An overwhelming, suffocating wave of despair crashed over him, paralyzing his entire body.
His mind went blank, as if a bomb had gone off in his head.
The rifle slipped from his trembling hands.
Clatter!
The heavy weapon crashed against the marble floor, the sharp sound making everyone jump.
Kane recognized that ring.
It was the ultimate symbol of the Ghost Alliance.
Anyone who survived a day in the underground knew the Ghost Alliance. The syndicate that held the entire criminal underworld in a chokehold!
And that ring... that was the Sovereign Ring. It belonged to the true ruler of the Ghost Alliance.
Kane had spent a few rough years in the Gray Zone, and he had been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of it once from a distance.
He had watched the girl wearing that ring slaughter an entire syndicate single- handedly!
That girl had been his waking nightmare ever since.
Only later did he learn her name-the Demon. The undisputed ruler of the Ghost Alliance, whose very name made the underworld tremble.
And right now... he had just pointed a loaded assault rifle at the Demon?!
Thud!
Kane's knees gave out, sending him crashing to the floor. He hunched over, his head bowed in absolute, trembling submission. He collapsed onto the floor in a desperate panic, scrambling to make himself as small as possible.
He looked like he was about to pass out from sheer terror.
The entire ballroom was stunned silent.
Was this the same bloodthirsty mercenary who was just threatening to execute them? Why was he suddenly cowering before Serena?
Holden stood frozen. Kiera gripped Serena's hand, too shocked to let go.
Silas looked at Serena, a whirlwind of complex emotions in his eyes.
Douglas, however, slowly holstered his weapon and shot Serena a knowing smirk.
But what happened next completely shattered everyone's reality.
Following their captain's lead, the other thirty heavily armed mercenaries threw their weapons onto the marble floor.
Thud, thud, thud. They all collapsed to the floor, bowing their heads in sheer, unadulterated panic.
"D-D-De..."
Kane stammered, desperately trying to beg for his life.
Serena simply lowered her gaze.
One look. One freezing, apathetimet
Took that was infinitely more terrifying than any threat
5, violence.
It was the crushing weight of absolute dominance.
Kane swallowed the word so fast he nearly choked. His voice cracked pathetically. "W-We didn't know..."
He couldn't even form a coherent
sentence. He just kept bowing his head, trembling like a leaf. Over thirty heavily armed mercenaries groveling on the floor in front of a young woman.
It was bizarre. It was unbelievable.
And right at that exact moment...
"Holden! Kiera! Watch out!"
Isabella screamed at the top of her lungs, charging forward with a face full of tragic bravery.
She had calculated the distance perfectly. In Agnes's script, this was the exact second Kane pulled the trigger.
She would fall to the ground. Blood would ruin her beautiful dress.
She would look up at her grandparents with a heartbreakingly beautiful smile and whisper, "I'm just glad you're both safe
Then, she would gracefully pass out, winning back their eternal love.
But she hadn't accounted for the fact that the terrifying mercenaries had all completely surrendered and dropped to the floor.
There was no gunshot.
Since she had thrown herself forward with all her strength, she had no way to stop her momentum.
She sailed through the air like an absolute idiot, flying right past the cowering Kane.
Smack!
She face-planted brutally onto the marble floor, sliding right to a halt beside Kane's boots.
The visual was iconic.
One woman, sprawled out in a pathetic attempt at a heroic dive.
Thirty mercenaries, cowering in absolute terror.
It was the punchline to a very pathetic joke.