Kaiden strode across the streets until they reached the pristine stone path of the Dupré estate.

Behind him, Nyx, Luna, Aria, Bastet, and the demoness followed in silence. The mansion loomed ahead, made of white marble, gold-lined pillars, fortified gates.

Outside the gate, two sleek black vans sat parked. No logos. No plates. Tinted windows.

Government surveillance.

But not a single door opened. Not one agent stepped out. People who were lining the sidewalks, phones raised, gasped as Kaiden didn't stop at the gate. He didn't even slow down.

*BANG!*

His foot crushed the reinforced front door off its hinges. Metal bent like clay.

Gasps rippled like thunder.

"Holy shit, he kicked it down!"

"He's gone insane?!"

"Kaiden?? What are you doing??"

Kaiden walked forward, ignoring the shouts of the onlookers.

"Stop right there!"

Armed men in black suits raised rifles from behind pillars and staircases. Their muzzles were all aimed at him.

"This is private property!" the lead guard barked. "You're trespassing! Stand down or we are authorized to open fire!"

Kaiden didn't listen.

The guards hesitated for but a moment, then pulled their triggers.

But the bullets never reached him.

Nyx, standing behind him, raised one slender hand.

Space bent.

A ripple-like barrier shimmered into existence, transparent yet absolute. Bullets hit it and deflected, ricocheting harmlessly into walls and floors.

Gasps erupted all over the globe.

What was Kaiden doing? Why was he committing a crime in broad daylight? He's gone insane!

The boy watching at home gripped his chair with a pale face.

On a balcony above, a woman in a crimson silk robe stormed out.

Elise Dupré.

"This is a crime, Kaiden Grey! Awakened are forbidden from attacking civilians! You'll be imprisoned for this! Do you hear me? Turn back right now or you're finished!"

Kaiden finally looked up.

Their eyes met.

Something in Elise's throat caught. Her voice died. In his eyes, she saw no hesitation. No fear. No mercy. Instead, there was only endless cruelty. His lips, stern until now, formed a smile that came straight out of a nightmare.

Then, the Paragon of Sin vanished.

One moment, Kaiden stood below. In the next, he was gone.

"Wh-"

He blurred through the bullets, zig-zagging across the courtyard faster than her eyes could follow. A heartbeat later…

*THUD.*

He landed in front of her and her guards.

Time stopped.

There he stood, unmoving. Tall, broad-shouldered, and unnaturally ominous. His mere presence pressed on their lungs, primal and suffocating.

For the first time, these men, professional bodyguards, ex-special forces, understood what it meant to face a monster.

Today, they were introduced to the emotion called:

Dread.

"OPEN FIRE!" one of them screamed as the otherworldly moment passed.

Weapons rose.

Kaiden moved.

His hands shot out, and he grabbed the rifles of the two nearest guards and ripped them from their grips. In the same motion, he hurled them.

*CRACK!*

The flying rifles slammed into the weapons of the next two guards, knocking their guns from their hands.

They staggered back, stunned.

But the fight hadn't left them. Their training kicked in as they lunged for their weapons.

"Have you decided?" Kaiden's threatening voice came.

The guards froze because they understood. If they raised their guns again, they would die.

And then, five more presences appeared around him like loyal ghosts.

Nyx. Luna. Aria. Bastet. Calypso.

They didn't speak, but their stares told the world everything:

If he moves, we move.

If he fights, we fight.

To the end.

On the balcony, Elise screamed with a shrill voice:

"Shoot, you cowards! I paid top dollar for your protection!"

But the guards didn't move.

Not with those women watching. Not with Kaiden's shadow looming over them.

From the side corridors, more guards rushed in, but the Valkyries stepped forward. Luna's storm blade hummed. Aria danced past them in a blur. Nyx twisted space. In seconds, the new guards were disarmed without sustaining a single injury.

But the monster girls…

Bastet and Calypso didn't go for the guards.

They stepped toward Elise Dupré.

The old woman stumbled back, panic breaking through her facade. Her hands trembled against the balcony railing.

"You freaks! Monsters! Stay away from me! The government will put you down if you touch me like the nasty dogs that you are!"

"Dog? My friend is clearly a cat. Are you dumb?" Calypso purred.

"And this woman, while indeed nasty, is not a dog. She's more like a circus clown. She even has the red nose."

Elise's face twisted in fury. But before she could lash out, Bastet and Calypso each clasped her arms. "No! No! Don't touch me!" Elise screeched.

They did not listen.

Her luxurious silk robe tore as they dragged her away from the balcony rail. Calypso's long, demonic nails even traced her throat mockingly.

The two hauled Elise inside the mansion as if she weighed nothing, letting her heels scrape across marble. The balcony door shut behind them with a soft click, sealing off her screams from the world below.

…

A long mahogany table. Advisors, foreign representatives, and military officials sat across from the President of the United States.

Just then, a knock came, sharp and frantic.

Two assistants burst in, nearly tripping over each other. "M-Mr. President! Forgive the intrusion, but this is urgent!"

The president fixed them with a calm, cold stare. Seeing how truly distraught they were, he understood this was something immensely important.

"Everyone, leave us."

The delegates exchanged glances, then rose. They bowed respectfully and exited without a word.

Once the doors shut, one assistant stepped forward, pale as chalk.

"It's Kaiden Grey! He's gone rogue! He's attacking the surveillance target, Elise Dupré! And he's broadcasting it live!"

The president's eyes sharpened and then navigated to the Awakened Media Platform.

The live stream loaded.

Kaiden stood still, watching.

Calypso sat Elise down on a velvet chaise, smiling sweetly as she pressed a finger against her nail and peeled it off like a scab. Elise screamed from the bottom of her lungs.

Bastet reached for a second finger, and instead of going for a nail, simply pushed it back until it broke.

"Agghhh!!! You crazy bitches! Why are you torturing me?! You didn't even ask a question!!"

Seeing this, the president exhaled slowly. Not exactly in disgust, more so in disappointment.

"This is simply not acceptable. Does he think he's above the law? And he's streaming this nonsense on top of that? Is he trying to force my hand…?"

The assistants exchanged nervous looks.

The President knew Kaiden as a cunning young man. Calculating, never impulsive. In his head, everything Kaiden did was for a reason.

And yet… this.

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