“You bastard!” Angelica cursed. “You really believe I’ll tell you? And do you actually think you can beat the King?”
Nade slowly circled Angelica, dragging the tip of his blade along the ground. Wherever it touched, the earth froze. A deadly chill ran down Angelica’s spine. Her body was far too cold to even sweat.
“I could just beat you now and find the King myself,” Nade said, his tone calm. “I heard some chaos outside—there must be a reason why you suddenly came to kill me, right? But wouldn’t you want to witness your King defeat me himself? It would be a shame to miss that, wouldn’t it?”
“I know that’s a bait, you fool,” Angelica snarled. “However... you’re right. It would be my pleasure to see him butcher you like the animal that you are. Ahahahaha! I shall take you to him!”
(Nade: Who's the fool now?)
In Paradise – Castle Interior
Dae’s group had already left. It was now up to Sarah and her people to clean up. Michael had vanished at the start of the battle, but his crew remained. Some had scattered and were still busy fighting outside.
Sarah spotted a crying child on the floor. From the side, a smiling blonde woman approached. Instinctively, Sarah drew her bow and fired an arrow. Sensing the killing intent, the woman turned and narrowly evaded the shot. She abandoned the child and lunged at Sarah, who was already readying her second arrow.
The arrows were thin—light enough for Sarah to carry one hundred of them. Despite their size, they were fast and lethal if aimed right. Sarah still had a few to master.
Just as the woman closed in, Emilia leapt over Sarah’s head and swung her spear downward. The woman twisted away, but the blade still nicked her. Her smile only widened.
“I shall delight in butchering you two!” she hissed and launched herself forward.
Emilia met her midair, swinging her weapon, but the woman dodged every strike. She got in close and went for a punch. Emilia used the shaft of her spear to block it—a success. The woman lost her balance, but used the momentum to spin and sweep Emilia off her feet.
That move, however, cleared the way for Sarah’s next arrow—right through the woman’s head. She collapsed, dead.
From the corner of her eye, Sarah saw Rick take down three more smiling enemies. She rushed over to help Emilia up.
“You okay?”
“Yes, Miss President. It really turned into a mess.”
“Yeah. We’ll have to postpone the search for Nade. Let’s help the people here. We’re going outside!”
In the Carriages
The driver had pushed the horses to their limit. Eventually, Dae’s carriage slowed. He opened the door—only to be greeted by a ghoul that lunged inside.
Two women, Rayshel and Pandora, were seated nearby and didn’t hesitate. They ganged up on the ghoul. Within seconds and a few brutal kicks, it was dead.
Dae peered outside again. The driver had a bite on his neck. He was barely alive. Dae turned to the women.
“We’re leaving the carriage and taking the horses.”
As if on cue, the carriage came to a halt and they jumped out.
“I don’t know your name, but thank you for getting us this far,” Dae said. He walked over to the driver and closed his eyes. He hadn’t turned—thankfully—but the blood loss was too much. And finding a doctor in this forest? Impossible.
Once past the woods, they’d reach Pandora’s villa. They freed the horses and mounted up. Rayshel sat in front of Dae, and the horses galloped forward.
Suddenly, there was movement in the bushes—groans, and then a figure stepped onto the path. A man with gold-black eyes.
“So, you were a spy all along, Pandora,” he said bitterly. “It pains me. I hoped you would join us... maybe even marry me.”
“I’d rather marry shit than be with you,” Pandora snapped.
Dae smiled and leapt off the horse mid-gallop, landing in front of the man. The horses circled and continued on.
“Dae!” Rayshel called over her shoulder.
“Go! We’ll meet again!”
“How?!”
“I’ll find you, Rayshel. No matter where you are.”
They vanished into the forest.
The man had short blonde hair with shaved sides. He wore loose black pants and a white shirt that highlighted his muscular frame.
“You think you can take me on? Funny. I won’t even need to transform.”
He launched forward, the ground cracking beneath his feet. One leap, and he was already in front of Dae, swinging his leg horizontally.
To his surprise, Dae followed the motion, jumped into a spin, and landed a clean kick—sending the man crashing into a tree.
“I think you should reconsider that idea of not transforming.”
Somewhere in Paradise
Nade dragged Angelica behind him. Strangely, she didn’t resist—her grin even widened as they neared the black gate. Then, footsteps echoed behind them. Angelica’s smile vanished.
“You bastard! What are you doing here?!”
Nade turned. The insults were aimed at Michael. His face was drenched in sweat, but it wasn’t enough to wash away the fury in his eyes. He looked at Angelica, then at Nade, and made a guess.
“You’re here to take on the King, right?”
“Your guess is on point. And you?”
“Same. No time for talk—I’m going in.”
Michael walked past Nade without even glancing at Angelica. By now, he had completely forgotten her. Nade followed.
The gates creaked open.
Inside sat the enemy—at a table, chewing on organs and sipping from a glass of red liquid. Blood, no doubt.
Michael froze.
Nade didn’t move either.
The first to speak was Angelica:
“Hahahahahaha! Now you’re united! Aren’t you happy to see her again? The experiment succeeded! She’s the first of her kind—but not the last. Soon there will—”
Nade froze her mouth with a wave of cold.
The woman in the room was dark-skinned, with long black braids. Stunning, no doubt. But what stood out most were her gold-black eyes—the colors reversed. Where angels had black, she had gold. Where they had gold, she had black.
“Michaela… what happened to you?” Michael’s voice cracked. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m eating… brother.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKzsPcgjxE
