Chapter 1879: Number 5
Ning knew he couldn’t hurt the people inside too badly, so he had made sure not to go overboard. When he appeared before the limo, he knew what direction he wanted the limo to swerve to and even pushed it at the right angle so that the sudden halt would be safer for everyone involved.
With the limo finally coming to a stop, Ning moved to get them out before they had a chance to retaliate. He wrenched the door open and—
“Huh?”
It was empty.
“Damn Vanisher!”
He checked on the driver and pulled him out of the limo. As he came out, the driver pulled a knife on Ning, attacking him. Ning didn’t even react as the knife clanked against his tough costume and failed to do any damage.
He threw the driver to the side, ignoring him henceforth and moving on to search for the others. He had some idea of how Vanisher’s powers worked by now. The man was able to make people invisible and have them phase through objects. It was likely true for walls as well, but not floors. It was similar to Shara’s power if Shara could go invisible.
’There’s no sound. No tracks to search for,’ Ning thought, looking around. How was he supposed to track them now that they were gone from there?
A white beam struck Ning point blank on his torso, freezing his entire upper half instantly. Ice formed all over his body, the ice extending to his lower half as well. Soon, his entire body was frozen rock-solid.
Ning’s eyes were wide inside the ice, as if in shock.
Frostveil’s form suddenly appeared out of nowhere and stepped away from Ning, her words muffled and inaudible. Vanisher appeared as well, and next to him was Forgath.
Frostveil’s breathing was ragged. The intense situation had taken a lot more out of her than she could explain.
She turned toward Forgath, gulping down some saliva, before speaking. “He is taken care of, just as you asked,” she said. “What else do you want me to do?”
“Kill him,” Forgath ordered.
Frostveil hesitated. Her hands seemed to tremble at the thought of killing Ning, something inside of her stopping her.
Forgath quickly brought out something from his suit—a bank cheque—and signed onto it. He tore it off and handed it to her. “For your inconvenience.”
Frostveil took the cheque with some hesitation, but as soon as she did, all of her inhibitions regarding murder were gone in an instant. She pointed her finger toward Ning, now planning to freeze him even more.
Ning could barely make out what was happening outside based on his hearing, but his sight was still more or less fine. He could see money being transferred and the change in Frostveil. That was all he needed to know.
The ice shattered suddenly and Ning flew toward Vanisher. He was the one that was the most problematic of the three, so taking care of him first was necessary.
Vanisher was knocked out in an instant, the pure momentum in Ning’s body discombobulating him for long enough that he didn’t even have enough sense to use his powers.
By the time he gained enough consciousness, he was standing atop a massive building far away from where the limo had stopped. The minotaur shouted in surprise at the end, going invisible, but by that point, it was already too late. There was nothing Vanisher could do anymore that could be of help to Forgath.
Ning instantly arrived back at the place where Forgath and Frostveil were still getting up from where they fell. Frostveil acted instantly, sending out an ice beam toward Ning that nearly froze him. He dodged the attack, going behind Forgath. The moment he was there, Frostveil stopped.
She couldn’t attack past Forgath.
Ning leaned against Forgath’s back and started whistling.
“So, Number 5, how is this going to play out?”
There was a pause. Forgath’s breathing came to a halt all of a sudden, his back relaxing. Ning waited for a moment to see what was happening and noticed Forgath’s body straightening. Something pushed against Ning’s back, forcing him away.
Ning stepped out of the way and turned to see bulges on the back of Forgath’s pristine suit. Tears formed within the fabric, sharp bone spurs cutting through the suit and shirt, revealing the thing that lay hidden within.
The wings burst out.
Red and leathery, they unfurled with a tearing sound as his suit ripped apart. The upper half fell away in tatters, leaving his torso bare.
Ning turned around fully, watching the membrane-like wing spread wide.
Forgath’s eyes glowed faintly in the darkness, ominous aura now apparent around the man. His demeanor had completely changed from a scared man to a being of pure menace.
He looked exactly like the devils Ning knew from everywhere else.
Ning’s mind raced in that moment, wondering if there was a connection between devils and Imps. Were the Imps introduced to this world by Tritus? Constellations were the only ones with the corrupting power to create demons in the first place, so there might lay the secret to the Origin behind Imps.
Also, one thing he knew about the Meghilars galaxy was that there was an agreement between the constellations to stay on one planet. Influence only that planet and never interfere with the work of another Constellation.
So Tritus could have introduced Imps here.
Ning wondered if all seven Numbers were demonic beings like this. Talia had been a Vampire, which could fall into a category. She was also turned into a succubus, which was much more powerful.
Given Forgath’s form, Ning wondered if he had been something else before, maybe a human, and had been given this form.
Ning was still lost in thought when Forgath spoke finally.
“I’m willing to give you 320 million Jorans to join our group,” the Imp said. “I know how much you’ve made from your signing. Even in the next 10 years, you won’t ever make this much money from your work. So I suggest you accept it.”