Zarek oversaw the rest of the operation, standing guard and paying attention to the surroundings. But in the end, there wasn't another attack.
'Were they really just probing me? Curious.'
It made sense, and a part of Zarek felt that he was overthinking it. While it seemed smart to overanalyze everything in the apocalypse, having sharp decision-making and focused intention was just as important.
This was why his combat style looked so instinctual to Priya. Forcing an opponent to act was far better than waiting for them to make a move and then responding.
Right now, though, Zarek felt oddly off-balance. The Hero Candidate Role had taken him off guard, and he felt like he was constantly changing his approach and plans with every moment.
However, he also felt something else. Once he got out of this moment of instability… the world would be in trouble.
'They're likely partnering with the Green Corporation, the Sakks, and Dalton. And if that's the case, Priya is probably one of their main targets. But… my girl isn't so easy to get your hands on.'
Priya seemed to be in a very vulnerable position right now because Zarek had left to do this, but Zarek wasn't stupid enough to leave such an obvious opening.
Also, Priya was well on her way to no longer being a damsel.
"That's the last of it!" Boop called out, beads of sweat falling down his face as he pushed in the last few bricks.
"What do you guys think about GFI's ability to process this stuff?" Zarek asked casually.
The lot of them looked at each other and then shrugged.
"We don't do this kind of stuff," Boop eventually said.
"Mm."
That answer was about what Zarek expected. Whether it was the skill or the facilities they would need, GFI had none of them.
Even so, taking the Fallen Steel out of here was a must.
BOOM!
Zarek's eyes narrowed. The sudden explosion caused many to look over, but he didn't have to. He already knew what had happened.
'Smart.'
It seemed that Zarek had been looking in the wrong direction all along. While it might have been true that they were targeting him, their main target was precisely the facilities Pensare had been using to refine the Fallen Steel.
Now that those factories were out of commission, Zarek wouldn't be able to move out and then return when the timing was right and the dust had settled. He would have to start from scratch.
Unfortunately, even if Zarek had seen through this ahead of time, there was little he could have done about it.
If he went to the facilities, Belladoll and Crux would have attacked Boop and the others. If he stayed here, then, well… the result was right before them.
Zarek suddenly smiled, though.
"We'll see how long that stops me."
There were many ideas swirling around in Zarek's head, but most of them would take too long to execute.
Either way, once he was finished here, he planned to return to the academy grounds. He knew for a fact there would be facilities he could use there.
The academy's blacksmithing areas had been highly restricted while he was a student. But there wouldn't be any teachers around now, would there?
"Let's go," Zarek said.
"But…" Snooz's lip twitched. It just seemed like that was something they should probably go investigate.
"No need. They just blew up the factories we could have used to process this metal. We wouldn't have been able to use them for weeks anyway."
The five men looked toward one another again, suddenly wondering if Zarek's strength or his insight was the greater threat.
**
"How was it?" Zarek asked with a smile.
Priya's eyes were lit like a Christmas tree. Their blue sparkled as though she had just had the best day of her life.
Inwardly, Zarek couldn't help but chuckle.
This happened every time. Priya was so prim and proper when the rules of society barred her. But much like their sex life, when she realized something was okay to do, that was the moment she sank into her true self.
Well, that wasn't quite the right way to say it. The Priya that was prim and proper, and her more wild side, were both just two sides of the coin that was his girlfriend.
Regardless, as the fear of the apocalypse slipped away and she began to accept this new world order, she was finding the exploration of her power and fighting to actually be quite…
Fun.
Priya seemed to realize that her reaction was a bit odd, and she cleared her throat.
"We got a lot done. Like you said, they were so focused on you and everyone else that there was no one there at all. We took over so many of the weaker Godsfall Tears."
"How is it? Did you feel your senses for them getting sharper?"
Priya nodded. "At first it was a bit murky. I could just vaguely point out the weaker ones like you said, and we focused on clearing all the F-Grade ones as quickly as possible. But after a while, I began to get vague… visions? When I absorbed the Godsfall coming from them, it was like I could catch a glimpse of what was coming from the inside.
"It wasn't detailed, but usually I could tell, generally speaking, what sort of challenge was inside, if we would be separated or not—that sort of thing."
Zarek nodded. This was good. Very good.
Priya's sensitivity to Godsfall was well beyond his own, but the more important part was a secondary effect of her Melaloon Talent.
Her main ability was absorption. But underlying that was the implication that she could use or assimilate any and all types of energy—including the subtle, creation-type energy that formed Godsfall Tears.
Not only this, but she could understand it implicitly.
That was all to say that if Priya's Melaloon Talent Mastery became high enough…
They wouldn't have to fly so blind when entering Godsfall Tears any longer.
The best part was that she was awakening this ability right on time. Because the Godsfall Tear that was about to appear was one Zarek had far too little information on.
With this city covered in a sea of Godsfall Tears, there was no better place for Priya to hone this sense.
But there was a hidden scheme here as well.
Jiade would know that Priya could awaken this ability. What he wouldn't know was the fact that she could awaken it so soon.
After checking today and realizing that Priya hadn't benefited from the Time Fractal…
They wouldn't be ready for this.
None of them would guess this because Zarek was usually so very delicate with Priya. Something like leaving her unprotected, letting her enter Godsfall Tears on her own—even going as far as to let her fight out her entire first real battle alone…
Was something he would have never done in the past.
But much like Zarek had said: others thought he was irrational when it came to Priya, when in reality, he was hyper-rational. There was no one who could make him more cutthroat or focused than this beautiful woman in front of him.
For her, he would sacrifice everything or do anything.
And in this case, making her face the weight of the real world was exactly what he had to do.