For a moment, the world stood still. Samuel’s sudden appearance and assault was no mystery to him. He saw the situation as for what it is. Frank knew the moment that his ‘son,’ appeared, trouble was abound

It was clear to everyone present which side he belonged. His time spent, where Frank assumed he was dead, was not spent on idleness it seemed. His white as snow clothing makes clear where his allegiance lies. He did not for once doubt that he was pretending. Since anyone that did not actually belong to that place, and pretended to be them, is ‘already with the lord,’ as they say. They were an unforgiving State. More so for their followers.

Unlike the common populace of the Empire, he knew the in’s and out’s of that damned country. Their citizens were fooled into thinking that they were actually worshiping the Lord of Light. When in fact, they are simply worshiping false idols that proclaim to be prophets of the lord of light.

There was a time where it was never like that, Frank recalled. But it was so long ago, that it no longer matters.

And if his son was in the care of those fanatics, then he could only imagine the kind of things he went through. It was already a miracle that he somehow still had the clarity to try and find him. The agents of the papacy are trained rigorously from the moment they enter its official establishments.

Their own identities no longer mattered. Only their obedience was necessary.

The ones who do recall their own sense of identity, end up like Aki Sunderhall. An elite agent of the papacy. But even then, their sanity isn't all there. Thus, the reason why he is such a lunatic. It was a mystery to Frank of why Aki was even more insane than his fellow elites.

Frank saw Samuel’s bloodlust filled eyes. In Samuel’s eyes, what he saw was not his son, but an enemy to the Empire. In a sense it was true. But that enemy is his son. It didn't matter how he ended up that way - It was his duty as a father to protect him no matter what. To bring him back to the light. To fix him.

Samuel was a little far from Dante, but to an Elite assassin such as Samuel, that distance meant nothing. His blade oozed an overwhelming darkness that desires to come out and feast. Dante, on the other hand, was glowing. A golden aura leaked out from him, a shimmering sword materialized in his hands. It all happened in a tenth of a second.

Amy, for all her futile intent to block Samuels path, was too late. She tried so desperately to protect his little brother but Samuel was already brandishing his blade. Frank sighed, as he realized that he could hide no longer. Just as the two were about to clash, Frank intervened.

“Enough.” His fist shone as bright as the sun, as he lazily shot his fist forwards towards the two. Samuel and Dante meanwhile, realized the sudden interference. They ignored each other and protected themselves before they were scorched and/or smashed to pieces. Not necessarily in that order.

Frank’s fist struck them, blown away as they blasted through the front entrance like ragdolls thrown by a willy child. The two crashed into another building, their bodies embedding themselves along the walls of the establishment. A cloud of dust hid them. The nearby citizens were shocked, They ran away soo enough. The commotion alerted nearby Sentries.

They surrounded them like lions cornering their prey. Like a uniform and disciplined legion, they crept up towards them step by step, until they stopped at a far enough distance to observe the troublemakers.

“It's okay, they are with me.” The Captain of the Sentry Guard Squad heard his voice and turned to its direction. At the front entrance of what was known to the city as “Frank's bar,” was Frank himself. He came out of the dust, hands behind his back, with a tired look on his face.

“Captain Vance, it's fine. You can go now.”

Captain Vance was surprised that Frank knew his name. He only frequented his bar on his days off, and even then it was far and few in between. Nevertheless, he was polite as he knew that Frank was friends with Commander Williams.

“May I ask who they are, Frank? And I’m afraid I cannot. It has caused quite a disturbance in the area, warranting my full attention in the matter.”

“Lad, listen just this once and go.”

“Frank, you know I cannot do that.”

Frank looked at the captain with annoyance, and so he uttered a name so that he would go away.

“One of the men covered in rubble is Samuel Westwood.”

It was then that Captain Vince’s spine chilled. Evident fear covered his face, as he then commanded the rest to stand down and move away. They did as they were told and lined up behind Captain Vince.

“Thank you, Frank. We will be on our way. I’ll be sure to visit your bar when I have time.”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Frank just shooed them away with his hand, as he had other matters to attend to.

Once they were out of sight, Frank made his way to the collapsed wall, and called out to Samuel. “Don't pretend. I know that attack wasn't enough to hurt you.”

Samuel then bursted out of the rubble, apparent annoyance in his face. He patted away the dust that was on his clothes, and said.

“That may be true, but that was still painful. It felt like I was hit by a boulder covered in fire.”

“Samuel. Let him be.”

“Why? He was in your bar. He is an agent of that damned state. Now why would I-”

“He's my son.”

Huh?

I looked around, thinking that I was in the wrong place. But when I saw the sign, though broken in half and pieced together using nails, there was no mistake. This was Mr. Franks bar. There was a slight problem though.

The gaping hole that existed, where the front door was supposed to be. Dumbfounded, I walked in with a dazed gaze and noticed an individual strapped against a chair as if he was being held prisoner. Scratch that, he was a prisoner it seemed.

When I looked towards Mr. Samuel, I saw that he was wary of the person bound in metal chains. Though it wasn't obvious by the fact that he was drinking a pint without a worry; I could conclude that this man was a dangerous individual. Why? Well if Mr. Samuel was being wary of him, then it was pretty easy to come to my conclusion.

One question though. Why wasn't he already dead yet? Throughout my time working for Mr. Samuel, every enemy we came face to face with was either already dead, or already crippled to the point where it made no difference if they were dead or alive.

I then saw something weirder. Amy was taking care of the prisoner. Confused, I looked closer to see who it was and realized that this was Mr. Frank's son. In short, Amy’s brother. It was a weird thing to think about honestly.

I was still puzzled. I did not know what to do in that situation. Thus, I reverted to my instinctive habit. I went behind the counter and started doing my job. I cleaned the surface of the counter, and served Mr. Samuel another beer. Asking him about why he did not kill the man already was pointless. It was obvious.

Mr. Samuel then looked at me and asked where I was.

“I was showing Wayne around the city. I thought that since I didn't have any good candidate for my own party yet, it was a good opportunity to show him around.”

“Oh yeah. Where is your little subordinate then?”

Instead of replying. I pointed behind me, where there was a single spot of darkness. Mr. Samuel was confused for a moment, but when he looked closer, his eyes went wide. I felt proud at that moment. It was rare for me to ever surprise Mr. Samuel, but I regretted it when the next thing happened.

The Assassins that were surrounding and taking guard of Mr. Frank's son, shifted and bursted out, their weapons unsheathed as they lunged towards Wayne. Shocked, I was about to stop them but they were faster than my words.

Wayne seemed to have thought my life was endangered, when he suddenly put a barrier around me, and proceeded to clash against the Assassins that were ‘assassinating’ me. They crossed blades in the middle of the bar, their attacks seemingly never reaching the man stuck in the middle of them. I was about to stop them, as I was worried that Wayne would die if I didn't.

Mr Samuel then stopped me, and when I looked at him indicating my anxiousness, he said.

“Now now. All in due time. But first, I want to see what your subordinate is made of. It’s one thing to hide his presence in front of me, and another when surviving the attacks of multiple Assassins trying to kill you.”

“What? Mr. Samuel, please, he can't-”

Just when I was about to disagree, Mr. Samuel shook his head and pointed toward the confrontation. Wayne wasn’t losing.

He was able to stand his ground. He dodged and evaded the attacks of the Assassins, and If i was not mistaken, I think I know those Assassins attacking them. They were once the people that I ‘sparred’ with. If sparring meant doing everything they can to slice me open like an orange, and me doing everything I can to not get slices open - then yes, we were sparring.

“How…”

“You recruited him and you didn't even check if he was strong?”

“Wha- no… Of course I knew he was strong. It's just that I did not expect for him to be this strong…”

“Idiot. Either way, you got yourself a good one. Don't let him die too easily, okay?”

“I will Mr. Samuel, so can you now order them to back off?”

“Oh no no no no no. Fuck no. I will do no such thing my dear pupil. For him to be worthy of being your subordinate, he must be able to protect you, and if he can't even protect himself, well it's best he be thrown into the depths of the abyss.”

I tried smoothing out a reply, but there were no words coming out. I didn't have a good rebuttal. Since I too, believe in it. But still…

I gazed back at the ongoing battle and realized that it was coming to a close. The assassins were a master of the shadows, and there were very few that can match them, but it seems that they have met someone that was far better than them. If the assassins were like fish out of water when it comes to the dark, then Wayne was the entire ocean.

I even thought that he was better at utilizing the dark than me. I did not know if I should feel hurt or proud. On one hand, it was a stab to my pride that someone was better adept in using the dark, but on the other, I was glad that that person was my subordinate instead of my enemy.

The assassins, obviously frustrated at the sudden expertise of a kid, made a mistake of showing an opening for even a second, and it was enough time for Wayne to exploit it. He struck the first Assassin in the face, slamming him against the nearby wall. The second was dazed at the sudden turn of events, prompting Wayne to strike his weapon out of his hand, and knocking him out with a kick to the face.

The last Assassin now stood, his caution to the max as he fought back. Wayne noted his cautiousness, and in the next second, his eyes full of boredom, used the blade he received from the Assassins comrades and attempted to chop his opponents head off.

Startled, I was about to step in and stop the fight, when Mr. Samuel beat me to it. Just as Wayne’s blade was about to make contact with the Assassins neck, Mr. Samuel stopped the blade by using his hand.

“Alright that's enough, I think I have seen what I needed to see.”

Wayne didn't seem to want to stop, as he felt that they were still a threat to me. I was about to speak again that they were allies, but again, Wayne beat me to it. He let go of the blade, and appeared behind Mr. Samuel with a chop to his neck.

It was then that I felt a chill in my spine. Mr. Samuel smiled, reversed the blade in his hand, and slammed the but of the handle of the sword against Wayne's head. Wayne was indeed fast, but Mr. Samuel was faster.

Wayne’s eyes went white. His body falling to the ground like the rest of his victims.