Reincarnated As The Villainess's Son-Chapter 152 [Blood Of Fallen] [8]

"...That's your past, present, and future... Your lovers were, are, and will always... kill you."

Thump! Thump!

Azariah's heart pounded fiercely in his chest as the man's words struck deep.

His breath became ragged, and he glared at the man, whose expression was filled with pity.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Azariah let out a forced chuckle.

"The fuck are you rambling about, liar?" he asked, a smile lingering on his face as he stepped back.

"Az," Oliver tried to intervene, but Azariah quickly pushed him away.

"Did you not hear this fucker?!" Azariah roared, slamming his fist down on the table with such force that it shattered into pieces.

The man gulped as Azariah lunged at him, but Oliver barely managed to hold him back.

Just as the man was about to respond, a woman passing by on the street stopped, looking at them with concern.

"Sam!!" she yelled, making the man's head snap toward her.

"Find a real job! How long are you going to impersonate and fool people?" she snarled.

"What?" Azariah asked, his anger giving way to confusion, finding solace in her words, "He's a fraud?"

"Yes, sir," the woman replied sweetly, her gaze softening as she took in Azariah's handsome face, a smile forming on her lips. "He does this to all the tourists—"

"Aye, old hag!" the man named Sam snapped, abruptly standing up and throwing down his woolen cap.

"Do your fucking job and stop bothering me!"

"Shut up, fraudster!" the woman shot back, before turning to Azariah.

"Don't listen to his nonsense. He scares people with lies and then extorts money by offering fake solutions."

"We're leaving," Azariah muttered, rubbing his temples as he turned to walk away.

He pulled out some gold coins, handing them to the woman, who beamed at the unexpected earning.

Oliver and Chubby followed suit, but as they tried to move, Sam stepped forward, blocking their path, his eyes gleaming with greed.

"Are you new here, sire?" Sam asked, a fake smile plastered on his ordinary face. "Do you want a guide—"

"Fine, fine," Sam relented, nodding vigorously. "One gold coin."

"Are you sure, Az?" Oliver whispered, standing beside him. "He's still a fraud."

"One gold doesn't matter," Azariah replied, shaking his head. "I'm more interested in that name," he whispered.

"This way," Sam said, his mood lifting as he led them deeper into the alley.

The pathway, already narrow, became even tighter as they slowly moved out of the city.

The walls of the alley seemed to close in on them with every step.

"Do you know we're living in the 3rd Epoch?" Sam asked, glancing back at the three boys trailing behind him.

"We're what now?" Seth grumbled, barely finding enough space to walk in the cramped alley.

"Aye, the 3rd Epoch," Sam nodded, his voice pitched high with excitement. "The Epoch of Dawn."

"And what about the other two?" Oliver asked, his curiosity piqued. "Or did we just skip straight to the 3rd?"

"The 1st was the Epoch of Gold, and the 2nd, the Epoch of Rebirth," Sam explained, deftly jumping over a half-meter boulder blocking their path.

"Each epoch lasts three thousand years, and the last one ended with the Akasha Holy War."

"So what does that have to do with anything?" Azariah asked, lifting Seth effortlessly and tossing him over the boulder as they continued deeper into the alley.

"The emperor of the Dortona Empire was a devout follower of the three main gods," Sam continued, leading them further away from the city.

"He kept the war going, fighting a useless battle because those foolish main gods demanded it."

"And now you're cursing the gods?" Seth growled, annoyed by Sam's words.

Sam smiled as he turned back to face them.

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"Can gods prevent evil?" he asked.

Seth replied confidently, "Yes."

"Then why don't they?" Sam shot back, his tone sharp.

"....."

Sam's smile widened. "If they're omnipotent, why not just destroy evil?"

"They can, but they choose not to," Oliver commented. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

"Then are they really benevolent?" Sam countered, his voice laced with skepticism. "When they allow mortals to suffer?"

"..."

"When they're neither omnipotent nor benevolent," Sam said, stepping closer and leaning in toward them, his voice dropping to a whisper. "....Then why call them gods?"

Sam smiled, observing the thoughtful expressions on their faces as he resumed walking.

"But I understand," he continued, "for us mortals, gods are necessary, even if they do not and cannot truly exist."

"Enough of that," Azariah snapped, his glare intense. "We're not here to talk about gods."

"Right, sire!" Sam exclaimed, plastering a fake smile across his face. "You wanted to know about Qais."

Azariah nodded slightly. "Who is he?"

"I don't know," Sam shrugged, causing everyone to halt in their tracks.

"The fuck did you just say?" Azariah asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"I don't know much about him," Sam replied with a smile. "Most of the things related to him are gone, forgotten, or buried somewhere."

"....."

Azariah's patience wore thin as he stepped closer, his glare sharpening.

"But there is one famous story about him," Sam quickly added. "Something about his wife."

".....What is it?" Azariah asked, forcing himself to calm down as the light at the end of the tunnel grew brighter.

"During the time of the Akasha Holy War, a man named Qais lived," Sam began with a smile. "Some say he was a noble, others say he was just a commoner."

The light at the end of the alley brightened as they emerged, finding themselves along the riverbank.

"One day, the emperor heard about Qais's wife, whom Qais always boasted about as one of the most beautiful women to ever live," Sam continued, leading them toward a broken-down house with nothing but walls.

"The emperor became curious to see her face and used every trick he knew to catch a glimpse of her."

They reached the dilapidated house, and Azariah looked around curiously, touching the hard walls.

"At one party, the emperor finally met her, though she wore a veil over her face," Sam narrated, stopping before a wall covered with a dusty old sheet.

"He asked her to remove the veil, and when he saw her face, he was thoroughly disappointed. She wasn't old or ugly, but neither was she the enchantress Qais had claimed."

"That's when the emperor asked why Qais boasted so much about an ordinary woman," Sam said, his gaze locking onto Azariah's.

"And Qais answered, 'Look at her with my eyes, and you will find her the most beautiful.'"

With that, Sam yanked the sheet off the wall, revealing a single portrait.

It was broken at the edges, and most of the colors had faded.

But the face was still clear—an ordinary face with bright golden hair and eyes.

There was nothing remarkable about the portrait; it was simply ordinary.

"Is this the most beautiful thing you were talking about?" Oliver asked, glancing at Sam.

But to his surprise, the spot where Sam had been standing was now empty.

He had vanished without a trace.

"Where did he go?" Seth mumbled, looking around but finding nothing.

"Az?" Oliver called out, touching Azariah's shoulder.

Azariah had a dazed look on his face, staring blankly at the portrait, a single tear falling down his cheek.

"Hey, are you alright?" Oliver's concern grew as Azariah didn't respond, even when he gently shook him.

Suddenly, Azariah fell to his knees, his hands gripping his hair.

A whisper escaped his lips, "Lumi... Inna... Where are they?"

"Hey, what happened!?" Oliver sat beside him, shaking his body in alarm.

Seth moved closer, his worry evident as he looked at Azariah.

"…Delilah," Azariah mumbled softly, his eyes filled with confusion, "Where is Delilah?"

"Who?" Oliver asked, frowning in confusion.

"....Where is she?" Azariah whispered, grabbing Oliver's collar.

"WHERE IS SHE!?"