Chapter 7

The woman didn’t respond immediately, but her eyes locked onto his with a calculating gaze. "Tom, I presume," she finally said, her voice smooth and deadly.

Zen nodded. "And you are?"

"It’s not something you need to know when your on death’s door," she replied, drawing a knife from her belt. 

Zen sighed. "Why does it always have to be when I’m tired? Oh well, I was a bit bored anyway."

The woman lunged at him, her movements were very precise and swift. Zen blocked her initial strike, countering with a quick jab to her wrist. The knife clattered to the ground, but she was unfazed, immediately launching a series of kicks aimed at his stomach.

Zen blocked each one, his eyes never leaving hers. "You’re good," he said as he held her hand and twisted it.

He cracked his neck and folded his arm in a boxing pose without moving an inch. “But I don’t have all day to play cat and dog,” He added.

She grunted in pain but twisted free, spinning to face him again. "You’re not bad your—“

Before she could finish, he disappeared and appeared right before her, landing a blow that sent her falling straight to the ground.

The woman lay there for a moment, catching her breath. Then, she began to laugh—“They said you were a cleaner, I didn’t expect you to be a fighter, are you some kind of secret special agent,” she asked breathing heavily.

“That last move, didn’t even look like you were getting serious,” she laughed.

“I lost this mission the moment I took it.”

Zen walked closer, “Now, are you going to tell me why you attacked me?"

She continued breathing heavily, "I’m part of a Mercenary Association. There’s a commission on your head, but it’s not what you think. We were hired to investigate you, to find out who you truly are."

“But I was curious, why were we sent to investigate a cleaner? So I wanted to kill you if you weren’t worth the time,” 

Zen raised an eyebrow. "Investigate me? Why?"

The woman shrugged. "That, I don’t know. But someone is very interested in you, Mr. Tom."

Zen pondered her words, "Who hired you?"

She shook her head. "I am not qualified to know that but consider this a warning, there are people out there who want to know everything about you."

Zen turned, walking away. “A warning huh? It’s been a long time since I've heard one of those.”

He returned to the car and banged the door.

“It’s been a long time since someone has threatened the Monarch of Death,” Zen said with his right hand on his face, covering a devilish smile, “this city might just be fun.”

__

Zen’s car drove past a large gate, and suddenly, his eyes widened

“Stop the car!” he shouted.

The driver pulled over, and Zen jumped out. Standing in front of the gate, he grinned. 

“Yes!” he exclaimed. “This was the university Tom had always dreamed of attending,” Zen looked to the side of the street where Tom used to stand, “you always stood there, with your 5 year old brain, wondering why they wouldn’t let you in.”

Zen spoke to himself, almost crazily. “We used to stand here, dreaming of this place. Tom always said he’d get here one day so he could watch their football games live.”

“Slap!!”

He slapped himself to snap out of it, took a deep breath and walked back to the car. 

“I will avenge you, Tom,” he said as he got in.

He took out his phone and called Keisha. “Keisha, I need all the details about Tom and the university he attended. Now.”

He hung up and swung his phone to the seat. He looked out the window as the car drove through the beautiful city.

__

The next morning, Keisha knocked on Zen’s door. 

“Yes,” He answered, still groggy.

She opened the door and walked in with papers in her hand.

“Stop barging into my home like you own it,” Zen grumbled as he got up.

Keisha smiled apologetically. “Sorry, i have the information you asked for.”

As they sat down, Keisha explained. “Tom met Malia at the university. But his time there was terrible. Silas Albrecht, a bully from one of the big 4 families, made Tom’s life hard.”

Zen frowned. “The big 4 again, huh?”

“Hmm, Silas Albrecht.. What’s his problem with Tom?” Zen asked.

Keisha continued, “Silas liked Malia, Tom’s girlfriend at that time. When Tom wouldn’t break up with her, Silas made Tom’s life miserable. To me I feel like it wasn’t just personal, maybe it was a power move from his rich family.”

Zen’s face hardened. “So it’s not just about Tom. It’s about power.”

Keisha nodded. “Yes. The Albrecht family is very influential.”

“But why would one of the big 4 concern themselves with a trivial matter like their son’s love interest,” Zen asked.

“That’s what I don’t understand yet. At that time the Diel family already had power and that’s why the Rossi family needed to cling to them, Using Malia. But if Silas came into the picture, there’s no tangible reason why his interest in a woman would make his family act,” Keisha said.

“Unless, your hunch is wrong,” Zen said.

“You're just overthinking this, a bully is a bully, he simply wanted Malia and that’s it. The only variable we might have forgotten is whether Malia was in on Silas bullying Tom or not,” Zen added.

Just then, Zen’s phone rang. He slowly picked it up.

“Hello, Who’s this? I can’t remember giving my number to anyone” Zen said.

Cyrus’s voice was apologetic. “I’m sorry about that savior. This is Cyrus Gryce, I’m sorry I didn’t reach out sooner. My family wanted me to rest, but I wanted to talk to you.”

“It’s good to see you sounding better now, What do you need?” Zen asked,

Cyrus said, “I’d like to invite you to lunch at my mansion. We should catch up, and I have something to discuss with you.”

Zen thought for a moment. “Alright, Cyrus. I’ll come.”

“Calling me by my first name, not many people are brave like you,” Cyrus laughed.

“Is that a problem?” Zen asked firmly.

“Not at all, you're an interesting man, Tom. I’ll see you later,” Cyrus laughed.

He hung up and looked at Keisha. “Well, we have another lead. I need to learn more about the Albrecht family. I need to get ready for lunch.”

Keisha nodded. “Got it. I’ll keep digging.”

Zen stood up, heading for the shower.

—

Later that day, Zen arrived at Old Man Cyrus’s mansion, a grand estate with lush gardens. He was led by the staff into the mansion, as he entered the dining hall, the old man greeted him warmly and invited him to sit.

“How is your health, Cyrus?” Zen asked, taking his seat.

“I’ve been doing better,” Cyrus said as he smiled.

“I’m not talking about that, Cyrus,” Zen looked at Cyrus with a serious look.

Cyrus chuckled, his eyes bright as ever. “Ah, so it wasn’t a fluke, you truly healed me on purpose. It was a condition that’s plagued me for years—chronic gout. The doctors said there was no cure, just management. I was resigned to living with it.”

Zen raised an eyebrow. “Really? I didn’t know modern medicine hasn’t advanced that much yet.”

Cyrus leaned back, smiling. “I’m still amazed that it wasn’t just a fluke. You managed to cure me in one day—a feat the doctors had failed at for years. I was already preparing my will, thinking it was the end.”

“Well, you're healed, that’s in the past now. I'm sure that’s not why you called me all the way here,” Zen said. 

Cyrus’s expression became more serious. “There’s something I need to ask of you, Tom. I have a friend who’s been suffering from a rare illness for three years. Despite numerous treatments and specialists, there’s been no improvement. I’m hoping you could help him as you did with me.”

Zen considered this. “I’ll do what I can. I would need to see the patient first tho.”

Cyrus smiled gratefully. “Thank you, Tom. I know this is a lot to ask.”

Zen nodded.

Zen looked around and returned his gaze to Cyrus. “Isn’t your house too empty,” Zen asked.

“My daughters aren’t at home, it’s usually always busy around here,” Cyrus smiled.

“Well, about your friend, we can leave immediately to check his condition, I don’t like to waste time when it come’s to business,” Zen said.

“I agree,” Cyrus smiled.