Alex, still pinned under Julian’s boot, groaned in pain and reluctantly reached up to remove his cracked, half-melted mask.
"This is me," he muttered, bitterness thick in his voice. "I’m someone you fought back then."
Julian raised a brow, clearly unimpressed.
"I don’t remember," he said flatly.
Alex clenched his teeth, silently cursing.
’Damn it... the boss said he had analyzed all of Julian’s skills. Every detail, every possibility. But none of it was right. The ambush failed. My last resort failed. All of it was a disaster.’
He swallowed hard. "Don’t you remember? We fought before the world fell apart. I’m the one who beat your friend to a pulp."
Julian’s expression didn’t change. But then he blinked, as if something clicked in his mind.
"Oh... the cockroach who ran back to his boss, begging for protection?" he said with venom-laced sarcasm.
Alex’s face twitched with humiliation.
"...Yeah. That was me," he said through gritted teeth, barely hiding the shame.
Julian leaned down a little, his voice sharp.
"So that man is still alive, huh? That’s good to know."
His gaze turned cold, his next words cutting like a blade.
"I’ll pay him a visit."
Then his voice dropped, menacingly calm.
"Where is he now?"
Alex, still catching his breath beneath Julian’s heel, finally spoke through clenched teeth.
"He’s... eleven kilometers west from here," he gasped.
Julian narrowed his eyes. "Is that the truth?"
Alex quickly nodded, forcing a shaky laugh.
"Yes, yes! I swear it! You have my word!"
Julian stared at him for a moment longer, then gave a silent nod and pulled out a thick, black rope from his inventory. Alex’s face paled.
"W-Wait... are you going to let me live?" he asked, a faint glimmer of hope surfacing in his voice.
Julian didn’t answer. He simply knelt down and began binding Alex tightly.
Feeling the rope dig into his wrists and arms, Alex exhaled in relief. ’He’s sparing me... he’s really sparing me.’
’Good. I’ll wait for the right moment. I can still use my skill to blow the ropes and escape...’
But before the thought even finished forming, Julian’s cold voice interrupted.
"Don’t do anything stupid."
Alex froze.
"If you try anything," Julian continued without even glancing at him, "I’ll kill you on the spot. No hesitation."
Alex swallowed hard and nodded quickly.
"Y-Yes. Of course. I’ll behave."
Julian finished tying him up, then dragged him toward the back of the truck. Without a second thought, he hooked the rope onto a rear bar, effectively preparing to drag him behind the vehicle.
"Hey! Wait, you’re not serious—!" Alex shouted in panic. "I’ll die if you drag me like that!"
Julian turned slightly, eyes sharp.
"If you even think about running," he said coldly, "I’ll chase you down... and skin you alive. Got it?"
Alex’s mouth snapped shut. Trembling, he nodded.
"...Got it."
Julian continued driving in silence, the wheels of the vehicle humming steadily against the cracked asphalt. Behind them, distant pained screams echoed, Alex, still being dragged, crying out in agony.
Celestia, seated beside him, turned her gaze toward the rearview mirror with a hint of discomfort.
"...Is it really necessary to drag him like that?" she asked quietly.
Julian didn’t look at her. His expression remained calm, but his voice was firm.
"That man... is one of the worst kinds of people."
He exhaled slowly, eyes focused on the road ahead.
"He once raped my friend’s little sister. Bullied my friend for years. Extorted money from dozens of students. And he didn’t stop there... He ruined people, left them broken."
Celestia’s eyes darkened. "...I see."
Julian continued, his tone now laced with quiet bitterness.
"I beat him senseless back then. Left him on his knees, begging. But he had ties to the underground, his family pulled strings, erased everything. The law never touched him."
A short silence followed. Then Julian added,
"I couldn’t kill him then. The law protected him. But now... there’s no law to hide behind."
Celestia nodded slowly, her gaze steady.
Julian’s voice dropped to a cold, resolute murmur.
"And I’ll do the same to the one pulling his strings. His boss... is next."
Soon, they arrived.
The "base" turned out to be a dilapidated yet heavily fortified luxury hotel, tall, rusted gates, overgrown ivy crawling up its faded walls, and armed men patrolling its perimeter. From the moment Julian laid eyes on the structure, he could already sense the danger inside.
They stepped out of the vehicle. Behind the car, Alex was barely conscious, his skin scraped raw from being dragged across the ground, his body soaked in blood and dirt. When Julian yanked the chain and began pulling him forward again, several of the guards immediately rushed forward in alarm.
"Mr. Alex! What the hell happened to you?!"
One of them stepped forward, hand raised. "Hey! Stop that, we need to take him for medical treatment!"
Julian stood still, calm and cold.
"No," he said flatly. "He’s mine. I’m taking him to your boss."
Another man raised his voice. "We can’t allow that. You’ve injured one of ours, we can’t just let this slide."
Tension sparked. More guards began gathering, forming a half-circle around Julian and his team. The mood thickened as weapons were raised and a few of the guards began channeling mana into glowing glyphs etched into their gauntlets and arms.
Veronica sighed, brushing her hair back.
"Told you we should’ve gone with infiltration and just assassinated the boss instead of knocking on the front door."
Emma smirked, flames already flickering in her palms.
"Yeah, but this way’s more fun."
Julian didn’t waste time. In an instant, three [Shadow Clones] burst from him, leaping into the enemy lines with silent precision.
"Can you handle this?" he asked calmly.
Celestia, Clarissa, Veronica, and Emma all nodded.
"We’ve got this," Clarissa said, lifting into the air as her telekinesis began to distort the surroundings.
"Go," Celestia added, her [Silverthread] already weaving into position, slashing through weapons and binding movement.
Julian nodded once, then surged forward, dragging Alex behind him. He dashed toward the hotel’s entrance as chaos erupted behind him.
"Don’t let him in!" someone shouted.
"He’s got Mr. Alex!"
But they couldn’t move fast enough.
Clarissa hurled debris with crushing force, while Celestia’s threads sliced and restricted. Veronica enchanted everyone, while Emma launched arcs of fire that kept their attackers from advancing.
Behind the chaos, Julian slipped through the crumbling doorway of the hotel, entering the lion’s den.
Lightning sparking faintly along his limbs, his [Lightning] enhancing every movement, making him blur from corner to corner like a phantom. He dashed past dimly lit hallways and crumbling pillars, the air thick with rot and iron. Several men lunged at him with weapons drawn, but none could lay a hand on him. Their reflexes were simply too slow.
As he surged forward, three figures suddenly dropped down in front of him, blocking the hallway.
"Hey, hey... What’s this?" said one of them, arms crossed and grinning smugly. "You just barge in here alone like you own the place?"
"Maybe he’s got a death wish," another laughed mockingly, spinning a glowing dagger in his fingers. "Poor bastard’s tired of living."
The third one stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. "You should’ve picked a better place to kill yourself. Try the street next time."
Julian’s eyes narrowed. His muscles tensed, ready to strike.
But before he could move, a voice rang out from deeper inside the building, calm, commanding, and unmistakably in control.
"Let him through."
The three stopped instantly. Their expressions shifted from cocky to cautious.
"...Yes, boss," they replied in unison.
They stepped aside without another word, giving Julian a clear path.
He slowed slightly, just enough to glance at them with quiet curiosity. The sudden shift in tone, the absolute obedience, they were clearly scared of whoever gave that order.
Julian said nothing and continued forward, dragging the half-unconscious Alex behind him, his mind sharpening in anticipation.
Julian finally reached the end of the long, dim hallway. A large set of double doors stood slightly ajar, and he pushed them open without hesitation.
Inside, the room was starkly different, well-lit, clean, and furnished like a luxurious office. At its center sat a man in a high-backed leather chair, his presence radiating control and danger. He watched Julian carefully, his sharp black eyes locking onto him like a predator sizing up its equal.
His frame was massive, broad-shouldered, packed with muscle, and dressed in a tight white shirt that clung to his body like a second skin. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing arms crisscrossed with faint scars. His hair, slicked back and bone white, contrasted with his ink-black gaze, and the aura around him was unmistakably heavy.
The man’s eyes drifted to the mutilated figure Julian dragged in behind him, Alex, bloodied, broken, barely recognizable. There was no emotion in his expression. No pity. No concern.
With a calm, deliberate voice, he spoke.
"So, we meet at last."
He leaned slightly forward, resting one arm on the table and gesturing toward himself with the other.
"A pleasure. My name is Vexmond Kruger. And yes... I’m the one who sent Alex to you."