Ghiheb's eyes widened as he swept them through the depths of the darkness, and trembling invaded his faltering voice:
— "I have obtained the organs of one child… those mercenaries, money-hungry dogs… they are the ones who carried out the mission."
No sooner had he finished his words than whispers that made the skin crawl arose, as if dark supernatural forces had begun seeping through the cracks of the place. In the depths of that terrifying silence, the voice of Azrad, the Ancient king roared, dripping with majesty and cruelty:
— "Why are you telling me this nonsense? Do you think the remains of a single child count as any achievement worth mentioning? You know very well, Ghiheb, what we seek… I have dispatched the elite of our men, the most seasoned in the arts of forbidden energy, to spread across every inch of this land. You, Zaroth, and Jin… I assigned your charge to the south of the city of (Malisura)."
Azrad continued, his voice echoing like something emerging from a deep grave:
— "And in every direction, I have placed three of my strongest men; north, west, east, and at the very heart of the city. Do you dare face me with scraps that neither feed nor satisfy my dogs' hunger? I granted you power, and opened for you the gates of hell so you may walk upon its flames as masters, and now you bring me a disgrace worthy of pity?"
Azrad paused for a moment, then added with a gaze devoid of any trace of mercy, making Ghiheb's chest tremble as if struck by lightning:
— "Know your place, you fool! You are well aware that I am tracking my lost son, the sole rightful heir of the (Red Ash) clan. Therefore, be certain of your target before you extract the organs of any adolescent."
Ghiheb muttered in broken words, as terror devoured his limbs:
— "Yes… I will match his DNA with your own… I will search for him everywhere.
Your son… we will bring him back alive."
At that moment, Ghiheb sank into a vortex of his dark thoughts:
(Now only… I have realized the secret behind the annihilation of the Red Ash clan. This man is the sole survivor, and he searches for his lost son, who may already be dead, to make him nothing more than a tool in the organization's project. This is madness in itself. With his rare lineage and overwhelming power, he seeks to merge the organs of adolescents with his DNA, using black magic and his overflowing forbidden energy to create deadly monsters. He wants his son to be an eternal source for these monsters, because his power consumes his lifespan… The only clan that possesses this ability… is the Red Ash clan.)
As Ghiheb drowned in his sweat, suddenly a pale hand appeared from nowhere and rested upon his shoulder, and a voice whispered beside his ear:
— "Hello… what are you thinking about, I wonder?"
Ghiheb jolted as if stung, leaping back as he took a combat stance, his eyes overflowing with terror at that sudden presence. A mocking laugh rang out from Regin as he said:
— "Hoi… hoi… there is no need for all that fear."
Ghiheb spoke to himself in shock:
(Where did this come from? He is terrifyingly fast… I did not sense his presence or his forbidden energy aura until he touched me! How did he conceal it so perfectly?)
From behind the throne, the cold voice of a girl emerged, standing beside King Azrad:
— "Stop your nonsense, Regin… his first step was in the darkness, but the second was directly in front of him."
Ghiheb was stunned, and the blood froze in his veins:
(What?! Where did this second one appear from? Are these humans… or savage monsters?)
The pressure emanating from the place crushed Ghiheb's internal organs, as if forbidden energy itself were pressing down on him from the sheer overwhelming presence surrounding them.
Regin laughed mockingly:
— "Hoi… hoi… I was only joking with him… no need to interfere, Maya."
Maya responded with a sharp gaze:
— "Do not disturb Lord Azrad with your childish behavior… was I understood?"
She looked at him with a gaze devoid of mercy.
Regin sighed in surrender:
— "Alright… alright."
Azrad's voice returned to dominate the hall, his pale eyes carrying death within their depths:
— "You know what you must do, Ghiheb… if you return to me empty-handed again, you know your fate, do you not?"
Ghiheb answered, fear shattering his bones:
— "Yes… I know."
Azrad said in a dismissive tone:
— "Then… begone, you fool."
Ghiheb left, dragging behind him the tails of failure and terror, his steps unsteady like one who had just escaped the claws of hell.
Ghiheb sighed, saying: I felt the presence of forbidden energies that did not approach me, lurking in the darkness.
As soon as his feet touched the street, he pulled out his phone with a trembling hand and called Zaroth and Jin, and said in a firm tone, trying to gather his scattered composure:
— "We will depart immediately."
The reply came brief:
— "Alright."
Inside the bustling corridors of the restaurant, "Hidara" released a sigh laden with irritation as he watched the clock hands with unease:
— "When will Neil arrive? Damn it… he has gone too far with his delay."
"Reen" replied in a low voice as she lifted her eyes from the table:
— "There are only twenty minutes left… we don't know whether he will show up within them or not."
Hidara turned to her with a firm look and whispered in a tone that blended seriousness and jest:
— "If he doesn't come, we have no choice but to run away. I don't have a single cent in my pocket to pay this bill… I'll have to carry you on my shoulder and run at full speed."
Reen burst out laughing and said:
— "You fool! Let's wait a little longer and see."
On the other side of the city, "Neil" was walking with hurried steps, muttering to himself in triumph:
— "Alright, I finally managed to gather threads of information about Shadi's father… it seems he is a man whose danger exceeds expectations. I will discuss it with Hidara, and we must find a way to speak to him; perhaps he will be our key to finding his son."
He raised his hand, signaling to a passing taxi:
— "Hey! Please, to the restaurant in the south of the city."
The driver replied calmly:
"Go ahead and get in, son."
As the car cut through the crowd, Neil leaned his head against the window, thinking anxiously: (It seems I have been greatly delayed on Hidara… anxiety will kill him).
At these moments, and in a place shrouded in mystery, the trio gathered: "Zaroth," "Jean," and "Ghaheb."
Ghaheb sighed deeply as he recalled the image of the old king "Azrad" and his threats that made bodies shiver:
— "Today we will begin executing the plan. We must find him as quickly as possible, otherwise heads will fly."
A terrifying smile formed on "Jean's" face, and shadows of cruelty danced in his eyes:
— "It seems I will have some fun today."
Ghaheb muttered as he walked with a dread-inducing gait:
— "Let's go… our destination is (Jasser)… and his dogs."
The taxi stopped in front of the restaurant, and Neil stepped out quickly:
— "Here you go, sir, this is your fare."
He entered the restaurant, searching for his companions with his eyes, and found them lost in their own worlds; Hidara had surrendered to a laziness resembling sleep from excessive waiting, while Reen was immersed in reading an old newspaper.
Neil approached them, and suddenly shouted playfully:
— "Heeey!"
Hidara jumped from his place in fright, shouting nervously:
— "Rebel! Neil will come and hold you accountable!"
As for Reen, she was startled until the newspaper fell from her hand.
Neil burst out laughing bitterly, and Hidara whispered angrily while grabbing his shirt collar:
— "You idiot, did you run away and leave us without paying? Wasn't the bill your responsibility today?"
Neil's features froze in shock, and he struck his forehead with his hand:
— "Forgive me… from the intensity of my preoccupation, I completely forgot about the bill."
Hidara stared into his eyes with rough humor:
— "Are you joking with me now?"
Neil tried to avoid his gaze while laughing awkwardly:
— "It completely slipped my mind."
Reen laughed and said:
— "Leave him, Hidara, it's clear he lost his memory from exhaustion."
Hidara called the waiter in a victorious tone:
— "Waiter! The missing one has returned, bring us the bill."
The waiter placed the paper before them, and Neil examined it in shock that froze his body:
— "What? What is this astronomical number? Did you eat an entire bull in my absence?"
Hidara said coldly:
— "Pay and stay silent."
Neil sighed as he took out his money:
— "Alright… I have gone completely bankrupt just like you now."
Neil regained his seriousness and leaned slightly toward the table, and the atmosphere suddenly changed:
— "I have obtained information about Shadi's father."
Seriousness rose on Hidara and Reen's faces, and they listened with intense attention.
Neil continued in a low voice:
— "His name is (Zaroth), and he belongs to the clan (Dhalal Set), which is one of the ruling clans in Malisora… he is an extremely dangerous man. The tavern owner told me he will arrange a meeting with him soon, and all we must do is wait for the contact signal."
Hidara whispered with suspicion as he stared at his cup:
— "How do you trust a man you don't know?"
Neil replied with a desperate sigh:
— "Do we have any other choice? This is the only straw we are holding onto."
Meanwhile, at Jasser's port…
The sound of ringing rose in the corridor…
— "Sir Jasser… yes."
One of the guards standing at the massive gate spoke through the device:
— "Some men have arrived… they request to meet you."
A cold and confident smile formed on Jasser's face, and he said with breath-cutting coldness:
— "Let them in."