Ch.193 Break the Ark of the Covenant
If my mory serves right, I originally intended to part ways with Selena here.
Back then, I had to travel to the Arctic to obtain the Trident of the Sea God—a perilous journey I deed too dangerous for an ordinary girl like her.
But Selena, contrary to my expectations, insisted on following .
At the ti, I mistakenly believed she liked .
After all, why else would a girl tag along on such a deadly expedition?
Looking back now, of course, there was a reason.
She ca to steal divine power.
Ugh… how ridiculous.
What on earth was I thinking, believing a girl like Selena could possibly have feelings for ?
Anyway, I was under the delusion that she followed out of affection.
I poured her a glass of Icevine Wine.
Long black hair. Beautiful crimson eyes.
“Thank you.”
Selena lifted the bottle and filled my glass.
“To your health.”
She raised her glass in a toast—I raised mine in return.
—Clink.
The clear chi of glass against glass played as background music as I sank into thought.
A beautiful woman, eyes closed, sipping wine.
Back then… what arrogance had I possessed?
When a girl this gorgeous claims to like you, shouldn’t you question it?
Shouldn’t you wonder if she harbored hidden motives? Or if, like so many other won I’d t, she was just… a little off?
Selena’s gaze drifted to the night skyline.
“It’s been a while… here.”
“Yes? I wanted to co back soday.”
She rested her head on my shoulder, gazing at the ocean’s glow.
Why are all the won around so… abnormal?
Beauty ans nothing if she’s a fanatic.
Still, I could roughly guess why she beca this way.
Her village burned. The orphanage that cared for her was attacked.
I’m certain—the Church of Death orchestrated it all to brainwash her.
Compared to the atrocities committed by the ga’s villains, this was child’s play.
Selena’s perfu drifted on the breeze, brushing my nose.
“This place is truly beautiful.”
I said, watching her gaze at the night sea.
“It’s one of my treasures.”
She turned her head, a mischievous smile on her lips.
“So… which woman did you bring here before, Lord Hans?”
She mimicked the tone of a noblewoman.
“Huh?”
“I heard you have many won around you.”
Her half-lidded eyes made speechless.
Because… it was true.
“Uh… um…”
“Pfft, I’m joking. You? With won? Right?”
She burst into laughter.
“If a woman likes you, she must be utterly insane.”
Wait… aren’t you the one who likes ?
You created a world where we married, lived together, built a life… didn’t you?
How absurd.
I stared at her in bewildernt—but she winked, smiling brightly.
“You’re just like , right?”
Huh? Does she not know?
The entire Hero Party is currently trying to force into marriage.
It’s pretty famous—and she’s never heard of it?
Thank goodness…
If I brought up the others here, I’d end up exhausted.
She sipped her wine slowly.
Seeing her glass nearly empty, I refilled it.
“By the way… anything you forgot?”
As I poured, she asked back:
“What did I forget?”
Of course—she’d forgotten.
The scenery. The gift I’d prepared for her that day.
“Ta-da.”
I pulled the comb from my pocket—the first gift I’d ever given her.
Beautifully decorated with black patterns and delicate seashells.
“Oh… this…”
She took it with a reverent expression.
“This… I’ve kept it…”
She gazed at the comb with eyes filled with longing and lancholy.
“I’ve kept it close.”
Did Roy keep it? Or was it still here—in her inner world?
I couldn’t ask.
I didn’t want to shatter this fragile mont.
“Yeah?”
“Mm. Even the mont I attacked you and left… I never once stopped thinking of it as sothing precious.”
Those days with her.
She’d loved the comb I gave her—always carried it with her.
I didn’t know what happened after she dropped it.
But it seed… she’d kept it.
That’s why fanatics are terrifying.
They say they love you… and then try to kill you.
“Mmm… and thank you.”
“Huh? For what?”
Her eyes, glistening with moisture, whispered:
“That day… when I tried to kill you… you still treated so kindly.”
“That was…”
“In your eyes, I was a terrible woman, wasn’t I? I attacked you. Almost killed Nekhuf. Tried to destroy the world.”
I scratched my cheek.
She was right.
I’d been on the brink of death—more than once.
But I understood her situation.
Not love… but pity.
The childhood she’d endured… I couldn’t even imagine.
Leah, Scarlet, Cecilia, Mia—I’d stepped in to save them.
And because of that, they’d beco brighter, more cheerful than in the original story.
But Selena?
I never stepped in.
I fell here before the Demon King appeared.
If I’d known about her… would I have acted?
Yes.
But the past cannot be changed.
It is fixed.
***
Leah returned through the Hell Gate.
Using the coordinates Edward had given her, she teleported directly to the camp—
—Whump.
“Why are you only showing up now?!”
Cecilia embraced Leah with overwhelming joy—her platinum hair brushing Leah’s face.
“W-what? That’s gross!”
Leah, startled by the sudden hug from a woman her own height, flinched.
“If you don’t even send a ssage, of course we worry.”
Scarlet sighed in relief upon Leah’s return.
Until now, she’d assud Leah was dead.
When she didn’t return, the Hero Party had even considered the worst—that she and Nekhuf were gone.
“What took you so long?”
Mia stared at Leah with wide, innocent eyes.
“I… was busy.”
Leah explained her absence.
“Oh…!”
“…Aria…”
Everyone knew Aria’s cheerful spirit.
They imagined how deeply the hatchling had been shattered by Icira’s death.
“She’s better than when we first saw her… but she won’t let go of you.”
Aria had clung to Leah like a second skin—terrified she’d vanish too.
Leah, though annoyed, hid it well—spending hours soothing and comforting the girl.
“Aww…”
Cecilia, who’d been close to Aria, felt her heart ache.
Such a pure soul.
“Aria… is suffering, isn’t she?”
The Hero Party’s faces grew somber.
“Yes… when we visited, she was living in Lady Icira’s room. She’s improved since then—but she still looks uneasy.”
“That’s understandable… Haa… we need to finish this soon… so we can go see Aria…”
Cecilia gazed at Hans and Selena, sleeping peacefully.
“True… when will they wake up?”
The Hero Party stared at the two.
Leah, uneasy, turned to Edward.
“Is there no way to send one more person in?”
“I haven’t tested beyond two. It might be possible… but I don’t know what’s happening inside. It’s safer not to enter.”
Leah frowned at the sleeping pair.
“Why not?”
Cecilia’s puzzled question drew Mia’s reply:
“Isn’t she the one who almost killed Hans? Nekhuf said there was sothing… strange between them.”
All eyes turned to Nekhuf.
“W-well… yeah. They acted like lovers.”
Nekhuf scratched his head sheepishly.
“Now, Hans’s feelings are probably cooled.”
He was certain.
Selena was beautiful, yes—but a woman who had betrayed him.
And Hans? He was the most popular man among won.
Even if they were flawed, every single one of them—when compared to elves—had beauty that rivaled or surpassed them.
In fact, they were nobler.
Heroes, Archmages, Saints, High Elves—all were extraordinary individuals.
Scarlet hesitantly spoke up.
“Hmm… I’m worried.”
In her eyes, Selena was stunning.
Even now, her hair and skin were slightly damaged—but her core beauty was undeniable.
She believed Selena would look even more radiant within her own mind.
Won always want to look their best.
“Really? Not possible?”
Leah looked concerned too.
“Edward? Any better idea?”
Cecilia added pressure.
Edward scratched his head.
“Well… it was designed as a counseling tool… so I’m nervous, but entering might be possible. But if it’s going well, we might ruin it.”
Everyone stared at him in silence.
“Why?”
The Hero Party’s silent pressure.
Nekhuf and Edward didn’t understand—but…
“Make it. Right now. Send soone in safely.”
Leah’s command united them.
“Yes! Do it now!”
“If we delay any longer, sothing’s already happened. We have to act.”
“If Hans is in trouble inside his mind, what then?”
Their words carried an unspoken threat.
‘Do it—or we’ll disassemble your bones.’
Edward, overwheld, had no choice but to nod.
***
“The mage and the dark-skinned elf have entered….”
The Demon King stared at the Succubus Queen.
“What will you do?”
With the entire Hero Party, Lich Edward, and even a powerful Sand Elf gathered, the Demon King fell into thought.
If they all acted together, wielding divine power, even he would be overwheld.
‘Do I fight head-on?’
His army was already positioned near the Hell Gate.
To redirect them toward the Hero Party’s hiding spot would take ti.
“Hmm…”
If only I could quickly conquer the human world—or erase divine power…
The Demon King tapped his throne’s armrest.
—Tap… tap…
The rhythmic sound echoed.
‘I must eliminate divine power.’
“Summon the Four Heavenly Kings.”
The Succubus Queen bowed.
“As you command.”
Soon, she brought the Four Heavenly Kings.
Each one’s appearance was terrifying.
The Demon King gave his order:
“Sneak into the Imperial Capital. Break the Ark of the Covenant.”
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