Chapter 218: Must be Sabrina.

The girls nodded slowly, drawing strength from her calm words. While the king beasts were fighting, the quickest and bravest were led by Claudia. They teleported outside, bringing back branches, metal panels and luggage floating nearby. They worked quickly, weaving these things into a barricade at the back of the plane.

The girls moved with practiced calm, using high-tech survival devices like compact welders, energy clamps and hardening glue to seal their improvised wall. These things were collected from some of the bags they recovered. They were must haves for all Soul maidens when traveling.

What useful things remained were neatly stacked: ration packs, med-kits, solar blankets and energy stones.

Etania took stock of the food in the airplane kitchen at the front, ignoring her throbbing headache. After, she walked over to the middle compartment to check their emergency food reserves. There were a few canteens of clean water, loaves of grain bread, cooked rice and canned fish, chicken and meat.

"Well," Etania said, holding up a loaf of bread. "The good news is that we won’t starve today or tomorrow. The bad news is, if we don’t ration this like penny pinching merchants, this food will only last us five days. Maybe four if little Mai promises not to eat the whole loaf in one sitting."

"Hey! I don’t eat that much!" Mai protested, pouting, though a hint of color finally returned to her pale cheeks.

Etania smiled faintly and the other girls laughed, teasing Mai. The others who were focused mapped exits and windows, moved the pilot’s body, and blocked the opening in the window. Stranded between rivers, perched in treetops, they were determined not to be helpless. They were survivors, Soul maidens, humanity’s hope, and together they would endure.

Finally, they settled down, leaning against each other, having their first meal of the day. Etania looked out a window into the flood waters below, where giant shadows lurked beneath the surface. They had shelter and a tiny bit of food, but in this dangerous, monster-infested wilderness_ they could not dare to believe that they were safe.

*****

Night had fallen, and Achilles was still comforting his crying mother. Alessa was blaming herself for Denea’s death, weeping that simply visiting Denea had not been enough and that she should have brought her home with her long ago. She was so consumed by grief that Achilles had to bite his tongue until it practically bled, just to hold back the truth_ that Denea was actually alive and well.

Instead, he shifted the blame right where it belonged. He pointed toward Sabrina and told his mother that she was the real monster here, the sole villain responsible for everything. Anything to keep Beast valley safe.

Alessa’s red, tear-swollen eyes instantly turned cold as ice. She spat out that Sabrina was a selfish, horrible person. She muttered under her breath, wondering aloud whose twisted character Sabrina had even inherited, considering their mother was a saint and her father, a reasonable man.

Achilles poured some clear water into a glass and handed it to her. "Sometimes, Mother, the apple doesn’t just fall far from the tree_ it rolls all the way down the mountain into a pile of mud." He then gently warned her to hold off on any more slaps, admitting he was worried Aunt Sabrina would find a way to make her pay for the public humiliation.

Alessa sneered, her red eyes flashing with fierce contempt. She revealed that she had already taken precautions, declaring to everyone that if she died under any mysterious circumstances, Sabrina would be held directly responsible! She added that Sabrina’s greed for power knew no bounds and her sister wanted to hoard the entire family’s fortune, land, and spiritual resources for herself and her own bratty children.

That was the real reason she betrayed the Grand Patriarch! It was as if she wanted every single Kaelion wiped out of existence, leaving only her own lineage behind.

Achilles rubbed his temples. It was not the first time he was hearing this rant.

"She wants to control every damn thing! She’s crazy!" Alessa paused, rubbing her eyes, and muttered that the only good thing Sabrina ever had in her life was give birth to Hunter and marry Horas.

Achilles couldn’t stop a low chuckle from escaping his lips. "Whom you also just shoved. Poor Horas, he looked betrayed."

Alessa instantly covered her face with both hands, groaning in deep regret. She admitted she had been so blind with fury she felt capable of killing someone but promised she would properly apologize to Horas later. She then scoffed, genuinely puzzled as to why a decent man like Horas remained so patient with a venomous viper like Sabrina, adding that he really should just pack up and leave the household, exactly like Hunter had done.

Achilles shrugged lightly. "She was his first love, Mother. Love makes people blind, deaf, and foolish."

"How can anyone stay in love with such an evil being?" Alessa grumbled, shaking her head.

Achilles checked the time on his link band and tapped his mother’s shoulder. "It’s time for the general clan meeting." He looked at her sternly, though his eyes twinkled with amusement. "Promise me you won’t slap anyone during the assembly."

Alessa closed her eyes briefly, took a deep breath, and opened them with a straight face. "I can’t promise that."

****

The affairs of the wealthy and affluent continued, despite the tragedies below, on earth. The Kaelion clan was gathered in one of the dining rooms in the sanctuary. All the families were present, packed shoulder-to-shoulder, while the representatives of each family sat at the very center. Well, almost all of them. One chair remained glaringly empty_ the representative seat of the main Kaelion family.

Everyone had been patient for over the thirty minutes, but now, they were counting down the seconds, feeling disrespected and whispering about this feeling.

Grand Elder Simon, sitting at the head of the high platform, let out a dry, raspy cough. "Where," he croaked, his old voice echoing through the silent hall, "is the main family’s representative?"

From the main family’s seating area, Matilda stood up. Her eyes were red, brimming with well-rehearsed tears. "Grand elder," she sobbed softly, dabbing her nose with a handkerchief. "My husband is the representative, but he’s currently in the infirmary. He caught a severe stomach bug this morning that worsened during dinner and simply cannot be here." He had explosive diarrhea. To come would be to humiliate himself.

At the front of the main family, the grand patriarch smirked

"How convenient!" he muttered under his breath, though his eyes sparkled with dark amusement. He had expected Sabrina to do something of course, she had said so herself. Lacing her brother’s drink with a laxative was unexpected and childish.

He raised his hand toward the Grand elder of the clan. "Grand Elder Simon, give us a few minutes to discuss this internally. We need to decide who will step up. My days of representing the family are over. I have to start handing over the reins slowly."