CHAPTER 87: SHATTERED GLASS

On the way back to his house, alone, and no longer monitored, Noel seemed to catch one calm moment after the many storms that had been happening since the morning.

His mind drifted between all kinds of thoughts, wandering through the events of the day, before finally settling on the end — on his gains from this earlier visit to the Everen house... and they seemed huge.

Is it actually about the sex part?

Actually, no. It’s not as simple as that.

Then, did he lie to Selena when he told her he wanted to fuck her?

No, he didn’t... but that was not everything.

No matter how much he looked forward to that moment, or the pleasure that he felt, Noel still had other motives.

It’s the consequences.

The consequences of the lovemaking act they did, the ripple effects that would follow.

And then, there was Clarissa.

Noel considered himself to have gained the most by his interaction with her, after all.

Had he interacted with her too little before that moment, and did he have some kind of fundamental misunderstandings about her nature? He wondered, turning the question over in his mind.

But maybe he should delay arriving at a conclusion too early now?

Noel, standing in front of his house, decided as he finally entered it.

There at the entrance, like so many times before, Lilith was waiting for him. An excited smile lit up her face, bright and eager, as she called out, "Noel."

She took two quick steps toward him after that, her body moving with clear intent to hug him... but she suddenly stopped mid-stride.

Sniffing the air, she seemed to understand something, and her red aura — pure Destruction Law — seemed to be let loose in reaction to that.

"What... what were you doing outside, brother?" Lilith asked through her clenched teeth, the words coming out strained.

She seemed to want him to deny it, to reassure her that nothing of that sort had happened, and she had simply misread the situation.

But Noel didn’t go by her expectations. Flashing her a big beaming smile, he took out his phone, moved closer toward her, then showed the screen to her.

"I finally did it with Selena." He added cheerfully.

And Lilith’s eyes became bloodshot as she seemed to lose her mind, just as he’d read in the simulation.

No, maybe even harder? The picture, with Selena on his lap, her love hole dripping with his seeds, was something that hadn’t happened in the simulation after all.

"Why?" Lilith growled in a low voice, barely restraining herself from erupting.

And like a gentleman, with an infatuated expression and tone, he replied, "Obviously, because I love her!"

"Aaaaaah!" Lilith suddenly screamed with a voice so loud and piercing that it broke every piece of glass that was in the house.

The windows shattered, fragments falling like crystalline rain. She pulled desperately at her hair, fingers clawing and tugging at the strands.

"Is there something wrong?" Noel moved closer to her, holding her hands that were trying to harm herself as he asked. His voice was filled with concern... despite being the very reason she was like this.

He tried to calm her down, but his smile that never faded contrasted heavily with his concern-filled voice.

At some point, Hilda, Nadine, and Linda had arrived, and everyone looked at this scene with odd eyes, seemingly not understanding what was happening.

Hilda and Nadine’s eyes were, in the end, drawn to him instead of the berserk Lilith though.

Noel saw them from the corner of his eyes, and his smile widened, but he still kept his attention on Lilith, who after some time suddenly shook his hands from her and ran away inside.

Noel, with a gleam passing in his eyes, didn’t follow her and simply looked at her back before moving to Hilda and Nadine.

"Young master," Hilda called tenderly, her sharp tone that he was used to before he lost his memories now nonexistent.

He looked at her curiously, having already noticed how she was in shabby condition, messed up hair unlike her always neat bun, tattered clothes unlike her always tidy clothes, and an aura that seemed pretty unstable.

Was she also like this when he saw her in the simulation?

Noel raised his eyebrow in thought as he saw the array of complex emotions in her eyes as she knelt down.

He moved closer and patted her shoulder, "Stand up, there’s no need for all these formalities."

Hilda held his gaze for a moment before she nodded and stood up, and Noel’s attention finally went to Nadine.

She was in better condition than Hilda, but she too seemed to have just come out of a battle.

Her calm, blue eyes didn’t seem to have any changes in them compared to what he knew of before though. But he still felt like she seemed less lively than in his memories.

And so, curious about their situation, he asked, "Where were both of you?"

Hilda didn’t hesitate as she replied, "In the Averna continent."

And Noel didn’t need to hear more, as he already understood what was going on.

Averna continent was the eighth continent, hidden completely from the ordinary people.

There, a dimension that hadn’t closed even after a million years existed. And invaders, the Void Walkers, had never stopped coming from it.

Had the situation there actually suddenly worsened... that’s why they were like this?

Once again curious, Noel asked.

And Hilda shook her head, "No, it’s still a stalemate between us and them."

"But their movements are strange, it seems they are preparing for a big move."

"What is it? I don’t know, but it’s been like this for more than ten years, and they are even more restless now, so if something is going to happen, then it should be soon."

Hilda explained, and Noel wore a thoughtful look on his face as he pondered upon this new piece of information.

Is the prompt gathering for all the major forces in the world, the one he’d read about in the simulation later on, related to this?

He pondered for a moment before he shook his head and said, "Okay, for now, go and rest... tomorrow, I will hear everything in detail from you."