Angel Monarch
Chapter 441 441: The End of My World

My name is Henry. The fifteen-year-old Prince of the continent Europe. I'm also a powerful Ascended, with an even stronger Transcended fiancée… And my world just ended…

…

Fifteen years ago, I was made in a laboratory by combining the DNA of both Queens of London. Valerie, an Ethereal, and Elizabeth, a Stellar; my mothers!

Valerie's high Rank prevented any usual forms of pregnancy, so they used their genes to make a non-Evolved child. It was safe and let them raise me as a semi-normal person.

However, my life wasn't easy; my childhood wasn't carefree. Upon birth, I was already a prince, so my first years went by learning etiquette and decorum.

By the time I began school, my entire personality reflected my background. I couldn't make friends, since everyone knew exactly who my parents were.

I spent most days holed up in my room, reading books about the world. I watched London from my castle's window, thinking how life was like for normal children.

My parents loved me with all their hearts, but leading a gigantic city-state wasn't easy. Some days I didn't even see them. The constant meetings and errands took them away from the castle, where I spent my time.

But, in their busy schedules, they always made sure that once a week we spent an entire day together. That's how I knew they truly loved me, but they were busy people with many responsibilities.

Somewhere back then, I decided to help them in their work, so we could spend more time together. In my free time, I learned everything about scheduling, accounting, management, and anything else an assistant could excel in!

I inherited my mothers' intellect, so learning all these different skills wasn't an issue. When I reached satisfactory levels, I presented the idea to my parents, who reluctantly accepted it, but only if my perfect grades in school continue.

That wasn't a problem. However, they had another request before I could begin assisting their work… I needed to make a few friends. A truly impossible task for an unsocial prince!

For months I worked out plans. I tried engaging in conversations with my classmates, but my presence alone made everyone uncomfortable.

Everything seemed hopeless, and I soon gave up my dream. I wouldn't ever make friends, which meant I could never become my parents' assistant.

In my sadness, I snuck away from home without notifying my maids and butlers. In the middle of the night, nobody could've guessed I wasn't sleeping, so the servants didn't check on me until dawn.

I roamed the streets of London in my pyjamas and slippers. I had never seen my city's nightlife up close before. It was truly beautiful, nothing like I imagined it!

The bright lights, the sweet and savory smells of street food, the sound of laughter. They all mingled together, making the experience more than perfect.

Like a ghost, I walked the streets with a wide smile. Many people gave me strange glances, mostly because of my weird choice of clothes.

Absorbed in the moment's perfection, I didn't notice when I entered a worse part of the city.

The bright lights disappeared, leaving dark and dirty alleys behind. The sweet and savory smell turned disgusting, a mix of alcohol, puke and piss. The sounds of laughter remained, but instead of bringing joy, they felt scary.

Even worse, I lost where I had entered this horrid area from, and so I continued my silent roaming. However, my stupidity didn't end there. I accidentally turned into a dark alley, where a few criminals waited for fresh prey.

They recognized how expensive my nightclothes looked and quickly determined I was some rich kid. Luckily, they weren't too bright, and after capturing me, they began arguing about how to ransom me.

I used the small window when nobody was looking at me to run away. I lost my slippers and fell onto the disgusting ground a few times, so nobody could ever guess I was London's only prince.

The criminals gave pursuit and were quickly catching up. That's when I accidentally ran into two Evolved officers who were on patrol.

At first they thought I was some street urchin, but seeing the distress and fear on my face, they looked past my possible origin and instead arrested all the attempted kidnappers.

The traumatizing night ended, leaving me exhausted. I fell asleep in the Evolved officers' car and woke up in their home, clean and in new clothes.

They greeted me with a warm breakfast and introduced themselves as Ben and Garry. The married couple also had a son who happened to attend the same school as me… Glenn, my first friend!

Unlike Ben and Garry, he recognized me as the prince. However, maybe to prank his parents, he pretended we'd never seen each other before.

His prank didn't last long though, because as a young prince I never learned how to lie. I tried though, but the couple saw through me.

When I told them my real background, they didn't believe me, but when Glenn vouched for me, there was no denying it. They fed me, put me in a car and drove me back to the castle, where my parents anxiously waited.

They thanked Garry and Ben, then dragged me into an empty room, where they lectured me for close to an hour. They grounded me for an entire month, as if I ever left my home.

However, that horrible night at least bore some fruit. I began talking to Glenn regularly. We played games online through the holo-screen, or watched movies together… I acquired my first friend, and with him came the others!

Glenn had a small friend group consisting of Max, Dan, Jamie and Lydia. They all had different backgrounds, but since everyone attended the same school, they became friends.

Everyone was a bit uncomfortable with me at first, but after a while they followed Glenn's example and began treating me like a regular kid.

I appreciated my friends. I finally understood why my moms wanted to gain a few friends. They worried about my social skills and loneliness. They knew how little time they could spend with me, so having friends was the easiest solution to banish my loneliness.

Their assumption was correct, as always. My next years went by fast, filled with joy. I was having fun every day. My school life vastly improved once I wasn't a loner anymore.

Each day went by awaiting the next. I never expected life could be any better, and yet everything changed when I met her… That little, meek girl with pure white hair and similar colored eyes. An exceptional beauty with divine pale skin, radiant like a fairy or like an angel!

When I laid my eyes upon her, my thoughts came to a halt. Such a perfect and magnificent being.

My heart pounded like drums. My breathing turned erratic, and I felt my face turn red from embarrassment.

I don't know when I fell in love with Victoria. Maybe it was in our first meeting, maybe after our first conversation, or maybe after she saved me and my friends. Either way, after spending so much time together, I couldn't deny her importance to me.

When my mother made us betrothed, that was the happiest day of my life. I didn't show my excitement since I never liked to display emotion, but Vicky knew.

My fiancée could read my emotionless facial expression as if I was an open book. She understood me on an emotional level. Even without words, she could tell what I thought with such accuracy I began thinking she could read my mind!

We were true soulmates, like in those fairy tales of old The charming prince and his beautiful princess. The perfect couple.

She was my world. She was my past, present and future. She was someone I hoped to grow old with or live until the Universe ended. She was my everything, the reason why I never gave up no matter the challenge I faced…

She was my world…

My world is gone…

…

The raindrops began falling again, as if Earth was weeping. The sounds of thunder and fighting felt like distant memories.

Was I even alive? I couldn't tell…

The stormy wind brushed my golden hair, but I couldn't care less. In my mind, nothing remained, no thought, no emotion.

I feel empty. I feel broken. I feel hopeless…

My world, it ended. So abruptly…

I couldn't even say goodbye. I couldn't even tell how much I loved her. I couldn't even give her this gift…

With trembling hands, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a pair of rings. The thinner one with a golden gemstone, the wider one with a white gemstone.

A betrothed couple should carry matching rings on their hands. It was a message to everyone, a shout in the wind that we're both taken. Something material that can represent our eternal love.

The rings fell through my fingers. They felt meaningless. My world already ended, so what's the point of useless rings? They can't represent the love we feel, since you aren't here anymore.

Why is it so cold? Is it the wind or the rain?

My soul, it feels empty, like the bonfire burning in my heart disappeared. There's nothing left, only ashes and dust…

I feel lonely. I don't want to continue living without my world. It's too hard and painful. Will I be alone in the Afterlife? Is my world waiting for me?… I'm lonely…

Near where I knelt, a loud scream shook the world as Bea went mad with grief. She fought that man, the killer of my world, without self-preservation… It seemed she also lost the reason to stay alive…

However, while I expected Bea's reaction, even I felt some surprise upon the appearance of two more people… From Bea's shadow, the Angel and her Shadow stepped out…

This should've ignited hope in people's hearts, but I saw through the facade. Sera's eyes burned blood-red, consumed by grief and bloodlust.

She summoned her gauntlets, and began massacring everyone in sight, starting with Bea and the scary man. Golden flames danced along her hands, and moments later nothing but burning corpses remained of my world's mother and her killer.

I couldn't care less. I could die this very moment, and would feel nothing but relief. I don't want to live without my world…

The ravens congregated near Xinya's sobbing form. They turned into a tall, gloomy man wearing a cloak of raven feathers. He walked with a metal cane, which he evidently didn't need.

He slapped Xinya once, then reached down and grabbed a handful of her silvery-white hair. She didn't squirm or scream; her entire body went limp, like a marionette with its strings cut.

I recognized the man as soon as our eyes met… Victor. Sarah and Otto's elder brother…

While carrying Xinya, he stopped a few meters before me. His dark eyes revealed no emotion. He didn't feel pity, sadness or joy… He looked annoyed, as if I were a mere insect in his eyes…

However, when his eyes moved down to the head grasped in my trembling hands, a small smirk appeared on his emotionless face… He nodded to himself in satisfaction…

When I saw the smile, I felt nothing but anger seeping through my body. How dare he feel anything good! My world just ended, and he dares to smile at it?!

I didn't think. Self-preservation left my body the moment my world ended. I wanted nothing but some revenge, yet I couldn't even achieve that.

The moment I tried to lift my warscythe, a raven flew through my chest. It missed my heart by centimeters, but did enough damage to my lungs and spine to immobilize me.

I sighed in despair, my warscythe slipping through my fingers. The pain from the hole in my chest was incomparable to the utter emptiness in my soul.

Victor said something, but I couldn't care less. I didn't resist and instead awaited my inevitable death. Another raven flew towards me, this time aimed at my heart.

However, before it could've reached me, a sharp sound echoed through the battlefield. It reminded me of a noise I hadn't heard in a long time.

Sudden hope reignited in my eyes as I looked up at the approaching man. Reality froze just from the man's mere presence…

"Do you wish to save her?"

[End of Part 1 — Merciful Princess]