacked with even more ferocity than before . "Anyone else who gets in my way will die as well!"

    Hektor who was warding off all of Oliver¡¯s attacks had still some leeway to speak . "Now is that any way to treat your friends? How bad mannered of you, didn¡¯t Phil and Marge teach you anything?"

    When Hektor spoke of Phil and Marge, Oliver got even angrier as he started screaming . "DON¡¯T YOU DARE SPEAK THEIR NAMES WITH THAT FILTHY MOUTH OF YOURS! YOU F*CKING MURDERER!"

    Oliver¡¯s attacks were getting even more fierce and Hektor even though he looked calm on the outside was getting pressured . He then scowled at his nephew before he found an opportunity to counterattack . Once again Oliver was sent flying towards the wall . As Oliver was getting up he heard Hektor shouting at him .

    "Murderer?! How funny of you call me that! Your father is the murderer! Because of him my beloved, my adorable little sister died . You are also at fault here, you are even worse than your father, you are the true murderer! If it not for you she would be standing here beside me, and none of the others would¡¯ve needed to die . If not for you, then I would¡¯ve spared the whole world . You, James, will be the greatest sinner of mankind for killing my sister! HAHAHAHA!"

    Hektor suddenly startedughing in a crazed manner as Oliver watched him . Everything he said didn¡¯t make any sense, Olive could not understand a lick of what he said .

    . . .

    While Oliver and Hektor were fighting, the other members simply watched as they honored what Oliver wanted to do . Still, if it gets dangerous for Oliver the others were ready to step in . Kei, on the other hand, was doing something else entirely . He took one of the scientists that looked to be of a high position and started to threaten him .

    "What are you people doing for this mad man? What are those missiles for?" Kei who was able to snatch a gun from one of the engineers was pointing it at the scientist¡¯s head . The scientist started to panic as he tried to escape from Kei¡¯s grasp, unfortunately for him, Kei might not be as strong as his fellow mercenary club members, but he was still stronger than the average person . The scientist that didn¡¯t seem like he trained his whole life didn¡¯t stand a chance .

    "Please don¡¯t shoot! Don¡¯t shoot! Okay, I¡¯ll tell you everything! I didn¡¯t want to do this, he threatened to kill me and my family! I had no choice I swear!" Kei then pressed the gun onto the scientist¡¯s head and spoke in a more threatening tone .

    "I don¡¯t care what your reasons are, just tell me what those missiles are for . If you don¡¯t start talking properly, I¡¯ll just kill you and ask the next guy . I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯ll give better answers . "

    When he was threatened again, the scientist started to exin what Hektor forced them to create . When Kei heard what those missiles were for, his mind nked out for a second .

 Chapter 381

    Chapter 381

    When Kei found out what the missiles were for he suddenly screamed at the others . "We gotta stop them from firing the missiles . If even one of those gets out, it might endanger everything we know!"

    After he was done shouting that to the others, Kei went back to talking to the scientist . "You need to stop those missiles from firing!"

    "I can¡¯t do that, the only one who has the authorization tounch them or stop them is that man over there . " The scientist pointed at Hektor .

    "Then can you guys disassemble it, or make it so that it can never detonate . "

    "That¡¯s impossible to do right now . Even if we want to, we can¡¯t go against his orders . You see this," the scientist then showed Kei a huge lump that was on his neck . "This is an explosive device he nted on each and every one of us . If we go against his orders, not only us but even our families will explode . "

    Seeing this and hearing what the scientist said made Kei grit his teeth in frustration . "There must be a way to remove those things . "

    "If there was a way don¡¯t you think we would¡¯ve done it already!" The scientist shouted at Kei in irritation .

    . . .

    The others who heard what Kei and scientist were talking about could no longer just stand by and watch Oliver fight Hektor alone . The only option they had left was to kill Hektor before heunches those missiles .

    "You crazy b*stard, what the hell are you nning to do with those missiles!" Oliver shouted as he didn¡¯t bother anymore with his fist and started shooting at Hektor . Seeing him being shot at, Hektor who was wearing gauntlets blocked the bullets by deflecting them with his gauntlets .

    "Is that any way to talk to your uncle? You really are a rude o-" Hektor jumped upward evading Niel and Sayaka¡¯s sudden dash towards him . The moment Hektor jumped, Niel used his wires to entangle Hektor¡¯s leg and then he pulled him downward .

    Hektor who was now falling to the ground used the momentum he was gaining to try and stomp on Niel . Seeing this Niel started shooting at Hektor, who didn¡¯t even flinch as the bullets went straight to his leg . When Hektor was about to stomp on Niel, Oliver had dashed out and kicked Hektor . Even in that situation, Hektor was able to block the kick as he was pushed backward . It was then the three who were fighting Hektor noticed something weird . The holes made by the bullet wounds were starting to close .

    "This is pretty nice, no wonder Richter injected himself with those nanomachines . With this kind of invulnerability coupled with his strength, he¡¯s practically unstoppable . . . Well, that applies to me as well . " Hektor smiled at his opponents .

    Niel and Oliver knew what the closing of his wounds mean, and when they heard the words nanomachines, it wasn¡¯t really hard to figure out . Hektor was the same as Alex¡¯s crazy grandfather and the executioner he too was injected with the nanomachines and survived . This means every attack that doesn¡¯t destroy the brain or separate his limbs from his body will not work .

    . . .

    While Oliver, Niel, and Sayaka were having a difficult fight . Kei, Emily, Evangeline, and Rachel were trying to do something with the missiles . Kei and Evangeline were guarding Emily as she was trying to hack into the main system that could possibly stop theunch of the missiles . Rachel, on the other hand, still couldn¡¯t move properly so she was just sitting on the side concentrating on regaining her strength .

    "Emily, can you do it?" Kei asked a bit anxiously . Emily who was typing as fast as she could was now sweating profusely . "I don¡¯t know! The security here is the best I have ever seen . Even in my most positive estimate, assuming that I could hack in, at all, it would take me an hour to disable all the missiles . "

    "Emi you¡¯re our only hope now . That guy is nning on releasing a biological weapon that would affect the whole continent or possibly the world if these nsid out here are to be believed . " Evangeline spoke as she looked at the blueprints scattered around, she didn¡¯t know what the effects of this weapon could do but based on what she saw and heard she guessed that it was going to be devastating .

    "I¡¯m trying my best here!" When Emily shouted that, a timer suddenly started . The four of them who saw the timer saw that it was now set to an hour . When they saw it at first they were confused, but then they looked at the only person capable of doing this .

    Hektor who was fighting the other three wasughing now . "You think I didn¡¯t notice what you guys are doing . These missiles have long been finished we were just doing some final checking, but it doesn¡¯t matter now . "

    Hektor who was evading Oliver, Niel, and Sayaka¡¯s attacks took some distance and signaled Oliver and the others to stop . Hektor then showed Oliver and the others a remote that had three buttons .

    "You see here, this is the switch, that could make the missiles stop fromunching . It is also the switch that could instantlyunch them . Of course, I don¡¯t n tounch the missiles immediately . Do you know why?" Hektor asked them with a very creepy smile on his face . The members of the Mercenary Club didn¡¯t respond as they all looked anxiously at the remote Hektor was holding . Even Oliver who was full of anger and had his bloodlust rising couldn¡¯t act recklessly at the moment .

    "I¡¯m showing this remote to you guys, as well as giving you an hour to stop me . To give you guys some hope, and then as the ticking of the clock goes down that hope you have will be despair . The same despair I felt as I desperately tried to revive my sister! I will show you guys the sight of that despair and hopelessness, and once all of you break and have nothing left, I will kill all of you . Especially you, James, I will kill you slowly and painfully, HAHAHA!" Hektor started to once againugh, while Oliver and the others, even Rachel who wasn¡¯t fully healed yet were about to attack, but were interrupted by Hektor who continued talking .

    "Oh right, I have no need for you guys anymore . Thanks for all of your hard work for the past years . As a parting gift, I¡¯ll give you guys a swift death . " When the scientists and engineers heard what Hektor said, the knew what wasing next . They wanted to say something, they wanted to scream at Hektor but before they could do any of that, Hektor had already activated the bombs on their necks . A few secondster, all of the scientist and engineers had their heads pop . The explosions weren¡¯t strong to affect anything else aside from the people who had the bombs, but it still created a loud noise as their heads exploded .

    When the Mercenary Club members saw Hektor massacre so many in an instant, all of them, except for Evangeline red at Hektor with pure anger . Evangeline, on the other hand, started to puke . Even though she had witnessed killings before this was her first time to see so many people die .

    Kei had been in the frontlines so the sight of all this death wasn¡¯t new to him, but it still made him feel incredibly ufortable .

    "Now let¡¯s y our final game of despair!" Hektor said unperturbed by what he had done .

    "DAMN YOU B*STARD!" Oliver shouted which sounded more like a roar, as he and the others started shooting at Hektor .

 Chapter 382

    Chapter 382

    Empire Soldier¡¯s POV:

    I was given the order to do some recon on the mountain near Cromer City . I needed to report on what happened to the soldiers the higher-ups sent to capture Ken . They must¡¯ve sent over several hundred soldiers, just to capture one person and it was a swordsman . I didn¡¯t understand the significance of the swordsman Ken to the Empire, but I knew he must¡¯ve been really important . Since even though those soldiers might be on the weaker sidepared to the most elite units in the Empire, they were still above average . Learning they haven¡¯t returned or even sent a message the higher-ups wanted an update of the situation . With the current situation of the war, they couldn¡¯t send too many people, but they couldn¡¯t just send nobody, so they decided that someone with significant ability should go alone and do it . Which is where I enter the scene .

    Well, my skills are indeed appropriate for the task, and my fighting ability is at the top of the Empire, aside from monsters like Rika and the ten generals . Still ever since the ten generals died, and Rika Saunter disappeared only a few of us top-ranked soldiers remained . Well, it¡¯s also the same for the other side, we even have that secret weapon the Emperor keeps on bragging about, so I¡¯m sure everything will turn out alright .

    As I continued walking towards the mountain I started to notice that not even the chirping of birds could be heard anymore . It was at that moment that I smelled something, it was the smell I have grown familiar with in this war . It was the smell of dead bodies, the smell of dry blood . I continued onward only to see the most horrific sight I have ever behold .

    Hundreds upon hundreds of dead bodies were scattered all around the mountain . The sight made me shiver in fear, and my brain couldn¡¯t fully process what was happening before my very eyes . It took me a few minutes to calm down as I started checking the bodies .

    As I expected the bodies were those of the Empire Soldiers that were sent here to capture Ken . All of them have been killed with one single sh to the neck . All of these bodies were headless, aside from the cut on the necks there weren¡¯t any other visible wounds in all the bodies .

    Was Ken able to kill all these soldiers surrounding him with one stroke from his sword? If that were true he would be a monster that was simr to Rika Saunter . I started to search around trying to see how the battle was fought .

    I looked at theyout of thend, and saw the broken branches of the trees, as well as analyzed the position of the bodies . After a thorough look at the scene, I could deduce that Ken wasn¡¯t alone when he fought these soldiers .

    I then took out my tools to help me see what truly happened in these mountains . I started to take a bullet and saw that it was cleanly cut in half . The other bullets were either cut in half or had nicks at the edges .

    There were slight differences in the way the cuts were made from the slicing of the necks and the cutting of the bullets . The one who cut of the necks had a thinner de, while the one who cut the bullets used a much thicker sword . That would mean either Ken used two swords for fighting, or there was another swordsman involved one that was on the same level as Ken .

    Thetter seems to be a better assumption since they have never been any ounts stating Ken using two swords in battle . Still, the way they killed all these soldiers, indicate that they were in total synchronization with each other . A style that requires the two swordmasters to fight with absolute faith of each other . One who attacks disregarding defense, and the other who solely defends disregarding his instincts to attack .

    The more I looked, the more I learned from what happened in this fight, the more amazed I was . Two people with nothing but swords at hand were able to massacre several hundred soldiers with guns . I headed deeper into the mountain retracing the steps I assumed the two swordsmen made .

    It was then I saw an empty spot with a lot of blood but no dead body . It would seem that one or both of the swordmasters have died here . I checked the empty space looking at the blood residue . Then after scanning the area, I saw a trail, which I followed . The trail was heading out of the mountain .

    As I continued walking following the trail, I could smell something different . I then heard the sound of waves . As the forest of trees was lessening, I saw a magnificent sight, which was the total opposite of the horrific scene I saw in the mountains .

    The sight I saw was a cliff that had the scenery of clouds above the blue sky, and below it was the ocean that went beyond the horizon . It was like a scene from one of those movies I liked watching before . In the edge of the cliff, I saw a sword stabbed onto what looked to be a little mound, which was obviously a grave .

    I slowly walked towards the grave . I was cautious as I slowly approached the grave since I don¡¯t know if one of the swordmasters left a trap here . Turns out I was being too paranoid as I was able to get near the grave without a hitch .

    Once I was near enough I saw a b of stone, that had words carved onto it . "Here lies the body of a great swordsman . He who lived his life by the sword and died with the sword . A great teacher, an incredible rival, and a good friend . May his battles echo throughout Valha . "

    There was no indication of who was buried here, it could be either Ken or the other swordmaster . While I was thinking if I should dig the body out or not, so that I could confirm who died, I saw something written under the words carved onto the stone b . It was written in smaller letters so if you don¡¯t look closely enough you won¡¯t notice it .

    "To whoever sees this, if you wish for strength, pull out the sword and within it find your own answer . " Those were the words written that were barely visible . When I read it, I wanted to pull out the sword . . . I stood there looking at the grave for a few minutes, then I left . I feel like I shouldn¡¯t defile this grave, nor should I pull that sword . I don¡¯t think I was the one meant to do that .

    A swordmaster had died, and he had died in such glory, but no one aside from me and the remaining swordmaster will ever know of his glorious battle . Still, I feel like what I was doing was the right thing . I don¡¯t know why but I felt that leaving that grave as is, was the right choice .

    I guess I should report that Ken died, alongside all the soldiers the Empire sent to kill him .

 Chapter 383

    Chapter 383

    Oliver and the others were shooting at Hektor who was now using a simr strategy to Richter¡¯s . Basically, he was blocking all the attacks that were aimed at his head, and he doesn¡¯t bother with everything else . With the nanomachines, all attacks that don¡¯t detach his body parts, and were not aimed at the head were almost ineffective . It was like they were fighting an immortal fighter .

    Hektor was also having fun as he pounded away at Oliver, Niel, and Sayaka . Though it wasn¡¯t really a one-sided fight, seeing as all of Hektor¡¯s wounds were healing while the members of the Mercenary Club retained their injuries, it looked like a one-sided fight .

    Hektor¡¯s damage was only some bullet holes in his pants and a bit of his uniform, but no real damage to his body . On the other hand, the Mercenary Club members had numerous bruises here and there .

    Emily who was not taking part in the fight, as she was fiddling with something . Everyone thought she was still trying to hack into the system to stop the missiles, but instead, she was doing something else . Emily then shouted to the group, "Everyone catch this!" Emily proceeded to toss something to the others . Hektor obviously didn¡¯t want them to receive whatever was tossed, so he charged forward but was stopped by Oliver .

    The thing Emily tossed were earpieces, upon getting them, each member ced the earpiece on the right ear .

    "Testing, testing, does everyone hear me?" All the members heard Emily¡¯s voice and responded . Once she got the confirmation she needed, Emily continued to speak . "I¡¯m going to say this now, I won¡¯t be able to make it in time . The only option we have now is killing that b*stard . "

    . . .

    When Kei heard what Emily said he inhaled and then exhaled deeply . After that, he started moving while looking for a better position . Once he got to higher ground Kei got a better look of the fight . He then proceeded to watch everyone¡¯s movement without saying anything .

    . . .

    Rachel who was watching at the sidelines felt her body was now a bit okay . So she then forced herself to use RELEASE, she didn¡¯t use full RELEASE since she knew that the moment she did that death was the only path from thereon . Still, after using RELEASE Rachel felt like she could only hold this state for about thirty minutes before she¡¯ll once again be unable to fight for a duration of time .

    ¡¯Doesn¡¯t matter what happens to me next, I need to help now!¡¯

    Rachel who was inactive throughout the fight except for shooting now and then finally joined in the melee . The moment Hektor saw Rachel getting close to him, he felt a bit frightened . Even though he wasn¡¯t the one who experienced it, he did see how Rachel pulverized his clone . Watching an almost perfect copy of him being beaten down by a girl more than half his age was a little bit frustrating as well as a tiny bit frightening .

    Still, Hektor knew that among the members of the Mercenary Club, he shouldn¡¯t let Rachel get a hit in . This person¡¯s attacks were meant to be one-hit kill type of attacks . Among the current people here she held the strongest attacking power . Everything else she had was below him, but only her power outssed even the original Hektor¡¯s power . Unknown to Hektor Rachel wasn¡¯t in full RELEASE meaning her power that he imagined wasn¡¯t as strong .

    Hektor didn¡¯t bother to deflect Rachel¡¯s attack and instead evade it, allowing Sayaka to be able to stab another dagger onto his back . Unfortunately for them, Sayaka¡¯s strength wasn¡¯t enough to pierce through Hektor¡¯s armor nor his thick muscles .

    . . .

    Kei who was watching from afar was finally able to formte a n in his head . "Everyone please follow my orders from here on out . Please, guys, I want you all to trust me in this . "

    At first, no one responded, so Kei thought that these prideful mercs wouldn¡¯t listen to him . In truth among all of them he had the weakest presence, was nowhere near as good as them, and he was the least respected . Well, that¡¯s what he thought .

    "Hello Kei, why aren¡¯t you saying anything? I thought you¡¯re about to give us orders?" Emily¡¯s voice could be heard in the earpiece, not only her the others started talking as well .

    "So what¡¯s the n Kei?"

    "What do you want me to do?"

    "Until that b*stard dies I¡¯m yours tomand . "

    "What are your orders?"

    Niel, Evangeline, Oliver, and Rachel all responded, which shocked Kei . He really thought that they wouldn¡¯t listen to him, turns out they didn¡¯t speak because they were waiting for him . He could practically feel their trust for him in their voices alone . Kei let out a small smile before he spoke .

    "Sayaka, tell me how many daggers do you have left?"

    "I¡¯ve got about nine left . "

    "Alright that¡¯s enough, I want you to give three daggers to Rachel . "

    "Roger that," Sayaka responded promptly .

    "Evangeline I saw a sniper rifle in one of the dead bodies of an agent when we were running over here . I want you to go back there and pick it up . Once you checked if the rifle is alright, I want you to tell me how many bullets did the agent have left . "

    "Okay . " After acknowledging Kei¡¯smand Evangeline started sprinting away .

    "Emily, I want you to support Evangeline when she gets back . "

    "Sure," Emily sounded a bit happy as he heard Keimanding her . This was the first time she saw Kei take charge, and it felt a bit nice .

    "Niel when I give the signal, I want you to use all the wires you have to stop Hektor from moving, you just need to stop him for three seconds . "

    "Sure, I¡¯ll do my best," Niel answered with his usual carefree tone .

    "Oliver, when I tell you so, I want you to get all of Hektor¡¯s attention . Curse at him, tell him he¡¯s crazy, I¡¯m sorry to say this since she¡¯s your mother, but if you can I want you to insult his sister, do everything in your power to irritate him and catch his attention . "

    "Fine, I¡¯ll do anything just to kill that b*stard . " Oliver answered with a voice full of hatred and anger, which made Kei sigh a bit . This was the first time he ever saw Oliver so angry . It felt a bit wrong, but Kei could understand why Oliver was this angry by the bits of information he gathered as they fought .

    "What about me? Did you forget me? Even in my condition, I can still fight . " Rachel spoke, as she received the three daggers from Sayaka .

    "Of course I know that . You, Rachel, have the most important role of all . " When the others heard what Kei had nned for Rachel, they all couldn¡¯t help but smile . For the first time since the start of the whole fight, this was the first time that the group truly felt like they had a chance of winning .

    "If everything goes ording to n then that would be the best . . . But if something unexpected happens, I¡¯ll be changing the n on the spot . We only got one shot at this, and I¡¯m sure if you guys are the ones doing it, then even the impossible could be pulled off . "

    Hearing the confidence Kei had in them, made the Mercenary Club smile . They didn¡¯t notice it but all of them were smiling the same familiar smile as their departed teacher .

 Chapter 384

    Chapter 384

    While Kei and the others were fighting Hektor, Alex was still having an ongoing battle with Richter¡¯s dead body . Alex had not sustained any wounds at all, but his breathing was now highly erratic . His body was getting a bit heavy, and he felt like his ability to perceive information in his mind was growing a bit hazy . While all of that was happening to him Alex was looking at the now disfigured body of Richter .

    During the brief exchanges they had, Alex was able to somehow cut Richter¡¯s entire left arm, a few of his toes, and his right hand . The nanomachines couldn¡¯t reattach those because they were now cut into tiny slices . Still, no matter what he did, Alex just couldn¡¯t pierce through and destroy Richter¡¯s head .

    It was an irritating experience as he was finding the whole ordeal extremely taxing . He was still in the process of trying to ept his father¡¯s death, not only that he was also very worried about his friends, who were battling his other grandfather Leon . Yet here he was ying with a dead body .

    Alex was breathing heavily as Richter continued his assault, this time Alex didn¡¯t bother to attack when he saw a slight opening . This time Alex decided to wait for the best moment to strike the head . He needed a clean hit, and he needed to do it without any mistakes .

    Alex looked at what had be of his grandfather and as he continued dodging he actually felt a bit bad for the old man . If things went a different way, it was possible Alex could¡¯ve be someone like this . If he became the next head of the Greyhounds, and never met Carlo and the others, his fate might¡¯ve turned out the same as his grandfather . That thought made Alex feel a bit sad for this unfortunate person, Alex also felt even more grateful to his foster parent .

    Alex who waited for the perfect chance to attack as he kept on evading finally saw that chance . The nanomachines were like an AI in a video game which had a set of moves imprinted into it . After their long battle Alex has finally understood the pattern it uses, and how fast its reaction speed was . With all the new information at hand, Alex was now sure of victory . The only factor that could make him lose was that he was currently truly exhausted .

    Still, that wasn¡¯t enough for Alex to stop, as he still needed to find his friends and help them . Alex waited and waited until finally the attack he waited for was initiated . After catching the remaining arm of Richter¡¯s, Alex without any hesitation quickly pierced his sword onto Richter¡¯s skull .

    The sword motion of piercing was done so fast that it was unavoidable, as it pierced right through Richter¡¯s skull . Alex still didn¡¯t let his guard down, once he seeded in piercing Richter¡¯s skull, he immediately cut open the head with one clean slice after that Alex performed a hundred slicing motions at the brain, he did it like he was cutting some vegetables . The moment when the brain was sliced into a hundred pieces, Richter¡¯s body finally dropped onto the ground not moving . A huge amount of ck liquid came bursting out of him, which Alex assumed to be the nanomachines .

    Still, even with seeing that, Alex didn¡¯t let his guard down and waited for a response . After a few more seconds without even a single twitch from the body, Alex felt relieved .

    After he just finished such a long fight, Alex couldn¡¯t help himself as he sat downpletely exhausted . While he was resting he kept on looking at Richter¡¯s dead body . Unlike Carlo Richter still had a body to be buried, when Alex thought of that he clicked his tongue .

    He understood a bit of what Richter was feeling, he could understand the logic and madness behind Richter¡¯s decisions, and Alex knew that Richter never regretted anything even in the end . Everything Richter did to Alex, Alex¡¯s friends, and his family was unforgivable . . . Still, Alex couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit of sympathy with the tragic character . He sighed as he looked at the body of the person who knew no regret .

    When Alex felt a bit better he took what¡¯s left of Richter¡¯s body and carried it .

    . . .

    Hektor was starting to get irritated by the way Oliver and the others fought . After Emily threw the earpieces towards the members of the Mercenary Club, their teamwork seemed to improve by leaps and bounds . Not only that, they seem to have a good grasp of his battle style . They were actually suppressing him . This truly irritated Hektor to no end .

    He wanted to give them despair, yet the way fought as the timer ticked down made it look like they were toying with him . Hektor showed a lot of opening numerous times, but they just wouldn¡¯t take the bait .

    That was when Hektor noticed that one of them wasn¡¯t really fighting . Kei was moving around from ce to ce, but not once did he attack using the gun he was holding . Seeing that and finally understanding what was happening made Hektor smile .

    ¡¯I just need to cut off the brain and all else will follow . ¡¯ Hektor rushed towards Kei¡¯s direction . "Now!" Seeing Hektor was finally attacking him Kei shouted at Evangeline . Hektor was surprised as he raised his arm deflecting an iing bullet aimed at his head .

    Still, that only stopped him for a second before he once again rushed towards Kei . This time somebody blocked his path, and the person who blocked him was none other than his nephew Oliver .

    "Your opponent is me!"

    "Move aside!" Hektor roared at Oliver while trying to push him away .

    "Are you going to run away again? You keep on ming me and my father for my mother¡¯s death, but aren¡¯t you also responsible for that? Weren¡¯t you also unable to protect her?!"

    Hektor who was charging towards Kei¡¯s position stopped . He then turned around, his face now looking more and more like a demon¡¯s . As his expression was turning darker and darker, Hektor¡¯s bloodlust, his killing intent kept on rising that everyone could feel it underneath their skin .

    "ME?! I¡¯m responsible for my beloved sister¡¯s death! YOU, the main sinner are using me of leading my sister to her death! HOW DARE YOU!" As Hektor¡¯s anger was rising he could no longer see anyone but Oliver in his eyes . This made him unable to spot the wires that have surrounded him .

    When he finally noticed, it was already toote as Niel was able to bind Hektor using all the wires he had . Hektor then saw the approaching Sayaka and was willing to take the attack, since he knew that she wasn¡¯t strong enough to hurt him . That was when Hektor saw the person behind Sayaka, Rachel was there .

    For the first time since the start of the battle, Hektor finally felt that his life was in danger . Rachel with a dagger at hand was about to pierce Hektor¡¯s skull . In a desperate move, Hektor jumped a bit upward, making the dagger that was heading towards his skull, head towards his mouth instead . Hektor then tried to catch the dagger using his teeth but was unable to stop it, making it pierce right through his mouth .

    His instincts then told him to move his head to the side, after that he heard the sound of a gunshot . A bullet flew through the air and nicked the side of his head . As he was distracted for a second, Rachel was able to get so near, that she was so close on stabbing Hektor, but it was at that very moment, that Hektor was able to break free from the wires, making him able to deflect Rachel¡¯s attack in thest second .

    He immediately distanced himself from the group . As he was able to distance himself and hide behind a wall for cover, he felt something pierced his leg, and he was then assaulted by numerous bullets aimed at the same spot where his heart was . It was a good thing that the nanomachines could still heal this level of damage, but Hektor was surprised that someone from the Mercenary Club had the skill to urately shoot so many shots in the exact same ce . As he looked at the person that shot at him, he was surprised . This was someone he assumed was already dead, since he fought the monster called Richter . The person who came and joined the fight saw Hektor¡¯s wounds being healed . When he saw this he looked at Hektorpletely annoyed .

    "Another one . " Alex who was carrying Richter at his back has joined the battle .

 Chapter 385

    Chapter 385

    When Hektor saw Alex carrying a dead Richter, Hektor instantly knew what happened . He couldn¡¯t believe it, but the truth was right in front of his eyes . That monster of a leader, the one whose ability to read ahead was so absurd that he seems to be psychic . That leader whose strength was so ridiculous that it was practically cheating . That fearsome leader that had all of them dancing in the palm of his hands has died .

    Though he had a hard time epting it, Hektor had not time to dwell on that matter . All he needed to know was that Alexander Samarita was the victor .

    When Hektor thought of that, he immediately adjusted his understanding of Alex, this kid in front of him was a true blue monster . The chances of him winning against someone who killed Richter was close to zero, even against an exhausted Alex the chances were slim, coupled with the fact that he could team up with Oliver and the others, this made winning practically impossible .

    After quickly assessing his chances, Hektor quickly distanced himself from Alex . Unable to follow up his attack on Hektor, since he was too exhausted Alex could only watch Hektor as he escaped from his sight . The other members who saw Alex wanted to go near him and ask a bunch of questions, but they couldn¡¯t since they were in the middle of a fight, and Kei was shouting at them through the earpieces .

    "Everyone, now that Alex is here, the enemy is sure to be desperate! This is no time to let our guards down! I noticed the look of panic in his eyes the moment he spotted Alex . He might not wait for the timer to finish anymore, and immediatelyunch the missiles . We must not let him do that! Everyone attack him don¡¯t give him any chance to flip that switch!"

    When they heard Kei¡¯s orders the group concentrated even more on assaulting Hektor, not even giving him time to breathe . While the others were pressuring Hektor, Kei slowly approached Alex and passed him an extra earpiece that he got from Emily .

    "Alex, there¡¯s not much time to exin, so I¡¯ll just keep it simple . That guy over there is an enemy, and we can¡¯t allow that guy to flip that switch . " Alex put down Richter¡¯s body and responded to Kei .

    "Roger that . " Once he said that Alex even though he was exhausted leaped into battle . With Alex in the mix, Hektor could no longer attack and concentrated wholly on defense, as he now needed to be wary of not only Rachel¡¯s strikes but Alex¡¯s as well .

    With the addition of Alex in the group, Hektor was having even more difficulty pulling out the switch tounch the missiles . Hektor even with his skill and superior defensive ability couldn¡¯t hold on against the onught of perfectly coordinated attacks .

    Alex with sword and gun at hand made precise strikes that would force Hektor to show an opening . Once an opening was made Rachel without any hesitation would attack with the intent to kill in one strike . Niel using his wires would stop Hektor from making a crucial move by entangling his hand or leg at a crucial moment . Then there was Sayaka who suddenly pops out of nowhere, striking Hektor in different parts of his body . The attacks were basically the same as cat scratches, though they were worthless, they still hurt . The nanomachines might heal his wounds, but Hektor was still getting hurt as he received the damage .

    There was also Oliver who kept on blocking Hektor¡¯s path as he tries to retreat . Then there were Evangeline and Emily who were providing perfect supporting shots . Every time one member makes a mistake and shows an opening for Hektor to exploit, the two of them would provide cover fire .

    Yet the most irritating of the bunch was Kei, who never attacked, but gave detailed instructions on what to do . He might not be able to keep up with the speed of the battle, and it took everything in his power to be able to perceive the high-speed battle, but even with that handicap Kei was still able to feel the flow of the battle, and with the information he had from the things he observed from the way Hektor talked and moved, Kei had a pretty good grasp on what Hektor would do next .

    This made fighting these teenagers extremely hard for Hektor, as just one misstep from him would spell his doom . As he continued to defend Hektor was watching Alex very closely . Though at the moment Alex was the greatest threat to him, he was also the best chance Hektor had to slip through the torrent of attacks . Since right now Alex was exhausted, his breathing was heavy and Hektor only needed to oust him to escape . Well, that¡¯s what he thought, but someone else was the first to crack .

    Rachel who was moving while using RELEASE could no longer keep up . She copsed like a puppet that had its strings cut . When Hektor saw that, he was happily surprised, as he used that moment to move towards Rachel .

    Alex who saw Hektor dashing towards Rachel dashed forward and stood in front of Rachel ready to block whatever attack Hektor had in store . Yet that was a feint as Hektor didn¡¯t attack and instead took some distance while pulling out the switch to the missileunch button .

    As he was about to flip the switch, he felt something slice through his wrist . Hektor then saw that Sayaka was there right behind him . His right hand that was holding onto the switch fell, as the switch was falling down Hektor kicked Sayaka away and tried to catch his detached right hand .

    As Hektor was about to reach his right hand, somebody shot at it pushing it away . Evangeline who had a sniper rifle only fired once at the hand and didn¡¯t do it again, since she was scared she would miss and identally hit the switch and break it .

    Hektor grew truly irritated as he continued to try and reach his right hand . Yet that moment he was about to snatch it, a bunch of wires enveloped his falling right hand and pulled it . Oliver then jumped upward blocking Hektor¡¯s path towards his hand .

    "I have no time for this farce!" Hektor with his left hand did a backfist strike in midair, in which Oliver countered with his sword . Hektor¡¯s remaining left hand was sliced off . Still, Hektor didn¡¯t give up as he headbutted Oliver and then stomped on Oliver¡¯s belly while they were falling .

    As the two were nearing the ground, Niel using his wires entangled Oliver¡¯s hand and pulled him away from Hektor . Now that he had the switch and safely rescued Oliver, Niel flipped the switch that should stop the timer .

    Once he flipped it, the countdown for the missileunch stopped . Seeing that they seeded in stopping the missileunch, the members of the Mercenary Club sighed in relief . They then proceeded to surround the now wounded Hektor .

    "How¡¯s that, your n failed . " Oliver who was pointing his gun at Hektor¡¯s head spoke to his uncle with clear hatred . Yet even surrounded and his n thwarted Hektor smiled and chuckled .

    "What¡¯s so funny?!" Oliver shouted as he wanted to immediately shoot Hektor¡¯s head .

    "It¡¯s funny that you guys think you won . " After saying that the timer of the missileunch started the countdown again .

 Chapter 386

    Chapter 386

    When they saw the timer starting again, the shocked faces of the Mercenary Club made Hektor smile in glee, and he startedughing . This irritated Oliver as he pressed the muzzle of his gun onto Hektor¡¯s head .

    "What did you do?!"

    "Hahaha, that¡¯s super hrious . When all of you felt relieved, and then it turns out you haven¡¯t done anything at all! The look on your faces was priceless! HAHAHAHA!"

    "Shut the f*ck up! Tell us how we can stop these things!" Oliver punched Hektor as he was irritated at himughing and mocking them .

    "There¡¯s no way to stop the counter when it starts . The only reason it stopped for a moment, was because I made it that way, so I can fool you guys and watch your expressions when your relief turns to fear and anxiety . It was worth it, just to see those looks on your faces . " Hektor happily replied as the countdown continued to tick downward .

    "I don¡¯t believe you! Tell me how to stop theunching of the missiles!"

    Hektor sneered at Oliver before answering him, "what kind of cartoon viin do you think I am? Do you think this is like those shows on television? I¡¯m surprised Oliver, I can¡¯t believe all of you are so naive . Do you kids really think that I would create a kill switch? Why would I do that?"

    "Then why did you keep on telling us that stuff about having a way to stop the missiles? Why did you act like the switch really meant something?" This time Kei who was unable to ept what Hektor said and questioned him .

    "Of course I said that to make you believe, to give you hope . So that when you realize the truth, only despair would remain . These missiles were always meant to beunched no matter what happened . There was never a way to stop them, everything I did was a ruse . Something to keep the fire of hope within you, and when you learn the truth the ultimate despair would befall you . "

    When Kei heard Hektor¡¯s answer he felt his knees shaking, and he fell down onto the floor . ¡¯It¡¯s over, it¡¯s all over . . . ¡¯ Those were the thoughts that kept repeating in Kei¡¯s mind .

    "You¡¯re lying! There must be a way! If you don¡¯t tell us now, I¡¯m going to kill you!" Oliver tried threatening Hektor, who only snickered at the threat .

    "Sure, go ahead kill me, it doesn¡¯t matter anymore . I already won, HAHAHAHA! I already won, since the beginning, there was no chance for you to win! Don¡¯t you see, everything was pointless since the start . The only person who could potentially stop this n is already dead, and you killed him . " The smiling Hektor looked at Alex .

    When Alex saw Hektor looking at him, he was at first confused, but then he looked at the corpse of his grandfather . Hektor who saw that smiled even wider, "Bingo! The only one who actually made a failsafe to stop my n was the one person aside from myself that knew the full extent of my n, and that¡¯s Richter . But now that Richter is dead, no one, not even I knows how to stop the missiles fromunching . "

    Alex gnashed his teeth, as he looked at Richter¡¯s dead body a bit frustrated . ¡¯So even in death you¡¯re giving me problems, you really are a sh*tty grandfather . ¡¯

    "So what now? I might be lying and actually know how to stop those missiles . Are you going to beg for forgiveness and see what happens? You never know, if you guys grovel on the ground, cry and weep as you beg for forgiveness, I might feel a bit bad and help you stop this madness . "

    Hektor was enjoying his victory to the fullest, as everyone couldn¡¯t think of any way to ovee this crisis . They all looked dejected as Hektor continued tough heartily,

    "Do you see this my beloved sister! The sinners will finally be pun-" BANG! Unable to take it anymore Sayaka got a hold of a gun and shot Hektor in the head . BANG! BANG! BANG! She then continued to shoot Hektor¡¯s head until she had no more bullets left, and Hektor¡¯s brain sttered all over the ce .

    "He finally shut upped," Sayaka spoke still with a bit of irritation in her voice . After that action, everyone turned silent . A few seconds passed and only the ticking of the timer could be heard, when suddenly Emily broke down crying .

    "I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry . . . I¡¯m so sorry guys, I just couldn¡¯t do it, if only I was a better hacker, I might be able to do something . I¡¯m sorry that I¡¯m so worthless . "

    "No it¡¯s not your fault Emi, it¡¯s mine . If only I was strong enough to kill him with the first strike none of this would¡¯ve happened . " Oliver spoke while clenching his fist in frustration . Sayaka who saw that simply hugged Oliver trying tofort him .

    "What¡¯s this? Are you guys really giving up? We are the mercenary club! If Sir Lyner were here he would never have allowed us to wallow in despair! He would never give up until the end!" Niel tried to motivate the group, but it was useless .

    "Stop with that already Niel! You keep on saying never give up, and Sir Lyner would¡¯ve done this, Sir Lyner would¡¯ve done that! Who f*cking cares! He¡¯s dead, he¡¯s no longer here! There¡¯s nothing we can do!" Evangeline finally broke as well and started screaming .

    When Niel and the others heard what Evangeline said, they had their heads looking down . The atmosphere felt even tenser now that Hektor was dead . Even the usual mood makers Emily and Sayaka couldn¡¯t say anything useful in this situation .

    It was then at that moment when despair and hopelessness sunk deeper into the members of the Mercenary Club, they heard a loud BOOMING sound . Rachel who wasying down exhausted from the fight had punched the floor with everything she got, which made her hand bleed .

    "If we truly fall into despair Hektor wins! Do you really want that man to have thestugh?! I don¡¯t know about you guys but I won¡¯t allow it! I won¡¯t ever give up! Eva, you said Sir Lyner is dead, that isn¡¯t true! I know this might sound cheesy, but Sir Lyner lives on in all our hearts! Didn¡¯t he show us by his actions, that you should never give up, not even when you¡¯re face to face with death himself!"

    When they heard Rachel talking, every one of them remembered thatst stand of Lyner¡¯s . Thatst stand that none of them will ever forget . Rachel was right, giving up while you¡¯re still alive is idiotic .

    "We already gave up even though we haven¡¯t¡¯ tried until the end, isn¡¯t that stupid? . . . Emi, you try and continue hacking the system . Everyone else let¡¯s look into the missiles, see if there is a more manual way to stop them fromunching . What¡¯s the worse that could happen we blow up? If we fail to stop the missiles we die either way, so it¡¯s better to try until the end . "

    The others hearing what Rachel said looked at each other, then they startedughing . Afterughing for a bit, they stopped and isntead started to smile, they did so to mask away the fear, they smiled to bring up the mood . They smiled to cast away their despair .

    With renewed motivation the Mercenary Club refused to give in to despair, they refused to give what Hektor wanted . They all decided to fight until the end, never giving up . What gave them the courage was not only the memory of their teacher but their trust with one another . The little group that started as a small club in school now became something more .

 Chapter 387

    Chapter 387: 387

    Alex and the others tried their best, but no matter what they did, they just couldn¡¯t stop the countdown for the missileunch . It was like Hektor said they couldn¡¯t do anything at all . There were only ten minutes left before the timer went down to zero .

    "Sorry, guys I guess this is it . . . I know it might sound bad but how about we say what we wanted to say to each other, you know, no more secrets . This might be our final group talk after all . " Niel was smiling when he said this, but it didn¡¯t have his usual re and radiance .

    Everyone then looked at Niel confused as to what to say . They didn¡¯t really know what to say in this kind of situation . Seeing everyone confused and full of hesitation, Oliver was the first one to speak .

    "As the leader of the Mercenary Club, I guess I should be the first to speak . Since we don¡¯t have much time, and everyone needs to speak I¡¯ll keep it brief . SAYAKA I¡¯ve missed you!" Oliver then suddenly rushed at Sayaka and hugged her .

    This surprised everyone since the sudden shift from the angry Oliver to this lovesick Oliver was too great . Sayaka who was being hugged was shocked at first as well, but then she reciprocated Oliver¡¯s feelings by hugging back .

    "I¡¯ve missed you too Oliver . " Sayaka softly caressed Oliver¡¯s face as she looked at him with a gentle smile . While the two were heating up, somebody suddenly coughed .

    "Ahem!" Oliver who heard Kei coughing looked at him and smiled .

    "Oh, right I also missed you guys," Oliver said a bit dryly, as he continued to hug and dote on Sayaka .

    "Fine then, since it seems like you guys aren¡¯t going to stop doing that, I¡¯ll talk next," Kei spoke with a bit of irritation in his voice . This surprised everyone a little bit since, among the members of the Mercenary Club, Kei was usually the least outspoken person in the group . Now that he was being a bit more assertive was really a surprise .

    "Before I say my piece, I just want to announce to those of you who don¡¯t know . " Kei then pulled Emily towards him, and held her waist as he spoke, "Emily and I are dating . " The very second those words came out of Kei¡¯s mouth alongside his action of holding Emily, both Oliver and Sayaka who were hugging each other almost had their eyes pop out of their sockets .

    Even Alex who was recently always stoic, and knew how to control his emotions well, was shocked by this news .

    "WHAT!" Both Oliver and Sayaka screamed at the same time . Seeing their reaction made everyone else giggle . Rachel, on the other hand, noticed something weird and touched Alex¡¯s arm . "Alex, everything alright?"

    "Huh? . . . Oh, yeah I was just surprised . Congrattions Kei, Emily . " Alex who was in a daze was jolted awake by Rachel and smiled at Emily and Kei while congratting them . When everyone saw this, aside from Rachel everyone showed the exact same expression of surprise . Though they already saw Alex smiling sometime ago, they all thought that was part of the act when they did that fake fight .

    Yet here he was smiling so naturally . When they saw Alex express his emotions in such a natural way the other members couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit sad . The Alex they knew was no longer with them, this was a different Alex . Though it was a good thing that Alex could finally express himself, seeing him without that iconic stoic look of his felt a bit weird .

    "Thanks, Alex . . . Oh, damn I wasn¡¯t expecting Alex of all people to congratte us, this is making me feel weird . . . " Kei covered up his face for a moment, no one knew what expression he was showing at this moment . After a few more seconds he looked at each member of the Mercenary Club .

    "Truthfully, I¡¯m not sure if we¡¯re going to make it, so like Niel said it¡¯s better to confess whatever we want at this time . So with that thought in mind, I want to thank you, guys . The moment I met you guys my life changed . . . Not just that, because I met you guys, I myself have changed . . . For that, I will forever be grateful . If there really is a next life, and Valha exists then I truly wish to be able to continue this journey with you guys . . . I . . . " Kei wasn¡¯t able to continue what he wanted to say, as tears fell down his cheeks .

    Emily patted his back and whispered words of encouragement in Kei¡¯s ears . It doesn¡¯t seem like Kei could continue talking, so this time, Evangeline stepped forward . She looked at Rachel for a moment, and the two seemed to havemunicated somehow as they nodded their heads at each other . Evangeline then looked at Alex with a serious gaze .

    "It¡¯s my turn to confess something, I¡¯ve been keeping these feelings of mine for three years now . ALEXANDER SAMARITA! I Evangeline Kain am utterly, hopelessly, beyond any doubt, in love with you! From the moment you saved my life all those years ago, I have always loved you . I have never felt more strongly for anyone else . I¡¯ve been wanting to say these words for such a long time, it feels so freeing to say them . I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you!"

    Evangeline kept saying I love you to Alex with such passion that it made Alex back away a little . The others already knew of Evangeline¡¯s feelings for Alex, and the only one who didn¡¯t know about it was Alex himself . Niel who finally heard Evangeline confess couldn¡¯t help but do a quick guts pose .

    After she was done saying I love you repeatedly Evangeline stared at Alex while waiting for him to give his answer . She already knew what was toe, but she still looked on with anticipation . Alex looked at Evangeline then at Rachel who was smiling at him, he then sighed . "Eva," this was the first time Alex has ever called Evangeline with her nickname, which made her heart beat a little bit faster . "I truly appreciate your feelings for me . . . But I¡¯m sorry that I can¡¯t-" Evangeline blocked Alex¡¯s lips with her finger and bravely smiled at him . She already knew what Alex answer would be like .

    "I know what you¡¯re going to say, but I don¡¯t really care . It doesn¡¯t matter to me if you reciprocate my feelings or not . Still, I hope you allow me to continue loving you . It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s only one-sided, and I know I might not be a match for Rachel in your heart, but I¡¯ll never give up . I know I¡¯m acting pretty selfish right now, but at least allow me this much . "

    Evangeline¡¯s hands were shaking a bit, but then Niel stood beside her and held her hand so that it would stop shaking . Evangeline looked at Alex full of conviction, which made Alex sigh . "Eva I," Rachel then held onto Alex¡¯s hands and shook her head .

    "I see . . . " Alex changed what he was about to say, and that¡¯s when Evangeline was finally able to calm down and looked at Rachel . The two girls smiled at each other and nodded .

    "That was great Eva, now you¡¯re finally at the starting line . " Niel happily congratted Evangeline as he let go of her hand .

    "Thanks, Niel . . . This is where it truly starts . " Evangeline had a look of pure determination . Even though death was practically touching them, she wasn¡¯t bothered by it at all, as her adrenaline was at an all-time high right now .

    The others didn¡¯t have much to say since everyone basically had already said what they wanted to say . The others simply gave their thanks in being a part of the Mercenary Club and being able to be friends with one another . Once everyone was done talking, Alex stepped forward as he was the only one left who hasn¡¯t spoken . He stood in front of everyone and bowed his head .

    "Thank you guys foring to my rescue . Thank you guys for being my friends . . . Thank you guys for everything . . . " Alex then raised his head and then the members of the Mercenary Club saw him cry . Actual tears fell down Alex¡¯s face, this was a more shocking scene than him smiling .

    "Even though this all started because of a mission, even though this all started because of a misunderstanding . . . I¡¯m happy with how it ended up . . . Thank you guys for teaching me friendship . . . Thank you for teaching me about love . . . Thank you for teaching me how to be true to myself . . . " Alex then turned towards Rachel .

    "I¡¯m truly d that it was you who bumped into me that day . " Alex then faced Oliver .

    "Thank for being my friend . . . No, for being my best friend . It was fun being a part of the Mercenary Club . "

    With that, the countdown ended, and the roaring of the missilesunching could be heard .

 Chapter 388

    Chapter 388

    When the missilesunched from the Shadow Mercenaries base, Alex and the others headed out of the base to see what will happen next . Though there wasn¡¯t much information at hand regarding the missiles, Evangeline who took a look at the ns knew it was some kind of biological weapon, and they were set to strike certain keypoints . Based on what Hektor kept on screaming, the missiles should have devastating effects that could affect the whole world, Alex and the others just didn¡¯t know what kind of effect it had . All they knew was that it was entirely possible watching what the missiles did would be thest thing they saw .

    At least if they and the world were going out, they wanted to be able to witness how everything would end .

    As the Mercenary Club members watch the missiles whistling through the air, each of them started to hold one another¡¯s hands . They held hands as they watched the missiles heading towards their designated areas . They were afraid, even the bravest of the group was quite afraid right now, not because they could die, but because the future of not only them but the whole of humanity might end . Still, they felt a bit braver as they held the hands of each other as support .

    They watched as the four other missiles seem to be going to the north, east, south, and west respectively . Thest missile, on the other hand, kept on going upward heading beyond the clouds .

    Once it got to a certain altitude the missile exploded . The explosion was so strong that Alex and the others on the ground were almost blown away . The distance from them and the missile was quite far and they still felt the explosion from where they stood . If not for Oliver, Alex, and Niel stabbing their swords onto the ground and holding onto to the others so tightly, they would¡¯ve been blown away by the wind pressure . Some trees were actually unable to withstand the wind pressure and were broken .

    The animals that were nearby that couldn¡¯t hide properly were all blown away by the strong wind . There was even a little tsunami that happened nearby . This proved just how powerful that single explosion was .

    Still, even with all of that happening, the members of the Mercenary Club had their eyes glued to the explosion . Alex and the others were expecting something more, but overall It was weird that the explosion itself looked rather normal . Other than the strength of the explosion, it was no different than any other normal missile . These got the group feeling a bit confused as they couldn¡¯t understand how that was a biological weapon .

    How was that suppose to threaten humanity? The missile wasn¡¯t aimed at anything and simply exploded up in the sky where no one could get hurt . In fact, the only ones that got hurt by that explosion were the animals that couldn¡¯t hide and some trees . How was that something that could be a threat to humanity? Did Hektor somehow make a mistake, or was this another one of his tricks, or was this Richter¡¯s plot somehow?

    While Alex and the others were utterly confused at the moment, they didn¡¯t let their guards down . Both Richter and Hektor proved that they always had a trick up their sleeves, so this whole thing might simply be a distraction by one of them . Alex who left Richter¡¯s body inside the base wanted to check it out if something happened to it . Oliver wanted to also check on Hektor¡¯s body which they left inside the base as well .

    Yet before the two could move away from their spot, they noticed something was happening, up in the sky . Alex and the others noticed that the clouds were forming up in a rather peculiar way . The speed in which they were moving was weird to look at since clouds don¡¯t usually move in that way .

    The sky then gradually got darker and darker, the scattered clouds started to congregate suddenly bing one big cloud that covered up the sky that Alex and the others could see . Alex who was fully concentrated on watching every moment of this scene smelled something different . He wasn¡¯t sure what the smell was, but it smelled different at the same time familiar . The air then got a bit more humid, and after a few more seconds the clouds started to change color . It suddenly turned red, the moment Alex and the others saw this they quickly retreated into the now empty and partially destroyed Shadow Mercenaries base .

    As they waited for a bit, it started to rain . At first, Alex and the others thought that the rain was acidic, poisonous, or something else entirely . Alex then stretched out his hand to check it out, but when the water hit his skin, it didn¡¯t do anything it felt like any normal droplet of water . It was then therge red cloud started to change color, from red to blue, from blue to green, it changed color every minute .

    Then after a few more minutes of changing colors, the rain suddenly got heavier . Alex and the others were still a bit wary of the rain not knowing if it was really safe or not, so they retreated inside the base and continued to watch from within .

    These sequence of events wasn¡¯t what they were expecting . They were expecting something more devastating, like the missile making the air unbreathable, or at least make the rain into something acidic that could melt their skin and bones .

    "What do you think this means?" Kei asked the others .

    "Maybe, that crazy guy made a mistake? . . . Or it¡¯s possible that one of the scientists tricked him and made the missile somehow fail to hit the designated target . " Emily gave her opinion on the matter as she scratched her head .

    "I hope that¡¯s the case," Oliver said with a very worried tone .

    "So that means, we¡¯re saved?" Evangeline sighed in relief, and after that, her face turned a bit red . ¡¯Oh, no! So we aren¡¯t going to die, that means Alex knows how I feel! Will he ignore me now that he knows?! No, Alex isn¡¯t like that! Also, what am I getting all flustered for, I want Alex to know how I feel! That¡¯s right, surviving is a good thing! This way I can continue trying to get a piece of Alex¡¯s heart . ¡¯

    While Evangeline was encouraging herself, Rachel spoke to the group . "I don¡¯t think this is over . Something still doesn¡¯t feel right . Do you guys really think someone like Hektor would make that kind of mistake? Granted, today was the first time I met the man, and it wasn¡¯t really a long encounter, but the way he talked and presented himself, it made me feel that he was someone that was thorough in his nning . " Hearing what Evangeline said, Alex added his on intake on the situation .

    "Yeah, the man did say the only other person who knew of his ns was my crazy grandfather . Richter even made a failsafe just in case, that would mean that this n wasn¡¯t supposed to be this simple . There must be something we¡¯re missing . "

    The Mercenary Club members started to think, what could¡¯ve happened to the missiles, or was there another n taking ce and this was nothing more than a decoy . While they were thinking of what all of this means, Alex suddenly felt his head aching . His vision was getting a bit blurry and his ability to think straight was weakening . He then looked at the others and they seem to be exhibiting the same symptoms, Kei was already down on the ground, his breathing look to be weakening as well .

    ¡¯Damn . . it . . . ¡¯ Alex tried his hardest to move his body, as he shot himself in the leg, trying to jolt his mind awake . Yet even with that stimtion nothing happened, his mind was slowly going from conscious to unconscious . He then saw Rachel and Evangeline heading towards him, as the two extended their hands towards him . Alex grabbed their hands, Rachel with his right hand and Evangeline with his left . The moment he caught the hands of the girls they smiled at him and lost consciousness .

    Alex who could feel the beating of their hearts through their wrists felt that it was beating slower and slower . Alex could no longer keep himself awake, as he saw the others were all down . He then looked at Rachel for onest time, before everything turned dark .

 Chapter 389

    Chapter 389

    Anita, Rika, Michel, and the twins were currently in the living room having a lively conversation . While Lilitth, Niki and even Hina were outside training using the horse stance . They¡¯ve been doing it for a few minutes now, but it seems like Hina was already reaching her limit .

    Ever since Hina met Lilitth and Niki, she grew extremely fond of the two new big sisters . Still, most of the time the two big sisters were training, which made her feel left out . So she asked her new mother if she could start training as well . At first, Rika was opposed to the idea, since she believed that Hina would never need such abilities, especially with her around .

    Yet Anita and even Michel convinced Rika that Hina learning to defend herself was necessary . It took quite some effort and time to convince Rika to allow Hina to join Lilitth and Niki¡¯s training . Now that Hina started training she felt a bit more energetic . Though she wasn¡¯t particrly talented or anything, she did try her very best .

    While everyone was doing their normal everyday routine, Niki suddenly shouted something from the outside . "What¡¯s that?!" Anita and the others hearing the shout ran out to the backyard where Lilitth and the other children were training .

    They saw Niki pointing at something, as Anita and the others saw what she was pointing at they were surprised . In a distance something weird was happening, the clouds were starting to move in a very peculiar way . They then started to form into one huge cloud that covered up the sky . Anita, Michel, and Rika felt that something ominous was about to happen and guided the kids into the house . It was then the cloud suddenly turned red and it started to rain .

    At first, the adults in the room thought that it was simply a weird phenomenon, but then Rika who had the greatest sense of smell in the group noticed something different . There was a strange smell in the air . As she was about to say something to the others, Rika felt a bit groggy . This was a first for Rika, ever since she was a born most poisons do not affect her . Even if they did the effects were nothing that she couldn¡¯t handle . She was also someone who had ever gotten sick in her entire life, she was and always has been someone who beyond any normal human . So this was a first for her as she tried her hardest to keep her focus .

    She noticed that everyone else was exhibiting the same symptoms but way worse than her . When she noticed this, she quickly dashed towards her daughter Hina, who was now unconscious . She tried waking her daughter, but no matter what kind of stimtion she gave, Hina just wouldn¡¯t wake up .

    Lilitth, on the other hand, was heavily affected by the feeling of drowsiness, but she too noticed that something was different in the air, so she tried to expel whatever her lungs had intake but that proved futile, as her consciousness was slowly fading .

    Anita and the others were also having simr problems . Michel was the one who was panicking the most as the twins were already unconscious their breathing was bing a bit irregr .

    Anita who could no longer think straight, reached deep into her pockets and took out a syringe, and injected herself . This was an adrenaline injection, this was Anita¡¯sst resort if all else fails . Yet even with using herst resort, her consciousness continued to flicker from conscious to unconscious . When her consciousness was about to ckout, the only feeling she had was worry . She was worried for her friends, and their children, most of all she was also extremely worried about her unborn child . Yet despite her best efforts she couldn¡¯t hold on and fainted on the spot .

    . . .

    Anita felt her head hurt a lot, as she saw only darkness . The area within her lower abdomen felt a bit of pain, She was also a bit confused as to why it was hurting . It was then she heard a voice calling her name . "ANITA! ANITA! ANITA! ANITA!" ¡¯Why is Rika being so noisy?¡¯ Is what Anita thought as she tried to continue sleeping, but then she felt Rika shaking her a bit, which annoyed Anita .

    She then stood up and shouted at Rika, "stop shaking me!" Anita who just woke up looked at the group that was staring at her . Her memories were a bit fuzzy at first, but then she remembered what happened before she fainted . As her memories returned she felt some pain in her lower abdomen, specifically where her baby was . When she noticed this, she had no time to worry about what happened .

    "Rika, can you help me head to my clinic in the basement . " Rika who saw the serious look on Anita¡¯s face simply nodded her head and carried Anita to the basement . Michel and the children were still rather confused but followed as well .

    . . .

    When they got to the basement, the others aside from Rika and Hina, were surprised to see a fully functioning clinic . It even had thetest tools and equipment avable . Anita told Rika to get the ultrasound scanner ready for use . Rika who has been helping Anita check her unborn child was already used to this procedure .

    The procedure was quick, and Anita was able to see something weird was going on inside her body . After a more thorough check, she was shocked to learn what was truly happening to her body . There was a new organ growing within her . Not only that the position of the organ was risky as it was interfering with her unborn child . Due to the knowledge of the new organ that was growing in quite a fast pace was limited, she couldn¡¯t just remove it . So the only other option was for her to have a premature birth . If she could be a hundred percent sure that removing the new organ would not affect the child Anita would¡¯ve done it without hesitation, but due to the limited information, Anita had no choice or time .

    "Hey kids, can you please head upstairs," Anita spoke in a calm voice, in which the kids nodded Lilitth and Niki took hold of the twins as Hina followed, and left the room . Once the adults were the only ones left, Anita directly told the other two the problem she was having .

    "I need you guys to operate on me, I will guide you as you do the C section . " Rika and Michel had no time to hesitate as they could only nod their heads .

    Anita seeing their response thanked them then, she took some needles andy down on a bed . She then proceeded to pierce her body with the needles, after some time everything from below her head became numb, and she couldn¡¯t move them .

    "I disconnected myself from everything from below the head . This is so I won¡¯t move around involuntarily as you open me up . "

    "Okay Michel, I need you to make an incision in my abdomen, you need to start from below my navel . " Anita then told Michel which tools to use as Michel tried her best to do this . Michel who had no idea what she was doing simply followed Anita¡¯s instructions to the letter . Once she was done making the second incision on the lower part of Anita¡¯s uterus, Michel then ruptured the amniotic sac and delivered the baby .

    Rika was supporting Michel as she did this, which was as nerve-wracking . Rika then mped the umbilical cord and Michel was the one who cut it . Anita then told Michel to gently remove the centa, and once that was done she tightly sutured Anita¡¯s abdomen . The suture was rather good for someone who did it for the first time, this could be because Michel was not only a good fashion designer but an excellent seamstress .

    Once the procedure was done, Anita who asked Rika to remove the needles in her body, looked at her son and noticed that something was wrong . Even though her son was born prematurely, he was too inactive . Anita then asked Michel to hand over her son so that she could see if there was something wrong with him .

    ¡¯Don¡¯t you dare die on me! You¡¯re your father¡¯s son, and the son of that man would never give up!¡¯

    After a quick look, Anita was relieved to find out that everything was alright, so she quickly moved her baby into her infant incubator . Once that was done, Anita used everything in her clinic to see if there was something that had gone wrong with the birth of her baby . After a few tests, Anita noticed that her son also had the new organ that she spotted within her, but due to him being born prematurely, the organ wasn¡¯t created properly, it doesn¡¯t look like it would function the way it was supposed to . Anita was still very unsure about this new organ and had a lot of questions, still, she knew that humans never had this organ before and survived, so that¡¯s good enough for her .

    Michel and Rika who were a bit tired congratted Anita . After that Anita told Rika and Michel about the new organ . She then told them she wanted to check and see if they and the children have the same organ growing within them as well .

    When the children arrived, Anita quickly started her tests, and as she expected each one of them had the same new organ, that appeared in their lower abdomen . Not only them even the twins the youngest of them had the same new organ slowly growing in their bodies . It seems like Anita needed to wait for the organ to fully grow inside their bodies before she could test to see what it was for .

    Still, this was a weird urrence . . . Was this perhaps rted to the weird cloud she and the others saw earlier today? Will this be something bad for humanity or will it be something good, Anita didn¡¯t know .

 Chapter 390

    Chapter 390

    In the Granado Empire after everyone cked out, a huge mess came after they woke up . The people who were driving, the people who were walking at the sidewalk, and the people who were doing other normal everyday things, the moment everybody cked out numerous tragedies happened around the world . Many people died because they lost consciousness at the wrong time . The Granado Empire which was currently thergest country in the world was now burning . The people were panicking as they woke up either trapped inside copsing buildings, or they became crippled as they woke being crushed by something . Most of them weren¡¯t even able to wake up since they died when they lost consciousness .

    Even the people who woke up safely in their homes and had no visible injuries felt some kind of pain in their lower abdomens . This happening after that weird event where the clouds started changing color, made the citizens of the Granado Empire very anxious and confused .

    If that wasn¡¯t enough all throughout the world, the animals have started changing, even some of the trees and rocks were bing different . There were even reports of sightings of pigmen,rge men with pig faces that resembled fantasy creatures like orcs . There were even reports of some more fantastical creatures like minotaurs, and centaurs, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere . The orc-like creatures, as well as the minotaurs, were extremely hostile to humans . While some creatures that looked like dogmen were rather docile, only some of them have been spotted attacking humans .

    Others im that those things didn¡¯t just suddenly appear, that these creatures were the former animals turned into monsters . Others im that not all of them changed the same way, for example, a farmer who was able to escape and report in a nearby police station, imed that he saw the pigs changing once he woke up . Some of the pigs became pigmen the things that looked like orcs, while some of them simply tripled in size but remained looking like normal pigs, while others suddenly gained spiky looking bodies . He even saw some pigs breathe fire like dragons . The same reports were being reported all over the world .

    The scariest report was that some people saw a giant shaped shadow flying through the skies . They imed that this shadow of the creature they saw was the size of twenty football stadiums .

    Almost every country after hearing these reports immediately sent men to farming areas, zoos, and other ces with wild animals near the city . As for the being in the sky, the countries decided that if it doesn¡¯t attack they shouldn¡¯t bother it for now . Some of them didn¡¯t want to believe such arge monster existed . It was a scary time as some of the animals started to eat humans . You could actually hear some people saying that it was the end of humanity .

    . . .

    While the chaos was happening all around the world, the Emperor of the Granado Empire was also receiving simr reports, but instead of helping his citizens and backing out from the war . The Emperor had other ideas . He thought that since this event was happening all around the world, it was obviously giving trouble to the enemy countries of the Southern Union, and Berdonia too . This was the perfect opportunity for an all-out attack .

    If they attacked now while everyone in the world was panicking from the monsters, victory was practically in the palm of Granado Empire¡¯s hands . When the Emperor told his advisers his brilliant n, most of them advised to not follow through with such a n .

    "Sire, if you go and do this, without protecting our people andnd first, then even if we conquer Berdonia and the Southern Union, the Empire wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on and will be destroyed from the inside . Even if we somehow survive this ordeal, the people of our Empire will likely revolt out of anger . "

    Some of the more militaristic advisers argued against those who didn¡¯t like to attack at this opportune moment .

    "What cowardly things you people are saying . Our people, the people of the Granado Empire, aren¡¯t as weak as you think . Monsters that look like they came out of fantasy novels, heh . " The man spat before he continued talking . "If any of our people die in the hands of such monsters, then it was their fault for being weak . This is a great time to cull the lives of all those weaklings while taking care of our enemies as well . "

    The Emperor¡¯s advisers continued arguing, until the Emperor mmed his hand onto the table, making everyone stop talking . "Fine, I have heard your opinions . We shall send out the minimum number of men to quell the citizens¡¯ unrest and deal with those so-called monsters . The majority of our forces will make a final strike on the capital of Berdonia . To make sure that this n seeds I will personally join the battle . Also, I want you to prepare the railguns . "

    After the Emperor gave out his order, the people present had no other option but to follow . As they were about to disperse a messenger entered the meeting room . He bowed in front of the Emperor and silently approached him and spoke in a loud voice so that everyone could hear .

    "Sire, the monsters have entered the inner pce, and are eating the soldiers stationed here . Please evacuate immediately . " When the people present heard that the monsters were inside the pce, and were even eating the soldiers they couldn¡¯t help but start panicking and wanted to retreat immediately . Yet they couldn¡¯t do that in the presence of the Emperor .

    "How many are these monsters? Where did theye from?" The Emperor remained calm even in such a situation which in turn made everyone else feel calm .

    "There are hundreds of them, the specific numbers can¡¯t be determined . As for where they came from, it is spected that they came from the mountain near the pce . "

    "Ask for reinforcements, everyone else should retreat to-" The Emperor wasn¡¯t able to finish what he was about to say as he suddenly exploded . The people present were first stunned, when they finally registered what happened in their brains, the people who saw their Emperor blow up started to panic .

    . . .

    In an extremely secure room that was unknown to anyone else aside from the people who built it and the person who had it made, unfortunately, the people who built it have all died mysterious deaths and the only person who knows of its existence was sitting inside the room watching numerous monitors .

    This person was none other than, the Emperor of the Granado Empire . The Emperor who was watching the monitors was actually monitoring his clones movements, but to his surprise, all his clones have exploded at the exact same time . Not one remained, even those that were in theb have exploded . This was obviously an attack by someone, fortunately, none of those were the real him, and the killer would never find him . He just needed to create new clones and all will be well .

    As he was thinking about who was capable enough to figure out the locations of all his clones, the Emperor heard someone whisper in his ears .

    "The Shadow hase for you . " Those were thest words the Emperor of the Granado Empire ever heard as death came to him .

    Shadow who had sessfully killed his target looked at the now dead Emperor and spoke to the dead body . "As was said, Shadows never die . . . The deed has been done, all that face the Shadow have only one fate and that is death . "

    The new Shadow almost failed this mission, as he too fainted when the clouds arrived . He even fainted during his infiltration of this room . It was a good thing that everyone else had fainted almost at the exact same time . Shadow was lucky that he woke up before the Emperor who was in this room regained consciousness . Once he was inside and had confirmed that the one in the room was the original Emperor, Shadow activated all the bombs he nted on the different clones he found . Once he was sure that none of the clones survived he proceeded to kill the Emperor¡¯s original body .

    "Uncle the deed has been done, I hope you¡¯re having a fun time in Valha . " Shadow for a moment reverted to his former self, looked upward closed his eyes and reported the sess of the mission to his uncle, Sayaka¡¯s father, the former Shadow . Once he was done doing that his figure faded away from the room .

 Chapter 391

    Chapter 391

    The Mutsu n is one of the finding ns of Berdonia, they were a family of assassins that worked directly for the Emperor of the Granado Empire . When the Greyhounds convinced the two ve brothers that wouldter be known as the founder of Berdonia to revolt, the Greyhounds knew that the ves even with their help wouldn¡¯t really be able to do much . So through some secret maneuverings here and there, the Greyhounds were able to get the Mutsus to help .

    Though the Mutsu n were a n of assassins, they still had their own morals that they upheld . Unfortunately for them, their master at the time was the Emperor of the Granado Empire, who back then didn¡¯t really care about any of those so-called morals . The old Emperor would usually order the Mutsu¡¯s to kill any noble family that was suspected of simply thinking about revolting . Some of those noble families were innocent, but that didn¡¯t matter to the Emperor, for as long as there was an inkling of suspicion they were erased .

    The Emperor even ordered them to kill innocent children that he feared would grow too powerful . The Mutsus didn¡¯t want to do all of these evil deeds, but they were bound to the Emperor, and they had nowhere else to go . When the Greyhounds gave them a way out, they dly took it .

    With their knowledge of the ins and outs of the Empire and the positioning of all the soldiers, they were able to sessfully escape with several thousands of ves . As a final act of loyalty to their former master, they decided not to kill the Emperor even though they could¡¯ve killed him anytime they wanted .

    From then on the Mutsus became free, but still, they kept to the darkness . They supported Berdonia in the darkness . They continued their business as an assassin family and took a coverup business which was creating masks and they were also doll makers .

    Now that they were free from anyone¡¯s control they started choosing jobs that would benefit the people . They only epted targets that were deemed extremely evil . They continued to do the heartless job of killing for the greater good, for the next several hundred years .

    . . .

    The Mutsu n even after their separation from the Empire, were still and forever will remain as the greatest, the strongest assassin family to ever exist, and the reason for that is because of one being, Shadow .

    To the outside world, to those who knew the true face of the Mutsus, Shadow was the immortal leader of the Mutsu n . He was the feared assassin that could never die and has never failed to kill his target, he was the perfect assassin

    Yet the truth was, Shadow, was simply the title given to all the heads of the Mutsu n . When the old Shadow nears his death, he is reced by the strongest of the younger generation . Then once the new Shadow is chosen, he is given the right to gain all of the true techniques of the Mutsu .

    Back in the olden days, the head of the Mutsu n, Shadow would write in a scroll, in that scroll was all of his experiences . In that scroll, he would write all the techniques he has ever created . He would also write down his own understanding on the art of assassination . When the next Shadow is chosen he is given the scroll and is then given a few years to learn all the abilities within it .

    When he bes the Shadow, he too would add content to the scrolls, but during an emergency for when the former Shadow dies in the middle of a mission and fails to kill the target, the next Shadow is supposed to kill the target first before he¡¯s to learn the secrets within the scrolls . Of course, he is given some of the basic techniques of the Shadow, before he is sent to finish the mission of the previous one . This was done so that the people wouldn¡¯t think that Shadow actually died . Making the new Shadow finish the mission just adds to the myth of immortality .

    This was the system of the Mutsu n for a few hundred years . The system changed in the age of technology, the Mutsus had incorporated the use of technology in the art of assassination . It was also because of this that the passing of knowledge to the new Shadow was made easier .

    The Mutsus created a device that stores memories . To whoever is chosen as the new Shadow, he or she can ess the device . Once the device is used all the knowledge of all the previous Shadows are forcefully passed down to the new one . It is in that moment the former person that he or she was before bing Shadow is supposedly erased . This is the reason why every subsequent Shadow is stronger than before . This also gave birth to another legend of Shadow, that his strength greatly increases every time he dies .

    With this strength, the Mutsu n became the literal monster under the bed . This then gave birth to the saying, when the Shadow arrives only death follows .

 Chapter 392

    Chapter 392

    Alex who lost consciousness was finally waking up . He still felt a bit tired and groggy as he slowly opened his eyes . The first thing he noticed upon waking up was that he was holding onto Rachel and Evangeline¡¯s hands . He then slowly remembered what happened before he lost consciousness . Alex quickly stood up and checked the surrounding area, Alex was surprised in what he saw .

    Everyone was still unconscious on the floor, and they were still inside the Shadow Mercenaries base . The surprising part was that the base was now covered with vines, and the walls of the base looked like they aged centuries .

    Alex started scanning the area and looking at the walls more closely . No matter how he looked at it, everything looked like they turned ancient . Alex couldn¡¯t go far in this situation since he still needed to protect the bodies of his friends until they woke up . He tried waking them up forcefully but nothing seems to work . It was a good thing that their heart rates and breathing were all normal, else Alex would¡¯ve thought they were dead .

    After a few more minutes of waiting, Emily was the first to wake up among the others . When she woke up she looked around confused, then she spotted Alex, and then she saw the othersying down on the ground unconscious . The memories of how she fainted came back to her and as she saw the vines covering the base, and noticed how the walls of the base looked ancient, Emily suddenly got excited . No longer able to contain herself, Emily suddenly screamed surprising Alex .

    "Did it finally happen?! Was I finally able to transport into another world?! Or is it possible was I sent into the future?! Have we slept for hundreds of years, and retained our bodies, and when we woke up we came into a post-apocalyptic world?! Either way, I¡¯m cool with it! SO AWESOME!"

    Emily even in such a situation, instead of being confused and scared, she was actually happy and excited . She then approached Alex and started barraging him with questions .

    "How long have you been awake? Has it been a hundred years? Have we be immortals? Did you protect us for so long? Or did we get transported into another world, and you just came back after going on a hunt? Tell me everything you know!"

    Emily was so excited she was practically drooling at this point . Alex was as usual overwhelmed by her passion .

    "I haven¡¯t done any real recon yet . I just woke up a few minutes before you . "

    "What the?! Then should I go, should I go?!" Emily was getting even more excited as she wanted to sprint outside and see what was happening .

    "I don¡¯t really think that¡¯s a good idea . We don¡¯t know what happened after that event . We aren¡¯t even sure if it¡¯s safe outside . So I think we all should go outside together . . . Also don¡¯t you feel that as well, that slight pain in your lower abdomen . "

    Emily who heard what Alex said, finally noticed that there was indeed an irritating feelinging from her lower abdomen . Due to them having an extreme amount of pain tolerance if they don¡¯t actually try to feel it they wouldn¡¯t even notice it .

    "What is this? Were we hurt while we were asleep? Also, how did you know that my lower abdomen was hurting as well?" Hearing Emily¡¯s question Alex tilted his head in confusion and answered .

    "When I woke up, after scanning the area the next course of action was to check the situation of my body . From there I found out about the pain in my lower abdomen . After a short while you woke up, and as you were moving around I noticed that your body was bending a bit lower than usual . Even if you don¡¯t notice the pain, it¡¯s still there and your body was reacting to it . That¡¯s how I know that you¡¯re experiencing the same pain as I . . . Isn¡¯t that supposed to be obvious?"

    Seeing Alex looked genuinely confused made Emily facepalm . "Of course, I shouldn¡¯t be surprised since it¡¯s you . "

    "Huh, what do you mean?" Emily didn¡¯t bother answering Alex anymore, as the others were now waking up as well . Oliver was the next one to wake up, followed by Niel and Sayaka, then Rachel, then Evangeline and finally Kei .

    Oliver almost had the exact same reaction as Emily when he woke up . The two of them then started to excitedly talk about their predicament . They began giving out different theories, most of them being things that they read in light novels and saw in anime .

    "Now that we¡¯re all awake, I want to ask, does everyone have the same pain in their lower abdomens?" Alex questioned in which everyone responded with a yes .

    "That¡¯s rather worrying, we could check the clinic inside the base to see if the equipment is still working . With those, we could see what¡¯s exactly happening inside our bodies . " The others simply followed Alex¡¯s lead as they tried to head to the clinic of the base .

    . . .

    As the group was moving inside the base, they noticed that the vines were getting thicker as they headed deeper into the base . Seeing as the clinic was near Richter¡¯s office, they needed to walk for quite a bit . As they moved forward, the group noticed something weird, the dead bodies that were all over the ce were no longer there instead there were only vines left in their ce .

    Each one of them felt a little bit ufortable as they had so many questions but no one was there to answer them . When the group was finally near the clinic they noticed that the inner garden area where the Shadow Mercenaries kept their nts was where the vines seem to be the thickest .

    The group was curious enough to want to know what the source of the vines was and cautiously headed towards the inner garden . As they got closer they could hear the sound of someone munching . When they were about to reach the area, they suddenly heard Kei and Emily screaming .

    The group turned around to see what was happening and saw a vine had grasped Kei¡¯s legs and was pulling him towards the inner garden . Emily, on the other hand, was trying her hardest to pull Kei away from danger . Oliver who was the nearest to them pulled out his sword and cut the vines . Once he was released from the vines, Kei took some distance and became even warier of the vines .

    "What the hell was that?!" As Kei shouted that, the door to the inner garden started to crack, and from there arge looking nt came out . The vines that were all around started to enclose on the group, as they saw the true face of the nt that came out from the inner garden . It had a vague shape of something that had four legs . The supposed legs seem to be made out of thick vines, the head area which the group designated as such seeing as it had something shaped like a mouth, looked to be sprouting mushrooms . While the part that looked like a mouth had teeth made out of wood .

    What made the main body of the creature were numerous other nts, but the group also noticed that there were human heads inside the body of the creature . The moment they saw this creature everyone took out their weapons and tried escaping from the vines as they started shooting .

    "Did we really get transported into another world?!" Even in such a situation Emily excitedly screamed .

 Chapter 393

    Chapter 393

    Alex wanted to use RELEASE but for some reason, his body¡¯s anatomy seems to have changed and the technique could no longer be used the same way . Alex first needed to figure out what was different, to be able to make adjustments and use RELEASE . For now, there was no possible way to check as they were in the middle of a life and death situation .

    This made things a bit more difficult since the nt monster was hard to deal with . It had an ability that was simr to Richter¡¯s nanomachines as all the wounds inflicted upon it will quickly close as it simply grows it back . Also unlike Richter, this monster has no known vitals making attacking using a gun pretty pointless . Cutting it down using swords seems to work better, but after you cut one part another one sprouts .

    "This is so awesome! It¡¯s like a monster from an RPG!" Emily who was shing away using abat knife while dodging was in a super-excited state . It wasn¡¯t only her who was excited .

    "This is the same as that hard to kill monster in the game I was ying recently!" Oliver was also having fun at the situation that was basically a life or death situation .

    "A monster that looks like it came out of a fantasy novel, how delightful! I need to think of new ways to fight!" Niel was trying all kinds of attacks as he happily said those words .

    It was a very weird situation as those three were smiling happily while trying to kill the monster before them . On the other hand, the other members of the Mercenary Club found the nt monster quite troublesome . So while the three were distracting the nt monster, Alex approached Rachel .

    "Rachel, can you use RELEASE?"

    "No, I¡¯ve been trying to use it since the moment I saw that monster but I just can¡¯t . "

    While the two were talking they finally reached the area where they wanted to be . They were currently in the weapon storage room of the Shadow Mercenary base . Though the weapon storage room was now a bit broken down, there were still weapons avable for use .

    Alex and the others took every grenade that they could find and tossed it at the nt monster . Once the grenades exploded in its face the nt monster was blown to pieces . Everyone was sure that it died, but then with only a quarter of its body left, the nt monster started to regenerate .

    It was then Alex saw a weapon he could use at the corner of his eye . He immediately dashed towards it and upon picking it up he shouted, "Everyone step aside!" Once it was all clear Alex used the methrower he got .

    This time the nt monster was burning rather nicely, and after Alex used all the fuel left in the methrower, the nt monster turned into nothing but ashes . Once the threat was gone, the group except for the excited three felt relieved .

    "What was that! Of course, the weakness is fire?! Doy, I forgot the most basic of basics, I guess I really was too excited . Well, whatever so how about we talk about that thing we just fought . " Emily energetically started the conversation .

    "It¡¯s a monster created by fusing numerous nt life . Do you think this is one of the Shadow Mercenaries research subject?" Rachel responded seriously to Emily¡¯s question .

    "Is it possible that we really got transported to another world?" Oliver chimed in as well .

    "No, it¡¯s more likely that this is a result of the missile Hektorunched . " Alex gave his own opinion on the matter . When the others heard what Alex said, his conclusion felt more realistic . After Alex said that, he suddenly remembered that the base didn¡¯t just have one inner garden, it had four more . If that creature was created by numerous nts, it was possible that that the others have be such creatures as well .

    Alex then told others about his hypothesis, and they quickly got some weapons from the weapon storage room and escaped . They didn¡¯t want to encounter another one of those creatures while they no longer had anything to burn it down with .

    Once they got outside they were surprised by the scenery they saw . The trees have be taller, and in the skies, they saw strange-looking birds that they have never encountered before . The birds above seem to be the same size as an adult human .

    Not only that from a distance they could see a huge mountain moving . The first thing Alex did upon seeing such a sight was to check the surrounding area, Niel did the same, while the others were rooted on the spot amazed and confused by the sight they saw .

    "It really is another world!" Emily and even Oliver shouted in unison . As they were about to get really excited, Alex spoke .

    "We¡¯re not in a different world . You see this," Alex showed some marking on a nearby tree . "This is something I did when we were watching the missile fly upwards . Also, look at the ground," Alex then dug a bit and the bodies of the dead Shadow Mercenary agents appeared .

    "Like I said a while ago, this is most likely the effect of those missiles . " As if on cue the moment Alex said this, they heard the sound of hissing, the group then went into a tight circle formation as they tried to pin point the location of the hissing . Then from beyond the trees, they saw something slithering towards them .

    When it came into full view it turned out to be a snake, a veryrge snake . The snake raised its head and towered over Alex¡¯s group . Its length was immeasurable at this point, but its thickness could bepared to a bear . Actually, when looking at it properly it looked like a dragon, one of those wingless ones you sometimes see in fantasy .

    It looked at them with cat-like eyes and hissed showing its ratherrge tongue that seems to be as big as Kei . It looked like it was intimidating them ready to eat its snack . Alex and the others were ready for a battle, but then from behind them, another enemy appeared . Two more nt monster emerged from the base . They were now literally caught between a rock and a hard ce .

    Alex who was unable to use RELEASE and didn¡¯t know if guns and swords work on the giant snake felt a lot of pressure . Of course, it wasn¡¯t only him who was feeling that pressure everyone else was feeling the same thing . They were already ready to die when the missiles wereunched, only to surviveter . They thought that they had passed the crisis but turns out there was more waiting for them .

    As the group was thinking of what to do, the giant snake suddenly moved in for the kill . WIth how big its jaw was it could probably eat three of them at once . The moment it struck, Alex was able to pull Evangeline and Rachel to safety . Oliver was able to pull Kei, while Niel pulled Emily to safety .

    After missing its target the giant snake collided with one of the n monsters . The snake couldn¡¯t fully put the nt monster into its mouth, as the nt monster started to expand, and used its vines to entangle the head of the snake . The remaining nt monster then fused with the nt monster being eaten, making them turn evenrger . The nt monster was doing its utmost struggling to break out of the jaws of the giant snake, while the giant snake was trying its hardest devour the nt monster .

    Alex and the others who were watching this scene had the same thoughts . ¡¯The world has truly changed . . . Hasn¡¯t it . . . ¡¯

 Chapter 394

    Chapter 394

    As Alex and the others were watching the two monsters fight, Alex started to notice something different . His senses ever since he broke free from the shackles of human limitation was heightened to the extreme, but right now he was feeling something more .

    Alex could somehow feel the ground beneath his feet felt like it had a beating heart . He could also somehow hear something whispering in the wind . It felt like he was bing one with the various elements in the world . It was like he could perceive something more, something unknown . He wasn¡¯t sure but he felt that there was a deeper meaning to what he was feeling right now . He wanted to know more about this new condition of his, but as he was thinking about what to do next, two more nt monsters emerged from the base .

    ¡¯That¡¯s right there were five inner gardens in that base!¡¯ Alex couldn¡¯t help but shout in his mind . The nt monsters were heading towards them, but as they approached, something weird happened . Rachel who was silent all this while suddenly charged forward . Alex and the others were surprised to see her do this .

    Alex was quick to react as he wanted to support Rachel, but then he felt something was weird . Rachel was emitting steam, with his enhance eyesight Alex could see that the steam wasing from the pores on Rachel¡¯s skin .

    Rachel who was literally steaming right now was face to face with one of the nt monsters . She then went into a fighting stance . As she was about to punch the nt monster, Alex wanted to stop her but then he saw something amazing happen next .

    Rachel¡¯s body was suddenly covered in mes, her hands her legs were emitting heat that was above the methrower Alex used to kill the first nt monster . He wasn¡¯t even that close to Rachel but he could still feel the heat she was emitting . Alex who could somehow sense the origin of Rachel¡¯s mes knew that the mes Rachel was emitting were not simr to the mes you create when you light a match .

    The nt monster who was about to entangle Rachel with its vines, had its vines burn before they could even reach Rachel . Seeing what happened to the vines, the nt monster wanted to retreat but Rachel was faster, as she was able to stop the nt monster with a punch .

    Rachel¡¯s fist had pierced through the nt monster, as its final struggle the nt monster tried to devour Rachel, but before it could do anything Rachel¡¯s mes burst forth enveloping it . The intensity of the mes was able to devour the nt monster whole until it turned into nothing more than ashes blown away by the wind .

    After that was done Alex wanted to ask Rachel what happened to her, but then he stopped and turn to look behind him . Unlike the intense heat, Rachel emitted this time Alex felt a biting cold from behind him . When he looked he saw that the other nt monster was slowly being encased in ice .

    Alex and the others forgot about the other nt monster as they were distracted by Rachel¡¯s abnormality . This time it was Evangeline who was showcasing her new ability . Evangeline was holding onto one of the nt monster¡¯s vines as it started to freeze .

    Evangeline was like Rachel also emitting something supernatural . The area around her was turning into ice, and she herself was exuding an aura of below zero temperature . Once she was done freezing the nt monster, she gently tapped on the ice-encased nt monster breaking it apart .

    After that, the freezing aura Evangeline was emitting disappeared . Alex then looked at Rachel who was approaching him and noticed that the burning feeling she was releasing was no longer there .

    The first to react to this new piece of information was, of course, the most excited one in the group Emily .

    "WHAT WAS THAT?! That was awesome! Did you guys gain superpowers, or did you two turn into magical girls?! So how did you guys know that you¡¯re able to do that?! Can I do it too, or is my ability going to be different?" Emily started to cling onto Rachel and Evangeline as she excitedly asks numerous questions .

    "I don¡¯t understand it myself, using this new ability felt really natural . It¡¯s¡¯ like when you use your eyes to see things, you don¡¯t actually need to fully understand how your eyes work to be able to use them . It¡¯s that kind of feeling . " Rachel answered while trying to think of a better way to exin her current situation .

    "As for me, at first it felt like my insides were about to start to freeze over . I had this overwhelming feeling that I want to freeze something, and after I did so, this unknown power was able to seemingly calm down . After calming down a bit, I could somehow understand some basic things regarding the ability simply by feeling it . " Evangeline gave her own take on the subject .

    "So it¡¯s all about feeling, then I just need to concentrate and I¡¯ll get to see what kind of superpower I got . I hope to get something like ck mes from hell, or a power that lets me summon spirits . I¡¯ll even dly take a power that makes me transform into a magical girl!" Emily was getting excited by the second .

    "I wonder what my ability will be like . . . Please, please, please, let it be something cool . " Oliver started to pray, even though he was acting like the old James Bourne while battling inside the base, once he saw the world changing before his eyes he reverted into being the old Oliver Minx .

    As everyone was getting excited to know what kind of power they had, Alex felt something was weird . Based on what he saw and what he heard from Rachel and Evangeline¡¯s exnation, they only had one ability . Yet Alex felt like he could do something simr to what Rachel and Evangeline did albeit a weaker version .

    "I think I could also do the same thing as Rachel and Evangeline . . . I¡¯m not sure but I think I can also summon mes and ice, but rtively weaker than those shown by Rachel and Evangeline . Actually, I feel like I could also use the earth and the wind as well . " Kei chimed in, and what he said surprised everyone else, but Alex the most . He and Kei had a simr feeling, but what did that mean?

    Alex wasn¡¯t able to continue processing this new piece of information, as he noticed that the fight between the giant snake and therge nt monster was ending . The giant snake was able to devour the nt monster whole, and once it was done killing it, the giant snake once again shifted its attention towards Alex¡¯s group .

    Unlike a while ago when they didn¡¯t know what to do with the giant snake, Rachel and Evangeline bravely step forward in front of Alex .

    "What are you guys doing?" Alex looked at the two with confusion and worry . The two girls nodded at each other and then smiled at Alex .

    "I won¡¯t always be your damsel in distress . So stay there and watch me deal with the problem . " After Rachel said that she activated her ability and covered herself with mes .

    "She¡¯s right, please let us do this . " Evangeline agreed with Rachel as she too activated her ability, making her body emit an ice-cold aura, and on her left hand, she created a pseudo-sword made of pure hardened ice .

    "This time it¡¯s our turn to protect you!" The two girls who love Alex so much, spoke in sync, as they happily faced the enemy before them .

 Chapter 395

    Chapter 395

    A handsome young man with a sharp look was stepping outside a very huge mansion . He was wearing a high school uniform, a red zer over a white polo with a red tie with ck pants and wearing expensive-looking ck leather shoes, which just made him look even more cool, this young man was Alexander Samarita the son of the most wealthy man in Berdonia Carlo Samarita .

    He was a young man that was homeschooled since the beginning of his education, but now he was forced by his father to attend a local public high school . His father imed that this was part of his training as the next head of the Samarita household . He was also told by his father that this was his chance to interact with kids his age and make some friends . Also as while he was attending school, his allowance was going to be limited as he tries to blend in with the other students . Of course, he was expected not to rely on the family name while he¡¯s attending school .

    He was also required to walk to school, and if he so chooses he could use a bike . With so many rules ced on him, Alex couldn¡¯t help but sigh as he headed to the gate of his house . As he was walking towards the gate he heard a cute little voice shout behind him .

    "Onii-sama!" A girl with long ck hair who had heterochromatic eyes, one of her eyes was blue while the other was golden colored came running towards him . Her overall look made her seem inhuman, as she looked like a walking, talking doll . This girl was Alex¡¯s little sister Lilitth Samarita .

    Lilitth who was running towards her brother and tackled him . Alex caught the little girl in his arms, in which Lilitth responded by hugging Alex tightly .

    "Onii-sama, don¡¯t leave Lilitth behind . Please bring Lilitth with you! Please, onii-sama!" Lilitth hugged Alex even tighter . As Alex was about to persuade Lilitth, a maid from the mansion came out and tried to convince Lilitth toe with her .

    "Lilitth-ojou-sama, Alexander-sama is going to school now, pleasee back inside . "

    "No! I want to go with onii-sama!" Alex then pulled his sister away from him and put her down . She patted the little girl¡¯s head and said with a smile, "Lilitth, you need to be a good girl and stay here . It¡¯s not like I¡¯m noting back, you just need to wait for me like the good girl you are . I¡¯m sure that my little sister, is a very good girl and won¡¯t be stubborn and head back inside . "

    Lilitth had her head down as she pouted . She was really weak to her big brother when he keeps on saying good girl this and good girl that . Plus when she saw her big brother smile like that, she couldn¡¯t continue acting spoiled . She lifted her head and nodded at her big brother .

    "Alright onii-sama, Lilitth¡¯s a good girl, Lilitth will listen to onii-sama . " Alex once again patted the cute little girl¡¯s head and looked at the maid .

    "Take care of her, alright . " Seeing the young master talk to her with a smiling face, made the young maid blush .

    "Of course Alexander-sama!" ¡¯If it¡¯s for you I will do anything!¡¯ The young maid then bowed her head, in which Alex simply nodded in acknowledgment, before he left the premise .

    "Have a safe trip onii-sama!"

    . . .

    Alex who was dyed by his little sister, as well as getting lost for a bit since this was his first time heading to that school on foot, was about to bete . Which made Alex start sprinting towards the school . Alex who was sprinting had reached an intersection, and out of nowhere a girl who was running appeared from the corner of a street . He wasn¡¯t able to stop himself on time and was about to bump into the girl, but before it happened Alex noticed that he was lifted into the air and he was thrownnding on his buttocks .

    Alex who was surprised by the sequence of events heard a voice from behind him . "Hey, watch where you¡¯re going . You almost hit me!" Alex stood up as he turned around to argue back, but was instead stunned into silence, as he saw a beautiful girl with long ck hair, that was tied in two messy low pigtails . She had a fringe just above her blue eyes, her body was fair and slim . She seems to be exuding an almost haughty aura .

    Alex was stunned for a moment, even though he was used to seeing beautiful women, he was still slightly surprised by the girl¡¯s standard . The girl was wearing a red zer, a red ribbon tie, and a blue skirt barely reaching her knees . She was wearing the same uniform as him, meaning she was a girl who goes to Cromer¡¯s public high school .

    The girl, noticing Alex staring at her so intently made her smile . She was already used to guys looking at her like that . "Why are you staring at me, have you been captivated by my beauty?"

    Alex hearing what the other party said while looking haughty made him feel a bit irritated . Who was he, he was Alexander Samarita, what kind of beauty hasn¡¯t he seen, this girl acts as if she was hot stuff . Even though deep inside he knew that he was really stunned by her beauty, but still, he didn¡¯t really like that haughty attitude .

    "No, I wasn¡¯t, I was just wondering what kind of girl could act so high and mighty after appearing out of nowhere and throwing a person to the ground . Well, after hearing you talk, and thinking so highly of yourself, I kinda understand . " Alex smirked and then shrugged his shoulders .

    Seeing his reaction pissed off the girl, "Oh, such nice words from a wimp that gets thrown by a girl . Not only did you not apologize for almost hitting me, but you¡¯re also so insecure that you¡¯re making it sound like it¡¯s my fault . "

    "Well, of course, it was your fault, for running without looking . As for you throwing me, it doesn¡¯t really bother me, you do look like a gori so no surprises there . " Alex was lying when he said that, he actually thought that the girl was a true beauty, but because they already started insulting each other, he couldn¡¯t help but say what he said .

    "G-g-g-g-g-g-g-GORILLA! Who are you calling a gori!" The girl started screaming at Alex and started stomping her foot angrily . Alex couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at the childish behavior the girl was showing, in which he responded by pointing at the girl .

    "You, aren¡¯t you a gori? Don¡¯t you even know your own species?" Alex spoke in a matter of fact tone which irritated the girl even more . The girl was about to say something, but then the two of them heard a bell ringing .

    "Damn it! I¡¯m going to bete! You¡¯re in luck this time, but the next time I see you, you¡¯re going to get a good scolding!" After saying that without waiting for Alex to respond, the girl sprinted away, she was so quick that her silhouette could already be seen in the distance .

    Alex was about to follow after, but then he saw an orange wallet, with some cat stickers on it . Alex picked up the wallet and checked what¡¯s inside . He saw a school Id, and it was a picture of the girl he just met . Rachel Regius, Cromer public high school, 1st year .

    ¡¯So she was the same year as me . Rachel Regius . . . She¡¯s fun to tease and quite interesting . Maybe studying in a public high school won¡¯t be so bad after all . ¡¯ Alex smiled as he sprinted towards the school .

 Chapter 396

    Chapter 396: 396

    In the underground clinic of Anita¡¯s, the group continued to do some minor tests regarding the new organ . At the beginning, nothing was happening, but after a few more tests something started to manifest . The first one to manifest a special ability was Michel, she could manifest a construct of objects . It would seem that she could manifest anything that she has a basic understanding of, and the deeper her understanding of the object the stronger and better the object was . An example was she could manifest a closet with the exact same build and shape as the original since she knew the exact details of its construction and the materials used . Then if she manifested some money, the money would look fake, since Michel was unsure of the materials and process in which the object was created, simply put she had a shallow knowledge regarding the object in question .

    Still, that wasn¡¯t a problem, since the best thing about this ability was forbat . Michel was not only a seamstress but also a cksmith . All the weapons she uses have been made by her from scratch . Michel was called the woman with a thousand weapons that¡¯s because she does have a thousand weapons, but also because she can use all kinds of weapons . Michel might not be as good as Tanya with a spear, nor as good as Ryu with a sword, but she was still high up there in all those arts, she was a jack of all trades master of none type of fighter . She made up for this weakness by having all sorts of weapons and dealing with the situation flexibly . Now that she could manifest her weapons out of nowhere her fighting ability had risen by a whole lot .

    The next to manifest her ability was Lilitth, the little girl¡¯s abilities were quite different from Michel¡¯s . Michel¡¯s ability was a one type kind of ability, but Lilitth¡¯s was more versatile . You could pretty much call her ability [magic] . Lilitth could summon mes, a de of wind, a block of earth, control water, and even call forth a little bit of electricity . After a closer inspection, Anita noticed that Lilitth was actually controlling the atoms in the air . She was unable to do some things with atoms, but for some reason, she was able to use the four elements of wind, water, earth, and fire better than the other things . Lilitth herself couldn¡¯t understand too much about the process of how her powers function, but for some reason, she felt like she could improve it further .

    Niki also had a simr power that could bend thews of the world which was also practically [magic], but her output didn¡¯t show as any element known to man . Her power manifested like those energy beams in anime, it was as if she was drawing power into herself . Once the power gathered, she could either use it to physically enhance herself or release it as a powerful projectile . She could also do other things with it, but she couldn¡¯t understand how to . She also feels like she could do the same thing as Lilitth, but she needed a better understanding of the elements to perform the same thing .

    Actually Lilitth was also able to do the same thing as Niki but found it easier to use for ack of a better term, the [elemntal spells] . It would seem that to be able to use these so-called spells, a person needed to have a basic understanding of how that element worked .

    Hina also manifested a supernatural power and it was one type kind of ability like Michel¡¯s . Hina was able to control and move earth, the soil, the very ground itself was made into a weapon . Unlike Lilitth¡¯s control over earth, Hina¡¯s ability was much more profound, and seem easier to use . Lilitth needed to understand the basic principles of gravity, theposition of the soil, and other such things to make arge rock appear . Hina, on the other hand, could do the same without any of the knowledge, and the rock was even bigger than what Lilitth created . Her power using earth was on a whole other leaguepared to Lilitth¡¯s .

    Rika also gained an ability and it was quite a fearsome ability to have in this modern age . Rika could control and create electricity . Coupled with her innate abilities, she just turned into someone even stronger than before . Still, Lilitth could do the same, butpared to Rika¡¯s version Lilitth¡¯s was just a tiny spark . Rika was unsure of how strong her electric base attacks would be, but she was sure that it would be very destructive .

    The twin¡¯s new organs hasn¡¯t fully developed yet so they wouldn¡¯t be able to manifest any powers . Finally, Anita¡¯s ability was also a one kind type of ability . She gained the ability to [heal] just like an RPG priest, she was able to use a skill called [heal] . Anita also instinctively understood that if she uses hear [heal] ability numerous times, it would probably level up and grow into a stronger version of [heal] . It was a weird feeling, to gain a basic understanding of these abilities base on instinct alone . Anita knew that she would need to look into this even further if she wanted to gain a better understanding of these things .

    For now, based on her current data, this is what Anita found out . The new organ had given them different forms of powers . Anita categorized the powers, with [Ability] and [Magic] . [Ability] were the distinct powers, a one of kind type of ability that seems to be special to each individual . Next was [Magic] like [Ability] these power also has numerous subcategories . [Elemental] and [Energy gathering], there might be more, but for now, these were the only ones Anite knew of . It also seems that each individual of the [Magic] category could do the same things, but each one seems to have a specific specialty .

    It was also observed that the [Ability] users have a much higher destructive power, while the [Magic] user had a wider range of powers but much weakerpared to the [Ability] users . Also based on what Anita heard from how the others described the feeling they got from their powers, both [Ability] and [Magic] users had the chance to be much stronger, but the way to increase their strength seems to be different for each person .

    All of these things stated in Anita¡¯s research are names that were subject to change . Anita decided to use these terms since it was easier for other people to understand the terminologies used . There were still many mysteries regarding these abilities, and Anita knew she really shouldn¡¯te to any conclusions with how little her sample size was . She needed more people to conduct a proper experiment . After she was done writing her current findings, the group heard something happening upstairs .

    The moment the group ofdies headed upstairs, they saw an unusual creature wreaking havoc in the living room . It was a rather weird looking pigman, that¡¯s the only way they could describe what they saw . Anita who saw the creature immediately told everyone else, "Please don¡¯t kill that creature, and capture him alive . That thing might prove to be valuable research material . "

    After saying that the others looked at each other, trying to think who was the right person for the job . It was painfully obvious that Rika wasn¡¯t able to handle that request since all her skills were meant to kill her opponents in one shot . The only one who has ever survived her attacks head-on was Lyner alone . She was sure that even that sturdy-looking monster won¡¯t be able tost one move from her .

    Lilitth, and Niki even with their new powerful abilities were also not up for the task . Not to mention Hina who was too scared to even look at the monster, as she started cowering behind her mother . So that left Michel and Anita to handle the situation, but as Anita was getting ready to move out and attack the pigman, Michel stopped her .

    "You just gave birth and even had a C section, you shouldn¡¯t move so much . I¡¯ll handle this . . . It¡¯s also a good time to test this new power of mine . " Michel then proceeded to summon a metal rod using her new powers, as she faced, the monster before her .

 Chapter 397

    Chapter 397

    Michel who had created a metal staff sprinted towards the pigman and attacked . The pigman who saw Michel sprinting towards it used its huge body to block Michel¡¯s path . The pigman then opened its arms wide as if it wanted to give Michel a big hug .

    Michel seeing that action of the monster jumped over the head of the pigman . The moment she jumped Michel noticed something, she felt lighter . Once shended behind the pigman, she swung her metal staff at it . The metal staff hit the side of the pigman making it m onto the wall .

    Michel was surprised to see how strong she was, she wasn¡¯t even trying with that attack, yet she was able to do that much damage . It would seem that her strength has doubled from what it was before . The pigman who was smashed onto the wall started to make a sound that was like an angry squeal . After making those weird sounds the pigman charged at Michel, clearly mad .

    Though the hulking pigman was durable and looked to be quite powerful, it was really slow . To a normal human adult, the speed of the pigman could be considered average, but to someone as experienced in battle like Michel, it was too slow, it was so slow that she was getting a bit impatient waiting for it to reach her . Still, now that Michel knows her strength was greater than before, she needed to suppress herself so that she won¡¯t identally kill the pigman .

    Once the pigman was about to tackle Michel, she stepped to the side and extended her metal staff making the pigman trip . Michel then created four swords and pierced the pigman¡¯s arms and legs onto the floor .

    She almost thought that was enough to hold the pigman down, but with its enormous strength, it was struggling free from the swords . Unlike Dan and Lyner, Michel didn¡¯t know much about pressure points, so she wasn¡¯t able to stop the monster that way . She wanted to create a tranquilizer but didn¡¯t know what the contents of such a thing were, making it impossible to create it using her ability .

    She wanted to bind the pigman but knew that with its strength most things won¡¯t work on it . She had no choice, she either needed to continue beating it up until it could no longer move, or ask help from Anita . She didn¡¯t want to fight so inefficiently so she opted to ask for help from Anita .

    When Michel told Anita what she thought, the former Saint of the Southern Union suddenly suggested something she would never suggest before .

    "How about you continue beating it up until it faints . I want to test its endurance . . . Truth be told I think this monster is going to be the norm from now on . If we still wish to survive in these changing times, we must understand our enemies . "

    Hearing what Anita said Michel had no choice but to continue fighting the monster . While Michel was fighting the pigman, Anita spoke with Rika .

    "Rika, I¡¯m sure these monsters are everywhere right now, and based on my shallow understanding, I¡¯m also sure that a lot of people didn¡¯t survive the change when we all fallen unconscious . I¡¯m also sure that right about now other people would¡¯ve utilized their new abilities, but against these monsters, normal civilians even with their new abilities won¡¯tst long . So I hope you can go out and save some of them that are nearby . Bring them all here so that we can all prepare for the worst . The end ising, but I do not fear it . Like my husband, I¡¯ll face it head-on with a smile on my face . " Anita then showed that vicious smile that Lyner was known for .

    She then continued and said, "don¡¯t worry about the kids I¡¯ll protect them . " Rika nodded at Anita, then she knelt and spoke to her daughter .

    "Hina, I need to leave for a short while . You just stay here with your auntie Anita, and auntie Michel . Be a good girl and wait for me . " After saying that, Rika was about to leave, but then Hina tightly grabbed Rika¡¯s clothes .

    "Are you going to leave me behind?" When Rika saw Hina¡¯s tearful look, Rika gritted her teeth . What was she doing? Didn¡¯t she swear never to make this girl cry? Wasn¡¯t she strong enough to protect her no matter what? When Rika thought of that all her hesitation disappeared and she hugged Hina .

    "It¡¯s alright Hina . . . I¡¯m sorry I made you cry . I will never ever, leave you behind . You cane with me . " Hearing what Rika said as she gently wiped Hina¡¯s eyes, the little girl smiled and nodded her head . Rika then picked her up, and was about to leave, but before she could so, another person interrupted her .

    "Are you sure about this?" Anita asked a little bit worried .

    "I no longer wish to regret anything . Don¡¯t worry about me and my daughter, if the enemies are of that level, even while carrying Hina, I can kill them with a swipe of my hand . Even if stronger enemies appear with my strength I can handle them . Don¡¯t forget I am called the strongest of the S rank . " Rika smiled confidently, with her divine like beauty even Anita who was also a good looking woman almost blushed .

    "Very well . . . Take care," Anita said after thinking for a bit .

    "Hina, always listen to your mother . Don¡¯t cause he even more trouble . " Niki spoke to the little girl that was being carried by Rika .

    "Be a good girl okay, Hina . " Lilitth also spoke to Hina, who nodded in response to the two older sisters she liked . Once they were done saying what needed to be said, Rika with her daughter and old gigantic sword at hand headed out .

    Michel even while she was busy beating up the pigman, shouted to the retreating figure of Rika . "May you find victory in your battle!" Even though she was already outside the house, Rika heard Michel¡¯s shout and responded . "As sure as the victory that isid before you!"

    This was what old Berdonian warriors told each other before a huge battle . Rika who decided to stay in Berdonia studied a bit of their history . She didn¡¯t understand why Michel would use this old way of saying goodbye, but for some reason this made her feel reassured somehow, as she dashed forward .

 Chapter 398

    Chapter 398

    Rachel and Evangeline were engaging in a life and death battle with a giant snake . As they were fighting the two noticed a lot of things have changed within themselves, not only because they had these new abilities, but even the basic performance of their bodies were now different . Rachel even without going into her RELEASE state was now just as strong as if she was already using it .

    Evangeline who was usually just a little bit stronger than the average person was now feeling great strength from within her . The movements she was making as she dodged the attacks of the giant snake was not something she could do before, which made her feel ecstatic .

    Rachel with her ming fist tried to attack the giant snake, but her full-powered attack wasn¡¯t able to pierce the scales of the snake . Evangeline using her ice sword couldn¡¯t pierce the scales as well, even after freezing a portion of it .

    The two then looked at each other and nodded, Rachel punched the giant snake¡¯s face taking all of its attention . While Rachel distracted the giant snake, Evangeline started to run at its back . Rachel kept on attacking the giant snake with her punches and kicks that were enveloped with mes, which didn¡¯t even burn it . Still, it was enough for it to not pay attention to Evangeline that was in running its back heading straight for its head .

    Once Evangeline was atop the giant snake¡¯s head she started freezing it . The giant snake finally noticed what was happening to its head, and started to move violently . It tried to ram its head at a nearby tree, Evangeline was, of course, able to jump down to safety before she was hit .

    Once Evangeline was gone from the head, Rachel quickly took the chance to get in between the giant snake and the tree it was about to ram its head into . Rachel took a stance, left foot forward, right foot on the back which is where she ced most of her weight . Her right hand in a fist was ced at her waist and her left hand which was in an open palm was facing the opponent .

    When the giant snake that was about to ram its head at the tree was near, Rachel twisted her right fist forward putting all her power into that one attack, in which she concentrated her mes into one spot making it burn hotter . When this powerful attack plus the force of the ramming giant snake hit each other, a huge booming force was created . The strength of that attack was so strong that it made the ground shake . Rachel who was in the middle of that attack felt the whole burnt of that force and was almost blown away as she desperately tried to stay on the ground .

    The right hand she used to attack the giant snake was now numb . She felt that she broke a few of her bones, still, she was prepared for the kind of bacsh . Alex has suffered more for more worse than this, so that little bit of injury while protecting her loved one wasn¡¯t much .

    The head of the snake that was encased in ice and was punched by Rachel with a burning me, had now a new open wound that started spraying blood all over the ce . In extreme pain, the giant snake started swinging its tail everywhere destroying the nearby trees .

    Alex and the others tried their hardest to evade the attacks . Now that it was going wild, made it harder for them to predict its movements . It would have been easier to evade the giant snake¡¯s attacks if it was slow, unfortunately for them, even with itsrge size its attack speed was quite fast .

    Alex, who still hasn¡¯t fully essed the new abilities he has gained, tried attacking the open wound by shooting at it, but the bullets were not doing anything, it just made the giant snake angrier .

    Alex who was observing Rachel and Evangeline¡¯s fight as attentively as possible knew that his de wasn¡¯t sharp enough to do any damage, even though the giant snake now had a wound up in its head . While Alex and the others were thinking about what to do next, they noticed that someone was on top of the giant snake¡¯s head .

    The person in question was Sayaka, who was able to reach the giant snake¡¯s head . It was no surprise to the group, that no one noticed any of her movements since among them Sayaka was the best in stealth . The real question was what was she nning to do on top of the giant snake¡¯s head .

    Even Oliver who knew most of Sayaka¡¯s abilities knew that his woman didn¡¯t have a technique that could pierce the giant snake . As everyone was wondering what Sayaka was about to do, she disappeared from the giant snake¡¯s head .

    Then out of nowhere, she appeared beside Oliver . This move surprised everyone, Sayaka might be able to disappear from everyone¡¯s sight, but she was never able to move that quickly before . Even if her speed doubled from before, it was still impossible to move that quickly .

    "Oliver give me your gun . Everyone with a gun hand them to me . I know that you guys have a lot of questions, but for now, we have more pressing matters!"

    After Sayaka shouted what she wanted, everyone who had a gun on them handed it to Sayaka . Once she got all the guns, Sayaka held two in her hands and started firing forward aiming at nothing in particr . She wasn¡¯t even aiming at any part of that gigantic snake . They knew that Sayaka wasn¡¯t really one to use a gun, but still with her abilities shouldn¡¯t she know how to aim?

    As the group was thinking that, Alex saw the bullets that came out of guns disappeared . Sayaka who was done using all the bullets of the two guns she held, took another pair and once again started shooting, and the same thing happened again .

    Alex and the others who were watching Sayaka do this weird thing, finally noticed that the giant snake looked to be in even more pain . Sayaka then took out the daggers she¡¯s been gathering since a while ago and started throwing them .

    Once again, the moment she threw the daggers before they got beyond a meter away from her, the daggers disappeared . Even though he was fully concentrating on watching Sayaka¡¯s movements Alex wasn¡¯t able to figure out what happened . Then Alex and the others once again saw the giant snake writhing in pain .

    Alex then looked at the giant snake¡¯s head, and above it, Alex saw that the daggers Sayaka was throwing, were materializing above the giant snake¡¯s head . Those daggers then all fell at the wound on top of the giant snake¡¯s head . Each of the daggers thrownnded on the exact same spot on the giant snake¡¯s head .

    After a few more daggers were thrown, the giant snake that was iling and squirming finally stopped moving . Alex was the first to move and check if the giant snake was dead, once he confirmed it and informed the others, Oliver who had a confused look spoke in excitement .

    "What was that?! Was that your ability?!" Oliver did the same as what Emily did with Rachel and Evangeline, and started questioning Sayaka about her ability .

    "Yup, it took some time for me to be able to get a feel of my new ability . Once I was sure what to do, I did as usual and attacked the monster in its weakened spot . "

    "So Sayaka what sort of ability have you awaken to?!" Emily who was just as excited as Oliver clung onto Sayaka who smiled a bit, finding Emily¡¯s reaction quite cute .

    "My ability is teleportation . It¡¯s quite a powerful ability but it has a lot of restrictions . "

    "What kind of restrictions?" Alex chimed in since he too was quite curious about these new abilities everyone had .

    "Well for starters I can¡¯t teleport things that I don¡¯t have the strength to carry . See this I can teleport this," Sayaka took out another dagger she hid and made it disappear as it teleported into the distance . "But I can¡¯t teleport this," Sayaka pointed at a nearby tree and tried teleporting it, but nothing happened .

    "As for the distance, I can teleport an object, as far as what my eyes can see . Also, the objects that I want to teleport should be a meter near from me . Aside from that, I have two more restrictions, but I¡¯m going to keep those a secret . "

    "I see . . . " Alex answered .

    "Okay, now that your Q and A is over . What should we do next? How do we get back home?" Niel asked .

    "Well, since I saw my father here, that would mean other members of the squad must be nearby . If we can find them, they can help us get back safely . " Alex answered after thinking for a few seconds .

    When Rachel heard that, she finally remembered something important . Her face at this time suddenly turned a bit pale, as she sprinted back into the shadow mercenaries¡¯ base . Alex and the others were surprised by this action of hers . Still, Alex didn¡¯t really need to think deeply about it as for now he just needs to follow Rachel inside the base, the others followed as well .

    As everyone was running trying to catch up with Rachel, the others aside from Alex, finally understood why Rachel acted that way . "That¡¯s right her father was here!"

    When Alex heard Kei¡¯s outburst he started questioning the group about what happened . When Alex heard all the details of the group¡¯s fight with Leon and the appearance of Dan . Alex had this ominous feeling that something was wrong .

    Alex then remembered the face of his dying father and gritted his teeth . ¡¯It can¡¯t be . . . ¡¯ Alex shook his head trying to deny the logical conclusion he had . He then proceeded to run faster wanting to catch up with Rachel, before she saw something that she shouldn¡¯t have .

 Chapter 399

    Chapter 399

    Rachel was running through the hallways of the broken base, retracing her steps towards the ce shest saw her father . When she got to the ce hest saw him, the shutter doors were still closed, but unlike before this thing wasn¡¯t going to stop her . Rachel activated her [ability] and punched the shutter doors with burning mes, melting the door .

    . . .

    While Alex and the others were trying to catch up to Rachel, Oliver saw something in one of the rooms . He stopped running, which made everyone except for Alex to stop running as well .

    "Oliver, what¡¯s wrong?" Sayaka asked .

    "You guys go ahead, I want to check something out . "

    "Are you going to be okay?" Niel who also noticed what was inside those rooms had a few guesses as to why Oliver wanted to look . Knowing how extremely perceptive Niel was, Oliver, nodded his head and answered, "Yeah, I¡¯m going to be okay . "

    "I see . . . " After saying that Niel and the others left, except for Sayaka who stood beside him .

    "You can go ahead, I¡¯ll catch up in a bit . " Sayaka shook her head and answered, "I¡¯m staying with you Oly . The whole reason I even went here was for you . Of course, I also came for Alex and the others, but my main reason is you and always will be you . Now that I can finally touch you and see you, I¡¯m never letting you out of my sight ever again!"

    Oliver looked at Sayaka surprised by her sudden outburst . After the shock passed Oliver smiled at Sayaka and said, "sure, then we¡¯ll be together forever from this point onward . "

    Hearing Oliver¡¯s answer Sayaka hugged Oliver and almost cried . This was close enough that you could even call it a proposal .

    . . .

    While Oliver and Sayaka were having their lovey-dovey moment, Rachel was finally able to destroy the shutter door . As she was about to enter, Alex was finally able to catch up and stood in front of Rachel blocking her path .

    "What are you doing Alex?" Rachel spoke with a bit of annoyance in her tone .

    "Please, allow me to look at it first . "

    "Why?!"

    "Please, just allow me to do this . I just want to check the surrounding area, and see that there¡¯s no traps or monsters . "

    "You do know, right now I¡¯m currently as strong or even stronger than you . "

    "You might have gained an [Ability] that enhances your destructive power, but my overall stats are still higher than yours . "

    Hearing Alex¡¯s answer, and knowing that it was true made Rachel grind her teeth . After a minute as everyone else was finally able to catch up and gathered around Rachel, she sighed .

    "Fine, you can go in first . . . " Rachel reluctantly agreed as she clenched her fist . She understood what Alex was trying to do, but she still felt a bit frustrated .

    "Thank you, Rachel . " Alex smiled gently at Rachel as he entered the hole she made through the shutter doors . The first thing Alex noticed was the body of his other grandfather, Leon Greyhound .

    The body of one of the most talented Greyhound wasying on the ground his head squashed into meat paste . Unlike Richter, Alex actually felt a lot of pity for Leon . This man¡¯s whole life was a tragedy, and even in his second try, it still ended in tragedy .

    Alex decided to burn Leon¡¯s bodyter . After he was done checking Leon¡¯s dead body he tried looking around for Dan¡¯s . Of course, he wanted Dan to be alive but based on all the information he gathered from the others the chances of him being alive were unlikely .

    He noticed that beside Leon¡¯s body was a big pool of blood, based on Leon¡¯s wounds it was impossible that all this blood came from him . Upon closer inspection, Alex noticed traces of a trail of blood sttered on the ground and the walls .

    He followed the trail of blood and as he walked onward he saw Leon¡¯s broken scythe and pieces of something that looked like they came from daggers . Even though Alex wasn¡¯t able to witness the battle, he could pretty much guess a bit of what happened after Rachel and the others were cut off from viewing the battle .

    Dan was really injured after the battle, his injuries were so severe it was a miracle that he survived, much less move .

    ¡¯This might be the effect of using that skill called TRANSCEND . ¡¯ Even though Alex had little to no information about TRANSCEND he could guess that it must be a stronger version of RELEASE, with even more side effects .

    ¡¯So that would mean after TRANSCEND wore off, Instructor Dan should have fainted somewhere here . ¡¯ Alex looked around the area where the trail of blood disappeared, yet there was no dead or unconscious body to be found . There was nothing here, that indicated where Dan¡¯s body could¡¯ve gone .

    Alex had a few theories of what happened to Dan after walking to this area of the base, each theory being bleaker than thest . After scouring the area . he still couldn¡¯t find the body . So Alex couldn¡¯t decide if it was alright for Rachel to see this . As he was thinking about what to do next, he heard the footsteps of peopleing near his location .

    "Where is he?" Alex turned around and as expected Rachel was there, asking that question .

    "He¡¯s not here . "

    "I see . . . " Hearing Alex¡¯s answer made Rachel smile . In truth, she like Alex also came to the same gruesome conclusion about her father¡¯s death . Now that she knew that his body was no longer here, means that there is a possibility of his survival . Especially now that they had special abilities, Dan might have survived .

    Of course, Alex and Rachel also had other theories of what happened, but Rachel decided to look at this situation in a positive light . Even though there were more reasons that point to Dan¡¯s death, Rachel chose to believe otherwise .

    It¡¯s not like this was the first time everyone thought he was dead . Rachel felt that not seeing his body was better than finding him .

    "I¡¯ll be waiting . . . Dad . "

 Chapter 400

    Chapter 400: 400

    After the battle with Leon, Dan simply stood there unmoving . The truth was after using TRANSCEND Dan¡¯s consciousness was already flickering on and off . When he was hit in the back by Leon¡¯s scythe Dan was already unconscious then, and his body simply moved on its own . He was able to kill Leon this way as he sustained multiple injuries .

    A few minutes after Leon¡¯s death, Dan was jolted awake as an indescribable pain assaulted him . Blood flowed out of his body like a river . If it was any other person, even someone at Richter¡¯s level had so much bloode out of him, he would already have fainted and might¡¯ve died, but it was different for Dan . Aside from Rika who was biologically better than all of humanity, the endurance of Dan¡¯s body was only second to her .

    Dan was pretty much a living breathing, human tank at this point . Still, even for him, this much damage was not something he could handle . Coupled with the fact that, the bacsh from using TRANSCEND was assaulting him, Dan was supposed to have fainted and died already . Yet with his unrivaled willpower, Dan was able to power through .

    He started to drag his body forward with so much difficulty . If anyone were watching him, they would feel his pain as well, since it was already painful to simply watch . The once-mighty Blond Devil who fought tanks for enjoyment was basically dead now but still, he continued onward . As he forced his body to move bearing unimaginable pain, he only had the promise to his daughter on his mind .

    ¡¯What kind of a father am I, if I keep on failing to keep my promises to my daughter?! Stupid body! Move already!¡¯ Dan¡¯s body which was bleeding all over continued to move one step at a time . As he slid forward, Dan started to remove the weapons that stuck into his body . It was easy to remove the scythe that clung to his back, but the daggers that pierced his chest were a whole other matter .

    It took Dan everything he got to remove those from his chest . He almost lost consciousness multiple times as he tried removing the pieces of the daggers out of his chest . Once all the weapons that were stuck on him were removed, Dan started to bleed even more .

    In his current state, Dan could no longer perform the blood stopping pressure point move . He could no longer exert any strength in his hands as they felt like jelly at the moment . His once-powerful arms became weights that slowed him down . His powerful body that was stronger than steel was now full of holes . His eyes that used to glimmer with pride and passion was now empty and hollow . The once-powerful Devil of the battlefield, the Blond Devil Dan Regius looked extremely pathetic at this point .

    Even his enemies would look at him in pity if they saw him in this state .

    . . .

    As Dan kept on going he remembered his family . His sons have grown into fine young men, his daughter turned into a beautiful flower . While his wife remained ever valiant, ever strong, ever beautiful . She who waited for him all these years, she who stood tall and unshakable, that figure of hers etched in his mind .

    "What . . . The . . . HELL! . . . AM . . . I . . . DOING!" Dan¡¯s voice that sounded hoarse at first slowly got louder and louder . After shouting his feelings Dan started coughing and even coughed up blood . Still, with renewed vigor, Dan pushed onward, even in extreme pain, even when his strength was spent he kept on moving ever forward .

    ¡¯What kind of father am I, if I always break my promises to my daughter! What kind of father am I, if I don¡¯t watch my sons be true men! What kind of husband am I if I don¡¯t return home to my wife!¡¯

    As his vision has gone blurry, Dan could practically see a blurry mirage of his family in the distance smiling at him . They were all there waiting for him .

    ¡¯I¡¯m going to go home, no matter what! I will return home!¡¯ Dan¡¯s breathing was getting heavier and heavier, as he was already low on oxygen . Dan was sure that he was experiencing Hypoxemia but that didn¡¯t matter he just needed to move onward, onward and onward .

    He already left his family for ten years, because of his dream to make his martial arts into the most powerful . He sacrificed everything for that purpose, even his family . Now that he was nearing his end, he finally figured out that all of that didn¡¯t matter . It was a cliche but now he understood that what was important was always near him . Dan smiled sarcastically at himself thinking of how stupid he was .

    As a warrior, Dan was never afraid of death . What he was truly afraid of was being hated by his family . If he doesn¡¯t fulfill his promise to his daughter she would surely truly hate him this time . If he doesn¡¯te home his sons and his wife might not wait for him anymore .

    Dan who was already near death noticed that he was no longer moving . His legs were no longer responding to hismands . Still, that didn¡¯t stop him, using his heavy arms he tried crawling forward . It was then Dan smelled something weird in the air . Even though he was already having problems breathing he still noticed this minor change .

    When he got a whiff of this unknown substance in the air, Dan¡¯s consciousness which was already on the verge of turning off, was now truly about to make him faint . As he was slowly losing consciousness Dan started coughing arger amount of blood .

    Something was definitely happening to his body, but because of his injuries, he was sure that his body wouldn¡¯t be able to handle the changes . The pain and the frustration he felt all disappeared for a second, as Dan saw the most beautiful sight ever . Right in front of him were his wife, his sons, and his daughter all weing him home .

    "I¡¯m home . . . " Dan was able to say those words with a satisfied smile on his face before everything turned dark .

 Chapter 401

    Chapter 401

    As Alex and the others were specting as to what happened to Dan¡¯s body, Oliver and Sayaka were in a room that was stained with blood . The whole ce looked like it came out from a horror movie . In the middle of the room were two bodies, and these two were people Oliver knew . When Oliver saw their bodies he gritted his teeth .

    "Joseph . . . I¡¯m sorry . " Oliver then looked at the body next to Joseph . Unlike Joseph¡¯s body who still somehow retained its form, the body next to it wasn¡¯t so lucky .

    "Specter . . . No . . . Raphael, you must have gone through hell, but as expected of you, it seems like you endured it until the end . " Raphael¡¯s body that was full of holes, cuts, burns, missing a few limbs and had his hair plucked out, even with all that done to him for some reason Raphael looked content .

    "Those torturers of yours must¡¯ve had a worse time than you . . . Thanks, my friend . . . May you find glory on the fields of Valha . " Both Oliver and Sayaka offered a silent prayer . Sayaka then held onto Oliver¡¯s hand . Oliver looked at his supportive girlfriend and smiled .

    "Let¡¯s bring them down and give them a proper send-off . " Sayaka nodded agreeing to Oliver¡¯s suggestion .

    . . .

    Oliver and Sayaka carrying the bodies of Raphael and Joseph caught up with Alex¡¯s group . Oliver then asked Rachel for a favor .

    "Rachel, can you burn their bodies? I want to send them off as proud warriors . " Rachel didn¡¯t question who these people were and simply nodded her head as the group headed outside the base . Once they were outside, Rachel set the two bodies aze .

    Even though Alex and the others knew that doing this was dangerous, but for Oliver, they epted the risk . The smoke from the burning bodies rose up towards the sky, making Alex¡¯s and the others position known to every living being that could see the smoke .

    Still, with Rachel¡¯s powerful mes it only took a few seconds before their bodies turned to ash . Once they were gone, Alex quickly told the group to move . Yet as if on cue the moment he spoke of leaving other creatures came out from within the forest .

    Five giant bears with ws sticking out the side of their mouth and backs appeared . The bears look to be at least ten meters tall .

    Alex and the others knew that they wouldn¡¯t be able to run so as per usual, they decided to fight . It was then another group of people appeared . A bullet pierced through the skin of one of the bears, and then another bullet precisely hit the same spot, and another and another all on the same spot . There was only one person that Alex knew who could pull off such perfect marksmanship, but even with his skill, that move would¡¯ve proven a difficult task, as he was shooting at a moving target in that distance .

    The five bears then roared furiously, it was then another creature came out and attacked one of the bears . The creature that appeared looked like a tiger that had wings, if that wasn¡¯t surprising enough someone was actually riding that tiger .

    "Alex long time no see . " Matthew happily greeted as he jumped off the winged tiger¡¯s back .

    . . .

    While Alex and the others were having a reunion with Matthew and the squad, back in Anita¡¯s ce Michel was able to capture the pigman alive . Anita was examining the body of the pigman . She was expecting to find an organ simr to the new organ that sprouted within their bodies, but after careful examination, there was no such thing inside the pigman .

    In fact, except for the thicker skin and denser muscle mass, the pigman has the same structure as a human before the change . From this Anita had formted numerous new theories as to what was happening to them and the world . So, for now, she needed to narrow those theories down . While Anita was doing her thing, Michel and the kids were looking at Anita¡¯s newborn .

    "So what are you going to name him?" Michel asked . Anita stopped what she was doing and looked at Michel with a smile on her face .

    "The name of this child was already picked long ago by his father . His name is Sigmund, Sigmund Resteti . A name that signifies evesting victory in the old Berdonian scripts . Lyner wanted our child to be ever victorious in all his endeavors . "

    "That¡¯s a nice name . "

    "Baby Sigmund, look here it¡¯s your big sister Lilitth . "

    "And I¡¯m your big sister Niki . " The two little girls who finally heard the name of the new baby kept on calling him .

    . . .

    While Michel and the others were talking about Sigmund, Rika who was out with Hina had just in another monster . They have been running around for a while now, but they still haven¡¯t met any other survivors . Based on her initial impression of what¡¯s going on, most of the people on the streets died while the change was happening . The others that survived the change, weren¡¯t able to withstand the sudden attacks of the monsters .

    While carrying Hina, Rika told the little girl to close her eyes and only open them when she says it was safe . Since, throughout the streets, countless dead bodies could be seen, some deaths more gruesome than thest .

    Rika didn¡¯t want to expose her young daughter to such carnage . Even though this was already the current world that they are living in, Rika decided to somehow protect some of Hina¡¯s innocence for as long as possible .

    As she was thinking of what to do next Rika finally heard the voice of another human being screaming for help . Rika quickly dashed towards the position of the other person . She then saw a man shooting out fireballs from his hands being surrounded by what looks to be humanoid cockroaches, they might even look like aliens, but the way they moved really reminded Rika of those creepy crawlers .

    The man that was shooting fireballs was surrounded and the creepy crawlers were able to easily evade his fireballs . It was then Rika swooped in with one swing of her sword she cleaved through several of those creepy crawlers . She then sliced the remaining creepy crawlers once all the creepy crawlers were dead she looked at the man and said, e with me if you want to live . "

 Chapter 402

    Chapter 402

    After killing the five bears Alex who was walking towards the squad saw Kyle and was surprised to see that he had his eyes covered in bandages . He was about to ask what happened but Emily suddenly wailed .

    "Onii-chan! Onii-chan! What happened to you! Who did this?! Tell me who did this to you and I¡¯ll rip them apart! I¡¯ll make them suffer and kill them!" Emily hugged Kyle tightly not wanting to let go .

    Kei was also surprised to see Kyle in this state . "What happened? Was it one of the monsters?"

    Kyle while patting Emily¡¯s head trying to calm her down answered . "No, it was while I was fighting that crazy chick that captured you . Don¡¯t worry I killed her already . "

    "How can I not worry! Onii-chan, you¡¯re blind now!"

    "It¡¯s alright I don¡¯t know what happened but after we cked-out, I woke up, and I noticed that I could see my surroundings better than before . Of course, I¡¯m not able to see with my eyes, but the sound, the smell, the feel of the wind . All of this helps me see the world better than before . In fact not only did my other senses improved by leaps and bounds, but it seems like I acquired another sense . I¡¯m not sure how but I can tell the weaknesses of living beings, I can pin-point their weakest spots . I think after I went blind I became an even better marksman . "

    Kyle smiled as he suddenly hugged his crying little sister .

    "So, there¡¯s no need for tears, but I suggest all of you, take out your weapons . Another wave of those bear monsters ising . " The exact moment Kyle said this a roar was heard .

    "What the f*ck when did bears attack in packs?!" Sora shouted in anger as he got ready for the uing battle, but before anyone could take out their weapons, Alex stood in front of them signaling them to stop . Rachel and Evangeline who were beside him were surprised to see him smile a simr smile to Sir Lyner¡¯s .

    "There¡¯s no need for you guys to do anything, I finally understood what kind of ability I gained and it¡¯s pretty powerful . "

    The others were confused and couldn¡¯t understand what Alex was saying, but before they could ask what he meant the bears appeared .

    This time it was arger number of bears than before . Yet this didn¡¯t cause Alex to feel threatened like moments before instead for some reason, he felt excited . Alex then started to calcte something and after mumbling something under his breath he stomped on the ground, creating a wave of earth .

    The force of the wave pushed the bears up into the air . Alex then did some swiping motions and a condensed de of air pass through the bears cutting them in half making it rain blood . Alex then spun his index finger up in the air which created a shield of wind that blocked the rain of blood .

    Alex then looked at his dumbfoundedpanions and said, "I think I¡¯ve gained something simr to magic that you can find in anime . "

    Emilly and Oliver who were dumbfounded like the rest were suddenly jolted into action when they heard Alex mention magic .

    "That¡¯s so awesome!" The two suddenly shouted .

    "Don¡¯t celebrate just yet another wave ising!" Kyle warned as he got his weapon ready .

    . . .

    While Alex and the others were trying to survive the never-ending wave of monsters in the middle of the forest . Rika was able to gather around twenty people from the surrounding area . It wasn¡¯t much but they were the only people that were able to survive .

    Anita did a quick check on each one of them and found the exact same organ that suddenly appeared in their bodies . As she was trying to figure out if there was a downside to this new organ, the people that were saved were getting a bit stressed .

    "What happened? Is this the end of the world?! Are those monsters that the government secretly created, or are they aliens?! Were we probed?!"

    "Let me go! Let me go! Jeniffer is out there waiting for me, she needs to be saved!"

    "Don¡¯t be stupid, you and I saw the exact same thing! Jeniffer was eaten alive by that monster!"

    "NO! That can¡¯t be, that just can¡¯t be!"

    "A worn torn world, where monsters roam and all of humanity has gain superpowers, in this world, I¡¯m sure I can be the hero . This is the story of Shinji the hero of humanity! That has a nice ring to it . "

    "Where¡¯s my Luka?! Has anyone seen my son Luka?! Luka honey mommy is here!"

    "This is it, this the end! Ragnarok hase!"

    "She was there . . . I just neede to extend my hand a bit further and I would¡¯ve reached her . . . Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? . . . "

    "Damn it! Why won¡¯t you let me go?! I want to go and kill all those motherf*cking monsters! They took everything from me!"

    Voices of anger, sadness, excitement, and numerous others echoed throughout the living room . Rika then stomped on the floor making it shake . Everyone finally quieted down as they looked at Rika . Michel who was standing at the side taking care of the kids nodded in approval of what Rika did .

    "All of you need to shut up! I know most of you are scared, some of you are angered, and the others are in sorrow, but! We have no time for that! Times have changed, and we are now in the middle of enemy forces! If you people want to survive this ordeal you should listen to me!"

    "Why should we listen to Empire scum like you!" One of the men shouted, which made the others look at him as if he was stupid . Rika with her otherworldly beauty looked at the man . That one look of hers was able to shut the man up .

    "This is no longer about what country you are from, what race you are . This is now a matter of survival . If you are not willing to listen, the go and die at a gutter somewhere! Don¡¯t bring us down with you!"

 Chapter 403

    Chapter 403: 403

    It has been a few days since Alex and his group started walking through the changing world, to get home . As they started their journey, the first thing that they noticed was the world that they knew no longer existed as it was now looking like a different world altogether . The world of science that they were used to, became a world of fantasy . Cars no longer raced through the streets, only monster-like beings did that . The nes that soared through the sky were reced with gigantic winged creatures that could eat an elephant whole . This made it painfully obvious that the age of man might be nearing its end .

    Every city they have been to was either destroyed or transformed and became a fortress . Also every now and again, they would see a random monster eating a human corpse, or worse yet a live human . This journey to get back home gave each member mixed feelings .

    Even Emily and Oliver, who loved the new fantasy look the world was changing into was finally feeling a bit off . Even though they finally gained the powers that they wanted, their excitement onlysted for a few days as they saw the horrors of the changing world .

    Still, as expected of humanity, even in such a dire situation they were able to adapt rather quickly . Those that weren¡¯t able to do so became food for the monsters .

    . . .

    Throughout their journey back home, the group encountered numerous people in need of help . Of course, they tried there best to help these poor souls . Unfortunately for them, even in this new age were magic and other supernatural abilities exist, some problems cannot be solved . This made them understand that same as before, no even more so than before, thew of the jungle was the one truth, the survival of the fittest . The strong feed on the weak, while the weak served the strong .

    . . .

    There was also another thing that started changing during the journey which was Alex¡¯s perception of Evangeline . Even though he was still fully devoted to Rachel, but for some reason, Evangeline was able to dig deeper into his heart . It might be because Rachel was actually helping Evangeline . Even Niel who was mostly partial was helping Evangeline as well .

    Alex couldn¡¯tprehend why they would do this, but since it wasn¡¯t really hurting anybody, he decided not to be too bothered by it .

    . . .

    After months of walking and seeing the changes the world was having, the group was able to finally reach the capital of Berdonia . The moment they were near the capital they noticed the great decline of monster encounters . Not even the more powerful monsters such as the giant moving mountains could be seen . Actually, unlike the majority of the world, the area near the capital of Berdonia felt different . The mass of monsters wasn¡¯t seen which was surprising, but even more surprising was the medieval-styled fortress in the middle of the city .

    The walls of the fortress stood over thirty meters in height and there were even towers that had ballistas equipped . Unlike the other fortresses they¡¯ve seen that still had a feel of modern science . this fortress really felt like it came from a fantasy novel .

    Alex and the others slowly and cautiously approached the fortress and headed towards the gates . The moment they were at least three hundred meters near the gates, a bolt of lightning fell from above the sky . The group was able to evade, then Alex raised his sword up and the next second someone fell from the sky .

    Alex who blocked the attack had his sword broken in half, and he quickly evaded before the giant sword sliced him in half .

    Alex was surprised to see that In front of him was a beautifuldy, no beautiful was not enough to describe her, she was a divine being, no even that couldn¡¯t describe her beauty . This person was wearing full ted armor while carrying a giant sword . Upon closer inspection, Alex finally figured out who she was .

    "YOU! YOU WERE THE ONE WHO KILLED SIR LYNER!" Alex emitted a suffocating amount of bloodlust that could make even the hardiest of mercenaries puke .

    Rika couldn¡¯t recognize who Alex was, but she knew who Lyner was . That was the person she will never forget for her entire life . She was about to ask how Alex knew Lyner, but before she could open her mouth, Alex threw the broken de of his sword, forcing Rika to evade . Rachel and the others were about to correct Alex¡¯s misunderstanding but before they could say anything, Alex like a bolt of lightning charged forward .

    He appeared before Rika and released a full-powered kick onto her face . Rika was able to easily evade this move, but then Alex used his new ability to make the ground Rika was standing on try to pierce her . As Rika jumped backward to evade, Alex using a full-fingered spear hand was about to pierce Rika¡¯s heart, but Rika was able to catch Alex¡¯s spear hand by holding onto his wrist .

    "I WILL KILL YOU!" Alex shouted as he could no longer control his rage after seeing the killer of his teacher .

 Chapter 404 Rika calming Alex down

    <h4>Chapter 404 Rika calming Alex down</h4>

    Alex who was being held by Rika used his new powers to summon a ball of me and fired it at Rika. The strongest SS rank merc didn¡¯t even bother to dodge, after the change, not only did she gain new abilities, but her past abilities became even stronger. If she was already viewed as inhuman before, she was now practically a demi-God.

    She took the ball of me without even flinching, her armor was also sturdy enough that it didn¡¯t melt from the heat. Her grip didn¡¯t loosen as she tried to speak to Alex. "I-" She wasn¡¯t even able to get one word out as Alex screamed at her.

    "Don¡¯t you dare say anything! You just go ahead and die!" This was the first time Alex felt this much rage, not even his sh*tty grandfather could elicit such rage from him. The others who knew what really happened between Rika and Lyner wanted to tell Alex, but their voices couldn¡¯t reach the enraged Alex.

    Rika sighed as she let go of Alex¡¯s hands, and open her arms wide. This action of hers was asking Alex toe and hit her and she was willing to take it.

    "Are you mocking me?..." Alex¡¯s voice was low and gravely as his bloodlust was on the rise. This woman was challenging him. So without using any of his new abilities Alex charged forward and started to attack Rika. Punches and Kicks, Alex delivered each one with precision and speed. Even if Rika decided to dodge it would be pretty hard to do so.

    Even though Alex could no longer enter the RELEASE state, he was able to use the new energy flowing within him to boost his physical abilities. Though this wasn¡¯t as good as full RELEASE, it was still able to be as good as normal RELEASE without any of the side effects.

    Alex¡¯s attacks were so strong that they were able to break Rika¡¯s armor, which revealed that she was wearing a simple blue shirt underneath said armor. Yet no matter how strong his attack was Rika didn¡¯t even flinch, and she didn¡¯t even move an inch from her spot. Her feet were nted steadily onto the ground like she was part of it.

    Alex then changed his attacks from pounding into slicing. He used his knife hand to attack Rika. Alex¡¯s knife hand was just as sharp as any ded weapon, so as he attacked Rika¡¯s neck he was sure that it would be sliced open, but the moment his hand came into contact with Rika¡¯s neck he couldn¡¯t even make a shallow wound.

    This made Alex angrier as he started concentrating on attacking Rika¡¯s head. Yet even as her head kept bouncing around Rika¡¯s expression remained full of resolve. Alex who was slowly calming down noticed that Rika wasn¡¯t mocking him and was actually being serious.

    Rika who was being hit relentlessly by Alex looked like Alex¡¯s attacks were doing nothing to her, but in truth, she was really hurting. Aside from Lyner, this was the only other time someone was able to hurt her. Still, she stood tall and unmoving as she understood Alex¡¯s anger as a student of Lyner¡¯s.

    In fact, she appreciated this anger and hatred. Ever since she killed Lyner everyone of his friends and acquaintances treated her kindly. They kept on saying thank you instead of showering her with insults. Even Lyner¡¯s wife who should hate her the most, instead of treating her as an enemy she was treated as a friend, in fact right now she was her best friend.

    Rika fully weed this amount of pain and suffering, as long as she doesn¡¯t die she would allow Alex to hurt her as much as possible.

    Alex was now a bit calmer as he distanced himself from Rika, he then took the same stance he used when he killed his grandfather. Yet this time his fist was coated with earth, wind, and fire, this was currently Alex¡¯s strongest attack. Even Rika who had an extreme level of toughness, won¡¯t be able to withstand this move.

    Rika noticing that this one attack wasn¡¯t something she could handle without doing anything, gathered electricity and allowed it to flow through her body. In that form, as an electric current surrounded her Rika looked like a divine Goddess.

    Alex who was done preparing dashed forward his fist containing everything he had. Rika lifted both her arms to block the iing attack. The moment the two shed, Rika felt that she was on the losing end. The power of this attack was beyond anything she has ever experienced before.

    She could feel death so close, in fact as she was blocking the attack she had a thought, maybe this was her fate, to die in the hands of one of Lyner¡¯s students. When she was about to allow Alex¡¯s attack to hit her, Rika remembered Hina. Didn¡¯t she promise not to make that girl sad? Wasn¡¯t she waiting for her toe back home?

    ¡¯I¡¯m sorry Sir Lyner I won¡¯t be able to join you in Vallha just yet.¡¯ Rika with renewed vigor was able to divert Alex¡¯s attack. After his attack failed Alex was able to fully calm down as he looked at Rika and said one word.

    "Why?"

 Chapter 405 Im sorry

    <h4>Chapter 405 I¡°m sorry</h4>

    Alex looked at Rika and once again asked, "why?" The face he was making at this very moment, was full of pain, frustration, sadness, anger, and self remorse. So much was expressed in that simple look of his that a person might not believe that this man, Alex used to show no emotion at all as his face remained ever stoic. Yet now he was pouring everything within him with a single look.

    "..." Rika had no idea how to answer Alex¡¯s question, since no matter what she said would sound like an excuse. She owed it to Lyner who gave her a second chance, to do this for his student.

    Oliver and the others did not speak and simply looked at the two, waiting for them to settle their dispute by themselves.

    "Why aren¡¯t you answering? Why did you keep on receiving my attacks, and not doing anything about it?! It¡¯s obvious that you are stronger than me, so why take every hit without countering? Are you showing me pity!? Are you looking down on me?! Am I not a worthy opponent like Sir Lyner!?!... More than that tell me... Please tell me, why Sir Lyner had to die?... Why did you kill him?..."

    Rika clenched her fist so tightly that it actually started to bleed. The same fist that was sturdier than steel, was actually bleeding. She then looked at Alex¡¯s eyes and saw the pain he was feeling. A pain that was more than any physical pain could deliver. Yet still, she remained silent.

    "You know my father and mother died, both were killed by my grandfather. My foster father died as well in the same hands of my grandfather. Who in turn died by being killed by his only grandson, me. Sir Lyner was another father figure I respected, and you killed him... Yet somehow unlike with my grandfather, I no longer feel as angry at you anymore. Well, in truth, I no longer feel hatred for my grandfather as well, since he too was just a sorry product of revenge. So please, just tell me why did you do all that?..."

    Alex who was full of varying emotions just moments ago, seem so tired at this very moment. At the end of his speech, it felt and sounded like he was an old man, tired of everything. It was a weird sight, seeing someone go through a torrent of emotions in such a pace was definitely different.

    Rika could no longer simply stay quiet and gave Alex the answer he wanted, the answer he and every member of the mercenary club deserved.

    "First, I know that this might sound insincere, but I¡¯m truly sorry... I really am sorry for everything..." Rika bowed her head at Alex and then towards Oliver and the other members of the Mercenary Club.

    "I know this might sound like excuses at this point, but I did what I did for the people of the Empire. No matter how twisted or insane their logic became, they were still the people my parents loved. This next part might really sound illogical and stupid, but it¡¯s truly what I used to believe. They the people of the Empire were the only reminder I have, of my parents... Every time I see the smiling face of a citizen of the Empire, I feel like I see the smiling faces of my parents in them. It was as if they were still alive..."

    "To me, I would¡¯ve done anything for that smile of theirs. I would have be the devil itself for them... Which in the end, I guess I did be the devil. Sir Lyner was the greatest threat the Empire face during the war, as long as he lived the Granado Empire would never win. So he needed to die for the smiles of my people..."

    "I knew the Empire was wrong, but we were already in too deep. The hatred that we umted over the centuries, especially what we did to Berdonia... I feared that surrendering might mean very or in the worst case genocide for my people. I... I just couldn¡¯t let that happen. Yet my fears were proven wrong with Sir Lyner¡¯s actions on that day. Even though I killed him, even though I separated him from his wife and child. He still forgave me, he even thanked me..."

    Rika¡¯s eyes started to tear up as she continued speaking.

    "He even asked his wife to take care of me... Me the killer of her husband! Not only did she take care of me, she actually became my best friend and showed me the way to a proper path. I even have a child now that I want to protect... I know it¡¯s selfish of me to still want to live after what I¡¯ve done, but for my daughter, I hope you will allow me to live..."

    "But if you cannot ept that, and you still want to kill me... Then I..."

    "Enough! I heard enough... There¡¯s no need to exin any further. I might not be able to say I forgive you just yet, but I do understand... Who am I to judge you so biasedly as I too killed tons of people. They too had families, friends, and lovers... It¡¯s just hard for me, at the moment. Still, I hope there wille a day that I forgive you full from the bottom of my heart. If I start living for hatred and revenge, I might turn into the same monster as my grandfather. " Alex suddenly interrupted Rika before she was able to resolve herself, to say what she was about to say.

    After saying what he wanted to say to Rika, Alex looked up in the sky smiling while tears flow down his eyes. He chuckled a bit as he thought, ¡¯So you achieved that glorious death you always sought after... Who else but you would thank his killer.¡¯ As Alex was having his moment, Rika bowed her head once more.

    "Thank you and I¡¯m sorry... Truly I¡¯m sorry..."

 Chapter 406 Im home

    <h4>Chapter 406 I¡°m home</h4>

    After saying sorry a few more times to the members of the Mercenary club, Rika led them inside the former capital of Berdonia, which was now in the form of a medieval fortress. She then let them stay at one of the empty houses and told them to wait while she calls their rtives.

    A few minutester a bunch of people arrived.

    "Onii-sama!"

    "Nii-nii!"

    "Emily! Kyle!"

    "My beautiful son!"

    "My son!"

    "..."

    "Rachel!"

    "Little sis!"

    Different voices shouted at the same time, as Lilitth and Niki jumped onto their respective brothers. Sarah was crying as she saw Kyle no longer had eyes. Niel¡¯s parents surrounded him with their bright smiles. Michel holding the twins smiled happily as she greeted Alex. One of Sayaka¡¯s uncles came to greet her.

    "Kyle, what happened to you?" Sarah held onto Kyle¡¯s hands as she wept. In response to this Kyle gently caressed Sarah¡¯s face as he showed her a smile.

    "I¡¯m sorry Sarah, it doesn¡¯t look like I¡¯ll be able to see your beautiful paintings again." Hearing what Kyle said Sarah could no longer hold it in as she cried even louder and hugged Kyle as tightly as she could.

    "It doesn¡¯t matter, all that matters is that you¡¯re safe. Both of you are." Sarah signaled Emily to join in their hug. Emily shrugged her shoulders and happily joined in.

    ...

    "Onii-sama! I¡¯ve missed you Onii-sama!" Lilitth hugged Alex not wanting to let go. Michel holding the twins stood in front of Alex, and said: "wee home."

    "I¡¯m home." Alex, Lilitth, Michel and the twins went for a group hug happy to see each other again.

    "Where¡¯s Carlo?" Michel asked, "yeah where¡¯s tou-chan?" Lilitth looked around confused. When Alex heard their question he knelt down and started tearing up. "Onii-sama why are you crying? It¡¯s alright now."

    "I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry." Michel seeing Alex like this could figure out what happened to Carlo. She was sad inside, no she was devasted, but she was now tasked with the job offorting Alex as his mother, so she couldn¡¯t show her weakness now.

    "Alex stop crying... There¡¯s no need to apologize... I understand... Just tell us how it happened." Alex looked at Michel and saw the resolve in her eyes. Alex bit his lip and stood up and he started telling Michel and Lilitth the final moments of Carlo.

    When Lilitth heard that Carlo had died, she wailed. "Tou-chan you liar! You told me you¡¯lle back with Onii-sama!"

    As Lilitth was crying the silent twins started crying as well. Michel triedforting her children, even though she wanted someone tofort her as well.

    ¡¯This is going to be hard Carlo. The world is changing and you¡¯re no longer here with me and I have four kids to take care of... You really gave me the hardest mission of them all... But I willplete it no matter what.¡¯

    ...

    Rachel¡¯s reunion was met with a lot of questions, her mother Kumiko and her brothers all asked if she met Dan on the way. Rachel told them everything she saw, she exined how Dan did everything in his power to protect her. She told them that his body was nowhere to be found, but he did promise to return.

    "I bet he¡¯s out there somewhere having the time of his life fighting the mutated animals," Gabby said in which all of Rachel¡¯s brothers agreed. Kumiko smiled as well hearing what her son said and knowing her husband that would most likely be the case.

    ¡¯So you¡¯re going to make me wait again. You¡¯re seriously something else Dan Regius. Fine, I¡¯ll wait for you no matter how long.¡¯ Kumiko giggled as she covered her eyes.

    ...

    While everyone was having their dramatic reunion, Oliver and Matthew looked at everyone and showed a relieved smile. Even though they had no one left, they still felt happy that the others were able to reunite with their families. On the other hand, Kei and Evangeline looked around confused.

    "Um, Ms. Rika where are my parents?" Evangeline asked, "mine as well." Kei raised his hand asking the same thing. When the two of them asked that question, Rika looked at them with eyes of pity. Kei who was good at reading people was able to understand what that look meant. Evangeline was also quite perceptive and knew what Rika¡¯s look meant.

    Evangeline¡¯s body began to tremble, while Kei clenched his fist trying to calm himself down.

    "Ms. Rika where are our parents? Please tell us." Evangeline spoke her voice was trembling along with her body.

    "..."

    "Ms. Rika... Please..." Kei who was trying his best not to break down asked Rika with a shaky voice.

    Rika seeing the determination in Kei and Evangeline¡¯s faced, sighed. She didn¡¯t want to be the one to tell this, but she was the only one who should tell them.

    "Mr. and Mrs. Kain died at the hands of mutated animals, eaten alive alongside their servants." When Evangeline heard what Rika said she fell onto her knees and had a nk look on her face.

    "As for Mr. and Mrs. Kaido, they both died in a car ident. The car they were in was ttened by a telephone pole."

    Kei¡¯s face distorted as he heard this and he kept on nodding, trying his very best not to cry.

 Chapter 407 Lets talk

    <h4>Chapter 407 Let¡°s talk</h4>

    After hearing the tragic news about the deaths of their families, Kei was beingforted by Emily, Kyle, and Sarah. Evangeline, on the other hand, left and headed to the house where her parents lived in. While walking to the house Evangeline saw that the city had changed greatly as well as the people. While she was walking towards her parents¡¯ home she saw people using their newfound abilities. The kids were even ying in a way that was impossible to imagine in the past.

    The world right now was like the fantasy animes Emily likes. There were even some people flying above her head, others were teleporting here and there. It was a good thing no one was stealing or doing evil acts. Actually, it was weird even though the world has be a ce where survival of the fittest was thew, no one in the city was as savage as the people Evangeline and the others saw on their journey home.

    Evangeline was slightly curious about why this was happening, but because she wasn¡¯t feeling well she was in no mood to ask around. A few more minutes of walking Evangeline finally arrived at her parents¡¯ home.

    It was a three-story tall building, that used to have a lot of servants in it. It used to have a bustling feeling to it, as the maids and butlers inside the house moved around, but now it was more like a haunted house.

    It was obvious that after the attack of the monsters no one bothered to fix it. Evangeline walked closer and saw a bunch of flowers outside the house. There was even a tombstone that was most probably ced by Michel and the others.

    On the tombstone were the words. "May the souls of the departed safely reach Valha." Evangeline bit her lip in frustration as she entered the house. Upon entering, Evangeline saw that the walls were partially destroyed and the furniture was broken into pieces.

    Seeing the inside of the house Evangeline could imagine what happened. By looking at the wreckage Evangeline could somehow piece together each detail of how everyone died. The monsters dragged them all over the ce, while some of them tried to fight back they were no match for the creatures. There was one spot that had blood stains all over, it was in this spot that those beasts ate everyone in the house.

    Evangeline¡¯s body started to emit icy frost as she could no longer control her emotions. She knelt on the floor and started crying.

    ¡¯I should¡¯ve been there for you! If I was there you would be alive right now! This is all because of my obsession with Alex. If I stayed away from the mercenary life, and stayed with you two, I would¡¯ve been there... Why... Why did you leave me, mom... Dad...¡¯

    As Evangeline was going deeper and deeper into a depressive state, someone spoke.

    "Eva, is everything alright?" Teary-eyed Evangeline looked up and saw that Alex was there.

    "Do I look alright?! Of course, I¡¯m not alright!" Evangeline started crying even harder as she looked at Alex in pain.

    Alex who came without a n looked at Evangeline confused as to what to do next. He wasn¡¯t really prepared for this, he only followed Evangeline because he was worried. Yet now that he was confronted with something like this he didn¡¯t know what to say.

    "What, did you juste here to stare at me? To pity me?!" Evangeline stood up and looked at Alex straight in the eye.

    "If you¡¯re not going to say anything then, why don¡¯t you just go back to your precious Rachel and be with her! I don¡¯t need this! I don¡¯t need you!" Evangeline suddenly got even more emotional as she screamed.

    Alex was now really confused as to what was happening. Why did Evangeline mention Rachel in this situation? He couldn¡¯t say anything since he didn¡¯t understand why Evangeline was suddenly berating him like this. Alex kept silent as he truly didn¡¯t know what to say. So he did the only thing he felt was proper to do in this situation, Alex hugged the grieving Evangeline.

    Evangeline was shocked at first, but then she started to cry even harder than before. "Why are you doing this to me, Alex?! Please don¡¯t show me this kindness! I don¡¯t deserve it!"

    Alex didn¡¯t respond to anything Evangeline said and continued to hug her even tighter. Evangeline finally got the attention she wanted from Alex, but it didn¡¯t feel as good as she thought it would be.

    "Alex, I don¡¯t know what to do anymore." Evangeline¡¯s emotions were all over the ce and gaining Alex¡¯s kindness and undivided attention for the first time just made her even more confused. She could no longer hold it in and gave Alex a deep kiss.

    Stunned by the sudden kiss, Alex was unable to react for a few seconds. When he finally pushed Evangeline aside he looked at her confused and still unable to say anything. Evangeline, on the other hand, was about to say something, but someone interrupted her.

    "Alex, Eva, why don¡¯t the three of us have a very long talk." The person that appeared seemingly out of nowhere was Rachel. Alex was surprised and ckjawed when he saw Rachel. How long was she there? Was he so distracted that he was unable to sense Rachel¡¯s presence?

    Alex was about to make an excuse about what happened with Evangeline, but Rachel blocked his mouth by kissing him. This was even more surprising than Evangeline¡¯s kiss. If Rachel saw what happened, which she obviously did, why did she kiss him? He was expecting Rachel to p him, but instead, he gets a kiss. This just made Alex even more confused, this was the most confused he has ever been in his whole life.

    While Alex was trying to understand what was happening, Rachel looked at Evangeline with a smile on her face. Evangeline was pressured a bit by that smile, but she decided to smile back.

    "The three of us need to talk, are you willing to talk to me, Evangeline?" Rachel continued to smile as she said this.

    "Of course," Evangeline responded in kind.

 Chapter 408 Epilogue 1

    <h4>Chapter 408 Epilogue 1</h4>

    Ten years have passed and the world that was once a battlefield between humans against humans turned into a world were monster roam. Battles between humans were still happening but to a lesser degree as it was now a battle for survival for humanity against the monsters that came after the change.

    With their newfound abilities and the materials they gained in this new world, the humans were able to create powerful weapons that could enhance their abilities, with these new weapons the humans were barely holding onto their spot as the ones on the top of the food chain.

    For the sake of survival in such a dangerous new world, the remaining humans banded together to create thest fortress of humanity which they called, the Unified Human alliance.

    The humans of the Unified Human alliance have created a giant dome using the strongest new materials they can find. This dome they created was meant to withstand attacks from giant ss monsters, such as the mountain golem and dragons. Inside the dome, there is a simted day and night system. Due to being unable to go out of the safety of the dome, the humans were forced to figure out how to create an artificial sun or something that has the same effects as one.

    Now with their new technology even inside the Dome, the humans were able to grow nts and other such things that needed the sun¡¯s radiance. They were even able to replicate the different seasons inside the dome. Even though they didn¡¯t really need winter they still replicated it, just for the nostalgia. Also, some people liked the snow and ying in it.

    ...

    The giant dome that protects all of humanity was 4,953 km2, a massive structure that you can actually see with your naked eye from space. Yet it can also be considered a bit small as it houses the remaining humans, that has now dwindled into a few hundred thousand,pared to the previous billions.

    In this final utopia of humanity, life was the same as before as if the change never happened in the first ce. Still, there were a few differences from before the change. The biggest and greatest difference was that people had gained new abilities in the form of the so-called superpowers.

    In this new world, there were four categories of people. The first type were the ability users, these people had gained a one of a kind ability and even though they can only use this one ability,pared to the other types of people they are the top in terms of firepower.

    The second type were the magic users. These people have gained the ability to control a new form of power within the human body, which scientists called terrenam potestatem, but the masses called it mana. Unlike the ability users, the magic users could use a wider array of skills, yet their power wascking, but what theycked in power they make up for versatility.

    The third type were called the hybrids. These people were very rare, and they possessed both the qualities of the ability users and magic users. Among the four types, they are considered the most powerful.

    The fourth andst type were called the unchanged. These were the people who were unfortunate enough to gain no ability. They remained the same normal humans as before. The only difference was that they were slightly stronger than the old humans. Old humans are what the new generation calls the humans before the change.

    ...

    The other changese from the military standpoint of humanity. In this new world, there are no longer any mercenaries, as the mercenary system became a thing of the past. Now the only time you would see a mercenary is when you read about them in history books.

    The thing that reced mercenaries and soldiers are people that are now called hunters. The age of mercenaries had ended a few years ago, and the age hunters officially began.

    The hunters were a group of powerful individuals, that protect the dome from monsters. They are the only people allowed to leave the dome and have the privilege to look at the new world. Their purpose of heading out of the dome is to thin out the monsters near it. They are also tasked with searching for other humans that are surviving outside of the dome.

    They are also sometimes given the task to escort scientists outside the dome to study new kinds of monsters. Aside from those things they are also assigned different odd jobs, as long as it has something to do with outside the dome, then it¡¯s part of their job.

    ...

    Aside from the hunters, another force was kept. The police or the Special operating team still exists in this world. If the hunters are the people that deal with everything outside of the dome, the police are the ones that deal with the problems happening inside the dome.

    The police act with the same purpose as before the change, being people that enforce thew. But now they have added bonuses seeing as they were now facing superhuman level criminals. Even in this kind of world were the monsters outside could kill you, the most fearsome opponent of a human was still another human.

    ...

    Only the most powerful individuals can be a hunter or a police officer, they are also treated as the most prestigious jobs avable. Even bing the leader of a district paled inparison to being a police officer or a hunter. These individuals were treated as heroes, and the greatest of all these heroes was the group called the mercenary club.

    Each member of this small elite group of people has great influence in the new world.

    Kei Kaido was the Captain of the intelligence division of the police force. His ability to gather data and find hideouts of criminals was second to none.

    Emily H. Kaido the wife of Kei was his lieutenant in the intelligence division of the police force. Her skill in hackingplimented greatly with her husband¡¯s data gathering, that it said when the two demon officers work together no criminal can escape their sights.

    Oliver Minx was an S rank hunter the highest rank a hunter could have. It is said that by himself Oliver was able to kill a herd of monsters in only a few seconds. He has the highest monster kill count to date even higher than the so called strongest human Rika Saunter.

    Sayaka M. Minx among all the powerful individuals in the mercenary club, Sayaka was the most mysterious. There was not much information about her that was known to the public, except for her being Oliver¡¯s wife and having a baby boy with him. Aside from those two things, everything else was simply rumors about her.

    Niel Rayheart among all the members of the Mercenary Club was arguably the most famous. Unlike hisrades in the mercenary club, Niel decided to be an actor instead of bing a part of the fighting force. With his handsome looks, his great strength, and charisma, Niel quickly became one of the top actors in the industry. For everyone else this was normal, but for the other members of the Mercenary Club, they found it weird for Niel to quit being a hunter.

    Niel Rayheart was like his master Lyner, he loved the feel of a battle. So when he retired from being a hunter everyone in the Club felt it was weird, and questioned him. Yet no matter how they asked he would only give a vague smile as an answer.

    Evangeline K. Samarita, the second wife of Alexander Samarita. As Humanity¡¯s numbers dwindled, the government had allowed polygamy, which allowed Alex to marry both Rachel and Evangeline. Aside from being Alex¡¯s second wife, Evangeline was also a part of the Council, which was a gathering of the highest government officials in the Unified Human Alliance.

    She was the governer of five districts in the dome, which was considered the highest amount of districts given to any individual person. Aside from that, she was also called the ¡¯Ice Queen¡¯ not only because of her ability to control ice but because of her icy demeanor, which coupled with her style and beauty made her look like a queen.

    Rachel R. Samarita the first wife of Alexander Samarita. She who is called the ¡¯me princess¡¯ is the current Director-General of the police department. With her power and skill, alongside her beautiful yet cute demeanor, she was granted the nickname me princess, unlike Evangeline¡¯s queen position, Rachel looked less mature and cute so she wasbeled with princess instead of queen.

    With her aggressive stance and personality, she dealt with criminals with swift and powerful justice. Making the whole underworld fear her name.

    Finally the leader of the Mercenary Club, Alexander Samarita. He among all his peers is considered the strongest. He was the only human alive that could put up a decent fight against the strongest of humanity Rika Saunter. He was also the current leader of the Hunters organization. With his stoic look and powerful abilities, any rowdy new hunter is said to be punished by him with a swift punch to the gut. It was also said that among all the members of the Mercenary Club, Alex was the only one you shouldn¡¯t anger since Alex¡¯s wrath was like no other. The only people that could quell Alex¡¯s anger were his wives, and his children.

    He was also considered the role model of all the magic users. In the current world, he and Rika Saunter were the two most powerful individuals.

 Chapter 409 Epilogue 2

    <h4>Chapter 409 Epilogue 2</h4>

    In the middle of a wide backyard, a ten-year-old boy was swinging a wooden sword. He was crying as he kept on swinging the wooden sword up and down. The ten-year-old boy had a familiar looking face that most people would know. This was because, except for his amber hair that he inherited from his mother, his overall look was the exact replica of his father who was a famous hero.

    This boy who was crying while swinging a wooden sword was noneother than the son of the hero and the saint, Lyner and Anita Resteti. His form as he swung the wooden sword was near perfection itself, if it was before the change, he would be considered a once in a generation genius. But now he was someone who had no ability, and to add to that he wasn¡¯t even granted the strength boost that most unchanged have. He was, in short, the only Old human left, the new organ that everyone has in them was forcefully removed by his mother from birth. This led to his overall characteristics being exactly the same as the old humans. Which made him biologically weaker than everyone else, as even the unchanged had a bit of an upgrade after the incident.

    "Sigmund, why are you crying?" Anita came to the backyard and saw her son swinging a wooden sword, but she then noticed that he was crying.

    Seeing his mother approach him, Sigmund stopped swinging his wooden sword and started running towards Anita. He then hugged Anita tightly while burying his face on his mother¡¯s chest.

    "Can you tell mommy why you¡¯re crying?" Anita gently hugged her son while patting his back.

    "Everyone¡¯s making fun of me."

    "Why are they making fun of you?"

    "I went out today to y with some of my school friends, and I learned that all of them got their powers during the summer break. They were all showing off their superpowers and when they asked me what kind of superpower I have, I told them I don¡¯t have any powers. The other kids then said they don¡¯t want to y with an unchanged like me. Then even my friends asked how was I the son of a hero if I can¡¯t even use any superpower."

    "Oh, you don¡¯t need any superpower to be great. Your father was way more powerful than any other person with a superpower, and he was like you."

    Sigmund took a little peek at his mother and asked, "really?..."

    "It¡¯s true, you can go ask Alex and the others about him. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll tell you that even they with all their abilities couldn¡¯t match up to your father."

    "Really big bro Alex and everyone in the Mercenary Club, can¡¯t win against dad?"

    "Of course, you can go ask them anytime." Hearing what his mother said, made Sigmund feel a bit better as he wiped away his tears. He was then about to go back to practicing his sword swings when he heard three kids calling for him.

    "Sigmund nii-san"

    "Aniki."

    "Sigmund nii-chan!"

    Three kids came out to the backyard, they were Alex¡¯s children. Amelia Samarita, Rachel and Alex¡¯s eldest daughter. She had long ck hair tied in a ponytail, like her father Amelia¡¯s facial expression looked devoid of any emotion. She greeted Sigmund and bowed her head. She was currently eight years old.

    The next one was Randolph Carlo Samarita, Alex¡¯s only son that he had with Evangeline. He was given a second name that was simr to Alex¡¯s adoptive father¡¯s name. He had a fierce look about him, with his silver hair that he inherited from his mother, he looked like a character that came out of an anime. He was also eight years old and only a few months younger than Amelia.

    Last but not least was the cutest of the Samarita children, Hime Samarita. She was the youngest daughter and her mother was Rachel. With her big round eyes, her twintails that resembled her mother¡¯s, and her cute smiling face, she was a force to be reckoned with. She was now five years old.

    "I¡¯m sorry auntie Anita, I need to go to an important meeting, and no one else is home right now. Can I leave the children with you for a while?" Rachel came to the backyard running after the children.

    "Of course it¡¯s alright, I like it when they¡¯re here. It¡¯s always lively when the children are here."

    "Thanks, auntie, everyone mommy will be going to work now. So all of you need to be good children and listen to Nana Anita."

    "YES!" The three responded in unison. After thanking Anita one more time, and kissing her children goodbye Rachel immediately left.

    ...

    "Aniki, look at this!" Once Rachel was gone, Randolph suddenly created a block of ice. Sigmund was surprised to see this. Usually, children of the new generation would gain ess to their abilities when they reached nine to ten years old. But Randolph was able to do it a year earlier.

    "Awesome right! Now I have the same ability as Kaa-san. Even nee-san can use the same ability as Kaa-chan."

    To show Sigmund that Randolph was telling the truth, Amelia summoned a ball of me on her fingertips. Hime happily pped her hands as she watched her two older siblings showing their new abilities. She then looked at Sigmund with sparkling eyes.

    "Sigmund nii-chan, show me your ability! I¡¯m sure it¡¯s going to be awesome!"

    "I want to see as well Aniki." Amelia nodded her head agreeing with Randolph¡¯s statement.

    Seeing all the attention was on him, Sigmund couldn¡¯t handle it and ran away. The three Samarita siblings looked bewildered by Randolph¡¯s sudden escape. Anita who was watching the whole situation could only sigh. She didn¡¯t n on following her son since she wanted her ten-year-old son to figure things about his own feelings by himself.

    As the son of Lyner Resteti, this was a trial he needed to ovee by himself.

    ...

    A few dayster Sigmund was still being teased at school, and his usually smiling face could no longer be seen. Anita really wanted tofort her son, but this was something she believed Sigmund needed to ovee by himself. Still, it should be alright to help him out a bit.

    "Sigmund I made your favorite, buffalo wings!"

    "Oh, thanks, mom," Sigmund responded with less enthusiasm than Anita expected.

    ...

    The following day while Sigmund was heading home from school he took a detour and arrived in front of a statue. This particr statue was something he used to love seeing, but nowadays he hadplicated feelings about it that he couldn¡¯t understand. This was the statue of histe father Lyner Resteti.

    Sigmund looked at the statue that practically radiated pride and punched it.

    ¡¯Why?! Why am I so weak! Why am I different from everybody else!¡¯ Sigmund was irritated when he found out that he was the weakest person in the ss. Even the other unchanged like him were way stronger than him. He used to be the strongest in ss but now everyone, even the unchanged were mocking him.

    Sigmund then looked up at his father¡¯s statue and gnashed his teeth. ¡¯If you¡¯re able to be the strongest, that would mean I can do it too! I am after all the son of the hero!¡¯

    It was at that very moment Sigmund vowed to himself that he would be stronger than his father, stronger than Alex, stronger than Rika Saunter, stronger than anyone else.

 Chapter 410 Final : Valhalla

    <h4>410 Final Chapter: Valha</h4>

    After fighting another gruesome battle against the enemy of the Gods, Lyner was happily drinking in the hall of heroes.

    "Ahh, Beer after a good day¡¯s battle this really is heaven!" Lyner wasn¡¯t the only one acting like this, in the hall of heroes. Millions of dead heroic figures were gathered in this table, and a lot of them were battle freaks like Lyner.

    It has been a few years since Lyner arrived in Valha and in those years he has already battled a lot of historic figures, and he has won all his battles. The current Lyner was now stronger by leaps and bounds than he was back when he was alive.

    Still no matter how strong he gets, when he¡¯s out there fighting the enemies of the Gods it was still hard. Even in this afterlife, there was a chance for permanent death. Many warriors have fallen, but many replenished them, but for some reason, that stopped for a while around ten years ago.

    Upon questioning the neers, they learned that something bad was happening in the mortal realm. Still, that didn¡¯t really bother the Gods nor the dead, as their purpose remained the same.

    ...

    While Lyner was drinking alone, he spotted some familiar people in the corner of his eyes. Two people were fighting furiously. One of them was Carlo Samarita, and the other was Richter Greyhound.

    "Die a second death you bast*rd!" Carlo punched out while shouting at Richter.

    "By your hands? Impossible," Richter scoffed as he prepared to block the punch. But before the punch could reach Richter, someone stood in front of him, and another caught Carlo¡¯s hand.

    "That¡¯s enough you two." The neer in front of Richter was his older brother Leon. On the other side, the one who caught Carlo¡¯s hand was Arthur Glory.

    "We are already in the afterlife, grudges we had in the mortal realm shouldn¡¯t exist here." Richter wanted to say something to Arthur but then, a beautiful maiden appeared beside him. This was his wife Tanya, who shook her head.

    "Don¡¯t fight him anymore Richter."

    "Tsk, Fine if that¡¯s what you want." Richter reluctantly backed off. Carlo was about to gloat but then another person suddenly appeared beside him.

    "Don¡¯t bother doing this Carlo. It won¡¯t change anything." The one who appeared was Richter¡¯s son, and Alex¡¯s biological father Richard. Hearing what Richard said, Carlo was finally able to calm down.

    When everyone was about to go their separate ways after calming down a bit, they suddenly jumped to the side. Somebody was shooting at them.

    "WOW! It¡¯s been ages guys, there are some people who I know and some I don¡¯t but all I know is all of you are pretty strong! So how about we do a little Valha greeting, and fight!" The one who suddenly spoke saying such a vicious statement was Lyner. Most of the people present knew who this was, but the others like Richard and Tanya didn¡¯t know, all they knew was some crazy person suddenly attacked them.

    The other warriors eating their meals stopped and took some distance from the fight. Since this was a normal thing to happen, they were used to it and knew what to do. Once they were some distance away the warriors started making bets on who would win.

    ...

    "Lyner, what the hell are you thinking?!" Arthur questioned while dodging the barrage of bullets heading his way. These bullets were unlike normal bullets in the mortal realm as they were specifically made to kill demons, which made them stronger and sturdier than normal. Arthur who could usually catch bullets barehanded couldn¡¯t do so with these ones.

    "What else could I be thinking! There are strong people that I know of when I was alive, and they¡¯re all together in one spot. Of course, the only thing I¡¯m thinking about right now is fighting all of you guys together!"

    While Lyner was speaking in excitement someone was able to get behind him. Tanya with a spear at hand was about to pierce Lyner, but before her spear could reach Lyner something blocked her. There were wires all over the ce stopping her spear from moving forward.

    "Hello, former SS rank Tanya. I¡¯ve read about you in history books, and I¡¯m happy to meet you. Here¡¯s my weing gift." Lyner then entangled Tanya using his wires. Like all his current weapons the wires he was using were also meant to deal with demonic beings. So even someone like Tanya couldn¡¯t escape using her own strength. Lyner was then about to kick Tanya in the gut when he was suddenly forced to evade.

    Richter and Richard were shooting at him. While Lyner was evading the bullets, he suddenly shifted his head slightly as a fist past by him. Arthur then began close-quartersbat with him, while Richter provided cover fire, and Richard helped his mother Tanya from the wires.

    Once she was free, Tanya then started to help Arthur in the melee against Lyner. It was then Lyner sensed danger and could barely evade by ducking, as a scythe sliced through the air, almost taking his head off. Leon was waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack and when he saw it he took it, but even with his surprise attack, Lyner was still able to evade.

    When Lyner was about to counterattack and hit Leon, a whip-like sword entangled his right hand. Carlo was able to use the gap Leon made to sneak attack Lyner.

    Seeing his arm entangled, Lyner suddenly used full RELEASE and tightened his muscles while pulling Carlo towards him. Carlo being overpowered by Lyner let go of his weapon. The six of them took some distance from Lyner and surrounded him.

    The moment Lyner went into his full RELEASE state, the six of them unconsciously felt how dangerous he became. Lyner who was outnumbered and surrounded by such powerful opponents smiled that vicious smile of his and spoke in joy.

    "THIS IS GREAT! THIS IS AWESOME! VALHALLA REALLY IS PARADISE FOR A WARRIOR! To be able to fight all of you guys, in your peak states is a joy I cannot describe. It¡¯s intoxicating, I can¡¯t get enough of it! Now I¡¯m going to get serious! I hope you guys keep up!"

    Before Lyner attacked, Richter used his version of full RELEASE and was about to attack, but Lyner was still quicker and came in front of him.

    "You go down first!" Lyner who was an equal match to Richter when they were alive, grew so much stronger than his opponent that Richter could no longer keep up. Richter saw Lyner¡¯s hand about to chop on his neck, his eyes could follow the movement but his body couldn¡¯t react on time.

    Lyner took out the most troublesome opponent first with a heavy chop to the neck making Richter faint. Tanya and Arthur reacted at the same time and attacked Lyner from the right side, and the left side. Lyner then took hold of Tanya¡¯s spear and Arthur¡¯s hand, after that he pulled on them making them trip a bit. Lyner then kicked both of them in the chin, at the exact same time. His speed at this point defied all logic. The two fainted after that attack.

    Carlo and Leon reacted a secondter than Tanya and Arthur. Carlo used his whip sword to sweep Lyner¡¯s legs, while Leon used his scythe to slice Lyner from above. Lyner then jumped evading the two attacks while spinning horizontally in mid-air.

    After evading Carlo and Leon¡¯s attacks Lyner did a spinning kick that hit the two of them at the back of their necks, making them faint. Richard was thest one standing, but he wasn¡¯t able to do anything, since the moment Lyner went into full RELEASE he immediately caught the weakest of the six using his wires. Richard was unable to move as he watched everyone fall one by one.

    The battle was over, Lyner won, and the surrounding warriors cheered.

    ...

    Arthur slowly opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Richter and Lyner drinking beer. He looked around and noticed that he was sitting in one of the tables in the hall of heroes. He was sitting with Lyner, Richter, Carlo, Tanya, Leon, and Richard.

    He then heard Carlo and Richard having a discussion about Alex. Carlo was telling Richard about how Alex grew up.

    "And get this, that son of ours actually had not just one but two girls that like him so much. I¡¯m sure many more girls were chasing him around."

    "So that boy actually became a yboy. I guess that¡¯s your fault isn¡¯t it!" Richard shouted angrily at Carlo.

    Arthur also heard Tanya trying to stop Lyner and Richter from continuing there drinking match.

    "Heh, you already lost to me in battle, of course, you¡¯re no match for me in drinking as well." Lyner happily provoked Richter.

    "Shut up you punk! You were still in diapers when I started drinking!" Richter responded while gulping down another beer.

    "Really you two, let me join in as well!" Leon happily started drinking.

    "You three better drink slower. You might choke if you do it like that. Come on, are the three of you, teenagers?" Tanya sounded a bit exasperated.

    Arthur was dumbfounded when he saw the scene before him. Moment ago all these people were trying to kill each other, but now they were all sitting in a table drinking and happily talking to each other.

    Arthur couldn¡¯t help but smile as he took a mug of beer as well. "I¡¯ll show you guys how to really drink! Back in the mortal realm, I was also called the Saint of Drinking!"

    ...

    The former enemies drank and made merry, awaiting for the next day when a new battle begins.

 Chapter 411 After Story: Emilys proposal 1

    <h4>Chapter 411 After Story: Emily¡°s proposal 1</h4>

    It has been two years since the world has changed. After the initial shock of the monsters, the powers, and everything the new world has to offer the humans did what they were best at, they adapted to the situation.

    After the humans gained their new supernatural powers, the mercenary system quickly changed after a few months and it turned into the hunter system. The monsters of the new world had a lot of materials that help in making weapons, armor, buildings, and other things. In fact, they were a lot of new elements that appeared which never existed in the old world.

    The hunter system was created as the name implies to hunt. The more powerful new humans were tasked to hunt the monsters not only to protect the weaker humans but to collect materials. During this time the humans had worked tireless as one, for this was a matter of survival of the human race. After a while, the humans were able to create a safe haven by using the materials they gathered from monsters and created a city in a dome.

    ...

    While the hunters were out killing monsters, gathering materials, saving refugees, and doing other odd jobs, those left in the dome were slowly returning back to their normal lives. Because of the security given by the hunters and the dome, the monsters became less and less of a threat. Once people felt secure, they startedmitting numerous crimes. Also due to everyone gaining these miraculous powers, it was easier tomit felonies. In fact, unlike before were skill mattered, in this new world most things depended on how strong your supernatural power was.

    In the beginning, the hunters would deal with these problematic criminals, but after the city expanded and the need for monster materials grew, the hunter organization was unable to deal with everything. So the police force was once again established. Unlike the hunters, the police force specialized in dealing with the changed humans.

    Two of these police officers were Emily and Kei. With Emily and Kei¡¯s information-gathering skills no criminal could escape their. Also being a part of the now extremely famous Mercenary Club, the criminals fear them.

    ...

    On one particr day after apprehending another superpowered criminal, Emily was about to invite Kei out for dinner was rejected.

    "Sorry Emi, I have something else to do after this." Kei didn¡¯t wait for Emily to respond before leaving her confused. She tried following him on foot but as she went outside the police building Kei was nowhere to be seen.

    "This is happening more often than before. What is he doing that¡¯s more important than going on a date with me?" Emily bit her lip as she headed to a nearby building.

    ...

    Emily was now in her special room, which had differentputers surrounding her. She was looking at all the footage taken from all the CCTVs within the dome.

    ¡¯I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re hiding Kei, but I¡¯m going to find out no matter what.¡¯ After looking at all the video footage and following Kei¡¯s movements, she found nothing. Kei was able to walk through all the blind spots of the CCTVs. Once he disappears from the camera¡¯s view he quickly changes his appearance which made it even more difficult to track him down.

    ¡¯As expected of Kei, you already knew I¡¯ll try spying on you. Of course, you might think you can lose me this way, but you haven¡¯t seen what I¡¯ve been working on for the past few months.¡¯

    Emily took out her mini drones that had spy cameras built into them. She then used her power of teleportation to teleport her drones to all the blind spots of the CCTVs. Once that was done, she was able to find where Kei was.

    He went to the Hunter organization¡¯s headquarters. Seeing this Emily hacked into their database to see if Kei made a request. After a few minutes, she was able to find it. Kei had hired hunters to find some materials. Seeing the list of materials Emily was able to figure out what Kei wanted.

    ¡¯These are all of the materials needed to make a ring.¡¯

    ...

    After learning the truth of what Kei was doing, Emily quickly called her brother Kyle to tell him what was happening. "Oh, so he finally going through with it."

    "You knew?"

    "Of course, I knew. He told me months ago. Seeing as I¡¯m your only living rtive, I became the stand-in for dad, Kei came to me and asked for my permission to marry you. At first, I wanted to do the traditional I¡¯m not going to hand my daughter to you, or in this case sister, but I didn¡¯t... Well, seeing as Alex already has a child and another oneing, which basically came from your two only women friends, I didn¡¯t want you to be left out. Face it, if I told Kei that I won¡¯t hand you over unless he wins in a fight against me, then you two would never get married. Well seeing how slow he is in asking you to marry him, that might actually happen."

    "No, he¡¯s just waiting for the materials to create his own special ring." Emily tried to defend Kei from her brother.

    "Oh, that, you know how many rings he had made already... Six, he had made six rings already, and he lost them all. The first time was when he was going to propose to you after you apprehended a criminal, he lost it during the chase. The second one he lost when he got nervous and dropped it into the toilet and identally flushed it. I don¡¯t know what happened to three to six, but I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s equally embarrassing."

    When Emily heard what Kyle said she couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit anxious. ¡¯He was going to propose after apprehending a criminal? If I leave this to Kei, our proposal story might turn into aedy instead of something more romantic. I don¡¯t want to tell the others I proposed to after beating up a random criminal.¡¯ While Emily was thinking Kyle¡¯s phone started to ring. Kyle answered and once he was done he spoke to Emily.

    "Oh look, Kei just called and apologized to me again, as he once again lost the ring. This guy is hopeless when ites to these things."

    "You¡¯re right onii-chan! If I want something done right, then I should do it myself. Why should I wait for Kei to propose to me, I should be the one to propose to Kei!"

 Chapter 412 After Story: Emilys Proposal 2

    <h4>Chapter 412 After Story: Emily¡°s Proposal 2</h4>

    Kei was down in the dumps as he had failed on proposing several times now. He was always a meticulous person, that was the only thing he was proud of being amongst the superhumans in the Mercenary Club. Yet now he was failing so horribly over and over again.

    ¡¯If I¡¯m having trouble now in just giving the ring, how am I going to deal with married life, and with Emi no less?... I already tried my best but I guess I was never fit for her nor was I fit to be part of the Mercenary Club.¡¯

    ...

    Kei was feeling a bit depressed since after failing to propose and losing the ring again, he had read an article about the Mercenary Club. The article focused on each of the members of the Mercenary Club.

    When Kei read the article he was once again reminded of how absurd his friends were. On the other hand, when they got to the part about him it wascklusterpared to the others. Kei looked at the article again and sighed.

    ¡¯I¡¯ve changed so much and I tried so hard but all of that was for naught, I still couldn¡¯t keep up with them. Am I really right for Emily?... She¡¯s bright, she¡¯s beautiful, she¡¯s fun to be with, she could¡¯ve gotten anyone she wanted, but she still chose me... If I break up with her she would kill me... Maybe it¡¯s okay to die if it was by her hands.¡¯

    While Kei was walking deep in thought he suddenly remembered that he had a date with Emilyter. He was going to propose to her then, but now that he had lost the ring, he didn¡¯t feel like meeting with Emily today. He would feel too ashamed to face her. Kei then took out his phone and called Emily, after a few rings she picked up.

    "Hey Emi, I¡¯m sorry but I have something important that I need to do so that date of ours I won¡¯t be able toe." Kei was ready for Emily to scream in anger and teleport beside him, but to his surprise, she didn¡¯t do that.

    "Oh it¡¯s alright, I¡¯m actually with onii-chan right now, and we were nning to go out and do something." When Kei heard that Emily was with Kyle, he was once again surprised. Didn¡¯t he just call Kyle a while ago, does Emily know about the proposal? As Kei was about to ask Emily she spoke first interrupting him.

    "Alrighty Kei, see you, bye-bye, love you." Emily ended the call there and then. Kei¡¯s mind was in a mess as he looked at the ended call.

    ¡¯What are they doing? Did Kyle tell Emi about the failed proposals?... Damn, of course, he did after that many repeated failures even someone as cool as Kyle would¡¯ve found it frustrating. Will he advise Emi to break up with me? Well even if he does Emi won¡¯t do it, would she?... Now that I think about it, she might actually do it Emi loves Kyle way too much... Am I screwed? Wait this might be a good thing, I love Emi too much to force her to marry a screw-up like me. Still, can I give her up to another man?¡¯

    Kei closed his eyes and imagined Emily with another man. The moment he saw Emily happily holding another man and was about to kiss him Kei reacted by raising his hand and was about ready to attack. The people who were walking beside him suddenly stopped and looked at Kei as if he was crazy. Some took out their phones and were recording Kei, while the others looked like they were about ready to call the police.

    Kei felt truly embarrassed as he bowed his head and said sorry to everyone present. He then showed his badge to the gathered people and told them that he was part of the police force and reassured them that no one needs to worry. Once he was done apologizing and exining the situation Kei quickly left the scene.

    ...

    Kei continued to be depressed as he wandered around the streets. While he was walking he had bumped into some criminals and was able to swiftly apprehend them. He then went to the nearest station to drop them off.

    Unlike in the past when he was still that freshman who was cowering inside his room, he was much better now. Kei¡¯s current abilities with the usage of his newfound power were among the top of humanity, not to mention his physical ability had grown from all the training he did in these past two years. His physical abilities and skills could have ced him as a B rank merc back in the old days.

    Still even after everything he did, even though he was the one who had worked the hardest among those in the Mercenary Club he was still nowhere close to the others. The weakest next to him would be Evangeline but even her skills were beyond his. Not only was her overall skills better than his, but even her control over her ability was exemry.

    ...

    As Kei continued to feel down he noticed that he was already in another ce. The scenery was a familiar one. He looked around and was sure that this was the park where Sir Lyner¡¯s statue was ced. Kei¡¯s feet had unconsciously led him to this ce.

    Kei turned around and as he expected there stood the statue of the man who stood proud and tall even as he faced his death. The statue was a very urate depiction of Lyner¡¯s final moments.

    "I guess even now I can always rely on you Sir Lyner." Kei sat on the bench in front of the statue.

    "Sorry I didn¡¯t bring anything to offer you today. I wasn¡¯t expecting toe here... Hey Sir Lyner, I already tried my best, but it doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s enough. What do you think I should do? I feel so inferior to everyone else, and I don¡¯t think I can keep up with her if this keeps up."

    Kei smiled wryly as he looked at the statue of his teacher.

    "Oh sorry about that, I forgot to tell you I was nning to propose to Emily, but I failed multiple times already. I can¡¯t even do something so simple, I feel so ashamed." At that moment Kei felt like he could hear Sir Lyner¡¯s voice talking to him.

    "Are you an idiot? If your best isn¡¯t good enough then you must go beyond that. If you really are a student of mine you wouldn¡¯t give up even if you keep on falling down, you will push yourself to stand. Stop disturbing my sleep and go out there and meet with Emily, don¡¯t you daree back until you propose."

    Kei knew that the voice he was hearing was just his thoughts of SIr Lyner taking form, but even so, just hearing his voice scolding him made Kei feel better.

    ¡¯Yeah, he would say something like that, I¡¯m sure of it.¡¯ As Kei was getting motivated, his face was suddenly covered by a bag, and he was handcuffed with power suppression cuffs. These cuffs were made by Anita and various researchers to stop the super-powered viins from wreaking havoc. This was supposedly only avable to the police, but it seems like someone was able to get one under the radar.

 Chapter 413 After Story: Emilys Proposal 3

    <h4>Chapter 413 After Story: Emily¡°s Proposal 3</h4>

    Kei who had been cuffed by power suppressing cuffs, and had a bag on his head tried to listen to the outside sounds. The first thing he noticed was that there was no sound. He was just at the park a while ago, and even though there were few people, there should still be people around making different noises. Yet now they were all gone the only thing he heard were two different footsteps.

    One was light and made a click-ck sound that was normal for someone wearing high heels. The other was barely audible footstep,ing from a trained person. The only people who could make such sounds were professionals like the former mercenaries. The current hunters and those super-powered viins don¡¯t have the skill to do this.

    ¡¯So it¡¯s a pair, a woman and a man. I didn¡¯t hear any screams, and the atmosphere changed in but a single second. Also, even though my face is covered by this bag, I can still smell things. The scent of the surrounding area changed as well. It¡¯s obvious that we changed locations in a second. That would mean, the sounds of walking is but a trick. In truth, we have been teleported to a different ce. I only know of two individuals that fit the specifications that I have thought of."

    "Emi, and Sir Kyle, what do you think you¡¯re doing?"

    "..." No one responded by they stopped moving.

    "I know it¡¯s you two."

    "I don¡¯t know who the f*ck this Emi and Sir Kyle are but if you don¡¯t shut up, I¡¯m just going to kill you." The one who spoke had the voice of a rugged man.

    "You know Emi, you should have prepared better. Why would someone kidnap me, and know nothing about Emi and Sir Kyle, whom I¡¯m close to? Also, who in this day and age, that lives in this dome doesn¡¯t know the members of the Mercenary Club?"

    "We don¡¯t care about those kinds of sh*t things. All we do is what we¡¯re ordered to do. Who cares who you are, we were simply told to capture the man who was sitting at the bench facing the statue."

    When Kei heard this, he was starting to waver a bit. The things that man said made sense. There was also the fact that the sound of his voice wasn¡¯ting from the person wearing high heels, instead, it came from the guy carrying him.

    ¡¯Still, Emi is good at changing her voice as well as using ventriloquism. If I remember correctly she learned those skills from Sayaka.¡¯ While Kei was thinking, the man with the rugged voice spoke.

    "You finally stop talking. The less you know the better. Since if you learned more than your supposed to, we would have to kill you."

    Hearing what the man said Kei¡¯s wavering heart, wavered even more. He was confused, even though all the signs pointed in the two being Emily and Kyle, he was no doubting himself.

    ¡¯This is why I can never match up to those guys... Just a little change and I lose my resolve. I am such a loser...¡¯ Kei gritted his teeth as he once again fell hate for himself. He then shook his head, ¡¯I need to stop that. If I want to continue to walk beside them, then I need to show my resolve. If I¡¯m mistaken then what¡¯s the worst that could happen, death?¡¯

    "Hey Emi, you better stop this act since I already know it¡¯s you guys."

    "I keep on telling you that I¡¯m not this Emi person. Anyway is Emi the name of a guy?"

    "This act is fooling no one. Also for the entire time your partner hasn¡¯t talk."

    "I haven¡¯t talk because I didn¡¯t feel like it. Now that you have heard my beautiful voice are you happy?" The one who spoke had a very cute tone, it wasn¡¯t anywhere near what Emily sound like, but for someone of Emily¡¯s it was much easier to change into a cute girl voice than the gruffy male one.

    "Emi, where are you taking me?"

    "I already said there¡¯s no Emi here, if you don¡¯t shut up then I won¡¯t care about the reward for taking you in, I¡¯ll just kill you now."

    "Do it then, kill me."

    "Huh?"

    "If you don¡¯t kill me with your own hands, I¡¯ll help you and bite my tongue."

    "Why the f*ck will you do that?"

    "If you really aren¡¯t Emi and Sir Kyle, then that would mean I was truly captured. So as to not be a liability to those I care about then I should remove your bargaining chip which is me. Seeing as I can¡¯t escape on my own, so this is the only action I can take at this point."

    "Huh? That doesn¡¯t make any sense?" The sound of the woman talking was bing a bit panicky. Others might not have noticed, but Kei who has a keen ear for such things was able to notice the change in the person¡¯s pitch.

    "Well, it doesn¡¯t really matter if it makes sense to you or not. As long as they make sense to me. Hey, if you really aren¡¯t Emi, if you ever meet her can you tell her that I¡¯m sorry for everything." Kei bit his lip and blood starteding out. The blood then fell onto the bag that was covering his face.

    "STOP THAT!" The bag that was covering Kei¡¯s head was removed. He then saw two familiar figures. Emi was looking at him in shock and panick, on the other hand Kyle had a look of surprise on his face. He was blind but his other senses were heightened, so when he smelled blood he knew that Kei wasn¡¯t bluffing.

    "I knew that it was you." Kei smiled as his lips continued to bleed. Emily who was holding back her tears pped Kei¡¯s cheeks.

    "KEI YOU IDIOT!" After saying those words Emily teleported away, leaving a bewildered Kei and a confused Kyle.

 Chapter 414 - After Story: Emilys Proposal (Final)

    <h4>Chapter 414 - After Story: Emily''s Proposal (Final)</h4>

    After the incident, Kei and Kyle headed towards a nearby restaurant to talk. It was a good thing Emily didn¡¯t teleport them outside the dome, or else both Kei and Kyle would¡¯ve gotten lost. After ordering their drinks Kyle faced Kei and sighed.

    "Do you understand what you did wrong?" Kyle asked Kei as he took a sip of his coffee.

    "...I ... I really don¡¯t know. I was just trying to confirm if you guys were really not the people I knew."

    "So you betted your life on a guess?"

    "It wasn¡¯t really much of a guess, it was a hypothesis I arrived after thinking about it properly."

    "An educated guess nheless is still a guess. I will ask you once more, so you risked your life on a guess?"

    "... I did bet my life on a guess..."

    "So now, do you understand why Emily was angry?" Kei tried his hardest to think about it, but he couldn¡¯t get the answer. He then shook his head as he responded.

    "I don¡¯t understand why she¡¯s angry, in fact shouldn¡¯t I be the one who¡¯s angry for her doing all this?"

    "It¡¯s like you haven¡¯t gotten use to my little sister¡¯s selfishness. She did all that because she could no longer wait for your proposal and wanted to do it herself." A sudden realization dawn upon Kei.

    ¡¯I see... She certainly would¡¯ve done something as ridiculous as kidnapping me if that was her reason. Still, I wonder why she got angry?¡¯

    "Sir Kyle, can you please tell me why she was so angry?"

    "I thought that among those in that ridiculous club of yours, you would be the one who has the highest EQ." Kyle couldn¡¯t help but sigh before he continued. "My sister and I have lost our parents early on in life, you do remember that right?"

    "Of course I do, how could I ever forget."

    "Then you must understand, most of my sister¡¯s selfishness stems from that past of ours. You see my sister, might look like she¡¯s always confident, always happy, yet the truth is deep inside my little sister is insecure, and afraid. She scared to lose those things that she finally acquired using her own power. Among all of you, she¡¯s the one who¡¯s scared of losing those important to her. Now do you understand why she got angry?"

    "... Because I gambled my life, and was actually ready to die... I didn¡¯t think of her feelings, I was actually only thinking about mine. The failed proposals, the bet, my insecurities, all I was thinking about was myself. I was actually trying to marry her, to share my world with her, but in the end, I failed and I only thought about myself... I guess I was the selfish one." Kei weakly smiled as he spoke.

    "Heh, took a while to realize that. So now what should you do?"

    "I should apologize to Emi."

    "And?"

    "I will propose to her, this time I won¡¯t fail."

    "Good, so now go."

    "Umm, do you know where she went?"

    "Aren¡¯t you the guy that can gather all the information in this dome? Aren¡¯t you the person who can find someone with only a few clues? Aren¡¯t you Kei Kaido of the Mercenary Club?" Hearing what Kyle said, Kei couldn¡¯t help but smile.

    "Thanks Sir Kyle."

    "No need for that since your going to marry my sister. You should call me onii-chan as well."

    "O-o-o Onii-s... Onii-san..." Kei blushed as he said those words. He then bowed and left the restaurant.

    "Well, I guess that¡¯s eptable for now, but you better improveter."

    ...

    Emily was at the roof of the dome and was looking at the sky. The world had truly change, as the birds at the sky were the size of an airne, there were even some mythical beings like wyverns flying above. Usually Emily would be excited as she looked at the changing world. Yet today she only felt dejected.

    ¡¯I can¡¯t believe I actually pped Kei! Wasn¡¯t I going to propose to him, yet how did it end up like that?¡¯ Emily ruffled her hair in irritation.

    ¡¯I shouldn¡¯t have done something so borate and kidnapped him. Of course, Kei would react like that... I should probably apologize to him.¡¯

    "I wonder if Kei would forgive me?" Emily mumbled to herself.

    "I¡¯m the one who should be asking forgiveness." Emily was shocked as she turned around. There standing behind her was Kei.

    "How did you find me?"

    "Have your forgotten who I am? I¡¯m Kei Kaido of the Mercenary Club, even if you try to hide in the underworld I¡¯ll still be able to find you." Kei confidently replied with a smile on his face. Seeing him act like that Emily couldn¡¯t help but giggle.

    "Now that¡¯s the Emi I know. Looking at the sky while being mncholic isn¡¯t your style."

    "Aren¡¯t you angry, that I did something like that?"

    "Why would I be angry, isn¡¯t that something you do normally? I should be the one to apologize. Even though I already knew it was you, I still did what I did. I shouldn¡¯t have done something like that." Kei sat down beside Emily as he spoke.

    "Even so, it¡¯s my fault for doing something like that. If it was the others, they would¡¯ve gotten angry and attacked me." Emily spoke while looking at the bright blue sky.

    "That¡¯s not something to feel sorry about. If you stop doing these things, then you wouldn¡¯t be the Emily Hunt that I fell in love with." Emily was surprised to hear what Kei said and turned her head towards Kei. When she turned her head she saw that Kei was kneeling on one knee in front of her and had box with a beautiful ring inside.

    "Emily Hunt, I know that I might not be the brightest nor am I the strongest, but I¡¯m sure that I¡¯m the person who loves you the most. To me you are my whole world, my everything. So how about we have fun until our endes. Emily Hunt, will you marry me?"

    Emily was shocked at first, but after a while she smiled as tears glistened in her lovely eyes. She then gave her answer.

    "No."

    "Huh?" Kei wasn¡¯t expecting her to answer that and got a little panicky. It was at that moment Emily also knelt on one knee in front of Kei and showed him a ring simr to his.

    "Love is never simple, it¡¯s always unexpected and uncertain. Yet even knowing all that I want to be with you. From now on, I want to spend all and every single one of my days until i die ying with you, bickering with you, ying pranks with you, sharing my feelings and my everthing, only with you. Kei Kaido, will you marry me? You better say yes." Emily showed the brightest smile as the sun shone down upon them.

    Kei who was panicking moment ago looked at Emily dumbfounded, he was mesmerized by her dazzling smile, but after a few seconds he scratched his head and sighed.

    ¡¯This is the woman I love, always unpredictable. Well, that¡¯s what¡¯s cute about her.¡¯

    "Yeah, of course I¡¯ll marry you."

 Chapter 415 - After story: The Blind Kyle

    <h4>Chapter 415 - After story: The Blind Kyle</h4>

    Due to the loss of his eyesight, many things became hard for Kyle, but after he gained his supernatural power from the new organ that gave him the ability to sense the weakest spot of another person, losing his eyesight wasn¡¯t that bad. In fact, because of the loss of his sight, all of his other senses had improved.

    He was more attuned with his surroundings than ever before. The only downside of his blindness was that he could no longer admire Sarah¡¯s paintings. Also every time they talked Sarah was obviously sad when she¡¯s reminded that Kyle could no longer see. This made Kyle feel bad as well.

    ...

    "I just don¡¯t know what to do. How can I make her feel better?" Kyle wrapped his head in frustration. He was currently inside his house talking with someone. The person sitting in front of him had a stoic expression. He looked at Kyle for a few seconds before responding.

    "So you called me to talk about how to make someone feel better? Instructor Kyle I don¡¯t think this was the right call." Alex replied while looking at the downhearted Kyle.

    "Among all my friends, you¡¯re the closest one in age to me. Also, I¡¯m sure the oh so perfect Alex would be able to deal with such a simple problem."

    "I¡¯m far from perfect instructor... Also wouldn¡¯t it be better to ask someone more experienced in this field?"

    "Is the person with two wives really saying something like this?"

    "You do know that the reason for me having two wives is because of the decline in poption. Also, it¡¯s not like I did anything special to get two wives. They came to me on their own." Alex said all of this with his stoic expression. Kyle even though blind was looking straight at Alex with a dumbfounded expression. He then mumbled under his breath as he clicked his tongue.

    "Tsk, look at this guy flexing so naturally like that."

    "I¡¯m not flexing or anything just stating facts." Even though Kyle spoke in a barely audible voice Alex could still read his lips, so he knew what was said. Hearing Alex¡¯s response Kyle sighed.

    "I forgot you were this kind of absurd human."

    "Instructor I don¡¯t even understand why you need anyone¡¯s help. If I remember correctly when ites to girls you were the absurd one."

    "Huh, what are you talking about? Aren¡¯t you talking about yourself?"

    "I remember one time you made a girl you just met blush like crazy and follow you around. I remember the conversation you had with her the very first time you met. You first spoke about how you were a sniper and then after a fewughs, you said these words. I only need one shot to pierce your heart."

    When Kyle heard what Alex said he remembered that exact conversation. He also used that line a lot of times with different kinds of girls. Yet when he heard iting from Alex he felt embarrassed.

    "You¡¯re one to talk. I once saw you cate a whole group of girls. What was it you said on that day?... Oh right you said with that stoic face of yours, I can¡¯t be swayed by your pretty faces nor your alluring voices. Saying those words with that look made them squeal."

    "What¡¯s the problem with that? I just told them the facts. They were indeed beautiful women, with alluring voices since they were idols. Still, I was on a mission so I had no time to deal with them. So I told them the facts, so what was wrong with that, I don¡¯t get it?"

    Hearing Alex¡¯s response Kyle couldn¡¯t help but facepalm. ¡¯This guy did grow emotionally somehow, but he¡¯s still so clueless. Of course, he won¡¯t be embarrassed by saying something like that, he doesn¡¯t even understand the other meaning of what he said.¡¯ This time Kyle simply thought of it so that Alex couldn¡¯t hear it.

    "I know that I¡¯m clueless in this sort of thing, so you do need to exin to me what the hidden meaning behind my words were." Kyle was now genuinely surprised as he replied.

    "What the f*ck did you just read my mind? Did you gain the ability to read minds now?"

    "No, I have not gained the ability to read minds. I just guessed what you were thinking, based on the conversation we just had, your subtle body movements, as well as my basic understanding of you, all of these factors lead me to this conclusion. You most probably thought, Alex, is so clueless and doesn¡¯t even know the hidden meaning behind his words."

    "The heck you really are such an absurd being."

    "So instructor I think you really don¡¯t need someone like me giving you advice in this situation. Just being yourself is enough, I¡¯m sure that your wife would be happy if you just be yourself. If it¡¯s you instructor I¡¯m certain that everything would be alright."

    Alex¡¯s indifferent tone changed into a more gentle one. Kyle could not see but he felt like Alex was smiling at him. When Kyle heard those words and felt that warmthing from Alex, he couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. This guy sitting right in front of me is saying such words that could make someone¡¯s heart start racing so easily.

    "You really are such an absurd monster."

    "Instructor can you please stop calling me a monster."

    "Sure, sure... Alex, thanks for the advice. I feel a bit confident now that I heard what you said. If you believe in me so much, then as your instructor I need to follow up in that belief."

    "It¡¯s good that you sound like the normal instructor Kyle now." Kyle stood up and ce his arms around Alex¡¯s shoulders.

    "So to celebrate this breakthrough we¡¯re going to drink until we drop."

    "You do remember instructor, that unlike you I don¡¯t get drunk so easily."

    "Oh, is that a challenge? How c.o.c.ky of you Alex, let this instructor of yours show you true despair." Unable to reject Kyle, Alex drank with him. After a dozen drinks, Kyle became tipsy but he didn¡¯t give up. After a couple of dozen more, even Alex was feeling wobbly, on the other hand, Kyle was already too drunk to do anything.

 Chapter 416 - Alternate Reality: Another Day

    <h4>Chapter 416 - Alternate Reality: Another Day</h4>

    It was the day after the school y, many students now knew more about the Mercenary Club. So in the clubroom that used to be rather empty, was now filled to the brim with students. There was even a very long line just outside the clubroom. All of them were here to ask for help from the Mercenary Club.

    Most of the students already knew about the members of the Mercenary Club. Who in the school didn¡¯t know about them, since they were all rather popr. There had been many rumors about them since most of the members were model-like. They were not only good-looking, but they were also intelligent and extremely capable. Aside from Kei Kaido, the members were considered by most of the student body as perfect beings.

    Now that they had an influx of many students, the members of the Mercenary Club found it difficult to deal with. Unlike before, were they had only one or two choices to pick from, they now have multiple choices which made it difficult to choose who to help. They couldn¡¯t help everyone and needed to choose the most appropriate one to help. Still, to figure out who to help they needed to hear every club¡¯s request.

    There were multiple ones that requested them to cheer for their club. Of course, Oliver was quit to reject such requests. This obviously made the presidents of these clubs pissed as they didn¡¯t like this decision and so they protested.

    "Why did you reject our proposal without reason?"

    "Yeah, we need your help as much as the next person. You¡¯re discriminating against us. As students of this school, we have rights too you know?"

    Oliver sighed as he listened to the foolishments of these random club presidents. It took most of his willpower to hold himself back from hitting these idiotic people. Still, he was rather surprised that these guys weren¡¯t backing down upon knowing who he was and seeing his huge frame.

    "Alright, I¡¯ll give you an exnation since you clearly don¡¯t understand why I rejected your proposals. Okay, let¡¯s see here. Your request was to have our female members cheer for your club. Now the question is why would we do this? Shouldn¡¯t you ask the Cheerleading Squad to do this instead? In the first ce, does the Chess Club need people to cheer for them? If I remember correctly, you can¡¯t even talk in a chess game, much less cheer."

    The president of the Chess Club lowered his head in embarrassment, he didn¡¯t know how to respond to that. On the other hand, the other club presidents continued to be persistent.

    "Alright we understand the reason for Chess Club not being in need of a Cheer Squad, but how about us? Surely the Rugby Team needs Cheerleading." Hearing the Captain of the Rugby Club¡¯s argument made Oliver sigh once more before he responded.

    "As I said before, why don¡¯t you ask for help from the Cheerleading Squad?" Oliver said exasperatedly.

    "Well for starters, the Cheerleaders in the Cheerleading Squad are alright, but they are no matchpared to the beauty of the members of the Mercenary Club." Oliver once again sighed, how many times has it been since the start of the day, he could no longer remember.

    "You do understand that there are only three girls in our club, how do you expect them to cheer better than the Cheerleading Squad?"

    "They don¡¯t need to cheer, all they need to do is stand there. Just looking at their pretty faces are cheers enough." When Oliver heard the Rugby Captain¡¯s replied, he facepalmed.

    "Do you even hear what you¡¯re saying? Do you even understand words? It¡¯s pointless to talk to you, no matter what you say, we won¡¯t agree to your request."

    The Rugby Captain and the other club presidents that have a simr request became infuriated by Oliver¡¯s answer. Some of them were about to get physical out of anger/ Alex and Niel were about ready to restrain them and throw them out of the clubroom, yet before they could do that Emily interjected and spoke in a coquettish voice.

    "Ara ara ara, what do we have here? Some naughty little boys havee." Emily approached the nearby Rugby Captain and caressed his face with her index finger. She then showed him and every other rowdy club president a seductive look.

    "So you want us to cheer for you? You do know I can¡¯t do that. Does a Goddess cheer for her worshippers or is it the other way around? Shouldn¡¯t you guys be cheering for me? I¡¯ll give you one chance right now, be my ves and I will allow you to stay in my presence."

    For some reason, Emily had this charm about her that made you want to follow. Still, the Captain of the Rugby Club wasn¡¯t easily fooled. As he was about to say something, he saw the other club presidents with him kneel down on one knee and shouted in unison. "Yes my Queen".

    "What¡¯s with you guys, are you really doing this?" The Rugby Captain spoke in shock.

    "Show your loyalty to your Goddess, and throw out the non-believer!" Emilymanded as she pointed at the Rugby Captain. The club presidents who swore fealty to Emily look at the Rugby Captain with crazed eyes and started to swarm him. The Rugby Captain tried his hardest to resist but was eventually thrown out of the clubroom.

    Oliver and the other members of the Mercenary Club well except for Alex showed a dumbfounded expression, upon witnessing that scene. They already know that Emily was very charismatic and she knew how to control a crowd but this was a whole other level. She made several students into her ves within a second.

    After that incident, the Mercenary Club continued to interview the various clubs. There were many clubs that just came to not really ask for help but to simply ogle at them. Even after listening to several dozen of students, they still couldn¡¯t find one that was worthy enough to help. The day ended with them just listening to nonsense requests.

    ...

    The members of the Mercenary Club left the school more tired than they have ever been. Even Alex who was always stoic looked a little bit out of it. As they were about to leave the school premises, the group heard someone calling to them.

    "Hey guys, wait up!"

    The person who called was Evangeline, the student council president. She approached the group and quickly noticed, that they look haggard.

    "What¡¯s wrong with you guys? Is everything all right?" Evangeline asked looking a little worried.

    "It¡¯s nothing really, we just had a long day," Niel answered, still showing that perfect smile of his but without the usual glow.

    "Oh, I see... If you guys have some time to spare, how abouting to my house and have some tea? It¡¯s nothing much but it might help alleviate the stress of the day."

    Each of the Mercenary Club members looked at each other¡¯s faces and as if they were able to read each other¡¯s mind, they nodded in unison.

    "Sure, let¡¯s go to your house," Oliver responded.

    "I haven¡¯t been to Eva¡¯s house, I wondered what it¡¯s like," Sayaka answered with a little excitement in her voice.

    "If it¡¯s not too much of an imposition," Kei Kaido answered with a little bit of hesitation.

    "Sure! that sounds like fun," Emily happily responded.

    Niel shed the best smile that he could muster at the moment and answered. "It would be rude not toply with ady¡¯s request."

    "Well since you ask, I¡¯ll go as well," Rachel answered while shrugging her shoulders.

    "..." Alex looked at the group with his usual stoic expression and said nothing. Everyone was waiting for him to respond. After a few seconds, Alex finally spoke.

    "Since Rachel is going, I will go as well." When everyone heard Alex¡¯s response, they showed different reactions especially Rachel and Evangeline. Rachel was blushing so much that she looked like a red tomato. On the other hand, Evangeline looked like she was stabbed in the heart and was about to cry, but she held it in. She shook off the hurt she was feeling and responded with a forced smile.

    "Very well then, let¡¯s all go to my house." That was how the day ended for the Mercenary Club. It was just another usual mundane day in the life of the members of the Mercenary Club.

 Chapter 417 - Basketball Club

    <h4>Chapter 417 - Basketball Club</h4>

    In the next few days, the Mercenary Club continued to listen to the request of other clubs. Due to their growing poprity in the school, many clubs continued toe to request different kinds of requests. There were a lot of nonsensical requests and most of the clubs didn¡¯t really need their help, they just came to have a look. It was on the third day, a club finally came to them with a decent request. There in the room with them was a tall student standing six feet and three inches. This was the Captain of the Basketball Club.

    "So what¡¯s your request? What kind of help do you need the Mercenary Club to do?" Oliver asked looking a bit more tired than usual. He was half expecting the Captain of the Basketball Club to request the girls to be cheerleaders. This was because most of the sports club had requested the same thing. Ever since Sir Lyner went away it became quite hard to find decent requests.

    "The Basketball Club is currently facing a serious problem. Half of our yers got into a fight with a delinquent group and were suspended from school. So they won¡¯t be able topete in the uing inter-high tournament. We¡¯re missing yers and won¡¯t be able to join thepetition. So I was hoping if you guys can sub in as yers?"

    Every member of the Mercenary Club except for Alex looked at the Captain of the Basketball Club with a dumbfounded expression. They couldn¡¯t believe their ears, an actual honest to God decent request. It took a while for them to digest what was said. Oliver then pped his hands and replied in a happy tone.

    "Of course we can help you. We¡¯re the Mercenary Club, no request is too big or too small for us. So do you want us to be reserved yers or do you want us to y?" The Captain of the Basketball Club scratched his head before replying.

    "Actually, truth be told we only have three yers including me left in the team."

    "Wait... So you¡¯re telling me, the entirety of your team is just six yers? Cause you said, half of your team was suspended, so since half is literally three that would mean... So that¡¯s all of you?"

    "I know... It¡¯s embarrassing to say, but the Basketball Club is really not that popr. After the upperssmen graduated, no one had joined since. Even back then we weren¡¯t that popr since we haven¡¯t won a single game in the past decade. We are actually considered the worst team of the entire high school basketball scene."

    The Captain of the Basketball Club spoke in total embarrassment and was expecting Oliver to reject his request but something different happened, he noticed that Oliver¡¯s eyes were practically sparkling.

    "So you want us to y, of course, we can do it. That¡¯s a great request! You guys know how to y right?" Oliver asks the other boy members of the Mercenary Club.

    "Basketball is the one were you throw a ball into a hoop, right? I¡¯ve tried that during the time I was looking around the other clubs. I can y it and I do understand the rules." Alex answered with his usual indifferent tone and stoic expression.

    "I do know how to y a little and you can say that I¡¯m a little good at it. I did help the Basketball Club back when I was in middle school." Niel answered with a bright smile on his face. The truth was he wasn¡¯t just a little good at it, he was great. Back in middle school, his middle school basketball team won the championship with his help, and he wasn¡¯t even a member. During the entirety of the tournament, Niel did not score a single point but he had the most assist and rebounds.

    "I do know the rules, but... I¡¯m not really that good at it, I hope that¡¯s alright." Kei answered a little embarrassed.

    "How about us girls, what are we going to do? Our Basketball Club is an all-boys Basketball team right, so are we not needed?" Rachel asked.

    "Well... If you want to join in the fun, you guys can be our cheerleaders." Oliver suggested while shrugging his shoulders.

    "I guess we have no other choice. I don¡¯t really like the idea of being a cheerleader too much, but I guess doing it with the two of you should be fun." Rachel looked at Emily and Sayaka.

    "Yeah, we get to wear cheerleader uniforms. Don¡¯t worry, I know just the ce where we can get cute ones." Emily excitedly responded.

    "Dressing up, dancing, and cheering Oliver on, does sound pretty fun," Sayaka spoke with a coquettish smile while looking at Oliver who averted his gaze which made Sayaka giggle.

    ...

    The Captain of the Basketball Club was excited to hear that the boys of the Mercenary Club would help his club. He wasn¡¯t expecting them to agree since he heard that the Mercenary Club has rejected all the other clubs up until now. So when he heard Oliver agree, he was truly surprised and happy at the same time.

    Alex¡¯s skill has already been proven back when he tried out for the club. Niel was pretty famous back in middle school for being the greatest point guard of his year. He hasn¡¯t seen Oliver y but based on Oliver¡¯s physique and his physical prowess, he should be quite decent. With these three onboard, it didn¡¯t really matter how bad Kei was.

    "So when is the game going to start?"

    The Captain of the Basketball Club who was already daydreaming about their victory, snapped out of it when he heard Oliver¡¯s question.

    "The first game is going to be two weeks from now against Hope high school."

    "That doesn¡¯t really give us too much time to practice. So how about we start now?" Oliver suggested. He was getting a little bit excited since they haven¡¯t been doing anything but listen to BS request for the past few days.

 Chapter 418 - Overwhelming simply overwhelming

    <h4>Chapter 418 - Overwhelming simply overwhelming</h4>

    Alex and the group headed towards one of the gymnasiums in the school, where the Basketball Club was assigned to. Upon arriving, the first thing the group noticed, was that out of all of the gymnasiums, this one was the shabbiest. The group entered the gymnasium and saw two people ying one on one basketball.

    The two who were ying didn¡¯t notice that Alex¡¯s group entering the gymnasium as they continued ying against each other. Alex looked at the two who were ying and noticed that they were moving in an inefficient manner. The two of them liked using feints but they did not know the right timing on when to use them. The Captain of the Basketball Club pped his hands to catch the two yers¡¯ attention.

    The two yers stopped ying and looked at the new arrivals. They were quite surprised to see their Caption alongside the members of the Mercenary Club.

    "So you were actually able to do it, Daniel?" One of the yers spoke with an astonished tone.

    "Hey, while we¡¯re doing club activities, don¡¯t call me by my name, call me Captain. Also, of course, I was able to convince them. Were you expecting a different oue?" Daniel, the Captain of the Basketball Club replied.

    "I believed in you, Captain. I knew you would be able to bring them over."

    "Stop sucking up at the Captain, Robert. It¡¯s embarrassing."

    "Alright, alright, stop it you two. How about you guys introduce yourselves to our guests."

    The yer who was speaking a bit disrespectfully spoke first. "The name¡¯s Luke, I¡¯m the ace of this club and you better remember it."

    "I¡¯m Robert, it¡¯s nice to meet you guys."

    After the two introduced themselves, the members of the Mercenary Club did the same. Once everybody was acquainted with each other, Oliver spoke.

    "Now that everybody has made their greetings, how about a practice game? The members of the Basketball Club versus us, the members of the Mercenary Club."

    "I know that Alex is good in one on one, but Basketball is a team sport, and I don¡¯t think it would be fair if we y against you guys," Luke responded to Oliver.

    "It¡¯s just a practice game, no need to get serious. I¡¯m sure that you guys also want to know what level we are at. This is also a good way to understand each others¡¯ ys."

    "Oliver is right, this is a good chance to see each others¡¯ abilities. So let¡¯s y one game." Daniel agreed with Oliver. Luke sighed as he shrugged his shoulders. On the other hand, Robert readily agreed, excited to y.

    ...

    On one side were Daniel, Robert, and Luke, and on the other side were Alex, Oliver, and Niel. The two groups called a neutral party to be the referee and scorer. The game was about to begin with the jump ball, Oliver was the center for the Mercenary Club and Daniel was the center for the other group.

    As the referee tossed the ball upward, both Oliver and Daniel jumped at almost the exact same time. Yet it was Oliver that was able to tip the ball. Niel caught the ball and immediately passed it to Alex. Upon receiving the ball, Alex was near the half-court line and the hoop he was supposed to shot in was on the other side of the court. Yet Alex didn¡¯t even bother to dribble the ball, he didn¡¯t even make a proper shooting posture, he just flung the ball over.

    Everyone present was surprised to see what Alex has done. Even the Basketball Club members, who have seen Alex y before, didn¡¯t expect him to do that. Thest time he yed they already taught Alex how to shoot with a proper form. So it was surprising for them to see Alex simply toss the ball over. He even did it beyond the half-court. The members of the Basketball Club were already expecting the ball to go out of bounds or bounce out of the hoop, so they needed to get the rebound.

    On the other hand, Oliver and Niel were already in their defensive positions on their side of the court. The ball finally dropped and it didn¡¯t even hit the rim as it sunk through the hoop with a satisfying swoosh sound. The referee and the members of the Basketball Club were stunned into silence.

    On the other hand, the members of the Mercenary Club had different reactions. Most of them were already expecting something of this level to happen.

    "That¡¯s a three-pointer, right?"

    When the one in charge of recording the score heard Alex¡¯s voice he snapped out of his shocked state and nodded his head, he then flipped the scoreboard showing Alex¡¯s team gaining three points.

    Daniel shrugged off his surprise and shouted at his teammates. "Focus! We¡¯ll score as well!"

    The Basketball team were now on the attack. Robert was the point guard and he was being marked by Niel. As he was about to pass the ball to Luke, Niel suddenly intercepted him as he was making the motion to pass. Niel was able to steal the ball and passed it to Oliver, who was already running towards the hoop. No one was able to catch up to Oliver, who had made a fast break and dunked into the hoop. The score was now 5-0 and not even a minute has passed.

    This trend continued for the entire game. Every time the basketball club had the ball, Niel would easily steal the ball and with extreme precision, pass the ball to either Alex or Oliver. When Alex gets the ball, no matter where he was, he would simply toss the ball, and it would sink into the hoop. On the other hand, when Oliver gets the ball, he would do some shy moves and dunk the ball with extreme force.

    During the game, many people started gathering in the gymnasium to watch the match. The whole gymnasium was now filled with students.

    The game ended with a score of 148-0, it was an overwhelming victory for the Mercenary Club. As the audience were pping for the Mercenary Club¡¯s victory, the Basketball Club felt ashamed at their performance. What made it even worse for the Basketball Club was that they were sweating profusely and panting heavily while Alex and his group didn¡¯t even seem to be tired. Seeing that was a huge blow for them.

 Chapter 419 - Ambushed

    Oliver was heading home when he suddenly heard the sound of numerous footsteps following behind him. Oliver quickly headed to an empty alleyway. He smiled and said the words he had always wanted to say before.

    "I know you guys are out there, how abouting out now."

    When Oliver said those words the footsteps stop and he actually felt a little giddy with excitement. Then after a while, some people starteding out, ten, twenty, thirty. There were thirty people that appeared which surprised Oliver, he was expecting at most ten people, he wasn¡¯t expecting this many, not to mention each one of them were holding some kind of blunt weapon. Still, Oliver did not show that he was actually a tiny bit frightened.

    "So many of you, I wonder what do you want from me?" One of the people surrounding Oliver stepped forward with a smug look on his face.

    "We just want you to be unable to y next week. We¡¯re-" Before the punk could finish his sentence one of hispanions bonked him on the head.

    "Why are you telling him too much. Let¡¯s just beat him up a bit and get this over with."

    "I see, so you guys must be sent by the opposing team."

    "Tsk, I guess because of this idiot it became pretty obvious. Well, it doesn¡¯t really matter, you¡¯ll get beaten up all the same."

    "Wow, it¡¯s such an honor to have so many of you targeting me. Still, even without me, the others would be able to win the match."

    "Heh, that¡¯s what you think, of course, we also sent some men to mess up your friends as well."

    "How many?"

    "You got a lot of questions, but sure I¡¯ll answer since I get to smack your headter. We sent about six men each to mess them up. I heard your club was called the Mercenary Club and you¡¯re the president, and looking at you it doesn¡¯t look like you¡¯re just all talk, you really do look like a mercenary. Heh, well it doesn¡¯t really matter if you have those bulging muscles, since getting hit by a metal club will hurt all the same."

    When Oliver heard what the punk said he could not help but chuckle. They sent most of their men to him, while Alex and the others only get six.

    "What the heck are youughing at!"

    The man holding a metal bat charged at Oliver and swung it aiming at Oliver¡¯s head. A loud thud sound resounded throughout the alleyway. The punk who was smiling suddenly had a look of horror as he saw the scene before him. He thought that Oliver had his head bashed in, but instead, his metal bat was now bent.

    Oliver had blocked the metal bat using his forearm. It was the first time in ages since Oliver truly got hurt, but for some reason, all the fear he felt a while ago was blown away. Oliver then startedughing loudly which unnerved the thirty punks.

    "You guys are idiots, you actually only sent so few people to the most dangerous one in our group."

    ...

    While Oliver was dealing with the group of delinquents, the others were also experiencing a simr situation. Emily who had brought Kei to y in the arcade frowned as she and Kei were suddenly surrounded by a group of boys.

    ...

    Niel was also being surrounded by a group of delinquent-looking students but he was still smiling brightly.

    "Can I help you with something?"

    "Damn it, just looking at this guy¡¯s face is already making me feel irritated." One of the students spoke.

    "Yeah, you can help us by eating my fist!" Another student could no longer hold it in and initiated a punch. Niel easily evaded the punch grab hold of the student¡¯s hand and twisted it downward.

    "It would seem like you guys don¡¯t want to have a civilized talk. Hmm, I can do this your way and beat each one of you, but I do not really want to, so how about we all calm down and have a proper conversation."

    Niel spoke while continuing to smile and still holding the student¡¯s hand twisting it. The look on Niel¡¯s face and the action he was doing made the whole scene look surreal.

    ...

    Alex was heading home with Rachel when he stopped. He then looked around the street and after making sure that there were no uninvolved people around he spoke.

    "You¡¯ve been following us for fifteen minutes now, so how about showing yourselves?"

    Alex¡¯s indifferent tone and the fact that he knew when they started following him made the students who were hiding felt a little unnerved. They wanted to catch Alex by surprise, but it was them who was caught by surprise. They looked at each other and nodded. Since they were already spotted might as well get this over with.

    The moment the group of students came out of their hiding spot, Alex was already in front of them. He delivered a punch to the gut to the nearest person making him faint, and then he quickly moved and did a spinning backhand hitting another student¡¯s face.

    Alex had caught them by surprise and was able to quickly neutralize two opponents. Alex did not give them time to react and continued his assault. Alex did a frontal punch aimed at the chin of another student. Once that student fainted Alex charged forward with a roundhouse kick to the neck neutralizing another student.

    Now there was only one left who was still stunned in ce because of how fast things happened. The unknown student was about to run away when Alex got him into a sleeper hold. Alex was about to interrogate the remaining student when he got a call from Oliver. Alex passed the student over to Rachel who held him down, seeing the student was secured Alex then answered his phone.

    "Alex, did some thugse and attack you?"

    "Affirmative, but the threat has been neutralized. I¡¯m assuming from this call that you two have been ambushed."

    "That¡¯s right, it¡¯s not just me, the others were also ambushed. It would seem that this basketball game isn¡¯t as simple as we thought."

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