260 David (1/2)

”It seems that this little boy has some ancient descendants, in his human line, with rather incredible origins compared to the world in which he is,” commented Alexander briefly.

The qualities of Blood Mana guaranteed an offensive advantage out of the ordinary; placed inside some Skills or used to upgrade weapons, it would have guaranteed an unparalleled corrosive power. Even the largest defences would collapse in the face of the Blood Mana. It was a cruel power but, for an archer like Vlad, that Mana was a true gift.

Using Blood Mana, a fighter at the Third Phase could easily have injured an enemy at the Fourth. Although Vlad did not possess the destructive power of Lightning Mana, thanks to his particular Legacy he was capable of inflicting much more subtle and lethal damage.

In fact, considering their diametrically opposite nature, it seemed odd that Scarlet Tear and Morning Lightning were two pieces of the same equipment. Mana of Blood and Lightning were two offensive but oppositely polarized Affinities.

Bucephalus yawned. Meanwhile he had been eavesdropping on Iblis and Snowflake. The horse was used to act as a bodyguard, always alert to everything that happened around his King. Bucephalus was Alexander's eyes and ears, and had been so for ages. By now, it was a behavior embedded in his body.

While Alexander was whispering to himself, the horse in human form patted him on the shoulder. A pat on the shoulder, of course, means here a kick in the ass.

”A big shot, universally speaking, is coming,” he informed him.

The horse was rather worried about what might happen next. Iblis had just destroyed a Seal of Location and looked furious. The Seals of Location activated at the exact moment they were destroyed, sending their owner's position to the one who had the twin Seal. And, unfortunately, in this case the second Seal belonged to Snowflake's father.

But Alexander didn't seem particularly interested.

”But first ... shouldn't we do something for the other friends of the boy and Lumia?” the King asked, ”at least now that Iblis is distracted.”

”It makes no sense,” Bucephalus replied. ”None of them have much latent potential, other than the cat and the Archer; and the latter does not even have much blood of the Blood God in his veins. If we hadn't thickened it, it would hardly have surfaced. It would still boost his constitution and base talent, but nothing more. Now he can channel it to...”

”Yes, yes”, mumbled Alexander, raising his head to look around. He had been distracted by the sudden change in the air. A terrifying Mana had filled the Colosseum and the whole city. Alexander felt as if his skin was about to peel off the muscles, a horrible sensation.

Bucephalus snorted. Alessandro was always too optimistic, but he appreciated this trait of his. The two exchanged a knowing look and disappeared from the arena, only to appear in the stands with a pack of popcorn. The show that was about to begin looked very interesting.

Iblis, lost in his anger, had not in the least noticed that Bucephalus and Alexander had hidden away in the stands. At that moment he was just thinking about how his reckless actions had led him to radically change destiny.

When he was still alive, Iblis had certainly been the most powerful being of his whole era. Even Amaterasu had never been able to stand up to him completely. One of its peculiarities, however, was the bad character that had distinguished it over the years, or rather, over the millennia.

He had never really lost his temper with Helial, so he had left the boy with the impression of a measured and calm millennia-old demon. But all of this couldn't be further from the truth.

For example, Iblis had once discovered that a prominent member of a Clan of Life intended to ask for Amaterasu's hand.

Certainly anyone would expect stolen kisses, secret marriages, love fugues and all the usual clichés. But no, it didn't go that way.

There was just a huge massacre.

The proposal never reached the Paladin of Life's ears, because Iblis had skinned his beloved's suitor and eliminated his entire Clan before it could happen. No women or children had been spared, and their heads had been rotting on pikes for weeks.

That was why Iblis was known throughout the universe as a real monster, the scariest monster to have travelled through galaxies.

Anyone who wanted to marry Amaterasu would have done better to prepare to see his entire lineage completely destroyed, without exception.

And so it had been.

But some members of Destruction didn't like this, either.

Iblis, however, did not care about the opinion of others. The Devil always kept his promises and the threats he made. It was rumoured that his threats could be used as a bargaining chip that would never lose value.

One large blue vein pulsed on Iblis's neck and two on his forehead. To tell the truth, the Devil was not in the least thinking about the possible accident that could happen very soon. Iblis was thinking about how badly he was after betraying his word, helping Alexander to alter destiny, and not checking the Seal's nature before destroying it.

Just then, the sky fractured.

From a huge blueish crack came a shower of lightning, tearing the fabric of space as they passed. A tyrannical Aura enveloped Snowflake, while words heavier than lead came from the fracture.

”You have finally come to your senses. Let's see what kind of Heavenly Star Tiger you are now.”

A man who appeared to be in his fifties made his way through the blue lightning casually, not caring in the least about what was around him. He only had eyes for Snowflake. He had the bearing of a ruler accustomed to ignoring the screaming crowds as he passed. He had flaming red hair, down to his pelvis and well-groomed, which gave him a hieratic aura. A scarlet beard covered his stern jaw. He was a splendid man, a god even. His movements seemed to come from a past long gone.