Chapter 441: Activate the Bloodline.

Zyra looked forward, her eyes focusing on Erik and the rest of the Somnivores that were in the tent. Pure, unadulterated fury boiled in her veins. "System..."

Then she froze. A cold, sharp needle plunged straight into the side of her neck.

Slowly, Zyra reached up, her fingers touching the plastic barrel of a syringe stuck in her skin. She turned her head in utter disbelief to look at the person holding it.

It was Holly.

Holly didn’t even look guilty. She just shrugged, offering a pathetic little pucker of her lips. "Sorry, Zyra. Their offer was just too good to resist. A girl has look out for herself, right?"

In a matter of seconds, a wave of icy numbness washed over Zyra’s entire body. Her knees buckled, and she hit the floor like a sack of rocks. It was the weirdest, most terrifying feeling_ her senses were wide open. She could see everything, hear every sound, and smell the metallic reek of blood, but she couldn’t move so much as a pinky finger. Her body had completely shut down.

Erik let out a booming, arrogant laugh that echoed off the tent walls. "I knew that stuff would work!" he gloated, stepping over a fallen chair. "Grab her! After we find that damn ship, we’re taking her straight to the Hollow Cradle. She can go join her mother." He grinned, displaying a nasty set of pointed teeth. "A strong soul maiden like her is going to breed us a whole army of powerful hybrids!"

’System! System, are you there!’ Zyra screamed inside her mind. She was conscious but couldn’t move her body.

Silence. No chime, no playful voice. It was as if Beauty had completely vanished into thin air!

Zyra’s chest heaved with short, desperate breaths. Her eyes darted around, landing first on the Grand Elder’s severed head, and then on Hunter lying right beside it, completely still. She squeezed her eyes shut, hot tears escaping down her frozen cheeks.

Suddenly, a static-filled screen flickered to life in the dark corners of her mind.

[System reboot complete,] Beauty grumbled in her head. [First things first: I need to neutralize this numbing poison in your bloodstream. You were hit with a dose heavy enough to knock out a full-grown battle buffalo. Unfortunately, flushing it out manually is going to take some time... if only your bloodline was active. That would speed things up considerably.]

’Activate my bloodline! Do it now!’ Zyra shouted back mentally.

Her mother’s voice echoed from a distant memory: If you are ever in grave danger, use the Resonance Serum to break the seal. Right now, "grave danger" was an absolute understatement.

"System, the serum is in the beast domain. Use it." She commanded.

[Inoculating the Resonance Serum now...]

A wave of liquid ice shot through Zyra’s veins, followed immediately by a roaring fire. Power surged back into her limbs like a dam bursting open. The faint mark on her forehead glowed a terrifying, fiery red, and her eyes turned completely, pitch-black_ devoid of any white.

Slowly, smoothly, Zyra stood up from the floor like a vengeful ghost rising from a grave.

A few feet away, Holly was currently busy arguing with Erik. "Look, Erik, a deal’s a deal! But considering I just killed my sister and got you the new human divine soul maiden, I think I deserve a way bigger cut of the_"

Holly’s voice trailed off. Her eyes shifted toward the floor, then slowly traveled up until they met Zyra’s black, lifeless glare.

Holly’s face drained of every drop of color. She pointed a trembling, weak finger, stammering so hard her teeth rattled. "H-H-How?! How are you standing up?!"

The remaining Somnivores turned around all at once. Tonio smirked, cracking his knuckles with a series of loud, sickening pops.

"Relax, everybody," Tonio sneered, stepping forward with an easy stride. "I’ll take care of this little girl myself_"

Zyra didn’t say a word. She simply flicked her wrist and tossed her spear. The weapon didn’t just fly_ it stretched like an elastic rubber band! In a split second, it impaled Tonio directly through the chest, snapping right through him, and driving straight into Holly’s chest behind him!

Before either of them could even scream, the elastic spear snapped backward, retracting instantly into Zyra’s grip. Sitting neatly on the tip of the spear was Tonio’s glowing core.

[Thank you for the core, Host!] Beauty chirped merrily in her head. [Your beasts have gained +100 to their Strength Attribute!]

The core vanished into thin air. Tonio and Holly collapsed to the floor, dead before they even hit the carpet.

Erik’s jaw dropped. He backed up two steps, pointing a wildly trembling hand at Zyra. "KILL HER! ALL OF YOU, KILL HER NOW!"

[Purification complete! Releasing all beasts!] Beauty announced triumphantly.

In a blinding flash of summoning light, an absolute zoo of strong beasts materialized out of thin air, filling the entire room!

Spice whipped her tail out, sweeping three Somnivores off their feet and wrapping around them like a vice. Beside it, the drake flapped its wings, shooting blue arcs of high-voltage electricity out of its mouth that left two enemies twitching violently on the floor.

The Squirrel scampered up the wall, spitting miniature fireballs like a furry machine gun, setting their clothes ablaze!

A swarm of razor-sharp Bats swooped down screeching deafeningly, while two giant Gorillas beat their chests and started using two Somnivores like rag dolls, throwing them into each other. A Lion pounced across the table, the dragon snakes zoomed like bullets in the air slicing with glass-sharp wings.

Snowy marched outside, unleashing an army of assassin ants on the hybrids.

There were more beasts than enemies. Zyra’s beast army was nearly two thousand! They did to the Somnivores and hybrids what they had done to the humans. Within ten minutes, the fight was over.

The single remaining Somnivore didn’t stand a ghost of a chance. He chose to take his own life before the beasts did it. The beasts trotted, slithered, and flew back over to Zyra, holding the freshly harvested Somnivore cores in their mouths and paws, presenting them to her like dutiful pets bringing back dead mice.

Zyra hadn’t even needed to lift a finger in this fight.

She stared down at the glowing cores in her palm, then looked over at Hunter’s cold body, and the Grand Elder’s head sitting right there. Her heart shattered into a million sharp pieces.

She sank to her knees right in the middle of the gore, her hands shaking uncontrollably and she let out a devastating scream. This didn’t feel like a victory. It felt like total, utter defeat.