บท 138: Simultaneous Development - II
The Parasite Queen was not having a good day. No, she had been not having a good day for months on end already.
First, there was the fact that she had been completely locked into a single time field. Despite possessing the Divine Authority of Paradise's Chief Deity, she now completely lacked the ability to control its flow of time and destiny.
It was ridiculous. Even though she wasn't to the extent of the fabled Zero Protocol, Paradise was a minor enough realm that she should have absolute control over it after devouring its Chief Deity.
Should.
And yet, here she was trapped in the threads of destiny without being able to take a single step back.
Sitting on the corrupted throne, the Parasite Queen grit her teeth and glared at the starry expanse of destiny.
Again, ridiculous. The void with only a few bright stars had turned into a place bright enough to light up the darkness.
Even as the Parasite Queen watched, countless insignificant stars were enveloped in violet light before evolving into shining beacons that drew other insignificant stars towards them.
[How is this possible?!]
Even the Martial God had not been so ridiculous.
It was one thing to reach a level of personal strength enough to rampage across countless realms and even destroy Heaven. It was another thing entirely to endlessly spawn forces that exponentially increased in strength.
That should have been HER realm. For mere humans to be able to do such a thing…!
[No. There is still time.]
Yes. All was not yet lost.
Although she did not know what trickery the Seven Sin Gods pulled to change the playing field so much, she knew that she was still in the lead.
It would be dangerous if the Federation joined hands with the humans, but considering how the pillar of support that should have been in Eva had fallen, there was no need to worry about that.
Furthermore, any moment now she should receive news that Twisted Kindness and Raging Temperance had finished devouring all the spirits-
*BOOM*
A giant explosion, coupled with the sounds of falling rubble and steel not far from her throne room.
Shortly after, a pair of male voices echoed. One that sounded extremely familiar, and another that was foreign.
"You missed. How could you miss? You said you knew where the throne room was."
"I didn't miss, we got bounced off! And it's not far from here anyway."
The Parasite Queen didn't want to believe it. But as a pair of footsteps approached the throne room, and as the men came into view, she was forced to believe.
[Sung Shihyun…!]
The traitor to humanity. The one who was supposed to have thrown his loyalty completely to her side after assimilating Vulgar Chastity's divinity.
He strode into the room with a cocky smirk, holding a sword forged from pure mana over his left shoulder. Staring right at the Parasite Queen, he gave a casual wave and said, "Sup, Queen. Shouldn't have trusted a traitor."
The man standing next to Sung Shihyun, one wearing a black bunny mask and wielding an ominous crimson spear, tilted his head and said, "You are having way too much fun with this."
Sung Shihyun laughed and said, "What can I say? It's fun being the hero for once. Now…." He kicked off the ground, activating <Ethereal Shift> to close the gap.
The Parasite Queen growled and swung her arm, sending out a wave of corrosive green flames.
Even with <Ethereal Shift>, if she corroded space itself-
*sching*
A pure slash, cutting through the flames. No, it didn't cut through the flames. It wrapped the flames around it and continued slashing.
The Parasite Queen's eyes widened and she raised her arms to block.
Sparks flew as Sung Shihyun reemerged and was stopped in mid-air, failing to cut through.
Silence fell.
And then Sung Shihyun coughed and glanced back. "Uh… Alright. Maybe overestimated my damage output a little too much."
The Parasite Queen narrowed her eyes and then swung her arm.
Space cracked and folded in upon itself.
But Sung Shihyun wasn't injured, somehow slipping through the shattered space to return at the other man's side.
The man with the black bunny mask shook his head and said, "I told you it wouldn't work. You can copy his skill all you want, but you don't have the raw force behind it."
Sung Shihyun shook his hand and said, "Yeah, I can see that now. What a freaking cheat."
The Parasite Queen watched the two flippantly chat without even acknowledging her. Seeing that, she stood up. [You will regret your arrogance, Sung Shihyun.]
Sung Shihyun pointed his sword at the Parasite Queen and said, "We'll see about that, Queenie."
"Oh you're totally gonna regret it after getting punched in the face."
"Shut up!"
xxx
Eva's palace, at a table in the inner courtyard.
Charlotte Aria smiled as she stared at her guest. "Thank you for coming all the way here, Roe Unni."
Roe Scheherazade let out a bright smile and said, "It's no trouble at all. How could I ignore a visit request from my cute Cherry when she's finally come to her senses?"
Charlotte blushed and said, "C-Could we not mention that? It's an embarrasing point for me…"
The fact that she had the wool pulled over her eyes so long while just running away in a fantasy that everything was going well…
Although she could acknowledge that she had been naive, she also recognized in hindsight that she had reached the age of majority a long time ago.
If her father and older brothers had been around to see what she had done… No, they were probably rolling in their graves.
So she could never thank Jihu Oppa enough for pulling her out of her daze.
…Although she could also never think of a way to properly apologize to him for vomiting on his clothes so quickly after she regained her senses.
Roe chuckled and absently brushed a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. After that, she began pouring a cup of tea from the kettle nearby.
"Oh!" Charlotte reached for it and said, "Let me, Unni-"
"No." Roe cut Charlotte off and smiled. "I've taken to pouring tea as a pasttime, so please allow me."
Charlotte hesitated, but nodded and leaned back. Still, she felt it was rude to let her guest do everything, so she grabbed a few plates nearby and started grabbing some scones from the dessert tray. Afterwards, she placed a full plate in front of Roe and said, "Here you go, Unni."
Roe smiled and placed a cup of tea in front of Charlotte. "And here you go, Cherry."
Charlotte pouted after hearing that nickname and said, "Why do you keep calling me that, Unni? I'm a prim and proper adult now! A queen as well!"
Roe chuckled and said, "Even so, what else should I call a cute girl like you who turns as bright as a cherry? It's such a fitting nickname, isn't it?"
Charlotte puffed her cheeks and then sighed, giving up on the point. She *did* turn pretty bright red when she was embarrassed, after all. Something driven into her head for a few days straight after that embarassing end to the first meeting with Jihu Oppa.
Roe began pouring her own cup of tea. After filling it, she glanced at Charlotte and said, "As much as I would like for this this to be just a social call, it is not, is it? Otherwise you would not have sent a letter with the seal of Eva and instead used your personal seal."
Hearing that, Charlotte put on a serious face and said, "That is correct, Queen Scheherazade."
Roe smiled and said, "A bit too stiff, Queen Eva. But you will grow into the role."
Charlotte resisted the urge to frown at the criticism. Instead, she pushed forward with the agenda she had planned and rehearsed. Clearing her throat, she said, "To begin… We would like to know the status of Earthlings in Scheherazade."
Roe leaned back in her chair, holding her cup in front of her. "My. Asking about internal affairs right from the start? We may be close, Queen Eva, but that goes a bit too far." She sipped on her tea and then said, "We could turn that question on you. Considering the mess that you allowed Earthlings to create in Eva, how have you decided to treat your Earthlings?"
Charlotte resisted the urge to flinch.
Roe Unni had always been refined and regal, which made it inevitable she would have a certain weight to her words. But it seemed like something had changed since the last time they had met.
Although the weariness and fatigue had been lifted off Roe's shoulders, a sort of dark aura seemed to hover about her now. Not quite malevolence, but… something sharp and dangerous nevertheless?
Even so, Charlotte wouldn't back down.
Jihu Oppa believed in her to handle things on this side while he went to the Tutorial. Not only that, but even Teresa Unni had approved and gave her the right to call reinforcements from Haramark if needed.
So…
Charlotte smiled back at Roe and said, "Is it not obvious?" She leaned back with her own cup of tea and said, "Those who abused Eva's citizens were executed. Those who profited from our pain were also executed. And those who simply sat by… Well." She sipped on her tea and said, "We allowed our people to decide their fates."
"Mm…" Roe sipped on her tea and said, "Not the most delicate of solutions. But sometimes an iron fist is needed." She laughed and said, "And pulling out the worms and crushing them with your own hands is ever so satisfying."
Charlotte blinked.
She… did hear rumors about Roe Unni's situation. And also rumors about the new 'premium escort service' that was infamous in Scheherazade…
…No. Better not to delve to deep into that.
Roe let out a content sigh, reminiscing on what seemed to be pleasant memories. And then she focused again, saying, "The Earthlings are doing fine. Mister Hao Win and the Triads are doing an excellent job of maintaining order and pulling out the dregs Sinyoung left behind. Of course, Scheherazade never truly had issues with Earthlings to begin with." She paused and then muttered, "Other than those lower than dirt worms who indulged themselves in the worst of sins by sating their lust upon me."
"…" Charlotte coughed and then said, "I-In any case… If that is true, may We ask if it would be feasible for you to issue a draft notice in the event of a Parasite attack?"
"Of course it would." Roe nodded and said, "We have created *quite* the reward system for accomplishments in Scheherazade. Rather than forcing the Earthlings to fight, We are sure there will be plenty throwing themselves at the gates of hell for a taste of heaven."
"I-Is that so?"
Roe smiled.
Charlotte slowly nodded and said, "That… is good to hear. We were concerned about the event of a full Parasite invasion, but if Scheherazade is equipped as well, then there is no need of concern." She let out a relieved sigh and said, "It takes much off Our shoulders."
"Does it now?" Roe set her cup of tea down and said, "What of your neighbors, the Federation? Tensions have long been high between you two, have they not?"
Charlotte nodded. "They have. But We recently learned that certain individuals had been working in the background on Our behalf to resolve the issue."
Specifically a mysterious man with a black bunny mask that Jihu Oppa swore wasn't him, but who Jihu Oppa also couldn't talk about while maintaining a straight face.
Honestly, the debts keep accumulating…
Now if only she could convince Miss Hannah to allow Jihu Oppa to have his way with her as compensation. Perhaps even obtain the title of Royal Consort- No, Charlotte would be more than fine with him taking the throne.
Ah, but Teresa Unni would definitely fight her on that when she was already insisting he claim Haramark.
Hm… Perhaps after defeating the Parasite Queen they could have Jihu Oppa become claim the fallen Empire as a new Emperor? In that case, it would be no issue for him to claim Queens as brides or consorts…
Roe hummed and said, "Convenient." She chuckled and said, "It seems we have many benefactors these days."
Charlotte smiled back. "Yes. In fact-"
At that time, an alarm blared.
Roe glanced over in the distance, idly sipping on her tea. "It seems that your first test as Queen has arrived, Cherry."
Charlotte quickly stood up, golden lightning crackling at her fingertips. "Unni. Please stay here. This should not take long."
Roe grabbed a scone and smiled. "Of course. Don't take long and we can enjoy a pleasant conversation to catch up."
Charlotte gave a quick smile back and then quickly dashed off.
A magic barrier wrapped around the palace as Charlotte left. Guards throughout the city moved in orderly lines to guide civilians into the safety of said magic barrier.
Seeing that, and seeing Earthlings cooperate as well brought a smile to Charlotte's face.
But then she focused.
Reaching the outer gates, Charlotte gazed out to see the cause of the alarm.
For a brief moment, she thought it was an invasion from the Federation. But when she focused…
"…An army of women?"
Yes. It was a whole army filled with scantily clad women. And at the front…
"…A Jihu Oppa copycat?"
Charlotte subconsciously muttered that after seeing the man.
But surprisingly, the man heard her.
Pointing a sword glowing with crimson light at Charlotte, he said, "DON'T YOU DARE SAY HIS NAME, SLUT!"
"…"
Charlotte blinked, at a loss of words at the immediate and harsh rebuke.
But shortly after, a low chuckle echoed from behind her.
"It seems that our Benefactor has gotten on people's nerves." A silver-haired archer with a stern gaze walked up to Charlotte's left side.
"Indeed. But I suppose a man with such accomplishments is bound to draw ire." A beautiful woman with platinum blonde hair walked up beside the archer, flickering orbs of light floating around her.
"That's because Onii-chan is amazing!" A Japanese high school girl wielding a katana and wearing samurai armor walked up to Charlotte's right side.
"Hah…" A male Japanese archer walked up to the high school girl's side and said, "Please do not add to our Benefactor's troubles, Yui."
Marcel Ghionea, Marika Larisa, Ayase Kazuki, and Ayase Yui.
The four main forces that Jihu left behind to help Charlotte protect Eva in his absence.
Ghio nodded in greeting to the Ayase siblings and then looked back at the invader. Drawing his bow, he said, "It will be a bit troublesome to simply take out the commander like Jihu did, but…"
Kazuki pulled out his own bow and said, "Might as well try, right?"
Charlotte stepped forward and said, "Please support me well, Mister Ghio, Kazuki. And you as well, Miss Marika, Miss Yui."
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