Chapter 380: Deal [4]

One moment I was standing in the world of purple which felt infinite to me, but the next thing I knew... the sky above my head had split open, with the cracks in it widening to cover the rest of the open expanse.

"Cough... cough"

My head... it now felt a lot better than before, though there was still a feeling of uneasiness in my chest.

It wasn’t intense, but its remnants were still left.

"BEGONE HUMAN!"

A thunderous roar shook the world once again, but before its effects could settle down... I felt the sea of purple beneath my foot splitting into thin veins that gave a feeling like... it was the end of the world—

And maybe it was—

BOOM!

Raising my hands before my face in a high guard, my mana core churned at its full might as I used the mana pressure to cover me from all sides... creating a defensive shield of sorts.

The sky this time hadn’t only split open, but a massive hole was formed at its centre, though the cracks quickly began to heal themselves as the world returned to its original form—

BOOM!

At least it tried to, as the moment the massive hole that had engulfed the centre of the sky was about to close up... a new explosion stretched it farther than its original size, and this time... it didn’t close immediately.

Focusing my eyes towards the hole, I could see a small figure jumping through it, headed straight in—

My direction?

Not knowing who it was, I quickly channelled mana through my core to reinforce my body before drawing out my sword in a single fluid motion.

I didn’t know where I was, though I had a few possibilities in my mind.

Still, there was no time to dwell on them, as I had to neutralise or at least save myself from the immediate threat that was heading towards me.

At the same time, I began to deploy one of the spells that I had learned so far.

The target being a lot far away from me, looked similar to a black dot, still the speed at which—

Huh?

It... had disappeared.

Blinking my eyes, I tried to spot the figure that had been heading towards me a moment prior, but there were no traces left of it, and my mana sense wasn’t strong enough to cover the entire purple expanse around me—

"Are you alright?"

Before I could process anything, a very familiar voice resounded from my side, as I felt a firm grip enveloping my shoulder.

Turning my head to the right, a man in his forties stood beside me.

His blood-red hair coupled with a long scar running across his face greeted my eyes.

"I should be... alright."

Even I didn’t know what had happened with me after coming to this world.

But—

"Why are you here?"

I didn’t remember summoning Arthur, so how was he—

"Hm? You had activated the mark, and the moment I received the signal, I had come for your aid, but I couldn’t directly appear beside you as... you were enveloped in this domain."

Arthur looked up to stare at the very spot from where he had entered this place.

"Domain?"

I uttered the word in confusion, but it didn’t take me long to piece everything together.

I had been with Diana in the market, and going by the logic, it should have been her who had kidnapped me—

"I wanted to make it quick, but well... it doesn’t matter much."

Before I knew it, Arthur stood before me with Garthel in his hands, as the tip of the blade was aimed towards the sea below.

Though I had called it a sea... it wasn’t exactly similar to one, but it was close.

"Do you know her?"

Hm?

My thoughts were still a lot more sluggish, but Arthur’s words had once again brought me back to reality, as I raised my head to look at the woman that was slowly descending towards us.

Observing closely, she was walking on the air—not quite.

A small film of purple was being formed wherever the woman placed her feet, as she walked towards us with complete ease in her steps.

Her face wasn’t visible to me, and in its place, all I could see was a blur, as if the face was intentionally hidden from my eyes.

"I know her... maybe."

My words made Arthur give me a quick glance, though he didn’t say anything.

If my guess was correct, this should be the real identity of the parasite, which was why perhaps she was hiding her face.

"I always had a feeling that there was something or someone protecting you, so... was this man the one covering your back?"

I couldn’t see the parasite’s eyes, but somehow I still felt its gaze focused on me.

"Who are you?"

Arthur didn’t acknowledge the parasite’s words, as he calmly asked a question of his own.

But despite his calm, I could feel a subtle edge to Arthur’s voice, which was a rare sight for me.

"A mere Immortal dares to ask for my name... hehe... the times sure have changed."

Taking the last step, the parasite stood on the sea of purple the same as us, the only difference being... the sea churned beneath her foot as if acknowledging the presence of its master.

I could feel the area around the parasite becoming an epicentre of sorts from where subtle waves of some unknown power spread far and wide across the entirety of the open expanse around us.

"I asked... who are you?"

Arthur’s grip on his sword tightened as he slightly lowered his back before raising his sword in a posture that was a hint of his readiness to engage in combat at a moment’s notice.

The parasite observed the two of us in silence, and just as I was about to speak.... I felt it.

The world around us shook once again, but this time there were no cracks waiting to be witnessed.

On the contrary, all the damage that the ’Domain’ had suffered after Arthur’s forced arrival was repaired in real time, and—

I felt a constricting force on my entire body—

Swoosh!

A gust of wind blew across me, and with it, all the pressure that had surrounded me had vanished in its entirety.

Looking down, I could feel faint hints of mana around the edge of Garthel as it shined with a subdued brilliance... sweeping away the invisible threats around me.

Raising my head, Arthur’s strong back was in my view, and beyond it was the parasite, who observed us in amusement—

Or at least I thought so.