Lucas lay at Arthur’s feet, blood pooling beneath his broken body.

Around Arthur, Imperius family soldiers formed a tight ring, blades drawn, a dozen killing intents pressing down on him. Adrian stood directly in front of Arthur, aura coiled and ready, eyes cold.

"Fuck you, you bastard," Arthur said.

A vein twitched on Adrian’s forehead.

Jessica almost laughed.

Her shoulders shook once before she forced her expression back to neutral, biting the inside of her cheek. Sylvia said nothing, her face unreadable, while Agnus watched with an expression that was disturbingly calm, as if this were all a mildly interesting play.

Many of the soldiers’ mouths hung slightly open.

They couldn’t quite believe what they had just heard—someone swearing at the Imperius patriarch while surrounded by his troops.

In Arthur’s hand, the blood-stained dagger stretched and elongated, reshaping itself into a full black sword. His breathing was uneven, each inhale heavy. His muscles trembled faintly. His vision darkened at the edges. He felt like he could collapse at any second.

But he did not look toward Elizabeth.

He knew Yuna was still behind him, unconscious and vulnerable. Elizabeth’s only task right now was to protect Yuna, no matter what happened to him.

Elizabeth understood.

That was why, throughout the entire battle, Arthur hadn’t involved her directly. Her priority was Yuna, and she stayed close to her, ready to move at the slightest threat.

Adrian shifted his gaze to Lucas.

The golden-haired young man could not meet his father’s eyes.

"Lucas Evan Imperius," Adrian said in a chilling voice, "with this loss, you have lost your position as heir. For your failures and the damage caused by you, you will be punished."

Lucas let out a shaky sigh of relief.

’So Father is going to protect me...’ Lucas thought. ’I’m still not out of the race. I can recover from this.’

But Adrian’s next words froze him.

"Your punishment will be decided by the family elders," Adrian continued. "To return to the main house, you will have to train under them again... and receive their acknowledgement."

Lucas’s breath hitched.

He didn’t feel any new presence nearby.

But suddenly, he felt them.

Seven different gazes, all at once—from somewhere he couldn’t see. Cold, patient, dissecting. The gazes of predators examining flawed meat.

’Elders...’ Lucas thought, his stomach twisting. ’They’re already watching...?’

"Father, you can’t do this to me," Lucas said, panic creeping into his voice. "I will not—"

"Shut up," Adrian snapped, his voice rising. "You have tarnished—"

Arthur cut across him.

"Will you all shut up already?" Arthur said. "Blah, blah, blah... On whose authority do you think you can save him from me?"

Adrian stared at him for a second.

Then he laughed.

It was not a pleasant sound.

"You don’t even realize the situation you’re in right now, do you?" Adrian said. "At my command, you’d drop dead, you puny bastard. Tone down that arrogance."

His eyes sharpened, his voice turning dangerous.

"And the next time you interrupt me," Adrian said, "I’ll break your legs."

A suffocating aura slammed into Arthur.

His lungs seized for a moment. He took a step back despite himself, his boots grinding against broken stone.

’Fucking old man...’ Arthur thought. ’One of these days, I’m going to pummel him too. But with the experience and strength he has... a simple SS-ranker can’t hope to beat him yet.’

Arthur forced a breath in and out.

"Did you forget," Arthur said, "that I have that precious daughter of yours?"

This time, Adrian cut him off.

"You underestimate us, boy," Adrian said. "Do you think I wouldn’t be able to find that tiny island where your friends are hiding?"

A cold chill ran down Arthur’s spine.

’It couldn’t be...’ he thought.

Sylvia stepped forward.

"Arthur," Sylvia said quietly, "it’s over. You can come back now."

She flicked her finger.

In the air between them, a holographic screen materialized, shimmering into existence.

Arthur’s eyes locked onto it.

On the screen, Isabella, Evangeline, Julia, Aaron, and Aiden lay on the ground. They were battered and bruised, their clothes torn, their faces swollen. Blood stained the earth beneath them.

A boot pressed down on Aiden’s leg.

CRUNCH.

Aiden let out a hoarse, agonized groan.

A cold voice came from off-screen.

"Did you enjoy torturing the young miss?" the voice asked. "Don’t worry. We’ll take our time torturing you too—for every drop of blood you made her spill."

The boot ground down again.

The unseen speaker continued.

"And you, seeing this, Young Master—my apologies, former Young Master," the voice said. "Just come back quietly... or watch these friends of yours die in front of you."

The implication was clear.

All of Arthur’s friends were hostages now.

Arina had already been rescued.

The only trump card Arthur had left was gone.

Silence spread across the battlefield.

Arthur stared at the projection, stunned to the core. He hadn’t expected this turn of events at all. He had calculated that it would take them at least a day to locate Yuna’s hideout.

He had been wrong.

Lucas began to laugh.

He pushed his broken body up just enough to point a trembling, blood-smeared finger at Arthur.

"Now you’re finished, you bastard!" Lucas yelled, his voice raw but full of vicious triumph. "You have nothing now!"

Arthur’s vision snapped back to him.

The next second, Arthur’s fist crashed into Lucas’s face.

BAM.

The ground beneath Lucas’s skull crumbled, forming another shallow crater. Lucas remained barely conscious—his vision hazy, blood pouring from his nose and mouth as he coughed.

Arthur knew Adrian would not stop him from hitting Lucas.

In the Imperius family, there was an unspoken rule.

The winner takes everything.

The loser suffers the consequences.

Arthur took a deep breath, forcing his rage down, binding it tightly so it wouldn’t explode into something he couldn’t control.

"You can’t do anything to those kids," Arthur said slowly. "Julia, Evangeline, Isabella, Aaron."

He raised his eyes to Adrian.

"All are from a great family, even you can’t afford to make enemies of all of them."

Adrian smiled.

"You’re sharp," Adrian said, "but not sharp enough."

He took a step closer, his aura flickering.

"I can kill them this instant and make it look like an accident," Adrian said. "Worse, I can torture them until their minds break and then hand them back to their families."

His eyes were merciless.

"And none of them will be able to do a thing," Adrian went on. "They kidnapped a main family member and tortured her. They were the first to cross the line. And you are responsible for all of it."

He looked Arthur straight in the eyes.

"You planned everything well," Adrian said. "I was even impressed. But you lack the political power and resources we have."

He exhaled softly.

"Stop this madness now," Adrian said. "Come back to the family. This instant."

Arthur’s fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword.

"I am giving you the heir position," Adrian continued. "Something you could never have dreamed of before."

Adrian’s voice turned coaxing, almost gentle.

"You’ll just have to apologize to Arina," he said. "Undergo proper training as the heir. You will be treated with a level of respect you have never known."

He spread his arms, as if opening a door.

"You will have everything an ordinary person—or even a ruler—can only dream of," Adrian said.

The offer hung in the air.

Power.

Status.

Safety for his friends.

All he had to do was walk back into the gilded cage he had once escaped from—and chain himself to the very people he had vowed to destroy.