Chapter 132

"Shizuru…?!" Sae-ah quickly backed away. She'd received similar messages after the woman's attempt failed.

[The Lightning Seal resists mental contamination.]

[You cannot completely resist 'Enchantment'.]

[You cannot completely resist 'Obedience'.]

'Ugh…' Sae-ah's heart pounded as she looked at the alter ego. Even though she hadn't been completely Enchanted, she felt she should kneel and worship her for some reason.

[Sae-ah! Come back to your senses!]

She managed to snap out of it at Ariel's shout.

"Oh, dear… Where are you going?" Shizuru asked as she leisurely brushed the shadowy hand aside.

Tap-!

Although she'd lost the element of surprise, she hadn't lost her confidence.

'This shadow elf is only JiHan's summon. I'm sure I'll be able to beat her with Akari's body.'

Swish-

She took a dagger shining with red light from her inventory.

Swoosh-

She was clumsy compared to Akari, but Ariel's arm was severed as the blade flashed with a red light, and a crimson flame rose from her stump.

When Ariel tried to regenerate, the fire continued to burn.

[Nice weapon,] Ariel said.

"I have many sponsors."

Although Shizuru wasn't as skilled as Akari, she made up for it with the equipment she had been able to acquire as one of Japan's most influential people.

'I can't stop her by myself,' Ariel quickly concluded

[Sae-ah. Run away and contact JiHan!]

"U-understood…!"

"Sae-ah~ Where are you going? Don't you want to see your dad?"

"How dare you mention Dad…!"

"Fufu. You can call me 'Mom' from now on."

Sae-ah clenched her fist. It felt like cold water had been poured over her head.

'I can't get caught here!' Lightning Seal had allowed her to resist once, but there was no telling what would happen if she was touched again.

'I'd rather die…!' Sae-ah ground her teeth and called JiHan.

"Uncle! I ran across Shizuru in the underground market…!"

[What?!]

Before she could finish the call…

"How rude, Sae-ah, you should call me 'Mom'." The woman had taken a spirit form and had already caught up to her, ignoring Ariel's attacks.

[What the…? How many items do you have?!]

Of course, she was only able to vanish like that due to her items.

Although she was wearing plain shorts and a shirt, a one-time-use protective talisman popped up from somewhere and blocked a shadowy sword headed for her chest.

It was too expensive for what it did, so not even the top players considered buying it, but they just kept popping out to block each one of Ariel's attacks.

"Sae-ah, you've cost Mom fifty billion yen already… You have to pay this back, okay?"

Swoosh-

She released her spirit form to touch Sae-ah and a triumphant smile appeared on her face.

There was some resistance, but what mattered was that she was about to be victorious. Although Sae-ah was a great player, she was just a Silver and wouldn't be able to escape from a Diamond.

"Inventory…"

That's when Sae-ah pulled something from her inventory.

"Pf, what are you doing?" Shizuru asked. She thought Sae-ah's movements were funny at first, but… "Huh…?"

Her expression stiffened as soon as Sae-ah vanished.

'What?' She'd almost had her. 'Where did she go? Was it an invisibility cloak of some sort?'

She tried to reach out to where Sae-ah had vanished, but there was nothing there.

'Nothing…'

* * *

JiHan had given her the Curtain of Void in case YouHua ambushed her, and she'd thought that, with the other girl dead, the item wouldn't have to be used.

- Uncle, I don't need this anymore, right? You should take it back.

- No, keep it. Why would I need to hide? If you do have to use it, don't keep hidden for too long. You might get buried by the void.

The Curtain of Void was great as a stealth item, but the creepy potential side-effect made them hesitate to use it too much. In fact, the only other time she'd used it was when she first tried it.

'I was told not to move at all…'

The world within the curtain wasn't much different from the real world; time just seemed to move twice as fast.

She watched with a trembling heart as Shizuru reached out to her.

Swoosh-

The woman's hand passed through her body as if it were air.

'Haa…'

She let out a sigh of relief. All she had to do was wait for her uncle.

'I can't do anything without my uncle…'

She'd only managed to get away thanks to the Lightning Seal, Ariel, and the Curtain of Void. Without even one of those, she might have already been calling Shizuru 'Mom' and following her to Japan.

'Mom? That crazy b…'

Sae-ah felt her face flush as she remembered how Shizuru called herself 'Mom'. How could she do something like that?

It was the first time she'd ever felt the urge to kill someone.

'I wish I could beat that woman with my own strength…' Her heart was filled with resentment as she looked at her sworn enemy.

Although her Late Bloomer Gift had infinite potential, she was still powerless for the moment.

She did her best to stay still.

'Huh…'

Then she saw a bluish-gray fog rising from afar, and the world seemed to start changing.

She suddenly thought about the Curtain of Void's side-effect.

'Don't tell me that's…'

Whoosh- Whoosh-

Shizuru waved her hand through where Sae-ah had vanished a few times before turning to Ariel.

"You… Do you know something?" She asked.

[Do you think I'd tell you if I did?]

"You'll have no choice but to tell me," Shizuru said before she swung her dagger again.

Fwoosh-!

Ariel's arms and legs were cut off, and her stumps burned.

"Consider serving me as an honor," Shizuru said as she walked toward the helpless dark elf.

Though 'Edit' was an exceptional Gift, Enchantment and Obedience had many limitations. She wouldn't normally waste Enchantment on a summon, but…

'I need to take her away as quickly as possible.'

She was willing to do it If it was for the end-goal of taking Sae-ah.

Thump-

As she was about to place her hand on Ariel's face to use Enchantment on her…

"Huh…!" She exclaimed in shock. "You… What are you…?"

[Do you think I'd get Enchanted by someone of the lowest species?]

"A difference in species…?" Shizuru looked at Ariel in shock.

Although it was her first time trying to use Enchantment on a different species, she saw the overwhelming difference between them the moment she opened Ariel's status window.

'This isn't simply a difference in species…!'

Was she really the same summon whose limbs had been easily severed? She trembled as she pulled her hand back.

[It seems that you have a good eye,] Ariel said in a relaxed manner. She didn't seem to care about her limbs being gone.

Shizuru bit her lips. Forcibly controlling Ariel was impossible, and JiHan would arrive soon if she stayed too long.

"I'll have to look for another opportunity…"

Swoosh-

Her body gradually turned transparent.

"See you again, daughter."

She waved toward where Sae-ah had vanished before she also disappeared.

At almost the same time…

"Ariel!" JiHan yelled as he arrived.

[Master, you got here quickly.]

Swoosh-

Her power was restored with his arrival, and she regenerated her limbs and stood up.

"What happened?! Where's Sae-ah?!" He asked.

[She's over there.] Ariel pointed into the air and made a gesture as if she were flipping something over.

JiHan sighed in relief. It looked like leaving the Curtain of Void with her was the right choice.

"What about Shizuru? Did she run away?"

[Yes, but I attached a shadow to her.]

Ariel hadn't just sat there and done nothing. Just before Shizuru touched her, she'd discretely attached a shadow to her.

Since her powers were restored, Ariel closed her eyes and quickly found out where Shizuru had gone.

[Interestingly… She's still in this building.]

"Where?"

[The 19th floor. She rented a studio.]

"Really? Sae-ah, let's go," he said.

In response, his niece popped out of thin air, and her face was as white as the dead.

Clap-!

"Ah…!" She quickly returned to her senses after JiHan clapped.

"Let's hurry. We have to catch Shizuru before she escapes."

A strong killing intent was leaking from him. Sae-ah had never seen him so angry before.

"Am I not… going to get on your way?" She asked.

"Use the curtain again if it gets dangerous. I'm more concerned about leaving you here alone." Then he grabbed her by the waist and said, "Hold tight."

Flash-!

He zipped out of the underground market and was outside the building in the blink of an eye.

"So that's where she is." He flew straight toward a window on the 19th floor.

Crash-!

The glass shattered immediately.

"D… Damn it! How did he know?!" Shizuru shouted as she gave JiHan a frustrated look. She'd been in the midst of packing up her laptop.

"How is he so fast…?" she mumbled.

JiHan swung Eclipse before the woman could even finish her sentence, and dozens of the protective talismans appeared at once and burned out.

"M… Monster!"

JiHan was an even crazier monster than before. She quickly realized she wouldn't be able to get away. If that was the case…

Swoosh-!

She opened the laptop and tossed her red dagger at it.

Swoosh…

Rather than breaking the screen, the dagger was absorbed by it.

"I should at least send the national treasure back," she said just before being cut open to reveal her innards.

BZZT…

She had enough time to look down at her body and speak a few final words. "Ah, what a waste… I just started controlling this body, and now it's going to die already."

Swoosh…

Shizuru's face started to change into the beautiful image she'd tried to charm JiHan with before.

"Sae-ah, come to Japan if you miss your dad. I'll be waiting for you."

Then, her face changed back to Akari's.

"Wh-where am I…? JiHan…!" She suddenly yelled in Japanese.

"What is she saying?" JiHan asked.

[She's asking where she is. It seems like she's no longer under Shizuru's influence.]

"Hmm…"

It didn't seem like she was acting.

Swoosh-

JiHan put his sword away and placed his hand on the woman. "Great Heal," he said.

Akari's body began rapidly healing.

He couldn't learn new Support skills after he obtained 'Master of One', but he could still use the skills he already knew. Also, thanks to Martial Soul, the healing effect was incredibly good.

[Wh-what are you doing…?] Akari asked after she returned to normal.

"It's nothing. You need to be healthy again to feel pain again."

He gave her an ominous glare.

"Spill everything you know about Shizuru… And don't leave a single thing out."