254 Suspicion of the gods, going to Clinton City
To be honest, Lina was a bit scared that Adam might leave her. Over this week, she felt more alive than ever. She felt like a young girl and forgot about many problems.
But Adam's words both pleased and upset her.
"I need to go to the city of Clinton for work tomorrow. I'll be back only in a week," he said.
"Huh?"
Lina blinked in confusion, trying to digest what he said. She was prepared for him to say something like:
"Sorry, but these relationships were just for satisfying my feelings. We can't be together."
She even had time to panic and sink into depression, but he was just leaving for a while?
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Adam was puzzled, not quite understanding her reaction.
"Well, I thought you would say something like, these relationships were just temporary?" Lina replied with embarrassment, looking into his beautiful black eyes, shining in the moonlight.
"Hm?"
Adam raised an eyebrow, looking at Lina. He couldn't understand where she got such thoughts.
"Why would you even think that?" he asked, frowning. Adam added, "Besides, I already promised never to let you go."
"No, I believe you. It's just... I tend to panic about these things, you know?" Lina said with a self-destructive smile, then blushed, turning her head away, recalling her thoughts. "Sorry for doubting you."
"Lina," Adam's powerful voice suddenly echoed.
Hearing her name, especially in such a powerful and serious tone, the woman felt something squeeze inside her, and she returned her gaze, establishing eye contact with Adam.
She was amazed by his eyes—they turned golden and shone, illuminating the room. An aura of majesty appeared around him, and Lina felt as if her body was floating, and fatigue was fading away.
"I will never leave you alone. I will never betray your trust," Adam said, pulling out his right hand, which was under Lina's body, and gently pressed her to himself—so that the woman's head rested on his chest.
"Ah..."
The woman felt his warmth, sensed his masculine and pleasant scent, and also listened to his heartbeat. The panic in her head and worries immediately disappeared; now she felt only tranquility and a sense of protection.
14:20
The woman felt his warmth, sensed his masculine and pleasant scent, and also listened to his heartbeat. The panic in her head and worries immediately disappeared; now she felt only tranquility and a sense of protection.
"Yeah... I don't need to worry," she thought with a smile, closing her eyes. "He will never betray me... never leave me..."
Under such encouraging thoughts, Lina began to fall asleep. Her mind felt light, and all silly thoughts vanished.
Soon, Adam could only feel her peaceful breathing and sweet snoring. He smiled and shook his head.
"This silly girl... well, I can understand her. After all, her husband left Lina in such a state, making her take care of Richard alone," Adam thought and kissed Lina on the forehead, making the woman smile in her sleep. However, then his eyes darkened, and his demonic energy almost burst out of his body, but he managed to hold it back in time.
"Lina's husband. His name is Harimas, 48 years old. From a wealthy merchant family, he entered into a relationship with Lina primarily because her family was influential in trade. After five years of marriage, he suddenly awakened his powers and left the family, terminating the marriage contract."
"At the moment, he serves as the commander of the knights in a small village, located twenty days away from the city of Clinton, called Browns."
Adam never intended to let go of such a person. Partly it was for revenge, but the most important thing was to obtain what Harimas had.
His enhancement technique.
"Although calling this technique 'his technique' is incorrect. He stole it from Lina's family," Adam thought, frowning.
Lina's family... although now only she and Richard are left in her family, they used to be an influential family with impressive wealth. This attracted the attention of many people, making their fate difficult.
In their family, there were more than ten awakened practitioners on the second level of the Mortality Realm. Their powers were sufficient to maintain influence for several decades.
However, there was one "but." This "but" was related to Harimas, who stole the enhancement technique and fled, taking refuge under the command of some minor noble with the title of a Knight.
Although this nobleman was not so influential, the mere title of a Knight could nullify any influence of Lina's family.
Over the years, interest in her family faded, and no one joined them, as they lacked the enhancement techniques. Young talents with potential left the family on their own, as they found people willing to take them under their command.
"What a horror. From an influential family, they turned into nothing," Adam thought, looking at the peacefully sleeping Lina. "Too much burden for a lonely woman... no, for a person primarily. Although she is stronger than people in the Lower Realm, she is still human."
Adam could understand a person's state by their appearance. The first time they met, Aunt Lina was gloomy and hardly ever smiled.
Only over time, when Adam came to her and talked to her, did she start to smile more and eventually fell in love with him, although Adam could see that, despite her efforts, Lina couldn't fully trust him.
Only after their intimacy did she realize she could trust him. And Adam had no intention of letting her down.
"Although I am weak now, it doesn't mean I can't manipulate and make plans," he thought, smirking. "After all, I am a devil in the end."
The man shifted his gaze to the window. It was still night, and bright stars filled the sky, warming his heart with joy.
"I wonder how they are without me? I still miss my dears..."
***
The border between realms.
The surrounding space was in a strange state as if a cosmic hurricane had passed through. Cracks covered the darkness that filled the space, and some parts even carried holes with swirling vortexes inside.
A battle of Ascendant: demigod level had taken place here.
"Did the Guardian of the Higher Realm suffer?" suddenly came a distorted voice – it was unclear whether it belonged to a man or a woman.
"I suppose so. This woman is simply terrifying. How can so much power be contained in such a small body?" another voice sounded, this time belonging to a man.
"Stella, isn't the Lower Realm under your control? Why did you allow such an anomaly to survive?" a rough voice suddenly emerged as if belonging to a beast.
"..."
The space suddenly vibrated, and ten people appeared – however, their peculiarity was that each of them had no face and was only a shadow in the form of a human body.
"I didn't know she possessed such power. I checked every practitioner who reached Ascendant: demigod, but I didn't find anyone with high potential," an irritated female voice suddenly sounded.
"It's too late to regret now. This madwoman sacrificed her body to be reborn in the Higher Realm, and her soul was accepted by the Will of the Higher Realm," a female voice, which Adam would certainly recognize, echoed.
"Veridia, what do you mean?" a male voice sounded.
"What I said. For some reason, the Will of the Higher Realm went offline for a fraction of a second and then returned to its usual state. In that short time, this elf rewrote her soul with the God's Feather and now belongs to the Higher Realm," Goddess of Truth and Justice replied.
"If you think about it, the Will of the Higher Realm weakened for some reason not more than a month ago. Do you know the reason?"
"No."
"And I don't."
"Nope."
A heavy silence hung in the air. Each of them was immersed in their thoughts, but after a few minutes, they vanished, and the space around them became stable as if nothing had happened.
***
Five in the morning. Adam suddenly opened his eyes when he felt somewhat strange. His body was overall fine, but he felt a peculiar heaviness in his heart.
"What is this?"
He was puzzled. This feeling was spiritual, not physical. It seemed like he could sense someone who was very far away from him. However, when he tried to focus on this sensation, it suddenly disappeared.
"Weird... I felt something like a call," thought Adam, furrowing his brow.
He didn't think it was hallucinations or his imagination running wild. The only thing he could trust with a hundred percent certainty was his intuition. But even though Adam was eager to unravel this mystery, it wouldn't be accurate to say he had any concrete thoughts about it.
"How frustrating. I can't do anything about it, and all I can do is guess what's happening," he thought, sighing. "This feeling of helplessness is annoying. I need to finish the competition and focus on improvement."
The man turned towards the window and saw that it was still dark. He glanced at Lina and noticed that the blanket had slipped off her. He lifted the blanket by its edge and covered her shoulders.
Soon, he closed his eyes, but a myriad of thoughts in his head prevented him from falling asleep. Therefore, he decided to immerse himself in the technique of controlling magical energy to pass the time.
***
Early in the morning, a lavishly decorated carriage arrived for Adam. After bidding farewell to Lina (which took a lot of time, as he had to make an effort and thoroughly "indulge" her until their next meeting), Adam entered the carriage, where Elrion was already waiting for him.
"Good morning, tempter," Elrion said with a smirk, looking out the window where Lina waved goodbye. Elrion added, "You're a lucky guy, that's for sure. She's a well-known beauty in the city, and they say she's divorced. You can use this chance and start a relationship with her."
"Good morning... Boss, why are you so concerned about my relationships? Let's change the subject, shall we?" Adam said wearily, taking a seat on the opposite side of the couch.
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