NoGift

AN OPENING appeared in the sky. Lei Feng slowly fell from that opening. He saw the trees below. He immediately adjusted his posture mid-air, from lying down to standing up. That way, he could land without a problem. He landed perfectly on top of one of the trees and then jumped off to the ground.

He looked at his surrounding and just as he expected, he was already in a different place. If what that snake said was true, then that masked man who suddenly appeared must be the one who had that object displacement Gift. But if he had limited range, then that meant that Lei Feng was still in the same island. That masked man probably just placed them far from where Argent was currently now. His position right now was most probably at the very opposite direction.

Lei Feng clenched his fists. He was careless. He didn't move fast enough that's why that masked man got the better of him and he was sent away from Argent. Probably not just him but his two dark guards as well and that snake too. Leaving Argent alone with a member of a dangerous organization.

Shit. He needed to calm down. Panicking would not result into anything at all. He took his sPhone from his space ring and called An Si. His dark guards always had their sPhones at hand whenever he's separated from them. That way, whenever Lei Feng had to contact them, they could immediately answer him.

"Master," An Si answered at the very first ring.

"Which part of the island are you in right now?"

"At the very center. I have four birds searching in four different direction. But so far, I haven't seen any unconcious woman."

"I don't have time to explain. But all of us are currently scattered right now. Only Argent remained at the original location. Send three birds to search for me, An Liu, and An Qi. Then guide us back to where Argent is. Call the other two and tell them what I said. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Master."

Lei Feng ended the call and once again jumped towards the top of the highest tree. This way, An Si could see him much faster. Instead of just aimlessly searching, this method would get him to Argent much faster. But even a second of waiting already felt like an hour to him.

He could probably kill that masked Apostle right now even with this distance. But he had to use that technique for it to work. He could cover this whole island with his Mana. It would be his domain for as long as his Mana held on. But using that technique was only advantageous if he was surrounded by enemies. In this scenario, he might not just kill the enemy but the others as well. That's how powerful and uncontrollable that technique was. Lei Feng was still not at the point where he could fully control it.

Then he heard a certain cawing sound. A black crow came flying and landed on his shoulder. The eyes of the crow were both white. A sign that it's conciousness was invaded by An Si.

"An Si, fly at your fastest speed."

The crow nodded and it flew like a bullet towards the east of where he was standing. Lei Feng immediately followed, jumping from one tree to the next.

[Argent, please be alright.]

He was jumping for quite a while when he noticed movements on the tree beside the one he jumped on. He looked over and automatically frowned when he saw the Dreich Gallere assassin.

"Hey, you're not the only one irritated. I also don't want to see that face of yours. But you seem to be very confident of where you're going, so just let me take advantage and follow you. Okay?" Viper said, smiling. But anyone who could see his smile right now wouldn't feel good at all. Instead, they would feel irritated.

Lei Feng ignored him and just continued following the crow.

Viper was just guessing the direction of where Argent was when he happened to see the stuck-up guy jumping from one tree to another. There was no hesitation in his steps, as if he already knew where he's going. And that's when he noticed the crow flying abovehead. Upon close inspection, it was clear that the guy was following the crow. It was probably the Gift of one of those guards with him.

Viper glanced back at the Xing general and became annoyed again. "I see the way you look at Argent, you know," he started. "We're the same. We're both thinking of him in that way." That's why this dude irritated him at the very first moment. "But just let me warn you. Argent's mine. I won't let you or anyone else have him."

Viper thought Lei Feng would just continue to ignore him, but then he heard him speak;

"Argent is not an object that you can own. If you don't even understand that, then you don't deserve him at all."

Viper was momentarily stunned when he heard that. He looked at the guy's back and became much, much more irritated. [Shit. What do you know?]

Viper clenched his teeth. If he couldn't own Argent, then how could he truly belong to him?

----------

"We're now alone, so talk," Argent said coldly at the Apostle in front of her.

"Relax. I'm just here to negotiate," the Apostle said. His tone was pleasing. But Argent couldn't help but feel that he was purposedly lowering his voice and not using his real one.

"Negotiate?" Argent laughed. When she stopped, she tilted her head and looked at the Apostle. "Why would I negotiate with the people who kidnapped my mother?"

The man just felt chills down his spine. Such intense killing intent. He felt like if he said the wrong thing, his head would come off flying. What a scary child. And to think he's only a NoGift. "You being here proved that you already know what we're after. Congratulations, by the way, on finding this place in such a short amount of time. You might not want to negotiate. But you see, my master wants me to end this peacefully."

Master? The Pope?

"And truthfully, you really don't have any choice but to compromise," the Apostle added.

"Hah? You're really making me laugh." She turned her bracelet into a sword and with just one step, she was already in front of the man. She put the sharp edge of her sword on the side of his neck. "Why should I compromise? Tell me properly before my hand slipped and sliced your artery."

[Scary.] "Simple. Your mother. Do you know how we managed to keep her unconcious this whole time? One of the Apostles put her into eternal sleep. We didn't really plan to do that. But then, she tried to escape so we really had no choice. That Apostle is the only one who could wake her up. If you don't want your mother to remain sleeping, experiencing nightmares after nightmares, then you have no choice but to compromise. Unless, of course, you don't care for your mother."

Argent gritted her teeth. Was this really her only choice? To compromise? She didn't want to. Not with these people. But then, how about her mother? According to what this man just said, her mother was not only sleeping but also experiencing nightmares. That would be too much of a mental torture. Not only her mantality but her body might gave in as well. If she continued in that state for much longer, she might even end up insane once she woke up.

And the only one who could stop that was an Apostle.

"How can I be sure that my mother will be the same as before once she wakes up?"

A smart question. "Of course the one who put her to sleep could reverse whatever damage their Gift accumulated."

"You want me to get the dragon sword in exchange for my mother. That's what you wanted to negotiate, right? But how could I be sure that you will fulfill your end of the bargain?"

"Simple. My master will personally meet you and make a vow to give back your mother - in perfect condition - in exchange for the dragon sword. That should put your mind at ease. So could you please lower your sword now?"

Argent took a deep breath and made a decision right there and then. "I'll get the dragon sword." Then she didn't hesitate to stab the guy in his stomach.

The masked man retreated a step and almost lost his balance. "You--"

"You better run quickly back to your master and tell him the good news before you die of excessive blood lost."

Then she turned around and walked towards the direction of the shore.