Deadline Is Raining in the Status Window - Chapter 193

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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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“Absolute Freeze! Maximum output!”
I drew upon every ounce of mana to counter the breath attack, and the ground beneath my feet caved inward, following the contours of my body. Simply standing against it was agony. The backlash of magic shredded my arm where it extended behind the mixer, leaving it a bloody mess. But without this desperate measure, there was no way to block that assault.
“Aaaaaaaah!”
Die! Die, you bastard!
I poured every ounce of accumulated resentment into my magic. My ice magic, darkened and thickened with my own blood, tore through the breath attack and surged forward.
“Cough!”
My magic struck the woman. As my attack pierced through the dragon’s thick hide, she sputtered and clasped her hands together, attempting to tear away the magic. I focused my superhuman skill on my vision, locating the area of her body where mana gathered most densely. The dragon’s heart must be there.
“Cancel.”
Withdrawing my magic, I enhanced my body’s functions with mana and leaped upward in one explosive motion. I stretched my hand toward the center of the dragon’s chest and shouted Absolute Freeze. Creating a massive claw-shaped formation of ice, I pulled my arm back as if grasping something. The ice claw pierced through the dragon’s chest and tore out a glowing blue sphere.
The enormous dragon’s body convulsed, then released a low, anguished cry—”Kuuuuung”—before collapsing to its side. Dragon’s blood poured forth in torrents, not merely soaking the ground but pooling into vast puddles. The woman’s eyes fluttered once, then, as if drowsiness overwhelmed her, she gently closed them.
“My love!”
Duke Neftis was the first to move. Apparently indifferent to the revelation that his wife was actually a dragon, the man rushed toward the massive creature, crying out her name.
“My love, my love. Open your eyes. Procula!”
The dragon’s blood was acidic—Evan’s Father’s clothes dissolved where he stepped in the puddle, and his skin reddened and burned. Yet he seemed oblivious to the pain, grasping the dragon’s enormous claws and shaking them frantically as he wept. Asking someone who wasn’t breathing to open their eyes was an unreasonable request.
“Step back! You’ll only add to the injured!”
Apet moved next. Determined to save the Duchess by any means, she repeatedly chanted “Healing approaching resurrection” as she unleashed her skills. Even as she exhausted her mental strength and coughed blood, Apet continued casting healing magic.
Surprising. Using skills through sheer mental fortitude alone—she must be purely human, not a demon.
“Sigh.”
I felt no sorrow. The Mitchell portion of my consciousness was actually experiencing elation. Who said revenge was hollow? After enduring twenty years, accomplishing it felt exhilarating.
As for Evan Mitchell, the merged whole self… well, it felt somewhat bitter.
“Daughter, my daughter, Mitchell. Give that back to Mother, won’t you?”
Evan’s Father, driven from the pool of blood, came to me and pleaded. I opened my status window and confirmed that my death sentence had vanished, then looked at the dragon’s heart I held frozen in ice.
Hmm… if I put it back, would it actually go back in?
“A dragon’s heart is like an organ of the body. Once forcibly torn out, there’s no way to reattach it.”
At the Department Head Professor’s interjection, Evan’s Father began weeping as if his breath might fail him. What if she doesn’t wake up? What if she truly dies? But I had no answers to give, for I had none myself. There was no method, no choice. I needed the dragon’s heart to solve my death sentence, and I had chosen the Duchess Neftis as the target—someone whose death would cause no heartache to either of us.
“Look here! Your wife is breathing! She’s breathing!”
Apet, having expended even her remaining stamina and coughing blood for a second time, cried out in joy. Though she laughed that her efforts weren’t wasted, her face was completely drained of color, as if she might collapse at any moment.
True to her reputation of dragging even the dead back from the afterlife, the healed dragon was now flawless, unmarred as if before the battle. The wounds from my magic were gone, the gaping hole in her chest where I’d extracted the dragon’s heart—all had grown new flesh and sealed shut.
“Will Procula, will my wife… will she live? Can she survive?”
“I can’t guarantee that. I’ve done my best, and the rest depends on her own recovery ability… For now, it seems she’ll sleep for quite some time.”
My heart eased somewhat. I’m not sure why I felt reassured, but in any case, it was less oppressive than before. Since she couldn’t be moved in dragon form, Gerth granted permission for the Duchess to remain here under his care. The Dragon King, using his specialty in metalwork, constructed a sturdy metal lair around the sleeping dragon, and fashioned a small dwelling for Evan’s Father as well.
“Let’s rest for today. You’re welcome to use Serpent King’s Tower as you wish.”
Apet needed somewhere to lie down immediately, and the others were exhausted from the day’s events. Having made this declaration out of consideration for everyone, Gerth approached me and carefully opened his mouth.
“Evan.”
“Yes.”
“I thought I… understood you. But it seems I don’t know you well at all.”
“Is that so.”
“Give me more time.”
“If you keep giving me time, I’ll grow old and die.”
“At least you have the energy to joke. That’s a relief.”
Gerth awkwardly spread his arms to gauge the distance, then pulled me into an embrace and held me motionless for five full minutes. Just as I began to wonder if we’d be locked in this hug forever, the Tower’s voice reached us.
– I shall safeguard the Dragon Heart. Do you permit this?
Now that I thought about it, I’d removed it, but I had no idea what to do with it. It hadn’t fused with me like it had with the Machine King, and I certainly couldn’t eat something this massive. If Iyongi ever awakened, there might be a way to reinsert it, so storing it in the Tower seemed wisest. As I nodded my consent, Gerth also inclined his head.
“Since it’s precious, keep it in the central chamber.”
– Understood.
The blue sphere I’d been cradling vanished with a whoosh, transported into the Tower’s interior.
I decided to rest in the Tower with my friends and Seian. The Sung King also seemed inclined to stay here for Apet’s sake. The Serpent King’s Tower Officials urged Evan’s Father to enter the Tower and rest as well, but he refused to leave Duchess Neftis’s side for even a moment.

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Even the next day, Evan’s Father hadn’t left the Dragon’s side. He wasn’t eating, just sitting there watching Mother, which worried me. And beyond that, I was concerned that the House of Neftis’s operations in the Capital had come to a complete standstill. Love for one’s spouse was admirable, but household affairs needed tending. He’d been so enthusiastic about the former glory of Neftis, about its new revival—how could he neglect it now?
We needed to rebuild the estate and discuss the future movements of our retainers, so I suggested that Evan’s Father return to Crownpolis to handle his duties. When he said he lacked the capacity for that, I asked him to grant me authority to act as Duke in his stead. The man gathered up the ring with the House seal, his identification papers, everything, threw them at me, and grew angry.
“Do it all! Take it all! Just be the Duke from today onward!”
Good grief, as if I’d killed someone on purpose. The time limit was pressing down on me too, and there was nothing I could do about it. He was just being temperamental.
I pouted and gathered up the ring and identification, then returned to the Tower. I had too much to do and didn’t want the responsibility, so I wasn’t going to actually become Duke. Evan’s Father needed to care for Mother, so I’d just temporarily cover his duties.
“Hey, are you okay? Your father keeps refusing to eat.”
“He’ll eat if he gets hungry. And I’m perfectly fine.”
“W-wait, Evan, I h-heard about the time limit. It w-was unavoidable, wasn’t it?”
“I said I’m perfectly fine.”
The Serpent King’s Tower Officials and the people who’d followed me from the Capital all stared at me with wide eyes after I’d pierced my own mother’s chest, until the Department Head Professor offered an explanation, and only then did they offer words of comfort.
They said it was unavoidable when it came down to either Mother dying or me dying, and that it was fortunate Duchess Neftis had survived after all. They went on and on, but being feared wasn’t pleasant, and being pitied like this felt even worse.
“Reina, are you heading back to the Capital?”
“Huh? Y-yes, I should go.”
“Then I’m counting on you to handle our household affairs and look after Seian.”
“You’re not going?”
“I have something to attend to.”
Apet looked like she’d march into the Land of Death itself if given the chance, so I needed to follow and keep watch. The Sung King could kidnap her at any moment. Besides, I owed Procura a debt for saving her life, so it was best to grant her some freedom for now.
“W-well then, I want to come too, Evan!”
“Don’t you have household duties?”
“N-no, I don’t!”
“You must be busy.”
“Not at all!”
Right. The head of the Assassination Family was insisting so firmly that she wasn’t busy, so who was I to argue? Kanna would come with me to follow Apet then. The Department Head Professor had to return for work, so I arranged for Ilyong to take Reina and Seian on a flight together.
Samryong said he’d stay at the Serpent King’s Tower for now since he was worried about Iyongi. Eugene naturally remained in Ilam to keep watch over Samryong.
“Are you truly all right?”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you really, truly all right?”
“How many times must I say it’s perfectly fine?”
Since things had come to this, I told Apet we should hurry to Durab or wherever and return quickly. The old codger pointed frantically toward the exit of the Tower, his concern for me evident.
“Still, Mother has become like that…”
“I have only one mother—Eleanor.”
“You’re truly heartless, aren’t you?”
“I’m actually quite sentimental.”
“No. You don’t seem to be.”
If you’d grown up taking beatings from your mother for nearly twenty years like I did, you wouldn’t say such things. When the Duchess died, I fulfilled my filial duty by not playing a triumphant hymn on an electric guitar.
In any case, the sooner I resolve this Land of Death, the better. I have much to do afterward—rebuilding the Neftis Townhouse, handling the Seian situation, and managing Cecilia’s expectations.

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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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