CHAPTER 8
~STEVEN’S POV~“The Dark-Hound Pack has already signed the agreement and is already under my control. I’ll have them help spread the message to all the other packs,” I said, scribbling my signature onto a letter I was going to send to Montgomery's mansion."But why don’t we spread the message ourselves?” Gregory asked, looking a little troubled.“The message will be from an unknown sender, proposing the deal to the alphas and asking those who agree to meet at an undisclosed location. The alphas who refuse to comply might get violent and want to attack the only pack they think the message is coming from. If they lay siege on the dark-fang pack, I can use the opportunity to assess them and know exactly what I’m up against,” I replied with a cold stare.“But… sire. Innocent lives will be lost; the dark-hound pack will be destroyed if they are attacked by more than one opposing pack at the same time,” Gregory argued.I let out a sigh, got up from where I sat, and walked toward a window in the dimly lit room we were in. “This is a game of war, Gregory. We are not bothered by what side is good or evil; we are not bothered about the means we employ to win; the only thing that matters is who comes out on top.""I never said you were evil,” Gregory said softly, turning to the ground.I remained silent for a moment, then said, “No, no, you didn’t.” I turned back to him and continued, “Get this message to the Dark-Hound pack; we shouldn’t waste any more time than we already have.”“Yes, sire…” Gregory replied and quietly exited the room.I turned away from the door after Gregory had shut it. I let out a sigh, staring through the window at the large fence that surrounded the mansion. This fence marked the end of the mansion and the beginning of the most treacherous part of my pack.Those images suddenly came to mind again. Flashes of a blurry face and a female voice I couldn't recognize. I clenched my teeth tightly and gently pressed both my palms against both sides of my head as a headache slowly came up.After a while, I left the room and headed for the gates, wearing a large, black jacket with a hood that covered my head.As I walked through the gardens surrounding the mansion, I stumbled upon someone. She was holding a tray, and her hair seemed a little messy.She stood there staring at me like we had met before, and after a few seconds, she snapped out of her mental stillness, saying, “My lord, good morning." I stared at her for a moment, then realized she was the girl Gregory had brought in recently, Gabriella.Her presence made me feel uneasy. I hadn't met her anywhere before, but somehow she seemed familiar. Her scent, her eyes, and the way she spoke somehow weren't new to me. I stared at her a little longer, then walked past her without saying a word in return.I could feel her intense glare as I walked away. I wondered what was going through her mind as she stared.After a few minutes of walking, I finally arrived in front of the gate. I had never left the mansion before because I was warned never to. Father and mother always told me there was something out there, something dangerous, something I could never face, no matter how powerful I was.And it wasn't a lie.Before my father died, I had an undying urge to see what was beyond the mansion—the so-called danger my parents always protected me from. But every time I got in front of the gate, an ominous and intense presence filled my entire body with fear.It was like something evil surrounded the mansion. Each time I peeped through the gap between the two metal doors, there was always someone standing there, a female with a smile on her face. She always had a large hat on, so her eyes were covered, and she was surrounded completely by nothing but darkness.The worst part was that only my parents and I could see her; everyone else freely went in and out of the mansion, but we could never.I peeked through the gap again, and there she was, smiling so innocently but with the aura of a demon surrounding her.I gulped in some saliva and gently pushed the gates open. I walked out of the mansion and into the outside world.~~~o~~~“Welcome back, Alpha Steven. You successfully faced your fears again,” the little girl said. She had bright green eyes and dark brown hair. She was only half my height, and her hat looked like that of a witch.Faced my fears again? Alpha? What was she talking about?“Whoa, I feel so exhausted. I slept for quite a long time, didn't I?” I asked with a smile, stretching my limbs.“Just three days. Nothing unusual,” she replied as she walked to my side. Her name was Margret, and she was only 10 years old.“So, where are we heading today?” I asked.And she replied with a short giggle, “Anywhere you want Alpha Steven,"“You always call me Alpha Steven. Why? And why do I always wake up at the gates of the alpha's mansion? You'll get me in trouble with the alpha of the pack!” I queried as I picked the little girl up and placed her on my shoulder.“You'll understand one day, Steven. For now, let's go have some fun!” The little girl replied with another giggle.“How about the girl I met at Montgomery's mansion? I hope she didn't get in trouble because of me,” I said as a worried expression grew on my face.“Don't worry, she's alright; in fact, she's really far away from Montgomery's mansion and has new friends to keep her company now. So, she's okay,” Margret replied.“I wish I'd get to see her again, though. She seemed really nice,” I said.She giggled again, then said, "Sure, you will, sooner than you expect."CHAPTER 310~GABRIELLA'S POV~Just as Clarabelle warned, the entire world forgot that there was such a thing as the alpha-J drug, and every trace of it vanished from the face of the earth after she reversed the fate of everyone who consumed it and became an artificial. Things went back to normal so quickly that it almost seemed like nothing happened at all—like all the struggles my friends were put through by Episteme, Evelyn, and Agnes were just a dream. People forgot that a company like Higher Wellness Pharmaceuticals existed and that Governor Gerald was a criminal.Newspapers and written reports about the matter disappeared without a trace. Because of this, Steven’s company was unaffected by Evelyn’s actions, and the criminals involved were convicted secretly by the council. Questions were asked about Governor Gerald’s and Queen Elizabeth's disappearances, but people soon got distracted by other things and lost interest in the matter. Steven offered to hand over the position of h
CHAPTER 309~3RD PERSON’S POV~Maria and Clarabelle stood in front of the gates of the Dragnon mansion with umbrellas above their heads and worry on their faces. They had been waiting for Marie and the others to return for hours, but there was no sign of them returning at all.Clarabelle did well to protect everyone from the intense heat, and now that the sun had moved away from the earth, she was sure that Marie and her friends had won the battle. In fact, as the Immortal of Fate, she already knew they would win, and she already knew who would bring that victory, but she wasn't allowed to say a word to anyone. What she wasn't sure of was if they had survived or not, because she refused to look that far into the future.“Do you think they'll return safely?” Maria asked with worry in her voice. She has lost her husband before and was very afraid of losing him again.Clarabelle turned to her and saw the worry in her eyes, then turned away. “Let’s just be hopeful,” she said softly. A f
CHAPTER 308~3RD PERSON'S POV~~Earlier~“Huh?” Gabriella blinked repeatedly in confusion as she stared into Lunaris's eyes. They both sat in a pool of water in the black, empty void that was Gabriella's mind. “What’s going on? I thought I died already,” Gabriella asked softly.“You did—well, not exactly. I put you to sleep for over four months to get some things done in your world. Now that my plot is complete, I'd like you to return and continue living the life you've always wanted,” Lunaris said with a smile.“Oh, you mean I didn't have to die for you to take my body?” Gabriella asked.“Yes, Gabriella. If everyone knew that you were still alive, they would not have grown as much as they have now... especially Marie. I had to make everyone believe that your death was necessary for me to come to this world, so that the plot I couldn't finish years ago would finally be completed,” Lunaris responded.“Oh, I can't believe it's been four months already. How's Marie and the others doing?
CHAPTER 307~3RD PERSON’S POV~Marie and her sisters, Cortana and Yuna, sat inside a large metal dome created by Angela. Angla had created multiple domes like this to accommodate the entire army of Vedantya, and this was because the temperature of the atmosphere has risen to an unbearable level. Daniella used her manipulation of heat to cool down the domes so the occupants wouldn't die of heat stroke.The air around the domes looked like it had been stained with gasoline fumes, and rocks around them had begun melting.Valerie tried again and again to open a portal but failed every single time. The spell that blocked her ability to use spatial magic wasn't very powerful but was somehow too complex for her to undo. It was like the spell reformed itself at light speed every time she broke it, and there was no way of stopping it.“This is bad. If we stay here longer than this, the whole world is going to melt down,” Angela said with worry on her face.“No, we can't give up yet; I'm sure I
CHAPTER 306~3RD PERSON’S POV~“What have you done to me?!!” Agnes yelled with a gory voice.“I poisoned you, Agnes. Ordinarily, poison wouldn't be enough to kill a witch like you, but depending on how powerful the poison is, it would be enough to weaken you. The souls of the fallen Immortals despise you, Agnes. But as much as they want to escape, as souls, they're not nearly strong enough to go against the spell you put on them. It's just like Sabbath and Mary; without Mary's body, Sabbath can't use his power. So, without Agnes's body, the immortals are weak to her spells. But spells require serious mental concentration and physical reinforcement to hold together, and once those two things weaken, the spell comes apart and the souls of the Immortals have their chance to escape.” Agnes gripped her stomach tightly as she felt an agonizing pain coming up. She bled from her nose and mouth as the souls of all the Immortals began seeping out of her body and flying off. “After the Immor
CHAPTER 305~3RD PERSON'S POV~~years ago~“You idiot, don’t go playing with sharp objects if you’re going to lose your mind like that; you know how dangerous that power of yours is,” Agnes queried.“I’m so sorry, I was only trying to get over my fear of blood; it’s really hard,” Mary replied nervously, stroking the back of her head slowly.“Don’t do that anymore. You’ll end up hurting everyone around you,” Agnes said. “But I’ll have you to slap me back to my senses before that happens, right?” Mary said.Agnes smiled. “Yeah, but next time I’ll make sure to slap you even harder so you get knocked out before coming back to your senses.” Both she and Mary laughed together, and the four teachers just stared at them with confused expressions on their faces.~•••~“I lied to you the other day, Mary. I’m not friends with you because you’re a good person or make life interesting for me. I mean, you do, but that’s not the reason.”“Then what is?” Mary asked.“It’s because I feel very ashamed