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Chapter 345: Temporary Pause

Her eyebrows were slightly trembling.

"What kind of nonsense is this?"

“Can’t you grasp the situation here?”

"This is what happens if you’re overconfident in your own strength."

Despite Ruby\'s cold voice, the executives continued without paying any heed to her.

According to the information, the hero Ruby was still not awakened and was weaker than Frey.

After defeating Frey with their ambush, they were sure that they could somehow deal with Ruby.

"By the way, this girl is quite pretty, too."

"Don\'t you dare. We should deliver her to the Cardinal, remember? If he dedicates the Hero as a sacrifice, there will undoubtedly be tremendous power..."

- Crackle, craaaackle..!

With that thought in mind, they relaxed their guard and chatted leisurely. However, their gaze quietly shifted when they felt a tremendous force.

"...How dare you destroy what’s mine."

Ruby stood up with a serious expression on her face.

"I am the only one who will destroy this bastard. But, how dare you, you insignificant good-for-nothings–"

"What the hell is she saying now?"

"Maybe it\'s just a bluff. I heard that the Hero has a righteous personality. That\'s her trying to get us to be alert.”

Though her appearance was quite terrifying, the executives were not to be underestimated either because they had encountered beings even more frightening and overwhelming than her.

For instance, when they acquired their abilities through the executive ritual.

"Use your stealth again. I\'ll unleash my ability at that moment."

"Understood."

Following the command of the second executive, who had been quietly observing the situation, the second executive slowly melted into the darkness.

It was truly a bizarre Ability, not a magic phenomenon or a trickery.

- Shhh...

Approaching Ruby slowly, he reached her side.

Although he had gotten quite close, she still showed no reaction.

Was it just a bluff? Or was she shocked by the fact that her comrade had fallen?

Whatever it is, it doesn\'t matter.

The second executive muttered to himself as he drew a dagger from his pocket.

How dare you set foot on the Church\'s sacred site, you shall repay the sin with your life.

His special ability, \'Stealth,\' couldn\'t be detected unless someone could use their magic with extreme precision.

Meanwhile, the second executive\'s special ability, \'Ambush,\' could ensure the success of a surprise attack under the right conditions.

Although their relationship was not good, the combination of their Abilities was top-notch.

Not many within the Church could break these two Abilities apart.

- Zap...

The first executive and the Cardinal might be able to do so, but the Hero would certainly be unable to block an attack that not even Frey could stop.

With that thought, as soon as his comrade\'s special ability manifested, he would swiftly swing the dagger towards Ruby without delay.

The attack, guaranteed to ‘succeed,\' would pierce her vital spot within seconds.

- Thud...!

"Huh?"

However, an unexpected turn of events occurred.

"Wh-what is this?"

Ruby effortlessly caught his arm.

"How could... keugh!"

He was flustered when Ruby grabbed him by the arm, and fell to the ground, screaming.

At the same time, his right arm, which had been attached to his body just a moment ago, fell to the floor and began to wriggle wildly.

"Ah, eaaaaack!!"

"Wh-what is happening!"

While the third executives screamed in pain, the second executive belatedly realized the predicament he was in and retreated in shock.

"B-but he surely has manifested his special ability?"

- Step, step...

"The conditions for a surprise attack were perfect! So, why..."

"What do you mean by perfect conditions?"

Ruby began to murmur coldly as she approached him.

"Assuming that a surprise attack against me would succeed is an error in itself."

"F-First executive, Cardinal! We have a problem!"

"How dare you touch what\'s mine."

"O-open the door... Please open the door!!"

Only then did he realize.

The fear that arose from the unknown and incomprehensible was scary, but the real fear that was right in front of him was also incredibly scary.

Sometimes, simplicity was better than complexity.

And directly facing a tiger that could tear his throat out in front of him was scarier than a higher-dimensional existence that he couldn’t even understand.

"To be so daring… you must have prepared yourself."

However, the realization came too late.

"Keu, keuaaackkk!!"

The stench of blood began to permeate the bottom floor of the Church\'s headquarters.

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.

.

"Hmm..."

Ruby, breathing heavily as she waved her fingers, soon regained her composure and looked around.

"So filthy."

The devastation to her surroundings was quite severe.

Why didn’t she stop until it got to this point?

Although normally, her personality had always been decisive, this time was a bit different.

For the first time, she found herself driven by \'emotion.\'

"Phew."

She felt uneasy.

Usually, after such events, she would feel excitement and pleasure, but for some reason, now, in the corner of her mind, she felt frustrated and uncomfortable.

"..."

Was it because of the silver-haired boy lying on the ground?

- Step, step...

Ruby, who had been quietly observing Frey, slowly approached him.

After he collapsed, Frey had been lying on the ground unconscious.

- Srrk...

Ruby quietly sat next to him and reached out her hand.

"...Hmm.”

His heart was still beating.

Well, a hero like him wouldn\'t die from this level of attack.

There was no need to worry. He would probably get up on his own if she left him like this.

After all, as the Demon King, there was no need to worry about the Hero, the only one capable of killing her… right?

"...Ugh."

Thinking that, Ruby tried to get up. However, she suddenly froze and shivered.

"This is..."

There was a quite deep wound on her side.

She had definitely blocked the surprise attack just now, so when did this happen?

"Abilities are indeed Abilities."

No matter how much she thought about it, there was no other possibility than their \'Abilities.\'

She had blocked the surprise attack, so how could she still get injured? If that was the case, it was quite a terrifying special ability.

It made sense that Frey couldn\'t block it.

"...Uhm."

As she thought about it, Ruby\'s gaze started to tremble again.

What if this bastard hadn\'t protected me?

The trajectory of the dagger was heading towards her head.

What if their \'Ability\' could penetrate her head?

She might not die, but she could become a vegetable.

Of course, it was uncertain whether the wound on her side was caused by their \'Special Ability,\' and it was also unclear whether their attacks could penetrate her invulnerable head.

Since those guys were already dead, she couldn\'t experiment.

Should she spare at least one of them?

"Sigh."

Ruby shook her head as if to dispel unnecessary regrets, then she looked serious again.

"The words this bastard muttered earlier..."

Could it be true?

\'I blocked it… this time\' meant only one thing in the current situation.

Frey really had memories of establishing a connection with her.

What those memories were, she didn\'t know.

How could she find out about non-existent memories?

"..."

However, she might be able to make a small deduction.

For example, the recent change in his attitude, gaze, or actions…

- Thump, thump, thump...

And more than anything, even now, the pounding of her heart slowly led her to the decisive conclusion.

At first, when her heart raced, it was just uncomfortable and unpleasant, but now it was different.

Whenever her heart raced, there was a sensation of warmth spreading throughout her body...

"Hup."

Inhaling sharply, Ruby shook her head and began to fumble around Frey\'s pocket.

- Plop...!

A while later, Ruby opened the lid of a recovery potion, and tilted the bottle towards Frey\'s mouth.

- Shaaaa…

She wasn\'t particularly worried. She just didn\'t like the idea of someone else destroying her toy.

That was all.

The strange emotion gradually filling her chest was probably just because of that.

"...I-I\'ve got a good idea."

Softly stroking Frey\'s cheek, Ruby, who unconsciously smiled, started mumbling.

"T-There’s a very good method to resist him."

Her voice was somehow trembling, but the corner of her mouth was still trying to curl up.

"It’s certainly not because I submitted to this bastard or got fooled by his tricks. I’ll just date him to get out of this damn situation."

Even though there was no one to hear her, Ruby muttered to herself.

"...U-uhm."

Then, when Frey slowly opened his eyes, Ruby swallowed her saliva and spoke.

"I-I love you, Frey."

"...?"

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.

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"Ruby, what did you just say?"

"I, I said I love you."

Just as I opened my eyes, Ruby professed her love to me while blushing profusely.

What is this? Am I still dreaming?

"I, I love you."

"Yeah, me too."

However, it didn’t feel like a dream, as I could vividly feel her touch. Ruby then turned her gaze and asked.

"Did you… try to protect me just now?"

"Yeah."

"Why, though? Don’t you want to kill me?"

"Well."

He teased her with a big grin and smile in his eyes. In response to that, Ruby stood up with a disgusted expression on her face.

"I don\'t know what kind of scheme you\'re planning, but quickly get up."

And then, she held my hand and helped me up.

- Smooch...

"Hmm?"

While I was silently brushing off the dust on my clothes, Ruby\'s tongue entered my mouth.

"U-uhm."

I didn’t know why, but she stared at me with a nervous expression and kissed me.

The kiss was so pathetic that it made me wonder if this girl was really the Demon King who tried to rape me a few months ago.

Maybe it was her first time engaging in such an affectionate act.

"Puha."

When I closed my eyes to accept her kiss, Ruby pulled her head back and exhaled.

"S-so, will it be over if we just capture the ones below?"

"Yeah. If we capture them, the Church would practically be in ruins. Of course, there is still the Pope, but it\'s a game over if we can catch the Cardinal, who was a tougher opponent than him."

"I, I see. So... we\'ll have some free time for a while after that?"

Ruby turned her gaze quietly to the side and asked.

"T-then... after it\'s all over, will you go on a date with me?"

"Of course. I love you."

"W-Well as expected, I knew... um?"

As I responded to her without any hesitation, Ruby\'s eyes widened.

"W-well, to be honest, I fell for you at first sight."

"Yeah, me too."

"You\'re also my favorite person in the world, Frey."

"Me too."

Ruby began to break into a cold sweat as I continued to agree with her words.

"W-well, I guess that\'s enough."

Ruby suddenly raised her fist and took a combat stance, then awkwardly lifted the corners of her mouth. It seemed like she wanted to hit me because my heart was pounding wildly.

"F-Frey. You, you made a mistake."

"A mistake?"

"Can\'t I also express my love for you by hitting you? It\'s simple logic."

Ruby began to channel her sword aura into her fist.

"I am deliberately nurturing my love for you right now. This is a feeling I\'ve harbored in order to beat you, so don\'t misunderstand. I absolutely haven\'t fallen for your tricks..."

"You’re so cute."

"...You!"

I whispered to her as she rambled on and immediately received a punch on my face.

- BAM!!!

"Hmph, do you understand now? I can attack you anytime I want. Now, I’m going to beat you until you come to your senses, and return everything you’ve done so fa–”

Ruby smiled as the thunderous sound echoed throughout the space. But soon, her eyes widened.

- Crackle...

Naturally, the system was protecting my face.

By the way, what did she just say?

Did she say she would return everything I had done to her so far?

But I only returned everything she did to me in the previous cycle.

I still could not forget her expression when she drained the blood from my whole body and went for a walk with me.

"W-why I’m not allowed to do this? Th-this is my expression of love, you know."

"Because you don\'t love me enough for the system to acknowledge it."

"What?"

I barely managed to control my expression and whispered.

"On the contrary, I love you enough for the system to acknowledge it."

"...!"

"By the way, do you know?"

I grabbed her shoulders and smiled. Ruby, who had been staring at me intently with a flushed face, shyly lifted her shirt.

"...Huh."

Eventually, Ruby, with her pure white belly exposed to me, closed her eyes tightly.

"Y-you should be prepared, Frey. I\'ll do my best to love you from now on. The moment I managed to deceive the system, you\'ll–"

- Pow!!

"Keheeeeugh!?"

As I thrust my fist into her soft belly, I thought.

Just a little more.

If I went through a few more stages, the plan likely seemed to succeed.

n>Glare: Hero, we\'re in big trouble!nn

n

Glare: Ms. Star says that the temporary pause for the Fourth Ordeal will soon be lifted!

n

n

Glare: You need to get ready quickly...

nnn

n[Fourth Ordeal (Temporarily Paused)]nn

[Reward: ...]

nn

Therefore, I should try a bit harder.

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Some time later.

"Is this... the place?"

"That\'s right. The secret that can change the world is hidden here."

The Cardinal, who had reached the depths of the ancient ruins with the first executive, wore a bright smile, fixing his gaze ahead.

"According to the prophecy passed down in the Church, this is the place where the overwhelmingly powerful secret weapon that can dominate the world is stored."

"Oh..."

As the Cardinal opened the door, the first executive let out a shout of joy with gleaming eyes.

"See for yourself with your own eyes."

"U-understood.”

As he led the first executive forward, the Cardinal took a slight step back and muttered inwardly

I don\'t know what might be there, but for now, I should use him as bait.

“...Huh?”

"Why? Do you see something?"

With a wicked smile, the Cardinal, who was rubbing his hands, tilted his head and threw a question at the first executive’s strange reaction.

"Uh... there..."

"Speak up. What\'s going on?"

"...I don’t think there is anything there."

"What?"

"There\'s nothing here except for this note lying on the floor."

The Cardinal hastily snatched the note upon hearing that, his eyes wavering, and at that moment...

"What\'s that?"

A chilling voice came from beside him.

"Show it to me too."

"Damn it."

Before he knew it, Frey was already standing next to him, accompanied by Ruby, who was whimpering with a red /genesisforsaken