Gulp.
Gulp.
The quiet sound of throats swallowing echoed through the vast hall.
It repeated again and again—awkward, forced, loud in the silence. The room, once filled with the proud gazes of immortal elites, now looked like a battlefield after the first cannon had fired.
Dozens—no, hundreds—of jaws hung slack. Some had dropped their goblets. A few nearly popped their eyes out of their sockets.
No one spoke.
No one could.
They simply could not believe what they had just witnessed.
Alex, the newly instated Supreme of the Marcus lineage, had just—
—killed Jane.
Effortlessly. Mercilessly. Without hesitation.
Killed Jane.
Let that sink in.
She wasn't just any vampire. She was Jane of the Volturi, Aro's personal sister and one of the nine elite members of the Volturi Guard—the central backbone of the vampire world's greatest ruling family.
Among immortals, Jane stood near the top of the pyramid.
And now? She was a smear on the floor.
Right in front of Aro.
Alex hadn't flinched. Hadn't wavered.
He ignored the Volturi leader's warning. He ignored his plea.
And he obliterated Jane as though she were nothing more than an inconvenience.
---
Did Alex not understand what that meant?
Did he not realize that, in killing Jane, he had practically declared war on the most powerful faction in vampire history?
He had only just inherited leadership over Marcus's clan—and now he stood on the precipice of an all-out blood war with the Volturi?
"You… you killed Jane!"
The hall shuddered as Aro's voice exploded through the silence.
Low. Raspy. Vicious.
Like something ancient and starved had awakened.
Everyone turned to look at him.
Aro's eyes burned, wide and predatory, locked onto Alex like a predator denied its meal. His teeth clenched, and from between them, his voice hissed like acid:
"I haven't been this angry in over a thousand years."
The power behind the words was tangible. His killing intent poured out in waves.
It was ice. It was fire. It was death.
Immortal guests throughout the room shivered involuntarily.
Aro, the most elegant and composed among Supremes, had lost control.
---
But—
Fssshhhh—!!
Before Aro could finish his sentence, Alex's heat vision struck again.
Twin beams of blazing light burst from his eyes and surged straight toward the Volturi leader.
This time, Alex wasn't waiting for retaliation.
If he'd already killed Jane, there was zero reason to let Aro live.
No witnesses. No loose ends.
That was his logic.
---
WHOOSH!
But Aro was not an ordinary vampire.
He wasn't even ordinary among Supremes.
Aside from perhaps Dracula himself, Aro was one of the most dangerous beings to ever walk among the undead.
As the beams shot toward him, Aro's body blurred, vanishing like a shadow under the moonlight.
CRASH!
Alex's heat vision struck Aro's throne, vaporizing it in a second. Melted metal and shattered stone scattered across the floor.
But Aro had reappeared five meters away, his robes fluttering, his expression dark.
---
"Insolence!"
Another voice rang out.
It was Eric, one of Aro's most trusted guards. Unlike Jane, Eric didn't wait for permission.
There was no time for speeches.
Only action.
He lunged forward, both hands thrusting outward.
WHUMP!
Twin plumes of black smoke exploded from his palms—corrosive, writhing energy, shaped like two serpents of shadow. They hissed as they shot through the air toward Alex.
Aro's inner circle had never needed to fight as a unit before.
Now, they had no choice.
---
But Alex didn't flinch.
He simply raised one hand, palm open toward the incoming tendrils.
Hummm...
The space around him shimmered.
An invisible barrier formed—telekinetic force, raw and refined.
The black tendrils slammed into it—and stopped cold.
Thump.
They crashed like waves against a cliffside. The energy recoiled.
Eric's eyes widened.
"What…? Telekinesis?!"
He reeled in shock.
That wasn't just heat vision anymore. That wasn't just strength.
Now this guy had psychic abilities too?!
What kind of freak was this?
He wasn't even a real vampire yet!
No transformation. No lineage. No blood inheritance.
Just raw, monstrous power.
---
"Damn it…"
Realizing that Alex's heat vision could strike from anywhere, Eric made a quick decision.
His body burst with black smoke, unleashing a tide of darkness that enveloped the entire hall.
In seconds, the entire area was swallowed in shadow.
The darkness wasn't just a smokescreen—it was his domain.
Within this sphere, Eric could sever all sensory input. Sight, sound, smell—all gone. Even immortals were reduced to blind sheep in his fog.
Except Eric.
He moved freely within it.
And as long as Alex couldn't pinpoint him, he couldn't fire those deadly beams.
To attack blindly was to risk hitting other clans' elders.
To risk turning the entire vampire world against him.
Surely, even someone like Alex wouldn't dare.
---
Unfortunately for Eric…
He underestimated just how little Alex cared.
And just how terrifying his powers had become.
---
Alex blinked.
His vision did not change.
The black smoke might have robbed everyone else of their senses.
But his x-ray vision pierced through the darkness like it wasn't even there.
He saw Eric.
Clear as day.
Every heartbeat. Every footfall. Every flick of muscle fiber.
---
Zzzzt!
Two beams of red-hot death fired straight into the mist.
"Hrk—!"
A strangled gasp echoed within the shadows.
Then—
Whumff—
The black smoke evaporated, like mist under the sun.
As the last of it vanished, a horrific sight was revealed:
Eric's headless corpse, still twitching.
Standing at the epicenter of it all: Alex, unmoved.
---
Gulp.
Gulp.
Once again, the hall was filled with the sound of vampires swallowing hard.
They stared at Eric's corpse with wide, trembling eyes.
The third member of the Volturi Guard…
Dead.
Slaughtered, without mercy.
---
"Eric!"
A voice roared—grief-stricken, furious, and broken.
It came from Aro.
He staggered forward, expression contorted, unable to process what he was seeing.
Eric and Jane, his most trusted siblings. Loyal for centuries. Tireless warriors. Architects of Volturi dominance.
Gone.
Just like that.
They had survived dozens of bloody wars.
Survived assassination attempts. Survived ancient feuds.
And now?
Now they had died—in the most humiliating way imaginable.
Not on a battlefield. Not in honor.
But at a ceremony.
Like cattle led to slaughter.
---
"You… must die!"
Aro's voice cracked, every word saturated with hate.
His eyes locked onto Alex with killing intent so potent it could've dropped lesser vampires to their knees.
But—
BOOM!
Alex didn't bother replying.
He exploded forward with a sonic boom, crossing the distance between them in an instant.
---
He didn't use heat vision this time.
There were too many people around. Too many witnesses. Too many complications.
So he chose the simplest method.
Violence—direct and personal.
---
"RAAAHH—!!"
Aro charged forward too, unleashing his near-supersonic speed.
In an instant, the two figures collided.
To those watching, it looked like a storm had struck the center of the hall.
Their bodies were blurs—moving faster than most could follow. Every clash sent shockwaves rippling outward.
Dust erupted. Glass shattered. Walls cracked.
It lasted all of three seconds.
Then—
Whump.
The blur of motion resolved.
One figure stood.
The other…
…was missing his head.
Alex stood calmly, one foot planted, one hand gripping Aro's severed head by the hair
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