Chapter: 201
The White Mask dashed forward and swung down at Noah’s sword. Noah deflected the attack and glided smoothly to evade the blow.
The sound of metal clashing echoed across the battlefield. The White Mask quickly changed direction, aiming for her side. Noah twisted her body, narrowly avoiding the attack.
The White Mask’s strike screeched as it grazed Noah’s armor. Noah’s sword glinted sharply as it swung toward the White Mask’s side.
Displaying incredible agility, the White Mask stepped back. He resumed his attacking stance and began to unleash a series of rapid strikes on Noah.
Noah clenched her teeth against the flurry of attacks that left shadows in their wake. Each blow was powerful and precise.
The two faced each other with no intention of yielding. Noah skillfully deflected and blocked the opponent’s attacks, looking for a chance to counterattack.
Their fight resembled a fierce dance, fluid yet intense. The White Mask attempted to exploit an opening to parry her sword, but Noah executed a swift rotation, evading his sword and seizing the chance to strike back.
With all her strength, Noah plunged into the gaps. The White Mask leaned back, dodging an attack aimed at his neck in an instant.
Tap.
Noah’s sword tip grazed the edge of the White Mask.
Crunch, snap.
With a strong magical energy-infused attack, the mask shattered in half, falling apart cleanly.
“Um…?”
Noah stared at her opponent’s face, dazed like a soldier stepping onto the battlefield for the first time.
His snow-white hair flowed smoothly like silk. His golden eyes, radiant like the sun in a collapsing world, pierced through her.
His flawless face framed a pair of lifeless lips, smirking in a straight line, devoid of any emotion. A vague premonition turned into certainty as the name slipped from Noah’s lips.
“Lian…?”
Just as Noah whispered his name, lost in the moment, the opponent seized the opportunity and swiftly charged at her. Even though the sword was mere moments from her face, she couldn’t move.
The blade, which had earlier sounded feeble, was now forcefully shoved aside. The only resistance she could muster was holding onto her sword until the end.
As another attack aimed at her neck surged forward—
Clang!
Suddenly, a flash of red hair obscured her vision.
“What are you doing?!”
Noah jolted, as though cold water had been splashed on her, awakened by a fierce growl.
“Noah!”
“…!”
Before she could regain her fighting stance, she felt an overwhelming sensation that resonated with her soul. Time stretched out like thread, and her breath escaped slowly. Her eyes glided to a strange man standing nearby.
“Li…an?”
Even though she met the gaze of dull black eyes instead of radiant golden ones, Noah unconsciously spoke his name. The experience of having Lian deep inside her had left an instinctual recognition of his soul.
The battle between Jess and Fake Lian was fiercer than any before, cutting through the surrounding ground. Lian batted away incoming attacks with his sword and seized Jess’ hand.
“Ah…”
“Noah! Focus!”
Amidst the tumultuous chaos between Fake Lian and Lian, Noah barely managed to collect herself and began to retreat alongside Lian.
“Ha ha ha!”
“Hunt! It’s a hunt!”
With that cheer, agile Beastmen leaped into the battlefield behind Jess, mercilessly attacking the enemy, prompting the commander’s urgent call.
“Retreat!”
“Fall back!”
While it could be said that the Beastmen and the Empire were allies due to facing the same enemy, the Imperial Army, unaware of this fact, quickly withdrew their soldiers. The Beastmen took the spots left behind.
With bared fangs, they unleashed swift movements, ripping into the enemies with no mercy.
*
“Damn it, damn it! To be pushed back by inferior beings!”
The Outsider, occupying Lian’s body, cursed inwardly, yet Lian’s mouth remained firmly shut and unmoving.
Thanks to his comedic powers, he could only watch the events unfold before him, like a spectator, with no other option.
Had he been able to use his true strength, he wouldn’t have been so easily overrun.
“Why the hell am I not moving?!”
He attempted to make Lian’s body move countless times, but it was as futile as a newborn trying to lift a massive boulder.
It might sound like he gained a body, but in reality, it was no different from being sealed away.
Right before his eyes, sharp claws passed by, and a chilling attack targeted his throat. The moment even the slightest gap appeared, it would be instant death.
“No, I can’t die like this!”
If the Outsider held sole control over Lian’s body, that would be one thing, but in his current restrained state, Lian’s death could mean the simultaneous destruction of his own soul.
Instinctively aware of this, the Outsider began to think frantically.
“I need to find the best possible way… a way to survive..”
Using the only part he could move—his eyes—he fought desperately to figure out a solution.
“…!”
Did ‘that person’ smile down on his efforts?
“Found it!”
His greedy gaze turned toward the black-haired Lian. Fake Lian’s lips, previously poised in a straight line, quivered slightly with the thrill of taking control of the expression.
In that fleeting moment, a plan flashed through his mind, and even though he couldn’t move a finger of his own accord, the Outsider quickly made a decision.
He pulled together all his willpower, even the scant causal relationships there were, to wrest control of Lian’s body for about ten seconds. The moment he regained control, the Outsider—
Whoosh.
He stuck his neck out at Jess’s attacking claws, a move akin to suicide, causing Jess to flinch and inadvertently release her grip.
While she cognitively knew another being operated Lian’s body, her instinct as a lover compelled her to step back.
Slash! Crack!
“Gah!”
“…!”
Even though she had released her strength at the end, the destructive power within didn’t simply disappear. A long gash opened from shoulder to side. Blood dripped down as the familiar scent of iron burst forth.
“Huff, huff… ugh!”
Fake Lian staggered, panting heavily, and pressed down on the wound with his other hand.
Just before he lost control, the Outsider stopped Lian’s body completely. With every breath and heartbeat ceasing simultaneously, Lian’s body toppled forward like a matter-of-course.
“…!”
Jess instinctively caught Lian’s collapsing form, her fur bristling. Her heightened senses clearly felt Lian’s heartbeat and breath fading away.
‘This is… this isn’t my master, it isn’t Lian.’
Despite knowing this, her heart still sank. Jess hoisted Lian’s cooling body and swiftly turned toward the camp.
If she couldn’t confirm Lian—black-haired, black-eyed—immediately, she’d feel like collapsing right there.
Shortly after Jess left the battlefield, the atmosphere shifted to chaos. The Demon Lord’s army began to retreat after realizing Fake Lian, their hidden card, had fallen.
“Hey! Where do you think you’re going?!”
“Stop right there!”
The excitable Beastmen attempted to chase them down, but powerful magic blocked their path, halting their advance.
Eventually, amid this ambiguous atmosphere, the curtain fell on the battle.
*
The sudden appearance of a strong ally, the death of the fearsome enemy known as the White Mask.
From the Imperial Army’s perspective, it was a reason to celebrate, yet the mood was heavier and colder than usual.
The commander, with brown hair and blue eyes, was tightly pursed, looking down at the map spread across the meeting room table, while others continuously babbled about “the White Mask.”
So, the White Mask, or Fake Lian, had racked up numerous victories across battlefields. In other words, he had swept through the Imperial Army.
His infamy was so high that there was even a commander who fell off his horse upon hearing news of his appearance.
Yet, that terrifying being had been captured by their army!
While it was Jess, the leader of the Beastmen, who had directly defeated the White Mask, it was unreasonable to claim credit. However, they treated the Beastmen as akin to wild beasts rushing out of the forest, so they schemed to take the credit for bringing down the White Mask.
What they were eagerly discussing wasn’t how to fairly share the spoils they’d just received.
“It was clear he betrayed us from the start!”
“That commoner who claimed to be kidnapped by the Demon King might actually be in league with the Demon Lord!”
Noah, of course, and even Lian, were completely unprepared for such accusations to surface.
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