"The point?"
Liam smiled, tilting his head with that lazy confidence of his words, his voice a deliberate drag in the air.
Their eyes met for a beat, just long enough for Mize to feel a flicker of strangeness.
Then, with a casual flick of his wrist, Liam spoke again.
"Don't be scared"
He pointed, and simultaneously...
Boom!
A sound like the sky tearing apart cracked through the air.
Mize's ears rang violently, her whole body flinching as the pressure slapped her position from the front.
Her eyes widened, breath caught in her throat, heart thudding erratically.
The wind surged and stormed.
Dust exploded across the scene like a sudden storm, blinding and wild.
Her long hair was whipped backward in every direction, strands lashing across her face.
Instinctively, her fingers dug into the sides of her seat, body tensed and rigid, unable to move, not even to breathe properly.
And then she saw it.
Directly in front of her, just inches away from her face.
The tip of a blade.
A cold, glinting sword hung there, so close it blurred her vision, the edge trembling with residual steamy mist, wafting against her face.
Just a hair closer, and it would've sliced across her cheek, or her throat.
Her entire body trembled, her mind went blank briefly.
The shock, the proximity, the sheer suddenness of it, she couldn't speak.
Couldn't even think.
And just when the silence began to stretch.
Liam's voice rang out beside her.
Light and amused. As if none of this was out of the ordinary.
"This is... the reason."
"If someone powerful wishes to play dirty instead of direct confrontation, you... " He emphasized, "Will need the strength to fight back"
"Because you are my wife, a vital and important target"
"Plus, due to your abilities, I couldn't place any shadow knights to protect you"
Still smiling, his gaze drifted to where Mize's eyes remained fixed, her breathing uneven.
His expression deepened into something else.
"And finally," he murmured, "this big guy decides to show up, after hiding for so damn long."
Because the sword hadn't stopped on its own.
No.
It was caught.
Well, Liam technically ordered the knight intentionally.
And there within the two's view.
The sword...
Firmly grasped in a massive, armored hand, fingers curled with unshakable strength around the blade's center.
The sheer size difference was staggering.
That sword, so lethal a second ago, now looked like a child's toy gripped by a titan.
Titrus.
And judging by the tension rolling off his body like heat, he was not in a good mood.
Mize gasped.
Her head snapped toward him, blinking rapidly in confusion. "T-Titrus? You"
Her voice caught.
"Y-you're… bigger than before?"
Much bigger.
And that was the first thing she noticed, completely shrugging off Liam's attempt of scaring her just now.
Red flag?
Yes... But can she do anything about it?
She doesn't know.
Perhaps, 'I am too used to his sweet sides that I forgot... He's a maniac'
Then, she shifted her gaze.
Several heads taller than the knight he'd just intercepted, his entire figure now loomed with an oppressive weight, the metal of his armor groaning as it shifted.
His glare cut like steel beneath the helmet's shadow.
Then.
Boom!
One punch.
A single, brutal swing of his enormous fist.
And the knight who had been a moment from cleaving Mize in two was launched like a ragdoll into the distance, disappearing in a blur of silver and dust.
No resistance whatsoever as the punch came too fast.
The knight's fate was unknown, but Liam, already knew through his mental link with the knight.
Instant death.
A clean, effortless annihilation.
Liam blinked, then gave a startled, amused laugh.
"Hah! Instant death against a Tier 3 knight of mine?" he chuckled, rubbing the bridge of his nose with mock disbelief. "Mize… you little cherub, you were hiding a monster like this from me?"
He rose slowly from his seat, cane tapping gently against the ground.
Mize, flustered, darted up between them. Her arms spread awkwardly as if she could hold them both apart. "W-well… you never asked!"
Liam gave a low hum, walking forward until Mize's tiny figure blocked his path entirely.
He stopped, cane planted against the floor with a soft thud, head craning up to take in the towering armored figure in front of him.
"Titrus," he said, tone amused but sharp, "What a name you've got."
Titrus didn't flinch.
"It was my Master's will to grant me that name," he responded coldly, voice deep and metallic, reverberating through the space.
He stepped forward, not threateningly, but with such aura that Mize found herself gently moved behind him without ever realizing it.
Her feet slid lightly across the floor, her voice caught in her throat.
Titrus's next words were delivered like a blade sheathed in frost.
"And you… despite calling yourself my Master's husband, failed to control your servants."
"If not for my master's hesitating in her heart, I would've annihilate you to ashes"
A beat of silence.
Then the armor groaned as Titrus shifted, metal grinding with the weight of his rising anger.
"I am…" he muttered slowly.
"Very upset."
Liam's brow arched slightly.
His smile didn't falter, but something behind his eyes tightened, perhaps interested.
"Upset, hmm?" he echoed lightly, brushing imaginary dust off his shoulder. "Surely, you know the truth already, no?"
Titrus said nothing.
But Liam pressed on, his tone gentler this time, less sharp. He wouldn't want any unnecessary trouble with Mize's summoned heroes.
He had no desire to cause unnecessary conflict, not with Mize present.
Especially not with that look in her eyes.
"The knight's killing intent wasn't random," Liam admitted, voice quiet but clear. "I controlled him. On purpose."
Titrus's eyes narrowed behind the visor. "To lure me out?"
Liam nodded, casually spinning his cane with one hand. "You could say that." He tapped the handle lightly against his palm, eyes locked on the giant.
"One of my people mentioned you. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't sense your presence. Not even a trace."
His voice lowered, curiosity threading through his words. "So yes… I became interested."
"In me?" Titrus scoffed, his voice dripping with disdain. "Kindly place your curiosity elsewhere"
He stepped aside, the ground rumbling faintly beneath his weight.
And finally, Mize managed to peek around him, cheeks puffed and arms crossed as she floated upward in a slow, exaggerated motion.
"Hey!" she squeaked, tone indignant. "Can you two not ignore me?"
She hovered higher with a dramatic pout, hands on her hips.
"I'm here too, you know!"
"Mimi," Liam called, voice light, arms resting loosely at his sides. "You've been keeping quite this powerful figure, haven't you?"
Mize floated a few inches off the ground, her movements graceful, almost lazy in the way she moved.
"The maids should've told you," she murmured, tone feather-light, "Or maybe the butler? They were there during the summoning. I'd assumed someone would've let you know by now."
Liam gave a small nod, but his eyes didn't leave the towering figure across from him.
His gaze slid over the behemoth's frame, and a quiet acknowledgement sank into his chest, like standing beneath an avalanche that hadn't quite decided to fall.
"I was told, yes," Liam said, voice calm, but his jaw flexed slightly as he spoke. "But being told and seeing with your own eyes are entirely different things. And that difference... is what caught my curiosity."
He stepped forward without ceremony and reached up to Mize, gently plucking one of the delicate flowers woven into her hair.
Without hesitation, he crushed it between his fingers.
"Hey!" Mize puffed her cheeks, jerking back and rising higher out of his reach. "Those were mine!"
Liam chuckled, letting the crumpled petals fall like dust. "Mimi, everything in my domain is yours too. You don't have to worry."
"Humph," she muttered, still pouting, though a single strand of her hair perked up, bouncing with a different meaning that betrayed her mood.
She turned her head sharply and gestured toward Titrus, who had taken a few steps back and now stood as a silent wall of metal.
"So," Mize began, voice pointed now, "you wanna explain what that was just now? With the knight?"
Her tone dropped a shade colder, her golden eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "Were you trying to kill me?"
The shift in her expression made Liam straighten a little.
If his answer didn't measure up, he could tell she wouldn't hesitate to vanish, possibly for the rest of the day.
"No," Liam replied, his hands moving to his hips, exhaling through his nose.
"It was just to prove a point. You asked why we bother training so hard when we've already got hundreds of thousands of soldiers under our command…"
He trailed off, and then, with a snap of his fingers, the space next to him twisted.
Like ink spilled in water, shadows poured up from the ground and congealed into the silhouette of a man.
A beat later, Aizen stepped out fully formed, every inch of him crisp, unruffled, and smiling in that quiet, unreadable way of his.
"Greetings, my Lord. Your Highness." He bowed smoothly, one hand over his chest.
Mize raised a brow. "Bringing Aizen here is part of your proof?"
She crossed her arms again, her pout lingering longer than it needed to.
In truth, she already knew Liam would never intentionally hurt her.
She just wanted to drag this out, maybe find an opening to get back at him for this morning's little stunt.
"Humph."
"Then let's settle it properly," Liam said, lifting a brow and glancing at Aizen. "Let him fight your champion. Titrus versus Aizen."
"Ah?" Aizen blinked, clearly not expecting that.
Liam rubbed his chin, deliberating for a second longer before giving a small nod. "Yeah… let's go with that. I'm curious to see how your so-called champion stacks up against my generals."
With that, he turned, striding casually over to a nearby seat.
He sank into it, crossed one leg over the other, and leaned the cane gently against the side.
Mize let out a quiet huff and gave her arms another firm cross. "Fine. Then so be it." Her voice rang clear now, laced with a hint of anticipation.
She turned her gaze to Titrus. "Show them what you're capable of."
Boom.
Titrus shifted. The sound of his armored foot against the ground rumbled deep into the earth.
His head tilted back slightly, face expressionless, and then, in a tone like distant thunder, he answered.
"As you command, my Master."
Without another word, he pivoted and began walking forward, every step heavy.
Aizen fell into pace alongside him, a polite smile still on his face, hands relaxed at his sides.
Liam glanced after them and called out casually, "After this, it'll be our turn next, Mimi."
Mize blinked and tensed slightly. "Mhm… g-go easy on me, alright?" Her voice was soft now, uncertain, eyes locked on the two growing smaller in the distance.
"I've got no real experience. Just the goddess form and a few fancy tricks."
Liam tapped his fingers against the armrest of the chair. "Your profession's actually a nightmare for large-scale armies and even one-on-one duels," he muttered, half to himself.
"It's strange. Everything about it is just... off. Capable of anything and yet unpredictable."
"A walking divine among mortals... "
"Meaning?" Mize asked, gaze flicking to him with a hint of concern. "I'm not following."
"It means," Liam stopped tapping, looking at her fully, "you're a walking disaster for anyone foolish enough to face you head-on."
He leaned forward slightly, tone steady but edged with a seriousness he rarely showed. "With enough prep or even just a sliver of your proffesion madness, the common Awakeners, limited as they are, have to rely on strategy just to survive what you can pull out of thin air."
Mize blinked slowly, her brows creasing. She chewed on his words as her gaze trailed back to the battlefield ahead.
"You're talking about… my core ability, aren't you?"
"Exactly." Liam gave a single nod. "That profession of yours, Goddess Path, isn't like anything else. According to everything I've found, it's the closest thing to creation, imagination, and unchecked potential."
"So few in numbers and those who walked this proffesion had always been mysterious, rarely showed themselves and seldom took actions"
"But there were records, I purchased a lot of books from the world and placed them in the castle's library, complete to the brim"
"Some of the books detailed how the goddess or these divine beings, proffesion-ish fight. Most of the time, they wouldn't even bother wasting time and just directly destroyed everything with a single blow"
"Different from those taboo beings, those who walked the same path as you were the only ones that possessed the closest ability to creation itself"
"Almost too perfect, impossible to fight against"
"There's even a book about it," he added, lifting a brow.
"A book?" Mize frowned. "Like a guide or something?"
Liam chuckled, eyes gleaming. "No, not a guide. A book on how to kill you."
Mize blinked once. Then again. "Wait, what?"
"It's a compilation of theories, tactics, and countermeasures," Liam explained. "On how to deal with someone like you in battle. Every faction that knows of your proffesion is scared of it."
"Every race... "
Mize deadpanned. "People go that far, huh?"
"Farther than you'd believe," Liam replied, his smile faint but unmistakably sharp.
"How to deal with a god? Yeah, let's write a book about that" Liam chuckled.