"But I’m the doctor!" Kiba stated as a matter of factly. "And I know the best for my patient!"
"In this case, I’m afraid you don’t," Lord Harley smiled further and tightened his grip on the hammer. "So please, let’s drop this cure for Kurtis."
Kurtis - who was behind him - was stunned.
Why, even now, was Lord Harley talking with Kiba instead of teaching him a lesson?!
He has insulted aristocracy and even attempted to destroy his potency! Anyone in his place would have been long killed. So why wasn’t he?
In the meantime, the hammer turned bright red from heat flowing into it. A fissure sprang out from the middle of the hammerhead, causing a golden glow to splash out.
Kurtis was pleasantly surprised.
Lord Harley was finally acting like true aristocracy! He was destroying the hammer!
What Kurtis didn’t know was Lord Harley’s eyes flashed with surprise.
He wasn’t trying to destroy the hammer!
He was only turning the hammer hot so that Kiba would be forced to drop it.
And that was because destroying it would be invoking a disaster! After all, it was made from raw Cosmic power!
"Please stop infusing heat into it," Kiba requested with a smile. "I don’t want it to explode from too much power."
Lord Harley’s expression changed.
"Back away!"
He said while quickly bringing his other hand on the cracking hammer.
Kurtis was baffled, and so were others. But by the time they realized what was happening, it was too late.
Even as Lord Harley attempted to stop the hammer from cracking further, it exploded.
BOOM
An energy of epic proportions erupted like the detonation of a star.
Lord Harley was swift. He contained the explosion energy between his hands.
But a tiny portion of it escaped his hands and rushed at Kurtis.
Kurtis gasped and shot back.
Like an arrow, the remnant energy continued to move in his direction, and his face went pale as he realized its destination.
"Oh no!"
Quickly, like his life depended on it, he put his hands on his crotch.
BANG!
The energy exploded, blasting holes into his hands and turning them bloody.
"Bloody hell!" Xalion’s forehead broke into a sweat as he looked at Kurtis’ pants.
They were bloody as well!
He didn’t know if it was due to the blood from the hands or for another reason. Whatever it was, it made him sweat.
"Dr. NTRRRRRR!"
Kurtis let out a maddening roar. Rays of flames erupted from him like a sun rising in the deep night skies. They cut through everything.
"Yes?" Kiba waved his hand, and a needle materialized in his hand. He flicked his other wrist, and a thread appeared. "Do you want to stitch that defective device of yours?"
Kurtis flinched. He was about to explode, but seeing the needle and thread and hearing the question, he paused in disbelief.
"This man!"
Kurtis turned berserk, and he charged at Kiba like a blazing meteorite.
"Stupidity has no limits."
Lord Harley has already nullified the powerful energy of the explosion. And now, seeing Kurtis still acting rashly, he sighed in disappointment and grabbed Kurtis in mid-air.
All the raging flame rays from his body disappeared, and Kurtis was once again shocked. Lord Harley ignored his reaction and looked at Kiba.
"Why don’t you fulfill the very personal request of Craig?" Lord Harley said as a teleportation channel appeared underneath him. "We can discuss a cure for Kurtis later."
Before Kiba could reply, Lord Harley shot into the teleportation channel along with Kurtis.
Flame King winced. By the tone Lord Harley used, it almost seemed as if he knew what the request was.
"Surely that’s not possible!" Flame King tried to pacify his heart.
.......
At the same time, Lord Harley and Kurtis appeared in what seemed to be a land literally on fire.
"This... Valley of Fire?" Kurtis muttered.
He didn’t get time to act surprised, though, as Lord Harley dropped him to the ground.
"You are a disgrace to Soverigness Hestia," Lord Harley said as he landed on the burning ground.
Kurtis recoiled like he has been slapped.
He wanted to retort, but the fire in the valley drained him of all strength. It was like he couldn’t even speak unless the valley, or whoever was controlling it, wanted.
"What? You want to argue?"
Lord Harley’s expression was no longer of amus.e.m.e.nt. It was of contempt.
"You are an Alpha, but you acted like a stupid bloke when that remnant energy rushed at you. Had you used your powers properly, or even that little brain of yours, you wouldn’t have got a single scratch. But you only proved what our ancestor feared."
Kurtis’ face went white.
When Soverigness Hestia established the family, she feared her family would be ruined by her descendants.
After all, by receiving everything on the platter, they would neither be street-smart nor hardworking, unlike someone like her who has achieved everything independently.
"But the fault is mine," Lord Harley looked in the distance. "Due to the rules, I allowed you all to act as you please."
He turned back to Kurtis and said, "Till now, you were lucky that Rebecca never learned of your attempts on her son’s life. But now your luck has ended with Kiba considering you as his mortal enemy."
"Mortal enemy?!"
Kurtis felt like a mountain has fallen on his chest. He felt suffocated.
"It is not possible! I have no enmity with him!"
"Really? Because ever since he appeared, he was trying to create an opportunity to crush you."
Lord Harley replied with a sly smile.
Kurtis’ body turned numb, and a chill raced through his heart.
Now that he recalled Kiba’s actions, he realized Kiba was trying to incite him from the start. It was like he wanted a justification to attack him in the House of Hestia.
"You must have done something for him to want to crush you so desperately!"
Lord Harley observed with an amused smile.
"To his credit, he didn’t let the desperation show with his façade, but I know what his smiling look was hiding."
"H-how?" Kurtis asked. He noticed no such thing.
"Isn’t it obvious? We are like! Hahaha!"
Lord Harley started laughing.
"If I didn’t know it better, I would have thought he was a long-lost relative of mine!"
Kurtis didn’t dare laugh. He was terrified.
Because in his guts, he knew Kiba had the power to kill him!
"Save me!" Kurtis shouted with desperation. "Kill Kiba!"
He has an idea of Lord Kurtis’ true strength and was sure he could kill Kiba. And if he didn’t want to face Kiba personally, he could use the family’s hidden powers.
"Why should I?" Lord Harley asked.
Before Kurtis could respond, Lord Harley added, "And don’t tell me it is because YOU are asking. It might seem surprising to you, but you really don’t matter in the grand schemes of the family."
"!!!" Kurtis’ face fell, and his heart sank.
"Aww, don’t be sad."
Lord Harley placed his hand on Kurti’s head like he was a puppy. Kurtis’ face twisted, but he found no strength to refute or push Lord Harley away.
"You were useful, but it was only until Kirstie was born."
Lord Harley rubbed Kurtis’ head.
"Now you are just another poor, little cuckold trying to save face."
Kurtis wanted to shout, scream, and cry.
He wasn’t a little cuckold!
Yes, his wife gave birth to a bastard, but he was going to kill him and erase that disgrace.
"My my, you continue to be stupid even now," Lord Harley felt the urge to facepalm. "But that’s what I like about you."
"What?!" Kurtis stared at Lord Harley.
"You are stupid, which means you are predictable," Lord Harley explained with a smile. "That means you can be controlled."
"...!!"
"And if you want your predictable life to last longer, I have an offer for you."