Imprisoned for a Trillion Years, I Was Worshipped by All Gods! - Chapter 617

Chapter 617: Chapter173-True Death Eyes
“Senior… I…”

Alan felt both moved and helpless at that moment.

He was well aware that his recent odd behavior must have already been noticed by Fort and Francis. Unfortunately, they were all men—none of them had the nerve to pull him aside for a heart-to-heart.

Yet Blanche, his senior, had no such reservations. She followed him in without hesitation and offered him genuine comfort.

Seeing that Alan’s expression had returned to normal, Blanche smiled and said,

“Now that’s more like it. You probably don’t know this, but every time you were feeling down, Isabella would lock herself in the kitchen for hours just to come up with a dish that might make you smile again.”

Alan blinked in surprise and looked at her in disbelief.

“You mean… my sister has always been like this?!”

Blanche didn’t answer directly. Instead, she reached into the satchel slung over her shoulder and pulled out some rations. Among them was a slightly lumpy piece of bread, yet its shape—resembling the cedar loaves from Snowguard City—was unmistakable.

It immediately caught Alan’s attention.

Blanche stood up from the bedside, turning her back toward him as she spoke softly,

“A-Anyway… we all hope you’ll stop frowning so much. You’re not just the hope of the entire Academy anymore. You’re also my…”

Before she could finish, her cheeks flushed crimson. Overwhelmed by shyness, she quickly turned and fled the room.

“Hope… huh.”

Alan mulled over that word, a bitter smile curling at the corner of his lips.

When it all began, he and Isabella had only one simple wish: to live freely in this world without fear or hardship.

But who could have imagined that such a modest dream would prove so difficult to realize?

Alan lowered his gaze and stared at the piece of cedar bread in his hand.

Judging from its clumsy shape, it had almost certainly been made by Isabella.

Just like her, the bread looked a little awkward, but there was something reassuring about it—an earnestness that made people feel safe.

Alan tore off a piece and placed it in his mouth. After a brief moment, he closed his eyes and muttered with a choked voice,

“You added too much sugar again, Isabella… That’s no way to make good bread.”

It sounded like he was criticizing her baking skills.

But in truth, the one he was mocking… was himself.

Both he and his sister had a weakness for sweets, and because of that, they always crammed as much sugar into their bread as possible.

What they never stopped to consider was whether the bread could even handle that amount of sweetness.

Nor did they question whether they themselves had the skill to bake something that sweet without it falling apart.

Alan had spent time with people far beyond the reach of ordinary mages.

Not just powerful figures like Third Princess Alice, with her overwhelming strength and enigmatic background, but even the likes of Ares—a renowned powerhouse who could shake an entire region.

After being around such individuals for so long, Alan had unconsciously begun to lump himself in with their tier of genius.

And with the promises made to him by the mysterious black-robed woman, he had grown bold.

Tier-platinum? Tier-diamond? He had barely spared them a second thought.

But then reality struck him like a slap to the face.

His recent experiences had made one truth abundantly clear—

No matter how talented you are, there will always be someone stronger than you.

Even the most gifted prodigies are but children swinging wooden swords in the eyes of true masters—

laughable and naïve.

If not for the intervention of old Gayle that day, Alan suspected he wouldn’t have survived long enough for any negotiations.

The moment they had encountered Stephen, he and his sister might’ve been obliterated—without even ashes left behind.

He had never felt such a desperate yearning for power.

Only by becoming truly powerful could he and Isabella stop being pushed around, stop being looked down upon.

If that required him to give up everything, so be it.

He would offer up everything he had for true freedom.

Crack… crack… crack…

Alan’s hand clenched hard against the edge of the bed.

Though the first-class carriage beds were forged from reinforced alloys, they now groaned under the pressure of his grip, bending and creaking like soft wood.

“Huff… huff…”

His breathing suddenly turned ragged.

Somewhere unseen, a crystal-like heart-shaped Stone of Sage seemed to resonate with him once more.

Crimson crystalline veins surfaced on Alan’s skin for a moment—then vanished.

They pulsed in and out of view, repeating this process several times.

Then, from the center of his body, a strange flow of mana began to radiate outward.

The nature of this mana was similar to the manaOverpressure spell he had practiced before.

But now, purified by the Stone of Sage’s vital energy, its essence had evolved into something entirely new.

In theory, manaOverpressure was a hybrid spell—a fusion of one’s mana and spiritual pressure.

It was a trick move, used in battle to catch enemies off guard and break through their defenses.

But now, empowered by the Stone of Sage, it had transformed.

No longer a defensive feint or surprise attack—

—it had become a killing move.

And truth be told, if Alan’s opponent lacked strong mental fortitude,

just one glare from him would be enough to send them to their death.

A literal “death stare.”

After multiple trials and careful observation, Alan had finally confirmed the skill’s full potential.

He named it:

True Death Eyes.

Alongside manaRupture, it became one of his two hidden trump cards—

unknown to the world, concealed beneath his calm exterior.

At the same time, back in the Imperial Capital, news of Headmaster Stephen publicly abducting someone had caused an uproar.

The entire city was in turmoil, with everyone asking the same question—

“Does Lioncrest Academy have no shame left?”

Given their past affiliations with the bounty hunters of Barton Kingdom, the public had long held grudges against Lioncrest Academy.

Many believed that they had been enabling those hunters behind the scenes for years.

Some even went further, whispering conspiracies in private:

That it was none other than Stephen, Headmaster of Lioncrest Academy himself,

who had spent a fortune issuing the deadly bounty on Sirius Academy.

Helping outsiders—especially Barton, sworn enemies of the Plantagenet Kingdom—to attack one of their own?

If that wasn’t betrayal, then what was?

It was an insult to the countless heroes who had died on the front lines in defense of the realm.

By contrast, Alan and the tale of Sirius Academy’s resistance—standing against Lioncrest despite their weakness—

had been romanticized by bards and minstrels.

They sang of it in taverns across the Capital.

Stories of underdogs rising up had always resonated with the people.

And now, with Lioncrest fully cast as the villains in this saga, the city’s sympathy for Alan only grew.

When Stephen abducted Isabella in broad daylight, in front of the entire Capital—

public sentiment exploded like wildfire.

Alan, once just a struggling student…

was now a hero of the people.