White snow fell from the black sky.
The atmosphere around the mansion began to calm down as some ambulances left, leaving police cars parked in the driveway. All the guests had been evacuated, while the police officers continued their investigation into the horrifying incident.
The host, Steve Lee, had also left the mansion with his wife to rest at a hotel after going through a tough night. But their daughter, Joanna, still remained in the mansion. Thinking that her older brother was grieving over the death of his subordinates, she waited for Klaus, giving him space to mourn.
Besides being surrounded by dozens of police officers, Joanna was accompanied by Olivia, while the two former House of Blacksmith members left first. Akio couldn't contain his frustration over Sylvia's death, so he left the mansion earlier. And Michael came with him.
Joanna couldn't bear leaving this girl alone. She knew that this night was extremely difficult for her. The death of a comrade in battle was not something easy to handle. Even she herself was struck by it, let alone a girl who had just turned 16 years old.
Sitting side by side on the car's hood, they wrapped themselves in the same blanket, warming up from the cold winter air while keeping each other company.
"What is Klaus doing inside?" Joanna whispered.
"I don't know. Sometimes people grieve in their own ways. Leave everything to Justin. He can surely calm your brother," Olivia replied.
The two women only knew that Klaus went into the mansion with Justin but were unaware that they also brought Sylvia's body. They thought the ambulance had taken Sylvia along with the other bodies.
In the hustle and bustle of the crime scene, five black sedans pulled up. A group of men got out of the cars. White snowflakes stuck to their black coats as they walked through the front yard. Their appearance drew attention, causing the police officers to stop their activities.
A middle-aged man with gray hair walked at the forefront. The determined expression on his face told anyone who saw him that he was the one in charge. Two police officers approached them, trying to give a report on the events, but the man ignored them and continued walking towards Joanna and Olivia.
As the middle-aged man stood before them, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a smartphone. His eyes darted back and forth from the screen to the two of them, making Joanna and Olivia nervous.
"You must be Joanna Lee. Klaus's younger sister, right?" the man asked.
"Yes," Joanna replied.
Seeing the young girl before him feeling uneasy, the man immediately put on a friendly smile. He extended his hand to her. "I'm Logan Pierce, Director of the Awakener Association, Manhattan Branch."
Joanna raised an eyebrow. "Ah, Director Logan." She twisted her face in confusion, unsure of how to act when faced with such an important figure. The girl was not used to situations like this.
"I'm Olivia Winston. A member of Rays of Hope. If you need anything, you can ask me," Olivia quickly took over the conversation.
Director Logan nodded. Before speaking with them further, he instructed his subordinates to walk around, leaving the three of them at the police car.
"I know you must be under a lot of pressure or maybe shaken. But can you explain to me what exactly happened here?" Director Logan asked gently.
"Of course, not a problem. We're also Awakeners, after all. This kind of thing is nothing new to us."
Olivia told Director Logan everything about the terrorist attack that happened that night. She explained everything from the beginning of the party, the blackout, the armed terrorist attack, to the appearance of the Awakeners with extraordinary talents. She recounted everything in a chronological order.
After Olivia spoke non-stop for fifteen minutes, Director Logan nodded his head.
"Hm, so they attacked with regular armed forces and two Awakeners who are at least at the S-Class level?" Logan mumbled, pursing his lips.
"Yeah. The people holding firearms were nothing. But the masked woman who could control our bodies was the real nightmare. She was incredibly difficult to defeat."
"Interesting. They used conventional firearms instead of Elemental Guns. They must be from dark guilds."
"Dark guild?" Olivia asked curiously, raising her eyebrows.
"Yes. You know, in America, there are at least tens of millions of Awakeners, but only a few of them are registered. Some unregistered people are criminals. They unite and form underground guilds, making money through illegal means."
"You mean, they're gangsters?" Joanna chimed in.
"Worst," he replied. "They are more organized. Bigger. And more dangerous. One of the infamous dark guilds is the Shadow Brotherhood, a group of Awakeners who kill for money. They might be the ones who attacked this mansion."
"Are they stronger than the Five Pillars?" Joanna asked naively.I think you should take a look at
Director Logan shrugged. "I can't say for sure. Dark guilds are different from them. They only care about money, and only money that can drive them."
Joannad nodded her head as she learned about the dark guilds. She always knew that not everyone who underwent the Awakening wanted to become a certified Awakener. Some of them must have chosen to become criminals. She thought they would end up as regular thugs or gangsters. It never occurred to her that they would form a specialized guild consisting of criminals. And they seemed more organized than any syndicate.
"If they only move when money is involved, it means someone ordered them to kill all of us," Olivia concluded.????????????????????????????????.????????????
Joanna widened her eyes, appearing surprised to hear this fact.
"Exactly," Director Logan replied. "But there were no casualties tonight other than the guards and the terrorists. We don't know if they were targeting Rays of Hope or the Lee Family."
Joanna and Olivia exchanged looks, communicating through their eyes. Seeing their behavior, Director Logan sighed. He came here with a different purpose.
"By the way, have you seen Klaus?" Director Logan asked.
As the eldest son of the Lee Family was mentioned, Joanna and Olivia looked disheartened. Olivia then updated him about Klaus's condition.
However, in the middle of her story, two men approached them. One of the men was carrying an unconscious woman. Widening her eyes, Joanna was surprised to see Sylvia in Klaus's arms. There was no a big hole on her chest, and she appeared to be breathing.
"No way, Sylvia..." Joanna murmured.
"Yeah, she's still alive."
Naturally, tears welled up in her eyes. Joanna cried in joy, and so did Olivia, dropping her jaws. It was hard for them to believe it.
"Sylvia! Sylvia!"
Without hesitation, Joanna embraced the silver-haired woman as tears streamed down her face, while Olivia twisted her face in confusion.
"How did she come back to life? And what's with the hair color?" Olivia asked curiously.
"The woman in the ambulance was a clone. I buried her in the backyard," Klaus lied. "I have an arcana that can duplicate bodies, you know. When the terrorists attacked the mansion, I gave it to Sylvia, just in case something bad happened. It's a very expensive arcana, unfortunately, it can only be used once. Right, Justin?"
"Y-yeah! The silver hair is an effect of the arcana," Justin replied, backing up Klaus's lie. "The real Sylvia was actually hiding under the closet. Hehe..."
"What?" Olivia furrowed her brows. Klaus's explanation sounded very unconvincing, and he knew it. He and Justin came up with this idea just a few minutes ago. Initially, Klaus wanted to tell them that he revived Sylvia from death using a Mythical-Class arcana. But Justin objected, saying it was easier to come up with an unreasonable lie than to explain the process of necromancy.
Director Logan didn't say anything. He just shook his head as he listened to their stories.
"I'm glad to see you're okay, Klaus. I know you're going through a tough time, but can you spare a moment?" Director Logan straightforwardly asked Klaus to speak privately.
Seeing the seriousness in the middle-aged man's face, Klaus agreed. "Sure."
Klaus left Sylvia with Justin and went away from his friends. Walking behind Director Logan, he followed the middle-aged man wherever he went. They spoke among the parked cars in the yard, away from the police and the crowd. There were only the two of them there.
"I thought you were dead, Klaus. Fortunately, you're still intact. Who did you mess with to get the dark guild to attack you?" Director Logan inquired.
Klaus snorted. "Never mind. Just tell me what you want. If it's about the Elemental Gun supply to the Awakener Association, you don't need to worry. We're working on it."
Director Logan nodded. "That's good. But that's not what I want to discuss with you."
Naturally, Klaus raised an eyebrow.
The middle-aged man reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a brown envelope. Klaus then opened it and read the content.
"Project Super Soldier? What is this?" Klaus asked, looking at Director Logan.
"It's from the Pentagon. That is their new project."
