Chapter 49: Getting To Their Base

The figure spoke as he dipped a hand into his pocket and brought out a cigarette.

His fingertip burned with a dark flame, acting like a lighter as it ignited the cigarette.

"Fuuuuuuu."

"Huuuuuuu."

White smoke puffed from his rosy-red lips, drifting toward Arlo and brushing against him as the man looked him up and down with a mocking smirk.

When he noticed that Arlo showed no reaction, he grew bolder and walked toward him, eventually stopping just a few meters away.

"Could it be that you’re deaf, boy? I asked why you’ve been following me."

Arlo raised his hands to his hoodie and pulled it off, revealing his facial features.

"Oh. Quite handsome," the man complimented.

"I... I find you familiar. Your smell... it seems familiar to mine," Arlo suddenly replied with an innocent expression.

The man’s hand, which held the cigarette, froze in midair for a moment.

Then,

GRAB!

BAAANG!

A hand suddenly wrapped around Arlo’s chest, and he was slammed against the opposite wall in a flash.

In an instant, the man’s eyes changed to pitch black.

"Familiar smell, you say?"

He asked with a mocking, evil grin.

As if oblivious to the question, Arlo asked, "Are... are you like me?"

The man’s eyes turned even darker, and a grin slowly appeared on his face, the tip of a fang quietly protruding from his mouth.

"And what exactly do you think I am, boy?"

Activate Vorath Transformation.

In that instant, Arlo activated the skill, and immediately, his human aura faded away.

What replaced it was an exceedingly sinister presence as he looked directly at the man, his eyes slowly turning pitch black, just like those of the Vorath.

His mouth opened slightly, and although fangs did not emerge, his teeth transformed into something steely and jagged as dark liquid dripped from his mouth, his saliva having undergone a complete change.

"You... you are a Vorath!"

The man called out in shock.

Arlo immediately slammed the hand gripping his clothes away, causing the man to retreat three steps back, still filled with disbelief.

Deactivate Vorath Transformation.

Arlo ordered before the transformation could fully take hold, and his eyes quickly returned to their natural, crimson-speckled color.

Shock flashed through the Vorath’s eyes as he stared at the boy before him.

He knew very well that no boy had been brought here by the royal prince, so how could a Vorath child be standing before him?

What was even more surprising was that he had been completely unable to identify him as one of them until the boy revealed his transformation.

As a Vorath, he could easily sense his own kind even among crowds of millions of humans, yet he had failed to detect Arlo completely.

That piqued his curiosity, but it also made his heart thump.

"You... What are you doing in a human sector? You could die!"

"Where are your parents?" he asked.

Arlo’s mind immediately began whirling at full speed, and naturally, he replied, "Parents?"

He asked, puzzled.

"Yes! What? Don’t tell me you don’t have any?"

The Vorath asked.

"I don’t. I was raised in an orphanage, and I’ve been noticing a lot of these familiar auras of mine wandering around all of a sudden."

"Since yours came so close, I decided to escape and check it out."

Arlo responded calmly, making the Vorath pause.

"An orphanage? So, you do not have contact with your parents?" the man asked, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Tell me..." Arlo said, ignoring the question.

"Am I really like you? A real Vorath?" Arlo asked.

The man’s eyes flashed as he paused for a while before eventually bringing his cigarette back to his lips, then breathing out the smoke.

"It is both a miracle and impressive that you survived this long among humans without any of them realizing what you are."

"Although, considering even I failed to recognize you, perhaps it is not so surprising."

"You must have mixed with humans for so long that there is barely any difference left between you and them."

The shock and suspicion on his face gradually faded.

"No matter what stupidity those humans might have told you, you are a Vorath."

"Oh? Okay then."

Arlo said, and the Vorath paused as he watched him slowly turn away.

"I simply wanted confirmation from a true Vorath, and now that I’ve gotten it... I will be leaving then."

He said this, pulling his hoodie back over his head as he began walking past the man, but before he could completely pass him, his shoulder was suddenly grabbed.

"What are you doing? I have to return before the orphanage closes its doors."

"Do not be stupid, kid. You are not a bloody human, and sooner or later, they will find that out. Do you know what will happen once news of what you are gets out?"

"They will nail you to a post in the town square and burn you alive. You cannot hide it forever," the man said, his eyes flashing with darkness.

The thought of a Vorath child being forced to grow up in a cursed place like a human settlement made his blood boil with rage.

Arlo jerked his hand free and watched the man carefully as he took a few steps away before eventually stopping, seemingly waiting for what he had to say next.

"You know, you are in luck, kid. We came to this city with someone important, a high-ranking Vorath, and I can introduce you to him."

"Maybe he can integrate you into Vorath society, your true place of origin."

"If you choose to run away instead, then I will not chase after you."

"Just understand that your death, or a lifetime spent never truly belonging anywhere, will be your own problem."

The man was willing to help the young boy, but if the boy foolishly rejected his offer, he would simply forget he had ever encountered him and continue with his business as usual.

Silence stretched between them as the man studied the boy, who appeared to be deep in thought, his eyes flickering here and there as he struggled to come to a decision.

The sight of it made him grin quietly, and eventually,

"Okay," Arlo finally replied.

The man smiled.

"You have made the right choice, boy."

"We have decided to leave the human settlement today, and once we do, there will be no returning."

"You truly are in luck. Let’s go."

He turned and began walking away, with Arlo following closely behind him.

[He fell for it!]

The system’s notification panel appeared before Arlo’s eyes, which flashed with a hint of cunning.

Pity is truly the best weapon in a war situation.

It was one of the war tactics he had learned from Roderic.

During a conflict between two opposing groups, each side was far more likely to favor its own than it normally would, and Arlo’s story of being a Vorath who had lost his parents and spent his life growing up in a human orphanage was enough to stir pity within one of them.

And just like that, he had gotten himself fully on track.

They wandered through different streets and alleyways, circling around several parts of the city before eventually arriving at an abandoned street filled with broken homes and deserted buildings.

Approaching a random-looking dilapidated house, they entered through the front and stepped into one of its living rooms.

The man suddenly knelt to the ground, his fingers turning claw-like as he slowly pried up a piece of iron from the floor, revealing a well-hidden metal cover beneath it.

He opened it immediately before turning to Arlo.

Without needing to be told anything further, Arlo stepped forward and jumped into the canal below.

The man followed right after him.

It turned out the canal was actually part of a sewage system filled with hundreds of tunnels.

Once again, the man took the lead as they passed through roughly three different sewage pipes before eventually arriving at a section containing a ladder.

Climbing it, the man knocked three times against the cover above before patiently waiting.

Within five seconds, the cover was pulled open.

The man climbed out first before looking down.

"Come up now, boy," he called, seemingly wanting the figure standing beside him to hear.

Arlo cautiously climbed up the ladder before completely exiting the underground passage and coming to stand beside him.

"What is the meaning of this? You brought a human to the base? I thought the prince told everyone that the experiment was over!" the muscular Vorath standing before them demanded, glaring furiously at the man.

"You fell for it too," the man replied, and the muscular Vorath’s eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean?"

"Show him, boy."

The muscular Vorath turned his attention toward Arlo, who removed his hoodie and revealed his clear, crimson-speckled eyes.

Then, before his shocked gaze, Arlo’s eyes slowly turned pitch black, just like his own, as his aura took on a sinister turn.

A moment later, the darkness faded, and Arlo pulled his hoodie back on.

"He... he is a Vorath!" the muscular man roared in shock.

The man beside Arlo nodded.

"Yes. A Vorath who has known nothing but humans since he was born. He found me and followed me here. I intend to take him to the prince and explain his situation. What do you say about that?"

The muscular Vorath nodded.

"The prince would have been beyond furious if he had found out you left a stray Vorath alone when you could have brought him back."

"Take the boy to him!"

He stepped aside, allowing the two of them to continue deeper into the base.

But now, Arlo’s heart was no longer as calm as before because he had just heard a name that had never been part of his calculations.

The Vorath Prince...

Arlo’s eyebrows furrowed.

I hope this does not become more troublesome than I planned.

"Hey, back just in time. We were already planning to leave."

They entered a room containing around seventeen men, one of whom called out upon seeing the man who had brought Arlo there.

However, their gazes soon shifted toward him, or more accurately, toward the person standing behind him.

"You brought a human in?" they asked in shock.

Arlo removed his hoodie once again, and before their eyes, his eyes gradually darkened until they became pitch black.

"What the hell? He is a Vorath."

"Then how come he does not smell like one?" another immediately asked.

The man smiled at them.

"You will know soon enough, after the prince learns about it first."

They watched the man head toward a flight of stairs and rapidly ascend them, with Arlo quickly following behind.

"I warn you to be very careful and mind your manners when you stand before the prince. I trust you have enough brains in your head to understand that, right?"