674 Sovereign Juilus' Announcement
"Shoo~ Shoo~"
"Go away! Stop showing affection in public!"
"Why does that guy have two girlfriends while I have none? Does he have an extra d—"
The last man shut up as he felt a chill down his spine.
Along with his friends, he hurriedly walked away from the pavilion, leaving the trio alone.
Sarah sat back again while Varian looked at his wet shirt, wet pants…wait, he was drenched all over, what the fuck?
Varian snapped his fingers and his clothes dried up in an instant.
"Sarah, how do you even have so many tears?" he asked with a curious expression.
"Hmph!" Sarah didn't answer. She was feeling embarrassed about crying earlier. The excessive tears must have been from her water path powers…
"Hello? I exist." Sia said in a sour tone, drawing the attention of the two.
Sarah looked at her with an awkward expression. She was his girlfriend, right? Why was she feeling a bit…guilty?
Varian, however, responded to Sia's words with a smile. "Of course, you'll get your hugs. I'm noting them down so that I can give them all to you once the repulsion disappears, and trust me, it will."
"…" Sia opened her mouth but no words came out. In the end, she blushed and turned her face away. But the corner of her lips raised lightly.
She decided to count all the hugs, kisses, and whatever else she wanted.
Even though she was worried about repulsion, Sia trusted Varian's words unconditionally. 'Since he said the problem will go away, it'll go away.'
"So, this is why we need to chill." Varian spread his hands and said. "Chill. Chill. Chill. I will chill. You will chill. You too will chill. Everyone will chill."
"…"
"…"
"What?"
In the end, they ended up eating lots of ice cream in a mall nearby—Extra cool. It was truly chilling~
After that, they watched a movie. Of course, Varian slapped his wealth on the owner and rented the whole theater.
The VR movie was about the one-hour war that humans and abyssals recently fought.
It wasn't like a movie. In fact, the three of them felt like they were witnessing the war up close, which in reality, they did.
The movie covered war that stretched from mars all the way to Neptune. It showed the bravery of the army, the silent support of the civilian population, the insidious traitors, and the mighty abyssals.
It was like experiencing a real war.
The movie ended shortly after the war. But in the ending part, they showed the aftermath of the war.
Broken families. Disjoint teams. Lost relationships. Crushed futures.
It was emotionally so heavy that Varian wondered if it was the right thing to bring Sia and Sarah here when he wanted them to chill.
Thankfully, there was a love story that ended up drawing their—
"Aghh! I hate her!"
"He wanted to sacrifice his life for her and she just accepted? What the hell!"
"She's a vixen, I swear! Why didn't she jump to sacrifice herself?"
"Right? Why are women always damsels in distress? You think we can't sacrifice our lives for our loved ones?"
It resulted in a fierce discussion between Sarah and Sia.
Varian wisely decided not to be a part of the ladies' discussion.
He was more impacted by the cries of the children who learned that their parents died in the war.
Little kids. Six. Seven. Eight-year-olds.
It was real footage used in the movie. So, it hurt him like hell.
'Fuck! All I want is to chill. Chill, man. Chill.' Varian repeated the mantra.
The trio walked aimlessly as the sky darkened.
Random topics like "Good food", "My favorite movie", and "Best flowers" popped up and the three simply chatted.
The orange rays of the sunlight shone down on them and cast long shadows that converged in the distance.
"It's already evening?"
"Hm."
"That was a long walk."
In the end, they decided to go back when—
[A groundbreaking news!]
The giant hologram in front of a building on the left of the street announced in a grand voice.
Varian glanced at it with his hands in his pocket while Sia and Sarah continued eating the large cotton candy.
Apparently, they both liked sweet things.
[Another secret uncovering Dreamer—Varian is revealed today!] The anchor in the hologram adjusted his glasses with a serious gaze.
"What?!"
"Dream—Varian?"
"Did he do something bad?"
"Excuse me? He's Enigma's ally, no? She's a hero, why would he do anything bad?"
"B-But."
The attention of the crowd on the street was drawn by the news and they all stared at the hologram with intense curiosity.
[Good day, everyone.] A handsome middle-aged man appeared in the hologram and the silent crowd suddenly exploded into discussions.
"Sovereign Julius!"
"Sir Xander!"
"Strongest Sovereign! He's my idol! He's the best!"
"Guardians of Earth! Woah! Is this a live telecast? I'm so lucky to witness this!"
Varian ignored the crowd's ramblings as he stared at the hologram with a deep frown.
Sarah looked at him in worry while Sia gazed at the hologram with intense killing intent.
[I have an unfortunate piece of news to announce.] Julius, in royal blue clothes, said while interlocking his fingers.
The crowd suddenly went silent as if they received an order. Even people in the malls, clubs, and casinos stopped what they were doing and opened their comms to watch the news.
[A 18-year-old reaching level 7. When I found this, I was very happy. Our race could have one more Sovereign in a few years. How can I not be happy? In fact, I even wanted to personally help him out!] Julius gave a heartwarming smile.
"That's our Sovereign!"
"He's the protector of the human race!"
Praises rang in the crowd.
'Ignorance is truly bliss.' Varian shook his head.
Meanwhile, Julius' masterclass acting continued.
[But.] The smile on his face completely vanished and was replaced with an expression of intense rage.
The crowd didn't even dare to breathe for a split second.
[He is the successor of devas! He knows the ruins in and out. He can go anywhere and everywhere. Get any treasure he wants. That's how he got stronger.]
Following Julius' words, a few famous personalities in level 8 and level 9 stood up and testified that Varian went in and out of the Mystic Castle.
The crowd opened their mouth in amazement.
Varian's eyes shone with a dangerous light. This bastard, what was he on about?
[I don't have any problem with him growing stronger. But if he has the authority, if he has such power, why isn't he using it for the benefit of his race?
If he really wished for it, he could support a senior level 9 to reach the Sovereign state. People, imagine, one more Sovereign, what would that mean to our situation?] Julius asked in a deep tone.
The people fell into their imagination.
One more Sovereign…
Just one more…
'Sovereign Bali is already on the way, you fucker! I did it when I had no fucking treasures.' Varian gritted his teeth as a flame of rage burned in his chest.
After nearly dying at Julius' hands…no, after seeing Sia nearly die at Julius' hands, Varian's hatred of him broke all boundaries.
He wanted to go to the Xander islands right away and burn the whole place down. He wanted to see the pain on Julius' face.
'Chill…' Varian loosened his fist and took a deep breath.
He could neglect his own mental health and go do that. But he needed to take care of Sarah and Sia as well.
His thoughts were only strengthened after he saw Sia staring at Julius with bloodshot eyes.
'Chill…We can take revenge, but we must not lose ourselves in it.'
[Did you see the movie the army recently produced? It contains a lot of real footage.]
Varian's body trembled fiercely. It was the movie they have just seen.
[The scenes that my heart and yours—all of them could've been prevented if Dreamer—Varian prioritized his race above his fame.
I implore you, fellow human. Put your race above yourself. I dedicated my life to my race. I will do anything for humanity.
This isn't order from a Sovereign but a request from a fellow human.
Please use all your powers to protect lives.] Julius' footage ended on a sad but imploring note.
The crowd burst into cheers while Varian, Sia, and Sarah entered the ghost ship.
They appeared in three separate training rooms separated by glass. Varian turned to them and said. "Stuff here doesn't break. Vent all you want!"
The next moment, he started punching the walls. "Ah! That fucker! How dare he? How dare he utter those words?!"
"He killed so many Shadow Guardians without any remorse and spouting that crap! That hypocrite! I want him dead! I want to kill him!" Sia started attacking the walls with all her strength.
"He nearly killed my father and you both. I always thought he was a hero, but he's the real scum!" Sarah froze the battle puppets and punched them again and again.
It took a while for them to vent their emotions.
"I really want to go kill everything surnamed Xander…" Varian clenched his fists so hard that blood spilled out of his palms.
But after a while, he looked at Sarah and Sia with a calm smile. "However, we have a different priority, right?"
Sarah nodded lightly while Sia sighed.
Out of the three, Varian held the most anger towards Julius. But he was stopping himself from doing it because he wanted the three of them to have a good time.
If he was doing this much, then they should at least reciprocate.
"Yeah! Let's have a good vacation!" Sarah held his hands, applied a healing potion, and smiled gently.
"Hm! Sarah, I couldn't cook while in the academy, but now, get ready to be blown away by the cooking of Lady Sia!" Sia declared.
Varian smiled brightly.
