A few hours had passed since the rescue.

Jax stood in a lavish room, staring at a beautiful woman with golden hair and warm brown eyes. She carried herself with royal grace, the kind that came from a lifetime of privilege and power.

Seris's aunt. Sister of the late King Theron. The man Jax had considered his rival, though the bastard had never known it.

Around them stood Astrid, Seris, and Roxana, all watching the scene unfold. And on the royal bed behind them, covered in fresh silk sheets, lay Adelina.

Healers had worked on her for hours. Changed her clothes, cleaned her wounds, forced more potions down her throat. Her face was still pale, almost translucent, like a porcelain doll that might shatter at any moment.

But she was out of danger. That's what the healers had said. All she needed now was rest and proper food.

'She's alive. She's safe. That should be enough.'

But it wasn't.

The rage inside Jax hadn't melted even slightly. If anything, it had crystallized into something harder, sharper, more dangerous.

His face showed no relief. No gratitude. No softening.

Instead, he turned his back on all of them, facing the wall. "I'm going to Meridax."

Dead silence.

Then Astrid's voice cut through. "What? Professor... I mean, Jax, you can't go there alone. Not even with an army! You know what happened to Veldora and the other kingdoms, right?"

She stepped forward, her voice rising. "And killing a few weak soldiers they left behind as guards? That shouldn't boost your confidence no matter how powerful you are! Those were the scraps! The real forces are—"

"Good," Jax interrupted, still not looking at her. "I Knew you won't argue."

They all blinked, confused.

'Wait, did he not listened properly?'

"Keep watch on her." He pointed at Adelina without turning around. "Don't let anyone near her. Anyone."

He took two steps toward the door.

Then stopped.

'Shit. Almost forgot.'

He turned and walked back toward Seris's aunt in quick, purposeful steps. The woman's eyes widened slightly as he approached.

Jax leaned in close, so close his nose almost touched her golden hair, and inhaled deeply.

"Mmm. Lavender and nobility. Nice."

His hand came up and gently touched a strand of her hair, rubbing it between his fingers like he was evaluating fabric quality.

All four women in the room went rigid with shock.

Then Jax turned to Seris. "Tell your aunt my tales."

The disgust on their faces was immediate and universal.

'How can one man be so twisted? So overly possessive about one woman and then lustfully touching another in the same breath?!'

But they didn't understand. Not yet.

"Tell her everything," Jax continued, his voice dropping to something cold and lethal. "Tell her what happens to people who even THINK about harming Adelina. Forget actually hurting her. Because the world is going to learn that lesson very soon."

His eyes locked onto the aunt's face. "I know you royal assholes. You'll do anything for a crown. And right now that crown is vacant. And who would be the next candidate according to your laws?"

The implication hung in the air like poison gas.

The aunt. She'd be next in line.

"Professor!" Seris's voice cracked. "She isn't like that! You don't know a single thing about her! She's been—"

But Jax was already gone, the door slamming behind him.

Roxana looked at the others, saw their stunned faces, then made a split-second decision. She ran after him.

Inside the room, silence stretched.

Finally, Seris's aunt spoke, her voice shaky. "My child... who WAS that man?"

Seris opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.

"I... I don't know how to answer that, Aunty." Her voice was filled with genuine confusion. "Every time I think I understand him, he does something that proves me completely wrong. And the things happening around him, with him, with Mother..." She trailed off, staring at Adelina's sleeping form. "I'm more confused than you are."

Both women stood there, utterly baffled.

Meanwhile, Astrid was oddly quiet. Her cheeks had a faint pink tint to them.

'Why am I blushing?' she thought, irritated with herself. 'It's not like I... I mean, he's a complete bastard. A manipulative, cruel, perverted...'

But she kept seeing it. That moment in the cell. The way he'd held Adelina. The tears in his eyes. The absolute devotion.

'Stop it, Astrid. Get yourself together.'

-- -- --

Many more hours passed.

The carriage Seris had provided rolled to a stop. Jax stepped out onto scorched earth, the evening sun casting long shadows across devastation.

Behind him, Roxana emerged from the carriage as well.

This was her kingdom. Meridax.

Or what was left of it.

Earlier, during the journey...

She'd followed him out of that room. Caught up to him at the carriage.

"Let me come with you," she'd said.

No answer. He just kept walking.

"Professor, please. I need to—"

Ignored completely.

"I'm sorry! For what happened before! For listening outside your room! For the chaos before! I'm sorry!"

Still nothing. Like she was speaking to a brick wall.

She'd apologized five more times. Six. Seven.

Each time met with complete silence.

Finally, her real personality had kicked in. The one beneath all the royal training and diplomatic façades.

"You know what? Fuck your childish behavior!" she'd snapped. "You're acting like a petulant child! It's immature and pathetic and—"

Jax had reached the carriage and started stepping up.

She'd stopped mid-rant, watching him.

'He didn't give me permission to come. But... he also didn't reject it. And I bet he won't do anything that involves me in his childish ego game.'

Feeling confident, she'd stepped up behind him.

That's when she'd seen it. Just a flicker. A split-second where Jax's hand moved to his blade, angling to remove it from hilt like he was about to cut her throat.

Then he'd stopped. Lowered his hand.

Roxana's heart had nearly exploded out of her chest. Fear had frozen her solid for a full five seconds.

Then she'd exhaled slowly and climbed into the carriage.

[Present moment]

Now they both stood at the edge of hell.

The ground was littered with bodies. Burned structures still smoldered, sending black smoke into the darkening sky. The smell of death was overwhelming.

This was just the OUTSIDE of the kingdom. Whatever waited inside would be infinitely worse.

The war was clearly over. The silence told them everything they needed to know about who had won.

There were no guards at the gate. Not one. The massive doors stood open, unmanned.

A kingdom without guards was a kingdom already dead.

Jax moved forward silently, slipping through the gate like a shadow. He needed intel. Needed to find a champion from the other world. Someone he could start his revenge with.

His eyes scanned the ruins as he moved deeper into the city.

Then his system screen flickered. Just the tiniest bit. A figure had crossed into his detection range and then immediately moved out of sight.

'Found you, you piece of shit.'

He followed, moving from shadow to shadow, getting closer.

Finally, he spotted her. Spotted THEM.

In a cleared plaza, surrounded by rubble, stood two girls and a handful of boys. The boys were circling the girls like loyal puppies, desperate for attention, for approval, for any scrap of acknowledgment.

'Pathetic.'

One of the girls, tall with dark hair and armor that looked expensive, stretched her arms above her head. "Zoe, bring the queen yourself for the display. I don't want to see her face right now."

Zoe—a shorter girl with bright eyes and a playful smirk tilted her head. "Aww, still mad she gave you that beating?"

"She got lucky," the first girl snapped. "And I need rest. You handle things."

"Hihi, maybe I should bring her to your bedroom first?" Zoe's grin widened. "You know, for some pre-display fun?"

"I don't have energy for your playfulness right now, Zoe. And don't do that or the queen will go missing before her big public display."

Behind Jax, Roxana hissed quietly, rage building in her chest.

Zoe shrugged. "Fine, fine. I'll behave." She turned to the boys. "You lot, follow me."

Jax pulled up his system interface and checked their stats.

[Champion Masha]

[Level 30 | HP: 20,000 | MP: 15,000]

'Impressive. Probably the leader of this brutal gang.'

Then he checked the other girl.

[Champion Erica]

[Level 17 | HP: 15,000 | MP: 1,000]

'Wait... Erica? Wasn't her name Zoe? Whatever. Fake names, probably.'

A plan formed in his mind instantly.

'Let me build fear in their leader's eyes. I'll start by killing her friend right in front of her.'

He followed Zoe and her group through the destroyed streets. She was gathering more people as she went, building up a march toward the palace.

The pursuit continued until they reached it.

The throne room. The grand hall where Roxana's sister, Queen Sylvie, would have ruled.

And there she was.

Inside a cage so small she'd been forced into it, her body bent at unnatural angles. Her royal armor was torn, her face bruised and bloodied, but her eyes... her eyes still burned with defiance.

Jax smiled. Turned to Roxana.

"Here's your chance for redemption," he said quietly. "You can make things right with me and Save your sister as well."

Roxana's eyes glowed with desperate hope. "Tell me, Professor. I'll do anything."

"Just help me with the fight."

"I will," she said immediately, her voice fierce. "Trust me, Professor. Even if it costs my life here, I will protect—"

"That won't be necessary," Jax interrupted. "And I don't need your self-sacrificing favor. I just need you to not interrupt my night with these four girls." He pointed at the only female champions present.

Then his eyes met hers, dangerous and predatory. "The boys are weak. You can handle them easily. But don't make me annoyed again with interruptions. Not with them—" he gestured to the girls, "—and not with you either."

Roxana's brain tried to process what he'd just said. What he'd implied. What he was planning to do with those—

Before the thought could fully form, Jax lunged forward.

His speed was inhuman. The boys barely registered movement before he was past them, blade extended.

The metal sang through the air.

And sliced through the figure in front of him.

Not her body.

Her clothes.

Fabric tore with a sharp riiip sound, falling away in perfectly cut strips.

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