Angel Monarch-Chapter 451: Old Dawn

’Why’s the ship heading towards us?’

Will sounded both surprised and curious, but he didn’t receive an answer, not immediately at least.

Henry became speechless upon hearing his words, since what he said was supposed to be impossible!

’Are you sure it’s moving? It isn’t just the currents playing tricks on your vision?’

Another throaty sound echoed as Will groaned in annoyance. However, before he could’ve made a sarcastic comeback, everyone heard Vicky’s thoughts.

’He’s right. It just came into the range of my spatial perception. It’s strange, didn’t expect something large and rather old to move so fast... How does it even move?’

It took a few more precious moments for Henry to find his voice and explain everything to his friends.

’That ship’s name is Old Dawn, a vessel left behind by the people who built the ruins above us. However, by our latest intel, it doesn’t work because it suffered some critical damage long ago...’

He took a deep breath while his mind continued conveying his thoughts to everyone.

’The ship has computers with logs and other information, but the obvious language barrier stopped us from accessing them. My mother, Queen Valerie, came to this Realm because they supposedly made progress with the decryption. That’s when Harold closed off the Realms!’

Everyone else turned silent after hearing his words. However, the ship kept closing in, which meant they needed to make a plan for its arrival.

’So they repaired the ship and have lived on it for the past four or five years. How many explorers came here before Harold sealed the Realm Gates?’

Vicky’s question was valid, but Henry only shrugged...

’I’m uncertain. We had little information about the Realm operations, since they were all Valerie’s field of work. It’s only pure luck we found these coordinates...’

’If I had to estimate, then a few thousand, most of them Evolved soldiers with diving gear or abilities related to fighting underwater. The others are scientists and archaeologists!’

The ship continued to close in, and now only two dozen kilometers separated them.

The giant structure dwarfed even Will’s transformed self, but it was also tiny compared to the massive ray. It was similar in size to a small city.

’Uh, Henry. If they’re heading right for us, then shouldn’t I turn back into a human... Right now I just look like a terrifying sea creature. I don’t want them to shoot me or something...’

The Prince thought for a moment, then eventually shrugged and shook his head, which Will didn’t see, so he also voiced his opinion.

’I don’t think it’s necessary. There’re dozens of Evolved aboard that ship who can sense the essence of monsters and other creatures, like humans. They noticed all four of us long ago. That’s why they’re approaching!’

His theory made perfect sense, yet it didn’t reassure Will at all. Somehow, the closer that ship got, the more anxious he felt.

’But they can differentiate between humans and monsters, right?’

Henry became silent again while the ship moved closer. Only a few kilometers separated them, and the ship wasn’t stopping.

’I don’t know, maybe... I think you’re right! Let’s reveal ourselves before they do something regrettable!’

Will cursed loudly inside everyone’s minds, then spat all three of his friends into the dark purple water. His body then shrunk rapidly until the sea monster turned into a muscular young man with dark blue hair, beard and eyes.

He summoned his armor afterward, since nothing remained of his regular clothes after the transformation.

Sarah increased the air bubble’s size so all four of them fit inside. She also pushed them forward, closer to the ship, which stopped at some point.

They soon reached the ship’s hull. Upon entering the ship’s air sphere, Sarah dismissed her own air bubble, and they all swam to it. The ship’s air only reached a few hundred meters down the sides, so most of its hull was underwater.

Near the metal hull, the four of them glanced at each other in confusion. They were unsure how to climb the vessel without looking like shady pirates. Sarah could also fly them up, but that felt too aggressive.

While they debated their approach, they heard a clanking noise from above, and soon a chain ladder arrived for them to use.

The journey lasted a while, but everyone began climbing without a word. They even pretended to be normal humans, and didn’t use their Transcended strength out of courtesy.

They soon jumped onto the front deck, where the chain ladder led up. The four friends glanced around with curious eyes. There were about a hundred Evolved holding different weapons, each clad in their war gear.

Most of them were Transcended, but at their front stood a tall man armorless. He wore nothing but a simple diving suit and looked awfully comfortable compared to the other soldiers.

His middle-aged, scarred face glanced at Henry with boredom. After a few seconds of silence, he walked away from his soldiers and stood before the newcomers.

"Identify yourselves, or we’ll treat you as enemies of the Old Dawn." He said while staring down at Henry. Even his dark eyes held no interest.

Henry raised an eyebrow at the man’s hostile tone. After four years, he expected a warmer welcome from these lost individuals, but alas his expectations and calculations were wrong.

He stepped forward from Vicky and the others, then answered while staring into the man’s dark eyes.

"My name is Prince Henry. I came on behalf of the Angelic Order to seek aid from Queen Valerie, my mother!"

The Prince’s words left everyone on the deck speechless. A few low mumblings echoed, but soon only one sound remained... Laughter...

"Prince?! The Captain’s son?! Could you be any more ridiculous?!"

"Kid, you’re too funny! I haven’t laughed this hard since Boyl lost his leg to that titan beast!" 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Hey, you little shit! Stop lying! Now tell us where you actually came from and don’t dare lie again!"

Accusations, jokes and laughter echoed around the front deck. However, the tall man still just stared at Henry with boredom.

"Tell me, boy. Have we met before? You look kind of familiar."

All the laughter and shouting stopped. The tall, serious man’s voice cut through the crowd. He didn’t speak louder than them, yet somehow everyone shut up the moment he opened his mouth.

The man had a weird energy surrounding him, like a hidden aura that demanded attention from everyone.

Henry also felt a strange familiarity with him, but his face looked older and more scarred. His hair was grayish-white, unlike the last time they met.

"General Bryce? You’ve changed a lot since our last meeting!"

A small smile appeared on Henry’s face as he took one step forward. He reached forward, offering a handshake, but the older gentleman only smirked.

The Prince blinked once and found himself facing upward while lying on the ground. His back hurt from the metal deck, but the fall didn’t cause any damage.

"Oh, you’re Henry!" Said the General while standing above the Prince, his scarred lips stretching into a wide grin. "Don’t you forget. Just because you grew taller, more muscular and gained a few Ranks, I can still kick your ass!"

The soldiers behind the General looked at each other with confusion, while Vicky stood anxious, moments away from summoning her daggers.

However, neither Henry nor Bryce paid much attention to them. He helped the Prince back to his feet, while they both chuckled like old friends.

The General pulled the Prince into a tight hug, his face finally revealing emotions, like joy and relief.

"Dammit, we’ve missed you so much! Our lives would’ve been so much easier with your administrative abilities! Do you know how hard it’s managing a few thousand people after getting stranded in this forsaken Realm?!"

Will, Sarah and Vicky coughed simultaneously. They knew all too well the hardships Bryce’s encountered, since they all been in his shoes a few years ago.

"Compare that to managing an entire continent and fighting large-scale wars, I think you had an easy job!"

Bryce raised an eyebrow at Henry’s words, but didn’t ask any further questions. Instead, he turned back towards his platoon with the usual bored expression.

"Why aren’t you saluting? This is our commanding officer, Captian Valerie’s only son, the Prince of London! Everyone, attention!"

The soldiers, still a bit shocked, instantly snapped into attention, their muscle memory kicking in.

The General then glanced at Henry with a small smirk, causing the Prince to roll his eyes.

When he was little, Bryce always made every soldier nearby salute him, which made Henry both uncomfortable and annoyed.

However, after spending years near soldiers, his face barely changed by the sudden attention. He just stood straight and saluted back, dismissing everyone’s attention.

Soon after General Bryce led all four newcomers away, towards the first mast, where a large elevator led deeper into the ship.

"You’ve changed a lot, boy. You’re more comfortable and confident. That meek, reserved nature of yours is barely noticeable. Back then, you couldn’t even look officers in the eye, and now you carry yourselves as their leader!"

Henry glanced at the tall man walking by his side. His dark blue eyes soon wandered though, to the girl walking by his other side, glaring at him with annoyance.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce you to everyone. This is General Bryce, one of the strongest regular humans and my old trainer. He also led London’s army before the Gates closed... General, let me introduce you to my new friends!"