The battle between me and the leader of the Black Box Organization lasted several minutes. The two of us had already exchanged blows several times.

His attacks are heavy, but he can't be as fast as me because he is an ax wielder, where ax wielders tend to be slower than sword users.

"How long can you hold on, kid?"

Indeed, I had a hard time keeping up with his attacks. I was able to survive until now only by relying on my experience in fighting.

Unmistakably, this leader of the Black Box Organization is the most powerful opponent I've faced after my regression.

Although my stats have grown a little, I feel that my stats are still far below the Leader of the Black Box Organization. But, despite that, I still believe that I will be able to defeat him.

Clang! Clang!

The sound of clashing swords and axes continued. Every time I managed to withstand his attacks, he looked angrier.

In between our fight, it turns out he was watching the expression on my face. It was evident from what he said.

"Ha? What's with that look in your eyes? Are you belittling me? Do you think I'm funny?"

It turned out that he could see the expression on my face just by looking into my eyes.

I didn't even realize I was belittling him.

Maybe I accidentally enjoyed this battle.

"Oops! Sorry."

I said it in an indifferent tone.

However, he grew even angrier.

"Let's see if you can still enjoy this fight when I cut off your hand and make you kneel at my feet!"

He wasn't just talking nonsense.historical

The tide of battle suddenly started to side with him. The weight of his attack was getting heavier, his axe-swinging speed was also getting faster, and the Mana escaping from his body was also getting bigger.

Ka-clang!

The blow of the ax shot toward me. With a defensive stance, I block the attack using the sword in my hand.

This time, I failed to channel the attack, so the attack was able to hit me. Even though I managed to block it with my sword, my body was pushed back until it hit the wall of the building.

Crash!

As a result, I was pushed out of the building. Thick smoke came out and billowed as my feet continued to brake on the ground until my body stopped.

My sword that was holding back his ax attack continued to vibrate as if it was screaming in pain. Likewise with my hand holding the sword.

That was the power he displayed after activating his technique.

His slowly changing form emerged from behind the hollow wall. Starting with his hands, he walked out using his feet. His clearly visible crimson face then appeared.

White smoke emerged from his mouth as if he was a steam engine ready to crush every component of his body.

It was the result of using the technique he used. And I know what technique it is. The technique he uses is the Rage Skill, which can increase the user's strength several times to become more powerful.

However, unlike my Strengthening Skill which has no side effects, the Rage Skill has its drawbacks. The drawback is that it can make the user's emotions unstable. To be more precise, they would be overcome by anger.

"I admit that you are quite strong for a child of your age. Therefore, I will give you the honor of experiencing this technique of mine."

I realized that he had become much stronger than me. For that, I started draining the Mana in the Stigma of Darkness.

[Strengthening Skill - Activated.]

[Swordsmanship Skill - Activated.]

The reason why I was pushed back is that I haven't used up all the cards in my hand.

[Skill Amplification - Activated.]

With the sword in my hand that I had given the Amplification skill to, I took a defensive stance. With a condescending look, I spoke to him.

"Come forward if you are so confident. I will make you realize the vastness of the sky."

"H-how dare you act so arrogantly in front of me!"

I provoked him a bit because I realized the weakness of the Rage Skill.

Rage Skill users tended to be weak to provocations. It was because their anger and emotions increased as their power increased.

Then, we clashed once again.

***

At the same time, but in a different place, changes began to occur.

It wasn't far from the battle between the Mesties and the leader of the Black Box Organization.

To be exact, it was in the basement of the Black Box Organization's headquarters.

In the dirty and damp basement, there were several people curled up on the floor. They curled up without any mat to sleep on. Only a sliver of fire emerging from the torches warmed them.

They are children who were kidnapped by members of the Black Box Organization.

"How long do we have to suffer like this?"

One of the children muttered under his breath. He is a child who was recently kidnapped and enslaved by the members of the Black Box Organization.

Last night, he had done his work as a slave with the other children. Where he committed theft, stabbing, pickpocketing, and more. He was forced to do that because he and the other children were being watched by the members of the Black Box Organization so they couldn't escape.

If you ask why the members of the Black Box Organization use children, then it is clear that they use children as tools for them.

There would be no risk in letting the authorities get their hands on the children. So, they can be safer.

Meanwhile, the fate of children caught by soldiers for committing crimes can be dire. They may be imprisoned, tortured, or even sold to the hands of a disgusting nobleman.

"I wonder when we'll have a chance to escape."

He was just fantasizing without having too high hopes, but he immediately widened his eyes. Suddenly, his eyes started to shine brightly because he heard a loud noise coming from upstairs.

"Hey, did you guys hear that?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Shut up and just listen, damn it!"

He got up and spoke to his friend.

"Listen carefully. Isn't that the sound of a battle?"

Hearing the hint, other children began to focus on listening. Not much time passed, and they became convinced. They actually heard the sound of destruction followed by the continuous clash of sharp weapons.

At first, they made expressions of surprise, but their expressions soon turned back to those of despair, just like the expressions they used to put on their faces.

"... Oh. Then why?"

They all nodded in response.

The responses that followed the letter O, which came out of their mouths, irritated the only child who was previously excited.

"Tsk! You guys are stupid."

The only child who was excited was Anas.

Since the other children had no one to discuss this, he started thinking to himself, 'I think someone broke through here and is currently fighting. This is our chance to escape!'

When his friends were still confused, he was the only one who was quick to respond in understanding the situation.

"Hey, let's escape!"

"Eh. You're kidding, right? We could all die if we get caught."

The look of fear was evident on the children's faces as if they had never thought of running away at all.

"After all, if we get out of this place, we'll never get 'that' again."

'Shit! They are addicted to the effects of the drugs given to them.'

Anas knows that the 'that' item they are referring to, is a drug that can make them addicted and disturb their minds.

In other words, their brains have started to wash away little by little.

Fortunately, not everyone has become addicted, just like Anas. So, he gathered them.

Although there were some who opposed it at first, it wasn't long before they all agreed.

In an instant, he gathered them all together. There were nearly 20 of them. They were all in their teens.

His gaze shifted to the faces of his friends who refused to leave. He bowed and thanked him.

"Don't worry. I'll definitely save you guys one day!"

With those last words, he left with the other 20 children following.

Anas is the one who leads. When he opened the door leading to the top floor, he didn't see a single guard.

Though with the number of people following him, there should have been guards coming and finding them. But instead, only the sound of crickets came to them.

"Hey, we'll be out in a minute. Slow down your footsteps!"

When Anas and the other children began to be optimistic that they would get out of the building, they were surprised by something.

Kboom!

The walls of the buildings near them shattered into pieces. On the floor, lay a large body that seemed to be unconscious.

It was a huge body that just flew and smashed the wall into a hole.

Anas and the other children could not keep their mouths shut as their mouths kept forcing them open due to the shock.

They were shocked to see the figure of a person lying unconscious on the floor. They knew that the person was the boss of the Black Box Organization.

Thick smoke was still billowing everywhere.

Outside the building, there was a figure approaching.

'Is he the one who attacked this headquarters and even defeated the leader?'

Anas thought about it in his heart.

As the thick smoke cleared, the children noticed that the person who had arrived was wearing a suspicious-looking face covering.

That person was Mesties.

When Mesties looked at the group of children, he said something in a nostalgic tone.

"Oh, I didn't expect that you guys were already trying to escape. In this way, I won't have to free you guys from the basement."