"Clack clack clack!"
Lucas's soles split open, transforming into twin jet thrusters. He skimmed through the air like a bird, and in the blink of an eye, he was already blocking Luna's front. His mechanical hand had reshaped into a spear, longer and larger than before.
Yet the change didn't slow him down in the slightest. With a single swing of that spear, the guards' heads toppled to the ground, fresh blood splattering across the floor. They didn't even have the chance to resist or strike back.
The others, seeing this, halted immediately and switched to a long-range assault strategy.
"Bang bang bang!"
"Boom! Crash!"
Gunfire and laser beams erupted relentlessly. In an instant, smoke flooded the front, a thick curtain so dense one couldn't even see their own five fingers. It spread rapidly, blanketing the entire grand hall of Silver Mansion.
The guards stopped and circled protectively around the housekeeper, wariness written on their faces. One of them spoke coldly: "With that scale of attack, there's no way they survived!"
The housekeeper agreed—after all, with the weapons these guards carried, not even the monsters in the underground lab could withstand such a barrage!
But they had forgotten—it was these very two test subjects who had forced their underground arena to shut down, after slaughtering every last one of those so-called monsters...
"Slash!"
Something cut through the haze at impossible speed, shredding the air itself.
"Splurt!"
The housekeeper hadn't even realized what had happened. She only felt a hot liquid suddenly splash across her face, startling her into squeezing her eyes shut.
Panic flashed across her expression in an instant, the metallic taste of blood spreading across her tongue.
"Thud thud thud!"
"Crash!"
Something rolled to her feet, followed by the heavy sound of bodies collapsing.
Despair swallowed her face whole.
She screamed: "What are you doing?! Fight, damn it! Where's the gunfire? Fight! Fight!!"
But no matter how she shouted, instinctive fear made her turn and run—only to trip over a massive corpse and fall.
By now, the haze had already lifted, revealing the grand hall of Silver Mansion in all its gruesome clarity.
Her mouth hung open; she could barely breathe.
The floor was drenched in so much blood it made one wonder if the original color of the marble had always been red.
The twin brothers moved with terrifying fixation—every guard's body lay dismembered, their heads separated cleanly from their torsos, without a single exception.
Those severed heads seemed to stare at the housekeeper, eyes wide open, as though still unable to comprehend that they were already dead.
The housekeeper had already witnessed countless bloody scenes to climb to this position. She herself had slaughtered countless people for her own ends. But at least back then, she stood above them—mourning as she looked down at others' deaths. Not like now. Now she was an ant, waiting for a giant's foot to crush her. Helpless. Utterly helpless. Because they weren't even on the same level!
"You… you…"
The housekeeper fell to the ground in panic. Luna and Lucas, on the other hand, wore expressions colder and darker than ever.
The young masters and ladies curled up in the corner, trembling as they huddled together. They were so terrified they dared not even breathe too loudly—they didn't want to die!
They thought of the conversation that morning, about the bloodthirsty intruders in Silver Mansion's underground lab, and their fear worsened.
Lucas stepped across the blood-soaked floor, every movement sticky and wet. Though huge, the massive guard in his hand seemed to weigh nothing in the grip of a boy barely one and a half meters tall.
"Slash!"
The guard's head rolled across the ground, his body tossed aside like garbage. By now, the nearly thirty guards the housekeeper had brought to hunt Aboli were utterly wiped out. They hadn't even managed to lay eyes on Aboli...
Only now did the housekeeper truly understand what it meant to be a monster. The ugly creatures they had once imprisoned in the basement were nothing compared to these two siblings!
She no longer cared whether her clothes were soaked with blood. She scrambled backward, trying to feign calm, but her trembling voice betrayed her completely as she stammered: "W-what… what do you want?"
"Slash!"
A beautiful face suddenly loomed before her, so close that the housekeeper almost screamed aloud.
Lucas's violet eyes flickered, glowing as light burst forth. An image instantly projected before the housekeeper's eyes, accompanied by his cold voice: "Where is she?"
The housekeeper looked at the silver-haired figure in the image. Her eyes lit up immediately—this could be only one person. Perfect. Let these monsters tear each other apart. She'd have enough time to call for reinforcements!
She gathered every ounce of cunning she had to keep from revealing her excitement. Still, her hands clenched so tightly that her nails pierced her own skin, blood dripping down. Her trembling voice slipped out: "Th-that's… that's Aboli! She's on the rooftop!"
The twins seemed unable to wait a second longer to find Aboli. The moment the housekeeper spoke, they launched themselves forward like streaks of light, leaving only afterimages in the eyes of ordinary people.
The survivors should count themselves lucky. For now, killing Aboli ranked higher in the Demonic Twins' hearts than killing them—even finding Louis.
After all, once Aboli was dead, Louis would be theirs. Theirs alone.
"Lucas, I can't wait any longer… the moment when Louis belongs only to us," Luna whispered.
Lucas replied softly: "Kingdoms may fall, but nature never changes. He must be punished—punished so deeply Louis will never betray us again, Luna."
"Beep beep."
Louis was still pinned against the rooftop railing by Aboli.
She kept caressing his face, as if utterly enamored with it—but that made Louis uneasy. Who could say if Aboli might snap and peel the skin off his face in the next second? The blood already streaming from the cluster of bite marks on his neck had begun to make him feel lightheaded.
His shirt was soaked scarlet, and Louis couldn't help but wonder if Aboli had bitten through his artery.
Just then, the soft chime of a phone notification rang out. Aboli, absorbed in stroking his face, didn't seem to notice—or perhaps she noticed and didn't care.
Louis slowly closed his eyes and spoke softly: "Aboli, that's enough."
Aboli froze for a moment, her eyes narrowing dangerously. She was about to lose control when Louis quickly said, "You're too young, Aboli. You can't understand me."
Her expression flickered with surprise. In that instant, Louis reached out and pulled away the hand gripping his throat. For some reason, Aboli allowed it.
Freed, Louis, immediately straightened up. He looked down at Aboli and said quietly: "I'm filthy, Aboli."
He lowered his gaze, his eyes shimmering with moisture. Even when she was choking him just moments ago, he hadn't worn this expression of sorrow.
Aboli's heart trembled—not out of worry but excitement. At last, Louis was showing weakness because of her?
She rushed forward and embraced him tightly, shaking her head. "No, you're not filthy. It's those two monkeys. Tell me what they did to you—I'll kill them!"
I'll kill them, and then I'll punish you for daring to let yourself be tainted, Aboli thought to herself. Her hand slid gently down Louis's back. Don't worry, Louis. Even punishment will make you delirious with pleasure.
"No… I am filthy. Because I dared to think wickedly about you, Aboli—when you've always seen me as your mother."