Chapter 250: Tell me… WHYYY??!!!!!

A couple of minutes passed.

Kanna remained seated beside Lucian, her posture still graceful and composed as ever, if not for the subtle nervousness creeping into her demeanour, which was completely hidden beneath her emotionless expression.

Lucian glanced at her from the corner of his eye, a faint look of amusement appearing on his face, and somehow... that only made Kanna even more tense.

Meanwhile, the muffled screams from the injured man continued. His body was trembling, and he was almost on the verge of losing consciousness from the pain.

His companions, however... didn’t seem particularly concerned about him, as they were far more worried about themselves, and nobody wanted to become the next person lying on the floor with a twisted arm.

"They’re not running away, are they?"

Lucian suddenly muttered, irritation laced into his words, and the temperature around him began to rise as his gaze settled on the Boss.

The Boss shifted awkwardly in his seat, his pupils flickering for a brief second before he took a deep breath and tried to speak.

"Should I go check—"

He couldn’t even complete his sentence as his body suddenly felt heavier, like something was pressing down against his shoulders.

His breathing shook as he instinctively closed his mouth, sweat dripping from his forehead as he lowered his head.

"..."

The others looked at their Boss in dread, becoming even more worried about their lives.

Even the Boss—the same man who had once killed one of their own members simply for arguing against him—the same man they listened to and feared... that very man seemed to be cowering before the red-eyed man.

The sight made the others even more terrified.

Lucian silently turned away, his gaze travelling towards something none of them could see.

[Tracking]

Faint, glitter-like rays seemed to travel through the surroundings, guiding his attention towards something in a particular direction.

And before him...

[The target Glenn Reed is 27 metres away...]

[26 metres... 25...]

"So he didn’t run away, huh?"

A faint smile appeared on his lips as he leaned back, waiting for them to arrive.

Kanna followed his gaze, only to notice him staring at a plain wall... though she could easily conclude that he was using some sort of detection skill, perhaps to see through the wall or something.

Meanwhile, the Boss lowered his hand even more, letting out a small, relieved sigh before his gaze shifted towards the door.

Click

The door parted open, and three men entered the room.

One of them was the man who had brought the others here, and the other two... were the very people who had caused Lucian to come here in the first place.

"Boss... I heard you called us?" One of the two, with a gruff voice, spoke.

Meanwhile...

The other rough-looking man walked with a faint crouch, his expression slightly pained as he uncomfortably shifted his stiff neck, where a thick bandage was wrapped around.

His face looked tired, perhaps a bit weary, as he walked forward, each movement feeling like torture.

He had only just been sleeping after getting his injuries treated, and yet he had been called here urgently.

’What does he need now? Can’t he see I’m injured...?’

Glenn grumbled inwardly, but didn’t dare say it aloud—not that he could exactly do that right now.

His neck still hurt badly, and just moving it ever so slightly caused a sharp pain to travel through his body.

Both Gary and Glenn looked around at the others who were standing together, the atmosphere tense for some reason.

Even the Boss didn’t seem to respond to Gary.

The gruff guy—Gary—glanced at them with his brows furrowed.

"Boss?" he muttered again.

"..."

Nothing.

They shifted their gazes towards the guy who had brought them inside, but to their further confusion... the man shifted a few steps away from them, while his eyes remained fixed in a certain direction.

Slowly... both men followed his gaze.

And the moment they did—

"Y-You..."

Gary’s voice shook as his body instantly stiffened, his expression shifting into disbelief.

A few metres away from them...

Two people were sitting comfortably on luxurious chairs with complete disregard for the tense environment... though it was exactly because of them.

Slowly, Lucian’s playful smile disappeared the moment his eyes landed on the two men standing before him.

[The target Glenn Reed is 8 metres away from the Host.]

The bandaged man—Glenn—widened his eyes in complete shock.

His lips tremblingly parted. He immediately recognised the man... the same man who had been along with that masked woman.

"H—"

Before he could even try to utter anything out of his mouth—

Lucian’s body suddenly blurred, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared from his chair, appearing directly in front of Glenn.

"Found you."

An extremely cold voice escaped his lips.

His crimson eyes glowed faintly, and before either of the men could understand anything—

Lucian grabbed the bandaged Glenn by the head, and—

Baam!

Slammed his head directly onto the floor.

"Ggkhrr—!"

A strangled, choked sound escaped Glenn’s throat. Blood immediately began leaking from his head.

But Lucian didn’t stop.

Baam!

Lucian slammed his head down once again, striking it against the floor, which shifted faintly under the impact.

The entire room suddenly went deadly silent.

Everyone’s eyes widened in complete horror as they watched the man suddenly vanish right before their eyes, and before they could even understand where he had gone—

Baam!

The sound echoed inside their heads once again, somehow reverberating through their skulls.

A violent chill travelled through everyone’s bodies.

They watched in horror as Lucian slowly lifted the injured Glenn by his hair, pulling him upright and forcing his bloodied face into view.

Glenn’s nose was already broken, and blood ran down his face, staining all his features, while his teeth had fallen out from the earlier impact.

His breathing was ragged, and his entire body trembled in pain, but Lucian simply stared at him with cold, blood-red eyes.

"Remember me?" he muttered quietly, but then, seeing the man’s lack of response, he slowly frowned.

"Hey, hey..."

His grip tightened.

"Don’t die just yet."

He immediately grabbed Glenn’s arm, and then—

His hand began turning red.

Heat slowly began radiating from his palm, the temperature increasing little by little until it reached a level that made the air around his hand distort.

[Ding!~]

[You have learned the skill Heat Touch.]

Smoke began rising from Glenn’s skin, and within a few seconds—

"GGAaagrll—arrhhh—!!"

The broken scream escaped his throat—a shrill, desperate sound filled with agony.

The burning pain, the pain in his neck, the pain from his broken bones, and the pain from his battered face... all of it seemed to crash down on him at once.

"Don’t you dare die before I tell you to."

Lucian’s words went completely over his head, and the man drowned in pain as he continued screaming out his life.

Lucian eventually removed the heat from his hand, then waited for a whole minute to let the man stop screaming... which he did.

Not because the pain had somehow lessened, but because his throat had gone dry, and no screams could even escape him.

Slightly satisfied, Lucian grabbed Glenn by the hair and pulled his face upward, forcing him to look directly at him.

"So... do you remember me now?"

Lucian ’kindly’ repeated his question.

"Gkh... kg..."

Again... no proper answer.

"Answer, or I’m burning you again."

The moment he said that, Glenn’s eyes widened as he suddenly began nodding furiously, only to elicit another gargled groan as pain shot through his already damaged neck.

His neck had almost been broken when Lucian had strangled him, and if not for his awakened body, he might’ve been seriously bedridden by now.

"Good."

Lucian nodded, satisfied.

"Now let’s talk... why did you even try to hold my mother’s hand?"

The Boss’s expression shifted into confusion, but suddenly, realisation dawned on him as he realised why this man had come here.

He had come all the way here... just because one of his men had touched his mother?!

"Tell me... WHYYY??!!!!!"

Lucian’s expression suddenly changed.

The calmness he had been trying to maintain completely disappeared.

His face contorted with anger as he tightened his grip on the man’s hair.

The temperature inside the room immediately increased... to the point it almost felt like the air itself was vibrating from the heat.

Everyone’s bodies stiffened.

Lucian... he had been trying his best to beat the man properly, perhaps even try to understand first why he had done that, to listen to whatever excuse the man had... before killing him.

Because yes... Lucian had already decided to kill the man—no matter what answer he gave.

But now—

Just looking at the same man again... the anger bubbling inside him erupted.

His blood seemed to boil with rage.

The thought of someone touching what was his—his mother—was enough to make every trace of rational restraint disappear.

"WHY DID YOU TOUCH HER, YOU FUCKER...?!!"

BAAM!

Lucian slammed the man’s head back onto the ground, and before Glenn could even recover, Lucian grabbed the wrist of his right hand.

"This is the same hand you used, right...?"

Glenn’s entire body trembled as he looked up, and the expression on Lucian’s face made his blood run cold—no longer carrying the noble restraint he had shown before, but just the wild rage consuming him.

"N-No..."

He was barely able to form those words before—

Lucian’s other hand suddenly shifted, turning into long, sharp claws before his arm moved.

For a moment... none of the people inside the room understood what had happened.

It happened too quickly, and all they could see was...

Glenn’s hand fell onto the ground.

But...

A portion of it remained in Lucian’s grasp, hanging limply from his fingers as blood immediately gushed from the severed wound.

"N—o—ahwah—GAAAARKKKGAA—!!!"

The entire room was suddenly filled with a horrifying scream.

Glenn clutched his remaining hand desperately, his eyes widening in absolute horror as he stared at what had happened.

His body shook violently.

"W-What...?"

One of the men instinctively stepped backwards.

"No... what did yo—?!"

Lucian’s head suddenly snapped towards them.

"Silence."

The man’s voice died down instantly.

For a brief moment...

Something dark emerged around Lucian’s face, barely forming, yet terrifying enough that everyone instantly went silent, feeling their throats tighten.

Even Kanna’s expression flickered faintly as she saw the black mist briefly creeping across his face, faintly distorting his features into something unknown before... instantly turning normal.

"Kanna... if they speak even a single word or the slightest sound escapes their mouths..."

Lucian turned towards the emotionless maid, who had already gotten up from her chair and stored them back inside her shadow.

"...then kill them."

Kanna looked at his expression briefly, then slowly lowered her head.

"Yes, Master Lucian."