792 To Neptune
The Sovereign ended his retreat with a content sigh. Things have gone even better than he expected.
From the moment he learned about the Celestial Ranks, a fire burning inside him to reach that state.
He didn't hesitate to use every method in the book, honorable or not, to get closer to his goal.
Now, he already possessed three artifacts.
Neptune's Demon Sword, Mars' Aether pendant, and his own.
"If it wasn't for Varian, I could've retreated for longer. That bastard." The Sovereign cursed under his breath.
After Varian's incident, all the eight Abysses mobilized their full forces and came to the planetoids.
As a result, he too had to fight his Abyssal counterpart.
Only after sufficiently injuring him did the Sovereign dare to retreat.
Even though they were in a cooperative relationship and the Abyssals even promised him to make him the 'Ruler' of the Solar System, he knew it was all a lie.
In fact, the closer he grew to Celestial Rank, the more awed he was at the Deva civilization.
While the general public was unaware of the Abyssal motives, he was crystal clear they were seeking something from the Ruins—perhaps all of it.
Still, he didn't understand why they let him get the artifacts despite their high worth.
'The only reason I can think of…there is something far more valuable in the Ruins. The Abyssals don't even need artifacts in front of it.'
He had no chance of knowing what it was from his 'partners'. He had to find it himself.
But despite his growing strength, he couldn't enter the forbidden locations of the Ruins.
In the history of the Federation, only one man ever entered a forbidden area and came out unscathed.
"Varian."
The Sovereign drew a deep sigh.
It was clear that the boy's specialty stemmed from something related to Devas. The Sovereign even wondered if the boy already accessed the legacy of Devas and became its de facto leader.
If that was the case, then perhaps Varian could even stop him from reaching the Celestial Rank.
"Damn that bastard! He's everywhere!" The Sovereign's aura shot into the air and the secret realm suddenly dimmed.
The sky went dark and the ground cracked before a huge storm enveloped the secret realm.
In but a few minutes, all the expensive structures broke down. Yet, the Sovereign found it difficult to calm himself.
His plan was to keep the Abyssals and Humans at a balance while he kept collecting the artifacts.
To do so, if a Sovereign dies, so must the Abyss King—like what happened during the Pluto Invasion.
Even during the Valos event, his plan was to let Despair Queen kill Irene and then kill Despair Queen.
"You nearly spoiled my entire plan."
All the Sovereigns were fully aware of what happened with Kreo.
Most of them condemned Varian's actions at first. But things took a sharp turn after Varian secured Mars with the veterans.
When Sovereign Bali himself revealed Varian's "help" in making him a Sovereign, the rulers of the federation felt that they were looking at Varian too one-sidedly.
Even though he made a mistake, he had to be appreciated for the good he had done.
Of course, even he was grateful to Varian.
If Mars really fell, then the Abyssals would quickly exploit their edge to conquer the planets one by one.
He didn't mind it if it could secure him the artifacts. After all, once he reached the Celestial Rank, he could singlehandedly destroy the Abyssals and reconquer the planets.
As for the loss of population?
Humans went from 1% of the Pre-Blink population to 50 Billion in a few centuries!
But he was afraid.
"I'm sure Abyssals already have their doubts on why I collect the artifacts," The Sovereign's eyes shone with a cold light.
If they have the chance, and advantage, they'll surely stop him.
[Sir, some crazy changes are taking place! Please return!]
The comm's message was ominous and the Sovereign was about to rush to the planetoids when a sphere in his storage ring glowed.
"Huh? From them?" The Sovereign opened the messenger used by the Abyssals and frowned.
It was just a single sentence. But it sent a shiver down his spine.
[Take advantage of the situation and steal the remaining artifacts.]
"S-Situation?" The Sovereign's eyebrows jumped and a thought flashed in his mind.
The aura on his body exploded and he rushed to the planetoid at full speed.
— — —
Varian panted heavily as he pulled his injured body from the floor. Due to the intense battle, his clothes were shredded to pieces long ago, leaving his chiseled figure on full display.
Due to his superhuman path, Varian's body was more and more perfected with each level.
He appeared neither huge nor thin but hit the right spot in between.
And with the influence of the plantae power, Varian's body gave off a wild charm.
The biggest attraction, however, was the innate confidence he displayed. It seemed like no matter what happened, he would stand tall and face every obstacle and come out on top.
He was so handsome that she really—
"Sia, why are you staring at me like that?" Varian tilted his head at Sia who was staring at him with a burning gaze.
"Huh?" Sia let out a confused sound before she broke out of her trance and blushed. "Put on a shirt, will you?"
Varian was confused at first, but after realizing her words, he laughed. "Don't tell me that you're horny?"
"You're horny, you exhibitionist!" Sia glared at him with a serious face and walked out of the room in steady footsteps.
Varian wondered if she was really mad.
'Arghh! This is so embarrassing!' Sia leaned against the corridor as she felt the heat in her body.
'It's all his fault. Why is he going around naked?' She pushed the blame on him conveniently.
In her defense, she was eighteen and it was normal for her to be both embarrassed and curious about these things.
But of course, she wasn't really a human. She didn't understand how her hormones worked either.
'But I think I am like a normal human?'
Whatever the case, her body felt weird only when she was with Varian.
'If the repulsion disappears, then maybe we can try…' Sia bit her lip and imagined herself asking for it before she shook her head. 'I bet he's waiting for it to disappear so he can eat up me and Sarah.'
In the final phase of her retreat, Sarah suddenly shuddered.
Before she could think what it meant, she heard Varian's voice through the speakers. "Sarah, we'll be busy for a few days. Take care."
Outside the seclusion room, Sia mumbled. "You're really going for the frontlines?"
"Our training has stopped being effective," Varian shrugged. "Besides, I always wanted to see Neptune."
Sia was reluctant. Neptune's planetoids had the highest fatality. She didn't want Varian to risk his life.
But she also understood that he wasn't going to listen.
On some things, Varian was just too stubborn.
"I'll come with you. I don't have anything to do now anyway." Sia said. If she couldn't stop him, she could at least accompany and protect him.
Varian smiled, aware of her thoughts. "Great!"
"Boo, let's go! To Neptune!"
