After a swift but sharp analysis, Varian classified thirty level 7 Xanders as worthy enough to be hunted down.
If it was before, he'd have gone ahead and killed them all.
But now…
"Five of them are innocent or just have minor infractions." Varian said as he removed the four profiles from the hologram list.
Twenty six remained.
Sia raised a brow and pointed to the fifth one deemed innocent. "Why did he still remain in the hunt list?"
Varian raised a finger and tapped the man's icon. A new screen popped up and revealed a crucial detail.
[Roxanne's adopted son: Was a substitute for Charles when he left for Academy. The only person close to Roxanne.]
Sia's eyes chilled when she saw that bitch's name. Clenching her fists on her knees, she nodded fiercely.
"I'll kill him myself." She said with blood thirsty eyes.
She couldn't kill Roxanne. Letting that woman die an easy death was always a regret in her heart.
The closest thing to revenge she had was Charles. She wanted to torture him the same way his aunt tortured her. It was the only way she could wash away her regret, even if by a little bit.
That's also the reason Varian never tried to kill Charles. Despite falling in danger again and again, he always tried to capture Charles than kill him.
In the end, she didn't even get the chance to kill him.
Now, there was one last option. Least attractive than the other two. But it's the only one she got.
Varian looked at Sia's expression and nodded lightly.
That guy was innocent and isn't worthy of death by any laws, but…
'I don't care.'
*** *** ***
Stationed across the twenty planetoids, twenty-four geniuses that were on the race to be promoted as princes and princesses.
They occupied important posts in the planetoid bases and were active on the battlefield to gain merits.
Even though death was a normal thing in war, none of these geniuses thought they'd meet their demise today.
Certainly not when they're away from the battlefield.
When the first genius was taking a nap, a man teleported beside him and lodged a sword into his heart.
"Huek!"
The Xander's eyes shot open as he thrashed against the bed. Looking at the face that was on the news recently, his face paled.
"V-Var…"
Swoosh!
The sword thrust deeper.
"H-How did you…" the man's struggle ended along with his incomplete question.
Varian knew what he wanted to ask.
'How did you sneak in?'
With a chuckle, Varian waved his hand and absorbed the body into ghost ship's cementry where it was burnt to ashes.
With a snap, all traces of murder were erased.
Varian put on a mask and his face changed to match the Xander's.
He walked to the door and the security system, which was hacked by Boo, let him out without an issue.
"Next."
*** *** ***
Varian glanced down at the battlefield from the clouds.
The last two geniuses he wanted to kill, number 23 and 24 were on the battlefield.
These were also the last geniuses he could kill alone.
He'd need Sia's assistance for number 25.
Number 26 was Roxanne's adopted son and Sia had already captured him. Right now, she'd be in the middle of 'torturing' him.
'There's no challenge.' Varian spat out a sigh in disappointment.
The military would have already found out that twenty two geniuses were missing. At first, they'd declare it as lost. If they weren't found in two days, they'd be classified as dead.
'Though they don't dare to declare master as dead. They even fabricated evidence that he's in seclusion…' Varian shook his head and exited the ghost ship.
The space around him fluctuated and he teleported to an edge of the battlefield.
Number 23 and 24 were using their fire and gravity powers against two abyssals.
Varian could go kill them himself, but he decided to be subtle. A ripple of mental power spread out from him.
"Grah!"
The Xander number 23 suddenly yelled in the middle of dodging a punch.
'Fucking psychic! Who is it?'
Due to the pain, the punch he could easily dodge was almost about to hit him.
Number 23 gritted his teeth and channeled the fire mana in his body. He elemantalized and his entire body turned into flames.
Even then, taking that punch head on was a bad idea.
But since he elementalized, his speed skyrocketed and he moved to the right to dodge or at least tried to.
'What?!'
An invisible force, a telekinetic force stopped him from moving.
'F-Fuck!'
Gazing at the fist that inched closer and closer to his face, he cursed for one last before he was punched in the chest.
Like a fierce wind blowing away flames, the fire on his body went off and he crashed to the ground with a severe injury on his chest.
'I…I will-arghhh!' As he tried to get up, a severe pain assualted his mind and an invsible force broke his heart.
Without even knowing who killed him, the Xander 23 died.
"I killed him with a single punch?" The abyssal who attacke Xander 23 was taken aback.
Their fighting always ended in a draw, so how did this guy suddenly die?
"Heh. This merit will be enough for me to become a prince." The abyssal laughed.
"You need to go." A chilling voice sounded in his mind.
"Who?!" The abyssal turned around in fear as sweat dripped down his forehead. He focused his senses to find the enemy presence but—
"Arghh!"
His mind went blank for a second before a space blade cut open his throat. Spitting out blood like a fountain, the abyssal collapsed to the ground.
At the same time, Xander 24 and his enemy abyssal also met the same fate.
It all happened too fast and in the middle of an intense war.
By the time others noticed this, Varian was picking up Sia from a nearby planetoid.
It had been nearly one hour since she found that guy. Varian went to pick her up only after she sent the message.
"Sia…" Varian called out softly.
Her entire body was drenched in blood. The golden eyes were now ruby red and strands of her brown hair were stuck with the sticky blood.
There was a mad smile on her face but her eyes were hollow.
"Va-Var…" Sia muttered in a choking voice as she stepped forward.
But on the third step, she knelt on the ground as she covered her face.
"W-Why did I do this…?" Sia's shoulders shook violently.
"Why did I kill an innocent person?" Only after she had done the deed did it finally hit her.
"When I gave him so much pain…Why did I feel so happy?"
She imagined him as Roxanne and tortured him until he broke.
"I am not the Sia you knew…" Raising her head, Sia looked at Varian with tearful eyes.
"I…I am a terrible girl."
Her heart wasn't pure like it once was. There was a darkness in her that wouldn't just vanish.
"It's fine." Kneeling in front of her, Varian looked into her eyes and said softly.
Sia's body shook and she looked at him in surprise.
Her deepest fear was that Varian would abandon her after seeing her dark side.
But...
"I'll hold your hand in the darkness and walk you to the light." Varian said as he used his powers to gently touch her head.
Sia's body trembled as she felt his gentle and loving touch.
"Sia, you're not alone."
Biting her lip, she looked into his gentle eyes. He knew her fears. And that's why...
"You'll never be alone."
"Um."
Nodding heavily, she closed her eyes to stop the tears, but they didn't stop falling.
Just this time, they were tears of relief.
