An arrow came out of nowhere, flying right past Azekiel, missing his ears by a few inches. It was unclear if the arrow actually missed or if it was an intentional warning shot.
Whatever the case, Azekiel didn't want to take the risk. Avila was still free and wanted to kill him. He couldn't take things easy at this point.
He straight called his Gauntlets of Gluttony before turning around.
Another arrow came, this time coming straight for his forehead. There was no way the arrow could miss. It was evident now that whoever shot that arrow wasn't playing around. The last shot missed by incredible luck.
This time Azekiel was prepared. He could see the arrow coming toward him. It was as if he had all the time in the world to dodge the arrow now that he saw it.
He moved like the wind, stepping aside. He subconsciously wanted to use his Gauntlets to block the arrow, but after remembering what had happened with Avila, he didn't want to take a risk. Normally an arrow like that shouldn't have been able to penetrate his Weapon of Sin, but he just didn't want to take that risk and suffer like Avila.
Now that there was no risk of being hit by the arrow, he reached out his hand. His speed appeared to be even faster than the speed of the arrow. Before the arrow could even fly past him, he grabbed the arrow.
He didn't just stop there. He didn't let the arrow slow down. Instead, he turned his body around, further boosting the speed of the arrow before tossing it straight to where it came from.
"Urgh!"
A pained grunt echoed in the forest.
Azekiel also followed the arrow, appearing right before a cloaked figure. The face of the person was covered by a mask, only revealing their pitch black eyes.
The arrow that he had shot was stabbed in the shoulders of the person, making their bow drop to the ground. A quiver was on the back of that person, filled with arrows. Unfortunately, without the bow, the arrows were useless.
The person didn't even have the time to pick up their bow as Azekiel appeared before them.
Having no time to think, the person pulled out another arrow from their quiver, using the hand, which was still fine. The person used the arrow like a knife, thrusting at Azekiel's chest.
Unfortunately, that person was very weak. Azekiel didn't even need his Gauntlets after he made sure that this person wasn't Avila.
He sent his gauntlets back, giving more freedom to his hands. With his left, he grabbed the wrist of that person, and with his right, he grabbed their throat, smacking their back against the tree.
"Who are you?"
"I'm your father!" The man snorted in arrogance.
"Bad answer."
Azekiel didn't appreciate such insults, especially when they concerned his family. He didn't even think twice as his fists subconsciously closed in.
A cracking sound resounded before a body dropped to the ground.
Azekiel gazed down at the dead body lying near his feet. "I'm sure someone in hell would like that sense of humor."
He picked up the bow of the man and realized that the bow was made from some really good quality wood. The bow was also a good long-range weapon. Believing that the bow could come in handy in the future, he kept it in his storage ring along with the quiver of arrows.
"Soul Snatch."
He used the Soul Snatch on the man, placing his hand on the man's forehead. Not only did he want to get some strength from this incident, but he also wanted to get the man's memories.
Initially, he just wanted to ask the man some questions, but after being insulted in such a manner, he dropped the plan and decided to just steal the man's memories to get the answer he needed.
"Hmm? So that's what it was..." He softly muttered, finally realizing why the man had attacked him. "This idiot... He could've just told me to leave."
Through the memories of the man, Azekiel realized that the man was but an ordinary Royal Guard. He was here, accompanying the Princess of their Empire.
Not too far from here, there was a pond where the Princess was taking a bath. He was here to make sure that no one could go there. As soon as the man saw him, instead of asking him to leave, he straight attacked.
Seeing the memories, Azekiel couldn't help but call the man stupid. This forest was under their Empire, so no one else was allowed to be here, but still... Just because he entered the forest doesn't mean that it gave others a chance to kill him.
Azekiel went back to the tree and got back to work. He plucked all the fruits and kept them in his storage ring before going straight to the pond.
Normally, he would've waited right where he was to make sure that the girl left before going to the pond, but he didn't have time to waste standing around. The forest was just a momentary stop for him, and all he needed now was some water.
Moreover, he was sure that the girl was going to be inside the water. There was nothing he could see with her body buried underwater, so it was technically not him peeking.
At merely thirty meters of distance, there existed a beautiful pond. Azekiel stepped out of the bushes that were surrounding the pond, getting a clear view of the majestic long.
The water of the pond was so clear that it even amazed Azekiel. However, he couldn't see any girl inside the pond. There was no one there.
"Looks like she left." He stepped closer to the pond, bringing out the bottle from his storage ring.
He sat before the pond, submerging his bottle inside the bottle. However, as soon as his bottle entered the water, not too far from him, a figure came out of the water…
A young woman, having not a single piece of clothing over her body, came out of the water. Her long hair mostly covered her eyes as she came out. It was only after she stepped out of the water that she adjusted her hair, moving them to the side so she could see.
She looked for her clothes that should've been nearby, noticing Azekiel. Her eyes widened as she swiftly tried to cover her flawless body with her hands.
Even Azekiel didn't know how to react. A young woman stood before him, completely naked.
