The otherwise peaceful Mansion was engulfed in a storm of rage today.
Rain tapped against the enormous windows lining the western side of the building, the sound almost completely swallowed by the thick walls and expensive furnishings. The long hallway was illuminated by warm golden lights, reflecting off polished marble floors.
A servant stood in the middle of it.
On his knees.
His head was lowered.
Across from him stood a man with red hair.
Abrius.
The S-Rank Awakened’s hands were clenched tightly at his sides.
His orange eyes burned with fury.
"How?!"
The servant swallowed.
"Sir—"
"How did two of my personal assassins not only lose to a damn Teenager, but also get arrested by the association?!"
His voice echoed through the hallway.
The servant lowered his head even further.
"The association anticipated—"
Abrius’s expression twitched.
"So what if they anticipate it?"
He took a step forward.
"I told you to make sure that boy could never move again."
"Yes, Sir."
"And yet two assassins go there, fail to kill a single person, get beaten, and then get arrested by the damn Association!"
The servant’s hands trembled.
"We... we underestimated—"
Abrius stared at him.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he laughed.
There was no humor in it.
"Underestimated?!"
"Do you have any idea in how much trouble I’m going to be in because of your damn underestimation?"
He turned away, running a hand through his red hair.
"My son has been unconscious for a week."
The servant remained silent.
Abrius’s voice became quieter.
"Do you understand what that means?"
"Yes, I do, Sir."
"No. You don’t!"
He looked back.
"That boy is my son."
"He’s an extention of me!"
Abrius’s eyes narrowed.
"That bastard Eden nearly killed him."
The servant didn’t dare answer.
"And what happened to Eden?"
Abrius spread his arms.
"Nothing."
His voice rose again.
"He walks away. He goes back to his insignificant house. He goes back to his little life. He doesn’t even spend a night in the hospital."
He slammed his fist into the marble wall.
A spiderweb of fractures spread across the stone.
"And my son can’t even open his eyes!"
The servant flinched.
"Sir, please. We will find another way. Just give us a little more ti—"
Abrius turned toward him.
"You’ve already had enough time."
"I know."
"Then tell me why I shouldn’t—"
He stopped.
Something had changed.
The servant noticed it too.
The hallway had become darker.
The shadows at the far end of the corridor had simply... moved.
Abrius slowly turned his head.
The darkness shifted again.
Then a figure stepped out of it.
Black clothing.
A hooded robe.
Hands calmly folded behind his back.
Short purple hair.
Bright green eyes.
His expression was completely relaxed.
The servant immediately recognized him.
His face went pale.
Abrius’s anger disappeared for a moment.
"Null."
Null stopped several meters away.
"It’s been a while."
Abrius’s eyes narrowed.
"You have some nerve coming here."
"I suppose I do."
"You enter my home without permission."
Null glanced around the mansion.
"I didn’t see anyone stopping me."
The servant looked terrified.
Abrius took a step toward him.
"What business does the Vice-guildmaster of the Crimson-Crow have coming here?"
"I’d like to offer you an opportunity."
"For what?"
"To solve a problem."
Abrius scoffed.
"I don’t need help from Crimson-Crow."
"Perhaps not."
Null’s gaze shifted briefly toward the servant.
"But judging by the conversation I walked in on, you’re having trouble handling some kid."
Abrius’s expression hardened.
"Watch your words."
"I didn’t mean it as an insult."
Null’s voice remained calm.
"I mean that you’ve already sent two assassins after him. They failed. They’re now in Association custody."
Abrius said nothing.
Null continued.
"And your son is still unconscious."
The room went quiet.
The servant looked at Null as if he’d just signed his own death warrant.
Abrius’s eyes burned.
"Choose your next words carefully."
Null smiled faintly.
"I’m offering you a solution."
Abrius stared at him.
"You want to send more people?"
"Not people like the ones you sent."
Null’s smile widened slightly.
"Professionals."
Abrius folded his arms.
"And what does Crimson-Crow want in return?"
"That’s the interesting part."
Null took another step forward.
"We don’t necessarily need anything from you."
Abrius raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing?"
"For now."
Null stopped.
"Consider it an investment."
Abrius studied him.
He didn’t trust the man.
That much was obvious.
But he also knew what Crimson-Crow was.
A criminal organization with hundreds of Rogues under its influence.
They had people who specialized in things the Association couldn’t openly acknowledge.
Assassinations.
Kidnapping.
Sabotage.
Disappearances.
And, apparently, they were willing to deal with him.
Abrius’s anger slowly gave way to something else.
A smile.
"Professionals, huh?"
"Yes."
"And you think they’ll succeed where mine didn’t?"
"I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t."
Abrius chuckled.
"Then I’m listening."
Null’s green eyes gleamed.
"Good."
Eden was dead.
At least, that was what Elias believed.
He stood in the center of the boss chamber, breathing heavily.
Around him lay the bodies of the raid group.
Amara.
The three older D-Ranks.
And the others.
All dead.
Elias slowly wiped his sword clean.
He looked toward the pile of rubble where Eden had disappeared.
Nothing moved.
A grin spread across his face.
"Thought so."
He sheathed his sword.
"Now that’s what I call a successful hunt."
He crouched beside the boss monster.
The corpse still contained valuable materials.
Elias began cutting into it.
There was no hesitation in his movements.
He collected the usable materials and placed them into a bag.
Then he moved to the other bodies.
Weapons.
Relics.
Anything valuable.
He took it.
The dead didn’t need them.
Elias was reaching for Amara’s bag when—
a piece of rubble moved.
He stopped.
His head turned.
"Hm...?"
Another stone rolled away.
Elias stared.
The pile shifted.
Then a hand emerged.
Eden pulled himself free.
His clothes were dusty.
His hair was a mess.
But he was standing.
Elias stared at him.
For the first time since the betrayal, genuine surprise crossed his face.
"You’re alive?"
Eden didn’t answer.
A System window hovered in front of him.
[Skill Rank Increased!]
[Phase Shift → B-Rank]
Eden stared at the notification.
’B-Rank, huh.’
He should have been happy.
One of his strongest skills had just ranked up.
But he couldn’t bring himself to care.
Not right now.
His eyes slowly moved toward Amara’s body.
Her blood was still spreading across the stone.
Eden’s jaw tightened.
He closed the System window.
’Later.’
He’d think about the skill later.
Right now, there was someone in front of him.
Someone responsible.
Elias stared at Eden for another few seconds.
"How did you survive that?"
Nothing.
[Phase Shift]
"Did you—"
Elias shook his head.
"Whatever."
He picked up his sword.
[Defensive Form]
"Doesn’t matter."
He suddenly disappeared.
Eden’s eyes shifted.
A burst of Essence fueled movement.
He recognized it immediately.
’Burst Step!’
A skill that allowed the user to cross a large distance almost instantly by consuming a significant amount of Essence.
Elias appeared directly in front of him.
His sword came down.
Eden raised one hand.
Clang!
The blade stopped.
His fingers had closed around it.
"...!"
Elias’s eyes widened.
Eden looked at the sword.
Then at Elias.
The attack hadn’t even forced him to move.
Elias tried pulling the weapon back but eden didn’t allow it.
Eden’s eyes remained cold.
Elias kicked him.
The impact struck Eden directly in the face.
His head barely moved.
Elias immediately realized something was wrong.
’Is he a tank?’
He abandoned the sword.
Burst Step activated again.
He appeared several meters away.
[Stealth]
Elias saw Eden disappear.
"Stealth?"
Elias’s expression tightened.
For a moment, Eden was nowhere to be seen.
Elias waited.
One second.
Two.
Then he felt movement behind him.
He smiled.
"Really?"
Raw Essence erupted around him.
The explosion tore through the area behind him.
Stone shattered.
Dust filled the air.
Elias looked through it.
"Did you seriously think such a petty trick would work on me?"
Eden emerged from the smoke.
Elias shook his head.
"That’s a low-rank Stealth skill. I’ve fought people who could do better than that."
Eden didn’t respond.
Instead, his body changed.
His stance lowered.
His Essence surged.
[Phase Shift]
[Offensive Form]
Power flooded through his body.
Strength.
Agility.
Everything increased.
Then another System window appeared.
[Heir’s Pride]
His attributes surged again.
His Essence output rose.
Elias’s smile disappeared.
’Oh?’
He finally understood.
’The first version of Eden I saw during the Raid wasn’t his real limit.’
’Not even close.’
’He’s just like me...’
Elias’s eyes followed Eden carefully.
’I should be careful.’
’Any proper hit from him now will likely be fatal.’
A twisted smile carved across his face
’I could actually die!’
He could feel it.
That kind of speed.
That kind of strength.
Heir’s Pride made the difference even more obvious.
Elias took a slow breath.
’I underestimated him.’
’A lot.’
’But...’
’That just means I’ll have to keep a distance.’
He didn’t need to trade blows.
He simply needed to keep Eden away.
"Come on."
Elias raised his hand.
"Let’s see how fast you really are."
Eden moved.
The distance disappeared.
Elias activated Burst Step and vanished right before eden got to him.
Eden’s fist struck empty air.
A burst of raw Essence exploded behind him.
Eden twisted.
Another Burst Step.
Another explosion.
The chamber shook.
Elias reappeared several meters away.
"Too slow."
Eden rushed him again.
Burst Step.
Explosion.
Again.
Elias kept moving.
Every time Eden got close, Elias got away with Burst Step and detonated his stored Essence behind him.
It was irritating.
But it was effective.
And it was exactly what Elias wanted.
"Awww, someone’s getting angry, huh?"
Elias watched Eden closely.
’He’s not even thinking his attacks through.’
’Idiot.’
Eden charged.
Burst Step.
Elias vanished.
Another explosion.
Eden landed.
His eyes narrowed.
Although he was slowly accumulating damage, he wasn’t the one breathing hard.
Elias was.
’Damn.’
The cost of Burst Step was starting to become noticeable.
Eden rushed again.
Elias disappeared.
But this time—
Eden didn’t follow immediately.
He stopped.
Elias appeared behind him.
His hand was already glowing.
"Gotcha!"
The Essence exploded.
Eden twisted sideways.
The blast grazed his shoulder.
He looked at Elias.
Then at the scorch mark on the ground.
Elias frowned.
Eden had adjusted.
The next exchange happened faster.
Eden rushed.
Elias Burst Stepped.
Eden stopped.
Elias appeared behind him.
Eden turned before the explosion.
Elias’s breathing became heavier.
"What are you doing?"
Eden said nothing.
He was watching.
Learning.
Every Burst Step had a rhythm.
Every appearance had a preferred distance.
Elias always moved far enough away to avoid Eden’s immediate attack.
Never too far.
Never too close.
He used the explosion as a second layer of defense.
Eden noticed something else.
Elias always looked at his feet before using Burst Step.
’Does he have to choose a predetermined path for Burts Step to work?’
’That means he can’t directly dodge anything within the usage of Burst Step.’
That gave Eden a window.
Just a fraction of a second.
But it was there.
Eden waited.
He rushed forward.
Elias’s eyes dropped.
[Burst Step]
Eden stopped.
Elias appeared behind him.
Raw Essence erupted into an explosion.
But Eden was already moving.
He held a rock reinforced with his essence, and turned it invisible using his stealth skill, pretending to attack.
Eden looked down at Elias’s foot, and twisted his body around as it slowly changed direction.
He threw the invisible rock, and Elias used his Burst Step to run into it’s trajectory at full speed.
The blow was by no means fatal, but it was enough to catch Elias off guard and break his balance.
Eden’s fist came around before Elias had any time to even process what was going on.
Elias’s eyes widened.
"No—"
Boom!
Eden’s fist struck his stomach.
The impact folded Elias in half.
Two ribs broke.
Elias’s body launched backward.
He crashed through one stone pillar.
Then another.
The second pillar collapsed around him.
Dust rolled through the chamber.
Eden slowly walked forward.
Elias coughed, blood dripping from his mouth.
He pushed himself out of the rubble.
His hand trembled.
His ribs screamed every time he breathed.
He looked at Eden.
Eden stopped several meters away.
"I thought running around was the only thing you were good at."
"But looks like you even suck at that.’
Elias wiped the blood from his mouth.
"You’re getting annoying."
Eden’s expression didn’t change.
But the air around him seemed to grow colder.
Elias swallowed.
Then slowly stood..
A faint glow of Essence began gathering beneath his skin.
"Fine."
His voice was quieter now.
"If that’s how you want to do this..."
The Essence around him began to intensify.
Eden watched.
Elias smiled again.
This time, there was nothing playful about it.
"Guess I’ll have to go all out."