As Lily worried about Alex, she paced back and forth, her hands clenched tightly into fists. Every few seconds, she glanced in his direction, her brows knitting together as another burst of unhinged laughter echoed out.
The sound made her shiver. It didn’t sound dangerous—but it definitely didn’t sound normal either.
As Lily was worrying about Alex, Alden, Ethan, and Serena suddenly ca running toward her.
Their hurried footsteps kicked up dust, and all three of them looked mildly alard, as if they had already guessed sothing had gone wrong the mont they heard the laughter.
Serena panted. "What happened?"
Lily pointed frantically. "Brother has lost his mind and keeps laughing like a maniac. Do sothing!"
Hearing her, all three of them sighed, their shoulders slumping in near-perfect synchronization.
Alden shook his head. "He was already a crazy asshole. Did he finally lose it today?"
Serena smacked his head. "Language! Lily is here."
Alden rubbed his head. "Oh, sorry."
Serena hugged Lily, pulling her close and patting her head soothingly. "Don’t worry, cutie pie. Boys are all like this. Sotis they do get crazy and do these types of things. My husband and son are no different."
She spoke with the confidence of soone who had seen far worse than manic laughter.
"Let’s go. We’ll eat sothing delicious. I’m sure he’ll get back to his senses."
Alex suddenly yelled, "Who was the crazy bastard who called an asshole?!"
Serena smacked his head too. "Language!"
Alex winced. "I’m sorry, ma’am."
Seeing that, Lily let out a breath of relief, the tension finally leaving her shoulders.
Serena smiled smugly. "See? Just like I told you. He’s back to normal now."
Lily bead. "You are amazing."
Serena winked. "Of course I am. Let’s go now."
Lily went with her happily, sticking out her tongue at Alex as she walked away, clearly satisfied with her small victory.
Alex’s eyes twitched. "This brat."
Alden snorted. "Asshole... looks like you beca sane again."
"And you beca even uglier in the last few minutes I haven’t seen you," Alex shot back.
Ethan grabbed Alden’s arm. "Relax. He just wants to get under your skin."
Alden sighed and sat beside Alex anyway, letting his guard down now that the mont had passed.
A mont of relaxation settled over the three of them. The air felt lighter, as if a storm had quietly moved on.
Suddenly, Alex broke the silence.
"I’ve decided to give back the throne to Lucas."
Both Ethan and Alden’s eyes widened. "You did what?!"
"Don’t worry," Alex said. "That guy has changed. I’ve seen it for myself."
"For insurance, I also made him sign a mana contract."
Alden and Ethan let out sighs of relief, the tension easing from their expressions.
Ethan nodded. "Then it’s fine."
"Is there any reason why you did that?" Ethan asked. "You were an excellent king."
Alex shrugged. "This is precisely the reason why I did that. That part-ti job of mine was too much and took a lot out of ."
"And just because I’m good at sothing doesn’t an I enjoy doing it, you know."
"And by the way, I’m good at everything I do."
Alden and Ethan laughed, the sound genuine.
Alden grinned. "You might be the only person in the world who would call being king a part-ti job."
"Well, it was for ," Alex said. "And to be honest, I only did it because nobody else could."
Alden admitted, "Well, you’re right about that."
Ethan tilted his head. "So what now? Don’t tell you’re gonna go back to the academy. I’m pretty sure they can’t teach you anything now."
Alex laughed. "Yeah, I’m sure too."
After a pause, he said, "I’m gonna go on a mission... which will be very adventurous, I’m sure."
His eyes glead with a familiar excitent—one that always appeared right before chaos followed him.
"People will try to kill at every turn, while I’m gonna kick their asses. It’s gonna be a lot of fun."
Alden’s eyes lit up. "Sounds fine. Where are you gonna go?"
"Why?" Alex teased. "You going to co with ?"
"If it’s fun and I can grow stronger, then why not?" Alden said.
Alex smiled. "I like your enthusiasm. Maybe I should take you with ."
Alden bead. "I’m ready whenever you are."
Ethan jumped in. "Then I’m also coming!"
Alex looked at him. "You can’t, my friend. Sadly."
Suddenly, Alex grabbed Ethan’s head.
Ethan started to feel intense pain, as if sothing deep inside him was being torn loose.
Alden yelled, "What the hell are you doing to him?!"
Ethan’s vision blurred, the world spinning as an unfamiliar sensation surged through him.
Suddenly, he felt as if so kind of connection had been cut off.
He ca to his senses, breathing hard. "What did you just do...?"
Alex smiled at him. "Don’t worry. It was nothing harmful. I just cut off your connection to Tiamat."
Ethan’s mouth hung open in disbelief.
"That guy’s no good," Alex said seriously. "He was the one who invaded this world."
His expression turned grave. "So listen carefully, both of you—especially you, Ethan."
"From now on, cut off any connection you have with that guy. He is bad news."
"And I have a sneaking suspicion that he was trying to use you for sothing."
Ethan let out a sigh. "Well, I was already getting doubtful of him..."
"But now that it’s coming from you... I’m sure he was trying to use ."
"Thanks for the heads-up."
Alex nodded. "Also, you will have to deal with the remnants of the cult left behind."
"Because I’m sure by now Erwin would have destroyed most of them."
"So, Ethan, now it’s your job to completely eradicate them."
"After all, it was your job to begin with as the avatar of the Goddess of Light."
Ethan sighed. "Alright, alright. I will do it."
Alex looked at Alden. "You can help him if you want."
Alden crossed his arms. "I’m definitely coming with you."
Alex smirked. "Well then, give ti to think."
Alden pressed, "You better think fast then."
"One other thing," Alex said casually. "In two days, everyone here—including you guys—will forget all about ."
A bigger shock suddenly hit Alden and Ethan, their expressions freezing completely.
Alex started laughing. "You guys should see your faces right now."
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