Chapter 896 INTRODUCTIONS
HANNA looked at Gin suspiciously.
The demon cat was kneeling on the ground, his hands deep into a black hole that emerged on the ground. It was as if Gin was looking for something in there.
[Can I really trust him?]
"Mr. Gin, can I help you with anything?" Hanna asked in a slightly impatient voice. "I don't mean to rush you or anything, but I think we should get out of here as soon as possible."
BOOM.
That was the sound of Mana colliding and creating an explosion in the air.
Lewis had already gone back to the mansion to help her father and the King of Hell fight the Ancient Devil. And now, an intense fight had broken out.
[They're risking their lives to buy time for me, so we better hurry up.]
"Ah, I apologize, Princess Hanna," Gin said apologetically. "Commander Ruto is taking his sweet time picking up my call."
"Commander Ruto is probably in a tight spot like we are," Hanna said. "He followed Prince Nero to the throne room, so it could only mean that he was also caught into whatever trap was waiting for them there."
"Well, I'm not really worried about the commander. He's the strongest guy I know besides Princess Neoma."
The demon cat had a point.
[I'm also not that worried about Commander Ruto…]
"Ah, I finally got to connect my mental link to the commander," Gin said in an excited voice. He fell silent for a moment before opening his mouth again. Clearly, the demon cat was talking to the commander this time. "Commander Ruto, please open up a portal for us– I have Princess Hanna with me now!"
Oh?
Hanna knew that not only Commander Ruto was strong, but he also had many skills that would make anyone envy him.
But it was still impressive to know that the commander could open portals.
People who could teleport and move from dimension to dimension through portals were a different type of amazing.
[Neoma, you chose a capable man as your life partner. Well done.]
"I got it, Commander Ruto," Gin said, standing up and stepping away from the wrap hole that looked like a black hole. "Three minutes it is."
Hmm?
Hanna was about to ask Gin what he meant by what he just said, but she got distracted by the ball of dark energy flying towards them.
It was clear that the Ancient Devil threw it at them because he couldn't attack closer.
She was ready to summon her Black Hole, but realized that she didn't have to.
To be honest, she almost forgot about the two little boys who swore to protect her.
[Now I remember– these children are the Helldogs that Neoma used to call H1 and H2, according to the stories that she told me about in the past.]
"We're going to protect you, Princess Hanna!"
The two boys yelled that promise at the same time, then they jumped high.
While suspended in the air, the two children transformed into their original form.
Oh.
[Is that how they originally looked?]
H1 and H2 turned out to be a huge black dog with two heads.
Neoma talked about H1 and H2 as if they were cute dogs. But now that she was looking at them…
[I'm sorry, but they don't look cute to me…]
Hanna's unpleasant thoughts were cut off when she saw H1 and H2 catch the ball of dark energy with their mouths, then they disappeared.
[Where did they go?]
Hanna may have not found H1 and H2 cute, but she was still worried about the children.
"They probably went to a remote place to drop the ball of dark energy there," Gin said dismissively. "Don't worry about them, Princess Hanna. They only look like a child, but they are Helldogs who have already lived long."
Ah, that was right.
[It seems like Neoma's soft spot for children has rubbed off on me…]
"Ah, Princess Hanna, Commander Ruto is done preparing on the other side," Gin said, pointing both of his hands to the warp hole politely. "Please step in the middle of the warp hole."
Hanna nodded and walked towards the warp hole…
… and then let out a muffled scream when the ground below her suddenly collapsed, swallowing her in the process.
[You should have warned me, you silly demon cat!]
***
RUTO LITERALLY punched a hole in the wall.
He wasn't doing that for nothing, of course.
Since he didn't have time to be picky or meticulous, he just punched a hole in the small portal that Gin found. The "throne room" was a difficult place to find because, supposedly, only the descendants of the de Moonasterios and the Rosehearts could access it.
[It's a testament to how powerful Gin is– as expected of a demon who served the Ancient Devil for a long time.]
"Is that how you destroyed the Upper World in the past?"
Ruto turned to Callisto de Luca. "Have you regained your past memories, or have you heard it from Helstor?"
Callisto de Luca grinned. "Take a guess."
"It doesn't really matter to me whether you remember the past or not," Ruto said indifferently. "Things may have changed drastically from how it went in the first timeline, but I assure you that you'll end up the same way."
The half-god just laughed, and then he sat on the throne as if he owned it. "Aren't you going to attack me? Isn't this the perfect opportunity for you to kill me?"
"Unfortunately for you, I know when I'm being provoked or not," Ruto said, looking back and forth between Callisto de Luca and Larissa who was standing next to the half-god. "I can tell that you're up to no good."
He couldn't carelessly attack anyway.
If he went all-out, he might accidentally harm Prince Nero and Dahlia who were still below the throne room.
Moreover, Princess Hanna and Gin would arrive at any moment now.
[Callisto de Luca knows that I can't kill him now even if I want to, so he's provoking me.]
"It's a shame that you're not as short-tempered as Princess Neoma," Callisto de Luca said. "I wonder what I can do to make you lose your mind."
Larissa scoffed. "That man has already lost his mind, my lord. How crazy does you want him to be?"
Ruto couldn't refute that, but he still felt annoyed hearing that from Larissa.
He wanted to say something about that, but he held back when he felt Hanna Quinzel's presence.
[Ah, she's finally here.]
Ruto looked over his shoulder and found the Crown Princess falling to her knees as if she had been pushed down by the portal.
Gin, now in his black cat form, followed.
"Are you alright, Princess Hanna?" Ruto asked, lending a hand to the Crown Princess. "I apologize. The portal was done poorly."
Hanna accepted his hand and let him pull her up. "It's alright, Commander Ruto. I'm not hurt," she said, letting go of his hand. Then her sharp gaze went past him. "Ah. I see we have unwanted guests here."
[Hmm? Should I tattle? Neoma said tattling on someone can be fun.]
"That's Larissa, the FORMER Goddess of Fertility," Ruto said, pointing at Larissa quite rudely. The gentleman side of him didn't apply to the enemies– especially not to the woman who killed his child in the past. "That's the wench who claims you are infertile, Princess Hanna."
"Pfft." Princess Hanna laughed bitterly, her green eyes glowing menacingly. "Thank you for introducing her to me, Commander Ruto."
***
DAHLIA knew Prince Nero's plan was ridiculous, but she couldn't stop him.
[Only Princess Neoma could stop the Crown Prince when he's being stubborn anyway.]
Hence, she felt hopeless while watching Prince Nero kneel to the ground while screaming and clutching his chest tight.
She wanted to come near him and check on his condition.
Unfortunately, the wall of ice around him prevented her from doing so.
[His Imperial Highness' Soul Beasts are also going out of control.]
Her thoughts were interrupted when the fake Nero Roseheart, who turned out to be a "de Moonasterion bastard," laughed in delight.
[Right, he's still here.]
"I knew his arrogance would kill him!" the fake rejoiced. "Thank goodness the de Moonasterions are born arrogant."
She couldn't deny that, but that wasn't the time to agree with an enemy.
"Do not rejoice yet, de Moonasterio," Dahlia said, opening her hand to summon her wand as her eyes glowed menacingly. "I'm still here– and I'm more than enough to stop you."
But if Dahlia could turn back time, she'd do it to stop Prince Nero from his crazy plan.
[Just why did you do that, Prince Nero?]
***
NOTE: Sorry for the short updates recently. My brain isn't braining these days. I'm planning to release a mini mass release soon to make up for it.
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