577: NEOMA'S SECOND MISFORTUNE

NEOMA'S SECOND MISFORTUNE

0[AH.]

Ruto belatedly realized that he had finally retrieved his memories of Neoma while watching the "rain" pour hard.

The moment that he unleashed his divine power in the Upper World, his memories came back. But he had been too occupied with escaping from his divine father's grasp that he only realized it now.

[Neoma…]

"Why did you stop?" Ruto asked Helstor who suddenly stopped in front of him. Since the enemy had already stopped coming at him, he also lowered his bow. Hunting was only fun when the prey was moving, after all. "Did you notice it?"

Helstor laughed nervously while stepping away from him. "You're neither a sorcerer nor a wizard, so how can you create a deadly magic circle like that?"

The magic circle that the god mentioned was indeed deadly. In fact, it was forbidden for humans to use. But since he wasn't technically an ordinary human (after all, he was the divine son of Lord Levi), the rule didn't apply to him.

If he managed to lure Helstor to step inside the magic circle, then the god would have been torn into pieces.

"Well, I know a trick or two," Ruto said, shrugging. "However, now I know that I don't have the talent for creating magic circles. If I was better at it, then I could have hidden the magic circle from you."

It was true.

Since he had an abundant amount of Mana and divine power, studying magic came easy for him. But he didn't like memorizing spells because he found it boring. Moreover, in this lifetime, he prioritized learning how to cook.

[I've been too complacent since I was born with innate abilities.]

"Now you're just humble bragging," Helstor said, laughing. "Even Trevor Kesser, the Youngest Sorcerer of his time, would cry if he heard you say you didn't have the talent in casting spells after you made that deadly magic circle."

He just shrugged.

After all, he still believed that he wasn't good enough to be a sorcerer or wizard. He thought he was a failure since he didn't succeed in luring Helstor into the magic circle that he created.

"I concede," Helstor said, raising his hands in surrender. "I already achieved my goal here."

Ruto clicked his tongue.

Even though the "rain" quenched the "fire" that Helstor used to burn the Aether, the damage had already been done.

[The Aether looks worse than it did before I healed it earlier.]

"Lord Helstor, do you think I'll let you leave alive?"

"You have to," Helstor said, smiling. "You may be the God Slayer, but you can't kill a god without Lord Levi's permission. Right now, my only sin was trespassing in the Upper World. It's not punishable by death."

"What are you talking about?" he snarled at the god. "You tried to kill the Aether. That gives me the right to kill you."

The God of Eternal Darkness smiled arrogantly. "It does not."

He was about to draw his ancient bow again when, all of a sudden, several Celestial Knights appeared and surrounded Helstor.

After that, the Celestial Knights drew their swords and pointed them at the god.

Every god in the Upper World had their own army of Celestial Knights. It was easy to tell which god the knights served by just looking at the crest and the uniforms they wore.

Sky blue and white uniform with a crest that showed a pair of angel wings hugging the cloud.

[They are the Celestial Knights of the Sky God.]

The Sky God was like the king of the gods, the second highest position in the Upper World after Lord Levi.

[They appear now when they practically ignored Helstor when he was burning the Aether?]

"Lord Ruto, we'll take care of Lord Helstor," Rafael, the Vice-captain of the Sky God's Celestial Knights, said to him politely. The vice-captain was older than him physically, but he still treated him with respect as the God Slayer. "We were ordered by the Sky God to bring the God of Eternal Darkness to him."

He wanted to argue, but the mark of curses on his soul suddenly set his body on fire.

Well, not literally.

He just felt like he was being burned alive.

It was a warning from the gods who placed the curse on him. They were telling him not to interfere any longer.

Helstor, who was smiling arrogantly, knew that.

Even though the god was surrounded by Celestial Knights, the god was calm and it looked like Helstor didn't have any intention to escape.

[I see. Helstor already made contact with the people who let him burn the Aether.]

He was in a disadvantageous position since his divine power was almost spent.

[I have no choice but to yield for now.]

"Alright. Do what you must," Ruto said indifferently, the "rain" starting to pour lighter until it completely stopped. "But inform the Sky God to expect my visit very soon."

***

"YOU'RE ferocious despite being the youngest duke in the empire, Your Grace."

Jasper just clicked his tongue at what Gin, the black cat in his human form, said.

Right now, he was exchanging blows with the enemy.

To be precise, he was currently pushing Gin with his sword. The black cat was unfortunately doing a good job blocking his attack with his own sword. Their blades, both covered with Mana, collided again and again.

His poisonous butterflies, on the other hand, were trying to attack Trevor.

However, his insects couldn't even get near the demon.

He was starting to get impatient since Trevor had already created a whirlpool of blackness on the ground.

[It's obviously a teleportation spell.]

He needed to save Lewis, or else Princess Neoma would kill him.

"Duke Hawthorne, stop getting distracted."

He had to pay a huge price for getting distracted by useless thoughts.

Jasper groaned in pain and had to step back after Gin slashed his upper body. Thankfully, he managed to step away in time so he wasn't cut that deep.

[Tsk.]

"How?" Jasper asked, making a conversation in order to delay the two while he was catching his breath. "I'm sure Lewis wouldn't let his guard down around you."

Gin laughed. "We tricked Lewis, of course. There's no way we can subdue him fair and square."

"For someone who uses foul play to win, you sure are proud."

"Do you think we care about our reputation, Your Grace?"

"Touche," he said. "So, what did you do to trick Lewis?"

"Well, Trevor just created a very believable illusion of Princess Neoma to distract Lewis for a second."

"Impossible," Jasper said. "A crow tried the same trick earlier and Lewis didn't fall for it."

"That's why I said "for a second,"" Gin explained. "We knew that Lewis wouldn't fall for it. But we just needed to distract him for a second."

"While Lewis couldn't take his eyes off Princess Neoma's illusion for a second, I hit his head from behind," Trevor said proudly. "And to make sure he'd be subdued, I also used a sleeping potion on him."

No wonder Lewis was kidnapped.

Jasper let out a sigh. "Cheating bastards. Is this how the great Devil raised you?"

It seemed like Gin was offended when he mentioned the Devil because the black cat released bloodlust directed at him.

[Hah, he has the nerve to be offended by my sarcasm?]

"Gin, don't kill the young duke," Trevor warned the black cat. "Princess Neoma considers him as her older brother."

"I know that," Gin said. "Are you done with the teleportation spell?"

"Yes, so let's go already."

Jasper tried to move in order to attack Trevor directly this time.

But when the demon raised his hand, his movements were suddenly restricted. He couldn't even open his mouth to speak!

[These cheating bastards!]

"Bye-bye, Jasper Hawthorne," Trevor said cheerfully. "Please tell my lovely Moon Princess to come and find me if she wants to be reunited with her favorite son."

After saying that, Trevor and Gin jumped into the teleportation circle and disappeared.

Only then was Jasper freed.

[God, I failed to protect Lewis…]

***

RUTO felt despair once again.

Even though he wanted to heal the Aether again, he couldn't.

He didn't have enough divine power left.

It looked like the gods present in the Garden right now didn't have any intention to help him. On the other hand, the major gods weren't even there.

[They already gave up on the current Aether!]

"Give me a few more days," Ruto whispered while touching the trunk of the Aether. "I will return and heal you after I recovered."

After that promised, he returned to his divine father's manor.

And he was glad that he made it home.

Ruto collapsed on the floor while clutching his chest tight. As soon as he stepped foot inside the mansion, he felt a pang in his heart. It was as if someone was trying to rip his heart out of his chest, and he couldn't do anything to stop it.

The strangest thing was the sound of a ticking clock in his head.

[What is that?]

"My poor son, I thought you already retrieved your memories?"

He didn't have the energy to raise his head, but he knew it was his divine father.

"Then you should remember by now that the one you made contract with was the Ancient Devil himself, and not the current one," Lord Levi said, then his divine father squatted down and grabbed his chin to force him to look up at him. "Yoan, the thing that you gave up wasn't your memories with Neoma de Moonasterio."

He was confused by what his divine father said at first.

Then he heard an unfamiliar voice in his head.

<"In return for what I granted you, once Neoma de Moonasterio remembers you, you'll lose your memories for a while until the real curse activates. And after that, I'll begin– I'll begin eating your heart until you no longer feel anything for your little princess."

"My heart…" Ruto whispered to himself when he finally remembered the real price that he had to pay for turning back time. "And my love…"

***

[IT HURTS.]

At first, Neoma felt a burning sensation in her little hands.

She was sure that something bad happened to Nero.

However, after the burning sensation in her hands disappeared, her chest suddenly tightened until she could no longer breathe.

And before she knew it, she was already crying.

She felt like her heart was getting ripped out of her chest.

And the worst part?

Ruto's image was clear in her head at first. Then, just like glass, it suddenly broke into hundreds of pieces.

[Is this a bad premonition?]

But Ruto was in the Upper World, right? He should be safe, since Lord Levi seemed protective of his divine son.

If something bad happened to her man…

"Ruto better be safe, dear gods up there," Neoma said while wiping the tears from her face with her little hands. Then she looked up outside the window and glared at the night sky. "Don't make me come up to the Upper World because you wouldn't like what I'd do once I get there."

***

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