Chapter 279: How To Open Up?

"Does this mean that you don't trust me?"

Neracio said calmly even though he was already made to confess.

A slight curve on the edge of Milliv's lips rose.

"I don't trust you either. We don't trust each other right now."

Aware of the meaning behind his smile and words, Neracio replied with an agreeing nod.

"Then, we can start from the start and build that trust."

"Gladly. We can start by you not talking to Seres then."

"Alright. What I have done and said cannot be undone. I do, however, will no longer secretly help her."

This piqued Milliv's curiosity.

"What did you say to her?"

It was just a short question, but Neracio knew that Milliv was inquiring about the nature of his assistance to her.

"I'm not going to say that I'm not fond of her, but fundamentally, I want something in return. Her escaping you and helping her brother benefits me, plus, she will owe me a favour."

Neracio drank the coffee on the table before continuing.

"I only told her what's necessary. Fortunately for you, she's still in doubt."

"Thank you for that, Neracio."

Million thanked Neracio but he was already aware of it from the start. If Neracio told Seres everything, she would've already gone against him. Meanwhile, Neracio had intentionally left Seres in the dark.

"I expect this situation, that's why." Neracio explained but in Milliv's eyes, this only showed the cunningness of the SSDA's head.

That's why he's not scared of telling the truth since he had yet to go over the line. Meanwhile, Milliv has already realized this and that's why they are not in conflict.

"What do you want then?"

"The closure of the Spirit Plane once and for all."

"..." Milliv raised an eyebrow. He didn't think that Neracio was still thinking righteous, "You want the Ancient's head?"

"No, that's not necessary. If I'd planned that, the Ancient would've already gone for me. I can't become a threat."

Neracio sighed as if his plan was foiled.

"I see, no one can really go against it. Then, what's your plan? Convince it to close the Spirit Plane?"

"I just have to prove that my solution is better."

"Prove…"

Milliv pondered while Neracio said no further. To close the Spirit Plane is to disconnect everyone from their Spirit, removing all Aberrants and Condigns alike in this world. At that point, there will be no supreme power.

"I will not argue about your ideology but…" Milliv paused, "To completely close off all supernatural power, you'll have to remove all tamification of Spirits in all major houses and within the SSDA."

By tamification, they meant the use of taming Spirits which includes integrating them into clothing and weapons.

"I will do that once we've completely gotten rid of the individual users, distributors, illegal manufacturers, and traffickers."

Hearing this made Millivtrust Neracio more. He wasn't that all self-righteous. If he said he was, Milliv would doubt it. However, showing flaws will make him believable.

Whether this is intentional or not is for Milliv to figure out in the future. For now, he's trusting what he thinks and feels.

While the two men were talking, outside, Seres asked Dehian.

"Did something happen?"

"About what?"

Dehian asked in return, playing dumb while the Empress was just leaning on the wall as if she's not with them. However, she is listening to them.

"You seemed to be angry at Teren." Seres didn't beat around the bush.

"I'm always angry at him, isn't that obvious?"

"You hate him but you're always keeping your cool as Dehian."

Seres wanted to say 'You're not fooling anyone' but chose not to because she didn't need to say it. Dehian had already realized this, she was just angry that she's acting like a fool which in itself proves that something happened.

"..."

However, Dehian kept silent. She had always talked to Seres but only when it is necessary. They were not close enough to talk about their personal life.

At that moment, they heard a voice, not from the two of them.

"When I was still in my youth, my first boyfriend and I are always sweet to each other."

Hearing the Empress suddenly speak about the love life of her youth, Dehian and Seres glanced at each other.

"Eventually, there comes a time we had our disagreement. At that point, I thought that we weren't meant for each other. However, that's only my anger speaking. After it passed, I learned that I still loved him. We reconciled and it taught us more about each other."

Without waiting for a reply, the Empress continued her story.

"I'm saying that a couple gets into a fight once they're close enough. Fighting is the same as adjusting to each other. Don't let your anger get to you, after that, you'll think about him again and wish you've said you're sorry."

After she finished, there was still this awkward air around them as no one spoke. Sighing, she stood straight and looked at them through her mask.

"You have to open up first before you ask others to open up."

The Empress was saying this to Seres while, at the same time, saying that Dehian should speak now since she had already 'opened up' to them.

"But don't ask more about that first boyfriend of mine. He was caught in the explosion when I first discovered my power. You have to treasure your loved ones or they'll disappear before you know it."

'Discovered?' Seres found this wording strange but soon forgot about this as she realized that what the Empress just said is sad.

This was the final push for Dehian to speak.

"It's not technically his fault. He just said that we've already broken up which is a fact. It's just dumb of me for getting angry."

"No, that's not true. That just says that you still love him. But before we judge anything, what's the context first."

Seres immediately felt left out. She had yet to experience a relationship so she decided to just listen on the side.

"That doesn't mean anything if he doesn't love me anymore." Dehian had the face as if she was about to cry but barely keeping it.

'Is this Iesa or Dehian? I'm confused.'

Seres internally asked herself while Dehian continued to provide the context.

"Hm, you two did break up so you don't have the right to call him out for sleeping with other women."

The Empress replied unbiased after hearing the whole story while Dehian was really on the brink of crying.

"But I don't understand. Why did you break up with him in the first place?"

"... it's complicated if you don't know the story."

The Empress was confused.

"Of course, I wouldn't know the story if you won't tell me."

"You don't know the story on why I hate Teren?"

"No… why would you hate him?"

"Because…" Dehian couldn't believe that she was about to explain this herself but Seres volunteered herself in and whispered something to the Empress.

"Woah, wait, I'm confused..." the Empress was taken aback, "By Teren, did you mean the Devil Himself?"

"Yes, I don't think there's a second Teren out there."

​ "No, don't talk as if it's obvious. Why would you, Dehian, fall in love with the Devil Himself? I initially assumed they just bear the same name which is already strange but then, you're telling me they're the same person?"

The Empress felt like the world was spinning. The moment she stepped into the SSDA, she had long heard the story of Dehian and the Devil Himself. The two were like heaven and hell. They are enemies for life. This is common knowledge within the staff and Condigns. How could she believe that the two actually became a couple?

"It's… a long story." Dehian didn't want to be bothered to explain it. She had already expected this as she could hear the Empress' head. She was just speaking as if she doesn't know as not to offend her. After all, the one in front of her was still the Nuke Empress, second in the CWR.

Even she can't escape death if the Nuke Empress decided to detonate. Of course, that is if there's no warning. After studying the Nuke Empress' line of thinking for a few days, Dehian knew that even this might Nuke Empress couldn't hide her thoughts.

That's why Lina was a creepy existence to Dehian. She wasn't able to perfectly hide her thoughts but the earlier Iesa didn't notice this until later.

For Dehian, Lina's potential is extraordinary. Her willpower couldn't be doubted. Lina didn't have the raw strength but she has the ability to fool herself.

Humans naturally develop the will to do anything if it aligns with their goal and desire. Lina, consciously or not, can manipulate that desire which, in turn, changes the flow of her will.

That's why Dehian was not surprised when Lina survived an Evil Spirit and invaded Teren's dream. Even Dehian has yet to invade Teren's head but Lina did, making her existence creepy and making her a powerful tool. That's why she insisted on Teren claiming her. However, it seemed that he wants to fix her confusion.

What if he did fix it and Lina consciously went against him rather than unconsciously submitting to him?

Of course, Dehian didn't say her true thoughts.