Earth's Core 071

“Brother! Second brother, you got to help me!”

In a large estate with shiny floors, high ceilings and mighty pillars, an orange head, white skin young man at the end of his teenage years, ran along the exhibited artwork in pursuit of a slightly taller man with similar external traits and called out pleading.

The man turned and golden light winked in his eyes as he glared at the one chasing him. “Out of the question, Binjo!”

Indeed, the on in pursuit was the notorious student of the number one Martial school in El-Eden, Binjo Derneldar.

Seeing his second brother glaring at him, Binjo did not seem to mind and hastened to close the gap between them.

“Third brother spoiled you way too much and now the whole family is going to suffer! Are you not done causing troubles yet?!”

It had been two days since Dureil brought his son back from school, and by now, the conversation between him and principal Don was known to each of his sons and wife alone.

“I’m done, I’m done, second brother”, Binjo stepped closer and presented his hands to his second brother. “But, second brother, I made a list of all those I confronted recently. How about it, second brother? Your connections in the underground world are even better than father’s. Can’t you take care of these people for me?”

Twisted and self centered. Even Binjo’s own brothers knew of his perverse inclination, more so than even their parents, since whenever he decided to act according to his whims, it was they who gave him a hand to make sure he satisfied himself.

Rather than being twisted as he, his brothers helped him – his third eldest brother more frequently than the rest – for couple of other reasons. Being their youngest brother with an age disparity of twelve years between Binjo and the second youngest brother, it was inevitable that he would end up excessively doted. That was the main reason. Other reason was their status. Put aside the Mist Lord cultivation level of second brother and third brother, which in their family put them in better position than their father’s, the brothers were all part of one of the five great families of El-Eden and were also cared for by the leader of the family. To them, acting on their whims at the expense of others was a right, therefore, even if Binjo misused this right more than the others, the rest were arrogant enough to approve.

The last reason was Binjo twisted personality. Though most time he kept it at bay, yet not as well as their mother, Binjo had personality disorders that if not let out, they would pent up and a mess may occur, much like their current predicament.

Surveying the list Binjo handed him, second brother read all the names, cultivation levels and status that his little brother included.

In total there were eight people in the list that were objectified to Binjo recent misdeeds. Five of which, were noted as students of his Marital school, among them was Anet. The other three were two males and a female he met in a party that he attendant with third and fourth brothers.

“…The three you met in the party and one of the students you messed with have a high class status”.

“Yes, second brother. I think that it was they who hired the Core Masters”. Binjo replied with a smile. He knew that if his second brother read the list and repeated aloud its content, it means that he gave in to his beseeching.

“Very well”. Binjo second brother wrinkled his brows, not completely agreeing with Binjo’s conjecture, but willing to help, nonetheless. “This mess that you created far surpassed father’s own resources and the family will also take a heavy blow if we would accept the conditions of your school principal. While I’ll see what I can do, stay with third brother in the family leader’s villa. Make use of the high quality Earth’s Core that father obtained for you and cultivate your mist, am I clear?”

“Yes, second brother”. Binjo nodded and darted to pack his stuff.

Seeing his figure going away, Binjo’s second brother crumpled the piece of paper with the list of name and turned it to ashes. Rebuking and being hard on his little brother was his way of instilling in him the severity of his actions. In truth, after receiving the text that a Core Master came to get him in his school, Binjo’s second brother and the other four burned in distress and fury.

Binjo asking for help was utterly unnecessary. It had been two days since he returned home, but since the moment he and his father returned, Dureil right away discussed the situation with his five sons and what each and every one of them could do was already reeled into motion since that moment.

Binjo’s second brother turned and frowned. Since third brother was the most familiar of sixth brother’s, Binjo’s, misdeeds, six of the eight names on Binjo’s list were already on their way to be dealt with. The two new ones were a girl who was Binjo’s upperclassman and Anet.

Raising his caller to his ear, a voice instantly emerged from the other side of the line.

“Mejar?”

“Father, my preparations are complete. Tonight I will deal with the names third brother gave me. Binjo just added two more, but they won’t be a problem”.

“Good, Mejar. Unfortunately, me and your brothers still failed to arrange the sum and Mist Essence Amplifier, whether it would be needed or not. Tomorrow, I and eldest son, along with fourth will go meet your uncle in this regard and tell him everything. We can’t be sure that the Core Masters were hired, and if they weren’t, it wouldn’t matter with whom you deal with tonight”.

Binjo’s second brother, Mejar, gritted his teeth. Despite his good relationship with his uncle, when it came to his father, the family leader never treated him well, and the second son did not want to see his father shaming himself by being obsequious.

“Don’t worry, father, the Mist Essence Amplifier would return to us, and for daring to threaten our family and make us lose face, I’ll do my utmost to get rid of every name in the list, just in case”.

…

Cave twenty five.

Night time. The Nightly Cover formation was fully activated.

Two figures clad in black dashed along the streets and stopped three hundred meters from their targeted destination, a four storey apartments building among a cluster of same size buildings.

The two were exactly Mejar Derneldar and a same level expert he brought with him from the Derneldar’s estate who was the head guard of his father’s estate.

The two’s target was precisely Anet. After the conversation with his father, Mejar investigated quickly the whereabouts of the two added names Binjo gave him. The results were a half full glass. The upperclassman student was staying in the school’s dorms, which made her untouchable and in the current time span Mejar arranged to deal with the original six names, it was difficult to work out a plan to make her leave school. Anet, however, was coming to school for the past two days for a few hours and was going back home afterwards.

Learning about her unusual leaves in a school where generally students could only go home once a month, and that before that, she was absent from school for couple of months, Mejar associated the approval she clearly received from the school to go and leave as she wants, with his little brother’s sudden removal from school’s grounds.

The likelihood that the two Core Masters who came for Binjo were related to her also crossed his mind. But looking at her background he decided that the chances were slim. That through her classmates she possibly learned that Binjo is also absent from school, and used the opportunity to explain her past behavior to a school’s official.

As Mejar saw it, Anet was convincing enough to get someone’s in the school sympathy, which conveniently provided him the chance of dealing with her with little effort.

“Fang Lor, the girl has long scar on her back. Detect her with your Soul Sense and kill her and her family members. Leave no remains”. Mejar instructed the head guard of his father estate. “This one should be the easiest of the eight names, her status is the lowest and her cultivation isn’t much. But though it should be a fairly easy job, I came with you to avoid any unexpected troubles”.

Mejar preferred to be cautious throughout the nightly operation he arranged, no matter who the target was. He chose to accompany Fang Lor, because he did not have time to arrange a Mist Lord through his underground connection and to deal with Anet, he also considered it a waste of money. Moreover, Fang Lord’s mist refining technique was comparable with his. Together they could raise a formation with the power to impede even a recent first level Core Master.

“Yes, Mejar Ram”. Fang Lor replied obediently and his body sprang out from their hideout, toward the target’s location.

The two kept stealth solely because of the important of the operation. If Anet was an ordinary Core Breaker with no special connections, even killing her in broad daylight would not have been a problem. But since she was a student of Eden Formation, they were forced to by subtle.

Fang Lor advanced like a black streak of light. Releasing his Soul Sense he found Anet actually siting in a meditative position, while three other individuals were sleeping in different rooms in the same apartment.

Just when Fang Lor’s lips were about to stretch into an assured smirk, his face convulsed and he suddenly stopped fifty meters from the apartment building.

Looking at Fang Lor from two hundred and fifty meters away, Mejar became confused. Prior to this, he did not use his Soul Sense to avoid detection by a stronger expert, in case one was around. Seeing Fang Lor standing in place, he contemplated what to do, till finally deciding to wait and continue watching. A hint of azure aura and he will start laying the formation they decided on in advance, knowing that Fang Lor will do the same.

“Aha…” A female voice sighed from the area of the apartment building and a young woman jumped down from one of the roofs. “I was thinking that my presence here is no longer necessary, but luckily I decided to stay until his return. Otherwise you, rats, may have had the chance to do something despicable”. The young woman was none other than Zetsa. She noticed Fang Lor when his Soul Sense encompassed her along with the building Anet lived in and she noticed Mejar when she retraced at the direction Fang Lor came from.

“An Advanced phase Mist Lord…” Fang Lor frowned as he quietly said to himself. For an expert of such level to suddenly appear, he knew it was not a coincidence. “Miss, it seems that you wondered into a personal dispute… Would you kindly agree to negotiate leaving-”

WHOOSH!

Before Fang Lor finished talking, Zetsa’s body shone in a dark golden light as her aura burst and she bolted toward him in an amazing speed.

“An Advanced phase Mist Lord!” Sensing the immense mist energy and the fluctuations in the air which were caused by someone who looked younger than his third brother, Mejar could not help but cry in shock. As a Beginner phase Mist Lord he would not have detected her if he used his Soul Sense, but if she got close enough and because of Fang Lor decided to use her own Soul Sense, Zetsa could definitely detect him.

“Hmph!” Fang Lor let out a snort and released his aura. He did not call for Mejar because he, too, was an Advanced phase Mist Lord and was confident in his abilities against others in the same level.

Dark golden mist energy spun around his body and two beams of dark golden light were shot at Zetsa. “Lingering Line Cutter!” He called out the name of the technique.

In response to the two beams, the light of Zetsa’s aura dimmed a little but her skin began to glow in a brownish golden color which was a mix of her golden mist energy and olive skin tone. Opening the palm of each hand, Zetsa grasped the two dark golden beams and light explosions echoed from between her fingers. With a scowl and terrifying killing intent, she increased her speed and reached Fang Lor.

“Impossible!” Fang Lor shrieked, first from the might of the killing intent, then from how easily Zetsa destroyed his attack. What were the two beams of light of his Lingering Line Cutter technique? Though seemingly thin and small, they were the concentrated force of a high grade long range Martial technique. Even a Beginner phase first level Core Master would not try to touch them when he, Fang Lor, shot them. But for Zetsa to do so when they had the same level of cultivation, and with so much as only a few drops of blood as consequence… how inconceivable was that?!

What Fang Lor did not know, was that Zetsa’s body fitness level was akin to a second level Core Master’s body fitness level. By strengthening her body further with mist energy, both her speed and power reached a level that could take on even an Intermediate phase first level Core Master.

PUCHI!

Forming a spear with her right hand, Zetsa pierced Fang Lor’s heart.

“Blagh!” A mouthful of blood came rushing from Fang Lor’s throat. ‘In one move!’ Was his last thought.

“Fang Lor!” Mejar could not believe the scene in front of his eyes.

A young woman who had a similar level of cultivation as the head guard of his father’s estate, sustained the destructive force of Fang Lor’s strongest long range attack and then killed him in one strike!

‘This girl, Anet, is the one related to the two Core Master!’ The sudden revelation came with the realization that just now, from the eight names, the operation to eliminate Anet became the most dangerous.

Knowing that his position was already jeopardized, Mejar did not tarry for Zetsa to come finish him as well. His light golden aura went madly ablaze and with couple of bizarre steps his figure flickered and started to escape.

“A movement technique…” Zetsa licked her lips.

Fang Lor aroused her killing intent, the one she honed in the first Savage Cave as she fended countless savages while keeping safe the little treasure her Master gave her to make sure she would not lose to the savagery. Now, since Fang Lor and the other one, who hid his face, seemed bent on harming Anet, she was not interested in their reasons and made her mind, deciding to kill them at all cost.

Zetsa’s decision was more than understandable even if she was not blood related to Anet. Of Zax’s friends, Anet was the third, after Serah and Dane, to call Zetsa “Big sister”. She started calling her like this at the time when Zax was secluding himself, after the Great Earth’s Core Pursuit, and his friends came by and made efforts to see him. At that time, Zetsa fondness toward her little brother’s devoted friends grew bigger, and toward the ones who visited the most, Serah, Dane, Anet and Zushi, she even became affectionate.

Dropping her back a little, Zetsa pulled her weight to her feet and kicked off the ground. The hunt for the second prey commenced!

Chapter end