Neo was livid. Even though it had been ten years since the SS-Class Dungeon was cleared, to Neo, it was only just yesterday.
It was just yesterday all of his comrades had died and he was left to die as well due to the actions of that disloyal deserter.
If he could, Neo would reach into the screen and grab Alex by the throat, squeezing until he drew his last breath.
"Ah, Senior. You must still remember the other survivor of the Great Dungeon." Bryce stood up from his chair and took deliberate steps towards Neo.
"Other survivor my ass. That scum betrayed the mission and left me to die there." Neo's voice was low and rough.
"... What?" Bryce froze.
Neo didn't notice Bryce's movements since his eyes were focused on the screen in which Alex was confidently answering questions in an interview.
Gone was the timid and cowardly Alex he knew, to be replaced with this version of himself that was the vice president of something called Ouroboros.
"That man is no survivor," Neo said flatly. Then he turned to Bryce and asked, "What is Ouroboros and where is it?"
Without hesitation, Bryce answered, "It's a guild strictly for cultivating Hunters and Restorers and also ability researchers. Ouroboros is among the best on Mars."
Neo nodded. So the traitor was thriving in success.
Neo's blood boiled. He hated lies and insubordination the most.
For the most part of his life, he lived as a Captain whose duty was to command people under his authority, fully deciding either to reward or condemn them based on their actions.
Right now, Alex's actions had earned nothing but condemnation.
"Take me there."
"Take you where?" Bryce stared at Neo.
"Where Alex is right now."
For a brief moment, an indecipherable look flashed on Bryce's face but was replaced with a smile.
"Of course," he said sweetly. "Anything for you."
•••
Ourobos HQ pierced the skies with over two hundred floors and its surface gleamed with impeccable shine.
The front entrance was crowded with reporters and young civilians holding up glowing signs and chanting.
The noise grated Neo's ears.
As soon as Bryce parked his car, he said to Neo, "I believe Vice President Alexander is at the reception area of Ouroboros just past this crowd at the entrance."
"I'm going in." Neo informed Bryce as he stepped out of the car.
Bryce watched Neo with quiet amusement.
Neo quickly mixed in with the crowd. At first, no one noticed him. Until he bumped into someone who recognized him and whispered his name.
Like fire, his name spread in the mouths of the people and they silently parted the way for him in shock and reverence.
When he reached the entrance, there was a security chain—thick metal threaded in pulsing electricity—he paused.
Most Hunters would stop at this point since this type of chain was was almost impossible to destroy without a strong weapon—
But luckily for Neo, he was the strongest human weapon.
He pulled the chain without much effort, tearing it off its anchors, and flung it away.
His actions elicited gasps and screams from the civilians at the scene.
Neo did not look back.
He marched into Ouroboros with his goal clouding everything else.
The reception hall was bright with blinding white lights focused on where Alex stood surrounded by reporters.
Neo studied the Restorer who had black beady-eyes and slicked back brown hair with streaks of gray in them. He really looked like he aged in comfort.
Neo clenched his fists.
"... We believe that the Hunters selected are the best among their generation judging by their results in the rigorous tests we put them through. Their mental fortitudes—"
Vice President Alex's sentence ended abruptly with a punch to his mouth.
"You—!" Neo grabbed Alex's collars and slammed him into the wall.
"Who are- Captain…?" Alex's eyes widened in absolute surprise as he looked at Neo.
"You dare call me that?!" Neo kicked Alex's knee, sending him to the floor.
"H-how are y-you…" Alex struggled to put his thoughts into words.
"How am I still alive, huh?" Neo pulled Alex back up. "I'd also like to know the same thing." He hurled Alex across the hall where the man landed on a glass table and shattered it to bits.
Neo turned to continue the assault but was swarmed by several reporters in a second.
"Neo Slater, is that really you?"
"The strongest Hunter in the flesh…"
"Did you really die in the—"
"Get out of my way." Neo shoved aside the reporters.
Alex was already getting back to his feet when Neo kicked him back to the ground.
"You betrayed the mission and left me to die in there!" he roared.
Alex writhed in pain on the floor covered in shards and protested, "I would've died in there!"
"And I wouldn't have?!"
He wrapped one hand around Alex's throat and lifted him off the ground.
"You didn't, did you?" Alex countered with blood dripping from his mouth.
Piles of bodies flashed in Neo's mind and he flew into rage.
"You still dare to defend yourself." Neo's grip tightened.
People began to scream as Neo's aura turned murderous and they could even smell death in the air.
Their screams entered one of Neo's ears and left through the other. He was unfeeling as he watched the light gradually die out in Alex's eyes while he struggled pathetically.
"Senior," Bryce arrived at the scene, standing far from Neo and speaking with a soft voice. "Let go of him."
Neo didn't turn. He didn't even hear Bryce speaking.
"You'll kill him if you continue." Bryce added with no effort.
"You shouldn't have betrayed the mission." Neo said to a weakened Alex.
Just then, something pricked Neo's neck.
He touched his skin and pulled out a tiny dart.
He looked around to search for the culprit. Before he could find them, five more darts landed on his body.
Neo's fingers grew numb and he unconsciously let go of Alex, who fell to the ground, desperately gasping for air.
"Who dares…" A final dart was shot straight to Neo's forehead and the world went dark.