Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 421: A Pyrrhic Victory

Chapter 421: A Pyrrhic Victory

Surrounded with no means to fight back, Victoria struggled to remain calm as she stood in place.

The Light Stealers about her surged forth with reckless abandon, their arms outstretched as they sought to steal the light before them.

She closed her eyes prepared for the worst only for sudden audible cracks to echo in the dark space, drawing her attention over.

Above, a slit in space had occurred and it glowed with an ominous blue light.

Before she could figure out what was the cause, an illusory arm emerged and she gripped her head as her visage distorted in terror.

Watching as the slit turned into a hole large enough for an eye, it appeared and Victoria was forced to scream at the top of her lungs.

Then it all went dark.

***

"Hah." Victoria gasped as she awoke from her slumber, blurry images of the horrifying dream she’d had replaying in her head.

As she struggled to calm her erratic breathing, she studied her surroundings to find herself in a familiar place though it had been quite some time since she’d been here.

Just then, the door to the room opened with Ana walked in.

Seeing Victoria awake, Ana remarked smilingly. "I was worried you wouldn’t wake up."

"Where are we?"

"We are in your castle. Apologies for any inconvenience but we had nowhere else to go considering my manor is currently being watched by the Defense Department."

"I see," Victoria muttered while rubbing her temple almost like she was trying to recall something important.

"Do you remember what happened before you fainted?"

"No..." Victoria replied with a bit of hesitation, her expression twisted slightly as any attempt at a recollection was paid with an annoying headache.

"I see. In that case, you should get some rest. I’ll get you some blood to drink so you can regain your strength. You have a cellar?"

Victoria nodded. "Douglas should know the way."

"Alright then."

Just as Ana turned to leave, Victoria called out, having recalled what was gnawing at the back of her mind.

"Why aren’t we in Evernight?"

Ana paused, her demeanor turning slightly melancholic before she replied. "Evernight is gone."

With those words, she left the room, leaving Victoria to ponder the implications of her statement.

***

Nadia paced back and forth in the sitting room, her expression marred with worry as she feared the worst for Alex... and Elena.

Meanwhile, Arwen stood in a corner, carefully inspecting the bottled liquids kept on a shelf.

Seeing Arwen so casual about what had happened, Nadia couldn’t help but inquire. "Aren’t you worried?"

Arwen glanced at her. "Hmm?"

"I don’t know, you just..." Trailing off, Nadia quickly realized her mistake.

Arwen’s way of processing grief was by trying to focus on other things and so expecting her to do it differently now that it involves someone she cared deeply about was incredibly selfish.

Taking a moment to rearrange her thoughts, she remarked. "Sorry, I’m just..."

"Worried. Everyone is worried as well. But Alex and Elena should be fine, right?"

It seemed her question was more for her benefit than anything else and knowing how deep the rabbit hole Arwen could enter if she answered wrongly, Nadia replied. "Mn, I believe so."

"Exactly." Arwen nodded only to sense something causing her to grow excited.

Nadia felt it a moment later as well and immediately, both rushed out of the sitting room, heading toward the castle entrance.

Arriving there, they found Alex taking unsteady steps towards them, his complexion incredibly pale as his right hand was tightly wrapped around something.

Seeing the ladies who were staring at him with eyes filled with worry and joy at his return, he remarked. "We won."

A relieved smile emerged on Nadia’s lips for a moment only for Arwen to inquire. "What about Elena?"

Alex froze, his expression turning regretful as he slowly shook his head.

"..." Arwen went silent, her eyes turning wet as a familiar emotion welled up within.

As she turned to head back inside, Alex called out to her.

"But I..." he failed to finish his sentence as his remaining strength failed him and he fell to the ground with a dull thud.

As his sight turned dim and the world grew cold, Alex wondered; they had won... but at what cost?

***

News about what happened in the capital never went past the Augustus family and the Great Families as they knew the implications of such news.

Perhaps one of the few things stopping the Night Kindred from attacking was the fact that the Emperor was an unknown figure with unknown power.

Them finding out about his unfortunate condition would surely lead to them growing even more bold.

Of course, due to their desire to keep things hush, they couldn’t even carry out a proper investigation into the matter as they feared perceptive individuals might pick up on the trail.

Hence, apart from a Family Head being dispatched to help the Augustus family protect the baby Emperor though it was hardly needed since they had quite a few Conjoined Wheel Mystics guarding them, courtesy of the Supreme Order, the Family Heads did nothing else while keeping a close eye on further movements of the Dark Lord as they had picked on his unique scent at the capital.

With the current situation as it was, the Family Heads couldn’t help but wonder; what was next for the Dark Lord who had grown bold enough to enter the capital and survive?

***

/1 week later/

"I’ve called you all here today for an important matter." Alex began weakly, his condition slightly better than when he’d returned from the capital.

Seated around his bed were all surviving members of Constellations, including Victoria who had managed to regain her strength enough to participate.

Taking a deep breath, he remarked. "The mission to retrieve Ashtyx was our first official operation as a team. I won’t lie and try to cover up the fact that it was a pyrrhic victory. And that is my fault as a leader. Despite knowing the condition I was in, I still decided to soldier on regardless of the danger."

Pausing to see if all were following, he continued. "I was reckless and because of that... I sincerely apologize."

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