Chapter 183: Explosive Growth or Death? (III)
Looking around, he saw that everyone had their eyes on him. If he were not careful, the whole thing would fall off for everyone to see. "W-w-wait a moment." All his fumes quickly disappeared in seconds.
He pulled himself out of the water and got on land. He gently placed her down on the floor without letting her go. Quickly he wrapped his large body around her creating a wall that no one could see. Then, turning his head away, he let go and stood guard.
"Well, aren't you, gentleman." Agnis grabbed hold of her strings and pulled them up so they would not fall.
"Just hurry up." Zero tried his best not to let anyone else take a peek. Why the hell was he going this far? He just didn't know.
"What's going on?" Den zipped onto his back. Her white scales glistened like snow.
"Get off, Den." Zero growled. He snapped at Den, but she disappeared and reappeared right next to Agnis. He looked around, wondering where she was.
"Oh, I can help you with that," Den replied chirpily.
"Who?" Agnis turned around to see Den beside her.
Den held up her claws, motioning her to turn around. "I'm not a guy, so don't worry. We girls need to ensure they don't take advantage of us."
"Ah, I see." Agnis turned around for Den to help her.
Valiant and Baku climbed onto Zero's back, wondering what Zero was hiding.
"Hey, you boys are peeking!" Den snapped. She spits out pieces of small flint that knock both of them off Zero's back.
Zero turned and snapped at the two dragons. He grabbed both of their tails and threw them toward the pool. With a loud splash, they disappeared into the water. Lucky for Zero, he saw a momentary glimpse of Agnis' chest.
Den sat on her haunches and reached over. Her delicate fingers carefully tied it for her. "There.
All done."
"Thanks." Agnis pulled her hair back.
"No problem." Den winked. "My name is Den."
"Hi, my name is Agnis. I'm Zero's partner."
"Oh! So you're the elf that everybody is talking about. So that makes sense how you were able to
go head-to-head with Zero."
"Well, I just got lucky and got a quick swipe in," Agnis smirked. "Calling me a pervert."
"Kuhuhuhu, boys."
"You can let me out now." Agnis patted Zero's legs.
Zero had a drizzle of red blood dripping out of his nose. The sudden flash of memory of Agnis was brought into his mind. His body heated up, turning the area around him hot.
"Zero, what's wrong with you? Do you have a fever or something?" Agnis started to fan herself from the extensive body heat.
"No," He squeaked. Pulling his body away from the Agnis, he let her out. He made his way towards a smaller pool in a daze and sank in. The pool started to bubble and turn even hotter, making it impossible for anyone to step in without getting burned.
"Chief Librarian. That water is too hot to wash you," A female in a bikini was having a hard time getting in the pool. She was trying to scrub his down with a metal scrubber. "I need some cool water!" She called out to the other workers.
"Is everything alright?" Agnis came over.
Zero's head rested on the edge of the pool, and his eyes widened when he noticed Agnis in front of him. The water he was in soon became boiling, so if anyone tried to get in, they would get a third-degree burn.
"What's going on?" The lady stared with a complicated expression. "Did the heater break?"
"Is there anything I could help you with?" Agnis crossed her arms.
Zero stood frozen, unable to move. Between his scales, red and orange light emitted from him, and the water continued to rise in temperature. It got to the point where the water vapor was forming.
"We need cold water. At this rate, he's going to burn!"
"I can help you with that." Agnis raised her hands. "Ice Spear!"
Large icicles appeared around Zero and fell into open areas around Zero. Then, a flash of steam erupted around him, making it impossible to see till the clouds cleared.
Zero could feel the sudden drop in temperature. His mind finally cooled down, and he snuggled into the water. "This feels good." His face was half submerged in water, and bubbles escaped his mouth.
"There. All done." Agnis wiped her hands on her legs. "Give me one of those metal scrubbers. I'll help out."
The lady gave her one, and Agnis jumped into the pool. The water didn't burn her. Instead, it was the right temperature. She climbed onto his broad back and rubbed between his spine. Zero couldn't help but moan in pleasure; he didn't realize how his back was itching till Agnis had scrubbed it.
The scrubbing on his back felt like a massage. He could feel the tight muscles on his back being released from the scrub. Other female workers climbed onto his back and started to help out in the cleaning process. Almost every inch of his body was being spotlessly cleaned.
He didn't know how refreshing the feeling was to have his toes and fingernails from being scrubbed. Then, black scales fell off the scrub and started floating on the water. The workers scooped the scales and placed them on the side.
"Show me your teeth," Agnis ordered. She held a giant toothbrush in her hands.
Zero opened his mouth, allowing Agnis to clean his teeth. Never in his life had he ever been pampered to such a point. It was a whole new experience, and he enjoyed every minute.
"Zero, you need to brush your teeth more. There is plaque building up. I got quite a bit off." Agnis was busily scrubbing his front fangs. She quickly finished off the rest and pushed her hair back. Even washing his body, she still looked dazzling in her swimming suit.
"I'll remember that."
"Good, because it's not a nice smell."
"Sorry."
"It's fine. This is my apology for punching you."
"You're forgiven." Zero turned his head towards her. "Can you scrub behind my horn? It has been bothering me a bit. The feathers on the side are not helping."
"Sure," Agnis reached over and started to scrub his horns. "What have you been doing recently? Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to hang out with you or Zeraph."
"Well, this and that."
"I heard from Zeraph that you are at the academy."
"We're not supposed to talk about that." Zero hissed. He lowered his voice so that others could not hear.
"I know. I'm just confirming to see if you were there. I couldn't find you anywhere I looked. I think our schedules are different."
"Yea. I have also been hanging out with a couple of new friends."
"Really? You made more friends?" Agnis's voice was filled with a bit of jealousy. "I wish I could make friends like you. They draw to you like a lamp."
"I'm not trying to make more."
"Well, you just do." Agnis brushed harder behind his ears.
"Ow, Ow. That area is sensitive. Please be more gentle."
"Sorry." She scrubbed it lightly. "I met Will. He's in the same class as me."
"Really? I was wondering why I was having trouble meeting him. I saw him but couldn't talk to him at all."
"You know there are three different groups. You're in group C; I'm in group A. We won't meet each other as easily as you think."
"That could be a bit of a problem."
"How did you even end up at the Academy?"
"My twin brothers." Agnis stopped, and her scrubbing stopped.
"What's wrong? Is everything okay?" He turned towards her. Zero noticed that her whole demeanor had changed and instead looked worried.
"Yea. I think so."
Zero could sense something was wrong. How do I use that telepathy skill again? He thought it over. He opened his mind to listen to what Agnis had to say.
Should I tell him? No. It's not a good idea. They took them away. How could they do this to my siblings? What are they even planning on? I'm no psychic, but for them to be snatched away first. This doesn't seem right. I cannot tell Kiyro, or my chance to save them will elude me.
Zero thought it over and he fell silent. He did not want to tell her that he had read her thoughts. He closed himself away from her mind. So these people are even kidnapping children. I didn't know her brothers were at the Academy as well.
This was becoming more of a problem day by day. So far, he wasn't able to have time to explore the building at all. The only three places he was allowed to go were the classroom, cafeteria, and Game Room. Besides that, everything was tightly monitored, making it almost impossible to sneak around.
Not only that, he noticed cameras hanging up on the corner of hallways and other important rooms. There were a couple of sweet spots that he had noticed where he could avoid the lens eyes, though it was only for a split moment. He still needed more information, and right now was still not the time to go running around and causing problems. The best solution was to blend with the group and keep his head down quietly.
"Everything is going to be alright." Zero spoke, catching Agnis off guard.
"What? What makes you say that?"
"Trust me."
"I-" Agnis stuttered and pulled in the scrubber close to her chest. She breathed in and let out all her pent-up stress in one breath. "Thanks."
Zero couldn't help but feel a warm tingle in his heart. It was a pleasant feeling to know that someone believed in him. Even though his agenda had increased by a couple of folds, he felt at peace with himself.
"Well then, I feel clean now." Zero stood up from the water and stepped out. He shook off the water like a dog.
"Hey!" Agnis was covering herself from the splash.
"My bad." Zero whistled and began to walk out. He shifted into his human form and changed back into his clothes. Agnis and M2 were waiting for him outside when he left the Bathhouse. They were conversing with one another happily.
"I see you finished with your bath." M2 whole fur looks puffy like a Persian cat.
Zero couldn't help but stifle a chuckle from seeing M2.
"I look handsome, don't I?" M2 chuckled. He pruned his hair with a comb. "This always happens when I take a shower, but it will eventually go down."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone