*RUMBLE*
Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed in the skies over Moonglade as rain fell over the domain. The majority of people were already in their homes and getting comfortable.
A few hundred meters away from the town was the estate of the Baron Zeke with a wall demarcating the estate's lands.
The surroundings were sure to be cleared of trees to provide a place where people could climb and spy into the estate, but that was a useless design before Caleb.
Standing in the dark and under the rain, Caleb stared directly at the estate in the distance. His blue eyes shone brightly, evident in his usage of the system.
He combined the genetic system's areal scan with his domain sense, granting him the ability to generate the estate's plans on his display.
'This system is more of a cheat than I realize. It's basically a portable computer I can use for everything.'
He was taken aback by some of the things the system could do. On his HUD was a rotating plan of the Baron's estate showing the various quarters, beings living inside, and even the hidden passages.
Of course, he saw some unsavoury scenes but kept that to himself and focused on the person the system identified as Baron Ezekiel Zeke.
The man was a slightly chubby man with short golden hair typical of nobles, green eyes and the demeanour of a mean person.
The baron was currently seated in his office going over some documents while his guards and knights occasionally patrolled the grounds.
'Looks like they didn't say anything,'
Caleb noticed with a small smile. In fact, even if they had informed the Baron, it wouldn't have changed anything much.
Looking through the walls, Caleb also noticed the Baron's wives and kids, all in their own chambers asleep or reading a book. The women were quite the lookers, but not something Caleb hadn't seen before.
'Something must kill a man, huh?'
Caleb grinned slightly as he watched a guard and a servant engage in nightly activities while hidden away from the rest.
'Well then, time to begin.'
His expression changed as his body flickered and disappeared from view. He had already decided what to give the Baron as punishment for killing the other Caleb.
...…
Inside his office, Baron Zeke sighed as he leaned in his chair.
"Even with what I have in place, it's going to take a while before I regain all my lost money." He grunted.
"The fuckers have made up their minds to refrain from adventuring too much. In any case, they won't be able to stay away for long."
Another rumble of thunder sent his gaze towards the window as he observed the lightning flashes.
He got up and moved towards the window, watching his men do their jobs without even blinking.
He could care less if they caught a cold. In his mind, this was what they were being paid to do: to protect him and his family.
Another flash of lightning brightened his office for a moment, but then the baron noticed the shadow of someone on his wall.
"AH!"
He flinched back when he saw this and abruptly turned around, his back clinging to the window's frame.
"W-who are you?"
Ezekiel managed to say through stutter, his chest rising and falling. The stranger stood in the shadows, tall and imposing as his blue eyes shone brightly.
The gaze sent shivers down his spine. 'How did he manage to get in here? And what are those useless guards doing?'
Ezekiel did not want to rely on chances, so he opened his lips to call the guards when the man appeared before him and grabbed him by the jaw with his left hand.
"Mm…mm… mm…"
Ezekiel tried to speak but only muffled sounds came out. He looked into the man's eyes as he was lifted from the floor with ease, his feet dangling in the air.
*RUMBLE*
Ezekiel finally saw the man's face but couldn't recognize him. But his eyes expressed the fear he felt at the moment.
'Fuck, did I offend him somehow? And how is he so strong?!'
The Baron struggled and fought but to no avail, the hold was too strong. With both hands holding tightly on Caleb's, he tried to cast a skill.
But Caleb reacted faster and caught that hand and gave it a good twist that resulted in a few snaps of his digits.
"Mmmm…!" The baron almost felt like crying. The pain was too much for a simpleton like him with no real battle experience.
"You should understand your current situation. Any more misbehaviors and I'll go after your wives and kids."
He threatened.
Of course, he had no intention of doing something that twisted, but the Baron didn't know that.
His expressionless face and glowing eyes made the Baron nod his head in understanding.
"Good. You should remember this face of mine, correct?"
Caleb observed the Baron's trembling eyes but found no hints of recognition in them. The fucker didn't even recognize his face.
'Well, not that it matters. I should just do what I came here to do.' Caleb thought and then scanned the Baron's genome.
"You should have left Caleb alone when his only crime was to take on a mission your adversary commissioned of him."
The Baron's eyes widened as he finally remembered who the person was. He looked so much different from what he saw earlier.
'I thought he was dead.'
His body trembled as the fate of what awaited him dawned on him. 'I am so dead!'
The air around Caleb grew heavy as his eyes locked onto Ezekiel, the faint shimmer of genetic strands flickering within his pupils.
A surge of power coursed through him and his fingertips glowed with an eerie blue light.
"Let me show you what living in constant agony feels like." Caleb's voice was low and cold, yet laced with a dangerous finality.
To do what he gotta do, he steeled himself to be cold and ruthless.
Then he tapped into the SCN9A gene of the Baron's DNA and let go of him.
In an instant, the Baron crumbled to his knees, his screams echoing through the office.
"AAAHHH....!!"
Every nerve in his body felt as though it were ablaze, the sensation of searing pain so intense that it robbed him of coherent thought.
Yet, that was just the beginning…