The rocky barrier melted like wax under fire, and thick smoke swirled into the air.
Adam took a step back, his eyes wide with a shock he had never experienced, muttering under his breath,
"What a disaster… a first-class power user!"
The man stood motionless, his face devoid of expression, his eyes empty, carrying neither life, anger, nor mercy.
He slowly extended his hand, the sword gleaming between his fingers, and brought it down sharply on another barrier Adam had formed from compressed stone.
The moment the metal touched the surface, the rock groaned, disintegrated, and turned into a black, smoky liquid that evaporated into the air.
Adam growled, pressing his palms into the ground, and thick stone pillars rose to form a massive wall before his daughters.
Yet the man did not stop. He advanced calmly, his sword dragging a strange trail behind him, melting everything it touched as if the very earth shrank away.
"I will not let you get any closer!" Adam shouted, raising his hand.
Sharp stone shards shot up from the ground like spears toward the man, but he swept his sword with precise movements, and the stones shattered before they could reach him, vanishing as if the air itself swallowed them.
Nariman and Nora trembled behind their father, eyes brimming with tears. They had never seen him so helpless.
The heat intensified, and everything Adam created collapsed before their eyes.
The man's empty gaze was a living nightmare, and every step he took pressed heavier on Adam's chest.
In a critical moment, Adam spun around, grabbed Nariman and Nora firmly with his arms, lifting them off the ground, and ran, putting distance between himself and the house, his footsteps shaking the earth beneath him.
Nariman clutched his shoulder, tears welling in her eyes:
"Why are we running away from the house, Father?!!! Mother… Mother's first-rate power will save us!"
Adam's voice trembled as he responded, breath coming in ragged gasps:
"It won't work… even with her strength… she's never mastered it! He will destroy her in an instant!"
His words struck Nariman like a blade to the heart. There was no safety—neither at home nor in the powers she had once believed would protect them.
Adam ran, carrying his daughters, breath ragged, footsteps echoing in the empty distance.
Suddenly, his body stiffened and he stopped abruptly, almost dropping his daughters. His eyes widened with terror, as if he had seen a ghost from the past.
Before them, on the dirt road, stood the man in the suit. His eyes were sharp as swords, piercing Adam mercilessly, and a slow, sinister smile spread across his lips like a herald of impending disaster.
Nariman noticed for the first time the trembling in her father's features. Her voice quivered as she clung to his neck:
"What… what is it, Father? Do you… know him?"
Adam's face went pale, his voice trembling as he whispered more to himself than to his daughters:
"It has happened… what I feared most…"
He turned sharply, trying to flee in the opposite direction, but before he could move, the power user lunged with terrifying speed, his sword piercing Adam's arm.
A sharp scream tore from Adam's throat as he staggered and collapsed to the ground, holding his daughters with all his strength. Blood gushed from his arm, staining the earth with a dark gleam.
Nariman screamed in terror, and Nora burst into sobs, both clinging to their father amidst the chaos and blood.
Despite the agony threatening to tear his body apart, Adam quickly turned toward Nariman, his voice ragged but firm:
"Calm down… I will not die from a mere wound in the arm..."
Nariman fell silent, yet the fear in her eyes remained.
The man in the suit advanced slowly, his eyes glinting with malice, a wicked smile forming on his lips.
He raised his hand deliberately and spoke in a cold, commanding voice:
"By the authority vested in me… I command you to obey."
The moment the words left his mouth, a piercing buzz shot through Adam's skull—a crushing pressure that made him scream and convulse violently, while his daughters watched helplessly.
The man stared at Adam and his daughters with cruel amusement and said,
"The father has power… the daughter as well… which means the mother is also a power user. What a fortune!"
He stepped closer to Adam and said firmly,
"Lead me to your home."
Adam shouted in refusal:
"Impossible!"
The pain in his head intensified, and his screams rose.
The man scowled coldly:
"Refusing is not in your interest… tch, you will come with me."
Nariman jumped forward, her face flushed with anger, her body trembling with power and emotion, and said:
"He will not move! Not a single step!"
Suddenly, the buzzing in Adam's head ceased. His breathing returned to normal. He stood firm, like a wall.
The man in the suit froze, astonishment flashing across his face as he watched Adam's unexpected calm. He shouted angrily:
"What is this?! How did it stop?!"
Clenching his fists, he shouted even louder:
"I command you to obey!"
But Adam remained still, his gaze cold as ice.
The man's rage ignited.
"Damn you… then you will all die! Kill them now!"
The power user turned toward them but hesitated for a moment, pain wracking his head. Clutching it, he groaned:
"I beg you… please… save me…"
Nariman hesitated, unable to comprehend what was happening. Her father watched her silently, keenly observing how she would act.
She shouted toward the man in the suit:
"Stop!"
Yet her eyes remained fixed on the writhing power user.
Her father said firmly:
"Choose your words carefully, Nariman."
She looked at him steadily and replied:
"Do not obey him!"
The man stopped shouting and turned toward her in astonishment.
The suited man's eyes widened in disbelief, then his brows furrowed in anger as he shouted:
"Impossible… how dare you defy my authority?!"
Nariman's voice rang out with fury, shaking the air:
"You'd better run while you still can!"
Before she could finish, the power user lunged with terrifying speed, and in a single instant, his sword pierced the man's neck.
Blood exploded outward, the head rolled beside the body, the eyes still open in lifeless shock.
Nora screamed in horror, throwing herself into her father's arms, while Nariman froze, wide-eyed, until the world darkened and she lost consciousness, collapsing to the ground.