Miasma’s whole body froze the moment the words hit her.

They were not normal words. They carried a raw will to kill, sharp enough to cut through the air and pin her in place.

Her breath caught in her throat. Her fingers stayed buried near Julius’s eyes, but she could not move them even an inch.

"Creak!"

The tearing sound came again, louder this time, like the already ripped paper being pulled apart completely.

A dark gap opened wider in the air behind her. Then a heavy step followed, calm but full of power.

Julius, still pinned under Miasma’s weight with her nails dug deep around his brows, forced his head to turn just enough.

Pain shot through his face, but he managed to get a clear look. When he did, his body went stiff.

A middle-aged man stepped out through the hole in the air. He gripped the edges of the tear with strong hands, pulling himself forward as if stepping through a doorway.

Long jet-black hair fell past his shoulders, neatly tied behind his back.

His fiery cold blue eyes swept across the room, taking in everything at once. They stopped on Julius.

Their faces looked almost the same, same strong jaw, same sharp features.

The man wore tight black battle clothes that clung to his powerful frame, ready for a fight.

When his eyes locked with Julius’s, the coldness in them melted into something softer, warmer.

"Father...?" The word slipped from Julius’s mouth like water rushing out of a broken dam.

His eyes shook with disbelief as he watched Nathaniel walk closer, each step steady and heavy on the floor.

Miasma’s gaze stayed locked on Nathaniel.

Shock and disbelief filled her eyes as she stared at him like a dumbfounded child. Her mouth hung slightly open.

"But... how did you enter?" she muttered.

Her already twisted face pulled even tighter, making her look ugly despite her beauty.

The anger and fear mixed together in a way that twisted her features beyond recognition.

"How?" she repeated, her voice weak.

The disbelief shone clearly in her wide eyes as she searched desperately for answers.

Right then, another figure stepped out of the space tear behind Nathaniel.

This woman had long, flowing blonde hair that caught the light. Her beautiful shiny red eyes darted around the room quickly.

The moment they landed on Julius...pinned down, one leg missing, blood running from his torn eyebrows...her face changed in an instant.

Fury rose inside her, hot enough to burn the whole world. She raised one hand toward Miasma and made a sharp grabbing motion.

"Space bomb!" The words came out quiet, but the moment they left her lips, the space around Miasma twisted and contorted violently, like invisible hands crushing everything in their grip.

Miasma’s face shifted from rage to pure panic. She yanked her fingers out of Julius’s eyebrows and jumped back fast.

The instant she moved, the space right where her head had been collapsed and vanished with a sickening snap.

"Mom... too?" Julius’s eyes widened even more in shock. His vision was suddenly filled by his mother’s whole body as she moved closer.

Elizabeth gently reached down and held him. She lifted his hand and placed it carefully on her lap, her touch soft and full of care.

Then she slowly turned her red eyes toward Miasma. Those eyes burned with pure, unrestrained killing intent.

"Husband," she said, her voice shaking with fury, "make sure you don’t kill her! Keep her alive."

She paused for a breath, the anger rolling off her in waves. "I will pay her back for hurting my boy!"

Nathaniel nodded slowly, his face serious and cold as he stared straight at Miasma.

From the bottom of his foot, bright orange lava could be seen flowing slowly across the floor, leaving dark scorch marks wherever it touched.

He raised one hand. A sleek blood-red sword appeared in his grip, forming out of thin air with a low hum.

The moment the sword took shape, Miasma’s eyes widened in pure horror. All the color drained from her face until she looked completely pale.

"A celestial grade treasure?!" she spat out, her voice full of disbelief.

She stared at the sword, feeling its powerful aura clearly. It was a high-level treasure of the fire path, and its heat already pressed against her skin.

But that fear was nothing compared to what came next.

Nathaniel released his full cultivation. A heavy, nauseating aura rolled out from him like a crushing wave.

Miasma’s whole body locked up, she could not move a single muscle. Her breath caught in her throat.

"Mid stage of transcendence...?" she muttered. Horror and disbelief mixed together in her shaking voice.

"You dare hurt my son?!" Nathaniel’s words came out low and heavy, each one filled with thick bloodlust that stabbed into Miasma’s skin like tiny knives.

He raised the blood-red sword high and brought it down in one powerful swing.

Whoosh!

A wide arc of fiery energy shot forward, burning the air itself with a heat so intense it made the whole room feel like an oven. The flames roared toward her with deadly force.

"Die!"

Miasma moved her hands quickly. Blue birds from her domain rushed toward her, swirling and circling fast until they formed a thick shield around her body. There were so many of them that they completely covered her.

Boom!

The birds crashed hard into Nathaniel’s fiery attack. A deep, powerful explosion shook the room, sending sparks and blue feathers flying everywhere. Miasma hurried back, her face turning pale as she tried to catch her breath.

But Nathaniel appeared right in front of her again. He slashed his blood-red sword at her without pause, pressing her down with his power alone. Each swing forced her to dodge and retreat.

Meanwhile, on the side, Elizabeth worked hard to heal Julius’s leg. She had picked up the severed leg and carefully wrapped it with clean bandages. She poured holy water over the wound and whispered healing spells, her hands glowing softly as she tried everything she could to reattach it.

"You idiot! Who told you to come here!" she scolded, her face pale with worry. She looked like she was on the verge of breaking down.

"If it wasn’t for me leaving the avatar on you, then..." She stopped mid-sentence. She could not even finish the thought. The idea of what could have happened to her son was too painful.

Julius’s shocked face slowly calmed down. He pulled his eyes away from the fierce battle between his father and Miasma.

He turned to his mother. A small smile appeared on his face at first. But the smile did not last. Memories flooded back, his past life, the despair of losing his parents, the unbearable pain of losing Rosalina.

When he transmigrated into this new world, he had felt like he finally had everything. A family. A future. A chance to protect what mattered. He had believed he would never lose it again.

But today, everything had come so close to collapsing. He would have died. He would have lost his parents and Rosalina all over again.

His smile slowly turned into a crying expression. Tears rolled down his cheeks.

He reached out and wrapped his arms tightly around his mother’s waist, burying his face against her.

"Thank you, Mom..." Tears fell uncontrollably from his eyes as he sobbed. "I thought I would die... Thank you for saving me... Thank you..."