Chapter 562 - 560: Althea.

Chapter 562: Chapter 560: Althea.

"Son, what are we doing here?" Father asked, his expression curious as he looked at me.

"Like I said, I need to check out something I’d been putting off for some time now," I replied before focusing on the planet before me.

It was small. Compared to the scale at which we’d been operating all this while, it was small, but that was understandable since it was but a minor world.

What was curious about this planet was the fact that it stood alone, with no other planets to be found in the surrounding regions, as the only two other celestial bodies that existed here were a sun and a moon; everything else was bare.

"My love, you’re sure there’s one here too?" I asked Sana, who was standing beside me.

"One hundred percent. I checked for any similar source of Abyssal energies and found the closest to be this planet. It’s called Althea, and the practitioners aren’t anything that special, as they only rely on awakened traits."

"Hmm? Isn’t that similar to what we had on Terra? With talents and all that?"

"Yes, it’s similar but different in the sense that traits aren’t divided into any grades; they can either be incredibly useful or incredibly useless. The most powerful practitioner here isn’t even a Law Creator."

"I see..." I nodded softly.

"Although one interesting thing I think you’ll love to know is that this world faces a dilemma similar to what Terra had faced in her earlier history," Sana suddenly added.

"And that is?"

"A demon invasion."

....

....

"Oi!! Watch it! You’ll ruin my goods!!"

"Sorry, good sir, I’m just in a rush. I heard the young Duke is returning today."

"Huh? The young demon Duke is returning? Why didn’t you say so? Lead the way!!"

We appeared within the center of a bustling city, having suppressed our auras to the barest minimum possible to prevent accidentally wiping out a world that had done nothing to antagonize us.

"Can you feel anything?" I asked.

"Nothing." Sana.

"Me neither." Shaia.

"Hmm.. same here. Sana, you’re sure you read those readings properly? Because I’ve used my senses and I can’t find any gates leading to the abyss on this planet."

"I know what I read, Dante. I’m sure there’s something here, let’s just check around, if there’s nothing we can just get on with our plans."

"Alright my love, let’s do as you say." I smiled, wrapping my arm around her waist.

"Hey... hey.. get your paws off..." was what she said yet she made no moves to actually escaped my embrace.

I ignored her properly, focusing on the place we’d appeared.

The streets were wide, the roads paved with precious stones, and the buildings immaculate. Yet what stood out was the atmosphere of the place—it was hectic.

"Oi!! Move it!!" A voice blared from right behind us as people ran past us in urgency, their expressions excited.

"Damn... I wonder what’s got everyone so excited?" I muttered, intrigued at the commotion going on around us.

"Well, son, there’s an easy way to find out, isn’t there?" Father smiled, his hands reaching out as he caught a random passerby, lifting the innocent fellow by the scruff of his neck.

"You there, mind telling us what’s got everyone so excited?" Father asked in what he probably considered a disarming voice, but—

"Who... who are you!? Let me down!! Let me down!! I’ll scream and the Duke’s guards will be all over you if you don’t!!" The man wasn’t having it as he struggled violently to get out of Father’s grasp.

"Hey! Stop struggling, you’ll hurt yourself." Father’s attempt at pacifying the man merely made him struggle even harder as he tried to pry himself out of Father’s iron grip, but unfortunately—

"Haa... alright, I guess it’s convincing time," Father sighed, and then—

SMACK!!

"Ahhhh!!!!" The man screamed out in pain as a palm landed across his cheek.

"You... you slapped me?"

"You were not listening, so I had to resort to more convincing methods."

"HELP!!! GUARDS!!! HELP ME—"

PAAAA!!!

Another deafening slap thundered across the poor man’s other cheek as a tooth flew out of his mouth.

"If you keep screaming like that, I’ll make sure you lose a few more teeth. Understand?"

"Hmm... hmm." The man nodded hastily, caressing his swollen cheek.

"Good. Now, mind telling us what’s got everyone so excited?"

"This... it’s... it’s..." the man stuttered, trying and failing to articulate his words, but Father was right there to help him out as—

PAAAA!!!

"Aahhh!!! Why!?"

"You were having trouble speaking, so I decided to help."

"You... you’re evil!!"

Another slap made the man’s face finally swell to that of a pig’s as he wisely decided to stop antagonizing Dad.

"Haa... why are you harming a helpless civilian, Dad? This is so immature." I shook my head in disappointment.

The man couldn’t even defend himself, and Father had just picked him off the street, asking questions like he owned the man. I mean, why would anybody act so overbearing and unreasonable?

"..." Shaia.

"..." Elira.

"..." Sana.

Once again, I ignored the judgmental looks the ladies were giving me for some reason I still couldn’t understand as the man finally began speaking:

"This... it’s.. the young Duke."

"Hmm? Young Duke? Which young Duke?" Father asked, as even I raised a curious brow.

"You... you don’t know about the young demon Duke!?" The man startled, his eyes widening like we’d committed some felony by not knowing some random young Duke’s identity.

"If I knew about a young Duke, would I be asking you? Do you want me to smack a few more teeth out before you behave?"

"No... no... I’m sorry. It’s just, I was surprised that there are still people on Althea who don’t know about the young demon Duke," the man apologized.

"This young demon Duke you’re talking about—does he have a name, or do all of you just keep addressing him as the young demon Duke?" I asked, finding it bothersome to keep saying that long-ass title.

"Ahh.. yes, Young Master Raiden Agares. Heir of the Agares Duchy. He’s the one known as the young demon Duke, Althea’s most outstanding prodigy, and he’s finally returning from the demon realm."

Well, that got my attention real fast.

"Did you just say... demons?"

"Yes... the young master had gone on another expedition with his friends to the demon realm after news of an uprising within the Hubris Empire reached the family."

"The demon realm, huh?" I muttered silently, wondering if this demon realm had anything to do with the one connected to the same demons that had once terrorized Terra.

"Yes, the demon realm. And now that he’s returning, everyone is eager to know the results of his expedition. Although no one doubts the young Duke’s prowess, for if he’s involved, then it wouldn’t matter if it were a fallen ducal demon house that had instigated the uprising; all would inevitably fall at the hands of the Undying Young Master," the man announced with pride and confidence all over his face, forgetting for a moment that he was still being held captive within Father’s custody.

"Hmm... I see. Well then, I guess we know where we’ll be heading." I smiled, turning to the others around me. "What say we head to this young demon Duke’s returning ceremony? I have a few questions I wish to ask him myself."

"Dante, don’t go causing any trouble. We just arrived, and I don’t need you terrorizing innocent people," came Mother’s cautioning voice, and I could only smile bitterly.

"Mother, what do you take me for? Some unreasonable tyrant that acts as he pleases just because he can?"

"Yes!" was the unanimous reply.

"Damn it! And why the hell are you even answering, Father? You’re just as bad as me."

"Being just as bad as you doesn’t stop the truth from being the truth, kid."

"You know what? Forget this... just lead the way." I ignored them, turning to face the man Father had graciously released.

"Al.. alright, this way, please," he gestured as we followed behind him, our destination the ducal mansion of the Agares family.

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A/N: Don’t say anything... and as always...

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