From the very beginning of the battle at Volsinii, the Borisin girls stationed in the city had already reported the situation to Lappland. Thus, after learning what was happening there, Lappland immediately made use of part of the Shadow Troops' authority that An Xora had granted her, dispatching Shadow Ninjas to rapidly search the nearby cities.
In short order, they successfully located the hideout where the heads of the major families were gathered.
The Rossetti family.
The Venezia family.
The Bellone family.
…And the Saluzzo family.
The heads of the great families—who had always schemed against one another and reveled in it—had probably never imagined that one day they would be sitting together in such unity.
Such a heartwarming scene—how could Lappland possibly resist giving her dear father, along with the other family heads, a little surprise?
Inside the hideout, Alberto Saluzzo suddenly felt an intense sense of unease for no clear reason.
Could it be that one of the other families intended to exploit this moment—when all the family heads had somewhat thinned security—to wipe them out?
No. That didn't make sense.
Leaving aside the fact that the families all had a rough grasp of each other's strength—making it impossible for one side to secretly divert large forces while still matching the others' deployments—none of the family heads were fools. Each of them had kept their most elite guards close at hand to ensure their own safety.
Especially since Madam Sicilia's Great Wolf's Maw was present as well.
Daring to strike under such circumstances, while outnumbered and offending all the family heads at once—no one could be that stupid.
If it wasn't another family making a move, then the situation was already obvious.
There was an enemy.
Before he could speak, a blinding light suddenly flared outside the windows.
BOOOOM—!!!
A deafening explosion rang out as a torrent of lightning descended from the sky, carrying immense destructive force and engulfing more than half of the hideout.
Fortunately, perhaps because the attack was not concealed—or perhaps because the attacker deliberately left them a sliver of time to flee—the family heads managed to avoid the very center of the blast with the help of their guards and the Great Wolf's Maw.
Even so, the violent electrical surge left them all heavily injured. Supported by their guards, they barely managed to remain standing as they looked up toward the outside of the compound.
What greeted their eyes was a sight that froze their blood.
Borisin—countless Borisin—had completely surrounded the hideout.
And atop the tallest building in the distance stood a lone少女.
"That's…"
Among the gathered family heads, Alberto Saluzzo's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at that distant figure.
Lappland.
Why was she here?
"Enemy attack! Protect the family heads!"
"They're closing in—don't let them get any closer!"
There was no time to think.
Borisin girls flooded into the hideout, beginning a systematic purge of the remaining guards.
The defenders resisted with all they had, but against the Borisin, the outcome was nothing short of a massacre. Even the Great Wolf's Maw were, at best, only slightly tougher fodder in comparison.
Watching the carnage unfold, the family heads' eyes split with rage—only for it to be swallowed almost immediately by overwhelming terror.
"These monsters… they're coming for us!"
"No—I can't die here! Guards! Guards, cover me! Get me out of here!"
"Don't kill me! Please—don't kill me!"
These men—who once controlled entire cities, who brazenly carved up Siracusa's wealth—now showed not a trace of their former elegance or composure.
All that remained was naked fear of death.
Alberto raised his head and shouted toward the distant figure.
"Lappland! Was all of this your doing?!"
He didn't want to believe it—but everything before him seemed to point to the same conclusion.
The mysterious force that had appeared in Siracusa.
The seized cities.
The terrifying white-haired Lupo.
All of it seemed to be the work of the daughter he had once believed could never escape his grasp.
As if hearing his cry, Lappland lowered her gaze toward her father. A gentle smile—utterly devoid of warmth—spread across her face.
"How pitiful you look, my dear father. Did you enjoy the little surprise earlier?"
Surprise?
Alberto froze for a moment, then realized that the earlier attack—one that had obliterated most of the hideout—was likely her doing as well.
"Lappland… after leaving Siracusa, what exactly did you experience?"
He was certain of one thing: before being struck from the family registry and driven out of Siracusa, Lappland had never possessed power like this.
Power capable of destroying half a fortified hideout in a single strike.
Power backed by subordinates strong enough to slaughter the combined elites of all the families—including the Great Wolf's Maw.
There was no doubt—after leaving Siracusa, Lappland had encountered some extraordinary opportunity.
Regret surged within Alberto's heart.
Not regret for using his daughter as a tool and discarding her.
Not regret for expelling her from the family.
What he regretted was this—
That after Lappland left Siracusa, he hadn't paid her any further attention, and thus had lost the chance to seize her opportunity for himself.
"…As expected," Lappland murmured softly, as if seeing straight through his thoughts.
"An answer that doesn't surprise me in the slightest."
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
At moments like this, people really do laugh out of sheer speechlessness.
Lappland laughed.
In the art of disappointment, her father truly never failed her.
Crackling thunder gathered around her body, and the overwhelming aura born of her Fusion Warrior transformation erupted outward with Lappland at its center.
In an instant, everyone present felt as though a mountain had been placed upon their backs—frozen in place, unable to move.
The Borisin girls immediately withdrew from the battlefield, assembling behind Lappland, leaving only the family heads below to witness what came next.
Whatever shock they felt at discovering that the mastermind was Alberto's daughter no longer mattered.
Because judging from Lappland's posture, it was painfully clear—
She had not come to pay filial respects.
On this land, Siracusa was not a strong nation.
And the families were the cancers festering upon it.
Thus, facing these barely human parasites, Lappland harbored no hesitation.
Once all Borisin had cleared the area, the thunder surrounding her erupted in full.
A lightning storm several kilometers in diameter descended from the heavens.
"Come," Lappland's voice rang out coldly.
"You parasites clinging to Siracusa—filthy, wretched things—die here, beneath my God-Severing Thunder!"
"Lappland! I'm your father!" Alberto screamed.
"You can't do this to me—you can't!"
His cries were swallowed whole as the vast thunderstorm slammed down.
In an instant—
Everything was reduced to ash.
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