{A/n: Zeph’s Illustration in Comments}

SPLASH

They both fell into the ocean, looking at the water’s surface, his golden pupil reflected three silhouettes gazing down at him.

’This world’s end is inevitable, but screw it,’ looking at those individuals and understanding who they were and also the events that are slightly Accelerated due to his intervention, he knew these people will try to reach their goal, but for him.

’I don’t give a damn about what’s about to happen to this world’ He knew ways to stop that inevitable thing, at least claimed by those individuals, his goal was simple, ’l Just keep delaying it until I can get strong enough to stand against that thing’

Remembering, he was not alone, Turned his gaze towards Thalia, holding her breath with a big pout, mouth filled with air, he realized, ’Damn, we’re underwater’

’Seraphina, Now,’ he commanded while unmuting her, forgetting about the blasphemy he did by losing his chastity already snapped her mind.

[Human!, you deserve to dieee!]

[How. can. you. lose. your chastity!]

[ Sacrifice your manhood to soothe my anger!]

’I don’t need your forgiveness’, his mouth twitched seeing her transforming into a sword, clearly telling him to cut his thing off.

But Understanding the Urgency of the moment, he commanded, ’Activate Force Surge — Divine Pentagon.’

WHOOSH

With a sound, a 3D-pentagon Dome shone in a white ethereal glow, encapsulating them.

[W-what, How do you know about this ability?]

Even Seraphina was surprised to see Zeph knowing the name of her ability precisely.

Despite living inside him, she doesn’t know about him coming from another world, the Reason being the restrictions that an artifact holder could impose—such as Mute or Isolation—rendering artifacts unable to hear or see.

Technically, after contracting with a User, artifacts were reduced to mere slaves, although not everyone was aware of this. Many regarded them as divine entities and respected them.

However, this changed when one possessed comprehensive knowledge about this world, from weaknesses to strengths — Just as Zeph knew about these things.

While Zeph couldn’t remember each ability’s name from the Novel, but, if the names were as obvious as this, even an infant could guess, and the major role for his memory being this good should be given to Zeph’s background, as an orphan.

He needed scholarships to get into College, and that’s when he honed his skills in subjects ranging from Mathematics to others.

Although not a prodigy, he was smart enough not to forget what he learned.

Artifacts had a significant flaw.

If Users knew the ability’s names, they could use them without the artifact’s consent, as Zeph did.

But would it make it pointless for an Artifact to possess its consciousness when it merely became a tool?

No, at the moment Zeph fell into the Black Dragon’s mouth, overwhelmed by the situation, he forgot about Luinera, the Guardian Bird within him.

However, Luinera kept supplying mana with the help of Zendal, who took the initiative on his own to help him.

From Zeph’s perspective, granting artifacts their consciousness was the most intelligent move the Author made.

It acted as a plot armor for many characters in «Heroes Counterattack» " as whenever one is on the brink of death, taking their initiative, Artifacts sacrifices their Essence to save their User.

It was the last resort for an Artifact.

Whenever an Artifact wished to save its user, it could sacrifice its Essence, causing it to descend to a lower floor.

Though seemingly straightforward to drop levels and ascend again, it was a decisive moment — One that Changed the fate of these overpowered Artifacts.

When an Artifact chose to do so, they could summon one of the Sanctum’s Guardians.

Their arrival was an assurance in itself, as each Guardian was a Demi-God, one step away from the beings on the highest floor of the sanctum — Gods.

Upon making a request to a Guardian, an artifact’s credibility decreases, causing it to fall to a lower floor.

Due to the loss of a significant amount of energy, more than half of their abilities would be sealed, altering their form.

For instance, if Seraphina did so, her form would change from a sword to a dagger, falling to the first floor, with all her divine energy sealed except for a single passive skill, Chastity Proof.

It was evident that among thousands of Artifacts, no one would choose a useless dagger with such Ability, right?

’Mute Seraphina’, Zeph muted her, deeming it unnecessary to converse with her at that moment, as their safety was paramount.

"Thalia, are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?", He turned to the girl standing beside him, looking bewildered and touching the barrier they were within.

Upon hearing his words, Thalia turned to him, feeling warmth from his concerned look.

" Yes, it hurts, So much", Before responding, she teased him, pointing towards her groin area.

’We’re in the middle of an ocean, girl,’ Zeph couldn’t help but glance at her, maintaining his ground, too, following her path, "Ouch, my shoulder hurts"

Thalia suddenly remembered the dagger grazing his shoulder, panicked, she looked at his wound with worry, which was completely healed due to Seraphina’s abilities.

"Y-You,"

Seeing her pout, he chuckled before hugging her, contemplating the situation he found himself in.

The people who just disturbed his lovely moment were members of the Obsidian Order and Ranking ones at that.

He never anticipated the Order to be on such high alert to even sense him using Nexus.

’If my assumptions are correct, then Christian Valley has a snake of the Obsidian Order’, He reached this conclusion, that the attack by Banzihum inside the academy was undoubtedly ordered by the Valley, though he was unaware of the reason but Seeing how Order too acted So openly, as if already aware of Adriannel’s Disappearance.

He cannot think of any reason for Valley to come after him.

Nexus couldn’t be the sole reason, as he awakened this energy amid a battle with Banzihum. So, even though he knew this much, Adriannel’s absence at that time left him confused.

And now that Deventhia severed Banzihum’s head, the Valley would maintain a low profile for some time.

However, the reason Zeph didn’t immediately return to the Academy was due to the arrival of visitors—the Obsidian Knights.

This was also why Zeph fled. Although he could only see shadows, his intuition strongly sensed someone far stronger lurking within some dimension, especially one utilized by those knights.

He could have handled those Shadows on his own but the problem was Knights.

By using Nexus as a last resort, he can still buy some time but now if they took Thalia as Hostage, things would slightly change.

Of course, he doesn’t despise knowing he now has a weakness, instead, he might be the first person happy to have it.

Glancing at Thalia’s caramel hair and then towards the ocean illuminated by the penetrating moonlight.

Zeph understood that the Obsidian Order wouldn’t jump to the conclusion that he was the one truly holder of Nexus.

Even if this seaside mansion belonged to a Count. It would discredit them using it as some proof, as per the Professor’s, Zeph was currently at the Academy— regularly attending second-year student check-ins was the way they decided if one is inside the Academy.

Of course, it was confusing for him, to notice that the Obsidian Order was not following him.

’Why aren’t they following me?’ But not caring much, he focused on his next destination.

SWISH

The Dome swiftly accelerated towards the ocean’s depths, rapidly moving toward Zeph’s next destination—Thallasar, the kingdom of Cratens.

Zeph had wanted to visit that place since the time he entered the second floor of the Sanctum.

It was then that he realized Duchess Kassidy had some way to track him down.

However, even after using Zendal, he felt nothing within his body, leaving him puzzled.

At that moment, he decided to visit Thallasar, seeking help from a powerful Craten who held absolute control over the water element.

While it might not sound overpowered compared to other races, there’s a reason why Cratens have stood their ground and dominated the oceans and its resources.

Their ability to control water allows them to create dense, strong crystallized ice as hard as diamonds, capable of penetrating the strongest barriers.

Moreover, their mastery of water enables them to manipulate the water element within someone’s body.

This control extends to such an extent that they could cause suffocation by filling another creature’s lungs with bodily fluids.

Although others may not perceive them as significantly stronger, for Zeph, who was from the real world, their power was far more formidable than portrayed in the novel.

Water wasn’t merely ice or fluid; it was the essence of life, granting them healing abilities through water absorption.

It was also a Reason for them to leave inside the Ocean — An Enormous source of water, making them invincible.

Ofcourse, Zeph wasn’t going there to learn their techniques or something, at least not yet.

He still has to reach the academy by tomorrow at any cost.

His purpose in visiting Thallasar was to rid himself of that tracking thing inside his body.

A human’s body contains 60% water, and using this principle, Zendal’s ability covered 40% of his body — mana veins.

He needed an Expert to manipulate the water element inside his body to extract whatever it was that he wasn’t even aware of, from his body.

He didn’t know how he would accomplish this, nor did he need to, he could just beat them and make them do his work — His old-world style.

And, Neither did he fear them going against him.

With Seraphina and Guinier, he was protected from their influence, as divine and demonic energies repelled elemental energy.

Just like, How Similar poles repelled each other, no two energies could coexist inside one’s body—Zeph was a rare case to have both of them together.

’Sigh... Knowing everything is comfortable’ ’ While hugging Thalia, he caressed her back, feeling the softness of her skin due to the shirt’s fabric being thin, even after becoming accustomed to her skin’s smoothness it felt, he still couldn’t get enough of it.

"Zeph, do you feel something?" Thalia’s intuition suddenly kicked in.

She inquired before placing her hands on his chest to retreat but he was lost in the soothing aroma of her hair.

"Yes, I felt it, Thalia. It’s happening again, My dick is becoming hard—"

"Zeph!!"

BANG!

The dome shattered into pieces as something collided with it before striking Zeph, interrupting his words with a sudden and powerful force.

BOOM!

"UGHH..." Thrown a distance away, he regained balance while floating in the water.

"You are quite strong for a mere human" Suddenly, a melodious voice reached him.

He lifted his gaze, focusing on a young Craten woman with ash-grey hair and round, pointy ears, intensely observing him.

’How could she be here?’

He kept staring at her, his mind in turmoil at the figure in front of him.

’Estelle Collins’

{A/n: Illustration of Estelle, also known as Dear Villainess}