Chapter 89: Unseen Threat: Destroyer Descends
[In the Building.]
’Well, it seems Juliana is handling the matter well,’ Asher thought. He let out a quiet breath, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly as he moved his gaze to the bodyguards, who were all being taken inside by the maids. He trusted Juliana’s strength on the battlefield, perhaps more than he let on.
Feeling a sudden, familiar presence beside him, he turned around, seeing Sara standing some feet away, the notebook in hand. But it wasn’t her usual reading book; it was theirs—the one they used for urgent communication. Her knuckles were pale, betraying a rare sliver of anxiety.
She showed him the words on the page she had written:
["Call Juliana back, she already dealt with Richard, you should handle the rest."]
She instructed on the book.
Asher blinked, turning to Juliana standing outside, a force of nature in her own right, then at Sara again, completely confused. What rest was there to handle? Richard was already defeated.
Seeing his blank, almost stupid expression, Sara sighed helplessly. It wasn’t just annoyance; it was the heavy burden of being the only one who saw the invisible threats surrounding them. She wrote down again, her pen scratching frantically, and after some seconds, she showed him the page again.
["There are ten people present, with your strength you should be able to sense them even when they’re concealed. These ten are extremely powerful and dangerous, but you must be mindful of four. One; Lord Daniel, two; Tyson Vulcan, Three; Lord Owen Lebreton, and fourth; Old Woman Danica. Tyson was my previous Guild Leader, and he has a special ability to block the flow of spirit energy from his target, without spirit energy, you are an ordinary human, and an ordinary human can never use Physique, or such powerful armor... Meaning, if he acts, Juliana will be in danger, including the others up there."]
Asher read everything, stunned. The color drained slightly from his face as the tactical reality set in. What sort of ability does this Tyson have? Isn’t this a broken ability? It defied the very rules of their world’s strength. His protective instincts flared—if Juliana was stripped of her energy out there, she was completely defenseless.
He nodded his head, his eyes hardening with a new, grim resolve: "Alright, I understand." He nodded his head again, showing he understood the absolute gravity of her warning.
"What a beauty!! Come on, and have some fun with me!!"
Asher, Sara, and everyone in the mansion froze. The oppressive pressure that came crashing down with that voice was terrifying, far stronger than Richard’s had ever been. It felt like the air itself had grown heavy. Asher sharply turned to the entrance, his expression turning cold. His brief moment of relief was entirely over.
__
[Outside.]
A beam of red light smashed heavily on Richard, easily shattering the bleeding debuff Juliana had so carefully applied. Juliana raised her head to the sky, the thrill of her victory souring instantly. She watched with a small frown as the blonde hair young man slowly walked down, as casually as if he were stepping on an invisible stairway.
"Who are you? And how dare you interrupt my punishment!!" Juliana asked with pure killing intent. She didn’t flinch under his aura; she only tightened her stance, her pride demanding she hold her ground.
"Slow down beauty." His feet landed softly on the ground, and then he gave a small, mocking bow, dripping with an unsettling arrogance:
"My name is Eren, my friends call me a mad man, but my enemies call me the destroyer... I am guessing you must be Juliana Royalwood."
"I don’t know who you’re talking about, but my name is Juliana Aetheldawn, third wife of Asher Aetheldawn... If you want to cross my family, I won’t mind taking you down." She said, gripping her daggers tightly. She spoke the name Aetheldawn with a fierce, possessive loyalty. That was her true identity now, and she would bleed to protect it.
’The Destroyer... That name sounds familiar, but why can’t I remember it?’ She thought Inwardly, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Oh my, I came for peace, why would you want to attack me?" He asked with a wide, unhinged smile, tilting his head to the side, then opened his arms wide as if welcoming an old friend.
"What you should have done right now, is rushed towards me, and give me a big hug, a beauty like you don’t need to get your hands dirty, if you become my woman, I will gain you everything, even the Head of Richard and his entire guild!" He yelled, his voice echoing with a twisted sense of grandeur.
".....?!"
Nearby, Richard’s vice Guild Leader grimaced, kneeling to check up on the battered guild master. She raised her head to Eren, a slight frown of pure dread crossing her face.
’The Destroyer, if he comes after us, we won’t stand a chance... Richard has helped the guild, taking us to the fourth place on the ranking board, but we aren’t ready to give our lives for him.’ She thought, gritting her teeth hard. They might have a few SSS-RANK awakeners, but before the man standing here, they aren’t even close to his level.
Juliana remained entirely unfazed by his twisted proposition. "If you are here for peace, then stepped back, and let them compensate my damage with five hundred billion dollars... If they can’t meet up with this money, I will raid their guild and take what am I after."
"Look here, Beautiful... I don’t give a fuck about Richard and his group, but killing him is out of the question... I came down here mainly for two reasons, one, Hand over all your gears to me, of course, I am a good guy, so I will leave you with one boot, the rest and other boot belongs to me. Second reason; I want you to come with me to Aethelspire city... Promise to fulfill these two, I will step back." He said, his tone casual but laced with an absolute, undeniable demand.
Juliana’s mind raced, quickly connecting the dots. ’Aethelspire city? That is the city at the very edge of Vaeloria Country, which always get invaded by the monsters which are still in this world, it’s also the Home of Vaeloria’s ancient family... With what Asher told me, he plans to deliver us to them... In your dreams!’
Realizing the depths of his sinister plot against her family, her fury finally erupted. She swung her dagger, sending a concentrated, lethal wave of spirit energy towards Eren: "Fuck off!!"
"So feisty."
Eren raised one single finger. The moment the energy got dangerously close to him, he casually tapped it; instantly, the powerful attack shattered all over the place into harmless dust, fading into the wind.
"This?" Juliana was stunned, her fierce confidence cracking for the very first time. The sheer disparity in their power was staggering.
"From the very start, you attack with your spirit energy, this shows you don’t have any major elements... You didn’t use poison, which count it out, so you should have Time element or Space... Tell me beautiful, which of these do you have?" He asked with a knowing smirk, as his oppressive, red spirit energy rose into the air, signaling that the real battle was about to begin.