Chapter 113: The Family

Adam tore his scythe free.

Black arcs flashed as he swung, but the vines didn’t sever. They rang, vibrating under the impact, too thick, too dense, too reinforced to cut through cleanly, as sparks scattered uselessly.

Damn it.

He shifted fully onto the defensive, mind racing at breakneck speed.

Is she from the Faradays?

Another vine slammed down. Adam blocked, boots digging trenches into the stone as the force traveled up his arms.

No.

The Alliance already rounded them up.

So then…

Which family?

A vine shot straight for his chest.

Freeze — Activated.

The air looked as if it crystallized around the attack and its speed dropped just enough for Adam to twist aside, but the vine adapted, flexing through the slowed space and grazing his side before ripping past him, as blood welled.

Adam looked at Martha.

There was no hesitation in his eyes now.

Only killing intent.

Martha didn’t flinch.

And Adam understood why.

She’s a martial master.

His death intent surged, dark and sharp, but it met something immovable. He ducked as another vine burst from the ground, this time cleanly dodging without skidding, feet finding balance instantly.

He straightened, his breath controlled.

And she has a special talent.

Every detail flooded in from Connect, rank, threat vectors, execution patterns.

Then…

The vines stopped.

Silence reclaimed the cemetery.

Martha regarded him calmly.

“You are quite difficult to handle.”

Adam didn’t relax. His senses screamed, tracking every micro-shift. His gaze slid, deliberately, to the basket of roses still hanging from her arm.

She’s still holding it.

That meant it mattered.

A conduit. Probably.

“You can even ignore me in this situation,” Martha continued mildly. “You must not take me seriously.”

Adam snapped his head back to her, scythe tightening in his grip.

“If I’d known it would turn out like this,” he said coldly, “I would’ve paid for the roses instead of taking them for free.”

Her laughter echoed softly through the cemetery, dry and amused.

“Lad… I didn’t want to do this,” she said. “But you had to oppose them.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Adam replied.

Martha shook her head slowly. “It’s better you don’t.” She paused, then added, “You coming back now caught me unaware. We received no information.”

Her eyes hardened.

“But that doesn’t mean I won’t kill you here.”

The air shifted.

Behind her, essence bloomed, and an eight-star martial spirit manifested.

A towering feminine figure clad in a flowing dress of interwoven roses and thorns, petals dripping with lethal intent. Vines spiraled around its limbs, roots tearing through stone as it took form.

Martha lifted her hand.

“Rose Garden.”

The cemetery answered and Adam answered in kind.

Behind him, his three star profound spirit manifested in a violent surge of essence, and slammed its armored fists against its chest as it locked onto the spirit opposite them. The green flames in its skull roared higher, fed by wind and death, its presence thickening the air.

Adam’s voice dropped to a whisper.

“Wind Carnage: Requiem.”

His wind affinity detonated and his spirit grew, as its armor expanded, proportions stretching into something far more imposing. A dark, tattered cloak spilled over its shoulders, snapping violently in unseen currents. A massive scythe condensed into its hands, the blade screaming as compressed wind wrapped around it.

The Rose Garden surged forward, petals and thorns devouring the ground with terrifying speed.

Adam knew, if those roses touch me, it’s over.

But he was ready.

Perfect synchronization.

Adam and his spirit swung together.

The scythes traced the same arc and a colossal wind blade tore free and met the advancing Rose Garden head-on.

There was no struggle or resistance, as the rose construct splintered instantly, petals and vines erased as if they’d never existed.

Martha’s eyes widened in shock.

Then she clutched her throat.

Her breath vanished and the basket slipped from her hand and hit the ground with a dull thud.

This was Wind Carnage: Requiem.

Not just a physical attack.

Wherever the blade passed, the air itself ceased to exist, forming a vacuum that tore breath from lungs, collapsing it on itself. Martha staggered, gasping soundlessly, eyes bulging as her body rebelled.

Adam was already moving.

He appeared in front of her in a blur and drove a fist into her gut.

The impact lifted her slightly off the ground.

Before she could fall…

A second punch smashed into her face.

The ground cracked as she was slammed down, stone fracturing beneath her skull as the remaining air was torn from her lungs.

She lay there, coughing, and clawing weakly at her chest.

Adam stood over her, eyes cold.

Now.

At her weakest…

Mind Control E — Activated.

Despite gasping for breath, Martha still resisted. Adam didn’t wait.

He stepped in and kicked her head sideways and the resistance shattered.

The moment her skull struck the stone, the last wall collapsed and Mind Control flooded in completely. Afam let a thin gasp of air slip back into her lungs as her body went slack.

Adam then crouched in front of her.

“Who sent you?”

Martha’s face went blank. Her voice came out flat.

“The family.”

Irritation flickered across Adam’s face.

“Which family?” he pressed. “Does the family not have a name?”

Her reply was mechanical, looped and wrong.

“The family has no name. The family is the family. Was the family. Will forever be the family.”

Adam stared at her.

I’m getting nowhere.

He was about to ask where he could find them…

“You keep surprising me, boy.”

Adam’s eyes widened.

His mind control was still active. He could feel it. The link hadn’t broken.

Yet Martha spoke again, her lips moving on their own.

“Fast movement. Poison. Freezing. Mind control…”

A faint chuckle escaped her throat.

“One would think…”

Adam didn’t let her finish.

He swung the scythe and her head came clean off.

The body collapsed instantly as the soul flame guttered out.

But the head…

It didn’t go still.

It rolled once… then stopped, staring straight at him.

The sclera had turned pitch black.

The pupil burned a deep, unnatural purple.

“You are going to die,” it said calmly. “Whoever we deem a threat will die. Adam, you have been marked by The Family”

Adam’s chest tightened.

That paranoid feeling from before came back. This time stronger, sharper and colder.

He already figured out what it meant, after seeing the commander for the first time.

My death affinity…

It wasn’t fear.

It was a warning of his death.

The next moment, cracks spread across the head, and the corpse and before Adam could react….

BOOM!

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A/N: Thank you for reading the challenge is still on though mass release if we reach top 60 of golden ticket ranking before the month ends or 800 power stones.

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