Timeless Assassin - Chapter 1170 Mauriss Visits The Garden

(A Couple Days Later, The Eternal Garden, Mauriss’s POV)

A couple days later, despite fully understanding that manipulating Mairon in front of Leo would be nearly impossible, Mauriss still arrived at the Eternal Garden personally while presenting himself like a humble guest visiting old acquaintances.

“Skyshard! Or should I call you God Killer now?

Hahahaha!

How is your finger holding up these days?”

Mauriss asked cheerfully the moment he arrived upon the Eternal Garden, as Leo simply stared toward him coldly without even the slightest trace of amusement visible within his eyes.

‘What…? Is he the bastard who cost father a finger?’

Mairon wondered silently, as until this very moment, he genuinely had no idea how Leo lost his finger or what sort of battle it even related to.

“And this must be the young Skyshard himself… the so called rebel king, Mairon Skyshard.”

Mauriss muttered while slowly sizing Mairon up from head to toe, as Mairon simply stared back at him with visible disgust written plainly across his face.

“Has your mother never taught you how to dress properly?

Why are you walking around half naked like some uncivilized cave man?

If you need money to buy decent clothes, I can always provide you with some.”

Mairon replied bluntly, as hearing those words, Mauriss immediately burst into loud manic laughter.

“HA… HAHAHAHAHA!”

The God laughed wildly while clutching his stomach, however beneath that crazed amusement, his eyes gradually sharpened ever so slightly.

“The boy truly doesn’t fear me at all, Cult Master.

He must possess tremendous confidence in your ability to protect him if he dares insult me directly to my face so casually.”

Mauriss observed calmly, as almost instinctively, Leo’s hand drifted toward the dagger resting against his waist, while somewhere within the distance, Veyr, Dumpy, and Leonardo subtly released portions of their aura in response.

“Oh? I see now…

So this gathering was a party all along.”

Mauriss muttered while casually glancing around the Eternal Garden, as although the others remained outside ordinary visual range, he could still sense and see them perfectly.

“You really shouldn’t create enemies you cannot afford to eliminate permanently, young man.

Your father and his Commanders may be standing beside you today, however they will not remain beside you every second of your life.

And I…

I can strike whenever I please.”

Mauriss warned calmly, as hearing those words, it was Leo who finally chuckled softly next.

“Ha… hahaha…”

Leo laughed quietly without warmth while tightening his grip around the hilt of his dagger slightly.

“Threatening my son’s life directly in front of me?

Isn’t that perhaps the dumbest thing you could possibly do, Deceiver?”

Leo questioned calmly, as for several moments, Mauriss simply stared directly into Leo’s eyes while genuinely considering whether provoking a fight here would be entertaining enough.

Eventually though, he merely waved his hand dismissively.

“Oh please…

I was merely educating the boy.

And regarding your earlier question, no, my mother never had the opportunity to teach me proper manners.

You see, I killed her when I was only five years old.

She was becoming terribly restrictive regarding my hobbies.”

Mauriss explained casually while madness flickered visibly inside his eyes, as only then did Mairon fully understand just how genuinely insane the Deceiver truly was beneath the skin of a man.

Silence lingered between them briefly after that moment until eventually Leo snapped his fingers lightly.

*Trrrr*

A small stone table alongside several matching chairs materialized beside them instantly through controlled mana manipulation, as Leo calmly gestured for Mauriss to sit.

“Agh… this really brings back memories.”

Mauriss muttered nostalgically while pretending to wipe tears from the corners of his eyes despite there being none present.

“I used to sit across from Kaelith here fairly often through the centuries.

Strangely enough, I almost miss him now that he’s dead.”

Mauriss admitted casually, as Leo merely intertwined his fingers together before leaning slightly forward across the table while staring quietly into the Deceiver’s eyes.

“So…. Tell me Skyshard…

How exactly did you do it?

How did you manage to kill a God while still remaining only a Demi God?”

Mauriss questioned curiously, however Leo merely let out a slow breath before responding calmly.

“You requested this meeting with my son personally, Lord Mauriss.

He’s a busy man, and so am I.

So how about we keep this conversation focused strictly on the actual reason you came here today?”

Leo suggested calmly, as Mauriss immediately burst into loud laughter again hearing those words.

“Strictly professional? Hahahaha! That’s a good one, Skyshard!”

Mauriss laughed while slapping his thighs repeatedly, as Mairon stared toward him like he genuinely believed several screws inside the old man’s head were missing.

“Well, if I’m being completely honest, I originally became interested in meeting your son because I enjoy recruiting talented young individuals beneath my banner whenever opportunities present themselves.

And after hearing rumors that you supposedly cut him off from your support entirely, I naturally thought perhaps I could swoop in and recruit him away for myself.

However, clearly, those rumors were wildly inaccurate.”

Mauriss explained openly, as Mairon immediately frowned hearing those words.

“Even if father did actually cut me off completely and I desperately needed support, there’s still no universe where I’d willingly partner with a lunatic freak like you.”

Mairon replied bluntly, as once again Mauriss burst into uncontrollable laughter.

“HAHAHAHA! This child genuinely has absolutely no filter on his tongue whatsoever, does he?”

Mauriss observed while shaking his head slowly in disappointment.

“Boy, let me teach you something important.

If you genuinely believe speaking recklessly and insulting Gods directly to their faces makes you special or courageous, then you’re deeply mistaken.

All it really tells me is that you still lack the emotional restraint necessary to hide your hatred properly when facing someone you despise.

And honestly speaking, that lowers your value tremendously in my eyes.

You should learn from your father sitting beside you.

That man hates me far more deeply than you ever could, yet he still addresses me respectfully as Lord Mauriss whenever we speak.

And that…

That is genuinely terrifying.

Because a man fully capable of controlling his emotions is always infinitely more dangerous than someone ruled by them.”

Mauriss explained calmly, as beside him, Leo quietly nodded in agreement while secretly hoping Mairon actually absorbed at least part of that advice properly.

“Oh shut the hell up already, old man.

I don’t need parenting lessons from some deranged psychopath.

I already have my father for that.”

Mairon snapped back irritably while clenching his fists tightly beneath the table.

“You think I lack emotional restraint?

Fine. Maybe I do.

But let me make one thing perfectly clear then.

Someday I’m going to carve that underling of yours called Clarence apart piece by piece with my own dagger.

And after I’m done with him, I’ll eventually come for you too.

There’s absolutely no hidden meaning behind those words, so feel free to do whatever the hell you want with them.”

Mairon declared coldly, as for the first time in a very long while, Mauriss genuinely lost control of his laughter completely.

Because throughout thousands of years of existence, very few individuals had ever disrespected him this openly while fully understanding exactly who he was.