Blue clashed with amber when the two goddesses kept staring at each other. One had an impassive face while the other was all smiles and giggles.
“What is wrong? I thought you wanted to talk with me? All you’ve been doing for the past few minutes is stare at me.”
Unexpectedly, Ava broke the unspoken vow of silence between the pair. Her amused eyes stared right into Astoria’s when she asked this question.
“I-Huh? Did I stare at you for that long? My apologies. I was a little lost in my thoughts. I did not know how I wanted to start this conversation.”
Astoria tried not to show embarrassment, but it was tough to do so.
Her timid nature made it too easy for things to show on her face even when she tried to hide her emotions.
“No. I don’t dislike your attention at all. I think you’re cute as well. Cute enough to gulp you down in a single bite.”
Astoria felt a shiver of fear run down her spine at the creature’s words.
Astoria was not sure why, but her instincts screamed at her to run away and hide. They told her that the creature in front of her was not safe.
“I’m just kidding. You’re my contractor’s precious partner. There is no way I will eat you up if you do not want me to. And I kind of like you as well. You’re so cute.”
And just like that, the atmosphere was back from the weird space it had become. Astoria also found it easier to breathe now.
It was like the tension from earlier no longer existed.
“M-Miss Ava was it? Who, no, What exactly are you? You’re not a goddess or a beast. But you are not human as well. You also have the aura of the abyss all over you. You feel almost like Aurora but a little different.”
“What do you think I am?”
Astoria’s question rewarded her with a raised eyebrow and another question.
It was more than likely that this was a test to find out how much Astoria knew about this situation.
“That’s the problem. The only answer that comes to my mind is something that is not possible.”
“Is that so? Still, why don’t you take a wild guess anyway? The worst that can happen is that you will guess it wrong. I promise not to react to your answer ”
Astoria knew that she should not answer the other. She should keep her answer close until she was certain about all the facts.
But her curiosity had always been something she had been unable to control. And this was another point where Astoria was not able to control her mouth.
“What do I think? I think you are an overlooker but why would you come out of the abyss? See, it doesn’t make any sense, right?”
Her words caused Ava to break down into laughter. Astoria felt shame creep up her face at the obvious jester move she had made.
Why did she think it was a good idea to speak her ridiculous thoughts out in the open.
“I-I see. It is a ridiculous thought for sure. I was not aware that you were such a dangerous person to keep around. Maybe I should kill you to keep my secret after all.”
One second Astoria was lamenting her embarrassment, the next she felt something being pressed against her throat.
The glowing eyes looking back at Astoria were filled with magic and a promise of death.
“I wonder how you found out who I am. But it doesn’t matter any longer. You are about to die now. Do you have any last wish you want me to fulfill?”
Astoria did not doubt in her heart that she would die at this moment. There was a reason no normal person had seen an outlooker.
They were too dangerous and unstable to be kept around the normal population.
“I just have a question I want you to answer. Why Aurora? Why did you make a contract with her? What are you trying to gain? And what did you offer her?”
“That is more than one question. But I am in a decent mood so I’ll answer some of them. Hmm, let’s see.”
“I did not choose Astoria. Rather the abyss chose her and I decided to take advantage of that fact to approach her first. Don’t worry, my end goal will not hurt Astoria at all.”
“As for what I offered her? I just offered her what she wanted at that time. But I do wonder if she would regret it once she reaches her goal.”
“Now, why don’t you die for me?”
Astoria closed her eyes as she waited for the final blow to come.
She was far from satisfied with the answers she got but there was nothing else Astria could do against an outlooker.
Even if this was not their domain, Astoria was more than aware of the difference in power level she and Ava had.
Something cut across Ava’s throat but not deep enough to kill her. Astoria reached out her hand and felt the bleeding cut.
It would likely scar if Astoria did not treat it immediately but nothing life-threatening.
“I decided to spare you today since I find you amusing. You’re also really cute so it will be a shame to kill you now. So, I’ll leave you with a mark for now. Don’t heal it up or you won’t like the consequences.”
Ava turned around as soon as she was done talking.
Astoria was not able to see her face but she wanted to. She wanted to ask Ava why she spared Astoria’s life.
But before she could question the overlooker any further, her room door was opened with a snap.
“What’s going on here? I felt Ava’s power spike and…..”
“…..”
“…..”
Three pairs of eyes glared at each other in disbelief before a scream echoed inside the hallway.
“What happened to me? Why am I a child again?”
===============
The tower master was in a foul mood today. Everyone knew something had happened but no one dared to confront him.
On the other hand, Lady Mei’s mood could not be called anything but sparkling. She didn’t even snap at anyone the whole time.
This contrast was rare to see and caused a string of gossip vine to start spreading rumors.
That was why everyone secretly looked forward to an encounter between those two. It was a given that something had happened between them to cause this effect.
“Lady Mei, can we talk for a second. I have a few things I need to run through and I want your advice.”
Everyone held their breath at the request.
“Yeah, sure. I also need to repay you for what happened earlier. I am thankful you entrusted that job to me.”
There was a story behind that statement everyone wanted to know. But no one dared to say anything to the pair.
Eager eyes followed the pair even when they disappeared behind the doors.
“Lady Mei, why did you do it? The Goddess of Victory had the Mobi Dick handled. Don’t you think you complicated the situation by stealing her prey? Think of what this will mean for us.”
Charles was pissed off but he had to control his temper. He could not afford to anger Lady Mei and lose her support.
He had initially approached Lady Mei with this proposal to gain her approval and then slowly pull her to his side.
But she had complicated things for him unnecessarily.
“What’s wrong with me killing my target? I was tasked to kill Mobi Dick so I did. Whether the Goddess of Victory was involved in this or not is none of my business.”
“But Lady Mei, you did not think about us. We can’t afford to make a goddess our enemy right now. It would just be handing more power to our competition.”
The real reason Charles was so pissed off about this action of Lady Mei was because of Aurora and her academy.
The GoV was already favoring those people. Charles did not want to see the goddess join them openly.
But before Charles could open his mouth and speak his thoughts, a huge pressure stopped him in his tracks.
“Let me be clear with you tower master. You are the one who needs me, not the other way around. And you were the one who gave me the freedom to go out and kill that beast.”
“Do not test my patience or I will leave this tower. The only reason I am here, for now, is because it is interesting. And I will not lose even if that goddess decided to make us her enemy.”
Charles felt the familiar fear creep inside his mind. But he was getting better and better at shaking that fear off.
“I understand. But please, think about your position next time too. People are depending on you.”
“Alright. If you keep being this interesting then I will help you out.’
And just like that, the atmosphere returned to normal.
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