Chapter 217 - New S-Rank

"Of course, not." Xagan immediately replied.

"Then, tell me. I'm listening." Cyril said as he looked intently at Xagan's eyes.

At this moment, the Demon Servants resting in the house are listening to Cyril talk to himself. There was no way they'd miss this but they just kept their silence. They were curious about this but they are aware that Cyril is a mysterious Demon.

That's right. Because he showed Xagan's oppressive aura to force them to serve him, they are not viewing Cyril as a human at all.

They are seeing him as an eccentric Demon who wanted to pretend to be a human in his world. This is why they just thought that this is one of Cyril's acting to look more like a human.

After realizing this, they all just returned to their sleeping positions and waited to be called again by their master.

"Controlling your Aura requires your soul… or your life, Contractor." Xagan said with a grin on his face.

"What?!" Cyril asked in surprise. He had never thought that it would be like that at all! No wonder those two Spirits didn't tell him at all!

"Yeah… The moment you used your Elemental Eye to save those humans, I noticed that you lost three months of your life. It is a small number since you have 500 years. So you didn't notice it at all and just thought that you were tired."

"This…" Cyril didn't know what to say as he recalled how he saved those forty students. Luckily, he only used three months of his life.

Right now, he just needs to be careful and use it only if extremely necessary or if it would cost less than Xagan's assistance.

Speaking of which, he would indeed spend several years of his life if he decided to use Xagan's powers in order to save those kids. However, thanks to his Elemental Eye, he managed to save them by only using three months of his life.

That can be considered a good trade and he's happy with it.

After thinking up to this point, Cyril decided to just charge it to his experience. Anyway, he's now aware of how powerful and how dangerous this Elemental Eye was.

"Anyway, how do I trigger it? I mean, how can I use my life force, Xagan? I'm sure it's different from how I control my Aura, right?"

"Your life force is different from your Aura. Though Aura is inside your body, it is what you use to control your external matters… like activating your Artifacts and using Aura Technique like that Impaler Vortex skill you're learning. On the other hand, your life force is what you use to control every part of your body. It seems that during that time, you wish to see what was going on inside the body of those people affected by the Aura Poisoning. You wanted to see how badly damaged they are and you unconsciously use it to activate your Elemental Eye."

"Wait… So it's really my emotion?"

"I wouldn't call it that… I'd rather call it your desire, Contractor." Xagan promptly replied.

"Desire…" Cyril repeated as he can't really say that he understood Xagan. However, his answer made a lot of sense.

"Cy! Someone's looking for you. She's on the phone!"

Bonnie suddenly called while Cyril was contemplating Xagan's words.

"Yes… I'm coming, Aunt." Cyril answered as he quickly entered the house to answer the phone call.

"Who is this?" He asked.

"Well, just a girl whom you asked for help." A familiar voice answered the phone.

"Miss Valerie. Have you found her?"

"Yes. She turned 18 two months ago but hasn't Awakened. You said she'll most likely awaken this month?"

"Y-yeah… But that's not important. Is there anything on her?" Cyril asked.

"Hmmm… Nothing. She's just a normal girl. She has a relative who was part of the Northern Badger Guild but he died a few weeks ago. She's also not rich and her family even has a lot of debts." Valerie answered.

If Cyril is a normal Awakened, this outstanding manager would not do this for him.

However, as an S-Rank valued by the Association, she wanted to ensure that their relationship stays close more than any other organization.

"What do you want from her?" Valerie finally said after not hearing anything from Cyril.

"Ahh… Well, I'll meet with her tomorrow. I explain everything after meeting her."

"Oh? Is it related to the Association?"

"It could be… Anyway, thank you for letting me know, Miss Valerie."

After Cyril hang up the phone, he received Valerie's detailed email about Laura Au. The one who will get murdered tomorrow after she awakened as an S-Rank.

Laura has chestnut hair that reveals her youthful appearance.

'Wait… Does she have no other picture? Did Valerie take this photo from when she was elementary?" Cyril commented after seeing Laura's picture.

Well, eighteen is indeed young but the picture was just too much.

Anyway, she just turned into an adult and she's still probably managing her IDs.

***

On the next day, Cyril arrived in front of the Association early in the morning. He's not alone as he's together with a gorgeous middle-aged lady, Amaris.

To be honest, he's unsure when will Laura visit the Association to confirm her ranking.

Because of that, he decided to wait here the whole day and make sure that the Raincoat Guy would have no chance of killing her.

"Xagan… Do you recall that guy who had a red raincoat and caused trouble to me?"

"Of course. Do you want to search for him? You already know the price. I marked him before, remember?" Xagan replied.

"Yeah. 50 days for 10 kilometers, right?"

"Deal?"

"Yeah… Please find him for me."

After Xagan accepted the transaction, his projection went silent for a moment before he pointed in a certain direction.

"He's near. That coffee shop right over there. He's the one who looks like a thug drinking a cup of coffee. He's looking at the association's building right now."

"Tsk… He's really here to kill Laura. Should I kill him now?" Cyril knows that this guy would just be able to escape prison. He had done it before after all.

But if he killed this man now, his next victims will be saved as well and Cyril will do good for the country.

However, it's difficult to fight him now since they are in a public place.

"Amaris, keep your eye on that guy. If he does something suspicious, inform me immediately. Oh, if you can prevent him from doing something stupid, just do so."

"Yes, Master." Amaris replied as she left his side to get closer to her target.

The man is just a hired killer. So Cyril is thinking about whether to use this guy to find the bigger fish.

'Should I leave that to Vanessa?' Cyril mused but before he could make a decision, he finally saw Laura approaching the building.

"At last…"

Cyril then silently followed Laura entering the building without talking to her.

'I knew it… That photo was something from her elementary days. This girl is taller than me!' Cyril said in his mind as she observes Laura.

Though she still has brown hair, it is now quite long as it reaches her waist compared to the picture he saw. She also looks a bit more mature now.

He then quickly called Valerie who should be in her office right now.

Laura will get tested to confirm her Awakening and to check whether they have to use a limiter or not to her body… Whatever the result is, Laura needed protection while he confirms when the murderer will make his move.

Soon, Laura proceeded to take tests, and indeed, she was confirmed as an S-Rank Awakened. Unfortunately, though she could hide her Aura, she's unable to control it other than that.

At the very least, she knows that it's the most important thing.

After almost an hour, Valerie called him back.

"Cyril! So she's an S-Rank Awakened! She just awakened early in the morning and finished controlling her aura in 7 or 8 hours! That's amazing!"

"I heard that she's can only hide her Aura."

"Well, that's the same! Anyway, if you know her, it would be a lot easier to convince her to join us. So, can you join me in my office?" Valerie invited as she didn't know that he had never seen Laura until today as well.

Anyway, he immediately brushed it off and mentioned that it was still her decision to make and hang up.

Apparently, the raincoat guy started to move.

'Master… I just heard this guy talking to someone over the phone. It seems that someone told him about the existence of a new S-Rank. I heard him say that he'll offer a carrot and stick. Is it something you want to know?'

Amaris reported using their unique mind connection.

With all this evidence, Cyril finally decided to deal with the man and make sure that he won't be able to escape from him again!