Georgia and Scorpion made their way to the sa room where they had just spoken with Scarlett about the issue. However, upon entering, they were t with an unexpected sight, Kato, seated majestically in a high-backed chair, his sharp gaze fixed on a holographic screen. The screen displayed Scarlett’s movents in the room they had just left, her every action being closely monitored.
An awkward silence filled the air, heavy with unspoken tension.
"We’ve taken her to the room," Georgia announced with a slight bow, breaking the uneasy stillness. "And I’ve put the baby to sleep."
Kato didn’t imdiately respond. His eyes remained locked on the screen, his expression unreadable. When he finally spoke, his voice was calm but laced with authority.
"I can see that," he said, his words directed at Georgia though his focus remained fixed on the screen. "Make sure she gets whatever she wants."
Scorpion exhaled a heavy sigh, shifting uncomfortably. He had been holding his tongue, but he couldn’t keep his thoughts contained any longer.
"Are you really sure about this, boss?" he asked cautiously. "Inviting the leaders of other organizations to your wedding to her the Queen of Monsters? This is a dangerous move." He shook his head. "Fine, I get it. Garvin and Jaden are here, so she wouldn’t dare make a reckless move as she knew their lives would be in danger. But still, I can’t shake the feeling that you’re making a very big mistake."
Kato’s gaze finally left the holographic screen, his eyes dark and unreadable as they settled on Scorpion. A thick silence followed, pressing down on everyone in the room like an impending storm.
His voice, when he finally spoke, was calm but laced with a dangerous edge.
"Since when did you two start questioning my authority?"
A chilling wave of power rolled off him, suffocating the air. The mont the words left his lips, Georgia and Scorpion, along with the other guards in the room, dropped to their knees in submission. The tension in the room beca almost unbearable, the weight of Kato’s anger suffocating.
"We would never go against your orders, boss," Georgia said quickly, her voice steady but carrying an undeniable seriousness. "But we’re asking you to reconsider. That woman is not soone who gives up easily. You know that better than anyone. You’ve spent enough ti in her group to understand how she operates, so how could she suddenly surrender so easily? How could she just accept becoming your woman without a fight?"
Kato’s expression darkened.
In a flash, he closed the distance between them. Before Georgia could react, his clawed hand shot out, wrapping around her throat.
A strangled gasp escaped her lips as her body was lifted off the ground, her feet dangling above the floor. Kato’s nails lengthened, piercing into her flesh, and blood began trickling down her neck, staining his fingers. She struggled, grasping at his arm, her breath hitching as her vision blurred.
Kato tilted his head, a wicked smirk spreading across his lips as he licked the blood off his hand.
"You two have grown bold," he murmured, his voice smooth yet laced with nace. His grip on Georgia’s throat tightened as he lifted her even higher, her body now dangerously close to the ceiling. "Are you getting too comfortable with life? Or perhaps you’re volunteering to beco my dinner?"
He chuckled darkly, his sharp fangs glinting under the dim lighting. "Considering how hungry I am right now... that wouldn’t be such a bad idea."
Scorpion lowered his head, his forehead nearly touching the floor. His voice was steady, yet laced with desperation.
"We’re sorry, Boss," he apologized, his tone filled with remorse and submission.
Kato’s gaze remained fixed on him for a mont, cold and unreadable. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he flung Georgia across the room. Her body collided with the wall with a sickening crack, and she let out a sharp gasp as she collapsed to the floor. A mouthful of blood spilled from her lips, staining the ground beneath her.
She trembled but forced herself to remain conscious, her vision blurred as she struggled to lift her head.
Kato exhaled, his expression unreadable as he began pacing the room, his footsteps echoing in the tense silence.
"I know Scarlett," he began, his voice low but carrying undeniable authority. "I know her skills. She wouldn’t gain another ability unless she dies for it." He stopped abruptly, his gaze darkening. "From what I understand, if she dies again, she’ll be without a system. That ans she’ll have to rely solely on her intelligence."
He resud pacing, his hands clasped behind his back.
"Losing her system also ans losing all of her resources, resources she planned to use to build a safe haven for humanity." A smirk curled his lips. "Without her system, she becos powerless. And if she’s powerless, then her title as the Queen of Monsters is useless."
His eyes glead with cruel amusent.
"Sure, she’ll still be alive but she’ll wish she had died along with her third system."
Georgia coughed, blood still dripping from her lips, but she didn’t dare interrupt.
Kato’s voice grew colder.
"By then, she wouldn’t have the chance to save humanity, even if she wants to. The other chosen mbers won’t stand by her unless they have a death wish. The ones whose goals have changed will hunt her down like an animal."
His pacing slowed, and he finally settled back into his chair, draping one leg over the other as he leaned back.
"If I were Scarlett, I wouldn’t let that happen," he mused, his tone almost casual. "I wouldn’t just stand by and watch humanity go extinct. Which ans..." His gaze flickered toward Georgia and Scorpion. "Scarlett is helpless now. She has no choice but to submit. And giving her a grand wedding? Well, that’s a fitting reward for the powers I’ll soon be taking from her."
His smile widened into sothing more sinister.
"So, you two," he continued, his voice sharp, "will provide her with everything she needs. Make sure she has no reason to be suspicious."
"Yes, Boss!" Scorpion answered imdiately, swallowing hard. His gaze remained fixed on the floor, knowing better than to et Kato’s eyes.
"And send the invitations to the leaders of every organization." Kato waved a hand dismissively. "Once Scarlett’s wedding dress is ready, bring it to . I will take it to her myself."
Georgia and Scorpion wasted no ti in bowing once more before quickly making their exit.
__________
anwhile...
Scarlett sat still in her room, her sorrowful mask lted away, replaced by sothing far more dangerous... determination.
Her sharp eyes narrowed, her jaw clenched tightly. She then stood up and began pacing, her mind racing through possibilities, strategies, and outcos. Every detail of her surroundings was committed to mory, her gaze flickering across the room with practiced precision.
She knew Kato was watching and that ant she couldn’t afford any suspicious movents.
After a few calculated monts, she suddenly stopped pacing. Her entire body trembled as she collapsed onto the bed, burying her face into her hands. Then, she wailed.
Loud, uncontrollable sobs wracked her fra, her shoulders shaking as she gasped for breath between cries.
Ding!
{What’s wrong, Host? Are you injured?}
"Never mind ," she responded ntally, despite her hysterical sobs. "It’s just an act for Kato. I know he’s watching."
Tears continued to stream down her face, soaking into the fabric of the bed.
"I can’t use my invisibility skill here," she continued in her mind. "I need to find out where Garvin and Jaden are, but if I do anything suspicious, Kato will catch on."
The system remained silent for a mont before responding.
Ding!
{I understand your predicant, Host. But I do have a question..why do you want all the organization leaders at your wedding? Are you planning to reveal your face and cause chaos?}
A smirk barely ghosted over Scarlett’s lips before she quickly hid it beneath another loud sob.
"I plan to do more than that," she answered, keeping her voice steady in her mind while outwardly she continued to cry. Her throat burned from the effort, so she subtly reduced the intensity of her wails.
"There will be a commotion the mont they see , yes. But more importantly..." Her fingers curled into the bedsheets, gripping them tightly. "They’ll all et their end in this organization."
Scarlett’s eyes darkened, the weight of her resolve settling into her chest like cold steel.
"Kato has been waiting for this day for far too long," she thought bitterly. "He infiltrated my group, studied , tried to gain my trust, and then struck when I least expected it. But I knew all of this already. I just chose to stay quiet."
Her fingers twitched slightly. "He thinks I only have one system left."
A flicker of amusent danced in her gaze.
"He believes I won’t risk killing myself, because if I do, my system will disappear and I’ll lose all my resources. He assus I’m down to my last chance."
Ding!
{That’s partially true, Host. However, even if you lose all of your systems, your resources wouldn’t vanish like the other chosen mbers. That’s because you are the Queen of Monsters. The only issue is that you’d no longer be able to earn coins or purchase resources. Once you run out of supplies, you’d starve but that wouldn’t kill you. Instead, you’d... change."}
{You would eventually lose sight of your goal to save humanity. Hunger would drive you into madness, and you would begin to devour humans instead.}
"I know all that system." Scarlett utterd silently as a bitter chuckle threatened to escape her lips, but she suppressed it with a few more sobs.
"The system already set this up so that chosen mbers need to reproduce with non-chosen mbers to pass on abilities. But that only increases the number of powered individuals, it doesn’t solve the crisis. Even if everyone gains powers, without a fertile land or proper storage, humanity will still run out of resources."
Her pacing resud, her mind working faster than ever.
"The three systems each chosen mber has... they represent the number of tis we can resurrect. Once all three are gone, it’s true death."
She bit down on her fingernail, deep in thought.
"Which ans... without the safe haven, humanity will still go extinct."
Ding!
{So, what do you plan to do now, Host?}
Scarlett’s hands clenched into fists.
"Only the Queen of Monsters has the power to locate the real safe haven."
Her gaze flickered to the holographic screen.
"If I die, Garvin dies. If he dies, I die. We’ve been linked since the start of the apocalypse. That ans... he’s the non-chosen mber I was ant to be with from the beginning."
A new thought struck her like lightning, sending chills down her spine.
"If I have an intimate session with him... will that unlock the safe haven as well apart from making him stronger?"
Her eyes burned with determination. "There’s only one way to find out."
She exhaled slowly.
"I need to find Garvin. And to do that... I need your help."
Her lips curled into a dark smile.
"Seems like I’ll have to die again."
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