In a dimly lit warehouse on the outskirts of the city, Dragon Case stepped inside, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings. Across the room, General Magnus sat at a metal table, leisurely sharpening a knife.

  “Dragon!” Magnus greeted, his voice gruff yet oddly warm.

  Dragon approached, his expression cold. “I told you to stop sending your goons after me. Next time, I’ll rip your eyes out.”

  Magnus, a burly boy of Dragon’s age with a thick beard and a physique carved from years of battle, slung an arm over Dragon’s shoulders. “I’m making big moves with King Carter later. This is your last chance to rejoin me.”

  Dragon turned his head away. “I’m fine. Now leave me alone.”

  Before Magnus could respond, the door swung open, and a well-dressed man stormed in. “You bastard! You broke my video game!” The arcade owner’s voice was shrill with rage.

  Dragon sighed and threw his head back. “I’m in the middle of something.”

  The manager grabbed his arm. Dragon reacted instantly, delivering a swift punch that sent the man sprawling. A sharp pain shot through his hand. “Shit,” he muttered, shaking it out.

  Magnus scowled. “What the hell was that? I didn’t teach you how to punch like that—no way.” He hoisted the arcade owner up with one hand.

  Dragon cracked his neck. “Kiss my ass. It’s been a while.”

  Magnus smirked. “You gotta aim it right.” With a practiced motion, he threw a devastating punch, knocking the man out cold.

  Dragon sighed, rubbing his temples. “Can I just leave now?”

  Magnus leaned against the table. “At least hear me out. Me and Carter have something big planned.”

  Dragon waved a dismissive hand. “Not interested.”

  Suddenly, the warehouse door burst open. A man was flung inside, crashing hard against the floor.

  “But I am,” came a cool voice.

  Althara and Ashley stepped inside, their presence shifting the atmosphere.

  “They said King Melanthius and King Dorian would be here,” Ashley added, scanning the room.

  The battered man on the floor lifted his head toward Magnus. “I didn’t tell them anything! My loyalty is to you, sir!”

  Magnus stared down at him before delivering a bone-rattling slap. “Good for you!” he chuckled, then turned back to the women. “So, do you ladies know how to fight?”

  Althara cracked her knuckles. “Where’s Melanthius?”

  Ashley stepped forward. “And where’s Dorian?”

  Dragon groaned. “Ugh, this is getting annoying.”

  Before he could react, Althara struck. A hidden cloud kick landed squarely against his chest, sending him sprawling unconscious to the floor.

  Magnus’ eyes widened in astonishment. “All my years, I haven’t seen a proper martial artist! You’ve blended magic and martial arts flawlessly!” He sounded almost giddy—until Ashley performed a backflip, slamming her heel into his face.

  “You want martial arts?” she quipped, landing smoothly before straddling his chest. “There you go.” She rubbed her temple, letting out a deep sigh. “Dorian’s the only person I trust. If he’s not here, I’m lost.”

  Althara settled onto Dragon’s unconscious body. “Same here with Mel. After running from my abusive father, life was rough. Met some people, left them, and eventually, I met Mel. Even though I did… things, he still took a chance on me.”

  Ashley chuckled softly. “Funny. My dad was abusive too—but to my mom. She wasn’t innocent, though. Did a lot of messed-up things to him. One time, she tried to stab him. He grabbed the knife. She went after him again, but this time, he struck first. I got in the way, and he cut the sides of my mouth.” She exhaled slowly, the memory heavy in her voice. “He never stopped apologizing. But my mom took me away from my sisters.”

  Althara, who had been listening with casual interest, suddenly stiffened. Her face turned pale.

  “This… wouldn’t have been about twelve years ago, would it?” she asked hesitantly.

  Ashley furrowed her brows. “Yeah, something like that. Why?”

  Althara turned to face her fully, her expression unreadable. “That’s not how it happened. Your father attacked mother first.”

  The air between them grew heavy. Ashley’s heart dropped. She slowly stood. Althara followed. A tense silence filled the warehouse.

  Meanwhile, in the Red Tavern…

  Dorian stood his ground as one of the hydra’s heads lunged toward him. With precise timing, he countered with a Hidden Cloud Kick, his foot crackling with Mel’s black lightning. The impact sent the head snapping back, but the beast was relentless.

  “Mel’s magic is insane…” Dorian muttered under his breath, electricity flickering along his fingertips. He stretched his hands out, weaving a massive web of lightning, and hurled it at the hydra. The attack incinerated two heads, but within seconds, fresh ones sprouted in their place.

  Above, Mel floated high in the air, his cloak billowing from the charged energy around him. His golden eyes gleamed against the storm forming overhead.

  “Dorian, my bad! I can’t drag this out—I just remembered I left something here.” His voice boomed over the chaos. Without hesitation, he raised a single hand, black lightning crackling around his palm before condensing into a massive orb of destruction.

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  With a flick of his wrist, Mel hurled it downward.

  A violent explosion erupted, swallowing the hydra in a blinding inferno of darkness and lightning. When the dust settled, nothing remained of the beast.

  A wave of cheers erupted from the masked figures watching from the balconies.

  “That was incredible!”

  “Encore!”

  The excitement quickly turned to horror as Mel, still floating, formed another orb of black lightning—this time aimed directly at them.

  Panic spread like wildfire. Buyers and onlookers scattered in desperation, some too slow to escape the storm of electricity that surged through the air.

  Mel descended, landing amidst the chaos, snatching up a fallen mask from the scorched floor. His breathing was ragged, his form crackling with unstable energy.

  “WHERE IS KING CARTER?!” he roared, his voice laced with something dangerous—something barely controlled.

  Before he could unleash another attack, a sharp smack echoed through the tavern.

  Sheika had appeared, standing before him with an irritated expression.

  “Cut it out,” she said flatly.

  Mel blinked, the haze of rage lifting from his eyes as he rubbed his cheek. Then, without warning, he threw his arms around her.

  “I almost lost control!” he whined, burying his face in her shoulder.

  Sheika let out a long sigh, running a hand through his hair. “Calm down, idiot,” she muttered.

  From Dorian’s perspective, however, it looked like Mel was hugging thin air but he chose not to ask.

  Mel collapsed onto the ground, catching his breath before pushing himself up to stand beside Dorian. As Dorian released Mel’s borrowed magic, his eyes flickered back to their usual deep red, the lingering traces of black lightning fading from his veins.

  “Why did you all come here?” Dorian asked, stretching out his sore shoulders.

  Mel rolled his own aching arms and let out a breath. “A serial killer came back to life and claimed he was sent from here. We needed answers.” He glanced around at the destruction before continuing. “The others are still searching, but I think I’m the only one who’s found anything like this.”

  Pulling out his phone, he swiftly snapped pictures of the hydra’s remains, the eerie coliseum-like layout, the balcony where the masked figures had stood, and the discarded masks littering the floor.

  “I need to find Althara,” he muttered, scrolling through his phone.

  Dorian let out a sigh, rubbing the back of his head. “Ashley’s probably looking for me too.”

  Mel’s eyes narrowed at his screen, his thumb pausing mid-swipe. “She’s… on the outskirts? In a warehouse?”

  Dorian blinked and checked the tracker linked to Ashley’s earpiece.

  “She’s… on the outskirts? In a warehouse?” He echoed.

  A beat of silence passed before the two exchanged a look. “Shit.”

  Back in the warehouse…

  Althara and Ashley clashed in a furious exchange of strikes, their movements precise and relentless. Ashley launched a quick jab, but Althara deflected it with her forearm and countered with a spinning heel kick. Ashley barely managed to duck, sliding beneath Althara’s leg before popping up and throwing a sharp elbow toward her ribs.

  Althara twisted her torso just in time, absorbing the blow with a grunt before grabbing Ashley’s wrist and twisting it, aiming to throw her off balance. Ashley, however, used the momentum, rolling over Althara’s arm and flipping onto her feet, breaking free with a sharp backfist to Althara’s jaw.

  “You’re my sister? And you’re dumb enough to believe your mother was in the wrong?” Althara’s voice was laced with disbelief and fury as she glared at Ashley. “Andhraka Liu was our abusive father!”

  Without hesitation, Althara raised her leg high and brought it down in a brutal axe kick. The force of the blow slammed into Ashley’s head, sending her staggering to her knees. Blood dripped from her nose, but she barely winced. Instead, she snatched Althara’s leg, gripping it tightly before twisting and slamming her into the ground with a thundering impact.

  “My mother was a psychopath who was always trying to kill my father!” Ashley snapped, her breath heavy. “Of course, he had to defend himself!”

  Without giving Althara time to recover, Ashley leaped into the air, aiming both knees toward Althara’s stomach.

  But Althara was ready. She pulled her legs in, bracing her knees against Ashley’s attack. The impact sent them both bouncing back, and in a flash, they flipped to their feet, landing in perfect stances.

  Their eyes locked. The realization of their connection did nothing to stop the intensity of their fight.

  “We’ll never understand each other.” They spoke in unison, their voices filled with finality.

  They lunged at each other again, fists ready to strike—

  But before they could land another blow, strong hands yanked them apart.

  Mel grabbed Althara, holding her back, while Dorian restrained Ashley.

  “Calm down!” They both shouted.

  Althara shoved Mel off her, breathing hard. “This is my oldest sister,” she spat, shaking her head. “And she actually believes Andhraka is innocent.”

  Ashley wiped the blood from her nose, her expression cold. “At least he wasn’t crazy.”

  Althara froze for a moment, fists clenched, before turning sharply on her heel and storming off.

  Ashley exhaled, shaking her head, before walking in the opposite direction.

  Dorian and Mel exchanged glances.

  “Did you know about this?” Dorian asked, rubbing the back of his head.

  “No,” Mel muttered, still stunned.

  Without another word, Mel followed after Althara while Dorian trailed behind Ashley, each of them knowing that this was far from over.

  Back on the other side of the outskirts, Akoni stood firm, facing Cassius, while Bimoth and Amara stood silently behind him, watching.

  “Hey, Astroman,” Cassius smirked, cracking his knuckles. “You look good. Been working out?”

  Akoni took a slow drag from his cigarette, exhaling smoke as he studied Cassius. “Been a long time,” he muttered. “Looks like you’ve gotten stronger.”

  Without another word, they stepped toward each other, tension thick in the air.

  The moment the ash from Akoni’s cigarette hit the ground, both men lunged—fists colliding with brutal force.

  A shockwave rippled outward from the impact, kicking up dust and forcing Bimoth and Amara to step back. Neither Cassius nor Akoni flinched—both staggering slightly from the sheer power of their strikes but refusing to back down.

  “I heard you killed your parents,” Cassius said, his voice eerily calm despite the intensity of their clash. “And joined the Seven Deadly Kingdoms.”

  Akoni’s eyes flickered, but he remained silent, cracking his neck as if shaking off the moment. “You all should leave,” he finally said, his voice firm but distant. “Attacking the Pride Kingdom is a death wish.” He wiped the blood from his lip before casually raising his hand. With a surge of gravity magic, he shot into the sky, disappearing into the night.

  Bimoth blinked in disbelief. “He came, told us to fuck off, and left?” He scoffed, crossing his arms.

  His amusement faded when Cassius suddenly dropped to his knees, coughing violently.

  Amara was at his side in an instant, gripping his shoulder. “Cassius! Are you okay?” she asked, worry etched across her face.

  Cassius spat out a mouthful of blood, his breathing ragged. “I don’t think… that’s the same Akoni we knew,” he murmured, his gaze fixed on the sky where Akoni had vanished.

  Amara followed his line of sight, her expression darkening. “We should go home,” she said softly, before helping Cassius to his feet. As they turned away, a heavy silence settled over them—an unspoken understanding that something had changed, and not for the better.