Chapter 1065: Precaution
Silence tore through the aircraft’s control room like scissors through fabric, sharp, abrupt, and suffocating in its intensity. Neither Rider, Bringer, Bryan, nor Tiara could believe what they had just heard.
They doubted their own ears; they questioned their own minds, each of them wondering if their perception had somehow betrayed them. They didn’t dare to think or believe that Anthony was joking or playing around. If he had said it, then he was serious about it, and that alone made the weight of his words far heavier than anything else.
They weren’t shocked at the thought of killing someone, nor were they unsettled by Anthony killing someone he had never met or who had done nothing wrong to him. Each person here had taken lives without hesitation, had crossed that line long ago, so none of them cared about the concept of murder itself. What left them truly shaken, what gripped them in an invisible tension, was the target; Drake Bloodmoon.
They couldn’t begin to imagine the rampage the Blood Queen herself would unleash if she found out that her son had died; surely, she would deploy her entire force without restraint, and the world itself would tremble under the overwhelming might of the Vampire Domain, a force that did not forgive nor forget.
After a moment, their shocked expressions slowly faded, replaced by colder, more calculating looks; after all, they too stood on the same level of importance as Drake Bloodmoon, and assassins constantly targeted individuals like them. Meaning, if Drake Bloodmoon died, it would be... nothing new in the grand scheme of their world, yet undeniably shocking due to the identity involved.
Eyes gradually shifted towards Tiara as they all awaited her decision; to everyone present, this was undeniably the perfect opportunity for Tiara to save herself, and there was nothing inherently wrong with it. Besides, nobody would suspect her; after all, she personally did not possess the power required to kill Drake Bloodmoon, and she had been with Anthony throughout, making her an unlikely suspect in any investigation.
And judging from Anthony’s tone, calm yet decisive, there was undoubtedly a method to kill this two-faced Vampire without anything leading back to him, without leaving even the slightest trace behind.
All that remained now was Tiara’s decision; sacrificing someone else to secure one’s own survival was not anything new within this world, it was, in many ways, the very foundation upon which their society stood.
Tiara remained silent, her mind drifting to the way Drake Bloodmoon had treated her over the past five years, the memories surfacing vividly, yet the moment they appeared, they vanished just as quickly, as though they had never existed in the first place.
Her decision was made; his death, her freedom. The Blood Queen could only be blamed for her own greed, for creating the very circumstances that led to this moment.
’But what if Anthony lowers Drake’s Bloodline Grade instead?’ she thought to herself, the idea forming briefly within her mind, yet she did not dare to voice it out loud. She wasn’t foolish enough to assume that Anthony had not already considered such an option; the fact that he chose to kill Drake instead meant that he simply could not be bothered to go through the unnecessary process.
Her eyes met Anthony’s, crimson red clashing against sky-blue as she asked, "what if she finds out?" Her question was entirely valid, grounded in the harsh realities of their world.
"How would she?" Anthony asked, his expression unchanged, the same faint smile resting on his lips as though nothing about this situation was particularly concerning to him.
"I’m sure you know about artefacts that allow one to see various things, or individuals known as the Seer who are capable of reading fate or perceiving fragments of time to a certain extent; these things could expose you, and when they do, it won’t take even a second for the Blood Queen to connect her son’s death to me," Tiara explained, her tone steady but carrying an underlying tension.
At her words, everyone nodded in agreement; even Bryan had come to learn that the Omni Peak Academy possessed its own Seer through the Principal, further solidifying the credibility of her concern.
Tiara needed reassurance, something concrete to anchor her decision upon. Although she had witnessed Anthony’s power firsthand, she had never seen the Blood Queen in action. At her current stage, she had no means of accurately determining who stood above the other in terms of absolute strength.
So, if Anthony had no way to bypass such methods of detection, then it would be far wiser not to accept this so-called alternative solution, as it would inevitably lead to far greater complications than she was willing to face.
"Your words have some truth in them," Anthony responded truthfully; in reality, he had never considered such possibilities, and that was simply because he had never needed to. With the Perfect One skill, originating directly from the Authority Of Information, Anthony had never once been concerned about being discovered in regard to anything he wished to keep hidden from the world.
"But don’t worry, the Blood Queen can never find out, no matter what artefact or Seer she uses or hires," Anthony concluded, his tone calm yet unwavering, filled with absolute certainty.
Tiara gave a small nod, yet even then, doubt lingered faintly within her mind. Nothing in existence was ever truly one hundred percent certain. If there was even the slightest possibility, even a mere one percent chance of being discovered... ’no, I should stop hesitating, who knows when next I will receive such an offer, one that comes without cost or strings attached,’ she thought to herself, forcefully steadying her resolve.
"Besides, you’ve seen me resurrect millions of people; hiding the death of one is nothing. And even if the Blood Queen finds out, I can simply kill her as well," Anthony added casually, giving a light shrug as though he were speaking about something entirely insignificant.
His words sent another wave of shock through those present, the sheer ease and calmness with which he spoke of killing the Blood Queen leaving a deep impression on all of them.
Tiara’s eyes flickered for a brief moment; her resentment towards the Blood Queen far surpassed that which she felt for her two-faced son. After all, everything that had happened, everything she had endured, could ultimately be traced back to the Blood Queen herself.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to her, sharp and immediate, and her eyes snapped to the side, darting across the room in quick succession. Her senses expanded outward, spreading throughout the aircraft as a subtle panic began to take hold of her; she feared that her guards might have overheard her conversation with Anthony and would report everything back to the Blood Queen.
"If you are looking for your guards, then they are on your own aircraft along with the Storm Brothers’ guards as well, and don’t worry, this entire aircraft is completely soundproof under my control; even planted listening devices or feedback of any kind will not function," Anthony stated calmly, his voice steady and reassuring.
His words immediately caused Bringer and Rider to recall that they had completely forgotten about the guards in the first place; a collective sigh of relief escaped them as they realized the extent of Anthony’s precautions.