Ares' eyes darkened once again, emitting a bizarre and sinister aura.
"Let go!"
As Ares roared in anger, the ground shook violently as if an earthquake had struck.
But it wasn't over yet.
Creaking and grinding sounds filled the air, and all manner of ominous creatures swarmed from every direction.
Creed immediately protected Navia, and Ares, breaking free from Lark's grasp, fully unleashed his divinity. A tingling sense of awe emanated from his godliness.
Navia, held in Creed's arms, only had eyes for Lark.
'Will Dad be okay? He's facing a god...'
But she soon began to feel reassured by Lark's characteristic arrogant and nonchalant demeanor.
'Dad will be fine.'
He's the strongest in the world, after all.
Ares, immovable before Lark, shouted furiously.
"How dare you, mere human!"
His thunderous voice alone was enough to shake the ground again.
But Lark, unfazed, twisted one corner of his mouth.
"How dare?"
As if finding it laughably absurd, he lost words in scorn.
"Did you just dare me? You, Niratoinira, who couldn't even be 'former ruler'?"
Lark was astounded.
That a deity of such a lower rank than him dared to lay hands on his daughter was not only outrageous but infuriating.
'I'll pour all the rage I've held back for more than a year on this wretch.'
With these thoughts, Lark made gangster-like gestures, twisting his head.
"You're going to die today."
As he finished speaking, he swung his fist.
Ares, this time, left no opening.
Bang!
As Lark's fist collided with Ares' raised arm, it sounded as if giant rocks were crashing against each other.
The massive shockwave was terrifying, repeated several times in quick succession.
The difference in strength was clear.
Lark was overwhelmingly powerful. The gap in their strength widened quickly, and Ares was relentlessly pushed back.
'This can't be!'
'I am a god. My power, so clear and strong, cannot be scratched by mere magic!'
"Argh!"
His arm was severed.
In no time, he was thoroughly beaten.
Defeated. Utterly defeated.
'No! It can't be! I, with the power of a god!'
Ares' eyes trembled with anxiety. Extreme unease consumed him.
Was this just anxiety, or fear? As he looked up, he met Lark's gaze, which treated him like a bug.
He knew that look.
It was the same one he used when looking at humans. And yet, this human dared to look at him, a god, in the same way.
"Sto...stop... Argh!"
Lark didn't even pretend to listen, crushing Ares' head underfoot. Ares fell to the ground, powerless to escape.
Lark thought it was time to finish this.
"This commotion should be enough for the divine realm to intervene. Nyx might even come."
He waved his hand, and golden beams sprouted from the ground, binding Ares completely.
"Stop, you insolent fool!"
Diana, who had been unconscious until then, rushed in, eyes wide.
But she, merely human and not even a divine avatar, was no match for Lark.
"Ahh!"
Like Ares, Diana was also bound and thrown to the ground.
The monsters vanished as Ares was bound and his divinity suppressed. All this happened within five minutes of Lark's arrival.
Lark slowly turned around.
It was the moment he had been waiting for these past eleven years.
"Navia."
There was no way he wouldn't recognize his daughter.
She was beautiful and graceful like Camilla and strangely imposing like him, with a brisk, chilly demeanor.
Her intelligent eyes and upright posture were the same as when she was eight years old.
Still a dazzling white flame, burning fiercely. My daughter.
"Dad's here."
He opened his arms wide.
Navia's expression twisted in an instant.
"Daddy!"
She ran into his embrace.
Her body trembled slightly, her stifled sobs speaking volumes of the time she endured alone.
"Daddy, Daddy..."
Holding her tight, he said in a choked voice.
"I'm late, aren't I? I'm sorry."
He was so sorry. So much that he knew he would never find the words to express it in a lifetime.
He hadn't been there to see her grow up, and she had become so pretty and lovely on her own.
He had failed her as a father, and that hurt and saddened him deeply.
"I have so much I want to do for you."
Let's do everything you want.
Daddy will do anything for you.
“So, let’s live together for a long, long time.”
He, who once wished only for death, sincerely said those words.
For a long, long time, together.
Navia burst into tears like a child.
“You said you’d wake up after ten years!”
Why didn’t you keep your promise?
Why, why didn’t you come?
I was lonely.
I was so anxious and scared.
So, so much…
“I missed you, Dad…”
There was no need for him to do anything.
It was all fine, whether it was playing house or anything else. Just being by her side was enough.
If we could just be like other people, eating together, having silly fights, being a normal father and daughter, anything would have been fine.
Lark stroked Navia’s head as she whined like a petulant child.
He felt guilty for accepting his child’s childishness so late, overwhelmed with the feeling of not loving her enough.
“I’m sorry.”
That was all he could say.
Other than apologizing, and saying he loved her, everything else felt like a pathetic excuse.
Yet, he made excuses anyway.
“I tried to come quickly, but I’m sorry. Did you wait a lot for Dad?”
Nod, nod.
Lark’s heart felt heavy.
Anyone would feel the same, holding their daughter, her face wet with tears, trembling in their arms.
‘I should have somehow come back sooner.’
Navia cried pitifully, tears unceasing.
For 11 years, she held back her tears, even when she was scared at night, holding Cesare and falling asleep alone in her father’s room.
“Hic… I was scared. Scared that you wouldn’t come back…”
Realizing how significant he was in his child’s world was a terrifying and overwhelming experience.
He felt pity and pain for his daughter, but seeing her so happy to see him, crying like a fool, he also felt happy.
He had a daughter to come home to.
He came back for his daughter who loved and adored him so much.
“Dad was wrong, wasn’t he?”
Nod, nod.
Honestly, he felt a bit sorry for his tearfully crying daughter, but he almost burst out laughing because she was so cute.
“I missed you a lot too, Navia.”
Lark, who had never shown such a gentle and affectionate smile in the divine realm, comforted Navia.
If other gods were here, they would have shuddered in disgust.
Then, suddenly, Navia lifted her head.
‘Where’s Creed?’
Having cried her heart out, she slowly regained her composure and remembered Creed.
Creed stood awkwardly behind them, seemingly out of place. Her heart ached at the sight.
Moreover, he was injured, struggling to escape Ares’ influence.
“You were hurt? Why didn’t you say anything!”
Navia left Lark and hurried to Creed.
Being happy to see her father was one thing, but Creed being injured was a separate matter.
Because of this, Lark’s embrace suddenly felt empty.
Was the touching father-daughter reunion just a dream…?
When he longed for his daughter, he stayed awake on the border, killing the invaders from the other realm in the temple.
He had no doubt he would live a sweet life with his daughter, but now it seemed not to be.
Lark’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Creed.
“It’s just a scratch, what’s the…”
His voice was full of petulance.
His grumbling didn’t reach Navia’s ears at all.
Seeing Creed injured because of her, Navia felt heartbroken.
‘White moon.’
The soft, white energy embraced Creed as if it had been waiting.
Whenever this happened, Navia couldn’t shake the feeling that White moon was biased towards people.
‘No, it’s not just a feeling.
White moon definitely likes Creed.’
…Could it be that I think of Creed differently from others?
The thought made her blush again.
Creed was being healed by White moon’s power, without a single injury left. But his expression was dark.
“I’m sorry, Noona…”
‘If only I had been stronger, this wouldn’t have happened.’
He clenched fist so hard that his fingernails dug into his flesh, drawing blood.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, Creed. It's me who should be sorry... Wait, what's with your hand again? Why aren’t you loosening your grip right now?"
Navia quickly grabbed his hands with an angry expression.
White Moon healed the wound quickly, but it did not remove the bloodstain.
"You are right to feel sorry about this to me. Do you understand, Creed?"
If Creed had a tail, it would surely be drooping down in his dejected demeanor as he nodded his head.
After all, to him, Navia's word was law.
"I'm sorry."
"You'll be in trouble if you hurt yourself like this again."
"Okay."
Lark looked at them with a completely skewed expression.
"Oh really?"
Are they flirting in front of me?
He smirked and approached them, his lips twitching.
Such things must be interfered with in a timely manner.
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