Chapter 144 -Clash of Fates
High atop his secluded mountain peak, Rivan Alhuwalia decided the prelude was over. A slow, deliberate smile touched his lips. Then, he let go. The immense aura he had so carefully concealed until now erupted from him, not as a violent explosion, but as a palpable, crushing wave of intent. It rolled down the mountainside, a silent, invisible tsunami of power that flattened the very air in its path.
Miles away, in the main hall of the Ashveil headquarters, Tom Lee was pacing restlessly. The delay in the teleporter's activation was gnawing at him. Yuseong was hunched over the control console, his fingers flying across the interface, a deep frown etched on his face.
"Boss," Yuseong called out, his voice tight with frustration. "I don't know who did it, but someone has completely locked the coordinates. We can't teleport. It's like the destination has been erased from the map."
Before Tom could respond, he froze mid-stride. A pressure settled over him, so immense and focused it felt like the sky itself was pressing down on his shoulders. He glanced sharply at Yuseong, who continued working, completely unaffected. Tom understood instantly. This pressure, this deliberate release of aura, was a message. It was a challenge sent on a specific frequency, a calling card meant only for those who had reached the realm of Saints. It was an unambiguous declaration: I am here. I have come for a death battle. Come and face me.
Without a word, Tom moved. He swiftly guided a confused Yuseong into a secure, sound-proofed chamber, sealing the door behind him. "Stay here. No matter what you hear, do not come out," he commanded, his voice leaving no room for argument. Then, he turned and began to walk, his steps carrying him unerringly towards the origin point of that overwhelming pressure.
He found the source at the highest peak overlooking the headquarters. There, standing serenely against the backdrop of the sky, was a man in a pristine white suit. Tom's eyes narrowed, his entire body coiling like a spring.
"Identify yourself," Tom's voice cut through the thin mountain air, cold and sharp. "And state your purpose. Why do you seek this battle? What is your motive?"
The man in white gave a graceful, almost theatrical gesture. He tipped his hat slightly and performed a gentle, old-fashioned bow. When he spoke, his voice was deceptively calm. "My motive is simple. I want this organization."
A smug, disbelieving smirk twisted Tom's lips. "You want my organization? Is it a piece of cake? You think you can just ask for it?"
But the moment the sarcastic retort left his mouth, Tom's reality warped. He didn't feel himself move; the world simply shifted around him. In the blink of an eye, he found himself suspended high in the air, dozens of meters away, facing the opposite direction from Rivan. His eyes widened in shock, his mind struggling to process what had just happened. He hadn't been pushed; he had been repositioned.
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Below, in the labyrinthine tunnels of the Dark Veil Order's base, Moon and Kai had been roaming for what felt like an eternity. The corridors were eerily silent and deserted. Not a single assassin crossed their path, a fact that was more unsettling than reassuring.
After a long period of fruitless searching, Kai suddenly stopped. He placed a hand on the cold stone floor and leaned down, pressing his ear against the ground. Thanks to his advanced senses, he could hear it—a faint, rhythmic, rumbling sound from the depths below.
He looked up at Moon, his expression analytical. "There's someone sleeping down there."
Moon sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "So? Let them sleep. What do we care?"
Kai stood up, brushing the dust from his knees. "I'm saying, maybe the person sleeping down there is an assassin. We could... persuade him to give us directions. Save us time wandering in this maze."
Moon considered this for a moment, then gave a noncommittal shrug. "Hmm. Fine. Get us down there."
Kai nodded, took a single step back, and then drove his fist into the ground with the force of a meteor strike. The stone floor shattered instantly, a massive crater exploding outwards. With a deafening roar, the entire section of the tunnel gave way, and the two brothers plummeted into the darkness below.
Kai landed gracefully in a low crouch, his descent controlled. Moon, however, crashed down amidst a shower of rubble and broken wall fragments, landing in an undignified heap. He scrambled to his feet immediately, his face flushed with embarrassment as he brushed dust and debris from his clothes.
"Damn it," he muttered, glaring at the hole in the ceiling far above. "I didn't think it was that deep! It must be a thousand meters!"
As he tried to salvage his dignity, his eyes scanned their new surroundings. It was a vast, cavernous chamber, seemingly empty. Then, his gaze traveled upward and stopped. There, high on a raised dais, was a crude throne. And slumped on that throne, still fast asleep despite the cataclysmic entrance, was a figure in a green sweatshirt.
Neither brother noticed the subtle shift in the sleeping man. One of his eyes cracked open, a sliver of sharp awareness in the gloom. He observed them silently, his face still hidden in shadow. Slowly, deliberately, he brought a hand to his face and removed a pair of glasses, folding them with precise movements.
A voice, laced with lazy amusement, echoed through the chamber. "Well, well, well... The Worm of the Bloodline and The Black Sheep himself. Came all this way just to greet me?"
The moment the titles left his mouth, Moon and Kai understood. Their stances shifted immediately, battle-ready. This was no low-level assassin. This man was connected to the Alhuwalia clan.
The man stood up and stepped forward, emerging from the shadows of the throne into the dim light of the cavern. As his features became clear, a jolt of stunned recognition hit both brothers. Their jaws went slack, and a single word, born of sheer disbelief, escaped their lips in unison.
"Monkey?!"
The moment the name "Monkey" echoed in the chamber, the man in the green sweatshirt—Neel—jumped as if he'd been electrocuted. All pretense of coolness vanished, replaced by sheer, unadulterated panic.
"Will you two shut up!" he shrieked, his voice cracking. "You've ruined my entire aura! All my cool, intimidating vibes, gone! Just gone! No, no, no! This is a disaster! I'm going to make a re-entrance. This time, you will use my real, proper, and very impressive name, is that understood?!"
Before the stunned brothers could respond, Kai cut through the hysteria with his signature icy calm. "Neel. 'Monkey.' We don't have time for your ridiculous games right now. This is not the place for them."
Moon, meanwhile, had completely lost his composure, doubling over with laughter. The sheer absurdity of finding their childhood friend, Neel—nicknamed "Monkey" for his scrawny build and hyperactive nature—posing as some mysterious mastermind in the heart of an enemy base was too much to process. In the Alhuwalia clan, Neel had been their constant companion, a fellow trainee whose skills in hand-to-hand combat were, surprisingly, considered to be on par with Moon's own.
As Moon's laughter subsided into choked giggles, Kai's expression grew even more serious. He took a step forward, his gaze piercing. "So, did you build this organization? Are you the one behind the Dark Veil Order?"
A flicker of hope ignited within Kai. If Neel was the mastermind, then the terrifying, large-scale manipulation he had feared might just be a coincidence. Perhaps this was all just one of Neel's elaborate, if misguided, schemes. But that fragile hope was instantly shattered by Neel's next words.
"No? Why would I do something like that?" Neel replied, looking genuinely baffled by the question. "That sounds like way too much work. I just came here to help my sister, Shami."
"Shami?!" Moon and Kai exclaimed in unison, their voices overlapping.
Shami was Neel's younger sister, and during their childhood, she had been a part of their small group. Hearing her name changed the entire equation for Kai. The odds were shifting. It was no longer a simple binary. There was now a fifty-fifty chance—either this was another layer of an elaborate coincidence, or Shami's involvement was a key part of the manipulation that had drawn them all here.
Suddenly, Neel cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "SHAMI! THEY'RE HERE!"
As if summoned, a figure emerged from a shadowy archway. It was a woman clad in form-fitting black armor. She was of average height, roughly the same 5'8" as Neel—a fact that had often been a source of teasing for him in a world where physical stature was frequently equated with power. Her dark brown hair was tousled and fell freely around her shoulders, framing an oval face with sharp, intelligent features and piercing dark eyes that seemed to absorb the light around them.
A slow, knowing smile spread across Shami's lips as her gaze swept over Moon and Kai. "Long time no see, boys," she said, her voice a smooth, almost purring contrast to her brother's frantic energy. "Did you miss your sister?"
Kai's response was immediate and devoid of any warmth. His eyes hardened. "I am not an Alhuwalia anymore. Do not link me with you." As he spoke, the air beside him shimmered, and his sword, Luminis Aquae, materialized in his hand with a soft, lethal whisper. Without another word, he shot forward, a blur of motion aimed directly at Shami with blinding speed.
Seeing Kai move, Neel instantly bounded over to Moon, a familiar, mischievous grin back on his face. He reached up and clapped a hand on Moon's much taller shoulder. "Damn, you became so tall, Moon! When did that happen?"
Moon brusquely shoved Neel's hand away, a scowl on his face. "And you're still a dwarf. Some things never change."
"Hey, don't go personal!" Neel retorted, but his grin didn't fade. Instead, he took a swift step back, and a length of dimly glowing green chain materialized in his hand, whipping through the air with a crack. "Fight me!" he challenged, his tone shifting from playful to fiercely competitive.
In an instant, the chamber was charged with violent intent. The reunion was over. The battles had begun.
To be continued...
The battles to come:
Kai vs. Shami
Moon vs. Monkey (Neel)
Tom vs. Rivan