My SSS-Rank Innate skill: Infinite Adaptation core

Among them, Rieka and Asia sat silently, staring at the battlefield. The fighting had almost ended, and the first rays of sunrise were beginning to appear on the horizon.

Suddenly—

WHOOSH!

Nova appeared before Theodore, instantly drawing the attention of the entire battlefield. Thousands of warriors turned toward the mysterious man in black robes.

Among them, Asia, who was sitting beside Rieka, stiffened slightly as she saw the masked figure appear near her father. Nova’s gaze swept across the exhausted warriors before briefly stopping on Edward, who was resting among the knight captains.

”I have fulfilled my promise. Although there were still casualties, they are far fewer than what any of you expected.”

Theodore silently listened before finally asking the question that had been troubling him all night.

”Why would you go so far to help us? These are people you don’t even know.”

Nova let out a faint chuckle beneath his mask. ”Hmm... you’re misunderstanding something. I never do anything that doesn’t concern me. This region has a special connection to me, so you people simply got lucky.”

The warriors exchanged glances, but none dared interrupt him. ”Anyway, now that the threat has ended, I’ll be taking my leave. And one last piece of advice from this monarch...”

His eyes narrowed slightly as his voice turned serious.

”This beast tide wasn’t merely a coincidence.”

The atmosphere instantly grew heavy. Before Theodore could ask another question, Nova vanished in a blur.

”Wait!” Theodore instinctively stepped forward. ”What am I supposed to tell the higher-ups from the capital?”

After all, how was he supposed to explain that Frostholme had survived against impossible odds? More importantly, he didn’t even know whether the mysterious man who had saved them wanted his existence revealed.

For a brief moment, only silence answered him. Then Nova’s lingering voice echoed across the battlefield.

”Say whatever you want. It’s not like they can do anything to me...” A trace of amusement lingered in his tone before his final words resounded throughout Frostholme.

”I am the Slaughter Monarch.”

Silence followed. As the first rays of sunlight finally rose above the horizon, every warrior stood frozen, staring at the place where the mysterious monarch had disappeared.

.....

At the rear end of the battlefield, Rieka continued staring at the place where the mysterious masked man had vanished. The more she thought about it, the more a certain feeling refused to leave her mind.

”The way he talks is awfully similar to Nova...” Asia heard her muttering and couldn’t help but respond.

”Hmm, and how can you be so sure? This may sound rude, but you don’t even know your lover that well, do you? He only awakened recently. How could he suddenly become so powerful?”

Rieka immediately turned toward Asia, annoyance clearly visible on her face.

”Hmph! What do you know? It’s none of your business. And why don’t you reveal yourself when you’re talking to me?”

Truthfully, Rieka couldn’t help but feel wary of the mysterious woman. She had already noticed that Asia seemed interested in Nova.

Not that Rieka particularly hated the idea. In this world, it wasn’t uncommon for powerful men to have multiple companions. If Nova wanted other wives in the future, that would be his decision.

But one thing was certain.

She would always be the first.

And she certainly wouldn’t allow any woman to get close to Nova if he didn’t want them around or if they carried hidden motives that could bring him trouble.

Now that the battle was over, Asia no longer saw any reason to conceal her identity. She removed her hood and mask, revealing a face that was no less beautiful than Rieka’s.

Her long blue hair flowed down her shoulders, perfectly complementing her bright blue eyes and giving her an almost angelic appearance.

”Aren’t you Duke Frost’s daughter, Asia?” Rieka asked in surprise.

”That I am,” Asia replied calmly, completely ignoring the murmurs spreading among the nearby warriors after recognizing her.

Rieka studied her for a moment before smirking.

”It seems you’re not as bad as most human nobles. You’ve got the guts to step onto a battlefield.”

Asia rolled her eyes.

”Oh, please. Don’t compare me to those spoiled noble princesses. It’s disgusting. I’m a warrior before I’m a noble.” Before she could continue speaking, a figure suddenly appeared beside her.

Rodrick suddenly appeared beside Asia, his usually composed face filled with worry.

”Young Lady Asia, are you alright?”

”Grandpa Rodrick!”

Asia’s expression instantly changed. Relief flashed across her face upon seeing the old butler safe and sound, but at the same time, she couldn’t help feeling a little guilty. After all, she had sneaked onto the battlefield without informing him.

Rodrick let out a helpless sigh as he looked at her.

”Let’s go meet your father. He’s worried sick about you.”

Asia immediately lowered her head.

She knew she was in trouble.

Not because her father would be angry, but because she had frightened everyone by disappearing during such a dangerous situation. Fortunately, she also knew her father cared deeply for her and would understand why she had chosen to fight.

”Okay...”

She nodded obediently.

Seeing her reaction, Rodrick couldn’t help but smile bitterly. No matter how mature and talented she acted, she was still the same young lady he had watched grow up.

Asia then stepped beside Rodrick before glancing back toward Rieka.

The two girls exchanged a final nod.

Rieka returned the gesture , while Asia silently followed Rodrick as they headed toward the center of the battlefield where Duke Frost was waiting.

After Asia and Rodrick left, Nova appeared in front of Rieka. The moment she saw him, she didn’t say a word and immediately threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly.

”Where were you? Is your father okay?” she asked as she rubbed her face against his chest. Nova smiled and gently patted her head while rubbing her back.

”Yeah, he’s fine. What about you? Were you okay? Did you have a hard time fighting?”

Rieka finally pulled back and looked directly into his eyes.

”No. We mostly fought lower-level beasts, so it wasn’t too bad. Besides, those strange shadow beasts helped us a lot.”

She paused for a moment before narrowing her eyes suspiciously. ”Tell me, darling... are you hiding something from me?”

Nova couldn’t help but smile at the question. He had expected this sooner or later. Rieka was far too smart not to notice certain things, and it wasn’t as if he truly wanted to hide everything from her forever.

”I’ll explain later,” he said calmly. When we will be alone .” Before Rieka could continue questioning him, Nova quickly changed the topic.

”Anyway, where’s that masked girl?”

Rieka immediately pouted.

”You mean Asia?”

”Oh? She revealed herself to you?” Nova asked with an amused expression. Rieka’s eyes narrowed further.

”And you already knew who she was.” The moment those words left her mouth, Nova realized he was fucked.

”...Oh no, I met her back in the village before. I recognized her voice, that’s all.” Nova replied without missing a beat. Unfortunately, Rieka continued staring at him. The look in her eyes clearly said she wasn’t completely convinced.

After a few seconds, she let out a heavy sigh.

”Fine.” Then her expression turned serious.

”Anyway, I have something important to tell you.”

”Oh? What is it?” Nova asked curiously, wondering what could be so important.

Rieka watched him carefully before speaking. ”My grandpa wants to meet you. I told him about our relationship.” She kept her eyes fixed on Nova’s face, waiting to see his reaction.

To her surprise, Nova simply smiled. A gentle expression appeared on his face as he cupped her soft cheeks. ”Well, that’s wonderful. I’ve wanted to meet the grandfather who raised you for a long time.”

Then a thought crossed his mind.

”By the way, is Tharuk Vargirth your grandfather by any chance?”

Rieka blinked in surprise. ”How do you know that?”

Nova chuckled softly.

”I saw him on the battlefield. He was one of the leading commanders on the right side of the battlefront, and his surname was Vargirth—the same as yours. Since you’ve told me before that he’s the only family you have left, I just made an assumption.”

He shrugged.

”And guess what? I was right.”

Rieka stared at him for a moment before shaking her head with a helpless smile.

”Sometimes you’re annoyingly smart.”

A proud grin immediately appeared on Nova’s face. ”I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Rieka rolled her eyes, though the smile on her lips remained.

Thanks for reading....