Blood splattered on the floor as Russell cut off the filthy mouth of Reinhardt, who reflexively reached out for his mouth that was excessively bleeding, unable to cry out with the excruciating pain that he was currently feeling.

Freya thought about how quickly his older brother moved, but upon recalling the words that were to come out of Reinhardt, her emotions turned livid as she recalled the tragic past that her family went through.

Bam-!

Freya kicked Reinhardt, causing him to fly across the rectangular long glass table, making the delicious delicacies that were placed atop it splattered.

The pieces of furniture broke, but due to their Trait: Nihility, the two guards that escorted them didn't hear any commotion inside the VIP Room.

Freya looked at her older brother who was walking menacingly towards the slumped-down Reinhardt, but her expression was similar to his; indifferent.

"Hey, extra. Do you know what's the purpose of Health Points that we, players have?"

As Russell spoke those words with an emotionless tone, he grabbed Reinhardt's short blonde hair and then slammed his face to the floor.

Bam-!

"So that we won't easily die even if we bleed or are poisoned; in some cases, even if we are stabbed to the heart with consideration of high-rank weapons from Unique to Legendary, it'll take at least 90% of Health Points, then 2% per second until the player dies.

"How about a bleeding tongue?

"Ignorance and Apathy, in other words, I don't know, and I don't care.

Bam-!

Russell coldly mumbled before he kicked Reinhardt, sending him again flying across the other end of the VIP Room.

He's avoiding hitting the door where they came in; although the surroundings had been hidden due to their Trait: Nihility, it wouldn't exactly mean that the two guards who remained outside wouldn't come in out of nowhere, or wouldn't see a cracked door from their backs if it was somewhat damaged by the impact.

"Oppa-!"

"Keukk-!"

Freya's voice cut off Russell's thoughts as a kick sent him flying due to one of the two men in a formal black suit mildly recovering from the Void Acupuncture; he didn't use the option where he could apply Chaos Aura to put pressure to the souls of the target players — another effect of Void Acupuncture.

One of the two men who forced himself to move had the veins in his shoulders, thighs, and legs to swelled out; it's a disgusting sight for underage people like Russell, Freya, and Amelie — that was if they hadn't seen worst like the existence of Abomination and Nether Creatures.

Freya didn't reach for her older brother, instead, she managed to quickly approach Arthur Wolfson who was hanging on his life, and barely recovering.

"Step back! If you don't want to see the head of your boss fly away!"

Putting Arianne's Wish (Unique) to his neck, Freya warned the guard who forced himself to fight.

...

'F*ck! That hurts a lot!'

Being caught off guard by someone with a Strength stat that's around 900 to 1,350, the impact of the kick from the B rank guard was something bone-crushing, he felt like his ribs would pop out.

He quickly took out two High-Grade Health Potions he bought from Thorn of Rose and chugged it down as he opened their lid.

Russell commended in his mind the action that Freya took, not prioritizing him or getting emotional just because he was kicked, rather, she took advantage of the groaning Arthur Wolfson; even though he had drank a High-Grade Health Potion, he was still hanging to life due to the critical strike that Freya dealt.

Freya might have missed striking the heart, but it was so close that Arthur's Health Points dropped to 20%, then as of this moment, it was probably around 50% as Ruina forced to his mouth a High-Grade Health Potion, but due to the Intrinsic Effect of Arianne's Wish, he couldn't move due to the Mild Poison Debuff that's strangely draining only his Stamina instead of both Stamina and Health.

"S-stop!"

One of the two men that accompanied Arthur shouted as Freya cut Arthur's cheek; he slowly took his pace, waiting for a possible opening.

Freya just reassured that the 1-minute Mild Poison Debuff wouldn't run out of effect, that's why she cut Arthur's cheek so that the Intrinsic Effect: Desolation would remain kicking in.

"Don't f*cking make a single step or I'll rather stab his neck!"

Freya made another warning; she felt relieved as she saw her older brother stand up, good as new.

...

'Fuck! I need to leave this place, but how?'

Ruina, who was fighting against Amelie, thought inwardly.

"Hey girl, I can't believe you really betrayed Arthur. You looked good being a loyal dog.

"Your acts are so natural in front of him that you should have become an actress."

Ruina spoke in a calm yet sarcastic tone, but she was trying to rack her brain on how to escape this place that turned into something unexpected.

'I need to report this quickly, so they will let me come back.'

"Thank you for your compliment, b*tch!"

Suddenly, Amelie's pink hair and ruby eyes turned black and she then disappeared from Ruina's crimson eyes.

Whoosh-!

Amelie smashed the Staff of the Lost Shade (Growth) as she went behind Ruina.

But unexpectedly, Ruina caught it with her right hand without even looking behind.

"Ha... Hahahahaha! b*tch you say?"

[Activating Skill: Crimson Threads (C)]

Through her right hand, blood-like threads emanated and wrapped around Amelie's weapon.

...

'Is she seeing me in my Shade Transformation?'

Amelie assessed the situation, and then, after some time, she concluded...

'No, that's not it. She's using her somehow extraordinary senses. Heh... Heh heh.'

A grin formed on Amelie's lips.

...

"Come out you cowardly b*tch!"

Ruina didn't manage to firmly hold Amelie's Personal Weapon, but she felt where she was hovering.

'This is not a normal skill... what is she? Hah... Hahaha! This is something else!'

She laughed in her mind at the peculiarity of these people.

At that moment, Amelie deactivated the Unique Skill: Shade Transformation, she then stood in front of Ruina at least two meters away.

"Hey... Ruina, right? You see... I received an order not to kill you. I don't know why... but when it's that kind of order, it must mean there's something very interesting about you."

Ruina felt a chill run down her spine as goosebumps spread all over her body upon hearing the words that Amelie said.

"W-what... W-whose order?"

She asked with a trembling mouth, although she didn't know if these people knew about the specifics about her, she felt like her thoughts had been disrupted by the possibility.

"His order."

Amelie looked at Russell who just stood up from getting kicked by one of the guards, while the remaining guard still couldn't move or he wasn't risking feeling the pain of twisting his own veins.

Ruina looked at Russell with her crimson eyes wide.

...

'I-I need to request backup.'

Reinhardt, with a bleeding mouth and fleeting consciousness, mustered his will with his thoughts that turned into a mess.

He didn't bother about his tongue that flew out instantly because he knew that with the Advanced Health Potion, it could be brought back.

As he was lying on the floor, he opened his smartwatch to contact someone with more authority in the Shadow Guild.

But his expression froze upon seeing the smartwatch.

'N-no signal...? H-how!'

The signal of the smartwatch wouldn't disappear within the entirety of Orion Continent unless these conditions had been met; the player was inside a Strayed Dungeon or Dungeon Tower; the smartwatch was broken, and if there's an artifact or skill that rendered any signals.

"Extra... you see, it's useless. Don't worry about it, I'll call them for you, soon enough."

He didn't know why this man was calling him extra, but there was something about it that made him inexplicably upset.

"Keuk-!"

Russell hit Reinhardt's abdomen using the back of the Sword of '???', making him spit a mouthful of blood.

...

The two men in black suits were told beforehand that they would get rid of the man that Arthur would have a transaction with, and the woman who was acting as the mediator between them.

They didn't call for backup because they thought that they could get rid of two underage kids, but the unexpected struck them due to the unusual prowess of their supposed-to-be targets, and the presence of the unexpected variable, Freya.

'F*ck this young master whatnot! Acting all and might, but can't even gauge the other's true strength! I need to live!'

Said inwardly by the guard who didn't move even though he could do the same thing just as the other guard, his co-worker did.

As the situation somewhat calmed down, he slowly spoke.

"S-spare me. P-please! I'll do anything!"

He looked at the young man with deep blue eyes and short deep black hair; the unusually fast player for his age.

"I-I have a family to feed. Please, I'll do anything."

He begged, though his words remained true.

"Hey, Algar! What are you doing?! We'd be dead if we let Boss Arthur die!"

"Shut up, Ferd! I'm done babysitting that f*cking brat!"

He spoke his true thoughts, then a pair of feet stood in front of Algar, the one who begged to live for his family.

historical

...

"Be honest with me, do you plan on getting rid of us after the transaction was over?"

Freya asked as she stood in front of the staggering Algar.

Algar, who was now on his knees, looked at the attractive woman whose deep black hair was in a ponytail, but before he could speak, Freya added...

"If you lie, you will die by my hands, and if you say the truth, you-"

"Y-yes! Arthur had ordered us to get rid of the two individuals before you arriv-"

Algar's head flew off as Freya swung the Arianne's Wish (Unique), causing his blood to gush out of his neck and splatter across the VIP Room, especially on the broken glass table; the crimson blood seemed to blend with the party lights that's illuminating the VIP Room.

"If you say the truth... you will also die."

Freya finished her words, causing Russell and Amelie to look at her with different emotions on their faces; the former was feeling concerned and in disbelief, while the latter was an expression of understanding Freya's decision.

"A-Algar! You motherf*cker!"

Ferd forced himself to lunge toward Freya, but his veins gave and burst out, causing him to slowly bleed to death.

Freya looked at his older brother who approached the man named Ferd and heard him mutter.

"Quick death is the only consolation I'll be able to give you."

Russell then beheaded Ferd, too.

Then, at that moment, Freya's voice reverberated throughout the VIP Room that's being concealed by their Trait: Nihility.

"Hypocrites... h-how can you say that you have a family to feed, but are willing to get rid of us who have a family, waiting for us, too?"

She lamented as drops of tears started to flow down her deep blue eyes; it was her first time killing someone who probably have their own loved ones, waiting for them.

...

In a certain region of the Land of the Harvest, the country of Etheria.

"Mama!"

Two young children; one boy that was around 5 years old, and one girl that was around 7 years old.

"W-when's Papa coming back home?"

The young boy said as he approached his mother who was processing some crops or Etherian vegetables of various types.

"Ma, I miss Papa. I hope he'll bring us something, like chocolates when he comes back!"

"I-I love c-chololates, too!"

The young girl said, and then the young boy chimed in.

Patting and rubbing the head of her children, the mother spoke with a wide smile on her face.

"Hmm... Daddy Algar will come back, soon alright? With many, many chocolates! So, behave well, okay?"

'Algar... I hope you are safe.'

She looked at the bluish moon that was illuminating the farmlands of Etheria as the cold wind intensified through the deep night.