Nero victoriously stood with his sword firmly grasped in his hand, while his defeated opponent lay unconscious on the ground before him.
Blood has stopped gushing out of Alberto's chest and medics were already on their way here.
If Nero wanted— and he very much did— he could've easily cut down Alberto in half with his sword, however, he stopped himself from becoming a criminal.
After all, he still hadn't taken his revenge on his father.
"Haaa," taking a moment to catch his breath, Nero exhaled deeply, savoring his easy victory.
These guys had really pushed his buttons this time. They had achieved something he believed was impossible anymore.
You see, during the four weeks when Lucas was absent, several things happened.
One of them involved Kai sending his lackeys to stir trouble with Nero and the other main characters.
Normally, Nero wouldn't have been bothered by such antics. However, Alberto and Chris succeeded in getting under his skin.
They not only insulted him by calling him a bastard, but they also took it a step further by calling his mother a whore.
Other than being called a bastard, the thing that Nero hates the most is someone referring to his mother in such derogatory terms.
That's the reason he had been so on edge in recent days. He was furious.
Now, after getting his victory, Nero looked back on his behavior and realized that he had vented his anger on his friends by yelling and shouting at them, which wasn't like him.
Rubbing his temples to ease his mind, he glanced at his smart bracelet while silently promising himself that he would apologize to them later.
His master had always said that he should work on his anger issues.
"Hmm?" A frown creased his face as he noticed a missed call from Lucas while going through his smart bracelet.
"Did I miss it?" he wondered aloud.
Perhaps he had missed the call because he was engaged in battle.
Arghh, now that he looked back on it, he had also said things to Lucas that he really shouldn't have.
Sure, Lucas hadn't exactly been a saint, but who was Nero to judge anyone?
Besides, it was clear to Nero, even as someone who hadn't known Lucas personally before, that he had made an effort to change.
He has hung out with him a few times and he knows that Lucas isn't the person he used to be back in the day.
It wasn't fair, especially for Nero, to hold him accountable for his past actions.
Amelia had also begun to notice the positive changes in Lucas, so who was Nero to berate him like that?
"Ugh, should I apologize to him too when I see him next?" Nero sighed deeply, massaging his temples.
Tring, Tring—!!
Just then, his smart bracelet began to ring.
With a puzzled expression, he glanced at the device on his wrist and noticed that Amelia was the one calling him.
Tapping the screen of his smart bracelet once, Nero quickly answered the call and delivered his report, "I've neutralized Alberto."
–"Good," came Amelia's voice from the other end of the line. "The others have also dealt with their opponents. While most of us have won our fights, we have a slight problem on our hands."
"What is it?" Nero inquired.
–"...We failed to capture the flag."
†
In the midst of an empty street, Anastasia, Amelia, Chase, Elijah, and Aster stood patiently, their eyes scanning the surroundings.
They had arrived at this location merely five minutes ago.
After Lucas helped Amelia, she rushed to assist Chase as per Lucas' orders, only to discover that Chase had already defeated Chris.
In fact, at this very moment, Chase firmly grasped the unconscious figure of Chris by the scruff of his neck.
After defeating him, Chase brought him along for Nero.
Amelia, on the other hand, quickly informed the rest of the team about the situation.
She asked them to rendezvous at the intersection of North-East Eighth Street leading out of the Fifth District.
And currently, they were waiting for Nero's arrival.
They didn't have to wait for long as Nero soon came into view, slowly making his way towards them.
"There he is," Elijah muttered, capturing everyone's attention.
As he approached closer, Nero gazed at Amelia and inquired, "Who has the flag again?"
"Kai," Amelia replied. "William fought against him but was defeated. He informed Lucas that he tried but lost. Currently, he's receiving medical attention."
"I see," Nero frowned after hearing Amelia's response.
"Kai?" Chase raised an eyebrow. "You mean the young lord of the Wiseman family?"
"Yes," Nero confirmed.
"But he's not that strong," Elijah expressed his confusion. "I did some background checks on him, and he's just slightly above average. His academic ranking is good, and he can fight well, but it's unlikely that he defeated William so severely that he would require medical care."
"Yeah, it's odd," Nero admitted, his hand gently touching his chin. "While William isn't as strong as me, he shouldn't have much trouble defeating someone of Kai's caliber."
However, he quickly shook his head, disregarding such thoughts.
"Well, it doesn't matter. We'll just have to defeat Kai and get the flag from him," Nero declared, turning to face Amelia. "Where is Lucas?"
"Um, I'm not sure," Amelia shrugged. "He said that he has a plan in mind."
"Hah!" Chase scoffed after listening to that. "Are you sure he just didn't run away from a fight?"
"What? No," Amelia's face contorted with a mocking expression. "He helped me in my fight, so why would he run away now?"
"I don't know," Chase shrugged. "Maybe he just got scared. Why are you taking his side again?"
"I'm not taking his side— You know what? I am. What's your problem with him anyway? I've seen you pick fights with him time and time again. Why?" Amelia interrogated.
"I— I just don't like his attitude," Chase responded. "He's cocky, narcissistic, and acts like he's superior to everyone! Again, why are you defending him?"
"Because he said he has a plan, and you're accusing him of running away!" Amelia clapped her hands, displaying a hint of anger. "You know he's the reason we won the Mock War, right?"
"What? No," Chase scoffed, shaking his head. "We won because of Nero."
"Nero got into the position to strike the final blow because of Lucas, though!" Amelia retorted.
Before they could continue to fight like cats and dogs, Aster intervened, stepping in between them.
"Okay, both of you, calm down!" she exclaimed, her voice louder than usual, surprising everyone present.
She continued, "Stop fighting! We won the Mock War because of both Nero and Lucas, as well as everyone else who fought alongside us. We won because we weren't bickering like this. So, shut up! And put your personal feelings aside, Chase!"
"I'm not—" Chase attempted to argue, but Anastasia, who had been keeping watch until now, approached and took hold of his hand.
Gesturing to him to calm down, she said, "Chase, let it go."
And just like an obedient pup, Chase obeyed Anastasia's command and sealed his lips shut.
"They're right, Chase," Nero interjected, breaking his silence. "Besides, if it's Lucas' plan, then I trust it. Chances are that whatever is going to happen, he has predicted it."
Chase sneered in response, but Nero paid it no mind and turned to ask Amelia a question. "So, why are we here? Shouldn't we split up and search for all the possible routes Kai could take to leave the Fifth District?"
"Well, Lucas said that if we wait here, Kai will come to us. He's confident that this is the route Kai will choose to exit the Fifth District," Amelia explained.
"I see," Nero mused, gently stroking his chin. Then, he shifted his attention to Chase and glanced at the unconscious person he was holding. "And who's that?"
"Oh," Chase looked at the person in his grasp before returning his gaze to Nero. "Allow me to present Chris Wright."
With that, Chase maneuvered Chris' body into a kneeling position and proceeded to slap his face repeatedly to wake him up.
Slap—!! Slap—!! SLAP—!!
"Argh!"
After a short while, Chris groaned in pain as he regained consciousness, his teeth rattled from the force of Chase's slaps.
Finally, Chase stopped slapping him.
It took Chris a few moments to notice his surroundings as he blinked his eyes several times, surveying the scene.
"...Huh?" Confusion and horror washed over his face as he locked eyes with Nero, who had a wicked grin on his face.
"Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait!" Chris started screaming as Nero approached him. He tried to run, but Chase held him down in place.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Nero's grin widened as he walked up to Chris and pulled his head by his hair.
"No! No! No! You can't hurt me! I am Chris Wright of the Wright family! My brothers will kill you if you dare to lay a finger on me!" Chris screamed, trying to hide his fear behind his warnings.
"Oh? But can they stop me from breaking your hand right now?" Nero's wide smile remained plastered on his face. "I highly doubt it."
With those words, he grabbed Chris' right arm and began twisting it forcefully from the elbow.
"No! Please, no! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Chris's screams grew erratic, but Nero continued to put pressure on his grip until...
Crack—!
Chris' arm contorted completely, unnaturally twisted from his elbow.
"ARGHHHAA!" A piercing, agonized cry erupted from his mouth as tears started to stream down his face.
But Nero didn't stop there. He shifted his grip to Chris' other hand. "I warned you not to mess with me, didn't I?"
"Pleaseeee! Gaaaah! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Chris continued to wail as Nero slowly and deliberately twisted his other arm, intensifying the excruciating pain.
"Nero, maybe you should stop," Elijah interjected, everyone was feeling uncomfortable—except for Chase, who was seemingly enjoying it.
Unyielding, Nero refused to listen. "Stay out of it! He insulted my mother!" he bellowed.
Elijah wanted to argue further but faltered upon witnessing the mental state Nero was in.
"Nero, you should let him go," Anastasia spoke up next, breaking the tension.
"Anastasia, I said stay out—" Nero began, but she interrupted him.
"No, I mean let him go. The big fish is here," she said as she pointed towards a figure approaching in the distance.
Nero moved his eyes to where she was pointing, shifting his gaze to the individual who was approaching them.
Taking this opportunity, Chris pushed Nero aside and started running away, clutching his broken hand painfully while still crying.
Yet, Nero paid him no mind. After all... Kai was here.
