CHAPTER 12 - Shocking Turn of Events 2.

[Alex, wait.]

A message from Sophie flashed in Alex's eyes, causing him to stop.

He was about to call out to his mother to inform her what would be the best move from here on—he didn't want things to go awry.

He knew that his mother was more than capable of taking care of things, but he didn't want to take risks.

But he was stopped by Sophie, causing him to frown in confusion.

'What's wrong?'

He questioned, trying to talk with her mentally, and it worked as she had said it would.

[You can now use mana.]

Sophie replied to Alex's question, making him tilt his head, puzzled more than before.

'I know that, but why are you—'

His words, however, got stuck in his mind as the image of the pendant he was wearing flashed across his eyes.

'Ah, how could I forget it?'

The pendant had been with him since childhood, and it only had two functions: the first was to protect him in case of life-threatening danger, giving him an extra life, and the second was...

'Mother.'

He called out to Vannesa, causing a flash of surprise to pass through her eyes, but it was just a small flash, her expression didn't break because of that.

It didn't take her long to discover what was happening, as it was pretty easy to perceive Alex's mana flowing into the pendant she had made him wear every day.

She knew perfectly well what the functions of the pendant were—she was the one who gave it to Alex in the first place.

That pendant had one of her most powerful attack and defense skills's power stored within it, making it possible for Alex to get out of any certain death situation.

But that was just the primary use, the pendant could help her talk with her son by a telepathic link, but for it to work, both parties—the one whose mana is stored within the pendant and the wearer—need to know how to use mana.

'My son is a genius—way better than me.'

She muttered inwardly, really happy for her son, but that was all she could do—be proud on the inside.

She couldn't show it out in public; neither was it the right time nor was she capable of doing such a thing.

Vannesa was never good at showing her emotions, so all she could ask Alex when she heard his voice in her head was, 'What's wrong, Alex?'.

Her voice didn't reflect even the tiniest hint of her real feelings, but this is who she was, so while gritting her teeth, frustrated about her physique's problem, she waited for her son's reply.

'Try to save at least one of the children secretly.'

Alex didn't save much after that, as he knew his mother got what he meant from the way her eyes flashed with a chilling light the next instant.

He and Vannesa had wanted to kill every person in the room from the moment his information was displayed on the screen.

His description was off the charts, and once that got out, many people would try to recruit him or kill him—which was not something either of them wanted.

'Alright.'

Vannesa nodded inwardly, stepping closer to Lucious while snapping her fingers, causing a very thin—so much that one couldn't even tell it was there—barrier of ice to form around them.

Alex's words were, 'Try to save at least one of the children secretly.' Vannesa, who wasn't just anyone and had a fair share of manipulation and trickery, could understand the meaning behind Alex's words.

Try to save meant that she shouldn't kill the children, but save them, and make it look like a struggle, but who would attack the children then?

Of course, she was able to make that out as well.

Then she had to save only one child, that too secretly, so she hurriedly made up a scenario where that would be possible.

She didn't know why Alex wanted her to save someone from the group of children below, but she was sure that he had his reasons.

"Kill everyone in this room, and then run away from the main entrance by shooting a dark attack on both Alex and Mira."

Vannesa began, her voice as cold as it could get, sending shivers down Lucious's spine, freezing him in his spot.

"W-What...?"

The guy stammered, unable to comprehend the meaning behind those words, or maybe he was just unwilling to accept it.

'W-Wasn't she worried about the children's safety a while ago…?'

The scene where Alex made him take an oath by saying that it was due to Vannesa's deep worry for the children that he was doing it flashed past his mind, but the moment he saw the light grin on Alex's face, his face turned pale.

'I-It was his p-plan all along?'

His world seemed to be spinning as he recalled every word spoken by Alex, and things finally started to click.

'N-No way he knew about the devilization stone, right...?'

He muttered inwardly, not wanting to believe that a small guy, whom he had already rated as a target of elimination, was playing with him from the start.

Just what kind of person was this guy?!

This question kept repeating in his head before he heard Vannesa's voice again, laced with killing intent.

"If I see you sitting there with that grim expression after three more seconds, you'll be dead before the fourth."

Lucious's eyes widened as he hurriedly stood up, frantically rushing toward the children in the hall, his fists clenched as he sent a punch toward the children, causing a mass of black-colored mist, condensed in the shape of a fist, to move past the children.

*BOOM*

It didn't stop there though, the large fist made of mist went straight for the gate after it passed through the children, leaving them frozen in their spots and breaking the door into pieces.

The children, on the other hand, didn't even know what had happened, as it was all too fast for them to make anything out.

One second they were staring at the scene playing out in front of them with fear and disbelief, and the next second, they had their lives snuffed out of their bodies the moment Lucious's attack passed through them.

"STOP!"

Vannesa, who had her expression as stoic as ever, was first to notice this, causing her voice to reverberate throughout the castle, shaking it violently, alerting the butlers and maids.

"TAKE THIS!"

Lucious, however, just turned around, another volley of fists smashing the air, sending many fists toward both Alex and Mira, causing Vannesa to change her trajectory, and it was then that the head maid and head butler, the strongest after Vanessa came rushing in.

None of them noticed a certain girl frozen in the corner of the room as they stood, their eyes wide, looking at the surroundings in shock.

*SLASH*

It was then that a slashing sound was heard, causing everyone's attention to focus on Vannesa, who was standing in front of Alex and Mira, cleaving the fists shot at them.

Alex wasn't a bit concerned about the attack.

He didn't care if it was potent enough to wipe him of existence or not, as he knew that his mother was stronger.

Mira, however, had the same dead look on her face, her eyes glancing at Alex and Vannesa simultaneously; she was the only one other than Lucious who could guess what was happening.

"GO CATCH HIM!"

It was then that a sharp and cold ordering voice echoed through the hall, breaking the head butler and maid to break out of their thoughts.

It was Vannesa and the head butler and maid who saw the look in Vannesa's eyes and hurriedly shifted their attention toward Lucious, who had rushed out of the area by now.

Their eyes momentarily glanced at their children in the group before they gritted their teeth, rushing toward Lucious with rage boiling in their eyes.

Only after they rushed out of the hall did Vannesa, who had a frown on her forehead along with her movements being frenzied, relax, her eyes turning as calm as they could, and she waved her sword again.

*Woosh*

This time, however, the attacks from Lucious, which were still as strong as before, shattered like a flash, getting their existence erased.

*Whistle.*

Alex, on the other hand, just let out a silent whistle of amazement; his mother was really a bit too strong to be able to wave off an archbishop's attack as if nothing.

One thing was sure though: he had successfully diverted the plot with this.