Chapter 233 - Awakening?

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༺ Awakening? ༻

 "Gasp… Gasp…"

 "Keep it down. Our target is nearby."

 "…Damn them."

 Isolet gripped her sword tightly, breathing heavily. Annoyance furrowed her brows as shouts echoed from the stairs.

 'These assassins are too skilled… Each one's abilities rival a Commander of a Knight Order.'

 Sweat covered her body, numerous small wounds marring her form.

 'Who are these guys?'

 She ensured not a single wound was on her lower abdomen.

 "Meow…"

 "…Frey, shush."

 Inside her clothes, Frey, transformed into a small silver cat, clung closely to her belly.

 "Meow?"

 "They can't find out about you…"

 However, a small problem arose.

 "Lick."

 "…Huh?"

 The Tower Master—hailed as the mightiest before Irina appeared—had created the miniaturization scroll that could flawlessly morph its subject into an animal.

 "Meow…"

 "F… Frey?"

 The issue was its perfection. Due to the prolonged effects of the scroll, the individual undergoing transformation experienced a diminishing of rationality, giving way to heightened animal instincts.

 "Lick… Lick…"

 "...!"

 Frey, becoming more cat-like in instincts, rubbed his face against Isolet's bare skin, licking her belly.

 "That… stop iiit…"

 Already flustered by Frey squirming against her belly, Isolet shivered at the sensation, her face reddening.

 "If you keep doing that…"

 Frey continued licking, and Isolet felt her legs begin to unravel.

 "…..Umm."

 Her expression soured, and she glared at him coldly.

 "I'm not taking chances."

 Just as she spoke, she looked toward the stair entrance.

 – Shashasha! 

 – Swish…!

 Multiple shadows, about half a dozen, whisked past her, initiating a silent battle.

 – Fizzing…!

 – Screech…!

 In a one-versus-many handicap match, Isolet, shedding her earlier flustered demeanor, showcased her prowess as the upcoming Sword Saint.

 As Isolet's sword traced an elegant path, two masked assassins dropped to their knees.

 ""...…""

 Subsequently, the remaining assailants cautiously began to retreat. The elimination of all the front-liners targeting Isolet caught them off guard; they hadn't anticipated her strength.

 "Haa… Haa…"

 Isolet appeared visibly fatigued, so she refrained from an immediate counterattack and instead assessed the situation.

 "Should we retreat?"

 "What a foolish thing to say. If we retreat now, we're dead too."

 The assassins engaged in a discussion among themselves.

 "But that woman… she's too strong."

 "Hmm…"

 After thoughtful contemplation, a shorter man—the apparent leader at the back—spoke.

 "Everyone, target her abdomen."

 His eyes gleamed as he continued.

 "She was wary of her stomach when attacked. There must be something there."

 "That's right, her behavior seemed unnatural."

 "Come to think of it, it feels like something is wriggling…"

 Upon hearing his words, the assassins, nodding in agreement, turned their cold gaze toward Isolet.

 "…Maybe it's a baby."

 When the short man timidly suggested this, everyone stared at him intensely.

 "When have we ever cared about that?"

 "…Have you ever killed a pregnant woman?"

 "Well, that is…"

 As the man hesitated, the assassins gave him a cold, piercing look.

 "Seriously, I can't believe we have to fight alongside these newbies."

 Ignoring him, the leader stepped forward.

 "Inflict a fatal wound and capture her alive. We need to find out Frey's whereabouts."

 With that directive, they advanced toward Isolet.

 "Damn… Bastards."

 Isolet's heightened senses allowed her to hear their whispers; her eyes burned with fury as she watched them.

.

.

.

.

.

 "Haa… Haa…"

 Isolet, with a strained expression, collapsed heavily onto the ground.

 "...…."

 The corpses of the assassins were strewn around her.

 "Uh, ugh…"

 Among those who had attacked her, only the short man remained, clutching his knife with both hands and trembling on the ground.

 – Grrrrr…

 "This is… impossible… That, that power…"

 Contrary to the typical demeanor of an assassin, the man found himself paralyzed by fear. The frigid aura emanating from Isolet ensured that he couldn't attack or flee.

 "That's… beyond human…"

 Eventually, succumbing to Isolet's overwhelming rage, he dropped his knife and collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth.

 "…Haa."

 Isolet finally released a sigh and then turned her attention to her stomach with a fearful expression.

 "F, Frey…"

 The realization that the assassins had targeted her abdomen made her lose her composure. As she regained her senses, she felt significant pain in her stomach. 

 So, what happened to Frey, whom she was carrying?

 "Oh no… No, Frey…"

 With a pale face, she reached for her belly.

 "…Lick."

 "Sigh….."

 Upon feeling a lick on her abdomen, she released a deep sigh of relief.

 "You must have been worried, Frey."

 Isolet, smiling softly and inspecting her clothes, suddenly gasped.

 "…!"

 Her eyes widened.

 "Oh my God…"

 "Meow."

 The cat, Frey, had wounds in various places.

 "..."

 Surprisingly, he wouldn't be this wounded if he had just curled up into a ball. 

 This suggested that Frey, as a cat, had instinctively protected her.

 "Ah, ah…"

 Isolet could be overthinking, or this could be a coincidence, but she accepted it as her truth. 

 "…Meow!"

 Looking up at her with innocent eyes, Frey smiled and let out a confident meow.

 "…Lick."

 Isolet, whose eyes had been shaky, sighed as Frey licked her wounds and sweat with his eyes closed.

 "…Ha."

 She murmured, catching her breath.

 "You licked me till now… was it because of that?"

 "…Meow?"

 "Forget it, Frey. Just hold on a little longer."

 She burst out laughing when he tilted his head.

 "I'll protect you."

 Whispering, she covered him again with her clothes and got up.

 "Ugh."

 Suddenly, she stumbled.

 "What…"

 She wondered if her muscles had spasmed because she had gotten up too quickly. However, a vivid scene abruptly flickered through her mind.

 The sun had vanished from the sky, leaving the ground below lifeless and freezing, her home succumbing to the chill.

 Regardless of her housekeeping habits, an array of alcohol bottles lay strewn across the floor. She found herself collapsed, inebriated, tightly grasping a gleaming sword.

 Watching herself shedding silent tears and slowly succumbing to death, she gasped for breath.

 "Hah… Haah…"

 The scene resembled her current predicament, yet it held a distinct difference. She struggled with a headache induced by that memory.

 – Smash…!

 "Cough."

 Regaining consciousness, she swiftly swung her sword, striking down the short man patiently awaiting an opportunity to attack.

 "I've been having this dream quite a lot… Why did it resurface now?"

 Tilting her head in confusion, she looked around.

 "Anyway, where should I head next?"

 The doors and passages around her distorted and wavered.

 "I must locate an exit promptly…"

 Dmir Khan's spatial distortion magic corroded the structure, leading the passages to random locations.

 "If this persists, Frey will be in danger…"

 "Growl…"

 In her attempt to flee, Isolet comforted the injured Frey, who writhed in pain.

 – Bang!

 "...!"

 Dozens of assassins appeared near the exit, causing her expression to pale.

 "Damn… it…"

 Isolet suddenly realized that one of the dead assassins held a magical communication device.

 "...."

 Gathering energy in her body, she glared at the assassins, now moving as a group.

 "…Hmm?"

 Suddenly, something stabbed her.

.

.

.

.

 Meanwhile…

 "Uh… What's this?"

 Glare, who had left Isolet and Frey's room, headed to the main hall with a sullen face, looking around.

 "Why… am I going in circles?"

 Although the secret ballroom was the second-largest building she had visited after the magic tower, she shouldn't be lost like this.

 However, she had been wandering around the ballroom for a while now.

 "What's with that kid?"

 "…Let's get rid of her since she saw us."

 "Ah, ahh!"

 After encountering and fighting the assassins targeting Frey several times, she had grown quite exhausted.

 "Hmm…"

 However, as she wandered further, her head cooled down, and she noticed oddities. She shone light from her hand toward the door she had opened numerous times. 

 "What's this?"

 She soon realized this door was distorted.

 – Whoosh…..

 "Could it be…?"

 The door and the space inside were both distorted. She murmured through gritted teeth.

 "Spatial… distortion…"

 She stared in horror at the terrifying trap her mentor, the archenemy of Dmir Khan, had told her about—a trap she couldn't escape alive.

 "Oh, this can't be.."

 She murmured with a sad face.

 "I need to help the Hero… I need to help that poor person too…"

 She felt terrified, worried she might be trapped here forever.

 "Ah, ahh!"

 – Snap!

 Desperate, she snapped her fingers while looking at the distorted space.

 – Zzzzap!!!

 "Eek!"

 A huge shockwave came with a loud noise.

 "Ouch… Huh?"

 For the second time today, she had landed on her buttocks. She gently rubbed her butt with tears in her eyes; suddenly, her eyes widened.

 "What, what's this?"

 The space shattered.

 "…Gasp."

 She had even broken Dmir Khan's distorted space.

 "It's fascinating every time I see it."

 "Huh?"

 "It seems to take up energy… but it's not magic."

 In this perplexing situation, she recalled what her master had said when she shattered a five-layered barrier with a snap.

 "It's not divine power, nor sacred power, nor martial arts… It doesn't even seem to mix with miracle power."

 "Then, what is it?"

 "…I don't know either."

 She looked at her hand.

 "Your power is not from this world."

 She stared at the ring on her left ring finger; it had been shining for a while.

 – Swish…

 "…Let's go."

 She stood up and stepped into the broken space with determination.

 "Oops."

 Then, in a flash, she arrived in the next space.

 "I did it… I made it!"

 The thrill of reaching a new place delighted her, prompting her to cheer and smile.

 "Now then—Huh?"

 As she increased her pace, she noticed an open door beside her, and her eyes widened. 

 "Excuse me?"

 A girl lay unconscious in the bathroom.

 "Chirp! Chirp!"

 A canary was furiously pecking at the girl's forehead.

 "…Huh?"

 Above the girl, a buzzing window floated.

 "What's this…?"

 Glare was familiar with this opaque window. 

 Helper System– Congratulations! You have been awakened as the Hero's Helper!

 However, this window was slightly different from the one she had seen before.

 Helper System> Identity of the Hero

– The identity of the Hero, as you know…[System Error] [System Error] [System Error]> Functions

> Store

> Achievements

 Critical System Error DetectedError code: 998, 999 (Suspicion of Abnormal Awakening / Doubt in User's Ownership Eligibility)

 The Helper System window crackled and buzzed with strange messages due to a malfunction.

 "What on earth…"

 Glare observed the situation intently and cautiously reached out to the window.

[System Error is being fixed....]

[…Recovery: 1% Completed]

 A message appeared at the bottom.

 "Umm…"

 Roswyn, the unconscious girl, began to open her eyes.

 "…Huh? What's this?"

 Roswyn's fierce voice soon echoed in the bathroom.

You can read 505 episodes for $10. p.*atreon.com/Astrid02