Chapter 69: Fake Death
Bam!!!!
The room's door was violently pushed open and the man who did it was furious. He could see a red-haired woman lazily leaning on her seat. Her golden eyes were gleaming sharply inside the dim room.
"It's not me," the woman said before the man managed to say anything.
"Zeshna Zanuki. I know it's not you because this kind of killing method is too sloppy but it could be your subordinates," Ferdinand Carson was furious after he read the news this morning.
Those two that have died in the news were identified as Hamsyar Ghaffar and Henova Dervon, the two individuals that he had monitored from time to time.
"Nope, it's not them. I already asked them to check if something weird happened around the two people and I found something interesting," Zeshna frowned.
"Your face showed that you don't like what you found out," Ferdinand has known Zeshan since they were small thus he knew her like the back of his hand.
"Hamsyar was seen to meet Ares in front of Hargan Royal Hospital after the Hargan terror attack and Henova have just come back from Soga Town before he hastily tried to go to Madrica Town. Can you guess what Henova did in Soga Town?"
"No way?! He met Ares?" Ferdinand was shocked.
"Fortunately no. He told his friend he didn't manage to find Ares and was disappointed. He even told her, he wanted to retire and spend his retirement in Madrica Town which even shocked that friend since she never thought Henova would ever retire," Zeshna explained after she burned all papers in front of her into nothingness.
"Wait, how did he even know Ares?" Ferdinand was confused since the people who he tasked to check on Henova never reported seeing Ares around Henova.
"Based on what the spy I left in Soga Town reported, Ares had gone to Herza City to buy weapons but then he just silently stayed in Kazigare Valley."
"No wonder Henova couldn't find him but for what reason did Henova try to find him?"
"Henova's friend said because Ares gave Henova his family insignia badge after Henova upgrade his weapons for free and managed to win an eating competition with him. Henova was curious what kind of young master Ares was and his friend also told Henova to take a vacation in Soga Town while he was at it"
"Wait Zesh, do you think Ares was the one who killed them. But why? They are useful to him no matter from what angle you see it," Ferdinand knew that Henova and Hamsyar would become famous villains in the future thus Ares who would be one of them had no reason to kill them.
"Yeah, I also wonder why that kid kills them. Did he know something or is it really not him? I already put more spies around him but it seems my father also had increased the security around him as if he didn't want anything to leak"
"Zesh, why not you go home and have a talk with your family," Ferdinand suggested a thousand times.
For him, it would be easier if Zeshna could get her family's help.
"No, my family will always side with that demon"
"Zeshna, stop calling him a demon. If he is a demon, then you as his mother also a demon. He still young and we still have a chance to make sure he didn't do all those atrocities"
Ferdinand never agree with Zeshna's method of eliminating everything that would cause harm and destruction in the future. This kind of method would cause a ripple effect sooner or later.
"I've experienced it once in my past life. That demon killed so many people. There is a monster inside him but my family wholeheartedly let him do whatever he wants. They never rebuked him but they blamed me for making him like that. Me?! They blamed me! How outrages?" Zeshna said in an unpleasant tone. As if mocking her family's ignorance.
"It's partially true, isn't it? You're not a good mom and you should have realized that much right?" Ferdinand said directly. There was no reason for him to talk discreetly with her.
"So you want me to act like a good mother in this lifetime? Will that change a monster into a human? He's a sly demon that can enchant anyone he wants."
"Why are you being so pessimistic. The future isn't something fixed, you can change the future. Extreme method is not the only way"
"He is my son so I know him better than you. His mind is more crafty than even you."
"Wow, now you admit he is your son huh? Do ever hear him call you mother?"
"Yes, once"
"I wonder when is that? When you try to kill him before?"
"...." Zeshna remained silent.
"If you don't want to go back, don't do anything until I come back. I will go and see him myself"
"Do whatever you want but I hope you won't be enticed by his act. What you see is not the real him, it's just a facade," Zeshna warned him.
"Why are you so sure that what you see isn't also a facade? How do you know which one is the real him when you don't even know what he likes to eat"
"He eats everything"
"Yeah, that is so Zanuki-like answer that you can come up with. I'm going and you better not do anything while I'm gone. I'm being serious Zesh. Don't think just because you're a regressor you will know everything. A lot has changed than it originally should be."
"Tsk don't worry. I know that better than you"
After Ferdinand was gone, Zeshna remained motionlessly leaning on her working seat. Even though she was always highly unperturbed, some of Ferdinand's words did cause her heart to ache.
Thinking back, her daughter just send her a really polite reply every time she sent gifts to her.
In her past life, her daughter hated her thus in this life she tried to mend their relationship bit by bit. She never even took any pictures with her daughter and the only pictures she had of her was from her parents and her daughter's social media.
Zeshna looked at the latest post her daughter made a few days ago. There was a picture of two red-haired individuals wearing matching black and grey autumn cloth.
There was no caption other than a location coordinate of a clothing shop.
Instead of focusing on her daughter, Zeshna's gaze is fixed on the individual beside her daughter in the picture. The red-haired youth with chromatic eyes and wearing a black face mask. From his eyes sharp cat-like upturned eyes, people might think he was smiling but Zeshna knew he wasn't.
"Only his eyes seemed pleasing to me," Zeshna muttered before she closed her phone and continue doing her job.
**************************
Inside a new smithy built behind a villa hidden in an obscure place at the outskirt of Midas City, a half-giant man was currently drawing a blueprint of a war mace while being stared at by multiple individuals.
"Uncle Henova, your drawing is better than me," Hamsyar said in awe.
"Uncle Henova it's prettier than the one I saw in my dream," Karin was ecstatic.
Henova coughed hearing the kids around him kept on calling him uncle. The corner of his mouth twitched every time the kids called him. The one who started all this was Ares.
On the day Henova jumped from the train, he quickly teleported to the villa using an artifact Ares gave him, Ares forged a false identity for him.
'Henova Lee'
That was his new name. Henova previously took his wife's last name since he couldn't inherit his father's last name after being disowned.
"With this name, you will have two sons," Ares said before introducing two young lads to Henova.
Ares put Henova, Ravi and Aaron under the same family registry to make it easier to forge their identity together.
If anyone checked the orphanage Ravi and Aaron came from, there would be a record where they were adopted by a half-giant who just lost his wife.
Both of them didn't look amusing in any way and one of them was even blind in one eye so Henova was confused about how the young master in front of him even found them.
"My name is Ravi Lee and this is my brother Aaron," the ones with light brown hair introduced themselves to Henova respectfully. The other one with black hair and was half blind named Aaron just nodded his head slightly.
Noticing that Henova looked sceptically at Ravi and Aaron, Ares spoke, "Henova, just remember one thing. I, Ares Zanuki never take useless people under me. These two lads looked useless for now but I will make them somewhat useful so don't look at them like that."
Ares then glanced toward Ravi and Aaron, "Make yourself useful. Both of you will help Henova and accompany Hamsyar for the time being."
"Yes, we will do as you said young master," Ravi said excitedly since it was the first time his young master asked him to do something.
"We start with you guys acting like a normal family. Henova which one do you like better? Father? Dad?"
"Ah no, it's ok. They can just call me by my name," Henova flustered by the current development.
"What about uncle Henova? We can all call him uncle Henova, uncle Henova," Hamsyar suddenly suggested.
The previously brown-haired with brown-skinned boy currently turned into a black hair and blue eyes boy with slightly tanned skin due to the artifact he was wearing.
However, Ares didn't change Hamsyar's name but only put his name under an orphanage and he was adopted by Ghaffar. People might think Ghaffar was sad and lonely so he adopted a kid with a similar name as his deceased son.
It was Ares's plan in order to prevent anything bad from happening to both Hamsyar and Henova but he never thought Henova would agree.
Henova said he would agree if another man wearing a black robe came at him and pressure him to make a decision. He didn't want to live being pursued by someone he didn't know.
No matter from which angle he looked, working with the Zanuki and living under their protection was the best choice for him.
He even put a cross-shaped tattoo to cover the lightning-shaped scar on his left eyebrow. He chose the shape because he saw Ares's tattoo and Ares just let him be.
Henova also gave Ares the map of the place where the robed man said contained the Divine hammer.
Ares already ordered a group of Shadows to retrieve the Divine hammer as fast as they could. The Divine Hammer of Hephaistos was located in an abandoned defective dungeon.
However not only did they easily obtain the Divine hammer, but they also found a group of suspicious men wearing black robes around the area.
Ares just gave all those men to his grandpa since he was too lazy to deal with more Johnnies.
"Tuah, so far how are many Johnnies that we've caught?" Ares asked while he was staring at Henova who was teaching Ravi how to be his assistant in his smithy.
Aaron on the other hand decided to accompany Hamsyar creating a small model of a golem using various metal scraps.
"We already caught three more after the first Johnny and Ron already gave all of them to Hargan Interrogation Bureau"
"So what do you think about them?"
Tuah glanced at Ares before answering, "I don't know. What about you master?"
"Hmm, I think the robe guys will come to find me later. They seem to have a clear purpose"
"You seem to have a gist about their purpose"
"Yeah, if they try to find me in the future, it was obvious they are a group of people that search for people that would be villains in the future"
Ares asked Ran to find someone to appraise the beast cores Ravi and Aaron got but it still needs more time to get the result.
Even after trying to remember all the villains in the novel, Ares couldn't find out any villains with Ravi and Aaron's characteristics but it was obvious they would also become villains in the future.
The robed guys so far had reached out to Hamsyar, Henova, Ravi and Aaron. One of them also said they would reach Ares out and make him more powerful to achieve his dream.
'What is it that the original Ares want? His family is good to him, he's rich, a noble and not weak. So other than money, power and influence, which one of this that he didn't have?'
"Hey Tuah, if I suddenly become a villain, what do you think the reason is?" Ares asked Tuah.
"Maybe because you want to search for something? I don't know master. The previous man said your mother wanted to kill you so maybe you become a villain to kill your mother first before she kills you"
Ares raised one of his eyebrows, "Hmm, I don't need to be a villain to kill my mother though. I can just kill her to defend myself when she tried to kill me first."
"Don't worry master. Even if you become the Demon King's right-hand man, I will follow you," Tuah said resolutely.
"How loyal," Ares just commented lightly.
The original Ares in the novel did indeed almost become the Demon King's right-hand man but he was killed when he was still one of the many 'dogs' that were working under the Demon King.
If Ares managed to live until the end of the novel, Cedric must have fought him first before he fought with the Demon King.
'Such a pity.'
But the current Ares didn't have the attention to be a villain but that doesn't mean he will be the good guy.
He just wants to live doing what he wants. That's it. He's not interested in being at the top of the world or being the strongest.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
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