Angel Monarch-Chapter 304 : The Scar of the Angel

Sera and the others continued to talk outside the tents for twenty minutes straight. They eventually asked Henry to speak with Vicky, but upon returning, the tents seemed emptier.

Many parents went home or to work, leaving their children here. Everyone waited for Vicky, playing together; however, they were now gone.

They all looked at each other, then rushed towards the smaller tent's entrance. Before entering, they heard laughter echo from inside, but none of them processed it. They let their worry towards Vicky lead them.

All three stepped inside with concerned expressions, but what they found was truly heartwarming. Sera feared the other kids might bully or make fun of her daughter, but the exact opposite happened.

They were all sitting on her bed, painting each other's arms, necks and faces with ink, making lines similar to Vicky's scars. They all laughed and giggled while doing so. Vicky was painting a seven-pointed star on Lydia's forehead when her parents burst inside.

In that moment, she felt a bit of dread, but instead of hiding, she grabbed Henry's hand for support. His nearness brought a calming effect on her, and she also needed to stay conscious while holding hands. If she squeezed too hard, his hand would break.

Henry gave her hand a reaffirming squeeze while he watched the adults' reaction. Confusion gripped them, then joyous grins erupted on their faces. Pride filled Bran's eyes as he spoke first.

"Well, what's going on here? You think you can just sneak inside without a word… Even worse, you are having all this fun without even inviting us?… This just won't do! I demand someone paint me too!"

This declaration shocked everyone, but especially Vicky. She just stared at Bran with bewilderment, but before she could process it, Bea also stepped forward.

"Oh, I want one as well! Preferably one that matches my daughter's beautiful face!" declared Bea ecstatically.

Vicky's eyes turned teary by her words, and both Bea and Bran sat down close to her. Sera still stayed at the entrance, looking at everyone with an unreadable expression.

She remained bewildered, speechless. She felt perplexed by their interaction, and simply couldn't find the right words to express herself.

After losing her emotions, Sera learned many people value actions more than words. So instead of saying anything, she summoned her glaive as a thin needle covered in her flames.

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While staring into Vicky's white eyes, she moved the needle to her face and made a quick cut. Blood boiled as the needle entered her skin. A diagonal line ran from between her eyebrows, across her left cheek, ending by her jaw.

The exact same scar as Vicky had now existed on her mother's face. Everyone stared at Sera with either awe, disgust, shock, or love.

Most of the kids felt disgusted by the smell of burnt flesh, except Henry and Lydia. Henry froze in pure shock, while Lydia stared at her god in pure awe and reverence. Bea and Bran just shook their heads with self-deprecation. Naturally, she topped them both.

Vicky's eyes felt wet, and soon tears made their way down her cheeks. Before Sera could've reacted, her daughter already teleported into her arms, sobbing on her shoulder.

A small line of blood left her burnt flesh, but Sera quickly wiped it away while continuing to hug her daughter. As happy tears wetted Sera's shoulder, a warm fuzzy feeling grew within her heart, and a small smile spread across her newly scarred face.

A few minutes later, Vicky ended the embrace, and regarded her mother with surprise. The scar on her face hadn't healed yet, which was odd considering her Ascended constitution.

"Mommy, why is your face not healing?" asked Vicky curiously.

Sera's smile widened as she knelt in front of her and gave a small kiss on the top of her head. Vicky giggled as her lips brushed her white locks. Afterward, her golden-green eyes looked into Vicky's white ones with intense love and protective care.

"Its not healing, because I decided it won't. The scar will remain as a permanent mark for my love towards you, my perfect… My perfect little… angel…"

Uttering those words proved incredibly difficult; Sera fought back a recoil as a shiver went down her spine. But all the effort was worth it, just to see Vicky's reaction. The largest grin Sera had ever seen spread across her daughter's face, and she quickly clenched back onto her.

Getting Vicky to end the hug was a challenge, but eventually they ended up on the bed with everyone else. They continued to paint each other. Sera's presence weirded the kids out at first, but every time anyone took a glance at her, Vicky began growling.

She continued hugging Sera's hand throughout the evening. Later, she felt comfortable enough and left Sera alone. Instead, she climbed onto Bea's lap, and let her other mother braid her long, white, lustrous hair.

When the sun was setting, Sera, Bea and Bran all left for the next planning session between the city-states. Vicky remained with her new friends, under the watchful eyes of the other parents.

Before leaving, Max's father informed them that the kids would go to his and his wife's place for the night. He asked if Vicky could go with them, and both Sera and Bea agreed.

Knowing that separating the kids after a distressing night and morning wasn't the best choice, the parents collectively agreed to another sleepover. It wasn't a school night anyway, since it was Saturday.

After further discussion with the parents, Sera, along with the others, departed for the operations room. A large-scale war demanded planning, which meant a long, sleepless night awaited them.

…

The dark corridors were barely lit by the few lights above. Cells extended endlessly on either side of the hallway. In each cell, about ten human-like beings sat patiently.

They each glanced at the woman walking down the corridor, but they would quickly lose interest in her.

The scarred woman ignored the cells. Her eyes remained bored as she walked down towards the end of the corridor. There, at the end, sounds of misery and hopeless pain echoed. The screams brought a smile to Scarred Sera's face.

The residents didn't even seem to notice the screams, but why would they? It was like background noise, similar to the sound of water drops hitting the damp stone ground, or the sound of metal cutting flesh. It was all part of the atmosphere.

Scarred Sera continued to the source. The corridor felt unusually long; however, this was just an illusion. She quickly reached the last cell, where the screams originated from.

This cell differed from the rest. Nobody lived inside, and the only furniture was a long bloody metal table with a young woman strapped to it. Above her stood an old man in a hospital gown covered in the woman's blood. In his hand, a syringe and a scalpel rested, waiting to be used.

"Why are you still screaming so loudly?" Said the old man under his breath. "You should've already lost your mind… Hmm… Ah, how forgetful of me! I forgot to cut away part of your frontal lobe! Let me fix that real quick!"

Harold muttered quietly while he grabbed a saw and began working on the woman's skull. Her screams became guttural as she felt every bit of pain.

She couldn't even fall unconscious. Every time her body tried to save her from the pain, Harold pushed the syringe inside. The syringe's contents revived the woman, renewing her screams.

"Stay there, Reject! Be with you in a moment!" said Harold, without looking at Scarred Sera.

He always referred to her as Reject. In Harold's eyes, she was much worse than her twin. Her emotions always convoluted everything. He tried wiping her memories, changing her personality, giving her enough trauma to last for many lifetimes, but nothing worked.

Scarred Sera always stayed unstable, but that's not what Harold needed or wanted. With instability came confusion, questions, and worst of all, order rejection. Well, she didn't outright refuse orders, but her instability caused frequent failure.

She tried not caring about the nickname, but it especially hurt when her twin's nickname was Little Angel. She knew it was only a stab at Hollow Sera's feelings, since that's her daughter's nickname, but it was still much better than Reject.

But Scarred Sera wouldn't show any hurt on her face. She learned to bottle up all her turbulent emotions in front of Harold. With emotionless eyes and a bored expression, she watched as he carefully lifted the piece of skull, and with the scalpel cut away from the woman's brain.

Her screaming continued to intensify until suddenly it stopped. She didn't fall unconscious. Her eyes remained open; however, no life left within her gaze. There was nothing left of the woman. The tiny glimmer within each person's eye vanished from hers without a trace of its existence.

"Finally!… Now just the last step…" he murmured, then placed his hand on the woman's chest. A small glow appeared there, and the woman's body spasmed.

A few seconds later, all her muscles contracted, and a silent gasp resounded within the room. A faint glimmer reappeared in her eyes; however, she remained lifeless, but not like a corpse, instead she was similar to a puppet.

Harold approved the outcome, dismissing the woman to a nearby cell. The Puppet didn't make a single noise. She arose and left; leaving them alone. While wiping the blood off his hands, Harold nodded at Scarred Sera to begin the report.

"The Puppets were a great success, Master! Their resurrection proved extremely difficult to deal with for most Evolved, while their weapons were great at killing or permanently damaging them!… They will be invaluable on the battlefield!"

Harold just nodded dismissively. "Yes, I know… It proved to be a good choice to use Dwight's and Legion's powers when making the Puppets. Their resurrection, and zombie-like control, combined with your resurrection, made the perfect obedient army that no Evolved can stop!"

For a few minutes, he stayed silent, consumed in his thoughts, then he noticed Scarred Sera was still there. With an annoyed expression, he explained his next thoughts.

"The final battle is near. The lines had been drawn, the armies are readied, and now everyone waits for the first group to make their move… We need to be those! So get all these Puppets ready! When the time is right, we march to war!"