Their lesson ended fairly soon after Thea explained everything about the essence of combat.
Vicky tried coaxing her into learning more, but Thea was adamant about ending the session. She sent Vicky home with one instruction: "Think about the Principles of Combat."
She, of course, didn't explain more about what she meant, which frustrated Vicky, but also made her excited.
Unlike most lessons in school, she actually enjoyed learning with Thea. Thea's unique background, or perhaps their similar ages, made Vicky understand her teachings better than any other instructor's before.
She awaited their next session, which would only be after the Peacekeeping Celebrations tomorrow.
As she remembered the holiday, Vicky's jolly attitude took a nosedive into melancholy.
She returned home in the late afternoon. The sound of laughter echoed from the backyard of the family mansion.
But instead of meeting up with her friends, Vicky teleported to her room and climbed back into bed.
For the next hour, she tried falling asleep, but her mind stayed wide awake, too turbulent with today's lessons and useless emotions.
Vicky almost abandoned her attempt at sleeping when a new notification appeared on her silver watch. It was a simple message from Mary.
'Mary: We are currently at Lucy's outpost, so open a portal, please!... We have a surprise for you!'
Her excitement immediately came back as she teleported away into a separate building near the mansion.
Here dozens of different machines and lab equipment filled the large, warehouse-like room.
Reaching the room's far end, Vicky opened a portal.
She expected to see Mary and James on the other side, but instead she only saw a giant golden furry rocket barreling towards her.
Even using her Transcended reflexes, Vicky couldn't react in time, so the creature pushed her to the ground with his heavy weight.
Her life flashed before Vicky's eyes as she saw an enormous maw approaching her head. She waited for the pain of getting devoured alive, reach her mind, but to her utter surprise she didn't get hurt.
The wide maw with razor-sharp teeth approached her face, and soon a long wet tongue licked it!
Vicky coughed from the disgusting smell and laughed at the familiar feeling. She could've recognized that tongue anywhere!
Before the creature could've licked her again, Vicky teleported above him, landing on his furry neck.
She hugged his head close, burying her face into the soft fur. Her eyes caught glimpses of the creature's eight legs, and his dog-like body.
"Dammit Brain! You ruined my surprise!" Said a female voice from behind Vicky.
Hearing the voice, Vicky promptly turned and caught sight of Mary and James entering through the portal.
She hadn't changed much in the last year since Vicky saw her. Her long, curly hair bounced as she walked. Her average height and small stature stayed the same, and her blue eyes held the same amount of curiosity and insanity.
Compared to her, James seemed like a completely different person. His latest Evolution brought made his looks quite ridiculous.
Short, spiky, light blue and neon green replaced his normal brown hair. His eyes changed light blue, and they seemed to glow as he looked around. His smaller stature now grew in height, making him lanky.
Without waiting, Vicky jumped off Brian and ran towards the couple. While grinning and giggling, she hugged them both.
"It's so nice to see you two again! How did you find Brian, though? Weren't you two supposed to be near the northern outposts?"
James lifted Vicky and spun her around once, causing her to laugh with joy. Mary chuckled as well, while answering her questions.
"It wasn't us, but Kastral, who found him! He went to explore the ruins of the Angelic Order's Research Facility, and there he was, creating enormous webs between rocks and trees! He quickly grabbed and brought him to us in the north!"
As Mary talked, Brian snuck up behind Vicky, and 'gently' bumped her with his enormous head, nearly knocking Vicky over.
She turned around and began scratching the large spider-dog's chin.
"Then I will have to thank Kastral for his efforts! I'm sure little Nick will love our new pet!"
It took Vicky a moment to realize what she'd said. She glanced back and saw the curious expression on both scientists' faces.
"Who is Nick? I thought you were still with Henry!" Asked James, causing Vicky to blush with shame.
She felt shameful for not informing her friends about Nick. Sera never ordered Vicky to keep her little brother's existence a secret, but in a way, it was a punishment towards everyone who left her one year ago.
Now, though, she had no reason to keep him hidden… Sёarᴄh the NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
"Yes, Henry is still my boyfriend, but Nick is someone even more important to my heart!"
Both James and Mary frowned at that.
"Victoria! You should never cheat on your partner! Is that how we raised you?!"
Vicky became confused at James's words. Then her eyes widened and she quickly corrected her mistake.
"No! Nick isn't my lover or whatever you think, you sick idiots!… Nicholas Bran is his full name!… He is my brother!"
The couple's eyes widened as they stared at Vicky in shock.
"Y-you mean… Did Bea have a child?" Asked James in a trembling voice.
Vicky just laughed, as if his words were a joke, but after a few seconds, she realized he wasn't joking.
"Of course not! He is Sera's and Bran's child! He was conceived before Bran's death and was born on February 14th 29 ATA!"
James continued staring at Vicky with a bewildered expression, while Mary was close to exploding from excitement.
Her entire body shook as thoughts flew through her mind, and after a few more seconds, she couldn't hold herself back anymore.
Without saying a word, the Angelic Order's lead scientist ran out of the lab, while giggling like a little girl.
Vicky, James, and Brian ran after her, but the regular human's feet were quite fast.
When they exited the lab, she was already booking it towards the main mansion, where the sound of children's laughter echoed.
Before she could've gotten close though, Vicky opened a portal, teleporting her back near James.
The tall man acted immediately, restraining the crazy woman as she tried to claw her way free.
"Let me go! I want to see the child! Sera changed into an Angel with her last Evolution, which means the child is an Angel too, but he is also human since Bran was still a human! And Sera became a Transcended while pregnant, so what's the boy like?! I need to know! LET ME GO!"
Mary continued explaining her thoughts too fast for Vicky to understand. She also shouted more and more profanities at James, who continued holding her back adamantly.
In the meantime, Vicky typed a message to both Henry and Lilith, warning them about Mary's intensified insanity.
After the quick exchange, Vicky opened another portal, and let Lilith through.
Upon appearing near the struggling couple, they moved stopped moving and looked towards the woman with curiosity.
The two years changed little about Lilith's appearance. She hid her long golden hair, with its dark roots behind her usual dark robe's hood.
From its shadows, a beautiful face stared out, expressing her boredom and annoyance. Her face reflected the same scar as Vicky's own.
Her two swirling purple eyes examined the couple with interest, especially Mary.
The silence stretched between them, until eventually Lilith smirked and stepped forward, inviting Mary into a hug.
"It's nice to see you, Mary! Welcome back to New Athens!"
Mary wrapped her arms around the girl, and got surprised by Lilith's body.
Feeling suspicious, Mary pushed her friend away. She began walking around Lilith while looking her up and down.
"Something's different about you… You look… Old… and fat?… No, not fat… Hmm… A yes! You grew in height and your body became more feminine with bigger tits and ass! You finally turned into a full-fledged woman! Congratulations!"
After hearing Mary's words, Lilith pulled her hood further down, trying to hide the heavy blush marring her face.
It didn't help that Mary kept prodding and groping different parts of her body.
"Strange… I didn't imagine that Evolving into a Transcended would give such significant improvements to your body!… I'll need to discuss the body's change after each Evolution with Professor Collins… But first, let me see the child!"
Out of nowhere, Mary began sprinting towards the mansion again, but after a few steps, she fell over asleep.
Before she could've face planted into the grass, Vicky opened a portal, teleporting her into James's arms.
He held her girlfriend gently, then turned towards Lilith and nodded her thanks.
Together, they walked to the mansion and put Mary into an empty room where she can sleep peacefully.
Brain also tried following them into the building, but it soon lost interest, when he heard the laughter of children.
The parents watched in terror as the eight-legged gigantic spider-dog jumped around the children, trying to play with them. He even found a few meters long tree branch for them to toss.
Vicky spent only a few minutes inside, but by the time she left the mansion, her brother Nick was already flying around Brian.
Nick giggled every time the enormous dog tried to bite him. While they enjoyed this weird game, each attempt made by Brian caused a minor heart attack to the maid responsible for Nick's wellbeing.
The afternoon soon ended, and night approached. They housed Brain inside the gym building behind the mansion, which had more than enough space for the enormous spider-dog.