Chương 4: Eradication

The man who saved Raine gently placed her on the bed before grabbing the booklist from her hands. He looked at Raine as he whispered, "It would take hours for you to wake up. You will be safe here until then."

He stared at Raine for some time. She seemed to be having a dream taking on the look of a sleeping beauty waiting for a prince to kiss her from her slumber. But… he was not her prince, he was her nightmare.

"Enjoy your dream, Princess…" he whispered before leaving Raine inside the room.

'What is this?' Raine mused as she opened her eyes and saw a familiar place. Her eyes widened, realizing she was once again inside her dream.

She stared at the man and the little girl not far from her. The man with a cigarette was her father and she was that little girl.

"A Mirage is an optical illusion; something that you think you're seeing but isn't actually there. To look at, to wonder at," the man with a scar on his right cheek recited before sucking on the cigarette he was holding. The burning smoke of tobacco filled his mouth, an amused smile adorning his face as each word he spoke let out puffs of cigarette smoke.

"That's the dictionary definition of Mirage… No wonder the founder of our group named it Mirage. Such a brilliant name, don't you think? People questioned the real existence of this group. Yet, we present ourselves as an illusion to them, making them think that we don't exist," he added as he threw his cigarette away before staring at the King of Moon Clan, Arthur.

"Ahh, this is a sight to behold... the King on his knee like this... tsk..." Marcus, the scarred man, mocked with a click of his tongue.

"You won't get away with this, Marcus! Father will not let this go!" Arthur hissed. His eyes were burning red with anger directed at the man before him.

"We will see about that, Arthur. You know, Father is dying too. And who knows? He might even join you very soon," Marcus laughed as he boasted. "Don't worry, though, because I will take good care of the twins from your first wife so all of you can be together soon. Ah, and of course your werewolf wife and son too…"

"What…"

"Did you really think that you could hide it forever? The real identity of your second wife?" Marcus gloated further. "I am afraid I have to eliminate everyone but the top priority is the son that you're hiding. I heard your youngest is different from your other kids, Arthur. Is that why you kept the existence of the boy a secret from us?"

Arthur's eyes widened in terror, making Marcus laugh even more before it faded as he yelled, "That boy could be a threat to our group! You're an even greater disappointment for allowing monsters inside our clan, Arthur!"

"No! You can't do this! We need a fair trial, Marcus! You can't just wipe my family and my followers like this without giving us a chance to defend ourselves! It's against our law! Don't harm Nathan!" Arthur roared. "He's a good boy!! He is not a monster. He can control himself and his powers just like his mother. He is an extraordinary child. He will not be a threat, Marcus!"

His words seemed to go by unheeded, however.

"Why are you doing this?! I am your brother, for heaven's sake! If you're doing this just because you want the throne, then I'll l give it to you! Just spare my family! Please!!" Arthur pleaded desperately. He could not believe Marcus planned a genocide when his family treated him like their own blood!

Marcus leaned closer to him before whispering into his ear, "We don't share the same blood, brother… So technically, we are nothing but strangers."

"Y-You knew?!" Arthur gasped as his eyes widened in shock.

Marcus no longer answered, only giving Arthur a cold stare as he placed the business end of his gun against his forehead. "Death is the only thing permanent in this world for humans, my brother. We humans should remain superior even though we have no supernatural powers. Co-existence with monsters is impossible. Goodbye, Arthur."

*Bang*

Marcus looked at the little girl beside him and said, "We must eliminate humans protecting or sheltering monsters. These monsters will rule the world unfairly. You must not show mercy should you encounter these kinds of people or monsters in the future."

The girl, who was only seven years old, simply nodded before staring at the lifeless body of the man she used to call 'Uncle'. There were no emotions in her eyes. Emotions were only for the weak, as her father would always say. And she was not weak.

Her father signaled her to walk beside him, so she did. They walked past the pile of bodies killed by her father's men, some of them looking as if they drowned in their own blood. Fluids of different colors seeped from the grotesque pile of bodies, and yet all had that same metallic pungent smell. She covered her nose at the abhorrent scent.

"Why are there different colors of blood?" she asked.

"Vampires have dark red blood whereas wolves have black blood… Those two monsters are the most dangerous of all the supernatural creatures living among us," her father explained.

"Green, brown, and the other colors are the blood of other creatures disguised as humans. Only humans have red blood, my dear."

Her father knelt beside her and placed a hand over one of her shoulders, "Raine, you are an exceptional kid because not all humans are like you. You are gifted because you were born with special blood like your mother. You will be the Moon Clan's pride… Look around and familiarize yourself with these monsters your uncle secretly sheltered and protected for all these years. Go and participate in their eradication..."

Raine nodded and continued walking around the vast territory owned by her uncle Arthur. Observing what was happening, these so-called "monsters" burned all around her. She could hear their screams of agony as they got tortured, burnt alive like the subhuman garbage that they were.