Chapter 437 - 435:Meeting again.

Chapter 437: Chapter 435:Meeting again.

HUMMMMMM!!!!!

A loud hum rumbled through space as the ship before us was sucked into a distortion of bent light. The stars warped around its hull, snapped into long silver needles, and then—

CRACK!!

It vanished. Space collapsed back into silence, leaving only a shimmering wake of scorched light.

I watched in quiet focus at the space the ship had just occupied, the realization that the old man had truly left finally settling in.

"Mr. Dante, you have no need to worry, my men had already keyed in a determined destination for the ship. It’s a region only a few thousand light-years away, and by his specific request, there should be sufficient carnage for him to get himself acclimated." I merely nodded at the words coming from Max, the guy had been nice enough to accept our request, so the least I could do was dignify his words with a response.

"Don’t go getting moody on us now, bastard. The old man already said you should perk up, so perk up." Malachi’s grating voice finally pulled me out of my sullen mood.

"Heh! I just received a massive upgrade, if I wasn’t so worried about getting killed in whatever that old man had planned, I’d have gone along too." Salazar grinned.

"So you fear what my Father had planned out, but you’re not worried about what Dante has planned?" Leo’s slow and lazy voice asked.

"Well, for now, things seem pretty calm, so I’m betting on the fact that this should be significantly less stressful than where that old man is going."

"Haa... and I thought Chronari were supposed to get wiser with age."

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

"Don’t worry, you’ll find out soon enough. I just know something is coming to wipe that smile off your face."

I turned, looking at the guys as they argued among themselves.

They had changed, both physically and existentially.

Leo had become an entirely golden griffin, wings, talons, beak, feathers, every single thing about the chicken-cat was a blinding, hope-inducing gold. All except his eyes. They were the only part of him that looked dead. Nothing could be felt from them. And should one look into them too deeply, they’d find themselves drowning completely in despair. Which was fitting, after all, he was my Apostle of Despair.

[Apostle of Despair: ’Bane of Hope’ Leo Wildeheart.]

Then there was Paku. His change wasn’t that different from what he was, just that now, the tiny furball was sporting two crimson-red horns on his furry head. Though, once that furball transformed, that’s when the true terror began, because believe it or not, that little guy had become my Apostle of Wrath.

[Apostle of Wrath: ’Raging Behemoth’ Paku.]

Then came the ever-eccentric man, Salazar. His skin had taken on a clear, almost transparent hue, his hair changing to a bright mercury color as his body became even more slender. He had been clamoring about making him a being of laws like I did Shulvan, so taking that into account and using his race as a precedent, there was truly only one position fitting for him,

[Apostle of Time: ’The Ageless’ Salazar Aethern.]

And then we get to the truly surprising part, Malachi.

The monkey had turned into an entirely golden-furred monkey-man. I had seriously considered just restoring his primordial Immemorial Golden Ape bloodline and improving it, but after telling him what it was, the monkey had still insisted on becoming an apostle instead, because in his words,

"What would a primordial beast possibly compare to? With the way you blitz through power, by the time I fully attain primordial beast status, you would’ve been far ahead of me, so no. Let me tap into your well, that way, I shall only be a few steps behind."

I couldn’t have said no even if I wanted to, so I made the decision right then and there.

If he was going to give up so much individuality just to tie himself to me like the others have, then I can only reciprocate in kind. That’s why I made him my,

[Apostle of Pride: ’The Absolute’s Ego’ Malachi Stoneborn.]

I had no idea where these tags were coming from, but I wasn’t about to be bothered.

So, going over all five of them, Shulvan, Leo, Malachi, Paku, and Salazar, one last time, I finally turned away from the spot where the old man had vanished and decided to take in the view of the world before me properly. It was, quite honestly, a sight to behold.

The entire planet looked like something submerged in water. If Earth from Kyle’s life was supposed to be 70% water, then this planet was 100% water. I could even faintly hear the sound of the waves from this far out.

It was at least twice the size of Terra, and Terra was already quite large herself.

"Husband, that’s a very rude thing to say about a woman."

"Hahaha... sorry my dear, slip of the tongue."

"Okay, I’ll forgive you this time."

I shook my head as I focused back on the oceanic planet before me.

A shimmering blue dome of energy covered its entirety, the runes glitching on and off every now and then, already telling me what this dome did.

"Hmm... pretty neat, though I believe I could still break it easily," I muttered under my breath.

"Sir Dante, can you please not say such worrying things?" The anxious voice of Max finally made me realize my slip-up.

"Hehe... don’t worry, I won’t. Your planet is very beautiful," I replied in sincerity, but—

"Husband, you can’t go around admiring and complimenting another planet when I’m here. That’s equivalent to cheating."

Terra seemed to have an issue with that. Her voice wasn’t loud, but the chastisement within was obvious.

"Uhh... sorry, I guess?"

"Alright, I forgive you. Just try to hold back next time."

"Umm... okay?"

"Pfftt... hahahahahahaha!!! The bastard just got put in his place, and she didn’t even need to yell! Oh, this is golden." Sana burst out laughing, but I just ignored her.

"At least Husband has the eyes to appreciate the planet and isn’t just saying things to cozy up to the stuck-up entity." The way Terra said the most triggering of things with the calmest of voices was still a mystery to me.

"YOU INSUFFERABLE—"

I quickly tuned them out. I had made a promise to never interfere in whatever madness those three, soon to be four, would get into.

"So, Max. Mind taking us to see your beau—I mean, to see your place?" I’d already been warned once, not getting told off again.

"Certainly." The man seemed to perk up at my words as he took out a circular device and gave out a few orders.

The surrounding armada of warships stationed around the planet finally put down their charged weapons. The ginormous station orbiting the planet turned off the pulsating beam it had been charging up.

Oh, you thought we were just being welcomed easily? Nope. The entire place had been swarmed the moment we appeared, and had it not been for Max, I was sure these guys would’ve opened fire already.

"Heh! Cute." That’s all it was. After all, the only reason they still lived after their audacity was because I hadn’t sensed genuine killing intent and only perceived caution, otherwise...

"Sir Dante, please this way."

"You can drop the ’sir’; I’m only 18."

"Oh, okay. This way, please."

He gestured toward a gateway-like portal that had appeared before us after his call.

"Big Brother? Where are we?" The groggy voice of the little passenger on my head finally alerted me to the fact that I was carrying someone else.

"Hehehe. Little man, finally awake?"

"Hmm. Hmm."

"Well, you’re just in time then, we’re about to go swimming."

"Swimming?"

"Yup." I nodded, glancing back at the others. "Alright fellas, let’s get this adventure started." And then I moved, passing through the gateway.

.....

.....

"Well, that’s unexpected..." I couldn’t help muttering after passing through the gates.

"Woah!"

"This... so beautiful."

The amazed voices of the others sounded out one by one as they made their way through, too. And I could only reluctantly agree, of course, without saying it out loud.

The place we’d appeared in was a marvel of architecture. We were at what could only be the bottom of a massive ocean, as the sky overhead was nothing but a transparent blue of oceanic waves.

The earth below was cool to our feet, the air fresh as the seas. Yet it was the buildings that took your breath away.

They were lit with lights of all colors, majestic and towering, with airways connecting one building to another.

I had already known these people to be technologically advanced, but looking at what I was seeing now, I could only think,

"Did we somehow end up in Atlantis?" Because what was I looking at?

"Welcome to my homeworld, Dante. This is our imperial capital, Neonax. I hope it’s to your liking."

I could only nod while asking, "Seems they’re celebrating something?" because the place was decorated with celebratory banners of light, and visible fireworks could be seen every now and then.

Yes, fireworks under the ocean.

"Hmm?" The man himself seemed confused. "Hey, you there." Pulling out my favorite classic of asking strangers, he inquired, "What’s happening? Why the atmosphere?"

"Oh, Lord Maximoff, I pay my homage." The man tried to kneel in greeting, but, "Just answer me, no need for trivialities."

"Yes, Sir. Answering the lord, the princesses have finally returned from their abyss expedition a few days ago, and the emperor was ecstatic enough to declare a weeklong celebration."

"The princesses are back?" Max seemed to have been elated at the news as his face lit up. "That means she’s..." His words were cut short as the sound of marching footsteps reached our ears.

"Make way!! The imperial carriage is passing!! Make way!!" A fleet of armored soldiers made their way toward us in orderly formation, a pristine carriage of unknown material that was quite beautiful being ferried in the middle.

Max’s face lit up even further as he hurried forward.

My curiosity piqued, I followed behind the man.

Crashhh!!!

The entourage came to a flying halt before us as the doors were flung open and a figure came crashing into the waiting embrace of the man.

"Maximoff!!!"

"My love!!"

The two remained locked in a tender embrace, their moment only breaking up as another sweet and feminine voice came from the carriage.

"Alright, you two, break it up. We’re holding up the way. And Maximoff, it seems you’ve brought guests." The voice was followed by descending footsteps coming from the carriage as the person made her way out.

"Ahh! Forgive my ignorance." The man finally broke it up, an embarrassed smile on his face.

"Please, Princesses, allow me to introduce you to someone I met on my expedition. The emperor had asked me to bring him back if he accepted." The man shifted, allowing the two women to finally get a proper look at me.

"Ohhh? Well, this is unexpected." I couldn’t help the amused smile that broke out on my face.

"Princesses, please meet Dante, the man I encountered on my expedition."

The women froze the moment they laid eyes on me, and then,

"Ben... Benefactor?"

*******

A/N: So we meet again here. Well, let’s see how this plays out, anyways...

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