"You have one last chance to speak the truth. What have you done to Chenger? Where are you keeping her?" Rhizen oozed out bloodlust, using a tiny blade to make countless cuts on a bound man. The cuts were shallow, not even leaking out any blood.
But, that was his plan as he poured salt water on the man, causing him to scream in pain as his eyes went out of focus. But, without any hesitation, he used a taser to make him regain consciousness, asking again, "Say it! Where's Chenger?"
"I…don't know." The man began to cry, his mouth stuttering as his expression was aghast, "I was only told to attack you. I don't know anything beyond that."
"Hmph!" Rhizen snorted, bashing his head in, knocking him out. He then turned around, asking Druvus, "Any movements from within the estate?"
"No," Druvus landed on the ground, shaking his head with a sigh, "There's just that one guy at the entrance. And his attention is always on me."
"Dammit!" Rhizen gritted his teeth, stomping the ground.
The home that he had bought and painstakingly prepared to survive in this apocalypse had been turned into a stronghold by an enemy that kidnapped Chenger, his girlfriend.
Just the thought alone caused him to feel unadulterated wrath, wishing to just destroy everything in his path and save Chenger. But, if he had enough strength, he would have done so long ago.
After all, for some reason, mysterious pearl-like structures had been erected at the roof of the house. And when Druvus intended to sneak into the house before, they attacked him, unleashing bombs of the burst element.
This was the reason they couldn't do anything. There were just too many such structures hindering them. Moreover, one of the thugs of that group had peeked out once, dragging Chenger by the hair, giving his ultimatum.
An arm of his in return for Chenger!
If only trading his arm would bring Chenger back, Rhizen would have done so already. But, he was aware that doing this would only back him into a corner further. His enemies would always have the initiative. And before he realised it, he would be following their orders in order to reclaim back Chenger but never saving her until the end.
So, if he made a poor choice, he would lose his girlfriend.
Moreover, he couldn't casually attack the house too. After all, the moment he does so, Chenger would either be tortured or killed. In order to prevent that, he had to stall for time.
Either he cut off his arm and passively heeded the opponent's orders or found a chance to sneak into the house and finish off all the enemies in one swing; he didn't have any other choice. If he knew about the leader of this group, his choice would have been different.
After all, the leader was someone that shared enmity with him. In the past, that guy had swindled an innocent family and caused their deaths due to the enormous debts that they had racked up from his scheme. Unable to pay it, they all drank poison and committed suicide.
They were a sweet family that had helped Rhizen a couple of times in the past. So, he didn't leave the case alone, having gathered up enough clues to lodge a case. But, even though all the evidences pointed at him, the culprit was bailed within a week, startling him.
But, Rhizen didn't relent, directly resorting to acts of violence as he threw acid on the culprit when he was passing by an unassuming alley where a lot of gangs operated. The acid attack hospitalised him for years.
And, as his eyes had been targeted by that, he was unable to see ever again. Of course, there wasn't anyone willing to donate eyes to him. The members of his gang turned a blind eye to him, judging that he was past his prime even if he were to get a pair of eyes.
With that, he was confined to the hospital bed for the rest of his life. If not for the fact that it was a government-funded hospital, with none to foot his bills, he would have been kicked to the streets ages ago.
All this time, he was harbouring hatred against Rhizen for pushing him to this state. Because, even though he didn't see the face of the attacker that poured acid on his face, he was aware that only Rhizen was cunning enough to do it so quickly.
After all, somehow, the moment Rhizen was aware of the news of that family's death, he figured out all clues, gathered all evidence, and ensured the culprit was jailed within a mere five days.
And judging by the feeling he got from Rhizen, the culprit was aware that his enemy wasn't someone that would just leave him alone at that. Because of that, and the sneaky way in which he was attacked, a method different from the various gangs, he was aware that the one that poured acid on him was Rhizen.
And on one day, when he was at the lowest point of his life, no longer having the energy to exact revenge, when just living every day was painful, he obtained his System.
<Ding!>
[Genetic data matching, potential suitable. Activating database, bonding with the user: Shyvern]
[Welcome, Host. I am the Villain Maker System]
"Hahahaha! A Villain! How perfect for me." The culprit, Shyvern laughed, tears streaming out of his eyes that had automatically healed back to normal.
Though, when a message prompted that the System would heal his face too, he stopped it, vishing to retain his disfigured face so that his flames of revenge wouldn't be dulled. And with that, he plotted a scheme to get back at Rhizen, researching into him.
And, once Rhizen left for Mount Craire, he attacked his home, capturing Chenger. Even though there were difficulties involved, since Rhizen's luck was acting against Neena and Krager at that time, Shyvern wasn't as much affected.
Right as he planned a skit to destroy Rhizen's mind first, some more people arrived, all from various walks of life but shared some connection to the underworld. All of them expressed distaste against Rhizen.
Even though none of them even knew about Rhizen, unlike Shyvern, they still wished to complete their Quest and obtain rewards to grow stronger. And to attain that, destroying someone wasn't something they were averse about.
"What are you planning to do now?" One of them turned around, frowning while gazing at Shyvern, "We've been at a standoff for almost six hours now. Shouldn't we just kill him and be done with it?"
"Heh, that's why you're weak despite the extent of power you possess." Shyvern snorted, "I know Rhizen pretty well. He isn't someone that can be killed so easily. So…"
He relaxed on the armchair, sipping on some piping hot coffee, "We wait."
"The initiative is with us anyway."
