In District XXIV, at one of the entrances to the Underworld, Shane's clothes had changed to the same combat suit and jacket that was suitable for battle. To deal with the stares of the others, he pulled out his past disguise, a mask over his face and an eye patch over his right eye.
As he stepped into the underworld, any Monsters that saw his appearance silenced and quietly retreated.
The lively and noisy atmosphere outside was isolated from the underground world.
The chilly temperature, the sound of water dripping from nowhere, and the feeling of the underground losing day and night combined to give the impression of the underground world.
Shane hadn't gone too far when a woman in a purple robe appeared in front of him, silent as a ghost.
She reached out her hand and offered to take Shane's.
He didn't refuse.
He wasn't repulsed by Petra, and he wouldn't have come to see her today if she hadn't always crossed the line with those around him.
It was never a good thing to get involved with the Bronze Wood.
Sensing the other man's indifference, Petra said to herself, "I'll show you around the place, you must not have seen it carefully, it's a very big place."
There was not a monster next to them where they walked, and if there was, it had been chased away by the Bronze Wood planted here, leaving an area suitable for conversation, Petra introduced Shane to the fleshy walls of the underworld, describing the darkness of the place, not mentioning a word about her victim.
Shane's nerves stayed tense and unable to relax in the dimly lit environment that smelled of delicious.
"Let the man go."
"No, he's seen my face."
"With your strength, you're still afraid of revealing your true face?"
"It's not time yet."
Petra said in a strange tone, "When I am silent, I will not reveal my face, and once I reveal my true face, it means that the Bronze Wood is about to officially go to war."
Shane said bluntly, "What do you want to do if you don't let him go?"
Petra said, "I have a way to brainwash him and make him forget about it, but it's a tricky process, and one mistake could easily drive him mad-"
Shane was expressionless behind his mask, "I thought we agreed on it, why did you pick this moment to break our 'understanding', it's not worth the loss to the Bronze Wood."
"No, it's only for you." Petra turned around deftly, "I don't care at all if you kill those stragglers from the Bronze Wood, as for the cadres, if you do, count your blessings."
She told the man with harsh reality.
"Your threats will have little effect on me, on the contrary, what will happen if I reveal your identity?"
"Nothing will happen, at most, you will be locked up."
"And your human friends?"
"They are not of low status and are unlikely to be affected."
"You're thinking clearly, aren't you?"
Petra taunted and Shane said unmoved, "It's the sort of thing that everyone should have thought about, after all, our greatest enemies in this world are them."
Petra's voice snapped hoarsely, "Haven't you ever thought about fighting back? Why should we live in such fear? You and I are aliens to this world, monsters and human blood, but the humans will never recognise our half of the bloodline! They will only drive us to extinction!"
"Shane, humans age, and HE will be no exception, pureblood humans can't live for long, our chance will come sooner or later."
"And then what?" Shane wondered, "Kill all the humans? That's not realistic."
Petra said, "We don't have to kill them all, just kill them until they are afraid and then take control of their upper echelons of power, make the humans acknowledge the Monsters' existence and give us an identity that will see the light of day."
Shane shook his head, "As long as monsters eat human flesh, the hatred will never be dissolved."
Petra disagreed with his notion, "Technology is advancing, as long as the world's power is focused on Monsters, one day we can artificially create something that they can eat, if we don't do it, if we don't reform, we will never get that chance."
Petra walked up to Shane and said calmly, "I want you to join the Bronze Wood or use your power to help us, just like you did at the Auction."
"I can't do that."
Shane gave her the coldest and most heartless reply.
Petra said, "Surely that's the answer you would have, do you enjoy your human life that much?"
Shane looked at her "face" and said, "I have a family. Don't you envy that?"
Petra stood still for a moment.
"I don't envy it, it would be better to kill me to live as you do."
For the first time, she spoke in slow tones about her experience, to another natural-born half-breed, "When I first opened my eyes, the world was bloody, and the first food I ate was not breast milk, but human flesh ...... Did you know? I was abandoned by my father in District 24 and raised by a Monster."
"I was used to the life of a monster before I knew what the life of a human was like."
Petra didn't exude anger, her voice was unhurried.
"Shane, I wasn't as lucky as you to find a home in a child. That's why my position leans towards Monsters and yours leans more towards humans. It's nothing really, we all need to find a balance to survive and make sure we can adapt to this shitty world ......"
"But adapting as such, you lost yourself in human society, cover your ears and pretend you can't hear the Monster's wail, close your eyes and pretend you're not a Mutant."
"Petra, I don't share this negative attitude of yours."
"You're going to die sooner or later like that."
With this comment, Petra didn't stand her ground.
"Why are you saying this to me?"
"I want you to take the initiative and not always hide in human society."
After being pointed out for breaking the fact that he was running away from the Monster world, Shane retorted, "My son needs me more than you do."
Petra lapsed into silence, a wry smile creeping across her face.
"That's why I said you've changed, you've known so many Monsters too, do you expect them all to die one day?"
"I will save them."
"What about the other Monsters you don't know?"
"I'll save the ones I can, the ones I can't ...... have nothing to do with me."
This was the cruel side of Shane being forced to reveal.
Yet Petra smiled.
"The most powerful Monsters of legend, the King, is the one who can lead the Monsters to change the world." Petra told her made-up story, a serious snub to Shane, "In the eyes of many people you don't know, you are the strongest contender for King, they see you as the hope of the world and long for you to save them."
"Hmm?"
"You're being treated like a saviour."
...
The family is different, the Seed family is a little purer, and the symbolism of that luscious heliotrope eye is the pursuit and pride of the Alvina family for generations.
Might is beauty.
The Reagan side of the Monster gives them an expectation of "beauty". It is when they identify with him and submit to their new master that they will be able to see the change in Reagan.
"My Lord ...... when will you banish the traitors and return to Alvina House?"
A member of the Alvina branch of the family, who was on one knee, asked in a tone full of hatred. After this extermination, his family was also destroyed by the humans. The humans forced the Alvina clan to submit and killed those who didn't. Those who escaped were, in the end, the few and the elite of the family, not the family they wanted to protect.
Reagan was not the only one with his family destroyed!
"Soon ......" Reagan said slowly in front of the silenced crowd, "They want to use my identity and family honour to threaten me not to show my face. How can I let him get away with it ...... All media outlets controlled by the Alvina family are doing their utmost to keep the news under wraps and not to divulge a single thing about the Family afterwards."
"The list of traitors will also be released to you, don't let me see you colluding with them in the slightest."
"The Day Court will be left alone for now, The Alphabet can be destroyed."
"As well."
"From now on, every year on the first day, one of you from each branch of the family must send one to the shrine to pay homage to The Witch; those who do not come are considered traitors and disobey the orders of the Alvina family head."
He was not a tall man, and his elegant kimono was layered and steeped in antiquity. Unlike the species that had incorporated the blood of other nations, he carried the elegance of the Alvina family passed down through the centuries. Having perfectly shed the stigma of having eaten human flesh during his time in the Middle East.
In a species without history, the Alvina family is the longest and oldest "history" of the species.
"She is god, my faith."
"I am a serpent god and a descendant of the king of the Washioji dragons, the third in the direct line of the Alvina family, and for years I will be in charge of the Alvina family."
Without a hint of dominance, what he said in a flat tone were categorical words.
The hundreds of people kneeling on the ground trembled, their faces flushed with excitement, like the members of the Alvina branch who longed for a strong being to lead them and break the confines of the times. Peirong felt even more excited, his eyes filled with admiration, he had finally witnessed his lord come this far!
This is the wish of the lord of the family.
"Odd God," Benedict whispered a sigh in the midst of these men, something that his father had not even dared to say, something that only Reagan was qualified to say before taking the throne.
He no longer thought about the struggle for power, he was the only one he had left.
One below the other, and one to consider?
Reagan put an end to this encomium. The only one who can compete with the dragon is another dragon. The heads of all the divided families came to their senses. Instead of believing in the nebulous talk of human dragons, they should have believed that Alvina would come back to life.
After the divided family had fondly dispersed, Benedict came to the increasingly lonely and unapproachable Reagan.
"Reagan, I'll be there for you."
"......"
Before the extermination, Reagan would probably have been interested in teasing him in turn.
But.
Now.
The white-haired young man who had prepared so carefully for this day and received the men of the branch as the head of the family with a cold glance. The corners of his eyes were scarlet, not a hint of teasing in Reagan's eyes, cold and numb.
"Don't come any closer."
"Benny."
One step closer, and that was not where the other side should be.
Above the throne.
There was no one else.
Benedict gazed at him, "Does that make you happy?"
Reagan turned his head sideways.
Half of his face was pale and pale in the sunlight, and his outline was extremely soft, like a cherry blossom wilting in winter.
The slightest sense of softness and silence lingered in the heart, almost the essence of \beauty.
"I don't have the right to talk about happiness when my sister died for me."
...
The dumb eyes behind me - I don't care about them anymore. They were abject cowards, and I wished instead that one of them would lunge at me with a bloody mouth, even if it was a sneak attack. But throughout, they just watch and do nothing but growl pointlessly...
Shane stared at the glassy pieces of memories, scattered across the ground. He stumbled towards the horrifying puppet, with its teeth bared, screaming in agony.
He saw the memories of his son, Timothy.
Half dead, close to death. Undead, lifeless. Slapped, knocked, beaten, tortured.
Once a vibrant man who looked forward to tomorrow, Shane doesn't know when he began to turn into a deadly monster who feared the light.
He was savoured by the dim light which flew into his hands. His treasure.
Now beaten and dead.
...