Borderline Safe Zone
As the team rushed to the safe zone, they caught up with Sergeant Bill and told him what happened.
But Selene knew something else.
She realized Rose had hidden power, and she could feel it even from the safe zone.
She didn't know if it was truly Rose. But if it was, Selene was afraid.
The flashback of Claudette's death came rushing back to her—the enormous power, that frightening pressure, and the terrifying force she had seen with her Third Eye.
It was happening again.
Selene began trembling.
Her hands were shaking.
Irish came over to her.
"Are you okay?"
Selene looked at her with a pale face.
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm just worried about Rose."
But deep down, Selene knew that wasn't the only reason she was afraid.
⸻
Meanwhile — Blackwell Territory Borderline
Aurelia appeared.
Her eyes were black.
A smile slowly spread across her face.
Not a happy smile.
It was the kind of smile that could give you goosebumps—creepy enough to make every hair on your body stand on end.
Silas and Lucius went pale.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
They were afraid.
They couldn't understand what was going on.
They knew their blood had been triggered by the girl, but to discover that the Queen herself was inside her body was unbelievable.
Silas couldn't understand it.
How could this happen?
He was the one who poisoned the Queen.
He was the one who stuck the dagger into her.
He had moved the territory to Alaska afterward.
So how?
What had happened to the Queen?
Why was she inside this body?
Aurelia laughed.
It was an evil laugh.
She laughed so hard that a single tear slipped from her eye.
Then she looked directly at Silas.
"Surprised? Are you happy to see me? What—you thought I was dead forever? Or did you forget who made this family?"
Silas flew backward for a moment, putting just a little more distance between them.
Lucius stared at Aurelia.
"Auntie Aurelia."
Her smile immediately changed.
"Who are you calling Auntie? Didn't your precious cousin get killed by me? Have you forgotten that your dear Uncle Silas made me kill her by cheating on me for her?"
Lucius paused.
His expression hardened.
"I have not forgotten what you've done. You did not have to kill my parents."
Silas still couldn't say a word.
His mind was racing.
Too many questions were running through his head.
But Lucius's anger began to rise again.
His grip tightened around his blades.
"I'm going to kill you for what you've done! Silas had a chance to kill you the first time, but I'm going to kill you this time—for my family!"
Lucius rushed forward.
His blades sliced through the air as he came directly at Aurelia.
One blade swung toward her neck.
The second followed toward her side.
But Aurelia was already gone.
Lucius's eyes widened.
His blades struck nothing but air.
Before he could turn around—
Aurelia was already behind him.
The flame sword burned brightly in her hand.
STAB!
The blade drove straight through Lucius's back.
His entire body jerked.
His eyes widened.
Blood spilled from his mouth.
Aurelia didn't even look at him.
She looked directly at Silas.
Her black eyes never blinked.
"Don't you remember how you killed me?"
Silas's heart skipped a beat.
He stared at the blade sticking straight through Lucius's body.
For one horrifying moment, the sight brought him back to what he had done to Aurelia.
Lucius coughed up blood.
Aurelia grabbed him by the back of his neck from behind.
Then she pulled the flame sword out.
Lucius gasped as more blood escaped his mouth.
But Aurelia kept him in her grip.
She looked at Silas.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you."
Her smile returned.
"This child that I am in right now—she is one of my descendants. She is also a descendant of the Radiance Clan."
Silas's expression changed.
"How is that possible?"
Aurelia tilted her head slightly.
"Not sure."
Her fingers tightened around the back of Lucius's neck.
"But this child can kill every single one of you Blackwells with her own power."
Silas stared at her.
"You should know what the Radiance power can do."
The pressure surrounding Aurelia grew heavier.
"That's the balance of this world. You should know. Back then, the Radiance was in power over us all, and you plotted their death—and mine."
Silas remained frozen.
"And now their spawn is part of our spawn."
Her smile widened.
"And this time, I'll make sure she's going to kill you all."
Aurelia disappeared.
Silas barely had time to react.
She reappeared directly in front of him.
So close that he could see every detail of her face.
That smile.
Those black eyes.
The hatred behind them.
A bead of sweat rolled down Silas's face.
He was pale.
The fear in his eyes was impossible to hide.
He knew he was powerless in front of her.
Aurelia continued holding Lucius by the back of his neck as if he weighed nothing.
But then Aurelia felt something.
Her smile faded slightly.
The body wasn't ready yet.
Rose's body could not handle Aurelia taking full control for much longer.
She wasn't ready to completely take over Rose's body.
Not yet.
Aurelia flew backward and landed on the dragon's back.
Then she released Lucius.
His body dropped from the sky.
Lucius fell helplessly toward the trees below.
Silas was still frozen for a second.
Then he snapped out of his fear.
"Lucius!"
He rushed downward.
Just before Lucius crashed into the trees, Silas caught him.
"We won't be able to fight her."
Lucius slowly lifted his head.
He stared at Silas in disbelief.
There were two of them.
And only one of her.
Yet Silas wanted to run.
"How cowardly can you be?"
But despite Silas's words, Lucius could see something in his eyes.
Fear.
Something Lucius had never seen in Silas before.
"Don't you forget her power is to control us. We won't be able to touch her. It doesn't matter if there are two of us. We need to plan this thoroughly."
Lucius clenched his jaw.
He hated what Silas was saying.
But after what had just happened, he couldn't deny it completely.
Silas looked toward Aurelia one more time.
He was still pale.
Still afraid.
And still confused about how any of this was happening.
He opened a gate faster than he could think.
Then he disappeared from the battlefield with Lucius, who had been beaten close to death.
⸻
Every creature below had already scattered because of the dragon.
The forest burned beneath them.
Aurelia's aura slowly began dying down.
Then it disappeared completely.
Rose took over again.
Her knees immediately buckled.
She dropped onto her hands and knees on the dragon's back, breathing heavily.
"Aurelia, what were you thinking?"
Rose struggled to catch her breath.
"We definitely need to talk when I see you."
Rose looked up and around.
She could see the creatures dissipating into the distance.
Below her, parts of the forest were still on fire.
Rose chuckled to herself.
She patted the dragon on the back.
"You did good work. I need to give you a new name since that's what the Queen wants."
The dragon flew around in circles, waiting for Rose to give him an order.
Then suddenly, a mind-link entered her head.
A very polite voice spoke.
Master.
Rose froze.
She looked around.
She didn't see anyone.
She looked down.
Still no one.
The voice came again.
Master, it's me who's speaking.
Rose slowly looked down at the dragon.
"I'll be damned. So you can speak?"
The dragon answered through their mind-link.
"Yes. It's been a very long time. I have not spoken to anyone. The only person that I could speak with is my master. Since I can sense my old master in you, you are my new master as well."
Rose sat there thinking.
Could the reason he was talking now be because Aurelia had shown herself?
Rose shook her head.
"Whatever. I'm already tired as it is."
She looked at the dragon.
"Your name, as of today, will be Briar—the name of the person I love close."
The dragon accepted the name.
Briar.
Rose smiled slightly.
"Briar."
The dragon flew toward the safe zone.
As they got closer, Briar began getting smaller.
Rose jumped off his back and landed on the ground.
Briar continued shrinking until he was small enough to fit in her hands.
Rose reached out to Sergeant Bill and told him about the two Blackwells.
She didn't go into detail.
She only told him what he needed to know—how she fought with one while the other one was staring.
And, of course, she gave him the clean version.
She told him how she stabbed one of them, and how the other retrieved the one she stabbed before running off.
Sergeant Bill searched the battlefield to see if any other creatures had lingered or if any Blackwells were following them.
But it seemed like the Blackwells had removed themselves from the area.
Sergeant Bill looked at Rose.
"Rose, you need to head back to the base. Your next mission is already assigned."
Rose looked at him.
"The Sea Kingdom knows what happened—or I should say, the Sea King wants to go to war, but the Archduke is not letting it happen. The Archduke is going to remove him from the throne."
Rose listened carefully.
"But Marina is going to tell you the rest. Head back. I will take over the team. We still have to make sure everything is clear at the borderline."
Rose saluted him.
She turned and headed back to the base as planned.
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