Chapter 197 197: Master Manipulator

The old man knew that Zheng hated Azekiel, and he wasn't the only person who hated him. There were many people in the tower who hated Azekiel.

Everyone who knew about the specifics of his past hated him. The man was called the Demon in the Tower during the time of his reign. He was the strongest being here and the Creator of this tower who could control space and time and much more. He was someone who was said to be impossible to kill.

While everyone hated Azekiel, there was only one person who didn't feel much hate toward Azekiel. It was the old man. Unlike the others who all were against Azekiel, he had always been neutral.

Even though Azekiel wasn't a good person at the core, the old man didn't care much about that. As he was neutral, he held good relationships with both sides in the past and even now without interfering.

He was quite curious why Zheng wasn't telling that girl about Azekiel's return since that seemed like the most sensible choice for him. He hated Azekiel and what better way than to expose him when he was weak?

"Why don't you tell her about him? If you don't want to save him, then why?"

"Because I want to kill him personally!" Zheng exclaimed. "When he entered the tower, even I didn't know who he really was. I only had doubts, but I couldn't be sure. However, now that his memories had returned, he had that same aura that I could never before. Now I'm sure who he is, and I want to have my revenge!"

"I see. Since he's weaker than he was at his peak, you want to kill him yourself. You don't want to tell her because then she would personally come to kill him, and you'll lose your opportunity. Is that right?" The old man asked, finally understanding what was going on in his head of Zheng.

"That's right! This is the perfect opportunity for me to kill him! He is still weak. He doesn't even have the fraction of the strength which he used to have since he's young again. At the moment, he is too weak... Weak enough that even I can kill him, which seemed like an impossible thought in the past," Zheng explained.

"Let me guess. That's not the only reason, is it?" The old man asked. "That's only a partial reason. You want to kill him for revenge, but you also want to do it so you can get his strength and become even stronger?"

Zheng smiled in response, bursting into laughter. "He was right. You are very perceptive, old man."

"Nah, it's not about perception. It's common sense. You are here, talking to me instead of attempting to kill him. That makes it obvious that you don't want to kill him on this floor. The only reason that can be behind that decision is because this is a reward Floor, and if you kill anyone here, you won't get any rewards or their strength," the old man further explained how he came to the conclusion.

"You want him to enter the twelfth floor before you kill him, did I get it right? You not only want to kill him, but you also want to get all the benefits from it, which you don't want to give to her."

"Even though you work for her, you also want to reach the same heights that she did, and the first step for that is taking Azekiel's strength by killing him. That's also why you aren't telling her about Azekiel. Then again, it's quite clever, I must say."

"Do you also want to help me?" Zheng asked the old man. "Or you're still going to be neutral even now?"

"You know me. I won't engage in the war from any side," the old man responded.

"You know, sometimes staying neutral just means siding with the stronger side. In this case, you are siding with us indirectly, which is good enough for me. Just stay out of my way when I kill him," Zhang smirked. "I also came here to tell you not to inform her about this. At the moment, only two of us know about this. I don't want anyone else to know. You understand?"

"I wasn't planning to tell either. It's none of my business what happens between the two sides or who does what. I won't interfere if you kill him," the old man answered, but he didn't stop there.

p He further continued with an amused smile on his lips. "Similarly, I won't interfere if he's about to kill you instead."

"Hahahaha! With his strength?" Zhang burst into hearty laughter. "That will never happen. If it were the old him, it still would've been possible, but even with his memories, he is too weak now! So don't worry. Your help will be the last thing I'll be needing."

"Who knows... It's always good not to underestimate your enemy... Especially if the enemy is the so-called Demon who made the entire world bow before him at his peak," the old man chimed in. "Anyway, I wish you luck. I'll see how things go."

"I'll be taking my leave for now."

The man clapped his hands, opening a spatial portal before him, but before he could enter, he heard Zhang's words.

"Old man, can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah?" The old man stopped and asked without looking back.

"Why didn't you tell his two familiars about his truth? Why didn't you tell them that he lies about everything to get what he wants? Why didn't you tell them that he is a master manipulator? Why did you let them be in the dark about just what Azekiel actually is like?" Zheng asked, genuinely curious.

"Why don't you tell them about his truth and what he actually did in the past? You know as well as I do that he'll lie to them as well, don't you? So why didn't you expose the truth?"

The old man smiled in response as he turned around.