Conquering the underworld with my beautiful dragon wives-Chapter 44: The Hunters’ Blood Pact — The Lie War
The thick fog was still lying on the ground like a heavy gray blanket.
Inside the shelter, you could hear everyone breathing hard. Heavy, nervous eyes everywhere.
Each person was stuck in their own fear, anger, or confusion.
And then, in the middle of all that silence, Ethan’s voice cracked like a spark in the dark.
"We fight. But we break their game... with a lie."
Everyone froze for a sec.
Fayra frowned, small flames dancing around her fingers.
"You do know lies are cursed here, right? Anyone who lies, gets trapped. Did you forget about that burger guy?"
But Ethan just smirked.
"Yeah... but not when I make the rules."
Rain, still standing by the door, gave him a long look.
"What do you mean, kid?"
Ethan picked up the book — the one he promised not to open. Blew the dust off.
"I’m still keeping my promise. Not reading it... but I’m gonna use it."
Alice raised a brow.
"How?"
Ethan flipped through the pages... all blank.
Except one damn golden page.
On it, it said:
"Write your truth..."
Ethan took a deep breath, grabbed the old pen Rain had pulled from the corner.
"We make a lie together. A lie they can’t tell apart."
Luna, still a bit stiff from the ice on her leg, asked,
"How?"
Ethan pressed the pen to the page.
"By writing a fake truth."
Rain scowled.
"You’re gambling."
Ethan looked dead serious.
"Exactly. I’m lying. But here... when whatever you write becomes true... my lie turns real."
Fayra stared at him.
"If you screw this up... if this book works backwards..."
Ethan breathed deep.
"Then we’re all dead."
Silence.
For a moment.
Then Fayra, with that small flame floating around her hand, quietly said,
"Fine. Let’s do this."
Ethan pressed the pen hard on the page and wrote:
"We are not the hunters. We are the masters of the pact."
Everyone held their breath.
The ground shook.
The shelter walls lit up for a second.
Voices came from outside.
Mina’s voice:
"Them... damn it... Master?!"
Berg and a bunch of hunters came into the woods.
But they stopped.
Like people suddenly lost in doubt.
Rain quickly looked out the window.
"It worked. They... they don’t know who the master is anymore."
Ethan, sweat dripping down his temple, whispered,
"Yeah... now we’re the hunters... and they’re the prey."
Then — the sound of deep drums came from the valley.
And a hunter’s voice sang:
"Blood calls blood... Pact claims the liar."
Alice closed her eyes.
"They’re starting a blood oath. They’ll hunt down anyone who lies."
Fayra grinned.
"Perfect. Because now... the liars are them."
Ethan turned to the others.
"We need to get to the center of the valley... where the blood altar is. That’s where the real pact was made."
Rain leaned against the wall.
"That’s the heart of the game. Every hunter’s gonna swarm you."
Ethan said,
"That’s why... on the way, each of us tells one lie. The biggest lie we can. A lie so good we fool even ourselves. That way... when we get there, the pact breaks."
Luna shrugged.
"Cool. I’m good at lying."
Everyone laughed.
Scene: Moving through the mist
Outside, everything was dark. The fog even thicker now.
Sounds were weird and stretched.
Ethan walked ahead.
Beside him, Fayra, Luna, Selena, Alice, and Rain.
Then Mina’s voice called from somewhere in the mist.
"Don’t run... the game’s not over..."
Rain stopped.
"We gotta split. They’re after me. You guys head straight to the valley."
Ethan placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Thanks, old man."
Rain laughed.
"I can still knock a few down."
The Lies on the Way
Alice went first. She whispered,
"I... I never loved Ethan."
The mist shook around her... but small sparks lit up.
Just like a truth she couldn’t really hide.
Luna laughed.
"I’m the queen of the Ice Valley. I’m a thousand years old."
For a second, the ground under her froze.
Like her lie was turning real.
Selena quietly said,
"I’m... Mina’s sister."
Ethan turned.
"What?!"
Selena grinned.
"Yup. Or maybe not. In this game... doesn’t matter what’s true."
Fayra calmly whispered,
"I had tiny wings from the start."
Ethan looked at her.
His eyes shook.
Alice smiled.
"It’s a lie. But... see what it does?"
Ethan hesitated.
Then said,
"I’m... human."
The mist trembled.
But nothing happened.
Fayra smiled.
"Guess that wasn’t a lie, huh?"
Ethan said nothing.
The Blood Altar
When they reached the center of the valley, a huge black stone altar was burning inside a ring of red fire.
Hunters surrounded it.
Mina was there.
Berg.
A few others.
And — standing at the top of the altar... a man with a golden mask.
Selena whispered,
"That’s him..."
The man spoke in a rough voice.
"False masters... welcome to your ceremony."
Ethan looked at everyone.
"Ready?"
Fayra drew her flaming sword.
Luna raised her ice spear.
Selena held her dagger.
Alice grabbed her notebook.
And Ethan...
had the same blank book.
The masked man said,
"Every lie... gets exposed here."
Ethan stepped up.
"Alright. I’ll go first."
He picked up the pen.
Wrote:
"We are all dead."
For a moment — everything froze.
Even the flames.
Mina screamed.
"No... impossible!"
The fire went out.
The mist faded.
The hunters disappeared.
And... the altar cracked apart.
Ethan, exhausted, dropped to his knees.
Fayra caught him.
"Is it over...?"
Ethan, with a tired grin, said,
"Yeah... the bigger lie won."
Rain, from behind, waved.
"Not bad, kid. That’s one way to win."
Alice quietly asked,
"What are we now?"
Ethan closed the book.
"People who made it outta hell’s game... with a lie even stronger than theirs."
Everyone, tired and worn out, headed back to their cabin.
A cabin that was right there in plain sight for everyone.
A cold wind blew through the bent branches of the trees.
The weak evening light slipped through the half-dry leaves, and the soft sound of crickets filled the air.
Ethan was standing by the wooden ledge in front of the cabin, staring at the horizon — right where the sun was slowly fading away.
Fayra, leaning back on an old chair while spinning a small blue flame in her hand, said,
"What’s on your mind, king of the woods? Planning another runaway mission, huh?"
Ethan sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair.
"Nah... not this time. Actually, I’m thinking about staying."
Luna, cleaning her small sword, quickly looked up and said,
"Whaaat, you mean we’re finally gonna fix up this crappy old shack? I’ve been saying since day one — this roof’s gonna fall on our heads any minute now!"
Selena, with her usual frown, looked out the window and said,
"Not just the roof. This whole place’s a joke. A bunch of rotten wood. One blow and it’s gone."
Alice, flipping through her little notebook, calmly said,
"Considering the recent attacks and the growing danger, the smartest thing would be strengthening our base."
Ethan turned, his back to the view.
"Exactly what I’m thinking. I don’t wanna be sneaking out the window in the middle of the night again when some bunch of sword-waving masked freaks come after us."
Fayra smiled.
"So, what’re you gonna do about it, hero?"
Ethan took a deep breath and said,
"We’re turning this place into a real safe house. A place where anyone who steps close knows right away — you don’t mess with us."
Luna, super excited, said,
"Yeah yeah! Like, we should have a secret door! And a basement! And a watchtower! And... a big kitchen!"
Then she paused, a little embarrassed,
"The kitchen’s for me... you know why."
Ethan laughed.
"Alright, a kitchen it is."
Selena said,
"First thing’s first — we need a wall. Not a weak wooden fence. A thick stone wall, so if anyone tries to break through, the sound of those stones cracking will wake up the whole damn forest."
Fayra clapped her hands together.
"I can draw magic signs on it too. Like a flame barrier! Anyone who touches it — poof, fire!"
Alice, without even lifting her head, said,
"We should set up a couple of invisible traps too. Ones that only trigger under special conditions. That way we won’t have to worry about innocent people."
Ethan smiled.
"Good... I love it. So that’s the plan."
