The Deceitful One

Alfredo froze in his movements as his body began to tremble in fear. He turned around slowly and then immediately knelt down, his head smashing against the ground, "P-Please forgive me, master!"

Sean stood right before him as he narrowed his eyes, "Tell me, Alfredo. How old are you?"

Alfredo replied, while still in the kneeling position, "136 years old, master."

He knew he had almost committed a grave mistake. His master had planned this for over a decade and he almost ruined everything just because he wasn't able to control his anger.

"A 136 years old Rank 2 Transcendent," Sean raised his foot and gently put it on Alfredo's head, "Goaded by a kid who is barely 19 years of age. What do you have to say to that, Alfredo?"

Alfredo's body trembled as he felt his master's foot on his head. Cold sweats began to drip from his forehead and a shiver ran down his spine, "I-I made a mis-arrrrggghhh"

However, before Alfredo could even answer, Sean applied a little strength on his foot and pressed the former's head into the ground, "I can't hear you, Alfredo. Speak a little louder."

Alfredo spat out mud and dirt from his mouth as he struggled to breathe, "I-I made a m-mistake…forgive m-me."

Sean kept the pressure on Alfredo's head for a long time as he stared at him coldly.

"Tsk, you still have some use left. But I shall not let this go." Sean removed his foot as he slowly walked with his hands behind his back, towards Bryan.

Alfredo took large mouthfuls of air as he turned towards Sean and kowtowed a few more times, "T-Thank you for your generosity, Master. I shall accept whatever punishment you give."

He thanked the heavens that Sean hadn't killed him just now. Alfredo accepted that earlier it was indeed his mistake. When he heard Bryan talk about his deceased grandson, he truly couldn't take it.

Hence, in a moment of impulse, he had raised his hand to kill him. But thankfully, his master, Sean, had arrived. Otherwise, even death would have been the best-case scenario for Alfredo.

He coldly looked at Bryan who was still writhing in pain. He then looked at his master and his lips couldn't help but curl up into a smirk as he thought, 'I wonder how this reunion will go…'

Bryan had already noticed that someone else had arrived. However, he didn't have the luxury to see who it was as he was trying to withstand the immense pain in his left eye.

He turned to look up and saw a middle-aged man wearing an ivory suit walk toward him with a faint smile.

The vision in his right eye was a bit blurry but he could still figure out that the person had a head full of black hair and pair of dark red eyes.

'Fuck! Another Blood Path Transcendent!' Bryan cursed in his heart.

Sean slowly crouched down in front of Bryan and gently stroked his head, "Long time no see, kid."

Bryan focused his gaze on Sean, and when he clearly saw his face, his eyes went wide as his body began to tremble, 'Y-You… Why are you here!!?'

"I have always been here," Sean smiled, "You just didn't know it."

More than a decade ago, before Bryan's parents' passing, his father Vincent, a famous artisan and watchmaker, used to run a very big and successful company called the Lombardi Watch Co.

Although the Lombardi Family weren't given a nobility title, they were very affluent and influential in their own right.

When Bryan was still a kid he remembered that his father had hired a very capable assistant who went by the name of Mark.

Mark was a very amiable person and used to always play with Bryan whenever he came home. He also had a very close relationship with his parents and was almost like family to them. Bryan even used to call him Uncle Mark.

However, when Bryan's mother died because of an illness and subsequently his father died because of depression and over-consumption of alcohol, Mark had shed all his earlier pretenses and taken everything that belonged to the Lombardi Family.

All the properties and wealth that Bryan's parents had accumulated over the years had been taken over by Mark. He was also the very reason why Bryan was forced to live on the streets and resort to the life of a beggar and thief.

And now when Bryan saw the same Uncle Mark standing in front of him, slowly everything was beginning to make sense.

But he did not want to believe it!

He refused to believe it!

When Bryan looked into Sean's eye, he saw his own reflection in the latter's pupils. His body was bruised and battered all over. He was shot in all four limbs, stabbed in the chest, his nose was broken, and blinded in one eye.

Looking at himself, his body shuddered. However, he still mustered up the courage and asked Sean, "Why?"

Sean deeply looked at Bryan. He figured that the latter must have pieced everything together and gotten to know some of the story if not the whole thing.

With the same gentle smile on his face, he replied, "For power!"

He then looked up at the full moon as a reminiscent sigh escaped his lips, "Initially, I had come to Damascus to escape the Silver Owls in Nadir. I stayed low and took up a different identity and worked under your father.

"But fate can sometimes work in mysterious ways. I happen to overhear your parents talking about their ancestry. Precisely your mother, Isabella's ancestry.

"Who would have known? That she was actually one of the last remaining descendants of the accursed Medici Family! A family so feared that the whole world banded together in order to uproot them entirely."

Bryan listened to Sean without interrupting him. He wanted to know everything. However, the more he listened, the more bitter he became.

Sean continued, "I secretly scoured your parents' belongings and found out that there was an ancient ruin belonging to the Medici Family right near Damascus. And that it contained a terrifying artifact."

His lips slowly curled up into a wide grin, "And I had to get it, no matter what!"

This time, Bryan cut him off as he lowered his gaze, "So you were the one who killed my mother…is that right?"

Sean was taken aback as his eyebrows rose. He then nodded, "Not bad, kid."

He chuckled coldly, "I couldn't fight two powerful Rank 3 Transcendents at the same time. That's why I plotted to poison your mother so that I could have her blood while she was still alive. You see, the key to taking this artifact is not simply the blood of a Medici Family member.

But the blood of a living member of the Medici Family. Moreover, the blood and its holder must also be in close proximity to the ruin. However, I failed. Your father, Vincent, was a shrewd man.

As soon as he realized that Isabella was ill, he completely isolated her from everyone except him and you. He even went so far as to cremate your mother's corpse afterward. Well, I can't blame him for overthinking."

Bryan's eyelids drooped as he smiled bitterly, "We were all just chess pieces to you… How naive of me… In the end, my whole life I have been dancing on your palms…"

Sean chuckled, "Don't sell yourself short, little Bryan. You have exceeded all my expectations. Rejoice, for your death will become the stepping stone for me to soar to newer heights."

Bryan's pupils suddenly dilated as he freed his left hand from the dagger that was pinning it down.

Earlier, when Bryan was writhing from the pain brought about by the curse mark on his left eye, the daggers on both his hands had loosened a little, the left one more than the right.

Hence, Bryan took this opportunity as he yanked his left arm away. The blade of the dagger cleanly cut through half of Bryan's forearm in the process. However, he didn't care.

He glared at Sean as he quickly grabbed that dagger and stabbed at Sean's throat, "FUCKING DIE!!!"

Sean simply smiled in return as he easily grabbed Bryan's forearm. For a moment, he couldn't help but admire Bryan's tenacity, "Very impressive. You still have some fight left in you."

He then slashed with his other arm and cleanly cut off Bryan's forearm with just his nails alone.

"Aaaaaarrrrgggggggghhhh!!" Bryan screamed in pain as he looked at his cut-off left arm, the blood spurting out of it like a fountain.

He cursed himself inwardly for failing to even land a scratch on Sean. He knew he was going to die anyways, so he might as well at least land a blow to the very person that took everything from him.

Sean got up to his feet as he carried Bryan's severed hand, "All right, playtime is over."

He then turned to look at Alfredo who was reveling in Bryan's pain and misery, "Make sure to keep the kid alive until I get the artifact inside. If he dies before, I won't be able to claim the artifact. Understood?"

Alfredo straightened his back and nodded respectfully, "Yes, master."

Sean stared at him coldly, "If he is to die before I lay my hands on the artifact, you know what will happen to you, yes?"

Alfredo felt a shiver run down his spine, "I-I understand, master."

Sean nodded, "Good. Also, get those Rank 2s from Nadir to guard the cave entrance. I don't want my advancement to be interrupted. I have a feeling that an old friend might be coming to visit me anytime now…"