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WD - Chapter 119: Consequences
🕑 Added 2024-10-09 15:55:07 +0000 UTCLuke abruptly opened his eyes and jumped out of bed. His forehead was covered in sweat, and a bit of drool lingered at the corner of his mouth.
'The same dream again,' Luke thought, watching the daylight filter through his bedroom window. He wiped the drool from his mouth and began to change as he noticed it was nearly two in the afternoon.
His dream was simple and repetitive. It was about Enid looking at him with fear and distrust—an event that happened a week ago when Luke killed Sabrina, or rather Ingrid Spellman, through unconventional methods.
The look he received from Enid affected him, and despite coming out victorious and delivering a hard blow to the Spellmans, he was not in a good mood.
"Weren’t I your hero, and now you look at me like I'm a psychopath?" Luke muttered as he changed clothes. He had also received the same look from Yoko and Divina.
The ones who didn’t look at him that way were Xavier, the professors, and of course, Wednesday, who was unfazed by anything.
Xavier couldn’t deny he was impressed by Luke’s method of killing Sabrina—or rather Ingrid. However, he already knew from Luke, before the blood moon, about Sabrina’s falsehood and that she was still alive, a crazed woman with a red aura who had manipulated Ajax. So, her death didn’t affect him at all.
As for Enid, Luke hadn’t had the time to tell her, since they barely spoke after the promise they made. It was very different from Xavier, who was in his dorm and was his best friend.
“Is it daytime already?” Xavier mumbled, lying in bed and covering his face with his pillow.
“It’s already past three,” Luke replied. Clearly, it was Sunday, and they didn’t have classes, or they would’ve missed two or three entire lessons. Xavier lazily began to get up and change. His stomach growled with hunger.
“Why the frown? Lately, it’s more than usual,” Xavier asked, with dark circles under his eyes, looking at Luke, who was checking his phone.
“I’m the same as always,” Luke answered dryly, without looking up.
“It was easier getting info from Bianca than from you,” Xavier said with a slight, teasing smile.
“Don’t compare me to Bianca,” Luke replied in an indignant tone.
“I’m worried... about Ajax. Is he still ignoring me?” Luke asked to keep Xavier from comparing him to his ex-girlfriend’s attitude.
“He’s still processing the whole Sabrina thing—her true identity. Luckily, he didn’t see how you turned her into a meatball. That would’ve been a serious trauma,” Xavier answered, rubbing his chin.
“I would’ve told him that Sabrina was still alive and that she had actually planned the murder, but you stopped me,” Luke said. As he had told Xavier, he also intended to tell Ajax, his second-best friend, the truth.
"Maybe it wasn't the wisest decision on my part," Xavier said, feeling a bit guilty. He had thought it best not to tell Ajax, as it would have affected him too much and might have made him do something reckless during the blood moon, like go looking for her himself, putting him in danger from her red aura.
“It’s okay, it’s not your fault. If Ajax had known, he would most likely have ended up as Sabrina’s hostage or been killed without realizing it,” Luke said, patting Xavier on the shoulder, leaving his bad mood behind.
Xavier smiled slightly at Luke’s effort to cheer him up. In the past, it would have been impossible for Luke to try and lift his spirits this way.
“Let’s go eat, I’m starving!” Xavier said, grabbing Luke by the shoulder and leading him out of the dorm room.
They arrived at the cafeteria, which had few people since it was an odd time for lunch. While they ate breakfast at two in the afternoon, they chatted about various topics. At one point, Edgar emerged from the necklace Luke wore around his neck.
“A splendid day to enjoy such delicacies!” Edgar said cheerfully, looking at his descendant’s meal.
'Did I bring the necklace with me?' Luke thought as he looked down. While getting dressed, he had put it on automatically.
[Can you smell the food?] Luke asked, having no choice but to talk to the overly enthusiastic, chatty ghost.
Since the end of the blood moon, Edgar had been in a very good mood—too much for Luke’s liking. A week had passed, and the old man was still cheerful, talkative, and constantly making bad jokes.
This was due to the defeat of the Spellmans and the heavy blow they had suffered from the evidence Luke had gathered and presented, which had now been confirmed.
In the week since the lunar eclipse night ended, Luke's collected evidence had been validated. The outcast police agents arrived with a device to play the memory extracts Luke presented. After that, the process and trial were incredibly swift—very different from normie trials.
Anthony, the outcast police officer, had been teleported to Texas, more than a thousand kilometers from Jericho. When he managed to return, he put all his energy into ensuring the culprits were punished accordingly.
Anthony is the head of the Department of Containment of Dangerous Outcasts. As the leader, his political power and strength are considerable.
Besides this department, several others were involved, given that dark rituals, terrorist outcasts, and even the little-known Department of Demon Extermination came into play after information about Crackstone’s resurrection—a demonic normie—was revealed.
It was a very eventful week in the American outcast society. An attack on the most important educational center for outcasts is no joke, and luckily for the authorities, they already had solid proof of the culprits. Once Luke presented his high-quality evidence, all he had to do was sit back and watch the disaster that befell the Spellmans.
Elliot Spellman was demoted from his position on the council. The Central Council, which consists of the highest-ranking outcasts who handle laws, policies, and other tedious matters in outcast society, is made up of 66 representatives from the most prominent outcast families—psychics, werewolves, vampires, gorgons, and more.
It serves as the governing and justice body in the outcast society. However, the concept of justice is quite different compared to normie society, and their laws and culture differ as well.
Three of these 66 families have a member in the Triumvirate. This group acts as the executive leadership of the Central Council. Members of the Triumvirate are selected from the most influential families and are considered the de facto leaders of the outcast community.
Elliot was one of those 66 representatives and had a position in the Triumvirate of the council.
That a member of the Triumvirate was demoted and lost their position is shocking news that shook the entire outcast society. Being demoted and losing a seat in the Triumvirate is a devastating blow to the Spellmans—something never seen before. They had to pull a lot of strings to prevent their punishment from being worse, and thanks to their alliances and coalitions, they were able to soften the blow somewhat.
But that wasn’t the only punishment. Resources, particularly a significant amount of money, were confiscated as part of their penalty. Their political and economic power has been greatly diminished. In the eyes of the outcast society, they were no longer the once-respected, ancient Spellman family.
On the other hand, Luke gained special protection. The Spellmans would no longer be able to attempt to kill him while he remains at Nevermore, even using indirect methods. If they were caught, the punishments would only become harsher with each assassination attempt.
Regarding the matter of Crackstone and the demonic book, Luke was unable to prove the existence of the demonic book. He had learned about it through Atlas’s memories but had no evidence to back it up. Not even Edgar, a former leader of the Department of Demon Extermination, knew of a demonic book hidden in Crackstone’s crypt.
To the outcast society, the Spellmans had tried to revive Crackstone as a means to kill Luke—an abominable and highly criticized act since they attempted to revive the nemesis of American outcasts.
For all these reasons, Edgar was overjoyed. The Spellmans hadn’t taken such a hit in decades, and finally, the Poes had won a round, though the game was still ongoing. If evidence of the Spellmans making deals with demons comes to light in the future, outcasts will be more inclined to believe it due to the events of the Blood Moon.
[I was wondering where Natasha might be] Luke commented to get Edgar to stop chattering.
“Mm, she hasn’t messaged you in weeks. The telepathic link isn’t working. She must be thousands of kilometers away. I wouldn’t worry about her. She’s a survivor. She won’t die easily” Edgar replied, stroking his mustache.
'I hope she’s okay,' Luke thought, concerned. He wanted to share the good news with her, and she was family. The only living member besides him; although she didn’t have Poe's blood, Luke considered her part of the family. If it weren’t for her, he would have died as a baby at the hands of the Spellmans.
“What are you thinking about? Enid, or Wednesday?” Xavier asked, looking at Luke with curiosity.
Luke rolled his eyes at Xavier. This wasn’t the first time his friend had asked about the matter. He was quite nosy—surely a reader of Enid's blog.
Xavier knew about Enid’s promise, as he had accompanied her along with Divina and Yoko and had managed to gather some information. On the other hand, he was aware of Luke’s close relationship with Wednesday. He had seen the goth girl in his dorm.
She appeared out of the shadows and left without warning, often without him even noticing. Usually, she would come to the dorm to watch horror movies that Xavier also enjoyed.
At that moment, Luke’s attention was diverted as he saw Wednesday walking into the cafeteria. Her expression was the same as always—expressionless face and icy gaze.
Luke and Wednesday’s eyes met for two seconds. Then, she continued her way to the buffet, where she began to choose her food.
‘It’s strange… She usually doesn’t have breakfast at this hour,’ Luke thought, following Wednesday with his gaze.
Wednesday Addams was a creature of habit. Luke knew this. She had a set schedule, a daily routine that typically didn’t change.
‘Black coffee with no sugar, burnt toast so it’s completely dark, and a couple of blackberries. That’s her breakfast,’ Luke thought, observing Wednesday’s food choices. It was odd for her to have breakfast at this hour, especially on a Sunday. Usually, she did this in her room while writing her novel, undisturbed by anyone.
‘How do I know all this?’ Luke thought with a strange expression. He shook his head and got up from his chair.
“I’ll be right back,” he said as he started walking toward Wednesday, who was already sitting at her usual table in the cafeteria.
‘This guy,’ Xavier thought with a slight smile.
