OLD-WORLD EXTRA

Chapter 209: Death All Around

Chapter 209: Death All Around

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Emir removed the Neuro-Link off his head and sat up, pushing himself away from the comfort of the bed.

His body felt slightly stiff, but that didn't even cross his mind as he spotted several bloodied companions surrounding him.

Lyra stood closest to him, while the rest were Jake, Emma, Kiera, and her gang members.

There were some others behind them too, but they didn't register in his mind.

"May they rest in peace."

Kiera flinched at Emir's words, and her relatively calm façade was destroyed in an instant as she rushed forward, jumping onto him.

'And another one...' He mused inwardly.

She then brought herself closer to his embrace, sniffling as she went, tears falling from her eyes.

"You can take it out on me." He said as he brought her even closer.

Kiera didn't even bother to look up as she stuttered:

"No... I-I don't blame you. It was because of me. You warned us but I acted too slowly...."

Emir then gazed at the rest, watching their faces with interest.

They all showed a variety of reactions, ranging from surprise to slight amusement, with one being a standout.

Lyra's subtle but noticeable killing intent.

[Don't kill her.] Emir telepathically said.

[I won't.] Lyra replied with a scoff.

[You won't?] He repeated.

[...]

[...]

And after a moment of silence finally came Lyra's booming voice:

[I SAID I WON'T!]

[Good... Now tell everyone to leave the room.] He said with a chuckle.

Lyra complied with a sigh, silently signaling that to their companions.

After a few moments, only Emir and a crying Kiera remained in the room. "Tell me. What do you feel?"

Hicc!

"....I don't know... A part of me blames you for everything, but I know that it's wrong." Hicc!

"You told me many times that being with you was dangerous, b-but I didn't want you to leave."

Hicc!

"You make me feel safe. I can rely on you. I can grow with you...."

Emir began softly patting her head.

"And the other?"

"...I blame myself. My incompetence. I-I left them behind to look for somewhere to hide, only t-to fin... find-"

Hicc!

Emir "shushed" her.

"You can relax...."

"You're alive."

"Your family is alive."

"You raised them."

"You took care of them."

Hicc!

"...And you and I let them down."

"But that doesn't matter."

"You must stay strong."

"I won't take the blame off you."

"We both are to blame."

Hicc!

"But WE can't show weakness, Kiera."

She tried to speak, but he softly "shushed" her once again.

"We leaders must always stand strong."

"Like a tree protecting its saplings."

"Like a father to his children...."

"Yes, you can show weakness, but you must try to avoid it at all costs."

"When a child sees his father crying... that would signal an end to their world."

"A circumstance they could never get over."

"Keep it private until the day you accept it."

"Move on from it."

"Or you can come talk to me, those similar or higher to you in position, but never break down

again in front of your own again, alright?"

Kiera's crying began to quieten down as Emir's lecture finally ended.

"...B – but I keep hearing their voices... telling me to save them..."

"Emir... Emir. I failed them."

"I FAILED THEM, EMIR! I FAILED ALL OF MY FAMILY!"

Emir brought her closer to his arms and hugged her tight.

"Haaaah.... Kiera, you and the rest are mine to protect."

"I promise you now... I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe."

"This will never happen again; is that understood?"

"....Thank you, thank you."

Emir kept comforting Kiera further into the night, repeating the same words...

And they soon both fell into a lull of sleep.

...

-

Emir opened his eyes only to be greeted by wild black hair spread all over his face.

'Ah, Kiera.'

He brushed her hair off him and got off the bed.

[Good morning, dear jailer.]

[Good morning, gigolo.]

[Yeah? Shut up.]

[I will.]

Emir entered the hospital's bathroom to freshen up, and after a little while, he got out and

noticed that Kiera was awake.

"Good morning."

Her response was the exact opposite of his, as her lowered face became red with

embarrassment.

'This almost makes me feel like I just had a one-night stand....'

'Actually, I might have felt that way if we weren't in a fucking hospital!'

Emir let out a chuckle and said:

"C'mon, you've got a family meeting to attend."

...

-

Family Residence.

"Elijah, Jake, Emma, Nathan, Mariane, Kiera, Jack, Sarah, Evan, Hiro, and finally little Leo...."

'Fucking hell, there's alotta them.'

"You all are now a part of the main family."

"Jamal, Raymond, and Logan couldn't fit here, so yeah."

Emir spoke while sitting at a table, surrounded by his many companions, allies, friends, and

now family.

"And now that introductions are over, I'll have you listen to Lyra. She'll explain what will

happen from now on."

Lyra, who was sitting at Emir's right, next to Laura and Lily, stood up and walked over to the

middle of the living room.

Which was cramped, to say the least, as most didn't even have a place to sit.

"Firstly, as you now know, many of our friends at Kiera's passed away yesterday...."

"So let's hold a moment for them."

All gathered solemnly nodded.

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"...Once everything blows over, we'll go and make sure that they're taken care of."

Lyra broke the silence as she spoke while looking at Kiera.

"Thank you..."

She nodded at Kiera's words.

"Now onto what happened last night."

"I'll say this again: Emir succeeded on his road of blackmail, and we now have a retrial in a

few days."

"You've done my job for me, leader." Nathan laughed.

"Great job as always, boss!" Jake bellowed.

"Way to go, boss!" Emma followed.

"As expected from you." Mariane said with a giggle.

As did the others, all congratulating Emir on a job well done.

Only Elijah kept quiet, as he had yet to process the bomb dropped on him yesterday.

Lyra's contract and information dump gave him a wild haymaker that he had yet to recover

from.

All of Kiera's congratulated him too, but they had somber tones, clearly still affected by the tragedy that had befallen them.

Emir chuckled at their praise and gestured for them to quiet down as he looked at his smiling

mother and sister with a grin.

He would never forget their faces when they first heard of the news-not just the shock they

showed but the absolute pride they had for him.

And of course, they would be prideful, one of their own dared to threaten the Elite and

actually succeeded.

"Thank you all.... But never forget, the battle isn't over."

They nodded in unison, understanding the meaning behind his words.

"For now, we'll act like usual..." Lyra continued.

"But we'll set up a few contingency plans in case it all goes to shit in court again."

"We might need to leave this planet, so prepare yourselves from now." Unexpectedly, no one showed surprise, as if they had already expected this.

Lyra glanced at Emir and then said:

"Those directly involved will join us, but most can remain if they wish to."

Their companions didn't need to state their opinions on the matter, as their faces showed

Emir all he needed to know.

"Good. Now onto other plans...."

"I've been looking around for a mansion that could house all of us."

"So if everything goes well, expect a room with your name on it." Lyra, who was stared at with wide eyes by everyone in the room except Emir, let out a giggle.

"We've got a lot of money saved up, so you can trust that it will be a great place...."

"Our new mansion will be our base of operations, meaning that you could live elsewhere, but

that would be where we conduct our meetings."

"Understood." They all spoke in unison.

Lyra turned to face Emir.

"Is that all?"

Emir stood up from his seat and walked next to his mother and sister, tapping their shoulders.

"That's all, boys. But you can stay here and chill with us for a bit; my mom and sis cooked up

some great food for you."

Their eyes brightened as they all clattered everything around them, lining up in front of

Laura.

She chuckled and stood up, taking her daughter's hand as they headed to the kitchen. "There's a lot of you, so I'll bring the food when you settle down. The girls can join me and my

daughter in my room...."

"We'll let Emir and the rest have the living room. Is that alright, girls?"

"Yes, Maam!"

Like little ducklings, the girls followed their hen mother into the kitchen, leaving Emir behind

with the guys.

Emir smiled at that sight, knowing that they would soon grow a close bond with his family,

committing themselves to protecting them.

Those who could only be considered as unfortunate for catching his interest were now his

biggest supporters.

Mere children of his own corrupted feathers.

And if someone were to ask him if this was the result that he was aiming for...

Then he wouldn't say no.

Azazel's 'tragedy' wasn't something that he planned for.

Yet, he didn't focus on protecting them for a reason.

Emir simply never saw any worth in keeping them alive, and he always had better uses for the

main members.

Guardians to protect his mother and sister at all times...

Even at the cost of their lives.

Emir could've saved the others from death, but why?

For what?

It would only waste his already-stretched time and resources.

Was it cruel?

Yes.

But that didn't matter to him...

'As long as the ends justify the means.'

Emir's twisted, dark eyes flickered for a moment as he studied his new family.

He smiled.

"What are you guys waiting for? C'mon, let's play some games!"