Mystical Journey

Before he could even sigh, the black man from Black Knife collapsed on the ground instantly without a single breath.

The people from Black Knife swore at him continuously.

Bang!

Another gunshot could be heard before he realized that two guns were being shot at the same time. Two bullets flew towards both sides of Garen where his hiding places were located, making it completely impossible for him to hide.

Bang bang!!

Another two alcohol bottles exploded behind Garen but no one was able to clearly see how he had evaded them.

"What the hell?!" The expression on the Black Knife leader's face changed slightly as if he had thought of a possible group and quickly nodded towards his accomplices on the right side.

It meant that it was time for their ruthless measures.

A dot of red light lit up immediately.

Crash!!

With Garen as the center of the entire bar, four blindingly red fireballs exploded around him suddenly.

The Black Knife leader flew towards him suddenly while raining down bullets in a frenzy with guns in both of his hands. Garen made complicated and mysterious dodging poses and movements at the same time.

The sound of large groups of manpower could be heard faintly from outside the bar, but no one could tell if they were from Primary Colors or other groups.

"Is there anything fun left?" Garen's voice echoed behind him unexpectedly.

The Black Knife leader was extremely shocked and rolled towards the front. He charged into the sea of flames directly without looking at the two guns that were still at the back of his hands. He leaped upwards instantly and lunged towards the bar's black cloth covered glass windows.

There was a crashing noise before he rolled on the street a few times before getting back up again.

However, he could suddenly feel a slight pain in his chest. He lowered his head and looked there before noticing that a bright red patch of blood had appeared on the white shirt he was wearing.

The blood stain became darker and bigger before spreading throughout the entire area quickly.

"When did this…?" He stretched his eyes open and racked his brains but could not remember when he had been shot. Acute pain and the suffocating feeling when his lungs were completely unable to breathe spread across him quickly. He staggered forward and leaned against the pillar of the streetlight while his vision began to darken quickly.

When he finally collapsed, he could faintly see Garen carrying a person while walking out of the bar. Meanwhile, the whole bar was engulfed in flames but no one else came out.

The moment Garen walked out, a large crowd of people rushed towards him from all directions. Some of them held knives while others held guns, making the scene somewhat chaotic.

While holding on to the person, he turned back to glance at the bar before his footsteps quickened suddenly, allowing him to appear at the side of the bar instantly. A black child stared at him with a blank look on his face while standing helplessly in the alley.

Garen shouldered the bloodied person and smiled at the child before walking towards the back of the bar.

The large crowd of people outside the alley seemed as if they had not seen him as well, but perhaps they were just turning a blind eye as this occurrence was unbelievably strange.

Once he passed through the alley, Baldy, whose arms were covered in blood, was waiting for him at the back with two other people and two cars.

"Boss," Baldy lowered his head and greeted him respectfully while the other two people lowered their heads as well.

"Take care of this person for a while. This guy is a representative of Vincent. I let the Primary Colors representative escape, so contact him later." Garen flung the person in his arms on the ground.

He was aware that they were people who were noticing and peeping at them from a faraway distance.

"Get in the car and leave this place."

"Boss, what about the people inside…?" Baldy gulped while glancing at the burning bar.

"Aren't they right in front of you?" answered Garen casually.

His intended meanings were obvious. Other than the old man from the Primary Colors, the only other person left was the captured Vincent representative in front of them.

Baldy was somewhat intimidated. The Black Knife mercenary group that was only slightly weaker than themselves could not even withstand a minute under Boss's hands and had all died completely. This meant that…

"Get in the car." He did not think about it anymore and picked up the person before turning around and getting into the sedan.

Both of the white sedans sped up and left the scene from the back of the bar.

On the other side, half of a black man's face could be seen appearing from the entrance of the alley slowly.

The black man's forehead was filled with beads of sweat and he could only hold his breath desperately as he was too afraid to open his mouth and pant.

"Three minutes… And twelve seconds…" he said in an anguished voice.

There were a few more representatives who had not entered the bar at all and had stayed in the alley instead.

A young woman who was dressed like an office lady had turned pale while her hands relaxed and tightened unconsciously.

"It's fortunate that we didn't go in," said a bespectacled man in a deep voice. "We should just inform our respective bosses for now."

The others nodded respectively, as none of them were willing to encounter the golden-haired young man who seemed normal but was not.

That guy was literally taking a brisk walk before he went inside to visit the bar. Moments later, bullets were sent flying and explosions occurred everywhere, but he walked out in perfect condition without any injuries or clothes in disarray.

"What about Levi?"

"The only way to decrypt the answer lies in Kenna's hands, and Levi is still tracking him down," said the young woman softly. "The situation has already exceeded our control. All of the Black Knife members have died. Nighthawks' powers have greatly exceeded our expectations, so I suggest that we inform Vincent's big boss."

"Did you manage to investigate that guy's details previously?" asked someone.

"I only eliminated the actions and whereabouts of the famous people from the surrounding countries. However, if this person appeared suddenly, we can't do anything," the young woman shook her head.

"I'm afraid that it's impossible. He's just a normal person. According to the rules, they cannot interfere with the order of the normal world as they please," said the bespectacled man in a low voice.

"Should the middle section just retreat then?" The black man wiped the sweat from his face. "We don't have to risk our own lives for an imaginary legend. Report the current situation and get our superiors to send more people over to sort this out."

When the other people exchanged glances, they could see the bitterness in his eyes.

They could report all of this to their superiors, but this would mean that everything they had contributed and all of their losses would be wasted and that a demotion would be merely be considered as a light punishment.

"I'm afraid we don't have to do that anymore…" said the office lady suddenly.

"The latest news stated that Kenna and Levi have run into a remote village. An ancient power is entrenched in that village, and the Stone Clock of Fortune seems to have attracted their interest."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. However, it will be a good idea to return. It looks like the secrets of the Stone Clock of Fortune may have finally attracted the attention of certain people."

"I've heard that since Kenna is an ancient scholar, he knows a lot of mysterious people. He may have run to that village because his friends are located there," he said with furrowed eyebrows.

"I think it will be better if we don't interfere. We'll discuss this later once the winners and losers have been decided," the young woman smiled bitterly. "The situation has become more and more complicated, while more powers getting involved."

The other people nodded respectively.

************************

Within a pitch black mess, an old man with a wrinkled face slowly lit a yellow oil lamp before faint yellow light illuminated the interior of the wooden house.

There was a wooden cross on the circular window while slivers of moonlight cascaded inside.

The old man turned his head and glanced at the bed inside the wooden house, where the figure of a black person laid on top.

The figure belonged to a black man who was clad in a black leather jacket that was torn and messy, while his body was covered in wounds and bloody scars especially on his face, causing him to be almost disfigured. However, one could see that he used to be an above average looking, middle-aged man if they looked past the scars.

"Oh…" The man stirred on the bed. "How long have I been asleep, Dahm Rose?"

"Not very long, maybe five hours," answered the old man with a smile when he turned around. His wrinkly face resembled a chrysanthemum flower in full bloom.

"Alright, chrysanthemum… Can I ask why I always think of this plant when I look at you?" The man rubbed his head and smiled bitterly. "Looks like you're not in such good shape either."

"Only slightly better than you." The old man shook his head and picked up the oil lamp before walking to the front of his bed. "I've told you this before, that until the final key moment arrives, don't come looking for me. Not only will there be a possibility that I won't be able to help you, but I may cause greater dangers to befall you as well."

"Of course I remember," smiled the black man bitterly. "But I really had no choice this time, and no other paths to choose." He lowered his head and ran both of his hands through his hair while his eyes were completely bloodshot.

"Looks like you're really in bad shape," the old man shook his head impatiently. "Friend, my own circumstances are not much better than yours, but if you don't mind, you can stay at my place."

"I was hoping that you could give me some inspiration." The man raised his head with a hopeful look in his eyes.

"That's useless," the old man shook his head. "When an extremely powerful force surrounds me, I have no use for inspiration." He looked at the other man and said: "Kenna, you will soon understand that whether your inspirations appear or not, the conclusion cannot be changed."

"Don't tell me that what we see is already the definite ending?" Kenna asked instead.

"It is not definite, but it is certainly the correct deduction from the gathered natural information. You must understand that accidental events don't exist in this world and that the supposed accidents are merely the final conclusions that result from the martial arts certainties that are linked up with one another," said old man Dahm Rose with a wrinkled expression.

"I'm already relying on you since I have no other places to go anyway," said Kenna with a smile even though he had quietened down.

"Is Liv dead?" The old man looked at his eyes but noticed that he was evading his gaze. "Not just Liv, but Corela and Bane as well."

There was nothing but dead silence for a moment.

"Looks like your situation can't get any worse. Just stay with me then," the old man shook his head. "Sometimes, dying peacefully is not such a bad ending."

"What are you saying?" Kenna asked.

"Nothing." Dahm Rose put the oil lamp down and took out a little bottle filled with fireflies. He poured the fireflies into an earthen jar carefully.

Strangely, the fireflies inside the earthen jar flashed but did not know how to fly away and escape.

He took a stone pestle and began to grind the fireflies slowly while some unknown powder scattered out from there occasionally.

"What are you doing?" Kenna noticed his weird actions.

Rose Dahm smiled at him mysteriously but did not reply.

Kenna got up from the bed in a slumped position and picked up a bowl at his bedside that was filled with some sticky yellow substances towards his lips before gulping all of it down in one mouthful.

He did not know how Levi had been pursuing him. Both of them had encountered countless hardships in the wilderness and had fought each other constantly, making it impossible to mediate the hostility between them anymore. One of them was destined to die before this could finally come to a close.