Chapter 50: A Benevolent or Ruthless Prince?

Eric warned seriously as they continued ascending.

At the end of the flight of stairs stood two guards, who immediately raised their hands upon seeing them, signaling for them to stop.

"What is your purpose for wanting to meet with the prince?" one of the guards asked, his thick voice booming through the stairway.

"I have come to show the prince an anomaly I found in the human settlement," Eric replied as he stepped aside, revealing Arlo behind him.

"And what is abnormal about an ordinary human boy?" the guard could not help but ask.

Eric grinned before signaling toward Arlo.

"Show them, boy."

Once again, Arlo took off his hoodie as the guards stared at his crimson-speckled eyes, which suddenly changed the next second, becoming rimmed with thick darkness that radiated a sinister intent identical to that of a Vorath.

"He is a Vorath!?" the guards exclaimed, displaying as much shock as they stared at Arlo dazedly.

"Where did you find him?"

"How did you find him?"

They both asked at the same time as Arlo pulled his hoodie back on.

"That is something I believe would be best revealed to the prince first," Eric replied.

The two guards stared at each other for a moment before nodding.

"You can go in."

They allowed the two inside, and Arlo followed Eric into the room.

It was large and luxurious, tiled with dark flooring and surrounded by shelves filled with various books.

The sound of pages shuffling reached them the instant they stepped inside.

They walked past rows upon rows of books before finally arriving at the large table at the front of the room, where a man currently sat.

He was an exceedingly muscular figure, with muscles so large they seemed ready to rip through his T-shirt. Even while seated, his face was level with Arlo, who was currently standing, making him seem like a miniature giant in comparison.

Yet what drew Arlo’s attention even more was the strange horn protruding from the side of the man’s head, faintly brimming with crimson energy.

"Prince Demois..." Eric called out as he dropped to both knees, but Arlo only glanced at him once before standing rooted to where he was, refusing to follow in the same action.

"Hmmm."

A soft hum reverberated through the room as Demois glanced at the page number of the book in his hands, taking note of it before closing the book and placing it carefully on top of a pile of roughly seven others arranged neatly on the table.

He then removed his spectacles and rubbed his eyes before finally turning his attention toward the two newcomers.

"Rise to your feet. Might I know what you need from me, Eric?"

’He knows my name!?’ Eric’s mind shook.

He was merely an ordinary guard who had been brought along on the expedition. How did the mighty Prince Demois even know his name?

"Forgive me for disturbing your reading, my lord, but there is something I wish to inform you about."

"You have my ears."

Prince Demois laid his spectacles on the table and turned his full attention toward Eric, who quickly narrated everything that had happened between him and Arlo without leaving out even the smallest detail.

"That was what happened, my lord," Eric concluded.

Prince Demois’s eyebrows furrowed for a brief moment before relaxing again.

"You have done a great service for the settlement, Eric. Take this as a gift from me."

He passed a golden card toward Eric, whose hands trembled as he received it.

The personal card of Prince Demois!

It was something capable of changing an ordinary Vorath’s life in the blink of an eye.

"Thank you, my lord."

Eric immediately dropped to both knees once again.

"Leave him to me, Eric. You may excuse us."

Eric quickly rose to his feet and exited the room, leaving only Arlo and Demois behind.

The pressure within the room seemed to thicken as Prince Demois silently stared at the young man beneath the hoodie, his gaze seeming to pierce through it as he carefully examined Arlo’s facial features.

"What is your name?"

That was the first thing he asked.

"Arlo. Arlo Eclipsion!" Arlo replied.

Demois then signaled for him to come closer, and Arlo obliged.

"Give me your palms."

Arlo stretched both hands forward, and Prince Demois took them in his grasp.

’He has the hands of a warrior...’ Arlo thought as he felt the hardness and roughness of Demois’s palms.

They were heavily calloused hands, the hands of someone who had spent countless years fighting.

Considering that Demois was a prince, there was only one explanation Arlo could think of.

He was a warrior.

Closing his eyes, Demois extended his consciousness into Arlo’s body, sensing every movement of blood within him as clearly as day while thoroughly scanning every inch of his body, including the blood flowing through his veins.

A few moments later, he opened his eyes and released Arlo’s hands.

"You possess the same bloodline that runs through me. Your parents must have been among my people. I am sorry for your loss."

Arlo remained silent for a moment, confused as to their relation, but still responded.

"I have already healed from it."

A golden notification panel flickered before his eyes.

[The fact that the same bloodline runs through both of you must mean that girl, Milliani, whose bloodline you absorbed, held the same bloodline as this prince in one way or another.]

[He must believe your bloodline was passed down by your parents and therefore sees you as one of his own.]

The system explained.

"I will take you back to the settlement, and you will remain under my guardianship until you are able to stand on your own. For now, we will wait for the men to finish packing before we move."

Prince Demois signaled for Arlo to take a seat beside him, but suddenly...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A muffled explosion thundered from somewhere far away, yet the sound still reached the hall with enough force to reveal just how powerful it had been. Prince Demois’s eyebrows creased slightly.

Less than five seconds later, one of the guards bolted into the room.

"My Lord, the humans have tracked our settlement down and are now launching an attack!"

***

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The sudden sound of beeping caught Ennessa’s attention.

Her eyes furrowed as she quickly brought out her tablet, her gaze immediately locking onto the screen, where a blue figure and a red figure could be seen moving toward a particular location.

"Finally. We caught one of them."

She immediately sent the notification to the remaining crew leaders, who quickly signaled their respective teams.

Before long, everyone participating in the operation had received the news and was already running toward the source of the signals.

As they moved through the streets and alleyways, the different groups gradually came across one another, their numbers steadily increasing.

Yet Ennessa’s expression slowly began to darken with worry when she finally reunited with every member of her crew except one.

"Where’s Arlo...?"

"The points of light have stopped moving. That means they must have arrived at the base," one of the crew leaders responsible for monitoring the trackers said, causing everyone to turn toward one another.

"Notify the sector guards. Since we have now tracked their base, we break into it with full force and capture everyone in one fell swoop."

"That way, we can catch them when they least expect it and gain the upper hand. The local sector guards should be here to back us up soon, and all I see is us winning," another sector leader added, a decision they all quickly agreed upon.

Immediately, they changed out of their regular clothes and into their cyber armors before marching through the various sewage tunnels.

Eventually, they arrived beneath the ladder leading into the Vorath base, where numerous red lights could now clearly be seen on the map.

"More than twenty-five Voraths."

"We strike swiftly. Kill everyone. No holding back, no mercy, and no questions."

Ennessa’s order rang out as a burly man stepped forward, a gigantic hammer appearing in his hands while he stared up at the cover above them.

In the next second...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

His hammer lit up with a powerful blue glow as arcs of electricity burst from the crazily condensed positive and negative energy within it.

Then, he swung.

The hammer slammed directly into the cover, releasing a devastating shockwave that tore through the room above.

________________

One of the Vorath guards was sent reeling away, his hulking body tossed aside by the destructive force before he smashed through a nearby door.

The commotion immediately caused every Vorath in the area to jump to their feet.

"We... we have company!"

The next instant, the Vorath guard was blown to pieces as Ennessa entered the room, smoke rising from the nozzle of her rifle.

"ATTAAAAACK!"

"SCREEEEEEEEEECHHHH!"

VROOOOOOOOM!

BAAANG!

BAAAAANG!

BAAAAAAANG!

What followed was a destructive battle as humans and Voraths unleashed powerful attacks within the confined room.

Blood and organs splattered through the air as both sides laid bare their deep hatred for one another, fighting with everything they had in an attempt to take the lives of the opposing group.

***

"My Lord, the humans have tracked our settlement down and are now launching an all-out attack!"

The guard spoke with clear disturbance in his voice as Prince Demois turned his attention toward him.

"That has been considered and well prepared for."

There was barely any change in his expression, aside from the slight crease between his eyebrows.

"I am guessing our people on the lowest floor are already engaged with them."

"Yes, my Lord."

"Then I order for the teleporters implanted in every room, except for the lower floors, to be opened. All Voraths present are to return within one minute."

"The people on the lower floors will fight to give us enough time."

The guard bowed before quickly running out of the room to carry out the orders he had been given.

’Sacrificing some to save more. He is a ruthless, deep thinker...’ Arlo thought to himself.