Chapter 397: The opportunity... Part-1.

Chapter 397: The opportunity... Part-1.



Next Morning,

Outside the academy, A nearby abandoned factory.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"I already know that Fade and Kira disappeared here, but why are we here anyway? Does it even have anything to do with us?"

Liam complained loudly while sitting on an old chair with a look of confusion on his face.

Hearing his question, Rio, who was standing just nearby while leaning his back against the wall, replied in a calm voice,

"We are here because a 'certain someone' asked us to come here... Don't ask too many questions; I don't know the answers myself..."

Liam sighed at those words and stopped questioning.

Just when he was on a peaceful morning walk today, Rio dragged him to this abandoned factory with him without giving any apparent reasons.

Liam wouldn't have just tagged along with anyone; if it was someone else, he wouldn't have agreed.

But he trusts Rio a lot; that's why he didn't disagree too much and came along in the end.

"Still, I guess this is the first time we both are the only ones who are on some kind of unknown mission together... Usually it is the whole group."

Rio shrugged his shoulders at those words.

"It's not a mission; actually, we are just here to meet someone and get some crucial information from them."

"And if possible, we will convince her to come back to the academy."

As if a sudden realization came upon Liam, his eyes shined brightly.

"Wait, don't tell me-"

Before Liam could finish his words, a familiar person entered the dilapidated factory hall.

Looking at familiar armor and that familiar stern look on her face, Liam was quite shocked. "It's been a while... Rio, Liam..."

It was none other than Riko Embeth herself.

Rio was not much surprised after seeing her, as he already knew she would come, so he just nodded his head and then glanced at Liam.

"I dragged you along today because I once took her contact info and asked her to send me a message when she has completed her quest of gathering information on Alverto."

"And apparently this matter involves you deeply, so she asked me to bring you along."

Liam was quite shocked at the sudden revelation, as he had no idea that he would even get to meet Riko again one day.

He had thought that Riko dropped out of the academy and would eventually settle down and move on in life.

He had no idea she was on a quest for revenge all along.

Riko glanced at Rio for a while and spoke in a calm tone.

"You seem much stronger than the last time, and Liam too... I see, you guys have been making a lot of progress."

"Me, on the other hand... Alas, I am still stuck at the peak of A-rank like before."

Riko shook her head and sighed deeply.

She herself chose the 'path' of revenge; obviously, it will be more difficult for her to break through fast as her mind is already corrupted with revenge.

Moreover, she isn't really much talented either; her max talent potential itself is just S-rank, so she will not progress too fast, and the members of team Astra will surpass her easily.

But she doesn't care about it anymore.

For her, revenge is the only motive of her life now, and there's nothing else she wants.

"Where have you been this past year though, Riko Senpai?"

Hearing Liam's question, Riko sighed and replied in a solemn voice,

"A lot has happened... Let me tell you in brief."

was a weird demonic crest imprinted on the hand.

"This weird demonic crest has appeared on the hands of quite a few people in the human empire ever since seven years ago. That was the day when Alverto carried out the Drift City

massacre."

"Although I don't know what this crest's purpose is, there are nearly a thousand people who were recorded to have this crest by the secret agencies."

"Most of them died a slow, irreversible sign of decline in health, and then it ultimately leads

to death... And it turns out, Lia's mother had died that exact same way.

Rio's eyes widened in surprise after hearing those words.

"But Lia's mother died around the same time when that incident happened... Could it be that

Alverto was planting these crests even before that?"

Riko nodded her head,

"Yes, it is very likely... In fact, I dare to assume that he's been planning something grand since

the past two hundred years.

"From the very moment he introduced that 'soul stone' into the demon continent, he was

already planning something."

Hearing all this, Liam tilted his head in confusion.

"But what does all this have to do with me, though?"

Riko glanced at him and spoke in a calm tone.

"In that mission of assassinating the demon general Azazel, your father was involved too;

how do you think a mere S-rank demon like Alverto escaped that day from right under the

nose of Ashtel Rex?"

Liam's eyes widened in shock after hearing those words; he stood up, and his voice stuttered.

"Wait, don't tell me that-"

Riko nodded her head, "Yeah, I suspect that Neo Aldif is working together with Alverto for some reason."

Riko glanced at Rio and said,

"Rio told me about what Neo did in the Dragon Valley today on the phone, and from all this, I

am already 80 percent sure that they both are working together."

"After all, Alverto is likely the only person who knows about locations of forbidden magics...

He was likely the one who told Neo about it and made some kind of deal with him.

Riko sighed to herself.

"I have been working on this matter for a long time; I have already submitted my report, and

all this information will be available to the SS-rankers by evening today."

"I am just informing the two of you about it early because it involves the two of you the

most." "Rio survived the drift city massacre, so you have some personal score to settle with Alverto, and Liam, on the other hand, has to figure out what his father is planning."

"If you two don't handle this matter properly, you will never be able to find your answers."

"I myself, on the other hand, have been preparing for an opportunity for a long while now."

"Although I was not able to kill the person who murdered my brother, I will definitely take revenge for Zach no matter what."

Riko smirked at that moment and spoke in a vague tone. "And apparently, the opportunity is not too far away now..."