REWARD: NEW SYSTEM
Damien walked out of the room only to meet his mother's worried face outside.
"Damein, another one died. We have to get out of here."
"Ma, don't worry. No one is after us."
But his mother knew the truth — they were clearly trying to kill their family. If they ran, they might survive. All the other wives were already running.
Damien raised an eyebrow. "They're running?" he asked curiously.
"Yes, they said it's not safe in the house, even with the FBI. So, they packed their things and ran."
Damien didn't know why, but his lips slowly turned into a smile as he heard they were running.
"Are they all gone?" he asked.
"No, the ninth wife and her children are still here," his mother answered, not knowing why her child was smiling.
Damien stayed silent for a moment, then left her side to plan his brother's death.
ALISSA'S POV
I came to warn Damien that we should leave the house — it's not safe. But what I saw wasn't my usual Damien. He had changed. He had the aura of a peaceful child, but now, suddenly, he looked like a cold killer.
Could it be? I dreaded the possibility of my son being the murderer.
I quickly dismissed the notion, believing it was just paranoia. But the thought kept weighing on my mind as I muttered, "Damien… what have you become?"
BACK TO DAMIEN
Damien was busily planning the best way to poison his stepbrother. But there was no way his brother would take something from someone who hated him to the core.
Damien's smile turned into a frown. Was it a coincidence that the ninth wife — the mother of the person he was supposed to kill — was still here along with her children? Or was it the work of the "power"?
Damien stopped thinking about it. He would have stopped the killing for a while, but who knew they would flee, making it easier to hunt them later? For now, he would focus on his target — Leo von Jasil.
After thinking it through, he realized it was worth the risk to kill his stepbrother now, and that's exactly what he was going to do. Damien grinned wickedly. He could already see himself beating the crap out of his brother. But first, he needed a plan — he wasn't as strong as his stepbrother.
Going to confront him in a physical battle was simply a death wish.
While lost in his thoughts, Damien heard his mother's voice again.
"Damien! Damien! Damien!"
"Yes, ma'am," he responded.
"I know you're busy, but Damien, when you're free, please go talk to your sisters. It won't be a waste of time."
"Okay, maybe I'll go as soon as I can," Damien responded, then walked away again.
SISTERS' POV
Mom always worries about us. Damien loves us as his sisters. They have been good to us our whole life, and we don't want anything to happen to them. We wished we could live like a family with no obstructions.
But life was cruel. Some days ago, someone killed our dad, and now the same person has set his focus on the rest of the people living here. We don't want anything to happen to our brother and mom.
That night, we cried. We showed an emotion that hadn't been shown for years. Tears ran down our cheeks. For the first time in God knows how long, we cried again.
But with that cry came determination. The person wants to kill our family — we will rather kill the person. We will turn from the hunted to the hunters, we will kill the person who wants to kill us if that what it takes to save them.
BACK TO DAMIEN
Damien walked toward his stepbrother's room. Surprisingly, immediately he reached there, the door opened. Without thinking too much, he entered and heard his stepbrother's voice.
"What is your decision?"
"I accept, on one condition — give me the list of my stepbrothers and where they are now," Damien said.
"Sure," Leo replied as he passed him a list. Damien was skeptical but checked the list anyway.
"I've done my part. Now do yours," Leo said.
Damien grinned. "Sure," he replied, as black lightning crackled around him.
Leo was shocked and stuttered fearfully, "What... are... you...?"
"Your death," Damien responded coldly.
5 MINUTES AGO
"Can you amplify my strength?" Damien asked the voice.
"Yes, I can," the voice responded.
"Great," Damien thought. Not that he could beat his brother with strength alone.
His plan was simple — put his brother in a state of fear, shock, or panic by showing him the black lightning. Then, capitalize on the moment when his brother wasn't in his normal state of mind to kill him. If nothing went wrong, he could finish his brother.
BACK TO PRESENT
Damien smiled, knowing his plan worked. He loved the fear-stricken look on his stepbrother's face. Without wasting time, he delivered the final blow — killing him.
"Lightning," Damien called the spirit, "consume."
In an instant, Damien's aura grew more ominous as the dead body disappeared. Damien was intrigued — if it's a non-living thing, it disappears. If it's living, it just dies and the body stays. But he had no time to think about it.
His plan had changed. His stepbrothers — he would kill them with his own hands. As for his stepmoms, their fate remained uncertain. He wasn't going to change it since there was nothing here for him anymore.
He left. He didn't know when the news of his stepbrother's disappearance would spread, but at that time, it would seem as if the Phantom Assassin struck again. He smiled, thinking of the weird names he got from his "fans." But now wasn't the time to think about it — he had to meet his stepsisters and talk to them if not their condition may worsen, and that wasn't his plan.
DING! YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE QUEST. FEED ME. YOUR REWARD HAS BEEN GIVEN. REWARD: YOUR BRAND SYSTEM