Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 192
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Of course she would. If Sera had known about this, she would have insisted on going to rescue people instead of spreading rumors. How could I have been so foolish?
“I’ve spent far too long in enemy territory. I’m going to find Sunbird.”
After all my scheming, Sera set her face firmly and departed to find Sunbird. Was this the first discord between them? I found it oddly fascinating, even though I wasn’t Cecilia.
“Elder, even if Zibenstein merely lends us a hand in form, please come with us! We must save lives, mustn’t we?”
This middle-aged woman was still courting. She planned to use this as an excuse to accompany us and snatch Apet away entirely. The scheme was so transparent I was about to interfere, but Gerth, who had been quiet, called my name.
“Evan.”
I couldn’t ignore Gerth’s call, so I gestured for him to continue. The man exhaled as if he’d made a grave decision, then spoke the word aloud in a measured voice.
“I cannot mate with you.”
Why do you get to decide that? I’m going to mate with Gerth.
“I refuse. I’m going to mate with Gerth.”
“You cannot.”
“I will.”
“You cannot.”
This would never end. I was about to ask why and let Gerth explain, when my father wedged himself between us, his face flushed crimson as he pointed at Gerth. He’d apparently come to interrogate what kind of man my daughter had been talking about mating with, and he shouted exactly what I’d expected.
“You’re handsome! You pass!”
If he’d been ugly, he probably would have had Mother kill him. I was grateful Gerth was handsome. Besides, if he hadn’t been handsome, I wouldn’t have wanted to mate with him in the first place.
“Why can’t you mate with me?”
I desperately want to mate with you. Gerth is handsome, his body is excellent, and he has the fascinating trait of not even dreaming of starting unless he can deadlift three hundred and fifty kilos. How much I’ve been anticipating this, and now you say you won’t mate? I’ll be a legal adult in just one more year.
“Iyongi is like my younger sibling, but I raised her as my own child.”
How did such a Confucian conservative emerge in a world without Confucianism? This is like saying a priest is equivalent to a parent-child relationship, so mating would be incest. Even in martial arts novels, they overcame that in the era of the founding patriarch.
“Are you saying you cannot mate with me because of Iyongi?”
“That’s correct.”
“I’ll kill Iyongi.”
If I killed Iyongi, I’d obtain a dragon heart and there would be no barrier between Gerth and me. When I laid out this miraculous logic, Gerth looked between Iyongi and me alternately. It was apparently quite a cultural shock, as his pupils dilated while he questioned me.
“You would kill your own mother?”
“My only mother is Eleanor. As for my biological mother, I’ve been dreaming of revenge, planning to kill her with my own hands since I grew hair.”
I’d clearly seen her get beaten to near death by the Duchess during break in Ilam, so why are you like this? When I told Gerth such incidents had happened countless times as I grew up, he made a thoughtful sound.
“Either way, one of you two had to die for this to end.”
Then Iyongi, who had been chatting with Ilyong about recent happenings, stood up. She spoke with detachment, saying if we were going to fight for our lives, we should finish it quickly. It seemed she’d anticipated this would happen.
“If you’re going to fight, go outside and do it.”
Samryong had been recruited, tea had been served, I’d been introduced to the healer I requested—Cecilia, having finished all her business, declared she was tired and would go rest. Since if I fought seriously, collapsing a building or two would be nothing, she told us to go far away to fight. I immediately thought of Serpent King’s Tower.
“Gerth. Would it be alright to use the courtyard in front of Serpent King’s Tower?”
“It’s communal property, so use it as you wish. But are you really going to fight?”
“I’m fighting.”
How many times are you going to make me say it? Today, I will either take Iyongi’s head or die trying—one of those two things will happen.
“Everyone going to Ilam, gather here!”
I pulled Apet, Seian Crowell, and the elder into one arm and raised my thumb, and Kanna grabbed my thumb first. Then Samryong joined, and since the Dragon King was going, Eugene said he must also go as an observer. Reina blew her horn, saying since she’d already brought alcohol, she might as well see how this ends before heading home.
“Hey! Why are you taking Apet with you!”
“Husband and wife are one body.”
After leaving those words with the Sung King, I activated my return skill, bringing everyone attached to me back with me. The Tower, quick on its feet, deposited us in the front courtyard rather than at its peak.
“Oh my! Has the wedding ended already?!”
Leri shouted from the middle of the Tower, and Eleanor’s mother, who had been waiting at the peak, also called out asking if the young lady had arrived, urging Hubert to come down. Everyone rushed out to see my wedding dress, and Gerth arrived a moment later with the remaining people through return magic. I suppose kind Gerth gave in to the Sung King’s fussing, though she could have been left behind.
“Oh my dear! If you’d sent me an invitation beforehand, I would have gone to see it!”
Things turned out that way because everything moved so quickly. But you’ve already seen me in my wedding dress, so that’s enough, isn’t it? When I said this, Mother wiped away tears, agreed, and scooped up Apet in her arms.
“Is this the groom? How adorable he looks!”
Mother was delighted, saying he’d grow into a very handsome young man. Unfortunately, it seemed he would remain twelve years old forever.
“What’s the groom’s name? What does he like? I’ll make him lots of delicious food.”
“My name is Apet. Please try to convince this young lady to divorce me.”
“Look at this little rascal, teasing so charmingly!”
Eleanor’s mother, having raised Mitchell, knew me very well. She advised me that once I had someone in my hands, that was the end of it, and I should just accept it. Then she pinched Apet’s cheek.
“Daughter! Even now, come beg with me to Mother! You’ll die if you keep charging in like that!”
“My, our young lady Mitchell has returned and brought the Duke with her.”
“Try to convince her quickly! Mitchell challenged Procura to a fight!”
Perhaps the shock from earlier had worn off and he was regaining his senses. Father, having witnessed everything up to now, insisted I beg unconditionally. Eleanor’s mother looked at the Duchess with surprise, then asked me while holding Apet.
“Young lady. Are you confident you can win?”
“Of course. Right now, I have no doubt I can defeat that woman.”
“Excellent! Go and finish it!”
“Have you lost your mind!”
Truly, Mother lived up to her reputation. Encouraged by my confident answer, she urged me to fight and come back, pushing me forward. The Duchess, having also steeled her resolve, entrusted my ranting father to the Department Head Professor.
“If anything happens to me, I ask that you look after Philat. She has many enemies.”
“Are you really going to fight?”
“Unlike you lot, I received a hint from Mother.”
The woman, saying it was better to die by her child’s hand than any other way, spoke with ominous meaning. She had everyone step back and removed the ornaments from her clothes. This was a duel between mages. It wouldn’t take long to determine a victor.
“Let’s see how much you’ve grown.”
“I’ve been waiting for a day like this, you damned bastard.”
A fight between mother and daughter. I’d kill anyone who tried to interfere, even if it were Gerth. As I growled like that, everyone clamped their mouths shut and watched us. I tore my wedding dress dramatically, creating a side slit, and activated my skill. I regretted not bringing the weapon Kanna had given me for the wedding.
“Free Freeze!”
I smoothly created an ice blade and hurled it toward my biological mother’s neck. The woman created a crystal to block it and moved her mana in a strange way, making it cling to me.
“Crystal. Sprout.”
The woman’s mana clinging to my arm transformed into crystal and grew rapidly, aiming for my neck. The sharp crystal couldn’t pierce my throat thanks to my defensive skill, Spear Rejection, but it soon changed direction, taking a form that seemed to trap me.
Since I couldn’t move like this, I grabbed the crystal’s roots and snapped them off. My flesh tore away entirely, and a scream escaped me.
“Ugh!”
“You charged in with only that much skill?”
Shut up, I haven’t even shown you half of what I can do yet!
Aiming for my opponent’s carelessness, I decided to overwhelm with sheer volume. Using House Neftis’s heirloom, I summoned a mass of water and created hundreds of ice spears. I infused each one with mana to increase their destructive power and fired them randomly at the woman, but the Duchess evaded with light, graceful movements and created an equal number of crystal spears to match me.
Ice and crystal collided in midair, bursting apart repeatedly. Even using the Machine King’s power to the fullest to create magic, the woman stubbornly matched me, and eventually she surpassed my volume, accelerating her assault.
“You damned monster!”
“I am one of the first three dragons. Of course I’m a monster.”
I’d been on the offensive moments ago, but after losing the war of attrition, I switched to defense and swung my fists to create an ice mixer. Crystalline pillars spun rapidly, shattering the crystals, and some of the shards grazed Evan’s Father’s face.
“!”
The moment blood appeared on Duke Neftis’s face, Duchess Neftis flinched. Damn it—I hadn’t wanted to gain the upper hand for a reason like this.
“Booster!”
As I expanded the mixer with full force, the woman blocked it with crystals, but unable to endure any longer, she transformed. When Duchess Neftis reverted to her true form as a colossal dragon, the Tower lurched violently and screams erupted from all around.
The end was near.
“ROOOAAARRR!”
The moment Duchess Neftis roared, azure mana converged to form a destructive beam. She’s a dragon, so of course she’d use dragon breath, but using magic and breath together? That’s cowardly!
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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