While Ashton was 'searching' for Alina, his summons were busy wreaking havoc all over Fright city and the surrounding area. Nirvana had never been struck by such a series of 'terror attacks'; therefore, their sole response was: panic.
Nobody knew who these mysterious people were or what their objective was. The only thing the undead legion was confident about was that none of their secret facilities was safe.
In the last month, out of the seventy-two training and RnD facilities had succumbed to the dominance of 'shadowy' creatures. These creatures silently crept through their defences, and before the security was aware of their presence, they would've already lost the battle.
Soon the news reached the ears of the rulers, and to say they were displeased was an understatement. Hundreds of officials were deployed to sort the mess out, as Fright City was an important town for them.
The sooner they could get the situation under control, the lesser the damages would be. Not to mention they won't have to lose any more of the secret projects their scientists had been working on.
Sadly, out of the hundreds of representatives sent to Fright City, none proved helpful. Those who seemingly found a clue regarding their shadow crisis disappeared overnight, and those who didn't were as clueless as the rest of the capital.
"They have to communicate somehow!" The Governor slammed his fist on the table, "It's impossible to execute plans with such precision and tact simultaneously without it!"
"We have tried, sir. Despite the best of our efforts, we haven't been able to-"
SMACK!
The assistant's head flew through the window as the rest of her body fell lifeless to the floor.
"Always negative news... I gave you bastards all my power to hunt down those terrorists, only for you morons to prove how useless you can be?"
The remaining undead hung their heads down both in shame and fear. Although the Governor's anger was justified, it was directed in the wrong direction.
The bastards were literal ghosts who came in, took their targets down and disappeared into thin air. No one who saw them was left alive, which led to speculations that one could die just by looking at them, and that's why it was so difficult to fight them.
What could they possibly do against a group like them?
But as usual, the Governor wasn't ready to believe their theories. The man was only concerned with results and wanted them fast. As for anyone who tried to talk some sense into him, they had their heads sent flying out.
However, before the Governor could sever any more heads, his HoloCaller-- holographic phone, rang. One look at the caller ID drained the colours from his face.
"Get lost." He calmly mumbled, and the people were more than happy to oblige his request.
Once the room was empty, the Governor went to his knees and accepted the call. A moment later, a massive Frankenstein-lookalike monster was standing before him.
The President was in no way related to Frank because the undead can't have biological offspring. But since he was a great admirer, the President decided to alter his physique to resemble their progenitor and fool the crowd into suppression, even in a virtual 'democracy'.
The Governor did not dare raise his head but greeted the 'President' of Nirvana, formerly known as a king roughly two centuries ago.
"Mr President, y-you could have asked t-this lowly-" The Governor blurted out but was cut short by the President, which wasn't a good sign.
"Report." The President's voice echoed through the chamber.
The thought of lying entered the Governor's mind for a moment, but he quickly shut it down. The price of deceit won't just be his life but being turned into the President's boy toy for sickening experiments.
"Sir, my men have proved to be incompetent bastards. But rest assured, I will catch those terror-loving bastards soon!"
Having no way out, the Governor was forced to admit the failure and incompetence of his 'juniors'. That's right, none of it was his fault for offing dozens of capable employees on a daily basis, but the fault of those working under him.
The President didn't seem affected by words any longer. Blameshifting was a thing of the past. But if someone was going to stick to the past, then that's where they belonged... in history books.
Much to Governor's surprise and perplexity, the President abruptly ended the call without speaking another word.
"That's weird-"
Before the Governor could think anything, the room was suddenly filled with odourless white smoke. Despite realising what the gas was, there wasn't anything the Governor could have done to change the outcome.
"Why... no! LET ME OUT!!!"
He desperately slammed his fists on the door as his undead immortality was slowly stripped away from him. The next moment, he realised he could breathe again, and his rotten heart began to beat rapidly. Within moments, the gas had turned into an ordinary human.
"No... please... no..." The Governor mumbled as the gas dissipated out of existence after finishing the job.
But the worst was yet to come.
The next moment, the doors were kicked open and in walked a lone man, covered in black from head to toe. However, the man was no ordinary undead or even a human.
From his back, six tentacles popped out, each with its' unique shape and purpose. The Governor tried to fight back, but against the man in black, his efforts were in vain. Soon the tentacles violently entered his body through the mouth before plastering his flesh around the room.
Once the job was done, the man called someone, and the President answered, "Is it done?"
The man nodded.
"Good. I hope you will not disappoint me as that fool did." The President asserted while massaging his forehead, "I'll call you in a week to see your... progress."
***
Somewhere else in Fright City...
Ashton's plan had worked, and Fright City was now under his rule. Albeit, no one was aware of it. Ashton had taken pointers from them when the undead silently threw Lycania into disarray. Now it was his turn to make them taste their own medicine.
'I bet those motherfucks are turning in their 'graves' by now.' Ashton thought as they exited the club.
[I genuinely thought handling the undead would be trickier than this. But it looks like they are just as weak as the rest of your planet.]
'Don't underestimate them yet. Who knows what trick they could be hiding under their sleeves.' Ashton replied, 'After all, they store most of their alien tech in the capital. If anything, I believe the worst is yet to come.'
[Spoken like a true pessimist. Besides, it's not like they will send an alien after you, haha!]