“Hold… Hooold… Hey stop squirming damnit.”

“Mrrmm hrmmr!”

You’re dead! Fuck it hurts! Stop! I’m going to kill you!

“Look, if you keep moving around like this-- I might accidentally slash your eye out.”

Rubeous’ thoughts raged into the abyss, but at least he had one listener.

“Mrrrhh!”

“Ah! Oops… See?”

Jun let out an exaggerated sigh as he took a step back to inspect his handiwork.

My eye! My fucking eye! I’m going to kill you!

“Yes, yes. Not like this though, huh.”

Rubeous Donatelli, the impossibly talented golden child of the Donatelli family, was currently bound starfish style against the wall by countless murky red tethers.

At the same time, numerous fresh cuts decorated his body, while a glowing emerald pendant was tightened around his neck. By a sick twist of fate, the same silencing talisman he used on Little Chi was now being used against him.

Although Rubeous couldn’t see the wall he was bound to, he could tell a powerful formation was transcribed onto it. Even worse, the formation was created using his own blood!

Jun skillfully flipped the knife in his hand back and forth. He revealed a malevolent smirk and squinted one eye as he savored the scene.

Rubeous had long given up struggling, creating a rather pitiful picture.

The dispirited teen hung limply with his arms overhead, as if he were the sacrificial lamb to some morbid cult ritual. The blood red formation pulsed periodically, while the murky tethers melted and reformed constantly.

“You’re missing one eye already man. Hold still and let me finish this masterpiece.”

Rubeous shirked his neck down in fear as Jun stepped forward, brandishing the stained knife delicately. A painful expression flashed over Rubeous’ face as Jun slowly carved letters onto the young man’s forehead.

“Woman murderer. There, that suits you nicely. What do you think?”

Rubeous gazed at the floor in terror with his remaining eye, slowly comprehending what had just happened.

Was I just branded by some kid with a knife?

“Yes! And you’re also missing an eye!”

Jun gave a small chuckle.

“Aren’t you a blessed one? You still have your other…”

A swift slash cut through the air.

“Mrrhm!!!”

“Oops… Sorry about that, looks like you’re missing both of your eyes. I have very unsteady hands. Look on the bright side, at least you’re alive.”

Jun tapped his foot and pursed his lips in thought while Rubeous violently squirmed against his fate.

“Ah… I just realized, you can’t see anymore. So much for seeing any bright sides.”

You don’t dare kill me. You don’t dare. I’ll heal my eyes… I’ll never stop searching for you… I’ll find you even if that’s the last thing I do.

Rubeous’ head hung low while fresh streams of blood painted his face before dripping onto the floor. The soft pitter patter of thick droplets, along with Rubeous’ ragged breath, created a harrowing ambience within the room.

“I best be going now…”

Jun spoke softly as if he were soothing a pitiful child. He took a step back as his smile grew unrestrained.

“Your bodyguards, they’ll come for you eventually. Perhaps the scars will go away with the help of healing formations and elixirs, but your eyes… they’ll take a few months to regrow no matter what.”

Jun flipped his hood up before turning away from his mess.

“Come find me for revenge if that’s what you want.”

Heh… haha! He doesn’t dare kill me! He doesn’t! My elders will hear about this… I’ll bring the wrath of the entire Donatelli family. A life worse than death… yes, that’s it.

Jun simply shook his head before tuning out Rubeous’ overly active imagination.

Just as he had taken a few steps, a wave of nausea swept over his body.

“Ugh… what is this?”

He let out a groan and stumbled to the ground, cradling his head with both hands. This distinct feeling was not unfamiliar to him. Randomly and periodically it would come and go, each time accompanied by moments of amnesia.

No… this isn’t the time for this. I must get out of here… Get up. Get up damnit!

No matter how hard he willed it, he simply couldn’t control his body. His breathing turned ragged and his veins pulsed throughout his body.

After a few moments, he picked himself up almost robotically and cracked his neck from side to side.

It was as if nothing happened, like an internal storm of destruction had come and gone, leaving behind a peaceful sea.

He turned towards Rubeous with a faint smile.

If Rubeous could still see, he would have noticed that Jun’s eyes now glowed with two otherworldly colors. One glistened an ethereal blue, while the other burned with red fury as if to melt the earth.

“You’re right, he might not kill you, but I will.”

Two voices overlapped, creating a dissonant sound that somehow echoed within the small room.

A pang of fear struck Rubeous as his chaotic thoughts sobered up.

Who was… what was that?!

Jun’s mouth formed a sinister smile as he held his hand in front.

His fingers came together with a loud snap and a torrent of black flames gushed forth, enshrouding his entire body. In a matter of seconds, only his two contrasting eyes were visible within the shadowy inferno.

He swiped his hand to the side, sending black and grey waves of annihilation throughout the entire room. In the amount of time it took to sip a cup of water, all traces of Rubeous’ existence were swept away with the dissipating flames.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

With intense destructive power and a delicate level of control, the utility room had been wiped clean of any notion of violence. From the formation on the wall, to the blood stains on the ground, everything was burned away such that not even ashes remained.

“Hmpf.”

Jun’s body let out a snort and walked away.

----

Standing outside the room, Jun opened his eyes with a drowsy expression and kneaded his temple.

“Huh… when did I get here? These blackouts are getting worse.”

His mesmerizing sky-blue eyes lingered on the closed door in front of him. For some unknown reason, an ominous feeling took root the longer he stared at the door in silence.

He shook his head and rolled his eyes.

I need to get out of here before someone comes across Rubeous. Don’t want to be linked to this mess—too lazy to deal with that kind of fallout.

Without wasting another moment, he ambled off towards class, which was due to end soon.

If Jun had spent just a bit more time in front of that door, he would have realized that the ominous feeling stemmed from silence itself, as Rubeous’ thoughts no longer existed in this world.

----

While Jun was busy exacting justice, Amon arrived at a certain medical facility. The moment his cloudsplitter landed and the door opened, a pair of women rushed out of the building to greet him.

“Young master! Are you hurt?!”

One of the women called out to him with a worried expression, while the other woman followed swiftly behind her.

Both of them were dressed from the neck-down in a pure white and form fitted gown with no sections of skin revealed. At the same time, their make-up and hairstyle were done in the exact same manner, even their faces were almost exactly same.

“Ren, Nia, be quiet and come here quickly.”

The twins rushed forward with urgency.

Just moments ago they received a secret emergency message from Amon to meet him at the back entrance. This was a signal that only they were able to receive, which meant that the matter deserved the utmost amount of discretion.

Upon closing the gap, the two women swiftly inspected Amon with a scrutinizing eye before letting out a sigh of relief.

“Stop this nonsense, I’m fine. However…”

Amon stepped forward and opened the door to a different room within the vehicle. The woman in the lead, Ren, scoffed at Amon and spoke up in a stern voice.

“Young master, that emergency signal is for e-mer-gen-cies! Not for you to-“

Just as Ren began berating Amon, she came across the sight of Little Chi’s mangled body.

A sense of lifelessness could be felt from the distance. It was almost as if all will to live was slowly dissipating right before their eyes.

“Nia get the room prepped. Amon her feet, be gentle, I have her shoulders.”

Ren swiftly took control of the situation, not wasting a single second. Nia gave a quick nod and rushed out of the vehicle with a determined look.

“You’ll need to explain later, young man.”

Ren spoke coldly as the two of them carefully escorted Little Chi away. Amon could only reveal a wry smile once he heard Ren’s tone of voice.

He knew she wasn’t angry with him. This was just her personality when concentrating intensely.

Objective, calculating, and efficient were the best ways to describe the twins, Ren and Nia. They also happened to be his personal medical assistants assigned by the main family.

Silence greeted them the moment they entered the facility, along with purple light fixtures that lined the halls. The purple lighting was an indicator that an incredibly high-status patient was present, and everyone should stay out of the way.

After all, three can keep a secret if two are dead.

The workers at the facility knew that the purple light was a form of protection to help prevent them from accidentally seeing something they shouldn’t see.

Amon and Ren swiftly and carefully sped through a high security passageway with multiple doors that were wide open. This was all prepared by Nia, who could be seen at the end in a bright and clean room bustling about.

Upon entering the room, the two of them placed Little Chi on the medical bed at the center, while Nia slammed a nearby button causing all of the doors to seal shut. Simultaneously, the once quiet medical facility sprung to life with activity the moment the purple lights went away.

Naturally, the medical room was isolated from the outside noise.

“Amon.”

Ren called out to the handsome man, who was standing idly by the door.

“Hmm?”

“Make yourself scarce damnit. Don’t you have any decency?”

Nia had already begun cutting apart the rags that were Little Chi’s clothing while Ren admonished the now blushing Amon.

“I’ll let you get to the work then, pardon me.”

He quickly retrieved a token from his pocket and swiped it at the door, causing it to unlock. After making his way through the multitude of security doors, Amon finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Haaah…”

After pondering for a moment, he soon set off to meander the halls and await news from the twins.

The busy environment gave birth to many conversations that filled the air with excitement and mystery. After all, it wasn’t every day that the purple lights were lit.

“Can you believe it?”

“Hardly, I was so scared!”

“Who do you think was injured?”

A flustered woman spoke to a pair of men off to the side. All three of them wore matching light blue outfits, which was the uniform for most of the employees in the facility.

“I have no idea. Be careful though, just because the lights are off doesn’t mean they’ve left. Who knows what trouble we could get into if we’re not vigilant.”

One of the men warned with a serious expression, but the excitement in his eyes seemed to betray his emotions. Of course, the other two wouldn’t call him out of this. It was only natural to feel this way during a potentially momentous occasion.

Amon let out a sigh as he walked past them. His large frame didn’t go unnoticed as people quieted down and greeted him.

He scratched the back of his head, occasionally acknowledging the people he made eye contact with.

“Amon! My boy! Good to see you.”

Amon spun toward the elderly voice that called out to him. He gave the old man a warm smile and stepped closer to hold a more private conversation.

“Hello director, I hope I haven’t caused much of a disturbance.”

He gave a slight bow towards the old man.

The director seemed ordinary at a glance, but he was an elder from a branch family of the Einstoldt clan. Additionally, the amount of meritorious deeds that he had accomplished in his lifetime were endless.

Rumor has it that the old man was even there for the final moments of Maelstrom and Ruin, but rumors are just that and he would never speak on it.

Above all else, he was Ren and Nia’s teacher who guided them since they were but children.

“Nonsense boy, is everything in capable hands?”

His eyes gleamed with intelligence and his frail body became rocksteady.

“I believe so. The patient is in Ren and Nia’s care. It should be fine… I hope.”

Amon furrowed his brow in thought.

If anything should happen to Little Chi, what would Hina think? Would it be my fault? How am I supposed to inform Hina that Little Chi is in my care? Argh! How did this become so complicated? Curse you Jun!

The director noticed Amon’s obvious change in expression, but it would have been impossible for him to guess what was on the young man’s mind.

Regardless, he knew that if Ren and Nia were handling the situation then his assistance wasn’t needed at all, which showed the utmost trust and confidence he had in the twins.

“Well, that is good then. All is good, yes, yes.”

The old man stroked his silverly beard and relaxed. He spoke once again after noticing Amon’s pensive expression.

“Don’t dwell on things out of your control my boy. Come, let us go await the good news in my office. Hohoho, I just received a new shipment of tea… they say that the leaves only grow on the mythical starlight peach tree…”

The director rambled on while Amon aimlessly trailed behind. Despite the plethora of issues piling up for Amon, the old man’s single sided conversation unknowingly began to curb his stress.

----

The sun nestled into the horizon, causing the parade of clouds to take on a rusty hue. For hours the director’s ceaseless chatter filled the room with youthful energy that betrayed his aging body.

“There I was, back from the same shift where I had just met my future wife. That’s when I get this call… a most urgent call. It was imperative that I return to work. I’ve never seen anything like it. The amount of security, you wouldn’t believe!”

The director twirled his beard with a finger as he beamed at Amon who sat across from him.

“Guess who received me? Go on take a guess.”

Amon merely shrugged his shoulders while a small smile tugged at his lips.

“Elder Einstoldt himself. That old thing. Been alive for hundreds of years that man, and yet he still looks younger than me!”

Amon zoned out from listening to the director’s glory days. He jolted awake at the mention of Elder Einstoldt, remembering a certain rumor.

“Elder Einstoldt? Why would he possibly be there?”

Amon gazed at the director with interest, which seemed to fuel the old man’s creative imagination.

“Oh?! Who knows! I couldn’t believe it myself you see. It wasn’t just Elder Einstoldt, you know.”

The director stroked his beard before grinning.

“There were quite a few important figures that night. Hmm…”

His voice grew distant, his eyes adopting a faraway look.

“Yes… important people indeed.”

He murmured, lost in retrospect. Just as Amon was about to prod for more information, the hurried clomping of footsteps disturbed the room.

The door burst open with a slam!

Both men glanced at the newcomer with raised eyebrows. Not just anyone could barge into the director’s office unannounced, which meant that something big must have happened.

“D-Director!”

A young man in uniform locked his eyes onto the director before also taking notice of Amon.

“Spit it out boy, I don’t have all day. Can’t you see I’m entertaining a guest? What gives you the gall to enter my office without notice?!”

The director fumed while Amon merely sat in silence, placing a cup of tea to his lips.

“O-Of course sir! I wouldn’t dare! It’s just… the Luo family is here!”

“Pffffttt!”

Amon immediately spit out his mouthful of tea, attracting a strange look from the director.

Isn’t that too soon? How could they have found out?!

While Amon’s thoughts were in turmoil, the director adopted a professional persona.

“Considering the circumstances, you did well. I’ll be out to greet them personally.”

The subordinate bowed deeply before rushing off, closing the door behind him. The director stood tall with broad shoulders before turning to Amon.

“Would you perhaps know anything about this?”

Amon let out the millionth sigh of the day before standing up himself.

“Yeah, I have a good idea. This might get complicated.”