...…

Real World, Soaring Continent

Eastern Sea Region

This entire region was known for its seafood delicacies since the region's name explains for itself. But aside from that, the region was also famous for being an 'open' region because a lot of people from different countries were visiting this place – especially because of their world-class beaches and resorts.

What's more, two world-class institutions were located in this region. The Magical Ace Academy and the World Research Center. The former was one of the best schools around the world while the latter was a place which housed a bunch of talented individuals who were experts in different fields.

These two places were one of the destinations that every person around the world that wanted to visit or even join for their jobs.

Due to this, a lot of people from different countries were currently staying in the Eastern Sea Region, hoping to attend the Magical Ace Academy or join the World Research Center.

At the same time, this place also became somewhat a chaotic region, especially when the citizens of the rival countries suddenly bumped into each other. And when such things occurred, a bloody mess would surely be going to happen.

This was also the very reason why the Eastern Sea Region had the heaviest security compared to other Regions of the Soaring Continent – it was even comparable to the Main Region where a lot of Military Families were located such as the Springfield and Howen Families.

…

Meanwhile, Leonard was currently standing in the middle of a secluded alley while literally covered by blood and sweat. His breathing was quite labored as he seemed to be struggling at taking them.

He closed both his eyes and raised his head towards the sky while waiting for his breathing became stable once again. A moment later, he slowly opened his eyes before staring at the clear sky above.

He stayed in this state for quite some time before an old man's voices suddenly interrupted his thought. "Calmed down already? If so, then let's immediately head back now."

Leonard slowly turned his head at the source of the voice the moment he heard that. There, he saw an old man who seemed to be looking at him with dull eyes. But in truth, the old man had a pair of blinded eyes.

It was not due to his old age – but it was obviously because his sights were robbed from him. And the proof of that was the long scar drawing a horizontal line from each of his eyes.

The old man was holding a black walking cane on his front to support his weight as he was leaning forward due to his hunching back.

Leonard stared at the old man for a moment before nodding his head while replying. "Yes, master."

Hearing him, the old slowly turned his body around before starting to walk away from the alley. Leonard was about to follow him when he suddenly stopped his feet from moving before sweeping his gaze at his surroundings.

As if the old man knew that Leonard was not following yet, he suddenly halted his steps before turning his head to the side and seemed to be looking over his shoulder. "What? Feeling guilty?"

Hearing the sudden question, Leonard became absentminded for a moment before shaking his head. Though, he still was wearing a bitter expression on his face.

Even if the old man was blind, his senses were still sharp. So, he could feel Leonard's current mood. With that, he immediately said. "Don't put much thought in it. Those guys are thrashes of society either way, so think of it as the karma finally putting down its judgement upon them."

"You grew up from the streets, right? So, you should be aware about the rules of the world that we are living more than anyone else – whether it was in the light or the dark side, the same rules still apply."

Then the old man resumed walking while adding to his words. "Moreover, those guys are in the wanted list of the police forces, so you can also treat it as helping them with their jobs."

"Speaking of it, those cops are most probably on their way here right now since I already informed them about the matter. So, your job here is already done – let those guys do their part this time."

Leonard nodded his head before chasing after the old man. And when he finally caught up, both of them suddenly turned into a blur and disappeared from the alley.

Not long after, a group of people in police uniform arrived at the place. And when they saw the scene on the alley, they couldn't help but become taken aback at what they saw – a bunch of people were lying on the ground!

Those people were all covered with blood. Some of them even had deformed faces due to being beaten up so badly. The other guys, on the other hand, had their arms and legs twisted in reverse angle.

After a brief pause, the police officers immediately regained themselves and started doing their jobs. The first thing that they did was to see whether these guys on the ground were still alive or not. Though, they didn't have any high hopes on that given those guys' current appearance.

After confirming all of the men laying on the ground, the inspectors started doing their work and immediately inspected the entire area, trying to figure out what really happened on this place.

Even though they received a mysterious report earlier, they were still not sure what took place in this area.

After a few more minutes of inspection, the officers were not sure of what they were going to do next. From what they could see, the person who executed these wanted criminals seemed to be quite skilled – or even a professional since all of the clues that they could use to locate this mysterious executor had already been erased completely.

"Captain, what are we going to do now? Are we going to add it to those mysterious cases?" asked one of the police personnel.

The captain seemed to sigh helplessly when he realized that was pretty much impossible to dig any deeper on this matter. After a moment of thought, he nodded his head at his subordinate while saying. "Yeah, add it in those cases. It seems like we are being challenged by this mysterious executioner. It has already been a week since he announced his presence, yet we couldn't even get a single clue regarding this person."

The subordinate nodded his head before tapping his fingers on the virtual screen projected by his advance watch. And when he was done, he couldn't help but ask his captain. "But sir-… isn't it good that this executioner is helping us at taking down these criminals? He or she is even making our jobs easier. Isn't it a good thing?"

The captain couldn't help but smirk at his subordinate the moment he heard those words. Then he looked at the latter with a mocking expression while saying. "Easy you say? Do you even know how troublesome it is to write a report about a case like this? It is like trying to sue a suspect without having any kind of evidence."

"And GOOD? How foolish! Do you even know what will happen in the world if everyone can put justice on their hands? Heh! If every person can just kill another person with a context of 'carrying out justice', then the whole world will already be in total chaos."

"What's the point of having people like us if we are just going to let everyone in loose? We are given this privilege to put order on the society and make sure that everyone knows their limits."

The captain paused for a moment before patting the shoulder of his subordinate while saying. "We are the safety pin of society who are making sure that no one are going to cross that line. Remember that, young'un."

********

Meanwhile, Leonard just got out of the bath after taking a shower.

He was in the middle of putting on his clothes when he suddenly heard his master's voice. "Oi, little cub! That old hermit's disciple is arriving today, so make sure that you are going to receive her properly."

Understanding the hidden meaning from his master's words, Leonard couldn't help shake his head a little before replying. "Understood, master. I will make sure that you are not going to lose face."

"Good! Then start packing up your things now and escort that old hermit's disciple at your sworn brother's house," said the old man in a nonchalant manner.

Leonard was suddenly frozen in place the moment he heard that. Then he turned his head at his master and asked confusedly. "Escort? I thought, ``Elder is going to send his disciple straight to the Capital City?"

The old man smirked when he heard that and said. "Heh! That old hermit is the most deceiving person that I meet in my life. Whatever he says is the complete opposite of what he really meant. If he said that he is going to ride a plane, that means he is going to travel on sea."

He then paused for a moment to look at the digital clock on the wall before continuing. "Alright, that old hermit is going to arrive at the port any time now, so hurry up and be ready to leave."

"You are not coming, master?" asked Leonard almost instantly.

The old man looked at him for a moment before replying. "I am already too old to travel back and forth to different places. And you are already old enough, so there is no need for me to accompany you."

"Moreover, I already introduced you to that old hermit so I don't have to be with you when receiving him."

The corner of Leonard's mouth suddenly twitched the moment he heard the words 'too old' from his master's mouth. 'Too old my *ss! Just say that you don't want to leave this place because of the young girls in bikini passing by outside. What's the point of good view if you can't even see them?'

Right after these thoughts flashed inside his head, Leonard suddenly felt that the cane that his master held was already traveling towards his head with a great speed. Out of instinct, he immediately ducked down, planning to dodge the incoming swing.

But the moment he leaned forward, he sensed that the trajectory of the cane suddenly changed midway and followed after his head.

Pak!

"Ugh!"

Leonard managed to block the cane with his arm. But his head still got smacked by his master's free hand and smashed him on the ground.

Bang!

"I may be a blind old man but that didn't mean I can't feel the expression that your face is making!"

After saying that, the old man started walking out of the house and left Leonard lying on the ground. "Stopped playing dead, little cub. Start packing up your things or else that old hermit is going to beat you even more if ever you arrived late when you are the one that is going to receive them."

Hearing that, Leonard slowly sat up on the ground before glaring at the old man's back. 'D*mn you, old blind pervert!'

...…