Hellbound With You (WN)

It was just as Alicia had thought it would happen. As soon as they caught up with their comrades, she did not get any more chances to make Ezekiel speak. Even though she had already expected it, it still frustrated her to no end that what she predicted ended up happening. So, for now, all she could do was to hang on and wait until he had finally decided to speak.

Moreover, Alicia did not have the luxury to even ask anymore as the pace they were travelling at was incredibly fast and she was getting more and more uneasy the closer they get to their destination. Maybe it was due to her being able to tell that they were definitely not heading to a place she was expecting.

And her unease continued to build up until it reached its very peak the very moment that they finally halted on top of a hill overlooking a human city. Everyone was shocked that their destination was not a secluded place but an actual bustling city.

"Don't tell me… Zeres is in this city?" Lucas asked in disbelief as Ezekiel put Alicia down.

"Yes. He's here." Zeke replied and Alicia could not even speak anymore.

Horror filled their eyes as all of them, except Zeke and the prophetess, looked around in a dazed stupor over the seemingly peaceful and lively human city before them. Even Alexander who had arrived in this place first was rooted to the ground. His fists were balled up and clenched together so tightly, that blood could be seen dripping a little from those clenched fists of his – an obvious testament to the very real struggle of him trying to control himself, his bloodlust.

"I can't believe he of all people would..." Alex was beyond furious; he was so worked up that he could not even complete his statement. He truly could not believe that Zeres actually chose this place which was teeming with lives – innocent human lives – and not another random secluded place but a large, populated city of all places!

"This is probably his way of showing us how seriously he is taking this. Guess he is that determined about his decision…" Zeke commented, and Alex gritted his teeth. The only thing that had stopped Alex from barging directly into Zeres' hideout the moment he arrived was the fact that Alex knew what could and would happen if a fight between two over-powered immortals suddenly broke out in the middle of a city filled with humans.

"It appeared that Zeres had fully taken over that male witch's leadership." Zeke continued and everyone looked at him.

"Male witch? That same one who was responsible for creating those undead vampires?" Alex asked in a controlled but still ominous voice.

"Yes. That male witch had actually been planning for a long time since to find an opportunity to create chaos and reveal to the world that vampires and witches truly exists. He created countless undead vampires and placed them in various places around the world because he planned to command them to attack cities simultaneously if and when the opportunity arises. And it seems as if that now would be quite the perfect chance for him to execute that long drawn-out plan of his."

"But didn't you guys manage to intervene and kill so many of those undead vampires he was preparing for his attack during your journey?"

"Yes. But I have found out that Zeres is now planning to continue on with that witch's plan, and it seems as if that he's going to make it happen for real. If…" Zeke paused and turned to fix his eyes into the heart of the city, "we fail to kill him."

Everyone fell into an uncomfortable silence. The fact that Zeres chose a human city was enough for them to realize the severity of their situation. This was not a choice a man who was not hell bent and serious would do. Some of them could not even help but think that this was a move only an extremely evil person could hatch up and knowing this was more devastating for them. Because it was hard for them to accept that Zeres, of all people, had decided to go ahead with this. Though they knew the reason behind it, still… it was a really cruel thing that he had done.

"Didn't you guys already kill off most of the undead vampires just within this past month?" Alex asked after a long while of heavy silence.

"Yes." Zeke nodded. "However, the prophetess saw a massive influx of undead vampires in Zeres' hideout. Meaning, they are awakening more undead vampires even now. I can only deduce that more witches had since aided Zeres' as it requires more witches to be sacrificed for them to create more undead vampires in such a short period of time. Even though this place is not one of the world's major city, a fight breaking out here will cause –"

"You know we can never let that happen." Alex cut Zeke off, gnashing his teeth in anger. There was no way they would let the world know. It will end the years of peace and would probably start an era of great chaos in this world. "I'll go speak with him." Alex decided. "I will not fight him."

"No, Alex. I doubt he'd entertain any attempt to talk to him now. If he found out that you went there without the intention of killing him, it will only trigger him to do something even more impulsive that could spark off the beginning of that chaos we're trying to avoid at all costs. If he thinks we're not taking him seriously, he is not above doing whatever it takes. Worst case scenario is, he'll unleash the vampires to wreak havoc in this city until we are forced to attack and kill him."

"Then what the hell are we going to do? If we attack him, the result is the same." Alex burst out in exasperation. His eyes turning molten gold as he looked at Zeke. He never thought this problem would ever come to this point. Never would he have thought that Zeres… would finally resort to doing something so drastic such as this.

"I'll go." Alicia who had been so silent all the while, suddenly butted in and everyone's attention shifted to her. "I'll go…"

___

A\N: Don't forget to add <Spellbound> in your libraries guys. ^^