He didn’t just pass out drunk, did he?
“When I found him, he was already….”
The stablehand kindly added an explanation.
In short, he was dead.
Based on his movements….
It seemed he went to the stable with the dragon carriage and died while we were having our emergency meeting.
I asked the stablehand.
“Did he touch anything?”
“No, Sir! Uh….”
“Then how did you know he was dead?”“Well…. If you see it yourself….”
You’ll know if you see it?
He does look a little pale….
I stopped Ariel, who was about to approach Kusley’s body.
“I’ll do it.”
“Taeyang….”
I understood her wanting to see for herself, but I didn’t want her to be shocked.
I glanced at the other women instead of Ariel.
“Noona, help me.”
“Sure.”
“Let’s move him over there. One, two…!”
While moving Kusley’s body to a nearby workbench, I felt something was strange.
He died not long ago, but he’s cold….
“The man called Sword Saint, gone so easily.”
Peridot and Cecil approached me.
“How is it, Cecil?”
“He smells bad. It’s like he’s been left in the warehouse for a long time.”
“Peridot, did you find anything?”
“I agree. Judging by his cloudy cornea and lack of rigor mortis, it seems like he’s been left for a while.”
Could it be that rigor mortis hasn’t set in yet because it hasn’t been an hour since he died?
But even to me, this body seemed like it had been left in a cold place for a long time.
Ariel immediately questioned the stablehand.
“Who entered the warehouse before you found Kusley?”
“The last inspection was a week ago. It’s written on the chart here….”
Right, the last inspection date is written on the board.
Did Kusley enter here on his own?
Why?
He wouldn’t have eaten the wyvern food to fill his stomach, and if you think about it logically….
There’s only one reason to come here.
He was going to use the dragon carriage.
If he wasn’t in a hurry to go somewhere and was planning to use the dragon carriage for a long trip….
It would be natural to load the food into the cargo hold first.
“It seems Sir Kusley was planning to leave by dragon carriage.”
Seina supported my guess.
“But I guess it didn’t go as planned.”
Putting aside when he died for a moment, I examined the body for any external injuries….
No noticeable peculiarities were found.
I thought of a possibility there.
Could this Kusley be the Kusley I argued with?
“Ariel, check if Kusley is in the room with your blood art.”
“Taeyang? But Kusley is… right in front of us….”
“Hurry.”
“Okay.”
The mirror summoned by Ariel’s blood art materializes.
Like CCTV, she can see anywhere inside the castle, even what’s happening in a room if she wants to.
Through that ability….
We could see that Kusley was still alive.
“Ah!?”
Cecil jumped up.
“Mr. Kusley… is in two places!”
The dead Kusley and the living Kusley….
Existed simultaneously.
Gayeon frowned.
“What kind of bizarre sorcery is this? I feel like I’m the only one not keeping up with the times….”
“I’ve never seen anything like this either, Noona. I think it’s the Nine-tailed Fox’s doing.”
“The Sword Saint being split into two is the Nine-tailed Fox’s doing?”
“Maybe it’s not just two.”
Kusley is being copied.
Is his memory being reset like a factory reset?
“I’ll bring Sir Kusley.”
Seina went to get Kusley.
And….
“Why is everyone gathered here? Even Ariel….”
“Kusley, look at this.”
Without a word, Ariel showed Kusley the dead Kusley’s body.
“…What is this?”
Kusley seemed speechless as he looked at his own body on the workbench.
Everyone was silent.
The dead Kusley and the living Kusley, the truth they pointed to.
Gayeon gritted her teeth.
“That Nine-tailed Fox bitch, she’s unbelievably wicked.”
It’s the Nine-tailed Fox’s malice.
Just like she played with the massacred expedition members and scattered them in the Emperor’s front yard, she must have wanted to see what would happen if she returned the broken Kusley to Ariella’s arms.
If it weren’t for me….
If Ariel had reunited with her husband without any suspicion, what a terrible situation would have unfolded?
It wasn’t difficult to imagine.
Unintentionally, Geum Taeyang NTL had protected Ariel.
“Ugh…!”
Ariel collapsed and retched.
Seina rushed to her side and helped her up.
“Are you alright, Lady Ariella?”
“How could she do this….”
Kusley was alive, but not truly alive.
I don’t know exactly why she copied Kusley, but by taking advantage of Kusley’s desire to return to his wife….
She tried to deal a devastating blow to Ariel.
Did a thousand-year-old Nine-tailed Fox do this because she had a personal grudge against Ariel?
No way, would she do this to get revenge? Those who derive pleasure from tormenting and trampling others engage in such grotesque acts.
Because they have no concept of moderation.
“Ariel, what’s wrong? What is this everyone…. Isn’t it a doll that looks like me?”
“….”
Kusley’s muttering echoed sadly.
Everyone was at a loss for words, overwhelmed by the Nine-tailed Fox’s malice.
Kusley doesn’t know anything.
But he seemed to realize it soon.
“Ah….”
Kusley weakly placed his hand on the hilt of his magic sword.
“Was I… tricked?”
“…….”
“When I go back… I was going to run away with you.”
Kusley laughed.
“To think even that was a futile wish.”
Kusley, who realized the truth, looked up at the sky.
Dark clouds gather, it seems like it will rain soon.
“Even if I die, another me will come? It’s like a clown show. Hahaha.”
Perhaps enraged by this fucked up situation, Gayeon shouted.
“Let’s fight together, Sword Saint!”
“Noona….”
“Taeyang and I will help you. Don’t give up!”
“Who are you…?”
“I’m a stranger from another world.”
Kusley seemed to understand something as he looked at the sword on Gayeon’s waist.
“You’re a valiant woman.”
“Don’t give up, Kusley.”
“Unfortunately, it seems too late. My memories are starting to get jumbled up….”
“…….”
“Things I haven’t experienced are coming to mind. Yes, I’ve come here countless times….”
Are his memories merging…?
What kind of phenomenon is this?
“Ariel….”
Ariel looked back at Kusley.
It seemed like Ariel was about to burst into tears at any moment.
“Kusley, I’m sorry. That I didn’t… until you became like this….”
Kusley vomited blood while standing.
“Kusley!”
“Ugh….”
Gayeon turns her eyes.
I was also furious.
He shouldn’t have died like this….
Contrary to the days when I considered him an enemy because he was Ariel’s husband, I was inwardly saddened by Kusley’s death.
Nine-tailed Fox, you vicious bitch.
This is the first time I’ve been this angry at a woman I haven’t even met.
And….
“Brother, the sky is strange….”
People started falling from the sky.
“What the…!”
Gayeon was also surprised and drew her sword, taking a stance.
Thud!
The human who fell seemed to have fallen from a considerable height, shattering with a gruesome sound.
“Master, that’s….”
“It’s Kusley.”
Kusley is falling….
Screams could be heard from afar. People’s cries of despair.
Explosions occurred, and smoke billowed.
And the cloned Kusley falling from the sky…!
They fell and died meaninglessly, instilling shock and fear in us.
“Kusley is….”
Falling like rain.
I was frozen by the sight beyond my imagination.
The disaster caused by the First Number instantly engulfed the Devil District.
Soon, a witch’s laughter like a high-frequency sound vibrated through the atmosphere like an apostle bringing death.
The Nine-tailed Fox’s invasion had begun.
Seina put on the gas mask she was carrying and deployed her Avatar.
“Lady Ariella, please evacuate to the castle.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“It’s dangerous.”
I also thought of the people I needed to protect.
“Cecil, come with me, and Peridot, go inside!”
“Yes, Master.”
“Gayeon Noona!”
“Leave it to me. I’ll definitely take down the Nine-tailed Fox’s head.”
“Taeyang…!”
Ariel ran to me.
“Ariel?”
“…….”
Her eyes pleaded with me to stay with her instead of going.
But I couldn’t do that.
Ariel knew that too.
That’s why her lips trembled with hesitation.
“I’ll be back soon after taking care of things.”
“I’ll help too. Don’t overdo it, okay?”
Thump!
Kusley, who had fallen from the sky, crashed next to us.
If you get hit by this, it won’t end with just a concussion….
I pushed Ariel’s back.
“Go inside quickly, Ariel. He can’t break through the wall with a human skull.”
“I’ll look for anything I can do from here and join you.”
“Okay.”
Ariella Raven, reliable.
After evacuating Peridot and Ariel, Cecil and I approached Master and Teacher.
Seina spoke first.
“I’ll go after the Nine-tailed Fox right away.”
“I’ll move with Seina too. In times like these, it’s faster to go after the leader.”
“Then Cecil and I will evacuate the residents.”
Seina nodded.
“Yes, the residents will be moving along the designated route as they’ve practiced. Please go to where the soldiers are concentrated and lend your strength.”
“Okay. I’ll join you if I have time.”
“Yes.”
I called Elizabeth.
The Goddess of Deep Thrust descends upon me.
Geum Taeyang with Avatar Manifestation and Cecil, who’s already fast!
It’s like driving a sports car.
There’s no engine sound, but we swiftly cross the streets.
“Watch your head, Cecil!”
“You too, Brother!”
We ran, dodging the falling Kusley, or Kusley-rain, falling from the sky.
“Kyaaah!”
“Help me!”
“People are falling from the sky…!”
“Isn’t that Sir Kusley?”
“Here, there….”
“It’s the end! We’re all doomed!”
People were terrified.
The city’s hero literally pouring down like rain!
“Ah!”
Cecil spotted a lost child.
Kusley-rain falls on the child’s head!
Flying kick!
Cecil threw herself forward, knocking away Kusley-rain and saving the child.
“Where’s your mom?”
“Over there….”
…The child’s mother was dead, hit by Kusley-rain.
This is so fucked up.
What kind of invasion is this? How will people remember Kusley, the hero of the city?
Having just witnessed Kusley’s demise, I couldn’t help but be enraged.
“Brother, this child….”
“Let’s take her to the bunker for now.”
There were air-raid shelters built throughout the city for residents to evacuate to.
We decided to take the child there first.
“I’ll take you to a safe place now.”
“Sniffle….”
“If you’re a man, stop crying!”
The child opened her eyes wide and said to me.
“There’s no rule that says men can’t cry. Men and women are the same.”
“W-well, there’s no such rule.”
“And I’m a girl!”
What a bold kid.
Are all kids like this these days?
“Can I touch your body? I’m telling you in advance, it’s not in a weird way, okay?”
“Save me!”
“Okay, let’s go!”
I tucked the child under my arm and moved to the air-raid shelter.
Raven soldiers spotted us and approached.
“What’s going on?”
“I found a child.”
“Her parents….”
I shook my head.
“Understood.”
“How long will it take to accommodate everyone?”
I said, looking at the long evacuation line.
“It’ll probably take two hours. There are people who haven’t been able to evacuate yet….”
“Children and the elderly, right? We’ll help.”
“…Thank you, Sir Taeyang!”
This is the first time I’ve been saluted.
Everyone used to hate me so much.
I don’t dislike this feeling of unity in difficult times.
“Brother, there’s a child over there too!”
“Should we split up? Cecil, use your wind blood art freely.”
“Rescue mode. Here I go!”
Whoosh!
Cecil disappeared and was already far away.
Amazing…….
Is she stronger than me even without an Avatar?
“Let’s go too, Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth nods.
The streets are littered with corpses. Most of them were Kusley-rain, but there were also many unfortunate people who died after being hit by Kusley-rain.
With foreign objects hundreds of times larger than hail falling, it wouldn’t be strange if there were more casualties.
It felt like the end of the world had truly come.
And…!
From the direction Seina went, a tremendous explosion could be heard.
It felt like the atmosphere vibrated even here.
‘Seina, you’ll be alright, right…?’
It seems the decisive battle with the Nine-tailed Fox has begun.
She’s a bitch they couldn’t kill even when Seina’s sister and Kusley were there, can Seina and the two Noonas stop her?
I decided to shake off my doubts and focus on my task.
We have the Sword Empress.
Even if her pussy is third-rate, our Noona, the best swordsman under heaven, won’t lose.
But the opponent is the worst Collapser, called the First Number.
「Cloning ability」…….
If the complete Nine-tailed Fox can freely use that ability, I might have to go.
Gayeon was considered a Collapser because she was so strong, but strictly speaking, she’s not a Collapser.
Because the source of Noona’s power is based on her own efforts and achievements.
But the Nine-tailed Fox’s power….
It was not a power that could be obtained through effort, no matter how you looked at it.
A power that defies providence!
In short, a fucking cheat ability!
They might need my power….
“Evacuation complete!”
“There’s one more child here!”
Cecil handed the child over to her parents, and finally, the bunker door closed.
That’s when it happened.
A sharp wind cut through the air layer, slicing off a Raven soldier’s head.
It was a clear surprise attack.
Cecil and I dodged after reading the vibrating mana flow, but the soldiers who couldn’t see the flow, or even if they saw it, couldn’t react in time, all died.
The bunker door remained half-open.
“I didn’t expect you to dodge that.”
Cecil and I simultaneously turned to where the voice came from.
Sword Saint, Kusley.
He felt different from any Kusley we’ve seen so far.
The most noticeable difference was his attire. This Kusley was wearing loose, red clothes like a monk’s robe.
His blond hair was grown long and braided, and his face had quite a few scars.
‘Is this the real one?’
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