The Supreme Sovereign Returns

Chapter 006

A voice drifted across the room, low and unhurried.

Everyone froze. Baldy, his underlings, and Rosalie Calloway all wore the same confused expression. No one could pinpoint where the voice had come from.

"Who the hell is shouting?" Baldy roared, eyes bulging as he scanned the crowd around him.

"Mr. Gould, it wasn't me!"

"I didn't say anything, Mr. Gould!"

"The Gould family is handling business here. Who would dare cause trouble?"

The bar wasn't large, and its patrons were mostly nobodies, the kind who would cross the street to avoid a few street punks. The Gould family's reputation spread fear throughout the city. No one wanted to get involved. They shook their heads and waved their hands frantically, practically trying to tattoo the words "not my problem" across their foreheads.

The crowd surged away like a receding tide, parting in every direction.

Everyone scattered. Everyone except one man.

Cassian Reed remained seated on the sofa, utterly indifferent to the commotion. He swirled his empty glass absently, a look of mild helplessness crossing his face. A cheap Silver Shore cigarette dangled from his lips, smoke drifting lazily past his features like a thin veil of gauze.

He sat alone in the open space, standing head and shoulders above the rest, forging his own path in the chaos.

"Was that you, punk?" Baldy stomped over, spittle flying as he barked, "You got eyes in that head? I already said the Gould family is doing business here. What the hell are you mumbling about..."

Suddenly, Baldy's eyes widened in disbelief.

The man had vanished. Just... disappeared.

One second, the guy had been sitting right there on the sofa. The next, he was gone, as if he'd evaporated into thin air. Baldy whipped his head around, and that's when he caught the acrid scent of cheap tobacco. He spun back, his expression twisting into something like terror. The man had somehow appeared directly behind him without making a sound.

"Beautiful lady," Cassian said, hands tucked casually in his pockets, cigarette still perched between his lips. He walked slowly toward Rosalie, his gaze steady. "Buy me a drink, and I'll save you."

Rosalie struggled to lift her head, staring blankly at this man and his bizarre behavior. Beyond confusion, her eyes held only helpless despair. A lunatic spouting nonsense. One man against all of them, asking for a drink, claiming he'd save her?

Was this some kind of joke?

"Hahaha!" The underlings burst into raucous laughter, stunned by the absurdity of it all.

"I drink here all the time, you know. Since when does this place let lunatics in? Aren't they worried one of them will say the wrong thing and get himself killed?"

"Damn right!"

"If they're letting psychos in, that means the owner's a psycho too!"

In that moment, everyone seemed to subconsciously ignore the fact that the man had just changed positions impossibly fast. Their faces twisted with mockery and derision.

Baldy frowned and walked back over. The kid was obviously mental. That earlier trick must've been some kind of illusion, sleight of hand. Since when could crazy people do magic tricks?

"Get lost, psycho," Baldy muttered, waving him off dismissively. He wasn't about to waste time on a lunatic. "Grab her and let's go. We need to report back."

The underlings moved in again, each grabbing one of Rosalie's arms. Her body was limp, powerless. They hoisted her up roughly, completely ignoring Cassian as Baldy swaggered toward the door, leading the way.

"You won't even buy me a drink?" Cassian called after them, shrugging as he watched their retreating backs.

Hearing that, Rosalie couldn't help but turn her head. She looked at Cassian with pitiful, desperate eyes, biting her lip. In her desperation, she had no choice but to appeal to this madman. "Save... save me..."

"The drink," Cassian said with a smile, raising an eyebrow.

Baldy noticed the exchange and didn't hesitate. He swung his hand hard, the slap echoing through the bar. Rosalie's face turned red and swollen instantly. Cassian's eyes dropped, his gaze turning cold as ice, but he remained still, watching, waiting.

Rosalie could barely lift her head, but somehow, as if possessed, she managed to force out a single sentence.

"I... I'll buy you a drink..."

"Good," Cassian said, the corner of his mouth curving into a brilliant smile.

"You dare say another word..." Baldy was seething, the alcohol in his system fueling his rage. Hearing Rosalie mutter something, he raised his hand again, ready to strike her face once more.

But his hand froze mid-air, locked in place.

A man had grabbed his wrist.

"You crazy..."

"Idiot."

Cassian didn't give Baldy a chance to finish. His hand shot out like lightning, the slap echoing through the entire bar. Baldy's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground, knocked out cold.

"Shit!"

"You dare lay a hand on the Gould family?"

The underlings stood stunned for a moment, struggling to process what had just happened. Then, snapping out of it, they pulled knives from their pockets, eyes filled with murderous intent. They dropped Rosalie carelessly and charged forward, shouting threats.

Three heavy impacts blurred together, fists flying too fast to follow.

"He's done for!"

"That kid just provoked the Gould family!"

"The Gould family has influence everywhere in Harborcrest! Killing someone is nothing to them. That guy's dead!"

The patrons whispered amongst themselves, eager spectators to the carnage they expected.

But then, something unexpected happened.

The chaotic brawl lasted less than a minute.

Several of the Gould family's men, armed with weapons, had swarmed the seemingly insane man. But as fists blurred through the air, one by one they were sent flying backward, crashing into the bar counter, tables, and chairs, scattering everything into chaos.

"She bought me a drink," Cassian said, cigarette still dangling from his lips. His eyes flashed with savage intent, terrifying and overwhelming, like a demon lord descending upon them. "And you still dare touch her?"

Countless patrons felt their hearts skip a beat, as though some monstrous predator had locked eyes with them for just an instant. Their bodies trembled uncontrollably. Every single one of the Gould family's men lay on the ground, unconscious or groaning in pain. Only one man remained standing, and to every onlooker in that room he looked like nothing short of a madman.

At that moment, since the underlings had released Rosalie, and with the knockout drops still coursing through her system, her body gave out. She began to collapse. Cassian moved with startling speed, catching her in one arm while plucking the cigarette from his lips with the other. He flicked it casually. The burning stub arced gracefully through the air and landed perfectly in Baldy's open mouth. But Baldy was out cold. Even the searing heat couldn't wake him.

Blood trickled from Baldy's mouth, mixing with ash.

The patrons had never witnessed anything so brutal. The sight was horrifying. No one dared linger. Terrified that the madman might turn on them next, they stumbled backward, one after another, desperate to get away.

Cassian, completely unbothered, cradled Rosalie in his arms and walked toward the exit. His voice drifted back, casual and lazy.

"Hey, boss. Your bar couldn't even protect one woman. Forget compensation. Just waive my tab."

The bar owner, realizing the severity of the situation, had rushed out from the back. He stood frozen, staring at the scene in stunned disbelief, his mind struggling to process what had just happened. It felt as though the world had fundamentally shifted. The Gould family had just been taken down effortlessly, as if they were nothing.

In the underground parking garage, Cassian carried Rosalie in his arms. Following her faint directions, he made his way toward her car.

"Hey," he said, glancing down at her. "Which level is your car on?"

The drug hadn't worn off yet. Rosalie looked up hazily at Cassian's profile. Through the fog of the sedative, his face was blurred, indistinct. But something about him felt strangely familiar.