The guests' intentions were simple—they would spend money here at Golden Lily even if they would not be seeing Frank, though they would get their money's worth if he did show up.The fact that he did meant that they had made the right bet—it had just been a couple of days, but they managed to get a good look at the man whose legend was now known in this town, and by extension, Shagan!"Good evening, everyone." Frank nodded at them. "Welcome to Golden Lily!"They were merely guests, but Frank had a good hunch on what they were scheming. But since they were polite, he had no reason to be rude."It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Frankton. We're just booking a room—would you care to join us?""Sure, if I have nothing else on my plate. Go on without me for now.""If you say so!"As the guests laughed and left, Meg sighed. "You're finally here, Mr. Frankton. I've been dying for the past couple of days… really should've shredded that transfer agreement."Frank smiled in wry amusement, as
Still, Frank could hardly blame Sally once he thought about it—she was raised in a single family, and by a terrible father at that.But while she might think differently from others, did she have to stray that far?Sighing, he said, "I can understand if you want to swindle the enemy, making them think that you care for nothing, so that they won't hurt your mother because of you. But if that's not the case, I'll be honest… I must change my opinion of you."Sally snorted. "What? Perhaps you think a person who doesn't care for their mommy is cruel and cold-blooded, and being friends with them makes you a villain too?""If you understand that, why can't you change?"Sally completely ignored the question. "Jouri Yelin wasn't lying. You can go after Hector Clet, and I'd suggest you do it right away.""You came just to tell me that?""Why else would I be here?" Sally shrugged. "Now that we've got that out of the way, shall we get down to business? Just pretend I'm a bar hostess and do
"And anyone who enters by mistake would die by their hands for nothing."Frank smirked—since they were such a bunch of cutthroats, then he had no reason to hold back!In the mansion were twentyish men and women of different age groups, chatting while snacking."That geezer's so paranoid that he had to apologize to some nobody!" Tatum was seething and clearly trying to goad the others into helping him get revenge. "I mean, it's no skin off the geezer's back, but our reputation is being dragged through the mud!""You're kidding." A lady in a black dress and thigh highs giggled scornfully. "You may say he's a nobody, but he at least beats you at your specialty! And you know that everyone's saying he's the man chosen by the Shagan spiritron vein."Tatum tried to argue, but he could not because the lady in black was right—he lacked skill and had no right to diss Frank."Doesn't matter," a geezer with a cane barked as he sat in a corner, clearly defending Tatum. "No one gets to strut
In just half a minute, only the lady in black and the geezer with a cane were left unscathed in the room.The rest were either dead or out cold—a tragic sight."You're something else!"The lady in black catwalked toward Frank just then, choking with tears as she cried, "Handsome… I've never hurt a soul, I swear to god! It's them! They forced me into this… I mean, how could a girl like me hope to beat so many men? I had to…"However, when she reached Frank, she caught him off guard with a sudden puff of sickly sweet gas.Her expression changed instantly too, as she demanded loftily, "Now kneel to your queen!"Frank started to arch his back, when his left hand suddenly sent the lady in black flying with a punch!She was left gaping even as she felt a rush up her throat and coughed a mouthful of blood. "How is this possible…?"Frank smirked. "Why won't it be possible? If my hunch is right, what you just breathed out was a hallucinogen that controls the mind of your victims. It's s
Outside, Jada was wearing heat-vision goggles and was relieved to see that no one was left standing, aside from Frank.Just as she was to remove the goggles, a green Lamborghini stopped beside her Rolls-Royce.Jouri Yelin alighted along with a middle-aged man in a black suit, who smiled as they walked up to Jada. "You're quite the beautiful lady, and your taste in fashion especially brings out your strong presence. When were you initiated into Mr. Frankton's harem?"Jada had no idea who he was, but she sneered fearlessly. "As long as Mr. Frankton wills it, I'll bring him anyone he sets his eyes on—including you." Jouri smiled and ignored the diss while nudging at Frank as he stepped out of the mansion. "There he is.""Oh!" The middle-aged man promptly moved on to flatter Frank instead. "What a man—looks and strength, all in one package. One expects nothing less of the man chosen by the Shagan spiritron vein."Jouri smiled at Frank too. "He never praises anyone. That's yet anothe
Frank nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave.Howl was ready to go after him when Jouri stopped him. "Don't try to reason with him right now—he really doesn't think that highly of us. But it's no big deal—in time, they'll understand what we're really like. Just give him time."Howl had to give up as suggested, but he appeared puzzled as he stared at the tree that was cut in half. "How did he suddenly learn to wield the Shagan spiritron vein?"Jouri shook her head. "Beats me, but a good guess would be that the spiritron vein sensed a threat and was concerned that the master it had gone to great lengths to seek would die just like that. That's why it chose to give itself completely to him."Howl nodded. "Works for us. Things would be way easier for him now that he has that power!" -Meanwhile, in the Rolls-Royce, Jada remained as surprised as she was delighted. "This is great news, sir! You can finally wield the spiritron vein. By the way, how does it feel?""Nothing much." F
Seeing that she could not hide now, the woman simply gave up and asked, "How did you know that I came looking for you?""Sally York lied to you, it seems!"Frank raised his ring, which glowed dazzlingly.As it dimmed, the woman's knees buckled and she almost fell into Frank's arms.He dodged her, however, while Jada was nice enough to catch her, or she would have fallen face first.When the woman got out of Jada's embrace, she stared at her palms and gasped in disbelief. "M-My powers are gone…?"Jada smiled. "My master has full control over the spiritron vein now. It's only natural that he took back what's rightfully his.""What?!"The woman could hardly believe her ears…. If that was true, they were all going to die!Still, Jada offered, "Why don't you take this opportunity to surrender? I can see that you mean no harm."It was not an offer made out of kindness, as Jada really could not care less about some stranger.Instead, she simply looked beautiful, and it would be a w
The abbess had been ready to kill—a taboo against her vows that deserved divine retribution.If her sacrifice could at least save her sisters, it would still be a virtue.Nonetheless, Frank rolled his eyes. "You're getting the wrong idea here. I'll return your powers and then some, but you'll all work for me from now on!"Don't worry—I don't know much about religion, but I shall respect it. None of you will be forced to break your vows or commandments."The nuns' eyes lit up—that did sound like a fair trade!Frank raised his ring, and in a split second, endless radiance shrouded the nuns, while another blue flash shot toward Jada."Me too?" Jada asked, perplexed."The energy of the Shagan spiritron vein is quite unique." Frank shrugged. "It sets a hierarchy to the power it bestows. Now, you're their superior, and you can kill them at any moment.""That's amazing!" Jade exclaimed in surprise.She might be a descendant of a Cerulean Summit Legionnaire, but she never had direct c