Chapter 242 242: Not My Presence

"Is this the right place?" Atlas stood near a river with the others. Other than his own group, there was no one in sight, especially the people they were here to meet.

"That's correct. It was decided that we'll be meeting here," Lilith affirmed.

"Are we early or are they late?" Lucius also asked.

"They are late," Lilith answered. "Even though it's said that Witches are supposed to be quite punctual, in reality, that's not the case. Then again, I think it's because they are also preparing."

"I called all the Witch Clan leaders here. Most probably, before getting here, they are meeting someplace else so they could come in a group for protection."

Even though Lilith wasn't a hundred percent sure as to what was keeping the others delayed, she could take a few educated guesses.

"I wouldn't blame them." Atlas walked closer to the river. "They should be quite scared of this meeting as well, at least in coming alone. However, that doesn't change the fact. They'll have to work with us if they want to succeed and survive. If they don't, then it's their wish."

Before getting here, Lilith had already made sure that there weren't any traps here that could be placed by witches in advance.

"What if they betray us and come here with the forces of the Empire?" Lancaster also thought of a reason that could be behind this delay. "That could also delay them. If the Witches made a deal with the Empire instead of us, we might have landed in a trap."

"They won't do it," Lilith refuted the possibility. She didn't believe the Witches would go to the Empire, at least not before listening to what their side had to say first. And even if they did, that could be handled when the time came. For now, they had to focus on the task at hand.

"They are coming." Atlas was just about to sit near the river when he heard some movement. He was just a fraction of a second faster than Lucius and the others, who also sensed some movement.

They all looked in the same direction, noticing leaders of nearly twenty Witch Clans coming together. All the leaders didn't come alone either. Each of them was accompanied by one more person from their clan behind them.

Most of these people were complete strangers for Atlas, but there was one he recognized. In the group of twenty, there was an old white haired woman who looked like she was in her seventies. Behind that woman, there was a young lady in her twenties.

He remembered the young woman that he met in Carlisle's City. He had even worked together with her for a brief period of time before everything went south and he lost himself to the Blood Urge.

After the last time he saw her, he hadn't expected to see her again. At least not in a place like this.

The young girl also recognised Atlas in the distance. She was already informed that the person she had met before wasn't an ordinary Vampire as she had initially assumed. Instead, Atlas was a Progenitor.

All the Witches dropped five metres away from Atlas' group, slightly surprised to see three Progenitors before them. They had expected to see Atlas and Lilith only, but there were two more Progenitors and two Royal Wolves?

Almost none of them recognized who Vor really was. However, from his mark, it was clear to them that Vor was a Royal Werewolf and a powerful one at that.

The old Woman named Alisi stepped forward. After the Franc Clan was destroyed, and the leader of another clan killed, her clan was the strongest. She was also the temporary leader of this group.

"Castiel, Lucius and Atlan. I've heard a lot about you three," The old woman greeted the three Progenitors first. "It's good to see you."

"You forgot to add Lord before our names." Atlan frowned. "We are much older than you, little girl. Don't you think it's a bit disrespectful for you to address us with our names?"

Even though he was on quite good terms with Atlas and Lucius now, showing his good side, for others he was still a Proud Progenitor.

He was also much older than the old woman who dared address them with their direct names.

The old woman's face twitched. Even though Atlan was right that he was older, it didn't mean she couldn't address them with their names. Now she was supposed to be the leader of the Witches.

"May I ask why you all called us here?" she asked, changing the topic. "We were told that you wanted to talk about something important. And seeing how many significant people are here, it does seem to be important."

"That's right. We called you here to discuss something with you," Lilith agreed. "I'm sure you already heard the announcement recently? There are people in our world who have waged a war on earth."

"We need your help in taking them down, because if we can't, the earth will be destroyed along with your Clans and everyone you care about. So this war is as much ours as it is yours," she stated.

"Aren't they here to capture him though?" The old woman asked, glancing at Atlas. "If they catch him, they will have no reason to attack anyone else, like last time."

"That's where you're wrong," Atlas chimed in. "This time, their intentions aren't limited to me. This time the person who is leading them wants to set an example by destroying this world. The only reason they aren't doing it directly is because they want to catch me first."

"In other words, it's not that my presence is keeping this world in harm's way. Instead, my presence is what's protecting this world by preventing them from destroying this world directly," he further clarified. "As long as they don't catch me, they will keep destroying and killing whatever and whoever they can find. But as soon as they catch me... They will be much more direct in destroying earth."