Days before the mission, Sear went to check on the girl who he had previously met. He waited and waited near her house, but there was no sign of her coming.
Assuming after an hour of lingering that she must have had some work keeping her busy, he returned back to where the revolutionaries were gathered. Still, for the entirety of that week, he felt a sense of unease.
He didn't, however, have the leisure to address those emotions.
Along with having to learn to coordinate with the team, he participated in meetings with local informants working for them within the island.
Sear found the work rather boring; if it were up to him, he would have just barged in and gotten done with it, in one fell swoop.
However that wasn't an option. Over the years, the criminals had trapped numerous people in their warehouses. It would have been a disaster if those civilians were taken hostage.
On the agreed day of the decisive operation, Sear and Saga made their move. They jumped over the high walls surrounding the compound of the base from where the criminals operated.
The two had already done reconnaissance work around the location. It was the same place where Sear's boat was kept.
As planned, Sear directly infiltrated the main building while his friend handled the minions at the compound itself.
The building was three stories tall.
In a single air twister from his kukri, Hibutsu, he completely wrecked the hall on the ground floor where numerous enemies were gathered.
The criminals near him collapsed, sprouting blood with massive cuts on their bodies before they could even understand what fell on them.
The sound of furniture breaking alerted everyone in the building.
Men poured in from every room, nook, and cranny. Utter chaos reigned supreme.
One at a time, he cut down thug after thug.
Despite their numerical advantage, with less space to maneuver, these people fell like dominoes.
Finally, only the strongest were left standing.
"Wonderful," a voice sounded from the stairs.
A man resembling an ape more than a human, Don Krieg, revealed himself.
Yet, before the criminal overlord uttered a single word, Sear dipped, withdrawing out of the building in a jiff. He made the choice considering what he knew about Krieg's fighting style.
? ? ?
The criminals followed after him in haste.
Out from the enclosed building and into the open compound, the two sides stood face to face.
"You trying to run, Revolutionary?" Krieg asked.
"H-how—?"
"How I know that you are a revolutionary? Think only you lot have eyes and ears? Hahaha!"
Followed by a mocking laugh, he went on...
"Those spies in our gang... it was very smart of you to not even let your own people know their identities... but well, I can just force their names out of your mouth."
Hearing the man, Sear worried about Saga's and the others' safety; though before long, the walkie-talkie Den-den Mushi in his shirt pocket started buzzing!!
Pressing a button, he received the call.
Saga's recognizable voice came from it.
{Listen, I immediately need to go and provide support to our comrades fighting the Marines! You too, retreat as soon as possible! There's no time to waste, this mission is a failure!}
Gachak!!
The transmission cut off.
Despite clearly hearing the orders, Instead of him fleeing, Sear's kukri; glowing the hue of crimson under the sun, had its tip pointed toward the enemies.
Without a moment's notice, he charged straight.
The criminals did the same.
Meanwhile, the big boss himself just observed everything, arms folded.
"Fight all you want. Would I dirty my hands when you are willing to tire yourself out? Hahaha."
As Don Krieg was relishing in his own glory, alongside him was a familiar face.
"Boss Krieg, this is who I was telling you about..." the obese figure reported.
"Oh!? Then bring her here!!" Krieg smirked maniacally.
"Yes!!"
In no time, minutes went by. The majority of Don Krieg's men had fallen; none remained uninjured.
"Stop it, you horned brat! Look here, you might regret it later if you don't!!" Krieg announced.
Sear wasn't in the mood to listen, yet he stopped, finally noticing something wrong.
Looking closely at the two people next to the man, he saw the girl whom he had previously saved at the slum and a fatso resembling her father.
"You... why is she here?" he asked, but then connected the dots right away.
"This trash... to think you could sell out your own daughter."
"Alvida hasn't said a word against it, who are you to speak on her behalf? She will be happier living as a concubine of a rich noble instead of living in a slum like this. I am doing it for her own sake! So what if, in return, I get some cash as dowry?"
'?? Alvida??' Sear realized her name was Alvida for the first time, having forgotten to ask it during their first meeting.
Heavy emotions flared in his eyes.
"As a father, how dare you do this? She obviously thought of you as her only family. Alvida! Snap out of it!! I am gonna save you right away. This isn't the fate you deserve."
Across from him, the girl stood with teary eyes, her legs trembling. She couldn't fathom this was happening to her... her own father was going to sell her off, while instead, a stranger she met only a few days ago was telling her that he would protect her.
On the other hand, veins bulged in Don Krieg's forehead. "Enough! This has gone on for far too long! It's time I crush this greenhorn for good!!"
"Hold onto your girl, I will handle him from now on!!"
As the fatso repeatedly nodded behind him, Don Krieg stepped forward. The dozen or so of his men that remained standing made way and looked on from the sidelines.