CHAPTER 416: DON’T LECTURE ME

The person Adolf had sent to pick Alice up was Philip.

As soon as Alice saw him standing in front of the exit of the secret lobby they were taking, looking as smug and stubborn as he always did, she darted her eyes away and said,

"No thanks. I’d rather get stomped by a dragon." She said and he frowned.

She made to walk past him but he grabbed her arm.

"And do you think I wanted to be here?" He asked her. "I’m just doing as the old man wants."

"Hey," Alice called, her eyes dark as she glared at him. "Didn’t I tell you to treat Gramps with a little more respect?" She asked and he gritted his teeth, trying to handle the pressure she was releasing towards him. "I don’t care if you’re an arrogant brat who doesn’t even appreciate that he grew up with such a powerful and caring guardian, but if you’re going to do all that shit then don’t do it in front of me."

As she said that, she released a little more pressure that caused him to go down on his knees.

The others couldn’t understand what was going on.

Leo, who had been silent all through, decided to intervene.

Sure, she wasn’t planning to kill him, but she was getting too angry, and if it continued like that, she might unintentionally cut off his air supply.

"Alice," Leo called, and she raised her head, snapping out of her rage, and looked at him.

He subtly pointed at the door.

*It’s enough. Let’s just go.* He said and Alice nodded, sighing to release the burden on her chest.

She looked at Philip who glared at her. Of course, he wouldn’t appreciate her putting him to his knees. He was gripping her hand really tightly but it was not enough to leave a bruise on her hand.

"I keep saying it but I’ll say it again." She said and shoved her hand out of his grip. "Appreciate that you did not grow up like ’us’ and stop being such a brat."

He was only three years older than her but even so, he was older than her. She would only treat him like someone older when he decided to stop acting so immature and giving Gramps a hard time.

He was so tolerant towards Philip for some reason and that was why he had become so arrogant and ungrateful.

"Don’t lecture me." Philip stubbornly said as he stood to his feet. "You’re stronger, so what? I have to take you out of this area because Aunt told me to do so. I wouldn’t have done so if it was simply just the old man’s orders."

"Orders?" Alice’s eyebrows furrowed. What was wrong with him? "Whatever." She turned around. "I don’t need help from someone like you."

"Is it just me, or does this look so much like a sibling’s quarrel?" Steph whispered to Maki.

"Tell me about it. It reminds me of when my mom wants me to take my younger brother out to play, but I don’t want to, and my brother is such a brat that he’d rather go out on his own." Maki responded. "We end up quarreling even though I’m older. This gives off the same vibe."

"Maybe it’s because they both have the same last name." Lance whispered, which startled them.

When did he get behind them?

"Yeah, and I don’t want to help someone like you either but I have no choice." Philip said as he grabbed Alice’s shoulder, causing Alice to subconsciously react negatively.

She grabbed his arm and flipped him to the floor, his back hitting the ground with so much force that it sent shockwaves.

"Ack!" Philip’s eyes turned white and he spat out blood at the impact.

They were all shocked. Did she have to go that far?

Alice was shocked. She did not intend to but her body reacted on its own.

Grabbing her shoulder triggered her defense mechanism and she ended up going overboard.

"Hey, hey, are you okay?" Alice asked but they all stared in disbelief.

Did she think someone who took such an attack would be okay?

Well, maybe, since he was an S-class but still... That impact was enough to attract attention from all over the facility.

"You..." Philip finally opened his eyes. "You wanna fight?"

Alice saw this and sighed in relief. At least he was okay.

"Look, I didn’t mean it. You’re the one who grabbed my shoulder. It was just a defense mechanism." Alice even bothered to explain because she didn’t mean to rough him up like that, to begin with.

"Is that your apology?" Philip asked as he sat up.

His insides were burning like they had been raptured. Then, he started coughing. He coughed so much that he coughed out blood.

Alice pursed her lips in regret and looked towards Leo, who looked away. She got herself in that mess so she had to fix it.

"Dammit!" He cussed and glared at her. "If you wanna fight, just say so."

"I said it was an accident." She said and used her third eye to take a look at his body constitution to see if she left any internal injuries, and she did. She even managed to break five of his ribs too. Luckily, his spine was alright, but...

She bit her lip.

Why was he such a weakling? He was an S-class, right? Why was he so easy to break?

In any case, he had to get treatment. A healer would do.

Alice looked at Damian.

"Damian," she called. "...can you please help over here?" She asked. "I think I gave him some internal injuries."

"And what can your friends do to help?" Philip asked.

"He’s a great healer, I can say that much."

Damian didn’t know about that compliment but he would help since it was Alice who was asking for help.

"I’ll start now." Damian said, and the green lights appeared on his target, plus signs rotating around him, and Philip started to feel at ease.

Alice saw this and sighed in relief.

"Once we’re done here, I’ll let you do what you came to do." She said. "Since I owe you that much."

"Don’t get cocky." Philip said to her, and then she turned around to the ground she had broken with Philip’s body.

Weren’t facilities like this supposed to be reinforced with runes or something? Why did it have to break so easily?

She wondered and then spotted a necklace on the cracked floor.

No, it was a locket. She bent to pick it up, but Philip saw it, and his eyes widened.

"Hey, give that back!" He yelled, but Alice had already opened it, and as soon as she saw the picture in it, her eyes shrunk, her pupils shaking as her heartbeat started accelerating.

This...

"Didn’t you hear me? I said give it back. it’s mine!" Philip continued to yell which hindered Damian from healing him properly.

"Please, stop." Damian said, but Philip disregarded the treatment he was getting and stood up to drag the locket from Alice. With only one movement, Alice was able to evade him.

"What do you think you’re doing? Give it back." Philip yelled, but Alice had this darkness looming over her, and her eyes raged.

It was as if a wolf beast had suddenly been released, and the pressure she was releasing.

What was wrong with her all of a sudden?

"Tell me," Her voice was low but cold, sending terror to their hearts. "Why is this person here?"