All eyes turned to the source of the laughter—a young man slouched in his chair, chuckling to himself.

  Dominic’s eyes narrowed as he glanced at Jonathan. “Is this the kind of person you invited to this assembly? You’ve really become a joke.”

  Before Jonathan could respond, Nova stood up and casually made his way toward Jack. Stopping in front of him, Nova gave a light pat on Jack’s back and asked with a grin, “Admit it—do you accept your loss?”

  Jack sighed, visibly annoyed. “You were right, just this once. Don’t let it go to your head.”

  Nova’s grin widened. “Don’t worry. Now that we’re doing things my way, I’ll clean up this mess so we can focus on what actually matters.”

  Jack gave a slight nod, recognizing that this was the most practical choice for now.

  The crowd watched the two young men converse as if they were the only ones in the room, and anger began to ripple through the assembly. Did they not understand the gravity of what was happening here?

  Aurora scoffed, unable to contain her disdain. “Are you two done playing house? The grown-ups are talking. Go pack your bags and crawl back into whatever hole you came from.”

  Jonathan immediately responded, his voice sharp. “Says the woman who still acts like a teenager. Maybe you should be the one packing up.”

  Before anyone else could intervene, Nova’s smile stretched unnervingly wide as he calmly declared, “The Mayfair, Bennett, Wright, Harper, Brooks, and Sykes families... they no longer need to exist on Earth.”

  From his throne, Victor’s lips curled into a smile. He admired Nova’s brutal clarity. In this new world, only the ruthless survived, and Nova embodied that perfectly. Rising from his seat, Victor began walking toward Nova and Jack with a measured, deliberate pace.

  Nova retrieved his spear from his Inventory, twirling it effortlessly in one hand. Without turning around, he said, “Let’s enjoy this.”

  Victor nodded, his eyes cold. “Make it quick. We don’t have time to waste on the dead.” He summoned his own spear as he continued his slow, ominous advance.

  Dominic let out a disbelieving laugh. “Are they insane?”

  Eva felt a chill run down her spine. Something was very wrong. Her instincts screamed danger, but it was too late to back out now. “Stay alert” she warned the others. “Something’s not right.”

  Edwin, Benjamin, and Sebastian nodded in silent agreement as they shifted into fighting stances. Elements swirled to life around them—fire, ice, wind, thunder, earth… Though their mastery was limited, the display still hinted at their potential power.

  Nova ceased twirling his spear and took a single step before launching forward like a cannonball. His speed was blinding, leaving only the sharp shock of displaced air in his wake. Within an instant, he was upon Aurora, who had barely begun to sneer before he struck.

  His smile was cold as he executed a sweeping strike with the spear, harnessing his full momentum. Aurora didn’t even have time to scream. The blade of the spear tore through her with such force that half her body was obliterated before she could register the blow. Blood sprayed like a crimson mist as her lifeless form collapsed.

  Victor, observing from a few paces away, shook his head with a grim smirk. Without hesitation, he surged forward to join the fray charging at full speed.

  All of this transpired in a blink. By the time Victor reached the battlefield, Nova had already cut down several family members and guards. His momentum only increased with every kill, amplifying his speed and strength—a brutal, self-sustaining cycle of death. In mere seconds, dozens had fallen beneath his relentless assault, and the floor of the assembly hall was slick with blood.

  Only then did chaos erupt.

  “STOP HIM!” Dominic’s voice cracked with terror, his mind reeling. Never in his darkest nightmares had he imagined someone like Nova could exist, let alone meeting him here on Earth.

  Edwin cursed under his breath, feeling every regret of his existence crystallize in this one moment. “Guards! Attack him!” he shouted, mustering what little composure he had to direct the troops. He threw himself into providing support, but it was like trying to hold back a storm with bare hands.

  Eva, meanwhile, attempted to slip away unnoticed through the rows of guards. Her movements were quick and silent—until Sebastian’s sharp eyes caught her. “Eva! Come here!” he barked.

  Benjamin, hearing the commotion, turned just in time to see Eva’s attempted escape. Rage flared in his chest. He stormed over, dragging her back with one hand while shielding his face from the rain of blood with the other. “Coward” he muttered through gritted teeth, fury eclipsing any fear of the unfolding massacre.

  Victor, now fully immersed in the fray, was an unstoppable force. The rebels would never have guessed he had achieved such strength. His spear cleaved through flesh and armor alike, and every strike sent shockwaves across the hall.

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  Seated in the shadows, one man watched with wide eyes, his body tense yet still.

  Damian Gauss remained rooted to his throne, doing everything he could to make himself seem small and inconsequential. No one had even bothered to ask him which side he supported; he had said nothing from the start. But Damian had known the moment Victor entered the hall that this gathering was doomed. And now, watching Nova unleash devastation, he realized the young man was just as terrifying—perhaps more so—than Victor.

  For once, Damian found solace in being humble. Staying invisible was proving to be the wisest decision he had ever made.

  Jonathan stood frozen for a moment, stunned by the sheer carnage unfolding before him. The young man he had underestimated—Nova—was a force beyond comprehension. None of it made sense. How had someone so seemingly unremarkable turned into a whirlwind of death and destruction?

  But there was no time for questions. Jonathan gathered his composure, drew his sword with a steely resolve, and shouted, “Anyone who stands for Humanity, join me!” Without hesitation, he charged into the fray, cutting through anyone he deemed a traitor to their cause.

  Cassidy stood rooted to the spot, trembling. Nova wasn’t just killing—he was erasing lives, dozens at a time. Maybe even hundreds by now. She didn’t recognize this Nova—the man she thought she knew was just a distant memory.

  Her mind raced to the Voss family. They hadn’t attended the assembly. And then, a horrifying realization struck her like a bolt of lightning. ‘Did he really wipe out the entire Voss family when I only asked him to kill a few?’ A cold shiver ran down her spine as her stomach turned at the thought.

  Rachel’s hand tightened around hers, snapping her out of the spiral. Their eyes met. Rachel’s gaze was firm, filled with unspoken understanding. She nodded once, resolute.

  Cassidy nodded back, trying to find her own courage amidst the chaos.

  Jack returned to the group and immediately noticed Cassidy’s shaken state. He placed a hand gently on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. “If you care about him” he said softly, “then you have to understand—this is also part of who Nova is. There are things he won’t let anyone take from him…” He sighed, reluctant to explain further. It was better if Cassidy learned to read Nova on her own.

  Thomas stood frozen, stunned by the carnage. Memories of Nova’s words rushed back to him. ‘If no one stands up against us, I want you to stand up and revolt. Sell us out to the crowd and gather people. I’ll handle the rest.’ Realization dawned on him. “So this is why…” he muttered under his breath.

  Samuel clenched his fists. He longed to pull off something as daring as Nova’s attack but knew he didn’t have the strength. Despite everything, he didn’t condemn Nova. Instead, he felt a strange sense of gratitude for having crossed paths with him.

  Amelia ran up to Jack, her expression a mix of worry and determination. “Are you just going to stand here? Aren’t you going to help him?” she demanded.

  Jack shook his head. “He doesn’t need my help to kill.”

  Her eyes remained fixed on him. “And are you okay with all of this?”

  Jack’s gaze softened slightly. “Are you?”

  Amelia paused for a beat before clenching her fists tightly. “Not really, but… I know it’s something that must be done” she said, her voice trembling in self-reassurance.

  Jack gave Amelia a small smile—something she never expected from him. She stiffened in surprise, caught off guard by the uncharacteristic warmth. For a moment, it seemed as though the chaos around them faded into silence.

  Meanwhile, the battle had drawn to its grim conclusion. The floor was strewn with the lifeless bodies of family members who had come with their respective heads of household. Guards lay scattered, their lives snuffed out with brutal efficiency.

  Eva Bennett, Edwin Mayfair, Sebastian Wright, and Benjamin Harper lay motionless, their bodies shattered and incomplete—testaments to Nova’s relentless power.

  The only survivor was Dominic. His mind had cracked under the weight of terror and despair. He stumbled aimlessly, muttering over and over, “No, no, no… this can’t be happening.”

  Jonathan, observing the broken man, felt a rare pang of pity. Once the proud head of the first-ranked family, Dominic had been reduced to a raving shadow of himself. His dignity, his status—everything had been stripped away.

  Jonathan’s gaze shifted to Nova and Victor. “What do you plan on doing with him?” he asked, his tone measured but weary.

  Nova shrugged, showing no emotion. With a fluid motion, he swept his spear through the air. Dominic’s head separated cleanly from his body and soared upward before crashing to the blood-soaked ground.

  “Nothing” Nova said flatly. He turned away, leaving behind the silence of the dead.

  Victor’s lips twitched at the sight before him. Ruthless as he was, even he couldn’t dispatch someone with the same casual ease Nova had just demonstrated. He wiped some of the blood from his face, a sly smile curling on his lips as a thought took root. ‘I need to secure Nova as my son-in-law.’

  The scene from an outsider’s perspective could be summed up with one word: terrifying. Nova, who had just beheaded Dominic, shrugged it off as if it had been no more than sipping a cup of tea. Victor, drenched in blood from head to toe, stood there grinning like a schemer who had just won a high-stakes game.

  Jonathan felt an icy chill grip his heart as he watched them. He had known Victor for years, or so he thought. Yet the man standing here now was someone completely different—a stranger hidden behind a familiar face.

  With a shudder, Jonathan barked, “Get someone to clean up this mess!”

  Servants hurried in, scrubbing away the blood and removing bodies as quickly as they could. Henry, still seated on his throne, felt a wave of gratitude wash over him. ‘Thank the heavens for my decision to side with them’. But the relief was short-lived. A dark realization struck him.

  ‘If they’re this strong… they didn’t need to lie. That means everything they said before—the warnings, the threats—was probably true’. His chest tightened as the implications sank in. There would be no room for dissent in this new world.

  Cassidy had just started to calm down, but her thoughts remained a storm of confusion and fear. Rachel stayed by her side, offering silent support, her hand never leaving Cassidy’s.

  The hall was soon cleaned, the blood and carnage erased—at least on the surface. One by one, people took their seats again, but the air was heavy with dread. Everything had changed. And they all knew it.

  This time, only Victor of the Vale family, Damian of the Gauss family, and Henry of the Winters family remained, each occupying a throne from their respective high families.

  The crowd was unnervingly silent, the weight of the massacre still lingering in the air, choking any attempts at resistance or protest.

  After a long pause, Jonathan slowly rose from his seat, his voice steady but heavy with the gravity of the situation.

  "We shall continue the assembly."

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