Chapter 70: Jarkalez Nation

Howard looked up through a hole in a shack, feeling two beautiful figures resting against his torso. Both Jenny and Harley had refused to leave him alone for the night, so he had no choice but to hold them in his arms.

Harley had even dared him to come with her somewhere private tomorrow, which made it hard for him to close his eyes. He felt so happy that it terrified him. Because the happier it got, the easier it be for someone to crush him into a land of oblivion. Gently pushing Jenny off his chest, he pushed himself off the floor and glided outside into the moonlight.

A strange sound seemed to beat constantly in the nearby cliffs, rocks fell and crashed against the ground like waves, and a gentle wind pushed him gently forward. Jumping to the top of a cliff face, Howard walked to the precipice and collapsed against the ground, staring up at the lack of stars with his heart beating faster and faster.

'Why? Why can I never accept that things are good.' Howard held a small fire ball in his hands, spinning it in a circle. 'I feel like if I can't accept it, something terrifying is going to come alive in me, and if I let it grow, everyone around me is going to get killed.'

Howard had noticed an almost malevolent side of him against the Aresoul Royal Brigade. It felt like a terrifying force made him step forward, aiming for nothing but blood and death. His stomach still sunk from those strange, mysterious feelings. Turning to his right, Howard heard footsteps, smiling while seeing a girls' silhouette get closer and closer.

"Jenny, you should be sleeping," Howard said, smiling at her. "Heh, you can't have my blood no matter how much you ask."

"Is Jenny your lover?" A girl in a white dress appeared out of the shadows, stepping gracefully into the amber light. She had three horns in her left and right arms, causing her to appear perfectly defended from the flickering lights of the night. "I saw you sleeping with two girls. Do humans always sleep with two girls."

'Uhm, only if their girlfriend says it's okay." Howard laughed nervously, forcing himself off the ground. "Heh, Monica wouldn't like it very much, but they're very warm."

"Oh, that's nice." The girl appeared by Howard's side, seeming to appear in his shadow with a single step. "My-my brother said you saved him. Because of this, my father would like to see you. He told me to look pretty just to make sure you'd come and join."

"Wait, where did you get those clothes? Aren't those Jennys?" Howard laughed, remembering the clothes she'd left on the bus. Seeing the slender figure's bust nearly shattering the shirt, he couldn't help but smile. "You-you barely fit in that outfit! You should've taken one of Harleys!"

"This had your scent, so it made it easier to find you. My name is Perelel. I'll be your guide for the night. If we find some other clothes, I can change when you're not looking," The young girl grabbed Howard's hand, pointing into the darkness. "My-my father likes men who protect his family members. So, you can be considered family too. Any one thing you need help with, my father will use every drop of his wisdom to make it happen."

"You-you look even more beautiful up close," Howard smiled, gently placing his hand against her face, and gliding it down to her chin. "However, how are you human?"

"It's because I wanted to be. Ki is very strange and mysterious. If you wanted to grow to 15 meteor high, I bet you'd be able to. Heh, do you know any humans that are monsterously tall?"

"My teacher and her husband?" Howard said, gently gliding his hand down Perelel's back. Something about her warmth felt both unnatural and welcoming. It's like every pour of her body had been sculptured from the finest material, and every pore of her body had been chosen deliberately. "However, I don't understand. Are you saying they are tall because they wanted to be tall?���

"I bet your teacher used to be a short girl." Parallel smiled, tapping on the floor. "Anyways, since I'm sort of kidnapping you. We should be quiet. One of your friends scares my father. He says a man with you is very strong."

Authoritarians, just like humans, could sense other beings in their presence, and normally would attack anything threatening in their territory.

Since the Six Horned King Lizard had dominion over this territory, he'd normally have come and attacked Barabin with all his might in a battle to the death. However, once Barabin saved Meros, that instantly shattered any plans of him surfacing. Authoritarians revered children more than anything, and saving him was more than enough for the Six Horned King Lizard to act on his behalf.

During Barabin's Ki Fusion, many Authoritarians had grown angry, but the Six Horned King Lizard put each of them in their place. Now, after five days, his curiosity to meet Howard had been completely activated. Holding Parelel's hand, Howard suddenly felt a burst of energy, seeing himself floating through the sky as a white dress gently touched against his body.

"I'm going to have to ask you to close your eyes," Perelel put her hand over Howard's face as a powerful wind began to swirl around her body. "My father is very protective of this territory. If you don't mind, we'll be there in a second."

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Howard opened his eyes to ten gigantic Authoritarians staring down at him.

They had to be at least 15 meters tall, like moving mountains covered in scales and horns. Of course, unlike most teenagers, Howard immediately smiled. Seeing a familiar figure rushing towards him.

"Meros!" Howard said, laughing before a creature burst into his body and started licking him. "Heh, stop it! Your sister is watching!"

"He's just happy." Perelel said, smiling at Howard. "However, we don't have too much time. Father, can you tell him why he's here?" Perelel looked up at the largest Six Horned King Lizard that seemed to be in complete control of the space. However, in a single movement, that figure started to take on a human form, walking towards Howard with a blue light flickering around it's body.

"Howard, I brought you here to warn you of something, and also to ask you a few questions. For one, why do you have Authoritarian blood in you. There is no way I wouldn't be able to recognize it."

"Authoritarian blood, hahaha!" Howard gently pushed back Meros, turning his face side to side as its tongue assailed him over and over again. "I-I don't know what that means. You mean I'm like one of you."

"I noticed it too," Perelel said, crossing her arms and covering her beautiful curves. "I-I don't get it. He couldn't have been born like that. Did it happen when his horns grew?"

"That's why I'm asking him. Howard, do you know anything about your ancestors?" The man waved his arm forward, causing a black leather top to appear on his body. Suddenly, he looked like a normal man besides for his glowing yellow eyes. "Do you know if he has any connection to our race? The race of the Six Horned King Lizards."

"I don't know, but I know I have horns like you guys." Howard shrugged his shoulders, finally standing as Meros rubbed against his body. "Heh, are you telling me my father once fell in love with an Authoritarian."

"Would you fall in love with her?" The austere, grizzled haired man pet his daughter on the back. "She's beautiful, right? Do you want her?"

"Heh, I can't! I have a girlfriend," Howard smiled, laughing and stepping back. "Why?"

"I wanted to do an experiment. If you have a child, that might explain it." The man tapped his foot against the ground before he finally got close enough to Howard to peer into his eyes. "Hmmm, well, that's not the most important part. I have to send you a warning."

"A warning?" Howard said, crossing his arms from the tense feeling in the air. "What? What do you have to warn me about?"

"Something terrifying is moving through the Furnace." The Six Horned Lizard King named Karlon said, tapping on the floor. "It seems to be coming from another nation on the other side of the Furnace. There is a nation called the Jarkeles Nation that I just learned about a few weeks ago."

"Every hundred years, the open Furnace slightly changes, allowing nations from other side to travel through it. Think of the Furnace like a desert, and every year that passes the pathways slightly change. The Jarkeles had been sealed off from reaching this area for much more than 90 years, but now a few have wandered closer and closer to my territory."

"In a few days, I'm hoping to bring a few Authoritarians to destroy the path they are trying to make."

Karlon took a deep breath, crossing his arms. "However, because of this terrifying feeling I get from them, I'm hoping to ask for you and your teacher's help. Howard, I'm asking for an alliance, but in return you'll be rewarded handsomely."

"I'm still on the trading table," Perelel gently tapped Howard on the side of the cheek before covering his eyes. "Father, that's it right? Should I sweep him into my arms and take him back to his home."

'Yes, in two days, I expect an answer," Karlen said, sighing and looking towards the West. "The Jarkeles are terrifying, Howard. They make the Aresoul look like children."