That night, Alex found it hard to fall asleep. He tossed and turned in bed, eyes wide open in the dark. Eventually, he got up, did a few push-ups, tried some shadowboxing, then slumped onto the couch and turned on a movie.
By 3 a.m., he rubbed his eyes and mumbled,
Alex: "Oow, shit… Why the hell is it so hard to sleep tonight? I'm not thinking about that girl, right? Nah… I'm not. Am I?"
He paused.
Alex: "…Okay maybe just a bit. Damn."
Eventually, the exhaustion hit him, and he knocked out on the couch, mouth open, snoring gently with one sock still half on.
Meanwhile, in Encinto's room…
Encinto sat on the edge of his creaky bed, arms crossed and face dead serious.
Encinto: "What am I doing with those guys? I'm a drug dealer, not a servant for that ancient war fossil! Damn… It's okay, Encinto. Tomorrow we go to my boss's office, get the deal done, and then I'm going home. Done."
He stared at the ceiling.
Encinto: "But still… I don't trust that grandpa. He looks like he'd start a war just because someone didn't stir his coffee."
He imagined explosions, screaming, Zayn laughing like a maniac with a bazooka on his shoulder.
Encinto: "Urghh… Yeah. It's gonna be worse than I thought."
Zayn's room was… less stressful.
A woman lay tangled in the sheets, laughing. Zayn was already up, stretching his back like an old cat.
Zayn: "Whew. I feel refreshed. You can go now."
Girl: "Oh, come on, baby~ We can go for another round. I know you've got more fun in you."
Zayn: "Yeah, but sorry. Tomorrow I've got work. And it ain't the kind with breaks and flowers."
Girl: "Tch. Fine."
She pulled on her coat with a dramatic huff and slammed the door behind her.
BOOM!
Zayn didn't flinch.
Zayn: "…Women."
The next morning, at the lobby.
Alex and Encinto waited on the couch.
Encinto: "So… you sleep good last night?"
Alex: "Yeah, why?"
Encinto: "Because your grandpa gave me the tiniest room in the house. It had one window, and the only view was a pile of garbage. I'm pretty sure a cat was giving birth under that pile."
Alex(laughing): "Haha! I don't know, man. He's just naturally like that. Nobody can change him."
Encinto: "Tch. How long has he even been alive?"
Alex: "No idea. He's from World War II. For all I know, he might've fought dinosaurs too."
Encinto: "How the hell does someone live that long?"
Alex: "His only superpower is luck."
Suddenly, Zayn stepped out of the lift with his usual pissed-off look.
Zayn: "Let's go. We're wasting daylight."
Encinto: "Oi! You're late, you know!"
Zayn: "Shut up, piggy. I had… a difficult job."
Encinto: "What's so hard about making a deal?"
Zayn: "A deal? Who told you I was here to make a deal?"
Encinto: "…Oh shit. Are you serious?"
They rushed to the car. Zayn drove fast, heading toward the harbor. No words, no music. Just tension.
Zayn parked in front of a big metal container, walked up to it, unlocked it, and flung the door open.
Inside? Weapons. Everywhere.
Zayn: "Encinto, now you know what the plan is."
Encinto: "You're insane. Vas a morir, perra!"
Zayn: "I'm not scared of death. I've flirted with it more times than I've flirted with women."
Alex: "Encinto… just trust me. Do what the old man says, or your head might end up used as a football."
Encinto: "I won't betray my boss."
Zayn(aiming AK at his head): "You're a liar. You stole drugs. And now you pretend to have loyalty?"
Encinto: "I stole that from Escobar! Not this boss!"
Zayn: "So that makes you half loyal? Too bad."
Encinto: "Wait wait wait! I'll join. But… only if you give me a better life."
Alex: "You don't know this old man has a house by a beautiful lake?"
Zayn: "Deal."
Encinto: "Can I at least get a cool gun?"
Zayn(tossing a tiny pistol): "No. Take this toy. Don't shoot yourself with it."
They arrived at an old, scrappy building. Zayn parked.
Zayn: "Encinto, lead us to your boss."
Encinto: "Ugh, okay, okay…"
They stepped inside. Armed guards were patrolling. One guy approached them.
Guy: "Hola Encinto, ¿qué haces aquí?"
Encinto: "¡Ve y muere!"
BANG! Zayn shot him in the head from behind.
Alex spun and dropped another guy instantly.
Within seconds, the floor was clean. Bodies everywhere. The Hunters didn't even break a sweat.
Encinto: "…Okay. You guys are built different."
Zayn: "Next floor."
Same thing happened. Swift, brutal, surgical. Alex moved like he had decades of training.
Encinto: "How is that boy that accurate?! He only held a gun yesterday!"
Alex: "Just practice. And anime."
Zayn: "Last floor."
At the top, several top-level men sat around.
Zayn didn't wait. BANG. BANG. BANG.
One man remained. Encinto's boss.
Zayn: "Maybe it's time for you to pack your bags and fly to heaven."
Boss: "You think I'm scared of you, old man? I'm gonna—"
BANG.
Zayn: "Don't finish that sentence. That line's too cliché."
He looked at the corpse, wide-eyed in death.
Zayn: "Eew. Creepy. Let's go. It's a five-day drive back to Italy."
Alex: "Wait WHAT?! Five days to come here, one day of chaos, and now five days back? We just wasted twelve days doing this madness!"
Zayn: "Exactly."
Alex: "I came to train with you, not to do a GTA side mission!"
Zayn: "This is training. Welcome to the real world."
Encinto: "At least we get ice bath?"
Zayn: "Oh yes… you'll learn today."
They got in the car and started driving through the quiet night.
Alex sat in the front seat. Encinto was snoring in the back, like a pig trapped in a drum.
Zayn: "So. How did it feel, following me on a mission?"
Alex: "Honestly? Felt weird. You didn't even look serious today."
Zayn: "Why should I? I'm not on a revenge trip. I'm here for money."
Alex: "You do this every day?"
Zayn: "Yeah. Until you showed up. You changed my lifestyle."
He sighed.
Zayn: "You know… when your dad was born, I wasn't even there. I was at war. When I got the news, I told my commander I wanted to leave. He laughed and said they had an 'empty chair' for my son too. I thought it was a good opportunity—more money, a future… But no. They turned my son into a killer."
He looked away.
Zayn: "He screamed at me once… 'Just wait for me!' Then disappeared. Next thing I know, I found out he had a wife. A son. You."
Alex: "…And this job?"
Zayn: "When your grandma died, I was alone. Lost. Then one day, someone knocked. I thought it was Death. It was just an old man offering a job. I said no. He insisted. I gave in. Bank got full. I bought the lake house to finally find peace."
He looked at Alex.
Zayn: "Then you sent me a postcard. Saying you wanted to train with me for your tournament. That day… I knew. Peace was a lie."
Alex: "So what's the big lesson you're trying to teach me?"
Zayn: "Relax. No emotions in battle."
Alex: "I already know that."
Zayn: "No. I'm not talking about anger. I'm talking about your heart and your mind. Use them together. Like why I spared Encinto. Not emotion. Strategy."
Alex: "…Still think you're a crazy old man with a beard like a wet mop."
Zayn: "You learn manners at school?"
Alex: "Yeah. But I turn them off around you. So. Ancestor story time?"
Zayn sighed with a smile.
Zayn: "Alright. So, as I told you — after your ancestors moved to Japan, they each went their own way. Asirus stayed and built a ninja-samurai clan. Lanard went to China and mastered kung fu. Gorsey ran off to Norway and got adopted by Vikings. Amilano joined the Portuguese army and married a beautiful woman. And Rogesto… he went to England."
Alex(yawning but still listening): "Yeah yeah, I remember. All of them became super-assassins. My family tree has more blades than leaves."
Zayn: "Haha. True. But now we get to the part that matters… Rogesto's son. His name was Robert."
Alex: "Robert? That's the most un-assassin name I've ever heard."
Zayn: "Yeah, simple name, but don't underestimate him. He trained from childhood. No toys, no friends, just weapons and shadows. Everyone feared Rogesto, but Robert? They whispered about him like a ghost."
Zayn leaned back, one hand on the wheel, eyes narrowed at the road ahead.
Zayn: "One day, the British government found out Rogesto was an assassin. They burned his house down. His wife… Robert's mother… died screaming in the flames. Rogesto too. Robert was just a teenager. He ran. Hid in the woods. Survived like a wild animal."
Alex: "…Damn."
Zayn: "Years passed. He became colder, sharper. One night, he entered a bar in the city. Dirty, smoky place. Sat alone. Then, out of nowhere, a hooded man came. Slid him a paper. No words."
Zayn mimed sliding something across the dashboard.
Zayn: "The note said: 'Kill the king. You'll be paid.' No signature. No reason. Just that."
Alex(wide-eyed): "Hold on. Kill the KING? That's not a job—that's suicide!"
Zayn: "Not for Robert. That very night, it rained like hell. Lightning everywhere. But there he was, standing on the castle rooftop, cloak soaked, eyes locked on the throne room."
Alex: "He must've looked cool as hell."
Zayn: "He did. Lightning behind him. Hair wet. Blade in hand."
Alex: "Was there slow motion?"
Zayn: "No. But in my imagination, yes."
They both laughed a little.
Zayn: "So Robert climbs down. Sneaks through the window. But guess what? Instead of the king, he lands in the princess's bedroom."
Alex: "Wait—plot twist?"
Zayn: "Yeah. And she was… beautiful. Sleeping peacefully. And for a moment—just a second—Robert stared. He wasn't heartless. But he snapped out of it. He had a mission."
Alex: "Let me guess. He didn't kill the king."
Zayn: "No. He did. Cold and clean. Slipped into the king's room. One stab. CHUP. Gone."
Alex: "Damn…"
Zayn: "Next day, the whole kingdom panicked. But they didn't catch Robert. They arrested a guard instead. Wrong guy. Robert vanished into legend."
Zayn looked at Alex for a moment.
Zayn: "That blood runs in you."
Alex: "So I'm a royal assassin now?"
He posed with an imaginary crown and dagger.
Alex: "'Sir Alex, killer of kings, boxer of bones.'"
Zayn: "Haha! No. But that spirit? It's in your fists. That instinct. That sharpness."
Alex: "…Did he ever see the princess again?"
Zayn paused.
Zayn: "Funny thing. Years later, a rumor started that Robert returned to the castle disguised as a poet. Performed for the royal family. And the princess… she smiled at him. Like she knew."
Alex: "A love story too? Okay, now it's an anime."
Zayn: "Life is an anime if you live it right."
Encinto suddenly snorted from the back seat, mumbling in his sleep.
Encinto: "No… don't take my tacos… I'm armed…"
Alex turned around.
Alex: "He's dreaming about food?"
Zayn: "He dreams like he lives. Full stomach, empty brain."
The road stretched on. The stars above blinked gently. Zayn turned the headlights down slightly.
Zayn: "So… tell me. Why do you really want to fight?"
Alex: "To be great. To protect people. To change how the world sees kids like me."
Zayn: "Then keep training your heart. Not just your fists."
Alex(smirking): "Are we getting emotional now, Grandpa?"
Zayn: "Shut up and get some sleep. We've got five days of driving, one ice bath, and another crazy story waiting."
Alex(grinning): "Can't wait."