The Void Wolf

Ira arrived at the Diavol Empire in the blink of an eye. Without knowing more about the stone sphere he could only leave for the time being. If someone were to say Ira fled he probably would kill them.

“A temporary withdrawal,” Ira said to himself allowed while nodding. “That’s right.”

He put away his unimportant thoughts and surveyed his surroundings.

Freshly charred houses spat out smoke while other buildings were still aflame, the crackling of wood told of the time they had left.

There were dozens of bodies of dead Diavol soldiers every few feet and screams could be heard far off in the distance. Ira narrowed his eyes and he could see figures dressed in red armor jumping into the air at heights that couldn’t be considered normal.

“The Dark Elves,” Ira mumbled.

The only ones that could currently perform such a feat were the soldiers of the Dark Elf Empire who had gone through the Bone Engravement Ceremony.

Seeing as it would be too troublesome to wait, Ira teleported toward them to save time.

Ira appeared out of thin air and spotted the group led by Saren. They were in the middle of a fight but they didn’t need any help, in fact, it was hard to call it a fight as it was basically a slaughter.

Some Diavol soldiers stood their ground and fought but were cut down within seconds and others tried to run but were pursued. Even though the Dark Elf side was originally outnumbered they quickly reduced their enemies numbers. From an outsider's perspective, the small group that Saren led fought like pack animals but they somehow maintained a sense of discipline that contrasted their ferociousness.

Because he thought it was interesting, Ira simply watched them continue on from afar and none of them seemed to feel his presence.

Without knowing that the Keeper was extremely close by, Saren removed his helmet and took a breath.

“That should be enough!” He shouted. At his words, the soldiers finished their opponents off and returned to his side.

There was no way they eliminated every soldier in the city but they weren’t focused on them in the first place. Their true goal was to take out some of the Diavol council members which lived in the city. And the huge manors that were currently burning showed that Saren and his group succeeded.

Saren summarized what Avery said before inside of his head, ‘Our goal is to disrupt them and buy time while preparing to get rid of them in one fell swoop.’

Ira was only one person and with as many abilities as he had, he couldn’t be everywhere. If he left even a half of the thousands of Angels that descended around, he’d be putting himself and his family in immense danger. That danger would triple if Ira showed off every one of his abilities as the Angels could create a plan to work around them.

As the Dark Elves were about to begin their retreat, Saren suddenly looked off into the distance and stopped. He then bowed without hesitation which caused those around him to grow confused. They looked in the same direction Saren was bowing to and they all did the same.

“So you finally noticed?” Ira asked with a smile of approval. He approached Saren and the others who saluted him fervently.

“It’s done, Keeper,” Saren said.

“I see.” Ira looked around once more before continuing. “Are you ready to return?”

“Yes, Keeper. No one realized what happened yet so its best to leave before any Angels arrive,” Saren answered.

“Well...Good job.” Ira waved his hand and everyone vanished from his sight.

“Time to see what Harper is doing.” Ira teleported away once again leaving the city behind.

…

Harper scratched her head while furrowing her brows. A group of lycanthropes stood around her with similar expressions of pure bewilderment. Their target, one of the Tel’vane Empire’s main cities, was empty. There were traces of a battle, houses that were in shambles, ruined fields, and bloodstains that were only a few days old.

“What happened to everyone?” Harper asked.

“I...don’t know…” Eloise sniffed the air and immediately winced. “...But something smells horrible.”

“Really?” Harper sniffed the air and found the answer to her question. A smell of rotten flesh could found floating in the air.

“Follow me,” Harper said before she began sprinting away, leaving a trail of ghostly blue afterimages behind her.

Eloise nodded to the lycanthropes and they moved to follow. Even though they were still in their human forms, they still moved at a speed faster than any human.

Eventually, they came to a stop, or rather, Harper did. A group of undead stood outside of the gates to a large mansion, and the putrid smell that was faint became more prominent.

“Undead?!” Eloise was about to shift into her Werewolf form but Harper raised her hand and stopped her.

“Hey! Come out here!” Harper yelled.

The undead who stood guard moved out of the way and piles of living corpses came stumbling out.

Behind them, there was a woman with chalk white skin and fluorescent blue hair that resembled Harper’s. Her pupiless eyes made it hard to discern her emotions but oddly enough, she wore a weird grin on her face that made it seem like she was imitating a smile rather than wearing a genuine one. Her clothes consisted of blood stained garments and a hooded cloak that was frayed at its edges.

“Little one.” The Will of Purgatory spoke as she approached. “I am happy to see you.”

A thin layer of white fog formed under her feet as she moved closer and the Lycanthropes felt their skin crawl. They began to step back as the stench of the undead was incredibly thick and it practically burned the inside of their nostrils.

“What are you doing here?” Harper asked.

“I wanted to find my way to Ira, Little One. Unfortunately, I couldn’t guarantee protection over this fragile shell so I tried to raise undead to defend me. I almost had a force large enough to ensure my safety a few...Angels...forced me into hiding.”

“I see.” Harper fiddled with the metal baton on affixed to her hip. “We were supposed to kill a bunch of people but you did it for us but I guess that’s ok.”

Harper seemed a little disappointed as she finished speaking, but she cheered up after remembering that she could see Raveria, Zephyr, and Valeryn since the task she set out to accomplish was completed for her.

The Will looked at Harper expectantly but she didn’t speak. It was silent for a few moments before Harper figured out what she wanted.

“Um…Ira is coming to get us soon. Do you want to come with us?” Harper asked.

“Ah, that would be wonderful.” The Will grabbed Harper’s hands and spoke with a gentle voice.

“Then let’s wait together.” Harper smiled. In her mind, the Will was something similar to a distant relative, so the lack of boundaries shown was not something that bothered her. Though, the smell of the undead was a different story.

“Could you get rid of them? They stink.” Harper pointed to the small army of corpses.

“Ah, yes.” The Will glanced at the undead and they all collapsed on the spot. Of course, the stench remained in the air.

Harper frowned but the Will blinked her eyes as if she was unaware of what the problem was.

…

Inside the Underground City, Raveria narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

“Don’t do it, Valeryn.” Raveria suddenly spoke.

“Do what?” Valeryn replied softly. At the current moment, he was examining his sword but his eyes shined with some unknown intention.

“Ryn didn’t do anything, Ravi.” Zephyr came to his brother’s defense.

Rhys, who was watching over all of them, showed a puzzled expression. She was also unaware of what Raveria was suggesting Valeryn was about to do.

“I can see it, you know.” Raveria ignored them and focused on Valeryn. “In two hours you’re going to try and leave but it’s not going to happen while I’m here.”

Valeryn’s eyes widened very slightly before returning to their normal calm but Raveria noticed his reaction which confirmed her doubts even more.

“I just want to know if I can move like father does,” Valeryn confessed.

Raveria understood that he was referring to Ira’s spatial related abilities but shook her head.

“Dad said stay so you stay.” Raveria crossed her arms imposingly.

Still, no warnings could quite stop Valeryn’s mind. He was the most interested in using his abilities compared to his siblings. He had a sense of curiosity and a desire to grow that was similar very to Ira. Therefore, one couldn’t be surprised that Valeryn was contemplating ways to cut space.

“I will,” Valeryn uttered a half-hearted reply.

“Were you really going to sneak out, Ryn?” Zephyr asked.

“No,” Valeryn answered with a straight face before he whispered to his brother with a small grin. “...Yes.”

“I heard you!” Raveria shouted.

Rhys looked on at the trio who formed their own strange dynamic. She did have some fear that Ira’s other children would treat Zephyr differently but they didn’t. The ties of their bloodline were incredibly strong so there was no way that they would harbor negative feelings toward each other.