Chapter 222: Twins
Priam let out a quiet snort.
He wasn’t surprised in the slightest.
He had expected exactly this outcome.
[Activate Power Rune?] [Yes / No]
The very next instant, the power of his second rune surged forth.
It was called the *Life Sealing Rune*.
It had been created from high-level herbs specialized in life energy.
Its effect was simple, yet potentially devastating.
The moment it made direct contact with an opponent’s body, it could completely seal their energy reserves.
The theory itself was simple, but injecting all that power into a vital point quickly enough to suppress such a powerful opponent seemed nearly impossible.
Still, in theory, it could even seal a Sage if applied with absolute precision.
Priam rarely used two Power Runes at the same time, preferring to keep one in reserve for extreme emergencies.
But faced with the worst possible scenario, he had no choice but to use his most desperate plan.
Everything happened within a fraction of a second.
Taking advantage of the brief moment his opponent was stunned by the explosion, Priam moved with incredible speed and drove his hand into the old man’s throat—the most direct and least protected vital point.
The Life Seal devoured the old man’s body like a deadly virus.
As the cloud of dust slowly settled, Priam stared at the white-haired, white-bearded figure trapped in his grasp.
The old man’s eyes bulged with shock, unable to let out even a scream.
Not even in his wildest fantasies had he imagined Priam would be such a terrifying monster.
He had walked into the ambush with complete confidence.
After all, it was unthinkable that a Young Mage who had joined the sect only a few months ago could have already become a Master Mage.
That alone defied all logic.
Yet Priam hadn’t merely reached the lowest level of that rank.
His attack power was so overwhelmingly brutal that, if not for the supreme-grade defensive talismans on his body, he would have been reduced to a bloody mist by the very first strike.
And to complete the nightmare...
The boy had grabbed him, instantly freezing both his Ether and his Bloodline.
Centuries of training had been stripped away in the blink of an eye.
At that moment, he had become nothing more than a powerless, fragile old man.
It was the most terrifying and despair-inducing feeling a Mage could ever experience.
"You damned bastard! Do you really have a death wish?! Let him go this instant!"
At the same moment, the other nine figures surrounded Priam in a deadly circle, their faces torn between shock and fury.
The moment they had arrived on the planet, they’d been instructed not to underestimate him or assume this would be easy.
They had prepared this ambush meticulously.
The instant they detected the Flying Ship approaching from the Divine Plane, they activated the containment and trapping arrays.
The old man Priam was holding was the leader of the group—
And he’d made the fatal mistake of rushing through the portal, convinced the battle was already won.
Even so, suppressing the primal terror of having his power sealed, the old man’s expression twisted before breaking into the laugh of a bloodthirsty madman.
"Priam... so it’s really you! Hehe... you’re not getting out of here alive!"
"So what if I don’t?" Priam mocked with a cold, disdainful smile. "Dragging you into the grave with me is more than enough."
"Kill me?! Haha! Looks like you’re not quite capable of that! Keyde, bring out the present!" the old man roared, his throat still pinned.
One of the nine mages waved his hand, and a section of the runic barrier opened.
A few seconds later, a group of people hurried inside.
Priam turned his gaze, coldly staring at the members of the Pyrix race escorting the prisoners.
They were openly—and enthusiastically—cooperating with the invaders.
At the center of the escort, forced to walk forward, were four figures.
The moment Priam laid eyes on them, his body trembled involuntarily.
His pupils shrank.
A murderous intent consumed his entire being.
His father was in a horrifying state.
Covered in blood and deep wounds, the man’s face was so swollen from the beatings that he could barely open his eyes.
His mother was covered in dirt and dust.
Although she didn’t appear to have any visible injuries, pain and terror were written across every inch of her face.
Clutched tightly against her chest were two tiny figures.
They were...
Two little girls.
Curled up against their mother, they looked like porcelain dolls thrown into the mud.
They were just over seven years old, nearly identical twin sisters blessed with an almost unreal, angelic beauty.
Their skin was flawlessly pale like fresh snow.
They had long, delicate elven ears and long silver hair cascading all the way to their waists.
The only thing that broke their perfect symmetry was the color of their eyes.
One had blazing ruby-red eyes—identical to their father’s.
The other possessed vibrant emerald-green irises, inherited directly from their mother.
They were wearing elegant green dresses fit for little princesses, but they were now torn and filthy with dust.
Pure terror filled their innocent little faces as they clung to Seien’s clothes with all their strength.
The moment her eyes met Priam’s, his mother let out a muffled sob.
More than seven years had passed for her.
Her little boy had grown up.
It wasn’t a physical change—after all, only a few months had truly passed for Priam.
But his aura now belonged to a fully grown man, mature and resolute.
Ever since he had left his clan for the Divine Plane, Priam had truly lived through things that changed him.
Before, he had been a young man with the mindset of someone from Earth—someone who wanted to enjoy life to the fullest and hated killing, for example.
But during the journey to the Divine Plane, he had been forced to throw all of that away and become ruthless.
He still felt like himself...
But he had undeniably matured.
Seeing him again under such tragic circumstances, Seien’s eyes overflowed with tears.
Noticing their mother’s crying, the two little girls raised their tiny trembling hands in perfect unison and gently wiped the tears from her face.
"Mommy... why are you crying? Daddy said everything’s going to be okay..."
The green-eyed little girl murmured, innocence shining in her eyes.
"Yeah, Mommy... Big Brother will find out what they did someday. He’ll avenge us, so don’t cry... otherwise he’ll be really sad later."
The red-eyed girl spoke next, displaying a surprisingly calm and mature personality for someone her age.
Even though they were identical twins, the difference in their personalities was obvious.
The green-eyed one radiated purity and innocence.
The red-eyed one already understood the cruel weight of the reality around her.
The veins on Priam’s forehead bulged.
"Hahaha! Priam... what do you think of your family reunion?!" the old man trapped in his grip laughed mockingly.
In response, Priam tightened his fingers around the old man’s throat with blind fury, making him cough up blood uncontrollably.
With his power sealed, that Level 9 Master Mage was no more than a fragile insect.
Priam could crush his neck whenever he wanted.
But the bastard still believed Priam wouldn’t dare while his family remained hostage.
"Release him immediately! Let him go, and we’ll hand over the four of them!" another Master Mage shouted.
Priam snorted inwardly.
Did they really think he was an idiot?
They were all trapped inside the runic containment barrier.
Even if they released his family inside it, what exactly would change?
"Priam, ignore us! You have to find a way to escape and avenge our clan... AAH!"
Boey roared with what little strength he had left.
But a sharp crack echoed through the air.
One of the nine twisted his arm with spatial magic and snapped it brutally, sending blood spraying across the dusty ground.
"Dad!"
"No!"
Seien and the two little girls screamed in absolute horror.
However, Boey shot them a stern look, stopping them from crying any louder.
"Priam... you’re our pride! You’re the hope for our people’s rebirth! No one in this world lives forever! Don’t do anything stupid because of us... AAH!"
Before he could finish speaking, Boey’s other arm was violently shattered the very next second.
"Shut your mouth, insignificant worm," one of the Master Mages growled.
"YOU BASTARDS! Lay another finger on him, and I swear I’ll tear every last one of you apart slowly! I’ll make you beg for death!"
Priam’s roar thundered across the area like divine wrath, his eyes completely bloodshot.
The old man in his grasp smiled with grotesque cruelty.
"You want to kill us? Hahaha! Then how about I have your little sisters executed first? Let’s see whether you let go of my throat or not!"
The moment those words left his mouth, one of the nine moved like a shadow and forcibly ripped the green-eyed little girl from Seien’s arms.
"NO!"
The Mage lifted the little girl into the air, gripping her directly by the throat.
Her emerald eyes widened in overwhelming terror.
Yet even though her whole body trembled, she clenched her teeth and didn’t let out a single cry for help.