“Liege, we have eradicated the other Abernathy scattered on Titanora,” Regina informed the young man sitting across a chessboard.
He was engaged in a game with a woman dressed in black, her eyes a deeper shade of the same hue as Regina’s and the man.
“It’s been a very long time since I last played this game. You can expect some mistakes,” Drishti said, glancing at the board. It had been over two hundred years since she had lost interest in chess, but this young man was rekindling her old passion.
“Lady Drishti, I assure you, this is the first time I’ve played this game in this life,” Ryuk replied, moving a chess piece with the same intense focus as Drishti. He noted how she was already preparing a backup strategy, anticipating her own possible defeat by shielding it by her lack of recent practice.
[Host, shouldn’t you stop playing with words? You are about to lose.]
‘…..’ Ryuk’s eyes narrowed as he heard the System’s warning. He glanced at Drishti, who was deeply immersed in the game. This prompted him to scrutinize the chessboard again, searching for the moves that might lead to his defeat.
In chess, the more steps ahead one thinks, the better their chances of victory.
Regina observed the chess game, but her attention shifted between the young man and the woman. She stared blankly, already aware that despite the odds and probabilities favoring Ryuk, Drishti would ultimately win.
Simply because, how can you defeat someone who can bend reality?
Regina was a hundred percent sure that some pieces would be interchanged the moment the young man blinked.
But at the same time, she knew that Ryuk was also aware of Drishti’s tactics. This awareness prompted him to keep his eyes wide open, even after half an hour.
Indeed, the game had stretched to half an hour only because both players were incredibly serious.
Just yesterday, they had dealt with the Abernathy family, and here they were, engrossed in a game of chess.
‘Ah, here it comes,’ Regina thought, noticing Drishti’s face forming a smile as her eyes finally shifted towards Ryuk.
Making Regina understand that the subtle struggle to distract him was about to begin.
“Yesterday’s night must have been relaxing, wasn’t it?” Drishti inquired, glancing at Ryuk’s next move.
“Indeed, I got a good sleep,” Ryuk responded, fully aware of her intentions. He kept his focus on the game while monitoring the condition of someone in his mind.
[Host, his mind is recovering.]
‘Why so fast?’ Ryuk felt slightly confused at the System’s notification about Edward’s condition.
Even with the ability to adapt, how could someone recover so quickly after such trauma?
[His mind is experiencing much greater trauma than that.]
‘Hmm, is his halo not working against hers?’ Ryuk wondered, recalling a woman, and asked the System.
[The Son of Heaven’s halo is temporarily weakened for some reason.]
‘It can’t be due to *shunya*. Then what?’ Ryuk considered the limits of his ability, which nullified any effect on his body, and Edward’s ability, which made him adapt to any condition.
Both abilities seemed designed to counter each other.
Yet, Edward’s body had not been able to adapt to the hand injury caused by Ryuk with the help of the System.
Moreover, Ryuk’s ability, *Shunya*, possessed the capacity to suppress the System itself, clearly making it stronger than Edward’s ability. But the thought that *Shunya* was also nullifying the Heaven’s Halo seemed plausible.
There were several confusions, but all Ryuk could do was gather more proof of his suspicions.
“Esme must be exhausted,” Drishti said, observing how he remained focused on the game. The subtle furrows on his brow indicated his distraction, yet he hadn’t blinked once, so she pushed further.
“Yes, she overdid it,” Ryuk replied, not falling for her double-edged words. He concentrated solely on the game, his eyes fixed on the board.
“Heh, so you didn’t show mercy to her,” Drishti remarked, noting how the game had escalated, with only four pieces left on both sides. She became more proactive.
“Indeed, just as I won’t show any to you,” Ryuk said, placing his piece and cornering her king. He met her eyes and clearly stated, “Check.”
“What check?” Drishti smiled, tilting her head and raising an eyebrow.
‘Sigh,’ Regina thought, seeing her prediction come true. Drishti had indeed switched the pieces, interchanging the remaining four pawns in a way that now left Ryuk in check.
DING
[Analysis is done, Host.]
‘What did you find?’ Ryuk asked, reciprocating Drishti’s smile and looking calmly at the board, confirming a doubt that had arisen moments ago.
[Host, her commands are able to overwrite mine.]
‘Interesting,’ Ryuk thought. A few moments ago, after learning that Edward’s halo was weakened, Ryuk had speculated that his ability was stronger than Edward’s, who was still affected by the system.
But another doubt crossed his mind—was it possible that Drishti could heal Edward?
To confirm this, he had commanded the system to shroud the chess pieces in its isolation.
Yet, Drishti’s authority had been able to change reality, indicating that if she wanted, she could easily heal Edward’s body.
Ryuk even suspected she could suppress Edward’s bloodline’s drawbacks—something unbelievable.
“Hmm, did you tamper with the pieces?” Drishti inquired in an amused tone, narrowing her eyes at the young man.
“You are truly strong, Lady Drishti,” Ryuk commented genuinely as he stood from his seat, resting a hand in his pocket.
He turned toward the window, where he saw Valhale approaching them, carrying a book that was a meter thick due to the number of pages being more than ten thousand.
*******
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Some moment ago,
Far from Titanora, many miles away, a landmass shattered into several fragments was now disintegrating into dust particles.
There were no life signs from a race known for their characteristic greenish and greyish skin tone.
“Is he the Edward Abernathy?” An individual with light blue hair glanced down at a rock where a man lay bare, drenched in greenish liquid.
“It must be humiliating,” remarked one of the Riantains, gazing at the young man. Though they had complete control over their emotions, they still felt a flicker of pity while maintaining a stoic expression.
“Tch, tch, how inhumane,” Diana said, stepping out of her battleship. She held a cane and was followed by other Riantains. She looked at the young man, feeling nothing.
“Throw this garbage on the ship, give him a bath, and remove that stench, even if you need to peel off his skin,” Diana ordered, her eyes turning towards a certain direction.
A grin spread across her face as she concocted a plan to exploit someone’s arrogance for her purposes. But first, that arrogant man needed a bath to rid him of that goblin stench.
“Oh, by the way, what is the status of the demon army heading towards Titanora?” Diana glanced at one of the individuals standing there with a calm demeanor.
“My Lady, they are about an hour away,” replied the man with an expressionless face.
‘Hm, so it’s her turn,’ Diana thought, swinging her cane as a smile formed on her lips. She understood that the Demon Queen had sent the weakest of her army, causing this delay.
The stronger the army, the faster they would arrive at their destination.
It was clear that the Demon Queen was testing someone or something on Titanora.
Whoot-Whoot
She whistled as she swirled elegantly towards the ship, her smile widening to reveal her canines. She knew exactly who had the audacity to make the Demon Queen take action. ‘Who else could it be but my love~♡!’
“Fufufufu,” Diana giggled and whistled, entering the ship.
She had already recovered from the previous trauma of seeing her man holding another woman’s hand the moment she learned Edward Abernathy had gone to Titanora.
Of course, she didn’t expect anything from some inferior human who dared to challenge her man. To her, every man except the one she loves was trash.
But there was something needed to be achieved with help of that young man.
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Knock knock
“Is he clean?” Diana asked from her seat on the bed, addressing the individual who had knocked on her door. She was writing a letter with red ink.
“Yes, my lady. We peeled off the skin in places where the stench was intense, like his as—KRIIEK” The woman at the door, her face stoic, was interrupted by the creaking sound of the door opening.
“So, he’s become a monkey now, fufu~!” Diana laughed, covering her lips with her delicate gloved hand, which held a black letter.
“Indeed, he has a red butt, so technically, it is correct,” the woman nodded, stretching out her hand to receive the black letter from Diana without her even saying anything.
“Send this letter to Goddess Fela’s Sanctum,” Diana commanded. The woman took the letter and turned to leave, not replying but simply accepting the command with silent efficiency.
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“N-no…stay away bastards….I will kill you all”
Arriving outside a door, the first thing that reached Diana was the sound of murmurs, continuous blabbering mixed with the clear sound of foot taps, all vivid to Diana’s enhanced senses.
TING!
The metallic door of the room slid open, causing the previously muffled sounds to become even more pronounced as they echoed through the room.
“Ah… Bastards… Don’t touch me… I will kill…” Edward muttered, seated on his knees with shaking legs, his hands clasped together and trembling.
“How pitiful, Edward. What have you become?” Diana moved toward the young man, who was quivering on his knees, his mind filled with uncontrollable memories, vivid and relentless.
“No… stop… Bastar—BAM!” Edward tried to speak but was cut short by a solid metallic projectile that struck his temple.
THUD
“Kugh?!” A shockwave surged through his brain, the impact laced with mana strong enough to pierce his pain receptors.
The blow sent blood clots forming in his eyes, precisely and calculatedly bringing him out of his trance state.
“It’s fine, Edward. You will be healed by the methods of the one who made you like this.” Diana looked down coldly at the fallen young man, trembling in a state that was pathetic for someone she once used against her enemy.
Of course, she had never trusted that this guy could achieve anything significant, which is why she sought help from others.
But seeing his current state, he was now useless to her.
“You know the method to heal someone like you,” Diana leaned down, placing the end of her metallic cane on Edward’s temple. Her lips parted as she recalled the words of her beloved who had taught her this: “Just give them a bigger shock to make them forget the smaller one.”
CRACKLE!
Suddenly, the end of her cane glowed, crackling with visible energy.
WHRRR
A soft surge formed, spreading like roots inside Edward’s brain.
“AGGGHHHH!” Edward, whose throat was cracked, tongue bitten, and lips dried from previous screams of pain, cried out again, his voice filling the room despite his exhaustion.
“Tch, tch, shut up. I am healing you,” Diana shook her head in disappointment, seeing how the young man, instead of being grateful, was crying and screaming.
Unbeknownst to Diana, several higher beings were observing, believing her method to be the only way to heal Edward at this moment—a clear indication that until she killed him, no one was going to stop her.
