---
Steven and Mark left the house, with Bayern following them. They headed toward a restaurant of Mark's choice.
After finishing their meal, they started strolling through the city, enjoying the street stalls offering various snacks, unique goods, and exotic items.
After a while, Steven's guild signal vibrated.
Steven frowned.
*Has something serious happened at the guild?*
He set Bayern down on Mark's shoulder and said,
"I'm sorry, Mark. Something important has come up. I need to go."
Mark took Bayern from Steven and asked,
"Is it something dangerous?"
Steven shook his head.
"I don't know yet, but don't worry. Nothing will happen to me—I'm strong enough."
Mark nodded.
"Alright. Take care of yourself. If you need anything, let me know."
Steven nodded and hurried toward the guild. On the way, he found a place to wear his cloak and use his disguise skill.
Upon reaching the guild entrance, Raymond, a Rank B- Awakened, greeted him. He waved quickly.
"Black Crow, something serious has happened this time. Let's go to the Vice President's office—he wants to speak with you."
Steven nodded and followed him inside.
Raymond opened the door, and Steven entered the office. The guild room was spacious and elegantly furnished, showing its owner's refined taste.
On a chair sat a man in his forties, reviewing multiple documents with a frown. This was Jens First, a Rank +A Awakened, managing the guild under its President. He was highly competent and a longtime friend of Carlos, the President, who was a Rank +S Awakened and one of the most famous Awakened.
Jens noticed Steven entering, put down his papers, and stood up.
"You finally came." He sighed.
"To cut to the point, they're causing trouble again."
"But this time it looks different."
Steven frowned, approached the desk, and took the papers.
"What's the matter this time?"
Jens gestured at the papers and said sternly,
"Look at these quickly."
Steven read the documents seriously. After a while, he frowned and lowered the papers.
*Since when did this prison appear?*
Jens shook his head.
"I don't know. This information just reached us. I have no idea how they hid it until now."
"It seems they inject the prison with strange mana. I don't know when this started, but anything related to manipulating prisons is extremely dangerous."
"It could lead to the release of mutated monsters with unknown abilities."
Steven said seriously,
"Do you know the rank of this prison?"
Jens moved to his desk, took a key from his storage ring, opened one of the shelves, and retrieved a small wooden tablet with strange writings.
"I think it's Rank +A or lower. Just a guess. But to be safe, use this if things go south," Jens said, handing the tablet to Steven.
Steven looked at the tablet, then back at Jens.
"Are you sure about giving this to me? It's priceless."
Jens smiled.
"Yes, it's priceless, but you're the genius of our Star Guild, who rose from Rank F to Rank -A in just seven years. How could I let someone with your talent go on a dangerous mission without precautions?"
Ordinary Awakened often take a long time to advance in rank. Some remain stuck at Rank F for life.
Steven quietly said, "Hmm," took the wooden tablet, turned, and headed out.
"I'll see you later," Jens called. Steven paused for a second and then left the room.
Jens sat back at his desk and thought,
*Should I have sent some others to help him?*
*But he prefers working alone…* He sighed, shook his head, and continued with his documents.
---
Steven headed toward the outskirts of the city, in the old buildings slated for demolition. He knew where the prison had appeared—it was in one of the soon-to-be-demolished buildings.
*I wondered why they didn't cause trouble in the past few days.*
*It seems the problems will escalate if I don't eliminate the demon behind this.*
*But I'm not its opponent yet. It's a Rank +S demon with powerful subordinates.*
The sky was dark. Steven quietly entered one of the buildings and saw a group of four masked people pouring strange mana into a prison.
*They're here.*
*Should I kill them? It's the fastest way. I don't know when this portal will open.*
Steven drew his sword from his storage ring.
One of them spoke,
"Only ten minutes left to finish."
"Yes, we should be careful. I think they've discovered us now."
"Someone's here! Get ready!" one shouted.
They took defensive stances.
Boom! The sound of clashing swords erupted. Steven attacked one of the four, but his strike was blocked—they were well-trained.
Two continued pouring the strange mana, and the one behind the person Steven attacked had no sword, relying on long-range attacks.
Steven tilted his sword and used his Shadow Sword skill. Since it was dark, this was the perfect time to use his skill at full power.
"Damn, where is he?" cursed one. He quickly turned and shouted to his companion,
"Find him and help me!"
"I'm working on it," the other replied.
Steven attacked the swordsman. He couldn't dodge in time, and his left hand was severed.
"Aah! Damn you!"
The swordsman swung again, but a fire arrow shot behind Steven. He couldn't dodge in time, but the attack only grazed him because he had channeled mana into his bones.
Steven vanished into the shadows.
"Watch out behind you!" the swordsman shouted.
He blocked Steven's sword.
"Damn!"
*I need to kill the magic user first,* Steven thought. He pushed the swordsman away and disappeared into the darkness.
The swordsman panicked.
"He's coming too fast! I can't stop him!"
Steven quickly stabbed him in the heart before he could react.
He shouted at the two still pouring mana,
"Aren't you done?"
"No, there are five minutes left!"
"Damn!"
One rushed at Steven, and they exchanged attacks. Steven changed the sword's direction, striking with speed and power, making his sword fly. He seized the opportunity to attack and decapitated him.
Only one remained.
The last one tried to attack Steven but was weaker than the first two, so it didn't take long to defeat him.
Less than a minute remained before the prison opened. Steven quickly stabbed him in the stomach. The man dodged partially, laughing strangely.
"What are you laughing at?" Steven asked coldly.
The man smirked mockingly,
"Ha! You think this is the only prison we've opened here?"
"Haha, there's another one about to open."
"So you can't escape. If you do, the monsters will destroy the city near these buildings, and many people will die."
"Ha! So either I die or many others die. My death and my companions' death won't be in vain."
Steven frowned, looking at him.
"You talk too much."
He swung his sword and cut off the man's head.
Steven approached the prison and observed it.
*Since the mana pouring isn't complete, it won't open right now.*
*I need to have the Vice President send a team to cleanse it and make it guild property.*
As he was leaving, a small earthquake shook the ground. Steven realized the prison had opened.
*I didn't expect it to open this fast.*
Suddenly, he heard footsteps—three people approaching.
"Hey! There's an earthquake! I told you this place isn't safe. The buildings are old and will collapse soon. What if they fall on us?" one exclaimed.
The girl, annoyed, said,
"You worry too much. You're annoying. Shut up."
The boy shouted,
"What? I'm telling the truth! Why are we filming here? There are so many beautiful places!"
His friend whispered,
"It's okay. We can't control this little devil."
The girl became angry,
"Hey… who's the dev—huh!"
She noticed Steven with shock. The two boys saw her glance and turned toward it, noticing a tall figure in a cloak, face partially covered, with faint blood stains.
One boy rushed toward Steven with bright eyes.
"Are you Black Crow?"
Steven ignored the question and frowned.
*Why are they here now? I can't save them while fighting these monsters.*
"How did you get here?"
The other boy answered excitedly,
"We wanted to film, and our friend brought us. She thinks since the buildings are old, they're haunted, so she wants to capture ghosts."
The girl stepped forward shyly,
"Um, hi… are you Black Crow?"
The other boy said,
"Yes, it's Black Crow! The crow symbol is on your cloak! Can I get your autograph?"
*Grrr!*
*Damn, the monsters are here fast. I need to save these teenagers.*
Steven handed the tablet given to him by the Vice President to one of the boys.
"Hold your friends, break this tablet, go to the Star Guild, tell them the location, and say it's an S-Rank emergency."
The boy hesitated, then suddenly heard a monster roar,
*Grrrr!*
The teenagers panicked. Steven shouted,
"Quickly!"
The boy grabbed his friends and ran, breaking the tablet.
*Finally…*
*Grrrr!*
*Grrrr!*
Two black monsters with slight blue markings emerged. They looked like lions but were different, with sharp teeth protruding from their mouths.
Steven drew his sword.
*Ha! Looks like I need to buy more time before the Vice President's team arrives.*
---