"Aaaahh….!"

"How could you do this?!"

James's world was shattered in an instant. Right before his eyes, he watched as a man he called a friend ravaged his wife with a mocking smile.

But that wasn't the most painful part. The woman with a debauched expression and flushed face willingly indulged in the act.

"Aaah! Yes! Harder, Alaric! Show that loser how it's done!"

"Kekeke… You really are a bitch, aren't you?"

Her moan of pleasure resounded through the bedroom they had shared for the last four years! James was forced to watch the wrenched scene in horror and disgust.

James watched as his wife moaned in pleasure with her tongue out, and held from behind as Alaric Brightwind soiled her with his filth!

"Haaah! Shut up and fuck me!"

"Hehe… As you wish!"

His stomach churned in disgust, his body trembled not from the pain, but from the heart-wrenching feeling of betrayal! His eyes burned with the fury of a hundred suns, yet he was powerless to do a damn thing! 

With a battered body that bled all over after the people he once called friends invaded his estate with their men and killed his knights, James

The final straw that broke him entirely was the betrayal of his wife, Selene Mara.

The scene tore his heart to pieces, shattering the once beautiful and angelic image he had for his wife.

James wanted more than anything to get up, draw his sword, and run them through with every ounce of fury he could muster. 

Alas…

The injuries he sustained in the fight with his so-called friends left him powerless to do anything but watch as he was cuckold.

"Kill me dammit! Why show me this disgusting sight?! At least afford me the decency to die with integrity!" 

With a final and powerful thrust, Alaric released in the depths of Selene as the two sinners bath in the afterglow of their lovemaking.

"Aaaah! That was amazing."

Selene collapsed on the large bed with a tired sigh, her flushed face and the silly smile not diminishing. Her eyes moved with deliberate tease and the smile of mockery and disdain she flashed in James's direction made her feel accomplished.

James could not bear to watch her and looked away. He could barely feel the pounding of his heart, hear the deafening roar of thunder, see the brief flashes of lighting or the cries of death and the sound of explosions happening outside.

'Ah…. Where did I go wrong?' 

The fury in his heart only grew with every passing second. The raging emotions he felt disappeared, leaving rage as the last remaining emotion. His heart grew numb to every other sensation.

*Crack*

Something within him broke and he didn't know what it was. But…

"Kekeke… Die with integrity, you say?"

Alaric moved with deliberate slowness with the rhythmic swing of his shaft. He felt no shame at all.

To him, it was James's fault for being the moron he was. If he had only opened his eyes to the clues around him, he could have avoided all this.

But no….

James had to be the good guy, the man the people adored and worshipped for being a saint.

Suddenly, James felt a kick to his stomach, sending him flying into one of the walls before slamming down with a heavy thud.

"Ugh!"

He had no more tears to shed and felt nothing besides the raging anger within. 

"Please… You will die when and how we say so. You're nothing without your father, James. Just accept your fate." 

"Very well…"

James's voice came out in a heavy and ominous tone. There was no hint of emotion in his voice, a tone they had never picked from him before. It was like a different person had taken over.

Alaric was momentarily frozen as Selene turned in James's direction with furrowed brows.

"At the very least, tell me why."

The ominous tone came again and this time they were sure it wasn't a fluke. All of a sudden, Alaric jumped back and Selene hastily redrew to the headboard with a yelp, and her eyes trembled. 

Alaric looked over to Selene and noticed how she clutched the bedspread to her chest. Her satisfied expression until a moment ago nowhere to be seen. 

He swallowed the lump in his throat and backed away further. If the person who stayed by James's side for four years never saw something like this, then he had no intention of getting close to him.

'I'll be damned if I got myself killed right after usurping his fortunes!' 

James watched their weird action with raised brows, yet he still waited for his response. With a lot of effort, he stood up and looked at his betrayers with revulsion, the clenching of his teeth a testament to the still-raging fire. 

James was in the moment and the only thing in his awareness was what was before. His once golden eyes had turned blood red giving him a menacing and dreadful look.

A look that sent spin-chilling dread into Alaric and Selene. James may have not known, but in his current state, he released a pressure so strong and bloodthirsty that it put vampires to shame. 

"No response?"

His eyes darted from Selene to Alaric, not caring about why they acted that way. They along with the others decided to take everything he had.

He had no enmity with them, yet months after the demise of his father, these people, these vermin stabbed him in the back!

It was the most dreadful thing he had ever felt, and he knew he would never be the same.

"I swear upon all that I have lost, by every scar carved into my being, and with every breath that remains in me—know this:

*RUMBLE*

"I will hunt you through the shadows and across the edges of oblivion. Even if it ruins me, even if my bones turn to dust and my blood runs dry, I will not rest!

"Your world will crumble just as mine has, and when I stand before you in that final moment, you will know that all your sins have come to claim you.

"This, I vow, as surely as the sun rises and as surely as it will set upon your end."

Every phrase he uttered resounded with a clap of thunder from the skies. It was as if the very heavens bore witness to his vows and rumbled in support.

The atmosphere in the room was grim and when the lights went off with the last roar of thunder, only deep red eyes stared back at them.

Suddenly, James disappeared in a flash of white light, leaving Alaric and Selene frozen with shaky eyes and a resounding echo of a vow.

*BAM*

Footsteps echoed as the door to the bedroom was pushed open. 

"What happened and where is James?"

Caelum Starfire furrowed his brows as he looked around the room, the others following suit. Not finding the person they were searching for, they turned back to Alaric for answers,

But the expression on his face told them he must have seen something dreadful, something so frightening, he failed to react to their presence. 

And like Alaric, Selene also had a similar expression. But that was not really their concern. The only person who fancied her was Alaric and that was mostly to use her in breaking James.

"Hey… Alaric. Snap out of it and tell us what happened!"

A resounding slap echoed bringing Alaric out of whatever state he was in. With a head shake, he frantically looked around the room before sighing in relief.

"J-James… his eyes. Something happened to them."

"Huh? What are you talking about? Explain already."

He and the rest of the gang were downstairs cleaning up the remnants of the knights when a heavy aura hit them like a brick wall.

And as soon as they were released from its influence, they quickly arrived here. It was the only place in the entire estate something like that could take place.

After all, they had swept the whole estate.

"James is a demon, that what! You didn't see his eyes so you wouldn't know," Alaric knelt down at this point, holding onto the shorts of Caelum, the fear of James's vow gripping him with a vice. 

"Ah… I should have killed him when I had the chance."

Caelum exchanged confused glances, unable to make heads or tails with what they heard.

"We should report this. We can't leave a loose end like that?" 

Varek Stormraven proposed with a stern expression, not liking the idea of having to watch his back daily.

"Agreed. But I doubt finding him is going to be easy." Maelis Ironhelm, the last member of James's "once upon a time" friends added. 

The trio nodded in agreement knowing their job wasn't over.

Will they be able to track down James and finish what they started, or will James return to exact his vengeance, and reclaim his inheritance?