My Family in the Novel?

Chapter 77: Eris

"So, what do you think?"

The man with silver-blonde hair, his face concealed by a hood emitting an ethereal white glow, couldn't help but shiver.

His ten white wings behind his back trembled, and some of his feathers slightly darkened as he attempted to peer into the dark hole with cracks marring the once pristine white sky.

The atmosphere was heavy with an unsettling aura, and the air itself seemed to whisper secrets of an impending doom.

He kneeled to the ground, overcome by the intense pressure emanating from the dark hole.

The man began to puke and expel his divine energy, and what emerged was a pure dark miasma, wriggling slightly as if possessing a life of its own.

The golden-haired woman standing beside him swiftly reacted, raising her energy to erase the black miasma while simultaneously healing the man in the process.

As the divine energy dissipated, the man's eyes met those of the beings within the hole. A deep sense of understanding and foreboding passed between them. Standing back up, he glanced at the woman beside him with a look of pity, realizing the gravity of what lay beyond that ominous rift in the sky.

"So, what exactly are they, Michael?" I asked, my voice tinged with concern.

"I don't know," Michael admitted, his expression reflecting a mix of uncertainty and gravity.

"They're known, but they're mostly considered as legends even among the numerous pantheons of our sector. Only a few beings even know or believe in them. It's best if you don't provoke those guys any further. Don't even think about fighting any of them, as one of those beings is enough to flatten this entire sector. Even I don't know why you're still alive right now."

As Michael spoke, a sense of unease settled within the goddess.

The law of causality was working to maintain balance, providing the primordial goddess of this world with enough energy to attempt to contain those things.

However, Michael was clear about the potential devastation these beings could wreak. If they so desired, they could tear open the very fabric of reality, obliterating the entire sector— heavens, hells, and even the world of mortals— with the sheer force of their presence.

"What? Are you saying to just let them take over my sector?" the golden-haired woman exclaimed, her anger palpable as her divinity surged, attempting to pressure Michael.

"You don't exactly have a choice," Michael retorted, a scoff accompanying his words. He spread his ten wings, and his own divinity acted as a shield against the goddess's attempts to pressure him.

The goddess, frustrated and pride wounded, could only shoot an annoyed look at Michael. It stung her that now her energy now so low that a mere seraph had the capability to counteract her formidable divine presence.

"This sector is doomed, Goddess Eris," Michael stated grimly. "I don't know what they want, but there's no stopping them from getting it. And looking at the leaking demonic miasma I can feel from your sector's hell even from here, I sincerely hope you won't be fighting a two-front war," he added, his eyes penetrating obstacles and focusing on a black gate below the white ground. His vision traversed fiery pits, different lands of death, until it settled on a castle where a man played chess with a beautiful demon. The man turned, acknowledging Michael with a slight smile before he shifted his gaze back to the white realm.

As Michael's vision returned to the current realm, he observed the goddess's troubled expression. He knew she was growing desperate.

Despite being one of the few beings his father considered a friend, Michael was here only to offer assistance, answer questions within his capacity, and avoid entanglements that could drag his pantheon into any form of conflict.

"We wish and pray you all the best, goddess, but advice is all I can offer. Also, be wary of the Demon King of this sector; he seems to be planning something" Michael said solemnly, remembering his brother.

"You don't think I don't know that!" Eris shouted angrily. Frustration emanated from her; she had sought help from other pantheons and various sectors, yet they all echoed the same sentiment—let those beings be. She couldn't accept it.

She knew for a fact they were dangerous as she fought them herself, but the idea that a single one of those entities could threaten an entire pantheon was difficult for her to grasp.

Despite having only a few powerful gods in her sector, they were still gods. She couldn't fathom that mere abominations could defeat them so easily.

Michael bowed his head before a golden portal appeared behind him, and he walked through it, leaving the troubled goddess to face the impending doom on her own.

Eris manifested her bed and reclined upon it, her golden eyes reflecting resilience and determination. She was resolute in her commitment to contain those abominations by whatever means necessary.

The idea of using the mortal kid as leverage crossed her mind, but considering Michael's warning and the cautionary words from others, particularly the forewarning of her intuition.

She knew that everything in this sector would come to an 'END' the moment she took such a drastic step.

Utilizing him was entirely off the table; the mortal kid was, in all likelihood, the sole linchpin holding this sector afloat. Eris found herself involuntarily biting her lips, in frustration.

...

After class ended Euphemia hurriedly went to her own lab.

"You're not joining us for lunch?" I asked

"Do you want me to?"

"No"

"Then it's decided" she smiled as she replied and went her way, "oh and don't forget to come later"

"Sure…."

…..

"Adrian!" exclaimed Louise happily as she spotted me waiting outside her classroom.

"Let's go," I guess it's been a while since we did our usual routine huh, I looked at Louise who seemed to be looking behind me for some reason.

"So, Euphemia didn't come with you?" Louise inquired with a noticeable delight. It seemed the absence of Euphemia added an extra layer of joy to Louise's mood.

"Yeah, she said she wanted to do something back at her lab."

"Hehe, I guess we shouldn't disturb her, huh?" Louise remarked, humming happily for some reason.

As we reached the cafeteria, I spotted a familiar figure already seated at our usual table. With golden blonde hair and a mage robe beneath her black uniform, the person looked at us as we approached. Her crimson red eyes carried a meaningful gaze as they locked onto mine. After a lingering stare, she greeted Louise and me with a smile.

"Hello, brother. Hi, Louise."

"Aria! Hehe, you're joining us again?" Louise exclaimed. "Where's Alex?"

"Oh, I just came here on my own. I didn't want to bother Alex coming to get me all the time." Aria explained, her smile reflecting a sense of independence.

"Oh, really? That's too bad for Alex then," Louise said in a slightly sad tone, well aware of Alex's significant crush on Aria.

Aria simply smiled neutrally at Louise's words. It was hard to discern whether she enjoyed my friends' attempts at matchmaking Alex with her or not.

One thing was clear, though – she didn't harbor any romantic feelings for Alex. Her indifference to Alex's affection was evident.

Aria looked at me again. "It's not like that, okay?" she said, seemingly trying to explain something to me.

"Hmm? What's not like that?"

"Nothing"

As Louise and I took our seats, Aria suddenly got up from her seat and took the one right next to mine. Louise, slightly curious about Aria's abrupt action, ignored it, probably thinking it was normal for us to sit together as siblings.

'If only she knew about what we did yesterday; she'd probably summon Cecilia right now to try and swallow me whole'

As Aria settled into her seat, she leaned closer to my ear, whispering, "Meet me later in the same room; we need to talk about what happened last time, right?"

Following her words, she subtly held my hand under the table, casting a seductive smile in my direction.

I couldn't help but feel a bit perplexed by Aria's response to our previous encounter, but the idea of meeting later seemed agreeable, considering I had my own set of questions for her.

However, Louise's gaze on us was filled with suspicion and confusion. She had noticed the unusual proximity of our seats, and it was apparent that Aria had used her telekinetic magic to bring us closer together.

Despite her efforts to keep things discreet, it seemed Louise had picked up on the subtle manipulation.

"Adrian, Louise, and Miss Aria, you're here this time as well," greeted Tristan as he joined the group.

"Aria?" questioned Alex. "You were already here; no wonder I didn't see you in your classroom."

"Please, no need for formalities here. You can just call me Aria, Tristan" she suggested. Tristan smiled warmly at her response.

"Gladly," he agreed, creating a more casual atmosphere among the group.

As they took their seats, Alex couldn't help but stare at Aria and me. He likely sensed that something was a bit off but refrained from directly questioning it. Based on his initial meeting with us, he might have assumed that Aria and I were quite close.

Well, he wasn't entirely wrong, but he wasn't entirely right either. Our relationship at the moment was still an enigma.

As Ian, I found myself quite attracted to Aria, but the Adrian engraved inside me was quite resistant to the idea of having a relationship with her, even right now the idea of having a relationship with Aria makes me want to puke. It was a confusing mix of emotions and conflicting identities.

…..

As our lunch continued, the conversation shifted between mundane topics and random anecdotes about their day. It was clear that Tristan was somewhat obsessed with training, as he dominated the conversation with discussions about different training techniques and regimens.

Alex, attempting to impress Aria, joined in by recommending various training modules, subtly flexing his biceps in the process. However, Aria seemed unfazed by Alex's attempts, maintaining her composed demeanor and only chiming in when directly addressed.

Louise, on the other hand, listened attentively to the training discussions, nodding briefly at every important detail. It was amusing to see her engagement in a conversation that revolved around a subject she might not be particularly interested in. Amidst the varied dynamics at the lunch table, Aria observed the interactions, occasionally offering a smile but refraining from adding much to the conversation.

"Hey, did you guys get visited by a senior recently?" I asked abruptly, catching their attention.

"No, not really," Louise replied, tilting her head in confusion.

"Nothing for me either. I think the seniors are afraid of me for some reason, and I think I know why," Alex remarked with a sigh.

It was evident why seniors might be cautious around Alex. Not only was he the second top student in the combat department, but his strength surpassed even the top students from the third years and above.

Additionally, being related to the top-ranking student of the combat department for the second year gave him an image akin to that of a high-ranking gang leader's son, which wasn't entirely inaccurate.

I observed Tristan, noticing the contemplative expression on his face. It seemed he was caught in a dilemma, torn between divulging information or keeping it to himself.

I guess I was right Schwi must have shifted her focus to Tristan after I erased her memory of our previous encounter.

While I anticipated Schwi's pursuit of Tristan after forgetting about our interaction, I also expected her to return to me as everything was reset. Now that Lilliana was back at the school, Schwi might be hesitant to make any moves that could provoke my sister.

I guess having a family member with great power could be quite advantageous.

'Haha' I chuckled slightly, contemplating the parallels with Alex's situation. Schwi appeared to be in a desperate state, eager to set her plan in motion. I wondered if the sage had already arrived. Considering Tristan's reaction, it seemed Schwi had proposed something different from the events in the novel.

'I wonder what she said to him this time'

I mused about the potential significance of Schwi's new commercial district project. Although I had accelerated the story's progression, I couldn't gauge how important Schwi's plans could impact the overall flow of the story in the upcoming scenarios but seeing as the story is going haywire anyways, fuck it I'll just take care of any unexpected events.

"Tristan?" asked Louise innocently as he seemed to have a troubled look.

"I-it's nothing haha" "but why did you ask that Adrian did someone visit you?"

"Nothing really, it's just that there was this weird senior who kept pestering me last time, trying to interview me for his papers it was all about top ranking first years so I thought you guys were also asked for an interview as well" I said trying to make an excuse.