Outworld: Awakening

A few minutes earlier.

In a well furnished room in an unknown location in Vihir. Two individuals sat across each other while chattering and drinking. A few meters away, one would notice a floating screen which depicted a busy factory area.

\"Sir Timothy, I hope everything is to your liking?\" Elliot said. Dressed is his usual attire, he wore a faint smile as he stared at his guest.

Timothy causally glanced at him, but said nothing. Instead, he stoked his curly moustache with his left hand while is right hand stuffed his mouth.

Compared to Elliot, he looked at least twenty years older. The hair on his head was a mix of silver and gold, neatly tied into a ponytail. His oval brown eyes shifted between the floating screen and the sumptuous dishes before him.

He wore a white, short sleeved cotton shirt which matched his gray pants and ink black shoes. Fastening his shirt to his pants was a black-red suspender.

Elliot's eyes lingered on the stylish tattoos which decorated Timothy's unwrinkled arms.

\"When is it going to start?\" Timothy's smooth and brooding voice filled the room.

At that moment, the corners of Elliot's eyes twitched. And a sense of apprehension flashed across his face.

\"Any moment now...\" Elliot suddenly paused. On the screen, he could see some scared people appearing in the factory. \"Speaking of the devil, it seems it's about to start.\"

\"Are you sure this is going to be worthwhile? There will be consequences if this is a waste of time.\" Timothy said. His voice as cool as ever.

\"Hahaha... I would never do that, sir. Please, relax and enjoy the show,\" Elliot said, sporting a relaxed smile.

Timothy shifted his gaze towards Elliot for a moment, before focusing back on the screen. Elliot maintained his smile, however, cold sweat had covered his forehead.

'Calm down, Elliot. He's not going to attack you. He's only here to watch. Calm down.' Reassuring himself, Elliot calmed his tensed heart.

Meanwhile, Timothy focused on the scene happening in the factory. A slight smile tugged at the sides of his lips as he watched the chained prisoners squirm. He couldn't stop himself from laughing when some prisoners vomited after watching dozens of people turn to blood.

\"If I am not mistaken, the target is the Cartman Brothers, yes?\"

\"Yes.\" Elliot answered as quickly as possible.

\"Hmmm... Among the three of them, who did you send?\" Timothy asked. The smile on his face had gotten brighter.

\"It's—\"

\"Never mind. Don't answer it. The suspense will make it more interesting,\" Timothy interjected. In a quick motion, he grabbed some popcorn from the side while he slouched in his chair.

\"What's the rank of the person you sent? Surely, you didn't send someone above their rank, right?\" Timothy asked.

\"Of course. The outcome would be certain if we did so,\" Elliot explained.

\"Hahaha… Fantastic. There's no greater entertainment than watching these weaklings beat the living hell out of each other,\" Timothy said. His visage had changed from its scholarly form to that of a common thug.

\"Oh. Could it be this old bastard?\" Timothy said. With his left eye brown raised, he stared at Elliot with unmasked curiosity. The image on the screen was that of the old man sneak attacking Morton.

\"It's—\"

\"No. No. Never mind. I don't want to know,\" Elliot interjected once again.

'Why ask if you will not let me speak?' Elliot forced a smile. Not daring to show his true feelings. Timothy, on the other hand, had long since diverted his attention to the screen.

His smile had gotten to sadistic territory, and he couldn't stop himself from laughing as he watched perforated corpse of the old man fall to the ground.

\"Hahaha… that old bastard couldn't even last a minute! How can someone be that weak?! Hahahaha…\" Timothy laughed cheerfully, almost choking on his snack.

\"Now, only two remains. Let's see who it is.\" Timothy's eyes shifted between two individuals within the factory.

A moment later, Timothy's smile lessened. On the screen, the youth who had been laying on the ground suddenly stood up.

\"Oh? I thought he had something else planned? Why did he have to reveal himself like that? Is he the one?\" Timothy asked.

This time, however, Elliot remained silent.

\"Hey, didn't you hear me? Is he the one?\" Timothy asked again.

\"Yes. That's him, sir.\"

\"I'm disappointed already. Where is his file?\" Timothy asked.

Barely a second after Timothy spoke, a file appeared in between Elliot's fingers. Saying nothing, he presented it to Timothy.

Wasting no time, Timothy causally glanced through the file. With each page turned, however, his smile lessened. The moment he had perused the contents of the file, a deep frown had formed on his face.

\"You sent a rank C Awakened to eliminate the Cartman Brothers? And is his only special ability weapon manipulation? This is a waste of time. The outcome is already certain,\" Timothy said as he causally tossed the file back to Elliot.

At that same moment, the other prisoners had dispersed. And the Priests had made their way to the factory.

\"I expect little from him, but let's see what he can do. At least, I'll get to watch him get beat like a maggot… Your boss might have overestimated his ability. Don't you think so?\"

\"I agree. But it's not something I can interfere with it. I just do as I am told,\" Elliot said.

Just then, Timothy turned towards Elliot, staring at him intently. \"You could have done so much for yourself, Elliot. Instead, you rather be a mere cook. With your potential, it's a damn shame.\"

Elliot wore a wry smile. However, he said nothing. This wasn't the first time the topic had come up between the duo.

'Let's see what's special about him. If they sent Elliot to ask me to watch, then he can't be completely useless.' Elliot thought.

With Elliot remaining silent, Timothy turned his attention back to the screen. Elliot, too, focused on the screen. He wanted to know what made Adam special. After their initial encounter, he noticed nothing special about him. Although he believed the Cartman Brothers were too steep a test for Adam, he believed it would at least reveal some of his latent potential. Saying nothing further, the duo watched with varying levels of interest.

\"Huh? What are they doing? Aren't they going to attack him?\" Elliot yawned as he watched the immobile Priests. Despite blocking all of Adam's point of retreat, they just stood there—staring at him.

'Why aren't they attacking him? Did he set a trap? No… could it be an illusion?' Different thoughts brewed in Elliot's mind. He, too, found the situation odd.

A moment later, Elliot and Timothy's mouths dropped. Unable to hide their incredulity as they stared at each other. On the screen, the Priest cheerfully massacred each other without Adam moving as much as a finger.

\"What… What the hell did we just see?\" Timothy muttered. Although, he still hadn't come to terms with what he saw. His countenance had returned to normal.

Unlike him, however, Elliot hadn't recovered from the shocking scene. Just then, a recalled Adam's uncanny confidence during the briefing.

'Wait… did we misjudge is strength? He actually deceived us…' Elliot suddenly chuckled, drawing Timothy's attention.

\"What's so funny?\" Timothy asked.

\"Sir, I have a feeling you might see something entertaining,\" Elliot said. He wasn't confident of his conjecture yet, hence he had no reason to blabber.

For a moment, a smile bloomed on Timothy's lips. Although he wasn't certain what Elliot meant, he had an idea from the way he spoke. Turning their attention to the screen once more, the duo watched with renewed vigor.

***

A few minutes later.

The images of the aftermath of the battle between Adam and the Cartman Brothers projected on the screen within the room. Unlike before, Elliot and Timothy both stood, watching with bated breaths. Although the battle had concluded moments ago, the duo remained in stupefied silence. Unable to believe what they had just seen.

Before the bout, they both believed Adam stood a very slim chance of emerging victorious. And even if he did, he would suffer severe losses. Neither of them expected a one-side annihilation. Even if one happened, none of them expected Adam would emerge the victor.

\"Elliot, who the hell is that kid? I won't forgive you if you lie to me.\" Timothy's countenance had turned solemn.

Elliot, on the other hand, remained silent. Thousands of thoughts flooded his mind. The previous battle, if one could call it one, gave him a rude awakening.

\"Elliot?!\"

\"S-Sir?!\" Elliot shivered, taking a step back.

\"I said who is he? Tell me now!\" Timothy demanded.

\"Pardon me for earlier, sir.\" Elliot said, bowing slightly. Just then, another file appeared in between Elliot's fingers.

\"Master said, I should give this to you if he succeeds. Here,\" Elliot politely presented the file.

Timothy's brows shot up as he received the file. Unable to hold his curiosity, he hastily read through its content. A minute later, the file turned into ash. Meanwhile, Timothy couldn't stop himself from laughing.

\"This life is so damn unfair! How does he keep finding these people before me? How can he be so damn lucky?\" Timothy muttered in between his laughing bouts.

\"Why didn't you tell me he's a candidate to replace Romolu? This makes him the eight one, right?\" Timothy asked.

Elliot instantly lowered his head as he said, \"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't have permission to—\"

\"Never mind. I understand. Hahaha…\" Timothy patted Elliot on his shoulders, urging him to raise his head.

\"Do you know what's written in the file?\" Timothy asked.

Saying nothing, Elliot nodded.

\"Hahaha… It seems your Master's sadistic tendencies have only grown worse. A world of hell awaits that brat, and he doesn't even know it.\" Timothy could bȧrėly stop himself from laughing.

Just then, a transmission crystal appeared in Timothy's right hand. Instantly, its glow illuminated the area. A second later, a delightful voice followed. \"Good day, sir. How—?\"

\"Patsy, I need you to add a name to the restricted list. Are you ready?\" Timothy interjected.

\"Give me a second, sir…\" An audible beep flowed Patsy's words. A moment later, she continued, \"Okay, sir. Let's have the details.\"

\"Name: Adam. Rank: C. Age: Seventeen…\" Timothy suddenly paused.

\"Sir? What about the bounty? Sir?\" Patsy's voice echoed. However, Timothy remained silent. He had a sly grin as he stared at Elliot.

\"Whoever brings his head will have a wish granted by the Eight Gates. No matter what it is,\" Timothy said.

Silence followed, he could hear Patsy's gasping through the transmission crystal.

\"Did you get that, Patsy?\" Timothy asked.

\"Y-Yes, sir. What about the limit of the restrictions?\" Patsy asked, her voice a little low.

\"The bounty is open to all Awakened rank C and below for the next six months. After which, open it to rank B Awakened. A year later, open it to rank A. Two years later, if no one has claimed the bounty, move it to the open list. Do you understand?\"

\"Y-Yes, sir. Will that be all?\"

Timothy didn't bother to respond. He turned off and returned the transmission crystal to his pocket. Adjusting his suspenders, he fell into his chair before reaching for a bottle of rum.

\"Hahaha… Elliot, do you think he can survive this?\" Timothy asked, as he slowly drank from the bottle.

However, Elliot remained silent.

\"… Hahaha… I guess I can understand why Vicar asked me to do this. Compared to the other candidates, he's pitifully weak. Even that runt Ash could end him in minutes. If he can survive all the ȧssassins, who knows, Vicar might successfully create another monster. Hahaha… I can't wait to see what will happen to that brat.\"