Southern Sea Sun Palace IV

"Why are you staring at her?" Cecilia hissed, elbowing me sharply in the ribs. 

I blinked, realizing I'd been caught. Alyssara's form had held my gaze far longer than it should have. Without thinking, the words slipped out.

"Because she's beautiful."

The effect was instantaneous. Three pairs of eyes turned on me, their expressions darkening in perfect, synchronized fury. The weight of their combined glares was enough to make even an Immortal-ranker break into a sweat.

To make matters worse, Alyssara had clearly caught my words. She turned her head, her cyan eyes—tinged faintly with green—locking onto mine. Then, with a smile as sweet as honey laced with arsenic, she winked.

The glares intensified. 

Alyssara, known as the Crimson Dancer, was not what one might expect from a Cult Leader. Her pink hair, soft and wispy like spun sugar, and her delicate, youthful features gave her the appearance of a harmless girl on the cusp of maturity. It was an illusion so convincing that it bordered on art.

But I knew better.

Alyssara was over a century old, her lifespan unnaturally prolonged by the blood of vampires. Unlike most contractors, she hadn't merely pledged herself to darkness—she'd thrived in it, wearing the madness it granted like a second skin.

And madness was the only word for her.

Alyssara was, in no uncertain terms, a lunatic. Worse than Cecilia, who—though still fiercely possessive—was at least trying to appear normal these days. Alyssara had no such pretense. She was a creature of chaos, her mind a battlefield of love and hate, obsession and destruction. 

In the novel, she had been fixated on Lucifer in a way that transcended mere possessiveness. She had desired kill anyone who dared to so much as look at him, cripple him to keep him from leaving her, and imprison him in a gilded cage where she could treat him as her eternal plaything.

And she called it love.

Yes, crazy bitch was the only phrase that could encapsulate this nightmare in human form. The sweet smile, the harmless appearance—it was all a lie, hiding the monster beneath. A monster who'd now noticed me. 

Wonderful.

'Lucifer,' I thought dryly, 'you can have this one. Just keep her as far from me as possible, thanks.'

Alyssara's little display had not gone unnoticed. Cassius von Noctis, standing just behind her, caught the interaction. His crimson eyes flicked toward me, narrowing with a sharp glint of interest before he turned away, as if I wasn't worth his time.

The sight of him filled me with disgust.

Cassius von Noctis—the vampire prince. In the novel, he had one singular obsession: destroying Lucifer. Not because of any grand ideological clash, but because Lucifer had something Cassius craved desperately.

Alyssara's "love."

Cassius loved her. Or, at least, he thought he did. But Alyssara? She revered power above all else, and her devotion to the Vampire Monarch was absolute. That didn't mean she'd submit to Cassius just because he was the heir. Far from it. Alyssara's power alone surpassed the upper echelons of the vampires, nearly approaching the level of the Monarch himself.

And Cassius knew it. He hated Lucifer for being the only one Alyssara's twisted obsession fixated on. 

I shook my head, banishing the thoughts. Dwelling on the tangled mess of Alyssara and Cassius was as futile as it was horrifying. The current me couldn't hope to stand against beings like them. Cassius could kill me with a casual flick of his wrist, and Alyssara—well, the less said about her creative methods of breaking Lucifer, the better.

The memory alone was enough to send a shiver down my spine.

"What, shivering now because of how beautiful she is?" Cecilia asked, her tone sharp as she jabbed me in the side. Her crimson eyes burned with irritation, though whether it was from jealousy or sheer frustration, I couldn't tell.

"No, that's not—" I began, but my feeble protest was silenced by the Lord's smooth voice cutting through the air.

"Alyssara is quite beautiful," Daedric Solaryn commented, his tone thoughtful yet deliberate. His crimson eyes shifted to me, studying me with a quiet intensity that felt more invasive than his words. "She is also an exceptional advisor. And, of course, an unparalleled dancer."

For a moment, his eyes widened ever so slightly, as if catching something unexpected. 

Of course, he would sense it. At Immortal-rank, Daedric could see through my full power, even the parts I worked so hard to keep hidden. To someone like him, I must have been a peculiar anomaly—a strange mixture of strength and potential that didn't quite fit into the world's natural order.

'Fantastic,' I thought grimly. 'As if this situation wasn't already precarious enough.'

"I don't mind treating you all as honored guests," the Lord said, his tone calm but with an edge that hinted at the weight of his authority. His gaze lingered on Alyssara for a moment before he continued, "Though you've come as investigators, your standing demands respect. You'll have rooms within the palace itself, and you may conduct your investigations freely. Within limits, of course. Certain areas will remain off-limits."

"Understood," Li replied smoothly, his tone as amicable as ever.

The Lord inclined his head slightly, then turned on his heel. The Southern Sea Sun Palace contingent moved as one, leading the way inland. Alyssara, ever the performer, glanced back over her shoulder and threw me another wink, her cyan-green eyes sparkling with mischief.

The effect was immediate. The girls beside me practically seethed, their irritation rolling off them like waves. I sighed inwardly as we fell into step behind the palace delegation. 

The walk was brief. From the shoreline, it took only a few minutes to reach a train station nestled among the dense greenery. 

'No hyperloops,' I noted as we boarded one of the sleek, modern trains. It was an efficient system, but it spoke to the slight lag in the palace's technological development compared to the world beyond their isolation.

"This situation feels off," Lucifer muttered, his arms crossed as he leaned back in his seat. "Maybe the Red Sun branding was just some random copycat?"

"Could be," Ren said thoughtfully. "But we've still got a job to do. This mission is part of the exchange program, after all."

The tone of the group was cautious but far from alarmed. Most of them didn't see this as anything more than a routine investigation. I could tell they weren't taking it seriously yet. To them, the idea of this escalating into something catastrophic was laughable. 

They'd learn soon enough.

As the train hummed along, Ian leaned over and whispered, "By the way, did you really think she was beautiful?"

I sighed, already feeling the weight of three sharp glares drilling into the side of my head. My previous attempts to deny it had been met with disbelief and more irritation, so why bother trying again? 

"Well, yeah," I admitted simply.

Ian smirked, nodding sagely. "She is beautiful," he said. "But you know what they say—stay away from girls with pink hair. They're crazy."

I opened my mouth to retort but stopped. It was a ridiculous generalisation—discriminatory, even. 

But in this case? I couldn't argue. 

Because Alyssara Velcroix was the very definition of crazy.

Case in point: Alyssara walked into the train compartment reserved for the students of Starcrest and Mythos Academies as if she owned it. Her gait was casual, almost playful, the kind of confidence that turned heads without trying.

And heads turned.

Every gaze in the compartment fixed on her, a mix of curiosity and blatant, unfiltered lust. It was impossible not to notice her—really notice her—now that she was standing there, her presence commanding attention like a stage performer stepping into the spotlight.

She was breathtaking, in the way that a thunderstorm on the horizon is breathtaking. Long pink hair cascaded down her back like spun silk, her crystalline eyes catching the light in a mesmerizing blend of blue and green. Her tall, lithe frame bore the subtle strength of a dancer, every movement precise and deliberate. 

And then there was her smile—that flirty, heart-melting smile. It was the kind of expression that could make you believe the world revolved around you. Of course, I knew better. That smile was as fake as a counterfeit coin, its sweetness concealing the razor-sharp edge beneath. But knowing didn't make it any less effective. 

As her eyes landed on me, her smile widened just a fraction, enough to send a ripple through the room. 

Ren, Ian, Jin, and even Lucifer blushed in unison. 

I hated to admit it, but even I felt the heat rise to my cheeks for a brief, mortifying moment. Just for an instant, I forgot the warning bells ringing in my head, the knowledge of who she was and what she was capable of.

And that was all the opportunity she needed.

But before she could do or say anything more, the three girls around me sprang to their feet, stepping in front of her like a human shield. Their expressions ranged from cold hostility to outright fury, a silent declaration that this was their territory, and Alyssara had just trespassed.

The air thickened with unspoken tension. If Alyssara noticed—or cared—she gave no sign. She just stood there, her smile never wavering, her cyan-green eyes gleaming with mischief. A storm in silk, waiting for her moment.