?
In the weeks that followed, Ron was constantly on the run. Even though he had a high-level artifact that could hinder divination and effectively hide his whereabouts, he was still caught a handful of times.
The reason for this was, there were too many Holy Blood Sect members in Nadir, and they were proactively looking for him inside the city. And the other reason was, that he hadn't left the city at all.
That would have been the smartest move for him. However, he knew that Bryan was still inside Nadir, and that was the reason that he hadn't left. To the current Ron, nothing mattered more than avenging his beloved, Celine.
Over the past few weeks, he always managed to escape from his pursuers. Sometimes he would manage to kill them with ease, other times something strange would happen to them and they would end up letting him escape.
However, Ron was not at all happy about this. He had a feeling that it was Bryan who was helping him behind the scenes. On many occasions, when he would go to sleep, he would have dreams about Celine.
No, perhaps it would be more accurate to call them nightmares. In some nightmares, he would see Celine falling in love with another man and having children, and starting a family. In others, he would see her show the utmost hatred and animosity toward him.
But the worst of them was a constant recurring nightmare about Celine being raped in front of him. In that nightmare, he would be tied in chains, and in front of him, Celine would be raped by numerous men.
No matter, how much he tried to save her, he would be unable to. This was the most vicious nightmare that he ever had.
Just like how Celine had spent her final days, afraid of sleeping. Ron was also the same now. He was afraid that if he went to sleep, he would have to see her beloved get raped over and over again. And the lack of sleep was becoming disadvantageous for him who was on the run.
On this day, black clouds covered the skies above Nadir. It appeared that there would be heavy rainfall soon. From time to time, lightning streaked across the dark sky, reminding the citizens of what was to come.
In the affluent neighborhood of Calm Springs, right across from the house of Abigail and Amy Watson, a man wearing a ragged hood was standing, intently staring at the house. Beneath the hood, two shining red orbs could be seen.
This man was none other than Ron. His appearance was haggard, dark and heavy bags could be seen under his eyes. And beneath his clothes, his whole body was riddled with battle wounds.
Typically, a Blood Path Transcendent could regenerate from the wounds they sustained. The fact that so many wounds still remained on Ron's body, spoke volumes about the battles he had on the run over the past few weeks.
However, escaping wasn't the only thing he had done in the past weeks. He had also found out the residence of Detective Watson, more precisely, his family. He deduced that, instead of looking for the tramp, he would have the tramp look for him!
And he was confident that the identity of the old tramp was none other than Bryan. And the only way to have Bryan come to him would be to take Detective Watson's family hostage. He was sure that Bryan wouldn't sit by and watch this happen.
On the off chance that his speculations were wrong and the old tramp wasn't Bryan, he would kill the Detective's family anyway. However, he was sure that the tramp was Bryan and no one else.
He took a few deep breaths and then his eyes narrowed. The next moment, he dashed toward the entrance of Watson Manor. He knew that Detective Watson's wife, Abigail, was a Transcendent. His plan was to take her by surprise and then immediately take Amy hostage, making everything easier for him.
Just as he was about to barge through the door, a shadowy figure jumped down right in front of him. Taken aback, he tried to attack this figure instead, however, this shadowy figure was simply too fast.
The figure stretched out its silver metallic claw and viciously grabbed Ron's face. His jaw nearly cracked from the strength. The figure then jumped into the air, away from Watson Manor.
The next moment, a small portal magically appeared in mid-air and the figure jumped inside of it along with Ron who was still struggling to escape.
Not even a minute had passed and the front door of Watson Manor opened, and a little girl holding a black stick came out. She had long blonde hair parted into two ponytails on the sides, and blue eyes that shone like the brightest of sapphires.
She curiously looked around and after not being able to find anyone, she looked at the small black stick in her hand and yelled in annoyance, "Stupid stick! Look, there's no one here."
The black stick vibrated a few times, and then the little girl narrowed her eyes and dubiously asked, "Are you sure you're not lying to me? This is the second time already."
The next moment, a beautiful middle-aged lady walked out of the door. She looked at the dark clouds hovering in the air and then at the little girl and asked, "Amy, what are you doing outside? It's about to rain any moment now. Come back inside."
Amy displayed a wronged expression. She held out the black stick with both hands and complained, "Mom, this stupid stick made me come out."
Seeing her innocent daughter call a God-Level artifact a 'stupid stick', Abigail's eyebrows couldn't help but twitch. But since she knew, that it was an artifact with sentience, what it said must be true.
She crouched down and asked her daughter with a gentle smile, "What did the stick say?"
"It said that a friend was nearby," Amy replied as she tilted her head. "And this is the second time that it's done this."
The next moment, she looked at the stick in anger and screamed, "Raaahhh, stupid stick, I will bite you." And then, she started biting the stick. She was trying to look menacing, but instead, she looked extremely adorable.
Abigail's eyes narrowed as she thought, 'For the artifact to acknowledge someone as a friend…. Who could it be?'
She was suddenly interrupted by a clap of booming thunder and lightning that streaked across the sky. Abigail got up to her feet and patted Amy on the head. "Come dear, let's get back in."
Amy entered the house while still biting on the stick, trying to snap it in two. Meanwhile, Abigail looked around the house one more time, and then finally shut the front door.
...
On the outskirts of Nadir, a portal opened above a cemetery. A figure wearing a black suit and trench coat jumped out of the portal, and in his hand—which had transformed into a demonic silver claw—was another figure wearing a tattered robe.
The figure in the black suit raised his hand and viciously threw Ron on the ground. The latter was thrown with such strength that he collided with multiple tombstones on the ground until he finally stopped. A long trench was formed along the way.
Ron got up to his feet and dusted the soil and debris off and looked at the figure standing in front of him. It wasn't the old tramp that he was expecting, but instead a middle-aged man with brown hair. He also had a neatly trimmed mustache and goatee.
"I thought I'll play with you a little longer. But alas, you have my full attention after the stunt you just tried to pull," said Anthony Wayne.
Ron narrowed his eyes and spat through gritted teeth, "Bryan, I know it's you."
Anthony remained silent as he stared deeply at Ron. The latter continued, "I know the old tramp was you. I know you're the one who killed Celine. And you were also the one to kill Alfredo. I know everything. Enough with the disguises, show me your fucking face!!"
Seeing Ron speak so passionately, Anthony sighed. He removed his black, round, sunglasses and put them inside his pant pocket—in truth, he had just put it inside his pocket watch.
The next moment, small silver tendrils began to sprout from Anthony's face. They twisted and squirmed, and a few moments later, his entire face had completely changed to one that he hadn't worn in a long time.
Bryan looked at Ron's surprised face and his lips curled up into a mischievous smile. "You're right about everything, except I didn't kill Celine. It was you."
Veins became visible on the side of Ron's forehead. He clenched his fists in anger and tried his best to control himself. A few moments later, after having taken a few deep breaths, he looked at Bryan with sheer hatred and replied, "So, you're alive…."
Seeing that his attempt at riling Ron up failed, Bryan decided to be even more vicious. "Did you like the way Celine was raped by so many men in your dreams? I'm sure you must have loved the way she was pounded, no?"
Ron's eyes became bloodshot. Overcome by fury, his hands turned into blood claws as he dashed toward Bryan. "MOTHERFUCKER!! I'LL KILL YOU!!"
Within a split second, he appeared in front of Bryan as he brought down both his claws right on top of his head. However, at the last moment, a thick silver tendril protruded from Bryan's back and swatted Ron away like he was nothing but a mere fly.
Ron flew for tens of meters before finally landing on the ground. He clutched at his ribs that seem to have been fractured and stared at the tendril behind Bryan. He was overcome by a sense of otherworldly terror as he muttered, "W-What have you become!?"
Bryan grinned from ear to ear. "Your worst nightmare."
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