Digitize: Rebirth of the Silver Death God
Chapter 123: A Sudden Encounter, Irak Ashville

The rain still fell, adding a hint of gloominess in the night scene; the streets now empty as everyone had long since turned in from their daily activities. This was even more so for those who live within the ever so famous Gutter Zone. Trash scattered about the asphalt, with dry paper and cardboard scattered at random areas.

Nero walked through these quiet and dismal streets unaffected by the stench, for this to him was home. He moved by the sideways with his umbrella unfurled and one hand in his pocket, the puddles below his feet splashing with every step taken forward.

While moving, Nero's eyes swept around the different alleyways he used to fear at one point, his eyes carrying a recollective look as if recalling in his early childhood years, terrible years by which he had to struggle with thugs.

Ka-Bang! Suddenly, a bright thunderbolt flickered across the sky, lighting more of these dismal areas compared to the dim and broken streetlamps.

Nero was unphased by the lightning, but his attention soon shifted towards a peculiar figure in a nearby dark alley due to its light. It was a man garbed in black wear, a long sleeve shirt, long dark trousers, along with a black hat over his head and dark-colored shades.

He currently held onto what seemed like a butterfly knife that he casually played with, flashing its blade about the rain in an unusually skillful manner.

Usually, Nero wouldn't even spare a glance to a man like this, especially now that he's grown much stronger than any normal human being, having powers that could crush the logic a few of modern science and its various weaponry. However, his eyes still fixed onto the man, noticing his peculiarities in the very instant he saw him.

Swing! With a sharp sound, followed by the noises, this knife's blade danced through the void, leaving behind arcs of white light that cut apart each droplet from the rain that fell around this individual. Yet even stranger was the fact that this man was dry. It was as if the heavy downpour was but merely an illusion.

'Who is this man?' Nero thought with a solemn look on his face; he didn't dare to take another step further, nor did he dare to take his eyes away from the man before him. Upon seeing the knife technique used to create a no rain zone, he knew that this man was far beyond his current self.

Adult Nero narrowed his eyes at this; he sat up from his typical lazy posture as he stared at the man from within Nero's mind.

'It looks like I'll need...' Adult Nero was about to think something, but as if he noticed someone, he glanced toward a different direction before returning to normal.

'Or maybe not, heh, I didn't think I'd see this fellow so early,' Adult Nero said to himself with sharp-looking eyes as he no longer did anything, sitting himself down silently as he observed.

By this time, the man had finally finished playing with the knife as the rain began to soak his figure. When this happened, the man's aura changed as he lifted his head from the blade and stared directly at Nero, his cold looking eyes slightly revealed from below his shades.

Nero gulped as he saw the change; his forehead ran with sweat as he slowly removed his left arm from his pocket and cricked his fingers, his torso leaned forward, taking on an offensive stance.

'I don't know who he is, but he's definitely not here with good intentions.' Nero concluded in his thoughts, his eyes carrying a sharp look as he readied himself.

"Don't blame me, kid, blame yourself for provoking the wrong party," The man uttered with a light smile as he licked his lips; the hand which held the knife soon tightened its grip before his smile turned into a cruel grin.

'Hmm, what's he talking about? Wait, could it be...?' Nero was confused as he didn't know what the man was saying, but his eye widened in surprise as he recalled something recent. He wanted to hurry and act, but sadly, it was already too late.

Suddenly, the man's eyes glowed in a cruel ray as his body erupted a new power. Time seemed to have stopped as the rain within a few meters was repelled by an unknown force.

In this instant, the strange man had arrived directly before Nero's body that stood in stillness, unaware of the changes around him, the knife in his hand stabbing towards his heart in slow motion.

The man's eyes showed an excited look as if he could envision the scene of Nero's chest being pierced. Yet, right before the blade could reach Nero, there was a sudden change.

With a sound of something gripping tightly, an arm that wore a black glove had appeared from out of nowhere and grabbed the man's knife. One would see a stranger with spiky hair, garbed in a stylish coat with high collars. He had an 'x' shaped scar on his left eye with an eyepatch covering his eye socket.

"What? Who the hell are you?" The man asked as he looked at the newcomer in alarm, he tried to move his arm, but no matter how much force he applied, it was as if the hand which gripped him was a no different from a mountain.

'Such strength, he's certainly not of the standard class; how did I fail to notice his presence?' The man thought, but as he tried to inspect him, the sole remaining eye of the stranger now glared down at him, causing him to feel an indescribable will, one that conjured a deep fear within his soul.

"Who sent you?" The spiky-haired man coldly asked as he increased the grip onto the man's arm, causing a few bone-breaking noises to resound.

"Aaargh! Bastard, like I'll tell you! Take this and die!" The man said as he hurriedly reacted by reaching his other arm for a hidden weapon and stabbing it towards the unknown party. A powerful energy conjured around the weapon, showing that this was no ordinary skill, it was a powerful method that could only be done by a veteran, but sadly, it was in vain.

Splat! The sound of something blown to pieces sounded as the man's head exploded. His corpse then fell onto the ground in stillness with a pool of blood around his neck.

"How meaningless, if you don't say, I can always figure it out through other methods." The unknown man said with a mocking look in his eye. He then glanced at Nero, who was stuck in stillness before he stared at his watch, which had a slow-moving clock handle.

"Time out..." The man said as the corpse below him rapidly eroded as if it had been there for years. Even the bones and blood had vanished into dust, leaving no trace on the ground.

The man then nodded before the clock handle once more started to tick at normal speeds as his figure flickered and vanished.

At this moment, the rain fell like the norm as Nero looked around in confusion; his face had a solemn look as he thought to himself.

'Just now... I could have sworn that I was about to be assassinated. What happened to that man, or rather, who stopped him?' Nero asked inwardly, hoping to get an answer from his older self.

Adult Nero chuckled and replied, "No one you should concern yourself with at this time."

'Hmph! Fine, be that way!' Nero snapped back, not bothering with him.

Adult Nero shook his head as he watched Nero left the area; his eyes shifted towards the roof of a nearby building where the spikey hair man stood in silence with his coat fluttering due to the crisp wind.

'Irak Ashville, it's good that he's still alive and kicking.'

Adult Nero said with a smirk on his face, no longer paying him any mind.

At this time, Irak watched Nero's vanishing figure in silence as his eye showed a reminiscent look. It was as if he could see another figure superimposed with his form, a tall man with a stronger figure and black hair.

"Like father like son, even in such a situation his manner shows no fear, I should keep an eye on him a little while before I visit that Grail, tsk, he truly is doing a poor job at protecting his legacy."

Irak murmured before he removed Nero's eyes and jumped from the roof, vanishing into the dark and rainy night scene.