“Huh?”
A short gasp escaped Deia’s lips as her grip on the shotgun gradually went slack, and the barrel lowered.
Her wide-open eyes, quivering faintly, stared directly at .
“S-say that… again.”
A gentle smile tugged at my lips as I watched her stamr.
I sensed that she had almost figured it out.
Even though it should have been impossible for her to recognize in a different body, with a different voice and manner of speaking.
Still, she asked again, just in case.
Just that alone made all my previous worries seem ridiculous.
“What should I say?”
“Hey, you jerk! I told you to speak to properly!”
Stamring as she got closer, Deia looked unexpectedly cute in a way I hadn’t seen before.
“H-hurry! Anything! Y-you know, sothing like what that bastard usually says!”
She was almost certain now. I wondered how she had figured it out, but I pretended to be clueless.
“What kind of way of talking?”
I had changed my manner of speaking to clearly distinguish Kim Shinwoo from Deus within , but saying it while in Kim Shinwoo’s body felt rather awkward.
“Oh, co on! You know, like… right? Like that!”
And now, she’d set the shotgun on the floor and was gesturing wildly in front of , imitating various ways of speaking.
“The living should not cross the boundary of the dead recklessly, happy birthday, things like that, you know that!”
“Pfft.”
“Hey, you jerk! That’s sothing you said!”
Was she always this adorable?
Seeing Deia, who used to grumble constantly, now blushing and looking at so earnestly stirred my emotions as well.
“Please? Just say it! Y-you can even say sothing like ‘go easy with the shotgun once’ like before!”
Unable to touch directly, she just stood there, not knowing what to do, pushing for a response.
“Deia.”
I called her na softly.
“Ah…”
Tears began to pool in Deia’s eyes and naturally, the overwhelming feeling flowed into as well.
I was grateful.
I knew that it would take so ti to explain it properly.
I thought I’d have to present evidence if I were to reveal that I was Deus—maybe even share so of our hidden mories.
However, none of that was necessary.
Just saying her na was enough.
“YOU BASTARRRDDD!”
She had recognized .
Wham!
Deia threw herself at , wrapping in a tight hug and burying her face in my chest. Unable to hold back any longer, she started sobbing, venting her resentnt.
“Where were you all this timeeeee?! I-I thought… I thought you were deadddddd!”
“I’m sorry.”
“Because I… because I was unable to do anything! I was right there with you! And in the end, I couldn’t even help you, and because of that…”
But did she even do anything wrong?
After all, Raizel, the God of Thunder, was not a being who could be stopped with sothing crude like a shotgun.
I hugged her gently.
Even though I couldn’t feel her warmth because of my artificial body, I still felt an illusion of her warmth.
“You jerk! You jerk! You HORRIBLE JERRRRKKK!”
“I have no excuses.”
After listening to her cry for a while, Deia, sowhat calr now, raised her head slightly, still clinging to .
She looked at my face and mumbled sothing under her breath.
“What did you say?”
I couldn’t hear her clearly even though she was right next to .
Curious, I asked, and Deia lowered her head even more before speaking up.
“T-that… is that your real face?”
“Ah.”
I scratched my cheek and nodded.
“Yeah, this is how I originally looked as Kim Shinwoo. Professor Fel Petra’s artificial body seems to take on the form that matches the mana of the soul within it.”
“…”
I felt her grip tighten around . My waist even bent a little, so I guess I was right.
Sensing this was a good opportunity, I asked her sothing I’d been genuinely curious about.
“How did you know it was ?”
My appearance, voice, and even my mannerisms were all different from when I was Deus; it would have made much more sense for her to see as a completely different person instead.
However, Deia recognized the mont she saw . It was sothing beyond rhy or reason.
“I just… knew.”
“…”
“It simply hit all at once. I just felt like the person I’d been waiting for had finally returned.”
“I still don’t get it. Are you really okay with sothing that vague?”
As I responded honestly, Deia pulled her head back a bit and bumped her forehead against my chest lightly.
“What do you want to say then? You’re a Necromancer, yet you’re arguing over logic.”
It seed that she found it annoying that I, soone who dealt with things beyond rational explanation, would ask for a logical answer.
“Just understand it as ‘it is what it is.’ You really have trouble reading the mood. That part of you is definitely like Deus.”
“D-De-De-Deus?!”
At that mont, an astonished squeal echoed across the mountain. As I turned towards that shriek, Deia naturally looked in the sa direction while still clinging to .
“I forgot about her for a mont.”
I was about to apologize to Xiao Hu for forgetting her in the excitent of the reunion, but I noticed Deia frowning deeply. This ti, she squeezed so tight, it felt like my waist might actually break.
“So things never change, do they?”
“…Wase up a little! You’ll break my artificial body.”
“Huh?”
Deia looked like she was asking for an explanation, but Xiao Hu eagerly interrupted with a question.
“W-wait! A-are you really talking about Deus Verdi?!”
Annoyed at the sudden interruption as we were sharing a sibling mont, Deia gave Xiao Hu a cold glare, then poked with her chin.
“Yeah, he’s Deus Verdi.”
“So you accompanied the hunters planning to kill you?!”
“…So?”
Their eyes turned to , but I simply shrugged.
“That was the fastest way to get back to Norseweden.”
Besides, the hunters would have co after regardless.
“Joining a march ant to kill you…”
Xiao Hu’s jaw dropped in disbelief, but seemingly pleased with my answer, Deia loosened her grip.
“Right, you had to return as quickly as possible.”
After that, a quiet silence settled over us as the wind blew coldly.
Xiao Hu looked at , I in turn looked at Deia, but Deia pretended not to notice.
Our gazes, shifting from one to the next, ultimately landed on Deia, but she remained silent.
“Let’s go see the Mountain Lord.”
I had gently asked Deia to step back, but she pretended not to hear .
Given the situation, I wasn’t actually in a bad mood. After all, my younger sister, who usually complained, was now greeting in this manner.
And she had accepted as Kim Shinwoo, not as Deus.
It was definitely a good thing, but still, there were things that needed to be taken care of.
“…”
But despite my words, Deia showed no sign of letting go. Instead, she tightened her grip again.
“Is it… okay to remain like this?”
Seeing struggle, Xiao Hu finally spoke up, subtly suggesting that this wasn’t how things were supposed to be.
But even after hearing Xiao Hu’s words, Deia still refused to let go.
Well, this was probably part of my role as an older brother.
“Give a minute. I can at least indulge in my younger sister’s childishness after such a long ti.”
Thud!
Just as I thought I’d give her so ti, Deia suddenly pushed away and stepped back.
Did she perhaps not like being called childish?
I wondered if I’d made a mistake, but Deia imdiately turned to grab her shotgun and snapped at coldly.
“Let’s go, Mr. Kim Shinwoo.”
“…”
“The Mountain Lord will recognize you, so let’s go.”
Her sudden coldness was a dramatic shift from her earlier behavior, like a reed bending in the wind.
“Y-you’re kind of scaring now.”
“Why? Did I say sothing wrong?”
Xiao Hu, who had moved closer, grabbed my sleeve in fright.
And just as we were about to resu our climb up the mountain to et the Mountain Lord—
“…!”
My head instinctively whipped towards the entrance to the Norseweden mountain range—the very spot where Darius and Findenai were in the middle of a battle against the hunters.
And from that location, a massive surge of power began to cover the sky in an instant.
***
Kaang!
Findenai’s Snow White and Lanhardt’s spear collided with each other, resulting in a trendous shockwave.
Lanhardt felt that the first attack was sowhat lackluster compared to the montum she showed earlier.
Hence, he assud it would be over after a few exchanges, but—
“Ugh!”
However, just a mont later, he was caught off guard by Findenai’s assault.
With the passage of ti, her attack even grew stronger.
This was the first ti he’d ever faced such a woman.
Facing Findenai, who relentlessly swung her white blade as if she had no limit to her stamina, Lanhardt realized the scale of victory was gradually tipping against him.
“Unbelievable.”
And amid the struggle, Lanhardt felt a strange heat from within his chest.
It wasn’t just a feeling or a random sensation.
Throughout the battle with Findenai, he sensed the fragnts of the Ancient Dragon he had devoured were starting to change.
Is it because of the life-threatening danger?
If the Ancient Dragon’s power now saw Lanhardt as sothing it should protect, didn’t that an he would be able to wield the true strength of a guardian deity?
Lanhardt grinned at the thought.
“Is this funny?”
However, his opponent didn’t even allow him that.
Having leaped forward, Findenai was already swinging her halberd right in front of Lanhardt.
She’s gotten even faster!
He had never imagined she could beco even stronger from this point.
There isn’t enough ti to wield my spear!
It was already too late to raise his spear, so Lanhardt raised his left arm instead, prepared to sacrifice it.
He thought it would be less detrintal to give up his left hand rather than his neck.
CLAAAANG!
“…!”
“…!”
Even though Lanhardt’s left hand made direct contact with Findenai’s halberd, it remained unscathed, emitting a tallic clang as if it were made of steel.
Though the impact forced him back and caused him to topple over, his hand glowed with a soft golden light.
“What the…?”
Be it Findenai, who had struck him.
“This is…”
Or Lanhardt, who was struck.
They were both surprised by what just happened.
Realizing that the power from the remnants of the Ancient Dragon was starting to manifest, Lanhardt allowed a faint smile to form at the corner of his lips.
“Looks like the tide of this battle is about to change.”
He knew that Findenai was strong, but he was confident she was no match for the power he had gained from the Ancient Dragon.
Lanhardt was sure of this.
“How ridiculous.”
Findenai sneered, thinking to herself, how much could he possibly change in such a short span of ti?
Even so, both of them remained vigilant, keeping their eyes locked on each other.
Thump!
Without disrupting the atmosphere, sothing appeared without any warning or foreshadowing. However, because of that, it carried an overwhelming presence that dominated the crowd.
“A door?”
Lanhardt wore a strange expression as a purple door suddenly appeared between them. He didn’t like how the life-or-death intensity of the battle had dissipated with its arrival.
On the other hand, Findenai’s eyes trembled.
Could it be?
Had her heart ever raced this quickly before?
Holding her breath, Findenai stared intently at the door of the general store.
And the mont it began to creak open, a massive wave of mana, one that even the continent could not withstand, began to gush out from the door.
Thump!
A heavy footstep landed, directed towards the /genesisforsaken
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