Reincarnated in the Astral World

Arthur's eyes shine with admiration as he listens to Alicia's words, another icy dagger in Draven's ego. But Arthur couldn't care less about his father's opinion now; he just nods to his aunt before returning his cold gaze to the young Master.

"No, no, please!!" The young Master keeps begging, his face a mess of despair as a stinky liquid runs down his pants.

That scene makes Alicia shake her head. "It's always like this: these pathetic nobles go around bullying the weaker ones until they meet someone stronger, and then they start begging pitifully... just finish him off, Arthur."

Arthur twirls his sword skillfully as he approaches the young Master, still trapped by Aria's magic. But Draven can't help but complain. "You don't need to do this, Arthur; look at him, he's just a scared boy... you've already proven to be stronger, now you can choose to be like him or teach him how to be better. You can influence all his future generations to-"

"Cut the shit off!" Alicia interrupts Draven again as she continues looking at Arthur. "The law of Lumindell is clear: if a noble offends someone from another noble family, the offended party can demand a fight to the death, not to mention they were the ones who attacked first with the intent to kill."

"Alicia is right," Aria comments as she holds the young Master trapped. "Don't hold back, darling; you have the right to defend your wife here."

"Ahhh, come on!!" Draven still complains, but Arthur just keeps walking towards the young Master. "I'm going to give you a chance," He speaks in a mocking tone and puts his sword back in his sheath, showing his empty hands. "Fight like a man or die like a worm."

"Hahaha!!" Alicia laughs cheerfully while Draven shakes his head. The young Master, on the other hand, remains terrified. But the desire to live surpasses any other feeling in his weak heart, and he tries to stand up, picking up his sword with trembling hands. "I-I-I… w-will kill y-you..."

Arthur sees his opponent stagger towards him, swinging his sword without any aptitude. The blade looks refined, even if very inferior to his, but it doesn't matter since Arthur can predict the pathetic movements of the young Master effortlessly.

The poor guy is also too shaken to use all his Fighter rank capabilities; not even his Noble Lineage can help now. Arthur watches his moves in slow motion and easily avoids his strikes. *Whoosh* With small steps, Arthur dashes around the young Master's blade, playing with him. *Shooosh*

"Damn bastard!" The little noble grows furious and swings his sword even more wildly. Arthur starts lightly hitting him on the head, making the guy even more desperate. "Stop it!! You son of a b-"

*BAM* Before the young Master can finish cursing, Arthur lands a mighty punch right in the middle of his face, breaking his nose with a crunch. *Crack* The young Master's blood splashes as he lets out a long, piercing cry and tumbles. "ARGHHHHH!!!"

Arthur doesn't waste time and lands a strong kick on the noble's ribs, his clothes also look like an artifact due to their resistance, but at most of common rarity, which partially diminishes the impact of Arthur's blow, but the guy still takes damage and suffers a world of pain. "AAAAHHH!!!"

"Do you think you can just come and try to hurt my wife?!" Arthur asks as he continues to kick his opponent on the ground. "And you still have the nerve to insult my mother?!?" He kicks the guy in the most sensitive non-lethal spots, ensuring he feels maximum pain.

Each blow is followed by an even more desperate scream; the young Master pees himself again and even shits himself due to the pain, creating a disgusting scene. At some point, Draven just turns around and walks back to Aria's house with a disappointed expression. Margaret and her parents don't enjoy such a scene, so Aria just hugs the girl, whispering that everything will be fine in her ear.

Alicia, on the other hand, keeps her eyes fixed on Arthur, watching his every move closely. 'He really knows what he's doing... but how can a fourteen-year-old boy be so efficient? He knows exactly where to hit to cause the most pain... he is ruthless to his enemies… but he does it for his family, not his ego. He already seems far better than Father and Draven...'

Arthur doesn't contain his anger and vents all his frustrations on the young Master, making the poor guy bitterly regret having left his house. He curses the moment when the merchant showed him the picture of Margaret, arousing lustful thoughts in his mind; he curses the moment he decided to go after her; and above all, he curses the moment he made Arthur his enemy.

But it's too late now... Arthur beats the young Master to the point where his body turns into a pool of blood, his limbs shattered, and his face already disfigured. But he can still see the dark glow in Arthur's blue-cold eyes.

"For those who wish to hurt my family, this is the only end… death under my foot!" Arthur raises his boot over the young Master's head. He stomps on his enemy's face, crushing his skull on the spot. *BAM-CRAAACK*

Blood splatters on all sides, including some drops that fall on Arthur's face. His expression is uncaring, influenced by the dark aura around his body like an extra layer of clothes.

But as soon as he turns his attention back to Aria, Margaret, and Alicia, his eyes shine with the usual warm affection, leaving his aunt even more impressed with his personality. 'He doesn't lose sight of what's important... he couldn't be more perfect.'

"You did well, my good nephew," Alicia smiles and approaches Arthur, patting his shoulder and gently wiping the blood off his face. "It's good to see that Draven didn't screw up with you as your grandfather did to him; I can already see a bright future for you when we get out of this damn place and return to our true home."

"Leave here?" Arthur is surprised by that idea. He really enjoys his time with his aunt, but when his eyes reach Aria and Margaret, he doesn't feel any desire to follow Alicia, abandoning his beloved ones. Alicia understands that quickly and tries to persuade him. "I'm not asking you to abandon your mother and fiancee, of course; you can take everyone home; that's the right thing to do."

Such an image naturally appears in Arthur's mind; it's not another house, but the one he's always lived in, just now Alicia would join the family. But then he sees the serious expression on Aria's face, and she slowly shakes her head at him, making him concerned.

"This is not the place for us to have this conversation," Aria says to Alicia in a friendly tone and then casts a caring look at Arthur. "Let's go home, baby."

Arthur nods and walks over to Margaret, leaving Alicia with a slightly jealous expression. He arrives in front of the cute girl who can't stop smiling at him. They look at each other for a second before she jumps into his arms, hugging him tightly. "I was so scared! I knew you would be okay, but I just couldn't-"

"It's over, sweetheart," He whispers into her ear as he wraps his arms around her waist, making her feel secure. "I will never let anyone hurt you or take you away from me."

"I know, I know!" She sniffs emotionally into his arm. "I love you so much!!"

The heartwarming scene between Arthur and Margaret is an astonishing contrast to the massacre that just took place right there, arousing the same wry expressions on the faces of Aria and Alicia.

While Alicia continues to watch Arthur with curious eyes, Aria uses her magic to burn the bodies with dark gray flames. She also evaporates the blood on the ground and turns any weapon left by the Young Master Lark's group into a large ball of garbage, which she buries deep in the ground before making the surface flat again, all with a wave of her hand.

In a few minutes, Aria leaves the area in front of the tavern completely clean, only powerful mages being able to tell that there was a bloody battle there. Then she walks over to Arthur and Margaret to caress their hair. "It's time to go home."

"I just need to do one more thing," Arthur comments while holding Margaret's hand and entering the tavern, finding her parents with shocked expressions on their faces.

They are clearly trying to deal with everything they have seen, but Arthur does not hesitate and shows his hand holding Margaret's to them. "I'm not blaming you for what happened, but I can no longer allow Margaret to live here; we haven't yet had a proper ceremony, but it doesn't change the fact that she's going to be my wife, so I'm taking her to live with me from now on."

Margaret can't stop smiling, her eyes shining with tenderness. Her parents can see how happy she is with Arthur and how far he is willing to go to protect her, so naturally, they have no reason to refuse his request.

Mr. Carpenter falls on his knees in front of Arthur, trying to kiss his feet. "Please, take care of my little girl!" Arthur quickly steps back as Mrs. Carpenter tries to lift her husband while smiling at Arthur. "Don't mind us, useless old bones... we just wish you two happiness."

Arthur ignores Margaret's parents; he's still upset with them for the idea of giving her to random nobles. Then he looks at her and strokes her face tenderly. "Can we go, honey?"

"Ah, I need a few hours to pack my things," she gives him small kisses on the lips cutely. "Can you come back to pick me up later?"

"Of course, my love," Arthur smiles and kisses her passionately, hugging her waist before letting her go. "I'll be back in a few hours," he comments before leaving through the door.

Outside, Arthur finds Aria and Alicia smiling at him. "Let's go home," he comments in a cheerful tone.

"Mm," Aria nods and gestures with her hands, making the trio levitate in the air. This is the first time that Arthur is flying, and he is delighted with the feeling. "Whoah!!"

"You'll be able to do this someday as well on the Mystic Warrior Path, darling," Aria smiles as she quickly takes them home.

Still in the air, Alicia throws a teasing smile at Arthur. "Oh, I forgot to say it, my nephew... you have a beautiful fiancée; it's hard to believe she has a common lineage."

"Margaret is really adorable..." Arthur comments proudly. But he also thinks about Nyx and how his aunt would react knowing he has a succubus as his Astral beast.

'My father would certainly have one more reason to look down on me, but what about Alicia? She seems to be on the same wavelength as us... so maybe?' He speaks to Nyx mentally.

'I like her,' Nyx quickly responds.