Flint felt his stomach burn as he drank the bodyguard's blood. A moment later, he changed exactly like the bodyguard. Even their clothes were the same.
His power made his camouflage targets disappear so Flint had nothing to worry about. However, his disguise time only lasted for two hours. He would return to himself and had to wait five hours before he could use his power again.
Camouflage duration was different when Flint disguised himself as an animal or object. His power could last for five hours and did not have a 'cooldown' like when he camouflaged as a human. He could use his power without having to wait five hours.
However, camouflaging into an animal or object was risky. If he died or was damaged then he would lose his life and could no longer turn into a human. That was why he targeted a bodyguard.
When the enemy knew his camouflage and attack him, Flint still had a chance to fight back or escape. He could not do that if he was an inanimate object.
Also, camouflaging into a beast did not mean he had powers like them. Flint just turned into them, not taking their bodies and abilities. He even took months to adapt when he turned into a lizard.
"Now my name is Berto Portinari," Flint spoke, looking at the name on the ID card badge holder.
He chose Berto when he witnessed Geovanni beating Maido after the meeting ended. None of the bodyguards showed any emotion, except for Berto. The bodyguard winced when he saw Maido being beaten.
Berto appeared to be sympathetic to such actions. That meant he was a new bodyguard when compared to the others. He also had no relationship with Maido, showing that he was new to Geovanni's security team.
"Well, let's get close to Maido and avoid interacting with many bodyguards."
Flint came out of the bathroom after mentally preparing himself. Even though he had transformed into Berto, from his appearance to his voice, he was still nervous because there were many powerful people in the hotel.
He was certain he would die if someone suspected him and reported him. Flint had no chance of defeating the IRO council. He would have been defeated in no time.
As a result, he avoided interacting with many people. That could reduce their suspicions since he did not know Berto's relationship with other people.
"Do you feel better?" A man waved at Flint. He appeared to be Berto's coworker because their uniforms were similar.
Flint gave a faint smile. He recalled Berto going to the bathroom after Geovanni had finished torturing Maido. The bodyguard seemed to have gone there to clear his mind.
"I'm feeling better now," Flint replied, glancing at the ID card of the bodyguard who had greeted him earlier. Turned out his name was Harald.
"Well, you must be upset about what happened earlier," Harald sighed. "I heard that Miss Lynette treats her people well. She even sent you to look after Maido."
Flint learned from those words that Berto was the new bodyguard that Lynette had sent for Maido. He did not know what had happened to Maido to get the attention of the head of the International Guild Council.
Nonetheless, Flint had a good reason to approach Maido because Berto was Lynette's person. He was now stationed outside Maido's room, which was two rooms away from Geovanni. If the old man was not around, then he could take Maido away.
"Is Maido all right?" Flint inquired, pretending to be concerned.
Harald took a deep breath. He then replied in a low voice, "I'm saying this because Sir Geovanni isn't around. When he tortures Maido, he forbids anyone from helping or healing him. He wants Maido to give up and not repeat his mistakes."
"Ah, I see. Can I help him with his wound?"
"If you want to die, you should do it. The last time a bodyguard did that, Sir Geovanni beat him to the punch."
Flint smirked as he asked, "Would Sir Geovanni dare to do the same to me?"
Harald fell silent upon hearing that question. For a brief moment, he forgot Berto was Lynette's bodyguard.
"If you're not afraid, go ahead and try it. I won't help you when Sir Geovanni finds out about this," Harald finally said something after much deliberation. He then knocked on the door and called Maido's name.
Inside the room, Maido was reading emails sent by an evil organization when he heard someone call his name. He was forced to leave his laptop to check who dared to disturb him.
Despite his irritation, he was afraid Geovanni had ordered someone to call him. As a result, Maido rushed to open the door without hesitation.
"Did Sir Geovanni call for me?" asked Maido, looking at Harald and Flint. He frowned when he saw an unfamiliar face. Inwardly, he wondered who the new bodyguard was.
Flint noticed the change in Maido's expression and smiled as he stretched out his hand. "I'm Berto Portinari, the bodyguard Miss Lynette sent to look after you."
"Miss Lynette? She didn't say anything to me," Maido took Flint's hand, even though he did not understand the situation yet.
"You will know after talking to me."
"Did Harald call me because you wanted to speak with me?"
"Exactly. Miss Lynette has something to tell you. However, I must discuss it in private. I'm afraid you won't have any other spare time because you must be extremely busy."
Instead of responding, Maido cast a glance at Harald. He let Flint into his room after his bodyguard nodded.
Flint walked behind Maido, staring at the man's body. He was pondering whether he could defeat Maido in a single strike. It appeared to be difficult since Maido's body was bigger than his.
However, Flint was not pessimistic about the final result. He grinned when he saw a chair in front of him. It was an effective weapon because the gun would draw the attention of many people. He carefully lifted the chair.
Maido paused his walk to invite Flint to sit. "Would you like something to dri—"
BUGH!
Flint moved faster and hit Maido's head before the man could turn to face him. He wasted no time in striking Maido again when his target collapsed on the floor.
Outside the room, Harald heard screams and loud sounds that aroused suspicion. To find out what was going on, he knocked on the door. However, he received no response from Maido.
"Shit. What happened inside?" Harald inquired as he turned the doorknob. Unfortunately, Maido had locked it from the inside.
The other bodyguards stationed nearby exchanged glances. At first, they were perplexed because the bodyguard accompanying Maido was someone Lynette had sent.
They believed Berto was not a bad person because Lynette was still sane enough not to conflict with Maido, who was still a member of the Dungeons and Gates Security Council.
As a result, they decided to break down the door. All the bodyguards examined Maido's room but found no one there.
The odd thing they found was a chair lying on the floor. Because there were blood stains on the chair, it appeared that the person hit Maido with it.
"Inform everyone that Maido has been kidnapped," Harald said after regaining consciousness.
He believed someone had pretended to be Berto and kidnapped Maido. That person took Maido away using a teleportation item because Harald did not get any reports from the bodyguards guarding outside the room.
In an instant, news of Maido's kidnapping reached everyone in the hotel. They immediately came out of their room when they heard the news. Their faces were filled with surprise.
Tyrone was attacked by a mysterious man. And now someone disguised himself as a bodyguard to kidnap Maido. What did those people want that they dared to find trouble with IRO?
On the other hand, Flint managed to teleport to the organization's headquarters while carrying the unconscious Maido. Everyone in the headquarters looked surprised by his arrival. They did not expect he would return with no wound.
"I was ready to come to your funeral but it turns out you're still alive," Chester said as he walked over to Flint, who was still camouflaging into Berto. He then continued, "You can use your power. That means our leader did something to Tyrone."
The people at headquarters also had the same thoughts as Chester. They were surprised that Flint could come back as someone else. Before sending him there, Elena had warned Flint to use a teleportation item if the hotel was protected by the Power Barrier.
They had not received any news from Radmilo. For this reason, Elena warned Flint to leave immediately for fear that Radmilo failed to handle Tyrone. It turned out that there was nothing to worry about because their new leader was stronger than they had imagined.
"Let's keep him safe while waiting for our leader to arrive," Muramasa said, breaking the silence in the room.
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