Her Arrival

….

Through the eyes of the countless undead she had placed along the path to the mine, Aurora had noticed Lethia's undead Phoenix flying in the distance, which looked tiny initially yet grew bigger as it grew closer. As it got closer to the furthest undead spies, its powerful, dark, fiery aura could be felt.

She was certain that there wasn't much time left before her arrival. There were only a few hours left at best, and this was based on the current speed of the undead Phoenix.

Everything was already prepared for her arrival, all except for two things: Malik returning from his excursion to increase his strength as much as possible and their prey, Lethia, who would arrive soon!

Without much reaction, Aurora turned around and looked in a certain direction.

"It seems like everything's in place now that he has arrived. All that's left is for the little mouse to enter its trap."

****

Not too far from the entrance to the mine, there was a man casually walking towards the mine in the distance. The man was Malik, but there was a visible difference compared to before. He had an aura that was more powerful after reaching a higher evolution.

But what really differentiated him from before was his appearance. His clothes were mostly bloody rags that barely covered his body, which revealed his lean body. His body was strong and had plenty of muscles where it could steal an ordinary woman's heart with ease, but it wasn't at all attractive to Aurora, who watched him as he grew closer.

"It seems that her death isn't far from becoming a reality." Malik muttered, feeling anticipation for his future. He couldn't wait to see Lethia's face before she lost her own life at the hands of someone she considered below her.

"Once she's dead, it'll only be a matter of time before I have the strength to conquer this entire kingdom and become the king of the vampires. Only under my rule can this kingdom reach the strength where no other kingdom could compare themselves to mine."

"Only through my rule, not a bitch and a king that has no use…" A narcissistic grin appeared on his face, not realizing how foolish he was in thinking he was the rightful king.

From his anger and narcissism, it was clear that he was too hasty to kill Lethia and the king. He was looking at a bright, narrow path that stood before him, making the dangers that existed on the path invisible because of how bright the path was. Because of that, he became easy to control, like a small puppet in another's hands.

Finding a puppet like him wouldn't be easy, and she felt there was some intervention helping her, but even if she received some help from someone else, likely her parents, who she had come to know to be a little overprotective, she would still have to use this intervention to her own advantage.

No matter how much they loved and desired her protection, they understood the implications it would have if she never experienced any danger for herself. It was only with her own strength that she could overcome the dangers.

One of these dangers was Lethia, who couldn't easily be fooled like Malik from the moment of first seeing her. She was not someone she or anyone else should take lightly.

Malik reached the entrance to the mine and walked inside, his excitement growing. He walked past several caverns, only stopping as he reached one that was different from the others.

Inside the cavern were a single bed, a few chairs, and a table, all made of stone, as if sculpted out of the cavern's walls, where one could rest. This place was where Lethia once resided, where the zombies couldn't disturb her.

"After all this time, you still haven't shown your face to me? It's strange; I can't see you, nor am I able to feel your presence, but I can feel your gaze, but no matter how much I try, I can't tell where this gaze comes from. How do you have such a profound technique?"

Unbeknownst to Malik, Aurora was seated with Amia directly across from him on the two stone chairs. She rested one leg above the other as she calmly watched Malik.

"There isn't a need to show myself when it isn't important for our end goal. If you still want me to reveal myself, I'll do it after we finish the fight with Lethia."

"There's no need... I'm just a little intrigued, but it's not important compared to killing her. With your plan, do you think it'll work out? Will it be enough for me to seize the throne?"

Aurora smiled, "Don't worry, I'll make sure you get to exactly where you should belong."

Aurora had realized this long before, but either it was from his narcissistic behavior or he simply didn't consider her a threat in his eyes; he had for some reason started trusting in every word of hers, and it seemed there was no shred of doubt in his heart.

'Either way, he's still a fool who would willingly go against someone who was clearly stronger than him head-on without second thought and with zero preparations beforehand. If it wasn't for his use, he would already be dead.'

****

"Now that the mine is within viewing distance, I'm certain there's something wrong with this place, but just what could it be? Nothing that comes to mind seems possible, especially when it gives me such a strong sense of danger." Lethia lazily commented, looking at the dark mines that were surrounded by a dark forest.

She knew a lot about this place, especially since she had lived there for most of her last few years here. Her perception was also greater than most, and she could feel that the atmosphere was different.

Instead of the dead and cold atmosphere that usually covered the entire dark continent, she could also feel immense hostility that seemed to be directed at her. However, she didn't show any reaction when faced with this killing intent. It didn't faze her at all!

"Who's killing intent could be this powerful? I'm sure it can't be Malik unless he hid it, but he wasn't someone who could easily hide something. Just who could it be?" She gazed at the dark mine in the distance, slowly growing bigger as she grew closer, slightly intrigued.

It was the first time in a dozen years that she had felt a sense of danger, giving her a great feeling of excitement she hadn't felt in a long time. There was finally a challenge—someone who she could consider a threat. If it wasn't for that, she wouldn't have ordered her Undead Phoenix to increase its speed.

She brought the Phoenix's descent to a halt as she arrived above the mountain where the dark mines were located.

She disembarked from the Undead Phoenix and gracefully hovered in the air, using two pitch-black wings made of dark energy and exhibiting a perfect and unrestrained movement akin to walking or soaring in the air.

She brought her lips closer to the Undead Phoenix, where no one, not even someone who was standing adjacent to her, could hear her giving her command. "Spread out... and kill everything within this vicinity. If needed, you can burn this forest to the ground."

The Undead Phoenix only nodded in response and spread out, sending hundreds of younger versions of itself in all directions to fulfill Lethia's order, which was absolute in its eyes. For an undead, it held intelligence that could be compared to humans in the high lands, but it was still completely loyal to Lethia.

After her orders were given, Lethia started her slow descent to the ground, landing before the entrance to the mine without making any sound, as if she were a feather. Her dark energy wings disappeared as her foot touched the ground.

She was certain that this mine was the cause of the hostile atmosphere, feeling a powerful killing intent.

She walked inside the dark mine with no fear in her eyes, casually walking through the cavern, slightly surprised at the sight. She couldn't feel the deathly aura of the zombies. It felt as if they had all suddenly disappeared from this world without her knowing.

What made it even more unusual was that the red gem that she used to control the zombies didn't react at all. The dark energy that controlled the zombies would remain here for at least a few hundred years, yet there wasn't a reaction from the gem. What could have caused this? If it were a demon, it still wouldn't be possible to devour it in such a short period of time.

Soon, she reached the cavern she had resided in for years, noticing a familiar person seated on one of her stone chairs, appearing to be waiting for her arrival.

"Didn't I place a pet collar on you? There shouldn't be a way for anyone to remove it, and what did you do with my zombies? Could it have been your doing? No, even though it looks like it, I still can't believe you can do something such as this."

"It doesn't matter if I'm capable or not. What matters is that you won't be leaving this place alive!"

Lethia frowned. Malik looked calm, even though he wasn't her opponent. "You've grown even more arrogant, haven't you?"

She soon realized why he was this arrogant, as she finally felt the presence of hundreds of undead around her. She was surrounded from all sides, leaving her no room to escape.

For the first time, she was truly taken aback. "How could they hide from my perception? There's no way someone at their level could hide their aura from me, so how? What did you do…?"