Elizabeth felt disappointed and lost in her own thoughts, her eyes vacant. Jason gently patted her hand and stood up, ready to leave. Lisa glanced at Elizabeth, realizing that there was nothing more she could say or do, and followed Jason out of the room.
"I know nothing about this," Mr. Kote sighed to Jason as they descended the stairs. "To be honest, I'm not a qualified father. Half of the reason why Elizabeth is like this today is my fault."
Jason shook his hand and replied, "It's not your fault. Some things are destined to happen, and changing them can be difficult. Perhaps this will help her grow stronger. Sometimes, bad things can turn into something good!"
"Let's hope so!" Mr. Kote thanked Jason again and nodded to Lisa, preparing to go upstairs and accompany Elizabeth. His only focus now was to help Elizabeth recover as soon as possible.
"Kote..." Jason suddenly called after him. "Have you heard of Lamia?"
Mr. Kote paused for a moment, then nodded. "I've heard of it, but... it's just a myth."
"The creature that injured Elizabeth yesterday was a half-human, half-snake monster," Jason stated and walked away.
Mr. Kote was stunned. A Lamia, a half-human, half-snake creature. He had indeed heard of it, but he thought it only existed in myths. Now he realized that the world was far more complex than he had imagined, not just limited to werewolves, vampires, and maybe zombies.
Jason walked over to his pickup truck, with Lisa following and opening the passenger door for herself. She looked at Jason and said, "You're really cruel. Couldn't you have lied to her? Or told her after she was healed? That damn bastard deceived Elizabeth."
"This is reality," Jason replied nonchalantly, starting the car and making a U-turn towards Lisa's house. "No matter when I tell her, her reaction will be the same. The root cause of all this is Hill Stevens, the bastard you mentioned. I admit, he's truly despicable. Unscrupulous."
As Jason drove, he chatted with Lisa.
"Why don't you teach him a lesson? You're so powerful..." Lisa pouted, still dissatisfied.
Jason shook his head, feeling somewhat helpless with this girl. Throughout the years, he had never dealt with a girl's emotions like this before. "If being powerful meant I could do whatever I wanted, I would have ruled the world by now. At least I would have ruled the town of Harold. Isn't that right?" He chuckled to himself.
Lisa looked at him oddly, pursing her lips. "You think that's a joke? It's just terrible."
Jason paused for a moment, shrugging. "Well, I'm not good at telling jokes, I admit. But... Elizabeth's situation is something no one can help with. She has to overcome this darkness herself."
Lisa fell silent, understanding the reasoning in Jason's words.
Not only Jason felt troubled, but Hill Stevens was even more worried. He had completely lost track of the monster now. It seemed that he couldn't use the Kote family anymore, especially with Jason there and having warned him.
Currently, he was sitting in a hotel room in Laredo, gazing blankly outside as the sky gradually darkened. Where would the monster hide now? It became an urgent issue he needed to resolve.
Since he couldn't use Elizabeth anymore, he could only hope that there were other anomalies in this city worth utilizing. Looking at the now dimly lit streets of Laredo, he slowly walked out. He was still dressed in his suit and hat.
The nights in Laredo were indeed beautiful, though not as dazzling as big cities like New York or even Houston. Yet, its charm was still undeniable.
A car glided slowly towards a villa and the electric gates opened. The car entered, and a person stepped out and entered the lobby. The car was driven away by the chauffeur.
The lobby was brightly lit, and an elderly man with a serious expression sat on the sofa. He glanced at the person who had just entered and pointed to a nearby seat, motioning for them to sit. A servant came over and brought them a cup of coffee, which the person took a sip of, calming their nerves.
"Father, everything has become clear. Elizabeth Kote hasn't been attending school for the past few days, and her father took leave for her. We only know that she's injured. As for how she got hurt, we don't know. But the police found a car near a forest near Harold Town... Here are the photos of the car. It belongs to Elizabeth." The person handed over a stack of photos.
The old man took the photos and frowned after looking at several of them. The car was completely destroyed. It seemed to have experienced a significant impact.
"And... the last few photos weren't obtained from the police. I personally went to investigate because I roughly traced the chase route and found this place... These are the photos." The person's expression turned grave as they looked at the old man. "I believe this... will become our threat."
The old man flipped through the last few photos, and his hand trembled, almost dropping the pictures. The scenes captured were horrifying, with a large area of withered vegetation. He took a deep breath and looked at the person. "Thor, I think... I think we should leave. Things are far more serious than we imagined."
"How serious could it be?" Thor Gustin looked at his father and said, "Father, we've been here for so many years, settled here for almost a century. Why give up just like that?"
"Lamia--" Robin Gustin, the old man, wore a stern expression, his eyes filled with panic. He looked at Thor and said, "Do you know why we moved here in the first place? It's because we were running. If Lamia reappears in this world, it will be a disaster."
A disaster? That seemed too exaggerated. Thor Gustin, somewhat puzzled, said to Robin Gustin, "I know what Lamia is, a half-human, half-snake woman, who was known for having an affair with Zeus, but Father, this is all just mythology..."
"Maybe it was in the past, but it's not now!" Robin Gustin drew in a deep breath, then stared at Thor Gustin, "We fled from Europe to here. Our ancestors came from Europe because they were escaping persecution. Don't think that vampires are the most powerful beings in this world. No, not at all!"
Thor Gustin quieted down, listening attentively to his father's words.
"We fear many things, like silver. We were once afraid of light. Though we're not anymore." Robin Gustin's voice was low, his gaunt face could not hide his aging, "But we paid the price with our lifespan. Ever since we were able to live in sunlight, few of our vampire family have been able to live past two hundred years. My father died in his early 130s. My grandfather died in his 150s..."
"Father..." Perhaps sensing Robin Gustin was getting off topic, Thor couldn't help but interject.
"I know..." Robin Gustin continued, "The reason we fled Europe was because of Lamia. They are a very ferocious species... half-human, half-snake, with a powerful attack, and they can cover their aura, often launching surprise attacks."
"But... why us? Why did we have to run?" Thor asked, puzzled.
"Because creatures like us are the perfect snack for Lamia. We can heal their damaged bodies and enhance their abilities, which is why we..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the lights in the mansion flickered and went out.
"Ahh—" a scream echoed, seemingly from a servant in the mansion.
Then there was silence. The silence in the dark, which made both of their breaths catch as if the air had become water-like, oppressively difficult to breathe.