Victor’s words echoed across the entire street.

For one second, nobody moved.

The reporters froze mid sentence.

The city officials forgot how to breathe.

Even the surrounding guards looked like their souls had temporarily disconnected from their bodies.

The world transmission devices continued broadcasting everything live without mercy.

Millions of people watching from different cities stared blankly at the scene.

Then chaos exploded.

"He hugged her!"

"HE TOUCHED LADY DIANA!"

"Who is that lunatic?!"

"Did he just declare himself in front of four sages?!"

"My screen froze. Tell me my screen froze."

Inside countless homes, cups shattered onto floors.

One old man watching the broadcast directly fainted backward into his chair.

Somewhere, a noble lady inhaled too hard and nearly choked on her tea.

Rudi lost consciousness the moment he saw the scene.

His poor mind simply could not process the situation anymore.

A shock circuit practically occurred inside his brain.

Meanwhile, at the center of the storm, Diana’s brain had completely stopped functioning.

Warm.

That was the first thought that entered her mind.

The second thought was that his heartbeat was absurdly loud.

The third thought was that her face felt incredibly hot.

Diana Morningstar, the youngest sage in history, owner of the Primordia Dao Physique, feared by countless geniuses across the world, currently looked like a malfunctioning statue trapped inside a young woman’s body.

Her face turned completely red beneath the veil.

Not slightly red.

Not mildly embarrassed.

Completely red.

Even the tips of her ears had turned crimson.

Her mind descended into absolute chaos.

"He hugged me."

"No, forget that."

"He is still hugging me."

"Why is he still hugging me?!"

"Should I push him away?"

"But he looks sincere."

"Wait... why does this smell strangely nice?"

Diana’s cultivation nearly destabilized from panic.

Her body had never been touched by any man except her father and grandfather, let alone being embraced.

Even noble heirs usually could not stand within three meters of her without trembling under pressure.

Yet this man had rushed through four sages and embraced her like some heroic protagonist rescuing a kidnapped princess.

And the worst part was that he genuinely believed he was protecting her.

Arthur silently looked at the sky.

He suddenly felt an intense urge to laugh.

Lyria, on the other hand, was shaking violently.

Not from anger.

From trying not to burst into hysterical laughter.

"She... she actually got hugged..." Lyria muttered while biting her lips hard.

Elyndros looked like his soul had left his body.

The great Sage of Crimson Flame had faced ancient beasts in S rank dungeons.

He had dealt with countless dangerous criminals.

He had stopped natural calamities simply by standing in front of them.

Yet somehow this situation was the most difficult thing he had ever experienced.

Valkan Walker was already dead internally.

Finished.

Gone.

His bloodline was over.

He could already imagine the next day’s headlines.

"Trash youth assaults youngest sage."

"Walker family exterminated overnight."

"Ancestor cries publicly."

His legs trembled so hard that he nearly collapsed on the spot.

Meanwhile, Victor still misunderstood everything.

He narrowed his eyes coldly and looked at the sages surrounding Diana.

"You people should be ashamed. You kidnapped a woman just because she is beautiful? Are you a bunch of lunatics?" he said in a deep voice.

The entire street became silent again.

Arthur lowered his head immediately.

His shoulders started shaking violently.

Lyria directly turned around.

She could not hold it anymore.

Pfft.

A strange sound escaped from her mouth.

Then another.

Within seconds, the mighty Sage known as the Dark Valkyrie was laughing so hard that she had to hold her stomach.

"Hahahahaha!"

"Oh heavens!"

"This boy thinks we kidnapped her!"

Arthur finally lost control as well.

Even Elyndros’ face twitched dangerously.

The surrounding reporters stared at the sages with horror.

The sages were laughing.

Actually laughing.

Because of one random shop owner.

Victor frowned even deeper.

"You think this is funny?" he asked coldly while keeping Diana behind him protectively.

That sentence completely destroyed the remaining restraint of the sages.

Lyria nearly fell to the ground laughing.

Arthur covered his face while trying to regain control.

Even Diana’s shoulders began trembling slightly.

Not from fear.

From embarrassment.

At that moment, she genuinely wanted to disappear from existence.

Victor finally noticed something strange.

The terrifying people around him did not seem hostile at all.

In fact, they were looking at him like he was some kind of rare mythical creature.

Then Diana slowly raised her hand and lightly tugged on his sleeve.

Victor immediately turned toward her.

"Angel, do not worry. I am here."

Diana’s face somehow became even redder.

The reporters instantly zoomed in with their cameras.

The world collectively lost sanity.

One young master watching the broadcast directly screamed in jealousy.

"I trained for ten years just to speak to her once, and this bastard already hugged her?!"

Diana took a deep breath.

She was a sage.

A sage.

She had to regain control of herself.

Slowly, she placed her hand against Victor’s chest and gently pushed herself away from the embrace.

Victor immediately looked worried.

"Did they hurt you somewhere?"

Diana almost died internally.

Her calm mask nearly cracked apart.

"No..." she replied softly.

Her voice was unusually weak.

Elyndros stared at her in disbelief.

Weak?

Demonic Princess Diana?

The same woman who could clear an S rank dungeon within hours?

The same grand daughter who once bit a noble heir for trying to propose her?

She was an absolute menace on the battlefield and with men.

Even other sages avoided approaching her when she entered battle mode.

And now she sounded like a shy village girl being hugged by a handsome city boy.

Diana quickly adjusted her veil before anyone could properly notice her expression.

Then she spoke with forced composure.

"He is my grandfather," she said while pointing toward Elyndros.

Even Diana herself did not understand why she suddenly felt the need to clear the misunderstanding immediately.

"Grandfather? I am relieved then," Victor said with a sigh.

"I was too worried when I admitted you into the hospital. I thought your otherworldly beauty might attract the greed of some shady people."

He paused before scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"I am sorry I could not stay there longer. I was too exhausted after healing you."

His tone was completely genuine.

There was no arrogance.

No attempt to boast.

Just honest concern.

But those simple remarks caused Diana’s heart to become chaotic again.

Now she was completely certain.

This man had truly saved her yesterday.

The question was how?

He was only an apprentice rank mage.

Arthur and Lyria also stopped laughing after hearing Victor’s words.

Their expressions slowly turned serious.

They understood the implications behind that statement immediately.

An apprentice had healed a sage.

That was impossible both in theory and in practice.

The reporters instantly became wild again.

"Wait, what did he just say?!"

"He healed Lady Diana?!"

"How is that possible?!"

"Did an apprentice save a sage?"

"What is happening in this city today?!"

Even Valkan stood there with a completely blank expression.

"The trash healed her...?" he muttered absentmindedly. He even forgot the fact that Victor had only awakened one month ago. How was he able to use spells? The panic clouded his thoughts completetly.

Before anyone else could speak, another man stepped forward from the crowd.

It was the federation officer who had issued Victor’s hunter license earlier.

His eyes were sharp with disbelief.

"Did you just say you healed her?" he asked seriously.

"How?"

The sages did not stop him.

Because they also wanted the answer.

Even Diana looked at Victor curiously now.

Victor blinked once.

Then he answered as if the matter was completely obvious.

"I have a spell called Healing Water," he explained casually.

"I used it continuously for seven hours."

"I found several mana potions inside the dungeon yesterday, and I also bought more from the federation afterward."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

The reporters stared at him blankly.

The city officials stared at him blankly.

Even the sages stared at him blankly.

Victor frowned slightly at everyone’s reaction.

"What?" he asked.

"Was I supposed to do something else?"

At that exact moment, Arthur felt a headache coming.

Lyria looked like she wanted to smash her head against a wall.

Elyndros slowly closed his eyes.

Seven hours.

This lunatic apprentice had continuously poured mana into a sage-level body for seven straight hours.

Any normal apprentice would have died from mana exhaustion within minutes.

Yet this idiot was standing here casually explaining it like he had watered some flowers in a garden.

Diana silently stared at Victor.

For the first time in many years, her calm heart felt genuinely shaken.

Not because he hugged her.

Not because he protected her.

But because he had nearly killed himself trying to save someone he did not even know.

"Hey? Didn’t you use fire ball the other day? How come you are able to use water element now? Have you comprehended all 10 of your basic fire spells? But that’s impossible. You have only awakened a month ago.", he started mumbling like a robot. Now his brain was malfunctioning.