Gwen had witnessed a flash of golden light come from the tower where she had sensed the local Horde King was located in moments before. Only for Zane to vanish into thin air the second after she looked back to where the man was standing.
In that moment, Gwen suddenly remembered a tale she had once heard from Lilith prior to Zane's taking of her head. A tale of a Tier Five Horde King in the far east that even the likes of Ophelia and Balthazar would avoid, if at all possible.
Tabitha... The name rang throughout Gwen's head as she realized that Zane was in big trouble. She instantly began sprinting as fast as she could to the tower where the golden light had shone from, racing against time to find Zane before his spirit was forever taken away from this world.
After all, Tabitha was a unique existence among Horde Kings. Having sacrificed her entire horde for significant power, only for it to have been in such abundance that it drove her completely mad. To the point where it was impossible to communicate with her rationally.
She was liable to attack anyone who entered her domain. Even one such as Balthazar. Among the Tier Five Horde Kings. Balthazar might be the most powerful, but that was when one took into account everything that could be attributed to a Horde King's power.
Tabitha, on the other hand stood at the peak in terms of individual power. Capable of ripping the reality of the world apart with her own delusions, and trapping her prey into a realm of insanity for all of eternity. Or at least until their spirit had been completely sucked dry by her.
Gwen understood now why the undead that stood in the streets were petrified, as if they had become stone statues of themselves. These were the victims of Tabitha's sacrifice. The ultimate price to have been paid in pursuit of power.
The young Tier II Horde King could only hope that she was not too late as she rushed off to Zane's rescue.
---
Zane stood in the misty streets of Seoul, watching the Horde King wobble around in the fetal position on the floor. Crying as if she had just watched a family member get dissected by organ harvesters.
He honestly felt kind of bad for the mighty Horde King. After all, it appeared as if she wasn't all there in her head. Because of this, Zane tried his best to muster a friendly smile as he approached the young woman. Trying to snap her out of her current depressed state.
Harlot, now where did Zane hear that word before? Just when he was about to assure this mysterious Horde King who had suddenly latched onto him, something peculiar happened. The mist dispersed, and the streets began to fade away.
Soon enough, Zane found himself in the ruins of a luxurious penthouse. One that appeared to have been turned apart by a particularly violent storm. Standing in the doorway was Gwen, who immediately yelled at Tabitha, risking her own life to buy time for Zane to escape.
"You fucking whore! I don't care how powerful you are! You let go of my big brother this instant! Tabitha!"
As if there was some sudden clarity in Tabitha's mind, she dropped Zane by the wayside and gazed upon Gwen's figure. Earlier, when she had kidnapped Zane, she did not get a good look at Gwen. Or perhaps she simply wasn't in the right state of mind to remember.
But now, how could she be mistaken? Her teeth began to grind as she pointed at Gwen, shouting at her, demanding to know how she had managed to break her realm.
"You... You're Gwen, right? Lilith's little sister.... How the hell did you do it? Nobody has the ability to break my realm. Nobody except for me!"
Gwen stared at Tabitha as if she were crazy? Break her realm? What the fuck was she talking about? She literally just opened the door and found her clinging onto Zane. What the hell was this realm she was talking about, anyway?
Tabitha looked back and forth at Zane and Gwen. She no longer recognized who Zane was, or the fact that she had been psychotically clinging to him, and calling him a little brother just now. She was quick to ask just how exactly the two of them got into her private residence.
"And you.... I don't know you. What are you doing here? How did you get into my room? You both have a lot of nerve trespassing in my domain without properly introducing yourselves! I know you're a couple of low tier Horde Kings, but honestly, even you should know how to properly greet your superiors!
I'm assuming you're Lilith's lackey as well? I'm going to have to have a word with that bitch about this! I mean this is just fucking unprofessional is what it is!"
Both Zane and Gwen were deeply confused about the sudden clarity of mind that Tabitha had just received. But regardless, now was their chance to properly escape from her clutches. And because of this, they had both silently begun to plot a scheme to get the hell out of Seoul once and for all.