Under the Veil of Night

A bitter fight awaited Ryan and the Old Man. As they were familiar with each other's style, they could easily block the other party's attack with ease.

"Your hand is as hard before," Ryan commented when the Old Man blocked his attack using his hand.

"You should know that I have higher physical strength compared with normal people."

"I know."

Separating themselves, they moved back a few steps. It took a split second for them to launch themselves towards one another once more, attacking the other party heavily. Rain of blows reached either side as they were able to guess the direction and the plan of one another swiftly.

Neither side wanted this fight, but they had to fight.

"Old Man, you're still only using your fist blindly."

"You too, only swinging your bat like a fool," the Old Man retorted.

Bam!

His hand had turned blue from the repeated block the Old Man had to do. His brow creased. He knew that his hand would feel numb and not long after that, lost all power in his hand. The previous Ryan didn't have much power, so he knew that this old friend of his had consumed the drug to enhance his power.

To be precise, medicine that awakened his real potential.

"Why are you this desperate for power, Ryan? No matter how strong you are, you can't bring the dead back!"

"I know," Ryan replied curtly. He swung his metal bat and banged straight towards the Old Man's head, which the other party blocked.

"Then why?"

Why?

Ryan also had thought about this for a long time. He loved the Ryukalin Clan and everyone inside the clan, but he couldn't accept the chance that took place there. Everything was different without their leader. He didn't like it.

He didn't want things to continue that way.

"Ryan!" The Old Man yelled as he twisted his body and punched forward again. Even though he was asking for an answer, his body still moved according to his will because they were fighting. Yet deep down his eyes, there were traces of pain that couldn't be covered.

"Old Man," Ryan used his metal bat to push the Old Man's punch as he shook his head.

"ANSWER ME, RYAN!"

"I can't," Ryan murmured.

"Why? For Heaven sake, just answer me and tell me why you choose to pick that side?" the Old Man practically yelled with all his might. He couldn't accept his lifelong friend, whom he had regarded as his own brother, would suddenly change sides like this.

He didn't want to just accept it.

"You will never understand," Ryan murmured. He switched his stance and went for another barrage of attack.

Bang!

"Is this your answer?" The Old Man wiped the blood on the corner of his lips. "You want my life?"

Ryan closed his eyes for a moment. Killing the Old Man had never crossed his mind, but he knew that it would end to that point. Both of them were equally strong and in the end, only one of them would be able to stay alive.

"Yes."

"Heh," the Old Man snickered. There was a trace of mockery in his aged face. "If that's what you want, then I'll give it to you, Old Pal."

Bang!

Fist and the metal bat clashed with one another. The two of them continued to attack at high speed and large power. Soon, they would reach their limit and at that time, the fight would end.

…

Kevin was barely able to run straight. He tried his best to make sure that he didn't sway as they headed to the rocky areas. As they ran, rain began to fall from little rain to a heavy downpour.

Kanae's gaze was filled with worry as she gazed at Kevin's back. Even under this heavy downpour, he still moved forward without restrain to reach the designated place. It pained her to see him in this state, but she didn't bring anything that could possibly help him.

She is not an expert in poison, so she wouldn't be able to help him.

"Boss, are you alright?" Mike yelled from behind them.

Kevin didn't answer as he continued to climb the rocky areas towards the cliff. The entrance to the forest was not far from the cliff, so his only chance would be reaching that place as fast as possible. Inside the forest, there were lots of machinations that his ancestor had placed.

Mike and Neo finally reached Kevin's side. Neo's condition was a complete mess as he was not used to running so fast. On the way here, he tumbled a few times, dirtying his clothes with dirt and making numerous scratches all over his body.

"The cliff is within sight, you can do it, Neo," Mike gave his encouragement.

"I… know…"

Kevin frowned when he noticed his friend's condition. "If you can't catch up, you should rest there."

"Boss, don't joke around," Mike smiled. "You're wounded, so the priority should be on you, right?"

Rather than wounded, it would be more correct to say that he was poisoned, but Kevin didn't try to correct Mike's words. The cliff was not far, but each step was proven to be difficult.

"Boss, you're…poisoned?" Neo frowned.

"Yes."

"We have to find the antidote quickly!"

"There's no need," Kevin replied. "My body will work on making the antidote by itself with time."

"We don't have the time." Mike frowned. "They can arrive here anytime soon."

"Boss, you can just enter the forest directly," Neo pointed to the forest. He had finally caught up his breath and sorted out his words. His gaze was looking at the rest with worry. "We won't be able to reach the top."

"You won't be able to evade the traps if you step just a millimeter wrong," Kevin shook his head. If he was not poisoned, he would not mind walking into the forest directly. But unfortunately, he had to use the path that they had designed or he might accidentally activate them himself.

"But Boss…"

Bang!

The next moment, they heard commotion from behind them. Their expression sank considerably. Under the heavy downpour, it was not easy for them to move around, much less fight. After all, the only two who could fight were Mike and Kanae. The others were unable to exert their full ability.

"They're here!"

"We're too late!" Mike's expression turned solemn. "Prepare to fight!"