Twilight: Darling of Volturi (YURI/GL)

As the chase continued, their afterimages flashed across more than half the forest in the blink of an eye. Of all the vampires scattered throughout the woods, Sophie could sense only a handful. Besides Demetri, the man who had personally taught her how to track, there was only Jane. 

To Sophie, Jane was like the brightest morning star in the night sky, the most dazzling flame burning within the endless forest. Jane darted effortlessly through the trees, faithfully keeping her promise by delaying her own capture for as long as possible. The longer she and Alec stayed out of Felix's team, the higher the odds that Sophie's plan would succeed.

A newborn's overwhelming physical ability proved to be an enormous advantage. No matter how Demetri accelerated or changed direction, he simply couldn't shake Sophie off. When they neared the edge of the training grounds, he finally lost his composure and shouted in exasperation, "Stop chasing me! I don't want to be punished alongside you!"

The moment Sophie noticed his wavering resolve, she seized the opportunity. "Wait! Stop for just a second and let me explain my plan! It has an incredibly high chance of succeeding. If we work together, we'll definitely win this round!"

Only after Sophie promised not to immediately stick a red tag on him did Demetri finally stop fleeing. They stood on opposite banks of a narrow stream, maintaining just enough distance that, should negotiations fail, they could instantly turn and run in opposite directions.

"Jane promised me," Sophie began without wasting a word, "that she and Alec would avoid being captured for as long as possible. At the very least, they won't let Felix catch them during the first twenty minutes of free movement."

Caius had forbidden Jane from joining Sophie's team, but he had never ordered her to join Felix's. If the twins simply survived until the free-movement phase ended, they wouldn't technically be disobeying his command.

"So I have to recruit you. You're the only one guaranteed to find Caius during the final ten minutes. And this time, Alec won't have any traps prepared."

Stretching out her hand across the stream, Sophie smiled confidently.

"Come on, Demetri. Join me. Let's erase our humiliation and overturn the defeat from the first round!"

Standing across from her, Demetri scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Honestly... losing to Alec isn't exactly embarrassing..." Yet beneath the girl's blazing determination, he found himself unable to refuse. "...Fine. Just this once. We'll work together and catch Master Caius."

The moment he agreed, Sophie happily leaped across the stream, landed beside him, and personally stuck the red Captured tag onto him. Then she raised his hand high and slapped it with a cheerful high-five, unable to hide the excitement on her face.

Soon, the twenty-minute free movement period expired, and every remaining prey was required to stay motionless wherever they happened to be. Demetri immediately sensed both Jane and Alec moving again, which meant the twins had already been captured and had switched over to Felix's side.

"They've got sixteen people now," Demetri grumbled. "That's going to be troublesome. Why didn't you recruit a few more allies?"

Other than Demetri and Caius, everyone else had joined Felix's team. Apparently, Caius's opening declaration, 'If you defeat Sophie, I'll exempt you from one punishment,' had become a tremendous source of motivation. Felix was fighting far harder than he had during the previous two rounds. In a way, Caius truly deserved his reputation as the Volturi's greatest military commander.

"So what if they have sixteen people?" Sophie replied, deliberately feeding Demetri's ego. "None of them can possibly find Caius before you do."

Unfortunately, compliments didn't work on Demetri today.

"They don't need to," he answered dryly. "They just have to catch the two of us. Guess who's arriving first."

Judging from his expression, he already knew the answer. Without slowing down, he changed course and headed toward a section of the forest thick with tangled vegetation and dense obstacles.

After quickly reviewing the remaining members of the Guard in her mind, Sophie arrived at a conclusion.

"As long as it isn't Alec."

"Congratulations." Demetri sighed. "Correct answer. Alec and Jane will be here in about twenty seconds."

Unlike Demetri, Felix's side lacked an elite tracker, but they possessed an overwhelming numerical advantage. Sixteen vampires could be divided neatly into eight search teams, each responsible for one direction: north, south, east, west, northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest. If they happened to discover Caius, the match would end instantly in victory. If they failed, they only needed to capture Sophie and Demetri, pin them down until time expired, and they'd still win with thirty-four points against their opponents' mere eleven.

From every angle, Felix's chances remained excellent.

Naturally, Jane and Alec paired together. Their youthful builds made moving through the forest easier, and centuries of relentless Volturi training had sharpened their speed to an astonishing level, second only to Demetri himself. Since Felix had dispatched so many search parties, the twins weren't remotely surprised when their superior vampire senses picked up two gray-cloaked figures weaving through the trees ahead.

"Sister," Alec asked as they pursued, "we're not supposed to go easy on them... right?"

"We do what we're supposed to do."

Jane had no intention of deliberately holding back. The twenty minutes she and Alec had spent evading capture earlier were already the only favor she intended to grant.

Just then, the two figures ahead suddenly split apart.

Demetri fled one way.

Sophie bolted in the opposite direction.

Alec frowned.

"Demetri must've known we'd been approaching for a while. Why split up now? Does he seriously think we'd choose to chase Sophie?"

"Something about this feels wrong."

Even Jane found it suspicious. Neither she nor Alec could outrun Demetri in a straight chase, but following him was another matter entirely. The forest had its limits, and once Demetri located Caius, Jane's pain illusion or Alec's numbing mist could easily secure victory.

"One each," Jane decided.

Without hesitation, Alec chose Demetri. Compared to Sophie, Demetri was far more likely to be racing toward Caius. Sophie was probably nothing more than bait, a classic diversion to lure the tiger away from the mountain.

Jane couldn't understand why the two had split up either, but instinct warned her that Sophie was plotting something. Still, Demetri was being watched by Alec, and there was no one Jane trusted more than her own brother.

Sophie's newborn speed was astonishing. Several times Jane nearly lost sight of her when thick branches and dense foliage blocked her vision. Fortunately, Sophie lacked experience in escaping pursuit and continued running along the route she had chosen from the very beginning. As long as Jane followed the same straight line, catching up was only a matter of time.

Demetri freely admitted there was an element of gambling in his strategy. After serving together for centuries, the four captains trusted one another completely. Just as he trusted Jane and Alec, the twins relied implicitly on Demetri's tracking Gift. Whenever navigation was required, everyone instinctively assumed Demetri would take the lead.

So he reasoned backward.

When Jane and Alec spotted him, would they assume he had abandoned Sophie and was fleeing alone? Or would they conclude he was desperately racing toward Caius, gambling everything on one final chance at victory?

Demetri bet they would believe the latter.

He was half right.

Both twins fell for it completely. Neither continued along the original route. Alec charged after Demetri without the slightest hesitation, refusing to be distracted even when Demetri's path gradually curved away from Caius's actual location. He didn't even release his numbing mist, clearly intending to let Demetri unknowingly guide him straight to the prize.

Jane, however, didn't follow.

She chased Sophie instead.

Fortunately, this possibility had already been discussed while planning.

Before they split up, Demetri had not only revealed Caius's approximate location but had carefully explained Caius's preferred hiding habits as well. Sophie had confidently declared that she could already "sense" him.

"He's like... a dense mass of desire. It's terrifying. Honestly, it feels exactly like him."

Demetri burst into laughter.

"You're getting really good at pretending. Next time we'll fool everyone with that story. I'll stand right in front of Alec and announce, 'Congratulations! Sophie has mastered my exclusive tracking technique.' They'll completely lose their composure."

"I really did learn it!" Sophie protested.

"Mhm. Sure you did." Demetri nodded with exaggerated seriousness. "You've absolutely mastered it."

They had also predicted how the twins would react. Either both of them would chase Demetri, or Alec would pursue Demetri while Jane hunted Sophie.

To prepare for the second possibility, Demetri had carefully explained Jane's weakness.

"Jane's pain illusion only activates through eye contact. If you break her line of sight or force her attention elsewhere, she can't use it."

Sophie immediately fell into thought.

The expression on her face made Demetri realize exactly what she was planning.

"Don't even think about attacking Jane after you've been hit!" he warned sternly. "No vampire in existence can endure that level of pain!"

Unable to describe the agony with mere words, Demetri could only repeat his advice over and over.

"Run somewhere filled with obstacles. As long as something blocks Jane's vision, her Gift is effectively sealed. But if you reach an open area... then your only option is to collapse to your knees and beg."

Sophie nodded earnestly, committing every word to memory.

"So... would a riverbank count as open terrain?"

Now, clinging silently to the trunk of a towering tree, she stared into the distance.

About five hundred meters ahead lay a shallow stream cutting across a broad gravel bank. The stones were pale gray, and even the largest boulder barely reached half a meter in height.

Caius had chosen to hide near the very edge of the training grounds.

To catch him...

Someone first had to expose themselves.

Pain so unbearable I'd fall to my knees...

Sophie recalled Demetri's warning. She also remembered Caius's delighted promise to let Jane personally punish her.

At that moment, she made her decision.

Either way... it's going to hurt.

She accepted it without hesitation.

Rather than spend the entire match paralyzed by fear only to let Caius gleefully watch both her and Demetri scream in agony afterward, she'd rather suffer first if it meant ruining his plans.

She had made Demetri a promise.

She intended to keep it.

They would erase the humiliation of the first round and turn defeat into victory.

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