-The Explanation

Not too far away, within the depths of the woods Lia had nearly found herself dead in, Cain stood high in the air.

Not too high to be mistaken for flying, but some ways off the ground. Below him, he could hear the stuttered breathing of a beast as it gasped for air.

The ogre.

The samurai had done good work, cutting off good portions of its flesh and arteries. But the ogre was stronger than Cain had anticipated.

'At least A rank I think.'

This much Cain could deduce from just one encounter. And for a B rank samurai, the fight was already in the ogre's favor.

But, thankfully the ogre couldn't keep up with samurai's speed, and using that weakness to his advantage, the warrior cleanly dealt as many blows as it could to the beast.

Sadly, however, once the ogre caught on, it only took one blow for the samurai to be weakened considerably. Especially considering that the ogre's strength was ten times his own.

In the end, Cain had no choice but to call back the samurai to the Eternal Realm.

That was right, Cain had asked the samurai to defend Lia, while he entered this world. Of course it took some time to set up the rune circle on her body, but once he did it was smooth sailing from there.

The ogre shifted beneath Cain's feet, as it once again struggled for breath.

It was desperately trying to survive, and with little blood that it had left, Cain could see the struggling effort of the ogre, as he desperately tried to pull himself away, and out from under Cain's feet.

But, Cain was not worried. If anything, the gaping whole in the ogre's chest, the size of a large boulder, was enough for him to know the ogre was said and done for.

But even then, Cain couldn't have the ogre warning its master, a man Cain had failed to discover when he arrived.

'Wherever that man is hiding, it can't be good for her.'

Believe it or not, even if a summons dies, the summoner would not face any sort of backlash from the death. They might feel the same pain as the summons when dying, but for Cain that meant nothing.

What did worry him was Lia. If she died, being the summoner, he as the summons would disappear from this would, thrown back into the Eternal Realm. And that was not something Cain necessarily wanted right now. At least for the time being.

He had plans, and he was going to ensure that those plans were met with full execution.

So, for worry sake, Cain raised his left leg, and stomped the head of the ogre down to the ground, splattering amber colored blood everywhere. Even on Cain, who could care less.

With the sudden death of the ogre, Cain had no doubt that the summoner would be feeling the backlash, and that's when he would catch him.

But as he turned to go search once more, he came face to face with three, dark robed individuals, who stood within the shaded area of the tree line.

Cain already knew who they were however, deducing that the ogre's summoner was an ally of theirs.

"Phantoms."

The word had no meaning behind it at all, but to the three clocked individuals, it shocked them.

"So, you know who we are?"

One of the individuals spoke, stepping forward to remove their hood.

She had blond hair decorated in braids that traveled down her back. Cain could vividly see the small signs of a Rune circle tracing along the bottom of her neck, near her collar bone.

Unknown to the group, Cain had already begun circulating the mana inside his body, preparing for the worst of cases to unfold.

Cain only smiled at their words, resulting in the three taking a glance at one another, before turning back to him with smiles on their faces.

"Since you're aware of who we are, allow me to introduce myself personally."

The woman took a slight bow before gesturing to her companions.

"'My name is Vanessa. These are Karl, and Von. One of whom you've greatly injured."

"I can assume then that he's the summoner of this beast."

Cain's straightforwardness and lack of interest in their introduction had allowed the slightest of disgust and anger to appear on Vanessa's face before it quickly disappeared.

"Yes, that is Karl. He's one of our new members who recently joined us on this mission. Which is actually why I came to speak with you."

Vanessa stepped aside to show her comrades, who drew back their hoods to show their faces.

One, a bald man with a small and subtle scar running down his cheek, Cain could only guess was Karl, who trembled and shook with fear, knowing and feeling the emotions of his ogre before it took its last breath.

Cain couldn't help but smile at the mans fear of him, which caused Karl to step back in terror at the sight of Cain's sinister smile.

"Now, now, let's not be hasty and do something unthinkable."

Vanessa, having seen the look Cain gave Karl, and the reaction Karl had to his smile, she stepped between the two, doing her best to douse the situation.

"Oh, you have no need to fear me, my lady. Your friend behind you was simply a little bit shook."

Cain disregarded them once again, as she jumped down from the ogre's corpse, which had begun to disintegrate in ash.

"So, what is it you want with me?"

At the sound of this, Vanessa's ears perked up, her excitement spiked. This is exactly what they wanted from him.

From the very beginning, ever since he came blasting through the trees at supersonic speed, ramming his fist in the gut of the ogre, Vanessa knew he was powerful.

Powerful enough to blast the life out of an ogre with one fatal punch. It was so powerful in fact that even she, Von, and Karl, who had come to request their assistance in tracking down a girl who escaped him, felt the shock wave of the blast yards away.

He was a gift they could have never asked for.

A being of incredible power, an S rank she could only guess. Within their branch, she could barely count the S rankers who worked for them, and their summoners whose greed and arrogance was unmatched. But out of all of them, she had never seen someone so strong.

"You want me to join you?"

Snapping Vanessa out of her thoughts was Cain's voice, who shocked the three of them with his words.

"So…you knew."

"Of course I knew. Normally a branch manager of the Phantoms doesn't just come out to anyone."

Truth be told, Vanessa was only here for the princess, a person who they were told to kill above all else, because of the connections they could have gained with her death. The power they could have used and wielded in her own kingdom.

But Vanessa ended up finding something better.

"So then, I assume you know what we are?"

"Of course."

It surprised Vanessa that this man knew so much about them, but even then, practically the whole continent knew about them.

Phantoms.

The group of people who stood before him were these very people. A group of supremacists who believed that the modern hierarchy and world is corrupt, in favor of the other person always.

The rich get richer, the poor get poorer, but above all, it was how the top treated those on the bottom, denying the very laws they set into place, simply because they wanted to put 'commoners' in their place.

It disgusted the Phantoms, who now believed that the modern world needed a change. These people needed to be ruled over, in favor of the poorer person.

And that was their very goal.

To overthrow all forms of government, monarchy, and or republic, creating a utopia for the people of all races, genders and forms of power.

You think it would be nice, the feeling of equality, but Cain was smarter than the average person. He knew their real goal. The use of underhanded methods to achieve such goals, is what he calls the work of a coward.

"Then may I interest you in our little humble goal of ours."

Cain secretly rolled his eyes. Though the Phantoms had been around for over a few centuries, they still had not accomplished much other than toppling a few kingdoms.

In fact, it was for this reason that most kingdoms treated the Phantoms as mere jokes, as the moment a kingdom was toppled, it would simply get absorbed back into another kingdom.

Ruining their plans once again.

"We'd like you to join us, and our noble goal. We as the Phantoms are tired of the corrupt world we live in, and thus, wish to change things. And we would like you to join us."

Cain found this somewhat hilarious.

"And what makes you think I'll join you?"

Vanessa almost laughed. Clearly to Cain, she seems far too arrogant to be giving a sales pitch.

"Most join us because of the noble goal we strive for. The peace of a utopia for all, and equality to everyone."

Vanessa raised her hands in some holy proclamation, staring deeply into Cain's eyes.

"Of course, there are other means to this. I understand that the samurai from before must have been your summons, and I can tell you that powerful summoners who join us are handsomely rewarded. Whether it be money, fame, or women, all your desires will be met to stove for our righteous goal."

"Anything?"

Cain's question only further excited Vanessa as she believed that she had roped him in.

"Anything you desire."

At the sound of this, Cain did something unexpected. So unexpected that the three Phantoms stepped back in surprise and fear.

Draped across his face was the most sinister smile that they had ever seen. The horror behind his eyes, the evil in his smile, and the death written everywhere within his presence.

Vanessa began to fear what sinister thoughts were roaming through his head. What he would ask, would be something sinister she had no doubt.

"Chaos."

"Huh?"

Such a simple word, yet it holds such a significance now, more than ever.

Vanessa's mind was already turning, wondering just what he might have meant when he said that. 'Chaos,' could mean a number of things, and none of them ever ended well.

But before she could continue questioning him, Cain spoke, causing them all to flinch.

"You speak of noble causes. Don't mistake me for some fool who you can enthrall in your war. I'm not that easily moved."

"W-what do you mean?"

"You speak to me about equality, yet I don't believe that at all. You spew the 'idea' of peace and utopia ideals, but I know you."

With every word he stepped closer, causing Von, Karl, and Vanessa to instinctively step back.

"You merely preach the idea , but in reality, you simply want to replace those at the top. Move in where their seat may become vacant. There's no equality in your words, only some failed hypocrisy."

His words infuriated Vanessa, who at one point thought he was easy to move and persuade. She thought he was just another man wrapped around her finger. She was wrong.

To openly insult their goals, their beliefs, the very core they lived by was only oil to their flames.

"What makes you so sure? What gives you the right to lecture us? We're freeing people from oppression. Without us being there in charge, total chaos would ensue-ah."

Vanessa stopped suddenly, as her own words reached her ears.

'So that's what he meant.'

"So, it looks like you've caught on."

Cain's logistical expression returned to that of a sinister smile, as he looked from Karl to Von, and finally back to Vanessa, who was only a few feet away. He could see her slight shaking, and she struggled to keep it under control.

"I desire chaos Vanessa. And while you do believe in the idea of war and plunder, to take away the power of those who stand at the top, you instead chose to replace them. That's not me."

"H-How do you know my-"

Before she could finish, Cain appeared before her, only inches from her face.

"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to."

As he stepped away, walking deeper into the forest, he looked back at the three before he left. His eyes shone bright with a crimson hue fading out into the air.

"You don't meet my goals. Your only fakes. You inflict chaos only to then bring order. It is because of this that I will not join you."

And with that, Cain walked away, fading into the shadows the trees produced, as the sun began to set behind the western mountains.

And with this, Vanessa was left with the impression of a man she would never soon forget.

A man who inspired fear into their hearts with only a glance.

A man who destroyed an A class ogre with just one punch.

His summons were powerful, but compared to his execution of its power, Vanessa knew he would have stood at the peak of power with the other Phantom leaders.

Under her breath, she mumbled in pity.

"Such a waste."

And with that, she turned and left, followed closely on her tail by Von and Karl, who were pale to the bone in fear.

'Chaos is what he said, then it will be chaos that I bring.'

As Vanessa thought this, she couldn't help but smile to herself.

'I'll show you chaos.'

But unbeknownst to her and her group, from the distance Cain could still clearly see her, as his crimson eyes began fading into the darkness.

The subtle sound of his voice broke the silence.

"You may try, little one."