Netori: Reborn as the Human Aphrodisiac

She was Manu. And unmasked at last, the Grand Priestess blanked out, completely speechless.

She wasn\'t the only one. As Akamana\'s face reveal played out, Cassandra\'s eyes stretched to the limit, trembling nonstop.

\'Didn\'t I kill her? She...isn\'t dead? She...is Akamana? No...not her—noooo!\' Cassandra refused to accept it, her eyes turning bloodshot as the truth of Manu\'s identity settled.

If Mithras noticed Cassandra\'s reaction, he didn\'t show it, his eyes locked on Mana.

"Akamana, Akamana, why...did you do this to me? Was it funny? Did it make you laugh?" Mithras asked in a calm and serious tone, his words and pitch putting daggers in Akamana\'s heart.

There were about a thousand things she wanted to say, but once more, no word came out of her open mouth.

Mithras\' lips curved in a desolate smile, and with a casual spin, he turned his back to Akamana, walking away in silence.

The sight of Mithras walking away was way too much for the Grand Priestess, and she leaned in, grasping at Mithras\' sleeve.

Her hand caught thin air, Mithras gliding away like a swan taking flight.

Akamana\'s heart spiraled out of control, and the words flowed out.

"Truth be told, Menaka didn\'t abandon you in the proper sense. When I resolved to set up a trap and kill Fenkil-Odoacer, I naturally didn\'t let my bestie know I was about to make her a widow.

So when she learned her husband had croaked during the war, Menaka asked me to take care of you and Ishtar while she left to find out the truth and bring back Fenkil.

I\'m the one who didn\'t do my job. Because of you, Mithras. You...made it impossible.

Every day, I\'d see you at that same corner of the Ravenwood district, begging with a dumb smile on your face while hoping for a miracle.

No miracle came, but by the end of each day, you\'d go home with that same silly smile, wrapping Ishtar in as many blankets as you could find while making dumb and dumber jokes to distract her from the Sid Disease.

The next morning, you\'d go back to the streets, trying, seeking, hoping for help that would never come. But your smile never changed, and the light in your eyes...remained incorruptible.

That pissed me off! The world is so fucked up! And you are the first witness of its brutality so why, why do you not lose your light?

I wanted to see how long you could hold on, but before I knew it, Cassandra had appeared. The miracle...had come!

I wanted to destroy her on the spot and send you back to the streets! But then...I saw that look in your eyes...and I realized...that I had never seen a more delightful rascal.

I couldn\'t ruin your light. Better, I had to watch it grow, the closer the better. But Cassandra is the one who reached out when you needed it the most. Cassandra, not me! I couldn\'t just take you away...it wouldn\'t have been fair.

I had to give your story a chance—not murk it in the cradle, so I became Manu...to watch you grow...and be a part of your life.

A terrible mistake. Dark or violet, it doesn\'t matter. The same way my eyes drew you to me, yours kept me spellbound. Back then it was so, and today it is still the same.

Nothing will change ever... except for my identity...and therein lies the problem." Here, Akamana\'s voice broke, her eyes turning moist for the first time in centuries.

"The woman you fell for is your teacher, the fun and mischievous Manu. Not the 1,000-year-old demoness of the Angra Theocracy.

I am made of darkness, with the blood of millions on my hands. Kill, absorb! Kill...absorb! Rinse and repeat for a millennium!

What is there to love? The real me is too dark—too charged. And I like myself this way. I forged myself this way! But you...you are so beautiful. I didn\'t want to corrupt you...but I didn\'t want to be consumed by your light either.

I will turn you into a monster, or you will make me weak and end my quest.

I don\'t want to break your heart, but I don\'t want mine to be broken either!

So the best I could think of at the time was...to flee. Not the smartest decision in my life.

Cutie pie, I am...so sorry!" Before she knew it, Akamana was screaming her lungs out, her tears dropping as she reached for Mithras.

"You talk too much. Life...is not that complicated. If you love, love. If you hate, hate. If it\'s worth fighting for, fight. And if it fails, it fails.

Be loyal to your heart and the goals you set for yourself, and you\'ll find out that though life is a rollercoaster of sweet and sour, at the end of the road...the highs...are always worth the lows.

But it wasn\'t to you. The highs of my love...weren\'t worth the fight.

I will keep your money though. Cause one of the few things I\'ve learned from my old man...is to never fumble the bag—especially not...for a hussy," Mithras said without looking back, flexing his knees...before shooting towards the sky.

Akamana\'s reaching arms fell limp, hanging as she dropped to her knees.

Cassandra too dropped, reeling in a vegetative state.

\'I am...so stupid. Grand Priestess...thank you!\' The matriarch kept this thought to herself, lowering her head in shame.

Meanwhile, Mithras ascended, his mind drifting to various events of his childhood—including the dear moments he shared with his dumb dad.

\'Is it the curse of a prodigy? Mithras, why are you always so angry? Just like a beast! Relax, smile, crack more jokes! Goofy or not, who cares?

If someone makes fun of you, I will punch them in the face! So let go my boy. Let go and before you know it, to all those who surround you, you will have become...as radiant as the morning light.

And when the world learns to appreciate your smile...all under the blue sky...shall dread the release of your wrath.

And I will be there every step of the way. Don\'t worry. I\'m not abandoning you. I will come back for sure! Come back so I can clap as I watch you become...a better man than I could ever be!

I will always be your first supporter! I love you son...never doubt it!\'

Odoacer\'s last words replayed in Mithras\' mind, and he threw his head back, laughing at the gargantuan sanguine meteor dropping from the sky!

"MITHRAAAASS!" Odoacer\'s voice rumbled throughout the heavens and earth, blowing storms and splitting the land as his ancient mount dropped on his son!

"OLD MAN! 12 YEARS HAVE PASSED IN A FLASH! LONG TIME NO SEE...is what I\'d like to say...but I haven\'t missed your bitch-ass for a minute!

Ishtar is the apple of my eye! If she must be the sacrifice for the fulfillment of your mad ambitions...I will tear you to shreds...as I\'ve done with your brothers!"

Mithras roared and swung at Drakneil, crushing the skull of Odoacer\'s peak Blood Authority mount with a single hammer swing!