Chapter 210: Prelude (1)

As Rewen sprinted through the nearly empty street, he felt slight dizziness clouding over his mind. This is the side-effect of "Touchable Sense Water". It was the red liquid connected with the blue wristband which he had injected a while ago. Since it's a device that very few people use, it isn't available in the local markets. This is also the reason why he contacted Svety a few days ago and she bought it for him.

The only purpose of the "Touchable Sense Water" is to make a person incredibly sensitive to touch.

***

At the extreme north of Travil Town.

Layman's Clinic.

A middle-aged man sat before a young man seemingly in his early twenties. Wearing a lab coat, the young man had short black hair. His features weren't exceedingly handsome but he could be counted as good-looking.

The middle-aged man was Dorothy, an agent responsible for being the link between the target and his direct superior. He had been working as an agent for over fifteen years and worked for three different superiors. Even before joining the REAL WAIFU CORPORATIONS LIMITED, he worked in the state army. Needless to say, he was very experienced.

His direct superior was the young doctor sitting across from him. He was the Branch Manager of Travil Town's Branch of REAL WAIFU CORPORATIONS LIMITED. It is a newly established branch and has only recently started small deals such as organ trading, kidnapping, and assassinations. Since they were a newly established branch and hadn't yet settled down, they were much more vulnerable to exposure. 

That's why when their current target, Rewen, got involved in their organ trading business, they couldn't let him just out with the information and sent assassins to kill him right away. However…

"Are you sure that… what do you call him? That guy… who, uhmm…, who… came just last night." The young doctor wasn't good with memory and tried his best to recall the name of the person.

"You mean the Left Reverend?" Dorothy helped him.

The young doctor's eyes lit up. "Yes! The Left Reverend. Is he, like, supposed to be our ally or an enemy? Why is he going through the lengths of playing this little game with the target? If he really wanted the target to die, he could have let us kill him. What if he betrays?"

Dorothy cleared his throat before speaking. "That seems highly unlikely. Our company has been in partnership with the devils for quite a while. They wouldn't break the long-lived partnership just for some unknown kid."

The young doctor nodded as if he had expected this answer. "You say 'unknown kid' but be honest. How long would it take for him to be known across the kingdom? Maybe even in the Empires?"

"You spoke too highly of him, Sir. However, I do understand the kind of power and influence he could have if he were to be left alive. As people who are hiding from the government, we can't afford to let him get that power and influence." 

"Hmm." The young doctor put his hand on his chin. "How many people know about us aside from the people from the company and the target?"

Dorothy thought for a moment before answering. "Two people, I think. The target's close ones. Although we have them under control, we couldn't be sure if the target would risk informing the authorities or not. He doesn't seem to be a person who would do that though. If he was, he would have done that already."

The young doctor tapped his index finger on the desk. "How many are around them?"

Understanding whom he was referring to, Dorothy replied. "Two are around the target's cousin. We couldn't risk sending sc0uts to the other girl because she has two Rank 4 Mages around her."

"Ah, yes. Her background is a pain in the ass. I had to hire someone from the State Branch to plant the explosive inside her." The young doctor was dissatisfied with the awful amount of money he had to spend. "What about the devil? How many scouts are around her?"

"Twelve. All Rank 3."

"Woah, you are going all-out, huh!" The young doctor smiled. "What about the target? Is there anything interesting?"

"He made an interesting device over the past few days."

"Device? What kind of device?" The young doctor suddenly got interested.

"Forget it. They won't be useful… never mind. He made a [Sense Reactor] using "Touchable Sense Water". I don't think he had made any links. If I have to guess, then he's probably using it to get an edge in evasion. He is a bright fellow."

"A bright fellow, indeed." The young doctor agreed. Just then, his smartphone rang. "Oops, it's Boss."

He picked it up. 

"Hm… why… okay… got it." 

Dorothy watched as his superior hung up the call and looked at him.

The young doctor typed something on his smartphone, then opened his mouth. "We are having a meeting. Call everyone. Let's meet at the usual place."

***

Eastern Dream Academy. 6:12 a.m.

Rewen arrived at the main gate of the academy. The gatekeepers were already up and had surprised expressions when they saw a student coming to the academy this early. After greeting them with "good morning", he walked past the gate and went to his classroom.

The classroom was unsurprisingly completely empty. 

Taking a seat, he leaned on the chair. 'The dizziness had worn off. She should be coming anytime soon…' The person he was referring to was naturally the devil woman, Luciana. The success rate of his plan completely depended on her.

As he waited, he subconsciously got more and more restless. His legs were shaking non-stop. He initially didn't pay attention to it but a while later, cold sweat started dripping from his forehead.

"Fuck…" He cursed out loud. 

He had the same headache again. 

'This is the worst timing possible.' 

He got up from his chair but fell down on his knees as soon as he tried to take a step. "Hah… hah… not now…" He struggled and somehow managed to barely stand. Step by step, he staggered out of the classroom and headed to the washroom.

When he was not even halfway through, he fell flat on his face.

"Argh…" A painful groan leaked out of his mouth. 'It's too much. I… can't. I can't… go on.' Even when he thought so, he placed both of his hands on the floor and mustered all the strength he could to get up. 

Finally, he got up. His head was still spinning around, finding it hard to keep the balance between his legs. Taking small steps at a time while leaning on the wall beside him, he proceeded forward. 

As soon as he reached the washroom, he dug his face into the basin and turned on the sink. Coldwater poured down his head. It cooled down the blistering hot temperature of his head but the pain still remained. Nevertheless, he felt a little better. 

'No, I can't stay like this any longer…' He wasn't a superhuman who could take in all the pain and still remain standing. He could only endure the pain for a little while. After that, unless he gets outside help, he has to get unconscious. He couldn't escape from that no matter how much more he endured. That is exactly what is happening with him right now. Pain overwhelmed his senses and his eyes were slowly closing in.

'L… let me… rest for… a while…'

His mental strength was exhausted.

With his head under the basin and water pouring over his head, he slowly closed his eyes. When he had his last bit of consciousness remaining, he felt his hair grabbed, pulled, and forced his head down the basin.

Baam!

The basin broke down and the water was all over the floor flooding the place.

A streak of blood fell down from the forehead of Rewen whose eyes were half-closed. Because of his condition, he hadn't yet fully realized what had happened. 'What is happening… Why is my forehead hurting even more…?' Just as he was in the process of figuring out his circumstances, his hair was pulled.

His face was extremely close to another.

He gained confusion.

'Who is this person?'

A second later, he gained clarity in his senses.

'Who is she'

Two seconds later, he gained clarity in his thoughts.

'She is…'

His lips separated. "Luciana… you…"

Luciana, the devil woman, chuckled. "So you do recognise me? I never told you my name nor is it my registered name. How did you know? If you answer me honestly, I might let you live. Or else…" She swung her hand that was holding Rewen's hair towards the wall.

Baam!

The wall cracked.

With his face filled with bruises and cuts, Rewen fell on his back. Despite all this, there was something unusual. Unlike the half-closed eyes from a few seconds ago, his eyes were bright and wide open.

His headache had finally gone away!