"Thank you, Bella. If you weren't there to help, I would have died by now," Sylus said, feigning gratitude.
Bella's eyes remained cold. "I didn't do it because of your shallow thanks. I want to know where he is. Tell me now."
Sylus laughed. "What's the hurry? Once we get down from here, I'll tell you everything."
"No. I don't trust you. Give me his whereabouts, NOW!"
She raised one of her Ice Spears, targeting his head.
Sylus swallowed hard. "Alright, alright... I'll tell you. The last time I saw that fat bastard, he was on a Volcanic Island, I swear..."
Bella's eyes narrowed. She still wasn't sure if she should trust this guy at all.
"Give me the island's location. And if I find out you're lying, I will kill you."
---
Evening descended with a warm welcome from darkness.
Aegis placed the miniature sun-shaped crystal in his mouth and then sat down in a cross-legged meditative position to concentrate.
As soon as the crystal reached his lower belly, it immediately melted into streams of golden energy.
This energy quickly spread through every cell, every corner of his body.
Not long after, from all of his pores, black gooey substance oozed out.
Though it was disgusting, Aegis felt very comfortable, as if a long burden had been cast from his spirit and body.
Then, a small energy explosion erupted in his core, where his divine energy was stored.
The core broke apart and then reformed into a larger structure, containing exponentially more divine energy than before.
"Fuck! What is this foul smell? Did someone die above?"
"Darling, we can't stay here. This smell will kill us all."
"Bastard, since when have you not washed your body? Never let me catch you!"
Hearing the loud complaints from below, Aegis opened his eyes.
He instantly understood the cause. His skin was covered by a layer of black filth.
That evening, he immediately stripped himself naked. Then, he produced a stream of water above him, letting it wash away the grime and filth from his body.
What emerged afterward was a clean, handsome face.
Six-pack abs, a hardened, chiseled jawline, sharp muscle tones, and a strong healthy rod, just like a male god.
As the water cascaded over Aegis's body, washing away the grime and filth, he remained unaware of the gaze that had fallen upon him.
The stream of water shimmered in the dim moonlight, outlining every hardened muscle and chiseled feature.
His body was now a work of pure strength and power, perfect in its form.
But then, from behind, Bella's cold eyes widened in surprise.
She had been climbing higher into the branches of the Tree of Life with her goals being the first to climb to the peak.
She had no intention of stopping. But as she rounded a particularly thick branch, she stoppef.
There he was. Aegis; standing in full view, completely exposed, his body shining subtly with water as the filth dissolved away. His sharp, defined features were more striking than she had ever noticed.
He looked almost godly in his birthday form.
For a moment, Bella felt something unfamiliar stir within her. Her cold exterior, usually so unshakable, seemed to waver for just a second.
Her heartbeat skipped for a breath, and she forgot why she had come up here.
She quickly moved her eyes away, her heart beating erratically in her chest.
Sensing the gaze, he immediately stopped ruffling his hair.
He wasn't panicked like most male would.
After turning around, he saw Bella.
Her back was now facing his, as if she had just caught a glimpse of something she wasn't meant to.
"Are you finished staring?"
His voice was calm, cold even. It's as though the moment held no significance to him.
Bella stiffened, but quickly regained her proud composure.
"I wasn't staring. I just happened to be passing by." she replied back coldly.
There was a barely noticeable tension beneath her words.
She kept her back to him, unwilling to let her expression show too much.
Aegis didn't respond immediately. He did feel the discomfort in her words, even if she didn't show it outwardly.
But instead of continuing with conversation, he calmly put on his clothes.
Once he was done putting on his attire, Aegis looked at her back with annoyance.
"Why aren't you leaving yet?"
She turned back and glared at him.
"Why are you like this? I just want to ask you something."
He shook his head.
"Like I said, we have nothing to talk about."
Hearing the same reply, anger surfaced on her usually cold face.
"Stupid! I just wanted to ask how you upgraded your God Physique, as I also have a similar one. In return, I would have told you a secret way to get Sky Crystals. But since you're so uncompromising, I think there's no point in going forward with this."
She lightly stomped her foot, then headed on her own way.
Aegus didn't stop her. He watched coldly as her followers joined her on the climb.
"Everything was over so long ago, so why do you expect something between us now?" he asked bitterly to the empty air.
He looked at his status screen:
[ Skylord Name: Aegis ]
[ Rank: Steward - (9) ]
[ Island: Aquabyss Domain (SSS+) ]
[ Talents: Sea God's Physique (Divine) ]
[ Skills: Water Manipulation Ultimate (E), Hydro-Genesis Ultimate (E) ]
[ Wealth: 25,900 BC (Bronze Coins) ]
[ Followers: 21 ]
He was just one step away from Baron Rank. After that, most Barons might as well be invisible to him.
Next, Aegis continued climbing, ignoring the route Bella had taken.
Even though it was night, he could see the path clearly thanks to the dim moonlight and his upgraded vision.
He estimated he was currently 2,000 meters above the ground. And yet, he didn't feel anywhere near the peak.
They might have barely crossed a fraction of its full size.
However, at that exact moment, a strange scene unfolded before his eyes.
In a particular spot, hidden by dense leaves, a group of Giga Apes were dancing around in joy…
But that was not the intriguing part. It was the thing they were encircling.
"A crown?"