Chapter 362: A Family of Traitors

A day later, the sleek spatial ship pierced through the heavy, mana-dense atmosphere of the Thirteen Worlds.

Kael sat in the co-pilot seat, his eyes fixed on the glowing blue holographic screen only he could see.

Ding!

[System Quest Completed: The Fallen Brother]

Objective: Capture Sebastian Vorn alive and return him to the Vorn Estate. (Completed)

Rewards: 50,000 ASC, Bloodline Integration +5%, Title: The Unyielding Hunter.

[Current Balance: 159,000 ASC]

[Astraeon Bloodline: 65% Awakened]

Kael felt a pleasant, burning warmth spread through his veins as the system integrated the bloodline reward. The power of the primordial darkness within him deepened, his connection to the shadows and the void growing even more profound. His eyes flashed silver for a fraction of a second before returning to their normal, cold state.

Clank. Hiss.

The ship landed on the grand platform of the Vorn Estate.

Kael stood up, stretching his neck with a sickening Crack. He walked to the holding room and grabbed a heavy, dark chain. Attached to the other end was Sebastian.

The state of the once-proud Vorn sibling was a horrifying sight. He was a wreck of bruised flesh and dried blood. His left hand was a cauterized stump, his left eye socket was a hollow, bloody crater, and the lower half of his robes was soaked in blood from his castration. He was barely conscious, whimpering as the chain was yanked.

CLANK. CLANK.

Kael dragged him out of the ship. The heavy iron doors of the estate opened.

"Vyra, Darian, go back to Starfall City in the meantime", Kael said.

They cupped their fists as they said in unison, "Yes, my Lord".

The two heavily armored Vorn guards at the entrance stepped forward, but the moment their eyes landed on the mutilated, ruined creature being dragged behind Kael, their faces paled in absolute horror.

"L-Lord Kael..." one guard stammered, his gaze flickering to Sebastian’s destroyed face. "Is that... Young Master Sebastian?"

"Keep your eyes forward," Kael ordered coldly, not breaking his stride.

The guards bowed, terrified.

Kael walked through the long, dark granite hallways, the dragging body of his brother leaving a sickening red trail on the pristine floor. SCRAPE... SCRAPE...

CREEEAK. The massive doors to the grand chamber swung open.

The room was suffocatingly tense. The Family Head, Vorn the Unyielding, sat on his throne, his ancient eyes cold and unreadable. Flanking him were the High Elders and a few lower elders. The Vice Family Head, Greyson, stood to the side, his expression grim. Ursula sat among the wives, a deep scowl on her face, while Lady Beatrice observed with cold, calculating eyes. Lady Clara was absent, having been deployed to the warfront against the Abyss creatures at the edge of the Western Sector.

Kael walked to the center of the room.

THUD!

He dropped the chain, and Sebastian’s broken body crashed onto the dark granite floor.

"Family Head. Elders," Kael greeted, his voice perfectly calm, offering a slight bow.

The room was dead silent. Everyone stared at Sebastian.

Then, a furious roar shattered the silence.

"YOU MONSTER!"

The Churchill representative, an elderly man with a silver mane of hair named Lord Reginald, shot to his feet. His aura flared violently. "This is an absolute outrage! Sebastian is of Churchill blood! You were sent to retrieve him, not to butcher him like a common animal! Look at his core, his limbs! This is a blatant attack on our family!"

Kael turned his cold, silver-flecked eyes toward the elder. He didn’t flinch at the aura; he simply looked at him like he was a piece of trash.

"Lord Reginald," Kael’s voice cut through the room like a blade. "Do not think for a second that I am unaware of the massive funds the Churchill family routed through World Twelve to facilitate Sebastian’s escape. You funded a traitor. You harbored a rat that colluded with the House of Crimson and the Shadow Vatican. If you continue to run your mouth, I might start to think you share his loyalties."

Lord Reginald’s face turned pale. His aura vanished instantly, and he sat back down, cold sweat pouring down his forehead and his hands trembling.

Ursula slammed her hand against her armrest. "Kael! What is the meaning of this?! You were ordered to bring him back alive! Not in pieces!"

Kael didn’t even look at her. "He is alive, Lady Ursula. He is breathing, is he not?"

"He is crippled!" Lord Reginald couldn’t help but mutter.

Kael turned slowly, his eyes sweeping across the chamber. "This should be what happens to anyone," he paused, his voice dropping to a chilling whisper that carried across the room. "And I mean anyone who betrays the family. Isn’t that right, Father?"

The chamber went completely still.

The Family Head looked down at Kael. Then, a slow, terrifying smile spread across the ancient man’s lips.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

"Very well, my child," the Family Head chuckled, the sound echoing like grinding stones. "Well done. You are absolutely right. Anyone who betrays the family, especially to an enemy of the universe, should suffer a fate worse than death."

Sebastian, who had been lying in a pool of his own blood, looked up. His one remaining eye was wide with absolute terror. He had hoped his father would show mercy.

The Family Head’s smile vanished, replaced by an expression of pure, freezing cold. He looked at Sebastian like he was a stain on the floor.

"For colluding with the House of Crimson, endangering a main-blood child of the Vorn family, conspiring with the Shadow Vatican, and in collition to leaking internal family secrets," the Family Head declared, his voice booming with conceptual authority. "You are hereby stripped of your name. You will be sent to the Catacombs of Eternal Frost on World Twelve."

Sebastian let out a strangled gasp. The Catacombs were not just a prison; they were a place of absolute torture, buried kilometers beneath the ice where even the ambient mana was frozen solid. Prisoners there were kept alive just enough to suffer for centuries.

"There, you can rot with your mother," the Family Head added coldly.

That was the breaking point for Sebastian.

"NO! FATHER, PLEASE!" Sebastian screamed, thrashing on the floor, blood spurting from his wounds. "DON’T SEND ME THERE! I’M YOUR SON! I DID IT FOR YOUR ATTENTION! YOU NEVER LOOKED AT ME! YOU ALWAYS LOOKED AT KAEL AND THE OTHER CHILDREN! BUT NEVER ME! I DID EVERYTHING YOU WANTED, BUT YOU STILL THREW ME AWAY!"

Tears of blood and water streamed down his ruined face. "IT WASN’T MY FAULT! IT WAS URSULA! SHE PUSHED ME! SHE SAID IF I DIDN’T STOP KAEL, I WOULD BE KILLED! AND THE CHURCHILLS—THEY USED ME! I WAS JUST A PAWN!"

Ursula’s face went white with fury. "You dare—!"

"SILENCE!"

The Family Head’s aura exploded. BOOM! The pressure slammed Sebastian face-first into the floor, cracking the stone beneath him.

The Family Head waved his hand dismissively.

Step. Step.

Two Peak Spirit Soul Pillar Knights marched through the doors. They grabbed the screaming, sobbing Sebastian by his arms and dragged him out of the chamber. His desperate wails echoed down the hallway until they faded into the distance.

The Family Head looked at the bloodstain on the floor, his expression unreadable. "A family of traitors," he murmured softly.

He then turned his gaze toward Greyson.

"What about the Marcus boy?" the Family Head asked, his voice dangerously calm. "Has the investigation yielded anything?"

Ursula’s expression changed instantly. The color drained from her face, her arrogance replaced by a deep, bone-chilling fear. She looked at the Family Head, her breath catching in her throat.

The chamber fell into a suspenseful, suffocating silence.