Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
In the dark basement, Adolf gingerly placed his father, Carney, on the bed and sprayed a special hemostatic dressing on his father’s wound. It was the first-aid skill that he had learned somewhere. The light-yellow spray quickly formed a coat of paste that covered the entire wound, and only then did the bleeding stop. However, he could not pull out the three-legged metal perch, which had penetrated deep into the wound. Meanwhile, Carney had passed out three times in a row.
The three of them curled up in the corner of the dim basement, looking up at the dust that fell from the violent shaking. The impacts sounded as if two gigantic beasts were brutally killing each other without compassion.
There were three light-green lamps on the wall. The floor looked unorganized with cartons and shelves. In the middle of the basement was a black leather couch, in front of which was a small freezer for storing meat and poultry. It was from the freezer that Adolf found the hemostatic sprayer. The large bed, on which they cuddled together, was right between two wooden racks in the corner of the wall.
Adolf bit his lip, holding his father’s hands and waiting quietly. He believed what the Blackfeather swordsman told him. All they needed to do was hide and wait, but Sheena was impatient and could not bear to see any delay in treating her father’s wound. Although the hemostatic spray had stopped the bleeding temporarily, they needed large medical equipment to stitch up and heal the tissue inside the wound. She was on pins and needles, but the intense shaking overhead forced her to calm down.
The walls in the basement were mottled by green molds. This was not where they would typically stay; it was merely one of their many mansions. They went there only for a business meeting. Little did they know that it would turn out to be so deadly.
Sheena kept checking her father’s condition while looking at Adolf, who was also utterly terrified. “Adolf!” she called him.
“Trust me!” Adolf turned to look at Sheena, his face matter of fact. “Elder sis, I will not lie to you and Father in this time of grave danger. So, please trust me!”
“What are you waiting for? Tell me! Don’t keep me in the dark and seeing no hope at all! Father will be infected if we keep staying here any longer!” Sheena was filled with anger.
“The CCTV surveillance system in the house will alert the police at once when something happens,” Adolf said with his head lowered.
“Yeah, I know. But the police have yet come. Do you think we can rely on the police?” Sheena gritted her teeth, face flushed. And for a moment, she was lost for words. She was panic because his family’s bodyguards had been obliterated, and her only hope was the swift response from the police department.
“So, what is happening to the Zeon family is something that the police could not resolve. We have to find another way out!” Adolf quickly said.
“What way could you think of?” Sheena asked as if she knew her younger brother for the first time. She had never seen Adolf so earnest, decisive, and having his own mind. He was now confident and taking his responsibility seriously.
“I—I am waiting for my teacher…” Adolf gritted his teeth and looked up.
“Teacher?” Sheena was dumbfounded.
Suddenly, a large chunk of the wall collapsed near the entrance of the basement. Zeon Jr. was harshly tossed into the basement with blood covering his body. A second later, Zeon Sr. agilely hopped in through the collapsed wall.
“You all are here!” Zeon Sr. skimmed around but found nothing of interest. His eyes then quickly landed on Adolf. “Your teacher? Who do you think can still save your life?” He grinned. Under the gentle smile were two rows of razor-sharp black teeth that looked like the hideous teeth of the saw—heinous and horrific.
Adolf lunged to his feet abruptly and stood before his elder sister and father. “Uncle Zeon, why do you want to kill us? We swear we will not tell your secrets to anyone!” Adolf said softly in his final effort to keep them alive.
“Swear doesn’t worth a dime.” Zeon Sr. had now grown a long black tail, wagging it in the air as he slowly walked toward Adolf with a smile.
Sheen hugged her father in fear, curling even deeper into the corner of the wall and clinching at seeing the approaching Zeon Sr. The monster-like body became a permanent nightmare in the mind of Sheena. She would not be able to shake off this image for the rest of her life—if she could make it out alive at all. Likewise, Adolf was just as frightened, his breathing heavy, sweat trickling down his forehead before dripping off his chin. He was shivering in fear, but he had no intention of letting up.
“I guarantee,” he gritted his teeth with all his strength, glaring at Zeon Sr., “that if you kill us, you are going to regret it sorely!”
“Oh yeah?” Zeon Sr. cocked an eyebrow and stopped in his tracks, looking at Adolf in amusement. “Regret? Do you have any idea how powerful I am? Do you have any idea what power I have mastered? Do you have any idea what the dark side of the world looks like?” He raised his index finger and waved it in the air as he looked into Adolf’s eyes. “You have no idea. Absolutely no idea.”
“If I die, my teacher will revenge my death!” Adolf plucked up his courage and retorted loudly with his trembling voice.
“Your teacher?” Zeon Sr. guffawed. “You are absolutely clueless about who you are talking to.”
“Right. You are absolutely clueless about whose disciple you are talking to.” A voice was heard, followed by a sophisticated white figure walking through the basement entrance. An adorable and luscious-looking young boy who wore a beautiful retro white formal attire and always had a sweet smile on his face spoke. “Good afternoon, everyone.” The young boy bowed slightly as a gesture of social etiquette. “I feel happy when it comes to mealtime again. I could smell the air of freedom again since Valgariah the bitch left.” He took a deep breath and seemingly reveled in it.
“You…” The smile on Zeon Sr.’s face collapsed as he turned to squint at the young boy.
Adolf, Carney, and Sheena, however, dared not move a muscle as they were unsure what was before them. Adolf had neither met Khadula before nor know that he came from his teacher.
“Khadula….” Zeon Sr. was shocked. “Khadula of a Thousand Arms! You are Khadula of a Thousand Arms from the Ironfist Society?” It was unimaginable that a man could change his tone of voice three times in a sentence—from calm to shivering, and lastly, fear. Zeon Sr. burst out in sweats. He immediately lunged upward, broke through the ceiling above and disappeared out of the hole.