In an underground basement beneath the Elven Kingdom’s coast…

Two girls were bound to their chairs with thick ropes, struggling relentlessly to break free by squirming and jerking. These unfortunate captives were none other than Hillary and Moon. Their mouths had been gagged with white cloths, preventing any communication between them.

Facing them stood a man of around 5’2 in height, clad entirely in a black suit, who had been observing Hillary and Moon for the past two hours.

“Oi, I told you. You can’t break free. These ropes are made from exceptionally strong material. Your efforts are in vain, so why don’t you just sit quietly…?” the guard remarked as he peered at the girls.

“Mnhhhh-” Moon attempted to shout, her face twisted in anger, but the cloth muffled her voice.

“I know you can curse me, but guess what… only five minutes remain until the time limit for your brother expires. Once that happens, you can’t even fathom what I will do to you. I will cut your tiny-” Before he could finish his threat, the sound of the door opening abruptly interrupted him.

He swiftly turned to see Ares approaching with ten more men dressed in black suits, a delighted expression on his face.

“Well, well, well… How are our guests doing, Barney?” Ares inquired, gazing at the man standing next to the girls.

“T-They are doing g-good, Sir,” Barney stammered, his voice trembling with fear.

Slap .

Suddenly, Ares slapped Barney and snapped, “Well, I don’t want them to feel good, you ** bag. Do you think I brought them here so they can feel good?”

“I-I-I am sorry, Sir. This won’t happen again,” Barney hurriedly bowed down and apologized.

“Clear the way; I want to speak with the girls personally,” Ares ordered as he sat down in front of them, a psychopathic smile on his face.

The other assassins immediately stepped aside, allowing Ares to approach the captives.

“Hello, cute little sister. How are you?” Ares inquired with a creepy smile.

“Mnhhhmnnnnff-” Moon shouted, her eyes locked onto Ares.

“Ah, yes. Let me remove that cloth from your mouth,” Ares said as he took off the white cloth.

“You **ing son of a bitch, you piece of **. Do you really think you can keep me here? My brother will come and kill all of you,” Moon shouted without restraint.

“Well, good talking to you. Seems like you’re way too aggressive to have a civil conversation, huh?” Ares remarked before gagging her once again with the same white cloth.

“Hey, don’t yo- Mahhhhnhhhhh.” Moon tried to bite his hand, but her attempt was futile, and Ares quickly silenced her.

“Hmm… it looks like your brother is late… only ten seconds remain until you die. Everyone, count with me…10,” Ares began counting down.

“9…” The others in the room joined in.

“8…7….6….5….4…3…2-” Suddenly, Ares stopped as he felt a vibration from his spatial ring.

He swiftly retrieved a communication crystal ball from the ring, gazing at it in bewilderment. The crystal ball glowed with a red hue from within.

“Oi, what does the red color signify again?” Ares asked one of the assassins.

“S-Sir, it means your home. It’s an emergency message from your home,” the assassin explained.

“Yes, you have a good memory. I remember now; I gave this crystal to Mom once, but she never used it, until now. Why is she using an emergency crystal to call me?” Ares pondered aloud, injecting his mana into the ball.

“Hello, Mom… what’s the problem? Why are you sending me messages on the emergency ball? Is there some kind of emerge-” Ares started but was abruptly interrupted by an unfamiliar male voice emanating from the other side of the crystal, a voice he had never heard before.

“Oh, yes… there is an emergency. I’ve just invaded your house. I’ve slain all the mages and soldiers present inside your house, and I have your entire family right in front of me. Here, speak to them…” Anon said as he presented the crystal ball to Ares’s mother, who knelt before Anon, terror in her eyes.

“Want to say something to your good kid?” Anon asked, his smile menacing.

“A-Ares… Save me, Ares. H-He beat me with a hot iron rod; he even slapped your father so hard he went unconscious and broke your brother’s nose by punching him in the face. P-Please…”

Slap

Anon slapped Ares’s mother and rose to his feet.

“OIIII, DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE TOUCH MY MOTHER, YOU FUCKING BASTARD….” Ares shouted angrily.

“Ouch… don’t shout, bitch; I don’t like loud noises. So, what was I saying? Yes, so you’ve heard your mother, right? That’s essentially what I did with them until now, but if you don’t return to your house in approximately, let’s say, 15 minutes, with my girls… I will do something far worse to them. Believe me, death doesn’t come close; it’s even worse than death.

Oh, yes, one more thing… If I see even a single cut on their skin… you can consider your father dead-”

“Jule, you **ing-” Ares attempted to say something but was immediately interrupted by Anon.

“Let me finish, Sir. Don’t speak in the middle of my talk, or your mother will be a goner. So, what was I saying?

Yes, your time has started ticking. Goodbye, bastard,” Anon declared before smashing the crystal ball on the floor.

Ares on the other side was seething with anger, every second increasing his fury.

“Ahhhhhhhhhh…. Fuckkkkk.” Ares yelled as he hurled the crystal ball against the wall, shattering it.

“Master, shouldn’t we kill them?” one of the assassins inquired.

Ares turned to the assassin, drawing his wand. He pointed it at the assassin and incanted a spell.

Thunder Jolt

Booom

A bolt of lightning struck the man, instantly ending his life.

“Anyone else have any more stupid questions?” Ares demanded with a furious expression as he scanned his assassins.

“N-No, Sir,” all the assassins promptly replied.

“Good… prepare your weapons. We’re going to kill a dog and load them into the carriage,” Ares ordered as he pointed towards Moon and Hillary.