Genetic Ascension

Chapter 2197: Ripe

The Duchess' claw shot forward.

With her speed, it should have been impossible for Sylas' senses to keep up with her own. She was absolutely certain that there would be nothing that he could do if she wanted him dead… so confident until she watched Sylas' eyes track her hand through the whole movement.

Even if he could somehow do this, she was sure that it was impossible for him to actually react to it, right? Tracking was one thing, reacting was another matter entirely.

And as expected, Sylas couldn't seem to do anything.

However, just as her palm was about to grab at his throat, her claws about to sink into his flesh, she froze.

Nothing made her freeze. There was no power from the Golden Battlefield nor Sylas. It was like she had simply chosen to stop all on her own.

Her hand trembled for a moment, and then she pulled back.

From start to finish, Sylas didn't so much as blink, his gaze remaining an eerie, untouchable level of calm.

For some reason she was absolutely certain that if she touched Sylas something would change. She didn't know where that feeling was coming from, but it was practically screaming at her, telling her that if she didn't change her ways, she would lose something forever.

Demonic Will.

Sylas' Will was calm and unbothered, but his Demonic Will… it was almost like a slumbering dragon that had peeked a single eye open to watch someone crawl into its cave as it hoarded its treasures.

"Let's go." Sylas said coldly.

There was a command in his voice that made the Duchess' heart tremble.

She was an untouchable existence right now, a level of powerful that the current Sylas couldn't fathom, and yet he had still spoken these words.

And yet, she knew for a fact that it wasn't because he wanted to command her, it wasn't because he wanted to use her for his power, it was because he perceived that in the entire world, there was no place his child could ever be safer than by his side.

He wasn't going to let the Duchess out of his sight whether she liked it or not.

Cassarae chuckled. "Good choice."

The Duchess' eyes flashed with cold. She had been halfway out of her seat when Cassarae spoke. She hadn't even realized she was moving, but something about Cassarae just irked her.

She was an S-tier. She was no second wife, and she certainly was no concubine.

"I do not understand," the Duchess said calmly. "Where was all this confidence just five minutes ago?"

Cassarae blinked, remembering her previous state. Then she looked over at Sylas.

"Can we return to sender? This Duchess arrived back with a mouth, I don't like it. The other one was cuter."

Sylas just shook his head. He could sense that there was a change in the Duchess as well, but he didn't think that she was a fundamentally different person.

It was instead that both versions of the previous Duchesses he had met were young and immature in a lot of ways.

The one in the past was naive and sheltered. However, the clone that he had met, while she was cold and stoic, that didn't necessarily mean maturity either. It was more like an edgy teen phase where one thought that in order to be regal and commanding, this was the only way to do it.

That Duchess would have stifled a laugh even if she found it genuinely funny, and that was the difference between someone who was truly just ice cold and someone who was just pretending to be.

This was more like the real Duchess, a woman who had seen through life and hardship. She was cold, but she wouldn't hide her annoyance just for the sake of pride, and she wouldn't hold her tongue just to not "stoop" to Cassarae's level either.

All three versions of the Duchess were, indeed, her. But each one was different in their own way.

These differences, though, didn't matter much to Sylas at all. It wasn't as though he had ever fallen in love with the Duchess. She carried his child, and that was the breadth of love she would receive. His child had to be protected at all costs.

And as such, the Duchess would always be protected.

If she thought that he wanted to use her for her power, she was sorely mistaken. While she was pregnant, Sylas would never ask for such a thing. In fact, even if she wasn't, the odds he ever would were slim to none.

He was a man who hadn't used two of his strongest trump cards when facing off against the greatest challenge of his life.

He wasn't about to have his woman fight on his behalf.

Right now, his goal was one-fold.

The Demi-God Plane.

It felt like every time he was close to take that step, something sidetracked him. But for good reason.

Every sidetrack led to another realization and another blooming opportunity.

And now, the time was ripe.

**

The weeks passed in a blaze, and by the middle of the fourth one, Earth rumbled. Sylas stood with his arms crossed, his gaze overlooking the horizon.

He had dealt with many things in the last several weeks, tying up loose ends, dealing with his mother's pretend side-eyes about a second woman and then her excitement for two grandchildren, but also some very important matters as well.

For example… what would happen with Earth's portal to the Demon World if they suddenly ascended to the Demi-God Plane?

But now, it was very much time. There was no way forward but up now.

His little sister hadn't disappointed him. Maybe there was a silver lining to her being such a rebel after all.

Sylas' gaze flashed. It seemed it was time to find out what the Demi-God Plane had in store.

**

"FIND HER!" A roar tore across the skies like a clap of thunder.

The fury could have collapsed mountains, and it was all directed toward a single person…

Elara Grimblade.