Chapter 332: The exes.

Hunter sneered, stepping directly between Zyra and Michael. His hand rested on his sword hilt as he warned, "Keep your filthy hands off my wife, unless you want to lose them."

"Wife?!" Clifford squeaked, his eyes popping out of his head as he stared at Zyra in utter disbelief.

Michael looked like someone had just slapped him across the face with a wet shoe. "M-Married?! You’re married?!"

Zyra snapped out of her trance. She crossed her arms, looking at them with cool, deadpan eyes. "I heard a rumor that you two were wandering around the Wild Lands trying to avenge Han’s death and I didn’t believe it, but it seems like it was true. Playing the loyal brothers-in-arms, are you?"

Michael’s head shook so violently it looked like it might pop off his neck. He had witnessed what Zyra had done to that king beast, and he was not about to provoke her. This bitch went off and awakened, and she didn’t send word to us! She married another man! How dare she! "No! Absolutely not! Pure fake news! We were looking for you yesterday but not to harm you!" He didn’t share his thoughts loudly.

Clifford chimed in, holding his hands up defensively. "We didn’t want to come. Han’s old man literally forced us to come out here and hunt for you! But_ well, we got sick of searching, so we were on our way home when we caught this blasted plague! We wanted to warn you, to protect you. And to ask you to take us back...please! All those mistakes we made, it was Hans and Lita that forced us. We are your fiancé’s, Zyra. We grew up together. Think about it, had we ever been bad to you before?" His voice cracked as he made a hopeful plea.

Hunter clenched his fists; the only reason he had not broken their jaws was because he wanted Zyra to deal with them and get some closure.

Zyra scoffed, letting out a dark, breathless laugh. "You want me take you back now that I am powerful. You were leeches_ the only reason you clung on to me was because of my bloodline, but when it didn’t awaken you realized you made a loss and treated me worse than your worst enemy."

Michael immediately dropped his head, putting on his best puppy-dog eyes_ the same manipulative look he used to pull whenever he got caught cheating on her. "Zyra, please... let’s start over. Didn’t we dream of a life together, after you awakened? Think of all the plans we made before. Look at us, the men you once loved. We’re sick, we’re exhausted, and we have no money. The plague is eating us alive! Please, just take us with you. When we get back home, you will take your rightful position as the grand elder of all our combined clans."

Hunter let out a sharp snicker and rolled his eyes so hard it looked painful. He honestly could not believe the absolute shamelessness of these two clowns. He pointed a accusing finger right at their faces.

"You two really have no bottom line, do you?" Hunter spat, his voice full of venom. "You tried to violate my wife! You forced her to jump off a deadly cliff to escape you, and then you ran around smearing her name, telling the whole realm that she was a cold-blooded killer. And now you’re crawling on your knees, begging her for help?!"

Michael slumped his shoulders, putting on a pitiful, repentant expression, though a flicker of annoyance flashed in his eyes for a split second. "Yes. We were terrible people in the past. We admit it! But we’ve changed. When Zyra jumped off that cliff, we regret our actions and we have reflected on our sins! We’re totally different people now, I swear!"

Beside him, Clifford nodded frantically, trying to look as weak and pathetic as possible. The two men quickly exchanged a sneaky, frantic glance. They could see it in Zyra’s eyes_ the utter coldness. She wasn’t buying a single word of their cheap performance. She didn’t care if they lived or died.

Without saying another word, Zyra turned on her heel and started walking toward the rest of her team.

"Wait! Zyra, no! You can’t just leave us!" Michael threw himself onto the ground. He reached out and grabbed Zyra’s ankle with a desperate, tight grip, pointing a trembling hand toward the quarantine zone.

"Save him at least! Save Shane!" Michael begged, his voice high and shrill. "He’s in there! He’s literally seconds away from dying! People are calling you the divine maiden; it’s your job to heal us!"

Zyra stopped. She looked down at Michael’s hand clutching her boot, then glanced over at the building. She had not seen Shane among the patients, but she had seen some dead bodies being wheeled into a furnace. Maybe he was one of the dead.

"I hope he is dead," Zyra said flatly.

In her mind, she called out sharply: "System, increase my physical strength by five percent."

[Host physical strength increased by 5%. Hit him hard!]

Zyra snapped her foot back and delivered a brutal, precise kick straight into Michael’s chest.

Michael flew backward like a human cannonball, hurtling across path until he smashed hard against a thick stone wall.The crisp, loud sound of his spine snapping echoed through the quiet town. Michael slid down the pillar like a wet rag, collapsing into a unconscious heap on the floor.

Clifford let out a horrified shriek and squeezed himself into a ball, shaking like a leaf.

Hunter kicked him, using all of his brutal strength. His neck cracked as his body hit the wall. Hunter looked at the crumpled, lifeless body, then at Zyra, giving her an approving nod. "Satisfying. Now, let’s go home."

Zyra walked over to him and slid her fingers into his, holding his hand tightly.

Together, they stepped outside into the cool night air, heading straight toward the glowing portal waiting for them. Behind them, the crowd of survivors surged forward, shouting and begging her to stay.

"Divine maiden, please! Don’t leave us!"

"Lead us! Protect our town."

Zyra didn’t even turn her head. She had zero interest in playing savior to these people or dealing with any more trash from her past.

Holding Hunter’s hand, she stepped firmly into the portal, vanishing into the blinding light without looking back once.

The moment they stepped into the valley, Zyra gave a command to the system.

"System, transfer Taylor and Red Sun into the medic pavilion if he’s stable," she commanded silently in her mind.

[Ding! Patient is stable enough to survive transportation. Transferring now, Host.]

Etania and others were already racing for the medical pavilion. If Zyra had teleported Taylor away, they figured he was in there.