Chapter 159 I Want It All (2)
Rico turned, and eyed him, and Rowan saw a brief flash of hatred in those eyes. Most people would never detect that emotion, so quickly did it go by, but after all his experience with dealing with liars and the peculiar nature of his soul, he understood that emotion perfectly.
It was the coldness of a reptile gaze as it watched over it prey. Yet, it was still weaker than the menace Rowan had sensed from the likes of Lamia and the goddess, and then Rowan shook his head internally, comparing Rico with Lamia was like comparing the hardness between metal and mud.
Rowan had already assigned death to this man, he had lost all patience for finding the hidden goodness in men's hearts, and he would never leave a visible threat to him to fester.
He reached Circe's moving vehicle, a metallic ramp was lowered from the side of the vehicle, and he drove up a ramp that was a little too close to the ground.
Rowan wanted to hand over the monster bike to a handler nearby, but he had become a little fond of this machine, he wished to keep it, but If only it could go faster, it would be the perfect machine for him.
"Can this monster bike be made to go faster?" He asked the handler, he was a man who should be in his late twenties, thin as a whip and had a magnificent mustache, he would have appeared more magnificent if only he could be still, he moved about, possessed with seemingly unending energy.
"Monster bike, sir? Oh, your personal MDV? Of course sir, I don't… would you like me to take it to the technicians."
"I would like that, the areas I want focused on, are in speed and durability, tell them they can use all the top of the line materials they have, and I would pay any extra cost they might incur."
The handler chuckled, "Sir, I don't think they might ask for a single dime from you. Um, to tell you the truth, you're like, already a legend around the entire people here sir because, we all heard the surrounding rumbling."
Rowan cocked his head, "Rumbling?"
"From your battle, sir! Hours after hours, unceasing. Like mountains were falling from the sky. The entire convoy was silent as we heard the endless rumble. We have had no single incursions from the beast, and everyone now walks with pride and confidence because we know Erohim walks with us."
Rowan paused and smiled at the man before moving past him, he knew his abilities were powerful, but he had never considered how it would appear in the eyes of mortals.
It was a good thing they only could hear the sounds from his battle, he did not know if they might handle the strain to seeing some of his more exotic abilities.
If he brought out the present Ouroboros Serpents, its mere presence would kill most of them, and the strong-willed would be driven to madness before their Spirit was torn apart by madness.
Inside his heart, he saw that the Ouroboros Serpents were in a daze, and Rowan wondered if they had any recollection of the timeline that had just been severed.
Nevertheless, he felt a sense of contentment, as he knew he was not parted from them once more by the curse, it was remarkable that he had bonded with these creatures in his heart so deeply and be was not aware of it.
It had felt like he had been missing part of his limbs when he could no longer summon them, and indeed they were more important than limbs to him, they could as well be his Incarnations.
Rowan had gained many benefits seeing the methods his body blasted through all the Great Circles, and he could naturally understand some intricacies about the upcoming power levels.
Rowan maneuvered his way towards Circe automobile through the interconnected moving vehicles that were kept from drifting apart with literal chains.
He did not really want to think about the physical limitation of such a move, as this was a magical universe and he would not be surprised if the chains served other purposes. Plus, he could see various shining runes on the chains that spoke of their magical qualities.
He was quickly ushered towards Circe by the Guardsmen, he found her sitting before a table with Nana, and a particularly burly Guardsman, who Rowan saw had white hair and appeared in his forties. He had black skin and blue eyes, a combination that made him look enigmatic. Furthermore, he was an Incarnation state Dominator and his presence oozed competence and power.
Wait, not Incarnation, higher! This presence around him was similar to those of Rico, but it was not that hidden, if Rowan had to guess, he would call it the presence of realms.
It was distinctive and required an intuitive ability in order to discern the difference between the First Great Circle and the Second Great Circle, and Rowan thought it would be easy for a Dominator in the Second Great Circle to disguise themselves, but as Rowan had seen two of such figures, he could now easily tell the difference.
Their Souls were different from those in the first circle.
Which State was this Guardsman in? Spirit Territory, Incandescent or the Proclamation Realm? Rowan kept his features serene, while inside he was ecstatic at the possibility of understanding this new realm.
The creatures in his hearts must have felt the same, as Rowan felt a stir in his heart. His Serpents were detecting massive amounts of energy in the invisible field around the body of this man, and they craved it.
Though what really surprised him was a Guardsman who lived long enough and was talented enough to break through the second Circle. This man was dangerous if only in his sheer competence.
A passage appeared inside his head from his past life: Beware the old man in a land where men die young. An old Guardsman was a rare sight, like a dancing bear or a singing cat. What were the odds of ever seeing one?
On his way back to the convoy, Rowan had already settled on the character he would be playing, his previous lessons in the Nexus had taught him the importance of always keeping a hidden hand, also he knew no matter how agreeable or pleasant Circe and her people might come across, they were ultimately Dominators, and all of them had waded through a river of blood, he must always be careful in his dealings.
By all the gods, he would prefer fighting a million battles than this play on deception and subterfuge before this table.
"So, this is Erohim my lady? I must say your description did not do him justice." The voice of the Guardsman was deep, and he had a slight crook at the edge of his mouth, as if he was in on a joke that no one else could understand.
Circe smiled, "my descriptive prowess had suffered long misuse, Scarvros and I hope you would forgive me for that."
"Perish the thought, my lady, I have always been rather fond of surprises." Scarvros the Guardsman said with a booming laugh.
Rowan smiled and found a seat just beside Nana, who nudged a plate of cookies towards him, they were shaped like various alien animals, he considered it for a short while only, and he collected one that resembled a fox and took a bite, smiled in surprise and took more from the plate, mouth full he said,
"Geez, guys, I feel left out of the conversation. Surely, my presence does not warrant such an esteemed description."
"Oh, but it does." Circe said, "When the scouts told us you collected the list of all the roaming beasts hundreds of miles around us, we did not expect you would end up wiping them out in a few short hours."