27 More Power, I Need More Power At All Cost

11:41 P.M.

March 21st, 2028

#311, Grado Street

Lin Shen Supermarket.

"I am finally back. After all those years, I am finally back."

Merciless observed a massive store from the parking lot via the glass. It was a calm night, and a cool breeze touched him from the open window of the highlander; nonetheless, the coldness did not bother him in the least. A moment later, Hector opened the back door, and the sound of the vehicle door opening into the distance could be heard as Merciless emerged from it.

"Well, it's time to see if she is still here."

Merciless said as he made his way to the store's entrance. The moment he walked in, his eyes were met with a lot of nostalgic things: for one, the store hadn't changed a bit; for two, the large picture of his previous employer, Lin Shen, near the door of the entrance; and for three, the scent of cinnamon incense that his previous employer loved to burn.

"How delightful; nothing has changed much, and all my precious memories with Carmilla have been well preserved. Say, Hector, I want this supermarket; make it happen." I'm not interested in getting connected with Carmilla. But I'd want to keep it the way it is, like a moment of sorts."

Merciless spoke to Hector, who bowed and responded as such.

"As you wished, my alpha, I will get in contact with the store owner tomorrow, and I will get the deed to the shop at all costs, even if we have to use force to get it for you."

"Many thanks, Hector; you have definitely met all of my requirements. To think that a dependable butler would be far more handy than your stereotypical maid; I am very pleased that our paths and destiny intersect in this way."

"The feeling is neutral, my alpha. The honor of serving you is my life purpose at this point."

"Hahaha, good answer, Hector. Let us now go to the counter and ask some questions." But I seriously doubt Carmilla is here, to begin with, but I can hope."

With that said, Hector and Merciless entered the shop and saw that no one was present. This was to be expected, as everyone at this hour is most likely at home resting, if not doing night shifts.

However, he noticed a large man at the counter at this time. He was a dark-skinned man, unlike Carmilla; he was 6'3 tall and extraordinarily muscular, like a bodybuilder. He was dressed in a grey shirt and trousers with the store emblem in the center. The man was ball-headed, but what struck Merciless the most was that he only had one eye, his left eye, and his surviving right eye was a lovely hazel color. The man himself appeared to be in his forties, if not early fifties, and had scars all over his body. Merciless was given the impression that he was either a gang member or a former soldier, both of which may be misinterpreted.

Merciless, on the other hand, was not at all intimidated by him. If he took action, he could murder this man faster than he would realize he was already dead; in any case, Hector could kill him faster than Merciless. But, at the same time, Hector looked at him with a horrified expression as he muttered quietly; his words didn't bypass Merciless's enhanced hearing.

"Oh no... Brunhilde, you... *sigh* well, I hope this doesn't go wrong; the one-eyed giant prophecy came so quickly; shit...

'The one-eyed giant, hmm... sure, I heard her mention something about a one-eyed giant and a six-passing. Hector's family is truly extraordinary. Her statements came true as the day, and it's frightening how exact her riddles can be once you figure them out.'

'But why am I suddenly feeling uneasy? It's as if I don't want to go on, but I have to. Oh, I do not like this strange sense of paranoia one bit; I know I'm safe in this place occupied by one single person with no possibility of retaliating. But why do I suddenly feel threatened? This isn't usual, hmm. Yep, I should keep my guard up; I can feel it. Brunhilde thank you for warning me ahead of time; something is going to happen, and I know I won't like it.'

11:44 P.M.

Merciless felt afraid as he moved closer and closer to the man who was watching him at this time. Why did he feel this way? He had no idea, but he continued on without displaying any signs of dread. Hector kept an eye on his alpha, and he could sense it as well. No, he felt this feeling many times, a sense that only comes when you know what's coming; it wasn't Deja Vu; it was something more, something harder to express but also too similar to it. He felt threatened in an esoteric way.

But as Merciless approached the man in front of him, the man looked back and inquired.

"Yes, sir, how can I help you?"

Looking down at Merciless, the man remarked. On that remark, Merciless returned his gaze to the dark-skinned man and inquired.

11:45 P.M.

"Umm... Good night, sir. My name is Randolph Carter. Of the esteemed Carter family of Valencia City, do you know a lovely woman named Carmillia Victoria who formerly worked here, or perhaps she is still working here but on a different shift?

"And if that's the case, could you tell me if she's already left the country, or if she's still here, could you tell her that my brother Mercy left a message for me to give her?" As such, I need to speak with her briefly, given that she still works here, of course."

Merciless asked with a professional smile, but his heart was racing wildly, like a furious engine poised to blast into overdrive. He felt his sanity slowly slipping for some reason; he had no cause to be, yet he could feel it. Something, or more specifically, what this man said next, was about to drive him insane.

11:46 P.M.

"Oh my, how can I say this? Well, yes, I know Ms. Carmillia, a good woman far too kind for this world, if you ask me. She has helped many employees at this store, and she has an aura that could make anyone fall in love with her. *Sigh!* It's a shame I can't call her. I'm amazed your friend hasn't heard the news; it made headlines three years ago. You see, her spouse was involved in a significant case that nearly brought down a big family known as the Iscariot family. However, she and her entire family were killed in cold blood by a group of thugs the day before the case. They r*ped her and her two daughters and tortured her husband, according to what I've heard. The youngest daughter, Elizabeth Báthory Victoria, I suppose, was the lone survivor, and she is presently at the Maria asylum in Chelsey City."

"She didn't deserve what she got; someone even posted a video of her being cut up into several pieces." The remains were then fed to their dogs. Honestly, whoever her husband was up against wanted to set a good example because that family had been through a lot in one single night, or what was left of it, I guess. They also burned down the law firm where he worked, killing many more people in the process as well. Look, this friend you mention—if I were you, I wouldn't say anything to him; when I learned what took place, I mourned and grieved for an entire week. To be honest, I had never witnessed such a heinous exhibition of cruelty. But, at the very least, she's in a better place now; at least God has finally taken that angel home."

The man remarked to Merciless, whose face remained expressionless. Merciless, on the other hand, simply sighed and replied as such.

"Is that true... hehehe... is that true?!?" That is really a disaster, and Mercy will undoubtedly be enraged when he hears this. This is truly terrible, upsetting, and unfair; however, you know what? Shit happens all the time. But anyway, good sir, thank you for your time; please continue with your evening."

Merciless walked out of the store ahead of Hector, but as Hector gazed on, he noticed a dark aura emanating from Merciless. It was a silent pain; given how scary it was, he was stronger than Merciless, yet Hector could sense and see it. Merciless suddenly became two times stronger than he was before hearing Carmilla had died, almost as if he evolved at that instant.

Merciless had been gradually changing over time. Hector had sensed this from the minute he laid eye on Merciless, but this was the most significant increase in power he had ever witnessed. Even for a supernatural monster like himself, it was amazing, and then he remembered his alpha saying something along the lines of being good at adapting, due to his Ichor biological influence it has on his body. It was as if whatever compassion Merciless had left had vanished, and he was now a full-fledged monster. Then and again; two days had passed and Merciless, who isn't even a full vampire, felt more like a jumble of different things. Was he seeing and feeling things, it couldn't be right.

He sighed to himself as he turned towards the dark skin man and said with a serious face before catching up with his alpha.

"I know you have nothing to do with this; however, please accept my thanks for revealing such sensitive information." However, as my heartfelt thanks to you, let me give you some advice. If you want to see another sunrise, I recommend leaving this place right now. You can't feel it, but my alpha is outraged, and it's not my place to intervene in his venting. I doubt you'll make it in time when that thing goes off, but best of luck."

With that stated, Hector exited the store, leaving the one-eyed behemoth perplexed, as he thought to himself.

'Did that elderly man just threaten me?' Egh... wait... what... where the hell did that thing come from?

The dark-skinned man muttered this in his mind as he looked down on the floor where Merciless formerly stood and saw it; a gigantic black scorpion the size of a brick with a large blue eye on its back. But what astonished him was that the eye was weeping; bloody tears, and the eye split in two forming a mouth as it looked at the stunned guy, as a distorted voice began to ring, and said to the man as such.

"yOu sMeLL oF fAItH... HuuUUMAaN! bEE hOnoReD... YoUUUuu hAvEEeEE bEEn ChOsEnN AS... a mEsSENgeR. TEll yOuR GoD tOoo sPrEaD ThE wORd; ThAttTT tHEiR tImE ArE nUmBerED; tElLL tHeMMM MeRrrCiLeEssS iS coMiNgG fOrrR aLl ofF thEEmM... Tell tHem jUdgmENt is nEar; TeLL tHeMMMmm... TELLL TTHEEEM... tHe agE of eTerNal DaRKneE~~ESSs is NigH... ShRiNe tO sHHRinnE, cHurCH tOO cHuRch... PaNThEoN to pAntHeOn... aND PlaTOspHere tOooOO plAtoSPheReeeee!!!...

When the dark-skinned man observed this, he had a disturbed expression on his face, as he stated.

"What the fu....

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!*

Before the dark skin man could voice his surprise, the scorpion exploded into a pillar of burning hot flames, causing the entire supermarket to erupt into a massive pillar of red flames with chrome black outlines that reached high in the sky, illuminating the entirety of Lavatos city for a brief period. Humans, demons, vampires, skinwalkers, awaken humans, and even some neighboring shrine Gods and Goddesses popularly known as local deities felt an extremely dense, overwhelming, and gloomy presence towering over the entire city.

The heat was ferocious and full of potent hatred that stung like venom; it was absolutely merciless in all ways. The heat of the flames could be felt all over, however, these flames did not burn anyone except those who were too close to them. However, the flames themselves burn and scar the souls of those who are too weak to bear it with a sensation of immediacy; almost as if it were the manifestation of pure hatred manifested in the real world.

The massive pillar of flames eventually faded down, leaving only a visible sea of red fire where the Lin Shen supermarket formerly stood. Just looking at the flames may send a normal person insane with fear. These are esoteric; and compared to how they were when tried on goblins, they evolve alongside Merciless, the new effects are as previously described, soul burn, terror-inducement, and emotion empowerment, as they respond to the user's emotions. Once hit by this, it cannot be extinguished until the user wills it; it was a flame designed to burn everything, and make everything suffer as well, including the soul; however, if you are stronger, you can extinguish it with your own power.

These flames feed on the users' emotions, using them as fuel to burn, making regeneration a living hell once a person has been hit by them. Heal, burn, heal, burn, heal burn; a fantastic counter for folks who regenerate quickly. A good hit from them will smolder anything or lock an individual or a regenerator in a state of healing and agony, and your survival will be one of endurance, what ease first, Merciless hatred and wrath, or your power constantly regenerate.

At that moment, Hector watched Merciless approach the highlander without saying anything to him or even looking back to assess the damage. He sighed, knowing there was nothing he could do to make him happy. To be honest, he thought he'd fall into a deeper rage than this; the fact that he was able to regulate his emotions to such an extent is a miracle in and of itself.

It was as if he had a mental fortitude made of steel; if losing a significant person like this, even learning they were r*pe and tortured, and his reaction was just blowing something up; without crying a single tear. He pities his foes without a doubt, but it takes a terrifying being to stay composed in such immense mental torment.

But Hector tried to think positively and entered the car while looking at his alpha in the rearview mirror; who was smoking his cigar silently and didn't say anything; and Hector didn't try to advise him. No! Hector felt it was better if he kept silent and let his alpha sort out his thoughts. On that note, Hector started the highlander and began driving towards the spot his alpha had assigned him; on this note, they would finally meet Beatrice.

Merciless, on the other hand, recalled in his mind all the memories he had with Carmilla, recalling her smile, her humorous and compassionate demeanor, and her mischievous conduct from time to time.

'I need more power at whatever cost; I don't care how dark and twisted it is; if it can kill, I want it. I will not give up, I will study, and then I will destroy them all. I shall reciprocate my misery a million, nay, a trillion times over. I'll show all those divine fuckers true anguish and pain, and they'll see just how cruel and unforgiving I can be. Heheheh.... hahaha... gods of heaven, tell me who you pray to in times of need because you should pray, pray for the day when I come to heaven myself to never come; because as true as day and night, I swear to you; that even the idea of God itself will be erased from the sea of ideology by my own hands?!'

'But nevertheless, my curse; no Mercy curse did that to Carmillia; the curse to cause the Morgan family to suffer is a truly horrible punishment. And to think it came back to bite me as Merciless... hahaha... you gods truly despise me, don't you? Well, keep despising me; I'll do the same, your children, your place of worship, your witches and warlocks, count them all dead. If it smells divine, I will completely destroy it, and I will enjoy every bit of it, man child, I don't care. Humans are no longer safe from me either, they are dead to me; as such they are nothing but collateral.'

'But what about the Iscariots? I will make it my life purpose to see you fodders fall; I will not murder you, no; I will break you for all eternity. The entire bloodline will understand what fear is; they will recognize the name Merciless Minerva Elderblood II; what you did to Carmilla and her family will appear childish in comparison to what I am going to do to you all. I will never give you relief, and I will never let you go; you took Carmilla from me, and now you must replace her. And hiding behind your ridiculous money will not save you; I am the economy, and you will all submit to my will.'

'And Carmillia, my old friend, I am sorry; I am to fault for your pain; you must hate me now, right? But I will not blame you. I did this to you, but at the very least, I will take your daughter under my wings, and if there is truly a heaven above. I swear to you, I will save you from that horrible realm after I destroy it and bring you back to life myself; all I need is your soul... and even if your soul is completely gone; I will resurrect you somehow, just wait for me; this I promise.'

Those were Merciless last words, and now, stronger than ever, he was determined to see it through. And now, he doesn't care how he obtained more power; he'll take whatever power is thrown at him. And who better to assist him with his biokensis than the woman tasked with teaching him biology? And that's when he noticed her, sitting on the gulf club's step, waiting for him.

She looked at him from afar and smiled his way, and that's when he said.

"So we finally meet again, Beatrice, or should I say, teacher."