-"Dad!"

A small girl leaped into Walt's arms. The alchemist who just got home laughed merrily as he caught her.

-"How did my sweetheart find her new school?"

-"They teach a lot of things I've never seen! There was the magic thing there and other stuff!" She was all smiles, trying to find the word to describe her experience.

Walt let her ramble on and on as he carried her to her bed. He didn't mind her talkative tongue. He even adored hearing her voice. Hearing her made him forget all the horrible things that were actually happening.

At some point, she suddenly started to cough uncontrollably. Walt quickly put her on the bed and made her drink a potion from a drawer nearby. Her situation only calmed down after a few minutes.

-"You okay?" He asked with concern.

-"Yeah..."

The tone of her voice didn't really match her answer. The enthusiasm from earlier completely disappeared. She just put on a fake smile as she was gasping for breath. She was clearly in a lot of pain.

Walt's heart hardened seeing her in pain. He wished he could do something just to ease her suffering. The potions he made weren't just enough.

After hesitating for a second, he took out the doll he got back from Alex. He didn't really want to give his daughter the tattered doll but he somehow wanted to lift her spirit.

-"Suzy is such a brave little girl!" Walt shook the doll, pretending to make it talk.

It really had its effect. Suzy no longer had the fake smile on. She even slightly giggled.

-"She looks just like me..." She commented with her weakened voice.

Walt really wanted to stay by his daughter's side. Share her pain and suffering. He just didn't want her to be alone in all of this.

However, circumstances stopped him from doing so. He has already chosen to rectify the wrong he has done. And he won't let another blood be spilled because of him.

Walt mustered his strength to announce that to his daughter. Something he knew would definitively hurt her.

-"Hey Suzy, dad has something to take care of so... you'll have to be alone for a while."

-"..."

-"It's fine... I know dad does his best."

Suzy didn't try to hold him at all. She tried to put on another fake smile to not hinder her father in his work but she couldn't hide that she needed company.

Walt's heart tightened. He was stricken with the guild. But he had no other choice. He chose to bear with it and go on with his task.

-"I'll be back before diner." He kissed Suzy's forehead before leaving.

The moment Walt's foot stepped out of the house, he looked like a completely different man. He entered the house with a loving father but got out of it a different man. A man who has numbed his heart to all the feelings to accomplish his goals.

-'I must hurry. I've got a lot of things to do.'

He had to get the potion to Alex before the skies were to darken. Walt was sure the Black Snake gang would only act at such time. He had only a few hours upon him.

Walt headed to the closest pharmacy first. He needed ingredients to make his potion.

He immediately gave the list of what he needed to the shopkeeper. It didn't take too long before he came back with a bag full of everything on the list.

After checking it's content, he saw that something was missing.

-"Where are the Gret leaves?" He asked.

-"You need a probable cause certified by the Alchemist Guild to get these."

Walt frowned upon hearing the news. Getting papers from the Alchemist Guild was a hassle after all. Just getting his alchemist license took him months, much less a small paper. He didn't have enough time to do that.

-"Is there no other way to procure them?" Walt desperately asked.

-"Not that I know of."

-"Please sir, I really need them!"

The shopkeeper slightly paused seeing how stubborn his client was. It looked like he was pondering on another method to get the Gret leaves.

After a while, he finally opened his mouth.

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-"There is nothing money cannot get..."

Walt's eyes widened. He knew well what the shopkeeper was talking about. He was indirectly asking Walt to bribe him into giving the leaves.

Although Walt didn't like the thought of it, right now, that was the only way he could think of getting the leaves.

-"Name your price..." It took Walt much effort to pronounce these words. But it had to be done.

-"30 000 qals"

10 times the price of the original. Despite that, Walt still took the deal. Time was valuable for him right now after all. He needed all the ingredients fast.

The shopkeeper caught Walt's bitter expression while counting the money he gave.

-"Life isn't all that noble, mister. We both know how harsh it is out there."

He emphasized the word, mister, obviously asking for the alchemist's name.

-"It's Walt..."

-"The name's Ollie." The shopkeeper extended his hand to his special client.

Walt didn't refuse his handshake. Ollie still managed to get him what he needed after all.

"People in need like us should work hand in hand to make life look less like shit," Ollie added after the small exchange.

Walt's face darkened.

"I'm not like you."

Walt knew he wasn't the kind to do any of this. He did these not because he wanted to. Circumstances forced him to do so. That is what he kept on repeating to himself on and on so that he wouldn't get consumed by darkness. He has already etched his hand too far within after all. All he could do was not go any further.

Ollie slightly snorted hearing Walt.

-"We are nothing but men Walt. We can't change what we are."

-"But we can change who we can be." Walt didn't let Ollie's words get to him.

He wouldn't let himself be consumed into the darkness. He knew well what awaited him there. He wouldn't want to return there again.

-"Well, the client is always right. So whatever goes goes."

Ollie didn't try to argue back, he didn't want to lose a client after all. One that might even bring him more benefits soon.

Walt had no more business in the pharmacy so he got out there. Now that he had all the ingredients he needed, it was time to get a room to finally get to work.

Walt was a rogue alchemist so he couldn't afford to buy any of the tools he needed to concoct potions. So he had to rent a room every time he made potions.

Walt closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed to be completely focused on what he was doing. There should never be any room for error when making potions. Just a slight lapse of inattention would ruin everything.

-"Let's get this done." He spoke to himself before entering his small world where only he and alchemy conversed.

Walt kept on sweating and frowning. Making a modified potion wasn't such an easy feat to accomplish. He has already failed a few times now. Such things are bound to happen when brewing potions, especially potions such as these.

After many more tries, Walt's concentrated look slowly faded and was replaced by a small grin. Finally a success.

Relief took over him. He only had enough ingredients for one last try left after all. Were he to fail this one, he wouldn't know if he would have the strength to continue anymore.

Walt managed to make 3 flasks of the potion in one go. He stored them in his potion kit attached to his waist.

-' I can still make it!'

The sky up above already had an orange hue. It wouldn't take long before darkness would claim the sky.

Walt didn't waste another second and started to run towards Alex's house. Thankfully, it wasn't quite far from where he was.

Still, Walt was worried about the other party. What if they already reached Alex? What if they'll do when he gets there? He was literally gambling his life here.

Walt was out of breath when he arrived in front of the waiter's door. He knocked as he tried to catch his breath.

-'Is it too late?' He thought after seeing that there was no response.

He was about to knock one last time but then he heard Alex's voice.

-"Who's there?" He asked from behind the door.

-"It's Walt, the alchemist. I brought the potion."

-"The sleeping potion," Walt added just in case.

-"I'm sorry for bothering mister Walt. It would be fine with me if you brought it in the morning." Alex said as he brought the sudden guest in.

He really wasn't angry that Walt came at such time. To be honest, he couldn't find sleep. After all, Alex wouldn't hear Walt's knocks if it weren't for his insomnia.

-"I'm a bit in a hurry so here." He immediately gave the potion to Alex. He didn't want to meet up with whoever would be tasked to silence Alex.

-"Don't be shy, drink it."

Walt had to make sure Alex drank the potion right now or else everything he did would be to no avail.

Alex also didn't mind that so he chugged down the potion. Walt nervously watched him as the liquid trickled down his throat.

-' Your potion is really effective sir... I already.... feel...sleepy...."

Walt quickly caught the boy who was about to fall. He looked around the room and located where Alex sleeps. He then dragged him there and threw him on the bed.

-'Thankfully the potion worked.'

One of his many worries. He also didn't forget to take back the empty potion vial that might become one of these worries if left there. So the next thing he had to do was get out of there and hide.

As he turned around, the sound of an explosion suddenly echoed throughout the neighborhood.

Walt froze in place. He clearly recognized that sound. It sounded no different than the one he witnessed at the 14 Ecstasies.

'They're very close!' He awoke when realizing that the explosion wasn't that far from where he was.

Walt didn't dare get out anymore. He feared that he might be seen. So he hid inside the only shelf in Alex's room. It was kind of cramped but he stayed still, waiting for the person the gang sent to kill Alex.

He waited and waited, not even daring to move an inch.

Inside his small shelf, he could see that outside, someone was already in front of the window. It was none other than Wolf. He was trying to see the room's interior from the window.

-'Strange...' He thought.

There was no reaction at all from Alex despite the explosion from earlier.

-'Is he not home?'

He highly doubted that. The intel he got from the gang would've warned him. He decided to pave his way into the house. Maybe the waiter was just a deep sleeper.

Things were just getting more and more strange for him. The door wasn't even locked. This was very unusual since this was the kind of neighborhood where you wouldn't want to leave your door unlocked. Especially at night.

He slowly entered the room and the first thing that caught his eyes was Arthur on his bed. He really looked like he was in a deep sleep. That would only make Wolf's work easier.

Wolf took out his dagger and stealthily walked to the bed. As he was about to lunge for the kill, he noticed that something was amiss.

His target was strangely immobile. Too immobile even.

He slightly pushed Alex's shoulder and got no reaction.

He also checked Alex's breath and pulse. Nothing too.

The person Wolf was planning on assassinating was already dead. The cause? He did not know. From what he could see, there were no external wounds.

-'I'll ask Isabella to get the corpse and find out what truly happened.'

For now, Wolf preferred to quickly leave this district as soon as possible. It was already a gamble to both set the bomb and try to assassinate Alex. Every house should already be awake so he had to be twice more stealthy and careful.

He left the room and headed to the Black Snake gang's headquarters to report what he just saw.