The shuttle in the second dimension

　After breakfast, Subaru was taken by Ram and Rem to choose clothes for the servants, while Lin Xuan was wandering around the open space in the courtyard with nothing to do.

　After strolling for a while, Lin Xuan sat on the guardrail of the courtyard pavilion, leaning lightly against a stone pillar. He looked up at the azure sky and murmured with a hint of self-mockery. "I keep saying I want to regain my memories, but can I really regain the memories I've already lost?"

　"of course."

　"Eh!?" Hearing the sudden voice behind him, Lin Xuan turned his head in surprise, and then he saw Emilia standing not far behind him.

　"Aren't you going to study the affairs of the King's Selection?"

　"Yes, but someone who saw you just now was not very reassured, so he came over to check on you, and then he heard your negative words." As she spoke, Emilia sat next to Lin Xuan.

　"Ha-ha-" Lin Xuan laughed dryly twice and scratched the back of his head embarrassedly.

　"You and Subaru are really strange people." Looking at Lin Xuan, Emilia shook her head in confusion, "Especially you. When we were in the royal capital, you obviously needed help more than me. Obviously, I couldn't help you at all at that time, but you said you wanted to repay me. You helped me find the badge, and even helped me repel the killer regardless of danger. You helped me so much, but all you wanted in return was to stay for a while..." Emilia's voice became weaker and weaker, and finally she lowered her head.

　The guilt in Emilia's words was clearly conveyed to Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan also knew what Emilia felt guilty about. It was because she thought Lin Xuan had done her a great favor, but she had repaid him very little.

　"You know what, Emilia?" Looking at Emilia's guilty look, Lin Xuan called out.

　"Hmm?" Emilia raised her head and saw Lin Xuan's serious eyes.

　"Before I met you in the capital, I was at a loss and panicked, because I was unfamiliar with my surroundings and myself. Everything made me feel unfamiliar, as if I was redundant. But when I was most helpless, panicked, and lonely, you extended a helping hand to me. Maybe you think you didn't help me at all, but for me, your actions at that time helped me get out of my helplessness and panic. At that time, you were like the light in the darkness and hope in despair." As he said this, Lin Xuan suddenly sneered.

　"Besides, I had other motives when I helped you find the badge. I was worried that you would fall into loneliness and helplessness again after you left. That's why I offered to help you find the badge. I just wanted to stay by your side so that I wouldn't be lonely anymore."

　"For me, whether it was helping you find the badge or fighting with the killer, it was all to repay your kindness and my ulterior motives towards you at that time. So, don't feel guilty. Even if there is guilt, it's me. After all, I took advantage of your kindness at that time." As he said that, Lin Xuan took a deep breath.

Chapter XIII

　"This is just the beginning. ∪Magazine Bugs∪" As soon as the words fell, a huge burst of mana suddenly erupted from Lin Xuan's body. At the same time, above him, a huge figure gradually became clearer and then blurred, slowly appearing above him.

　It was a massive, pitch-black steed, its massive body covered in a mane that resembled crimson flames, fluttering in the wind. Its head had a horn like a unicorn's, but unlike a unicorn's, this one had a horn shaped like a tuning fork.

　That was Lin Xuan’s ninth familiar, corresponding to the familiar of Sagittarius – the Double-Horned Deep Crimson.

　“Yu——!” An extremely loud roar came from the mouth of the Double-Horned Deep Red, shaking the surrounding atmosphere and causing it to vibrate slightly.

　"Hey, hey, hey, why are there more?!" Kusanagi Godou twitched his eyes, a trace of horror flashing across his eyes. "If I hadn't sealed the two powers he stole from the god Chronos, I could still explain it by saying that he was using those powers to simulate the abilities of others. But now it seems that these powers are all his own. He is too terrifying. Did he really become a God Slayer less than a year earlier than me? The difference between them is too big~~~~"

　"It seems that we have to evacuate first, but before evacuating, let's take a look at what ability he uses this time so that we can prepare for the future. After this time, it can basically be said that he and I will fight to the death. It seems that we have to hide well in the next period of time, otherwise it will not be fun if we are found." Susanoo (hx) murmured with narrowed eyes.

　"This is the only way, but wait for me. I'll bring Erica here first. You can test him here and see what his abilities are this time." With that, Kusanagi Godou quickly left here, thinking of Erica in the distance.

　"Huh!?" Kusanagi Godou's action caught Lin Xuan's attention. Glancing at the direction he left, Lin Xuan easily found Erica in the distance. He saw that he frowned slightly. "At this time, he actually went to find that woman. Does he want to run away? But-wait!! Damn, how could I forget that the underworld is different from the real world. Here, as long as you think about the land reflected here in your mind, you can go to the land you want to go to in the underworld." After remembering the rules of the underworld that were different from the real world, Lin Xuan curled his lips in annoyance.

　"Forget it, let's stop playing. Let's use all our strength to at least ensure that they can't escape from this space." After saying that, Lin Xuan's figure suddenly blurred, and the next moment, Lin Xuan turned into a dazzling ray of lightning and appeared in front of Susanoo.

　Looking at the dark eyes that suddenly appeared in front of him and were only a fist away from him, Susanoo suddenly felt a chill rising from the soles of his feet.

　'Damn it! How come he's even faster than before? This guy's been hiding his abilities from the beginning!' Just as this thought came to his mind, Susanoo felt a pain in his abdomen. Furthermore, a terrifying lightning bolt spread through his body along with the pain. Then, he felt himself moving backwards. However, during this process, he suddenly felt a bad feeling in his heart. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the crack in space behind him.

　"Not good!!" Susanoo shouted loudly and hurriedly prepared to correct his tendency to move backwards to avoid sinking into the dark space crack. Although he didn't know where the space crack led to, Susanoo knew that Lin Xuan would never let him have an easy time and he must not follow his wishes.

　However, his body was paralyzed by the thunder released by Lin Xuan, and he could only twist his body in mid-air with difficulty, trying to avoid the spatial crack. However, it was too late. Lin Xuan turned around and kicked him into the spatial crack. Then, Lin Xuan also stepped into the spatial crack.

　……

　the other side

　"Erica!!" With the speed of transforming into a Phoenix, Kusanagi Godou arrived at Erica's side in a short while.

　"Godou, isn't the battle over yet? Why are you here?" Erica said in confusion as she looked at Kusanagi Godou who came through his incarnation.

　"The battle with the godslayer is about to come to an end. The intelligence we have obtained is not complete at all. He has hidden a lot of his strength, which makes it impossible for us to continue with our plan. Therefore, we need to leave here first and make long-term plans." Kusanagi Godou sighed, glancing at the place where he had fought before.

　It would have been better if he hadn't glanced at them. The moment he did, Kusanagi Godou was horrified. "Gone! ! How is this possible? Damn it, where did they go? ! ! Could it be..." Thinking this, Kusanagi Godou suddenly glanced around, but then he found Susanoo, with strands of dazzling lightning wrapped around his body, and Lin Xuan, with a smile on his face, standing not far from him.

　"You want to leave? It's not that easy~~~~" Lin Xuan said with a smile, "Ragnarok"

　Then, a huge amount of cursed power suddenly burst out from Lin Xuan's body, stirring up the surrounding air and causing the surrounding airflow to become turbulent.

　When the huge cursed power burst out from Lin Xuan's body, Kusanagi Godou and Erica subconsciously raised their arms to block their eyes, but the next moment, they both felt something was wrong. They found that the scenery in front of them had changed, and it was a complete change.

　What comes into view is an endless desolate land, on which ruins stand desolately.

　The sun in the sky is lifeless, giving people a sense of deadness. The sunlight at dusk shines on this desolate land, adding a sense of desolation to it.

　"!!!" His pupils suddenly shrank as he stared around in horror. "This place is not the space in the netherworld we were in before. Where on earth is this place?"

　At this moment, Lin Xuan's smiling voice suddenly sounded

　"Welcome to Ragnarok"

Chapter 14 Nails

　After practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard for a while, Lin Xuan prepared to return to his room. However, on the way back to his room, Lin Xuan met Subaru, who was helping Rem with his work.

　Glancing around, he noticed Rem wasn't around.

　"Busy with other things?" Lin Xuan muttered to himself as he walked towards Subaru.

　"Eh? Aren't you practicing swordsmanship? How come you finished so quickly? Doesn't it usually take quite a long time to practice?" Subaru asked casually when he saw Lin Xuan coming towards him, but he regretted it as soon as he opened his mouth.

　Raising an eyebrow, Lin Xuan looked Subaru up and down, then asked thoughtfully, "This was my first time practicing swordsmanship here, right? How can it be normal? Could it be that you've seen me practicing swordsmanship before?"

　"No, no, I just said that I thought you would need to practice for a long time. After all, shouldn't sword training take a long time?" Scratching the back of his head, Subaru made a far-fetched explanation for the loophole in his previous words.

　"Is that so?" Lin Xuan nodded as if accepting Subaru's explanation.

　Subaru breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Lin Xuan accept his explanation, but Lin Xuan's somewhat strange look made him feel uneasy.

　Lin Xuan wanted to say something, but after hearing the faint sound of footsteps not far away, he swallowed what he was about to say.

　"Are you here?" Lin Xuan muttered to himself, then walked past Subaru. Before leaving, he warned him, "I don't know if you're truly problematic, but considering our shared hardships that night in the slums, I want to remind you that your behavior this morning has already aroused Ram and Rem's suspicions. You'll have to take care of yourself."

　Just as Lin Xuan walked past Subaru, Rem walked out from the corner not far in front of Lin Xuan.

　After saying hello to Rem, Lin Xuan returned to his room.

　It was not until lunch time that Rem came and called Lin Xuan and he left the room.

　Because Subaru was already a servant, he wasn't at the table during lunch. After lunch, Lin Xuan made two small requests to Roswaal: one was for Rem or Ram to teach him how to read, and the other was for a belt to hang his sword on. Since neither request was difficult, Roswaal agreed immediately.

　After lunch, not long after Lin Xuan returned to his room, Rem brought him a belt.

　After putting on the belt, Lin Xuan hung the knife on it.

　"It fits me well." Looking at the knife hanging on his waist, Lin Xuan nodded with satisfaction. "Thank you for your help."

　"As long as the guests are satisfied." Rem responded and left.

　After Rem left, Lin Xuan came to the open space in the courtyard again. Since he had nothing to do, the only way Lin Xuan could think of to vent his emotions was to practice with his sword.

　Combining the memory of entering that strange state and the practice in the few days before the death cycle, Lin Xuan was already able to use the swordsmanship he displayed in the battle with the Intestine Hunter that day. This was also due to the instinct to wield the sword that was imprinted on his body. However, he knew that if he fought again, he would probably not be able to swing the sword as neatly as he did that time. This was a gap on the spiritual level, which could not be made up by practice alone. He needed to fight with real swords and guns to improve.

　"Fight~~~" Lin Xuan muttered while swinging his sword.

　"The closest battle I can think of is the Warcraft incident that might occur in a few days."

　As he spoke, Lin Xuan put the knife back into the sheath.

　With his hands in his pockets, Lin Xuan lowered his head as he walked towards the pavilion, thinking, "According to the original plan, Roswaal wouldn't have left the mansion this time. In that case, even if I eventually discovered that Subaru was cursed and concluded that there was something wrong with the village, it wouldn't be my turn to intervene. With Roswaal's strength, those monsters would be nothing but cannon fodder to him."

　"In the original novel, Roswaal's departure from the mansion seemed to be related to Subaru's behavior in the village that day. Never mind, on the fourth day, I'll go out with Subaru and the others under the guise of helping them. Let's see if I can achieve the same effect that Subaru achieved in the fifth round." Thinking this, Lin Xuan sat on the guardrail.

　"If it doesn't work, I'm looking for a way. Although I can retain my memory, I really don't want to touch that black claw again. It feels so uncomfortable. This is really, I only watched the anime, no, I don't know the rest of the story." Immersed in thought, Lin Xuan didn't notice that a small gray cat was flying towards him from not far behind him.

　"Hey! Lin Xuan, what are you thinking about so intently?" Parker asked curiously, landing on Lin Xuan's shoulder.

　"Eh!?" Parker's sudden appearance brought Lin Xuan back from his thoughts. "Parker?"

　"That elf girl named Beatrice actually let you leave?" Lin Xuan turned his head slightly and looked at Parker on his shoulder with a look of surprise.

　"Betty is really reluctant to leave me, but I have to accompany my daughter as well~~~Don't look at her as if it doesn't matter, she is very dependent on me. She will be lonely and cry without me~~~~" Parker joked to Lin Xuan, acting like a loving father who cares for his daughter.

　From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Emilia jogging towards him from behind. Lin Xuan said in coordination with Parker, "Eh~~~ Really? I didn't expect Emilia to be like this~~~"

　"Hmm~~~" Parker nodded seriously with his paws on his hips.

　"I won't cry!" Emilia said with her hands on her hips, panting slightly. Her face seemed to be slightly red because of a jog.

　"I'll be angry if you two keep doing this!" Emilia pouted and warned the two people who were making fun of her.

　"I know I was wrong. Please forgive me, Lady Emilia." With his hands clasped together, Lin Xuan respectfully apologized to Emilia.

　"Liya, I was wrong." Following Lin Xuan's example, Parker also put his paws together and apologized.

　"Hmm~~~~ If you two continue like this, I'll be angry!" Looking at the two 'respectful' people, Emilia began to get a little angry.

　"I was wrong, I was wrong. Don't be angry." Lin Xuan waved his hand and apologized.

　At this time, Parker floated onto Emilia's shoulder and said to her with a smile, "Don't be angry~~~Amelia."

　"Hmph!" After seeing Lin Xuan and the other man realize their mistakes, Emilia snorted and sat next to Lin Xuan.

　"Hey, Lin Xuan, Lin Xuan, you haven't told me yet why you were sitting there in a daze?" While asking, Parker jumped from Emilia's shoulder to Lin Xuan.

　"Just now, I was thinking about the swordsmanship I displayed yesterday after entering that strange state."

　"Oh~~~Is it the state you entered shortly after I disappeared? I have heard Leah talk about it, but how did you enter that state?" Parker asked curiously after jumping off Lin Xuan's shoulder and floating in front of Lin Xuan. Not only Parker, but Emilia also looked curious.

　Parker and Emilia weren't the only ones curious. Lin Xuan himself was also curious about what had happened to him. "I don't know. At that time, I just felt death approaching, as if I was about to suffocate. Then I lost consciousness. When I came to, all I had left in my mind were the memories of that strange state."

　"It's really weird, but I think there must be a power hidden in your body that you don't know about or have forgotten. When your life is threatened, that power is forced out." Parker explained, supporting his chin.

　"I think so." Hearing Parker say this, Lin Xuan suddenly remembered the dark power that overflowed from the sword to protect himself during Subaru's death cycle.

　"When I was practicing sword just now, I wanted to try to get back the feeling of last night. Through the memory of last night, I can already use the sword technique I used yesterday, but I always feel that I am still one step away from the feeling of last night, but I feel like I can't cross this step no matter how hard I try." Lin Xuan sighed and seemed a little frustrated.

　"I told you not to be so negative. It's only been a short time. You still have plenty of time." Seeing Lin Xuan's depressed look, Emilia immediately comforted him.

　"Yes, I was too impatient. There's still plenty of time." Lin Xuan gave Emilia an optimistic smile. Although he said he still had plenty of time and was not in a hurry, Lin Xuan always felt a voice in his heart urging him on.

Chapter 15 Road

　After dinner, Lin Xuan practiced with his sword in the open space for a while. It didn't take too long, only about an hour. After finishing his sword practice, he went out and went to the bathroom. Just as he reached out to grab the door handle, Lin Xuan saw that it had already started to turn.

　"Is there someone inside?" Lin Xuan muttered to himself, retracted his right hand and took a step back, quietly waiting for the person in the bathroom to come out.