"For starters, where is Aoi?"
I looked at my Stepmother with cold eyes as she began to shake in fear; Aoi, the girl I had been with from the start of middle school up to the day—the girl I loved with every fiber of my being. I wanted to find her first so I could make her scream in pain; they say hell has no fury like a woman's scorn. Well, hell has no carnage like a man that's betrayed.
"She became a Shinto nun after she left high school. She didn't handle what she did to you well and hasn't spoken again after that day. Can y-"
"That is not what I am asking. Where is Aoi?"
My Stepmother let out a sigh before speaking again.
"A Shinto Temple near Mount Akaishi, I don't know which one, just around that area is what her mother told me."
I smiled and spoke.
"None of you can leave the house; that is an order. I wouldn't test it, as now that you are branded with my slave mark, going against it will only inflict pain. Oh, and no calling anyone or telling them what's going on. Can't have my plans not going my way; I would be very upset with that."
I teleport away to the Akaishi mountain range.
A building in Tokyo
"Who is this kid? Do we know why a white boy was at the bottom of the river? Do we even know his name? It can't be hard to find out something about him."
Said an old man while smoking a cigar.
"We looked back seventeen years for anyone who lived here from out of country and was reported missing. But his photo wasn't in the group, so no one reported him. We have been sending people to all the high schools and middle schools to find out who he is. But it will take time."
A lady with glasses replied to him.
"I don't carry who he is. I only want to know if he is loyal to Japan, the US, or wherever he is from. If he isn't loyal to Japan, it's best to kill him so we don't have to worry about someone who could last for sixteen years. What is his class and level?"
They looked at a man in a suit, waiting for him to speak.
"We can't tell anything. The device couldn't give a number to his level or stats, and they couldn't name his class. So he could be hiding his information with a class skill or an item.... Or he is too strong, and his class isn't in the list of classes on the board."
The young guy smirked.
"You are telling me this sixteen-year-old kid is stronger than Jin? The guy lasted 6 months. I bet that device is just faulty. There isn't any way that he is stronger than Jin. We have the strongest Awakeners."
He looked at the man with disgust, and the old man looked at the guy in the suit and began to speak to him.
"How strong do you think he is?"
The guy looked at him and replied.
"I couldn't begin to say if he has a Unique class, who knows. As that's the only way I could see someone lasting that long as a sixteen-year-old, or he is just that good at fighting."
"A Unique class, who would be dumb to risk losing their ability to get a class on the small chance to get a stronger than normal class."
Said the woman in glasses as she looked at the man.
"It depends on what kind of life the kid had; if it was hell, maybe he thought with all the shit he went through, maybe he thought he could earn something from it. Some people are just crazy."
Said the man in the suit before shrugging.
"So we have nothing but theories on this kid; I say we kill him as he isn't Japanese, and it could threaten our chance to become the world's superpower."
After a few minutes, the old man taps his finger on the desk and speaks.
"Call Jin in and put together a group, find the kid, and try to get him to join us, but if he is a risk, kill him."
Akaishi mountain range.
I looked around and saw five temples within this mountain range. I didn't feel like going to each one, so I landed on the ground, focused my mind, and spoke.
Summon Death Vipers
Ten twenty-meter level 325 Death Vipers came out, slithering around me as I began to speak.
"I want you ten to split into pairs and go to these Temples to look for a woman called Aoi Endo. Send a telepathic message when you find her, but don't attack her. If someone notices you other than her, you can kill them."
One can upgrade their classes for every hundred levels, but for monsters, every hundred levels upgrade their rarity. These ten are level monsters; they are best for stealth and assassination for their levels.
I watch as they slither away at about 100 mph. They are fast and hit their targets as fast as they can in this environment without any problem. They cloak themselves, making them almost invisible to the eye. Two of them didn't take long to report that they found the one I was looking for as I began to run through the forest, testing my legs out.
I get to the Temple, which is about 35 miles away from where I was, in a couple of minutes. I see two women guarding the Torii gates. I smirk as I walk out of the forest, and they become on guard.
"I am looking for Aoi Endo and have business with her. Please bring her here, or I will have to enter your Temple by force."
"What do you want with Sister Endo?"
"I am an old friend, and it's personal between us."
"No man is allowed on these grounds and Sister retreats. She isn't taking guests, so please leave."
They pointed their spears at me, and I chuckled as I walked towards them, waving my hand and breaking their necks to the point that their faces pointed backward. As they fell to the ground, I started to walk up the stairs.
The area does look fantastic, but it's too bad. I am going to need to bathe it in blood; there is so much waste if people don't just kneel to me. Their egos will just end up getting them killed; as I finally step on the temple grounds, a couple of women stop when they see me and call for help as ten women with spears come out and point them at me.
"Who are you?"
A woman with a ponytail and a spear in her hands points it at me. She is only level 78 with a common class of spearwomen.
"A level 78 common class has courage but not the brains to back it up."
She became focused as she spoke.
"Ladies, step back. You don't have a class; this person has one. What is it that you want here?"
"I am looking for my close friend, Aoi Endo; I haven't seen her in ages."
I said from below my hood as I looked at her. She calls one of the girls over and whispers to her, and she runs off and into the back of the Temple.
"What happened to the women guarding the front gate?"
I smiled, and she could see my smile, making her tighten her spear.
"You killed them, didn't you?"
"Why ask something you already know?"
I said as she charged me, and I grabbed her spear, breaking it and slamming the spear tip into her forehead, making her walk a few steps before falling to the ground dead. The woman began to scream and start to run. As I began to walk to the back of the Temple, I saw four older women with a woman I know all too well.
"Temple head, he killed the guard leader."
One of the older women fell to her knees hearing that. The Temple's head looked over at me, and she began to speak.
"Why did you kill my people? What do you want here?"
I began to walk down the stairs as I started speaking.
"The two front guards didn't want me to come in and meet an old friend of mine, and as for the last one, she was stupid to think she could kill me with just her common class and level. She probably didn't last that long in the Tower, and I lasted sixteen years there."
I watched Aoi the whole time, and the moment I spoke, I saw her jump a little. She knows it's me, and she remembers my voice well. I kept walking until I stopped in front of Aoi and spoke.
"Say my name, Aoi."
Everyone looked at Aoi, waiting for her to speak.
"Oh, that's right, my Stepmother told me you stopped speaking not too long after what you did to me. But, now I am here for my pound of flesh. So say my fucking name."
"William."
She said in a low, horse-voiced. I smirked as I lowered my hood, revealing my face and blood-red iris.
"I see you remembered the guy you fucked over."