No matter who saw him right now, they would come to the same conclusion.
He was at death's door.
His power was nearly stripped away, and the transcendent body he had spent years cultivating stood as little more than a husk of its former self.
The more he used time dilation, the more it sucked away from him to function.
At first, it sucked his mana, and when he ran out, it sucked his conceptual powers, and when even that wasn't enough, and he was pushed back into mortality, it sucked his vitality.
But not once did he think to stop. From the start, he had made up his mind. That young man would be the one.
"Hah. Not going to be so young after this, though… Kuh—!"
Edward was tired of searching, and he also didn't believe humanity's enemies could wait forever. So he chose the first man that he thought might have a chance to overcome his challenge at least.
And now he was dying because of it.
One might say that a couple more years wouldn't change anything and that he should at least preserve his life, but The Kingmaker did not half-ass things, especially when it came to his students.
He was waiting…
Waiting for what exactly?
Of course, he was waiting for a miracle. He had faith in the man he chose. Enough to bet his own life.
"I'll probably end up dead, either way…"
cough—!
It was obvious that even if Ashen fulfilled his expectation, the first thing he would do with his newfound freedom was to unleash all that suppressed rage upon him.
…Which would probably end up with him as a corpse.
"That's fine…"
"As long as you do it, you can have this old life of mine."
"So please…."
And as if heaven heard his prayers and decided to do him one last favor…
Ka—BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
…an earthquake surged.
Everyone in the territory heard the terrible sound of the earth detonating in a massive cataclysm that swallowed every other voice.
What came next was a vibration strong enough to threaten all the painstaking work that had gone into shaping this region.
Thankfully, the rumbling did not persist, and after a couple of terrifying seconds, everyone was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
But a certain few did not. Because they knew who was at the center of that eruption.
Seraphine and Lucia, who were at the outskirts, rushed back immediately.
Alice, being the closest, as her workshop was in the basement of the now ruined mansion, also ran at top speed, forgoing any of her usual grace.
But there was someone closer than any of them. Someone who spent the whole month sitting right before the circle like an immovable statue.
When the dust finally settled, he approached the massive crater to find him.
He appeared to be in a daze as he looked at the center of the hole in confusion.
Edward circled the cavity like a man possessed.
"You did it…"
He mumbled and glanced beside him at where the rock should've been buried, like he couldn't believe it, even though he was the same man who faithfully believed in him until the last moments.
"You did it. You did it. You did it. You did it…" he repeated the words like a sacred mantra, like that would make it easier to believe, until he finally stood before him, finally snapping Ashen out of his reverie.
His eyes cleared, and his face sharpened. Then, his loosened body turned rigid.
'Soma.'
The skill got to work from just calling on its nickname, knowing exactly what to do. It realigned and reconstructed every part of his body that suffered from the years spent in the exact same position.
Edward, who stopped some meters away from him, heard the audible popping of muscles and bones while he watched his student stretching languidly.
"Hmm… It's been so long… being allowed to exit without being constricted."
"Ashen…" Edward unconsciously called, making Ashen finally acknowledge him.
"Oh… teach, you're here. Not exactly the first person I would have preferred to welcome me…"
"..."
Ashen pushed his hand forward. The gesture was like asking for something, and before Edward had to wonder for its meaning, the mischievous spear left the earth on its own and flew over until landing on his palm.
He held the shaft and twirled the weapon around for a bit before settling it on his shoulder blade. As he started walking toward Edward with slow but steady steps, the man in question actually calmed down.
His pulse quietened, and his shocked expression soothed; his muttering stopped, and he closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable to happen, fully accepting his fate.
But the pain of being stabbed did not come as expected. When he reopened his eyes, Ashen was already walking past him.
"I'm a bit tired… so I'll take a break from training. I hope you don't mind, teach."
⛧
As he calmly walked forward, Ashen lips curved into a snicker, targeted not at anyone but himself.
He remembered how mad he was in the first twenty years. He recalled how much hatred and thirst for vengeance he harbored toward the man who put him in that position.
He spent days just imagining the moment he would have his revenge. But they say time can erase everything, and Ashen found himself partially agreeing since it erased a hatred he did not think would ever go away.
By the third decade, the fire behind it started waning, and when forty years passed, he was sick of nursing the same emotion foolishly, like it would change anything.
Sixty years later, and the only feeling he could muster was indifference. Maybe the fact that Edward's plan, while cruel, was never inherently malicious, or maybe because he saw how he equally suffered for it, even though he did not think their suffering was comparable.
…maybe because the results spoke for themselves.
Either way, Ashen had long moved past the desire to kill.
'Instead, using him is much better. not to mention the headache I'll have to deal with if I ever kill Seravelle's Kingmaker…'
And so, Ashen settled on the most practical approach.
'You want to save humanity so much, huh? Well then, I'll wring you dry. I'll use you until there's nothing left, hehe…'
…maybe there were still some grudging feelings buried somewhere, after all.
Either way, Ashen stopped thinking about the dying old man altogether. He was free now, and he had much more urgent things to think about.
Finally, after almost reaching the mansion, someone who he was actually glad to see appeared.
"Ash…?"
It was the love of his life, his dear Alice.
She looked at him with worried eyes, searching his body with her eyes, frantically looking for any signs of injuries. Ashen, seeing her, froze. His first instinct was to dispel the ghost, but each of his six senses pointed to a single fact.
She was real.
When that thought registered, his body was already moving before his thoughts could catch up. Alice only saw a blur before she felt herself being enveloped in a tight hug. Even while confused, she hugged him back.
"Are you alright…?"
"I miss you."
"I miss you too… It's been a whole month."
"A month…"
"Did you know…? I couldn't sleep without you."
Ashen's hand reached for her hair, brushing it gently. "I'm sorry. I'll do my best not to leave you alone again."
Alice mirrored him, her lithe fingers weaving through his hair. "No. I would never want to hold you back, so don't do this for me; I'd hate myself if you did."
Then, with a playful tilt, she added, "Besides… reunion tastes so much sweeter after separation, doesn't it?"
A lull passed, broken only by a deep breath through his nostrils, as if trying to anchor the words. Then he muttered, almost choking, "It… does."
"…Ash?"
"..."
"Wifey." When he spoke again, Ashen was finally able to rein in his emotions, "I'm glad it's you and not Seraphine who came to meet me first."
"Oh? And why's that?"
"Because I'm a little… pent up, and now you'll have to do your duties."
"Wait… now?"
She didn't get to finish her thoughts before she felt herself lifted, the scenery shifting in a blur. Somehow, she realized she had entered the mansion, and before she could fully process it, she was standing in their room.
When she looked up, she found her man glowing with a translucent aura while white mana motes were playfully jumping around him.
'How in the world…?'
Alice did not get to ask any of the questions on her mind because when her eyes looked up, they locked with his, and they were practically overflowing with hunger and barely held desire.
"Sorry."
He started with an apology, and she understood immediately why.
Bam—!
"Uhh…"
Alice's chest met the wall. Her hands were held behind her back with a firm grip, and the next thing she heard was a ripping sound.
Riiiiiiiiip—
Her pantyhose was violently ripped, clueing her in to what exactly was in store for her.
Her body heated instinctively for him, but soon, that heat suddenly jumped to a whole new dimension, making her panties increasingly soaked.
Alice knew immediately that Ashen was messing with her body using his skill.
"Ahhh~" the cockhead barely stayed on on pussylips before he instantly bottomed out.
'Not even foreplay…? You brute.' Alice thought so, but her ecstatic face, which was wildly different from the usual impassive one, told a completely different story.
Bam—!
Bam—!
Bam—!
"Ahhng ♡"
"You know… ugh." Ashen spoke between rapid thrusts, "I thought countless times about how our reunion was going to be."
Schlhk—Slap—!
"I thought it would be emotional… I thought I'll hug you and cry… but I never thought that the first thing I'd want to do upon seeing you was this…"
Spank!
His spank left a handprint, and Alice understood her assignment. She cooperatively lifted her buttocks to better meet his violent thrust, making him nod in satisfaction and move even more fiercely.
"I guess I'm more of a beast than I thought."
"Hng haah hnn ohh~"
Alice wanted to answer. She wanted to tell him she was his, that he could make love to her whenever and however he wished. She would never think less of him for taking what was already his.
But whenever she opened her mouth, all that escaped her sweet lips were the heavenly moans that only served to rile him up even further.
Ashen felt his climax approach, and he did not hold it back.
PAH!
Glug…glug…glug…
After being filled for almost a minute, Alice thought that she'd at least be allowed a breather, but alas… she underestimated how beastly her tormentor could be.
Ashen didn't pull out. He didn't change positions or even disrobe her any further than the torn pantyhose and the panties at her ankles.
PAH!
"Ah! Wait…"
PAH! PAH! PAH!
He did not.
⛧
⛧
⛧
"They've been at it for half a day now…" Seraphine pouted.
"Leave it. At least we know that there's nothing wrong with him if he is being this energetic." Lucia answered nonchalantly.
Both of them had rushed back as soon as they could, and when they arrived, they were greeted with the steamy sounds of their 'sister-wife' and their man having sex.
They did not want to interrupt, so they left them, but Seraphine would have never thought that it would last this long!
'And here I am worried about you… hmph!'
Lucia looked at her and shook her head with a smirk. She had been in Alice's position a couple of times, and she knew that if he wanted to, he could go on for weeks with his skill combination.
Only his responsibilities and the safety of the woman he slept with held him back.
Based on how Seraphine was reacting, she guessed that she had yet to taste the 'forbidden' fruit.
'How cute…'
The thought made her smile widen some more.
"They will probably go at it for whole day," Lucia got up from her seat and started walking out, "any more and Alice would probably not be able to handle it."
"Wait… where are you going?"
Lucia glanced back, "What? You want to stay here and eavesdrop? What a lewd Saintess you are~"
"Ugh… wait up, I'm coming too." Seraphine scratched her head in frustration before hurrying up after the pink-haired woman.
She didn't mind being called a pervert by her, but not for something like this.
But even as she walked away, a thought kept looping in her mind, set against the sweet moans of her best friend and the grunts of her man.
'Huuu… I wish I could get some of that too…'