Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 627: Making one thing clear

Chapter 627: Making one thing clear

Ulysses had to remain aboard the submarine, unable to leave as he had to ensure that the cloaking mechanism the vehicle made use of remained active while floating just above the sparse clouds in the sky.

Below, he watched as one of the city-states that made up the Solomon Alliance was turned into a battlefield with innocents dying in droves.

He didn’t know how to feel, mostly because he had never considered himself a patriot but that didn’t mean he wasn’t proud of his heritage.

A desire to head down to help surged within him but he remained calm as he knew that alone, he would be unable to make much of a difference.

Using the telescope aboard the ship, Ulysses scrutinized the area below, his attention drawn toward the area covered by black crystals.

The crystals shared an uncanny resemblance to Quillion, though they appeared to be more volatile, devouring everything they came in touch with until they could no longer spread.

Just what sort of weapon would cause such wanton destruction?

He couldn’t quite figure it out.

Just then, his heart palpitated as he felt the same connection as back then.

Instinctively, he shifted the telescope towards the largest mobile city standing just outside Pheripolis.

At the same time, down below, in the mobile city Cybele was in, she seemed to sense something as well, causing her gaze to shift upwards, though she saw nothing but the clear blue sky and a few clouds.

She furrowed her brows while pondering what she had sensed.

Just then, King Ull arrived with news. "We are ready. We can leave now."

Cybele glanced at him only to then return her gaze towards the sky, taking a few seconds to scrutinize it before remarking. "Let’s go."

With that, King Ull and Cybele left while in the submarine above, Ulysses let out a sigh of relief.

He didn’t know why but he felt like he had just escaped something.

Pursing his lips, he had a feeling that it was the same girl as back then but why was she with the barbarians?

The last time, she was with the Bazaar, and now, the barbarians.

Did that mean the two parties had an understanding?

But even more than that, why did he feel like she was his kin?

There was something wrong but he couldn’t understand what it was.

Unfortunately, he had a feeling that approaching her now wouldn’t be possible.

If they were fated to meet again, Ulysses hoped that he would be able to resolve the questions he had.

***

"How can you say that?" Elena scolded Nadia with the latter replying.

"Is that not the truth?"

"You and I both know that Arwen is unwell!... Don’t make it sound like she left of her free will."

"She wrote a letter and left. As much as we want to believe that she is unwell, it doesn’t change the fact that was what happened."

"How can you..."

"That’s enough!" Alex bellowed, bringing the argument to an abrupt close.

The two ladies exchanged slightly hostile looks with one another before looking away causing Alex to let out a sigh.

Glancing at Victoria, he intoned. "Explain."

"As you wish, Master."

Without further ado, Victoria proceeded to give a brief account of what transpired before Alex’s arrival, events that led up to Arwen’s absence from their party.

By the end of the retelling, Alex was frowning, same with Ana.

"How did Arwen become schizophrenic?" Alex inquired with Elena and Arwen looking at him with confused looks on their faces.

Recalling that the concept of schizophrenia might not be a thing in Eventide, he reworded his question. "How was she corrupted?"

The question caused both Elena and Nadia to reveal varying complicated looks as they struggled to respond until finally, Elena spoke up.

"A journey to the Afterlife?" Alex didn’t even know what to say as he stared at Elena in disbelief.

"How could you be so irresponsible?" Ana scolded, taking up the mantle. "That is an unexplored land, for good reason."

"Arwen said she could handle it and..." Elena trailed off to regard Alex before she continued. "And you were the one that said we should utilize any method to grow stronger."

"... I did, didn’t I?" Alex muttered, unsure of how to feel.

In a way, he was responsible for Arwen taking such a huge risk which ended with her slowly losing herself.

"Alex, we need to save her. She’s not herself." Elena intoned, also feeling guilty for causing Arwen’s condition.

If she hadn’t agreed to take Arwen into the Afterlife, none of this would have happened.

"I understand," Alex remarked. "Come, let’s get going."

"But..."

"Where do you think the banshees would have taken Arwen?"

"Back to the Wailing Peaks, most likely," Nadia replied before Elena could, earning a slight glare from the latter.

"Then that’s where we are headed," Alex remarked, noting the hostility between the two girls.

Both cared about Arwen but their means of showing it was vastly different, thus, the reason for their clash.

A smile blossomed at the corners of Elena’s lips with Nadia looking rather relieved.

"But before that, I want to make one thing clear. If you truly want to remain a member of Constellations, I will not accept discord amongst our ranks. That is the easiest way to cause problems. So from this moment henceforth, fights are to be avoided. Don’t let me say this again. Understood?"

Aware that he was referring to them, Elena and Nadia exchanged looks before nodding in unison.

Letting out a sigh, Alex snapped and a moment later, a black and white fog engulfed them all before disappearing, taking them along with it.

***

It wasn’t until nightfall that the chaos in Pheripolis was able to subside, by which time, almost forty percent of the population were gone with the remaining sixty percent under the thumb of King Ull.

As the barbarians went about ensuring that they would remain as overlords of the city-state, Cybele went about her task though she was forced to take detours due to the tails following her.

As she walked into an alleyway, she intoned. "Come out."

There was no response but then, she glanced back with her expression displaying a hint of annoyance as she remarked. "I won’t repeat myself."