"Who are you?"


    Brandon was surprised. The woman had stopped her de before it fully severed his neck.


    Feeling the cold metallic sharp edge of the de on his neck, blood trickled slightly.


    "You are…."


    Brandon traced the woman''s de, unfazed as he smirked.


    Then, he continued with a whisper.


    "Evelyn Cessna."


    The de pushed deeper. Brandon felt a stinging sensation, as his blood continued trickling down.


    "You seem to be mistaken."


    The woman spoke.


    Brandon tried to scan her face. Indeed, she didn''t look like Evelyn Cessna. Her hair was ck, and her facial structure was entirely different.


    However, he wasn''t mistaken when he saw her power.


    And though most people would mistake the Holy and Light affinity for each other, after spending time with Belle and Evelyn, Brandon couldn''t differentiate the light affinity from the Holy affinity.


    And since the Celestial affinity somehow looked simr, Brandon could narrow the power emitting from the woman. Either, it was the Holy or Celestial affinity.


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    However, seeing the hollow glow in her eyes….


    Brandon knew without a doubt.


    His instincts told him it was most definitely his teacher, Evelyn Cessna.


    He pressed forward.


    "Am I…?"


    "You''ve gotten the wrong person. Now who are you….? Why are you following me….? Or else…"


    Brandon felt her sharp re. She seemed ready to kill him to push her de even deeper in his neck.


    However, Brandon could see through the facade.


    She was without a doubt shaken.


    Shaken by the fact that he had unmasked her identity.


    Most probably the case.


    Brandon held her de and pushed it back slightly. Then, he leaned close. She didn''t pull away.


    Threads escaped Brandon''s fingertips, attaching themselves to the back of Evelyn''s hood.


    Her eyes traced the threads, and Brandon could see a slight change in her expression.


    She didn''t seem to be against it. The string slowly lowered her hood, revealing her ck hair.


    "Can you tell?"


    Brandon leaned close, cing his hand on his mask. As he slowly removed his mask, Evelyn raised her head and her eyes widened.


    "You''re…."


    The mask hade off. Revealing his mid–length white hair that extended down his chin.


    Brushing back his bangs, he looked around. They were in a narrow alleyway with no one around.


    Then, Brandon looked back at Evelyn. Her wide azure gaze met his ice–blue eyes.


    "That can''t be…."


    She was in disbelief. Brandon felt her hand touch his cheek gently.


    Brandon shed her a smile.


    "d to see you again, Miss Evelyn."


    "....Brandon."


    *


    "So on that day…. When you disappeared…. Someone saved you….?"


    "Yes."


    Brandon began to recount the details. Evelyn had taken him to where she was currently staying.


    It was a small room. But furnished enough, with the necessities for a grown woman to get by every single day.


    Brandon sat on the white bed, as Evelyn sat across from him—on a wooden chair.


    He got his story straight. He knew that once he met up with the people he used to know, they would start to interrogate him.


    He was prepared for this to happen. But surprisingly, the first person he met was his old teacher, Evelyn Cessna.


    He did not expect this development at all. Especially seeing the sword on her waist.


    In every progression, Evelyn Cessna had never be a swordsman before.


    But this was the first progression he had be her student as well.


    Perhaps, he was the reason.


    Most probably the case.


    And so he continued and exined his journey. In the end, it was finally his turn to ask the questions.


    "Enough about me, Evelyn. Why are you here?"


    "You never change… Haa…."


    Evelyn frowned and sighed.


    "....For the same reasons as you."


    "Ah, I see."


    That made sense.


    Just like him, she was also undercover. But what made it different was that Evelyn was thorough with her mission.


    She went into no contact, and had blended in deep inside the syndicate''s ranks, under the code name, ''Evangel.''


    A femme fatale of some sort.


    "What''s your code name?"


    "Uh…."


    Right.


    He had to tell her that.


    Hopefully, it wouldn''te as such a shock.


    "Moriarty."


    He looked at her with a serious expression. Evelyn''s brows raised and she pinched her chin.


    Then, she tilted her head.


    "Are you a fanatic….?"


    "...."


    "Wasn''t that the name of the criminal everyone was talking about a year ago?"


    "Yeah."


    "To be honest, I thought he was a vignte. It kind of felt like he was controlling everything behind the scenes, just for the purpose of capturing Francis."


    She spoke as she lowered her head. It was subtle, but she was sneaking a couple of nces at him.


    ''So she knew…..''


    That seemed to be the case.


    After all, the Mirage Mask would only mask the identity upon the wearer''s usage.


    At the moment, he wasn''t wearing the Mirage Mask. It was for that reason that perhaps, Evelyn was able to put two on two together.


    But it seemed like she understood the silent agreement as she didn''t press further.


    "Are you the only one here?"


    "Yes. I''m the only Imperial Army soldier to infiltrate the organization."


    "What rank are you currently?"


    "Right below the head. White. In fact, I''m actually working under a head."


    A head was called ''Twilight'' in the rankings. While VIPs who had contact and could sometimes work under them were the ''White'' ranked members.


    "What a coincidence."


    Brandon leaned close. His eyes darted around, and seeing that the room was well isted, he whispered in her ear.


    "I''m also working for a head. Well, working together."


    "Eh? What rank are you…?"


    "Orange."


    "Then…."


    Brandon looked at her. His eyes told her everything she needed to know as she leaned back on her chair.


    "Ah. So…."


    "Yes…. We''re not the only ones."


    "I see. Well… the head I''m working for is called John Smith."


    "...."


    This….


    It can''t be a coincidence.


    Most probably, Zed had nned this encounter from the start.


    The giveaway was that Zed informed him about the Colosseum.


    He must''ve known that Evelyn, or rather, ''Evangel'', was a spy from the start.


    "Regarding the Colosseum. What''s it for, and why are you a participant?"


    "It''s a show of power. You see, I''m tasked as a bodyguard for the uing auction. Have you heard of it before?"


    "Yes, that''s the whole reason why I''m here."


    "Okay. As you know, the ckmarket iswless. There''s a chance trouble might ur during the auction. For that reason, everyone assigned as guards is tasked to show off their power around the ckmarket. In my case, I chose the colosseum."


    Of course, she wasn''t the only one.


    "What about you? What do you n on doing, Brandon….?"


    "I''ll be at the auction as well. Just a few more strings to pull and I can elevate my position as a guard."