“I am Aurum...”

The words that Aurum used stayed in the air like a heavy machete over everyone's necks. Aria, the President, the researchers and guards… even the scientists outside. They all froze in their places. The being that they’d called the ancient man was showing a fully conscious state, entirely unlike his puppet-like exterior in the beginning. They had always seen the man as a mere tool to research on, to discover new details about the Age of Dragons and why the S-Class Dungeon was sealed on Mount Eiger. But at the moment… they were at a loss of words.

Many of them were pissed at the ancient man, for not being cooperative. If only Aurum had talked to them and gave them information… they wouldn’t have to stay in the bunker for such a long period of time. Instead of treating him with the fundamental rights of a human, they made him a slave to their experiments.

And that was okay. After all, since the ancient man wasn’t human, he didn’t deserve any of the rights that a human would have. But… was that truly it?

The ancient man had a name. He had just declared it proudly. Could the researchers… Could Yudonia see him in the same light once again? Everyone was second-guessing themselves.

Minerva scanned over the entire laboratory at that moment. Some of the scientists were turning pale green, others were doing their best not to hurl. Biting on her lower lip, Minerva’s face was as bitter as anyone else’s. She knew what was going through everyone’s minds. How could she not? Minerva was thinking about it herself. Turning her eyes back to the one-way screen, the White Sorceress met the President’s eyes.

‘Old man… We’re going to have a problem.’

Unaware of what his declaration had done, Aurum ran to the only one that mattered to him. With an expression that wasn’t thought capable in his previous self, Aurum held Aria by the shoulders and asked worriedly: “Aria, are you okay?!”

“Y-yeah...”

“Really?! Did he not hurt you?!”

“No, I’m really fine...”

“No! There’s a mark on your neck! Damn it, is there anyone that could treat you? I don’t have the magic to heal you! Should I look through your memories to find it? No, you don’t like me looking through your memories, so I can’t do that! Wait! Old geezer! You can heal her right! Please do so, I beg you!” Aurum started to ramble to himself, not hearing Aria’s words.

Watching this unfold, Aria felt her heart warming up. The shivers that tingled her spine were gone, and the fear that enveloped her body slowly receded. The trauma of death that left her frozen had long disappeared, and she was slowly regaining her original colour.

“Don’t worry about me, Aurum. I’m really fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Aria nodded and gently peeled off the man’s hands from her shoulders. “If I were that injured, I wouldn’t be talking to you now, right?”

Aria only wanted to relieve Aurum’s stress levels, but touching the man’s hands had sent an electric shock through her body. Aurum’s hands… they were warm. They were just as warm as any regular human’s hands. His skin was smooth and soft and was so damned similar to a human. And then it hit her…

All this while, Aria had never actually touched Aurum before. She had only read his charts and spent some time talking to him, but… Aria had never felt Aurum before. It was too dangerous. He may attack her once again. He might try to use some ancient magic to harm her. Those were all of the concerns that Aria had. But in truth, touching Aurum was not dangerous in the slightest. In fact… It felt a little comforting.

‘Just like a real human man,’ Aria added.

“Is that so…” Although sceptical, Aurum released his hold of Aria. He then snorted and spat at the ground, exclaiming: “Next time if there’s anyone who’s going to harm you, just tell me straight! I’ll send him flying the same way I did that piece of trash!”

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“Piece of trash...” Aria bitterly smiled. Only Aurum would call an S-Class Metamorph, one that could sneak through all of Yudonia’s defences, a piece of trash. Still, with his physical prowess, Aurum was well within his right to look down on the Rankers of this world.

‘A physical ability that exceeds any S-Ranker. If he learnt martial arts on top of that, he’ll probably even beat the Mad Fist!’ Aria mused. Aurum had lost his memories, so he’d lost all of the fighting capabilities that he’d once possessed. Any magic, any martial arts and even any strategies to fight… Aurum probably lost all semblance of them.

The only reason why he was able to dominate Number Six was due to his immense power and speed, a trait that far surpassed that of any S-Ranker in Yudonia. Aria’s curious mind began to spin as she thought of the numerous records that Aurum could break if he entered the real world. Unfortunately, an elderly voice disrupted her wild thoughts at the end.

“Aria, I think that we should vacate this area first. Since there has been an infiltration, we’ll be moving Aurum as well. Staying here won’t be safe. We also need to treat that wound of yours.” The President whispered into Aria’s ears.

Aria blinked thoughtfully. “You’re right. We shouldn’t stay here.” Releasing her hold on Aurum, Aria brushed off the dust that accumulated on her dress with a smile. On the other hand, Aurum snarled at the President, thinking that he was trying to snatch Aria away from him.

The President shivered. Aurum’s act of aggression wasn’t a first for him as he’d always complained about Aria’s lack of visits. Typically, the President would brush those threats off since Aurum was chained and unable to do anything, but right after watching the man plummet Raklius’ top spy into the wall… The President was unable to feel safe.

“Now, now. Be nice, Aurum,” Aria interjected before things escalated. “Once things die down, I’ll visit once again and spend a little more time with you.”

“If you say so...” Aurum clicked his tongue. Although he hated the President for dragging Aria out of his reach, Aurum would never do anything against Aria’s wishes. “Promise that you’ll return soon? Staying here every day is boring as hell!”

“Promise.” Aria smiled back. The disgust and apprehension that she’d felt for the ancient man had dissipated away like snow in summer. He wasn’t the monster that she’d thought he was. Neither was he a threat to her life or the Greater Humanoid Species as a whole. Aurum was… a bona fide living soul that just yearned for company.

As Aria was preparing to leave, a sudden thought ran through her head. No, rather than a thought, it was a reminder. Turning around, Aria looked at Aurum in the eyes. That sudden movement made Aurum freeze. At that moment, he felt connected to Aria, even though they weren’t linked by magic or anything. He could feel a distinct shift in her feelings, her thoughts. The atmosphere surrounding the gorgeous black-haired, blue-eyed woman had turned warm, melting away the former chill that plagued her soul. The corners of Aria’s lips curled up into a radiant smile, and Aurum felt his heart skip a beat. It was the brightest expression that Aria had ever shown him. No, it was the brightest expression Aurum had ever seen since coming out from his eternal darkness.

And then, the words laced with honey slipped out of that red, moist lips.

“Aurum, thank you for saving me.”

❖❖❖

Bran. Raklius, Vampire Federation.

An aged woman closed her eyes while enveloped by a state-of-the-art massage chair. Her body was swaying according to the pistons of the chair, and her wrinkled skin was showing signs of rejuvenation as the blood was being circulated fairly. Lying silently, no one could hear her breath, and some might even confuse her as an unmoving corpse. However, Viola wasn’t dead, far from it in fact.

Viola may be entering her twilight years, but there was nothing that could slow her down. Reigning at the top of the world’s foremost intelligence agency, even SS-Rankers would tremble at her name. In fact, she had dirt on almost every SS-Ranker out there. If push came to shove, Viola would unquestionably push that very filthy button.

A person in control. That was the feeling that everyone would feel when they saw Raklius Chief Intelligence Minister. It didn’t matter if there was a meteor heading to Earth or if there was a resurgence of Dragons in the mainland. Nothing could faze Viola. That was the aura of control that Viola had.

Unfortunately, even the world’s most knowledgeable woman had days of rude awakenings.

“Ma’am! Number Six has been compromised!” A vampire in a black suit rushed into Viola’s apartment, instantly announcing his news.

Instantly, the sound of beeps echoed out from the massage chair as the elderly woman’s eyes snapped open. Jumping off the chair in a feat of athleticism unlike her age, Viola glared at her subordinate and growled. “Explain.”

“Fifteen minutes ago, Number Six’s biological chip stopped transmitting data! We can’t ascertain if it was turned off manually or destroyed but...”

“You should know that turning it off manually is almost impossible...” Viola bit her nails. All operatives from the Raklius Federation were surgically attached with a biological chip which could transmit information such as their present location to their vitals. It was done so to protect the spy and to make recovery missions much easier. Since the location of the chip was on the heart, it was near impossible to turn it off manually. For the biological chip to stop entirely, it could only mean one thing…

“Number Six has passed on in Yudonia,” Viola instantly deduced. “How troublesome. An S-Class Metamorph like him shouldn’t be discovered by a second-rate country like Yudonia. Unless the Elves of Elfheim had something to do with this. Or did they have assistance from the dwarves of Gondor?”

Wild theories ran through the Chief Intelligence Minister’s mind. Before dispatching Number Six, Viola had extensively researched the combat capabilities of the small country. Barring the pesky White Sorceress that could barely touch the SS-Realm, there weren’t any threats capable of neutralising Raklius’ top operative. Also, Number Six was a professional in his job. If he felt that his life were in danger, he would have sent an emergency signal back to Raklius before his passing. For his biological chip to abruptly lose its signal… It meant that Number Six had experienced an instant death.

Viola continued to mutter to herself, only to realise that her subordinate was anxiously waiting by the side. Sighing, the elderly woman said: “Tell the cabinet not to worry. I’ll deal with this problem.”

“Ma’am… Will this escalate?”

“Hard to say… Yudonia is in a precarious situation right now, so their hands are tied. However, if Elfheim were to pursue this in the World Congress, Raklius’ reputation would surely take a hit.” Viola bit down on her nails in thought. “There’s just too much we don’t know… Underestimating Yudonia seemed to have cost us.”

The Chief Intelligence Minister couldn’t have known this, but their estimates of Yudonia’s strengths were actually accurate. There wasn’t anything in Yudonia’s forces that could match up against the covert prowess of Number Six, their top operative. Their technologies weren’t up-to-date, and their overall firepower was lacklustre at best. It was just… They failed to factor in the one unknown variable.