Sudden encounter

Ayan's mood was heavy as they walked through the forest, the weight of the prophecy still pressing on his mind. Suddenly, a creeping sense of danger washed over him, like the gaze of a predator locked onto its prey. His eyes scanned the surroundings.

Swoosh!

A small dart flew straight toward Sonia, but Ayan's reflexes were faster—he snatched it out of the air.

"Quick, hide behind the trees!" he shouted. Sonia and Amelia scrambled for cover at their nearest tree, ready with their guns.

Swoosh, swoosh!

Darts and stones rained down from every direction, forcing them to dodge and weave. They tried to pinpoint the attacker while dodging to no avail. It seemed as if the attacks were appearing from multiple angles out of thin air.

Ayan felt the trees were helping the attackers to hide more than covering them. "We're like sitting ducks in here," Ayan muttered, breaking off thick branches to use as shields while waving them at the attacks. "We need to get out of the forest."

Together, they maneuvered through the dense trees, deflecting the incoming projectiles as they slowly made their way to an open valley. Once there, they hid behind large rocks, readying for another wave of attacks. Ayan gripped sharp rocks, while Sonia and Amelia positioned themselves with their guns.

Moments later, a figure casually emerged from the forest—the same tall man they had seen leaving the oracle's house earlier.

"Who are you? And where's the rest of your group?" Ayan asked warily.

"I'm known as Brone. And there's no one else. Those attacks were all thrown by me.," the man responded.

Brone chuckled darkly. "I didn't expect the few ants from the mafia to survive these little tricks. You couldn't protect yourselves with the cover of the forest. I wonder how will you avoid the attacks in this open valley?"

Bang, bang

Sonia and Amelia fired off shots towards the man but he easily dodged it, moving his head as if he could predict the trajectory of the shots. His steps didn't even slow down while dodging the bullets.

"Coming out of the forest wasn't to get more cover," Ayan said while throwing the sharp stones at him. "But to lure you out of your hiding."

"Trying to lure me out," Brone laughed, catching the stones with ease and crushing them to dust in his hands. "You're courting death!"

Ayan charged towards the man and jumped throwing a direct punch at him. Brone easily stopped his attack with a palm. But Ayan continued raining down fists and kicks each with increasing speed and strength but Brone intercepted them with ease.

"Your attacks are too predictable," Brone taunted.

Undeterred, Ayan attacked with a sudden increase in power and speed, forcing Brone to take a step back.

"Your raw power and speed are definitely impressive. If only you weren't working with the mafia, you could've been trained to become an excellent ranger," Brone lamented.

"Let me show you abilities that you won't be able to learn in the mafia," Brone spoke.

Then Brone's legs glowed faintly as he delivered a powerful kick to Ayan's chest, sending him flying backward, his conditions unknown.

More bullets were fired at him but he dodged them all and turned towards his attention to the ladies. "A mafia leader's daughter running around the woods without security? How careless."

Sonia threw the gun and took out a small dagger. "Amelia, run. I'll stop him," she whispered and threw herself towards the tall man.

Amelia hesitated, looking back at Ayan and Sonia before running, tears streaming down her face.

"What a touching scene," Brone quipped with sarcasm.

He easily incapacitated Sonia, snatching her dagger.

"Your parents were one hell of a nuisance. Compared to your tiger-like parents you're a small kitten," he said divulging that he knew her identity.

Sonia's eyes turned red with anger as she yelled, "Were you the one who killed my parents?"

"Unfortunately, not. Don't worry, you'll meet them soon in hell," Brone shook his head and spoke.

He threw her body smashing against a rock. "But, let me catch the escaping rat first."

Glowing with energy, Brone darted through the valley, catching up to Amelia in seconds. He lifted her effortlessly. "Think your father loves you enough to pay for your life?" he sneered before knocking her unconscious and carrying her back to Sonia.

Ayan, having regained a bit of his strength, struggled to his feet, slowly walked, and stood in front of Sonia in a badly bruised state.

"You got back up already. You're a tough guy, alright?" Brone remarked, kicking Ayan hard, and sending him flying once more. But Ayan stood again, wobbling, barely able to stay upright, his body drenched in blood.

Brone sighed. "But why do you want to protect her? If you pose a threat to Amelia or the mafia, she'll kill you with her own hands. These crazy mafia women with their code of honor can't fall in love."

He looked at a distance as if reminiscing about the past. "Remember this: women who have great ambitions in their heart don't know love, they only make use of men."

His gaze turned sharp as he turned to Ayan. "I'm giving you a last chance. If you back down, I can help you become stronger and see the world you've not imagined before. I can even spare Amelia if you want but I have to kill Sonia no matter what."

Ayan shook his head, his eyes determined. "Over... my... dead body."

Brone's patience snapped, his legs glowing once more as he delivered a crushing kick, sending Ayan tumbling through the valley. A small card with printed 'R' fell from Ayan's clothes, catching Brone's eye. He picked it up, inspecting it closely.

As he flipped over the part with the letter "R," his expression darkened. In an instant, he grabbed Ayan by the throat, lifting him off the ground. "Where did you get this card?"

Ayan smirked through the pain, refusing to answer.

Brone dragged Ayan toward Sonia, pulling out a dagger and pressing it against her neck. "If you don't answer, she dies."

Ayan laughed weakly. "Why should I tell you? You were going to kill her anyway."

Brone made a slash on Sonia's chest, drawing blood. Her scream tore through the valley. Ayan winced, the pain mirrored in his eyes.

"Don't test my patience, kid. If you won't answer, I'll tear her clothes and torture her in front of you," Brone warned.

Looking at her flowing blood, he relented, "It… it was left by my mother."

Brone placed the card in Ayan's hand and looked at it.

Brone's grip tightened. "Who gave you authorization to use it? Who is your mother?"

"A-Aria," Ayan stammered, trembling.

Brone's mind buzzed and an incredulous expression appeared on his face.

"Impossible!" Brone exclaimed. "I saw her die…. twenty years ago."

Brone made another cut on Sonia's hand, enraged, "Tell me the truth!"

"That's the truth!" Ayan screamed. "My mother left this card for me fifteen years ago."

Brone asked, "where's she now?"

Ayan shook his head. "I don't know. Since then, we had no contact with her."

Brone's gaze lingered on Ayan as if searching for any resemblance to someone he had once known. He suddenly stood up and started laughing uproariously pointing at Ayan and Sonia startling them.

After a few minutes, he calmed down and sighed, "What kind of things fate plays on people."

Things took a turn as he suddenly jumped evading two powerful attacks. Two strange figures appeared where he stood a moment ago, one with a dark face wearing completely white clothes while another had a fair face and wore completely black clothes.

Their bodies glowed with black and white colors respectively as they started attacking Brone with a barrage of attacks. Brone's body also glowed brighter as he started battling these two. Brone was not disadvantaged despite facing two versus one.

"Black and white demons, you've sure grown some guts, huh, daring to face me," Brone spoke in a serious tone.

"We wouldn't dare if one of us were fighting you alone," the white demon replied.

"But together we're not afraid of you," the black demon completed the sentence.

The fists and kicks were so fast it was difficult for Ayan to keep up with his eyes.

In the midst of it all, a whisper echoed in Ayan's ear: "The reason I wanted to kill Sonia is because Aria wanted her dead. Also, she was the one who killed Sonia's parents."

Ayan was shocked at the words. "Did you hear someone speak?" he asked Sonia, but she shook her head, puzzled.

The attacks of black and white demons were in sync with each other hindering Brone from gaining any advantage despite being stronger. After some time, all three of them took a step back.

"I know that you two are trying to stall, waiting for reinforcements," Brone growled.

"Fine. I'll leave. Your mafia leader is lucky that you two came in time," he said reluctantly.

The two demons sighed in relief that this monster was leaving. Brone just turned to leave when he threw the dagger which disappeared in mid-air and appeared beside Sonia aiming at her. Without thinking, Ayan shielded her with his own body causing the dagger to stab him in his back.

"No. Ayan, stay with me," Sonia screamed as she held Ayan's collapsing body. Blood pooled around him but he smiled weakly before losing consciousness.

Watching this, Brone sighed, shaking his head. "Such a stubborn kid."

He tossed a vial at the white demon. "Feed this to the kid if he survives. He's been poisoned by my darts."

With that, Brone vanished into the shadows.