"Alright, bitch. You disturbed something important. So speak fast, before I decide you're not worth hearing."
Gray's voice cut through the air like a blade, sharp, cold, and brimming with dangerous energy. He didn't bother with another word after that. He simply leaned back in his seat, arms folded again, glowing red-and-golden eyes locked onto the woman before him.
He didn't blink. He didn't move.
He just waited.
Daring her to say something stupid.
The woman with the massive curves still sat on the couch, trying to maintain her composure, but inside, her heart was pounding. Not from fear of Gray himself, no. She wasn't afraid of him. Not even a bit.
But if her plan failed here… if things didn't go the way she needed them to… she knew her life will become difficult.
She hadn't come to White Wolf City just to fulfill a royal command.
No, this was personal.
For her family.
For the Silverlight Family.
And when she first stepped through the gates of this place, she'd been struck silent.
White marble walls. Golden-lined roads. Architecture that looked like it belonged to gods, not mortals. Every building radiated power and elegance. Even the homes of commoners shimmered like noble estates.
Compared to this, the Royal Capital looked like a flea-bitten kennel in the middle of a muddy street.
No… it looked worse. Like dog shit freshly dumped on stone.
She clicked her tongue softly and lifted her chin, schooling her expression into regal arrogance.
"First of all," she said, her tone cold and commanding, "allow me to introduce myself. I am Mea of the Silverlight Family. I am here under direct orders from the King himself."
Her eyes narrowed dangerously.
"You are to submit to the crown… or be executed on the spot."
She said it like Gray's fate had already been decided. Like she was doing him a favor by even offering him a choice. Her eyes gleamed with cruel confidence.
"Now choose, Gray Soliski. Submit. Or die."
But as she spoke her ultimatum, her thoughts were far from honest.
She didn't give a damn about the King's order. Or this man's fate. Her true goal was much deeper. More ambitious.
This city… this perfect city… she wanted it.
For the Silverlight Family. For herself.
She would slowly sink her claws in, establish a base, take control from the inside, and one day, return victorious to the capital. Her enemies destroyed, her name restored.
This place was going to be her empire.
But her fantasy shattered in a heartbeat.
CRACK!
A loud, violent snap echoed through the marble hall.
The table in front of her split cleanly in half, shattered like glass struck by divine Sword.
Startled, she flinched. Her eyes darted to Gray.
He hadn't moved an inch.
Still seated. Still watching her like a predator toying with his food.
But his arms were no longer crossed.
And his eyes...
His eyes glowed with fiery red and golden light, swirling like the sun and hellfire had merged inside them.
A heavy pressure rolled through the room like a wave.
"You really don't have common sense, do you?" Gray said, voice calm but loaded with disdain. "You barge into my home, stand in my hall, and threaten me in the name of the Some King. Do you think I'll bow just because some well-dressed woman shows up waving royal orders?"
Mea's jaw clenched tightly.
"My orders are to kill or capture," she replied flatly. "Your opinion doesn't matter. Choose fast… or die fast."
Gray chuckled. Slowly. Darkly.
Like a man listening to a joke so stupid it wasn't even worth mocking.
"Let me be clear, then," he said, eyes narrowing. "I'm not submitting.
And I sure as hell won't be captured.
Especially not in my own damn city."
He leaned forward, his voice laced with biting amusement.
"Hahaha… hahahahaha… You really are delusional, lady."
That word hit something deep inside her.
Delusional.
Her eyes flared. Her body lit with a faint, glowing light.
The air in the room shifted unnaturally, her long blonde hair lifted, her gown fluttered, though there was no wind at all.
Even the atmosphere grew heavier, mana thickening like mist.
"How dare you call me that, you filthy mongrel!" she snarled. "I am Mea Silverlight! You should be kneeling before me!!!"
She rose from the sofa with force, and the energy burst from her body like a gust of power. The wind ripple blasted through the room, shaking chairs, rattling picture frames. Magic sparked along her fingertips like lightning waiting to strike.
But Gray didn't flinch.
He just sighed… and brushed some imaginary dust off his shoulder.
"Well, lady," he said with a shrug, "looks like you need a beating. Just enough to knock some common sense into that thick skull."
He tilted his head slightly.
"You don't walk into a wolf's den and start making demands.
Even rabbits are kings in their own burrows.
Hell—even a wolf might die trying to chase one inside."
A chill ran through the room as he added, almost offhandedly,
"Cute little bastards'll kick you to death with their fuzzy paws. Don't laugh—happened to me once. I still have nightmares about it."
Then, with a simple flick of his finger….
BOOM.
A pulse of power erupted from his body.
Invisible and Devastating.
Mea didn't even have time to scream. Her body flew backward like a ragdoll struck by a cannonball.
WHAM!
She slammed into the white marble wall with earth-shattering force.
No dust. No debris.
The wall remained pristine,only a faint blood smear and a soft thud as her body slid down it like a broken doll.
Pain.
Her vertebrae, shattered. And her ribs, bruised.
Blood dripped from her lips as she choked, coughing violently, body trembling.
Even after channeling magic to shield herself, it wasn't enough.
The force behind that flick... it was not human.
She collapsed on the floor in a puddle of red.
All her grand schemes—all her hidden plans to take over this city—crumbled like ash.
And as her hazy vision cleared, she saw Gray… standing over her.
Crouching down.
Calm.
And very unbothered about her condition.
His eyes no longer glowed, but the weight behind his gaze was unbearable.
"Just like you said," Gray muttered, voice soft but chilling, "there are two options."
He leaned in close.
His breath touched her cheek like winter's frost.
"Die right now…"
A pause.
"…or be kind enough to escort yourself to the prison cell below."
He smiled.
Not kindly.
But like a devil who'd just claimed the soul of another foolish, arrogant mortal.