Chapter 18: Different Perspectives
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 18: Different Perspectives
"Holy shit, when gods fight, it's the mortals who suffer?"
Muen was currently huddled in a corner, looking humble, weak, helpless, and pitiful.
He looked down at the gash on the wall just centimeters away from him and couldn't help but shudder violently.
No, I can't stay here. If I do, I won't even know how I died.
While the two were locked in a fierce battle, Muen hugged the wall and began slowly inching toward the door.
Fortunately, the maid assassin’s target wasn't him, and she didn't have the spare time to deal with a weakling like him.
Muen soon reached the door. All he had to do was open it, and he could make his escape.
"Huh?"
Muen twisted the doorknob with all his might, but it wouldn't budge.
"Huh? Huh? Huh?!"
Muen’s face turned deathly pale.
As expected, the maid assassin had come prepared.
It was no wonder she dared to attempt an assassination of the Empire’s Third Princess right inside the heavily guarded Duke’s Manor!
"But this is so strange... this part definitely wasn't in the original book!"
Muen clutched his head in distress, slowly crouching back down as his brain worked at high speed.
But no matter how he searched his memories, he could only reach one clear conclusion—
The original book definitely did not have this scene!
"Why did an assassin suddenly pop up? Where did things go wrong?"
"This is the Duke’s Manor! How did an assassin infiltrate so easily without triggering any alarms?"
"Could it be..."
Recalling the assassin’s earlier words, a thought occurred to Muen that made him feel sick to his stomach.
"Was it because of the order I gave? Did I give these assassins their opening?"
In the original book, the sick maid, Noel, was never given the chance to rest.
The original host certainly never issued an order to hire new staff from the outside to ensure the banquet ran smoothly!
But in this current timeline, because of Muen’s small act of kindness, everything had changed.
The staff the Head Maid had recruited overnight from the outside had become the only flaw in the Duke’s Manor’s airtight security today!
"But this is still too ridiculous. The recruitment only happened last night!"
He believed the Head Maid understood the issues of security and trust; she must have executed the order immediately upon receiving it precisely to deny any ill-intentioned outsiders time to react.
And yet, even so, an assassin had managed to slip in among those hired.
"Does someone have their eyes on the Duke’s Manor twenty-four hours a day?"
Muen racked his brain and could only come up with this conclusion, which he felt was the most likely.
However, any speculation was ultimately useless for his current predicament!
He was still standing on the edge of a "Death Ending," and it was all because of his own meddling!
"For now, I can only wait and pray that Celicia can defeat the assassin. A weakling like me can't do a damn thing."
"Wait... hold on? For me... is Celicia winning actually the 'good ending'?"
"The assassin’s target is clearly only Celicia!"
Muen’s eyes suddenly widened. In this desperate situation, he had thought of an unexpected chance for survival.
That’s right.
If Celicia died here, then the things that happened between him and her...
Wouldn't they remain a secret forever?
*
While Muen was lost in his internal conflict, the situation in the room suddenly shifted.
The maid once again displayed her initial explosive speed, turning into an afterimage to dodge the Ice Thorns Celicia had condensed into countless blades.
The ice thorns covered every possible landing spot beneath the maid’s feet. Even if she dodged the first strike, she should have had nowhere to run, like prey falling into a pit of spikes.
But when she reappeared, it was as if she had lost all weight. She drifted down from the air, her toes landing lightly on the tip of an ice thorn that would have impaled her with the slightest pressure. She stood there alone, as elegant as a dancer on the edge of a blade.
"A footwork technique capable of brief bursts of speed, and... Gravity Magic."
Celicia’s gaze darkened. The more she saw through the maid’s methods, the heavier her heart became.
"There are no signs of magic being cast. Is it imbued into some kind of tool?"
"As expected of Her Highness Celicia."
A strange purple light flashed in the maid’s right eye.
"You saw through my moves in an instant."
"It’s you who underestimated me."
Celicia narrowed her eyes and sneered, "Attacking me head-on like this... do you really think I’m a pushover?"
"No, we have given Your Highness Celicia quite a lot of respect."
The maid’s gaze swept inconspicuously over Celicia’s lower body, and a smile of ambiguous meaning suddenly touched her lips.
"Besides, despite having the advantage, Your Highness hasn't taken the initiative to attack. Doesn't that prove that our timing is correct?
After all—
Your Highness Celicia is a woman, too. And when a woman experiences that for the first time—especially under such... intense circumstances—it’s bound to affect her stamina. Or perhaps her other capabilities."
"You—"
For the first time, Celicia was so enraged she nearly lost her composure.
"Do you want me to rip that filthy, stinking mouth of yours off your face?"
"Hehe, as an assassin, I really shouldn't talk so much.
But..."
The maid’s smile vanished instantly, her eyes turning cold as iron.
"Sometimes, an assassin needs to stall for time, don't they?"
As soon as she spoke, a piercing hum rang out.
Then, the entire room began to vibrate as if it were experiencing a magnitude-eight earthquake.
Golden runes suddenly appeared on the walls, floor, and ceiling, writhing as if they were being squeezed out from inside the stone.
A holy golden light erupted from the runes, enveloping everyone.
"Hurry, I can't hold this for long."
Despite the room being completely soundproof, a weak voice drifted in from the outside.
"Don't worry, it will be quick."
The maid suddenly raised her left hand.
In her hand was a container filled with a bright red liquid.
[Prayer]
The world suddenly fell into total silence, leaving only the maid’s solemn recitation.
Horror flashed in Celicia’s eyes. In the next instant, she furiously condensed countless ice thorns to lung at the maid again, but she was temporarily suppressed by those golden runes.
[With the heart-blood of a hundred children, I hereby offer a sacrifice to the God of the Molten World, the Lord of the Crimson Sun, and the Great Withered King.]
The maid crushed the container. The heart-blood of a hundred children flowed out slowly, but strangely, it was unaffected by gravity, coiling and winding through the air like a snake.
[I beseech thee.]
[Grant us...]
[The great power to suppress the wind and snow.]
Crack.
Crack, crack.
A vortex resembling a black hole slowly emerged from the void.
An indescribable, terrifying aura leaked from the vortex, making it difficult for everyone to breathe.
A withered hand suddenly reached out from the vortex, fingers spread wide as if demanding something.
The maid respectfully offered the blood.
The hand withdrew into the vortex, taking the blood with it.
A delightful yet hair-raising sound of slurping echoed from within the darkness.
A moment later, the withered hand reappeared.
This time, an eerie red flame flickered upon the palm.