3. Darkness Strikes
Ancient Waterway.
Subjugation army marched through the waterway that leads to temple of water. Add had it physically
easiest during the march. His Dynamo did all the movement for him so he didn’t need to waste
physical strength walking like the others.
But Add’s mind was very distressed right now. His gaze was solely focused on Eve’s back as she
walked far ahead of him.
“Are you worried about Eve?”
Add got surprised and jumped to the side when Rena silently approached beside him to ask. Rena
smiled beamingly.
“Her appearance changed all of a sudden after all. I was very surprised too. She said nothing was
wrong after her self examination though so I’m glad.”
“We’ve already seen something like this before.”
Rena nodded. Elesis who had been all worn out suddenly grew up as if she had accelerated her own
time then displayed an overwhelming power.
Eve’s abrupt change in appearance was also explainable if you determined that these two events had
the same principles.
“Ah, why didn’t I get that El from Aisha? Thinking about it makes me kind of sad.”
Rena said this then shot an arrow forward without even properly looking at where she was shooting.
Then a scream was heard as shadow sniper hiding up on the high ground fell down.
“Wow…….”
“She did it again.”
Velder knights whispered amongst each other and were each stealing glances of admiration towards
Rena.
Demons were hidden for ambush in various places but they were all cleaned up soon as Rena
spotted them and fired an arrow. Subjugation army could move forward without any trouble thanks
to her.
“Your current skills should be more than enough.”
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It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Rena’s skill with the bow was G.o.dly. Even Add honestly
didn’t have much confidence that he could defeat Rena in a direct confrontation.
Most of all, it felt like Rena has never revealed her true skills yet.
“Yes, that also makes sense. And others with become stronger too.”
“…….”
“So you don’t have to be so restless Add.”
Rena’s kind words made Add frown.
That night when Add witnessed Eve’s growth, he took the El Aisha gave him in his hand and made
various attempts but didn’t get any changes. Rena must have seen through him doing this.
“Add you are definitely strong and reliable.”
“Don’t say something useless. I just wanted to figure out how it worked.”
“Yes, alright.”
Rena answered indifferently then moved forwards. Add sighed after seeing Rena approach Eve then
touched the El he stored in his pocket.
The fact that you could obtain explosive power if you handled this El properly was confirmed. The
problem was its method of activation. Add tried researching it in various angles along the lines of
not breaking it. But he couldn’t figure out its activation mechanism at all.
“I can’t understand this magic thing at all.”
His desire to find out how this El worked was to the point where he wanted drag Aisha here and
beg her to tell him how it operates. Add had his eyes opened narrowly while thinking intently when
he noticed someone was approaching him.
Eve who had been clearly walking ahead of him before was now approaching him.
Her face was the same as always. But maybe it was because her hairstyle and outfit had changed
dramatically? Add’s heart was beating fast for some reason. No, since when did he ever care about
female attires?
Anyways, although he couldn’t find out the cause, the conclusion here was that it was difficult for
him to look straightly at Eve right now.
“Hmph…..”
Add turned his head away to look left but Eve didn’t pa.s.s by him. She matched her strides to
Dynamo’s moving speed and walked beside him.
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“What do you want?”
Then she should reply with something like ‘I don’t have any particular business with you’. Add
prepared to snort back but the reply he got was unexpected.
“I want to discuss something with you.”
“…….”
Those words weren’t like the usual Eve’s. A lot happened but Eve always had been not too fond of
Add. Even if she had something to discuss with him, wasn’t it more like Eve to spout couple ice
cold remarks before they started?
Of course it wasn’t like Eve always acted this coldly towards everyone. Add provoking her multiple
times probably played a large part in her att.i.tude towards him….. Add was unknowingly defending
Eve’s cold att.i.tude towards him in his head when he finally came to his senses.
“If you’re talking about Ara and Chung….. There shouldn’t be any problems now.”
Ara was freed from her chains and now was walking with her own two feet. She still had an
awkward atmosphere with Chung but the two of them had improved to the point where they
chatted from time to time.
“It’s about the El Aisha gave us.”
“Oh that…..”
Actually Add had wanted to ask Eve about that first. Asking the person who experienced it first
hand was more reasonable course of action than glaring at the El all day long.
But he found it hard to face the newly changed Eve right now. Maybe it was because he wasn’t used
to her changed appearance. Actually even staring at her was uncomfortable right now so Add had
been discretely avoiding her.
Add’s eyes caught Rena waving her hand slightly towards him.
She must have meddled unnecessarily again.
“Just how did you activate that El?”
“Even I don’t know how to explain it yet.”
“Yet?”
That was an odd way of describing it. It wouldn’t be a significant point if any human had said it. But
wasn’t she a Nasod? Eve was saying that there was a possibility that she might be able to understand
it in the future.
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“Yes, not yet.”
“……”
Eve certainly changed. She didn’t just become stronger. Her personality had changed slightly as well.
Eve from before had distanced herself from the other members…… But Eve right now was
approaching and talking to them first.
Just this much difference was actually amazing.
“This is honestly…. Surprising.”
Eve replied quietly to Add’s honest admiration.
“I cannot understand what happened to me right now. But I’d like to try and understand it from
now on. And if I’m ever able to understand it, I’ll share the information with everyone.”
“Everyone?”
“It’s not just me that obtained the El from Aisha.”
Ones that got the Memory of Time and s.p.a.ce were Elsword, Eve, Ara and Add. If Eve had changed
like this, then the same should be possible for the other three as well. Unfortunately, Eve, a Nasod
was successful first so they couldn’t determine how-……
“……..It’s emotion.”
With a spark of thought, Add’s brain caught the main point. There was no way Eve, a Nasod
couldn’t identify the activation condition if it was something that could be determined by reason and
logic. Conversely, if something Eve couldn’t understand was involved, you could almost say for sure
that it was emotion.
The condition to activate the El that Aisha gave them, the condition to activate the Memory of Time
and s.p.a.ce was emotion.
“You may be right.”
“…….”
Add’s eyes widened in surprise. This pompous Queen of Nasods who had always been insisting that
she had no emotions…..did she finally admit it? That she had emotions?
Eve replied confidently towards Add who was looking at her in astonishment.
“That El is a conglomeration of emotions. Even I was momentarily surprised.”
“What?”
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“I was very surprised because it was my first time encountering it. But there were no particular
problems.”
Add’s expression turned from blankness into smirk. Eve had activated the El with her emotion, yet
she believed that those emotions weren’t her own but instead those that were contained in the El.
“I thought emotion was something very inconvenient and illogical…… But I can’t say for sure now.”
“Kukukuk.”
Eve frowned slightly at Add’s laugh but didn’t reply to it.
“That’s all I had to say. I hope this helps with your research.”
“Alright, I’ll use it well for reference. But how come you’re telling me this information?”
Of course, only Eun knew that Add’s ultimate goal was to steal Eve’s Core. Eve wouldn’t know. But
Eve sharing information with him when he didn’t even ask was a bit unexpected.
“Because I want to become stronger together with everyone.”
“…….”
“That’s all.”
Eve said this then increased the pace of her strides to move forwards. Add couldn’t mock her
anymore as he stared at her back moving further away.
“……She really changed.”
Until now, Eve hadn’t been that interested in the El Search Party. She had a picky and introverted
personality that didn’t like to get along with others.
Of course, Rena who was very sociable took care of Eve a lot and was able to converse with her
fluently. But that was only possible because it was Rena. Wasn’t Rena’s sociability to the point where
she was also able to smoothly carry out conversations with sharp-tongued Add?
Eve became able to get along with others bit by bit as they traveled together…..but there was still a
sense of distance. She prioritized Elsword first then other people came after.
Eve who had been like this was now saying words like ‘together.’
“She really changed.”
Add absentmindedly stared at Eve’s back. He wasn’t in any position to mock her for not knowing
about emotions.
Since he didn’t know what this feeling right now was either.
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There were occasional demons that got in the subjugation army’s way but they were all taken care of
with a single shot of Rena’s arrow.
Everyone was in the middle of preparing to camp out for the night. Add looked up toward the night
sky. He was thinking over the conversation he had with Eve during the day and about this tickling
feeling in his heart right now……Then polite footsteps approached him.
Ara looked around the surroundings once then spoke carefully.
“Mr.Add, I’m sorry but may I speak to you for a moment?”
“You’re already speaking.”
At Add’s cold reply, Ara’s eyebrows drooped down then she lowered her head.
“I’m sorry for disturbing you when you were deep in thought. I’ll speak to you later.”
“……You already broke my concentration. Just say what you came here to say.”
He couldn’t figure out his issue with Eve no matter how he thought anyways. After getting the
permission, Ara sat down carefully beside Add with a relieved expression.
Looking at her carefully, her expression looked rather worn out. Add asked after noticing her
fatigued face being shined upon by the moonlight.
“Why do you look so worn out? Was there any problem with the supplies?”
“N, no. Food was really tasty. The meat was especially good.”
Seeing Ara shake her head left and right, Add threw in a question randomly.
“Then I don’t understand why you look like that. Are you not getting enough sleep?”
“…….”
Add had asked without much thought but he must have hit the mark.
Well, the purpose of this subjugation army was to take Ran down. It would be stranger if Ara’s mind
was at ease.
“So, what do you want to do now?”
“I’m…..not sure.”
It looked like Ara still couldn’t decide on how she should deal with Ran.
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“Elder Brother Aren caused pain and harm to so many people….. Wouldn’t it be selfish for me to
try and turn him back?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“…….Huh?”
“I said, what does that have to do with anything? Why does Ran killing somebody matter to you at
all?”
Ara stared at Add with an extremely shocked face. But Add was answering her seriously.
“Why does that matter? Ran or Aren, no matter what evil deeds he committed….. He’s your
precious person right? Then you should protect him no matter what.”
“……..Does Mr.Add think that’s righteous?”
“I have no interest in justice.”
Add murmured as he looked up towards the dark night sky.
“Stuff like that. It all burned away long ago.”
“I……..”
“So then Aren must not be that important to you.”
Ara’s face turned pale but Add wasn’t intending on taking back what he said.
“I’m sorry…..but I don’t think I can tell you anything useful about your worries.”
“……Did something like this happen to you too Mr.Add?”
Ara must have sensed something and asked carefully. Add answered with a head gesture.
Jumping over time in order to go back to the timeline where his most precious person was. Soon as
Add decided on this, justice and other people’s circ.u.mstances didn’t matter at all for him anymore.
Of course, this wasn’t an easy decision for Add. He worried hefty amount about things like time
paradox, side effects of time travel and possibilities of time traveling bringing about some sort of
irrevocable disaster.
Time was something that had been paradoxical since the beginning of the universe…….Just a single
action from Add might change the flow of history.
“Kukukuk…..”
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No, it was already changing. Eve was supposed to be destroyed in Elder and the El Search Party
would have naturally disbanded. Even if they had gotten really lucky and held out in Elder, they
would have certainly fallen to Elesis in Velder.
Demons would have taken over Elrios already if the El Search Party hadn’t existed. This was the
outcome Add was trying to prevent. It wasn’t because he had any particular grudge against the
demons. He just ended up confronting them as he tried to protect Eve……and the rest was history.
If you considered Add who was completely changing the determined history of the world, Ara’s
worries were something so miniscule and trivial. But…..
“Decide freely for yourself.”
He still didn’t want to ruthlessly stomp on her worries. Ara blinked blankly multiple times when Add
told her with a loosened voice.
“Run away if you want to, Fight if you want to. Do whatever you want.”
“…….I don’t want to run away.”
Didn’t Elsword say something like this as well? Ara also refused to run away just like Elsword. They
must be somewhat alike because they were both front line fighters.
Add let out a slight laugh then opened his eyes narrowly.
“Why are you talking to me about this? Are you asking me to take your side if something happens?”
“That’s not it…….”
Ara denied it but still trailed her words. Add knew very well that Ara didn’t approach him with that
kind of intention. But at Add’s words, Ara was looking back to herself to examine if she really didn’t
have such intentions.
This girl was way too righteous.
She always fights her best to protect others. She never backs out even when her life is in danger. An
honest to goodness personality, she was a type that couldn’t purposely deceive or hurt others.
Completely opposite from Add. They were polar opposites. While Add did get enraged and
frustrated over Eun making a mockery of him…. if you compared only their values, he could talk
more on a same page with Eun than Ara.
“I…..want to know what’s righteous.”
Ara leaned her forehead on the pole of her spear she was grasping tightly. She then spoke with a
desperate voice as she closed her eyes. Add didn’t have anything to tell her.
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There was no way rewinding time was something morality righteous. But Add had performed it
multiple times already and will do so again many times as it was necessary.
“You chose the wrong person to discuss this with. Go speak to Rena about things like this.”
“…….I can’t sleep recently.”
Ara didn’t listen to Add’s suggestion and confessed her worries.
“I only see horrifying things whenever I close my eyes…..”
“……”
Wasn’t the problem of her merging with Eun solved already? Add got startled and examined Ara but
she had her eyes closed so she didn’t realize Add staring at her.
“When Elder Brother and Karis turned my village into ruins…… I was too weak to stop them.
That’s why I went on a journey and trained. So that I’ll be able to stop Elder Brother next time
when I meet him then finally turn him back into Elder Brother Aren.”
That’s right. In the first place, Ara’s problem wasn’t simply from her clashing opinions with Chung.
Ara wavering and being unable decide on her course of action was the real reason why she was being
influenced by Eun.
Still, she was freed from being a prisoner and she looked alright when she was fighting so Add
hadn’t worried too much….. But this problem wasn’t solved yet.
“But I don’t know if that’s the right thing to do.”
“…….”
There was nothing Add could say for her. Add recalled Elsword and Elesis’ relationship and thought
about telling her to go consult this with Elsword…. But he changed his mind quickly.
Elsword and Ara seemed similar in that they both had honest to goodness personalities but they
were actually different.
Elsword will believe in his own path and move forward even if Elesis tried to destroy the world. It
took a bit of time for him to make up his mind but he won’t waver again.
He won’t care about exact circ.u.mstances if it was for the purpose related to his most precious
person.
There were difference in degrees but Elsword and Add were similar in this regard. That’s why Add
had somewhat changed his att.i.tude towards Elsword after their battle with Elesis.
“Too delicate…..”
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But Ara cares about others people’s circ.u.mstances. She cried from painful heart after seeing the
tragedy in Hamel and surrendered herself to be imprisoned after learning about Chung’s
circ.u.mstances. Add didn’t approve of her actions but he could understand them.
Ara’s actions were humane and righteous. Add was the abnormal one here. Although he already
knew that……
As Add was feeling bitter for not being able to say anything, Ara confessed with a shaking voice.
“And I’m afraid that….. Elder Brother will do the same thing to all of you.”
“What?”
“……I keep having those kinds of dreams.”
The El Search Party is annihilated by Ran and no one else survives. With the corpses of the people
she’s been traveling together in front of her, Ara is overcome with sense of helplessness and isn’t
able to do anything.
“Even though I try to fight and protect all of you…. I always lack the strength to do so. Then in
front of me who has lost all of you….. Elder Brother Aren smiles towards me just like he did long
ago and calls for me.”
“……..”
“Everyone I knew is gone from this world and the only person left is Elder Brother. I’m so
overwhelmed by this thought that I cannot fight or even run away as Elder Brother approaches me.”
Ara’s voice was shaking as if she was about to cry in any moment.
She must be very embarra.s.sed to speak about this. It was painful to admit that you were lost and
wavering.
“The dream ends with Elder Brother…..saying ‘now only the two of us are left’ as he embraces me.”
“That’s…..”
Add couldn’t say that it was nonsense. This dream Ara’s been having is actually her looking into the
future as she gets merged with Eun. It was a future that actually had a chance of happening.
The future where the El Search Party is annihilated by Ran and only she survives. Ara had been
feeling oppressed all this time after seeing this. Ara’s back thinly shaking looked so small that Add
couldn’t say anything back to her.
Should he tell her to forget it? Say that it was only a dream? But facing powerful foes and seeing
someone from the El Search Party die….. Add had seen this multiple times as well.
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There was only silence between them for a while.
“I’m sorry. I may have said something that sounds too weak.”
Ara got up from her seat. Her voice was still shaking as she turned around to hide her face from
Add.
“I spoke about this to you because Lord Eun said I could speak about this to Mr.Add. So don’t be
too…..”
“If the event that you are worried about actually happens…..”
Add looked at Ara’s back and spoke sharply.
“I’ll deal with it somehow.”
“……..”
Add rewound time again and again in order to obtain the present where the El Search Party was
maintained. He just had to do it again during their fight with Ran.
He would have done so anyways….. So comforting her with just these words weren’t something
difficult to do.
“I promise you.”
“……Thank you.”
Ara replied quietly then walked away slowly. Add realized from seeing her back that his words
weren’t able to give her much comfort.
It would have obviously sounded empty.
“Hmph.”
Well it was illogical to say he’ll make somebody’s death as if it never happened by rewinding time.
She won’t believe it and there wasn’t much point to her believing either.
It will all be as if it had never happened soon as he rewound time.
If the time where somebody in the El Search Party died came, all he had to do was get rid of it by
turning it back many times as it was necessary.
“Yes, I just have to do that……”
Add let out an empty laugh as he looked up towards the moon in the night sky.
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There was a mechanical contraption at the end of the Ancient Waterway. You stepped on a large
platform to descend. After that, you had to go through a cave to arrive at the Temple of Water.
The platform was enormous so the entire subjugation army that numbered over hundreds could fit
all at once and still had plenty of room left over.
“Haah!”
Of course, demons didn’t just sit around and watch quietly as the army advanced. Shadow Chargers
and Snipers fell from above trying to stop them but they were all taken care of at once by Ara with
her spear.
“Those are outstanding skills.”
Add put Ara in charge of taking care of the small fries and was just observing from afar when
Penensio approached and spoke to him.
“There’s no reason for all of us to be involved when we’re only dealing with minions.”
Just like how Add described lazily, each of the El Search Party members had taken up defensive
position around the platform. No matter how many demons came at them, they were all like leaves
before the storm against the El Search Party. Minions were no match for them.
Shadow Demons must have decided to attack the North side where Ara was guarding because they
were only falling from that direction. Because of this, the other members were not doing anything as
they left Ara to energetically fight by herself. Even though dozens of demons were falling at the
same time and Ara was fighting by herself, no one else tried to a.s.sist her.
There was no need to a.s.sist her because they were all going to go flying soon as she swung her spear
once. Looking at this made their struggle in Elder feel very surreal.
“But it’s a bit strange. Aren’t the number of demons getting in our way too little?”
“What do you mean?”
Penensio who was admiring Ara’s spear skills asked seriously.
“Ran isn’t a fool. He should know very well that he cannot stop us with just the minions. Why isn’t
he responding appropriately?”
“Isn’t that why they sent those guys earlier?”
“Yes, those Shadow Lords.”
“Shadow Lord?”
96
They call Shadow Masters with strange names. Does the way you call them change when you cross
the sea? Add laughed amusedly but Penensio continued gravely.
“He should know plenty well that to stop the Subjugation army, more accurately you people, he
needs to send foes of at least that level. Why isn’t he doing that?”
“Hmmm….”
Honestly, even the Shadow Master wasn’t much of a problem to them now. Ran should have known
this as well and that must be why he sent the improved version, Chaos Shadow. They struggled
against it because only Add and Eve’s attacks worked on it but it was completely cleaned up thanks
to Eve who awakened to Memory of Time and s.p.a.ce.
“There shouldn’t be any meaning even if he sent Chaos Shadow again……”
“So that’s how you people call it.”
Add nodded at Penensio’s words but then felt that something was strange. There was something he
was not catching. Add frowned then started to examine what he was missing.
“Be quiet for a bit.”
No matter how many minions are thrown at them, they were all cleaned up with a shot from Rena’s
arrow and a swing of Ara’s spear. Both sides should already be expecting that Ran and the El Search
Party will end up facing each other in the Temple of Water. So in the meantime, minions were just
to annoy them a bit, that’s all…..
Add pressed his hand on his forehead and groaned. This was a feeling as if there was a bomb hidden
inside the room yet he couldn’t find it. Just when Add was feeling restless and biting his lips, the
platform must have reached the bottom because their descent came to a halt.
And Rena’s warning was heard.
“There’s a lot this time. Be careful everyone.”
At her words, the Velder Knights also drew their weapons. When even Penens...o...b..side him drew
his sword, Add suppressed his restlessness then raised his head.
“Ahahahahaha! Oh? You want to play!?”
“……”
On top, on the platform that was sticking out, they could see a dancing lump of muscles. Add
couldn’t say anything after…..seeing a muscular demon over 3 meters tall joyously spinning in place.
Others must have been thinking the same because the entire platform became dead quiet. Lump of
muscles finished spinning then jumped off the platform without any hesitation.
97
Crash!!
The platform shook greatly. The demon that fell off dozens of meters wasn’t hurt even slightly as it
stretched its arms widely to let out a roar. Judging by how countless Shadow demons fell down
along with that roar, it looked like the demons wanted have the showdown here.
“It’s Victor.”
Add spoke. Penensio was staring at him with a strange expression but Add didn’t mind. Enemy has
appeared and it was now time to clean up the enemy.
“The El Search Party will take care of that stupid lump of muscles. Others all team up and take care
of the minions accordingly. We’ll finish this quickly.”
At Add’s order, the subjugation army immediately split into two. The El Search Party fighting Victor
and the Velder Knights fighting the demon minions.
“Finally, someone that looks a bit strong.”
“……He’s somewhat creepy.”
“Let’s finish this up quickly and help the other soldiers.”
“Preparing for battle.”
“Let’s take care of this as usual. Wait……”
The El Search Party members each said a line then Add was about to order them to start the battle.
But Add paused and looked towards the boy who was standing beside him not saying anything.
“Why are you over here?”
“……Oh, am I not supposed to be here?”
Add let out a laugh when Chung looked startled and scratched his head.
“Never mind. I’m counting on you for cannon support.”
Although he was a war hero, he was the temporary Lord before that. But he didn’t hesitate to fight
in the front line despite his position. Add thought highly of him for this.
“Kukukuk, then let’s get rid of him.”
“Alright, let’s go!”
The battle started with Elsword dashing towards Victor
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Five Shadow Chargers jumped at Elsword but he swung his sword to break through them. Ara
followed closely after Elsword and ambushed the Shadow Snipers hiding behind Victor, she held
her spear with long reach then swung it in a large circle to sweep through all of them at once.
Area around Victor was cleared out immediately and room for a fight was made. Add who was
observing the situation up front fired a Void Impact towards Victor as a light check.
“Uugh?!”
Victor was significantly shocked by this and backed off quickly. But the skin on his chest tore and
started dripping blood after getting caught up by the shock.
“That guy is a small fry too.”
Add muttered as he stopped a.s.sisting. He observed how the situation at the back was going.
Before he knew it, the commander of this army had become Add. Normally, it would be correct for
Hamel’s temporary lord Chung and the Velder Knight’s captain Penensio to be in command…. But
the influence of the El Search Party was too great in the subjugation army.
And the one who actually came up with the El Search Party’s plans and determined their course of
action was Add. He unintentionally became in charge of army of hundreds.
“Not that I care…..”
Chung and Penensio seemed glad that Add took charge of the subjugation army’s command. They
almost never objected to Add’s request and methods. The two seemed glad they had been relieved
of heavy load of responsibility.
“Anyways….”
Velder Knights were bravely facing the Shadow Demons under Penensio’s command. Their raw
strengths fell behind the demons but they were taking down demon after demon by taking up
formations of three individuals per squad. You could tell for sure that they were highly trained army
of elites.
“They’ll be quite useful.”
They would be useful in their showdown against Elesis after they returned to Velder. Add was
formulating their next fight when Rena approached and asked.
“What are you thinking about Add?”
She was facing Add and talking to him while firing an arrow in an opposite direction. Shadow
Chargers fell each time she fired. Her skills were remarkable no matter how many times he saw it.
“……It’s nothing.”
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Still, wasn’t this way too easy? The battle was going seamlessly in their favor but the feeling that
something was off, this uneasy feeling didn’t disappear.
Add shook his head then looked towards the front line.
“Hey Elsword! Try fighting him by yourself!”
“Alright, Bight Brother Add!”
From this request telling Elsword to take down Victor by himself, Ara and Eve who were a.s.sisting
Elsword got surprised and stared at Add. But the person in question, Elsword didn’t question the
request and threw himself at Victor. Victor also made a large spin as he threw his fist…… Sword
and steel fist clashed in mid air and made a clank noise.
“Brat! How dare you damage my body of steel!”
Victor got surprised and backed off around two steps. Elsword didn’t miss this chance and closed in
while widely swinging his sword upwards. Victor got surprised by this even more and blocked the
sword by raising both of his arms. His arm wasn’t damaged even slightly…… It was indeed a body
of steel just like he boasted.
“Flame Geyser!!”
Sword attacks didn’t work properly on Victor. Elsword determined this and struck the ground with
his sword. Then a pillar of flame rose up from the ground to strike Victor. Victor got startled and
hurriedly backed out.
“Haah!”
It was a great chance. Elsword kicked the ground to jump up and tried to smash down on Victor’s
head with his sword. Victor instinctively raised his arms to block but his skin tore and blood started
to drip from his skin this time.
Victor tried to kick Elsword as he landed from his jump but Elsword noticed this right away and
held up his sword to block. Elsword still couldn’t do anything about their difference in weight so his
body flew up backwards after getting kicked…. But he received no actual damage.
Victor and Elsword stood facing each other with some distance between them as they caught their
breaths.
“Hmm.”
“Phew….”
Victor looked quite tense. But although Elsword was at an advantage, he looked like he didn’t care
much. Only thing in his eyes was the fight in front of him, the enemy in front of him, and the girl
stronger than anyone else in the world waiting from him at the end of all this.
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“Here I go!”
Elsword charged in and sharply swung his sword. Victor quickly swung his arm to respond.
Add was observing the two’s fight when Eve approached him to ask.
“Why did you do this, Add?”
“I don’t know…..”
Eve must have thought Add wasn’t intending to answer so she didn’t look too pleased. But Add
wasn’t trying to be mean right now. He actually couldn’t think of a way to explain his actions.
“We can end this fight quickly anyways. Victor will fall quickly if either you or Ara joined in even
just slightly.”
“Then what’s the meaning behind making Elsword fight alone?”
“It’s to prepare for what’s coming next.”
Eve shook her head.
“Elsword might get hurt like this.”
“That’s true too…. Go help him if you want.”
Eve gave Add a gaze as if this was unexpected when he changed his methods. Rena who was
listening to the two talking smiled slightly.
“Add, you’re doing this because you want to confirm how much Elsword has grown right?”
“It’s not particularly because of that. It’s just….”
He felt uneasy for some reason. It felt like they shouldn’t give it their all in this fight.
Penensio’s indication was correct. Ran wasn’t a fool. Why was he sending minions that were no
match for the El Search Party? They would certainly be in trouble if he sent multiple Chaos Shadows.
Of course, there was no way something like Chaos Shadow would be common.
He should know that sending Victor wouldn’t even buy him time. Just why?
Add’s head was continuously searching for what he was missing. It felt like staring at a puzzle that
couldn’t be completed because couple pieces were missing.
“This is it!”
“Kuaaaaah!!”
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Victor screamed loudly as he fell with a large thud. Add approached behind Elsword who was
withdrawing his sword and wiping the sweat off his forehead.
“You beat him.”
“He was quite strong.”
Elsword was panting, he looked exhausted.
Come to think of it, Eve awakening to Memory of Time and s.p.a.ce was when she encountered some
kind of emotion during battle.
“Why are you looking at me like that Big Brother Add?”
“……It’s nothing.”
Wouldn’t this guy be the most likely candidate to awaken to their Memory of Time and s.p.a.ce next?
Add felt intrigued and was thinking when a desperate voice warned him.
“Mr.Add! Watch out!!”
“Wha….”
Add suddenly felt a chill go through his spine and tried to look behind. But the attack flying towards
him was faster. Scythe that had abruptly appeared by tearing through empty air was flying towards
Add’s neck.
Add couldn’t react at all to this abrupt attack.
“Haah!”
But Ara’s spear flying in was even faster. The spear Ara had thrown accurately hit and deflected the
scythe that was about to swipe across Add’s neck. Ara’s spear also got deflected up and spun in mid
air.
“Kugh.”
It was such a narrow escape from death. Add quickly backed out. Elsword who was catching his
breath also raised his weapon with a stiff expression. Ara ran in meanwhile and caught her spear
falling from the air.
Scythe that tore apart s.p.a.ce as if it was made out of paper, the owner of that scythe opened up the
dimension gate and appeared.
“Huhuhu….hecklers.”
Usually, there was a sign before regular dimension gates opened but these gates didn’t have such
signs.
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As Add stared at the gate nervously, red haired woman carrying a scythe appeared before the El
Search Party. She was a beauty with provocative eyes and was wearing a revealing outfit as if to show
off her seductive body…… But she looked way too dangerous to feel any charm from her.
“Karis…..”
At Add’s low voice, Succubus Queen Karis majestically lowered her head as if a high cla.s.s lady was
bowing.
“Alright, who should I kill first?”
But her seductive voice was foretelling a brutal future. Just when the group was about to answer….
In that moment, an arrow aimed straightly at Karis’ head flew in.
“Don’t be so hasty. You’ll all get a turn to die one by one.”
But Karis caught the arrow flying towards her face then broke it. The El Search Party instantly
realized that she was a formidable opponent and exchanged gazes with each other then finally
looked at Add.
“Everyo…..”
“Ahahahaha, did you honestly think I came alone?”
Just when Add was about to give an attack order to the El Search Party, Karis laughed and waved
her hand. Then dimension gates opened all around the platform and four Shadow Masters appeared.
“I’m planning to kill you all…. But it’s annoying to take care of every one of you insects individually.”
“Rena and Eve help the Velder Knights and face the Shadow Masters. Everyone else will get Karis.”
“Do you really think that will be so easy?”
Karis was in middle of mocking them when Ara suddenly jumped at her. They haven’t even formed
a proper formation and yet she ran in first.
Ara stabbed her spear furiously multiple times but Karis swung her scythe widely to block them all.
“It looks like you’ve made up your mind. But you’re still no match for me.”
“I’ll stop you no matter what…..”
Ara didn’t back out and tried to attack again but Karis snapped her finger. Sound of an explosion
was heard then sleeve of Ara’s clothing got blown off. An explosion had been created in an empty
s.p.a.ce.
Surprised, Add quickly a.s.sisted by firing a Void Impact but Karis immediately neutralized it from
ever appearing by swinging her hand.
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“Ohohoho, do you really think you can defeat me with such crude abilities?”
“Haaah!!”
Elsword’s sword answered her instead. Despite being tired from his fight with Victor, Elsword
heroically rushed in and made a heavy swing with his sword. Karis sneered then immediately dodged
with a teleport.
“Facing a brat that only uses brute strength head on is a waste of……. Ow!”
Boom! Karis frowned when a cannonball that Chung had fired exploded. It wasn’t a direct hit but
she definitely got caught up by the explosion. Although there seemed to be no significant damage.
But here was an opening! Ara held her spear with long reach and stabbed but Karis dodged with a
light back flip.
Not only was she strong, she was agile due to her s.p.a.ce related abilities. As expected from a general,
even the El Search Party couldn’t take her lightly.
Add who was observing the battle with Karis looked around to see how things were going at the
other side. Shadow Masters were attacking the Velder Knights located at the back. Eve and Rena
were a.s.sisting them but the situation wasn’t looking too good.
They were starting to get casualties because of the minions that Shadow Masters were summoning.
“We’ll have to finish this at once…… drive her into the corner!”
Elsword, Ara and Chung understood Add’s instructions and started to launch an all out attack on
Karis. But Karis was looking leisurely. She deflected Ara’s spear attacks, dodged Elsword’s sword
and was dealing with Chung’s cannonb.a.l.l.s by covering her body with her wings.
Then Karis changed the beat of her movements. She spun around to dodge the spear then swung
her scythe to aim for Ara’s neck. Chung couldn’t fire his cannon if Karis was nearby an ally.
Elsword got surprised by Ara’s crisis and quickly threw his body while swinging his sword….But as
if she was waiting, Karis immediately spun once in mid air to aim for Elsword’s neck this time.
Aerial movements, Karis who had wings was capable of 3 dimensional evasion and attacks.
Elsword’s crisis, Add quickly fired a dimension distortion to make Karis back out then shouted.
“Everyone back out!!”
Ara and Elsword who were about to charge in at Karis again quickly realized what Add was trying to
do and backed out. After confirming that Chung had backed out as well, Add immediately fired an
attack at Karis with all he had.
So you can ignore Void Impact? But you won’t be able to ignore this!
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“Gravity Buster!!”
Gravitational field was created and it started compressing the s.p.a.ce in the area in front of Add. This
attack that compressed even the s.p.a.ce with a ma.s.sive gravity was Add’s new ultimate skill he
obtained from the formula enhancements that Aisha told him.
s.p.a.ce was being compressed by such a powerful gravity that it was impossible to observe what was
happening in front with a naked eye. s.p.a.ce was brutally being twisted….. Then soon as the s.p.a.ce
was released, a formless vibration and a heat wave swept through the area.
The heat wave was so intense that everyone else on the platform had to stop fighting and cover their
eyes. Obviously, Karis who had gotten hit directly wouldn’t have survived.
There was nothing left in front of Add when the Gravity Buster had ended. But Add didn’t let down
his guard. No matter how powerful this skill was, there was no way a demon general would be
completely destroyed without a trace by this…..
Slit.
A scythe pressed on Add’s neck.
“Did you rats really think you’d be able to win in Hamel after getting defeated and running away
from Velder?”
To think she’d dodge with a teleport right before the impact. Realizing the declaration of death on
his neck, Add slowly looked up to see Karis floating upside down pressing her scythe against Add’s
neck.
“You somewhat tried hard…. But it’s now time to die right?”
Rena noticed Add’s danger and quickly fired arrows towards Karis. Karis let out a sharp laugh then
performed a back flip to dodge all of Rena’s arrows. Add unknowingly stroked his neck that was
slightly oozing out blood.
Was this how it felt to have a near death experience? No, he would have certainly been killed.
“Just what’s your purpose?”
Add looked straightly at Karis who was floating in mid air and asked her a question. Then after a
slight pause, he fired a Void Impact. Karis who was carelessly about to answer him got startled and
dodged but it was already after a portion of her wing had gotten torn off.
“How dare you..... You made a scar on my body!!”
“I said, what’s your purpose?”
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Karis was on guard preparing for another Void Impact but relaxed when Add didn’t attack again this
time.
Looking at her like this, it looked like she was a bit slow…. No, it was probably because Add was
too clever.
Anyways, as to be expected from a general, Karis was extremely powerful. Add also realized that
Karis was going easy on them. Seeing how she didn’t cut Add’s throat right away just now, she was
toying with them.
“By Ran’s request, I’m here to bring his little sister to him.”
“…..”
Ara got extremely shocked by this and looked up at Karis who was floating in mid air. The other
people looked at Ara who was reacting to Karis’ words. The fact that Ara was Ran’s sister had been
kept secret so the Velder Knights who didn’t know about this all looked surprised.
“We have no more business in Hamel if you hand over Ran’s little sister. We won’t invade anymore.
But if you resist right now, we won’t leave even a single brick of Hamel.”
“How are we supposed to trust your words?”
Add snorted. Karis was about to answer him but quickly flapped her wings to dodge. s.p.a.ce she had
been floating in shattered and triple s.p.a.ce distortions appeared.
“Seriously…..”
She couldn’t let her guard down because the attacks kept flying towards her in middle of
conversation. She’d be more than prepared if this happened while they were in middle of fighting
but getting attacked every once in a while like this wasted more of her concentration.
Of course, Add wasn’t intending on going through with this kind of negotiation. He had mixed in
some words to buy time for everyone to recover their stamina and also added some attacks in the
meantime in the hopes of injuring her.
“Negotiations are supposed to be done with a respect from both sides, demon. How foolish of you
to think you can pull off a negotiation after you’ve launched an unwarranted attack on us.”
“It’s not a negotiation…. It’s notification!”
Karis got angry and swung her scythe as she flapped her wings. Then a dimension gate opened and
purple orbs started to pour down mercilessly.
“Die! Death Strike!!”
“Everyone gather around me!!”
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Add quickly shouted then opened the Dimension Distortion mode. Add looked back after realizing
that he couldn’t protect Rena and Eve because they were far away. But when Eve swung her arm, a
blue barrier was formed around her.
Velder Knights and Rena inside Eve’s barrier will be safe. The problem was….
Crash! Boooom!!
“Kugh…..”
Death Strike was way too strong. Add internally screamed after confirming that cracks were forming
on his barrier. What was this stupid attack? It would have been instant death if they were hit by this
directly.
Hail of purple orbs didn’t stop. Add let out a painful cry after realizing that the barrier had reached
its limits.
“Big Brother Add, will you be okay?”
“Don’t… speak to me right now!”
This much would have been easy if it was just Add protecting himself. But the problem was that
barrier’s radius had to become wider in order to protect Ara, Elsword and Chung as well. This was
consuming Add’s mental powers rapidly.
Crack.
Just when hundreds of cracks formed on the barrier…..Death Strike finally ended. Add let out a sigh
of relief but Karis was smiling cruelly.
“You held out? Then here’s one more! Death…..”
“Ara! Grab Elsword and run to where Eve is!!”
They couldn’t hold out anymore. Add withdrew the barrier then grabbed the back of Chung’s neck
as he activated the Dynamos to dash towards Eve. Ara was also grabbing Elsword’s arm and quickly
running towards Eve.
“Strike!”
Then a cruel sentence fell upon the four as they were running away. Purple orbs started to fall on
them again. It felt like they’ve become wild animals desperately running away trying to navigate
through falling meteors.
Add would have reached Eve’s barrier already if he was by himself…..
“……”
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But the problem was that he was grabbing Chung. This guy was heavy because of his armor and
weapon. This was causing a significant drop in Dynamo’s mobility.
He was literally a heavy baggage.
“Mr.Add! Just leave me and…..”
“Don’t make me laugh!!”
This guy wasn’t even an El Search Party member. This thought ran by Add’s head for an instant but
he didn’t let go of his hand grabbing on to Chung. His life would be saved if he left Chung and ran
away by himself. But he won’t be able to withstand the sense of defeat that came after.
Refusing to yield and risking his life, Add dashed in zigzag formation across the storm of Death
Strikes.
“Kiiyahahahaha!!”
Hateful sound of laughter that came from above made Add instinctively grind his teeth. The
platform was already shattered from the Death Strikes to the point where it was now unrecognisable.
Ara and Elsword had already entered Eve’s barrier earlier. If he could just advance 30 more meters
like this…..
Boooom!!
In that moment a sound of explosion was heard beside Add then his vision started to spin. Dirt and
dust came into his mouth.
Add realized a moment later……. That he was collapsed on the ground.
It was painful to breathe. Chung was collapsed beside him and wasn’t getting up.
“……Did we get hit?”
Add forcefully brought himself up. His shoulder blade must have been damaged because it hurt
whenever he moved. Thankfully, the second Death Strike had ended….. But staying here lying down
was no different than inviting her to kill him.
Chung was unconscious but still breathing thinly.
“Dynamo.”
At Add’s call, Dynamo, his faithful Nasod moved and placed Chung on top of itself. Dynamo was
originally a 1 seater. He had ridden it together with Eve before but that was only for descending
carefully. It was a 1 seater if you wanted it to fly normally.
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Chung who was unconscious and Add who was injured. Both of them couldn’t get on the Dynamo
at the same and have it fly normally. Add didn’t have any other choice.
He couldn’t get on the Dynamo and run away by himself while leaving unconscious Chung behind.
“Cough, Cough.”
Add raised his head while pressing on his chest. Karis was afloat in the air looking down at him with
a cruel smile.
“Oh a rat is still alive?”
“Hahaha…..”
Add let off a strange laugh that he didn’t recognise himself as he sent the Dynamo with Chung on
top towards where Eve was.
Without the Dynamo….. Add’s offensive abilities and mobility was completely gone.
Add was just a regular person without the Dynamos. He’ll die from just Karis waving her hand.
“Hanging around soft people must have made me disgustingly soft too……”
Add muttered because what he just did was so absurd. Did it really matter if Chung died or not? He
can just let Chung die then call Eun out to time travel…..what was he doing?
“But seriously, I’m so sick of it now…..”
Add straightened his back as he muttered. It was also partially because time travel wasn’t something
that should be done lightly….. But rewinding time again because of someone dying wasn’t too
preferable for him. He didn’t want to do it if possible.
Now that his body was in tatters…..and with the threat of death right in front of him, he could
honestly admit it now.
He didn’t want helplessly watch someone die anymore.
Whether it was Eve, Rena, Elsword…… or anyone else, he didn’t want to see someone who he had
talked, ate and spent time together with die anymore.
He decided to jump through time in the first place because he didn’t want to see such things,
because he didn’t want to acknowledge such things. This was Add’s starting point.
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Add smiled bitterly then collected his breath. Him reaching Eve’s barrier barehanded had a very low
chance of success but he couldn’t just die standing here.
Even if he was going to die, he’d rather die while running forwards.
“It’s time to die now right? Got any last words?”
“Hey Karis, you……”
Add laughed as if he was talking about something extremely trivial.
“You’re ugly.”
“………”
Karis’ face turned deep red. Now seriously enraged, Karis swung her scythe again to open a
dimension gate.
“Die! Death……”
Add will die for certain if Karis came at him with a close quarter combat. Drawing out this kind of
big skill from her will give him a sliver of hope.
Add had provoked Karis in order to draw this attack out…..and it worked perfectly.
Alright, it’s now time to dash in order to survive. Add turned around with much struggle and was
about to dash with all he had but paused.
He had thought he was going to die but he was going to survive after all. Ara was standing in front
of him.
After the second Death Strike had ended and after Add transported Chung, Ara must have read the
situation and came out of Eve’s barrier by herself.
Even while panting with teary eyes, Ara was examining Add’s wounds.
“Are you alright, Mr.Add?”
“……Idiot.”
Of course, Ara’s mobility was outstanding. She was faster than Add’s Dynamos if you took out the
fact that she wasn’t capable of flying. Still, it would be all over if they were hit even once by Death
Strike. It was a perilous venture for her to grab another person and escape.
Well, Add had risked his life in order to save Chung’s. He couldn’t blame Ara for not being able to
stay put and coming out. With another Death Strike about to fall from behind him, Add slowly
stretched his hand out towards Ara.
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“Then I’ll be counting on you.”
“…..”
But Ara looked like she was shaking her head……then she suddenly struck Add’s stomach with her
palm.
From this unimaginable attack, Add lost his breath and instantly dropped in place. Ara hurriedly
caught Add from falling. Even though she was the one who had struck, Ara had a surprised
expression as if even she had never thought she’d do such a thing.
“Da…..”
Swear lingered around Add’s throat but empty coughs came first. Add’s body was already in tatters
and now he couldn’t even speak after getting hit by Ara. Ara shook her head lightly then whispered.
“Everyone will be fine if I’m gone.”
“…….Hey.”
Add realized what Ara was thinking and quickly tried to move his hand to grab her but his hand
didn’t move well. Ara’s attack had come in when he was extremely worn out so just maintaining his
consciousness right now was his limit.
Ara held Add so he wouldn’t fall then forced a smile with teary eyes.
“The one Elder Brother is calling is me. So I have to go.”
“……”
“With this….. I can stop others from being hurt.”
How come he wasn’t able to speak in a moment like this? Add felt a sudden resentment towards his
normal human body.
Ara carefully laid Add down then turned around towards Karis. After being injured and getting hit
directly by Ara, only thing Add could do was to stare at Ara’s back with a blurry sight.
“Karis! Stop this!”
“Hmm?”
Karis was about to fire a Death Strike but stopped when Ara jumped out of the barrier. Bringing
Ara alive was Karis’ goal in the first place.
“I’ll follow you. So…..stop.”
“Alright, go in here.”
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Dimension gate appeared when Karis scratched the ground with her scythe. Karis must have
thought there could be other attacks so she didn’t withdraw the Death Strike she was preparing. All
she had to do was cast it soon as someone else jumped out of Eve’s barrier.
Add looked at Ara’s back with a blurry sight.
“Don’t go, you idiot…..”
He just had to fight once more using time travel. He couldn’t even time travel if Ara was gone. But
frustration and rage surged up even more than these thoughts.
Of course, Ara’s decision was reasonably correct. It was an adventure to navigate through the falling
Death Strikes and try to escape towards Eve’s barrier. Maybe it would be possible for highly trained
Ara, but Add whose body was no different than a normal human’s would instantly get shattered
from just getting grazed.
But……Add’s anger surpa.s.sed all of these reasons, his body was powerless and didn’t move as he
wanted. He couldn’t even say any words properly.
“Don’t g……”
“I’m sorry for troubling you a lot until now, Mr.Add.”
Ara looked back towards Add and smiled.
“Thank you, please take care of yourself.”
“……”
“Then….. Goodbye.”
Ara cried while looking back at Add.
Just when Add was about to spew out these boiling emotions with words and actions, Ara ran and
jumped into the dimension gate. When Ara disappeared through the darkness, Karis sneered as she
withdrew the Death Strike.
“It wouldn’t matter if I smashed you all here right now. But I’ll let you off this time.”
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113
Karis spoke those detestable words then disappeared through the dimension gate. Only silence
remained after all enemies had disappeared.
“You idiot…..”
Add was finally able to move his lips but blood flowed out of his mouth. He couldn’t contain his
rage. He seriously couldn’t contain it.
“You’re not going to get away with thi…..”
Add’s consciousness that had been refusing to yield up till now suddenly snapped.
While still clenching his fists in frustration