The life of a Haughty Prince

Alina would have carried her properly, if she wasn't a human-eating, shapeshifting monster itself, as a result, all she could do now was take her unharmed dead body within her ring.

"Thanks for not harming the body," Alina said, with a small voice.

"What are you talking about? It was just a fluke." He said with a smile.

"..."

Alina stared at him with doubtful eyes and punched him on his shoulder.

"Ouch!!! What was that for?"

"…..Nothing….let's hurry, the innkeeper must be worried sick, not knowing anything that happened to her daughter." Alina said and started jumping around the trees, increasing her pace as Atlas followed suit.

'I really need to learn, how to teleport taking other living people with me. If I do that, many problems which I am facing now can be solved but, how?

Nobody can teach me about it as it is just a myth. Didn't anybody think of making something like a system? What am I even saying? For that, they need to invent the Copy symbol and for them to even do that, they need to learn things to a molecular level, which needs modern knowledge. Which appears to be impossible as it interferes with everyone's believes. Haa...….'

"We are here!" Alina shouted.

"Oh.."

"You looked like you were in some deep thoughts again. I guess it's your habit but don't be like that on the battlefield though."

"…..I know."

Both of them gradually walked to the village and jumped towards a roof of a tall four-story building nearby, where they saw everything was in total chaos. Even though it was in the middle of the night, people were shouting other people's names, some searching for their loved ones, some searching for their animals. Most of them with flaming sticks in their hands.

"Karmila!!! Where are you?!!!!"

"Father!!! Where are you, father?!!!!"

"Hey, hey, have seen my wife?... No...I see….Linda!!! where are you, Linda??!!!!!"

"Lushly darling where are you? Don't make your mom so worried."

...…..

...…

...…..

...….

….

People were spreading and searching throughout the village and some were even lurking around the jungle nearby. Some were even sobbing in worry. It was clear that everyone was worried sick for their missing friends and family members who all of a sudden went missing.

"oookay….I didn't expect this." Atlas said in surprise.

"haa...yeah, I didn't think it would happen so soon."

"so….what should we do?" Atlas asked still gazing at the people.

"...I guess the village chief himself is already eaten. So we will call his son and Ms. Innkeeper in a separate place. We will only tell both of them the truth. We can't let all the people know about our mission here. So, you search for the chieftain's son and I will go for Ms. Goshly."

"Will you be ok?…" Atlas asked.

Alina only nodded and jumped away, making Atlas sigh.

Alina searched for the lushly's mother and found her as she was also searching for her daughter among all the people. She wanted to go there and tell her the truth but her legs suddenly froze as she gazed at her pained and worried look shouting her daughter's name, repeating it again and again and again.

"Lushly!!!!...."

"Lushly dear!! Where are you?!!..."

"Lusshhhllyyyy!!!!!!!"

Every breath she was taking in, she used it to shout out her only daughter's name, trying to make it loud and clear as possible. Her eyes looked tired and bagged. After working and cooking all day and searching for her daughter during the night losing her rest, naturally, she would be plenty tired.

But there she was, worried sick for her daughter, shouting her name, her voice slowly starting to sound dry. As she was waking and shouting with her dry voice. Her tired body suddenly tripped and she fell down.

Alina couldn't control herself and instinctively jumped towards her.

"Ms. Goshly, are you alright?" she said trying to help her.

"Oh, it's Ms. Alina, Ahem.. Ahem…sorry having a bit of trouble Ahem…Ahem…talking."

"No, No, it's ok. Have some water." Alina said, giving her leather bottle to her."

"Thank you…Ahem..Ahem.."

She slowly drank the water, easing her dry throat.

"Really, thank you, Ms. Alina, you are so kind as always."

"..." Alina said nothing as she bit her lips. The guilt she was feeling was increasing every second as she gazed at her exhausted self. She wasn't blaming herself at first but when he heard the confession of the kamiloze they interrogated. She knew it was her fault, killing that poor girl to take her form, only to watch over her actions and act as bait.

"Ms. Alina, have you seen Lushly. She has gone missing an hour ago. She was just there in her room but when I called her to eat her dinner, she was no longer there.

Ms. Alina is experienced at this right? Please help me find her, I will do anything in exchange." She asked kindly but her words still carrying the worried tone of a mother.

"....." Alina said nothing as her head was slowly lowering down.

"Ms. Alina, why aren't you saying anything? Do you know anything? …."

"...." Her head only lowered down furthermore her blue hair falling to cover her face. She slowly put her shaky hands on her shoulder gently gripping it.

"....um…. Ms. Goshly…..the thing is…..that.."

She gazed at Alina in confusion and felt her shaking hand on her shoulder. Her confusion further increasing, when the always confident Ms. Alina was slipping on her words.

After looking at her a bit, something dawned on her and her face became even paler, she took a step back in fright, Alina's hand falling down from her shoulder.

"Ms. Goshly?.."

"Please tell me, that's not true, please, please!! Please!!!! She is just a little girl!!!!!" she shouted, attracting everyone's attention.

Atlas who was looking at them with his now shiny eyes sighed and jumped from the roof in their direction and carried both of them on his shoulder. It was done so swiftly that, the people near them didn't even see them and went back to their calling. How could they, they were all also worried about their loved ones and they wanted to care about them first then another.

"wh…what i..is happening?" the innkeeper asked in sudden fright.

"what are you doing all of sudden, let us down!!" Alina shouted.

Atlas didn't listen and went to a private area on a roof. Placing them there.

"Wait here…. and be careful." He said as he looked at the innkeeper and jumped out of the roof again.

"What?…who w..was t..that Ms. Alina?"

"Don't worry, don't worry. He is just my partner. He means no harm." She said, trying to calm her down and tried to hug her.

"I told you to be more careful, Alina," Atlas said from the back, surprising both of them again. Now, a middle-aged man on his shoulder trying to resist and wiggle out from his grip.

"Who are you?!!, what do you want from me?!! somebody help!!"

Atlas had already locked the surrounding with his mana, letting not a speck of noise escape.

"Shut up, and stay silent if you want to know about your father," Atlas shouted.

"You know where he is? Tell me, tell me where my father is?!!" the man shouted. Yes, yes he was the son of the chieftain of the village, who they needed right now.

Atlas ignored him and walked towards the ladies and used his pull symbol on Ms. Goshly and yanked out something off of her possession. It reached his hand and there it was, the same knife with the same poison, surprising Alina speechless.

"I…Is t..that…."

"yes."

"m…mean sh..she is a…also.."

"yes Alina, you already know my eyes don't lie."

Alina turned to the woman who she thought was the always loving and kind Innkeeper. Her eyes consisting of nothing but shock and denial.

"Tell me, tell me he's wrong, Ms. Goshly, tell me that… that knife on his hand isn't yours."

"wh…what are you talking about? of course it's not true, it's.. it's all a ploy, right!!. Ms. Alina, he is trying to set us apart. Kill him, kill him, otherwise, he might kill us first!!!" The lady shouted in panic.

Alina was now fully silent, looking at the women in front of her with dead eyes, ones which were only filled with pity, love, and guilt, now, all gone. She wanted to deny it, she wanted to deny it to her last breath, but she knew this was wrong, she knew she would only be helping the murderer who killed and ate her close ones in this village.

She channeled her mana on her hands and legs and gripped her long sword from the back.

The disguised woman suddenly felt an unbearable amount of bloodlust from the blue-haired woman before her and unconsciously stepped back knocking her back on the locked mana around the roof.

Her fear slowly turned to utter dread when the woman before her slowly took out her long sword. Nowhere to escape, nowhere to ask for help. She tried using magic but the sheer dread she was feeling in her heart right now, made her think twice. The only thing she could now do was use this body owner's voice as a weapon.

"Ms. Ali...."

But before she could complete her words. She felt a tinge of pain lining from her right cheek to the left. After that, all she could see was her view somehow sliding down to the right eventually landing on the rooftop ground. Her hands trying to grasp the empty space where the upper part of her face lied. Which also slowly lost its momentum and all her whole body falling to the ground like a dead body it was.

Alina, gazing at the now dead body of the shapeshifting monster felt empty. Her close ones who she needed to protect were both gone and dead.

The middle-aged man beside Atlas was in full shock at what just happened in front of him. He looked down at his shirt and hands, which were covered with nothing but green blood, swiped from Alina's sword when she cut off Ms. Goshly's head.

He started panicking when the beautiful girl who everybody knew as a strong and kind individual tried killing Ms. Goshly but the reality being nothing that he imagined.

His father had told him about the shapeshifting monsters lurking within the village and looking at his shirt and hands and the dead body of the monster, squirting green blood from his half-sliced head, proved everything that his father told him was true all along.

"So….. it's all true…the kamilozes a..and my father?" he said looking at the masked man in front of him.

"Do I need to speak any further?"

"dead?"

Atlas only nodded and let him be, he started walking towards Alina who was still looking at the dead body.

He put his hand on her right shoulder.

"I'm sorry… it had to end like this.." Atlas said, apologetically.

Alina slowly turned to her right to gaze at her junior, gaining some shine in her eyes.

"Here I thought….I would teach you some new stuff and become a cool senior but, here I am confused and sitting on the floor, pathetic. Couldn't even protect someone I care about."

Atlas didn't say anything and suddenly lifted her up like a princess carry.

"hey, w…what are y..you doing?"

Atlas didn't reply at looked back at the middle-aged man.

"You know what to do right? Otherwise, the whole village will still be in chaos."

The man rubbed his teary red eyes and gave a nod.

"If my father is no more to lead everyone, then I have to do it myself, the responsibility is mine to bear now, thank you. I'm really grateful for both of you taking care of the monsters." The man said bowing to Atlas.

"Good, you are a smart one." Atlas also nodded and jumped away. To a quiet place, far away from all the noise and people.

Alina first struggled in his arms but as time went by, she started to feel more and more comfortable in his warmth.

"Where are we going?" Alina asked.

"Somewhere peaceful." He answered.

******

Thank you for reading! The next two chapters are free on patr eon (https://www.patr eon.com/Highelder), eight chapters beyond that for three dollars, and many more for five dollars (five-chapter release a week at this tier).

And if you want to ask any questions I'm in discord: https://discord.gg/QbWyAP3Y8j