Solo Cultivation in The Apocalypse

"Weapons at the ready," A man with a serious expression walked furiously out of the woods.

He pulled his arm out, a gun came out from beneath his battlesuit. After he equipped himself with a gun he stopped a few meters away from the woods.

This man's black battle suit differed from the bullies' battle suit. This one looked tougher from the outside.

A young man in his mid-twenties appeared from the woods, "Yes, sir." The young man pressed the middle of his chest.

Metallic sounds echoed through the dark empty swamp area.

Pieces of metal started coming out from the man's chest and covered his whole chest. The metal unfolded on his body and did not stop till his whole body was covered in a metallic suit.

"Where is he?"

"He… you mean 'Sir'?" The young man frowned.

This young man's battle suit differed from the first person's suit. The one the second person wore was thicker, stronger, more durable, and more powerful. Overall a better product.

"Yes, freshman," The guy who seemed to be the boss glared back at his junior.

"I was right behind him till he told me to go ahead… and…" he turned around to look at the dark woods, "Looks like he is not back yet,"

"Tch," the boss turned around. He had an ugly expression on his face, "Do not leave him! There is no telling what these fucking mages will do if they capture him!"

"B- but he is not in danger."

"And how do you know that? Do you have any telepathic connection with him?" The boss' angry expression started to eat the freshman alive, "We do not." He paused, "We do not know what the mages have in for us," He spoke while stressing his every word, "Do. Not. Underestimate your enemy." The boss paused once again, "Now go and send him a signal!"

After shouting at his junior, the boss turned around to look at a two-story house that barely had its lights switched on.

Dark woods, bushes, and dried-up brambles covered the area behind and around the house.

The junior pulled out a digital screen from his battle suit and sent his man a signal.

He thought, 'This is how my first mission starts huh?' He sighed, 'I wanted to impress the boss with my skills but–' He stopped thinking.

A rustling sound came from inside the woods. The boss turned around as soon as he heard a suspicious sound but to his surprise, his junior had already pointed his arm at the woods.

"Who is there?! Come out!" the young man shouted.

"What is that?" The boss turned around, pulled his advanced gun in front of him, and pointed past his junior.

A tall tree which was the first tree in the lane started to move. Because it was too dark for anyone to see, the person hidden in the dark was not revealed yet.

"Come out or I will shoot the hell out of you!" the boss placed his finger on the trigger of his gun.

"Come on, Hidari," A voice came from the woods, "Do not scare the freshman there," the tree was moving… with a strong slash and bright spark of white light, the tree fell.

"B- boss?" Hidari bowed down, "I thought you were attacked-"

"Ah, do not worry. Wizards and Witches are not qualified to even touch me," From, within the woods, a man dressed in a black blazer stepped out.

A katana's tip left the ground as its wielder lifted the katana and kept it on top of his shoulder.

Seeing a man appear out of the woods, "Sir." the young man bowed down to the dark man who appeared from the woods, "Forgive me,"

"Ah, come on, it is not your fault," He moved closer to the young man, "I do not dare to pee in front of my junior,"

"..." Hidari was left speechless.

"Anyway, where is the house Hidari?" the man's dark sunglasses shone under the moonlight. He stepped forward and stared up at the sky with his left hand in his pocket.

"The one in front of us, sir," Hidari replied, "Let me blast the whole house in one–"

"Tch, Nah, Nah." He raised his hand, "Let us greet them properly,"

The freshman and Hidari exchanged confused glances.

It has been thirty minutes since Kiku attacked Hitori and he left the house. The whole house has been silent for the last twenty minutes.

Only the lights of the dining hall and the drawing hall were switched on. The rest of the house was all dark. Kiku did not bother turning on the lights.

A hand swept through the cold floor. It stopped moving and spread down on the floor before another hand joined it.

Her legs started moving. She placed her knees on the floor to push herself back off the floor.

Down on the floor, she took a glance. The white color tiles were wet and covered in a white liquid… tears.

'You are not my sister!' Kiku pushed herself off the ground, 'You are just an unemployed woman hired as my maid by my parents' money!'

Hitori's words still hurt her a lot from the inside. While getting off the floor, her eyes caught her broken wand that was lying lifelessly on the ground.

'Sorry, wand…' She went and grabbed her broken wand.

Kiku went inside the dining hall and stopped in front of the dustbin, 'Guess I will have to buy a new one,' she sighed as she dropped her wand out of her hands… into the dustbin.

A few more minutes passed by. Kiku cleaned the house manually, cleaned the dishes, and thought about Hitori.

It all seemed hopeless to her. No matter what she tried doing, her mind just would not let go of Hitori's face that she saw when he ran out of the house.

Ring, ring.

Kiku sprung out of the sofa. Her face suddenly lit up as the doorbell's ring woke her up from her overthinking anxiety.

Without pausing for another second, the maid quickly made her way to the front door. As fast as she got to the door, she hesitated to open it.

"Hiro-Kun…" She gulped. At the thought of Hitori returning, she could not help but feel overwhelmed so much that she started walking backward.

Ring, ring.

The doorbell rang once again, "It is open, god…" she muttered hesitantly. But in the end, she mustered up the courage to open the door.

Her trembling hand grabbed the doorknob. Click. The door clicked open on Kiku twisting the doorknob.

"Haha…" she let out a strange laugh before she started pulling the door open, "I knew you would come back," she sounded as if she is a know-it-all, "But never thought you could not even survive for a single hour…" she closed her eyes when the door fully opened, "You are not bold enough, after all, are you, Hitori-Kun?" she smiled and opened her eyes.

"Oh?" her expressions faded, "Were you expecting us, Kiku-san?" she took a step back, "Well, pleasure is ours,"

Her eyes could not leave the sight of a fairly strong and tall man who was standing in front of her in the doorway instead of Hitori.

"Uhm, we can come in, right?" she was too shocked and embarrassed to say anything, "Looks like Hitori-Kun is not home… yet?" The boss made his way inside the house.

Kiku gulped hard when she saw a long katana on the man's shoulder, "Who- who are you?" she asked, "And get out of this house," Kiku cried at the three men who casually entered her house.

Hidari and the freshman continued exchanging glances. Why were they even entering the house? Just kill the maid and run away!

"Do not sit there!" Kiku yelled. The boss ignored her yell, he casually threw himself on the sofa, "Get out of the fucking house, you three!" she continued shouting but they were not going to listen.

"Tch, too bad he is not here," everyone went silent when the man in black spoke, "I was kind of looking up to meet Saibai's son, you know,"

"No. Please leave the house," Kiku strode up to the man in black, "Now."

"And… I thought…" his hand reached his sunglasses, he started pulling them off, "...that I will kill both of you together…" there was a glint of disappointment in his voice.

Her eyes did not move away from the man's black vertical pupils… the snake's eyes.

Kiku's eyes went wide, her heart started racing at the sight of that man's eyes… and his words, "Who… are you?"

"I am sure you can tell from my eyes though…" he grabbed Kiku's hand, "But first… let us talk,"

Kiku felt as if all of the strength was leaving her body. She could not fight back the man's firm grip and strong pull. She fell onto the sofa, right next to the man in black.