CHAPTER 299: CONFLICT (8)

Returning from her sniping position to where the real battlefield had taken place, Nina — who had previously worn a smile — now restrained herself as she saw Christian and Alpha standing there, waiting.

Her gaze drifted past Christian for a second, landing on the crumbling remains of the building. She admired the destructive power of her new sniper rifle paired with her magic — a brief flicker of pride in her eyes — before finally stopping in front of Christian.

"Master," she said, "we could have finished her easily by ourselves. Was there really a need for you to interfere?"

Christian chuckled at her question. He reached out and, as usual, ruffled her hair with a light pat before replying.

"Well, I just thought it was better if I finished her myself."

’After all,’ he thought, ’she said it herself — she was an important figure in the Drevane family.’

Christian didn’t know what method the Drevane family might use to investigate the death of their people — or this important woman in particular — but if it was something related to magic, then he preferred that the trail led back to him, rather than to Nina.

After all, Nina still went out from time to time to handle missions for him. If her identity were compromised, it could affect her movements.

Actually, everything he was doing now was based on instinct — a gut feeling. He couldn’t be sure of anything... but it didn’t matter either way. That woman was going to be killed no matter what.

She was from an ancient family.

And most ancient families in this world... were trash.

Trash that couldn’t be reasoned with.

So instead of wasting thought on her, Christian turned to Nina again. She had her head slightly lowered, seemingly hoping for more of his usual head pats. He chuckled and said, "Anyway, good job. It was spectacular."

Nina nodded calmly.

Seeing that, Christian — who felt she might have built a bit of immunity to his touches already — couldn’t help but want to take things a step further.

So, he leaned down and kissed her gently on the cheek.

Then pulled back slightly, looking directly into her eyes, and said with a cheeky grin, "That’s your reward... You’re happy, right?"

’Reward for who?’ Nina wondered to herself.

But her cheeks had already begun to flush a soft pink.

She simply nodded again — choosing not to argue about it.

She didn’t say anything, but Alpha, standing to the side, wasn’t the same. She looked at Christian, pouted adorably, and said, "Master, what about my reward?"

Christian chuckled at her reaction, thinking it was strange how casual everything felt — how it didn’t seem like they had just killed more than thirty people, with corpses still scattered all around them.

Still smiling, he moved over to Alpha and gave her a kiss on the cheek as well.

In the process, he noticed a scratch on her arm where the metal beneath her synthetic skin was exposed. His eyes narrowed slightly at the sight.

But shaking his head — after all, she was an android, a battle maid where the battle came before the maid — he didn’t comment on it.

Instead, he turned his gaze toward the building where the party had been held and started walking forward.

"Is there anything left for us to do here?" Alpha asked, stepping behind him.

And with a faint smile still tugging at his lips, Christian replied, "Well... there’s a mouse still hiding among the corpses."

Neither Nina nor Alpha doubted his claim. Without hesitation, they began scanning through the bodies once more, now wondering how they had missed something like that.

In the end, they were able to find the man — but it still took them getting much closer to do so.

Christian moved what was left of the corpses aside with his foot, until finally, his eyes landed on the one still alive.

His brows lifted slightly in surprise.

"Oh? That’s you?" he said, tilting his head as he looked down at Clint.

Clint didn’t dare say a single word now that he had been discovered. He simply lay there in silence, paralyzed with fear.

And for the first time, Christian thought that maybe it wasn’t Zero or Miles’ fault that they couldn’t finish this cockroach.

Maybe it was just that this man’s luck, his hiding ability, and his instinct for survival were far too brilliant.

Even then, Christian didn’t think for a moment about sparing him.

If someone like Clint had even a basic essence technique, he’d easily make his way onto Christian’s personal kill list, after all.

Meaning, he was just that much of a trash.

And so, without saying another word, Christian raised his hand — and struck him cleanly on the neck, knocking him out cold.

He didn’t kill him immediately, thinking that maybe Zero should get a taste of what revenge really felt like.

But now, as he considered who to send to deliver the body to Zero — who had already left the city — he paused for a moment.

Usually, he would have sent Nina.

But after observing Zero, and coming to the conclusion that interacting with people seemed to bring positive effects to androids, in the end, he turned to Alpha and said, "Take him to Zero."

Alpha nodded obediently. She grabbed a large bag and stuffed Clint’s unconscious body inside it without a shred of hesitation. Then, turning back to Christian, she said, "Master, Iris just informed me that people from the government — and a few essence wielders — are gathering around this part of the city now that the battle has ended. So I think we should depart immediately."

"Don’t worry, we’re leaving," Christian replied. "But first... let’s burn the corpses."

With the thought that he shouldn’t leave much evidence if possible, the three of them moved to finish their work.

After gathering the bodies — or whatever was left of them — they set fire to the pile, watching it go up in smoke, erasing any lingering evidence. Then, each of them departed in their own direction.

Alpha, carrying the oversized bag with Clint inside, took a car toward Zero’s location.

Christian and Nina made their way to the airport, where a private plane waited for them.

And as the plane took off, climbing into the night sky, Christian sat back in his seat, gazing out the window with a pensive look.

His mind wandered, quietly mulling over a single question.

What exactly have the coming days prepared for him?