Watching my palm slam into the horde of monsters for the umpteenth time, I flicked my hand, causing my purple palm to dissolve while I manifested another one above my head as I waited for the horde to once again grow in size as they emerged from the dimensional rift.
'Haa, this has grown to become tedious.' Thought Elif with an expression of pure boredom as he looked at thousands of monsters pouring out of the rift, only to sigh.
It's been a month since I left that hellish Aether Realm, and I've spent every moment fighting back the horde, if I could even call it such, since it wasn't like I was truly fighting; there was no difficulty in this whatsoever. I haven't even needed a brief respite to refill my Qi reserves; as a matter of fact, despite attacking for about thirty-two days non-stop, I haven't even used five percent of my total Qi reserves.
The strongest monster still was only a Saint Lord, and when the difference in cultivation bases was so utterly massive, numbers alone would never fill the gap; time would also need to come into play. How many years would it take for these Nether Monsters to drain me of my Qi?
Far more than a millennium, that is for sure… Even if they succeeded, they would never be able to kill me; my physique was far too strong for them to even think about damaging.
While daydreaming, I flicked my hand, launching my massive purple palm into the ground below, killing every monster that had emerged from the rift, only for me to disperse it as I once again waited.
'Haa, no. I'm done; this is a waste of time. Illumia!' Muttered Elif via divine sense in annoyance with a sigh as he folded his arms before turning around, glancing at Illumia, who suddenly appeared floating in front of him.
'Yes, your Highness?' Asked Illumia respectfully, via divine sense, as she slightly bowed while looking at Elif, who gestured to the wall behind her.
'Inform the guard to activate the defensive cannons. I'm leaving.' Ordered Elif via divine sense as he glanced at the wall of the bubble-dome city, prompting Illumia to nod, only for her figure to vanish.
As I waited for the cannons to begin firing, I glanced down at the approaching horde, a sight that I'd been long tired of, and thankfully, I wouldn't need to deal with them again for a while, as they were suddenly blasted by several spheres of Qi that exploded upon impact.
Shifting my focus to the operating canons, I scoffed and flew back to the bubble-dome city as I phased through the bubble, exiting the water as I experienced dryness for the first time in a month.
"I can finally speak. Ay, I almost forgot how beautiful my voice sounded; I could make a Siren jealous." Said Elif with a faint grin as he spoke to himself before glancing at Illumia, who silently stood beside him.
Rolling my eyes at her lack of fun, I released a small eruption of Qi that instantly dried me before I started walking back to our temporary residence, though while doing so, I summoned a crystal ball from my dimension ring.
"Hmm, now let's see. While it was tedious and a waste of time, killing those monsters did grant me points to our current trial that fool Charuli forced upon us." Muttered Elif curiously as he infused his Qi into the crystal ball, waiting for it to calculate his points based on the strength and number of his kills.
Once the crystal ball finished, it projected the number a few inches into the air, causing my expression to twitch in annoyance as I threatened to throw it onto the ground.
"Tsk, this is humiliating; all that wasted time, and I merely acquired just under six million points!?" Exclaimed Elif in slight anger as he tightly clenched the crystal ball while glaring at the projected number.
"You decided to fight the horde to practice your Royal Elf's Palm. Don't forget your Highness." "Yes, but then I spent an extra three weeks fighting the horde to apparently waste my time. I can acquire ten million points by killing a Divine King, let alone this measly six million." Remarked Illumia and Elif, respectively, as the former attempted to soothe the latter's anger, though it proved useless as he stored the crystal ball in his ring.
Clicking my tongue in annoyance, we entered my residence, and I immediately headed for my room, where I summoned a jar filled with Elaine's nectar before handing it to Illumia, who refrained from touching it directly and floated it beside her.
"Make me tea; I'm quite annoyed right now." Ordered Elif lightly as he lay on his sofa while glancing at Illumia, who did as told with a nod.
Once Illumia finished, she poured Elaine's nectar into a teapot, which she then poured into a teacup before finally handing it to me, and even before drinking, the heavenly scent that invaded my nose already eased my annoyance.
"Mhm, delicious." Said Elif softly as he constantly took sips, quickly emptying his teacup and prompting Illumia to refill it.
"Hmm, when you think about it, I am currently in first place with that score, so there is that." Muttered Elif lightly as he downed Elaine's nectar with one gulp while Illumia bit her lip, her gaze fixed on his raging erection, which he didn't bother to conceal.
Before I knew it, I had emptied the jar and drunk everything, causing me to frown when Illumia had said there was no more, though I didn't get upset and merely summoned another one from my ring; I had a rather deep stash, so I wasn't concerned.
"I wonder… How is Elaine fairing in that hellish Realm?" Asked Elif curiously as he took a sip and smacked his lips before shifting his gaze in the direction of the Aether Realm Dimensional Rift while Illumia stared at his crotch with a heated gaze.
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"If you see Elif walking and a naked woman suddenly jumps out in front of him, what do you do?" Asked Elaine with a stern expression as she pointed Orcus at a statue of Elif before eyeing Marley, Ember, and Idonea.
"You kill her and destroy her soul?" Asked Marley as she raised her hand while looking at Elaine, who furrowed her brows before shaking her head.
"No! You only do that if no other options are remaining. Remember, even if Brother knows what we are doing, we can't let him see us do so. He has an honorable reputation and image; we can't sully it by killing women in front of him… Even if they deserve it. Ember!" Stated Elaine with a shake of her head as she stabbed Orcus into the ground while clicking her tongue before shifting his focus to Ember, whose arm had been raised.
"We incapacitate her, take her somewhere secretive and isolated, and then kill her?" Asked Ember solemnly as she looked at Elaine, who narrowed her eyes, causing her to nervously gulp.
"Better, but not quite it. Remember, even if we don't care about sullying our reputation, it will reflect poorly on Brother, and we do not want that. Idonea, you better have the correct answer." Replied Elaine with a shake of her head as she grabbed Orcus from the ground and pointed at Idonea, who lowered her arm.
"You incapacitate her, add a tracking talisman to her, and then return a few days later to secretly finish the job." Stated Idonea, her words causing Elaine to smirk as she nodded in agreement.
"Yes. Once no one would suspect you for her inevitable death, that is when you kill her…" Said Elaine with a nod as she looked at Idonea, who faintly smirked, causing Ember to sigh in defeat while Marley clicked her tongue.
Summoning a jar of Brother's love, I floated it toward Idonea, who graciously accepted it before storing it in her dimension ring; it was a bit painful to see it go to another woman, but it was a worthwhile investment. After training and teaching these three how to be Brother's protectors, they were nearly ready. The only thing they were missing was ruthlessness, and that wasn't something I could simply teach; they needed to learn it.
"Hmph, don't look at me, Ember; you have two jars and Marley, and I only have one." Said Idonea sternly as she eyed Ember, who scoffed before folding her arms and proudly raising her head.
"Your Highness?" "How did I say to address me?" Asked Marley and Elaine, respectively, as the latter narrowed her eyes, causing the former to fearfully gulp.
"W-Wife. I understand you're teaching us to better protect His Highness, and we're all extremely grateful, but… Will we ever begin to trade with the residents of the Aether Realm? We haven't done anything ever since His Highness left." Asked Marley as she looked at Elaine, who furrowed her brows while looking inside her dimension ring.
"I had forgotten about that; good for reminding me. Yes, we will start trading with the residents of this realm as the final task I have for you three can only be completed in the Over Realm." Remarked Elaine with a nod as she nodded at Marley before clapping her hands while storing the statue of Elif into her dimension ring.
"Now, which way do we go?" Muttered Elaine with a curious expression as she slowly spun in a circle while Marley, Idonea, and Ember silently stared at each other.