CHAPTER 97

  WRATH OF AN EMPYREAN (III)

  Lino ignored the stunned expressions of the Su Clan members and he ignored the absolute destruction of the valley the Clan resided in . He turned around slowly and looked at the figure that hadn’t moved from his back since he came here: Lucky . She was currently staring at him with wide eyes full of strange shine, her hands wound in tight fists . Lino faintly smiled as he walked up to her .

  "Aren’t I amazing?" he asked .

  "Yup . " Lucky replied honestly, surprising him . "You really are . "

  " . . . oh, wow, I’m actually embarrassed . "

  "You better be . I rarely compliment other people . "

  "You don’t say?"

  " . . . what will you do now?" Lucky asked suddenly .

  "Visit the other side . " Lino replied seriously .

  " . . . you aren’t their match . "

  "Huh?"

  "Even if I don’t know what realm you’re at," she elaborated . "I can vaguely compare the aura . There were at least three that were stronger than you . Much . . . much stronger than you . " Most-likely Devil Variants, Lino thought inwardly, frowning . If they’re still defending the army . . . Lucky’s right . I stand no chance . "Why not leave with me and get stronger first?"

  " . . . " Lino smiled as he looked deeply into her eyes . "I can’t," he said . "This is a borrowed hand . "

  "A borrowed hand? Y-you won’t die, right?!!"

  "Ha ha, no, not quite," he explained . "Though . . . I will be gone for a while . That’s why it’s time for us to say goodbye to each other . "

  " . . . "

  "In ten years . . . I’ll look for you . I hope you make a name for yourself so my search doesn’t last long . "

  " . . . you’re selfish till the very end, huh?" Lucky grumbled .

  "Yup, that I am . Well, time is running out . We’ll meet again . " Lino said as he suddenly placed his hand on top of her head and caressed her with a smile for a moment . Lucky froze, though by the time she came to and was ready to fight him, he had disappeared . It wasn’t the type of speed she could comprehend for the time being, so she was forced to swallow the bitter pill and wait . . . wait for the next time she sees him to pay him back .

  She averted her gaze from where Lino was at and focused once again on the dismayed standing less than a hundred meters away from her . All of them were kneeling, their arms slumped by their sides, gazes locked at the hopeless sky . Lucky recognized more than a few of them; Sylvia, who would occasionally grab Lucky’s bum for no reason, old man Van who was a coward beyond reason, Velin, a man who pestered Sylvia even after being repeatedly rejected . . . there was also Riven, young girl who was proficient in setting up ’Alarm Formations’, Venar, a middle-aged man tasked with training youths in Martial Arts . . .

  She interacted with a lot of members of Su Clan over the course of few months . Yet, she felt neither guilt nor regret while watching the ravaged scenery . In the end, they were just fleeting names in her life, while those who died were her family . She could never forgive the abandonment . Strangely, Sylvia was the first that recovered from shock . Her head tilted sideways as she met Lucky’s gaze . Her eyes were empty, Lucky realized . Void of hope, of ambition, of desire . . . it’s as though the whole of her character was sucked out and thrown into the void .

  " . . . you should have also died . " Sylvia said . "Then, he wouldn’t have known . We would have been fine . "

  " . . . fine?" Lucky scoffed . "Lino isn’t so kind that he would have needed evidence either way . You were doomed the day you decided to dance with that devil . "

  " . . . he is a devil, isn’t he?" Sylvia couldn’t raise her voice, and neither could she cry . She only felt weak, barren, empty .

  " . . . yes, he is . " Lucky said . "Had you helped us . . . he would have been an angel . " that was the last thin Lucky spoke to Sylvia before turning and leaving the valley . Her destination? She didn’t know . Lino promised to meet her in ten years . For some reason, she didn’t want him to feel disappointed then .

  A strange fire woke within her soul, something even she was unaware of . On the day one legend fell, another was born, in the most unassuming place, a place abandoned by the grace of the world . While it turned a blind eye to the small place at its very edge, a figure that would shake the very foundation of the era was taking her first steps toward a new life .

  **

  Lino was currently hovering above the Hope Town, golden wings unfurled behind his back, illuminating the darkening sky . His gaze was fixed toward the forest and then beyond . He had no fear in his heart despite the fact that he was certain he was heading into a trap . It’s not that he didn’t care about living or dying - he still very much did - but that certain things reached beyond that .

  He had less than half an hour of the forced transformation remaining . Could he save Freya in that time? He doubted it . No, he was completely certain he couldn’t . However, he still had to go, at the very least to ascertain whether she was dead or alive . She was Fate’s Child, but Fate wasn’t omnipotent . Even if independent of Gaia, it still had its limitations . Its incantations were merely blessed, not invincible .

  His wings fluttered as he turned into a golden streak of light flashing through the sky . What took most others a week to cross, he did in less than a minute . There, beneath him, an enshrouded city existed, protected by thick, gray mist . Lino immediately recognized it as a formation . However, he wasn’t worried . It was far weaker than Defensive Artifact of Su Clan .

  Did he destroy the Artifact with his own power? Not really . Even if he was Exalted at the moment, it was far from enough to forcibly shatter a Defensive Artifact . The items he threw at it and used to batter it played the key role . Lino always considered himself a blacksmith before a fighter . That’s why, despite his cheat-like progress, he didn’t feel all that powerful . His confidence lay in the items he crafted with his own two hands .

  " . . . he he he, you really came . " eerie laughter broke through the formation, echoing in the sky . "What a fool . "

  "A disgraced pig of mankind," Lino’s voice was cold; it was one thing to kill another person, but to succumb and sell your soul to the devil . . . that was simply beyond cowardly . "Where is she?"

  "Disgraced pig? Ha ha ha ha, you ignorant fool!" a mirage extended from the mist; though there were some differences in appearance, Lino immediately recognized Prince Yox . "What worth is stupid pride in front of absolute power?! Ha ha ha!"

  " . . . Devils needed a conduit to enter our world," Lino said, his gaze growing sharper . "And you willingly became that, condemning millions to death . What are you if not a disgraced pig of mankind? What absolute power? Devils are absolute power? They are rotten rodents hiding in the wretched corners of the world . I asked you a question you ball-licking devil-whore . "

  " . . . " no mater what, Yox was still a prideful man; how can he withstand being insulted repeatedly by a being he considered nothing but his prey . However, before he even had a chance to retaliate, Lino’s spiteful tongue operated again .

  "No, forget it . Your shrieked voice’s just grating my ears . Do you feast on devil cocks every morning? Is that why your voice sounds like you’re gurgling? You fucking devil cumdumpster . No, you are worse than that . You fucking inbred dog . Ah, no, why am I insulting the beautiful dogs? Even if you took her . . . you probably hid her away . Heh, you hide behind the horns of two dogs who should be buying coffins, and you speak to me of pride? Fuck you . Fuck the rest of you listening . You think you are protected? You think your dickhole father’s plan will protect you? Fuck both you and him . If a single thing happens to her, I’ll annihilate you all . Even if I die, I’ll enter your shit-infested homes and kill you all, you wastes of fucking resources . " it’s been a long, long time since Lino unleashed his spiteful tongue .

  After all, in the recent years, he was relatively happy . Even though he would flare in anger from time to time, it was never to the overwhelming point . Today, it was different . He couldn’t do anything . Besides the anger he felt toward the world, he was angry with himself . He discovered two auras far stronger than him hiding within the city . He knew he couldn’t help Freya today . Rather, he couldn’t even avenge his friends . What was his worth? He could only curse like a dog and escape . In his mind, he was cursing himself ten times harder than he was cursing the devils . But . . . they didn’t know that .

  "Careful, little kid," another voice suddenly broke through the barrier; its mere presence nearly caused Lino to suffocate . "You’re crossing some lines that ought to never be crossed . "

  " . . . huh? Who are you? Fuck you . I don’t care who you are . What are you preaching me for? How important are you anyway? I wager not at all cause you were sent in this backwater hellhole instead of at the place that actually matters . Today, I can’t do anything to you . However, that won’t be the case forever . Pray to your fucking daddy that you are dead before I’m strong enough . If I ever get my hands on you, you’ll wish you were in hell . " Lino, however, didn’t want to leave without doing anything . He stretched out his arms and two swords appeared in his palms . "I’ve still got some time to play . So let’s play, you wretched dogs of hell . "