A convoy of armored, blacked-out SUV’s raced towards Shadow Manor as evening approached. The engines roared until they all simultaneously slammed on the brakes coming to a screeching halt at the gates of the manor property.
Six SUV’s surrounded a central SUV. A man stepped out of the central SUV and angrily barked, “Stay put! This won’t be long.”
The man drew his sword and kicked in the gates to the property making way towards the front door. Guards promptly raised their weapons in preparation to fire; however, they all hesitated.
“That- That’s St. Michael…”
Guards one after another lowered their weapons and bowed their heads as St. Michael stormed through the front doors.
Once inside, a guard jumped in surprise raising an assault rifle at St. Michael, firing it at him. The spray of bullets made impact with Michael; however, they all fell to the ground leaving him unharmed as they met his aura of intense ki layering his body.
Michael sneered at the guard and approached him, “Where is First General Ulysses Curtis?”
The guard hesitated in shock and Michael grabbed him by his shirt collar, “WHERE IS HE?!”
The guard finally managed to squeeze out an answer, “Upstairs, 2nd floor conference room. He said to allow nobody entry. He wants no interruptions.”
Michael threw the guard to the ground and yelled as he began his ascension up the staircase, “Does it look like I take orders from General Curtis?!”
Michael briskly walked along a second-floor corridor until coming to a set of double doors leading into the conference room.
Seconds later, the doors to the conference room burst into pieces flung asunder as Michael ki blasted the door to smithereens.
The attendees of the meeting within all jumped and turned to see what was going on.
General Curtis turned with a charged ki blast in his hand aiming it at the door, “I said NO interruptions!”
As the debris from the door cleared, a hand reached out grabbing Curtis’s wrist nullifying his ki blast with ki interference.
General Curtis grit his teeth in anger until he finally realized who was paying him a visit, “St. Michael. I apologize. Had I known you were coming, I would have-“
“SHUT UP!” Michael cut Curtis off and stared him down, “I allow you to run the necessary evils within this empire. Gun trafficking, sex trafficking, drug trafficking, tax evasion… I turn a blind eye to it all so that we may coexist in peace while also allowing this empire to prosper. And this! THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME!!?”
Curtis had a slight tremble as Michael gripped his wrist tighter still with anger. Curtis nodded, “I admit Miss Sareena Night has caused more trouble than is allowable. We are convening right now making urgent plans to deal with her. We even have plans to use the void-“
“I don’t care!” Michael cut him off again, “I don’t care about the details of your plan!”
Michael threw Curtis’s wrist back at him, “Spare me the pathetic details. I am only here to inform you that if this matter is not taken care of in 24 hours, I will be assuming authority. And with it, I will rip Scorched Shadow root and stem from the Holy Light Empire!”
Curtis bowed his head, “Yes sir, St. Michael.”
Michael turned and sheathed his sword as he stormed out of the manor leaving Curtis to his meeting.
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Curtis grabbed his wrist and rubbed it as he turned to face the congregation which included General Mallory Preston and other high-ranking members of Scorched Shadow.
Curtis looked to an empty chair and said, “Don’t think for a second Michael will spare you if we fail. You must help us now.”
A disembodied voice could be heard from the chair, “Fine. I will help you, but this plan will leave me without extraneous ki. I will need to be taken care of for the remainder of my life if we wish for this plan to work in the long term.”
Curtis nodded, “You help us, we will take care of you. You will be a king. I promise.”
Detective Fincher spoke once more, “Okay fine. You have a deal. I won’t exit the void until we are in place though. She will rush to me once she has detected I am back in this plane of existence.”
Curtis took his seat and said, “Okay then. Let’s go over this one last time.”
__________________________________________________
Elsewhere, the same evening, John Vand sat deep within his mansion in his private office with no windows. He sat at a luxurious desk made of solid wood from a single massive tree with a width of 20 feet.
The room had 20-foot ceilings and no windows. The ceiling, floors, and walls were all made of solid woods.
John sat at his desk in silence until finally mumbling to himself, “There is no going back now. Things are in motion, and I have picked my side.”
The door then creaked open and a young man in his twenties walked in, “Uncle, you wanted to see me?”
“Eric, by golly yes. Come in. Take a seat, please.” John stood up and greeted Eric showing him to his seat.
John then walked back to his chair on the other side of the desk, “I am terribly sorry that you were caught up in the bank robbery today. I could have and probably should have confirmed you would not be there. It’s a miracle you survived.”
Eric frowned, “I would hardly call that a bank robbery. That was a serial killer on a spree. That was a sadistic woman who enjoys killing and humiliating.” Erik maintained his scowl at John, “And I don’t think it was by miracle that I survived.”
John and Eric looked each other in the eye for a few moments before Eric finally said, “Miss Sareena Night told me she favored you. Do I even want to know what business you two have together?”
John sighed, “You may want to know before you arrive at your briefing with St. Michael.”
Erik shook his head, “Don’t tell me anymore. I do not want to be involved in whatever deal you have made with devils.”
John raised his hands and said, “Look around. This level of nauseating wealth and privilege we enjoy didn’t just land in our laps. It came from deals with devils.”
“I will be telling the truth, uncle!” Erik glared back at his uncle.
John leaned forward, “The truth has a cost. A heavy cost. This is much more than a bank robbery. Much more than a killing spree. Much more than a mere sadistic woman who enjoys killing and humiliating. If you think she’s an after thought for St. Michael to rid his empire of, you’re wrong!”
John’s voice echoed within the large room, and he stood up leaning over the desk towards his nephew, “Family is important to me, Erik. So allow me to tell you the truth. The time has come to pick a side. The wrong side will die a painful death.”
Erik had a look of confusion on his face, “And you have chosen your side? You have chosen Sareena Night over the great St. Michael? A war hero of our empire who helped vanquish a bonified heir of the BloodStar Empire? Have you gone mad?”
John walked around the side of the desk and leaned on the front of the desk looking down at Erik who remained seated, “I tell you this next part knowing that if you ever mention it to anyone including St. Michael, the information will not propagate far before you meet your demise.”
Erik took a large gulp and looked up expectantly at his uncle.
John then folded his arms and sighed, “Sareena Night is Xenia BloodStar.”
Erik stood from his chair and began to slowly back away from his uncle, “You’ve either gone mad, or you’ve lost your morals in the pursuit of even more riches.” He shook his head, “Xenia BloodStar? That is impossible. But even if it were true, you would choose a side that has lost to the same opponents already? She lost once, she will lose again.”
John took a step closer towards his nephew, and Erik yelled, “Don’t come near me!”
“I am telling you this to protect you, Erik! I don’t choose sides based on morals. I choose sides based on who allows me to live. I have been doing this for a very long time and believe me when I say that Xenia is alive, and she is winning. She has learned her lessons. And she we will be winning this final round.”
Erik shook his head, and John continued, “I understand that you have a debriefing with St. Michael. I am telling you that if you walk out of this house with the intent of relaying what I have told you here to Michael, we will never see each other again. Not because I don’t love you, but because you will be dead. Trust me, I know.”
“I knew you had strayed from doing the right thing, but I had no idea how far.” Erik turned and opened the office door before turning his head to the side, “Goodbye, Uncle.”
Erik walked out softly closing the door behind him, and John leaned back against the front aspect of his desk with a big sigh and softly said to himself as a tear rolled down his cheek, “Goodbye, Erik.”