Location Sky Blossom City, Whiteburn Manor, Main Courtyard, Study room
Inside the large and fancy, yet pleasing and easy to the eyes study room sat a tall and largely-muscled tan-skinned man with a bare chest showcasing a long scar that runs horizontally across the bridge of his ribcage. He has short eggplant-coloured hair with a longer strand hanging over a face which tends to come off as threatening and scary even without him intending to. The atmosphere surrounding him was very intimidating making him seem arrogant and violent. His upper arm was bulkier than a fully grown man's thigh while his forearms were wrapped around with bandages.
This man did not seem like he belonged in here and seemed totally out of frame as if the content did not match the theme, it was as if someone left the gorilla room free in a library just for the fun of it. If not for the Whiteburn siblings enthusiastically greeting and addressing him as their father I would think that they were pranking me.
"Father! When did you arrive!" Asked Amy, while Beth surprisingly stood silently with respect. Even Pax seemed more enthusiastic than Beth.
"I arrived this morning before Pax's deathmatch began… I wanted to stop it but seeing you three so confident I decided to go along with it. And I was right to believe in you three.
Come on now my Princess, still not speaking to your dad." Said Jack, completely blowing away my mind… that brute acted like a cute father no wonder the three siblings were so attached to him.
Beth snorted in response to her father's cute pleading. Seeing her act like this Jack got up from his chair and walked next to Beth, suddenly with no warning he lifted her and sat her down on his broad left shoulder. Beth gasped in fright and shouted in embarrassment, "Father let me down! My friends are watching! I beg you! This is so embarrassing…"
What is happening here? Am I watching and listening straight? Did the pompous Beth just call us her friends? Wait! Is what Jack doing morally right?
I did not have to wait long for my answer, the calm and mature Amy ran next to Jack and said, "father me too!" She did not have to ask Jake, as she neared him, he scooped her up and sat her down on his right shoulders while Amy charmingly giggled and Beth blushingly warned her bear of a father.
"Father put me down right now otherwise I will not talk to you ever again…" no matter how much Beth threatened Jack he did not budge and shamelessly said, "Okay, then I will never let you done…You will have to sit on my shoulder for the rest of your life while you eat, vomit, pee and poop there just like you did when you are a baby."
Beth tried to summon her grimoire to use cards and get out of her dad's clutches but surprisingly whenever she summoned her grimoire it would just get cancelled the next second.
This shit scared me to death! Imagine a card fight where you keep summoning your grimoire but your opponent can cancel your summon every freaking time. Fuck! This could possibly be every card apprentices nightmare. How the hell is he able to do that!
Back in the arena… he did something similar by cancelling out all the cards of the card apprentices present, I was amused but not surprised, I thought it was a high-end trick card but now seeing him cancel Beth summoning her grimoire again and again I was scared. I tried to check the trick to it through my soul pupils but I got nothing, now I was completely frightened. They say the unknown is the scariest and it is true.
Eliza, who was at the door, came to her sister's rescue saying, "Father! It's hard for Beth to make friends. Please, do not embarrass her further in front of them."
"You too Eliza! You guys don't appreciate my love…*cough* okay enough fun." Jack was about to throw a tantrum but under Eliza's threatening gaze he had to concede. Letting down the twins Jack went back to his chair and seriously said, "let's talk about the pressing matters at hand, Pax! do you know why the emissary of demigod Michael Angelo's church wanted to kidnap you."
Looking around the room then finally stopping his gaze at Corey and Susan, Pax shook not knowing how to tell his father that he is the last descendant of Demigod Michael Angelo.
Seeing Pax struggle to answer a simple yes or no question, Jack frowned and rebuked, "It's been 4years now Pax! You can't keep hiding behind the same reason time and again."
Hearing his father rebuke him, Pax just put his head down helplessly… Corey and Susan were good acquaintances, he did not want to offend them by saying that he could not speak the secret in their presence. Through Pax's body language Jake knew what was happening but he wanted to force it out of his son's mouth. If he let his son be and continue like this Pax will become socially disabled. Jake was a good father and he knew what each of his kids needed.
Finally under the pressure of his father Pax caved and said, "I… I will explain it later when we are alone." Jake knew he had to be happy with what he gets and where his son's limit lied so he did not push further for an answer and said okay we will talk later.
Done attending to his children Jake turned to Corey and said, " you must be Corey! Your parents talk a lot about you and they miss you a lot."
"Lord, you have met my parents. Where are they!" Corey enthusiastically asked, it has been 3 years since her parents left on a mission and not returned yet, no messages no call nothing it's been 2 years 9 months since she last heard from them.
"Don't call me Lord, Your parents and I are all comrades, call me uncle. Yes, I met them 2 months ago but I can not tell you where they are." Answered Jack pleasantly just like a neighbouring uncle. I was seeing sides to this brute that I never thought would exist in one single person. Who is this guy? At first glance, he is an intimidating brute, then a loving father and next second a caring uncle. Oh! He is good... dangerously good. I should have guessed his nature knowing that even though he is a bloodthirsty brute he chose to spend more time in the library than the battlefield, but I couldn't as he switches his nature like switching clothes.
"Oh! Okay…. How are they? Are they doing well?" Corey asked in concern
"Yes! They are still the envious power couple blessed by the sky." Said Jack exhibiting jealousy and longing in his eyes.