CHAPTER 266: 266. KNIGHTS OF ORDER!

Moving out of the royal room with his charm skill now deactivated, Asher and Sharon passed through all the guards no longer greeted them with smiles but only gave them hollow stares as they walked, not saying a word, not stopping them, just watching them with uncertainty and fear as the siblings moved all the way out of the palace without looking back.

"Using magic in kingdoms is prohibited," Sharon muttered under her breath, stepping onto the cold cobblestone road with a determined glare. "But screw that. I’ll summon Pufflet. He can pick up Mom’s scent from anywhere in the kingdom. Maybe we can track her."

"Okay, do it!! I’ll study the whole terrain too. See if I can find her." Asher replied, activating his terrain scan skill on his system. Immediately, a mental map of the entire kingdom of Zephandria formed before his eyes—houses, shops, towers, sewers, even forgotten underground passages and secret chambers hidden beneath noble mansions. His system couldn’t pinpoint his mother with a radar or anything, so he had no idea where she could be, so if he wanted to find her, the only places that made sense were the ones already drenched in darkness—the shady locations, long-abandoned storehouses, closed-off basements, and hidden facilities.

Sharon finished chanting, and her tiny flame spirit, Pufflet, emerged, floating into the air with a fiery sparkle, eyes wide and curious.

"Help me find my mother’s scent. Can you do that?" she asked, stepping closer to the warm flickering creature.

"Hmm..." Pufflet hummed in thought, then suddenly split apart into four smaller fragments of itself, each darting into a different direction with fiery tails trailing behind.

"Follow me!" Asher muttered.

He and Sharon began moving quickly, their steps determined and furious as they darted from one shady place to the next. They entered dusty storage houses that hadn’t been touched in decades, kicking doors open, blasting through weak seals, searching every dark corner. They broke into abandoned estates, crept through the underground hideouts of past criminals, and even snuck into people’s private basements—Asher using his invisibility skill to slip through undetected. Their mother could’ve been anywhere. But there was nothing. Not even a single trace.

Not even a hint of Rex.

Time passed. The moon vanished behind the veil of dawn, and eventually the sun came out, casting light on the streets of Zephandria. The kingdom slowly awakened. People stepped out of their homes, yawning and stretching, beginning yet another day of the strange society they lived in—where women strutted like bosses, barking orders with elegance, while men scrubbed floors like quiet, obedient maids.

Market stalls began opening. Vendors pushed carts into place and prepared to start selling. Students dressed in pristine academy uniforms walked in lines toward campus, some yawning, some joking with each other, and some hitting on their crushes.

Then, Pufflet returned.

It floated down to Sharon, its flames dimmer, exhausted from the long, fruitless search. Its fragments merged into one again, and with a slow, disappointed shake of its head, it looked down—defeated.

Nothing.

Sharon gritted her teeth in frustration, her eyes stinging. Asher felt something buzz inside his pocket, the magic phone from last night. He flinched and pulled it out, fingers trembling with fury, and instantly answered it.

"It’s about damn time, don’t you think?" came the familiar smug tone of Max. "Wouldn’t want the academy brats missing out on all the fun, right? So what’s it gonna be? Stripping... or watching your mother moan for the whole kingdom?"

Asher’s jaw tensed. A tremor ran through his clenched teeth. His voice, however, was unnervingly calm. "Max... This is your last warning. End this. Now. Or I swear... you won’t live long enough to regret it."

Max laughed like a demon drunk on chaos. "Hah! I’ll take that as a no. Well then... brace yourself. For the best show of your life!"

Then the call ended.

And minutes later—it began.

Holographic magic screens flickered into existence on the streets, floating high above everyone’s heads. Bright, rectangular, translucent, with an eerie hum behind them.

Pedestrians stopped.

"What’s going on?" "Is there a monster attack?" "Emergency message maybe?" No way... not this early... right? Because that’d suck! Nobody wants a monster fight now!"

The screens lit up fully and showed a scene that made their jaws drop.

There were three men, naked. Their identities were hidden beneath black balaclavas with only two small holes for their eyes. Their bodies were bare, their dicks dangling weakly between their legs. Nkbody knew what their intentions were, but the sight alone made people gasp in horror.

"Is... is this some kind of joke?" "Why would the kingdom broadcast this filth?!" "Is this a test? Or a punishment?"

These screens weren’t just in the capital square. They were everywhere. Even near schools. Even near churches.

Ravaine, an S-rank hunter from the raccoon beastfolk family, and a high-ranking commander in the Zephandrian Knights, dashed straight to the Hunter’s Guild. Her instincts were screaming at her—this wasn’t a prank. This was sabotage. And if the Church saw this, heads would roll. She wasn’t prepared to get an earful from those holy Bishops!

She barged into the Guildmaster’s office, only to find Yolie, the Guildmaster, reclining lazily on her chair, her legs on the desk, lips wrapped around an illegal blunt made from the World Tree’s leaves as she played with a bangle in her right hand wrist.

"Ma’am!! Someone’s broadcasting immoral filth across the kingdom!! The public is losing it!!" Ravaine shouted, her maroon fluffy tail flicking in anxiety.

Yolie took a long drag, then exhaled slowly, letting the smoke curl around her like a dragon’s breath. She looked at Ravaine with lazy, half-lidded eyes.

"So? Just tell the public it’s a criminal. That’ll calm them down."

Ravaine blinked. "Shouldn’t we—shouldn’t we at least shut it down? The Church—"

"Shhh..." Yolie hissed, smoke escaping her lips. "Do what you’re told, damn raccoon. And close the door behind you."

Grumbling and defeated, Ravaine left and relayed the command. Knights rode through the streets on horseback, spreading the message to the people.

"Stay calm! This is the work of criminals! The kingdom is handling it!"

But curiosity is a powerful beast.

The people kept watching.

The video feed changed angles.

Now it showed a woman. Naked. Bound to a BDSM bench. Her arms and legs shackled tightly, her head covered with a black mask.

Sharon’s eyes widened. Her body shook. Asher’s fists tightened. His jaw felt like it would snap from how hard he was biting down.

They both hissed at the sight, blood boiling.

The magic phone vibrated again.

"I wonder..." Max’s voice oozed out smoothly, like poison. "Should we go for penetration first? Or the face reveal? Hm? Which one do you think would be more... entertaining?"

That was the final straw.

"I’LL KILL YOU, YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!!!" Asher roared, voice echoing through the square.

He slammed the phone against one of the screens. People turned to look at him—this stranger, this outsider, this enraged young man with flames in his eyes.

Asher didn’t care.

He raised his hand, summoned all the fire inside him and blasted a fireball straight into the screen.

"BROTHER, STOP!!!" Sharon cried, lunging forward to stop him, but it was too late.

Asher’s fireballs scorched through the air.

The crowd screamed. Panic erupted as the massive fireballs missed the holograms and exploded into surrounding structures. Stalls were blown apart. Roofs shattered. Buildings caught fire. Explosions shook the marketplace as bricks and glass rained down.

The screens didn’t stop playing. They were only magic projections with no physical bodies like illusions. But the damage his fireballs were doing?

That was real.

Every blast tore through the infrastructure. Fires spread like madness. Entire corners of the market district went up in flames. And all the while, Asher kept screaming, kept firing—raining destruction down like a storm of wrath.

"STOP HIM!! SOMEBODY STOP HIM!!"

People screamed and scattered like insects under fire. Who the hell would cast such dangerous, magic in broad daylight in the kingdom, no less! That’s illegal! And worse—it was a man doing it. A mere man, destroying property owned by powerful female Hunters who didn’t just have strength, but had political weight to vanish someone’s entire existence with a simple command.

The Zephandrian Knights galloped into view, led by Ravaine, whose face was tight with tension.

"ZEAPHANDRIAN KNIGHTS OF ORDER!" she bellowed. "Cease fire and raise your hands!"

Asher ignored her like she didn’t exist as he kept firing.

"Take him down!" Ravaine snapped to her knights.

Two knights raised their bows and let arrows fly. The shafts hit him square in the back, lodging into his flesh.

He turned.

Eyes burning.

And retaliated.

Flames shot out like a cannon, the fire exploding toward the knights. Ravaine immediately cast a shield spell—a glowing green wall shimmered between her squad and the incoming blast.

The fire hit. Her shield cracked.

Ravaine’s eyes widened. "What in the hell...?"

The poison should have put him to sleep in seconds. Those arrows were laced with a tranquilizer magic strong enough to drop a wyvern.

But Asher didn’t even feel it.

The Divine Protection passive skill running in his body neutralized it.

He kept firing at the knights, at the holograms, at the buildings. Fire engulfed the kingdom. Zephandria was burning. And the people could do nothing but watch.

TBC