Xander was lying on the ground when she looked last time, but now he was gone.

"Xa..nder?" Emilia asked as her hands left her face. Blood oozed out of her lips. The strike was unexpected, but that pain was dying down.

Leo looked at the sword. It belonged to Xander. "They took him."

"No, but how? Could it be the armored man? How could I have let this happen?!" Mia blamed herself. She should not have let this happen. Leo did his part. He took care of the two, but she had done nothing. All she did was the waste time and nothing else.

Emilia walked towards Mia. On the way, she tried to activate her Crystal, and it worked. When she fought Aldous, the moment he caught her leg she could not use her Crystal.

"Did you feel anything run through your body when he touched your feet?" Asked Leo. He wanted to confirm his theory.

"No, I felt nothing weird, but after he touched my legs, I could not activate my Crystal."

So he was correct. Aldous had such a power. He had the power to prevent the Crystal of others from working. If he had that power won't that mean Xavier and others in the new city would also have this power?

They had to leave this place. Leo could not fight. Not in this condition. "Let's leave before they send someone else after us."

Mia raised her head and looked at Leo. "Leave? No, we can't leave. We need to save Xander. They took him. What will they do with him?! I cannot leave him behind."

"We can come back for him later, but now we need to move before they send someone else after us. We cannot fight in this condition."

"Bu–" Mia got stopped midway.

"Do you want to leave here then get strength back and save Xander or do you want to stay here and wait for someone else to capture you?"

That is true. They were in no position to fight. They had to escape. Then they would get back their energy. Then they would come back and save Xander.

Mia got up and moved towards Emilia.

Emilia wiped the blood off her lips. Her lips still had a wound in it, but that would go after some days. The pain also died out. She agreed with what Leo said. Yes, she wanted to save Xander, but if they also get caught during the process then what is the use?

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

Mia who helped Emilia brush off the dusk asked. "They attacked us so do you think the other squads got attacked as well?"

"That is a possibility," Emilia replied.

Yes, that would happen. Leo thought. He was sure. Then that would mean all the squads could have people that got taken.

As they walked, Leo thought about his old world. The things he did. All the people he killed and the families he separated. Even his family got taken.

After all that why did he come to this world? That question had been with him since he came to this world. There was no explanation for it. The sword would not be the reason. There has to be something, but he needed a clue.

The symbol he saw before he died what was that? After he kills Cao then what would he do? Become the strongest? Doubts filled his mind. He could understand nothing. Even when he was one of the strongest individuals in his old world, he still failed to protect those close to him. In this world, he had no one close to him.

Xander, Mia, and Emilia? No, they were far from him. He met Mia by accident and joined The Shadow Claw because it was related to something he loved doing, but now… What was the point?

Should he leave this place? But they gave him things which he needed the most so what should he do?

Leo stopped his thoughts. He had to pay off this debt to Xander.

They walked downhill. Mia took out the Red Crystal. All the squads had one. This was used by them to know others location. Zek had given one to all before they left, but they had to be close to a squad in order for it to work. Also, they needed to find a place from where Emilia and Leo could recharge their Crystal.

Mia had no problem as it was the day so she could absorb the light from the sun. She could not absorb it in battle because it would take time. First, she had to gather the Elemental Essence around her then she would need to absorb it to her Crystal. The rate of absorption would not be able to keep up with her rate of use. The more her power increases the more the rate of absorption will increase. She was 40% of the way in Normal Rank Level 4. Soon she would reach the next level. The Advanced Level.

Emilia was 90% of the way to Normal Rank Level 1. She had to get strong. Emilia looked at her hands they were not soft but were rough. She had practiced a lot. But in actual battle, she failed. The last time also she failed and this time. She had to find her sister, but how could she do that when she cannot even fight? How would she leave the town and go to places? Emilia did not understand. She had to find a way. She had to get strong.

Leo walked in the front. He was 40% of the way in Normal Rank Level 1. Among the four, he was the weakest. Leo knew that. He also knew Cao was out there searching for him and if they ran into each other, he would die. Leo knew why Cao wanted to kill him so badly. Revenge. Not against him, but against his own father. Leo knew how much Cao hated his own father for what his father did to him and his mother. Cao is a good person, but both of them had to kill one. Leo had to because of everything that happened between them. Cao had to because he wanted power to take revenge against his own father. Leo did not know how Cao would do it but if Cao managed to kill him then Cao would get his revenge.

Were any of the people I killed good? He wondered. They could have been people who would give their own lives to save someone they loved or they could be people who would stab you in the back at the first opportunity. Regardless of how they were all were dead. Killed by him. Will he repeat the same thing in this world? He had already killed people in this world.

Were they good or bad?

They reached the bottom of the hill.