Novel Full Chapter 1603 Weird Meeting
Chapter 1603 Weird Meeting
‘Did she recognize me?’
After the ascension games, his face had become well known across the Span. He could barely walk the streets without being stopped, sometimes even asked for autographs. The attention was dangerous, especially when he couldn’t afford to distinguish friend from foe, which was why he had split off from the others in the first place.
‘She’s coming.’
The girl started marching toward him without hesitation. Atticus frowned faintly as she stopped just in front of him, studying his face with wide, unblinking eyes.
“What—”
“I want you.”
“…?”
Atticus blinked once, then again, convinced he must have misheard.
“What?”
“My brother says I waste money, but he doesn’t know how much I’ve saved. Name your price. I’ll pay it.”
A purse suddenly appeared in her grip, and she opened it, holding it out toward him as she waited for his response. Her brows were drawn together in expectation.
“…”
“Huh?”
At Atticus’s continued silence, she frowned and tilted her head, studying his face more closely.
“Are you deaf? No… that’s not it. I’m using my will to talk to you, so you should understand me.”
She narrowed her eyes for a moment, then let out a small sigh.
“…Well. Worth trying.”
Without warning, she began making a flurry of exaggerated signs with her hands, carefully mouthing each word as though speaking to a child.
“I want. To. Buy. You. Do. You. Understand?”
“What are you doing?”
“Ah—!”
She jolted backward with widened eyes as she stared at him warily.
“You… you can talk?”
“What do you think?”
“…Oh.”
She released a breath and shook her head. Then the tension left her expression as if her earlier shock had never existed.
“So you can speak. Then why didn’t you answer me?”
She waved it off.
“Never mind. You heard me, right? So, name your price and I’ll—”
“Lyra!”
The brother appeared between them in an instant, pulling his sister back with one arm as he fixed Atticus with a cautious stare. His body was visibly tense.
“Brother, I was just—”
“Enough.”
He cut her off with a sharp look, then turned fully toward Atticus and bowed deeply.
“I apologize for my sister’s behavior.”
“But I didn’t—”
Before she could finish, he pressed her head down into a bow as well.
“You too.”
She stiffened, clearly ready to protest, but shrank back under his cold glare.
“…I-I’m sorry.” she muttered at last, her shoulders slumping as though all the force had drained from her body.
“…Alright.”
“Thank you.”
The brother straightened, and without another word, took hold of his sister and led her away from the alley.
‘What was that?’
Atticus watched them leave. He had initially judged the girl as weak, and while that was true, there was something about her that felt… off, aside from her obvious screw loose.
He turned the sensation over in his mind for a moment, but no matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t identify what had unsettled him. Eventually, he let the thought go. ‘They better get here fast.’
His thoughts drifted to Ozeroth, Whisker, and Ozerra, who had gone off to find a suitable place for them to stay until the competition began.
He was already growing tired of waiting.
…
“Don’t ever go off on your own again.”
“But—”
“Am I clear?”
At Zair’s firm stare, Lyra’s shoulders slumped, and after a moment she nodded slowly.
“…Yes, brother.”
“Good.”
They moved through the busy streets in silence, and after several seconds of watching his sister walk as though the life had been drained from her, Zair let out a quiet sigh.
“…Why do you want him?”
“Huh?”
Lyra turned toward him, blinking rapidly, as if unsure she’d heard him correctly.
“You heard me.”
“Because he’s perfect. He’s everything I’ve been looking for.”
Her eyes ignited up as she spoke about the white haired god they had met only moments ago.
“Perfect?”
“…You mean his looks?”
Had his lovely sister really begun having such thoughts? The image of the devilishly handsome man flashed through his mind, and his fists clenched reflexively.
‘I’ll rip him into pieces.’
“Whoa, no. That’s not it. Relax, I can literally hear your arms cracking.”
“I’m not angry.”
“I never said you were.”
“…”
Zair cleared his throat under his sister’s knowing smile.
“If it’s not that, then what?”
“I’ve never seen anything like him before.”
“…Go on.”
The glow in Lyra’s eyes faded, her expression turning serious. Zair narrowed his eyes. She only ever looked like this when she spoke about her experiments.
“He has multiple energies inside him. They should be tearing each other apart, but they aren’t. They’re fused.”
“Then maybe his will is like yours?”
“It’s not.” She shook her head immediately. “I’d know. His fusion is on a completely different level. His will is perfectly merged with another, inferior energy. That kind of attunement… I can’t do that.”
“Then what do you think it is?”
“I don’t know.”
Her expression darkened slightly, as though the answer itself frustrated her.
“…But you want to.”
“Yes. That’s why I wanted him. To study him. That god… the way he exists… it shouldn’t be possible.”
“…”
Zair watched her in silence. He could feel her relentless drive to learn. If not for him, he was certain she would have already run off to find that god again.
‘But…’
The memory of the white haired man surfaced in his mind. Though the man had looked harmless, inviting, even, standing near him had felt like having a blade perpetually pressed to his throat. Not even the other archdukes had ever made him feel that way.
‘He’s dangerous.’
“If we see him again, you’re not allowed to approach him.”
“Bu—”
“We came to the Core to save our world. We don’t have room for distractions. Do you understand?”
“…Hmph.”
Lyra turned away with a sharp pout and stormed ahead without looking back.
“Whew…”
Zair followed behind her wearily. Being so firm with his sister always weighed heavily on him. He hated seeing her upset, but it was necessary.
He would do anything to protect her and their world.