Tanya was fierce and resilient. And her quote was exactly what Crow had said to his enemies before.

The Faceless Assassin dropped his mug heavily on the table.

"Place it on my tab, Jayce." Crow stood up.

Jayce looked over. "You’re interfering?"

Crow nodded and he went out.

Jayce watched his back. Crow the legendary assassin was just a shadow of his former self for many years. No one could blame him after what happened.

’Maybe she will be a good thing for him.’

Tanya was exhausted. She breathed heavily as her muscles burned and her wounds screamed of pain.

Those outlaws had stopped going easy on her. They just wanted to kill her now instead of preserving her body for entertainment.

"She’s tired, boys. Try not to break her body too much. We might get a few weeks out of her." The head guard snickered lowly.

"Despicable!" Tanya growled.

The outlaws rushed at her. Tanya was barely able to defend herself as she was hit with a devastating punch.

The former princess dropped on the ground. She was at the mercy of their hands.

"Leave that girl be!" Crow shouted.

He jumped into the outlaws. His speed was unreasonable. He wasn’t just a blur. His movements weren’t even readable. Instead, afterimages of him were left behind, making him look like he was teleporting non-stop.

Crow still had his original powers in this world. As an Abomination with the power of the Abyss, these outlaws were no match for him.

They were killed in the blink of an eye.

Tanya breathed heavily. She watched him closely and wondered.

’Will I ever be as strong as him?’

She fainted.

She didn’t know how long she had slept. When she woke up again, her entire body ached and felt like woods.

She only had one side of her vision left.

Tanya reached up to touch her eye. It was covered with bandages and it stung.

"Ouch!" She said.

"You shouldn’t touch that. The wound is not stable yet." Crow said.

Tanya looked over to see a man with messy hair sitting in the corner of the room.

The Faceless Assassin actually had a face after all. His face was the face of Lee Baek-un, the original high school student that became Crow.

Tanya looked down at her. She noticed that her entire body was treated and wrapped with bandages. Even in some intimate places that would require stripping herself completely.

She tried to feel if she was harmed but nothing at all. Unless that man used an incredible anesthetic on her.

"I didn’t do anything to you." Crow read her like a book and said. "Acosa really is a lawless place. But there are still honorable people around."

"Why did you save me?" Tanya said.

Crow shrugged. "Because I feel like it."

"What do you want from me?" Tanya said.

Crow shrugged again. "Nothing I want that you can give me, girl. I suggest you just stay here until your wounds get better then get out of here. This is not a place for a woman."

"I’m not just any woman. I am a Rank-2."

"Doesn’t matter. You fight like a child."

Crow stood up and left.

Tanya was still wary of him. He was too good to be true. Experiences had taught Tanya that everything had a price. Especially in the real world outside her palace.

But Crow actually seemed to not be interested in her or any of her possession.

In the few days they were together, she rarely saw Crow. He would leave food for her daily.

Not good food. Just bread and soup to make sure she was full.

Then he would disappear for the entire day and return at night. The man reeked of alcohol every single time.

His house in Acosa worked like a forbidden area. Tanya noticed a few outlaws passing by but they went away as soon as they saw the house.

Crow’s reputation preceded him.

One night, Tanya had felt good enough to stand up and work around. She found a few ingredients inside the house and wanted to make a meal for Crow.

She had nothing at the moment so she thought that maybe she could show her gratitude with this simple meal.

Crow didn’t go home that day. Or the day after that. And the day after that.

Tanya’s wounds healed completely but she still stayed at Crow’s house. She intended to stay for a full week. If he wouldn’t go home by then, she would leave.

Crow returned on the sixth day. He dropped on the floor. His body was soaked in blood.

Tanya quickly rushed to him and flipped him over.

"Assassin! Are you alright?"

"I failed you, Asna. I should have been there for you and the child."

Crow was still reeked of alcohol. He had wounds on his body but he didn’t seem to be bothered by it at all.

"So this is why you said you don’t interested in me..."

Tanya carried him away. She cared for him in the moment of madness, washed the blood off him and changed his clothes.

She let him lay his head on her thighs on the bed as he murmured about the past constantly.

The girl caressed Crow gently.

"We’re the same... You and I. We both lost everything." She whispered to herself.

Kaera slammed the table with her fist.

"So this is your plan?" The demon said.

"What plan?" The black cat covered his mouth innocently. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"The competition was just a ruse. To get Tanya’s heart, you arranged for her to lost everything. Then give Crow the same treatment. If they’re in the same situation, they can related to each other.

This shall turn into love." The demon growled deeply.

"It may turn into love. And for the record, I ain’t arranging anything. My power is not that strong yet." The black cat smirked.

Kaera squinted her eyes. She didn’t believe a word of it.

Mater was telling the truth. He didn’t arrange anything. He only gave them a very general background and let things play out naturally.

He knew that the two of them would find their way to each other anyway. This was the power of Fate. An aspect that the demon knew nothing about.

They were only brute depraved deviants that worshiped strength above all.

Crow opened his eyes to see Tanya’s face glimmered in the sunlight of the morning. For a moment, he thought Tanya was his late wife. But he knew it was too good to be true.

Crow blinked his eyes a few times and the illusion disappeared.