Alex felt the immense pressure from above, his body shaking uncontrollably.
His mind raced, struggling to comprehend the source of the overwhelming fear.
Chloe, trembling from the malicious presence, quickly noticed her baby shaking. She immediately moved to comfort him.
"Mummy will protect you, baby," she whispered, pressing a reassuring kiss to his forehead.
Alex, feeling a slight relief from his new mother's words, tried to calm himself. But in this infant body, there was little he could do.
Upon receiving Zelda's instructions, Sam's expression darkened. He turned to Aron and Chloe, preparing to explain the gravity of the situation.
When Sam spoke, mentioning another realm of power, the weight of the situation hit everyone. Concern etched their faces.
Alex, still trying to make sense of his predicament, heard how dire things were. A thought crossed his mind: Is this really how my new life begins? Will I die before I can even do anything?
Aron wasn't particularly surprised by Sam's report, though a part of him silently hoped he was wrong. But, as they all knew, reality was rarely kind.
Chloe, on the other hand, was both startled and filled with dread. "How are we going to survive?" she asked, her voice laced with fear.
Aron tried to comfort her. "Mum may not be a saint-level expert, but I believe she can hold her ground against any regular saint."
Despite his reassurances, Aron couldn't shake the fear in his gut. I hope Mum isn't facing someone of prodigious strength...
Sam urged Aron to wake his father from his meditation.
Aron nodded and gave his wife and son one last, affectionate glance. "I'll leave Inferno with you guys. See you soon," he said with a jovial smile, masking the urgency of the situation.
Without another word, he vanished, heading toward his father's chambers.
His father—who had been in seclusion since birth and had become something of a myth, even to his own son—was his only hope in this moment. Aron pressed onward, praying his father's power was enough to face whatever threat loomed.
Chloe, watching her husband disappear into the distance, was pulled back to the present by her father's voice. "We need to go to the control room," he urged.
With Alex in her arms and her father guiding her, Chloe hurried to the control room.
They arrived at a reinforced metallic door. Sam pushed it open, and inside, nearly all of the family's elders and commanders had gathered. Sam was the last to arrive.
The room fell silent as all eyes turned toward them. When they saw Sam, Inferno, and Chloe with Alex in her arms, there was a collective pause.
Some of the elders eyed Inferno curiously but kept their questions to themselves. The head of the weapon-wielding faction, a sharp-eyed man, studied Chloe and Alex with piercing interest.
So they survived... I'll wait... and kill them. It seems like the end of the King Bloodline. The ancestor must have been dead for the last thirty years, with no sign of him.
The group greeted Sam in unison.
"I believe you're all wondering what's happening," Sam began, his voice steady. "Gather the Ether Stones and fully power the barrier while I explain."
The commanders and elders exchanged tense glances. At Sam's words, they immediately began collecting the Ether Stones, reinforcing the barrier.
Meanwhile, high in the sky, Baal smiled leisurely as he increased the pressure of his aura. The atmosphere around him trembled under the sheer weight of his power.
Zelda, though weaker than Baal, stood her ground, fighting against the oppressive force.
Suddenly, the pressure vanished, and Baal appeared before her, grinning. "Though you haven't increased in realm, you've definitely grown stronger," he mocked.
Zelda, battle-ready and alert, noticed Baal's muscles shift, indicating a sudden change in power. She readied herself to retaliate, but she was too slow.
Baal moved in an instant, delivering a devastating punch to her abdomen.
Zelda, watching the attack, knew she couldn't block it in time. In a desperate move, she formed an ice armor around her stomach, hoping to absorb some of the blow's force.
The punch landed with a deafening crack, the ice armor shattering on impact. Zelda was sent flying a considerable distance, blood dripping from her mouth as she crashed to the ground.
Demon Saint... This is too much for me, Zelda thought, wiping the blood from her lips.
Baal looked at his hands, surprised by the shattered ice. "Interesting," he muttered, a cruel smile spreading across his face.
He then turned his attention to Chloe, narrowing his eyes. He vanished in a blur, reappearing above her, and threw a crushing punch downward.
Zelda, barely recovering from the impact, quickly raised her arms, summoning a shield of ice to block the blow. The strike hit with an earth-shattering force, rattling her organs and sending her crashing straight into the barrier.
Boom!
The barrier held firm but trembled under the weight of the impact.
Dizzy and disoriented, Zelda tried to recover. Just as she was about to regain her bearings, she felt a blur of motion behind her and instinctively formed a helmet of ice around her head.
The next moment, her head slammed into the barrier repeatedly, causing it to shake violently.
Her helmet shattered, revealing her bloodstained and battered face.
Baal seized her arm, attempting to tear it from her body as he continued slamming her head into the barrier. Zelda's arm was nearly ripped from its socket.
In a panic, Zelda summoned a pinpoint needle of ice and aimed it at Baal's eyes. Instinctively, he raised his hands to block, giving her the opening she needed to escape.
She appeared at a distance, breathing heavily, her lips swollen, her jaw broken, and several limbs fractured.
Her tattoo glowed a brilliant blue, and in moments, her injuries began to heal.
Baal, recovering from the surprise, glared at her with pure hatred. I hate the King Bloodline, he thought, his annoyance clear.
Zelda, now prepared for another attack, was taken aback when Baal didn't move. Something didn't feel right.
Before she could react, the ice spirit's voice echoed in her mind. Behind you, Zelda!
Reacting instinctively, Zelda summoned an ice sword and shield, blocking the incoming strike. The force of the blow sent her flying back, though she managed to recover midair.
As she regained her footing, she looked at her assailant. To her surprise, it wasn't Baal.
Meanwhile, Aron stood before a massive seven-meter-tall door, staring in awe. This was the supposed residence of his father—the family's only saint-level ancestor.