Chapter 275: Diana's Foreboding
Facing Kara's relentless series of probing questions, Robert was momentarily at a loss for words. His mind raced, but this was clearly not his area of expertise. His reactive instincts, honed through battle, were of little use in this complicated emotional arena.
However, Robert's keen senses played a crucial role; he noticed Clark, who was chatting with Lana nearby, pause and quickly turn away, although he wasn't originally looking in their direction.
Yes, Clark was indeed eavesdropping and spying. He wanted to know how his infuriating yet untouchable younger brother would handle this intricate situation.
After spotting Clark's actions, Robert naturally wasn't going to let Clark have his way. "Hold on, let's not talk for a moment!" he communicated telepathically to Kara, who paused in anticipation of his response, "Clark is eavesdropping on us, I'll teach you telepathy, you should be able to pick it up quickly…"
Despite knowing that Clark, a Kryptonian, was somewhat more formidable than Kara, another Kryptonian, Robert wasn't overly concerned. After all, within the Saiyan race, the emergence of individuals like Kakarot and Broly, representing two extremes of innate combat prowess, made it conceivable for Clark to be a once-in-a-millennium Kryptonian prodigy.
But even if Clark was a super Kryptonian, his capabilities were still within the Kryptonian range. What Clark could easily learn, Kara could manage, albeit slightly slower...
As Robert predicted, although Kara's talents were somewhat inferior to Clark's, she could still grasp the basic skills, and telepathy was just one of those skills for her.
Originally, Kara had intended to expose Clark when she heard he was eavesdropping, but she quickly grasped the method of telepathy and began trying it out.
"How fascinating, can we really communicate through our minds? Is this how you spoke with that Constantine? Why didn't you tell me about this before?" Kara's tone grew colder as she mastered the technique and began to question Robert telepathically.
The fact that Clark and Robert had their private communication channel was one thing, but why did Constantine also have a direct line to Robert? And more critically, did Diana have such a channel too?
"Is she also communicating with you like this? Are you sweet-talking each other behind my back?!" Kara's thoughts were sharp as she grilled Robert.
"No!" Robert quickly denied, "I've only taught Clark telepathy. With Constantine, it was his magic for transmission which seems to have no cost, but I think it's better not to use such magic..."
"As for Diana, I haven't taught her either. We don't usually communicate, and all my experiences with her I've already shared with you…"
"Just saying it is enough? You haven't answered my question yet. When are you planning to go see her?" Kara's dissatisfaction brought the conversation back to its starting point.
"To be honest, I haven't thought it through yet…" Robert earnestly replied through their mental link, though he felt Kara seemed more anxious about it than he was.
"Rather than being on edge every day, not knowing when you'll go to see her, tell me first. I can't let you go in top condition…" Kara fiercely grasped Robert's clothes as she spoke.
"I'm going there to fight, not in peak condition. I won't stand a chance…" Robert replied, scratching his head unconsciously.
"Yeah, you won't stand a chance to bring her back home to be your wife, right?" Kara bit her teeth and flew away with Robert, continuing her telepathic rant, "Hmph! Don't think I don't know what you're up to! I won't leave her a single drop!"
Facing Kara's provocative challenge, Robert didn't resist and followed her as they flew away.
"Why do they only have expressions and no sound? Do they know I'm spying? Hmm, maybe it's impolite to continue watching? Never mind…" Clark watched Kara and Robert fly away, initially discontent, then realizing something and reluctantly diverted his gaze back to Lana.
"Could you let me know before you disappear for so long next time? I get worried when I don't see you for many days…" Lana spoke softly, her voice tinged with frustration, "Also, what were you doing just now? You seemed distracted."
"The demon issue on Earth isn't fully resolved yet, but it's not a big problem. Others are continuing to handle it…" Clark, of course, didn't share the private matters he'd been privy to between his brother and cousin, quickly changing the subject.
"How about we handle some demon issues too? Just nearby, not the far ones…" Lana suggested with a twinkle in her eye, "Kara and Robert have started to pair up, and I must admit, I'm a bit envious!"
"Sure!" Clark agreed, moved by Lana's look, and they too flew away.
Meanwhile, back at the Kent family farm, the Danvers had also returned from their family trip. Initially, due to Clark and Robert's intervention, there were more demons in this area than elsewhere.
Unfortunately, with the growth and training of Peter Parker and others, these demons had been nearly exterminated by Christmas...
Simultaneously, at the Louvre, Diana had been in a less than pleasant mood these past few days. Although she had been pleased with Robert's growth, even exceeding her expectations, she was aware of the gap between his treatment of her and Kara. She knew Kara and Robert shared a special relationship, but it was clearly inferior to her own with him!
Therefore, Diana left with the demeanor of a victor, giving Robert the respect he deserved, now that he had grown up. She needed to consider things more carefully.
Diana had anticipated that Robert would come to see her after a couple of days, once he had recovered from his injuries. She even planned to feign a burst of divine power, then suddenly fall short, losing to Robert as a pretext to claim him first.
Diana enjoyed battle, but the battle could wait until after she had secured Robert. Previously unaware of any competitors, she now felt confident, yet needed to secure her position first!
However, Diana was unexpectedly left waiting as Robert did not come to see her for many days. Reflecting on Robert's injuries and Kara's demonstrated strength, Diana suddenly felt uneasy. She worried that Kara might sneak ahead, but without knowing Robert's true identity or where he lived, she found herself unable to seek him out...
Thus, Diana could only fume silently, her aura so formidable that her colleagues instinctively steered clear of her, none daring to provoke her ire.
Yet some male colleagues were secretly delighted, guessing at the cause of Diana's mood. Unfortunately, given her daunting aura, they dared only rejoice privately, avoiding any direct interaction...
On the other hand, Robert and Kara clashed fiercely once again. Kara, harboring a firestorm of emotions, sought to vent on Robert. Initially, Robert offered little resistance, but Kara, underestimating her own limits, challenged the enraged, Great Ape-powered Robert.
Initially, Robert was unwilling, but Kara's persistent provocations forced him to transform and completely dominate the overly ambitious Kara, showing her the true strength of a Saiyan.
Now, with his regular strength nearly matching Kara's, and upon activating the Great
Ape's Rage transformation, Kara was utterly overwhelmed, her earlier defiant attitude shattered...
Using the Great Ape's Rage for such purposes wasn't exactly appropriate, but Robert had to admit, it was effectively useful...
"Hmm?" Just as Robert was calming Kara down after their bout, he suddenly sensed a force making a forced connection with him, seemingly unwilling to give him a choice to refuse.
"Kara, wake up, there's something..." Robert instantly became alert, quickly helping the exhausted Kara dress, calling out to her.
"What's wrong?" Kara snapped back to alertness, her steely resolve returning as if washing away her previous fatigue.
"It seems to be about that magic cost I mentioned before. You back me up, I'll check it out..." Although the forceful connection did not want to give Robert the right to refuse, he still managed to stall it for a while, instructing Kara before lowering his defenses to let the consciousness through.
"It's time to pay your debts. You've used the dimension's power multiple times to supply tracking magic; now you should pay the price... Hmm?" The dimensional debt collector began to speak, then suddenly sensed something amiss, pausing to confirm some details, "Wait, wasn't it Constantine? Why has it changed? The debt's been transferred?"
"Never mind, it's all the same. Even though the cost has shifted to you, you will pay it all the same since you used the tracking magic too. Are you planning to pay off both debts at once, or one at a time?"
Despite suspecting Constantine's actions, Robert internally noted his unreliability a notch further, worrying whether the Shadow Hunters might end up paying for Constantine's antics.
"So, how exactly do I pay this debt?" Once back to his senses, Robert communicated with the dimensional debt collector.
"Our dimensional cost isn't huge; we won't take your life or your soul after death. Just a portion of your soul power to our dimension..." The collector's tone was warm but the words chillingly cold.
"Given the strength of your soul, this won't cause you much harm, just about half a month of weakness on Earth days at most. As you can see, our dimension's power is really worth it, and we welcome your continued use..."
Hearing the debt collector's words, Robert fell into a rare silence. His soul was as formidable as his body, especially after learning various abilities in this world; his soul's combat prowess was in no way inferior to his physical strength!
And if such a robust soul as Robert's needed half a month to recover, he thought that ordinary people might need to die to meet such a soul power requirement, and even a magician like Constantine would likely not recover for years.
Robert didn't understand; tracking magic was useful, but was it really that costly? Could it be that Constantine had used it numerous times before? Well, it wasn't beyond possibility...
"How do you charge for your tracking magic?" After a moment's pause, Robert decided to clarify the details first.
"Based on the number of uses and the strength of the targets tracked," the debt collector responded amicably, not at all afraid that Robert would refuse to pay. After all, he stood backed by an entire dimension, and he calmly explained.
"If it's only used once and the target is just an ordinary person, then the cost of tracking magic isn't substantial, just enough to cause some weakness in a normal person..."
"But if the targets are powerful beings, then the cost must correspondingly increase. There's no helping it; tracking powerful entities requires more energy from our dimension, and it's all about equivalent exchange, isn't it?"
"But I have a question. I used your tracking magic before, and it didn't successfully track the target I wanted. But you just said I still need to pay the cost?" Robert recalled his unsuccessful attempt to track Valentine, frowning as he spoke.
"The failure to track the target is your issue, but our dimension's tracking magic did help you lock onto the target, didn't it? Since we expended the corresponding power, you naturally need to pay the cost..." The debt collector's tone remained unchanged, having seen many debtors attempt to negotiate, but none could really lessen their dues. At most, they were like Constantine, transferring the cost to others or finding alternative ways to settle.
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