The Deceitful One

Bryan was enclosed within the block of ice along with the God-Level artifact still firmly in his grasp. Victor stared at him for a long time, his thoughts a mystery.

He then noticed Robert walking toward the heavily injured young man that he bought with him.

"Do you know him?" he inquired.

Robert crouched down beside Andrew and gently lifted his head. He then took out a healing potion and fed it to him, "Yes, Mr. Smith. Andrew is a member of the Strike Team."

Victor nodded, "I see. Who else here amongst the dead on the battlefield belonged to your Strike Team."

After feeding Andrew the potion and making sure his wounds had begun to heal, Robert got back to his feet and looked toward the direction of Emma and Henry, and spoke softly, "Just two more…"

Victor followed Robert's gaze and saw the two headless corpses of Emma and Henry. His mood couldn't help but turn downcast. After all, he knew exactly how it felt to lose one's teammates.

He walked towards Robert and patted his shoulder, "Stay here."

Robert didn't reply. His shoulders were slouched and his expression was despondent. He couldn't stop blaming all of this on himself.

Not only had two people under him died, one of the members of his team had even betrayed everyone. Robert still couldn't believe that Ron had been a member of the Holy Blood Sect all this while.

'It's all my fault…' Robert kept repeating this in his mind.

Meanwhile, Victor had already reached the place where Emma and Henry had died. Looking at their headless and shriveled corpses, he couldn't help but grit his teeth in anger, "Damned Blood Path scums!"

He waved his hand and the next moment, both the corpses were covered by a layer of ice, just like Bryan. Victor Carried the two blocks of ice and then walked back toward Robert.

After gently placing them on the ground, he muttered, "Time to leave."

Vitor raised his head to look at the night sky. He looked around for a few moments as if searching for something and then finally raised his hand and shot an ice projectile!

The ice projectile burst into the air like a magnificent display of fireworks. A bright blue colored flower-like firework could be seen in the night sky above the cave mine. And it was visible even from far away!

Robert was puzzled as to what this expert from Nadir was doing, however, he didn't question him.

Within a few minutes, the dark clouds parted and a humongous steel dirigible dived from high up in the sky!

Robert was shocked to see such a behemoth of an aerial vehicle. This dirigible was completely different from the ones he had seen the regular public use!

The steel dirigible floated about a hundred feet above the cave mine, completely blocking the light from the moon. However, the lights embedded on the sides of the dirigible were more than enough to illuminate the entire area!

The next moment, half a dozen thick cable ropes were thrown from the sides of the dirigible. Following that, people jumped down from the flying vehicle with the help of those ropes.

A dozen men dressed in black suits landed on the ground and knelt in front of Victor, "We are at your service, Mr. Smith."

Victor nodded and then instructed, "Six of you get inside that cave mine and thoroughly search the place. Report to me your findings later."

"Yes sir!" Six random people bowed respectfully and then rushed toward the cave mine.

"The rest of you carry the injured and the dead. We're going back to Damascus." Robert pointed at the three corpses and the four injured.

He then walked towards Detective Watson's corpse which was still kneeling. He helped him gently lay down and then waved his hand and covered the corpse with a block of ice.

When Victor gazed at Detective Watson's peaceful smile, his eyes couldn't help but redden a little.

He took a deep breath and then instructed everyone, "Let's go."

…

Dreamworld.

In the depths of this fantastical world, in the underwater city of R'lyeh, was a large palace. Inside one of the halls, Benny was running around and trying to catch pink-colored jellyfish!

Surprisingly enough, even though the entire palace was underwater, this specific hall was devoid of any water!

After a few minutes of running around, Benny gave up and lay down on the floor made up of white marble. He mumbled in sadness, "It's been so long since I've seen Bryan… I wonder if he's okay…"

If it wasn't for Bryan strictly instructing him not to come to the waking world unless he called for him, he would have long since left this place and visited Bryan.

While Benny was laying down on the floor, covering his eyes with his tiny paws, he suddenly felt a presence near him. He looked up and was surprised to see a tall figure wearing dark blue robes staring back at him.

"Uncle Octopus!" Benny's eyes lit up as he got on all fours. He then jumped into the figure's embrace.

Meanwhile, this figure whom Benny referred to as Uncle Octopus, appeared to be human. He had a fair skin complexion and a bald head. His eyes were dark like the abyss.

He was also sporting a thick beard, however, the beard wasn't made of hair but dark blue tendrils! Add to that, his bald head, his face looked exactly like an octopus!

This figure gently grabbed Benny and stroked the fur on his head, "Benjamin, are you thinking of Bryan?"

Benny nodded, his yellow eyes beginning to water a little, "It has been so long… I have never been away from Bryan for such a long time. I miss him…"

The figure smiled faintly as he continued to stroke Benny's head, "Bryan has just gone through a very tough battle, he even almost died a few times. But fortune was on his side, he has managed to make it out alive."

"What!?" Benny's eyes widened in shock, "Uncle Octopus, is he okay now?"

"Yes," The figure nodded, "He is being treated as we speak. However…"

"However what?" Benny inquired anxiously. The worry in his eyes couldn't be hidden.

"He has lost someone very dear to him." The figure continued, "Bryan is now at a very low place in his life. He is heartbroken and lost. You should go and be with him. What he needs now is not medicine but the company of a loved one."

Benny hurriedly jumped from the figure's arms and landed on the floor, "I'm going to go now!"

However, before Benny could open a portal to the waking world, the figure reminded him, "Benjamin, you must bring Bryan to me later. He will need my help."

Benny was shocked, "Uncle… you mean?"

The figure nodded, "Yes. The time of our fateful encounter draws nigh."

…

Saturday, 14th May 1581.

It had been one week since that major incident where half of the Augustus neighborhood had been burned to ashes. The people were still mourning for their loved ones.

The Transcendents that had come from Nadir, along with the Transcendents of the Church of Wisdom in Damascus had come together and laid a large runic formation around the city.

And the purpose of this runic formation? To alter the memories of all the residents of the city!

After all, the Transcendents couldn't have people running around and spreading the news about a Devil, twice as big as the Damascus Clock Tower, wreaking havoc in the city.

The people's memories of the Devil had been erased altogether! Now, the general public of Damascus thought that the attack last week was the work of a terrorist organization called the Inferno Order!

However, although the people now knew that there were no supernatural events involved, the enmity between the rich and the poor widened even further.

It was because the people partially blamed the poor-working class people who had started the protests on that day!

And the terrorists from the Inferno Order had taken advantage of this protest and caused multiple bombings in the Augustus neighborhood, resulting in the deaths of thousands of people and the majority of them were the high-class people of the city!

Although the Transcendents had managed to keep the existence of the supernatural a secret, this came at a high cost. And that was public unrest!

The newspapers all over the Western Continent had named this incident that happened last week the Damascus Rebellion!

Although the truth was that it had nothing to do with the poor working-class people, all the blame and hatred had been naturally diverted to them. After all, the majority of the people that had died were the powerful and affluent.

The Church of Wisdom and the Silver Owls had much on their plates as they tried to bring the situation under control. However, it was evident that this would take a long time.

In a narrow alley behind the Church, the void tore open, and from within this tear, Benny jumped out. He first looked around to see where he had arrived.

After seeing the Church's spire in front of him, he immediately rushed in that direction. After taking a lot of twists and turns he finally entered the Church. He then immediately went underground towards the infirmary.

The people inside were shocked to see a black cat suddenly heading toward the infirmary. They were about to catch it, however, the people from the Silver Owls who identified Benny, stopped them in time.

The infirmary was full of injured people. But it didn't take long for Benny to find Bryan. For the latter was still deeply asleep, lying on a bed in the corner of the room.

Benny jumped on the bed and then began to nuzzle his head against Bryan's face. He looked at Bryan in worry as he began to lick his cheek.

A few minutes later, Bryan took a deep breath. He had finally woken up!