Cassie had never seen such a dark ominous expression on Anna as she spoke. Even her tone was different.
"Heh, I was so envious of you. You were smarter than me in class, better than me in sports, and even took your time to take care of me. I despised you. And after your brother rescued us? Hahaha! It became even more pronounced. While you were sheltered by your brother, I was going through hell. He made me work my body beyond what a macho man would survive. He totally broke me. And still, I endured. Why? Because I wanted to be better. Because I wanted to be strong. Because I wanted to surpass you."
As she spoke, tears streamed down her face, accompanied with a bitter smile.
"Oh and well, I've finally surpassed you. Do you feel it too? He doesn't ignore me any longer. In fact, he values me highly. Hahaha. It's a good feeling, Cassie. I can assure you."
Cassie felt weirded out by this side of her friend. She had never seen Anna speak so venomously.
Finally, it seemed she recovered some sanity and smiled softly.
"Cassie, envy is bitter. And I know you're starting to envy me. After all, you're beginning to feel inferior to someone who was below you right? You feel ashamed of being weaker than a bully victim."
Standing by the bedside, she placed a firm grip on Cassie's shoulder.
"I love you, Cassie. As much as I envy you, you helped me countless times after all. Still, I won't stop. I will always strive to be better. I only hope you don't be a weakling and give up."
She spoke with a sadistic smile, then walked towards the door.
"Bye, bye, Cass."
Left alone in the room, Cassie appeared to be in a daze. She couldn't believe everything she had seen and heard this morning. First, her brother had harshly rebuked her, then her friend had come to spite her?
'Why? Why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why?!'
She felt like her world was collapsing in on itself.
Although Anna's words and confession was more shocking, it made Cassie grit her teeth. How could she lose to someone who was initially weaker than her and needed her protection? Anna's words lit up a fierce fire in her heart, making her eyes darken with determination.
"I'll surpass you, Anna." She grinned, determined. "I'll become someone who can crush you. Then again, you'll finally have to rely on me."
"And my dear brother... how can you be so cruel to your little sister? I'll be sure to teach you a lesson."
....
In the living room, Leon felt a chill run down his spine as an ominous feeling gripped his heart.
'Did someone just curse me?'
He glanced around warily, then shook his head. Perhaps he was just overthinking it.
....
Three more days passed in a flash and the construction was finally completed. Four buildings surrounded the Glass Tower, towering above regular buildings in the surrounding. In these large buildings were different rooms with unidentifiable structures and purpose, known only to Leon.
The young man himself nodded in satisfaction as he appraised the finished work.
'Good. These will be sufficient for the time being. It'll be enough to contain Alchemy, Armament research, Genetic Engineering, Technical Development and Runic Sorcery for now.'
Although the things he thought of needed time, resources and most especially, practitioners, he already had a rough idea of those he needed and their locations.
'Let's just hope they're still alive.'
He finally left the building and approached the gates of the tower. Two armored vehicles and one Mustang were ready, revving softly. Inside were Old Pipe, Daddy Ye, Ice, Shadow, Little Tiger, Anna, Cassie, Scarface, Bob, and Johnson. Staying behind to guard the tower were two new evolved who had been chosen and trained personally by Anna. After five days of a training which its contents remained unknown, the two evolved had expressions similar to Anna—cold and unfeeling.
After seeing Scarface, Leon had confirmed something.
'It is indeed him, The Earth Crusher.'
It was a title the man had earned in Leon's memories after he evolved and became a Tenth Level Evolved—the peak of humanity's evolution. It was quite a surprise seeing such a popular figure while he was still weak.
"Let's get going."
Leon said as he climbed into the driver's seat of the Mustang, then gestured for Cassie and Anna to enter. Acting mischievous, Cassie hurriedly sat beside him while Anna made herself comfortable at the back.
Leon rolled his eyes, ignoring the childish competition between the two. As long as they didn't get to each other's throats, he didn't mind.
The three cars drove out one after the other with Leon's Mustang in the middle. Before the apocalypse, one would have thought he was being sheltered by a convoy.
Shadow was in the first car, giving directions to Bob who had been assigned to the role of driving, much to his displeasure. However, he didn't complain. He didn't want to irk that fearsome woman—Anna.
Under Shadow's lead, they arrived at an unexplored part of the city which was full of zombies numbering hundreds.
Unexpectedly, the zombie army surrounded a lone skyscraper, with only a few of them wandering around the neighborhood.
The evolveds' expression turned grim as they looked at the horde. A hundred meters away from the horde, Leon finally signalled for the convoy to stop. The cars parked at the side of the empty road.
They all left the cars, standing on the road and gazing at the zombies like a group of avengers.
"This seems cool y'know? We're about to face a bunch of powerful creatures. Typical hero job!"
Little Tiger grinned excitedly as he tightened his grip on his new swords. Leon had gifted him the short swords after noticing that the little guy had indeed improved a lot. Although he was still childish, he knew when to get serious.
Everyone ignored his chit chat while Leon stepped forward. Strapped on his back were the two-star steel dual blades.
He spread his arms, reveling in the childish but refreshing feeling of the anticipation coursing through him.
"This is our first battle as a group. I expect only success and no loss. Don't get yourself killed. Today, we declare to the world... the existence of... The Red Wings!"