[39] "Three Crossed Destinies"

[In a part of Europe]

Three young men stand on a wide street, creating a scene full of intrigue and mystery. The dim lighting of the night highlights their distinctive features and adds an enigmatic air to the atmosphere.

The first of them wears a black mask that covers much of his face, concealing his identity. However, his eyes stand out powerfully, the right one is an intense white, while the left one is dark as night.

The second young man is distinguished by his long brown hair, which cascades over his shoulders. Most striking, however, are the two vertical black lines covering his red eyes.

The third young man is notable for his long black hair, which falls over his face and covers his eyes. He wears a black hood that fits snugly over his head, adding a touch of mystery and hiding much of his face. A lip piercing highlights her rebellious and provocative look, suggesting a defiant and bold attitude.

The scene turns to chaos and tension as a figure descends from the sky with shocking force, causing the street to crack under its impact.

The three young men turned to face the newcomer, whose appearance was striking. He possessed a shock of white hair, while his piercing green eyes reflected a magnetic intensity.

Ares said with a wicked laugh, "Who knew? I run into you three over here."

"Ares Seo," Darkness said with an intense gaze.

"Ares Seo?" asks Justin Gregory, surprised.

Roist grinned mischievously and added, "Kayden Break's great disciple!"

Ares curved his lips, forming a smirk. "If I'm not mistaken, you two are the ones who were rejected by my master," he pointed out with a tone of superiority. Then, turning to Justin, he added, "And you I don't know."

The faces of the three young men transformed from happiness to anger, challenging Ares with determined looks.

Justin Gregory glared at him and, in a contemptuous tone, said. "You are as arrogant and irritating as the rumors say."

Dark responded with a blunt threat. "This serves me right. I've been looking for you for a long time, and now I'll have the chance to finish you off right here." In his mind, he thought with determination. 'I don't know why he recognized you, but I'll prove it was a mistake.'

Roist joined the confrontation, displaying palpable determination. "We're going to fight. I've been looking for you for a long time, but you always slink away, avoiding me. I'll be sure to find out what makes you so different," he proclaimed with a defiant look. In her mind, she thought proudly. 'Although you didn't accept me as your apprentice, Kayden, one of the top ten recognizes my exceptional talent and accepted me as his disciple.'

A powerful aura enveloped Ares, emanating an overwhelming presence.

Ares arrogantly asked, "Do you think you guys are capable of making me move?"

Ares waved his hand, inviting them to approach. "Entertain me. I hope you're more than useless scumbags," he said dismissively.

Darkness frowned, aware that Ares was as arrogant as the rumors indicated, and might even be worse.

"Don't you know who I am, I'm Justin Gregory," Justin said in a gruff, defiant voice.

Roist fixed a gaze full of murderous intent on Ares. In his mind it echoed. 'Ares... Emperor of Light.'

Ares glared at Justin, dismissing his name. "Justin Gregory? No idea who you are. I've never heard such a pathetic name," Ares said indifferently.

At that moment, Darkness appeared behind Ares, aiming a powerful, sharp attack straight for his heart. With a voice full of determination, Darkness exclaimed, "Muereee...!"

However, a chain emerged from the ground, wrapping around Darkness' arms and legs. An intense golden light covered his hand, nullifying his power.

Darkness was stunned to realize that he could not move. 'I can't move,' he thought in disbelief.

Ares looked at Darkness with disdain and pronounced mockingly. 'That's it? For someone who hunts the top ranked awakened, you're pretty weak. It seems that the world ranked awakened have become weaker."

But Darkness tried to deflect the conversation, "Don't you think we should talk about the relationship we have?"

Before Ares could respond, two more powerful attacks came his way. The impacts hit the light shield Ares had created in a split second, but it held firm, protecting him from the attacks.

"(Sand Tornado)"

Sand materialized on the battlefield, and a powerful wind began to blow, kicking up the sand and forming a tornado composed of sharp particles speeding towards Ares.

"(Destroyer)"

At the same time, Roist formed a cross with his arms, surrounding himself with a red aura before launching a destructive and powerful attack. The red cross pierced the concrete floor, heading straight for Ares.

Both attacks impacted against Ares and Darkness, causing destruction and cracks in the structures near the explosion.

Roist inwardly rejoiced, thinking to himself. 'So stupid and reckless in front of another awakened one,' as he ran his tongue over his lips.

For his part, Justin showed excitement and confidence. "It's so easy to beat him. I'm going to become famous," he said excitedly.

However, a voice echoed from behind the dust, surrounded by a golden light. "Hey! Let me finish my conversation, or do you want to die quickly?" declared the mysterious figure that was slowly starting to become visible.

Both Justin and Roist looked up at the emerging figure in astonishment.

Roist, with a grim expression on his face, looked at Ares, noting that he had suffered no apparent damage. "Ares is said to be exceptional in every way. Rumors place him as the most complete awakened of all, his defensive skills, attacking skills and speed are excellent," he commented with a mixture of surprise and concern. Then he added, with a dose of self-criticism. "I didn't think so, but now, if those two attacks had hit me... I'm not sure I could have withstood them as easily as he did."

Justin watched Ares in amazement, his mind full of questions. 'If he could withstand those two attacks that easily, only someone of my father's caliber could defend himself that way,' he mused silently.

"Well, since you seem eager to die early, I'll grant your wish," Ares declared with unbridled arrogance in his voice.

Darkness watched in disbelief as Ares suddenly disappeared in front of his eyes, as if he had vanished into thin air.

Roist and Justin, for their part, felt a shiver run through their entire bodies, as if a menacing presence was beside them.

Before they could even react, a powerful punch impacted against their stomachs, throwing them backwards with force. Beams of light erupted from behind their backs, propelling them several meters backward in a whirlwind of energy.

Darkness was stunned as he witnessed Roist and Justin being thrown backwards with great force.

Then, a figure emerged in front of Darkness. His mind was perplexed as he was confronted with the presence of that individual. 'Is this the level of Kayden's disciple?' he asked himself in awe as he clenched his fist with determination. Inwardly, she swore a silent oath. 'If I make it out of this place alive, I'll make sure I can finish you off the next time we meet.'

Roist and Justin fell to their knees on the ground, blood spurting from their mouths, evidence of the damage they had suffered.

A voice echoed through the air, laden with scorn and derision. "That's it? They can't even withstand a single blow. How pathetic!" sneered the voice disdainfully, "So they call themselves mighty awakened, how disappointing."

Justin looked up determinedly at Ares, his expression reflecting a mixture of defiance and resentment. "Ares...you have no idea who you're messing with. The Gregory family will not let you get away with this," he declared in a defiant tone.

Roist and Darkness exchanged worried glances, acknowledging Justin's bravery but also sensing the gravity of his words. At the same time, both thought silently.

'Big mistake'. They knew that the consequences of defying someone like Ares could be catastrophic and endanger everyone around them.

"The Gregory family?" uttered Ares with contempt, making clear his disdain for the aforementioned name.

Ares vanished from his position in an instant, leaving Justin kneeling and stunned.

Before his eyes, he witnessed in horror as an arm with a heart in its hand mercilessly pierced his chest.

The young man fell to the ground, his eyes slowly losing their sparkle and vitality.

"Arghh... Argh..." Between moans of anguish, Justin let out inarticulate sounds of pain, his voice choked by the blood that gushed from his mouth and spilled onto the concrete surface.

Justin's eyelids slowly closed, sealing his eyes and plunging him into the darkness of death.

An oppressive and eerie silence took over the atmosphere, filling the space with a sense of desolation and tragedy.

Ares, with a devilish grin on his face, broke the eerie silence with his words full of contempt. "He's very talkative," he declared coldly. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, it will help me keep fighting the strong awakened."

Disdainfully, Ares extracted a handkerchief from his impeccable suit and proceeded to wipe away the blood staining his right hand. "Well, well, what have we here?" he inquired sarcastically, pinning his piercing gaze on the two young men still present.

A shiver ran through the bodies of Roist and Darkness.

Roist, his face pale and still kneeling, tried to utter Ares' name, but was interrupted.

Ares, his voice booming, interrupted Roist before he could utter a word. His warning echoed through the air with a menacing, forceful tone. "Leave before I regret it," he sentenced.

The chains of light that held Darkness immobilized suddenly vanished, releasing him from his confinement.

Darkness, still surprised by his unexpected release, couldn't help but express his disbelief. "Can we really leave?" he asked.

"You don't want to leave now? I can change my mind very quickly," Ares added with a menacing note.

"Why are you letting us go? You would never do something like that," Roist said with a straight face.

Ares responded with indifference. "Just take it as a small gift for having had some relationship with my master. Besides, they're young. In a few years they'll get stronger and I'll be able to enjoy finishing off strong awakened, not wimps like they are now." His face changed to a happy expression at the mention of their future confrontation.

"Fight well in your training, Roist, and your Darkness keep hunting to become stronger,. I await you in the future," Ares added before the two disappeared at an incredible speed.

A female figure with a dragon in her arms appeared, the dragon jumped from the woman to Ares' shoulders.

"Ares, why did you let them go?", Rebecca asked.

"JEJEJEJEJE, because in the future it will be interesting to fight them and because there will be trouble coming later," Ares answered seriously.

"I already fulfilled my purpose of appearing in front of them. They better leave, otherwise it will be like having ants bothering my shoes. I just wanted to give them a warning, you know I don't go killing around like a madman," he added, flashing a big smile at Rebecca.

'He doesn't go killing around, but since we've been traveling together, there's death everywhere he steps. That's why I'm more and more convinced that the nickname the emperor of light is perfect for him,' Rebecca said with a worried tone in her voice.

"Have you served your purpose yet?" she asked trying to understand the situation.

Ares pointed to the dead body in the street and answered. "That boy's name is Justin Gregory."

"Justin Gregory?" exclaimed Rebecca in amazement. "Is that Hayden Gregory's son?"

"Yes," Ares confirmed.

"Now I understand why you wanted to perform, this is declaring war on an organization with the top 28 in the world in its ranks," she said worriedly.

"Justin Gregory, Hayden Gregory's son, is an Awakened who is ranked 28th in the world and leader of the BlackWater organization," Ares explained with a smile on his face.

"Do you know full well what this is going to cause?" asked Rebecca with concern.

"Fortunately I will be able to keep fighting," Ares said happily. But Rebecca looked at him with mixed feelings. "He's smart, cute, but.... why does he have to be such a fight freak?".

"We need to move to slowly take down BlackWater and get Hayden Gregory out in the open and find the body," Ares said.

"I'll take care of the members of his organization," Rebecca said with determination.

"What's the point? We only take care of the leaders," Ares said nonchalantly.

"Isn't it better to get it over with and not leave any alive. It'll still help me train, have several fights," Rebecca said.

Ares lifted her shoulders. "If that's what you want, do it."

....

[A few hours later]

[BlackWater Organization]

In the sophisticated office of an imposing skyscraper, a dark-haired gentleman, splashed with subtle touches of gray and white, looked impeccable in his elegant gray suit and black coat.

Silently, he was resting in his seat, reveling in the subtlety of the smoke coming from his cigar, while his gaze was lost among the night stars that adorned the firmament.

"Everything seems to be going in a good direction," thought Hayden Gregory as he exhaled the smoke from his cigar.

"I hope they take that deal," he added with a smile.

However, his tranquility was interrupted by a loud sound as the door opened and the hurried entrance of a very upset man.

Hayden swiveled his chair around to face the man, who appeared to be on the verge of collapsing from nervousness and sweating. "What's going on?" he asked with a frown.

"Mr. Gregory, many members of our organization have been killed in our territory," the man stammered, trembling.

Hayden's face contracted in a gesture of concern. "We have been attacked?" he inquired with concern.

"We believe we have, sir. Several of our headquarters have been destroyed and there have been many casualties," the man replied, his voice breaking.

"How many are the deceased and what are the headquarters affected?" demanded Hayden, his aura becoming increasingly menacing.

The man trembled under Hayden's fierce gaze. "Sir, the northern, southern, eastern and western headquarters have been destroyed, and about a thousand members of the organization have been killed. We don't believe there are any survivors," he confessed in a whisper.

A terrifying aura pervaded the building, frightening all the awakened people present. Hayden Gregory, furious, glared at the man in front of him and asked, "Are you telling me that our organization was nearly destroyed without us realizing it?"

In response, a column of sand began to surround the man, slowly squeezing him as Gregory demanded, 'Tell me right away who did it.'

The man answered haltingly. "'Sir... According to the security cameras, it was an awakened woman named Rebecca Brown, who has space powers.'"

Upon hearing the name, Gregory asked. "Rebecca Brown, the awakened one who has a relationship with Ares?".

The man nodded, saying. "Yes, sir... We believe Ares has declared war on us."

Gregory gritted his teeth angrily and replied. "Very well, Ares Seo. If you dare to start a war, I'll make sure you pay for it." With these words, the sand began to slowly fade around the man.

The man coughed and said, concerned, "Sir, there is another matter I must report to you."

"Tell me," Hayden Gregory replied impatiently.

"Among the dead is your son," the man said softly.

As soon as the man finished speaking, Hayden Gregory was filled with anger and icicles of sand began to pierce the man.Gregory whose eyes were bloodshot. He said. "Ares...as long as you are still alive, I will haunt you all over the world."

A terrifying scream filled the building, enveloped in a magnificent aura that alarmed everyone in the organization.

....

2676 words.

Next Chapter "Facing Gregory Hayden"