Hey, stop!
"Hey, stop!" Hera pursued him, her long, impossibly thin legs slicing through the streets of the Soulforge Citadel with liquid ease.
Nux scowled, eyes creasing as he looked back. "What's wrong?" His tone had a relaxed irritation, almost as if the disruption of this young woman's chase irritated him slightly.
Hera gasped, her own breath caught in her throat. "Hiss!" Her lovely pink-tinged eyes lost a fraction of their sparkle, a look of shock passing across her face.
No man in the Soulforge Citadel ever spoke so to her before. Always with caution, always with respect. Always. until this moment. And now, after bracing herself to go to him herself, she found him ignoring her with a cold, detached stare.
There was a pout of softness forming on her wet red lips. "Hmph, you man… you are confused a bit."
Nux blinked, eyes focusing marginally. "That… this girl… I don't know you."
Her lips trembled, then she folded her arms and put her head on one side in feigned scolding. "Hey, you man… are you a tough guy~"
Hera's tone, teasing but with an edge of annoyance, rang out over the crowd. Heads swiveled on the bystanders, and Nux felt the interest surrounding them like a palpable force.
Men's faces clenched up as they observed this Goddess playing coquette, yet scolding, yet striding toward him with purpose. Inside, most were torn between awe and resentment.
She's a Goddess… initiating a conversation for herself. And yet… he has the temerity to be bored?
Hera's tiny mouth compressed, her eyes blazing red with wrath. I just… I just wanted to speak with him. Why is he so impossible?
"I just want to be friends! Why are you so… so nasty? You really are a bully!"
"Smelly man, I detest you!"
Her words burned with anger and naivety, wrath mingled with shame. And then, quite suddenly, her War Soul blazed.
From her brow, soft, plushy ears grew, pink-tipped at the extremity. A fluffy pink fox tail curled elegantly around behind her. Fists were clenched, silver teeth biting hard in indignation, and her body shook with contained power.
The crowd gasped aloud.
"This… this lady is a disciple of the Soulforge Citadel!"
"The man facing her is finished. That's the saintess of the Citadel. No one dares rile her lightly."
"I've never seen the Citadel's saintess. deflated like this. This Nux. he's too frightening."
"Terrifying, who cares? She's furious, and I. I don't even want to think about the aftermath."
Eyes flicked, murmurs humming like wires. Men with pride in their hearts suddenly felt insignificant, their egos shattered beneath the impact of Hera's presence—and yet, Nux remained completely unruffled.
Imitate coldness… yes, pretend to be cold. He considered, keeping Syra tightly in his arms. If I react to every Goddess that pursues me down, I'd never have a second to myself.
Some men with not-so-innocent minds throw envious eyes toward Nux. Just a good-looking, elusive man, and yet… more popular than me? How do they do it?
Nux's voice, smooth and unbroken, finally managed to penetrate the tension. "Girl. it's okay with you to stand in my way, but if you're going to talk to me like that, then. we will have to discuss this."
Hera's eyes went cold, chest heaving with shallow breaths. Her tight mouth compressed, lips shaking with rage and embarrassment. I'm a saintess, the pride of the Soulforge Citadel. and he has the nerve to speak to me like this?
"Aren't you afraid of me?"
Nux gave her a cool look. "Why should I be?"
Her face changed in an instant, shock and incredulity mixed with flushing. He… underestimates me?
"You bastard! This is… too much!"
A blast of spiritual power exploded from her.
Two yellow rings, two purple, and four other soul rings glowed about her, whirling with raw, awed energy.
The crowd shrank back reflexively, even those standing a little farther away feeling their chests constrict and heads spin under the pressure. Some stumbled backward, gasping for air, eyes wide with terror and awe.
Hera's body emitted raw, unadulterated power. Nux, as serene as ever, looked on at her with those deep, unreadable eyes, holding Syra close as if she were nothing more than a tiny pet.
The tension crackled like lightning across the plaza. Every heartbeat seemed amplified.
And Hera, furious yet flustered, stared at him, tail lashing, ears twitching. Her voice trembled with a mixture of indignation and passion.
"Smelly man! You… you're impossible!"
Nux's expression didn't change, but the corner of his mouth twitched slightly—an almost imperceptible signal that he was amused.
Around them, whispers swirled like a storm:
"This is unbelievable… the saintess has lost composure."
"Is that man. who is that? How can he keep his head?"
"The Citadel has never known anything like this. it's a disaster waiting to happen."
And yet, in the midst of this storm, Nux was still an island of calm, the soft pink light of Syra wrapped in his arms the only heat in the chilly, electric air of the plaza.
The dance had started.