Chapter 152: Livia

Morie was caught slightly off guard by the question, her eyes settling on the man with a hint of suspicion.

“You are…”

The man straightened up, right fist clenched and pressed to his chest, his voice steady and carrying the weight of someone who had nothing to prove: “I am Algos, a member of the Titan Clan. And… I can smell my own kind. Strong. Unmistakable.”

“That…” Algos pointed at the two massive gauntlets floating on either side of Morie’s shoulders and continued: “That is proof of an ability unique to members of the Titan Royal Family. You… are of Titan Royalty.”

Morie heard this and felt a jolt of surprise deep in her chest, yet at the same time, something seemed to click into place.

Nanoe glanced at Morie at that moment, leaning in to whisper something into her ear, then gave a small nod.

Morie nodded as well, then looked back at Algos and replied calmly: “I am not of Titan Royalty. I merely received the bloodline of the Titan Clan, nothing more.”

Algos shook his head, his gaze sweeping over the people still lingering around them. He raised his voice and barked: “The rest of you, get lost!”

The crowd heard that and scattered like they had just been handed a second chance at life, rushing off in every direction. Damon couldn’t run on his own, his legs shaking too badly, and had to lean on Livia just to get away.

But as he fled, the look he shot back at Algos and Nanoe’s group was soaked in hatred and barely restrained fury.

’Damn it all. I’ll have my revenge… every last bit of this… I’ll pay you back a thousand times over.’ The thought burned through Damon’s mind.

From a distance, Amed licked his lips, his eyes fixed on Nanoe’s group with a greed he made no effort to conceal.

“How interesting…” he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper but tinged with excitement he couldn’t quite hide. “Those women just keep getting more intriguing. I’d love to find out what they taste like.”

He was still drinking in the sight when Monica’s eyes drifted over to him. In an instant, a suffocating dread crashed over him from all sides.

“Heh?!” Amed jolted. His entire field of vision was swallowed by a gaping mouth drenched in blood, enormous fangs lunging straight at his face as if to chew him apart.

“NO!!”

Amed’s scream startled everyone nearby. Heads turned his way, but in the next moment he snapped back to his senses, realizing it had all been in his head. More precisely, it had been an illusion.

Shaken to the core, he shot a glance toward Monica, something dawning on him in that split second. Without another word he shoved his way into the crowd and vanished.

Monica let out a contemptuous snort. “Huh. With that little bit of power and he still dares eye me up. Tired of living, is he?”

Nanoe reached over and lightly tapped the tip of Monica’s nose, saying gently: “If this were the old you, I doubt you’d have been this confident.”

Monica blinked at that, then scratched her head and laughed with an almost childlike innocence.

Algos glanced at the four women, then turned back to Morie: “May I speak with you privately?”

His entire demeanor toward Morie was one of deep respect. Morie heard the request and rubbed her chin, hesitating for a moment.

“Do not worry…” Algos said, his tone reassuring. “I have sworn an oath of eternal loyalty to the Royal Family. Because of that, I would never harm you.”

Morie heard that and gave a nod, then walked with Algos into the supermarket.

Before leading Morie somewhere more secluded, he turned back and addressed Nanoe’s group: “You are free to come inside.”

With that, he and Morie made their way to a separate room.

Monica watched them go and immediately turned to the others, worry creeping into her voice: “She’ll be okay, right?”

“She’ll be fine… if anything, this might just be her Fortuitous Encounter.” Nanoe smiled, then led Monica and Elith inside.

….

In the room, Algos entered first, Morie a step behind.

Once inside, Algos dropped to one knee on the floor, bowed his head, and spoke with solemn reverence: “Holy Maiden…”

“Holy Maiden? Are you referring to me?” Morie asked, genuinely puzzled.

“Yes. You, specifically.”

“But…”

“I know what you are about to say. Please allow me to explain first.” Algos began: “The Titan Clan has only ever been able to live on the Dying Lands, a place so brutal and unforgiving that even the Gods themselves refuse to look upon it.”

“But we are bound by a curse. Those of us born on those lands cannot leave them. Because of this, the Titan Clan’s High Priests made a decision: to scatter our bloodline out into the wider world.”

“The method was straightforward. Using blood and soul, they bound it into the System of the Creation God, allowing others to obtain our bloodline. Through them, we gain a path to escape the cursed land.”

Morie listened, finding the whole thing deeply strange. She furrowed her brow and asked: “Then… how did you manage to leave that place?”

“Through being summoned…” Algos said. “Survivors can summon us into this world. Though it means serving others as a slave, at the very least I was able to escape that wretched place.”

“However, even as a summoned being, my loyalty to whoever summoned me is not absolute. If my summoner ever forces me to kill one of my own kind, I reserve the right to betray them.”

Morie nodded, piecing together a clearer picture of the Titan Clan’s existence. She pressed on: “Then… why do you call me the Holy Maiden?”

Algos answered plainly: “In truth, there is no single Holy Maiden. There are many. And they all share one common trait…”

He spoke as he gestured toward the luminous lava-like markings tracing across Morie’s body: “That. The special power carried only by Holy Maidens of the Titan Clan.”

“The Holy Maidens do not fight one another. They share one singular purpose, and that is to find the promised land for the entire Titan Clan. Whoever accomplishes this earns the right to ascend the Titan King’s throne and become the Titan Goddess.”

Morie rubbed her chin, quietly filing away every piece of that information. She and Algos talked for a while longer before finally stepping back out.

Nanoe saw that Morie was unharmed and immediately moved to her side, glancing over at Algos with a smile: “All done?”

Algos gave a nod. A quiet stir moved through him. This woman was extraordinarily beautiful, yet she belonged to an entirely different race, one he could not touch.

The Titan Clan upheld laws of iron and a faith harder than diamond. They did not betray the beliefs and codes they lived by.

“Holy Maiden…” Algos placed a hand over his chest and spoke with reverence. “Though I am currently bound in service to another, if you ever have need of me, I will come.”

Morie nodded and asked: “How would I reach you?”

Algos reached into the pack on his back and produced a small bell, holding it out to Morie.

“Holy Maiden, this is a bell of special make, crafted by the Titan Clan. You need only ring it and every Titan within 200 miles will hear it. And only those of Titan blood can hear its sound.”

When he finished speaking, Algos raised his helmet and locked it into place, sealing his face behind it completely. He looked less like a man now and more like a machine. His voice resonated from within the helmet, mechanical and hollow, like gears turning deep inside: “Holy Maiden. I will keep everything about this apartment complex in absolute confidence. You have nothing to fear on that account. But I hope that one day you will help the Titan Clan find their promised land.”

He dropped to one knee, bowed his head in a show of reverence, then rose and led all of his soldiers away.

Morie watched the retreating figure of Algos and his men until they disappeared, then asked quietly: “Nanoe, why did you stop me from asking about their weapons?”

Nanoe shook her head. “Morie, even if he has acknowledged you as a Holy Maiden, I do not think things are quite that simple.”

“If he truly held you in genuine reverence, he would have given you everything he knew, everything he had. But he did not do that. Which means… he may simply see you as a worthwhile investment.”

“A worthwhile investment?” Morie’s brow creased.

“Exactly.” Nanoe smiled. “He may be genuinely loyal to you, but that does not mean he fully trusts you yet. If anything, it seems like he is watching to see what you are made of.”

“If you manage to grow strong and survive without his help, he will likely come to your side. But if the opposite happens, he will drop you without a second thought.”

Morie took that in and found it hard to argue with. After all, she and Algos had only just met.

She shook her head, deciding she had no desire to dwell on it, and said softly: “Never mind all that. Right now, all I want is to be by Rover’s side. I’m not going anywhere, and I’m definitely not doing anything stupid over some pointless title like Holy Maiden.”

With that, Morie wandered off to browse the supermarket. Nanoe watched her go, something flickering behind her eyes, a thought too strange to put into words.

All four of them finished picking up what they needed and were about to head back when they spotted a woman standing just outside the supermarket entrance.

Nanoe recognized her the moment she saw her. It was Livia, the one who had used her ability to support Damon in his attack on Algos.

Livia stepped forward until she was standing in front of Nanoe, looking her up and down slowly, something in her gaze caught between envy and longing.

“Is Rover your master?” she asked.

Nanoe nodded. “Are you here for me or for my master?”

“Tell Rover that… if he wants to become my Tenant, he is welcome to come find me. I am in room 1704. However, I do not want him surrounded by so many women, so…”

“Hahaha…” Monica burst out laughing, like she had just heard the most absurd joke of her life.

Elith laughed too. Morie pressed a hand to her forehead, her expression saying everything: ’How does someone this thick actually exist?’

Nanoe looked Livia over once. She was fairly attractive, no question about that, but compared to Nanoe or the Tenants of Noan, she fell considerably short.

Nanoe smiled and said: “Livia, you do not even come close to meeting the standard required to be a Tenant of my master. And you think my master would agree to become your Tenant?”

Livia’s brow tightened, impatience bleeding into her eyes: “You think you are the strongest ones around? Think carefully. The fact that I came here and said what I said means I have more than enough power to string all of you up like Easter hens.”

Nanoe raised a hand to cover her smile, her sharp eyes settling on Livia without a trace of concern: “Alright. I have no interest in talking to fools. Please stop polluting the air around us.”

“And another thing… just because food is scarce around here and chicken has gone up in value does not mean your value has gone up with it.”

Nanoe finished speaking and turned away, leading the other three with her as they left.

Livia stood frozen in place. Her hands balled into fists so tight her knuckles had gone white. Her eyes burned with fury as she muttered under her breath: “Fine. Very fine. I hope you will not live to regret this.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep