The Morpeth goes after Man 3, but Man 4 channels spiral energy into his legs, successfully blocking the attack from the creature's massive claws. Man 3 and Man 1 fire their weapons simultaneously, yet not a single scratch appears on its body. The Morpeth shoves Man 4 aside, sending his body flying through the air like a ragdoll.
"Why did we have to fight this thing?" Man 4 asks, coughing up blood.
The Morpeth lunges at Man 3 with its razor-sharp claws. He leaps to the side, but his foot is severed in the process. Man 2 moves in from behind and shoots the giant Morpeth, but the attack does nothing. The Morpeth spins around, striking the man and shattering his ribs. Then, the Morpeth lets out a high-pitched scream that causes the men's ears to bleed.
"This is why having super senses is horrible," Man 4 grits out, desperately covering his ears.
The Morpeth instantly vanishes and reappears in front of Man 4, raising its hands to deliver a killing blow. It smashes the ground, but when it lifts its hand, no one is there.
"No wonder I felt like something was going wrong," a man with blue hair and silver eyes says. He wears a combat facility uniform adorned with five silver stars and holds a black scythe.
"Captain Alex!" Man 3 shouts, looking up at the man standing on a nearby rooftop, the moonlight shimmering behind him.
"It seems like I have to do everything on my own," Alex says, jumping off the building and safely placing the injured man on the ground. His scythe begins to glow with silver energy. "This will be fun," Alex adds, charging toward the Morpeth.
We return to Helios's mansion, where he is speaking with Harry and Lillie's parents. Luna and the others are in Luna's room reading a story.
"Thank you for inviting us" Lily says a woman with silver eyes and hair.
"I should be the one thanking you since my sister looks very happy playing with your children" Helios says in a calm tone.
"You're just like your sister—calm and cold around everyone else, but happy when you're together."
"Is that so?" Helios asks, sounding intrigued.
A knock sounds at the door. "Can I come in, Master Helios?" the butler asks.
"Come in," Helios answers. The door opens and the butler walks in.
"Miss Sara is waiting for you outside, sir. She says she has something important to tell you and has brought another person with her," the butler reports.
"What's so important that she had to come here?" Helios wonders aloud. "Let her in." He turns to Frodin and Lily. "I'm sorry, but it seems this is important."
Sara enters the room. "Hello, Leader," she says, with Alex trailing behind her.
"Who is that?" Helios asks, pointing at Alex.
"Alex?" Frodin says, looking at him with total surprise.
"Old man, it's you," Alex says, glancing at Frodin.
"You two know each other?" Helios asks.
"Yes, he's my eldest son. I thought you were going to work!" Frodin exclaims.
"So you lied to us? You never told us you were a Seeker before!" Lily says, her face flushing with frustration.
"I can explain, Mom—"
"And you also ran away from home for two weeks!" Lily adds, her voice rising in anger.
"It's nice that you guys are happy to see your son, but what do you want?" Helios asks, shifting his gaze to Sara and Alex.
"It seems like Morpeths have infiltrated the kingdom," Sara says firmly.
"It seems the Morpeth have also been evolving rapidly," Alex adds, holding up the severed head of the deer-moose Morpeth.
"Is that the Morpeth from the mission I told you guys to handle?" Helios asks.
"Yes, and when we read the letter, it seemed like the Morpeth wasn't even in its beast form yet," Sara explains. "But this Morpeth evolved ten times faster than a normal one, and we don't know why. We sent the body to the research lab for an investigation."
"I have a good idea: why don't we just make it the royal family's problem? It seems like they have a lot of free time on their hands," Helios suggests.
"That's the thing. The royal family was supposed to handle this because of their contracted summon: The Throne, one of the seven Primordial Summons."
'That crown talked about the seven Primordial Summons and how it was one of them,' Helios thinks to himself. "What does The Throne do?" he asks.
"It depends on the lineage of the person using it," Sara replies.
"Lineage?" Helios asks, puzzled.
"We haven't told you about that yet. Lineages are like bloodlines, and each lineage has its own abilities. For example, my lineage can control time," Sara explains.
"Then why do we need summons?" Helios asks.
"To establish a connection with the Veiled World. Humans aren't like Morpeth; we can't directly absorb spiral energy from the Veiled World," Sara says.
"If Alex's parents don't even know he's a Seeker and they don't have summons, how does Alex have a lineage?" Helios questions.
"Everyone has a lineage, but it's often hidden because they don't have a summon to draw it out," Sara clarifies. "Lineage can be inherited from either parent. That's why Nova and I have different abilities."
"Then what is the royal family's ability?" Helios asks.
"It's like a domain. Everything within that domain is under their protection, and the one using The Throne can not be harmed by anyone inside it," Sara says. "There is always an ability that prevents anything from entering unless it is approved by the person sitting on the throne."
"Wait... doesn't that mean the royal family approved the Morpeth coming in?" Helios asks, his voice laced with shock.
"Did you forget we are here?" Frodin says, clearing his throat to get everyone's attention.
"Don't worry about that. We trust that you can keep a secret," Sara says, her blue eyes glowing with intensity.
Frodin begins to laugh nervously.