Under The Veil of Night

He slapped the boy’s face.

The others nearly fainted when they saw that.

"Boss?" Neo’s eyes turned wide as he felt like smacking this icy cold boss of his. Didn’t he know some common sense that they shouldn’t hit children?

They thought that Kevin would try to console the boy, but he just immediately slapped the boy’s face just like that. Did he think James was the same as him? Kevin think better after being hit by Patrick, but would it apply to James?

However, James did stop crying. His eyes were red and they widened as he looked at Kevin in disbelief.

In this world, these two were the only people he allowed to get close with him aside from his family members. He couldn’t believe that Kevin had just slapped him.

"W-w-why?"

"Do you think that crying can solve the problem?"

"B-but!"

"You’re no longer a child, James. You know that she’s not here," Kevin remarked bluntly. "I’m sure that sleeping didn’t make your memory disappear."

James’s mouth opened wide, and it closed again. Indeed, he still remembered the scene he saw before he fell asleep. It was printed clearly inside his mind. The helpless and solemn expression of Kanae flashed in his mind constantly, reminding him of what she had done to help him.

"I-I don’t w-want her to go," James sobbed. He didn’t want to see anyone got hurt because of trying to protect him. Seeing how he was unable to help Kanae at all in that place made him frustrated.

Most importantly, he didn’t want to see Kanae get wounded because of him.

He didn’t have long to live. It would have been better if she just let him be the one got captured back then. At the very least, he wouldn’t be able to stay alive for a long time, so it would only be a short time.

"That’s her decision. She wants to protect you," Kevin stood up. "You’re not a child anymore, James."

"I..."

"Crying like this won’t do you anything good because you can’t change the past. You should think about other ways to help out rather than crying like a baby," Kevin replied solemnly.

From the side, Patrick rolled his eyes in annoyance. He knew very well that James has a bit of a mental problem because of his awakening. It made this boy slightly slower in growth yet at the same time, he has the mind of adults at other matter. In his eyes, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that James might be still a baby at times.

James stared back at Kevin. He knew that Kevin was telling him that he should become more mature because he was no longer a kid. 13 years old should be considered as a teenager. However, he didn’t know what he should do anymore.

"I-uh, isn’t it fine to just let me die?"

"You shouldn’t say that," Neo interrupted. "What do you think your uncle will think if you suddenly leave him alone?"

To save James, Taro brought the boy to this place. Even though the boy would still die because of his deteriorating health, there were still a few weeks left. Taro wouldn’t want his little nephew to leave so early.

’But I don’t have long to live,’ James thought internally, yet the others could see his thoughts clearly from his expression.

Their heart felt pain when they thought about that. They knew very well that James wouldn’t be able to live for long, yet they wished for him to stay alive because it would be too unfortunate for him to leave at such a young age.

It was too soon.

At this time, James has stopped crying. His face was still messy because of his cries just now, but he no longer sobbed. Closing his eyes, he thought about what he could do as he looked back at Kevin.

"Brother Kevin, do you think that Sister Kanae will miss me?"

"Why not?" Kevin asked back.

James couldn’t answer. He thought about what he wanted to do the most and everything. More than anything, he knew that there was something different about his body.

He recalled his instinct when Kanae left him in the rubbles, he had the feeling that it would be the last time he met with Kanae. He knew far better than anyone that it was the truth, but she was not the one who would leave him. Yeah, it would not be her.

It is him who would leave her.

James raised his head as he smiled brightly, yet his eyes were tinged with sadness. "Brother Kevin, please tell Sister Kanae and my uncle that I’m sorry."

Kevin’s eyes flickered. His hand was outstretched when he noticed James was holding his head and screamed as if his life depended on it. In that moment, he understood.

James knew that he would experience the second awakening soon enough. His body had prepared himself for the second one, but the anguish and the destruction of his own body as the result of the first one was irreparable. There was no way he could survive the second awakening.

"Boss, stop him!" Neo yelled in panic.

"It’s no use," Patrick shook his head. "Once the awakening process is initiated, you won’t be able to stop it."

"Can you even initiate it by yourself?"

"I can," Patrick replied. "Once you experience your first awakening, you will know that you can initiate it yourself. However, the anguish you experience must be greater than the previous one, so no one dare to do it. Each of us knows that it would be impossible for us to survive. Besides, not everyone can experience worse anguish than the first one that they had experienced."

It would require the worst luck ever for them to experience even worse anguish than the first one that they did. Besides, no one would willingly walk on the path of pain like that. Destroying their heart after having it destroyed once might make it irreparable.

Kevin extended his hand and clutched James’s tiny hand. The boy has been sickly for a few years, making his body extremely thin. It didn’t feel like he was holding the hand of a 13 year old boy as it was more similar to that of a 10 year old boy.

The scream ended after a long time. James was exhausted as he breathed roughly. He felt his strength was draining at rapid speed. The new surge of power from his second awakening gathered inside his body.

’Sister Kanae...’

"What is his other power?" Neo asked.

"I don’t know," Patrick replied. "Whatever it is, it should be something extremely powerful."

He had heard stories about those who awakened their second ability. Not a single one of them could live a second longer after they had awakened their ability. They all died not long afterwards because the power was too much for their body to bear.

It was something that might even turn a city upside down depending on what kind of ability they awakened.

James turned his attention back to Kevin. He could see the rare worried expression on the man’s expression.

"You’re stupid," Kevin spat out.

"I don’t have much time to live... and I’m happy," James smiled brightly despite his rough breathing. All the past few weeks he spent in this place has been extremely enjoyable. There might be some accidents that they didn’t wish to happen, but overall, he had a wonderful time in this place.

He was happy, and that was enough for him.

Kevin arched his eyebrows. "I see."

James smiled slightly. "Please save Sister Kanae with this."

He raised his finger and a light appeared from his finger. It trailed slowly until it reached Kevin’s eyes. It sucked inside and disappeared without any trace, confusing them all.

"How do I use this?" Kevin asked.

However, James didn’t answer. He just flashed a smile as he gazed up. In front of him, he could see his father and mother smiling towards him. They extended their hands to him. With a smile, he reached to them.

Kevin noticed that James no longer paid any attention as the boy gazed up. His breathing stopped, and he closed his eyes. However, he still smiled as if he had seen the greatest dream in his life.

"Boss..?"

"Tell Taro about this," Kevin stood up from his position. "And prepare for the battle."

"Yes, Boss."

Patrick watched James’s expression as he sighed. How many more people should lose their life before the battle was over?

There was too much blood poured out for the sake of one ambitious man.

Tons of tears were shed because of his action.

It was already the time for them to stop him. This time, not only one person raised his weapon. Many of them would do the same.