"SO, you're going to revive my Moon Princess the harder way since my Moon Princess refuses to use the good karma points that her ancestors has reserved for her?"
"Will it kill you to talk to me formally, Trevor Kesser? You may be the new Devil now, but you still rank below me. The Devil only rules over the Underworld– but Hell is mine."
"Whatever. The only person above me is my Moon Princess~"
Hmm.
[They're getting along well.]
Neoma sipped her iced coffee while watching Trevor and Kesser bicker.
This time, instead of the coliseum, Drystan brought her group to a castle. To be precise, they were currently having an afternoon "tea" on the balcony– overseeing the burning city.
[Gosh, they haven't put out Tteokbokki's flame yet?]
"What drink did you get?" Neoma whispered to Ruto while Trevor and Drystan were bickering. "I asked the king to give you the same teacup that he gave us. You know, the one that changes your tea to your preferred drink. But your cup didn't change."
"The cup remained the same, but the liquid isn't tea anymore," Ruto said. "It's hot chocolate now."
Wow.
That sounded delicious.
[I should have chosen hot chocolate, too.]
"Here," Ruto said, offering the cup of hot chocolate to her. "You can have it. I haven't had a sip yet."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Neoma beamed, then she put down her iced coffee on the table. "You can my iced coffee then."
"Are you sure?"
She nodded as she received the cup of hot chocolate from Ruto. "Yes. But it's okay if you don't like iced coffee. I can finish both."
"No, I like iced coffee," Ruto said, then he grabbed the drink before he leaned down and whispered in her ear. "But is it okay? If I used the same straw as you did, wouldn't that be considered an indirect kiss?"
Ah.
Someone was flirting with her, huh?
Neoma grabbed Ruto's collar and pulled him closer to him as she whispered in his ear. Since what she was about to say was "Rated +18," she used her Dome to create a soundproof space for their intimate conversation. "What's an indirect kiss when we've already French kissed once, babe? No need to be shy or overly hygienic. We've already exchanged saliva– mff!"
Ruto covered her mouth with his hand. And yes, he was blushing. "Alright. I get it."
Pfft.
She removed the Dome around them when Ruto pulled his hand away from her mouth.
[Cute.]
"Aigoo," Tteokbokki, still in his human form, complained. "I didn't hear a thing, but I'm sure you talked about something disgusting."
Neoma sipped her hot chocolate before she spoke. "A boy like you who hasn't been in a single romantic relationship wouldn't understand, Tteokbokki."
The Soul Beast only glared at her.
"My Moon Princess, you're being cruel," Trevor said, frowning. "Why are you flirting with your ex right in front of my caramel frappuccino with one pump of caramel sauce, one pump of caramel syrup, one pump of mocha, one pump of white mocha, one pump of hazelnut, and an affogato shot?"
Neoma almost choked on her hot chocolate. "That was your choice of drink?"
Tteokbokki clicked his tongue. "As a former barista, I hate customers like you with a passion, Trevor Kesser."
Trevor just sipped his "poisonous" drink loudly, unbothered. "Anyway, first of all, let's make one thing clear." He turned to Drystan. "You're going to revive my Moon Princess for free because it's the least thing you can do for the person you're asking to save the human world. The good karma points that Princess Neoma's ancestors accumulated will be returned to their rightful owners."
Drystan obviously hesitated. "The good karma points that they accumulated are too good to let go…"
"Hey, king," Neoma said, speaking informally this time because she didn't like what Drystan had said. "Don't be greedy. The good karma points that my ancestors accumulated don't belong to your or this place."
"I'm not saying it for my personal gain," the King of Hell said. "The accumulate good karma points of your ancestors cannot be used by someone or something else. I'm just saying it's a waste that you're not using it, little princess."
"Why do I need to use those points when it's your responsibility to bring me back to life?" Neoma retorted. "And who said I'm not going to use those good karma points?"
Drystan looked confused. "You're using the points?"
"Later," she said. "I'm going to use them later."
The King of Hell looked at her suspiciously. "I don't know what you're going to use it for later, little princess. But I'm telling you now– only you have been granted the right to be revived using those good karma points. It won't work on someone else."
"But those good karma points are enough to restore at least half of the world if ever, right?"
Drystan, Ruto, Trevor, and Tteokbokki all looked at her as if she had just given them goosebumps.
"If those good karma points are powerful enough to bring someone like me back to life, then they should be powerful enough to restore the world," Neoma said, calmly sipping her hot chocolate before she spoke again. "I won't explain myself. Let's proceed to the next topic. Go."
"The Goddess of Life, the God of Death, and I will use our own power to bring you back to life."
"You should have said that from the start," Neoma complained lightly. "I can't believe you didn't just. Did you want to use my ancestors' good karma points for yourself?"
"Unfortunately, I can't use them for myself," Drystan said, scoffing. "Your ancestors were smart enough to make me sign a contract that the good karma points they willingly gave up could only be used by the person they chose."
"Then why didn't you offer me the other option?"
"I didn't offer it to you right away because using your ancestors' good karma points would have brought you back to life the easier and faster way," Drystan said in a serious tone. "But you're too stubborn."
"It's not just me being stubborn," Neoma said calmly. She didn't have to sound defensive because she knew she was in the right in this matter. "My intuition is telling me that I shouldn't use my ancestors' good karma points yet."
"If that was the case, then why didn't you say so?"
"Well, it's true that I don't want to waste my ancestors' good karma points on me because I want them to be reincarnated and be happy in their next lives," she said in a serious tone. "But the reason why I didn't tell you about my intuition is because I don't trust you. I knew you were trying to scam me earlier. You didn't want to use your power as the King of Hell to revive me, hence you tried to make me use my ancestors' good karma points."
Drystan smirked bitterly. "Is that why you didn't take our conversation seriously at first?"
"I know it's rude, but I don't need to play nice to you, do I?" Neoma asked, shrugging. "Anyway, in exchange for reviving me, I promise to save the world. If I succeed, my soul won't be dragged to Hell. But if I failed…"
"Then your soul shall be punished for eternity," Drystan said in a serious voice. "Simple, isn't it?"
"Simple, my foot," Trevor complained. "How dare you threaten my Moon Princess to eternal damnation?"
The King of Hell just remained silent.
"It is what it is," Neoma said casually. "Let's make and sign the contract now."
***
"TREVOR Kesser, you should leave now."
"And why would I listen to you?"
[There they go again.]
Neoma literally put herself between Trevor and Drystan. "Your Majesty, why are you asking Trevor to leave?"
"He needs to collect the "ingredients" I need to fix your Core, little princess," Drystan said. "I only mentioned the heart first because it's the most urgent one. But there are other things we need to gather."
"Like Regina Crowell, huh?" Neoma said, then she paused for a moment. "Wait. Your Majesty, are you going to revive me the way Ruto revived me in the past?"
She didn't know the details, but she was pretty sure Ruto sacrificed many people back then.
[The details are embedded deep into my memories, but I refuse to let them resurface.]
"You died back then because of losing your divine power," Drystan said. "We won't be needing too much divine power for you this time since you're already overflowing with it. Your Core is the problem, but it's doable since the "ingredients" I need to put it back are available."
She narrowed her eyes at the king. "Those "ingredients" won't die, will they? I'm telling you– I don't want other people sacrificing their lives for me."
"They won't die, but they might be forced to stop participating in the war since they'll need time to recover," the King of Hell said. This time, it sounded like he was telling the truth. "Fortunately, unlike in the past timeline, we do not lack people with the abilities that we need."
That was still unsettling.
[What if we lost the war because of me…?]
"It will be alright, Neoma," Ruto assured her. "The war will end in our favor as soon as you returned anyway. But, without you, our side will lose."
Right?
[I'm a VIP for a reason.]
"Trevor."
"Nooo, I don't want tooo," Trevor complained, drawing out his words in an annoying way, as if he already knew what Neoma was about to say. "I don't want to leave you alone with that damned commander, Princess Neoma."
"Kill that sorcerer bastard who claims to be your half-brother."
The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned serious.
Drystan was probably the only one who didn't care.
But Trevor, Ruto, and Tteokbokki were all shocked to hear Neoma give a CLEAR order to kill for the first time.
[I have to be clear since Trevor won't move unless I tell him to.]
That was why Trevor was scary and dangerous.
[He has the power to help, but he doesn't care if it's not related to me.]
"Dilan Crowell, huh?" Trevor said, nodding. "Okay. That's easy."
"I also want you to grab Regina Crowell and bring her to Papa Boss," Neoma said. "Then injure Calyx as much as possible without killing him."
"Why do I need to keep him alive?"
"Because I want to kill him myself."
"Oh, okay," Trevor said. "Anything else?"
"Run amok," Neoma said in a serious tone. "Papa Boss wanted to focus on defense, but it doesn't sit well with me. We shouldn't let the crows have the upper hand in this war."
"Alright~"
"But don't try to fight Helstor or Callisto de Luca," she said sternly. "If you see any of them, just run away."
Trevor frowned. "But running away doesn't sit well with me either, my Moon Princess."
"If you die, you won't be able to see my pretty face again," Neoma said. "That will be your personal hell, don't you think so?"
"A world without seeing my Moon Princess sounds boring, huh?" Trevor wondered out loud. "Alright. I won't confront them."
"Good. No mission is worth dying for," Neoma reminded Trevor, then she patted the demon's shoulder. "Go and fuck them up, Trevor."
***
"NEOMA, are you okay?"
"Why wouldn't I be okay?" Neoma asked back, confused by Ruto's question. "Do I look ugly?"
"You asked Trevor to kill Dilan Crowell," Ruto said. "And, no. You don't look ugly. In fact, I don't remember you being ugly in all my lives combined."
Pfft.
[Ruto is getting cheesier and cheesier day by day, but I'm not complaining.]
"Well, we're in the middle of a war," Neoma said, crossing her arms over her chest while watching Tteokbokki, now in his dragon form, fly above the burning city. She asked her Soul Beast to eat his own flame. It was the only way to put out Tteokbokki's flame the quickest way, after all. "I can't afford to be na?ve anymore. If I lead my people the wrong way, they'll die. And it's not like they can be revived like me. So, I need to be cold and cruel."
"I see," Ruto said, nodding. "You're doing a good job, Neoma."
Pfft.
"I committed mass murder, arson, fraud, and other petty crimes. And yet you're saying I'm doing a good job?"
"Yes."
Haaah.
[What am I going to do with you, Ruto?]
That reminded her…
"King Drystan said I died in the first timeline because I lost too much divine power."
Of course, she was talking about the moment Nero killed her and not the moment that she died for good.
"You neither awakened your power as a Roseheart nor a de Moonasterio before I revived you in the first timeline," Ruto explained. "That's why one of the conditions I needed to fulfill back then was to gather enough divine power to force your awakening. If I had to compare it using the amount of divine power an average de Moonasterio possessed, then I have to say I had to gather divine power that's equivalent to at least thirty de Moonasterios."
That was a lot of divine power.
There were only a few people who had divine power strong enough to force her awakening back then.
[The former Saint Dominic Zavaroni didn't lose his position as a saint back then.]
And there was the fact that there was one person she couldn't remember clearly from the first timeline.
Neoma smirked bitterly, grabbing Ruto by the collar. "Did you kill my Papa Boss in the first timeline, you punk?"
"The Emperor Nikolai of the first timeline volunteered to sacrifice his life to revive you back then," Ruto revealed without hesitation. "And the current Emperor Nikolai already knew."
That broke her heart a little.
Hence, she immediately calmed down.
"How did Papa Boss react?"
"His Imperial Majesty said I made the right choice," Ruto said. "Whether the Emperor Nikolai of the first timeline did it out of duty as an emperor and not as a father, His Imperial Majesty said he was glad that his former self had any use to you back then."
Ah, that was too much for her heart.
Neoma let go of Ruto's collar, feeling a bit emotional now. "I miss Papa Boss."
Of course, she also missed Nero and Mama Boss.
[But I have to admit that my bond with Papa Boss is more special than anyone else in our family.]
"If you want to reunite with your family, then you should get ready to meet your ancestors."
Neoma and Ruto both turned to Drystan.
The King of Hell looked a bit relaxed now that Tteokbokki was helping his people put out the fire that was burning down the city.
"Let's go, little princess," Drystan said in a tired voice. "It's time for your last test."
"Test?" Neoma asked, surprised. "I need to take a test?"
[Give me a break, dammit.]
***
JASPER's jaw almost hit the floor.
He knew that Duke Rufus Quinzel was a war hero, but this was the first time that he saw the gentle duke in action.
In fact, Jasper could barely follow Duke Quinzel's movements.
The next thing he knew, Duke Quinzel had already stabbed the fake Commander Gavin in the throat with his sword.
Oh.
[Duke Quinzel isn't gentle at all…]
<"Jasper Hawthorne, move!"> Duckie yelled at him. <"Those filthy monsters are headed this way!">
Ah, right.
Jasper opened his hands, summoning his red butterflies led by Mariposa. "Feel free to feast on those beasts, children."
***
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