Viper descended the stairs with furrowed brows. Around him, aside from the darkness, only small figures producing faint red lights can be seen. He knew that they were heading deep into the basement, but those small red LED torches hanging on the walls was giving him the creepy feeling that the maid walking ahead of him was taking him to a dungeon. Young Miss invited him here in the South mansion tonight. It wasn't to torture or kill him, right? He didn't do anything wrong! He didn't betray her in any way? He then suddenly thought of Yago and his face became more ashen. No! He didn't know anything! Keeping Yago's secret, he had nothing to do with that! Sigh....
While he was pondering about the reason he was being summoned, Viper heard a few thuds. They were currently approaching a large wooden door and behind it, sounds of jabs and some swish can be heard. What's behind that door? The sounds were like coming from people fighting each other.
When the maid guiding Viper opened the door, the sounds grew louder, but the dark room didn't reveal anything. He can hear the jabs and punches but whoever was making them was kept hidden from his sight.
"Mr. Viper, please sit here while you wait for Miss." he heard the maid say as she turn on a small lamp above the couch near the door.
Viper sat on the couch while the maid kept standing on the side. The small lamp was able to lit up a small area of the room, and he saw the maid looking at a certain direction. He followed her line of vision but couldn't make out just what was happening in the dark. Nonetheless, the sounds of fighting brought him a troubled feeling.
"Miss... when she was younger, she was very much afraid of the dark."
From the side, he heard the young maid stated. "To defeat such weakness, she arranged this basement the way it is today. Not only was she able to overcome her fear, her reflexes improved a lot, too."
Viper raised his brows. The young miss arranged this dark basement? He was about to ask more when he heard a loud thud. It was followed by a a short cry, as if someone was in pain.
After a few seconds, light suddenly flooded the room. Viper squinted as the blinding light assaulted his eyes.
"James, help him down."
It was a woman's voice. Viper looked up to see his lady boss standing on a ring, leaning on a corner as she gestured at a man lying down in front of her with hands clutching his stomach. A couple of men rushed up to carry the injured man away from the ring. Were they having a boxing match a moment ago? Was Arianna the one who took him down? It was a technical knock out!
Viper stared at the woman standing there victorious, and then glanced at the man being carried away in a stretcher. He was obviously beaten up while Arianna, although covered in sweat was still looking flawless as ever. There was no bruise or any marks that would indicate that she had taken any hit.
As if sensing his intense gaze, Arianna suddenly turned to look at Viper and smiled. That kind of cold smile sent chills down Viper's spine!
"You there! Come up!"
Viper looked around, unsure if his lady boss was really talking to him. The room was huge and it looked like a sparring gym or something. There were a few people inside the room, but only he and the maid was there on that side of the room.
"Miss is calling for you." he heard the maid beside him point out.
Viper slowly stood up and strolled towards Arianna hesitantly. He was unsure of why he was called here for, but he wasn't having a good feeling about this.
"Viper right? Come up!" Arianna repeated. Viper scratched his head as he awkwardly look at his lady boss. Arianna couldn't be serious, right?
"Miss... why do I need to come up? I'm not good at sparring like this. I'll just wait for you finish your matches." he answered.
Arianna smiled like a fox eying her target. "But this is the reason I called you here. I want to talk inside the ring. Do you dare reject me?" she said wearing a sweet smile, but to Viper, it sounded like a threat. It was as if she was saying "Defy me and you're not gonna make it out of here alive."
With a deep sigh, Viper climbed up the ring and dazedly stood there staring at the gorgeous lady wearing tight pants and a cropped top sports tee. That was the first time he was able to come near her in such close proximity. Even the sweat on her skin complemented her beauty and added a touch of sexiness to her already seductive body! No wonder his boss was head over heels crazy for this lady! She is such a rare beauty!
"What's your name?"
Arianna asked him.
"Viper." he answered.
Arianna walked closer to him until he was right in front of her face.
"The real one." she insisted.
Viper thought for a while before he open his mouth to answer.
"Bob." he whispered.
Arianna burst out laughing. Her reaction left Viper stunned. Was his name really laughable?
"You should just keep that name to yourself. I'll just keep calling you Viper."
Viper: "...."
What's so funny anyway?
"You know that guy who was taken away? His name is Bob, too. And I crippled him because he betrayed me." Arianna revealed with her eyes fixed on him. "Come, show me your skills. I wanna see how good my shadowguard is." Arianna resumed her fighting pose, but Viper stayed there, still standing like a statue, unwilling to cooperate.
"Miss, I... It's not that I want to disobey you but... I don't fight women. I'm very much against hurting women!" Viper explained while anxiously waving his hands and shaking his head. How could he fight his boss's woman? If he hurt her even a bit. Even if it's accidentally, then Yago would surely chop his head off! Miss could be good, but how good could she be when she is facing a trained soldier like him?
Arianna contemplated for a while before she look at Viper again.
"Alright. You can choose not to fight me but...." after saying that,she immediately launched an attack on Viper in full speed. "... I'll still choose to fight you!"
Viper was able to dodge. He was really reluctant to fight, but he was forced to defend himself. Soon they were exchanging punches. When he realized that Arianna was unbelievably agile, Viper lost his hesitation and attacked her with full power.
Thud!
Viper didn't know how he ended up lying on the floor. Was he hit? He wasn't sure where though as three parts of his body were aching at the same time. Realizing he lost to this woman, and in just less than a minute, Viper's face heated up.
"Miss, what sin did I commit?" he said jokingly as he struggled to stand up.
Arianna eyed him seriously, her coldness foreboding danger.
"Viper, are you loyal to me?" she suddenly asked.
"Yes, Miss. I'm even willing to die for you!" Viper nodded his head as he swore to her.
"Alright... Then tell me Viper. How did Yago die? Was the information Tiger reported to me earlier accurate?"
"That...." Viper stuttered. How could he answer that in a way that Arianna would be satisfied?.. "Miss, our first findings stated that Miss Belle hired people to ambush boss that night. Whatever they were planning to do with him, we weren't sure. We thought that they were the culprits who gunned him down too, but...." Viper looked away as he started picking the right words to use, afraid of disclosing secrets accidentally. "Miss, we later found out that it was another group of people who were hunting boss's brother. We haven't identify them yet at the moment. Please forgive our incompetence." Viper ended the statement with a bow.
Arianna sighed. What Viper said matched her own people's findings. It was another reason to hold a grudge against Vier!
"Get up Viper! Don't you think we should continue?"
Viper's face turned pale as she saw the devil queen's meaningful smile.