Chapter 146: CHAPTER 146 – A Mysterious Man.
In an unknown location, inside a large cave, there sat a guy with long flowing golden hair that reached his waist.
He had a large build that reached 2 meters in height with a bulky body.
His face was not visible since only his back was in view but unlike what one would think looking at his build, he was not a muscle head, neither was he someone who used fists for everything.
He was sitting on an elevated platform that was placed right below a crevice in the cave.
A lot of water was falling from that crevice right above the man's head and his wide shoulders. The pressure from the water falling down was so much that the ground below cracked because of it, but the man was just sitting there with his legs folded without any problem.
Just then the sound of some footsteps was heard when a man wearing a royal robe came rushing in and directly kneeled down, sticking his head on the ground.
"I greet the great protector!"
The man shouted as he touched his head on the ground.
There was no response from the man sitting on the platform but the water that was flowing down had stopped, as if an invisible barrier was stopping it.
The guy in the royal robe also noticed it so he hurriedly spoke.
"The barrier around the portal broke before the predicted time, my lord."
The man on the platform still didn't say anything, but a humming sound was heard.
The man in the royal robe understood the meaning behind it so he continued.
"The barrier is broken but we still can't send anyone above SS-rank.
It seems like these are the side effects of the chattering of the barrier earlier than expected."
The man in the royal robe paused after that as he could tell that his lord was thinking something.
He had served him long enough to tell these things without a problem.
"Send Drakin inside one of those portals."
A deep and majestic voice was heard but the source could not be found, it was like the whole cave was speaking.
The man in the royal robe however knew where the voice came from so he just knelt down again and spoke.
"As you wish, my lord."
The man in the royal robe left and the water that was stopped by an inviable barrier also came down, but this time it was falling with more pressure.
.............................................….
It was the time that Alex, Alice, Ann, and Noctura had returned to Orange Country after they cleared the special E-ranked gate in the Green Country.
Noctura had started showing much more emotions and almost all of her emotions were something related to Alex.
Noctura had become more protective of Alex even though she was weaker than him.
It was all fine as they ignored it thinking that it was just a small change until one day Noctura growled at Alice and even Ann when they came to talk with Alex at the time he was patting as she lay on top of him.
Growling at Alice was fine as Noctura had done that before, sometimes for food, sometimes for Alice to take her to bathe forcefully, but it shocked Alex that she actually growled at Ann, which she had never done before.
Ann and Noctura shared a bond and Noctura treated Ann almost like her mother as Ann was now a wolf as well.
Ann had the 'Soul Reaver' bloodline and 'Soul Reavers' are wolves as well, which gave Noctura some familial feelings for Ann.
Of course, Ann was shocked as well, and so was Alice, so they decided to have a long talk with Noctura.
"What's wrong, Noctura?" It was Alex who asked this question as he looked at Noctura who was sitting in front of him.
Alice and Ann were also sitting beside him as they looked at Noctura with worry.
They didn't know what was happening to her, but for a whole week, they had noticed Noctura growing distant from them as she only focused on Alex and Alex alone.
"I-I don't know, master…." Noctura spoke in a voice that now seemed like a girl in her teens, or more like 16 or 17.
Noctura couldn't look into Alex's eyes as she knew that she was wrong here.
'Why is this happening?'
'Why do I feel irritated when I see Alice or Mama near Master?'
'I don't want to do it, but I feel irritated whenever I see them….'
Noctura had many thoughts going inside of her head.
She never really focused on these things till now and now that these things were pointed out she realized how bad she had been.
If that was not enough, the one who was telling her about it was her Master.
'I don't want Master to hate me…...'
Suddenly, Noctura's eyes started to well up and Ann quickly noticed it before anyone else.
Noctura had her head down so no one could tell, but Ann could somehow tell.
Ann quickly pulled Noctura onto her lap, hugging her tightly as she caressed Noctura's back.
"It's all right, pup, no one's blaming you, it's all right…."
Ann continuously patted Noctura, but Noctura who felt all the love from Ann only cried more.
'Why am I doing all this…...'
'I don't want to hurt Mama!'
Noctura cried as she remembered how she growled at Ann.
Alice who was sitting on the side also moved toward Noctura as she patted her head.
Alex just clenched his fist so hard that it almost started bleeding.
He could feel his heart being squeezed as he saw Noctura crying like that.
His vision started to get blurry for a second, but only for a second.
However, Sophia who noticed that single second as well, hurriedly spoke.
[Calm down, Alex! No one is hurting her, she is just sad, and she is overthinking things!]
Alex who heard Sophia's words finally calmed down before he looked at Noctura who was slowly calming down under the care of both Alice and Ann.
'What's happening to her….?' Alex asked in a low voice.
[Those are the side effects of her bloodline.]
'Elaborate, and you better not say something like, 'I can't tell you that'.' Alex growled inwardly.
Neither he nor Noctura asked for that bloodline. Yes, it was doing good, it was making her strong, and he was happy about it, but he didn't want to see her crying because of that.
If it was a power that would just make her cry then Alex would prefer that she remain weak, he can protect her, and he had the power to protect her.
Sophia, who was sitting in the system space looked at the cuff marks on her wrists and ankles as she gritted her teeth.
{Is this what you wanted me to go through…...?}
She wondered to herself, but then she sighed before she answered Alex.
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