Many hours later.Hawkins returned to the old laboratory. He was covered in many wounds, and one of his arms was broken, too. He was wincing in pain. “Damn that pig. Bryant and I fought him together, and yet he managed to escape from us. His defenses were too high. He must have absorbed quite a number of orange power crystals during the years he spent in the nether dungeon. Bryant said he’d give the mission of capturing Porcius to the Manglers. They are a strong group, but I doubt they can stop him.”He patiently waited outside, knowing that his daughter was still inside.He remembered the question Ria had asked after tearing her arm out because he was responsible for treating her.“Would you have cared for me if I was just a weak girl who couldn’t even defend herself?” Ria asked.Hawkins couldn’t answer that question. He let her go.Thinking back on it, Hawkins clenched his fists because deep down he knew that Ria was right. But what he didn’t know was… why did his heart ache for her
Myles opened his eyes slowly.“He’s awake,” Ria noticed that straightaway and brought claws out through her hands. To her surprise, she was able to bring claws out through her bionic hand, also.“Ria…” Myles was surprised to see her sitting a few feet away from the bed where he was lying. At the same time, he was shocked that he was able to speak. Moreover, where was he?The last thing he remembered was rotting in a cold dungeon and doing his best to survive until he got knocked out cold by Blue Dog.“How am I able to speak?” Myles looked stunned. He didn’t get his powers back, so who healed him?John calmly explained what he had done to Myles.“So you healed me through nanobots and then installed a mechanical tongue in my mouth?” Myles was astonished to hear that. “And I sound very fluent. You did a great job.”“Thanks for the compliment, but I think it’s better that you sort things out with this woman first,” John pointed at Ria. “She probably intends to kill you after you leave thi
John’s heart rang in his ears after seeing that Myles had no shadow. “A-Are you one of those vampires that loses their shadows and so they can’t roam in the sunlight?”Ria also heard about some vampires not having shadows, though she didn’t think it was real because how could a physical body not have a shadow when light was cast upon it? However, she couldn’t deny what was happening before her eyes right now. She got goosebumps from what she was seeing.“I’m not a vampire as you think,” Myles calmly said, moving away from the wall. “It’s just that the being that lived in Justin ended up stealing his shadow as well while leaving his body and snatching mine. Its powers are based on the shadows, after all, and it’s quite knowledgeable with the ways of magic.”“The power of shadows…” John’s eyes slightly enlarged. “The power to travel from one body to another through force… he’s more than likely the invisible demon.”“Invisible demon?” Myles looked puzzled because all the demons were invi
“What do you intend to do now, Ria?” asked Myles.Ria kept staring coldly at Myles for a while. She had already asked her divine weapon if Myles’ soul was really in Justin’s body, but her weapon said it wasn’t sure as it never linked with Justin before. “I came to this city to kill my father,” she said, “but I can’t do it this time around, so I’ll be following you for a while. If I get the faintest of doubt that you’re indeed Justin, then I’ll kill you there and then.”“That’s fine by me,” Myles said and looked at John. “Thanks for helping us, sir, but I would like to request one more thing from you.”“What is it?” John felt like doing anything to help.“Can you make a facial mask for me? One that lasts through fire and thunder?”“Mm, I can make that, but whose face do you want?”“Just make a new face,” Myles said. “Things may get unnecessarily complicated if I wear my old face.”“I do remember how your real face looks, so how about I create two masks? One with a fake face, and one wi
There were still a lot of tensions hanging everywhere around the city, with everyone trying to gain money or power by cashing in on the current situation.Just traveling from one ward to another required one to pay high amounts of money in secret. Those who weren’t willing to bribe the guards were forced to stay in the ward.Myles, however, traveled through one ward after another without any trouble, thanks to the platinum wolf badge. Nobody dared to question him because the platinum badge wasn’t something one could get their hands on out of pure luck. He might have not gotten it directly, but still, he must know the person who was given that badge. This was enough for people to stay out of his way.This should have made Myles' life simple, but he didn’t look happy at all. No matter where he looked, there was nothing but selfishness and wickedness on display. When one should be helping each other, everybody was trying to use the other to better themselves.This was similar to what he
Just going from one ward to another by foot was already a difficult thing right now, as the guards would shower you with a lot of questions, and so getting a pass would be anything but easy.Naturally, flying was restricted in most wards. Only officers were allowed to roam the sky. However, Ria was able to fly without a problem because of the platinum wolf badge in Myles’ possession.This badge had the power to pacify and humble even the angriest and most arrogant of officers.They were able to reach the western border safely with this badge. Still and all, they wouldn’t be allowed to leave the city by using the badge.It required a special permit in writing for anyone that wanted to leave the city. Myles and Ria didn’t have that.Ria was currently at a market. She could see the floating masses of earth on the western side of the island. There were flying guards posted on every floating mass.“How can we escape their watch?” Ria frowned. “There are thousands of them. Can even a fly es
Myles, Ria, and Penny planned together. After Myles explained everything, he looked at Ria. “This mission’s success mainly depends on whether you can carry me and Penny and fly far enough before any guard notices us.” “I can’t carry you both until the Venture city, but I can carry you for a few miles without a problem,” Ria replied with certainty. “Then let’s do it.” Penny fixed bombs to Ria’s feathers. Ria sent them flying high into the dome-like aerial barrier bordering the island. The explosion was so big, the barrier not only cracked and broke, but flames and smoke filled the sky and choked the guards. Even Ria’s feathers were destroyed. Ria and Myles were shocked by how effective the bombs were, but they had no idea that Penny selectively brought those bombs so she could trouble the guards and then escape. However, Ria used them much more effectively than she ever could. Ria stressed her back and was able to create a new set of feathers, though it cost her a lot of energy. B
“Bad decisions make life freaking hard for you in the future,” Penny said as they were still traveling on the boat. “One of the biggest regrets of my life is not settling with a good man when I was in my twenties or thirties. single life sucks after you cross forty. I’m saying this now because I’ve realized on this journey that you two seem worse than I did in my younger days, though in a very different way. I dated douchebags left and right, but you look like you won’t date anybody even if you were offered riches and fame. And that’s not good for mental or physical health.”Ria and Myles were sitting on opposite ends of the boat, with Penny sitting in the middle.“We’re not far from the venture city now,” Penny added. “It’s a city full of opportunities, so forget about your past. Do the things that are necessary right now for you to live the life that you want in the future. There are a lot of paths that look good in the beginning, like the solo adventures you can have when you’re wr