Chapter 57: Revealing His True Form

Arlo replied as he turned away and began walking into the distance, only to freeze when he suddenly felt a body wrap itself around him from behind.

"That’s not true."

"You walked toward me when I was a monster at my weakest, and you helped me when everything around you told you that the right thing to do was put an end to me."

"You could have died, but you still risked your life anyway."

"You are the last person who could ever be called selfish," she whispered.

Quietly, Arlo’s pitch-black eyes slowly began reverting to their crimson-speckled color.

"Just leave me behind..." Arlo muttered.

A sudden stinging pain struck the back of his head.

His eyelids grew heavy, and before he could react, his body collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"You just need to sleep it away..."

Milliani said as she picked him up from the ground, threw him over her back, and carried him toward the castle.

___________

The first thing Arlo saw upon regaining consciousness was a stretch of blue clouds above him. He abruptly sat upright, only to find a cup being held out toward him.

"I definitely won’t take that," Arlo replied automatically as he turned toward Princess Milliani.

"I could have harmed you ten thousand times over while you were unconscious," she said.

Arlo’s eyes narrowed, and despite himself, he had to reluctantly agree.

He had allowed himself to be sneak-attacked and knocked unconscious, after all.

She had nearly killed Captain Ennessa the last time they met if not for his quick intervention, so there was no doubt that she could have harmed him while he was unconscious.

"It calms a troubled mind and makes you forget things for a while. It should help with your disoriented mental state..." she explained.

Arlo finally conceded, but not before asking internally,

’Hey, System, is there poison in this?’

[There isn’t.]

Only then did Arlo take a sip.

Immediately, a cold sensation spread throughout his body, calming his heart as a slight chill enveloped his head. It was only then that Arlo felt himself relax, the anger inside him slowly cooling away.

Time passed in silence, their hair and clothes fluttering gently in the breeze.

"Thank you..." Arlo suddenly whispered.

Milliani turned toward him, one eyebrow raised.

"For knocking you out?" she asked with a devilish grin.

"For the words and the tea..." he replied.

She simply smiled.

"A day ago, my brother came back and mentioned a Vorath boy he found during his little expedition."

"My mom suggested adopting the boy to help him deal with the loneliness and sudden change in his environment."

"I just never thought it could be you..." she said.

Arlo sighed.

"I left the humans, not because they were boring, but because of this..." he said as he raised his hand.

Right before Milliani’s furrowed eyes, his hand gradually became paler, then elongated before transforming into a sharp, beastly claw that brimmed with an otherworldly blue light.

"You turned into a Vorath?" Princess Milliani asked.

Arlo’s claw returned to its normal form.

"But how?" she asked in shock.

Arlo merely shrugged.

"You wanted me to join your Vorath side because of my strange ability to heal them, right?"

"Well, I can’t heal Voraths anymore, and this is what healing you did to me..." Arlo explained.

Milliani’s eyes flashed with confusion.

It was the first time she had ever heard of something like this, someone who wasn’t a Vorath turning into one simply by touching someone who was.

"Must have been really bad, surviving like this among the humans..." Milliani said, guilt visible in her eyes.

Arlo simply shrugged.

"I can easily control it. Still, I think I’ll do better living with the Voraths than with the humans," he replied.

"Then I guess it’s not that bad," she concluded.

Arlo smiled at that.

"Still, you really are a cheap, sleek-neck who duped my family," she chastised with a smile.

"Well, you understand why now, don’t you?" Arlo replied.

Milliani nodded seriously.

"Well then, I’ll keep your little secret away from prying eyes, for now..." she said.

Arlo looked at her dubiously.

"Promise?"

"I promise. But don’t ever think about duping me too. You know I have a card against you..." she said with a devilish expression.

"I won’t do anything that will hurt you if you won’t do anything that will hurt me. I promise."

"Good," Milliani replied.

[Hidden Quest Completed!]

[Find a way for your true secrets to not get leaked by your adversary.]

[Rewards: +1 Level Up Card. +700 EXP]

[Well, you resolved that in quite the unexpected and special way. I could almost suggest you kill her and run.]

The system’s words caused Arlo’s eyebrows to twitch.

’You devil!’

"That said, I would really love to see your Vorath form."

"Since you probably got changed into a Vorath by me, and my brother said you have our family’s bloodline, does that mean you’ll look like me?"

Princess Milliani asked, staring at him with curiosity, unaware of Arlo’s pounding heart.

’No. No. This can’t be good either...’

[It is. It’s better to see her own reaction. If she detests it, then you’ll know that you’ll have to keep your Vorath form hidden from everyone else.]

[But if it’s acceptable, then there will be nothing for you to worry about. It would be better than revealing it directly to someone like the king or Prince Demois.]

Arlo furrowed his eyebrows before finally conceding.

"Well, do Voraths fly?"

"Huh?"

Milliani raised an eyebrow at the strange question as Arlo rose to his feet and proceeded to take off his clothes.

"You, what are you doing!?" Princess Milliani asked, immediately turning her gaze away as a hint of pink crept onto her cheeks.

Arlo grinned before giving the command in his mind.

’Activate Fallen Angel Halfling Transformation...’

In the next instant, he collapsed to his knees once more as his eyes shifted from their crimson-speckled color to pitch-black, then finally to a brilliant white.

His muscles began to bulge as his skin gradually turned pale.

RIIIIIIIIP

WRIGGLE

ARRRRRGH

The sound of something tearing through his back rang out as Arlo gritted his teeth against the pain.

Princess Milliani had long since been left completely gobsmacked as she watched the two things protruding from Arlo’s back writhe before rapidly growing larger.

His blue hair also changed to white, cascading down his shoulders.

"Impossible..." she muttered.

The objects behind Arlo continued growing until they transformed into gigantic wings, each spanning two meters in length.

They slowly spread apart as Arlo turned toward her, his heart pounding with anxiety.

"You... you look like my mom instead. But why are your wings white?" she asked.

Arlo’s eyebrows furrowed.

"Your mom’s true Vorath form also looks like this?"

Milliani nodded.

"Can you fly, though?" she asked, reaching out to poke at his wings.

Arlo spread them apart, and in the next instant, he appeared ten meters away from Princess Milliani, standing suspended in the air.

"WOOOOAH! You’re just as fast too!" Princess Milliani exclaimed in shock, remembering how Arlo could almost blink in and out of existence like her mother.

But Arlo’s eyebrows creased as he looked at his wings.

Something was wrong.

It was as though they responded directly to his thoughts. All he had willed was to rise into the air and move away from her, yet he had suddenly found himself standing ten meters away.

He turned toward Princess Milliani, who wore a surprised and delighted expression after witnessing his transformation, and a sinister thought suddenly entered his mind.

He dived forward at incredible speed.

"WOOOOAHHHH!!!"

Princess Milliani screamed in shock as Arlo appeared before her, grabbed her by the shoulder, and immediately flew into the sky.

"You! Let me go, you feathery wack!" Princess Milliani cursed.

Arlo continued ascending until they reached around 400 meters in the air.

"Okay, I’ll let you go!"

"Wait, no, no, waitttttt!"

Arlo released his grasp.

"AHHHHHHHH!"

A scream that nearly reverberated throughout the castle walls rang from Milliani’s lips as she plummeted through the air.

She desperately struggled to control her fall, but gravity was merciless, dragging her rapidly toward the ground.

"HEEEELP MEEE!!!"

She screamed again, only to be shocked speechless when she suddenly found herself on someone’s back, her body once more being carried upward as they glided through the sky.

BAAADUMP

BAAADUMP

BAAADUMP

Her heart pounded violently against her chest as the wind whipped her hair wildly around her face. She looked at Arlo, who turned to glance at her from the corner of his eye.

"Who would have guessed that the mighty Princess Milliani of the Eboncrest family would be afraid of heights, huh?" Arlo asked.

Princess Milliani snorted coldly but remained silent as Arlo glided over the castle walls.

Below them, several guards stared up with their jaws hanging open when they caught sight of him.

They immediately gripped their spears tightly, but upon seeing Princess Milliani behind him, they lowered them and simply watched Arlo with curiosity.

"That’s a strange form for a male Vorath, and his wings are white instead of black," they muttered among themselves.

"And he seems to be particularly close to the princess too. They’re a bit too close to each other, don’t you think?"

"What do you mean?"

"Can’t you see they’re hugging so tightly?"

"You idiot. Your jealousy will get you killed if the king catches you sizing up the princess."

"Sheesh, hush. Do you have to be so loud, you imbecile?"

___________

Princess Milliani’s scream immediately caused King Eboncrest to jump out of bed.

He turned toward the window and saw Arlo soaring through the sky.

"What the hell!!!" he roared in shock.

He quickly ran out of the room toward the balcony, with Isadolla rapidly following behind him.

They both reached the corridor, but they couldn’t see Milliani anywhere in the air or on the ground. However, they didn’t have to search for long.