Azekiel stepped on the twelfth floor, finally leaving the safety of the eleventh floor that was provided to him.
As he stepped out of the portal, he didn't find anyone in the surroundings. He was somewhat expecting Zheng to be here, but it also made sense that he wasn't here.
Zheng waited for him for a long time. There was no way he was going to wait near the Portal since that held some risk for him.
Zheng was worried that if Azekiel saw him, he was going to enter the portal again, going back to the lower floor.
Azekiel felt like he was being watched, and it was definitely Zhang, but he wasn't showing himself.
'He is here but not coming out. It seems this idiot still hadn't changed. He needs to work on hiding his presence better. At least when he's trying to observe me,' Azekiel thought, shaking his head. 'I bet the idiot is waiting for me to step away from the portal before attacking me.'
"Zheng, don't tell me you think I'll really run away?" Unlike before, Azekiel didn't ignore Zheng's presence.
Instead, he let Zheng know that he knew about him. Not only did he know about Zheng's presence, but he also knew the exact location.
Seeing Azekiel looking straight at him, Zheng finally came out of his hiding, becoming visible.
A small dragon, made purely of energy, was still circling around him, radiating its powerful presence.
"So you could feel me," Zheng commented.
"You didn't make it particularly hard for me." Azekiel shrugged. "I really thought you would've grown up by now, but your growth... disappointing."
"I would've been hurt by your words if I cared for what you think. Unfortunately, I don't care for a dead man's opinion," Zheng coldly said. "You could sense me. That means you knew about me on the eleventh Floor as well. Still, you chose to climb higher. It seems you still haven't lost your arrogance despite losing your old strength."
"What can I say? Strength is temporary, but pride is permanent. And I do have that Sin of Pride... You won't understand. To have pride, you first need to have some capabilities." Azekiel raised his hands innocently.
"First time I've seen someone be this careless even in the face of death. Instead of begging me for your life, you still find time to mock me?" Zheng glared at Azekiel. "It seems you're confused about something. In the end, you had the right to be arrogant as you could back that arrogance. But now... Now you are at my mercy."
"The reason you're even talking to me is because I allowed you to live. If I want, I can kill you this instant," he continued. "I'm letting you live because I don't want to give you such an easy death!"
Azekiel burst into laughter, remembering old times. There was a time when this man used to shiver in his presence, and now this man was looking down at him.
"What's funny about this?"
"It's funny how the times have changed. Even insects are talking to me like that. It would've still made some sense if it was her, but you...?"
"I must say, the Greed in you really makes you make foolish decisions. Did you forget the first lesson of being a King?" he asked. "It's that a King of Sin should've let their sin control them. Instead, they should be the ones controlling their sin if they truly want to reach the peak."
"No wonder you're so weak even after all this time, King of Greed..."
Azekiel knew what Sin Zheng possessed since he was from their time. That was also why Azekiel believed that Zheng wasn't going to tell the people higher up.
"If you didn't let your greed overwhelm you, you would've known what a bad idea this was... If you didn't have your mind be clouded by your sin, you would've brought her here instead of thinking about getting my strength... Albeit that wasn't the case."
"Oh, and one more thing you were wrong about," Azekiel further continued. "You aren't the one who allowed me to live... I'm not the one at mercy here..."
As soon as Azekiel finished speaking, he disappeared.
Zhang's expression changed, seeing Azekiel disappear. He didn't expect Azekiel to attack him in the middle of their conversation, but he hadn't lowered his guard either.
As soon as Azekiel disappeared, Zheng flew up. He wasn't sure if Azekiel was actually going to attack him or if it was just a bluff, but he had already made up his mind.
The Dragon that was circling around him also separated from him, flying into the distance.
The Dragon was less for attack and more for keeping an eye on the surroundings. Since Zheng was connected with the Dragon directly, he could see everything that the Dragon could. The Dragon was like another pair of his eyes.
Moreover, if it was actually needed, the Dragon could actually attack as well, even though it wasn't his specialty.
"What happened?" Azekiel asked, seemingly confused. He was back at his place, looking at Zheng in the sky in confusion. "What are you doing up?"
Azekiel had an apple in his hand as he looked up. "Don't tell me you were scared when I left to get something to eat?"
Zheng's face turned red in anger. Azekiel was intentionally doing it!
He disappeared after saying those threatening words to give the impression that he was going to attack, and now this? He was playing with him.
"You're the one I'm at the mercy of; shouldn't I be the one who is sacred?" he further asked, taking another bite. "Anyway, I don't blame you. Old fear is hard to forget. As they say, old habits die hard."
"Don't worry though. I'm not going to kill you... At least not so soon. Let me finish this apple first."
"You! Enough mocking!" Zheng roared in rage, furious at the continued mocking. "I was going to let you live longer but not anymore!'
"Let me?" Azekiel's voice came, but strangely enough, it came from right behind Zheng in the sky!
