Chapter 846 BACKSTABBER
NIKOLAI wasn't as vain as Neoma, but he still needed to maintain his dignity as the emperor.
[I can't let that puny god look down on me.]
Hence, when he heard that Helstor was coming, he had to let go of Calypso. The Holy Sword remained floating in the sky anyway while absorbing the blobs of Darkness.
He left his Soul Beasts, now in their human forms, to protect Calypso.
And then Nikolai cleaned the blood off of him with the use of the Azure Dragon's water ability.
"It's been a while, Your Imperial Majesty."
Nikolai scoffed while looking up at Helstor who had finally arrived.
For some reason, the older Neoma had to greet that puny god earlier.
[Helstor doesn't deserve even the basic courtesy from my daughter.]
"I've always had a feeling that someone as powerful as the gods has been helping your side behind the scenes," Helstor said in an amused voice. "Who would have thought that you have summoned people from the Dead World?"
It was gross.
Nikolai wasn't really listening to the nonsense Helstor was spouting because he was disgusted by his adult and probably real appearance.
The god had four eyes.
Well, three.
The line under his eye looked like it used to have an eye socket in it.
[Ah, it was probably the spot where the eye that Neoma stole from Helstor before was placed.]
"I can't believe I don't remember the time before everything was reset for Princess Neoma," Helstor continued with his nonsense. "Gods shouldn't lose their memories even if time was rewounded in the human world. But the fact that most of us had forgotten the past could only mean someone in a higher position meddled. I wonder if Lord Levi has something to do with this?"
[Does he not get tired of talking?]
"If I didn't have the God of Death's eye, I wouldn't have realized that the Princess Neoma in front of me was someone from the Dead World," Helstor said, laughing. "Your Imperial Majesty, I thought you were too dignified to use such petty tricks. Summoning people from the Dead World to fight for you is foul."
"What foul is your undignified appearance. How dare you steal someone else's eye and show it off as if it was yours?" Nikolai said, raising his hand. "And who do you think you are to look down at me?"
The Moonglow that shot out of his hand took the shape of a crescent moon that fell on top of Helstor's head.
Well, it actually looked like the angled blade of a guillotine aiming for the god's neck.
Unfortunately, Helstor's head remained intact.
However, the pressure coming from his Moonglow was powerful enough to push down the god until he was standing a little below him.
So, now, it was Nikolai who was looking down at Helstor while the good looked up at him.
[Good.]
"That's your place," Nikolai said, satisfied to see Helstor breaking his neck just to look up at him. "You should be looking up at me and not the other way around."
"Hah!" Helstor scoffed. "The de Moonasterios have been called the 'gods among men' since time immemorial, so you probably deluded yourself into thinking that you're on the same level as a real god like me."
"What are you talking about? I know we're not on the same level," Nikolai said, scoffing. "I'm above you, you peasant."
Helstor sneered, then his red eyes glowed dangerously.
Then, in just the blink of an eye, the god was already in Nikolai's face.
[Tsk.]
Nikolai used his arms to block Helstor's punch.
[Argh.]
If he didn't have the body of a de Moonasterio and his Moonglow that served as his protective barrier behind him (preventing him from getting pushed back), then he would have broken his arms already.
The fact that the collision of his arms and Helstor's fist caused a quake in the sky was a testament to how powerful the god's punch was.
[This is one of the few times I'm grateful to be a de Moonasterio.]
"I didn't expect a god to use his fists in a fight," Nikolai said, sneering. "How undignified of you, Helstor."
"I'm aware that the de Moonasterios take pride in their physical strength," Helstor said in a serious tone. "I just want to beat you in your own game. Hence, in this way, you wouldn't blame your pathetic lack of Moonglow once you lost to me."
Nikolai just scoffed, then he stepped back only to give Helstor a good punch in the face.
Once again, the sky shook hard when the god caught his fist in his hand.
CRACK.
That was the sound of Nikolai's fingers breaking when Helstor squeezed his fist a little too tightly.
[This damned god…]
"Ah, Nikolai de Moonasterio," Helstor said in a disappointed voice. "You've grown weak. It breaks my heart to see the greatest emperor in history in this pathetic state. Even Callisto de Luca would have been enough to deal with you right now."
Nikolai just laughed at Helstor's provocation. "Do you think you can hurt me? My daughter called me a 'scumbag' and a 'subhuman' in the past. No "hurtful" words from you can possibly beat that."
"What a shame. I was hoping your Lunacy would return if you lost your mind from getting your pride wounded."
"My pride? Wounded? What are you talking about when you just boost my ego, Helstor?"
"I boost your ego?"
Nikolai sneered until his now glowing red eyes had turned into little crescent moons. "Helstor, you only showed up now to confront me because you know I'm already running out of Moonglow. You wouldn't dare stand in my way if I was in my best condition."
The arrogance in Helstor's face quickly disappeared and was replaced by silent anger.
[Ah, I struck a nerve.]
"Helstor, I know you only decided to fight me right now because of my weakened state," Nikolai said, smirking arrogantly. "Otherwise, your coward ass wouldn't be here."
Helstor looked shocked not only because of his arrogant words.
The god was probably more shocked that the emperor of the Great Moonasterion Empire had used a vulgar word.
Nikolai also didn't expect that he'd say such a thing.
[Neoma, are you proud of me?]
"Your disrespect ends here, Nikolai de Moonasterio," Helstor said in a serious tone while letting go of Nikolai's fist. "I was planning on toying with you for a moment. But you just made me angry."
Nikolai would have retorted had he not noticed the sudden shift in Helstor's mood.
[He's going for the kill!]
An attack was coming, and it was a huge attack.
Nikolai immediately turned to Monik.
Two of his Soul Beasts– the burning Vermillion Bird and the White Tiger– were already on their way to protect the Light Saintess while the Black Tortoise, the black snake, and the Azure Dragon remained on their spot to protect Calypso.
The older Neoma, on the other hand, just stood there with a bored look on her face.
[My daughter will be fine, but Monik…]
Nikolai had a feeling that his two Soul Beasts wouldn't be enough to protect the child.
"Your Imperial Majesty, who said you can turn your back on me?"
Ah.
When Nikolai turned to Helstor again, he was greeted by a tiny yet powerful ball of dark energy that the god threw in his direction.
And soon, the sky that had just cleared up was once again covered by darkness…
… and the emperor's mighty Soul Beasts fell down– unmoving.
***
TOY ARROWS.
Neoma had to avoid the toy arrows that Commander Yoan was controlling to "attack" her.
Those arrows were made of rubber so they would just bounce off her skin. But there was a weak zap every time an arrow hit her. It didn't sting, but it was a little uncomfortable.
[Tsk.]
Plus, it wasn't easy to run while she was literally getting burned alive.
[My goodness gracious. Why is my life so hard?]
"When you said we were going to fight, I thought we were having a brawl," Neoma complained while avoiding the three toy arrows that he threw in her direction. That damned commander was so accurate with his throws. "But I didn't expect you to use weapons, Commander!"
"I'm not a de Moonasterio, Princess Neoma," Commander Yoan said indifferently. "Unlike you, I don't enjoy physical fights."
"I bet you're weak as hell so you rely on your toys."
The commander just smirked lazily. "Is that your best attempt at provoking me? Try harder, princess."
"You're getting annoying, Commander."
"Let's make the game a little more exciting," Commander Yoan said, moving his hand as if he were commanding an orchestra. "I need to make this game a bit dangerous for you to take it seriously, Princess Neoma."
Okay, that made her secretly gulp.
[Was Commander Yoan originally a sadist? But my Ruto is so nice, caring, and protective to me. Gosh, did my man change for the better in this timeline for me?]
"Don't get distracted, princess."
Whatever.
Neoma wanted to ignore Commander Yoan's words, but it was hard to do when she saw all the toy arrows float back in the commander's direction.
Then the toy arrows melted.
The melted parts gathered in one place and moved like how a child would play with slime.
It wasn't a pretty sight, to say the least.
Commander Yoan then snapped his fingers, the "slime" finally taking its final ford.
It was a golden arrow.
[Of course, it's an arrow since it's Ruto's main weapon.]
But the arrow this time was a real one.
"Princess Neoma, are you good at running?" Commander Yoan asked. "This arrow will follow you everywhere and will only stop once you're dead."
Neoma was about to curse at the commander when, all of a sudden, she felt a fang in her chest.
She didn't have a physical body, so it couldn't be her heart.
Her soul was aching.
And, for some reason, she felt Papa Boss' Moonglow fading away.
"Did you feel it, too?" Commander Yoan asked. "It seems like the Great Moonasterion Empire will soon lose its emperor."
"Don't say that," Neoma said, acting tough. "How would Papa Boss die if the giant Neoma went out to check on her family?"
"Do you think Neoma would save the emperor?"
"Would she not?"
Commander Yoan shook his head. "Neoma will lose her good karma points if she does, and I don't think she would waste it just to save the emperor."
Neoma just scoffed at the commander's remark. "That's not funny, Commander Smart-ass."
***
HELSTOR laughed while watching Nikolai de Moonasterio bleed from head to toe while hugging the child.
Yes, the emperor used his own body to protect that unknown little girl.
The two were floating in the air in a very bad state.
[Now, it's time for me to kill the great emperor…]
His thoughts were interrupted when, all of a sudden, the older Princess Neoma blocked his way…
… and then the Imperial Princess gouged out his eye in one quick movement.
Helstor screamed in agony. He didn't expect the older Princess Neoma to attack him, and he didn't even catch her movement because she was THAT fast. Hence, he was left seething while his eye bled. "You said you wouldn't interfere, Princess Neoma!"
The older Princess Neoma, who was holding the red orb in her hand, laughed at his face. "And you believed that, you gullible old fool?"
***
"THE GIANT Neoma and I are one whether we want to admit it or not," Neoma said, shrugging. "And guess what? We both have a soft spot for our father dearest. So, I know that the giant Neoma wouldn't let our Papa Boss die."
Commander Yoan looked shocked by what she said, and then he smiled faintly. "You're right."
She was confused by what the commander said.
And then she got even more confused when Commander Yoan's feet suddenly became semi-transparent.
It was as if he was going to vanish soon.
"Dude, what's happening to you?" Neoma asked nervously. "Are you okay?"
"Neoma already made a choice," Commander Yoan said, his smile growing wide. "She threw away her good karma points and now, we're getting punished."
***
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