Jacob slowly opened his eyelids, feeling sore all over. He could distinctly feel a huge wound in the middle of his chest, something that would have gutted him from start to finish if Epagogia had really wanted to kill him.
It seemed that the woman had then applied one of his Alchemic pastes and left him to rest. He felt the wound with one hand and realized it was much shallower than what he would have expected.
She went easy on me.
The realization hit Jacob like a truck. For all he had tried to match her strength, they were too far apart. The only way Jacob could have hoped to win was using a Forbidden Technique and subsequentially more of his Sword Aura, which would have dealt much more damage to his body than it currently carried.
Being inadequate was something he was more than accustomed to. He had been carrying his weakest moments even at the apex of his past life, even when he had been called a hero, even when he had tipped the balance of intercontinental wars toward humanity.
I need to go out and explore. I need to get to those damn Ancient Ruins and take more Alchemical resources, goddammit.
His fists tightly gripped the blankets, so strong they almost tore.
If I don't go explore and get stronger, I'll soon start stagnating here.
After the spar with Epagogia, Jacob had realized just how weak he really was. If some monster were out there after his scalp, it would be a breeze for them to come in and kill Jacob in the middle of St. Peter.
They lacked Formations to fight stronger individuals, they lacked the proper resources to truly find a superpower and a future war machine like Jacob had hoped.
They were lacking under so many aspects that…
"Jacob," Juliet came to him with a very serious expression.
He instantly felt her worries through the Ancestral Bond. And she wasn't worried because Epagogia had knocked him out silly.
"We have a problem," she said.
"What's happening?"
Jacob had just awoken from his slumber, and it seemed like he wasn't going to get an easy day. Not at all.
"Some people came to St. Peter," Juliet spoke, "they said they killed off every Demonic Beast around L'Aquila and that they freed up and saved every human they found on their path."
For all that sounded like good news, Jacob had an ominous feeling.
There was something in Juliet's feelings and look that spoke louder than her words. She had seen something that had scared her, and not just that, but it was like she had just seen Mt. Tai itself and perceived how small she really was.
"Who are these people?" Jacob frowned.
He was up and running with Kevin in his hand even before Juliet could finish speaking.
"Their leader says he knows you very well. He said you two are long-time friends. He said to tell you that the Vermillion Tyrant is here to share a meal with you."
…
Jacob readied the most powerful Forbidden Technique he could use, together with keeping his Meridians wide open for the destructive amount of Sword Aura he would summon in the next moment.
He arrived at the makeshift gate they had fashioned for St. Peter's Northern entrance.
And then he saw him.
He was just lying against one of the walls, chit-chatting with Marcus and Lucius.
The most beautiful man in existence, with skin so fair and unblemished he could make women feel ashamed of themselves. His androgynous traits didn't take away from his heroic facial traits, sharp and powerful, the ones a true leader should have. Even his casual posture looked like a Greek's statue contrapposto.
His hair was fiery red and natural, not tinted. It wasn't the normal red color you could find in humans—no, it was the kind of color you thought no one could naturally possess. But that was just one of the features that made him look like a hero from another time, or maybe from the Epic tales of Achilles and Ulisses that were woven a long time ago.
His clothes were white and plain, with not a stain on them. They were soft and loose. But even so, his tall stature rivaled Marcus's hulking figure, and his casual movements displayed steely muscles from the glimpses caught among the clothes' folds.
"Jacob! My dear!" the man shouted as soon as he saw Jacob, waving cheerily with his hand.
Jacob gripped Kevin so hard that his own palm started splitting on the hilt.
"Hektor!" Jacob roared.
The man looked at him with vermillion pupils, the sign of his Hidden Constitution.
"Oh! Look, I told you that he would not be happy to see me; it doesn't matter how many gifts I brought," the man wore now a melancholic expression.
"Get away from him!" Jacob barked to the people that were casually hanging around the Vermillion Tyrant.
"Go get Epagogia!" Jacob shouted toward Juliet at his back, not looking away for a second from the man in front of him.
"Jacob, I came here to talk. Can't we have a friendly chat?" the Vermillion Tyrant gave him a languid smile.
Jacob looked toward the people who were now slightly edging away from Hektor, who seemed heartbroken by the treatment Jacob had just reserved for him.
"Hektor, you bastard. You came back with your memories, didn't you, you filthy dog," Jacob felt an endless fury course through his veins.
"I admit, I was very surprised at first. But then I remembered that you, my dear, are very adept at messing with time. Therefore, I figured you were involved. Plus, I found myself in a small town in Italy, and instead of being in the middle of my business trip in Singapore. Karma's a bitch, right? Is this one of the legendary friend-enemy line-ups? You get one friend and one enemy close to you, and then they are further and further, and you have to round up an alliance, vanquish the evil ones and triumph for the sake of humanity. Something like that?"
"This is not a goddamn fairy tale," Jacob was ready to go off at every moment. If Hektor made one move too much, he would pull the trigger on the terrifying Forbidden Technique he had already prepared.
"Yeah, I figured that too. It was fun thinking of the 'world-savior' scenario, but I know, I know. This is a quest for strength. Two sides, because Karma is black and white, no grey in between. Some will rise above the Heaven, and some will be sent back into oblivion, this time forever."
"I'll have the pleasure of being the one sending you back into oblivion, then, like in our past life. Second time is the charm."
Jacob had never been this tense.
He knew that Hektor was at the very least as strong as Epagogia.
And if he had cleaned up L'Aquila…
A terrifying pressure enveloped all the present people.
"Hound Realm, my dear," the Vermillion Tyrant flashed his aura and then retracted it after a second. "I'm not here to fight, Jacob. I cleaned up most of this lovely place. I knew you were already building something, and I also knew about your weak talent. If I were here to kill you, you would be already dead, dear, and you know it."
Jacob slowly sheathed his own sword. How the Vermillion Tyrant could already be so strong was a question for later. But it was clear that he had no way to defeat such a monster, not even if he sacrificed his own life.
"So, Hektor, why are you here? Are you planning on setting up another huge Empire and vying for humanity's destruction once again? Do you want to exterminate all other races and wage war to the world once again?"
Hektor gestured tightly with his hand as if what Jacob said was stinking up the place.
"No, no. I am not stupid. If it doesn't work once, it will not work the second time around. If you want to take down a wall and it doesn't break when you try banging with your head on it, you change method, you don't get more bruises, right? Also, I really don't like that Karma or whatever entity in this world put me on the Evil side of things. I bet that Max is out there gunning for you, and the thought of being on the same level of that dreg is offensive."
It made sense.
Jacob knew how much the Vermillion Tyrant hated being boxed into a two-dimensional definition. And if they shared something, it was the hate for Max, the Undeath Tyrant.
"So?"
Jacob was getting impatient.
"So," Hektor said while bending the knee, "I'd like to serve under you, in this life. You bested me, and you managed to bring me back. Some gratitude is in order, and I think that if I stayed with you, I would still be able to see humanity on top of the pecking order once again."
Seeing the radiant smile on the handsome man's face, Jacob almost felt shy. But his surprise was so big it overwhelmed every other emotion.
"Are you serious?" Jacob asked, flabbergasted.
"Oh, dear, so serious," Hektor looked at Jacob with loving eyes.
Precisely one second after that moment, Epagogia appeared in the distance with her aura blazing around her.
The Vermillion Tyrant slowly got up and looked behind Jacob's shoulders.
"Oh, so the 'good' guy on your side is that bitch," Hektor said with a dangerous glint in his eyes.