Desolate World

Mars thought a bit then he asked Aria if it was possible to place them in the tunnel that was under construction. She said it was inappropriate, as it was meant to be a road and not dwelling.

Sofia then reminded them of the entrance of the cave under the waterfall. The place was pretty wide and they could ask the dwarves and gnomes to build it so it resembled dwellings.

Mars and Aria agreed. As it also had a tunnel that would meet the tunnel that Gon and others were building. They just had to widen the tunnel a bit, so it would become a qualified road. Andrea agreed right away with their arrangement.

After the problem of the shadows came to end, Mars looked at Eric, Erica, Uriel, and other angels.

"Do you have anything you want to say?" Mars asked in a heavy tone.

They were silent. All of them wore guilty expressions, even Erica. They didn't seem to dare to look straight to Mars or other villagers, as many of them seemed to think that what the angels and two dragons did was wrong. Ace guessed that their reaction was caused by the fact that there were a pregnant woman and some children that were attacked.

"Who was the one that told the arrival of the shadows to the angels?" Mars roared.

An angel then stepped forward. He was the one that had checked Ace and the shadows' arrival. He then said in a low voice, "I'm sorry."

*Bam*

There was an explosion in front of Mars. It was so fast. It surprised Ace and the rest. 

He then saw a pit was created on the surface of land near where Mars was standing. It seemed he had kicked it in anger.

"Sorry?! Did you say sorry?! Do you know the gravity of your action? You almost caused a tragedy in front of our village. What should I do to you? What can you pay for the grave mistake you have made?" Mars said in a cold expression.

The angel's face became pale. His body was trembling because of fright. In fact, everyone felt the same. Ace, who was pretty near to the dragon, also didn't feel well. He could only stand there motionlessly. 

The suffocating atmosphere made the time as if slowing down. No one dared to make noise. Even they couldn't hear any insects' air birds' voices. As if they were hiding to not annoy Mars.

Ace had never seen the dragon lord this angry. Even Aria, who seemed to struggle to talk, couldn't do it as she opened and closed her mouth without voice.

Andrea, who stood beside Ace also seemed to want to do something. But it was meaningless. The aura of Mars was too domineering. No one could resist it. 

Ace then understood why the monsters that became crazy could only stand motionless after Mars arrived. So the refugees could slay them effortlessly. It was a move that only a dragon lord could do.

Mars seemed to wait for an answer from the angel. But, didn't he realize that his aura made the 'poor' angel couldn't talk even if he wanted to? 

Ace thought it was ridiculous. It seemed even Mars couldn't control his aura well when he was angry. And it seemed he hadn't realized it yet.

'So we can only wait for Mars to calm down,' Ace thought.

However, he then realized that the gnome elder, Ali, was still calm, not like everyone else. It seemed he deliberately stood there motionlessly to not attract people's attention. However, Ace, who had extraordinary senses, could hear his calm heartbeats, which was different from all people who were in a 'panicked' condition.

Ace didn't want to reveal him. Well, he couldn't do so even if he wanted, as he couldn't move his body and his mouth.

"Mr. Village Head, can you calm yourself? You make my grandson terrified," Ace heard Cloud's voice behind him. 

It surprised Ace and he thought everyone else was surprised too. Even Mars seemed to be woken up from his angry state. And then, the suffocating atmosphere disappeared like it never happened.

Ace and the rest finally could take deep breaths. Ace inhaled the fresh air greedily. He had never felt the air was this fresh.

The angel then fell on his butt instantly. His face was still pale. And his body became powerless. And his eyes were empty. It seemed he got traumatized. Ace didn't know if he could recover in a short time. 

But, only a few people realized it, as everyone including Mars still looked at Cloud —who was checking Geo's condition with care— with amazement.

After all, she had done something that nobody could do. Ace also wondered how she did that. Was it the power of grandmother? Ace once heard that the grandparents' love for their grandchild was even bigger than the parents' love for the child. It seemed to be true.

Ace then checked Geo's state of mind. He seemed to have recovered. Which made him relieved.

"I'm sorry, I can not control myself," Mars said with an embarrassed expression.

He then looked at the traumatized angel and sighed. He then said, "It seemed I scared him too much, he became an idiot. What a pity. Can anyone cure him?"

'...," No one answered immediately. 

It was understandable. As everyone was still struggling to recover themselves.

A minute later Aria came to the traumatized angel. After examining it for a few minutes, she shook her head. 

"Need a few weeks or even months to recover him. Boss, you did too much," Aria said annoyedly.

"Well, it is his fault, to begin with. Consider it became his retribution. He is too lucky," Mars said casually.

Ace sighed. He thought his boss was too irresponsible. The angels looked to be relieved after hearing that. Including Aria. It seemed they thought that being mentally traumatized was better than facing Mars's anger.

"But for the rest, especially you! Erica and Uriel. I'm not finished yet," Mars said while glaring at the angels and the two dragons.

His declaration made them pale. 

"But, because so many people are involved, let's talk about the punishment tomorrow," Mars continued.

***