At this moment, Ethan Hayes finally recalled who the outlaw Inez was. She would become a future X-Men member under the leadership of Cyclops and was also tied to Deadpool Wade, even becoming his wife at one point—a ridiculous twist. To make matters more complex, Sandy Brandenburg, a close friend, would go on to destroy the relationship between Inez and X-Agent Alex Haicheng. This was information Ethan had discovered while casually researching the "Deadpool" movie.
"Stand back, Sandy," Ethan's indifferent voice rang out.
"I don't want my newly recruited maid to be killed in the crossfire."
Both Inez and Sandy were Super Abilities. Their submission to Ethan meant they were now two new sources of desire points for him. Given that Natasha Romanoff might not interact with him for a while, he needed all the desire points he could gather. He understood Natasha's need for space, given her moral compass. But sooner or later, she would realize what the world truly was.
"Yes, Master," Sandy responded without hesitation. She didn't mind being referred to as Ethan's "maid." In her view, even being a devil's servant meant she was close to a position of power.
Inez weakly affirmed, "I will protect Sandy."
Meanwhile, a blood mist began to contract around the ominous blood coffin. The holy light of Vlad Castle intensified, as angels descended, blessing the elderly occupant. This old man had not betrayed God but was instead seeking forgiveness for his family's ancestral sins—those of Count Dracula. Despite his attempts to atone, God's response to the Vlad family was a trial by fire, to punish the enemies who had violated His sacred land.
Ethan Hayes, however, had no intention of letting the matter rest.
"Emperor Flame!" Ethan called out, and the flames responded to his will, gathering into his hand and condensing into a miniature sun. The fiery heat radiating from it was so intense that both Sandy and Inez felt themselves melting. Before the heat overwhelmed them, Ethan summoned a protective ice wall to shield them.
The move Ethan was channeling was Fire Fist Ace's most powerful technique. But in Ethan's hands, the attack was magnified dozens of times. It resembled a true sun, burning with overwhelming power.
As he concentrated, the sun-like fireball continued to shrink, its color shifting from orange to gold, then to bright white, and eventually cyan and deep blue. Finally, it settled on a vivid purple, its heat warping the surrounding air. The ground beneath Ethan's feet turned to scorched red earth, and even the air seemed to combust in response to the terrifying temperature.
This purple flame, a product of Ethan's Burning Fruit ability, was like nothing seen before. At 7000°C, it even surpassed the surface temperature of the actual sun. When the flames touched the blood coffin, the silver cross atop it melted instantly, and the dark, evil aura surrounding the coffin was consumed in mere moments. Horrific wails emerged from within as if countless demons were being tormented by the searing heat.
The violet inferno was nearly invisible to the naked eye, appearing more as ultraviolet radiation than a traditional fire. But its effects were undeniable—burning through the very fabric of the blood coffin, which had held Dracula's cursed remains for centuries. The evil parasites within the soil of the coffin writhed and perished in the intense heat.
Sandy and Inez paled at the overwhelming sight. The heat had reduced much of the castle to molten lava, and the rest of Vlad's once-imposing estate was rapidly being incinerated. Everything within a hundred meters was ablaze, a testament to the uncontrollable power of the Burning Fruit's Awakening. The high temperature warped the landscape, turning it into an inferno where no ordinary flesh could survive.
Servants of the Vlad family, including hidden vampires and loyal retainers, burned to death, their agonizing screams echoing through the castle. The very stones that made up the building were melting under the fire's heat, liquefying into rivers of lava. Only one room remained intact, protected by the holy light of an angel's phantom.
While the Frozen Fruit's awakening could shift weather patterns and give hope for survival, the Burning Fruit's power was a force of pure destruction. Its flames consumed everything, leaving nothing in their wake but ash. The centuries-old legacy of Vlad Castle was turned to ruin, reduced to nothing by Ethan's Flame Domain.
Rafe Vlad, the head of the family, could do nothing but watch as his home was destroyed. Protected by the holy light of an angel, he held his chest in anguish, knowing that his family's 200-year legacy had been obliterated in a single night.
"I delivered the blood coffin as promised," Ethan said with a smile.
Rafe nearly choked in fury. "My family is ruined, and you think that fulfills your end of the deal?" he roared.
"You paid me 16 billion to destroy the Vatican for you. By my calculations, that deal was a bargain for you," Ethan replied with a shrug.
Nearby, Frank, the agent who had betrayed Ethan, was nothing more than a burning skeleton, consumed by the same flames that had incinerated the rest of the castle.
"Do you know what happens to those who betray the devil?" Ethan asked mockingly.
"In all of history, can you name anyone who crossed the devil and lived to tell about it?"
His cold laughter echoed through the flames, sending shivers down the spines of those watching.
"As for you, Angel," Ethan called out, turning his attention to the holy phantom protecting Rafe. "You'll only protect these people until you're gone. But once you offend the devil, hell is no longer a distant afterlife—it's now."
With a stomp, Ethan cracked the earth beneath his feet, causing ten massive pillars of fire to erupt from the ground. These fire snakes roared into the sky, twisting and writhing toward the angelic figure. The holy light flickered, but under the relentless assault of the flames, the angel's phantom was eventually consumed, along with Rafe's father, the last remnant of Dracula's bloodline.
As Ethan stood atop the fiery remnants of the once-mighty Vlad Castle, helicopters hovered in the sky. Among the passengers was a familiar face—Smith, the vice president of Wells Fargo.
"Mr. Smith," Ethan called out loudly. "I hope you're not here to betray me as well."
Smith smiled nervously. "No, Mr. Hayes. I'm here to offer my continued support. The Vlad family has many connections in this country, but I'm confident you wouldn't want them to use mundane methods to complicate matters for you."
Ethan chuckled. "You're smart, Smith. That's why I keep you around."
As Ethan walked away, the flames could no longer be contained. They consumed the entire valley, reducing everything to ashes. Those watching from the helicopters above could only stare in awe at the man who had brought hell itself to Earth.
Inez and Sandy fled from the inferno as fast as they could. Behind them, the landscape was transformed into a sea of fire, hundreds of miles wide. It was as if the entire world had been swallowed by the flames. Even the supernatural creatures lurking in the shadows of Duke County were reduced to ashes.
As the flames died down, the outlaw Inez looked at Sandy with awe. "We've become famous, haven't we?"
"More than that, Inez. We're now servants to the most powerful man alive," Sandy responded, excitement in her voice.
At that moment, Ethan appeared behind them, his body forming out of frost as winter returned to the valley. His presence was a stark contrast to the fiery destruction he had left in his wake.
"Keep driving," Ethan ordered coolly.
"Yes, Master," Sandy replied, gripping the steering wheel tighter as they sped off into the night.
Ethan had embraced his dark side, stepping fully into the role of a devil. Since his high school graduation, he had released his long-suppressed desires, showing the world just how dangerous he could be. His eyes gleamed with the knowledge of the power he now wielded.
"Fear me, Inez?" Ethan asked, his voice gentle.
"No, Master. I'm not afraid," Inez replied, her mind overtaken by the allure of his power.
As Sandy accelerated, Inez turned toward Ethan and danced provocatively in the narrow space of the car, fully submitting to the man who had conquered both her body and soul.
In his mind, Ethan watched the system notifications unfold:
Task: Destroy the Blood Coffin - Completed.
Reward: Purple Blind Box. Would you like to continue rolling missions?
Reserve. Ethan made his choice.
The two purple blind boxes in his possession were not enough. He would keep pushing for more, always hungry for more power. Yizexiang's tasks would continue to stack, providing him more rewards as time went on.
Ethan leaned back, savoring the moment. The world around him was burning, but his ambitions were far from fulfilled.
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