If it was before, such a thing might have disturbed him, he has even frightened him, but he had seen so much, this just made him curious.

Rowan had also not detected any malice from the gaze, merely something similar to his own—Curiosity.

Whatever the female that was birthed by his bloodline was, she was different from his Ouroboros Serpent. He did not fear this difference, for if his plans were to be actualized with this bloodline, what he needed was not another hammer, but a scalpel.

He heard a series of soft knocks on the door, it was Diane announcing the meals were ready and he stood up. This was a habit that Rowan was determined to still keep.

Opening the door, he smiled at her, and she grinned. Balance was necessary for everything in life.

Rowan enjoyed the meal and the discussion that followed. The family were far more lively in their discussions with him, and Diane was a fountain of wit and comedy.

He was also surprised that Trevor was something of a musician himself, as he sang a raunchy pub song with a deep baritone. Olga blushed while Diane looked around the table, clearly missing the subtle sexual undertones in the lyrics.

Rowan was sure that what also lowered their inhibitions around him was the wine he gave them, although it was slight, the alcohol slowly crept over them, and they lost themselves in the delight of a good meal in a warm kitchen.

And for the first time in what seemed like forever, Rowan smiled.

©

At the field of battle that Rowan’s Ouroboros Serpent just left, the two-Second Circle Dominators spoke to their Commanders and applauded them for their competence in battle, they also praised the rest of the soldiers for their valor, promising a feast tonight, which brought a loud cheers from the audience.

They smiled and talked to everyone within their sight after consoling the commanders for the losses of their soldiers, the male was the one who was clearly in charge, and his voice was not loud, but it reached every single Dominator in the field.

After he felt he was done, he proceeded to fly towards the floating tent and the woman rested her head on his shoulder as they flew over.

She stretched out her hand, and making a gesture, she dispersed the enchantment covering the tent, and they entered inside, a flash of light again showed they had re-engaged the enchantments once more.

The moment they left the gaze of the soldiers, their countenance changed and they both began to shiver, and cold sweat poured from their brows.

The state of the woman was worse, as her legs seemed unable to support her waist and she collapsed bonelessly onto a padded chair, while massaging her brows and giving out small moans of pain. After a while, their condition recovered, but the fear did not leave their eyes.

“What the hell is that Melusine.” The man shivered again and turned to the woman, he came behind her and began rubbing her shoulders and massaging her neck, “I have never felt anything like that before.”

“I don’t know Lyosos.” She weakly replied, “But the presence of something like that makes the situation on this Continent dangerous. I think we should leave this place as soon as possible. Whatever that thing was, this Continent should be its Domain.”

“Did you catch sight of it?” Lyosos said, as the fear in his eyes had slowly begun to retreat and a hint of contemplation began taking its place. The act of massaging the body of the partner made him relax, and it seemed to have the same effect on her.

Melusine sighed, “I didn’t. All I knew was that it was most likely in the sky, yet its presence felt overwhelming, as if it was all around us, yet I could not read its intentions. It just felt like… a mountain on my soul, and it was crushing it slowly beneath its weight. I could hardly breathe.”

“It was that bad for you?” The tone of Lyosos became solemn, “I know you are particularly sensitive to energy fields, but that seems excessive. I could only feel a general sense of dread.”

He paused while considering his next words, “Do you think a Third circle Dominator is on this Minor world? Or are there alien beasts of such power here? Why would a being of such power be allowed to dwell inside a Minor world and its presence had not been detected? What the hell is the Boreas family doing? Those damned merchants!”

“Slow down. I don’t know the answers to any of those Lyosos. But if it wanted us dead, then it would be difficult to escape that fate.” Melusine rubbed her forehead, “This was supposed to be an easy job.”

The tent went silent for a while before Lyosos spoke, “we need this job to exchange for the Maiden Tears, already we have sunk a sizable fortune to recruit these mercenaries. The way I see it, we have two options before us.”

Lyosos walked around and knelt in front of Melusine, so they were at the same eye level, “We can either leave this planet, and try our luck with other tasks while releasing this mercenary band as their contract only covers their participation in this hunt, we don’t have the finances to whip up another elite band like this for a while.”

“Or we go to a much larger Continent like Krakow. The hunt there is more vicious, but the space is more expansive, and the chances of crossing paths with higher powers are lessened. What do you think?”

“I don’t know Lyosos, something feels wrong about what I sensed. It would be better if that was a Dominator because so far all of the beast we have slayed were insane. If it is an alien beast with sentience, then we could be in danger.”

“Say the words Melusine, and we would pull back from this world. We still have 500 more years to gather resources for the Maiden Tears.”

“Don’t be daft Lyosos, if we wait that long, we shall lose all chance of Ascension. The spot for the higher ranks is getting closed, and if we don’t find a way to ascend in the next 200 years, we are stuck forever in this realm, and death would be our portion.”

“So we are moving ahead with it?”

Melusine was quiet as she brought out the Data Slate and looked at the list, the name of the mercenary band they created was called : Kaden Mercenary company, currently they were now at the 15th position, as they had just skipped three positions. Their goal was to make it into the top tens.

“We are close. A bit more push and we can make it. Let battle as we head towards Krakow then.”

Lyosos grinned and hugged her. “We made a promise that we would live and die together, and I want you to know even if we get to live for another year or ten thousand more. Every single moment with you is the happiest a man can ever be.”

Melusine melted in his arms and a few moments later, sounds of pleasure emerged from the tent.

®

Rowan had been disappointed at the lackluster showing by the Second Circle Dominators, but unknown to him, it was partly his fault for the poor display.

Rowan had reduced the presence of the Ouroboros Serpent and made it reduce its size to a few feet while travelling far above the ground.

Yet he had still underestimated the powers of the Serpents and the sensitivity of Second Circle Dominators, also he had a bit of bad luck as well, for the Dominators he came across had bloodlines that were uniquely sensitive to Auras.

He considered the Energy Signature his Serpent gave off as weak, but he had a blind spot because of his level of powers and him never truly understanding the capabilities of other Dominators. Although he reduced the energy signature of the Serpents, he did not disperse its Aura.