Chapter 30-The Uninvited Guest

I detect Big Brother Rowan's mana coming from the outskirts of the capital. The other vibe was coming from the person that I didn't want to see again. Alastor Serelem. I can’t believe that he's here. But why did he kidnap my brother? I flew fast using my broomstick, and I landed on an abandoned ruin. As I landed, I hid my broomstick and released Metamorphosis. I changed it into a sword and entered the ruin. As I entered, I saw stairs leading to the underground. He still likes to burrow underground, like a mole rat. The whole place was stenching in rotten smell like many cadavers were mummified in here.

His voice was still echoing throughout the place. I can hear the screams, and now that I have the courage, I immediately run to his lab. I immediately change my weapon to a gun and shoot his right arm. But it seems that he’s not affected by it.

“It seems a puppy likes to play hide and seek. A little trick won’t affect me,” he said, and he turned in my direction. My eyes widened when I saw that half of his face was rotten and his skull was exposed. He’s undead!

He laughed like a maniac, and his smile was creepy. The rotten smell and the scent of hyacinth were mixing in the air. I clenched my weapon and stared at him, wishing that I could feed his bones to the dangerous creatures in Eblines.

“It's nice to see you here, Experiment Zero," he said in a high pitched tone.

“I'm not glad to see you again, Alastor. I hope you turned into ashes, you scum!” I yelled.

He pretends that he is shocked by what I said. “That's very unladylike, Experiment Zero! Is that return after I bring you back to life?” How dare he? He makes my life miserable! Now that I have a chance, I will take revenge for what he did to me and his other experiment victims! I dash in his direction and swiftly change my gun into a scythe. Our weapons clashed, and the ignition of every clash has been observed.

“Still the tool I've experimented with. You are the perfect tool I've created! I wonder who brings back your emotions? What if I remove it again? First, I will start this specimen!” He said, aiming his weapon at Big Brother Rowan. How dare he involve my brother in his madness?

I deflected all of his attacks. “You can’t defy me, Experiment Zero! I am your master!” he shouted.

“I don’t belong to anyone, you fiend!” I yelled and flung his weapon out of his hand.

His laugh echoed. He looked at me as his head tilted to the left. He exclaimed, “Do you think if you kill me, your misery will end? No, your misery scarred your life forever! That’s the beauty of life! As a bringer of misery, I should lay you to rest with the other specimen!”

He is insane! I will not let him do anything he pleases! I’m not a toy! I looked at him expressionless. I will not allow this mad scum to hurt my loved ones! I put a lie on this place. The ground where he is standing was covered with a chemical called “piranha solution.” It is a combination of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide. It can dissolve flesh and bones. The witches know this mixture because some of the tombs have this kind of solution.

“What is this solution? Get me out of here, Experiment Zero!” he yelled.

“That is a special grave for scum like you. And I have a name. I'm Epiphany Saberblade! I’m the witch of the Sapphire Order! I am no longer your specimen!” I shouted.

He smiled and replied,“Hold that grudge forever, Epiphany. I'm just the rook of his chess piece. There are nobles and royals behind Project Ouroboros. Their goal is to revive that princess, who died eighteen years ago. I don’t know why they need to revive her. But all I know is that the Vampire King needs her. Be careful, wonderful creation. Evil are...”

He doesn't finish his words until his head is submerged in a pool of piranha solution. I vanished the pool of piranha solution, and I freed all the people that fell into the hands of this mad researcher. Luckily, Zain and his regiments arrived right on time. I was wobbling due to the mixed emotions that I felt. Before I could fall to the ground, someone caught me. When I looked up, it was Ehadris.

“Working on your own again is really your style? Don’t ever do that again. Every time you’d do that, everyone was worried about your actions. Remember, you have joined the order, and you also made your senior cry. Besides, Alethea and the other god had returned. They were unleashed by Themis, so we don’t have any problems to encounter,”Ehadris said.

No. There’s still a problem that I have to solve. The chess piece that the Alastor mentioned. I went to see Big Brother Rowan, who is still unconscious. “How is His Highness?” I asked the healer.

“He’s fine. Luckily, he didn’t suffer from any injury,” the healer said.

I let out a sigh of relief. This day was very exhausting, especially because I learned that there are nobles and royals that are involved in Project Ouroboros. I hope I can uncover the truth as quickly as possible.

“You should take a rest. You did a great job for today,”Zain said as he akimbo’d his arms in frustration.

Our attention was caught when we heard loud footsteps coming from the stairs. We saw Miss Evanora and Caela walking in our direction. It looks like I will receive my first sanction as a witch of the Sapphire Order.

Miss Evanora pinched my cheeks and lectured me, “Epiphany Saberblade! You barged into this case on your own! No wonder Reverie’s head was always aching because of your actions. But I must say thank you for that stubbornness. You saved His Highness from his death.”

Zain looked at me, and I shook my head. I want to surprise them until my courtesy call with our mother, Queen Thessaleiah, and our father, King Corentin.

“I will arrange a courtesy call with Her Majesty and His Majesty for you to receive the reward,” Miss Evanora said.

Caela's eyes grew larger. Avah's response when I killed a Noble vampire was the same as hers. I suppose that jealousy is a natural human emotion. They were jealous of the disparity in abilities between themselves and other people, but they used this jealousy as motivation to work harder on themselves. But occasionally, that envy ends up ruining other people. I'm not sure which one is Caela either.

After what happened to Big Brother Rowan, I locked myself in my room for many days. I don’t let anyone enter my room. I'm still thinking about what Alastor said. But why would they want to revive me? Maybe I could visit Alethea. I closed my eyes and tried to visit Alethea's dimension, but when I woke up, I was in an unfamiliar dimension. Where am I? A lady with a veil on her head appeared and smiled at me.

“Welcome to my dimension. You must be Serena, the person that Methusael and Alethea are talking about?” She asked.

I nodded and asked her, “Who are you? Where is Alethea?”

She snapped her fingers, and a table with teacups appeared. She seated herself on the chair and invited me to sit down. I sat down, and she poured tea into a teacup. She answered,“Alethea has an affair to fix. So it may take a while before she could return.”

I could smell the mixture of Yerba Mate and Guayusa from the teapot. According to the tome that I read, it says that guayusa can act as an antioxidant, boost energy, accelerate weight loss, and aid digestion. Meanwhile, yerba mate can improve alertness and relieve fatigue and headaches. But still, she doesn’t answer my questions.

“Sorry for making you wait. I’m Stacia, the omniscient goddess. I know you are seeking the answers to the questions that only you could discover,” she said.

No way! The goddess of creation was casually drinking her tea in front of me. What have I done?

“But why did I end up in your dimension? Did I do something stupid again?” I asked. She laughed softly and looked at me elegantly. Her gold hair and her silver eyes are so intriguing that I wanted to look at them while she was talking.

“Everyone has their own stupidity. Sometimes, there are people who are not perfect, but we have to embrace that flaw. Because sometimes only you and your other half could accept that flaw. Not everyone is perfect; only delusional people could imagine it. It was a madness created by the people who wanted to escape that reality. They want to be perfect? But perfection is the enemy of happiness. If they can’t understand it, foolishness will let them. The foolish will accept their mistakes once they understand them. The perfectionist will not accept that mistake and will bend the mistake to make it right,” Stacia said.

I know I’m not a perfectionist. But all I know is that I am a liar. I am creating a lie to bend the truth. Exposing the truth of the other but hiding my own secrets with a lie. When would I able to tell them the truth?