Chapter 207

"Hey... watch who you're talking to like that," a young voice interrupted Ali's conversation with Evelyn.

Ali turned his head to the right and found himself looking down at a short kid in a black hoodie. The boy's eyes were sharp, filled with an audacious defiance as he glared up at Ali, his small frame brimming with false bravado.

"Go find your mom, kid..." Ali dismissed him with a bored expression before turning his attention back to Evelyn.

CHING. CHING. CHING.

A sharp metallic sound echoed through the tavern as the kid withdrew his hand from his pocket. In his palm, a small piece of metal swiftly expanded, unfolding with mechanical precision into a fully-sized silver handgun. The intricate engravings on its surface shimmered with a faint red glow as he aimed the barrel directly at Ali's head.

UGH.

Evelyn and the rest of the tavern watched as the boy's arm suddenly moved against his will, the gun shifting erratically in his grasp before pointing back at his own face. His fingers trembled as he tried to resist, his expression shifting from confidence to confusion and then fear.

POOF. POOF. POOF. POOF.

Four small bursts of white smoke erupted around Ali, each one materialising into a perfect clone of the boy.

CHING. CHING. CHING. CHING.

All four clones simultaneously drew identical silver handguns, aiming them at Ali with synchronised precision.

Then, without warning, the kid Ali was controlling disappeared into a cloud of white smoke, signifying that he was merely a clone, not the original body.

'Clones? Nice trick...' Ali thought, amused, as he casually snapped his fingers.

The moment he did, each of the remaining clones abruptly popped into smoke, vanishing as quickly as they had appeared.

"Flexing your powers in our home...?"

A deep, rumbling voice filled the tavern.

A towering man stood up from his chair, rising to his full, imposing height of over seven feet. His dark skin was covered in intricate white tattoos that seemed to shift and transform as he moved. The markings on his broad chest coalesced into the fierce image of a lion, its glowing eyes locked onto Ali like a predator eyeing its prey.

Ali's gaze sharpened beneath his hood, his instincts screaming at him-this man was dangerous.

Just as the tension reached a boiling point, Evelyn's voice cut through the air like a whip.

"Enough."

Instantly, the torches lining the tavern walls flickered, their vibrant red flames turning an unnatural pitch black.

"Kolo, sit back down," Evelyn ordered, her voice carrying an unmistakable authority.

The giant, Kolo, studied Ali for a lingering moment before his glowing white tattoos faded back to their original markings. Without a word, he lowered himself back into his seat between two Death Guild members who idly twirled their knives, each blade flickering with faint traces of Evelyn's ominous black fire.

Evelyn turned her attention back to the hooded man still seated at the bar. Despite the hostility radiating from every corner of the tavern, Ali sat completely at ease, as if he weren't surrounded by a room full of trained killers eager to put a blade through his throat.

"You should leave," Evelyn advised, her hands resting at her sides. "Enjoy your winnings from the arena somewhere else."

Then, with a knowing smile, she spoke his name.

"Ali."

Ali smirked beneath his hood.

The moment Evelyn revealed his identity, a ripple of realisation spread through the tavern. The expressions of many players shifted-from mild irritation to sharp, predatory interest.

Some immediately glanced at the bounty board, confirming his name and the reward attached to it.

"Oh well..."

Ali reached up and removed his black hood, storing it in his inventory. The moment his Sith uniform became visible, the atmosphere in the room thickened with tension.

Rising from his seat, he looked down at Evelyn, his piercing black eyes locked onto hers.

"Who put my name up there?"

Evelyn's lips curled into an unreadable smile. "Customer confidentiality... I can't tell."

Ali's smirk widened slightly. "The Stone Guild sure is cheap..."

He turned away and strolled toward the bounty board, his sharp eyes scanning over the names and reward amounts. He made sure to memorise as many as possible.

"Are these bounties exclusive to your guild members?" Ali asked, still facing the board, his tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather.

"No," Evelyn replied. "Anyone can hunt them. However, members of our guild receive extra rewards for successful kills."

Ali turned, taking slow, deliberate steps toward the centre of the tavern, stopping near Kolo's seat. The massive man remained still, but his tattoos shifted again, this time morphing into two serpents that slithered down his muscular arms to his hands.

"If I join your guild, will my bounty be removed?"

Evelyn's response stunned the entire tavern.

"Absolutely."

Her dark eyes gleamed with intrigue as she continued. "And I would assign our strongest players to personally guard you against any threat."

The tavern erupted in murmurs of disbelief. Evelyn was essentially offering Ali complete protection-an unprecedented privilege.

A sharp voice interrupted. "Hey, isn't that going a bit too far, Evelyn?"

A thin woman with razor-sharp nails and spiky blade-like hair stood up, glaring at her guild leader.

Evelyn didn't even turn to face her. Instead, she simply lifted a delicate hand and pressed her finger against her palm.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The woman collapsed onto the floor, writhing in agony. A glowing skull-shaped tattoo burned on her forehead, its magic inducing an excruciating pain that made her body convulse violently.

"Idiot."

Kolo muttered the word under his breath as the entire tavern watched in silence. No one dared to interfere or question Evelyn's actions. There was no love lost in the Death Guild.

"So?" Evelyn finally turned her attention back to Ali, releasing her hold on the woman.

"What do you say?"

Ali exhaled slowly before offering a cold, amused chuckle.

"Not joining." His voice was sharp and unwavering.

"Why would I miss out on the fun of killing all the assassins you'll send after me for free?"

With that, he turned toward the exit.

Evelyn smirked. "You can always change your mind, handsome. You're welcome here anytime."

Ali glanced over his shoulder at the rest of the tavern. "You all better come after me."

With that final challenge, he walked out.

Kolo clenched his fists, his massive hand crushing the beer mug he had been holding.

"I'm going to rip him apart piece by piece."

A voice from the shadows chuckled darkly. "He's mine, you brute."

An elderly woman sat in the corner, swirling a glass of deep purple liquid. Her wrinkled, grotesque fingers-each dyed an unnatural shade of purple-grazed the rim as she grinned like a storybook witch.

Kolo scoffed and left.

Meanwhile, Evelyn strolled down the corridor toward her office, a wicked smile playing on her lips.

'How would a man like that taste...?' She licked her lips seductively.

Up on the roof, the same kid who had pulled the gun on Ali stood in the shadows, hands tucked into his hoodie pockets.

'How do I nullify his telekinesis? Maybe a magic protection necklace... but those are expensive.'

Suddenly-the world froze.

An overwhelming, primal fear gripped his chest, his body seizing in terror.

Behind him...

Ali stood motionless, his left eye now completely black, his outstretched hand pulsating with dark, vein-like energy.

The boy's body refused to move.

His breath caught in his throat as sheer, unfiltered terror consumed him. It was as if something ancient and malevolent had gripped his soul, paralysing him in place.

His mind screamed for him to run, to react, to do anything-but his body would not obey.

Behind him, Ali stood in complete silence.

His left eye was now a void of darkness, stripped of its iris, glowing with an unnatural, suffocating aura.

His outstretched hand, lined with blackened veins, was frozen mid-motion-just inches away from delivering a fatal strike to the back of the boy's skull.

It was as if time itself had fractured.

Then—

HAH... HAH... HAH...

The moment shattered.

The boy gasped as his lungs finally remembered how to breathe. He stumbled forward, collapsing onto his knees, his chest rising and falling in rapid, panicked heaves.

"You were killed."

A calm, detached voice spoke from behind him.

Still trembling, the boy whipped around, his wide, terrified eyes locking onto the speaker.

A petite woman in a skin-tight black battle suit stood just a few feet away, her form blending seamlessly with the shadows of the night. She was barely visible in the dim moonlight, but the unnerving precision of her presence was undeniable.

Then-she simply disappeared.

Vanished into the darkness like she had never been there.

The boy's hands clutched the fabric of his hoodie, his heartbeat still hammering violently against his ribs. His mind struggled to process what had just happened.

'Was it one of the Sisters... or... HIM?'

His thoughts churned, desperately analysing.

Who had done this to him?

Who had been behind him just moments ago?

And more importantly-why was he still alive?

-

Meanwhile, on a nearby rooftop, six women stood together in eerie silence, their identical black suits melding with the night.

They were the Six Sisters of Death-the elite enforcers of the Death Guild, entrusted with protecting Evelyn herself.

From their vantage point, they had felt the killing intent Ali released.

The tallest of them, a woman with an impossibly curvaceous figure, finally spoke, her voice cold and commanding.

"Did anyone see who released such killing intent?"

The shortest among them responded without hesitation. "No, Eldest Sister. But I suspect it may have been the man who entered headquarters earlier."

She paused for a moment before adding, "He had an issue with the boy."

The tallest sister narrowed her eyes, her mind already piecing together the implications.

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