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Chapter 86 Part 13 – Things that never change. And a promise. In order to protect the lives of the mother and the baby, Countess Rosenthal will put everything on the line to fight against Alisa.

With an ecstatic expression, Alisa looked at Scarlet as she stood in the area behind the swaying Ruby.

「…… Ahaha, you know, Scarlet. I thought of a great game. You’re almost 4 years old and I forgot to get you a birthday present. Of course, I know what you want most. For your mother and the baby to be safe and sound. …… So, in honor of your age, if you guys can show me four miracles, I will not kill Cornelia. I’ll consider that previous coordinated attack as the first miracle ……」

Waving the Ruby of the True Emperor like a hostage, Alisa chuckled.

「…… I don’t know what you’re going to do if the Ruby is returned, so I’ll take care of it during the game. In exchange, I will not use ‘precognition’ and ‘mind reading’ either. Now, you only need three more miracles. You better do your best, otherwise, I’ll reach Cornelia’s side. ……!!」

Alisa turned to look at Cornelia and was about to start walking toward her when flashes of lightning filled her field of vision. Taking advantage of the previous moment when she slightly averted her eyes, the arrow that Cornelia fired was closing in on Alisa. She used the bow and arrow that Countess Rosenthal had given her earlier. Alisa saw through her technique, smirked, and twisted her body to intercept it.

「…… Thunder Crawl ……」

It is Melville’s secret technique that charges the arrow with electricity and accelerates the arrow as it surges through the layers of the air.

「…… I’m quite impressed that you managed to shoot a secret technique even though you’re not using your personal bow. Moreover, you did so inside a room with little wind. Fufu, is this the latent power of a mother trying to protect her child?」

While illuminated in a blue light due to the lightning, Alisa swung her spear hand twice with extreme speed in a good mood.

「Thunder Crawl combines electric shock, lethal poison, and penetration. It is a troublesome technique that usually kills its target on the first attempt as it is difficult to dodge or shoot down. A technique that symbolizes Melville the Magic Bullet. However ……」

Alisa once again used ‘Transmission’ and it became a snake that roared in the sky and collided with the flying arrow. The arrow shook twice in midair. The scene flickered like a heat haze. The lightning scattered in all directions and something fell off the arrowhead like vapor.

「…… Arnold gave me quite the bitter experience in the 72th loop with ‘Thunder Crawl’. So I came up with a plan to deal with it. If you scatter the lightning first and then destroy the poison structure, it will be reduced to just an accelerated arrow.」

Alisa fired two consecutive attacks, stripped off the lightning in front of the arrow, and destroyed the poison.

「…… Simple speed and force alone won’t work on me. This arrow is a bird that has lost its fangs and claws. It will be easy to shoot down.」

Alisa raised her fingertips and easily stopped the arrowhead right before the tip of her nose. The arrow was not broken to smithereens but rather pulverized to mist. After the smoke cleared, Alisa appeared completely unharmed.

However, Alisa’s expression did not clear up as she displayed her tremendous superhuman feat. She even has a bitter smile on her face.

「…… Nonetheless, this seems like a foul and leaves a bad aftertaste. If it was really my first time seeing this technique, I don’t know what the outcome would be. I’ll count that as the second miracle.」

Then, with great interest and a surprised expression, Alisa looked at Cornelia, who was about to nock the next arrow.

Cornelia’s movements were still slow as that was the characteristic of the people outside the ‘Dark Illusion’, however, she is certainly aiming at Alisa.

「…… That’s strange. How did she know my location ……」

In order to see through the ‘Dark Illusion’, it is necessary to reach an equal or higher level of ‘Dark Illusion’, or to recognize the caster with a power like ‘evil eye’. Countess Rosenthal is the latter. However, she could only writhe on the floor and couldn’t tell anyone where Alisa was with her gaze. Bradd, who can read her mind and support them, has also fainted.

Alisa followed Cornelia’s gaze with a furrowed brow, then she burst into laughter.

「Ahahaha!! So that’s how it is!! She wasn’t looking at me. The Ruby of the True Emperor can attract those it has a deep connection with. She used that special characteristic as a marker instead. As expected of my Scarlet. So it was actually a four-step trap」

Cornelia is currently sharing ‘Dark Illusion’ with the Ruby and is deeply connected to it, albeit in a pseudo way. Although they are not so closely related to the Ruby like Scarlet is, where it would automatically return to Scarlet if it was separated, they can at least get a rough idea of its whereabouts. Then, with a hunter’s intuition, she was able to figure out the whereabouts of Alisa who had Ruby ​​in her hand.

「…… You did pretty good to notice the special characteristics of the Ruby. I wonder if it’s the intuition of the rightful successor. But, really. This is the Ruby of the True Emperor that is famed to be worth more than a single kingdom. Don’t use it as a target for arrows. You should take better care of it. As it is the only key that will allow you to reach me.」

Alisa made a deliberate sigh and threw the Ruby of the True Emperor back at Scarlet.

「To think that she would use this as a trap even after I’ve taken it away, what a troublesome child. Well, it’s fine. I’ll finish the game before the Ruby reaches you.」

Then she turned to Cornelia, who was holding a bow, and let out an evil sneer like a shark.

「…… I wasn’t going to kill you since we’re still in the middle of the game …… But I’m running out of time. Besides, it would be discouraging to the cute kids of the Seven Phantoms if I just let go of someone who directed poisoned arrows at us twice. Poor thing, but now that the seed has sprouted, it’s time for you to die.」

When Alisa snapped her fingers, a mass of condensed pressure flew through the air. It exploded in front of Cornelia and blew her bow away and also severed the bowstring.

「…… Next, I’m going to hit you directly in the heart with this ‘Demon’s Bullet’. I’ll be gentle. Don’t worry. I’ll turn you into a beautiful corpse without a scratch.」

However, just before she put it into action, Alisa’s movements came to an abrupt halt as if she had been yanked backward. The smile on Alisa’s face vanished as she turned around and her face took on the expression of a man-eating fiend.

「…… Cornelia said that she was my friend ……!! …… Don’t touch her ……!!」

Even though she was still crawling on the floor, Countess Rosenthal’s eyes were glaring at Alisa as she raised her upper body with her arms propped up. Her eyes had an unusual gleam in them. She had squeezed out her remaining power and activated the ‘evil eye’. Unable to bear the burden, blood dripped from the corner of her eyes like tears. However, the attack that she had risked her life to do didn’t stop Alisa even slightly.

「…… Do not order me. You nasty fly. You’d be dead long ago if it weren’t for the special flow of ‘Dark Illusion’. Disappear like a dead woman.」

Alisa coldly spat out and fired the ‘Demon’s Bullet’ at Countess Rosenthal, which she had intended to aim at Cornelia.
This time there is no holding back.

「I have no obligation to let you die with a beautiful corpse. You will die ugly with your face like a pomegranate.」

However, the ‘Demon’s Bullet’ exploded right after it was shot from Alisa’s fingertip. Alisa quickly bent down her upper body and a sword blew past over her head and cut off several strands of her blond hair.

Realizing that it was done by the Crimson Duke that was approaching her with one hand holding a sword, Alisa smiled brightly with delight.

「…… Rona. Thank you. You were trying to protect Cornelia, weren’t you? We’re always getting helped by you. …… From now on, I will protect both my wife and you.」

Countess Rosenthal smiled and fell on the ground.