Even the black gas that fought against the golden net’s ensnarement froze. That gave the golden net a chance to attack. Hence, the net quickly and securely wrapped around the black gas. Likewise, the two domes that battled one another from the beginning finally stopped. The black dome gradually shrunk to barely the size of Darius’ nails, which meant Darius was victorious. Turning to look at the man, Darius continued, “But I’m unwilling to do so because I value all relationships in my life.”His gaze bore into the man. He was unwilling to blink, focusing all his attention on the man behind the black fog. Despite his calm demeanor, Darius placed both hands behind his back and balled his fists, concealing how emotionally turmoiled he felt at that instant. As he said those words, the black fog around the man began to dissipate.That went on until the man’s face became clear. It was as Darius pictured earlier—the face from his memories. The only difference was, now, the man’s eyes were

Darius’ eyes widened. Even his bones trembled deep beneath his skin due to the rage brewing in his chest. Despite that, he did not do anything and merely smiled at Shelvin.Even so, Shelvin could tell the former was pretending. He curled one side of his lips upward, sneering, “You keep pretending like you’re keen on working with me, but deep down, all you want is to hit the pause button on our battle today—”His voice remained monotonous the entire time.“From what I recall, I’ve always viewed you as somewhat of a decent human. Granted, you can be arrogant and lack the potential for much character development, but I can understand why.Shelvin nodded understandingly, but it only left a bitter taste in Darius’ mouth. Although Darius frowned, Shelvin ignored the former and resumed his speech.“That’s normal. You used to be very poor, after all.” He shot a sympathetic look at Darius but then smirked while shrugging. “So, even after you inherited your newfound wealth and martial arts skil

That was because Darius sensed a familiar aura within Shelvin’s eyes as soon as the latter looked at him. However, that only lasted a brief moment. Still, Darius could not suppress the joy in his heart upon realizing Shelvin’s presence.Contrarily, Shelvin’s face darkened. He hoarsely voiced while releasing another plume of black gas, “Don’t get all happy now, brat.” Despite his eyes narrowing to slits, Darius maintained a neutral expression while facing the storm that suddenly formed in the room. The black gas had somehow caused the air to spin faster by the second, sweeping the furniture along with it.Darius’ already torn clothes began to flutter in the air. It got to the point where it could not cover his body anymore. Yet, the two still stood opposite each other without paying it much mind. As they stared at each other more intensely, more and more things got swept into the center of the storm. The atmospheric pressure kept growing until one of the desk lamps broke the window a

“It must’ve taken her a lot of willpower not to kill you and your subordinate. Make sure to thank her later on,” Edward added. He then approached Bridget’s side to say, “Wait here. I’m going to help Mr. Reid.”He was about to head upstairs when someone grabbed his sleeve, stopping him. He turned while frowning as he could sense someone’s jealous stare focusing on him. Once he faced Bridget again, he raised a brow as though questioning her unprofessional reaction.That made Bridget raise her brows before returning to her usual stoic expression. She then parted her lips to speak in a subdued voice. “You wait here. Your combat skills aren’t as good as mine, so I should go and help Mr. Reid.” She then looked behind where Pierce was, and her eyes widened for a moment. Once she saw Pierce trembling in fear, her gaze returned to its usual emotionlessness. However, she raised her voice to say, “As long as we block off those strong winds, you’ll be able to protect those scheming, worthless,

Bridget’s features scrunched in confusion when she heard what Darius said. Yet, Darius shook his head and did not explain himself.The man, supposedly Shelvin, stood opposite the two this entire time. At that moment, his lips curled as he sneered, “I can’t believe you’d be this despicable.”That instantly caught Darius’ attention.Having had an ego boost, the man continued, “Did Shelvin ever see this side of you? He doesn’t seem to have any negative impressions of you—well, none I can access, at least.”A death glare came from Darius when Shelvin’s name got mentioned by the man behind the black fog, who now had control over Shelvin’s body.Yet, this so-called version of Shelvin did not seem to mind Darius’ glares; the man’s smile deepened as he added, “I never thought you’d be this way, Darius.”Bridget was initially pursing her lips in discomfort. However, she soon lost all calm and burst out, “That’s enough! Speak for yourself, creep! Look at how happy you get when you see others in

Darius murmured the name to himself before looking up at the man again. “You’re foreign?”Yarlyn blanked for a second before nodding. Flashing a bitter smile while reddening his eyes, he explained, “I’ve been trapped here for so long that I can’t recall many things anymore.”“Trapped?” Darius quirked a brow. Yarlyn nodded, his features tensed even more as he turned to the side and waved, calling off all the fog around his body.A frown marred Darius’ face in that instant.It turned out that there was a hidden room behind Yarlyn this entire time. Darius could see the brightly lit and fully furnished room where Yarlyn had likely been residing now that the fog had lifted. That instantly made Darius’ brows narrow into a deep V-shape. Nothing seemed odd about Yarlyn’s explanation, but he could tell the furniture was from a different era, and there were signs of wear and tear from the long-term use. Although Darius did not seem overly bothered, he was already in utter shock after specula

“My family name is Weiss. Have you perhaps heard of it?” Darius raised a brow. However, he soon narrowed his eyes and nodded without speaking.A bitter smile curved on Yarlyn’s face again as he elaborated, “I was born during the war, but I had a considerably happier childhood than others in my country because of my family name.”Although Darius nodded, he still refrained from commenting on the subject.Seeing that, Yarlyn felt more at peace and did not mind the former’s coldness, so he continued, “My country finally gained independence when I was a young man, and we lived much better lives. I thought our happiness would last a long time. Unfortunately, I soon learned that wasn’t the case.” While speaking, he shut his eyes. “I got entrusted with a sacred mission by my country to go to a mysterious, eastern country and study a specific region’s liberation and independence. Initially, I thought it was a great mission, so I bid my goodbyes and went merrily on my way. Now that I think abo

“It had eyes on its arms and several long legs that stood sideways like a crab. Also, it had remarkably tiny hands. It was in a cage and had many wounds on its body. Even one of its legs could no longer stand properly. I caught a whiff of an overwhelming bloody scent that made me limp. Soon enough, the figures in black robes put me on the operating table—that was when I heard the most horrid instructions in my life.” Again, a black fog poured from Yarlyn, who became emotional at that memory.A sigh came from Darius, who placed his hand on the former’s shoulder. He released some of his warm life force at the same time. That instantly calmed Yarlyn down and made his black life force gasses vanish.Yarlyn slumped on the edge of his bed, gripping so tightly on the fabric around his knees that it ripped. Only then did he snap to his senses. Even so, he kept his eyes closed while saying, “The person holding me down said, ‘The boss says not to waste any anesthesia on him. Just seal his woun

“Later on, I suddenly met someone one night. He gave me a stamp with the symbol of the Moore Group’s wealth and power. It’s the one you took from Drake Moore. Then, the person told me all the martial artists in black robes belonged to me, and I was free to order them around on one condition—” Yarlyn’s gaze hardened without any warmth, his voice growing hoarse by the second. “I must train at least five hundred skilled and determined beings like myself every year.”Darius knew the former was holding back, but he did not have the heart to wonder why. Instead, the condition shocked Darius so much that his jaw was agape, and he murmured, “How many martial artists in black robes have you trained in the many years that passed since then?”Upon hearing that, Yarlyn thinned his lips into a long line across his face while staring frostily at Darius. It instantly made Darius’ eyes narrow to slits. His voice sounded grimmer while he shot some of his golden gaseous life force at Yarlyn. “Have you

Bridget heaved a sigh of relief, her features relaxing. She then turned to flash her widened eyes at Edward while smiling ever so slightly.Next to her, Edward sensed a killing intent vanish from inside the barrier. Following that, he felt Bridget staring at him, so he smiled in return. “You know, I haven’t seen you this happy since we started training together all those years ago.”“Duh,” Bridget’s smile deepened. “I’m smiling because I want to help complete Mr. Reid’s tasks, and I only wish for him to achieve his goals with little to no suffering.”With that, she turned the other way and ensured Pierce could not see them before flashing a frosty glare. “That rotten Pierce Bronson! How dare he give us false information!”Edward’s jaw fell agape upon hearing that. He assumed Bridget would say, “How dare he have such lewd thoughts about me!” Nevertheless, he was still shocked that Pierce had the nerve to lie to Darius. Edward’s mouth remained wide open for the longest time, and he took