Chapter 43: Meeting With the Others

"You said it is a perfume, right?" Arlo asked, and Ennessa nodded.

"Then how come it has no scent at all?" He followed and Ennessa froze.

"WHAT!?" she asked in shock, looking at Arlo without knowing what to make of him.

According to what Delaney had told her, a Vorath would cough or find the smell disgusting upon perceiving it, while a human would love the incredible scent.

But Arlo was saying the perfume had no scent at all. That had not been part of Delaney’s calculations.

Stretching her hand forward, Ennessa passed him the perfume.

Arlo rubbed some onto his palm before bringing it close to his nose, but still, he felt nothing at all.

It was as if he were simply smelling ordinary water.

"It does not smell at all. It is completely odorless. Is this still part of your flirting game for today? I am still not impressed," Arlo said, passing it back to her before reclining against the seat and trying to take a small nap.

He had been half asleep and half awake for two days, after all.

’Strange, very strange. He did not cough, nor did he find the smell irritating. That means he is not a Vorath.’

’But he also did not find the smell pleasant, which is not human either.’

’Yet he says the perfume has no scent at all? Just what the hell is he, then?’

Ennessa wondered as she looked at Arlo and noticed his pulse gradually quieting as he entered a deep state of rest.

’He fell asleep?’ she thought to herself before taking out her phone and sending a message directly to Delaney.

{To Delaney}

-He did not cough when he smelled it, nor did he find it irritating.-

{To Ennessa}

-Well, I guess I was wrong then...-

{To Delaney}

-But he also did not find the smell pleasant either.

{To Ennessa}

-Huh?-

{To Delaney}

-He said the perfume has no scent at all. It is completely odorless to him.-

{To Ennessa}

-WHAT!?

{To Delaney}

-Has this ever occurred before?

{To Ennessa}

-Never. Even people with a poor sense of smell, and some who cannot smell at all, would still be able to detect that perfume.

{To Delaney}

-Then what do you think is wrong with him?

{To Ennessa}

-Give me some time. I will quickly work on it and send you my results soon.

***

BEEP

BEEP

BEEP

It was a dark room, with the sound of monitors beeping ringing out ceaselessly as blinking red lights flickered through the darkness.

But suddenly...

STEP

STEP

STEP

Footsteps echoed through the room as a large figure appeared beyond the open frame of the iron gate.

CLINK

The slight clinking of a doorknob could be heard as the door was slowly pushed open, and the figure stepped into the dark room.

His footsteps were like commands, and the room was instantly filled with bright white light, illuminating the space and revealing an old man standing at its center.

Various cylindrical glass containers filled with green serum surrounded him, with the silhouettes of several figures barely visible within them.

"How is everything going, Professor Igris?"

The voice boomed through the hall, carrying a momentum and ferocity akin to that of a mini-titan, as the figure walked toward the old man, who was dressed in a doctor’s robe, except instead of white, it was pitch black.

"Sigh."

A deep sigh echoed throughout the room as Professor Iris stared at the glass before him, then removed his spectacles and rubbed his eyes.

"All failures, Prince Demois."

Every human has failed to accomplish perfect fusion, and all we have created are inferior life forms, devoid of even simple reasoning, and unable to differentiate between Vorath and humans."

"All have been consumed by their primal desire for chaos..." Professor Igris reported as a large hand clapped onto his shoulder.

"It is okay, Professor. Wrap everything up and bring the experiment to a close. We leave for home in three days."

"Father has been worried ever since what happened to Miliani in Sector X," the voice rang out as Professor Igris turned toward the man towering above him.

His gaze briefly skipped over the horn on the man’s forehead before settling on his eyes.

"But what do you think about the case involving your royal sister, Prince Demois?"

"Do you truly believe her tale about a human healing her with magic and managing to save her life?" Professor Cygnus asked.

A smile appeared on the young man’s lips as he tapped Professor Cygnus twice on the shoulder before turning and walking out of the room.

"We return in three days, Professor Cygnus,"

_________________

"Wake up, sleepyhead!"

The roar rang through Arlo’s entire existence as he jerked upright from his sleeping position, his eyes flashing around the car.

All he saw was Ennessa, and he quickly noticed that the car had stopped as well.

"Are we finally at the base!?"

Arlo asked as the door beside him opened.

He tried to move out, only for his full stomach to tighten suddenly, causing his butt to land right back on the seat.

"Tch, damn seatbelts!" Arlo roared angrily before unfastening the belt and climbing out.

"Time for you to properly meet the rest of the crew..."

It was another mini-skyscraper, similar to the one Ennessa occupied, only with fewer floors and a much thinner structure instead of being as wide as hers.

"Welcome back, Captain!" The guards stationed at the large golden doorway greeted her with small bows as Ennessa walked forward, shaking their hands before signaling for Arlo to follow.

Walking behind her, he could feel the guards’ gazes boring into him, and a strange tingling sensation moved across his body, like a pair of invisible hands searching through him.

But soon, the sensation disappeared as the guards averted their gazes.

Passing through the large astral gates, Arlo found himself in an exceptionally spacious living room filled mostly with young men in their twenties and older men in their forties.

A large TV set dominated one side of the room, holding the attention of most of the younger men as they sat across several large astral-blue sofas.

Farther away, the older men were gathered in groups. Some drank and chatted, some played cards, while others simply smoked.

"Boss!"

The voice of a young man who happened to turn around after hearing the door open rang out.

Everyone immediately snapped their heads toward her, and all noise came to a screeching halt as they jumped to their feet and saluted.

"Welcome back, Boss!"

The smoothness of it was as if they had practiced the greeting for all eternity. They stood with their chests puffed out, their eyes gleaming with focus and a hint of respect.

"Really good to be back at base after almost a week. I see you bloody selves have been having quite the good time," Ennessa said.

Arlo’s eyes twitched as he noticed she had returned to her thick masculine accent.

The people in the room could only scratch the backs of their heads at her remark, smiling foolishly.

"You all return to what you were doing. Anyway, has anyone seen Shelby around or knows where the hell he is?" she asked.

Somebody pointed toward a room on the opposite side of the living room.

"He is in the tech room, Boss," a young man replied.

Ennessa turned toward the room and began walking in that direction, but not before saying, "Here is our newest crew member. Treat him well."

Arlo simply stood stupidly where he was, not knowing where to look among the hundreds of people staring at him.

"Oh, oh, oh, a new brother, huh?" An elated voice rang out.

In the next instant, Ennessa disappeared through the doorway, and a figure jumped off one of the sofas, landing right in front of Arlo.

He was tall, with strange pink hair and matching eyes, while a stick of candy rested at the corner of his mouth.

"Before I ask for your name, there is something even more important," the figure said, crossing his arms as he looked down at Arlo.

"And what is that?"

"What’s your Vorath count?" he asked, causing Arlo to raise an eyebrow.

"I am asking how many Vorath you have killed up to now," he clarified.

Arlo furrowed his eyebrows, wondering why that even mattered.

"None," he answered truthfully.

Deafening laughter boomed through the hall.

"An amateur, huh?" one of them voiced.

In the next instant, the man appeared behind Arlo in a single step, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"Then that means you are the youngest one among us all. Come, let me introduce you to your new elder brothers," he said.

The next second, Arlo found himself lifted into the air as the man threw himself backward, dragging him along until they both landed on one of the sofas.

Three strange cups filled with chewy objects were immediately stretched toward him from different directions.

"Popcorn!?" a voice rang out.

Arlo shook his head, but the popcorn was thrown directly onto his chest.

All crowded around him, and one pressed his cheeks, forcing his mouth open, while another immediately stuffed popcorn inside.

And God, they were so sweet!

"So, we are curious about something. Is this your first time meeting the Boss? You just got recruited, right?" one of them asked.

Arlo shook his head.

"No. I have been with her for a week now, in her house..."

The second those words were said, it was like time itself had been paused as all suddenly froze where they are.

"I..I’m sorry, what did you just say?"