Deviant: No Longer Human

"You brought Aether back into the world..." Mary whispered, as if a sudden realization had hit her like a brick.

Wang Xiao nodded, his expression calm. Yes, he had.

And, naturally, there were going to be consequences.

There always were.

Mary, ever quick to connect the dots, asked, "Shouldn't this be happening all over the world, then?"

Eveline nodded in agreement. "It is. But the gods are still relatively... well, 'decent' compared to the demons he's awakened. Even I haven't seen some of the horrors roaming out there now."

As if on cue, the room plunged into darkness, and the wall flickered to life, projecting an eerie scene.

The timestamp in the corner read 31st August, 2:00 AM.

It was a recording from one of the resort's blind spots, where even the surveillance rarely reached.

Suddenly, the sound of a blood-curdling scream echoed from the video.

"Aaaaahhhhhhh..."

A figure moved through the night, more beast than man, viciously grabbing a soldier on guard duty.

The next moment, the creature tore him apart like a toy, limbs and blood spraying in every direction.

Blip!

The lights returned, the room now silent except for the hum of tension.

Wang Xiao turned to Eveline, his voice steady, "Is this the work of that imposter pretending to be me?..."

Mary was curious too.

She had, after all, called in the military to investigate the missing soldier, but she hadn't expected this level of brutality.

Eveline nodded her head slightly, a thoughtful frown tugging at her lips. "This is something I've never seen before. The strength is... impressive, but still just an ant. A powerful one, but an ant nonetheless. The real issue is the sheer numbers.

If enough of these ants unite, they could become a real problem. And they seem to be coming from deep within south pole."

Wang Xiao, raised an eyebrow. "Anything else you found?"

Eveline leaned back, considering. "Nothing substantial, but it seems these creatures have been trying to resurface for a long time. The world hasn't seen this much Aether in ages. I'd wager most of their race was dormant, waiting for the right moment. When the scouts found the Aether-rich environment favorable again, they awakened."

Wang Xiao nodded, but a flicker of doubt crossed his mind.

He didn't believe for a second that the world had never seen this much Aether before.

During the Pangean Era, Aether had been far more abundant than now.

This was powerful, sure—but still a pale echo of the past.

And yet, these creatures were responding to it like it was a buffet.

"Let them gather," he thought to himself, a slight smirk forming. "When the time comes, even an army of ants can be crushed underfoot." But for now, he'd let them play their little games.

Wang Xiao didn't buy for a second that everything happening was just because of Aether's return.

No, someone was deliberately provoking him, trying to coax a reaction.

And he could feel it deep in his bones.

Why?

Because the enemy, whoever they were, didn't have the courage to face him directly.

Instead, they were poking him from the shadows, desperate to analyze him before making a move.

The cowardice was almost insulting.

Wang Xiao wasn't concerned in the slightest.

If it were someone like Maliketh from his past, charging at him head-on with full confidence, aiming for total destruction, then maybe—maybe—he'd raise an eyebrow.

Because that would mean his opponent believed they had already won.

But these tiptoeing fools?

Checking the waters before jumping in?

They were just lining themselves up to be obliterated.

Sooner or later, he would crush them underfoot like the insignificant ants they were.

He already had a few ideas about who it might be.

"What about your attacker?" he asked, turning sharply toward Eveline, who had been standing in silence.

He hadn't bothered asking her before—after he healed her, she wasn't in any shape to give useful answers.

But now, she seemed perfectly fine.

Eveline's face darkened instantly, her lips drawing into a tight line.

Clearly, it was not a topic she wanted to revisit.

Wang Xiao shrugged, already losing interest in her unspoken trauma.

His attention shifted to Wenxi, who was lounging on the couch, eyes wide and innocent like she had nothing to do with the chaos around her.

She was so caught off guard when Wang Xiao suddenly kicked her off the couch that she hit the floor with a yelp.

She blinked up at him, utterly bewildered, like a cabbage that had just been abandoned in the garden.

Without a word, Wang Xiao grabbed her and pulled her back up, planting her on his lap.

There was only one couch, and if she didn't want to get kicked off again, she had no other option but to sit on him?

Wenxi shook her head, her cheeks red with embarrassment as she glared at him, eyes blazing with a fire that Wang Xiao found more amusing than threatening.

Her rebellion was cute, but pointless.

The cabbage had been cut down and served—there was no escaping now.

If anyone had dared tell Wang Xiao this little show wasn't amusing, he would have crushed them on the spot.

He leaned back, inhaling the sweet scent of his familiar soft little 'padded jacket', utterly content.

Turning back to Eveline, he spoke with the same casual tone he would use to order tea. "Still thinking?"

"Shouldn't you have already guessed?" Eveline snorted, her tone evasive but smug.

Wang Xiao blinked, twice.

Guessed?

What was there to guess? He knew everything—or so he liked to think.

But this?

He was completely in the dark.

Boop!

"Ah—"

Wenxi shivered, her porcelain face flushed red like a tomato, her ears twitching.

She was stunned as she felt her father's hand casually and stealthily press against the softness on her chest, only for him to retreat as if he'd done nothing evil at all.

"..."

She really wanted to jump off the balcony.

"Something wrong baby?" Wang Xiao asked innocently, as if he hadn't just casually molested her 'little' babies.

"..."

If anyone else had seen, she might have started a fight.

But, other than Wang Xiao and her, no one had a clue about the... incident.

Eveline, catching Wenxi's blank stare, immediately knew that this so-called dignified man was up to his usual tricks.

He always managed to look so righteous on the surface, but she could smell the perversion from a mile away.

Ignoring it, she took a deep breath and dropped the real bomb. "It's Zeus. He's alive... and stronger than ever."

"??"

Mary, Anran, and even Wang Xiao's cabbages all stared at her, wide-eyed. Zeus?

That Zeus?

The famous perver—god, the myth, the legend?

And she was saying he's alive?

Wang Xiao blinked again—three times this time, as if processing all the possibilities in those blinks. "He's dead. It can't be him," he said, with the quiet arrogance of someone who'd personally buried the guy centuries ago.

Because, really, if Zeus had dared return, he'd have to deal with Wang Xiao.

And if the heavens themselves couldn't stop him, some long-forgotten god certainly wasn't going to.

"..."

Eveline's frown deepened, her voice firm. "Impossible. I saw it myself. I confirmed it."

Wang Xiao's expression hardened, his tone leaving no room for argument. "If I say he's dead, then he's dead."

He had seen Zeus, imprisoned in the graveyard of gods, his soul shattered beyond recovery.

There was no way he could still be alive.

Not even a shadow of a chance.

The essence of the once-mighty god was gone, dissolved into nothingness.

Of course, Wang Xiao entertained the faintest possibility that he might be wrong.

Perhaps Zeus had found some way to claw back into existence, but even that was highly unlikely.

The graveyard of gods had always felt... off to him, as if it were an artificial creation of some higher force.

But despite these small doubts, his instincts told him with certainty: Zeus was dead.