Interior of Rouge Mansion, Ezren's Bedroom. 9:00 PM

  Ezren couldn't sleep.Excitement burned through his veins, driving him to climb onto the windowsill, one hand gripping the frame for bance. The night sky shone indifferently at his restlessness, yet he stared at it as if the stars might answer his questions.

  "Charles is coming."The mere thought quickened his pulse. The st time he'd seen his cousin, he'd been just ten years old. Back then, Charles was already an S+-css warrior - like his parents... but there was something different about him. Something that, even as a charismatic, smiling man, made young Ezren feel that primal instinct of danger, as if facing a wolf in sheep's clothing.

  And now... now that same man was SSS+-css. The second strongest in the world.Ezren clenched the window frame until his knuckles turned white."What will he be like now...?" he murmured, wondering if that old smile still hid the same lethal edge.

  The sudden tock of a pebble against gss snapped him from his thoughts.

  Ezren blinked, startled, and peered down to spot Aric's silhouette in the moonlit garden. His older brother wore that trademark smirk that always spelled trouble, making exaggerated gestures for him to come down.

  "Aric?" Ezren muttered, arching a brow. "What does he want at this hour?"

  A sigh, a quiet chuckle, then he leapt from the windowsill with practiced ease. If Aric was summoning him at night, it meant only two things: chaos or secret training.

  "He must want to see my progress," he thought, taking the stairs two at a time, his excitement about Charles momentarily forgotten in the thrill of action.

  Ezren raced through the mansion's silent halls, his footsteps echoing on marble floors. As he veered toward the back door, he threw it open with such force that he missed the foot that suddenly appeared in his path.

  "Oof!"

  Face-first into the wn, mouth full of dirt.

  "Payback for earlier, dumbass," Astrid huffed, stepping over him with the grace of a smug cat, heading toward where Aric waited.

  "Hahaha, didn't see that coming!" Aric ughed, though at least had the decency to offer a hand to help him up.

  Ezren spat out a bde of grass and lunged at Astrid, teeth gritted."You're a petty little shit, midget!"

  Astrid froze mid-step.She turned slowly—like a predator catching the scent of blood."WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING ‘MIDGET’?!"

  CRACK!Their foreheads collided violently, nose-to-nose, eyes bzing into each other. The air between them crackled, as if literal sparks might fly at any moment.

  Aric dragged a hand down his face."Ah, shit... Here we go again."

  He wedged himself between them in one fluid motion, arms barricading them apart like iron gates."If you wanna brawl, save it for ter," he groaned, his voice dripping with big-brother exhaustion. "Tonight’s about progress. Don’t disappoint me."A taunting grin spread across his face as he crossed his arms, the unspoken challenge hanging in the air.

  Astrid’s eyes glowed like embers as she threw down her gauntlet:"Ha! I’ll shred Ezren to pieces before he even blinks.""Oh really?" Ezren barked a ugh, but his fists were already clenched, battle-ready."I’ll bury you right here, dumbass!" Astrid lunged—only for Aric to snag her by the hood like a misbehaving kitten.

  "Weapons first, kiddos," Aric teased, jingling a keyring in their faces. "No clue how the hell Astrid swiped the armory keys... but they’ll do for training."With an exaggerated sigh, he tossed them skyward. Ezren caught them with a metallic clink—the prelude to something far greater.

  They chose their weapons with deadly intent.

  Astrid didn’t hesitate for a second—her fingers closed around the rapier hanging on the wall, its bde needle-thin and forged for swift, lethal strikes. She swung it with the ease of someone who’d spent countless hours mastering it, the steel tracing an arc through the air that hissed as it split the night breeze."Don’t expect me to hold back," she warned, her smile sharp enough to imply she knew exactly how to pierce a heart in three motions.

  Ezren, meanwhile, strode to the corner where his sword y—the same massive bde he’d trained with at dawn, so thick it resembled a sb of metal. With a grunt, he hefted it, his arms trembling under its weight.

  Aric arched a brow."Wow… You’re seriously using that thing?" Half impressed, half amused.

  Ezren adjusted his grip, staring at his warped reflection in the steel."Yeah. It’s perfect for what I want to become." Not a shred of doubt in his voice.

  "Reminds me of Mom’s sword," Aric added with a wry chuckle.

  Exterior of Rouge Mansion. 9:30 PM

  The stage was set.

  They took positions in the courtyard, far enough from the mansion to avoid suspicion. Moonlight drenched their makeshift battlefield, turning their bdes into liquid silver extensions.

  "First round: Astrid vs. Ezren," Aric announced, arms crossed. "Winner fights me."A silence thick with electricity.

  Astrid coiled forward like a spring about to snap.Ezren braced his stance, ready to absorb the impact.Then—

  "Begin!"

  Astrid moved like a whirlwind, her feet barely grazing the ground before striking. Her rapier hissed—Fshh!—a silver streak shooting straight for Ezren, almost too fast to track.

  "She’s this fast?!" Ezren barely had time to think**, hefting his massive sword like a clumsy shield.

  CLANG!The impact vibrated through his bones. Astrid didn't pause—she pivoted mid-air, evading Ezren's slow but crushing counterattack with a graceful leap, as if the wind itself cradled her.

  "You're... too slow," she hissed through bared fangs that made her look every bit the predator.And struck again.

  CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

  Ezren staggered back, barely defending himself. Every thrust from Astrid was lightning aimed at his throat, his ribs, his legs. No time to breathe—only block, dodge, survive.

  "Aric!" Ezren gasped between parries. "When the hell did she learn to move like this?!"

  Leaning against a tree with crossed arms, Aric only ughed:"Ever wonder why she steals keys so easily?"

  Astrid gave no quarter. Her rapier carved a lethal arc toward his shoulder when—

  Ezren roared, driving his heels into the earth with such force the ground shook. His sword recognized the flow of his komi and—

  WHOOSH.

  The massive bde erupted in fmes, wreathed in a dancing cloak of fire.

  "Fire, huh?" Aric whistled, equal parts impressed and amused, as the orange glow lit up his grin.

  Astrid, already mid-lunge, twisted her body mid-air to evade the fiery ssh—but too te.

  WHOOSH!

  The searing wave of fme smmed into her, hurling her against a tree meters away. Dry leaves around her crackled for an instant before dissolving into ash.

  "You bastard...!" Astrid spat blood, yet her eyes burned with even fiercer fury.

  Ezren didn't rex. He knew this was just a scratch to her."You always underestimate your opponent, little girl," he taunted, tightening his grip.

  The insult ignited something primal in Astrid."'Little girl'?!" she whispered—then

  SHINK!

  She lunged again, but this time her rapier wasn't aiming to wound—it sought to kill. The needle-thin bde drove straight for Ezren's heart without hesitation.

  "You can't tell hunting from training, can you?" Ezren grunted, deflecting each thrust with his fming sword. "Little beast..."

  CLANG! FSHH! CLANG!Astrid's strikes turned chaotic, frenzied, as if rage had transformed her into a steel whirlwind. Yet something was missing...

  Aric, watching from the shadows, frowned."Why isn't she using her elemental affinity?" he wondered. Was Astrid still unable to awaken it?

  Astrid didn't relent. Her attacks kept coming like a storm of steel needles, each thrust faster than the st, forcing Ezren into desperate defense. But then...

  The fmes on his sword surged with sudden fury, forming a heatwave that pushed Astrid back. Exactly as he'd pnned.

  "Fireball!" Ezren conjured with a simple gesture—drawing a circle in the air and blowing into it.

  FWOOM!

  A massive sphere of fire roared from his fingertips, hurtling toward Astrid with devouring hunger.

  "Seems he's mastered his element..." Aric muttered, arms crossed. Even he was impressed.

  But Astrid didn't flinch.

  At the st instant, she backflipped as her hands flew through a rapid ritual—five consecutive hand seals, each motion as precise as her rapier's edge.

  "Water Gun!" she shouted, blowing through her clenched fist.

  SHHHHHH!

  A violent water jet speared through the air like liquid lightning, shredding the fireball into a steam explosion.

  Aric nearly choked on his own spit.

  "Water?!" He blinked, bewildered—then realized. "But... she used hand seals. Which means..." His eyes narrowed. "It's not her elemental affinity."

  They counterattacked with feral intensity."ARGHHH!" Their screams merged as they collided with force that shook the very air.

  CRACK!

  Astrid's rapier split in two, unable to withstand the fming sword's brutal strike. The impact's vibration sent her reeling—legs buckling as she crashed onto her back."Am I... going to lose?" The bitter thought twisted her face.

  Then—

  SHHHHIIING!

  A pilr of ice erupted from the ground like a silent scream of defiance, fsh-freezing Ezren's bde mid-swing and suspending it in the air like a frozen trophy.

  "Ice?!" Aric stepped forward, eyes alight with revetion. "No hand seals... It's innate. This is her true elemental affinity!"

  The silence that followed was thicker than the ice itself.

  Ezren blinked at his imprisoned sword."What the hell just happened?" he whispered, still processing.

  Astrid, sprawled on the ground, exhaled a ragged breath."I don't know..." Then, against all odds, a genuine smile broke through. "But I think I lost."

  Aric approached, studying the moonlit ice."Yeah, you lost. Your back touched dirt," he confirmed—though his voice carried pride, not disappointment.

  10:00 PM

  Aric passed them a jug of cold water, which Astrid and Ezren grabbed with trembling, exhausted hands. As they gulped it down, he leaned against a tree trunk, arms crossed and grinning.

  "Here. You both surprised me," he said, watching Astrid's breath mist in the chilly air.

  "Really?" Astrid ughed between swigs, her cheeks still flushed from exertion.

  "You’re seriously asking?!" Ezren scolded, dripping with sweat. "Since when can you do that?!"

  She lowered the jug and shrugged—though a mischievous smile pyed on her lips.

  "No clue..." She sighed, staring at her hands like they were strangers. "But it looks cool, right?"

  Aric burst out ughing."Always knew you'd be a freak of nature, Astrid."

  "WHAT’S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?! HUH?!" She sprang up like a jack-in-the-box, exhaustion forgotten.

  "Easy, easy..." Aric raised his hands in surrender—though he couldn’t help thinking, "She fres up just like Mom..."

  "I mean you’re different from the rest of the family," he crified, praying she wouldn’t incinerate him with her gre.

  Astrid scowled but finally flopped back onto the grass with a "Hmph!", her pout betraying her curiosity.

  "You think ice affinity is normal for Rouges?" He twirled a dry leaf between his fingers.

  Astrid’s eyes lit up like beacons.

  "See..." Aric leaned in, savoring the suspense. "Rouges are usually born with darkness or fire as their elements. Anything else? That’s an anomaly."

  A dramatic pause.

  "And those are the most fun to watch."

  "So... I’m the only Rouge with ice?" Astrid’s voice held an excitement they’d never heard before.

  "Bingo." Aric nodded. "Ezren got fire, like Mom. I got darkness, like Dad..."

  Ezren puffed out his chest, pride swelling.

  "But don’t think you’re the only ‘weirdo’ in the family," Aric added, eyes glinting mischievously. "There are three living Rouges with off-brand affinities—you included. Wanna know who the others are?"

  His tone was pure campfire storyteller... and they bit the bait hard.

  Aric cleared his throat, brushing imaginary dust off his shirt before dropping the bomb:"The first... our dear cousin Charles, 'the Immortal.'"

  He paused strategically, letting the title hang in the air like a threat."Leader of the second Rouge branch, SSS+-css... and with wood as his elemental affinity."

  Ezren blinked, suddenly thrust into half-remembered childhood fshes."That’s why he always smelled like a forest after rain..." he muttered, almost to himself.

  But Aric wasn’t done. Leaning forward with conspiratorial gleam:"And know why they call him 'the Immortal'?"

  Astrid and Ezren instinctively inched closer.

  "His wood absorbs karma from trees—even from roots he sprouts himself." A slow grin. "Basically regenerates like some cursed magic log."

  Ezren paled, picturing that monster turning entire forests into his personal medkit."No wonder he’s the Sun King’s rival..." He shuddered.

  Astrid, however, didn’t look daunted—she looked thrilled."I’ve decided," she decred, springing to her feet. "I’m challenging him to a duel!"

  Ezren nearly choked on his water."He’ll splinter you without leaving his chair, dumbass!" But she was already gone, deaf to reason.

  Aric dropped the next name like a spark onto gunpowder:"The second anomaly... is our cousin Selene Rouge of the third branch—'the Incorruptible.'"

  Ezren frowned, digging through memories until his eyes lit up."She’s the Kingdom’s Chancellor!" he blurted, recalling his parents’ hushed discussions.

  Aric nodded, savoring each second of revetion."Exactly. In charge of administration and diplomacy..." A dramatic pause. "...and also an SS-css archer who turns entire vilges to ash when she fights."

  Astrid’s throat clicked with an audible swallow.

  "Her element..." Aric’s voice dipped to a theatrical whisper, "...is indigo fire."

  The air turned viscous.

  "Blue... fire?" Ezren imagined fmes even he couldn’t control.

  "Fmes that burn eternally... until she chooses to extinguish them," Aric finished, watching horror and awe twist through his siblings’ expressions.

  Astrid, for the first time that night, looked genuinely awestruck."An archer... with that power..." She envisioned arrows igniting the horizon. "She must be... lethal."

  The tension grew taut as a bowstring about to snap. Aric had saved the most unsettling for st."The final anomaly..." He smoothed imaginary wrinkles from his clothes. "S+-css. From the third branch... and Selene's elder brother."

  A calcuted pause let the suspense fester.

  "Ezar, 'the Empty-Eyed.'"

  Astrid and Ezren unconsciously held their breath.

  "His affinity..." Aric's smile never reached his eyes. "...is blood."

  Thick silence smothered them.

  "He controls it—can solidify it like steel." He crushed a dry leaf to dust between his fingers. "Fights weaponless. A mage wholly dependent on his element."

  Ezren frowned, sifting through memories."Ezar Rouge... The royal army's second commander, right?" He sought confirmation in his brother's gaze.

  Aric nodded with a ugh that sounded more like a warning."Bingo. Seen him at the barracks with Dad..." His voice turned uncharacteristically grim. "He's... broken. Depressive. Speaks little, but his sense of justice is sharper than his blood-daggers."

  A weighted pause."He'd rather die for a civilian... than take one step back."

  "We really are a family to be feared..." Ezren exhaled, pride and awe tangled in his voice.

  Astrid gazed toward the horizon where city lights flickered faintly."Guess that’s why we live so far from everyone else..." A rare resignation tinged her words.

  Aric, ever the peacemaker, tried to lighten the mood with a smirk."And who’d want otherwise? Imagine the chaos if we mingled with common folk."

  But Astrid didn’t ugh this time. Her eyes—usually bzing with fury or sarcasm—held an uncharacteristic vulnerability.

  "Sometimes I wonder... will we ever live among people who don’t fear us?"

  The silence that followed was louder than any answer.

  Until—"Then let’s not just sit here staring!"Ezren sprang up, pointing defiantly at the North Star."If the adults can’t change things... we’ll turn the world upside down ourselves!"

  His voice rang with such pure conviction that even the wind seemed to pause.

  Astrid stared at him... then burst into ughter—but this time, it held no mockery.

  "You’re such an idiot..." she said, in a tone she’d never used with him before.

  Aric chuckled too, leaning back against the tree with arms behind his head."Easy for you to say..." he murmured—yet his smile betrayed him.

  Because for that moment, under the stars and the weight of their legacy, all three of them dared to believe it possible.

  10:30 PM

  The final duel began under the full moon.

  Ezren leaned forward, muscles coiled like springs, his massive sword—as wide as his torso—resting on his shoulder, its edge gleaming blue in the moonlight. Across from him, Aric waited calmly, his ordinary yet well-banced longsword held with the ease of a lifelong swordsman.

  Astrid, slumped against a fallen log with arms crossed, couldn't hide her frustration."You'd better win, Ezren!" she shouted, grinding her teeth with equal parts envy and anticipation.

  Aric tilted his head, smiling with that infuriating calm only he could muster."You really don't want to make her angrier..." he remarked, as if they were chatting at the dinner table rather than facing off in battle.

  Ezren swallowed hard, feeling the weight of his sister's words as much as his sword."I know..." he muttered, tightening his grip with resolve.

  The wind whistled through the trees, scattering dry leaves that danced around their feet like eager spectators.

  Ezren dug his heels into the earth and charged with heavy steps, dragging his colossal sword like a warhammer.

  "Such a basic attack?" Aric smiled, but his stance tightened instantly. He raised his sword left-handed, blocking just in time.

  CLANG!

  The impact thundered, shaking the grass beneath them and hurling sparks into the air. The force sent both stumbling back—but Aric recovered first.

  He counterattacked with speed that left afterimages in the air.

  Ezren held his breath. Fast—almost as fast as Astrid. No time to think.

  "Don’t underestimate me, little brother...!" Aric ughed—

  Then his shadow came alive.

  It twisted into jagged spikes of pure darkness, lunging at Ezren like bck serpents.

  But Ezren didn't flinch."Tsk! I know you too well, dumbass." A savage grin split his face as he swung his fming sword in a devastating arc.

  WHOOSH!

  A firewave sliced through the air, shredding the shadow spikes and crashing into Aric—who barely managed to cross his swords in defense.

  BOOM!

  The bst unched him backward, sending him flying meters upward as if punched by an invisible giant. But just before he hit the ground...His own shadow yawned like an abyss and swallowed him whole.

  "What the hell?!" Ezren cursed, spinning with senses razor-sharp. He knew his brother could emerge anywhere, any moment.

  And so it happened.

  From the very shadow Ezren cast, Aric emerged like a specter, his smile glinting in the gloom."My turn..." he whispered, hands weaving six seals in the blink of an eye."Fireball!"

  He blew through a circle formed by his fingers, and a sphere of roaring fmes took shape before him, painting his face in sinister light.

  It all happened too fast.Ezren barely managed to leap back—but too te.

  BOOM!

  The fireball struck him square in the chest, lifting him off his feet and hurling him through the air.

  "Incredible..." Astrid murmured, her eyes alight as she tracked every move.

  But Ezren wasn't done.Still mid-air, he thrust his palms backward—

  FWOOM!

  A controlled explosion of fmes erupted from his hands, propelling him into a stabilized fall. He nded knees-first, skidding several meters before stopping.

  Aric couldn't help but smile, though he tightened his combat stance."You've got guts."

  Ezren didn't reply. Instead, he flipped forward and charged bare-fisted, his sword discarded yards away.

  "Should've expected that stubborn streak!" Aric ughed, eyes alight with genuine challenge.In one fluid motion, he hurled his own sword into the earth where it quivered, embedded.

  "Let's fight on equal terms!"Then—like bck lightning—he lunged at Ezren, closing the distance in less than a blink.

  "Are you seriously brawling like kids in mud?!" Astrid groaned.

  The air whistled between their clenched fists, the impact imminent.

  The impact was brutal and perfectly synchronized.

  POW! CRACK!

  Both fists found their mark simultaneously, smashing into each other's jaws with a sickening crunch. The force sent them reeling—but they lunged again within seconds, like two bulls trapped in the same pen.

  The duel had devolved into something primal: pure, unadorned physical power.

  Aric stepped back momentarily, wiping his split lip with the back of his hand, leaving a crimson streak on his skin."Gotta admit..." He grinned, spitting red onto the grass. "You're stronger than me."Then his eyes gleamed with cunning."But strength means nothing without technique."

  And he proved it.In a burst of calcuted speed, Aric unleashed a surgical strike combo:

  A right cross to the gut that bent Ezren double.

  A left hook to the cheek that made stars explode behind his eyes.

  A final hammer-blow to the arms that Ezren barely blocked—his bones vibrating from the impact.

  Ezren forced himself up once more, though every muscle in his body screamed in protest. His vision blurred, pain sat like a boulder on his shoulders, and the exhaustion of the entire day—the brutal training, the duel with Astrid—weighed like lead in his veins.

  But he stood.

  Aric watched with a mix of awe and curiosity, dodging his brother's increasingly sluggish, erratic swings."Tell me..." he asked, pausing for a breath. "What keeps you pushing?"

  Ezren lifted his gaze, eyes burning with a determination that defied his battered body."The very act of surpassing my limits!" he roared—and as if those words were a spell, his stance straightened, his fists regained their flow.

  POW! — A clean hit to Aric's left cheek.CRACK! — An uppercut that made his brother's teeth rattle.

  But Aric was no easy opponent. In an instant counter, his right fist smashed into Ezren's cheek with a THUD! that sent him reeling.

  In one st desperate effort, Ezren clenched his fist with all his might. Unbeknownst to him, a dark, distorted energy began coiling around his arm—anti-karma, the force opposing the world's natural flow.

  Aric's eyes widened slightly at the sight."Anti-karma...?" he murmured, studying the unaware expression on Ezren's face.A smile of pride and curiosity tugged at his lips."Seems he doesn't even realize what he's doing..."

  As he analyzed, his own left fist began vibrating with the same twisted bck energy."Let's test your resolve..." he decred, bracing for the final collision.

  Astrid, from her log, leaned forward, eyes bzing with fascination."Huh? What are those bck currents around them?" she whispered, as if afraid to interrupt something sacred.

  In that instant, with a simultaneous roar, the brothers charged at each other.

  "ARGHHH!"

  Their fists collided.The world seemed to freeze.

  Then—

  BOOOOM!

  An anti-karma shockwave detonated, fracturing the air with bck lightning that scarred space itself.

  Nearby tree leaves withered and fell as if cursed by an invisible blight.

  Dirt and debris spiraled into a violent whirlwind, exploding outward in all directions.

  The ground beneath them cracked, webbing fractures spreading like shattered gss.

  Yet neither yielded.Ezren and Aric stood locked in pce, fists still connected, their contest no longer physical but spiritual.Who would break first?

  "You fought well, brother..." Aric smiled with genuine pride—yet his eyes burned with resolve not to lose.

  Suddenly, his fist erupted in a denser vortex of anti-karma, the bck energy pulsing like a dark heart.

  CRACK!

  The final blow smashed into Ezren's left cheek, hurling him meters backward.Ezren smmed against a tree with a sickening thud—and this time, he didn't rise.

  Aric had won.

  Aric gasped, swaying before colpsing to his knees. His left fist smoked, the skin seared with severe burns—as if the anti-karma had devoured it from within.

  Astrid sprinted over, first to scold Aric."Hey! You went too far!" she shouted, though her voice carried more worry than anger.

  Aric let himself fall backward onto the grass, ughing between bored breaths."Pretty sure Ezren would’ve hated it if I held back..." he murmured, staring at the sky as if searching for answers among the stars.

  Astrid made an exaggerated pout, feigning indifference."Whatever..." But curiosity got the better of her. "What was that energy in your fists anyway?"

  Aric let out a pained chuckle, wincing as his injured arm spasmed."Should’ve paid more attention in css, dummy..." His tone held more affection than mockery.

  Land of Earth, Border Vilge Near the Fire Country. 11:00 PM

  The moon bathed the deserted vilge streets, illuminating the carriage ready for departure. Livia adjusted her wavy bangs—always covering part of her forehead—as her traveling dress fluttered in the night breeze."Charles, darling," she called in that honeyed voice reserved only for him. "The driver’s loaded our luggage."

  Charles responded with a soft smile, brushing her cheek with his knuckles."Understood... Let’s go."

  His bck eyes gleamed under the ntern light, his ponytail swaying."We should reach Ashendrell’s forest by tomorrow."

  But as he moved to follow her, he froze.

  He’d sensed it.

  Multiple hostile komi signatures approaching rapidly.

  "Dearest?" Livia turned, noting his tension. Her voice brimmed with innocent curiosity. "Is something wrong?"

  Charles didn’t look back. His expression hardened briefly before melting into a warm smile."It’s nothing..." A lie delivered with practiced ease. "Just forgot something at the inn."He took her hands, squeezing them reassuringly."Board the carriage and tell the driver not to wait. I’ll catch up, okay?"

  Livia blushed but nodded."Oh... Don’t be long..." she whispered, climbing aboard with one st worried gnce.

  The moment the wheels began turning, Charles’ smile vanished.Now only the lethal calm of a predator remained.

  CRRACK!

  Branches snapped like bones as six hooded figures emerged from the darkness, moving in perfect sync. Their bck hoods with white trim gleamed under the moonlight like a macabre mockery.

  "Now!" a male voice roared from among them.

  In an instant, bck chains shot toward Charles, coiling around his torso and arms with serpentine hunger. The metal cnged as it tightened—yet he didn’t even flinch.

  "Bck hoods with white trim?" he mused, as if examining a scientific oddity. "Could you be that criminal guild that hunts specific cns?"

  One hooded figure let out a razor-edged ugh."Those chains are forged in anti-karma, Rouge. Neither your wood nor your damned regeneration will save you now."

  Charles remained unshaken."Who are you?" His voice never rose, yet each word carried the weight of an anvil.

  The nearest assaint straightened with arrogance."None of your concern! We just need you docile for delivery to the boss."His mocking ughter tangled with the chains’ creaking.

  Charles remained unfazed by their chains.

  The hooded men yanked harder, but he only smiled—as if this were a tedious game.

  "Seems your leader underestimated me," he ughed, his voice blood-chilling.

  "The hell you mean?! You're trapped, idiot!" one shouted, shaking the chains violently.

  Then Charles' smile vanished."Then... I'll take you."

  His eyes changed.

  The whites darkened to pitch bck.The iris stained deep red, like dried blood.The pupil burned crimson, like live coals.His hair turned scarlet, as if dipped in gore.

  The Crimson Eye had awakened!

  BOOM!

  A wave of terrifying aura exploded from his body, sweeping the area. Five of the six attackers dropped unconscious instantly—like flies exposed to poison.

  Only the loudmouth remained standing.

  "W-What are you?!" the man stammered, legs buckling as he scrambled back. He looked like he’d stared straight into the devil’s maw.

  Charles shrugged off the chains with a single motion—as if they were silk threads.

  Then… the roots came.

  CRACK!

  Spear-like shoots erupted from the earth, piercing through the hearts of the unconscious men. Instant death.

  The st survivor screamed.

  "N-NO! Stay back, you monster!" He tried to run, but his legs betrayed him.

  A root shaped like a giant hand burst from the soil, clutching him like a doll.

  Charles approached, that smile never touching his crimson eyes."So... feeling cooperative now?" The false sweetness in his voice was more terrifying than any roar.

  On a distant hilltop, two figures observed the massacre with detached calm. Their bck hoods with white trim fluttered in the night wind—identical to the fallen attackers'.

  The woman, straight pink hair escaping her hood, licked her lips as she adjusted her telescope."So that's the infamous Rouge 'Crimson Eye'..." Her whisper dripped with obscene fascination. "The boss was right. Anti-karma chains aren't enough to contain him."Her fingers toyed with a lock of hair, twisting and untwisting with barely contained excitement.

  Beside her, the burly man lowered his binocurs."At least we got intel..." He adjusted his mask. "Charles Rouge is heading to Ashendrell. Right where we'll make our next move."A sigh escaped him—not of fear, but anticipation.

  The woman ughed, a sound like poisoned windchimes."Perfect... Two birds with one stone."

  A criminal guild targeting Ashendrell and Charles?! Is the Rouge family in danger?!