"Who are you?" Mera asked, her eyes narrowing. The stranger wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he was staring, and the shamelessness of it irritated her immediately.
Daniel glanced at her before shrugging.
"Well, that's a bit of a long story. The short version is—"
The lighthouse door flew open with enough force to rattle the frame.
Arthur Curry stormed outside holding a beer bottle. The moment he saw Daniel standing there, his face twisted into a scowl.
"You fucker, get the hell away from here!" He hurled the bottle across the yard.
It cut through the air at high speed, heading straight for Daniel's face. Mera's eyes widened slightly.
Daniel didn't seem concerned in the slightest. He casually raised a hand and made a small flicking motion with his fingers.
The bottle stopped dead in midair, spinning in place as if caught by an invisible force — then reversed direction and shot back even faster than it had come, smashing directly into Arthur's forehead.
The impact echoed across the yard. Arthur stumbled backward with a curse as fragments of glass and beer sprayed everywhere, barely keeping his footing before crashing into the lighthouse wall.
Daniel lowered his hand and sighed. "Have some brain."
Mera said nothing. Arthur wasn't weak, yet this man had stopped the bottle and sent it back without so much as changing expression.
That alone was enough to tell her he wasn't ordinary. What bothered her more was that his face seemed familiar — she was certain she had seen him somewhere recently, she just couldn't place where.
Arthur rubbed his forehead and stepped forward, throwing this man into the ocean becoming a very appealing solution. His eyes shifted briefly toward Mera before returning to Daniel.
"Your girlfriend?"
Daniel immediately gave him a thumbs-up.
Mera stared at Arthur. Out of every possible conclusion he could have reached, he had somehow managed to find the dumbest one.
She genuinely wanted to know what part of her expression suggested she was dating this man.
She decided to return to the reason she came before the conversation got any more ridiculous.
"My name is Mera. I came because Atlantis is on the verge of war."
Arthur's expression darkened immediately. "Then you wasted a trip."
"Orm is gathering support from the kingdoms. The attacks on the surface have already begun. This won't stop on its own."
Arthur let out an annoyed sigh. "I already had this conversation with him." He pointed directly at Daniel. "And trust me, having him involved didn't make it any better."
Daniel looked mildly offended. "I was extremely helpful."
Arthur ignored him and turned back to Mera. "My answer hasn't changed. Since the day I was born, Atlantis made it pretty clear what it thought of me and my father. They didn't want us then, and I don't see why I should care what happens to them now."
He started walking back toward the lighthouse.
"And before you say it's my responsibility — Vulko already tried that speech. My answer is still no. Orm can do whatever he wants, Atlantis can do whatever it wants, and all those kingdoms can kill each other if they feel like it."
He stopped briefly at the doorway and glanced back. "I'm not getting involved."
The door slammed shut behind him. For a few moments there was nothing but the sound of waves crashing against the shore.
"I knew he was stubborn," Mera muttered. "I didn't realize he was this stubborn."
Daniel watched the lighthouse for a moment. "Yeah, convincing that guy is going to be difficult."
"You already tried?"
"I spent half the afternoon trying."
"And?"
"It did not go well."
Mera remained silent for several moments, but it wasn't Arthur's refusal that bothered her most. It was Daniel.
Very few people knew the details of Arthur's family. Even fewer understood why Arthur's hatred of Atlantis ran as deep as it did. Yet Daniel had spoken about it casually, as if he had known him for years.
"Who are you?" she asked again. "How do you know so much about Atlantis and the kingdoms?"
"I just know things."
That wasn't an answer. That was what people said when they didn't want to give one. Before she could push further, Daniel's gaze drifted toward the ocean.
"If Arthur refuses to get involved, I suppose I should prepare for the worst. If a war starts and Atlantis sends its armies toward the surface, I could always eliminate the invasion force before it reaches land. No soldiers, no war." He paused.
"That would be my last option — I prefer peaceful solutions whenever possible. The surface is where I live, and I'd rather not have a war taking place around my house."
Mera stared at him.
Then it came back to her. Metropolis. The recordings. The mysterious individual who had appeared during the incident and displayed power beyond anything intelligence agencies could properly classify.
Looking at the calm expression on his face, she suddenly understood what she was looking at — and if Arthur failed to stop Orm, if Atlantis truly marched against the surface, then Atlantis might not end up facing the armies of mankind at all.
It might end up facing Daniel.
*****
A/N: If you'd like to read ahead of the Webnovel release schedule, you can join my Patreon!
The Patreon version is 30 chapters ahead.
👉 patreon.com/Universal_Peace