Zain did not open the Gift Boxes. This was not the place nor time for it.
The raid party was exhausted. Still, they smiled brightly.
All 88 of them were alive... Hmm? 85? Wasn't the raid party made of 84 people, including him and Hanna?
"First Lady?" Doll, who was at the door with Ezio, questioned.
Ezio dragged the third and fourth archbishop with him. Those two must've leaked the Cult's location after Ezio tortured them.
The timing could not have been worse.
"I asked you something." Doll stepped inside. "These two also called me First Lady, What does that mean?"
"Fi… first brother, help us!"
"Brother! Sav… save me…!"
The third and fourth archbishop's eyes regained life when they saw Zain. To them, Zain, who was in Carl's disguise, looked like a reinforcement.
"Stop there! He isn't on the Cult's side." Hanna tried to stop Doll and Ezio.
However, that was a mistake.
"It's you. You were the one who tricked me." Doll recognized Hanna from the Academic Cell incident.
She nearly died because of Hanna back then.
Ezio stared at Hanna and scanned the surroundings. He held a golden staff. Unlike the previous interactions, where he acted silly, he carried a somber aura.
'Staff?' Zain thought.
"Yes, she helped us!" A raid member stood up. "There must be a misunde—" His head exploded like a watermelon.
Ezio retracted his stretched staff after killing the raid member.
"Anyone who supports the Villain Hanna will be taken as an accomplice. Under Universal Law 12A Chapter 15-C AA amendment, I, a military academy student, will carry out the appropriate punishment in the absence of a higher authority." Ezio faced the crowd with dead calmness.
His cold-blooded murder left everyone aghast.
'He is lying. Ezio isn't the type to care about laws. He is establishing the law of the jungle, fear the strong.' Zain's mind raced.
The raid members were spent after the battle. They would struggle to defeat Ezio and Doll.
Both sides had 50-50 chances.
Ezio did not want to take the risk. He killed a raid member to show his overwhelming might and deter anyone from attacking them. They were in an enemy lair, thus Ezio was treating them as such.
'This personality. He has [Survivalist] and [Avenger] Disposition.' Zain thought hard to find a way out of this situation.
Survivalists ensured that Ezio remained calm-headed. During life-or-death situations, he would always make rational decisions.
Avenger signified that he would act normally with his close ones. If someone harmed his loved ones, he would become ruthless and crush the opponents brutally.
'He is angry since the Cult sent people after Doll, who is his friend.'
Zain never expected Ezio to have such menacing Dispositions.
In the corner of his mind, Zain was barely suppressing his anger. The man Ezio killed was innocent.
It was Zain's fault. He was careless. But he had to be calm. Or Ezio would kill everyone.
"Hehehe," Zain released his Mimicry Lvl.2.
His appearance changed from Carl to a masked man in a black suit and hat.
It was Merryman.
"We have a party popper here," Zain brought out a 15-year-old girl from the Magic Pocket.
Ezio flinched when Zain put a knife at the girl's throat, causing Zain to sigh in relief. He had been worried that Ezio would ignore the hostage.
"Yo… you! Who are you! Where is the first archbishop!?" The third archbishop asked with an ashen face.
"Hehe, I killed him long ago," Zain ignored the distraught archbishop, shifting his focus to the Yenner Church members.
"Defeat that white-haired boy before I kill this girl. I don't like it when someone interrupts my party. Oh, if you don't know, she is your fifth elder's granddaughter." Zain laughed.
With this, Ezio would think that Merryman had been blackmailing the raid members. He would not target them.
"W..what? We were working for him!?" A raid member shouted.
They felt cheated, knowing that they helped Merryman. Their anger shifted towards the Yenner Church, which lied to them.
However, the hostage made them realize that Merryman had forced the Church.
In the end, only the Villain was at fault.
Listening to the angry insults of the raid members, Ezio came to the same conclusion.
"Hehe, so what? Are you going to kill me?" Zain inched the knife closer to the girl's throat. He spoke loudly, "Miss Hanna, will you stop hesitating? Wasn't it enough that you messed up at the Academy?"
"H-huh?" Hanna stuttered. She did not understand her role in the Zain's play.
She unconsciously retreated when Ezio stared at her. Despite having a higher Power Level, she knew that she stood no chance against him.
Ezio was busy ascertaining his allies and enemies in the current situation. He tightened his grip around the staff.
'Should I take the chance?' Ezio thought. He could shatter Merryman's head by extending his staff in a split second.
However, it was risky.
Just then, Doll spoke up.
"I'll go with you. Release the hostage."
"What a noble sacrifice. But how can I trust you, my lady?" Zain put the girl back into the Magic Pocket. "Guess I will keep the hostage until I feel safe."
"Bastard! Where did you teleport the girl!?" Ezio growled. The tips of his hair began to turn golden.
Subspace abilities were rare. And no one could store living beings inside their subspace. This made everyone subconsciously think that Merryman had the teleportation ability.
But the ability must have restrictions, or he would've escaped by now.
"Ouch! Why are you cursing me? I have a name, Merryman."
"I will handle him. Keep an eye on these people," Doll nodded to Ezio, while pointing at Hanna and the raid members.
Ezio agreed with some difficulty.
As soon as Doll and Zain left the building, she grabbed his wrist.
"Sorry, I prefer older girls," Zain winked.
"Don't try to run away, or I'll rip off your arm," Doll said in all seriousness.
Zain was searching for a way to escape. He followed her out as he thought it would make running away easier. But things just became worse.
Doll used a Grade 3 Genius Tech 'Concealment Robe' to hide the two.
She led the way.
They traveled through alleys, crowded places, and stopped before an inconspicuous hotel. She booked a room.
Alarms rang in Zain's mind.
Knowing Doll's situation, he hesitated to enter a closed space with her.
Why would she bring an enemy to a room?
"Please follow me," Doll whispered so that only Zain could hear him. Looking closer, he realized she had no hostility.
He let down his guard.
She suddenly pulled him into the room and locked the door from inside.