Connection

I adjusted my mask as I stared at Benedict then chuckled darkly. I dashed toward him and went for a punch, but he evaded my attack then countered with an uppercut. I stopped his uppercut with my elbow then smirked.

Rhea appeared behind him and slashed at his neck. He sensed her attack then ducked under her attack. Rhea looked surprised then groaned as he kicked her away from him then threw his knife at her. She grunted and blocked the knife. The knife scrapped against her blade then flew past her head.

He adjusted his mask and turned back to me. "Feng Shui. Every being in existence has aura, chi, or if you're lucky you'll have Mana. I can harmonize my energy with everyone within a vast radius and take advantage of this ability to avoid damage and deal devastating damage to people like you."

'Although still a human, he has abilities any normal person could only dream of having.' I thought to myself.

I unholstered my gun then fired a bullet at him. The flow of the bullet shifted, causing my bullet to miss him. I was a bit surprised then fired multiple bullets at him. The flow of the bullets distorted and flew off in different directions.

"Take a look around you." Benedict said.

I looked around and noticed golden particles floating around a vast area. "What is this..?"

"This is my true ability. Luck Zone. Once this field is set, my allies all gain incredibly good luck and you...get all the bad luck. You can't hope to defeat me...let alone kill me." Benedict said then aimed his pistol at me.

I braced myself then heard the gun fire. I tried to dodge the bullet, but the flow of the bullet curved directly toward me. I looked surprised then groaned as the bullet hit my right leg.

"Bubba!" Rhea yelled and ran toward me.

"N-No! Stay back!" I yelled.

Benedict fired bullets at Rhea, but I made a barrier of energy appear around her. The flow of the bullets distorted then flew toward the weak spots of the barrier and pierced through it, hitting Rhea in her legs and arms.

My eye widened as I watched. Rhea fell to the ground on her hands and knees. She grunted and felt blood trickling down her arms and legs.

"As you see, The Ace, or should I take a lucky guess at your name and say Ryder...King." Benedict said then pointed his gun at me. "In this field, I am unbeatable. I am willing to spare your lives. All you have to do is give me the Mask of The Ace."

I watched him take aim at Rhea then looked surprised. I glared at him. "Benedict..."

"What will it be..? The Mask or her life.." Benedict said then groaned as he was struck on his cheek.

Rebecca glared and veins began to pop on her arms as she knocked him away. "Fucking scum!"

Benedict rolled backwards then recovered onto one knee, sliding backwards. He stopped himself before he exited the Luck Zone. He stood up and chuckled a bit. "Rebecca King. You are the previous Ace. How fitting for your brother to become The Ace."

Rebecca smirked at Benedict then cracked her knuckles. "Benedict Chance. I know that annoying fucking voice anywhere."

"You know him?" I asked.

"He's one of the fuckers who rented me out in the past. A real creep who loved to gamble. He was always considered one of the luckiest in the world before he stole that mask from Charlotte." Rebecca said.

"I can't lie, I did fumble the bag with you. I still remember your sweet moans before Lukas came along. Rebecca, I won't kill you. I want you back into my arms." Benedict said.

"Sorry that's not happening, Cap'n. You see I already belong to someone." Rebecca smirked.

"So you're still with Lukas huh." Benedict said.

Rebecca shook her head and smiled. "My brother owns me."

Benedict looked at me and there I saw the purest form of hatred a man could express. I braced myself and heard him chuckle.

"So if I kill him, you won't belong to him anymore? Fascinating! Ryder! After I kill you, your precious sister will be mine!" Benedict laughed and began to fire bullets at me.

I grunted and tried to deflect the bullets, but the flow of the bullets caused them to curve around me and strike my body. I groaned and fell down, hissing in pain.

Benedict dodged an attack from Rebecca then elbowed her in her weak spot. Rebecca coughed a bit of blood then fell to her knees. Benedict turned toward her and looked down at her.

"Kinda fitting on how you were on your knees for me all that time ago...now look at you. Back on your knees like the little slut you are." Benedict said then gripped her hair, making her look at him.

Rebecca spit in his face then scowled. "Get your filthy hands off me."

Benedict wiped the spit off his face then let her go and hit her with a right hook. "A slut like you doesn't have the rights to disrespect someone of my status!"

My hands shook with anger as I watched Rebecca get hit by Benedict.

Benedict pressed his foot against Rebecca's head and began to apply pressure against her head, crushing her skull. "On second thought, I should just kill you."

Rebecca groaned in pain then screamed in pain as she was shot in her legs. She gripped the ground and tried to resist, but the more she struggled the worse the pain got.

I grit my teeth and my blood began to boil. I yelled and ran toward Benedict at my full speed then slashed at his neck, but he ducked then fired a bullet in my stomach. I groaned then stood my ground and slashed at him again. His aura protected his body and caused my blade to break upon contact with his aura.

He shot me four more times then watched me drop to the ground.

"Bubba!" Rhea screamed and crawled to me. "Bubba! I knew...I knew this would be too dangerous for you. Why didn't we just send you back home..?!"

"The Ace has fallen!" A mercenary yelled.

Noel's eyes widened then she looked in my direction then noticed me on the ground. "Ryder!"

Wendy noticed my laying in a puddle of my own blood. "N-No...Ryder!"

Eliza and Eve looked in my direction then Eliza rushed over to my location then dodged a bullet. She stopped in her tracks and noticed Benedict pointing his gun at her.

Alice was enraged. She let her emotions take control then yelled and took aim at Benedict then fired her bullet, but it missed without Benedict having to do anything. She took aim again, breathing heavily. Her aim was unsteady. Tears formed in her eyes.

Charlotte looked at me then her Heartless State turned into straight Apathy. She saw me on the ground and walked toward me. "My beloved...why didn't you retreat..?"

I stared at the sky and noticed the clouds moving along the sky. My heart thumped hard and began to beat faster. I could feel my vision fading. I heard Rebecca's pained wails and Rhea screaming my name.

'I can't die...here. I made a promise...Talenta, why won't you save me..' I thought to myself.

Charlotte made her way closer to the Luck Zone. Mercenaries tried to stop her, but she killed them in one blow with no effort while walking toward the Luck Zone. "My beloved...You promised...My Ace.."

"B-Boss..?" Wendy asked and felt a presence so vengeful it terrified her.

'What...do I have to do...for you to answer me..? I'm losing blood...I don't want to die...' I thought to myself and tears formed in my eyes.

"Then get up." Talenta said as she sat beside me.

My eyes widened and I noticed I was in an empty world with her beside me. She stood up and looked down at me.

"You are The Ace. You are the man these women depend on. You are their hero. Their boyfriend. Their lover. So stand up.." Talenta said.

I slowly stood up and watched her walk forward then followed her. "Where am I..?"

"The Love Domain. As a user of the Love Masks, it is only right that you meet the man who made it." Talenta said.

I kept following her then entered a garden and noticed a man standing at a Lake. He had red hair, wore royal attire, and wielded a mask in his hand. It was a Mask with a complex sigil on the forehead of the mask.

"Shiro." Talenta said.

The man turned around then smiled. "It's you...The Ace."

I looked at Shiro then noticed his golden eyes shine. "You're Shiro..?"

"I am. If you are able to enter this Domain...that means you are chosen to be my successor, but before you can...you need to prove yourself to me. Tell me, what do you desire the most. I will grant three of your Desires." Shiro said to me.

I gave it a bit of thought. There was so much I wanted but I could only get three granted. "First...I want-"

"Hold it. For the wish to work, you must say, 'I desire'. Only then will it work." Shiro said.

I nodded, understanding what he said. "Well...there's only one thing I want. I have almost everything a person could dream of. I have money, power, and women...but I desire the ability to protect them at all times. I made a promise. A promise I can not break.."

Shiro smiled at me and held his hand toward me. His hand began to emit aura then his aura rushed toward me and surrounded my body.

I watched my body shine and felt more stronger. "What..."

"I awakened an ability only Users of the Sigil of Talent can use within you. It is called Emblem of Talent. Combine that with your Instant Evolution, and you'll have an ability that not only lets you copy other abilities but also evolve them. That should be enough for you to defeat Benedict. I have a request for you." Shiro said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"As you know, the masks I created to give Charlotte was for combating the Dark Web Mercenaries and the Big Ten. If you manage to get all the masks back in possession of Charlotte, I will consider you my successor." Shiro said then turned around. "Until then...do your best. I will be watching you from afar."

I opened my eyes in the real world then sat up. I looked around my surroundings. I noticed Charlotte taking down waves of mercenaries in one blow, trying to make her way to Benedict.

I stood up and adjusted my mask then fired a bullet in the air. Everyone stopped then looked in my direction. Charlotte looked at me and her eyes widened. I slowly lowered my arm then opened my eye.

"You've done far enough...Benedict." I said then the Talent Sigil shined brightly on my mask then faint aura surrounded my body.

"How is he still alive..?!" Benedict asked and got off Rebecca's head. He pointed his gun at me then fired multiple bullets at me.

I watched the bullets then the flow of the bullets shifted and caused them to miss. Benedict looked surprised and stared at me.

"No...that was a fluke!" He bellowed and kept firing off bullets directly at me.

The flow of the bullets distorted and missed me again and again. I walked forward then clenched my fists. My aura began to show more clearly then Talenta faintly appeared behind me.

"I made a promise. I made a promise to protect all of my women. I won't let anyone stop me from fulfilling that promise." I said then stopped walking, standing in front of Benedict. I opened my left eye and the Emblem of Talent formed in my left eye as if it was a Sharingan.

My body began to develop more powers and abilities within after I survived the fatal bullet shots to my body. My aura was fully visible and so was Talenta.

Luckie looked at Talenta then seemed surprised to see her. Talenta looked at Luckie then looked at me.

"Benedict...I will kill you and take your Mask. Afterwards...I will kill Barbara." I said coldly.

Benedict just stared at me with a surprised expression. He took a step back as he noticed my emotionless face. He grunted and glared at me. "We will see about that.."

"Enough talking...how about we get right to the battle.." I said then got into my fighting stance.

To Be Continued...