Lunar Legacy: Rise Of The Beastlord-Chapter 249: Lycan Queen

Snow crunched softly beneath Jayden’s boots as he materialized into the arena. A vast expanse of white stretched around him, cold air biting at his skin.

Seated calmly on the snow was Ava, dressed casually, her hair falling loosely around her shoulders. She looked up, caught sight of him, and waved with a smile.

Jayden approached, a teasing grin tugging at his lips. "You really have a thing for picking freezing arenas, huh?"

Ava shrugged, her eyes glinting with amusement. "I find snow comforting."

Jayden stopped a few paces from her. He didn’t sit. His posture was easy, but there was tension beneath... his instincts telling him to be on guard. "So," he said, eyes narrowing slightly, "are we here to fight... or chat?"

Ava tilted her head, lips quirking with mischief. "That depends on you."

Jayden raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

But Ava didn’t answer. She switched topics instantly, voice lilting with intrigue. "I watched your fight with Hercules," she said with a smile. "It was exciting how brutally you defeated him." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Jayden sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah... I got angry and lost control," he muttered. "I didn’t mean to go that far,"

Ava chuckled softly. "It’s okay. No one’s blaming you. After all, It’s just a game," she chuckled. "And the other players now see you in as untouchable. They scared of you."

"Though It’s hard not to be, given the insane strength you displayed." She added thoughtfully.

Jayden chuckled, shaking his head. "No, it’s nothing special. You could easily be as strong, being a mythical being yourself." he said.

Ava shook her head firmly. "No. Not like this," she said. "Yes, werewolves are naturally stronger than most mythical races. But you... you’re on a whole different level."

"I watched your fight," she continued. "And I noticed you were holding back a huge percentage of your strength. You weren’t even using up to twenty percent when you shattered that hammer."

Jayden exhaled. "I hold back so the game stays fair for my opponents." he said casually.

Ava chuckled softly. "But the game already is fair." she said slyly.

Jayden rowned. "What do you mean?"

"The game has an automatic dampener," Ava explained. "It reduces the stats of supernatural beings by ninety percent, leaving only ten percent for us to use."

Jayden’s eyes widened. If what she said was true, then every hit he’d thrown... wasn’t even close to his real power.

"So, since I started playing this game, I haven’t used my full strength?" he muttered in disbelief. "Which means... when I thought I was using ten percent of my strength, I was actually using one?"

Ava nodded. "Exactly. You dealt that much damage to Hercules using less than two percent of your true power. There’s no way I could top that." she chuckled.

Jayden stared at her, shock creeping up his spine. He was speechless. That meant his true strength... his real, unrestrained power, could be extremely devastating to humans.

But then another question surfaced.

How did the developers even know to install something like that? How did the creators even know about supernatural creatures?

Ava smirked, and as if reading his thoughts, she spoke.

"You don’t think you and I are the only supernatural beings walking the earth, do you?" she muttered, then added. "The creators know. They’re aware of supernatural beings like us."

Jayden’s thoughts instantly flickered to Aileen... she was the one who created EverRealm. Or maybe Ava was referring to the company that bought it from her.

"So some humans know about the existence of supernatural beings," he said quietly.

Ava nodded. "Yes. But it’s not just humans. On other planets, everyone knows. A lot of supernatural races left Earth a long ago, to live in other galaxies. They fled because of the EVA."

Jayden’s frowned. "The EVA?"

"Yeah," Ava said quietly. "They know about the presence of mythical races on earth... and they hunt them,"

Jayden clenched his fist. "Just like they do with beastmen."

Ava caught the subtle rage behind his words. She noted it but didn’t press further. Instead, her tone softened, curious. "Speaking of mythical races... where did you say you grew up again?"

Jayden’s eyes narrowed. He recognized the bait behind her voice. But still, he answered. "Earth."

Ava hummed thoughtfully. "That’s strange. Because I did a little digging after our chat yesterday. And there haven’t been any werewolf packs stationed, or even exiled to Earth for over a century." She smiled faintly, but her tone was sharp. "Which means you don’t belong to a pack. You’re a lone wolf."

Jayden didn’t deny it. "So?" he said calmly.

"So," Ava said, flashing a smirk, "that makes you a fugitive."

Jayden raised a brow. "What?"

"You really don’t know anything about anything, do you?" Ava scoffed, then exhaled. "Anyways, according to Lycan law, lone wolves are illegal. Every Lycan must belong to a pack... and there’s only one pack,"

Jayden’s tone cooled. "The Supreme Alpha’s," he said.

Ava smiled approvingly. "Oh good, you already know," she said, then continued. "The Supreme Alpha... also known as the Lycan Queen, is the ruler of the Lycan Kingdom. She controls the only existing pack, and all species of were-people serve her,"

"So if you’re a lone wolf, you’re sort of like a deserter," she added. "And you know what happens to deserters, right?"

Jayden’s voice was steady. "They get decapitated."

"Indeed they do," Ava said. "The only ones who get a pass are royalties...members of the Lunaria family. They can form sub-packs and become Regent Alphas if they want, but even they must still answer to the Queen."

Then she paused, her gaze lingering on Jayden. "But apparently, you’re not even part of the Lunaria family."

Jayden frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Ava smirked. "I contacted a friend in the Lunaria family. They told me they have no relatives on Earth. Which means, whoever you are... you’re not one of them," she said sharply. "And that begs the question; who are you, really?"

Jayden’s expression darkened. "Is this an interrogation?" he asked.

Ava didn’t deny it. "Yes," she said.

"I don’t appreciate being interrogated," Jayden muttered, his voice low and cold.

Ava frowned. "And I don’t appreciate being lied to," she shot back, standing upright.

Jayden’s glare met hers. "And what makes you so sure everything I said was a lie?"

"Let’s see," Ava said, ticking points off her fingers. "You’re a Lycan who doesn’t know other Lycan species exist. You call yourself a werewolf but don’t know what a pack even means. And you claim to be a Lunaria, yet you seem to know nothing about Castor, a core member of the Lunaria family."

Jayden’s eyes flickered with surprise before he could mask it. He didn’t think she’d figure out what he was up to at that time.

Ava scoffed. "You’re not exactly subtle, Jay. I know you tried digging for info on him yesterday. And that makes me suspicious,"

Jayden exhaled slowly. "I don’t owe you an explanation."

"Good," Ava said coldly. "I don’t need excuses. I need answers. Who are you really? How did you end up on earth? And why are you interested in Castor Lunaria?"

Jayden remained calm. "Those questions seem like something I’d have to explain. And I already told you... I don’t owe you an explanation," he said indifferently.

"You don’t get it, do you?" Ava’s tone hardened. "You’re a lone wolf. That makes you an outlaw. The Queen doesn’t forgive outlaws," she said sharply. "All I have to do is tell her about you, and she’ll have your head on a pike before the day is over."

But Jayden wasn’t fazed. Instead, he suddenly burst into laughter.

Ava was shocked. "Are you... are you seriously laughing right now?"

Jayden chuckled, shaking his head. "You just reminded me of this old TV series from the 21st century. Something about dragons, zombies, and everyone getting their heads chopped off..." he said playfully. "You sound like one of them."

Ava frowned. "This isn’t a joke."

Jayden tilted his head, his tone turning curious. "Tell me something though, why are you so angry that I lied... assuming I even did? What are you, some kind of law enforcer for the Queen?"

Ava’s eyes softened a little. "No. I don’t work for her." Her voice wavered slightly. "But someone I care about does. And when something threatens them... I make it my business."

Jayden smiled faintly. "You must really care about them."

Ava nodded. "I do," she said softly. "And... remember when I said I had ties with Lycans?"

Jayden nodded.

"Well," Ava continued, lowering her gaze, "the truth is... my dad’s a Lycan. And he’s part of the Lunaria family."