" Zeph, we’re half-naked, right?"
Hearing Thalia’s words, Zeph froze in his tracks before turning to face her, eting her gaze as she waited for his answer. With a frown, he replied," yes, we are"
"Sorry?" Thalia didn’t comprehend why he responded that way instead of attempting to cover themselves.
"I an, yes, we are. But Thalia, did you know the person we’re eting right now can see into your soul, discerning what’s hidden from even his benevolent eyes?" With a warm smile, Zeph introduced Thalia to the being who stood supre among the Craten’s, one of the strongest in three realms, his words brimming with ’genuine’ admiration.
"you alright?...I an, I see." Thalia turned her gaze towards the opening door, not fully understanding the individual whom Zeph spoke so highly of and feeling sowhat awkward hearing so many pleasantries from his mouth all at once.
’Maybe he’s still exhausted from the previous battle,’ she contemplated, attributing his unusual way of speaking to exhaustion rather than his usual self.
Clenching her fist, realizing how well she understood her man, she nodded,’ good job Thalia’
Standing beside her, Zeph clearly understanding the thoughts crossing Thalia’s mind, thought, ’Guess I’ll have to give her another heart-to-heart session’
He couldn’t help but understand why Thalia acted that way, even going as far as considering her ntally unstable.
Exhaling deeply, he comprehended the responsibility he had to bear as a man,’Stupid woman, I’m trying to protect both our lives here.’
Zeph, well aware of the personality of the person they were about to et and conscious of the surveillance they were under from the mont they entered, attempted to pave a clearer path for their future.
Krieeekk~
The gate opened, revealing a vast hall adorned with white marbles, shimring with ancient runes, and a colossal water beast’s inscription on the hall’s ceiling.
⟨What is your na, Human⟩
A voice echoed, reaching Zeph, who turned towards a man seated on a regal throne.
Despite that figure’s appearance resembling that of an old man, he couldn’t hide the pulsating aura surrounding his body.
The atmosphere grew heavy rely due to his presence, gazing with his shiny, deep eyes towards zeph.
’T-this,’ Zeph looked towards the man sitting on the throne, gazing down at him as if he were a re ant.
The aura surrounding the place made even breathing hard. Witnessing all this, he couldn’t help but curse him internally,’fucking old geezer.’
Zeph’s face twitched under the trendous pressure on his body.
He clearly understood that the old man in front of him had targeted him, exerting enough pressure to crush a normal human into pulp.
However, Zeph’s body was already resilient enough, having endured the scorching heat inside a dragon’s mouth during his early days and now, after this much ti has passed. His body had surpassed the threshold of mortality.
Though not invincible, his body was strong enough to withstand pressure focused solely on him by one of the strongest beings, right now that is.
"My na is Zephyr Liander, and yours?" he replied in a monotonous voice, while calculating in his mind, ’Zendal, supply continuous mana to strengthen my body to its peak, Now!’
His motives in doing sothing like this, which could undoubtedly offend the Old Man, were solely to provoke him.
’!?’
Thalia’s eyes widened, witnessing Zeph’s sudden change in behavior, from speaking highly about the person to acting this way.
⟨HOHOHO, Very daring for a re Human⟩
WHOOSH!
The pressure multiplied several folds, breaking floors, shattering nearby walls, and crashing onto Zeph’s body.
HUSSH!
’Damn it,’ Zeph muttered, feeling the situation becoming slightly harder than he anticipated, ’what’s with this pressure?’
Since he entered Thallasar, he felt Rezekiel’s eyes on them.
Every mont was under surveillance. The problem lay in the old man’s personality—shrewd and deadly.
In literal terms, this old man infront of him was cruel and dangerous, known for his shrewdness even outside the human realm.
Amrantha Tenebri herself referred to him as the ’Sly Old Fox.’
The reason the Demon Realm’s war left no scratch on Thalassar, despite almost destroying Haidrens and Humans, was this old man’s cunning.
There might be another figure much stronger to this old man, hidden in Thallasar, but that person seed retired.
From Zeph’s mories, the individual—especially a woman titled Grace fairy—lived in seclusion, following a typical novel plot of strongest living untouched by world’s affair.
Setting aside that figure, this old man could have easily killed Zeph or Thalia before they reached this hall, and no one would have known, presuming the humans died due to lack of oxygen.
Thallasar was inscribed with runes creating a field where water behaved like air, matching the oxygen levels and density of the outside world—a simple feat for the race, with authority over water.
Zeph intentionally added pleasantries, careful not to say anything offensive to this old man, who could have killed him the mont he saw his granddaughter touching a human’s bare body.
And, the mont they ca inside and this old man exerted pressure on him, seeing how Estelle didn’t reacted until now, he understood that this man solely targetted him while keeping both Thalia and Estelle unaware.
And the sole reason for provoking him now was to unleash his energy and to make Estelle aware of her grandfather’s actions
Standing there, Zeph felt confident in handling this man now, knowing his weakness, ’and, here it goes...’
"Stop it, Grandpa, you’re hurting Zeph!"
Estelle exclaid as she witnessed the sudden heaviness in the atmosphere, causing the tiles and ground around Zeph to press down.
⟨L-little Estelle, I didn’t do anything⟩
Rezekiel felt his precious granddaughter’s anger directed at him, causing his aura to dissipate.
Slowly rising from his throne, he looked toward her.
’Got you, Geezer,’ a smirk ford on Zeph’s face, observing the sudden change in the deanor of the person who monts ago acted high and mighty.
"Don’t lie to ! You could have killed Zeph," Estelle shouted, not comprehending the potential consequences if sothing had happened to Zeph, ’Is he insane?’
She couldn’t fathom why her grandfather would nearly crush Zeph into pulp when her entire life depended on him.
Without his presence, she didn’t even know what her life would be like—rely a puppet.
⟨N-no, My L-little—⟩
"Stop it, Estelle!"
Zeph interrupted Rezekiel midway, causing Rezekiel’s anger to surge. However, for the sake of his granddaughter, he restrained himself, still contemplating how to deal with this human discreetly.
"You can’t act like this in front of your Grandfather," Zeph swiftly moved towards Estelle, placing his hands on her shoulders, looking intensely at her, startling her. He continued, "He really cares for you. Please don’t be like that with your grandfather."
Hearing his words, both Thalia and Estelle’s mouths twitched, feeling repulsed by his cringe-worthy acting.
Thalia suppressed her reaction, but Estelle couldn’t help but express her thoughts, "Did water get into your brain?"
Though Zeph’s mouth twitched at her comnt, he disregarded it, focused on the old man who looked at him expectantly. He continued, "Estelle, he just wanted to ensure you didn’t fall into bad company."
’By crushing you?, you bastard,’ Estelle, aware of Zeph’s intentions, couldn’t help but see him in a new light.
It was already significant for this man to be aware of her grandfather’s weaknesses and to go as far as using them against him.
Estelle knew how much her grandfather cared for her, especially after she had been manipulated against him by a familiar enemy—Estelle Collins was the cause of her grandfather’s demise, according to normal plot of «Heroes Counterattack»
"Stop it, I understand," Estelle said, rubbing her forehead and removing Zeph’s hands from her shoulders.
"Yes, thank you, Estelle, for understanding ," Zeph replied, removing his hands and turning toward the old man who regarded him gratefully.
Standing there calmly, Zeph gazed towards Rezekiel, a smile slowly forming on his face. ’Did you detect that thing inside her?’
[ Yes, Master. It seed very familiar to the one you previously ntioned.]
Understanding that the upcoming events were aligning with Zeph’s expectations, he felt satisfied and reassured that there would not be any unforeseen consequences in the events scheduled to occur in a week.
’What was that just now?’ Thalia, standing there, sensed sothing amiss the mont Zeph placed his hands on Estelle’s shoulders.
Unable to comprehend it fully, she brushed it aside, focusing solely on Zeph.
"Grandpa, please don’t do it again. I want to return to the academy tomorrow with them," Estelle expressed, realizing that keeping Zeph here would be impossible given her grandfather’s intense behavior. Additionally, she turned towards Thalia, noting, ’she looks different.’
Estelle’s mind was imprinted with a vision of an Erald-eyed woman who had challenged her, locking eyes with her.
However, Estelle never held Thalia responsible for any of it.
After all, Alisia’s plans, including the sacrifice of Chrono, had resulted in far greater costs than they had anticipated.
Estelle still vividly recalled the day when, due to her bound fate, she was unable to aid the Vendal Kingdom during its conflict with the Order.
Following Vendal’s destruction and the migration of others into the Hedrian Kingdom, she retained only one ssage from this girl—a holographic one.
// Vendal is no more, Estelle. You did nothing, and just like that. I will do nothing. //
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