Unlucky?Player

After the incident that took place in the Church of Artemis, Sage hadn't been the same. His character Everzone had been inflicted by a special status that forced upon certain illusions. If not for Night, there was no saying what would've happened.

Since that day, he forced himself to live a healthy life, mostly for his mental state. It wasn't pleasant to revisit memories he thought were sealed. His daily routine was simple, an early morning jog, freshly squeezed juice, egg whites, and oatmeal, then moving on to a protein-rich lunch and dinner. He made sure to hit the gym sometime in the evening. When he felt bored, Sage focused on cooking, it was his passion of sorts.

It was surprising to see someone who usually would've been timid so determined. There was absolutely nothing that could distract him or make him break his schedule. Nothing except Luke. As soon as he got a text from Layla, informing him about the situation with Luke, he dropped everything, he literally dropped his plate and rushed to get a cab. However, before he could, he got another text stating that Luke wouldn't wake up for another few days and it would be best to allow him to rest.

Once he read that, a part of his inner timidness took over and Sage decided to back down. He was far too afraid of what Luke thought of him. "I guess….I'll go when things settle down….." Sage muttered to himself as he went back inside.

Just like that, he spent a week half-heartedly following his schedule, his mind was far too occupied by the thoughts of what could've possibly happened to Luke. He wasn't obsessed with him, but he was grateful. Very much so. Luke was like his older brother, he was the only one who believed in him.

Sage had no idea what was about to take place, after all, the only one he expected anything from was Luke. He knew the others valued him, but the only one who he could trust was Luke.

Cara Covencut someone who had long since retired from the game was now stepping into the field, and it was only to take some child. This was Solomon's plan, once Sage was with them, it would be easy to mess with Luke.

There was a knock on his door. It was rather unexpected considering he wasn't expecting any visitors, as he walked towards the door he felt a shiver down his spine. For some reason, Sage felt rather cautious.

"W-who….is it…?" he asked as he tried looking through the peephole, but it was blocked, it seems that whoever was outside had their hand placed over it.

"Who is it???!!!" Sage spoke with more grit, unconsciously he wanted to let the person outside know that he wasn't afraid. It was only after he asked for the second time did he get a response.

"Damn chill, it's just me," a familiar voice replied after sensing the anxiousness in Sage's voice. When he looked through the peephole, he saw a man with hazel eyes and a sandy appearance. It was Nate. "It's kinda weird for me to stand here so maybe open up?" he said as he look at the empty corridors.

"Oh Oh, of course, I'm so sorry senior Nate…..I was just on the edge for some reason…." Sage said after he opened the door and moved aside so Nate could enter.

"On the edge huh? Nice," Nate commented as he looked around the house. Once he was done, he walked towards a nearby chair and proceeded to take a seat. "You were right to be on the edge. Anyway, I'm sure you have a lot of questions but for now, pack a bag, we're going to Greece," Nate smiled. His smile was one that said he saw through everything.

"Wait…what? Greece? B-but…I haven't eaten my lunch yet….." Sage replied in a low tone. He wanted to ask how they were, but after Nate dropped such an announcement, he had to clear that up first. 

"I'm going pretend you didn't say that," Nate sighed as he massaged his eyebrows, "it's for safety reasons, I'll explain on the way. Luke's waiting downstairs, he's taking care of something,"

Meanwhile Luke sat on the steps of the building. He had one hand on his leg and another under his chin. It seemed as if he was waiting for someone. 'Hmmm, I swear Nate's never wrong…..' 

"Oh," his face lit up as he saw a lady approach him. Luke was better, although his body felt a little stiff, he was fully prepared to duel it out right there. Unfortunately, both Nate and Luke weren't aware of who Solomon would send. 

"Hmmm? You are?" Cara questioned. She was surprised to see someone waiting for her. After all, according to her husband, Solomon, there was a good chance that they would forget about Sage.

"Luke, and you?" he said as he slowly got up and stretched.

"Cara. Cara Covencut," she smiled. She was eager to face Luke head-on, especially after what he had done to Basile. Other than that, she could also feel the fighting spirit rise. Luke was unlike any opponent she had ever faced.

"Covencut? Interesting…." Luke didn't bother questioning her relationship with Nate. After all, as far as everyone was concerned, Nate was only Covencut on paper. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with them.

Both of them stood still and stared at each other. There was a good chance that this fight might be harder than when he faced Basile. It was just a feeling, but Luke felt that this woman had nearly twice his experience.

*BAAAAM*

They dashed forward at the same moment. Their hands clashed and a wave of energy was released. As soon as they clashed, both of them jumped back and then shot forward again. 

"You're strong," Cara said as she felt a buzz, "but nowhere as strong as Basile. So why don't you show me what put him in such a state," she continued as she twisted her body, her hind leg's heel was not aimed straight at Luke's temple. 

"Are you sure?" Luke raised his hand and caught her heel perfectly. "You don't look like you can handle it," with her leg in his hand, Luke pulled her body forward and punched her directly in her face, sending her straight to the ground. "Guess I was right,"

Upstairs in Sage's room, while he packed, Nate sat on a chair and leaned on the counter in the kitchen. He was drinking a hot cup of coffee as he looked outside the window. "You thought I would overlook this huh?" he muttered as he took a sip.

"Hah…you underestimated me, you always did. Look where that's gotten you father. You probably think we're hiding behind the Cirillo's. If I'm right, you thought of Sage as someone we'd overlook, and you're not wrong. Aurora was ready to fly immediately,"

Nate thought of the moment he hugged Lisanna and Mrs. Stone. He was finally at peace. He had no reason to ever go back to his other family, after all, he had people who cared for him. 

"Before we go, we have something to take care of. It won't take long. We'll meet you at the airport," Nate said as he looked at Aurora. It was exactly this. He knew that there was a good chance that his father, Solomon would target Sage.

"I wonder how you'd react when you find out," he sipped his coffee. With every word he muttered to himself, Luke and Cara exchanged another strike.

"I thought this would be harder," he commented as he dodged her attack. "But I have to say, you're technique is flawless. Unfortunately, you're far too slow for me. You can see why it was that easy for me to put Basile in such a state," he smirked.

"Bastard!" she charged at him again. Cara had an excellent eye for technique, which allowed her to exploit the weaknesses in her opponents. Unfortunately, she had never seen anything like Luke's technique. It was completely absurd and unpredictable.

'Why can't I predict any of his moves!' she made up with her lack of physique with her ability to predict and counter. 

"What's wrong…..this is rather boring..." Luke said as he took a step back. With every second that passed, he put in lesser and lesser effort. At this point, he was simply walking around dodging all her strikes. 

"Your form is breaking. Calm down," that was the final straw. She took pride in her ability to notice and fix mistakes, for such a thing to be done to her was more than embarrassing.

There was no doubt that Luke was nowhere as experienced as her in techniques. Unfortunately, the match-up was the worst, much like Luke and Basile. It seems that no one in the Covencut family could handle him. 

Upstairs, Nate had finally finished his cup of coffee. As he placed it down, he smirked and looked at the symbol on his right hand, "I promise you, when the time to end the Covencut legacy comes, I'll do it with my own hands,"