Novel Full Chapter 714: Slapped
Chapter 714: Slapped
Neo decided to go, and bring Jack.
He used his Grim Reaper badge.
A portal formed before him, and in the next blink, he stood on the other side of the massive gates of the Underworld.
Gremory’s presence lingered faintly around the area like a watchful warden, as always.
Neo’s gaze turned to a familiar growl that rolled across the dark ground.
Cerberus was there, the great three-headed hound, its eyes sharp and ears pricked.
But instead of guarding the gate, it was barking furiously at something above.
Neo followed its gaze.
Up on the chandeliers, balanced with unnerving grace, was a black cat.
It didn’t seem threatened in the slightest.
Instead, it lay sprawled across the cold metal, tail flicking lazily back and forth, looking as if it were bored with the whole ordeal.
The moment Neo appeared, Cerberus’s barking stopped.
The beast turned, and the shift was instant.
Its three heads wagged, tails thrashing like whips, and with a booming thud of heavy paws, it bounded straight toward him.
Neo braced for impact.
The giant dog didn’t knock him over, but it pressed in close, nuzzling him with all three heads at once.
“Alright, alright,” Neo muttered, chuckling as he rubbed under one of the chins. “I get it. You missed me.”
Cerberus’s middle head let out a deep, contented rumble, clearly pleased.
Then movement drew his attention again.
The black cat stretched itself out, yawned like it hadn’t a care in the world, and then leapt down.
It landed soundlessly, padding with effortless grace up to Neo before springing onto his shoulder.
Neo blinked at it, scratching Cerberus absentmindedly while turning his head toward the feline spirit.
“And what are you doing here?”
The cat flicked an ear and gave a low, amused purr.
’I came to say welcome to you,’ the cat’s voice echoed directly into his mind.
Neo had already regained his traits, and one of them—Empathetic Transcendence—let him converse with any entity.
He understood the words of the cat spirit perfectly.
“Did Leonora send you here?”
The cat licked its paw, as if the question wasn’t worth much, and then nodded. ’Yes.’
Neo could only let out a bitter smile.
Leonora hadn’t even bothered to come herself.
They had been good friends, but true to her nature, she had pushed the job onto her spirit.
The cat’s voice came again, more measured this time. ’Master said to not worry about your problem. She will help you as soon as she gets time.’
Neo tilted his head, confused.
“…Problem? What problem?”
The cat’s eyes narrowed with amusement, but it didn’t elaborate.
’You will know later.’
Before Neo could press further, the feline leapt off his shoulder, body twisting midair before it simply vanished like smoke.
Cerberus barked and immediately started sniffing around, trying to find where it had gone.
Its three noses pressed against the floor, then the air, but nothing remained.
For a while, Neo let Cerberus circle him, the beast still eager and unwilling to let him leave.
Finally, Neo placed both hands against one of the great heads and spoke firmly.
“I need to go,” he said.
Cerberus whined.
All three pairs of eyes widened with pleading intensity, and it gave him the biggest set of puppy eyes possible for a monster of its size.
Neo sighed and smiled faintly.
He patted the dog reassuringly.
“Don’t worry. I’ll come visit you regularly from now on. That’s a promise.”
That was enough.
The beast instantly perked up, tails wagging furiously as though Neo had just given it the best news in the world.
Neo took one last step away, and his surroundings shifted again.
The Underworld Gate faded, and he appeared near the location where Jack and Emma had last stayed.
He didn’t rush in immediately.
It was better to wait.
They might be occupied, and barging in unannounced wasn’t exactly thoughtful.
But as if Jack had already anticipated his arrival, one of the undead nearby stirred the moment Neo appeared.
The undead shuffled closer, its hollow eyes locking onto him. “Master will be coming here soon.”
True enough, Jack arrived just seconds later.
Neo’s eyes narrowed as something caught his attention.
Jack’s expression was calm, but across his cheek was the faint but undeniable outline of a handprint.
Neo blinked, then expanded his senses.
Emma was nowhere in sight.
He turned back to Jack slowly.
“…Did Emma slap you and leave?”
“…Yes.”
“What did you do this time to irritate her?”
He was genuinely curious.
Jack was a Stage 4, Emma a Stage 3.
Even with her training and techniques as a Grim Reaper disciple, leaving a mark like that on Jack’s face meant she had hit him with everything she had.
What in the world could he have said to make her that angry?
Jack sighed, rubbing at the faint redness on his cheek.
“She asked when we’re getting back together.”
“And?”
“I told her we’re not getting back together.”
Neo stared at him for a long moment, speechless.
“…Seriously?”
Jack signed instead of responding.
Neo’s expression shifted into something between disbelief and exasperation.
Jack clearly still had feelings for Emma, so why in the world would he flatly reject her like that?
He opened his mouth, ready to argue, but then stopped.
Jack’s old words drifted back into his mind.
I’m tired. I don’t want a relationship anymore.
Maybe Jack really did need time.
Too much had happened.
Emma’s death had torn him apart once before.
He had lost all the powers he had bled and fought for.
It took thousands of years just to claw his way back, to recover enough strength to keep moving forward.
And then Layla had appeared, deceiving him, shattering his Core, forcing him to live as nothing more than a fugitive just to avoid her leash.
And Ilyana.
She had been direct about her feelings for him, helping him in ways few others ever had.
Jack wasn’t the type to disregard that.
Even if he didn’t return her feelings, he would have felt the weight of them.
Neo exhaled softly and patted Jack’s shoulder. “Take your time to think things through. Don’t rush it.”
Jack gave a faint smile. “I thought you’d make fun of me for it.”
“I’m not that heartless.”
Jack’s smile turned crooked.
“Says the guy who told everyone I slept with my ancestor.”
“That wasn’t me. Nyxtharion did that.”
“He was ordered to do that by you.”
“What? I never ordered that.”
Jack’s stare turned flat and unamused.
“…Alright, maybe I nudged it along. But still, that doesn’t count as me saying it.”
The whole mess between Jack and Emma hadn’t even been Jack’s fault.
He had liked her, yes, but he had always respected boundaries.
If anything, it had been Neo and Gaia who meddled with the spell that pushed them together in the first place.
Then Neo had the audacity to pretend he had no hand in it.
Seeing Jack’s accusing stare Neo decided to do what he did best, act shameless.
“So you can lie to others about me, but I can’t say the truth? If you didn’t want me to bring up Emma, you shouldn’t have lied that I liked Felix.”
“Huh? When did I ever say that?” Jack asked.
“During the academy days,” Neo shot back.
Jack looked genuinely stunned.
I don’t even remember saying such a thing.
Which probably meant it was some offhand joke or thoughtless comment.
You fucked me over just because of a joke?
Jack didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Did Neo even know the worried looks Jack used to get from his parents after they found out about Emma and him?
That had been the most embarrassing moment of Jack’s life!