Inside their temporary mansion, Sophia and Katherine sat before Zed.
"So this is goodbye then?" Sophia asked sadly.
"Both yes and no," Zed answered with a smile. "We will meet soon... I promise."
"Really?" Sophia’s eyes instantly brightened.
"Yes," Zed nodded while rising to his feet. "I plan to visit the State of Avalon in the future, and I would be relying on you to take care of me."
"You can rest assured of that!" Sophia said with confidence. "I will give you the tour of all the must-see locations and the best restaurants! You would have an amazing time!"
"Thanks!" Zed wrapped his arms around her back to hug her.
"!!" Sophia’s heart raced, and blood pumped into her face, turning her cheeks into a darker shade of red.
Katherine suppressed a smile as her daughter blushed. She knew Sophia was both shocked and happy by the unexpected hug.
"You are an incredible friend," Zed said as he left the hug. "I’m glad we met."
"Me as well!" Sophia swiftly turned in another direction to make sure he didn’t notice her blushing.
Zed smiled before shifting his eyes to Katherine.
"Lady Katherine, I owed you for what you did..." Zed said while taking out a metallic, triangular box from his storage ring. "And I hope this settles our debt."
Katherine was rather surprised. She had no intention of accepting his payment, but before she could refuse, he spoke.
"It is related to the True Life \u0026 Death Gate," Zed explained. "Something I acquired a long time ago."
"!!!!"
Katherine felt as if a bolt of lightning had slammed her.
True Life \u0026 Death Gate?!
The gate she and her daughter could summon was just the replica of the legendary gate! As for the true gate... the knowledge to summon it was only known to few!
In her family, it was restricted to their present patriarch and their great ancestor!
"It won’t help you in summing the true gate..." Zed’s words washed over her thoughts like water from hell. "But, it would help you more than the knowledge of the true gate!"
Katherine stared at him.
"You can check it when you are alone... really alone," Zed said while rising back to his feet. "And if I were you, I would never share the knowledge with anyone, especially those related by the bond known as family."
"!!"
Despite her powers, she felt a chill.
Sophia might not understand his meaning, but she did! And that made her heart jolt!
"Take care."
Zed left the hall, leaving behind the dumbstruck mother-daughter pair.
✰⋆🌟✰⋆🌟✰⋆🌟
In Section III, Kiba confirmed everything was ready before turning towards Agatha and others.
"It is time."
Agatha nodded. She took Hope in her arms and stepped into the black aircraft. Eva followed her.
"Daddy! Do you need any help?" Madison asked.
"No," Kiba replied.
Madison nodded and stepped into the aircraft along with her sister. Through the cargo door, Red Tiger and her cubs followed.
Swoosh~!
The aircraft entered the stealth mode and the boosters erupted with blue power.
At the same time, the metallic ceiling slid off, splitting the illusory landmass above it.
Kiba lifted his head and looked at the afternoon sky. As he did, the jet took off from Section III and shot into the sky.
"It is time, Claudia."
Kiba said as he stepped towards the entrance of Section IV.
[[I’m ready, sir.]] Claudia replied.
BOOOM
His aura as an Alpha erupted like a volcano, wrapping him. The strength of his aura distortd the space and disintegrated the metallic walls.
Whoosh~!
As the entrance opened, he shot into Section IV at a speed the eyes couldn’t even register. The violet energy waves collided against his aura, creating massive impact force.
The space bent down from the collision.
Kiba ignored everything and flew underneath the area where the casket floated. In the dark recess, there was a glowing, round stone.
This was what the scientists usually called as Dimension Stone or World Foundation Stone! Section IV existed because of it!
"It has been almost five years since I fixed it here!"
Kiba thought as he grabbed the Dimension Stone. The veins on his body popped out and he applied every ounce of his strength to unroot the stone.
BOOOOOM
A blinding flash splashed out, and by the time it vanished, Section IV was pulled into the stone.
"Haah~!"
Kiba wiped the sweat off his face and looked at the surrounding. There was nothing left other than a boundless crater.
"Well, time to complete the job!"
Without wasting any second, he arrived into the corridor that connected the former Section IV. He hardly spend a minute and by now, everything here was ruined.
Thankfully the lab was still intact and as was the area where the core of Claudia was located.
He tapped on the Dimension Stone and whispered, "Gather everything!"
✰⋆🌟✰⋆🌟✰⋆🌟
A few hours later.
Sophia and Katherine arrived at the temporary airbase. With the airport destroyed, the authorities built a new base for air travel, especially for the VIPs.
"The jet should be here in a few minutes," The airbase incharge informed them politely.
"Ok," Katherine nodded.
The incharge and the other servants left.
Katherine sat along with her daughter on the bench.
"Mom... did you check what Zed gave you?" Sophia asked.
"Yes," Katherine replied with a barely audible sigh. "Though I can’t share what I gained for now."
Sophia nodded.
"Don’t tell anyone about it," Katherine said further.
"Obviously, I won’t!" Sophia replied.
"Good!" Katherine ruffled her daughter’s hair with love.
"Ah! Surely, it can’t be...!!" A startled gasp came from far away.
Sophia’s eyes flashed. The voice was familiar, though it belonged to someone she hadn’t heard from in a long while!
"I wasn’t imagining! It is really the young pervert!" The speaker exclaimed.
"Damnit!" Sophia jumped to her feet. She spun in the direction of the voice and shouted, "Shameless scoundrel! I’m not a pervert!"
Half a kilometer from her, Kiba looked in her direction. Their gazes met, and sparks flew.
"You are!" Kiba said seriously. "What are you doing in the city? Are you here to spread your pervertedness?!"
"Shameless villain! Don’t slander me!" Sophia clenched her fists and charged at him.
BANG
Her speed was supersonic, and she arrived before him in an instant. The air around her exploded into a colorful mass, creating bolts of energy.
She threw a punch at him, and the bolts followed.
"Perverts always try to silence honest people!" Kiba took a step to the side, narrowly avoiding the punch and the bolts. "But honesty would always win!"
BOOM
The bolts smashed into the track below and exploded, creating a brutal impact.
Far away, Katherine was shocked by the sudden turn of events. When she heard someone exclaiming ’young pervert,’ she didn’t think it has anything to do with them, but then, her daughter reacted violently!
"Shameless scoundrel?"
Katherine remembered the stories her daughter shared. In them, the "scoundrel" was the ultimate villain, the personification of the evil!
"He’s here?"
Katherine wondered as her vision drifted towards the battle site. It was enveloped with smoke and explosion clouds, but that didn’t hinder her.
Inside them, a golden-haired man stood.
In the stories Sophia shared, he looked evil and menacing, but in reality, he looked rather handsome. Then again, he was devilishly handsome so her daughter wasn’t fully wrong.
Sophia eyed Kiba coldly.
"As expected you survived the core region!" Sophia said as she wrapped her fists with dazzling energy. "Then again, even if you died, you would have used your villainous means to come back to life! The Yama must be looking for you!"
".........."