An old man stepped out of the shadows. 

 

The execution was before him, a gory and bloody sight, but he had nothing to say. He was not afraid; instead, he was in awe in the face of such carnage.

 

Blood splatters mottled the walls, proof it was not he who killed them. He looked left and right and saw no one even taking note of the gory display.

 

No onlookers to be seen. 

 

No gossip-monger caught wind. 

 

"No one felt any presence... as I thought it was done purely by Spear Intent."

 

He found himself admiring the beauty of their deaths. Clean, without a margin of error. 

 

"This kind of lingering Spear Intent should belong to a Third Step Master. I did not think I would meet a true Integrated Spear Master in a place like this."

 

He did not know who executed the masterful killing, but the clean execution mesmerized the old man. The chest was expertly carved out, and the heart was destroyed, yet the arteries and veins looked as though they were cut by scissors.

 

The heads of the two who tried to escape had their heads disintegrated from the neck up.

 

From how the battlefield looked, the signs point to the inability to fight back.

 

"Whoever did this is a true master… I need to find who this Master is." The old man said as he left the area. He wanted nothing more than to see if this Master could spare him the time and enlighten him in the ways of the spear.

 

The Master may or may not still be in this Town; the old man could only hope for the best.

 

===

 

"Where'd you get the money for this, Kiel?" Ame asked as she looked at the expensive-looking red combat robe that Kiel gifted her.

 

[Did you steal the money?] She asked while sending Kiel a playful smile.

 

"I got it from betting with some weird old man. He said the Young Master would actually take you away, and I said otherwise. I must say, thank you, to you." Kiel said with a taunting yet expressionless face… which somehow made it more irritating.

 

"Well, either way, I am thankful for this. I was afraid the bastards would recognize my clothing, but no one will be able to do so with this. Muhahaha, once I win this, I'll be able to get a Soul Beast of my own." Ame said as she raised her fist.

 

Many bystanders saw her do this cute action, and they laughed at the Young Lass's adorable dreams. Ame found her face turning red like a tomato.

 

"Is it not better to ask Father for a Soul Beast? I think if you do, he'll give you something stronger than what they can give you." Kiel argued but, Ame just flashed him a bitter smile.

 

Kiel shook his head, "Why is it that you can't all just say what you wish without beating around the bush?" 

 

Ame just shrugged her shoulders, "Not everyone can speak their minds like you."

 

Letting out a breath, Kiel patted Ame's shoulder, "I do not want you doing this… but; I hope you the best of luck."

 

Kiel said as he turned his back to Ame. The little sister creased her brows as she called out in their Mental Link, [Where are you going? I thought mother told you to watch over me?]

 

[I am watching over you, but I'm going to do it somewhere you won't see me… I want to see if anyone's going to do some sneaky business so I can punish them for their deeds.] Kiel answered as he disappeared into the crowd.

 

[Well, do not go anywhere that's ten kilometers away, else our connection will be cut off.]

 

[I know, I'm not that unaware of my surroundings.] Kiel stopped responding at this point.

 

Ame looked in the direction where Kiel disappeared with a smile. She was happy because she could tell that Kiel was somehow livelier than before, 'He's enjoying the festivities of the Town, I supposed.'

 

Ame then left for the Central Area of the Town to wait for the competition to start. She would not fail to kick everyone's asses in this competition and take home the Soul without fail.

 

'I'm going to show them who they are messing with. That should be enough of a proper goodbye.' She said with a somewhat saddened smile.

 

***

 

Kiel's steps were fast but not hurried, and little by little, his presence dissipated like the wind, and then, before long, he was no longer seeable by regular people. Kiel was walking amongst the crowd, but he was nowhere to be found.

 

'I should head out to the East Area of the Town, correct?' Before meeting up with Ame, Kiel had already researched and searched for the Vollund Family's Manor.

 

Standing atop a house, Kiel observed a large manor. He watched over the servants and guards going about their ways. 

 

'There's no alertness in their eyes.' he confirmed.

 

None had found out about the death of their Young Master.

 

'I don't know where their Patriarch is, and I do not have a Spirit Sense to locate him. I will have to do this the old fashion way.' Kiel's legs gathered strength as he silently went over the walls.

 

Kiel was bold; he could tell that there was no Detection Formation set up in the area. He moved and maneuvered around the mansion while making sure no one saw him.

 

Kiel did not have a sliver of Spirit Sense, but he could still detect the presence of others.

 

He waited behind a decorative bush, and when a maid passed, he lunged into her. Kiel covered her mouth and pulled her behind the bushes. 

 

"Move and try to make any unwanted sound and you'll die, tell me, where is the Patriarch residing right now?" A low voice echoed in her ears.

 

The maid's breathing hastened by ten folds as she felt a set of sharp nails pressing on her throat.

 

The maid was terrified as she felt the pain on her neck… slowly, her mouth was uncovered, and she gave an answer, "O-on the highest floor..."

 

"What is he doing there?"

 

"Do-documents… he's reading documents... plea-please don't kill me… I have a younger sister to care for."

 

Tears rolled down her face as Kiel listened coldly… he put the maid to sleep and moved on.

 

Jura Vollund is the Seventh Generation Patriarch of the Vollund Family. He was at the 3rd stage of the True Spirit Realm, making him one of the two strongest experts of Lily Town. He was looking through the many papers concerning the spending habits of his son.

 

"That little shit spent so much Gol in the Red Light District!?" he suffered a headache, but he let it slide nonetheless. 

 

Jura sighed as he rubbed his eyes, 'What am I going to do with this boy?'

 

He had indulged his son's perverted desires because of his lack of a mother, yet over the past years, as he grows older, the troubles he brings were starting to stir waves around the City.

 

'It is getting harder to protect him from the Elders...' Jura exhaled, unsure what he should do.

 

His thoughts trailed off, and without warning, ice bursts out of his body as a Lynx that was the size of a palm circled around him and roared at a shadow, "Shiaaa!"

 

A wall of ice formed above Jura, but it was punctured without so much as a resistance.

 

Jura saw this and quickly jumped to the side, escaping the assassination.

 

"Who are you!?" he yelled in a fit of anger.

 

The smoke subsided, and behind it was a boy holding a cracked stick.

 

"A boy?" Jura was taken aback by how young the assassin was, 'He's younger than my son.'

 

"..." the boy did not answer.

 

"Who are you, child? Who sent you?" Jura continued shouting questions and kept receiving no answers.

 

With eyes sharper than any blade, Kiel observed Jura instead of responding.

 

'He managed to dodge that… it appears my limit without cultivation is a Half-Step True Spirit Realm Cultivator?' Kiel thought to himself, assessing Jura and his presence.

 

Jura was too strong.

 

Kiel was superior in skill and experience but lacking in everything else.

 

His skills would win, but he would be overpowered and die soon after, 'I cannot win without a sacrifice. This is going to be rather tiring.' Not once did running away appear in Kiel's mind.

 

Kiel looked at him and the Ice Lynx. He looked back at Jura and asked, "I was sent here by the Lord Death. He told me your son was lonely in the underworld. He asked for your companionship."

 

Kiel's words reached Jura, and the veins on his forehead bulged. His anger surged, "What did you just say?"

 

".....your son is dead."

 

"Stop lying. Do you think I have not heard these kinds of provo-"

 

Thud!

 

The remaining coins echoed as Jura saw his son's bag. The clumsy embroidery of his son's name was it its hems... this was the gift his wife left before she died.

 

Jura's son was a shy person despite his clear lacking of manners. 

 

His son would spend money to find a reason to use the bag and look at the embroidery. 

 

'N-no...' Jura's heart sunk.

 

He raised his head as he looked at the boy before him, wishing to get affirmation that this was not real, but Kiel's words were simply, "He barked like a dog as he died… what a coward that young one was."

 

"SHUT UP!" Jura raged as he drew the blade hanging on his waist.

 

With his anger peaking, Jura's Cultivation was drawn without thinking of conserving his energy. He disregarded everything just to slay the boy. Honor be dammed; Jura didn't care about the glaring disadvantage. 

 

Ice gathered around the tip of his sword, and as frost ran amok, Jura shouted, "Ice Piercing Dragon!"

 

Kiel watched as Jura aimed to pierce run his body through. Kiel's eyes widened as Jura was actually too fast for him to evade. When he moved his body to the right, Jura's sword still reached him — Kiel's left chest was carved, and half his body was encased in ice.

 

Kiel vomited blood on Jura's face.

 

The latter didn't bother wiping the blood off his face. His focus was solely on destroying Kiel.

 

Jura was well aware that his son was growing up to be a bastard. He was unlikeable, but he was still his son, his flesh and blood. 

 

"Die! You bastard! DIE!" Jura shouted as hatred fueled his strength.

 

Kiel exchanged gazes with Jura, "You're… not bad… but it is not enough…."

 

Jura found it weird that a dying person would say such words. He thought the boy was bluffing, then he saw Kiel's eyes spiral.

 

Kiel's black eyes changed and a Gray Serpent biting its tail revolved around Kiel's pupils. Jura then heard Kiel's last words, "Let's… try this again... Chrono Rewind …."

 

With Kiel as the center, an invisible dome that had a diameter of five meters appeared. Though the Invisible Dome failed to pierce the ground and could only cover the surface he stepped on, Kiel did not mind.

 

The world stopped, and then the Universe inside the dome reversed. Jura's ice receded, leaving no trace.

 

The splattered blood returned Kiel, and soon the sword was retracted from Kiel's body. The wound reverted to its former state, leaving no blemish on Kiel's flesh. 

 

The next second, the dome disappeared.

 

Then, Kiel was once again standing in confrontation with Jura.

 

And though his breathing grew ragged, Kiel controlled his reaction to show no signs of weakness or change.

 

"He barked like a dog as he died… what a coward that young one was," Kiel responded with the same taunt.

 

"SHUT UP!" Jura with the same roar of anger.

 

Jura roared from anger as he went ahead and did what he did a few seconds earlier, going ahead and attacking with impunity, "Ice Piercing Dragon!"

 

But unlike before, Kiel moved his body half a breath earlier...

 

"...what the?"

 

Jura failed to understand how someone like Kiel could dodge his attack, and then he heard Kiel speak, "Stick Poke…."

 

As Kiel's calm utterance of these words, Jura saw that Kiel's arm was left behind.

 

Jura ran towards the stick, his chest touched its end, and his heart was carved out like how his son met his end.