When Liam stirred awake, finally recovering from the blackout, his head was throbbing wildly.
What happened? Where am I?
A feeling of dread and panic instantly swept over him as he vividly remembered the feeling of being crushed to death, and yet… he was not dead right now?
There were no notifications. He did not respawn, and this was definitely not a cemetery. So what happened? Did the luck potion really work?
He looked around in a daze as his vision cleared up, and when he did…
Liam instantly froze. His eyes widened in surprise, and his pupils dilated in shock as he stared without blinking or breathing at the peculiar scene in front of him.
"What…" His throat was still too hoarse, so he couldn't get the words out, but… just what the hell was happening?
There was the familiar big hulking elf sitting in front of him, which was not the thing that shocked Liam. Rather his gaze was fixated on something else entirely.
He was looking at the small furry creature happily giggling and laughing, snuggling adorably on the lap of the giant elf.
"Luna?"
Gulp. Liam swallowed, suddenly wondering if he was still unconscious and perhaps dreaming. The scene in front of him was unbelievable, no matter how he looked at it.
He lifted his hands and rubbed his eyes, even pinching himself, and yet the reality did not change. It was Luna, alright. The creature had the same pure snow white fur with the three tails and a naughty smile on her face.
And the scary old elf who had tormented him and tortured him each time they had met was now smiling warmly as if he were just another grandpa next door playing with his young grandchild.
The elf who had the power to insta-crush him into oblivion was tickling the little fox's belly and giggling along with her like a lunatic.
Liam did not know what to think anymore. He was receiving one shock after another. He was not dead, and Luna was somehow fine?
As he continued to stare blankly at this absurd situation, the little fox suddenly stopped giggling and whirled around to face Liam.
"Master!" A bright and clear voice rang out. The next second, tears flew everywhere as the little fox leaped out of the old elf's lap to land on Liam directly.
She stuck like an octopus to his face and started to slobber him completely.
Liam was startled for an instant, but then he sighed in relief as he hugged the little fox. Unknowingly, a few tears came out of his eyes as well.
Seeing the two reunite after so long was truly a heartwarming scene. However, the old elf who was watching this heartwarming scene from the sidelines had his jaw clenched and his face contorted.
"Cough. Cough." He loudly cleared his throat.
However, the two in front of him did not seem to care about that. His face twitched as he repeated this once again, this time more loudly and with a slight infusion of his power.
"COUGH. COUGH."
Nothing happened to the little fox, but Liam felt like someone had just slapped him hard. Damn it. He gritted his teeth and turned to look at the elf.
Liam did not know how to address him, so he simply used the same honorifics he used for the elven King. "Your highness, I am genuinely grateful-"
Thud! He did not even have a chance to finish his words as he found himself once again being hard pressed on the ground.
Kyuu? Luna looked in confusion between her Master and the nice old uncle who had been very good to her. But in the end, Liam still came first for her, so she pounced at the elf without giving any thought to how powerful he was.
Liam immediately panicked. "No! Luna!"
However, his warning was too late. The fox was already biting and clawing and spitting fire at the elf. Fortunately… the other party seemed to be enjoying it for some reason?
"You want to play? You want to play? Here comes the tickle monster!" The old elf grinned as he grabbed her by the neck and tickled her belly once more.
Liam was left speechless. Just what the hell was happening? At first, he thought it was because of the lucky golden potion, but now the reality was painfully clear to him.
He was being spared because of Luna!
"Your highness-"
Thud! Liam had only lifted his head, but now he was back on the ground again.
"Don't waste my time with unnecessary nonsense. For some reason. Ahem Ahem. I have taken pity on you and decided to help you out a little. Do you understand?"
"And in return?" came Liam's response.
The old elf did not make him hit the ground this time and looked at him curiously. He had not expected this reaction from the human being.
"In return? Hmmm?" He laughed.
Liam's heart pounded as his fear worsened. Seeing how the elf had clearly taken a liking to Luna, what if he asked her in exchange for helping him?
Would he really be willing to make the trade? To exchange the innocent little thing to save his own life? What about his sister and the other people who relied on him? Would he give her up, considering everyone's life was on the line?
He trembled slightly as he felt an excruciating pain in his heart and his mind. What would he do if he had to make this decision right here and now?
"You can relax." Unexpectedly, the old elf spoke again with an amused expression on his face. "Once bonded, a celestial beast will never consider anyone else to be their master during their lifetime."
"Even if I kill you a hundred times over, it is still useless. So don't worry. I will not try to take her away from you. Besides, I don't want her life to end in this small, make-up world."
Liam stared at the man in disbelief. He couldn't believe his words. Did he really not want Luna? And a made-up world? What did he mean by that?
"What?" He opened his mouth, only to find himself hitting the ground again. But this time, the old elf caught Luna before she could attack him again. "Relax, little one. I am just teaching your master a few things."
[Luna, don't do anything. He is on our side. He is helping me.] Liam also sent her a mental message.
Only now, the fox calmed down and silently watched with her big eyes wide open. The old elf smiled at the adorable little thing and then turned his attention back to Liam when an annoyed scowl replaced the smile.
"Don't ask me things that you should not ask. It will only draw unwanted attention. All you need to know is that I will accept your request and teach you some things. Hmph."
"But because of this, don't think that I changed my opinion of you. You are still an ant, and your world is doomed. You won't be able to do a single thing to change anything."
"However… you have a celestial beast with you. That changes everything."
The old elf then gently placed Luna on the ground and stood up to leisurely walk around Liam. He barely did one lap when, suddenly, his body moved, and a punch landed on Liam.
Pa!
"Above average foundation."
Pa! Another punch landed immediately after that.
"Above average mana core."
Liam curled on the ground as he could feel his rib cage split apart and his internal organs shaking, but the elf was not done yet.
Pa! Another punch came from the left.
"Greedy and incompetent. You have bitten off more than you can chew."
Pa!
"Perfect Nether affinity and yet to choose to form a mana core. Why? Are the undead not enough for you?"
"This is why you have come running to me, haven't you? You want to continue having your playthings while nurturing your mana core. You want to swallow two whole daos whole?"
"What a greedy little bastard! Ba ha ha ha! Do you think that just this much is enough to change your fate?"
He looked at Liam's face, which was still full of resoluteness, as he stared back silently at the old elf.
A moment later, the elf landed another strong punch on Liam while also giving a glare to Lyana, who was standing on the side.
The poor elf trembled as she had purposefully hidden some facts from everyone and did not tell a single soul about Liam's undeads.
"Get out." The old elf shouted, and Lyana and the few guards who were still standing there scattered away like marbles without giving a single look back.
The elf then turned to Liam and picked him up from the ground by his neck just like how he had picked up the little fox, though he had looked lovingly at the latter while his face right now was nothing short of evil.
"Go and take care of any business that you have left. When we start, you won't be able to stop for a while."
Thud! He dropped Liam to the ground roughly, leaving him again with only a sliver of his health.
Kyu… Luna quickly ran over and licked Liam in worry. Was this nice uncle really on their side? Was her Master really going to be okay?
