Silver mist oozed out from Kai's body as he straightened his spine, taking the form of a giant three-headed serpent.
A hiss pervaded the surroundings as Selene towered behind Kai, the vertical eyes in the middle of her heads landing on the Deep One.
Zelretch's gaze instead landed on Selene's stomach, resting behind Kai like a humongous white-birch trunk of a tree.
The Eight Trigram Seal wasn't visible, but He could see it.
The Blackened Heroic Spirit wasn't visible, but He could see her, too.
By letting Orochimaru, a Character from the Naruto Bubble itself, cast the seal, Contestant Red had opened a grand path for the Three-Headed Devourer.
Now, he wanted Him to bestow the Extremity of the Fate Bubble upon her as well.
Zelretch slowly lifted His gaze and looked into Selene's eyes, recalling all those who had died after obtaining His Blessing… especially those who were like Selene — Magical Creatures!
"… Are you sure about it?" the Deep One asked. "Her mental state is… troubling…"
-Did the old fart just call me an idiot?!- The Life Devourer hissed, her pupilless black eye looming over Zelretch. -Begone!-
-That wouldn't work,- The Time Devourer hissed logically. -The old fart only fears Yhwach, not us.-
-I wish I could use Second Magic like the old fart,- The Space Devourer hissed dreamily. -I could be with Master in infinite parallel timelines…-
Kai. "…"
Zelretch. "…"
Kai held back a twitch on his mouth. "Please forgive her, Your Excellency," he apologized on behalf of Selene. "As you said, her mental state is unstable…"
Zelretch found Selene… curious, sensing a drop of His luck steaming off as the Magical Creature used Unlucky Gossip.
It was not the tiny loss that made Him curious about the serpent, though.
It was the fact that she had succeeded in affecting His luck at all!
Zelretch could tell that the Three-Headed Devourer was over a thousand years old in flesh.
It was the same feeling he had experienced when meeting Red for the first time. Then, the Deep One had ignored it, as mere thousand years weren't even worthy to blink at for entities like Him.
It was only after… what happened at the Observatory… that Zelretch finally returned to this experience, finding the oddity.
It was impossible for Contestants like Red not to cause an upheaval in the Primordial Tower in a span of a thousand years. But when He contacted His beneficiaries on the 15th floor of the Tower, He realized that He had been mistaken.
Red — The Five-Crowned Prince — was only a 9th-floor Contestant!
9th Floor… Somehow, despite being a Deep One, Zelretch had experienced the same emotions Betty Shaw had upon learning Kai's true identity.
Because what Kai had accomplished was already the greatest feat across the Fate Bubble.
If one combined it with the fact that he was a mere 9th-floor Contestant… then it became more ridiculous than someone claiming Red to be a reincarnated Emperor!
Zelretch had regretted a touch not holding onto this age-related odd feeling the very first time, then. Because if He had investigated a bit, He would have learned that Red shared some relation with that girl… Purple Mist.
That would have been enough of a reason for Him to kick Red out of the Fate Bubble then and there.
This guy… Zelretch thought, admitting. … is unnaturally lucky…
He looked away from the Master and Magical Creature duo and eyed… outside the Bubble, sensing Death the Artificer.
Zelretch took a deep breath.
Perhaps, He was letting The Banished One's business cloud His judgment too much?
Perhaps there was some merit in keeping Red close, like a lucky charm?
Even Deep Ones weren't as infallible as They seemed, Zelretch knew.
So what if He was one of the strongest Deep Ones of one of the largest Bubbles?
Deep Ones never rose to Their immortal status without lunging at every opportunity to strengthen Themselves.
And… through the True Ancestor Blessing, He would always have…
The corner of Zelretch's mouth arched up, but He did not let Red see that.
Instead, He said, "I have a proposal. As she is now, your serpent will never see the light of day after receiving my Blessing. Even your Nothing Is Impossible wouldn't work. It's unrelated to how impossible it is, and more connected to the nature of the Blessing itself.
"Even if by some miraculous Elixir she assimilated the Extremity, becoming a Dead Apostle, she would never go past the Rank of Undead, succumbing to her Impulses. And only an Undead can truly call itself a Vampire."
As Zelretch paused, Kai frowned. "… What do you mean she will never see the light of day after receiving your Blessing. You were just about to…" He paused. "… You…"
Did Zelretch just admit that He was going to… kill Selene?!
Yes. The Deep One had promised to bestow the Blessing. He had never promised to not kill the Blessed individual right after the act was done, though.
Kai kept looking at the Deep One and sighed. "… Why the change of heart, Your Excellency?"
"Are you interested?" Zelretch countered, not humoring the question. "My proposal is simple. Give her to me for some time. I have many friends across the Multiverse with abilities suited to her unique situation. Once I find something concrete to… make her better, I will bestow the Blessing upon her and return her to you."
No.
Every pore on Kai's body rejected the idea.
Selene was already hissing curses at Zelretch, calling Him names that Kai wouldn't call even his greatest enemy.
And yet…
Zelretch still did not know about Blood Devour, Kai remembered.
And, as Selene was a Magical Creature connected to him via the System, the Deep One couldn't keep her either.
"The decision is yours," Zelretch said, eying Selene with open curiosity now. "Do you want to test your… luck with this? Or, let me make sure that at least one of the creatures with my Blessing survives past the Rank of Successor?"
Kai ground his teeth, staring daggers at Zelretch.
It was impossible to know if this was all a ruse to separate Selene from him or if it was, as He said — an undeniable necessity.
But Kai had already rejected the True Ancestor Blessing once.
If he rejected it again… Perhaps, Zelretch wanted him to reject, instead of choosing any option?
When neither the Ad Infinitum nor the Lucky Intuitions worked, Kai had no choice but to go with his guts.
He let out a breath, looked over his shoulder, and… nodded.
-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!- Selene screamed, her large body causing an avalanche. -DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME, YOU JEWEL PEDO…-
Zelretch smiled at the children and then disappeared…
… Selene vanishing from behind a sighing Kai.
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