CHAPTER 63: CH-63

After the seventh round, the three girls collapsed, and I sat on the sofa, watching them drift into exhausted sleep.

I was grateful to the monk card who imparted me the knowledge of Qi, boosting my stamina and intensifying our pleasure.

"That’s enough fun for now." I stretched my legs and went to take a bath first.

Then I went to the other room to change into my formal attire: a simple, all-black coat—practical and understated.

When I checked the time, I discovered we were short on time, so I used Ellie’s phone to let Ethan know we’d be late for dinner.

He just replied with an "okay mom"

Turns out he was running late too, so it worked out perfectly.

Poor guy—he still had no idea his whole family already belonged to m while he was busy chasing money. Then again, after everything he did to the old owner, this was just karma coming back around.

"Ace?" Ellie was the first to open her eyes.

"Aunty, you should take a bath first. I already texted Ethan using your phone, so you still have an hour to get ready."

She nodded and woke the others.

The bathroom was big enough for all of them, so they decided to wash up together to save time.

Frankly, I was tempted to join them, but that would only led to more intense actions. I could have handled it easily, but the girls were human so they deserved a break.

I could only imagine what they were talking about in there—probably bragging about how good they felt . Can’t blame them, though. I had given them a night to remember.

Crack!

The sharp sound of breaking glass echoed. I turned and saw Ellie, frozen in place after accidentally knocking over the flower vase.

"It’s fine, it was just a cheap vase," I said.

Alice quickly got dressed and began cleaning up the shattered pieces.

"Are you okay, Aunt Ellie?" I asked, noticing her staring at the place where the broken vase used to be.

"I’m fine. I just... had a bad feeling." She glanced around, then picked up her phone to call someone.

Seconds ticked by as she tapped her heels, growing more impatient with each passing moment.

"He’s not picking up," she complained.

"Who?" I asked.

"Ethan..."

Normally, I would’ve just shrugged it off, but a mother’s intuition was a powerful thing.

"Let’s just wait for him at the restaurant. Maybe he’s just busy—or already there."

We did just that, but he was nowhere to be found, so we decided to order first. We were pretty hungry ourselves after everything that intense group exercised.

Everything on the table was exquisite: steak, lobster, fine wine. Yet Ellie hardly touched her pasta, her eyes repeatedly flicking to her phone.

About an hour later, Ellie stepped out onto the large public veranda to get a better signal. From where I sat, I could see the worry written all over her face.

"Still can’t contact him?" I followed and inquired.

"No," she shook her head. "I asked the driver, and he told me Ethan went to the Company building to pick something up—but he hasn’t come out since. I tried calling Daniel too, but he’s not answering his phone either."

"Did you try calling any of the other staff?"

"Yes, but..."

Before she could finish, the people in the restaurant suddenly stood up.

On the large TV screen in the corner, breaking news flashed—a sixty-story building was engulfed in flames, the giant M logo at the top impossible to miss.

"That’s the Mercer Group building!" one of the customers shouted.

Ellie’s knees gave out, and I caught her just in time,.

"Ethan..." she whispered, her shoulder trembling from shock.

"My son... he’s still in that building..." She clutched at my sleeve, as if holding on to it could keep her from falling apart completely.

"Calm down, Aunty," I said, using my ability—but it did little to ease her panic.

I was just as shaken. The whole thing felt unreal, too sudden... too timed to be a coincidence.

Just as I was about to stand and carry her back to our table, my skin crawl—and then, suddenly, the entire city block went dark.

Total blackout.

A split second later, figures came crashing down from the neighboring building onto the veranda.

They wore black robes that reminded me of ninjas, though the material was far more advanced. Their faces were completely concealed, making them almost impossible to spot.

If not for my shadow ability, which let me see clearly even in total darkness, I wouldn’t have noticed them until it was too late.

"Kill everyone related to the Mercer family!" one of them ordered in a whispered tone.

SWOOSH.

They dashed toward me, thinking I was still unaware of their presence. Big mistakes.

BOOOM!

With a single, powerful strike, I sent one of them hurtling off the veranda. He spun violently through the air, disappearing into the darkness below.

Then, without missing a beat, I summoned my dagger and cut the next assassin before he reached me.

My strike threw them off balance, and I seized the opening.

They shouldn’t have chosen the darkness as their battlefield. In here, I am the king.

"Sir, he vanished—"

My dagger struck in a flash. His words froze on his lips as he toppled, defeated before he could even react.

Shock spread among the remaining attackers. From their perspective, I had vanished and reappeared in an instant.

"All of you, strike together!" the leader ordered.

It was a fatal miscalculation—their coordinated attack only made it easier for me to confuse them. I moved like a god of death—untouchable, unstoppable with Shadow blend on my side.

Or so I thought.

A sudden tingling crawled up the back of my neck—an instinctive warning.

I twisted to the side just as a flash of light cut through the air. In the blink of an eye, the spot where I’d been standing was split clean in half.

My eyes narrowed.

Standing before me was a man in a power suit—sleek, reinforced, and far more advanced than the ones his subordinates wore.

A polished pauldron rested on his shoulder, shaped like something straight out of a samurai’s armor. Even his weapon matched the image—a sharp katana that could behead me in one slash.

"Who the hell are you people—and why are you trying to kill me?"

He lifted the katana, the tip hovering at my head.

"Your family betrayed humanity for greed. There is no redemption—only death."

From his accent alone, I could tell he came from a distant land.

I summoned another dagger into my hand and prepared for the confrontation.

Whoever this group was, they wanted to eradicate the entire Mercer family for good.

"I get it. Daniel did a lot of stupid and terrible things, but isn’t it overkill to come after me? I haven’t done anything yet."

"Shut up, dog. Spare one of you and another will take his place, keeping your corrupt empire alive. We’ll hunt and wipe every last one of you off the map—for the good of the world."

Talking was off the table now. Time to get more serious.

My aura detonated, green light blazing from my eyes as darkness rippled around me, forming a protective layer.

"You chose the wrong Mercer to hunt."