22 Just you wait, Rai!!

Sylvester smiles at the effort put in by Winston to scare Fernandez away.

Fernandez raises a brow, unmoved by the sudden outburst of anger from the awakener. To him, as long as Sylvester is by his side, there is nothing to worry about.

Adam reaches out to warn Winston of the potential danger of his actions, but when he sees Sylvester staring at him with an unreadable expression, he quickly retracts his hand.

"How does it feel?" Sylvester asks Winston, breaking up the tense moment.

"Huh?" Winston questions, not understanding what the question meant.

He takes a step back, his face pales white upon realizing why Sylvester asked such a question. 'Oh shit!'

Winston stares at his palm in horror as he watches the orbs he had created disperse and converge to form visible black gas that crawls toward him like snakes.

It wraps around his head, trapping the little oxygen left in his lungs and slowly suffocating him.

A wicked grin spreads across Sylvester's face as he watches with amusement and satisfaction. "How does it feel to have your ability used against you for once?"

Dropping to his knees from exhaustion, Winston tries regulating his breathing but fails miserably as the orb shrinks until finally cutting off his airflow completely.

Thud!

With a satisfied smirk, Sylvester turns to look at the others. They jumped back in fear and had horrified expressions plastered over their faces.

"He is going to survive that little scare. Why do you all look terrified?" Sylvester chuckles darkly.

The black gas disperses into thin wisps of smoke, leaving only traces of its existence.

A few seconds pass before Winston regains consciousness. The pain caused by lack of breath makes itself known along with the feeling of something heavy pressing onto his chest. He coughs violently, trying hard to get some fresh air down his throat.

Turning to face Fernandez, Sylvester requests politely. "Would you mind holding Lila for me?"

Fernandez's lips quiver slightly, momentarily scared as he stares at Lila's hands.

"You can use your jacket, I lost mine back at your restaurant," Sylvester suggests.

Taking the advice, Fernandez slips off his coat and wraps it tightly around Lila's hands.

She doesn't wake even though her body trembled visibly under the pressure exerted by the thick fabric wrapped tight around both arms.

Looking up at Sylvester, he gives a slight nod, cautiously holding Lila.

Walking up close to Winston, Sylvester glares menacingly at him. "Do you have a problem with who I choose to accompany me?"

Looking straight ahead, Winston doesn't answer. Instead, he looks at Mae standing beside him. She was watching everything unfold silently. Her gaze constantly wavers as she knows how dangerous Sylvester can be.

"Sylvester, please don't cause a scene again..." Fernandez pleads nervously.

Ignoring him, Sylvester continues speaking to Winston but his words are also directed at all. "If anyone has anything else to say, then speak now because this might be our last chance to talk peacefully."

As soon as he finished talking, Sylvester grabs hold of Winston's collar tight enough to choke him. His eyes are filled with rage as they stare directly into Winston's.

In response, Winston struggles desperately to free himself from Sylvester's grip. However, he finds no success since Sylvester holds him firmly without any signs of letting go anytime soon.

"This is going to be fun since you can heal!" Sylvester laughs evilly causing everyone present to shiver in fear.

A vine wraps and tugs at Sylvester's leg, making him stumble backward, losing his grip on Winston.

"That's enough!" Dahlia shouts angrily.

"Rai!" Mae whimpers softly, running forward to hug him tightly.

Rai lets out a small sigh seeing all except Winston had managed to survive another encounter with Sylvester unscathed.

Dahlia stands in front of Winston, looking sternly at him. "What the hell were you thinking causing trouble while I was gone?"

"I caused trouble? Have you bothered to think how things suddenly changed the moment we met him?!" Winston barks in rage, pointing an accusing finger at Sylvester.

Mae places her hand on Rai's chest stopping him from meeting with Sylvester while saying in a whisper. "We thought we were going to truly die."

Everyone nods reluctantly, agreeing with what Mae said.

They watch quietly as Sylvester brushes off the dirt clinging to his clothes.

Then turning to Rai, he says calmly. "If this is the great team you spoke of, I will pretend to be amazed."

A cold sweat trails down Rai's forehead as he sees his teammates narrowing their eyes dangerously at him. 'You just had to say it like that, didn't you?'

Dahlia clears her throat loudly, drawing attention away from them. Looking at each other briefly, they turn to face her.

"Sylvester..." Dahlia begins cautiously. "...I think there might still be an opportunity here if... if we come to a reasonable agreement."

"What?!" Everyone exclaims simultaneously.

Cocking his brow curiously, Sylvester asks. "And just what could that be?"

"We will accept you as one of us so long as you agree not to harm my friends anymore."

Lifting his chin proudly, Sylvester replies arrogantly. "Why should I care about that? They will heal anyway."

His statement causes everyone except for Dahlia and Rai to flinch involuntarily. Even after healing multiple times, they could never forget the painful memories associated with those injuries.

Seeing the reaction, Sylvester smirks mischievously and points at Dahlia. "So tell me why do you want someone like myself to join your group?"

'A certain someone arranged this without consulting anyone first.' Dahlia had wanted to respond.

Instead, she glares daggers at Rai. Then turns towards Sylvester once more.

"...Because unlike us, you possess an ability beyond comprehension! We need people such as yourself to aid us against those that threaten our existence!"

The moment she finishes saying these words, Sylvester tilts his head sideways, inquisitively asking. "Are you telling me awakeners aren't capable of fighting their own battles?"

Dahlia's cheeks flush in embarrassment knowing full well how much trouble she caused herself when she agreed to Rai's request.

'You are so dead, Rai!' Dahlia thinks furiously. 'How dare you ask me to do something this stupid?!'

However, before she can finish berating Rai, Sylvester smiles sweetly as he speaks up. "Let's all try to behave and I won't have to remind anyone of the consequences of challenging me."

"We're screwed," Adam whispers under his breath.

Fernandez cuts in abruptly, "hey, Kid–"

Sylvester turns around and warns him through gritted teeth, "don't call me that, sir!" Before completing his thoughts, 'at least not before everyone.'

Feeling Lila squirm in his arms, Fernandez panics as her hair gets tangled in one of his buttons, "...Sylvester, I think it's best she's with you, and please get her off me."

Lila's eyes flutter open slowly revealing bright brown orbs staring back at Fernandez and then at her own hands in confusion.

"Aaahhh!" She screams in a high-pitched voice.

Violently kicking and struggling to set herself free from her restraints.

"Get her off me!!!" Fernandez yells in a panic the moment he sees his partly ripped coat mere seconds from falling off completely.

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Author's note

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