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Episode 231.1

Flap, Flap-.

Each time the fan was shaken, the fallen dead would come back to ‘life,’ reassembling their bones and flesh. It felt like enduring an endless horde. 

I felt like I had already defeated dozens, or even hundreds of corpses, but this battle was dragging on with no end in sight.

“Theo-nim, I’ll handle the undead. Please focus on dealing with the necromancer…!”

“Got it!”

And so I left the undead to Balan.

Balan reached into the air and chanted a gloomy incantation. The blue glow in the eyes of the dead turned red. Then they began to lash out at each other in internal conflict, arms reaching and legs kicking.

━Graaaa-!

━Geiaaaaa-!

Crunch, crack.

“…da…?”

The necromancer tilted her head as if she couldn’t comprehend the situation. Soon, realizing that Balan was taking control of the undead, she unfurled her fan again.

“Nope, you can’t!”

─Mero Mero Beam-!

“…Ga…!”

She jolted as the purple lightning shot by the tail wand struck her.

“Grrrrr…!”

However, because of the necromancer’s strong will, she was able to struggle and fight it. 

Crackle, crackle. The purple lightning seemed to coil around her like a chain. Finally, with a sound like glass breaking, she exhaled a misty breath.

“Hrrrrr-!”

She was clearly furious.

Honestly, I was a bit taken aback, as I didn’t expect her to resist my Mero Mero Beam. The spell still needed a lot of improvements, it seemed.

No, there was no time to dwell on such.

Surung-.

The necromancer drew a long, thin sword then started charging at me.

“Grrr-!!!”

“Eup!”

Whoosh-. I quickly ducked to avoid the blade that nearly sliced my throat. A moment’s delay, and my head would have fallen off!

However, her inability to contain her rage and the fact that she charged at me was a good thing. Staying low, I quickly wrapped my arms around her waist.

“Ha-!?”

Her waist was so slender that it fitted snugly in my hands. While in her embrace, I could smell the sweet scent of peaches and apple mint at the same time.

Suddenly, I felt a deep longing and hesitation.

Because of this momentary distraction, I vividly felt a fiery sensation pierce through my flesh and shoulder muscle.

Thunk!

“Ha, ha-!”

“Grrr-!”

I never thought I’d get stabbed in my life.

“The, Theo-nim!”

Balan’s shout and the searing pain snapped me back to reality.

I was well aware that this wasn’t real. This wasn’t reality, and the woman in front of me wasn’t the person I knew.

I knew.

I knew it all along.

But to hide the unease in my heart, I hugged her slender waist even tighter.

* * *

When the storm had finally subsided, all the undead were reduced to mere fragments that littered the ground.

“Th, that was incredible magic! A tempest that rips the world apart. Even the formidable necromancer couldn’t withstand it.”

Balan clicked her tongue as she looked at the necromancer lying motionless on the ground. I, on the other hand, calmly suppressed the myriad of emotions swirling within me.

Then, suddenly, an uncontrollable anger surged through me like an awl.

“How long will you keep playing games, Theodoros?”

Unsurprisingly, there was no response.

Instead, a door appeared before us.

With one last glance at the fallen necromancer, I turned away and stepped through the door.

In an instant, the world around us transformed once again.

“This is….”

It was a rather familiar scene.

Tall pillars reaching skyward. Torches illuminating the dark interior, and a red velvet carpet laid out on the floor.

Around it, swords and spears jutted out like thorns, and at the end of that path was a throne said to be made from the melted crowns of various nations.

The woman sitting there fixed her black eyes on me.

“Well done reaching this far, challengers.”

That made me nearly lose my composure, but I barely managed to hold on.

“So, this is how you want to play?”

She was draped in a black dress. Over it, she wore a red cape-like shawl adorned with jewels.

A tiara resembling a spider rested on her head, and the longsword in her hand gleamed brightly as it reflected the moonlight seeping through the window.

In front of her stood a man in a pressed robe. Holding a long stone scepter, he looked like a wicked monk or an evil spirit.

“Theodoros-.”

“You don’t seem surprised by this, as if you knew this was going to happen.”

“…….”

“This is a future in the name of possibility. It is the embodiment of a fate that should have happened. How do you find the final act of the stage I have set?”

The one who answered was Balan, who had been hiding behind me.

“… This is the future?”

“But it’s a stillborn future, distorted by the flutter of a single butterfly’s tiny wings. Regrettably.”

It was as Theodoros had said.

This was what was supposed to happen.

Bellhawk, Draco, and the Queen of Tarantera were destined to be crushed by this fate.

“I intended to make it so. To bring everything down with these hands. I, Theodoros, planned to make it happen from above everyone.”

Kkwak-.

The man with a clenched fist then reached his hand towards me.

“However, someone unexpected ruined everything. Theo Gospel, everything about you. It was originally my plan… Usurper of fate, who exactly are you!?”

There were many parts of his words that bothered me. In fact, I wanted to ask him questions. He seemed to know about episodes that had already been twisted out of existence.

He continued speaking.

“Theo Gospel. The Demon Monk of Angmar. That was supposed to be my role. You took everything I was supposed to bear. As a result, my plans have become more complex and difficult.”

“So you are the Demon Monk of Angmar. Is that what you want to say?”

Instead of answering, the man drew a smirk under his robe. Just as his teeth began to show-.

Surung-.

“Let’s cut the nonsense.”

The Queen rose from her throne with her sword.

At the same time, the embedded spears and swords began to float in the air.

Sling, sling-.

“The, Theo-nim. The sword…!”

Balan, greatly startled, trembled.

She probably didn’t know that the Queen could control the swords with telekinesis.

This demonstrated why the Tyrant Queen could earn the title of Swordmaster despite being a mage.

It was a scene I never wanted to witness with my own eyes, but there was no choice now. All I could do was fight and subdue her.

Kkwaak-.

As I tightened my grip on the wand, the Queen’s lips curved into a crescent moon smile.