Chapter 149: The Darkness Within
[Music Recommendation: Eternal Eclipse - Hidden Machinations]
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She met his gaze steadily with her mesmerising golden eyes and gave a small nod, "Yes.."
"Damien, help me contain her," Ivan ordered.
Damien stepped forward in his robe, gripping one of Lora’s hands and her shoulder, while Ivan peeled her blackened nails from his wrist, making more of his blood spill in the process. The sight made Eve’s nerves tighten; she hated seeing Ivan hurt in any way, even though she knew he would heal.
Together, Ivan and Damien restrained Lora in an iron grip, holding her by her arms and shoulders, yet she continued thrashing wildly. It was then that Eve stepped forward, stopping just in front of her.
Lora’s black eyes suddenly went still as she stared directly at Evelyn. Then, her face twisted into a crooked grin as she spoke in an altered double voice, "Come withhh meee, Princess."
The horrifying tone sent chills down everyone’s spine.
Eve didn’t react, but her eyes softened with pity as she said quietly, "You poor thing...let me free you." Saying that, Eve raised her hand and hovered it above Lora’s distorted face. A bright golden light shimmered from Eve’s palm, making Lora’s black eyes widen in terror.
Then came another bloodcurdling screech, so sharp and piercing that everyone winced, especially the vampires, whose heightened hearing made it unbearable. The golden light intensified beneath Eve’s hand, but she didn’t even flinch at the sound.
Lora started convulsing violently against Ivan and Damien’s grip, unable to break free from their hold.
Soon, Lora’s mouth fell wide open, and everyone gasped as black smoke began to slither out of her mouth and nose. It moved like a living thing, writhing and twisting as it escaped her body. The moment it was completely expelled, it coiled in the air like a dark serpent. Blood trickled from Lora’s nose before she collapsed unconscious, her body returning to her normal self.
The smoke hissed and darted through the air as if seeking another host, heading straight towards Cece.
"Cece! Get out of the way!" Edward shouted.
Before it could reach her, Ivan raised his hand and hurled a blazing ball of fire at it. The dark matter let out a piercing shriek before it was consumed by the flames, burning away until nothing remained, with its faint wisp of smoke vanishing into the air.
Silence fell over the corridor once again, for everyone stood frozen, too stunned to react. Even Professor Dante and Damien, who usually had something to say no matter the situation, were rendered speechless.
Eve willed her power to withdraw back into her body. Her golden eyes swept over everyone in the corridor, scanning each face as if searching for any sign that someone else might have been affected.
When she found none, she let out a soft sigh, and her eyes slowly faded back to blue, "I don’t sense anyone else being affected," she said quietly.
Ivan eased his aura and gradually released his grip on Lora, who now hung limp and unconscious. Professor Seira and Dante immediately rushed forward to check on the human girl.
Her friend, who had been frozen in shock just moments ago, finally snapped out of it and stumbled towards Lora, falling to her knees beside her, "Is-Is she okay?" she asked between frantic sobs.
"She’s alive, alright," Dante confirmed after checking her pulse.
"Hm, she seems merely exhausted," Seria added, her tone softening.
Dante nodded, then carefully lifted Lora into his arms. "She needs rest," he said, turning to her friend, "Guide me to your room."
"Y-Yes!" she stammered, scrambling to her feet before hurrying down the hall towards their room. The students instinctively stepped aside, parting to make way for their room, some too frightened to even brush against her as she passed.
Dante paused mid-step and turned slightly. "When I return, be prepared to explain everything that just happened," he said firmly before continuing on his way, leaving the corridor buzzing with uneasy whispers.
"Wh-What if she’s still under the influence?!"
"She could harm us again!"
"Wouldn’t it have been better to just kill her?"
"I agree, are we even safe with her around?"
It was then that Ivan spoke. "She’s no longer under any influence. We got rid of it." His crimson eyes swept the crowd as he added, "So I suggest you all calm down and remember that killing an innocent would be a crime."
He fixed everyone with a sharp gaze, and their whispers of protest died down instantly.
Professor Seira then said, "Everyone, return to your rooms at once while we investigate what happened here." She turned to Ivan and Evelyn, "We’ll be back shortly to hear the full report from the two of you."
Ivan and Eve both nodded in agreement before turning to leave. Ivan then said to her, "Why don’t you go ahead with Cece? I’ll be back after checking outside to see if anything is still lurking."
"Okay, be careful," she said softly.
"Hm," and with that, he left, with Damien following close behind.
The crowd quickly dispersed to their respective rooms and Eve accompanied Cece to her room to wait until Ivan returned.
While Ivan was outside, his crimson eyes narrowed at the dark surroundings. He could feel a faint residue of dark energy lingering in the air, so he followed the trail until he stopped right at the spot where Lora had been earlier. Someone caught his eye...a faint glimmer under the moonlight. Bending down, he picked it up and realized that it was a small gold locket with a tiny red jewel attached to it.
From behind him, Damien asked, "What’s that?"
"Seems like a locket," Ivan replied flatly.
Damien looked up towards the building, spotting a window left half open. Spreading his senses he could hear Professore Dante, Seria and Lora’s roommate, fretting over the unconscious girl. He murmured, "Well, looks like we’ve found who it may belong to."
Ivan did the same and said, "Seems like the girl carelessly stepped out for this."
"Do you sense anything around?" Damien asked, turning his attention back to Ivan.
"No, it’s very faint, but whatever was here has already disappeared." Ivan’s grip tightened around the locket as thoughts of what had just happened ran through his mind. Anger flickered in his chest, knowing that the real target in all of this had been Evelyn.
He had anticipated that the darkrots would make their moves sooner or later after Evelyn revealed her powers to them, but he hadn’t expected such a cowardly method of controlling someone else to do their dirty bidding. Not to forget, had Eve not intervened, another innocent would have died tonight.
What troubled him even more was why they had chosen this approach. Surely, they didn’t think that such a fragile human puppet would be enough to lure Eve out...did they? As he pondered over this, Ivan turned and walked back inside the inn toward Cece’s room.
Later that night, Evelyn and Ivan stood in a room with Professors Dante and Seira, recounting the events that had unfolded. Professor Dante informed them that, according to Lora’s roommate, she had been in their room shortly before the incident occurred. It was then that Ivan showed them the locket he had found beneath the window...making it the most likely reason why Lora had stepped outside the inn in the first place.
"Good grief! I cannot believe something as small as this could be responsible for causing all this chaos," Professor Dante sighed, rubbing his temples as he stared at the locket.
"This is certainly...unexpected," Professor Seira murmured, her sharp eyes shifting to Evelyn. "But my question is...why would she come seeking you, Princess Evelyn?"
When Eve remained silent, it was Ivan who answered. "Because, as you already know, she’s powerful. They seek her out, to use her powers for their own gain. You’re aware of what the darkrots do to increase their strength."
Both professors exchanged grave looks, clearly understanding what the prince implied.
"So, are we to believe that such an occurrence is likely to happen again in the future?" Seira asked, her tone grim.
"Most likely," Ivan replied, his expression hardened, "considering who their target is."
Eve pursed her lips at the thought that her presence might have put everyone in danger. As if sensing her unease, Ivan met her eyes and said gently, "Eve, you have nothing to feel responsible or guilty about. You’ve done nothing wrong here."
"That’s right," Dante added with a firm nod. "In fact, you saved a fellow student, for which we can only be grateful. Evil will always do what evil does, without remorse or reason. The only thing we can do is fight back when it comes for us."
"That’s right, Princess Evelyn. You have nothing to feel sorry about," Professor Seira said, her eyes softening as she spoke.
Eve gave a weak nod before asking, "But if Lora was already corrupted by them, how was she able to cross the barrier?"
