The Married Alpha Who Refuses to Be a Heartthrob (A/B/O · Alpha POV) - Chapter 38

On the side of Kaes and Erlan, they led Adam out of the concert hall. The musketeer guarding the entrance fired a shot at Adam’s figure, striking him.

 

An unexpected turn of events unfolded. After being hit, Adam vanished. The musketeer looked puzzled: “How did he disappear?”

 

Kaes and Erland stared blankly at the spot where Adam vanished. Kaes immediately sensed trouble and scanned the surroundings with heightened vigilance.

 

Suddenly, two figures identical to Adam materialized out of thin air around the spot where he disappeared. Both wore black cloaks and masks.

 

【Adam’s Clone Technique: Hitting the original clone passively activates this skill. 】

 

【Hitting one clone spawns two more. Each clone’s damage is the sum of all active clones, stacking infinitely. Adam’s damage escalates continuously. 】

 

Kaes sensed trouble. How could one counter infinite stacking?

 

【As clones multiply, the true Adam will manifest. Striking the true Adam causes all clones to vanish, ending the technique. 】

 

【The true Adam differs subtly from clones. Each clone strike triggers distinct indicators—hosts must discern Adam’s true form. 】

 

【Extremely high damage—never attempt to tank it. 】

 

“How did he split into two?!” As Erlan gasped in shock, Adam’s two clones raised their hands, channeling psychic energy. Two blasts of white psychic light slammed into the two musketeers.

 

The musketeers couldn’t dodge in time. Struck, they spat blood and collapsed, convulsing unconscious on the ground.

 

Adam’s two duplicates turned and charged toward them. Adam’s attack range wasn’t very long, appearing to be only five or six meters.

 

“That’s the Duplication Technique,” Kaes said, pulling Erlan along as they chose a passageway to flee.

 

Adam’s duplicates pursued them relentlessly, moving at speeds far beyond human capability.

 

The little dog Baibai followed them to the corridor’s bend.

 

Fortunately, the puppy’s magic granted them an edge; otherwise, they wouldn’t have outrun Adam.

 

Seizing this moment, Kaes explained Adam’s clone technique to Erlan. Erlan wasn’t surprised Kaes knew about it, assuming he’d heard it from the puppy.

 

“How do we tell which one is the real Adam?” Erlan glanced around uneasily.

 

Only the moonlight outside the window provided a rough outline of the surroundings.

 

“I don’t know either. We try to shoot a few to test.” Kaes gripped his gun. The window area was the brightest part of the opera house, but the wall behind the window remained hidden in shadow.

 

Adam’s clone hadn’t caught up yet. Kaes motioned for Erlan to follow him as they retraced their steps. From a distance, they watched Adam’s clone pass through the window, entering some rooms to search.

 

Once a clone emerged from a room and stepped into the darkness, Kaes only needed a single glance to lock onto its head and fire.

 

The twenty-meter range spanned nearly the entire length of the corridor.

 

Adam’s clone stiffened for a moment before vanishing.

 

Erlan scanned the surroundings. Another clone lingered twenty-plus meters away, yet he still felt uneasy.

 

“Whoosh!” A glowing psychic sphere hurtled toward them, followed swiftly by another.

 

Fortunately, the shield held briefly. Both psychic spheres struck the barrier, which dissipated after absorbing the dual impact.

 

Erlan’s heart leapt into his throat: “There are two right beside us!”

 

Erlan yanked Keith along and took off running. Keith hesitated slightly before sprinting after him: “Why did they spawn so close this time?”

 

They spawned far too close—less than five meters apart. Next time, they’d have to strike and retreat immediately.

 

The two newly spawned duplicates gave chase from behind.

 

A crystalline voice echoed through the opera house.

 

Adam, still a teenager, sang with a youthful timbre: “Fia, will you meet me again tomorrow?”

 

“Of course, Your Highness. As you wish.”

 

“Fia, I adore how you sing. This song seems tailor-made for you. Could you tell me its origin?”

 

This was the system prompt, along with the plot—supplemental details about Adam’s past.

 

Kaes and Erlan dashed into the library, which had another door. Kaes pointed at it: “We’ll escape through this door later.”

 

“Mhm.” Erlan nodded, recasting his spell to raise a new protective barrier.

 

He followed Kaes to the doorway, watching the staircase corner for Adam’s clone to appear.

 

Adam’s clone ran down the stairs. Kaes seized the moment and fired a shot at him. The clone vanished again.

 

This one was also a fake Adam.

 

The two silently rushed out through the library’s other exit. Adam’s new clone quickly appeared inside. This time, both clones chanted spells, setting up a magic circle by the other door.

 

The crimson magic circle flickered, illuminating the library as if ready to erupt.

 

“A magic circle!” Erlan exclaimed, raising his hand to attack one of the chanting Adam duplicates with psychic force.

 

The clone didn’t budge, continuing its incantation. Erlan was stunned—he couldn’t even touch Adam’s clone. Seeing Kaes take them down effortlessly one by one, he’d assumed it would be easy.

 

“Run!” Kaes had no time for words, merely yanking Erlan along as they sprinted.

 

Two magic circles formed intersecting rings at the doorway. Positioned closer to the exit, they stepped out just as Adam’s clone finished chanting.

 

The moment their feet crossed the threshold, the magic circle erupted in flames.

 

Fia’s ethereal voice echoed again: “I was once an obscure dancer until my husband wrote this script for me. His witchcraft was limited, so he paid with his life to imbue the script with magic.”

 

“He said performing this script would make me famous, but I had to love him completely.”

 

Adam, the youth: “Is that reason enough for you to refuse to love me? What he could give you, I can give too.”

 

“I cannot love another. Even though he is dead, his spell remains binding.”

 

“He’s dead—how can you be certain it won’t punish you? Besides, I can study sorcery and lift the curse he placed upon you.”

 

“Your Highness, would you truly do this for me? If you truly master it, we can be together.”

 

Good grief, so Fia is actually a widow. No wonder the former king refused this marriage.

 

Kaes and the others reached the third floor, which housed several rehearsal rooms and dressing rooms.

 

As they climbed the stairs, one of Adam’s new duplicates suddenly appeared on the lower landing. Both men startled, Kaes hadn’t cast another spell, so how did it spawn?

 

【System: As time passes, Adam’s duplicates will multiply. Host, act swiftly or they’ll overrun the entire opera house. 】

 

Two more clones behind them each hurled a psychic sphere at them, shattering their shields again.

 

Erlan reflexively dashed forward, only to realize Kaes hadn’t followed. He spun around, shouting repeatedly, “Kaes! Kaes!”

 

He’d never felt this panicked before. Left alone here, he couldn’t possibly take on Adam.

 

“What a thrill!” The dog ran a few steps before noticing his master hadn’t immediately followed.

 

Kaes shot down the closest clone. With about three seconds before new clones appeared, he fired and then sprinted to catch up with Erlan.

 

“Inspector.” Kaes sprinted to Erlan’s side, scanning the rooms lining the corridor. Moonlight allowed him to make out their furnishings.

 

Kaes spotted the locker room and pulled Erlan toward it.

 

Erlan’s hands were ice-cold. He’d never felt this tense before, gripping Kaes ‘s fingers tightly while his mind kept conjuring images of Adam chasing them.

 

They dashed into a small room within the dressing area. Kaes quietly closed the door. Outside, various tattered costumes were piled up; inside, this small room served as a changing area for actors.

 

Long gowns hung on the walls.

 

Fia: “Your Highness, I know where you are. Come out now. I can find you even when you’re invisible.”

 

Young Adam: “Fia, how did you find me? I’ve been working on a new invisibility potion. I’ve mastered a bit of witchcraft.”

 

Fia: “I knew you were the best.”

 

Fia was actually quite vain, believing the prince could give her everything.

 

Adam: “Fia, you understand me so well—you can even find me when I’m invisible! If I study more, I’ll definitely break the curse your ex-husband left behind.”

 

Fia: “Your Highness, you’re truly my dream lover.”

 

Kaes and Adam were crammed into the cramped changing room when they heard footsteps outside.

 

Tap tap tap. Adam’s doppelganger was still pacing outside.

 

Both men held their breath inside the changing room. Kaes felt tense too, he still didn’t know which Adam was the real one.

 

He desperately wanted to ask the dead Fia for the answer.

 

Erlan gripped his staff tightly, silently chanting the incantation. The spell took seven seconds to complete—an agonizingly long time—his fingers trembling slightly.

 

The faint glow from the staff’s gem illuminated the cramped dressing room.

 

Kaes sensed Erlan’s unusual tension. Perhaps the prince had never faced such peril before. Drawing on his past life’s professional habits, Kaes remained calm and collected.

 

Kaes grasped Erlan’s trembling hand, his steady gaze conveying reassurance: Don’t be nervous. For a detective, this was nothing out of the ordinary.

 

Erlan met his gaze. He couldn’t fathom where Kaes drew his confidence from. He was a lousy support; things would have been much easier with Vansen.

 

In that instant, Erlan’s nerves eased slightly. He wrapped a protective shield around them both.

 

Outside, the footsteps of Adam’s clone gradually faded into the distance.

 

Kaes raced through his thoughts, trying to figure out how they could distinguish the real Adam.

 

Emerging from the changing room, they tiptoed to the doorway. Adam’s clone hadn’t gone far.

 

Kaes fired a shot at the clone, determined to try every possible approach.

 

After the shot, they bolted.

 

Fia: “Actually, back in the corridor, I already knew where Your Highness was. Nothing escapes me.”

 

Adam: “…Fia, don’t die! Waaah! Is this the curse? You die if you fall for someone else? It’s all my fault, waaah!”

 

Corridor? Kaes thought it was worth a shot: “Let’s check the corridors.”

 

More and more of Adam’s clones appeared throughout the opera house. The crisscrossing corridors grew increasingly dangerous, especially the arched ones where blind corners made visibility difficult.

 

“Is this even possible? The corridors are deadly now,” Erlan said. They moved at breakneck speed, capable of traversing the entire opera house in about ten minutes.

 

No choice but to try.

 

Kaes cocked his gun while running, deliberately choosing the longest corridor for observation. Curtains hung neatly along the walls, illuminated by tonight’s bright moonlight.

 

Suddenly, an Adam clone burst from a side lounge and hurled a psychic sphere at them.

 

The pair sprinted forward, only for another Adam clone to charge up the stairs and attack them, shattering their shield once more.

 

“Run!” Erlan shouted.

 

Three more Adam clones pursued them down the corridor, five in total now. Kaes glanced back at the three duplicates as they fled.

 

The three clones raced down the long corridor. As they passed a window, Kaes noticed something subtly different about one of them.

 

The one running in the middle cast an arc-shaped reflection around its body as it passed the window, thanks to tonight’s bright moonlight.

 

That’s a shield, Kaes recalled the system’s words. The real Adam would definitely use a shield—all wizards know that.

 

“I know which one is the real Adam,” Kaes said, his voice tinged with excitement.

 

“What?” Erlan thought he’d misheard and slowed his pace.

 

“We’re about to win.” Kaes didn’t want to miss this chance. There were probably over twenty Adams in the opera house now. If they missed this opportunity, who knew when they’d encounter another.

 

It was hard to observe properly while running nonstop.

 

“Erlan, buy me two or three seconds.” Kaes chambered a round, halting to turn toward the Adam disguised among the duplicates.

 

Erlan panted slightly. He didn’t know how to buy Kaes two or three seconds—it sounded brief, yet recharging his shield alone took seven seconds.

 

“Woof woof woof!” Baibai was too small—barely half a person’s height when he jumped—to shield his master.

 

The closest Adam clone hurled another psychic sphere.

 

Erlan had no time to think. After running so long, he desperately wanted to win. He shielded Kaes behind him as the sphere struck his chest.

 

Kaes’s narrowed eyes fixed on the real Adam as he mentally guided his weapon, unleashing a barrage of bullets that struck Adam’s body.

 

Adam’s shield shattered instantly, followed by a hail of bullets piercing his flesh.

 

“……” Adam collapsed to the ground, his other clones vanishing in an instant.

 

“How… how did you find me…” Adam lay gasping on the ground, staring up at Kaes as blood spilled from his mouth.

 

“Erlan!” Kaes lowered his gun and lifted the barely-alive Erlan from the ground. Only now did he feel utterly panicked. He had come here to protect Erlan’s life, yet now he was dying.

 

“Kaes…” Erlan felt blood pooling in his throat, ready to spill with every word. Clutching Kaes ‘s collar, he coughed violently, spattering blood onto Kaes’s clothes. “Never thought just the two of us could take down a top-tier wizard.”

 

He’d never even seen an SSS-ranked wizard in his life, let alone defeated one.

 

Voices calling out from Long Shi and the others echoed down the corridor.

 

“I’m here!” Kaes responded to their shouts.

 

Long Shi, Vansen, and the others hurried over. Baibai, annoyed by their sluggish pace, even cast an acceleration spell.

 

Kaes supported Erlan, letting him lean against him. “Bishop Vansen, please save him!”

 

Vansen saw the severity of the injuries—he couldn’t handle it alone. Chanting a spell, he summoned his grimoire to Erlan’s side, enveloping him in a halo of holy light.

 

Erlan felt significantly better, experiencing a fleeting sense of renewed vitality. “Am I dying?”

 

Vansen replied, “I can only prolong the inspector’s life for six hours. I must return immediately to seek His Holiness the Pope. Perhaps he has a solution. We must take the prisoner away from here first.”

 

The opera house had already reverted to its normal appearance.

 

Long Shi and Captain Tom escorted Adam away, while Keith and a musketeer supported Eran.

 

They emerged from the opera house’s main entrance.

 

The coachman had been waiting for some time, helping Keith settle Erlan into the carriage: “Inspector!”

 

Vansen did not board the carriage. He must return to the church immediately to fetch the Pope.

 

Kaes: “Let Baibai go with you. How long will it take to reach the church?”

 

Vansen: “Fortunately, Lanqi’s church now falls under the jurisdiction of Bain Perella’s church. We can teleport back to the church using Lanqi’s magical array. Wait for me!”

 

Vansen rushed back in a hurry. Baibai cast a spell to make him fly faster, and in a flash, he vanished.

 

…

 

The carriage compartment was too cramped for lying flat, so Kaes had Erlan rest his head on his lap. The jolting motion caused Erlan to cough up blood intermittently, staining Case’s robe with splatters.

 

Kaes looked down at him, brushing aside blood-soaked strands of hair. “Erlan, hang on.”

 

“Why not call me Inspector?” Erlan looked up at the worried face, realizing he actually liked Kaes at this moment—utterly ridiculous.

 

Not to mention Kaes was about to get married, and he himself was on the brink of death.

 

Death would be better. At least it would spare the awkwardness.