Chapter 95: Just One Among Millions

Of the three brothers, the leader had transformed into a humanoid-looking Beast Vorath.

His body was covered in incredible veins, while large, fearsome claws extended from his hands and his wolf-like legs writhed with immense power.

It seemed his physical advantage lay entirely in brute force.

One of the other brothers was currently on all fours like a true beast, with three enormous tentacle-like tails whipping through the air behind him.

He possessed the exact same form as the Vorath that had tried to murder Arlo the last time, a tiger-like physique covered in sharp, cold claws.

It was the ordinary and basic Vorath warrior form.

The last one was the strangest of the three, possessing almost no visible transformation at all.

He remained humanoid in every way, but bubbling dark veins could be seen spreading across his hands, glowing with an immense concentration of mana.

It was obvious that he was a mage Vorath.’

[I’m suddenly getting a bad feeling about this. You probably should attack now.]

"Let me see their worst," Arlo replied to the System, still making no move to initiate the first attack.

When the trio finished morphing, Arlo had expected them to immediately soar toward him, but he couldn’t help noticing that they made no move at all, as though their transformation wasn’t quite finished yet.

"Tell me, what’s your name?"

The one in the middle suddenly asked him, causing Arlo’s eyes to flash.

"I am Arlo."

"You know, Arlo, our Vorath race has many unique forms, with the majority of them having been lost to Elmoran."

"There are the three anomaly families, various ancient monsters from the different Vorath settlements, barbarian Vorath, and Blood Vorath."

"Don’t you agree, Arlo?"

Aren asked, and Arlo nodded.

He had witnessed the transformations of the three anomaly families during the battle between Emrys and Chris Gevauden, and he could tell that their forms didn’t even resemble Vorath at all.

He had been told by Vael that they were special families.

He also knew that the various Vorath settlements possessed their own special royal forms.

He had heard whispers about another form of Vorath known as barbarian Vorath.

Although he had never seen one with his own eyes, he had also heard a female in their class being given the nickname "Bloodsucker."

When he had asked Vael about it, he had been told that it was because she was a Blood Vorath.

He hadn’t paid much attention to it at the time.

Still, it had already told him that the Vorath race might truly possess countless different forms.

Even he himself was a Vorath with a Fallen Angel form.

Who was he to say that he was the only one hiding his true form?

Who knew just how many anomalies were hiding within Ctulhu Academy, all pretending to be ordinary Vorath?

It only further proved that the Vorath race might genuinely possess dozens of different forms, some known and some completely unknown.

"But no matter how diverse Vorath forms may be, there is a single universal truth."

"They are either a warrior Vorath, only capable of revolving mana within their bodies, or they are mage Vorath, capable of exuding and controlling mana outside their bodies."

"Let the number of Vorath forms reach a million, Arlo. That rule will never be broken!"

Aren declared, and Arlo could only nod. But of course, there was one exception to that one ultimate rule: Him!

He could control mana within his body while also performing spells.

That was precisely why he was considered a Vorath anomaly in the first place, but Arlo had never bothered to elaborate.

After all, it was his secret card.

"But do you know there are those who can defy that law?" Aren suddenly asked.

Arlo’s eyes flashed with shock.

"That’s... That’s impossible!" he blurted out as the trio grinned at him.

"Yes, it is possible. And you’re looking directly at it right now!"

[I knew they were off!] the System said with certainty.

"We’re the only anomaly, Arlo. It is extremely difficult for a Vorath to give birth to twins. Very few people are capable of doing so."

"As for triplets, it is as rare as ascending to heaven."

"But there are cases like us, full-blooded triplets. The truth is, some Vorath twins and triplets possess a special ability!"

[The ability to combine!]

"The ability to fuse together!" Aren declared, confirming exactly what the System had just told Arlo.

"I am a barbarian warrior Vorath. My second brother, Auguste, is a beastly warrior Vorath, and my third brother, the most special among us, is a mage Vorath."

"We can do something that only one in a million Vorath triplets can accomplish, which is our ability to fuse together."

"What do you think will happen when two warrior Vorath and a mage Vorath fuse together?"

Aren whispered, chuckling darkly and in the next instant,

RIIIIIIIIIIIIP!

The sound of sharp claws digging into flesh resounded as Auguste buried his beastly claws into the back of Aren’s neck, causing him to release a sharp exhale.

Arlo watched in stupefaction as the two began melting into each other from the point where the claws had pierced his neck.

CRAAAACKK!

CRRRRRACCCCK!

The sound of bones breaking apart echoed through the surroundings, and less than ten seconds later, a singular entity stood before Arlo.

It stood upright on two legs like a human, yet possessed enormous hands and legs that were even larger than Arlo’s own.

Three large tentacles writhed and danced behind its back, while horrific veins squirmed across its enormous hands.

A sinister smile stretched across its face as it looked toward Arlo.

The sheer brute force radiating from this new existence was enough to make the air violently fluctuate as though it had been set ablaze, while cracks began spreading beneath its feet as the ground itself struggled to withstand its power.

"Impossible! They fused into each other! Like... Like they merged into one another! I don’t understand! I’ve never heard of this before!"

"You haven’t seen anything yet..." Aren whispered.

His voice sounded as though two people were speaking simultaneously.

Then, the remaining mage Vorath suddenly opened his mouth wide before biting down onto the back of Aren’s neck.

GRRROOOOAN!

A faint groan of pain escaped Aren’s lips as his eyes flashed with dark crimson light.

Arlo watched once more as the final mage Vorath slowly melted into the body of the first.

This time, there was barely any increase in the entity’s overall size but when Arlo’s gaze locked onto its hands.

He could see the Dark veins writhed throughout its arms, brimming with an enormous amount of mana.

Slowly, it raised its hands.

And soon, two gigantic balls of mana formed within its palms, completely blowing Arlo’s expectations apart.

He had always thought he was the only one capable of possessing the powerful physical body of a warrior Vorath while also matching a mage Vorath in their strongest aspect.

But now, an entity stood before him that possessed physical brute force more than twice his own while also holding two enormous balls of mana in its hands, proving that it could manipulate mana just like him.

"Do you understand now, Arlo?"

SHOCK!

That was the only way to accurately describe what Arlo was currently feeling.

The sensation of believing that you were the only person in existence with a particular power, only to suddenly discover that you weren’t, was overwhelming.

It was like being told your entire life that you were a specialty among specialties, something that could never be replaced by anyone or anything in existence, only to discover that another person like you was alive.

Someone who perhaps even possessed something more than you.

What was one supposed to feel?

Rage?

Anger?

Injustice?

Arlo’s mind was working incredibly slowly from the sheer shock, leaving his entire body rigid, almost as though he had suddenly glitched.

A single realization continued growing and growing inside his mind, and he almost heard a mocking laugh ringing inside his skull, originating from an existence buried deep within him.

"YOU’RE NOT SPECIAL! JUST ONE AMONG MILLIONS!"

"YOU’RE NOT SPECIAL! JUST ONE AMONG MILLIONS!"

"YOU’RE NOT SPECIAL! JUST ONE AMONG MILLIONS!"

"YOU’RE NOT SPECIAL! JUST ONE AMONG MILLIONS!"

With Arlo suddenly glitching out of existence, Aren, whose intelligence was dominant within the fused body, immediately took action.

He shot forward toward Arlo, appearing before him a split second later before slamming out with a kick!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The air shuddered violently from the overwhelming force as a powerful burst of red flames mixed with the dark mana surrounding his leg, more than doubling its destructive power.

The full force of the attack smashed directly into Arlo’s chest.

CRRRRRRACKK!

BAAAAAANG!

The faint sound of a bone cracking rang out at the point of impact, and in the next instant, Arlo was sent flying into the distance.

His body smashed through numerous buildings, his back arched from the force as he tore through them, creating long ditches across the ground before finally coming to a stop.

Steam escaped from the crater as Arlo finally skidded to a halt.

The imprint of the kick remained visible across his stomach, with a cut crossing the area and blood slowly flowing from it.

[ARLO! ARLO!?]

The System’s call flashed, but slowly, the sound of its voice seemed to fade farther and farther into the distance.

BAAAAAAAAANG!

The ground beside Arlo’s head suddenly caved in as the gigantic figure smashed into the earth, its eyes staring strangely at him.

"What’s wrong with you, boy? Shocked beyond words, huh? Can’t even accept the fact that you’re a piece of shit after realizing true potential?"

Aren whispered mockingly as he grabbed Arlo by the head.

...