...…

Shin stared at the ceiling once again the moment Grandmaster Benn walked out of the room. He was still trying to remember what had happened, especially how exactly he managed to get home 'safely'.

There were a lot of things that didn't add up. And from what he could see, he could tell that Grandmaster Benn knew something about it but refused to tell him the details.

Trying to figure it out, Shin first looked at the current state of his body.

Currently, he could at least tell that his body had undergone some intense battles while was unconscious. After all, he was a Battle Genius who could grow during battles. And since he was already familiar with the 'feeling of growth' after his hard-fought battles, he could easily tell the differences that he gained from each battle that he had gotten through.

Based on this, Shin was sure that the battles his body had gone through while he was still unconscious was not small.

He didn't need to further prove this suspicion since the current state of his special 'Golden Core' was more than enough to be the proof in this case.

Putting all of this together, Shin could only come up with a single conclusion. And that was his body was possessed by a 'demon' once again. But Grandmaster Benn rejected the idea earlier, since a body which was possessed by a demon would never be rational enough to use a teleportation talisman to send his body back home. Instead, it was going to seize the body of its host for itself.

"D*mn it! I can't think of anything! This is just going to make my headache worse," muttered Shin as he gave up on thinking about it."

Then he turned his body to the side to get a more comfortable position on the bed before adding. "Tsk! There is no point to think about it now. I'll just asked the Old Geezer about it later," while closing his eyes.

******

"That is everything that I got from interrogating that guy," said David with a heavy expression on his face.

He was currently inside Nathan's study room and reporting the information that he got from Code during the end of the previous mission.

On the other hand, Nathan fell into a deep thought after hearing everything. And after a few moments of thinking he asked another question, trying to get a confirmation once again. "So, you are saying that the Underworld Organization was currently in the middle of backstabbing each other."

David turned silent for a moment before replying. "Not exactly, Sir. But quite close."

He paused for a moment due to some hesitation before steeling himself, adding. "It is more like an internal competition among themselves. It seems like they are competing with each other to see which side will be chosen by the higher-ups. And the one who was going to be abandoned is going to be devoured by the other."

"I came across a similar situation before. It is during the time when I am still exploring the Lost Soul Continent. The arms of the Shadow Alliance also extended in some regions of that Continent."

"Similar things happened. No, it may be even worse since there are at least 3 subordinate organizations involved. What's more, the 'competition' during that time is quite large so some of the powerhouses of the said Continent became involved too."

"I also joined one of the main operations there and even worked with the 'Young Ghosts' of that Continent. The operations went well, but both sides suffered some huge losses."

David paused for another moment to take a deep breath before continuing. "But from what I can see, the Shadow Alliance still achieved their main goal. Even if they lost one or two major organizations from that incident, I still think that their sacrifices are still worth it."

"Due to that incident, a lot of internal conflicts occurred within the ranks of the major Families of the Lost Soul Continent. Some families even became hostile with each other, while there were a few families who became divided and broken into two functions."

"The news didn't become public since it will only cause even more chaos while the powerhouses of the Continent are still in the middle of recovery."

Nathan raised his eyebrows even further the more he listened. And when David was finally done, he suddenly asked. "So, what do you think about the outcome on our side."

David thought for a moment before replying. "From what I can see, we manage to avoid the major issue, thanks to the efforts that Shin and the others give during the mission. But I still suggest to take a look at the families who lost some of their younger generations."

Hearing that, Nathan nodded his head before saying. "I understand. I will not overlook anything. And to make sure that we didn't miss anything, I will even oversee this case personally."

David took a sigh of relief after hearing that. He was about to excuse himself to leave when he suddenly heard Nathan ask another question. "You said that these incidents are a competition within the Shadow Alliance, right? Then who won the previous one that took place at the Lost Soul Continent?"

David suddenly paused the moment he heard that. And after a few moments of thinking, he answered. "From what I can see, the one who ripped the most benefits during that time is the Black Serpent Mafia."

Nathan suddenly raised his eyebrows when he heard that. Then he suddenly asked. "And you said that the Black Serpent Mafia is plotting something even bigger than the previous incident, right?"

David nodded his head when he heard that and added. "That is according to the information that I got from the mole that they had planted at the 'Roku Prefecture', which was the main perpetrator of this incident."

He tilted his head to the side for a moment while knitting his eyebrows. "I just can't get any more details about that since the soul of that 'mole' is locked by a powerful Binding Technique created by a strong Mentalist."

"I failed to notice that when I scanned his soul. So, that mole suddenly died when he was trying to talk about the specifics. I couldn't even retrieve his body since it was suddenly ignited by a strange flame the moment he died."

Hearing that, Nathan slowly closed his eyes and into a deep thought once again. 'Black Serpent Mafia, huh? 'Snake Head', what kind of plot are you scheming this time?'

Meanwhile, David was currently having an internal struggle as he looked at Nathan. But while he was still in the middle of hesitating, the latter seemed to perceive his mood and asked. "What is it? If you want to say something, voice it out already. In this kind of situation, even a minor detail is crucial for us."

David closed his eyes for a moment when he heard that before bracing himself. "Sir-… about 'Snake Head'. It is not a person, but a-…"

********

In a very hidden place somewhere in the outskirts of the Dark Continent, a huge yet secluded city was located.

This city seemed to be quite advanced given the skyscrapers standing within it. There were also some strange vehicles flying in this city which made the appearance of this place to become even more futuristic.

Standing at the very center of this city was a very tall building which stood among the rest. Its height already reached the sky which was why its tip was hidden by the clouds. But the thing that made it different from the rest was the huge figure coiling around it.

From afar, that figure seemed to be a gigantic serpent monster coiling around the building. But in fact, it was actually a giant statue made to be part of the building so that it could have an appearance like that.

But no matter how majestic the appearance of this city has; it was still not written in the records of the world. It was because this city was in fact a major base of one of the strongest Underworld Organization of the world, the Black Serpent Mafia.

...

Standing in the air not far from the city, a pair of a man and a woman were currently observing the whole city.

"Tsk! These guys sure became too advanced. With this kind of environment, they can at least contend with the cities of the Sun-Moon Continent," said by the man.

This guy had a lean body but had some properly trained and perfectly shaped muscles which were being highlighted due to the fitted shirt that he was wearing.

The strands of his hair had silver color which were also quite long. Adding it to his handsome appearance, this man would surely make any girl fall for him just by seeing him. But contrary to it, the demeanor that he was giving was quite evil which would make anyone wary around him; especially with that evil grin that he was wearing and the purple pupils that his eyes had.

After a moment, this man looked at the woman beside him and asked. "Can you feel those guys' aura here? From what I can see, this is still not the right place that we are looking for."

"Can you shut up for a moment? I am trying to concentrate here," responded by the woman while glaring at him.

She was a very beautiful woman with long black hair. Her appearance alone was more than enough to make any man crazy for her. And if you add her perfect figure, then this woman could bring a nation into its own downfall with her appearance alone.

After scolding the man beside her, she turned her head back at the city before squinting her eyes a little. Seconds later, her eyes suddenly turned bright before shining a golden light.

Moments passed, the woman's shining eyes started to dim before she closed her eyes. And while doing that, she suddenly said to the man beside her. "This is still not the place. Go, do whatever you want. Just make it quick and don't wait for me to wait for long."

Hearing that, the evil grin that the man was wearing turned even higher while saying. "Don't worry, Honey. Less than a minute is more than enough."

After saying that, he suddenly flew forward and stopped right above the city before pointing at the sky. He took a deep breath for a moment before swinging his hand downwards before pointing at the city before below him.

Nothing actually happened when he was done with everything, but that man didn't seem to care about it as he quickly turned his body around before flying back to the woman's side.

And after arriving, he put his arm around her shoulders while saying. "Alright, time to go, Honey. Where are we going next? But-... do you mind going on a date first before going to the next location?"

Hearing him, the woman suddenly released a helpless sigh before saying. "Can you at least become a little serious this time? We are in a hurry, aren't we?"

After that, she turned her head behind them as they were flying away. A moment later, she turned her head at the man beside her while saying. "Isn't a little too much?"

"You think that I got a little overboard? Well, don't worry – they all deserved it. What's more, that city is originally not on the main map, so I am only turning this place back to its 'original' state." said the man nonchalantly.

And while the two of them were currently flying away, a huge shadow was suddenly casted on the whole city.

Naturally, all of the people within the city immediately noticed the sudden darkness in the middle of daylight. Due to that, they couldn't help but raise their heads towards the sky to look at what was happening.

But the moment they saw what was in the sky, their eyes suddenly turned wide while their bodies were frozen in place.

A gigantic meteor was falling towards the city with an extreme speed and unstoppable force!

And before they could even pull themselves together, the meteor immediately landed on the ground and erased the whole city's existence.

...…