Ari raised her eyes and blankly stared at Kale.
His gray eyes were warm compared to the usual coldness they had.
She could feel her breath slowly calming down.
She couldn't hear what was around her anymore.
Focused on his eyes, she was.
He took the phone from her hands.
"We will talk later about this Han," said Kale as he cut the call.
She blinked.
"I am here, nothing will happen to you," his deep voice resonated in her ear.
She didn't know what had happened to her but her eyes started tearing up.
She nervously tried to clean her tears before he would notice.
Kale stood there quietly.
He noticed that she was staring at the knife back then. Judging from her expression she was genuinely thinking of doing something terrible to herself before worse was to come.
Kale didn't know, what he was feeling at this moment.
At first, he was glad she was calm and wasn't too afraid to go for the knife.
At that moment, he was proud of her for being such a strong person.
He was proud, that even when she was shaking she took decisions calmly.
He was proud, of her.
But right now...
At this particular moment when he faced her teary eyes for the first time...
Chaos dwelled deep within his heart.
As strong as she was, that little girl side of her, still managed to resurface when she was comforted for the first time.
The little girl that had to grow up quickly, was still there.
Kale, for the first time, didn't understand the darkness that lit in his heart.
Should he just destroy this pesty planet?
His earring shook a bit.
He turned to look at Gi-wan and the others after giving her the phone.
Ari stood in the corner, holding it tightly.
She looked around for a moment then ran off to hold a knife before going back to her corner.
Seeing her still shake in fear like a little girl Kale sighed.
You will scare her if you go too far, he reminded himself.
The rings in his hands shone a bit, unnoticed by the others.
The tattoo on his body grew even larger, swallowing his right shoulder and chest.
"Done with your last words?" Spoke Gi-wan with an evil grin.
Ari started shaking.
They are coming.
It's happening.
Her mind was running wild, especially after seeing Kale not making a move.
Two of the men walked up from behind Gi-wan.
Both of their hands glowed yellow.
These men were raised in the same martial arts.
Their energy turned into gauntlets.
They walked smirking toward Kale, who stood there calmly.
One of them burst, launching a punch.
Thud!
Kale held the gauntlet with no struggle and twisted it.
The man froze in the air.
Kale let go, and with the same hand, he slapped him with his palm, waving it so fast sending him flying.
Soo Chae-Won screamed in surprise as the man fell on the table, looking at his bloody face she fainted instantly.
The room turned quiet.
The man didn't get up again.
Gi-wan's eyes turned cold.
"All of you, follow me," he growled as he walked forward.
Kale waited.
Ari in the background was in a daze.
Wasn't he supposed to be 5th rank(B rank) at most?
A rank should be around the 6th to 7th rank.
Was he an A rank, or maybe more?
The other men weren't that worried.
If he specialized in physical ability that meant he fell off in other areas. They only needed to play it smart.
Gi-wan was also an irregular A rank in terms of raw strength, so this time he led his men.
His yellow gauntlets were different than the others, covering him all the way to his shoulders.
His presence was strong and terrifying, even Ari felt it.
Can Kale, win against that thing? She nervously wondered.
Whilst in Kale's mind were other ideas.
Just how little should he show in front of her? Should he act like he is having a hard time against their leader?
"I keep my word. I will defile her in front of you. But first I will break your legs for hurting my men and killing my sworn brother."
Kale suddenly froze.
The image of her tearing up in front of him flashed before his eyes.
The darkness' flame, quietly burned.
Kale's eyes flashed with a ray of cold light.
Nothing mattered to him now.
The air around him changed.
He slowly turned to Ari.
"You are strong," he held his hand out for her to give him the knife.
She was caught in his cold eyes.
Her heart raced.
His calm demeanor was yet again different.
This time, it was horribly imposing.
She quietly handed it to him.
The knife burned with a purple flame to a crisp.
Ari watched as his gray eyes brightly glowed as he stared at the flame.
They looked majestic, like a beautiful pair of gems, taking her breath away.
He slowly raised his head to look at her.
"Are you strong enough, to not be afraid of what I will do?"
Ari was confused by his words, but staring at his cold and calm eyes...
They were too calm...
At that moment many things ran through her mind.
What happened today will happen again, and even worse was coming if she was to raise into power.
Last time she thought she was ready after finally accepting a bodyguard, but now put in such a situation she already cracked.
Many mysteries surrounded the man in front of her, but from her uncle's words, and from his eyes, he was more than powerful enough to handle this.
Her eyes suddenly changed.
She looked coldly at Kale, "They dared think of touching your master in front of you. And you think I will be afraid of their blood?"
"THEY INSULTED ME!" Ari screamed furiously.
These were the feelings of the young girl who was bullied and abandoned by her family.
She was mad at herself for losing her composure.
She was done.
She needed strength! And Kale was offering it!
To the men who dared talk about defiling her and speak as if she was a plaything.
"Kill them! Or I will die trying myself!" She answered Kale with watery eyes.
The same eyes, that held the knife back then trembling, now looked enraged.
Kale watched her and listened, his eyes cold and domineering.
Suddenly a figure jumped to Kale's side. "Then you can both die trying," yellow gauntlets throwing a rear hook.
Before the man could land the hit his face was suddenly held by Kale's right hand.
Ari blinked, surprised but kept eye contact with Kale.
He looked at her while squeezing the man's head.
UGH! UGH! The man struggled.
"LET GO!" Screamed Gi-wan but before he could make a move...
SPLASH!
Blood spilled everywhere.
Ari's figure shook, she trembled.
Kale's gray eyes glowed while his face was filled with beautiful red lines of blood, he bowed his head to her.
"I will be back," he said.
Ari froze. She didn't imagine him being so... There was no word that came to her mind.
Is this the world her father was trying to protect her from?
He walked to them loosening his tie.
Gi-wan screamed, "Stand in formation!"
The men formed a formation with their leader as the head and center.
He rushed with his gauntlets thinking he can match Kale's strength for others to attack him.
But he was wrong.
As soon as Gi-wan took a step with his hands up.
All the thirteen men behind him had fine purple lines around their necks.
Before they could react.
Swift!
They were all hung in the air by the threads, unable to make a sound, unable to fight it.
Their necks broke, and their bodies were quietly swinging.
Gi-wan's eyes widened and he froze in his spot.
Ari turned pale, for some reason she couldn't see their upper bodies anymore.
As if there was darkness in the ceiling that hid them from her eyes.
How could this...
"Assassin... S... rank?" Stuttered Gi-wan in a low voice.
"Sh," shushed Kale as he walked up to him.
He raised his hand slowly while his figure darkened.
Gi-wan's eyes started widening while he raised his head, as if he was looking at something much bigger than the room, and he fell to his knees quietly, feeling the purple threads tightening around his neck.
Kale's purple earring started glowing.
Swift!
Gi-wan, was executed on the spot.
Ari couldn't see the last part with Kale's back standing in front of her.
Her eyes still looked away from the scene.
But she didn't have any mercy or empathy for these men, because they were used to doing this kind of thing. Who knows how many girls fell to their schemes?
If Kale wasn't strong, she was but another number added to the list.
What she failed to notice was Gi-won's face on the ground, petrified as if he saw horrifying things before his death.
Her eyes were now focused on Kale.
She heard it.
S rank.