Chapter 34 [The Powder Keg]

"What happened to him!"

"Calm down! We're doing what we can!"

"Where's Emelia!"

"..."

"Where's Emelia!"

"... Emelia."

"What the fuck happened to Emelia!?"

"Emelia… is dead."

"Marie! Calm down! Get back here!"

"Get your fucking hands off me!"

"Wooooah. What's going on?"

"I'm going to fucking kill—"

"Wait, cool your jets! What's going on?"

"Helix…. Emelia…."

"What the hell happened!?"

"Miss! Please don't come—"

"Hellie!"

"Please get out of here!

This isn't like last time!

We need full concentration to ensure he doesn't bleed out and die!

Get a hold of yourself!

Now leave!"

"What the hell is going on in here!?"

"Macron! Take these young ladies, and get the hell out of here!"

"Wait…. What?"

"Don't stand there with a dumb expression, Macron!

Get a hold of those girls before they do something stupid!"

"Fuck! Charlotte, Marie! Get back here!"

—

"Eh? What are you two heated up about?"

"Atlas, give us that list of houses!"

"Woah. Calm down. I'm just as down to wreck those guys as you are.

But there's true murder in those eyes."

"Damn straight there is! Those bastards…."

"Girls! There you are! Don't do anything stupid! This isn't a damn game!"

"No offense, chief. But you can fuck off, okay?"

"Watch your mouth, girl. You Earthians are strong but—"

"But what? We're not stronger than the guy that can't protect a single person?"

"..."

"That's not fair, Charlotte. Macron's trying his best, but he's up against—"

"People that stabbed Helix and killed Emelia after failing to kill him the other two times? It's been a fucking day!"

"Wait, what did you say, girl!?"

"Didn't you just fucking hear her!? Are you fucking deaf!?"

"No…. Macron, is Helix going to die?"

"Look, kids. I have no fucking clue what's going on, either. I'd know if I wasn't chasing you around trying to prevent you from destroying this place."

"Macron. You have 15 minutes to figure out what happened. After that, you're on your own."

"Atlas…."

"Sorry, man. This place will become a bloodbath in t-minus 22 minutes ago. Fifteen minutes is a godsend. So get out of here and get shit done."

"What!?"

"Chief. If we don't do anything, what will you do about this? Hmmm? Have Helix's endlessly prophetic words started sinking in yet?"

"...."

"You have fourteen minutes. Take this seriously."

—

"What the hell are you doing in here!?"

"Look, woman! I don't have time to chat right now. If you don't tell me the status of that kid right now this entire room is going to be full of people in worse shape than him."

"What!? No. Helix was run through by a sword. And…."

"It's true…. Is this a playground for deadly toddlers!?"

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to round up the ten people that were part of the last assassination attempt before those girls get to them!"

—

"W-What are you doing, you creepy freak! Get your hands off me!"

"No. You're coming with me right now."

"I'll electrocute you!"

"Don't make me knock your teeth out, woman! You might have strong beginner stats, but you're still only half as strong as I am, you over-confident toddler!"

"I-I'll scream!"

"If you try to pull away again, I'll break your fucking wrist. You won't ever be able to pick up piano, let alone use that goddamn Nightmare again without the helper!"

"W-What!? You… you wouldn't!"

"Look, woman. If you scream, you'll be begging me to save you your undeserving ass!"

"What are you talking about!?"

"Don't play dumb with me! Helix is fighting for his life—again! If those girls around him find you, you'll experience [Shatter] turning every bone in your body to dust!"

"First, he steals everything from me, and now his whores are trying to kill me!? If he's alive, why aren't you punishing [him]!?"

"Stolen from you!? Stolen from [you]!? The fuck do you mean, woman!?"

"Helix took everything from me! He was jealous of my beauty, so he conspired to steal it from me!"

"The fuck you mean, woman? Start making sense!"

"My beauty, you fucking brute! Can't you tell? Look at my face!"

"I don't want to look at you. To me, you're hideous, and you disgust me."

"SEE!? That's what I'm saying!"

"Shut your damn mouth. You make me sick."

"Hah. You're a pig! Helix stole my beauty over some damn slave, and you're taking me away. You're gross."

"Look. I'm summoning all of my willpower not to feed you to those women as a sacrifice."

"I want a lawyer!"

"Putting aside your blatant confession, you're not on Earth. You'll be lucky if you're not executed."

"W-What!? You—Ugh…."

"Haaaaaah. I should have just knocked this cunt out from the start."

—

"Have they all been suppressed?"

"Yes, sir. Luckily, your foresight in setting up this force proved to be prophetic. We managed to knock out four people that were ready to level houses. We also brought in the people on the watch list."

"Good. Also, thank that boy, not me."

"I see…. What are we going to do about them?"

"Lock them in the Nightmare suppression chambers like the rest of the Knights.

However, treat those women well and with respect, or I'll rip your lungs out and wear them like a hat."

"Y-Yes, sir!?

"What am I going to do about this?"

—

"My lady!"

"What happened to him?"

"W-What are you—"

"Macron, I'll bring the kingdom's wrath down on you if you play stupid.

I didn't ask questions when he was attacked at first, but I don't think you understand the severity of this situation."

"My lady… I assure you. I fully understand the severity of this situation."

"Do you, Macron? This kingdom will get leveled in the next few days if there isn't at least one execution. This has spread through the noble's district."

"M-My lady, what—"

"I want proof of Angelina Wainwright's deathmatch conspiracy. Now! I know you have it."

"Proof—I'll let you listen to the Circles of Remembrances now."

—

"Please don't cry, Marie."

"Don't tell me what to do."

"On the bright side, this place is completely fucked."

"Atlas, you have a pretty horrible sense of [wins]."

"No. Helix is a savage. If we leave and take all of his supporters with him, this place is still going to burn to the ground."

"Hoh? I'm listening. Do you know something?"

"Yeah. After a bit of persuasion, I got a nice tip off."

"Let's hear it then."

"Everyone of the conspirators, including Lina, is having a complete mental breakdown right now."

"What?"

"Hah. I told you not to cry."

"Just spit it out. I'm not in the mood for some games."

"Hey now. No need for rash judgments. Just trying to set the mood."

"Boy, I'll bend your back at a 90-degree angle and use it as a chair!"

"Okay, okay. No need to impersonate Macron, Charlotte."

"Then hurry up!"

"Okay, chill. According to the testimony, Helix went to the royal office that dealt with servants and bought Emelia out of servitude.

When he walked back home with Emelia, he got ambushed.

We know what happened on our end, but what happened on the other end is far more brutal."

—

[A/N: Emelia dies but her story doesn't end until the book finishes. It returns [regularly].

Note: the time gap is only 12 hours and it immediately works backward.]