The Deceitful One



"Celine! Celine!" Ron looked at the gaping hole in her chest, his eyes filled with disbelief and pain. He was fighting the old tramp earlier and was sure that he had stabbed him. But it was all an illusion!

He didn't know what to do. He was utterly shocked at how things had turned out. As he looked at Celine's chest wound that wasn't even healing, he began to panic. "C-Celine… talk to me…. Everything will be fine…. I'm right here with you."

Regeneration was one of the most defining abilities of a Blood Path Transcendent. However, like all spells, innate abilities also required the usage of spiritual force, albeit very minimal. But, after Celine's mind deteriorated over the past few weeks, her command over spiritual force did too.

Hence, now she was no different from a mortal. She was a Rank 1 Transcendent in name only. In the Dreamworld, Bryan feasted on her brain for weeks. Therefore, in the Waking World, her brain had lost most of its functions.

Forget casting spells, she wasn't even able to use her innate abilities. Thus, she would not be able to recover from the stab to her heart that she had just sustained. Hence, Ron was completely flabbergasted that she wasn't able to regenerate.

Tears streamed down his eyes and his heart was filled with rage, guilt, and helplessness. He was tricked into killing the woman that he loved and cherished the most in his life.

Since his childhood, he was made to secretly infiltrate the Silver Owls and complete the mission given to him by Sean. Even if he did form some bonds there, he never really took them seriously because he knew this was all a part of his mission.

However, in the lonely life that he lived as a spy inside the Silver Owls, he met Celine who brought a ray of light and hope and filled him with happiness. To Ron, no one could ever mean so much other than Celine, not even Sean.

So, now when he realized that he had done what he had to Celine, he completely broke down. He hugged her tightly and wailed in agony. He took out a couple of vials of healing potions from his pocket and fed them to her. However, it proved to be useless.

Unless it was a potion made from ingredients filled with high spirituality, it would not be able to heal her heart that had been punctured viciously.

"No, no, no, Celine! Please…." He cried loudly as he saw the light in her eyes slowly dim. He didn't know what to do. And he knew that it would be too late for him to get outside help. After all, the stab to her heart was deadly.

On the verge of forever losing consciousness, Celine looked into Ron's eyes and muttered with great struggle, "Ron… did you… ever… love me?"

In that battle earlier, she was in a daze for much of the duration, however, she was brought back to her senses when she was stabbed in the heart. When she saw that it was her beloved that had stabbed her, she felt the utmost bitterness.

Over the past few weeks, she had been going through constant torture in her nightmares. And on many occasions, the demon that had been subjecting her to torture had disclosed to her that he was Ron.

She would never have believed a word, but when she saw the demon's face turn to that of Ron, she didn't know what to believe anymore. The man whom she loved with all her heart was in fact the one who had been exacting such pain onto her.

And now… she had even died at the hands of the man whom she had given her heart to. At the same time, along with resentment, she also felt a hint of relief. At least, she would not have to go through that cruel torture again.

She wouldn't have to fear sleeping anymore. For now, she could enter eternal slumber. But her heart was filled with regret. She was heartbroken that Ron would do such a thing to her.

He meant everything to her but in the end, she felt like she was just used by him just like how he had used and betrayed the people in Silver Owls.

Ron's heart ached when he heard Celine's words. He could see the hatred in her eyes directed at him. He sincerely replied, "Celine, I love you! Always have and always will!" Tears streamed down his eyes as he continued, "But I was tricked…. You must believe me."

Celine's lips curled up into a bitter smile, "Lies…. Even now… you continue… to… lie."

She mustered up the last remaining strength in her body and gritted her teeth. "I… gave you… my… everything.

"I… loved you… so… much…

"But… everything was… a lie."

Her eyes narrowed, displaying immense revulsion as she replied, "I wish… I had… never met… you.

"I… hate you… Ron….

"I hate… you…." The light in her eyes gradually dimmed as she forever embraced the cold touch of death. However, the hatred and resentment in her eyes never faded, serving as a constant reminder to the one who killed her.

"Celine…." Ron's eyes widened when he realized that she had now died. "NOOO!!!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. "Celine! Celine! Wake up!!"

The things she had said before she died, pierced Ron's heart. To hear his loved one say such things when in fact both of them had been played by someone else, sent him crying out loud.

Ron cried till his voice went hoarse and continued to cry even after that. He hugged Celine tightly in his embrace and sobbed incessantly as he continued to mumble, "My love…. My love…."

The only person he had ever opened to and loved with all his heart, now lay dead in his embrace. What was even worse was the fact that he was the one to kill her. Although he had been tricked by the old tramp earlier, in the end, it had been his hand that stabbed Celine.

He would never be able to forgive himself. And the things that Celine had just said to her further intensified his guilt. To be said such harsh and cruel words by the love of his life truly sent him over the edge.

Ron stayed in the kneeling position and cried silently as he hugged Celine's cold body, his whole life crumbling apart. Meanwhile, across the street from his apartment building, Bryan, who was still in the disguise of the old tramp, looked in the direction of Ron and Celine's apartment and smiled faintly.

Soon, his smile turned into a wide and evil grin as he muttered under his breath, "Now, what will you do, Ron? How long will you drown in your misery?"

He then got up to his feet and walked in the direction of his mansion in Calm Springs. It had been almost three weeks since he had been living here on the streets as a beggar. He couldn't wait to go back home and have a delicious meal.

Benny followed Bryan and then agilely climbed and sat atop his shoulders. He licked his paw as he mentally transmitted a message. 'You will permanently go blind if you keep using those eyes.'

He then looked at Bryan and solemnly added, 'I will not let you use that ability anymore. Not until you advance.'

Bryan nodded, "I understand, Benny. I won't use it until I advance to Rank 2. And hopefully, I can gather all the ingredients within the next week."

The duo soon vanished amidst the crowd on the sidewalk.

…

Within an hour, they had already reached Calm Springs. Bryan had now already changed into a clean three-piece suit, and his face, it was of Anthony Wayne, of course.

Bryan stood in front of the large entrance gates to his mansion and pressed the doorbell. Within a few moments, the metallic gates opened and Donald stepped out with a bright smile. "Welcome back, Master Tony."

He then looked at Benny who was sitting atop Bryan's shoulders and added, "And you too, little Benny."

Bryan walked inside with a smile and replied, "Nice to be back. How was everything in my absence?"

Donald followed after him and respectfully replied, "All the household chores were completely taken care of by me and the rest of the people in the house. Over the past few weeks, some of the neighbors had sent invitations to you for small get-togethers."

Bryan waved his hand nonchalantly. "Ah, you can just ignore them. I barely have time for all those useless things. Anything else?"

"Yes, master," Donald nodded, "Miss Claudia Wilson had come here twice looking for you. Since you weren't here, she has also left an invitation for you to visit her at her house."

Bryan raised his eyebrows. "Oh? She was looking for me as well?"

Donald nodded. "That's right, master."

"Very well, I'll meet her when I have the time. What about Grace?" Bryan asked.

Donald smiled as he replied, "Yes, she came here a lot of times. She was quite grumpy about the fact that you did not notify her before living."

Bryan couldn't help but chuckle. "Haha, indeed. Next time I should let her know."

The duo, along with Benny, entered the mansion and straight away headed to the dining room to have a scrumptious meal. It had been a long while for both Bryan and Benny since they had anything good to eat. Hence, they enjoyed their dinner with great relish.

After the meal, Bryan called Donald over to his study. When there were only the two of them inside the study room, Bryan instructed, "Donald, I want you to look for another butler for the house."