Chapter 34 Fiery Embrace

Derek gestured his hand and the scantily clad women filed out of the room, leaving Eva and a meek-looking woman with thick-rimmed glasses and a disheveled ponytail. The woman seemed to blend into the background, barely making a sound as she took a seat and stared at her tablet.

Derek turned his attention to Eva, his eyes scanning her up and down. Eva felt a hint of anger but she kept her cool. "You don't know martial arts," he said abruptly, surprising her.

Eva furrowed her brows. "What does that have to do with anything? I am a mystic."

Derek shrugged. "Just making conversation," he said with a sly grin. "Anyway, let's get down to business. Your target is--"

Suddenly, the silent woman let out a small gasp, drawing everyone's attention to her. She held up her tablet, which displayed an adorable video of a cat playing with a ball of yarn.

Eva rolled her eyes, irritated by the interruption. "Can you please focus?" she snapped.

Derek coughed, attempting to regain control of the situation. "Sorry about that," he said and was about to continue when the door slammed open.

Derek frowned, clearly annoyed by the uninvited guest. It was a bald fat man wearing old gangster-like clothes, looking comical. His face was full of sweat and his words urgent. "Boss, there is a really big problem." He said as he glanced at Eva.

Eva took the cue and said, "I'll wait outside. Finish this quickly."

Derek nodded. "I'll not let you wait for long."

As Eva turned around to leave, she felt his pair of eyes on her lower back, making her angry. She clenched her fists and took deep breaths.

After Eva left, Derek chuckled, "She's a wild one. Just my type."

The nerdy woman snorted.

Derek turned to the fat man and said in a serious tone. "Fatty, if it is not important then I'll really kill you for taking my valuable time."

The fat man's face paled as he stuttered. "Boss, it is really important but it will also make you angry."

Derek raised his brows. "Interesting," he said. "What did Sam do now?"

The fatty bit his lips and said, "Someone kidnapped Sam."

For a moment, the room was filled with heavy killing intent. It was so dense that even Eva who was outside felt a chill down her spine. She gulped and thought, 'Good that I kept my calm. This man is too dangerous.'

Inside, Derek calmed down and leaned back on the sofa, his eyes narrowed and voice cold. "Tell me the details."

The fat man quickly told everything. To his surprise and relief, Derek didn't get angry again. He nodded and asked in a composed voice. "So we don't know how many men there are?"

"No. I only talked with one guy. He seemed to be the leader."

"Hmm. You sent heavily armed people and now you can't contact those idiots?" His tone became lower with the passing second. "Why didn't you keep him under heavy monitoring?"

The fat man was scared stiff. He wanted to protest that it was not his duty but he kept shut. Much to his relief, Derek waved his hand and said. "Give the assassin from fear the information about that traitor. I want his head in a few days."

The fat man swiftly nodded and walked out at a hurried pace. Derek closed his eyes and muttered. "Do I have to take action now?"

The Dark Moon leader's promise to Derek was crucial for Derek's plan. He worked with this shitty group only because of that. He couldn't understand that when Sam's existence was so important for the leader, they let him be so free. That was so irrational and now see what happened.

As he lay there, a mischievous chuckle caught his attention, prompting him to open his eyes. He turned his gaze to the woman who stood before him, her eyes alight with a familiar mischievous gleam. He couldn't help but let out a sigh, knowing exactly what that look meant.

"What do you want in return, Kim?" he asked, already anticipating her answer.

Kim chuckled, surprising him with her response. "You're not even going to ask how I can help you?"

Derek shrugged. "I trust your plans implicitly. So, what do you have in mind?"

Kim tilted her head to one side, deep in thought. "I wonder," she mused.

Derek guessed her intentions. "A date?" he asked.

Kim scoffed, unimpressed. "What date? We're together all the time. I need something else."

Derek stood up and moved closer to her, playfully flicking her forehead. Kim pouted in annoyance, but her expression soon softened.

"I'll give you anything you want after this is over. Anything," Derek promised.

Kim's eyes lit up as she thought it over. "Alright," she said finally. "I'll trust you this time. But don't break your promise."

With that, she handed him her tablet and pointed to the screen. Derek's eyes widened as he looked at the footage. "This," he said, throwing his head back and letting out a wild laugh.

He tossed the tablet onto the sofa, causing Kim to yelp. But Derek was already lost in thought, his mind racing with possibilities. The footage showed the interior of a van where the Dark Moon gang had hidden 'that'. And there, in the van, were two people—a fox woman and a very familiar face.

"To think that their stupidity led me to him!" Derek exclaimed, his eyes flashing with a ferocious glint. "I can't wait to have some fun with you, my dear younger brother, Ethan~."

Kim shook her head, knowing all too well how Derek became a different person whenever Ethan was involved.

Derek couldn't contain his excitement when Kim managed to obtain Ethan's mobile number. He quickly called the chubby man and snatched his phone, before telling him to leave. However, his joy was short-lived as he found out that Ethan's phone was switched off and was only being charged.

Growing impatient, He paced back and forth until Kim interrupted his thoughts. "The van is in the Sheyden area. Ethan is moving towards the police station," she said.

Derek's expression turned from excitement to confusion. "Impossible," he muttered. "Ethan hates the police to the core. So how..."

Kim interrupted him, holding his hand gently. "Derek, you know what will happen if Sam gets arrested," she said softly.

Derek's hand trembled, and his face flushed with fury. Kim felt a sharp pain throughout her body but tried to ignore it, continuing to rub his hand.

But his rage soon turned to despair. "And what about the rage burning in me?" he exclaimed. "What about my hatred!?"

He pushed Kim away and started to leave. But she called out to him, desperation in her voice. "Derek!"

He stopped, but didn't turn around. "I am going to kill all these damned moon bastards," he said coldly. "Because they didn't properly care about that bastard, this happened."

Kim pleaded with him. "Derek, please..."

But he had made up his mind. "I'll let you handle Ethan's case," he said.

Kim was stunned by his words, but cautiously asked, "You won't hate me for it?"

"No," Derek replied before disappearing from sight.

⸻????⸻

Ethan and Izora were silently driving down the quiet road, lost in their own little words, with Sam still unconscious in the back seat. Ethan was about to dial back, but the deafening roar of a fiery explosion engulfed their van in a split second.

The impact caused the vehicle to lift off the ground,  and left it tumbling through the air. A shower of twisted metal and flames was all that was left of it at the end. Shattered windows and debris flew in all directions.

Ethan, Izora, and Sam ended up in a coffin made out of pure metal.  Their bodies ripped apart, torn asunder, and spread like the dead's ashes. Their final moments,  nothing more than sheer agony as the flames erased their presence from this very world.

***

Status:

[Name: Ethan Chase] | [Title: Heir ] | [Level: 22]

[Current State: Dead]

『Health: (0/100) [x 3]』

『Arcane Points: (90/90) [x 3]』

『Stress: (100/100)』

『Charm: (100/100)』

『Special Points: 415』

『Fragments of Obsidian used: (210/??)』

[Stats:]

『Strength: 17.5 (+17.5) [x 3]』|『Agility: 8 (x 3) [x 10]』|『S. Stamina: 20 (+20)』

『Health RR: 3 [x 3]』|『 Arcane RR: 60 (x5) [x 3]』|『IQ: 125 』