Chapter 148 A Shadow's Explanation

The moment Hesperides spoke, Vivian flinched, ready to disintegrate into bats and hide in some nook – it was a conditioned reflex. Fortunately, Hesperides remembered that this probably wasn't the place for a flying tackle and a flurry of kisses. The bear-child froze mid-bounce from the conference table and greeted Hao Ren and the others with a stiff, forced normalcy.

Vivian, reassured that Hesperides wouldn't suddenly pounce and smother her in affection, finally took a moment to survey the dozen or so people in the council chamber.

Each person seated around the ornate wooden conference table radiated an unusual presence. A mix of men and women, young and old, they all stared at Vivian and Hao Ren. Several faces were familiar – Hesperides, of course, and Gene Lucas, the head of one of the Sanctuary families. The rest were strangers; Hao Ren guessed they were the luminaries from other Sanctuaries that Hesperides had mentioned.

The spacious council chamber felt even emptier with only a dozen occupants, and those individuals were clearly divided into several distinct groups. They sat in clusters around the table, maintaining a palpable distance from one another. This was undoubtedly due to their different races. The vampires and werewolves were the furthest apart, and the rest didn't seem much more cordial.

Hao Ren was completely accustomed to the millennia-old animosity between the supernatural races.

Vivian scanned the room and realized she recognized less than half the people. She gave up trying to recall the names of the rest and led Hao Ren, Izhaks, and the others to some empty seats around the table, showing no awkwardness or hesitation at having barged into the meeting. "Hello, everyone. Long time no see. Anyone here doesn't recognize me? I'm Vivian Anseista."

Vivian's attitude was calm, even assertive – a trait she rarely displayed at home. But Hao Ren wasn't surprised; she always projected this aura when facing other supernaturals. It was the unconscious demeanor of an ancient vampire confronting her "juniors." If she didn't act assertive, she would be ostracized in the supernatural world, where seniority and experience were paramount.

The others in the chamber didn't seem offended by Vivian's behavior. A refined middle-aged man in a black suit stood up from across the table, bowing to Vivian with elegant respect. "Please forgive my slowness, Countess Anseista. I was simply stunned – I never expected you to appear here. You've been out of the world for over a century."

The middle-aged man's gesture seemed to be a signal. Everyone around the table stood up, and despite being from different races and factions – even those opposed to vampires – they all greeted Vivian. The vampires bowed respectfully, the werewolves gave minimal nods, and even the family heads from the Athens Sanctuary joined in the greetings. The whole process was as solemn as a ritual. Hao Ren even saw Hesperides give a slight curtsy.

The scraping of chairs startled Vivian, and Hao Ren and Lily were caught off guard as well. The husky girl stared at Vivian, wide-eyed. "Wow, Bat, you've got a lot of face!"

"Alright, alright, what year is this? You're still hung up on that…" Vivian waved her hand, urging everyone to sit down. She looked curiously at the middle-aged man who had initiated the greetings. "So… who are you again?"

The middle-aged man was about to sit down, but Vivian's words nearly made him miss the chair entirely. He coughed violently to cover his embarrassment. "Ahem, Countess Anseista is such a joker… Oh, right, I remember. You might have forgotten."

The middle-aged man seemed to suddenly remember Vivian's memory problem. He straightened his clothes and introduced himself seriously. "Wayne Walter, an elder of the Blood Clan from the North American Sanctuary. My father was saved by you once, and I had the honor of meeting you several times as a child. Your Grace often visited our family, but the Walter family declined, and after we moved to North America, we rarely saw each other. After our family was revived, my father always wanted to reconnect with you, but he never succeeded."

Hao Ren didn't understand much, but he caught the words "often visited" and "declined." He shot Vivian a strange look, thinking that this woman was truly a sinful creature…

Vivian was also a bit embarrassed. Seeing several other familiar faces preparing to introduce themselves, she started to sweat. Who knew how many family fortunes she had bankrupted? Once this group finished introducing themselves, she'd probably be in debt for billions. So she quickly interrupted, "Ahem, hold off on the introductions for now. I might not remember. I'm here about those shadow monsters. They're called Chaos Shadows, right?"

Hesperides added, "The Countess' Sanctuary was also attacked by Chaos Shadows. Two people were attacked, but they managed to get rid of it themselves."

The family heads and elders stirred. Hao Ren heard people whispering, "It's said the Countess is currently living in Asia. I didn't expect those monsters to have leaked over there." "The spatial coordinates of the seal leak are probably different from the real coordinates." "Three days ago, they were still in South America…"

Hao Ren coughed twice, interrupting the conversations. "Ahem, what exactly are those shadows?"

Some people seemed to notice Hao Ren's presence for the first time. They were probably wondering who this follower of Vivian's was, and hadn't expected him to be the one to ask questions. Gene Lucas and several family heads gave brief introductions of Hao Ren's identity to the people around them. Then Wayne Walter stood up. "It seems Countess Anseista has forgotten about the shadows. Let me explain on her behalf. Our family was something of an ally to the Ancartero family hundreds of years ago.

"Chaos Shadows are strange creatures that appeared in ancient times, during the early days of mythology. In fact, there is debate as to whether it is a living creature, but its activity patterns are very similar to living things. Everyone should already know about the form of these shadows: they are parasitic on shadows, moving on the surface of objects, looking like a 'picture.' They don't need to eat or rest, and they are extremely dangerous.

"Chaos Shadows indiscriminately attack supernatural races, including demon hunters. They are good at lurking and their attacks are difficult to defend against. Their attacks are invisible and intangible, able to use magic to destroy the tissues within the target's body and cause serious mental trauma. These shadows can hide in the shadows and move quickly across the surfaces of various objects, and ordinary attacks can hardly destroy them.

"The only effective way to fight Chaos Shadows is to use powerful dark shadow spells to bind them and banish them to pure shadow space. In pure shadow space, they will slowly merge into the space itself and eventually dissipate because they cannot reorganize themselves. I also heard that the Holy Flame of the demon hunters can fight against those shadows, but there is currently no way to confirm it."

Wayne paused briefly, giving Vivian and the others time to ask questions and think. Hao Ren immediately seized the opportunity to ask, "You said that Chaos Shadows only attack supernatural races?"

"That's right," Wayne nodded slightly. "Including demon hunters and us."

Here, "us" clearly referred to all supernatural beings, including werewolves and vampires. Hao Ren immediately focused on this information. "Humans are not attacked?"

"We haven't heard of Chaos Shadows attacking humans."

Hao Ren was about to mention that he was a human but had been attacked, but then he realized that he was now infused with alien technology and divine magic. He was too embarrassed to claim pure human lineage, so he swallowed the words. But his mind was racing.

Only attacking supernatural races? In other words, only attacking races that crossed over from the Dream Plane? Could it be that the "shadows" were also affected by congenital hostility?

Vivian nodded to Wayne, signaling him to continue.

"There is one more thing to explain about the power of Chaos Shadows: the most dangerous thing about those shadows is not their lethality, but their ability to drive people mad. After being attacked by Chaos Shadows, your mind will be affected and you will quickly fall into madness…"