“I knew you were trying to slip away!” Tian Ling said to the Red Snake woman running between trees.

“Well, I guess I wasn’t that good at hiding.” The woman didn’t look like she was upset to have been caught. She slowed down and looked at Tian Ling.

“So, we all let our men subdue controlled humans and come here?” Mihr Orril came from another direction.

“Seems like it. At least, we were open with what we wanted.” Olivier also came with Porseila. She didn’t say anything, just snorted.

“Acting like heroes in front of people, slipping away like little mice!” Another dark figure appeared. Their face couldn’t be seen but their voice was masculine.

“Look!” The snake woman talked when no one else came. “The humanoid monsters are all stronger than their peers. Vampires also have a lot of tricks up their sleeves. So why don't we fight against it together? Last to finish it off will have the orb. What do you say?”

“As if I would believe you once again.” Tian Ling was the first to reject. Others followed suit.

“If we don’t fight together, we will end up fighting at the same time anyway. Then we will have reservations against each other, and we will never be able to kill the monster. Let’s do our best, and kill the bastard!” The woman offered again and moved some of them.

“What about Prince Stupid?” Porseila asked. “He is probably hiding in the dark and listening to us right now. And if we do our best, and attack the monster, he will wait for the last hit and will have the orb.”

“Oi! That hurt, little Princess.” A voice reverberated in the darkness.

“Don’t worry about that wanna-be. His powers are ineffective against vampires and dark monsters, so he will not be able to steal the kill.” The Red Snake woman convinced the rest, and they all walked towards the center of the forest. At this time, the vampire lost most of its puppets and was cornered.

Miles was also closing into the same location from another direction. Because he wanted to by-pass the crowd, it took longer for him to arrive there.

“Miles, you have to be careful against the vampire. I know you have a strong will, and not easy to deceive, but you are still too weak against it. The armor of yours cannot protect you against the mental attacks.” Coin warned Miles as he proceeded cautiously.

“No worries, buddy. I will only observe from afar, and if there is a chance, I will deal the last attack.” Miles said and talked to the darkness. “You can come out now. How long do you think you will follow me?”

“Oh, how did you notice me?” A handsome face came out of the darkness and walked towards Miles.

“That is far enough.” Miles stopped him and said, “I didn’t notice to be honest. I know you can blend in the darkness, and you might be around. So, I took my chance. Look at that, you really were following me.” Miles didn’t notice anything. Just thought of the idea and gave it a shot.

“What do you want?” Miles then asked him.

“I want you to steal the kill.” Prince Dark said with a smirk.

“What is in it for you?” Miles asked as his eyes squinted.

“I can’t kill the monster with my dark powers. I also don’t want those bullies to have it, so I will help you to steal the kill. The face they make is enough for me.” Prince Dark said.

“I’ll pass.” Miles said and turned back to walk.

“Wha—? Why?” Prince Dark is dumbfounded by Miles’s answer. "Why would you pass such an opportunity?”

“I don’t trust you.” Miles said and kept walking.

“How about this?” Prince Dark said and walked to Miles.

“If you take one more step, I will attack to kill!” Miles said with a killing intent seeping through his cells.

“Alright, tough guy. Easy.” Prince Dark raised both his hands and said, “I will give you my wrist watch. If I betray you, you will have everything I own. If I don’t, and indeed help you with stealing the kill and the orb, you will return it to me.”

Miles thought for a bit, then nodded. He accepted the deal Prince Dark offered.

“Alright, I will lock my wristwatch, so you won't rummage through my AI.” Prince Dark said and typed a few keywords to the hologram screen. The wristwatch then left his arm and turned into an orb form. He threw it to Miles.

Miles caught the orb and asked Coin, “You got it?”

“Yes.”

Miles then nodded to Prince Dark and said, “How are we gonna sneak up on them?”

“Let us introduce ourselves first. I am Prince Dark.” Prince said and threw his hair back with a charming smile.

“Marooner.” Miles accepted the identity the public gave him.

“Oh, I should have understood from the armor. I am a great fan of yours.” Prince said with a smile on his face.”It is better than what I expected. Your lightning powers counter dark, so you definitely will have the last attack.”

Miles kept his silence and waited for him to continue.

“My superpower is Curtain Falls. When the curtain falls, darkness is me and I am darkness. I can practically do anything with it. I can hide my presence, I can travel in it, and I can use it to attack others.” Prince Dark explained.

“Why tell so much?” Miles asked. ‘Is this guy stupid? Even though I don’t believe anything he says, still…’

“You should know that I am your biggest fan. I trust you completely.” Prince said with shining eyes, then continued, “I will take you there by hiding you in darkness. When the time is right to attack, you do what you do, and take the orb. After which, I will take you back into my darkness and we will run away from there. If there is any problem and you can’t get it, we will meet here again. Capisce?” He asked Miles.

“Mhmm…” Miles just nodded and walked up to the guy.