Things are getting more and more interesting...

---

The mercenaries looked at each other before turning to the Culls in suspicion. Indeed, just as Katie said, the Culls didn't have a single wound on the two of them. Yes, some of their clothing were cut, but the two men themselves were unscathed. 

That wasn’t normal. Not at all. Perhaps one of them was extremely lucky, but both of them completely fine through all that slaughter back there? And if Jake Cull happened to be well exercised and lucky, then how come his old man of a father also survived? How did he survive when men forty years younger were now nothing but corpses?

Sure, in the beginning, the mercenaries tried to protect their employers, but when all hell broke loose, that idea went right out of the window and it was every man for himself. There was no way the two Culls just got lucky. 

The Culls stared at Katie coldly. Jake considered opening his mouth several times, but he knew he couldn’t come up with a good enough excuse. Katie didn't care about the death glares they were tossing her way as she took another step forward and pushed the issue. 

She pointed at a few cuts on her jeans and her tank top. 

“See these openings here? They were places where I was struck. Yes...I can teleport, but I still got hit a couple of times. But you don’t see any injuries, do you?” She tilted her body to the crowd, but her eyes were focused on the Culls. “Do you know why?”

“Because I can heal myself.” She continued with a brief pause. “Because I am not human, at least not 100%. My body automatically healed my injuries. That’s how my clothes got trashed but I am perfectly fine.” 

The mercenaries glanced at the openings on the Culls’ clothing as Katie gave it a final push. 

“Tell me, gentlemen. How the hell did you survive your last trip down here when everyone else died? Every single one? And how did you survive this time? Coincidence? I think not. And why did you insist on coming down here and putting yourselves in danger...unless you weren’t really in danger?”

“Also, you said this mission is a secret, then why did you go through all the trouble to hire a group of mercenaries when you clearly have your own armed goons and security detail? Wouldn’t they be better at keeping secrets than a couple of outsiders? Unless...unless you knew the people you hire will never live long enough to share the secrets down here? But...if all that exists down here are a handful of wild animals you claimed you believed, then that shouldn’t really happen, should it?”

“Care to explain, Jake? Or maybe your father would like to enlighten me?”

The Culls exchanged another glance. The mercenaries realized something was up now. Following Moss’s lead, they raised their weapons and trained them on the Culls. To them, both Culls and Katie were mysterious beings potentially with supernatural powers. The only difference was that the Culls sat back and did nothing while Katie stepped in and saved them. A little late than preferred, but better than nothing.

The two men weren’t concerned by the number of firearms pointing their way. All they cared about was Katie. 

Harrison was the one that spoke up. 

“You know, Ms. Lockwood...when I heard that a young woman like you was among the pair that took down Crypt Entertainment, I couldn’t believe it. Bruce was a deadly bastard with an entire arsenal at his disposal.” The old man tilted his head. A confident smile found its way onto his lips. “Consider me humbled.” 

The mercenaries had no idea what the old man was talking about, but Katie did. Oh...this trip underground was getting more and more interesting! The twists and turns. The secrets and betrayals. She was so glad she accepted this offer and came here!

“So, what are you?” She asked curiously. The pair was obviously not human. “Angel? Demon? Wraith? No...you’re too nice to be a wraith. Or are you one of those Dark Pantheon scum?” 

Harrison was quiet at first, but when Katie suggested that he might be working for the Dark Pantheon, his smile disappeared from his face for the very first time. 

“Don’t ever confuse me and my people with those pathetic, filthy beings! We are far nobler than the idiots that work for the Pantheon!” He grinned. “We are Vampires.” 

Katie coughed in surprise. She almost wanted to chuckle. Wow...she was expecting some sort of holy creature after seeing how much Harrison despised the comparison, only to find out that he was a vampire? A vampire? Seriously?

Creatures that feast on human blood against humans who sell their souls to the Chaos Domain and torture their fellow kind for power. Hmmm...perhaps the vampires were a little better. Just a little. 

Then again, Katie was sort of a vampire herself, so...it was quite the coincidence.

“What...vampires?” One of the mercenaries raised his eyebrows in surprise. He was going to think this was some sort of bad joke if it wasn’t for the show Katie put on for them minutes ago. That definitely wasn’t a joke. 

“But...he stood in the sunlight! We all saw it when we came here!” Another War Wolf called out in disbelief. 

“No self-respecting vampire is afraid of the sun. Certainly not ones of our level. A few cheap converts and minions, perhaps.” Jake snickered while his father didn't bother to answer the words of a mere human. After all, the mercenaries were no more than glorified beverages to him. 

“But...that doesn’t make any sense.” Moss said from the side. He was having trouble catching on, but he was doing his best. “If he is indeed a vampire, then perhaps so are his bodyguards? Then why would he hire us for this mission when he can just do it himself? His own people are definitely more trustworthy and competent than us, right?” 

“Because he really wants to preserve his forces.” Katie replied quietly. “You are desperate, aren’t you? With all those external forces closing in on Los Angeles, you know your days are numbered. Soon, factions like the Dark Pantheon will be upon you, and it will take all your available forces to repel them.” She glanced across the battlefield. “You don’t want to waste one vampire life here, is that it?”

Katie thought she was spot-on before she saw Jake snicker. And then she realized it. Yes. It was likely that Harrison wanted to preserve his troops, but if it was just against the army of beasts here, the vampires would take minor casualties before achieving victory. After all, these beasts were far from the top of the supernatural food chain. Katie killed most of them all by herself. Even the very mortal War Wolves massacred a significant number of them. Against an army of well-coordinated vampires, these beasts wouldn’t stand a chance regardless of how smart or tactical they were.  

A few dead vampires shouldn’t warrant all this trouble of spending millions and acquiring outside forces to get the job done. Unless…

She snapped around and glanced at a cave on the other end of the field. She could distinctly see something moving inside. Something big… 

“That...that explains a lot.” She whispered before snapping to the War Wolves. “Get out of here now. Wait for me at the entrance where we came in. And...please take care of my jacket! I don’t want to go scavenging across the bodies for clothes after this is all over!”

The mercenaries glanced at each other, once again confused. Moss wasn’t too certain what was happening either. He considered staying behind and fighting beside Katie against either the Culls or whatever other enemies that existed down here, but after what he saw, he quickly concluded that when it came to supernatural beings like Katie fighting, there was no way for ordinary mercenaries like him to contribute. 

All he could do was nod. “Stay alive, Ms. Lockwood. I’ll see you above ground.”

Katie snickered at the large man’s words. A lot of things have changed since they came down here. Moss quickly organized the War Wolves and made a move toward the tunnel where they came from. Jake considered intercepting them just for the kicks of it, but Harrison stopped him. 

Both Harrison and Katie knew something very clearly. The mercenaries, no matter how skilled they were at their jobs, didn't matter. If the vampires lived through this, silencing the mercenaries was just a matter of finding the time to do it. If the vampires died here, well…

As the last mercenary disappeared, Harrison suddenly chuckled. 

“I’ve seen your track record, Katie. I didn't think you would care about those men...given your tendency to kill the hostages you’re tasked to rescue. Then again, when I first saw the reports about you, I didn't realize you’re also a vampire. You have hidden yourself well.”

“I’m not really a vampire. It’s a long story. As for the hostage...that was one time. Literally, one goddamn time!” The brunette retaliated. Honestly, she still didn't know why she saved the mercenaries. It wasn’t like she was a compassionate person. Perhaps she just felt like changing things up and playing the hero today? Constantly being the bad guy was getting a little boring. Whatever. “So...what’s up with the thing back in that cave? You went through all this trouble to kill it. Why?”

Harrison ran his left hand across his chin thoughtfully. Just as Katie thought Harrison was about to strike, the man started talking.

After all, the thing in the cave wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and Harrison still hoped he could get to Katie with his words. 

“What do you know about the Dark Pantheon?”

On the side, Jake Cull growled in frustration at his father. “Why are we wasting time here, father? We don’t need to talk to her! Just let me…” 

“Silence!” Harrison snapped to him and said loudly, almost startling Katie. This was the loudest Katie had heard the old man talk. Harrison saw that Jake wasn’t quite on board with the fact that he was talking to Katie instead of doing something more dramatic, so he sent his son away. “Go secure the perimeter, Jake. And keep an eye on the Basilisk.”

Jake bit his lips, clearly displeased by the fact that he was being made a fool of in front of outsiders. Katie gave him a sweet smile as he hesitantly left.  

As he was gone, Harrison turned back to Katie. A serious look was on his face. “Ms. Lockwood? The Dark Pantheon.”

Katie chuckled and provoked the old man. She could tell he needed her for some reason, which meant she could afford to be a little rude. “I know a lot more than you.”

“I doubt it.” Harrison wasn’t moved. 

“Fine.” Katie finally gave in and gave the old man a reply. She wanted to see where Harrison was going with this. “Dark Pantheon...one of the many interesting factions that decided to operate on this fucked-up planet. Their people draw strength by making deals with this thing called the Chaos Domain. They sell the Chaos Domain souls in exchange for its...sponsorship? Support? Something within that realm.”

“And that’s it?” Harrison asked, unsatisfied by the response. 

“Well...they also seem to be at war with literally everyone else. I heard they regularly engaged the forces of Hell. I heard they have been fighting Section U In New York City. I heard they have been hunting Angels ever since they lost their precious homeworld.” Katie added. “They’re a bunch of psychopaths and maniacs. I will kill them on sight. What’s your point?”

Harrison glanced at the cave. The thing inside made no attempt to come out. Just as he expected. The beast was mostly dormant unless provoked. This gave him a lot more time to explain things. 

“Have you ever wondered where the Dark Pantheon came from, Ms. Lockwood? I mean...their recruits come from the common mortals all over the planet, but who first founded the Pantheon? Who first brought information about the Chaos Domain into our world?” 

Katie frowned, not knowing what Harrison meant. 

“Up until ten years ago, the Dark Pantheon didn't exist.” Harrison continued. His voice was cold. “Neither did Section U or the Sect of Ascension or the other bullshit factions that don’t play by the rules. These factions only showed up ten years ago, not long after the fall of Heaven. Now...many of us think that these factions were always there, just hidden. Once Heaven fell for some reason, these factions decided to come out of the darkness and into the light and start exerting control over this world.”

“And you don’t agree with that?” Katie went along with Harrison’s narrative. 

“It’s too convenient.” Harrison replied. “That argument suggests that there are these powerful organizations who have been hiding for thousands of years. Not just from the mortals or us, but also from Heaven and all the Angels. It would imply that no one knew about them, at all. But once Heaven fell, in ten brief years, they came out of nowhere and took over most of the world, mercilessly hunting the old factions like us down to our last.” 

“There’s another possibility. What if...what if there is a causational relationship between Heaven’s fall and the rise of these new factions? What if the same group that led to the Angels losing their home founded the factions like the Dark Pantheon? This group took out all the powerful players in this world, and then it sent in its own goons to finish us off and replace us.” 

“Ten years ago, a number of powerful entities in the supernatural world...disappeared. At least half a dozen Vampire Counts were just gone overnight without a single warning. No one knew where they went. I know there are powerful witch covens that just evaporated into thin air, never to be seen again. And...”

“The Seven Tribes…” Katie suddenly remembered something. Something she had learned a long, long time ago from a young girl named Mira. “The Seven Tribes. At one point, they were ruled by a powerful chief in the Ling Tribe...but he disappeared a long time ago, roughly at the same time as the other disappearances you talked about. He was supposed to be a lot more powerful than his successor.”

“Exactly.” Harrison continued. He was glad to see Katie connecting the dots. “This wave of disappearance resulted in a significant power decrease among the supernatural world. Countless factions lost their leaders and most powerful defenders. This is partially what allowed the new factions to take over so easily. The timing...it’s too perfect to be a coincidence.”

Katie bit her lips. So...the Dark Pantheon was working for someone even more powerful. Someone that wiped out Heaven and the vast majority of the Angels in a fell swoop. That was concerning, although…

“What does that have to do with me?” She asked and glanced at the cave again. “Or all this.” 

Harrison Cull drew in a deep breath. It was clear he was angry, not at Katie but at what was going on in the world right now, but he did his best to remain calm. Anger couldn't get him to his goal. 

“This is a war, Katie, a war between the old factions and the new, and the new are winning. We have been pushed all the way back to Los Angeles. Angels. Vampires. Werewolves. Witches and Wizards. We are the creatures of myths and legends, yet we are about to be wiped out by entities never heard of a decade ago...and they are a lot more twisted and terrifying than us.” 

His voice grew louder and more aggravated.

“If we sit back and do nothing, like what we have bee doing for the past years, then it will be a matter of time before the new factions close in and wipe us out. The Angels have no way to replenish their numbers and grow weaker with every battle fought. The witches see their numbers limited as well. We are slightly better, but not by much, and the new factions draw their troops straight from mortal humans. Soon, they will take over this world, and us...with our legacies, we the old factions will be no more.” 

“I am a vampire, Katie. So are my son and my daughter and most people we have known. I will not sit back and wait as we get cleansed from this Earth! But to do so, to win this war and destroy the new factions, we need to know where they came from. We need to know who they work for and what they are after. Perhaps, this is the only way we can find a way to defeat them.”

“We...we need to know what truly happened ten years ago.” 

He turned and pointed at the cave and the distinct shape within. 

“And that thing in there, the Basilisk...it is our best hope of gaining that knowledge.”

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My thanks to michi_9871 for his support.