"Just now… what just happened?" Charles hadn't even realized his voice was trembling, and his legs were shaking too.
Raven and Hank were in the sa state. Even though the barrier kept all shockwaves from reaching them, just lin standing there made it hard for them to remain upright.
Every strike that Aiolia and Shura launched just monts ago carried apocalyptic energy. They could sense that if any of those moves landed outside, even just the aftershocks could destroy a small city.
But all of those attacks had been effortlessly neutralized by lin—and then, using the sa moves, he defeated Aiolia and Shura.
Their spirits were completely crushed.
If Erik hadn't been supporting them using his magnetic field, the three would have collapsed to the ground by now.
"Ahhh, this move again… Boss really has a twisted sense of humor," Deathmask muttered, curling his lip.
Ever since lin returned to the Sanctuary, he'd regularly sparred with the Saints. Sotis it was one-on-one, sotis one against many. But not once—not even once—had anyone touched even the hem of lin's robe.
What's worse, lin always liked to use his opponent's own ultimate move—just slightly stronger—to defeat them.
…
…
Like Aiolia's "Blasting Pentagram" just now. The five-pointed star behind lin looked like Aiolia's doing, but the truth was that lin had already landed his Blasting Pentagram just as Aiolia began to throw his punch. The montum carried Aiolia forward, but by then, he'd already lost consciousness.
Though Deathmask knew lin did all this on purpose—to show the Saints how their techniques could be improved—it didn't stop him from thinking lin had a wicked streak. Getting beaten by your own signature move—was there anything more humiliating?
"Haha, Uncle only does it for your own good," Erik chuckled.
"Says the guy who's been disciplined too. Who was it that got slapped until they begged for rcy?" Deathmask shot Erik a teasing look.
"Hey now, don't dig up the past! eting you was the biggest mistake of my life," Erik snapped.
Deathmask had exposed one of Erik's darkest mories. Of course he was pissed.
Back when Erik was younger, as his powers grew, he beca more confident—maybe a little too much. He once asked lin for guidance, hoping to get his approval.
But lin, sharp as ever, saw through the arrogance. To keep Erik from developing an overinflated ego, lin held nothing back. His "Light-Speed Fist" turned into the "Light-Speed Palm," and with a PiaPiaPia, lin spanked Erik's butt over and over. No matter how Erik dodged or defended, he couldn't escape those slaps. If mory serves, it lasted ten minutes—and he got smacked at least ten thousand tis.
Erik ended up flat on the ground, face down in sha. His clothes were intact—except the back of his pants, which had two gaping holes and were horribly swollen. He had to crawl on the floor to admit his mistake.
After that, Erik couldn't sit for half a year, and it took a full year before he could sleep lying down again.
While they were chatting, lin had already returned, bringing the recently revived Shura and Aiolia. Though he'd defeated them, lin had controlled his strength precisely, knocking them out without causing injury. They looked disheveled, but were otherwise fine.
"Boss."
"Uncle lin."
"You're back."
"Boss, I have a report! Aphrodite blew my cover—I can't continue the mission!" Deathmask quickly tried to pass the bla, hoping to dodge punishnt for failing after being discovered by Erik.
"You rascal, if you failed, just admit it. Don't go blaming others." lin gave Deathmask a light knock on the head and scolded him with a smile.
"Ouch~ I swear it wasn't my fault! Ask Erik—he didn't even notice !"
"Who says? I noticed you a long ti ago. I just didn't want to embarrass you."
Deathmask's jaw dropped as he stared at Erik's smug grin. Of course—it was payback.
"Don't talk nonsense, Erik! I was hiding in the space between the human world and the underworld. How could you find ?"
"Magnetic fields run deep. Maybe you should go study up?"
"What happened to brotherhood!?"
"You started it!"
As Deathmask and Erik stared each other down, lin chuckled and flicked both of them on the forehead.
"Alright, save the arguing for later. Erik, your friends are still here," lin said with a smile.
"H-Hello… we're…" Charles had been too scared to speak this whole ti, barely daring to breathe in lin's presence. He was terrified that interrupting might provoke a blast like the one earlier—one that could reduce him to dust.
Now that lin finally acknowledged them, Charles dared to step forward.
Even though lin now radiated a calm, gentle aura—completely unlike the fierce presence from before—Charles was still nervous.
"Hehe, calm yourself first. In your state, we can't have a proper conversation. Deathmask, Erik, show them around. Once they've settled down, they can co talk to ," lin instructed.
"Understood."
With that, lin left with Aiolia and Shura. Only after they'd walked off did Charles and the others finally exhale. While the trio was nearby, even the air had felt frozen. Now, they could breathe again.
"Erik, you… you were right. We really might not make it out of here," Charles said with a bitter smile.
Charles had always been confident in his powers, but against the sheer speed and power of those moves, he couldn't even react. His telepathy might control others—but not if he died before using it.
"You guys are powerful… but I still don't like you," Raven muttered.
Just recalling Deathmask about to attack them sent chills down her spine. He wore gold armor too—clearly soone as powerful and high-ranking as the two from earlier.
If Erik hadn't intervened… would they still be alive?
Definitely not.
But like and dislike are simple truths—Raven couldn't lie to herself, no matter the situation.
"Doesn't matter. Boss always says: trying to make everyone like you is a fool's errand," Deathmask shrugged.
"That… that guy too?" Hank asked, thinking of lin—so strong and fierce in battle, yet kind and gentle outside of it. Handso and graceful, with a quiet charisma.
"Of course. Politicians, rival gods, their warriors—plenty of folks hate him," Deathmask said.
"Gods? Pardon my bluntness, but gods don't exist. What people call 'gods' are just arrogant humans with delusions of grandeur," Raven retorted.
"Raven!" Charles and Hank were horrified. Erik had warned them—don't speak badly about lin!
"You're not wrong," Deathmask said coolly. "Most so-called gods are exactly like you said. The last guy who thought like that was nad… Schmidt? A mortal with a crumb of power who thought he could rule the world. Ridiculous."
"Schmidt? Who's that?" Charles and the others were confused. Soone that infamous should've been well-known, right?
"His nickna was Red Skull, and his army was Hydra," Erik added.
Their eyes nearly popped out of their heads.
"Wait—are you saying… that Hydra from the last war?!"
"Yup. I wasn't there, but Uncle lin took them out."
"You're lying! It was Captain who defeated Hydra!" Raven argued.
"You an Steve? He was there, yeah. From what Garen said, he even got captured. Boss stepped in and saved him—but gave him the credit," Deathmask said.
"No way! The Captain… he'd never…" Raven, though not a little girl anymore, had once idolized him. Who didn't admire heroes?
"Just so you know, Steve's also a Saint—Bronze Saint of the Shield constellation," Erik chid in.
"Wha—!?"
"Then… who exactly is he?" Charles asked, visibly shaken. He was a professor, after all—a man of science. And the greatest enemy of science… is divinity.
"Boss? Listen closely…"
"Uncle is the Primordial Earth God lin. Husband of the goddess Athena, co-founder of the Sanctuary, one of the chief gods from the age of myth. Supposedly sealed and dormant for five hundred thousand years—only waking up a decade ago."
Erik knew Deathmask well. The guy loved bragging about lin's stories and could go on for hours. To spare everyone's ears, Erik wisely cut him off.
As for secrecy? It didn't matter. Thanks to Shion and Alex's subtle hints, everyone in the city already knew. Even Steve, half a world away, was aware. Three more people wouldn't change anything.
Deathmask glared, vowing to teach Erik a lesson for interrupting—maybe a one-way trip to the underworld.
anwhile, Charles and the others were stunned.
"Five hundred thousand years asleep… that makes him… what, hundreds of thousands of years old!?"
"No way. You guys got scamd."
"Gods? Gods actually exist? If they do… then what does science even an?"
In an instant, their entire worldview shattered.
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