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"I think by now the children must have escaped,"
Mark thought,
because when Mark sneaked into the cell where the children were, on his way he killed the guards he encountered.
Mark thought it was better to reduce the entire building to ashes.
He went to the white rooms to check that there were no children inside.
But he found a little girl in one of the rooms designated for experiments; she was the one that had succeeded in her experiments, the one he and Steven had. The girl was beautiful, with eyes as blue as the clear sea and blonde hair almost silver, and pink cheeks despite her thinness.
Mark looked at her with wide eyes because of the girl's beauty. She was about 9 or 10 years old.
Mark remembered the reason for his arrival and quickly cleared his mind.
It seemed the little girl noticed Mark and looked at him cautiously because of the clothes he was wearing, but she was smart; she noticed that he did not look like the people in the lab,
and he was almost her height.
She asked cautiously, "Who are you?"
Mark looked at her and said, "I am just someone taking revenge."
The girl looked at him, noticed a little of his hair showing under his cloak, and observed that his hair had two colors: white and black.
She stepped closer to him and said,
"Then I want revenge too."
Mark looked at her and said,
"You just need to escape from here."
"I came here to free you, not for revenge, so get out of my way so I can destroy the building."
It seemed the girl didn't care about what he said and asked,
"How will you destroy it?"
Mark looked at her in astonishment—did she not understand him because she was stupid, or what?
He did not answer her and left the room annoyed.
The little girl followed him.
Mark noticed her, stopped, and pointed in a direction, saying,
"The way out is there."
The girl did not pay attention and stayed in place. Mark got annoyed and turned his face.
Mark moved forward, and the girl followed him, ignoring his annoyance.
Mark advanced and fixed something on the wall.
The girl didn't know what he was doing, so she asked,
"What is this?"
Mark thought this girl was stupid for not caring about his annoyance.
He said to her,
"It's a timed bomb; it will explode in a few minutes."
He looked at her, hoping she would be scared and run away from the building.
But that didn't seem to be the case; this girl was truly bold.
Mark thought she was annoying and continued on his way after placing several powerful explosives, and exited the building. The girl silently followed him all the way.
When Mark exited the building, he crossed a long path, stopped, took out a computer, activated the bombs, and waited a few minutes before a strong explosion occurred, scattering sand and rocks.
He said to the girl, "It seems the other children have left the forest."
"Go with them and head to any nearby guild and inform them about this place."
The girl looked at him and said, "I don't want to… I want to go with you."
Mark got annoyed and impatiently said,
"Fine, if you don't go, I will go. I have taken my revenge and rescued some children too, and the rest have nothing to do with me."
He used his stealth skill and left the girl alone in the forest.
The girl stood alone, unable to do anything for a while before heading toward the rest of the children.
Mark exited the forest and changed his clothes.
"That girl is really annoying and doesn't understand,"
he sighed and boarded the train to Oro City.
…
The little girl went to the rest of the children and led them to a nearby guild called the Light Guild,
and informed the hunters about the lab and the person who saved them. She did not mention any details about the savior she noticed; all she said was that he wore a black outfit covering his face.
After a while, they discovered the girl's amazing talent; it was a rare S-rank ability,
and they made her join the guild.
The girl looked outside the guild and said after a while,
"I will find you and repay this debt."
…
Inside the village where Kai lived, in the leader's room,
there was a disfigured corpse on the ground, and the floor was covered in blood.
A man stood in front of the corpse,
laughed, and said, "Ah, it seems it was a man wearing a black cloak with a crow emblem on the back."
"I think I heard that a beginner came to Humm Guild… what was the guild's name?"
He clapped his hands and remembered,
"Yes, the Star Guild. A beginner joined, wearing a black cloak, never revealed himself, his talent is amazing, and his rank advanced quickly."
He placed his hand on his chin, thinking,
'Is it the same Humm? I must verify his identity quickly if I want to survive.'
His body trembled slightly and then he disappeared from the place.
…
Steven arrived in Oro City, and along the way he was thinking,
'That demon will know my identity. I am the one who took the Blood Jewel, but he will only know me as Black Crow.
He will not discover that Black Crow is just a 10-year-old child.
No one knows my identity except Mark and that person.'
He sighed,
'Things are going to get annoying in the coming period. I must be careful during my missions or when I appear as Black Crow because they will target me.
And no one should discover my identity, no matter who.'
Steven arrived home.
He found Mark sleeping in his room.
Steven realized that Mark had completed his revenge and seemed not to have eaten.
Steven shook his head, sighed, and went to the kitchen to cook food.
Steven's cooking was like that of skilled chefs,
which he had learned in his previous life.
Steven had learned many hobbies after his father's imprisonment,
despite worrying that his father might be released from prison and come to him.
He had also learned how to defend himself and others, among other things.
He liked to be alone before meeting Mark
and also liked infants more than adults,
because they are pure and have no evil. The people Steven hated most were liars and those who imposed their power on the weak and humbled themselves before the strong.
Steven finished cooking; the food was a slice of well-cooked ham with spices, topped with a fried egg, and arranged with some vegetables.
He went to wake Mark.
It seemed Mark was still drowsy, and when he saw the food, he fully woke up and happily went toward it.
As he sat, he noticed Steven still standing there,
then remembered awkwardly that he hadn't greeted him and said embarrassingly while rubbing the back of his neck,
"Hello, brother. You're back."
Steven looked at him and could not help teasing him a little,
saying,
"It's okay, the food is more important than me anyway."
Mark jumped and waved his hand quickly, saying,
"No, no! My brother is the most important person, even more important than food."
The corners of Steven's lips rose as he laughed at Mark.
Mark felt embarrassed.
Steven moved forward and sat at the dining table,
asking Mark,
"How was it?"
Mark understood what Steven meant and told him the events,
saying,
"I took out a girl who was either my age or your age. She is very stupid, kept following me even though I told her many times to leave. She doesn't seem afraid, she is really stupid despite her cute appearance. Her hair is blonde almost silver, and her eyes are blue."
Mark kept talking about how annoying and stupid she was.
Steven listened without saying anything.
Steven smiled, "Heh, but obviously you didn't hate her; she even caught your attention."
Mark quickly replied, "No, not at all."
Steven said, "Hmm, but why did you let her accompany you until she reached the forest?"
Mark replied angrily, "I couldn't leave her in the lab; the bombs were about to explode."
Mark noticed Steven laughing and said, "Just kidding, just kidding."
Mark: "Hmph."
Steven thought, 'Cute.'
He was eating when he remembered something,
'There was a character who joined the demons against humans because of experiments done on her. The girl's specifications are similar to that character…'
Steven shook his head, 'No, no… I think it's just a coincidence, nothing else.'
They finished their meal and each went to their training.
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