Under the Veil of Night

Running with all his strength, Taro could sense that his speed started to slow down. Activities that required stamina was never his forte. Even though they haven't run for a long time, his breath has already turned rough.

Not far from him, James was also running as fast as possible. With Taro holding his hand, he was forced to run at the same speed as this man. For a young kid who rarely exercised, it was extremely hard.

Right now, they couldn't think about anything else as their survival mattered the most. After the three people entered Ryukalin Clan Headquarters, they quickly ran out of the place. Kevin had shown the route to get out of the place in case of danger, so they could get out easily.

"James… hold…on!" Taro whispered in between his breaths.

James looked at Taro with determined eyes. However, he was very clear of his body's condition. There was no way he could run for a long time anymore.

Bang!

Something was shot the tree near Taro's head at high speed. The sudden sound of the gunshot caused adrenaline to rush out like crazy, making him pushed himself harder. He didn't want to die yet, so he forced himself to run.

Tears started to pour out of the corner of his eyes. He was scared, very scared. Every moment might spell his death. It was terrifying.

The shooting continued, sending numerous items to their direction. If it was not rock, it would be twigs or even fruits. Any kind of items were thrown in their direction at an inconvincible speed.

During this time, Taro didn't dare to look back, or stopped his movement. Even though James was already at the end of his breath, he couldn't give his nephew any time to rest.

"Just….a…bit…more."

James silently nodded his head. He had just recovered his strength after a lot of rest, which made him far weaker than normal child. Right now, he was relying on nothing but willpower to push him forward.

Shua! Slash!

Taro sensed the pursuer reached his side. He raised his and to block and received a deadly wound as the result. His hand hurt so much as he couldn't sense anything else.

The force from the attack sent him tumbled to the back. His movement caused him to crash into James, sending both of them falling to the ground.

Standing not far from them was Pen. His eyes were lifeless, as if he was not a human. He raised his hand, which pushed a rock to move towards Taro. The speed of the rock didn't lose out of a bullet.

'Is this the end?'

Taro closed his eyes in fear. He braced himself for the pain that would soon reach him.

Clang!

The rock never reached him. A big man was standing in front of him, blocking the rock with a sword. The distance between him and the sword was very close, just a bit more and he would have been hit.

Pen eyed the man emotionlessly.

Master Rudy smirked. "So you're the one who came here, Pen."

Without greeting back, Pen raised his hand. The tree behind him was pulled out of its place and charged towards Master Rudy at inconvincible speed. Master Rudy readied his blade. When the tree reached the blade, it was split into two.

"You're still as silent as ever, Pen," Master Rudy flashed a smile. He turned his head at Taro. "Are you two alright?"

Taro was startled. He didn't recognize this person, but he knew that he was very powerful.

"Thank…. you for….. your help, we're... alright," Taro expressed his thanks.

Master Rudy waved his hand. "The fight is far from over. You should go."

Taro nodded his head. He gritted his teeth and mustered more strength to stand up. On the other hand, James no longer has any strength left. He lied still in the ground.

"Ah," Master Rudy realized what had happened as a wry smile appeared on his lips. "You don't have to go, then."

"What…?"

Before he could ask any question, Master Rudy had charged forward towards Pen. Seeing his sudden attack, Pen raised his hand, which pulled nearby rocks around him to attack at Master Rudy.

Master Rudy smiled. With a thought, he transported himself to stand near Pen and swung his sword towards the man's neck.

Clang!

A sword, flying on the air, blocked his attack. Behind him, Pen was standing motionlessly, his gloomy eyes stared back at Master Rudy.

"Interesting," Master Rudy smirked.

He initiated his power once more. Pen was startled. He was about to run away when he realized that it was too late. Master Rudy had transported the two of them away from their previous location.

Taro was staring with wide eyes when he saw the two people before him disappeared.

"Uncle Taro, where…. are they?" James asked. He couldn't sense anyone's intention around him anymore.

"They're gone," Taro replied. "Let's… go."

"Okay…"

Struggling to stand up once more, Taro glanced at the place where Master Rudy last stood with worry in his eyes. He hoped that nothing would happen to that man.

Bang!

After they were transported, Pen gathered his strength and moved another large tree to attack Master Rudy. His eyes narrowed when he saw Master Rudy blocked the tree with ease.

'I used too much stamina,' Master Rudy smirked. "You sure spare no time to launch your attack, Pen. Just like your father."

The moment Master Rudy mentioned about his father, Pen's gaze turned sharper. The previous lifeless eyes had disappeared. He moved his hand and pulled another two trees out of their root and attacked Master Rudy.

Raising his blade, Master Rudy blocked the two trees. His feet were starting to be buried on the ground because of their weight.

Swish!

He disappeared from his place and reached Pen's side. The sword that was hanging on the man's hips immediately moved to block his attack.

Master Rudy jumped back as he evaded the next attack from Pen. His gaze grew complicated as he watched the young man in front of him looking at him angrily.

"Why are you always fighting with lifeless eyes, Pen?"

Pen's gaze flickered. He raised his hand, the two trees started moving again, pressing Master Rudy further. Although Master Rudy possessed immense strength, these trees were large and Pen's fluid control caused him to be unable to defend himself too well.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Master Rudy sliced the trees into several pieces. His movement was fluid and didn't look like he had any difficulties.. He stared back at Pen. "Can't you answer me, Pen? Do you lose your voice in addition to your soul, Little Pen?"