Divine Path System

Reaper, Trihound and Traitor Numun stood still for a moment before looking at each other.

With all their experience, they thought they had the perfect grasp of the battlefield.

Varian's massacre of Reaper's forces was surprising but it was nowhere enough to treat him as a threat or a variable.

Even if they failed in this easy task, Varian's death or capture was one thing that had no chance of failing.

So, they ignored him from the start.

Yet, that guy…the weakest of them all, so weak that he wouldn't even be able to take a single punch from any of the six fighting was the one who flipped the table.

"Incapacitate him first," Reaper said, the fires burning in his eyesockets cackling. "He can survive with his head, so we'll just bring his head."

"As you say," Tri-hound sniffed in the air and sprinted in a particular direction.

"But that prince, I want him alive." Numan licked the blade of his axe and said.

"As long as they're eliminated from the world tree, anything goes." Reaper said in a low voice and took a step forward.

The wind exploded and his body vanished.

"So serious, you fucking non-living thing." Numan spat and followed.

— — —

"Are you crazy? Teleporting us in the middle like that! If they reacted a bit faster, the space would've collapsed and we'd have been thrown into some goddamn place at best and crushed to pieces at worst."

The smile on the ever-smiling Princess Bella was gone once again as she gritted her teeth and questioned the man yawning on top of the cliff.

"I'm not crazy and I'm more than aware of the dangers you mentioned." Varian adjusted his sleeping posture on the soft but sturdy branch, rested his head back on his hands on the back and crossed his legs.

The thick leaves shook and covered him like a blanket, enveloping him in warmth.

The chilly wind of the surroundings strongly contrasted with the warmth given off by this tree, greatly comforting Varian and causing him to let out a smile of relaxment.

"Man, even the bed of the emperor wasn't this comfy. Did they embezzle funds for my bed and send me a cheap one or what?" He muttered as he hugged the blanket tighter.

The company that sent him the bed would've been shitting their pants if they heard his words but thankfully, their emperor wasn't home.

"You! Whoever you are! Do you understand the position you are in? Even though you're also a traitor, you're still a member of the Alliance. They'll kill you too." Prince Sohan finished his first aid and stood up with a fierce expression.

"He's Baldur and he's not a traitor, even though he's weird and seems like he's hiding many secrets." Maria stood up for his defense and made it worse.

"Baldur? Why are you using that name?" Bella raised a brow, her eyes shimmering with a dangerous red aura.

Varian sighed and sat up on the branch. Leaning against the trunk, he looked at Bella with a tired expression and then shifted to the glaring Sohan beside her.

Shaking his head, he drew out a long sigh once again, muttering under his breath. "Is this a joke or what?"

"What I'm going to say is going to sound very suspicious," Varian raised his arms in a sign of non-aggression.

"I met your brother Baldur, he looks a bit like you. Your brother doesn't have your plastic smile."

"He was on a secret mission until recently. How did you meet him and how did you know he was a prince?" Bella's suspicions rose faster than Varian's life problems.

"Well, I met him under some circumstances, had a fight and as they say, became friends after fist-exchange." Varian didn't feel the slightest embarrassment for distorting the truth. "He helped me thrice and I owe him a lot."

'Actually, I conned him thrice. I do owe him.'

Bella didn't know about his inner thoughts and fell silent. "I can't trust you over your words."

"He should've told you about Constantine or Kyle or Crimson Shade?"

Bella's pupils shook and she stared at Varian, her body frozen like her gaze.

Those names were blocked from being revealed and only a handful of people, including Bella knew the truth of the matter.

"Even if what he said is true, it doesn't change the fact that you're with Maria when she shouldn't bring another unrelated soul." Prince Sohan intervened.

"And you," Varian pointed at him and threw out a silver bracelet with three words engraved: Brother Is Hero.

"Your brother was worried sick, searching for you since you disappeared. He's bullied by everyone and is in a really tough spot."

Prince Sohan's serious demeanor collapsed and an expression of shock and guilt overtook him.

"Here you are, playing hero." Varian clicked his tongue and started clapping. "I'll be honest, without me, your brother would've died in the synthetic world. You hear me? Died. D-i-e-d."

What he actually meant was that if he didn't decide to spare Prince Shak, that guy would've died under his hands. So, it made sense, right?

"And I got into a fight with his teammates and things got ugly. That guy looked like he was on the verge of crying, but he asked me to tell him if I ever find you or your traces."

Varian shook his head while giving Prince Sohan a contemptuous gaze, as if looking down on him for being a pathetic excuse of an elder brother.

Because of him, his younger brother put himself in danger and nearly died.

Even if he saved a lot of lives, would it be worth it to lose his younger brother for it?

Prince Sohan didn't reply to Varian's words and blankly stared at the bracelet he gifted to his younger brother long ago. Unexpectedly, he engraved something so heart-touching.

'Brother Is Hero…' Sohan wiped the corner of his eyes and looked at Varian with a complicated gaze. "W-Was he well? D-Did he get any serious injuries? D-Did he look malnourished?"

Varian rolled on the branch and yelled. "Oh no, I'm the traitor! Arrest me! Stop me from speaking! Arrest me!"

"…"

"…"

Maria chuckled. "I told you he wasn't a traitor. You continued to call him one. Now, stand by your words and shut up."

Bella was the first to open her mouth. With an apologetic expression, she said, her shoulders dropped and her head slightly lowered. "S-Since he helped kill Crimson Shade, he shouldn't be a traitor. He's even a good guy who performed such an important task. So…I guess, he's a good addition to the team."

"Y-Yeah! Yeah!" Prince Sohan nodded so vigorously that Varian worried if the man's neck will break.

"Nodding more times doesn't mean anything. Apology. Give me a sincere apology." Varian looked at them with a half-smile.

With a helpless expression, the two lowered their heads. ""I am very sorry for my improper actions.""

Varian put a hand on his ear and said with a joyful smile as if he heard something melodious. "Wonderful. Ten times more please."

Bella and Sohan gave in.

"Fifty."

"Hundred."

"Two hundred."

"Th—"

Prince Sohan slammed his head onto the ground and said. "Stop it already. I said I'm sorry, I'm fucking sorry, okay?"

"Don't fuck sorry, but apology accepted," Varian said.

Bella raised her head and looked at him with confused eyes.

"What are you waiting for? Thousand!"

She too slammed her head against the ground.

"Fine, fine. It's not like I'm a bad guy, but I had my feelings hurt being called a traitor, you know?" Varian wiped the corners of his eyes.

"You didn't even give a shit about them, much less their words. Feelings hurt? Why not pigs flying?" Maria crossed her arms and muttered.

"I'll repay you for your help. But now we need to move already. The three of us have recuperated and can escape them." Belly said.

"Yes, let's go. I have a treasure to mislead them temporarily." Sohan added.

"No, no." Varian shook his head in disappointment. "We can't outrun them. We can't win them. They'll eventually catch us. This time, they will be ruthless. Running or not running, both are a lose-lose situation."

Sohan's composure took a hit and Bella covered her eyes with her hand.

On the other hand, Maria was very chill. "So, what's your plan?"

"They'll come." Varian pointed to the north and then to the ground. "But so will they."

As if he was a prophet, six silhouettes landed in the distance and started rushing toward them.

"And according to my calculations of their appearance and the time it takes for them to perceive this area on the edge of secret region…" Varian's lips curled up.

The sky shook and the ground shattered as an ocean of elves erupted out and surrounded everything.

"What?!"