Under the Veil of Night

Kanae watched Carlo with indifferent eyes. She had correctly guessed the content of the vial, and the real purpose of this whole battle was to hand it over to the strongest person. However, unbeknownst to the people from the government, those who were at the peak instead handed it over to someone cunning, yet strong like Carlo.

The man screamed for several minutes before the pain subsided. Sitting on the ground, Carlo glared at Kanae.

"What did you give me?"

"I don't know," Kanae replied calmly. She would never tell him that she in fact knew that the content of the vial was designed to awaken people's real potential forcefully, resulting in the tremendous leap in their abilities that accompanied the pain.

Carlo stood up. He frowned. "It seems, they're attracted by my screams."

Without prior warning, they were already surrounded by monsters. Each of them was bigger than the ones they fought at the beginning. Their gazes were fixated on Carlo, seemingly ready to devour the man.

At the same time, they heard a loud explosion and the subsequent collapse of a building not far from them.

"Randy sure took his time," Dean prepared his sword. "Men, this is the last fight, let's give it our all."

"YES, Boss!"

Kanae looked at Jason and Tommy. "Can you two fight?"

"Yes."

Not long afterwards, the field already became a battlefield as they fought here and there against the monsters. The monsters' number continued to increase as they targeted Carlo and the people around him. Even if they wanted to get away, they had to break the encirclement first.

At first, there was nothing different from the way Carlo fought, but Dean soon noticed that Carlo's present strength had already increased by leaps and bounds.

After numerous hours had passed, Dean sighed and said, "After this, I don't think we can face Carlo again." Right now, only a few dozen monsters were left, surrounding Carlo who fought tirelessly.

"What do you mean, Boss?"

"Until his body can't contain his power anymore, we won't be able to defeat him," Dean shrugged. "This is the law for those who awaken their powers."

His subordinate frowned. "But Boss, aren't you one of them?"

"I am," Dean replied curtly. However, he himself knew that his real ability didn't really have any connection whatsoever to martial arts. As an awakened person, his ability lay in something different entirely.

"Rei, are you alright?" Tommy tapped Kanae's shoulder.

Standing before numerous fallen monsters, Kanae was completely drenched in blood. She had fought and fought for hours, enduring tremendous pain and fatigue. Every cell in her body screamed for rest, but she couldn't possibly rest in a fight for survival.

"I'm fine, Tom," Kanae nodded slightly. "I just feel a bit tired from all the fighting."

"You can't sleep here, Rei," Jason frowned. "We have to get out and find Shin as quickly as possible."

"Yeah."

Standing like a statue, Kanae watched as Carlo finished off the remaining monsters. It seemed that the organizers arranged for the monsters to swarm towards whoever drank the contents of the vial. The purpose was to test the person's ability to end the fight.

The moment the last monster fell to the ground, the barrier surrounding the school dispersed. Looking up, they could see the familiar blue sky once again.

"It's really beautiful," Kanae murmured.

This was the first time she felt relieved to see the sky again. In the past, it was all too easy to look up at the sky every single day to the point that it felt like nothing special. But now, she felt extremely happy to see it again.

It marked the end of the battle in Lima School.

Finally… she could end this hell.

Jason reactivated the communication device. "Shin, can you see the buildings now?"

"I can," Shiro answered. He felt complicated looking at the destruction on the television. "How are your conditions right now?"

"Not that good. Can you prepare medicine for us as quickly as possible?"

"Sure. Also, Oro, since your car is parked not too far away, if you can drive, go to the abandoned building."

"I can drive."

Ending the conversation, Jason walked towards Kanae. "Captain, let me carry you out of this place."

"You can't carry me," Kanae answered. Her eyes locked on the front entrance, from where several men headed towards them. "The person that retrieved the vial can't show his weak side."

Jason heaved a sigh. He knew that Kanae wouldn't listen even if he forced her to. "Alright Captain, you have the final decision."

After that, he took out a piece of cloth and helped to cover Kanae's face. He took out another piece for himself too. At the very least, they couldn't let the men see their faces.

"What about me?" Tommy asked.

"I only have two.��

"You're truly an annoying man," grumbling, Tommy tore off a strip of his clothes and covered his face too.

"The fight has ended?" Carlo asked bewilderedly. His sight was getting blurry because all the monsters were practically targeting him, making him extremely tired. At the same time, he was elated to know that he had grown much stronger.

The leader of the approaching men was a middle-aged man. He studied Carlo with a sharp gaze.

"Who's the one that got the vial?"

Dean crossed his arms. "Do you mean the one who drank the vial or the one who brought it away?"

Staring at each other, the two of them locked their gaze. The middle-aged man recognized Dean, so he didn't get angry at Dean's nonchalant attitude. On the contrary, he replied calmly.

"I want to know both."

Kanae frowned when she heard the answer. Did it mean they were not watching the fight from the outside?

Dean pointed to Kanae. "Rei from Fiore Group got the vial while Carlo from Oval Group drank it."

"From my knowledge, you represent the strongest group in this city, so why didn't you take it for yourself, Dean?"

"It's Master Dean," Dean snorted. "I don't need it. Besides, that brat is quite strong too."

"Is that so?" the middle-aged man looked towards Kanae. In that very second, Kanae felt as if this man was trying to see through her, making her raise her guard instantly. Her eyes looked back cautiously. "Indeed, he's not bad."

Dean yawned. "Now that the show is over, I want to go back and treat my comrades' injuries."

"We have prepared the meds outside."

"There's no need. We have our own doctors."

The middle-aged man nodded his head and allowed Dean and his group to pass. Afterwards, he turned his attention back to Kanae and the two men behind her.

"Fiore Group, are you willing to come with us?"

"No," Kanae replied immediately. Her voice sounded strange because she tried to muffle it with the cloth covering her mouth. "We prefer our freedom over serving someone."

"That's too bad." The middle-aged man took out a card. "If you change your mind, you can contact me here."

"No, thank you. We don't have the intention of selling ourselves."

As she said that, she started to walk away with the other two following behind her. The middle-aged man watched them for several seconds before adding, "You can use the meds outside."

"We also have our own doctors. Thank you for your concern."

The middle-aged man acted amiably and didn't force any of them. Lastly, he turned his attention to Carlo. "Please follow us, Carlo."

Carlo frowned. "Don't I have the right to choose?"

"Please follow us, Carlo," the middle-aged man repeated monotonously.

Carlo knew that they wouldn't let him go, unlike the others.. He didn't understand the reason, but he knew that he didn't have any other choice but to follow their order.