After teaching the brat a lesson, Ethan left.
He didn't return to his own world but went to find Madeline. He had remembered the location of her world since their last meeting. Although he didn't know the core area, as long as he forced his way into Madeline's world, she would naturally sense his arrival.
Sure enough, the moment Ethan appeared, Madeline materialized in front of him.
"Something wrong?"
Madeline knew Ethan would never come to her unless he had a reason. His presence meant he had something to ask, and it was very likely related to another Main God.
"Yeah. Do you know this Main God?"
Ethan casually projected an image, showing the little boy he had just spanked.
As soon as the image appeared, Ethan noticed a clear change in Madeline's expression.
"You know him."
"Of course."
Although Madeline was smiling, it was clearly forced. Anyone with eyes could see she wasn't in a good mood.
"Any Main God with some years behind them would know him."
"Looks like he comes from a prominent background..." Ethan thought back to his earlier guess. "Could he be a second-generation god?"
As a Main God who possessed countless worlds, commanded innumerable reincarnators, and had lived for who knows how many years, Madeline naturally understood what a second-generation god meant.
"No." She waved her hand with a wry smile, then gave an answer that made Ethan wear a similar expression. "His grandfather is."
"..."
So this kid was a fourth-generation god.
"As beings who are almost immortal, do Main Gods have children?"
"While uncommon, it does happen." As Madeline's thoughts shifted, she and Ethan arrived in a garden filled with the breath of nature. Ethan could sense a very stable barrier had been set up around them, ensuring no one could see or hear their conversation.
"So cautious?"
"No choice. Drake... that child's grandfather is a very old and very powerful Main God. Even the child's parents aren't beings to be taken lightly."
"Compared to you?"
Madeline was silent for a moment, as if contemplating her current strength.
"If it were just Drake's father or mother alone, I wouldn't be too concerned. Their strength is slightly higher than mine. If the two of them joined forces, I'd have to retreat. As for the child's grandfather..."
Madeline shook her head. "I wouldn't dare provoke someone like that."
Ethan nodded, gaining a rough understanding of the situation.
By all accounts, it seemed he was in trouble. He didn't believe the child's parents would be reasonable people. One could infer the parents' behavior from the child's personality, so he would almost certainly clash with this Main God couple.
Reason? What reason is there to talk about at this point? The only way to talk reason is if your strength makes the other party completely helpless.
"So... what did you do?"
"Gave him a spanking."
"..."
Madeline opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she said nothing. At this moment, she didn't know what advice to give Ethan. Based on her understanding of that couple, no matter what Ethan did, the outcome wouldn't change.
"Are you going back to prepare for battle?"
"Battle?"
Ethan wondered if he should take the initiative. He also thought about whether the lesson he gave Drake was too light. But no matter how he looked at it, that brat just needed a spanking. It wasn't to the point where he needed to be killed. If he had gone too far, Ethan would've felt he was being excessive.
Likewise, if he were to kill the whole family in advance just because there was a possibility of retaliation... he really couldn't bring himself to do something like that.
"Looks like my moral compass is still intact."
He had trained diligently for so many years, and his strength had grown continuously. Now, he could almost do whatever he wanted.
But aside from flirting with a few more women, he hadn't really done anything outrageous.
"Being a good person with principles... being a good god is really exhausting."
Standing up, Ethan prepared to leave.
The situation was clear now. Next, he would likely face retaliation from that Main God couple, or even Drake's grandfather. This really was beating the small one and drawing out the old one, bringing an entire family into the mess.
"Oh right, what are the names of that couple... and Drake's grandfather? Also, since his grandfather is a second-generation god, there should be an earlier generation of Main Gods, right? What's the situation with his great-grandfather?"
"Drake's parents are named Douglas and Theresa, and his grandfather is Abraham. As for his great-grandfather, no Main God knows the situation. Most speculate that this Main God has fallen into deep slumber... or perhaps his strength is average, so no one knows who he is."
In Madeline's understanding, Main Gods do not die. So Drake's great-grandfather must still be alive. However, whether he is unknown because he's in a long sleep or simply unremarkable in strength and indistinguishable from most Main Gods is unclear.
"So mysterious?"
"But you need to be careful."
"What?"
"It's said that Main Gods at Abraham's level know how to seriously injure or even kill a Main God."
Madeline was very serious when she said this, showing that she truly believed the so-called rumor.
"Anyway, thanks for the reminder."
Although Ethan and Madeline had clashed before, Madeline later compensated him, and now she had helped him again. Naturally, he wouldn't keep treating her like an enemy, constantly acting sour.
"I still hope you can offer a more 'substantial' reward."
"Let's just forget about that..."
Seeing that look in Madeline's eyes again, Ethan didn't linger and left her world directly. Madeline's defensive barrier hadn't been removed, but it couldn't possibly trap someone like Ethan anymore.
As his strength continued to grow and his realm stabilized, Ethan's understanding of spatial power, and even spatial rules, had reached a higher level. He could now truly be called the God of Space. If he wanted to, he could even condense a spatial godhead from nothing.
However, that had no meaning for him, so there was no need.
After leaving Madeline's Main God world, Ethan did not return to his own world but stopped in the void. Just like the cosmic void corresponds to countless planets, this planar void was surrounded by one universe after another. Ethan stood in the space between worlds, zoning out.
"Able to kill a Main God? That's not so hard to believe."
No matter how powerful a Main God is, or how high their realm, as long as they exist, they can be eliminated. This was a concept, or perhaps a rule. So Ethan didn't find it strange that a Main God could be killed.
Now that his strength had reached a new level and his understanding of rules had deepened, he was confident that he could cause real harm to beings like Main Gods, even threatening their lives.
He didn't tell Madeline this. Although she had helped him and he was grateful, he couldn't let his guard down. He had to consider the possibility that Madeline might turn around and tell that couple everything.
After a while, Ethan returned to the Nasuverse. He figured if the other party wanted to retaliate, they would definitely come looking for him here. However, he didn't expect their retaliation to arrive so quickly.
Even more unexpected was that the brat named Drake came in person, accompanied by his mother, Theresa.
"Is it you?"
Ethan looked at the woman who appeared to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. She had long, soft, light-blonde hair that floated gently despite there being no wind.
She also had pointed ears, a slender and tall figure, and wore light armor more decorative than functional. When Ethan saw her appearance and style, his first reaction was "elf."
While he was observing her, the angry Drake was already pointing at Ethan and complaining to his mother.
"It's him!"
In many games and movies, elves are often portrayed as slender, beautiful, and possessing gentle personalities.
However, this one, aside from her appearance, had a personality completely at odds with that image. Drake's mother seemed to have a fiery temper. When her son said this was the guy, she didn't say a single word. With a flip of her hand, she pulled out an emerald green longbow, and the moment her right hand touched the bowstring, an arrow appeared out of thin air.
The instant the arrow appeared, Ethan sensed the immense threat it carried. However, he didn't have time to examine it, and the other party gave him no time to react. The arrow had already been loosed and shot toward Ethan.
As if it had crossed space and time, the moment Theresa released the arrow, Ethan was already pierced by it.
"Hmph."
The longbow in Theresa's hand disappeared again, and she no longer looked at Ethan, instead surveying the surroundings.
"The Nasuverse... it's decent enough for practice. Not a wasted trip."
She lowered her head to instruct her son, only to find Drake still staring blankly ahead.
"What's wrong? Don't worry about that guy..."
She looked up and glanced in Ethan's direction. In her opinion, this ignorant Main God who dared to spank her son, after being hit by the arrow her father had given her, would at least be severely injured. At worst, his core would be damaged, causing his strength to regress or even fall from the Main God level. If he was weak enough, dying on the spot wouldn't be strange.
She just hadn't expected the guy to be completely unharmed, holding the arrow she had shot and examining it back and forth.
"This is impossible."
(To be continued.)