It was a day of mourning for Yamile, Zhao, and Biacca. They were still grieving Marten's tragic death. His fate was truly cruel—falling into drug addiction and dying after being forced to commit suicide.
On the other hand, Yamile and Zhao realized that a demonic power had manifested within Marten. They had to retrieve it and destroy it immediately.
But Yamile couldn't bring herself to take the demonic pendant embedded in Marten's body.
"I just can't do it!" she said.
Zhao understood how his sister felt. So he stepped forward and approached Marten's body, which was lying on the sofa. Zhao inserted his right hand into Marten's mouth and managed to retrieve a slightly darkened white pendant.
"So this is the Poccog demon pendant?" he whispered.
"The two men we fought earlier had this power. It's even stronger than Kalanak's," he added.
"Destroy it quickly!" Yamile commanded.
Without hesitation, Zhao tossed the pendant into the air and slashed it with his black sword. The pendant split in two and vanished into dust.
"At last, the terror of the Split Sun group is over," said Zhao.
Yamile decided to step outside, walking alone on the city streets. Her heart was in turmoil because of Marten's death. Even though she was still grieving, the chill of the night air brought her some calm.
"Hey Niroki, are you asleep?" Yamile asked as she sat at a bus stop.
"I sleep when you sleep," Niroki replied.
"Oh, is that so? By the way, I greatly appreciate your help earlier. Without you, Zhao and I would've died," Yamile said quietly.
"It's only natural for a master to help their subordinate," Niroki replied boastfully.
Yamile gave a faint smile upon hearing this whisper. "I think I'm starting to like your arrogance."
"Maybe we can become friends after this," Yamile added.
---
A week had passed since Marten's tragic death. The terror of the Split Sun group had ended, and peace returned to the eastern city. Yamile and Zhao continued with their lives, but things were no longer the same.
Despite the death of the Split Sun group's leader, Yamile and Zhao remained on the run. Assassins continued to hunt the siblings, and they couldn't move freely outside their base.
Yamile recalled Kido's words during their intense battle some time ago:
"From now on, your life will never be at peace. Every day, there will be terror. You will face relentless pursuit until your demise!
She finally told Zhao about this, and the two began to speculate about the meaning behind those words. Did it mean there were still enemies they had to defeat before finally living in peace?
Zhao sat in deep thought on the edge of his iron-framed bed in their underground base. His eyes stared blankly at the cold concrete floor. Kido's words echoed in his mind, like a lingering curse in the air.
"Every day, there will be terror…"
Meanwhile, Yamile sat at her desk, munching on rose petals.
"Do you think he was just bluffing back then?" Yamile asked softly, turning to face Zhao.
Zhao was surprised to see his sister eating flowers.
"Why are you eating flowers?" he asked, half-shouting.
"They're my snacks. I'm starting to like eating flowers," Yamile replied casually, with a small smile.
Zhao sighed.
"I don't think Kido was bluffing. If he said there would be terror every day, that means he had something planned… something that would continue even after his death."
Yamile nodded. "Could this be revenge for his death?"
"Very likely!" Zhao said firmly.
Suddenly, the alarm in their base went off, indicating someone was approaching the warehouse. Zhao immediately ran to check the monitor.
"Who is that?" Zhao muttered to himself as he observed an old man attempting to open the warehouse door.
Yamile slowly approached to see who had come.
"What? That's Uncle Marco, our father's friend."
"Uncle Marco? I don't know him," Zhao said, confused.
Yamile rushed to the lift to go upstairs and greet Uncle Marco. When she reached the warehouse, she opened the door to find a man in his 60s with a thick white mustache and beard.
"Yamile!" Marco shouted joyfully upon seeing her.
Yamile immediately embraced her father's old friend tightly.
"I knew you'd be here," Marco said again.
"I missed you, Uncle. It's been so long since we last met," Yamile replied with a big smile.
Yamile brought Marco into their underground base, where Zhao was waiting. She introduced him right away.
"So this is Zhao. You've grown so much," Marco said.
Zhao was still confused but tried to be polite.
"You probably don't remember me. You were too young," Marco said kindly.
Marco was a close friend of Yamile and Zhao's father. They met and bonded while working for the national intelligence agency.
Both their father and Marco once utilized the base where Yamile and Zhao resided. During their service, the two always used this base to analyze enemies and decipher complex codes.
That's why Yamile and Zhao's base was so advanced. They fully equipped it with weapons, rangingfrom rifles and grenades to swords.
Marco reminisced about his younger days.
"Your father was my most brilliant colleague. His analysis was always spot on, and his battle IQ was extraordinary," he said.
Yamile was delighted by the memories and listened attentively. Zhao, on the other hand, looked uninterested and bored.
"Haha! You're exactly like your father—yawning when you're bored," Marco said, noticing Zhao's yawn.
Zhao was a bit embarrassed. "Sorry, Uncle!" he said.
"Well, I'm not just here because I missed you. I also came to warn you about something," Marco said seriously.
Yamile and Zhao, who had previously been at ease, now assumed a serious demeanor and were ready to attentively hear Marco's words.
"You've become a demon, Yamile? What does it feel like?" Marco asked.
It was a question Yamile never expected. She didn't think her father's friend knew she had awakened the power of Niroki.
"It's okay. It's your destiny. You were meant to have Niroki's power," Marco continued.
"What do you mean?" Yamile asked, still confused.
"You are the reincarnation of Niroki. Your father prepared that power for you. Only you can use it," Marco explained firmly.
Zhao looked uneasy, his mind flooded with questions.
"But why did this demon power have to be awakened?" Zhao asked.
Marco looked at Zhao with affection and gave a soft smile.
"Your father and I predicted that there would be a resurgence of demonic powers. Many evil people would begin to use them. And now, it's happening," Marco explained.
"But we already killed their leader," Yamile insisted.
Uncle Marco shook his head.
"Leader? He was just a subordinate. There's a supreme leader—one even I don't know."
"And one more thing," Marco said softly.
"You're being targeted by that leader."
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