---
James was gathering information about the Astral World through Soul Form when he suddenly heard a loud knock on the door.
He came out of the Astral World and started to open the door.
"What's the matter, Oliver? Why do you look so tense this early in the morning?" James asked.
"Master, someone has taken Tyrus away," Oliver replied quickly.
"Heh... What a welcome from the Ashford Town folks," James said with an evil smile.
"Master, this is a very serious matter," Oliver said with great seriousness.
"Hmm... Come inside first and tell me your concerns. Then I'll decide how serious it is," James said, then sat down casually.
Oliver, surprised by James's carefree attitude, entered and stood in front of him.
"Now, tell me about this serious matter," James asked while eating an apple.
"When I went to Tyrus, the man who was supposed to keep watch was dead, and they took Tyrus away," Oliver said, wiping the sweat from his face, worried that James would take Tyrus's kidnapping as a sign of a larger crisis.
"So, what exactly is the serious matter?" James was not paying much attention and just wanted to understand the seriousness because he still felt Tyrus's mark on him, so he was not worried about Tyrus.
"The serious matter is that if Tyrus is sold in the Black Market, those working under the UNION TABLE will definitely acquire the Elemental Sanatorium and take it to the Capital. If anyone gets in their way, they will kill them," Oliver explained carefully to James.
---
"Why is the Union Table buying Elemental Sanatorus?"James asked.
"Master, I overheard my father saying that they are trying to create a high-level Sanatorus by hybridizing with the Elemental Sanatorus," Oliver replied.
"Is there a level beyond the UNI Mystic Sanatorus?" James asked.
[Yes, Host. The Hybrid Sanatorus, which is born in a human-like form, has dark skin, large hands, and its powers are unknown,] .
"Why?" James questioned.
[When they hybridize, the chosen Sanatorus and its powers evolve into a new form, and these powers remain unknown,] UNI explained.
"Hmm... so this is serious, then," James thought to himself.
"Oliver, do you know who took TYRUS?" James asked Oliver.
"I don't know, Master," Oliver responded.
"It's okay, Oliver. I know where Tyrus is right now. Get ready to leave," James ordered.
"Yes, Master," Oliver replied seriously and left the room.
"Because of Mark, I can sense where Tyrus is, and it seems he might be unconscious," James thought to himself.
"As soon as I arrived in the city, my things were taken from me. Heh..." James said with an evil smile.
A little while later, James got ready and stepped out of the room. Just then, Stratos' princess and Oliver were coming towards him.
"Master, Anna has started talking now. Say hi to Master, Anna," said Oliver, with the Stratos girl sitting on his shoulders, waving her hand.
"Oh, Oliver gave the birdie girl a name. Well, that's good," John thought to himself.
"Hi... Pa...pa..." Anna said softly.
"What... Papa...? Oliver, is the birdie girl saying this?" James asked in shock.
"Master, I don't know either... Anna, this is Master, not your papa, okay?" Oliver explained to Anna.
"No Master... Papa... This is Papa," Anna said sweetly.
James put his hand on his forehead as he heard the word "Papa" again.
[Host, the Stratos girl is calling you Papa because she senses your Astral Energy.]
"A father without marriage, a father without... well, this is some free child creation," James muttered to himself.
"Annaa..." Oliver was about to say something when James interrupted.
"Leave it, Oliver. Let's go," James said as he started heading out.
"Okay, Master," Oliver replied, following behind.
About half an hour later, they arrived at the Black Market.
"Master, apart from the Mystic Sanatorus, you can find all types of Sanatorus here, sold at very high prices. And people buy them despite the high costs," Oliver explained about the black market.
"Why is that?" James asked, looking ahead.
"These Sanatorus are trained slaves that everyone fights for to own," Oliver replied.
"Oh... So people will buy them at any cost," James said with a slight chuckle.
At that moment, Anna, who had been sitting on Oliver's shoulder, flew through the air and landed on James's shoulder.
Both Oliver and James were shocked.
"Pa...pa... Haha haha..." Anna started laughing, calling James "papa."
James felt something different. He wasn't angry, but he wasn't exactly happy either. He couldn't quite understand what he was feeling.
Just then, as Oliver moved closer to take Anna's hand, an unfamiliar voice interrupted them.
"Hey...., we are from the Red Group. We want that girl, and you will have to sell her to us," the stranger demanded, not with a request, but with a threat.
A little while earlier...
"Man, the market doesn't have anything new these days," a man in a red suit said.
"Yeah, the higher-ups are telling me to find a good slave, but where do they expect me to find one?" another man in a red suit replied.
"Hey... Look over there... That girl is flying in the air," the third man pointed out to the other two.
"What... How is such a young girl flying? We haven't even learned how to fly, and she looks like she's only six years old and already knows how to fly," the first red suit guy said.
"I think she might be some kind of special species. Look, she has a small horn on her forehead," the second red suit guy observed.
"Yeah, you're right. She does have a horn," both of them said in unison.
"Hmm... So, what do you think?" the third man asked the other two.
"What else? Let's buy her," the first red suit guy said as he stood up, and the other two followed.
Present...
"Hey... What did you just say?" Oliver asked, his face turning pale with anger after hearing the arrogant demand from the man in the red suit.
"I said you will have to sell that girl to us. You don't have any other choice," the first man in the red suit repeated in an even more arrogant tone.
"Hahahaha... Hahahahahaha," suddenly, a laugh broke the silence and It was James.
"Could you repeat what you just said? I didn't quite catch that," James asked, still laughing.
The three men in red suits started getting angry. The first man continued in the same arrogant tone.
"I said that girl belongs to..." He was about to continue when something started to spill out of his mouth.
The two men standing behind Oliver were quietly talking to each other when suddenly, the first man stopped speaking. Confused, they looked over to see why he had gone silent.
What they saw left them in shock. Their eyes widened in disbelief as they stood there, frozen, staring at the sight in front of them for a full minute, unable to look away.
The scene before them was something they couldn't have imagined.
A large rod had pierced through the back of his head, emerging grotesquely from his mouth. The sight was horrifying,and the two men couldn't believe what the were seeing. It was as if time had stopped for them , their minds struggling to process the brutal scene unfolding before their eyes .
When Oliver saw the look on James's face, he immediately understood that there was no saving those men from James's wrath.
"Master, do you really have to be this brutal? Can't you just finish them off directly?" Oliver thought to himself, fear gripping him as he watched the scene unfold.
one of the men, consumed with rage, shouted, "Hey bastard! What have you done? You're not getting away with this, you son of a bitch!" His anger and fear were palpable, as the reality of the situation sank in, fueling his desperate fury.
"Do you have any idea who you're messing with? We belong to Lord Drazor Winters!"
When Oliver heard the name 'Winters,' his eyes filled with rage.
The Winters family is a major pillar of the Valestra Kingdom, directly serving the Royal family, unlike other families. However, the arrogant behavior of the Winters family members is well-known throughout the world of Zyphoria.
Drazor Winters is the name of the son of the master of the Winters family. Drazor and Oliver have been enemies for a long time.
James also knows who the Winters family is, but he didn't take them too seriously and chose to ignore their warning.
Whenever anyone hears the name 'Winters family,' they tremble with fear and stay silent, but James completely disregarded their existence.
Seeing James's behavior, the two men in red suits grew even angrier.
"Quietly surrender your life now!" they demanded.
The second man in the red suit angrily shouted, "Hand over that bitch to us, and we'll give you a painless death!"
"What did you say? I didn't hear you the first time," James calmly asked without a hint of fear.
"I said, hand over that bitch, and we'll give you a painless dea—" The two men suddenly stopped mid-sentence, as if something had abruptly silenced them, leaving them bewildered and unsure of what just happened.
Oliver saw that the same fate had befallen the two men as the first red suit man. Their deaths mirrored his, happening swiftly and without warning.
Far in the distance, on the balcony of a lodge, a woman dressed in expensive clothes and appearing about 20 years old, observed the scene carefully. She was accompanied by a man in guard attire.
The guard said, "Master, did you see that man's speed? Even my eyes couldn't catch it properly."
The woman, still dressed elegantly and looking beautiful, responded with a slight smile,
"Yes, I saw it well. It's as if a mad lion is laughing while entering a den of dogs."
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See... Yaa.... next chapter [ MAD LION ]