Another loud bang came through the phone, and the call was interrupted.Austin's expression sank.He realized that Vincent must be referring to someone they both knew if he was calling his pursuers "them"."What happened, sir?" asked Ezra."Vincent is in danger." Austin then turned to Dahlia, Cecily, and Raquel. "I'm sorry, but I need Mr. Lockwood to head outside with me for a bit."Their expressions similarly sank while Ezra stood up from the dinner table.Cecily wanted to say something, but Dahlia quickly held her back by pressing on her shoulders.Dahlia then turned to Austin and Ezra and warned him. "Be careful."Austin gave a reassuring look at Cecily and then nodded at Dahlia.Dahlia waited until both Austin and Ezra had left before she turned to Cecily to explain her actions."I know that you're worried about Austin, but you need to understand that to become the head of the Campbells was a matter of survival of the fittest. Only one may reign as the winner, and someone
"Where is he now?" asked Austin.Yannis crumpled into a ball at the back of the car as she continued to cry. "I—I don't know! All I heard was about how they wanted to bury Vincent!" Austin frowned and his mind went into overdrive upon the mention of burying.He suddenly thought of a certain place. "Mr. Lockwood, we need to go to Nirvana Cemetery.""Are you sure that's the place, sir?""The cemetery's gotta be the only place they could bury someone. Besides, Vincent was one of the Redmonts themselves. I believe that they would at the very least not be burying their own flesh and blood in some random dishonorable hole."Ezra hesitated for a while before turning the steering wheel to head toward Nirvana Cemetery.He also contacted some informants to acquire surveillance footage around the area of the cemetery just in case.The car was dead silent throughout the ride.Yannis was visibly traumatized as she continued to curl herself into a ball at the back of the car.She tried he
Flocks of crows circled around the night sky. Their screams sounded as if the bells of death had been rung.Flashes of light could be seen in the forest near the cemetery where Vincent was tied to a big tree.His clothes were already in tatters, and his entire body was covered in blood.Two pairs of iron wires were nailed to the tree trunk above his head.It had passed through Vincent's shoulder blades, and the sharp hooks mottled with bits of flesh and splashes of blood were shining under the light.Vincent's body was twitching uncontrollably under the severe pain.His face had turned pale over his gradual loss of blood.The only sound he could make now were whimpers from the pain.His eyes, however, were still very much alive and burning with hatred.The sound of shovels digging into the ground could be heard nearby.Vincent could see silhouettes swinging the shovels somewhere in the forest.Suddenly, the man in front of him swung his blade onto his shoulders.Flesh and m
Sean stood up and pulled out his sword from the tree.Another swing placed a wound onto Vincent's left shoulder, and blood began to spray out.Vincent was determined to only let out a small, quiet whimper.The air was filled with the stench of blood.Even the dirt underneath Vincent had already turned muddy from his blood.The severe pain causing him to tremble uncontrollably was driving him crazy.And yet, the intense hatred gleaming in his eyes was still as bright as the stars."The head himself ordered 20 cuts before burying you… We have six more to go!"Sean sounded as cold as ever even though his right hand holding onto the sword was slightly trembling.He had gone through plenty of arduous experiences in life as a member of the Redmonts.But when Sean looked straight into Vincent's eyes, he still somehow felt fear and uneasiness. "I've already done you a favor and left the girl alone… Why do you still seem to hate me so much?"Vincent replied, "That's just… Because you
Sean was so surprised that he stopped his sword in mid-air.A loud thud could be heard as a stone flew through the air and hit Sean's hand accurately.The sword was sent flying to the ground, and the forest fell silent once more.Even the crows patrolling the night skies above had fallen deathly quiet.Sean stared at his empty right hand as a chill ran through his body.Vincent's eyes gleamed with hope as he slowly raised his head to find two silhouettes walking towards him through the darkness."Sorry, I'm late," said Austin as he appeared from the darkness with both his hands in his pocket.Austin's physique was already beyond the strength of any ordinary human thanks to the hellish training regimen with Aldus. Both the accuracy and speed of the stone throw were evidence of just how powerful of a strike it was.Vincent smiled. "You made it just in time."Sean snapped back to his senses and shouted, "This is a Redmont family matter, Austin. This has nothing to do with you."
A loud crack could be heard followed by blood-curdling screams as the man's arm was twisted and broken.Meanwhile, Ezra was slightly panicking as his opponent was standing back up.He smiled and explained, "Ever heard of respecting your elders, young man? You should learn to forgive them for their mistakes too! I wasn't aiming for your crotch on purpose, you know? Anyway, give me a moment to stretch my old bones, will you?"Ezra started to do stretches and warm-ups in front of Vincent and the Redmont henchman.Vincent was in disbelief. "Mr. Lockwood… Are you serious?"The next moment, Ezra's gaze turned fierce as he crouched down. "Here, watch and learn!"He leaped up with a tightened fist aimed toward the henchman's chin.The henchman screamed out in pain and took a few steps back.It was enough to make him cry out from the pain.The henchman was enraged after being tricked and humiliated twice by his opponent. "You're fucking dead, old man!"He decided not to play around an
Austin turned back to Vincent and replied, "I know."Bones could be seen on Vincent's tattered and bloody body.It was apparent that Vincent was being tortured.Austin would avenge his friend with an eye for an eye.Sean started to beg for mercy. "Let me go, Vincent. Please, let me go! I'm your uncle!"Austin was shocked by the sudden reveal, but his determination to kill did not falter."Uncle? So what?" Vincent chuckled, "I… Already said that… I'll destroy the entire… Redmont family!"Sean was so frightened that he no longer had the courage to even beg for mercy.His body went limp from despair.Austin looked around at the four remaining henchmen. "Do you guys still want to fight? Or would you like to join him in the grave?"The four henchmen were so terrified that they had completely forgotten about the pain from their injuries.The four of them looked at each other with hesitation and confusion.Suddenly, Ezra shouted, "Kill him, and we'll let you go. Or else, we'll hav
Austin made a fist and gently hit on Vincent's chest. "Hold on, my friend."…Three days later, Vincent was finally moved away from the Intensive Care Unit into a VIP ward in the hospital.Austin could finally let out a sigh of relief as he tore apart all of the letters from the hospital detailing Vincent's critical condition.Vincent was already awake when Austin visited him at the hospital.His entire body was covered with gauze like a mummy, and his expression still seemed relatively weak."You made it," said Austin.Vincent looked up at him and replied, "Thank… You…"Vincent's voice was so weak that it was difficult to hear anything clearly through the ventilator.Austin shook his head and sat down next to the bed before turning to Ezra. "Have you found anything yet?""No, sir. It seems that the Redmonts have kept it well under wraps. As for Sean… The Redmonts seem to not really care about him."Austin had Ezra utilize the Campbell family's resources to find out why Vinc