Chapter 3018 Not a Hero (Part 2)

Chapter 3018 Not a Hero (Part 2)

"Yesterday." The magnitude of Orion's lie exceeded his poker face, making Nelia click her tongue in reply. "Thanks for the food."

He gulped down the stew like a man who had just escaped a desert drinks water. He cut the steak into fine pieces, holding the bones with his hands and gnawing at them to not miss a single morsel of meat.

He tore the bread into big pieces which he used to scoop both plates before chewing them.

Nelia stood in silence the whole time and refilled Orion's glass of water as soon as he emptied it. Whenever she bent down to do it, her hair formed a flaming red waterfall that blocked Orion's vision.

He noticed it only halfway through his meal, when his stomach gave him the respite he needed to notice her clear silver eyes and beauty. She was Tyris' direct descendant which made her appearance dreamlike.

It took him even longer to notice the restraints at his feet.

"Thanks for your hospitality but I'm a married man. Where are we and why are you keeping me your prisoner, Griffon?"

"Don't flatter yourself, young man." Nelia's smile was like a sunrise after a stormy night but it left Orion only more worried than he already was. "You are not my prisoner. You are the M-, I mean F-, dammit, Vastor's prisoner. I mean guest."

She had trouble remembering who knew what and how much she could tell to whom.

"This will be your room until the procedure starts. Here, have seconds."

"Am I still inside the Vastor Household?" Orion asked while wolfing down his food, this time with a modicum of manners.

"I'm sorry. I can neither confirm nor deny."

"Why do you call it a procedure? Isn't Awakening a common event for your people?"

"No, it's rare even for us and considered impossible for bright violet-cored people like you."

"Can't you undo the straps? I feel awkward."

"No. Do you want more food?"

"Don't be silly." Zoreth replied. "Phloria was important to Lith which made her important to me, just like you. I'm glad to help."

"You should remember the others from my wedding." Vastor continued. "Nelia, Kigan, Cyare, Hushar, Eycos, and Nandi."

"Damn, usually to meet so many good-looking people in a single room I have to go to Lutia." Orion shook their hands in turns.

"She's the only new face. Orion, meet Abthot. Abthot, he's Orion." Vastor's voice went stone cold on the last phrase, something that Orion recognized as a lack of trust.

"Nice to meet you, Lord Ernas." In her human form, Abthot had long strawberry blonde hair and violet eyes.

Her skin was slightly green due to her ogre side still stabilizing, giving her the color and beauty of a Dryad.

"The pleasure is all mine, milady." Orion finished his meal and got up from the bed to perform some light stretching. "Do we need so many people just to Awaken me?"

"Just?" Vastor echoed in annoyance. "Do not 'just' me, Orion. This is the bare minimum and everyone I could find or you'd see more people here."

A snap of his fingers lightened the room as clear as day, revealing the presence of a large metal contraption that reached the ceiling. It was comprised of five gene tanks. One in the middle and the other four arranged in an X shape.

"Nandi will take control of the world energy, increasing and releasing the pressure on your mana core based on my instructions."

The Minotaur had the gems on his forehead, hands and chest appear on his skin. A single wave of his hand emptied the room of world energy, the unnatural void giving a pit to Orion's stomach.

"Nelia and Eycos will give everyone the power we need." The two women had bolts of silver lightning run from their fingertips to their eyes and back.

"Hushar and Cyare will take care of you, instead, ensuring that your body can resist the process." The Leviathan wore his Maw of Bytra and used it to conjure several arrays that his Elemental Flow bloodline ability turned into completely different magical formations.

The Fenrir infused Orion with Mana Body, improving all of his physical abilities and making him resistant to mana, even his own.

"Abthot is a recent addition but she's no less vital for your survival. She-"

"What is he wearing?" Orion pointed at Hushar's Maw, cutting Vastor short. "What are you all wearing? Is that..."

"The Mouth of Menadion? No. It's the Maw of Bytra." Vastor replied.

Hearing those names one after the other made reality click inside Orion's brain despite his attempts to deny it.