Chapter 153 - 79: Reload

Chapter 153: Chapter 79: Reload

Opening her eyes again, Lilia traversed through time and returned to the Royal Court of the Light Kingdom.

In her previous playthrough, she had completed Lucian’s main route, achieving the Happy Ending of the [Avenger]. She and Lucian had returned to Hillflan and lived happily ever after, just like in a fairy tale.

In their daily lives, they naturally had their share of bickering and even arguments. However, both were mature adults, and more importantly, they could understand each other. Their quarrels never stemmed from a fractured relationship; rather, they were merely stepping stones toward building a better tomorrow together.

When the system prompted that the Happy Ending was achieved, Lilia chose to live in that playthrough for a while longer before finally deciding to conclude the game. Even for her, such an ordinary yet blissful life felt a bit too wonderful. It was so beautiful that it felt like a dream she never wanted to wake up from.

In that world, she didn’t have to strategize about how to capture someone’s heart, nor did she need to worry about what the future held. She only needed to be with Lucian, doing whatever she wanted and going wherever she pleased.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t indulge in this dream forever.

It was worth mentioning that after achieving the Happy Ending, Lilia checked Lucian’s Favorability. It was at ninety-nine. It hadn’t reached a hundred.

Lilia wasn’t a perfectionist obsessed with flawless completion. As long as she successfully collected the ending, whether the Favorability was maxed out or not made little difference to her. She never doubted Lucian’s love for her, but perhaps, even in the later stages of their relationship, there were still things left unsaid between them.

Pushing those thoughts aside for now, Lilia turned her attention to another issue. It was about Victor.

If she remembered correctly, right up until the end of her previous playthrough, Lilia hadn’t heard a single piece of news regarding Victor. Their last meeting had been in Navia, when Lilia took the initiative to seek him out to discuss the Demon issue. After that, Lilia left Navia and headed to Sitrind to aid Lord Frost. From then on, the two never crossed paths again.

Lilia knew that Victor had been actively avoiding her—ever since the day they deciphered the Demon manuscript. However, she didn’t know why he would do such a thing. Thus, Lilia had returned. She came back to uncover the truth.

The time node of this save file was exactly when Lilia and Victor were working together to decipher the Demon manuscript. They had spent over half a year filtering through books, comparing information, and verifying every single Array recorded in the manuscript.

Verifying the Magic Circles left by a Demon was incredibly dangerous. Out of caution, Lilia always created a save file before each attempt. Therefore, when she opened her eyes, she found herself standing right inside that reading room.

In her hand was the last remaining page of the Demon manuscript. Across from her sat Victor, his focus completely dialed in. This was the final Magic Circle. According to their previous deductions, once activated, the Demon’s secret would be revealed. Victor looked completely on guard, clearly worried that this last Magic Circle might conceal a demonic trap. If that were the case, he was ready to strike instantly to save Lilia.

However, having just loaded her save, Lilia knew the truth. There was no danger within this Magic Circle, nor were there any demonic secrets.

Across from her, Victor noticed her unusual pause. "What’s wrong? Are you too tired?" he asked, analyzing the situation logically. "It makes sense. The Level of these Magic Circles is extremely high. Using them constantly every day places an immense burden on your body.

"If you feel like you can’t hold on, we can rest for now..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Victor’s pupils suddenly shrank. Flames flared to life in Lilia’s hand. She was burning the final page of the manuscript.

Lilia didn’t know why Victor’s attitude toward her had drastically changed in the previous timeline, but she was certain it had something to do with this manuscript. Since that was the case, her first instinct was naturally to destroy it. This was what she called solving the problem at its root.

True to his nature as an emotionally stable adult, Victor didn’t fly into a rage—even though Lilia had just incinerated half a year’s worth of their hard work right in front of him. He merely furrowed his brow, trying to deduce her reasoning. "...Did you sense danger?"

"Exactly," Lilia replied. "This must be a scam—a trap set by a Demon.

"The Demon Lord named Gersas didn’t leave behind any secret at all. Continuing this research will only bring irreversible disaster to the world."

"...What proof do you have?" Victor asked.

"Have you forgotten? I know Time Magic," Lilia said, raising an eyebrow. "I’ve returned from the future. That is the most compelling proof."

Victor fell silent. He didn’t actually believe a word about Time Magic. The only reason he hadn’t exposed her in the past was simply because he couldn’t find a more plausible explanation. Furthermore, even if Lilia truly had returned from the future and knew in advance that this manuscript would bring calamity to the world, for a scholar like Victor, that still wouldn’t constitute a valid reason to halt his research.

"If that is the case, then we have all the more reason to continue studying it." His tone was gentle, yet filled with unwavering resolve. "Only by overcoming fear and facing disaster head-on can we possibly conquer it."

Lilia was momentarily speechless.

"You’re right," she said, spreading her hands. "But the manuscript is already destroyed."

You couldn’t make something out of nothing. She’d love to see how he planned to continue.

Victor sighed, clearly at a loss for what to do. He had no choice but to let Lilia leave for now, while he returned to his quarters and locked himself in his study to ponder deeply.

As a High-level Mage, he had naturally memorized all those Magic Circles, so reproducing them wouldn’t be difficult. But activating them required an extremely high elemental affinity. Currently, Lilia was the only one who met that requirement.

Relying on his memory, Victor meticulously traced out all the Magic Circles. His dip pen left methodical streaks of ink across the parchment. Yet, the more he drew, the more alarmed he became.

It was too intricate.

Perhaps uncovering the secret hidden within the Magic Circles didn’t require activating them at all. Perhaps all it took was rearranging and overlapping them, just as he was doing now... By doing so, one could obtain a complete Pentagram Array Map.

Looking at the design beneath his hand—a pattern just one stroke away from completing its loop—Victor furrowed his brow tight. Lilia’s words echoed in his mind. There were no secrets here. Only a trap left by a Demon, and a massive disaster that would sweep across the entire world.

He hesitated for a long time. Eventually, Victor made full preparations, ensuring that even if an accident occurred, it would only affect the small space he occupied. Then, he slowly and firmly lowered his pen.

Right at that moment, a massive BANG echoed from the doorway.

The Fire Element rioted, and the magically sealed door abruptly blasted apart. A figure emerged from the smoke.

Lilia looked toward the desk. Victor was sitting there, staring back at her with obvious astonishment. Lilia smiled. She knew it. This guy was never one to play by the rules; he always wanted to lock himself away and pull off something crazy.

She took a step forward, just about to say something, when the pitch-black ink on the paper suddenly began to move on its own. It was automatically mending the pentagram.

Lilia reacted with lightning speed.

"Victor!" she shouted a warning before immediately striking.

Her Magic surged toward the parchment. Meanwhile, Victor subconsciously moved to protect Lilia. Unfortunately, both were a step too late.

Lilia watched helplessly as the lines closed completely. An extremely terrifying pressure radiated outward from the center of the pentagram. She didn’t have the time to ponder what this truly signified, nor did she want to.

Before the disaster could fully descend, she loaded her save file once more!