Chapter 85: Return to Terror
Dax’s body went limb and his eyes lost their focus.
The Primers stood up immediately. "Stop that!"
They shouted. They vaulted over the handrail and wanted to jump down into the arena. An invisible barrier pushed them backwards.
"What the?! Turn off this shield! You can’t let him continue!"
The projection stood there calmly. "The fight only ends when one side surrenders or is defeated. Otherwise, no one on board can intervene."
"You damn machine!" A Primer rushed over to the projection.
A female Primer pulled him back. "Are you crazy? That is Alfred of the Bronze Train. You cannot mess with him or else he bans us all."
"So what are you telling me to do? Standing here and letting that monster kill Dax?"
Lenny frowned. He was very conflicted about what was happening.
Dax was a bully but he was still an ally.
Dracula’s power level was unknown. Lenny wasn’t even sure that Dracula was an Awaken. What if he was an Elite, or even a Champion?
To make an enemy out of the Godfather of Vampire was a very stupid choice.
’Think, Lenny! What is Dracula’s weakness? How can I save Dax?’
There were many things that popped up in Lenny’s mind. Sunlight, the cross, a stake through the heart. But most of that wouldn’t help at the moment.
Then he remembered that Dracula was always a prideful noble in the stories.
Lenny turned to the Arena and shouted, "Please show mercy, Count Dracula!"
Carter dropped Dax on the ground. He only used Petrifying Venom in his fangs instead of Corrupting Venom so Dax wouldn’t turn into a vampire.
He turned toward Lenny. "Why should I?"
Lenny turned to other Primers and whispered, "Kneel, now!"
He was the first to do so. The others followed him.
"Please forgive us, You Majesty. We didn’t know it was you. We thought you were a fake." Lenny said.
"A fake? What are you implying?" Carter smiled gently.
"In my world, there are stories about you, Your Majesty. Stories about Dracula. But we didn’t think it was true."
"Oh? I didn’t know I was that famous. And what do those stories say about me?" Carter played into his role and showed his pride visibly on his face.
"The strongest, most honorable, and a lady-killer, Your Majesty!" Lenny shouted without shame. He continued to think of every compliments he could give Dracula.
"Hmm. What’s your name, boy?" Carter said.
"Lenny. Lenny Orlando, Your Majesty."
"You’re a smart man, Lenny. Come and pick him up. And don’t show up in my sight for the rest of the trip."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The projection flicked a finger and deactivated the barrier. The Primers quickly climbed down to the arena. They avoided looking directly at Carter and carried Dax away. Two gaping holes were now present in Dax’s neck.
Lenny breathed out in relief, ’I didn’t even know why I did that. Should have let him die or something.’
Carter put a hand on Lenny’s shoulder, which caused him to freeze.
"Is there something else, Your Majesty?"
"One thing. I am only a Prince, not a King. The correct honorific is Your Highness."
"Please for give my ignorance, Your Highness."
Carter nodded, "You can go."
Lenny breathed out in relief and left. They disappeared into another compartment without looking back.
Carter returned to the lounge again.
"It was a magnificent performance, sir." The bartender was cleaning a glass. He was also a projection.
Carter smiled and shook his head.
’Orange Dust, huh? I wonder if it’s near Terrorstate or Corrupted Corps.’
Carter took out the Minor Dimensional Map and looked inside. There was a world called Orange Dust within Carter’s world circulation. It was a few world away to the left of Terrorstate.
’Maybe I should visit Orange Dust some day.’
The short journey on the train came to an end as Carter returned to Terrorstate.
It had been six months since he left. At first, Carter only planned to stay for two months. But there were too many things to do in Corrupted Corps.
The Pure Blood. The Concoction Brewing. And the many layers of mystery that Carter had not yet found out. He still hadn’t met the Coven, one of the third supernatural pathways in Corrupted Corps.
’I definitely need to return to Corrupted Corps soon.’
Carter returned to the Prime Station. The projections waved goodbye to him.
"Have a nice vacation, Paradox."
They still referred to him as Paradox.
[ELDRITCH KNIGHT EQUIPPED]
Carter returned to the form of the white swordsman and got out of the Prime Station. A portal opened itself up within Terrorstate. It was at the outskirt of Barena, the same city that Carter had left.
"Hmm?" Carter raised an eyebrow.
It was at night. So Terrors were lurking around. But when he left, Terrors were basically eradicated in Barena.
Now he saw at least a dozen of them on this single grass field alone.
’Something must have happened.’
Carter unsheathed the Prisoner and approached the Terrors.
These Terrors had higher level and were stronger than the average one Carter had seen.
All of them were at least at the level of Medium Awaken or more. Still, they were no match for the Eldritch Knight.
[Synchronization +7.0%]
[Current Synchronization]: 229.9%
<+140 Prime Coins>
<Current Prime Coins>: 4,585
[+8 Medium Terror Shards (Awaken)]
[+6 Major Terror Shards (Awaken)]
Once Carter had cleaned up the Terror, he transformed into the Terror Bat and flew away.
[TERROR BAT EQUIPPED]
He flew into the city center of Barena and saw that the place was infested with Terrors. Several times more than before. Every corner had two to three Terrors.
’What the?’
Carter flew into a few houses and saw that they were all abandoned. Because of the large amount of Terrors, barricading yourselves must no longer be sufficient. They probably had moved to a hideout or migrated to somewhere else.
Carter flew to his building. He noticed that there was a new high wall around his mansion. Carter tried to fly inside but there was a faint yellow barrier that pushed him back.
Tiny yellow electricity ran along him. If it was just a usual Terror Bat, it would have been wounded heavily. But Carter only felt tingling on his body.
"A Terror is approaching!" A voice shouted inside the mansion.
"Relax. It’s only a Terror Bat. These things are usually harmless." Then there was a familiar voice. Kaito’s voice.
’At least he is alive.’