The night was dark and heavy, with towering gray clouds gathering in the sky as a testament to an impending storm.
In an abandoned building on the outskirts of Drak City, the echo of rain pounding the ground filled the silence.
Traces of fresh blood could be seen on the ground covering some knives and guns, as well as some discarded bodies.
At the back of a room in the abandoned building, moonlight fell through the broken window, illuminating the legs of a man leaning against the wall. His face was pale, covered in cuts and blood, but he still displayed a strangely serene expression considering the current situation.
One could see from his facial features that this man was quite attractive, with deep-set black eyes and a well-defined body that wasn't excessively exaggerated. On the other hand, one could also notice that his face and black hair were covered in blood. While holding his abdomen with one of his hands, covering the blood gushing from one of the many wounds on his body, he also used his cell phone with his other hand. He smiled with a mixture of resignation and bitter irony.
"Looks like I won't be able to get out of this," he said with a grimace.
"I never thought Ethan would set a trap for me. Using Luna's family butler to send me a message and meet us here with the excuse that she's in danger."
Thinking of the silhouette of a rather beautiful girl, his cold eyes couldn't help but soften, and a small smile appeared on his lips.
"But thinking about it, I should have doubted it. That guy never gave me a good look."
"On the other hand, aren't these people very strong? I've been fighting for a long time and I only managed to knock out about 10 of them, but they were all ridiculously strong."
Looking at the bodies lying around, his face looked a little surprised.
He'd trained a little in martial arts and boxing under the guise of having some protective abilities, but he never really expected to use what he'd learned. Besides, it wasn't that easy; he had to use his wits to avoid a direct confrontation, something that drained him physically and mentally.
"But…"
"I don't want to die."
Saying that, his voice trembled a little. No one knows how terrifying it is to come face to face with death. After all, what's so frightening about it? If you have to answer that question, the most common answer would be the unknown. Is it the end or a new beginning? Maybe you just vanish like a wisp of smoke? Anyway, the thought is very scary; he's a normal human being, not a machine.
His breathing became increasingly rapid, and his already pale face became increasingly white, the hairs on his skin stood on end, and thousands of thoughts ran wildly through his mind.
"True, today was a great day, at least as far as I can see."
At this moment, it was clear he was desperately trying to divert his attention in many ways; he wanted to ignore the terrifying situation he was going through.
At first, he thought it was a great day; after all, his company, which he had founded with Luna about six months ago, was skyrocketing in profits at a terrifying rate. Today, he signed an agreement with large corporations to expand his business, and it was clear that what began with a few savings and a dream was on its way to becoming a business giant. He thought that with this, his family's relatively humble life could take a step further and improve.
He hoped to reunite with Luna so they could celebrate that they were getting closer to the impossible goal her family had set for them: allowing her to be free with her marriage choices. What he didn't know was that he had already alerted certain people with different intentions within the Moonstone family of his girlfriend Luna.
These people alerted the heir to the Wood consortium, Ethan Wood, who was in love with Luna and wanted to marry her by any means necessary. The next thing he knew, Ethan, along with the butler and certain members of the Moonstone family, lured him into the trap he was now in.
"I never thought I'd fall for such a low-level trick." As a "genius" in the business world, he was impulsive and didn't even make a call to confirm the situation. A very low-level mistake.
As multiple thoughts ran through his mind, he heard the footsteps of a group of people heading in his direction.
He didn't need to think much to know it was the rest of the Wood family men coming for him. He quickly composed himself and prepared for their arrival, although he didn't have the strength to get up from where he was. It didn't take long for these people to enter the room and find him. The next thing they did was surround him, but they didn't do anything else, as if they were waiting for something.
A while later, a sarcastic laugh echoed throughout the room.
"Tsk, tsk, isn't this Astra? What happened to you? Maybe you fell down the stairs and ended up like this?"
Said the man who arrived, whom Astra immediately recognized as the culprit of his situation: Ethan Wood.
Ethan is a man with blond hair and green eyes, about 1.7 m tall and with a relatively fit body. He wore designer clothes that practically emblazoned the phrase "I'm rich" all over his body.
"Huh? I thought hearing a dog bark in this desolate part of town was weird, but I didn't expect to see it today," Astra replied, mocking him. Ethan's face darkened when he heard what Astra said.
"I see you don't fully understand your current situation, so you're making jokes."
"Do you know you'll never get out of here?"
Ethan asked mockingly.
Astra's face didn't change, as if he knew the answer to that question very well. In fact, his mind kept thinking about it; he'd been filled with anxiety all this time.
Although he was inwardly filled with fear of death and tried to ignore what was an inevitable situation, his pride would never let him show it to his enemy, much less plead with him.
"Do you think you won?"
Astra asked. Even if Ethan couldn't see his face covered by darkness, he could imagine his face was mocking right now.
"Do you really think Luna will be with you if I die?"
"I remind you that you will never be able to marry her. Our company is getting closer to the goal set by the Moonstone family. And the contract I signed today is enough to achieve it. Even if you try to stop it, not even the family behind you could."
Astra added with a provocative smile. To which Ethan reacted visibly angrily, gritting his teeth and giving him a deadly glare.
"I'm telling you to sign this document and transfer all your shares to me, and I'll give you a quick death, or else believe me, you'll suffer greatly."
Ethan said with a cruel face and pulled out a contract one of his assistants was carrying.
"Hehe, do you really think I'll do that? It seems like all that alcohol has killed your few functioning neurons."
"Do you really think I can't force you? You're in a dying state, torturing you will be a piece of cake."
"Hahaha, can torturing me by someone as weak as you also be called torture?"
Astra said as he looked at the bodies he had thrown away some time ago.
"Astra, Astra, do you really think defeating a few of my family's weakest guards is enough? I'll tell you, this world is far from as simple as you think. Show it true power."
Behind Ethan emerged a middle-aged man with black hair and a somber face. His skin looked quite dry, and his eyes were slightly hollow. He had the kind of face a child would see and cry.
It didn't take long for this man to do something that shocked Astra greatly. After saying a few words, flames shot out of his hands, growing larger and larger. He was able to manipulate these flames a bit.
"HAHAHAHA"
Ethan began to laugh maniacally.
"See? What is power? This is power. Our families have always been at the top of the world, far from where you bunch of commoners can reach."
"Did you think that because you started a company, you could be on equal footing with us? In the face of absolute power, your money and what you've achieved are nothing. While I admit you have talent, you almost managed to fulfill the bet. That scared all of us who want a marriage between the two families. But that's all. It's time for you to face reality."
Ethan sighed inwardly. He knew full well that this commoner in front of him, whom he hadn't taken seriously before, was a genius never seen before. His actions over the past six months truly worried him.
On the other hand, what Astra saw subverted his lifelong view of the scientific world. But he didn't have time to explore these things because he felt his eyelids growing heavier and heavier. He knew full well that his time was approaching, which filled him with many unnecessary thoughts. He cleared his mind as much as he could, then took the opportunity to press the send button on his cell phone, which he had held with his hand behind his back since Ethan and his group arrived so they wouldn't take it away from him.
After doing that, he smiled, looked at Ethan, and said, his voice growing weaker and weaker.
"I'm afraid you can't accomplish anything anymore, idiot. As expected of a kid who never cared about how to properly use his family's advantages and instead dedicated himself to doing stupid things."
After saying that, he closed his eyes peacefully, waiting for his moment. Although he seemed calm on the outside, his mind was already in chaos. He wanted so badly to scream and lose control, but he held on tightly to his principles to prevent it.
Ethan was visibly enraged by what he said; he seemed to have touched a nerve. It took him a while before he yelled. "WHAT DO YOU SAY? GO AHEAD, CATCH HIM AND TORTURE HIM! I WANT TO SEE HOW BRAVE HE'LL BE NEXT."
The Wood family's subordinates approached Astra, but when they reached him, they realized there were no traces of life left in him.
"Boss… he's already dead," said one of his lackeys, a little fearful.
"DAMN IT, YOU'RE ALL USELESS!"
"YOU CAN'T COMPLETE A SIMPLE TASK AGAINST AN ORDINARY PERSON."
Ethan became euphoric. While his subordinates seemed frightened by the retaliation he might take against them, some of them still had a sarcastic look upon seeing him.
He was the heir to the Wood consortium, but he couldn't accomplish anything. His brothers were far better than him and surpassed him in everything, so he was always compared.
"Await your punishment when I return."
After that, he left the place.
.....
Days later.
As the sun reached its golden peak,
In the cemetery, a beautiful woman stood in front of a tombstone.
Her black hair fluttered in the wind, her blue eyes sparkled like gems. She was a beauty from head to toe, and her figure couldn't be hidden by the outfit she wore. Her temperament was noble and cold, combined with a kind of elegance that made people dare to look, but never insult her.
Reviewing the last message she received a while ago, tears streamed down her beautiful face. The message read: "I won't be able to be with you in the future, but I'm sure you'll achieve what's missing and be free. Live well, my dear. I love you."
With her already red and slightly swollen eyes, she wiped the tears that streamed down her face. Then she crouched down beside the tombstone and said,
"Don't worry, darling. I'll make everyone who did this to us pay. I won't let anyone live, even if I have to destroy anyone who gets in his way."
As she said this, his face was so cold it could frighten even the bravest warriors. Those nearby also felt the temperature drop drastically and noticed the surface of the nearby tombstones becoming covered in a thin layer of frost.
"After I achieve this, I'll come with you," she added at the end.
"Miss, it's time to go," said the secretary behind her.
The woman turned and walked toward the exit. As if remembering something, she turned around and looked at the tombstone and said, "I've already put your family in a safe place. Rest assured, even if you're gone, I'll treat them like family, just as you've always treated me."
"Rest in peace, dear. Leave the rest to me."