Chapter 51: The Vorath Settlement

From the simple words he had spoken, Arlo could already see the entire plan Demois had formed in those few seconds.

He had chosen to sacrifice those already fighting on the lower floors so those on the upper levels would have enough time to escape, a decision that could not have been easy for anyone to make, especially not for a prince.

That alone gave Arlo a glimpse of the kind of person sitting beside him.

Yet what surprised him even more was that Prince Demois made no move to leave, simply keeping his eyes on the book before him with the same seriousness and focus as if the base beneath them was not under attack.

"The base is under attack. Should we not be leaving!?" Arlo asked quietly, but Prince Demois remained silent, his eyes still fixed on the book.

Nearly five minutes passed before he finally reached the end. Gently placing the book down, he tapped a button on the table.

RIIIIIIIIIIIP

It was as though space itself had been forcefully torn apart by an invisible hand as a power force enveloped Arlo from behind.

He turned around and found a gigantic dark vortex slowly spinning behind him.

"We need to leave," Demois said, rising to his feet and walking toward the portal.

At that exact moment, however, the door to the room burst open, and a figure rushed inside.

A figure that made Arlo’s eyes flash with shock.

Captain Ennessa!

The moment she saw Arlo, her eyes narrowed before her attention immediately shifted toward the Vorath standing only a few centimeters away from him.

"Get back!" she roared at Arlo, instantly raising her weapon and firing at Prince Demois.

Demois’s hands morphed into gigantic claws, and with a casual swipe, he slapped the bullet away without the slightest change in his expression.

"RUN!" Captain Ennessa ordered as she repeatedly fired her rifle.

Yet strangely, she heard no footsteps retreating.

That made her turn toward Arlo, only to find that he had not moved an inch from where he stood.

"Why are you not running?" Captain Ennessa asked in confusion.

Her expression changed the instant she felt the air before her suddenly rustle.

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAM

Her vision blurred as an invisible force sent her flying backward, knocking the rifle from her hands before slamming her into one of the bookshelves.

STEP!

STEP!

STEP!

Slow footsteps echoed through the room as Prince Demois began walking toward the female human, his claws growing larger and more fearsome with every step.

But before he could pass Arlo, the boy spoke.

"Leave her be."

Prince Demois’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

For a brief moment, his gaze moved from Arlo to Ennessa before his claws slowly returned to their normal form.

’Even though he is one of us, he has lived among humans his entire life.’

’Watching a human woman die before his eyes could turn him against us, making him see his own people as the evil ones.’

’It would be better to show him compassion and let him discover the humans’ wickedness for himself.’

With that thought, Demois gave Ennessa one final glance before turning around and walking toward the portal.

"We do not have much time left."

Arlo followed behind him, leaving Captain Ennessa staring in complete shock.

Deep claw marks covered her face, yet it was as though she could no longer feel the corrosive pain as her eyes widened at the scene unfolding before her.

A scene that simply could not be real.

She watched Arlo willingly follow a Vorath into the portal when he had every opportunity to run.

But what shattered her mind even further was when Prince Demois placed a hand on Arlo’s shoulder and turned his gaze toward her.

"He is one of us."

Those were the last words she heard before both figures disappeared into the dark vortex.

The portal closed almost immediately afterward, returning the room to complete silence.

"Ar... Arlo..."

_____________

"How strange..."

A soft mutter echoed through a laboratory where more than a dozen holographic screens floated in the air, while test tubes containing different mixtures were arranged throughout the room.

"I do not understand. How could such a conclusion even be possible?"

The voice belonged to a female scientist dressed in a white coat.

A strange biotechnological lens covered one of her eyes as she analyzed a test tube, while several mechanical arms extending from her back rapidly moved between the holographic screens, clicking and processing information almost as if they possessed minds of their own.

"This is nearly impossible, yet the results are right in front of me."

"Perhaps I should report this to Ennessa first and hear what she has to say,"

Surgeon Delaney muttered before picking up her phone and dialing Ennessa’s number.

____________

Reaching into her pockets, Ennessa brought out two pills and swallowed them.

Almost immediately, a corrosive vapor began seeping from the wounds on her face before dispersing into the air, while the claw marks slowly closed at a visible speed.

DRIIIING!

DRIIIING!

Her phone suddenly rang, and turning toward it, Ennessa saw the face of her friend on the screen. Tiredly swiping to accept the call, she raised the device before to her ear.

"Hey, Ennessa. I think I finally found the reason Arlo reacted the way he did to the Nitro 143 specimen. According to..."

For the next three minutes, Ennessa listened as Delaney went through hundreds of hypotheses and theories, eventually narrowing everything down to a single conclusion.

"So my final conclusion is that Arlo is neither human nor Vorath, but is most likely a special type of Vorath, something different from both races."

"Almost like an entirely different entity of his own."

"I know it sounds insane, and I am beginning to wonder whether I am losing my mind myself, but the results of my calculations..."

"You are not crazy, Delaney," Ennessa interrupted, and she paused.

"Well... thank you."

Yet she immediately noticed something strange about her friend’s voice. It sounded...

"If you do not mind me asking, Ennessa... where is Arlo?"

Silence filled the call for a while before Ennessa finally answered.

"He is gone, Delaney."

"Gone!? What do you mean gone, Ennessa? Explain properly."

"He left with the Vorath, Delaney. He was with them from the very beginning. It was all a ploy, and we fell for it like bloody idiots."

Silence suddenly came from Delaney’s end, as the call was disconnected.

Ennessa lowered her phone before it slipped from her fingers and fell to the ground.

She leaned heavily against the wall and stared up at the ceiling, a thin line of blood tears trailing from her left eye.

CRAAACK!

CRAAACK!

Visible cracks suddenly began spreading throughout the room as Ennessa’s left fingers dipped into the gem-like floor as though it were sand, sending fractures racing through it under the sheer power they contained, until her fingers quietly curled into a fist.

A fist crawling with thick red veins.

__________________

The teleportation ended as quickly as it had begun.

Arlo opened his eyes and immediately found himself standing somewhere completely different.

The first thing he noticed was the strange density of particles in the air.

"Mana... but in such a high concentration?" Arlo said in slight surprise.

A chuckle sounded from behind him.

"You are at least familiar with mana. That is good to know."

Prince Demois walked forward, his hand resting on a doorknob before he gently twisted it and pushed the door open.

What Arlo saw beyond it made his eyes narrow.

An entire army of Vorath stood before him, their bodies radiating an exceedingly powerful pressure that would have been enough to suffocate him if he had not already reached the Magic Apprentice Realm.

"Welcome back, Prince Demois!"

Their voices thundered through the area in unison. Despite their greeting, none of them bowed as Demois merely raised a hand, dismissing the formality.

"I want to introduce someone to all of you."

He placed a hand on Arlo’s shoulder.

"Tell me, is he human or Vorath?"

The group carefully scrutinized Arlo before several of them shook their heads.

"He does not carry our scent," one of the guards said, while the others nodded in agreement.

"If you do not mind, can you show them once more?" Prince Demois asked.

Arlo pulled back his hood.

His eyes slowly turned pitch-black.

"Impossible."

Shock spread through the group as they stared at Arlo.

He was unmistakably Vorath.

Nothing more was needed to identify one. Those eyes, which seemed like the physical embodiment of chaos itself, were something humans could never replicate, regardless of how advanced their technology became.

It was simply impossible.

"He is Arlo, a Vorath boy who has lived among humans since birth," Prince Demois explained.

"He grew so accustomed to living among them that his Vorath aura completely faded, and he knows nothing about his true origins."

"Yet the same blood that flows through you and me also runs through his veins."

Demois paused briefly before continuing.

"Because of that, I am leaving him in your care. Show him around, teach him about our people, and help him integrate into the settlement."

"You can rest assured, Prince," they all replied at once.

Prince Demois nodded before reaching into his trousers and handing Arlo a golden card, identical to the one he had earlier given Eric.

"You will soon learn its purpose. When that time comes, do not hesitate."

Arlo accepted the card and gave a slight nod.

With that, Prince Demois turned and continued on his way, leaving the corridor and the small army of nearly one hundred Vorath behind with Arlo.

"This way," one of the Vorath standing closest to him said as he began walking.

Arlo followed behind him, and before long, the two disappeared deeper into the settlement.