Chapter 1181 (2/2)

“I was literally already standing here when he started kissing you,” Eliot countered. He shook his head in obvious disgust. Then he extended a hand for a shake toward Randidly with an expression of deep shame. “If I would have been somehow able to keep my nose clean of the slobber you two exchanged, believe me, I would have.”

“...you are her brother…?” Randidly asked. His mind seized that detail. Because it didn’t make any sense. Vualla was a duplicated version of someone who existed thousands of years ago. The architect of the grand array for absorbing Nether, one of the luminaries that allowed the overlay System to be invented. If this was actually her brother-

But no, this man looked older, maybe in his thirties, but he certainly wasn’t that old. And his glare carried an edge of an image. A powerful one, but one that Randidly’s instincts assured him that he could defeat if he needed to. So it wasn’t a matter of simply seeming young, he truly appeared to be quite young.

...I never really had the time to think about it before… Randidly’s face transformed into the visage of a beast. His teeth were bared and his eyes burned. But how could Vualla’s father be here if she truly was duplicated?

...has Ileot been playing me for a fool the entire time…? Was the real goal getting closer to me so they could make that look alike…? Or is that just a coincidence as well? God damnit…!

“Not a handshaker, huh…? Not that I blame you,” If anything, Eliot didn’t seem insulted. His expression was smug. “In my family, my grip strength is famous.”

“Randidly?” Vualla’s voice turned serious. “What’s wrong?”

“...if you are really a duplicated version of someone from the past, why is your brother here?” Randidly said softly. Perhaps it wasn’t the most… eloquent way of getting to the point, but Randidly was largely bewildered. So he simply said the question he kept banging his head against fruitlessly.

For a second, Vualla was simply confused. But then her eyes widened in shock.

Very quickly, a frown returned to her face. “Are you saying I’m not…? But… I’m sure you also felt… what Cail said felt right! Sometimes, there is this-”

“We just don’t have enough information.” Randidly shook his head. “I felt so too. That what he said felt correct. Yet how can this man be here if this is the case?”

Eliot looked back and forth between the two of them for several seconds. Then he sighed. “Not that I want to interrupt your conspiracy theory session, but we do have larger problems. The Nether forces are about to arrive. Can this wait?”

It probably shouldn’t. Randidly thought in frustration. But what choice do we have?

When Randidly spoke again, he injected some positivity into his expression. Which, to his surprise, wasn’t difficult. “Don’t leave me too far behind, alright? And be careful.”

“Ha! You’re one to talk. Don’t think you can hide how much stronger you got in the few days. What am I supposed to do with you?” This time, Vualla got up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips quickly to his. Then she dropped back down. “And you be careful too. That metal arm of yours… doesn’t look so good.”

“Ha! Don’t worry.” Randidly rapped lightly on his chest. “I think I’ve got a short term fix prepared.”

Right as Randidly was leaving, his Grim Intuition drifted back to Vualla to check on the state of Aether. His senses rapidly scanned through her, searching for the thread of Aether that he allowed into her. She wasn’t unraveling at the seams, as Ileot had originally warned, but also… Randidly couldn’t find the Aether he had put into her.

...I suppose that means it was successfully incorporated into her being…? But why do I have this… bad feeling…

Randidly glanced over his shoulder one more time. Vualla was enthusiastically waving both her gauntlets above her head while Eliot was flexing his hand and looking down at it approvingly. There was a roar from the sky as the Nether King made its presence known, distracting Randidly further.

Unsure of what to do, Randidly opened up the Aether connection between them the tiniest bit, allowing energy to flow. As he watched, the energy really did get steadily absorbed into Vualla’s being without any trouble.

Am I worrying for nothing…?

The screams of fighting began to waft up from the front. With gritted teeth, Randidly forced himself to turn away and head toward Lady Iellaya’s camp.