Underground Tavern, Novo.
Unlike usual, the entire tavern was empty today for some unknown reason.
Only the bartender was sitting with his usual calm look, while sipping wine silently.
*Creak*
The door opened and a young man walked in.
His dark black hair and dark black pupils stood out a lot; bolts danced around his entire body as if he were covered in thunder.
The moment he entered the tavern, his presence caused the air to become heavy.
Although Irvin himself was an S-ranker, he felt suppressed just looking into that young man’s eyes.
"Yo! Gramps! I am here again! It’s been a while since I last saw you... this place weirdly empty today..."
The young man’s words seemed carefree and cheerful, but his tone was devoid of any emotions, as if he were a robot who was acting like an actual human.
Those emotionless eyes, devoid of mercy, caused a chill to run down Irvin’s spine, and he felt breathless for a moment before he calmed himself down.
"I have been expecting you, Rio. I knew you will come to me one day or another..."
Rio walked over to Irvin’s side and sat down on one of the stools placed in front of the bar.
"Actually, I never wanted to be an assassin or something like that but... things change in life, I have accidently learnt a few skills related to assassination and I need to polish them..."
"Moreover, I have become too popular lately, causing me to get burdened with work from the association..."
Rio took the teacup that Irvin placed in front of him and sipped the tea while speaking in his usual emotionless tone.
"Yeah, I saw it on TV, you have already made a name for yourself in the world... It’s hard to believe that you are already an S-ranker at such a young age..."
"Sigh, it took me my entire life to reach the S-rank..."
Irvin shook his head as he felt satisfied that he made sure to arrange tea before Rio came.
He and Rio already have a proper contact connection, and they message and talk sometimes once in a while, so Rio had already informed him that he will come over today.
"I knew you would come, so I asked all customers to leave and made the place close for today..."
"After all, quite a lot of them are also shady people, and you might kill them all on the spot if they come in front of you..."
"I don’t really want my place to get involved in a fight; you can just go to them in person to settle the score later..."
Rio smiled at Irvin’s words.
"Heh, you are really caring towards your customers... not like that this small trick will save them for long..."
It’s not that Rio has any grudges with Irvin or anything; it’s that he’s targeting his customers.
Rio is just targeting those he was asked to deal with, and Irvin also didn’t want to get involved in this matter; thus, he asked those people to not come today, as he didn’t want his place to get affected.
"I do legal business here; I would lose credibility if I deliberately made them fall in a trap..."
"So, what are you here for today?"
Irvin is a straightforward person that doesn’t like beating around the bush; he asked Rio in a straightforward manner what Rio had come here for.
And Rio liked this straightforward nature of Irvin; he immediately brought out a long list from his space ring and placed it in front of Irvin while he continued to sip tea peacefully.
"All these people, I want all of their information, everything about them... Can you do it?"
Irvin took the long list and read all the names on it one by one. He remained silent for a while and then spoke in a surprised tone.
"That’s quite a lot of big names written there... there are nearly a dozen peak S-rankers among them... y-you... Are you sure you can even deal with them?"
Rio smirked at Irvin’s words and replied in a confident manner.
"Even if all the people listed in this list band up together and fight me... It will still be me who will remain standing in the end..."
It’s not that Rio is overconfident and likes to bluff; he’s just stating a fact, a true fact.
Before even becoming an S-ranker, he was already going toe-to-toe with peak S-rankers; now he can slaughter most of them in just a few moves at most.
Unless it’s an SS-ranker, no one can beat him anymore in a head-on battle, unless the odds are against him to the extreme.
His sword intent alone is so strong that he can chop S-rankers as easily as vegetables now.
"You really are something... If you can deal with all these people... you might have already surpassed your father then..."
Irvin gulped his saliva in shock, as he had no words to describe his emotions.
"It will take a lot of effort and resources to get the details about so many powerful people... many of them are wanted criminals and a lot of them are good at hiding their tracks..."
Rio took another sip of the refreshing tea and replied calmly,
"Funds and resources are not a problem; the association will provide everything, as they are the one who have issued this commission in the first place..."
"And as long as you can find them, I can deal with them the very same day... so, how long do you think it will take to track them all down and bring their information to me..."
Rio stared into Irvin’s eyes before saying,
"You are allowed to have assistance from the association too... Raji Croft knows about your organization, and she knows that you are reliable, as you have worked with Ashtel Rex before..."
Once, Kevin and his organization worked with Ashtel Rex to deal with many major troubles; there’s no doubt that Irvin and his subordinates are capable people.
There are many other information organizations in the nation, but Rio does not have much trust in them, and he does not want to buy information from them either.
It’s better to work with Irvin, who has even worked with his father before and has a trustworthy reputation.
"Sigh... you are expecting too much from this dying old man... hmm... for all these people, it might take a month or two..."
Rio was surprised by Irvin’s words.
"Only a month or two!? You really are good at your work gramps... no wonder ’Scourge of the Darkest Nights’ was a legendary organization during it’s heyday..."
Irvin smiled at Rio words and spoke proudly.
"Of course we are good; we worked with the finest assassin in the world after all..."
Rio and Irvin then shook hands.
"It’s a pleasure doing business with you."
Both of them smiled shrewdly as they single-handedly decided the fate of many powerful individuals on their own.
"By the way, have you prepared what I asked you to?"
At Rio’s question, Irvin nodded his head and brought out a mask from a hidden cabinet.
It was a mask with the face of a merciless demon etched on it. Just from looking at that mask, ordinary people might faint due to fear, as it looked too creepy and evil.
Rio smirked after seeing that mask; he changed the design of his shadow cloak and made it look darker and creepier, then he took the mask and wore it without hesitation.
His sword intent flashed and covered his entire body; bolts of thick miasma flashed all around his entire body, and even Irvin felt nauseous and uncomfortable just from staying in Rio’s unsettling presence.
Irvin could feel instinctively that the bad time of all the criminals and all those who were on Rio’s target list had arrived.
’I should stay on his good side... he’s too bizarre and weird...’
Ignoring Irvin’s discomforted and frightened look, Rio licked his lips like a creep and used sword intent to alter his voice a bit to make it creepier.
"The hunt begins..."