“What just happened?” Kurt stared in surprise as his companion was swallowed by that attack. He could feel an insane amount of terror radiating the globe of blood. 

Normally, he wouldn't be scared of a D-Rank Awakened, but he had an uneasy feeling that whoever they had met was not someone to be angered.

“Well, I already have the Egg with me, so let's leave that idiot to deal with the Hero.” And if Victor dies, it will be better since he will get all the credit. 

'I can always kill him if he survives.'

Kurt decided to leave the Exhibition. There was no more reason to be there since the windows didn’t seem like they would budge. He could probably force them open with more power and time, but Heroes should already be on their way. There is no way he can leave undetected now.

'Since there is no rush in leaving now, should I have some fun before leaving?'

He glanced at the exhibits, displaying the wonderful selection of Artifacts, Kurt could feel greed tickling his fingers.

‘Too bad these Artifacts aren't the original deal, but I should still be able to do quite a lot from them.’He swiped a key card from the body of the nearest security guard, unlocking all the display cabinets. Excitement filled him, like a kid opening presents on Christmas.

As Kurt placed the last Artifact in that section inside his ring, he sensed a presence behind him. He slightly tilted his body, and an arrow buzzed past him, getting stuck in the wall.

“Woo! That was a close one.” A chuckle escaped his lips as he turned around to find a sliver-haired girl pointing a blinding white bow at him. “Be careful, little girl. These Artifacts can be a little dangerous.”

“I think you are the one who should be careful.” Rachel smirked at him.

“Huh?” Kurt stared at her in confusion, as her figure became unfocused in his eyes. 

‘Whack!’ 

Kurt found himself getting flung away, as the girl’s illusion dissipated. 

 

The moment The Bow of Artemis came into contact with the demonic being, it started to disintegrate. Rachel quickly took to her feet.

‘Damn it! These imitation Artifacts should be made to last more than a single use.’ 

When she finally felt herself getting used to the demonic energy, Rachel quickly rushed to Rhian's aid. But when she reached the Exhibition, all the guards and attendants were unconscious on the floor and Rhian was nowhere to be seen. And that's when she noticed the Fallen raiding the exhibits.

It was futile for her, a D-Rank, to fight a B-Rank Fallen, especially since she hadn't brought any of her weapons with her. 

But one thing that Rachel's friends will always tell you, is that whenever she sees anything related to Demons, an unsatiable anger erupts inside her.

So despite her better judgement, she idiotically picked a fight with someone she had no chance against.

Thankfully, reason hadn't abandoned her completely. She swiped off the Bow of Artemis from its cabinet, the weapon she was most confident in.

Artemis was the Roman goddess of hunting, and the bow boosted the arrow's power as well as the accuracy of hitting the target. It also had the bonus skill of casting low-ranking illusions.

Rachel used all the tools at her disposal, but unfortunately, she still wasn't able to leave any kind of injury. This, again made it clear to her how large a gap the two of them had between their Ranks.

But Heroes must already be surrounding the building, so now the best option would be to draw the Fallen out to them, and let the Heroes do their job. She rushed as fast as she can to reach the edge of the floor and jump down to the plaza on the ground floor, the most likely location of reinforcements. She might break a few bones from the jump, but she will be safe. Well, that is, if she can outrun the Fallen she had just angered.

“Hey! Hey! Hey!” The Fallen followed from behind, as she ran towards the center of the floor. “Little girl, has never told you that you should never anger those stronger than you?”

But just as she prepared to leap down, a sudden punch struck Rachel with force.

'Crap! I was so close...' She broke through the glass railing, plunging down with the added force of the attack.

The people below, noticing the commotion and broken glass from above quickly dispersed, and Rachel approached the cold hard floor. But right before the impact, her survival instincts kicked in and she twisted her body, with the full burst of injury aiming at her right shoulder and avoiding her head. Nevertheless, the pain flooding her senses was nothing shy of hell. The bones in her right arm seemed to have shattered from the collision. But before she could even get used to the pain, the disaster struck again.

“Aahh!” A lady screamed pointing upwards. The crowd looked up to see a man floating in the air. Black lightning crackled around him, as the demonic energy in them radiated downwards. Being exposed to such strong mana of the demons, many of them began to puke on the ground and fainted. 

As Rachel struggled to move, Kurt floated down next to her. “Now that I remember correctly, aren’t you Rufus’ granddaughter?"

He smiled at his newfound realization. "After your brother was cursed, the Alliance was ecstatic for a long time. I wonder how delighted they will be if I kill you.”

“Shut! Up!” Rachel spat the words at him, with clenched teeth.

“Still full of life, aren’t you?” Kurt just smiled at her. He pressed his foot on her shoulder, sending a thousand volts of pain through her nerves. She clenched her teeth tighter trying to fight off the pain.

“Look! The great Rufus Briar’s granddaughter. At my feet!” He laughed at his dominance. 

Suddenly, a brick hit Kurt on the head. “Get away from my sister, you Demon!” Ryder yelled at him.

Kurt just smiled, looking down at Rachel. “Sister? Oh my! Look who’s lucky day it is. I get to kill both of Rufus’ grandchildren.”

“Stay away from my brother!” Rachel wanted to scream at him, but only a weak murmur escaped her lips.

“If you want to save your sister, why don’t you come down yourself? Or are you too scared to be cursed again?” The Fallen just taunted him, as he slammed his foot on her again.

Another wave of pain flooded her nerves. She could already feel herself losing consciousness.

"R-Ryder, run!" Those were the final words she could say before she fainted.

 

Suddenly, a curtain of white fire rose, separating all three of them. Kurt quickly retreated to avoid the intense heat and turned around to see who was attempting to disrupt his fun.

At the entrance of the mall stood an Asian woman. As she waved her red hand-fan, the flames obediently danced to her commands, encircling Kurt and isolating him from the rest of the people.

“Kurt Holdem. B-Ranked Awakened. It’s been a while since you were active as a Fallen.” Sakura Touri called out, her voice laced with determination.

“Touri! It’s been a while. I think the last time we saw each other was when we were first-years at the Academy.” Kurt replied, seemingly delighted to see a familiar face.

"You forfeited your right to be called a student the moment you made a pact with a demon," Touri retorted, her forehead furrowing as she recalled their unpleasant past.

“Ah. Don’t be a sourpuss. But first, why don't we lower the temperature a bit? It's getting hot” Kurt said with a snap of his fingers. In an instant, black lightning crackled and filled the building, extinguishing Touri's flames with its dark magic.

“Now isn’t this a bit better?” Kurt smirked as he took a step closer to Touri nonchalantly stepping over the weakened embers of her magic. “Are you surprised that I am no longer the Kurt who didn’t even pass his first year at the Academy?”

Her disgust was evident. “You sacrificed your humanity for this meagre power?” 

"Of course I did. With the power I've gained, I can do anything. For example..." Kurt's voice trailed off as he suddenly disappeared from Touri's sight. "I can kill the grandson of the Hero League's President."

Touri swiftly turned to locate him, but before she could react, Kurt materialized next to Ryder. She raised her fan, ready to attack him, but Kurt conjured a ball of lightning in his hand, taunting her. “Be careful, Touri. You don’t want me to hurt the President’s grandson.” he mocked, forcefully positioning Ryder as a shield between them.

A million thoughts raced across her mind as Touri stared at the situation she was placed in. ‘This is bad! Ryder is Cursed. He can't endure prolonged exposure to demonic energy. But if I attack Kurt, Ryder will be caught in the crossfire.'

“What do you want, Kurt?” Touri asked, trying to buy some time.

"I want to leave this mall. Let me go, and I'll release him," Kurt replied, his voice filled with malicious intent.

"How can I trust that you'll keep your word?" Touri questioned, her eyes fixed on Kurt, her fan ready to unleash her powers at any moment.

“Touri! Touri! Touri! Do you honestly have the time to ask these questions?” Kurt chuckled at her arrogantly. “The longer this boy stays with me, the earlier his Curse will claim him. You should let me go while I'm still asking nicely.”

Lightning crackled threateningly close to Ryder's face, releasing another burst of demonic energy that left him visibly weakened. Her concern for Ryder intensified. He was already breathing heavily and was on the verge of collapsing. He couldn't withstand this environment much longer.

"Fine! Go! Now," Sakura reluctantly conceded, her fan still pointing towards Kurt. Both of them remained on high alert, their mana at the ready, prepared to strike at the first sign of betrayal.

Taking a step toward the entrance, Kurt dragged Ryder with him, while Touri stood her ground, helplessly watching him escape. However, behind Kurt, she noticed a shadow inching closer. It was Ophelia, one of her daughter's friends.

‘ON THREE, ATTACK!’ Ophelia mouthed to her.

Touri’s eyes widened in disbelief. There was no way she could launch an attack. Ryder would surely be in the line of destruction.

‘JUST TRUST ME!’ She mouthed back. Her fist was already up, ready to start counting. Slowly Ophelia opened her fingers, one at a time. Kurt also moved towards the mall entrance, ready to make his getaway.

‘Kurt will definitely not let Ryder go the moment he's outside. He is far too valuable a hostage. Ophelia is famous for her strategic intelligence at the Academy, so I am sure she has a plan, but…’

At that moment, the life of an innocent person hung in the balance.

The moment Kurt senses anything, he will kill Ryder on the spot. 

The Tragedy of the Briar Family was known across the entire continent. The boy had already suffered for his whole life. As a mother herself, Touri refused to let Ryder meet the same end as his parents. 

‘Oh God, please don't do this to him!’

Ophelia raised her third finger.