episode_0239

“Are you really okay? Or did that guy, Relis, do something to you…?”

“No… I’m really fine, so don’t worry…”

If you were to nitpick, my arm that was pulled by Edan a moment ago did ache a bit, but I couldn’t blame the person who saved me for that. It’s not like he was asking for a reward after saving someone drowning in water.

If Edan had been even a little bit later, I could have been dragged into a world where I might never come out again. Right now, I didn’t even have enough time to express my infinite gratitude to Edan.

“By the way, how did you know? It was almost at the brink of being dragged away, so you wouldn’t have even seen my face through that small gap.”

“I don’t know, I just had a feeling that Relis was there.”

“What?”

“As the space was slowly closing, I saw a hand, and somehow it felt like it was Relis’s hand. I’m glad you weren’t too late, Relis.”

“… ”

He saw through that I was being dragged away just by seeing a hand? It was both touching and slightly terrifying.

No, no. I decided to just be thankful for now. The intensity of Edan’s obsession with me was a problem to think about later. After all, there was a separate issue that I had to face immediately.

“…It’s a shame. I thought it was almost over.”

As Edan pulled me out, MacHart, who had no reason to stay in that world, opened the portal and revealed himself again.

From the outside, it looked like he was opening up the air and walking out, and the guy who came out was standing a bit away from me and Edan, watching us and muttering to himself.

“I was surprised to find you had already come amidst the chaos, but that warrior guy doesn’t seem to be the one.”

“…So it was your doing after all. I was wondering what was going on when the disguise magic of Blaze’s beloved disappeared, and then Prince Antonio suddenly popped up.”

“Yeah, it was fun, right? Thanks to that, the warrior guys are still stuck in the banquet hall. I worried for nothing.”

Thanks to Edan, we somehow managed to escape from that guy’s world, but the battle between me and MacHart was far from over.

If anything, you could say it was just starting now. Until a little while ago, there was no chance of me winning against MacHart, but now, with Edan, a sword expert, joining us, it was a situation worth trying.

“Black energy, of course, but there’s also a blue energy flowing through his entire body. Could it be that he’s fully awakened?”

Until now, I had only briefly touched upon the realm of an expert, but the overflowing energy I felt from Edan now was almost like he had fully awakened.

Of course, I had seen a similar sight during the Kraken subjugation battle. Although I thought it was a temporary phenomenon as it subsided after the battle back then.

Considering that there were times during the sparring with Harold where he would occasionally awaken as an expert, perhaps Edan was the type to become stronger in major battles. Looking back at the original game where Edan, who was a minor villain at the beginning, was unusually strong in the mid-boss battle, he seemed to be the type to get stronger in life-threatening battles. Whether this was a unique characteristic of Edan as a character or just a coincidence that his abilities overlapped with the original work, I wasn’t sure.

-Thud.

From Ethan’s embrace, I also held a dagger in each hand, ready to engage in battle in earnest. Regardless, it would take more time for Gyeommyeojoshaegigwot and Serista to arrive, so until then, Ethan and I had to face MacHart together.

“Be careful, Ethan. We must avoid being sucked into that guy’s world no matter what.”

“…I got it, Lillis.”

“So, are you going to hold out until the other heroes arrive? Sorry, but it’s already too late!”

“Oh…!”

With MacHart’s words, the surrounding scenery darkened once again. Although I momentarily felt a sense of confusion at the darkening colors, I quickly assessed the landscape and quietly smiled to myself.

This space was not the dark inner world that the guy had shown me before, but rather a space created by MacHart just to show off. It was easy to see.

“Capturing a woman who has entered my space again is easier than stepping on ants crawling on the ground. It’s a pity. I came to save my beloved fiancée, but ended up being captured together.”

It was a bluff. If he had such means from the beginning, he could have attacked me in the academy, and there was no need for the chase in the backyard of the palace just now.

MacHart’s inner world created in contact with the opponent was a dangerous ability, making even moving one arm or leg difficult, but creating an inner world without contact was not a big threat.

In this space, MacHart could not completely overpower Ethan and me who had entered together. Eventually, it was a space where we had to engage in a second battle using all our strength, so what had been saved until now would be used.

Of course, even if it was a space created by him, MacHart could use his unique abilities much more efficiently, but the same was true for Ethan and me. Especially for me, the constraints on magic use that came with leaving the palace had disappeared.

No matter how much space he created, a magic versus magic battle was manageable. And with Ethan as an ally, the image of both of us falling or something similar was not well depicted.

“Being captured together, what a ridiculous statement.”

“…Hmm.”

“Anyway, a world without Lillis is just fake to me, so even in this space, as long as she is by my side, this place is as real to me as my own world.”

“….”

…Gosh, how annoying, seriously.

I don’t know if Ethan consciously said it, but because of his words, I felt my face flush with embarrassment. It was fortunate that my changing complexion was not very noticeable against the dull black and white background.

Even MacHart seemed slightly taken aback by Ethan’s response, hesitating for a moment before continuing with what he wanted to say.

“There’s no need to show off in front of a woman. In the face of the fear of death, men and women are all the same.”

“….”

“And, you know, I wasn’t interested if it wasn’t for that woman. I don’t have any grudge against you. I honestly don’t want to fight.”

“You talk too much. With the power of the demons, can’t you handle both me and Lillis at the same time?”

“In this space, I can easily defeat both of you as much as I want. The woman over there knows that best, right? If you think it’s a bluff, you can ask her for a moment.”

Having already stepped foot into the guy’s space twice, MacHeart seemed to think that I would be afraid of this space.

Well, if I really was ignorant about his patterns, I might have felt despair at being sucked back into this space again. But from the start, I was a veteran among veterans who had cleared “Luminor Academy” 24.9 times.

Having sliced MacHeart’s throat twenty-five times in the game, I couldn’t help but distinguish this kind of pattern. If Ethan were to ask, I could easily point out the weaknesses of this space and even expose his bluff.

“I don’t need it.”

“…What?”

“…Excuse me?”

“I clearly said. No matter what kind of space this is, to me, only the world with Lillis is the real world.”

“……”

“……”

“The biggest reason I wield my sword is for Lillis, so no matter how much you try to scare me and run away with Lillis, it’s futile. Such a thing won’t happen until my bones are shattered. Rather than leaving Lillis behind and living a cowardly life, I will step forward and become a shield to protect her. Even if I have to give Lillis a small scratch, it will only be possible after tearing my body apart.

And even if you are a strong enemy that I cannot defeat, I will fight alongside Lillis until the end in this unknown world. That’s why I started learning the sword.”

What kind of thoughts did he usually have to be able to casually say such cheesy words without hesitation?

Listening from the side, I found it difficult to lift my head in various ways due to Ethan’s declaration.

…Somehow, I had a feeling that after today, it would be difficult to look at Ethan’s face in a different way than before.