Chapter 537 Shameless Old Man

"…"

Over Alina's long-term stay with Alex, she had heard him talking about the homeless old man that turned him into the man who he is today. She heard all about the powers that this homeless old man displayed, along with the way that he just casually turned Alex into a Traveler.

Hearing these stories from Alex gave Alina a vague image about this homeless old man, along with a sense of mystery befitting this man's status.

However, all of that mystery has now disappeared with the old man showing himself!

But instead of having this sense of mystery get replaced by awe, what Alina felt now was only disappointment, as she saw how dirty and unkempt Old Man looked.

With his appearance, Old Man did not look like a powerhouse that can kill anyone with his gaze.

The Old Man really just looked like a homeless person, one that seemed to have no interest on even fixing himself.

Just the lazy look on the Old Man's eyes and the carefree smile on his lips showed that however dirty he is now, he won't do anything to clean himself up.

Such att.i.tude quickly made Alina's opinion about the Old Man go down.

But even with this kind of view, Alina still did not forget about what this man can do. After all, he is still a Half-Step Transcendent Being…

"…So this is why you're surprised, Alex. Now I don't blame you for looking like that." Alina said quietly, as she tried to make herself sound less intrusive to the still-shocked Alex. "But do you think that you have the time to ogle at Old Man this way? You should see what is happening here, Alex. The Old Man's about to be ganged up by the other Returning Travelers… If they fight it out, we will surely be affected by it too! Are you sure that we should stay here?"

"…" Alex did not answer Alina's question at all, as he just continued to stare at Old Man. He seemed to be ignoring Alina right now, something that obviously irked the woman.

"Alex, quit gawking at the Old Man already! Answer my question!" Alina shouted out, with the entirety of her Esper Power laced in her voice. "Will you stay here or not?"

Once released, Alina made sure that her voice hit Alex squarely in his head, something which could hopefully break him out of his dazed state.

"Alex, snap out of it!"

Fortunately for Alina, her voice was able to penetrate Alex's mental defenses, shaking him back to reality.

"Ah, this, Alina, I-"

The dazed look on Alex's eyes was replaced with a clear one, as the man began to slowly regain control of his mental faculties. This was then followed by him giving a stuttered explanation, one that was quickly dismantled by the irate Alina.

"Alex, you heard what I just said, right? A three-way fight between the Returning Travelers is about to happen here, and you still want to stay here? Are you sure about that? Shouldn't we just-"

"….Alina, there is no need for you to fear for our lives. Now that Old Man is here, I think that our troubles here are already resolved." Alex abruptly said, with his voice filled with extreme clarity.

He appeared to have lost all the shock that he just received from Old Man's arrival, with only a small smile on his face visible as he stared above him. "So don't worry anymore Alina. Let's just stay here and watch."

"…"

The way that Alex talked now made him look like he was really back in his normal state, something that made Alina feel inwardly relieved. But even if Alex is calm again, Alina could not just easily accept what he just said.

After all, there's still a fight that is about to happen above!

But before Alina could question Alex about his current decision, someone from the powerhouses above her suddenly began talking.

And this was speaker was not the Crimson G.o.d or the Great TimeMaster. It was Old Man who began talking, with his voice sounding both greasy and rough.

"Hey, hey, hey, I get it if Crimson G.o.d wants to fight me. But even you, Great TImeMaster? Shouldn't you be allying with me now? Huhuhu, if you're acting like this, does that mean that this old man has already lost his charm?" Old Man said in a sad tone, with his fake sobs sounding more like he was having an asthma attack.

Such kind of sound made Alina's irritation spike, as she could not feel anything now but sheer distaste for Old Man's irritating voice.

"Sigh, this must be the sign of you having a menopause, Great TimeMaster. I think you should be laying down on those fatty foods…" Old Man continued to say, with his hands now miming the shape of a gla.s.s bottle. "Hehehe, instead of working, you should just act like me and stay in your house! I a.s.sure you, you will be much prettier if you're homeless like me!"

"…"

*********************

Someone like Alina could easily detect the innuendo hidden beneath Old Man's comments, much less the powerful Great TimeMaster, who seemed to froze after hearing Old Man's naughty comments.

Obviously, his words were not taken with amus.e.m.e.nt by the two women, with Alina feeling extreme contempt for Old Man right now, and the Great TimeMaster quickly displaying her anger to this homeless man.

"If you want to keep your eyes where they are, dirty old man, then I suggest that you keep your words to yourself. If you don't then I will personally make you rot for eternity!" The Great TimeMaster certainly did not hold back to her threats, with her flared nose and reddened eyes showing how angered she is right now.

She even appeared to have already forgotten about Crimson G.o.d's existence, as all of her killing intent and aura were focused on Old Man alone.

"When I first saw you, what I felt first was pity. After all, you look like a depressed alcoholic who drunk himself into homelessness. But after I talked with you more? Hmph, all that I can feel is just contempt!" The Great TimeMaster continued to say, as if she was not done giving her insults yet. "How could someone as lazy, dirty, and perverted like you exist among us Returners! You are a disgrace to us!"

"…."

"Out of respect for your 'abilities', I did not think of laying my hands on you. But now that you barged in here with those dirty words of yours, I don't have any qualms of killing your clone anymore!" The Great TimeMaster said before Old Man could open his mouth. "I'm sure that n.o.body from the Returners will be unhappy with my actions. Hmph, I'm sure that they will even support us! Don't you think so, Crimson G.o.d?"

"Hmph, don't even ask me. I exist to weed anything useless, and from what I see here, Old Man is someone that should be pruned!" The Crimson G.o.d said, with his agitated voice sounding like he was waiting to say these words already. "So what if you are a Half-Step Trasncendent Being too? With my power and Great TimeMaster's combined together, your lazy a.s.s won't be able to survive!"

"You heard that correctly, right, Old Man? If you don't have anything to say for yourself, then you should accept your end now!" With Crimson G.o.d's 'support', the ferocity on the Great TimeMaster's eyes intensified, along with the aura gathered in her body.

Her boat, which had already disappeared earlier, was now back to reality again, with its tip pointed directly at Old Man. Once pointed at its target, the tip of the boat began to burn with an intense green fire, with is green illumination bathing the Old Man with its green light.

"Scwhi schwi scwhi!"

Just looking at this boat, there is no doubt about it. The Great TimeMaster is prepared to attack Old Man already, and all that she had been waiting for is for the Crimson G.o.d to attack with her.

But before the Great TimeMaster and the Crimson G.o.d could vent all of their pent-up rage, Old Man began to talk again, this time with his voice sounding like an innocent child.

"Great TimeMaster, are you really going to attack me? In case you did not know, I was the one who turned little Alex into a Traveler." Old Man said, with his smile widening as the Great TimeMaster reacted to his words. "Tut tut tut. If you really consider little Alex as your friend, then why are you attacking me now? That, that is just hypocritical, you know! And here I thought you are a mature, intellectual woman…"

While the Great TimeMaster and the Crimson G.o.d were rendered silent by his words, the Old Man continued to talk, this time with his voice sounding like an aggrieved widow who just found out that her husband was killed.

"Huuhuhu, when I heard that little Alex is in danger, I came in rus.h.i.+ng here, hoping to help him. Heck, I was even planning to team up with you, Great TimeMaster!" Old Man's face could not look more offended at this point, as if he was really experiencing an injustice placed to him.

"Great Timemaster, do you know how much I hated roaming around? Just this year alone, I only left my house once, and that's when I decided to take a p.i.s.s! That's how much I don't like to roam! But with little Alex's life in danger, I have to sacrifice that perfect life! "

"…."

"Ugh, I already set an appointment with some girls to 'entertain' me in my house, and I already began cleaning myself for them! But because I have to save little Alex, I sacrificed my fun just to come here! Huhuhu, do you know how hard it is to ignore the callings of my flesh?lMy water can still has to sprinkle some fresh gardens today[1], but little Alex's life is much more important than that!"

"…"

"I sacrificed all those things just to come here and yet all that I receive here are insults? Come on, Great TimeMaster! I'm here to save little Alex, so please stop glaring at me like that! Let's just team up to keep him safe!"

"…"

The extreme shamelessness and lack of tact on Old Man's words were enough to leave everyone who heard him speechless, especially the Great TimeMaster, who were both appalled and surprised right now.

She was appalled with all the 'sacrifices' that the Old Man just said, while she was surprised with his revelation about Alex.

The Great TimeMaster was actually so surprised at this point, that she forgot about her grievances with Old Man. Her mind was only occupied by Alex's Traveler status right now, something that prompted her to speak up.

"You… you're Alex's Sponsor? But I did not hear you talking about Sponsoring a Traveler before…" The Great TimeMaster asked incredulously as she began distancing herself away from Crimson G.o.d. "Even for someone as sleazy as you, Sponsoring a Traveler is something that you will brag about. "

"…" Old Man's face seemed to scrunch upon receiving this question, making him look like he had an immense emotional turmoil about this topic.

Seeing this expression made the Great TimeMaster hesitate, as she realized that maybe she touched an extremely sensitive topic.

But in the end she still pressed on, as she wanted to confirm if Old Man was Alex's Sponsor. Because if it is true, then the whole battle structure will dramatically change…

"Old Man, since you like to be praised that much, then why did you not talk about Alex before?" The Great TimeMaster continued to ask as she fed more power to her boat. "You had a lot of chance, yet you still didn't…"

"…Um, well I actually forgot about little Alex's existence. I just remembered about him when he arrived in this world." Out of all the replies that he can give, Old Man actually chose to give the worst one. "Hehehe, I'm already old, so you can't blame me for forgetting about him. But at least I still remembered him today! I think that's enough to make me a good Sponsor, right?"

[1] Old Man, what's with that description?