VIP Chapter 525: For My Beloved’s Love
In a certain instant, perhaps at the moment his vision blurred…
“Hiss…”
Will felt a piercing pain in his left eye. For a moment, it felt like something was fiercely ripped from his left eye. Then, the “Illusion Magic” from Zero Demon City, which he could still use smoothly before, suddenly seemed to vanish from his skill bar…
Gone. The power belonging to a “Demon” was scattered in the wind.
Will stood in place, feeling that his vision had become “very strange.” His right eye, still wearing the Monocle, could see the clear world beyond the lens, but his other eye, which had gained purple pupils, was no longer clear.
“!? ”
Carver, standing opposite him, discovered this at the same time. Of course, Will thought… Carver likely noticed because Will’s eye color had returned to normal.
“It seems the woman you trust has failed. Heh. Listen, outsider, this is the first lesson I’ll teach you…”
Without the illusion magic that could deceive others, Will had to rely on his own reflexes to dodge the axe before him.
“Tsk…”
He wanted to say something to Carver, but Carver, who prioritized “killing him,” was already so frenzied that he didn’t give Will any time to speak.
“No one can stop me from overthrowing the ‘script’ of this world, and no one can replace me in completing this task…”
Having experienced all of Carver’s memories, Will knew that Carver, who had reached this point through his own strength, absolutely could not tolerate his achievements being taken by Will. But… for some reason, Will felt a slight “inconsistency” in his twelve experiences. Where was the inconsistency? If these twelve experiences were like an advancing “history” rather than a cyclical world, as he said—constantly changing and developing in a more advanced direction—then there must also be something “advancing” within them… What was advancing? What exactly had it developed?
*Bang.*
If Carver were willing to stop, he could quickly figure out the answer to this question, but Carver’s every move gave him no opportunity! Only after the brief recovery lag from the giant axe hitting the ground did Will manage to ask that question.
“You want to kill me so badly with speed because you’re afraid I’ll stop and figure out the answer to this question?”
“Shut up.”
“Is what you want to do truly possible?”
What Carver wanted to do… was to prevent everyone from reaching the deepest part of the Dungeon. The event that, in his memory, caused the entire world to be “rewritten” and “tampered with” sounded like the destruction of the world. But… what if it was “inevitable”? Stories must have an ending. Fictional worlds must have a conclusion. …Really?
“I’ll tell you—it doesn’t matter to me if I succeed or fail this time. I have next time, I have many more twelve lifetimes.”
Even Will felt that his words were “convincing himself.” From the memories he had just accessed, the one who hated these cycles the most was Carver himself.
“Now that the Zero Demon City is no longer under Treya’s control, you have no reason to fight. It’s just a dying struggle.”
He gripped his axe again, but after Will’s questioning, he seemed to calm down a bit. However, his tone was calm; the offensive onslaught from his hands had not stopped at all.
“You’re a little… pathetic.”
Will didn’t know why, but after finally seeing through Carver, this was the only evaluation he had left. He could understand Carver’s behavior as a BOSS, he could understand Carver’s feelings towards him, but… he simply couldn’t agree that Carver could win by doing this. This was even born from… a sorrow that he viewed this world as a “story.” A character acting as the final BOSS, their actions and the path they endorsed, were always “wrong.” They needed the true Protagonist to “correct” them. No matter what he had experienced to think this way, no matter what he insisted on, no matter how much he sacrificed for it. This was the logic of the story.
“Your greatest mercy is not to comfort me with words, but… to die here.”
*Clang.*
The ghost’s axe struck down, only to be blocked by the last beam of holy magic. This was the final time. The “large” amount of holy magic he had stored after hearing Shuna’s message was all used up. Although he was grateful to Shuna, storage indeed had its limits. The subsequent attacks were completely down to luck for him; if he could dodge them, everything would be fine, and if not, he could only lie down and be slaughtered. …As if!
“Made it… for the last time.”
Gazing at the sky of the white world, Will smiled.
“?!”
Carver also sensed something was wrong. Something was about to happen. In Will’s eyes, he could already see the hope of “reversal.” He didn’t even need to raise his head. His instinct allowed him to support the spectral battle axe, which hadn’t fully recovered after the holy magic faded, and swing it towards Will’s head at the fastest speed. However…
Colorful waves, accompanied by his movement, spread from his shoes towards Will. Will looked up, intending to face the axe directly. But his eyes were blocked by beautiful white wings, through which he could only see a clear white light beam.
*Swish—*
And then… Only then did he faintly hear the sound of flapping wings coming from behind him. Immediately after, before Will’s eyes, on the wings, he saw a trace of “blood,” extremely vibrant bloodstains.
“Tsk…”
He heard Carver in front of him cry out in pain. Deducing from these two events, he knew Carver had suffered no small injury.
“Teacher Will, thank you for keeping your promise. Now, I have found that ‘possibility’…”
Treya’s affectionate voice came close to his ear, as if deliberately teasing him, using the title “Teacher” again.
“Treya, you’re… a little different?”
Will turned his head and found that Treya had already embraced him from behind, holding him tightly. A smile appeared on her face. The smile of reunion after a long separation. The smile of finally understanding her own emotions. And… the smile of knowing how to express that emotion. A smile that was natural, no longer stiff on her face as if it wasn’t from her heart, merely imitating emotion.
“Mmm… What could be different about me standing by your side as before?”
“Alright, you haven’t changed in that regard.”
Will felt that peculiar, slightly distant aura of someone who wasn’t good at communicating, emanating from Treya. …Wait, hold on?
Will suddenly realized something. More than what kind of personality Treya had, or what attitude she should display… what seemed more important was… Why had she become… become an angel?!
