Chapter 103: Leo! Control your powers

Chapter 103: Leo! Control your powers The chestnut-haired woman noticed the black mist surrounding Leo, and her hair rose on end. The pain in her back vanished under a surge of adrenaline. She crawled toward the door but collapsed halfway, clawing at her neck for air. Leo hadn’t gotten closer to her and she was already reacting to the poison in the air. Grace shook her head with a sigh and wrapped a green dome around herself as she watched; the rest of the staff stayed silent, daring not to breathe too loud. Leo walked toward her, the mist around him swirling with a will of its own, crunching as it moved. He lifted her by the chin, the black haze drilling into her ears, nose, and mouth. She paled, trembling like she was suffering from seizures, and blood began streaming down from where the mist drilled into. "Hh...help...uh..." she gasped, but searing pain tore through her insides, forcing her to cough up black blood. Leo watched coldly and let go of her chin. She collapsed face down, body twitching as thick streams of blood oozed from her. Agonizing pain twisted through her insides, like tiny creatures devouring her from within. She shrieked, mind unraveling from the torment. "Bang, Bang, Bang!" The woman slammed her head against the ground continuously, hoping to put herself out of this agony. Unfortunately, death was still far off—she was only in stage one of the poison Leo had inflicted. An eerie silence hung in the room. A few collapsed or retched, unable to bear the gruesome scene. Grace frowned at the stench, stepped away from them, and leaned against the door to watch—then noticed a trail of poisonous mist slipping toward the gap. "Leo! Control your powers—we have important guests in the house," Grace called out. Her voice snapped him out of his rage. He quickly drew the mist back in, and it recoiled into the room. Grace sighed in relief, thankful she noticed in time—otherwise, Stone and the others would’ve died without ever knowing why. As the second stage of the poison clicked, the chestnut-haired woman clawed at her skin as she rolled on the ground with a bloodcurdling scream. The staff hairs rose on end and the way the new staff saw their henpecked master changed at this moment. Meanwhile, this was happening; Eva and the rest were almost reaching the street leading to Madam Grace’s estate. Eva rode with Aaron on the bus while Ethan and Julian followed beside their beasts. Their journey was fast; the streets remained bare of buses or humans due to the ongoing chaos. They still saw some corpses lying around, and Ethan sighed, knowing their cleaning earlier was just the tip of the iceberg; they had to curb the issue at the source, or more killings would continue. After some minutes passed they finally reached their destination. Aaron parked the car in front of the mansion, his mood remaining happy ever since he found Eva. Eva got down, stretching for having sat for a long period. "Let’s go meet our parents," Aaron announced with a warm tone; his hand stretched to pat her head, but Eva dodged faster this time. Eva was relieved she had dodged in time —any slower and it would’ve been a mess again. "Not my hair, again! Why do you three always go for it? Can’t you just pat my shoulder or back? Does it have to be the hair?" she huffed, stepping a bit farther from him as they walked. "But it’s fluffy.’’ Aaron withdrew his outstretched hands, his expression filled with regret, though his brows furrowed when he heard Julian’s soft chuckle. Ethan’s lips twitched with the hint of a smile, but it vanished just as quickly. Still, his heart felt a little lighter now that Aaron had missed. The entire afternoon, Aaron had hovered around Eva like a shadow—Ethan hadn’t even gotten the chance to speak to her, let alone touch her. Eva clutched her hair and stepped farther from Aaron. His words made her imagine it as fluffy pet fur, worn down by constant rubbing. At least she wasn’t like that; she was considerate when petting fur cuties alike. The wolf beside them sneezed, rubbed its nose with a hind leg, then lay down patiently to wait for its master’s return. Aaron opened the door, and they stepped inside. The house was silent, as if everyone had gone to sleep—though with the endless darkness outside, it was impossible to tell the time. "Wait here. I’ll see if our parents are up." Aaron motioned for her to sit before leaving in hurried steps, but his next action startled Eva so much that her jaws dropped. Aaron walked through the wall like it was a clear passage. "Did he... just...the wall. I must be seeing things.’’ Eva sputtered in disbelief as she rubbed her eyes, but when she looked over, the wall was still there. "You saw right, he walked through it.’’ Julian leaned over as he whispered. Eva turned to him, her eyes wide in disbelief, before she rose to her feet and moved towards the wall cautiously. She ran her hand along the wall’s rough surface, pressing her weight against it in search of some hidden mechanism—anything that could explain how Aaron had walked through it. Ethan watched, amused by her reaction, while Julian laughed without care, wondering when she would find out it was impossible without Aaron’s powers. Eva huffed, frustrated she couldn’t find the mechanism, she gave the wall a last push before returning to her seat in disappointment. "There’s no use trying. It’s Aaron’s shadow powers that gave him the ability to walk through solid surfaces.’’ Ethan couldn’t watch anymore and explained. Eva’s expression changed, and she smacked Julian on his back to vent her anger. "Well done. Had a good laugh watching me embarrass myself, didn’t you?" she snapped through gritted teeth, landing another smack on Julian’s shoulder. "My bad...hahaha...why did you even think you could walk through a solid wall,’’ Julian said between laughter, locking her struggling figure in his embrace, to stop her from hitting him again. His sides ached from laughter. Since Eva entered his life, it had been one hilarious moment after another—and he still couldn’t figure out how Ethan stayed so calm. ’’Let me go! I looked like a fool earlier, and none of you stopped me...what kind of freakish power is that?’’ Eva muttered as she struggled in Julian’s hold. "Isn’t Ethan’s ability to shift into different beasts not freakish enough? You shouldn’t be surprised.’’ Julian nodded to Ethan, observing quietly. "That’s different, his cat form is so cute and soft to smooch.’’ Eva stared at Ethan with a sparkling, desire-filled gaze, making Ethan’s hair stand on end, and he subtly moved to the other end of his seat. Though he secretly enjoyed her undivided attention, he always felt like he lost a few strands of fur whenever she smothered him in his cat form. "He looks cute now because you haven’t seen him shift to one of those Dungeon—’’ ’’Julian! That’s enough.’’ Ethan quickly cut in, interrupting Julian’s unfinished words—and casting him a warning glance. Julian cleared his throat awkwardly, knowing he nearly said something he shouldn’t due to jealousy. Eva gazed back and forth at Ethan and Julian, a suspicious glint flashing in her eyes. She didn’t press—they clearly didn’t want to share—but she snorted loudly enough to let them know she was onto them. Meanwhile, Aaron appeared before his parents’ door and knocked, but some minutes passed and there was no response. He didn’t knock again, knowing both of his parents were light sleepers, his footsteps would have alerted them already. ’It seems they are not in.’ Aaron checked the study, the dining, and the library before he went towards the training room. As he got closer, he heard a muffled sound of pain, and his steps quickened. He slipped through the wall without knocking and froze at the sight inside. "Mum, what did the woman do?’’ He asked quickly, wrapping his shadow around him like a shield. "You’re back, did Eva return with you?’’ Grace’s gaze was filled with hope, ignoring Aaron’s question. Leo’s head snapped up at the mention of Eva, and he noticed his son at the door. "Yes, sister is waiting in the living room.’’ His words instantly made the tension in the room release.