Chapter 345

Ronan’s expression remained calm as he read the words displayed on his system screen.

His facial expression didn’t change at all, but internally his mind raced through countless possibilities regarding what was happening here.

Could the heroes be planning to suppress his power and then kill him once he had been greatly weakened?

No.

That wouldn’t make sense.

At least, it wouldn’t make any sense after Sir Raptor had given his orders.

He shouldn’t be targeted like this.

Which meant that whatever was happening here had to be about keeping him from leaving.

When his thoughts reached that point, his eye twitched slightly.

Was this what Crimson Scale had meant when he said they had a way to keep him in check and stop him from escaping?

But still...

Wasn’t this quite insufficient to stop him?

After all, based on the system message, he could decide whether to allow the stranger’s ability to affect him or not.

Feeling slightly curious about what would happen if he rejected the man’s skill altogether, Ronan selected No.

Instantly, the strange energy that had invaded his body was forcefully pushed back.

It slammed into the man with tremendous force. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The man immediately released Ronan’s hand.

A small groan of pain escaped his lips.

Feeling alarmed, Crimson Scale quickly rushed toward the strange man.

"Are you alright, sir?"

The man nodded after a while, though his gaze remained fixed on his own hand as if he were struggling to understand what had just happened.

No.

He wasn’t merely surprised.

He was astonished.

His skill, which had never failed him before, had not only failed this time, but he had also suffered a massive backlash simply for using it on this young dark-haired youth.

"He... he can stop my suppression skill."

The man spoke quietly.

Crimson Scale was stunned.

He looked at the middle-aged man before shifting his gaze toward Ronan, who was still seated calmly in his chair.

His expression was as calm and composed as it had been from the very beginning.

He didn’t look like someone who had just accomplished something no one had ever done before.

Who exactly was Mr. Dave?

He was none other than one of the government’s special agents.

A highly valuable asset capable of completely sealing away the powers of heroes.

From E-Rankers all the way to A-Rankers, he was capable of suppressing or completely sealing their abilities.

In fact, he was even capable of suppressing many powerful S-Rankers.

Although he couldn’t suppress them completely the way he could with lower-ranked awakened individuals, he was still capable of sealing away sixty to seventy percent of an S-Rank Hero’s power.

His ability was so extraordinary that many people often wondered why he had never officially joined the ranks of the renowned S-Class heroes.

And the answer was surprisingly simple.

It was because he wasn’t a combat-type awakened.

He wasn’t strong enough to fight.

His body wasn’t much stronger than that of an ordinary human.

In many ways, he wasn’t much different from a mundane individual.

This was believed to be the side effect of possessing such an overwhelmingly powerful skill.

Still, that didn’t mean he wasn’t useful.

In fact, it was quite the opposite.

He and several others like him formed an extremely important part of the government’s structure.

Without Mr. Dave and his suppression skill, they wouldn’t have been able to imprison the few dangerous S-Rank criminal awakeners scattered around the world.

And perhaps the most terrifying thing about Mr. Dave’s suppression skill was the fact that it couldn’t normally be rejected.

As long as he managed to grab someone’s right hand and maintain contact for a few seconds, their powers would either be completely sealed or greatly suppressed.

Even he—the mighty leader of Arc himself—couldn’t resist Mr. Dave’s suppression ability.

And now he was supposed to believe that Ronan had done exactly that without even lifting a finger.

Unable to believe what he was hearing, Crimson Scale turned his gaze toward Ronan.

"Is he right? Did you reject his skill?"

Ronan didn’t answer the question.

Instead, he asked one of his own.

"Tell me. Is this supposed to be the safety procedure you wanted to take in order to keep me from escaping?"

Crimson Scale stared into Ronan’s eyes.

Those same calm and composed eyes.

After a moment, he let out a small sigh before nodding.

"Yes."

"The fact that you were able to kill Buster means your strength is not something that can be taken lightly."

"And in case you decide to go against Arc, break out of prison, or escape through whatever means you possess, we simply wouldn’t be able to stop you."

"But if your powers are suppressed, then there would be no need to worry."

"It would put everyone at ease knowing there is no possibility of you escaping."

He spoke calmly.

Ronan looked at him before slowly shaking his head.

Allowing his powers to be sealed or suppressed didn’t seem like a good option.

What if they decided to kill him afterward?

That would mean he would be powerless to resist.

Seeing the firmness in Ronan’s stance, Crimson Scale frowned slightly before speaking again.

"I need you to understand that this is for the best."

"In order to prevent you from escaping and causing a chain of events that could throw the entire world into chaos, we need to take this step."

"And I strongly suggest that you cooperate."

"This is for the best, Ronan."

"If things go south because of your escape, then a war between the Tryst Guild and the entire Hero Organization may no longer be preventable."

His tone remained calm and precise.

"I wouldn’t be escaping."

Ronan answered simply.

"I will stay until the trial is concluded."

"No, that wouldn’t work."

Crimson Scale shook his head.

"Everyone is wary of you, and many people want you dead."

"If not for the influence of the Tryst Guild, which has grown tremendously over these past few months, especially after helping wipe out the Curse..."

"And if not for the evidence proving who Buster truly was..."

"You might already have been sentenced to death."

"The higher-ups believe that you need to be suppressed by every means possible."

"If you reject this now, things might take a drastic turn."

"And you might be killed."

Ronan gave him a sidelong glance.

He could tell that Crimson Scale was telling the truth.

So they still saw him as a threat.

"If you are killed, then the Fire God wouldn’t stand by and accept it."

"And if that happens, there really might be a war."

"A lot of people would die if that were to happen."

"And I need to prevent that."

"We need to prevent that as heroes."

"So please..."

"Don’t let this fragile peace break because you refuse to cooperate."

His tone was solemn.

Desperate even.

Ronan didn’t reply as he looked at Crimson Scale’s lowered head.

Without even needing a special ability, he could understand what the man was thinking.

He didn’t want war to break out.

And if a war truly erupted against the Tryst Guild, then Ronan would feel deeply responsible.

Han and the others had done a lot for him.

If this was the small sacrifice required from his side in order not to trouble them any further, then perhaps it would be worth it.

It wasn’t as though someone was going to come and try to kill him now...

At least, that was what he told himself.

After finally reaching a decision, Ronan let out a small sigh.

Then he raised his hand back onto the table toward the man called Mr. Dave, the special government agent.

The man visibly flinched as he looked at Ronan’s hand.

His brows furrowed slightly.

However, after receiving an encouraging nod from Crimson Scale, he slowly reached out and grabbed Ronan’s hand before activating his ability once more.

At the same time, Ronan felt the strange energy entering his body again.

This time the sensation felt even more uncomfortable.

Soon afterward, the familiar sound of the system echoed inside his head.

A moment later, a system screen appeared before his eyes.

Ding...

Host, a strange energy is attempting to invade your body.

Ding...

A powerful suppression skill is being used on the Host.

Would you like to allow the skill to take effect?

Yes / No

Note: Once the Host approves, the suppression skill will activate successfully.

The Host will temporarily lose a significant portion of their power and skill set.

Duration: Active for as long as the suppression remains in effect.

Ronan read the system notification.

It was nearly identical to the previous one.

It seemed that if he selected Yes, his power would be greatly suppressed.

Though not completely.

At the very least, he wouldn’t be rendered entirely powerless.

Even so...

For some reason, he still felt as though he shouldn’t do this.

His instincts seemed to be tingling slightly.

Almost as if danger was approaching.

Yet the feeling was so faint that he couldn’t tell whether it was genuine danger or merely his own caution speaking.

He stared at the warning once more.

Then he made his decision.

He would not resist.

He wouldn’t cause his friends any more trouble.

That was what mattered most to him.

So he made his choice.

And selected Yes.

Immediately, another notification appeared before him.

Ding...

Superior Suppression Skill has been activated on Host.

Various debuffs will now be placed upon Host.

All physical and mental attributes have been reduced by 50%.

Ronan frowned.

But that was only the beginning.

Another system message rang out inside his head the very next moment.

All skills will become temporarily unavailable.

Switch Skill has been locked.

Onslaught Skill has been locked.

Eye of Precision has been locked.

One notification after another appeared before him.

The more Ronan read, the uglier his expression became.

What was all this?

This level of suppression was absurd.

But that wasn’t even the worst part.

The real bombshell arrived moments later.

Another system notification appeared before his eyes.

It read:

The System’s connection to the Host has been greatly suppressed.

Energy Failure Detected.

The System will now enter Dormant Mode until the suppression is lifted.

Ronan’s eyes widened.

Before he could even react, the system screen suddenly flickered.

Then everything went black.

The familiar interface vanished completely from his vision.

Gone.

For the first time since obtaining the system, he could no longer sense its presence.

A very bad feeling suddenly rose within his chest.

Something about this suppression felt terribly wrong.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Ronan and the others...

Flame was rapidly approaching the area where Arc was located.

Like a blazing meteor streaking across the heavens, a trail of infernal fire sliced through the air, burning everything in its path.

Flame’s gaze was cold.

Deathly cold.

As he rushed forward at his maximum speed, the surrounding atmosphere trembled beneath his power.

He was close.

Very close.

Close to finally getting his hands on that man.

No...

That monster.

His death would—

Flame gritted his teeth as he surged forward.

"Ronan Steele!"

His furious roar echoed across the skies.

"I’m coming for you!"

Rage filled every word as he accelerated even faster, shooting forward like a living inferno.