Chapter 132: No Title

Travil Town.

In a certain area.

It was night.

A man wearing a leather jacket with relatively long hair standing leaning on the steel barriers. He constantly sighed while looking at the moonlight reflected in the water, perhaps reminding him of some past events.

"David? Why are you still here? Let's go." A young woman said from behind him.

The man shook his head, still looking at the water. "Let me reminisce about the past. At this point, that's the only thing I could do with my will."

"You can reminisce some other time. The target could be arriving at any time. We can't afford to screw this up."

David smiled. "Do you actually think that the target would arrive at this time? Put yourself in his shoes and what would you do?"

The young woman snorted. "If I was the target, I would come here right now." 

David didn't mind the non-typical answer and laughed. "That's because you are too crafty. Let's take a normal strength of Rank 1 MageRank 1 Mage. Would he come here immediately after getting the message that there would be eight Mages at the same level surrounding him? Unless he isn't reckless, he would bid his time, practice his skills, use every possible measure to higher the chances of him winning against us."

"Why do you say so much nonsense? Just come to the building. There are spots where you can act cool and reminisce."

"Is that so? Can I get a cigarette?"

"That's out of bounds. Also, how old are you when you still think cigarettes make you look cooler?"

"That's unfortunate." David had a deep look. "How are the others doing?"

"Great. At the very least, better than you." The young woman pulled his hands and dragged him away.

***

Klofar Residence.

With his hand on his forehead, Rewen looked at the ceiling making plans. "Should I burst into the apartment complex? It might startle them and I could gain a substantial advantage over the battle but at the same time, there are more disadvantages. I haven't yet learned [Petal Dance] which could prove to be a deciding factor between my life and death.

"I also have to practice the other skills. No one would give me an entire minute for letting me cast the skill upon them. I have to shorten it to as short as I can.

"Lastly, the most important part. There is still five days left before I get back the [Freestyle Knights Combat] technique. According to the letter, I have three days to defeat the two squads. Let's see. Today's one day. Tomorrow's the next. Day after tomorrow's the last. Let's say that I manage to defeat the squads the day after tomorrow, I probably wouldn't get another message on the same day. Therefore, this is the last time that I would be restricted by not being able to use [Freestyle Knights Combat] technique."

An expression of relief came over his face. 'Can I defeat eight Mages of the same rank? If they attack me one-by-one, I could perhaps manage to survive but surely they wouldn't be that stupid to let me do that, right?'

"Whatever. I could not rely on my opponents to win. If I want to do something about the outcome, I have to do something for myself." A determined look appeared on his face.

*Ding*

*Dong*

The main door bell rang. 

"I'll take care of it." Rewen was about to go to the door when he heard Denny's voice.

'Take care of it? Ah, it must be Svety.' It didn't take long for him to figure out who was at the door.

Moments later, he could hear his cousin's voice.

"What do you mean by 'I'm not leaving'? Do you want me to call the cops?"

"No. I don't welcome you here. If you have something to say related to X, then message him."

"What? Not going to happen."

"Yes. Stay here then!"

*Knock*

"It's open." Rewen said. Without even guessing, he knows who knocked the door.

"That Svety… should I call the cops?" Denny looked annoyed and frustrated.

"No need. Let me talk to her." 

"No. You stay here. I know how she is. The moment she'll see you, she would leap onto your chest and squeeze out some fake tears. Then, like an idiot, you would forgive her."

"What? No. That's just your head canon. Do I look that stupid?"

"Love makes everyone stupid."

"..." Rewen just got up and went to the door when he figured that it's useless to argue against her.

***

"Please leave."

When Svety heard those two cold words, her body froze up. Why is the man suddenly so unfamiliar? If she had to describe the man in two words in recent days, it would be "chaotic" and "unfamiliar". Chaotic because the man is quick to anger and lash out but at the same time, shows regret for the action he does. Unfamiliar because…

'Rewen wasn't anything like this. This may not be him.' She made a frightening guess. Her instincts told her that the man standing before her wasn't the man she had feelings for but logic told her otherwise. 

"Where is Rewen!?" She asked out hysterically. Her eyes had already turned red.

"Hahaha…"

She saw the man laughing, deepening her suspicions about the matter. 'He… really isn't Rewen? Then who is he?' Chaos invaded her mind. Her legs shivered. She couldn't stand straight because of an unknown fear.

The man, no, the devil took one step close to her.

She felt as if her legs lost strength. She didn't know why but the fear in her heart was growing every second. 'Why am I so scared?' She wondered but never got an answer. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder and fell on her knees.

It was not due to the weight of the hand.

It was the weight of "fear". Her eyes fidgeted non-stop from panic. Her body couldn't stop shivering because of the hand placed on her shoulder. "I...I… I'm leaving. D-don't… mmm! Mhmm!"

Her lips were sealed by another lips. 

Her mind blanked out.

"I'm sorry. I had to pretend. Let's start over." The man said, looking straight at her eyes.

Svety regained her clarity. The "pressure" she felt from earlier disappeared without a trace. With the help of his hands, she got up.

*Pah*

Although she was scared, the disgust and loathing she was feeling towards the man overruled the fear. She looked at the man once again. There were bright five fingers printed on his right cheek yet the man had a strange smile on his face.

"Let's do that once more." With a strange smile, the man approached her.

*Pah*

"Stay away!!" Svety yelled but her throat was dry.

"Oh? Now you want to run? Did you forget that I control your life and death? Did you forget that I can easily get you behind bars? Do you not care about your life?"

Getting scared of his behaviour, she took a few steps back but the man continued to approach her.

"Hehe, let me have my way with you. Maybe I'll forgive you then." 

'This is Rewen? Did I have affection for this guy!?' This lowlife scum?' Tears glistened in her eyes as she ran away frantically.

The man didn't chase after her. The strange smile on his face was no more. All that remained was a cold frown. Everything he did was obviously an act. He wasn't fond of becoming the "villain" guy but there are more than two reasons as to why he chose to do this. It wasn't a spur of the moment love-hate drama act.

'First… her.' Rewen secretly located Denny looking at him through one of the windows. 'Not only her but everyone. 'I'm not Rewen' - this has been on my mind for quite a while. It wouldn't surprise if someone suspects that I'm not my predecessor. Acting isn't going to work at this stage. It's only a matter of time before everyone gets suspicious of my behaviour. It's been only a single week and I'm supposed to have somewhat 'recovered' from my interference, which is why the thought of me being someone else isn't going to appear in their minds.'

'In this world, everything is possible. If this goes on, I might be suspected of being a fully invaded soul. There is only a little difference between me and an invaded soul. I doubt people would listen to my explanations. I thought it would take some months before people start suspecting me but there is already someone suspecting me of not being my predecessor. This leaves me with a single option.'

'System, what happens if my stat becomes zero?'

[The Host loses his consciousness and dies.]

'In that case, [Boost]. Temporarily sacrifice all my stats to my life force and make me unconscious for an hour.'

[There is no such thing as life force.]

'You know what I'm trying to say.'

Rewen's eyes closed as he fell on the cold ground with a thud.