'Alora illustrious was taken into the Amit Family House's custody as Eros Amit's new ward. She was raised alongside their eldest son. The only reason they were able to do this was that, upon further research, the Illustrious girl didn't have any family. Her father had all but run off and her mother seemingly perished. Eros and Valentina had no other option but to give her a new home with their beloved family.'
That was all the information regarding Lora within the folder Uriel had opened. He pushed it back into the A section, continuously searching through the drawer to locate what he sought.
Under his breath, he repeatedly muttered, "Tony, Tony, Tony…"
That was until the moment arrived when he finally located the fateful folder. There it was in big bold letters. Anthony Whitlock. This was the key to everything they were searching for. A small grin staining the Prince's face, he carefully opened the folder to the first page and found himself stunned at what he saw. Anthony Whitlock's true origin was—
Somehow, despite being halfway across from the kingdom he inhabited, Talen and Uriel's eyes simultaneously widened. Throwing the folder into a golden gate abruptly summoning beside his head, he sprinted from the room and went speeding past Valentina exiting the kitchen with cookies and milk. Eros slowly exited the living room, eyebrow raised.
"Was that… Uri?" asked the woman.
"He was in quite the rush." Eros looked at his wife. "Did you know he was here?"
"Well, I heard someone shuffling around in the back but I just assumed that was Ava using the bathroom."
The old man turned around, glaring at the records room the Prince fled so hastily. He walked inside; Val looming behind while eating a chocolate cookie.
"A folder's missing. It's the one for their target. Anthony Whitlock," he said.
Val tilted her head. "Well, that's odd. Didn't we give them all the information we could when we debriefed them?"
Eros stepped back from the folders, closing the door and scratching his chin. A question mark hovered over the woman's head.
"Hey," she called. "You're unusually quiet, what're you thinking about?"
He looked back at her then at the ceiling above them. "Could it be…?"
Meanwhile, back in Arronsburg.
Talen jerked up, aura ablaze around him.
"What's wrong?!" exclaimed Alora.
"I dunno. But the unique signature surrounding Uriel's angels has vanished. I think they've been exorcised."
Anthony jumped back onto his feet. "S-so what's that mean?!"
"It means we got company—!!"
The ceiling caved in, pieces of debris sending them tumbling away. The masked Violator assassin weld two meat cleavers empowered by blackened Fate. Talen warped, grabbing the attacker by the throat and throwing him through a wall.
"Lora!! Protect the kid!"
Alora nodded. "Right!!" She pushed Tony behind her, interlocking all of her fingers. "Area Empowerment!"
The entire environment changed according to Illustrious's Area, now resembling a bloody battlefield ravaged by war yet devoid of warriors. Talen's hand instantly extended, discharging a Fate bolt from his palm to soar into the sky. All surrounding assassins were blinded by the blight, covering their sight with raised arms.
Talen appeared in the street, sliding his palms together with both eyes closed. Some bullets did shoot at him but the effort was for naught. Even condensed Fate spheres were powerless against the idle Amit.
"Disorder Incarnate. I'll give you my right arm for thirty minutes. In exchange, grant me your power."
The Unconquerable's arm vanished from his body. Armed with a single dominant limb, his palm slammed into the road—marking the positions the assassins were planted into. Slimy tendrils originating from the depths burst through numerous portals, individually stretching to ensnare their powerless bodies and drag them into a hellish dimension. With its victims claimed, Disorder's portals collectively closed; single-armed Talen wiped his bloody nose with one thumb.
'Despite using that ability, I can still feel eyes on me from somewhere. Yet no matter how deep I search, nothing seems to come of it. I may only have one arm for now but I also have two feet. Let's deal with this quickly so we can move that kid.'
Alora's fist sunk into an assassin's cheek. Releasing her knuckles from their skull and launching them through the opposite wall; the agent bent down to help Tony to his feet. He tried relaxing his breaths.
"T-this isn't happening, right..? It can't be."
She sighed. "There's nothing to worry about. Just stay behind me and you'll surely live."
Talen appeared in front of her, extending his hand. "Our attackers have been exterminated. Release your domain, Lora," he said.
At his command, the agent's Area vanished; reverting to the bland environment of the abandoned apartment innards. Tony fell to his bum and vented a long sigh of relief, throwing his head back behind him.
"Jesus Christ…"
Alora looked at Talen, hand on her hip. "How'd you disperse them?"
"Shut up, you know my Power," said Talen, glaring at her with one eye.
"You look like you had quite some fun."
Their heads turned to face the Prince, illuminating brightly under the high white moon. He smirked.
"I rushed back because I felt my Angels disappearing but by the time I arrived, things were already handled. I expect nothing less from the legendary Amit prodigy," Uri said.
Tal scoffed. "Tell me. What'd you find out?"
The Prince nodded and revealed the stolen folder, handing it to his partner. Expectedly, the man opened the binder, scanning over the scribbled words as Uriel simultaneously explained.
"This is what I found. It wasn't hard but it was quite a shock. Your grandfather and my father were brothers. But it's not just that. Your father had a brother as well, making him an Amit too. This makes much more sense. The Amit House practices Fate to the extreme, so much so that it invades their genes and alters their anatomical structure. It's impossible to know what exactly your uncle practiced when he was a Fate-user but it's safe to say it was enough."
Talen's eyes widened beyond belief. The more he read these emboldened words, the more sense it didn't make. For all his life, he had some uncle he didn't know about. How is that even possible? But that wasn't even it. One question overruled all in the middle of his mind.
"Why… why would my father keep this from me?"
Anthony's eyes sparkled. He snatched the folder from him, thoroughly examining the Barronian language to decipher the truth of his lineage. Just earlier he'd said he had his father's last name and yet right him, there it was: emboldened. His father was Eros Amit's long forgotten baby brother—Seraph.
"What does this… is this real?"
"It is. Every Kismet inhabitant is required to pass through processing to acquire citizenship. It's mandatory," Uriel said.
Alora tilted her head. "Mr. Amit has a younger brother?"
Talen slicked his short black hair back, sighing. "I have an uncle?" He sighed.
The Prince snatched the folder back from Tony. "Well, let's talk about it later. Talen will advance with me, and Lora will protect the kid. Let's get moving before anyone else attacks."
Having obtained their target, the agents listened to Uriel's command and began walking, shaded under the veil of night.
Eventually, their march took them to the kingdom's edge, where they were unfortunately intercepted by a clothed assassin standing atop the lamppost bordering Arronsburg's exit.
Talen groaned. "Tch. Uriel, do me a favor. Take the kid outside the city and when you do, warp him back home," he said.
"Uh, you sure?" Uri stepped forward, leaning into his partner's ear. "You've been using your technique nonstop lately. If you keep expending yourself, you're gonna pass out."
"Just shut up and go—"
Their eyes simultaneously widened. The ground between the partners spontaneously imploded, carving a rubbled path into the stone ground. Uriel's arm began extending until it was grabbed by Talen's snatching hand.
"I'll deal with this, asshole. Just go. Ensure Whitlock gets there safely. That's our mission, remember?"
The Prince sighed, summoning a golden portal behind him. "Fine. Just don't die."
After hearing them flee, Talen stepped forward, rolling up his sleeves. The assassin withdrew their mask, revealing scarred features and yellow eyes.
"Oooh! You're that kid! Talen Amit! Haha, lucky me, lucky me!"
The Unconquerable boy scoffed. "Listen, I got somewhere to be so let's get this over with. But I'll be nice. If you can knock me down once, I won't kill you. Sound fair?"
The assassin drew their blade, teeth clenched. "You little brat!"
Pointing the tip at Talen's head, they instantly dashed ahead—lunging daggers upon their first step. Amit, idle, watched with pocketed hands as the knives flew toward him before abruptly halting in mid-air. He scratched the back of his head, sighing.
"Is this all you can do?" He asked, watching the hovering metal gradually melt.
The swordsman assassin reappeared behind him, slicing at the back of his skull. Talen's hand invaded the attack—snatching the weapon by the sharpness before crushing it between his fingers.
'What?! He destroyed it?!' The assassin flipped back three times, skidding onto the stone road with sweat slowly infecting their mask. 'That should be impossible. My weaponry is all reinforced by Rank-1 Fate I honed ever since I was a boy! Could this man… seriously surpass it—?'
Talen's fist crushed their skull in mere seconds flat. Removing his knuckles from the smushed skull leaking blood and brain matter, Amit sighed.
"Weak. Far too weak."
The young man dug through the rest of the intact assassin's body, eventually finding a card hidden within one of the pockets. His head tilted, accompanied by a curious hum.
'Interesting.'
The other three sat outside Arronsburg's border, patiently waiting for Talen's rendezvous.
"So, what's up with that guy? Why's he so gloomy?" asked Tony.
Uriel shrugged. "Who knows? He's always been that way."
"You give him too little credit, Uri." Alora turned away from them both. "He's only been like this ever since he turned 15," she muttered.
The two men chuckled. They laughed but she couldn't shake the feeling that it was true. He'd always been this way. Stubborn, arrogant, vulnerable, strong. She had to have known that and yet, something seemed off. Was this the Talen she'd grown up beside? And if she truly thought he wasn't then… what version of Talen had she been seeing all along? His words echoed through her mind once more.
'I always thought of you as my older sister. I wanted to be a good person. I wanted to perfect… for you.'
"There he is," said Uriel.
Tony and Alora turned their heads in unison; the trio watching Talen's gloomy person shuffle across the road until eventually reaching them. Amit dug through his pockets to reveal a laminated business card, handing it to Uriel.
"What's this?"
"Identification. Looks like Apollo isn't just using random assassins, he's contracting them through a proxy. Whether he's ordering that proxy or not is beyond our knowledge but it's safe to say we've ascertained the purpose of these attacks," Talen said.
The Prince's head raised. "Really? Enlighten us then."
"The attackers haven't been extremely powerful so far and that's led me to believe that there's another objective in mind for the assassins. Instead of attempting to kill Anthony, they're trying to wear me out."
Uriel's eyes widened. "That would make everything make sense. After all, if Tony were indeed their target, the assassins' attention would've diverted to him. Instead, they all stood and succumbed to Talen's abilities."
"But… if they're trying to weaken Tal by sending numerous threats after us, we can just alternate offensives. You two can escort while I deal with them," Alora said.
"That wouldn't work. If their orders are to tire me out with continuous technique usage, they'd always aim for me. I don't want their crosshairs on anyone else. We have no other choice." Talen pointed at Uri and Lora. "Uriel can transport Tony outside the arena at will and you're a good defensive escort. We can't change our roles."
"Still—we don't know how long you can go without sleeping. If you pass out or your guard drops then what? We'd be sitting ducks waiting for you to help us." Uriel stepped back. "I'll escort and offend. My technique encompasses two abilities, you know."
Tal groaned, angrily scratching his head. "You two are the worst…"
Unable to retort, Amit reluctantly accepted his new shelved role. The Prince summoned two Rank-1 Angels while Alora and Talen guided Tony down the road. In due time, they would encroach upon Barronia's border and gradually enter the kingdom in slow steps.
Watching the youthful quartet enter the Capital kingdom, Apollo snickered.
He slicked back his brown curls with one hand. "Tell me something. We've been tailing these guys for a while now. Considering the Amit boy's with them, they should've already noticed us. So why is it we're seemingly invisible to them?" he asked, turning his head and smirking.
Keres stepped forward, arms hidden within a blackened kimono. "They're reaching our terminus. It's unfortunate. I wanted to see what he was capable of for a little while longer. Too bad. Looks like… it's time to die."
To Be Cont.