Luke was in the room Ajax had prepared for him to spend the night. It was nearly five in the morning. Just a few minutes ago, he had emerged from the labyrinth. He had met Ajax, his family members, and the servants.
It was clear that a battle had taken place, but the situation was now under control. The demons that had attacked Ajax had been eliminated, as well as those in the labyrinth.
The Petropolus family had responded quickly to the disaster and were able to navigate the labyrinth better than most, though not with complete accuracy. As a result, there were persons that could not be saved.
More than a hundred teenagers had attended Ajax’s birthday party. Over 50% of them had signed up for the game, with around 70 participants in total. Out of those 70 participants, there were 14 deaths-approximately 20%-and many more injuries, with the wounded being treated.
When Luke exited the labyrinth, he saw servants carrying lifeless bodies on stretchers-a grim and haunting sight.
“Those bastards must have been behind this!” Luke said through gritted teeth, kicking the bed. He restrained his strength; otherwise, he might have broken the luxurious wooden frame, and he had no intention of paying for it.
“It’s possible. They have two of the six main demonic books. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to think they have a method to control demons or at least guide them,” said Natasha, who had been alerted by Luke about the sudden demon attack, an event far from ordinary.
As for Wednesday, she had stormed off to a different room, still upset with Luke for interfering in her fight.
“We need to accuse them. I arrive at the Petropolus mansion, and more than ten demons led by a controller attack. Last year, they tried to revive Crackstone, a demonic normie. Their reputation isn’t what it used to be. There might be people who would believe it,” Luke said, unwilling to let this go unpunished, even though he had no concrete evidence that the Spellmans were behind the attack.
“It won’t do any good without evidence. Remember that demons travel between dimensions? They can appear out of nowhere and attack mindlessly; that’s what lesser demons do, especially,” said Natasha, shaking her head.
“But they carried out a suicide attack. Isn’t it strange for their survival instincts to be so dulled? They charged into a place full of outcasts and were wiped out in less than an hour,” Luke countered.
“From what is known about lesser demons, when they travel between dimensions, they appear at random points. They don’t have precise control over their spatial travel abilities. Morraks have a beast-like intellect. If they appear in a place full of delicious food, they’ll attack without hesitation. Even the small Morrak close to evolving-these creatures’ hunger outweighs their survival instincts, at least for lesser demons,” Natasha explained.
“You should give me a class explaining everything about demons…” Luke muttered with a grimace of frustration. He was annoyed by learning about them piecemeal through scattered lessons whenever the topic came up.
“Wait… if they can’t control where they appear, how did more than ten of them manage to show up here and move as a pack? I know the small Morrak is the controller, but… can it make them all travel to the same point?” Luke asked.
“The small Morrak doesn’t have full control over dimensional travel, but it does possess a unique ability that sets it apart. Being close to evolving, it can generate a specific resonance in dimensional energy, like a sort of beacon that other demons can sense. This resonance acts like a magnet, aligning their travels. While they don’t arrive at the exact same point, they appear close enough to regroup quickly,” Natasha explained patiently.
‘Oh, what Wednesday told me…’ Luke thought, recalling that Wednesday had briefly mentioned, albeit angrily, that at one point, the small Morrak made a strange noise, and two Morraks arrived at its location.
“Demon talk is over. Pack your things; we’re heading to Ohio right now,” Natasha said, and Luke looked at her in surprise.
“Now? It’s almost five in the morning, and I haven’t slept,” Luke complained.
“So what? Now that the entire Petropolus mansion is awake, more and more people will show up because of the demon attack-worried parents, council members. It’s the perfect time to leave without being noticed by anyone,” Natasha said.
“You’re right. Are we taking the Audi?” Luke asked.
“No. It’s too flashy, and they probably already know it’s the car we use. We’ll go on foot-or rather, we’ll fly the first stretch to get away from the Petropolus mansion. With Wednesday’s stealth ability, no one will see us,” Natasha replied.
“It’ll be tough flying with two people on my back…” Luke murmured.
“Your back is big; let Wednesday share a bit,” Natasha said with a slight teasing smile, patting Luke on the shoulder.
“But first, leave a letter for your friend. Tell him to send the bodies of the demons you and Wednesday killed to the Addams Manor. Those bodies are worth a lot of money,” Natasha added.
“Oh, really? How much?” Luke asked, his face lighting up at the mention of a lot of money. “At least hundreds of thousands of dollars. The small Morrak alone could easily surpass a million,” Natasha replied. Demon corpses had many uses-research, experiments, weapons, rituals, and more.
‘That’s a lot of money!’ Luke thought, a grin forming on his face. He quickly grabbed paper and a pencil to leave Ajax a note.
The least the Petropolus family could do was handle the transport of the demons that Luke and Wednesday had killed to Addams Manor.
After that, he sent a telepathic message to Wednesday, letting her know they were leaving immediately. He mentioned they would find at the servants’ house, which was empty since everyone was occupied with the demon attack, the injured, and the dead.
Beforehand, Luke and Natasha headed to the Audi to grab their bags and backpacks, though they didn’t have much luggage. The most important items were potions and all the fake documentation for their new identities.
…
Wednesday was walking near the labyrinth when she arrived at the monitoring room Ajax had used earlier to watch everyone in the maze. The room now had a large hole in one of its walls and was being used to treat the injured.
Servants and wounded teenagers were coming and going. The number of injuries from the labyrinth and the demons was very high, not to mention the deaths.
At that moment, she received a telepathic message from Luke, informing her they were leaving the mansion immediately, as it was better to slip away unnoticed while everyone was distracted by the attack—a suggestion from Natasha.
[Fine. Grab my backpack and bag. I’ll meet you in a bit] Wednesday replied curtly.
[Aren’t you coming with us to the Audi? We’ll grab the stuff and leave directly] Luke asked.
[I’ll meet you at the servants’ house] Wednesday said, without offering any explanation. Luke didn’t press her, knowing she was still upset with him.
Wednesday stepped through the hole into the monitoring room. She noticed many stretchers with injured people being treated. It didn’t take long for her to find what she was looking for: blonde hair with pink tips-it was Enid.
Enid was volunteering, helping the servants with the injured-something expected of her. Wednesday approached her calmly and called her name.
“Wednesday? Didn’t you leave with Luke? What do you want?” Enid asked, a bit surprised to be addressed by her.
“I need to tell you something. Let’s go outside,” Wednesday said, straightforward and to the
point.
Enid stared at her for a moment before reacting. She set a bandage on a small table and
followed her.
Wednesday moved away from the crowd and then created a dome of darkness that enveloped her and Enid, ensuring their conversation couldn’t be overheard.
“Why the dome? I can’t see you,” Enid said, unalarmed. Her enhanced sense of smell allowed her to pinpoint Wednesday’s location, so she wasn’t worried about a sudden attack, especially since it would be odd for Wednesday to attack her out of nowhere.
“You don’t need to see me for what I’m about to say,” Wednesday replied.
“What is it? I need to keep helping. Make it quick,” Enid said indifferently. She wasn’t thrilled about having a one-on-one conversation with the person who had “stolen” her boyfriend— and who she now wanted to steal back.
The only positive thing for Enid was that Wednesday was with Luke because she genuinely cared for him, something she had learned that very night. Wednesday wasn’t just interested in
Luke for his genetics.
The two had once shared a brief friendship, but it had been fleeting and undeveloped. Now,
the only thing connecting them was Luke.
Between friendship with Wednesday and Luke, Enid chose Luke. The same was true for Wednesday-she would choose Luke over friendship with Enid.
“Don’t send Luke any more letters or at least, if you do, have the courage to sign them with your name, number one fan,” Wednesday said in a tone that was both mocking and cold. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about…” Enid said, trying to sound confused. “Play dumb if you want. Luke gave me the letters from this secret number one fan, and I recognized your handwriting,” Wednesday said, unfazed by whether Enid admitted it or not. She just wanted to make it clear that Enid should stop sending letters to Luke. As Luke’s girlfriend, she found it intolerable that his ex-girlfriend was sending him those kinds of
letters.
Not because she doubted Luke’s loyalty she knew he was faithful. It was obvious in the way he risked his life to protect her and his near-obsessive concern for her safety. What bothered her was knowing that another girl was pursuing him, fully aware he was in a
relationship.
“Anything else?” Enid asked, neither confirming nor denying Wednesday’s accusation.
“Yes. Luke and I won’t be attending Nevermore. We’re going to Ohio, to Sunnyvale and
Shadyside, two nearby towns,” Wednesday said with total indifference. “What!?” Enid exclaimed, more shocked by this than by anything earlier.
How could she hope to win Luke back if he wasn’t going to Nevermore? Even stranger was that Wednesday was sharing this information after threatening her earlier about writing letters to
Luke.
“Why are you going there?” Enid asked.
“A mission. I suppose you can figure out the rest,” Wednesday replied, offering no specifics.
“I see. Why are you telling me this?” Enid asked again.
Wednesday tilted her head slightly, as if assessing her.
“Because you could be useful. Today you proved you’re not as weak as the other useless students,” she said, her voice a mix of acknowledgment and disdain.
Enid was one of the few students who had been truly helpful against the demons. She had
even managed to kill a few on her own and had faced off against the nearly evolved small
Morrak.
“Is that all…?” Enid asked, her mistrust toward Wednesday evident. She believed the part about Ohio, but she doubted Wednesday’s true intentions.
“Believe me or don’t. If you decide to be useful to Luke and come to help, you must do so with
extreme caution and without anyone noticing. The Spellmans may have their eyes on you, so don’t come immediately. We’ll be there for several months, so take your time and plan how to get there unnoticed. We’ll be incognito with different identities, so don’t look for us openly,”
Wednesday said seriously.
With those words, Wednesday dispelled the dome of darkness that had surrounded them. She turned without another word and began walking back toward the mansion.
As she walked away, a small, almost imperceptible smile appeared on her face-not one of satisfaction, but something far more sinister.
‘Perfect. Walk straight into your death, Enid,’ Wednesday thought, her eyes devoid of any
trace of compassion.
The slight curve of her lips vanished almost immediately, replaced by her usual impenetrable
expression.
She knew Enid would come. That spark of wounded pride and unresolved feelings for Luke was enough to confirm it. Everything Wednesday had said was calculated to draw her to Sunnyvale, the place where her vision would come to fruition.
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