Chapter 403: Nero Severus Noctem [Part 2]
Lumi tried to have a good look at the man’s face, but it was blocked by a darkness that seed to co from beneath his cloak.
The only thing she could see was a pair of glinting crimson eyes. Even if Alex had not warned her, those eyes were enough to let her instantly understand that this person was soone she mustn’t ss with, no matter what.
From what she had heard, the man knew Alex and Alex also knew him, to a certain extent.
Like Alex, she couldn’t help but wonder what Nero was talking about. Alex? Dead?
As if to answer the question inside her head, Nero continued interrogating Alex.
"Don’t you rember anything?" Nero pressed. "The only mories I sealed were the mories of your ti in the villa. Surely, you still rember who your Guardian is, right?"
"Guardian?" Alex asked. "Are you referring to the Guardian of the North?"
"Hah..." Nero sighed. "It seems you really don’t know anything."
Nero knew that Alex’s bewildernt was very much genuine. The boy really had no clue what he was talking about. The Vampire Lord was a master of lies and deception, so it was easy for him to tell if soone was honest.
From the start, he had been observing Alex. The more questions he asked, the more perplexed the young man beca.
The Demon Saintess of their organization had used her powers to acquire more information about Alex Stratos.
If he had been using a fake na, she would have known right away. After all, it wouldn’t be her first ti uncovering hidden pasts.
This was how the organization hunted down its enemies. An alias could hardly slow down Demon Worshipers hell-bent on eliminating a nuisance.
Since their information network had nothing to show for all that effort poured into investigating Alex, they assud that he must’ve been using an alias.
But after the Demon Saintess stepped in, they learned that the na Alex Stratos was indeed his true na.
It was a na written in the stars, wielding its own destiny.
Nero had discovered that Eleanora had ordered so of his subordinates to hunt Alex down in Oak Village.
He found that very strange. After all, he had asked Eleanora to only observe Alex.
Because of this, he had decided to look for the young man himself. It had been quite convenient since he had already been out on a business trip to inspect one of their new branches near Oak Village.
Who knew he’d uncover such a secret? He couldn’t help but recall the prophecy of the Aetherion Empire, which many believed would never co to pass after the prince’s death.
"Tell , what do you rember?" Nero repeated. "Tell
everything you know."
The Vampire Lord’s command was firm and would not allow any falsehood or rejection. Knowing that this was his only chance to survive, Alex told him about waking up in the lands of Thaloria, as well as the journey that followed.
Everything that the young man said matched the intel that had been gathered by their organization, which didn’t surprise Nero.
Alex had first appeared in the Town of Thaloria and registered there as an Adventurer. He had then made contact with the Clawford Tribe and obtained the Hidden Profession called Oathkeeper.
Next, he had challenged the scholarship trial of Frieden Academy and survived, allowing him to beco a student.
"That’s enough," Nero commanded, because Alex was not telling him anything new.
He then pondered for a bit before staring down at the young man, who might beco a future threat to their organization.
Nero was very tempted to kill Alex, but he suddenly rembered his daughter, which made him click his tongue in annoyance.
"It would be beneath
to kill a mongrel like you," Nero stated. "I’ll just let my subordinates deal with you in my stead. If you want to live, you better learn how to hide properly and keep a low profile.
"Stay inside the academy like a turtle. Don’t provoke our organization again. This will be your final warning. Rember, you have already died once... no, twice. You will not cheat death a third ti."
Nero stared at the young man for a few seconds before turning into a black mist that passed through the walls of the house.
This was Alex’s second death.
The Vampire Lord could have easily killed him but—for one reason or the other—did not.
When Alex was certain that Nero was no longer around, he finally collapsed on the floor, panting for breath.
Sweat trickled down his forehead and face as he finally survived the ordeal. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this was his closest brush with death.
Lumi lightly patted Alex’s back to help him calm down even as her own heart was racing.
A few minutes later, Latifa and Lotte materialized beside them, wearing identical expressions of worry and terror.
The forr quickly hugged Alex to calm him down.
"Are you hurt?" Lotte asked.
"No," Alex replied. "Just suffering from the loss of adrenaline rush."
Alex had still not fully recovered from using the power of the Verdant Throne. This encounter had drained him completely dry even if he had reason to think Nero wouldn’t have killed him.
Not only was Alex Evangeline’s schoolmate, he also had a relationship with the Guardian of the North, Sir Luthor Vademont.
His mory of that scene made him believe that, for better or worse, he and the Vampire Lord were acquaintances.
He had bet that Nero had no intention of killing him, so he had left the celebration to give the Vampire a chance to et him in private.
Alex had taken a gamble, putting his life on the line.
Fortunately, his gamble had paid off. He even ca away from the near-death experience with fresh information.
What really concerned him was the death that he had no recollection of.
’This isn’t good,’ Alex thought. ’I lack the necessary information to assess the severity of the situation.’ Based on what little mory he could piece together, Alex was the bastard prince of the Aetherion Empire.
But he wasn’t an ordinary bastard prince. He was the prophesied prince, prompting so royals and nobles to have him secretly assassinated.
The Guardian of the North had taken him away to escape. They had sohow sought asylum in Nero’s domain, where Alex had spent so ti with Evangeline.
In the end, he had no choice but to admit it.
For so reason, the background story he had made for his character had beco a reality.
The only way for him to know about his past was to have a heart-to-heart talk with Evangeline and ask her what she knew about the Prince of Aetherion.
Alex desperately wanted to know why the prince was forced to escape from the family with whom he was supposed to have blood ties.
A few minutes later, he finally regained his composure and was helped by Latifa to lie down on the bed.
"I have enough excitent for one night," Alex said. "Please leave
so I can rest."
"Are you sure?" Latifa asked. "He might return and kill you if you are alone."
"Even if I’m not alone, he can still kill ," Alex replied. "Don’t worry, I’ll be fine."
Although she was reluctant to leave, Latifa yielded and left Alex’s room with Lotte.
Lumi decided to stay behind. No matter what Alex said, the young lady wouldn’t budge.
She sat on the chair closest to his bed and crossed her arms. "Just sleep," she commanded. "I’ll make sure that no one climbs into your bed while you are sleeping."
Alex would never say it out loud, especially not in her presence, but having Lumi around helped calm his nerves. Although it wasn’t easy, he finally fell asleep after an hour of tossing and turning.
Lumi watched the sleeping boy with a complicated expression.
The young man had always been a mystery to her. The new information had only deepened the mystery.
’He ntioned the Guardian of the North,’ Lumi thought. ’Are they perhaps related?’
She only knew the na of the empire where the Guardian had served all these years.
An empire so strong that their Headmaster, Rowan Vademont, had to personally step in and dissuade—with stern warnings and threats—them of their ambition to unite the entire continent under their banner.
The Paragon of Ice had been one of their pillars, but this pillar had died many years ago.
It had shaken the whole world and would surely be rembered for many generations to co. The death of a Paragon was always a big deal, but for a Paragon to be killed? That had simply been unheard of.
And now, that history was unexpectedly linked to Alex.
The only way the young man could protect himself was to know more about the truth about Alex Stratos, whom he had thought was only a character that he had played in Endless Leveling Online.
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