"You should have taken District Thirteen rather than those other three Districts, Asmond. If the Lucifer Tower is ours, we would be able to progress much much faster than ever," Rufus said as he walked right next to Asmond and on their way out of the tower. "I'm grateful that Mykel allowed us to go on this tower, but I'm not going to thank him since he really pisses me off from what he announced back then. Fucking arrogant bastard," Rufus ranted and he looked so pissed.
Asmond didn't say anything, but he didn't like what he heard, especially since Rufus started to be lousy with his mouth. He was too exhausted since he was focused on himself gaining level and skill level.
"I'm not trying to take a side here, but can you say those things right in front of his face? If you think you're good or better, then you should say it in front of him. I'm tired of listening to your useless rants," Roxanne said as she gave a stern look at Rufus from behind.
"Then ignore it," Rufus said without looking back.
Roxanne was about to punch Rufus' head, but Glen and Arum stopped her by holding her upper arm. Asmond only glanced at Roxanne and understood her frustration.
"You need to stop doing that," Asmond said as he looked at him from the corner of his eye. "I'll not hesitate to replace you," Asmond continued and he was serious about it.
Everyone looked at Asmond who suddenly felt cold and looked cold. They were surprised, but not Roxanne since she was the first one who saw the changes. She believed it was because of Mykel, and she didn't hate it because it was the right thing to do.
Rufus looked at Asmond and furrowed his eyebrows, and he looked like he wanted to say something back, but he held back.
The moment they got out of the tower, Awakeners who were chilling outside the tower immediately approached Asmond.
"Mister Asmond! You have to go back to District Two right now! The demonic cult destroyed the city!" One of them said.
"What?! District Two is destroyed?!" Glen asked as he grabbed the guy's shoulder and looked at him in disbelief.
"Yes, it was a week ago," The guy pulled out his phone and showed them the video to them, but Asmond didn't bother to look and hurriedly left. He was furious and clenched his fists that crushed the gauntlets he wore.
Four hours flight and Asmond hadn't said anything while Rufus and the others were watching the news. So many videos of Mykel's team fighting the demons got uploaded on the internet. They were amazed and terrified by how powerful they were, and it was no wonder that they could clear the fiftieth floors so easily.
Roxanne walked next to Asmond since she believed she understood him more than anyone.
"Are you going to meet with the director?" Roxanne asked.
"Obviously," Asmond answered simply.
"You need to remember that his health is declining because of his heart disease, and please try to stay cool-headed," Roxanne said as she looked at the destroyed city from the airport.
"I can't promise you that," Asmond replied as he walked hurriedly.
"Let me accompany you," Roxanne said.
Asmond arrived at the headquarters, and the building was unscathed while the buildings in front of it were burnt down. They all looked at the people trying to save their belongings, and it hurt Asmond because the city hadn't yet been recovered, but it was already destroyed again.
Thankfully the government had prepared the fund to rebuild the city. Everybody knew that the Fraternity Association didn't have the money or the government from District 2 up to 5. They knew it was the Guild Association who prepared the fund even though the Guild Association didn't say anything about it.
Asmond walked into the building and saw everyone busily walking around. He then looked at Janice who was standing near the receptionist, so he approached her to ask if Gustav was in his office.
"Sir, here's the report," Janice said as she gave a document to Asmond while they were in the elevator.
Asmond opened the document and saw the casualties during the battle against the demonic cult. He was speechless when they almost lost half a thousand Awakeners in just a single night. More than three hundred were heavily injured.
Roxanne looked at Asmond taking a deep breath, and she immediately put her hand on his right shoulder. He then exhaled deeply as he massaged his eyebrows. Janice was scared by Asmond's reaction and just stood there without saying anything.
Asmond entered Gustav's office with Roxanne, and they saw Gustav standing in front of the glass wall. Watching the people on the street, and he looked devastated and depressed.
"It's your fault," Asmond said as stared at Gustav with a sharp gaze. "First you ignored my suggestion, and then you sent those Awakeners to die for nothing. What do you want? Hmm? You said that we are not a public official, service, or whatever you called it. Now look at this, are you happy now, director?" Asmond clenched his fists as he gritted his teeth.
"I really want to see you beg on your knees for forgiveness from those people because you're the one who trivialized this matter. This time, I don't want to apologize for something that isn't my fault. You'll be taking the full blame on this," Asmond said.
"Tell their families that lost their father, mother, sister, brother, son, or daughter. Tell them you sent them to die while you were in your warm bed watching in the distance," Asmond threw the document on the ground, and then left.
Roxanne didn't say anything and just wanted to be there for Asmond, and hoped that he would share his feelings with her.
"I'm fine, you don't have to look at me like that," Asmond said as he walked to his office in another floor.
Asmond sat down at his desk and immediately rested his head on his arms on the desk. Her assistant informed him about the problems that appeared after the incident.
People had lost their trust in the Fraternity Association and the government. They left with nothing and moved to other Districts, any District where the Guild Association was. Thousands of Awakeners decided to leave and became independent since they felt it was the best decision.
It could be said that District 2, 3, 4, and 5 were done for, and they wouldn't be able to recover from it, economically. The worst part was that Asmond and his team didn't think they would be able to clear the last three towers in time.
"Also, because of Miss Lily's interview after she was rescued and said she didn't want to set her foot in any District with high crime rates, everyone is blaming us now," Asmond's assistant said.
"I can't blame her," Asmond said as he kept hiding his face under his arms. "What else?" Asmond asked.
Roxanne looked at Asmond and wondered if there was something that could help him cheer up. She wasn't close enough to be that friendly to him, and she had been focusing on becoming strong so she didn't bother much about deepening her relationship with anyone on the team. It wasn't just her, but most of them on the team were the same.
"Mister Mykel Alester wanted to visit, and he said that he wanted to meet you once you're back, Sir," Asmond's assistant replied.
Asmond lifted his head, and his expression brightened the moment he heard Mykel's name.
"You should have told me that first. Bring me my suit, I'll be going to District One to meet him!" Asmond stood up and hurriedly removed his gauntlets, navy blue cape, pauldron, and armor.
"He's the one who wants to visit though, I think let him come here. You can prepare something for him before he arrived," Roxanne said as she looked at him from the couch.
"Actually, Sir. Mister Mykel is here in District Two. He's currently investigating the remnants of clues about the demonic cult. If I notify him now, he would be here in short," Asmond's assistant said.
"Is that so? Then please tell him that I'm back and in my office," Asmond said with a brightened face.
Asmond's assistant nodded and then left the office leaving Roxanne alone with him.
"I never thought you could be so easily cheered up by Mykel, Asmond," Roxanne said as she crossed her legs and rested her chin on her left palm.
"Because he's my friend. He was harsh, cruel, cold, and even didn't hesitate to say that I'm wrong and at fault. He's someone that you need in life so you can become a better person," Asmond answered. "He's the only person that I can rely on," Asmond continued and showed a bit of a smile.
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