Bob walked through the lobby of EL Bank, Saydaa in tow behind him. Saydaa, in particular, glanced every which way. When they passed the receptionist, she waved slowly.

“Um…h-hi?”

The reception just raised an eyebrow at her.

“Hello, welcome to EL Bank.”

“Um, yes, thanks…I, um, am here totally…legitly now…”

Bob grabbed her shoulder and pulled her towards the door.

“Come on.”

“Boss-man! This is, like, really awkward! You don’t go back to previous victims, you know! Especially when you failed!”

“They’re not your victims. It’s only awkward because you’re making it awkward.”

“Like, couldn’t you have come by yourself?”

Bob just sighed and walked into the elevator.

The pair exited, and walked towards the vault door. Bob took a turn at the door to a small wooden door off to the side. A door that slammed opened.

“I KNOW WHAT YOU WANT, FOOL BOY! THE ANSWER IS A HUGE, MASSIVE, BIG, FAT NO!”

Baba Yaga stood in the doorway, shaking her staff at Bob. Saydaa jumped and scooted off to the side.

“YOU’VE MADE A REAL MESS OF IT THIS TIME, HAVEN’T YOU?! YOU JUST HAD TO GO AND POKE THE DRAGON, DIDN’T YOU?! I AM NOT COMMITTING SUICIDE TODAY, BOY!”

Bob shook his head and pointed to the side.

“This is on me, and I’m going to handle it. I just need a little help getting past the door.”

Baba Yaga raised an eyebrow.

“Do you understand what you’re trying to do, fool boy? About what you’re getting yourself into?”

Bob nodded and Baba Yaga sighed.

“Still…that one looks for excuses to fight. It’s extraordinarily dangerous to get involved, even indirectly, and even for me. Are you absolutely certain you can do this?”

“I have to, this is my responsibility. I just need one spell, and you don’t even need to cast it yourself. Just prepare the reagents and show her how to activate it.”

Baba Yaga turned, glancing at the other person in the room. She scoffed.

“As if. Fool girl was just born into magic and thinks she can just swing it around like a club. She couldn’t cast a real spell if her life depended on it.”

“What was that?! I’ll show you a real spell!”

Baba Yaga began to cackle.

“So, you think you have what it takes to be a witch, girlie?”

“You bet I do! I taught myself magic in the streets! I survived the hell training from the demon! I can handle whatever an old crone like you can throw at me!”

Bob held his face as Baba Yaga continued to cackle.

Oh Saydaa, you’re going to regret those words.

“Don’t act like this doesn’t concern you, fool boy. We still haven’t discussed payment for taking care of this. It’s going to be very dangerous and very annoying. Which means it’s going to be very expensive.”

Bob winced. Right. Deals with witches. Always a great idea.

But what choice did he have?

Dealing with moody immortal demigods and evil cultivator sects is so annoying.

Deep within the Eternal Night Sect, Xiong Huang strolled down a hallway. She opened up a door and stepped in. Inside the room, Londyn was chained to a wall, just stirring awake. Xiong Huang grinned at her.

“Hello, Director. Welcome to my home.”

Londyn shook her head and glared at her.

“...what do you want?”

“The dragon fang, and you’re going to give it to me.”

Londyn raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t see how, seeing as I’m here.”

Xiong Huang sneered at her.

“Obviously. We’re going to find out how much your little League values their precious director.”

Londyn scoffed.

“You might as well kill me then. The League will carry on, with or without me.”

Suddenly Londyn gasped. Her heart pounded, her lungs refused to move. She felt like as if the eyes of a tiger were staring down at her, ready to pounce at any moment. She felt as if the world itself was trying to crush her.

And then the pressure was gone, leaving Londyn gasping for breath, sweat dripping down her brow.

“Then how about this? I destroy your precious little League, bit by bit, until you hand it over. Killing you, destroying the League, there’s no difference between the two for me.”

“Then…take…it…yourself…”

Xiong Huang grabbed Londyn’s chin, sneering at her again.

“Oh, I could, but that’s no fun. Now that we’ve come this far…I want to see you on your knees. I want you to grovel and beg. I want the world to know what it means to defy me!”

Suddenly Londyn’s eyes widened and quivered. Xiong Huang grinned. So the director of the heroes wasn’t so tough after all.

Then she realized Londyn wasn’t looking at her.

“Hello Xiong Huang.”

Xiong Huang whirled around. She let out a sigh and slapped her palm on her face.

“I should’ve known you’d find a way in, Bob. Honestly, what is the point of a sect that can’t keep one mortal from waltzing in like he owns the place?”

She lifted her head, sneering.

“But it makes no difference. What do you even plan to do here, Bob? Offer me more flowers again? Call in some other cultivator you know somehow ? Cheat in another bet? Appeal to my merciful side?”

Xiong Huang turned back to Londyn.

“No, there’s nothing you can do here, Bob. I will have what is mine, and I will not be stopped by you, or anyone else. I am the Mistress of the Eternal Night Sect, and I answer to no one.”

Londyn trembled as she turned to Bob.

"B-Bob, get out of here! This...monster already beat half the League!"

But Bob just continued walking towards the two of them. And his next words...left the two women speechless.

“Xiong Huang, I’m sorry.”

Xiong Huang froze.

“...what?”

“I’m sorry. I’ve been extraordinarily insensitive to you, and for that, I apologize.”

Xiong Huang turned around, a vein bulging on her forehead.

“What in the heavens are you talking about, Bob?”

Bob took a step forward, removing his mask to look Xiong Huang in the eyes.

“This isn’t about the League, or whatever they’re protecting, is it?”

“What else could this possibly be about, Bob?”

“It’s about you and me, isn’t it?”

Xiong Huang froze.

“Why on EARTH would you think this is about YOU, Bob?! I did not take you for an extreme narcissist of all things!”

“Because no one has died.”

Xiong Huang suddenly stood up straight, as if zapped by electricity.

“W-What do you mean?”

Bob took a step forward.

“You’re Xiong Huang. The Mistress of the Eternal Night Sect. The Murderous Bloody Fist. You take what you want, whenever you want it. You kill anyone who stands in your way. You’ve killed people for looking at you funny.”

He took another step.

“But now, the ILS has something you say you want, something you'd apparently attack them openly to acquire. Yet, not a single hero, not a single ILS staff member, not a single bystander has perished in your so-called war. Why could that be?”

Xiong Huang’s eyes began to tremble.

“T-That’s…T-They hadn’t…done anything…that would deserve…”

Bob smiled at her.

“We both know you don't care about that. If this was for the Eternal Night Sect, there would be blood in the streets. If you wanted the prize without a fuss, you would’ve strolled in and taken it yourself. Kidnapping Londyn is the least effective and most troublesome way you could have gone about this, one you would never choose if your goal was the ILS's vault. The only possible reason for the current situation is that you wanted a mess. And why would you want a mess?”

He took a step forward. She took a step back.

“You wanted to mess with something I was involved with and break off any relationship between us once and for all. That’s why you targeted the ILS. That’s why you kidnapped Londyn. But you couldn't bring yourself to cut me off completely, which is why you haven't killed anyone yet. So instead you created a mess, made yourself an enemy of the League so I would have to distance myself from you, maybe even oppose you on my own.”

“T-That’s not true…t-this has nothing to do with you..”

He no longer hid behind his mask. He no longer had that stoic, slightly irritated expression. Instead, he smiled softly at her, a slight quiver to his own eyes. She tried to avert her gaze as she felt something stab her chest.

But she couldn't.

“All because…I called you my friend without considering what that would mean to you. You who lost everything.”

Her eyes trembled. Her heart pounded. Her stomach dropped. She flared her qi...but the sensations continued to grow. Her body...and her heart no longer obeyed her command.

“W-What are you saying?! A cultivator faces the heavens alone! And I’m the best cultivator who ever lived! What could I have possibly lost?! What does it matter what a mortal calls me?! Y-You mean nothing to me! No one means anything to me!”

Bob's eyes drooped even as he continued to smile. She could see his eyes start to moisten and shine, her own face reflected in them.

“But you mean something to me. You’re my friend, Xiong Huang, and I care about you. I was blinded by your strength and the creed of your sect, so I didn't realize how much you were hurting. For that, I'm truly sorry.”

Bob continued to walk towards her. Xiong Huang backed up until she was against the wall. She lifted her hands.

“N-No! Stay away from me! Don't get any closer!”

Her eyes continued to tremble. She put her hands against Bob’s chest. His face overlapped with someone else's.

He kept moving forward.

“You can’t…you’re going to…”

She couldn’t push him away. Her arms couldn’t muster the strength.

Or wouldn’t.

And then he wrapped her in a hug.

“A cultivator faces the heavens alone…but you already surpassed them. So you don’t need to be alone anymore.”

Her eyes began to water.

“N-No…y-you’re mortal…y-you’re going to die…”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Tears began to fall from her eyes.

“T-They died! They all died! Even Old Wei! And you’re even weaker…”

Bob just kept holding her. Xiong Huang felt something rise into her chest as her vision blurred. She tried…and she tried…to stir up her qi…quash whatever she was feeling once again.

But the fire and the rage were gone.

All that was left…were tears.

“It's been really hard for you, huh? And I didn't even think about it, for all this time. I’m so sorry…and from now on I’ll be here for you. I won’t leave you alone again."

Bob tightened his grip as tears streamed down Xiong Huang's face.

"I promise.”

Xiong Huang began to wail and grabbed onto Bob. Londyn watched, eyes wide, as Bob held the woman who beat down the entire League…as she broke down into a sobbing mess.

So it was that the most powerful cultivator in all of history, the strongest person in the world…was defeated by a mere minion, faceless no longer.