"Is he alright now?"
"Yes, the doctors said that there was nothing wrong with his body. The tests came out fine too. They think that it must be due to some stress..."
"You need to stay calm, Alana. Let him rest for now, and have a chat with him once he wakes up." Keith frowned but replied with sincerity.
"I will do it."
"Do call me if you need any help."
"Thanks, Keith..."
"No worries." There was a light smile on his lips. "Be safe!"
"You too!"
As soon as Keith ended the call, the smile on his face disappeared.
Yexuan Parker had fainted last night, and Alana found him this morning, sprawled on the ground with dried blood on his shirt.
And the little boy had not yet woken up.
There was an uneasy feeling in his heart that his actions would lead to some unforseen circumstances. And he felt more uncomfortable as he thought about it.
Knowing everything what was going to happen had made him feel invincible, but now he felt apprehensive. The system had warned him that his possession of Future Knowledge meant that the future had started changing, and at that time, he did not really give it much thought. But now he could feel it, his instincts were screaming at him to not do something like that again.
Keith closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting his skin soak in the feeling of the howling wind brushing it.
He opened his eyes and looked at the back of his left hand, and as he utilized his Aura and willed it, the beautiful Rune appeared on it.
Just a look at it comforted his heart, shoving away all the thoughts that made him uncomfortable.
So what if there were going to unforseen circumstances? He would face it all with confidence. At least, he knows who his enemy is, and who his friends are.
"You are worth it all." He lightly smiled and then stopped utilizing Aura in his hand.
The rune stopped shinning, and slowly sank back in his skin, disappearing from his sight.
It had only been seven hours since he last saw Amelia, and he found himself already yearning to see her.
As reluctant as he was to leave her in the Magic City, Keith felt it was better to not indulge her in anything that was about to happen here. And so, he had bid her farewell and left with his entourage in the morning.
Keith looked at the Horizon, and smiled brilliantly when he saw those ominous clouds making their way towards the Bastille City. He had always been fond of dark clouds casting the sky, but today, he was elated for an entirely different reason.
"Master!" Yingying appeard on the rooftop, and a few seconds later, Caesar appeared as well.
"You found them?" He asked, still looking at the beautiful storm that was advancing towards him.
"Yes, Master." Yingying nodded her head. "We found the siblings hiding inside an abandoned house in the slums." She informed him. "The boy left the house at noon, and then he disappeared."
"If you had not told me in advance where to look for him, I might have not found him. He's quite skilled, even for a Ninja." Caesar acknowledged the young boy's skill and then his eyes turned severe. "However, he's still young and reckless. He does not know that the enemy already knows his location, and just as you said, he is falling in their trap."
"I see." Keith nodded to himself and turned around. "There's no need to keep an eye on him when he attacks that base tonight. Stay sharp and keep an eye on the little girl. Oh, and be ready to kill. It's going to be a fine night to play with blood." He smiled to himself, and somehow, his smile sent chills up the spines of the three of them.
"Master..." Victor, who had been staying silent all this time and had stayed behind to protect Keith, finally could not contain his curiosity. "Who are these people?"
Yingying was curious too, but Caesar already had some guesses after he tracked the enemy movements and saw through the young Ninja's skills.
"They are Ninjas, Victor. Cold blooded Assassins, trained since childhood only to kill and execute their orders." Keith smiled at him and then looked at the other two. "There was an organisation by the name of 'Kuroi Te' in Japan. You can call it Black Hand if you want. It was an off-shoot of Medieval 'Koka-no-mono', but whereas those Shinobi worked for peace, Black Hand only worked for money. They had their own codes."
"Over the centuries, it shrouded itself in even more darkness, and its scale of operations declined to a point where 'Black Hand' was considered extinct. But they were alive, and thriving in the dark, and did not appear again until 33 years ago. And in these three decades, they rose dramatically, eventually becoming one of the most efficient Assassin Organisations in the Underworld. However, their glory was meant to be short-lived." He smiled at them. "They made a dire mistake, and something happened that no one would have ever anticipated."
"What happened?" Victor urgently asked.
"The organisation's most prized Ninja defected, and slaughtered the Elders and the Elites in one night, disappearing with his little sister nearly two weeks ago." He smirked when he saw the horror in Victor's eyes.
"That boy is so powerful?!" He exclaimed.
"He's a Ninja. And a Ninja has a lot of other ways than just sheer power to deal with his enemies." Keith smiled and shook his head. "Ryouta is only at the Peak of Nascent Profound Realm, but he's someone who has been trained to kill and has been through hell to become what he is today. So yes, he's a dangerous man."
His words made the three of them frown for different reasons. Victor was shocked, Yingying was alarmed, and Caeser had his eyes narrowed as he thought about something.
"Why did he destroy the Black Hand?"
"For his sister." Keith sighed and turned around to look in the direction of Bell Harbour.
"They were both meant to be trained as Ninjas, but his little sister was born with a genetic disability and can not hear anything. And so, the Black Hand put her into training to become an attendant. As she grew up and her beauty blossomed, their intentions towards her changed, and the Elders decided to make her the star of their side business."
"Prostitution?" Caesar asked.
"Yes." Keith nodded to him. "And when Ryouta learned about the intentions of the Elders, he forsake his code and risked his life to save his little sister from being thrown into such a fate."
"And now the Ninjas of the Black Hand are after him." Caesar concluded and nodded to himself.
"Betrayal begets Blood." Keith lightly whispered and nodded his head. "He killed their father to save his little sister."
"His father was an Elder?" Victor looked at him in disbelief.
"Yes."
"And he wanted to make his daughter a prostitute?!"
Keith stayed silent for a while and took a deep breath. For a man who was also a slave and had been brought up to become a fighter, Victor still retained his humanity. He was just a battle-hungry simpleton, who laughed just as much as he yearned to fight.
"The world is a dark place, Victor. Some forsake their Family for Religion, some do it for Politics. Some do it for a Code, and some do it for Profit. They world is filled with such idiots." He smiled at him and said. "And such people never cherish their familial bonds. So, it could be said that some Divine Law has curtained their hearts, depriving them of such a blessing."
Victor frowned and lowered his head, lost in his thoughts.
Caesar and Yingying did not seem to fazed by what Keith had just told them. They both understood the reality of the world as good as anybody. But they too were lost in their thoughts.
"Master, he's a dangerous person." Yinying voiced her concern as she knew what Keith intended to do. "Someone who can forsake his code can betray anyone..."
"For Family or not, he did betray his Masters." Caesar agreed with what Yinying said.
"Oh no, he won't betray me." Keith shook his head. "I will make sure he stays loyal to me."
"How?" It was Victor who asked this question.
"He does not care about anything but his little sister. So, I will make him owe his life to me, and then I will make him an offer he can't refuse." He devilishly smiled and turned around to look at them. "Get some rest. We have a long night ahead of us."