Everyone in the Wurhen Family was an Origin, and the same was true of their servants, such as Enor and Merina. They were experienced warriors approved by Ardur himself, as they served him and his children personally.

Each of them was ready to fight for the Wurhen Family to the very end and was not afraid to fight even the most dangerous monster.

But...

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

The great, white wolf clenched the torn-off arm in its jaws, easily tearing the flesh and crushing the bone into pieces.

All that remained of the tall man and woman were bloody stains and organs and bones scattered across the cold ground. Before the snow from the Frost Ridge covered their defeat, the white wolf devoured their remains, leaving only bloody footprints in the snow.

Ironically, a simple coincidence decided whether they would live or die. As it happened, Kreyn had no enemies for these two, so they set off through the tunnels leading far away, close to the Frost Ridge.

If they had known this, they would have stayed in the mines, fighting their way through with their fists if necessary.

Approaching the Frost Ridge so closely at night was tantamount to signing a death warrant.

...

Crack.

Liliane climbed out of the tunnel as she saw the outline of the prison in the distance, or rather what was left of it after the explosion. She was still on the right side of the river.

"What?" Liliane gasped in confusion. "Wait... Have I been going in the wrong direction all along? Fuck! I have to go back!"

Whoooooooosh.

A flaming projectile flew past her as she jumped sharply to the side.

To her shock, she saw two more people in the distance, a girl with crimson hair and a man who even now found time to light a cigarette.

Click.

Daren closed his lighter as he stepped forward.

"You're Liliane von Wurhen, aren't you?" He asked with a hint of nostalgia in his voice.

She frowned, but when she looked closely at Daren, she recognized him.

"Wait... You're Daren, the prisoner in charge of excavating the mines! Since when are you an Origin?!"

"Yeah, it's definitely you. Just as arrogant as ever."

Liliane waved her hand. "Shut up! What could you possibly know about me, you filthy animal!"

"Well, I know enough about you to want to kill you."

She froze in fear when Daren's amber eyes pierced her like blades.

"I remember how you beat up one of my guys just because you didn't like the way he looked at you. You broke five of another guy's fingers for trying to hide a piece of ore in his pocket."

He shook his head before blowing out a ring of smoke.

"You didn't care about the ore or the look, just like every time you came to prison, you were just looking for a reason to torment some prisoner, wasn't that right?"

Liliane bit her lip.

"So what if I did? I did what I wanted! That's what the Wurhen Family always does!"

"Sure," Daren nodded, flicking away the ash. "Then do it one more time."

"Agh?"

Tremble.

Two purple ghost wolves appeared beside him, baring their teeth.

"Do what you want—try to survive. Because I swear, in the end, you won't even get a grave. I'll personally throw your corpse into the swamps or feed it to the worms!"

...

Hop!

Ozdor jumped out of the tunnel as he landed with a thud on the ground.

In the distance, he could hear the sound of running water. He was to the left of the river, but Varthon was still far away.

Running his fingers through his thick mustache, Ozdor grinned as he looked at the two silhouettes that were already waiting for him.

"Well, well, so it was a trap from the beginning?" Ozdor grinned as he looked at Judith and Grender.

Judith crossed her arms over her chest.

"Of course. Ozdor von Wurhen, do you really think anyone in the region would choose to fight you 1 vs. 1? I'm sure even Ardur himself would prefer not to."

"Hahaha!" Ozdor laughed, his powerful voice echoing across the field. "You overestimate me!"

Then, he cracked his neck, glancing at Grender and Judith.

"Tell me, of all your people, have I encountered the strongest or the weakest?"

Judith threw her head back arrogantly.

"Hah! Of course, we are the strongest! We are not Kreyn's subordinates, we are his allies!"

Ozdor stared at Grender, who, unlike the fiery Judith, showed no emotion.

"What about you? Do you agree with her?"

Grender sighed heavily, covering himself with his collar from the cold gusts of wind.

"Let's say... If you weren't planning on dying today, then we're the worst you could have encountered."

"I see..."

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

At the same moment, Ozdor's aura grew several times as a great black axe appeared in his hand. He slung his weapon over his shoulder with a broad grin while streams of purple flame burst from the ground surrounding him.

"In that case, show me what you're capable of! When I meet my brother, it would be nice to have something to tell him! Hahaha, I'm sure by that time he will have already ripped out Kreyn's heart and fed it to the dogs!"

Step.

Grender stepped forward as a surprisingly long, almost two-meter-long katana appeared in his hand from the streams of wind.

"Who knows how our fight will end? But I'm sure each of us will have something to talk about."

...

South of Varthon, closer to the foot of the river, the pale man, Groza, and Liam clashed. He was the only one of the servants who had managed to survive until now.

Groza strode forward confidently while electric discharges ran along her great sword.

Since the attack on Kreyn's world, this would be the first time she would fight alongside Liam against a common enemy, as they had done for a long time in their world.

"Go ahead, Liam, we will win, just as we always have."

Liam nodded. "Sure, when I'm with you, defeat is not an option!"

...

At the same time, Kreyn watched the start of all three battles from the tower, a sly smile on his face.

"Come on, where are you, Ardur?"

Tap.

Valyra climbed up to the tower.

"K-Kreyn, do you want me to fight him with you? I can help you!" She asked shyly.

In response, he shook his head.

"Nah, from what I understand, he'll just tear you apart with his bare hands. Leave it to me..." He glanced at the red box on his belt. "I'm ready."

A short time later, in the forest behind Varthon, not far from the Wurhen Family mansion, something strange happened.

Birds rose up and flew away from the forest as thick darkness filled the air, dense and gloomy, not allowing even a sliver of moonlight to penetrate.

"Alright, he's here. All that remained was to understand..."

Kreyn turned to look at Laura, who was pressed against the wall of one of the ruined houses. She was clearly shaken by what had happened in recent days, her mind unprepared for it and on the verge of breaking.

"Which is stronger, her will or her mind?"

Either way, he had a role in store for her.

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