This was the nicest he planned on being to just about anyone not directly related to him. The Prince was very lucky that he hadn't done something far worse to him. But as far as Sylas was concerned, this would end here.

This battle in particular could have only ever ended one way. He understood too much about the Sanguara, and between his Aether blooming and the Seals, his control over bloodlines and Genes was far too strong.

The Prince could only barely meet Sylas' eyes in the end, his gaze fierce, but ultimately too fatigued. He could only fade away, falling to wisps of nothingness.

Sylas exhaled a breath. He had spent far more energy on that battle than he wanted to, but this was never going to go smoothly.

No matter how easy he made it seem, these three were at the pinnacle of what was possible for geniuses of the Demi-God Plane, and they were his enemies.

Before this, he hadn't even stepped onto the Demi-God Plane yet, and now he was fighting their best. And yet… he would only let this end one way.

Sylas looked up and met Thessa's gaze. Almost as though on cue, her body warped and she was pulled forward. However, when she appeared across from Sylas, she didn't move.

"Why?"

Those were the first words out of her mouth. She looked at Sylas calmly, standing just a bit taller than even he did. It wasn't by much, just an inch, but considering Sylas stood at over 6'6" now, she was exceptionally tall for a woman… well, a human woman, anyway. But she was no human woman.

"I do not understand. The odds of you being selected to battle every time is low, and this matter does not involve myself. I have never heard of you, nor of where you hail from. Kairos claims that you are a descendant of his Race, but you do not have any of the aura that the Zeus Clan does.

"Why is a Split Realm targeting you? Who are you?"

At first, Thessa thought that maybe Sylas was a God, but that made little sense.

A descendant of the Zeus Clan couldn't possibly be Gods, especially with such diluted blood. Plus, he had struggled too much against the Prince to be a God.

To have had the Prince's True Name and still taken so much effort to win was quite pathetic in Thessa's eyes. As far as she was concerned, the Duchess was a fool who had betrayed her family for love, telling her husband her brother's True Name.

The Prince that Thessa knew was a worthy enemy and far more powerful than this.

Of course, her eyes weren't sharp enough to see that Sylas had comprehended the Prince's True Name on his own. But in a way, she was correct. It was only because of the Duchess that he had won so easily.

But ironically enough, Sylas didn't even know his woman's True Name.

Sylas met her gaze calmly. He didn't know this woman and he had no reason to explain anything to her. What he needed from her, he would take himself. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

After all, he was very interested in understanding the intricacies of the Thryskai's bloodline.

Once he was done with her… the Zeus Clan would be next.

He reached out a palm and Runes danced to life.

SHIIIIIING.

The Death Seal warped, the Life Seal quaking above him. The echo of a sharpening blade resonated against the void itself as the curved arc of the scythe's edge manifested in a quick swipe across reality.

Sylas almost delicately touched the butt of his scythe to the ground. It stood there as he adjusted his sleeves, shifting his red shirt and calmly pressing it to his body.

It seemed that red shirts were quite good at hiding blood.

"It seems that I will have to take my answers for myself." Thessa said calmly, raising her bow.

"I've had a distaste for the Thryskai for a long time."

Kairos burst into booming laughter when he heard this, but Sylas' words continued without missing a beat.

"My dislike of the Angels is even deeper than that. I've sworn that every one that appears before me, I will kill."

At these words, even Kairos' laughter was swallowed, his eyes widening.

"Hey, hey, hey, now. You gotta relax with all that."

This time, it was Thessa's turn to laugh.

"Bold, bold, bold, indeed. Do you think that because you can woo naive little girls with that face of yours that you can simply say whatever you want?"

"I think that's you admitting he's handsome." Kairos called from the sidelines.

"I am not blind." Thessa said coldly. "Unfortunately, I have my own dislikes as well. And that includes empty glass vases. I don't believe it will take much more than three arrows to defeat you."

She pulled her bowstring back, a blazing arrow of white gold forming.

It surged, the barrier flickering wildly as though it struggled to keep its power restrained.

"One."

Pa.

The arrow left with an almost soft slapping sound, the amount of power pooling out from it hardly leaking the instant it left the longbow.

It was before Sylas in an instant, ripping by his head despite the fact he hadn't taken even a single step.

And yet, with it, it was like Sylas had been pulled into a quagmire. Time was torn to a slow around him. No, it was literally torn. It was like it was impossible for him to even experience a new second, leaving him completely frozen in the present even long after it had become the past.

"Two." She said coldly.

Another arrow whizzed forward, so fast its tip buried itself into the earth before Sylas. Its feathered tip shook wildly, embedding itself deep into the ground, and yet not causing the slightest bit of destruction.

There was a ripple and time stabilized in its shattered state, whatever attempts it would have made to heal itself coming to a complete stop.

"Three."

She pulled her bowstring back for a last time.

Chi.

Sylas didn't even see her loose the arrow. He wasn't experiencing time properly at once.

When reality snapped back together, a bowl-sized hole was left in his chest.