Chapter 193: Beautiful Woman(1)
The Ruler of Mana stood before Lina.
The one who had always helped her in her hazy memories.
The one whose memory alone made her heart ache.
The Ruler of Mana stood before Lina, completely different from how he was in her past life.
This wasn't about his appearance.
The Ruler of Mana she knew was not a man who would commit indiscriminate slaughter, not even for his lover.
He couldn't be called righteous, but he had a line he wouldn't cross.
"Have you finally stopped running, Ruler of Mana?"
"..."
His aura was different from the Ruler of Mana she'd met before she regressed. The man she knew was witty and charismatic.
What could have changed him?
Lina grew frustrated with the Ruler of Mana's silence.
But she wouldn't let him get away this time. No, she couldn't let him get away.
If she lost him here, the Black Witch's resurrection would draw that much closer.
Once the Black Witch regained her power, she would announce her return, and that would be the prelude to war.
That, at least, she had to prevent.
"You... You've changed, Ruler of Mana."
Lina said, her voice trembling slightly.
At first, it was hard to believe he had changed. But now, she had to face reality.
The man before her was no longer the man she once knew.
He was a public enemy of the continent, trying to start a war.
Just as Lina gripped her Spirit Sword and prepared to charge...
The Ruler of Mana spoke.
"What about me has changed? Do you know me?"
A dry, emotionless voice came from behind the mask. It was the first time she had heard his voice in this life.
The feeling that she'd heard it somewhere before had to be a mistake.
"...The man I know is kind and brave. He's not someone who would ever commit slaughter. I'm sure of it..."
Listening from the side, Kerry felt a little awkward. Her words were, for all intents and purposes, directed at him.
After all, Lina thought that fake was the real deal.
"What in the world happened to you all this time?"
The Ruler of Mana listened to Lina's words in silence before answering in a terribly cold voice.
"Nothing happened."
"..."
Kerry looked at Lina. Her expression, her posture, her aura.
From it all, he could feel the raw depth of her emotions.
Lina was grieving. Grieving for the man who had changed.
'So Lina really liked him. The Ruler of Mana... No. The me from before she regressed...'
Just then, Natasha, who was beside him, spoke up.
"Husband, why do you look so embarrassed? Do you happen to know what the relationship is between those two?"
"...No. I don't really know either."
This was the problem. Kerry didn't know the details about the Ruler of Mana either.
Because of that, it was difficult for him to just come out and say, "I'm the real one, and that guy's a fake."
'And the fact that Lina doesn't recognize my face is unsettling.'
Then, Lina addressed the party.
"We will now begin the subjugation of the Ruler of Mana. Please, do not let your guard down. That man is by no means an easy opponent. Kerry, please be ready to use your shield at any moment."
Lina had finally hardened her resolve. And this time, she didn't say anything about handling it alone like she did before.
"Here we go!"
Lina and Natasha shot forward. The rear guard fell back as far as possible to prepare their support.
Just as Lina charged the Ruler of Mana, he began to attack, unlike last time.
A crushing pressure of mana, as if it would collapse space itself, descended upon Lina.
The ground around Lina sank, forming a crater.
"Ugh!"
Bracing herself with her Spirit Sword, Lina was forced down onto one knee.
She resisted the magic, drawing upon her divine power and mana.
Lina took one step after another, but each one looked incredibly heavy.
That's when Natasha stepped in.
"Leave it to me, Lina!"
Moving like the wind, Natasha instantly got behind the Ruler of Mana.
The moment Natasha was about to bring down her Twin Dragon Swords...
The Ruler of Mana held one hand out behind him.
In that instant, Natasha was sent flying back by a tremendous force.
"Kyaa! What the! I thought he could only crush things?"
Natasha slammed into a wall.
Fortunately, thanks to her quick reflexes, she managed to plant her feet on the wall and absorb the impact, avoiding serious injury.
It seemed he could not only crush with mana but also repel.
A troublesome ability.
It was rare to see Lina and Natasha's combo get shut down like that.
As if he knew Lina's capabilities, the Ruler of Mana relentlessly attacked her, pinning her down with mana.
Thanks to that, Lina couldn't move properly.
After being thrown back once, Natasha couldn't approach recklessly either.
It seemed the shock of that first attack was greater than it looked.
Then, the Saintess stepped up. She began casting buffs on Lina and Natasha.
With that as a turning point, Lina and Natasha began to push the Ruler of Mana back.
As expected, even a fake like him was helpless against a good old-fashioned beatdown.
'The power of love and friendship is truly great. It can even make a gang-up look noble.'
That's the greatest advantage of love and friendship.
In any case, the party was steadily cornering the Ruler of Mana.
The problem was that the power he was using was destroying the ruins.
'Is it because he's a fake? He has no appreciation for genuine cultural heritage.'
The ruins being destroyed was a problem.
If the ruins were damaged to the point of collapse, it might become impossible to find the White Witch's 'key'.
Kerry watched the battle with a sense of urgency.
It was a battle of superhumans, so of course it was chaotic. Explosions went off left and right.
"...This is bad."
Just then, as he'd feared, one of the ruin's walls began to crumble.
Krrrrrumble-
This is dangerous.
The White Witch's key might be in these ruins.
If this place collapses, how am I supposed to find a key I've never even seen in a world without heavy machinery?
It was then that from the collapsed wall in the distance, gold literally began to pour out.
Did we just break into an ancient emperor's treasury or something? What a jackpot.
Just as everyone's attention was momentarily drawn to the gold...
The Ruler of Mana flew into the sky and began to flee.
"We can't let him escape!"
The party started to chase after the Ruler of Mana.
Already exhausted, the Ruler of Mana seemed too busy escaping to even try and stop the party from following.
At this point, the Ruler of Mana was as good as caught.
As the entire party gave chase...
Kerry remained standing in place.
Arwen, who was beside him, asked with concern, "Kerry? Aren't you going after him? Are you hurt...?"
"Husband! We'll lose him again at this rate!"
"..."
Kerry surveyed his surroundings. The Ruler of Mana's escape might have been a stroke of luck.
If the battle had continued, the ruins would have surely collapsed.
No, they were on the verge of collapsing even now.
Cracks ran everywhere, and the broken walls looked precarious.
I could guarantee this place wouldn't last much longer. It was barely holding its shape as it was.
'If I chase after him now... the key to freeing the White Witch might be buried forever.'
That could not happen.
"You go on ahead and chase him. I'll leave the rest to you. I have something I need to do here."
Natasha then said, "Then I'll stay too!"
"You can't."
"Huh? Why not?"
"The Ruler of Mana is no pushover. If you stay behind because of me... the others might get hurt. Besides, this is a personal matter. I don't want to cause any more trouble for the party because of it."
"But..."
"Please, Natasha. And I'm sorry for dragging my personal business into this."
"It's not anything dangerous, is it?"
"Of course not."
As long as I get out before the ruins completely collapse, there won't be a problem.
Natasha finally nodded.
The others also looked like they had a lot to say, but they held their tongues.
Time was of the essence, after all.
Chasing that fake and finding the White Witch's key were both urgent matters.
"Then we'll see you later!"
Just then, Lina shouted.
"Kerry!"
"?"
"I'll be waiting for you at the entrance to the forest."
Her words were filled with the conviction that they would win.
Now that's more like Lina. I'd felt sorry for her looking so gloomy all this time.
The party chased after the Ruler of Mana, quickly running out of the ruins.
Kerry watched them go.
Then, he slowly looked around the ruins where he was now alone. The already ancient ruins were now severely damaged in many places.
To be honest, the most eye-catching thing right now was the gold that had poured from the wall.
"How much is all this worth?"
Gold coins stamped with the symbols of that ancient civilization, and all sorts of ornaments.
Historical value aside, if I just melted all this down and sold it, I'd make more money than I could spend in a lifetime.
"I wonder if the White Witch's key is also where the gold poured out."
The wall where the gold had spilled from. Perhaps that was something like the ancient emperor Asmodeus's treasure vault.
Kerry walked toward the gap from which the gold had poured.
Just then, a chilling voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Humans are always the same, aren't they? They never change. They'll even abandon their comrades for gold. Keh heh."
What the. I'm sure there was no one here.
'More importantly, he thinks I abandoned my comrades for gold?'
That wasn't it. I was only here to find the White Witch's key. At this point, gold wasn't that important. As long as I had the Saintess, there were more than enough ways to make money.
Kerry turned around.
There stood a being shaped like a person, made of black smoke. It was the Shadow of the Imperial Family.
'What's with this guy? He looks like a final boss pulling the strings from behind the scenes.'
He was clearly no ordinary foe. This guy knew how to make an entrance.
"I'm just confirming, but are you Kerry?"
"...Do you know me?"
I could guarantee I'd never befriended a guy whose insides were that black.
"I've heard your name in many places."
Since when was I so famous?
"The one who saved the elven village of Scandinavia. The one who shared a brotherly drink with the Sage of the Magic City. And I've heard you've interfered with the organization's work more than anyone. What was it they called you? The Annoying Man? I believe it was something like that."
"..."
"An acquaintance of mine warned me to be wary of you. Frankly, my impression from seeing you in person... is that the rumors were exaggerated. Seeing as you were so easily baited by gold."
"..."
I told you, it's not about the gold. More importantly, who is this guy?
He seemed like a dangerous fellow I had no desire to get to know, but since he was running his mouth like that, I couldn't help but be curious.
"You seem to know a lot about me. So who are you? Why are you stalking me?"
Stalking is a serious crime, you know.
"Who am I? What should I call myself... Hold on. I have so many names, even I get confused."
"..."
Is he bragging about having a lot of names?
"Right. I don't know if you'll recognize it, but... this name should do."
The Shadow walked to the empty throne in the center of the room.
Then, as if taking his rightful seat, he sat down on the throne naturally.
"This is me."
"..."
Unless I was misunderstanding what he was trying to say... the man was calling himself the ancient emperor.
"...You're Asmodeus?"
"Oh. You know that name. You're surprisingly knowledgeable."
Asmodeus.
The White Witch had said that Asmodeus might still be alive, surviving since ancient times.
She'd said records of him poking around various ruins spanned a very long period.
To think it was actually true.
In that moment, the mana around Asmodeus began to surge like a torrent.
Even from a fair distance away, Kerry could feel it clearly.
Kerry threw up his shield almost instinctively.
A flash blinded him, his vision washed out by light. Then, an intense beam of light shot toward his shield.
'Damn it. We were having such a pleasant chat, and then he just attacks.'
"So you do have some skill to have earned such a reputation. But can you block this?"
An intense golden light swirled around Asmodeus.
It seemed to be the divine power I saw in the murals.
This was the divine power that had once stood against the Black Witch; it wouldn't be ordinary.
'I think I'm in deep shit.'
It's fine. Ever since coming to this absurd world, I'd never once faced an easy enemy.
It was always enemies stronger than me.
So I believed I could get through this time, too.
But it seemed that wasn't the case.
Shatter-
The shield from Kerry's prized ancient bracelet shattered. A huge chunk of his mana vanished with it.
Asmodeus's light was a truly overwhelming force.
That overwhelming light pierced through Kerry's body.
"Keoheuk..."
The strength drained from his body.
He couldn't stand properly, and his consciousness felt perilously close to fading away.
Suddenly, the ground shot up to meet his face.
No. The ground couldn't be shooting up. I was the one falling.
'Am I really going to die like this?'
Kerry collapsed to the floor without managing to leave any decent last words.
'If there's such a thing as a life flashing before your eyes, I hope it focuses on close-ups of all the hot nights I enjoyed after coming to this world...'
As his cheek met the cold floor, he had this one last useless thought.
Kerry's world flickered and began to change.
Into a pure white world where nothing existed.
In that world of nothingness, a woman was standing.
The woman wore a dress similar to the one Elena had worn.
The kind that fluttered even when she stood still, offering teasing glimpses of what was underneath.
But it wasn't Elena. The woman before him possessed a grace that was incomparable to Elena's.
Kerry looked at the beautiful, smiling woman and said.
"Is this heaven?"
Any place with a beautiful woman was bound to feel like heaven.