Brother and Sister Reconcile as They Battle the Wax Brothers

Nick shielded his sister Callie behind him, his muscles taut and his gaze sharp as a blade as he stared Edward down.

"Brother, that family captured me. I remember clearly—he wasn't there." Callie poked her head out from behind him. Her voice still trembled, but her logic was clear.

Edward still had both hands in his pockets. Hearing that, the relaxed expression on his face did not change in the slightest. Instead, he nodded approvingly. "You're right to stay alert around strangers, especially in a place like this."

He met Nick's gaze calmly, without the slightest hostility in his tone, as though he were merely stating a fact. "So, are you planning to leave now?"

The question loosened Nick's taut nerves slightly. Leave? Of course he wanted to, but he couldn't.

"Our friend is still inside." Nick gritted his teeth and jerked his chin toward the sinister wax museum. "The one who spoke to you before—Dalton."

"Oh, that loudmouthed guy." Edward understood. "Then I'll help you look for him. More people will make it faster."

"Really? Thank you so much!" Hope instantly lit up Callie's eyes.

Though Nick still harbored doubts, the circumstances left him no time to think further.

His companion's safety outweighed everything else. He looked at Edward and finally nodded heavily.

The three wasted no more time and pushed open the wax museum's door, which let out a strange creak.

A smell of dust, old wood, and paraffin rushed at them. The museum was dimly lit, with only a few shafts of moonlight filtering through the dusty windows, illuminating the lifelike wax figures with their eerie expressions. They seemed to be silently watching the intruders from the darkness, sending chills down their spines.

"Let's split up and search. Faster that way." Nick tightened his grip on the crossbow in his hand.

"I'll check the basement." Edward volunteered for the creepiest place. With that, he headed straight for the stairs leading underground.

Nick and Callie exchanged a glance and began carefully searching the first and second floors.

The air in the basement was even fouler. Edward did not even need to deliberately sniff to distinguish the faint mixed scent of chemicals and rotting flesh.

Following the smell, he quickly found his target in a corner.

Dalton was tied to a specially made chair, his mouth stuffed shut. A layer of half-hardened wax had already been poured over his face and body, making him look like a failed, unfinished wax figure.

His eyes were wide with endless terror. When he saw Edward, muffled cries for help came from his throat as his body struggled violently.

Edward walked over, tore the rag from his mouth in a few quick motions, and cleanly snapped the ropes.

"Buddy, that's quite a look you've got."

Just as Edward led Dalton, who still had chunks of wax clinging to him and had yet to recover from the fright, up the stairs, a loud bang suddenly came from above.

Bang!

It was the sound of a shotgun.

Immediately afterward came Nick's roar and Callie's scream.

Edward pushed Dalton out through the basement door and told him, "Find somewhere to hide." Then he flashed forward and charged toward the first-floor hall.

The hall was a complete mess. Nick was using a pillar for cover as he faced off against a burly man holding a shotgun. The man was Boyd.

Boyd's face was filled with frenzied murderous intent as he fired repeatedly, the buckshot blasting splinters from the wooden pillar.

Nick seized opportunities to return fire with his crossbow, but the enemy's firepower was too fierce, pinning him down so hard he could not raise his head.

On the second floor, another man—Vincent, masked and lanky—was holding a dagger as he leisurely pursued the panicked Callie, as if toying with a pitiful mouse.

The situation was extremely unfavorable for the siblings.

Boyd roared and pulled the trigger again, emptying the weapon's chamber.

Now! A sharp gleam flashed through Nick's eyes. He suddenly darted out from behind the pillar, his crossbow already cocked.

Whoosh!

The bolt tore through the air and struck Boyd squarely in the thigh as he reloaded.

"Aah!" Boyd screamed, swayed, and dropped to one knee.

Just as Nick prepared to rush over and finish him, a silver-white shadow was faster.

Bang!

A crisp gunshot rang out. Edward had appeared on the other side of the hall at some point, and smoke still curled from the muzzle of Ivory in his hand.

A bloody hole appeared in the center of Boyd's forehead. The pain and madness on his face froze instantly before he pitched forward onto the floor, never to move again.

Almost at the same moment the gunshot rang out, a violent explosion suddenly erupted from the basement.

Boom—!

A wave of heat and fire burst from the basement entrance, instantly igniting the flammable wax figures and old wooden structures around it.

The blaze spread at an astonishing speed. It was as if the entire wax museum had been doused in gasoline, roaring into flames.

Under the searing heat, the wax coating on the walls and ceiling began to melt and drip down like thick syrup. The entire building groaned under its own weight, on the verge of collapse.

"Callie!" Seeing this, Nick's expression changed drastically. He did not even have time to thank Edward before turning and rushing toward the second floor.

Edward glanced at the first floor, rapidly being devoured by flames, then decisively retreated outside the wax museum and calmly observed the situation.

On the second floor, Vincent was caught off guard by the sudden fire and explosion. He gave up chasing Callie and turned to flee.

But molten wax cascaded down from the ceiling, instantly sealing off the path beneath his feet.

He tried to charge through, only to have a huge mass of scorching molten wax poured over his head. He was trapped in place at once, letting out a shrill scream before ultimately turning into a twisted, black-smoke-belching "new wax figure," buried among the artworks he had been most proud of.

On the other side, Nick finally found his sister, but the fire and molten wax had blocked their path as well.

Beneath their feet was a sea of flames. All around them, scalding wax kept dripping down, while the walls were about to collapse. The two were trapped in a hopeless situation.

Just as Nick and Callie despaired, the wall beside them suddenly let out a teeth-grinding groan of twisting.

Boom!

The paraffin and wooden boards were violently torn open by an invisible force, creating a huge gap. The night wind, carrying the scent of grass and trees, rushed in through the opening.

Outside the hole, Edward stuck his head in. Looking at the stunned siblings inside, the corner of his mouth curled into his usual smile.

"Miss me?"

Nick froze for two seconds, then his face filled with the wild joy of surviving disaster and heartfelt gratitude.

"Thanks, brother!"

Without further hesitation, he grabbed Callie's hand and leaped through the opening Edward had created with Telekinesis, landing heavily on the grass outside.

The moment they got out, the burning wax museum behind them could no longer hold itself together. Accompanied by a series of deafening crashes, it collapsed into a towering inferno.

The fire burned through the entire night.

The next morning, as the first ray of sunlight illuminated the disaster-stricken ground, piercing sirens drew closer from afar.

Nick, Callie, and the still-shaken Dalton sat by the roadside, watching the police and firefighters cordon off the ruins.

After a night of terror, they all looked utterly exhausted, but the relief of surviving washed everything else away.

Nick and Callie stood up and walked over to Edward, who was leaning against a tree and watching the commotion in the distance.

"Yesterday... thank you." Nick's expression was utterly sincere. He did not know how to express his gratitude. "If it hadn't been for you, we..."

"Yeah, you saved our lives." Callie nodded hard, her eyes full of admiration.

"It was nothing." Edward waved a hand, unconcerned.

He glanced at the police officers walking toward them and decided it was time to leave.

He turned around. While the police were not paying attention, a thought crossed his mind, and the extravagantly designed Fenrir Heavy Motorcycle appeared beside him out of thin air.

The supernatural sight left the siblings gaping once again.

Edward swung onto the motorcycle, put on his sunglasses, and casually waved back at them.

"Well then, adios."

Vrooom—!

The engine let out a beastlike roar. The black heavy motorcycle became a streak of lightning and sped away under the astonished gazes of the police, vanishing beyond the end of the highway in the blink of an eye.

As he raced along at breakneck speed, Edward was in an especially good mood.

"Alright, it's about time. I should head home." He murmured softly, "I just wonder what exactly Alan's surprise is?"