For a moment, everyone around Zaen froze. They knew he had been unsatisfied with how the organization handled his punishment. While Hina didn't care what Zaen chose, Mimi was indeed worried.

Hina joined the academy for Zaen. If he joined the cult, she would do so as well without any hesitation. However, if that happened, Mimi would have to turn her sword against Zaen and every other traitor.

"News travels fast, huh?" Zaen scoffed, twirling the Boning Sword in his hand. "I didn't think the cult would have spies within the organization."

The woman just shrugged upon hearing his words. The cult didn't have spies because the organization would sniff them out within seconds. It was more like they knew the weak points of a few low-ranking officers.

As long as the news reached certain officers, the cult would yank it out of their mouths.

"Think about it carefully," the woman said when Zaen remained unmoved. "Unlike these freaks, the cult can actually help you."

"And how will you do that?"

"Pretty simple. We can give you a new set of eyes. Hell, you can have your pick right now," she smiled, pointing at the battlefield turned graveyard around them. "But if you want some special eyes, even that can be arranged, no matter what method we need to employ, the cult will get it done."

Zaen nodded, holding his chin. He was actually thinking about the offer. After all, the organization had made quite a few promises to him, but instead of fulfilling them, they seemed more focused on destroying their reputation in his eyes.

But that didn't mean the cult wouldn't do the same. Stepping onto two boats at once would lead to his inevitable fall. Moreover, the organization had information regarding his parents, and he couldn't give up on that.

"Yeah, no thanks," Zaen said, noticing something happening around Ben. "The organization might be weird, but they didn't try to kill me. At least not directly."

"Ah… that's unfortunate," she said, unsheathing her rapier. "I extended you the offer since you possess qualities worthy of becoming one of us. But since you don't know any better, I'll drag you with me if I have to."

"Like hell—"

Hina opened her mouth, only to get it sealed by the goo. The same happened to Mimi. Although she tried slicing it away, her sword went right through the goo, and the two halves splattered on her face and wrists, immobilizing her.

"Now, there won't be any interference," the woman said, turning back to Zaen.

***

Now, there won't be any interference.

That had become Nuang's favorite phrase as a result of a catastrophic event. Roughly a decade ago, she had been part of the Cho family. Even though they belonged to a branch family, they were still treated with respect.

It wasn't until her mother gave birth to twins that their fortune changed for the better.

Since the main family's elders weren't able to naturally obtain a child due to the sudden passing of the then young master, they approached Nuang's side family to have the young mistress adopt one of the twins.

Eager to gain more influence, Nuang's father readily agreed and gave Mimi away to the main family. That's how, at nine, the two sisters were separated.

Things should have ended there… but the old fox of the family had different plans. In order to protect the legacy of his dead son and solidify Mimi's position as the true heir, he did something unthinkable.

He ordered the execution of Nuang's family.

It hadn't even been a week since Mimi left their house that Nuang's home was drenched in blood.

The parents were killed in cold blood, their corpses taken away to have their abilities replicated. But she wasn't spared. While the assassins didn't kill her, they disfigured her so that no one could associate her with Mimi.

Nuang's little brother saw it all and vowed revenge. Unfortunately, he did it aloud, and when the assassins heard him, they decided to teach him a lesson.

The screams within the game reminded her of her brother's screams as he was skinned alive. If it had not been for the cult, the siblings would have perished long ago.

That's why her hatred for her 'family' surpassed every other emotion, apart from her love for her brother.

And so she trained to become a weapon for the cult. When they had to get something done, she was their first choice, and this time wasn't any different.

***

Nuang moved towards Zaen. In his perception, she looked like a tsunami ready to swallow him whole, but the golden lines exposed her attack pattern to him.

From what Nemesis had told them about Zaen, he was clearly a special type. Hence, Nuang wanted to overwhelm him completely, so he never got the chance to strike back or activate any strange ability.

Zaen blocked her strike with the stick and swung his own blade, but just like before, Nuang's body twisted unnaturally, evading the attack. Dealing with her was turning out to be a nuisance.

She jumped back, but Zaen wasn't letting her go. Even if all his attacks missed, he kept swinging the blade at her. With a smile on her face, Nuang kept dodging his strikes.

As they kept exchanging blows, she noticed Zaen was truly extraordinary. Unlike the rest of the group, his skills were much better. It meant the boy had been training much longer than the rest of them, who had only begun their training after joining the academy.

"Why don't you reconsider the offer?" She mumbled, ducking to evade the attack aimed at her neck. "For you, the cult would give anything you desire. Your vision, girls, anything you want would be yours."

"Sorry, but I'm not interested in joining the ones who are behind my parents' disappearance," Zaen grunted, swinging the blade randomly to confuse Nuang.

"Your parents? Who are they? The cult might know—"

"None of your business!" Zaen yelled and swung the blade, only stopping when he felt something warm trickle down his fingers.

A rapier had pierced through his shoulder.

Nuang smiled at him, the strange goo appearing in her hand.

"It was a nice chat," she mumbled. "We should continue it when we're back in the lair."

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