Chapter 795: Arax’s Worries

Holding his shield against the ground, Arax stared at the landscape of destruction in silence.

Below him, the scorched earth. What had once been a nation in the north, a sprawling network of buildings and roads were now reduced to ash and ruin.

Craters, jagged spikes of black obsidian.

Lightning clawed down from above, veins that split the sky. Every strike clashed against the obsidian towers as though they were lightning rods.

In the middle of the city, a twisted blossoming flower with tendrils of flesh hanging from the petals.

The closer you got to the centre, the more it would rain.

A vile black rain that felt wrong in every way. When it splattered, it would leave behind a red marking.

A blood rain.

The sky was weeping for the tragedy that occurred.

Then, in the very centre of the flower, Arax could see a cocoon of sorts. It had once ‘held’ something within its walls but now, there was nothing. Empty.

Arax let out a deep sigh.

He couldn’t keep his legs still, the constant tapping of his heel against the ground.

The fidgeting of his fingers and the darting of his eyes.

“I didn’t take you for someone who couldn’t sit still.” Shiera sat next to him with a light chuckle.

They were tasked to investigate this place but whoever cleaned up was good.

There was no sign of energy that she could track. Even with the use of Vision, she couldn’t find any clues.

All they could do was make haphazard guesses from the clues they got. Unfortunately, most of the teams couldn’t approach the city centre.

“Hm? Yeah… This is different. It doesn’t feel like the Eclipse nor does it feel like the Outer Gods.”

Hearing this, Shiera revealed a helpless smile and tugged on Arax’s ear.

“Hey! Ow!”

“That’s the fifth time you told me that now. If you’re worried about Gwenny why don’t you call her?” Shiera rolled her eyes.

Arax was always like this.

Even though he was out on a job, whenever Gwen would do something dangerous, he would become a clumsy oaf who didn’t even register what was being said to him or what he said in return.

A worried father.

“What if she’s in the middle of a fight? If I call and she gets distracted…” Arax frowned.

“If you’re so worried, you should’ve just followed her. You realise that you’re not doing much right now, right?” Shiera rolled her eyes.

“Prevention is the best form of protection. You don’t know what might happen.” Arax sighed.

No matter how worried he was for his daughter, the lives of everyone here was counting on them.

“Do you really believe that? Really?” Shiera leaned forward, staring Arax in the eyes.

Furrowing his brows, Arax frowned.

“Of course I do. Or are you saying my philosophy over the years was wrong?”

“Tch, this is why I call you a dumbass. I don’t mean your philosophy, I mean do you really believe you should be here instead of your daughter? Haven’t you chosen this job over Gwen for years now?” Shiera rolled her eyes, smacking Arax on the back of the head.

“Right…” Arax mumbled.

Looking up at the bleeding sky, he took a deep breath and let out a deep sigh.

Indeed… No matter what excuses he’s been giving, he can’t deny the fact that he’s been neglecting Gwen.

A part of it was because of his duty.

The other part…

Well, even saying it out loud sounded like an excuse.

But that doesn’t change the fact that the people needed him here.

Shiera is strong. There’s no denying that.

But their strength truly shine when they have each other’s backs covered. When she could fight without worry.

Without him around, Shiera’s fighting prowess would be cut down by half.

“I’ll call her tonight.”

“Seems like I’ll have to change my nickname for you. You’re dumber than I thought and I’ve known you for centuries.” Shiera let out a frustrated sigh.

“Either call her now or go to her. You being distracted puts everyone in danger.” Shiera glared at Arax.

Scratching his cheek, Arax knew that Shiera was being serious.

“You’re right. Sometimes you remind me of my wife, she had give me a kick in the back as well ahaha.” Arax let out a laugh but Shiera gave him a kick.

“What are you saying you stupid b*stard. Go call Gwenny now before I hit you!” Clicking her tongue, she turned away.

She made sure Arax couldn’t see her fanning her face with her right hand.

After messing around with the orb for a bit, Arax finally got it to work.

“Ah! Dad! Is everything okay?” Gwen could be seen scrambling to set things up on her end before sitting back.

She was covered with sweat and dirt yet a wide smile could be seen on her face.

“Is everything going alright?” Arax asked with a smile.

It felt a little awkward since it’s always been Gwen who called.

“Ah! Yes it is. I’ve been training diligently. Right the report-” Gwen wanted to stand up but Arax shook his head.

“Not today. I just wanted to see how you were doing.”

Blinking her eyes in surprise, Gwen couldn’t control the smile on her face.

She started to talk about the journey through the Abyss, the slight anomalies that’s been happening.

Despite the nature of her journey, there was a big smile on her face.

“What about your bounty? Are you struggling?” Arax asked as this was his biggest worry.

A bounty given by Solaris wasn’t going to be an easy one, especially since sponsored ones are notably harder than the rest.

Scratching her hair, Gwen sighed.

“Well… I’m definitely struggling. I realised how weak I really am.” Gwen sighed, showing the dirt on the body.

“Thankfully, it’s just training otherwise…” Gwen looked down before quickly shaking her head.

“Training?” Shiera’s ears perked up.

Shifting Arax out of the frame, Shiera looked at Gwen and raised an eyebrow.

“You’re getting training? From who?”

Scratching her cheek, Gwen laughed.

“Don’t be surprised when you hear this okay? I’m getting trained by my bounty target.”

“PFFF!!!” Arax choked on his salvia as this was the most outrageous thing he’s heard in a while.

Shiera was speechless.

“Your bounty?”

“Yes.”

“Is training you?”

“That is what I said yes.”

“The beast you were meant to hunt down?” Shiera felt as though someone had just hit her on the head with a sledgehammer.

Turning the orb slightly, Gwen showed Syrion not far away from her with his swords stabbed into the ground.

He gave a small wave.

“The situation is a little… complicated. But he’s helping me get stronger right now.” Gwen laughed.

“If you trust him then I won’t say anything else. What about the stupid girl using my old technique? How is she doing?” Shiera asked curiously.

“Are you worried for your disciple?” Arax asked, causing Shiera to kick him again.

“Who’s my disciple! Just because she’s using my techniques doesn’t mean she’s my disciple!”

Seeing this, Gwen held her silence.

If only her aunty knew Alice was gaslighting her.

It was both a truth and a lie.

And despite feeling a little guilty, Gwen didn’t reveal the truth.

“Kaia is doing fine. She seemed to have found a breakthrough of sorts since she’s been meditating by the tree and testing out some methods. Her version of Vision is a little different from ours.”

“Oh?” Shiera frowned.

Even though she didn’t accept Kaia as her disciple, she didn’t want her to do anything dangerous when it comes to this technique. It’s not something you can just rush into.

“This is just what I think based on the things she showed. I don’t think Kaia is really compatible with Vision and I think she knows that too. Instead, she’s using her Sigils to emulate something similar?” Gwen folded her arms.

“Hmm…” Thinking about it for a moment, Shiera clicked her tongue.

“When the girl finishes her prototype, tell her to show it to me.”

Both Gwen and Arax were surprised by Shiera’s offer.

If she’s telling Gwen to have Kaia show her the prototype, then it meant that Shiera was willing to give some personal pointers.

A reward that not even Cardinals could get without special exceptions.

“Alright, I’ll let Kaia know.” Gwen accepted on Alice’s behalf.

Talking for a little longer, Arax decided to let Gwen continue her training, promising to call again tomorrow since nothing much was happening.

With the orb falling silent, Arax had a smile on his face.

“Feeling better?” Shiera asked as Arax nodded his head.

“I didn’t think she would get training from a beast of all things…”

“Me neither. But if she’s getting training then it might not be too bad.” Shiera nodded.

Overall, it was still a strange situation but they’ve seen their fair share over the years.

“I’m just concerned on how she’ll resolve the bounty side of things. I doubt a beast would just allow her to claim his head for free. Unless… do you think he’s training her so that she could be a proper opponent?” Arax threw out a theory but Shiera shrugged.

“If it was part of the Eclipse sure. But I doubt that’s the case. But setting that aside, you’re finally focused right?”

“Of course, I’m always focused.”

“Bullsh*t.” Shiera rolled her eyes.

It wasn’t until talking to Gwen did the oaf finally sit still. It was clear that he was too distracted by the concerns of her safety.

But now that he was finally calm, Shiera took a deep breath and opened her mouth.

“Since you’re focused, let’s talk. As friends rather than Apostles or anything else.” Shiera stared at Arax with seriousness.

Arax frowned and nodded his head.

For Shiera to be this serious, something must be up.

“Solaris has been acting fishy, more so than usual.”