Lust System: Conquering the World Beauties
Chapter 220 Strength Of The Aetherial-Class

Chapter 220: Chapter 220 Strength Of The Aetherial-Class

Liam’s grip tightened around the steering wheel as the black SUV sped down the deserted countryside road. The tires roared against the cracked pavement, and the headlights cut through the thick shadows of the night. His eyes were narrowed, sharp and alert, flicking back and forth between the road and the GPS. His jaw was clenched, muscles tight with pressure. Every second felt like a countdown to disaster.

The world outside was a blur of trees and moonlit brush. A single dirt path curved off the main road and led to the coordinates Ella had sent earlier. Liam took the turn without hesitation, tires skidding briefly before catching traction. Dust and gravel flew into the air behind them as the vehicle surged forward.

He slammed the brake as soon as they reached the clearing.

The car screeched to a halt in the middle of an open stretch of road, the kind of place that looked like it hadn’t seen traffic in years. No signs, no lights, no people—just silence and brushland. The entire space was wide enough for a small aircraft to land, but it looked like no plane had touched down here in a long time.

And more importantly, the jet wasn’t here.

"Fuck," Liam muttered under his breath, his voice barely audible but thick with frustration. His door swung open, and he stepped out, his boots crunching on the uneven gravel. The cool air hit his face.

Ann and Lana followed closely behind, both stepping out of the car and looking around. The three of them stood in the middle of the quiet stretch of road, the vehicle’s headlights casting long shadows behind them. There was no sound beyond the soft rustle of wind through the bushes. No birds, no engines—nothing.

Liam paced a few steps forward, scanning the empty sky above them. "Why the hell would she choose this place?" he asked out loud, though mostly to himself. "There’s nothing here. This isn’t even a damn airstrip."

He pulled out his phone, checking for updates. The screen lit up, and his brows furrowed. A new notification flashed—a message from Ella. It had been sent three minutes ago, and it included an attachment.

Liam opened it quickly.

A picture loaded—a shot taken from inside the jet. The cockpit window revealed the dashboard and a view of the night sky, clouds streaking past. The glow of interior lights illuminated Ella’s reflection faintly in the glass. She was on the jet.

His lips parted slightly, his voice barely a whisper. "She’s coming with the jet..."

That was dangerous. Stupidly dangerous.

Liam glanced at the girls as he shoved the phone back into his pocket. Everything about this night was spiraling out of control, and now Ella was flying into the middle of it.

He turned his eyes to the road again, ears straining for any distant hum of engines—but still, nothing. They were alone, exposed.

Lana, meanwhile, had silently leaned against the SUV, arms crossed, her hip resting against the side panel. Her gaze wasn’t on the sky, or the road—it was on Ann.

She’d been watching her the entire ride here. At first, she brushed it off. Maybe Ann was in shock, maybe she was just tired. But now... now it was bothering her.

Ann was calm. Too calm for someone that was panicking hours ago.

She stood beside the car, her hands clasped in front of her, her eyes scanning the horizon. She wasn’t trembling. She wasn’t panicking. She wasn’t crying. For someone who had just been through a life-threatening situation, her silence felt unnatural.

Lana narrowed her eyes.

"You alright?" she finally asked, her voice breaking through the tension like a knife.

Ann didn’t look at her. She just nodded slowly, her dark hair falling over her shoulder. "I’m fine."

The answer was too quick. Too smooth.

Lana tilted her head, lips curving into something between a smirk and a frown. "You’re handling the situation pretty well," she said, but the tone wasn’t as casual as her words. There was a sharp edge to it—subtle, but unmistakable.

Ann turned her head slightly, catching Lana’s expression from the corner of her eye. Her brows raised, a flicker of irritation flashing across her face. "Are you insinuating something?"

Lana lifted her hands in mock innocence. "I’m not insinuating anything. Just saying what I see."

Her expression didn’t match the innocence in her words. Her eyes were fixed, observant, digging into Ann like she was trying to see through her skin.

Ann rolled her eyes and turned her back, crossing her arms. "Whatever," she muttered, voice tight with annoyance.

Liam heard the exchange and glanced over his shoulder. He sighed and shook his head. The last thing he needed was tension between them. He had enough shit to deal with tonight.

He didn’t say anything—just walked a few steps away, trying to get a better vantage point.

Still no sign of the jet.

The wind picked up slightly, rustling through the trees and sending a chill through the clearing. Somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted.

Liam’s ears twitched.

A sound—so faint it barely existed—cut through the night. A sharp crack, like a twig being snapped underfoot. His head tilted slightly, his expression sharpening as his senses stretched outward, locking onto the source. The wind had carried the sound from the trees, about thirty meters deep into the brush.

He turned quickly and began walking back toward the SUV, his boots silent against the cracked road. His gaze shifted between the two women.

"Stay close," he muttered, his voice low but urgent.

Ann raised a brow. "What is it?"

"Something’s out there."

Lana straightened her posture, pushing away from the car, her eyes scanning the thick line of trees. "Are you sure?"

Liam didn’t answer.

He was sure.

It wasn’t just the branch snapping—it was the subtle shift in air pressure, the way the birds had suddenly gone silent, the rising scent of damp soil disturbed by something unnatural. His senses, enhanced far beyond human after his evolution, were screaming now.

Then came the footsteps.

At first, they were distant, muffled—just background noise like rustling leaves. But soon they became unmistakable. Dozens of them. The crunch of dead leaves and dry branches underfoot, deliberate and coordinated. A slow, creeping march that circled them in a tightening noose.

Ann’s eyes widened. Lana tensed.

Liam’s face turned grim.

"They’re coming," he said. "Boris and his little vampire circus."

He turned to Ann, his tone all business now. "When they show themselves—when Boris steps out—I want you to light the forest up. Just the part in front of us. We need visibility."

Ann didn’t argue. She gave a single nod, her lips pressed into a line. She could feel it too—the heavy tension in the air, the smell of rot and something colder beneath it, something undead.

And then everything stopped.

The footsteps. The rustling. The forest went dead quiet.

The moonlight bathed the road in silver, and in that eerie glow, one figure emerged from the trees.

Boris.

He stepped forward calmly, with no rush in his movements, no need for theatrics—his presence alone was enough. His long coat swayed slightly in the breeze, his pale face illuminated by the moon. His glowing red eyes locked onto Liam immediately, a slow, twisted grin spreading across his face. Sharp fangs gleamed beneath his upper lip.

He looked like a man enjoying a performance he had carefully choreographed.

Then, to everyone’s confusion, he stopped. Turned his back.

And walked away.

Liam’s brows furrowed.

"What the hell...?" Lana whispered.

Ann looked just as puzzled. "He just—left?"

They watched as Boris disappeared into the woods, his footsteps swallowed by the brush.

Then came the whispers.

Low, slithering voices that bled in from every direction. Dozens of them. Too quiet to understand, but enough to send a chill down the spine. They came from the trees, from the ground, from behind and ahead, layering over each other like ghostly echoes.

Liam’s jaw clenched.

He knew what this was.

Fear tactics. Mind games.

"He’s hunting us," Liam said, voice flat. "Trying to rattle us. Scare us."

He exhaled sharply, shaking his head once.

"Childish," he said. The word slipped out like venom.

He turned to Lana. "Light it up."

Lana’s lips curved slightly, and without hesitation, she lifted her hands. The air around her shimmered as her fingers flexed, heat gathering in her palms. A heartbeat later, a stream of fire erupted from her fingertips and tore across the brush like a living serpent.

Flames exploded across the forest edge with a violent roar.

Trees ignited instantly, bushes crackled and burned, and a line of fire carved its way through the undergrowth. The sudden brightness illuminated everything—shadows that once danced between the trees were now cast into the open.

And among those shadows—figures.

Dozens of them.

Vampires.

Their pale skin reflected the firelight as they shrieked and hissed, recoiling from the sudden blaze. Their glowing eyes flinched at the exposure. They had been creeping, hiding in the cover of darkness—but now their cover was gone.

And Liam was already waiting for them.

The first two leapt from the trees with beast-like speed, screeching as they lunged toward him.

Liam moved faster.

He met them head-on, his body a blur. His left hand shot out and caught one by the throat mid-air. His right caught the second a split-second later.

The moment they touched his hands, he felt the rush—the surge of his Aetherial strength humming through his limbs like lightning under his skin. He didn’t hesitate.

Snap.

Their necks broke like dry sticks. But Liam didn’t stop there.

With a guttural growl, he pulled upward, muscles bulging, and ripped both heads clean off their shoulders in one brutal motion. Blood sprayed briefly into the firelit air before the vampire bodies hit the ground.

Both the heads and the headless corpses began to burn. They sizzled, their skin cracking and blistering, eyes melting, as orange light bled from inside their torsos. They disintegrated into ash, their remains swirling up into the air and vanishing like smoke.

Liam stared at his hands.

Ever since his evolution, he had been wondering—how much power did he really have now? How strong was Aetherial-Class, really?

Now he was starting to see.

And it felt good.

****

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