No More Pain For This Villain.

Chapter 356  New Questions

"Interesting. Think Falco is a liar?" I asked, but before she could answer, she pushed the blade further. I released the fireball, creating an explosion that threw both of us back a few steps.

"I think you're a liar too," she finally replied.

I narrowed my eyes, intrigued. "Because I am," I said, creating a fire bolt in my hand.

We stood there for a moment, the cold breeze grazing Vexa's face as she stood under the moonlight.

'Should I attack?' Blaze asked from the rift where he was hiding.

Nah, wait... I don't think she'll attack immediately. Besides, I can handle her on my own. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Who is your patron god?" she repeated, pointing her sword at me.

It still baffled me that she knew about this stuff. But now, I had different things to think about, like Aron being a chosen one too.

Falco's appearance during the Mage's Gambit to tell Adam that he's a chosen one was obvious. But Aron's transition to the Archon Form that I just witnessed made it clear that he's a chosen one as well. Vexa knowing about these things made it easy to guess that she herself might be—wait.

"How about you tell me who you serve!" I challenged. "It's not Ellora, at least. I know that." I observed her face, which didn't even twitch.

"I won't tell you about my patron god before you tell me," she said, still holding her blade while I dissipated the fire bolt, hoping she wouldn't attack... or at least hoping I could handle it if she did.

It's clear now that there is a patron god behind her. She made it clear that one god cannot have two chosen ones by doubting me when I mentioned Ellora as my patron.

Smokeball, list me the names of all the gods again.

'Azra, Svarog, Geb, Neptune—' he paused. 'Hera, Aine, Erebus, and Falkor. Oh, and Ellora!' he completed.

And now one absurd thought had crossed my mind. What if eight of these nine gods had individually chosen different people to fight for them as their chosen ones?

In the story, only Azra and Ellora existed as patron gods with chosen ones, making the story simpler. But with these new additions... wait, why was I called here of all places?

"Tell me! Who do you SERVE!!!" Vexa's tone grew irritated, and I noticed the ground beneath her cracking bit by bit.

Have I ever questioned this? Why was I even called here? I came, saw a fireball that guided me through the basics, and then... nothing. I was left unattended to die by a curse as if I were a plague...

'Wait... you think they called you just to get a prophecy out of you?' Blaze added, his voice tinged with doubt.

What are the chances that these gods summoned me from another world to get information regarding the Ragnarok of this one? Isn't that just insane?

Smokeball... can they summon people from other worlds here at will?

'I don't know...' He replied. 'But I—' and then nothing. He just went silent, deep in thought.

---

**[Third Person View]**

Vexa stood on slightly higher ground than the dark-haired boy in front of her. His bright, golden eyes glowed like a predator's in the night, and his hair danced in the wind. He seemed like a statue carved out of marble, unmoving, as if lost in his thoughts.

Vexa felt an unsettling sensation in her chest, a feeling that wouldn't go away no matter what she did. It was as if she were being used.

There was one thing Vexa despised more than anything, and that was being controlled—whether by a god or anyone else. She hated it, and the more she talked with Ren, the more she felt that Neptune had lied to her.

Neptune never told her there were other chosen ones besides Adam Stales. But now, she had seen Aron and Ren... Ren, who seemed to know too much for someone not in contact with a god.

But why? She had bluffed about doubting that Ren was Ellora's chosen one because she just couldn't believe it. Even the existence of Ellora was a mystery and a myth to her just a year ago. But it seemed like the tale of the nine gods from her homeland was not just a myth.

There wasn't only Neptune who reigned supreme.

And she hated it. She hated that she wasn't told everything when she was putting her life on the line. She despised it from the bottom of her heart, not even noticing the changes she was causing to her surroundings by increasing the mana in her body.

She dashed towards Ren Hilton, her arms extended, her whole fist clad in mana, while she held her other hand with a blade directed towards his stomach.

Ren, on the other hand, was... unfazed. His eyes were blank, his lips quivering as if muttering something, perhaps chanting. Just as she was about to strike him in the face, something appeared out of nowhere. Shiny black fur was seen, followed by a deafening roar that she had never heard before on the surface.

A massive, eight-foot-tall Winged Pardus stood over her, hissing. The beast tanked her attack at full power. There was a deep cut on its belly from the blade, and it seemed like the punch landed somewhere around its chest, breaking some ribs too.

But while Ren mindlessly stood there, even after such a thing happened, the beast didn't move an inch from its position, determined to protect him.

Vexa gritted her teeth, frustration bubbling within her as she tried to push past the massive creature blocking her way. The Winged Pardus, Smokeball, stood firm, its wings spread wide, casting a shadow over her. Blood dripped from its wound, but it didn't flinch, its eyes locked onto Vexa with an unyielding determination.

"Get out of my way!" she shouted, her voice laced with anger and desperation. She swung her ice blade again, aiming for a weak spot in the creature's defense, but Smokeball was too quick. With a swift motion, it swatted the blade aside, its claws leaving deep gouges in the ground.

Ren remained motionless, his mind still swirling with the newfound revelations and doubts. He could hear Vexa's grunts and the snarls of Smokeball, but they felt distant, almost as if they were happening in another world.

'Blaze...' Ren called out in his mind, but there was no response. It was as if Blaze had gone silent, lost in his own thoughts or perhaps trying to make sense of everything,' Everything is making more sense -' he said that, it's true that half of his questions were answered but now...new questions had appeared.