Free Web NovelChapter 268: _The Real Target
Ambrose’s House
As the Pantheon faced what might be one of their biggest battles in years... Ambrose experienced true bliss.
Gabriel and Valentine hadn’t bothered heading to their respective homes. Not yet.
Instead, they stayed back, the latter playing chess with Viktor in the living room while the former was with Ambrose and Devon on the front lawn.
"You’ll have to forgive my repeated curiosity, Rory." Gabriel had an arm wrapped around Ambrose’s shoulders as they stepped out onto the lawn. "But like... You have copies of Valentine’s, Devon’s and Viktor’s powers, correct?"
Ambrose’s mouth parted to respond.
"That move came out of nowhere!" Viktor yelled from inside just then. "There’s no way, you have to be cheating."
Valentine’s hysterical laughter followed, making the trio outside smile.
"Well," Ambrose nodded. "Yeah. That’s basically it."
"But you don’t have copies of my powers yet?"
"Actually... I do have Spatial awareness. But it can only let me notice things within a few hundred meters of my surroundings."
Gabriel was about to continue with another question but Ambrose could already tell what it was.
"I can only gain access to your full abilities once I’ve gotten your attraction points to a hundred."
Devon frowned beside him. "Attraction points...?"
"Yeah, I mentioned it during my confession."
"Sounds like something out of one of those RPG games."
"Kinda," Ambrose shrugged. "It’s like... I have to make you fall for me more. Not through any voodoo shit. But by meaningful things. Seduction. Spending more time with you. Stuff like that."
The S-Rank squinted. "Sounds like the ultimate Playboy system or something."
That made the three of them burst out into laughter.
[I resent that.]
’Oh, please. You know he has a point.’
[Hmph... he’s lucky he’s one of my favourites.]
’... Since when does your creepy AI ass have favourites?’
"I’m curious again," Gabriel stopped walking, pulling his arm away from him. "How many attraction points do I have for you right now?"
Ambrose arched a brow. "Uhm... just a sec." The system pulled up holographic screens, still only visible to him sadly. He spotted the exact number and spoke. "Fifty-seven."
"Really?" Gabriel made a surprised look. "Huh. I could’ve sworn I feel way more than half."
"It’s seven points above half."
"Still too low."
Ambrose caught his cheeks burning up when he felt the intense way Gabriel stared at him. He faked a cough, turning his gaze to the sky.
"It’s fine," he tried to sound reassuring. "Take Devon for example. Back when I was only linked to him his attraction points were at fifteen or something like that."
Devon gasped dramatically like he was going to argue. But then his lips pursed. "That... actually sounds accurate. I hated your guts."
"And trust me the feeling was mutual for a while."
They laughed again.
The sky seemed really cloudy today. Weirdly enough none of them noticed any lightning above.
Ambrose’s eyes narrowed.
Was it just him or were those clouds... too dark?
He still wore a smile but his mind was already going through a few worst-case scenarios.
None of them was pretty.
★★★★★
The scene shifted back to the skies above Aurelia.
The five members of the Pantheon didn’t move.
Apollo’s spear remained raised, its golden tip humming with enough aether to flatten mountains. Wukong tightened his grip around his staff while Yemoja’s sphere of water expanded beneath her feet, waves swirling with restrained violence.
None of them attacked.
None of them dared.
The Void Entity had already demonstrated far too many unknown abilities for reckless charges.
"So predictable," the words it said a few seconds ago echoed in all their heads.
Its voice was strange, neither male nor female. Hollow. Like countless whispers layered over one another.
Apollo narrowed his eyes. "It’s baiting us."
"I know," Kali answered quietly. Violet symbols revolved around her body. "I’m trying to calculate its next movement."
For several suffocating seconds... Nothing happened.
Then—The Void Entity exploded upward.
Not toward any of them.
Toward space.
"It’s escaping!" Wukong thundered.
"After it!" Apollo launched himself first, divine light ripping across the heavens.
Kali’s pupils glowed brighter. "No."
She thrust both hands forward.
The sky itself shimmered as a colossal projection materialised above Aurelia.
It rose... And rose... And kept rising some more.
Until its feet stood beyond the clouds while its upper body climbed higher than aircraft ever dared fly. Towering over every skyscraper beneath it. Taller than any mountain on Earth.
The giant spectral woman stretched both enormous hands toward the fleeing Void Entity.
"Got you!" Her fingers closed.
The Entity dissolved into black smoke a split second before the grasp connected.
The giant projection caught nothing.
Kali’s eyes widened. "It slipped through again!"
The smoke condensed several kilometres away before reforming into the familiar humanoid silhouette.
Still fleeing. And still refusing to fight.
Loki halted abruptly just then.
Their eyes followed the Entity instead of chasing immediately.
Something wasn’t right.
Every encounter within the past several minutes replayed inside their mind.
The evasive flying. The constant retreats. The taunts. The refusal to counterattack despite being cornered by five gods.
Their expression slowly changed. "No..."
Apollo glanced back. "What is it?"
Loki’s pupils shrank. "It was never trying to beat us." The words came out almost as a whisper. "It was distracting us."
Silence.
Every member of the Pantheon froze.
Distracting them?
Loki’s heartbeat slammed almost painfully against their ribs.
’Ambrose...’ The thought crashed into them without warning.
Their illusion still blanketed Aurelia.
Every member of the Pantheon was here. Every single one.
Which meant... If the Void Entity truly had another objective—
"Oh, shit." Without another explanation Loki snapped around, their wings exploding outward.
"What are you doing?!" Apollo shouted.
Loki didn’t answer as their wings flapped.
The force shattered nearby clouds as they shot back toward Aurelia faster than sound itself.
’Please be wrong.’
Because if the Void Entity’s true target had never been the Pantheon... Then there was only one person important enough to lure all five Pantheon members away at once.
Ambrose Hale.
