"Brother, can we really trust them? You've seen what kind of people they are!"
Rick slammed his foot on the ground, yelling.
Ramos shook his head tiredly. "If it means getting my son back, I wouldn't mind asking the devil for help," he said, voice steady with resolve. Maybe Isaac's plan to get the blood essence back was extreme, but Ramos felt better knowing someone like himwas on his side.
"They're here," Trish said, looking at the road.
Three SUVs rolled up. Ramos tensed and Rick started to sweat.
Isaac and Trish kept their eyes on the cars until they reached them.
At first, a man with sunglasses and a ponytail stepped out. He looked at Ramos coldly. "Do you have what we want?" he asked.
"Do you mean this?" Isaac said, holding up the vial of blood essence.
"We've got what you want where's my son?" Ramos yelled.
The ponytailed man glanced toward the second SUV and nodded
At that moment a woman walked out, holding a sleeping boy around ten years old
"Sam!!" Ramos screamed, and ran toward his son
suddenly Isaac pushed in front of him, shoving him back.
"Wow, aren't you getting a bit too excited?" Isaac mocked the man. "We're here to do business, right? If I didn't know better, I'd think you wanted to kill him." He glanced down at the ground in front of him; a long, deep slash marked the pavement. If he had been any slower Ramos might have been cut in half.
"oh my,Excuse my friend"
He takes his job a bit too seriously," a voice called from one of the cars then young man in his twenties stepped out, blond hair and a sharp gaze.
"Raiser, I told you to take it easy. We can't have you killing everyone we meet — it's bad for business,"
the young man said, placing a hand on the ponytailed man's shoulder. Then he turned his gaze to Isaac. "Could you hand me that vial, sir? It's getting late I don't want people thinking I'm doing something shady here."
"Sure as soon as you hand over the kid," Isaac replied with a smirk.
The young man nodded. "Let him go," he said to the woman. She nodded back waving a hand over Sam's head. The boy's eyes opened.
"Sam!!" Ramos shouted again. As soon as his son heard him, he jumped out of the woman's arms and ran straight into Ramos' embrace. "Dad!" he cried, and they both began to sob as they hugged on the ground
"What a heartwarming scene," the blond man said, pretending to wipe away a tear. Then, colder: "Now then — the vial."
Isaac shrugged and threw the blood essence toward him. The young man caught it, shook the small glass bottle, watching the red, murky liquid spin, and then tucked it into his pocket. He walked back to the SUV, opened the door, climbed in, glanced once at Raiser, and the car drove off.
"Uh… aren't you supposed to follow him or something?" Isaac said mockingly.
Raiser lifted his arm, and men poured out of the two remaining SUVs. "I don't like the way you smile, boy. Today I'm going to teach you some manners," he said, drawing his sword.
"Are you sure you're fit for that?" Isaac asked, smiling. "Not to undermine you or anything, but wearing sunglasses in the middle of the night doesn't exactly make you look smart." He added the barb casually.
"Wait, wait what about me?" Rick yelled, running toward Raiser. "I'm free to go, right? Your boss said my debt would be cleared if I helped him get the kid," he stammered nervously.
"What did you say?" Ramos asked, confused and furious. "What do you mean… ANSWER ME, RICK!" he shouted, face red with anger.
Rick slid behind Raiser. "Exactly what you heard. Shut up. I'm sick of being compared to you. Even when I asked for help you refused to give me money I had no choice
."
He pleaded, "Kill them now and all his money will be mine. I'll be more useful to your boss."
Raiser turned to face him, lifted a finger to adjust his glasses, and smiled menacingly. "I was ordered to kill everyone — you included." He slashed down with his sword.
Rick tried to run, but he was too slow. The blade reached his chest.
As he fell backward, blood gashing out of his chest a small crimson spider jumped from his sleeve, landed on Raiser's sunglasses, then melted into red mist and reshaped into a needle. Raiser noticed and tried to throw the glasses away, but the needle pierced his left eye faster than he could react.
"What a shame. I was planning to use that on him," Isaac said with a smirk.
He turned his head to look at Trish. She nodded and walked toward Ramos and Sam.
She put her hand on the ground beside them. Lights began to glow around Ramos and his son, and a barrier sprang up.
"Cover his ears. It won't take long," she said before the barrier sealed.
Ramos nodded, hugging his son closer.
"Get them — kill them!" Raiser shouted to his subordinates. They charged, weapons drawn.
"Here we go again," Isaac said with a smile as red mist started to swirl around him.