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Volume 5

Chapter 13: Change

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If it was another person, they would have thought that he was a liar or he’s just crazy and spouting the most nonsensical thing in this virtual world.

To hear the voices of monsters… not to mention it was impossible, it was also absurd.

And yet, this was Siva they were talking about.

He was only a ‘God’ that is bound to destroy Terroa.

Of all the things impossible to explain, this was also a game. Everything is still possible so him, hearing a Dragon Race [Ice Giant] talk was still possible and is a feat that can still be linked to one of the ‘impossible’ things connected to him being a God.

So their doubtful hearts only lasted for a moment before they realized what the cause of his weird actions earlier.

“You mean… you heard it speak?” Volt uttered.

Siva looked back at the two and then back to staring at the mountain peak that’s still covered in blizzard storms. It was hard to think that they were in there just a few minutes or perhaps hours ago but now, it was more than a kilometer or two from their grasps.

“I heard it just after it blasted us off to the mountain wall. He said that he could smell his scent in me but the aura and persona was different.” After he said this, he turned to Thorn and Volt. “What exactly happened in Dragona?”

Being asked, Thorn and Volt exchanged looks. Volt sighed and then pulled up his player panel, went to the web, then downloaded a video.

After a while, he sent this video to Siva.

He said, “This video was broadcasted in Terroa Day Today yesterday in Terroa time.”

Siva had already seen the preview but he didn’t have the time to watch the whole movie. And so he watched it and skipped minute by minute until he got to the point of where Mefisto changed forms.

He held his black smoke skinned face and staggered back to a wall of ice, trying to recover. “Th-This is me?” he spoke loudly and his voice had the tinge of worry and shock.

Volt nodded, “That is you.” He said and then looked at Thorn who continued to explain.

“Back in Dragona, we received an emergency distress call from one of the Elders of Dragona, that Female Pirate, and said that something happened in the City of Dragona and that the culprit was a demon. We first thought that it was an event but then we saw you and… well, that’s how things escalated. After which, you began to call yourself [The Devil] and that you will destroy everything. That’s how Hagrid fought you on that video.”

Volt continued. “On that last part, a God-like Siva had appeared and stopped The Devil‘s last attack. That’s how we knew it was you.”

Siva couldn’t believe what he was hearing and he held his head, racking his brain out, trying to remember anything that will lead to him recalling what had happened but to no avail. Aside from that vague memory of a man in that room and the view of an ocean outside the window, he can’t remember anything else.

It was just as he had initially thought back in the house; the idea of a computer program blocking him from controlling his avatar was just outrageous!

“No! I-I can’t remember anything…” Siva was clearly horrified by this.

And then, suddenly… something happened that even he can’t explain it clearly and yet, he looked up into the sky. His panic-stricken voice died into a stop and his eyes were looking into the sky as if…

…as if he was sensing for something.

Volt and Thorn felt that this was an odd behavior and they tried to approach. But just after two steps, they stopped because Siva stood up and then tilted his head.

“What is that?”

The two felt alarmed and they immediately looked up only to see the blue sky. Nothing else.

Exchanging glances, they looked at Siva with eyes of both astonishment and worry. It can be said that he might be losing it but they both trusted that he was a sensible man who had a pride that won’t let himself get crazy. No, not when they knew just how fixated he was on saving his brother and defying the game over and over again.

Thus, they just pondered. Still and steady, they waited for him to tell them what it was he was seeing or talking about.

“I can… feel something. It’s connected to me…”

“What is it?” Volt asked and looked up again.

Thorn then went beside him and leaned his head close to him and tried to look at the same angle that Siva was looking at the sky.

But he saw nothing. Only to hear someone trying to stop laughing somewhere close.

Volt was there, head turned away, ears flushing red, shoulders shaking while trying not to laugh.

“What?” Thorn asked puzzled.

“Oh, no, nothing. It’s just that you two looked ridiculous together, looking at the sky like that.”

“…”

“…”

*****

In a familiar ancient ruin in a familiar floating island above a familiar ancient lake, Janus who were studying the words written on the wall suddenly felt jittery as his shoulders jolted and he looked out into the sky.

His eyes widened and he yelled, “No! It can’t be! It shouldn’t be happening so soon!”

As he spoke in that frightened tone, Garin and most especially Gabriel from not too far felt that it was a very serious matter.

“Teacher! What happened?!” he disappeared only to appear next to Janus in an instant. “What is it?”

Garin run from the other chamber of the ruin and was in no time with the old man. The old man still had a look of awe in his eyes as he tried to reach his hand to the ceiling of the ruin but only to retract and held a fist of frustration towards the wall.

“It’s no use! I’m powerless!” he uttered full of regret.

“Teacher, what was it?!”

“It’s him… he had something connected to his mind from outside this world and he… felt its presence.”

Garin was frowning. He had no idea what was it that old Janus was talking about but from the horrified and frantic look in his face, whatever it was, he knew, that it was connected to the reason why he was in this group, watching them as an overseer.

Gabriel, on the other hand, felt the weight of these words and his face paled as if it drained of blood.

“It can’t be… this is… it’s too early…”

“It is indeed too early.” Janus suspired somberly.

Grain fought the urge to ask and thus only listened in and shut his mouth. Gabriel clenched his fists as Janus heavily sighed again and then found an inclined fallen pillar to sit down and shake his head.

“The ignorance of men to their own greed will create and destroy the things they cherished the most.”

These words weighed heavily on Garin’s ears and he took of it again in the corner of his mind to report later on.

*****

At the same time, back in the real world, in a bank that is international acclaimed and recognized as the number one in terms of financial management…

In its deepest and most secret of places that only the most VIPs of the VIPs are allowed to know, is a vault that will only become accessible with the codes provided by the branch’s General Manager and its main branch in Geneva’s General Manager.

50m above this secret underground vault, in the very luxuriant lobby meant only for VIPs, a crook-nosed 10 year old something princely figure and his proud mother with a pink fur coat on her neck was seated on the sofa, waiting.

They were waiting for the general manager

On the mother’s lap is a small leather case. Inside are which her most precious necklace made of 24k carat gold with diamond and ruby embroideries.

The kid prince glanced arrogantly at the receptionist and when their eyes met, the receptionist smiled at him but instead of smiling back, the prince only gave her a snort and a “hmp” before exploding in rage.

“Lowly bitch! What are you smiling about? Do you know who I am? Someone lowborn like you dares to look at me?”

The receptionist was so surprised that her eyes were wide and her mouth was an “ 0 ” that it was enough to put a magnum chocolate temptations in it.

When the mother heard this, she snapped a glance at the receptionist and the poor girl felt frightened. The ugly rich lady stood and then went to confront the receptionist on her station.

“Did you look at my son?” she snarled and stood. “I am asking you a question here. Did you or did you not look at my son with you lowborn eyes?”

“I-I…” the receptionist suttered.

“Answer me!”

“I did, madam! I’m sorry if I had offended you in any kind of sort.”

With her crook-nose and thick make up and lipstick, whenever she frowns, she looked like a demon. When she was angry like right at this moment, she looked worse than a corpse of a sex-deprived 50 years old vesta who died of heart attack after seeing a dick for the first time in her life.

Her expression was enough to frighten the pretty receptionist, all the more when she considered who the people allowed to be in this lobby.

Though the whole floor had been cleared out of all the other guests, there was still the receptionist and two brute guards in front of the only other door aside from the one that was meant to enter this lobby.

“You bitch!” a hand flew and slapped the receptionist on her left cheek. “Do you know we are? We are only sovereigns of the Uglya Kingdom and my son is the sovereign prince! How dare your lowly eyes look at his sacred being! Not even the prettiest bitch in the royal court have the nerve to even glance at him and yet you did with your lowborn eyes! What if he gets sick? What if he gets infected by your lowborn air diseases, huh? Are you able to compensate for it? Even a hundred of your lives aren’t enough for it! So how dare you look at him like he is just any boy?”

The two guards’ job was to guard the door but at this moment, they felt like removing the woman’s limbs one after another. Only the fact that killing this so called sovereign of the Ugly People Kingdom could tarnish the reputation of the bank and bring war to this country that they were able to stop themselves.

But then, from the side, the Uglya Prince snorted and bid his mother a respectful declaration.

“Royal Mother, I am willing to forgive the bitch if they will allow me to use my Communicator in this boring place. The silence is killing me.”

The queen turned to the receptionist, “Well, you have heard my son. Why are you still standing there? Do your job and lift up your damn security net already!”

With this ridiculous request, the girl dialed a number on her intercom but just after the second of her words, a resounding voice rang with a solid. “No. we can’t do that.”

The queen sovereign heard it and he took the headset from the receptionist and acted as if a street woman, yelling in an undignified manner.

“Hey you, listen, whoever you are, if you don’t comply with my demands, I will withdraw all of our assets in this bank and we will also tell that your personnel are untrustworthy! Hmp! I will also tell my friends to tell their friends to never do any transaction with your bank in the future. Hah! I can only imagine just how much this scandal would tarnish your sacred reputation in this country and in any other country!”

The person on the other line was frantic and he transferred the call to the General Manager. After a while, the entrance elevator door opened and the General Manager appeared with an apologetic face.

“I’m so sorry, Your Highness.” He said and then eyed the receptionist with an eye of apology but continued on. “Your Highness, regarding your request to use the network connection of this facility, I am sorry to say but I cannot do that for the time being for another customer’s terms of condition.”

The ugly mother frowned. “You’re telling me that even me as a royal sovereign are at the same level of some measly customer? Do you really want to lose your job, lowborn?”

“No, Your Highness, but…”

The ugly sovereign yelled this time. “Then why can’t a queen make a simple request? Are you really this one sided in all your clients? I’m merely requesting for the time being that I may be granted use of your network connection for my son! WHY. IS. IT… that for the next few minutes we are waiting for you to get your codes, we are not allowed to use the net?”

The branch’s General Manager felt conflicted. The client that requested for all network connections to be cut from this place had practically almost bought the entire branch with the amount of money he had paid just so his condition was sustained.

And to their Pandora’s Vault at that…

Sighing, the General Manager shook his head with extreme regret. “Who was the f**king jerk who did not remove that item on this branch’s service catalogue?” He could only gnash his teeth in anger.

He had no control of the situation. If it was any other dignitary or VIP that requested the service she was asking, then he would have been able to do something about it to decline. However, of all people, he had to face a Royal Dignitary and of all kinds, this that royal dignitary had to come from this arrogant but powerful country at that. His luck may have just run out with this dealing.

In fact, the reason he was taking his time away from this place was because he was asking for help from the Main Branch in Geneva. He wasn’t only asking for the Access Codes to unlock the vault but he was also asking for help to deal with situation.

“…nager! Manager!”

Two taps in the forehead and one second in between.

The general manager for the PH Branch blinked as he seemed to have travelled for a distance before being brought back to his feet by the ugly sovereign’s taps on his forehead.

“Y-Yes… um… L-Let me do something about this…”

He wasn’t aware what kind of item was placed in the Pandora Vault but if it was just for a short moment enough to get the codes, then perhaps he can make an exception and just edit the security and log records in case that large man conducts an investigation.

“Then get a move on!” The Uglya Kingdom sovereign waved a hand then turned to the receptionist. “And while you’re at it, I want this bitch fired right away! If I knew that you didn’t fire her in your roster, mark my words, I will definitely do what I said.”

“Your highness! Please! Anything but that! I’m sorry for looking but please don’t take away my job! It’s the only source of income for my family!”

With a blunt thud, the receptionist fell to her knees and begged the royal sovereign for mercy.

But the royal sovereign not only didn’t listen, when the receptionist got a meter close to her, her face contorted into a hideous expression of disgust and ridicule that it actually made the receptionist stop on her tracks and cry as she bowed her head down.

To add more insult, the royal sovereign raised her left leg and kicked the receptionist. “You dare trying to get close to me? Your breath is tainting the air I’m breathing!”

After these words, the young prince on the side spat on the receptionist’s face as the girl, upon being kicked hard on the head, tumbled on the floor.

The two guards almost launched into a stop but was stopped by the General Manager. With a frown, the General Manager helped the receptionist and then respectfully bowed to the queen.

“Take that bitch away from my sight before I change my mind, Manager. I’ve already forgiven the fact that she defiled the sacredness of my Prince’s being, but if you still defy my wishes, I will do more than just ruin your reputation. Do you hear me?”

The General Manager had sweat all over his face and back but he still remained bowing.

“P-Please wait here, Your Highness.”

Even when he left the room, the General Manager was still bowing. He took his communicator and gave commands for the network to be opened up only for the span of time that they were in that floor and to also erase all data logs regarding all evidence in this action.

A minute later, the Manager Came back and swiped the air, an information panel appeared in the Prince’s vision and the queen, seeing this, smiled at the man.

“So you can be reasoned with. Why wait to be yelled at if you can simply comply?”

“I already have the codes. Please, follow me.”

After saying that, the two guards at the elevator door that leads down gave way. Under their black glasses, as they stood there, they secretly glared at the face of the royal sovereign as she murdered her numerous times in their minds.

The elevator reached the vault and the General Manager entered the codes on the panel.

When the iron doors slid into opening, everyone in the elevators, including the two guards, all gaped in shock.

Because inside the vault, everything was a mess.

And in the middle…

Was a floating shiny silvery sword.

The General Manager dropped to his knees and his body began to tremble. With his shaking voice, in his heart, he wanted to kill the queen but could only utter his regrets and stare at the object in complete horror.

“What have I done…”