Amidst his laughter, Yan’s voice echoed through the air, “Kiso! They’re escaping!”

Chapter Twenty Seven - Informant

Although Yan gave Kiso a warning shout, her familial ties prevented her from doing so immediately. In fact, Rio and Ela had used Beq's sacrifice to immediately flee, moving at their fastest speed.

Within the twenty breaths since the two arrows had collided, Rio and Ela had managed to cover nearly a quarter mile's distance towards the northern gate.

Unfortunately for them, a quarter mile meant nothing to Kiso. Locking onto them in his spiritual pressure zone, Kiso's body flickered and disappeared.

As Rio and Ela frantically ran at their top speed, they were constantly communicating within their minds.

"Sister, that Kiso is too much! Why did grandfather have to anger such a little devil?" Rio's voice was still shaky from the shock of losing her closest family.

"How could he have known? The sect told grandfather he should be the foremost power in this region. What reason would he have to mistrust his own sect?" Ela's voice was equally shaken.

Fear, worry, regret.

Their faces were fluctuating between several negative emotions. After covering a solid distance, Ela spoke in Rio's mind once again, sighing, "If only Kiso hadn't emerged for another month. Grandfather's elder brother should surely have arrived by.." Her thoughts were immediately interrupted.

Kiso's body materializing twenty meters ahead caused both of them to stumbled in an attempt to halt.

Kiso's face was solemn, he really didn't want to kill these two beauties. He purposely avoided them initially, hoping perhaps they were in the same boat as Yan.

There actions proved otherwise, causing Kiso's resolve to thicken. Yet the thought of actually killing them still left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Raisin a hand sparking with black lightning, Kiso threatened, "You two! I'll give you two options!" Kiso voice raised just enough for them to hear as he walked towards them.

"Either you die here today without a corpse, or you give me a reason to spare you."

Kiso truly didn't expect them to be able to sway his resolve, yet their beauty warranted them a chance.

Taking a long look at each other, Ela looked back towards Kiso.

Secretly swallowing hard, Ela faced Kiso who was now a short five meters away. "Kiso.." Her voice tried to hide her anger, yet still revealed a trace, "My sister and I will do anything you ask."

Shortly following her pledge, she moved her hands towards her cloak slowly, making the motions to remove it.

Ela and Rio were both raised in a different kind of world. They were taught to use anything as a weapon to kill their enemy, even their own bodies. Women could cultivate the same as men, yet when faced with a power greater then their own, a weapon still remained.

Lust.

As layers of clothes were beginning to shed, a black flash suddenly buzzed by the two girls, disintegrating a post behind them on the road.

Wide eyed, Rio and Ela's faces flushed with embarrassment, they glanced backwards at where Kiso had struck.

Kiso's face was equally red as their actions had greatly startled him.

Using their own bodies as compensation?

Tempting.

But, these were two of the closest family members to Hanzi, the man responsible for his parent's death. Shaking his head in attempt to clear his mind, Kiso regained his composure and sent a warning surge of lightning past their nearly stark naked bodies.

"Cut it out. I don't have any desire for the bodies of such vile women." Sighing, Kiso raised two fingers, pointing at them. "To think the Hanzi family is actually so wicked to even use their own bodies to tempt their enemies. If that's the best you could come up with, I'll make it quick."

Kiso stared forward, studying their expressions closely. As he finished speaking, their faces revealed their true feelings.

They were prepared to seduce Kiso in order to secretly slay him during the action. How could they have expected this young man in the prime of his youth to actually refuse them. His words only threw oil on the fire, igniting the suppressed anger in their hearts.

Tears streaking down their face, Ela and Rio's expressions contradicted the tiny droplets of water.

With faces full of malice, they held hands and shot a final look full of contempt at Kiso before their bodies began to undergo the same process as Beq.

With their skin now visible, Kiso could clearly see the process this time. Starting at their feet, their skin rapidly started turning black. Hundreds of inky blotches rapidly devoured their flesh, turning it into pure life force.

Kiso wouldn't wait around to be on the receiving end of another of these attacks. His spiritual pressure was already on its last leg. The only spiritual pressure he had at this point was what he had gathered naturally since attempting to block the first death arrow.

Kiso had two options, shadowstep away or end their lives before the technique completed itself.

Ela and Rio had strangely soft expressions on their faces by now. They figured the sacrifice of their lives would surely be able to drag Kiso down with them.

How could they have known that Kiso's choice to block Beq's arrow with all his spiritual pressure banking on his divine wind, was simply the wrong one.

Kiso wouldn't make the same mistake again.

Their soft content expressions suddenly changed. By now their bodies had deteriorated beyond their legs, the inky black now eating away at their torsos. The death arrow technique is a final resort technique of the death nature, trading away life force to produce a single attack capable of transcending even two stages of power.

Only, it couldn't be reversed.

Kiso gave an awkward smile at the two beauties as his body flickered and disappeared.

Ela and Rio's eyes bulged, threatening to jump out of their sockets. "SISTER!" Rio's panicked voice full of resentment was the last thing either of them heard.

- - -

After Kiso had shadowstepped away, Yuni was faced with the blank faces of all the surrounding students and teachers. They seemed to be frozen in place incapable of moving, but it was just a result of the shock they felt in their hearts.

Leaning against the Osian Tower, Yuni casually swept her gaze of the crowd.

A sudden thought visibly occurred in her head as her eyes widened and started to scan the crowd frantically.

"Where is he?!" Yuni's angry voice shouted in her mind.

She suddenly remembered the reason they were discovered in the first place.

Bo.

"Not here?" Yuni's expression changed from anger to a mixture of disappointment and apprehension. If Kiso was still here, she would have immediately reminded him and he could have searched for Bo using his spiritual pressure zone. However, with Kiso's lack of presence, she could only resign herself to lean back against the tower and wait.

After the time it would take to eat half a bowl of rice, Kiso's body reappeared, a cold sweat visible on his forehead.

Yuni shot him an inquiring look to which he responded in her mind, "They killed themselves."

Yuni's tense face eased slightly before her voice rang out in Kiso's mind, "I see..... Ah! Kiso! Quick! Use your spiritual pressure zone to find that traitor Bo!"

Kiso was slightly startled by her reminder, but quickly looked around before frowning.

"He's gone." Kiso sighed as he spoke aloud.

Yuni's face showed obvious disappointment, but there was nothing they could do.

At this time, Yan approached them cautiously. She didn't know where she stood in their hearts, yet she was prepared to devote her life to helping these two who had freed her.

"Um... Kiso, Yuni... I don't mean to be rude, but your actions today will surely have stirred up the hornets nest." Yan quietly announced as she approached.

Kiso was clearly agitated, he was cursing himself for forgetting about Bo. Yan's soft voice dispelled his thought process and he turned to face her.

Nodding, he agreed, "You mean regarding the Apostles of Death?"

Yan nodded.

"Indeed, they will sooner or later discover one of their elders was killed." Kiso's voice was resolute without a hint of worry and he continued, "Regardless, it doesn't really matter. Since Hanzi caused my parent's death and opened my eyes to the evil of your sect, I've already decided..."

Yan's face changed when she heard Kiso call the Apostles of Death 'her sect'. She angrily interrupted, "Kiso, if your going to have me follow you, let's get one thing straight. Since I was a child I have been forced to do everything I've done. Although I admit it was my own cowardice that prevented me from ending my own life and saving thus saving countless others, I sincerely plan to atone for those sins."

Hearing Yan's words, Kiso smiled and continued the same sentence, "To eradicate them!"

Yan's face slightly brightened.

She seemed to think of something and tilted her head asking, "Kiso, your father was Han, right?"

Kiso nodded, his brows clenched as he looked at Yan inquisitively.

She couldn't help her lips from curving upwards and she continued, "Then, that would make your mother Celes right? Well, although Han indeed perished due to my grandfather's contract, Celes might still be alive!"

Her upward curving lips fell as she hurriedly added before letting Kiso react, "But that's only if she was sent where I believe she was! And if she was sent there, she'll only be kept alive for a short period of time!"

Kiso's eyes were wide and he forgot to breath as he listened to Yan.

When she finished speaking, hundreds of thoughts raced through his mind.

Still alive?

In danger?

Not much time?

Kiso reached out and held Yan's shoulders as he looked her in the eyes and asked with a shaky voice, "If she was sent where you believe she did, how long does she have? Can we make it?"

Yan couldn't help but avert her gaze, she indeed knew where Celes had been sent, but that place was one which she had only heard about.

"Kiso... I believe your mother was selected by my grandfather to be sent to the main sect's prison for sacrifices." Yan mumbled as she spoke, she was only used to being struck after giving bad news.

When the pain never came, Yan glanced back at Kiso. His face was twitching as his eyes were growing red.

She took a deep breath and gathered her courage before saying, "While it's true I don't know much about the prison, there are some things I know.

First of all, the sacrifices selected to go there will be kept alive for another three years. This is because they can only perform the sacrificial ceremony every ten years.

Besides that, I know that the prison resides in the northern human realm.

That's all I know."

Kiso looked down at the ground for several minutes before lifting his head to look at Yuni. Her face was full of worry as well and it warmed his heart to see her truly worry for his sake.

Slapping his cheeks, Kiso looked back to Yan.

Nodding, he smiled and said, "I knew it was a good idea to keep you alive. From this point on, you'll be my source of information on the Apostles of Death!"

Yan gave an awkward smile. Her life had just been turned completely upside down. Although she believed it was for the best, she still didn't know how to react.

"Then... I'll be in your care..." She lowered her head and spoke under her breath.

Concluding his conversation with Yan, Kiso raised his head to look out at the still dumbfounded crowd.

Yuni hugged Kiso's arm and she giggled saying, "Kiso these people have been frozen since Hanzi died, I think they don't believe their eyes. Why don't you wake them up... hehehe."

Kiso looked helplessly at Yuni before sighing.

Thinking for a moment about what to say, Kiso opened his mouth to loudly shout, "Students and teachers of this academy!"

His voice carried a hint of spiritual pressure, causing it to be extremely loud and startle the crowd.

"Your dean is dead and your contracts released! From today on, this is no longer Hanzi Academy! If you wish to stay, stay. If you wish to leave, leave! Choose your own paths!"

Kiso, as the one who had shaken their lives, felt slightly responsible and gave voice to reason.

Slowly, voices started to emerge from the crowd as it seemed to come alive. Students felt color return to their lives, the freedom of choice given back to them. They couldn't help but fall to their knees and kowtow towards Kiso, standing in front of the Osian Tower.

One after another fell to their knees, deeply bowing.

Their actions spoke louder then any words of thanks could have.

Soon, the entire crowd of young men and women, even the teachers, all were on their knees bowing to Kiso in thanks.

"This..." Kiso was truly moved.

Although he could never really understand the pain they had gone through, their act of bowing to him in this manner completely relayed their feelings.

For several minutes, Kiso didn't dare to speak or move, allowing everyone here to thank him with all their hearts. Staring out at the crowd, the first to rise was a familiar face.

Ruddy lifted his head, smiling at Kiso with streaks of water running down his cheeks. He rose to his feet and made his way towards Kiso.

Before he could even leave the front line of the students though, a shrill cry rang out from a young girl who had similarly concluded her bowing.

"There's still one left!!!!" The girl pointed with a trembling finger towards Yan's figure standing a few feet behind Kiso and Yuni.

To Be Continued!