"Well... shall we?" I said to everyone around me.
They were Anna, Pearl, Jeremy, Caroline, and Bonnie.
We all walked toward a building in the neighboring city. There were many luxury cars and masked people. Getting in was easy, especially with the clothes we were wearing—clothes I truly hated. Jeremy and I were in suits, and all the girls were in elegant dresses.
The suit and tie were itching at my neck.
"I don't want to wear these clothes," I complained, adjusting my tie.
"Me neither," Jeremy said, doing the same.
"Stop, you look handsome like that," Caroline told me, while Pearl and Anna said to Jeremy, "You should dress like this more often."
Jeremy and I complained, but it was impossible to enter that place without looking like pompous elites.
When we arrived at the entrance with my car—an Audi TT that I bought with money I extorted from other vampires through daylight rings—I left the car at the front, and the valet quickly came to take it.
"Take good care of my baby," I said, handing him the key as we headed inside.
"Did you all put on the protective cream?" I asked. Everyone nodded except Jeremy and Bonnie.
That's when the doorman stepped in front of us.
"Good afternoon. What are you here for?" he asked rudely.
"We came for the presentation of a filthy bat," I said with a smile, looking straight into his eyes as I tried to enter his mind. Even though I managed to, the compulsion didn't work.
He had vervain in his system.
And although vervain blocks compulsion, it doesn't stop me from using dream control to trap him in an illusion. But it wouldn't work here—too many people around, and he would definitely notice something strange.
"I see... May I see your invitations?" the doorman asked.
"Of course." I showed all the invitations. They belonged to real people—members of the Augustine society in the city, who we had killed.
"Let me see… Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert… It's good to see that the son followed in his father's footsteps. I'm sorry for your parents' deaths, they were great minds, and you inherited his charisma—congratulations. Mr. Transor and Mrs. Transor… Are you siblings?" the doorman looked at me and Bonnie with suspicion. "Well, I've heard interracial couples are common in the countryside. And finally, Mrs. Marim… I thought she had no heirs, but it's good that she does."
He looked at Caroline with slight confusion but quickly shook his head.
He handed a bracelet to each of us and paid close attention as we touched them.
Vervain.
Ohhh, he had put vervain in the bracelets.
They were being very careful to keep vampires out.
"You may enter."
We entered and sat around a large table, where we were served food and drinks.
I could smell vervain in everything.
Then the main presentation began.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" a man in a suit shouted on stage. "I present to you this filthy beast!"
The curtains opened, revealing a man slumped inside a cage. He clearly wasn't well.
A vampire.
He must be full of vervain.
"Bastards," Bonnie growled, trying to stand up.
But I held her back. "Not yet."
The silence before chaos had an almost pleasant weight. It was the kind of pause where everyone still believed they were in control, that this was still an elegant event and not a mistake about to explode. I walked to the center of the stage without hurry, feeling all eyes stick to me. I took the microphone from the presenter naturally and let a slow smile form.
"Good evening…" I said, letting my voice spread across the hall. "You really put in effort… masks, lights, cages… even the smell of vervain in the air." I ran my hand along the cage bars. "Almost convincing."
Then I looked up and stopped hiding. My presence poured out like a heavy, predatory wave, impossible to ignore. The effect was immediate: people stepping back, breathing faltering, hands trembling. Fear began to spread before it was even understood.
"I'll make this easier for you…" I continued, tilting my head. "There's a vampire here."
The first screams began, but I raised my hand.
"Not just one."
I slowly pointed at each member of my group, savoring the growing panic. Jeremy was already ready, Caroline smiled like she had been waiting for this, Anna and Pearl stood still—dangerous. Bonnie… Bonnie was a storm about to fall.
"If anyone tries to run…" I lowered my voice until it became sharp, "I'll have you killed."
I didn't need to repeat it.
The silence that followed was pure terror.
The first attack came too fast to be smart. A demon lunged at me, but I caught its face mid-motion and slammed it into the ground. The marble cracked under the impact, and that was enough to break what little sanity remained in the place.
"Now!" Bonnie shouted, and the world seemed to respond.
Her magic expanded in a powerful wave, throwing tables and bodies into the air as if they were weightless. Symbols glowed around her, energy being shaped with precision and anger. There was no loss of control—only raw power being directed.
Caroline moved right after, surrounded by living fire. The flames danced in her hands as she advanced, leaving a trail of heat and destruction. Every movement was fast, elegant, and brutal at the same time, as if she was exactly where she belonged.
Pearl didn't move fast, but she didn't need to. She simply raised her hand, and the environment responded. Heat vanished suddenly, leaving the air dry and cruel, only to return violently the next instant. The thermal shock made bodies give in, drawing out screams that echoed through the hall.
Anna advanced next, and the transformation was visible. Her skin hardened until it reflected the light around her, cold as steel. An enemy tried to strike her, but the impact didn't move her. She simply drove her hand through his chest without effort, as if it were inevitable.
Jeremy kept control in the middle of the chaos, every shot precise and necessary. He didn't get carried away by the environment, only eliminated threats one by one. While everything collapsed, he remained steady, efficient, focused.
And me… I was finally enjoying myself.
I moved through the crowd without hesitation, dodging, attacking, breaking everything in my path. I grabbed one of them by the throat, lifting him off the ground while he struggled.
"Did you really believe this was a zoo?" I asked before throwing him into another group.
The hall was no longer what it had been. It was just fire, debris, and screams. In the middle of it, my eyes returned to the stage—to the cage. To Enzo.
Even weak, he was watching everything carefully. Still conscious. Still there.
I smiled, tilting my neck slightly before moving again.
"Relax…" I murmured, more to myself than to him. "I said I'd have some fun first."
The impact of the minotaur hitting the ground made the entire hall tremble, and I felt the true weight of the fight for the first time. This was no longer about arrogant humans playing with monsters. These were real monsters. I smiled as I dodged another heavy attack, feeling the violent wind pass by my face.
"Now this is better…" I murmured, advancing again without hesitation.
He came faster than before, but I had already understood the rhythm. I dodged narrowly, twisted my body, and struck his flank, feeling the absurd resistance of his skin. It didn't break. Didn't give easily. That only made my smile grow wider.
I climbed up his arm, using the creature's own strength against it, and struck its face with full force.
The impact made him stagger, but not fall. He responded instantly, grabbing me and throwing me against the shattered ground. A crater opened beneath my body. I stayed there for a second, staring at the broken ceiling, feeling the pain spread… then laughed softly.
"Perfect."
I stood up slowly, cracking my neck as he charged again. This time, I moved first. I accelerated until I vanished from his sight and reappeared at his side, striking in a rapid sequence, each hit heavier than the last. He tried to react, but I gave him no space, applying constant pressure.
Behind me, the battlefield continued collapsing. Bonnie held the center, her magic now denser and more precise, restraining and slowing the larger creatures. The air around her vibrated with constant energy, preventing coordinated advances and breaking any attempt to surround the group.
Caroline moved like living fire through the destruction. The flames around her were more intense now, almost blinding, burning even creatures that would have resisted before. When a greater demon tried to face her, the force of her flames pushed it back—something few could manage.
Pearl maintained thermal control, but now had to exert more effort. Some creatures resisted the extreme shifts, advancing even as the environment warped. Still, she adapted her rhythm, alternating extremes to weaken them gradually without losing composure.
Anna fought strength against strength. Her steel body endured, but now there was real impact from the other side. Every exchanged blow was heavy, direct, demanding more effort. Still, she didn't retreat, holding her ground with cold determination.
Jeremy, on the other hand, was no longer fighting the same way. The hunter's mark spread across part of his body like something alive. His movements became faster, more instinctive. He reacted before thinking, taking down creatures the moment they appeared.
I turned my attention back to the minotaur when he tried to strike me again. This time I caught the blow, holding his strength for a moment. The ground cracked beneath our feet. I looked directly into the creature's eyes and smiled.
"You're not the first…"
I pushed forward, breaking his balance and throwing him into what remained of a column. Before he could recover, I was already on top of him, striking repeatedly, each impact deeper, heavier. He resisted… but he was giving in.
The hall around us was unrecognizable. Part of the ceiling had collapsed, fire illuminated everything unevenly, and the screams were becoming fewer and fewer. There were still monsters standing… but no more control. Only survival.
I dodged one last attack from the minotaur and finished it with a direct blow, slamming the creature into the ground hard enough to finally leave it motionless. I stood there for a moment, breathing deeply, feeling my body respond to the fight.
Then I lifted my gaze to what remained.
And smiled again.
"Who's next?"
The minotaur's body began to turn into golden dust. I stood there, watching it, feeling the energy of the fight still coursing through me. Then I slowly raised my gaze… and saw it.
Fear.
Not the fake kind from before.
The real kind.
Raw.
Instinctive.
Some began to step back.
Others simply turned and ran.
I let out a low laugh.
"That's it?" I said, taking a step forward, my voice echoing through the ruined hall. "All that show… for this?"
The creatures that still had any sanity left ran without hesitation. Lesser monsters, aberrations—things that once thought themselves predators now just wanted distance. The hall emptied quickly, leaving behind only what truly couldn't run.
The greater demons.
They didn't run.
But they didn't advance either.
They just stood there.
Watching.
Calculating.
"Now this is better…" I murmured, tilting my head as I walked toward them. "No distractions."
One of them growled, its unstable form twisting like it couldn't decide what it wanted to be. Another raised its hands, dark energy gathering, trying to look threatening.
Too late.
I moved.
Fast.
The first tried to react, but I was already in front of it. I grabbed its arm before any attack could form and pulled it closer, completely breaking its rhythm. One clean, direct strike—and it dropped before even understanding what happened.
I didn't even look back.
The second came with force, trying to compensate with brutality. I dodged easily, turned my body, and struck at the exact point, bringing it down with a dry impact. This time, there was no real resistance.
Just dead weight.
I exhaled slowly.
"So that's all…"
Behind me, the rest of the group had practically finished the fight. Bonnie maintained control until the very last moment, ensuring nothing came back. Caroline burned away whatever threat still remained with precise fire. Pearl and Anna finished off the few that still tried to resist. Jeremy… was already lowering his weapon.
Silence began to return.
Heavy.
Real.
I looked around at what remained of the hall. Fire still burned in some places, the broken ceiling let the night air in, and the place that had once been a spectacle was now just ruin.
I ran a hand across my neck, let out a light sigh, and raised my voice.
"Any attack against the three factions will no longer be tolerated. Those of you who survived—take this message to your kind. If anyone attacks the three factions… I, Nik Bennett, son of Qetsiyah, will hunt them down."
Just my mother's name was enough to make them fear.
Especially the Greek creatures…
They started growling, calling me a demigod… then their voices faded.
I turned slowly.
And my eyes went straight to the stage.
To the cage.
To Enzo.
I tilted my head and started walking back.
No rush this time.
No interruptions.
"It's time to get you out of there."