"Sniff! Sniff!"

Tears continued to slide out of Lisa's eyes. She had no idea how much time it had been. She was scared and afraid, her body hurt all over but she didn't dare to release a squeak.

"Meow!" The spark kitten's voice entered Lisa's ears and she saw the cute little kitty sticking its tongue out and licking Lisa's elbow which was stuck to the side of the cage. She barely had any place to move.

Lisa put her finger through the small space and patted the kitty which turned over its belly and played with Lisa's fingers.

Max smiled as he looked at the scene. But it seems, he wasn't the only one smiling. The man seemed to have observed Lisa as well.

Time passed and the surrounding dimmed again. It seemed that Lisa had passed out again.

The next time she woke up, Max found the little Spark Kitten missing in the cage. A frown appeared on Max's face and he turned around to look at the man who walked towards Lisa's cage with a tray of food in his hands.

"Eat it or should I feed you with my own hands." The man said with a smile. It couldn't be any more disgusting in Max's eyes.

Lisa had been through much, she already knew what waited for her if she refused to eat or cried. She immediately put her hand through the hole in the cage and began stuffing the food in her mouth with a fearful look in her eyes.

"Is it tasty?" the man asked and Lisa nodded.

Max could clearly see her shivering. The little girl was terrified.

"A friend indeed tastes good." The man suddenly spoke with a crazy smile on his face.

Lisa didn't seem to have understood what he said and just nodded in fear. She wasn't willing to go against him.

Seeing Lisa nod without a clue, the man put his bloody hands into the pocket of his dirty apron.

He then took out a small severed head, it was fresh with blood still flowing through.

Max's eyes immediately turned grim. He could identify the head which belonged to the Spark Kitten.

Lisa's eyes widened and she looked extremely horrified.

"It tastes good, right?" the man asked with a smile.

Max looked at the scene with a chill in his eyes. Lisa couldn't speak, her eyes were watering. The shock had taken over.

"Tsk… It isn't working? Nothing happened?" The man mumbled as he kicked the cage, "At least scream a bit!"

The man kicked the cage a few more times before leaving.

....

A few more days seemed to have passed, Lisa seemed to have finally broken down. She had that terrified expression on her face all the time. She seemed to have been mentally scarred and refused to eat the food that the man served. This time, no matter what he did, she wouldn't budge. Her body was filled with bruises.

The man had gotten tired and a bit afraid too, at this rate, it wouldn't take long before Lisa died and it didn't seem to be the part of the plan.

When Lisa's condition started to worsen, the man finally couldn't take it any longer. He took his phone out and dialed a number as he walked towards his working desk.

"Yes, nothing happened. No, she didn't have anything like that….I don't think she will last much longer…."

Max wanted to hear the voice on the other side, but he couldn't. After all, it only mattered whether Lisa had heard it or not. If she did, only then could Max hear it too.

"Ok.. I will bring her to Wolstein Pavilion. Meet me there…."

Max's eyes glimmered. At least he had a hint now. Wolstein Pavilion was the part of Black Market which was famous in dealings of mana beasts.

But there were quite a few of these branches around the capital.

A few minutes later, the man came with a black cloth and put it over Lisa's cage. The surroundings turned dark once again.

….

The moon was shining in the sky, it was late in the night but some people were still up.

Aria couldn't sleep at all. She was worried. She kept looking at the time and kept her eyes open in order to help when Lisa came back and ensure that there would be no problem at all.

In the hall, Elly was lying on the couch trying to fall asleep, but Janet had kept her from sleeping.

"I am telling you, something is fishy, Elly." Janet's voice entered Elly's ear.

"When I went to check upstairs, Aria immediately came out and prevented me from entering into the rooms. Her reasons were absurd too. She said Lisa was fast asleep and for the other room, she had locked it." Janet said and squinted her eyes, "Why would she lock the door? It was open when you went earlier, right?"

"Did you sense anyone in there?" Elly raised her head and saw Janet looking throughout the hall trying to find something.

"No… I didn't...but..still…" Janet spoke with hesitation.

"Uh! Just go and ask her for the keys if you are so curious." Elly buried her head back into the blanket.

"How is that any fun? Not to mention I want to catch her." Janet spoke with scrunched brows.

"Buzz!"

Suddenly, the doorbell rang and everyone frowned as they turned their head toward the source of the sound.

Who was here at this time of the night?

"Who could it be at this time of the night?" Ellt asked, feeling odd about the situation.

"Could it be Aria's unrequited lover?" Janet's eyes sparkled at the possibility.

"No, I don't have one."

Aria's voice entered their ears and they saw her walking down the stairs.

Aria walked towards the door hoping to be anyone but Lisa and Max. She was afraid that the guards might have caught them.

Elly and Janet followed Aria as well to see who the person was.

Aria tapped the switch on the screen beside the door and a person appeared on it. The guy had black hair parted to the side with two locks trailing right past his ears. The short bangs at the front and nicely trimmed sides added extra charm to his handsome face.

The guy looked at the camera and waved his hand with a sweet smile on his face, "How are you doing ladies?"

Aria looked horrified at the sudden arrival of the man. She wished that she had included his name before making the wish that it could be anyone but Max and Lisa.

"Why is he here?" Elly said, her voice sounding a bit irritated.

"He might be here for you." Janet teased.

"He is obviously here for Lisa." Elly glared at her.

The guy standing out was Kain Walker, Lisa's Older brother and the Young Lord of Walker House. Also counted among one of the top predators of the younger generation.

"I am going back to sleep." Elly said as she turned around to live. She didn't want to meet this guy.

"I will open the door." Janet said as she walked towards the door.

But before they could move any further, Aria grabbed both of them.

"What's wrong?" Janet asked, seeing the dark expression on Aria's face.

"Did you two forget that she is totally drunk? What would happen if her father found it?" Aria spoke with a worried look.

"Well, I could imagine her being grounded." Janet said with a laugh.

"And us too. Even though we didn't do anything, it wouldn't be a surprise if we get blamed for nothing." Elly said with a calm look.

"What do we do? We didn't do anything." Janet said with a worried tone realising that her freedom was at stake.

"We have to stop him…" Aria spoke looking at the two of them.

"Are you all even going to open the door or keep standing there? I am going to freeze to death here." the guy smiled as he asked through the door cam.

"Open the door, if we take so much time, he might get suspicious," Aria said and Janet opened the door.

"You all sure took your time?" The guy said as he rubbed his hands trying to warm them up.

"Why are you here at this time?" Elly asked.

"That hurts my feeling, can't I pay you people a visit?" Kain asked with a smile.

"No, you can't." Elly replied without a change in expression.

"Sigh! Aren't you going to invite me in? Or will I have to answer all your questions here?" Kain asked with a sad look.

"No, come in and have a seat. She didn't mean that." Aria intervened.

Elly turned around and walked with Aria while Janet looked at him and nudged him, "It isn't going to be that easy."

"Oh! What is my current score?" Kain asked as he looked at her.

Janet extended her palm and Kain passed his purse.

"Well, it's not working. You are still at 0. Try changing your approach." Janet said as she passed back the empty purse and walked ahead.

Kain looked at the empty purse and sighed.

….

The sky had turned dark and it was pouring heavily. The lightning continued to flash with the loud thunder but the only thing that Max could hear was the cry of the little girl.

His body wet from head to toe and his complexion calm as usual. He looked at his hands. A feeling of helplessness.

Yes, that was what he felt right now.

The water flowing by his feet had turned red. A person was lying in front of him bleeding heavily, taking her last breath and he could only stand there and watch as a little girl cried by her side.

"Mommy! Get up! Mommy!"