Chapter 49: Entity
"You really know nothing."
He chuckled softly.
"Haven’t you heard the rumors?"
"What rumors?"
"The relationship between that trash young master..."
"...and his personal maid."
The moment those words left his mouth...
Several people immediately revealed expressions of sudden realization.
"Oh..."
"So that’s why..."
"No wonder..."
Meaningful smiles gradually spread across their faces.
Some even laughed quietly.
Their imaginations immediately wandered toward the most scandalous explanation possible.
After all...
A handsome young master.
A beautiful personal maid.
Living under the same roof.
It wasn’t difficult for idle gossip to weave the rest of the story.
Within moments, the tavern was filled with whispers.
Some shook their heads in ridicule.
Others wore expressions of undisguised envy.
The discussion quickly drifted further and further from reality, becoming increasingly exaggerated with every passing sentence.
No one noticed...
That in the corner of the tavern...
Cole had stopped moving completely.
The warmth in his eyes vanished.
Replaced instead by a chilling coldness.
His fingers slowly clenched into fists beneath the sleeves of his robe.
The wooden floor beneath his feet gave off a faint creak.
An invisible killing intent quietly seeped into the air around him.
His originally calm expression had become frighteningly indifferent.
The Saint Family...
They actually dared to use Trish to force him out.
A terrifying thought quietly surfaced in his mind.
If the rumors were true...
Then every second he delayed...
Would place Trish in greater danger.
"Damn it..."
Cole’s fists slowly clenched until the joints turned deathly white.
His fingernails dug deep into his palms, yet he seemed completely oblivious to the pain.
Ever since discovering the Saint Family’s true nature, he had no intention of returning.
Not now.
Not ever.
Their resources?
He could obtain them elsewhere.
Their influence?
He would build his own.
Their protection?
He no longer needed it.
With the Bloodline Path and the A.I. Chip in his possession, it was only a matter of time before he surpassed every one of them.
Even if it took years...
He would eventually stand at a height where the Saint Family could only look up.
Yet...
Now they were playing dirty.
Cole slowly closed his eyes.
The bustling tavern disappeared from his senses.
Instead...
A familiar figure quietly appeared in his mind.
A young woman with gentle eyes and a warm smile.
No matter how badly the original owner had been ridiculed...
No matter how many people mocked him behind his back...
She had never looked down upon him.
She quietly prepared his meals.
Secretly brought medicine whenever he was injured.
Patiently listened whenever he wanted to complain.
She never once treated him like the disgrace everyone claimed he was.
Instead...
She had always treated him...
Like a younger brother.
Every smile.
Every word of encouragement.
Every small act of care.
None of it had been fake.
Cole slowly opened his eyes again.
A complicated emotion quietly stirred deep within his heart.
Perhaps...
If this had happened during his previous life...
He would have remained indifferent.
After all...
People who allowed emotions to dictate their decisions rarely lived long.
Yet...
This world was different.
He had inherited not only this body’s memories...
But also some of its lingering emotions.
And somewhere along the way...
Those memories had become his own.
He couldn’t pretend they meant nothing.
Nor could he watch an innocent person suffer because of him.
Thinking this far...
Cole slowly exhaled.
His eyes gradually became ice-cold.
"So this..."
"...is the Saint Family’s answer."
A dangerous smile slowly appeared at the corner of his lips.
"Very well."
"If you insist on dragging innocent people into this..."
His voice gradually became colder.
"...then don’t blame me for tearing apart the little dignity your family still possesses."
Without another moment of hesitation...
Cole turned around.
His figure immediately disappeared into the bustling streets, moving like a black shadow through the endless crowd.
His destination...
The Saint Family Estate.
...
The successful bloodline fusion had completely transformed him.
His cultivation had advanced directly into the Moon Knight Realm.
The second major realm of physical refinement.
A realm countless awakeners spent decades trying to reach.
More importantly...
Because of his perfect fusion with the Thunder Worm Leviathan...
His body had long surpassed the limits of an ordinary Moon Knight.
Every strand of muscle.
Every drop of blood.
Every bone within his body now contained explosive power.
Even among cultivators of the same realm...
Very few could compare to him.
However...
Cole remained perfectly aware of one fact.
Against the Saint Family...
Such strength meant very little.
The Saint Family wasn’t merely wealthy.
It possessed generations of accumulated foundations.
Peak Moon Knights.
Sun Knights.
Hidden experts.
Countless battle formations.
Ancient treasures.
Compared to such a colossal force...
His current strength was still insignificant.
But...
Some things couldn’t be measured by strength alone.
...
Saint Family Estate.
Night had completely fallen.
Dark clouds quietly covered the heavens, blotting out every trace of moonlight.
The entire estate appeared unusually silent.
Only the occasional rustling of leaves disturbed the oppressive stillness.
Inside one of the innermost courtyards...
A luxurious residence stood quietly beneath the darkness.
Rare medicinal herbs covered almost every inch of the courtyard.
Moon Spirit Flowers.
Silver Ginseng.
Bloodleaf Orchids.
Plants worth fortunes swayed gently beneath the night breeze.
The surrounding mana was so dense that a faint white mist floated across the ground, giving the entire courtyard an almost dreamlike appearance.
Yet...
Its owner wasn’t enjoying the scenery.
Amorpheus stood beneath a pavilion, both hands tightly clasped behind his back.
His face remained unusually gloomy.
A trace of humiliation still lingered deep within his eyes.
His clothes concealed numerous bandages beneath them.
Although the wounds had mostly healed...
The humiliation remained.
He stared silently into the shifting darkness beyond the courtyard.
Finally...
Unable to suppress his emotions any longer...
He spoke.
"What exactly was that?"
His voice carried obvious resentment.
"You promised my safety."
His expression gradually twisted.
"Then how did they still manage to attack me?"
The surrounding darkness remained silent.
Nothing happened.
For several breaths...
Only the evening wind drifted quietly through the medicinal garden.
Then...
The shadows suddenly rippled.
It resembled a stone falling into still water.
One ripple...
Then another.
A hoarse chuckle slowly echoed from within the darkness.
"Kekeke..."
The laughter sounded horrifying.
Like two shattered pieces of glass slowly scraping against each other.
Merely hearing it caused one’s scalp to tingle.
"As expected..."
"You humans truly are shameless creatures."
The mysterious voice carried unmistakable ridicule.
"But..."
"I suppose that is only natural."
A faint ripple spread through the darkness.
"After all..."
"You even dared to pretend to belong to an ancient bloodline despite possessing such pitiful strength."
The voice laughed softly again.
"I wonder..."
"...what those old fossils would think..."
"...if they discovered someone like you had been borrowing their reputation."
Amorpheus’s face instantly darkened.
His fists quietly clenched.
Yet...
He didn’t dare utter a single word.
The mysterious voice suddenly became colder.
The surrounding temperature seemed to drop several degrees.
Its tone no longer contained the slightest trace of amusement.
"After failing repeatedly..."
"You should be grateful."
"...that you’re still breathing."
"...instead of standing here complaining."
Amorpheus’s throat involuntarily tightened.
Every word he intended to argue with became lodged inside his chest.
Cold sweat quietly formed across his forehead.
Only then did he remember...
The existence before him wasn’t someone he could negotiate with.
It was something far more terrifying.
Lowering his head, he remained completely silent.
Seeing his obedience, the mysterious figure no longer paid him any attention.
Instead, it issued another command.
"I don’t care..."
"...what methods you use."
Its voice echoed quietly through the courtyard.
"But..."
"...find that bastard."
A brief pause followed.
"The one carrying the Cube."
Although the words were spoken casually...
Amorpheus’s pupils violently contracted.
An indescribable pressure silently enveloped him.
He instinctively swallowed.
Last time...
He had survived with only minor injuries.
If he failed again...
He had a feeling...
There wouldn’t be another opportunity.
Moments later...
The rippling darkness gradually calmed.
The mysterious presence vanished as though it had never existed.
Silence once again returned to the courtyard.
Only after several long breaths did Amorpheus slowly raise his head.
The fear that had filled his face disappeared almost instantly.
His expression gradually became thoughtful.
"I still can’t determine that creature’s true strength..."
He muttered quietly.
"But..."
"It is undoubtedly above the Sun Knight Realm."
A strange light flashed through his eyes.
Someone capable of attracting such a terrifying existence...
Could the Cube really be an ordinary treasure?
Impossible.
There had to be something even greater hidden behind it.
A secret...
Powerful enough to tempt beings beyond the Sun Knight Realm.
The greed inside Amorpheus’s heart quietly intensified.
Just then...
The darkness rippled once again.
Amorpheus’s expression immediately changed.
His heartbeat accelerated.
His breathing instinctively stopped.
Has it returned?
Has it discovered something?
Countless terrifying possibilities instantly flashed through his mind.
For one horrifying moment...
He genuinely believed his death had arrived.
However...
The next second...
A familiar figure slowly emerged from the shadows.
The moment Amorpheus recognized the newcomer...
He let out a long breath of relief.
"Father..."
He forced an awkward smile.
"You nearly frightened me to death."
His expression quickly became serious.
"Did you notice anything unusual?"
Markovich Saint didn’t answer immediately.
His sharp eyes remained fixed on the patch of darkness where the mysterious figure had disappeared.
His gaze was profound.
As though capable of piercing through the very fabric of space.
Several long moments passed.
Only then did he slowly shake his head.
"No."
His deep voice echoed quietly.
Instead...
His brows gradually furrowed.
His mind replayed every word spoken moments earlier.
Especially...
One sentence.
"Pretending to belong to an ancient bloodline..."
Markovich narrowed his eyes.
"To speak so casually about the Ancient Families..."
"...who exactly are you?"
His voice carried genuine curiosity.
Although he disliked the mysterious intruder...
There was one point he couldn’t deny.
The era of the Ancient Families had indeed long passed.
Their ancestors had once stood at humanity’s very peak.
They had become the anchors that allowed civilization to survive humanity’s darkest age.
Without their sacrifices...
Humanity might never have endured.
Yet...
Time spared no one.
The glory of the Ancient Families had gradually faded into history.
The true force that pushed humanity from merely surviving...
To standing proudly against the abyss...
Belonged to the countless new powers that rose afterward.
Markovich accepted that reality.
However...
One thing still irritated him immensely.
His eyes slowly narrowed.
An invisible pressure quietly spread across the courtyard.
"Whoever you are...."
His voice became colder than the night itself.
"...pray that I never discover your identity."
A terrifying killing intent quietly leaked from his body.
"Because when that day comes..."
"...I will personally make sure..."
"...you experience a fate beyond your worst imagination."