“And the climber president?” he asked.

“You’re now looking right at her,” she grinned.

Max blinked. “You? You’re the climber president now? Does that mean—?”

“The previous climber president took a lot of hits in that battle, but he ended up surviving. He’s currently resting, but he’s accepted that now is the time to retire and he’s named me as the successor. He gave me numerous diamond monster cores which helped me rank up.”

Max nodded.

“We also had a meeting a few weeks back,” said Sakura. “When you went on your little incognito mission to the outer-rim.”

Max blushed.

Sakura smiled. “You thought I didn’t know about that, huh?”

“What was your meeting about?” said Max, trying to change the subject. “The president told me a lot about the state of Zestiris and the world at large already.”

“He told me he was going to tell you all of that,” said Sakura. “What he wanted to share with me was information that pertained to your family, most significantly, your sister.”

Max blinked. The information about his sister wasn’t lost after all.

“When I first met you, I thought I saw a resemblance between you and her,” she said. “But I wasn’t sure and I didn’t want to get your hopes up. Also, I didn’t know much about her either. You see, there’s a secret recruitment and training program that takes kids right after they’ve unlocked their traits and trains them to be elite climber operatives. Prime candidates for the program are orphans, kids with no background whatsoever. Your sister was one of the best students to ever enter the elite program,” Sakura explained.

“From what I understand she was an incredibly gifted fighter and rose in power very quickly. So quickly that the program began to fear her. They eventually tried to arrest her and she resisted, killing the climbers who had come after her. She then ran away into the tower and was never seen again. She became infamously known as the Scarlet Demon.”

Max gulped. So that was why he couldn’t find out anything about her in the library when he had done his research. His sister was, as the librarian had suggested she might be, a rogue climber.

The Elle that he knew was sweet and innocent. Could their years apart have really changed her so much? This information was both heartbreaking and significant. The Elle he knew may no longer exist, but whoever Elle had become, she was still his sister and she had asked for his help.

He wouldn’t break his promise to her.

I’ll always protect you little sis.

“That’s all he shared with me,” said Sakura. “That’s not a lot to go on, but I’m sure it will help you in your quest to find her. I now have a present for you.”