Chapter 72 - Warning

As he watched the man, Prime narrowed his field of vision. No matter how he looked at it, the man seemed like any other vagrant: overweight and emitting an unpleasant odor. The smell of cigarettes and alcohol hung in the air around him, something others might not notice but which Prime, with his keen sense of smell, found unmistakable.

"Daughters?" the man pronounced with a mocking tone.

Prime raised an eyebrow at the man's words. Moreover, seeing Annie and Ema looking frightened made him want to react with violence right at that moment. However, he didn't want to scare the children, especially because he would have to tell them something later that would truly frighten them. He wanted to make them as comfortable as possible until then.

"It probably wasn't a good idea to bring them" thought Prime, recognizing the instinctive fear that Annie and Ema seemed to feel towards the unknown man. Meanwhile, he planned in his mind what his next steps should be.

"From the clothes you're wearing, it seems like you've got quite a bit of cash..." the man spoke while observing Prime. "Is that your car by any chance?" the man asked, pointing to Prime's Bentley Continental GTC.

Prime still didn't understand the purpose of the man approaching them. For starters, Prime didn't even know why the man was getting close to his daughters.

"And if it is?" Prime asked, keeping a serious look on the man.

Upon hearing Prime's words, the man quickly showed a greedy look in his eyes, then directed his gaze towards Annie and Ema, causing both girls to tremble and cling even tighter to Prime.

"That's a really nice car... Must've cost a fortune. Oh, where are my manners? I forgot to introduce myself. I am..."

However, before the man could finish his introduction, Prime interrupted him, raising his voice.

"I don't care who you are or what you do. What really matters to me is why you decided to approach my daughters"

Upon hearing Prime, the man plastered a smirk of mockery on his face and raised his hands. Prime hoped he would just give up and walk away, but his next words surprised Prime, freezing him right where he stood.

"They're my daughters. I've been looking for them, and now that I've found them, I'd like to have them back"

Upon hearing the man's words, Prime clenched his fist tightly, restraining himself. His urge was to strike hard, but the girls were right behind him. Prime decided not to scare them with violent behavior.

Furthermore, upon hearing the man, both girls' hands trembled as they held onto Prime, which made him even more infuriated with him. Especially the way he treated them when speaking, Prime realized the man saw them only as objects. There was no way Prime would hand his daughters over to this man.

"You want them back after what you've done? You really think I'm going to allow that? If you dare lay a finger on them, you won't be able to touch anything else for the rest of your miserable life"

Upon hearing Prime's words, the man took a quick step back, but soon after, a smirk of mockery reappeared on his face.

"Are you threatening me? If you think you can make me back off, you're mistaken. If we go to court, who do you think will come out on top? A concerned father for his daughters, repentant of his past mistakes and now striving to be a better person for them" said the man, displaying a smug smile. "Or a complete stranger who adopted them as if they were two stray kittens?"

At that exact moment, Prime's patience was at its limit, and the man's words only drained it completely. Luckily, the dusk obscured the street, which was already practically deserted, especially as they were in a more remote part of the city. So, Prime knew exactly what he needed to do. Turning to Annie and Ema, Prime knelt before them.

"Annie, Ema" called Prime, causing both to turn their gaze in his direction.

Annie and Ema, whose tremors were involuntary, met Prime's gaze, which returned a tender smile to them.

"Could you close your eyes and cover your ears for a moment? Until I tell you to stop?"

Both Ema and Annie had no idea why he was making this request. They glanced at each other, then back at Prime, nodding in agreement. Following Prime's instructions, both acted as requested. However, seconds later, Annie slowly opened her eyes, surprised by what she saw before her.

A viscous substance began to emerge from her father's body, its white color slowly spreading and increasing its shape, making it more threatening. Or, at least, that's what Annie was expected to feel. However, contrary to that, Annie felt no fear. As she watched her father's transformation, she heard him speak.

"I believe my warning wasn't clear enough, so I'll repeat it" said Prime, his voice deeper and firmer than before.

As she watched Prime, the man began to retreat slowly. It was impossible for him not to have seen that monstrous figure before; after all, images of it were widely available on the internet, and even news reports had been made about the incident. The man felt extremely vulnerable.

"If you dare lay a finger on either of them, I'll start by ripping off your two arms, then your two legs, and finally, your head. You'll be a thing without arms, without legs, and without a head, a piece of crap rolling around like in the sewer" threatened Prime, displaying his multiple rows of teeth as he opened his mouth.

Prime watched the man closely, noticing his quickened breath. Additionally, an unpleasant odor began to spread, indicating that the man had lost control of his bladder. With surprise, Prime witnessed the man's eyes rolling back before he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Although it wasn't exactly the outcome Prime had hoped for, it was still satisfying. The man would probably wake up thinking it was all just a dream, or maybe even completely forget what happened. Furthermore, even if he did remember and decided to tell someone about the encounter, Prime seriously doubted that anyone would believe him, given the clearly debilitated appearance of the man, which suggested a constant habit of alcohol consumption.

Observing the unconscious man on the ground, Prime gradually returned to his normal state. Then he looked at his hands and found they were still human. Despite the anger he felt, Prime hadn't expected to undergo a transformation. In fact, he didn't even know it was possible. However, even transformed, he didn't feel as powerful as when he was with Sara. It was like wearing an extra layer of clothing rather than armor.

While pondering this, Prime felt something touching his back. Turning around, he met Annie's eyes fixed on him. At that moment, although Prime wondered whether Annie had seen what had just happened or not, his main concern was simply to get out of there with the girls.

"Let's go home" said Prime, leading the girls to his car.

Once everyone was inside the vehicle, Prime looked in the rearview mirror, fixing his gaze on Annie, who watched the landscape pass by.

"Annie" called Prime, causing her to turn to him. "Did you... did you see what happened?"

Annie observed Prime for a few seconds before responding.

"No... I kept my eyes closed, like you instructed" she said, looking back outside.

Prime knew it was a lie. Although he had only suspected before, now his suspicion was confirmed. It seemed that the plan to reveal his true form to the girls would have to be expedited.

"Annie, Ema" called Prime.

"Yes, daddy?" replied Ema.

Annie, on the other hand, just looked at Prime sideways.

"I want to tell you something when we get home... something about me" said Prime, causing Ema to look at him with doubt, while Annie just nodded.

The only thought passing through Prime's mind at that moment was that it would probably be a long night.