Alex had to wait for a few seconds before Tetra gave his reply.

“Sorry, but I do not know what you are talking about.” Tetra replied as he shook his head. “I have a different name, different life, and different family. They’re nothing like what you were saying. I am not like the person that you are talking about.”

Alex looked at Tetra’s eyes, as he saw that there were no signs of falsehood in his eyes and voice.

“…” After receiving that reply, Alex closed his eyes as he decided to ask Tetra about something important.

“If you are not lying to me, then can you please show me your face?” Alex said as he stared at Tetra with determination in his eyes. “If you think this request of mine is unfair, then I will show my face to you now.”

 

After saying these words, Alex decisively removed his mask, which fully revealed his face to Tetra. He gave the befuddled Hero a weary smile, as if he was saying that he had to do it.

 

“You….” Tetra could only stare at Alex dumbfoundedly, as if he found his actions weird. “Are you really that interested in my identity?”

 

“I’m really sorry about this, but I really need to see your face.” Alex replied with conviction in his face. “If you really do not want to show it to me, then it is just fine.”

 

“….” Tetra said nothing for a full minute, with him only staring at Alex intently the whole time.

Alex stared back at Tetra, with him not yielding against the sudden pressure coming out of Tetra.

 

 

“Sigh… since you and Might impressed me in the operation earlier, I was actually planning to show my face to you two.” Tetra said as he let out a sigh. “But since you want to see it now, then I will show my face to you now!”

 

Tetra then removed his mask, showing Alex a face that he was all too familiar with.

 

Alex found himself at loss for words he was realized that he was staring at a face that was extremely similar to the face of Clint!

 

“….” With Alex’s advanced senses, he could sense some minute differences between Tetra’s face and Clint’s face.

But these differences were so minute that even Alex had the feeling that Tetra just looks extremely alike with Clint!

 

“Holy hell… This Tetra actually looks like Alina’s Uncle.” Asteria muttered as she observed Tetra’s face. “Damn, if I do not know that this is Tetra, then I will also mistake him for Clint!”

 

“But Tetra could actually be Clint himself!” Alex thought to himself, as he knew that if Tetra has the same Fundamental Force Manipulation and the same face as Clint, then there is a high chance that Clint is Tetra!

 

Asteria seemed to have noticed what Alex was thinking, as she let out a snort while saying,

“Alex, are you sure that he really is Clint? This could be just some bizarre coincidence. Come on, this man said that he knows nothing about being Clint, or about Natasha or even Alina! Heck, he even said that he was living in this World for more than 30 years already! There is no way that he can be Clint!”

 

“…” Alex’s arguments were immediately shut down by what Asteria said to him.

 Alex had just left the Esper World months ago, which means that there is actually  no way for Clint to just appear in this World and become a celebrated Hero within those months! That is just illogical and confusing!

 

“…I’m sorry. It seems like I have mistaken you for another person.” Alex said in the end as he gave Tetra an apologetic gaze.

 

“Well, no problem there kiddo. Sometimes people just look familiar to you.” Tetra said as he stared to put his mask on. “Don’t be too saddened by that.”

Alex was about to end his conversation with Tetra, when a sudden thought struck his mind.

This thought made Alex stop in his tracks, as if he realized something extremely important.

 

“…” Alex’s expression changed from apologetic to unsure as he deided to continue talking with Tetra.

“Can I ask you one more question? Please, this is really the last one.” Alex said as he gave Tetra a pleading gaze. “Once I ask you this question, I will stop bugging you already.”

 

“Dude, you are not bugging me at all.” Tetra said as he gave Alex an indication for him to start speaking. “Feel free to ask me now, you won’t get a chance to do this everyday.”

“Ok.” Alex replied as he took a deep breath. He levelled his gaze at Tetra, with him observing every minute tics and expressions on Tetra’s face.

 

Alex made sure to keep his cold-reading at high alert as he slowly said,

“Tetra, do you know anything about Tartaros?”

 

“!!!” Even if it was faint, Alex could see Tetra’s pupils dilating minutely and his lips twitching imperceptibly. Alex also noticed Tetra’s shoulders tightening, along with his legs bending slightly.

All of these reactions only lasted for a second before Tetra regained his composure.

 

“I know nothing about that Tartaros that you are talking about, Eldritch.” Tetra said, this time with his voice turning frigidly cold. “I do not know why are you speaking nonsense things like that, but I advise you to stop being like that. If you have nothing to ask, then I will take my leave now.”

 

Alex then watched with astonished expression as Tetra elbowed him out of the way, leaving him there alone.

 

“That guy… He surely knows something about Tartaros.” Asteria muttered as she stared at Tetra’s departing silhouette.”

 

“Yes, he surely knows something about Tartaros.” Alex muttered in reply. He then looked at Tetra’s back as he said,

 

“And if my suspicions were right, Tetra’s extreme similarity to Clint is directly related to this Legacy of Tartaros that we are looking for.” Alex’s eyes narrowed as he cupped his chin. “Now, we only need to find that Tartaros to explain all these mysteries laid down in front of us…”

 

 

“Well, that could be a good explanation for Tetra’s similarity with Clint.” Asteria said as she swayed her small body on top of Alex’s head. “But how are you going to approach this situation now? From the looks of it, Tetra is extremely secretive about this ‘Tartaros’ thingy. I am not sure if you can investigate about Tartaros easily with Tetra around…”

 

“Relax, I will just have to make some plans to deal with him.” Alex said as he dispelled the sound isolation field.

 

Once Alex dispelled the isolation field, the hero Might rushed towards Alex, with the said Hero giving Alex a wary and somewhat hostile look.

 

“What the hell did you say to Tetra, huh?” Might said with his voice turning suddenly confrontational. “Even if you did not allow sound to come out with that ability of yours, I could still see that he became mad at the end of your conversation. Tell me Eldrtich, did you offend him in any way at all?”

 

“I just asked him about something I am investigating. I did not know that he will be somewhat offended by that.” Alex replied as he shrugged his shoulders. “It’s technically my fault, okay? My bad.”

 

“Will you please kindly tell me what you told Tetra then?” Might said as he placed his hand on Alex’s shoulder, with him gripping the shoulder with a little too much force. “I want to hear about it.”

 

“…” Alex looked at the hand gripping his shoulder tightly with a fed-up expression on his face as he said,

“Sorry, but it’s a private matter. I don’t want anyone else to hear about it.”

Why would Alex tell Might about Tartaros? It will just make things messier, and by looking at Might’s obvious idolation to Tetra, telling him about Tartaros will just make things worse.

“Oh, you don’t want to tell me?” Might actually snarled as he suddenly tightened his grip. Alex’s smile turned into a frown as he felt Might’s fingers digging on his shoulders. “I won’t let go of you until you speak up.”

“….” Alex’s only reply to that was a smirk and a challenging stare.

“You pertinent-“

 

“Release Eldritch now, or I will make you do it.” A sword suddenly appeared out of nowhere, with its blade hovering on top of Might’s outstretched arm. Alina, who was the one holding the sword, gave Might a cold stare as her sword slowly descended on Might’s arm.

“You want to cut my arm off? You must really be protective of your boyfriend then.” Might said as he continued on gripping Alex’s shoulder.

Might then gave Alina an intense glare as he said, “ And no, I won’t let Eldritch go until he answers my question.”

 

“….” Everyone in the private room all went silent, as they saw the confrontation between Alex, Alina, and Might.

 

All the other SHA Heroes were looking at the commotion while reaching for their weapons, while Lauren and Queen Mother only watched at the sidelines.

As for Tetra, he was crossing his arms as he looked at Alex, with his face schooling an unreadable expression.

“In that case, you shall have a taste of my sword.” Alina replied with her steely voice.

 

“Might! Stop whatever you are doing right now!” Magical Girl, who was already in her seventh plate, shouted to Might as she approached him with anger apparent in her face. “Are you really that eager to embarrass us? You are our leader! You should have been acting with more tact and prudence!”

 

“But this guy-“

 

“I don’t care what Eldritch did.” Magical Girl said as she glared at Might. “From what I can see, you are the one doing something wrong here.”

 

“…”

 

“Release Eldritch right now, or else there will be consequences.” Magical Girl said as she let out a sigh. “Might, they are our allies. Please, don’t take out your anger issues on Eldritch.”

“Hmph, you are just defending Eldritch because you have the hots for him.” Might said as he let out sneer. “Too bad for your he’s taken already…”

 

“….” The silence that went after that was just deafening.

Even Tetra, whose mood was soured by Alex, could not help but wince from the words the Might just uttered.

 

“That’s a damn low blow.” Asteria muttered as she avoided the glare given to her by Alina.

“…You took it too far, Might!” Magical Girl shrieked as she jumped in to pounce towards Might.

But before a scuffle could start, Tetra’s body blurred as he appeared behind Might. Tetra’s left hand swung down as he karate chopped Might’s neck.

 

The said Hero then went unconscious, with his body being caught by Tetra.

 

Both Alina and Magical Girl  stopped their actions, with both of them glaring at the unconscious Might.

 

As for Alex, he only rubbed his shoulders as he let out a shaky laugh.

 

The party just became extremely awkward, and Alex was not sure if they can still stay here, after all that just happened.

 

“Go, Travelers, and leave for now.” Tetra said as he carried Might’s unconscious body away. “You can reschedule the power meeting on another day.”

 

“…”

“I’m really sorry about Might.” Magical Girl said to Alex, with her gave averted away from him. “He sometimes has anger issues, and he takes it out on people that he does not like…”

“Well, at least I now know that I am not on his friend’s list.” Alex said as he let out a sigh. He then looked at Alina, who was still holding her katana tightly, and at Queen Mother and Lauren who were both standing behind Alina.

 

Alex then looked at the tense SHA Heroes around him, giving them another one of his apologetic face as he said,

“I’m really sorry everyone if I ruined this party. I did not want any of this to happen. If… anyone of you would want to talk with us, just contact us on SODB, ok?”

 

Alex then left the room with his Companions, with the worried murmurs of the SHA Heroes trailing behind him.

 

Asteria, who looked like she was enjoying the chaos that had happened, took one long look at Alex’s team before saying,

 

“…A magical girl having a crush on a tentacle man. Hehehe, I’ve seen enough h****i to see where this is going.”

 

“Shut up.”