The ferocious rumbling of thunder chased after its flash of lightning, sending a deep resonance through the mountain cave.
At the heart of the cave, the Grey Sisters fixed their hollow sockets on King Dante with immeasurable curiosity.
"Once upon a time, a great man walked the suicidal path of the Deathly Hallows, a path thousands of men had taken, only to leave their skulls washed up at the foot of the mountain," Pamphredo said. "But this man walked out alive after claiming the Core of Annihilation itself."
King Dante smiled proudly as he looked at her. "I guess that since you know what I intended to do with the Core of Vehitoshi when I claimed it, you are wondering why I want the Skarthrax."
The three women nodded in unison. "Yes."
Prince Dante’s mischievous smile appeared once again. "That is a fair concern, wouldn’t you say?" His smile widened. "However, everything is set. Therefore, when it begins, the boy will not be able to hide what he is."
He let out a slow breath before continuing. "And when that happens, the village will do what villages always do. Then, by pure coincidence..." His dark eyes glinted. "I shall arrive at the perfect moment to slay the beast and save the day."
The sisters’ laughter echoed through the cave, but it came to an abrupt stop.
Deino tilted her head. "But what about the Accord?" she asked.
Dante shook his head in disappointment before pulling his hood over his head.
"I am the Golden Phoenix now," he answered, his voice dripping with venom. "Even Ikaris’s force field around the villages now answers to me. So do not underestimate me ever again."
Deino’s body shook slightly, yet she laughed despite herself. "Wow, that just turned me on."
Dante squinted in disgust before turning towards the exit.
"Just play your part right."
With that, he tossed the eye behind him and continued towards the exit without another glance.
The moment the eye struck the floor, the three sisters lunged after it. They crawled across the ground, clawing and scrambling over one another like starving animals.
"WHERE IS IT?"
"I SHOULD HAVE IT FIRST!"
"NO, IT’S MINE!"
At last, Enyo reached it first. Her fingers closed around the eye, and she immediately shoved it into her empty socket. A delighted gasp immediately escaped her lips as she looked towards the departing king.
"Oh my... he’s handsome."
The other two shrieked.
"DAMN YOU, ENYO!"
"LET ME SEE!"
Pamphredo violently snatched the eye from her sister and hurriedly inserted it into her own socket.
"Ooooh!" she breathed, her shoulders dropping. "Handsome even from behind..." She sneered.
The fight resumed immediately as Deino wrestled with Pamphredo for the eye, while Dante disappeared into the darkness beyond the cave.
Far away from them, at the wooden cabin, Star and Sarah sat on the front steps while Zuru searched through the shattered wooden floor for the silver box that had fallen with him.
"Oooh, there you are, mi amor!" he cried dramatically when he finally lifted the lockbox from the crater. He hugged it tightly against his chest. "And don’t you ever scare me like that again."
Star and Sarah couldn’t help but laugh.
"The love of money, right?" Sarah said amidst her laughter.
"You can’t start guessing," Star replied.
When their laughter died down, Sarah gently turned towards star.
"Well, since you are..." She hesitated, her voice becoming shy. "Y-you are now sticking with... with us." She stood up and brushed her clothes. "What do you say we go in and prepare for this one final heist?"
Star forced a smile and lowered his eyes. "You go on ahead. I-I will be in in a minute."
"Oh... O-okay" Sarah replied, but the disappointment on her face was almost too clear.
"Tsh, sure." She quickly turned and hurried inside.
When she was gone, "Huuuuuuuuuu..." Star let out a long, confused breath.
He rubbed his palm across his face and stared into the darkness.
"What’s happening to me?" He murmured in shaky breath as he rubbed his eyes.
It was as though he could see through the eyes of five thousand people.
Darkness did nothing to hinder his vision. If anything, it seemed to make everything clearer, sharper even.
He could see details that might have escaped him during the day, and somehow, he was certain that even the smallest movements would not escape his notice now.
He rubbed his eyes once again. "I knew demons could see at night, but I didn’t expect them to see this clearly."
Yet... the worse part was that that was not all.
His awareness had become frighteningly acute. He could sense the tiniest vibrations beneath him, feel insects crawling through the grass, hear the faint buzzing of wings long before they came into view and perceive disturbances in his surroundings that no ordinary person would ever notice.
It was as though the entire world had suddenly become louder, and he had become hyper-aware of everything within it.
He reached down and placed his palm on the ground.
"I was never taught that demons possess heightened senses," he murmured, remembering how he had caught Sarah before she fell. "So if I do, maybe that means it’s some unique ability."
He felt the vibration of the earth which was sharper now that he was holding the ground.
"Every demon is said to possess a main ability that defines them. Every other branch of power they develop is supposed to connect or be related to that main ability."
He sat up slowly, looking as introspective as ever.
"But my case seems different. I can sense that there are many other abilities deep inside me, and yet they have no similarities between them. I mean, someone with immense strength shouldn’t necessarily be able to move with sharp reflexes."
He frowned as he tried to make sense of what he had become.
"Why are these abilities even showing up? This ring should be stopping them, especially since it was made by..." He paused. "By a High Mage."
But then another thought crossed his mind.
His fingers slowly moved towards his temple as he remembered the sudden ache that had struck his head earlier. It had come without warning, so intense that he had almost lost his balance... His ring had even glowed.
"What was even that?" he murmured. His gaze drifted towards the ring. "Is the power around the ring weakening? Or..." He hesitated, his eyes narrowing. "Is there something out there calling to me?"
"Ugh." He sighed in frustration. "It’s no use. I can’t answer all my questions myself."
He lowered his head and tried to think of something else, but his mind cruelly drifted back to what he had done earlier and his heart churned painfully as he remembered those events.
"Gods! What’s happening to me? This isn’t who I am." His voice trembled. "Dante, this is all your fault. Dante, this... This is all your fault." He cried. "It’s not me. It’s-it’s you, Dante. It’s you."
He clapped his palm over his face."Why am I even still here? Whyyyyy?"
But the moment those words left his mouth, his eyes lit up. It was as though a sudden current zoomed into his brains.
"Maybe..." He gasped, pointing exactly at nothing. "Maybe there’s a reason, after all."
His eyes narrowed thoughtfully as something he had nearly forgotten returned to him.
Right before he had sneaked into McCoy’s window, he had overheard some guards speaking.
"Are you sure all this was a great idea?" one of them had whispered.
Star hadn’t heard the next part clearly, but he could have sworn the guard said something like:
"I mean, is he okay in there?"
"The boss is smart," the second guard had answered. "Tonight, you will see."
Star wished he could have heard more, but he would have been caught if he had stayed to listen. That was why he had been forced to crawl through the window.
Now, however, those words suddenly made sense.
"No..." His eyes widened. "No, no, no..."
His entire body began to shake.
"It was all a setup."
He stared into the darkness as the pieces began to fall into place.
Earlier, he had thought they had only discovered that the Night Raiders had been inside the mansion. But now, he understood.
Everything about that plan had worked exactly according to plan, as though Zuru had seen the future. But it shouldn’t have been that way because...
No one can tell the future.
So this only means that; right from the moment they had sneaked into the cart, the guards had deliberately made it easy for them.
Secondly, when he had set off that force alarm, every single guard must have deliberately abandoned their posts to make the robbery easier.
And Janine...
If McCoy had known about their plan, then he must have deliberately placed Janine in that room so they could use her.
Star’s breathing grew heavier.
Come to think of it, when they had taken the silver lockbox, no one had chased after them. Which means; McCoy had deliberately made the robbery easy so they would return at night, just as they had planned.
And maybe, he had already formed an alliance with the Red Queen, which was their target tonight.
Star’s heart hammered against his chest as the final piece fell into place. McCoy had been one step ahead of them the entire time.
"He played us..." He swallowed hard. "We walked right into his trap..."
"But... but how?"
For a moment, he remained seated, staring at the ground.
"I have to leave them," he suddenly muttered.
"That way, all of this won’t backfire on me. I mean, I just did this once, and they’ve been doing it for years."
His legs trembled violently beneath him. He looked towards the cabin, where Sarah and Zuru were waiting.
He could disappear into the night, put as much distance between himself and the two thieves as possible, and let them deal with the consequences of their own actions.
After all, he had already done enough...
But then...
His fingers slowly curled into fists.
"No." He said courageously shaking his head. "I’m not leaving them behind."
If McCoy had truly arranged everything, then he couldn’t simply walk away and hope the consequences would miss him. He needed to know exactly what they were planning.
Besides, he wasn’t going to let McCoy have the whole fun.
The next moment, he lowered his head, thinking through every detail. He considered what he had overheard, what had happened at the mansion, and what McCoy might be preparing for that night. Then he carefully arranged the pieces until the idea became clear.
A slow smile spread across his face. "These two must face retribution for what they’ve done and made me do..."
His fist tightened harder.
"Therefore, instead of leaving now like a coward, I will be there."
Determined, he rose from the steps.
"...To deal the final blow."