CHAPTER 236: CHAPTER 236: ...WHAT?

Chapter 236 – ...What?

"Daddy will avenge you... so tell me."

Noah spoke with a small smile on his face, seated effortlessly on his white throne, radiating authority and casual grace.

His sudden words caught the shadows off guard.

They had expected either a warm welcome or for him to jump directly to business, ready to send them off to fight the Originals—to either win or die.

But instead, Noah welcomed them with a promise of revenge.

He welcomed them by asking if there was anyone he needed to kill or torture once the battle began, simply for daring to touch what was his.

And that made them smile.

They loved being strong enough to handle things on their own without bothering Noah, but they certainly didn’t mind his attention... or his care.

And they understood.

This was Noah’s way of welcoming them. As if to say: Whatever happened there... forget about it. Let me take care of the rest.

As if to say: You’ve done enough.

And he hadn’t even asked yet whether they’d brought valuable information.

"Ah... I still have a long way to go before I reach your level, huh?" Eric said with a slight smirk tugging at his lips.

"The real question is—can you even reach my level?" Noah replied with a grin.

"Let me dream, alright?" Eric grumbled, lips twitching.

Noah laughed heartily, and even the girls joined in with soft chuckles.

Then Noah turned toward the other three shadows.

He looked at them up and down, eyes sharp, then tilted his head slightly.

"How interesting... Mother-in-law, what happened to you? I can barely sense you. And that’s... only because I know you’re standing in front of me," Noah said, curiosity igniting his excitement.

’Another thing to copy. Goddamn, I love talented women. Time to evolve my Copycat Skill again. I refuse to accept anything less than 10,000 improvements of quality.’ Noah thought inwardly, nearly giddy.

"Many things happened..." Sari answered softly with a smile.

That smile alone was enough to shift Noah and everyone else into complete seriousness, as they felt the weight and sadness hidden beneath it.

"Hm... seems like there is indeed something I need to exterminate," Noah said, his voice turning ice-cold, sharp with contained fury.

He turned to Ester.

"What about you, my dear shadow? You feel different too. You seem... more shadow, let’s say?"

"Especially since my little concept of formlessness is reacting violently to your presence," he added.

Ester offered a small smile. "Things happened."

There was no sorrow in her expression, and that made Noah sigh with relief.

Looking now at Shadeva, he shook his head lightly. "I guess you enjoyed your time?"

"I did," Shadeva said with a gentle, satisfied smile.

Noah nodded, not surprised that little had changed about Shadeva, save for the fact that she seemed more open, a bit more expressive now.

After all that—

"Tell me what you’ve been through... each of you. If you want to, of course. And the information you’ve brought back," Noah said as he leaned back on his throne, calm and relaxed.

Eric looked around, then suddenly began to disappear.

"I’ll tell you about my experience later. I need some advice from you anyway," he said simply, then vanished—leaving The Vaelgrims alone.

What a polite gesture.

Noah, the girls, and even the hidden maid were now all focused on the remaining shadows, waiting in silence.

They didn’t have to wait long.

Shadeva began.

She described the City of Order—how the people lived, the conditions they endured, and how she slowly and subtly convinced more and more of them to come to her side without Ebony noticing.

When Noah heard what she had used to sway them, he couldn’t help but smirk.

"I thought you weren’t listening when I rambled about all that entertainment stuff?"

Shadeva chose to exercise her right to remain silent on that question, but instead asked,

"Can you make all those things real? It shouldn’t be hard with your Creation ability."

She didn’t want to give false hope to the shadows now following her.

Noah nodded.

"I can. I am Visionary. I am The Creator. Whatever I want... happens. And did you forget my Authority?" he asked—then paused.

"Oh... you don’t know yet, do you? The Authority I gained when I stepped into the Supreme rank—you weren’t here for that."

"What’s your Authority?" Shadeva asked, drawing the attention of Ester and Sari too.

Noah just smiled.

"I’ll tell you later. Continue your storytelling," he said, calmly dismissive—making the shadows twitch with slight irritation.

But they let it go, and Shadeva continued.

After explaining how she amassed her shadow network, she moved on to what she had learned about Ebony—her character, her methods, and the cracks in her so-called Order.

Soon, she was finished.

"Hahahahah! Order? Consistency? This is the perfect opponent for us, right, Red?" Anya shouted, laughing as she looked toward her new partner in destruction.

And Red responded with equal enthusiasm. "You couldn’t be more right. Leave her to us. We’ll show her a whole new side of reality," she said with a bloodthirsty grin that bared her fangs.

Noah looked at them and just smiled.

"We’ll see. Let’s hear all the information first—then we decide who fights who," he said calmly before turning back to the remaining two shadows.

This time, his eyes landed on Ester.

Ester stepped forward.

She followed Shadeva’s example, describing the structure of the Puppet’s City, explaining how every construct there felt like an extension of Sylphira herself.

She explained how the casino worked, and how she managed to survive it all despite only being SS rank.

And then...

"You were captured by Sylphira?" Shadeva asked, surprised.

Not surprised that Ester had been caught—but that she was here, alive, uncorrupted, unbroken. Not a wound on her.

That, by itself, was a miracle after facing an Original.

"Yes, I was. In fact, she helped me... greatly," Ester said before continuing, explaining how Sylphira had allowed her to see more—so much more—until she managed to reach a deep understanding of the formless aspect of shadow.

She told them everything.

And all of them were stunned.

But the most surprised of all was Shadeva.

Not just because of Sylphira’s strange actions, but because Ester had actually grasped something so profound.

She smiled wryly.

"What kind of family is this? You already have one Original as your shadow, and now you’re planning to make another one? A made Original?"

She shook her head.

Noah and the girls laughed.

"And you know what... it’s only the beginning. My bloodline, my race... we’re not even at our peak yet. There are still so many things to obtain, to integrate. Just watch—"

Noah smirked.

"—I’ll show you how far our family can go."

Then he turned to Ester.

"And as for the Origin of Shadow that you need—don’t worry. I’ll find it for you."

Ester nodded, smiling with pleased affection.

Only one was left now.

Sari.

But she didn’t say much.

"I went to a brothel to gather information. I was raped. After that, I stopped caring about gathering anything and focused all my mind on killing the one who did it. I killed her. She was Mythic rank so I was rewarded for it."

Sari said it all with a small smile, as if what she had just shared hadn’t sent every single person in the room into stunned silence.

Silence fell. No one breathed, no one moved. And that for long while...

Then—

"...What?" Noah said, his voice low with disbelief—disbelief laced with fury so deep it bled through every word.

Instantly above Laeh, the sky turned blood red.

The clouds churned like an ocean of blood.

Blood-colored lightning cracked the heavens, and red rain began to fall.

Not a single corner of Laeh was spared.

In that moment, every being inside Laeh felt it deep in their soul.

The Absolute...

...was angry.

—End of Chapter 236—

A/N:

I need golden tickets...

Give it all...