Chapter 214: The Fall Of An Underworld Ruler (5)
Chapter 214
The scene in the room was far more brutal than Alex had initially expected it to be. Celine stood in the center of it, with her black hair still surprisingly immaculate despite everything that had just happened.
Not even a single strand appeared out of place, yet her beautiful black eyes had become colder than any glacier known to man, and the suffocating feeling emanating from her made Alex undoubtedly understand why weaker people would struggle to breathe in her presence. Luckily, it had no effect on him whatsoever.
Back to the beautiful woman, on her right cheek there was a small smudge of blood, which obviously was not hers. Because aside from him and the two brothers he had just killed, nobody in Marcus’s organization was even remotely close to being strong enough to pose a challenge to an Ascendant like Celine.
Across the room, several bodies were scattered across the floor. Some lay motionless against the walls while others had collapsed limply beside shattered pieces of furniture.
One thing in common with everyone of them was the presence of multiple holes, and chunks of black ice that remained lodged inside those wounds. The sight made it obvious that Celine had not been playing around. She absolutely meant business, and why wouldn’t she be after everything that had happened to her.
Marcus himself was the only alive person aside from Celine, but he was on his knees, and obviously in a bad state from the look of things.
Like for starters, his expensive clothes looked disheveled, his hair was messy, and cold beads of sweat covered his face as he desperately tried to maintain his composure, even though he was failing miserably.
Haha. It really was funny indeed. The once powerful criminal underworld kingpin who had commanded who knows how many men was now trembling like a frightened animal.
"Celine..." he said, his voice shaking. "Please, just spare me for old time’s sake."
Celine did not respond. She simply held a dagger-sized shard of Deathfrost Bloom between her fingers and slowly stroked its sharp surface with her fingertip. With her expression remaining completely emotionless.
Marcus swallowed nervously.
"You shouldn’t forget that I helped raise you," he continued desperately. "I took care of you when nobody else did. I helped turn you into the person you are today. Dawn’s death was a mistake. It was never supposed to happen."
His voice became increasingly desperate.
"I’ll punish that brat of mine myself. I’ll make sure he suffers for what he did. Just spare me, Celine. I’ll even hand over all my power to you. Everything I have. My organization, my properties, my money. I’ll give you all of it."
Celine finally made her move. She slowly pressed forward, forcing Marcus to crawl backward across the floor. When Marcus’s back nearly touched the wall, Celine stopped in front of him.
"It’s really funny, isn’t it?" she mumbled in an eerie voice devoid of human emotion. "A man like you is begging for mercy."
Marcus’s lips trembled.
"Mercy might be something many people deserve," Celine continued. "But men like you deserve none of it." She stared directly into his eyes. "Have you ever thought about all the people you murdered unjustly? The children who never got the chance to grow up because of you? The entire families you erased simply because one person said something you didn’t like?"
"What about the wives, girlfriends, and mothers your son forced himself on while you silenced their entire family to protect your son?" Celine asked. "What about all the other heinous things you have done? Do you still think someone like you deserves mercy?"
Marcus could not answer, after all he had indeed done everything she just mentioned and much more over the years. But despite everything, he still desperately wanted to live.
That was just basic human nature. No one really wanted to die even after saying they wanted to die. Maybe except if such people were broken beyond repair with no hope in life itself.
"I know I’ve done terrible things," Marcus said weakly. "But I can change. I swear I can. Just give me another chance."
Alex finally decided to intervene.
"Celine, stop."
Her eyes shifted toward him. Alex gave her a subtle wink before looking at Marcus.
"Is it really true that if we spare you, you’ll willingly transfer all your properties over to us?"
Marcus’s eyes widened. And as if grabbing a life line he hurriedly said,
"Yes! Yes, absolutely!"
The response came so quickly that Alex almost laughed.
"I’ll transfer everything. Every property, every account, every legal asset I own. I’ll give it all to you. Just let me live."
Alex paused as though seriously considering the offer.
"Okay," he finally said. "Call your lawyer. Have him prepare the transfer documents. If everything checks out, maybe I’ll let you go."
Celine opened her mouth.
"Alex..."
She stopped herself. She didn’t know what he was doing but from the subtle wink thrown her way, she decided to trust him.
Marcus immediately reached for his phone.
"My lawyer will be here."
"Good."
The call was made, and before long, Marcus’s lawyer arrived at the estate. The nervous man immediately noticed the blood covering the room and the bodies scattered around it, but he wisely kept his mouth shut.
Marcus ordered him to prepare every necessary document transferring his properties and other valuable assets.
The lawyer worked quickly. Soon, several documents were prepared and reviewed, and Marcus signed each and every one of them with shaking hands. After he was done, Alex carefully checked the paperwork before adding his own signature. Once the final document was completed, legal ownership of Marcus’s major properties had officially been transferred over to Alex.
The lawyer gathered the signed documents, shook hands with Alex and then left the room. Marcus released a shaky breath. Then a fawning smile appeared on his face.
"Now... I suppose I’m spared, right?"
Alex tilted his head slightly while tucking the documents into his pocket, which secretly disappeared straight into his spatial storage space.
"I suppose so."
Marcus’s smile widened. But then Alex looked toward Celine and said casually.
"Celine, you can continue dealing with him as you see fit."
Marcus froze, and the ingratiating smile that had been plastered on his face disappeared instantly.
"What?" Alex looked back at him. "I thought we had a deal!" Marcus screamed.
"We do."
"You said you’d let me go!"
"Yes I did say I’d let you go," Alex replied calmly. "But... I never once said she would let you go."
Marcus stared at him in disbelief.
"You devil!"
"Haha. I thought you were pretty smart, Marcus."
The realization finally struck him. He had been played. The man who had played others all his life, had finally been played by this mysterious man.
Marcus’s face twisted with rage, and in a moment of complete desperation, he lunged toward Alex, already forgetting the massive difference between them.
Alex casually kicked forward, and slammed his foot into Marcus’s right leg with just enough force to break it instantly, without turning it to blood mist.
"AAAAAAGH!"
Marcus collapsed onto the floor with a loud, pig-like scream. He clutched his broken leg while groaning through clenched teeth, his face twisted by the excruciating pain of just having his leg broken.
Celine looked down at him coldly.
"Keep shush, your voice is very annoying. If you don’t, I’ll simply end your life right now."
Marcus immediately stopped screaming. Celine crouched slightly.
"So now, we’re going to play a little game. You’re going to take us to where your family is. Am I understood?"
Marcus’s expression changed.
"No."
Celine’s eyes became colder, and she suddenly thrust the Deathfrost Bloom shard into Marcus’s left eye, making the ice brutally pierce through it instantly, destroying the eye.
"I never said I was asking."
"AAAAAH!!!" Marcus clutched his bleeding face and desperately nodded.
"Yes! Yes! I’ll take you!"
Celine pulled the shard free and said coldly.
"Good. Now let’s start going and pay that family of yours a warm visit."
Marcus nodded, and together with Alex and Celine, headed straight toward one of his previous private cars that now belonged to Alex.
The trip remained silent for most of the way. Marcus occasionally attempted to speak, but every time he looked at Celine, the words died in his throat. He knew one wrong move could cost him his life, and that fear kept him obedient.
Meanwhile, Alex casually drove through the city while thinking about what he would do with the properties he had obtained. Marcus had unintentionally handed him an enormous amount of wealth, and Alex had no intention of letting those resources go to waste.
The journey took them toward the outskirts of the city, where the buildings gradually became fewer and the roads quieter. Eventually, a massive estate appeared beyond a long security wall.
The property was enormous, with carefully maintained gardens, tall gates, decorative lights, and several security posts surrounding the area. It looked less like an ordinary home and more like a private palace.
Alex slowed the car as they approached the entrance. One of the security guards stepped forward....