Under house arrest, Maruti was half-asleep in her bed. Of course, she couldn't fully sleep, knowing she would soon be called for her trial. But who would have told her that the trial had already been postponed by a day?
Although she was a bit suspicious, since it was already very late and she hadn't been called for the trial yet, something definitely felt wrong to her.
But then, out of nowhere, she got a sharp intuition of danger. It wasn't just her senses; it was something else entirely. After doing divinations so many times, she had become much more of an expert and flexible with it. Not to mention, she had even developed small intuitions that would tell her if something dangerous or generous was about to happen near her. Of course, it had its own limits.
And right now, that intuition was screaming of danger.
But before she could even think about what it meant, she heard murmurs outside the house, as if guards were trying to stop someone.
Maruti sat up from her bed and walked out of the bedroom, deciding to go and see who was outside. But the next second...
BAM!
The entire front wall of the house exploded inward in one go. At the same time, she saw Ethan charging through the dust and debris with the crash. She immediately realized he was the one who had done it.
"Maruti!" Ethan shouted, his face a mask of pure fury as he charged right at her.
"Fuck, is he drunk or something?" Maruti immediately retreated back into the house as the guards also rushed in to help her and stop Ethan.
One guard shot glowing chains towards Ethan to bind him, but he easily snapped those chains with his bare hands. He didn't harm the guards, but he charged at Maruti again.
"To think the guards would actually help me. What a turn of events!" Maruti thought as she immediately jumped out of the hole in the wall and retreated, with Ethan chasing her.
She was more than happy to fight, but right now, this was not a situation where she could fight without knowing what was going on. She needed to find the motive for why Ethan was so furious.
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
They exchanged multiple blows with equal energy, but neither of them were going all out yet.
"Have you lost your mind? You don't know the consequences of attacking me!" Maruti said in a dignified and heavy voice, trying to get through to him.
"Stop your bullshit and tell me why you decided to take advantage of my mother! Just so you could taunt me or take advantage of me?" Ethan said as he charged without holding back. Although he didn't have his sword with him right now, his body was a weapon all on its own.
"What do you mea—" Maruti started to say, but then she suddenly realized what was going on.
Since she had been arrested out of nowhere, of course it would have caused panic among Brenna, Alice, and Kailith. They must have come here, and maybe Brenna, in her distress, had decided to expose their secret relationship now.
"After all these days I told her to tell Ethan, she decided to tell him now? No wonder he is so angry," Maruti thought as her lips twitched. Her luck was truly terrible.
"Vortex!" Ethan shouted as a transparent vortex flew towards Maruti, but Maruti immediately obliterated it with a fireball.
Meanwhile, several other guards joined the battle to stop him. They were also Rank B awakened. Although they were no match for Ethan, they were certainly influencing the battle.
Not to mention, it hadn't been long since Ethan came from a huge battle and underwent his second awakening. He clearly needed rest. He was not in his prime at all.
"You better tell the truth to my mom and tell her about your ulterior motives! Only then I'll stop!" Ethan said, his voice shaking with rage.
"What ulterior motives? She was the one who came to me!" Maruti tried to clear the situation, but Ethan was in no state to listen at all.
"LIES!" Ethan shouted and charged at Maruti again. This time, he landed his fist directly on Maruti's face.
BAM!
The punch caused a shockwave, but it still failed to move Maruti's face an inch. Maruti gritted her teeth, clenched her own fist, and then—BAM!
She punched Ethan directly in the face in the exact same spot. Until now, she had been trying to resolve the situation, not to fight, but now she was done holding back.
"Gah!" Ethan grunted from the impact of the punch, but before he could fall, Maruti's hand shot out and gripped Ethan's entire head with her palm.
Maruti was a barbarian with a muscular physique and a tall body. Although it was very small compared to other barbarians, compared to the 5'5" Ethan, her palm was big enough to cover his entire face.
SMASH!
She smashed his head directly into the ground, but she didn't stop. She started running while rubbing his face against the ground and then the walls of the nearby houses, like he was a rubber eraser, while the rest of Ethan's body flew along behind him.
"I know I'm wrong and I should've rejected her two or three times, but that doesn't give you the right to attack me!" Maruti said as she threw Ethan into the air.
Before he could get his bearings, Maruti leaped into the air and delivered an axe kick directly to his stomach, making his body collapse toward the ground.
There was another loud crashing noise as Ethan's body smashed against the ground.
Maruti landed safely on her feet.
But the next second, Ethan sat up from the hole made by the impact. Dust was all over his body, but there were little to no visible wounds on him.
"I'm not done yet!" Ethan looked at Maruti, breathing heavily.
He clenched his fist and started concentrating his righteous aura into it. His hands started glowing yellow and golden, and then they soon turned blue but gave off a divine vibe.
"So you aren't going to stop until I knock some teeth out of you!" Maruti said seriously as she too took a similar stance. Dark orange fire started burning in her hand.
Both looked at each other for a second, and then—Woosh!
Both leaped in, ready to clash their fists. But before they could collide, a voice came from directly between the two of them.
"STOP IT YOU TWO!"
Brenna was suddenly between them, appearing out of nowhere. Both Ethan and Maruti stopped at once, their fists just a few inches away from her face. If they hadn't stopped, Brenna's face might have been completely shattered.
A few steps away, Violet was floating in the air, and Cassandra and Sylvania were slightly behind. As for Emma, she was still far behind, trying her best to keep up.
Maruti dispelled her spell, her hand returning to normal. Knowing Brenna was here, she knew Ethan wouldn't fight anymore.
"Mom, stop protecting her!" Ethan said, his voice thick with frustration.
"I said stop, why aren't you listening to me!" Brenna said, her voice cracking with heartbreak.
"B-but!" Ethan tried to argue, but Brenna cut him off.
"You're still not listening. Is it because I'm not your real mother?" Brenna asked, her words hitting him like a dagger.
Ethan's eyes widened slightly. "No, of course not!" he immediately said, letting his own hand return to normal, showing he had no intention to fight anymore.
Only then did Brenna let out a sigh of relief. She took two steps back from Ethan, moving closer to Maruti. "Look, I'm saying this again. This had nothing to do with Maruti. I was the one who took the initiative. I know it's wrong and the age gap is too big, but I just couldn't help it!" she said, wiping away the tears before they could fall.
"Am I that wrong to just love someone?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"No, but the problem is the person—!" Ethan tried to argue, but his words died in his throat. Seeing the desperate expression on Brenna's face and hearing the pain in her voice, he couldn't say anything else.
Violet also landed on the ground and leaned closer to Ethan. "Ethan, I think you're only seeing one side of the coin. She's the person who raised you as her own son. She never married, and she did everything she could, things that even not all mothers do sometimes. Can't she at least have the right to love?" Violet said in a low, gentle voice.
"Sometimes, fated ones are meant to meet late," she then added softly.
Ethan's gaze lowered to the ground. He knew he was just as wrong as Maruti and Brenna.
"Do you forgive your mother now?" Brenna asked, her voice hopeful.
"What was there to forgive? I forgot you have your own life, too! I should be the one to apologize!" Ethan sighed, admitting his mistakes.
"I guess I'm sorry too," Maruti said while looking away and scratching the back of her head.
Ethan raised his eyebrows. It was his first time seeing Maruti actually apologizing.
"Well, he does have a valid point for crashing out like that. Sigh..." Maruti thought to herself. Finding out your classmate have intimate relationship with your mother, It was enough to gaslight anyone.
Cassandra finally arrived and walked beside Ethan, whispering in his ear, "What were you thinking? I didn't expect that from you. She is not Esdeath. It would have been a disaster if something had happened to her before the trial!" Cassandra said in her emotionless voice, yet it carried so much weight.
Ethan immediately gulped as sweat started to appear on his forehead. "I'm sorry," he whispered back.
"I'm truly sorry for this. I hope we can forget this ever happened," Cassandra looked at Maruti and Brenna and said.
Maruti looked away with a scoff while Brenna nodded with a polite smile.
"Ethan, since you're already an adult and also have girlfriend, I was already thinking of leaving the house to give you more privacy. I thought of going back to the village, but I think I should stay at Maruti's place from now on. This way, we'll be neighbors too!" Brenna explained.
"Girlfriend?" Violet's cheeks immediately turned a bright red as she looked away. "I-i mean, I wouldn't mind," she muttered to herself.
But no one heard Violet's quiet voice. Instead, Ethan tried to convince Brenna not to move, but Brenna was determined.
"I don't have any objection to your decisions, but you are forgetting that Maruti has a trial tomorrow!" Cassandra said in her heavy, emotionless voice.
Ethan's face also turned determined. "Yes, I accepted your relationship, but it doesn't mean I'll hold back just because of you!"
Brenna nodded. "I don't know who is right or who is wrong, but I have faith in Maruti!" she said, her voice full of trust.
At that moment, Sylvania finally caught up, and behind her was Emma, panting for breath.
"Attack him!" Emma shouted.
Sylvania nodded, and both of them jumped on Ethan. They quickly bound him with ropes until he looked like a mummy.
"You aren't getting out till morning!" Emma and Sylvania said in unison as they both lifted Ethan's body with their hands and immediately took him out of there.
Violet cheered for both of them and went along with them.
The whole scene felt like it had come straight out of a comedy skit.
Seeing them go away, Cassandra sighed. "Since the house is destroyed, let's go to the royal palace!" she said casually.
Since the royal palace already had more than two S-ranks right now, Cassandra wasn't worried at all about Maruti trying something funny.
Maruti didn't say anything, but her expression showed she wasn't denying the suggestion.
While Brenna turned around and looked at Maruti with a warm smile.
"See? It didn't destroy my life!" she said, leaning in and kissing Maruti right in front of Cassandra without any embarrassment.
Their lips met, curling against each other's mouths. Maruti and Brenna clearly savored the taste of the kiss, and only then did Brenna pull away.
Maruti just looked at Brenna, her expression blank. She didn't know what to say now; no words came to her mind. So she simply put her hand on Brenna's head and patted it.
"Good girl!" she said.
Brenna froze. Her face turned as red as a tomato, and steam even started coming off her head as if she was on fire.
"Let's go," Maruti said as she walked along with Cassandra while several guards came from behind. Although a lot of damage had been done, Thankfully no one got hurt.
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Far away from the mortal realm, high above, in a place where many still didn't believe it even existed. The place where people went after they died.
White, foggy ground stretched out in front, the fog extending endlessly. Many things could be seen in the distance, but they were blurry because of the thick white fog in the air, which restricted one's vision.
Even though there wasn't much to see, it looked majestic and wonderful, clearly one of the most beautiful things anyone could see in their life.
Esdeath, or more like the dead Esdeath's astral form, was standing on the foggy ground, looking at her hands and feet.
A small grin appeared on her face the moment she realized she was really dead.
"So I finally died, huh? It's just as I planned!"
But then she looked around and felt slightly puzzled. "But what the fuck am I doing in heaven?"
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[author]
So after two days of waiting, Although scribble hub's readers votes were two times more for wolfmen (20-10) but with RR+Wattpad + Webnovel... Team human have won by two votes...
It was a very close call, Situation would have gone other way too, But I guess it can't be helped, Sorry for al Vampire X Wolf lovers....
Although I might to preserve esdeath's affinity with space, Let's see
[/author]