I'm fighting Kal'tsit? Really?

The footsteps were not hurried, but steady and powerful, as if they were those of a soldier accustomed to the battlefield, each step taken with extreme steadiness and without any unnecessary noise.

Gerald's gaze fell on the figure of the newcomer, who gradually emerged from the shattered battlefield—

That was the sword-wielding general he had seen before.

The familiar sword blade reflected a chilling light in the dark red afterglow.

His gaze swept over the Blood Demon Lord's corpse, looking at the still majestic robes scattered on the ground. His eyes remained unmoved, only showing a deep scrutiny, as if confirming something.

After a long while, Therese stood beside Gerald and asked her first question since they met: "You killed him."

"He made the first move."

“But you still killed him,” Theresis drew her sword from its sheath. “The death of the Lord of the Royal Court will bring unknown changes to Kazdel.”

"So, you want to kill me?" Gerald steadied his sword, grinning. "No problem, let me test your swordsmanship, Regent of Kazdel."

"..."

Therese remained silent for a moment, then struck the Blood Demon Lord's clothes with several sword strikes, creating the illusion that "he was the one who caused everything," before sheathing the swords.

"..."

Gerald remained silent for a moment, then slowly dissipated the sword in his hand.

Through the regent's gaze, he seemed to sense a familiar feeling, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

Oh, right.

It's similar to the impression Uncle Marner has given people in recent years.

……

In the instant his consciousness returned to the river of blood, Ducarre's gaze lingered on the blood that splattered as his head was severed.

He quietly observed everything before him, saying nothing more.

His next return might be ten years, or it might be a hundred years; in any case, his pride has already faded.

If the failure is devastating, then we should, as the Pegasus said, learn from it and prepare for the next time.

He slowly watched the scene of his own death... until a certain moment.

After the drop of blood fell, it suddenly stopped in mid-air, as if the world had frozen in that instant. Then, silently, it defied gravity and drifted into Gerald's sleeve, seemingly merging with his body.

At this moment, the Blood Demon Lord's consciousness suddenly became nothingness.

--why?

He suddenly realized why his blood flames couldn't truly kill Gerald, why his blood couldn't penetrate the other's body, why his spells hadn't achieved their full effect, and why he was more seriously injured than he had imagined.

When did his connection with blood begin to break down?

No, no, no, no.

He wanted to say something, to question, to angrily accuse, but his voice was completely suppressed in this collapsing consciousness, with only a very small amount flowing into the river of blood.

Eventually, it fell silent and ceased its actions.

Chapter 83 The True Purpose of the Banshee's Kiss

The sky is blue.

Pegasus lay on the ground, blinked, and looked at the sky where the dark clouds had dispersed, revealing a deep blue under the sunlight.

Awesome!

As Gerald gradually recovered from the fighting, a strong sense of fatigue almost instantly overwhelmed his body.

However, unlike his initial battle with Lamaren, his physical condition was extremely poor, but his mental state and overall condition were relatively normal.

The damage inflicted on him by the Blood Demon Lord was much less than he had imagined, and for some reason, he still felt a sense of fullness lingering in his body.

"Uh." He moved his body, which was burned through by the blood flames, slightly, and looked down at Theresis, whose emotions had not changed. "Although I know it's pointless to ask, do you carry bandages or something with you at all times?"

"Theresia is on her way."

The Regent collected the traces left by the Blood Demon Lord and said expressionlessly, "Your injuries will be treated, so don't worry. Also, you need to explain the details of this battle to her afterward. The return of the Blood Court's monarch to the Blood River cannot be hidden from those who are interested, but don't worry too much, I will handle it."

"You've worked hard." Gerald had no choice but to lie down and rest on the ground, continuing to chat. "I heard him say a lot. He's a very enthusiastic person, but what he says isn't very pleasant."

Although he quite enjoys chatting, that guy was really pushing himself to the limit, even during the fight he kept muttering to himself, to the point that even he, a chatterbox, found it hard to keep up.

“Yes, that’s how it is,” Therese replied briefly, then stood silently to the side, like an evergreen pine tree.

An awkward silence enveloped the entire space. After the Blood Demon Lord's incessant chatter, the Regent King seemed more like a serious and unsmiling man... Why did he start to resemble one of his uncles more and more?

"How about we have a spar?" Gerald couldn't stand the strange atmosphere any longer. "Your sister is taking a while to get here."

Theresis turned around, looking at the wound on his chest and the faintly glowing incantation beneath it, and said, "Even if we are thousands of miles away, I don't think it would be a rational choice to bear the wrath of the Banshee Queen."

...Hey, he really forgot about that.

He seems to have to deal with three things at the same time: first, how to deal with Theresa who is about to arrive, and explain the Blood Lord's problem; second, to pick up Kal'tsit from the abandoned plot and move her to another place, and not knowing if she was injured in the just-concussion.

And third, prepare to deal with Lamaren.

The urgent sound soon came from afar.

Unlike Therese's steady and calm gait, this time the sound had a unique graininess, like the sound of sand hitting glass.

The owner of the voice arrived at the scene quickly. Theresa's dust was now surrounding her, propelling her to the target location at an extremely fast speed.

Above her head, a small talisman was constantly striking her forehead, each strike generating a tiny incantation vibration that caused her long hair to tumble with the airflow.

So the Demon King stopped in front of Gerald, who had already turned into half a charred corpse, and the next second, dust began to surround his skin, cleaning and repairing it.

"It might hurt a little." With each sentence Theresa spoke, her little head would be tapped by a talisman, so she had to first use the dust to control Ramallen's hidden weapon before continuing, "Sorry, you'll have to bear with it for a bit, it'll be over soon."

The next second, the dust transformed into threads, forcefully scraping away the necrotic flesh, reassembling it in the air, and then repairing it back onto Gerald's body.

When it came to the eyes, Theresa was at a loss and had no choice but to probe the dust inside to check the situation.

But the talisman used to transmit coordinates suddenly glowed at this moment. It trembled slightly when it touched Gerald's charred left side of his body, and then, as if attracted by some invisible force, it embedded itself directly into the wound.

Then, the talisman began to melt.

Ashes peeled away from the texture of the rune, accompanied by a faint yet clear incantation glow. Its presence gradually blurred, and the rune imprints transformed into flowing beams of light, resonating with the incantation engraved on Gerald's body.

The damaged muscle tissue gradually stitched together, and wisps of new, blood-red flesh filled the scorched cracks. The broken bones trembled slightly, and the power of the incantation flowed through the blood vessels, allowing them to reconnect and reposition themselves. A faint light also began to peek from the slit of Pegasus's left eye.

"Oh." Theresa clasped her hands together in surprise, a smile spreading across her face. "Yes, that will be much better. Many of the wounds Ducarre inflicted were damage to the soul, and treating these wounds is something Ramallen excels at. Luckily, she had a backup plan—"

As Theresa spoke, she fell silent.

So why did this preparation fall on her shoulders?

In fact, Theresa was right. Ramallen wouldn't go so far as to place a surveillance spell on her lover, even though Pegasus's behavior often made her almost faint.

But Ramalyn didn't say she wouldn't be bold enough to place a safety spell on the Demon King... and Theresa couldn't really blame her.

After all, as her best friend of decades, she genuinely considered using the pie to seduce Gerald into helping her, and she was indeed in the wrong.

Well, there's nothing we can do. Since we're already in the wrong, we can only continue to be in the wrong.

"Take a rest." Putting these trivial matters out of her mind, Theresa gently rested Pegasus's head against her body. "It was my oversight that these things happened. Everything will be taken care of after you wake up. Kazdel will welcome you with courtesy."

She lifted her fingers slightly and gently placed them on Gerald's forehead. Her fingertips carried a faint trace of dust, those almost invisible tiny particles seeming to carry a gentle force as they lightly brushed across his forehead.

A warm sensation seeped from between his brows, as if brushing away the lingering effects of the battle and taking away the tension that remained deep within his muscles.

Gerald closed his eyes slightly, exhaustion washing over him like a tide. His shoulders gradually relaxed, and his weight slowly sank into the embrace behind him.

Sleep came over me.

This time, he did not resist.

--------

He opened his eyes.

All around was a deep void, with no wind, no light, and even the flow of time seemed to have disappeared.

In the familiar place, in the familiar state, he still saw those two eggshells before him.

He had spent about half a month in the dream, and he still had to recall what had happened in reality. He remembered that he had arranged to have breakfast with Saria and Muelseth the next day. After that guy left, he seemed to have had a few mouthfuls of blood sucked by Saria... That's good, at least it's much better than the Blood Demon Lord.

Once his thoughts returned, he slowly moved his body to confirm the presence of control. Then he took a step, and the void beneath his feet actually transmitted a real tactile sensation, as if he were stepping on some kind of invisible ground.

The anomaly occurred here.

Gerald stood in the dark space, his gaze fixed on the transparent eggshell, when he suddenly noticed that the scene inside had changed.

The image of him walking hand in hand with Lamaren suddenly split into two pieces.

One is Kazdel.

He, Theresa, Theresis, and Kal'tsit...?

Although it was unclear how the lynx had survived being killed by those two, it seemed the four of them were sitting around a large dome, discussing something with serious expressions. A heavy atmosphere filled the air, and each person's face was illuminated by the dim light, as if they were contemplating a decision.

This eggshell has quite the photography skills.

The other one is Colombia.

Saria and Muirse sat on opposite sides of a table, the real world appearing within the half of the eggshell.

He could see Saria eating breakfast listlessly, her face showing signs of exhaustion, while Muirsays stood opposite her, quietly observing her every move, as if somewhat worried about her condition.

He frowned slightly, watching the two worlds unfold side by side within the transparent eggshell, as if asking him to choose.

On the other side, the pitch-black eggshell remained silent. It floated quietly in the darkness, without changing or making a sound, as if waiting for him.

Gerald's gaze lingered on its surface, his fingertips tightening slightly.

He hesitated for a moment, considering the significance of his next action, and why the eggshell existed, and in what state it existed.

Is it because of the effect of that piece of jewelry?

But in the end, he slowly reached out and touched the dark eggshell.

--boom!

The eggshell absorbed his consciousness the moment he touched it.

His consciousness faded quickly, and returned just as quickly—in the next instant, the tide rushed into his breath.

A dark tsunami surged in, and everything between heaven and earth fell into the abyss in an instant. Countless twisted dark currents tore, devoured, and reshaped, as if the whole world was being swept into an endless black vortex at this moment.

The raging torrent of water swept in from all directions, crashing heavily against his body, instantly overwhelming Pegasus's senses.

Gerald felt his body falling, plunging into the boundless ocean.

His first reaction was to check his condition.

—The cloth is still there.

—The incantation that Kolamaren had imprinted on his body disappeared, along with the sword at his waist.

This means he has lost the protection of the Banshee Queen, and that he seems to belong to another world, as if he has been completely thrown into a rift in another dimension.

Even so, the surrounding fluids continued to pull him downwards uncontrollably, as if he were falling endlessly into the depths of the earth.

Where exactly is this place?

He managed to lift his head, his gaze piercing through the churning, dark sea to spot the only life that existed there.

Then, he saw it.

A pale figure stood silently before him, enjoying his grotesque state.

--------

"—Haa!"

Gerald sat up abruptly in bed, his chest heaving and his breathing rapid.

Cold sweat trickled down his forehead, his back felt slightly chilly, and his body still felt the weight that had been dragged from the abyss, making his muscles tense, as if he were still immersed in that deep sea that he could not resist.

Real air rushed into his lungs, and it took him a few seconds to regain his breathing rhythm.

This was the first time he faced death with almost no resistance.

On his neck, the Banshee's Kiss, along with three-fifths of its color, shimmered with a scarlet light.