New Game+

The battle had ended, and everyone was headed back to their respective places.

All except Seeker Carlean. Seeker had now just given such passionate and detailed speech worthy of an Overcomer.

Seeker was cursing in his mind, but he couldn't do anything about it.

He knew that his friends loathed the idea that Seeker would have any relationships with this girl. They weren't idiots. They knew that even by a little bit, Seeker was at least affectionate towards this girl.

And so, even if it's changing their sexual preference, they would gladly do so to shatter the chance of any possible romance between the two.

Meryl was more playful and kind in her attempts to drive Zeraphine to anger. But Lynd brought out the big guns.

Seeker could only grit his teeth and make random explanations and tried to convince Lara that Lynd was only joking.

"That was joking? He used his burst to fry my Exoskeleton."

"He- He knew you'd be safe! It's part of the prank!"

"I know when a person is genuinely jealous of me. His actions felt like that of an obsessed teen girl doing petty stuff to the person she's jealous of." Lara answered with an unamused tone.

"It-it's just that they don't like me getting an arranged marriage! You know how friends are!"

"Yes. I know how friends are. But Meryl's reaction is an eye-opener. Who's the Alpha Girl? Am I the Beta Girl?"

"Oh boy..." Seeker sighed in exasperation.

"Seeker, please report to the Altar of Asherah. We will be showing some important guests a hint of our Phallic techs." Charles broadcasted.

"I... have to go." Seeker finally found his way out.

"Go on. You obviously haven't gotten over your phallic stage."

Seeker was in pain as he left.

"I did what I can do, Zeek," Charles whispered at Seeker as he left.

As the group was completing the docking procedure, the Exoskeleton was drifting in the dark ocean. The water had already flooded the suit, but the pilot wasn't bothered. The water didn't annoy him anyway. But he kept waiting. He knew that the one who brought him down here would visit him.

"How's our little Willy?" A mocking voice was heard.

Lanterk saw the Exoskeleton belonging to the Dalisay family.

Jane laughed as he saw the pathetic state of Lanterk.

"Presider was really surprised at your stupidity."

"If Corstfree or Pridgeon wants a real fight... I'll give it to them!" Lanterk roared. His voice was no longer the innocent boy, but his voice was distorted. It was the first time his hatred was leaking out, and all four entities were enraged.

"Real fight? Presider, you were to be blamed. That battle was just to give you a shot in seeing what our Phallic techs are capable of. Zeraphine had her fun. She's rather impressed with the tech, honestly. You, on the other hand, were reckless. Why did you doze off right in the middle of the battle? If you haven't noticed it, you were at fault. We have it on camera." Jane laughed.

"What technology did you apply on that girl?!" 

"Phalanx Technology."

"I don't believe you! How can a human have Glory? Without a Presider's Nefilius Body, how can she breach the dimensions through sight?!" Lanterk roared.

"How should I know? I'm not even a Pioneer!" Jane chuckled.

"If you seek an answer, then look for Presider Pridgeon or Crostfree. As you can already tell, they are just nearby. Your mistake was your own. They are rather displeased in your attempts to massacre the entire place. It would have been troublesome for them and might draw the attention of the other Presiders. There are still some who don't know the real nature of the Progenitor. The Lost Primordial is also another case."

"Who is the Lost Primordial? Crostfree was called the Lost Primordial, but it turns out he's the Progenitor? What were all those things that occurred in the Pacific? What was it about?"

"Those who just entered the game have no right to dictate how the board is laid out. The battle is very complicated. As you've probably discerned from Zeraphine's real power, the war here's isn't exactly as easy as it looks. You, yourself, is proof of the complexity here on this planet, little goat." Jane smiled.

"Nevertheless, your alliance will be of benefit. Come up to the surface. We will show you something. Seeker Carlean will show one of the more advanced aspects of Phallic Tech. The concept of worship will appear. And it will explain how that Meryl got that body. By the way, if you want... you can have her. Of course, Presider values his little experiments. So he won't gift Meryl to you. If Meryl falls in love with you... then it would be better." Jane began to ascend with her Exoskeleton.

"We made it look like that you were remotely controlling the Exoskeleton from the sub. But you might get teased and laughed at for your stupid maneuver back then. Regardless, if Presider senses much as less as a fraction of change within the three dimensions, he will crush you." Jane warned before zooming faster.

Lanterk silently followed Jane.

Jane was quiet, but she was excited. Her appearance brought more information. The Nefilus body has now become an important knowledge among the Unlocked. Future missions would further validate their authenticity as being Aragarians with such terms exclusive to only Presiders.

Back in the underwater facility belonging to the Everhiss family, Seeker was before his two friends, who were laughing so hard. They had heard the entire explanation of Seeker and continued to mock him.

Seeker looked with looks that even scared Cliff and Charles.

"That was a nice touch, Lynd! Amazing!"

"Well, he did claim that the love of my life in another life was his. What's a little love between close friends? Get that Phallic tech, Zeek!" Lynd laughed.

"I hope you guys had your fun."

"Come on, Zeek. You know why we did that. You're really into her. I don't need my Path to see it."

"Yeah, Zeek. And after your story, it should be Alphie who you should be with."

"Meryl... About Alphie."

"Don't bother. Lynd already tried to persuade me to stop. But I don't know about your ideology in that. While it seems logical that we should give her a happy life and make her pursue whoever, but you see... I'm the helpless romantic type that would still go after a guy, even though I know there's little chance. So I'm going to help her with whatever I can to allow her to increase the small chance she got."

"You're going to tell her about me and that future?"

"Yeah. I'll give her a choice. She can choose not to fight for you. Will she take the path where she can be happy with someone else? Or will she gamble and pursue happiness she dreams of even if the odds are against her?" Meryl had a dreamy look on her face as if she was watching her favorite K-Drama show.

Lynd and Seeker facepalmed at this.

"Either way, I will be against you and her. I can't imagine what it would be like to go through such betrayal."

"I'm sympathizing with your emotions, Zeek. And I really hate her. I'm honestly mad at you for even falling in love with her!"

"Look, Lynd. I'm not in love with her. It's the Adult me. What I have is memories of that other guy. In this life, I already know who she is."

"And yet you were worried to make her think that you have other girls... or guys." Lynd raised his eyebrow as he gave Seeker a contemptuous glance.

"For my mission! I want to make her fall in love with me! Do you know what possible techs we could acquire from her through this?"

"Just don't mess this up. When she betrayed you and caused all those deaths, that was on her. But if she manages to kill people in this timeline, it's on you!" Lynd warned.

"Zeek. It's Jane Moore. She just arrived with Lanterk at the submarine. And is requesting... to call us?" Charles was amazed.

"With a Presider next to her?" Lynd wondered.

"Patch her through. She's proven to be quite smart. Let's see what she wants..." Seeker agreed.

"Presider. Lanterk is here. Should we head to the Altar immediately?" Jane asked.

Seeker and the rest didn't utter a single word.

"Hrm? Alright." Jane nodded.

"Presider Willy... I mean... Lanterk. Is your Phalium Suit damaged?"

"Phalium?" Lanterk frowned.

"Oh! Sorry! I confused it with the Phalium Suit that Zeraphine has. Yours was a Nefilium Suit, right?"

Before Lanterk could answer, Jane turned her attention to the phone as if being corrected by the person she was talking to.

"Oh. Nefilius Suit. I'm sorry, Presider. I got them all mixed up there. Anyway, Presider Lanterk... Presider says he will compensate you in whatever way you wish if your suit got damaged from that little pull down the ocean. Or were you already hurt from all those bullets? He counted two-hundred and seven bullets." Jane laughed.

"No need! Let me see Seeker." Lanterk gave an irritable reply and left.

"Alright. Presider's just being nice. No need to be rude about it." Jane immediately disconnected the call.

"What was that all about?" Meryl was confused as to the random content of the call and the weird terms she said.

"That was risky." Lynd frowned.

"Not really. Lanterk believes that a genuine Presider is in this place. With that power that Eagle showed, he is wary. Also, Zeraphine's presence and obedience to the Progenitor has convinced Lanterk that a Presider is here. So Jane mentioning that term may seem unimportant to them. That's why Jane immediately made the call in front of Lanterk. She even used a new term that we can use. I will follow up on that lie and mention the Phalium Suit. At least now, we now know what this suit is. W can casually ask this to Zeraphine as I would just claim to be building one. All that's left is to deceive them in that altar ceremony." Seeker smiled.

"They're ready. " Cliff announced.

"Let's go." Seeker then began to move towards the location as the rest followed.

Inside an enclosed wide room, the Emperors and Empresses had arranged the place to look like an arena. A giant glass dome enclosed the wide area in the middle.

The families were all gathered on the seats surrounding the dome in the middle, and many even noticed the peculiar pillar placed right in the center. Most of the families' discussions were regarding the battle they just had and couldn't understand how the game streamers easily evaded all those bullets.

Lara was with Charm, who kept talking about the shocking news. The first thing Charm talked about was how Meryl confessed to liking Seeker! But then, Lara dropped the bomb and revealed that Seeker and Lynd might have been a thing.

"He's- he's Bi!" Charm was amazed.

"Apparently so..." Lara had a complicated expression.

"Oh right... What happened to Alexander? I was sure that the Exoskeleton he piloted had a human inside."

"Dalisay tech. It was meant to fool people by making the Exoskeleton have that. That's why he was more reckless than me and went into the line of fire." Lara answered but had an angry expression on her face. She knew full well what that Lanterk did and how she herself was caught in the crossfire of two Presiders.

"Please don't talk about me like that." Lanterk innocently laughed as he sat down next to the two.

"So you're still alive? I hoped that you really got shot from all those attacks!" Lara cursed and restrained herself from slapping this man.

"I messed up. I was stupid." Lanterk sat down and could only apologize.

Some Exoskeletons were carried inside through a forklift and were dropped near the altar.

When the forklift left, Seeker walked in. He was wearing the same underwear he revealed when he streaked and fought several Exoskeletons.

Seeker went towards the center of the pillar and glanced at it, and began to pray.

The entire arena continued to talk. Because there was no announcement and that Seeker didn't even have anything on him, many assumed that preparations were still being made.

BOOM!

All of a sudden, a powerful eruption occurred and threw the standing Exoskeletons to the side.

Seeker raised his arms, and one of the Exoskeletons began to float in mid-air.

Seeker made a gripping motion, and the Exoskeleton was suddenly crushed to pieces.

Everyone was shocked.. But among those surprised were the two Aragarians who couldn't understand how that scene played out.