Walking through the outside of the abandoned warehouse, Mercedes was headed towards the southern section of the area. As she calmly stepped forward with a cold expression plastered on her face, she noticed something a distance away from her.
It was a shadowy figure standing amongst unmoving bodies lying on the ground. The intense bloodlust emanating from this figure was incredibly dense. It was no less than the pressure emitted by the crimson moon.
Mercedes's body tensed as cold sweat dripped from her forehead. Her skin shivered while her bones trembled. The skin of her hair stood frozenly, and her sapphire gem-like irises glinted.
She didn't know who the shadowy figure was, but there was something she was sure of.
The figure was a dangerous one.
Mercedes could run away immediately because the shadowy figure might not have noticed her. But she already knew deep within her heart that the shadowy figure had noticed her before she even perceived him from a distance.
'W-What should I do?' This was the first time Mercedes met a tangible enemy. The red moon, despite its heavy pressure, was akin to a god who wouldn't even look at her. However, the same couldn't be said for the shadowy figure.
This bastard was looking at her from afar with a scrutinizing gaze.
'I must run away no matter what!'
Mercedes was determined to escape from her precarious circumstances. Her chances of victory were low, so a tactical retreat was the only option. Before she could continue with such thoughts, the shadowy figure slowly walked towards her.
She instinctively stepped back and compelled her body to make a move. But her body was frozen still, as if something had shackled her to the ground. It didn't take time as the shadowy figure slowly gained its appearance.
And upon seeing the entirety of the shadowy figure, Mercedes sighed in relief.
'This damn old man!' Mercedes gritted her teeth in annoyance since she was vexed with how the situation ended up. She expected to die when she realized she couldn't move her body.
So, in that situation, she was more or less accepting her death.
It also forced her to question something. If Mercedes really died in the Virtual-Augmented Reality. Would she actually die in real life? Obviously, she was doubtful of it. But there was no way to answer her questions.
Of course, unless she asks a certain someone.
Sadly, ever since Mercedes began the training, Spade hasn't been active with the AEGIS. It was the same as during her training in her recent journey with the infamous Astarte. Only when the mission was nearing its end will Spade become active.
"Oy, old man. Has someone ever told you to keep your bloodlust in check?" Mercedes exclaimed while Caesar, who was wearing his usual stern expression, grunted. He stepped forward and expressed his annoyance at the recent events.
"I'm not in a good mood, Mercedes. I can't believe that those bastards of the local government wanted me to join their ranks. These problematic trashes are also eyeing for my authority. Do they think of me as some weak and helpless old man!"
"Useless thugs even trespassed my property! It looks like this fortress city has become arrogant!"
Like the old man that he was, Caesar disliked being dragged into useless troubles that didn't have to do with him. He was already old, and his generation was reaching its end. Why would he even join some useless power struggles of children?
"Yeah, yeah. I don't really care about that." Mercedes walked forward as she didn't want to hear the troubles of the old man. While calmly strolling under the cover of the twilight, Mercedes glances at Caesar and continues.
"Did you already take care of them, old man?"
She questioned, even though the corpses were visible from afar. Mercedes wanted to hear it from Caesar's mouth. After all, she was a bit curious about how the old man fought his opponents.
"Most of them should have been already defeated. Though, It looks like you also took care of some of the thugs."
Caesar remarked, noticing the bloodstain on Mercedes's shoes. His disciple was just like him when he was young. Rather bloodthirsty and somewhat a bit savage. It's not like he was complaining. It made Mercedes a bit better in his eyes.
"It wasn't hard, to be honest. But I didn't notice my increasing ruthlessness against them."
"*Sigh...* I should stop the habit of stomping them in the face, making their head collapse in itself." Mercedes sighed to herself and arrived at where the laying corpses resided. Looking at them, she furrowed her eyebrows.
'They don't have any injuries. It looks like they just died from a heart attack.'
With this thought process in mind, she took a short glance at the old man before looking back at the frozen corpse. Unlike her, the old man was clean in killing his opponents. Mercedes didn't even know how he managed to kill them.
"There are no signs of strangling, bruises, cuts, poison, or any severe injuries. How did you manage to kill them, old man?" Mercedes didn't hesitate to ask. She wanted this kind of skill since she didn't want bloodstain to be all over her body.
As she had thought before, Mercedes was adapting well to this world.
"You'll soon learn about it, kid. Just continue learning how to walk instead of being amazed by running."
Caesar stated like an old sage who had seen a lot of things during the entirety of his lifetime. It wasn't wrong per se, but rarely does the old man act like a sage.
Though, now that she had thought about it. Shouldn't sages be eccentric individuals? After all, they were people who had led a long life shrouded with the wisdom of the world. If they weren't eccentric, then Mercedes might consider them evil ones.
Only evil bastards would pretend to be normal.
"Understood, old man."
"But I won't clean the bodies this time."
Mercedes walked to the entrance of the abandoned warehouse without waiting for a response from Caesar. She didn't want to clean the frozen bodies of a couple men. One was already tiring enough for her.
Let it rot. She didn't care what happens to it.
Caesar glances at Mercedes's figure, which slowly fades from his sight. He sighed to himself while taking out something from his pockets. He started making a call using a strange device that didn't even resemble a phone.
Mercedes would have been confused as to why such a strange device was acting like a phone. Especially when it resembled a stone more than the blocky modern texture of a phone.
Meanwhile, Mercedes was strolling through the streets of the fortress city. The gleaming lights of houses were opened, though grunts, cries, and screams could be heard in the background.
'The city's the same as always, unsightly.'
Mercedes thought to herself, not bothering to think much about the things happening around her. Her opinion of the city was the same as before. It was a hellscape compared to the slums of her world.
She was adapting to the environment Mercedes was dwelling in. Whether she wanted to become ruthless or not, such a thing was unavoidable in her circumstances. It was something that she needed to survive in this terrorizing environment.
Nonetheless, Mercedes decided to throw such useless thoughts at the back of her mind.
What she needed to do, or the only thing she should do, was train the Imperial Grim Art.
Nothing more, nothing less.
An hour passed, and it was nightfall. Mercedes resided in the inn, having a calm dinner. The food in the inn wasn't that good, but it was better compared to the stalls outside. She realized how lucky she was to be born in the modern world, where food was being refined at its limits.
While munching on her meal, an old man sat in front of her. It was none other than Caesar who had concluded the cleansing process of the accident. The authorities of the fortress city were horrified to hear that some gangs were trying to rob him of his property.
They even decided to start a lockdown and hunt local gangs to appease the anger of a Paragon.
Obviously, Caesar could see through their intentions without that much of a problem. Unfortunately for them, a great idea had already emerged within his mind.
"Is there something you want to say, old man?"
Mercedes questioned while staring at the old man in front of her. She kept devouring her warm meal and waited to hear the old man's words. Caesar grunted as a reply and hoarsely uttered.
"It's time for you to learn more about the Imperial Grim Art, kid."
"We will skip some steps since I have a mission that you must accomplish."
Caesar grinned at Mercedes, who shuddered for some reason. She then squinted her eyes, trying to understand what the old man was trying to do. What kind of annoying ideas does he currently have in his mind? How much of an annoyance was it?
Such were the thoughts passing through Mercedes's mind.
"You have already killed many people using the techniques I have taught you. So, there's no need for another challenging fight. We will continue on with your training."
"And since I'm in a good mood, you'll learn the remaining parts of the Imperial Grim Art."
Caesar expressed as if he was giving her an excellent opportunity, which wasn't far from the truth. However, Mercedes was cautious and didn't underestimate the old man. The ideas surging in his mind must be dangerous ones.
Otherwise, he wouldn't teach her the remaining techniques of the Imperial Grim Art in such a short period.
"Continue, old man."
"Hehehe, no need to be worried, kid." Caesar winked and gave her some gentle words, attempting to lower her doubts. But none of his so-called gentleness was effective to Mercedes. Seeing that there was no effect, he shook his head and continued.
"You will learn the final techniques of gouging and severing."
"Gouging should be easy to learn since your foundation of the Imperial Grim Art isn't bad. Although, the same thing couldn't be said with severing."
"So prepare to learn with determination and cunningness."