Canis asked in a low, threatening voice, still seated calmly at the table, "What the hell are you doing here?"
The Bloodminer in the crimson cloak smiled behind his mask. "What a surprise. I only came to meet the Frost Queen… but if both you and Canis Majoris are here, I might need to adjust my plans."
Shina narrowed her eyes. "Enough talk."
Unfazed, the masked intruder raised both hands, thick red smoke swirling from his palms. "Well, even if I change my plans, I'll still deliver my message. Let this be a shock therapy—for the entire Capital."
He roared, "Come forth… demons of hell!"
Shina struck—ice crackled through the air—but before her attack could land, a violent explosion erupted beneath the Bloodminer. The shockwave hurled everyone backward and sent buildings crumbling into rubble.
As smoke and debris clouded the sky, something massive emerged from the wreckage—a monstrous creature with the hulking body of a beast and three snarling heads.
Its roar shook the ground, unleashing a suffocating pressure across the entire district.
Buildings leveled to the ground. Dust and debris filled the air. Corpses and wounded bodies were scattered across the once-bustling streets. Cries, sobs, and the sound of crumbling ruins still echoed faintly.
Canis slowly rose from a pile of rubble. His sunglasses—always a part of him—were gone, buried who-knows-where. He stepped forward, trying to get a clearer view of the epicenter of the destruction.
Through the smoke and rising flames, he saw the creature.
"Cerberus…" he whispered. His eyes narrowed, his cold expression shifting into horror. "A high-tier monster... even more dangerous than the Fox Phantom," he murmured. "I didn't think the Bloodminers were capable of this…"
Cerberus, a towering, hellhound-like beast with three heads, stood in the heart of the ruined city. One of its heads—the right one—opened its mouth and conjured a massive fireball, hurling it into the distance and obliterating a district that had not yet fallen.
On the other side, Shina Mariposa was already poised for battle. An aura of frost froze the ground beneath her feet.
"Don't think you can just burn this city to the ground," she said coldly.
The left head of Cerberus unleashed a torrent of flame, but Shina countered with an unusual, pure ice. Her frost pushed the fire back—and within seconds, one of Cerberus's heads froze completely.
Without wasting a moment, Shina summoned two blades of ice and dashed toward Cerberus, charging with blinding speed.
Canis watched it all unfold. He moved to join the fight.
But then…
Someone touched his back.
The world spun instantly.
A voice came from behind, calm yet threatening:"Come with me."
Before he could react, Canis vanished in an instant—violently pulled by the Bloodminers' bloody teleportation to a place… even he did not recognize.
---
Canis emerged in an open grassland.
The moment his boots touched the earth, he could tell—he had been taken far, far away from the capital. The wind was cleaner here, and the sounds of destruction were gone. He felt a gnawing unease in his chest, worried about the others… but he knew he couldn't leave. Not with this man standing before him.
The same Bloodminer who had touched his back now stood calmly a few steps ahead.
Canis kept his composure, refusing to let rage seize control. His voice was low, steady.
"Why bring me here? Isn't Shina Mariposa your target?"
The Bloodminer chuckled, amused.
"Two of my subordinates were in charge of the both of you," he said. "But they were too slow… so I took over. If I let you stay and fight alongside the Frost Queen, the destruction would've been minimal. Even she would struggle to defeat Cerberus alone. At the very least, the monster will keep rampaging until a General from the Headquarters arrives."
"You're underestimating the Frost Queen," Canis warned.
"Not at all," the Bloodminer replied. "She's been our most troublesome obstacle so far. But compared to the man standing in front of me… she doesn't even come close."
He took a step forward, voice lowering.
"You see, I have to remind you about who you are, Canis Majoris. One of the greatest to rise in the aftermath of Tsar the Conqueror's death. Few in the Empire can rival you. The man infamous for his brutality against monsters... whose dark aura heralds death wherever he walks in Fallen Heaven. Monsters flee at your presence. Warriors whisper your name in dread."
He smirked.
"They call you the Black Death."
Canis's lips curled into a menacing smile as the name echoed once more.
"If you truly understand my worth," he said with quiet menace, "why are you still standing here? Leave… before I erase you."
The Bloodminer's eyes gleamed with dangerous excitement.
"Don't underestimate the age we live in," he said. "I wonder… how long I can last against the Black Death himself.
{Chapter 30 end}