“Jacob, what happened with Helena?” was the first thing his aunt asked as soon as she crossed the door of the villa.

I told her I would gut her if she betrayed humanity.

“I had to be very hard on her since she was behaving childishly. I might have gone overboard, auntie. But trust me, I had my reasons,” Jacob said.

His aunt looked troubled, however. She had come before the others arrived for dinner to discuss this very matter.

“Jacob, she looked like she had seen a demon. She came to me and started shouting about how you were a tyrant or something. She told me you threatened her to slit her throat and used some weird magic to paralyze her! Please, tell me she was exaggerating.”

Jacob looked toward his own sword, Kevin, and then back to his aunt.

“She wasn’t. Aunt Linda, Helena wields a great power, possibly the greatest among us all. It will be clearer once she advances further, but her path is going to proceed much more smoothly than any other person. If she started acting up just because she felt something, she could quickly turn into a problem.”

Helena had not been that strong in his past life, and therefore there hadn’t been any problem. But in this one, she was too strong. People didn’t even realize how strong she actually was.

The only way Juliet could keep up with her was thanks to her Hidden Constitution and her insights into her own path.

“Oh, Jackie,” his aunt did something that he did not expect at all: she hugged him.

“I’m sorry she was mean to you. I can only imagine how hard it could have been on you,” she said.

Jacob was frozen, uncomprehending.

“Auntie, I expected you to bash on me,” he said.

“What? You have behaved quite rationally since you came back. And I know how much you like Helena; I don’t think you turned into a madman in a night. She has Mt. Tai in front of her eyes, child, but she couldn’t see it,” his aunt said.

Mt. Tai? Haven’t I heard something like this when I was in China fighting the Eastern Dragons?

“Also, women sometimes act up when they her age, it’s normal. She’s a teenager. You are one too, even though you stopped acting like one for the most part,” she smiled.

“I think it’s valid for both males and females in the same way,” Jacob offered, ignoring the ‘for the most part’ thing.

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“Trust your auntie’s judgment, Jackie. Women go through rough stuff when they are fifteen. They fall in love, get pregnant, all sort of stuff. I know better than you, shortie, I’m a high-school teacher!”

“Auntie!” Jacob screamed.

“Oh, come on, Jacob. People your age know better than being a little embarrassed about teenage pregnancies. They even make shows about it in the US!”

“For fu**’s sake, auntie, please. And who’s the shortie? You are shorter than me!”

“Just because I’m a woman! If I were a man, I’d be taller than you following the average difference! So, even if I’m a shorter woman, I’m still basically taller than you are!”

Jacob felt like banging the head on a wall, but he thanked silently his aunt’s antics that had lightened up the mood.

“So, is it true that you have stopped poisoning people?”

“Christ, is that what people are saying about me now? Is that why some people look at me funny when I go around St. Peter?”

“Well, you can’t really deny that you are building quite the image by shutting yourself in this place with your two personal goons! Next thing, you’ll have to build an Evil Tower!”

Jacob laughed heartily in such a way that it made him forget about the apocalypse for a couple of moments.

“Thanks, Auntie Linda, I needed that,” he hugged her.

“Whenever you need, Jackie,” she reciprocated the hug and sneakily gave him a pinch on his butt. “Now, now, come on, go make that food, woman. The men here are hungry. If you stay too long out of the kitchen, you might grow a beard.”

“Jesus, Auntie, don’t say that stuff in front of the others, please.”

“Oh, come on, grow a sense of humor! We are living in the literal apocalypse! What’s going to happen if you push it a bit, people get offended?”

Jacob prayed to high heaven that no one would ever take offense and start a war because of his aunt, even though he was pretty sure that it was going to happen at some point.

Well, another thing to account for.

…

“Juliet, Jacob has gone crazy, and his aunt is taking his side! You have to listen!” Helena pleaded.

“Helena, calm down a second, please,” Juliet was so angry she could have punched a flaming hole through the little b*tch’s face, but she tried hard to keep calm.

“Ok, Helena. You insinuated he was going to do something to you, then you tried to hit him, and he threatened to kill you if you ever went against mankind’s interest. Is that right?”

“Yes! He said he will slit my throat!”

“Would, Helena, he would slit your throat if you…” Juliet had to stop before saying something she would regret. She could see the despair on the other’s girl's perfect face. For all she wanted to dropkick those cheekbones with soccer shoes, she had to behave better.

Jacob had told her more than once that if she learned how to use diplomacy, she would become one of the great leaders of mankind.

“If you have no intention of turning murderous or betraying humans, what are you afraid of?” Juliet asked.

“I can’t leave St. Peter unless Jacob says so, apparently! I’m scared that my life is going to be controlled by that freak!”

Juliet closed her eyes for a second too long.

“You can’t deny he behaved like a freak!” she shouted.

Come on, Juliet, you can do it. You are strong. Don’t punch the wh*re’s face.

“Helena, sit down. Let’s talk for a while, and let’s calm down. There is really nowhere else to go. And think about it: if you left, people would have one great guardian less. You are one of the strongest, if not the strongest,” Juliet said with gritted teeth.

I’ll punch a hole through your throat, I swear. Then, I’ll show you who’s the fu**ing strongest, you worthless wh*re.

Helena sat down, still shaken.