Chapter 720: Coordination
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 720: Coordination
"Get your... damn... filthy hands... off her!!"
An’s beautiful eyes suddenly widened.
The voice was so wonderful that she thought she was hallucinating.
But she quickly realized it wasn't an illusion.
That voice was etched so deeply into her soul that even in a dream, even in her wildest fantasies, she could distinguish its authenticity in an instant.
"Young Master..."
Her cold exterior automatically melted away, and ripples stirred across the once-still surface of her heart. Her eyes, which hadn't shown a flicker of emotion even when facing the Grand Duke of Bewitchment, now erupted with a kaleidoscope of brilliance.
It was like a flower blooming, a hot spring erupting, a rainbow stretching across the sky.
She didn't want to waste a single second; her gaze immediately sought out the source of that voice.
"Young Master, I knew you would come to save me... Huh?"
An suddenly froze.
When the image she had been longing for finally entered her sight, even the poise and cultivation of a personal maid—honed since childhood for her master's sake—couldn't prevent her brain from stalling for a moment.
Because in that instant, she didn't see that familiar, handsome face.
Instead, she saw... a delicate, flower-like beauty.
Long, golden wavy hair draped over her shoulders. Though her inner garment was simple, it still traced curves that rivaled An’s own. Her aura was noble and her features exquisite, yet every gesture and movement was incredibly... rugged.
She looked like a rebellious princess making a grand entrance, carrying a massive greatsword and stomping along in ten-centimeter heels.
But... shouldn't the one appearing right now be a prince?
An truly thought her longing had driven her to madness, but that familiar scent, along with her "Young Master Radar"... it was absolutely impossible for her to be mistaken.
"I see."
An took a deep breath, regaining her composure.
"In the time I've been gone, has the Young Master developed this sort of... hobby?"
"You bastard, take this! ...Wait, what? An, this is a misunderstanding!"
Muen had intended to take the Grand Duke of Bewitchment by surprise with a vicious strike while simultaneously making a dashing appearance before An. Hearing her words, he nearly tripped over his own feet.
Only now did he realize that in his haste, he hadn't even deactivated this "beautiful" disguise...
Dammit!
An isn't going to think I'm some kind of pervert, is she?!
"Rest assured, Young Master. No matter how eccentric your tastes may be, I will respect and accept them."
An averted her gaze slightly. "After all, I am your personal maid."
"..."
No, wait, An, look me in the eye!
At this moment, Muen felt the tall, handsome, "macho man" image he had worked so hard to maintain shatter into pieces.
Of course, a shattered image wasn't the end of the world—this was the person closest to him, after all.
But knowing An’s personality...
She isn't going to develop some... 'special' ways to play along in the future, is she?
Muen shuddered at the thought!
"Curse you! This is all your fault!"
Grief, indignation, and fury overlapped; he needed an outlet.
Amidst the seductive flickering of black flames, Muen had already gripped Elizabeth tight. Aiming at the Grand Duke of Bewitchment, he unhesitatingly unleashed his long-charged... most powerful strike.
In fact, his very appearance was for the sake of this single blow.
The blade’s glow was dyed by the black flames, turning into a void-like pitch-black.
The massive force of a Hundred Stacks caused the blade-light to expand abruptly, nearly threatening to cleave the entire high tower in two.
Zagu, standing to the side, finally reacted. His brow twitched behind his faceplate.
Even he felt the threat of death from this single strike.
"Oh my, has another beautiful girl graced us with her presence?"
The Grand Duke of Bewitchment continued to giggle delicately.
With a casual wave of her hand, the black flowers that had caused her stinging pain were swept away. Simultaneously, a pink mist diffused, and Muen’s strike felt as if it had plunged into layers of a swamp, its power gradually neutralized.
It seemed that as long as the opponent was a "beautiful girl," even if they insulted her, tried to kill her, or actually caused her pain, it wasn't a big deal.
How could the dignified Grand Duke of Bewitchment hold a grudge against a delicious... no, an adorable little white rabbit?
However...
"Eh?"
As her gaze shifted...
"A man?"
The Grand Duke of Bewitchment froze for a second. Even though the potion the Senior Sister created was incredibly potent—and even after Muen’s subsequent improvements, it could fool the vast majority of detection methods in the world—that "vast majority" certainly did not include a Crown Bearer.
The Grand Duke’s expression instantly turned ferocious.
"A man? You’re actually a man? You’re one of those foul, stinking men?"
"...You can temporarily think of me as a beautiful girl."
Muen’s lip twitched.
"I won't mind for the time being."
"Die!"
The Grand Duke was enraged.
To use a disguise to deceive her pure heart that appreciated beautiful girls—this human had to be killed in the most cruel way possible.
She would start by skinning him alive.
The Grand Duke of Bewitchment pointed a finger.
But the moment she reached out, she sensed something was wrong.
Wait.
Where were... her fingers?
The Grand Duke looked down and saw that the swaying black flower was still blooming on her finger, continuously devouring her flesh.
She hadn't managed to shake it off just now?
Not only that.
The pink mist acted like a swamp, causing the blade-light to sink and vanish.
But the black flames attached to that light seemed completely unaffected. In fact, they burned even more vigorously, like a reaper’s scythe, already beginning to sear her skin.
"This isn't ordinary fire. This is... the power of an Evil God? An Evil God I've never seen before."
The Grand Duke of Bewitchment finally looked at the black flames with serious eyes.
She never expected a mere Fourth-Tier Martial Artist to be able to wound her, let alone use such eerie flames.
In her hundred years as the Grand Duke of Bewitchment, she had never encountered this.
Moreover, these black flames looked somewhat familiar. Grand Duke Ghost Blood had once reported a black sun appearing on the Imperial Defense Line; it seemed similar to this.
Was there a connection? Or perhaps...
"So what?"
The Grand Duke of Bewitchment smiled contemptuously.
The surrounding pink mist surged violently, and her mocking laughter echoed like a phantom.
"Your flames are indeed impressive. Against an ordinary person, they might actually burn them to death if they weren't careful. But who do you think I am?"
Who was she?
She was Bewitchment.
One of the Eight Demon Dukes.
A Crowned powerhouse at the pinnacle of the Demon Race.
Even if a projection of an Evil God descended in person, she would have the qualifications to exchange a few blows. Much less this...
Tiny spark?
The Grand Duke of Bewitchment stepped out from the pink mist, her body completely unscathed.
The "Bewitchment" that had been scorched by the black flames had already dissipated into smoke.
The black flames spun around as if they had lost their way. Even though the Grand Duke was right in front of them, and even though Muen was constantly manipulating them, they still couldn't locate her position.
"Utterly ridiculous. But for the sake of how interesting your power is, I won't kill you immediately. I'm quite curious about the source of these flames."
The Grand Duke flicked her finger.
The cluster of black flames immediately flickered in panic, like a candle in a gale, on the verge of being extinguished.
Muen’s face flushed. A terrifying backlash surged along his externalized spiritual power and slammed into his mind like an invisible sledgehammer, causing cracks to appear across his entire spiritual space.
He felt warmth at his nose. Muen wiped it with his hand and saw bright, vivid red blood on his palm.
It was useless.
It didn't work at all, even with an all-out attack.
He couldn't even harm a single hair on her head. To her, his black flames were nothing more than a circus act—impressive to look at, but meaningless beyond providing a bit of entertainment.
Since obtaining the black flames, this was the first time Muen felt so powerless. This strength from an Evil God, which he could usually rely on as a trump card, was utterly futile here.
The gap was simply too large.
The "Crowned" level, which the Old Loli called a special realm among martial artists, was not something the current black flames could contend with. It wasn't that the flames lacked the "rank," but simply that the current Muen was far too weak compared to a Crown Bearer.
Rushing out with nothing but hot blood was essentially a suicide mission.
From the mockery in the Grand Duke’s eyes, it was clear that his act of sacrificing himself for An was nothing but overestimating his own capabilities.
However...
"I win."
Muen’s lips suddenly curled into a meaningful smile.
Because those two words were so unexpected, even Zagu failed to react. Otherwise, he surely would have shouted with a sense of déjà vu to "rip his mouth shut."
"What do you mean? Have I scared you insane?"
The Grand Duke raised an eyebrow, unconcerned. She prepared to seize this foul-smelling human male and take him back for study. The most important thing right now was still—
"Grand Duke of Bewitchment, you might not understand humans," Muen said suddenly.
"...What are you talking about?"
"For humans, there are two ways to die. The first is physical death, and the second is... social death."
"Oh? That theory is somewhat interesting. But what is your point?"
"My point is..."
The smile on Muen’s face turned bitter. "Since social death is so embarrassing, do you really think I would jump out and commit reputational suicide voluntarily?"
"It's not social death at all," An said softly from behind Muen.
"The Young Master is the Young Master. No matter what he looks like, he is still my master. How could I ever be swayed by his appearance?"
The Grand Duke’s pupils shrank. She finally noticed something.
The black flames weren't just blooming at her fingertips or in front of her. Those black flames were also blooming on An’s shoulder.
Swaying, flickering, like tiny spirits.
Because of the black flames' property of burning and devouring everything, when Muen used his body to shield An, even the perception of a Crowned powerhouse like the Grand Duke failed to detect that tiny spark.
And those flames weren't meant to burn An. They only had one target.
The restriction the Grand Duke of Bewitchment had placed on An.
It didn't need much. Just a tiny bit.
Just enough for her to... move slightly again.
And then, the final three seconds of the countdown that Ariel had fought so hard for... could restart!
Just three seconds ago.
"No, impossible! Under my very nose, you couldn't even send a secret transmission! How could your coordination be so perfect?!"
While it sounded simple, it was anything but easy.
The Grand Duke couldn't have failed to notice a small hole being eaten into her restriction forever. The moment she noticed, the entire ruse would have failed.
Therefore, the window for their coordination was likely only a negligible three or four seconds.
Furthermore, this human male shouldn't have known what the ancient artifact in that girl's hand did. How could he be so certain...
"We didn't need to discuss it beforehand. We didn't need transmissions or even eye contact. And there was never any doubt. The moment I appeared, I knew An would know what to do."
"And I knew what I had to do."
Muen turned his head, gazing at that familiar, dignified, and beautiful face he hadn't seen in so long.
"Right, my dear personal maid?"
"Of course, Young Master."
An’s lips curved upward, revealing the joy of finally having her world made whole again.
"Our minds have always been as one."