Granny smiled faintly as she listened to Lord Xoxo’s words. “The Ruffian Lord is just like every one of us here,” she whispered to those around her, “but the only difference… is the anointing.” Rita pinched Elena’s arm sharply. “Get prepared!” she hissed. Lord Xoxo’s voice thundered again, carrying across the rooftop and into the hearts of millions watching across the world. “I have trained the Ruffian Lord myself! I have given him tasks—dangerous, impossible tasks—and he fulfilled them with faithfulness and dedication. For five long years he has served you in shadows, unseen yet watching, guiding! But now…” His words cut off deliberately. A heavy silence dropped. Every heartbeat in Otlanto seemed to freeze. The pause stretched, a suffocating tension choking the air. Granny took the chance to nudge Muna with her elbow. “I think the Ruffian Lord is about to be called,” she whispered eagerly. “Quickly, make yourself more beautiful for the luckiest, most gracious man on earth to see

Franco stepped forward, his boots echoing against the ground with the weight of authority. His gaze lingered on Rita and Elena — their bodies pinned tightly by the Ruffian men — before his lips curved into a dirty, sarcastic smirk.“What death method do I plan for them?” he asked, his tone sharp yet calm, like a blade hidden in silk. He turned fully toward them, his plain smile slicing through the tension.“I’d say I have no death plan for them. No… their end isn’t necessary just yet. I only wish to clear something for their stubborn minds… to remind them of a truth they buried long ago. That I… Franco Milton… am the Ruffian Lord. And more than that—” he tilted his chin arrogantly “—I am the hidden road behind all their so-called success.”The crowd gasped, whispers running like wildfire.Elena’s face hardened instantly, her eyes burning with rage. She twisted violently in the soldiers’ grip, fighting to break free. Her voice cut the silence like a whip.“What nonsense are you spewing

Elena’s hand shot up to her mouth. The insult was too much, far too heavy for her pride to bear. Her face burned red, her knees weakening as if the ground itself had betrayed her.Edgar, on his part, tilted his head down, trying desperately to mask his face from the flashing cameras. But it was already too late—pictures and videos of his humiliation were spreading like wildfire. His name, his lies, his shame would now be global.The silence was suffocating. The weight of humiliation lingered in the air like a storm refusing to pass. Every breath seemed to echo, every camera click like a drumbeat of shame.Then, from the corner, Muna stepped forward. Her steps were hesitant but determined. She had been standing all along, hidden in the shadows of her doubts, but now she could no longer hold her silence.Her eyes, filled with fear and curiosity, locked on Franco.“I… I don’t know if I should say this, Franco,” she said softly, her voice trembling but still carrying in the dead silence.

Elena’s lips trembled until her teeth chattered. She stared, frozen, as her mother’s body convulsed beneath the invisible force. Rita’s shoulders jerked with each pulse of light. Her face went slack; her eyes rolled briefly, then refocused in a horror Elena could not name. “Franco is the… Franco is the Ruffian Lord?” Elena whispered, words collapsing into the air. She reached for an answer and found none. Nothing steadied her breath. Maya dropped to her knees so fast it looked like she had been cut by shame. She pressed her palms together and bowed her head to the floor. “My Lord,” she begged, voice shaking. “Please. Please have mercy on my mother. She was wrong. She did not show respect. Please spare her life. Please—” Franco’s jaw tightened. He let his hand hang, fingers like a held command. The blue light at his palm tightened into a wire of electricity that drove into Rita’s throat and breastbone. Rita’s whole body flashed with heat. Her mouth opened in a silent gasp. Her l

Elena’s lips quivered until her teeth began to chatter. She stood rooted, watching her mother convulse as if struck by lightning. Breath jagged, she tried to make sense of it all. “Franco is the—Franco is the Ruffian Lord?” The words came out broken, each syllable soaked in disbelief.Rita’s body shuddered under the invisible pressure. Maya threw herself to her knees before Franco and bowed her head until her forehead touched the floor. “My Lord, have mercy. Please—my mother didn’t mean to. She failed you; she failed to show you the honor you deserve. Spare her life.”Franco’s fists tightened. Mercy did not live on his face. He unleashed another searing orb; it struck Rita with bone-deep force. Her mouth hung open—soundless. She hovered between worlds: mind sharp, body betrayed by pain.Edgar staggered as if the revelation had knocked the breath out of him. “Franco… the Ruffian Lord?” he repeated to himself, as though saying it might bend reality.Maya’s voice cracked again. “Please,