"18 to 20-year-old male flying toward spatial tear. Second commandment or higher, carrying an injured female. His main affinity is shadow or darkness. I'm not too sure. He has purple eyes and black hair. We couldn't get a good look at the female; all we know is that she is injured."
The moment they the 5 heard the description, they instantly thought of Lloyd, yet one thing didn't make sense. How could he be in the second commandment when he left home as a half-step first commandment? Did time move so slowly in the dungeon that he grew that much?
Of course, there was also a chance that this person was not Lloyd, yet void walkers were almost as rare as phoenixes, if not rarer, while people with purple eyes weren't that common either.
They all moved immediately to see if it was really Lloyd; however, as they flew in that direction, Ava couldn't help but ask the question on all their minds.
"Did Lloyd really spend four years in this dungeon?"
Of course, the scout had said 18-20 years old, yet their mind instantly went to the worst-case scenario. Did they just miss out on four years of Lloyd's life? Did the boy they've known since he was a child, really spend 4 years away from them in a hell hole like this?
Looking into the distance, they could see an individual coming toward them, yet due to them being covered in shadows, they couldn't see if it was actually Lloyd or not.
Lloyd had instinctually chosen to cover himself in shadows meeting with the other weaker soldiers. He didn't know why he did it, but it almost felt like instinct.
Once the army surrounded the individual from all sides, they felt the individual's powerful killing intent surge in every direction and causing all the soldiers around them to freeze for a moment.
They hadn't gotten much information out of the last two who had come through since one was in a coma, and the other didn't speak a word, possibly due to trauma.
All they knew was that there were people from other planets in the dungeon too. Of course, they were not the ones to find out about this information, as by the time Lloyd's clone had dissipated, the dungeon had already broken, and by the time they got to the spatial tear, Hime and Rex had already shown up.
They were shocked when they finally got close enough to see who the person was. Of course, despite not recognizing it at first, Lloyd looked a little older after breaking through, and at the same time, his expression changed after having taken a life for the first time.
His aura and killing intent were that of a battle-hardened warrior. His voice was deep and eerie, and his eyes shone with killing intent, which you would only see in a person who had lost someone they considered important to them.
At the same time, Lloyd's physical state only amplified their shock. He was covered with blood from head to toe, yet it was clearly not his own. Blue blood from the monarch of the autumn forest still is seen in traces. Veronica's blood had practically been sprayed on him, yet he did not seem to notice.
He was covered in blood, dirt, and grime, to the point where Olivia almost didn't recognize him, if not for his violet eyes.
"Lloyd?" Olivia cried, her heart unable to handle seeing her son in such a state.
They all felt the killing intent lessen dramatically, and since The Elrods and Glades were here, there was no need for the soldiers to do anything, so they all stood back and simply watched.
"My son." Olivia cried while running toward Lloyd; however, instead of accepting her hug, Lloyd smiled wryly before dropping into his shadow with Tina in his hands.
Lloyd's shadow shrunk once more before it shot toward the spatial tear, yet instead of anyone stopping it, this time, they simply let it pass after Noah ordered them to.
They all quickly followed Lloyd's shadow and watched him leave it when he neared the spatial tear.
Creating his wings again, Lloyd flapped them and swiftly passed through before landing on the ground and looking around momentarily.
The humans had done what they usually do when it comes to threats. They contained it in a facility made out of a metal that Lloyd couldn't identify at first glance.
Lloyd's eyes briefly stopped on Rex. His expression was relieved after seeing Tina, yet when he looked up to see Lloyd, he could not help but show outward hostility.
'We should definitely kill him.' Null suggested.
'Not now.' Lloyd ignored Rex and ran to one of the men that was looking at him strangely.
"Where is the medical ward?" Lloyd asked.
"What?" The man asked, but with a little bit of killing intent, the man found sense and pointed Lloyd in the general direction.
By the time Lloyd had found the ward, the others had gone through the tear before being directed to where Lloyd was.
And by the time they had reached Lloyd, Tina had been placed in a medical bed with some of the best doctors surrounding her from all sides, each one of them trying their best to stabilize her condition.
While they would have usually kicked Lloyd out of the room, they let him be after seeing him calmly walk to a chair moderately far away from the bed. The other 5 chose to not enter the room despite wanting to do so. They had so many questions for Lloyd, yet in the condition that he was in, none of them dared walk any closer.
Hours passed, yet for Lloyd, they felt like and dreadful. Every second felt like minutes, and every minute felt like an excruciating hour. So when the doctors finally walked toward him to tell him the news, it felt like they were finally putting him out of his misery.
"Mr. Elrod?" A doctor asked.
"Yes?" Lloyd replied.
"The young lady's condition has stabilized. Her life force is no longer withering away, and she is on her way to recovering well." They explained, yet Lloyd did not react and simply asked.
"How many years?"
All the healers remained silent momentarily, while the nurses looked down slightly.
"I am sure you are aware of the consequences and long-term problems that come with using a final spell. I'd just like to say that she was lucky to-"
"How many years." Lloyd cut him off, yet he spoke normally instead of using killing intent or his magical aura to amplify his words. After all, the words themselves were heavy enough.
"She lost about half... Half of her life." The main doctor replied while holding a few abilities at the ready. However, Lloyd didn't do anything. Lloyd didn't get angry or scream or shout at them. He simply nodded.
Humans were unlike other races. Their lifespans were short, yet their reproductive rates were off the charts compared to most of the sentient races, or at least the humanoid ones.
Over the years, the lifespan of a human increased from about 150 in the year 2098, to almost 300-400 now, 500 if they were lucky. The aging cycle remained mostly the same throughout the years, however. Children would grow at roughly the same rate, reaching their peak at 30 years old and remaining the same physically throughout the years, or at least until they reach their elderly years.
Awakening helped increase the life span, yet their lifespans would not extend beyond that 500-year limit even when breaking through.
The only way to break past that limit would be to either buy break through to the 5th commandment, double your years, or use a treasure capable of expanding one's life, like the cup of immortality only the king owns.
Lloyd slowly stood up from his seat and walked past the healers; however, before he sat down at Tina's bedside, Lloyd made sure to turn around and thank the healers for doing their best.
'I suggest we execute the boy. He may run his mouth to the military.' Null suggested once more.
'We can talk about that late. But we should fist deal with this.' Lloyd replied while turning toward his family and friends.
While Zack, Elena, Alice, Josh, and Delly had come a little after their parents since they were escorted by Rubert, Lloyd wasn't really surprised to see them there.
However, his surprise was almost noticeable when he saw Transcendent and Grisha from the Reapers squad.
"I think we all deserve and explanation, don't we." Olivia spoke for the group after glancing at the unconscious Tina, making Lloyd sigh as he could feel a headache coming onto him.
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