The SSS-rank Guide Doesn't Need Saving

"Tastes sweet."

Everyone at their table heard Nykos’ deep voice.

Then, he turned his head slightly to glance over his shoulder, saying, "My subordinate did well finding this place. I found something I like."

Whether he meant the food in the restaurant or something else entirely was impossible to tell from his tone alone. But no one believed that it was the former. Not when his gaze had never left Aisha for even a moment, with a look of a predator staring at its meal.

Aisha’s spine straightened. Her instinct, honed by surviving alone, screamed at her to get away from him.

But instead of turning away from him as her instincts told her to, like a cat with its fur bristling on end, she turned to glare at him, refusing to let herself shrink under that gaze.

How did he find her?

After everything that happened in the hospital garden, she had hope that would be the end of it. She didn’t even know his name back then. Yet every fiber of her being knew that whatever he was, he was dangerous in a way that a siren was ringing in her head.

His power alone made her even more reluctant to see him.

But back then, she naively thought that he wouldn’t look for her.

And even if he did, a couple of days had already passed. If he looked for her at the hospital, he wouldn’t be able to find her there anymore. And Aisha was confident that the hospital would keep her information secure after that last attack, where they hadn’t found the sentinel she was with.

She deemed they were afraid that the berserk sentinel back then would come find her. So, they assured her that it wouldn’t spread outside the hospital.

So, this situation was absolutely unexpected.

To think he’d find her this quickly...

"You... how did you—" Before she could finish asking him how he found her, the three people across the table shot up from their seats so fast that their chairs scraped loudly against the floor.

Kane’s face, still pale as a white sheet of paper, breathed heavily. Sabe’s hand hovered near her hip out of pure reflex, wishing the academy didn’t confiscate her weapon after being suspended. Vesper, for once, wasn’t grinning like an idiot. His jaw was tight, eyes locked onto the man sitting before them.

"Aisha," Kane called her. "Get away from him."

For a moment, Aisha wondered if they somehow knew him. For them to react so immediately and vigilantly, it seemed that they really recognized him.

Sensing that something was wrong, Aisha moved to stand.

It was better to follow them than stay with a man similar to a time bomb.

But a hand caught her wrist before she could rise, firmly holding her in place without hurting her. She ended up sitting back on her chair without meaning to.

Nykos leaned in close, his breath against her ear, his voice dropping as he said, "Should I get rid of them?"

He thought that having these little chicks around wouldn’t get him to have worthwhile time with her. It would be better to get rid of them and take her back to his ship now.

While he was thinking of how he should bring her to his ship, Aisha shoved him back with both hands. She put as much distance between them as she could.

Surprisingly, he let her go. But she knew if he wanted, he could’ve imprisoned her wrist with just his strength alone.

Vesper didn’t hesitate. He reached over and pulled Aisha toward him the moment she was released.

Something changed in Nykos’s expression the moment Vesper’s hand closed around Aisha’s arm. His crimson eyes darkened like blood. And the faint smile he had worn earlier faded significantly.

"Who is he?" Aisha finally asked.

Kane was surprised she didn’t know. But he didn’t ask her. He explained, "He’s the commander of the Dark Knight Organization, Nykos."

"He’s a wanted interstellar criminal. One of the most dangerous men alive," Sabel added heavily.

The Dark Knight Organization? Aisha searched her fragmented memories for the name and found scattered pieces. Rumors of raided military bases, stolen shipments, and entire fleets vanishing without a trace after facing them. They smuggled weapons and invaded contaminated zones that the empire and other planets were eyeing right under their noses.

A lawless group that feared no empire, army, planet, or law.

"He’s given the empire and half of the neighboring systems more trouble than anyone else in the last decade," Sabel continued, keeping her eyes glued on Nykos with wariness. "Every sentinel and guide, students or not, gets briefed on the top ten most dangerous criminals. He’s second on that list."

As for how they guessed he was the commander of the Dark Knight. It was because of that dark mark on his forehead and jaw, making him easily recognizable.

Nykos scoffed as he leaned back in his chair, and as if almost bored, he said, "That list is biased. And highly questionable. I’ve done far worse to earn the first place."

Sabel stepped forward.

But she was stopped by Kane. "Don’t provoke him."

He didn’t know why this man appeared here. But there was one thing they were fortunate about. It was the fact that Nykos hadn’t used any psychic energy to pressure them. Or else, they would have had a hard time dealing with him. They wouldn’t even be able to beat him at all.

Just thinking about the infrastructure damage and people who would be dragged into this, Kane felt that it was unwise to even fight him.

Thankfully, if anything wrong were to happen, he had Vesper, an A-rank sentinel with him.

But what Kane didn’t know was that Vesper wouldn’t even matter to Nykos.

"If you do anything here, every soldier stationed in this city will be after you within a minute. This is the capital sector. You won’t be able to escape."

Nykos smiled at that, as if what Kane had just said was a rather amusing joke. There wasn’t even a flicker of fear or hesitation in his expression. Didn’t even show any concern about the possibility that an army might descend upon this restaurant.

Instead, he picked up the cup sitting in front of him, touched the rip for a lingering second, before he took a slow sip.

Aisha’s eyes narrowed as she realized whose cup he was holding and drinking from.

Once he set the cup down, a faint trace of pink stained his lower lip, giving him a devious beauty on top of his overly handsome look.

"You don’t have to be so afraid. I’m not here to hurt any of you," he finally said. But before they could feel relieved at his words, his gaze fell on Vesper’s hand still gripping Aisha’s arm. "Though I might reconsider not cutting that hand off if he lets her go now."

His threat hung in the air with thick and heavy murderous intent.

Vesper felt something inside him being forced down to obey, but his body betrayed him as his grip only tightened.

Aisha frowned. "I’m fine. You can let go."

"Who knows what he’ll do to you if I do?" Vesper shook his head.

Seeing him not let go, Aisha considered using her energy on him to force him to let go of her. But she didn’t do it at the last second.

There were too many eyes around her. It would be hard to explain if they noticed something from her.

Especially that guy with that pair of crimson eyes. She felt there was nothing that could escape from him. The moment she did something, she was afraid he’d guess what it’d be.

Kane wanted to applaud his friend’s nerve. At least, one of them didn’t break down under the overwhelming presence of the man before them.

"Is everything alright here?"

A waiter had approached them, oblivious to the storm brewing at the table.

His sudden interruption was exactly the opening they needed.

At once, Kane ran toward the front entrance of the restaurant. Sabel moved to take Aisha with her. And Vesper was already hot on their heels. The three moved in sync as if they had practiced this strategic act of retreat.

They ran without looking back through the crowd, putting as much distance as they could between themselves and that man.

Aisha ran with them, legs moving as quickly as Sabel and Vesper. Kane was almost left behind and panting heavily as he ran on reserves.

Only when they rounded a corner did Aisha allow herself to glance back.

Through the gaps between passing bodies, she caught one last glimpse of the restaurant. Nykos hadn’t moved from his seat.

He sat there relaxed, watching them disappear into the crowd. His smile widened when he caught her staring at him.

Aisha turned away, running faster now.

But she couldn’t shake this uneasy feeling.

Something told her that this was far from over.

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