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Chapter 343: Look at This Girl

"Hey, are you still asleep?"

"Mmya… Mm."

Ruby and Frey were lying down, side by side, on the sandy ground. She poked his cheek, and received a snore in response.

"... Looks like you\'re really asleep."

Ruby, realizing that Frey had completely fallen asleep, sighed and got up from her spot.

No, to be precise, she didn\'t get up but rather sat up.

She couldn\'t move any further because Frey continued to cling to her even in his sleep.

"Uh, ugh..."

Sitting up, Ruby gazed down at Frey. As he slept, he let out a moan, and in response, Ruby furrowed her brow and began to run her hand over his body.

- Ssk, ssk...

Then, she still could feel the lingering harsh energy.

Judging by the sensation that she felt, his body was clearly covered in wounds.

"What happened that you resorted to using illusion magic to deceive me?"

Ruby, continuing to explore Frey\'s body with her fingers, muttered while frowning.

"He doesn\'t seem that badly injured... Ugh."

Ruby, who had never experienced wounds herself, tended to dismiss others\' injuries no matter how severe they were.

However, in the past few days, since she had been subjected to a lifetime of torture and violence, she now could easily deduce the level of pain from the wounds that she saw briefly just before Frey concealed it.

- Shaaa...

After silently gazing at Frey for a while, Ruby quietly placed her hands on his body and cast a magic.

Originally, she couldn\'t use magic without Frey\'s permission, as he controlled her heart.

However, she wasn\'t just someone who would absentmindedly take a beating without retaliating.

In case of emergencies, she had secretly stored mana in the corner of her heart without Frey’s knowledge.

And to dispel illusion magic, her stored mana would not be consumed at all as long as she understood the structure of the magic.

"T-This is also a test. It\'s necessary to check if my mana has accumulated properly."

Thus, with an awkward voice, Ruby muttered to herself as she continued to dispel Frey\'s illusion magic.

- Twitched...

Frey\'s fingers twitched slightly as they faintly glowed with stellar mana, shimmering ever so subtly to avoid drawing too much attention.

- Shaaa...

"...Ugh."

As the illusion magic that enveloped Frey began to gradually unravel, Ruby squinted her eyes.

"This is..."

The injuries appeared more severe than she had anticipated.

His entire body was marked with wounds resembling lightning strikes, and his skin was charred black.

Moreover, numerous wounds were spread around the body where the blood hadn\'t fully healed.

"What is this?"

Watching the scene in a daze, Ruby quietly clenched her fist, murmuring to herself.

"Why in the world...?"

She couldn\'t understand.

Could it be that Frey had protected her just now?

She, the Demon King, the object of everyone\'s fear, the being that no one could oppose…

From those good-for-nothing?

"Hmm."

The reason his body was like this was probably because of his ultimate move.

The light emitted was so dazzling that it brightened the entire area, so it must be his ultimate move.

It seemed like his body got burned like this after using it...

"What\'s this?"

Now that she looked at it, even his soul seemed quite shattered.

Even though his lifespan wasn’t much to begin with, the soul is quite a serious issue.

If there was a problem with the soul, it caused problems not only in life but also in the afterlife.

That was why souls normally couldn’t be damaged. But was there a technique that could damage a soul?

Was the ability possessed by those Church’s good-for-nothings really that strong?

"Hah, huuah..."

Suddenly, the words Frey murmured to himself before the battle came to her mind.

But I can\'t let something like this happen to you again.

It sounded as if they had experienced such an attack from them before.

And from those words, she could infer what happened to herself in that attack.

"This is ridiculous."

But Ruby muttered while shaking her head.

"I won’t ever lose to someone like those bastards."

She could defeat them with just a snap of her finger.

Yet, she somehow lost against those guys?

Of course, she didn\'t even know what ability they possessed, but still...

"Hmm."

Repeatedly lost in thought, Ruby\'s gaze began to waver.

Could it really be?

It was a momentary doubt.

What if she really has a ‘hidden past’ or if Frey really was a regressor?

That was why Frey had some kind of trauma related to the abilities of the Church members.

If that was the case, then that absurd assumption could be valid.

"Hmm..."

Once that assumption crossed her mind, numerous thoughts started to overflow like crazy in her mind.

Frey gritted his teeth and continued to fight, despite being bombarded with attacks from all directions.

Frey said he must protect her, yet he was her nemesis that needed to be eliminated.

And, Frey actually used his ultimate move against those bastards, despite the fact that it could damage his soul.

“No, no way. Then why did he use such terrible violence against me–”

Ruby shook her head fervently, thinking that it was ridiculous, but she suddenly closed her mouth.

Is it too late to change you now?

Suddenly, the words Frey mumbled before the battle came to mind.

Will I ever see that sight again?

He muttered that in a heartbreaking voice while gently stroking her hair, unlike when she was awake.

That voice still echoed vividly in her ears.

“What did he mean by ‘this time’.”

The reason why Frey hit her like this until now also became explainable.

As a result, Ruby\'s eyes started to tremble quietly.

Like a puzzle fitting together, everything was falling into place.

That was only based on one premise: if what Frey said was true.

"...Sigh."

Ruby, who had been staring blankly at Frey for a long time, finally opened her mouth with a cold expression.

"...Stop talking nonsense."

What foolish thoughts were these?

They were just assumptions, facts without any evidence.

It even felt made up.

If you thought rationally for a moment, anyone could realize it.

Even pondering over this was foolish.

Didn’t she look like an innocent country girl being played by a scammer?

"Do you think I\'ll fall for it?"

No matter how much she thought about it, the possibility of all these thoughts being true was low, and the possibility of Frey deceiving herself was much higher.

"Do you think I\'ll fall for it!!"

Then Ruby shouted in frustration and threw a punch with all her might towards Frey.

- Thud, thud, thud…

However, the system easily blocked her punch.

"Haaa, Haaa..."

Despite that, Ruby\'s expression, as she continued to punch him, soon began to tremble with cold sweat.

"Uh..."

- Thump, thump...

Her chest was beating fiercely, as usual.

But why?

The heartbeat that would usually irritate her somehow felt different this time.

Somehow, her mind became strangely blank.

- Thump, thump, thump...

It was quite a confusing situation for Ruby, who had been denying speculation based on the absence of evidence until now.

What if her heart pounding was real?

During the past few days, she made efforts to find evidence that the pounding was some kind of Frey’s trick, but there was no sign of such a situation.

Then, was there really a secret involving Frey and herself?

Then what should she do?

"Don\'t make me laugh. This must be just another one of your tricks anyway."

However, Ruby was not one to easily overlook things.

Evidence was still lacking, and there were still many suspicious points.

She wasn\'t some naive lady unaware of the ways of the world; it wasn\'t like her to blindly fall for just the clues presented before her in such a situation.

"I\'m not a madman like you. I can make rational judgments..."

"Cough, cough..."

She turned her head roughly and murmured with a resolute voice. Ruby then fell silent and bit her lip as Frey began to cough with traces of blood.

"Huh, huuh..."

Frey, who was lying down, groaned with cold sweat.

It seemed like he would spit out blood and convulse at any moment.

"Hehehe..."

Nevertheless, for unknown reasons, Frey was laughing heartily.

He was truly a strange fellow.

He’s quite handsome, this damned guy.

- Ssk...

Ruby, who was thinking such thoughts, unconsciously reached out her hand.

- Clatter...

Soon, what she picked up was the regenerating ointment that Frey had pushed aside in a hurry.

"...I am the Demon King."

Somehow, Ruby, who inserted her fingers into the easily opened lid of the regenerating ointment, spread the ointment on her palm, lowered her gaze silently, and murmured.

"Healing you a little from these wounds won\'t make me lose to the likes of you."

And then, Ruby silently covered Frey\'s cheek with her hand.

- Srrrrr...

Then, the ointment in her hand began to warmly wrap and heal the wounds on Frey\'s cheek.

"What a crude and useless method. Quite interesting."

Ruby, unfamiliar with the act of \'treatment,\' watched for a while as the wounds healed and new skin formed.

- Rub, rub...

"Hmm."

As she noticed Frey gently rubbing his cheek against her hand, she furrowed her eyebrows and fixed her gaze on him.

When he wore that familiar expression, he somehow looked extremely at ease.

- Thump, thump...

"Ugh."

Ruby, who was absentmindedly staring at him, suddenly withdrew her hand as a strange emotion welled up inside her, and her heart began to pound wildly once again.

"Eugh..."

Then, Frey started to tremble again, agony was clear on his face.

Soon after, Ruby\'s hand covered Frey\'s cheek again.

"Hehe..."

Then Frey started to giggle again.

Watching that, Ruby, who had been murmuring, also felt her chest pounding once more.

"Weird guy."

For the first time, Ruby\'s heart spontaneously beat without any action from Frey.

"...Heh."

Frey\'s mouth edges slightly moved upward.

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A few hours later, in the morning.

"We need to retreat right now!"

"Retreat? Are you suggesting giving up the desert region now?"

In the underground of the Church Western Continent headquarters, all the remaining executives were gathered, wearing masks, and engaged in a heated debate.

"Have you forgotten the value of the ancient ruins in the desert region? For a thousand years, only the Church has monopolized it. It has never been invaded. If we lose it, the entire Church will be shaken!"

"Then what do you suggest?"

"We must resist with everything we have!"

"Are you joking?"

In response to the desperate opposition of the second executive, the third executive, with anger, stood up.

"The sixth has been taken hostage, and we don’t know if the fifth and fourth are alive or dead! Are you still not aware of the situation even after all of that!?”

Hearing that, the second executive swallowed his words, looking uncertain.

"Even if we don\'t know each other\'s identities, we know each other’s strength well, don\'t we? Yet those guys couldn\'t even withstand a single battle against them!"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the third executive raised his voice.

"The frightened paladins must have exaggerated it. If we mobilize all our forces, we have a good chance–"

"Of course, that could be possible. But look who the enemy is. Aren’t they such formidable opponents? There is Frey, who defeated the emperor, and the Hero, who appeared after a thousand years! I think the exaggeration is not an exaggeration at all...!"

In the midst of the ongoing debate…

"...Enough."

The endless argument came to an abrupt end at the cold voice of the first executive who had been silently listening.

"There is no retreat."

"B-but!!"

As the first executive declared firmly, a murmuring sound was heard from various places.

"It is a strict order from the Cardinal."

However, as they heard the following words, the murmurs suddenly disappeared.

"B-but... how will we resist?"

"Don’t we have the ruins?"

In the silence, as the third executive stuttered out words, the first executive continued to respond with a cold voice.

"If we unleash the power of the ancient ruins, we can deal with them."

"B-but it takes time..."

"Don\'t worry. The headquarters\' defenses have already been activated."

He smiled as he continued.

"Not a single ant can enter here. Even if the sixth executive has fallen into their hands..."

"E-emergency situation!!!"

Just then, the door of the conference room swung wide open, and someone rushed in.

"Sentinel? What happened–"

"There\'s an intruder!!"

"What?"

The moment the first executive heard those words, an expression of disbelief started to form on his face, and he abruptly stood from his seat.

- Buzz...! Buzz...!

In the Church headquarters, a blaring alarm loudly echoed.

It was a top-tier security crisis alarm, meant to be heard by all but the intruders.

"A-a small ant couldn\'t even get in, you said?"

"Damn it."

The expression of the first executive began to rapidly sour.

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Meanwhile, at that moment.

"How is it, cool, right? This is a secret passage only my brother and I know."

Frey and Ruby were quietly followed behind the grinning sixth executive..

"I can\'t just hand over talents like you two to anyone. You should only be loyal to me and my brother, okay? Understand?""

Nodding silently in response to that statement, Frey, who had been frowning, suddenly mumbled.

"It feels like we\'ve been exposed."

"What?"

"Mana energy feels abnormal. The infiltration failed."

"W-wait a moment."

As Frey tried to step forward, Ruby stammered.

"Just stay behind me. I\'ll protect you... Huh?"

"Stop talking nonsense."

Suddenly, Ruby grabbed Frey\'s arm and hesitantly stepped forward.

"Why should I listen to you?"

She quietly stood in front of Frey and started moving.

"Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?"

"I just feel like stretching my muscles after a long time."

Looking at her strange action, Frey inquired, and she promptly responded.

"Look at this girl..."

Frey\'s gaze started to /genesisforsaken