Chapter 33

The wind continued to blow as the two of them locked eyes. The woman's hair swayed with the wind, and Oliver kept his face concealed by the hood, revealing the faint green glow of his eyes.

With a slightly lower chuckle, the woman tilted her chin, exposing her neck as she closed her eyes.

"But then..." She opened her eyes, which shone with a bluish hue, and finally flashed a menacing smile. "What if I were to?"

Oliver tightened his grip on the arrow, responding with a serious look. "Anyone who interferes with my mission, I will kill."

Suddenly, the wind grew more impetuous, lifting Oliver's hood and revealing his face, while the woman's hair continued to dance in the wind.

She squinted slightly upon seeing the wounds on Oliver's face, then lowered her chin, returning to a serious expression as she said, "You're more involved in this fight than you should be, aren't you?"

"I didn't seek it, but since it came to me, I'll have to see it through to the end."

Both continued to exchange glances, and in an instant, the woman looked towards the arrow. Oliver felt a chill down his spine, and in an instant, the arrow disappeared from his hand, causing him to widen his eyes as he jumped back, remaining alert with his glowing eyes while breaking into a cold sweat.

Oliver looked at his trembling and sweaty hand, realizing that one simple movement had shown something different. As he glanced at the woman, she continued to observe attentively.

"What was that?" His mind took him back to moments ago when he clearly felt his arrow being seized and shattered before he could react, making him stare at the serious woman who soon displayed a smile.

"What makes you think we want to harm you?" Slowly, she tossed her hair back, returning to her usual elegant posture along with an inviting smile. "I don't think you're the type to make baseless accusations, or am I mistaken about you? I'd like to understand a bit more about how you think and how you came to this conclusion."

She clasped both her hands behind her back and leaned against the tree, looking directly at Oliver, maintaining the same smile as she waited for what would come.

Oliver exhaled slowly, remaining vigilant, and then stood up, still feeling a chill down his spine but returning his gaze to the woman.

"I don't think the intention is to harm me per se, but there's something that still bothers me about all of this," Oliver said, placing his hand on his chest, near his heart, and lowering it afterward. "You already know about my encounter with the gunslinger, and you probably have been following him even before I got my relics."

"We always keep an eye on potential users. We extend invitations to those we like, and yours is still open, Oliver," she continued with a smile. "Now that he's a threat, and you've seen some of the damage he inflicted on you, plus the fact that you're not facing just one enemy now. I don't think it's a bad proposition, it never was, actually."

"That's not the point, but it's still about what you said."

In the end, the woman lowered her eyebrows, returning to a more serious tone.

"You said?"

"About the invitation. If he's a relic user, I think he should be in your sights, especially when he's an active one and has been drawing a lot of attention now that he's not just a problem for a single city."

Oliver slung his bow across his body and continued speaking.

"But the main issue isn't that. After some research, I came to the conclusion that all that information omission had to be deliberate because only a few reports met the criteria of a bullet to the heart," Oliver continued. "Not only that, victim information is scarce. There are no names, so there's no pattern. They seem like reports designed to shock people and then be ignored, with nothing to follow up on, no reporters, and, in the end, just a mystery."

"And do you think we're controlling the media to do that?"

"No, because an editorial chief or someone with a bit more care and a lot of work could also omit some information or only send incomplete articles," he said, crossing his arms. "That's not why I suspect you."

The woman raised her eyebrows slightly, looking surprised, and then flashed a smile.

"You seem much more informed. Did you discover all this in the past few days?"

"No, the answers have always been right in front of me," Oliver said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a metallic USB drive, the same one he had used at work to access the reports from the branches. He showed it and said, "Do you know what this is?"

The woman looked at the USB drive from a distance, raising an eyebrow, and with her physical response, Oliver raised his eyebrows slightly but smiled, saying, "With the articles that were published, I managed to find a few pieces of information after hours of reading and rereading. In the end, after so much research, I found some names."

Oliver remembered the file transfers to his notebook. At first, the reports had little information, treating them as common murders, and gradually more details emerged.

"Men found dead in an alley."

"Over 10 victims in a week killed by gunshot."

"All victims found were shot in the chest."

All the articles seemed manipulated, containing almost no information, but in the end, Oliver concluded as he looked at the woman.

"I had to search the internet for people or their relatives. It wasn't an easy job. But there are websites on the internet that report on the day-to-day life in the city or the neighborhood. From there, I started my work. I think if I sold the story, I'd get promoted," Oliver concluded with a smile. As he followed the train of thought, the woman's smile only grew as Oliver continued. "I think you haven't stopped the gunslinger yet primarily because he kills criminals, isn't that right?"

Slowly, the woman pushed herself off the tree, maintaining her smile, and clapped her hands, causing Oliver to furrow his brow. After brief applause, she spoke again.

"You should be an investigator, Oliver. As time goes on, I want you to work for me-"

"I haven't finished."

Oliver continued with a furrowed brow and then stored the USB drive. Slowly, the silver-haired woman lowered her hands, and Oliver squinted, saying.

"He kills criminals, some with extensive records, including murder or worse, but there are also those who committed petty thefts. But he killed them all."

"Do you have sympathy for criminals now, Oliver?" She spoke with a more serious look now, her smile fading, but Oliver responded.

"I don't care, but I never agreed with this disproportion in defense or in the fight against criminals. But I think you also know that he doesn't just kill criminals."

Oliver continued with a furrowed brow, and the woman continued to stare, appearing serious.

"When he confronted me, I stayed at the crime scene for a while and waited to see what the police said. In the end, some of them knew about the murdered victims, they weren't just thieves. He kills almost anyone with a gun, be it a cop or a criminal," Oliver crossed his arms again and continued speaking. "He came from the other city after me but proposed a duel instead of just finishing me off in that alley, and I think I already know the reason. But before we go into the fight, I rephrase my question, and from here, we can finish the conversation and get to what matters."

"As you wish."

The woman concluded with a smile, and she watched Oliver remove the bow from his body, once again staring with seriousness as the wind began to blow again. Oliver questioned, ready for a fight.

"I know you want relic users on your side, and you probably would like the gunslinger to join you. After all, if he were such a big problem, I think you would have taken care of him already." The woman continued to smile, and Oliver nocked an arrow in his bow, ready to fight, while pointing it downward. "Are you my enemy?"

Once again, the wind ceased, and for a few seconds, silence took over. Oliver could clearly see both their hearts beating, with his slightly faster in comparison to hers.

Oliver felt that she was ready to fight and confident of her victory. The tense atmosphere made him sure of the difference in experience between the two. In the end, he saw the smile on the woman's face as she responded.

"I am not your enemy, Oliver. And if you're so afraid of the gunslinger, I can kill him for you." The end of her sentence made Oliver widen his eyes as he still heard the woman's heart maintaining the same calm rhythm while she extended her hand. "Understand, I'm neither good nor evil. If he kills cops or criminals, I don't care as long as he stands with us for what's to come."

"The war, right?" Oliver broke into a cold sweat as he felt the weight of those words, gripping the bow nervously as he continued. "You don't care who he kills?"

"People die every day, and relic users are not yet a threat, so much so that they haven't even been discovered by the media," she said, looking off to the side, heaving a long sigh, seeming to be lost in thought. "Just a poor soul who tried to raise his voice and be heard, but in the end, no one paid attention to him."

Oliver furrowed his brow, recalling LegendHunter, realizing that it had been a while since he last posted. In the end, the woman looked back at Oliver, maintaining her smile.

"As I said, I'm not on anyone's side, not even the institution. I can assure you we're not providing support to the gunslinger yet." She twirled a strand of hair around her fingers as she continued. "But I think you've noticed that even though you've grown stronger, the difference between you is clear."

His hand trembled, and Oliver gripped the bow even harder as the woman continued.

"It's okay to be afraid, Oliver. As I said, I can put an end to him for you, but I want you to join me, as I asked from the beginning." She extended her hand to Oliver again with a smile, and the vigilante continued to stare nervously.

In an instant, Oliver widened his eyes as he saw the woman already in front of him, her hand extended almost touching his face. His body froze, unable to move, and he only heard her ask.

"Will you join me?"