Anime Crossover: The Small Workshop System's Aggressive Feeding

Page 278

But when he looked up, he realized that something was off.

Rias, Akeno Himejima, Shiroto Toujou, Yuto Kiba... these Gremory and Sid's Familiars sat upright, their bodies taut.

The drinks in front of them remained untouched.

His reserved demeanor made him seem more like someone visiting a king than a guest at a friend's house.

Zhou Ye frowned.

"Drink up! Why aren't you all drinking?"

His question broke the silence in the living room.

But his response was an even more oppressive silence.

Nami gracefully picked up her glass of orange juice, took a small sip, and spoke in a knowing tone.

"Boss, it's not that they don't want to drink."

"They...are afraid to drink."

Her words, like a needle, precisely pierced through that fragile facade.

“Boss, your strength has increased too quickly, and your status has become too frightening. The distance between us has widened infinitely. This huge gap in strength and status makes Rias and the others feel uneasy and afraid.”

Saeko Busujima also put down her mango juice, wiped her mouth, and added in a cold, factual tone.

"Boss."

“At first, you were just a powerful human who possessed a God-Slaying Gear. Rias believed that you were a suitable match for her, and even a husband worthy of her entrusting her life to.”

"This is still within her comprehension."

"Then, you transformed into the new master of Heaven, the Lord of the God of the Bible. This identity has already made them feel awe and alienation."

"Finally, in front of everyone, you forced the Infinite Dragon God Orpheus to retreat in three moves."

"That's not respect."

Saeko paused for a moment, her gaze sweeping over Rias, whose face was pale.

"This is... despair."

"When an existence becomes so powerful that even looking up to it becomes a luxury, all that remains is fear."

"They worry that one day you might casually discard them. Because they have become so insignificant on your path to progress that they don't even qualify to be a stumbling block."

"enough!"

A suppressed, trembling cry suddenly rang out.

Rias stood up.

Her beautiful long red hair had lost its former luster. She clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms.

"Nami! Saeko! Stop talking!"

She refused to let anyone else express her humiliation and helplessness.

She raised her head, and those blue-green eyes that always held a haughty air were now filled with struggle and pain.

She stared intently at Zhou Ye.

"Zhou Ye!"

She called out his name, each word sounding as if squeezed out from between her teeth.

"you tell me!"

"What are we in your life right now?"

Her voice grew louder and louder, tinged with sobs and hysterical questioning.

"Is it a pet you use to pass the time when you're bored?"

"Or did you collect these beautiful items on a whim?"

"Or perhaps, just a passerby in your long life, someone who can be forgotten at any moment?!"

Answer me!

This series of questions was her last and most humble dignity as the Demon King's sister and the next head of the Gremory family.

She is afraid.

She was really scared.

She feared that this man, to whom she had poured all her emotions and was even willing to defy her family to follow, would one day find her a hindrance, think her too weak, and then, like discarding an old piece of clothing, completely erase her and her family from his world.

The fear of being abandoned was more devastating to her than facing any powerful enemy.

The entire living room fell into an icy silence because of Rias's heart-wrenching confession.

Himejima Akeno could no longer maintain her composed smile; she looked at her dearest friend with worry.

Both Shirae Toki and Yuuto Kiba lowered their heads.

Rias's words expressed the feelings of all of them.

Faced with this scene that resembled a family drama unfolding, Zhou Ye's reaction surprised everyone.

He offered no comfort, no explanation, and wasn't even slightly moved.

He just picked at his ear, his face full of impatience.

"Pets? Collectibles? Passersby?"

He repeated Rias's words, then looked at her with an expression as if she were an idiot.

"Rias, have you been reading too many romance novels and ruined your brain?"

This extremely blunt remark struck Rias's heart like a heavy hammer.

She was stunned.

Zhou Ye sat up straight on the sofa, glanced around at the group of gloomy-faced demons, and chuckled.

"I am still the same person, from beginning to end, I have not changed."

"It's you."

He extended his finger and pointed at Rias, Akeno, Shiro, and Yuuto in turn.

"It was you yourselves who added a bunch of messy scenarios to my head."

"It is you yourselves who insist on placing yourselves in a humble and weak position, and then tremble in fear at the power you have imagined."

His words were sharp, sarcastic, and merciless.

"how?"

He leaned forward, getting close to Rias who was standing there dumbfounded, his face full of undisguised mockery.

"Do you really want me to cripple myself and become as weak as you, fighting to the death over trivial matters every day, before you can find that ridiculous sense of security?"

"What you are afraid of has never been me."

"What you're afraid of is your own pathetic, worthless pride!"

Zhou Ye stood up and looked down at everyone.

Stop with your cheap tears and pointless worries.

"If you want to keep up with me, you have to work your ass off to become stronger."

"If you can't do it..."

He paused, picked up the Coke on the table, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Then get out of here and stop getting in my way."

After saying that, he turned and left, leaving everyone in the room dumbfounded.

Chapter 242 Helping to Resolve Inner Confessions

The loud bang of Zhou Ye slamming the door shut still echoed in the living room.

The entire space was eerily silent.

Rias remained standing, but her body was trembling uncontrollably. Her once proud face was now deathly pale and bloodless.

Zhou Ye's last few words were more hurtful than any vicious curse.

Every word was like a poisoned knife, precisely piercing her softest and most vulnerable pride.

Then, stir it vigorously.

"minister……"

Himejima Akeno walked to her side, wanting to support her, but her hand fell limply halfway down.

He couldn't utter a single word of comfort.

Because Zhou Ye's words, though harsh and ruthless, were... impossible to refute.

They were indeed afraid.

She was using her own weakness to speculate about the man's strength.

Then, the result of their own imagination terrified them.

Kiba Yuto and Toujou Shirae lowered their heads and clenched their fists.

They also felt that humiliation and powerlessness.

In the midst of this frozen atmosphere, a petite figure moved.

The Crimson Dragon Emperor with beautiful red hair and dragon horns, the mature and elegant Dragon Girl Draig.

She walked with a leisurely gait, seemingly out of place with the atmosphere, to the magical [food tablecloth].

I lightly touched the tablecloth with my hand.

The next second, two glasses of freshly squeezed strawberry juice, steaming cold and served in delicate glass cups, appeared out of thin air.

She picked up two drinks, turned around, and slowly walked over to Rias and Akeno Himejima.