The Author's POV

"Here you go, do you have what I requested?"

Kevin slid a thin red book over to me at my desk, and then sat back down on the couch behind him.

After scribbling a few things on the piece of paper in front of me, I turned my head ever-so-slightly to look at him and waved my hand over a certain spot on my desk. A thin transparent flask materialized on the table.

I then dragged the book over to my side and casually opened it.

After browsing the pages of the book, I put the book away and smiled to myself in contentment.

"Thanks."

"It's no big deal."

Kevin took the flask and similarly smiled in contentment.

Putting it away, he shifted his attention back to me.

"...Are you not curious as to why I would need this poison?"

"Nope."

I shook my head and rubbed my nose.

While I readjusted my glasses, I tinkered with the pen that was already in my hand before beginning to write once more.

There were a lot of things that I needed to take care of, and I barely had any free time to spare.

Especially considering that I was just about to return back on planet earth. I wanted everything to be perfect before I returned.

Nothing could be overlooked.

"I'm going to kill Malik Alshayatin."

Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to concentrate on my work as I took my glasses off in a collected manner and laid them out on my desk.

"What are you smoking, and can you tell me who your dealer is?"

I asked, clasping my hands together and staring intently at Kevin.

Kill Malik Alshayatin?

Yeah, right. Kevin was without a doubt out of his mind.

Malik Alshayatin was someone who had just broken through the <SSS-> rank. How could a measly <S+> ranker ever hope to kill him?

Heck, even I was certain that I would die if I fought against Malik Alshayatin.

I may have been successful in beating a Duke-ranked demon that was close to advancing to the Prince rank; however, the key word there was "verge."

The gap between <SS+> and <SSS-> was as wide as an <F-> rank to an <A> rank.

It was simply put suicide.

I worriedly looked at Kevin as I set my pen down and put my glasses back on.

"Why do you want to kill yourself? Are you not satisfied with your current life? Are you depressed? Tell me, I'm here for you."

"Fuck off."

"That's a bit harsh."

I pretended to look hurt at Kevin's harsh remarks.

"Here I am, worried for your life, and all I get is a fuck you. Wow, I'm about to cry."

Kevin rolled his eyes as he crossed his legs and glared at me.

"Are you done? I'm being serious here."

"Me too."

Kevin's mouth twitched and black lines appeared on his forehead.

I gave in when I saw that he was about to erupt in anger.

"Fine, let me hear your plan."

"Thank you."

Kevin's expression returned to its usual calm, and for a brief moment, I thought I was the one being duped by him.

It left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.

"You know about the meeting that will take place right after you return, right?"

"Of course I do."

The assembly.

A significant event in which the fifty highest-ranked individuals in the human domain formed an alliance to combat the Monolith.

In contrast to the Monolith, which functioned as a single cohesive entity, the forces that comprised the human domain were dispersed, with the Union serving as the most powerful of the various organizations.

In spite of this, when contrasted with the strength of the Monolith, their power was still inferior.

The only reason the Monolith did not launch a full-scale invasion on the human domain was because the human domain did not only consist of the Union. If push came to shove and all the powerful forces joined together, the Monolith would face a competitor that was equally as powerful as it was.

The purpose of this assembly was to create such an alliance. An alliance that was strong enough to go head to head against the Monolith.

It was also a meeting that I was supposed to attend.

"During the event, Malik Alshayatin will make an appearance."

"..."

Kevin's words caused my eyes to sharpen.

'As expected, he recovered his memories of the past.'

This wasn't something that he would know unless he recovered his memories.

Opening my mouth, I asked.

"You're the one responsible for killing all of the Monolith spies, aren't you?"

I already knew the answer, yet I was still waiting for him to directly confirm it to me.

There could be no one else but he could be capable of killing the Monolith spies. After all, he could directly bypass the laws of the contract.

"I am."

Kevin calmly nodded his head, his fingers drumming over the armrest of the sofa.

"By now, they most likely have an idea that it is either one of us that is responsible for the killing of the spies."

My mouth twitched when I heard his words.

'Shit, I didn't do anything this time and for some reason, they are suspecting me.'

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Taking note of my gloomy expression, an amused smile formed on Kevin's lips.

"It couldn't be helped. There aren't too many swordsmen in the top one hundred. It is inevitable that they will suspect that it's either one of us."

"Fuck, couldn't you have changed your weapon? Also, why would they suspect us when the contract says that we can't attack them?"

"It isn't so easy to kill rankers without my main weapon, and you're not part of the Union so you can technically kill them."

Kevin helplessly shrugged his shoulders while I gnashed my teeth in annoyance.

"Useless."

"Hey, now. You've pulled similar stunts on me a million other times in the past. Don't act like you're completely innocent."

"..."

My mouth instantly shut.

Indeed, Kevin was correct; in the past, I had engaged in activities very much like those he described.

"Alright, fine. Get to the point. What exactly are you going to do during the assembly?"

"As you know, I am not going to be participating in the assembly."

"Yeah."

Kevin wasn't in the top fifty so he wasn't invited to the assembly. Plus, since he was part of the Union, he didn't really need to attend.

"Actually, that's on purpose."

"I figured that much."

It is fair to say that it was a little strange to see Kevin's rank fall short of the top fifty.

Given his overdrive and his signature Levisha style, there probably wouldn't have been much of an issue for him to reach the top fifty.

In light of the fact that some of the spies planted by the Monolith had vanished, I had a sneaking suspicion that he was plotting something.

As I continued to look at Kevin, I had a sudden thought pop into my head.

"Don't tell me that you're planning on killing Malik Alshayatin during the time that the assembly is running?"

"During the assembly, Malik Alshayatin will send a projection of himself in an attempt to infiltrate the minds of those in attendance. His original plan was to have the spies attack and injure numerous people, but since there are no longer any spies, he will likely come after you."

Kevin's voice was extremely serious.

My brow furrowed tightly as I listened to what he had to say.

"What do you think he's planning on doing?"

"He will most probably use some sort of mind technique on you and the people present. I'm telling you now in advance in order to prepare you for what is to come. "

"I see..."

I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms across my chest.

Lowering my head, I looked at Kevin.

"What about you? How are you planning on killing him?"

"The projection."

Kevin bluntly replied.

"In order for Malik Alshayatin to project himself in front of the assembly, he will need to leave the Monolith and hide in a safe location near the assembly, and I know precisely where that location is."

"Ah, I understand."

As soon as Kevin made that statement, a picture began to take shape in my head.

My face immediately turned strange.

"So you want to take the opportunity when Malik Alshayatin is hiding to directly sneak into his safe space and catch him off guard? Are you seriously not on something?"

Even if there was no one guarding him, Hemlock was a bonafide <SS-> ranker.

It was inconceivable that someone of Kevin's rank could sneak up on the leader of the Monolith. Even if he was ambushed secretly, there was no way in hell that I would have believed he wouldn't use mana to protect his body.

"...No offense, but even if he doesn't have defenses, it would be impossible for someone of your rank to inflict some damage to him, most likely, he will have some form of mana shield around his body to block all attempts at sneak attacks."

"Don't worry about that."

Kevin reassured, leaning back on the chair with a relaxed attitude.

"I have already meticulously planned everything. Now that you have provided me with the final piece of equipment that I required, I am confident in my ability to take action against him."

I considered saying something, so I opened my mouth to do so. However, right before I was going to say something, I closed my mouth and clenched my fist.

"Nevermind, since you're so confident, I won't say anything. Do as you wish."

The expression that Kevin was giving me caused me to hold my tongue and refrain from speaking.

He had long since made up his mind, and the reason he was divulging all of this information to me was not so that he could take my advice into consideration; rather, he wanted to reveal to me what he intended to do in the future, and was perhaps wanting for me to cooperate with him.

In the end, I could only relent and ask, "What do you want me to do?"

"I'm glad you've caught on."

Kevin began to explain to me a portion of his plan while maintaining a smile on his face.

Oddly enough, he didn't say everything and only provided me with a brief rundown of what I needed to do, but I wasn't all that curious anyway, so it didn't bother me too much.

As long as he could get it done, a lot of my problems would disappear.

Hence why I made sure to pay close attention to all of his words.

"Your primary duty is simple. Stall. Make sure that you stall for as much time as possible during the time that he shows up. Get Malik Alshayating's focus to direct itself toward you so that his defenses lower. Once you have accomplished this, I will take care of the remainder."

Stall?

That sounded rather simple.

"Is that all you really need me to do?"

"Yes."

Kevin gave a thoughtful nod.

After looking into his eyes intently and noticing the seriousness in them, I eventually brought my eyes to a close and let out a long, drawn out sigh.

"Alright then. I will do as you wish."