First, Alice explained about what went on with the teams. She told him that everything went smoothly, the engineering team managed to get them electricity, with minimal issues, which made Lily a bit peeved since she was the one who dealt with those 'Minimal Issue'. The werewolves and Melissa's team managed to gather enough meat and water to last them...a while, as she put it. She was unclear about how long it would last with a demon's appetite. Leia's team managed to salvage electronics, clothing and sheets, while also creating a map of the town. She also told him about each team suggestions that they could talk about at a later time. Each team leader was proud of their achievements, especially Bartus who has created something he has never before.
All in all, Colin was impressed by what they have accomplished in the last two or so days since he has been gone. They performed better than he expected. Next, Lily explained to him what happened with the portal in town, she told about the four vampires who came through the portal, after which they managed to seal the portal.
"So, these vampire, they are rogues and are not associated with any family correct?" Colin asked
"Yes, that's right." Lily said
"If that's the case, then they have two options, they can either join our family or die." Colin said in a sinister tone and Lily sighed. She knew those were the only two options, but she didn't expect him to put it so bluntly.
"No we can't do that, Calliope is only a child. We can't, we just can't. Can't we use a contract or something? They could even stay here." Alice asked on the verge of tears.
"No, I don't know whether or not a contract can be broken, I doubt even Lily and Bartus can guarantee that there is no way to break a contract. If they leave, they would tell the demons that are after us where we are and I can't confine them here forever, they would be a drain on our already limited resources." Colin said and he could feel a twinge of pain in his heart, seeing Alice's tears
"He's right, we can't confine them here forever, and we can't guarantee their secrecy. Those are the only two options they have, if they are smart, they will choose to join the family." Lily said with a sigh, before continuing her explanation. After the mass evolution, the werewolves started fighting because of the influence of [Pack Mentality], weakening a large number of the fighting force. She also mentioned that Paul won, which caused him to bow his head in shame. He was aware that if they weren't fighting at the beginning, they would have had an easier time in the fight against the windigos. Even though it wasn't his fault they went berserk in the first place.
'I should have guess that skill was trouble the moment I saw it.' Colin thought as Lily continued her report.
"Alright, I get it. So we all succeeded in most of our goals, but the portal is a big issue. Do you guys have any ideas on how to stop it?" Colin asked
"You are tier 5 now, so you should have a [Demonic Core] right? You should be able to cancel the portal out with that, but with how inexperienced you are with the skill, I'm not sure it would work." Bartus sighed and Colin thought for a moment, before getting an idea.
"I have a better idea." He said and in his hand, a white metallic box with golden runes appeared, causing black smoke to rise from his hand.
"That, that's the [Holy Core] I took from the mansion in City I. I never asked what you wanted to do with it." Leia said and Colin smiled
"Have you never wondered why your family ability is always grey and dull unlike your other skills and traits?" Colin asked and both Paul, Leia and Melissa looked at him confused while Bartus had a look of realization on his face
"I see, that's it." He said with a knowing look
"Can you please explain?" Melissa asked a little impatiently
"Your family ability hasn't been activated yet. And to activate it, you need to be exposed to a large amount of holy energy. I activated mine when I was exposed to a large amount of holy energy during a fight in City B." Alice said, with a little less excited than her usual self
"Correct, so I'll plant the core near the portal. It should absorb the demonic energy in the portal disabling and also give us a way to activate your family ability. A win-win situation." Colin said as they arrived at the portal. The area around the portal was littered with the corpses of dead wendigos, additionally, the portal has disappeared to the naked eye, but Colin could still see the thin crack in space with his [Chaos Eyes].
"There is one problem you haven't thought about, how exactly are you going to program the size? If that thing is left uncontrolled, it will expand over the entire town, which will be living headache for my guild." Bartus said, looking at Colin skeptically.
"I'll use my [Chao-], my [Demonic Core] to keep it in check." Colin said and all of them noticed the slip up but chose not to comment. Though Alice and Lily were looking at him with suspicious eyes.
"That is if you can even control your domain to that extent." Bartus said skeptically
"Have you thought about where you are going to even place your [Demonic Core]?" Lily asked
"I thought I'd just put it in my room." Colin said and Lily sighed
"Yeah, no, that's not a good idea. The amount of energy it will produce will be overwhelming and will only grow with time. It would be annoying if the hotel was filled with thick black mist and we could see anything or sense anything with [Aura Vision]. So, you should place it underground near the defensive array. That would be more convenient and it would provide more energy to the defensive array." Lily suggested
"Alright."