Chapter 19

All signs of life had left Aidan's face. He's paler than the cloud. Upon arriving back home, he immediately dropped to the ground and leaned against the wall.

"Even though our parents left voluntarily, they might be threatened," Nadia said with a deep guilty look. "You know, they aren't the only missing officials. Maybe Ad Maiora plans to shift all government administration somewhere else?"

"I beg to differ." Mom emerged from her work chamber and joined us with a shocking opinion, "Based on my knowledge and experience, I dare say that they are dead now."

Silence enveloped the whole space. It felt like an invisible wall was closing in on us from all directions. And we were powerless.

That's how horrified we were.

"Don't joke like that, Mom. It's not funny," I said.

Mom took a seat and looked at each of us before saying, "Listen, kids, the government is evil. They will go to any length to eliminate obstacles."

Aidan flinched and half-raised his body, "My parents aren't obstacles! My dad is loyal to the government."

"To Pachis, you mean? She's just a puppet, manipulated by the deliberate fingers of a beast. And the beast is starting to show its teeth. What you can do now is mourn properly for them and forget as soon as you can. Lead a new life."

Mom extended her hand to pat Aidan's head, but he brushed it off harshly.

He was fuming, his chest moving rapidly. "How dare you?!"

"Mom, what are you saying?" I nudged her elbow, surprised that my kind mother has the ability to speak so coarsely.

I knew that she hated the government, the sentiment was not lost. But to think that she blatantly suggested that terrible idea directly was unthinkable.

Mom shook her head and looked down, realizing the gravity of her words on the twins. She pressed her eyes close and said, "I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry. I'm not myself lately."

However, she wasn't the only one who wasn't herself. Aidan, at this very moment, wasn't acting like himself either.

His fists clenched tightly, turning white. He slammed them against his head and groaned. He stood up and hit his head several more times.

"Aid!"

"Stop! Stop it! Aidan, what are you doing?" Nadia jumped to grab his arm.

Instead of successfully pulling his arm away from his head, her tiny figure dangled on his arm.

"Uaargh!" Aidan screamed.

"Aid, calm down! Please! You'll hurt Nadia if you keep doing that," I pleaded.

Aidan's body twisted in ways I didn't think possible for humans. He wobbled back, hitting the wall with the back of his head. He lurched forward, kicking the foot of the table with his big toe. Blood dripped from the collision, but Aidan didn't take notice.

How much pain was he in to become so disoriented?

"AARRGGGHHHH!!!!!"

Aidan made a sudden movement, sending Nadia flying into the wall. She was barely conscious, her eyes blinking weakly, tears flowing down.

He then took a leap forward, almost crushing my mother with his large foot. I quickly pulled my mother to safety, causing her to whimper in pain as I did so.

"Mom, can't you do something to stop him? Can't you make him unconscious or something?"

My mother stood up and nodded, "I can give him a sleeping syrup, but he won't be able to take it."

I pushed his arms with all my strength and said, "Put it in a syringe. We'll inject it. Oh, and first, can you please take Nadia with you? It's dangerous here."

My mother stepped closer to where Nadia lay, but before she could go far, Aidan jumped to stop her and held her neck.

My mom kicked the air as she tried her best to peel off his fingers.

"Aid, stop!!!! Aid!!! You'll kill her."

I knew that he was hurt by my mother's words, but this wasn't the Aidan I knew. The gorgeous dreamer prince wasn't someone who would break someone's neck, especially not someone who had treated him like a son.

I successfully pulled his arm, but he quickly grabbed my mother's neck with his other arm. I raised my foot and hooked the back of my knee onto his arm, then forcefully pushed my foot down.

He wobbled down, releasing his grip from my mom. She coughed, clawing the floor as she crawled to her work chamber.

Aidan stretched out his hand, almost reaching my mom's ankle, but I stopped it with a kick. Although I was reluctant, I kicked him in the shoulder.

He staggered backward.

I used my whole body to pin him against the wall, but he struggled to break free from my hold.

The raucous joust must have been audible from outside as someone knocked on the door.

"Are you alright?" A deep voice asked from behind the door, but it lacked urgency despite the situation.

"Please, help," I muttered through gritted teeth.

After a few moments of struggling with the doorknob, the person gave up and kicked the door open.

It was my muscular neighbor, Scipio, who had come to repay his debt.

He rushed over to immobilize Aidan's hands, which had been difficult to handle. The difference in their size was akin to that between Hercules and an ogre, with their appearances making it evident who was who.

One thing was sure, they both were strong.

Aidan did not make it easy for Scipio to restrain him. He used his agile legs to scissor Scipio's waist and flipped them both onto the ground.

Taking advantage of the situation, Aidan stepped on Scipio and charged toward me, vaulting over the table as if he were flying.

Despite being prepared to tackle him, he proved heavier than I had anticipated. My left leg buckled, and I stumbled against the wall.

"That girl! Take her away!" I shouted to Scipio to move Nadia elsewhere. Her presence there was only making me cautious and preventing me from using my full strength.

Scipio scooped the petite girl's body and lifted her with ease. He brought her out, probably to the safety of his house.

With Nadia out of sight, I could go all out to send this beast unconscious. But I was in a rather unfavorable position. Cornered. Gated by his robust thighs on both sides of the escape route.

His red, glazed eyes were staring at me, but I couldn't sense him anywhere in that body. It was as if his soul was drifting apart while his body was operated by a ghost.

He delivered countless jabs at me. Most of which I could block, and some of them landed on me.

As one of the strongest Monsters in Genesis, fighting was nothing new to me. But going against this kind of opponent was a first.

Aidan was a different kind of strong. He was built for combat, especially close-range ones. His muscles were trained vigorously. Not to mention, the quality of his food was beyond what we had in Copper Zone, which must have played a significant role in shaping his body.

For the first time in my life, I was overpowered in a fight. Battered and heavily wounded, I finally understood why some of my opponents chose to remove their masks than continue fighting.

Although, more than the bruises and cuts on the outside, the worst pain came from within. I didn't know which one, but one of Aidan's punches must have hit one of my organs.

I coughed up blood, and my legs weakened. I pressed my palm on my stomach, feeling a sharp sting slithering to my back, engulfing my mid-body part.

The combination of exhaustion and agony amplified my discombobulation, enough to kill any chance of retaliation.

My body felt heavy, and I collapsed. I gasped for air, calling out Aidan's name over and over again in my head, but no sound came out of my lungs. Had they stopped working too?

My vision blurred. Someone crept behind Aidan and hit his neck. He fell down.

Then, I blacked out.

To be continued...