“Where is Nerea?”

The answer came as broken syllables and screams.

Jacob could have maybe given the two a little respite, given them a few more minutes to spill the tea. But could he afford to waste those minutes?

“How far from here, roughly in your travel speed?”

Jacob listened to the broken words and screams, used to this melody of death. Their souls were slowly being torn apart. He could feel his own Mana converting into the necessary foul energy needed to power the ritual he was using.

Thankfully, it didn’t consume much Mana. Max had been a freak for efficiency and Jacob could probably torture these two for days before he hit the bottom of his fuel tank.

Thinking why Max devised this ritual to be so efficient, Jacob felt his skin crawling. With The Necromancer’s reserves and natural Affinity, he could have kept it going for years. With the right catalysts, forever.

“Two hours of travel from here?” Jacob pondered.

That’s for them. Nerea could probably come ashore in ten minutes from wherever she’s based.

“Is your Queen in the waters or is she out eating?”

‘Eating’ was slang for ‘conquering’ since Nerea didn’t just go for a bite. No, she would feast on countless lives, and then repopulate the deserted cities with her spawns. Blood Magic could do things to fertility that would make even the most deranged person shiver.

More screams and broken fragments of speech came from the two. Jacob had learnt in time how to piece together the screams and how to manipulate a part of the Formation to act as a sort of automatic translator. Again, Max always thought of everything.

Could I kill her if I killed myself?

Would it be worth it?

Jacob put his life on a scale’s arm, and Nerea’s on the other.

If he had the certainty he would slay The Eater, would he take it?

Maybe?

He remembered Epagogia’s words, her tears when she talked about the difference between herself and Helena, how they both mattered in a completely different way for him.

So, the answer was ‘no, not unless Helena were to die.’

Jacob would not give up on her.

Never.

Never again.

And if she went down, he would—better not to engage in certain thoughts.

“She’s awfully close,” Jacob murmured.

If The Eater got to St. Liam, they would all die.

Was Hektor stronger than her?

Probably not.

Fuck.

“So, is she eating?”

Jacob started piecing together the incoherent responses thanks to the Formation.

She’s taking Greece.

Jacob asked a few other questions and then killed them.

They did not know how strong Nerea currently was.

This was bad news. Bad, bad news.

He went over to the people in the Formation the two Tritons had set up. The mass of mostly naked bodies was too far gone to be saved. Jacob gave some relief to those people and sighed.

The sigh was the only human reaction he had had since starting the torture.

Jacob sat on the ground.

He did not have a vast range of choices. Greece was on the other side of the Adriatic Sea, but it wasn’t that far for Nerea. No one was faster than The Eater, the Hungry Tyrant.

After ten minutes, Jacob heard some footsteps and saw Juliet barge in, flames coating all her body. Behind her, an inconspicuous man followed in tow.

It can’t be, right?

Jacob laughed hysterically, losing it for a second.

“Jacob! What happened here?!” her face paled as soon as she saw the two limbless body laying on the ground.

The man on her side puked his insides out, and almost fainted. Juliet had to actually take him under his shoulder to save him from falling face-first into the ground.

“Juliet, leave that man’s arm, please,” Jacob said.

Fucking stupid Karma. It can’t be, right?

“He’s Bob, Jake, he’s ok. He was trying to help two men in the street. I also managed to cure them and—”

Jacob sent her some clear signals through the Ancestral Bond.

Juliet’s eyes widened and she immediately backed off from Bob.

“Ha?”

The man looked at the girl and he fell on his knees, still weak for all the blood around him.

“Bob, I heard your name before. You were around one of the first families who got infected, right?” Jacob bluffed hard. He needed just a little nudge more.

“Oh, yes. I don’t know why this plague didn’t affect me, but it seems to affect people randomly. I stayed with the Moretti family.”

“Yes, it does affect random people, doesn’t it?” Jacob’s grip on Kevin was extremely tight, but a twisted plan was hatching into his mind.

He wanted to wait, to gather his strength, to cut down his enemies in the same way he had done in his past life. But what if he adopted a different strategy, a smarter approach? Not a good one in the ethical sense, but a damn good one if they wanted to win the war against other monsters.

Jacob still did not know whether Hektor had been turned or if he had got back already on Jacob’s side. But this was the moment for a bold move, to take some monsters and pitch them against each other.

“Well, Bob—or should I say Doctor?”

Bob looked confused, a reaction so natural it would have fooled anyone.

“Let me tell you, Karma’s a bitch, pal.”

Jacob put his sword in front of himself and grabbed his forearm.

Aura Synchronization, 0.000009%