千寻影视

The company's name was 'Diou'. It was a new company that the syndicate had formed a contract with.

In other words, both Brandon and the syndicate were using 'Diou' as a test. From the documents that Zed gave him, Diou was assigned to smuggle a crate of hallucinogens.

And that time was now. 12:30 AM. Midnight.

The vast expanse of the dark ocean came into view view.

Situated around the pier, two figures stood above shipping containers. The two wore similar black masks that covered their entire face.

For Brandon, since it wasn't the Mirage Mask, his hair color was a dead giveaway.

Hence he wore a black hood that was deeply attached to the mask.

Rachel for some reason, adorned a thick black fur-coat along as her pitch-black hair was neatly tied to a ponytail.

Sure, it was night. But it wasn't too cold that Rachel had to wear something baggy.

But according to her, Brandon had to wait and see.

Though Brandon just played along, he was well aware why Rachel wore the outfit in the first place.

Scanning down, a cargo truck had just turned on.

He muttered.

On the truck, a container was attached to the back. On it displayed the logo, 'Diou'.

Too obvious.

But for a boutique store, it was enough to smuggle the hallucinogens. Just stow it away somewhere no one would expect to find and it was done.

Finally, the truck started moving.

"Let's go, Rachel."

[Aeolus Blessing]

At that, he carried Rachel as he burst in the air in rapid succession.

Tzz—

Traversing in the air at a respectable speed, Brandon closely followed the truck without alerting his surroundings.

He was high up.

Really high up.

"Please don't drop me."

"I won't."

"Are you confident we won't fall?"

"Confident enough."

"...."

She just had to trust him.

Tzz—

The air rippled at each step he took, leaving trails of blue streaks his way.

They had to wait for a while. Just until the truck reaches a more isolated area.

Tzz— Tzz— Tzzzz——!

It took a significant amount of minutes since the truck moved slowly. But that was until finally, it was time to strike.

Rachel immediately tightened her arms around him.

Lifting his hand up in the air, a myriad of ice crystals materialized in the air.

Cr… Crack!

And waving it down, the crystalline of ice started raining down on the truck from above the air.

Looking down, some of the ice missed while some pierced the container.

But the real target was the wheels.

And it was a success.

Immediately, the truck skidded sideways and gradually descended.

At the same time, Brandon started descending like walking down an invisible flight of stairs.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—!

This persisted until they were finally near the ice.

Swoosh!

And he dropped Rachel on top of the container.

Staying up in the air, Brandon acted as a mediator.

The car eventually stopped skidding and came to a complete halt.

Bang!

The door opened, as well as the container, and several men emerged from it.

"An attack!"

"Hurry, call the manager!"

They screamed.

But as soon as the man who seemed to be the leader retrieved his phone, it was instantly pulled in the air.

As they gazed up, what greeted their sight was a lone man with a black mask, adorning a black blazer that stood above them in the air.

The phone was reeled in and eventually landed on Brandon's hand.

"Shit."

The man cursed.

But that was when their gaze landed on another figure that stood on the container they were carrying.

She adorned a thick fur coat. A black fur cape draped down her legs, and her hair that was once pitch-black was gradually turning snow-white.

Brandon unknowingly smiled as he scanned the change in Rachel's appearance.

"So she's awakened…"

Truth be told, Brandon could much or less admit that Rachel's potential even exceeds Reinhard.

While far from Raven, Rachel would be in a league of her own.

And that was because of her special affinity.

The highest tier an [Ice] affinity mage could awaken.

The same special affinity as Lucian Frost.

[Frostborne]

And from what Brandon knew, only Rachel and Lucian would have this affinity.

Snow started to permeate the air around Rachel. Her hair had fully turned a snow-white color.

But not giving her any time to attack, sparks of magic flew, completely disregarding the container, and headed towards Rachel.

"Did we get her?"

"We probably did."

Is what they thought. And so they shifted their attention back towards the man above.

But as they kept staring at him…

"Huh?"

"Snow?"

Snowflakes gradually fell from where they stood. As they gazed down a sleet layer of frost began spreading around.

Unlike Raven, who could overpower his foes with brute strength. Or Reinhard, who relied on his destructive fighting style. Rachel's approach to fighting relied more on strategy.

And once she had finally assessed her opponents, it was her time to counterattack.

Immediately, ice started crawling up their legs, encapsulating them.

Voosh— Voosh—!

Some of the men tried to heat away the ice. But as the ice melted, another would start crawling.

Xiu!

All of a sudden, one of the men was hurled away as blood splattered in the air.

Clang!

Crashing on the container, his blood spilled down from his back. Gazing ahead, what greeted his sight was the snow-white haired woman. Her finger contoured in a manner of holding a bow.

But there was no bow. Instead a mixture of glacier and frost in the shape of a bolt hovered above her.

"Tsk."

Having caught off guard, he clicked his tongue.

Xiu!

The bolt pierced through the air and struck his skull.

Just like that, he was dead.

"Holy fu—"

Xiu! Xiu! Xiu!

As the others were immobilized on the spot, bolts of frost rippled in the air and struck them one by one.

The same scenario occurred as the second wave of bolts had sealed the deal.

But shortly after, the sleet layer of frost on the ground faded. Immediately, they got up and moved.

Swoosh—! Voosh—! Kracka—!

Sparks of magic flew and headed towards the woman. But it was to no avail as she disappeared before it could even strike her.

Trails of snow would be left from where she stood. Some of the men opted for close combat.

But whenever they did….

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—!

Threads would dance around and pierce right through their flash. Some men hung in the air due to the threads. They couldn't comprehend where the threads were even coming from.

And…

Spurt!

Their lives flashed before their eyes as the threads tightened its grip and gruesomely cut them apart.

Thump! Thump Thump!

Blood scattered on the ground as severed flesh and body parts fell on the ground.

"Boss, we can't beat them."

"Fuck."

They could only plead to their boss. But they knew there was no escaping the inevitable.

None of them could handle the woman as she would quickly vanish and strike whenever there was an opening. Much less would they be able to handle the man that stood above the air, watching the entire scene unfold.

Xiu! Xiu! Xiu!

The ones who remained were instantly dealt with by the bolts that pierced through the air at astonishing speeds.

Xiu! Xiu! Xiu!

That was until only the boss was left.

Xiu!

He was immediately hurled away as a bolt pierced through his shoulder.

"Akhhhh…!"

Clenching the gaping wound on his shoulder, he screamed in pain.

Raising his head, two figures had appeared before him.

A masked man, and a masked woman.

The two shared similar white-looking hair. Just that, the woman's hair seemed radiant, while the man's hair seemed like a fading gray.

"Euuhhh…"

He squealed in fear.

"S-stay back…!"

"Sure."

The man's voice seemed playful. But the way he nonchalantly replied sent chills down his spine.

Throughout his history in the syndicate, an attack during a smuggling operation had never happened in a long time.

The syndicate was usually careful, especially when it's a smuggling operation.

Just because the company he was handling was new, didn't mean the syndicate was laxed in its methods.

Sure, it wasn't as heavily guarded as compared to bigger companies.

But that doesn't answer the question as to how the two masked figures knew about Diour's involvement in the syndicate.

Was there a leak…?

That was impossible.

The Heads would instantly dispose of any traitors amidst their ranks.

So…

"Why is this happening to me?"

"Beats me."

He could imagine the face the man was making from behind the mask. The confidence in the air around him spoke enough of his strength.

"...!"

With a horrified expression, he looked at the man who extended his hand towards him.

In his last moments, the only thing he saw were threads that extended towards him.

Spurt!

***

"Is that all of them?"

"Yes."

Brandon asked as Rachel confirmed.

Looking around, dead bodies were strewn everywhere as blood scattered all over the floor.

It was a gruesome sight.

But they were criminals.

They didn't need any mercy.

Weeooo…. Weeooo….

And just in the nick of time, the familiar sound of a police siren resounded from a distance.

Their job here was done.

Clap!

The two gestured for a high-five.

But the night was still young.

And so their operation continued just like that.

Xiu! Xiu! Xiu!

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—!

Tzz—!

Boom—!