At the same time. Rural New York. 

A dozen men and women were scattered across the dark halls of the abandoned factory. They have been here since two days ago, tasked with securing the imprisoned immortal that was Katie Lockwood, and they would remain here for as long as it would take to kill Katie. 

It was quite a boring job, even for these Dark Pantheon Predators. Soon, many of them were sitting comfortably and on their phones. Even supernatural villains like them couldn’t escape the addiction of screens. Others started chatting casually to pass the time. 

Sitting near the entrance of the factory was a pair of Dark Pantheon Predators. A man and a woman. The man was dressed in a Section U uniform. Coincidentally, he was one of the men that posted as Section U Agents and put up a show in front of Katie’s class to create a false sense of hope and salvation. 

The woman sitting beside him wore a black leather jacket and a pair of jeans. With a pair of thick glasses, she looked like a college student...or at least her appearance did. The soul inside, the one that killed the original owner of this body and took it over, was completely different altogether. 

“This is so stupid!” The man growled impatiently, sitting on the ground with his legs crossed. “Elias is having fun with all those young, vulnerable students, yet here we are, stuck in the middle of nowhere and guarding a prisoner that has probably been driven mad already!” 

“Someone’s unhappy.” The woman smirked before coming up with a reply. “Relax. Elias is going to complete his ritual soon, and once that happens, he’ll become a Dominator. We’ll have a much better time working under him than we did by ourselves...that’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” 

The man shrugged. Indeed, the Dark Pantheon wasn’t a brotherhood, and its members weren’t all selfless saints to each other. In fact, given its nature, it shouldn’t be surprising at all that Darwinism was common in the Dark Pantheon. There were a lot of Predators, but only a few of them could climb up the ranks and become Dominators or even Lords. Those who had little hope of ascending soon offered their service to the ascendants in exchange for future perks and protection. 

“Then shut up about it.” The woman said quietly at the man’s silent response. “You could be fighting Section U right now under Lord Jenkins, or assaulting the forces of Hell with Lord Burningham. I would choose boredom over any of those.” 

“Ever the optimist.” The man said as he turned around and glanced at the large torture device in the middle of the factory. The Iron Maiden. “Then again, why do we even need to be posted here?”

“To keep that girl inside from climbing out?”

“You do know that device back there is sealed with runes, right?” The man replied. “A werewolf can’t break out, and she is constantly being stabbed to death and getting drowned, not to mention the pain...honestly, I bet she’s wishing she could die!” 

This sickening image brought a smile onto his face. Despite his casual complaints and chats, he was still a monster more than happy to torture, maim, and kill. 

The woman grinned as well. It would be a funny picture indeed. “Well, she is a masochist. Maybe she’s actually enjoying this?”

She had no idea how correct she was.

The man tilted his head thoughtfully. “Maybe...I mean, I stabbed her in the heart two days ago and she looked like she was high or something, but even masochism has a limit, right?”

“I guess?”

“So if she’s busy dying, then how can she break out?” The man insisted. “Elias is being too cautious.”

“Or maybe that’s what made him the Dominator? Who knows?”

“Yeah, maybe?” The man shrugged as he stood up. “I’ll go check the perimeter again in case, you know, there are attackers outside that are sneaking up on us without us realizing the slightest thing.” 

The woman stared at him, and the Predator finally grinned at his own joke. The Dark Pantheon was far past the stage where it needed its members to act as sentries. The abandoned factory was surrounded by a net of cloaked Spiers. As soon as any of them saw or heard anything unusual, they could psychically warn every single Predator in the factory as well as send a message to Elias all the way over in Riverside High School. Trying to catch them by surprise was next to impossible. 

The man just wanted to go out for a walk. 

The Predator slowly made his way out of the abandoned building. A few other Predators saw him, but they didn't say or do a thing. 

The man walked out of the factory. As the cold air blew over his face, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh. Even now, as he stood as a Predator of the Dark Pantheon, he still couldn’t believe all that had happened. A few years ago, he was just an office employee who went into his manager’s house late at night and slit his throat. As he kneeled in a pool of the man’s blood, the employee considered simply killing himself, but he changed his mind. 

Eventually, he was arrested by the police, but before he could be put on trial, he was brought out of his holding cell and transported to a house in the wild, where he, along with dozens of other murderers, were given a choice. 

Sell their souls to the Dark Pantheon, or die. 

After a few idiots refused to yield and quickly found their souls outside of their bodies, the rest of the prisoners yielded. After that, they were put through a series of trials. The man did horrible things. In one trial, he slit the throat of his own brother to prove his loyalty to the Pantheon. In another, he butchered two fellow candidates.

Finally, as one of the few survivors of that group of candidates, he attempted to channel the Will of the Chaos Domain. While almost all the survivors failed and found their souls consumed by the Domain, he in particular survived. The pact he made with the Chaos Domain granted him powers he couldn’t even think of, securing his rank as a Predator of the Dark Pantheon. 

At this point, the man has come a long way. He essentially had superpowers, but he knew that wasn’t nearly as impressive as he first expected. This world wasn’t as normal as he thought. There were so many competitors of the Dark Pantheon, ranging from Hell to the Sect of Ascension to all sorts of random tribes and cults. As a mere Predator, he was still at the bottom of the food chain. 

Only as a Dominator could he have some control over his fate, but that would not be an easy place to reach. Most Predators would die before achieving ascension. Nonetheless, the man remained optimistic about his chances. 

Plus, what could he lose? He was supposed to die a long time ago. Every second he was living now was an additional second earned. 

Suddenly, the man’s leg hit something, which brought his attention back to the real world. Frowning, he knelt down and tapped that object. His power was used as he tried to recognize what that object was.

And then he did. It was a Spier. A dead Spier.

But...that’s impossible! The man’s eyes widened in disbelief. Even now, he distinctly recognized the psychic emission of this Spier, and he could still sense its presence! Psychically, it was still alive, but in reality, it had been dead for god-knew how long!

This could only mean one thing…

The Predator stood back up. His hands formed several seals as an army of Chaos Descendants started materializing around him...except it never did. 

Out of nowhere, a tiny green leaf, faster than anything most human eyes could see, darted into the man’s neck. Two Chaos Hounds in its way were instantly sliced in half. 

The next moment, the man gulped. His neck was severed in one swift strike. Upon realizing he was ambushed, he reacted quickly and decisively, opting to abandon his compromised physical body and escape with his soul alone. But before his soul could flee, he felt something wrong with his body. 

The flesh around the tiny cut on his neck started melting away like ice placed under a flamethrower. As a matter of fact, by the time the man realized his flesh was getting eaten away, most of his body was already reduced to a puddle of liquid goo. Yet, what truly terrified him was that his body wasn’t the only thing being melted away. So was his soul. 

As the Predator collapsed and died in agony, only one question lingered in his head. 

Who...who could be attacking them?

---

In the abandoned factory, the woman frowned. Distinctly, she could hear some noise outside, but a psychic connection with the Spiers outside told her everything was all good. With a blind trust in her powers, the woman lowered her head and returned to her phone. 

At the same time, outside the factory, over fifty figures were on the move. Leading them was a man over six feet tall. Even as the cold wind blew across the field, he was only wearing a short-sleeved white t-shirt. 

Behind him were two men with their eyes shut. They were the ones to take credit for keeping the Dark Pantheon Predators inside the factory completely in the dark. The Spiers were nearly invincible for the students, but for Ling Tribesmen focused on psychic warfare...forging their presence and tracing back to their locations wasn’t that difficult. Finally, a single feedback could tear these Spiers apart from the inside. 

“My lord,” One of the Ling Tribesmen commented, still with his eyes closed. “There are 13 hostile entities inside the factory, all of which appear to be Dark Pantheon Predators. They are unaware of our presence.” 

In front of them, the Chief of the Seven Tribes snickered. 

“Those Pantheon dogs...and the woman who killed Kameron?”

“She’s also inside, though her psychic presence seems...odd. She feels...excited.” The Ling Tribesman frowned. “All I can tell is her energy signature seems to be spiking. It’s...it’s concerning.”

The Chief frowned, but he wasn’t fazed. “She’s not going to be a problem. Kameron almost beat her. As for the Dark Pantheon…” His gaze turned cold. The Dark Pantheon was a terrifying entity, more than capable of laying waste to the Seven Tribes. Yet, they have been preventing the Tribes from avenging their prince, slaughtering Mu Tribesmen in the process. Such an offense couldn’t go unpunished. Plus, the Dark Pantheon was facing hostiles from all sides. It wouldn’t risk turning against the Tribes to avenge a single squad of Predators. 

He quickly issued an order.

“Prepare for assault.” 

As soon as the order was given, dozens of Mu Tribesmen took up positions around the entrance of the factory, and they weren’t alone. After all, the Chief was the head of the Seven Tribes, not only the head of Clan Mu. Joining the Mu Tribesmen were a dozen more figures wearing red clothes or purple clothes. They were from two other tribes loyal to the Chief.

And then, when all units were in place, it was time to strike. 

“Forward, my people! For vengeance!” The Chief screamed as he led the charge, kicking open the door at the entrance of the abandoned factory and coming face to face with the 13 Dark Pantheon Predators posted here by Mr. Isaac, or as they knew him, Predator Elias.

Behind him, Tribesmen of the Seven Tribes flooded into the factory. 

Despite all their flaws, the Predators were still decent at their job. As soon as the assault began, they jumped up from their seats and reacted swiftly. A few of them started summoning Chaos Descendants while others went for more direct approaches. 

Several claws came out of the dark corners of the factory and grabbed onto five Mu Tribesmen before yanking them into the shadows. One of the Mu Tribesmen transformed his arms into Branch Blades and cut himself free. Two more were freed when a fireball and a thunderbolt each landed on one of the arms. The last two weren’t so lucky. They were pulled back into the shadows, the home turf of the Pantheon. The last thing they offered was a dying scream. 

From the ceiling of the factory, countless black ropes descended onto the forces of the Seven Tribes. They grabbed onto Tribesmen by the neck and pulled them up into the air, trying to strangle them. This would’ve been a deadly strike against even the most experienced students, but against these Tribesmen with superhuman powers, this just wasn’t enough. Most of the ropes were severed almost instantly. The few that did claim a kill were immediately destroyed afterward.

One of the Predators took a step forward. Her voice was like that of a banshee as she screeched into the ears of the Seven Tribes forces. 

“This world...what is the meaning of all this torment and suffering? Go on...end this! Tear your own throats out! Turn on your comrades! Strike them down and bath in their blood!”

A few of the Mu Tribesmen found themselves a little dizzy, and before they knew it, they were striking at themselves or their comrades. Thankfully, just before blood could truly be shed, the two Ling Tribesmen stepped forward. 

“Wake!” One of them called out loudly, and immediately, all the Tribesmen regained control over their bodies, breaking out of the spell. 

“Damn it! They have psychics!” The Dark Pantheon Predator screeched in defeat. She tried to fall back, to run, but it was too late. Three Tribesmen in purple clothes stepped forward, and purple lightning bolts formed in front of them and zapped into the Predator. These were Lei Tribesmen, and with their combined power, the three Lei Tribesmen fried that Predator alive, body and soul alike.

The Chief wasn’t bothered by any of these obstacles as he led the charge. A wave of leaves darted out from him, landing on two of the Predators who were busy with their summoning and killing them instantly. Against the head of the Seven Tribes, these common Dark Pantheon foot soldiers just didn't stand a chance. 

A Dasher leaped at the Chief. Dashers were one of the favorite Chaos Descendants of Dark Pantheon operatives. After all, who wouldn’t want to see their enemies claim victory, only to be melted alive? Unfortunately, this Dasher wouldn’t achieve that expected result, for it met something even more corrosive than its blood. 

A leaf pierced its skull in mid-air, melting away its body, soul, and even its blood. The rest of its remains washed over the Chief, sizzling across his body and achieving no harm at all. 

At this point, the result of the battle was already clear to both parties. Six Dark Pantheon Predators laid dead. The rest of them attempted to launch a counterattack with their Chaos Descendants, but against the Branch Blades, the fireballs, the psychic blasts, and the lightning strikes, the Chaos Descendants were massacred at ease. 

Another Predator screamed as the Chief cut him in half and melted him away. He tried to use an army of wraiths to rip the Chief apart, only to see that army effortlessly melted alive within just moments. 

“We need to inform Elias! They’re blocking out our psychic connections!” The woman in glasses called out. Her black leather jacket was stained with blood, both from herself and the two Mu Tribesmen she killed. All around her, Chaos Descendants were falling like flies and even the Predators were getting lower and lower in numbers. 

At this point, the woman no longer gave a damn about Elias’s orders. The favor of a potential Dominator wasn’t worth dying for. “Let’s break a way out! I’ll lead the charge!”

A black blade formed in her grip, but before she could act, the Chief was in front of her. All the woman saw was a flash, and the next second, half her right arm was being melted away. 

The woman screamed as she hit the floor, her legs buckling from the sheer pain of losing a limb. This wasn’t really her limb, and if a random shotgun blasted it off, she wouldn’t break a sweat. The issue was that the damage by the Chief’s leaf was also reflected on her soul, and she was hardly Katie Lockwood. 

The woman was shaking like crazy. She focused some power at the elbow of her body and used it to cut the limb in half just before the corrosive power could reach the rest of her body. But that same trick didn't quite work for her soul. Just as the woman was about to be killed, the corrosion suddenly disappeared. 

Yet that realization hardly brought relief. As the woman looked up, she realized the battle had ended as quickly as it began. All 12 other Dark Pantheon Predators were dead, slain by the surprise assault by the finest warriors of the Seven Tribes. 

As all the threats were handled, the Chief turned to the metal device not far away. A grin on his face. 

“Tell me, Predator. Who is this girl and why is the Dark Pantheon protecting her?”

The woman: O_O. 

---

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