The moment the explosion happened, alarms rang through the Aurelius estate''s command hall.


    The senior staff soon gathered and frowned when they found what alert it was.


    One of them stared at the report and frowned. "That was Vance''s self-destruction sequence being activated."


    Another senior staff member growled. "Impossible. Vance was one of our strongest. He wouldn''t—"


    The senior officer who stood at the end shook his head and confirmed it. "He did. Vance has self-destructed."


    It didn''t make any sense for them. Vance was one of the best warriors in the Aurelius family.


    For him to self-destruct, no for him to be forced into self-destruction... it could mean that something had gone horribly wrong.


    The staff exchanged uneasy glances. No one wanted to be the one who forward this terrible news.


    Finally, one of them, the oldest one, sighed. "Alright. I will be one who reports this to the patriarch."


    The old staff moved quickly toward the grand hall of the Aurelius estate.


    When he arrived at the main chamber, he found that the patriarch was already waiting for him.


    Hadrian Aurelius sat on his throne and glared fiercely at the old staff. He soon lifted his gaze. "Speak."


    The old staff exhaled for a moment before delivering the terrible news. "Patriarch... Vance has self-destructed."


    Hadrian closed his eyes for a brief moment, inhaling deeply before exhaling it.


    The weight of Vance''s death should have hit him harder, yet his expression remained the same, indifferent.


    The old staff watched him. He had expected rage or at least some reactions.


    Instead, Hadrian slowly opened his eyes. "I see. You can go back now."


    The old staff hesitated. He was unsure if he had misheard it but he knew better than asked him again.


    Without another word, the old staff bowed down before turning around and exiting the chamber.


    Hadrian finally turned his full attention to the only other person in the room, Cassius Aurelius, who was his son.


    Cassius was now frowning as Hadrian was glaring at him with amusement rather than anger.


    Hadrian stood up and walked toward him. "Do you know what you did wrong, Cassius?"


    Cassius frowned before speaking. "I was arrogant and I wasn''t careful enough."


    Hadrian chuckled as he agreed. "Yes and because of that, one of the best warriors has died."


    Hadrian watched him for a moment longer before turning away. "Go and make sure the next experiment doesn''t disappoint me."


    Cassius didn''t hesitate. He bowed his head slightly before turning around, exiting the chamber without another word.


    ---


    From within the shadow at the explosion site, Luna stepped out from the shadow.


    She was already fused with Loxen. Without another word, she reached into the shadow and pulled out others.


    Lucius, Liora and Loreia soon stepped out from the shadow after being opened a path by Luna.


    Luna exhaled, wiping sweat from her brow. "Phew... Thank god I was fast enough to pull you all into the shadows in time."


    Loreia rolled her shoulders. "Yeah, I never thought that man would actually have the guts to blow himself up."


    Lucius only surveyed the scene with a smirk. "Hmm... It was reckless. But still, quite interesting."


    He then put his hand on his chin. "The Aurelius family... they have loyal warriors like this was already great."


    Find exclusive stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    Liora frowned and asked. "So should we eliminate them now before they try again to kill us in the future?"


    Lucius chuckled, shaking his head. "No, no. Charging in blindly without understanding the enemy is foolish. We are not fools."


    Liora frowned as she sighed. "So we wait?"


    Lucius nodded. "Yeah. We wait and learn."


    Lucius turned his attention toward the wreckage. "The Aurelius family has also been experimenting with something unnatural. I want to know what."


    He then smirked. "After all, they think they''re the ones playing the game. Let''s show them what happens when you don''t even know you''re a pawn."


    Loreia sighed, resting her arms on her hips. "That''s fine and all, but we have a problem."


    Loreia pointed at the wreckage. "My apartment? It''s gone. Reduced to rubble. So unless you''ve got another place in mind, we''re technically homeless."


    Luna grinned, stretching her arms. "Oh, don''t worry about that. I always have contingencies."


    She tilted her head toward Lucius. "Master, shall I handle it?"


    Lucius glanced at her, nodding slightly. "Do it. We''ll need somewhere off the radar."


    Luna''s smirk widened as she reached out and opened the shadow once more.


    "Then let''s disappear for a while. The Aurelius family won''t even realize what''s coming next."