BXBX NOVEL Chapter 79: V
He joked, saying he would destroy them and that they needed to blow up, all together. But before… he thought he was just their target. Are there enough reasons for this? For the persecution? Yes, there are, but they've crossed the line.
Strax knows not all his siblings, despite their hatred, would do such things. He knew they could be targets, but he didn't expect it to happen so quickly.
"Just eliminate all of them." That was his thought; he had given up on trying to do things the right way.
Strax is a possessive man. For him, he would leave his problems with this family aside, enjoy moments with his wives, and spend his days training. But now, he had lost one of his wives and didn't know if the others were safe.
Strax was at the point of wanting to wipe out this entire family, and if necessary, manipulate the king himself through the marriage with Xenovia, he would do it. "Is it here?" Strax questioned the woman who brought him, one of Christine's guild members. "Yes, Lord Strax," she said, bowing.
"You're dismissed, you can go." Strax said, but the woman hesitated, "Lord Strax, I think we should~" "Dismissed." He repeated, looking into her eyes. For a second, the woman trembled all over. His cold stare... it was so... terrifying... that it scared her.
"Y-Yes, I will return." She said, bowing and running over the rooftops.
**[Various Missions Advancing]**
He read the message with disdain. This damn system was making him nervous; it wasn't helping lately except for alerting what was happening. Even though it called itself a Harem System, it hadn't really helped him in a long time.
"Silence." He said, and the messages disappeared, the system tab closed, and he looked at the old building that Christine's subordinate had pointed out as a place that might be related to Beatrice.
What did he hope to find? At least some clues about Beatrice's disappearance, that was the minimum he wanted. Almost three hours had passed since she disappeared. God knows what happened to her and what her condition was.
He jumped to the entrance of the place, the door was still half-open. From what he heard from the guild member, there were men using the name "Vorah" in this place.
With a strong push, Strax entered the building. The door creaked, echoing through the abandoned space. He stepped forward, his expression rigid as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. The air was thick, saturated with the acrid smell of blood and decay, intriguing him.
He raised a finger and used [Fire Manipulation] to create a small flame, using it to light his way.
With each step, the wooden floor creaked, a sound that seemed to reverberate off the moldy walls. Piles of debris were scattered, remnants of destroyed furniture and signs of a fierce struggle everywhere.
Strax advanced, senses on high alert, eyes scanning the place for any clue that might lead him to Beatrice.
A fallen table caught his attention as he passed the light close to it. He approached and noticed deep marks on the floor, as if something heavy had been dragged. His eyes followed the marks, leading him to a dark corner where a dark, sticky stain indicated something horrible had happened there.
"What a mess," he muttered, forcing himself to focus on the mission. Any small clue about Beatrice was good, he had to believe in that.
Passing through the narrow corridor, he went through a half-open door leading to a storage room. The shelves were full of boxes and broken jars, but something else caught his attention. Bodies. Mutilated, thrown unceremoniously onto the cold floor. Strax clenched his fists, controlling the rising anger that threatened to overwhelm him. "Calm down…" he murmured, taking a deep breath, he continued.
Further ahead, he found a staircase descending to a basement. The light was scarce, but he could see blood marks on the walls, indicating that those who came before didn't meet a peaceful end. He descended the steps, one by one, the darkness becoming denser with each step, so he increased the strength of the light.
At the bottom of the stairs, he reached a metal door, ajar, revealing a simple, disordered office. He pushed the door and entered, the dim light of a hanging lamp inadequately illuminating the place. Fortunately, he had his own ways to light up. The office was crammed with papers, dusty books, and a desk full of letters.
Strax approached the desk, his hands steady as he rifled through the pile of correspondence. "Dear V...", he began to read, but the words were a blur of rage and frustration. "Shipment... thugs... location..." None of the letters mentioned Beatrice directly, but they all pointed to a network of illicit activities controlled by someone known only as "V."
"Dear V, the next shipment is on its way..." He huffed, the name "V" making his blood boil. No clues about her, and it was driving him mad.
"Who are you, V?" he murmured to himself, his body heating up with anger. He sifted through more papers, searching for any hint that might connect the dots, but the answer always seemed to slip through his fingers.
Just as Strax was about to give up on his search in the office, a distinct sound of movement behind him caught his attention. He turned quickly, senses sharpened, but what he found was more than he expected.
A figure emerged from the shadows, advancing with a blade gleaming in the dim light. The attack was swift, the blade slicing through the air towards him.
Strax barely had time to dodge, the blade passing dangerously close to his face, cutting a strand of hair. The assailant was agile, their face hidden by a simple mask, but their eyes reflected a deadly intent.
"You!" Strax growled, recognizing the fierce look of the attacker as he quickly summoned his ice weapons to fight back.
They exchanged blows rapidly, the room echoing with the clash of metal. Strax blocked and counterattacked with precision as Xenovia had taught him, his fury fueling every move. He was exhausted and needed his wife.
Despite this, the enemy was skilled, but Strax was possessed with rage, the need to find Beatrice giving him unstoppable strength.
"You wretched scum, bow before I kill you," he said, launching ice spikes toward the man's feet, who quickly dodged.
His slender build made him seem like a shadow. But Strax didn't care about this nonsense.
With a skillful move, Strax disarmed the attacker, the blade flying away and landing far. Without wasting time, he grabbed the opponent by the collar, pinning him against the wall. "Where is Beatrice?" his voice was a snarl, his gaze burning with deadly determination.
The attacker tried to resist, but the insane look and twisted smile revealed the truth. "You'll never find her," he spat, a bitter laugh on his lips. "V has already taken care of that."
Before Strax could react, the man made a quick motion with his free hand. There was a metallic gleam, and in an instant, he brought something to his lips. Strax lunged to stop him, but it was too late. The man bit a capsule, and a sharp crunch followed.
"No!" Strax shouted, gripping the man tighter, but the poison was already taking effect. The attacker convulsed, his eyes widening in agony. He tried to speak, but the words came out as a choking gurgle. His body slowly went limp, and the life drained from his eyes, leaving Strax holding a corpse.
"Damn it!" Strax cursed, dropping the body to the floor. He looked around, his heart pounding as he gave one last glance at the body, then turned back to the desk, frantically sifting through the papers with a renewed sense of urgency. If "V" was involved, but it led to nothing...
"Son of a Bitch!" Strax shouted, his voice echoing through the entire place. He was furious, almost irrational. He grabbed the letters and stormed out of the building.
The first person he encountered was the same woman who had brought him to that place. "L-Lord Strax, are you alright?" she questioned, but he ignored her. "Take these, use them however you see fit, and inform Christine to go after this damned person called V," he said firmly and harshly, walking away before she could respond.
He was truly in a cold rage, and that was bad news for anyone around him. In the distance, however, he was being closely observed.
"It seems our little lamb is quite upset, isn't he?" a figure remarked, watching Strax stride furiously through the empty streets of the night...