Chapter 339
The trial court was eerily quiet as everyone in the hall waited for the judgnt that Sir Raptor would make. Clara had given them her word that she would find the evidence that would prove Ronan wasn’t the one who killed Blazer. Once the truth behind Blazer’s death ca to light, then surely Ronan’s trial would naturally be concluded and all of this would finally end.
Sir Raptor finally opened his steely eyes as he spoke, his voice easily reaching everyone present in the room.
"I pass my judgnt. Ronan Steele’s sentence shall be shifted by five more days. The Tryst Guild, as the supporting group, should try everything within their power to find and present the evidence that proves his uninvolvent in Blazer’s death. But by the end of the fifth day, if no words or evidence are found, then he shall be marked guilty for the cri, and his punishnt shall be death by essence suffocation."
Everyone felt a chill crawl down their spine.
Death by suffocating the essence out of one’s body was one of the most harrowing ways to die.
Still, they all nodded.
Going against Sir Raptor any further would be a foolish decision. He stood on par with the S-Rankers themselves, and even the S-Rankers had accepted his judgnt. Surely Han and the rest would not try to cause any more trouble.
The Undying Fla’s blazing gaze rested on Ronan for quite so ti before he finally looked away and headed out.
The other heroes started departing as well since the trial was officially placed on hold for now.
As the group left one after another, Han was t by the mbers of A6 who had stood by his side.
"Thanks a lot for your support back there," Han said with a genuine smile.
Sincerely, he had been a bit surprised that Elexa and the other two had chosen to side against the Undying Fla. After all, the S-Rankers were their role models, the heroes they looked up to the most. It would have been more reasonable if they had sided with them instead.
Well, that was all in the past now.
Han was simply glad they had stood with them. At least it made things a little easier.
"You don’t need to thank us," Elexa said. "I know for certain that Ronan wouldn’t be Blazer’s murderer. And trust , I could tell that video was clearly forged. I spent more ti with Blazer than most, and many of the things he said and did in that recording were a little out of character."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Sir Fla should’ve noticed it too if he had paid closer attention, but I guess he was still mourning and consud with rage over finding his brother’s killer."
Han nodded in understanding.
He knew the Undying Fla wasn’t truly a bad person. It was just that he wasn’t in the right state of mind after watching that forged video.
"Whatever you’re planning to do," Elexa continued, "I suggest you focus on finding the man who delivered the device. He’s the pri key to getting Ronan out without any trouble."
Han nodded again.
They knew that already.
If they wanted to save Ronan without clashing against the S-Rankers or standing against the entire Hero Association, then they needed to find that man.
He was the solution to everything.
But that was exactly the problem.
Even now, his clones were scattered everywhere searching for the man, yet he still couldn’t find a single trace of him.
Balor and the others exchanged a few more words with Han before eventually leaving as well.
Clara’s attention was already locked onto her device as she began gathering every piece of evidence she could find. There was no ti to waste.
Knowing they would likely be taking Ronan back to ARC soon, Han stepped forward.
Step.
Step.
A figure suddenly blocked his path.
His gaze was chilly and cold.
It was none other than the Crimson Reaper, the S-Rank hero Han had been forced to knock out during the incident where they infiltrated ARC.
"I don’t want any trouble," Han said calmly. "I just want to talk to a friend."
The red-haired hero’s eyes twitched slightly.
"You don’t want trouble, yet you caused trouble everywhere."
Han gave him a sincere apologetic look.
"You have to understand... I had no choice but to knock you out back then. There really wasn’t any other way—"
"Wait..." one of ARC’s subordinates suddenly whispered into another’s ear, though his voice still reached the entire group anyway. "Is that the legendary whitehead that took Sir Crimson down with a single attack?"
"I think so. And here I was believing it was just so exaggerated rumor. But Sir Crimson was actually one-shotted... an incredible S-Class hero, one-shotted..."
"You two keep your filthy mouths shut before I shut them for you myself," Crimson growled without even turning around. "And trust , you won’t be able to use them anymore after I’m done."
The two ARC mbers didn’t need to be warned twice.
They instantly straightened their backs, their faces returning to the serious expressions of trained military personnel.
Crimson turned his eyes back toward Han, who remained calm as ever.
He snorted.
"Well, you have five minutes to say whatever you want to him."
After saying that, he walked away, leaving Han alone with Ronan.
Ronan slowly looked up.
His blank face finally showed a hint of emotion.
An emotion Han recognized all too well.
Guilt.Ronan looked at Han, holding his gaze for a long while before finally speaking.
"You know... you guys don’t need to do all this for . I can survive on my own," Ronan said quietly.
The Tryst Guild had risen to worldwide fa after news of their role in bringing down the vile Cursed Organization spread across the globe. Their achievents had shaken the world, and countless people praised them for destroying one of the most corrupt and inhumane organizations to ever exist.
But the mont Ronan’s identity as the Exterminator was revealed, their reputation suffered a massive blow.
The world, despite knowing how much the guild had sacrificed to eradicate the Cursed Organization, still refused to see the Tryst Guild in a good light. Criticism flooded in from everywhere, all because they had accepted Ronan as one of their own.
And Ronan, as much as he hated to admit it, felt guilty.
He felt like he was dragging down everything Han had built from the ground up.
He didn’t want that.
Not at all.
Han looked into Ronan’s eyes and imdiately understood what he was thinking. He simply gave him an assuring smile before speaking.
"You really don’t have to worry about that. You’re innocent, and we all believe in you, Ronan. So I want you to believe in us as well."
Han’s smile widened slightly.
"Before the tir the judge gave us runs out, we’re going to present the evidence and get your freedom back. I promise. I won’t allow any mber of my guild to face injustice... especially not a friend."
Ronan’s gaze beca somber.
"I trust you..." he muttered softly. "You’re the person I trust the most, Han. So I’ll stay here and wait to be rescued once again... just like that day at the park."
Han chuckled softly before patting him on the shoulder.
"Wait just a little longer. You’ll beco a free man again."
So minutes later...
Han and the others were already inside ZOM on their way back to Selene City.
The city was now far beyond its forr peak. In fact, it had beco comparable to the highest-tier cities in the world. With its advanced defenses, massive military-grade machinery, powerful chs, and the overwhelming strength and numbers of the Tryst Guild heroes, Selene had transford into an enormous fortress.
If enemies like the Dark Emissaries who attacked before ever tried invading again, they wouldn’t even survive long enough to harm anyone.
That was how much Selene — and the Tryst Guild as a whole — had changed.
Han sat quietly inside the command room, his chin resting against his hand as he sank deep into thought.
Two people occupied his mind right now.
One of them was the Dark Goblin.
From everything the Wolfbull Lord had told him, that creature had already surpassed the boundaries of an S-Rank monster, aning it could very well stand on the sa level as the current Han. Coupled with the Dark Goblin’s strange nature and the instinctive cruelty of Dark Goblins — beings that existed only to spread destruction and suffering among humans — Han found the situation deeply unsettling.
Especially now that the goblin was ordering monsters to stabilize portals connected to the human world.
Just what the hell was that creature planning?
"Hey, man!"
Han suddenly felt soone snap their fingers in front of his face.
He turned and saw Aiden staring at him with a baffled expression.
"You’ve been zoning out for a while now," Aiden said.
Han gave him a helpless look.
"Sorry. Just occupied with so things. So, what is it?"
Aiden narrowed his eyes at him for a mont before shrugging.
"There’s a Red Portal spotted a few miles away from here. I ca to tell you to let clear this one."
He grinned.
"You aren’t the only one that should deal with those portals, you know. We subordinates need so experience too."
Han stared at him for a long mont.
Sincerely, two of his clones had already been preparing to enter the portal before Aiden even arrived. But seeing the excitent on Aiden’s face, Han could already tell what this was truly about.
The idiot simply wanted to add more beast DNA to his collection.
Han sighed before eventually nodding.
"Fine. You can go ahead. Just be careful."
Even though Aiden was extrely powerful, Red Portals were still dangerous.
Aiden instantly bead.
"Thanks, boss!"
He gave Han a dramatic salute, grinning mischievously.
Han only waved him off.
"Go before I change my mind."
Aiden stiffened before quickly turning to leave, but then suddenly stopped.
Without turning around, he spoke calmly.
"Don’t worry too much about Ronan. I’m sure Clara will find the evidence we need."
And with that, he ran off excitedly toward what was essentially a nest filled with nightmarish monsters.
Han only shook his head.
Truthfully, he wasn’t that worried about Ronan.
Even if Clara failed to find the evidence, Han would still save Ronan no matter the cost.
The person he was truly concerned about was soone else entirely.
That stranger who had delivered the forged evidence during the trial.
Han’s instincts kept screaming at him over and over again.
That man was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
He needed to find him before he did sothing that would greatly affect everything around him.
anwhile, far away from Han’s location...
Deep within the Western Continent...
The Undying Fla stood frozen in shock as he stared at the remains of the Fla Guild headquarters.
The entire place was burning.
Literal flas engulfed everything.
It looked as though the guild had been ravaged by countless S-Rank beasts.
The mbers behind him quickly absorbed the flas, suppressing the raging inferno before they cautiously stepped inside.
What greeted them made their blood run cold.
Everywhere was ruined.
Corpses of Fla Guild mbers littered the ground, torn apart and shredded beyond recognition. Buildings had collapsed, blood stained the streets, and destruction covered every corner.
There were no survivors.
The fifty-plus heroes standing behind the Undying Fla covered their mouths in horror as despair washed over them.
Over a thousand guild mbers had been stationed here...
Yet not a single one survived.
"What the hell happened here..." one of the Fla Guild mbers muttered in disbelief.
Another suddenly widened his eyes.
"Wait... aren’t there micro CCTV sets hidden around the headquarters? Even if so were destroyed, they’re sturdy enough that at least a few should’ve survived. There has to be footage of what happened here."
The others imdiately turned toward him.
Who in the world would dare target one of the largest Hero Guilds on the entire planet like this?
One of the heroes quickly pulled out a device and connected to the surviving caras.
For a few monts, the screen remained black.
Then suddenly—
Static.
The footage finally appeared.
The replay began from the very start.
A man dressed completely in black stood outside the walls of the Fla Guild.
The heroes guarding the entrance questioned him repeatedly, asking his business with the guild, but no matter what they said, the stranger never uttered a single word.
His head remained lowered beneath the hood covering his face.
They threatened him.
Insulted him.
Cursed at him.
Yet he simply stood there silently.
Just watching the footage alone was enough to send chills through the observing heroes.
All except the Undying Fla.
Because the mont he saw the figure’s build, recognition flashed across his face.
It was exactly the sa as before.
And just as the thought crossed his mind, the figure slowly raised his head.
Twin purple eyes glowed beneath the hood like dark suns.
His blank gaze carried a twisted amusent as his lips curled upward into a slight smile.
A deathly smile.
The Undying Fla’s expression changed instantly as his fists clenched tightly.
"It’s him again..." he muttered darkly.
"It’s the sa man .... that accursed Ronan Steele."
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