Night had fallen over the lamia tribe's outer territories, blanketing everything in quiet darkness. But that silence was deceptive. Hidden throughout the perimeter, countless eyes remained alert, scanning for any hint of movement.
Serena's face burned red despite the cool night air, though her expression stayed locked in concentration as she surveyed the area. Her body trembled occasionally, small tremors that betrayed how close she was to her breaking point. Every breath came heavy and labored, her chest heaving with the effort of maintaining control.
Sweat had turned the dirt beneath her into mud, staining her skin, but she didn't dare shift position. The discomfort was nothing compared to the pressure building inside her. No amount of willpower could hold back nature forever.
Drip.
A crystal droplet fell from her body onto the grass below, but the liquid was too thick to be sweat. It had an almost adhesive quality, clinging to the blades before slowly seeping into the earth.
"Hah... hah..."
She was losing the battle. The mysterious shadow Alya had warned them about still hadn't shown up, but Serena's body couldn't wait any longer. The dam broke. A flood of essence washed over the muddy ground, so much volume that the grass bent flat under the deluge.
Her strength gave out completely. Serena collapsed onto the dirt, barely conscious.
"Contact!" One of the lamia girls beside her suddenly hissed. "It's coming!"
The words jolted Serena back to alertness like ice water. She bit down hard, forcing her exhausted body to focus through sheer determination.
There. Moving through the moonlit darkness. A figure, but something was wrong with it. Despite the light from above, she couldn't make out any features. Just a black silhouette that seemed to absorb the illumination around it.
"That's not possible," Serena whispered, genuine shock creeping into her voice. "Why can't I see it clearly?"
This changed everything. She'd assumed the inner layer had sent some kind of specter or illusion to patrol. But this was something else entirely. Something more complex than just an atavistic lamia.
From inside her shirt, William's amused voice drifted up. "Not what you were expecting, huh? Feeling a bit shaken?"
"Yes, Master William. I apologize for my uncertainty."
"Don't worry about that now. We stick to the plan. Test it first, see what we're dealing with."
His confidence steadied her immediately. "Understood."
The shadow reached the position they'd scouted that morning. Serena raised her hand, giving the signal they'd rehearsed during the day. Every lamia girl hiding in the darkness launched their coordinated assault.
William emerged from Serena's shirt as the attack commenced, ready to intervene if needed.
The black figure didn't react to the ambush. No panic, no defense, no counterattack. It simply stood there as weapons pierced through its chest, straight through where the heart should be.
William's eyes narrowed. Something was off about this.
Then he saw it. The expressions on the lamia girls' faces. Not triumph, but horror and shock.
He flew over to Serena, allowing his wings to expand slightly from their reduced state. "What happened? What's wrong?"
Serena's voice came out tight with barely suppressed rage. "That shadow... Master William, it's one of our sisters. She disappeared weeks ago. The inner layer told us she'd been killed by outsiders, that her body was completely destroyed and couldn't be recovered. But here she is. They lied to us. They killed her themselves!"
The implications hit immediately. The atavists hadn't just been oppressive rulers. They'd been actively murdering their own people and covering it up.
"Change of plans," William said decisively. "We gather every single outer circle lamia right now. If they're doing this, no one's safe alone."
"I'll organize it immediately."
Serena didn't waste a second. She began directing the lamias into teams of three, sending them to find every sister who hadn't joined tonight's operation. After seeing their dead friend's body being used like this, every girl present was consumed with fury. They'd been deceived, manipulated, their lives treated as disposable. The rage against the inner layer burned hot.
While the gathering operation proceeded, William stared at the high wall separating the outer and middle territories. "Guess we're taking the middle layer tonight after all," he muttered. "Faster timeline than I wanted, but we don't have much choice. This'll definitely alert the inner sanctum, but..."
His thoughts drifted to Ibuki back at the fox territory. She hadn't returned to her demon wolf clan in quite some time now. Her pack would come searching eventually, and when they did, William wasn't confident he could handle the entire demon wolf clan with his current strength. Time was already running out.
The gathering completed remarkably quickly. Thanks to eliminating that shadow creature first, there had been zero casualties during the collection process.
Serena returned to his side, relief evident in her posture. "Master William, all the outer circle girls are here. I explained everything, including your offer. They've all agreed to join your command."
Of course they had. Every single one of them wanted revenge against the atavists now. And beyond that, surviving alone in these Godforsaken Lands without tribal protection was basically suicide. Serena's invitation was a lifeline they'd be foolish to refuse.
William surveyed the assembled group. Nearly three hundred lamia girls in total, each with distinct builds and scale patterns. Those scale colors were unique to each individual, serving as the tribe's primary identification method. It applied to all layers, from outer circle to the inner sanctum.
Impressive numbers. Poking his head out from Serena's collar, William found himself already anticipating how many more waited in the middle layer. The combat force he'd be bringing back to the fox tribe would ensure their safety and development for years to come.
"Alright," he said. "Next target is the middle layer. Take out those male lamia patrols quietly. No alarms, no noise. We can't afford to waste the advantage tonight's given us."
"Understood, Master William."
Serena turned back to brief the group while William slipped back inside her shirt. Two becoming one again.
The combined force moved toward the middle layer with practiced silence and coordination. The male lamias on patrol never saw them coming.
Behind them, in the spot where they'd killed the mysterious shadow, something stirred. The lamia girl's corpse rose jerkily from the ground, movements stiff and unnatural like a marionette on strings. Her empty eyes locked onto the direction William's group had gone.
"Uh... uh..."
Strange sounds gurgled from her throat. Her neck twisted with audible cracks and pops as she began moving, covering about ten meters in those same puppet-like motions.