Devil's Born In Past

In the Morning

Natalia, Quinn, and Damien gathered at one place. Damien, who was growing increasingly frustrated from waiting, looked at Quinn and said, "You're so weak and thin. How will you ever protect anyone?"

Quinn, however, completely ignored his words. Seeing this, Damien snapped angrily, "Hey, stick figure! I'm talking to you. Do you think you're some kind of emperor?" Still, Quinn paid him no attention. Damien kept ranting endlessly.

Suddenly, Damien walked up to someone standing behind him and asked, "Hey, man, what's your name?" While saying this, he placed his hand on the person's chest. The next moment, a powerful slap landed on Damien's face, sending him spinning to the ground.

Damien saw stars in broad daylight. As Quinn helped him up, he said, "That's not a guy; that's a girl." Damien stared at Natalia in shock, realizing why she had slapped him so hard.

Before Damien could say anything else, Ethan entered the room, asking, "What's going on here?" The three of them immediately stood upright and replied, "Nothing, just chatting." Ethan glanced at Damien's face, which still bore the mark of the slap.

Seeing this, Ethan said, "What did you mess up this time?" Damien laughed and replied, "Not much, just a little misunderstanding." Ethan ignored it and asked, "Do you even know why I hired you?" Damien promptly replied, "Of course, to protect you."

Quinn and Natalia remained silent, watching Ethan intently. Ethan said, "That's true, but you'll also have to win a competition for me." Natalia asked, "A competition?" Ethan explained how his brother, Alexander Kingswell, had challenged him.

The competition revolved around something valuable, pitting Ethan's knights against Alexander's. Ethan added that most of his knights were useless and could not be relied upon. However, the prize was incredibly valuable, and he needed to win the competition at any cost. That's where the three of them came in.

"So start your training," Ethan commanded. He then spent some time explaining the details of the competition. Afterward, Ethan said, "By the way, I haven't tested your abilities. So, fight each other and prove how skilled you are."

Turning to Natalia, he added, "You can sit this one out. I've already seen your strength. If you fight these two, they won't even be able to stand afterward." Natalia looked disappointed, as she had been eager to showcase her strength through this friendly match.

Now only two people stood facing each other. Damien laughed and said, "I'll defeat this stick figure in no time." Drawing his sword, he charged at Quinn. But before he could reach him, a knife grazed Damien's cheek, leaving a cut.

Damien wiped the blood from his cheek and glared at Quinn in anger. But when he looked ahead, Quinn was no longer there. Instead, he was behind Damien, holding a dagger to his neck. "Did I win?" Quinn asked.

Damien couldn't believe he had been defeated so easily, despite years of sword training. Reluctant to accept his loss, he was interrupted by Ethan, who clapped and said, "Well done! Keep it up." Ethan then left the room.

Behind him, Damien ground his teeth, glaring at Quinn as though he would devour him. Quinn noticed Damien's hostile expression and swiftly hurled another knife, which nicked Damien's neck lightly before passing by.

Damien was shaken. Quinn's cold stare seemed to warn him not to entertain any foolish thoughts.

Meanwhile, a man approached Ethan's room. Reaching the door, he saw Ethan sitting inside, setting teacups in front of several servants. Ethan asked, "So, which one will you try first?"

One servant, trembling with fear, picked up a cup. His hands shook badly as he brought the cup to his lips. At that moment, the man standing outside said, "If you're busy, I can come back later."

Ethan dismissed his servants, who hurriedly fled as though they had been released from a lifetime of imprisonment.

The man sitting across, whose name was Xavier Ferndale, spoke with embarrassment, "I'm sorry. I tried to gather all the information I could about Quinn, but I couldn't find much."

"But I suspect that Quinn might be an assassin from the Merchants of Death, someone who escaped from them. However, there isn't much information available about the Merchants of Death, so I don't know much either."

Ethan spoke softly, "Merchants of Death? Are they the infamous group of assassins renowned across the five states? They say if a Death Merchant assassin decides to kill someone, not even God can save them."

Xavier nodded and said, "You're absolutely right, but that's not the complete story. That saying was specifically about one man, known worldwide as the Poison Master."

"And do you know why so many assassins are fleeing from the Merchants of Death? Years ago, the Poison Master betrayed them. After killing several of the Merchants of Death' assassins, he disappeared into obscurity to live a hidden life."

"Many people are still searching for him to this day. After that incident, the Merchants of Death' influence significantly diminished. That's why, over the past few years, many assassins who wanted to leave them have finally found the courage to escape."