My stepsisters are sexy demons, and I must protect them-Chapter 39: In the lion’s den

It is deep night.

John Hawkley - the Marquis Velshekar - walks along the gravel path.

His henchman Oliver Segel, the young man with blond hair and an angelic face, walks behind him.

The path leads from the entrance gate, through a large, neglected garden.

The garden is brimming with weeds and overgrown vegetation.

At the end of the path, the enormous three-story villa of the marquis rises in the most desolate outskirts of New York.

John is dragging by the collar the body of an elegant Asian man, half-way between life and death.

He is Liang Zhen, known as the red fox, a prominent member of the Chinese mafia. Less than an hour before, he has been the victim of an ambush by John and his men.

Liang murmurs something. He curses, tries to bribe them, makes offers, then curses again.

But nothing works. John and Oliver do not even listen to him.

They are caught up in conversations of a completely different nature.

«So, do you have any news about Frank? This prolonged silence of his is starting to get on my nerves,» John asks. His face is clearly disturbed and uneasy.

Oliver shakes his head with a certain fear.

He knows well that his boss does not react calmly to bad news.

Sometimes John takes it out even on those who have nothing to do with it.

Oliver, definitely more eloquent and shrewd than Frank, ponders every single word before answering.

Sometimes he takes quite some time.

«It’s been five days now that neither Ana Garroza, nor Frank or his subordinates have shown up...»

Oliver makes a brief pause. «...I wouldn’t want to be pessimistic, but...»

«...Frank and Ana have been killed,» John finishes Oliver’s sentence. «Is that what you think?»

Oliver merely nods and John starts speaking again.

«I believe it too. I fear there aren’t many other plausible explanations to justify their sudden disappearance... or at least, I’m sure only as far as Frank is concerned. That ogre is too stupid even to think of faking his own death and betraying me by fleeing to N’Raeth with the two hybrids, while Ana... I really don’t know what to think. She was a high-level succubus, I find it really incredible to think that she was killed as well. In any case, whether she is dead or has betrayed me, I’d say that her mother is of no more use to us. Go to her room and kill her... but if of course you first want to have fun with her, you are free to do so.»

«At your orders, boss,» Oliver replies.

He lets out a malicious smile that clashes with his angelic face.

He licks his lip, savoring the moment when he would put his hands on the body of Esmeralda Garroza, Ana’s mother.

She is a woman with a striking Hispanic beauty that rivals, if not even surpasses, that of her daughter.

For years, Oliver has dreamed of doing the most depraved and erotic things with that woman, but John has always forbidden it. This was so as not to lose Ana’s loyalty.

But now he can finally give vent to his desires and he trembles with impatience.

For this, his expression darkens and he sighs imperceptibly when John stops about halfway down the path.

John lets Liang Zhen’s body fall to the ground and crouches down in front of him.

All of a sudden, the azure irises of the marquis take on a bright and sinister yellow that glows in the darkness of the night.

His teeth are long and sharp.

Liang Zhen lowers his head and begins to pray in Mandarin.

But John grabs him by the chin and forces him to raise his head.

John stares into his eyes and presses his fingers on his cheeks.

He forces Liang to open his mouth.

Velshekar opens his jaws wide. An unbearable, piercing pain afflicts Liang Zhen when a slight filament of blue energy begins to seep out of his mouth.

The energy flows into that of the demon.

It is Vis energy, the natural magical energy present in the body of all men, but in such small quantities as to be completely insignificant for almost everyone.

Some particularly powerful demonic races feed on Vis energy and can absorb it to increase their own.

This is what Velshekar is doing with Liang Zhen, absorbing from him every last particle of Vis.

Finally, John places his hand on the corpse of his prey. Emerald-colored flames spread from his palm.

They spread instantly, but they are contained only to the man’s body.

They do not touch the lawn on which Liang Zhen lies and they do not produce the slightest burning smoke.

They are like carnivorous flames, consuming his body down to the last cell.

Of Liang Zhen, not even ash finally remains.

John and Oliver resume advancing towards the villa.

Oliver’s gaze is uneasy.

«Frank was an idiot, yet he was tremendously powerful... I find it absurd to think that someone with strength comparable to mine has been defeated...»

John does not answer.

He remains in reflective silence.

He merely furrows his brow.

Finally, the two arrive at the heavy entrance door of the enormous three-story villa.

John places his hand on the door and, for a moment, he freezes.

Something makes him suspicious.

There is too much silence.

His villa teems with bodyguards, yet he does not hear a fly from inside.

He opens the door, but he stops halfway, as if he had bumped into something.

He lowers his gaze.

The corpse of a large humanoid creature lies on the ground.

It is over two meters tall, with gray skin and large tusks jutting from its mouth.

The body lies in a pool of black blood.

John kicks it angrily and throws open the door completely.

The door opens onto the enormous atrium, illuminated by almost nothing, only the weak rays of the moon.

Before his eyes is a panorama of death and destruction.

Dozens and dozens of those gray-skinned creatures lie scattered on the floor and on the stairs that lead to the upper floors.

They are orcs, creatures whose strength is only slightly inferior to that of an ogre.

But these are not common orcs.

They were John Hawkley’s chosen guard ever since he still reigned over his marquisate in N’Raeth.

All dead.

«Who has dared to stand against me...?!» John growls.

He slowly raises his gaze towards the center of the atrium.

Sitting on a large sofa, there is a man with a small light at the level of his face, the ember of a still-lit cigarette.

«Whoever you are, know that you have just signed your death warrant!» John threatens him with a nervous voice.

In that moment, the man switches on a small lamp resting on the table in front of the sofa.

A faint light, but enough to illuminate the features of his face.

John takes a step back.

His legs almost tremble.

He grits his teeth and stammers something.

«S-Shin... Tendo...!»

«I’m surprised that a small fry like you knows me...» Shin comments.

He gets up from the sofa and takes a few steps towards the marquis.

«I have so many connections inside HESPARC that it would be difficult not to know you and your story... so it’s you behind those brats, now I understand why Frank never came back...» John tries to show confidence, but his voice trembles.

«Unfortunately I didn’t have the honor of personally meeting that man, but I know that he did a lot of harm to my kids. And now, Velshekar...»

The Sacred Flame blazes impetuously from his body.

It illuminates the inside of the villa as if it were day.

The flaming sword appears in his hand.

A sadistic, evil smile twists his lips.

«...I am here to give you back all that pain.»