Moments before

The moment that everything was revealed Ki and Rayleigh left the Bombyx family land and headed towards the city where the Wraith family was located and met up with the Reaper and Marilyn who had already been working ahead of time after gathering any information.

The man went back towards an old inn and began to fall into a deep sleep while his two guards were waiting outside his door but before they could do anything they could smell a weird fragrance in the hall.

A silver coin appeared in the hands of a young lady who worked there, who had placed a new candle in the hallway just as the guards began their guarding duty.

She walked away with a cloth over her mouth and nose leaving several masked and hooded figures within the hall who walked towards the two guards and dragged them away quietly as they slept.

Another person handled the candle and put it near the bottom of the door while silently fanning it into the gap under the door.

After waiting a little while there was only the sound of loud snoring so the figure quietly opened the door and began to check to see if the man was truly asleep.

Seeing that everything had been successful without any faults, the man was lifted into an unmarked carriage that was parked outside of the inn.

While this was going on the owner of the inn was seen inside inspecting a bag of coins and a letter that she immediately burned that said. [You had no customers tonight as usual and that is the story you and your daughter will continue to tell. If you can keep this secret then we will consider helping your business in the future but if you betray… you should be aware of what will happen even without our direct revenge. Burn this after reading.]

She had a lingering fear over the sudden intruders but her business was failing and her old inn was falling apart and she needed the money so that her next generations could have something of their own.

This was her chance to leave something behind before her death for her family and all she had to do was look the other way.

It did not matter if those people were good or bad people.

All that mattered was her families safety so she could not decline and she could not betray.

From that day on she kept her word and her business was privately backed by an unknown source so that she could renovate the inn and draw up more business opportunities.

The man did not know that his intent to lay low within a broken down and old inn cost him dearly.

The family head finished his work and he felt tired from completing all of the families tasks required of him but like usual he needed to have some down time for himself.

His wife continued to be against him so he could not go to her and he could not go to one of the residences where his women were as it would risk exposing his children to his wife so he went to his usual place that the family had been backing for a long time.

This place was where he had met Rayleigh's mother and all of the other mothers of his half noble blooded children.

Many talented and beautiful young women were there and entertained many men but as a VIP and someone with enough authority he could take any women he pleases.

Even with his disgust towards Rayleigh and her mother, especially after Rayleigh's betrayal in the past he could not stop himself from coming towards this direction as it was an old habit that he could not get rid of.

After indulging in women and alcohol he unsteadily laid back in a private room and fell asleep.

Unknown to him things were taking an unexpected turn that was not in his favour.

The Reaper and Marilyn met up with Ki and Rayleigh nearby and Ki handed over a box to the Reaper which contained the weapons that she had previously acquired in her fight against the transcendent martial artist that she had killed.

After removing the chain that was attached to the sickle like blades all that remained was a sickle or pick shaped blade at the end of each of the handles which was used for quick and deadly attacks. [1]

The Reaper inspected it and found that it actually quite suited his style of combat and would not interfere too much with how he has been progressing.

Over the years he had learned more about adapting to changes and incorporating different styles of combat into his body before even going in one direction so that his enemies would not be able to figure him out but he would also be able to read their moves and counter them.

The sickle like pick kind of weapon that allowed him to achieve a strong piercing effect from not even using his full strength was very useful if he could aim it well enough but he still required more practice.

He quickly bowed to Ki and expressed his gratitude. "Master what brings you here personally, you could of just sent this and left everything to us."

Ki shook her head and spoke. "This is too important and cannot fail or we risk losing many important things in the future. Plus this one is personal for her."

Everyone was dressed in a cloak and a mask of some kind but they were able to recognise who had accompanied her so he stepped back and responded. "Yes master. It is almost time for us to move out."

Who would of ever thought that such a dark hero type of organisation would ever join forces with the likes of Ki who was evil and cunning but clean on the surface.

However no matter their individual ideals they still worked well together because she supported them from the beginning and saw their potential and they were useful and loyal to her after she had overcome the mess that plagued Wolfden City in the past.

The Reapers were not heroes and they never claimed themselves to be, they were just something that formed out of necessity to survive and to avenge the wrongs committed that go unnoticed by the masses or the corrupt officials so if they deemed someone a threat or a problem for their master then they would strike without mercy.

Marilyn stood there quietly and stretched her body while inspecting Ki. 'Something is different about her…'

Although she noticed the small increase in height it wasn't just that, it was like a complete transformation of the body which made her seem even more perfect than she previously was. "You… you have taken that step already?"

Ki immediately knew what she meant and smiled underneath her mask as she nodded. "Mm.. I will assist you with yours so that you can properly prepare for it and pass through smoothly. However it will be painful and dangerous."

Marilyn grit her teeth as if imagining what a Ki must of been through and then sighed. "If it is what I must do in order to improve to the next stage then I have no choice."

There was a subtle trace of envy in her voice towards Ki who had seemed to of surpassed her strength already and was progressing at a frightening pace.

Ki casually nodded as she turned to Rayleigh who stood nearby. "Are you prepared?"

Rayleigh coldly replied with a nod of her head. "Ready."

Although her voice was cold there was a subtle clench of her fists as she displayed a little reluctance towards the plan even if she had already abandoned her father in the past as he had done the same.

No matter how ruthless a person can tell themselves to be in order to protect themselves there will always be a weaker part of themselves that still held onto the hope that their parents or loved ones that rejected or hurt them would change for the better and give them the love they need.

This was Rayleigh's moment where she had to truly cut off her feelings so that struggle was taking place within her silently with every passing moment until it was finally over.

[1] https://youtu.be/sCVb7iuVx5Y