The situation in the gallery quickly entered a lull as strange sounds were heard by everyone present.
First, it sounded like stone shattering, and then the next moment, it was closer to the sound heard when glass cracked.
Alex frowned, his eyes hiding the faint annoyance he held in his heart.
At the same time, unlike others who were still trying to figure out what was happening, he had an inkling as to what was about to happen.
It was the same as the encounter at Townsend when Zheztitl casually destroyed Eternal Night.
Of course, the destruction wasn’t as casual as back then but one thing remained certain, someone was trying to break in.
A mere moment after the sound echoed, Eternal Night dissipated like a lie, revealing the initial state of the gallery but with an addition.
There was a hole in the ceiling and underneath that hole, a woman with auburn hair stood upright while wielding a switchblade in her right hand.
She scanned everyone present with an expressionless look on her face before finally discovering Alex.
Both stared at each other briefly, none willing to say anymore.
Elizabeth intended to make a move only to pause as her expression distorted.
Had she skipped something while trying to fulfill her goal?
Then her eyes fell on the four Vampires donning silver armor who were standing a few meters away from Alex with their weapons drawn.
Elizabeth furrowed her brows as she scrutinized the armor while trying to recall why it aroused her.
It didn’t take long before it struck her.
Wide-eyed at the revelation, she once again inspected her surroundings and upon laying eyes on Charlotte, shook with disbelief.
"Unbelievable..." She muttered under her breath before catching sight of Damian not too far behind.
"You bastard," Elizabeth remarked through gritted teeth. "I was willing to ignore your madness since the black market had a few criminals and focus on taking care of the Dark Lord but you just had to overdo things and awaken the Silver Knights?... Are you trying to start a war!"
Damian of course did not respond as he knew that nothing he said would help.
Initially, he planned to kill Alex and be done with it, but his greed caused him to covet the authority of the Dark Lord.
It was unfortunate, but his plans had become quite complicated.
Meanwhile, Charlotte stared at Elizabeth with a complicated expression on her face.
She knew that just like how her kind currently stuck in the Eastern Highlands were preparing for the day they would reclaim their lands, the Great Families were also preparing contingencies to prevent that from happening.
But she would have never expected it to be at such a level.
Charlotte could tell with a glance that Elizabeth was hardly human.
"Homunculus," Charlotte muttered under her breath but this did not escape Elizabeth’s hearing as she glared at her.
As the two women stared at each other, none willing to make the first move, Alex took it as his cue to exit.
Albeit unsatisfied with the circumstances, he knew well enough to not disobey yet another rule he had set during his time as a spy.
Know when to retreat, you don’t have to finish all your battles.
Taking a deep breath, he grabbed Nadia and without warning, snapped his fingers before disappearing in a black-and-white flash.
Charlotte saw this but unfortunately could do nothing about it courtesy of Elizabeth and the same could be said about the latter.
With the arrival of more personnel from the Department of Special Relations, Damian quickly exited alongside Horace after which... the ladies clashed.
The gallery shook from the impact.
Claudia sighed as she sat at Arwen’s bedside, watching intently as she slept peacefully.
It took Claudia having to instill a few mental cues before the latter could get some rest and even then, she was worried that it would end up falling apart.
After ensuring that wouldn’t happen, she slowly rose to her feet and made her way to the door, opening and closing it gently.
Alone in the hallway, Claudia took a deep breath before slowly making her way to the living room.
Her mind was a complete mess as she pondered on several things including Alex’s safety.
She wondered if Elizabeth had found him yet.
It wasn’t that she underestimated the Night King but more about how terrifying Elizabeth was.
Unfortunately, apart from worrying and hoping for the best, there was nothing else she could do.
She soon got to the stairs and with a sullen expression, slowly made her way down only to pause midway through as she discovered the situation in the living room.
There a familiar man stood with an unfamiliar woman laying on one of the couches with Ada standing not too far away.
"You..." She trailed off as the man glanced in her direction.
The corners of his lips curled slightly as he remarked. "Glad to see you again."
Claudia’s cheeks immediately turned red as she wondered what he meant by that.
’Does he know that it’s because of me Elizabeth came for him?... Is he here to kill me?... And who’s that beautiful woman with him?’
So many questions bombarded her mind, leaving her slightly disoriented and still with no answers.
Gulping hard, she tried to stifle her rapidly beating heart as she spoke up with a bow. "Greetings to the Night King."
Alex acknowledged Claudia’s greeting as he inquired. "What about your friend?"
"...She is fine, thank you."
"That’s good." Alex nodded thoughtfully before glancing at Nadia.
A moment later, she woke up with her long eyelashes fluttering open.
In an unintentionally sensual voice, she asked. "Where am I?"
Alex replied. "In a safe place."
Then in a softer tone, he added. "Good job. You did well back there."
Nadia was flustered for a moment, taken aback by Alex’s kind words.
Unsure of what to say, she managed an awkward smile while gently nodding.