I fully understood what it meant.
Ultimately, it didn’t mean that Cluna and Clara were rampaging without a plan. But instead, Hans’s urgency deepened because the leader of the Anti-Demon Alliance was Revel.
Surprisingly, there wasn’t much information about Revel. All that was known was that he was a new Demon King leading the Demons and was cunning beyond imagination, taking good care of his kindred.
Of course, that was enough information back then. After all, how much attention do you give to the final boss in an adult game? If the final boss was an accessible heroine, it would be a different story.
Anyway, that author Revel was cunning beyond belief. Many had fallen for his sweet whispers. Even Helia from the original story had been lured in.
In other words, Hans thought that no one knew what Revel would do to Clara and Cluna. It had only been a year since the Anti-Demon Alliance had begun serious activities after contacting them.
So he forced himself to think that they might still be safe. After all, it was true that time was short. Hans hastily finished his preparations.
“Are you planning to go to them right away?”
“Of course.”
“There could be other ways.”
“What do you mean?”
“For example, finding another comrade first.”
This was a genuine piece of advice. Even though the Anti-Demon Alliance was active against the kindred, it was still the territory of the Demons—a hell where one could easily lose their life.
It’s really unfortunate. Ideally, they should gather other comrades first, and then rescue Cluna and Clara. If they can’t hold out until then, there’s nothing they can do.
No matter how much the elder Maquenis was an Elf, that was a solid fact. Hadn’t Hans almost died at the hands of the kindred before? However, Hans replied unimpressed.
“Isn’t it natural to help the comrade in the most urgent danger first?”
“I see, I misspoke.”
Elder Maquenis chuckled and nodded. He was the Commander of the Royal Knights. He probably understood the seriousness and danger of the situation very well. Yet, he chose to act.
To help the comrades in the most dangerous situation. That’s why he could earn their recognition and become the Commander of the Royal Knights. It made a bit more sense to Hans now.
“Damn, please be safe.”
However, contrary to Elder Maquenis’s thoughts, Hans had no time to think about such things. Having barely survived for three years, he had just been granted freedom.
And there were many things he wanted to say to them. But parting this way was unacceptable. But what can he do now? No wyvern, no scrolls.
“Are you trying to go there? To that hellish place.”
“Yes, how many times do I have to say it?”
“Then I’ll help.”
“You will help?”
“Yeah, don’t let this fool you, I’m quite skilled in magic.”
Elder Maquenis slammed his staff on the ground. A massive magic circle appeared beneath Hans and Lua’s feet, shimmering in a light green color.
Is it teleportation magic? Hans nodded. With this, it seemed he could easily reach them. Just then, Elder Maquenis, who had been looking at Hans for a moment, opened his mouth.
“Please save them.”
“Of course.”
“Wait, this is…!!”
Lua tried to intervene urgently, but Elder Maquenis, having already received permission from Hans, had no reason to hold back. Plus, Hans had no intention of stopping him. Time was of the essence.
There was no way he could delay further. Ignoring Lua’s words, Elder Maquenis promptly cast the teleportation spell. The light from the glowing magic circle enveloped them.
After a brief moment, they opened their eyes to find themselves in a forest. However, it was not the Elven Forest. If the Elven Forest was what one would typically imagine, this place was truly a twisted forest.
Weeds, and even the trees and insects, were all unfamiliar, and they were on guard against the sudden intruders. Hans clicked his tongue at the sight.
“Where is this?”
“I told you so! You should at least know where you’re going!!”
“It’s a place sent by Elder Maquenis, so we have to trust it.”
Hans chose a decent excuse in response to Lua’s words. After all, Elder Maquenis wouldn’t send them just anywhere. It must be related to them or nearby.
At least, that’s what Hans wanted to believe.
*
After wandering around the forest all day, they couldn’t find Cluna and Clara, nor could they find a proper path. Ultimately, Hans and Lua had no choice but to camp out.
Surprisingly, Lua liked it. It was the first time she had camped outside. And that meant Hans had to do everything by himself. Thankfully, he had brought some gear with him.
If he hadn’t, they would have immediately been stuck sleeping outside. Hans sighed as he set up the tent. He also had some food from the Elven village, but that seemed a bit awkward to use already.
“The fruits taste disgusting, too.”
“There might be poison in them.”
“It might be twisted, but this is an apple. It’s just that it tastes awful.”
“Is that so?”
Moreover, he had already done a clinical experiment. He had caught a passing monster and fed the fruit to it. Most of the fruits contained no poison. However, the fruit resembling a banana was quite serious.
“If we had eaten that banana-like thing, we would have been in big trouble.”
“It died in less than three seconds.”
“Yeah.”
Despite the terrible taste of the fruit, Hans forced it into his mouth. He had no choice; he needed to ration his food. He thought about grilling the monster to eat, but abandoned that idea.
For one, the smell was too repulsive to consider eating it. Meanwhile, Lua was happily sucking the blood of a monster. Hans looked at her with disgust.
“Is that blood so delicious?”
“No, it doesn’t taste good. But I’m hungry, so what can I do?”
“I see.”
Lua kept staring at Hans silently. But Hans lightly ignored her gaze. She had often given him that look since ages ago. Three years ago, back in that tunnel.
‘Thinking back, I got a lot of help from that little one.’
Whether intentional or not, she came every day without fail. Yet, when faced with him directly, she would run away, just like a cat, making him chuckle.
Thanks to that, he was able to lighten his mental burden just a little. Hans decided to trust his comrades. The belief that they could survive even without him. In a way, it was a very irresponsible thought.
But that was also the reason Hans could trust his comrades so much. However, Lua did not understand that. While she didn’t know the details, her mother had told her that she had been betrayed by her comrades.
“So, how can you trust your comrades?”
“At least I don’t think I was betrayed.”
“Why not? They hypnotized you without permission.”
“People can stray from the path once in a while, especially in tough situations like this.”
At first, he was taken aback. Then he pondered why he felt that way and even hated them at one point. However, with time, what remained was nostalgia. He wanted to see them again.
“So, does that mean you’ll forgive them all?”
“It’ll depend on the story.”
“How can you say that?”
“Forgiveness is like that. It’s something both very difficult and very simple.”
Honestly, even Hans wasn’t sure. He just wanted to meet and hear their stories. That would probably determine everything later. Hans let out a sigh. Meeting them was the priority.
While chewing on the last awful fruit, Hans felt a familiar sensation. It reminded him of when Zairkan appeared every night, bringing nightmares. But…
At the same time, it was a sensation from another dimension. Hans lifted his head. In a world where everything had stopped, dyed in shades of gray, she was there. Sitting on top of Lua and smiling.
“How did you make it here?”
“Time. Why has this bastard appeared again?”
“No, I just thought you might need my help.”
“…I don’t need your help anymore.”
“Really? I don’t think so.”
The body that had been taken from him had already become hers. Except for the black eyes. The divided red and black pupils were fixed on Hans.
“By the way, the next thing I’m going to take is your heart.”
“If you take my heart, I’ll die.”
“Well, that’s not necessarily true.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll know soon enough. At that point, there’s no turning back.”
Just as Hans was about to retort at the absurd words coming from Time, she vanished in an instant. Instead, Lua blinked at him.
“Hans? Did something happen?”
“No, nothing.”
Hans shook his head coldly.
Whatever she was thinking, it wouldn’t flow the way she wanted.
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