"You want to know my bloodline?"
He scanned the crowd, his gaze unwavering, cool as a winter's midnight.
"My bloodline is nad 'Monarch of Death.'"
Silence.
A beat passed, no one dared to speak.
Then, he added,
"It's the bloodline of the great god of death, Hades."
For a mont, absolute silence blanketed the room.
The reporters took a few seconds to digest his word,.
Their faces shifted from disbelief to awe.
The conference hall erupted in a blinding flash of caras and a chaotic flood of questions.
They spoke without waiting for their turn.
Their voices rged into a sea of incomprehensible noise.
Neo picked one of them.
"Neo Hargraves, are you sure about your bloodline? The bloodline of the great Death has never appeared in history.
"This is not a simple headline. If you're telling the truth, today will go down in the history books."
"The principal of the Demigod Academy can vouch for my bloodline," Neo said. "Next question, please."
Another reporter stood up, her voice quivering with excitent and doubt.
"Hargraves family is an offshoot family of the Hephaestus God Clan. How is it that you possess the bloodline of Hades?"
"I just have it," Neo replied bluntly.
His voice carried an edge that made the reporter flinch.
He turned to another reporter for their question.
"You are the only bloodline holder of the Monarch of Death.
"That automatically makes you the clan head of the Great God Clan of Death. What are your intentions regarding the future of your clan?"
"My current goal is to pass the academy. Anything other than that cos after."
Neo continued to answer the reporters with patience.
His remained voice calm, his expression unreadable.
Finally, near the end, one of the reporters asked a controversial topic.
"Neo Hargraves, you possess the bloodline of the Great God Hades. One of the three great gods. The god that rules wealth, the underworld, and death.
"Doesn't that an you naturally have the highest degree of talent?"
"I'm sorry, I don't understand your question," Neo responded.
"It's simple, actually. Until now, you've been a dark horse, an uprising demigod with no talent, who reached the apex through sheer hard work.
"But wasn't that all a lie?
"Nothing you achieved was the result of your hard work. It was all your talent."
Neo fell silent.
The question hung in the air.
He waited for the reporter to finish, and his gaze remained unreadable.
"Your strongest elents are death and darkness. Don't they co to you naturally with your bloodline?
"It's proof enough that your success in built on the talents you were born with."
Neo raised an eyebrow.
"Hmm… So, you're saying that bloodline alone decides talent?"
"Yes."
Neo nodded
The corner of his lips rose into a faint smirk.
"You are?"
"Karl from Starstream News."
"Mr. Karl, how many children of Hades can you na?"
Karl's mouth clamped shut, his face turning pale.
"Please, go on," Neo nudged him, his voice dripping with irony.
"I'm sure you won't say I'm the first son of Hades. If bloodline alone is enough to make one talented, the other children of Hades must be as gifted as ."
"Please, na so of them."
The reporter had no words.
He could only offer an awkward smile and sit down, defeated.
...
Street 42, Krien City, Valsco
Elizabeth waited at the pre-decided location.
Her eyes scanned the busy street.
Neo had told her to et here today.
She ended up arriving an hour early.
Left with nothing else to do, she loitered by the sidewalk.
The street was bustling, alive with the hum of voices and laughter.
Elizabeth noticed several people sneaking glances her way.
A few brave ones approached her, going as far as asking her na and number.
Her ethereal beauty caught attention of all passerby.
She was in a disguise that resembled her original appearance, only her hair was black instead of its usual pure white.
Since she was an exalted demigod, Elizabeth looked like soone in their twenties.
Before Elizabeth left, the principal had warned her sothing like this would happen.
She thought it was the principal's needless concern.
But experiencing it in reality was a headache.
So attempted small talk, trying to gain her attention.
She ignored them as irritation flickered in her eyes.
Her hand twitched.
She had the urge to send them scattering, but she restrained herself from blasting the entire street off the map.
"Where is he?" she muttered under her breath, impatience settling in. "Is he really going to show up…?"
She had no idea why Neo called her here.
But, knowing Neo, it had to be for an important reason.
An hour passed with no sign of him.
During that ti, Elizabeth checked the latest online news and saw Neo at the Hargraves Corporation press conference.
Her eyebrows furrowed as she watched.
Still, she held on to the thought that there had to be a reason why Neo called her here.
Sighing, she decided to enter the coffee shop next to the street rather than waiting outside.
The door chid as she entered, and she took a seat near the entrance.
After ordering a coffee and sipping it slowly, she was approached by one of the staff.
"Hello, could we ask for a review?"
A young girl stood beside her, smiling politely.
Elizabeth stared at her with a frown.
The girl's smile faltered.
She beca nerves under Elizabeth's piercing stare.
"I-it's fine if you don't want to leave a review," the girl stamred and retreated as fast her feet allowed her.
Elizabeth's gaze didn't leave her for a mont.
'That's a high-level disguise artifact,' she thought to herself. 'Who is that girl?'
She suppressed her curiosity.
The girl could be a Templar on an undercover mission.
Even if she wasn't, it didn't concern Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was enjoying her coffee when murmurs broke out in the coffee shop.
"Holy… the bloodline of Hades. That's a first."
"I told you. Neo Hargrave was too strong to have a normal bloodline!"
The people around were eagerly discussing today's press conference and the shocking revelations it had brought.
Almost every other person was talking about Neo.
Their voices carrying a mixture of awe and envy as they recounted the details.
It made Elizabeth happy and irritated.
Her jaw tightened as the constant chatter surrounding Neo filled the room.
The press conference had ended an hour ago, yet there was still no sign of Neo.
Her impatience simred as she glanced around, hoping for even a glimpse of him.
It was then she overheard another piece of conversation.
"Sigh, I wish I was Neo Hargrave."
"Stop it, Dan. Just because he has a great bloodline doesn't an he has everything served to him," the friend replied, rolling his eyes.
"Thousands of children with Zeus' bloodline are born every year, yet only a few of them have the talent and are able to beco successful.
"Besides, Neo surpassed everyone within a few months. That's not sothing talent alone can achieve," the friend said with a shrug, his tone almost reverent.
"I don't want his talent," Dan muttered stubbornly, his expression sullen.
The two friends continued their argunt, oblivious to the looks they were attracting.
"He's rich. I want his money," Dan insisted with a smirk.
"…"
"And… dammit, that lucky bastard!" he burst out, exasperation clear in his voice.
"Why are you acting like this—"
"You don't understand. That guy is the only person with the bloodline of Death," he said, his eyes wide with envy. "Hundreds of girls would be ready to bear his children.
"He can marry as many as he wants by saying he's trying to preserve and spread the bloodline of Hades!
"Dammit, I'm jealous."
"You should—"
The second friend stopped speaking abruptly when they heard a loud noise.
Elizabeth had slamd her hand against the table.
The sound startled everyone nearby.
She gave the two friends a cold, piercing stare before turning on her heel and leaving the coffee shop.
The day was drawing to a close, and her mood was at an all-ti low.
Normally, she would've punished Neo for standing her up like today, but affected by everything that had happened, she did sothing different.
With a deep, frustrated sigh, she ssaged him, asking why he hadn't shown up.
> Neo <
: Where were you today?
Neo: Hargrave Corporation press conference.
: Why didn't you co after telling to et up?
Neo: …?
Neo: What are you talking about?
Neo: Wait, what? You didn't et her?
> Neo <
Elizabeth's frown deepened as she read his responses.
She didn't understand if Neo was purposefully acting clueless, given that their previous ssages were just a scroll above, or if he had genuinely forgotten about her.
Both options was terrible.
> Neo <
Neo: One of my friends wanted to et up with you.
Neo: I'm really sorry. I forgot to explain that my friend would be coming to et you, not .
Neo: Again, sorry. My head was jumbled after the Senate trial, and I didn't properly explain it to you.
> Neo <
Her frustration boiled over as she stared at his ssages.
She couldn't tell if Neo was truly remorseful or if this was just another of his careless excuses.
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