Soon, headlights flared in his rearview mirror—a bulky gray sedan tailgating him aggressively.

A honk blared, long and angry.

Vonjo raised a brow, glancing at the car behind him. "Ohhh? Someone's mad? What's the matter, can't handle greatness?"

The other driver rolled down his window, shaking his fist and yelling something lost to the wind.

"Fuck you! Don't be arrogant!"

Vonjo's smirk deepened.

He rolled his own window down and let out an exaggerated yawn before casually spitting toward the road.

"Yeah, yeah, keep barking," he muttered.

He slowed at an intersection, letting the angry driver catch up.

The man's face was red with rage, his mouth moving nonstop, eyes full of the kind of fury only traffic could inspire.

Vonjo barely gave him a glance, then turned his eyes back to the open stretch ahead.

The sedan honked again, swerving slightly to challenge him.

"Tch." Vonjo shook his head. "Alright, Frog. Time for some fun. Bow."

The three-headed frog perked up, the rightmost head opening wide. With a wet, almost comical glorp, a compact black bow slid out, followed by a single, needle-like arrow dripping with faintly shimmering energy.

Vonjo grabbed the bow with one hand, keeping the other on the wheel. He leaned out the window, the wind whipping his hair, and lined up the shot effortlessly. "Bye-bye, Mr. Road Rage."

Fwish!

The arrow zipped through the night air and punctured the sedan's front tire with a satisfying POP!

The car wobbled violently, tires screeching. Sparks sprayed as metal scraped asphalt, and the vehicle spun out of control, veering off to the side and crashing through a fence in a cloud of dust.

Vonjo leaned back into his seat with a satisfied hum, passing the bow back to the frog, which swallowed it whole again. "And that's why you don't chase me, friend. Nature sorts itself out and now, you are with nature… Haha! I don't pity you. I'm in a hurry!"

The road beyond the city stretched into near emptiness.

As he sped along, he became more cautious, scanning the surroundings.

He knew the Sutterfouse family's influence ran deep here; cameras and spiritual beasts might be watching.

They had eyes in places most people didn't even know existed.

Vonjo slowed, letting his pulse settle, adopting the air of a casual driver who had nowhere urgent to be. He rolled his shoulders and muttered, "Relax… look boring… don't give them an excuse."

Hours crawled by. The sun began to dip, painting the sky in streaks of orange and gray. Traffic thinned to nothing. His frog companion had gone quiet, each head tucked in slightly as if it finally felt safe.

The city border approached, an old checkpoint with rusted barriers and two half-asleep guards.

Vonjo's car rolled through without issue.

One guard waved lazily, not even bothering to check his plates. No alarms, no cursed beasts swooping down.

As the final strip of city pavement fell behind his tires, Vonjo let out a long exhale, tension bleeding from his shoulders.

The countryside stretched before him, open and wild, and the last glow of sunlight caught in his rearview mirror like the fading glare of an enemy retreating.

"Heh… finally free," he whispered, leaning back as the frog croaked softly in agreement. "No cameras. No family. No leash."

The road stretched endlessly ahead, and for the first time in a long while, Vonjo felt untouchable.

Vonjo gripped the wheel with one hand and let the night air whip across his face as he drove, the hum of the tires on the open road becoming almost hypnotic.

He felt the kind of relief that sank deep into his bones, the freedom of leaving behind the heavy stink of his family's shadow, the cramped city streets, and all the prying eyes that seemed to follow him wherever he went.

For a moment, the world was nothing but him, the road, and the soft, rumbling croaks of the three-headed frog resting on his shoulder like a living, squishy crown.

Then, the car emitted a strange series of sharp beeps.

"Eh?" Vonjo frowned, glancing down at the dashboard. Nothing was wrong with the car. The beeping wasn't from the engine—it was coming from outside.

He stiffened. The frog's three throats puffed and deflated rapidly in unease, its eyes darting toward the city behind them.

Vonjo's gut twisted. He risked a glance at the rearview mirror—and his heart lurched.

The cityscape that had been shrinking behind him was now awash in red.

Not a soft glow of sunset but a pulsing, ominous scarlet that bathed the skyline like a bloodstained beacon.

Towers, streets, and even the low smog seemed to shimmer under the light.

"The hell is that…?" he muttered. His voice was low, uneasy, but his grip on the wheel tightened instinctively. He'd seen city alerts before, but this… this was on another level. Red meant one thing: lockdown.

He bit his lip, debating whether to stop.

Then he remembered his real advantage—he had the bullet comments.

He reached mentally for them, pulling the stream of floating, colorful usernames and chaotic chatter into his vision like an AR overlay.

Instantly, his world lit up with flying messages, each with ridiculous online handles like DeadlyPickle89 or AngelWithScars.

DragonLover001: OMG! FULL LOCKDOWN!

CurseWatcher: City is bleeding! The barriers are active!

NotGeorge: Eugene & George are in TROUBLE! Guards swarming the sector!

EyeSpyVonjo: Bro, where's Vonjo?? This is all his mess lmao

Vonjo's lips parted, and he slowed just a fraction, reading the chaos unfold in real-time.

FallenWatcher: They're saying someone triggered the Sutterfouse internal curse failsafes!

ProtagProtector: Wait wait, George and Eugene caught inside?!!

TrashPanda77: Eugene's fighting for his LIFE LOL

MultiverseEyes: This smells like Vonjo's fault ngl

Vonjo's face twitched. He read faster, scanning for actual details between the endless spam and meme reactions.

BladeChaser12: HOUSE OF SUTTERFOUSE GONE MAD

HexedCityFeed: City gates CLOSED. Flying patrols released. If you're inside, hide.

Vonjo's eyebrows shot up. He gritted his teeth, muttering to himself as the frog croaked anxiously. "I… I just left. What the hell did I trigger? I didn't even blow up anything this time… well, not that badly…"

Then the comments shifted, and suddenly he was the focus.

AngelWithScars: Ohhhhh this is Vonjo's fault 100%

BulletEye88: He turned his own family members to MORTALS! That's basically treason in their clan!

SpectatorPrime: LMFAO yeah That's worse than killing them!

TrashPanda77: RIP George & Eugene… Vonjo threw them under the bus for content

Vonjo blinked, stunned for a moment, then slowly leaned back into his seat. A slow grin stretched across his face as understanding—and mischief—sparked in his eyes.

"Ohhh… that's why." He chuckled low in his throat. "Locked down the whole city over me, huh? Eugene and George caught up in the mess? Heh… well, sorry boys, guess I am the villain in your story."

The frog gave a disapproving, simultaneous triple croak.

Vonjo laughed harder, a belly-deep, wicked laugh that bounced around the car interior. "What? Don't give me that look. You know Eugene's the protagonist. He'll crawl out of this like he always does. Probably get stronger, save someone, get a new title. Me? I'm free. I got my cash, my car, and the road."

He rolled the window down further and let the night air wash over him. His laughter turned into singing—off-key, brash, and triumphant—as he stomped on the accelerator.

"♪ Freeee as the goddamn wiiind~! ♪"

The frog croaked along, a chaotic ribbiting harmony that somehow matched his reckless joy.

—

Meanwhile, deep inside the city Vonjo had just abandoned, chaos ruled the night.

The House of Sutterfouse was in absolute disarray.

Inside the central hall, ancestral paintings trembled in their frames as alarms wailed through every corridor. High-ranking elders and mid-level enforcers shouted over each other, their voices a cacophony of panic and rage.

"LOCK THE GATES! ALL GATES!"

"Deploy the third division to District 7!"

"He turned Vance into a mortal?! A MORTAL?!"

"Find Vonjo Sutterfouse NOW!"

Cursed lanterns flared, their ghostly blue light casting frantic shadows as messengers sprinted between rooms. In the courtyard, chained spiritual beasts roared and thrashed, responding to the family's collective rage and fear.

Dozens of armored sorcerers mounted skeletal steeds, their eyes glowing faintly as bloodline magic activated. Sigils spread across the cobblestones like veins, forming a massive sealing formation around the entire city. Above, the blood-red barrier pulsed, sealing off any hope of discreet escape.

Elders slammed their fists into tables, sending documents and shattered porcelain flying.

"HE SHAMED OUR NAME!"

"He DESTROYED the curse lineage of his own kin!"

"If the other Houses learn of this—"

"They already know! The city's bleeding, you FOOL! Everyone in the cursed zone can see the barrier!"

Orders flew like arrows: sweep every alley, interrogate every ally, drag George and Eugene in for questioning if they survive the purge. Panic whispered through the ranks as rumors spread—some swore Vonjo had bargained with devils, others that he had devoured a soul-beast to strengthen himself.

Amid the frenzy, a single, unspoken truth settled over the Sutterfouse like a suffocating shroud.

Vonjo had slipped the leash.

And the city itself had become a prison, not for him—but for everyone unlucky enough to remain inside.

—

On the open road, far beyond the crimson glow, Vonjo drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and hummed to himself. The wind was cool, the stars were bright, and the frog gave a lazy croak.

He grinned, half-wild, and whispered, "Let them scream. Let them burn the city to the ground. I'm untouchable out here."

Then he laughed again, because for the first time in his life, it felt true.