Chapter 39: Anastasia Part 2

Claire was leisurely sitting at the table, sweeping through documents while enjoying tea and cake.

Suddenly, a red alert appeared on the holo-monitor.

[Mistglan: What's wrong?]

A grave expression appeared on the Elven Queen's face.

[Claire: Something is happening to Vorst.]

[Mistglan: What?]

[Claire: There’s a change in status numbers. Photon Core readings are going completely out of control.]

He immediately came over.

[Mistglan: Those numbers...]

[Claire: No idea.]

[Mistglan: ...]

[Claire: Let's move.]

With that, the two of them vanished from the room.

---

Mersa’s mind drifted back to the day she turned the handle after the black scorpion incident...

How would he be different this time?

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Would he still remember her?

Would he be changed again?

Would the color of his eyes change once more?

No matter.

If he did wake up, she decided that she would love him all the same.

This time, she would... Yes, she would definitely protect him.

The handle turned...

---

He found himself in a small enclosed space.

There was a glass window in front of him. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

A capsule.

That’s right, that’s where he was.

BAM

That hurt...

Somehow, when he tried to open it, his hand hit the wrong place.

Hmm...

It was longer than before...

Previously, he had been mentally prepared and familiarized himself with his new, small body. This time, he hadn’t, which led to the mishap. Good thing no one saw that.

[--Kaya--: We saw that.]

[--Lily--: We did.]

[--Calla--: *Nods*]

[--Marc--: ...]

Finally, he reached the right spot, and with a click, the fresh air began to flow in.

The boy sat up, stretching his body. It felt like forever since he had moved it.

[--Kaya--: According to what I gathered, nearly six standard years have passed.]

That was his Kaya, she always knew exactly what he was thinking...

---

THE DOOR finally gave in.

The Last Boss was defeated.

With that, they gained access to view the inside of the room.

In the opened capsule, a boy sat, busy examining various cords attached to him, clearly trying to remove those annoying things.

As new people entered the room, he looked up.

Irises with a color alluringly similar to emerald came into view.

A gentle yet still arrogant smile appeared on his face.

It was him...

He was a bit different...

Larger, taller, a bit slimmer...

But she would never mistake those eyes...

Spring had come to the frozen world.

Tears began pouring from Mersa's eyes once again.

The time of her heart began to flow once more.

[Mersa: VOR-CHAN!]

With that, she instantly arrived next to him and threw her arms around his neck.

A scene from the past replayed.

He gently patted her head to calm the sobbing girl in his arms.

[Vorst: Mer-chan. Za. Aria.]

With those words, the two others couldn’t help but come to his side with tears in their eyes.

Outside, two silhouettes hovered in the air.

Then they left.

---

Three of them fell asleep on his lap. Even Mersa, who hadn’t felt anything during the grueling training she had imposed on herself, was too tired from her emotional outburst.

His hand leisurely wandered through their hair.

[--Kaya--: Approved. All three of them.]

She smiled sweetly while nodding. Over the years, she had seen the extent of their feelings for him.

With that, Marc lost all of his escape routes.

Since ancient times, Kaya had the final say in these matters.

[--Marc--: Hm. Anastasia 'Kaya' Orochi.]

[--Kaya--: Shujin-sama.]

[--Marc--: Be mine.]

[--Kaya--: I'll be yours for all eternity.]

Three ripples pierced his soul. Once again.

That was his fate; he couldn’t escape his links.

He didn’t want to.

Time passed leisurely...

[--Calla--: Hmm... M'lord has already awakened, right?]

[--Kaya--: To perform a Dragon Monarch class Awakening on a body like this—how reckless.]

[--Lily--: Reckless is synonymous with our Lord Marcdrak.]

[--Kaya--: True. He always acts first and thinks about it afterward.]

[--Marc--: My awakening status is already over.]

[--Calla--: But there are some aftereffects.]

[--Kaya--: Right, the dragon blood is already flowing in these veins.]

[--Lily--: Not much of that, I guess, but it is a first step.]

[--Calla--: M'lord only needs to slowly rouse it from the dormant state.]

[--Marc--: True, but everything in its own time.]

Vorst was still enjoying the sight of the three girls sleeping in front of him.

[--Kaya--: Shujin-sama needs to take some matters more seriously.]

[--Lily--: We've been waiting for that for the past 40,000 years, and I don't think we will see it in another 40,000 either.]

[--Kaya--: Sigh...]

Although they teased him, they knew that awakening the dormant dragon blood was a very slow process that required enormous concentration, time, and power.

Normally, he had planned to use the lowest class (Dragon Awakening) with Kaya’s support and slowly work his way up...

Now it would require far more time and effort to achieve the final result, but thanks to that, he managed to save Mersa, Nova, and Celina. Therefore, he didn’t regret it one bit.

---

[Mistglan: Welcome back, Vorst.]

[Vorst: It's good to be back, Mistglan-sensei.]

In the evening, the girls were finally convinced to leave him under the pretext of letting him rest. Mersa wasn’t the only one who had achieved the sub-transformation today. Celina’s feelings had also reached their peak, and she offered two other parts of herself to him. The two of them became a white-haired pair.

The reason why Mersa’s and Nova’s aptitudes had dropped was because of his coma state. While in that state, two of the link parts were temporarily dropped. They couldn’t protect a "dead" person, and they couldn’t sacrifice themselves for him.

[Mistglan: Normally we would have a lot of questions for you...]

[Claire: However, there is no need for that. I firmly believe in you. You put your life in danger for them, and that's all I need to let you off. Take care of them.]

[Vorst: I will.]

[Mistglan: ... Vorst, it was my responsibility to ensure your safety... I—]

[Vorst: It's fine.]

Seeing his smile, they had nothing else to add.

With that, the two of them left the room.

The boy turned his head toward the window...

[My Lord...]

[Please hear me out...]

[My Liege...]

[Please listen to me...]

[My King...]

[Please come to me...]

[My <REGIS>.]

A call...

Was it?

The voice was so faint that he wasn’t sure.

What was it?

He looked at the moon traversing its orbit...

Was he hearing things?

---

[--Kaya--: My love~]

Kaya’s cheek affectionately brushed against his hand.

It was a common sight; she was very similar to an attached cat.

[--Kaya--: Ah~]

Spoil me! Spoil me! Her eyes pleaded with him.

A chuckle escaped his mouth as he summoned his aura. Within seconds, the 'old' him returned to the Throne Room.

Her eyes instantly became dazed. With every touch, electricity ran through her.

[--Marc--: Kaya.]

[--Kaya--: Shujin-sama.]

His hands reached for her dress, and like a serpent shedding its skin, it came off effortlessly.

With her bare body before him, he couldn’t help but grow excited. A Caucasian beauty with completely unspoiled skin awaited him. Her insatiable longing was evident in her vertical slit eyes, so he couldn’t let her wait any longer.

[--Kaya--: Ah~]

She was pushed down...

---

The next day, five Rankers joined the Athena Institute Security.

The Kollos Alliance also decided to halt its offensive toward the Crimson Empire. For now. They had a higher priority—much higher.

It was the end of March, and April was approaching. With it came the Lower Inter-school Battle Tournament.

And...

The first one on the list of Athena Institute participants - Vorst the Golden Knight.