Chapter 417: A father’s deadly embrace.

From the day he killed Kirsten, Leif had not gone back to the hideout even once. He was one hundred percent certain that Ava was going to run straight to Ivar and squeal like a pig about whatever had happened back at the Eros Stadium, and accuse him of being the evil mastermind behind the whole beast attack.

As expected, Ava had done exactly that. In his opinion, the little bitch was a little too desperate to be Almeida’s right hand woman. She seemed to think that she would be made the human Divine Soul maiden when their two races came together to live in harmony. "What a load of crap!" he muttered.

Luckily, his father, Erik, had sent him a secret message telling him to ignore the supreme leader’s summons and go into hiding for a while. After all, Almeida didn’t have that many days left to reign anyway! His father told him to stay hidden like a quiet rat and focus strictly on the main mission: finding the key, or even better_ finding the mother ship.

For the past few days, Leif had been camping out in the wilderness, many yards away from Beast Valley City. The first time he laid eyes on that city, his jaw had literally hit the dirt! There was no way on earth that place was built with primitive human technology! But as he observed it from afar, he realized that actual humans were living inside, and definitely not ordinary, weak humans.

The people in this city had shoes that could elevate from the ground and help them fly! When they fought against strong beasts, they had strength equal to that of the beasts! Their weapons were very extraordinary.

In fact, Leif was watching a group of them annihilate a king beast he had secretly let out of his Stasis prism just this evening. He was testing their strength, trying to see what his brother had come against. Othrok’s scent was light, but it was somewhere in this place.

The king beast was ripped apart into four different pieces.

Ah, Leif had thought to himself, scratching his chin. No wonder Othrok went missing! It’s possible those overpowered human freaks bumped him off and buried him somewhere in the woods.

He turned away as the King beast was looted for energy and resonance stones. It was time to go meet his brother, who was supposed to bring him fresh dark blood pills and supplies from the other side.

Leif materialized at the secret meeting point_ a dingy, abandoned dungeon hidden deep in the woods.

Inside one of the dim rooms that smelled like a rotting wolf carcass, he saw two figures standing together. One of them was big and wrapped in a heavy dark cloak, facing the wall. The other figure was smaller and shorter, standing behind the big one.

The shorter one turned around, gasped, and rushed forward to give Leif a big, bone-crushing hug. "Brother Leif! You’re alive!"

Leif chuckled, recognizing him instantly. "Good to see you too, Brother Ortega."

The hooded figure slowly turned around and pulled back his dark hood, revealing a stern, harsh pale face with slightly glowing eyes.

Leif didn’t hesitate for a single second. He instantly dropped down on one knee, bowing his head respectfully. "Greetings, Great father!"

Erik looked down at him, his face softening slightly. "Get up, my son. You look like shit."

Leif stood up, dusting off his pants. "I was involved in an unfortunate incident, but I do not feel as bad as I look."

"They say the ship can heal anything." Ortega said, "When we find it you will surely get rid of the scars."

Erik stepped closer and asked, his eyes gleaming with greed, "Tell me... have you found the star key?"

Leif smirked, feeling extremely proud of himself. "Father, I found something even better! I stumbled upon Othrok’s scent and I think I have found the exact location where the space ship is hidden."

He tapped his communication device, projecting floating, high-definition holographic images of the outer wall of the Beast Valley City right in front of them.

"Look at these strange walls and the people who live there. Othrok was tracking the key and ship, and he came to this place, only to vanish." Leif explained excitedly, pointing at the glowing projections. "These humans must have one or both of these things. I think they opened the ship, accessed the technology inside, and used it to construct this entire city and strengthen themselves. That’s the only explanation for their strangeness."

Erik stared at the glowing images, a huge, sinister smile spreading across his face. "Good... very good! Excellent work, Leif."

Leif rubbed the jagged scar on his cheek, his eyes burning with excitement. "Father, when are we going to attack them? When do we smash those walls and take the ship?"

"Soon, my boy. Very soon," Erik said softly. "We have to plan this out carefully and first remove the only remaining obstacle in the way_ Almeida." He looked at Leif and smiled. "I am a proud father today, child."

He spread his arms wide, looking like a loving, proud parent. "For such a splendid job, my son deserves a warm embrace from his father!"

Leif’s eyes lit up. He smiled widely_ feeling truly loved and appreciated for once in his life_ and stepped forward into his father’s open arms.

The two men hugged tightly.

Leif inhaled deeply, resting his head on his father’s shoulder. "Father, I_"

Suddenly, Leif froze.

A strange, squishy crunch sound echoed inside his ribcage.

Leif’s eyes popped wide open. He slowly stepped back, his face turning pale as a bed sheet. He pressed his shaky right hand against the left side of his chest... where a gaping, hollow hole was now dripping fresh blood.

Erik stood there with a calm, unbothered expression, casually holding a warm, wet, rapidly thumping red object right in his palm. It was Leif’s beating heart!

Leif choked out, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Nearby, Ortega began trembling like a leaf in a hurricane, his eyes bulging out of his head as he watched the horrifying scene unfold in total silence! He was expecting his father to reward his brother after a successful mission but not this. "Father but why? I...I don’t understand!"

Leif’s knees gave out, and he collapsed heavily onto the cold, dusty floor, staring up at his father in absolute shock as his vision slowly faded to black!

"That is your human side talking son" Erik answered in a very calm voice. "Leif has become a liability to all of us. Almeida’s scouts are out there hunting for him. If he is captured and exposed to Almeida’s torture tactics, he will spill everything about our plans. If Almeida hands him to the humans for execution, he will be a stain on my legacy forever. I do not sire stains. He failed, let us go."