The information given to him about the black-marked summoner was still fresh in his head. Leo's mind buzzed with the details, replaying them over and over as he walked through the crowded marketplace, his senses on alert for any sign of his target.

Earlier, during the early hours of the night, Lucian and Leo had arrived at the FSG base that was still under reconstruction. The once-proud fortress of the Federal Summoners Guild now resembled a half-eaten cake, with entire sections missing and construction crews moving around the destroyed section, reconstructing it.

The sound of hammering filled the air. To think that this was the work of just one summoner was still hard to believe.

Upon reaching the base, they went in and discussed a few things that would help Leo detect if Ryder appeared around him. The meeting room they occupied was one of the few undamaged areas, though a large crack ran along one wall like a lightning bolt frozen in time.

"Firstly, he is most likely to be in a cloak," Lucian said, pacing back and forth, his boots clicking against the pristine white floor with military precision. "Ever since he got on the FSG blacklist, he has been hiding and moving at the same time."

Leo lounged in his chair, one leg crossed over the other, watching Lucian with a stupid smile.

"Let me break it down. He has been hiding his face using a cloak and has been moving, with a goal I have yet to discover."

"We had our proof at the Ludlow incident, where the surviving victims claimed to have not seen his face due to the cloak."

"A man in a cloak," Leo spoke with wide-open eyes, his voice dripping with amusement. "How wonderfully specific. I'll just round up every mysterious figure in a dramatic outfit, shall I? Don't you think we should check the local theater as a starter?"

Lucian shot him an annoyed glare, clearly not appreciating Leo's humor. "This isn't a joke. We had our proof at the Ludlow incident, where the surviving victims claimed to have not seen his face due to the cloak."

Lots of people won't recognize him, but I will, as well as some of my squad partners who brought him to the FSG base some days earlier.

Huh? Leo raised an eyebrow. Was he an ally of yours?

"Not really. We wouldn't call him an ally exactly." Lucian placed his hand on his jaw as he spoke, a gesture Leo recognized as a tell that the FSG captain was choosing his words carefully. "I believe you have noticed that this base is under reconstruction."

It was due to him. He destroyed it.

Leo nodded slowly, reassessing the destruction with his blue-silver eyes. The damage was extensive, and if one person had caused all this... well, perhaps the generous payment made more sense now. "I heard that once on the news, so it was true after all."

Yes, it was. Lucian continued. He destroyed this base three days ago after he overloaded the power level measurement machine.

The machine in question was standard FSG protocol, capable of measuring the strength of multiple red-marked summoners at once.

It was designed to handle even the strongest of summoners, with safety measures upon safety measures. For it to overload could only mean he did it on purpose.

Maybe after appealing and facing the appropriate punishment, we might have spared him, but he didn't do so. Instead of clearing his name, he introduced more trouble to himself—he literally destroyed half of Ludlow.

There's no more saying in this. That man is pure danger and must be exterminated. He is a devil that must be exorcised.

I was caught in the explosion after he overloaded the measuring machine, but I've healed completely, all thanks to my familiar.

"Bla bla," Leo pulled a face, rolling his eyes dramatically. "You summoners have nothing better to do other than praise your familiar over and over again at every little chance you find. What brought him to the base anyway if he wasn't an ally?"

"I just told you, damnit!"

Oh. Lucian smiled faintly as he concluded. "He contracted his beast just four days ago."

Leo stared at him, waiting for more, but Lucian seemed to think that explained everything. After a moment of awkward silence, Leo waved his hand impatiently. "And? Am I supposed to be impressed by that? People contract beasts all the time. It's what you summoner types do."

He contracted his beast four days ago and has caused so many disasters. Imagine giving him another four days, or even four weeks—what would he do? Lucian responded. He must be taken down, and fast.

Leo stared into Ryder's eyes, seeing more than just what ordinary eyes could.

'Yes, that is right,' he thought. 'There is still a lot of friction in his soul. He clearly hasn't summoned his familiar too many times, maybe not even once.'

And his aura is different... and overwhelming, Leo observed. It is beginning to make sense why he was able to overload and destroy such a huge portion of the FSG base by simply testing his power level on a machine.

This thick red aura is very capable of disaster.

Lucian placed his hand on Leo's shoulder and began, "If you find him before we do, please do not attack. Report back to the FSG immediately."

"We managed to get the Red-Eastern Guild involved in this, along with their leader who seemed to be very interested in him."

"If we see him before you, we would surely do just that."

"Together, we can take him down."

Leo simply scoffed. Lucian seemed to be having trouble registering what he said earlier—he works alone.

"Take off your cloak. I want to see your face... Ryder."

The name hung in the air like a death sentence. Ryder's muscles tensed instantly, adrenaline flooding his system. With a powerful push, he leaped backward, creating distance between himself and the silver-eyed stranger.

His feet landed with a soft thud on the warehouse floor, his body automatically shifting into a fighting stance—knees bent, hands up, ready.

"How did you know my name!" Ryder demanded, his voice sharp and enraged.

Around them, the crowd of gangsters and criminals began to disperse, backing away slowly. They moved away, creating a wide circle around the impending conflict.

Seeing Ryder, Leo chuckled in amusement.

"You shouldn't panic now. I haven't made any move on you yet," Leo spoke casually as he began circling around Ryder.

"How did you know my name?" Ryder barked again.

Leo tilted his head slightly, playing with a strand of his hair, twirling it between his fingers as he stared at the ceiling in thought. "Oh, your question. Actually, I was requested to... end you."

The words were delivered so casually, as if he were discussing the weather rather than murder. Ryder gritted his teeth and clenched his fist, suppressing his emotions to the best of his abilities. Then suddenly, a wave of water washed over him, his anger suppressed.

"Huh?" Ryder was puzzled momentarily, but soon, he snapped out of it. He snapped back to the situation at hand but still couldn't stop a thought invading his mind.

How am I able to suddenly erase my emotions, both willingly and unwillingly?!

Ryder glared at Leo. "You were told to kill me, and you happily inclined?!"

"No, no, it's not like that," Leo retorted, waving his hand dismissively. His face rearranged into an expression of innocence. "The payment is quite handsome."

"I won't let anyone order me around just for free."

Ryder bit his lip, with one more question. "And who ordered you to kill me?"

Leo crossed his arms, jutting out his bottom lip in an exaggerated pout that appeared ridiculous on a grown man like him—especially one discussing murder so casually. "Is that really necessary? You can know my name if you want, because I will be the one ending you."

"I'm Leo, your last opponent."

"I never asked for your name," Ryder snapped, frustration building. "Tell me who ordered you to kill me!"

The rage in his voice echoed through the now-silent warehouse. The warehouse wasn't just silent, it was empty, as everyone exited the building and stared at the two mysterious duo through the window.

"It's the FSG, isn't it?" Ryder concluded in a low tone.

"So you knew all along," Leo retorted with an elevated eyebrow.

"No, not really," Ryder smiled weakly. "I just played my best guess."

"Well, you guessed right," Leo acknowledged, rocking back slightly on his heels like a crazy fellow. "I was given the order by your best friend, Lucian. You know him, right?"

The name hit Ryder like a physical blow—it was a name he had been wary of for a while.

The memory flashed through his mind—Lucian's calm expression as he explained the power measurement procedure, his reassuring nod when Ryder had expressed concerns.

"I won't actually call it an order. I'll call it business," Leo spoke, his eyes wide. Then he added, "Can we refer to it as business from here on, please?"

Ryder's attention momentarily shifted to the side, where Brok stood. Among everyone that was previously in the warehouse, only Brok was still present inside. Quite brave, eh?

In a swift motion, Ryder tossed the chest of prize money toward his friend.

"Keep it safe for me, please."

Brok caught the chest, the weight of it making him stagger before he managed to hold his ground, but still, his back was hunched.

Turning back to face Leo, Ryder narrowed his eyes, completely focused.

"Oh, I guess this is a signal for the end of our little chat," Leo remarked, cracking his knuckles with a grin. The sound echoed in the near-empty warehouse.

"Come at me." Leo spread open his arms at Ryder like he was introducing him into a warm embrace.

Bwoom

Instead of charging forward as Leo clearly expected, Ryder made a tactical decision. With a powerful burst of strength, he leaped backward again, increasing the distance between them while maintaining unwavering eye contact.

"Distancing yourself won't save you from me, I hope you know that."

Leo had shown incredible speed. If he distanced himself from Ryder, maybe... just maybe, he would have enough time to read Leo's extreme quickness, right?

Wrong!

Ryder's eyes shot open like lightning as a realization ran through his mind. The voice came from directly behind me.

He instantaneously spun around sharply, only to find Leo's face mere inches from his own, those silver-blue eyes on his.

Time seemed to freeze as Ryder processed what had happened. Leo had been many yards away, and now, without any visible movement, he was directly behind him.

No rush of air, no sound of footsteps, nothing to indicate motion—just suddenly there, as if he'd always been.

Pure instinct took over. Ryder swung his fist, clenched with all his might, aiming straight for Leo's face.

Swoosh

He felt his hand slice through the air, colliding with nothing but the air. Despite the fact that he possessed the strength and speed of Luxy—a demon familiar—he still missed the attack by a far margin.

"What the hell..." Ryder muttered, disbelief in his voice.

Quickly jumping backwards, Ryder tried to distance himself from Leo again, but mid-air, he subconsciously blinked. Just within the microsecond his eyes were closed, Leo literally vanished.

A shadow of a looming figure right above Ryder cascaded over his face as the dim remaining light reflected on him. Leo was not in front of him anymore, but right above him in the air, with his fist stretched behind his back and a wide, malicious grin across his face.

"Say Ta-da!!" Leo called out, his voice full of glee, almost childlike in its excitement.

Boooooom!!!!!

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