Chapter 254 Portia Portinari
The room became silent as everyone glanced at the renewed woman who exuded a great amount of power, with looks of disbelief. Even though they knew that the item Dante brought should revive Portia, it was one thing to know it and another to actually see it succeed.
"Portia… my love… is that you?" Augeus choked out slowly, rising to his feet as he glanced at Portia with bloodshot eyes full of tears.
Portia seemed a bit disoriented and dazed, but when she glanced at Augeus, her eyes cleared up by more than half.
"Au… geus…?" She muttered slowly, as if knowing that this name meant much to her but was struggling to remember.
Portia's eyes moved to Aunty Zest, who was trying to wipe her tears, and her eyes became even clearer.
"Zestinia…"
Finally, Portia's eyes turned on Beatrice, who was also crying but also looked scared and bashful. When Portia looked at her, her eyes flickered with confusion as she did not initially recognize this person, but then she seemed to see something that triggered her memories.
Her eyes cleared fully, and her entire demeanor changed as she rushed over with red eyes.
"Is that… Bea? My darling baby?!"
Beatrice could no longer hold back as she wailed and rose to her feet, rushing into her mother's embrace.
"Mama!!… sob sob… mama!!" she cried out in a pitiful voice.
She seemed to return to that toddler who had to watch her mother fight off powerful foes while protecting her, continually trying to comfort the infantile her who was crying and scared while Portia made sure to use her own body to block the dangerous blows for her fragile daughter.
Portia's heart ached when she heard her daughter's pained wailing, and her soul seemed to finally awaken after being dormant for so many years. The Nirvana Fire of a Phoenix was truly miraculous because it was a perfect resurrection.
It was Portia in the full and truest sense, not just her resurrected body with her memories. Even her authentic soul that had dispersed to who knows where had returned and had been fully restored.
This was why the Black Spire gave such a high price for each vial; this kind of miraculous item pretty much broke all conventional rules. What was even more amazing to think was the fact that it was due to the power of the Cosmic Tree that this could happen.
Portia was very emotional as she looked around. She saw Augeus, who was smiling and smiled back at him even as she rubbed Portia's back. The young lady was clinging to her mother like a baby, not willing to let go as if doing so would make her disappear.
Portia felt slightly amused by this and slipped into her familiar habit of gently comforting her little crybaby daughter. She then glanced at Aunty Zest with a smile and whispered something, which made Aunty Zest laugh under her breath and nod.
Dante understood that the family needed time for a reunion, so he had left the moment that Portia had returned. He only came back about 390 minutes later, at which Portia was seated beside Augeus and Beatrice, who were catching her up with everything.
When Dante suddenly appeared, Portia was the first to sense him this time, and her entire body tensed as she glanced at Dante dangerously. In that split second, Dante felt the same kind of pressure he felt when he fought that void beast, but almost ten times stronger than that.
Before things could escalate, Beatrice hurriedly held Portia's hand.
"Mama, this is him." She hurriedly identified Dante before her mother could do anything rash.
Portia, who was tense and ready to attack at the slightest notice, seemed to deflate as her expression became one of pleasant surprise. She then sized Dante up subtly and nodded her head with satisfaction, her eyes narrowing.
For all intents and purposes, Dante was far weaker than herself, and even weaker than her daughter at her current level, but she still felt a hint of fatal threat from him. It was as if, despite her almost monstrous stats that put her beyond Superman, she could still be somehow killed by him.
Portia did not find this ridiculous but rather interesting and rare. After all, she had undergone nirvana, and her body had multiplied in power by an undisclosed amount of times, but she still felt this way from him.
What a remarkable young man!
Portia stood up and walked to Dante with brisk steps. Dante noticed this with Beatrice, but this family had really tall women. Beatrice herself stood shoulder to shoulder with him at 6 feet, and Portia was slightly taller, being at the same height as Augeus.
Not to mention that Dante did not know how to feel looking at his mother-in-law, which was basically an aged-up Beatrice. He had to tear his eyes off her and glance at his young and lively Beatrice, who sheepishly waved from the side to remember that this wasn't his wife from the future come to the past.
Augeus touched his forehead with sympathy as he direly understood Dante's dilemma. Minus a few minor differences, Beatrice was practically 99% his wife. It couldn't be helped, the gap in stats between him and his wife was too damn high, and it was only through a miracle, as well as extreme hard work, that he could even get her pregnant.
Portia glanced back and seemed to understand the problem. She had been shocked and saddened deep down that she missed getting to see her beloved baby grow up, but she was also satisfied with how beautiful and perfect Beatrice had become in all aspects, which gave her a complicated feeling due to the contrast.
"Hello, Dante. I hear that I have you to thank for being able to reunite with my family." Portia greeted with a smile as she stretched out her hand.
Dante took it and shook it, marveling at the sheer dormant power he could sense in his mother-in-law's palm. It felt like if she clenched her fist too hard, she might just crush space itself and open a passage to sub-space.
Dante couldn't help but feel like it should be extremely tiring and hellish for Portia to restrain her explosive power at all times. Everyone with high stats had to undergo advanced training routines to restrain their power and mingle with everyone else, but at a certain level, the techniques could not possibly work.
"It was nothing. More than anything, I just wanted to see Beatrice happy." Dante responded humbly.
Portia smiled wider. "Come and sit down. You are family as well, and Beatrice even tells me that I have a grandchild coming soon."
Portia led Dante to sit beside her and nodded to him. "I want to know you better, so please tell me about yourself and your plans."
Dante pondered and then told her what she told Beatrice. He then decided to give everyone an update of what he went through in the First Gate as well as his speculations.
When they heard this, their faces changed greatly.
"INCORRIGIBLE!" Augeus roared as he smashed his wine glass on the ground with unbridled rage.
Jesus Christ, his perfect son-in-law who had done so much for their family and had so much potential to rise in the world was almost killed while he had no idea.
Beatrice was even worse. She was so angry that she felt faint, her breathing labored and uneven.
What a good upper echelon, they had almost killed off her soulmate and rendered her child fatherless!
However, Portia was far calmer. She seemed to silently ponder something and then spoke to Augeus. "Augeus, I have already caught up with the clan's matters through my AI chip but I have only just realized how much things have changed since I died."
Augeus was pulled out of his anger by confusion and turned to his wife. "What do you mean?"
"The First Gate and its details are usually taught to students in the second year of the Unique Batch. I would know, since I was also such a student. However, when exemplary students like myself or even the current headmistress appeared, we were sidelined from the rest and told about everything ahead of time so as to be better prepared to shoulder the responsibility."
Portia snorted coldly. "The only reason why I was able to reach the B Rank by graduation, and that Lara could reach the A rank as rumored, was because we were given free access to the Black Land and Zero Energy compared to our mates who still had schedules."
Portia glanced at Augeus, who seemed to understand something as his face changed and then switched her view to Dante, who was only mildly surprised.
"Young Dante should have gone through the same process of treatment, especially given the fact that we are backing him. For him to go through this and be treated as such, the intention is very clear!"
Portia's lips curled up slightly with derision. "The top factions of the world do not consider us as one of them anymore! They wish to slowly shift you out of the circle of power and information before slowly devouring the clan's assets."
Augeus became pale while Beatrice and Dante shared a look. During their pillow talk a month back, they had discussed something similar and hypothesized that this should be the case. However, as newer generation youth, they felt it should not be much of a big deal since they would outgrow many things in the universe soon.
Technically, they still felt the same way even now. However, Augeus, as someone who had ruled a top clan in the universe for many years, had farther vision and eyesight when it came to these things.
He felt chilled when he thought about the current situation and the encirclement they were facing, quickly thinking up countermeasures to resolve them. However, he was snapped out of his thoughts when Portia gently patted his shoulder.
"You are so handsome when you're thoughtful like that." She teased, making Augeus smile a bit bashfully, something that made Dante want to vomit due to Augeus' noble and stern features.
"I can imagine the pressure you've been under since I perished, dear, having to manage a top clan in the universe without deterring power to scare the rest. You and Bea have done an amazing job so far in keeping the position and retaking what was ours." Portia comforted her husband and daughter with a gentle look.
She even turned and patted Dante on the head with a chuckle, making the young man smile sheepishly. "In fact, within a year at most, with young Dante as a part of our family, it would be entirely possible to resolve this problem and overturn the entire universe."
Suddenly, Portia's kind and motherly aura switched to something fierce and oppressive, making Dante shake as he felt like he was back in the First Gate and being stared down by that void beast.
"However, there is no need to wait for so long. The fact is that I am back and there will no longer be a need for our clan to suffer any grievances or be bullied ever again!"
She said forcefully, making the other three in the room look up to her with awe.
She cricked her neck and grinned. "I was wondering how best to announce my return to the universe, but Dante's sufferings have given me the best platform to rip a piece of flesh from everyone who has bullied you all since I was away."
"Come, my dear family, let's go to the dreadnought that Bea commands. I would like us to head to Earth and pay a visit to the Prime Human Council headquarters."
Portia instructed with a cold grin.
Dante smiled and used Quantum Transportation to take the four of them straight into the cockpit within seconds, startling only Augeus who did not know that such a method would be used.
"Set a course Bea! Let's go and smash the faces of those old fellows in!" Portia declared magnificently while folding her arms.
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