CHAPTER 173: THE SECRET REALM DISAPPEARS

AN: Last arc of the first volume: Awakening. A bonus chapter will be published tomorrow. I know I have said this countless times already, but thanks to all those who are following the novel.

Five figures with dignified bearings stood in the desolate plains before the spatial crack. Each of these figures had a grand status, not to mention that they were the strongest existences in the whole Lunar World.

Standing over three meters, with snow-white hair cascading down her back like a waterfall, was a woman who despite being hugged by a loose robe exuded a charm that would enchant even the righteous man. Her ruby eyes seemed to pierce through space itself, and her pink lips drew the gaze of countless eyes. This woman was Scarlett, the vampire progenitor.

Directly opposite her was a short but busty woman with light purple hair but deep matching eyes that radiated confidence. The purple dress hugging her seemed like it would be torn at any moment by the two huge mash mellows that seemed to want to burst out and pierce into the sky. What further made her charming was her small tender waist that was hugged tightly by the purple dress, giving way to a perky rear that angled in such an imaginable way. This woman whose aura didn't lose out in the slightest to Scarlett's was the werewolf Queen and Ella's mother, Rebecca.

A dark-haired man with white reptilian pupils stood a short distance from these two popular women, his expression one of respect. However, his respectful look couldn't mask the royal bearing around him. This man was the current Beast Emperor and one of the youngest in history aside from King Joe. As fate would have it, he was the first and only legitimate son of King Joe, Emperor Razor.

The other man present was a man with emerald hair and an unshaven beard. With his hands behind his back, he radiated the aura of a commander who had sheltered through numerous battles. He was the current king of the few remaining humans still within the Lunar World, King Jake.

The last female among the five was a woman of average height who looked to be in her early twenties. Hugged by her characteristic black suit, this woman boasted proportion of the same magnitude as the werewolf queen, which when added to the charm that didn't pale much from Scarlett's, was able to draw the hot gazes of Emperor Razor and King Jake. Despite not having the same status as the other four present, Evangeline was still able to stand toe to toe with a few of them in terms of individual strength.

As they waited in silence before the spatial crack, three figures suddenly flashed before them, causing their expressions to change.

Rook's deformed corpse and his two cousin's split corpses appeared in front of them. Soon after, Theodore and his team were also teleported before them.

Not seeing his daughter, King's Jake expression turned grave, and as he momentarily forgot himself in his anxiousness, he stepped forward, his voice filled with worry:

"Wh-where is my daughter?"

"She is fine." While Theodore was confused about why Rose and Kai had yet to appear, he was sure they were safe, after all, he just disappeared from right beside them.

King Jake visibly relaxed when he heard Theodore's reply. However, his expression soon experienced a great change once again when he heard Theodore's next words.

"Greetings Your Highnesses!"

"Greetings Your Highnesses!" His team shouted in unison as they all bowed.

Realizing that he had stepped out of line, King Jake quickly bowed in Scarlett and Rebecca's direction, but before he could voice his apology, Rebecca waved him away.

"Dispense with the formalities! What about the rest?"

"Answering your Highness, they should still be within the secret realm. I don't why they are yet to appear, but they should arrive any moment from now," said Theodore, his head still lowered.

"Hmm..." Rebecca locked eyes with Scarlett and she could see the surprise in the latter's eyes. Shifting her gaze back on the still-bowing Theodore, she slowly nodded, "We shall wait then."

In other words, none of them were allowed to leave. King Jake quickly took Theodore and his team to one corner before he started bombarding them with questions, of course, in hushed voices.

It was quite funny how all of them ignored the Beast Emperor who looked at Rook and his cousin's corpses with narrowed eyes. In fact, Scarlett and Rebecca merely threw one glance at them before losing interest. As long as it wasn't one of their own, they didn't give a damn.

'Don't tell me...' Emperor Razor suddenly had a foreboding feeling, but he didn't allow it to show on his face. A part of him wanted to quickly seize the corpses, but in the end, he decided otherwise.

Like this, about five minutes passed before a few figures appeared before them, seemingly from thin air.

Arlo, Arianne, Joe, Ella, Rose and Kai.

The arrival of these little kids drew a sigh of relief from Scarlett, Rebecca, Evangeline, and Jake, people with such high status, despite them not realizing it.

Scarlett who opened her mouth to speak for the first time had no choice but to swallow her words when she saw a lithe figure charge past her.

"Are you alright?" Evangeline pulled Arlo into her embrace.

The smell of Jasmine drifted into Arlo's nose, and he couldn't help but take several deep breaths as he became enamored by the pleasing scent. A sense of security washed over his body, and his senses which had always been released to the utmost limit throughout his stay in the secret realm finally relaxed. For some reason, he felt like he was back in his mother's embrace.

"Yes..." he whispered after some time.

Evangeline didn't know what to say even after several breaths passed. She had been far too worried about his well-being during the past few days. Their relationship had started as a teacher and student, but Arlo had just rubbed off too much on her. It started with her curiosity, before slowly turning into genuine liking. Only a few were close to her, and she treasured every one of them very dearly. She was so immersed in the joy of having him back, that she didn't realize that little figure who she could previously pull into her bosom was now at head's height.

"Haha...mhmm. What are you doing?" Evangeline hurriedly pulled Arlo out of her embrace, with her face flushed red. She had felt something rub against her neck, the sensation sending a jolt across her body.

Her eyes turned a bit misty, as her blurry vision fell on Arlo. Slowly, she noticed the wry smile and the embarrassed look on his face, but she quickly shifted her attention to the flailing tail behind him.

Luckily, her back was turned against the others, so she couldn't see their exaggerated expressions at her unbecoming behavior.

"What the hell is that thing behind..."

*Rumble!*

The sudden shaking of the earth soon swallowed her words. Never before had the Lunar World experienced an earthquake of such a magnitude.

The spatial crack before them widened to reveal a massive gate, on which several dragon patterns were etched.

Scarlett, Rebecca, and the others quickly took to the sky to avoid the disturbance. Expertly using their mana, they carried the kids with them, with Evangeline pulling Arlo with her.

Rebecca took Ella, her eyes lingering on the new mark in the form of a moon now engraved in between her eyebrows. Her expression changed slightly, as she knew what that entailed, but she swallowed her questions as it was obviously not the time to enquire about her experience in the secret realm.

In fact, none of them had even asked about the fruits from the Tree of Infinite Resources, as they would normally do. And that was because the situation this time was simply irregular.

Scarlett took Arianne and Joe with her, as she studied the changes happening before and below her with furrowed brows.

While they were wondering about what was going on, none of them was the wiser about the great change that was happening within the secret realm.

Several chunks of land disintegrated as the secret realm gradually reduced in size, now spanning barely five thousand kilometers. It resembled a massive island suspending silently within the empty void, and surrounded by a foggy space.

All the spiritual beasts in the first and second zones had all been brought into the third zone, and that included the red ants. Before the situation could devolve into chaos, a crushing aura washed over all the beasts, causing them to go still. They all turned in the same direction, towards a tall-looking white ape grasping an axe whose handle seemed to be made from several interlocked vines.

At the same time, outside the secret realm, the shrunk gate suddenly turned into a multicolored light, and before Evangeline and the others could react, it shot towards Arlo before disappearing into his body. Simultaneously, all the dragon medallions within the Lunar World and the ones spread across countless worlds suddenly crumbled into fine pieces.

The shaking of the earth slowly subsided before it eventually stabilized.

Amidst the stunned silence, everyone turned to Arlo and ignored the now healing space before them.

At the same time, Seraphina's soft and beautiful voice rang within Arlo's mind:

'We are now one, so my mental world must return. I hope to see the world with you, and maybe, just maybe journey with you to the abode of the gods...'

This was the first time Arlo felt a tremor within Seraphina's voice, despite it being slight and barely noticeable. Her voice was usually monotone despite sounding soft and alluring, and he sympathized with her after knowing her past. However, her voice soon resounded within his mind once again, this time booming like a clapping thunder, with no trace of emotion within it.

'From today, there shall no more be a secret realm!'