System's POV
chapter-167

Under the cover of the night, Anwir walked silently across the hallways of their residence.

He was currently headed to the Training Grounds to meet with the person who had sent him the letter.

It was past midnight, and he knew that everyone in the residence was deeply asleep at this time.

With the exception of a few guards guarding the gate and the outside perimeter of their residence, there would be no one else who would be awake during this time of the night.

When he arrived at his destination, he cautiously looked at his surroundings in search of the person who had asked him to come.

"I'm here, Anwir."

The Tigerkin immediately looked in the direction where he heard the voice and saw a cloaked figure standing on a balcony overlooking the Training Grounds.

"You're the one who called me here," Anwir said in a cold tone.

"Yes," the Cloaked Figure replied. "I'm the one who called you here."

The Tigerkin subconsciously looked around his surroundings in order to make sure that no one was around.

A moment later, the claws on his hands extended, ready to tear the little boy, who could potentially ruin everything he had worked hard for, to shreds.

Although he was wearing a cloak, it was very obvious to the Tigerkin who the speaker was.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Anwir," Thirteen replied. "The moment you move from that spot, I'll scream. Let's see what's faster—you succeeding in killing me, or a Peak Champion catching you in the act."

Anwir weighed his options after hearing the boy's reply. Although he was confident that he could kill the boy before his father or the Guards of the Residence reacted, there was still a high possibility that they would arrive at the scene before he could erase all evidence of his crime.

"What do you want?" Anwir asked.

"Me?" Thirteen chuckled. "I want you to become my slave."

"Me? Your slave? Are you delusional? Who would want to become your slave?"

"Anwir, believe me when I say that after everything is over, you will beg me to make you my slave."

The Tigerkin snorted after hearing the boy's reply.

He had already thought carefully about what he would do once he found out the identity of the person, who was trying to make his life difficult.

But after seeing that the one who was behind the message was actually the human boy, Anwir decided to change his approach and eliminate the threat as soon as possible.

But for that to happen, he needed to make the boy lower his guard first.

"Zion, I came here because you asked me to come," Anwir stated. "But I don't understand why you are doing this. Do you know how much our family has suffered ever since Percival disappeared? If you know where my brother is, it would be best if you cooperate with me so that he can return to our family."

Anwir didn't know if Zion really knew the truth or was just making things up.

Almost everyone in the city already knew that Percival had mysteriously disappeared one day, and no one had seen him since then.

Since the Human boy had been in the residence for a few days, it would not be impossible for him to overhear this information from the people inside the residence.

In the end, Anwir believed that the boy was only trying to mess with him so that he could help him escape their residence and return to the Barbarian Lands where he belonged.

"Cooperate with you to return Percival back to his family?" Thirteen said in disdain. "What you mean is that you plan to finally eliminate him to ensure that you will not have any possible trouble in the future, right?"

"Zion, Percival is my brother," Anwir replied as he took a step forward. "I would never do anything to hurt him."

"But you already did," Thirteen snorted. "You betrayed him and allowed him to be captured by Barbarians."

"Zion, it's not good to slander an innocent person. If you are going to say such things, you need to have solid proof, or else, you will be imprisoned for besmirching my honor."

Anwir took another step, shortening the gap between him and the boy.

The Tigerkin was calculating how many steps it would take for him to go for the killing blow, without giving the boy a chance to call for help.

According to his estimate, he would need at least five more steps before he reached the minimum distance for his special ability to reach the boy and take his life.

"One more step, and I'll scream," Zion threatened. "That way, your adoptive family will have the chance to join our discussion about your betrayal."

Anwir, who was about to take another step, momentarily paused and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Like I said earlier, you don't have any proof." Anwir smiled. "If you want to pin the crime of my brother's disappearance on me, you need to do better, boy."

"Proof?" Thirteen chuckled. "The fact that you are asking for proof means that you are already guilty, Anwir. An innocent person would not think to ask for proof of his wrongdoings because they know that they are innocent.

"You should remember this lesson for future reference. Never ask for proof because it will only make you look guilty. Also, the proof you are looking for? I have it as well."

Anwir's body tensed when he heard that the Human boy had proof of his wrongdoings. Of course, he still believed that Zion was just making things up in order to fish for information from him, which would tie him to his brother's disappearance.

"Well, then. I would like to hear this proof you are speaking of." Anwir prepared himself to charge in the boy's direction just in case he truly had solid proof of his wrongdoing.

The Training Grounds were at the very back of their residence.

Even if Zion managed to scream, he was confident that after killing the boy, he could jump over the wall of the training grounds, and run toward the forest with the boy's body fast enough.

There, he would find a wild animal to devour the boy, erasing all evidence.

He could just say that he was in the vicinity when he heard the scream and went to investigate what had happened.

This alibi was perfect, and the Tigerkin had already prepared himself to lunge as soon as he confirmed that Zion truly had evidence that would tie him to his brother's disappearance.

"Anwir, do you know the reason why your mother is giving you the cold shoulder?" Thirteen asked.

"Why?" Anwir asked back as his razor-sharp fingernails extended.

Although he was truly curious why his stepmother was giving him the cold shoulder as of late, he still prioritized in killing the boy in front of him after he heard his answer.

"It's because she is a Seer," Thirteen replied in contempt. "Do you really believe that she hasn't seen what you have done to her son? Anwir, are you really that stupid, or do you believe that you can get away with the crime of targeting a General's family?

"Did your goal of taking revenge for your Father cloud your judgment? Hehehe~ What a stupid boy. You should have just lived your life as a good stepson for a few years. It wouldn't have been too late to have your revenge after you married Cleo. But Percival's potential scared you, didn't it? You thought that his parents would love him more than you, am I right?"

Right after Thirteen finished talking, Anwir disappeared from where he stood and reappeared two meters away from him.

A glint of madness could be seen in the Tigerkin's eyes as he slashed his claws forward, creating a crimson blade that removed the boy's head from his body.

"You talk too much," Anwir said coldly as he looked at the severed head on the ground that was still covered by a cloak.

What Zion had said unnerved him.

If Briella had truly seen what he had done, then that would explain why she was giving him the cold shoulder.

But after thinking about this possibility, several questions popped up inside his head.

If his stepmother truly saw what had happened, then why hadn't she told her husband about it?

If what Anwir did really came to light, then he shouldn't be walking freely inside the Evander Residence and should instead be locked up inside a prison.

Since none of these things happened, he believed that Zion was just bluffing him.

"You should have kept your mouth shut." Anwir sneered as he took off the cloak that was covering the boy's severed head. "You would have been able to live longer if you did."

Suddenly, the sneer on the Tigerkin's face faded after seeing that the head under the cloak wasn't a Human's head, but a dummy head made up of clay.

It was at that moment when a mischievous voice reached his ears.

"Eh? Do you really think someone like you can kill me?"

Anwir slowly turned around to look in the direction where the voice was coming from.

Standing at the entrance of the Training Ground was none other than Zion.

However, he wasn't alone.

Dixon, Armand, Alina, and Rafiki were standing behind the seven-year-old, who had his arms crossed over his chest and had a smug smile plastered on his face.

But this wasn't the reason why Anwir's face suddenly lost all its colors.

Standing on the other balcony was none other than his Stepfather, General Stark, and his Stepmother, Briella, who was looking at him with a sad expression on her face.

"N-No… this is not what you think, Father, Mother," Anwir stuttered. "T-That Human boy is framing me. I-I didn't do anything. I am innocent! This is all part of his plan! I-I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Stand down, Anwir, and surrender yourself for questioning," General Stark said with a disappointed look on his face. "I will listen to everything that you have to say, so calm down and have a proper talk with me."

Anwir hatefully glared in the direction where Zion was, only to find the Human boy mouthing the words "checkmate" to his face.

Knowing that the truth would come to light once he was forced to drink a truth serum made by Rafiki, Anwir did the only thing he could do.

He fled!

The Tigerkin jumped over the wall and ran toward the depths of the forest as fast as he could.

But it was all for naught.

Half a minute after he made his escape, he saw General Stark blocking his path.

With one quick chop of his right hand, the General knocked Anwir unconscious, making his adoptive son fall to the ground, unable to get up again.

General Stark looked at the young man, whom he had raised as his own son with a bitter look on his face.

He never thought that the boy had planned to take revenge on his family after Anwir's Father had died on one of the missions that he had assigned for the greater good of the Sumatran Kingdom.