Parallel Vol. 5

Chapter 57: The Reunion

Brackt! Boom! Thunderclaps echoed across the Isle of Giants as several thousand bore witness to the tragic sight occurring in the clouds above. The greatest domestic dispute played out to the stunned witnesses as Zeno gave out a beating a thousand years in the making to the man she loved.

Predictably, Lucius did nothing to defend himself as Zeno punched him halfway across the stratosphere. Try as he might, Lucius could not hold back the smile on his gruesomely busted lips. Every punch, every broken bone, and every new cut affirmed the unbelievable truth. Zeno was back! She truly was alive. Deep, lavender eyes, pronounced canines, and a grip that could crush mountains. This was the woman he fell in love with; this was the woman who occupied his every waking thought for several centuries.

Pain? What was physical pain to the emotional torment of believing he would never see her again? What could supersede his guilt for facilitating her death, regardless of unintentionality?

Pa! Lucius winced as Zeno clutched his throat. The hybrid smiled with contentment even as he viewed the boiling anger in Zeno's eyes. Leaving aside the fact that he could not die; even if he could, he would not have minded dying at that moment. Zeno being alive was all he ever wanted—even if she never spoke to him again.

"What are you smiling about?" Zeno spoke for the first time during the thirty-minute beating. The rage in her eyes flared even more when she noticed Lucius' solemn gaze. Of course, she knew what the smug bastard was thinking. 'It's fine as long as you're alive.' But that wasn't just it. Zeno did not care that she died.

Lucius' eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat when tears began streaming down Zeno's face. "Wh-what's going on?" For as long as he had known her, Lucius had never seen Zeno cry—no matter what happened. She was the type to process sadness through violent bursts of anger followed by silent melancholy. Panicking, Lucius pulled her arms from his neck as he questioned, "What's wrong?"

"You bastard." Zeno cried as she weakly punched Lucius' bleeding chest. "It.... It's gone."

"What's—"

"Back then... I didn't get a chance to tell you." Zeno weakly muttered, almost falling as she lost strength in her wings. "I... We... I was—"

"Ms. Zeno. Razznik did not break his promise." Just then, Suzuki stepped out of a portal, holding a terrified Rex by the neck like a trussed-up chicken for slaughter. Without wings, the daeben could not fly, but he stayed up by bouncing in place. The sight was slightly ridiculous, but Suzuki's deadpan expression made it hard to laugh at him.

Zeno turned to glare at the intruder, her rage freezing the daeben in place. Without even looking at him, she conjured a giant white fireball and blasted it toward Suzuki. The daeben did not blink to her surprise, even as the fireball shot towards him.

But she understood why in the next second.

Psh!! White particles scattered around the skies as a tremendous force shattered the fireball before it could reach the daeben.

Zeno glared at Lucius who stood between the scattering particulates and the Suzuki. "What do you think you're doing!?" Zeno angrily growled. All this time, Lucius did not say a word or lift a finger. But one small fireball at this rude pest, and he felt the need to personally intervene? Zeno knew it was petty, but she could not help but feel a little jealous, which then stoked her competitive spirit. "You want to be a bodyguard!?" She angrily yelled as mana for miles suddenly began pouring toward her palm. "Why don't you block this!?"

Lucius revealed a helpless smile as he realized his blunder. The hybrid lightly frowned as he struggled to think of a way to de-escalate the situation without pulling even more aggro.