"Performing a sudden attack against a woman. What a coward," she said. Blood was dripping from her white mask.
"You hide your face behind the mask. Are you too afraid to show your ugly face?"
Suddenly, her hair floated in the air. The masked woman emitted a dark red aura, akin to blood. "I will kill you."
Edward grinned. "So, it's true that your face is ugly."????????????????????????????????.????????????
The woman in the white mask spread her hands, and a strange aura emanated from her. Then, loud noises were heard from every corner of the room. Something tried to crawl out of the shadows.
"What's happening?"
"Ehhghg..."
"My body... I can't control it."
Screaming in pain, those who were knocked out earlier, both terrorists and guards, woke up. Some were conscious, while others were not. Their bodies were riddled with wounds, but they could still move, although their motions were unnatural. It was as if they were walking against their will.
Edward squinted his eyes as he found himself surrounded. "Now you're using the wounded in our fight, huh?" he said angrily.
"They are pawns. They live to be sacrificed."
"You shouldn't treat lives like that."
"Shut up. I don't need a lecture." The masked woman pointed at Edward. "Attack that hypocritical scoundrel!"
Like living puppets, they rushed towards Edward with their screams of pain.
A tall man with burning hands threw a large fireball at Edward. Meanwhile, a woman with shining eyes released bolts of lightning from her hands. Several other guards unleashed powerful and relentless wind attacks.
With lightning-fast movements, Edward dodged the fire attacks, leaped over the lightning bolts, and spun around the gusts of wind. But still, the large number of enemies made it difficult for him to handle them all.
He was surprised by their unexpected strength. He thought they would move like zombies, but they still possessed extraordinary power like awakened individuals.
The guard continued to attack Edward fiercely, forcing him to retaliate. The white-masked woman knew that Edward was reluctant to harm them, and thus, some of their attacks managed to hit him, leaving small wounds on his body.
"Aarrgghh! Stop!"
"Please stop!"
"Enough!"
While the controlled individuals screamed in pain, the white-masked woman laughed loudly. She didn't care about their fate at all. She even controlled her men to throw themselves at Edward despite being attacked by elemental forces. She did all of that just to corner Edward.
In an attempt to deal with the controlled guards who kept attacking, Edward launched counterattacks with fast lightning punches, aiming to incapacitate them without causing severe harm. However, their strength was incredibly abnormal. It was as if they were three times stronger than they were in their normal state. They easily evaded Edward's punches and continued their elemental assaults.
"You bastard! What did you do to them!?" Edward shouted.
"Why should you know? Just go ahead and kill them."
The situation worsened as the controlled guards started to cooperate. They formed an organized formation, complementing each other's powers.
Swoosh! Two guards combined lightning and fire elements, creating a dragon flame.
Splash! Splash! Three guards combined water and wind elements, creating dozens of ice projectiles rushing towards him.
Crack! Some guards manipulated wood elements, causing roots to emerge from the ground and chase Edward.
All these attacks targeted him, and he began to be overwhelmed by the relentless assault.
"Hahaha! Keep running like a rat!"
However, Edward was determined not to kill the guards, as he knew that was what the white-masked woman wanted. The only way to defeat these people was to take down their controller.
Edward gathered mana, turning his body into a sun. His bright light dispelled all darkness and blinded everyone who looked at him, including the woman in the white mask.
"Erggh, what are you trying to do?" she muttered, covering her eyes with her arm.
At that moment, he ran around the ballroom at incredible speed. He created a tornado of flashing light that swirled around the controlled guards, isolating them inside the whirlwind. Simultaneously, the tornado sucked in and hurled debris and objects around.
A storm of light erupted within the ballroom.
The woman in the white mask was exerting all her strength, trying to hold her ground and prevent the tornado's devastation from engulfing her.
The light surrounding Edward grew brighter, and in an instant, he shot towards the white-masked woman at an unimaginable speed.
Boom!
A tremendous explosion of light echoed as the entire area turned white.
Slowly, the intense light subsided, revealing a man kneeling amidst the ruins. The ballroom was completely destroyed.
There was nothing left but debris.
Edward swallowed hard. "Shit. Uncle Steve is not going to like this. I should have held back my power a bit."
On the bright side, there were no casualties among the guards. They lay scattered among the ruins, protected from the destructive damage by the tornado's barrier. Only a few terrorists had died; they were victims of their boss.
However, Edward couldn't find the white-masked woman.
"She must have managed to escape."
Amidst the silence after the battle, Edward heard a girl's scream.
"Kyaa!"I think you should take a look at
He quickly turned towards the sound and found a hand waving amidst the debris.
"Shit! Joanna! I'm coming!"
He searched through the rubble and pulled Joanna out from the pile of debris. The young girl was coughing but showed no signs of injuries, only covered in dirty dust.
"Are you alright?" Edward asked as he cleaned her up.
The blonde-haired girl shook her head. "I'm fine."
"Why are you here? Didn't I tell you to hide? You were supposed to take care of your friends."
Joanna shook her head. "They're all okay. I couldn't let you fight that crazy woman alone."
Edward clicked his tongue. "Don't be foolish. There's no room for healers in such a destructive battle. That mysterious woman seems to be at the S-Class level. Do you still remember what she was capable of?"
Joanna suddenly trembled. She recalled the heinous acts the white-masked woman had committed against her friends, especially Olivia.
Seeing his niece traumatized, Edward gently rubbed her back, trying to comfort her. "It's okay. Everything's fine now. No need to cry anymore. Your big brother will be mad at me if he sees you like this."
Joanna raised her head. "Klaus! Did you see him?"
Edward raised an eyebrow. "Klaus? Yes, I saw him. I met him around the mansion after I secured my dad to the beach. He asked me to return to the mansion to help you."
Joanna furrowed her brows. "Then where is he now?"
Rubbing his chin, Edward tried to remember. "Hmm, as far as I recall, he said he was hunting some rats. I'm not sure what he meant, but it seems he was going after the terrorists roaming around the mansion. I think he'll be fine."
Joanna continued frowning, still worried about her older brother's whereabouts.
...
Pant! Pant! Pant!
Under the moonlight and tree leaves, a woman ran with severe injuries on her body. Part of her face was destroyed, leaving red veins, and one of her hands was missing, replaced by a gaping wound continuously oozing blood.
After running a considerable distance, she stopped to catch her breath, leaning against a tree.
"Goddamnit! Where did they go? Why am I the only one who showed up at that damn mansion?—Fuck!"
Bam!
She struck the tree, causing it to collapse.
Despite her severe injuries, her body was regenerating on its own.
The woman clenched her fists. Anger burned within her chest.
"I swear, if I ever meet that scoundrel again, I'll kill him."
"Kill who?"
A man in a black suit emerged from the darkness. His black hair swayed in the wind, while his emerald green eyes looked at the woman with a calm demeanor.
Naturally, the woman gasped. She hadn't noticed his presence at all. She couldn't even hear his footsteps. He appeared like a ghost.
The woman took a fighting stance, even though her body was badly injured.
"Stop. I don't know who you are, but if you think I'm weak in my current state, you're wrong. I can kill you in an instant." The woman gritted her teeth. Her body could no longer stand on its own.
The man stopped. Then, he showed a friendly smile. "Calm down. Why are you so angry? I don't want to kill you. I came to help you instead." He stroked his ring, and in an instant, a bottle filled with red liquid popped up in his hand.
The woman was startled as the man tossed the bottle to her. "What is this?"
"As you can see, it's a potion. Drink it up; you look terrible."
She narrowed her eyes. "You want to poison me?"
The man sighed. "Give it back to me if you don't want it."
The woman took a step back, reluctant to return the potion. With her current condition, she really needed it. She carefully inspected the potion, making sure it wasn't poisonous.
"It seems genuine. I will drink it."
The man smiled. "Good."
As the woman took a sip of the potion, all the wounds on her body rapidly healed. Skin and flesh regenerated, and the missing parts of her body grew back. Her physique returned to its former state.
However, her face still looked unsightly. The position of her nose, eyes, and mouth were irregular. It seemed that her unattractive face was a biological trait.
She quickly turned her face away. "Don't look! I don't like people seeing my face."
The man chuckled. "It's okay. Beauty isn't just about the outer but also the beauty within."
Hearing his words, the woman's heart softened a little.
"I don't know your motives, but thank you for helping me. I will let you go. Leave before I change my mind," she said.
"Hmm, that's fair enough. By the way, what's your name?"
The woman snorted. "You don't need to know my name. Trust me, you don't want to meet me again. I never let anyone who has seen my face live. Instead, you should tell me your name."
The man nodded. "You're right. It's rude to ask for someone's name without introducing oneself." He extended his hand. "Klaus. My name is Klaus Lee."
