After driving almost all night, Jacob, Allison, Lydia, and Cogman finally arrived back in Beacon Hills. The digital clock on the dashboard read 4:07 a.m. as the car rolled to a stop in front of the mansion. The night was still and quiet, save for the faint chirping of crickets.
Malia, who had heard the car, was already waiting for them near the entrance.
When Jacob stepped out, she ran toward him, circling him happily before rubbing her head against his leg.
Jacob smiled, crouching down to pat her head. "Hey, Malia. Missed us?"
She nodded and gave a small bark in reply.
The group headed inside. The mansion felt comforting after everything that had happened in Vegas. Jacob handed all the bank cards to Cogman before heading upstairs with the girls.
Allison and Lydia went straight to their rooms to shower, while Jacob retreated to his. Malia followed him, trotting close behind, and jumped onto his bed as if claiming it for herself.
He took a shower, and by the time he came out, Malia was already curled up and fast asleep. He lay down beside her, gently stroking her fur.
A few minutes later, Allison and Lydia, freshly showered, came into his room. Seeing Malia asleep and Jacob already half-asleep, they exchanged a smile and quietly slipped under the covers.
The four of them slept soundly until morning.
---
Jacob didn't wake up until almost 11 a.m. Sunlight filtered through the curtains, warming the bed. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and noticed that Malia was gone, but Allison and Lydia were still sleeping, hugging him from both sides.
He carefully freed himself from their arms, moving slowly so as not to wake them, and headed downstairs.
Malia was on the couch in the living room, watching an animal documentary on TV.
Jacob sat beside her. "Hey." He said softly. "Did you go to the woods while we were gone?"
She shook her head.
Jacob smiled. "Good girl."
Malia snorted and ignored him, turning her attention back to the TV.
He reached into his pocket dimension and pulled out several snacks he'd picked up for her in Vegas. Malia perked up immediately, her tail wagging.
He grabbed some chips for himself, and the two ate together in comfortable silence.
'System, sign in.' Jacob thought.
[Daily Sign-In Successful. Rewards Obtained:
- Esdeath's Bath Water - 20 liters (Akame Ga Kill!)
- Paddington's Marmalade - 30 jars (Paddington)
- A Pair of Socks]
Jacob read the rewards and sighed. 'System, I like girls, not their bath water or dirty underwear. Stop giving me these perverted rewards. I should get rid of that water again.'
He took a jar of marmalade and some crackers from his pocket dimension and tasted it. 'Not bad.' He thought. 'I should put a few jars in the kitchen.'
Just then, Cogman entered the living room from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel. "Sir, breakfast is ready."
Jacob said. "Wait until the girls wake up. We'll eat together."
Cogman nodded. "Very well, sir."
Jacob leaned back on the couch. "By the way, how much was on those bank cards?"
"A total of 1.15 billion dollars, sir." Cogman said. "Most of it came from Dimitri's account."
Jacob's eyes widened slightly. "How much was on Dimitri's card?"
"Eight hundred million." Cogman replied smoothly.
Jacob let out a low whistle and grinned. "Those bastards from the auction were loaded. According to Elena's memories, that was just what the Vegas branch made in two months. I can't imagine how much the people behind the auction make from all their branches in the states and overseas."
Cogman tilted his head thoughtfully. "Should we open our own auction house, sir? We could sell only bad people. Poachers, murderers…"
Jacob shot him a sharp glare. "No. I'm not running a slave market. I have no problem killing bad people, but I will never sell them."
Cogman shrugged. "I was merely suggesting, sir."
Jacob rubbed his temples. "Don't ever suggest something like that again. Anyway, did you manage to transfer the money to our accounts?"
"Not yet, sir. Today is Sunday. The banks won't process transactions until tomorrow. While I could hack them today, I prefer to do it during business hours—it's much easier that way."
"Fine." Jacob said. "Once it's done, transfer twenty million to my personal card, and five million each to Allison and Lydia. You can invest the rest or start a company, like we talked about before."
"As you wish, sir." Cogman paused. "And sir, when is our next scheduled outing to... you know, maim and kill people?"
Jacob sighed. "Cogman, stop thinking about killing all the time. Go do something useful—grow our wealth, cook something, or buy yourself a female robot if that'll keep you busy."
"I am not a pervert like you, sir. I find no pleasure in such things." Cogman said. "And growing our wealth is trivial; I could add billions to your account today if you wished. But breaking bones, crushing skulls, tearing out hearts—now that's satisfying. I love squeezing the life out of..."
Jacob groaned. "Stop. Stop! You psychopathic murder-bot, go tend the garden or something. You're ruining my good mood."
Cogman opened his mouth to reply, but Jacob raised a hand. "No. No more talking. Go."
Grumbling, Cogman turned and stomped toward the garden.
Jacob sighed and leaned back on the couch. Malia, who had been watching silently the whole time, tilted her head.
Jacob smiled and reached over, running his hand through her fur. "Don't worry. He only kills bad people."
Malia gave a soft whimper and rested her head on Jacob's thigh. He smiled faintly and went back to watching TV with her.
After half an hour, Allison and Lydia finally came downstairs, both looking half-asleep.
"Morning." Allison said, rubbing her eyes.
"Morning." Jacob replied with a grin. "Sleep well?"
Lydia yawned. "Like a rock. I didn't realize how tired I was. I didn't even have nightmares about killing people yesterday."
Jacob said. "I told you you'd get used to it. Besides, you can't call those monsters we killed yesterday people."
"Where's Cogman?" Allison asked.
"He's sulking in the garden." Jacob said.
"What did he do this time?"
"The usual. He was talking about killing and maiming people, so I sent him out. But he already made breakfast. Let's eat."
They went to the kitchen and ate together, but Malia didn't follow; she was full from the snacks Jacob had given her.
While eating, Jacob said. "By the way, girls, guess how much money we earned from our little trip yesterday."
Lydia said. "A hundred million? Maybe two hundred?"
Jacob smiled. "How about you, Allison? How much do you think we got?"
Allison thought for a moment. "It must be 400 million or more. Those monsters held auctions every week, and the people buying must have been rich, too."
Jacob grinned. "It's 1.15 billion dollars."
Lydia's eyes went wide. "What?! That much?!"
"Yep." Jacob confirmed. "I told Cogman to transfer five million to each of the cards I gave you."
Lydia hugged him. "You're the best! I'm going to buy a nice car, something that suits a queen like me."
Jacob kissed her. "You can buy whatever you want. If you need more money, you just have to ask." He then looked at Allison. "What about you? What do you want to buy?"
Allison smiled. "I don't want anything in particular, so maybe I'll buy a car, too—a Ferrari or something like that. But are we going to be in trouble if we use that money?"
"Don't worry about that." Jacob assured her. "Cogman will take care of it and make it legally ours."
After breakfast, they moved back to the living room, where Malia was still glued to the TV, watching her favorite wildlife show.
Lydia looked at her. "You really love watching animals kill each other, don't you?" She picked up the remote. "Can I switch the channel?"
Malia let out a low growl.
Lydia chuckled. "Okay, okay, chill. I just want to see if what we did yesterday made the news. Then I'll switch back to your murder show."
She changed to a news channel. The screen instantly filled with chaos—footage of the Vegas skyline, a massive explosion, and a shaky phone recording of the auction building collapsing into a crater.
The news anchor's voice was grave:
["Authorities are still investigating the massive explosion that rocked the Las Vegas Strip last night. Officials suspect terrorism or gang violence, though no group has claimed responsibility…"]
Then the footage switched to another angle—one taken from the street. The camera caught a figure dressed like the Joker breathing fire and fighting a massive, bull-like monster under the flickering city lights.
Jacob complained. "Those bastards are making me look bad. Don't they have better footage?"
"Shut up and let us hear what the anchor says." Allison scolded.
The anchor continued:
["Some witnesses believe this footage is from a movie set, but others claim it's real and that these two individuals were responsible for the massive explosion. We have footage of the bull creature tearing a man in half, and the Joker incinerating the bull creature, but we can't show it."]
Jacob leaned back on the couch, arms crossed, an amused smile on his lips.
Next, the station brought in a paranormal expert. The man looked like a walking conspiracy theory—wild hair, dark circles under his eyes, and papers scattered around him.
["The bull monster..." He declared dramatically. "...is clearly the result of a failed government experiment. Probably military genetic testing!"]
The anchor, barely hiding a smirk, asked. ["And the man who breathed fire at it?"]
The theorist snorted. ["That's just alcohol and a lighter—a classic party trick!"]
Allison couldn't hold back a snort. "A party trick that turned a Minotaur into ash."
Jacob and Lydia chuckled.
Allison turned and glared at him. "Remind me again why you had to throw a supernatural coming-out party in the middle of Las Vegas?"
Jacob shrugged, stroking Malia's fur. "Isn't this more fun?"
Lydia rolled her eyes. "I bet a lot of people will lose sleep for a few days after seeing your little horror show."
"That's their problem." Jacob said dismissively. He gestured toward the TV. "Change the channel. Let's see what the others are saying."
Lydia changed to another news station. This time, two so-called experts were arguing on a split-screen.
["It's an alien!" one insisted, waving his arms dramatically.]
["It's a mythological Minotaur, obviously!" Shouted the other, slamming his hand on the desk.]
They started yelling over each other while the flustered anchor tried—and failed—to regain control.
Jacob smirked. "This is so much fun."
Lydia switched again. Now a stern-looking government representative was giving a press conference.
"Hey, why did you switch? I loved those two crazy guys." Jacob complained.
"Shush!" Allison said, leaning forward.
["These videos are all fake."] The government representative said firmly. ["They are elaborate CGI hoaxes. As for the building, we believe the explosion was gang-related, and we are still investigating."]
Jacob laughed. "The government's really doing its best to hide the truth."
Lydia kept flipping channels—and froze when the next report showed actor Bryan Cranston being escorted by police.
["Bryan Cranston was briefly detained by authorities after a limousine rented under his character's name, Walter White, was found abandoned near the explosion site. The person who rented it was described as looking exactly like the actor. Cranston has since been cleared of all suspicion."]
Jacob burst out laughing. "Oh, come on! Poor guy was probably sleeping when it happened!"
Allison shook her head in disbelief. "You really caused a mess."
"Come on, this is fun!" Jacob said, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "The whole country—maybe the whole world—is busy now discussing whether that Minotaur is real. The government and others who know the truth are probably trying their best to hide it. And I bet there are supernatural groups out there who liked what I did and are thinking of doing the same, exposing the supernatural to everyone."
Allison said. "I just hope nothing bad happens, like a supernatural revolution or something."
"That would be even more fun!" Jacob said with a grin. "Maybe I should start a revolution and rule this country."
Lydia's eyes lit up. "That's crazy, but I wouldn't mind being the wife of the President of the United States."
Jacob shook his head. "No, no. Not the wife of the president, but the wife of the King of America. That means you and Allison would be queens."
Lydia's smile widened. "I like the sound of that even more."
Hearing a low growl from the couch, Lydia quickly switched back to the animal channel. Malia immediately stopped growling and wagged her tail, satisfied.
The three of them grabbed their phones and started scrolling. Within seconds, their social media feeds were flooded—clips of the fight, wild conspiracy threads, and hashtags like #VegasMonster and #FireJoker, all racking up millions of views.
Jacob chuckled, his eyes glinting with amusement. "Look at that. I'm trending."
Lydia, scrolling through her phone, said. "They've arrested a lot of clowns in Vegas since yesterday."
Jacob laughed. "That's hilarious."
Allison sighed. "I bet it's not just the people from the auction looking for you now. Probably the government, the FBI, and who knows who else. Maybe even NASA is looking for your alien ass."
Jacob stretched lazily. "They can look all they want." He smiled confidently. "They'll never find me. Maybe next time I should make the news as Batman."
Allison raised an eyebrow. "There will be a next time?"
"Definitely." Jacob said. "So you girls should start thinking about what you want to disguise as."
Lydia nodded. "Let's just make sure not to cause any news-worthy trouble in Beacon Hills. That would draw a lot of unnecessary attention, and would probably expose us."
"Of course." Jacob agreed. "We'll only cause trouble in other states. I don't want to expose myself—not yet, at least."
To be continued... 😊