"They have arrived at the outer perimeter, Mr. Thorne. The entire night sky is completely covered by attack helicopters."Dr. Hans Gruber's voice trembled violently, breaking the tension inside the Black Castle's control room. The mad doctor's fingers danced wildly across the keyboard. Cold sweat drenched his glasses."What is the size of their fleet, Doctor?" asked Caleb Thorne. His tone of voice was extraordinarily flat, as if he were asking for the weather forecast."Three squadrons of attack helicopters from the air. Dozens of heavy combat tanks surround our land route. And there are thousands of foot infantry marching on the front lines," reported Hans, panting heavily. "My sensors detect an anomaly in their uniforms, Sir. They are wearing tactical gear that emits high-level anti-magic waves.""A joint force from around the world has truly come to knock on our door," said Isabella Vane. The underworld queen stood beside the control desk. She loaded live rounds into her automatic

"You threatened to kill me for the girl who just put a hole in your shoulder, Caleb?!"Isabella Vane screamed, panting, clutching her wrist that felt crushed from Caleb's rough parry. Her silver eyes stared in horror at the snow-white-haired man in front of her. Thick black blood flowed heavily from Caleb's left shoulder, dripping wetting the marble floor of the Black Castle's lobby.Caleb stood silently. His face showed absolutely no pain. His empty brown eye only stared straight at the smoking muzzle of the revolver in his sister's hand."Retreat to the hallway right now, Bella. Do not interfere in my business with my family," ordered Caleb. His voice sounded incredibly flat and mechanical, as if he were just a computer program reading a script.Isabella swallowed her saliva, which felt as bitter as bile. The woman finally realized the absolute horror that was taking place inside the Shadow Emperor's head. Caleb had lost all his emotional capaci

"Run to the bunker right now, Queen. The roof of this east wing is going to fall on us soon."Viktor Krum's hoarse voice overpowered the deafening sound of exploding concrete. Giant chunks of marble plummeted from the ceiling, hitting the floor right next to Isabella Vane's feet and shattering to pieces."I will not leave Caleb alone in that lobby, Viktor. That bastard general put an explosive vest on Lisa. If Caleb moves even slightly, his sister will be blown to bits," replied Isabella with a desperate shout. The woman fired her assault rifle at two UN soldiers trying to storm in from the front corridor."We cannot help him if we are crushed to death by rocks in this corridor, Queen.""There must be another way. We must disable the bomb trigger from its source."Viktor kicked the remnants of a collapsed pillar. His left eye, glowing wildly from behind his carbon steel mask, stared out the shattered glass window. Out there, amidst the sn

"Shoot him right now! Do not let that monster breathe!" roared the UN General from behind his gas mask, pointing straight at Caleb Thorne, who staggered backwards. "Our weapons are jammed, General! The temperature around his body plummeted suddenly and destroyed the trigger mechanisms!" replied an elite soldier with a voice trembling in panic. "Use backup rifles! That green smoke is spreading too fast! We have to get out of this lobby before our lungs melt!" shouted another soldier, crawling backward away from the puddle of their comrades' corpses, which had just melted down to blackened bones. "Brother Caleb, help me! My throat feels so hot! I can't breathe!" cried Lisa from the marble floor. The girl covered her nose and mouth with the sleeve of her tactical uniform, staring in horror at the green fog seeping out of her brother's chest. "Keep your eyes closed and hold your breath a little longer, Lisa," answered Caleb. Hi

"I can't bear to look at your face anymore, Caleb."Lisa Thorne's voice sounded incredibly desperate and hoarse. The young girl's index finger began to press the trigger of the silver revolver pressed against her right temple. Tears wet her face, which was dirty from gunpowder dust and blood. She truly wanted to end all this madness. She wanted to go follow her mother and forget this monster-filled world.Caleb Thorne widened his one brown eye. His cold, emotionless military brain instantly detected a fatal threat to his primary protection target. His absolute logic ordered his body to lunge forward, seize the weapon, and break his sister's arm if necessary to ensure she stayed alive.However, the Shadow Emperor's physical body fiercely refused the command.Caleb's right leg muscles had been obliterated by the alchemical bullet. His right chest had just taken a direct hit from a concrete-piercing rocket. His dragon ribs cracked severely inside his