Chapter 887 HANNA QUINZEL'S CHOICE
[DAHLIA…!]
Nero was distracted when he heard a loud creak as if someone was opening a heavy door, and that sound was followed by Dahlia's loud gasp.
He immediately turned to her, letting go of Larissa in the process.
Much to his shock, he saw the Black Witch falling into a warp hole that appeared below her feet. And, just like that, Dahlia disappeared.
[No!]
"Go."
Huh?
Nero was surprised when Commander Ruto suddenly grabbed him by the collar. To say that he was shocked would be an understatement. "How dare you grab– argh!"
He wasn't able to finish his sentence because the damned commander suddenly threw him.
Yes, he was tossed as if he was just an object.
[That impudent commander…!]
Nero swallowed his complaints when he fell into the warp hole where Dahlia had disappeared.
Even so, he wouldn't forget this disrespect.
[I will NEVER accept you as my brother-in-law, Ruto Solfrid!]
***
"ARE YOU not going to follow Prince Nero and the Black Witch?"
"I'm not a babysitter," Ruto said while watching the warp hole close. "Moreover, it's a trial that Prince Nero has to overcome with Dahlia."
In the first timeline, Ruto and Neoma barely overcame the Third Calamity.
The Imperial Princess might have Roseblood in her, but she wasn't a male Roseheart. Hence, she barely completed the task needed to close the Cage for good.
[Neoma and I hypothesized in the first timeline that the test was designed for a male Roseheart to take. But since Prince Nero was already gone by that time, we didn't have the chance to test our hypothesis. But now that Prince Nero is here…]
"Then are you here to kill me?"
Ruto faced Larissa and scoffed at her question. "I'd love to, but fortunately for you, Neoma asked me to keep you alive until she returns."
Larissa flinched.
[That's right, you should be very afraid since Neoma is scarier than me.]
Neoma, before Ruto left the Eternal Flame's domain, gave him an order.
["Don't kill Larissa. Just make sure she won't lay a hand on Nero and the others. Keep her alive until I return from the dead."]
That order only meant one thing.
"Your life is for Neoma to take," Ruto said. "So be patient, Larissa. Your death will come soon– and it will be gruesome."
Neoma wasn't the type of person to be violent and cruel.
However, Larissa was an exception.
"Then what did you come here for, Yoan?"
"Isn't it obvious?" he asked back. "I'm here to destroy the throne in case Prince Nero and Dahlia fail to stop the Third Calamity."
Larissa laughed in a mocking tone. "Then my little ones should keep you company, Divine Lord."
He was ready to fight.
But he must admit that he wasn't ready to be faced with young de Moonasterios.
To be precise, de Moonasterion princesses were probably aged five to twelve.
"The de Moonasterion princesses who died an untimely death because of Callisto de Luca and the crows," Larissa said proudly. "Can you handle these poor souls, Yoan?"
Pfft.
"What a ridiculous question," Ruto said, laughing while shaking his head. "I'm not Neoma– I don't have a soft spot for children who are supposed to be resting in peace by now."
***
HANNA noticed that Lewis' movements had slowed down a bit.
[It's probably because he kept hitting Eloise.]
But it didn't matter because she was the one who was going to end the female Silver Fox's life.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Eloise' scream.
The next thing she knew, she was already watching Lewis pull the female Silver Fox's tails one by one while Eloise was flat-faced in the ground.
And, yes, Lewis was stepping on Eloise's back.
Hence, the female Silver Fox couldn't get up.
[Very good, Lewis.]
"Stop it!" Eloise screamed, obviously in pain. "How can you still move after beating me to a pulp?!"
Hanna thought it was a good question.
After all, she was barely able to move after she hit Eloise a few times.
"I'm also a Silver Fox," Lewis said casually while pulling out Eloise' last tail. "And I've been trained by the strongest person of our generation."
Of course, that would be Neoma.
"It's true that my body feels heavy now," Lewis continued. "But this is nothing compared to how my body feels after getting beaten up by Princess Neoma during a sparring."
Right.
Even an average Mana user would die from exhaustion after sparring with Neoma.
[Nothing can beat the de Moonasterios when it comes to physical strength, after all.]
"Your ability won't work on me," Lewis said, stepping away from Eloise after collecting all her tails. "Goodbye."
Hanna took it as a sign to attack. Hence, she threw the new and improved Black Hole that she gathered at Eloise unceremoniously. Since the target was down already, the female Silver Fox didn't get the chance to move from her spot.
To be honest, she didn't know how the new Black Hole worked.
So, she was also surprised by what happened next.
Hanna's eyes widened in shock when the small Black Hole suddenly absorbed Eloise while the female Silver Fox tried to run away.
And, just like that, Eloise disappeared without a trace.
[This effect…!]
After that, the little Black Hole began absorbing the reanimated corpses of the dead Silver Foxes that Eloise brought with her.
Hmm?
Hanna was surprised when she noticed that the Black Hole was only absorbing all the enemies.
But now?
[Can the Black Hole understand my feelings?]
***
"GIN, my lovely pet."
Eww.
Gin rolled his eyes at what the Ancient Devil called him. "That was ages ago, my lord. I'm a stray cat now."
It was true.
He served Nichole de Moonasterio after leaving Aruna de Moonasterio's side.
[And I left the Ancient Devil's nest before I served Princess Aruna.]
But now, he was a free man.
[Though I hang out with Duke Hawthorne a lot these days.]
"You're supposed to serve the new Devil," the Ancient Devil reminded him. "Do you even know that Trevor Kesser has that title now?"
"I know," Gin said, shrugging. "But Trevor Kesser is acting like Princess Neoma's lap dog instead of the Devil. I don't have to serve a person who doesn't fulfill his duties properly, do I?"
To be fair, he didn't care if Trevor Kesser wasn't doing his job in maintaining the Underworld.
After all, he wanted to live in the human world now.
[It's more fun up there~]
Watching Duke Hawthorne and Duckie bicker every day was particularly fun.
"If you don't have plans to serve Trevor Kesser, then come and serve me again," the Ancient Devil said, reaching his hand out to him. "Your ability is interesting, after all."
The Ancient Devil was talking about Gin's ability to bring out one's worst fear.
Heh.
That ability was already proven to be useless to someone like Princess Neoma.
"Thank you for your interest in me, but I must decline," Gin said, staying away from the Ancient Devil. "I'm not here to fight either, so goodbye."
The Ancient Devil tried to grab Gin.
But Rufus Quinzel and the King of Hell both stopped the Ancient Devil.
[Thank you, gentlemen.]
Gin was able to walk away unscathed.
[Now it's time to fulfill my job as per Commander Ruto's order.]
***
"YOU DID it, Princess Hanna."
To be honest, Hanna was still in disbelief.
Eloise and the reanimated corpses were absorbed by the Black Hole that she created.
Once the Black Hole's job was done, it disappeared.
[But I can feel it in my Core.]
"I did," Hanna said, smiling. "I can't believe I did it."
Lewis didn't say anything, but the smile in his eyes was enough to let Hanna know that he was happy for her.
"We hate to interrupt this moment, but it's time for us to say goodbye."
Hanna and Lewis turned to Queen Lisica and Lord Rustin at the same time.
[Oh.]
Queen Lisica and Lord Rustin had both turned translucent already.
"The energy that we borrowed to get here was already depleted, so it's time for us to go back," Lord Rustin explained. "Please keep safe, children."
"Say 'hi' to Princess Neoma for us," Queen Lisica said, then she glared at Lewis playfully. "Lewis Crevan, don't forget to honor the Silver Fox Clan once you made a name for yourself, alright?"
Lewis just sighed.
Hanna, on the other hand, nodded politely towards Queen Lisica and Lord Rustin. "Thank you for your help, Queen Lisica and Lord Rustin."
The two just waved at them until they disappeared.
But before that, they heard the ~vulgar~ words that Queen Lisica said to Lord Rustin.
<"Hey, let's fuck as soon as we get home!>
Hanna's face turned red after hearing what the queen said.
[Her Majesty is really… never mind.]
Hanna glanced at Lewis and, judging by his red ears, it seemed like he also thought Queen Lisica's vulgar words were too much.
[And he's probably ashamed of his ancestors.]
"Greetings, Princess Hanna~"
Hmm?
Hanna was quite surprised to see Gin, in his human form, approach her. "Shouldn't you be fighting with the Ancient Devil? I'm not underestimating my father and the King of Hell. But I can't confidently say that all of us here are enough to take down the Ancient Devil."
"Ah, it's not my job to stop the Ancient Devil," Gin said casually. "I received a different order from Commander Ruto. He's not my boss, but he scares me to death so I have no choice but to follow his order."
That made Hanna nervous. "What did Commander Ruto ask you to do?"
"Commander Ruto gave you two options, Princess Hanna," Gin said in a serious tone. "It's either I'll bring you back to the palace or to the throne room."
Her heart suddenly beat fast and hard against her chest.
The throne room that Gin mentioned wasn't the throne room in the palace.
[He's talking about the throne room where Nero is.]
"Commander Ruto brought Miss Dahlia to the throne room that swallowed Prince Nero," Gin explained further. "Commander Ruto is giving you the choice to follow them or not, Princess Hanna."
Oh.
She felt a pang in her chest after hearing that Dahlia went to the throne room.
[So, in the end, Dahlia chose to…]
"It's not like that, Princess Hanna," Gin said as if he could read her mind. "Commander Ruto doesn't want you to misunderstand, so he told me to explain to you that Miss Dahlia didn't follow Prince Nero to marry him. Miss Dahlia is the only key that can open the throne room. Hence, Commander Ruto volunteered to be Miss Dahlia's personal bodyguard while they rescue Prince Nero."
Haaah.
She was relieved to know that Dahlia didn't betray her.
To be honest, she really wanted to go.
But the situation here…
"Go," Lewis encouraged Hanna when their eyes met. "I'll fight with Duke Quinzel and make sure your father will come out of here alive."
"I want you to come out alive, too, Lewis."
"That goes without saying, Princess Hanna," Lewis said calmly. "I can't die before Princess Neoma."
That response made her smile.
"Alright. I understand. See you later, Lewis," Hanna said. When she only received a polite nod from Lewis, she faced Gin again. "Please bring me to the throne room, Gin."
***
[ARGH.]
Nero didn't fall to the ground and break his bones because Zeru appeared and caught him.
Even so, the atmosphere in that place was crushing him down.
[Just what kind of place is this…?]
It was a vast "empty" field.
However, he could tell that there were many eyes watching him at the moment.
"P-Prince Nero?"
[Ah, she's there.]
Nero was relieved to see Dahlia safe and unscathed.
The Black Witch was sitting on the back of the Blue Whale that served as her Elemental Guardian.
[It's good to know that we can use our power here without a problem.]
"Are you alright, Miss Dahlia?"
Dahlia's face turned white while looking past Nero's shoulder. "P-Prince Nero…?"
What?
Nero looked over his shoulder and, much to his surprise, he saw a person who slightly looked like him.
Only the other person had pink hair.
For some reason, he could tell right away who that was.
Nero knitted his eyebrows. "Nero Roseheart?"
***
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