111

Paradise Family's Mansion...

"Hmm...? Where am I?" Peter opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings.

The first person he saw upon awakening was Anon. Anon sat in a chair in front of him, calmly smoking a cigar and reading a book.

"You son of a bitch... release me now," Peter growled, his voice low.

"Darling... you're awake?" Ares's mother asked with genuine joy.

"I am," Peter replied with a calm tone as he looked around.

"Darling, this kid... he beat me with an iron rod-" His wife started talking.

"I know, bitch. Just shut the fuck up for a minute..." Peter halted her with a furious curse.

Puff-Puff

"Hmmm.... It seems like half of this whole town is indebted to you, huh?" Anon remarked, continuing to flip through the pages of the book.

Suddenly, Peter looked around and noticed that all of his guards lay lifeless on the floor. A chill ran down his spine as he felt threatened by Anon's presence.

'This ilkid is not an average elf, I have to deal with him carefully.' Peter thought.

"Sir, we are very civilized people. We don't have to resolve our issues with bloodshed. We can discuss this and you can name your price to leave this place," Peter proposed, attempting to negotiate for his life.

Anon ignored him, continuing to smoke his cigar and peruse Peter's debt book.

"Umm... Are you listening to me? Hello?" Peter inquired, forcing a fake smile.

Anon finally discarded the book, turning his head to look at Peter.

"Why should I? Your son kidnapped my mother and sister. Why should I let you go, especially when I have more money than you?" Anon responded.

"I-I can instruct my son to return your family members, and we'll offer our sincerest apologies to you and your family. You won't see any member of our family near you or your family ever again. We can easily resolve this matter; there's no need for violence," Peter suggested.

"Nope, let me propose a better deal. Your son is on his way here with my mother and sister. I'll make an even trade with him. He has two lives on the line, and I'll return him with two lives. After that, you'll never see us again. Do you understand?" Anon asked, a smile playing on his lips.

Peter gazed at Anon with a shocked expression, realizing that one of them was going to die.

"Kill my husband... he's useless in this family," Peter's wife interjected.

Anon was taken aback by this view.

"Hmm... Survival instincts kicking in, huh? I thought you were wise creatures, willing to let your mentally ill son die. Yet, you're ready to sacrifice your husband for him? It seems you love your son so much that you'd do anything for him, even sacrifice your husband," Anon mused, his smile taking on a menacing tone.

"Y-Yes," she confirmed.

"You fucking bitch... I can't believe you'd do this to me. That asshole right there is the one who's going to die. We can make another son anytime, but without me, this family will end up on the streets. You'll be begging for food," Peter retorted, his eyes locked onto her.

"I don't care... you're the asshole who treated us like garbage our whole lives. Do you really think you can threaten me now? I'm not afraid of you anymore, you son of a bitch," she declared with a determined expression.

"Kill her, Sir. I'll give you anything to kill her," Peter said, looking at Anon.

"No, sir. Kill him."

Slap

Slap

Anon simultaneously slapped both of them.

"Shut the fuck up. You twats are talking too much. I'll kill all three of you if you don't stay silent," Anon warned as he settled back into his chair.

Creak

"Where the fuck are you, Jule? I'm going to kill you today," Ares burst into the house, searching for Jule.

"Looks like the guests have arrived, huh...?" Anon remarked, tossing his cigar aside and observing Ares.

"You, son of a bitch. Do you think you can barge into my house, beat up my mom and dad, huh?" Ares seethed with anger.

"I don't think that, stupid. I just did that. Look, that's your mom, and that's your dad. I already beat the crap out of them, but your brother was so scared after seeing me that he didn't dare to do anything stupid. Now, will you make the trade first or send your dumb assassins to kill me?" Anon taunted Ares.

"You fucker, kill him and bring me his head," Ares ordered.

All the assassins vanished from their positions and reappeared near Anon. However, before they could take any action, Anon summoned his sickles of death.

[Death's Domain]

Anon moved at an incredible speed, beheading all of them in a mere 0.05 seconds.

The process occurred so swiftly that Ares didn't even perceive Anon's body moving from its position.

Thud

Thud

Thud

Thud

Their lifeless bodies thudded to the floor, and their heads rolled across the ground like marbles.

"Okay, now we should make the trade, right?" Anon asked, de-summoning the sickles of death and smiling at Ares.

Ares stared at the lifeless bodies of his top assassins in shock.

'T-This... is impossible. I was watching him the entire time; how can he move so quickly? How can he be so strong?' Ares thought, taking two steps back.

"Ares, just do the goddamn trade... I don't want to die today," Peter shouted from behind.

Ares looked at Peter and nodded.

"I-I will bring them," Ares said, leaving and returning with Hillary and Moon.

"Master..." they both spoke at once, rushing to hug Anon.

"Missed me, girls?" Anon asked, smiling.

"Yes...." they replied, tears streaming down their faces.

"Now, give me back my family," Ares demanded.

"Ah, yes. Your family. Look, Ares, there's a rule for the trading process... you should always exchange things of equal value," Anon explained, his smile widening.

"W-What do you mean?" Ares asked, confused.

"You gave me two lives... I'll trade you back two lives. So, choose Ares," Anon stated.

"Oi, don't mess with me. Just give me all of them," Ares spoke with a solemn yet confident voice.

"Do you want me to kill all of them? You have a golden chance to save two members of your family. Do you want to waste it like that?" Anon asked with a smile.

"Ares, choose me and your mother. Let your brother die; he is no use to us anymore. In fact, he is the sole reason why we are in this situation in the first place. He should bear the consequences for what he did. Just choose me and your mother," Peter shouted.

"No, Son. He is your brother, and I am your mother. I gave birth to you. You have to choose me and your brother. Let this man die," Ares's mother pleaded.

"What sick games were you playing with my family?" Ares asked with a shocked expression.

His mother was telling him to let his father die and save her, while his father was telling him to save him and let his blood-related brother die.

"Well, I just twisted their brains a little and awakened their survival instincts. Now they want to live at any cost. Isn't that great?" Anon asked with a psychopathic expression.

"You twisted fiend..." Ares murmured in a very low voice.

"I am indeed a 'twisted fiend,' but I am running out of time too. So, pick fast or I will kill one of them at random. Don't blame me after that," Anon spoke as he started walking towards his father.

"Wait... Ares, what are you waiting for, son? Choose me. I am your father. This monster is going to kill me, Ares. Please choose me," Peter started crying as he looked at Ares with eyes filled with hope.

"Mother..." Ares spoke.

Anon halted his steps and looked at Ares with a smile.

"You are free to go, Madam," Anon said as he looked at Ares's mother.

"T-Thank you..." She said as she stood up and immediately ran towards Ares.

"Now, choose the next life, kid," Anon spoke.

Ares started to think once more.

"Ares, Son... you have to choose me. Please, I am your father, you bastard. Choose me," Peter spoke as he looked at Ares with hope-filled eyes.

"I am sorry, Father... but I choose my brother," Ares spoke.

"You damned ingrates, you will never be-" Crack

Before Peter could've said anything else, Anon punched him so hard that his skull cracked, and he died on the spot.

Both Ares and his mother closed their eyes for a moment and opened them after a second just to look at his lifeless face.

Thud

Peter's body fell down lifeless on the ground.

"Good, so the two members you saved from your family are your mother and your little brother, right?" Anon asked as he started walking towards Oxmaul, who had been sitting in an ideal position for the last 30 minutes.

"Yes..." Ares replied.

"Oxmaul darling, come here. Come to Mama," Ares's mother called out to Oxmaul, but he didn't have the courage to move even one centimeter from his position.

"Hey, Ares... I have one more question for you," Anon spoke as he started caressing Oxmaul's head.

"Y-Yes...?" Ares asked with a hesitant expression.

"I did a little research on you.... about 10 years ago... it was the 24th of the 5th month. Did you go to the human kingdom on that night, Ares?" Anon asked.

"I-I don't remember..." Ares spoke.

"Maybe this will help..." Anon spoke as he suddenly started to increase the pressure on Oxmaul's head.

"Ahhhh.... Mom, it hurts," Oxmaul shouted.

"N-No... Please. Ares... Please try to remember.... Please," his mother requested.

"I-I did... I went to the Human kingdom that night. I remember now," Ares immediately remembered.

Anon loosened his grip over Oxmaul's head.

"Good... now how many of you went to the human kingdom?" Anon asked.

"Umm... I think 3." Ares replied.

"Name your friends, Ares," Anon asked.

"I-I can't..." Ares replied.

Anon tightened his grip around Oxmaul's head again.

"Mooooomm... My head hurts," Oxmaul shouted again.

"N-No... please. That's all we did..." Ares spoke.

"Tell me the truth, Ares. If you don't, this guy will see hell today," Anon said as he tightened his grip even more.

Crack

Suddenly a cracking sound came from Oxmaul's skull.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-..." He started to shout even louder due to the immense pain.

"No, No, No, He is telling the truth. Please don't do this to my son. Please..." His mother spoke.

"I need the truth in the next 3 seconds or I will pop his head like a damn balloon," Anon said as he started tightening his grip even more.

"MOOOOOOOOOOOM....AHHHHHHHHHHHHH-" Oxmaul shouted even louder.

"Tell him, Ares, or your brother will die. Please Ares, you have to tell him," his mother pleaded.

"...but mother."

"Mooooom... my head is going to burst." Oxmaul shouted.

"Just tell him." She shouted loudly at Ares.

"Okay, wait. I did something," Ares spoke.

"Did what, Ares? Did what?" Anon asked as he loosened the grip.

"... and what?" Anon asked.

"We made a bet to climb the castle in that area, it belonged to the king of that Continent and we didn't know that.

We started climbing and reached the top of the castle, but suddenly we saw something, we saw two humans sleeping together.

He was the king but we didn't know.

All three of us jumped inside and started walking towards the humans.... he immediately got alerted and stood up from his bed..."

"Let me tell you the rest of the story, you killed the king with your magic skills.

After that you raped his daughter who was still underaged and you didn't stop there.

After that you moved towards the queen, you grabbed her mouth and raped her too.

You raped her till the morning and just when you were about to kill her as well, the knight commander walked into the room.

You got scared and started running. Right ?" Anon asked.

"H-How did you ?"

"How do you know about it? We had a pact that none of us would ever speak about it," Ares said.

"Oh, that's a shame... seems like you didn't form that pact with the Queen you raped and left alive to tell the tale, huh?" Anon replied.

"Why would she tell you that? We apologized to her in front of our Queen, and... Wait, who are you?" Ares asked, his expression serious, as he knew that a normal elf like Jule would never know something like that.

"You won't be getting an answer for that," Anon spoke as he tightened his grip on Oxmaul's head.

"Mom... Mom, he's killing me... Mom, do something. Please save me, MOOOOOOOOOOOM...." Oxmaul shouted loudly, looking at his mother.

"N-No... Ares, please stop him. He is going to kill your brother," she said, tightly clinging to Ares's hand.

"Oi, why are you doing this for a human? We are Elves, we hate Humans, and not like I did something that they haven't done to us in the past 150 years," Ares spoke.

"Well, when you walked in through that gate, I asked you to trade with me without any fights, but you ordered your assassins to kill me. Do you remember?" Anon asked with a smile.

"Yes, and you killed all of them. Now please let my brother go. You are going to kill him... his nose is bleeding, and his mind has gone unconscious," Ares spoke, looking at Oxmaul with a very tense expression.

"Well, take this as an example and learn how not to order your assassins to kill a man who is holding your whole family as a hostage for a life trade exchange," Anon spoke as he crushed Oxmaul's head.

CRACK

BOOP

Oxmaul's head was crushed by Anon's hand just like a watermelon.

His lower body stopped moving as his mind was crushed.

"Noooo.... Sob-Sob... He killed him," Ares's mother shouted as she hugged Ares tightly.

"Y-You.. broke your trade," Ares spoke.

"What do you mean? I performed it perfectly..." Anon said as he started walking towards the exit of the house with Hillary and Moon beside him.

He summoned a handkerchief in his hands and started wiping his blood-red hands with it.

Suddenly all three of them stopped, and Anon looked at Ares with a smile.

"What?" Ares asked with a confused and disgusted expression.

"Well, I came here to kill all of your family, but then I traded two lives for two lives, and you chose your mother and brother to be saved," Anon spoke.

"So what? It's not like you left him alive anyway," Ares spoke with an angry expression.

"No, that's because of your foolish decisions. But what I am talking about is that you chose your brother and your mother to live... that leaves your life out of the circle," Anon spoke with a menacing smile as his eyes glowed purple.

"You fuck-" Before Ares could've said anything else, he felt a sharp itching around his neck.

"Speak like that to your brother when you meet him in hell," Anon said as he continued to walk forward.

Ares was staring at the blank space while being in a trance.

"A-Ares... Son, what are you- ?!" Ares's mother spoke as she touched his chest.

Thud

Suddenly blood started coming out of his neck, and his head fell down from his body.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." His mother shouted loudly as she looked at her son's cut neck and started crying over it.

"Ladies, shall we go?" Anon asked as he showed Hillary and Moon a curl of his hands on both sides. 

"Yes, Master," both of them spoke at once as they interlocked their hands with Anon's hand, and they started walking towards the exit door.

Creak

"Jule, as of this moment, you identify as a Third-Level Threat to the kingdom. Raise your hands... Close your eyes and seal your mouth.

If you didn't do it in the next 2 seconds... I will order for open fire, and you will drop dead with these two innocent girls," Faith shouted as she barged into the house with her companions.

"Wow... Third-Level Threat huh...? That means... I am the second most dangerous person in the whole elven kingdom at this time, right?" Anon asked.

"Jule, close your mouth or I have to take action," Faith shouted as she pointed her sword towards Anon.

'I can easily kill them, but it will be going too far... let's just play this game...' Anon thought as he stopped talking, closed his eyes, and raised both of his hands in the air.

"Go..." Faith ordered.

"Yes, Ma'am." An elf soldier immediately walked up to Anon, tied down his hands with the same golden rope, but this time she used 5 ropes.

She used a black cloth to gag Anon's mouth and another black cloth to cover his eyes.

'Wow... Seems like I am really a very big threat to them, huh? They are taking actions very cautiously this time. They covered my mouth and eyes, so that I can't enchant any spells and binded my hands with more than one rope so that I can't even try to run this time.' Anon thought as he smiled a bit.

"What the hell are you smiling for? If I was in your situation, I would be begging Madam Faith to save me from a death sentence," the elf soldier asked with a confused expression.

Anon turned his head towards her and smiled with his eyes still covered with the black cloth.

"What do you think this world works on, girl? Money? Begging? No, it works on strength... Money and mercy are for the weak. If you have the strength... You will achieve everything," Anon spoke with a smile.

The elf girl looked at Anon for a moment and wondered why she was getting the feeling of truth from his words.

"What are you doing? Just get him to the carriage," another soldier spoke.

"Y-Yes..." The elf soldier replied as she came out of her trance.

"Don't worry, Luv. I will walk up to it myself... Girls, go back home, I will try to return as soon as possible," Anon said as he turned his head towards Hillary and Moon. Anon started walking towards the carriage, avoiding every object that came in his way as if he can see right through the magical black cloth.

"How is he doing that?" an elf soldier asked.

"I have no idea..."

Gwwwaaa

Suddenly a soldier vomited on the floor.

"What happened, soldier?" Faith immediately started running towards the vomiting soldier.

Suddenly faith noticed a body lying down on the ground with its head exploded and its brain lying on the ground. It looked like it was brutally murdered.

Faith controlled her throwing up reflex and looked at Anon with a confused expression.

'I have seen brutal murders, but this is something else. It's as if someone grabbed his head and popped it. He can't do this, right? He looks like such a nice guy.' Faith wondered as she looked at Anon.

Anon sat in the carriage, his eyes covered with a magical black cloth that blocked his sight. A female Elf soldier who had tied Anon's hands sat in front of him, continuously staring at him.

Suddenly, the elf soldier raised her hand and started waving it in front of Anon. Seeing that Anon had no reaction, she stopped waving.

"Do you want me to wave back at you?" Anon asked with a smile.

"This is impossible. How can you even see me? That Miram cloth should block all of your vision. Even if you have a skill that lets you see through objects, how are you able to see through that cloth?" the girl asked with a confused expression.

"I can't. I am just sensing the heat that your body is giving off," Anon answered.

"What? H-How exactly are you doing that?" the elf girl asked with a curious and confused expression. 

"Don't worry, luv, you will get there one day. You are not here because someone told you to, are you? You chose to come with me on your own, didn't you?" Anon spoke with a smile.

Suddenly, silence filled the carriage for 5 seconds, and only the sound of wooden wheels rolling on the ground could be heard.

"You said something about 'being strong' back in the paradise mansion. Didn't you?" the elf soldier questioned.

"I did..." Anon replied.

"Do you think you will be able to go through the trial without getting punished for at least 100 years in prison, after you murdered one of the biggest traders in the Elven kingdom, along with his whole family?" the elf soldier asked.

"Hey... I left his wife alive," Anon spoke.

"Yes, and now she is going to be the reason for your punishment. You could've killed her as well and escaped from the house, but you didn't. Why?" the elf soldier asked.

Anon smiled at her and spoke in a carefree tone, "Because I am strong."

Screeeechhh

Suddenly, the carriages came to a halt. In front of the carriages was a big white castle, made out of White Glock Marble, which was very rare and expensive. The castle was built around a very big garden containing big trees of rare fruits and freshly moist medicinal grass on the ground.

Children played in the garden while their parents watered the plants and cut the grass to the right size. In the middle of the garden, a straight path was carved out of marble for anyone to go to the castle.

"Everyone, step down from the carriages. We have arrived at the castle," Faith's voice resounded from outside.

"Let's see how strong you really are," the elf soldier said as she opened the gate, and Anon stepped down from the carriage.

As soon as Anon stepped down, he inhaled and exhaled the air around him.

Snifffffff

"Hah... What a refreshing feeling," Anon said as he felt the warm mana swirling around his body.

"Keep walking," the elf soldier said as she touched Anon slightly.

"Yes, ma'am," Anon said as he started walking towards the castle.

As soon as he stepped upon the marble floor, he felt the presence of two guards on his left and right. He kept feeling this presence as he moved towards the castle.

"Halt your steps," two guards who protected the main gate of the castle shouted.

'This path is guarded by a total of 100 guards,' Anon thought as a smile appeared on his face.

"We bring a Level-Three Threat, we need an instant Trial," Faith explained to the guards.

"You may enter," the guards spoke.

Daarrrr

Suddenly the giant marble gates opened on their own.

"Commander Faith is entering inside the Royal Court," the two guards shouted together.

Everyone entered inside the castle's Royal court. The view inside the royal court was very different - it was huge. The Royal Court's ceilings were very high, and the walls were engraved with ancient images and texts. On the sides of the Royal court, there were big seating arrangements made for the audience.

Thousands of normal people sat on each side, and in front of them sat the Royal Ministers of the Royal Court. Beside every Royal Minister, there were two guards standing to enforce the Queen's orders at once. In the middle of the Royal Court, there was a big Throne made out of emerald stones.

An elf girl with brown hair, an average figure, and a very cute face sat on the throne. She was wearing royal clothes and had a big crown made out of vines and gems on her head. She was the present Queen of the Elven Kingdom, Jessica's Sister - FIONA.

Four men stood on each side of the throne. Two of them were the best soldiers of the elven kingdom, who protected the Queen. After them, came the two best mages of the kingdom, there to grant her wishes without any delay and to act as the speakers of the royal court. Following them were the Healers, ready in case the queen got hurt and prepared to help her instantly. Finally, there were two maids attending to the queen's every need, from a glass of water to the clothes she would wear in the royal court that day.

Faith and her soldiers, who stood behind Anon, immediately went down to their knees and bowed to Fiona.

"Long Live the Queen," all of them spoke at once, but one of them didn't bow, and that was Anon. He just stood there and looked directly at the queen, even though his eyes were sealed. The queen could still feel his gaze.

"Who is this kid, that dares to stand before me?" the queen questioned with a smile.

"You are standing before the Queen of the Elven Kingdom, kid. Bow down and show your gratitude," one of the mages announced in a very loud voice, looking at Anon.

Anon didn't bow and continued to look towards the throne.

"Commander Faith, Is this kid deaf?" another mage asked.

'What are you doing, Jule? Just bow down. I am trying to help you, and you are making it worse,' Faith thought as she looked at Anon with an intense expression. The elf soldier also looked at Anon with a shocked expression. For the past 40 years, she had been inside this court several times but had never seen a single person who didn't bow before the Queen.