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.

their protective gear would be useless in under two minutes. And when that happened, the consequences would

Lauren said. “Skull Lord’s blood is specially used to purify the

their corpses. She wouldn’t

every corner it touched.

ground, where he would be resurrected to lead the Skull Covenant toward

a deep rumble cracked through the

stared in stunned disbelief as the crimson mist-just seconds ago spreading like wildfire-abruptly reversed course as though it had struck an unseen barrier. The mist rushed backward with blinding speed, like a

scarlet mist had retreated into the small cabin and condensed into a single crimson orb,

carrying inside her body as its vessel. She had just released

hell

maniacal laughter died

she tried to comprehend what force could make

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

very being. Once merged with her body, she could tap into a fragment of Skull

though yanked by some unseen hand. Lauren made a desperate grab but caught nothing but

herself face-to-face with a man

or how he’d gotten there first. He appeared young and strikingly handsome, with an almost magnetic presence

muscle in her body tensed as wariness crept across her features. The man was holding the crimson orb-the one she’d

to me,” Lauren