“Just as the Holy Son said.”
Geruen watched Li En, who had frozen in place, and her trust in Man En grew even stronger.
At the same time, a familiar aura arrived before her.
“This is…”
She looked up and saw Lai La floating in the air.
“Sir Geruen, where are you headed?”
Geruen glanced at Li En, who was now completely sprawled on the ground, devoid of any life force.
“Heh, I don’t think I need to explain myself to you, do I?”
“Oh, what a shame…”
Lai La shook her head slowly.
The moment she finished speaking, Geruen was already right beside her, moving so fast she left afterimages.
A sharp dagger stabbed straight toward Lai La’s throat.
But just as she was about to strike, Lai La vanished into thin air.
Almost simultaneously, a tremendous force slammed into Geruen.
She felt her body go out of control, hurtling toward the ground.
She crashed through several thick trees before finally managing to stop.
Geruen tried to move, but her entire body was limp. Even breathing brought excruciating pain.
‘Damn… broken ribs… But what the hell is up with her? Isn’t space manipulation Li En’s ability? How can she use it too? I’m screwed…’
“It seems our cooperation is over, Sir Geruen.”
“Die in peace.”
As Lai La spoke, that familiar crushing sensation, like the sky falling, came again.
‘I can’t move…’
No matter how hard Geruen tried, her body refused to obey.
‘…Holy Son, please forgive my incompetence…’
She dropped her dagger and faced death calmly.
Just as the attack was about to land, a flash of cold light grazed Geruen’s temple. Upon closer look, it was a silver-white dagger, flying straight toward Lai La in the air.
“Subhuman Assassination Technique: Earth Shrink!”
Geruen felt another shadow pass by her. By the time she noticed the masked figure, he was already next to the dagger, in front of Lai La.
Mid-attack, Lai La had no room to dodge. The dagger was about to pierce her throat.
“Who are you?”
Lai La instantly appeared elsewhere, staring warily at the masked figure still in his assassination pose.
The masked man flicked the blood off his dagger and turned to face Lai La.
In the next moment, he hurled the dagger at her again.
But having been caught off guard once, Lai La immediately backtracked to another position.
When she turned around, there was nothing left but a crater.
The masked man had vanished, taking Geruen right under her nose.
“Man En Matthews… I underestimated you.”
Sensing the familiar mana fluctuation, Lai La confirmed the masked man’s identity. After all, her ability to manipulate time came from Man En’s blood.
She descended slowly. Beside her, Li En’s twisted body writhed and crawled grotesquely to her feet.
Watching Li En slowly recover, Lai La felt nothing but disgust.
“A copy is just a copy. Let’s go. Back to Campbell Castle!”
Geruen was being carried by the masked man, his arm wrapped around her waist as they ran for a long distance.
She couldn’t deny the position was rather embarrassing.
“I’m really grateful you saved me and healed my injuries… But hey, can you put me down first?”
The masked man acted as if he hadn’t heard her.
Just as Geruen was about to struggle, the masked man collapsed to the ground.
The sudden turn of events nearly broke Geruen’s brain. Countless question marks flooded her mind.
‘What’s wrong with this guy?’
Almost instantly, shouts from pursuers came from afar.
“This direction! After them!”
“Damn, they’re fast!”
Cursing under her breath, she quickly jumped onto a nearby rooftop.
Just as Geruen was about to leave, she caught a glimpse of the fallen masked man out of the corner of her eye.
“Hmph. I’m with the Heretic God Sect. Even if you saved me, I won’t be grateful.”
She turned to leave. But somehow, she found herself looking back at the unconscious masked man again.
‘…How troublesome.’
…
After who knows how long.
Man En slowly opened his eyes.
He glanced around and found himself in a cave.
‘My legs…’
A sharp pain shot through his legs. Frequent use of Earth Shrink was taking its toll.
‘I really need to train more.’
‘Wait, why does it smell like something’s burning?’
Following the smell, he soon spotted a dying campfire. On it were a few blackened lumps that were once food.
‘…’
Seeing perfectly good food ruined, Man En was speechless.
Just then, Geruen returned to the cave carrying an armful of firewood.
She froze for a moment when she saw Man En awake.
‘If the Holy Son finds out I was about to abandon him, will he want to kill me? Whatever, I won’t bring it up…’
She muttered inwardly.
She quickly put the wood aside and bowed respectfully to Man En.
“I am Geruen, the Arm of the Heretic God Sect. Greetings to the Holy Son. Thank you for saving me today.”
“Call me Holy Son…”
“Then you were… the one impersonating Duke Campbell?”
“Yes.”
‘What a coincidence. I was just following the sounds of battle, and it turned out like this. But I just told her that Li En was suspicious, and she immediately went after him. This kid’s execution is insane!’
Looking at Geruen, who was kneeling with her head bowed, Man En felt a bit uneasy.
“How about you sit down and talk?”
“This… As you wish.”
Though hesitant, she complied and sat down.
She finally let out a sigh of relief. It seemed the Holy Son wasn’t going to punish her for her earlier actions.
Man En finally had a chance to study her carefully.
Her skin was slightly dark, her expression cold. Her light gray hair was neatly tied into a braid.
If her ears were a bit pointier, she would look just like a dark elf from a game.
“You said ‘Holy Son’ is a high-ranking position in the Heretic God Sect?”
Geruen was caught off guard by the sudden question, but she quickly answered.
“Yes, Holy Son. As the one who can fully recite the Supreme God’s name, you hold the highest authority in the Heretic God Sect, second only to the Supreme God himself.”
Man En nodded lightly.
Though he didn’t quite understand how merely reciting a name made him the Holy Son, he wisely chose not to ask further.
“So that means, whatever orders I give, you all have to follow?”
“This…”
Geruen kept her head down, not daring to meet his eyes. Her cheeks flushed slightly.
“Yes…”
Her voice was as faint as a mosquito’s.
‘Why are you blushing? You were thinking something perverted just now, weren’t you? You definitely were!’
Though Man En was having a hard time keeping a straight face, he forced himself to maintain his image as the Holy Son.
“Uh… Well… That’s good!”
He tried to stand, but his whole body felt weak and he plopped back down.
“Holy Son!”
Seeing Geruen’s worry, Man En waved his hand lightly.
“No need to worry. I’m just a bit tired…”
“I need you to immediately evacuate all members of the Heretic God Sect from Campbell Territory. Also notify our colleagues in Matthews Territory to evacuate immediately.”
“I understand about Campbell, but why must our colleagues in Matthews Territory leave as well?… Please forgive my boldness in asking.”
‘Oh? Looks like she’s not so easy to fool.’
Man En pondered how to spin a convincing story. He looked out of the cave, deep in thought.
“Lately, I’ve been having a recurring dream.”
“I dreamed that the Holy Relic in Matthews Territory was unsealed, but it had been corrupted. It became hostile to friend and foe alike, devouring everything in its path.”
He turned to Geruen and continued.
“Not just you, not just me, but everyone. The entire world. Everything would cease to exist.”
“How is that possible… The Supreme God… was corrupted?”
“He told me that I must stop his resurrection before the corruption is purified, to prevent irreversible consequences. Perhaps this is my mission as the Holy Son.”
Man En sighed deeply after speaking.
“So, will you help me, Geruen?”
Looking at his outstretched hand, Geruen grasped it without hesitation.
—
At Campbell Castle, in Lai La’s room.
“I’ve confirmed it, my lady. Man En Matthews… has disappeared.”
The speaker was Li En, kneeling on the ground.
In front of him, Lai La sat in a chair, one hand covering her forehead, her face full of worry.
“The Heretic God Sect betrayed us, the leverage to restrain Matthews is gone, and even your secret is exposed…”
As she spoke, she suddenly stood up and kicked Li En square in the face.
“Useless bunch of trash! If even one of you could compare to Man En Matthews, we wouldn’t be in this situation!”
Li En leaned against the wall, trembling as he got up.
“Man En Matthews… Man En Matthews! All you ever see is Man En Matthews! Hah, I suppose that makes sense. After all, we’re just fake existences created from your memories!”
“What do you mean? Are you dissatisfied with me…”
Before Lai La could even finish her sentence, the space on either side of her twisted violently, turning her into a mist of blood.
The blood splattered onto Li En. The skin that came into contact with it sizzled and smoked.
“I’m sorry, Lady Lai La. But I love you…”
Li En’s flesh was being eroded at an alarming rate. In an instant, only his skeleton remained.
At the same time, where Lai La had died, countless droplets of blood gathered together, forming a skinless, humanoid monster.
It stomped down on Li En’s skull, crushing it.
“Forget it. I’m tired of this.”
Lai La’s voice became hoarse and distorted.
Blood dripped from its body onto the ground, more and more, until it overflowed the room and gradually covered the entire Campbell Territory.
Above the territory, a massive blood-red barrier covered everything.
“Just like this… Let everything end.”