"Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed guests and friends," he said. "It is a great honor to be standing before you tonight." The man looked at the crowd with piercing eyes.
"I come to you tonight with a message of hope and resilience. As you know, our city has been under attack in the past week, and too many of our friends and loved ones have been lost. However, we were able to repel the thaids and are hunting down the remnants of the horde." The crowd cheered and applauded. Erik actually noticed journalists and TV reporters were there recording the event; however, he could only notice how they often framed Emily.
"Unfortunately, it is with great displeasure that I must tell you that not all the news is reassuring." Becker paused a bit. "As we suspect, that behind the horde was a dangerous thaid known as the Heniate."
Murmurs and shocked faces appeared amidst the crowd. No one expected something like this. Heniate were notoriously powerful thaids, vicious, and highly intelligent. Erik was the most surprised of them; thanks to his knowledge, he knew what kind of beast this was and what it was capable of.
"What is an Heniate?" Benedict asked.
"How the hell can't you ignore what an Heniate is?" Erik whispered.
"Man, You know I don't like to study very much. Don't act like you don't know it."
Erik sighed. "An Heniate is a dangerous thaid with the ability to create parasites that control their host's brain and influence their decisions. If we take this into account, the attack on New Alexandria makes a lot more sense now," Erik said. However, Anderson was a sharp guy and immediately raised a question.
"But why did it attack New Alexandria? What could have possibly been gained from it? More zombies?" he asked.
"That is an interesting question," Erik said, "But I have no idea about it… The books I read did not explain their behavior properly, as they get killed as soon as they get found as they are too dangerous."
In the meantime, Becker's speech was going on. Erik watched as the crowd hung on Becker's every word. The room was silent, save for the occasional murmur of agreement or gasp of awe. It was clear that this man commanded respect and admiration from everyone in the room and that he was not to be taken lightly.
"But we will stand strong! And we will fight back! I am here to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, that we have a plan and are doing all we can to find the beast and who was behind it and that our retribution will be strong once that is done. "
Erik and Anderson looked at each other. "They think someone is behind it?" Anderson asked. "But how? Isn't this a thaid? How could someone have pushed him to do something like this?"
Erik looked at Anderson with a solemn look. "I don't know," he said. The young man wasn't worried about Frant. Hell, if the nation got destroyed, he would start dancing. However, the prospect of someone having that much power over a thaid worried him. Besides, what would happen to his friends if something like that happened again, and he and they were required to fight?
After Becker's speech, the room erupted into applause and murmurs; they were all obviously worried about the situation. Becker walked off the stairs with his head held high, still radiating power and confidence with every step he took.
As the clapping died down, Caiden Joyce, Amber's father, stepped up to the microphone and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming tonight again. General Becker's words were certainly inspiring, but we're not here just to listen to speeches. We're here to have a good time!"
With that, the room exploded into cheers, and the sound of music filled the air. The press kept shooting photos and recording the event; the people began moving toward the dance floor, and the buffet table opened up, with servers serving delicious dishes to the guests.
As Erik and his friends made their way over to the food, Emily approached them, smiling. Of course, this left everyone except Erik, Gwen, Floyd, and Amber speechless. She was Emily Stone, a goddess among men, the first daughter of the second most important man in the whole nation.
"Hi, guys," she said to Amber and Erik. "Long time no see. How are you all doing?"
"Good, good," Erik replied, feeling a little tongue-tied in her presence.
"I'm so glad you could all make it," Emily said, glancing around the room. "It would be sad if I didn't know anyone here. It's nice to have some friendly faces," she said while looking at Amber.
"Yeah, it's pretty crazy," Benedict chimed in, staring at the lavish decorations adorning Emily's dress. "We've never been to anything like this before." Martha gave him an annoyed look and hit him to the side.
Emily laughed. "I know it can be overwhelming at first. But you get used to it," her smile was warm, but she didn't know the guy and felt uncomfortable because of his stare.
As they chatted, Erik couldn't help but notice how beautiful Emily looked, and Amber's jealousy increased. However, she said nothing.
Then Emily turned to Erik and smiled warmly. "Erik, it's so good to see you again," she said, her voice musical and pleasant to the ear.
Erik smiled at her, trying to be as charming and polite as possible. "Yeah, how have you been?" he asked smoothly, his confidence returning.
Emily nodded, her green eyes shining. "It's going well, but I'm always at home training and attending all these events with my dad. You know, the usual things…"
The conversation went on until Amber got approached by a servant and got told something she would have never believed to hear. General Becker wanted to see Erik. That was reasonable; her friend was an awakener, and she knew Becker had plans for him, but she didn't expect this now.
Amber interrupted Erik's and Emily's lively conversation and said, "Can I talk to you for a moment?" With a worried look.
"Sure," Erik replied, noticing Amber's face. The two walked a little bit further, and then the young woman dropped the bomb.
"My dad sent someone to tell me that Becker wants to talk to you…" Erik didn't reply; however, the news wasn't pleasant. Anyone else would have killed to talk to the nation's leader, but not him, as he blamed him for the state of things in the nation; he blamed him for his childhood, the bullying, and everything else. Besides, he knew he was seen as a tool by him and nothing else.
"Where is he?" Erik asked.
"That butler will bring you to him." Erik then observed the man, a distinguished gentleman in his early sixties with a stoic countenance and an air of refined elegance. He stood tall, his back straight, and his movements measured, always exuding an aura of professionalism and poise. His attire was immaculate; his suit was always perfectly tailored, and his white gloves were spotless. His salt-and-pepper hair was neatly combed, and his mustache was impeccably trimmed. His keen eyes held a glint of wisdom and experience, as if he had seen it all and had learned from life's lessons.
"All right." Erik took a deep breath and started to follow the butler, who was leading him to a small side room inside the ballroom.
His heart pounded as he walked, wondering what could possibly be waiting for him on the other side of the door. He tried to shake off the feeling of anxiety that had taken hold of him, but it was no use.
The butler led Erik down a hallway, past several doors, until they finally reached a small room. The butler opened the door and gestured for Erik to enter. The awakener hesitated momentarily, but he gathered his courage and stepped inside.
When the young man entered, Caiden, Richard, and Becker were all present and standing side by side. They looked up as Erik entered, and the room was silent for a moment.
Erik's nerves were starting to get the best of him, but he tried to appear calm and collected as he looked around the room. He took in the serious expressions on the faces of the three men, and he couldn't help but wonder what they had called him here for.
"Good evening, Erik," Caiden said, breaking the silence. "Thank you for coming."
[WARNING. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS INDIVIDUAL SPOTTED. THE BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SUGGESTS THE HOST NOT TO USE ANY SYSTEM-RELATED POWER AS THE CHANCE THIS MAN CAN SENSE THE SUBTLE MANA FLUCTUATIONS THEY GENERATE IS VERY HIGH.]
Erik responded with a nod, choosing not to say anything further because what the system had said had deeply disturbed him. He knew that if the system was correct, he could be in great danger if he used any of his powers.
Becker stepped forward, and Erik couldn't help but notice how he towered over everyone else in the room. He looked even more, imposing up close than he had from a distance. Erik felt a sudden pang of nervousness as Becker approached him, but he tried to maintain his composure and not show any signs of fear.
(A.N: Starting today, I will upload two chapters a day again. I apologize for this past week's situation, but things happened.)
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