A soft flash of light illuminated the room, and the very next second, two sets of crisp, full black clothes materialized perfectly into his hands.

"Alright, let’s put these on."

Quickly changing into the sleek black clothes, he sat down on the chair by his desk as his demeanor shifted back to serious calculation.

"System. Now I need to know... what is the fastest way we can infiltrate Zandar and track down that bastard Liebe?"

[Reckless, huh, I knew you wouldn’t just sit still and let it go so easily. Fine, whatever, I’ll humor you... If you really want to go after him right now, why don’t you use that Memory Stone that’s been gathering dust in your inventory for ages?]

A few seconds of silence passed as Lucian blinked.

"Oh, right, How foolish of me... I completely forgot about that thing."

Without even bothering to lift his ass off the chair, he leaned over, slid open the table drawer, and pulled out the smooth, faintly glowing stone.

"Yes... scan it, System."

[Item Scanned: Memory Stone]

[Usage: One-time use only. Crush the stone in your hand while mentally demanding the specific memory or location you desire.]

"Wait, wait..." he paused, raising an eyebrow.

"I can ask for any memory?"

[Yes.]

"A quiet, predatory smile slowly spread across his face."

"In that case... give me the exact memory of the current location of Liebe, the so-called third strongest prodigy of the Zandar Empire."

Saying that, he closed his fist and crushed the stone into fine, glowing dust.

In the very next second, a vivid memory flashed directly into his mind. The vision materialized into a grand, luxurious bedroom. Lying there on a large, soft bed was a young man with distinct green hair, sleeping soundly. The entire room around him was overgrown with various exotic, glowing plants and thick vines, turning the bedroom into some sort of indoor greenhouse.

The vision faded, and Lucian opened his eyes, leaving a dark, chilling look in them.

"Oh, look at him... sleeping so peacefully after completely ruining everyone else’s peace of mind," Lucian sneered, his voice dripping with icy malice.

"Keep sleeping soundly, you son of a bitch... because tonight, your death is absolutely guaranteed."

Sneering maniacally, Lucian turned around, completely ready to embrace his dark, vengeful persona — only to instantly melt.

Leon had already fallen asleep mid-snack. One of his tiny hands was still shoved deep inside the crinkling packet, and his mouth and cheeks were hilariously smeared with sticky pink and blue marshmallow fluff.

Lucian cooed softly, all of his previous bloodlust vanishing in a second. Walking over to the bed, he gently pulled the boy’s hand out of the packet and carefully wiped the sticky fluff off his face while tucking the warm blanket snugly up to Leon’s chin.

"He is such a pure kid..." he whispered softly, brushing a strand of hair away from the boy’s forehead. "Good night, Leon. Papa will come back soon."

Standing back up, Lucian turned away from the bed. In an instant, the warmth in his eyes was replaced by a cold determination. He raised his hand, channeling his mana to tear a spatial rift right in the middle of his room.

"Now, it’s time, Let’s rip this problem out straight from the root." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Stepping through the swirling portal, he instantly emerged into the exact same room he had seen in the vision.

The moment his boots touched the floor, the heavy atmosphere hit him. The air was incredibly thick and humid, reeking of damp earth, crushed leaves, and the sickly-sweet scent of exotic blooming nightshades. It barely even looked like a bedroom—it was practically an overgrown greenhouse.

Almost half of the massive room was completely swallowed by vegetation. Huge, elaborate ceramic pots were scattered everywhere, sprouting bizarre, mutated flora. Thick, thorny vines crawled up the walls and spread across the ceiling like venomous green snakes, clinging to the expensive architecture. Faint, eerie light pulsed from bioluminescent leaves, casting long, shifting shadows across the dark wooden floor.

And right in the center of this suffocating indoor jungle, sleeping peacefully beneath a canopy of draped vines, was the green-haired prodigy of the Zandar Empire—Liebe.

Stepping forward silently, Lucian raised his hand, and his signature electric baseball bat materialized directly into his grip, humming with a low, deadly vibration.

He stopped right beside the edge of the bed, looming over the sleeping figure.

The bastard is sleeping so peacefully... Lucian thought, a cold sneer twisting his lips.

Raising the bat high above his head, a faint, sharp crackle of blue electricity sparked across the heavy metal. Without a single second of hesitation, Lucian swung it down with brutal, bone-crushing force.

Crack—!

But right before the heavy bat could cave his face in, the sudden bright flash and sharp sound of the electrical discharge snapped Liebe’s eyes wide open. In one fluid, unnaturally fast movement, the green-haired prodigy rolled sideways off the bed, completely dodging the lethal blow.

The electrified bat smashed straight into the mattress with a deafening thud, instantly blowing the pillow into a massive cloud of white feathers that drifted lazily into the humid air.

Standing barefoot in the dark corner of the room, Liebe’s eyes were completely deadpan and calm. There was no panic, no lingering trace of sleepiness. From the shadows behind him, thick, thorny vines slithered forward like loyal, venomous pets, gently brushing against his shoulders as if waiting for a command.

"Who the hell are you?" Liebe asked, his voice chillingly smooth and completely devoid of fear. "And who sent you?"

Slowly straightening his posture, Lucian rested the crackling bat against his shoulder and looked directly at him. Half-hidden in the dim, bioluminescent shadows of the room, Lucian’s face looked even darker, almost demonic.

"It doesn’t matter who sent me," Lucian replied, his voice dropping into a dangerous, icy register. "The only thing that matters right now... is that you’re dying tonight."

A heavy beat of silence fell over the overgrown room.

Stepping slightly forward into the faint light, Liebe stared at Lucian’s face. He gave him a flat, calculating, and measuring look—as if he was genuinely trying to figure out whether the intruder standing in front of him was an actual, serious threat, or just incredibly stupid.