*Screech!*
A golden eagle let out a sharp cry. Like a rising balloon, it ascended rapidly from beneath the Star Tower, gliding past the twenty-eighth floor.
Within the eagle's vision, Locke was sitting on the living room sofa watching television.
The image was crystal clear.
Callum Lynch stared at the phone that had just rung, answered it directly, and switched it to speaker mode.
"Hello!"
The voice on the other end was low and resonant, sounding undeniably like a real voice rather than a modulator, and it was vastly different from Locke's natural tone: [I heard...]
[You are looking for me?]
"You have something that belongs to us..."
[This is my trophy.]
"Mr. Peerless."
Callum Lynch frowned. "I have seen your profile. You punish evildoers. I believe you are not purely a bad person. That object is extremely dangerous if left out in the world."
Locke snorted in amusement: [I am also very dangerous.]
He was curious.
How exactly did this Roman Brotherhood plan to take the Golden Apple from his hands?
Would they appeal to reason?
Or would they charge in blindly?
If it were the former, Locke wasn't interested; if it were the latter, Locke wasn't afraid.
"Mr. Peerless..."
Callum Lynch frowned. "Some things cannot be explained clearly over the phone. Perhaps we can meet in person. Please, rest assured."
Locke remained silent for a moment, thinking it over: [The New York Continental Hotel. Half an hour.]
"Thank you!"
[No need. I happen to be drinking here anyway. I will only give you ten minutes. All five of you can come; I can afford the drinks for five people.]
"..."
Callum Lynch and the four others beside him immediately scanned their surroundings as the call ended. In the sky, the sharp-eyed golden eagle circled high above, but they found nothing around them.
Callum Lynch glanced at the twenty-eighth floor of the Star Tower, at Locke who was still on the sofa, then looked at the group: "Let's go."
If Callum Lynch were to return to the Star Tower at this very moment and touch Locke with his own hands...
Then he would discover the truth.
At this moment, the Locke inside the Star Tower stood up and walked to a corner of the living room hidden from outside view. With a *pop*, he turned into a cloud of red mist. When the mist dissipated, Locke had vanished without a trace.
...
The Continental Hotel, basement bar.
When Callum Lynch and his four partners stepped out of the elevator, the first thing they saw was their target.
"Mr. Peerless."
Callum Lynch walked over, looking at Locke, who was sitting in a booth with his head down, sipping bourbon. Callum extended his right hand: "I believe it hasn't been more than ten minutes."
Locke looked up at Callum, ignoring the extended hand, and pointed to the seat opposite him: [You have twenty minutes left.]
Callum didn't get angry. After sitting down with the only female assassin, Rosa, he looked at the sunglass-wearing Locke and said: "Mr. Peerless, how much do you know about the Golden Apple?"
Locke smiled: [Not much. I only know that what I have is Apple Number Six.]
It was fine not knowing the plot.
But since he did know it, there were no mental barriers.
After all...
He had seen [Assassin's Creed] and played the games too.
The Leap of Faith!
That was the dream of countless men.
Callum: "..."
This was "not much"?
People who haven't researched it would think there is only one so-called Apple of Eden, or Golden Apple. But only those who have studied it know that there are actually six true Golden Apples.
Over the long passage of time, only three of the six Golden Apples remain.
One is Apple Number Two, which has always been kept in the hands of the Roman Brotherhood.
One is Apple Number Five, which is currently rumored to be within the Federation.
The last one is Number Six—the one in Locke's hand.
As for the remaining three: one was destroyed by Callum when he awakened to prevent an organization called the Temple from destroying the world; another was destroyed by the Tesseract; and the last one was split in half by King Arthur as a covenant of alliance between himself and Merlin.
"Mr. Peerless, the Golden Apple is an undeniably powerful weapon."
Callum had come to recover the Golden Apple, not to start a fight. Thus, he organized his words and said: "But the price of using it is extremely terrifying."
One must use a life as a sacrifice to activate the Golden Apple and use its abilities.
Locke's expression remained flat: [I know.]
He didn't need a life as a price.
He had boundless energy and didn't need to pay anyone a fee. If anything, he was just paying taxes to himself.
He had his own energy pool.
Locke shook his head, put down his glass, and looked at Callum: [You came to me because you want the Golden Apple in my hand, right?]
Callum nodded.
[Then why didn't you go to the New York Fraternity to take it yourself?]
"..."
Callum opened his mouth: "We were already preparing, but the New York Fraternity had too many people..."
Locke nodded with understanding: [Bullying the weak and fearing the strong?]
Isn't this the typical logic of: "He's a bad guy and you're a good guy, so I can only bully the good guy"?
Heh.
The female assassin sitting next to Callum, Rosa, narrowed her eyes: "You..."
"Rosa!"
"Callum?"
Locke chuckled softly. Looking at Callum, who had stopped Rosa from speaking, he smiled: [Tell me, what makes you think—on what grounds—I would give the Golden Apple to you? One hundred and ninety-six assassins at the textile mill couldn't stop me. You didn't dare take it from the New York Fraternity yourself, so how do you have the courage to come to me?]
This logic was quite miraculous.
Callum soothed Rosa, then looked at Locke, meeting his gaze: "Our primary goal in coming here was to find you and tell you the dangers of the Golden Apple. Bringing it back to the Roman Brotherhood is not our first choice."
Locke raised an eyebrow: [Oh?]
So they were backing down.
But that made sense.
Callum didn't dare take it from the Fraternity, yet Locke did. Any sane person would realize that although Locke was alone, his threat level was greater than that of the New York Fraternity.
"Furthermore, we are not the only ones who know about the Golden Apple."
[Hmm?]
"There is also a mysterious organization. They once tried to recruit us."
Callum thought of the organization that had planned to recruit them after he and several brothers—also descendants of the Roman Brotherhood who had awakened ancestral memories—ruined the Temple's conspiracy. He said heavily: "They have been approaching us, trying to recruit us. But we are a group of people. You, however, are just one person."
Locke: [...]
***
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