Chapter 136: Four Physiques

"Is Sara truly that powerful?" Asher asked, his tone laced with genuine incredulity.

​Viper was undeniably lethal; he had witnessed her absurd physical stats and combat instincts firsthand. Hearing her openly admit that she was nothing more than a helpless child before Sara confused Asher to his core.

​"It seems you really know next to nothing about the true history of your own wives." Viper remarked, casually sinking onto the plush sofa opposite Asher. Meanwhile, Juliana reclaimed her now favorite spot on his sofa armrest, leaning in close and getting comfortably ready to hear the legendary tales of the Fire Goddess.

​"Back when I was still young and, well, completely crazy—I fought against two specific women who defined an era. Among those two, there is one I will never dare to cross or offend ever again. One of them was Luna Starfire..."

​"Luna?"

​"You know her?" Viper glanced up at him, her white eyes flashing with mild surprise.

​"Yes," Asher nodded, his expression darkening slightly.

​"Alright... When we fought outside, neither of us deployed our absolute strongest abilities or high-tier equipment, mainly to avoid attracting unwanted attention..." Viper recounted, leaning back against the cushions:

"But when I fought Luna, I pushed myself to the absolute limit and used everything in my arsenal. Long story short, it ended in a complete draw... Luna possesses an extremely strange, ominous Physique, and if it hadn’t been for my dual physiques, I wouldn’t have even managed to stand my ground against that bitch."

​"Bitch?" Juliana raised a dark eyebrow, a subtle smirk touching her lips.

​"Yeah, we’re bitter enemies to this day," Viper grunted, relaxing her posture. "As for the second woman... not everyone knows her real name or has ever seen her unmasked face, mainly because she was always clad in that iconic, blood-red Divine-Tier armor on the frontlines... Regardless, the Fire Goddess isn’t like any ordinary Awakened you’ll ever meet in Vaeloria. I heard rumors circulating in the deep underworld claiming she possessed three distinct Physiques."

​"Three?!!" Asher exclaimed, his eyes widening in shock. "No way... That has to be just an exaggerated rumor."

​"Actually, Sara doesn’t have three, but four distinct Physiques." Juliana revealed smoothly, a pleased, proud smile blooming on her face as she looked down at her husband.

​"Four?!!!"

​Both Viper and Asher yelled simultaneously, snapping their heads toward Juliana with absolute, wide-eyed astonishment.

​"Yes. Let me see if I can remember them all correctly..." Juliana tapped her chin thoughtfully. "She possesses the Fire Goddess Physique, the Sword Saint Physique, and the Holy Executioner Physique... As for the fourth one, I can’t quite remember its name, but I am pretty sure it’s her absolute strongest Physique."

​"Oh, I know that one!" Viper interjected hastily, snapping her fingers. "The Diamond Body Physique!!"

​’Why does Sara possess one Goddess Physique and two Holy Physiques?! And what on earth is this Diamond Body Physique?’ Asher thought, thoroughly stunned by the staggering weight of her latent talent.

​"With all of those high-tier physiques synergizing together, she formed a dangerously terrifying powerhouse..." Viper continued, her tone growing remarkably subdued:

"During my single battle against her, I didn’t even realize what happened—in less than a single exchange, I was utterly defeated... Even when my Devouring Physique forcibly stole a portion of her stats, it felt like a single drop taken from a bottomless ocean. Nothing changed."

​She crossed her arms over her chest, letting out a heavy breath: "This is the primary reason why all high-rank Awakened strictly refuse to go anywhere near the Doomsday Dungeon rift. If an absolute monster of that caliber could fall in that place, who among us wouldn’t meet the exact same fate?"

​’She’s right...’ Asher analyzed inwardly, his mind racing. ’This only means the King mentioned by the system operates on a realm far beyond ordinary comprehension... With Sara’s peak strength, she could have easily taken on opponents far above the SSS-Rank, yet she was still crippled on that cursed island.’

​"Oh, roughly five years ago, one of the elite ancient families even dispatched their chief butler to personally recruit Sara." Juliana muttered, lightly shaking her head at the memory. "They demanded that she abandon her family surname and submit to their house, becoming one of their personal Awakened enforcers."

​Juliana paused, a cold smirk gracing her lips: "Sara flatly refused."

​Asher raised an eyebrow. Even the secretive Ancient Families had scouted her terrifying talent early on, but flatly refusing their command in Silverspire was practically seeking one’s own death.

​In that single instant, every scattered piece of the grand puzzle clicked together in Asher’s mind, freezing him dead in his seat:

​’I get it now... Because she dared to refuse the Ancient Family’s mandate, they orchestrated a meticulous plan to erase her... which directly led to her covert poisoning. That’s why they forced her into the Doomsday Dungeon expedition to die... The Lebreton family, the Starfire family, the Ancient Family, Daniel, and everyone else pulled into this conspiracy... I will personally visit every single one of you.’

​"So... I am now literally serving as the personal bodyguard for the Fire Goddess herself?!" Viper asked, staring at Asher with wide, gleaming eyes.

​Seeing Asher give a slow, firm nod, Viper instantly leaped to her feet off the sofa, throwing her hands in the air:

​"Yes! I fucking love this job already!!" she cheered loudly.

​"Huh? Didn’t you love it before?" Asher asked, a half-smile playing on his lips as he raised an eyebrow.

​"Um... well... forget all that unnecessary detail!" Viper stammered, coughing into her fist before enthusiastically pointing toward the grand hallway. "Can I go upstairs right now and see her?!"

​"No. Sara doesn’t like unexpected people entering her personal space... Even among the staff, only Jessica is permitted inside her room. Besides, you will be seeing her around the estate every single day." Asher stated firmly, his eyes locking straight onto hers.

​"And you need to keep my wife’s current delicate situation in mind," Asher instructed, his tone turning dead serious. "Engrave this mandate deep into your head: do not ever recount anything that happened in the past, nor bring up any of her former glory. Simply behave... well, completely normal around her."

​He added calmly, "After I have fully cured her condition, you may ask her whatever you wish."

​’Fully cured her...? Would I even have the raw courage to utter a single word to her if she regains her peak power?’ Viper thought to Netherlands, her high-spirits suddenly plummeting into a pool of nervous anxiety.

​"This directive is strictly for her health and recovery! If you dare disobey my words, I will not hesitate to kill you where you stand."

​BOOOOOOOM!

​A suffocating wave of dense, pitch-black killing intent erupted violently from Asher’s core, saturating the entire sitting room and heavying the atmospheric pressure.

​’This guy... he didn’t even use half of his real strength when he fought against me earlier...’ Viper thought, her body going stiff as she stared at the young man sitting before her:

’In reality, we only exchanged three direct blows at most while his Shadow Knights handled the rest of the clash... Just how insanely strong is this guy?’