As Marcus pondered these questions, one of the men finally approached him. Marcus narrowed his eyes, watching the man closely.

"Where's my brother?"

"Inside."

The man replied without hesitation, gesturing toward the building. It was clear they wanted them to enter. With a nod, Marcus began walking toward the entrance, with the others following closely behind.

Evelyn couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with the building. Her instincts were screaming at her not to go inside, but she didn't want to lower everyone's spirits by saying it out loud. Finally, they entered, seeing only a few extra men inside. Evelyn's sense of danger intensified. It felt as though an ominous energy filled the place. She looked around but sensed nothing from the men standing nearby.

"Lucian!"

Serena's startled voice drew everyone's attention to her, and then to where she was looking. Lucian was there, flanked by two men. One of them had a hand on his shoulder, giving him a slight push.

"Go on, get over to your siblings."

Lucian quickly ran toward Marcus and the others. Marcus stepped forward, hugging him tightly, quickly checking for any injuries.

"Are you alright, Lucian?"

Lucian's voice trembled as he answered. He was unharmed but clearly frightened.

"I-I'm okay…"

"Don't worry, I'm getting you out of here. I promise!"

Marcus gently led Lucian over to Serena. She and the others hugged him tightly.

"Thank goodness you're safe…"

"That's not settled just yet."

The man who had held Lucian's shoulder began walking toward them with a smirk. Marcus immediately moved in front to stop him from getting too close, his gaze sharp as a blade.

"Ohhh, I like that look! Call me Peter, kid. And you are Marcus, right?"

"What do you want from us?"

 Marcus's voice was hard, demanding they get to the point.

"I'll keep this short. You're going to work for us."

For a moment, everyone was in shock. They hadn't expected such an offer. Even Marcus was taken aback.

"What? Why?"

"Isn't it obvious? Your powers, they're unique in this world. You'd be very useful in our line of work."

"And what exactly is this 'line of work'?"

 Peter's smirk grew wider.

"Well, you know, some special 'jobs.' You could, for example, help eliminate our rivals. Your ice powers are perfect for destruction. Of course, that's just a simple example — we wouldn't want to scare you off on the first day, would we? In short—"

"In short, you're asking us to commit crimes and harm people, aren't you?"

"Exactly."

"There's no way we would ever do that!"

Evelyn suddenly stepped forward, her eyes blazing with anger.

"We're not going to hurt anyone! Right, Marcus?"

Marcus looked at her and gave a small smile. Her courage, even in her fear, surprised and made him proud.

"You heard her. We'll never work for you!"

Peter glared at them for a few seconds before bursting into loud laughter.

"Did you really think we were asking for your opinion?! You're joining us, whether you want to or not!"

The men around them began closing in. Serena quickly gathered the younger kids closer to her.

"Marcus! Now!"

At the sound of her voice, Marcus reacted instantly, encasing Serena and the others in a thick, protective shield of ice within less than a second.

 "Kid, you shouldn't do that."

Just as the men began reaching for their guns, Marcus froze the entire ground, trapping them within blocks of ice. Peter sneered.

"…You've asked for it, kid." He raised his hand, signaling to someone.

"That feeling again…"

Evelyn muttered to herself, catching Serena's attention.

"What? What are you talking about?"

Evelyn's hair began to glow.

"Something's coming… or someone… and they have an incredibly powerful energy!"

Serena's worry intensified as she called out to Marcus.

"Marcus, be careful!!!"

As Marcus looked back at Serena in surprise, the wall beside him suddenly exploded.

"?!"

Peter brushed off the dust with irritation after the blast.

"Oh, come on… can't you ever come in without breaking something...Kaji?"

Marcus stared at the shattered wall in shock. The others were safe behind the ice. Flames erupted all around, and he assumed it was from explosives. But then, a figure stepped through the wreckage, drawing all the surrounding flames toward himself. Marcus and the others froze as they watched, stunned. Peter's grin widened at their reaction.

"What? Did you think you were the only ones in this world with powers? Meet Kaji. He's Japanese, and as you might guess, his special ability is fire."

Kaji had jet-black hair and piercing red eyes, his face emotionless, with a gaze that seemed ready to kill at any moment. Marcus stared at him, noting, 'He looks really young. Damn… he can't be more than two or three years older than Evelyn…'

Evelyn called out to Marcus with worried eyes, fear in her voice.

"Marcus! That guy is dangerous!"

Marcus began walking toward the man calmly, reinforcing the ice around the kids to protect them, as it had slightly melted from the blast.

"Yeah? Well, so am I!"

Marcus's eyes started to glow an icy blue, while flames began to form in Kaji's hand.

"Fire or ice? Which one will prevail in the end?"

Peter smirked, saying this as he and the others exited the building, leaving Kaji to finish the job.

Lucian began trembling with fear and anxiety. Noticing this, the twins hugged him tightly.

"Don't be scared, okay? No one's going to take you from us ever again!" Nora said in a firm voice.

"Yeah, Marcus will win, and we'll all be safe!" Noah added confidently.

Lucian looked at the twins with admiration and felt ashamed. These kids were younger than him, but 'while I'm shaking in fear, they're still trying to protect me,' he thought. Lucian shook his head, pushing away his fears, and held the twins' hands tightly.

Meanwhile, Marcus and Kaji studied each other for a moment, then lunged forward at the same time. Kaji leapt into the air, hurling a powerful fireball from his arm toward Marcus, who responded by launching a massive, razor-sharp ice spike from the ground toward him.

The fire and ice collided, causing a powerful explosion that shook the entire building.