Chapter 51 Octopus
Feeling somewhat curious, the God-favored One quietly watched the student who looked even older than the other one, standing in front of the professor with his head hung, listening dejectedly to the lecture.
When he first saw that memorable, though slightly younger, face, he had tried to picture the figure beneath the cold, gorgeous scarlet royal robe: an arrogant and tyrannical madman, or perhaps a sharp and cold egoist—but all those pale illusions about his "old enemy" were quickly shattered by the soul from a foreign land, to the point where he couldn't help but focus more and more on that person, to the point where even he was surprised.
...He even felt a rare sense of guilt for dragging someone into the storm of hostility against the gods, even though this was also the other person's original fate - but Azuka could have refused fate, at least refused the fate of one person.
"…What are you looking at?"
The God-favored One regained consciousness and found himself subconsciously staring at the retreating figure of the Professor. Although he wiped away tears before leaving, he seemed strangely relieved. It was unclear what the Professor's venomous questions and few words of advice had conjured up in his mind, but a fierce fighting spirit seemed to be burning within him.
"Mr. Rabbi's brain is probably only slightly better than a goldfish. I don't think he has any other thoughts." The other party frowned slightly at him, not knowing what he had misunderstood. "Don't attack him. At least don't cause physical harm—even the soul damage you guys are doing is not allowed, including the kind you used against the Saman family."
The savior felt a little aggrieved, and at the same time he didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "...I won't hurt innocent people. Who am I in your heart?"
"Your words..." His old enemy frowned critically at him for a moment: "Octopus."
A gorgeous, venomous, camouflaged, slimy, yet dangerous mollusk—with a belly full of black water.
Azuka: “…”
Azuka deadpanned, "Should I take that as a compliment?"
"The octopus has three hearts and nine brains, making it arguably the most intelligent invertebrate. It's incredibly flexible, yet can lift objects ten times its own weight. It's a master of mimicry and dormancy, and once caught in its tentacles, it's difficult to escape. It's also known as the Great Old One, our Heavenly Father and Savior." This guy seemed surprisingly serious. "You can take that as a compliment. Most people, to me, are more like paramecium, acting on instinct. At least you're a multicellular organism."
The other man stared at him for a moment, then chuckled. He then reached out and grabbed the back of the man's neck, pulling him closer to his chest.
"You're bad." He lowered his head and whispered in the other's ear with a tone that was so gentle that it was creepy. The scattered golden hair gently slid across the other's exposed neck, stirring a slight shudder that the enemy himself didn't even notice, like the fear instinct hidden deep in human genes, the fear of being targeted by a predator.
"Let go."
Nova frowned in dissatisfaction and tried to push the sticky thing away, but the next second he suddenly opened his eyes wide.
"——What's wrong with you?!"
He punched the other man in the ribs without mercy - the other man didn't dodge, and after taking the blow, he let go and let out a slight groan, who didn't know if it was fake.
The creature bit him on the side of the neck.
There was no bleeding, no broken skin, not even a purple tooth mark or ambiguous red mark left behind - but the feeling of hard and sharp teeth sliding across his vitals and the strange, moist and warm swallowing sensation from deep within his mouth still made him almost jump in response.
"Don't tell me you're still in the oral stage?" The black-haired young man subconsciously covered his neck and glared at him angrily with his highly transparent smoky gray eyes. His glasses were crooked from the struggle. Even if he didn't understand what the oral stage was, he knew it wasn't a good word.
...Oh no, I'm so angry.
"...It hurts. Are you also a warrior?"
The first move was to attack the liver, the most painful area. The savior lowered his eyes, clutching his abdomen as he coughed softly a few times, his eyelashes trembling slightly, looking particularly aggrieved and innocent.
The professor stared at him gloomily for a moment, then suddenly asked in a cold voice, "It's just that I'm well versed in the anatomy of the human body—I used measured force, so this level of force wouldn't injure your internal organs. Is this a wound from the soul probe?"
Azuka was stunned for a moment, but saw something else in the other person's eyes.
"Don't bite me next time. Control yourself." The black-haired young man frowned patiently and warned him coldly: "I shouldn't have joked with you this time, but if you do it again, I will beat you up."
Seems to have been misunderstood.
The God-Favored One blinked and unceremoniously embraced his nemesis. Noticing that the person in his arms, though stiff, had no intention of pushing him away, he lowered his head and rubbed his cheek against the other's shoulder.
"No, you can think of it as... a way of expressing closeness."
…You are still too soft-hearted, my professor.
Nova let the guy hold him for a while with an expressionless face, until his whole body was filled with the warmth from the other person, and he finally couldn't bear it anymore and tried to break free.
"Do you really think you're a cephalopod? Say it again, let go!"
Suddenly, hurried footsteps were heard outside the door. Someone knocked a few times and tried to push the door open, but found that the office door was obviously not locked and remained motionless - but the door was soon opened, and the intruder did not care, just thinking that the hinges were rusty.
"Professor Brody! Dean Rabelais wants you to go to the dean's office. I have something urgent to discuss with you!"
A senior student from the seminary ran breathlessly. The atmosphere in the office was strange for some reason. The professor himself had a frightening, stern expression, while his teaching assistant was smiling. But the senior student didn't dwell on it. After relaying the message, he stole a glance at the blond teaching assistant and nervously added, "Two knights from the Kite Heart Guards have arrived. The atmosphere seems tense."
The Kite Heart Guards, an armed force directly under the king, would only take action to eliminate enemies that threatened the king. It was no wonder that this senior student was so reckless.
"Got it. I'll be there right away." Nova casually asked the student who came to report the news to leave the door, frowned, and glanced at the person next to him.
"It's okay, just like I told you." The other person looked at him gently and calmly, but his blue eyes were soft and deep.
"——Don't worry, I'll always be watching you."
…
"Your Excellency Knight Commander Yialos, Your Excellency Batman, this is my student and professor at the seminary, Nova Brody."
When Nova arrived at the Dean's office, two tall, unfamiliar men stood beside Dean Rabelais. They wore gleaming silver armor, lavishly crafted from copious quantities of mithril. This expensive and rare material was flexible and strong, possessing exceptional stability. Intricately carved with magical circles, it formed a blooming fleur-de-lis on the breastplate.
Coincidentally or not, one of the visitors was Tran Bateman's older brother, Jolini Bateman. He had the same facial features as the younger Bateman, clearly a brother, though he seemed even more aloof and stern.
"No need for pleasantries. Let's get down to business." Bateman nodded coldly to Nova. "We're here by order of the Queen to investigate the Shadow Chaser. Mr. Brody, please tell us the truth about your whereabouts in Graybridge Harbor. We suspect you're connected to the Shadow Chaser."
"Don't be nervous," the gentler-looking Knight Commander Yialos reassured him, "As long as you cooperate with our investigation, the Kite Heart Guards will not wrongly accuse any innocent person, but they will also not let any filthy and blasphemous traitor go free."
Before Nova could say anything, the old dean flew into a rage. "My student escaped the shipwreck and drifted to Gray Bridge Harbor. He was already blessed by the god of luck. What could an ordinary person like him do in a few days? Shadow Chaser? What a joke! If you guys want to find someone to take the blame, ask this old man of mine!"
"Mr. Rabelais, please calm down..." Knight Commander Ialos advised helplessly.
Dels Rabelais held a high reputation in theological circles. Many powerful figures in the Vatican were his students, and he enjoyed close relationships with several saints. Even the Pope of the Radiant Church had to show some respect for him. Although for unknown reasons he chose to retreat to White Tower University in his later years, content with poverty and serving as the dean of a small seminary, that did not mean they could ignore the power and connections behind him.
"Something happened to the Saman family."
The rest of the crowd was stunned, their gaze fixed on the impassive, black-haired young man. Even under the threat of the empire's highest authority, he remained unfazed, which in turn gave Knight Commander Ialos a higher opinion of him.
"Nit Saman died in prison, and so did Butterfield Saman—suicide? Murder?" The man stared at the two knights' facial expressions, speaking rapidly, as if he could decipher countless messages from their frozen faces. "It appears to be murder, perhaps a slit throat... There are other victims, no more than ten, but they were all powerful figures in the Saman family."
He spoke so decisively, as if he had seen it all with his own eyes.
Batman's expression turned cold, and he was about to take action to control the man, but was stopped by Knight Commander Ialos.
"...Knight Commander?" He glanced at his superior, puzzled. This man was almost certainly connected to Shadow Chaser; otherwise, how could he have such a clear understanding of the situation? He didn't understand why he was trying to stop him.
Exactly.
Overnight, all the senior members of the Saman family were slaughtered without leaving a single last word. Even Nit Saman, who was imprisoned, had his throat cut by the infiltrated killer.
Not only that, the murderer took advantage of the night to throw countless "confessions" filled with evidence of the Saman family's crimes on the streets. On the back was arrogantly printed the shadow sickle-shaped logo representing the "Shadow Chaser", which caused a very bad impact. If the queen, who had always been paying attention to this place, had not reacted quickly and suppressed the news, the sensational report would have spread throughout the Silver Iris Empire in a few days.
For some reason, unlike their previous minor pranks, this was the bloodiest, most provocative, and most reckless tragedy committed by the rebel group "Shadow Chasers" since its emergence. The Queen was furious and assigned the Kite Heart Guards to investigate the case thoroughly.
Nova calmly observed the subtle expressions on the face of the knight who came with ill intentions.
The God's Favored One had cast a soul spell on Nit Samman and Butterfield Samman, and the other party immediately sensed their deaths. But for some reason, the other party had a thoughtful expression and only told him that he still needed to confirm something.
"...I'm sorry." The other party's expression seemed a little strange that day: "You had hoped that Nite Samman would be allowed to go to court alive."
"What's it to you?" He glanced at his companion in confusion. "It wasn't you who killed him—at least not this time."
The other party didn't answer. But now it seems that this guy is related to Shadow Chaser, right?
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