Chapter 1544: Sweet Words, Spiky Clubs, and Traitorous Siblings ( 1544 )

Heres ran straight toward where Marcellus, Cedric, Aelius, and Javier were standing. He leaped forward, landing directly behind Javier and grabbing him by both arms, yanking him up as a shield.

"O... Oi! Don’t include me in your problem, Heres!" Javier’s eyes widened, his arms flailing as he tried to wriggle free from Heres’s grip.

Heres hissed from behind him, his voice tight with panic. "It was your fault in the first place! So you should be responsible and fix this!"

"W... wha? Oi!" Javier watched as Kliatana approached gracefully, the huge spiky glowing club dragging behind her, carving a deep trench in the sand. He swallowed hard. "I did not! It was your mistake at first! Even if it was a simulator, you shouldn’t have used those sweet words on that girl! And why didn’t you tell her earlier!?"

Heres’s grip tightened. He reached out and grabbed Aelius by the arm, yanking him close and using both brothers as shields. Aelius, who had been quietly trying to step away, let out a sharp hiss of panic as he was dragged into the chaos.

"Let me go! I’m not involved in this matter! This is your fault for not telling her first! If you had just explained what happened after Javier pranked you, Kliatana would have gone after Javier instead of punishing you!"

"Because he shouted it through the megaphone!" Heres shouted, his voice cracking. "It echoed across the entire island! I was having a peaceful day, enjoying my moment with Kliatana, and then suddenly she’s asking me about the voice she heard! You ruined it! You and your stupid prank!"

Javier wiggled harder, his voice rising in protest. "That’s still your fault! If you hadn’t used those sweet words in the simulator, I wouldn’t have had anything to prank you with!"

Aelius thrashed in Heres’s grip. "Let me go! I didn’t do anything! I’m an innocent bystander!" ℯ

Heres tightened his grip on both of them. "Shut up! You’re my shield now! Both of you!"

Javier and Aelius exchanged a panicked glance as Kliatana drew closer, her smile never fading, the club scraping against the sand behind her.

"Damn you, Heres! Since when did you become this strong!?"

Heres kept peeking over Javier’s shoulder at Kliatana, who was still approaching with that sweet, terrifying smile, the spiked club carving a slow trench through the sand behind her. He swallowed hard and hissed back, his voice tight with panic.

"I have a talent for strength and physical combat, you idiot! While all of you were busy with your flashy magic and fancy inventions, I’ve been secretly training my body. Lifting, sparring, conditioning, everything. I didn’t want to rely on magic alone. I wanted to be strong in every way, not just with spells and skills!"

Aelius, still thrashing in Heres’s grip, let out a panicked laugh, his voice cracking with nervous energy.

"Oh, that’s rich, coming from the quiet one!" He squirmed harder, his voice rising in pitch. "Just use your fan skills! You know, those fancy fans you always carry around. Maybe if you fan Kliatana gently enough, she’ll forgive you! Or better yet, fan yourself while you run! At least you’ll look pretty while she beats you to death!"

Heres’s grip tightened on both of them, his teeth gritting. "Shut up and help me find a way to fix this! Or my vacation is ruined! And for your information, those fans are what I learned from Mother! They’re not even my main skill, you idiot! I just used them back then because they were light and easy to carry around!"

Javier, still flailing in Heres’s grip, glanced back at him with a mock-panicked grin, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Wow, Heres! If you’re this strong, then you can definitely defend yourself against Kliatana, right? I mean, you’ve been secretly training for years! You have talent! Physical strength! You’re practically a fortress!"

Heres’s face twisted with panic. He hissed low, his voice barely above a whisper as Kliatana took another slow step toward them.

"Are you crazy!? If I use my magic or my strength to defend myself, it’ll look like I’m fighting back! That will make me look even guiltier! She’ll think I’m hiding something else! She’ll hit me harder! Do you want me dead, Javier!?"

"Better you than me!"

"I’m going to kill you after this!"

"Only if Kliatana doesn’t kill you first!"

Marcellus patted his beach trunks, checking his back idly before glancing at Cedric, who stood with his arms crossed, watching the chaos unfold with a calm, detached expression. Marcellus turned his head toward him.

"So? What now?"

Cedric shrugged, his voice calm and casual. "Not our problem. Let’s leave them and head over to where everyone else is. Or better yet, let’s go swim."

Marcellus smirked, nodding slowly as he rubbed his chin.

"Good idea~ Let’s go."

Before they could take a single step, Javier’s head whipped toward them, his eyes wide with betrayal. He hissed loudly, his voice strained as he continued to struggle in Heres’s grip.

"Where do you two think you’re going!?"

Marcellus turned, his brow furrowing in genuine confusion. "Huh? We’re going to eat or swim. Why?"

Aelius thrashed in Heres’s grip, his voice desperate. "You two should help us break free, or better yet, go calm Kliatana down before she reaches us!"

"Huh?" Cedric’s face turned into a sour, unimpressed look. "Why should we? It’s not our problem. And besides, you two should stop pretending like you can’t slip out of Heres’s grip. Among the five of us, he’s the last rank in terms of strength or magic."

"Easy for you to say because he didn’t grip you!" Javier wiggled frantically, his voice straining. "Seriously! Heres’s grip is too strong! I can’t break free!"

Marcellus grinned, a cheeky, playful expression spreading across his face. He wiggled his body in a funny, teasing dance, his hips swaying side to side as he pointed at Javier.

"Ohhh~ Little brother~ I know you’re pretending. I know exactly how cheeky and bratty you can be. The moment I go over there to help you, you’ll slip away and run off, leaving me as the shield instead. Don’t think I don’t know my own little brother."

Javier and Aelius both clicked their tongues in unison. Then they moved.

Javier channeled his mana through his entire body, a faint, shimmering aura coating his skin. His body became slick and fluid, and with a single, smooth motion, he slipped free from Heres’s grip like water through fingers. He landed gracefully a few steps away, dusting off his shoulders with a cheeky grin.

Aelius, still trapped in Heres’s other arm, flicked a gold coin into the air with his free hand. The coin spun upward, glinting in the sunlight, and the moment it reached its peak, Aelius vanished in a flash of golden light, reappearing exactly where the coin was before it could fall. He caught it effortlessly and landed beside Javier, adjusting his glasses with a calm, satisfied smirk.

Heres stood alone, his arms still raised in the position where he had been holding them. His eyes widened in disbelief before shifting toward Kliatana, who had stopped walking. Her sweet smile had returned, wider than before.

"Ara~ My handsome playboy of a husband~ Hiding behind his brothers now~? How adorable~"

( End Of Chapter )