Chapter 23 Loopholes

[POV: Ruby]

Perched atop the tower, on a floor which served as both a helipad and was located two floors above Kael's apartment, I surveyed my surroundings to spot several assassins lurking about, sizing up the building.

Unlike the bustling towers in the vicinity, this particular structure was devoid of activity, with lights turned off and security measures in place. As the sun had set hours ago, the panoramic view from the top of the building was ablaze with the twinkling night lights of the city.

A shadowy figure materialized on the helipad and warned, "Proceed with caution, people. We don't know what our target is capable of yet." Everyone acknowledged the caution and entered the luxurious penthouse, which was decorated with a dark theme and lit up with all its lights.

As I approached the drawing room, I caught sight of a person lounging on the sofa and calmly observing us. The figure nonchalantly commented, "It took you a while," while holding a glass of wine which he kept on the table.

It was Kael himself. Upon receiving orders to assassinate him, I infiltrated the team I was once a part of. I didn't encounter any obstacles, but this situation was the most challenging yet, as I would be the first to confront him.

I then observed several shadows connected to Kael rising from the floor. They were the same shadows I had seen at the academy and all were identical - dressed in long black coats, and hoods, and emitting black smoke from their bodies. This smoke was caused by an excessive build-up of aura that was so intense, it was leaking from each of them.

The battle erupted without any warning or greetings, and I found myself at the forefront as the shadow aimed for me first. I tried to block its punch by crossing my arms in front of my chest, but the force was so great that it sent me and those around me hurtling out of the building. The glass windows shattered as we were thrown from the one hundred and forty-sixth floor.

Shaking off the shock of the impact, we summoned our aura to form a rope connecting us to the floor and pulled ourselves back inside. However, before we could fully recover, the same shadows leapt from the building, targeting each of us. They spread their arms and formed claws with their palms, and the aura materialized into an axe aimed at us in both arms.

All of the shadows displayed exceptional coordination, summoning their axes simultaneously, jumping from the building, and attacking us all at once. Though they appeared to be identical copies of one another, my instincts told me otherwise - they appeared to be mindless and controlled, but my gut feeling said they had their own thought processes.

Wrapping ourselves in shadows, we guarded ourselves and absorbed the impact. However, as we were in mid-air, the downward force of the attack sent us crashing to the ground. The earth around us crumbled, resulting in many casualties and leaving most of us unconscious.

It was clear that Kael was not an ordinary fifteen-year-old kid with such levels of power. He didn't even flinch or lift a finger, yet many perished without so much as a scratch on him.

Despite minor injuries, I stood up from the ground and resumed my approach towards him, as I held the rank of A. Just as I reached the top floor, a loud explosion echoed and the building began to crumble from the top down.

With the dust in the air settling due to the intensifying aura, I finally caught sight of Kael standing on thick, black, liquid-like chains in front of Karl Fischer. At Kael's command, several of these chains rose from the ground, extending over a range of three kilometres.

With a mere gesture from Kael, the pointed ends of the chains launched towards Karl, who summoned two red and gold-coloured katanas to defend himself.

As sparks flew from the clash of the weapons, several inexperienced assassins took the opportunity to attack Kael from behind. Noting that no one was paying attention to me, I altered my plan and began stealthily eliminating the assassins one by one.

**Boom**

A sudden and intense pressure overwhelmed everyone, rendering us motionless. I mustered up my courage and looked up to see swords had pierced Kael's abdomen and he was bleeding heavily. The chains that had covered a three-kilometre radius retreated into the ground. Everything was quiet and a haunting silence filled the air. The pressure then intensified, causing the lower-ranked assassins in the area to disappear into ashes as their body burst open while high-ranked assassins including Karl teleported somewhere else.

I was confused and wondered what was happening as silence filled the air. Suddenly, twelve powerful figures appeared around us in the sky. Despite them not releasing their aura, I could tell each of them was stronger than an SSS-ranked individual, maybe even stronger than Cillian. To my surprise, they did not focus or apply any pressure on me.

One of them spoke, addressing everyone and directing their attention towards me. They said, "Greetings everyone and to my lady."

The speaker then mentioned that someone had caused a lot of damage, but it was considered collateral as they were able to find their majesty. They finished by saying,

"Though the damages are inconceivable, they can be considered collateral as we were able to find you our majesty," and gave a slight bow as a sign of respect.

"You're a devil?" I pointed at him and asked.

"That's what the citizens of this world call us, but we are all devils by nature," he replied.

"I see," I said, nodding.

"Yes, the twelve of us are the generals of the Zodiac Devil, and I assume you know that you are a devil too," he explained after a moment of reflection.

I ignored his words and my voice became threatening, as a dark aura surrounded me. "Did you kill him?" I asked.

He stepped back a bit, acting scared. He then looked at Kael for a few seconds before answering, "No. The swords piercing him are sustaining his aura and keeping him alive but unconscious. I presume you value him so highly that you were willing to betray your own to protect him." He paused and added winking at me, "I've kept him alive for your use, Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty?" I asked, confused.

"I can't explain much, but to give you a brief overview of your situation," he paused before continuing, "You are the granddaughter of the late Zodiac Devil."

"What-" I was about to ask another question, but I suddenly lost consciousness.

--------[POV: Real Kael]

'Ummmm.....Did I miss something?'

I thought looking at the situation unfolding in front of my eyes, actually, I was beside Ruby the whole time, just no one could trespass my illusion.

The devil who was speaking with Ruby instructed, "Take him with you. If he causes any problems in the future, do not hesitate to kill him and gather information about him. I need to know who he is." He was referring to my clone.

All the devils disappeared, except one. It was difficult to tell them apart as they all wore similar black and red clothing and a mask that covered their faces. I didn't even know what they looked like, anyway.

I teleported behind the one responsible for my clone and tapped on his shoulder. "Hey," I said.

In response to my touch, he materialised a sword and swung it at me while twisting his body. However, I stopped him with my index finger.

"Man, this sword is like a toy. White and gold? Really?" I mocked him.

"You!" he exclaimed, pointing at me.

"Yes, me. Do I know you?" I asked.

"Wait, if this is... if this is... it must be a clone!" he said, finally realising what was happening as he looked back and forth between me and my duplicate.

"You're quick to understand," I said as I squeezed his shoulder, causing a pained expression to appear on his face.

"Who are you?" he asked, trying to retaliate by using his aura against me.

"Your interviewer"

"The same old trick: <Domain Segregation: Warp Reality>," I said with a huge grin as the world around us shattered like glass and the scene changed.