Chapter 69: game 3

A slender woman stepped forward, an authoritative aura surrounding her.

The moment she appeared, all the vampires immediately moved aside, creating a clear path for her. Their movements were almost instinctive, as though none of them dared to obstruct her way.

She walked to the front of the group, her gaze sweeping across the battlefield.

The sight of her people falling like flies made her narrow her eyes slightly.

Several vampires were lying on the ground, while others had already retreated from the fight. The remaining ones watched Asher and Nyx with a mixture of anger and caution, seemingly unsure whether they should continue fighting or wait for their princess’s orders.

The woman studied us for a moment.

Her gaze lingered on me before moving toward Nyx. Then, without saying a word, she disappeared.

Oh?

My expression immediately became serious.

I could barely catch her movement before she appeared in front of me, her attack already coming toward my body.

I quickly augmented myself with Aura and Space, meeting her attack head-on.

BOOM!

The impact sent a wave of energy through the surrounding area. The ground beneath our feet cracked slightly as our attacks collided.

She was strong.

Much stronger than the vampires I had fought until now.

However, I wasn’t someone who would simply stand there and allow an opponent to attack me.

While maintaining the clash, I manipulated Space and formed a spear in my other hand. Without giving her much time to react, I launched another attack toward her.

She smoothly avoided my spear, her movements so effortless that it almost looked as though she had predicted my attack beforehand.

After taking a few steps back, she raised one hand.

“Stop, human. You have proven yourself.”

I stared at her.

A black line appeared across my forehead.

What?

Did I hear that correctly?

I looked at the woman as though she had suddenly started speaking another language.

“Hey, lady. Did you hit your head somewhere or something?”

Her expression froze for a moment.

I continued without giving her a chance to answer.

“Why should I prove something to you? Do you think I came here to audition or something?”

The woman’s eyes twitched.

This time, the twitch was obvious.

Beside me, Nyx immediately covered her mouth with one hand.

Her shoulders trembled slightly.

She was laughing.

Oi! What’s so funny?

I’m having a serious conversation here!

Well, technically, I was insulting someone who had just attacked me without warning, but that was beside the point.

The woman stared at me, seemingly struggling to decide whether she should respond to my words.

Before she could say anything, however, the vampire woman I had fought earlier hurriedly got up.

“You… lowly human! How dare you address the princess like that?!”

Her voice was filled with anger and disbelief.

I raised an eyebrow.

“Oh? Is she a princess?”

I turned my attention back to the woman standing in front of me and examined her more carefully.

“Hmm. Not bad. You are strong, I have to admit.”

I rubbed my chin thoughtfully.

“I can’t say for certain, but I feel like you might be stronger than me.”

The princess’s expression remained composed, although she seemed to be waiting for me to continue.

I nodded to myself.

“Well, I must be imagining things. How is that possible with an amazing guy like me around? How in the world could you be stronger than me?”

Silence.

Absolute silence.

The princess’s eyes twitched again.

Is this human suffering from some kind of brain problem?

That seemed to be the question written all over her face.

Even some of the vampires behind her looked as though they didn’t know how to react.

I, on the other hand, was perfectly satisfied with my conclusion.

After all, acknowledging someone else’s strength was one thing. Admitting that they were stronger than me was something else entirely.

I had standards to maintain.

And those standards were naturally very high.

The princess took a quiet breath, seemingly forcing herself to regain her composure.

“Human, stop this nonsense. I came here to talk.”

I looked at her as though I were staring at an idiot.

“Are you fucking serious?”

Her expression stiffened.

“You came here to talk? Then why the fuck did you pounce on me like a hungry wolf the moment you saw me?”

I spread my hands, genuinely confused by her behavior.

“Is that a custom of your race?”

The princess stared at me.

She didn’t answer.

Perhaps she was considering whether answering me was worth the effort.

Unfortunately for her, one of her subordinates seemed to have a different opinion.

“Human, our princess merely tested you to determine whether you possessed the qualifications to speak with her!”

The vampire spoke with an air of superiority, as though he were explaining something incredibly obvious to a particularly stupid child.

“And you passed her test. You should feel honored instead of being ungrateful!”

My mouth twitched.

Oh?

So that’s how it is?

I slowly turned toward the vampire.

Several wonderful insults immediately came to mind.

Honestly, I was impressed by his courage. After watching his companions get beaten up, he still had the confidence to lecture me.

That was admirable.

Or perhaps he simply lacked a functioning brain.

I opened my mouth, ready to educate him about the importance of knowing when to shut up.

Unfortunately, someone anticipated my intentions.

A soft bun suddenly appeared in front of my mouth.

Before I could say anything, Nyx pushed it between my lips.

“Eat,” she said calmly.

I blinked.

The bun was warm and surprisingly delicious.

I chewed slowly.

Hmm.

Not bad.

While I was busy appreciating the unexpected snack, Nyx turned toward the vampire princess and began speaking with her.

Just like that, my opportunity to deliver a perfectly justified verbal beating disappeared.

I glanced at Nyx.

She ignored me.

Traitor.

Still, since she had given me food, I decided to forgive her for the moment.

After all, I was a reasonable man.

A very reasonable man.

And reasonable men didn’t hold grudges against people who provided them with snacks.

At least, not immediately.

I continued enjoying my bun while Nyx and the vampire princess talked. From their expressions and the way the conversation proceeded, it seemed that they were discussing something important rather than exchanging meaningless pleasantries.

Once the conversation ended, the princess remained with her people while Nyx returned to my side.

I swallowed the last bite of my bun and looked at her.

“Hey, Nyx. What happened?”

She shook her head.

“Nothing. We just formed a temporary alliance.”

I stared at her.

“A temporary alliance?”

I glanced toward the vampires, then back at her.

“Why? I can take them on.”

I wasn’t trying to boast this time.

Well, perhaps a little.

But I genuinely believed I could fight them if necessary. We had already dealt with their attacks, and I wasn’t particularly interested in becoming friendly with a group that had decided to attack us without a proper explanation.

Nyx shook her head again.

“I made a deal with them. They will help us find the Elven Tear.”

My expression changed slightly.

The Elven Tear.

That was the item Nyx wanted.

I looked at her carefully, narrowing my eyes.

“Nyx.”

She turned toward me.

“Tell me something. Is something wrong with you?”

Her expression remained calm, but I continued speaking before she could answer.

“I know you. If this were only about Azera, you wouldn’t be this invested in finding the Elven Tear.”

I paused for a moment, studying her face.

“This is for you, isn’t it?”

Nyx didn’t answer immediately.

For a brief moment, our eyes met.

Then she nodded.

She didn’t explain anything else.

I could tell there was something she wasn’t ready to share with me. I didn’t know what it was, and I couldn’t say that I liked being kept in the dark.

However, forcing her to talk wouldn’t solve anything.

If she wanted to tell me, she would do so when she was ready.

I looked into her bright blue eyes for another moment before nodding.

“Okay. I’ll wait.”

Nyx seemed slightly surprised.

“When you’re ready to talk, we can talk. I’ll wait until then.”

She looked at me quietly.

Then she nodded and gave me a small smile.

“Thank you, Asher.”

I smiled back.

“It’s okay. I trust you, whatever you have to say.”

I meant it.

There were certainly things I wanted to know, and I wasn’t particularly patient when it came to mysteries involving people I cared about.

But Nyx was different.

She had her own reasons for keeping something to herself, and I wasn’t going to force her to reveal it before she was ready.

Besides, I had a feeling that whatever she was hiding wasn’t something trivial.

For now, I would wait.

If someone was trying to hurt her, however, that was an entirely different matter.

I would make sure they regretted it.

Very, very badly.

Of course, I didn’t say that part aloud.

Nyx probably knew me well enough to guess it anyway.

I stretched my arms and glanced around the battlefield.

“So, what are we going to do now?”

Nyx pointed toward the vampires.

“Let them stay with us for now. When the next wave arrives and another throne appears, they can leave.”

I considered her suggestion for a moment.

“Hmm. That’s fine.”

Honestly, I didn’t particularly care whether the vampires stayed or left, provided they didn’t cause unnecessary trouble.

Besides, having more people around could prove useful during the next round of this ridiculous challenge.

And if they tried anything funny, well…

I glanced toward the vampire princess.

She was strong, but I wasn’t about to let that fact ruin my mood.

An amazing guy like me can handle a few vampires.

Satisfied with my conclusion, I turned away from the battlefield.

“Come on. Let’s go find Azera.”

Nyx nodded, and we walked toward the throne where Azera was still sitting.

The dragon girl immediately looked at us with an expression that suggested she had several complaints prepared.

Unfortunately for her, I wasn’t particularly interested in hearing them right now.

Instead, I took out some food and drinks from my storage.

Nyx did the same.

Soon, the three of us were sitting together, enjoying our well-deserved break after the fight.

I took a drink and leaned back comfortably.

“Ahhh. This is the life.”

Azera glanced at me.

“How can you be so relaxed after all that?”

I looked at her in confusion.

“What do you mean? We won, didn’t we?”

“That doesn’t mean you should behave as though nothing happened!”

I shrugged and took another bite of food.

“Why not? Worrying won’t make the next round arrive any slower.”

Azera stared at me, apparently regretting that she had even bothered to ask.

Nyx let out a quiet laugh beside me.

I grinned.

See?

My logic was flawless.

With food in front of us and no immediate enemies attacking, there was no reason to waste the opportunity.

The Tower could wait for a little while.

For the moment, I was going to enjoy my meal.

After all, fighting powerful enemies was exhausting, and an amazing guy like me needed proper nourishment.

Meanwhile, the angel we had captured remained a short distance away.

He sat stiffly, watching us eat.

Food was spread out in front of us, and the drinks smelled perfectly fine. Yet the angel didn’t dare approach.

His gaze moved between me, Nyx, and Azera before quickly lowering whenever I looked in his direction.

I glanced at him while chewing.

“Hey, chicken guy. You want some?”

The angel immediately stiffened.

He looked at the food, then at me.

For a moment, I thought he might actually accept the offer.

Instead, he shook his head so quickly that I wondered whether his neck might snap.

“No, thank you!”

I shrugged.

“Suit yourself.”

Then I returned to my meal.

Honestly, what a strange fellow.

I had offered him food, and he had refused it.

What kind of person rejected free food?

I couldn’t understand him at all.

With that important mystery left unsolved, I continued eating alongside Nyx and Azera, enjoying the peaceful free time while the Tower’s next challenge remained somewhere beyond our immediate concerns.