Chapter 347: Deepening Danger
Chapter 347: Deepening Danger
Looking at the rubble raining around him, Roel felt helplessness that he had not felt ever since he awakened his transcendent abilities when he was nine.
As terrifying as it looked, the falling rubble only posed a threat to ordinary mortals. Origin Level 6s could ward off the rubble by brandishing their spears, whereas Origin Level 5s could deflect the rubble with their mana, let alone Origin Level 4s and above.
It was just that the current Roel possessed no mana at all. He only had the protective magic tools that were tossed to him from the two ladies when the battle broke out—a bracelet from Lilian and an amulet from Alicia. The glowing barrier they produced protected him from the devastation of their battle, but it was frustrating how he could only powerlessly watch their fight from inside.
He did try shouting loudly to stop them, but it was to no avail. Neither of them had their attention on him.
Under the gentle glow of the moonlight, dozens of silvery birds descended from the moon and circled around the night sky. Each of them harnessed mana that sparked Lilian’s wariness. They alleviated the heavy pressure that was crushing down on Alicia, returning her freedom of movement.
The Silverash Child.
This was one of the strongest Silver Bloodlines that had no side effects whatsoever. It granted boundless life force that opened great room for maneuverability in a battle, as seen in the case of Alicia.
Every single one of those birds were actually containers Alicia had deposited her mana and life force into. Thanks to these containers, she was able to exert prowess on par with Origin Level 3 transcendents despite being only at Origin Level 4 herself.
“Roel and I are destined to be together. This is the fate predestined by the bloodlines we possess. Our union will enhance the bloodline our ancestors have painstakingly preserved throughout the generations. This is our responsibility and mission!”
“Bloodline? Are you talking about that bloodline that has put Lord Brother through great danger and suffering? Hah, you can continue that cursed bloodline yourself. The offspring of Lord Brother and I will be much happier with the enhancement of my Perfection Origin Attribute!”
“It looks like there’s no room for reconciliation here.”
“Indeed.”
Seeing that there was no more room for words, the two of them decided to go all out, resulting in a huge flood of mana right after.
Alicia’s silver birds transformed into blazing infernos and darted toward Lilian at breakneck speed. In response, Lilian summoned a platoon of soldiers holding golden tower shields.
Those were the Blazing Helios Platoon’s Helios Shield, a top-notch fire attribute magic tool that granted one high resistance against fire-type attacks. Under the cover of these shields, the blazing infernos were easily neutralized, leaving nothing but a warm breeze.
The intense battle on the clocktower swiftly attracted the attention of the crowd on the Blessing Square. Some of the couples anxiously evacuated the area, but most of them chose to stay put and watch the commotion.
Amidst the chaos, Grace led the Rosaian elites toward where Charlotte and a group of high nobles from other countries were.
“Young miss, that is…!” shouted Grace as she pointed to the clocktower.
To her surprise, there was no response at all. Perplexed, she turned her eyes toward Charlotte and saw that the latter was trembling.
What’s going on? Why is the young miss reacting like this?
Oblivious to Grace, a furious tsunami of emotions was raging in Charlotte’s heart. She was trembling out of shock and anger.
She had seen the boy standing behind Lilian, and she would really have to be a fool if she still couldn’t figure out that he was none other than Roel. She was swiftly reminded of the two ‘live broadcasts’ she had seen yesterday.
It’s one thing for her to embrace Roel in the balcony, but how dare that woman touch Roel when I was just a mere door away?
Charlotte felt so dizzy with anger that she felt like her consciousness was on the verge of fading. Back when she kidnapped Roel from Alicia and Nora’s side, she never thought that she would end up being put in such a position. It felt almost ludicrous how things had come a full circle.
“Young miss, they are on the clocktower. What do we do?”
“… Blow it up.”
“Excuse me?”
“I said, blow up that wretched clocktower! The ground is our battlefield. Get darling down here right now!”
“Wait a moment, Miss Charlotte! You mustn’t blow up the clocktower!”
Amongst the crowd, the plump Eirbower Duke rushed over with a horrified look on his face. Fearing that he wouldn’t be able to stop her on time, he even made a glorious dive across the square and stopped perfectly in front of Charlotte’s feet.
“You mustn’t blow up the clocktower, Miss Charlotte! My home is right beneath it. Half of my ducal estate will be destroyed if you blow it up!”
“Cut the crap! I couldn’t care less about your ducal estate right now,” Charlotte snapped as she stared intently at the boy on the clocktower.
She mercilessly kicked off the Eirbower Duke’s hands on her and furiously gave her order.
“A mere ducal estate; I’ll build you ten of those as compensation! Blow up the clocktower!”
At her command, the Rosaian elites took out their gemstones and channeled their mana into it. The gemstones began to glow brilliantly before releasing a series of beams against the blocktower.
Boom!
Dozens of explosions bombarded the clocktower one after another, blowing many holes on the clocktower. Unable to support its weight anymore, the clocktower began to tilt sideways.
This situation shocked the duo fighting on the clocktower.
“Lord Brother!”
“Roel!”
Roel fell off the clocktower and began plummeting helplessly to the ground. Beneath him, a wave of golden fluid had already taken its position, ready to catch him. Charlotte also charged over herself to reunite with her lover as soon as possible.
To her surprise, the falling boy never landed on her Golden Soul.
Hm? Where did he go?
A cloud of dust had veiled Charlotte’s vision, causing her to lose sight of Roel, but she was certain that he should have fallen on her Golden Soul given the trajectory of his descent. Bewildered, she quickly looked around and soon received the answer to her question.
It started from a crack of golden shimmer emerging from the dust, and it swiftly grew brighter until a golden-haired angel swooped out of the dust and rubble with a pair of unfurled wings. There was a small figure in her arms.
“That was a close one.”
Gliding across the night sky, Nora looked at the boy in her arms as she spoke with a smile.
Roel’s eyes were still closed out of fear that he would really drop to his death when he suddenly felt something breaking his fall and heard a familiar voice. So, he opened his eyes and found himself face to face with a saintly angel who looked more gorgeous than ever under the gentle glow of the moonlight.
“N-Nora?”
“It has been a long time. That’s a familiar look you’re sporting here.”
The current Roel evoked Nora’s memories of their first meeting, and it brought a nostalgic smile to her lips.
She was the farthest away when the battle on the clocktower first broke out, leaving her with no choice but to unfurl her light wings and rush over as quickly as possible. She didn’t expect to bump into this pleasant coincidence.
The moment she saw the black-haired boy plummeting from the sky, she knew he was Roel right away. So, she channeled all of her mana and charged forward to swoop him away.
“Nora, what are you doing here?”
“That’s a long story.”
“… I see.”
Staring at Nora intently, Roel couldn’t help but notice that there was something amiss about her current self, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was. He racked his brain to figure out what it was, and soon, it struck him.
Wait a moment, I’m still leaking time, right?
Roel finally understood where the anomaly was coming from.
The leaking time from him had the effect of invigorating others, stimulating them almost like a drug. It would feel like a random adrenaline rush for strangers he accidentally bumped into on the street, but this effect could easily spur passion in Alicia, Nora, and the others due to the feelings they harbored for him.
Even Lilian, despite being at Origin Level 3, dared not to remain in contact with him for too long. Alicia was also a bit more agitated than usual, diving directly into a conflict with Lilian. That could have been the influence of the leaking time too.
It was weird how Nora was completely unfazed even though she was holding him in her hands. The effect of leaking time was more of a buff rather than a negative effect, so the cleansing effect of her bloodline should be ineffective against it. This meant that there was something off about her at the moment.
“… Roel, I need to talk to you about something.”
“Hm? What do you wish to talk about?”
“Give me a moment. I’ll find a safe landing spot.”
“Alright.”
Nora’s attitude was polite and composed, perhaps a little distant even, and it left Roel feeling uneasy. There was none of her usual sadistic streak, and she made no attempts to get close to him either. Even her words felt aloof.
Ah.
Realization suddenly struck Roel.
This was Nora too, just not the one he was familiar with. This was Her Highness Nora when she was in the presence of outsiders.
The wind suddenly felt a little chilly. The two of them continued flying in silence. It was only after the collapsed clocktower was a long distance away that she finally landed in front of a quiet mansion.
Nora dissipated her golden wings. She grabbed Roel’s hands and led him into the mansion. There were two rows of pillars along the sheltered entranceway, and their shadows divided the ground with segments of darkness. The two of them walked to the midpoint of the foyer before halting there.
Then, she released her grasp of his hand.
“!”
Roel felt a lurch in his heart when Nora released his hand on her own volition, such that he couldn’t help but widen his eyes in doubt. His hand lingered awkwardly in mid-air for a few seconds before he slowly withdrew it to his side.
His heart palpitated nervously as he looked at the golden-haired woman standing in front of him. They were only twenty centimeters away from one another, but it felt like there was a world of distance between them. The ominous atmosphere drenched his forehead in sweat, and he felt extremely jittery.
“What a beautiful moon we have tonight.”
“Indeed.”
Roel replied vaguely in response to Nora’s remark before silence took over once more.
Nora took a glance out of the entranceway before walking out of the shelter to bask herself under the moonlit sky. She looked at the silver moon above and smiled faintly. Roel walked over to her side to accompany her. Just like that, the two of them watched the night sky quietly for a while.
Time slowly ticked by, and the silence continued to mount pressure on Roel’s chest. It took a long time before Nora finally turned to Roel and spoke.
“Roel, I’d like to ask you a question and I hope that you can give me your honest answer.”
“Alright. What do you wish to ask?”
Nora’s gentle voice made Roel shudder a little, and he turned his head over to look at her.
“I finally found the two of you!”
At the same time, from the other end of the mansion, Charlotte finally landed with the Golden Soul wrapped around her. However, Nora didn’t pay her any heed. Her eyes remained focused on Roel as she calmly asked her question.
“Are you intending to end our relationship?”
“”!””
Roel’s body stiffened up at her question. Even Charlotte stopped in her tracks and stared at her with widened eyes. It was all silent yet again.