He lifted him high above for everyone to witness, the disciple’s head almost popping as Urek gripped his neck tighter.
’It’s like a watermelon...’
Before he could actually pop it, though—
A voice descending from above abruptly stopped him.
"The war is over! The winner is the rascal!"
He waved his hand, and the containment barrier instantly dissolved, saving the choking disciple’s grace.
"Good! Now, continue your training. Do not disappoint me like that again." He didn’t give a shit about the loser.
What a total disappointment, but that was that.
The rascal who had just popped out of nowhere like a mole was undeniably strong.
No hesitation at all... just a pure ruthless will to slaughter and kill.
Those were the eyes of a true predator.
"Now, you rascal, come over here." The elder slowly walked away from the crowd.
The medics had already been dispatched, so he had no reason to babysit the injured.
"Why, sage old man? I’m only here to become a hero and follow the goddess... not to serve some stin—"
"What?"
"Not to serve a stinging and badass, sage old man."
"Hoho... then follow me."
’Shit... How did things even escalate to this point anyway? The grand plan was to get close to her... and completely ruin the life of the hero, not deal with this nonsense.’ Urek was having a genuinely hard time processing what the hell was going on.
This wasn’t a part of his plan at all.
They walked for several minutes before finally stopping in front of a massive monument.
"Rascal, do you know whom this depicts?"
"No... and I honestly don’t care."
The old man’s face twitched violently at the rascal’s blatant indifference, especially as the youth casually cleaned out his ear with his pinky finger.
"Fuck... just play along with me, will you..." He wanted to slap the shit out of him, but a sage never does that.
"Fine..."
"Hoho... now let me tell you the greatest story regarding this monument, rascal."
’Damn... Is there seriously no skip button for this filler dialogue, System? ’
[ You cannot skip reality, Host... Just play along with the flow. ]
Urek’s face twitched, his expression practically cracking under the weight of the system text floating in front of his vision.
"Okay, I’m listening, sage old man..."
"Hoho... that’s more like it. Now, for your information, that majestic figure right there... is me."
"Hmnn..."
’Of course it’s you... Just speak faster. You are actively irritating me, old man.’
"Now... you see, I won’t be living much longer."
"Uhh... yeah?"
’Fuck... What does your dying have to do with my objective? Just kick the bucket already so you won’t have to watch your precious granddaughter get absolutely corrupted.’
"Do you see this...?"
He lifted his robes, revealing a horrifying, gaping wound right in the center of his chest... It looked like crumbling, actively rotting flesh.
"Yes..."
’Damn, it’s exactly like that scene with All Night...’
"Now, you are wondering why I am revealing this to you, right? A wise sage whom you just met. I would be utterly horrified to witness this if I were in your shoes..."
"And...?"
"Fu—no, enough with that. Well, I’m simply here to say that if you are genuinely interested in my granddaughter, I will fully support your pursuit."
"..."
"Haha, you completely didn’t expect that twist, did you?"
’Of course I didn’t... This is definitely not a filler! ’
Urek honestly didn’t know what to make of reality anymore.
His entire strategy revolved around getting close to the hero’s sister, cuckolding the protagonist, and proceeding from there... Yet the plot was spinning in a completely different direction now.
"Well... you see, my granddaughter is remarkably cold... and this is definitely the very first time I have ever seen her personally invite a man over. Besides, she is already in her late twenties, so she is getting a bit old."
’Old man... That ass alone could command an entire military battalion. Don’t speak such blasphemy...’ Obviously, Urek strictly kept that thought for himself.
"So, how about you invest some genuine effort into her, and let the future decide if both of you complement one another...?"
The old man truly didn’t have much time left in this world, and he absolutely couldn’t risk leaving her under the care of that spoiled brat.
That would be her doom.
"But... the hero is deeply in love with his sister, sage old man."
"Of course he is... but it is fundamentally wrong to fall in love with one’s own relatives, especially someone like him."
"So..."
"Yes... once I pass away, that piece of shit will attempt to seize absolute control... and I refuse to let that happen."
"...."
Another heavy pause stretched over the yard as Urek’s mind went into absolute overdrive.
’Hell... Doesn’t that mean my actions are basically legal? I can take her for myself and make the protagonist suffer immensely, and I have the grandfather’s legal blessing! ’
"Hoho... I won’t force your hand. The world is vast, and we cannot dictate the pre-ordained destiny of others. I am merely offering you some sage advice..."
"Okay. I will do it, sage old man..."
"Hoh, quite confident, are we? It is not me whom you have to convince, rascal..."
"Of course..."
"Now, enough with this heavy talk. I need to go rest my ancient bones. Oh, by the way... what is your actual name, rascal?"
He turned his head one final time, looking back at Urek with a genuine, weary smile.
If things actually worked out... The doomed future awaiting his only granddaughter might just be averted.
As stated before, he possessed the unique ability to perceive fate, and what he had seen written for his granddaughter’s future was nothing short of total, catastrophic ruin.
Therefore, he wanted to place a bet... not because he was reduced to begging, but because he simply desired to see if fate was truly impossible to breach.
And for the very first time in his long life.
He had laid eyes on a man who didn’t possess a single spark of predetermined aura.
An absolute anomaly.
"I’m UREK ARET... remember it well, sage old man."
Urek’s voice echoed out, causing the elder’s smile to widen.