Noah was unable to move as he waited for Marcus to return. The twins stood blankly in front of him. The man with the Fallen tattoo was standing behind them, and the large man waited meekly by the door. Both had forced smiles as sweat beaded their brows.

Lord Raptor, who had introduced himself as Marcus, entered the room with a frustrated look on his face. Lord Raptor quickly replaced his expression with a jovial smile.

"The Shadow Walker declined my invitation, so it seems that it's just us." Lord Raptor said with a smile.

Lord Raptor went to stand at the window and looked out, muttering darkly to himself where he thought no one could hear him.

"A mere grade-two should feel honoured to attend to me. That old dinosaur with his damned rules. I wasn't going to wait forever for him to advance so that I could become grade-three. I didn't want his throne, but I do now. Sending his pet assassin has crossed the line, even if I expected it, and prepared countermeasures. I was even politely leaving his kingdom. It seems that I must pay him a visit to explain my actions in person." Lord Raptor muttered.

Lord Raptor suddenly turned, his coattails fluttering behind him to face the Fallen in the crude breastplate with a smile. The man gulped as he flinched backward while maintaining his forced smile.

"Lord Raptor?" the man asked with trepidation.

"Bring out the insurance." Lord Raptor instructed.

"Yes, Lord Raptor," the man said before bowing and leaving the room.

"Would you kindly remove the barricade. I need to give our troublesome guest a more personal invitation" Lord Raptor said.

The large man silently bowed as he tipped the heavy table onto its legs and pushed it away from the opening. A moment later, the man wearing the crude breastplate returned, leading a prisoner and a pair of guards. The prisoner had no restraints but wore a bag over their head and shuffled in a way that betrayed their age. The guards were dressed similarly in crude breastplates with exposed Fallen tattoos. One of the guards held a sack slung over their shoulder. Both had faltering smiles as they forced a grin before Lord Raptor commanded them.

"Here's the insurance, Lord Raptor," the lead man said.

" Don't be so rude. Remove her hood and take the child out of that sack." Lord Raptor instructed.

The guard behind the prisoner hurriedly removed the hood, revealing a face Noah had seen somewhere before. It was an elderly woman with a blank expression similar to the twins. The second guard quickly placed the sack on the ground, unfastening the tie. He reached inside and withdrew a boy toddler of roughly two years old. The child held a rag-doll clutched to their chest with a similar blank expression. The rag-doll glowed with a faint, green light. The toddler obediently raised its arms as the guard reached down to pick him up.

Lord Raptor approached the old woman with a friendly smile that never touched his eyes. She didn't react as he brushed the dust from her clothes. He placed his golden-clawed hands on her shoulders, digging them in. The old woman didn't flinch as she continued to stare straight ahead.

"Good. Would you kindly take the child outside to play. Use this to entertain him." Lord Raptor said.

He accepted a dagger from the first guard to place into her hand before taking the toddler from the second guard and putting him in her arms. She silently turned and walked outside like a puppet on strings. The guard's smiles faltered but immediately returned after a disapproving look from Lord Raptor.

The old woman stepped outside through the opening in the wall. She held the child in her arms while dangling the knife above his head. Marcus watched with a perverse smile of anticipation. He started to become impatient, gesturing the pair of guards forward. They didn't hesitate as they rushed to obey.

The moment they stepped outside, they grabbed hold of the old woman's clothes and began to drag her inside. There was a flash of pink-and-gold light. A shadowy cloaked figure appeared, wielding a vicious-looking dagger. The figure slashed once before grabbing the child, leaving behind an intense light afterimage as the figure disappeared. The two guards stumbled backward, clutching their necks in panic. Noah could see a widening cut circling their throats that they attempted to stop. Seconds later, the growing lines connected, and the guard's heads erupted from their shoulders in a shower of blood.

The old woman was motionless as she stood holding the dagger. She was oblivious to the blood soaking her face and clothes. Instead, she was staring at the street blankly. The arm holding the blade dropped to her side loosely while she waited for a command.

Lord Raptor hummed as he tapped a golden talon against his chin in thought with his arm crossed. He seemed to be unsurprised by the guard's deaths as they confirmed something for him. The two remaining men watched him with concern in case he sent them out next.

"I suspected that the Shadow Walker only cared about the child. The old woman is disposable to her. That means she won't be back until the child is safe, giving us time to prepare. Would you kindly kill yourself." Lord Raptor distractedly said while commanding the old woman.

The old woman brought the blade to her throat. Dragging it in a horizontal line without any hesitation. Lord Raptor's hands began to tremble as he became intoxicated by the old woman's suicide. The old woman's legs became unsteady, and she collapsed in a heap on the ground.

Lord Raptor crouched beside her, staring into her eyes as he watched the light bleed out of them. He licked his lips in pleasure as her face became lifeless. While she was dying, she never showed any change of expression on her blank face. Lord Raptor stood up to face the twins, ignoring Noah in the meantime.

"Oi! get away from them, you sick fuck!" Noah shouted.

Noah struggled to take a step forward as red-and-gold flames coated his body. The [Grade 1 Inferno Breastplate] had been reacting violently after seeing the figure take the child. It seemed to recognize the Shadow Walker.

After taking a shaky step forward, Noah resummoned the [Ice Spear] into his hand. Lord Raptor watched his approach with interest.

"I was wondering how well my ability works on a grade-three awakened. I guess it still has its flaws, which makes things so much more exciting! You have no idea how dull these obedient goons can be for company." Lord Raptor said in excitement.