Loren stood beside Marilyn, the shadows behind him writhing momentarily before expelling a terrified Zenoni.
"Don't... don't eat me!" Zenoni flailed his arms, his mind clearly disoriented.
"You reek so badly, I have no interest in eating you," Loren retorted with disdain, stepping past him. He turned to Marilyn, "Take him and handle it yourself."
"Yes," Marilyn responded softly, keeping her head lowered, not daring to meet his gaze.
Jack Arnold, still bleeding, approached with a grim expression, shame and anger evident on his face. This was the first official task assigned to him by "Mr. Devil," and he had delayed its completion for so long. In the end, it required the Devil's personal intervention, a disgrace to the title of "First Vampire."
"Don't blame yourself," Loren saw through his thoughts instantly. "After all, no one expected this guy to spend a fortune hiring an 'Extraordinary' bodyguard. You've done enough."
Earlier, when Wade Winston first appeared, Loren had been hiding outside the door, observing the entire battle between him and Jack Arnold. This "Extraordinary" was evidently much more professional than Herman, whom they had encountered days before. Although his rank was unknown, he was at least ten times more formidable than Herman.
On the other side, seeing Loren approaching, Wade Winston chuckled dryly, "You all carry on with your discussion; I won't intrude."
He had no intention of continuing to protect Zenoni. The person who had just entered exuded an overwhelming aura of madness, almost suffocating him.
"Aren't you quite professional?" Loren smirked. "After accepting so much money from Zenoni, how can you abandon him just like that?"
Thinking he could just walk away after putting on a show? Not so easy!
Loren estimated that this sorcerer's abilities surpassed those of his current "chief minion," Jack Arnold, though not overwhelmingly so. At this moment, having absorbed power from Arnold, Benson, Marilyn, and others, his own abilities were continually growing, elevating his physical attributes and extraordinary powers to a terrifying level.
Quantitatively, he was approximately equal to 4.5 Jack Arnolds. A mere ordinary "Extraordinary" posed no significant threat.
"Hold on." Wade Winston rolled up his sleeve, glanced at his watch, and stared at Zenoni in feigned surprise, "Oh... my apologies, Mr. Candidate. It's now five minutes past midnight, which means our contract has ended... Oh, and I'll still need you to pay the remaining commission. However, I no longer have an obligation to protect you."
Your moral standards are quite flexible... Loren felt embarrassed for Zenoni's poor judgment in hiring.
"Aren't you afraid he'll spread word of you abandoning your employer, tarnishing your reputation?"
Wade Winston nonchalantly waved his hand. "Just let him die; if you don't plan to do it, you can leave it to me later. Honestly, I despise scum like him."
He scratched his head and smiled sheepishly, "Besides, my reputation among 'Extraordinaries' has never been great. If other sorcerers hear about this, they might even wonder why I suddenly grew a conscience."
Zenoni's eyes widened in disbelief. That's not what you said when you took my money!
"..." Loren's tone grew cold.
In the ensuing silence, Wade Winston quietly edged toward the window.
Do you think I'm blind? Loren glanced at him sideways. Why do the two "Extraordinaries" I've encountered recently both have such unorthodox demeanors?
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Haha," Wade Winston stopped awkwardly, turning stiffly, "I suddenly remembered I have another appointment tonight."
"What's the rush? Let them wait a bit longer." Loren advanced slowly, his eyes emitting a chilling aura. "Let's settle our matters before you leave."
Without further ado, he waved his hand gently, and the entire room was enveloped in dense shadows, sealing all exits.
Wade Winston swallowed hard.
At that moment, the cocooned Zenoni suddenly shouted, "Five thousand pounds!"
"Mr. Winston, if you get me out of here, I'll pay you five thousand pounds!"
"Quite a tempting offer, but it's not a simple task." Wade Winston turned to face Loren, a headache brewing.
Realizing there was no escape, he prepared for battle.
This time, he chose to attack proactively.
Brief silence preceded the crackling of lightning; white arcs danced across the sorcerer's skin, his muscles bulging instantly.
Boom!
He lunged forward, unleashing his full strength in an instant.
Loren squinted, countless shadows surging into his robes, which billowed silently, the hem fluttering.
Just as he prepared to counter, he watched as Wade Winston abruptly changed direction, dashing toward the open window without looking back.
"Hmm?!"
His face darkened as he sank into the shadows, instantly reappearing before Wade Winston, raising his leg to strike.
Augmented by shadow manipulation, Loren's strength had significantly increased. Before Wade Winston could react, he was struck in the face, his body flung back into the room, shattering a framed painting on the wall.
"Cough, cough!"
Wade Winston coughed violently, struggling to roll his body, narrowly avoiding the black-red blades that shot toward him.
Bang, bang, bang!
The blades pierced the wall and continued through, transforming back into shadows in the darkness.
Having narrowly escaped a fatal attack, Wade Winston hadn't yet regained his footing when a swift-moving shadow entwined around his left leg.
He executed a sudden roll, casting another spell.
"Night Flame!"
Black flames surged before him, rapidly expanding to the thickness of a human torso, rushing toward the approaching Loren.