"Umm!"

Elias's eyes opened wide in shock. His eyes were bloody red by now; however, he couldn't move his body. It didn't matter how much strength he had or how influential his identity was; without being able to move his body, he was like a sitting duck.

Even though his body was paralyzed, he could still feel the pain of his legs being shot.

He was able to move his lips. He wanted to scream to relieve his pain; however, he couldn't even do that as his mouth was closed by Ryder.

"So, are you going to tell me, or do I need to test your hands too? You can still move your hands after some time when this paralysis is gone, but if I start with your hands, you'll become an eternally paralyzed old man. I leave the decision to you," Ryder said in a devil-like tone.

"I will remove my hand at the count of three. Answer what I ask. Any clever act will result in your grim future," he continued.

Ryder started counting to three. "1... 2... 3..."

At the count of three, he removed his hand from the mouth of the old man.

Feeling worried for his life, the man didn't scream even after he was freed. He still couldn't move to save himself. He was at Ryder's mercy to live. The only thing he could do was to listen to him.

"Good boy. Now tell me, why did you want to kill Bastion?" Ryder asked, frowning.

"I-i can't tell you that. Please don't ask me. I won't try to harm him if you're his friend. Just don't ask me who commanded us to kill the boy," the old man replied, refusing to answer.

"Interesting. So you're confirming that you didn't wish to kill Bastion, but someone put you up to it. Who could afford millions of dollars to kill Bastion? Tell me who told you to do it, or I'll kill you," Ryder asked, aiming his gun towards the man's elbow.

"Not five or ten Million Dollars. We were offered fifty million dollars," the man answered.

"Fifty Million dollars? Who could be so rich as to offer to pay Bastion? I'll count to five. Give me the name, or you die!" Ryder declared, impatiently. "I don't have time to play around."

He moved his gun, which slowly reached the chest of the old man, resting right above his chest where his heart was supposed to be.

The man saw the gun resting on his chest as his face was covered in sweat. Feeling the fear for his life intensifying, he decided against taking a risk.

Opening his lips, the man blurted out everything he knew, saying, "I-i can't answer! I don't know myself! I only know him as the Sixth King! I don't know his name, I promise! I don't even know who he is or where he lives. All I know is that he was someone that everyone is scared of. That's all I know. I swear on my life! That's all I know about the person!"

Ryder heard the explanation of the man; however, it was as good as useless. The old man only said a title—the Sixth King. Without more information, this title was useless to him.

"The Sixth King? Is this about some monarchy that still exists in this world? A real king? Or is it just some codeword?" Ryder muttered, feeling confused. "Who can that be?"

He looked towards the man and asked, "How did he approach you, and how were you supposed to reach him after finishing the mission? What about the money? You must have some clue that can tell me more about him?"

"I don't. I only saw a suitcase inside my bedroom one day. It had the money and Letter, claiming to be from the Sixth King," the man replied.

"Where did you keep that letter? I want it," Ryder said, feeling like the letter might have some clue.

"I burnt the letter. The last line of the letter said to burn it. I couldn't oppose his commands," the old man answered, disappointing Ryder.

Ryder sighed deeply, feeling tired.

"Tell me what it said, at least," he said.

"It said to kill Bastion Barrel. The letter came with Bastion's address and his picture. It also said that I just needed to kill the boy, and that person would know. There was nothing else," the man answered.

"So you're a dead lead. I can't reach that person at all," Ryder muttered, frowning.

" Call your men that are in his city to kill Bastion. Tell them that the mission is canceled," Ryder said; however, he noticed that the man was already paralyzed.

"Ah, I mean, tell me the number. You can talk to them," he continued as he pulled the phone out of the man's pockets. He was wearing white rubber gloves, so he didn't care about touching the place or leaving prints behind.

"Only one person knows, and that's Mark. He works in the club of Bastion. He already attempted to kill Bastion once. When he informed me about it, I told him to leave and that I'll handle it on my own. I was about to tell others and sent my men tomorrow. At the moment, no one knows of this. I don't have to recall anyone," the man replied.

"You can go happily. I will drop this mission. No one will go after the head of that boy. I promise," the old man said.

As soon as Ryder heard it, a smile appeared on his face. "So you're the last person that knows it."

"W-what are you thinking? You promised me that you would not kill me after I tell you everything. You can't go back on your promise," the man let out, seeing the strange smile on the man's face.

" We're both killers. What kind of loyalty can be between us?" Ryder replied as he chuckled. "However, I will still keep my end of the bargain."

Ryder lowered the gun as he turned back to leave.

The old man sighed in relief.

"T-thank you," he thanked Ryder.

"You don't need to thank me. I told you that I wouldn't leave you permanently paralyzed. I will do what I said. I won't leave you paralyzed," Ryder said, with his tone getting grittier the more he talked. "I will leave you dead."

Without looking back, Ryder raised his gun and pulled the trigger. The bullet left the gun and, within the blink of an eye, penetrated the skull of the man.

" Have a safe trip to hell, old man. If you get the next life, don't be so overconfident. It's not like you are me who can afford it," Ryder muttered before he stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"Oh wait, window!" Ryder suddenly thought as he turned back. He stepped back inside the room.

The lifeless body of the old man was still lying on the bed.

Ignoring the body, Ryder walked up to the window. He pushed the window open before he looked outside. He could see a few guards around the Estate; however, none of them was looking upwards. Ryder was sure that no one would. Who would think that someone who could fly would barge inside or leave?

Taking a deep breath, Ryder jumped out the window; however, he didn't fall. He started levitating in the air.

With a casual smile on his face, Ryder flew away from the Estate.

****

A young boy got off the bed, suddenly woken up from sleep. To get some fresh air, he walked over to the window.

He slid the window upwards and looked outside. As soon as he looked out, he saw a young man flying away.

"Hah, I'm still dreaming," the boy muttered as he closed the window. He walked over to the bed.

****

Ryder landed near the empty ground where the helicopter was parked. He walked over to the helicopter and knocked on its door.

The pilot was sleeping inside the helicopter. Hearing the knocks, he opened the door.

"Thanks for waiting. We can go back now," Ryder replied as he stepped inside.

The pilot nodded his head as he stepped on the seat.

"Heck, I wasn't able to enter Divinity Tonight. I hope Rale or the Princess isn't worrying about me. Should I take a fast trip inside?" Ryder muttered as he sat on the seat. "The journey will take a long time anyway."

"I'll be taking a quick nap. In most cases, I should be up before we reach there. If I'm sleeping when we reach back home, don't wake me up." He reminded the pilot as he wore his Divinity Glasses.

After the helicopter started flying away, only then did Ryder enter the world of Divinity.

****

Appearing inside the world of Divinity, Ryder called or for Rale.

"I'm here, Your Majesty," Rale appeared beside Ryder and answered.

It was already afternoon in this world.

"Did someone create a commotion because I wasn't up on time?" Ryder asked. As soon as he said, a set of knocks started on the door.