Chapter 98: Suppressing her! Arriving at the destination!
Due to him becoming a circuit of Abyss, he was sure his body had turned into something inhuman, some sort of abomination.
He shuddered at the thought, feeling the cold, creeping dread of the Abyss still lingering on his skin.
He himself had witnessed the creatures of Abyss, albeit for a very short moment, but all of them were extremely repulsive and deadly.
Their twisted forms and piercing gazes haunted his thoughts, leaving him with a deep-seated revulsion that he couldn’t shake off.
He was not able to sleep well for some days due to nightmares.
He could understand that she must have seen something similar instead of his humane self.
He realized the fear she must have felt, seeing him as one of those grotesque beings rather than the guy she knew.
Those grotesque beings served him a reminder of the Abyss he now belonged to.
It was no wonder she recoiled…
He looked at her and activated [Cosmic Void Gaze], looking at her seriously, as if trying to suppress her with his aura alone.
His eyes met hers, a palpable tension filled the air, as if the very fabric of reality trembled under the weight of his gaze
The effect was instant as she slowly stopped struggling, and her eyes seemed to be gaining clarity back.
The fog of confusion lifted slowly, replaced by a flicker of recognition and uncertainty.
Oliver’s eyes were an evolved version of hers, so naturally, he was able to do this.
Although it was just a try, he did not expect it to work in first try, was this also associated with the Luck level?
As Nadia slowly gained clarity, her eyes turned confused as she looked around and behind at the maid who was now holding her arms.
“You guys! Be quiet and let me focus!” the elder shouted from the front as the haziness in her mind slowly cleared.
She yanked her hand away, and the maid let her go after noticing the shift in her behavior.
She knew something strange had happened just now. At one instance, she was attacking him, and now after Oliver looked at her once, she calmed down.
But she could not tell what…
Nadia looked around, and confusion was visible on her face. What happened and why was she being held by the maid like this?
She could not remember it.
‘What happened just now?’ she strained her mind but could not recall.
“Are you good?” A concerned voice sounded beside her.
She turned her head around and looked at Oliver when a sharp pain assaulted her head as she started to remember the bits and pieces of the incident that had transpired just a moment prior.
She looked at the sword thrown beside her, and there were droplets of red blood coating the shiny body of the weapon. The metallic scent of blood mixed within the fresh earthy air lingered near her.
Her mood turned sour. Not only had she attacked him so suddenly like this despite him not doing anything, but she also showed such irrational behavior in front of him.
She looked at him with a sullen face and distanced herself away, sitting in the corner opposite to him.
A heavy silence enveloped them, she seemed to be feeling guilty, the weight of her regret could be felt through air.
He sighed. Just earlier, he almost didn’t see the sudden sword coming toward his head. Had his instincts not worked at the correct time, he could have suffered very serious injuries.
It was his luck that he managed to avoid it.
He secretly praised the power of level 4 Luck in his mind. He was lucky that his instincts and hands moved at the correct time to prevent a fatal injury.
Luck or fate, he wasn’t sure, but the narrow escape left his heart pounding in his chest, it was still beating wildly.
He looked at Nadia. He did not know what to do as he saw her glancing at him from time to time with a mix of wariness and curiosity evident in her expressions.
She was definitely wondering right now about what she saw and if it was right, then how was it possible, and all sorts of questions.
Oliver refrained from talking to her for the moment since he did not have answers for her.
Instead, he looked at his maid who was also observing him.
‘So she’s strong enough to subdue Nadia without any problems.’
Oliver knew he couldn’t be careless with this maid.
He was mostly conspicuous with his activities, but who knows when she might be watching him.
The elder driving the car seemed to have not noticed the small commotion from before.
Or even if he did, he intentionally ignored it.
He looked at his clothes, and fortunately, they were not stained with blood, or else it would have put a bad impression on others considering this was his first meeting.
The rest of the journey was in silence as Nadia did not speak, and Oliver, who did not want to be questioned, did not take the initiative either.
The maid… well, she was quite interested in knowing what had happened and the reason why Nadia attacked him.
But she was role-playing as a maid at the moment, and a mere maid was not in authority to know about things her master had not permitted her to ask.
She was sure that something was amiss there. The always calm and composed genius Nadia would not suddenly attack someone like this, after all.
Oliver was also aware that she could not see them using special eyes on each other, and he did not intend to tell her either.
“We’re here.”
These words suddenly cut through the tension, drawing their focus to the windows.
The elder announced in a serene tone, prompting the attention of the occupants of the car.
Oliver felt a small tremble as the car stopped.
The maid was quick to react and opened the door for him.
“Woah…”
What he saw in front of him was a lush green forest—no, they were inside a dense green forest.
The elder who also got out said, “This is where the young heirs of the five clans will be meeting. This is a secluded sanctuary made by the clans. It is impossible to locate without prior information. Not only that, this sanctuary is protected by a powerful barrier.”
The elder pointed at the towering ancient trees and the lush greenery as he further added, “This place is quite old and not used as much as it used to be before. The clans shifted their meeting locations long ago, but it still exists and used to be the place where powerful exorcists of the past would meet and discuss important matters.”
Oliver looked at the trees, and they did seem quite ancient. They were tall and almost covering his view of the sky.
“So this place serves as a neutral spot for the clans?” he questioned.
“That’s right. Although it is now not the official meeting place anymore, it is still regularly maintained by the guardian spirits.”
‘Guardian spirits?’ Oliver’s ears perked up. He had heard of them before but did not expect this place to have them.
“Now, follow me. I will be leading you to the meeting spot.”
Oliver could not help but feel excited as he walked behind… it was finally time to meet them.