"How is he become so strong so suddenly..." Silas asked as he crawled to the side of the training ground.
Asmond and the others were training together and sparring under Rufus' request. They were surprised that he outmatched everyone, including Asmond in a 1 on 1 duel.
Asmond stared at Rufus who seemed to be enjoying it which was weird enough since the last time he saw him he was so gloomy and depressed. Something was off about Rufus that he started to suspect something might have happened without them knowing. He wasn't the only one who noticed that, Roxanne and Glen felt it too, and suspect that Rufus made some kind of deal with the demonic cult.
"Even if he's venting his anger, that doesn't make him this strong," Glen said as he glanced at Roxanne and Asmond. "I think the only way to know the power behind his sudden growth is by checking it with your skill," Glen pointed it out to Asmond.
Silas looked at Glen and Asmond back and forth since he didn't know what they were talking about. Asmond nodded his head as he put the bottle of water, and then he walked into the arena where Roxanne and Arum were fighting Rufus.
"What are you talking about?" Silas asked Glen who watched Asmond enter the arena.
"I don't want to jump to a conclusion, but I think Rufus' sudden growth has something to do with the demonic cult," Glen said quietly as he offered a bottle of water to Silas.
Silas' hand stopped before he could grab the bottle of water as he stared at Glen with a dumbfounded expression. He then slowly turned around to look at Rufus who dominated the arena and defeated both Arum and Roxanne.
"You're telling me he made some kind of a deal with them? But when? Weren't you with him all this time since you're monitoring him in his apartment?" Silas asked because he didn't want to believe it.
"Yes, and I know that he stayed in his apartment for the past three days and didn't go anywhere else. But that even makes it weird. How can he become this strong even though he wasn't doing anything?" Glen pointed out and he wiggled the water bottle at Silas. "If Asmond used his Nemesis skill on Rufus, he might find something, but I hope it has nothing to do with the demonic cult though. Because if it is, then we can't just stay quiet about it," Glen continued and he looked nervous when he saw Asmond challenge Rufus in another duel.
Rufus grabbed a new sword and readied his stance as soon as he accepted the duel with Asmond. He was confident that he could beat Asmond up again just like earlier, but he noticed that Asmond was staring at him with a cold expression.
"Have you decided to take the duel seriously?" Rufus asked.
Asmond didn't say anything and readied his stance as he kept staring at Rufus with a sharp gaze.
Rufus scoffed and dashed forward. When he was in range, he swung his sword down as hard as he could. His attack was blocked by Asmond, and he couldn't breakthrough Asmond's block as if his strength and Asmond's strength were the same. Asmond then pushed Rufus back and started attacking him back.
The others watched them from the side and realized the power of each attack those two did was too powerful.
Rufus finally realized after taking blows from Asmond that he had used his [Nemesis] skill. He then started to panic because if he got found out, Asmond would question him on how he got his power.
"Tell me, how did you get your Body Enhancement skill to level fifteen?" Asmond asked with a serious expression.
Glen and the others were surprised when they heard it. Even though he had predicted it right, he still couldn't believe that he was right. They all looked at Rufus and waited for his answer, but Rufus was quiet and didn't answer Asmond's question.
"I'm going to ask you again. How did you break the limit?" Asmond asked and pointed his sword at Rufus.
"It's none of your business, seriously. Does it even matter?" Rufus asked as he stared back at Asmond. "Mind your own business, this is a gift just for me," Rufus continued.
"A gift? From who? The Constellations?" Asmond asked.
"Yes, A Constellation gave me this power, isn't that obvious?" Rufus asked back and he looked annoyed.
Asmond saw hundreds of notifications from Constellations. They were all laughing, snickering, and suspicious about Rufus' answer. It was enough to tell that Rufus was lying based on the reactions of the Constellations. It wasn't just him who got the notifications, but Glen, Roxanne, Silas, and Arum were showered by the notifications so suddenly.
"The Constellations are suspicious of your sudden growth, and none of them believe that gift belonged to the Constellations. So, tell me the truth, Rufus," Asmond said, and suddenly Glen and Roxanne stood behind Asmond with their weapons ready.
Rufus glanced at the hundreds of notifications that mocked him and threatened him to tell them the truth behind his sudden growth.
"As I said. It's none of your business," Rufus answered as he threw the sword in his hand. "I'm not in the mood for training anymore. I already trained enough for today, so I'm going back now," Rufus said as he walked away, but suddenly Silas and Arum blocked his path and they were staring at him with suspicion.
Rufus knew he couldn't leave if he had to fight all of them at once, especially after Asmond activated his [Nemesis] skill. He also didn't have his weapon on the training ground. He then looked at his wrist and remembered what the woman said about meeting him whenever he wanted.
"Have eyes everywhere," Rufus mumbled and looked at the CCTV on the corner of the training ground. Since the training ground was under the ground of the Fraternity building, it should be possible to ask for help if he kept looking at the CCTV.
"You have no other choice but to tell us how did you get that power, Rufus," Roxanne said as she slowly walked toward him.
Rufus kept staring at the CCTV hoping someone might notice him. Suddenly the elevator door was open and a woman walked out of the elevator. A woman in a suit and a skirt walked toward them with a document in her hand. She wasn't the woman that Rufus met, but something was off about her.
The woman glanced at Rufus and smirked, but then she suddenly disappeared and reappeared in front of Asmond. Everyone was shocked, and before they could react, the woman punched Asmond in the face and sent him to the wall. He was unconscious as soon as his head hit the wall, and then the woman dealt with the rest of them in two seconds.
"You have been found out and it appears you're no longer safe here. Why don't you come with me?" The woman asked.
"Your voice... it's the same as the woman I met before," Rufus pointed out and looked at the woman in disbelief.
"You mean this body?" The woman changed her appearance to the woman that Rufus had met that night. "I can change my appearance at will. Now, what's your answer?" The woman asked.
Rufus looked at everyone who was unconscious helplessly against the woman. He realized the gap between the demon woman and his team. He realized that if he followed her, he might grow even stronger, and staying with his team would only slow him down.
"Where are we going?" Rufus asked out of curiosity.
"Where else? Of course, we are going to where all the cult members are. You don't have to worry, they can't sniff where you are since it had been months since they had tried to find us," The woman answered. "I'm inviting you not only for your own protection but also so you can grow even stronger since we are still preparing to fight him," The woman continued.
"Alright, I'll be right behind you," Rufus answered as he nodded his head.
The woman left the building with Rufus without a single person suspecting him.
"So, can I grow even stronger than this?" Rufus asked as he entered the car with the woman.
"How strong do you want to be?" The woman asked back.
"Far stronger than Mykel," Rufus answered.
"Then it's not going to be a problem at all since we are planning to kill him," The woman replied with confidence.
