Chapter 87: The beginning.

Everyone stood staring at Strax's motionless body after he took a few steps into the middle of the Garden and the swords stopped trembling. No one understood what had happened.

"What a waste of time," Noah said, turning to leave the dimension, but... "Stay quiet," Albert said, his voice carrying such an aura that Noah fell to his knees. Albert continued to watch Strax closely, unlike these fools... He knew what was happening, clearly seeing the aura of a dragon, a furious dragon, emanating from Strax's body, marking the ground around him in red.

"Xenovia," he called without looking at her, still observing the scene. "Yes, Father?" she questioned, despite her dislike for him, still respecting him.

"What happened to him?" Albert asked, his curiosity spiked after seeing all the swords react to Strax. What intrigued him more was the strength Strax was emitting, mixed with frustration and anger. Albert knew such a colossal aura required a terrible experience, and he wanted to know.

"Our brothers..." Xenovia murmured, hesitant to jump to conclusions despite having some evidence. "I see. What did they do?" Before Xenovia could respond, Darius, Virgil, and Dominic's gazes turned towards Albert. It was a subtle movement, but charged with tension. Albert, rarely deceived by appearances, noticed the change in their expressions.

Though he didn't involve himself directly in his children's daily affairs, he maintained constant vigilance through his subordinates, who reported everything.

"It seems one of you is involved," Albert said, his words sharp as blades. "Were you implicated?"

Darius was the first to speak, his voice defensive as he realized his grave mistake. "Father, we... did nothing more than was expected. He needed to be tested."

"Tested?" Albert repeated, his voice cold as ice. "You call this a test? Look at him." He pointed at Strax, whose body now exuded an intense aura, causing the air around him to ripple. "That is not the response of someone merely being tested."

Albert silenced him with a severe look. "Tested? Or did you exceed the limits?" He turned to Xenovia. "What did they do?" Xenovia nodded slowly, her expression now a mix of anger and concern. "They kidnapped his wife," Xenovia spoke with regret, and Albert raised an eyebrow. "You must be joking," he questioned.

"Ask them," Xenovia said, her gaze truly grim.

Albert stared at his sons, his eyes burning with an intensity they had never seen before. "Kidnapped his wife?" His voice was cold yet vibrating with restrained fury. "You have crossed every imaginable boundary."

Darius, ever bold, tried to justify their actions. "Father, we thought it would push him to his limit. We..."

Albert interrupted with a sharp gesture. "You played with the life of an innocent woman for experimentation. What happens from now on is your concern." He spoke seriously, seeming unusually indifferent to the consequences.

Strax's body finally moved, reaching out for the two swords that flew into his hands as if drawn by an invisible magnet. As he gripped the hilts, a tremor ran through the entire dimension, vibrating the air with a terror-inducing energy, as if an Abyssal Dragon unleashed all its fury.

It seemed like the world slowed down as his head... Fell from his body.

In his final moments, Virgil saw his own head spinning in the air. He was still conscious enough to see what came next, his eyes capturing a terrifying and final sight: a colossal, immense, and imposing Golden Dragon, staring directly at him. The dragon's eyes were filled with deep contempt, a disgust that pierced Virgil's soul.

This vision seared into Virgil's mind, the expression of horror etched on his face until his last moment of life.

The impact of the severing and the falling of Virgil's head were met with deadly silence. The air became charged with tension, the ground beneath Strax now stained with blood. Virgil's head rolled across the ground. "Who's next?" Strax asked with pure coldness, quickly turning his body to strike at Dominic, but Dominic drew his sword in time and protected himself.

Unfortunately, the attack of the two swords was worse than he could imagine. The impact of the black sword sent him flying backward, crashing to the ground; his entire body trembled with fear, his sword trembling with fear at the mere thought of being wielded by Strax, refusing to follow his orders. "Damn it... what was that," Dominic muttered, seeing Strax rise and look at him.

"Still alive," Strax said, unsatisfied, turning when he felt a sword approaching. He quickly dodged and countered it with Tiamat.

"I would save the end for you, but you continue to be a coward without honor," Strax said, defending himself against Darius's sword. "Shut up, you worm," Darius said, forcing the sword towards Tiamat.

The Golden Sword glowed and radiated an aura, "Don't you dare do anything to him, you little worm," Darius heard, and a woman emerged from the sword; he quickly backed away, feeling immeasurable danger...

"What the hell is this!" He growled, seeing that the sword was strange in Strax's hand. "Ah, looks like you've met her, haven't you, Tiamat?" Strax asked with a smile, "They're a bit temperamental, but you know? I love women like that," Strax said and planted Tiamat in the ground, "Take care of him for me, okay? I'll be back." When Strax finished speaking, a woman emerged from the sword.

She wore a blue dress with golden carvings, large red eyes, and pink lips; she really looked like a sexy busty milf, but what caught the most attention were a pair of golden horns.

"And I thought there was something wrong with that sword... The Spirit of a Dragon," Albert said, "And to think it was a woman who refused to be wielded by me all these years."

Tiamat turned to Albert; of course, she heard his comments, with just one look, she completely understood what Albert wanted, and she just felt something bad. "A man like you doesn't deserve to wield my sword," Her gaze turned to Xenovia, or rather... Xyn...

"You're still pretending to be weak, old hag?" Tiamat asked, but Xenovia's sword didn't react to her comments.

"Stop kidding around!" Darius shouted, rushing towards Tiamat. "Quiet, and bow to a Queen," She said and Darius fell to the ground, his knees sinking into the garden's soil. "Wait until your turn, filthy trash."

"Soon, you will be well looked after."