“S-sir… they didn’t pick up any of our calls. I-I’m afraid…”

“It’s fine.”

Edward unceremoniously waved his hand at the stuttering young man. Since Olivia, his mother was involved, he wanted to bring her here for questioning, but she had holed herself in the Vyrsan household, and trying to drag her by force was impossible.

When he was given the signal, agent Howard Drant unfolded the document and spoke,

“The initial investigation was completed. We’ve secured some intact machines from the basement. They were trying to operate on Azmer Lorson and Zeke Orland. From the looks of it, it’s directly related to Project B-11.”

“As I thought.” Commented the disheartened Edward, a sigh escaping his lips.

His parents had been in charge of Project B-11, but due to the lacks of funds from the Department of Defense and the need for live subjects, the project was put on hold five months ago.

Many high executives, including Edward, didn’t condone human experiments, which put pressure on the greedy and power-seeking ones.

Project B-11’s main purpose was to transfer one’s ability from one subject to the other. However, the risks were extremely high and the cost of the materials needed was exorbitant.

“Sir, what do we do about your fath- I mean Anthony Orland’s individual report?”

“What do you mean? Declare him as dead and be done with it.”

“Yes, sir!”

Howard performed a military salute and then left the office, but there was one more person left. It was a beautiful woman with golden eyes, a long beige-colored hair, a round face, and mesmerizing short black dress.

Technically, she wasn’t part of the Department of Defense, but she was a close friend of Edward. The two shared a special and complicated relationship.

With only she and Edward in the office, Jan Beatrice Kember, whose face lacked the breath-taking smile she would usually display, tapped on the chair and looked at her troubled crush.

“You know you can’t hide him forever, right? Sooner or later, they will find him.”

“Of course, I know.” He retorted while picking up the family picture on his desk, which only had himself, Maxine, and Zeke, all young and hugging each other while smiling blissfully.

“Problem is, I can’t forcefully hide him. Neither can I read him, especially now.”

“...”

“I know that Zeke hasn’t given up. If any bit of information regarding the Ascetic Blasphemers gets out, he would pursue it to the bitter end. He wants it back… I know he does, which is why I need to protect him.”

“Speaking of which,” Jan frowned and looked at her palm, which was wrapped in white bondage.

“I… no, we lack critical information about the System. While treating him, I was met with fierce resistance, which means it will not tolerate any exterior help. If I didn’t pull back my Aether, I would have been killed.”

Her body shook for a moment as she remembered the minuscule yet lethal electric current that erupted from Zeke’s chest, zapping her hand.

“It acts in its user’s best interest. That’s enough for me to know it won’t harm my brother.”

“That could also be detrimental as it would not allow Healing artifacts or abilities to ‘fix’ his left arm. Xavier is one of the best in our field, but I doubt even he can deal with it.”

“...”

“Eddy, how about I deal with William?”

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Upon hearing this, Edward looked at her and solemnly shook his head.

“Why? I have enough money to hire an expert from ‘Black Wing’. They will deal with William in one night.”

“I said no, Jan.”

Seeing his serious expression, the woman wryly smiled and lowered her head.

…

In the grand manor of the Lorson household, Jacob was lying on his bed and all his vitals were being monitored around the clock.

He had lost his arm and although he had survived the ordeal, the sustained damage would leave him in such a state for weeks.

After kicking the healers and physicians out, William sat near his son and held his hand, muttering apologetically.

“Ugh..”

He suddenly clutched his chest and coughed thrice, a bit of blood leaking out of his lips. He had drunk miraculous elixirs and was examined by a dozen veteran doctors yet none noticed any peculiarities. Still, he kept experiencing this piercing pain as if he had been electrocuted.

William knew that this was due to Zeke’s strange attack, which broke through his defenses and directly hit his vitals. What he couldn’t fathom, however, was the absence of any negative or harmful Aether in his body.

“You called for me, Mister Lorson?”

Amidst the silent and dimly lit room of Jacob, a soft voice echoed.

William wasn’t surprised as he slowly turned around and faced the visitor.

It was a man dressed in fancy clothes; A black shirt with a leather dark red jacket on top of it, a magician’s hat resting on top of his head, a white flower hanging from the top pocket of his jacket, and an old silver-rimmed monocle.

The man had handsome and youthful features, making him look no older than thirty.

He had no facial hair, and his eyes were the same color as his exquisite jacket.

He elegantly bowed toward the cold-faced William before scratching his pointy nose and remarking,

“I must say, I’m quite sensitive to the scent of herbal medicine. Ah! It’s just a minor complaint… don’t mind me. Hehehe…”

He examined the room in interest before casually taking a seat, unbothered by William’s piercing stare.

“Now then, Mister Lorson, what for did you call the services of our humble organization, Black Wing? Due to your recent and not-so-clandestine complications, coupled with your esteemed status, we thought it was better to come to you personally.”

“You people will kill anyone for the right price, yes?”

“Indeed, Mister Lorson. It doesn’t matter where or who they are, we can kill anyone… or anything if you know what I mean.” He playfully winked at the serious William.

“I want Zeke Orland dead.”

“Oh?”

The man opened his mouth to say something but stopped at the last second. He mockingly chuckled then raised three fingers

“Three million? I will pay.”

“Nonononono..”

The man shook his head while smirking, “Three hundred million.”

“What?!”

Even someone as wealthy as William could not afford such a price. It was a ludicrous amount, one that could be paid only by the wealthiest people in the world.

“Is this some sort of a sick joke?”

Hearing this, the man’s face turned serious as he fixed the position of his monocle and retorted,

“We do not joke around with our prices, Mister Lorson. Please mind your words in front of me.”

“You expect me to pay 300 million Alc for a mere kid? I’m not going to be tricked by you people.” William gritted his teeth, trying to protest, but by the next second, he fell to the ground.

He was holding his neck as he was unable to breathe. Fortunately for him, this lasted for a couple of seconds before everything returned to normal.

“This will be my last warning. Mind your words, Mister Lorson. We have ever been professional and we neither negotiate nor joke around with our prices. We will kill Zeke Orland if you pay us 300 million Alc.”

“I.. I understand.”

The esteemed and distinguished William Lorson, who was famed across the Nezulian Republic, has been brought to his knees just like that. Although he knew that Black Wing was an organization of assassins comprised of unbelievably strong powerhouses, he still didn’t think he would be overpowered so easily. The other party didn’t even lift a finger.

“Could you at least tell me why it’s 300 million?”

“We choose our prices carefully. I cannot tell you the criteria we base our prices on, and I also cannot tell you why he’s priced so high.”

“...”

As William kept silent, the man clapped his gloved hands and stood up.

“It appears the price we offered is beyond your monetary means.”

The man was about to leave but he stopped at the last second, glancing at the kneeling William.

“Although it isn’t part of our ‘official job’, I can stretch my helping hand to you.”

Seeing the grizzly-looking William perplexed, the man smiled and pointed at the former’s chest,

“I’m talking about your condition, Mister Lorson. 20 Million Alc and I’ll tell you an efficient ‘antidote’. No? Alright.”

“W-wait!”

“Hehehehe…” The man extended his hand, seemingly expecting to be paid first.