Kael entered Veylor's lab.
"Hey, Kael," Veylor said. "You came earlier than I expected."
Kael replied, "Well... I had to. I don't know what you have in mind for me, so I was curious about how you plan to make me strong enough to fight Hikari and Lothar. And I also need to prepare myself for whatever you've got planned."
Veylor nodded.
"Alright. Then, without wasting any time, I think I should show you this..."
Standing in the middle of the lab was a suit made of steel and Kaiju remains.
"I made this from the remains of high-level Kaijus," Veylor explained. "It can fire Voltra beams and even create Voltra shields to block your opponents' attacks."
Kael examined the suit carefully.
"Oh... This is impressive. It really is. But what if it runs out of Voltra? You're sending me to fight a Dreakor. A Dreakor, you know. Hikari has an immense amount of Voltra. Do you really think this will be enough to take her on?"
"Yes, I know she's strong," Veylor replied. "But the suit won't run out of Voltra because it's made from Kaijus. And Kaijus are made of Voltra. The Kaiju remains in this suit can regenerate Voltra, just like a Voltra Hybrid."
The scene shifted to Light, who was keeping watch over Jane.
He observed her house from a nearby rooftop, hoping to protect her from those bandits and find out what they wanted from her.
A week had passed, and he hadn't seen anyone coming in or out of the house except Jane herself. Because of that, he decided to follow her and see where she was going.
He discovered that she was simply going to work and attending her part-time job. He didn't notice anything unusual.
Another week passed.
Standing on the rooftop, Light muttered, "Those bandits still haven't shown up. What should I do?"
After a moment, he sighed.
"Screw it. I'm going to enter that house and ask her family about those bandits."
Light knocked on the door of the house, and a middle-aged woman in a wheelchair opened it.
"Hey," Light said.
The woman didn't respond immediately. She simply stared at him for a moment before asking, "Who are you?"
"Uh... um... I'm Jane's friend," Light replied.
"Jane doesn't have any friends."
She was about to close the door, but Light quickly grabbed it.
"I'm not lying," he said. "Jane and I were in the same class at the academy. Please let me in. I want to ask you something."
The woman sighed and let go of the door before turning around and wheeling herself back inside.
Light entered the house.
As he looked around, he noticed they barely had any furniture.
"So, what is it?" the woman asked. "Jane never mentioned having any friends. She never had one. If she did, she would have told me."
"Yeah, she was always so quiet at the academy," Light said. "She never talked to anyone. She always had those earphones in her ears. I wonder why she was like that."
"And yet you say you're her friend," the woman replied. "The irony."
Light asked, "Does anyone else live in this house? Are you Jane's mother?"
The woman narrowed her eyes.
"You're dodging the question. Yes, I'm her mother, and only Jane and I live in this house. Now, are you going to tell me who you are? You said you're Jane's friend, but you haven't even told me your name. And your face looks strangely familiar."
"Uh..." Light hesitated.
"Wait," the woman said. "I've seen you on TV. You're a Voltra Being. Not just an ordinary Voltra Being—you're from the royal family."
"Y-yeah..."
"Mom..."
Light turned toward the voice.
"Jane! Hi."
Jane didn't reply. She simply stared at him, tension visible in her eyes.
"Jane, how did you get home so early?" her mother asked.
"I wasn't feeling well, so my boss told me to take the day off and get some rest."
"I see. You seemed perfectly fine this morning. Anyway, I didn't know you had a friend from the academy. A Voltra Being, no less. And from the royal family."
"Mom, it's not what it looks like. I'll explain."
"Hm..."
Jane's mother then looked back at Light.
"By the way, what's your relationship with King Jugram?"
Light replied, "I'm the eldest son of Jugram, the King of the Central Kingdom."
"And my name is Light."
Jane's mother looked at Jane and asked, "What business does the prince of the Central Kingdom have with you?"
Light replied, "Like I said, we were just friends at the academy."
"No! We weren't."
Jane glared at him.
"Princ— uh, Light, would you please leave our home?"
"But—"
"Please don't make things worse for me."
Light frowned.
"What? I'm just here for—"
"Please. Just go!"
Light reluctantly left the house.
Jane's mother looked at her, but before she could say anything, Jane spoke first.
"Mom, wait. I'll explain everything."
She then rushed outside.
Light was about to leave when Jane stopped him.
"Are you crazy?" she demanded. "What were you doing here? Are you stalking me?"
"I was just worried about you after what those bandits did."
"I already told you, this isn't your business. Stay away from me."
"I was just curious. You didn't even file a complaint about those bandits. I thought they might be blackmailing you. Look, all you have to do is tell me everything. I'll deal with them. I'll help you."
"Like I said, I don't want any help from you. Please don't ever come here again."
"You're only making things worse for me."
Light sighed.
"I just don't get it. I'm trying to help, and somehow I'm the one making things worse?"
He shook his head.
"And why is your mom acting like me being here is wrong? And me being a Voltra Hybrid?"
"Because she hates Voltra Beings. Or Hybrids. Whatever you want to call them."
"Why?"
"That's none of your business."
Light frowned.
"Does her being in a wheelchair have something to do with a Voltra Being? Who did that to her?"
Jane's expression hardened.
"Will you stop sticking your nose into our personal matters?"
Light let out a breath.
"Alright. If you don't want to tell me, then I think I should leave."
Light was about to leave when Jane spoke.
"It was her husband. I mean, my dad. He was a Voltra Being. He raped her, and when she got pregnant, he forced her to marry him."
Jane lowered her gaze.
"He was a terrible person. Like most Voltra Beings. They all think ordinary humans are their slaves."
She paused for a moment.
"Even after the marriage, he kept torturing her. Every night, he would beat her. And if I tried to stop him, he would beat me too."
Light didn't say a word.
He simply stood there in silence.
He was shocked to learn that many Voltra Beings were still abusing ordinary humans even after the Dreakors were gone.
End of Chapter 25.