"You call us old lizards, Caleb Thorne. But we are a death far more ancient than your pathetic existence."The voice did not come from a single mouth. The sentence echoed from millions of vocal cords overlapping into one incredibly deafening frequency. Men, women, the elderly, and children spoke simultaneously from within the giant skull of the Bone Dragon. The colossal creature bowed its head, staring at Caleb who had just dropped his black coat onto the stone floor.Caleb stood tall wrapped in his dirty black silk shirt. The air in the underground room felt highly toxic and dense. His still-functioning left lung worked extra hard. Every time he took a breath, a horrifying wet gurgling sound could be heard from inside his chest. His snow-white hair fluttered softly, blown by the heat from the neon green fire blazing in the monster's eye sockets."Age does not determine who is in control in this room," answered Caleb with a remarkably flat baritone tone. H

"Open the door, Hans. And turn off the control panel from the outside after I step in."Caleb Thorne's voice broke the panic in the underground corridor. His command was very flat and absolute. He stood facing the titanium-lined steel door that was beginning to hiss due to ectoplasmic acid corrosion from the inside."Mr. Thorne, that is pure suicide!" shouted Dr. Hans from behind the glass of the observation room. The mad doctor hit his glass panel with trembling hands. "The air inside that room is already saturated with plague spores. Your left lung will not last more than a minute!""Caleb, don't do this! Let's find another way!" shrieked Isabella Vane. The underworld queen ran closer, intending to grab Caleb's arm. "There must be a biologist or alchemist in our network who can neutralize this poison. Don't go in there alone!"Caleb did not turn around. He raised his numb hand to stop the woman's steps."External science and magic have

"This concrete ceiling will not be able to withstand our claws, Emperor. Listen closely to the screams of your family as they soon melt."The voices of millions of spirits echoed condescendingly from above Caleb Thorne's head. The tip of the giant bone claw was raised high, scraping the surface of the basement ceiling until the concrete rained down.Caleb lay face down on the cold stone floor. His large body trembled violently. He coughed again. A thick, blackish-green liquid spurted from his mouth, creating a puddle of toxic pus right in front of his face. The remaining eighty percent of his left lung had been destroyed. The flesh inside his chest blistered and melted due to the ectoplasmic pathogen infection. Every breath he took now truly felt like inhaling boiling liquid lead."You can only stare at us, Thorne," mocked the Bone Dragon, lowering its skull for a moment to look at the helpless god of death. "Witness how the history of our suffering repeat

"Step back from that door right now, Queen. This dog will tear its steel hinges." Viktor Krum's roar echoed, drowning out the hum of the emergency hydraulic engine in the underground corridor. The Russian giant backed his massive body away a few steps. His left shoulder, layered with thick muscles and remnants of gunshot wounds, lunged forward at full speed. CRASH. The five-meter-thick titanium steel door severely dented inward. The steel hinges, already corroded by the remaining ectoplasmic acid from the inside, finally snapped to pieces. The giant door was thrown falling into the storage room with a deafening thud. "Caleb!" shrieked Isabella Vane hysterically. The woman immediately burst inside, disregarding any safety warnings from Dr. Hans behind her. The air in the room no longer smelled of deadly spores. The thick green smoke had completely vanished from the ventilation. However, the pungent smell of hu

"I will stop when there are no more threats to kill."Caleb Thorne's voice broke the silence in the master bedroom, which felt like a giant refrigerator. The sentence slid from his lips with an incredibly flat tone. There was no intonation of regret, no tremor of guilt, and absolutely no attempt to defend himself. The words pierced the bones of anyone who heard them.Caleb stared at his sister with his one remaining brown eye. His deathly pale face, crowned with snow-white hair, truly looked like a dead marble mask. His chest cavity, emitting a neon green light, blinked slowly. Every time his lung tried to draw in oxygen, the ancient dragon ribs beneath his skin rubbed against his own flesh. The pain was absolute, but Caleb didn't let a single groan escape his throat.Lisa stood frozen at the edge of the red carpet. The young girl, wearing no protective mask, held her breath. Her swollen eyes stared straight into her brother's eyes. She searched for remnan