Renacido. Layla Song was walking down the halls of Renacido HQ with her bodyguards, the former guardians of Jara, by her side.

“How many were caught?”

She asked.

“According to Jason three have been caught.”

Aiden answered.

“The others?”

“Dead.”

“Let’s hurry before these three end up dead as well.”

They entered an elevator, where Layla took out a card and placed it in front of the buttons panel. One of the buttons emitted a light which scanned the card. After it scanned the card, the button panel flipped inwards and a new panel with a single button appeared. Layla pressed it and soon felt the elevator moving to the side instead of up or down. After that, it moved down with a rapid speed.

Less than 10 seconds later the doors opened up and they stepped out. They stepped into a hallway which had a more simple look compared to the luxurious halls above them.

They walked down the hall and past several doors on the side and walked to the end of the hall and stopped in front of a door. Layla opened the door and walked in. She was immediately greeted by the strong stench of blood.

“Can’t you do something about the smell?”

“The room has been too busy lately. This smell is unavoidable.”

Jason walked up to her and said. He was wiping blood off his hands.

“I see that you’ve been entertaining our guests. Have they talked?”

“Nope. These ones are tough. They must’ve endured torture training.”

“Then they’re soldiers or people who received military training.”

Layla took off her coat and was now in a white blouse and pencil skirt. She took a pair of gloves from a box that was by the door and put them on.

“Let me have a go at them.”

Jason nodded and led her and her bodyguards to another part of the room. There they saw three men bound to metal chairs. They had their heads hung down and had puddles of blood and sweat around them.

“Looks like you took really good care of them.”

Layla said while inspecting the men. They had several seals craved into their bodies which prevented them from using magic or Vita to either escape or kill themselves. Their teeth were shattered so they couldn’t bite their tongue, and their heels were cut prevent them from running in case they somehow escaped.

“Now then….”

Layla stooped in front of the men.

“Good evening, I’m Layla Song.”

Around a hour later Layla was sitting in her office with a frown on her face.

“I’m surprised that you were able to make them talk.”

Oden said.

“Yeah, well when their manhood is being threatened, men tend to squeal like a woman during her first time.”

Layla said while turning to her laptop.

“I don’t even want to know what you did.”

Oden said.

“So what did they tell you? You’ve been in a bad mood since you’ve came back.”

“They didn’t say much.”

“Huh? I thought they talked.”

“They did but not for long. It’s more like a last confession before death.”

“Then what did they say to make you so upset?”

Layla didn’t respond immediately and kept typing on her laptop before opening her mouth.

“The dragon hidden in the clouds. Those were their last words.”

“Huh? What’s that, a code?”

“No, it’s an omen.”

“An omen?”

Layla nodded while turning her laptop screen to Oden. On it was a symbol of a cloud with a pair of beastly eyes inside of it.

“Have you ever heard about Dragon Storm?”

“Just the name. They’re a criminal organization right?”

“That’s an understatement. They’re an international crime syndicate that operates on multiple continents. They’re involved in anything illegal and I mean anything. Their members number in the hundreds of thousands with several Divine Level fighters in their ranks. Long story short, they’re strong enough to have all the global superpowers keeping track of them.”

“And you’re saying that they’re the ones behind the attack on our businesses and our people?”

Layla nodded with a grave expression.

“This situation is far more severe than I expected. Even if Miko came back he can’t handle it on his own.”

“But considering his personality, he’ll try.”

Layla nodded.

“The last thing he’ll do is ask his family for help. He’s too proud and it would reflect negatively on his reputation, so he’ll definitely try to handle it himself.”

“So what do you want to do?”

Layla thought about it for a bit before answering.

“We’ll try to handle the situation on our own while it hasn’t become that serious. This is still the Dragna empire. Notorious as they are, they still have to think twice before directly attacking here. We’ll use this as a shield and strike the Aloe Kingdom and Dale while staying on the defensive. Meaning we’ll only make meaningful attacks that have a high success rate and will cause severe damage. Once we’ve weaken Dale and Aloe, Dragon Storm will lose their footing in this region.”

“You mean they don’t have power here?”

“No. The northern region’s crime world belonged to Darius and Krow by extension. If we can drive them out of Aloe and Dale then they’ll have to regroup and decide if they want wage a war involving the Dragna Empire.”

“That’s brilliant.”

Oden smiled.

“I see why Miko left you in charge. However….”

The smile soon dropped from his face.

“What if they came here with the intention of waging war from the beginning?”

“Then we’re screwed unless Miko asks for help or the Dragna Empire decides to help own their own regard.”

“The chances of that are low huh?”

Layla nodded.

“I’ll contact Miko the moment things have gotten out of hand but it’s only a last resort.”

(She really wants Miko to be able to travel freely without worrying huh? Even when facing a potential crisis she’s still insisting on letting him have his freedom….)

Oden smiled at her.

“You’re a very talented woman, but you’re too compassionate for your own good. It will lead to your downfall one day.”

Layla smiled back and replied.

“I’m already well aware of what will kill me and I’m fine with it.”

Grim Academy, the main library for the senior division.

Miko was sitting alone with a huge stack of books in front of him. The book he was currently reading was titled “Deiciders- The New Age God Killers”.

“I was skeptic at first but the information in here is pretty accurate.”

He said. Ishma and Regis appeared and peeked into the book.

“Why are you reading about god killers when you have three of them in your family?”

Regis asked.

“I just saw it on the shelf when I was gathering books and thought I’ll see how much the author knew about my family.”

“And it’s accurate?”

“At least the old man’s info matches the stories I used to hear as a kid. So much that it’s possible that he told the author himself.”

“Who wrote the book?”

“That’s the funny thing.”

Miko showed the book cover to the girls. They saw the author name.

“Arsene Mors, a Deicider.”

“Mors? Then you’re related?”

“Yeah but I’ve never met him. I did hear my grandparents argue about him once.”

Miko opened the book and skipped through the pages.

“Ah, here it is. I’m surprised he didn’t talk about himself first. Now let’s see….Arsene Mors was born in the infamous Mors Clan and was hailed as a prodigy by his peers and someone with a bright future. That however changed when he encountered the first Deicider Nero and was corrupted and turned into a delinquent.”

“He wrote that he was corrupted?”

Said Regis.

“I’m more shocked that he called himself a prodigy and a delinquent.”

Said Ishma.

“This book has pretty interesting info. For example, it says here that there’s ranks among Deiciders. Apparently, after you kill a Divine Proxy from each of the four factions and is invited to the summit of the gods where the Higher Beings resides and receive your Deicider title, you’d be considered a 1 Star Deicider. If you repeat the same feat again you’ll be called 2 Star Deicider. You stop gaining stars after repeating it five times but doing so will crave your name in history as a True Deicider. I never knew that.”

Miko put down the book.

“A 5 Star God Killer huh? I like that. I should’ve aimed to become a Deicider than becoming a Proxy.”

(I heard that.)

Tia’s voice resounded in Miko’s head but Miko ignored it.

“I like how Arsene composed this book. It’s informative and fun to read. I like good authors so I wanna meet him in the future.”

“Wanting to meet one of the strongest beings just to discuss literature. And people thought I was crazy.”

Miko looked behind him and saw Tang standing there with his usual smile.

“The ranking tournaments are coming up and you’re here reading books.”

“Stand down.”

Miko spoke to Ishma and Regis who were already pressing their blades against Tang’s neck. Seeing that, Tang took a seat at Miko’s table without asking permission.

“First, allow me to formally introduce myself. I’m Tang Xian and it’s nice to meet you, Gamiko Dragna the Third.”

“We’ve already fought. Formalities are useless now don’t you think?”

“Fought? I don’t remember fighting anyone. I merely join the fun. I was by no means fighting against anyone.”

“I see. Then you’re saying that damaging my internal organs was child’s play for you?”

“If that’s how you want to interpret my words than be my guess.”

Miko became silent for a bit before speaking again.

“What business do you have with me? I’m sure it’s not a fight. Although I’m more than up for it if you are.”

“Nah, I simply wanted to get to know you. I heard a lot about you before you came here. You could even say that I’m a fan of yours.”

“A fan?”

Miko laughed.

“I’m flattered that someone as strong as yourself think of me so highly.”

“Of course. I think we’re a lot a like and I don’t mean the azure hair and good looks.”

Tang sat back in his seat.

“We’re both thrill seekers. Adrenaline junkies even.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble but I’m no thrill seeker.”

“Really? Then what about you publicly declaring your country a home for outcasts and monsters. If you weren’t a thrill seeker you wouldn’t have declared that parasite demons are under your protection.”

Miko’s eyes narrowed.

“I’m simply someone with a big heart who wants to take the unwanted and scorned under my wing. Is there anything wrong with that?”

“There’s a lot of things wrong with that and you know it. We live in a cruel world, a loveless one you might say. People who preach about providing freedom for others normally ends up dead here. I think you’re smart enough to know the risks of your actions, yet you still did what did….Why? It’s because you want to be challenged and pushed to the point that you’ll be force to unlock your true potential to survive.”

Tang pointed at Miko.

“That my friend is a thrill seeker.”

Miko didn’t answer but Tang didn’t seem to mind.

“There’s nothing to feel ashamed about. Thrills makes us feel alive. For us there’s nothing better than succeeding when all the odds were against us. We know the bliss of cheating death.”

“Don’t make me sound like some pervert. I only do what I need to do to survive.”

“I see.”

Tang nodded.

“I’ve heard that you’ve been talking with Kaido recently. Did you know that he dislikes masks? This is something I have in common with him. I’m disgusted by those who pretend, by those who hold themselves back, by those who allow others to drag them down.”

“Are you saying I’m one of these people?”

“You’re all of them.”

Miko nodded as if he understood something.

“Then the feelings mutual.”

He smiled.

“I don’t know if it’s dislike shared between kindred spirits or it’s just written that way but I don’t think we’ll ever get along.”

Tang nodded.

“I totally agree.”

“Yet, you wanted to get to know me?”

“Know thy enemy and victory will be in your grasp.”

“Then have you’ve ever heard this one?”

The smile dropped from Miko’s face.

“Curiosity kills the cat.”

He sat back in his seat.

“Tang Xian, in the future we’ll most likely try to kill each other but unfortunately that isn’t today. Today I want to catch up on my reading and broaden my horizons. I’m not in the mood for slaughter.”

“That’s great to hear. I feel the same way. Us killing each other is already certain, so let’s not ruin this fine day.”

Tang stood up and stretched his hand towards Miko.

“When the time comes no matter how dirty or brutal our battles will be I want to honestly say that it was a pleasure meeting you.”

Miko took the hand and shook it.

“Trust me, the pleasure was all mine. Interesting characters like yourself is the reason why I can’t live a normal life.”

The two smiled at each other with their fangs bare in the open. They disliked each other and was okay with it. What they have isn’t even close to friendship but just like friends they can’t wait to take part in an “exciting” event together.

The upcoming Dragon Wars that they both knew for sure was going to happen.