Netori: Reborn as the Human Aphrodisiac

"Charming. I expected a flippant thug but found myself a gentleman. Young man, I misjudged you..." Vel\'Asha gave a cool assessment, her face easing up.

The rogue and overbearing approach might work on the Honorias of the world, but with the Queen Mother, it was a surefire way to get knocked out cold. And Mithras now had enough experience to tell that much.

First impression...10/10!

But watching the two\'s exchange, Akamana\' eyes flashed with annoyance, her dainty fists cracking intermittently. "Strange. Considering how he so often feels like a much improved version of the young Odoacer, I was convinced he\'d give you the jitters.

Vel, you wouldn\'t be projecting your failed love story on my hubby I hope. It\'s bad enough that I have to break you. Don\'t make me hate you by trying to mess with my hubby...or I might not stop before I\'ve eaten your heart," the Grand Priestess said as if it was the most natural thing ever, her words causing Mithras to flinch and grimace.

"Don\'t worry. I\'m not in the business of getting clapped by barely legal boys. It will not be an issue." The Queen Mother clapped back, and left speechless by that rebuttal, Akamana bit her lips, restraining the urge to pounce.

Meanwhile, Mithras stepped forward, the Great Smelting Hammer vibrating on his shoulder with a formless surge of energies.

Nearly three meters long, the colossal war hammer should have looked odd and awkward in Mithras\' hands. But in that instant, as he stared at Akamana, Mithras\' eyes contained none of the usual cheerfulness, all replaced by violent impulses.

"The Hammer has chosen me as its next owner. We can discuss the implications of that choice later. In the meantime, Queen Mother, how about we help one another? You need me to take that hussy down a peg, and I need you to end the day on a triumphant note.

That\'s a match made in Heaven if I\'ve ever seen one," Mithras said and stepped forward. A horrific tide of vibration waves rocking the sky and cracking the earth as the Great Smelting Hammer paired with the Thunderclap Talent, temporarily bringing Mithras\' vibration skills to abnormal heights.

"Very well, Mithras, but to help me defeat that madwoman, you might have to learn new skills on the fly. Are you sure you can handle that?" Vel didn\'t beat around the bush.

The abrupt change in Mithras\' mood didn\'t escape the Queen Mother, and while she could guess the cause, Vel\'Asha made no comment regarding his similarities to Odoacer, focusing on the fight at hand.

"I\'m a quick learner," Mithras said and snapped his fingers. His Violet Flame surrounded the Queen Mother, boosting her attributes by a large margin.

"Vel, Vel, no wonder you\'ve managed to piss off Menaka from a distance. You really don\'t know when to stop." Akamana sighed at this unexpected duo.

But the moment next, the Grand Priestess\' flaming claws were piercing through Mithras\' chest. Again, Akamana turned sluggish, her attributes dropping at a horrifying rate.

Still, with the level gap and surprise effect, the Grand Priestess didn\'t doubt that she\'d catch Mithras slipping. But the moment Akamana connected with Mithras\' chest, he turned into a spiral of violet flames, blowing past the Grand Priestess and reforming at her back.

An advanced application of Flame Manipulation: Flame Displacement!

Though nowhere near as fast as Quantum Tunneling, Flame Displacement increased the Guru\'s momentum, making their next strike twice as powerful.

Since he typically relied on Divine Burst and Primal Strength, Mithras rarely used it. But now that mantras were out of the equation, he didn\'t have a choice.

A Lion-Headed Serpent coiled up Mithras\' form, and Akamana\'s blood froze completely, crystallizing as the Human Aphrodisiac\'s Hammer crashed into her back and sent blasts of Pyrogasmic Genesis bursting through her veins!

Akamana\'s Inner Shield kicked in, shouldering the brunt of the blow while the Grand Priestess flew into the ground, cratering in a resounding blast.

The world ground to a standstill. And from Vel\'Asha to the Zealots, going through the Elektra sisters and Akamana, all gasped at once, unable to process the scene they\'d just witnessed.

Abilities like Flame Displacement only proved Mithras was a Flame Master already, in essence qualified to teach at Guru Academies. But Akamana knew this a while ago, and wouldn\'t look this confused for that one ability.

No, the problem was the Blood Crystallization trick. For that was an ability that hadn\'t appeared in the last 10,000 years--its last use dating back to the fall of the Blood Aristocracy!

"He didn\'t just awake the Hammer\'s true form. He got the Great Smelting Gene as well?" The Grand Priestess couldn\'t believe her eyes, yet these were the facts.

"Well look at that. Mana, the situation has just gone from nice to real bad…for you," the Queen Mother said in an imitation of the Grand Priestess, appearing at Akamana\'s back, and sending her reeling with a detonation of nuclear flames.

Mithras greeted her with banging hammers, bashing Akamana\'s skull and knees with surgical precision. The beating didn\'t go unanswered. For each swing of Mithras\' hammer, the Grand Priestess countered with reflexive blasts, making the billions of particles inside her body detonate at the point of impact.

The odd fighting style took Mithras by surprise, breaking his rhythm, and preventing his hammer from building real momentum. But here, Vel\'Asha got involved, activating the Third Secret, and causing the weight of her arms to reach a million tons.

Those arms now came slicing through the Grand Priestess\' back. Her blood gushed forth, but erased by violet flames, not one drop stained the Queen Mother\'s face.

With a strident snarl, the Grand Priestess swung her razor-sharp legs at Vel\'Asha\'s neck. She didn\'t dodge, deflecting Akamana\'s kick and throwing her off balance as Mithras slammed his hammer into her side, rocking the Grand Priestess with a blood spurt.

But the duo didn\'t stop, Vel\'Asha\'s elbows slicing at Akamana\'s neck while Mithras\' hammer crashed into her battered knees.

If the Grand Priestess had been debuffed to the point even Mithras could trade blows with her, how could she possibly engage the Queen Mother in a slugfest?

The situation was getting out of hand, and overwhelmed, the Grand Priestess dissolved into energy particles, becoming one with the air as she considered her options.

10,000 Akamanas appeared subsequently. Confusing the scene with random teleportations while the real one stayed out of reach.

"Menaka was right. Vel, you really need to go." The Grand Priestess stalled for time, betting that unlike what he let out, the name was making Mithras restless.

And how else could it be when Menaka…was none other than Mithras\' missing mother\'s name.

Was it a coincidence that the person behind Akamana\'s intrusion had the same name as Mithras\' mom? Names weren\'t that trustworthy, after all.

But what were the chances that Akamana, who always showed a strange interest in the siblings and claimed being aware of their mom\'s whereabouts, had another Menaka in her life?

Yet Mithras didn\'t flinch. Because from the moment he\'d met Odoacer, he\'d already resolved the puzzle of the series of strange events that ended with his mother abandoning him and his sister.

Akamana didn\'t know this, and convinced that breaking Mithras\' composure was the best way to regain control, the Grand Priestess went off.

"Cutie pie, you shouldn\'t be too hard on your mom. She is not that bad. A terrible mom no doubt, but an amazing wife. The type of wife to give up nigh infinite wealth and influence to marry a dude her family would never approve. Then abandon her kids, cross a continent and myriad dangers all for that dude\'s sake.

What an admirable wifey. It\'s dad the problem. Your dad really sucks. And it\'s becoming a theme. How is it that of all relevant folks in this palace, Honoria is the only one with a swell daddy…yet still managed to turn him into a vegetable. Truly sinister." Akamana pulled the oldest trick of her book.

It had worked well so far. Sadly for the Grand Priestess, her attempts at rattling Mithras only showed how desperate she was to get out of a precarious situation.

Akamana was lost and grasping for straws! So how could the Human Aphrodisiac give her the chance to get back in a rhythm?

Vel\'Asha had a similar mindset, and though the two hadn\'t exchanged a word, they cooperated like bosom friends.

[Million Snakes of the Burning Hell]

[Astral Void Invocation]

Large tongues of violet flames surrounded Mithras\' arms, firing into the ground and causing a literal eruption of burning snakes to geyser upwards.

The moment next, Vel\'s Astral Demon Flame kicked in. The world became an interstellar void, large flaming cougars emerging from the darkness to tear through the 10,000 Akamanas!