The Extra's Odyssey

-Is something worrying you?

(No)

Eth answered Caim and flew a little away from him. He did not want to tell Caim what was happening outside in reality.

He closed his eyes to see what was happening.

Miller was lying on a bed. He was slowly healing with the help of the Elixir Nathan used on him, and Nathan was wordlessly sitting there.

'This is bad. This is bad.'

Contrary to what he told Caim, he was worried, very worried.

It was because of the reaction Nathan showed when he saw the crippled figure of Miller.

At first, Nathan had been idling around with no intention of returning before his match. Although Nathan was trying to avoid the places with the tournament holograms, there was one near him that he only later came to know.

Nathan was about to leave the area when he noticed that it was showing Miller's match. Thinking that he should at least look at Miller's performance, Nathan reluctantly walked to the hologram.

Then Nathan witnessed the figure of Miller, who refused to surrender, being tortured.

Throughout the torture, Eth didn't feel a single fluctuation in Nathan's emotions. They were calm as a lake.

'I should have noticed back then!' Eth lamented.

Eth thought that Nathan's lack of reaction was because he didn't think much of Miller. Oh boy, how wrong he was.

Just when Eth thought Nathan was going to ignore Miller, Nathan suddenly made a beeline toward the stadium.

Nathan used his art to create weapons in midair and, with the weapons as footholds, ran to the stadium on them.

He used the technique he learned from copying Susan, bursting a layer of energy beneath his sole, to arrive quickly at the scene.

Nathan didn't even enter the stadium through a gate and directly jumped from above. This was why almost no one saw him when Nathan got into the arena.

As for the mana barrier, with the baby golem's [Anti-magic Field] it might not even be there for Nathan.

'He even used those earrings at full power!'

Hundreds of people collapsed. Eth did not doubt that there was barely anyone with Evil disposition who didn't collapse.

Only a few handfuls of people with Evil disposition didn't collapse. These people were either above Enma rank or had a strong mentality, enough to offset the intimidation of the skill.

'He isn't going to blow up, right? Right?'

Eth held his face in his arms.

If Nathan blew up now, Eth didn't want to think of the consequences that it would entail.

He knew that Nathan was smart enough to know what would happen if he tried to do something here in Underworld.

But he also knew Nathan was crazy enough to enter Yakuzas with nothing on his hand. Back in his past life, Nathan had no sort of protection and was physically very weak.

Those Yakuzas were international criminals and were the ruling fraction that controlled several countries from behind the scenes. Yet he infiltrated, intending to kill the head and his family with his own hands.

What was crazier was he succeeded in killing them and achieved his goal.

Eth spoke to Nathan, trying to probe him.

(Nathan, you should calm down and think carefully before doing anything. Anger will only cloud your judgment.)

"I am calm."

Even now, Nathan's emotions were as calm as a lake. One will think this guy wasn't the same person who almost crippled hundreds of people mentally a few hours ago.

Eth already understood that Nathan's emotions weren't calm because he wasn't angry, but because he was suppressing them.

'Why is he even angry?!'

Eth wanted to cry but had no tears.

Thankfully, Nathan's mind was no longer preoccupied with the appearance of Sword Maiden. But now he became a ticking time bomb with no outlet!

'Who the hell has mood swings as bad as you? Fuck this crazy bastard!'

"Arg..gh"

At that moment Miller, who was lying on the bed, groaned. A few minutes later, he sat on the bed with Nathan's help.

The first thing he said after getting up was unexpected for Eth.

"Boss, I'm sorry. I didn't follow your orders."

"Why didn't you give up?"

Nathan again spoke a few seconds later.

"Even if your gang doesn't have my support, the Elixir deal is already made. Your gang should have no problem surviving rather, it will only grow from here, even without me."

"Eh? What are you talk-Ah fuck, there was that deal!"

The surprise in Miller's tone told that Miller wasn't lying. He had forgotten about the Oath Nathan made with his dad.

Nathan stared at Miller in amazement. Miller had just shown him a new level of stupidity.

Feeling relieved, Nathan slumped in the chair.

"So that's why you didn't give up."

"No, even if I knew I wouldn't have given up."

"..why?"

"Boss, I think in this world, everyone is selfish. I'm no different."

Miller scratched his cheek as he answered. Nathan nodded, signaling him to continue.

"I want to become someone that everyone will look at with awe. Someone whom everyone will look up to."

"Is that your dream?"

Miller shook his head.

"This was something the person who took care of me in my childhood wished for my future. I want to repay them by making their wish come true."

The cloaked figure had always taken care of him selflessly.

Miller did not doubt that without the cloaked figure, his childhood would have been no different from other slum children. Left to their means and barely surviving by begging, stealing, and then dying to hunger.

"But I can't do that by myself. I'm weak. I have no talent, nor do I have potential. But if I follow you, if I work under you, I think, no, I know I can achieve my goal."

No matter how hard he tries, he can't achieve his dream. Miller had, long ago, already given up after trying many times.

But all that changed when Nathan asked to bring Miller under him.

With the feats Nathan had shown till now, Miller believed that Nathan could help him. Miller didn't want Nathan to leave them and stop his support. If he did, Miller would lose his only way to achieve his goal.

"Is it related to why you kept glancing at the top 16 participants' seats even while Vile reaper was torturing?"

'Miller was looking at the participants' seat?' Eth, who heard Nathan's words was shocked.

Eth had overlooked such a small detail, but this detail was the reason why Nathan didn't immediately leave to save Miller.

"Yes"

Miller didn't want to use stigma, but he still wanted to prove himself to Nathan.

The only way to show this was to go through the Vile reaper's torture and show that he was ready to give up his life if he could achieve his goal.

"But there was no way you knew that I would intervene and save you."

"hehe... From what I understand about you, I felt that you wouldn't leave those whom you have taken under you to die."

Nathan sighed exaggeratedly. It seems Miller was dumber than he thought.

"'You felt' and you gambled your life on those chances?"

In response, Miller only gave a silly smile.

Although Miller was acting as if he knew that Nathan would intervene, in truth, he wasn't sure Nathan would.

Half of the reason he kept looking for Nathan was that he wanted to see if Nathan was coming to save him.

He had almost given up, too.

Thankfully, Nathan intervened or he would have died.

"tch.. You should be thankful that I want you in my group or I would've left you to die."

Miller didn't refute Nathan and only smiled back. In his mind, Nathan was embarrassed to acknowledge that Nathan was worried about him.

Knock- Knock-

"E-excuse me, the tournament's organizers want-t to meet yo-ou Eiik, I'm sorry. I didn't want to disturb you!"

Someone entered the infirmary and started speaking immediately.

When Nathan turned to look at him, he shrieked, afraid that Nathan was annoyed for disturbing him.

The scene where Nathan crushed the Vile reaper with a single word and his pressure alone suffocated hundreds of people was deeply etched in everyone's mind.

He had become a figure of awe and fear for all who had come to watch the tournament.

The person who had come to call didn't want to get on Nathan's bad side. His fear of Nathan made him stutter and apologize to Nathan.

"You keep resting."

Nathan advised Miller and got up to leave. Nathan already knew why he was being called.

Interrupting the matches was prohibited, not to mention he made half of the spectators collapse from suffocation. There was no the tournament organizers didn't want to meet him.

"Thank you, leader."

Miller spoke in a small voice as Nathan left the room.