Luke was driving the Audi at a moderate speed back to the Addams mansion. The car was the same one Natasha had used when she followed the Addamses from Nevermore.
The car belonged to Luke. Natasha had bought it with the money he earned from his books. Only a few weeks ago, he had turned 16, which allowed him to get his driver's license.
Although, due to his young age, he needed an adult in the passenger seat with a valid driver's license until he turned 16 and a half. But Luke didn't really care about that. If he were pulled over, he could use a bit of his mental power to make the police see his birth date as meeting the requirements when they looked at his license.
'The party's at nine,' Luke thought, glancing at the time as he turned onto the curve leading to the road toward the Addams mansion.
The trees were tall, with thin trunks and sparse foliage. The road was gloomier compared to the previous streets. If you came here at night, you could only rely on your car's headlights, as there was no electricity from this point onward.
Luke was curious to meet more members of the Addams family. From what little he knew, there were three main branches. Gomez's father (may he rest in peace) had two other brothers.
From those brothers, there were Gomez's cousins, who should also have children, continuing to spread the Addams lineage.
Currently, Gomez was the head of the family, though from what Luke had learned, he wasn't part of the council of 66. Most likely, Gomez found it bothersome and dull to attend those meetings.
It was obvious that Fester wasn't interested in dealing with the family's political issues either. Most likely, one of Gomez's cousins (assuming they weren't as odd as Gomez and Fester) was handling the family's position in the council.
On the other hand, there was Morticia's family, the Frumps. Luke knew little about them, only that they were part of the Six Great Families.
The families that make up the Six Greats are: the Poes, the Addams, the Frumps, the Spellmans, the Faulkners (Nathaniel Faulkner was the founder of Nevermore. Wednesday once found his journal, which contained information about the Hydes. His psychic powers teacher, Charles, belongs to this family), and finally the Von Drachens (Eleonora Von Drachen was the founder of the Academy of Dark Arts).
To Luke, the Addams were a family overflowing with eccentricities, with an unusual joy for the macabre and complete disregard for social norms, especially Gomez, Fester, and Eudora.
In contrast, the Frumps (as Luke deduced from meeting Morticia recently) seemed dark, gothic, and sophisticated. Where the Addams are loud and bold in their appreciation for the morbid, the Frumps are elegant and enigmatic, displaying a deep connection to mystery.
Wednesday and Pugsley would be a blend of both, as they carry the lineage of two great psychic families.
Another strange fact is that it's rare for psychics from the Six Greats to marry each other, as Morticia and Gomez did. Generally, there's a significant rivalry among these six — or rather, five — families. They don't want a talented family member to end up taking another family's name. For instance, as happened with Morticia, who left behind the Frump name, instead of having her husband take the Frump name.
Additionally, Wednesday and Pugsley are Addams, not Frumps, which is another loss for the family. All it did was strengthen the Addams line with even better psychics.
Luke learned these things thanks to Natasha. He had spoken to Edgar very little since he stopped leaving the necklace. His anger toward the ghost for not telling him about his parents was now gone.
Thanks to Edgar, he had managed to increase his strength and truly harness his auras. He wouldn't blame him for something his parents had decided and not him. It only bothered him that Edgar hadn't told him, but he had already let go of that anger.
'Is he in some sort of hibernation?' Luke thought as he drove along the bumpy, straight road.
Lost in his thoughts, Luke then sensed something more concrete: a murderous intent, subtle yet unmistakable, directed right at him.
The silence of the road was shattered by a sharp, deafening blast. Luke reacted in an instant, jerking the wheel, and immediately an impact shook the car.
He felt the brutal vibration as the bullet hit the rear tire, blowing it out with a loud bang and sending the vehicle to the brink of losing control.
On the verge of overturning, Luke used his telekinesis to stabilize the vehicle. An invisible force steadied the car, which was traveling at over 60 km per hour.
He precisely balanced it, absorbing each twist and jolt until the vehicle came to a sudden, safe stop, with the chassis still vibrating under the strain of his control.
The surprised look on Luke's face was gone when he stepped out of the car. His gaze was icy, his domain fully extending in its full splendor. He managed to see the Addams mansion about 5 km away.
At a distance of 2 km, he could spot three auras. Two were unfamiliar, but one he knew very well.
'That damn kid won't give up,' thought Luke, recognizing Pugsley's aura from 2 kilometers away.
Even before expanding his domain, Luke knew the attack wouldn't be from the Spellmans—they'd be looking for his death if they attacked him so close to the Addams mansion, or even in New York, since that was Addams territory.
That's why Natasha had allowed him to run his business there, and she didn't worry about his safety.
It was obvious this was that damn brat who couldn't stop trying to kill him!
At first, Luke had taken it as some kind of joke or the strange games the Addams played, especially since when he complained to Wednesday or her parents, they just brushed it off.
He'd been more patient, too, given that he'd kissed Wednesday right in front of Pugsley just to annoy him, knowing the kid was already in shock from finding out his sister had a boyfriend. But this had now crossed the line of what Luke was willing to put up with.
The kid had attacked him with a damn sniper rifle!
The other assassination attempts had been easy enough for Luke to avoid. But this time, it had been close. If not for his observation haki, he might have ended up seriously injured or with a bullet between his eyebrows.
'You won't escape,' Luke thought, his mind filled with murderous intent. In an instant, he launched himself off the ground at blinding speed in Pugsley's direction. He didn't care about the two strangers—if they got involved, he'd turn them into mush.
…
"You missed, little Pug!" exclaimed a tall, skinny boy with binoculars in his eyes, watching as the bullet hit a tire, making it explode.
"What a shame!" said another boy, identical to the first. Same height, same hair color, same eyes. Both wore amused smiles, as if what Pugsley had just done was the most normal thing in the world.
"Tsch," Pugsley clicked his tongue, annoyed. He was lying on the ground, one eye peering through the sniper scope.
"Oh… we've got a problem," said the boy with the binoculars. He watched as Luke looked straight at them, despite being two kilometers away and hidden in the bushes.
"What's wrong? Is he going to hunt us down?" asked the other boy, sounding excited and grinning widely.
"Yes, he's coming straight here. Flying…" the boy replied, removing his binoculars.
Pugsley had already gotten up from the ground. He'd seen Luke take off towards them, and a new fear started to grow within him. Luke had never attacked him before—surely this would be the same, right?
"His speed is insane. Run!" shouted the tall boy, starting to sprint along with his twin brother. Pugsley didn't hesitate either. He didn't care about leaving the rifle behind; it wasn't even his.
"Cousin found herself a good partner, hahaha!" shouted the boy, realizing that the rumors about Luke's multiple auras were true. They saw him using telekinesis and clairvoyance to locate them. Only the blue aura was missing.
Though all three were pretty fast, the twins made sure to keep up with Pugsley, not wanting to leave him behind. But the speed of a preteen couldn't compete with Luke's flight, and he caught up to them in no time.
The three turned around as they felt a presence land behind them, kicking up dust, dirt, and leaves.
Seeing Luke's furious expression, they realized they'd messed up, but the twins kept their excited, amused smiles, thrilled by the imminent showdown.
The two young men stepped forward, shielding Pugsley from Luke.
"Run, little Pug!"
"We'll handle him… or try to! Tell our parents we died with the highest honors!"
"Don't get in my way!" Luke snapped, his voice cold and without a trace of patience, barely sparing them a glance. He had no interest in knowing their identities.
Both of his fists, cloaked in telekinetic waves, shot toward them at high speed, crashing into two stone shields the brothers created. The large, square shields of solid stone had been summoned from their own hands.
However, stone was little match for Luke's telekinetic force. With a deafening crack, the shields shattered into fragments that flew in all directions, and the impact sent the twins hurtling through the air like ragdolls.
Pugsley barely had time to react as a blur shot past his left, followed by another flashing past his right. The twins' bodies flew until they crashed into two trees.
He couldn't help but take a step back, his heart pounding in his chest, paralyzed as he saw Luke's face for the first time, overflowing with murderous intent and fury.
"What's wrong, kid? Try to kill me now if you dare," Luke said, walking toward Pugsley and cracking his knuckles, considering what punishment would make the boy stop bothering him.
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