Angel Monarch
Chapter 442 442: Mysterious Couple

—More than a year ago—

Henry and Vicky moved through the giant forest in North-America. While spending time with Sera and Faith, they both had a strange feeling, like a call pulling them in a random direction.

Vicky had felt this before. That weird woman, the Huntress, contacted her in a similar way. However, this time it was stronger, and Henry also felt it.

Together they left the Village behind, making some excuse, which didn't fool anybody. Luckily, nobody questioned them, so they could leave without issue.

The feeling pointed west, but the exact distance remained a mystery, so they couldn't just teleport to their destination.

The forest stayed silent throughout their journey. No monster attacked or even showed itself. Even Vicky's spatial perception couldn't find traces of danger.

They also had a weird feeling, like someone or something was constantly watching them. Whatever it was though, Vicky couldn't sense it.

The pull's power increased gradually, pointing them towards their destination. It took them a few hours, but soon a campfire's bright glow appeared in their vision.

The sun had already set by the time they found the Huntress. However, she wasn't alone…

The Huntress sat beside the campfire. This time her long, light brown hair fell down her bare back. The woman wore a bright pink bikini, which perfectly matched her ridiculous sunglasses.

Across from her, sitting in a camping chair, sat a man. He wore a button-up shirt with flower patterns, cargo shorts and flip-flops.

The man's shiny, short dark brown hair looked even more well-kept than the Huntress's. He didn't wear sunglasses, so when Henry and Vicky stumbled upon the campsite, his piercing grayish-blue eyes landed on the pair.

"Took you long enough. We aren't so bored as to wait hours for your arrival. I thought Victoria could teleport, so what took you hours?"

He sounded quite annoyed, but he looked otherwise normal. Vicky couldn't even concentrate on his words because of his beautiful, unique eye color.

Vicky had met thousands of Evolved with all kinds of eyes, yet she had seen nothing remotely similar. They were out of this world!

Her vision moved from the man to the Huntress's smiling expression. Vicky focused on her sunglasses, but she couldn't pierce their mirrored surface.

It was a shame since she felt quite curious about her eyes. They might've been even more magnificent and unique than his!

"Sorry for arriving late, but you only gave us basic directions, not exact coordinates. Next time, send more punctual information, and we'll arrive sooner!"

The man furrowed his eyebrows, his face darkening. With slow, deliberate movements, he stood up from the camping chair and walked up to Henry.

While standing, Vicky realized that the man reached nearly two meters in height with a well-muscled build. However, those weren't the scary parts about him. The man simply carried a suffocating aura, which demanded attention.

It wasn't the aura Stellars had. Theirs came from the high concentration of essence, while the man's was natural. It came from years of experience instead of given power.

He looked old. Neither Vicky nor Henry could guess his age. By his facial features, he must've been less than thirty, yet the aura made him infinitely older.

His grayish-blue eyes stared down at Henry with a grim expression. For a few seconds nothing happened, then eventually he burst into laughter and smacked Henry's shoulder.

"Good! You're polite, but also have a firm spine and don't take shit from others. These are rare and valuable qualities, but they're useless without the strength to back them up. What do you say? Want to Evolve into something powerful?"

Both Henry and Vicky stared at him, shocked. This sudden change wasn't something either expected.

Near the campfire, the Huntress chuckled at their faces. "Hey, honey. Why don't you introduce yourself before making such ambitious offers?"

The man rolled his bewildering eyes and reached into his pocket. He pulled out some item, but before either teenager could've got a glimpse, the man suddenly changed.

They blinked once and a drastic change went through the man's clothing. His flowery shirt turned into a white one with long sleeves and a dark gray vest. He wore suit pants, which matched the vest, and a pair of elegant black shoes.

He pulled on a black suit jacket, which matched the shoes. A top hat also appeared on his head, and he carried a beautifully embellished light gray metal cane, with a strange handle.

The suit fit him to perfection, speaking volumes about his fashion sense. The elegant man bowed from the waist while holding his cane to the side and pulling his hat close to his chest.

"Good evening, Princess Victoria and Prince Henry. I have many names, but my friends call me Michael, and this here is my wife, Veronica. Don't call her Huntress; that's just a stupid joke she came up with on the spot!"

Michael straightened his back and yelped in pain when his wife smacked his head.

"Hey! That was my secret identity! We said we'll use titles instead of our real names! But even if you reveal yours, why did you tell them mine too!"

Vicky and Henry glanced at each other while Veronica and Michael argued. They couldn't identify how strong these people were, but they were hundred percent married. Their banter easily confirmed that!

"Could you please not do this in front of our friends? We can discuss it later!"

The husband's disarming of the situation didn't work.

"Oh, hell no! You aren't escaping scot-free!" With that, she reached into Michael's pocket and pulled out the same object. It looked pink and round, but they couldn't see much else.

The regal couple blinked, and they became shocked again. The mysterious married couple looked very different.

Veronica's hair became ruffled, and instead of her bikini, she wore a flowing pink dress. Her sunglasses also looked crooked.

Michael's suit jacket came undone, and a few buttons of his shirt weren't in the right holes. However, he quickly fixed his looks, then glanced around in confusion.

"Damn, I left my top hat and cane… Whatever, I was only using them as props, anyway."

His wife just giggled, stood on her tippy-toes and kissed his cheek. She then walked back to the campfire, still fingering that weird round object. Its surface glinted in the fire's light, meaning it was some kind of metal.

Her expression turned serene and nostalgic while looking at the pink object. She clicked something on it, and her hair suddenly fixed itself. The metal cane and top hat also appeared in her hand, and with a quick move she tossed both to her husband.

Afterward, she sat in Michael's chair with a straight back and closed legs, like a true lady. Silently, she listened to her husband's conversation with Henry.

"I'm sure Princess Victoria already told you about her experience with my wife. She helped her a great deal by paralyzing and nearly killing that Estranged Entity, but I'm not like her."

Michael lifted his cane and grasped its body with one hand, while pulling the handle with the other. Vicky and Henry both realized simultaneously why the handle looked strange… It wasn't a handle at all, but a carved dark gray revolver!

"In another Universe, far away from this plain of existence, many people knew me as the Gray God, the Lord of Justice, the Monarch of Good and Evil, the Law of Life… I won't serve any monster on a silver platter, but since I'm a just person, I'll make every fight equal!"

He loaded eight carved bullets into the revolver, then aimed it into the forest in a random direction. The strange man stood with a straight back, his cane held behind his back.

"The fight won't be easy, but I'll make sure you have the same chance at victory as the beast has over you. 50-50 chance of victory. I hope you won't let me down and die before even Evolving once!"

Nearby, Veronica rolled her eyes at the over dramatization, while Vicky glanced between everyone in confusion. She didn't understand what was happening, or why Henry looked so eerily calm.

The Prince's face showed nothing but determination, which caused a small smile to grow on Michael's lips. He nodded to himself, confirming something nobody knew.

"I understand, and trust you to keep your word. Vicky, whatever happens, don't interfere!"

Henry had a feeling Michael wouldn't take kindly to any form of cheating. He confirmed the Prince's assessment as soon as his smile widened upon hearing Henry's words.

"Wonderful, then let's begin this first test, shall we? Henry, what's your favorite weapon? My wife will provide one for your fight!"

Vicky's mind still felt groggy and bewildered. Everything happened too fast, and before she realized, Henry was standing by her side, holding a beautiful, slender rapier with a pink-embellished blade.

"Wish me luck, my love!" Said Henry while looking down at Vicky.

She wanted to disagree, but his dark blue eyes held no room for arguing, so instead she leaned in and gave him a deep kiss.

The mysterious married couple snickered between each other about 'kids' love is cute', but neither paid it any attention.

Afterward, Henry gave a single determined nod to Michael as confirmation. The tall man's expression turned serious, and his eyes began glowing gray.

A few moments later, his finger moved, and he pulled the trigger. The miniature explosion propelled the carved bullet through the giant forest. It somehow missed every tree and soon disappeared into the heavy foliage.

No words needed to be exchanged, since the bullet would only go straight, so Henry just needed to follow its path… At the end, his prey waited and a chance for Evolution!