Chapter 54: The Dawn of a New World

-----

Annabelle, the Arachnid Princess, is the little sister of the leader of the "Dawn of a New World" villain organization. It honestly felt as if the author of the novel made her a parallel to my own character, being my complete opposite.

While my own character in the novel was shown to be gentle, weak, and innocent, Annabelle is cocky, selfish, and strong. I don't remember at all in any part of the story that this newbie hunter drill was ever explained.

So this entire event is something that wasn't covered in that novel, something that might be out of the range of things I can predict... Ah, well, as if that hasn't been happening since the beginning.

However, it gets rather sad; her big brother doesn't really love her and only uses her for her strength, manipulating her. At the end of the "Dawn of a New World" story arc, she is killed by my brother after she transforms into a giant monster, provoked by her brother feeding her a drug made with demonic human blood.

It was really gruesome, but because her character was made so hateful and evil, it felt like something "she deserved" for many readers, especially male readers. As a woman, I felt like Jack went too far.

And now that such memories of this novel merge with my own, it feels like I've got to do something here too. There were too many deaths, honestly.

Maybe the leader of the organization is planning something or just genuinely wants her to grow stronger or spy on the newbie hunters. Even then, it might be a good opportunity to get her to be my friend, or at least try.

Unlike the gentle and nice Dan Baihe, however, she's very different, and it might be really quite the challenge. But I have high charm and some crazy privileges. If push comes to shove, I'll have to just charm her and dazzle her with my adorableness, or something.

Maybe even brainwashing her... I know it sounds a bit sick, but honestly, brainwashing her into being a better person and, at the same time, saving her from a horrifying death would be better than letting her, well, die.

Though, how can I even brainwash people? I don't think I can, even if I wanted to. At most, I can just convince them; I guess I'll have to rely on my "Little Sister" build.

"Well, isn't that nice? You can make a new friend." Said my brother. He seemed to be completely unaware.

"I'm looking forward to that newbie hunter drill!" Said Dan Baihe. She was slightly excited.

"Err, yeah." I sighed.

Scarlet giggled happily; it seems she was also rather unaware of the abuse her boss gave to his sister, or maybe she didn't care? It's hard to tell what's going on inside her head.

In the end, the "date" ended as we went back home. Scarlet really wanted to bring my brother somewhere else, though, and Dracula kept pestering me to convince him, but this time I decided to ignore his cheap bait.

Scarlet then gave my brother her number and went off on her own for now. The grilled meat was good, but my stomach was hurting a lot from the nervousness I felt from having her around. Her aura is really strong.

"This should be your room, Baihe," I said, showing her a small, unoccupied room in our department; we already bought a bed and some furniture for her.

"My own room?!" She asked in shock.

"Yeah, you didn't have one?" I asked.

"I-I used to sleep on the living room's couch." Baihe seemed like she was about to cry.

"O-Oh, well, you can familiarize yourself here and all," I said with a smile. "Anyways, I'll go rest in my room; if you ever need anything, just ask me."

"Okay, thanks a lot!" She said this, bowing her head.

Like that, the day came to an end as I went to sleep peacefully, fully knowing there were many things to tackle shortly.

.

.

.

Scarlet slowly walked down a desolate street within the red light district of Stronghold City, reaching an abandoned factory area, where she met several figures sitting around, the darkness of the night covering their faces and appearances.

"Scarlet, you're back." The voice of a young man, perhaps in his late twenties, spoke, his eyes glowing bright silver atop a large, ruined piece of machinery. He glared down at Scarlet rather menacingly. "How was your trip?"

"It was nothing much." Scarlet shrugged. "More importantly, boss! I just met Jack! I went on a date with him! Can you believe it?"

"Hah! Are you still in love with that pipsqueak, Scarlet?" Laughed a young-looking boy sitting on the other side of the hall. "You really act like a kid."

"Huh? And who asked your damn opinion?" Scarlet glared angrily at the young boy.

"Hahaha, calm down, Blood Empress!" The boy joked around, completely unaffected by her menacing glare.

"Although I couldn't care less about your personal life, I am rather worried about this." A tall old man sighed, so big he resembled a gorilla. "Scarlet, you know this bastard is someone dangerous, right? If you even let him know who you truly are... It could bring more than one mishap."

"That's… It's not like I don't know." Scarlet crossed her arms. "Jack is someone a lot like us; he thinks like us too. I feel like we could recruit him if I convince him enough!"

"Recruit him?" Wondered a slender woman sitting at the end of the hall, her long purple hair waved by the gentle wind of the night. "That man? He's someone who became Fenrir's vessel; none of our constellations is like him."

"B-But my own is fine with him!" Scarlet said.

"Enough." The gray-eyed man said. "I like that idea."

"Eh?! I knew the boss would like it!" Scarlet giggled happily.

"But boss!"

"What are you talking about? Is Fenrir on our side? It would be like a ticking time bomb!"

"Well, if you say so, I don't mind."

"Hmph…"

The other members of the Dawn of the New World had different opinions.

"Well, wouldn't it be nice if we had another strong addition to our group? Someone ruthless, emotionless, and decisive such as Jack would make a perfect addition." The leader said. "Yeah, he might be a rabid dog… But all dogs can wear leashes." A wicked smile surged on his lips.

"And there was also… that girl at his side, his little sister," Scarlet said. "She's a nice girl! I like-"

"Hmm, an unnecessary burden." The silver-haired man said. "I presume that's what's holding him back from becoming like us?"

"Eh? No, she's really nice; it was thanks to her that."

"If we want him to reveal his true form and become like us, to embrace his hate and desire to change the world, getting rid of that girl should be a priority; the sooner the better." Said a figure that had remained silent, right behind the silver-haired man.

"I suppose so." Their leader laughed. "Hey, where was that girl going?"

"She… was going to a training drill for newbie hunters." Said Scarlet.

"Perfect then!" Their leader smiled. "Hey Annabelle, you can feel free to eat her."

"Really, big brother? Heheheh! I'm going to chomp her down then!" A little girl sitting at his side giggled as eight red eyes shone brightly within the darkness.

"That's…" Scarlet seemed slightly shaken by this sudden decision.

"Hm? Is something wrong, Scarlet?" Asked the leader. "Have you grown attached to someone you just met today? You've grown soft."

"Of course not!" Scarlet said angrily. "If that's what is needed, then I won't reject your decision."

"Good, you're a good girl." The silver-haired man laughed. "In a few more days after this, we'll be moving on to our next big event. We'll make sure to show the entire world that we aren't just some bands of criminals. We are the ones that shall bring a new era to this world."

"Oh man, I can't wait!"

"It will surely be a great spectacle for the masses."

"The Dawn of a New World."

"We'll be able to finally make these people open their eyes."

As the group seemed content, Scarlet's doubts continued to grow.

Was doing this really okay?

Even when the boss of this organization sheltered her since she was a child and helped her grow into the strong hunter she is now?

Was this truly what she wanted to do?

And was letting Anna die fine too, even though she ended up taking a liking to her, and even more so as she was the little sister of someone she loved?

-----

More chapters coming tomorrow! If you can't wait any longer, you can check the Patreon, there's now 20 Chapters ahead, for only $10! There's also the colored sketch of a new original cover, not generated by AI, if you want to check that out: https://www.patreon.com/pancakeswitch