346 Unreliable Allies
Roxy and the blonde captain, Ruby Collins, stepped through the front doors onto the hotel's valet parking area. The warm August night revealed a sky full of stars unobscured by light pollution, even from their hotel. They stood on a lush plain between the vast moor of arid earth and hills and a temperate forest teeming with vociferous birds and nocturnal predators.
As they prepared for their conversation, the pixie discreetly manipulated a ring on her finger. It warmed up instead of glowing like other cultivation artifacts, keeping Ruby oblivious to its function. "What is there to discuss, Captain Collins?"
"First, I want to apologize for my actions, both for questioning your authority and allowing my soldiers to tempt First Lieutenant Vanity into breaking the rules," Ruby started.
"Apology accepted, as long as you follow through," the pixie narrowed her eyes.
The blonde cultivator winced under the intensity of the gaze, but she couldn't ignore the matter of utmost importance. "Major Grace, everyone who has entered the Mortal Plane has disappeared," she swallowed. "The Silver Medallions, a Cultivation Lord, Crux Pyron...
we need to know whether we must flee and regroup in a week."
"Your question undermines my judgment as your ranking superior, Captain," Roxy stated. "If we're still here despite the threat Immortal Skye poses, and having witnessed it ourselves, it means we've deemed it safe. However, your soldiers continue to goad First Lieutenant Vanity into speaking, and he's complying."
Shock washed over the blonde. She strained her ears and detected the distant voices.
"I'm going to be a hero, not a damn traitor!" Mars growled from inside the building. "So stop bringing up my father as if he'll be disappointed that I saved the Killian Army."
"That's what traitors say," a man sneered.
"What a joke, this kid's as delusional as ever," a woman scoffed.
"Enough!" Mars snapped. "If you don't—"
"Or what? You'll use Daddy's cultivation technique to kill us?"
Mason mocked. "Prove that you're a traitor? Brilliant plan, genius."
"Do you hear that, Captain Collins?" Roxy inquired. "That's the sound of your rank slipping away. I suggest you start building a defense."
"Major Grace," Ruby stammered, "As I mentioned, we're all under immense stress. Can't you show some understanding?"
"Fine, I'll prove it to you!" Mars spat. "But let's go to a backroom.
I'm not getting in trouble just to put an end to your complaints!"
Roxy's heart raced, her vision blurring momentarily. Everything she had worked for could crumble if Mars spoke. '"No, I have no patience for someone who disobeys orders and then stalls as the individual in question is on the verge of breaking the rules!"
Ruby's eyes widened in terror as she listened and realized the truth.
"Major Grace, that wasn't my intention. We'll stop them, but please, just hear me out."
"I've listened enough!" the brunette snapped. "Now, stop wasting my time!" She turned and headed back towards the door without further conversation, but Naomi, the defiant brunette cultivator, stepped through the doorway.
"Major Grace, may I share some information with you?" Naomi asked, halting the woman's progress.
"Not at the moment, Lieutenant," Roxy snarled, attempting to move past her.
"B-But it's crucial!" the blonde insisted. "It's about Immortal Skye, as you call them."
The pixie's heart pounded, but she maintained her composure.
"Excellent, please inform me later," she replied. "Right now, I must prevent others from breaking the rules."
"It's what Mars has already shared with us," Naomi persisted as the major brushed past her.
Roxy halted, trying to determine whether it was a ruse to delay her.
"If you're bluffing or stalling to give First Lieutenant Vanity time to speak, I'll recommend you be court-martialed for insubordination. If it results in a traitor obtaining information, I'll ensure the consequences are severe. Are you certain you want to stop me from preventing him from breaking the rules?"
Naomi, typically bold and opinionated with her tightly wound bun, hesitated, trembling slightly as her eyes revealed her inner turmoil.
"Lieutenant Ross just came at an inopportune moment," Ruby interjected, causing the brunette to turn toward her. "Please proceed, Major Grace. We—"
CRaaaACK!
Roxy's eyes widened in terror as she saw a massive spear of raw Qi erupt from the captain's rib cage, splattering her face with warm blood. She wanted to look outside the hotel's door but remained frozen, staring at her own stomach, which now had a gaping, gushing wound.
"Killian scum," a male voice sneered, making the pixie's eyes widen in horror as she fell to the ground. It wasn't Kaze Lexicon, the person she expected to approach quickly upon hearing the situation.
It was a much darker and more familiar voice she hadn't anticipated.
"H-Hey, what just happened!?" Naomi exclaimed. "Captain... major..."
"It's like an infestation out here," the man outside scoffed. "I'll take pleasure in exterminating every last one of you."
"Who are you!?" the brunette demanded, preparing to counterattack.
Roxy's vision blurred as she watched tendrils emerge from the shadows behind Naomi in the hotel lobby. The pixie wanted to warn her that the assault wasn't coming from above, but it was too late.
"ACK!" Naomi choked, blood splattering onto the ground as the tendrils impaled her, leaving her suspended in mid-air.
THUD!
Her lifeless body fell next to Roxy's, her eyes void of life. The pixie's eyes trembled as she looked on.
"Shhhhhhhhhhh...." A hypnotic hush filled the air like a gentle night breeze, growing louder as the man descended to the ground. "There would be no fun in demolishing the entire building, and I'm not one for hide and seek."
Roxy's heart raced, hearing the man's boots touch the ground. They were black, as dark as night, complementing his black toga made of luxurious fabric. He wore a cape around his shoulders, not the kind a superhero or villain would wear, but the type worn by ancient royalty. She couldn't see his face but knew his identity, causing her blood to run cold.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
She could see his boots as the man's ominous footsteps grew louder.
They were soul-beast boots made from the hide of a Larabeast. The beast didn't exist on this plane; it was a heaven-realm soul beast reserved for high-ranking soldiers or nobility. It wasn't something someone from the mortal plane could fake. It was genuine, just a few feet from her.
"I've always admired you, Roxy," the man declared, his voice smirking. "So I'll consider keeping you as my pet. We'll see once I finish my "hunt."
"N-No..." Roxy swallowed, struggling to fight back. However, she couldn't breathe under pressure, and her eyes grew heavy. She couldn't even think about Mars, her chosen family, as he walked through the double doors into the cafeteria where everyone awaited.
She was too weak, her consciousness too fragile.
As she listened in a daze, confused gasps turned to shouts, shouts transformed into screams, and screams gave way to trampling footsteps. Explosions shook the area in rapid succession, boom-boom-boom until the entire room fell eerily silent. After a while, the chaos re-emerged in the distance. The surreal experience continued until she finally slipped into unconsciousness.
"Where am I?" Roxy murmured, opening her eyes slowly. She couldn't tell how much time had passed; she felt she was still in the lobby, surrounded by blood and death. As her consciousness returned, her thoughts drifted to Mars, the man, and her own situation, in that order, causing a wave of dread to wash over her.
Roxy abruptly sat up, her pulse racing, and found herself in a white room with a white bed. Sunlight streamed through the window, revealing that it was morning. "Where is this place?"
"I suppose you can call it home for the time being," a chilling voice said, prompting her to crane her neck.
"You..." she whispered, gazing at the black-haired teenager sitting beside her. Though he was the person she had expected, she couldn't decide who was worse as she stared into his callous, green eyes.
They were the eyes of a killer who had witnessed far more deaths than she ever would.
"Yes, it's me," Kaze replied, somber and straightforward. "Care to explain why you didn't return? Or why you're not surprised that others of power are on this plane?"
"I will, but first... what about Mars?" Roxy asked, her heart aching.
"Please tell me that first."
"He's alive — for now," the emperor announced, causing her heart to swirl with a mixture of relief and apprehension. "It seems he couldn't resist the urge to speak after all. While I expected as much, he lasted much longer than I anticipated. That means he would have made it — had you made contact as we discussed."
The pixie's face contorted with pain, her eyes filling with tears. "I wasn't betraying you," she whispered. "It was complicated."
"Then explain quickly, for my patience has run thin," Kaze demanded. "While there was no harm in Mars Vanity being there if they already knew information on our whereabouts, However, I confirmed they weren't. Now, six people with our information escaped in separate directions because a cultivation lord we weren't informed about showed up. I want answers for all of it."
Follow current nov𝒆ls on freew(𝒆)bnov𝒆l.(c)om