Patriarch Ragnor rubbed the top of Tammy's head, seemingly with love, before gently pushing her toward Dyon.
"Since you were interested in our lightning arts, I gift you my niece as a concubine. With her as a dual cultivation partner, coupled with your talent, I doubt you'll ever have to face many hurdles in the pursuit of the dao of lightning."
Tammy did as she was told. In an awkward walk, run and skip, she made her way to Dyon. But, she never once met his gaze, acting every bit a part of the servant she was meant to be.
She politely bowed to Ri and Madeleine who were still stunned about the situation. They weren't the type to place themselves loftily above others, so it never crossed their mind that Tammy was or was not worthy of Dyon because of how good they were. All they felt was an endless pity for the girl in front of them… A girl that was just as young as the both of them…
Dyon himself had mixed feelings about Tammy.
On the one hand, he had read through Ava's memories of her betrayal. He found it sickening that a friend could do such a thing to someone you supposedly cared about. Even worse, she had done so not once, but twice. Because even before she co-signed Ava to her fate, she had been the reason why Arios was forced to fake his death.
On the other hand, though, he had caught a glimpse of her true personality, on untainted by the pressure of the Ragnors. In that light, she was a good person… But could you really judge someone by how they acted in the good times?... Weren't the genuine people distinguished by how they acted in times of adversity?...
That said, in an odd way, Dyon owed Tammy his life. During the Legacy World opening, it was because Tammy had alerted the Ragnors of where to find the blood sacrifice technique in exchange for her and her brother's life that Thor hadn't seen a need to attack Dyon. Because Thor didn't attack, Dyon was able to escape with his few wounds… At the time, there was no doubt in Dyon's mind that he stood not a single chance against Thor. In fact, with Thor's current will mastery, even Dyon didn't dare to say he had no chance of losing even now.
Tammy tried to maintain a shy smile as she looked down to the ground, but inwardly she was trembling violently. As twisted and depraved as it was, Tammy didn't care if she taken in by Dyon to be used as a sex toy. The sad part was that she was technically a ticking time bomb. The more she dual cultivated, the closer to saint hood she would be. Eventually, there would come a moment where she would no longer be able to suppress her cultivation, and she would inevitably die. She knew just as much as anyone else that with this new set of meridians, she would never surpass her first tribulation.
However, she still found that fate better than what would happen if Dyon rejected her. Patriarch Ragnor didn't care for her life. In fact, he had only used her to experiment with the assumption that she'd die in the first place… Tammy was the very first to ever survive had true tribulation lightning infused with her meridians. But, none of that mattered.
If Dyon rejected her, Ragnor wouldn't find fault in Dyon, he would find fault with her. If Dyon rejected her… She wouldn't be alive by the end of this day…
Dyon opened his mouth to speak, but just as an inkling of sound came out, Tammy suddenly spoke in a voice as soft as the flapping wings of a butterfly.
"I'll serve you to the best of my abilities. I'm not very useful, but I have at least protected my virginity – you don't have to worry about me being tainted. And when you don't want to use me, I am perfectly trained as a servant girl. I won't ever bother you. And – And I –"
Suddenly, the light sound of feet meeting the stage caused Tammy to shiver to silence. She was well aware that she had just spoken out of turn, and yet she had said that she was perfectly trained. Nervousness had gotten the better of…
Patriarch Ragnor didn't say anything, looking off into the skies with his hands clasped behind his back. It didn't seem to be his problem whether Dyon accepted or not.
"You've had it hard…" A male voice spoke out. But, the moment Tammy recognized a voice she definitely shouldn't have, a wave of emotion overcame her. Her shoulders visibly trembled as she tried to stop herself, she even bit into her cheeks so firmly that blood began to fill the insides of her small mouth. And yet, no matter what she tried, she couldn't seem to control herself.
"I'm sorry, I'm not usually like this. I promise I'll be better in the future. I pro –" A finger found its way to Tammy's chin, tilting it upward.
The sight of Arios caused the tears Tammy had been holding in to spill out uncontrollably. 'He's dead. I killed him. I killed him with my own hands. I must be seeing things….'
Dyon had personally told Arios what Tammy put his sister through, knowing fully well that with Ava's personality, she would have died before telling him such a thing.
Arios hadn't known how to feel. Ava was his little sister, and Tammy was a girl he had been willing to sacrifice for. They were two separate kinds of loves, and he just couldn't come up with the right answer for it. In fact, for a long time, he had been angry – angry enough to feel as though he might kill Tammy the moment he saw her next.
And yet, here she was and all he could do was feel pity… He felt like scum of the earth, but all he wanted to do was protect her…
But, that was all. Arios barred himself from any relationship with Tammy that passed that line… There were just some things that couldn't be forgiven… But, there were also some feelings that couldn't be forgotten or erased…
Dyon looked toward Arios' strong back as he stood before him. With a wave of his hand, Tammy and Arios disappeared from sight, before he secretly sent them into his ring under the influence of his concealment array. Dyon barely noticed the now black gold tint of his arrays.
"Oh?" Patriarch Ragnor seemed amused about Tammy's disappearance. But, somehow, Thor felt relief… He inexplicably felt that maybe his little sister was truly safe now…
"Well, I did gift her to you. I guess it's up to you whether you share or not. You're quite benevolent with your subordinates."
Dyon's expression didn't change. Before all of this, he thought all he had to do to get Thor to his side was rescue Tammy, but, Patriarch Ragnor had willingly handed her over… If Tammy was truly the only means he had of controlling Thor, he wouldn't have handed such a chess piece away so easily…
Suddenly, Dyon smiled. Waving his hand nonchalantly in the air, he laughed. "Nothing of the sort, Patriarch Ragnor. Arios is a good friend of mine and happened to have a long-time crush on your niece. I couldn't bare to steal the love of someone so close to me, so I only allowed them some time to chat.
"Considering Arios' talent and lineage, I have no doubt that you'd willingly accept him as a nephew in law, no?"
Patriarch Ragnor thoughtfully stroked his chin despite it being devoid of a speck of hair.
"You make quite a good point. The boy is barely 20 and yet he had already progressed so far into the essence gathering stage. Truly commendable. I would indeed accept such a union. And since he is such a good friend of yours, this also strengthens our relationship too, no? Haha, truly a brilliant move."
"I'm glad that you approve. That said, I should make it clear that it's impossible for me to join any clans. I have heard many things about the power and prestige of the Ragnors, but, I have an obligation to my master to rebuild the celestial deer sect, I hope you can understand." Dyon smiled lightly.
"Of course, of course. A filial disciple like you is the envy of this old one.
"However, I still must insist on seeing this treasure of yours. My curiosity has been piqued. Won't you allow me this small service? Think of it as a betrothal gift for my niece to your good friend. Just a small bride price." Patriarch Ragnor's smile didn't fade, but the tension in the air seemed to multiply.
King Acacia's eyes snapped away from the seen below just as his wife appeared beside him. "I've been such a fool!"
"Edrym, what happened?" King Belmont asked seriously.
"He never cared about any of this, this was all theatrics to distract us."
"Wha –" Before King Belmont could even finish his words, tens of thousands of warriors suddenly appeared in the skies above the stadium.
Their aura was stifling. Even the weakest among them was a peak Essence Gatherer. But, the majority were high level saints!
And maybe the worst part? More began to pour in from every which direction. The skies became blotted out with experts as Patriarch Ragnor casually strolled through the air.
That said, there was another major problem… One that could pitch Earth into a hopeless abyss…
It wasn't just the Ragnors acting…
