CHAPTER 161~3RD PERSON’S POV~~Mystic-Meadow, 700 years ago~The sound of hammering echoed loudly from within Vincent’s workshop. Vincent attended to customers who came to buy kitchen utensils, and the sound was starting to disturb him. As the last customer left the shop, the sound of the hammer came again, and his brows furrowed. Vincent put up the ‘closed’ sign on his shop’s window and immediately walked into the workshop.Darwin’s eyes sparkled brightly, and his sweat glowed bright orange as the sparks from each strike of his hammer flew before him. He clenched his teeth and held the handle of his hammer tightly as a memory from a few weeks ago flashed through his mind. ~~“You keep coming back again and again. No matter what I do, you refuse to give up. Why are you humans so persistent?” Daniella asked softly, with wonder in her eyes.“It’s nothing personal; I just need to get some firewood back to Sir. Vincent,” Darwin replied with a bright smile. His entire body was bruised fro
CHAPTER 162~3RD PERSON'S POV~“Valerie, can you transport me back to Mystic-Meadow?” Gabriella asked as she walked into Marie, Christine, Valerie, and Angela's room. “Mystic-Meadow? You want to go back home to see Anaya?” Valerie asked.“No, I need to find someone. There's a forest in Mystic-Meadow that no one ever goes to because of the terrible myth about it. I need to go there immediately,” Gabriella replied.“Hmm, I can't get you to a place unless I know exactly where you're going. I need to have actually been there to be able to get you there, so I can only get you to Mystic Meadow, but not to this forest you're talking about,” Valerie replied.“I’ll have to find my way to the forest myself then. Just get me to Mystic Meadow,” Gabriella said.“Might I ask what your reason for going there is?” Marie asked, getting up from her bed.Gabriella let out a sigh, then replied, “The person who made the weapons that were used to stab Anaya and Steven stays in the darkest parts of those w
CHAPTER 163~3RD PERSON'S POV~“So, what now?” Mary asked as she followed Edith through a passage in Lady Anaya's house. “Well, I guess we just wait. In her letter, Gabriella said not to proceed with burying Anaya. She thinks the lady isn't dead, and she might have a shot at reviving her,” Edith replied.“But I checked her body for vital signs—there was nothing. Even humans emit magical auras. Although very faint, it can be sensed by people like me who are versed in using magic. But I couldn't find any such aura on Anaya; it's like her life force has been erased completely. Right now, her body is nothing but an empty bag of black blood,” Mary said with a sad expression.Edith saw the sadness on Mary's face, then said with a smile, “It's okay, dear; I'm sure Miss Gabriella will figure something out.” *****“Gabriella? Valerie... Angela,” Marie called as she walked around in the darkness by herself. She listened to the sounds around the area she was in and sniffed the surrounding air t
CHAPTER 164~3RD PERSON’S POV~Loud drums and the sound of guitar strings could be heard as She-wolves of the Merigold Pack danced around a large fire. Their eyes glowed bright blue and yellow, and the locks of their long hair were tied in braids.The alpha of the pack sat on a large mat along with his most trusted warrior wolves. He had no hair on his head, bright red eyes, and a smile on his face.The drums got louder and faster, and the women danced with more energy around the flames. As they danced and danced nonstop, the red flames turned bright blue, and white smoke rose up into the air.“Whoa,” Marie said as she stared in astonishment. She couldn't see the flames, but she could feel the change it made and how beautiful it was. “Amaizing right? One day, you and your sisters are going to join those ladies in dancing around the sacred fire. Once you have mastered your abilities to transform and hunt, you three will become one of the chosen maidens of Merigold,” Candela said with
CHAPTER 165~3RD PERSON’S POV~Marie, Angela, and Valerie walked out of the igloo, standing side by side. Their mother, Candela, walked in front of them, leading them back to the blue fire, where they would undergo their first transformation. “You guys feel the same way, don’t you?” Marie said softly, hoping her mother wasn’t listening.“Huh? What do you mean?” Angela asked. “Ever since I found the tree with the strange scratches in the forest, I’ve had this undying feeling that I’m not supposed to be here. I’ve had this feeling that something is wrong with this life we are living now, like my mind is being tampered with,” Marie explained.“Hmm, now that you mention it, I’ve had the exact same feeling ever since I woke up in my room earlier today; it's like these things I’m seeing currently are already part of a memory I had before but... scrambled up and made to look like something else,” Angela added.Marie and Angela turned to Valerie, and Marie asked, “What about you? I’m sure yo
CHAPTER 166~3RD PERSON'S POV~Gabriella, Marie, and her sisters walked through the darkness together. After Marie and her sisters woke up from their deep slumber, they refused to say a word to Gabriella. Marie’s face was directed at the ground. The sound of their foot steps as they walked further into the darkness appeared to her as white, circular waves that spread out from the point of contact between their feet and the ground.Gabriella had used her alpha aura to surround the girls so they wouldn't be affected by the darkness any longer.~A while ago~“So, I was right; you three really are something special,” Candela said softly as blood rolled out of her mouth. The glow in her eyes had dimmed out, and her entire body was covered in wounds that weren’t healing. “Stop talking! Your wounds won't heal if you don't stop talking,” Marie said as tears rushed out of her eyes.Candela smiled. “You’ve always been the shyest of my daughters. Now you've become strong enough to protect yours
CHAPTER 167~3RD PERSON’S POV~“The moon goddess created a few special immortal beings that are currently hiding in so many different places in the world. And this may seem strange, but the blacksmith is one of those beings. Seven hundred years ago, he lost something important, and this caused him to give up all the good in him to become what he is today. So, There’s one thing you should know before approaching the blacksmith,” Margret said.“What’s that?” Gabriella asked.“The blacksmith isn't an abyss demon, so your new alpha aura won't affect him. His power may seem a lot like that of an abyss demon, but he's far from one,” Margret replied.~Present~“Hey,” Gabriella said as she stepped forward.The blacksmith stood quietly, staring directly at Gabriella. Black smoke rose from his body into the air, and small sparks flew out in random directions.“Something is wrong here,” Derren said.“What do you mean?” Angela asked. “The blacksmith’s body changed as soon as he came out of that
CHAPTER 168~3RD PERSON'S POV~“I have just one question, though,” Angela said. She, Derren, and Valerie had already stepped into the cottage and were now sitting on stools provided to them by Daniella.“A question?” Daniella asked.“Yeah, why did you create the darkness that hides your cottage from the outside world? And what sort of magic did you use?” Angela asked.“Oh, I didn't create the darkness; it was a result of the dark energy that possessed me after the death of Darwin. The darkness strips away all good from whoever steps into it and slowly drains or rewrites your memories. You guys probably weren't affected because your magic was stronger than it,” Daniella explained.“Yeah, I quickly figured out that something was wrong with the memory the darkness was showing us. It felt so real; it felt like that woman was really my mother, and all of that really happened,” Marie said softly, staring at the ground.“But she was,” Daniella replied, turning to her.“What?” Marie asked.“T
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
CHAPTER 304~3RD PERSON’S POV~Mary was accompanied into the building by a group of four people. Two of them were maids, and the other two were Agnes’s soldiers. All four of them still had that eerie smile on their faces, and their eyes still glowed bright red, making them look like their minds were being controlled. They walked into the glass building and led Mary to a magical elevator that didn’t require electricity to work. Mary had her guard up, prepared to launch an attack at anyone who tried to annoy her. At this moment, she was already very pissed off, and anyone who tried to attack her now would be walking into their grave.The elevator door closed and started to rise up the building. Everyone was unusually quiet, and none of Mary’s escorts wanted to make eye contact with her. Mary watched them through the glass wall in front of her—they looked like dolls, stiff and lifeless, like they had been programmed to only move when they were given orders.The elevator rose for over tw
CHAPTER 303~3RD PERSON’S POV~The team of eight continued to fight against the Asuras, cutting through and destroying their forces with as much speed, strength, and precision as they could. They all fought with rage in their hearts, determined to end the battle as quickly as possible, but the Asuras were just too many. It didn't matter what the team did or what amount of power they used; the Asuras just kept coming like an endless sea of stars.The Asuras armor-like skin had become so strong that Edith's blade and Anima Morning Star both broke on impact. The two Immortals had to summon their weapons again and again during the fight just to avoid getting killed. They had to look for a new way to kill these Immortals, and that way was to attack them at points where their armour didn't cover—the gaps in the skin that revealed their glowing orange flesh. Targeting these parts was especially difficult for the werewolves because they didn't have long-range weapons, and getting too close t
CHAPTER 302~3RD PERSON'S POV~Nicole and Melody moved swiftly through the forest, toward the area where the forcefield was located. Nicole hovered using a glowing, orange, magical disc, and Melody just flew around, dodging the trees and large rocks in the way. They both had already seen the helicopter fly off, so they knew Mary was already going against her parents. Their only problem was getting to the forcefield, as the distance it was from where they opened their portal was too much. “Hey, couldn't you just use spacial magic to take us there? It's starting to look like this forest is playing tricks on us,” Melody asked, turning to Nicole.Nicole looked around, her eyes scanning past each tree, shrub, and rock. “I can't use spacial magic or any other kind of magic. Something is blocking me from doing it. This is bad; it means we can't teleport home unless we can find a place where I will be able to use spatial magic,” she responded. “But you're right,” she continued, then stopped