"I don't believe that," Cade replied, frowning. "The Jade Emperor is a person who values his subordinates above all. I just so happen to be one of the elite 20."
"Right, so why were you sent alone?" Neraxis asked. "It's not like multiple people couldn't come, right?"
"Naturally, the Jade Emperor is a man who values resources, and if he were to send more than one of us, we'd be taking a net loss," Cade replied calmly, causing Neraxis to let out a laugh.
"Pfftt... so he's greedy to the point where he only sends a single person? Especially when immortality is on the line? Are you an idiot?"
"Hahaha," Evangeline burst out laughing. "He really thinks he's important, when in reality, he's nothing but a pawn."
"I feel bad... should I lock his mind in a time loop for 5 years so he can think things through?" Ariella suggested.
Instead of refusing, Neraxis nodded. "Make it 2 years. I think that's enough timeout for this idiot."
Ariella smirked. "With pleasure."
She began approaching the puzzled Cade, and then, she merely tapped him on the forehead.
It seemed simple at first, but he soon fell backward, almost lifelessly.
However, not even a second later, Cade shot awake, his eyes wide in shock as he looked around.
"You fucking bastards!" Cade yelled, and attempted the same stunt as earlier. However, Neraxis swiftly shut it down by making all 50 of the needles dig deep into his body.
Obviously, he didn't die. However, the pain was nothing short of excruciating.
"God, just shut the fuck up already," Neraxis grumbled. "Else I'll make sure you're stuck in there for 20 years."
That seemed to make him halt as he fell quiet, merely staring at Neraxis.
"Good. I'm going to do some preparations, so I can't really watch over you," Neraxis stated, narrowing his eyes. "If I send you back, you will be killed. However, I have another job for you."
"And you think I will just accept?" Cade asked with a frown.
"You don't have a choice," Neraxis replied, shrugging. "There is a particular organization in this world, and they're hiding a person I need. It's a prophet—or rather, she's a prophet. Your mission is to find her at any cost, and preferably kill her. Though if you bring her back to me, I'll give you back your freedom."
[Will you really?] Evangeline asked, giggling.
Of course not, Neraxis replied, maintaining his poker face. He's a great asset, so if I can make him an actual subordinate, then all the better.
Nonetheless, after hearing his words, Cade seemed to fall into thought.
The proposal of having his freedom returned seemed rather lucrative, but he knew better than anyone that these types of offers were mostly bullshit.
However, in the end, he didn't have a choice.
"I accept..." Cade muttered. "How does she look? How am I supposed to find her?"
Neraxis shrugged. "Who knows? That's why I assigned you this mission. I want you to use everything at your disposal to find her. Your deadline is a month, and if you don't find her, I'll simply kill you."
With those words, Neraxis tapped on the Frost barrier, shattering it.
He turned to Ariella and Evangeline before nodding. "Let's go. He'll pick himself up if he's smart."
Immediately, they began walking away, leaving Cade alone.
Neraxis didn't bother giving him any more instructions and merely proceeded to walk toward Aella's and the rest of the girls' camp.
Just a few minutes later, he arrived—and to his surprise, he noticed Eris was still actively training.
However, the moment she noticed him, she shot him a small glare.
"You didn't even come to check up on us," Eris remarked.
"Did I need to? The enemy is already subjugated," Neraxis replied with a smirk. "Are the rest still lazing around?"
"Obviously." Eris scoffed, pointing at the massive tent to the side. "You wanna take a look?"
Neraxis tilted his head. "Sure?"
Eris's smirk grew as she gestured for them to follow her, and soon, they approached the tent.
Without even waiting for a moment, she swung the tent's flap open, revealing quite a surprising sight.
Instead of this tent being some kind of sleeping quarters, it was a massive pool.
And more surprising was the fact that Aella, Celina, and Aurelia were splashing water on one another while giggling about something.
Better yet? They were naked.
Evangeline whistled as she stepped forward. "Well damn, I guess nudist season came early."
"Mhm..." Ariella nodded, looking slightly embarrassed.
"Pfft..." Eris held back a laugh. However, the noise she made was enough for the girls to turn toward them.
And the moment they did, all 3 of them covered their breasts and dove underwater.
Soon, they peeked ahead, with only their heads being visible.
"Eris... I-I see you brought a few friends," Aella remarked, her eyes darting between all of them present.
But they obviously stayed on Neraxis longer than the others.
"My bad. He said he wanted to see how you were doing, so I brought him here," Eris replied with a shrug. "The big-breasted redhead is Evangeline, by the way. She's—"
Evangeline swiftly covered Eris's mouth. "I'm someone who's going to be staying around for a while. I hope we can get along."
Eris grumbled as she tried parting Evangeline's hands, but it was to no avail.
Neraxis chuckled at the sight and waved at Aella and the others. "I'll head outside for the time being. Get dressed—I have a little proposal I want to share with you."
"M-Marriage proposal?" Aurelia chimed in, shocked.
Celina gently bonked Aurelia over the head, which sent her underwater. "I don't think that's what he meant... right?"
"Marriage? No, not yet," Neraxis replied teasingly, causing most of the girls present to flinch.
"It's more simple than that, and obviously, you have all rights to refuse," he added, walking out of the tent. "Come out whenever you're ready."
With that, he left all the girls there.
However, since Evangeline was there, he had a very small, ominous feeling.
Why do I feel like they're not coming out any time soon?