An Understated Dominance (Dustin Rhys)

“Ms. Linsor, look out!” Sadie shouted. She had been watching Lauren’s every move. The moment the iron chains binding Lauren snapped and scarlet mist poured from her body, Sadie immediately jumped in front of Grace to shield her.

However, the mist was pervasive. It engulfed several people in the room within seconds before expanding outward in all directions at breakneck speed.

The scarlet mist was laced with deadly poison. Wherever it touched, flowers wilted and the ground turned black, as if it were consuming everything in its path.

Lauren laughed maniacally.

“Every last one of you deserves to die. This world is steeped in corruption, and God has turned his back on us. Only our Skull Lord will outlast it all.

“I shall cleanse your sins with his blood and offer your lives as a sacrifice. The Skull Covenant shall rise, and the Skull Lord shall reign eternally.”

Her crazed proclamations echoed through the swirling scarlet mist.

As more mist poured out from her body, her figure began to shrivel rapidly. It was as if her very life force was being drained away.

Even so, she kept laughing hysterically as if death meant nothing to her. In her eyes, death wasn’t the end but a pathway to eternal life. It would finally allow her to embrace the Skull Lord and serve at his side forever.

“Ms. Linsor, we need to leave now. There’s something strange about this scarlet mist, “Sadie said urgently.

She grabbed Grace’s hand and bolted without a second thought. She’d noticed that the mist corroded everything it touched, including their biohazard suit and respirator.

in under

can’t escape,” Lauren said. “Skull Lord’s blood is specially used to purify the sin that stains your

She wouldn’t have unleashed Skull Lord’s blood without

deserved as the blood spread to every corner it touched. The devastation wouldn’t stop at this

sacred ground, where he would be resurrected to lead

deep rumble cracked through

ago spreading like wildfire-abruptly reversed course as though it had struck an unseen barrier.

had retreated into the small cabin and condensed into a single crimson orb, no larger

body as its vessel. She had just released the mist, only to watch some

the hell

laughter

with disbelief and rage as she tried to comprehend what force could make Skull Lord’s blood retreat so

crimson orb and lunged for it without hesitation. Nothing else mattered except preventing anyone from claiming the

absorb its power into her very being. Once merged with her body, she

unseen hand. Lauren made a desperate grab but caught nothing but air. Fighting through her body’s exhaustion, she

outside, she found herself face-to-face with

tell when he’d arrived or how he’d gotten there first. He appeared young and strikingly handsome, with an almost magnetic presence that made her

facing a formidable opponent. Every muscle in her body tensed as wariness crept across her features. The man was holding the crimson orb-the one she’d just been chasing-and

it to me,” Lauren