The trip to Fiona’s residence was extremely quiet. Neither of them spoke a word to the other. Arin didn’t care much for conversation while Fiona was trying to talk to him.

She wanted to try and get to know him in greater detail but he ignored all her attempts.

This awkward situation was eventually salvaged as one of the guards who defended Fiona’s residence greeted her.

“Greetings Lady Fiona. I have something to report.” He showed a professional expression as he only did as he was tasked. “A man came to this residence and wanted me to give you this letter. He didn’t say anything about who he was but...” Saying so, he took out a pristine letter enveloped in high-quality paper.

Fiona’s eyes immediately opened wide open as she broke her stance to immediately read it. Not caring how she looked towards others she read the contents.

“Fiona, you’ve grown up. There are far too many things I want to say to you but I’ll contain myself. First of all, I’m glad you could finally depend on me. As you wished, I have given you funding for an entire month. Secondly, I see that you’re still trying to pursue your dream. I won’t say anything about it but remember that you are only a single person. If you want to change the world then you would either have to have enough people to listen to your cause or have overwhelming strength to suppress any discontent. Even as I say that now, I already know what your decision is. Lastly, I just want to say to make decisions that you won’t regret. I’ll always be here watching.”

Fiona’s eyes teared up a little bit as she looked at the horizon where a trading company came with numerous people of all professions. Some were cooks that would provide meals for people in her shelter while others were doctors that would help them regain their vitality. From the amount of people and resources coming in, it seems that it really was a massive amount of effort put into it.

“Thank you, Xavier.” Fiona walked into her residence to see their previously unfortunate expressions turn happy. She was glad that they could finally smile once again.

After keeping his silence, Arin brought her back to reality, “Their expectations are sky high. I wonder what happens if they go back to living how they were. They just might end it themselves.”

“Then I’ll just have to win the bet right? Dean Alabaster promised me that he’ll support the shelter if I succeed.” Fiona knew what Arin was saying. She wasn’t as dumb to not realize what would happen in the future. Even though the pressure was slowly getting heavier, she would gladly face it head-on.

“Where are the Trials?”

“In the underground basement. It’s locked using a specialized key.” Fiona took out an oddly shaped key from her pocket and dangled it in front of him. “I’ll give it to you after I’m satisfied with your performance.”

Arin sighed, in exchange for access to them he needed to play along with her whims. “Didn’t I already play along long enough?”

“At least do a few good deeds here. That’s all I ask. It shouldn’t be that hard.” Fiona brought Arin toward the courtyard where there were a lot of people currently working together to build a makeshift shelter. “See that? Help them out a little then I’ll give it to you.”

“They’ll make a lot of noise once they realize I’m here.” Arin’s past wasn’t the cleanest. “This is on you.”

“Noise? What do you mean by that?” Fiona felt that something terrible was about to happen. This made her instinctively come right beside Arin.

Five people were currently trying to raise a pillar from the ground. They were all struggling to even lift it up high so they resorted to tying a rope to it and having even more people pull on it. Arin expressionlessly came over and kicked the pillar up.

The sheer force behind his kick caused this pillar to immediately stand up tall. The five men who had been struggling to raise it up were confused for a brief moment but turned a bit glad.

“Hey, thanks, buddy. I didn’t know we… A-Arin?” A teenager who was initially full of smiles suddenly had his expression turn into fear. He immediately backed off as he fell to the ground. The traumatic memory of having his entire organization wiped out by a single child was still fresh in his mind.

“Arin? He’s here?!” An older gentleman heard this and felt his heart race. The scene of countless bodies piling up on the streets wasn’t something he could just forget. The stench of blood filling the streets for weeks after made him subconsciously tremble.

“He’s here to kill me! Fiona, please! Save me!” A girl that had been distributing goods to the other people in the shelter cried out. Her body still had some of the scars from the explosion back then.

Even more fearful expressions appeared on some of the people here. A few ran away as fast as possible while others mentally broke down and accepted their deaths. A minority gathered their courage and begged Fiona to save them.

This wasn’t necessarily the case for everyone else, in fact, this was a minority with only around thirty people reacting. Even though this was a small minority of the population, their drastic reactions made them stand out.

From these people, one singular old man came out from the crowd. He seemed frail and weak yet the determination in his eyes wasn’t something that his age could conceal. “I beg you. Leave my family alone. I was the one at fault.” He immediately went to his knees and slammed his forehead on the ground so hard that a small puddle of blood formed.

Arin snickered, “I remember you.” He placed his foot on his head, putting down a bit of pressure. “You managed to stop me when I was younger. I’ll make up for that mistake back then.”

The scene of Arin mercilessly bullying such a helpless man made the spectators feel extremely uneasy. Fiona didn’t hesitate to immediately come to the old man’s rescue. She tackled Arin to the ground, getting him off from the old man.

“What are you doing, Arin?! I thought you said you wouldn’t do anything like this!” Fiona was extremely mad at how Arin acted. She had thought that she was making progress with him but this just showed just how naive she was.

“Get off.” Arin narrowed his eyes and menacingly glared at her. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“No! You’ll just hurt other people again! This isn’t right!” Fiona pinned him down. With her overwhelming strength, Arin couldn’t do anything but be held stationary.

“Old man. If you show your ‘sincerity’ then I promise I won’t touch them.” Arin’s low voice could be heard by everyone in the courtyard. This was an obvious threat.

“Y-You would? You will really leave them alone?” He raised his head and his wrinkly face was covered in blood. An open rupture on his forehead was still spewing out blood.

“I never fall back on my promises.”

Fiona stared at the old man. Her heart sunk at how desperate the situation was immediately getting. “Don’t! Someone stop him!”

“Anyone who makes a move, I’ll find your family and loved ones. I’ll rip them limb from limb as I make you watch what you’ve done. You won’t survive, that’s a promise.” Arin raised his voice even higher than Fiona's, cutting her off.

Compared to Fiona’s non-threatening reputation, Arin was genuinely someone who held a reputation that was extremely terrifying.

“No! Please! I’ll protect you from Arin so… Stop him! Somebody stop him!” Fiona wasn’t confident in the outcome if she let Arin go. She desperately wanted someone to intervene.

The old man sighed in relief, he took out a concealed dagger from his waist and looked at his family. “Don’t make trouble now, you hear?”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Although he had just arrived here, he could tell that this was a place filled with good intentions. It was a little rough but it was still something that he felt was something akin to a safe haven.

“Anyone! Anyone at all! Xavier! Julio! Mater! Vickson! Don’t let him take his own life!” Fiona didn’t expect such a scenario to unfold but no one was reacting. Even the people from the trading company didn’t even make a move. They were just watching how it would all unfold.

“Dad, why? Didn’t you leave your past behind?!” A male teenager came out of the crowd and shouted.

“Sache! Don’t let your father kill himself! Stop him!” Fiona was on the edge of tears. She was extremely furious as to why no one was making a move.

“There are some things that you can’t run away from. If it means anything, I hope you grow up to be a better person than I was.” The old man unhesitatingly used all his force to cut open his own neck.

Seeing the old man do it, Fiona couldn’t help herself but rush over to him. She grabbed ahold of his arms and managed to make it in time. “Sir Caeser, there’s no reason to do this! You still have a family that needs you! Think about them!”

Caesar’s arms were held behind his back, “That’s why I’m doing this. I need to protect them…”

“How can you protect them if you’re not even here?! How does that make sense!” Fiona just couldn’t understand why he was so willing to die when everything had just started to get good.

“Everyone here understands my decision. Even my own family. You’re the only one who doesn’t understand what people have to do to survive. How desperate we are. How willing we are.” Caesar’s words caused the entire venture to be silent.

Fiona looked all around her and saw that everyone averted her eyes. They all agreed on Caesar’s decision to sacrifice himself. They had seen this scene numerous times before, some of them even personally sacrificed something of theirs to live on.

Arin had already stood up and calmly stood, “You have ten minutes.”

“Arin! There’s no need to do this anymore! You… you said you would change your mind, right? Please stop it!” Fiona was tearing up.

“You haven’t changed my mind at all.” Arin then looked at everyone in the crowd. “Though, that’s not my place right? How about asking the people you’ve sheltered this entire time what they think? If the majority believes in your goal then I’ll tell him to stop.”

“Go on, Fiona. Show me your progress.” Arin just quietly stood there. “All I want is for the people here to tell the truth. Then again, I don’t have anything to verify what you say is the truth. So just be prepared to die for your beliefs.”

“That’s… You’re still threatening them! They won’t be able to give an unbiased answer!” Fiona shouted out, she was afraid of the outcome.

“Then I’ll keep my word. You tell the truth and I won’t go after you. As simple as that.” Arin spoke. “Raise your hand if you believe in Fiona’s cause. Go on. You believe her, right? Show it.”

After this, Fiona frantically looked back at the crowd. She could see a few arms were raised up high but it didn’t make a difference. It was an overwhelming landslide, barely anyone believed in her. What was even more shocking was the fact that Caesar tried to raise his hand.

“Sir Caesar… you believe?” Fiona’s trembling voice was clear for everyone to hear.

“I do, Lady Fiona. I believe that you can change the world.” Caesar showed a sad smile. “It’s just that it's not yet time. I wish I could’ve seen the world you made.” Saying so, he slammed his head against her face.

He firmly believed that this was a safe place. But the warmth this place provided wasn’t enough to thaw the icy cold darkness that had been embedded deep into their bones.

She was caught off guard and let go of Caesar. Using this brief moment, Caesar unhesitatingly caught another dagger hidden in his clothes and pierced his own throat. By the time Fiona managed to regain her senses, Caesar was already bleeding out.

“No… no… that’s… no…” Fiona tried putting pressure on his neck, trying to stop the blood from rushing out to no avail. As Caesar’s eyes were losing their light, he lightly smiled before losing his life. At Fiona’s hands laid a man who believed in her yet still despite that, she couldn’t do anything. As always, she was helpless. “Sir Caesar…” She clenched his clothes, she was more distressed than his very own family.

Gritting her teeth in madness, she had forgotten…

“You’ll be fine just…” Fiona’s voice was weakening.

“Just stay with us.” Her voice was reduced to a whisper.

“What a sad sight.” Arin came to right behind her. “You could’ve saved him you know?”

Hearing this, Fiona couldn’t help it anymore as her temper burst. “Saved him… I could’ve saved him…” She clenched her fists and was breathing deeply.

“You’re going to tell me that I could’ve saved him if I threatened them too, right?” Tears were running down Fiona’s face. She had mistakenly believed that Arin had started seeing her own point of view.

“I’ve heard what happened last year. Didn’t you heal Viener’s wounds? Why didn’t you do the same here?” Arin mocked her. “You’re afraid of the pain, perhaps? Maybe it’s too scary that you might die here. Or is it something else?”

Fiona’s eyes shook, it turned hazy as she turned back on the corpse she was holding. Recalling her ability to do something like that… it only tore her even more so than that.

“Too soft. You’re still too weak to do what you want.” Arin mocked her to further rub in her weakness. “Give me the key. I already helped out in making… whatever this is.”

Fiona gritted her teeth after hearing how shameless Arin was. He cruelly murdered someone in front of her and even asked for the key to the Trials. Feeling such emotions to such a heightened degree, she acted out of character, “Take it from my hands.”

Arin scoffed, “One death and you’re already breaking apart. You’re not fit to be a leader. You’re just an emotional wreck.”

“Is that so wrong? Is trying to believe in the good in people really that wrong?” Fiona was looking down. Her smile from before was no longer there to be seen.

Unexpectedly, Arin gave an answer she didn’t expect. “What you did wasn’t wrong. It was even commendable.” He honestly spoke from the heart.

“Then why…” Fiona’s voice cracked. She looked up and her eyes were starting to turn red from all the tears pouring down her face. The previously prestigious appearance of the greatest genius of the city looked extremely pathetic right now.

“You were weak. You were just far too weak for what you wanted to do. And being weak is wrong. Being weak is a sin.” Arin didn’t care how it came off. He will always act how what he deemed to be necessary.

“Weak… is that it? You can trample on others because they’re weak? What about you? What happens if someone much stronger… someone so powerful that you could do nothing but watch takes everything you hold dear away?” Fiona was trying to keep it together but was slowly losing it.

“It will never happen,” Arin said with utmost confidence. He said it so naturally that he believed it to be true.

“Why is that?” Fiona grew angrier as she spoke with Arin. Her rage was boiling.

“Because I’ll never let it happen.”

“You’ll never let it happen? You’ll never be weak? Is that what you’re saying? You are strong and will always stay strong. Treating everyone else like livestock.” Fiona took a single step forward.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Fiona. I’m not complacent. I never let a single moment pass by. Every single threat, I extinguish before it grows. Every living monster, I set as my goal. I’ll become strong and will be even stronger after that. Until I can never grow stronger. Until my body breaks apart. I’ll never stop.”

Fiona finally understood why Arin had always acted so brutally. He uses everything that he can to grow stronger meanwhile, she has never really done anything. She was strong from birth, she had been hailed as an unbelievable monster that had no equal.

Arin had racked up countless achievements and gained a reputation of being an unrivaled monster. His words alone could strike fear into people’s hearts. Meanwhile, all people said to her was that she was just a foolish dreamer, hoping for a fantasy that would never happen.

She had already realized that point. When Arin had told her to use the people under her, when he made her see just how naive she had been acting, he had been telling her to do something more proactive instead of just hoping her words would do something.

Even taking on the bet was something Arin had initiated. When she took a more proactive role, Dean Alabaster had seen her in a better light. Even her father chipped in and helped her through her troubles.

“Even so…” Fiona took even more steps closer to Arin. “That’s not what I want to happen. I don’t want to be a person like that. But you’re right… I’ve made a mistake… One after another…”

Arin could feel his entire body suddenly boil. His heart raced as adrenaline pumped throughout his veins at an unbelievable dose. His entire body was screaming out in both joy and fear at what would happen next.

“I haven’t done anything. You’re correct. While I was sitting and saying flowery words, you’ve been going out and doing everything you can.” Fiona placed the key inside her pocket. “I might not have enough time to change everyone’s mind for my goal but there’s a way to show how I’m willing to change..”

Fiona’s teary face turned pristinely calm. Her erratic and mentally exhausted outlook turned serene. Her very existence seemed as if she was a saint who had come to cleanse the world of sin.

“Combat Technique, The Pure Maiden.” Fiona’s tears were still there but the sheer coldness behind her eyes was bone-chilling. She took a single step forward as Malum from the very surroundings started to converge and cover her entire body.

It seemed to have started to form an extremely daunting armor piece all over her body but it still lacked that one crucial part to solidify it. Her appearance right now was both elegant and terrifying.

“I once faced someone a year ago using this Combat Technique. If I didn’t control myself at the last moment then he would’ve died. Right now, my mastery of my Combat Technique has increased to an unbelievable degree yet my control has suffered greatly.” Fiona’s voice seemed robotic as her emotionless words were informing Arin that it wasn’t going to be a fight, it was going to be an execution.

“Survive.”

Fiona held onto her chest. A small pendant that radiated a dimmer glow as she used her Malum. It was slowly being suppressed as she exuded an overwhelming pressure.

It had resonated with Arin’s heart. With each thump of his beating heart, the scale of danger rose. He felt his blood rush, calling forward the battle he had been longing for yet was not ready for.

Arin’s instincts were telling her that his life was in extreme danger. He immediately took out his Fragment to use as a weapon. Sadly, it had been modified and could not be used in its current state.

“So this is happening…” Arin stretched his neck. “Let’s see just what you’re made out of.” Despite outer confidence, his very soul was telling him to run. A sensation that he had never felt before.

“Ladies first.”