Rasmus’ eyes scanned the room from left to right, and he couldn’t believe that Malik, the patriarch of the Ashenvale family had a dozen children and five wives. He looked at the wives and they were all the same figures as if Malik wanted everyone to know his preference for women. But what surprised him the most was the fact Malik was still young, perhaps in his mid or late 30s and Valari was the eldest child of his, meaning that Malik got married when he was at Valari’s age.

"I have heard a lot of things about you, Count Blackheart," Malik said, his voice gentle and yet cold. His piercing yellow eyes stared right into Rasmus’ with a few strands of hair covering his eyes. "But I didn’t know that you captured those ladies’ hearts. If I have to be honest, I’m quite envious with the women you have there, they’re quite... exquisite," his lazy gaze moved from Aris’ legs to her head and then moved to Rullein’s and Serena’s. He then glanced at Rullein’s hand and Serena’s hand resting on Rasmus’ inner thighs.

Rasmus glanced at Valari and noticed the discomfort written on his face as if Valari wanted to tell his father to be careful in front of Rasmus.

"I wish I could say the same thing, Lord Ashenvale," Rasmus responded, his voice matched with Malik’s, calm and relaxed. "I believe you already have enough," he added.

"There’s no such a thing as enough in my world, Count," Malik said as he glanced at the long couch at all his children. "I could say the same thing to you, Count Blackheart. Don’t you think it’s enough turning three continents upside-down? But here you are, in the land of sand and mythical beasts," He asked as a smirk appeared on the corner of his lips. "Compared to you, my desire for more doesn’t harm anyone, you do."

"Yes, you’re correct. But I’m talking about partners, not politics or something within such scale," Rasmus nodded, his expression impassive.

"Oh, I’m fully aware of that. However, you came to my place and judge me, why can’t I do the same?" Malik tilted his head to the side, still with a smirk on his face. "I could easily send you off the moment you judged me, but I’m not petty."

Rasmus tried to understand what kind of person Malik was, but so far, he still couldn’t grasp it. One thing that he knew was that Malik was a playful person but every word held truth in it.

"As you said, I had turned three continents upside-down, turning this city of yours upside-down from the idea of taking what’s mine and it wouldn’t be that hard to do so. Or perhaps just one family is enough, but like you, I’m not that petty," Rasmus stared at Malik with a cold gaze.

The tension in the room was unbearable for Malik’s wives and children, especially Valari. Malik was the only person under the roof where his words were absolute and they had learned to respect and accept that. Everyone in East Neva who had visited the palace knew how to behave in front of Malik, and none of them dared to challenge him or even threaten him.

Malik and Rasmus stared at each other in silence for a moment before Malik’s smirk turned into a grin. He slowly sat straight before he leaned forward with his elbows rested on his knees.

"Someone with a spine, that’s so great..." Malik chuckled. "Do it," he narrowed his eyes, still with a grin on his face.

Rasmus stood up and instead of approaching Malik, he walked toward the couch where Malik’s children were. He pulled out a dagger from his spatial ring when he stood in front of the children. Malik’s wives and his children panicked, and they all looked at him with pleading eyes, begging him to stop Rasmus.

"Which one you want to see them off first?" Rasmus looked over his shoulder at Malik. Even with the situation they were in, Malik still had that grin on his face, and he didn’t avert his gaze until he looked at one of his children.

"The youngest one, since he still don’t understand anything," Malik pointed at his youngest son who was still four years old. He said it calmly and his expression unbothered.

Rasmus looked at the boy, who was sitting in the middle beside Valari and the second eldest son. His expression was stoic and slowly he moved his dagger toward the boy’s neck. He noticed from the corner of his eyes that both Valari and the second eldest brother didn’t move a muscle, he realized how absolute Malik’s authority was that nobody tried to make a move.

The moment the dagger was placed on the boy’s neck, Rasmus didn’t hesitate to cut the boy’s neck. However, the moment a drop of blood came out of the boy’s neck, the windows shattered into pieces as a strong gush of wind entered the room. Rasmus felt a powerful presence coming toward him at extreme speed and he immediately swung his dagger to his left. The sound of metal hitting something sturdy echoed throughout the room, and that was when Rasmus saw claws gripping the blade of his dagger.

Rasmus narrowed his eyes when he saw a creature with a muscular humanoid torso and arms while the waist and legs were that of a bird. He stared at the head of the creature, and it looked like an eagle’s head then looked at the creature’s wide feathered wings. He then glanced to his surroundings and saw more than a dozen of them enter the room without making a sound or even seeing of their entrance.

"(Mythical beasts...)" Rasmus thought, remembering about their existence in East Neva. Great Spirits that became mythological creatures that people believed in and even worshiped.

"If you think you could harm my family, you should think twice, Count," Malik’s gaze turned cold when he saw the blood of his youngest son and listened to his cry from the pain. "But I have to admit, the fact that you can react and stop his attack like that, it’s unheard of," he pointed out.

Rasmus glanced at Malik for a moment, his expression impassive before he turned to look at the creature in front of him. The moment he turned his eyes into draconic eyes and revealed the Overlord’s power along with the gray mist that appeared around him, all the creatures began to tremble when they felt it. The creatures slowly bent down to their knees willingly, and it shocked everyone in the room, including Malik.

"You should expect this from someone who had gone through countless wars and turned the three continets upside-down," Rasmus snapped his fingers and in an instant the whole room covered in ice and all the creatures were frozen while Malik, his wives, and his children’s legs were bound by ice. "Now, where were we?" He asked as he slowly turned to look at the boy again, who was still crying and being comforted by Valari and his siblings.

Rasmus walked toward the boy and that was when Valari grabbed Rasmus’ hand. He looked at the fear and the panic in Valari’s eyes, pleading silently because his mouth couldn’t form any words when he stared at Rasmus’ draconic eyes.

"Don’t blame me, blame your father," Rasmus said as he used his left hand to cover the boy’s eyes while his right hand moved the dagger to the boy’s neck once again. "You should say goodbye to your little brother," he muttered and finished what Malik asked for.

No words came out of everyone’s words, only gutteral noises when they stared at the body. He looked at the blood on his dagger for a moment before he turned around and stared into Malik’s eyes. Malik was speechless, his gaze was fixated on the body of his son. Rasmus then glanced at Serena as he moved aside from his deed, and immediately Serena stood up and walked toward the boy.

Serena used her divine power and healed the wound on the boy’s neck. It only took a few seconds before the boy suddenly awoke as if he was waking up from a sleep. There was no scar, no pain, nothing. Serena smiled at the boy and caressed his head with a soft smile that was hidden on the thin fabric of the mask she wore. Emotions were mixed together, and nobody knew what to feel from what had just happened.

Rasmus and Serena went back to the couch where Aris and Rullein were. He threw the dagger that was still covered in the boy’s blood into Malik’s lap. He then let the ice evaporate, everyone and including the creatures could finally move again.

"I can make it real or you can stop pretending. Which one do you prefer?" Rasmus stared into Malik’s eyes coldly.