Chapter 558: The Larsons

Chapter 556

In an unknown location, the Larsons watched the livestream with unwavering attention.

Their gazes followed Kai as he pulled his black bandana down over his eyes. Almost immediately, their eyebrows drew together, a hint of surprise crossing their faces.

"Remind me, but I don’t think I saw him use that bandana during the Invasion a month ago, did I?" Julie, the older woman, remarked, raising an eyebrow as she rhythmically tapped her fingers against the table.

Lancelot didn’t respond. He merely rested his chin on his knuckles, his gaze fixed on the holographic display as he recalled the older man’s words.

*What is he planning on doing? Does he want to wreak havoc on the world now or what? Hmph. We’ve been doing our job in secret, so it—*

"—Dad?"

The voice of the male twin, Justin, interrupted his thoughts.

The young man had blonde hair crowning his head and a pair of green eyes that seemed to reflect the world around him. He let out a small yawn before looking at his father.

"What?"

"Should we go out and help Kai?" Layla, his twin sister, asked.

She shared the same general features as Justin, but there was something different about her. An air of forlornness seemed to surround her, while her black eyes danced like shadows in the night as she fixed her gaze on the holographic display.

Lancelot’s eyes flickered between the screen and his twins before he let out a weary sigh.

"Father has gone into seclusion again. And if anything happens to Kai, we’re all cooked, including me. That man is cra—uh..."

He stopped himself, reconsidered his words for a moment, and shook his head.

"...Nothing will happen to your brother as long as the Spine Reaper is over there. He seems to have grown stronger than before. You are only permitted to leave the Island after all this is over, and then you can retrieve him."

Layla clicked her tongue, her hands curling into fists.

"But Father, a Two-Spined Aberrant is just too much for him. I—"

"—I know you’re worried about your little brother. But at the same time, if we keep babying him, how is he supposed to grow?" Julie interrupted, briefly rolling her tongue inside her mouth before continuing. "With the kind of work we do, he’s bound to face deadly foes in the future."

She paused, her expression growing more serious.

"Those annoying world leaders are quiet for now because of your grandfather. If anything should happen—"

"We both know the old man ain’t dying anytime soon. That man has been alive for ages now."

Justin cackled, seemingly amused by the thought.

Lancelot shot him a hardened glare.

"Is that any way to speak about your grandfather?"

Justin merely leaned back in his chair and waved a hand dismissively.

"Oh, please. Don’t tell me you don’t think the same way. Those fools sitting on their high horses can’t touch us because we’re still useful to them."

He glanced at the holographic display before continuing.

"With what we do, we’re helping them in one way or another. We’re basically cleaning up their trash."

"The day we turn out to be useless, they’ll discard us and join hands to take us out," Layla completed her twin’s words.

"...."

Lancelot’s finger hovered over the armrest of his chair. His expression remained still for a moment, but his eyes slowly widened as realization dawned on him.

*I-Is that what he felt when he made that statement?*

A silent chuckle escaped him as he shook his head.

Before he could dwell on the thought any further, however, the table suddenly began vibrating with tremendous intensity.

*Hmph.*

"Sigh..."

Layla heaved a tired sigh and rose from her chair, scraping it backward across the floor with a loud screech.

"...Almost every time."

"Why are you complaining?" Justin questioned, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you loved chaos, battle, and flexing your fingers?"

Layla shot him a sharp glare.

"I do. But my opponents nowadays are just so weak. Newly awakened people who haven’t even mastered their abilities yet, walking around thinking they can—"

She stopped herself and sighed.

"Whatever. I’m just waiting for the Big Four to make a move. They’ll be worthy opponents in the future."

Her face stretched into a wide, sinister grin.

Lancelot and Julie exchanged brief looks.

Neither of them said a word.

Then, from the corners of the room, the shadows began to rise.

They twisted violently, gathering around Layla before unfurling their dark shrouds and wrapping them around the girl.

With that same sinister grin plastered across her face, Layla slowly sank into the shadows, her body dissolving into the darkness until she became one with it.

Her aura, presence, and everything that made her who she was disappeared from sight.

It was as though she had never existed in the first place.

And then—

The shadows resumed their normal movements, flickering gently along the corners of the room as though nothing unusual had happened.

The table stopped vibrating, and every gaze returned to the livestream displayed before them.

"Won’t you go help her?" Julie asked, noticing how her son’s body had suddenly tensed.

Justin waved a hand dismissively, letting out a scoff.

"We both know she can handle it. I’m more worried about my brother."

As soon as the words left his mouth, his eyebrows drew together.

A thought had just crossed his mind.

Slowly, his expression changed as the realization began to sink in. His pupils dilated before he abruptly snapped his head toward his father.

"The alarm! Where did it come from?" Justin shouted.

Lancelot stared at him in confusion, tilting his head slightly.

"What?"

"The alarm, GODDAMNIT! Check what it’s about!"

With his father taking far too long to catch on, Julie reached forward and tapped the table in a precise sequence. Immediately, the entire surface illuminated, transforming into something resembling a television screen seamlessly merged with the marble.

The display came alive beneath her fingers as she scrolled through the available information, tapping through several reports.

Then, one of her eyebrows arched upward.

"Huh? That’s strange. There’s no report."

Lancelot leaned closer to examine the display for himself. The moment he saw what his wife was looking at, his own eyebrows shot upward.

Justin groaned in frustration and smacked his palm against his face.

"Damn it, Layla. She’s gone."

"Gone where?"

Justin didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, his eyes flickered toward the livestream.

Lancelot followed his son’s gaze, and the moment he understood what Justin meant, realization dawned on him as well.

"Oh."

Julie glanced between her husband and son, waiting for one of them to explain what was happening. It took a few seconds, but eventually, the pieces fell into place.

She shook her head and exhaled.

"Sometimes, I wonder if we’re the ones who birthed her. She has your father’s impulsiveness."

Lancelot tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Can we really blame her, though? She loves her little brother dearly. One could even say she’s obsessed with him. It’s a miracle she even allowed him to complete his awakening without interfering."

"That’s because we chained her in a basement, remember?" Julie remarked. "Otherwise, she wouldn’t have allowed a single scratch on him."

As she spoke, the shadows throughout the room began growing denser, spreading across the corners and creeping along the walls.

Julie remained seated, but her black eyes gradually filled with a depth of darkness unlike anything they had shown before.

"So...?" Justin asked, glancing around the table.

Nobody answered.

One by one, their attention returned to the livestream, their gazes fixed on the ongoing battle.

Whatever happened next would happen.