Chapter 252. The Gates of Hell (3)
“Ugh...”
When I opened my eyes, I was lying on an old bed.
Looking around, I realized I was inside a shabby house.
“You’re awake?”
Princess Longji was sitting beside me.
There was no chair, so she was perched on the edge of the bed.
“Princess Longji, where are we...?”
“We were attacked by Christina and Sylvia.”
"...!"
I immediately sat up.
“The Holy Grail...!”
“It’s here. Don’t worry.”
Princess Longji raised a hand.
A sphere of water floated into the air.
The Holy Grail was inside it.
“While Merlin, Astolfo, and Galahad bought time, I escaped with you.”
“Then...”
“They should have gotten away on their own too, so you don’t need to worry about them.”
I let out a breath.
Apparently, things had gotten quite dangerous while I was unconscious.
“I’m sorry. Everything became complicated because I suddenly passed out.”
“You don’t need to apologize. I only did what I had to.”
Princess Longji’s voice was cold.
She had never been particularly warm to begin with, but she hadn’t always been this distant.
The wound left by Yang Jian’s death still hadn’t healed.
“Thank you for always helping me.”
“There’s no need to say pointless things.”
“No. I genuinely am grateful.”
Even with everything she was carrying inside, Princess Longji had continued helping me.
Her ability to freely control water through the Mist-Dew Universe Net had been invaluable countless times.
Her raw offensive power wasn’t especially high, but as a support specialist, she was top-class.
“Today too... I’ll make sure to repay this debt someday.”
"..."
Princess Longji stared at my face for a while.
“If you want to repay me, then answer a question.”
“What?”
What was she suddenly going to ask?
She looked straight at me.
“Why did Yang Jian die?”
It was...
a question I had fully expected.
“That was because the Count...”
“I know the Count of Monte Cristo killed Yang Jian while trying to subdue you after you discovered his conspiracy.”
“But that isn’t what I’m asking.”
"..."
“I was the one who asked Yang Jian to descend to the Material Realm with me through [Avatar Descent].”
“And you were the one who asked us for cooperation.”
“If you look at it that way, you could say it was my fault or yours.”
“But that isn’t what I mean.”
Princess Longji hadn’t brought this up to blame me.
She simply...
suspected me.
“Why did any of this have to happen?”
"..."
She had realized that I knew the true nature of the incident...
and that I was hiding it.
Come to think of it... Princess Longji was part of Taigong Wang’s side.
Three thousand years ago, during the era of Investiture of the Gods, Princess Longji had fought alongside Yang Jian under Taigong Wang, Jiang Ziya.
How would she react if she learned Jiang Ziya was the one responsible for making this world what it was?
And...
how would she feel if she learned the Count of Monte Cristo had been pretending to be a villain to oppose him...
only to end up killing Yang Jian because of it?
I still can’t tell her.
The Count of Monte Cristo had lost his comrades while uncovering the secrets of this world.
If I shared the information with Princess Longji now, there was a high chance I would put her in danger too.
We weren’t prepared enough yet.
I couldn’t tell her now.
“Is it difficult to answer?”
“You won’t hear anything beyond what you already know.”
“I see.”
“But.”
I met Princess Longji’s eyes.
“When the time comes, you’ll learn everything.”
"..."
Princess Longji pressed her lips together and stared at me.
“That time will definitely come.”
“Please wait until then.”
“Understood.”
“Then until that time comes, I’ll protect you.”
“There’s no need...”
“No.”
Princess Longji shook her head.
“You’re the Sovereign revered by many Constellations, someone no one can casually oppose.”
“But from where I stand... you also have this dangerous tendency to look like you might die pointlessly at the one moment no one expects.”
"..."
After saying that about me, Princess Longji added shortly,
“You’re like Yang Jian.”
“I’m not as handsome as Yang Jian.”
“I know.”
At my self-deprecating reply, Princess Longji smiled for the first time in quite a while.
“The sandstorm outside seems to have calmed down.”
“We should get going.”
“Yes.”
I left the abandoned house together with Princess Longji.
By now, it was already dark outside.
“This might be my first time seeing the desert night sky.”
“Same here.”
Talking like that, Princess Longji and I began moving across the desert.
This time, I hadn’t descended using [Avatar Descent].
That meant I had to use the Gate to return to the Spirit Realm.
“Do you think Merlin already went back?”
“He’s probably hiding near the Gate and waiting.”
When coordinates were designated from the Gate in the Spirit Realm, a passage opened to that point in the Material Realm.
That meant that to return to the Spirit Realm, you had to use the original passage that had been created.
So Merlin, Astolfo, and Galahad were probably waiting somewhere near that location.
“It would be nice if we could bring reinforcements from the Spirit Realm, but that’s impossible without me.”
“I suppose so.”
The Gate currently belonged to me.
That meant any Constellation descending from the Spirit Realm needed my permission.
On the other hand, a Constellation already in the Material Realm could return through the Gate without special permission.
“There could be enemies like Christina and Sylvia targeting us.”
“We should stay hidden as much as possible.”
“Yes.”
“And...”
As I spoke, I suddenly noticed something glimmering in the darkness.
“Princess Longji.”
“Yes.”
We used a sand dune to hide ourselves.
Someone was walking toward us alone.
“They’re small.”
“A woman, perhaps?”
“It could be Christina.”
Christina possessed strength on Kang Yujin’s level.
She had lost her Constellation and could no longer use a Constellation Armament.
But Merlin had given her Marmyadose, a sword supposedly superior to Excalibur.
Her combat power probably hadn’t dropped much.
“If it’s Christina, a frontal fight would be dangerous.”
“I’ll need to confuse her with the Mist-Dew Universe Net.”
“In that case...”
Princess Longji, who had been using water like a mirror to observe the area...
suddenly sucked in a breath.
“It’s fine, Nameless King.”
“What?”
“It’s someone we can trust.”
Princess Longji stood up.
“It’s been a long time since I saw your face in person, Nezha.”
"...!"
The small figure approaching us was a boy.
His hair was tied into two round buns on either side of his head.
Nezha... the Divine Child of Three Heads and Six Arms?
The A-rank Constellation ‘Divine Child of Three Heads and Six Arms.’
He was one of the Constellations who had been watching Kang Yujin for a long time.
He occasionally spoke harshly, but he seemed to care for Kang Yujin quite a bit.
Nezha was Princess Longji’s comrade.
Nezha appeared in both Investiture of the Gods and Journey to the West.
His martial prowess was great enough to fight Sun Wukong to a standstill.
And during the era of Investiture of the Gods, he had accomplished many feats as one of Taigong Wang’s key fighters.
He was easily worthy of S-rank.
