The next day Aizel left and traveled to a hidden location just outside Matrix City to meet one of his father's trusted subordinates. Along the way, the car suddenly stopped causing Aizel to frown. He looked in front and saw that a black van was blocking their way. His frown deepened and before he could do anything, a sharp long knife pierced through the car's roof instantly killing the driver.

Aizel and his bodyguards reacted and got out of the car ready to fight. On top of the car was a Tenebrae standing under the daylight which was a rarity to these monsters. Most Tenebrae chose to attack at night because they couldn't freely move around during the day. In short, they were sensitive to light. Seeing one of their kind perfectly fine under the sun was definitely new.

The Tenebrae has a similar body to a human but both of its entire arms were transformed into twin blades. It was also wearing a mask so it was a little bit hard to recognize what it looked like.

In the blink of an eye, the Tenebrae disappeared and appeared behind one of the guards. Its transformed arm pierced through the bodyguard's body which instantly killed him. With the Tenebrae's fast movements, it became almost invisible to the other people with Aizel but Aizel could still clearly see the Tenebrae's movements.

Aizel did not remain timid as he too used his incredible speed to attack the Tenebrae. He used his hands to pierce the body but the monster was able to block the attack. A barrage of attacks came from Aizel but the Tenebrae was still standing with minor injuries. Aizel jumped back and narrowed his eyes. It was unusually strong but nothing that he couldn't deal with.

This time the Tenebrae took the chance to launch an attack which Aizel easily dodged and with his keen vision he saw an opening. His hand made a move and finally pierced the monster's side. He was about to do another attack while the Tenebrae was stunned when he heard a very familiar voice which made him freeze.

The monster took this moment to attack Aizel. The bladed hand swiped towards him while he was stunned. Aizel wasn't able to dodge and sustained a deep gash on his chest. When the second bladed hand swiped again, he managed to take a step back and avoid another direct hit.

Blood flowed from his wound but he disregarded it as his eyes focused on the person standing beside the black van. At that moment, he also noticed that all of his escorts were already dead. He clenched his fists as he gave the hateful man a glare and yet he still trembled.

It was a conditioned reflex he got whenever he saw that person in the past. He couldn't believe that after years of escaping from his grasp, he hasn't recovered yet. There was then a feeling of disbelief at the sight of the man but it just disappeared as fast as it appeared.

"You're supposed to be dead!" He roared as he did his best to reign himself from attacking the loathsome man.

"Found you," the man's cold voice echoed throughout the empty place. Although he was wrapped from head to toe, Aizel knew who the man was. The cold voice still had a piercing effect on his being. Aizel stiffened and felt his heartbeat increase at the sight of the man who destroyed his life.

"Do you really think you could escape me? I own you Aizel," his grin widened as he focused on Aizel.

"You're dead, you're supposed to be dead. I saw you burn." The fear inside Aizel was palpable. He was visibly shaking at the sight of his tormentor.

"I'm very much alive my dear Aizel, I especially came back from the dead just to see you," the sinister man answered. "I couldn't believe that you employ bodyguards now. Did you become so weak that you need the help of these kinds of people?" The man laughed.

"If you're really alive all I have to do now is to kill you again, you bastard!" Aizel seethed. The anger inside him was bubbling and was ready to explode. The initial fear he had was replaced with rage.

"Are you really going to fight me Aizel? You've become rebellious. I think you need to be re-educated," the man cackled and waved his hand. Several Tenebrae similar to the one who attacked them suddenly came out from the surrounding trees.

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Aizel was easily surrounded in seconds. The first barrage of attacks came and he was able to dodge and avoid any fatal blows. Even though he was wounded, his senses were still sharp and sensitive. Honed through countless battles and his desire to survive, he would not be defeated that easily.

"Very good," the man clapped. "Why don't you show me your real capabilities Aizel, I want to know if you were still that cute child that I took care of."

He forced himself to ignore the taunting words from the man and focused on the enemies he was facing. He was able to kill some of them. Despite the wound he sustained, he still managed to defend against the attack of the remaining enemies.

"Come on Aizel, is that all you got? I'm waiting," the man continued to taunt in a bored voice.

He was tired of seeing Aizel acting weak. He knew Aizel's true power and the way he was acting now was a disgrace to who he truly is. He wanted to see Aizel on a rampage, out of control, and full of bloodlust but he was disappointed at what he saw.

The man was annoyed with the boring fight and the struggle that Aizel was putting up. Something changed with the boy whom he was familiar with and he didn't like it. This change in the boy didn't settle well with him. The man snapped his fingers and the Tenebrae that were attacking Aizel became even more aggressive in their attacks.

Aizel chose to keep himself sane, he won't let the man get the best of him. He could call him weak but he would be weaker if he chose to give in to the other's taunts. Aizel still defended himself while he was looking for a chance to escape. He won't be able to fight any longer with his bloody condition.

With the last bit of his strength, he summoned a dark wave that knocked all the Tenebrae around him and took that chance to escape. When the smoke let up, the man narrowed his eyes and a crazy grin appeared on his face.

"You won't be able to run away from me Aizel! I will be coming for you!" A sinister laugh came from the man and the wind carried it through the dense forest where Aizel was.

He steadied his breathing and slowly stood up while leaning on a tree. He lost too much blood and that was not good. Only one thought was running through his mind, a safe place to rest and hide for a moment before he passed out. His head started to get muddled and he felt a little bit dizzy, he no longer knew how many hours he had been walking. In his fuzzy gaze, he saw a slightly hidden opening and without checking his surroundings or how safe the cave was, he collapsed in there and lost his consciousness.

In his unconscious state, a red aura started to envelop his whole body. It was a sign that the monster within him might go berserk anytime. He lost too much blood and if he doesn't get that lost blood replenished, the other side of him would not hesitate to kill.

Not long after the incident, some Enforcers discovered the aftermath of the fight and immediately reported it to their station. General Leroy did not hesitate to deploy a special team to investigate and also instructed one of his private teams to do a thorough search around the area to look for Aizel.

Aliyah was disturbed by the sudden commotion and Loki came with a grim face. The situation was not looking good. It would surely tarnish the reputation of their Enforcer Station.

"What happened?" Aliyah asked with a frown.

"The general's son and his entourage were ambushed. All his bodyguards were found dead and the general's son is missing." Loki briefly explained. He was about to join the team deployed to investigate the matter. "I just came here to say that I won't be here for the patrol tonight, so you and the others would go." After relaying the message, he left the room and joined the investigation team.

Aliyah also left the room and coincidentally met the general who was on his way to the where the attack happened. They shared brief eye contact before the general left. A sudden twinge of panic took root in Aliyah's heart at that moment for an unknown reason. How the general looked at her with an obvious contempt was like a spear in her heart.

She forced herself to ignore the slight pain she felt and returned to the room. She thought to herself that she didn't have any obligations to the general nor to Aizel so she would instead focus on her job now. Besides, they've already arranged a team to solve the incident.

General Leroy arrived at where the incident happened and saw the destruction that was left after a fierce fight. The only bodies on the scene were the dead bodyguards, there were no signs of the enemy nor his son. But according to all the marks left behind, he was certain that the one who did those marks was not human.

A sudden idea came to his mind and he couldn't help but purse his lips and clench his fists. If what he was thinking was right, it would be more dangerous now to proceed.

At that moment an enforcer suddenly came to him, "General, I found something!" The enforcer was holding a piece of paper and gave it to Leroy.

Not long after he read the letter's content, the paper was already in tatters. Various images of the past popped up in his mind and he refused to accept the insinuation behind the letter. He firmly believed that the crazy man was dead and that someone was playing tricks on them.

"I will gladly kill you with my own hands if you really are alive," he muttered to himself. "This time I won't hold back and make sure to tear you into pieces."