Chapter 267

Chapter 267: 267

In the royal arena the sand already steamed under the heat of gathered mana. Yal stood opposite Neo in tight blue knight’s attire that clung to every powerful curve of her body. Hydro mana rolled off her blade in dense, shimmering waves that turned the air wet and heavy. Neo answered with a darkness aura so thick it blackened the sand beneath his boots. He coated himself in Star Dust armor that locked around his broad shoulders, muscled arms, and strong legs like living light. A second blade of pure stardust formed in his free hand. Then he blitzed.

Teleportation dropped him on her flank. Dual-sword cuts opened thin lines of blood across her side and shoulder before she could fully turn. Yal answered with a sweeping water wave that slammed into Neo’s chest and drove him down hard enough to crack the arena floor. A liquid rope shot from the wave, bound his ankle, and yanked. She hammered him into the earth again and again until fresh craters formed around his body. Dirt and blood mixed on his tongue. He severed the rope with a sharp twist of darkness, reappeared above her in a flash of starlight, and crashed both blades downward. The impact shook the stands.

The exchange of teleport strikes and heavy blows continued without pause. Every time Neo’s dual blades flashed, Yal’s water blade met them with crushing force. Sweat ran down the hard lines of his arms and the broad plane of his chest beneath the armor. Yal’s breathing grew ragged. Her powerful curves flexed with every swing, water mana spraying from her weapon in sharp arcs. Neo pressed harder, using short-range teleports to stay inside her guard, forcing her to defend high and low at once. Finally her knee hit the sand. She planted the tip of her blade for balance and looked up, chest rising and falling hard.

"I lose."

Neo did not wait. "System—return me to the original world."

Space folded around him like black silk. The arena, the crowd, and Yal’s kneeling form vanished. He was gone.

Vel appeared in the residual distortion a heartbeat later, expression grim. "This isn’t ordinary teleportation. It bound dimensions. He’s gone. I don’t think he’ll be coming back."

The queen’s voice was tight. "I can’t rest until you find him and kill him."

Vel was silent for a long moment. "The place he went is too far. I don’t believe I can track him."

The queen exhaled, rubbing her forehead. At least he was driven away. Yet the hollow feeling in her chest lingered, and Sana’s angry stare from the sidelines cut deeper than any blade. Being queen was exhausting. She wondered, not for the first time, whether Yal should take the throne so she could take Sana to her grandmother and let the old woman heal what the court could not.

Far away, in the Nyx tribe, Neo sat on the floor of his room. The memory of the Find Kingdom still sat sharp behind his eyes—the weight of the fight, the taste of blood, the way space had folded and dumped him back where he belonged. The door opened. Veya stepped in, her usual calm already edged with focus.

"You arrived at the right moment. The barrier and time-slowing array are active. Countdown starts in ten seconds."

Neo nodded. Veya told him to follow her. The rest of his harem fell in behind them without question. They moved through the castle corridors and out into the backyard. Martha stood near Neo, arms folded, watching Veya with open curiosity.

"Why did she just ask us all to come out?" Martha asked.

Veya pointed toward the sky. "Here. Let’s see the magic happen."

A purple barrier bloomed across the entire forest, sealing every tree and clearing under a solid dome of light. A second, lighter yellow barrier rose beneath it and locked into place. Veya checked her watch.

"This is the time-slowing one. When one day passes outside the barrier, a full week will pass here."

Neo nodded once. A quest notification slid into his vision.

Currently the way between angels and demons had launched and a demon general under the queen is planning to attack the forest using his massive army.

The Demon general’s army would start marching in 1 week.

Your role is to infiltrate the Demon castle and then meet the Demon queen who is currently only there inside alone alongside her mother the great queen.

Both their names are:

The queen name Cis and the great queen named Cos.

Corrupting them both and stop the demon army attacking the forest.

Neo looked at the women around him. He told them the full situation in plain words—the coming march, the empty castle, the two queens waiting inside. He ordered them to prepare the army in case of an attack while he handled the queens himself. The girls nodded, already shifting into readiness.

Gabriel stepped closer. Her voice was tight. "The angels have launched a war now. And apparently they already branded me as working with demons."

Neo patted her head once, firm and brief. "Fuck them." He kept his tone steady. "The general’s army will move soon. You stay here and get stronger. That’s all."

The girls nodded again. Neo opened a teleport gate and stepped through. He appeared above the demon prison, then opened his system map. The demon capital burned bright on the display. He rose into the sky and flew hard, wind tearing past his shoulders and the solid muscle of his arms and legs. The demon castle came into view—tall black stone, empty courtyards, silent walls. He dropped onto the outer steps and walked in.

Only one knight stood inside the main hall. Neo’s eyes widened when the system read the man’s strength: thirty stars. Cerberus, the guarding demon.

Neo entered torch-man mode. Heat and light gathered in his palm. He pointed. A thick beam of energy slammed into Cerberus and tore a deep wound across the demon’s chest. Cerberus staggered, dropped to one knee, and began charging demonic energy as fast as he could. The wound closed. He drew a long breath. A vortex formed in front of him, pulling darkness from the air and the stone floor. A sword slowly rose from the center of the vortex. Cerberus gripped the hilt and hurled the blade at Neo.

Neo sidestepped. The sword shot past. "Is that all?"

The blade reversed in mid-air and slammed into Neo’s back. Red light flared. The sword exploded. Force tore across Neo’s spine and drove him face-first into the stone floor. Blood hit his tongue. He tried to rise. Cerberus was already there, boot pressing down hard on his back. Neo coughed more blood, grabbed the ankle, and shoved the foot aside. He lunged upward, seized Cerberus by the collar, and slammed the demon onto the floor.

Neo pushed himself up and launched a darkness kick. The strike landed clean. Cerberus coughed blood. Neo coated both fists in holy pyro mana until they glowed white-hot. He hammered the demon with a rapid series of punches, each one driving deeper. Soon the demon died. Neo rose off the corpse, breathing steady, shoulders still squared and arms still tight with residual power. He entered the deeper halls of the castle and reached out with telepathy.

"Veya. Do you have a small version of your device that could slow down time inside a small surface area?"