The Sinners' Queen

Sofony was shocked. At the same time, anxiousness began to sprout in her heart. 

With her and Sofia gone, Chris was the only one left in Alina. Gio, he definitely would find his uncle or anybody who might know how to reach the Layers. 

But even if they had some enemies there in Leo and the others, Chris was quite resourceful and smart, plus he was easy to neglect due to being weak. 

What caused this prudent guy to break off the alliance with her? The system said somebody targeted him. Who? 

Sofony didn't know how she returned to their base at Xia Empire. Her mind was preoccupied with so many thoughts. When she laid down on the bed and closed her eyes, there was a frown on her face as she recalled the many enemies that she had made. Just which one of those people made a move? 

'Damn, I feel anxious and guilty.' She suddenly felt like she needed to hasten her operations in this Layer to return as soon as possible. 

…

So much mess happened after the sudden disappearance of Chris Meyer from the venue of the Global Sports Event. 

Yet Alessa was too shocked to cooperate with the authorities. Especially after she learned that everyone else around her reacted so strange about the matter. 

"Chris Meyer disappeared? How's that related to the situation right now?" To the panicking woman, the organizer sported an annoyed expression. 

"W-what? It's Chris we're talking about!" 

Rubbing his aching forehead, the organizer raised his voice at her, "Miss Morgan, can't you see that everyone is busy looking for Drake Gordon?! The program is about to start but that damn emcee is still not here!" 

"I'm really going to complain to President Amelia after this!" The furious roar of one of the Country F's White Palace Spokesperson echoed. 

Chris was not forgotten. He was still remembered as one of the movie kings of Country F. But everywhere she went, people would say the one supposed to act as the event's master of ceremony was Drake Gordon, a fairly popular idol, not Chris. 

Nobody remembered the red-haired royal beauty that had supposedly arrived with the British athletes and delegates. 

Why was this so? What happened to everyone? 

Was this the world that Chris had been keeping away from her? 

Alessa was very scared, and her mind was scarred by the image of her lover's almost lifeless body. 

Because Gio and Sofony were not around, Alessa stormed into George's office. Unfortunately, the man's memories were distorted too. 

"Miss Morgan. I really don't understand what you're saying. While it's regrettable, Chris is not really the MC since he turned down that offer."

"T-that can't be. E-even people like you can't…" Alessa's face turned ghostly pale and she began to shake her head. 

The secretary frowned. "An hour ago, he even sent an email saying he would send his lawyer to terminate his contract with us. What the hell is going on with him?"

"No… That's not him…" Alessa could only mutter weakly. 

Despair and helplessness lurked in her eyes. Her heart was aching as the images of everything that took place at that place played in her mind. Alessa suddenly felt like she could not breathe. 

She didn't know how she managed to return to her own dwelling place. Slowly, she collapsed on the floor. Her beautiful long dress spread over the patterned tiles.

Her cries filled the living room, startling the kid staying over at her house. Her two bodyguards also came out of their workplace. 

"Second Miss, what happened?" Aura, her female bodyguard approached and asked. 

Alessa was naturally not in the right state of mind to reply. Nobody in this world would be able to relate to how frightening her most recent experiences were. There was a thread of regret lingering in her heart, and fear that she would die for knowing something. She also feared that Chris would no longer return. Even if it was just a glimpse, she knew that the world was more dangerous than one could ever think. There were actually people who could do unimaginable things, and Chris had just become a victim of them. 

"Sis?" A soft voice belonging to a kid registered in her ears. 

When Milo entered Alessa's viewpoint, the woman momentarily stopped crying. In no time, she arrived before him, her crazed expression scaring the boy.

Alessa was actually not sure since she was never informed about things from that 'other side', but somehow she felt like Milo, the kid being looked after by Chris, would know something. Perhaps, she just felt too desperate. 

The woman tried her best to calm down and ease the look on her face. She then asked with a trembling voice. "Chris has been taken away by a bad person. Can you help track him down?"

It was her female bodyguard who reacted first, sounding shocked, "Wait, you said somebody kidnapped that man?" 

Aura did not seem to find it believable looking at her eyes that widened exaggeratedly. Alessa would have reacted the same had she not seen it with her own eyes. Unfortunately, she witnessed it all. 

She even started to tremble at one thought that suddenly crossed her mind.

'What if he is on the brink of death right now…'

'No!'

The boy had yet to completely walk out of the trauma inflicted to him by Mao's organization. His neck shrunk from fear after seeing the look on Alessa's face. The latter did not seem to know that her expression was still very strange, almost like that of a madwoman. It gave the boy the notion that he was not allowed to shake his head. 

"I-I'll try." There was no hint of confidence in Milo's voice. 

The s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e but sensible boy ranked lower than any other system user in this country. He merely said that for the sake of calming down the frightening woman.

…

In the townhouse housing the comatose friend of Alina's Silver Princess, a rare peace reigned. The place seemed to be quite detached from the troubles outside, from the turmoil engulfing this city. 

Ver, the system user from J Country who claimed himself to be Wendy's boyfriend, was beside the comatose patient again. He was silent. Yet every single moved he did was full of carefulness and affection for the sleeping beauty that had been lying on the bed for months.

Who would have thought he was once part of a hidden organization dealing with shady stuff like slavery and murder? If those who knew him saw what he was doing right now, they would probably question his sanity and wonder if his real profession was caregiving. 

To be honest, he himself couldn't understand why he cared so much for this woman. All he knew was that he did. And that he loved her. Now, this love was making him suffer since he was also hurting from seeing her like this. Yet even though he knew, he was still willing to stay around. If this was really the magic of the heart, then he had truly become a helpless victim of it. 

The room was complete with equipment to maintain Wendy's body functions. Ver had long since memorized the numbers he should see on the monitors and the other things that must be observed. 

"Sir?" A housemaid came to bring him food, which he did not reject. The maid quietly left the tray of dishes on the bedside table.

Ver did not turn his head, busy arranging the flowers he brought. 

"Hello, Mr. Drilon. I hope you don't mind me visiting."

A subordinate of the Albarez' heir also came. If his memory did not fail him, his name was Old Gil. This person came to inform him of another bizarre event that recently took place. What else could it be? There were two, the mysterious disappearance of the Mendez sisters and the strangeness of the Global Sports Event's opening ceremony.

The first piece of news worried even his system AI.

<System: Host, it seems a bad thing for us. Everyone else disappeared. Even though you are not really part of them, since you are in Alina, they might mistake you for Sofony Silver's ally. Should you not plan your escape now?>

Of course, if he were to bring his girl with him, it would be an entirely different matter. But so what? If he couldn't run away, he would just maim himself. There would be a larger chance of surviving that way, because the enemy would no longer perceive him as a threat. He could then stay with ease of mind and leave everything else on the judgment of the demigods. 

Yes, Ver was aware of the existence of those lofty beings since he had once been a part of Mao's core group. Once upon a time, he had also been curious about the highest grade an immoral host could attain, and Mao, a level 8, was not stingy about such a matter of little significance. 

Ver looked at the screen showed to him by Gil and saw the young lady always following the irritating actor acting weirdly inside George's office. That ultimate secretary had keen senses and seemed to suspect that something was wrong with the situation so he sent Old Gil to Ver. The confidence this George had on Ver probably stemmed from Sofony and Gio's occasional meeting with him. In those times, Ver did not act like somebody different from them. As if they knew of a common secret or belonged to another world. 

The man snorted and said, "Useless thing. Look at what his girlfriend had become due to his carelessness. And that man dared to pick fights with me before?" 

"Sir Ver. Miss Alessa keeps saying Sir Chris was taken away by a woman with red hair. What do you think of this matter?" 

To be honest, Old Gil was thinking that it was ridiculous. He didn't know what kind of 'taking away' that Morgan lady meant, so he was more inclined to think she referred to a foreigner seducing the handsome actor. In his mind, it translated to something trivial and he would rather use his precious time to look for more clues about Steffy Mendez' disappearance. Unfortunately, his superior George spoke. He had to deliver the news and then report later. 

Ver frowned. Unlike the kid Milo, his rank was higher than Chris. So he was at least able to know that the actress was not lying. Somebody did kidnap the other host. And since the system could not say who it was, it meant the offender was a high ranker. 

'Amongst the female system users working for Mao, there was no redhead woman.'

'So it's either Mao's subordinate who just changed her looks. Or some other enemy not belonging to Mao's faction.'

Therefore after shrugging his shoulders, Ver Drilon said, "I appreciate the trust. But all I could say is that this lady is not lying. I'm fairly busy so if you could please leave now." 

The other man went silent, surprise flitting across his eyes. But he was not one to pry, unless his life depended on it. The latter might be a close aide of Gio. Still, he was just a normal person. He thought nothing about the strange response of the young man. Anyway, the job of analyzing what those words imply would be for George.

After a nod, Old Gil left.

Ver went back to checking Wendy's vital signs. A few hours later, the man left to freshen up and change clothes. 

The night sky began to turn red, welcoming the coming dawn. He was drying his face with a towel as he marched into the patient's room when he suddenly heard a sound.

Soft, and feminine. It was definitely from a girl. 

The man's steps instantly paused as his body stiffened. 

In no time, the towel in his hand dropped on the floor. Hurried footsteps echoed, and the big boy arrived at Wendy's bedside. 

Yet his actions as he extended his arm was opposite of his hasty movements just now. His hand was slow, and trembling. His whole person was full of emotion as he watched the girl gently fluttered her lashes. 

Then, as some reddish rays pierced through the tiny gaps in the window curtains, slowly, Wendy Gomez opened her eyes. Sounds akin to a purring of a cat that just woke up came from her. 

The man then emotionally watched this beautiful scene with a smile and a teary pair of eyes. His voice that was both wet and weak carried happiness in it, "You finally wake up, my princess."