ASPEN'S SHIELD broke.
A demi-god's shield broke– and it was a big deal.
The reason he was an indispensable member of the team despite his "problematic" personality was his ability to protect everyone with his shield.
But he felt useless now.
Captain Ruto's training room VANISHED along with its surroundings.
The captain's training room was in the middle of long-range mountains. But after the explosion, the mountains were flattened to the ground and only huge craters were left everywhere. Fortunately, aside from the trees and the plants, there were no living things there– no animals, beasts, or humans.
[I'm supposed to prevent that from happening, but my shield broke…]
Worse, half of Captain Ruto's domain was destroyed.
As if that wasn't bad enough, Aspen could also see that the explosion had hit a portion of the Upper World.
[Captain Ruto's domain is separated from the Upper World, but it's not that too far from it. Even so, the fact that the explosion reached the Upper World says so much about how intense the impact was. It was powerful enough to cause a skyquake that shook even the Upper World.]
There was no way the gods wouldn't know the cause of the explosion.
After all, both Captain Ruto and Princess Neoma had unique Mana that no one would mistake for anyone else.
These two children were monsters among humans, indeed.
[No wonder Lord Levi is against Captain Ruto and Princess Neoma's relationship. If the two of them ended up together, a bloodline worse than the de Moonasterios would be born.]
Wait, this wasn't the right to worry about something that may not happen in the future.
Aspen hurriedly ran towards Captain Ruto to check on his condition. The thick dust hadn't settled yet, but he didn't care about that. "Captain Rutooooooooo!"
"Shut up, Aspen."
He was relieved to hear that from his captain.
[He's alive. He's fine. He lost, though…]
Aspen observed Captain Ruto, his mouth shut.
This was the first time he saw his captain sitting on the ground, rugged and heavily injured.
Captain Ruto was bleeding from head to toe and his clothes were tattered. Even his hair was messy and dirty from the dust around them. But, most of all, it was obvious that he couldn't stand.
"Captain Ruto, you lost," Aspen said, stating the obvious. "It's a surprise that you survived the explosion."
"Princess Neoma protected me," Captain Ruto said, his eyes fixed in Princess Neoma's direction. "She used the broken pieces of her Dome to weaken the arrow."
***
RUTO saw it clearly.
Before the single arrow hit him after the Dome collapsed, the tiny broken pieces of the shield floated and gathered together until it took the form of a square-shaped barrier. If he remembered it correctly, Neoma called that shield the 'Wall.'
It was a very small Wall that blocked the single arrow for a moment. But even though it was only for a moment, the effect was huge as the Wall weakened the arrow.
[After all, the Wall was still as sturdy as any of Neoma's shields.]
Thanks to that, Ruto had enough time to gather his strength and create a quick yet sturdy barrier to block the arrow. If he didn't do that, he may have been seriously injured. In the worst-case scenario, he could have died.
[I thought she wanted me to lose badly. But why did she protect me?]
Ruto couldn't understand that part.
[I tried to eliminate her just like what my divine father ordered me to do so. If she took this chance to kill me for real, I wouldn't hold it against her.]
He knew that Neoma wasn't a kind person.
[She holds grudges... so why?]
His thoughts were interrupted when his eyes met Princess Neoma's glowing red eyes. The dust and other dirt around them had started to settle down. Hence, he could see the royal princess more clearly now.
Neoma was inside her Dome, still standing. But she wasn't completely fine. Blood was trickling down the corner of her mouth, after all.
He wasn't surprised to see that.
[Of course, using such power to create an unbreakable shield would have a recoil on her body.]
He lost, but he didn't mind it.
Ruto clenched his chest tight, wondering why his heartbeat was erratic. Moreover, he couldn't tear his gaze away from Neoma.
[The air of dignity around her doesn't vanish despite the blood in her mouth.]
Neoma still looked strong and very beautiful…
[Huh?]
Ruto's eyes opened wide, letting out a soft gasp. "I can see Neoma's face now…"
And it was the most beautiful thing he had seen in all his lives.
***
THE LITTLE Prince's glass dome.
Neoma's Dome was narrower than normal, hence she was reminded by the Little Prince's glass dome. Of course, she was the precious rose inside.
[And Lewis is the thorn.]
"Are you alright, Princess Neoma?"
"I'm alright," Neoma said after coughing up a huge chunk of blood. "I won, and that's what matters most."
Of course, that was bullshit.
Every fiber of her being hurt like a bitch.
The only reason she remained standing still was her pride. But, to be honest, she wanted to lie down on the ground.
Her muscles were aching.
Her insides were burning.
Worse, she was running out of Mana and Moonglow.
Her fight with Ruto may have looked easy because she didn't move an inch from her spot. But it only looked easy because she was a fucking genius. She didn't have to leave her place because all she had to do was control her Mana and Moonglow to maintain her shield.
And she just needed to concentrate in order to split the Dome into several pieces. The tricky part was making sure that each piece was sturdy and strong enough to make an attack.
[Because my shields aren't just used for defense– they're also good for offense.]
"You shouldn't have protected Ruto Solfrid, Princess Neoma."
"Right?" Neoma agreed with Lewis even though the tone that he used was disapproving. "I must like Ruto more than I'd like to admit."
That, and because she had another reason for doing something so stupid.
[It's not me being a pushover, okay?]
Neoma touched the Dome, and with just one touch, it slowly vanished.
Then she didn't waste any more time and walked towards Ruto, Lewis following behind her in silence.
[Let's get this done and over with.]
Neoma stood in front of Ruto, looking down at him while Ruto looked up at her since he was sitting on the ground.
Ruto's different-colored eyes looked beautiful.
His glowing red eye reminded her that he was the divine son of her least favorite god, while his normal dark purple eye reminded her of the green flag Ruto that she knew and loved.
[But this person is almost a stranger to me now.]
Having said that, Neoma's heart still ached as she saw how injured Ruto was because of her attack.
[That must have hurt.]
The explosion was like a meteor falling straight into Ruto. If he wasn't as powerful as he was, then he would have already been flattened to the ground just like their surroundings.
"I'm sorry, Ruto," Neoma said, removing her pastel-pink long coat. Then she draped it over Ruto's shoulders. After that, she squatted down and hugged her knees while looking at Ruto's dirty and bloody face. She wanted to clean it with her own hands, but she refrained from doing so. "Did I overdo it?"
"Now you're just trying to hurt my pride," Ruto complained lightly. "You don't have to apologize. If anything, I should thank you for protecting me. If you didn't weaken the arrow with the small Wall you created, I would have been half-dead by now."
"Well, I like you."
He looked surprised by what she said. "That came out of nowhere."
"I know, right?" she agreed while nodding. "I like you, Ruto. But I'm going to stop now."
Once again, he looked surprised. But he didn't say anything else this time.
"I know that I let you kill me in the first timeline, and I have a feeling that I allowed you to poison me when I was living as Kim Neoma. After all, I needed to "die" in order for my soul to return to this world," Neoma said in a serious tone. "I'm afraid that if I continue liking you this way, I might end up offering my life to you again. It seems like I like you more than I hate the fact that you keep choosing the greater good for me."
She knew that the green flag Ruto, the one that she fell in love with, had already made a resolve to choose her this time.
It was the reason why she didn't give up on him.
She was confident that she could make Ruto fall in love with her all over again.
However, it seemed like she was just being arrogant this time.
"Ruto, Trevor is currently dying. But you know what? Instead of finding a way to live, he's prepared to use his remaining Mana to extend my lifespan."
Ah, fuck.
Neoma forgot that Lewis was standing behind her, but it was too late to stop now.
[Can I fool Lewis?]
Maybe she could tell her "son" that she just needed to extend her lifespan for… uh, fun? To be more OP? To make sure that she'd live a long life with everyone?
Ah, whatever.
[I'll just cross the bridge when I get there.]
"Trevor is my best friend. I won't let him die, of course. But this situation slapped me back to reality," Neoma said, smiling sadly. "Ruto, I can't let you kill me in this lifetime. That would be a great insult to Trevor's genuine feelings for me. Of course, that also applies to every single person who loves me. I can't hurt them for you."
And it wasn't like she wanted to die.
[I only have five years to live, so I must live carefully and selfishly and do whatever I want so I won't die with regrets.]
"Neoma… I don't want to kill you."
She recognized the pain in Ruto's voice, but he also looked confused as to why he was feeling that way at the moment.
"I know, Ruto," Neoma said, nodding. "I know that you're only doing your job as the God Slayer. But just because I understand you're only doing your job doesn't mean I'm not hurt by your actions. I'm sorry, but this is my limit. I still like you, but we should end this toxic relationship before we get hurt even more."
She opened her hand, the Love Contract that she made with the green flag Ruto materializing above her palm.
"Tteokbokki, burn this contract."
And, just like that, the Love Contract was burned to ashes.
"Ruto, I will always be grateful to you for all the good things that you've done for me," Neoma said, her eyes brimming with tears now. "And I will always be sorry to you for failing to fulfill my promise to love you until you learn to love me again. I forgave you for choosing the greater good for me before, so please forgive me for choosing myself this time." She slightly touched Ruto's cheek with the back of her hand. It was the part where his burn mark used to be. "Please take care of yourself, babe."
She thought her feelings wouldn't reach Ruto because he had changed.
Hence, she was surprised by his reaction.
Ruto didn't say anything, but tears rolled down his cheeks like waterfalls. And it looked like he didn't even realize that he was crying.
[He's crying for me.]
"Don't make saying goodbye to you harder than it already is," Neoma said, her own tears rolling down her cheeks silently. "If you're going to fall in love with me again, why didn't you fall sooner?"
***
Please ADD my story to your LIBRARY to be notified when an update is posted. Thank you! :>
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om