Chapter 395: Kirsten’s realization.

An alien spaceship! It was truly something hard to wrap her simple mind around. She couldn’t help wondering what else was hidden in the Sanctum and what they had been doing with the space ship this whole time.

The Johnson clan owned a Johnsons pharmaceutical company, Johnsons weapons company, a Johnsons hospital. Also, a Johnsons technological research park.

All these industries were among the best in the new world. Were these accomplishments related to the spaceship?

Zyra nodded slowly, adjusting the grip on her spear. "Good. I’ll go check out this ’alien ship’ in a minute. But first, let’s finish wrapping things up here."

She pointed toward a group of traumatized people who still looked like their souls had left their bodies.

The Grand elder dismissed her with his fingers. "No, you run along...I will handle things here. Some things can’t be put off."

Zyra nodded and left with a team.

Off to the side, Ava pressed her lips into a thin line. Seeing the way things were shaping up, she quietly signaled her team, and they slipped out of the stadium. Not everyone followed her, though. Yuda, who had just reunited with her old friend Tessi, stayed right where she was, happily chatting away.

Watching from the shadows outside, Ava bit her lip, her heart sinking. Damn it, she thought bitterly. With Zyra and the grand elder holding all the cards now, the Somnivores’ plan to take over the New World just got a hundred times harder. I have to let Ivar know.

***

When Ava’s team reached the headquarters of their secret hideout, they looked less like powerful Soul maidens and more like ghosts that were returning from a visit to hell.

They were covered in dried blood, running on zero sleep, and rocking torn clothes that looked like they had been chewed on by a machine that worked under protest. Their faces were so dark and miserable and most of all confused.

Ava leaned against the wall, taking a head count. Her heart dropped straight to her boots. They had been unprepared for that battle at the stadium, and the body count was proof. Half their human supporters were gone, turned into beast chow.

Five Soul maidens had died as well. Which, to Ava, was the only loss that actually mattered.

Kirsten limped over, her knees trembling so badly she looked like a newborn fawn trying to walk. She wiped dirt off her nose and whispered, "Ava... Yuda isn’t back. Three of our Soul Maidens are missing, too. Five are dead."

Ava sneered so hard her lip almost touched her eye. "Unbelievable. That girl Yuda saw Tessi and immediately flipped her allegiance? Is her loyalty made of butter?"

"Hey, don’t judge her too fast!" Kirsten sniffled, holding her bruised ribs. "Maybe Yuda is just... catching up over tea? Maybe she’s gathering intel before coming back?"

"Catching up?" Ava scoffed. "In the middle of a slaughterhouse?"

"You saw the powerful beasts that Zyra had! Some could create illusions! I mean....I still do not know what I saw. Yuda may have gone to get info." Kirsten insisted.

"Then why is she ignoring my calls and not replying to my messages??" Ava asked

Before Kirsten could reply, Leif stomped past them, muttering curses colorful enough to make a demon blush. He took five steps, froze, and slowly spun around to glare at Ava like she owed him ten thousand spirit stones.

"Hey," Leif spat, his voice sounding like two rocks grinding together. "Tell me you didn’t spill all the Somnivore secrets to Yuda."

Ava blinked. "What if I did?"

"What if you did?!" Leif shouted, throwing his hands up. "That girl is out there right now blabbing our master plan to anyone with ears!"

Ava rolled her eyes so hard she almost saw her own brain. She expelled a long breath. "Oh, no! What a huge secret! Whatever shall we do if people find out our terrifying Somnivore plan is just... living peacefully as one? Oh, the horror! The villainy!"

The other soul maidens and humans contained their laughter out of fear for Leif.

Kirsten chimed in, trying to sound helpful. "Honestly, if Yuda tells Zyra Scorpion about what the Somnivores actually want, maybe Zyra will join us! Wouldn’t that be better for the plan?"

Leif turned on his heel, pointed a finger right at Kirsten’s nose, and scoffed loud enough to rattle the roof tiles. "Are you serious right now? You think a powerful soul maiden like that will want to bow under Somnivore rule!?"

"Who said anything about bowing?" Kirsten asked. "It is supposed to be a partnership."

Ava winced, the memory hitting her like a slapped face. "Just how on earth did Zyra become such a powerhouse? She wasn’t even an awakened Soul Maiden last I heard, but the King Beasts were bowing to her like she was their commander!" She could have smoked if she had a packet of cigarettes.

"Right?!" Kirsten nodded frantically. "Even the old Divine Maidens couldn’t pull off a trick like that! She’s not just strong, she’s what a real Divine Maiden is supposed to be! We’re basically playing house compared to her! That is the kind of leader we deserve to restore our old power and respect."

"Leif let out a sigh so heavy it could have moved mountains. "I can’t deal with you two. I’m going inside to report to the bosses back home."

"Hold your horses, Leif," Ava said.

She reached into her bloody sleeve and pulled out a small, metallic box that glinted faintly. It was an empty Stasis Prism.

"I picked this up from under a stadium bench right before we left." Ava said, her voice dropping an octave.

Kirsten leaned in, her eyes going wide as saucers. "Wait... that’s Somnivore tech. No human in possession of that would drop it, not even accidentally." She slowly turned her head toward Leif. Her voice started to shake, a horrible realization creeping into her gut. "Leif, does this belong to you? Did you release the beasts into the crowd?"

Leif didn’t answer. He just stood there, his jaw locked tight. His face was a stone mask, but his left eye twitched just a tiny bit, and his hands shifted toward his belt. Anyone with half a brain could see he knew way more than he was letting on.

"I didn’t do anything," he said flatly. Without another word, he turned his back on them and walked deeper into the house.

The silence left behind was suffocating. Kirsten stood there for two seconds before her face turned green. She sprinted straight over to a row of decorative flower pots, fell to her knees, and threw up her guts.

"Oh my God!" Kirsten cried out in shock. "It was him. All those people... our friends that died out there... the innocent children who just wanted to watch the games..." She looked up at Ava with red, watery eyes, remembering everything Yuda had warned them about. "Yuda was right," Kirsten whimpered. "She kept asking if Leif’s agenda was the same as ours. It wasn’t. It never was! Ava, I didn’t sign up to massacre grandmas and kids. I am done."