Inside the private greeting room, various elders and leaders of the gathering clans all sat around a great wooden table covered in fine ats, wine and other foods. The undead maids had all left the room, and I could finally speak with everyone.
"The world's changed," were the first words that left Viktor's mouth as he looked at the people surrounding the table, many of his old friends and comrades in arms dead.
All the n and won wore fine robes or outfits, yet none of them appeared to be weak.
They were here for a reason after all: the strongest mbers of their families. Each one of them carried a sense of pride in themselves as they gazed across the table with a firm expression.
These people carried the honour and safety of their families on their backs, from the Tepes clan's Vladimir, the Volkov's Viktor and Dimitri of the Fenrir clan, to the many other vampire and werewolf clans.
Viktor gazed at his old friend, Turim from the Etin clan, who seed a little strange.
His eyes shifted around, and he avoided looking at Viktor or the mbers of the Moonlight Alliance.
'Turim?'
He shook his head as Vladimir continued to speak.
"Indeed...but it seems we don't have much of a choice but to adapt and overco these issues, Dimitri if sothing happens here. Who do you think would be their first target?"
The words of Vlad caused a stir among the moonlight alliance leaders.
"Nikolai..."
Dimitri whispered, while many of the others muttered about Ivan because not everyone knew the truth or the things they kept secret about Nikolai to keep him safe.
"No!" Dimitri interrupted his thoughts and suddenly realised sothing as he gazed at Vlad with wide eyes before his muscles tense and he beca on guard.
"Yes, it's as you feared, Dimitri... their target will be our daughters because they carry Nikolai's children inside them."
Viktor's spine tingled. He was the one who had convinced his grandson to co here. The invitation was sothing they could ignore, and knowing this, the enemy planned for his reaction. The desire to show off his grandson to the world... using his vanity and waning life.
His old age seed to have caught up with him.
"I've beco too old... it seems." Viktor muttered while gazing at Alphonse Báthory, soone who wouldn't have attended this eting in the past. 'Unless Nikolai ca...'
Suddenly, his blood started to pump faster—a sense of danger and conspiracy made his mind enter a state of panic and rage. Tensing his muscles, he stood up, slamming the table with both palms and making it tremble.
"This is a trap! Dimitri, Vladimir, Alphonse, Turim we have to leave now!"
However, his voice ca too late as the room rumbled like an earthquake had started, shaking everyone inside.
So elders held their hands against the table as they stared at each other in confusion. In contrast, others seed calm and even showed a small grin on their lips as the chanical sound clicked through the room.
Soon after, the sound of heavy tallic locks fell into place as several of the room's windows closed off with tal planks bolted to the walls and floor.
What made Viktor's heart sink was that the mbers who smiled were all from the Daywalker faction.
"Damn it!"
Viktor growled, attempting to transform... but the mont his Celestial aura gathered, suddenly the air sparked with a black mist, and it devoured his aura, stopping the transformation in its path.
"E-Eh...?" Weak from having his Celetial Aura stolen, Viktor staggered and fell onto the table, his muscles weak, struggling to stand and remained focused.
"You almost made it, old man... but it seems you were just a mont too late." A snarky voice... familiar to most of the n at the table.
"This dark energy, can absorb other forms of energy, taking it inside."
The male vampire cupped his hand, showing the black aura swirling into a ball but taking on a dull blue light after taking in Viktor's aura.
"Then, allowing the owner to use it as he pleases, how wonderful!"
Elegant and quite handso, with a maid walking behind him.
The mastermind entered the room, causing most of the moonlight alliance to gasp, biting their lips in frustration.
"You bastard, it was you?! All along... You tricked us all this ti? All—"
Before Viktor could speak, Turim Etim lunged at his old friend, his eyes slightly cloudy.
"Sorry, my friend...I had no choice."
The two elders of the werewolves clashed, and many others started to battle as the daywalkers moved on their old allies, but Vladimir and Dimitri remained quiet, their powers sealed deep inside them as they watched the orb in the traitor's hand growing with each mont that the fools fought.
"Dimitri..."
"Don't say it... If you say I told you so, I'll break your neck!"
***
anwhile, back in the main hallway, Nikolai and Selene returned to their table to find the 'sleeping' Kumiko, who was likely using her clones to do sothing dangerous or difficult.
It wasn't the first ti they found her in this state. If they touched or moved her, she would respond, but right now, they wanted to avoid breaking her concentration.
"Nikita... Risa, are you ready? I don't think we have the ti to get the others."
Nikolai's gaze peered towards the doors his grandfather and the other elders had entered not too long ago.
"Sothing isn't right."
He could sense their aura and presence until a few monts ago when it vanished... and the direction it vanished was to the ground.
"Nikolai, what's wrong?" Selene looked at him, sensing the shift in his expression.
He couldn't explain it fully but turned to them and told the truth. "I cannot sense the elders anymore; they've vanished. I don't know if I am being too sensitive, but we should inform Alexei and attempt to leave."
Selene and Nikita didn't speak, just nodded, followed by Risa's confident smile.
"If that's what you think, I believe in your instincts, Nikolai."
"Darling, I will listen to you, hehe."
"Babe, if you want to leave, just tell where to go," Risa added before all the won suddenly noticed the woman who sneakily wrapped around Nikolai and hugged his back, leaning on his shoulder with her alluring figure. Kumiko, still focused on her clone, sleepily opened her left eye, which shone with a golden light.
"I have never doubted you for a second, dear husband..." She whispered into his ear.
"Kumiko! What...? When did you move?!"
Nikita seed shocked at how fast the sleepy fox made a move on Nikolai with them all focused on him. However, she quickly recovered and huffed, knowing it wasn't the ti to make a fuss.
"Who do we tell, what should we do?" Risa asked.
"I think we should let important people know, but the escape... isn't it sothing only a few people can use, right Amphitrite?"
Selene's sudden question caused the rmaid to gasp.
She had spent most of the night relaxing and enjoying the atmosphere sothing she could never see or enjoy while being trapped in the tower. Amphitrite felt a little jealous of Selene, who danced with Nikolai, but who could complain when she received a second chance at life.
"The escape isn't going to be easy... I can only control the water for a limited amount of ti and distance."
There wasn't a need to lie or impress the group, and Amphitrite didn't need to do that. Thanks to the oath with Nikolai he could tell if she lied to him and she could tell if he did the sa, a mutual benefit.
"I think we should move now, before they start their next plans. If we don't act first, they will have the advantage."
Amphitrite narrowed her gaze, watching the exits and the other monsters that acted a little strange.
"I've been watching the entire room all night, and more than half the crowd started moving a few minutes ago."
'We are running out of ti!' Nikolai's mind scread. He looked at everyone.
"We don't have enough ti to tell our parents... we have to move now, or everything will be lost."
He didn't want to abandon anyone, but three of these won were carrying his children inside them, and they couldn't afford to put themselves in danger.
"What do we do?" Nikita asked, feeling like she had done nothing but follow his orders recently, which was frustrating.
"Kumiko, does my dad know our plans?"
"Mhm, he said to do what you wanted and that you should leave the rest to him. He is building a group of people he knew well. I think we can escape—"
Kumiko's voice stopped midway; her eyes beca distance as she clung to Nikolai's neck tight enough to cut through his flesh.
"Kumi?"
"What's going on?"
Selene and Nikita noticed the change, but Nikolai remained calm, lifting her into his arms and carrying her in a bridal carry. "Let's go, we have to go, now!"
He gazed around the room and noticed Alexei looking his way; with a single movent, he beckoned him over. It wasn't Nikolai's usual style to escape without fighting, but his priorities were changing; the things he needed to protect were too precious to act recklessly.
"Selene, Nikita and Risa can you take the B-Route that Kumiko told you earlier? I will take the A-route with Alexei and this sleeping princess."
Nikita and the other two won nodded, but Selene seed worried and lingered for a mont, turning back to Nikolai as she hurriedly kissed his cheek.
"I-I am not sure about this, but... please be careful Nikolai!"
He watched them vanish through the safest route and muttered to himself.
"I'll try..."
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