"You, you murderer! You can't just take the Lauder Armaments like thi--"

"Shut the fuck up, this belongs to my brother in the first place."

A short but stuttering gurgling sound could be heard, echoing in a room that was elegantly walled by marbles. There were also all sorts of weapons and other tools decorated on the walls, filled with gold and other exorbitant objects that one could think of.

"Brother… did we really do the right thing?" Harvey, who was standing on the side, could not help but look to the side as Gerald snapped the neck of an old man sitting on the end of the fancy room.

"Don't be ridiculous, brother. You did not do anything," Gerald said as he casually threw the old man through the window. And as it dropped, it fell in front of several people that were tied up, kneeling in front of the marble building. They all looked at each other in horror, some wanted to run away, but they could not as there was a giant monster blocking their path, some sort of minotaur that was mixed with a centaur. But even if they did manage to run, they could not as a thick wall of ice was currently covering the whole estate.

"This place might belong to you, but every death it took to get here belongs to me," Gerald said as he pulled the chair, gesturing Harvey to sit on it, "So just sit here pretty and do whatever nonsensical and unimportant things you need to do as the world's richest man."

"Hm," Harvey could not help but let out a chuckle as he heard his brother's words. He, however, did not sit on the chair, "I did this for Van. With this, I can finally be able to help him with whatever he is going through."

"Tch," Gerald immediately clicked his tongue as he heard Harvey's words, "Don't let that beggar latch on to the company, he'll suck you dry. Wait, no, that sounds gay."

"Don't listen to your brother, Harvey."

A woman with slightly almond-shaped eyes then entered the room unannounced.

"Xinyan, I told you this is a moment between my brother and me!" Gerald once again clicked his tongue as he ran in front of Xinyan.

"That's good and all, but you guys have been here for an hour. And there's something you need to see on the roof," Xinyan then gestured to the two to follow her, turning around and not even looking back if they were truly following.

"Tch. You alright here on your own?" Gerald said.

"No, let me come with you guys to ensure you won't create Gerald Jr.,"

"What did you say!? Who would like that slint-eyed yellow-skin lizard!?"

"Heh," Harvey raised his pinky finger and waved it around as he ran past Xinyan, making sure she saw it too.

"Tch, that bastard," Gerald wanted to rush towards him, but he stopped as he reached Xinyan's side, "Don't listen to him, he is a schmuck."

"Hm," Xinyan only raised an eyebrow as she looked at Gerald, "So you don't like me at all?"

"That's--"

Before Gerald could even finish his word, he felt something warm touch his lips. No, he could have easily avoided it but chose not to do so. He only stood there baffled as Xinyan slowly pulled her lips away from him.

"That's too bad because I really am starting to like you," Xinyan said as she hastened her steps, leaving Gerald completely perplexed. But after a few seconds, he blinked his eyes a couple of times and woke himself up from his stupor.

"What's the meaning of that!?" He then said as he rushed to follow her. In truth, Gerald was truly confused. Ever since he was young, the people around him had called him a monster. Some of them didn't even need to say it, the look in their eyes gave them away.

He had always been confused as to why he gained such a title; everything he had done was for the sake of others.

When he broke their cattles' feet, so they would no longer run away and their workers wouldn't have a hard time chasing them anymore.

When he tried to teach the gryphons how to fly so that they could gain freedom from the prison that the Academy had confined them in.

It wasn't his fault that they died, it wasn't his fault...

...that they were too weak to understand.

"So, what's happening here?" Gerald then immediately clicked his tongue as soon as he reached the rooftop, only to be surprised that everyone was there.

Xinyan, Harvey, Beatrice, Victoria, and even Edward, who was supposed to be guarding the people in the courtyard in his transformed state.

"There's something there," Edward then quickly pointed towards the horizon, where a small white dot could be seen shining.

"What the fuck is that?" Gerald said as he squinted his eyes, but as he focused on it for a few seconds, his eyes could not help but widen, "...We should run."

"Brother?"

"We should run!" Every hair on Gerald's body stood up as he stared at the shining white dot, "That thing… it's growing."

"What? What are you saying, brother?"

The others could not help but look at each other. For Beatrice, Harvey, and Victoria, the only time they had seen Gerald acting up like this was when Van provoked him in the Academy.

"That white thing is swallowing everything in its path," Gerald explained as he slightly took a step back, grabbing his brother as well as Xinyan's wrist, "And it's fast."

"Wait, what are you--"

"Father!?"

Before Harvey could finish his words, Victoria's unusually loud voice suddenly pierced his ears. All of them looked towards her, only to see a man wearing a shirt printed with flowers in front of her.

"...Father?" They all muttered.

Charles, however, only looked at them once, and as soon as his eyes landed on his son, he quickly pulled Victoria away and rushed towards Edward, grabbing his shoulders.

"Father, what's… going on!?" Victoria once again raised her voice.

"There's no time to explain, let's g-- Huk!"

Before Charles could finish his words and even do anything, he felt an arm tightly wrapped around his neck.

"G… Gerald!?"

"What are you doing, brother!? He's not an enemy, he is Victoria's father!"

"He came here without us even noticing him! He has the ability to transfer from one place to the next in an instant!"

And without even a minute to think about it, Gerald already and completely dissected Charles's System.

"Take us with you," Gerald then continued to speak, "Or at least take my brother or I will pull out your head in front of your children."

"Please calm down, Gerald," Victoria placed his hand on Gerald's shoulder, trying to calm him down with her Skill. Gerald, however, seemed to be completely unaffected from it as his arms remained tightly locked on her father's neck.

"Tell your father to take my brother with you," Gerald said as he looked Victoria straight in the eyes, "Or you will lose your father here and now."

"I will, please let him go."

Gerald stared at Victoria for a few seconds, before he let go of Charles.

"Father, what's happening?" Victoria then ignored his father gasping for air as she placed her hand on him, completely calming him down.

"That light is swallowing everything in its path, we need to move away from it as much as possible."

Hearing that Gerald's random conclusion was right, Victoria's eyes slightly trembled. If she wasn't mistaken, the direction of the light is near where the New Wall city was in… and her mother and grandmother were there.

"What about mother?" She said, and although her demeanor was completely calm as a side-effect of using her Skill, the waver in her voice was still obvious for everyone to hear.

"She… I already took her far away, she is waiting for us with your grandmother," Charles quickly said before he turned towards the white dot, which seemed to have already doubled in size.

"There is no time, we should go as far away from here as possible."

"Take my friends with us."

"That's not possible! I can only--"

"Take my friends with us or I will not come with you, just take Edward."

"No."

Edward, upon hearing his sister's words, quickly shook his head, "I have not seen this man in my life."

"That's…" Charles could not help but sigh in frustration. "Fine, all of you hold on to me. Never, ever let go, or you will be left behind."

Hearing Charles's words, they all nodded at each other, placing their hands on his shoulder as he held his children's arms. Although most of them were still at a loss as to what was happening, the panic in Charles's eyes was enough for them to know that the situation was worse than it looks.

And before they could even take a breath, their vision shifted and the scenery around them became completely different. But even with the scenery a stranger to them, the white dot persisted in the horizon.

"...Shit," Charles muttered as he let out a breath, "I'll just rest for a few seconds."

The group repeated this several times, until finally, there was no place to escape to. The only thing Charles could do was hug his children and hope that the light wouldn't hurt them. Gerald, on the other hand, stared at the growing light approaching them, completely unwavering as he stood in front of Harvey.

"Isn't that..." He muttered as he saw a face on the light that was about to swallow them,

"...the beggar's mother?"-- were the last words he said before the scenery around him once again completely changed.