The Nameless Heir-Chapter 56: The Dream and The Diner

He and Liz had talked through the night. Slowly, they had fallen asleep—her arm wrapped around him like she couldn’t bear to be separated from him again.

He closed his eyes—and through them, he could feel the shadows of everyone in the city.

Everyone... except Caius.

So he called for his undead. Silent. Obedient.

They slithered through the streets, hiding in the dark, leaping from one shadow to the next—scanning every face. Searching.

After that, he let himself rest. And like always, whenever she was near... his dreams were quiet. Peaceful.

It was warm. Cozy.

Even in the dream, his eyes didn’t open.

He just floated there—weightless, like lying in warm water.

No noise. No thoughts. Just silence.

Then he heard something—faint, but familiar.

It was Envy’s voice.

He turned toward the sound. The whisper came again—soft, low, almost like hissing through teeth.

"We are here."

He followed it.

Up ahead, where the voice came from, a tiny black hole hovered—pulsing in the middle of an empty field.

He ran toward it. Someone was inside, and he already knew who.

He reached through the hole. But it was too small—barely any light.

Desperate, he pressed two fingers inside.

Then he gritted his teeth and tried to pull them apart, forcing it open.

The shadows pushed back. But he didn’t stop.

The hole fought back, twisting, resisting.

But he held on.

He dug his heels in and stretched it open—just enough to see—

Caius.

In a dark room. Barely any light—just a thin sliver coming through a crack in the wall.

He was chained upside down.

Shirtless. Broken. Scared.

His body was covered in red slashes. Blood streamed down his sides. Whip marks ran across his chest and back.

He looked half-dead.

Kael’s voice cracked. It came out sharp, tight in his throat—like he was already too late.

"Caius! Caius!"

But then he groaned. His head twitched. His eyes opened—slow, weak.

"Hey... Kael..."

Caius’s voice was rough. Cracked. Barely there.

"You guys need to leave this place. I don’t know... how much longer I can keep my big mouth shut..."

His gaze drifted. Couldn’t focus. He looked through Kael—like he wasn’t sure he was real.

"I don’t think I’m making it out of this."

He let out a shallow breath. It was shaky, like he was having a hard time even speaking.

"I’m sorry... for being an ass."

He coughed. Blood slipped from the corner of his mouth.

"I hated that Orion never trained me. I asked him. Again and again. But he always said no."

His head dropped, chin to chest.

"I think he saw it in me. The part that wanted power. The part that wanted to kill my father..."

His voice fell to a whisper.

"...for what he did to my mom."

A weak laugh escaped his lips. It was hollow. Empty.

"I took it out on you. That wasn’t fair."

Another bitter chuckle.

"I’m sorry, man. I took it out on you..."

He took a slow, painful breath.

"I promise I will get you out. I swear."

Just then—he heard a sound.

Heavy boots echoed. Then the door creaked open.

A voice cut in. It was deep, loud, and filled with annoyance.

"Are you going to tell me who you came here with?"

"I told you... I came here alone," Caius rasped. The words barely came out.

The man dropped the chain.

Caius’s body hit the floor, scraping hard against the stone.

The man sighed, then pressed his face into his palm—like he was tired of asking.

"If you don’t talk soon," he muttered, voice flat with boredom, "we’ll start doing what we do to the others."

Caius just chuckled—quiet, breathless.

Kael felt rage throb through his veins. His hands clenched unconsciously.

The man stepped forward, hand reaching for Caius—

—and Kael’s eyes snapped open.

He was breathing hard. Liz was still asleep beside him.

But there was a hand. Aria’s. Reaching toward Liz.

In an instant, his hand shot up and grabbed her wrist.

"What do you think you’re doing?" His voice was low. Sharp. Still echoing with the dream.

Aria froze. His red eyes locked onto hers.

Her lips parted, but no sound came. Her fingers trembled inside his grip.

Liz stirred. Then sat up quickly.

"Kael, stop! What are you doing?"

He blinked. Realized.

"I’m sorry... I had a bad dream."

Aria stepped back, pulling her hand free. Her face had gone pale.

"It’s okay... I just came to wake you guys up. It’s late... and your friend—" she said softly.

That snapped him back.

"Yeah... we need to rescue him. You have any plans?"

Kael nodded slowly, eyes still distant.

"Yeah," he muttered. His voice was low—tired, but steady.

Then he stood up, put on his shoes.

"But let’s get some food first."

Kael grabbed a few gold coins. Aria led them through narrow alleys until they found a diner tucked between two old buildings.

He and Liz were just glad she knew the streets.

The moment they stepped inside, the warmth of food hit them. The place was quiet. Tired faces. Low conversation.

They sat down and ordered whatever they could.

Kael didn’t wait.

He leaned forward, elbows on the table—and told them everything.

By the time he finished, the food on their plates had gone cold.

No one touched it.

Their eyes said everything.

Kael’s jaw tensed. Then he looked at them both.

"We’ll get him out," he said, then shoved meat into his mouth. Loud. Fast.

Liz stared at her plate.

"I hope so..." she muttered.

"We’ll be fine," Kael said, chewing slower now.

Liz looked up. Her brow furrowed.

"Fighting all six?" she asked. Her voice was tight.

Kael shook his head.

"No. Only three left, according to the Demon Lord. Should be easier now."

Liz raised an eyebrow.

"Wait—what happened to the others?"

He swallowed.

"The Demon King killed three of them."

Silence followed.

Aria blinked slowly. Liz leaned back, processing.

"Do you think we can beat the rest of them?" Liz asked.

He answered without hesitation.

"Easily."

Aria looked up from her plate, shocked.

"Didn’t you say the first one gave you a hard time?"

Kael leaned back in his seat. A small smirk tugged at his lips.

"I kind of lied. It was easy. I barely tried."

Aria choked.

"What?!"

A few people turned to look.

Liz leaned in, hissing—

"Shhh."

Aria lowered her voice, narrowing her eyes.

"But you said—" she leaned closer. "You said you almost died."

Kael shrugged.

"Yeah, I said that for Liz. I wanted to see how she’d react if I pretended to be almost dead."

He looked at her.

"And sunshine... I was not disappointed."

Smack. Liz slapped his arm. Hard.

He didn’t flinch.

"My bad," he said with a half-smile. "I thought you both would’ve figured it out by now. They never stood a chance."

Aria stared at him. Frozen.

Then quietly—

"What even are you, Kael?"

He didn’t answer.

Just kept eating.

Then leaned forward again. His gaze dropped. His tone changed.

His voice came out cold. Flat.

"If something happened to Caius... I’ll make sure every single one of those so-called heroes suffers for eternity."

The table went still.

Aria’s fingers tightened around her fork.

She swallowed.

"What?"

He didn’t repeat it.

Didn’t need to.

The weight of his words sat there—thick and heavy.

"Pfft. Whatever," Liz muttered, breaking the silence. She bumped Aria with her elbow.

"We’re still helping, right?"

Aria hesitated—then nodded slowly, eyes still on Kael.

Kael gave a faint smile. Calm. Steady.

"As you wish, sunshine."

After that, they ate in silence.

Then the mood shattered.

A group of armed guards slammed through the diner doors.

Chaos followed.

They shouted like they owned the place. Broke plates. Flipped tables. Threw people out one by one until the diner was nearly empty.

One of them grabbed the old owner by the collar and slammed him onto a table.

"Please, sir! Just give me a few more days—business is slow!" he begged.

The guard didn’t care. He turned and started smashing every bottle behind the counter. The old man pleaded, but they didn’t listen.

They were grinning.

Kael’s hand tightened around the edge of the table.

It creaked.

Aria grabbed his arm.

"Don’t draw attention," she whispered.

He forced himself to stay still.

But it was boiling inside him.

Then one of the guards stomped on their table—crushing the food beneath his boot.

Another pointed at Kael.

"You. Get out."

Kael didn’t respond. He kept eating.

The man stepped closer. Slammed his boot again.

"I said move," he growled.

Kael stood up.

Then slapped the man across the face—hard, heavy, fast.

He flew across the room and smashed through the front door. The wooden frame cracked.

"Kill them!" someone screamed.

Two mages began to chant.

"Fireball!"

Liz flipped the table just in time.

"Why would you do that?!" Aria shouted.

"He deserved it! If Kael didn’t, I would’ve!" Liz snapped.

"Oh, sunshine. That’s why I love you," Kael said with a smirk.

Aria was panicking.

"How do you plan to survive what you just started?!"

He smiled.

A dark mist curled around his arm.

The Demon King’s mask formed—piece by piece.

"Watch."

He slid it on.

His voice turned cold.

"Which one of you wants to die first?"

The guards drew their weapons. Energy glowed around them.

Kael whispered—

"Shadowbind. Third form."

He moved—fast.

He blurred forward.

The spearman reacted—barely.

Kael twisted past the lunging strike, his shoulder brushing the shaft. Then, with one clean swing, he sliced the spear in half. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

The man’s stance broke.

Kael didn’t stop.

He slipped past him and charged the mages.

His blade dropped—both hands, full swing. Heavy. Direct.

His blade dropped—two hands, full swing. Their eyes could barely follow it.

The first mage split from shoulder to hip.

Kael turned. Stepped into the next swing.

The second mage raised a hand to cast—

Too slow.

Kael’s blade cut through his neck. The head slid off, hit the ground with a dull thud, and rolled once before the shadows swallowed it.

Behind him, the spearman gritted his teeth and hurled the broken shaft.

It flew like an arrow—clean, fast—

But passed right through Kael’s body.

Smoke.

Kael reformed behind him. The man turned—too late.

Kael’s blade pierced through his back and exited his chest. He didn’t even scream.

Another enemy rushed from the side.

Kael didn’t move. His shadow did.

It shot forward, curled around the man’s leg, and started to climb.

He froze mid-step.

Then the shadow yanked him toward Kael—hard.

In the same motion, Kael raised his sword and stabbed through the man’s throat. One clean strike.

Then he pulled the blade out sideways—turning the stab into a slash.

Their bodies didn’t stay.

The shadows reached out—slow, like fingers.

Then swallowed everything.

Not even a drop of blood remained.

Silence at first.

Then—it exploded with cheers.

"The Demon King has returned!"

People bowed. Relieved. Overjoyed.

Kael stood there, confused.

But the cheers didn’t last.

"The elite guards are coming!"

The owner pointed.

"Quick! Through the back!"

They ran.

No time to think.

They didn’t stop until the alley was quiet.

Then—

Aria shoved Kael into the wall.

Her voice cracked.

"How can you kill people so easily?!"

His eyes still glowed red.

"I don’t kill people. I kill monsters."

His voice didn’t shake.

"Now let me go."

She backed off, hands trembling.

Then turned to Liz. Her eyes filled with pain.

"How are you okay with that?"

Liz didn’t blink.

"Because I know him. He doesn’t like to kill. If he does... they had to deserve it."

Aria dropped to her knees. Her breath came fast and shallow.

Kael stepped forward.

His shadow followed.

"I’ll kill anyone who tries to touch her."

Liz bent down and helped Aria up.

"You can’t feel bad for them," she said gently. "They killed your people. Tortured our friends. Maybe worse. You can’t defend that."

"I’m sorry..." Aria whispered. "I don’t like the sight of violence..."

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

Liz squeezed her hand.

"It’s okay. It’s normal."

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l