Sabrina knew something was wrong as soon as she entered the cave. Since she had last communicated with Dante, she often went down underground with Hector and Rim to hunt monsters.

This time, things were different. Their shadows resonated in the environment, delivering the cultivator accurate information.

Cultivators were scarcer than usual. Something was also interfering with her Qi control, as if her communication with the shadows was suffering some kind of interference.

Before contacting Rim and Hector, she explored a little further.

With each step, she confirmed her suspicion. The normally bulky monsters were nowhere to be seen.

Amidst the worry, she couldn't help but think of Dante. He was far away, unprotected from some ambush.

No. At that distance, the risks were minimal.

After walking another quest without spotting a soul, Sabrina headed back toward the castle. She ignored everyone on the way, going straight to her room.

After what happened to the Draco clan members, Sabrina was left with only the memories. She no longer had the physical objects, but the memories no one would take away from her.

When she stepped onto the floor where her room was, Sabrina stopped. Shadows rattled around her mistress, giving her confirmation of the presence of several members of the Draco clan scattered throughout the halls. Many more than usual.

Now, Sabrina could wait no longer. She picked up the communicator, and, inserting a little of her Qi, alerting Hector and Rim of what was happening.

Amidst her nervousness, Sabrina smiled. As the darkness took over the cultivator's body, like a nightgown, she prepared for revenge.

Today was a day to kill. And the corpses would not be monstrous.

As she entered the halls, hundreds of shadow hands followed her cue. Ordering her attack to converge on the first enemy spotted, Sabrina was merciful.

She killed them quickly. Shadows entered their breathing cavity, and it didn't take long for nature to act. Simple as that.

With no time to waste, she continued walking and executing the Draco clan members one by one. Like the slags they were, the Draco had sent only cannonballs. Cultivators obviously too weak to handle a Gold.

When she reached her room, Sabrina sensed a few more members of the Draco clan inside.

She activated her Oversoul. On the cultivator's back, large bat wings shaped themselves, made of shadow Qi.

She kicked the door hard. Hundreds of Qi tentacles entered the room quickly, containing everyone present. A quick death. Just as it happened to the others.

As the shadow hands embraced the bodies of the dying, Sabrina stopped, startled.

One advantage of her advance was that the feel of her Qi had improved greatly. Before, she could only discern objects without precision. Now, even a needle revealed its presence to the cultivator. Her shadow hands were as precise as her flesh hands.

On the ground in front of her, a cultivator was down, her body all bruised. The situation was ugly enough to make Sabrina look away.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

At that moment, her instincts spoke louder than any desire for revenge. "What happened here?" she asked, as she assessed the woman's body.

She was from the Draco clan, by the looks of her clothes. Who would have done that?

"What are you guys doing? Why are you after him?"

After hearing a few groans, Sabrina loosened her grip. Without realizing it, she sank her fingers into the skin of the cultivator, who moaned in pain.

"I don't know. Something is coming. From the outside. They're keeping us in the dark. They told us to come here and stand guard, and when they left, they did this to me," said the cultivator, her voice slurred. "I'm sorry, I'm just angry. They left me behind, out of the blue. If I had known what they would be like, I never would have accepted their offer."

Sabrina didn't know what to do. All those people were members of the Draco clan, certainly none of them were innocent. But Sabrina felt an obvious difference between the cultivators there and the ones in the corridors. The cultivators in the hall were at the beginning of Silver, too weak even to deal with the Sabrina of old.

As Sabrina stood up, her senses whistled. Her ever-vigilant shadows had detected some ancient, seemingly worthless objects.

The stolen things.

She hurried off to the location of the objects. As she took the souvenirs of those who loved her in her hand, drops dripped down her face.

She released her grip on the cultivators and stood.

For now, she would kill no more. It was time to help her friends.

–

"It seems to have started. What's the plan?" asked Rim. Sabrina had just informed her that something was going on.

Just as Rim and Hector's contact had mentioned, the Draco's were trying something.

"Do you think we should go after Sabrina?" asked Hector, worried.

"For now, I don't think so. She can take care of herself. I doubt that anyone but the Draco prodigies offers any danger to her. Let's stay focused on our plan."

Despite the brave speech, Rim couldn't help but feel doubt. Besides Sabrina, she was worried about Dante. Leaving him was the logical choice, of course, but it didn't make not knowing any easier to deal with.

They had planned what to do when the Draco acted several times. However, theory was always easier than practice. The theoretically wiser choice to hide was not the right one.

It was time for them to hunt a little. And this time, monsters would not be the targets.

Hector and Rin walked at a decent speed, not fast enough to be suspicious, to the outside of the hall.

"The invasion is really happening," Rim said, while holding up one of her metal balls made for special occasions. She was more than prepared for any adversity that arose.

As soon as they reached the border of the barrier protecting the major structure of the school, they increased speed. In secret, they had studied the routes that the strongest members of the Draco had been taking recently.

It was easy to predict where they planned to be during the invasion. The clan prodigies have stored food in a somewhat remote place. They certainly planned to distance themselves from the confrontation, cowards that they were.

"Hey, wait for me!" Rim cried. Hector's physique, after they had advanced to Gold, was even more frightening.

The bald man had always been the better in combat between the two, but divergence now seemed like a chasm.

Hector slowed his pace against his will. It was hard for him to remember how different his physique was from Rim's. Besides, they couldn't waste any time. They needed to attack Draco while they were distracted. It would be their best chance for victory.

As Hector walked, his steps left a small layer of ice behind. There weren't many things that made him angry these days. A life of expectations had taught him well.

However, they would manage the feat of finding one of them. Besides having effectively picked a fight with Dante and the others, they were still the type of clan that Hector hated the most.

It was disgusting. Perhaps the disgust was so great because many of his own clan, or rather, former clan, defended the same practice. Hell, even his own father didn't seem to have much against it.

That was why things needed to change.

Cultivators used the lesser ones as ladders, climbing on the backs of those who had the least to gather more and more resources. It was an eternal quest that only led to more power.

Along the way, they strangely did not find any monsters. The areas were empty. The air seemed numb, unburdened of Qi as it usually did.

By this time, surely the attack had already been reported. Hector chuckled at the thought of his enemies feeling Isaac's fury.

Still, Hector and Rim's part should be done. They suspected the forces attacks would bring reinforcements from outside, which would mean that the Slayers would be busy. At least for a little while.

In the distance, they spotted the hiding place of the Draco clan.

Isaac would not be the only one who would have fun after all.