Ch.294Chapter 294: Sudden Change (2)

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Let’s turn back time to just before the scream of Imperfectio echoed—the moment when he used his own power to restart time that had been frozen by the will of a transcendent being with divinity in the great hall of the Obsidian Palace.

At a point just below the summit of the Dragon Claw Mountains, which served as the boundary between the Obsidian Palace and the northern territories of the Solarium Empire.

“…”

A woman silently observed four shadows approaching her, her gaze indifferent.

The woman traversing this place—where nothing should be alive except for magical beasts created from demonic impurity—appeared too ordinary to be passing through such a location.

Cold-resistant clothing capable of withstanding the biting frost.

Armor with minimal protection for vital areas.

And no weapons hanging at her waist—completely unarmed.

The protagonist of this precarious attire, seemingly ill-equipped for crossing this freezing region teeming with magical beasts, was Liliansis Proxian.

Having rushed out of Night Haven immediately after confirming that Cal Ranos had been dragged into the demon realm, Liliansis’s outfit was reasonably protective for an impulsive departure.

Yet her delicate appearance, which belied the immense power she possessed, could potentially invite trouble from magical beasts unaware of her strength.

Of course, inviting trouble was one thing. For those beasts to achieve what they hoped for…

Thwack-! Thwack-thwack-!!

Liliansis was simply too powerful, dispatching four Horned Demons that had charged at her confidently with just four swings of her bare fists.

This strike was no different. The demons had formed a coordinated formation as soon as they spotted their prey, deliberately exploiting blind spots that couldn’t be covered by a single person’s field of vision.

Yet Liliansis’s two fists moved with dazzling speed, as if mocking their clever maneuvers, and struck each of the four Horned Demons squarely on their crowns.

Each demon received one precise blow that caved in their skulls.

Swoosh-!!

Dark blood spurted from the indentations, and they perished without even a death cry.

She was strong! Even without the holy sword that made her a hero—which had been stolen in an unexpected incident—preventing her from utilizing her specialty of radiant swordsmanship.

Her martial arts, which defeated four Horned Demons, was executed with such precision that even professional martial artists would be impressed.

Yet despite this remarkable feat of dispatching such beasts with barely a movement…

“…”

Liliansis’s expression revealed no joy as she silently brushed the demons’ blood from her fists.

In her clear blue eyes, reminiscent of an undisturbed lake or sea, there was only one emotion.

“Of all times to be in such a hurry…”

It was impatience—viewing the Horned Demons, whose defeat would be considered a brilliant achievement by anyone in the Imperial Knights, as mere obstacles blocking her path.

Normally, Liliansis would have continued toward her destination immediately after dispatching the four demons.

But she belatedly realized that the blood scent from the demons, combined with her seemingly vulnerable appearance, would attract more magical beasts, forcing her to hastily clean herself.

Under normal circumstances, she would have circulated her battle energy to completely remove such traces while defeating the monsters.

However, due to the aftermath of her fierce battle with the self-proclaimed agent of the Demon God Imperfectio just yesterday, which had depleted her battle energy excessively and still resulted in defeat…

She was now in a situation where her use of battle energy was limited, making her reluctant to use it for such trivial(?) matters, leading to this basic mistake.

Unexpectedly, the Horned Demons’ dark blood wouldn’t easily disappear just by vigorously shaking her arms, increasing her anxiety.

Still, Liliansis focused on removing the bloodstains from her hands instead of continuing her journey.

Despite the impatience in her eyes, she knew that if she gave in to that urgency and continued walking only to encounter trouble…

That would truly waste her precious time, so she exercised patience.

After this frustrating exercise in patience, the bloodstains left by the Horned Demons finally disappeared from her vigorously shaken fists.

“Haaah…”

A hot sigh escaped from the lips of the woman whose breathing hadn’t faltered even when striking down the magical beasts.

The heat that had built up in her chest from suppressing her impatience was released in that single sigh.

“…Let’s go.”

Having finished everything, Liliansis expressed her determination to head toward her destination in a low voice.

She turned her body, extended her arms forward.

Now, if one of her legs stretched forward, she could naturally resume her journey toward the demon realm she was heading for, but…

“…!!”

Before she could complete her step, as if sensing something wrong with her body, Liliansis suddenly grimaced, clutching at her heart and dropping to one knee.

“…What is this?”

Despite her frown, her naturally beautiful face made even her pained expression appear graceful. She tried to identify the strange sensation she had just felt.

But the stimulus that had brushed against her chest was too faint to be called pain, leaving her with no way to understand it.

“…Must be my imagination.”

Dismissing the sensation as nothing, Liliansis straightened her bent knee and tried to continue walking, but…

“…!!”

A pain different in magnitude from the previous discomfort manifested in her heart, coiling like a snake.

“…Ugh!!”

Involuntarily groaning, Liliansis’s body…

Thud-!!

This time with a rather loud noise, her knee met the cold ground.

Had she not exerted some strength, her entire body would have collapsed onto the freezing floor—the pain was that severe.

“…It hurts.”

With one hand still clutching her heart, Liliansis unconsciously voiced her pain.

“…Why?”

Her next words expressed confusion about why she was experiencing such pain.

She calmly assessed her physical condition, wondering if she had unknowingly been struck by the Horned Demons’ dying attacks, but found no trace of injury.

“Then…what could it be…?”

Liliansis’s voice, trembling slightly from the pain of thousands of needles seemingly stabbing her heart, revealed her determination to understand the source of this agony.

And she wasn’t just trying to understand.

“Nngh…”

Despite the pain directly affecting her heart and severely hampering her movements, she still showed the will to continue toward her destination.

It was remarkable determination. Most people would be screaming rather than merely groaning in such pain, likely losing their sanity.

“Must…go…quickly…”

Liliansis’s desperate determination to reach her destination exuded a sublime quality that would inspire admiration in anyone witnessing this scene.

BOOM-!!!

Had it not been for the terrifying roar that erupted from her yet-unreached destination, Liliansis might have continued for a few more steps.

She stopped her progress through the pain and…

“…”

Looked toward the source of the roar and rising black smoke with fear and surprise in her eyes.

It was the location of the demon realm, the Obsidian Palace—a place she had never visited but knew well through numerous historical records and legends.

While clashes of power and resulting destruction were common in the demon realm where blood and conflict frequently occurred…

The scale and magnitude of what she witnessed was far beyond what could be attributed to ordinary magical beasts acting on their innate instincts for conflict and destruction.

“…Cal.”

Upon seeing this, Liliansis worriedly murmured the name of her lover who would be there, her expression hardening with resolve.

“…Ugh!!”

Despite the continuing pain that forced groans from her lips, she began to move again.

Even in a moment when smooth movement seemed impossible due to the pain…

Step-

She took a clear step forward, though slowly.

Step-

This time, her pace was slightly faster than her first step.

Tap-tap-tap-tap-!!

The sound of her footsteps now conveyed not heaviness but a lightness beyond description, her movements embodying the pinnacle of speed.

Liliansis’s body was already far from where she had defeated the four Horned Demons.

However, the problem was that even at this distance, she was still very far from reaching the Obsidian Palace.

“Cal…! Wait for me just a little longer.”

For Liliansis, who was moving to save her precious person, the distance was no longer important.

Her only goal now was to shorten the time with movements that could close that distance in one breath.

Though the path was long and pain assailed her body as she traveled it…

The driving force behind Liliansis now was the thought that compared to the pain of not reaching her destination and failing to save her precious person there, her current suffering could hardly be called pain at all.

Liliansis was weak as a child.

On a stormy day long ago, she had sprained her ankle and couldn’t move properly, having to rely on someone’s broad, warm back to barely make it down a hill she couldn’t descend on her own.

Since then, she had always thought of herself as weak.

She didn’t consider this entirely bad, as she had a precious person who kindly took care of her weak self.

But gradually, her desire to become someone her precious person could rely on grew stronger.

This growing desire finally materialized when she fully awakened her talent.

It wasn’t easy.

There was a time when the relationship between her and him became distant after she gained incomparable strength by fully awakening her talent.

During that time, she constantly questioned whether this path was right for her, troubled by his cold demeanor.

But when he eventually returned to his former kindness, sharing only warmth with her like in the old days, Liliansis became convinced that the path she had taken to become stronger was not wrong.

To firmly establish this conviction, her steps continued without pause despite the pain.

The person waiting where her footsteps were headed was more precious to her than her potentially bursting heart, so mere heart pain would not stop her.

“I’ll be there…soon.”

From Liliansis’s lips, which maintained surprisingly steady breathing despite the pain and intense movement, emanated only her will to reach the precious person waiting for her.