The Black Swan Behind (Beauty of Fire)

289 Life and Death

“Mm? What is it?” Emma asked.

“I want to take you out... that’s if you have time, of course.” He fiddled with his fingers then looked down. “My latest chance was ruined because of those rascals. I’m really sorry for not being able to protect you. It should have been a fun day from start to finish.”

Previously, on the first day after the incident where Emma was kidnapped, Calvin attacked her with questions.

Calvin made sure that Emma was absolutely fine. He asked about the chronology of why she could be kidnapped. It made Emma have to rack her brain as creatively as possible to give the most reasonable answer. Besides that, Calvin also kept apologizing for not being able to look after Emma properly.

“Calvin, I don’t know how many times to say this to you. It’s not your fault. You don’t have to keep apologizing like that.” Emma was getting annoyed.

“Sorry to make you feel uncomfortable. It’s just that this feeling can’t get out of my mind. As if my heart keeps saying that I shouldn’t have left you alone there. I should have taken you to eat at a more appropriate place. I shouldn’t have taken you out when a girl’s kidnapping was on the rise. I know that it must have traumatized you. I’m the one who asked you out, but I couldn’t get you home the right way. I feel like a total loser...”

Calvin’s sentence stopped when Emma held his hand. He looked at the girl who was smiling softly at him.

“I’m grateful because you think so much of me. But I’m really fine, Calvin. You have given the best to me. Apart from that incident, I am very happy about the experience you gave me. I think I want to watch the concert again,” Emma said with a chuckle.

Calvin gave a gentle smile. “Then, I will look for another good concert. I promise.”

.....

“Sure. I’m waiting for you to keep that promise.” Emma winked.

***

Pablo stared at the piece of paper with angry eyes. It was a reply letter from Jita Kyoei who also included Black’s name there.

Creed perched beside Pablo’s desk, watching his best friend who was burning with anger. “They are beyond our expectations.”

“Jita Kyoei shouldn’t be like this. I know very well what kind of group they are. Troy, especially Tobias, have high self-esteem. They couldn’t possibly agree to a two-on-one fight. That should just make them angry,” Pablo said with a face of disbelief.

“Looks like the problem isn’t with Jita Kyoei. It’s a group called Black.” Creed said.

“Black. What kind of group are they exactly?” Pablo muttered to himself.

“Markus said that Derric and Juan have researched about them, but haven’t gotten any information. Markus himself has also tried, but to no avail.” Creed shrugged as he sat back down on the sofa.

It was rare to see a Creed who didn’t hold a gadget in his hands to play games. The tall man who had enormous strength was also quite serious about the situation that was happening.

“It seems that Black should not be underestimated. It’s not about their strength, but their brains.” Pablo said.

“I think they have reasons to cover up their identity. Are they not the police?” Creed asked.

“That doesn’t seem possible. Most of them are too small for Handway City police standards. They look like students. The elementary students, to be precise,” Pablo still remembered when he was in fifth or sixth grade. At that time, his height was like that of the Black members.

“Because they cover up their identities, it’s difficult to find out where they come from and where their headquarters are, even though Markus has searched various warehouse locations that might become their headquarters,” Creed said.

“Don’t they have a base?” Pablo muttered to himself, then he shook his head, “But they have quite a lot of members. There’s no way they don’t have a base, especially with the vehicles they frequently use.”

Creed chuckled as he took his game gadget from his waist bag which he previously placed on the sofa. “Actually, we don’t need to think about this now. We have one big chance to find out who Black really is.”

Pablo looked at Creed from behind his desk. “We have to make sure to rip off their masks in the battle.”

Suddenly, Pablo’s cell phone rang. He looked at the screen that displayed the contact name ‘James Kade’.

“It’s James,” he said for Creed to hear.

The man who was playing the game glanced at Pablo. Even though his eyes had returned to focus on the screen of his gadget, the worried expression there could not be hidden.

“Answer it,” Creed said.

Pablo sighed lazily before answering it, “Hello..” his voice turned joyful.

“Now?” Pablo asked. “Well.. sure,” he continued before ending the call.

“What is it?” Creed asked with a glance at Pablo.

The man in the big yellow jacket got up from his seat and took out a cigar from a wooden box that was perched on the side of his desk. “James told us to come. He said he had something to talk about.”

“What a pain in the ass,” Creed muttered, getting to his feet too.

***

As usual, James never wanted to talk about important things over the phone. He preferred that the two boys come to his base and talk directly.

The two boys walked into a room they hated. It was a room that had an extremely cold temperature with a bald man with a full body of tattoos in it.

“What’s with that face?” James asked with one raised eyebrow. He noticed the faces of the two boys were gloomy.

“You call us on the weekends. Don’t you know that teenagers need time to play?” Pablo asked cynically.

James sighed softly. “It’s only for a moment. Sit down quickly,”

“Tch... All right. What’s that?” Pablo asked as he sat in his usual place with Creed beside him.

“I heard that you guys are challenging two groups of heroes to battle?” he asked. “Um... I forgot, what’s the name of that group?”

“Jita Kyoei and Black,” Pablo answered lazily.

“Oh, yes, that. Are you sure you can wipe them all in one go?” James raised one eyebrow.

“Hey... Did you call us here just to belittle us? I’d better go,” Pablo was about to get up.

“It’s not a joking question, Pablo. I’m seriously asking if you can win the fight,” James’ face hardened even more, showing that he was serious.

“Do we need to fight now to remind you of our strength?” Creed put down his phone and looked at James.

“You’re still that confident, aren’t ya?” James said.

“Believe it or not, we can definitely beat them. Even without any members, we can beat them with just the two of us.” Pablo answered, no less serious. It was a rarely-seen sight.

“If you are that sure you will win, then fine. But you have to remember what will happen if you lose this war.” James said.

Silently, Pablo gulped hard. He honestly wasn’t one hundred percent sure that they would succeed either. And, he knew very well what the consequences must be received by the losing party.

James looked at Pablo who was silent. “What you have now actually belongs to the Black Hole. Did you forget your agreement at the beginning?”

Creed clenched his fists. “You talk as if you are the most powerful. Is that...”

“What I said is not purely from my own opinion.” James cut the boy off.

Pablo and Creed then fell silent with frowns.

James nodded. “What happened to Dragger has got their attention, kids. You guys better learn to be wiser and more careful.”

James’ words surprised the two boys even more. They stared at each other, realizing that this was no longer a game to show who was the strongest, but had changed to show who would die and live.

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