Raina North stared at the phone, beginning the countdown. Ten, nine, eight, seven... Just as the time on the phone was about to jump to midnight and the date was about to become the next day, she heard a flapping sound, and a towering black shadow flew over from the distance. Raina shaded her eyes and squinted, gazing into the distance. That thing flying in the sky seemed to be... a person? So, she was encountering a bird-man? Raina was still puzzled, and then saw the thing that resembled a bird-man landing not far from her. This... isn’t this bird-man Jonah Rivers? He really arrived just in time, a second later and she would have left. Quinn Thorne saw the scene faithfully displayed by the drone and suddenly widened his eyes in shock: "Damn, what a genius, actually using a glider to come from the sky. I was just thinking about how tightly we’ve secured everything, how on earth he would get through." Elias Hawthorne’s handsome face tightened as he took the walkie-talkie and gave a solemn order. With his command, everyone who had been on standby began to take action one by one. Raina removed the dog’s tail grass from her mouth, threw it to the side, and shouted at Jonah Rivers: "Jonah Rivers, what the hell are you doing?" Jonah Rivers didn’t speak, efficiently stripped off his gear, tossed it aside, and then walked towards her with sturdy steps. Every step he took seemed to stomp on her heart, making Raina’s heart pound wildly. And Jonah’s unusual behavior instantly put Raina on alert. Chapters first released on ɴovelfire.net "Jonah Rivers, what’s going on?" Jonah did not look back, continuing to approach Raina. This time, Raina was very certain that something was wrong with Jonah Rivers. He wasn’t the same cheeky, smiling person he usually was; right now Jonah Rivers was clearly appearing as The Asura during a mission. Raina did not dare to neglect him due to their familiar relationship, her whole being tensed, just like a bow stretched to the limit, ready to launch a fierce attack at any moment. In truth, Raina didn’t want to fight Jonah Rivers. Even though she always said she’d beat him to a pulp, she was fully aware that she wasn’t a match for Jonah Rivers, much less The Asura. Finally, Jonah Rivers stopped walking. At this point, he was only five steps away from her. Raina’s heart sank, knowing that this was the ideal distance for Jonah Rivers to make a move and the distance where he could unleash maximum damage. In the past, Raina often collaborated with Jonah Rivers, completing countless missions together; now it was her turn. Raina no longer had any joking thoughts, her nerves wound tight, her brain frantically calculating the odds of victory if she fought with all her strength. Then she realized that unless she had a bomb strapped to her and went down with Jonah Rivers, she absolutely wasn’t his match. But surrendering was not an option, so her last resort was to rely on their rapport. In the night breeze, Jonah Rivers met Raina’s gaze, and before Raina could speak, he uttered: "Alliance Leader Rivers, sorry to keep you waiting." Jonah Rivers’s voice was as gentle as ever; just hearing it was like that of a nobleman, yet at this moment, to Raina, it was nothing less than the summons of The Demon King. Alliance Leader Rivers... Since Jonah called her Alliance Leader Rivers, this matter was not open for negotiation. There must be a reason for everything. It can’t just be Jonah Rivers whimsically deciding to mess with her, right? Upon hearing Raina’s perplexed inquiry, Jonah Rivers’ face turned even grimmer. Raina raised her chin: "We’ve known each other for so many years, at least give me a reason."