Chapter 193: Isnt Talia the Poet of Boundless Love?

Chapter 193: Isn't Talia the Poet of Boundless Love?

The torrential rain over Ikerite grew heavier by the moment. Even the restaurant hadn't seen a customer walk through the door for quite some time.

An unusual quiet settled over the interior. The hanging chandelier cast a soft, warm-yellow glow onto the vintage wooden staircase, effectively shutting out the raging storm beyond. Most of the patrons were leisurely enjoying their meals, occasionally glancing out the window at the downpour.

Fenix glanced at the clock between sips of coffee. If the target didn't appear within the hour, he would place himself under self-hypnosis once more, temporarily abandon the mission, and wait for another opportunity.

Last night, after Lance escorted Hyperion here and made two more round trips, the two of them had parted ways.

Right now, Lance was locked in a Shadow Realm duel with Adam at the university and couldn't get away anytime soon. Meanwhile, Frey was assisting the Student Management Council president in hosting the academic delegation visiting the Knights' College.

With the two biggest variables absent, the young lady from the Aransar family remained completely unaware that danger was closing in on her. It was a perfect opportunity to assassinate her.

While the trio was formidable when together, since returning to the real world, they had become far too lax and careless.

Lance was the only one who maintained any vigilance. He had entrusted his trump card, the Poet of Boundless Love, to Hyperion for protection. According to intelligence, this summon possessed a high level of self-awareness and intelligence, as well as a telepathic link with her master. Should the summon encounter danger, Lance would sense it immediately.

Back at Purgatory Corridor Academy, the failure of Lillete, a subordinate of the Cardinal of Decay, had occurred precisely because she had inadvertently killed the Poet at the last moment. This had alerted Lance in the headmaster's office, which allowed him to rush over and rescue Hyperion.

This time, however, no such luck would repeat itself. No one would be able to save Hyperion.

Suddenly, the sound of lighthearted laughter drifted down from the railing of the second floor loft. Sitting on the ground floor, Fenix raised his head slightly. His gaze cut through the restaurant's exquisite pavilion-style architecture and landed on the staircase.

A young woman clad in the fitted uniform of Ikerite University appeared, chatting with her companion. She had silver hair and amber eyes, and was tall and possessed an air of elegant poise—it was none other than Lady Hyperion.

Beside her walked a gray haired woman who had a cool, aloof expression. Despite her excellent disguise and acting, there was no mistaking her identity: she was Lance's trump card, the Poet of Boundless Love. Her aura was faint, indistinguishable from that of an ordinary Rank 1 commoner.

As they conversed, their pace naturally slowed while they descended the stairs.

"Miss Tali, why didn't you wake me up earlier?" Hyperion sounded a bit sheepish. She had never slept so soundly before, remaining unconscious for over ten hours.

"You were sleeping so peacefully, so I didn't want to disturb you," Talia responded calmly, the heels of her shoes tapping lightly against the wooden stair treads with every step, creating a soft, echoing sound.

As they reached the landing halfway down, Hyperion gazed out the window at the rain-swept scenery and muttered, looking somewhat embarrassed, "You didn't have to lie there and watch me the whole time, though..."

Although seeing Tali's beautiful face and golden eyes the moment she opened her own had brought her a sense of deep comfort, she was no longer a child. The feeling of being watched over, as if she was being tended to by her mother, left her feeling quite bashful.

Talia's expression remained unchanged as she replied blandly, "I was worried you might be scared of being alone."

"Fair enough..." It was precisely because Tali had been sleeping right beside her that she had been able to drift off with such unprecedented peace of mind.

Hyperion didn't press the issue further. Instead, she asked what Tali wanted to eat. If she said nothing, Miss Tali might well continue to keep her company like this for the rest of the day.

Although it was a bit sly to demand such extra care from Miss Tali, who had only agreed to a temporary contract to protect her, this was one of Hyperion's rare, selfish little whims.

The two walked down the spiral staircase, their conversation trailing behind them until they reached the ground floor. They soon merged into the restaurant's corridor.

Hyperion glanced at the clock above the counter and made the suggestion to Talia, "Let's go check out Ikerite University once the rain lets up a bit. Lance might be facing off against the Yaloran Kingdom's strongest third year right now."

Talia replied instinctively, "What's there to see?"

However, upon reflection, she found herself somewhat curious about what Lance was up to. She then added, "But if you want to watch, we can go together."

"Haha, let's go catch Lance in the act of doing something outrageous." Hyperion laughed lightly and naturally.

Beside her, Talia gazed calmly ahead as they walked toward the counter to order. Neither of them noticed Fenix, who was sitting at a table they were about to pass in the corridor. He slowly raised the coffee cup in his hand to his lips. The contents had gone slightly cold.

Finally.

Fenix sat quietly in his seat, and a faint, imperceptible sneer appeared. At the very moment Hyperion and Talia walked past, beneath his table, an enchanted card shimmering with a brilliant, iridescent pink glow had appeared in his other hand.

A flash of lightning tore through the gloomy sky outside, momentarily illuminating the faces of everyone in the room with a flash as bright as the sun. The soft background music drifting through the restaurant was briefly drowned out by the rolling, ear-splitting thunder outside.

At that very moment, unnoticed by anyone, the music amid the thunder shifted in tone. Patrons in the aisles and at their tables abruptly ceased whatever they were doing. All emotion vanished from their faces, leaving them stiff and expressionless, their eyes vacant.

Suddenly, in perfect unison, they stood up and turned around. While stomping heavily, they fixed their collective gaze upon Hyperion!

That loud peal of thunder wasn't the only startling thing in the restaurant. Fenix had made his move as well, swiftly unsheathing a hidden shortsword with his right hand.

He hurled the blade, throwing it with every ounce of strength in his body before Hyperion could even turn her head. The strike possessed enough power to cleave the Rank 4 Hyperion clean in two!

As a look of astonishment crossed Hyperion's face, a clean, sharp cut appeared in the floorboards in the distance. However, as the fissure in the floor reached her, it was blocked by an overwhelming force and vanished completely.

The reason Hyperion appeared unscathed was simple: she possessed a life-saving card. However, the attack had also struck the Poet. Since she was only at Tier 1, she would have dissipated in an instant.

"Lady Hyperion, you aren't escaping today!" Fenix rose to his feet, his icy expression no longer concealing his murderous intent as he closed in on Hyperion.

The civilians in the dining hall, moving like clockwork puppets, raised their knives and forks and charged at Hyperion in a lethal frenzy. Even if Lance realized the danger his friend was in, he would never make it here in time! The battle would soon be over.

Next, Hyperion would be forced into a desperate, inescapable fight to the death against Fenix, the man controlling the crowd of innocents in the hall. He would stop at nothing to kill Hyperion as quickly as possible and drag her down to the grave with him.

However, a strange sensation quickly gripped Fenix's heart, and a chill rose from his spine and instantly coursed through his entire body.

Someone was looking down at him. They were a pair of terrifying eyes that made his blood run cold. That pair of golden eyes was fixed on him, rendering him utterly unable to move. It was as if he were the one who had truly turned into a puppet.

The entire restaurant seemed to plunge into pitch-black darkness. Only those golden eyes, reminiscent of a demon god, remained vividly clear, making him feel utterly insignificant.