Ch.233The Empress (4)

“Are you out of your mind?”

Llewellyn felt wronged.

After hearing that message and immediately suggesting they needed to go to the Three Clans’ sky fortress, the only response he got was asking if he was out of his mind.

But Llewellyn didn’t show his feelings. Even he would have responded with “Are you crazy?” if someone else had made such a suggestion.

They were supposed to be trusted companions, after all.

Still, Llewellyn couldn’t bring himself to complain about that.

He looked around with a slightly dejected expression.

“I am in my right mind… Don’t you think it’s a decent plan…?”

“The fact that you think it’s ‘decent’ shows just how optimistically you’re viewing this situation.”

Llewellyn fell silent, having nothing to say. He was indeed looking at things rather optimistically.

And he had no choice but to be optimistic.

Llewellyn knew his own strength well. He was already on par with most level 20 players, and he even had divine power.

Though it would still take some time to fully recharge, he felt like he could use miracles again after just a day or two.

Using Star’s Death again would be difficult, but even that should be possible after about a week.

‘My sister is really something. How can she use such powers so freely….’

“That’s quite an unpleasant expression.”

“No, it’s a good expression.”

“You should stick to your guns when arguing.”

Even while being criticized, Llewellyn didn’t abandon his thoughts.

He was indeed thinking optimistically, but he also believed things couldn’t go too badly.

Divine power plus his father’s factor.

Because Llewellyn had properly inherited what the failed Steward had left behind, he could establish an unconditional advantage in relationships with anyone from the Three Clans.

And that wasn’t all. Llewellyn’s combat ability was formidable. The Three Clans, who couldn’t stop him from escaping and jumping off last time, would find it impossible to stop a stronger Llewellyn who could now fly, albeit in a limited way.

Plus, there was the Empress’s presence. Llewellyn was confident.

“Nothing bad will happen if we go. Even the things you’re worried about.”

But Lorian, the only companion Llewellyn wanted to take to the sky fortress, looked uneasy.

“You say that, but who knows what might happen? The Empress might abandon us, and with all due respect to Her Majesty, there are two others with equal power.”

It was a reasonable point. If anyone but Lorian had said it, Llewellyn might have accepted it as a possibility. But Llewellyn knew Lorian to some extent.

“Still, we’ll have to go back eventually. We don’t have anything else to prepare, and there’s no guarantee the situation will improve from here.”

From Llewellyn’s perspective, Lorian was afraid.

It was different from terror or fear. It was more like an ambiguous kind of hesitation.

Lorian seemed uncomfortable with the very idea of returning to what was once his home.

Even someone as socially oblivious as Llewellyn couldn’t bring himself to say that outright. A person’s heart is more fragile than one might think, and sometimes the heart breaks before the mind does.

Especially Lorian’s heart, which was fragile unlike his steel-like mind.

Llewellyn didn’t want to put unnecessary pressure on this blood knight and female knight who was struggling with the hormones that came with becoming a woman, shocked by the reality of her physiology, and repeatedly contemplating her past, future, and present.

“And even if something were to happen… I feel at ease when you’re with me.”

But if he did nothing, Llewellyn might have to go alone.

Llewellyn said to Lorian:

“If something happens, you could escape safely on your own, or guide me to a way out. Above all… I feel comfortable with you.”

That wasn’t just empty words—it was sincere.

Besides Lorian, the only people he felt comfortable with were Ortemilia and the “old man.”

Most of his other companions were either uncomfortable to be around or were lovers, which meant he couldn’t act completely at ease.

Not that lovers were uncomfortable, but the comfort one could show to a lover versus a friend was different.

With Lorian, Llewellyn could be at ease.

“Won’t you come?”

Lorian remained silent with an uncomfortable expression, arms crossed.

But Llewellyn knew she would soon nod in agreement.

And that her expression wasn’t really one of discomfort or displeasure.

*

“It’s been a while. How is the prosthetic hand working for you?”

“It works well. Thank you again…”

“No need for that. You’re fulfilling your role.”

Listening to the conversation between the Empress and Lorian, Llewellyn looked up at the sky.

The sky fortress wasn’t visible beyond the heavens. He recalled how everything had been dark when he jumped.

That dark sky had gradually brightened as he fell. He remembered his body piercing through clouds, water droplets brushing against him like rain, soaking his body.

He also remembered how those droplets froze and broke off as his limbs flailed uncontrollably during the fall.

It meant the fortress was very high up. Higher than the clouds, at a distance impossible to observe with the naked eye.

For a moment, Llewellyn wondered, ‘Could there be transcendents meddling from outside the universe?’ but he didn’t ask and risk being called a fool.

Instead, he stood with his head raised, wearing an expression of melancholy and wistfulness typical of a contemplative man. Lorian was staring at Llewellyn’s profile.

She was suffering. Due to the enchantment, maintaining a “knightly” attitude wasn’t easy.

She had to maintain a cold demeanor to properly establish their relationship. She had been doing so just moments ago.

Even while inwardly agonizing over whether her cold attitude might offend Llewellyn or hurt his feelings, she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

She had to show a cold attitude while silently following Llewellyn.

It was the same now.

“You won’t see it with your eyes, so stop straining yourself. You look foolish.”

“That’s not it. Just…”

Llewellyn trailed off, closing his mouth. Lorian felt like she understood why he was acting this way.

He must be feeling regretful about having to return to the place he had barely escaped from.

Lorian carefully studied her master’s profile. A face she couldn’t escape from, even as she struggled against the enchantment.

As Lorian stared at his melancholic expression, Llewellyn smiled awkwardly.

Lorian didn’t know it, but he was actually concerned about whether he really looked foolish.

Even that looked fine to Lorian, though.

Not that Llewellyn needed to know.

“Well, are you all prepared?”

Without waiting for Llewellyn’s confirmation, the Empress approached and wrapped her arms around Lorian and Llewellyn’s waists.

A scent wafted over. It was Lorian’s body odor. Strangely refreshing yet with a subtle bloody scent unique to her bloodline.

The Empress had no scent at all. Though Llewellyn didn’t know why, he didn’t need to think about it.

She was the leader of the shapeshifters who could perfectly control her body, so she must be hiding her scent.

Cutting through Llewellyn’s thoughts, the Empress smiled.

“Even if you’re not ready, there’s no turning back now.”

That was true. Llewellyn held onto the Empress’s arm around his waist, entrusting himself to the woman who was a head shorter than him.

Lorian did the same, and the Empress exerted enough force to make the ground shake before leaping upward.

BOOM!

It sounded like a cannon firing, like something Llewellyn had once heard in a game. His vision blurred rapidly, as if someone had smeared paint haphazardly across a canvas.

Even with Llewellyn’s exceptional senses that far surpassed human capabilities, it appeared this way, indicating an incredible speed.

The sky rushed past, and the Temple of All Gods that had been beneath their feet quickly receded into the distance.

The Empress hummed a tune as they flew.

It was a melody Llewellyn had never heard before. A tune that couldn’t honestly be called good. The Empress hummed this tune while twisting her floating body in a spin.

WHOOSH!

With the spin, a pair of wings grew from the Empress’s back and fluttered. The wings, which looked as if they had just burst through her spine, were covered with a membrane—something that could be described as dragon wings.

Those wings spread wide and began to glide. Llewellyn realized they were now at a similar altitude to when he had jumped from the sky fortress.

The pitch-black sky. The high, blue expanse above clouds drifting below, so high that the ground wasn’t visible.

Llewellyn glided in the Empress’s arms. Without compass or map, she flew without hesitation.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen it like this.”

Lorian spoke amid the flight, as if accustomed to it.

The gliding speed was considerable, which should have made speaking difficult, but Lorian spoke without any resistance.

‘…There’s no wind.’

Despite their tremendous speed, which should naturally create headwind, Llewellyn couldn’t feel any wind against his skin.

‘Why?’

Llewellyn was about to ask Lorian but looked up instead, gazing beyond the sky.

From what little he knew, he should be seeing space at this point.

But what Llewellyn saw was:

‘Tree branches?’

Something that looked like cracks spreading across the entire sky.

Blue, dimly glowing branches. They densely enveloped the sky above Llewellyn’s head.

Those branches stretched as if connecting two horizons. Though neither trunk nor roots were visible, Llewellyn could tell what it was.

When he had cut down the transcendent who held the god of night, and its arm fell.

A single leaf that blocked the crack carved into the void.

Where that leaf had come from.

Llewellyn now knew.

“…Netel.”

“My grandson has sharp instincts. That’s right.”

At the same time, he understood how the sky fortress existed.

“The Three Clans’ fortress is a fruit hanging from Netel’s branches.”

And Netel’s branches were a barrier isolating transcendents coming from outside the universe.

Llewellyn, still in the Empress’s embrace, gazed at Netel as if entranced.

A transcendent, a divine being, an entity that sought to protect this planet.

Simultaneously, something that could not coexist with humans. With a heavy heart, Llewellyn looked in the direction the Empress was heading.

He could see the fortress gradually drawing closer.

Llewellyn had finally returned.

To the place where he was created, where he opened his eyes once more.