Kairos had proposed for a meeting in Saint City's Trade Federate, to sign the Hope enterprise's ownership over to Jim.

This time, Cannot Hope had been forced to make a decision, but he eventually decided to give in. This way, at least his business will still belong to the Hope family.

He woefully noticed that in his current plight, his business partners chose to remain silent. The two powerful noble houses had been beaten so completely into submission by the young Lord, that they don't even have any temper left in them. Instead of further muddling in Kairos' affairs, they prefer to lick their wounds silently.

Having received an affirmation from Cannot Hope, the young Earl made arrangements to enter the city, accompanied only by Jim.

Since the two are only making a short trip, his friends and father had busied themselves to helping Kairos' fifteen disciples move into his manor along with training a few villagers have applied to stay as his stewards.

The two made their way towards the city on the back of Wyrmy, without an entourage nor a proper carriage.

Though it does not befit his status as an Earl, he did not mind at all. With Wyrmy's transformation making its back broader and its legs stronger, they journey much quicker and more comfortably than before.

Suddenly, Kairos sat up from the back of the moving land wyrm with a frown etched on his forehead. He sensed an abnormality in the air like the atmosphere around them had been frozen still, and a predator had locked its eyes on them.

"Boss?" Jim asked when he noticed Kairos' reactions, but he did not reply and only looked around with an expressionless face.

A wild thought had entered his mind before they left for the transfer contract that perhaps the Grand Patriarch might attempt to assassinate him. For that is the only other way to return the situation to before the crisis, which the Hope house now faces.

Unfortunately, Kairos' guess was spot on, despite himself discarding that possibility as being too ridiculous.

After all, even after the transfer of ownership, the Hope enterprise would still belong to one of their members, Jim Hope.

.....

At the same time this moment, the grand patriarch of the Hope family, Failto Hope, has already found his target and is preparing to engage.

He looked at the massive beast stomping across the dirt path towards Saint City, with the two young boys on its back.

"Hmph.

These boys were merely D ranked a few months back, but now they are already B rank? That is far too quick... Too bad he is still a weakling."

An assassination is what he came up with after hearing how the business empire his son had created is now on the verge of bankruptcy. If the transfer had gone through, his only beloved son, Cannot Hope, would be left powerless and perhaps even broken.

Though Failto Hope was an adventurer that had walked through countless deadly situations over the years and had seen things that would make grown men cry, he is still foremost the doting father who had his only precious son at an advanced age. To Failto Hope, his boy, Cannot Hope, is a marvellous treasure that was bestowed on him and anyone who attempts to harm his child cannot be forgiven!

There is no doubt that he is immensely proud of his son, giving Cannot Hope every bit of love from his heart, and nurturing his boy carefully. No one could match his boy's importance in his heart, not even his wife nor his grandchildren. Most certainly not Jim, the youngest of Cannot Hope's children, and born of an unmarried woman.

In a way, Forever Hope's blind love has shaped his son into this self-serving individual. A man who neglected both Lyla and Jim without remorse.

The Grand Patriarch of the Hope house knows how proud his son is, and how confident he is of his entrepreneur skills. He believed that his son losing to a thirteen-year-old would crush him, and it is something that he never wishes to see. Therefore, killing Kairos is the best solution.

Though the boy has become a Red Robe, he does not have a single guard with him. Therefore, assassinating a B ranker like this boy, and then escaping before anyone could recognise him, is an easy task.

Even if doing so, Cannot Hope's ruined business empire would not be bailed out, but with time and his son's talents, it would surely recover.

Failto Hope waited patiently and when it felt like forever had passed, the land wyrm finally entered a place that is well hidden from view.

"Good! This place will work."

Without hesitation, Failto Hope sprang into action.

He removed out five black throwing knives from his robes. The shape of these hidden weapons is thin and long, making them more similar to stakes than actual blades. Then he threw them at Kairos, with a speed that should have broken the sound barrier easily and caused a loud sonic boom. However, instead the flying daggers were completely silent, and the air around it was not disturbed as it sailed quickly across.

These flying daggers are the Hope family's heirloom, which could act as though there was no air resistance. Also, the relics have a powerful time controlling effect, to return to its owner's hands by reverting to a location it was at, a short while ago.

These knives were found within a ruin by Failto Hope when he was much younger, but after so many years he is still unable to identify what tier of weapons they are.

Not only did these relics provide unique control over time and wind, Failto Hope knows that he had not unlocked all of its functions because of his insufficient cultivation.

Those five daggers precisely cut off Kairos' escape paths while aiming for him at the same time.

"Left, right, back, front and bottom," Kairos noticed immediately. There is an opening if he leaps upwards or if he strikes down the weapons.

"He wants me to jump, but going upwards is definitely a trap. And he did not think I can cut down the daggers at the speed they are flying."

He analysed the attacks with a glance.

The attack is already far beyond any B rankers ability to handle, and nearly impossible to respond to if not because of his Soul Perception.

Jim who also had detected this attack did not choose to react. Instead, he flopped onto his back without a care.

Then, Kairos jumped right into the trap.

Failto Hope thought privately, "Hah. Foolish boy. It's impressive to notice my attack so quickly, but jumping upwards shows that you are still too wet behind the ears," then he lifted his finger.

Along with his gesture, the five daggers changed directions and swooped upwards, homing towards Kairos because of his dagger art: Scattering Petals.

Within a moment, Kairos raised his arm with a black sealing stone in his hand, but Failto Hope had expected this.

At this same time, the Grand Patriarch took out another seven flying daggers. The entire set of flying dagger relics which he found came in a dozen, but wary of Kairos' sealing stone that could disrupt his technique he did not use all of them at one go.

In a split second, the seven new throwing knives fly accurately towards Kairos who is still in mid-air while the first five fell because of the sealing stone he shattered.

Then, an unbelievable scene unfolded before his eyes.

Those daggers that struck Kairos without erring bounced off his skin one after another, without leaving even a mark.

Not many things could break Kairos' Eternal Empyrean technique.

The Grand Patriarch frowned, not expecting his attacks to fail so miserably. With the fearsome power of his relics travelling far quicker than the speed of sound, it should have killed any B rankers instantly.

He thought to himself honestly, if someone had attacked him like this, even he as a Double S ranker would be fatally wounded.

"As I thought... This boy must not be allowed to live. He is already this powerful at thirteen, if he grows up, he will spell the end of the Hope family!"

But even before he could follow up with another attack, his target suddenly disappeared.

Kairos close the distance in a heartbeat with his Lightning Flicker Body, and he materialised beside the Grand Patriarch like magic.

With open arms, he reached towards Jim's grandfather, then held onto the man with a deathly grip.

The Grand Patriarch was caught so easily that as an SS ranker, he felt an unearthly rage sparked from his shame. Especially being locked in a hold by one who is much younger and far lower cultivation than himself.

He tore at Kairos' arms and at point blank range he unleashed a great amount of hidden weapons, but the boy did not budge an inch.

Furious beyond reason, Failto Hope started chanting softly under his breath and space itself appears to crumble with every word whispered.

"A noble art?!"

By his summoning, a dagger glowingly faintly in red materialised from Ki before his eyes. Then, the Grand Patriarch sent it flying with a thought towards Kairos' throat.

Everything happened in a flash, and with the distance between them almost close to nothing, it was unavoidable.

A trail of red line traced behind the blade as it raced towards taking Kairos' life.

The Grand Patriarch looked on with a smile, as he enjoyed the last moments of his opponent. This boy was a far too troublesome an opponent than he had ever expected, but unfortunately, he is also much too young and naïve.

"Using a grappling art? Laughable!"

Most experienced fighters would know that grappling and wrestling maneuverers are considered taboos, because of how quickly hidden weapons could be summoned by Time-Space containers.

The scarlet glow of the dagger and its trail behind was created by his technique powerfully ripping apart space itself. Such firepower is why the Grand Patriarch is so assured of his victory.

Refining it repeatedly, day after day, for more than five hundred years, Failto Hope had forged his Noble Art to the limits of its destructiveness. In the process, the technique no longer has any flair, nor confounding effects but it was left with a terrifying force which could cut apart his foes.

Between them, time suddenly seems to slow to a halt.

But the next moment, Failto Hope found his face slammed forcefully against the ground.

What happened did not register in his mind. He turned his eyes towards the boy for an explanation and found Kairos wholly uninjured by his attack.

"I..impossible!" He breathed. For five hundred years, his Noble Art found nothing that could resist his blade. Yet, standing above him right now, his ultimate offensive attack failed to cut through the strange sparkling golden runes which danced across Kairos' skin.

Failto Hope, once again, tried pushing himself off the ground, but is immediately forced back down.

A shuffle of grass and feet came from behind, but he couldn't turn his head.

"Kairos," Jim said out of his sight, "are you hurt?"

Helplessly subdued, when Forever heard his grandson's voice, his heart had risen in hopes that the kid would persuade his friend to let him go, on account of being one's family.

Instead, his grandson only reserved concern for his friend, and his eyes darkened indignantly.

"This ungrateful child... he should have demanded my freedom. All the years of food and resources we spent on him, wasted!"