Ryder stepped closer to Adrian, prepared to take him out. Since only a Divine Weapon could kill one of them, he only had two options of weapons he could use— the knife of Itsuki or the Moon Scythe after changing its shape.

Even though he was able to use the Dream Knife of Itsuki, he didn't use it. He felt better using the weapon he had always used. That's why he already had the Moon Scythe, which was in the form of a knife, tucked inside his shirt.

​​

Adrian seemed to be looking towards the stage where the people were dancing when he casually glanced around while taking a sip of his wine.

His eyes soon fell on Ryder, who was walking towards him. He also recognized Ryder from before.

"Hey, aren't you the man who gave me the lift before?" Adrian asked as he stood up while approaching Ryder.

'He saw me too. But it's also annoying. If he recognizes my aura like Itsuki, it'll be tough. I did take precautions by covering myself with a fake aura, but still, it seems concerning. It was all going to come down to this now.

As Adrian approached Ryder, Ryder observed his expressions to notice even the most minute of changes to see if he noticed something strange.

"Why are you looking at me so seriously? Come, join me on a drink!" Adrian said as he patted the shoulder of Ryder.

'Good. He doesn't recognize me,' Ryder thought.

"Don't you recognize me?" Adrian asked, wondering if Ryder was thinking that he was a stranger.

"I recognize you. I dropped you at the airport. I am surprised to see you here. This world is really so small," Ryder said, acting familiar.

"That's better. Come, join my group. I'll show you around," Adrian said, bringing Ryder with him.

"This here is my closest aid," Adrian told Ryder as he showed him a man who seemed to be observing Ryder.

'He must be his right hand man. The person he shared his strength with,' Ryder thought as he observed the bald man as he reached out his hand.

"Hey, nice to meet you."

The man also shook his head, but Ryder noticed that the man was trying to press his hand, maybe to test his strength.

Ryder acted ignorant as he said calmly, "That actually hurts. You're really strong."

If he wanted, he could have crushed the hands of the man right away with his strength that even his boss shouldn't have been able to handle now, but he didn't. This place was too crowded.

First, his plan was to do a simple assassination, but it had changed now. Even if he assassinated Adrian now, this guy was going to start a commotion, and it was going to get big. Ryder didn't want that.

Since he was already here, he decided to be patient and wait till later.

Adrian called a waiter who brought more drinks for them.

"Drink. It's the strongest beer in Russia. After a few glasses, you won't be able to walk properly," Adrian told Ryder as he laughed.

"Shouldn't we not drink then? We still need to walk later," Ryder said as he smiled wryly.

"Don't worry. You helped me that day. I'll help you today. My men can take you to your hotel room if you lose yourself," Adrian said. "As for us, we have strong resistance to it."

'Strong resistance than me? I doubt it. My ability makes me immune to alcohol. But it's also possible that they'll have something similar to that. I think I can play that to my advantage,' Ryder thought.

He picked up the glass of wine and started drinking it.

Adrian also picked up the glass of beer and drank it all at once before he asked, "So big guy, what brought you to Russia? Is there anything I can help you with? Just say the word, and I'll make it happen. I have a bit of reach here."

"You don't have to worry about it. I don't have any important business. I'm only here for a vacation. I always wanted to see Russia," Ryder replied calmly

"Yeah. It's a beautiful place indeed. If you need suggestions, I can tell you about a few must see places," Adrian said, nodding.

'This guy... He really seems nice. The way he portrays himself and the way he talks. He doesn't seem like a bad person at all. If he hadn't tried to kidnap Alice, we might have been friends. Unfortunately, he tried that. I can't let a threat like him for Alice.'

"Also, if you need my help while you're on vacation, you can always come to my place," Adrian further said.

"Where is your place?" Ryder asked, curious.

"I don't have a permanent place, but at the moment, I'm living in Hotel Wind Palace, inside the Presidential Sweet. Come any time. If I'm there, I'll meet you. If I'm not there, you can leave your message," Adrian answered.

"Where are you staying?" He inquired.

"I'm living in Hotel Alexia, Room number 115," Ryder answered, lying. He simply told the name of the first hotel he had seen near the airport.

Ryder and Adrian kept drinking the wine as they casually talked with each other. Ryder also acted like he was getting drunk.

"Mmmh, you were right. This thing seems to be acting. It's pretty strong. My head is spinning already. I think I should leave," Lucien muttered as he tried to stand up only to almost fall.

He barely kept himself standing with the support of the table.

"You really have a good resistance, my friend. Much better for an ordinary man that isn't from here. But in the end, it's always the Alcohol that wins. I think it's the time for you to end this now," Adrian said as he also stood up.

"Take him to his room,'' he said carefully.

"I'll also take my leave," Adrian further told his man before he turned back to look at Ryder. "It was a good day, my friend. I hope we meet again soon."

After speaking to Ryder, he patted his hand before he left.

The blue-eyed man stood up as he caught Ryder by his shoulder. "Let me take you to hotel Alexia."

He helped Ryder leave the hotel before he carried him to his car.

Opening the passenger side door, he made Ryder sit inside, who was still acting to be drunk. After placing the seat belt around him, he closed the door before walking to the Driver's seat.

He sat in the Driver's seat as he started driving the car. He didn't know that he was playing right into Ryder's hand. There was another reason that Ryder had named the Alexia hotel. It was not only far from here, but it also had routes that had no houses nearby.

Unaware of everything, the blue-eyed man started the car. As he didn't want to be stuck with Ryder for a long time, he was driving as fast as he could.

Initially, the car was in a crowded part of the city, but he still didn't slow down. As for his speed, it only increased as he reached the empty roads where only trees could be seen on the both sides of the road.

This was the moment Ryder was waiting for as he suddenly said, "Stop!"

"What? What?" The man asked, surprised.

"I need to pee!" Ryder replied.

"God, it's like babysitting a kid. Fine, I'll stop the car. Don't do it inside," the man said as he pressed the brakes. He also opened the doors of the car for Ryder.

"Oh wait, it was a false alarm," Ryder said as he smiled. His hand moved like lightning as he grabbed the throat of the man. "Shall we try the test of strength again?"

Crack!

As Ryder talked, he didn't give the man any chance to reply as he crushed his neck. But he didn't stop here as these people were annoying.

They always came back to life because of the Divine Energy given to them by the sons of gods. He believed this guy was going to stay dead for only a few seconds, but he didn't give him a chance to come back to life.

He pulled out his Moon Knife and stabbed it in the chest of the man.

It was only after that when he kept the knife back after cleaning it.

"I really am becoming an Assassin; it seems," he muttered as he shook his head.

He kept the body of the man back in his inventory as he softly said, "Might come in handy with the revival skill of mine. It's a strong one, after all."

As he took care of the body, he moved over to the Driver's seat as he turned the car around.

He was leaving, but he wasn't going back. He wanted to go to eat something first since he was getting hungry. Moreover, he wanted to wait till late to break into Adrian's room.