113. Didn't ring a bell?

113. Didn't ring a bell?

Stella gulped and slowly opened her mouth "the primary objective of these kidnapping incidents is to get a hold of your sister…." Stella said, "or more like your sister's family" Stella quickly added the last information rather than telling Lex bit by bit that it's better to dump it once and for all so that he won't be upset at her multiple times.

"…" Lex was dumbfounded. He never expected that her sister would be brought up on this topic (and her family… if I'm not wrong, her real family name should be Quintonella), Lex thought. But, rather than angry, he was more confused about what Maya's real family did that they became hunted like this.

As for Maya herself, she didn't have any connection with her real family, and Lex was also confident in protecting her. (Still, they were Maya and Max's real family, even if they had thrown them away. I won't put my body to help them, but at least I could give them information if I was coincidentally able to know their whereabouts.)

On the other hand, Stella was confused by Lex's mild reaction. From her perspective, Lex didn't really care about justice, but if it were about someone close to him, he wouldn't hesitate to turn the world upside down. (Especially her…) Stella thought she knew Ella Bentley and her family had a special position on Lex's heart, so it was unexpected for him to calm like this. She didn't even feel a shred of anger from Lex. (It was strange!!)

"Why are they looking for Maya's family?" Lex asked.

(Ah!) Stella realized her mistake. (Damn it!) she cursed her own stupidity. Then she slowly opened her mouth "it wasn't her," Stella gulped again "it's Ella and her family!"

*BOOOOOOOM

The glasses on their table, the other table, and the owner's booth burst. The empty seat toppled down. Even some customers toppled down like a Strong gust of wind hit them.

Lex put both hands in front of his face and took a deep breath several times. "Sorry," he said coldly, "I lost control just now. Can you repeat it again?" Lex said and glared at Stella. His eyes told her I won't tolerate you if it's a joke. Lex apologized to Stella Inside, the panicked customers, and the owner.

Stella also took a deep breath and glared back at Lex with strength in her eyes "you didn't hear it wrong, Lex. It was Ella and her family."

Lex took another deep breath to calm himself "the reason?" He asked.

"The only thing I can tell you is that their family is special," Stella replied.

*Bam Lex slammed the table while losing control of his strength, and the table broke instantly.

"You can't tell me?" Killing intent exuded from Lex.

Stella knew she wasn't a match against him. If they really fought seriously against each other, Stella wasn't sure if she could survive for more than one minute.

Still, she didn't back down. "Yes, I can't," Stella said, then waited for Lex's next move, but Lex only silently glared at her. However, his Killing intent was still there. It was like a thousand daggers only waiting for a single command before piercing her body.

"And are you sure you want to hear about their family from my mouth Lex? Isn't it better for them and you to hear directly from them" Stella persuaded him while cold sweat didn't stop falling down from her body.

Lex didn't say anything and kept silent, yet his Killing intent slowly receded.

"It's okay. The others only know they are looking for someone your age to two years younger than you in the targeted family. Only me alone who knew it was Ella and her family the one they were looking for."

"I'm sorry for my many outbursts" Lex finally opened his mouth. "Let's change our location" he stood up and looked toward the owner, who scrapped the ground for any valuables he could still save.

While the strong gust from before made other customers afraid, they instantly ran for their lives when Lex destroyed the table.

"Owner, we're done. We want to pay," Lex called.

The owner flinched and was afraid of Lex, but still, he approached them for the money. He has already lost many things. Even if it's just a little money, he still needs it, even with the high chance of being beaten by Lex.

After Lex sent the money through his bracelet, he turned away and wanted to leave with Stella.

"C-customer!!" The owner called. He was dumbfounded when he saw how much money that student sent him. "This is too much!!"

"Just saved it. Let's say it was my compensation and apologize for the broken table," Lex said.

"But it's still too much!" The owner replied.

"For those, too," Lex turned to the devastating scene of his shop.

The owner followed his sight after understanding what Lex meant. The owner turned to Lex again only to find them gone (but it was still too much), the owner thought.

***

Lex brought Stella into Crimson Eagle's branch and borrowed a room from them.

"So that's the reason behind these kidnapping incidents?" Lex asked.

Stella nodded and explained, "the only hint they have was it was someone your age to two years younger and has a big probability not related to Hidden World at the moment."

"The one who headed this plan was a Mana Race like me. But, he was a vampire," Stella said.

"They must move secretly and avoid any attention from those related to the Hidden World in this City. So they spend their time slowly but surely to achieve their goals. They started from workers looking for as much information as possible."

"After knowing who wasn't related to the Hidden World, they slowly sink their fangs. Then, Brad, The Vampire, charmed women while me, a Succubus, charmed the men and used them to look for more information."

"While I only charmed them so they follow my command, Brad took it even further and brainwashed them to become loyal puppets that won't betray him no matter what happened. Then, after they conquered the adult from adult to their children, they slowly pointed their fangs to their goal."

"I see," Lex replied. He hid his bloodied clenched fist (They killed Max, and now they're aiming for Kate... You won't have a peaceful death!) Lex tried his best to calm his anger

"What's their number?" Lex added.

"Maybe it's for secrecy, or the organization has trust and confidence in The Vampire. It's only him and me. The rest are puppets; however, with how much time has passed since the plan started, they have numerous puppets. While I am only here to help him more easily manipulate men, The rest was in his hands," Stella said with an apology.

"Do you know how to meet him?" Lex asked again.

"Yes, if he didn't know about me changing sides, then we'll meet again in less than a week," Stella said.

"Alright, I'll call another person here, and let's make a plan and end this farce," Lex said.

***

Inside a medium size room, the room was decorated like a standard meeting room. There's a knee-high table with a sofa on both sides. If you've ever watched a movie before, you'll find the place was similar to those places where the CEO of one big company welcomed his guest who was the same level or higher.

There are five people inside the room at the moment. On one side was a dirty blonde-haired young woman who looked like a college student. Her curve was undeniably attractive. Then beside her was a black-haired young man who only looked like a high school student, yet his gaze showed others he had matured above his age. This beautiful and handsome couple was none other than Rae and Lex.

After hearing most of the situation from Stella, Lex called Rae and explained the situation to her. Then the three immediately brainstormed a plan for how to deal with it. In the end, they found they needed help to solve this problem. It's not enough with the power of the people in this branch. There's a big problem with the quality, but it's negligible compared to quantity. That's why they decided to reach out to another party for cooperation, and the party chosen by Rae and agreed by Lex and Stella was The Guild, who also tried their best to solve these incidents.

On the other side was a handsome man in his twenties. He had black hair like her daughter, his eyes were sharp, staring at Rae and Lex, trying not to miss the smallest detail. Lex also read beforehand about his information, and he knew the person in front of him was Carter Bella, the father of his classmate Priscilla Bella, also the current Guild Master of this Guild.

Then the two people stood behind Carter, who was seated along with Rae and Lex. One was a bulky muscle man, and the other was a glasses beauty office lady.

After the tea was served by underlings to the three of them, Carter opened the conversation. "So, what is the honor of this little guild for having the opportunity to meet the great mercenary Crimson Eagle?" he said with a bit of sarcasm.

No one can fault him for acting this way toward Rae and Lex. They basically come here without any notice beforehand.

"For starters, Let me introduce myself," Rae replied without a flinch at his remark. "Crimson Eagle's Third Executive First Trainee, Rae Crimson"

"Crimson?" Carter was a bit surprised by her name. He never expected someone from higher up would visit his place. (Crimson Eagle was on the decline in the last few years, but they are still above some small organizations like us… what do they want?) Carter thinks hard about what Crimson Eagle can get from them.

"That's right, my master was kind enough to bestow this name on me," Rae said. Named Crimson in Crimson Eagle is exceptional. If a disciple or trainee was given Crimson, it was the same as pointing him/her as their successor, so if there wasn't any problem in the middle, Rae would definitely become the next Executive.

"I see. Please forgive my rudeness from before." Carter apologized it won't be a joke if his organization was destroyed by his previous remark. It wasn't like there would be any consequences if Crimson Eagle decided to destroy the Guild on this Valentine's City. But it's also a fact it won't be hard for them to do so.

"My name is Carter Bella, the current Guild Master, and behind me was my subordinate Tom and Risa," He introduced them.

"It's fine," Rae replied. "It's our fault to come unnoticed, however…." Rae stopped momentarily, glancing at the muscle man and the secretary woman behind Carter. "I hope you can clear the room before we continue our discussion."

The Secretary woman instantly glared coldly at Rae. She didn't hide her annoyed expression at all. while the other

*Puchi

The vein on his head tightened and his face also became red. They go unnoticed, and it's also the first contact made between Guild and Crimson Eagle, and they ask their Leader to meet with them alone! "You're too much!" he said in his deep voice. At the same time, a slight Mana also started to move around his hand.

"Tom!" Carter called out, stopping the muscled man. It was scarce even so Carter felt the killing intent and a slight Mana reaction on the young man beside Rae. He didn't have proof, but he believed if Tom made his move just now, he won't come out safe and won't die, but that doesn't mean he won't have permanent damage either. (Who is this guy!) he thought, a bit panicked.

"Tom, Risa, give us some room," Carter ordered them. "But-" Tom tried to argue with him, but "Tom," Carter called again sternly. He had his own calculations. No matter how he sees it, from any perspective, attacking him won't benefit them in any way.

"Kuh…" Tom left the room with Risa behind him.

*Click

Now there are only three people left. Carter turned to Rae. "You haven't introduced this great friend," he turned to Lex.

"He is…" Rae tried to introduce Lex, but Lex nudged her arm, conveying that he would introduce himself. "My name is Lex Spifer. Nice to meet you, Guild Master," Lex said with a slight smile.

"Lex Spifer…" Carter repeated his name and wondered if he had heard his name before. "The Little Monster?" Carter asked with a realization while remembering that name.

"Ahaha," Lex laughed dryly, "You are bringing an embarrassing subject to me, Guild Master. However, yes, I've been called by that Title recently."

Carter was astonished that this young man was 'that Little Monster,' who was under five years old and could be acknowledged by the whole Hidden World as B-Rank. Usually, it would need another hundreds of years to achieve what Lex achieved.

Every organization has its own ranking. Any leader can rank their member in any way he wants, like appointing someone with only a strength of F-Rank in Crimson Eagle to be A-Rank in their organization. If the Hidden World realized that a person's actual strength was lower than expected meant some organization deliberately used Rank to get fame, they would lose credibility, and usually, once lost, no one is going to believe them anymore. It's also almost equal to when their organization has done for. They are petty enough to change their Rank. Who wanted to trust them with something serious? Something like that.

On the other hand, a big organization like Crimson Eagle's Rank was like the world's standard. Yet many big organizations globally will sometimes disagree with Crimson Eagle. Crimson Eagle also sometimes won't agree with them. And many of those big organizations acknowledged 'The Little Monster,' making him unquestionably a B-Rank even if he's only a few years active in Hidden World.

"It's an honor to meet you," Carter politely said, "but I heard you have retired from the front line."

"You don't have to. I'm sure we will meet sooner or later. After all, you have been investigating me recently, no?"

"Huh?" Carter was confused. He never even once moved to investigate 'The Little Monster.' What he knew was what everyone knew.

"Didn't ring a bell?" Lex smirked. "I see. Maybe it would be easier to introduce myself by this name. Nice to meet you, Guild Master Carter Bella, father of my classmate Priscilla Bella" Carter had a cold sweat at each word that came out of Lex's mouth. "My name is Lex Spifer, and also called Spifer Iaso."

(Damnit!) Carter cursed himself. The worst scenario he thought inside his head was playing fast in front of him in real life. (The rumor is that he's retired from Crimson Eagle and his vacation destination was this City! Who would expect that? God is playing with me right now!!)

"So, you come to me for this reason?" Carter asked after he recovered a bit.

"Well~ you're not wrong," Lex answered, "but we also had other reasons," Rae added.

"But before that, Guild Master, do you know why I am called and known as Little Monster? There are others who achieved the same feat as me, like my party Aria, but it's only me who has this title."

(Now that he mentions it, the 'Little Monster' name suddenly appeared and became known to all, but no one knew where it came from and the meaning behind that title. What people learned was his monstrous speed in climbing Rank. Many speculated that's the reason behind his title, including me. Urgh…I had a bad feeling about this)

Seeing Carter's bad complexion, Lex smiled even more. "Now, do you know there is another person who had 'Monster' as her title in the Crimson Eagle"

Hearing Lex's words, Carter's complexion changed from bad to worse "My Official title is Crimson Eagle's Tenth Executive First Trainee, Lex Spifer."

"T-Tenth!?" Carter didn't know how to react anymore. He felt like he was enjoying his morning walk in the neighborhood, then, in a fraction of a second, he saw a Continent-size large meteorite right above his head. It was much worse and the worst scenario he could think of.

"Once again, nice to meet you, Guild Master," Lex said with an angel smile that even an angel would be ashamed of themselves not being able to have that pure smile.

"Now then, let's start our discussion," Rae added with a smile on her face that won't lose to Lex's smile.