It was obvious the entire incident had been done on purpose.
I watched calmly as the three of them approached.
The one with the taunting smirk was Jamie, the person who had thrown the spear.
He was my cousin, three years older than me.
The two beside him were Eva and Blessing, his sisters.
Blessing was only seventeen, while Eva was around my age.
"Look who we have here," Jamie exclaimed loudly, drawing the attention of a few guards several meters away.
The two sisters giggled, clearly amused by his behavior.
I frowned faintly and chose to ignore them.
Continuing on my way, I paid no attention to whatever it was they were trying to do.
If it had been my predecessor, he would have silently endured their beatings.
Which brought about a question.
Why had he hidden his strength for so long?
Surely he could one-shot these people… unless there was something far more terrifying within the Targaryan clan. Someone he feared provoking.
The thought made me draw in a quiet breath.
Suddenly, my eyes darkened.
My hand moved casually and slapped the air beside me.
Bang!
A spear hurtling toward my back was caught firmly in my palm.
I drove it straight into the ground.
The weapon pierced the stone floor with a merciless thud.
"What exactly are you trying to do?" I asked Jamie, already aware he had no intention of letting me leave.
"I heard you've become a Cursed Warrior," Jamie said with a grin. "Let's spar."
I stared at him as if he were an idiot.
"You are already a rank three Cursed Warrior, while I just awakened. In what world is that a fair match?"
"Uh…"
Jamie froze for a moment as realization dawned on him.
"I can suppress my strength to your level."
"No."
I replied coldly and turned to leave.
"Then how about my sister?" Jamie quickly said. "She has excellent cursed energy control. She's only rank two, so suppressing her power won't be difficult."
I looked at him speechlessly.
This fool truly enjoyed provoking trouble.
Frowning slightly, I considered the situation.
If I walked away, Jamie would simply keep harassing me until I agreed.
Might as well deal with it now.
My gaze shifted toward the nearby guards, who were pretending not to watch.
Most of them carried spears.
I pointed at one holding a sword.
"Hand me your sword."
It wouldn't suit me as perfectly as my previous blade, but it would suffice.
After taking the weapon, I turned to Eva and pointed at her.
"Step forward. Let's finish this quickly."
Eva grinned.
I immediately felt her aura weaken drastically as she suppressed her strength to my level.
"As you wish," she replied, pulling a rope from her waist.
It was her weapon. Everyone in the clan knew she wielded it skillfully.
Holding the slender sword, I narrowed my eyes.
The guards watched with growing curiosity.
Meanwhile, Jamie's grin widened, clearly anticipating my humiliation.
I couldn't understand why he derived so much pleasure from someone else's suffering.
Humans were strange creatures.
Or perhaps the curse had simply rotted his brain.
Blessing, on the other hand, observed quietly with curious eyes.
Cursed energy surged through my body.
Eva suddenly shouted and flicked her wrist.
The rope shot toward me instantly.
It moved like a living snake, slicing through the air with vicious speed.
Swish!
My sword flashed.
A stream of cursed energy erupted from the blade, igniting into flames.
Within a breath, I had swung three times.
The arcs of energy twisted together, forming small serpentine shapes made entirely of fire.
Hisssss—
The sound of their hissing echoed through the courtyard.
Several guards stiffened in shock.
Boom!
The first flaming serpent collided with the rope, knocking it violently aside.
The remaining two shot straight toward Eva.
Swish! Swish!
Eva remained calm.
In the Targaryan clan, panic was a weakness drilled out from childhood.
Even in the face of death, composure was mandatory.
Her rope whipped through the air again.
Bang!
The first serpent exploded into embers.
But the second had already arrived.
Eva leapt sideways, narrowly avoiding it.
Boom!
The flaming creature smashed into the ground beside her.
"Shit," Eva muttered as she moved to regain her footing.
A cold blade suddenly touched her neck.
"Admit your loss."
My voice entered her ears like a whisper from the abyss.
"What?"
Eva froze in disbelief.
How was he already here?
Her eyes met mine.
For a moment, her heart seemed to both freeze and melt.
That gaze…
It was like staring into the eyes of a wild beast.
Instinctively, she released her full power.
Her rope erupted with energy, whipping violently through the air in countless arcs.
However, I had already anticipated this.
I caught the rope, twisted it sharply, and pulled.
Before Eva understood what had happened, her arms were tightly bound.
"You—what are you doing?" Eva shrieked.
"Admit defeat," I said calmly.
She bit her lip and struggled violently, kicking and twisting in resistance.
"So stubborn," I muttered.
In one swift motion, I tied her legs as well.
Eva froze.
"What are you doing?" she shouted as I turned her around.
"Admit defeat."
A loud crack suddenly echoed across the courtyard.
My palm struck her raised backside.
For a moment, everything froze.
Eva's body jolted forward slightly, her eyes widening in disbelief.
"Bastard!" she shrieked.
No one moved.
The guards stood rooted in place, their minds blank.
Even Jamie froze, unable to process what had just happened.
I calmly raised my hand again.
Slap!
My palm struck her ass once more, the sharp sound echoing across the open space.
"Admit your loss," I said flatly.
"Let go of me, you abhorrent evil!" Eva shouted, her face burning red with humiliation as she struggled uselessly against the rope binding her limbs.
Slap!
The impact made her body tremble again.
"Still refusing?"
Slap!
Slap!
Slap!
Each strike echoed clearly through the courtyard.
Eva's struggles gradually weakened as the humiliation crushed her pride.
Her cheeks were flushed bright red, and tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.
Finally, she shut her eyes tightly.
"I… admit defeat."
"Hm? I couldn't hear you."
"I admit defeat!" she cried, her voice trembling with humiliation. "You bastard! Monster!"
Slap!
I delivered one final strike before releasing the rope.
"Good girl," I said calmly. "You should have said that sooner."
"You bastard! How dare you lay your filthy hands on my sister!"
Jamie roared, his voice trembling with fury.
The moment he saw Eva silently sobbing on the ground, something inside him snapped.
A violent rage flooded his mind, drowning out every rational thought.