729 A world where 'we' don't exist [2]
'How dare he! That bastard!'
Dominon's jaw clenched tightly as he inched his way up from the ground while grinding his teeth. After glaring at the people around him for what seemed like an eternity and then watching them leave one by one, he massaged his jaw.
… In that brief instant he felt the hand seize his jaw; he thought his face would explode.
'How is he so strong?'
He didn't even have time to react before he felt his hand grasp his jaw.
…He felt helpless at that moment. No matter how hard he struggled, he was unable to free himself from that grasp.
For a moment, he thought he was going to die.
Dominion, ever since he joined the Green Claw Guild, never imagined there would be a day when he would find himself in a position where he would find himself completely helpless and disrespected like that.
From the first moment he saw the young man, he had the impression that he was powerful; however, he had never before thought that he was powerful to that extent... It was highly likely that he was an emerging face in the industry.
'But how come I don't remember seeing news about him?'
That was what confused Dominion the most regarding the circumstances. If he was so powerful, how come he'd never heard of him?
"Could he have used some sort of trick? …Or is he someone who's hiding his power?"
…It wasn't unheard of.
He grit his teeth.
"Regardless, of whether you've hidden your power or not, you've messed with the wrong person."
He was going to make the youth understand that letting go was the worst decision he could have possibly made.
Dominion continued to massage his jaw and took out his phone. He soon dialed a number.
"I wonder what face he'll make once he sees the Guild Leader in person..."
His eyes flashed with ferocity.
***
"What's going on here?"
I came to a halt in front of a plot of land on which there was a sizable warehouse. Nothing was left inside, and the building looked to be completely deserted.
My brows furrowed even further as I walked around the location and double checked to make sure there really was nothing there.
I stopped once I was certain that the place was completely abandoned.
"The hell is going on?"
From the thin mana in the air to the guild recruiter who didn't seem to know me, to the warehouse where my headquarters were supposed to be…
It finally became extremely clear to me that something was extremely wrong with the situation.
"Huuu."
I had to take a deep breath to calm myself down.
'Just what did you do, Kevin?'
When I thought back to the scene where his body abruptly disintegrated into fragments and entered my body, I realized that whatever was happening to me was a direct result of whatever he had done moments prior to his death.
…I just needed to understand what he'd done.
'Let me try checking home.'
The scene around me warped, and I appeared before a tall building.
It was a familiar building. One that I had been to many times before in the past.
"At least this looks the same."
I headed toward the entrance of the building but soon came to a stop.
"Huh?"
…Again, another change.
Usually, there'd be a couple of guards in front of the residence. It was the same as now, but…
'Why are they so weak?'
The guards that stood at the entrance of the building were rather weak. They were at best <E> ranked. Usually, whenever I came into the place, they'd be at around <B> rank.
My conviction that something was off with the circumstances grew stronger as time went on. After taking another breath, I proceeded toward the front door of the building.
"Please state your purpose."
The guards stopped me at the entrance of the building. I wasn't surprised, as this tended to happen often. Even when everything was 'normal'.
I flashed them a card.
"I live here."
The moment I took out the card, the guards looked at each other and frowned.
"You have the wrong building, sir."
"…"
My expression didn't change at their rejection. I somewhat expected this to happen.
After casting a brief glance in their direction, I moved forward and proceeded to enter the building. It wasn't until I walked into the building that the security guards regained their composure and started looking around in a daze.
"What happened?"
"What were we doing just now?"
With my abilities, overhearing their words was rather easy. Not that I cared as my vision warped once more and I appeared in front of my apartment.
Tap.
I tapped the card against the door, but nothing happened.
"Strange. Why isn't the card working?"
Everything about the whole situation was strange.
From everything that had happened before, to now this. Just what in the world was going on?
It was when I was in the midst of my thoughts that I heard a voice coming from behind me.
"Do you need some help?"
It was a familiar voice, and I turned around. Seeing a familiar figure, I finally smiled in relief.
"Natasha, there you ar-"
I stopped myself mid-sentence. Cocking my head a little, my eyes squinted.
"What's up with you? Did you age or something?"
Natasha, being Amanda's mother was an extremely beautiful woman. Despite being in the forties, she looked like she was in her twenties, but…
The woman who was standing in front of me did not appear to be the same Natasha that I knew. Her skin was marked with a number of wrinkles, and although she was still quite beautiful, it was a stark contrast to the Natasha that I knew.
Was something wrong with my eyes?
"Excuse me?"
Natasha seemed rather taken aback by my words as she proceeded to touch her face.
Only after a while did she proceed to glare at me.
"Who are you, and why do you know my name?"
"Huh?"
Her words shook me.
Before I had time to process them, she continued speaking. Her words were more threatening.
"Did you hear me or not? What are you doing here, and why are you standing in front of my daughter's apartment? Are you a stalker?"
"What, no?"
I looked at Natasha, utterly baffled.
Stalker? Me?
"Is this some sort of joke?"
"Joke?"
The moment Natasha pulled out her phone and started dialing a number, her glare intensified.
Someone soon picked up.
[Madam, what's going on?]
With my hearing, I was able to hear everything.
Crossing her arms, Natasha glared at me once again before speaking.
"What are you doing? Why have you allowed a stranger into the apartment?"
[A stranger?]
"Yes, a stranger. Send security right now and kick him out of the building!"
[Wh-]
She hung up before the person could speak further.
Putting the phone away, she continued to glare at me.
"I don't know who you are, but you better hope that this is some sort of misunderstanding. I'm sure you're aware that this building belongs to the Angel Wing Guild, so I don't know what gave you the balls to come all the way here knowing that."
"Angel what guild?... What?"
Angel Wing Guild? The fuck was that?
Seeing the look on my face, Natasha seemed to become more irritated.
"Hm? Are you unaware of the Angel Wing Guild?"
"You're not joking, right?"
"…Ehm, not really."
I rubbed the back of my head with my finger and looked in the direction of the elevator. I could make out a number of groups of security personnel hurriedly running in our direction.
Others were making their way up the stairs, while others had taken the elevator. There were even some of them waiting outside the window on the lower level.
"Looks like you're already aware of what's going to happen next."
Natasha smiled.
"Obediently stay here with me until the guards come, and I'll make sure they won't treat you badly in the guild chambers."
Her words, although threatening, had no effect on me.
She was someone I knew well, and honestly, I couldn't really bring myself to feel any threat from her.
Still…
"This is so messed up."
I massaged my head.
Everything was so messed up. None of it made sense.
Just what in the world did Kevin do?
Ding―!
The door to the elevator opened, and a number of security personnel stepped out. As I turned my attention toward them, a small frown formed on my face.
…The highest ranked amongst them was <D+> rank.
They were pitifully weak.
"Surrender yourself now!"
They encircled me from all sides and pointed their weapons in my direction. A very slight pressure forced its way out of their bodies and moved toward me.
…It felt like a gentle breeze.
"How did you get here, and what is your purpose?"
The captain shouted.
He was someone that I was familiar with as I had seen him several times in the past, but to my shock, he was the <D+> ranked guy.
Last I checked, he was supposed to be in the <B+> range...
"My head."
I massaged it once again.
It was starting to hurt a lot.
"I repeat, state your purpose!"
The captain yelled once more, and this time his voice contained undertones of mana, causing the air to stir a little.
Lifting my head to stare at him, I sighed before looking at Natasha.
'They really don't seem to know me.'
The look in their eyes said it all.
'What do I do?'
Looking at everyone around me, I inwardly sighed and apologized.
"I apologize for the inconvenience."
My vision then warped.
***
"What's going on?! Where did he go?"
Natasha looked toward the guards in panic. She thought she had trapped him, yet, at the moment it took for her eyes to blink, he was gone...
"This…"
As they looked at each other in a seemingly bewildered manner, the security guards appeared to be just as confused as she was. What brought them back from it was their captain's loud yell.
"Drop whatever you're doing! Search every nook and cranny of this building, and bring that man to me at this moment!"
"Yes, sir!"
The guards saluted and dispersed.
Following that, the captain walked toward Natasha.
"Madam, are you okay?"
"Yes."
She nodded her head while looking around with her eyes. She was a bit panicked.
For him to disappear as he wished... He was no simple character.
Thinking about the fact that he was standing right in front of her daughter's room, Natasha found herself growing nervous.
She looked at the captain.
"Captain, do you have any idea of where he went?"
"I.. I'm sorry madam."
He shook his head, and Natasha bit her lips.
'How did he do it?'
How did he manage to escape the sight of so many guards? It made no sense.
Her heart started to beat faster.
"Okay, Captain, I won't take more of your time. Please try to find the young man."
"Understood!"
His loud voice reverberated throughout the corridor, and he soon disappeared from Natasha's sight.
Natasha bit her lips again as she watched his back disappear around the corner. Taking out her phone, she scrolled through her contacts and soon pressed a certain number.
The phone rang a couple of times before the call went through.
Ding―!
Natasha spoke.
"Honey."
