After they had successfully gunned down all the men in suits, they blew the smoke off the nozzles of their guns and went to meet Sera and Seyeon.
"We need to leave the building," said Leo. "This place will crumble soon."
"Those men were from the Red Moon Syndicate, weren't they?" Sera asked as she rose to her feet.
"Yes," Logan answered. "The Yoon family has finally ended the 12-year reign of peace amongst the families."
"I doubt the Yoon family would take action on their own," Seyeon replied. "Earlier, when Father got stabbed by Sajung, he asked if Sajung was sent by the Black Crown."
"Black Crown... They're behind this?" Logan's eyes widened.
"You know about the Black Crown?" Seyeon turned to face Logan.
Logan glanced around with a frown. "If the Black Crown was behind this attack, then we're finished. The Black Crown are known to move in secrecy. If they want someone dead, that person dies, and no matter how much one investigates, the murder can never be traced back to them."
"For them to launch an attack of this scale means they no longer care about their secrecy—they simply want the Lee family gone," Leo added.
"Are you guys the only ones here? What about the Elite squads?" asked Sera.
"Dead... They're all dead," Logan sighed.
"What?" Sera exclaimed. "Who killed them?"
"An assassin... A very dangerous one. He's even wanted by the state," Leo answered, examining the whole building.
Seyeon walked to where Jihoon had slumped. His eyes were wide open, just staring at the ceiling.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"No," he answered. "I feel different."
"What do you mean?"
"You saw what I did to those men," Jihoon lifted his upper body from the floor. "A normal human being shouldn't be able to do that."
"Is that Seo Jihoon?" Logan asked, glancing over at the man next to Seyeon.
"Mm-hmm," Sera nodded. "I heard that you were acquainted with his father."
"Acquainted is not the right word," Leo replied as he and Logan walked over to Jihoon.
Leo extended his hand for a handshake. "I'm Leo, a friend of your father."
"I think you can save the greetings for later," Logan squinted at the entrance door.
Just behind the entrance door, a pair of eyes seemed to be watching them. They all turned to face the entrance, and when they spotted that pair of eyes, they were spooked—especially Sera and Seyeon.
"Who are you?" Leo asked, assuming a fighting stance.
A little girl slowly stepped out of hiding, her eyes still fixated on them. Seeing the little girl, the others were even more surprised.
"A little girl?" Sera exclaimed. "What's she even doing here?"
Just as Sera proceeded to approach the girl, Logan stopped her. "That's no little girl."
Hearing his words, Sera examined the girl a little more and felt a forbidding aura the longer she stared at her.
"Yeah, I think you're right," Sera nodded, retracing her steps backward.
"Where is Lee Tae-gun?" the girl asked in a cute and innocent voice.
"What's your business with him?" Logan asked.
"Death," she stated simply, without flinching.
"An assassin, huh?" Leo revealed his gun and aimed it at the girl. "Leave now so I won't have to kill you."
"Kill me?" the girl scoffed. "I'd love to see you try, though."
Leo pulled the trigger and fired at the girl, but she managed to avoid the bullets like they were nothing. Her speed was deadly. The moment Leo was out of bullets, she shot toward him like a bullet and knocked into him.
Leo flew into the air, landing on his back and spitting a mouthful of blood. The others were shocked by what the girl had just done. They didn't even notice she had knocked Leo down until they saw him on the ground.
She's dangerous!
Logan subconsciously moved backward after witnessing what the girl had done to his brother. After knocking Leo down, she proceeded to attack Logan too, but unfortunately for her, Logan was prepared and managed to avoid her attack—just barely.
"You can't take her on alone," said Sera. "Let us help you!"
Sera sprinted forward to attack the little girl, but before she could reach her, a bullet penetrated her right leg, sending her crashing to the ground. She gritted her teeth in pain as she clutched her leg.
"How shameless of you!" Another girl, who had been watching everything unfold from a corner in the ceiling, suddenly leaped down to join the fight. "Attacking a little girl!"
"Who are you?" Sera asked with a frown.
"We are the Six," another voice answered. The voice belonged to the assassin who had disguised as a nurse and seduced Jihoon earlier.
"Six? How come I only see three of you?" Sera chuckled.
"Our other sisters are busy," she replied. "You're lucky it's just us because if it were them, you guys would've died already."
"Viper, where's the guy you spoke about?" the girl who had leaped from the ceiling asked. Out of the three of them, she was the most beautiful.
Viper pointed at Jihoon, licking her lips. "There's Seo Jihoon."
The girl's eyes beamed with excitement when she saw Jihoon, but then she frowned upon spotting Seyeon sitting beside him. Ignoring Seyeon, the girl squatted before Jihoon.
"You're very handsome, you know. Would you like to marry me?"
"Seyeon, leave," Jihoon mumbled, loud enough for both of them to hear.
"What? Why?" Seyeon asked with a frown. She hated seeing other girls with Jihoon, but she didn't know why—though he was somewhat of a stranger to her.
"He doesn't want you here," the girl glared at Seyeon.
Seyeon glared back before leaving the two alone and going to support Sera. Jihoon got up to his feet, and as he did, he began to emit an aura that put pressure on everyone in the room.
"So cute!" the girl jumped up, clapping her hands.
"Lisa, I think you should—" the little girl opened her mouth to speak, but before she could finish, her sister was sent flying after Jihoon's foot kissed her face.
"How dare you?!" The little girl propelled herself toward Jihoon and began attacking him ferociously.
Although she was incredibly fast, Jihoon managed to keep up with her movements, evading all her attacks. After studying the girl's fighting technique, Jihoon began to fight back.
The girl managed to avoid getting hit by Jihoon's punches—especially his kicks, which carried tremendous power. Luckily for her, her small figure made it easier for her to dodge Jihoon's attacks. If she were any bigger, Jihoon would have defeated her a long time ago.
---
"My Kings and Queens, we have a guest among us today," a man's voice echoed through a dark room filled with many silhouettes. The man wore a black crown with a mask attached to it.
"Who is this guest you speak of?" a woman's voice asked.
"Kang Min-chul, former secretary of the late Lee Tae-shin and currently the secretary of Lee Tae-gun," the man answered.
"Let him in," a man's voice commanded, and Kang Min-chul stepped into the spotlight.
Kang Min-chul kneeled with a sad look on his face. "I presume you all know why I'm here today."
"If this is about the attack on the Lee family, I suggest you leave. We have put up with their nuisance for so many years, but now, we've had enough," the woman's voice replied.
"Nuisance?" Min-chul scoffed.
"How dare you laugh at me?" the woman roared. "Do you want to die?"
"I apologize, but did you call the Lee family a nuisance?"
"So? What if she did? All the Lee family has done is cause us problems these past few years, especially Lee Tae-shin," the man's voice spoke.
"The late Chairman loved and cherished the Order at first, or am I wrong?" Min-chul asked, but no one could answer—because Tae-shin had indeed loved the Black Crown. "He put so much effort into making the Black Crown stand firm and strong.
"No one in this room has ever done so much for the Black Crown before! Lee Tae-shin was a huge pillar for the Order, a very important member. He was so important that after his death, the Black Crown suffered major losses. Or am I wrong?"
Again, no one could answer his questions or deny his claims because they all knew he spoke the truth.
"Please, forgive the Lee family one last time. Although they are a nuisance to the Order, I believe that ending them is not the solution to your problems. That is all I have come to say."
There was a moment of silence before the silhouettes began to mumble amongst themselves.
"Silence!" the man's voice boomed, and the murmurs subsided. "We have decided to give the Lee family one more chance under one condition."
"What condition?" Min-chul asked.
"Have Lee Tae-gun find the drive and bring it to us personally. It is time we meet the man who has caused us a lot of trouble without knowing who he is messing with," the man answered, and the other silhouettes chuckled.
Over the years, Tae-gun's investigations led him to believe that there was a secret council operating in the shadows, but he had no idea who they were. However, he knew what they wanted and what they did, so he always disrupted their plans whenever he had the chance—even though he had no idea who he was dealing with.
Min-chul hesitated before nodding. "As you wish."
Then, the whole place turned pitch black.