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Chapter 360: A Kick Like a Gangster

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Everything Siva said before were all lies.

From acquiring the resources to the promises he had made. But then… this?

Everything was going too fast.

Higginson realized that Siva wasn’t actually lying about his brother and although he sounded cold and stolid with his stance on not caring about anything just to save him; he was still human deep within.

The oath he had sworn was confirmed by the so called “Heavenly Law” and just like how it was with him earlier, the loud thunderous roar that came from somewhere beyond space was the stamp of a genuine-quality Heavenly Oath.

“I’ve made the vow. I need you to keep yours.”

Higginson straightened his body and then swiped the air to summon a panel window.

Then, he made a few swipe, confirmed a few item and check lists to be confirmed before he finally heaved a sigh and swipe the air towards Siva in a few minutes.

“It’ll be delivered to Warehouse 27 in six hours.”

Siva confirmed the confirmation order form from the panel window he received from Higginson and turned to Scion to pick up the helmet.

“Well then…” Siva swiped the air and materialized all of the Dragon Resources the room could support. Aside for the three Dragon Bone Spikes, everything else Siva had promised were stacked there in a neat fashion. “This is all the items I’ve promised to give.”

Higginson didn’t doubt Siva and then prompted:

“Follow me.”

*****

After a hissing sound, the door to the conference room opened and through the corridor, Siva’s and Higginson’s shadows, followed by Scion’s meek self beside Siva, appeared to greet the group led by Scarlet Carmine.

“Sir.” Scarlet made a respectful bow.

“Anything unusual?” Siva asked. He took a look around and noticed that nothing had changed from the BMA Armor he left for the group.

Just as he expected, the conference room was a locked space using Magic and Technology and so he couldn’t connect to the BMA Armor although it was just outside the conference room.

“Nothing to be alarmed for, however…” At her words, Siva was just in the middle of re-equipping the BMA armor when Cortana reported something that alarmed him.

[Boss! There is an attempt at hacking —800 times within the time that we have been trapped in that sealed conference room!]

‘WHAT?!! Is there a successful hack?’

[The hacker only breached 2 of the 999 firewalls that I’ve established on the BMA system. But the surprising fact is that even though there is the Hydra System active, the hacker still managed to hack 2 firewalls within that given time. This only meant that the capability of the hacker is on the level of an AI or a really talented Wizard.]

‘Gundamit!!!’

Siva became furious and just as he was about to turn to Higginson, a voice came from behind them on the other side of the conference room.

“Oh? Agent Gats… so you are here?” it was a lively-voiced Higginson greeting someone.

Siva turned his head and saw Gaspar just coming from the other side where they came from and just behind him, following with a submissive poise was a familiar face.

‘Gats!’

A wave of enmity and hostility radiated from Siva as soon as he laid sight on that face. He would never forgive him.

He was part of Blue Card Legion who attacked the Walled City of Alexandria, jeopardized his rescue mission, and even threatened Baron’s safety.

He was part of Kladis guild and although they are unaware of the danger their ‘’in-game pursuit’ had almost caused Baron; it was still a fact that they are the reason why Baron still can’t be found.

Gats’s face twitched at the sudden eruption of hostility and although Siva controlled his will, it still greatly surprised everyone else in the room.

Gaspar almost jumped to a defensive position as Higginson Bollard shuddered, afraid of being in the middle of an impending crossfire.

Scion grabbed Siva’s right arm, hoping to stop him from totally erupting.

And then the receptionist… cowered away on the desk and tapped in a button to call the security.

Gats, albeit the receiver of that pressure, kept his cool and remained calm, albeit the bead of sweat that trailed off his right cheek.

“I don’t believe we have met before to receive this level of hostility that could crush any normal person’s soul. Please, care to explain why you are emitting this foul feeling of antagonism?”

Gats’s stance was defensive and neutral.

Siva clenched his fists, trying to stop himself from releasing his anger. They were in a neutral zone and although the difference from a safe zone is just a single word, he still can’t kill this bastard here without releasing his Killing Zone.

“Rex…” Scion tugged on his sleeve and whispered in a very weak and sweet voice.

Her voice was so soft and so placating that Gats was caught off guard. Siva, on the other hand, felt her concern and closed his eyes, inhaled and exhaled, then faced Gats for the explanation.

“Once upon a time, you jeopardized one of my important missions and caused me some of my men… and also, just now, you tried to hack into my armor 800 times and failed the same number as well. Tell me; is there a reason for me not to release my enmity against you?”

Gats remained cool with the first part of his statement but the second part made his brows twitch awkwardly even more.

“Just the second part alone is already enough for me to kill you where you’re standing, let alone the first reason.”

Siva took a step —a very quick, fast, and light-footed step— towards Gats.

In fact, as he was just then floating, the speed of this one step was fast and so accurate that in just a snap of a moment, the 9m between the two had been shorted to mere inches.

When the BMA armor came back to Siva, instead of his earlier ‘slim’ set up, he had bulked-up the set that made him look like a hulking Batista.

Gats was surprised and reacted fast, using his arm to block a gangster kick.

BANG!!

A metallic sound of clashing metals resounded in the space between them as Gats was blasted off his feet to slam towards the wall behind him.

There was a dent on the metal wall the same size as his back. He slid down with a grunt but he was not injured though he felt the pain.

Still, as a player, the impact wasn’t a good feeling.

“To attack me without a clear reason, even in front of the President… you have guts, visitor.”

Gats sounded like a victim of a controversy and he even used the fact that the non-combatant VIP of the Humans is present as a threat to deter Siva. Too bad for him though. It should be the other way around.

Higginson wasn’t aware of what really happened between the two but he felt that he had just made an offense against Siva.

Gats was one of the Humans who woke up from the tubes and although he doesn’t share the same sense of unity that all the Humans born in Terroa had, he had still proven his ability and skill and that’s why he was here. He was supposed to be one of the escorts in this tour.

‘What a mess…’

*****

Siva felt insulted on his words. He turned towards Higginson and sneered behind his mask.

“Do you remember my vow?”

Higginson was caught off guard and processed the words slowly before answering with a weak nod, “Yes.”

But right then, he also recalled that Gats had a unique connection with the Blue Card Legion who had attacked Alexandria. By that right, albeit it was an unclear relationship, Gats was still connected to the people who had threatened Siva’s brother.

Higginson realized that Siva had all the reason to be angry at Gats right now. In fact, even if he kills the man, Siva wouldn’t even be subjected to the punishment by Heavenly Lightning.

“Well, I have someone here who stood against me and my goal.”

Higginson immediately caught on and tried to pacify the situation, “Please, I beg you, Sir Knight, just let it pass this one time… we are inside the colony and there are many children here.”

Although they were inside a sealed facility, Siva is still aware of the complications of what the word “Colony” means when it is mentioned here.

Higginson explicitly used the word “children” to emphasize the fact that there are indeed many innocent civilians here.

Siva was already calm but he still needed to vent a bit so he kicked the man that one time to give him a warning and as well as an initial revenge.

“That kick is for trying to hack my gear.” Siva then said and turned his back to Gats, flinging his cape like a prince.

But he didn’t move yet. He turned his head aside and warned him, “The next time I see you, you will definitely… immediately… die.”

After that, Siva led scion and Scarlet Carmine’s group, and they led Higginson like a puppy as they went of the place towards a third section, to a door that led towards the inner parts of the colony.

Gats was left there staring at their backs and only getting an apologetic glance from the President.

Just then, from the direction where they came from, people wearing security uniforms came and only saw Higginson Bollard’s back entering that side of the lobby.

The leader of the security team reported to the highest ranking officer present, Gaspar.

“Sir… is everything alright here?”

Gaspar nodded. “It was just a minor matter. You can all go back to your posts.”

They trusted his words and seeing that Gats was also there, they didn’t doubt one bit and made a salute before going back to the same direction they all came from.

Gaspar received an order through his AI and he consoled Gats, “It seems that you’ve been recalled for naught this time. In behalf of the President, he extends his apology. I shall take care of the security detail this time and assign a few other men for the job.”

“So the VVIP you were talking about is him?”

“Yes.” Gaspar sighed, “Though, I wonder. Do you have an idea what beef you had with him?”

Gats shook his head, “No idea. I’m quite surprised myself as well.” as he spoke, he fluttered his arm he used to defend against the kick.

Gaspar saw this and smiled wryly, “Is he strong?”

“Yeah. That kick was pretty heavy.”

Gaspar felt a little sense of excitement at the thought of a sparring session that Gats didn’t miss to notice.

“You will lose.” Gats said, holding back a chuckle.

“How can you say that with just a kick?”

“Well, I just used my ability when I blocked that kick and I was still sent flying.”

With that, the two of them looked back at the dent on the metallic wall and Gaspar balled his fists.

“All the more I wanna fight him.”

Gats sighed. Inwardly, he grumbled, ‘Just what is with that guy? Why did he suddenly attack me?’

He tried to recall the words he said.

“I’ve messed with many people’s missions and quests before but I can’t remember ever messing with someone with his strength.”

Gaspar sighed and patted the man’s shoulder as he made his way towards the same direction where Siva and the rest went.

Before he vanished, he turned to Gats, “Go back and let me handle the work.”

Gats nodded. Gaspar went on.

Now, Gats and the receptionist were the only ones left and the meek and reserved look on his face vanished and was replaced by a sinister face with shadows covering his visage.

“White Knight, eh… I will remember this. No one can mess with me and my plans… especially a useless NPC who threatens me!”

With a flash, he took an item, pressed the button, and vanished from the place. The receptionist bid him only a fleeting glance and went back to his own work.

Unfortunately for him, the biggest mistake he’d made is assuming that Siva is an NPC.

Before he could even plan his revenge, he had already made the first wrong move.

*****

[Boss, I’ve scanned that guy earlier and he carries an item that emits electrical pulses similar to the complex scan that Newgate conducted back in Alexandria.]

‘I shouldn’t have doubted the capabilities of the humans of this world. That Gats… he’s human. It may not fool the NPCs but he can’t fool me. This entire meeting may have been just a mere chance or perhaps it was just his curiosity that drove him to mess with my BMA, but the mere fact that he’s part of the Blue Card Legion is already enough for me to want to obliterate him. God damn it! If it wasn’t for this place and my oath, I would have really trashed him earlier!’

[I’ve memorized the unique programming pattern of the Inventions he carried outside his inventory earlier, boss. No matter how much he tries to hide in the future, as long as the Auricle Scan reaches or even as much as touches a sliver of his hair, I will know that he is there and immediately take a few precautionary actions and warn you.]

Siva felt relieved.

‘Better keep an eye out for that guy and the rest of his lot. Our fight isn’t over yet. Monitor the pace of rumours in the Net, Local and real-World.’

[Yes sir.]

Siva was still fuming but he can’t be sidetracked now that he was in an important part of his plan.

There were a few important reasons why he was here in Jeremiah. Meeting Pistareen was just the primer and in fact, buying resources after selling his Dragon Resources were his original plan but opportunity already presented itself to him.

Zelga had brought him that opportunity.

‘I have to find a chance to personally thank him in the future. Cortana, watch out for the movements of all of our targets.’

Siva wouldn’t give anyone a chance to hurt him or anything he is protecting. If he had to be an over-protective bastard with control issues, then so be it!

—the safer my defenses I feel, the better.

Colder, crueler, harsher, and more adamant… a night’s sleep can be sacrificed to maximize time and efficiency.

—I’ll kill those bastards someday.

The Blue Card Legion…

Kladis…

Hagrid…

Gats…

Mefisto…

Sefirah “The Prideful”…

“Mountain Eater” Gyoolu…

The demons…

Pegasus…

…………

……

…

..

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Augustus Laniary

—someday……

….someday.

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That’s right. Kill them all. Free me…

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Siva stopped on his steps and raised his head.

“Hm?”

[Boss?]

‘Did you say something?’

[I was just saying that I’ve also sent instructions and advices to your friends back at the Mansion.]

‘Ah… alright.’

—did I just imagine it?

*****

“Stay here.” Siva gave an order to Scarlet when they reached another lobby area.

This time, however, there is no receptionist or even as much as a desk in it.

He only left the [Destroyer] there and charged it with a spark grenade so that within the reach of its (prototype) improved [Absolute Domain] her group could still function freely.

“We will wait for you sir.” She affirmed and Siva gave her a nod.

He and Higginson Bollard, with Gaspar and his two partners, and three more security personnel, entered an elevator and although there was no indication of a general interface, the limited reach of his Auricle Scan told him that they were going deeply underground.

The elevator was controlled by Battle-AI.

“Face this way, Sir Knight.” Higginson prompted.

Everyone around Siva turned to the side and so he followed suit. The elevator just kept on going down for longer than 10 minutes before it finally stopped.

Pssshhhh…

The sliding door opened and Siva was greeted by a busy office-like area, overlooking the entire scene like an executive over his employees.

Higginson faced him and presented the scene like a project to a client with a tactful attitude. He wasn’t proud or too demure.

If there was something to explain how Higginson is feeling right now, it’s actually hopelessness and a sense of obligation to his sworn oath.

…nothing more.

“Sir Knight, I welcome you to The Hive.” He said.

This was the start of the tour.

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The game world’s machinations revealed!!!

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