My Alter Ego’s Path to Greatness - Chapter 182

#182

Operation to escape from the Demon King’s Castle (4)

With Olivia’s appearance, the ‘aura of fear’ unique to high-ranking undead instantly engulfed the surroundings.

Just by being next to him, my whole body began to tremble and my breathing became heavier, and when I faced that presence head-on, my composure was disturbed and my thoughts began to blur.

Riley gritted her teeth and hugged Hesperon tightly in her arms in an attempt to somehow get her mind together.

‘Banshee Queen Olivia. A monster that gained notoriety under the command of the second immortal king and was even recorded in history…!’

Also, personally, he was the one who kidnapped Isea while she was with him and brought her before the Immortal King.

At that time, it was not difficult to overcome fear with the power of protection magic and all kinds of magic tools, but when she faced the executive-level undead like this with her bare body, it was difficult for her, who was not at a very high level, to endure.

[Hmm… I’ve heard a lot about beings from the other world, but… I really didn’t think I could get out of here…]

Olivia stared at Hesperon, who was coughing up blood due to the backflow of magical power, and then slowly raised her head. He shook it.

[But it’s something that can’t be overlooked…]

In fact, she didn’t just come here.

It was just that they were low-class ghosts with an overwhelming advantage in hiding, so they didn’t notice them.

To be exact, Hesperon had already arrived here when he was in the midst of beating the prince and was quietly watching and assessing the situation.

‘If it had just ended in a fight, I was planning to quietly leave…’

I had heard in advance about their treatment, so I didn’t bother to intervene when the crown prince was unilaterally attacked.

However, I was not satisfied with subduing him, but I was watching until the end to deal with a situation where he tried to kill him or the crown prince counterattacked and the other two were injured…

Didn’t they suddenly start talking about escaping?

Seeing him not only talking but also doing something as if he was about to do something, she hurriedly intervened and first interfered with Hesperon’s magical operation.

‘His body was a little damaged in the process, but… it’s that much of an injury, so he can recover as long as he has time…’

As the Immortal King injured the person he was directly paying attention to, this incident is a blessing in disguise. I didn’t even know if I would hit it.

Still, it was much better than losing them if something happened.

[I will take care of that man separately for the time being…. The princess will wait quietly here….]

“Huh—!”

Riley bit her lip so hard that it bled as she saw the Banshee Queen approaching with such a firm notice.

The hope she found in her despair was right around the corner, and she had to let it go in vain like this…

More than anything, the fact that there was nothing she could do right away made her even more miserable.

‘…Who is the Iron Blood Princess and who is the next emperor? ‘I can’t do anything myself, so I rely on others, but in a crisis, I can’t even help!’

I didn’t realize that from the outside.

She was the one who stood above everyone and gave direction, and there were always people around to carry out orders.

Even when she was young and unable to show off her courage to her siblings, her authority as a princess remained, and after Isea became her emotional support, she actively used it to increase her power.

After becoming involved in the competition for the throne in earnest, the faction supporting her became her weapon and armor to protect herself.

But now…

Riley glanced down and looked at the man in her arms.

The blow from the backflow of magic must have been quite severe as he closed his eyes tightly and was breathing heavily as if in pain.

‘…Yes, you can’t hide behind others forever. At least the emperor I’m aiming for is not like that.’

Now there is no one to protect you.

A situation that she must overcome solely with her own strength.

The chances of a miracle happening are infinitely low and we don’t even know what to do in the first place.

But isn’t it impossible for someone who is called the ‘Iron-Blooded Princess’ to do nothing and give up?

Swoosh—

Riley slowly stood up, drawing on her magic power to strengthen her body.

He was holding Hesperon tightly in his arms as if he would never let go.

[Sigh, you know that resistance is meaningless… Please just follow the control…]

Olivia, seeing her unwavering eyes, lightly cupped her cheek with one hand and shook her head.

For someone whose condition was not so good due to magical reflux, her presence itself was a bane.

In order to take him away, I had to handle his energy as delicately as possible, but if he rebelled like that, it was bound to be a bit of a hassle.

‘It’s literally just a little annoying…’

Well, isn’t there too much time anyway?

Olivia smiled faintly and slowly flew through the air towards them.

“Huh haa—.”

‘Is there really no way?’

Taking a deep breath, Riley’s gaze, which had been moving back and forth as she took a small step back, was once again focused on the Banshee Queen, who was slowly approaching her.

In fact, there were no special measures in place from the beginning.

Maybe, as the other person said, it was just a meaningless rebellion.

‘but.’

She tightly closed her bleeding lips and glared directly at the approaching enemy, overcoming the approaching fear with only her mental strength.

‘I know it won’t work. Even if it’s a meaningless action… I don’t want to give up without doing anything!’

If I didn’t do that, I wouldn’t have the confidence to endure the remaining time.

And that moment when she reaffirmed her resolve.

Jaw—

A sudden hand grabbed Riley’s arm tightly.

She flinched without realizing it, but soon realized the owner of the hand and lowered her gaze with joy.

“Heron? Fine…!”

Coo–

A hand silently grips my arm even more tightly.

Hesperon looked straight at her with his eyes shining brightly, even though his mouth was smeared with blood.

“…Heron?”

Riley cautiously called out to him as something seemed out of the ordinary.

Olivia also noticed that there was something strange about their behavior.

[What are you going to do this time?…]

She abandoned her relaxed attitude and immediately reached out to them.

For now, I decided to think about Hesperon’s safety later and was going to make sure to suppress them first…

[Ah…? Wait, what is this…!]

The situation went differently than she expected.

The power she radiated could not have any effect on them, as if it was blocked by something… or as if the space had been cut off.

[This is ridiculous… This is a space prepared by the king himself…!]

Olivia, shocked, jumps out and attempts to approach.

But even she, a ghost, could no longer approach where they were.

Even though she was in charge of the management of immortality and had some level of control over space!

[Now wait… can you really…?]

She was truly embarrassed, which was rare, and was about to respond by raising her black magic with all her might.

Swoosh—

The two men and women who had been there just moments ago disappeared as if they had been washed away in an instant.

It wasn’t just about hiding his appearance.

Indeed, their presence was no longer felt in this residential area or anywhere else within the Immortal City.

[This… What is this…?]

Olivia, devastated by the unexpected situation, looked around for a while and had no choice but to finally admit it.

They really ran away from this immortality.

[No… If only we could start the search now and catch them again… Oh?]

But just before releasing the ghosts and starting their pursuit.

At a sudden signal ringing in her head, she stopped all work and bowed her head in the air in a polite manner.

[Have you called me? King…. Please call me at any time….]

At that moment, the Immortal King had visited and called her.

Even so, the scheduled visit date of the king was getting close, so I had finished all my other work and was waiting for him.

Of course, I didn’t expect you to come at the moment this happened.

[Um… Your Majesty… I am offended, but I have one thing to tell you…]

It would have been better if you had come after resolving the matter to some extent.

However, it was impossible to let such an important matter go without reporting it.

She prepared to be harshly scolded and told him in detail what had happened here, and expressed her opinion that she would carefully start tracking him down right away.

[yes? Yes… I understand… I will follow your orders…]

However, the Immortal King only responded that her nervousness was insignificant, as if he had already anticipated everything.

In the end, she gave up trying to determine the king’s intentions, dismissed the ghosts she had prepared, looked around the living quarters once again, and disappeared from the spot.

The garden of the Immortal City’s second residential area was engulfed in silence for a moment.

There, along with the man and woman, even Olivia disappeared.

Only Prince Simon, lying in tatters, was left alone.

***

Three or four hours had passed since the commotion.

“Ugh— Damn my head…”

Inyoung, who was crumpled on the dirt floor, continued to wriggle and slowly raised her upper body and looked around.

However, in the unpopular garden, only the tattered person remained.

“Suddenly—these damn kites dare to take this body of the crown prince…!”

Simon, recalling the situation before he fainted, ground his teeth in rising anger.

A cocky guy who you wonder if he’s really a wizard, and Riley, who looked down on him as if he were disdainful, behind him.

The scene of them leaving, laughing at themselves for falling down, was automatically pictured in my mind.

“Ugh, could it be that I fell into a trap? “If they had planned in advance to destroy me and set up a barrier around the area…”

Unable to accept his defeat, he was soon able to think of a plausible hypothesis.

But when I looked at it closely, I realized that this was very likely!

At least in his opinion, it was much more realistic than the idea that he lost to a wizard in fighting skills.

“Yes, other than that, you can’t explain its movements. How dare this coward deceive this body…?”

He was convinced that he was the only one making excuses and was furious, then looked around again and staggered to his feet with difficulty.

Since this place is not suitable for resting, I decided to go back to the hotel and recover properly.

‘Of course. They knew I would approach and set a trap in advance. ‘I was too hasty to enter the realm of wizards.’

As he moved forward, his mind regained some sense of reason, and he analyzed the damage and devised countermeasures.

He is also the crown prince, one of the heirs of the empire.

No matter how much I lost my composure recently due to extreme stress, I wasn’t stupid enough to hit myself again without taking any action after already getting hit once.

‘Okay, I admit my defeat this time. But next time will be different.’

Of course, he didn’t intend to just suffer like this.

This time, I ignored them too much and let my guard down, and I was in trouble, but since I decided to deal with them sincerely, I wouldn’t fall for the same trick again.

‘For now, I’ll have to calm down and plan a strategy. They may be wizards, but their level is not that high, so there must be limits to their ability to set traps. If I don’t let down my guard and fight properly, there’s no way I can lose.’

The only thing I was worried about right now was that Lilith would come back before I could get my revenge, but chances like this would continue to arise in the future.

Since time was all we had here anyway, there was no need to rush.

Simon went into his dorm with his throbbing body, washed up, and laid down on the bed.

They’re probably celebrating their victory and laughing at him right now, but…

‘Enjoy yourselves now. When I am completely healed, I will give you a proper hell.’

So he slowly fell into sleep, dreaming of revenge.

Looking forward to the day when he brings down the two men and women who humiliated him.

Unfortunately, he did not yet know that he was the only one left in this living space.

It will probably be some time before he can clearly understand the situation.

By then, you will realize that the strategy you planned and everything else has become meaningless… They

say revenge is vain, so wouldn’t that also be meaningful in its own way?

“Uhm— Phuhhh… These lowly bastards… I will be their slave… Hmm.”

Maybe now, dreaming sweet dreams, is the happiest moment for him.

***

Immediately after the sudden transmission.

“Hmm—!”

Riley opened her eyes and took a deep breath.

The aftereffects of long-distance space travel made me feel dizzy for a moment, but such trivial things were not important right now.

“…outside? Could it be that you really succeeded in that situation…?”

White clouds flowing proudly in the blue sky and strong sunlight shining warmly.

The surrounding area was not at the level of a garden, but a variety of plants formed a vegetation, and the insects that made it their home were also moving around.

A scene of nature itself that has not been seen in an artificial garden for the past two months.

She could only stare at it blankly for a while.

“Cough—! “Wow!”

Until I heard a harsh coughing sound inside my arms.

“ah! Heron! are you okay?”

Perhaps because he overexerted himself in a crisis, he vomited more blood than before and opened his eyes with difficulty.

“…Riley? “How did you escape…?”

“It’s a success! Heron, you really…! Oh, don’t talk anymore, just close your eyes. “I’ll do my best to do the rest!”

She hurriedly stopped him as he opened his mouth with a cracked voice and used strengthening magic to lift his sturdy body and place it on her back.

He had finally succeeded in escaping them by getting to this point, but he couldn’t just hesitate here.

“Phew—I’ll move as carefully as possible, just in case. To the south.”

It has been about two months since the crown prince and fifth princess of the Azerion Empire were kidnapped by the Immortal King.

It was the moment when Fifth Princess Riley escaped from the clutches of the Immortal King and gained freedom.

‘Okay, this is a pretty satisfying ending.’

With a director’s satisfied smile.