Chapter 224: Spin-Off Vol.1 'Dark Stranger ': Extra 3
( Present Timeline. )
After time in the Eliopolis Park, the Richter-Grimshaws returned to their home, happily ending their free time with joy as Duncan hoped.
[ Bathroom ]
" It comes again... " Duncan sees his hand shifting into his primary form hand, he tries to hold it while eating the pill given by the Black Merchant.
" How long I have to wait for the New System, Black Merchant said he will tell me soon when he perfected it. " Duncan wonders as he painfully maintains his current human form.
Blind to the state he's in, without the direction of the System like he had before, Duncan could only guess in which percentage he could prevent his real form from leaking.
" 75%, no..., 72... "
" I remember this kind of leak is around that, dammit! " Duncan eats more of the pill, as his 'human form' restores painfully.
" Dammit... "
" I can't reveal it in front of Irina, the kids... "
" Even Hector, he will definitely kill me... " Duncan says it with fear, he patiently waits for Black Merchant for the System Pills in order for him to know his state in a more detailed way.
Duncan the kneels to the ground, after seeing his reflection slowly becoming into his real form.
" Would I have to reveal it? " Duncan asks himself as he drenched himself in sweats.
" If that's so... "
" Then, what will the media say, to me, to Irina, to Adria... "
" Not to mention Donovan, even they still ostracized him for being the 'Child From the Dungeon' despite his achievements. " Duncan pants.
" If they were to know that his 'adoptive father' is... "
" No, no no no no... " Duncan says as he brace himself to look at his reflections again, immediately seeing his reflections normal again into his 'Duncan' reflection.
" As far as I know, my race can maintain their disguise for so long... "
" But for how many, Black Merchant never validates it. "
" For he only told me that my race is so secretive, he rarely meets them, even in their disguises, during his travels. "
" Darn it... "
" I better try to learn some magic for now... "
" Perhaps ask some Medics about the Magic that could make one maintain a disguise for longer time, in case the pills doesn't work anymore. " Duncan sighs, he closes his eyes, begin to imagining the cruel fate that will happen to his family if he is ever revealed.
Duncan sees his family ostracized, both his nuclear family as well as the whole Richter House. He fears the other house will use him like they did with Donovan, an excuse, to topple down the Richter House from the face of the Royal Politics, to take away the Richter's Royal Status because of him.
" Damn those other Royal Houses... "
" They really love to stab their rivals in the back, didn't they? " Duncan asks himself as he also recount his times as 'Tenebrae'.
" Reminds me of the Nyx Nocterra, guess they're not the ones to be blamed for this, despite them always put in the first place in terms of 'treachery'. "
" Hope this won't happen, I won't let the other houses get a single moment of leak... " Duncan swears to himself as clenched his fist.
" For my family... " Duncan swears it in the bathroom, while he retreats from the mirror and went to the closet to release some trash from his body.
While Duncan is in the bathroom, unknown to him, Irina in the bed secretly hears him using one of her Ground Magic Abilities 'Earthcolocation', basically she can hear anything present using the ground.
" * Sob * " Irina hears it all and goes into tears, she hugs Adria who is sleeping beside her, she hug her as hard as she can as she pats her.
" Everything will be alright, sweetie. "
" Mom and dad will never let it all happen to you and your brother, we promise... " Irina sobs, wiping her tears as she hears Duncan's footsteps coming out from the bathroom.
* Duncan comes in and enters the bed. *
" *sigh* " Duncan sees the sleeping Irina, hugging the little Adria, for he then hugs them both.
"( I should've take Donovan here, after all... )" Duncan looks at Adria for a while.
"( I still remember my deal with Hector, right after Adria was born... )"
"( In order for Donovan to stay, he... )" Duncan recounts it, he hugs Adria and pats her hair.
"( Grow, daughter... )"
"( Grow and help your brother in the future... )"
"( Our family's future are in your hands now... )" Duncan tells in his mind, as he then follow the two sleeping in the bed.
...
( At the same time. )
< Location: Crystal Glowcave Dungeon >
< Dungeon Type: Epic >
" Betzalel, Draven, Donovan... " Rakish calls Draven (Donovan) with all of the names she knew.
" Please call me either by Betzalel or Draven, Raksha... " Draven tells Raksha that, reminding her.
" Oh, I'm... I'm... "
" Sorry. " Draven interrupts her, Raksha is still trying to pronounce using the human language so Draven helps her by teaching her how per his experience as a human.
Draven lets her sit with him, both seeing the moonlight in the Dungeon, both witnessing it in great comfort by it's light.
" The Night Skies are great, isn't it, Betzalel? " Raksha asks Draven.
" Indeed. " Draven says.
" I often remembered this during my time as 'Betzalel' in the 'Double Dungeon' I was born into, though... " Draven says to Raksha.
" Back then, I and existing Black Shadows live peacefully before meeting father. "
" He mistook me for a lost child, not knowing I was actually the ruler of the Dungeon, teehee. " Draven chuckles.
" Well, why else the Black Shadows chant your name? " Raksha asks as she remembers her time in the Double Dungeon too when she visit it with Ragitor.
" Yeah, makes me wonder more who I really was, if they are loyal to me like that. " Donovan sighs as he thinks while seeing the Moon.
" I feel like I love seeing the Moon, Raksha. " Draven tells.
" I don't know why, but my theory that in my 'past live'... " Draven believes, this is the theory he believed of who he was in recent times.
" I love to see the moon, as if I had a connection or some sort. "
" Do you perhaps learn 'Moon-based Magic' or some sort? " Raksha asks.
" No, no... "
" Instead of liking, I remember feeling hatred over the moon. "
" I don't know why, but there's a <Vague Memory Voices>, telling me this. "
" That is where your goddess lives when she was still on earth..., **** "
" Are you sure she's there?, I remember the voices as it was said during one's tears.
" Back then ... she was... "
" I remember that was the last of it, a conversation of two people talking about the Moon for whatever reason. "
" They talked as if they had hatred for it, for the goddess, I presume. "
" A goddess that ruled the moon, such things exist, though? " Draven asks.
" In the Age of Ragnarok, perhaps. " Raksha replied which made Draven nod.
" Perhaps..., that's the only theory I could add to my hypothesis. " Draven says as he looks at the moon.
" Speaking of seeing the Moonlight... "
" I remember seeing this with a friend too... " Draven suddenly says.
" Really? " Raksha asks.
" Yeah, a girl friend of mine I've never met again. "
" I've met her during my free times in the Dungeon, I believe it was pre my Second Year in the Richter-Grimshaw family. "
" What was her name again? hmm... "
" I forgot... "
" But I believe this is before I met Tania and recruit her. "
" Seriously, I remember the girl love seeing the sight of the night, seeing the sight of the stars. "
" Oh yes, I remember. "
" She believed herself to be long-lost related to the Calibur Family... "
" Perhaps I should ask Carlos and Carol if I had time... " Draven says as he and Raksha spent the time together witnessing the Moonlight.
"( But what is her name, I can't ask them if I can't remember the name for the two Caliburs to search... )"
" Urgh. " Donovan tries to flashback, scouring his mind, trying to remember what happened during the months before her Second Year birthday in the Richter House.
( A year ago, Months before Donovan's Second Year. )
...
< Entering Dungeon >
< Dungeon: Nightcave Dungeon (Rare) >
< Required Level 31-35 >
< Name: Donovan (Betzalel) Richter-Grimshaw >
< Level: 32 >
" What happened here? " Donovan asks as he sees corpses of Monsters, he sees them all killed by a robed person.
He sees the robed person, killing the Monsters with her magic, a dazzling light magic as the girl defeats them while her glowing blonde golden hair comes out, dazzling Donovan's eyes as he sees her.
" Ah! " the girl sees Donovan as both kids meet each other in the Dungeon.
...
[ Extra end. ]
________
The last scene is the start for the Second Spin-Off Volume, the story is before the Second Volume " Donovan's Second Year ".
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