Chapter 140 Brewing Storm.

Chapter 140 Brewing Storm.
Linus POV.

I looked down at the blood staining my boots—Queen Camille’s blood—and felt a profound sense of relief. It was as if a heavy, suffocating blanket had finally been lifted from the Vampire Nation. For years, I had bowed to a woman who thought kindness was a virtue and that humans were our equals. It had been an insult to our heritage.

Now she's dead, dead by my hands. It gives me so much joy knowing that she died by my hands. I would forever remember this day as a day that marks the beginning of me setting the vampire nation free from Queen Camille's cowardice. Now, all that's left is to take out the beast. Once the beast is out of my way, it would be easier to take out King Josh.

I turned away from Camille's lifeless body and looked up at Druid. The silver-haired witch looked regal on that stolen throne, much more so than the soft-hearted Fujin ever had. I'm so glad there was someone who I could easily use to carry out my plans. I'm sure soon, the vampires will take over the world.

"The first step is taken," I said to Druid, my voice smooth and devoid of regret. "But Camille’s death is only the beginning. Once Josh sees what’s left of his Queen, he’ll burn the world down to find the ones responsible. And that’s when the real plan begins."

Druid leaned forward, his silver hair catching the flickering violet light of the torches. "Do not worry about how this war would, Linus. As I told you before, you aren’t the only one tired of living under a god’s shadow. I’ve spent years gathering followers and alies among the Dragons and the Fae High-Commanders. They hate the peace Khaos has enforced. To them, it is a cage. They want a world where the strong take what they want, and they are more than willing to help us dismantle his reign."

A cold thrill ran through me. If the dragons and faes joins the witches in this war, Khaos wouldn't just be facing a rebellion; he’d be facing a lot of betrayal and dilemma because Josh would also not step back from the war, not after losing his beloved Queen.

"Excellent. The more conflicted he is, the better our chances of taking him out." I looked at Druid with raised brows, "what about the Lycans? Didn't you convince them to join us as well?"

Druid shrugged, "I tried, but it's impossible to get an ally in the Lycan kingdom. They are fiercely loyal and powerful, and their Alpha controls them, literally."

I shrugged nonchalantly, "well, I guess we can keep them out of the war, unless the Lycan King decides to join forces with Prince Domenic."

"I doubt that," Druid said, stepping closer. "But enough about them already. I am curious about that human you brought with you. Its strange to see you come with a human so I asked my men to keep him locked up for a while. But now I want to know who he is."

"Where is he?" I asked.

At Druid’s signal, two witches dragged Thomas into the hall. The scientist looked pathetic, and it only got worst when he saw the massive amount of dead bodies all over the floor and blood. He looks pale like he was about to throw up.

"Thomas," I called out his name in a cold voice and he stared at me frightened.

"Yes?"

"You make shadow monsters right?" Druid stared at Thomas in shock at the revelation.

Thomas nodded. "Yes, I can. But I can't do it without my device and its broken."

"The device," I commanded, stepping into his personal space. "Fix it. I want an army of those shadows at my back when need be."

Tom shook his head. The initial fear was no longer there. Rather there was amusement and curiosity in his eyes. He looks almost fascinated. However, he replied. "I can’t fix the device. I’ve told you! The 'light' I found... that energy source... it was the exact same thing I used to create that device which in turn creates shadow monsters or whatever you call it. I can't build the device again without the light!"

I felt a surge of irritation. Here I thought that Ive already had someone special on my hands, but I was wrong. I raised my sworld, "if you arent useful to me, you might as well join Queen Camille and her fallen soilders. I moved to end him, but Druid raised a hand.

"Wait Linus. If he's talking about Helios essence that escaped when in his battle with Lord Khaos, then we have nothing to worry about. The human doesn't need to build from nothing, Linus. He just needs more of that essence."

"And where do you suppose we get that?" I asked with raised brows.

Druid smiled, "come with me." He led us deep into the bowels of the coven. We descended through winding
stone corridors where the walls were damp with magical condensation and the air tasted like ancient dust. Finally, we reached a door made of solid obsidian, carved with runes that seemed to pulse with a dark, rhythmic life.

As the doors groaned open, I felt the air grow heavy.

The room was exactly what one would expect from an ancient witch’s sanctum—chaotic, dark, and smelling of rot and power. Jars of preserved organs lined the shelves, and vials of shimmering ethereal mist floated in the air like trapped ghosts. In the center of the room, blue fire drifted lazily around a jagged stone altar.

Sitting atop that altar was a glass sphere, and my breath hitched when I saw it. Inside, a swirl of sickly, golden-black light churned violently. It was the essence of Helios—the captured remains of a god’s power that Khaos had entrusted to Fujin.

Thomas stumbled toward the altar, his face lit by the golden glow. "Woah, this is it. This is really it!" His eyes watched the light in awe. "I can still remember the power in the light. it’s... it’s beautiful," he whispered, his hands hovering inches from the glass. "This is powerful. It’s a thousand times more potent than the fragment I found."

"Can you use it to create the shadow monsters?" I asked, my voice tight with anticipation.

Thomas turned to me, and for the first time, I saw a flicker of something other than fear in his eyes. It was obsession. "Use it? With this, I won't just be making monsters. I could rewrite their entire molecular structure. I could create more powerful creatures that will take over the world someday. I could make them so powerful that no ordinary creature could kill them."

I smiled. It was the smile of a man who knew he was about to win. This was the key I’ve been looking for. The key that would finally make the vampires rulers over other creatures on earth. "Then get to work, Thomas. I want results, and I want them soon." I turned back to Druid. "I leave him in your care. Keep him fed and keep him working. I must return to the Vampire Nation. I have a dead Queen to deliver to her husband."

I looked at the obsidian door, imagining the look on King's Josh’s face when he saw the body. The grief would be his undoing. He would start a war out of pure, unadulterated rage, and while he wasted his soldiers against the witches, I would be in the kingdom, preparing the way for Giron to become King.

"The peace Camille loved so much is about to die with her," I muttered to myself.

I walked out of the sanctum, the sound of my boots echoing like a funeral march. The war was no longer coming; it was already here, and I was the one holding the torch. By dawn, the world would be on fire.