"You Bastard, I'll kill you!' Ray roared in rage as he heard the scream of his sister after the gunshot.

He thought that they had shot his sister.

"Don't worry. The bullet only grazed her arm. But we can't guarantee if the next shot will be the same or if it'll pass through her heart. Everything depends on your answer. This is the last chance."

Ray clenched his fist as he looked at the dashboard of his car.

"Fine. It looks like you have decided. Don't blame us now," As Ray didn't answer, the person on the other end of the call let out. He was just about to disconnect the call.

"Wait. It's Ryder Flynn!" Ray accepted as he gave up on protecting Ryder for his sister. In his heart, he kept apologizing to Ryder as he threw him under the bus.

"That person who killed the terrorist was Ryder Flynn! He is the one. Now release my sister. I told you everything I know! Nothing should happen to my sister. She doesn't know anything!" He continued.

"Give us more details about this Ryder Flynn. His address and everything you know!" The person on the other end of the call asked.

Ray took a deep breath before he started telling everyone.

Beep! Beep!

There was no response from the other end of the call after that, as the call was disconnected as soon as Ray finished telling everything he knew about Ryder.

"Hello? Hello?"

He kept asking despite knowing that the call was disconnected.

He soon got a message on his phone which told him not to talk about this to anyone and that the person close to him will be safe. He looked at the message before he sighed.

He looked into the distant horizon as he shook his head. He was disappointed in himself, but there was nothing he could do about this.

What he didn't know was that his calls were getting tapped. So there was someone else who heard his conversation. It was the new Director of the FBI who had released him only to get to his source.

"Interesting. They're lucky it was me who heard this. If it were someone else, we would have been exposed. These guys, can't they be a little careful?" The new Director muttered as he rolled his eyes.

He deleted the recording to make sure it wasn't in the system for anyone else to hear, especially the higher-ups.

****

Ryder was sleeping in his bed peacefully. He was unaware that danger was looming over his head. His identity was exposed, and the enemies knew who he was.

He slept peacefully throughout the day and only woke up near the evening when he went downstairs to eat.

"Did Alice eat?" Ryder asked the servant who was serving him.

"Yes."

Ryder finished eating and stood up.

"Where's Shu?" he casually asked.

"Master Shu is in his room, resting. Should I call him?" the servant answered.

"There's no need. I was just asking casually. Anyway, if they ask about me, tell them I went out for a little while," he let out as he started walking towards the gate.

He left the Estate estate on foot to take a walk on the road. As Ryder walked through the empty road in the posh area, he breathed in the fresh air.

He had only walked for a short while when he noticed a person inside a nearby house from the corner of his eyes.

"This guy... He's still here?" he muttered as he frowned. He could see Luke behind the glass window of a nearby house. Usually, it was impossible to look through the window clearly, but he was able to get a glance which made him over ninety percent sure that it was Luke.

"That house wasn't for sale or rent. How is he staying there, though?" He wondered. "Or am I wrong?"

He decided to check out.

"Stanner!"

He called out the name of the Spirit that always followed him.

"Here," Stanner answered.

"You see the house to my left? Go inside and check the condition. Return in ten minutes to explain what you see," Ryder commanded Stanner.

Stanner immediately followed the commands and left. While Stanner searched the house, Ryder walked on the streets as if he was just having fun.

He also stretched his arms occasionally as he yawned.

After ten minutes, he started walking back as he waited for Stanner to return.

Stanner soon returned and stopped in front of him.

"What did you find out?" Ryder inquired.

"The people inside the house are kept as hostages. The dark-haired man near the window is the only one who is free. I think he's the one who held them hostage. The people are tied up and kept in a room. Also, that person is observing you," Stanner explained.

"Cheh, I thought this thing was my misconception. But this man... He's really a psychopath. It looks like I'll have to take some action myself," Ryder thought as he decided to take action.

"Go back to him. Keep an eye on him and inform me if he leaves the house," he informed Stanner before he walked back to his Mansion.

Ryder walked back to his room and sat on his bed. "That man, he's really looking to die if he's scheming something. I thought I could be at peace, at least here, but he's really annoying me."

He opened his inventory and brought a Mask out. He used to wear random masks whenever he used his powers to take action against anyone. This time as well, he was going to use the same thing.

He had already prepared many masks so that he wouldn't need to repeat any.

The Mask he pulled out right now was not a mask of a famous animated character, though. It was a mask of a real actor this time.

He was going to wear the Mask of an actor called Dom Cruise, who was known as an action star.

He not only prepared a mask but a leather jacket and other things like shoes, gloves and everything else.

After making sure that everything was ready, he started waiting as he walked closer to the window. He looked outside the window to see how the protection of this place was. There were guards everywhere. Shu did have good protection, it seemed. His protection seemed only better now.

He left the Estate once again, but this time with the keys of his car. He stepped inside the car and drove it outside the Estate before zooming off into the distance. He left the area in his car, but he didn't go too far.

He only went fat enough to make sure that he was in an isolated place before he stepped out of the car. He looked all around to make sure that no one was here before he changed his clothes and donned a mask.

After getting ready, he started walking back. He even flew when no one was nearby. When people were nearby, he was on the ground. His mask attracted a few gazes, but no one paid much heed or interfered with his matter.

Ryder soon reached the house where Luke was keeping people hostage. He landed on the roof of the house.

As soon as Ryder landed on the roof of the house, a frown appeared on the face of Luke, who was still standing near the window. He looked upwards.

" Did they find me?" he muttered softly. "I promise him that I'll try to stay out of conflict with Aluren and his men. But if they're here on their own, I don't have to hold back."

He had realized that someone was on the roof, but he misunderstood one thing. He thought that it was a King from Aluren's side. He didn't know that it was Ryder who had just left.

He prepared to kill whomever the intruder was. He cracked his knuckles as he walked back to the chair and sat on it.

Instead of going to the roof on his own, he started waiting here. If someone was here to kill him, that person was going to come on his own. On the other hand, if the person was not here for him, then he didn't need to involve himself.

In any case, he didn't want to work too much.

*****

Ryder went downstairs in slow steps as he tried to locate the room where Luke was. It didn't take him long to get there.

He slowly pushed the door open as he stepped inside. A gun was tucked in his pants.

As soon as he stepped inside the room, he found Luke sitting on the chair. Luke gazed back at Ryder only to find a man in a human mask.

"Why are you dressed like a joker?" Luke asked with a weird look on his face.

Ryder didn't shoot him directly because he was already told by Stanner that the man had known about his arrival as soon as Ryder landed on the roof.