NOVEL NEXT Chapter 284: Fade Away
'It's finally over,' Reign muttered with a smirk, watching his decoy get blasted to bits from a safe distance in another building.
He reclined on a sofa, legs stretched out comfortably, as if he was just watching a simple movie.
He had orchestrated the whole charade, using Arc as his stand-in to deceive everyone, ensuring a quicker way to put an end to this manhunt once and for all.
Below, the authorities were still swarming the area, convinced they had killed the real threat.
'They'll probably drink and celebrate tonight,' he chuckled to himself. 'Enjoy your life. Because sooner or later, this place will also be destroyed by me,' he added with a cold tone.
'Now I just need to wait for the lockdown to be lifted so I can finally leave this place,' he thought to himself.
'If I had known it would take this long, I would have made a move much earlier,' he sighed.
Without his intervention, this mess would've dragged on much longer.
He appreciated Lilith's assistance, but found her way of thinking too narrow.
Unlike her, he thrived on daring and bold schemes with low risk and high returns—something that set him apart from others.
He had believed she was smarter than humans, but he had clearly overestimated her.
'I knew it. I can only rely on my intelligence,' he added, making a mental note to never expect anything from anyone and to assume everyone was stupid.
As minutes ticked by, he decided to focus on a new goal, and that was to reach Demon King Status.
He carefully reviewed the information given to him by Lilith, considering every detail and thinking about strategies that would maximized his benefits and minimized the risks.
While immersed in this process, he began to uncover deeper understandings that extended beyond just his goal to level up.
Reflecting deeply, he gained insights into both his personal life and the broader implications of his own emotions.
'I'm more myself when I'm away from her,' he concluded, rubbing his temples. 'So she's basically my weakness,' he added with a heavy sigh, slumping slightly in his chair, fully aware now that her existence could lead to his downfall.
'I need to find a way to forget about her. I can't allow my emotion dictate my actions' he thought, redirecting his focus toward something that he loved doing more than anything else; killing , eating and leveling.
The thrill of power and destruction was a good distraction , leaving him invigorated and eager to unleash his violent nature again.
Meanwhile, on another rooftop across the area, a man frowned in confusion. He had observed the whole affair and sensed the figure they had taken down was far weaker than the one he had faced.
'He was much stronger,' Quill muttered, perplexed. 'This doesn't add up.'
Watching the authorities celebrate their victory, he couldn't shake the feeling they'd been deceived. The true threat still lurked somewhere, and was probably enjoying the view.
However —
"Forget it. Not my concern. " he turned away. He had more pressing matters—like finding his God's Rune.
Besides, he figured out that someone smart enough had also noticed the inconsistencies and anomalies in the incident.
But knowing how politicians operate, he suspected they might sweep it under the rug for the sake of convenience.
And he was right on the money. Enjoy exclusive content from m-v l'-NovelBin.net
The authorities started reopening borders after just two hours, the new governor was spared from the backslash, and the Chamber of Commerce itself salvaged its reputation by demonstrating the consequences of crossing them.
It was a win-win situation for everyone involved.
Peace and stability returned to the city, and like many others who had died, Vincent Hewlet's name would soon fade away—just another casualty because of his inability to keep his impulses in check.
Over the next couple of days, a series of chain events unfolded.
For the Pantheon group, recovery had been fast given their corporate structure; all they needed was to elect a new CEO.
However, the incident did caused their stock value to plummet by 50% due to panic selling.
Stock stability returned after Lilith bought back shares, ultimately earning a substantial profit in the process.
Within just a short period of time, the shares actually surpassed their value prior to the assassination , as investors joined to get a piece of the pie.
This just showed that all the talked and news about Vincent's death was merely businessmen fanning the fire to manipulate the market for profit.
Meanwhile, George, Mellissa, and Cyril found themselves under Lilith's protection. They were instructed to lay low for a while at one of the organization's resorts located outside the city walls.
Someone might discovered that Cyril was the last person Vincent had tried to kidnap, potentially leading to clues pointing back to her.
To stay safe, she had to hide and go incognito .
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Back at the house Reign got in Region 5, he sat on his couch, casually relaxing.
He had intended to head to the next city immediately, but a piece of news caught his attention, so postponed his plans.
He leaned back, a smirk playing on his lips as he regarded his visitor
"So, what news do you have for me?" he asked, his tone commanding and serious.
A woman in casual red clothing bowed her head before speaking.
"Master, I was able to infiltrate the Hunter Association and got the info you wanted. These are the lists of hunters currently in Green Valley City and the other Tier 4 cities." It was Aiku who was now working as a double agent for him.
She handed him a flash drive and a laptop.
He inserted the flash drive into the USB socket and began reading the information, meticulously scanning through the lists, searching for someone specific.
"Weird, he's not here at all," he wondered aloud, remembering the strange hunter he had fought before.
He knew the hunter's name was Quill Flazer from Lilith's words, but he wanted to figure out why such a person had come to this place in the first instance.
Reign suspected that Quill was hiding a secret or searching for something worth stealing.
Unfortunately, he found no official record about his visit.
"Is this all the info you got?" Reign turned his attention to her, frustration evident in his voice. The information he got was pretty much useless.
"Please pardon me, Master, but my current body is not that high ranking. It took a lot of effort for me to gather this much," Aiku replied, trying to explain her side.
"So?" Reign raised his eyebrows. "Is that supposed to be my problem?" he asked, disappointed by her performance.
She was a ghost who could possessed bodies, and this was all she had managed to obtain?
"I..." Aiku's reaction was one of fear and apprehension. She lowered her gaze, her voice trembling as she responded, "I-I'm sorry, Master. I did my best. Please forgive me."
Her body language showed her anxiety, hands fidgeting nervously as she awaited his response.
She knew all too well how unpredictable her master could be. If he deemed her useless, then only death would follow.
'I need to teach her a lesson; she's just wasting her abilities,' Reign muttered, shaking his head in disappointment.