Once inside the office, Xena appeared slightly apologetic."Sorry for dragging you into this and getting you threatened. But don't worry—Ethan is definitely in trouble. Regardless of his motives, he won't be getting out for at least ten years."Felix dropped into a chair with a casual smile. "Why the formality between us?"Xena rolled her eyes at him but couldn't deny the lingering fear in her heart. If she hadn't personally made that call to Felix, Ethan might have walked away scot-free, and a month later, when the criminal died, the blame would have fallen squarely on her shoulders.As someone newly appointed, the last thing she needed was a disaster of this magnitude."Well, since I saved the day, how do you plan to thank me?" Felix asked.Xena thought for a moment before replying seriously, "I know you've been working hard to clear your name and even went to see my grandfather. But you have to understand, he was directly involved in that incident. With his age and experience,
"Felix! Something's happened to Nessa!" yelled Jack."What happened?" Felix asked immediately."I don't know!" replied Jack anxiously. "She sent me a message asking me to look for you, mentioning something about Martial Alliance visiting her home to stir up trouble. She didn't pick up when I tried to call her."Martial Alliance? Felix abruptly recalled that Vanessa was a martial artist, so her family definitely had connections to the world of martial arts as well—except they shouldn't have been that intricately involved, so how had they gotten entangled with the Martial Alliance?"You can stop concerning yourself with this matter," he told Jack. "I'll handle it!"He had to get to the scene in person. It would be best if he could solve it by himself and only pull out his trump card—Dragon Alliance—if things didn't work out.Even if outsiders may be clueless, he couldn't be more aware of Dragon Alliance's current situation. They were like a sheep donning a wolf's pelt right now, re
When Brock saw that Vanessa was about to be carted off by the Martial Alliance members, he moved to block their path. He was like a lion who had woken from its slumber, his submissive attitude vanishing and replaced with an imposing demeanor."Let go of her!" he barked.Amaya sneered disdainfully at him. "What, are you going to get physical with us? You'd better think things through, Mr. Meyer. Once you make a move against us, your entire family will be implicated."She patted Vanessa's face. "If you follow along obediently, I can plead your case with Mr. Tate later in order to allow your family a grace period of one year. How's that for a deal?"Angry, Vanessa asked in a low voice, "Will you keep your word?""Of course!" Amary replied.Vanessa immediately turned to look at Brock."Please make way, Dad," she said, attempting to reason with him. "Our family can't afford the consequences of acting against Martial Alliance! After I'm gone, get Jack to contact Felix Zeller. He'll be
"M-My name is Xerxes Tate, Mr. Zeller," Xerxes said humbly. "I've been wanting to apologize to you in person for being so blind before. Don't worry. I'll definitely follow the rules to the letter when driving from now on."Seeing as his attitude was decent, Felix loosened his grip on Xerxes' shirt."What's going on over here, then?" he asked. "Are you trying to take my friend away?"Swallowing, Xerxes ordered Amary to come over to them, then explained, "I was just sleeping in the car, so I don't know a thing about what's going on. But don't worry, Mr. Zeller, because I'll definitely get to the bottom of this."As soon as the words left his mouth, he slapped Amary twice without showing the slightest sign of holding back."Who gave you the bright idea of taking away Mr. Zeller's friend?" he demanded. "Are you courting death?"At this point, Amary had realized that Felix's identity must be extremely terrifying, because why else would Xerxes behave in this way? That said, she had no
"Who's this fellow?" Dalton asked. He was confused at the sight of Felix. After careful thought, he realized that he had never seen him before."Dad, he's Felix Zeller," Brock answered. "Just now, the people from Martial Alliance—"Before he had even finished speaking, Dalton's expression darkened."Martial Alliance came again?" he asked in distaste. "Do they really think us Meyers are pushovers? Why didn't you call me?"Brock smiled wryly. "Why else, other than that we were afraid you'd worry?"What would they achieve by calling Dalton anyway? They had already exhausted their connections. Who would dare help them once they heard that the Meyers had offended Xerxes' personal subordinate?"Although this may sound shameless, when Curtis arrives later, I'm going to ask him for a favor even if I have to beg for it. The situation with Martial Alliance is ridiculous!"Xena was the Phoenix Warlord. Handling a minor issue like this would be child's play to her."The matter's already be
Curtis frowned, asking, "He's the person you were talking about?""That's right," replied Dalton.Sometimes, situations arose in which one needed to exercise discretion.Felix spoke up at that moment. "Mr. Meyer Senior, Mr. Summers Senior, I'm expecting a guest back home. I'm afraid that it's not an appointment I can reschedule, so I'll take my leave first."After Dalton had escorted Felix out, Curtis started questioning him again."Are you sure he was the one who helped your family and that he didn't ask for any reward?"Whatever the two old men discussed regarding the situation with Martial Alliance, it was no longer Felix's concern. He had already achieved the outcome he wanted—although he knew that Curtis wouldn't change his mind about him due to this incident alone, it was still a good start.…At that moment, there was an electric scooter lying on its side on a street in Canraville, and not far from the scooter lay an old man. There were many onlookers gathered around, an
"Who the hell's trying to play hero now?" Damon turned around, and his face immediately dropped. "Dr… Dr. Leonard?" Murmurs rippled through the crowd. "Isn't that the specialist from Mercy Hospital, Leonard Ziegler?" "It really is! Just last month, I waited two weeks to get an appointment with him for my mom." "Could this young man be some kind of medical prodigy? Even someone like Dr. Leonard is vouching for him." Clearly, Damon recognized Leonard and started stammering, "W-Well… if Dr. Leonard vouches for him, I have no objections." Felix was puzzled. He did not know Leonard. Given his own young age, it also seemed incredible that such a distinguished expert in modern medicine would vouch for a stranger in a life-or-death situation. Nevertheless, saving Arthur was the priority. Felix immediately began the acupuncture treatment. Within minutes, Arthur opened his eyes and managed to stand up with Felix's help. "Dad!" Damon exclaimed joyfully. The onlookers were amazed. A
The note read, "Felix, I've mastered the forbidden technique. Do you dare face me again tonight at the peak of Eastern Mountain?" Was it Solomon again? Felix smirked. He had spared Solomon's life last time to send a message, and also because he did not have martial powers then. It was a tactical retreat, but things were now different. If Solomon was so eager to die, why should Felix spare him? He had thought the Elders' Council would lay low for a while, but apparently not for long. As night fell, Felix drove toward Eastern Mountain. The familiar scenery reminded him of his previous misunderstanding with Xena, which was all because of this mountain. Near the mountain, he encountered a roadblock manned by armed Wolfie troops. He stopped and lowered his window. The guard spoke, "This area is temporarily restricted. Please take a detour." Detour? Where to? This was the only road up the mountain. "Alright." After driving a short distance away, he pulled over and reached for his
The moment the topic came up, Felix's gaze flickered, avoiding direct eye contact. No matter how you put it, even though Xena would also benefit from it, it still felt somewhat unfair. It felt that way, especially since they weren't in a relationship. If they were married or at least dating, it wouldn't be an issue at all."I'm exhausted. I need another two days to rest," he said.Billy scoffed. "I know your soul energy is depleted, but trust me. Your fatigue will disappear instantly once your souls merge. The feeling is beyond words. I'm sure you've heard from the Malevolent Phantom how irresistible Soul Binding is, even for those who've already experienced love and passion."Wait, what? Felix was speechless. It seemed that there was really no way out of it."Oh, one last thing. After you and Xena… you know, your soul energy will be completely absorbed and stored away. That means you won't have any left to wield a soul-bound weapon or use any soul attacks. Are you sure you still
There was only one explanation—Felix really could heal soul damage."Of course, I healed him. Let me rest for a bit. Wake me up when the sun comes up."Felix was utterly exhausted. Even if an S-tier Malevolent Phantom appeared beside him, he couldn't be bothered to care. If Donna had truly wanted to kill him, she would have done it long ago. There was no reason for her to wait until now.As Donna watched Felix slip into a deep sleep almost instantly, her expression grew more complex.What kind of ridiculous joke was that? Even though Leonardo was a crossbreed, his soul had already inherited the traits of a Malevolent Phantom. While it wasn't exactly the same as a true Malevolent Phantom, the essence of his soul had changed.And yet, Felix had still managed to heal him. If word of this got out, it would shake the entire Malevolent Phantom world to its core.It was like finding out that some miracle doctor could cure any disease in the human world. People would go absolutely crazy.
Leonardo's body suddenly started convulsing, and with foam spilling from his mouth, even a fool could tell something had gone wrong.Damage to the soul was entirely different from physical injuries. If one got a cut, even without treatment, their body would eventually heal on its own. However, the soul wasn't like that. Any damage was permanent and had widespread consequences. Even if just a fraction of an inch of the soul was harmed, the physical reaction could be extreme.Felix let out a long breath. "Finally got it out. It sounds easy, but doing it was incredibly difficult. Even with my soul energy, I nearly couldn't hold on."The level of precision required to make such an impossibly fine cut was beyond imagination. To do it without causing any collateral damage would require soul energy beyond comprehension.Of course, Leonardo's soul had been damaged. There was no avoiding it."At least he's alive. You've done all you could," Donna said.However, Felix just smiled. "That'
At that moment, Felix turned to Norman. "Step outside and say the lines you've rehearsed. Then, I'll take your son with me. He'll be back by dawn."Norman was beyond relieved. If Leonardo could survive, nothing else mattered.He had long anticipated this day. Living on Earth, even if it wasn't intentional, he had killed more than one person. There was no way he'd be let off the hook.In the living room, Lina was in tears, bombarding him with questions, while Steve kept sighing heavily. No one could have imagined that a once-happy family would fall apart overnight."I'm taking Leonardo for treatment. I won't say it again."Seeing the scene unfold, Felix spoke up. With Norman's cooperation, things were going more smoothly. Since he had been assured that Leonardo would return safely, there was no reason for further resistance.The situation had to be handled strictly. There was no room for defiance.Just then, Xena arrived. She had actually been in Zuera since the day before but ha
Norman looked into Felix's eyes and knew there was no room for negotiation. He lowered his head in silence.Seeing this, Felix dialed Donna's number."What's up?" she asked."I found a crossbreed.""A crossbreed? Oh, you mean a hybrid? What about it?"Felix had no choice but to ask Donna for help. No matter how he looked at it, he also wanted to protect Leonardo."This crossbreed is only three years old and seems to have inherited a soul-related trait. He just killed someone out of pure instinct."Before Felix could finish, Donna had already guessed the situation. She let out a chuckle, her tone carrying a hint of eerie amusement. "Let me guess, you want to save the kid?"Felix didn't bother denying it. "That's right. I want to know if there's a way."After a long pause, Donna's voice came through again, "There is! But I can only assist. Since he's just three years old and hasn't developed much yet, I can mark the part of his soul that drives his instincts. "You'll need to
A trace of sweetness flickered in Norman's eyes, and he couldn't help but smile."Yeah, I never imagined it, either. Me, an A-tier Malevolent Phantom, actually falling in love with a human. I'm completely, hopelessly in love."Felix froze as he hadn't expected it to be true."You probably don't believe me. No other Malevolent Phantom would, either. But it's real. I truly love Lina. After experiencing what you humans call love, I was completely consumed by it. Maybe that's why, when we were together, our souls intertwined, and that's how Leonardo was born."Norman grew emotional as he spoke."Do you understand? When I realized that Leonardo had inherited the unique traits of a Malevolent Phantom's soul, I was overjoyed beyond words."But I regretted it instantly when I remembered where we were. Because it meant that if Norman was ever discovered, he would be in danger of being killed at any moment."And now, with your arrival today, I knew that moment had come. I just didn't expe
The existence of crossbreeds was classified as top secret by headquarters. If word got out, even if the general public remained unaware, just the knowledge reaching certain members within headquarters would cause mass panic.Would you dare to question whether your partner might be a Malevolent Phantom? Would you risk wondering if your child inherited some of its traits and became a crossbreed? No one wanted to shoulder that responsibility.Take Johann and his team, for example. They had absolutely no knowledge of crossbreeds, and their resistance right now stemmed entirely from their own moral convictions."Sir!"Johann didn't dare stop Felix outright, but he raised his voice to make his stance clear. The others followed suit, not to mention Lina, who was still sobbing uncontrollably, and Steve, whose eyes were red with fury as he glared at Felix without a hint of fear."Mr. Zeller! If you're really going to take my grandson, you'll have to step over my dead body first!"Tears st
"So what?" Lina asked. "Even if I lied, what does that person's death have to do with my son?"Felix suddenly roared, "Are you telling me that when you opened the door, your son never left your sight for even a second?""I—"Lina opened her mouth but suddenly found herself at a loss for words. That instinctive hesitation was the most telling of all."Get the car ready. Take her with us. We're going to Lina's house.""Yes, sir!"The convoy arrived at a luxurious mansion in Zuera. The moment Felix and his team rushed inside, they saw Steve sitting in the living room, holding a three-year-old boy in his arms."Mr. Zeller, why are all of you here?"Lina, restrained by Felix's men, screamed in a frenzy, "Dad! Save Leonardo! They're trying to take him away!"Then, she turned to Felix, shouting in fury, "You monsters! He's just three years old, and you suspect him of murder? I'll expose you! I'll take you to court!"By the time she finished, she was sobbing uncontrollably."Mr. Zel
Even though Lina knew Felix held an unimaginably high status—so high that even Steve feared him—his continued questioning and the direction of his suspicions pushed her to the edge. The mere idea that her son might be involved sent her into a silent rage.She was a mother, and when it came to her child, she did not care who the hell the other person was."I'm just asking questions," Felix said flatly. "Just answer them. Don't make me start quoting laws and rights to get you to cooperate."His voice was so calm. For a moment, Lina wondered if she had overreacted, so she took a breath and continued.She explained, "He wasn't in the stall. It's way too small in there. I left the door cracked open so he could see me, and since I had the tether on, plus the nanny and driver waiting outside, I wasn't worried about him wandering off."Felix did not say anything right away. He stood there, clearly deep in thought.Silvercrest Restaurant might have been an upscale dining place, but it was