Chapter 85 Father's Cruel Tendecies
An enormous pile of dead and slain goblins lay on the ground, their guts spilled all over the place, but their mana stones were preserved. Killorn and the men had been careful to not make the same mistakes again. Killorn had come with his best fighters, those who had been loyal to them for the longest time.
Beetle rushed forward with the keys to the bunker, but was baffled and alarmed to see the lady was on the first level, instead of the underground sections. What the hell was going on? He understood why the humans were here too, but that didn't explain the presence of the lady.
What had that vampire servant been doing!
"Everyone, please feel free to leave!" Beetle hurriedly rushed all of the human girls out of here. "Escort them, lads!"
Beetle instructed half of the lads, for he saw his Alpha was too occupied with the traitorous witch and their foolish Luna.
When the last of the girls were taken out of here, Killorn finally felt his patience snap.
"Ophelia," Killorn growled, even though there were still a few lingering people left in here.
"Alright, alright, everyone wait outside!" Beetle insisted whilst shoving the other men away from the scene of the crime, to give the lovebirds and Layla some privacy. The men didn't complain as they crossed the corners and waited.
Ophelia slowly lowered her hand, her heart caught in her chest. She could barely hear over their relieved crying, for her heartbeats were pumping too fast. She was frightened and nervous. Killorn scrutinized her from head to toe.
"And Layla," Killorn seethed, his attention snapping to Layla.
"What were you going to do to our Luna?" Killorn gritted down, descending the staircase slowly. His movements were deliberate and menacing.
Instantly, the two women backed down the stairs. He was coming closer, his enormous sword not helping his image.
"Is that blood I smell?" Killorn growled, his eyes burning bright with danger. The lantern lights were snuffed out, drenching all of them in darkness. Shadows crossed over his frightening expression, one that made people flee for their lives.
"My wife's blood? To be more exact, your Luna's" Killorn spat out the last part in a heavy emphasis. "You know the rules, Layla."
"Alpha, I—"
"I-I am at f-fault!" Ophelia suddenly said, bringing the magician behind her. She puffed out her chest and dashed for her husband, catching him by surprise. She took him by his leather-gloved hands. She flinched upon touching the goblin blood, but still persisted.
Ophelia pressed herself closer to him. "I-I told her t-to."
Killorn ungloved his hand and tossed it to the ground. He stomped on it, his boots digging into the material as if disgusted by it. She shakily exhaled at the abrupt noise. He slid his palm across her cheek. Bending his head, he lowered his voice in a cloudy promise.
"And you will be punished for it as well, Ophelia."
Ophelia froze. She was terrorized with fear. He slithered his other hand onto her lower spine. In a rough push, she was against his chest. Her limbs moved like a rag doll. Unable to see his expression, she could only imagine his face from the terror in Killorn's face.
"And you, Layla, will suffer far worse."
Layla was quick to bow her head in shame and defeat, not daring to talk back to him, unlike their brave lady.
"Yes, Alpha," Layla whispered, understanding her fate.
- - - - -
Ophelia was escorted back to her room by a servant, per Killorn's cruel instructions. Killorn watched with gritted teeth as her tiny silhouette disappeared around a corner. Her shoulders were nimble and her head was bowed with shame. She knew what she did was wrong.
Meanwhile, Layla was reluctantly pulled elsewhere by a group of men, for she had to be separated. The woman was finicky, so Killorn sent one of his best trackers with her. Unfortunately, it was the slick-tongue Beetle who teased and taunted Layla the entire time, earning him spiteful glares.
Once the women were gone, the soldiers flooded back into the room to examine everything.
"Alpha, you may want to take a look at this," Reagan formally spoke. His accent and slang only came out when he was comfortable and loose. Right now, the situation was dire.
Killorn sharply crossed the distance between them. He peered down at the slain goblins, his lips twisted into a deep frown. Reagan was already there and examining the deceased beasts.
"Their intelligence has evolved," Reagan muttered in disbelief. "Look at their enlarged brain."
Beetle presented the warm organ with his palm, not caring about the liquid dripping down his fingertips.
Killorn glanced at the handiwork of one of the extractors. The extractors were hard at work, their clothes and gloves stained, but they were diligent and careful, for they were paid based on their expertise. Seeing the clean-cut organ, Killorn was even more surprised.
"They used to have pea brains, now they are almost the size of half my palm," Reagan said. "Look at the fine lines too, it is a clear indicator their intelligence has alarmingly increased. You heard them too, didn't you? They have evolved to even learn how to speak."
Killorn was lost in thought. There were a lot of coincidences here. "Something is amiss."
Reagan nodded his head in agreement. "There is a crucial piece in the puzzle that we haven't figured out."
"And look," Reagan pointed his sharp cane towards the goblin's waist. "They've evolved to use animal skin bags. I bet that is where the chloroform is found, but that is extreme science that requires at least a few eras of revolution to create."
Killorn narrowed his eyes. Something wasn't adding up here. "First, the monster population has increased in the past few weeks, their sightings are more frequent, they're closer to our borders, and now, they've evolved beyond the stone age."
"They couldn't have come at a better timing," Beetle relented. "You're traveling to the Mavez Dukedom again in the mornings right?"
Killorn frowned with a nod, as he had been sneaking back to the Mavez Dukedom as the sun rose, so that he could continue overseeing the training of his people by the time he arrived at the center. Once he had spent his time there, he'd rush back to the empire to oversee meetings. By carriage ride, the empire was far from the Dukedom, but on horseback for a powerful stallionlike Eggshell, it was a mere two or three hour journey one-way depending on the weather.
Killorn turned to the old magician. "Research into the cause of their intelligence and population, Reagan."
"Yes, well I'd need my best pupil to aid me on that work," Reagan complained whilst giving the boy he's raised with a pointed look. "It is hard to analyze by myself. As you know, I am old—"
"Hah!" Beetle barked with laughter. "I couldn't tell."
Reagan stomped his cane down onto Beetle's boots. Beetle flinched and glanced away, hiding the agonized expression on his face.
"Why can't we just ask for more scholars and magicians to be sent to us?" Beetle finally said. "A spike in monster population is alarming, especially in the north where our Winter should've deterred them into hibernation. Who knows if, by now, the monsters are making their way to the Empire, where it is warmer?"
"For once, you say something useful." Killorn pressed his lips together.
Beetle huffed. "We'll employ werewolves that the late Duke once sponsored in the university. He was a cruel man, but a learned one, and saw the usefulness in paying the prestigious academy's tuition for certain werewolves that were better with their brains than brawns."
Killorn's brows shot up. He had forgotten that part.
"We'll summon more researchers from the Empire's finest university—werewolves and sponsored alike," Killorn commanded, turning to Beetle.
"I swear if that irritating secretary of yours doesn't return soon," Beetle grumbled under her breath. She hated seeing Beetle, who was one of their strongest warriors, waste his potential on assistant work.
"If you hadn't pulled that prank on him, he would," Killorn barked at her.
"Then it's a good thing he'll be fully recovered and returning in two days," Beetle shamefully mumbled.
Beetle turned to his Alpha, but blinked. He was already gone. Reagan approached the fallen goblins to continue his investigation.
"Let them out," Beetle instructed the group of men. "And make sure to get their testimony on exactly why our Luna was not with them!"
"Yes, sir!" they said, taking his keys and rushing forward to let the vampires out of the underground bunker.
Meanwhile, Beetle stared out the shelter's doors. He saw Killorn was already storming down the hallways with a destination in mind.
Beetle swallowed. He could only pray for Ophelia. Killorn was not a patient man—he had his father's cruel tendencies.
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