Seven Devils and a Rose

My heart racing and my body sweating, I came fully awake, scanning around the room in dread, thinking that the city and palace were being attacked by disaster beasts due to the release of my pure qi.

Once I realized that what I had seen was just a dream, I calmed down. Then I noticed something was off.

I flicked my gaze to the door and noticed that the entire thing, along with the wall, was destroyed, debris everywhere.

I sucked in my breath in shocked surprise because standing there, watching me darkly with a sinister smile playing about his lips, was Felix.

I scrambled off the bed.

Oh God! Oh God! How the hell did Felix manage to get here? Wasn't he being detained? And the high-tier shield that was protecting me in this room… How could he destroy it just like that?

"Felix?" I called out, my voice shaking. "What… what are you doing here?"

Felix—hair crimson, eyes dark purple, and two horns on his head—grinned at me, showing his teeth and, of course, fangs. He said lowly and seductively, "To get you, darling."

To get me? But of course, it had to be my pure qi. Suddenly, my mind flicked to the girls. They were supposed to be in the sitting room, weren't they? Oh God, he hadn't hurt them, had he?

I scanned around, looking for the girls.

When I saw them, I sighed in relief. They didn't look like they had been hurt. Instead, they looked as though they were asleep.

I asked, "What did you do to them?"

Felix didn't answer me. Instead, he headed straight for me, and the moment he got close, he suddenly stopped, having realized that I had another protective barrier around me.

He reached his hand out and said, "Come with me, darling."

I shook my head. "No. I'm not going with you, Felix, because I know you're not yourself."

He laughed. "What do you mean? This is me, darling. Now come here."

I shook my head and then ran over to the other side of the room, away from him.

The impatient Felix came straight after me, his pace fast, and within the flick of a second, he was in front of me. This time, he wasn't being polite. He swiftly reached out for me, intending to snatch me.

The moment he touched the barrier around me, an explosion erupted, and he was thrown back, landing a few feet away.

Lying there on the floor, he cursed loudly. A second later, he was on his feet. He came right at me again and said, "Come with me, darling."

I frowned. "Darling? You don't even know my name, do you, Felix?"

Felix's rage at my noncompliance was rising, I realized. I could sense it because his dark qi was erupting all around him.

He growled like a wild beast and swiftly came toward me again. Just as he was near, I saw a shadow of movement, and then Felix was bashed in the face, throwing him sideways, flying across the room and colliding against the other wall.

I gasped in shocked surprise because before me was Caleb, heaving and growling, his hair long, his eyes dark, the two horns on his head bursting with qi.

Satisfied that he had punched Felix, Caleb then turned his attention to me.

I licked my lips and asked, my voice shaking, "Caleb?"

He grinned darkly. "Mine," he said and released a burst of dark qi.

Instantly, I felt overwhelmed as Caleb's dark energy surrounded me, and a moment later, I felt myself floating in the air.

Caleb moved his hand. Instantaneously, I floated toward him. It was then I realized that he had used his qi to capture me, encasing me in a dark bubble since he couldn't touch me due to the barrier around my body. Now he was controlling my every movement with his power.

Up close, he said seductively, "You're mine, little one." He even licked his lips as if he couldn't wait to sample me, like I was an enticing-looking dessert or something.

Behind me, Felix moved and growled. "She's mine!" he roared.

Felix charged at lightning speed toward Caleb. Just as quickly, Caleb flicked me aside and out of the way. The two men then started their battle, each mashing their fists into the other, each blow releasing an explosion of dark qi, destroying everything that was in their way and around them.

Suddenly, the burst of another dark qi came, attacking both Felix and Caleb, throwing both back so that they collided against the wall.

On the other side, Lord Geoffrey appeared, and as he advanced toward the two, he swore under his breath. A split second later, Lord Noah, along with Victor, Aaron, and Ethan, also made an appearance.

Lord Noah asked, as if perplexed, "How the fucking hell did they even manage to get out of the prison cells I invented?"

Lord Ethan said, "Beats me. Maybe your prison cell is subpar."

Lord Aaron came toward me and asked, "Alfie, are you all right?"

I nodded. "I'm fine."

As Lord Geoffrey, Noah, Ethan, and Victor proceeded to detain both Felix and Caleb, Aaron used his qi to unchain me from Caleb's controlling power. As he did so, the orb around me crackled and popped maliciously in protest.

Aaron said, "I can't get it undone."

It was then an explosion of dark qi erupted again, and both Felix and Caleb drew out something that made my jaw drop and my eyes open wide in awe.

In the midst of the battle, the two lords raised their hands in the air, and dark clouds of black qi formed. A moment later, they drew kickass-looking weapons, as if out of thin air.

Felix had this massive black sword that looked as sinister as the man himself. Caleb, on the other hand, drew out kickass double-edged twin swords that glinted with wickedness.

Lord Ethan swore, "Holy fuck!"

Aaron said, "They are fucking serious about this, aren't they?"

Felix and Caleb charged, and within an instant, they swung their swords across the space. The massive surge of a powerful and explosive discharge gushed across, destroying the room and building, thus blowing away the other five lords in the process, a few falling down all the way to the ground below along with the wreckage. As for me, I was protected with the barrier and was still floating in the air like a possessed doll.

Once the five lords were down, both Felix and Caleb turned their attention to me, and I knew that I was in deep shit.