The start of every relationship or partnership should be established by cleaning the slate and making a fresh foundation.

There was already a lot of bad blood between Ricardo and Sigil.

Now, the first step for Sigil to make use of this variable is to make himself look a little favourable in front of Ricardo's eyes. If his guess was correct and Ricardo was truly someone like him that had experienced a different life or returned from future then he needed to understand more about the true personality that he developed over the course of his alternative life.

Ricardo's face held a strange expression as his mind flashed countless thoughts. But in the next moment, his expression froze.

Sigil bowed in front of all the younger generation practicing in training ground.

"I am here to apologize for my past behaviour."

Sigil's calm voice echoed in the silent training ground as all the people looked towards the young man with a shocked expression.

Was this really Sigil?!

Everyone felt strange and some of Sigil's victims even felt a strange sense of unease in their hearts.

Meanwhile, Sigil's eyes were shining as he was waiting for Ricardo's response. 

This was one of the most crucial moments in determining the true nature of this enigma.

Ricardo narrowed his eyes as he felt the sincerity in Sigil's voice.

"You think it is this easy? You made my life a living hell. Go away!!" Ricardo spoke out without a change in his expression.

His words stunned the whole training ground.

What is courage?

This is!

Who has the strongest strap on?

Ricardo does!

These thoughts flashed by all the young ones in training ground, male and female alike.

Sigil, instead, smiled secretly.

'Determined, Honest and….. Righteous.'

This is Ricardo's first impression on Sigil. Of course, he would not dare to play his cards according to the first impression only. What if he was acting? What if he was planning against Sigil himself?

Sigil's gaze revealed a thoughtful expression as he saw Ricardo going away.

His back straightened once more as he walked away to meet up with Ivan. His goal in meeting Ricardo had been accomplished.

Even though he couldn't clean the slate, he inferred one thing from Ricardo's sentence.

The bad blood can be dissolved, but it wouldn't be easy!

He took a deep breath as he made his way towards the exit of the estate. Meanwhile, the news of the most arrogant young master of the family apologising to a small time member immediately became the top news.

***

"No physical confrontation took place, right?"

"Yes, Lord."

"No signs of spell either?"

"No, Lord."

John's gaze shined as he felt a weight from his shoulders being lifted up…. no…. the weight on his shoulders had been flung away.

Sigil is finally getting on the right track!

He looked at his subordinate and thought for a little while.

"Follow him, just in case. We still don't know the reason for such sudden changes. He is the inheritor selected by totem itself. No kind of harm and manipulation should touch the Kid."

John spoke out after contemplating for a little while. This world is filled with strange spells and a little caution doesn't harm anyone.

The subordinate nodded and left through the door of the office.

***

It was early in the morning and besides the occasional school buses, Sigil did not even find any store in business during these hours. He was jogging towards his destination.

He had just broken through and opened the seventh gate of wonder. His body needed a little time to adjust once more. This is the reason he decided to travel by foot instead of riding a bike.

After 15 minutes of jogging, he finally reached his destination.

It was a gym named Eagle Pump.

While a retail store wouldn't be in business during these hours, it was a rush hour for many gyms in the area. Eagle Pump wasn't an exception as many vehicles could be seen outside the gym.

He took a deep breath and entered the gym.

The interior of the gym was standard. Large space for pieces of equipment, various plates of weight, a square ring for combat practice. The whole place reeked of sweat.

'What else should I expect?' Sigil became speechless from his own thoughts.

Why would he complain about the smell of sweat in a gym?

He shook his head to get rid of his thoughts as he saw a 90's gangster haircut.

It was Ivan!

He was currently hitting on a hot member of the gym. She was wearing a sports bra with dark yoga pants. Her flat stomach was on a full display, attracting the attention it deserved.

Meanwhile, Ivan looked cool and composed. Evidently, he did not work out at all or the work out of the gym was ineffective. His smile still infectious, charming the lovely lady.

"Yo! You wanted to meet me, darling!" Sigil smiled as he patted Ivan's butt, causing the lovely lady to feel surprised. Her expression turned into one of an understanding as she bid her farewell to Ivan.

"Hey! That was a cheap shot."

He really had a chance with the gorgeous lady. 

"Well, I take them whenever I can."

Sigil smiled in response. 

He wouldn't let any RedHawk to turn on their womaniser charm in front of him. Even if they did, they still fell a little short to Sigil's wolfish charm.

They both walked towards the door of the personal office of the owner and entered it.

"So? What happened?"

Sigil asked after sitting on his chair.

Meanwhile, Ivan took out an already smoked cigar and took a deep puff before sighing.

"Well, I couldn't tell this on the phone, but… sigh, I am outsourcing a service."

"For?"

Sigil's eyes narrowed.

"My brother."

Ivan replied. His expression immediately turned into a disappointed one after thinking about his brother.

'Where did we go wrong in raising him?'

Ivan thought silently.

"Look, I know that he did wrong, but he has already paid for his wrongdoings. Why get him killed?"

Sigil understood the meaning of 'outsourcing a service' all too well.

"You don't understand. We can go to brothels and pick up any girls from bars or other places as long as they are willing. Not only he tried to force himself on that Aria girl, but he also managed to force himself on a girl in our own town."

Ivan felt helpless.

"Wait, didn't I slash his dick off? Did you guys transplant a new one for him?"

"No, we didn't. He destroyed the girl by using metal rods. When we found the girl, she had already died due to blood loss. Sigil, her intestines were pierced!" 

Ivan had a disgusted look. He wasn't disgusted by the girl's condition, instead, he was disgusted by his brother's twisted desires.

Even Sigil's mood turned grim when he listened to Ivan.

"The girl's background?"

"Orphan."

Ivan replied.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

Sigil came to the main issue.

"Dad wants to find an external professional for the task while I want to end my twisted brother personally. I am here to bid you farewell!"

"No!"

Sigil immediately stood up.

Killing one's own brethren meant that you are going rogue and you will be hunted by the family for the rest of your life. A luxurious bounty will also be placed on the rogue, causing many other witches to hunt rogue down.

Even though they did not speak much, they were already best friends. To previous Sigil, Ivan was also a brotherly figure.

"Calm down, I am not rushing to my death. I have contacted the Black Spiders and they have already prepared a familiar for me. Even though I will miss having a RedHawk of the family, I don't want a single familiar to be the reason that my brother can die an easy death."

"So…. you decided to go to a dark guild?"

Sigil slumped on his seat. He was speechless!

Black Spider was a terrorist organisation and every member of the organisation have large bounties on their heads.

"You know, I can just catch you and hand you over to your family."

Sigil continued with a chuckle.

Ivan smiled as he stood up.

"Thank you for being my friend. The next time we meet, don't try to be overly familiar or it will cause you trouble."

Sigil already understood that Ivan was going to kill his brother and go rogue. He just wished him luck and departed from the gym.

"Ah, I hope you would forgive my brother for his bad sense of humour. So? Where were we?" Ivan immediately walked towards the lovely lady with a charming grin.

***

Chestcovia City

The city was a small place and news travelled fast. The end of the serial killer ghost had already reached many pairs of ears and every citizen of the city felt joyful.

It has already been two days since the job had been taken care of.

In one of the morning bars of the city, an old man suddenly dropped his jug of beer and fell off his chair, falling on the broken jug.

As if the old man started the domino effect, all the customers of the bar started to die. The customers were followed by the bartender, the beggars and whores outside the bar and then the whole city.

In mere moments, the whole lively city became the land of the dead.

On the seat where the old man fell off from, a silver plated book emerged mysteriously. Its cover shining in a silver light and a strange rune etched on its surface.