Chapter 80 Lessons
He was lying, this was Percy's first reaction - but the man was so calm, as calm as a vast and deep ocean, that any lie seemed small and shallow in front of him.
Who was he, exactly? There was no way such a young, high-ranking Lord's Prayer, or even a Saint, could exist. This couldn't be explained by exceptional talent, so it was either a trick or some old monster in disguise. But either way, he was no match for the current him.
Seeing that he didn't speak, a terrifying chuckle came from above his head. Soon, Percy felt the pain in his skull intensify, and the careless killing intent seemed to crush his head.
The fear reached its peak at this moment. That guy would really kill someone.
The desire to survive outweighed everything else, and the illusion of being on the verge of death made Percy subconsciously struggle to reach out to the other person.
"Brother, brother——"
"Actually, even if you didn't come to me, I would have come to you too. It's just a little early, but that's okay." The tips of some old shoes stopped in front of him, and the deadly pressure stopped. "Let's sign a soul contract, about the Ironthorn Territory."
There was no fluctuation in his brother's voice, just like his previous arrogant offense had nothing to do with the other party, and his humble plea at this moment still had nothing to do with the other party - he must be very ugly and ridiculous now, little Brody thought despairingly, and the unreasonable hatred suddenly emerged and twisted and grew deep in his body again.
That person was obviously just an ordinary person, obviously just a weak, helpless, and insignificant ordinary person. Why was he so high and mighty? Why did he so easily throw away what he had spent his whole life fighting for? Why... did he abandon him without any hesitation?
Percy struggled to look up, but due to the weight on his head, he could only barely see the other person's trouser legs. Those dark things surging, and a kind of confidence that came from nowhere urged him to blurt out without restraint: "What if I don't agree?"
"—If I don't agree to your request, brother, will you kill me?"
"You haven't even understood the contents of the soul contract, yet you're rejecting my proposal?" Nova frowned, staring sternly at his cousin who had suddenly acted foolishly. "Percy Brody, I'm not kidding. What happens next could affect the Ironthorn Territory and even you. I hope this is just a momentary loss of control. Otherwise, I'll have to reconsider whether entrusting the Ironthorn Territory to you is a wise choice."
The young man laughed softly, until his laughter grew louder and louder, becoming more and more hysterical. He even laughed until tears came out, mixed with dust, and rubbed his face into a mess.
"I don't want to." He maliciously imagined the change in expression on his brother's face. A strange sense of relief at being free from his control made him blurt out the words without thinking, even though they were still tinged with tears: "My answer is, I don't want to. I never want to be controlled by you again."
"...I don't understand. Is it because of personal feelings?" The older man frowned deeply, carefully observing the expression on Brody's half-exposed face. "You hate me? Why? You clearly got what you wanted. I think this fully demonstrates my sincerity in cooperating."
He was answered with a trembling, almost tearful sneer: "Why, brother, do you still want me to be grateful for your charity?"
Nova: “…”
He stood there, completely lost in expressionless confusion for a moment.
This wasn't what he'd expected, the black-haired young man thought, somewhat bewilderedly. Coercion and bribery seemed to have failed; he wasn't good at that anyway. Killing the other person? It was possible, but too much trouble. Replacing him would also take time, and that was what he lacked most right now—and it didn't seem to conform to basic human morality.
Then Nova heard his companion sigh softly.
Azuka squatted down and lifted the man up roughly, exposing his facial features, which were red due to lack of oxygen, completely to the air.
"Percy Brody, don't act like a tantrum," the Savior said softly. "The professor will be tolerant of you, but I won't. I advise you not to make me lose my patience completely."
The boy gave him a hateful look in his eyes. "Did you manipulate me into removing my brother from the family during the coming-of-age ceremony?"
He clearly didn't want to do this, but at that moment his body, lips and tongue were completely out of control.
"Why do you think it's me?" The God-Favoured One smiled gently, "Isn't this what you truly think?"
He stared coldly at the boy's drastically constricted pupils, ruthlessly digging out every last ounce of his filth. "Your brother, whom you deeply envied, gave up competing with you. You gained something, yet you resent him for giving up so lightly. It makes it seem like the thing you fought so hard for is a worthless joke to him."
"Not to mention, he's just an ordinary person, someone you consider needing nothing more than to fawn over you—so when he proposed to be expelled from the family, you secretly rejoiced at the prospect of him completely severing the possibility of a conflict with you. At the same time, you imagined him suffering beyond the family's protection, and you saving him as a benevolent victor." He sneered softly, his brows like a cold and arrogant statue. The other person's breathing quickened. "Satisfying your selfish desires isn't enough; I also need to satisfy your twisted emotional needs, lest your fragile self-esteem, which doesn't match your strength, be damaged."
"No, I don't think so..." Percy defended weakly, looking towards his brother subconsciously for pleading - but he could not stop the ruthless judgment from coming down like an avalanche.
"It's a pity he didn't do what you wished. As a cowardly and selfish child, you had no choice but to blame everything on others - your father and family forced you, someone manipulated you, your brother took advantage of you, and you were just an innocent, pitiful, powerless victim."
"But he never owed you anything, Percy Brody. Instead, you tried to steal his life." Observing the boy's gradually collapsing expression, the Savior dealt the final blow expressionlessly: "Your twisted hatred is truly disgusting, but unfortunately it has no effect."
He loosened his grip and let the stiff little Brody fall heavily to the ground.
"--Like now, I can easily kill you, and you can't do anything."
Nova blinked slowly.
Brody's face was pale and dazed, as if he was having trouble continuing the conversation. Was this the legendary manga hero's relentless witticism? He thought for a moment, then tried to soothe her, "It's okay. I won't kill you. You can hate me, it's a normal human self-protection mechanism. I just hope you won't let hatred cloud your mind."
Humans are instinctively afraid of taking responsibility, and shifting the blame to others is also a normal conditioned reflex to avoid excessive emotions and self-harm. Besides, Percy Brody can't do anything under the current circumstances, and this hatred is meaningless to him.
For some reason, the other party suddenly shed tears. Nova, who was not good at dealing with such situations, suddenly twitched his eyebrows.
"—Why don't you blame me? Even after knowing all that... you're still not angry with me..."
"Why can't I be angry?" The black-haired young man frowned at him. "You're wasting my time and causing me trouble. I have no patience for idiots. The only reason you can continue to talk to me is because you are my cousin by blood."
Despite being a merciless sarcasm, the other man's eyes gradually lit up, and he stammered incoherently, "So even if you're angry, you don't want to kill me...you still care about me, right?"
The second-year head of the St. Bartolomeo Warlock Academy, a young genius warlock, was pitifully tugging at the trouser leg of an ordinary person, with such a strange expression on his face that Nova subconsciously took a step back.
...do something to keep this conversation going, he resisted the urge to turn around and leave. Then Azuka coldly watched his nemesis squat stiffly, wordlessly patting the kid's hair—and then, as if he had received some kind of pardon, the guy even more aggressively tried to get into his arms.
"I'm running out of patience." The Savior grabbed Brody by the back of his collar and roughly pulled him out. He ignored the murderous look in his eyes and asked with a smile, "Sign a soul contract, or die?"
…
After a lot of chaos, the two finally successfully signed a soul contract.
"Brother, I don't understand." Little Brody, his eyes red from crying, asked in a whisper with an inexplicable intimacy: "Since you are worried about the people of Ironthorn Territory, why did you give up your title?"
He was even asked to sign a strict contract, akin to a commercial agreement, which virtually eliminated any possibility of harming the interests of the people within three years. As long as the plan was followed, Ironthorn Territory's output would at least double, the other party arrogantly stated—assuming the new lord didn't make a fool of himself.
The older man's tone was cold: "Because I will be gone for a while, and they will become my weakness."
"Leave? Where are you going? Is that guy going too? Who is he?" An inexplicable bad premonition made Percy ask anxiously, but the other party just glanced at the annoying golden-haired guy with drooping eyelids.
"This is not something you should know now."
Little Brody's lips trembled: "Then why choose me? Obviously my father has other heirs..."
The only answer he got was an indifferent glance, which made Percy's heart pound. "You are the best choice, so I hope you can show your due value."
Whether in terms of status, strength or character, the other party is the most suitable candidate after comprehensive consideration - although not perfect, there is still a soul contract as a constraint.
"It's time to leave. There are still eyes watching this place." The god-favored one who was watching this scene of brotherly love and respect with his arms crossed suddenly reminded them in a low voice.
Percy ignored him and stared at his cousin unwillingly: "Brother..."
His brother stood up, agreed, and ordered him to leave, stuffing something into his pocket. "You really should leave. Azuka will take care of those spies. I'll return the money I lent you."
Percy pried onto the door frame desperately, "You have to at least tell me who your enemy is."
Nova looked at him silently, and at this moment he truly felt some of the savior's complex emotions when facing his former companions.
Want to take a gamble?
Seeing that he didn't say anything, the other party added in a low voice: "I will take good care of my aunt and Mrs. Maggie... This is not a deal."
He was still answered with silence. Just as Percy was being dragged to the door by someone, feeling frustrated and thinking he would never get an answer, he heard his brother's calm voice from behind.
"……Holy See."
Someone had returned to his usual gentle and peaceful self—but Percy would never be fooled by that hypocritical facade again. The other person stared at his gloomy face and suddenly smiled. Even Percy, who hated him so much, was stunned by that face until he heard what he was saying.
"By the way, about what happened at the coming-of-age ceremony." The guy curled his lips at him maliciously and said in a low voice, "I just lied to you."
——I manipulated you into removing your brother from the family.
Percy was confused for a moment, then he became furious when he realized what was happening, his face flushed red. But before he could react, someone hit him on the nose with a door panel.
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