"How profound were the enemy's tactics that they were willing to sacrifice so many people just for this?"
Khate's expression darkened as the thought crossed her mind.
Still, when she remembered Morgan, the answer no longer felt surprising.
If he was the one leading this war, then sacrifices meant nothing to him.
Khate tightened her grip around the black staff before breaking through the manor doors forcefully, her senses already spreading through the building.
She did not lower her guard for even a moment.
The moment she entered, her steps slowed.
Bodies.
They were everywhere.
Women, children and old men.
Many of them had died horribly, their bodies twisted beyond recognition as blood painted the once elegant manor floors red.
Khate's breathing stopped briefly.
"Three."
Panic flashed through her eyes.
She instantly spread her senses across the manor, searching every room desperately.
Nothing.
No life.
Her heart started beating faster.
She scanned the whole manor before noticing something
Four auras.
At the farthest end of the manor.
Relief and fear mixed together instantly.
"Maybe he's alive."
Khate immediately moved deeper into the manor while suppressing the killing intent rising within her body.
The closer she got, the colder her expression became.
Finally, she stopped before a large door.
Vexer's office.
Without hesitation, she raised the staff and smashed the door apart.
Bang.
Wood and fragments exploded inward.
The moment Khate entered, her pupils narrowed sharply.
A woman dressed in grey robes sat comfortably behind Vexer's desk while swirling a glass filled with red liquid.
Blood.
Khate recognized the scent immediately.
Standing beside the woman were two heavily built men radiating dangerous auras.
One of them held a struggling child tightly in his arms.
Three.
The moment Khate saw him, the killing intent around her almost erupted uncontrollably.
"Rhea Orenvast," she hissed coldly.
The grey-robed woman smiled leisurely.
"Khate, my darling. It has been a while." She motioned casually toward a chair nearby. "Come. Sit with me."
"Release my son if you do not want to die."
The temperature within the room instantly dropped as Khate's hair slowly turned emerald green.
Rhea remained completely calm.
Instead, she gestured lightly toward the man holding Three.
The man tightened his grip immediately.
"Mom! They're hurting me!"
Three cried out before his mouth was covered roughly.
Khate took a step forward instinctively before stopping herself.
Rhea had prepared for this.
"I knew you would react violently," Rhea said calmly while taking another sip from the glass. "That is why I needed something capable of making you listen."
Khate's eyes trembled slightly as she looked around the room once more.
The blood. The corpses outside. The silence within the manor.
"You killed them," she said hoarsely. "There were children here."
Rhea tilted her head slightly.
"You already know why."
She slowly stood before sitting casually on top of the desk.
"I needed your attention. That was all."
Khate's grip around the staff tightened harder.
Rhea looked at her carefully before chuckling softly.
"The firstborn daughter of the Veyne family. A genius praised once every hundred years." Her gaze narrowed slightly. "Tell me honestly, Khate. Why abandon all of that for the Starborn clan?"
"That is none of your business."
"Still stubborn." Rhea sighed lightly. "Even after all these years."
Khate ignored her completely.
"Release my son."
Rhea smiled faintly.
"You know, your family still values you highly." She waved her hand casually. "I even received a personal message from your Patriarch. If I can let you survive this war, the Veynes are willing to compensate me generously."
Khate's expression remained cold.
"State your conditions."
Rhea's smile widened.
Without hesitation, she reached into her robes and removed a dark grey pill before tossing it toward Khate.
The pill landed near her feet.
"Swallow it," Rhea said calmly, "and I will allow you and your son to leave safely."
Khate looked down at the pill briefly before raising her head again.
"You think I am stupid enough to trust you?"
Rhea burst into laughter.
"Do you think you have a choice?"
At her signal, the man behind tightened his grip around Three once more.
"Mmph! Mmph!"
Blood started flowing from the boy's nose as he struggled helplessly.
Khate's expression finally changed.
Her fingers trembled slightly before she slowly bent down and picked up the pill.
"How do I know you will honor your promise?"
Rhea immediately summoned a blank grey contract sheet.
"Simple."
She bit her finger before pressing it against the paper.
A crimson mark appeared instantly.
"We sign a contract."
Khate was not surprised.
The moment the contract floated toward her, words automatically began forming across its surface.
She read every line carefully.
No loopholes nor hidden conditions.
At least, none that she could immediately see.
After several seconds of silence, she finally pricked her finger and stamped the contract.
Rhea smiled brightly.
"You see? I am being sincere."
Khate ignored her words and looked down at the pill once more.
The foul smell coming from it was impossible to miss.
Still, after glancing at Three, she swallowed it without hesitation.
The reaction came almost instantly.
Cough.
Blood spilled from Khate's mouth as her face immediately paled.
The aura surrounding her became unstable.
Green healing light quickly spread across her body as she tried stabilizing herself.
"What did you give me?" she demanded coldly.
Rhea waved her hand dismissively.
"Nothing too special. Just a Dusk Bead."
Then a blood-red whip appeared within her hand.
Khate's expression changed instantly.
"You..."
Bang.
The whip lashed outward immediately.
Khate blocked it with her staff, but the impact still forced her backward.
Rhea smiled mockingly.
"You seem to misunderstand something, Khate." She slowly raised the whip again. "My specialty is blood."
Her smile widened further.
"So why would I ever use my own blood in the contract?"
Khate's pupils contracted.
The backlash struck immediately.
Another mouthful of blood escaped her lips.
At the same moment, the man holding Three suddenly froze.
His face rapidly lost color before his eyes turned white completely.
Seconds later, he collapsed lifelessly onto the floor.
A green tendril instantly wrapped around Three and pulled him toward Khate.
Rhea did not interfere.
Her objective had already been completed.
Khate had been weakened successfully.
"Did you truly think I would face you without preparation?" Rhea asked while stepping forward slowly. "You and your husband are both monsters. I had no choice except to use desperate methods."
The whip lashed forward once more.
Khate blocked again before pushing Three gently behind her.
"Stay back," she whispered softly.
Green light covered the frightened boy immediately.
Then Khate stepped forward.
Her emerald eyes slowly brightened.
"Let us see if your plan truly worked."
A terrifying wave of life energy erupted from her body.
Emerald light engulfed the entire room as sleek green armor formed around her body piece by piece.
The pale weakness from moments earlier disappeared rapidly.
Khate raised her staff high.
"Rhea," she said coldly, "let me send you to your maker."
Then she slammed the staff downward with all her strength.
Boom.
The entire manor collapsed under the force of the impact.