"Was that even human?" Evelyn shuddered recalling the man’s bat-like hideous wings that spanned from his back and connected to his arms.

"We will find out soon." To which, she responded with a hum.

On the way, they encountered two people, one male and the other female, both of whom appeared to be in their late thirties.

The couple drew a cautious glance at both of them before continuing downstairs.

It seems they are terrified yet are still courageous enough to stand in front of a man who butchered people like livestock.

Lucien gave a small nod and followed them from behind, keeping a considerable distance.

Soon, everyone reached the fifth floor.

Evelyn and his eyes were instantly drawn to the sight before them; the man who had previously crashed in their apartment now stood warily.

He was cornered by a group of people.

Lucien recognized them as awakeners as he felt the flow of energy inside their bodies.

But what surprised him was the way the energy moved throughout their bodies, which happened to be a lot different from his and Evelyn’s.

’Is it because they don’t have elemental talents?’

"Let me go," Julian growled in a low voice, yet despite his warnings, no one moved for they could see the weakened state he was in.

His left wing had been caught in one of the pincers of the creature from before, and the crash had left him with blood dripping down his head as his body swayed.

"What’s your goal?"

A low voice cut through the hallway.

Julian heard the words with his hypersensitive ears and he immediately located the source.

On the opposite side of the hallway, two figures lingered in the darkness, with only their outlines being visible.

And the question he heard was spoken by a man for sure.

Lucien easily saw through the blinding darkness and recognized both the faces very well.

Clara and Aiden.

Both stepped out in the light and Aiden spoke once again.

"I am not going to repeat myself, so reply while you still can." His tone was cold and detached, like a predator eyeing its prey.

His pitch-black irises and light blue hair gave him the appearance of a noble whose commands felt like the truth itself.

Lucien and Evelyn stood around the corner of the staircase, and the current standoff prevented Aiden from recognizing Evelyn as he had his full attention on the half-vampire that wobbled like a drunk man.

"It’s none of your business. You all are nothing but ants that are meant to be crushed." His response earned a raised brow from Clara, and she hissed in anger.

"Don’t you dare use that tone again."

"Enough." Aiden glanced at her in mild dissatisfaction before turning his attention back to him.

"Your loss." He raised his right arm into the air, and the moment he clenched his fist, everyone surrounding the half-vampire attacked together.

Yet what stood out the most was their precise and coordinated attacks like a team trained to fight together.

A man jumped from above with claws extending from his hand.

While another man jumped at the intruder’s feet with explosive speed, the man could barely maintain his balance.

However, Julian didn’t seem to panic and a scream erupted from his mouth.

Lucien foresaw this seconds earlier and had already covered Evelyn’s ears, and channeling the energy to his ears, he formed a small barrier that prevented him from experiencing the onslaught of the painful screech.

The duo fell to the ground without leaving so much as a scratch on his clothes.

Every non-awakener around them fell on their knees as their ears started to bleed, experiencing immense pain.

Even the remaining awkaeners surrounding weren’t spared. They dropped to the ground like one after another.

Aiden frowned at the man’s beast-like screech, and glanced at Clara, "Go deal with him."

"Me?" Pointing a finger at herself, she asked in surprise, though she still stepped forward nonetheless.

Bending down and extending both her hands towards the ground, she chanted something incomprehensible to others.

At once, crushing pressure descended on Julian’s shoulders out of nowhere, forcing him to stop his scream abruptly before being forced to kneel.

"You bitch." He located the user of the gravitational attack without delay.

His pupils that were already blood red in color turned a shade darker, and all the blood that soaked the floor started to slowly float upwards.

"The hell?" Clara’s eyes opened wide in disbelief as she saw the blood converging in the air at a single point in the form of a sphere, ignoring the force of her gravitational attack as though it was meaningless.

Before anyone could react, Aiden pushed her away and at the exact instant, the dense blood shot out like a bullet fired from a gun.

It pierced through the wall behind and kept advancing.

Turning his gaze back to Julian, Aiden muttered in a low breath, "You are one heck of a headache."

"Aren’t you a lucky one, no one has ever managed to dodge my blood bullet, should I call it luck or instinct?" Julian grinned like a maniac.

Even though his attack failed, he acted like nothing had gone wrong.

And Aiden sensed the abnormality of the situation too.

"Let me rephrase my question: Who sent you here?" Hearing that, Julian’s wicked grin slowly faded and was replaced with a chilling stare.

"You don’t need to worry about the matter of kings. You might be skilled, but you’re till too green about this world."

The words that left his mouth only deepened everyone’s confusion, as they didn’t understand a single thing that had happened from the start.

Most of the people here were those who were either attracted by the man’s intrusion into the building or the ones who had gathered at Aiden’s command.

"Oh boy, this is going to be a lot more interesting." Aiden muttered with a smirk on his face.

—

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