"It would be better if you didn't concern yourself with those things," Asher replied as he stared at Sam Allister.
Sam looked at the ceiling with a helpless expression on his face.
Whatever path he chose now, his future seemed bleak.
"Okay, I will join you," Sam replied after a few seconds.
It was a tough decision for him.
But the glimmer of hope that he could save his mother made him cling to Asher, knowing that it might not be the right choice.
"What do I need to do?" Sam asked.
"You don't need to do anything, just follow my orders. When I tell you to step out, you will," Asher replied.
Sam nodded, giving up on the idea of resisting Asher's proposal.
He was still shaken from seeing Rifir, but he maintained the courage to converse with Asher.
"But what is that thing that looked like a snake?" Sam asked.
"That's my beast. You will see it more in the future, so get used to it," Asher replied.
Strangely, Asher had already accepted Rifir as his beast.
Sam had a plethora of questions about what Asher was doing.
How he had acquired this strange beast, or the fact that he was the leader of the group that had thrown the whole world into an uproar.
'Wait!' Sam suddenly thought of a wild assumption.
"Are the Grevilles behind all this?" Sam asked, looking at Asher,
It was much easier for him to believe that it was the entire Greville family moving the organization named Zephyr.
"No," Asher replied.
"And nobody except the members shall know about us," Asher warned Sam.
"Ah, alright, I was just asking," Sam replied with nervous hand movements.
Below the Mzelm Flying Island, Alyssa got into the car that Emmy had arranged for her.
Emmy made sure that nobody saw Alyssa leave so that they couldn't track her.
"Team Leader, did you see the news?" A voice came from Emmy's communication device.
"I heard about it, increase the security around the Manor," Emmy said as she closed the communication device.
"Haah, I'm rather glad that something like this happened," Emmy muttered, looking at Mzelm Island.
After all, explaining Alyssa's identity could have put Asher in a tough spot.
And due to the chaos that had ensued, everyone had forgotten about Alyssa.
Emmy just shook her head, her eyes sharpening as she spread her mana to see if anyone was nearby.
She opened the car door and took the driver's seat, as she couldn't allow anyone else to drive Alyssa back to the Mansion.
Asher's orders were clear and Emmy was determined to ensure that Alyssa reached the mansion as quickly as possible.
Alyssa's eyes were cold, as she remembered Asher's final words.
'But did he join Zephyr?' Alyssa was confused as she still didn't know that Asher was the masked man.
At the Mansion in Soran,
"You guys did a good job escaping there," Tom said, looking at Dane and Kai who were sitting on the floor.
"In the next two minutes, a total of 16 S Rank hunters arrived there," Tom said as Dane and Kai smiled.
They had done it.
The mission that was nearly impossible, where they had almost been killed multiple times.
"Who would believe that we were the ones who unleashed those calamities?" Dane smiled, but his body ached.
They hadn't stopped for proper rest in the past two months.
"But you did a good job planting that bomb at the Gala," Dane looked at Kai.
"It wasn't that difficult; this artifact bypasses all spatial restrictions," Kai said, looking at the necklace-type artifact in his hands.
Tom stepped back and took a few vials of drugs that Asher had told them to give Dane and Kai.
"Take this, it will help your body recover its previous state," Tom said.
"Ah, finally, it hurts a lot like this," Dane looked at his arm, full of black veins.
These were symptoms of mana poisoning, caused by the mana their bodies had absorbed during their mission.
"But I wanted to catch a glimpse of the monsters we awakened," Dane said. Kai looked at him with a shocked expression.
"Do you want to die?" Kai asked.
"Alright, take your medicines, and rest," Tom said, but their next mission was already in the works.
He wanted them to rest a bit though, as even he felt that they deserved a proper break.
"So lucky they get to rest," Tom said as he looked at the screen. He could see numerous people trying to trace him, with alerts flashing left and right.
"I should have known this would happen," Tom said with a somewhat frustrated look on his face.
Even though he had hidden and erased all the traces, there were still people trying to locate them, but Tom easily redirected and misled most of them.
"They should worry about those monsters first," Tom said.
After all, neither Tom, nor Dane and Kai, knew what kind of monsters they had awakened.
The method they used was so peculiar that Tom was puzzled as to how Asher knew all about it.
At the Gala,
Nathan took the SSS Rank Mana Gem, and he headed towards the Mansion where he had told Arthur to gather with everyone else.
Alfred and Helena were with him, discussing something of importance.
"It will take some time until I return," Nathan said, looking at Alfred.
"Are you confident?" Alfred asked.
"Haha, do you think I'll lose to a mere monster?" Nathan asked, not directly responding to Alfred's question.
But he was confident, even more so than others.
After Farnus and Silvus, Nathan was the only one among the SSS Rank Hunters who was powerful enough to face an SSS Rank Monster alone.
"But I have one request," Nathan said as they walked towards the Mansion.
They could have arrived in an instant, but they decided to walk towards the Mansion.
Right now, the portal to various continents was being prepared, and Nathan had nine minutes before he would leave with the other SSS Rank Hunters.
"Protect those twins. I might return sooner than expected, but I'm not feeling good about this situation," Nathan said.
"So you also think that someone is backing them?" Alfred asked.
"I heard they're still investigating the body that was left in the Operation Tower," Alfred replied.
"I will have the Shadows assist your people in Soran," Helena responded.
They soon arrived at the Mansion and saw a young boy awkwardly greeting Arthur and Sylvie.
"Ah, I greet the Seat Holder, I am Sam Allister," Sam introduced himself, feeling a bit strange.
A moment ago, he was talking with Asher, the masked man who caused the uproar, but now he needed to meet all these people. It was a bit strange for him.
"Why is he here?" Damian asked, but Amelia shook her head.
"I just came to meet Asher, and I'll be leaving," Sam said as he went outside.
"Who is he?" Livia asked Amelia.
"Ah, he's a friend from the World Academy," Amelia replied.
"Arthur, I'll leave the Greyhounds behind," Nathan said as he went inside and saw everyone in the lobby.
David and Verina were also there, but Nathan didn't mind their presence as they were close friends.
"Send a few teams from the Guild to Fashia, but don't overdo it," Nathan said, and Arthur nodded in response.
Livia found Nathan's serious tone unusual. The change in demeanor from his typical jovial attitude indicated the gravity of the current situation.
Nathan caught sight of the twins' expressions and moved toward them, crouching to meet their gaze.
"Grandpa will be away for a bit, but I'll come back to teach you more later, okay?" Nathan said, looking at Livia and Lucas.
"Okay," Livia replied, hugging Nathan and nodding.
"And young man, don't slack off," Nathan added, ruffling Lucas's hair.
Suddenly, everyone's attention turned to Asher as he descended from the staircase. His piercing crimson eyes locked onto Nathan.
'So he got the Mana Gem this time,' Asher observed, sensing the remnants of a powerful mana gem's aura around Nathan.
Everyone had forgotten about Asher and his partner amidst the recent events. Yet, seeing him again, the questions re-emerged. However, now was not the time, as everyone implicitly understood, and they refrained from asking Asher anything at the moment.
"I'll be heading back. I'll see you guys later," Nathan said, glancing at Amelia and Asher.
"Arthur, join me for a moment," Nathan requested. Arthur nodded and followed him outside.
"I would have loved to chat with you all, but we need to depart as well," Helena said, turning to Sylvie and the rest of the children.
"It's okay, Mom," Sylvie responded with a smile.
"I need to leave too," Asher announced, directing his gaze at Sylvie.
"What?" Sylvie questioned.
He had only just arrived, and she had many questions she wanted to ask him.
"The Gala won't continue, right? I'll go back and train," Asher answered, shifting his attention to Lucas.
"Do you want to join me?" He asked.
"Ah, yes!" Lucas immediately replied with an enthusiastic look on his face.
"I want to go too," Livia chimed in, raising her hand.
"Then I'll accompany her," Amelia decided, joining the group.
Sylvie studied the expressions on all the children's faces.
"Alright, I'll ask Sir Hassan to escort you back," she conceded, shaking her head slightly.
With the Gala now in disarray, it was better for the children to return to the Greville Estate. It was a much safer environment for them.
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