Chapter 76: Jean

Chapter 76: 76: Jean

Before Anah’s blade could reach the lady, she immediately raised her own blade up, parrying the strike with a violent shower of sparks. She swung her second sword with the ruthless intention to cut Anah’s neck, but Anah immediately vanished into thin air.

Reappearing high up in the air behind her, Anah thrust her glowing sword downward like a meteor. However, the lady, still standing on the ground, suddenly raised her leg with impossible flexibility, kicking the flat of the sword aside. Using the momentum, she flew up into the air to kick Anah with her other leg, but Anah expertly caught her ankle. Spinning rapidly, Anah rolled her several times mid-air before throwing her down, sending her crashing heavily onto the concrete and making her roll violently across the floor.

Anah immediately rushed forward, her body glowing fiercely blue with a deadly, crackling aura surrounding her. She lunged forward to finish the lady off, but to her absolute surprise, while the lady was still laid out in front of her on the floor, another identical figure materialized right behind Anah.

The clone launched her sword forward, targeting Anah’s neck. But Anah easily avoided it, pivoting sharply, and the two immediately engaged, clashing their swords together in a mesmerizing, high-speed blur of deadly strikes.

Nova was watching the explosive scene with a highly entertained smile on her lips. The glowing sword she was holding vanished into thin air, and she casually folded her arms across her chest, watching the intense fight with zero intention of separating them.

"Two girls fighting over me, my charm is really unmatched," Nova commented. She twirled a strand of her hair playfully, continuing to watch them as if she were just enjoying an action movie.

The fight between Anah and the lady became increasingly tense, the shockwaves of their clashing steel ripping through the cold night air. The battle lasted a while longer until a sudden, overwhelming magnetic force violently separated them, pushing them to opposite sides of the road.

Anah stared at the dark figure, her foggy face making it impossible to see her expression. "You have to shift your mission forward. She hasn’t completed the one with me," she said.

"Why did you wake me then?" the lady replied, her child-like voice filled with heavy irritation. She turned her head sharply toward Nova. "Forget it, I will come back again," she murmured. Suddenly, her physical form dissolved into a blinding bolt of light, shooting straight at Nova at an impossible speed and entering directly into Nova’s forehead.

Nova’s brows knitted tightly, and she stared at Anah with deep confusion on her face. "Guess you have already figured out what’s going on here. Who is she?" she asked.

"Call her Jean. You just need to know that she’s a system, too. You will know more about her when you have completed all the missions," Anah replied, her voice dull and exhausted.

Nova smirked and didn’t ask any more questions. "Show me the location of Michael. It’s time to deal with him," she said, her dark, bloodthirsty smile widening.

A translucent blue holographic screen appeared right in front of Nova, pinpointing the exact coordinates of Michael.

"Underground cafe," Nova murmured, her smile turning vicious. "Let’s go," she whispered, and vanished seamlessly along with Anah.

.... Underground Cafe ....

The dingy cafe was lit by flickering neon lights, and the rowdy sounds of men drinking and cursing could be heard from outside. Nova materialized silently in front of the heavy steel entrance. Suddenly, the massive door was forced open brutally by an unseen, explosive force, ripping the hinges right off the wall and stunning everyone inside into absolute silence.

There were a total of seven hardened men inside. The air in the room instantly thickened into a suffocating, terrifying tension. Their gazes were now fixed on Nova, horror expressions painting their faces as her dark aura flooded the underground room.

"Hello! I’m here for Michael," Nova commented, smiling harmlessly as she stepped inside the smoky room.

Everyone’s eyes immediately darted to the scar-faced man sitting in the corner, who was staring at Nova with a deeply wary, panicked expression on his face.

"Very well! You hid the beauty quite well, Michael!" one of the thugs commented teasingly, completely oblivious to the danger he just addressed as beauty.

"Fuck you! I don’t know her!" Michael replied in a hoarse, deep voice, his instincts screaming at him to run. "Who are you?" he asked, staring at Nova.

Nova chuckled, the sound sending icy shivers down their spines. "I’m Alan’s wife," she replied. Her blue eyes glowed softly, and the atmosphere instantly turned so heavy and suffocating that it was hard to breathe.

Everyone stood on their feet immediately, their hands dropping to their weapons, staring at Nova with their guards raised instantly.

"Why are you here?" one of them asked coldly. "How did you get here?" he added.

Nova rolled her eyes, profoundly bored by their questions. "Answering is pointless since you won’t live long enough to do anything with the information," Nova replied.

In the blink of an eye, she vanished from the doorway and suddenly appeared directly behind Michael.

"Rest in peace," she whispered directly into his ear.

With a brutal, sickening crunch, she twisted his head, killing him with a single, flawless move. Michael’s body went completely stiff, his neck twisted grotesquely backward as his dead eyes stared at Nova as if she were his worst nightmare. His body collapsed heavily onto the floor, dropping dead instantly.

"How dare you hurt him! You are dead!" someone shouted, and the remaining six men roared, rushing at Nova from all sides.

"A few more lives to follow him isn’t bad either," Nova murmured. Her dark, demonic smile widened.

She moved like a phantom. With a flurry of breathtaking, ruthless, and blindingly fast strikes, she tore through the men. Bones snapped and bodies dropped before any of them could even land a single punch. Within seconds, she killed them all.

The strong smell of fresh blood rapidly filled the entire enclosed space. Nova cast one last disgusted look at their mangled bodies scattered across the floor, then vanished into thin air without leaving a single trace.

Not long after Nova left, Logan walked down the alley. Seeing the heavy steel door broken off its hinges, he panicked and rushed inside, only to find the lifeless bodies of everyone in the crew. The floor was painted red, not a single one of them was left with a breath of life.

"Who... who did this?" His voice was filled with raw terror. Trembling violently, he brought out his phone and dialed a number immediately. It didn’t take long before the call connected.

"Why are you calling at this time of night? What’s the matter?" Trison’s voice echoed over the phone, heavy with authority.

"Big... big boss, Michael... Michael and the others are all dead," he said in a low, stuttering voice, his eyes darting around the bloody room.

"What!" Trison’s loud voice echoed over the phone, filled with genuine shock. "Who did it!" he questioned.

"I... I don’t know. I just got to the cafe and found them all dead. Boss, is Cassian already aware that you are still alive?" he asked in panic.

"Impossible, I have covered my trail very well. Until I throw the sudden attack at him, he won’t know anything," Trison replied, his voice darkening. "Leave that place immediately," he ordered.

"Yes," Logan replied, and he immediately fled into the night without waiting a second longer in that slaughterhouse.

..... The New Mansion .....

Nova entered the quiet, peaceful bedroom and changed out of her bloody gown, wrapping herself tightly in a clean towel. Seeing Cassian, Raymond, and Alan still sleeping soundly, completely untouched by the violence of her night, she entered the luxurious bathroom to take a relaxing bath and wash the heavy scent of blood off her skin.

The next day.

The delicious aroma of warm food woke Nova. She slowly opened her eyes and turned her head to the left, seeing a tray of fresh, mouth-watering food set perfectly on the nightstand table.

"Snow!" Alan’s cheerful, bright voice echoed beside Nova, and he leaned in, pressing a gentle, loving kiss on her lips. "Good morning," he said, giggling happily.