BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM C.826 Revenge

A month went by since Erik and June killed Howell. In this time frame, Erik took Howell's identity.

Before killing Howell, Erik realized he had little time to complete his revenge against these guys.

Noah was still organizing the attack on Fasard to free his father, and the clone could call him at any moment.

For that reason, he came up with a simple idea to kill as many Crystal Cross Gang members in the shortest time possible.

It was easy, really. He simply needed to take Howell's identity and call everyone back.

A meeting was the excuse he needed to make that happen.

It would only take one day to kill everyone, but of course, he needed to give them time to arrange the trip, hence why he gave the deadline in a month.

In the meantime, Erik spent all the time he had available to study Howell's papers.

He learned a lot of stuff. For example, most of the guys that attacked him during his outing with the Red Palace died.

The only two who remained alive were Zachary and Death. Zachary died by Erik's hands the last month, but Death was on a mission right now.

Howell couldn't waste the assassin's skills to guard gates on Volkov's orders.

However, the problem was that there weren't many targets in New Alexandria anymore, or people to ask for the Crystal Cross Gang's services, and for this reason, Death had to travel a lot.

Though, by setting the date for the meeting in a month, he should have been able to get here on time. That day had come at last.

"Is everything ready?" Erik asked to Howell's secretary.

"It is. Everyone is waiting for you."

"Good. Then let's go."

Erik, June, and Howell's secretary navigated the labyrinthine corridors of the Crystal Cross Gang's stronghold.

As they approached the main room, the scale of the gathering within became apparent.

The door swung open to reveal the vast and cavernous space of the headquarter's main room, its enormity stressed by the high ceilings and the elaborate podium erected at its heart.

As Erik stepped into the room, he became the focal point of many intense stares.

These were not just any onlookers; they were the gazes of seasoned criminals, each pair of eyes carrying stories of dark deeds and hardened lives.

Erik ascended the podium with a calm determination and a sinister purpose, his gaze sweeping over the assembled throng.

Before him stretched a sea of faces, a mosaic of humanity's darkest facets.

There were thousands of criminals, a congregation of the underworld's finest, gathered in this one place.

Masked and unmasked, disfigured and strikingly good-looking, the diversity among them was stark.

Yet, for all their differences, they shared a common thread—a murderous glint that flickered in their eyes, a reflection of the life they had chosen.

The silence was heavy, anticipation hanging in the air like a thick fog.

Many wanted to know why the Crystal Cross Gang's leader had called for them. Not a few, but all of them.

Whispers snaked through the crowd as criminals leaned closer to one another, their voices an indistinct murmur under the oppressive silence.

"Why'd Howell call us all here?" one asked, his voice tinged with curiosity and a hint of suspicion.

"Something big must be up for this kind of gathering. I've seen nothing like this before." Around them, nods and murmurs of agreement rippled through the assembly.

"He's planning something, something massive."

"Hello," Erik said. To that, everyone became silent.

"You may wonder why I asked for all of you to come here with this urgency."

Murmurs spread. Erik looked at the crowd. "The reason is simple, really. For the first time in our history, we are facing an unprecedented threat."

Everyone looked at each other with questioning looks. Death, the assassin, was among them.

Erik saw him, but hidden behind his mask, his expression was unreadable.

"Someone is hunting for us. Someone who found and kill many of our members in a short time, something not even Armand Becker was able to accomplish."

The murmurs increased. If even Howell, usually sure about the defenses and the tricks used to make their members unable to be found, told that, he must have been regarding the matter as serious.

Then, among the crowd, a voice raised a question. It was a woman.

She had a huge scar across her face, and a white eye devoid of light. She was blind from that side.

"Who is this crazy fella targeting us? Is he alone?"

Erik looked at the woman and he then said, "That's a very important question you raised. The person we are facing against this time is many times more powerful than Becker, or at least this is what my informants says."

Of course, here Erik said a half truth. Becker still had massive amounts of mana compared to Erik.

Even if he was superior in terms of physical stats, a wind blade from Becker could kill him easily.

"Who is him?" Another asked. "It is me," Erik said. Like that, he charged all his mana into his Solid Frostwind Brain Crystal Power.

He made a wind blade supercharged with the frost and wind elements, and added slimy particles so that, if someone fled, at least he would be slowed down.

The wind blade sliced through the air, decapitating everyone on its path.

[MULTIPLE HUMANS KILLED: MANA ABSORBING PROCESS STARTING.]

[0%...1%....5%...30%...70%...100%]

[MANA SUCCESSFULLY ABSORBED, STARTING CONVERTING PROCEDURE.]

[3...2...1...0]

[MANA SUCCESSFULLY CONVERTED INTO EXPERIENCE. 3888362 EXPERIENCE POINTS AWARDED TO THE HOST.]

[MULTIPLE LEVEL UPS.]

[PREVIOUS SYSTEM LEVEL: 132. CURRENT SYSTEM LEVEL: 144]

[SYSTEM'S FUNCTIONS UNLOCKED. DNA EDITING AND BRAIN CRYSTAL POWER EDITING.]

Erik didn't have the time to read those notifications, since there was some of the Crystal Cross Gang members who escaped doom, among which was the same assassin who attacked him years ago, Death.

The man hid inside a shadow and avoided demise. Others, with similar powers, or high enough reflexes, dove and avoided the attack.

<June. Forget the others. I want Death's head. >

<I will bring you his head, Master. >