"Don't ever mention that name again..."
Those were the exact words Arin had told Lina back in The Area when she mentioned this person's name.
That just proved how much he didn't want to see or talk about this person.
Her long brown hair cascaded down her back, flowing smoothly. Her eyes seemed to gleam as she scanned the dining table, quickly taking in everyone who was seated.
She wore a beautiful black gown, one that made her look slightly royalty, but she wasn't royalty at all.
Her name was Erica, Arin's cousin from his mother's side, and well, just like the rest of the family, it could be said that she was also not normal.
In a way, her yandere behavior was what made her slightly insane, but what was even more insane was the person she was displaying her yandere-like behavior towards.
"Oh! Erica!" Marla called out with a smile on her face. "Come in."
Both she and Godric completely ignored his question as if they didn't even hear him.
Erica walked into the house. "Good day, Aunty Marla, and Uncle Godric."
They both acknowledged her greeting before she rushed towards Lina.
The both of them hugged each other for minutes, making jokes together. Though, she was glancing at Arin occasionally, something he didn't fail to notice.
When she was done with Lina, she moved towards Arin's left side where Edwin was seated.
As usual, Edwin ignored her as his mother carried him in her arms, leaving space for Erica to sit beside Arin.
Erica instantly sat down as she stared at Arin, her eyes widening in expectation.
Arin managed to stop his expression from turning into that of nervousness as he kept his cool even under Erica's creepy gaze.
Seeing that Arin wasn't ready to say anything, Erica decided to let loose.
She grabbed Arin's arm as she leaned closer. "I missed you so much, Arin."
Arin smiled wryly, and without turning to look at her, he replied, "Oh, the Academy's activities were quite hectic."
His response was completely different and unrelated to what she had even said.
She pouted. "That isn't what you're supposed to say!"
Arin tried to force his arm out of her grip as he smiled again. "Oh, sorry, I.... I missed you too."
Erica instantly smiled as her expression turned to relief.
Arin couldn't help but wonder. 'Does she even realize that we're cousins?'
Erica was a year younger than Arin, so she was yet to attend an Academy, but because of Arin, she loved spending time in their house.
'Thankfully, the original Arin also found it disturbing and uncomfortable,' Arin thought.
If the original Arin had been comfortable with that, the present Arin wouldn't have even known what to think about that.
'And somehow, Lina is just going along with it, as if she doesn't even see it,' Arin thought.
It was the same with his parents. They discarded Erica's behavior as just how a clingy cousin would behave.
'I guess they don't realize that this is more than just a 'clingy' behavior....'
Well, both the original Arin and the current Arin weren't that kind of men. It was an utterly disgusting thing to think about.
They all finally finished their food. Though, Arin didn't even give Erica the chance to hold his arms anymore. He was already setting his boundaries straight, something the original Arin didn't do even though he wasn't that kind of person.
Edwin was occasionally giving Arin death glares, but Arin just ignored him.
'Maybe I'll give him a good beating before me and Lina leave for the Academy again.'
Finally, after some more discussion about how life in the Academy was, and about the attack that made them come home, Erica finally left.
Godric entered his room with Edwin, who was already sleeping in his arms, leaving Arin, Lina, and Marla.
Marla stood up. "Make sure to take your bath, and have a good rest. Welcome home once again."
"Thank you," both Arin and Lina said at the same time. Read latest chapters on My Virtual Library Empire
She smiled before walking towards the room, following Godric.
Arin glanced at the right part of the house, instantly spotting two doors. One of them was his room, and the other was Lina's room.
Arin glanced at Lina. "Rest well...."
Lina nodded as she watched Arin enter his room before entering her own room.
Arin's room wasn't too big, and it also wasn't small.
Well, his family was quite comfortable. After all, his father could be considered a well-known adventurer who goes on a lot of beast-hunting quests, and even some special missions.
Because of this, he was able to take care of his family.
And Marla even had a jewelry shop that she used to support the family.
Arin collapsed on the bed as he exhaled deeply.
'Today was wild,' he thought. 'And the coming days might even be wilder.'
Before he could delve more into his thoughts, the bracelet around his wrist suddenly began vibrating, and a bit of Blood Energy seeped out.
Arin quickly realized that Roxanne wanted to talk to him.
With curiosity written on his face, he removed the bracelet and dropped it on the floor.
The glow came and dissipated as usual, revealing Roxanne.
She lowered her head. "Greetings, Master."
Arin nodded his head in response before asking, "What is the issue?"
Roxanne raised her head before speaking. "Lord Liora spoke to me telepathically. I think she used some kind of artifact."
Arin furrowed his brows. "I see....."
'It's something definitely related to me,' Arin thought.
If not, Roxanne wouldn't have wanted to speak to him.
"What did she say?" Arin asked.
"I don't think I'll be able to explain it well," Roxanne said.
Arin suddenly noticed that a tiny bit of Roxanne's Blood Energy was in the room.
"She'll do the explaining herself," Roxanne added.
As soon as she said that, a red circle with patterns inside suddenly appeared in the middle of the room. A large glowing X was in the center of the circle.
Arin definitely recognized this circle.
"Serak's Special Ability....." he whispered.
In an instant, a lady with long blue hair appeared in the middle of the circle before it completely disappeared.
Liora was now standing in front of Arin and Roxanne.
Roxanne instantly lowered her head. "Greetings, Progenitor Liora."
Thankfully, the Blood Energy currently in the room wasn't thick and much enough to escape outside. It just lingered in the room.
Liora stared at Roxanne, whose head was lowered.
Suddenly, a bright smile formed on her face as she grabbed Roxanne's arms and pulled her in, hugging her tightly.
At that point, it seemed Roxanne had also been waiting for this.
She instantly hugged Liora back as the both of them smiled.
"I missed you," Roxanne said.
Liora chuckled lightly. "I know."
The both stayed like that for a few seconds before they finally broke the hug.
Liora instantly looked at Arin and lowered her head. "Greetings, Progenitor Arin."
Arin suddenly felt the need to also lower his head, to also return the respect, but before he could do that, Liora had already continued talking.
"I'm sorry for the unexpected visit. I should've informed you through Roxanne sooner," she said.
Arin shook his head. "It's okay. So, what do I owe this visit?"
Arin didn't want to mention anything about the Phoenixes yet, in case that wasn't what she came for.
He gestured for her to sit down on the chair at the corner of the room, which she gladly accepted while Roxanne sat down at the corner of the bed.
Liora folded her arms as she began. "The Vampire we sent returned dead, and you know what that means."
"War....." Arin muttered as he folded his arms.
Liora nodded her head. "But on his back, there was a sort of message."
Arin squinted his eyes. "Message?"
"Yes," Liora said. "It read, 'The Fifth Wing'."
Immediately, Arin heard those words, he knew they sounded familiar.
'It was definitely mentioned in the novel,' he thought. 'But I'm slightly struggling to remember what happened in particular that caused it to be mentioned.'
'I can't quite remem~'
Before he could complete his thought, he suddenly remembered.
Liora continued. "We still don't know what it means, but we're currently preparing our fighters, because one thing is for sure."
Liora paused as she squinted her eyes. "We're on the brink of a war."
Arin sighed as he closed his eyes for a second. "So the Phoenixes really want war, huh?"
Well, they had every right to be angry, so it wasn't like they were just starting a war because they felt like it.
But another thing was that there had always been tension between the two races.
"But that's not the only thing that's going on now," Liora said as she glanced at Roxanne.
Roxanne then glanced at Arin.
She already knew what was going on because Liora had informed her today through the artifact.
"What is it?" Arin asked.
Liora's eyes suddenly sharpened. "Vaelric.... He has turned against us."
[A/N: Please, read the 'Author's thought.' Important information there.]