The boy's steps were cold and deeply unsettling. The atmosphere grew suffocating and sharp for everyone except him and the one called Mike. A heavy silence dominated the area—a silence so absolute it seemed to forbid even the buzzing flies from making a sound. The boy, dressed in an elegant suit, walked past Sam, who remained in the same position where he had landed, his feet still planted on the empty bandages.
Ignoring them completely, the boy headed toward one of the aircraft.
Sarah was trembling, her teeth gritted in pure fury. Yes, the usually calm and enchanting Sarah was now facing the "Smorguth Crisis"—the legendary, unstoppable rage of her bloodline.
When she saw Lawrence pass by without even a glance in her direction, following the boy and his own daughter, the crimson flames on her hands bloomed like flowers in spring. Her violet eyes shifted to the same hue, embodying the blossoming, unyielding wrath of the Smorguth family.
Sam knew, as he saw Sarah rise from the ground, that she was about to pounce. She wouldn't stop until that man was reduced to ash.
"No..."
He couldn't even finish his sentence before she took to the air with her tyrannical wings of fire. Horns made of flickering tongues of flame sprouted from her head, her body encased in fire like a raw fireball. She lunged forward like a projectile launched from a catapult.
"Heh... Mike... handle the nuisances," the boy muttered.
In an instant, Mike unleashed an arrow so fast it was invisible to the naked eye. It pierced through the flames and emerged from the other side as if nothing had been in its path. Sam felt a surge of terror. Was she hit? Such a strike should have been lethal at the very least.
But what Sam didn't realize was that she wasn't just a powerful girl—she was a daughter of the Smorguths.
The fiery demonic form manifested once more, but this time, it revealed Sarah's original, breathtakingly beautiful body. She was nearly nude, with only swirling wisps of crimson flames veiling her private parts.
Mike, seemingly unfazed by this transformation, unleashed a relentless barrage of arrows. Each one passed through Sarah as if she were made of the flame itself—intangible and ethereal.
Summoning her scythes of death, Sarah attacked from the sky, her wings and blade moving so fast that even Mike could barely track her. The sounds of crashing and destruction echoed everywhere, like the clanking of heavy iron chains. Sarah didn't care about Mike; her sole target was Lawrence.
But she didn't expect another bandaged man to emerge—this one wielding ninja swords. Holding a blade in each hand, he sliced through the fire projectile Sarah had launched with chilling precision.
But this bandaged ninja did not emerge alone. He was joined by a gargantuan figure, a man of immense physical build wielding a massive greataxe. Four others materialized from the shadows, forming a complete fortified unit:
Chain.
Mace.
Spear.
Shield.
A flawless fortification squad... Their presence made the previous demonic majesty of the fire-shrouded Sarah waver. She couldn't possibly confront them all at once. Standing against such a force was an impossible feat.
Yet, amidst this shifting tide of events, a desperate cry broke the silence.
"Master... Master! Do not leave me here! I know you won't return... Master, have I ever failed you in my life? I know you need that woman's protection, but you are a man of dignity! How dare they treat you this way? Come back, Master!"
It was Lawrence's old servant, who had arrived with Sam and Sarah. He lay on the ground, weeping and wailing. The old man knew everything—he knew Lawrence would never return, and that he was destined to become little more than a "concubine" for some powerful woman.
Suddenly, the boy stopped. With a motion so swift it was a mere blur, a razor-thin needle shot forth, piercing the servant's skull. The old man slumped to the ground, dead.
"No time for idle chatter... My mother is waiting for you."
Sarah's fury reached its breaking point. How dare this brat kill someone under her protection? With the supernatural speed of her wings, she was instantly beside the boy, her sharpened scythe resting on the very edge of his neck.
But the boy simply smiled, raising his hand even as the blade grazed his throat.
He smiled because he knew... the five guards had their weapons locked onto Sarah. Any single movement from anyone there meant instant, unavoidable death.
Sam stood there, witnessing the chaotic unfolding of events with his bare eyes. He had never imagined, in his wildest dreams, that he would see all of this happening at once. It was becoming unbearable; he struggled to grasp the underlying cause of this madness.
But it seemed his confusion wouldn't last long. The rhythmic thrumming of a helicopter echoed in the sky, slicing through the moonlight as it made a steady descent toward the ground.
The door slid open, and a woman stepped out. She was no ordinary woman; she possessed a haunting beauty, with long mint-green hair and a tall, commanding stature. To Sam, she could never surpass Sarah's allure, yet these features—the brown eyes, the green hair, and the timing of her arrival—made it clear to both him and Sarah exactly who she was.
She didn't leave them much time to ponder, as she introduced herself with chilling elegance.
"Hello, everyone... My name is Livna Aloias. I've been watching your little skirmish from the sky, and I realized we are running late. May our guests take their leave?"
Her words were razor-sharp and utterly dismissive.
Sam had heard the term before but had never witnessed it in the flesh: a "Sugar Mommy." A wealthy, older woman who lavishes riches on a handsome young man to satisfy her whims.
"Mother, were you here long? I apologize for the delay," the boy muttered.
Livna Aloias was the queen of a fabulously wealthy province called Aarib. Despite her youthful appearance, she was actually fifty-six years old—a woman desperately trying to relive a late adolescence with a rotation of young men. Sam was suddenly reminded of those low-budget Japanese dramas where the noble hero is forced to marry an empress for a single night, only to be executed afterward. That was precisely the "mood" this woman radiated.
In a heartbeat, the assassins abandoned the frozen Sarah. They moved in unison, bowing deeply before the woman.
"Sarah Smorguth... You are a very fine girl, and it would be a pity if you were killed today," Livna said, her voice smooth as silk. "Today is my wedding day with my new husband, Lawrence. I would like you to know that from this moment on, he will abandon his old life and all his burdens here to live in Aarib. Thank you for taking care of him."
As the Queen was about to depart with the boy, Lawrence, and his daughter, her gaze caught someone nearby for the first time.
It was Sam. Their eyes locked, and Sam's reflection mirrored in the Queen's pupils: a youth of short stature, wearing a dusty hoodie, with raven-black curly hair reaching his neck, clear brown eyes, and freckles dusting his face. But deep within those eyes lay a void—a pool of nihilism and utter lack of empathy. Livna smiled, licking her lips, and pointed her finger at him in front of everyone.
"Carlos... what do you think about bringing this little one with us?"
The boy and the rest turned their gaze toward Sam, who had suddenly become the center of the conversation.
"What an exquisite choice, Mother. I agree with you," the boy remarked.
Livna's smile widened. "My dear guards, make sure this sweet thing is honored with a seat on our private jet... Hahaha!"
But amidst Livna's laughter, the temperature of the area surged violently.
"Who..."
A single word escaped Sarah's lips.
"Who do you think you're talking about?"
The primordial flame—the deadliest force in all realms—began to swirl.
"Speak..."
The heart of the demonic woman was now entirely consumed by a wrath she had claimed as her new identity.
"Do not make me repeat myself."
The bandaged guards, Lawrence, his daughter, the boy, and even Livna herself felt a suffocating heat, as if they were about to step into the pits of hell. No one could speak; no one could respond. They had simply never encountered a power of this magnitude before.
The bandaged guards standing nearby decided to launch an attack on Sarah.
But the Black Hellfire stared back at them, forcing them to witness their own deaths before they could even move.