WHOOSH!!
Lester, Nyria, and Madeleine materialized outside the colossal white gates of the secret realm. The transition from the Ice King’s suffocating domain back to the Great World’s atmosphere caused their lungs to burn.
"Why did my Mum even ask us to co here! That man is insane!!" Madeleine snapped, her voice trembling with leftover adrenaline. The mont the gateway behind them shimred and vanished into the void, she felt like she could finally breathe again.
"What can we do... God Wolf is getting stronger as ti goes by," Lester said, his expression grim. He adjusted his collar and began walking down the marble-paved path of the Outer Sanctuary. "While Harrison is keeping him busy, we will be getting stronger. This is a ga of attrition now."
"But husband, what about Matilda?" Nyria asked, hurrying to keep pace with Lester. Her brow was furrowed with worry.
"With what happened in the Upper World, she was severely injured by the Elves. They used my secret weapon against her, and without treatnt, she might..."
"Let her go then... She failed too many tis," Lester interrupted, his tone cold and final. He didn’t even slow his stride. "She as my first bride is so incompetent... Why keep such a person beside ?"
"But..."
Lester stopped abruptly, looking over his shoulder at Nyria. The coldness in his eyes rivaled the Ice King’s. "If you want to save her... then send your servants, or ask Madeleine to send Mitsubishi. That is as much as I will allow." He turned away, his voice trailing off as he continued walking. "Don’t ntion her na to again."
The two won watched him go, exchanging a look of soft exhaustion.
"Don’t worry, Nyria... I will send Mitsubishi," Madeleine said, placing a comforting hand on Nyria’s shoulder.
"Her only task is to escape with Matilda; that can be achieved. Besides, she promised to help clear a secret realm soon. I won’t let her go back on that promise by dying in a ditch."
Nyria nodded, though her heart remained heavy. "Thank you, Madeleine." She looked ahead at Lester’s retreating back. "He won’t say or show it, but he’s angry at all of us... We couldn’t even protect the Wendigos and the Elves." She sighed, the weight of their recent failures pressing down on her.
"Because of our carelessness, the Wendigos were wiped out and the Elves turned against us. We three must return to our peak... Together we are stronger."
"Understood," Madeleine agreed with a determined nod.
SCREECH!!
The air was suddenly pierced by a sharp cry. The three stopped and looked skyward as a streak of crimson fire descended. A red ssenger eagle, its feathers glowing with energy, spiraled down and landed firmly on Lester’s outstretched arm.
Lester stood perfectly still for several seconds, his eyes clouded as he received the telepathic report. When he turned back to his brides, his face was pale.
"It seems the Old Ancient Dragon won’t last long... When he dies, we should be ready to act."
Without another word, Lester vanished in a swirl of shadows. The eagle took flight, disappearing into the clouds, while the two won stood stunned. This was cataclysmic news. The Ancient Dragon was the pillar of the second faction in the Great World. If he died without a clear successor, the balance of power would shatter, and the remaining factions would descend like vultures.
"Co on," Nyria said, her voice tight. She and Madeleine vanished instantly, racing to prepare for the coming storm.
___
[The Lower World — Eldoria Castle.]
[The Next Day.]
Sunny sat behind his massive obsidian desk, the morning light spilling through the tall windows. Josephine stood directly behind him, her presence a silent, protective shadow.
Across from them sat Ellen and a man with sharp, angular features and slit pupils—Sir Alex of the Snake Clan. This was the family lvin had ntioned.
Standing in a semi-circle behind the desk were the pillars of Eldoria’s power: Morgana, Nioh, Star, Jinx, Eve, Nicolas, and Blood-eye. The atmosphere was thick with the tension of a war council.
"I don’t understand what is going on here... Can you explain?" Sunny asked with a frown, his gaze fixed on his daughter.
"Dad... This here is Sir Alex," Ellen began, gesturing to the man. "There have been so issues in the Nine Nations. People are transforming into monsters and beasts to perform countless cris, even high-profile assassinations. The Dragon Nation asked for our help and even gave us the location of these criminals’ hideout."
She turned to the man beside her. "We can’t just show up there and start sending bullets flying. If we do that, we won’t know the mastermind. So I ca up with this plan... I know it’s dangerous, but it’s the only way."
Sir Alex placed a small glass bottle on the desk. Inside were five dull, grey pills.
"These are the pills given to everyone in that secret auction. They are known as Miracle Drugs," Alex explained. He extracted one with a pair of silver tweezers.
"These pills are strange. If you take one... you won’t instantly transform into a monster. That’s not how it works."
"How does it work then?" Nioh asked.
"It has a trigger," Alex said, his serpentine gaze never leaving Sunny’s golden ones. "You can take it and stay for months without changing. It’s a sleeper cell in the blood. Quite impressive, really."
"Ok, what’s the trigger?" Sunny asked, leaning forward.
"Your energy," Alex revealed. "Once soone lets out a huge amount of their Celestial energy, it triggers the chemical reaction. The pill dissolves, and the transformation takes place instantly."
Sunny nodded, a mory clicking into place. He recalled Malcom’s desperate surge of power just before he turned into a monstrosity. "Any side effects?" he asked, picking up the pill to examine its porous texture.
"Yes, there are actually a lot of side effects," Alex said, his face twisting with disgust.
"Once you take one of these pills, your life span is cut in half. You age at double the rate. That is just the beginning. After the transformation, you lose twenty percent of your original strength permanently. And if you’re a man... you beco sterile. You won’t be able to have a child."
He sighed, his voice heavy. "If you take all five at once? Instant death. There is no other way out of it."
"So ruthless... Do you know who is behind this?" Josephine asked, her voice trembling with disbelief.
"The Star Nation... I believe soone high in the power structure," Alex said. He exhaled deeply, his shoulders sagging. "There will be another auction in one week... and I know where their hideout is."
’Star Nation... It seems it’s ti I take back what is rightfully mine,’ Sunny thought. The na brought back bitter mories of a past he had almost moved beyond. He looked up at his generals, his eyes burning with a cold, decisive fire.
"Commanders!"
"READY!" The room shook with the force of their collective voice.
"Go get the army ready. In one week, we are wiping out this secret organization along with all the involved noble families. And also..." Sunny paused, his voice dropping to a deadly low.
"We are taking over the Star Nation."
"YES!!"
The commanders saluted in unison.
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