Lucas's body instantly diminishes by a brownish-coloured tornado made by Aldrich. He controlled his mana output quarter from what he could do to avoid destroying this place further.

If Asfa saw this, he would have realised that Aldrich was toying with him earlier. People tend to forget that he has been leading the country for a few decades, and countless attempts to dethrone him failed.

In fact, Steve refused to be the king, so Aldrich would be one. There were some reasons why Steve did that, but one thing for sure was that he felt unqualified to be one. People used to believe that Steve was dead, but now they barely remember that their king has an older brother.

Aldrich was going to leave, but then he saw something on the spot where Lucas's body was annihilated.

"This must be the thing they used to cross over and take over people's bodies. Guess it is almost time for people to know the truth about the demon invasion."

He took the strange-shaped and black-coloured artefact and left the scene to see Steve and Olivia. A few minutes later, he arrived at Steve's laboratory and saw that Olivia's injuries had gone.

"How are you doing, my princess? Is there any scar left?" Aldrich asked Olivia.

"I'm fine, dad. Just exhausted from overspending my mana.." says Olivia, that looks pale and exhausted.

Steve and Aldrich were shocked by her reply. No one else knows about her power except them because they wouldn't want her being used by someone else for evil doings. Just like her mother, she was born a seer. The problem with her ability is that she can't control it well, and most of the visions seen are too random.

"Did you foresee something with that instructor," asked Aldrich calmly.

Olivia simply nods, but they can see she smiles for a moment.

Aldrich frowned as soon he saw Olivia's expression, while Steve didn't react much since he anticipated her reaction.

Currently, the college is in a total lockdown in which no one comes in. and no one comes out. The media are raging for fresh content related to this issue. And that is why the whole college is swarmed by local people and reporters.

People had been waiting for 3 hours, and the authority had not released any statement about the issue. The students and staff from the college also were held by the military, and they couldn't be contacted no matter how hard people tried.

This is because Aldrich has been missing on every media platform for 17 years! It was the same year when their queen's death was announced. Some people said the king had lost his sanity, while some thought he was grieving and couldn't move on. There were even funnier and weirder speculations, but the problem is their king is still missing.

People are now discussing and speculating why the long-gone king's motive for doing this. Is it related to the college incident, or is it something else? Everyone who knows the news is excited to see their king for the first time in 17 years.

Meanwhile, Asfa is buying things he needs to explore the forest tomorrow. Since he wanted to spend at least a month on the exploration. He made a list of things that he needed to survive the wildness.

Item list :

1. Foldable and durable tent with a solar-powered panel.

2. Hygiene items such as soap, toothbrush and toothpaste.

3. Basic repair kit such as duct tape and a few metres of rope.

4. Plastic bag for food storage.

5. A pair of water containers

6. Electric stove & GPS

7. A pair of knives, one for cooking and one for hunting

Luckily he can get all the listed items from a single store in the Town A shopping area. But he decided to get a large and durable backpack for this trip so that he wouldn't have a problem bringing the needs items later. After an hour of shopping, he bought all the items from the list and packed them neatly inside the backpack.

On his way back to the apartment, he called his parents and told them that he would be away for a month due to some work with someone from the Capital. He had told his parents that the money earned to clear debt was actually from his part-time job with the elite he met. Just a simple white lie.

When he got to his apartment, he noticed that some of the furniture slightly moved even though it wasn't much. Some of the drawers sealed by transparent tape were broken. Surprisingly nothing was missing. Well, he got nothing to lose anyway.

Asfa leaves his apartment as soon as possible to the pub since his apartment doesn't have a television. Plus, he wanted to get some drinks as a farewell drink for his trip tomorrow morning. He immediately frowned when he arrived at the place since it was packed with people.

Luckily, there were a few single seats left, and he randomly chose one of them. Asfa was so glad he sat immediately just now. Because the pub is now fully packed with people, there are eager to see their king for the first time.

Dum dum dum dum dum

The camera moves in a straight line along the red carpet toward the king's throne. Then it climbed to each stair, and Aldrich could be seen on the main screen. It was indeed their long-lost king! The senior people there were shocked because their king looked younger and more energetic than his age.

The camera slowly zooms out, and Aldrich stands holding the golden sceptre next to the throne. Then he tapped the floor a few times, and some people started to kneel.

???

Asfa curiously looks at them, "I guess it must be part of the tradition to kneel when the sceptre hits the floor..."

Then Aldrich starts talking about how thankful he is toward everyone who puts their effort into improving this country. He then starts talking about the queen. He mentioned great things and deeds about the queen before telling them the truth about her death. The queen lost her life while giving birth to their daughter.

The camera finally zooms out, and his daughter stands behind their king! But she was wearing a white coloured veil so her face could be seen blurrily. Despite her face covered, people know she is a beauty, just like her late mother.

Funnily, people start to imagine that they have the opportunity to be the next king just by marrying the only princess.

Aldrich puts the sceptre back on the throne and slowly walks toward a colossal statue nearby.

[Earth Destroyer]

The whole place slightly vibrated for a few seconds while the colossal statue annihilated in a flash. People thought the camera was shaky, but they were wrong because it was made by their king.

Aldrich looks directly into the camera.

"We exist."