Chapter 169: Pathos Lunar

On their way out of the inventory hall, they were shocked to see Anna and Orion walking toward them."Anna!"

Crimson called out in a reprimanding tone as she sprinted down the hallway, quickly checking to see if anyone else had spotted the two of them. Fortunately, no one had.

She immediately questioned Anna about why she had brought Orion here.

They would have had to pass several hunters and staff members of the Hunter Association on their way, which completely defeated the purpose of hiding Orion’s presence in Arden.

Orion listened to her words with an unshaken expression on his face before slowly lifting his right hand.

"The lady is not to be blamed," he said in his usual deep yet calm voice. "I requested that she bring me here."

"And do not worry. No one saw us coming. I manipulated their vision so that they only perceived an ordinary male human walking alongside another," Orion explained, clearing the doubts that had formed in Crimson’s mind earlier.

While speaking, his gaze landed on Marlon, who stood beside Crimson. The two exchanged a brief nod of acknowledgment.

Crimson released a long sigh to calm herself. The worry on her face faded, replaced by a polite smile as she asked why he had wanted to be brought here.

Orion simply replied that he was curious to see what kind of weapons Arden possessed and nothing more.

Crimson felt doubtful. Despite the Vereenas being a friendly race, it still felt wrong to show something of such importance to an outsider.

However, she soon recalled the orders she had received from the Meeting Board of Guardians. She could not deny them anything.

With a smile, she opened the door and led him inside.

Marlon and Anna followed closely behind.

Orion stood within the brightly lit hall, his white and gold robe glistening gracefully under the lights.

His crescent-shaped pupils scanned the room in a single smooth motion.

Soon after, he began strolling toward the same sword that Marlon and Crimson had been examining just a few minutes earlier.

Crimson walked beside him.

Standing next to Anna, whose earlier fangirling tantrum over Orion had greatly subsided, Marlon wondered what had caught Orion’s interest in the ancient relic.

"May I see this?"

He turned to Crimson as he made the request.

"Sure."

She complied, sliding her card over the interface. The display opened stylishly, revealing the Blade of the Last Blood King.

What is he going to do with it? As far as I know, the Pathos Lunar cannot use elemental powers, blood included.

She studied Orion closely, paying attention to every movement he made.

Under her watchful gaze, his sleek black fingers wrapped around the hilt of the ancient blade.

She felt the familiar pulse of repulsive energy that the sword released whenever someone attempted to claim it.

This meant that it was rejecting him as well.

Yet, Orion’s grip remained steady.

Suddenly, a fine crescent-colored energy was channeled from Orion’s hands into the sword, causing it to react.

The red lines engraved along its body reflected the crescent energy, wrapping around it as the blade began to glow brightly, as though bathed in pure moonlight.

Moments later, the blade calmed. The crescent glow faded completely.

Orion stepped back and turned toward Crimson.

"The stubborn soul that inhabits this relic has been absorbed. Anyone with the necessary elements can now claim it," he said, his gaze never leaving the blade.

Crimson nodded, though disbelief lingered in her eyes.

"Let me try."

Marlon stepped forward.

He placed his hand on the sword’s hilt.

There was no violent jolt of energy invading his body.

Instead, he felt a gentle power flowing into him from the blade, and with ease, he lifted it.

[ You’ve equipped the Blade of the Last Blood King. ]

He had successfully obtained it.

"Interesting," he muttered with a nod.

Turning around, he looked at Orion, who was now observing him. This time, there was a subtle hint of fascination in Orion’s expression.

Marlon wondered what had caused it, but before he could ask, Orion turned away.

"I sensed the presence of a dangerous soul and came here to prevent it from manifesting in the future," Orion said.

He stopped in front of Anna.

"Take me back there."

Anna nodded. She gave Crimson and Marlon a knowing look before leaving with him.

The two of them remained in the hall they had just been preparing to leave, both clearly puzzled in different ways.

Each had their own questions about the mysterious young alien, yet neither voiced them.

After ten seconds of awkward silence, they finally left the room.

As they walked toward Crimson’s office, Marlon pondered what exactly had drawn Orion’s fascination.

It did not feel malicious, so there is no need to dwell on it too much.

He shrugged off the thought.

Summoning the sword from his inventory, he stared at it for a moment.

Swords are cool, but this is not really my forte. I will give it to Ashton when I return. Still, would he be able to wield such a powerful weapon?

He could not come to a conclusion.

Storing the sword back into his inventory, he checked the list of items he possessed.

His eyes widened when he noticed a new entry.

[ x20 Prime-grade Aether Crystals ]

After the initial shock, a smile crept onto his face.

He closed the inventory system, planning to absorb all the crystals once he finished registering all the danger zones.

=====

Axel Storm’s Residence

Among all awakeners, healers naturally possessed the fastest recovery speed. It was a special innate trait of their talents.

Mrs. Victoria, a soul healer, was no exception.

Her unconsciousness had been brief, as she awakened less than two hours later.

She felt an arm gently wrapped around her waist. When she looked down, she saw Stormis sleeping peacefully beside her.

A warm smile formed on her face.

She gently patted his head before rising from the bed, allowing him to rest longer.

Walking into the living room, she sensed Marlon’s presence, though only faintly. Her aether perception had weakened slightly due to her condition.

She followed the subtle trail outside, where she saw ten Marlons standing in the compound.

Two stood beside the entrance, while the remaining eight positioned themselves strategically around the area, guarding the premises.

She immediately recognized that they were all clones. As a soul healer, she could distinguish between a living soul and a constructed duplicate.

Warmth flooded her heart, and a tear slipped down her cheek.

"It seems I feared for nothing," she murmured. "Stormis still has a friend."

At that moment, the gate opened, and Axel Storm walked casually into the compound.

He showed no reaction to the presence of the clones, having already sensed them from afar.

His gaze settled on her, noticing the tears in her eyes.

He approached her.

Mrs. Victoria closed the distance herself and embraced him, resting her head against his shoulder as he gently patted her back.

"It happened again?" he asked softly.

"Yes, honey. I almost failed to stop it this time," she replied, her voice trembling.

Axel Storm remained silent for a moment.

"How did Marlon react?"

Normally, after incidents like this, he would ask about Stormis’s opponent.

However, the clones alone were proof that Marlon was unharmed.

Mrs. Victoria explained everything in detail, describing how Marlon had been a tremendous help.

Axel nodded after hearing her account.

If things had turned out differently, there would have been nothing he could do.

Even if Marlon had severely injured Stormis or killed him, he would not have been able to intervene.

There were laws governing those who had transcended mortal limits.

Because of this, he felt immense gratitude knowing that Marlon had restrained himself despite the scale of the battle.

While they continued embracing beneath the afternoon sun, a groggy Stormis stepped outside, rubbing his eyes.

"Father."

His eyes widened, and he rushed forward to hug him.

Axel Storm smiled and lifted him into his arms.

Stormis appeared unaffected by the fact that he had nearly killed his mentor.

He usually did not remember anything from those episodes.

However, when he noticed the Marlon clones stationed around the compound, he reacted.

Not with anger.

He retrieved twenty Prime-grade Aether Crystals from his inventory and handed them to one of the clones while his parents watched.

The clone accepted the crystals and stored them into the shared inventory linked to its master.

Stormis then turned to his parents and explained.

"I promised Big Brother Marlon these Prime-grade crystals if he agreed to spar with me."

Despite how simple the explanation was, his parents froze.

They exchanged a look filled with disbelief.

"He remembers."

This was the first time.

Usually, he forgot everything that happened before and during his sparring sessions once he entered that state.

Even when encountering his opponent afterward, he never recalled anything and would often challenge them again.