Bab 56: A Leader Arises
"It's already ten o'clock! Hurry up!" Rosseaulyn urged Carmella, anxious to leave before midnight.
"Stop rushing us! Why don't you come and help us clean those dishes?" Carmella shot back.
"I've never heard of a guest having to wash their own dishes."
"You're not a guest! More like a troublemaker!"
"Don't be harsh! I'll reward your effort later!"
"Reward? What is it?"
"I have a jacuzzi bathtub in my unit. You can relax yourself!"
"Jacuni… Jalapeño???"
"I mean… Jacuzzi… You must have never heard about it. It's a bathtub that can give you a massage."
"A massage bathtub? Sounds too luxurious to me… I've only used a shower since I was born. Even a bathtub seems too fancy."
"It's a completely different experience! You must come and try it!"
"Carmella! I'm so excited! I want to try it now!" Vermilion expressed her excitement.
"Vermilion, calm down! Don't get so hyped about it!"
"Ms Yeleona, it's a must-try thing after a long, tiring day. That comfortable feeling is indescribable..."
"Rosse! Don't make me get excited too! Come and help me instead of running your mouth!"
"Alright, leave the dishes to me, and help Geena then."
"Alright."
Vermilion and Carmella assisted Geena in packing her belongings and loading them into the car. Before leaving, Geena bid a sincere farewell and expressed gratitude toward Ayukawa, who stood at the entrance and watching them expressionless.
"Ms Ayukawa, thank you for everything you've done, despite your leg condition."
"Oh well… You should thank the others instead of me."
"Don't be humble. You've risked your life and saved me. That's a fact that won't change."
"Humble? I guess I should just say you're welcome..."
"I am telling the truth, young lady. You seem to hate the truth, but deep down, you already have the answer for yourself."
"Answer? What do you mean?"
"Sometimes the truth won't actually hurt anyone. You don't have to resist it and keep it in your heart. It's fine to express it."
"Well, I…"
"Cathie, say goodbye and thank you to Sis Ayukawa!"
"Sis Ayukawa… Bye-bye, thank you for saving Mama and me!"
Ayukawa nodded, looking at Cathie expressionlessly. Memories of her having fun with her sister flashed through her mind. She was lost in her thoughts, unaware that Vermilion was calling her name.
"Ayukawa! Ayukawa! A… Yu… Ka… Wa! Still no response… Yuna!!" Vermilion called Ayukawa's name, and only then Ayukawa responded.
"Eh? Vermilion?! Oh…"
"What happened to you? Did you fall asleep while standing?"
"No, I was just thinking about something. What did you call me just now?"
"Your name... Yuna… Why? You don't like it?"
"Nope… Nothing…"
"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?"
"I'm sure."
"Rosseaulyn said her unit has a 'zucchini' that can make you relax. Don't you want to try it out?"
"It's jacuzzi! Idiot! I've tried it before, not as good as I thought."
"Vermilion, I heard what you said! Zucchini~ Hahaha!!" Carmella mocked Vermilion.
"I'm so embarrassed right now…"
"Everyone! Is everything inside my car already?"
"Yes."
"Good, then we can move now."
"Ayukawa, please help us watch over our house and the kitten."
"Emm, just leave it to me."
They all boarded the car and left while Ayukawa watched their departure. When the car almost disappeared from her sight, Vermilion stretched herself out from the window, waving to Ayukawa until they were fully out of her sight.
Ayukawa waved back, and an emotional scene from her memory flashed through her mind again, where her sister, Vermilion Melaugh, was taken away by the Kothern soldiers. Her sister struggled, waving at her while repeatedly calling her name – Yuna. The sad memory made Ayukawa shed a tear.
"Hmm… What's this? A tear? How could it be…?"
"Meow!" The kitten patted on Ayukawa's leg.
"Are you trying to comfort me or something? This tear… is coming from my yawning."
"Meow…"
"It's cold outside, let's head back to the house. You are going to stay with me tonight and just the two of us."
"Meow!!"
Ayukawa took the kitten back to the house and immediately fell into her sleep while holding the knife with her. Meanwhile, the assassin was still eagerly waiting for Ayukawa to show up on the rooftop to have a duel with her until twelve o'clock in the morning. However, Ayukawa didn't show up, and he kept staring at his watch for 30 minutes, and his excitement turned into disappointment.
"Damn! It's 12:32 already! Has the girl conveyed my message to the madwoman?! Or is it because… She's afraid of me?! Hahahahaha!! Oh, why? Why? Why am I so strong that even a strong one doesn't brave enough to accept my challenge?! Hahahahaha!!" The assassin talked to himself narcissistically while laughing sinisterly.
After seeing Ayukawa didn't show up, he eventually gave up waiting for her. He took his time and wandered around the chaotic streets of the slum that were full of violence. All those bloody scenes made him even more excited and thrilled until he stopped at a scene where a huge guy, whose face was full of tattoos and pierced rings, was strangling another huge guy single-handedly to his death.
The huge guy released his hand, and the guy fell to the ground and never got up. Soon, everyone around him, who seemed to be his followers, immediately cheered for him happily. The assassin also joined them and cheered for the huge guy.
"Woohoou!! That's our boss!!"
"Yeah! Just show the world how freaking strong you are!!"
"I've told you all! With my strength, I can easily rule over this part of the slum!" The huge guy exclaimed.
"Yeah! You are right, boss!!"
"What the heck are you saying?! What a useless disappointing guy…" The assassin said loudly.
"Huh? Who the hell are you?! How dare you be so rude before our mighty boss?!"
"Yeah! He's right! Who the hell do you think you are?! Are you here to meet your end?!"
"Silence!" The huge guy shouted.
"You are going dead! You made our boss angry!"
"Really?" The assassin said while walking towards the huge guy and confronted him.
"Who are you?!" The huge guy asked in an angry tone while holding his fist.
"It's not important! Who are you then?!"
"I am the boss of the gang and the strongest one here! I just choked this guy who ruled this part of the slum to his death with my bare hands! Did you see the dead one over there?!"
"The strongest one? I see…" The assassin muttered and his eyes were started to fill with excitement.
"By the way, what did you say over there just now?!"
"Disappointed! You're such a huge muscular guy, but your ambition is even smaller than an ant!"
"How dare you?!"
"You only wish to rule this small part of the slum area with such monstrous strength?! If I were you, I would definitely want to rule all over the entire slum and make every single one of you become my followers!"
"Bahahaha! I thought you are someone who is smart and dare to talk to me like that... Turns out to be a drunkard who talks about bullshit…"
"Me too... I thought you are a great leader here... Turns out to be a coward who can't achieve a bigger ambition!"
"Listen, I'm in a good mood right now. Leave at once, and I will not take your life for this time! Don't ever show up in front of us!" The huge guy warned the assassin, pointing his finger at the assassin's face.
"Interesting… But I'm not going anyway! By the way, what do I appear to be to you?"
"Huh?"
"What do I look like to you?"
"I thought you were a weak old lady before you walked towards me! Look at you, so skinny… And your face! It's so pale… You look like you are going to meet your end soon…"
"Old lady... Hahahahaha!!"
"WAHHH!!!" The huge guy suddenly screamed loudly.
The assassin cut off the finger of the huge guy in the blink of an eye using his katana that was located at his waist. None of the followers saw when the assassin drew out his katana and cut off the finger of their boss. They were all shocked at what they had just witnessed.
"Damn… Damn you! What have you done?! My finger!!"
"Hahahaha!! The strongest one? Only at such level? Truly boring and disappointing!" The assassin placed his katana beside the neck of the boss.
"What… What are you going to do?"
"You just killed the guy over there and became the ruler of here. So, right now… I'm just going to join your game and become the new ruler!"
The assassin slashed off the head of the boss, and the bloody scene became even bloodier. The followers were so shocked, and they didn't even know what just happened right in front of them. The assassin sat on the corpse of the boss and waved at those followers.
"Hey! All… All of you! Come and greet your new boss here!" The assassin demanded.
"Oh… OH! Everyone! Kneel before our new leader!!"
"We... We will follow you starting from now on! Leader!!" All the followers said in unison.
"Hahahahaha!! Very well! You! Come over here!" The assassin randomly asked a follower.
"Ye… Yes!" The follower responded while trembling.
"Are you familiar with the whole slum?"
"Yes! I do!"
"That's great! Did you hear what I said just now when I was talking to the guy lying under me?"
"Yes! You said you want to rule the entire slum and this city!"
"Very well! Now, I have become the ruler of this part of the slum, but I don't even have any idea which part you guys are referring to…"
"Oh, let me explain, leader!"
"Go ahead."
"The entire slum area consists of eight main streets and countless alleys and minor streets. The easiest way to identify which part of the slum is to determine which street we are in. Each of the streets has its own 'ruler.' You are currently the ruler of street 'three'! We name all the eight streets using numbers!"
"Interesting! How long have you guys been living here?"
"I just came here for only three months… But those brothers behind me have been here longer. The longest one has been here for twenty-one years if I'm not mistaken…"
"Don't you guys feel bored staying here at all?"
"Leader… We don't have another choice… We are forced to stay here for the rest of our lives..."
"Who forced all of you?"
"It could be the society out there… Or those military guys… Not sure…"
"Military again? If the military forced you all out of their sight, then why don't you fight back and show them that this city belongs to everyone?!"
"It's not possible… There's no way we can fight the military who defends the city!"
"Cowards! What's so special about those soldiers? I have killed so many of them, and I found they are no different from ants!"
"Leader! Even if they are not as strong as you said, we still outnumber them, and they are equipped with advanced weapons!"
"Hahahahaha!! That's why I am here to be your savior! I said I want to rule over this place and gather every single one of you to take down this city! I believe I can do that! Do you all want to witness the downfall of this great city and those damn military soldiers?!"
"HEEH!? Against those soldiers!?"
"Still want to consider it?! I see… You guys have been following a weak leader for too long, and it has turned all of you into cowards!"
"But it greatly risks our lives! We just want to find a place for our own survival!"
"So, is this the place that you all want to stay forever and ever?! I'm here to make the change for all of you!"
"How… How can we trust you? We know your combat skills… But going against the entire military sounds…"
"Sounds crazy? Hahahahaha!! Let me introduce myself; I am the mightiest assassin in the world! If all of you are willing to join me, then I will help you destroy the military and cast them out from this city! AND THEN! This city will become ours…!"
"Assa… Assassin?! Fine! If you can help us, then we will follow you!"
"That's right! You guys should have been doing so a long time ago!"
"You sound like you hate those soldiers as well…"
"Yeah! They haven't paid their debts yet! I'm here to make them pay! How about all of you?"
"We keep getting suppressed by those bastards! They even launched a 'clean up' operation last week and caused many of us to die! Some of us lost their loved ones right in front of them, and we can't do anything about it… That hatred will always remain in our hearts!"
"Hahahahaha!! Then we have the same target! The first step of our plan, let's take down the other parts of the slum and gather more comrades!"
"Everyone! How does that sound to you?! I have decided to follow our new leader! It's up to all of you now!"
"Yeah!!!"
"We also decided to join!!!" All the followers wished to follow the assassin.
"Hahahahaha!! Now! Show me the way to our nearest target! I'm going to slash their leader's head and make them follow us!"
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone