Chapter 1: How it started

Huh!

Huh!!

Huh!!!

Zero tried to control his breathing as he hastily ran through the blazing corridors with only a thin layer of darkish purple energy protecting his weak and feeble body.

He possessed snow-white hair and an abnormal pale complexion which made him stand out in public. His iris were blazing purple with a hint of blank and his figure was quite lanky, showing his 'close to zero' physical capabilities.

Appearing at the other end of the blazing corridor, Zero hurriedly ran through the exit with a rather calm expression on his face. Entering the living room, the first thing he noticed was the massive hole caused by one of the assailants who attacked their villa.

Bam!

Bam!!

Bam!!!

Zero could still hear his sounds of the battle going on outside yet he didn't feel afraid instead he felt pity for these people. In his opinion, only a bunch of clowns would dare to attack a villa housing the four most powerful guardians in the liberation union!

Woooosh!

While he was lost in his thoughts his eyes noticed a shadow moving stealthily in a corner of the living room. Not waiting for this figure to move first, Zero eyes let out a purple flash and the darkish purple energy which surrounded his body was strengthened.

"Why won't these people just quit!" Zero cursed with a gloomy expression on his face as the shadow emerged from the wall, at the other end of the living room.

It was a well endowed dark man with an afro hairstyle and a thick goatee. He wore a black martial art attire with a yellow belt strapped around his waist. His bushy eyebrows and his eyes narrowed as he stared at Zero with disdain.

Who would have thought that this young would be able to see through his shadow step martial arts technique?

It became obvious to him that this kid was not as ordinary as he has been told.

Not daring to waste more time, the black man dashed forward in a zigzag motion. With each strike, he shattered any furniture in the room blocking his path.

"Why is a yellow belt here?" Zero expression sank as he retreated, gathering his energy.

Woooosh!!!

The black man appeared right in front of him with his arms raised. His footwork suddenly changed and he disappeared from Zero view, appearing behind him with his claw-shaped palms striking forward!

"Tiger claw strike!" the man roared, slamming both fists on Zero's back sending him crashing into the glass table in front.

Bam!

Although Zero's barrier was capable of taking the hit directly, it vanished after that, leaving Zero defenseless as he crashed into the glass table. He still felt a bit light-headed from the hit, preventing him from acting immediately and a warm liquid flowed down his forehead.

"You are definitely not like any of those ordinary kids who just awakened their abilities… to be able to survive my tiger claw strike, you are truly worthy to be called the son of an S rated guardian!" the dark man was standing above Zero as he spoke.

He raised his palm once again and it entered the tiger claw strike form once again. From the look in the man's eyes, Zero could tell that this man was planning to take his life and for the first time in his life, he felt fear, extreme fear.

As the son of one of the strongest S rated guardians in the Liberation union, Zero has always been nonchalant of any form of danger, knowing fully well that his single parent could singlehandedly solve any problem that comes his way. But the man he has always been looking up to is somewhere out there, too distracted with the foes that are trying to take his life to know that someone snuck into the villa to murder his only child.

Bam!

The black afro man was forced to retreat by a few steps even though he blocked the attack. His hands trembled slightly and he felt an aching pain around his wrists where the attack hit. His expression turned frosty when he noticed three other kids, the same age as Zero.

"I thought I would have to find you all myself, how lucky am I today? You all just came to me" The black man laughed but his guard was still up.

His eyes were focused on the one who attacked him, a tan skin-colored kid who should be around eleven or twelve, just like the other three. His black hair was cut low and his ears were pierced. He wore a plain black slim fit shirt that revealed his developing muscles, black and white striped jeans, and black shoes. The physical strength this kid possessed was something people his age shouldn't have, unless…

"Superhuman strength… that's his ability" The dark man mumbled.

"You? Lucky? Ha! It's more like your luck just ran out…" A kid with black and white hair said with his hands wrapped around his chest. His gaze was filled with so much contempt and disdain, that the dark afro haired man began questioning his own strength. He knew all four of these kids are children of the four S rated guardians been attacked at the moment.

He was also aware of their brother-like relationship and high status in public but he has never of any outstanding feat which showcased the abilities of these kids. He began to wonder how powerful they are!

A white belt martial art disciple is considered to be inferior to an E rated guardian and a yellow belt martial art disciple is considered to be equivalent to an E rated guardian! At this stage, he has officially stepped into the realm of super humans. Even though E rated guardians are considered the weakest amongst all guardians, they are still capable of single-handedly taking down multiple humans without superpowers.

"Hmph! Zero is the weakest amongst the group since he just awakened his superpower a few months ago… He's still not accustomed to it, yet a mere yellow belt martial art disciple dares to stand against us… Sons of the greatest S rated guardians of all time… He must be courting death" A red hair kid snorted while he helped Zero get back on his feet. From his words alone, it was obvious he didn't consider this assassin as a worthy opponent.

Hearing this, the afro haired man was enraged but he didn't act rashly, instead, he chose to think things through. These kids were in a burning building that could collapse at any moment, faced with a yellow belt martial art assassin sent to kill them. Yet these kids were not terrified by his presence, instead, they all wore disappointed expressions on their faces. For some reason, he felt inferior to these kids but he couldn't explain why.

He took a deep breath and pulled the robe open, revealing his hairy chest while gazing at these kids with determination filled in his gaze.

"You all think too highly of yourselves and I'm here to rectify this mistake before I take your lives… I will give you a chance to hit me with your best attacks. If you actually succeed in hurting me, I let you all go" The afro haired man said confidently.

He could tell that these kids to an extent should be capable, especially since they claimed the white-haired kid with the purple barrier which successfully blocked his tiger claw fist is the weakest amongst the team. If they should work together, they may actually be able to deal a reasonable amount of damage to him. The only option now is to break their mental fortitude and have them fall into despair, that way he can reap their lives with little or no resistance.

The tan-colored kid took a step forward but he was stopped by the other with white and black hair.

"Akila… you don't have to worry… I'll handle this…" Dan said calmly while walking towards the shattered glasses of the floor with an indifferent look on his face.

Pulling out a handkerchief from his back pocket, he wrapped it around his hand while picking up a glass shard.

"Are you sure you can handle a single hit from me?" Dan asked with a concerned look on his face as he approached the man.

"Martial art: Iron skin!" The martial arts assassin roared while stamping his feet into the ground.

His veins began popping out and his body color darkened even more. His feet left visible web-like cracks on the floor and he took a deep breath, waiting for the kid named Dan to make his move with a confident smile on his face. Even if the kid decided to bring a dagger here, he still won't be able to leave a deep wound on his skin after he had utilized this technique. He was fairly confident that he can trade blows with the tan skin-colored kid, Akila, who possessed superhuman strength.

"Come at me with everything you have!" He declared boldly

"Hee!"

Wooosh!

The concerned look on Dan's face vanished and a vicious smile appeared on his face with his murderous intentions released. The assassin was stunned by the sudden change and his sixth sense kept ringing like an alarm in his head, trying to notify him of the impending disaster about to befall him, but it was too late. Dan was already too close and his hand wielding the shattered glass was sent flying, towards his chest… No… His heart!

His eyes narrowed as he controlled his breathing, pushing his iron skin technique to its utmost limit in preparation for what is to come. But to his greatest surprise, when the glass shard phased through his iron skin alongside the kid's slender hand!

Puti!

The assassin spat out a mouthful of blood as he felt a sharp pain deep in his chest. It was like a drill was been used to puncture his heart! Before he could act, Dan had already stabbed five more times, not bothering that the man's blood had soiled his clothes and face. Instead, the vicious smile on his face broadened, even more, this sent a chilly vibe down the man's spine!

At this point, he realized that the greatest mistake he made a great mistake treating these four like any other kids who just unlocked their superpowers. If he fought these kids head-on, there is a hundred percent chance he would have won, only sustaining some injuries. Trying to taunt them and break their fighting spirit was only to satisfy his ego.

But this was not the time to regret, it's already too late. The assassin fell on his knees, gripping his chest tightly with both hands but this couldn't help either. Everything seemed normal on the outside but in reality, he insides were messy.

Dan retracted his bloodied hand and it magically phased out, leaving the glass shard inside the man's body.

"Well, it was warm in there…" Dan joked as he walked away, signaling Akila to end it all.

With a slight nod, Akila walked towards the assassin with an indifferent look on his face. His eyes lacked any form of emotion as if killing had become a normal activity to him.

Seeing this, the assassin shivered, regretting the moment he accepted the job. He finally realized that these people he thought were just very close friends were more mysterious than he expected. So cold and calm even I the presence of blood! People their age should be trembling and screaming for help at the sight of a yellow belt martial arts disciple. Yet they successfully made use of the opportunity to deal a fatal blow and even sent someone else to finish him off as if it was a normal routine…

"Damn!" the man managed to speak while he puked out another mouthful of blood.

"Yes… Damn…" Akila said casually with his hands raised.

Veins began popping out and his muscles began bulging. His palm was soon covered in a thin layer of orange energy, descending on man ruthlessly.

Bam!

BLACKOUT!

"Damn… I really need to work on my empowering my technique" Zero blurted out as he wiped away the blood on his forehead with his sweaty hands. He seemed troubled by the fact he was almost defeated by the assassin.

"Don't bother yourself much, it's only natural you lost… None of us can handle a yellow belt martial art disciple alone…" Kira said while pushing his red hair back. He seemed to be in a better condition than the others who were soaked in sweat due to the intense heat.

"Yea… It will take at least two or three of us to take down someone at that level for now… It may look bad now, but it's actually an amazing feat for people our age… we are living up to our parent's reputation… we will surely take over from them at a younger age, at this rate…." Dan laughed.

"Guys… it's silent… the battle should be over" Akila finally spoke after kicking the head of the martial arts disciple to a dark corner.

"I guess so… didn't even notice…" Kira said after he listened to confirm.

"Yea… those fools who dared to attack the four most powerful S class guardians in the liberation union must be dead… let's go meet up with our parents…" Dan said…

While they spoke, Zero remained rooted to the with his eyes narrowed. His ability was quite simple, it granted him the ability to manipulate and control raw energy. As such his senses towards people's energy signatures are quite sharp and currently, he could not feel the energy signature of his father or that of his friends.

[Could they have left? Maybe they pursued the enemy] Zero thought.

Even though that was very possible, very deep in his soul he could tell that something was wrong. He quickly turned his attention and focused on the darkness outside, hoping he could see something.

Maybe a sign.

And there it was! A massive wave of water over ten meters tall pushed forward towards the villa. His eyes widened and he instantly poured out all his power, creating a dome of purple energy around them!

"Brace for impact!" Zero cried with a worried expression as he watched the wave of water collapse on them. His barrier lasted only for a few seconds after which he lost consciousness.

"The God sect did this… Don't forget them… Avenge your old man, Lil Zero... I know you will surpass me in future" Zero heard a familiar voice and tears rolled down his pale face…