บท 129: Book 5: Chapter 3 – Imprisoned

Seeing all his men collapse so suddenly, the branch manager immediately turned tail and leapt away from Killian in an attempt to escape. Unfortunately for him, Ace and Leo weren't the only monsters present.

"[Earth Tremor!]" Killian muttered indifferently.

Throughout the war, Killian had made a lot of progress as far as his earth magic was concerned, but his most significant improvement came in the form of his battle IQ.

Killian timed his spell perfectly so that the moment the branch manager kicked off the ground, he would be thrown off balance by the miniature earthquake.

Not only was Kil's spell timed to perfection, it was also powerful enough to bring the building down on itself.

Ace, Killian, and Leo were able to easily get out before the building fell on them, as was the branch manager – albeit with a little more difficulty. His subordinates, on the other hand, weren't so lucky.

Their being unconscious made it all but impossible to evade the sudden collapse of their building. Luckily they were all warriors at or above the third rank, meaning that with the strength of their bodies, at most, they'd wake up with a few broken bones and bruises, not that Killian seemed to care one way or the other – his sole focus was on his opponent.

The moment the branch manager realised his building was coming down, he used his shaky footing to launch his body outside before he was crushed beneath the rubble.

He had every intention of quickly rolling to his feet and continuing his escape, but before he could get back to his feet, he felt the cold, sharp blade of Killian's axe resting against his neck, and judging by the killing intent radiating from the axe-wielding teen; he wouldn't hesitate in killing him if he tried anything funny.

Realising he was out of options, the man turned his head to look at the little monster standing in the middle of the road ignoring the shocked looks he was getting from the passing civilians. "You're that Ace kid, aren't you?"

"So you do know me?" Ace asked calmly.

"I was just in the middle of reading the report about you when you showed up," the man said in a surprisingly calm tone considering his current situation.

His ability to stay calm was in part due to his training, but mainly, it was because Ace and his group didn't seem to have any attention to kill.

When he first read the reports on the accomplishments of Ace and his group in the war, he didn't think that his achievements must've been greatly embellished, but after watching the trio in action, he understood that Ace was every bit as strong as the report made him seem.

As such, if Ace really wanted to kill them, he could've done it in one attack.

His assessment of Ace was spot on; Ace truly had no intention of killing them. Until he had confirmed the current status of Alissa's relationship with them, he would give them the benefit of the doubt.

But if he found they'd done anything to so much as harm his classmate, someone he had genuinely grown to think of as a friend, he would show them absolutely no mercy. Still, at that moment, Ace's thoughts were on something else entirely.

'I guess their intelligence gathering isn't too bad after all," Ace thought to himself.

"We're looking for someone," Killian said, bringing the topic of conversation back on track.

"I can't help you," the branch manager replied indifferently. "I've never heard of an assassin by the name of Alissa, but even if I did, Saber has strict rules prohibiting us from giving out information on our fellow assassins."

"I see," Ace said before he turned around to leave.

Both Killian and Leo looked at Ace strangely, but they still decided to follow him. It was only when they left the town that Killian couldn't hold back his uncertainty any longer. "Why did you just take him at his word so easily? He might be lying."

"He wasn't," Ace stated matter-of-factly. "You know how my [Observation] works. No matter how good of a liar he is, if he were lying, I would've been able to sense it."

It was only then that Killian remembered how Ace was able to sense the emotions of everyone within the range of his [Observation].

Killian had allowed his worry over Alissa to cloud his judgement, making him forget about the extent of Ace's abilities.

"So what now?" Killian asked, anxious to find their former classmate and travel companion as soon as possible.

"Now we continue to ruffle the feathers of 'Saber', either until we find someone with information on Alissa or until Alissa hears about are activities and chooses to come find us herself," Ace replied casually.

Over the next six months, news of Ace's exploits in the war between the Rohault and O'Brien Empires trickled down to the ordinairy civilians, as did rumours of two teens and a lion-type magical beast devastating the various branches of Saber.

Saber had always been something of an untouchable force on the continent. It was extremely rare for them to be on the receiving end of a targeted attack which was why when word got out of Ace and his group's activities, it wasn't long before they were dubbed the 'Demonic Trio'.

This generation was said to be the most talented generation in the last millennia, with the likes of Linley, the genius mage of the Baruch Family. His younger brother Wharton, 'the last Dragonblood Warrior'. Blumer Akerlund, the little brother of the Prodigy Sword Saint, and Dixie Leon, the genius dual-element mage of the Ernst Institute.

Still, as it currently stood, the ones standing at the top were thought to be Ace and Killian.

Ace's accolades spoke for themselves, but after their most recent attacks on Saber, people started to piece together Killian's achievements. From the youth who shocked many with his incredible talent as a mage and warrior in the selection tests almost a decade ago to his display of power in the war, and now him defeating the heads of several Saber branches.

It had made the world curious about this Yin-Yang Pavilion, which had supposedly trained the two leaders of this new generation. Unfortunately, other than rumours and speculations, there wasn't much in terms of facts.

But none of that concerned the 'Demonic Trio'. At that moment, Ace was sat cross-legged on top of a building, with his body coated in flickering flames, as he meditated on the profound mysteries of the laws of fire.

Over the last 6 months, Ace barely got the chance to take action with Killian dealing with most of the fighting and Leonel stepping in when necessary. As a result, Killian's strength continued to skyrocket. He had recently broken through to the peak of the fifth rank as a mage and the late stages as a warrior.

His strength had increased by so much that now he could even fight against the weaker experts at the eighth rank, as could be seen in the fight on the ground beneath Ace.

Leonel, on the other hand, had broken through to become a Divine Beast at the sixth rank.

As for Ace, though he hadn't fought at all since the war, it was he who'd seen the biggest increase in strength. First of all, he had now become a mage at the early stages of the fifth rank, and a warrior at the late stages. But his most impressive improvement came from his comprehension.

In large part due to his abilities as a fire logia in his previous life, he had now reached the peak of comprehension of the profound mystery of the essence of fire, meaning that the day he takes another step forward with that specific profound mystery, his comprehension would reach the levels of deities.

As it stood, Ace felt like if he was back at the war, he'd have little to no problem defeating Colonel Lorne, the ninth rank warrior he struggled so hard against.

'Even after all this time, I can't seem to make any progress with [Conqueror's Haki: Infusion].' Ace sighed to himself, ignoring the raging battle below.

"Hmm… Ooh, it looks like Kil's about done," Ace muttered to himself as he and Leo got up and hopped off the roof walking over the parade of unconscious bodies on the floor.

"You brats really are too arrogant, provoking a force like Saber as though you're invincible." The bloodied branch head said as he glared resentfully at Killian and Ace. "Your actions have started to alert the upper echelon. As soon as any of them make a move, you're gonna wish you…"

"Yeah, yeah, we get it. You're gonna make us pay, blah blah blah," Ace rolled his eyes not wanting to listen to the man's spiel. "Enough of that, just answer our question and we'll be on our way."

"I won't tell you anything!" The branch manager spat.

"Ooh, but you do know something?" Ace said, a fiendish smile appearing on his face.

In that moment a heavy and intimidating pressure erupted from Ace, crashing onto the psyche of the obstinate branch manager.

Although Ace hadn't mastered the more advanced techniques of [Conqueror's Haki], it didn't mean he hadn't made any progress. He was now able to control it to the point where instead of simply attacking the target's psyche, he can intimidate them, forcing them to submit – or in this case, be too scared of him to even attempt to lie to him.

As he felt Ace's aura suddenly envelope him, the dark robe of the branch manager was suddenly drenched in cold sweat as his eyes lowered, not daring to meet the eyes of the little devil.

"Tell me everything you know about our friend, Alissa!" Ace said indifferently.

Although having been trained as an assassin, the branch head would've had extensive training in resisting interrogation, including torturing, and despite the fact that, forget touching him, Ace hadn't even threatened him, veins were protruding out of the side of the man's head as he fought to resist Ace's coercion.

"Now!" Ace said coldly, his final command being the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Alissa…

She…

She's being imprisoned," The branch head stammered under Ace's pressure, scared of the repercussions of his answer.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" Killian roared, his axe pressing harder against the man's neck as blood started falling down his blade.

"She's being held at the branch in Wyning City in the Rhine Empire," The man hurriedly answered.

"Calm down Kil," Ace said softly when he saw the trembling of his brother's axe.

"Why is she being imprisoned?" Ace asked, his voice several notches cooler than when comforting Killian. "I thought she was supposed to be one of your own."

"I don't know everything, but apparently she was found to be a member of the Prey Clan," The man explained slowly, his body trembling in fear, his nerves never been wound so tight in his life.

"What does her family have to do with anything?" Ace asked in response.

"Lord Cesar, our boss and the founder of Saber is said to have had a profound grudge against the Tigerstriped warriors." The man explained out of fear. "So when she was found to be a descendant, she was imprisoned so she could be delivered to the boss when he exits his training."

"I see," Ace replied, before the sharp blade of Killian's axe cleaned straight through the man's neck like a knife through butter.

A sigh escaped Ace's mouth as he watched Killian slaughter every member of Saber in a rage as he could understand how Killian was feeling. Ultimately, he said nothing.

As his axe came down one final time, Killian looked up at the skies and let out a mournful roar, only to find that nothing he did in that moment could vent the frustration he felt in his heart.

"Let's go," Ace said softly. "We have a classmate to save!"

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Book 6: Chapter 42 – Aiden Vs. Fain