Cara snapped back to John, her eyes now filled with fury. 

“This is madness! Why are you doing this?” When she didn't get an answer from the elders, she repeated the question even louder. “Tell me, you damn traitors! The New Factions want to terminate every single one of us, and you are working with them to hunt down your own kind?”

John still didn't say anything, but one of the elders beside him couldn’t help but come up with a reply. 

“Dominator Royce brought us an offer from the Dark Pantheon. Serve them, and we will be given a chance to join them by the time this war is over. We’ll be joining the winning side. It’s an offer we cannot refuse.” 

This answer almost made Cara laugh. How could someone so old and so supposedly wise be so stupid? “Oh, really? A chance to join them? Tell me, you damn idiot! How do you know the moment we’re all dead and you’re no longer useful, they won’t just betray you and put you down one by one? What sort of credibility do they have?”

Cara’s voice was now completely desperate. If this was indeed a trap, then chances were she wouldn’t be getting out of this chamber alive. But...she really didn't want to die like this! Not after all that had happened! 

“We don’t know that.” John finally spoke up. His voice was cold and dark...and almost equally desperate. “But what we do know, little girl, is that the New Factions will always win. You think you can win this war? That you and your so-called Alliance will be able to hold Los Angeles? No! I have seen what the Light Templars are capable of. This war is already lost! Instead of dying in the middle of nowhere in a brave yet futile last stand, I will find a way for our people to live on!”

His meaning was clear. The tiny chance of survival was better than certain death. It was a sad, yet realistic, choice. For better or for worse, he, just like Harrison Cull, was fighting for the survival of his people. 

The only difference was that instead of placing his bets on the Old Factions, he trusted the future of his family on the generosity of their successors. 

Throughout the entire conversation, the Dark Pantheon Dominator stood there and watched the conversation with a smirk on his lips. The members of the Dark Pantheon were chosen from the worst of humanity, who were then put through countless tortures and horrors themselves. Sympathy was foreign to them. Sadism, on the other hand, was not. 

There was nothing more entertaining to them than to watch the weak tear each other down. 

Now that it was clear the elders were hell-bent on the path they’ve chosen, Cara glanced at the door, hoping that she would find a way out. Unfortunately, just as she feared, the vampires came prepared. For some reason, she experienced significant resistance when she tried to use blood magic to get herself out of this kill zone. 

“Don’t bother, child.” Seeing what Cara was going for, John spoke up again, offering the soon-to-be-dead vampire some enlightenment before her inevitable end. “We have been working to reinforce the fabrics of space in this chamber. It is temporary, but it will be sufficient. Even ancient ones like us can’t jump, much less someone as young as you…”

Cara’s face turned even paler. This meeting was an ambush, and the elders had all the advantages on their side. Now that escape was impossible, she turned to Katie, ready to coordinate a last stand with her. As far as she knew, Katie Lockwood was one powerful supernatural. Perhaps the two of them had a chance to break out of the trap if they worked together, although she doubted it given the presence of the Dark Pantheon operative. 

But when her eyes landed on Katie, she realized the brunette was a little too happy for someone that was ambushed by surprise. 

“Wait…” Katie did her best to stop herself from giggling. Oh...this was what she lived for! “So...no one in this room can teleport? Not even you people?” She confirmed again. 

The elders smirked, not even bothering to answer her. Perhaps deep down they thought she had gone mad, driven insane by the betrayal and the certain death that followed. As far as they could see, her only options were to either turn and flee, or to make a desperate last stand. Either way, she would get cut down with ease. 

And then Katie made them realize they were the mad ones. 

Without another word, Katie launched herself at one of the vampire elders. One second, she was completely still. The next fraction of a moment, she was already sprung into motion, moving at a speed that was too fast for most human eyes to follow. Even the vampires found themselves looking at a blur as Katie struck. There was no warning. No taunts. Katie went from nothing to balls to the walls without a hint.

The elder that was Katie’s target didn't even know what was going on before she was torn into shreds by Katie’s bare hands. Vampires had superhuman reflexes, but the woman was old and her senses were dulled. Perhaps she could’ve survived a few more moments in hand to hand combat with Katie back during her peak, and if she had the chance to use her blood magic, she could've fared a lot better. Yet, as of now, she didn't even have the time to channel her blood magic before it was all over. 

“Cassandra!” One of the vampire elders beside Katie’s first victim let out an agonized cry. His wife for hundreds of years, mauled to death right in front of his eyes! Fury consumed his heart as he channeled his magic without much thought. Red blood floated into the air from all the vampire elders’ drinks. They formed red daggers in midair and flew toward Katie. 

Unfortunately, while the elder was a little further away from Katie than his dead wife, he was still within arm’s reach. Katie didn't even bother to dodge or tank the shots. She simply reached out, grabbed onto the elder’s neck, and slammed his head against the arch-shaped table. Once. Twice. Vampires were tough, but they were only so tough. Within two seconds, Katie had bashed the skull against the table half a dozen times. 

When she paused, half of the vampire’s brain was out in the open. 

A few other elders sitting at that end of the table, all of them in the process of channeling their magic already, quickly realized this was a foolish idea. We’re master spell-casters...why the hell was we so close to a brute? Any spell-caster that engaged brutes in melee combat was an idiot! 

They did what their experience told them to do. Fall back. Place some distance between them and the close quarters brute that was Katie. And then summon all the spells they knew and blast her to pieces! But as two of the elders moved back with their legs, the other two channeled their handy blood magic…

“You fucking idiots!” One of the elders further away from the carnage cursed when he saw the two idiots trying to teleport away, only to be blocked out by their own sorceries. The idiocy! Then again, if he was in the situation with Katie standing not far away from him, her body covered in blood and gore, perhaps he would’ve made the same mistake.

By the time the two elders realized their mistakes, it was too late. Their proud blood magic didn't stand a chance against Katie’s unbelievable strength and speed. The blood shields they put up at the last minute didn't do a thing to stop Katie from reaching into their chests and sealing their fate. 

A lot had happened, but all that occurred within a few short seconds. Katie struck quickly and brutally, taking down four vampire elders before any one of them could put up a resistance fitting for their rank and reputation. By the time the rest of the people in the room realized what happened, a quarter of the elders were dead. 

Cara was both shocked and thrilled. She never knew Katie was this powerful! Or even this decisive! Then again, she never really saw Katie fight before, even back in Crypt Entertainment. Katie surprised her, and in the best way possible. 

The elders were paralyzed, both angry and furious. Many of the victims have been their friends for centuries...before Katie painted the floor with their blood! They tried to act on that fury, to fight back, but most of the elders found themselves frozen from head to toe. When the brief moment of anger passed, all they had left was the chilling realization that they were trapped in the same room as a monster...and they just sealed their best chance of fleeing with blood magic. 

If the vampires were mostly afraid, then Dominator Royce was absolutely furious. What Katie did caught him by surprise too, and when he saw what happened, he realized he might have made a serious mistake. As much as he looked down upon them, the traitor elders, and by extension the entire Lance family, were crucial to the schemes of the Dark Pantheon. Losing them would have terrible consequences...and probably see his head removed by his Lord. 

The only way he could make up for his inaction was by killing Katie and Cara on the spot, preventing this already disastrous situation from deteriorating further. 

The cold smirk on his face was no more as the Dark Pantheon Dominator started charging at Katie. He was well aware that Cara was no threat to him. Katie, on the other hand...she was quick. Really quick. But the man was confident. The vampire elders were physically slow and weak, but he wasn’t. In fact, he specialized in hand-to-hand combat. The girl should be no match to him. 

Katie sensed him approaching, but she paid the Dominator no respect and no attention. Instead, she went after the elders with the intention of getting rid of as many of them as possible. They were clearly determined to turn traitors. They were foes rather than friends, and Katie would be all too happy to facilitate another transformation and turn them all into bodies. 

Two more elders fell victim to Katie’s lightning strike before Royce charged right into Katie. Katie, because why wouldn’t she, tanked the hit with her bare back. She didn't even try to dodge or brace herself. The impact was followed by the chilling sounds of bones cracking as Katie was tossed across the room. Her body slammed into the rough wall, drawing some more blood. 

Royce scoffed as he came to a stop. That felt really satisfying, from the initial contact to the feeling when the entire force of his thunderous charge was delivered to his target to seeing his victim lay lifelessly on the ground. The girl clearly overestimated her speed, thinking she could score a few more kills before he reached her. Her overconfidence led to her demise. 

Just as some of the surviving vampire elders turned to him in gratitude, and just as Royce was about to turn to Cara and enjoy the despair on her face, he heard the sound of bones moving once again. To his shock and horror, it was coming from the battered body on the side. 

Slowly, Katie stood back up. Her body was clearly wrangled at first, but as she got back onto her feet and turned back to face Dominator Royce, there was not a single injury on her body. The only indication that she was ever struck was the blood and tears on her clothes. 

“I expected you to hit harder as a Dominator.” Katie said quietly, spitting out the remnants of a broken tooth. “After all, I have encountered a Predator among your ranks, and he hit hard. Then again, that was a while ago, and I do consider myself to be more of a...growth stock.” 

Slowly, the flesh on her palms tore, allowing two blood-colored branches to extend out of her body. They formed the Branch Blades in her grip.

“Shit…” The Dominator cursed under his breath. Ok...change of plan. Celebration and brutalizing had to wait. Now, he had to win first. With a deep breath, the man closed his eyes and channeled the being within. 

Servants of the Dark Pantheon gained their power by making deals with the Chaos Domain, a realm of infinite chaos and confusion. Predators were the foot soldiers of the Pantheon, and they could claim the rank of Dominators by performing a special ritual with the Chaos Domain. Essentially, the said Predator would sacrifice a lot of souls to the Domain in exchange for its blessing. The blessing usually came in the form of one extremely powerful Chaos Descendant, which would then be merged into the soul of the Dominator as a source of power. 

It was a cruel and brutal process. Those who succeeded at the ritual became Dominators, as they dominated the Chaos Descendants within. Those who failed, well...

The Chaos Descendant that Dominator Royce merged into his soul was a titan. Before being summoned to this realm, the titan lived on a planet in the Chaos Domain where gravity was randomized. In other words, gravity could grow a thousand times with one step taken. This was common in the Chaos Domain, where the rules of physics, or even logic and common sense, didn't really apply. Most Chaos Descendants wouldn’t last ten seconds after they were first formed. For most of the inhabitants of Chaos, just surviving and existing was quite a feat.

Either way, this titan survived what could doom almost all demons in this world, and Royce claimed its power. Once activated, the titan altered Royce’s physical body, giving him a terrifying level of muscular strength, density, and most importantly, endurance. Royce knew Katie would be a difficult foe, but he doubted she could even come close to killing him. 

As the Dominator liked to think, in a fight to the death, the side that couldn’t die usually emerged the victor. 

Unfortunately, that was also a common thought that went through Katie’s head, and as the two, both of whom were very difficult to kill, faced each other in the underground room, things suddenly got very, very interesting.