The heavy steel doors slammed shut behind Maya. Instantly, the room of over fifty armed mercenaries turned their eyes toward Clara, tightening their grips on their weapons, ready to beat the living daylights out of her.Clara was boiling with pure rage. She no longer felt fear; she only felt the burning need to survive, to get out of this trap, and to warn Valthera of the impending storm.The first two hefty guards lunged at her. Clara didn't hesitate. She grabbed the edges of the heavy metal visiting table and used all her strength to flip it forward. The heavy metal slammed into the guards' shins, sending them crashing to the floor. Clara leapt over the table, driving her knee directly into the face of a third attacker, shattering his nose.She was moving like a blur of pure anger. A woman tried to tackle her from the side, but Clara grabbed her by the jacket, spun her around, and threw her headfirst into the thick glass of a nearby vending machine. The glass shattered into a thou

I'm his compound, a light, cool drizzle was constantly falling from the sky, making the air thick, damp. It was the perfect environment for the massive fields of weed he was cultivating.They walked into the main estate, passing heavily armed guards at every corner, until they reached the grand hall. Carl Lin was sitting comfortably on a wooden throne at the far end of the room.They approached him slowly.Carl didn't even look up at first. He was casually petting a small, exotic pet monkey that was resting on his lap. "What brings you to my place?" Carl asked, his tone smooth and lazy. "I heard what happened to Valthera. So sad. Truly. But are you guys not supposed to be mourning her right now?"Clara let out a heavy sigh, stopping a few feet from his throne. "There is no time for mourning, Carl. You are in immediate danger. The same people who killed the Keeper are coming after you next."Carl paused, and then he let out a loud, mocking laugh. "After me?" He leaned forward, a cocky

Madame Fiona gripped her phone so tightly the glass screen began to crack under her fingernails."After I am done executing your men tonight, I am coming for every single one of you," Maya continued, stepping closer to the camera. Her eyes burned with a psychotic fire. "I killed the grand Dragon Heir, Adrian. And then I sat back, looked at my hands, and said to myself... why should I stop at just him? All of you will be dead very soon! "For years, you monsters have ruled the underworld like gods, looking down on the rest of us. Now, it is finally time for a brand new era."Without a single shred of hesitation, Maya pulled out her gun, turned around, and began systematically opening fire on the kneeling men.BANG! BANG! BANG!The video showed every single lieutenant dropping to the floor, lifeless, while the Council members watched the execution of their entire security infrastructure in real-time. The screen suddenly cut to black, leaving the room in a suffocating, terrifying silence

"Or what?" Valthera asked, a mocking smile appearing on her bloody lips. "You will hit me?""Hit you?" Maya laughed, shaking her head. "You see, you are practically indestructible. I know the legends. Even if I dropped a military bomb right on your head, you would somehow manage to crawl out of the rubble and survive. I heard you are over three hundred years old."Maya stepped closer, her face inches away from Valthera's. "But you know who is not indestructible? Your precious daughter, Clara. With her brother Adrian out of the way, she is completely vulnerable.""And without you around, your little team is incredibly weak. So, tell me, Keeper... are you truly going to sacrifice your own loved ones just to protect your wealthy bosses on the Council?"Valthera stared at her through the dark, her voice low. "I underestimated you, Maya. I assumed you were just a petty artifact collector, like Rootbinder was."Maya smiled, a twisted, proud look on her face. "My old boss used to play small,

The next day, Clara arrived at the city square an hour earlier than the scheduled time, her hands stuffed deep into her jacket pockets."Maya is completely ruthless, Clara," Kane said in a low voice as they walked along the perimeter of the empty square. "The second she gets her hands on that train data, she will kill everyone left on the high table. She won't leave any witnesses.""That is exactly why I am counting on you," Clara replied quietly, stopping near the edge of a tall brick structure. She pointed her finger upward toward the rooftop of a massive building overlooking the square. "Set up your high-powered sniper rifle up on that roof right now. If anything goes south during the exchange, you know exactly what to do."Kane looked down at her, a newfound respect shining in his dark eyes. "Don't worry, Clara. If she plays dirty, I will put a high-caliber bullet right through her skull." He let out a long, heavy sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. "And... I am truly sorry for un