Chapter 603: Monochrome (1/2)
Leviala made her way through the pathways, her mind still in turmoil from the events of the past two days. Of course, the constant pain emanating from her right eye didn’t help. She knew there would be a price to meddle with the past, but she hadn’t expected it to be that great. There were accounts of her ancestor doing even greater things multiple times over without being afflicted with the same curse.
But not only had she been blinded, but she could even feel how her affinities had worsened. It felt like her future had turned bleaker, and she wasn’t even sure if her actions were worth it. The abyssal eyes of Zachary Atwood in his secret form had put such pressure on her that she acted hastily, when 'being captured' by him likely wouldn’t have been the worst of fates.
Seeing how he not only cared for her safety but even risked his life for his people, was all that she needed to know about his character. He might be a ruthless pragmatist, but he was definitely good at heart. But such was the problem with her ability. She had a short window of connecting her mind to the past. If she had waited any longer the backlash would have killed her, and she had needed to make a decision.
Then again, knowledge was power. Her knowing his secret might not hold any value right now, but that would definitely change if she managed to lead her clan out of this place. She could set up a series of safeguards for herself and her people, guaranteeing security in return for her silence. It was a shady course of action, but their Clan was currently like a weak candle in the wind, any small shock could be what toppled them.
Now the question was what she should do next.
Her grandfather might have some ideas on how to lessen the backlash, but that wasn’t the only problem she was facing. The fact that Zachary Atwood wouldn’t let them out would definitely be seen as an act of war by some, but her instincts told her that letting the Second Elder and Yvian assault Port Atwood would result in massive casualties, and most likely end in defeat.
She had seen Zachary’s strength all-too-clear, and what she hadn’t witnessed weighed even heavier on her mind. Try as she might, but she absolutely couldn’t remember what he did against the Collector. But just the thought of trying to peer back at the events with her gaze made her break out in a cold sweat, and all her instincts told her that doing so would cause the collapse of her soul.
The thought of Yvian was also a cause of concern, making her frown as she rounded another corner. The parting words of Zac repeated over and over in her head, and she had to admit they rang true. The beastmen were crafty, but not overly so. They might have realized they could use the vents as points of ingress, but Clan Cartava had done for weeks already. The paths Hevastes took should have triggered newly installed alarms, yet they reached her private gardens without issue.
Not only that, the guard response was a lot slower than what should be expected, allowing the werewolves to leave just like they came. If it wasn’t for the traps and automatic defenses her family had set up, then they would have finished the job unscathed.
So it wasn’t elation that gripped her heart when she encountered a group of clansmen, but rather suspicion and fear. Because it only took one glance to see that the squad of eight all belonged to the faction of the second elder.
“Young miss!” the middle-aged man in the lead exclaimed as he took a step forward. “You made it back safe. But, your eye-!”
“Velar, how come you’re here?” Leviala smiled, but she wasn’t as calm as she let on.
“Looking for you, of course,” Velar sighed. “We’ve turned the whole place upside-down in search of you. Those bastards from the Lunar Clan are truly audacious to do something like this when we’re at the cusp of freedom.”
“It was actually the foreigners who saved me in the end,” Leviala said. “They-“
“You shouldn’t trust those people,” Velar said with a frown. “We have it on good authority that the foreigners are working with the Lunar Clan to pilfer this place before they escape together. We were about to force open a path to them in hopes of rescuing you, but it looks like that won’t be necessary. Come, let's hurry back. Your fiancé will be elated to hear you are okay.”
“My what?”
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“I don’t know exactly what’s going on either,” Ogras sighed as he touched his horns.
The two horns on his head hadn’t changed shape since they met last, but they no longer looked like liquid fire like the rest of the Torrid Demons. They had turned monochrome, and now rather reminded Zac of dancing shadows. His skin had lost some of its red tint as well, and the scale-like markings almost looked like they were covered in ash.
It looked like the demon was really in the process of turning into a shadow-creature.
“Can’t you stop the transformation?” Zac asked with some wariness in his eyes.
“I’m slowly losing ground to Asshole,” Ogras muttered, and Zac realized that the demon had renamed his contracted beast once more. “It attacked my mind while I learned the new skills. That’s why I’ve been holed up here for a while, to shore up my defenses and stabilize the situation so to speak.”
“It’s attacking your mind?” Zac repeated with a frown.
“Yes, but I think I have found a solution,” Ogras said. “I realized it lost some of its control after I ate race-boosting pills. I need to evolve my race within a month. Strengthening my soul would be for the best as well, but your array doesn't seem to work on me for some reason.”
”You tried out the array?” Zac said some anger. ”You didn't break anything, did you?”
”How can I break something by sitting down on a mat?” Ogras spat. ”It wouldn't even start up.”
”Well, that's fine, then,” Zac sighed. ”I think it only works if you have some connection to life and death. In either case, I might have a method to help you improve quickly.”