In Firecast, the Zino Kingdom's capital, the suns were rising on the horizon. A man was leaning in an alleyway, near a busy street. Wearing a peculiar mask, it was Inari, Shirley's neighbour and one of the grim reaper assassins of Firecast! Although he stood out like a sore thumb, no passerby took a second glance. He minimized his presence that well! Of course, there were other considerations. The soul-crushing aura and heavenly phenomenon by Protector Avin frightened everyone to the core. Some had even died! The scariest was the unknown and the Zino Kingdom offered no explanation. Despite repeated words of reassurance, no one believed them. Compounded with the rumors of the Lannisail explosion in Algard, anyone would feel scared. The heavy mood hung over the capital city.
"How goes it?" Inari asked.
Beside him, a figure seemed to morph from the shadows. The action was so subtle and sublime that almost no one would notice it, even Perception Realms. His gloomy and cold aura contrasted Inari's warm and comforting aura. The perpetrator was none other than Inari's mysterious partner!
The man spoke, "The underground is a total mess. The Whispering Shadow is ordering a full retreat from the capital city."
Inari grimaced. "Any update on who killed the Third Hand?"
"Nothing confirmed," he grunted unhappily. "However, there are rumors… that Protector Avin Arcellius was behind it."
Inari frowned and continued, "That's impossible. If he's alive today, he must be close to a hundred years old. Most importantly, if he was alive, then he wouldn't have allowed the Arcellius Family to fall!"
In this world, the average life expectancy of a human was around sixty. If one took care of their health well, seventy was possible. Exceptional healthcare and status allowed one to live to their eighties and a prime example was Queen Bethnal. Perception Realms and Condensed Drops were better off, as they were indirectly strengthening their lifeforce. They could live to their nineties like the Conquestian. However, that was around the limit. Pushing a hundred years was not impossible, but it was a matter of capability at that point. Asking a decrepit, old grandfather to defeat the Third Hand without help or injury… What kind of joke was that?
"I also didn't want to believe it, but we investigated the site of their deaths. There wasn't much of a struggle from the Third Hand. One party clearly dominated the other," his partner said grimly.
"If we teamed up, do you think we could do the same?"
"No."
"What a quick response," Inari laughed.
But it was not unexpected. They might be Perception Realm Masters, a large step-up from the leaders of the Third Hand who were merely Perception Realm Adepts. On paper, it seemed like an easy matchup, yet it was never that simple. Firstly, Inari and his partner were assassins, so they were ill-suited for a direct confrontation. Failing to take down their enemy with the first strike meant defeat. Secondly, they would be facing the full power of the Third Hand! Regardless of how strong Inari and his partner were, facing thirty people at once was a tall order. Without proper planning, it was nothing short of suicide.
Inari sighed. "There's a lot of problems, aren't there? We still don't know what caused that aura and heavenly phenomenon. Then there's the problem in the Alzar Kingdom's capital city, and the Xingyuu Empire's civil war. What is going on in this world?"
"How's Shirley?"
"She's recovering. I relocated her a few times to avoid any trouble, and that seems to have worked."
Their murder of the Third Shadow created its own fair share of troubles. Many wanted to curry favor with the Whispering Shadow, so they picked a fight with Inari and his partner. Hence why his partner was so busy dealing with these potential troublemakers. Thankfully, not everyone was disillusioned and stayed away. They were more interested in the power vacuum presented with the Whispering Shadow's retreat. Underneath the surface, storms were brewing, and forces were already clashing. A few large-scale conflicts emerged just a few days ago, drawing the tension in the city tighter. The slightest snap was enough for everything to explode!
However, that was the strangest thing. Remember, the Whispering Shadow was one of the overlords of the underground world! They dominated the criminal world, striking fear into the most cold-blooded of killers! Even the Alzar Kingdom could not move against them! For one of the great civilizations of humanity to be at a loss showed how overbearing this organization was. Yet now, they ran away with their tails between their legs! Was this really the same overlord that ruled the underground world? Inari and his partner were dumbfounded, as were the other forces. No one understood a thing.
Inari shook his head and continued, "Don't you want to check up Shirley yourself? After all, you…"
"No. You know it would be too dangerous. This level of interaction is already pushing the limit. If they were to discover it…" His emphasis on 'they' was laced with hatred. A million burning fires raged behind his mask. His aura temporarily fluctuated for a second before being reined in.
"You're right, but don't you think Shirley deserves this much? She's been through a lot, you know?"
The man took a deep breath. For this cold-blooded assassin to reveal any emotion was telling enough. He said, "It's fine. She's grown up to become a splendid woman. She doesn't need any old ghosts hanging around her anymore."
"… If that's your choice," Inari turned silent. In his mind, it was a bad attempt to avoid facing the problem directly. However, it was not his place to meddle in their affairs. He might be Shirley's neighbor, but this man was far closer to her.
"You don't have to worry. I'll make them regret ever having harmed my family!" the man swore.
Later, Shirley began to awaken. When she opened her eyes, piercing pain surged through her body like a storm. She dug her fingernails into her palm, screaming aloud. Yet, that served to trigger her wounds again, forcing her to quiet down. That was how ruined she was. She could not even scream! But that was not too surprising. The injuries that she sustained were roughly on par to Benedict. Both were stabbed in the chest, end-to-end, and stepped one foot into death's door. Both were attacked in their vitals and honestly, death was basically guaranteed. The sole reason they survived long enough was due to the Sword King, Inari and his partner. Although they stepped in precisely at the key moment, their timing impeccable, they were not the key factor.
In fact, it was due to Benedict and Shirley's fighting spirit! By fighting for that last glimmer of hope, they lasted a breath longer! This allowed the Sword King to stabilize Benedict with Martial Energy and allowed Inari and his partner to resuscitate Shirley with a risky emergency operation. If anyone else were present, then they would be dead long ago. That showed how incredibly sturdy their mindset and lifeforce was. It had to be admired! And the funny thing was that they were not particularly battle-hardened soldiers, baptized by the flames of war. The number of battles the two fought in were less than a dozen. Instead, that emphasized how extraordinary their potential was. It was no wonder that they caught the attention of Cardinal Hui, Sir Winstin, and many others!
Unfortunately, while Benedict could benefit from the Sword King's nigh-miraculous healing, Shirley had to suffer through the woes of naturally healing up. This meant her current state was nowhere near well enough to walk around. Her mind burned in pain as memories vaguely emerged. That was right! What about Freon? The poor girl panicked and shouted for help crazily. Shirley had to tell someone, anyone, about Freon's situation. He was in trouble! Without her help, how was he supposed to manage? He might be captured or… killed already. Shirley tried to shake these morbid thoughts away, but the despair continued to creep in. She failed!