Chapter 88 Future



"Daughter, I'm being serious..." Marian got up, her body feeling weak and her back cracking as she settled on the floor. She couldn't help but curse under her breath, frustrated at her own predicament. Her memories were hazy, and she couldn't recall what had been done to her.

Shaking her head, Marian locked eyes with Echidna, who wore a disapproving expression. "So, you still refuse to believe me? Well, I suppose it's understandable," she said with a tinge of resignation in her voice.

Dantalian's thoughts raced as he contemplated the situation. ' The insect goddess has a connection with the fifteen... Is it possible?' he wondered, his mind brimming with questions.

Marian noticed the intensity of Dantalian's gaze and, turning her attention to her Echidna, she spoke with a mixture of frustration and disappointment. "You see? Even the one responsible for all this..."

Before Marian could finish her sentence, Dantalian's body began to emanate a radiant golden energy, filling the room and causing Marian to flinch in pain.

"Echidna..." Dantalian called out, his voice laced with urgency.

"You're not actually buying into all this, are you?" Echidna interjected, her eyes fixed on Dantalian while faint moans of discomfort escaped Marian's lips.

"Don't worry, your mother is lying. She did what she did to ensure the eradication of her adversaries. Her plan was still in motion, but we stopped her" Dantalian assured, a sigh of relief escaping his lips.

'Damn it, sometimes too much information only serves to confuse. I got lost in the past and forgot to consider what she might do in the future' Dantalian thought, walking up to Marian and crouching in front of her.

With a pained expression and vacant gaze, Marian locked her eyes onto Dantalian's face, now exuding a calm and serene demeanor. A wispy tendril of black smoke dissipated from behind Marian's neck

"You no longer need to hold back. We will resolve all of this now, and you no longer need them, only me" Dantalian declared, gently holding Marian's chin and directing his gaze towards Echidna, who looked on in a state of confusion. He added with a smile, "Once again, what she said was a lie. Everything she did was of her own volition and for her own objectives. After all..." Dantalian paused for effect, "...she was merely using them."

Echidna's voice broke the silence, her eyes fixed on her mother. "This means..." 

"Marian sought to harness the power of the fifteen for her own purposes, driven by her destructive ambitions," Dantalian elucidated, his voice laced with a mix of understanding and disdain.

Releasing Marian's chin, Dantalian continued, "Everything and everyone was part of her plan to ascend to absolute power, or rather, to become the queen. But that was merely the surface. Since you have an interest in that region, don't you? That's why she sought to eliminate the clan that would have posed the greatest threat in the future. And that's what caught the attention of the fifteen, am I correct?"

Taking Echidna's hand in his, Dantalian spoke earnestly, "However, everything has taken a turn for the worse due to our intervention. Ultimately, she will have the chance to become a better person, living up to her promise of being a good Duchess, as she expressed earlier today."

"Echidna, I will leave you two to talk alone, to reconcile with each other. And in the end, the decision of what to do with her lies with you, regardless of what I have said. If you choose to put an end to everything, I will find a way to make it right." Dantalian gently held Marian's hand and joined their hands together, distancing himself from them.

At the end of the day, Dantalian retired to his room, but instead of resting, he remained awake throughout the night. His focus was directed towards Freytan and the other two girls, who were peacefully sleeping. However, what kept him in this state of vigilance was the noticeable restlessness in Freytan's body energy, which seemed to be in conflict with herself. The most fascinating aspect of this phenomenon was the remarkable transformation in the color of her energy. Previously, it was a deep purple with delicate hints of pink, but now it had completely turned pink, with no traces of purple remaining.

' The energy of Marian was also purple, but now it's turning pink with traces of purple... I think I understand what happened ' Dantalian thought.

[Hohoho, very well done! You have indeed achieved what you wanted, from what I can see]

A voice echoed within Dantalian's mind, causing him to roll his eyes in response.

A flicker of annoyance crossing his expression as he rose from his seat. Dismissing the entity's comment, he deactivated the divine hand, causing the radiant golden energy that enveloped his eyes to slowly dissipate. The room returned to its usual ambiance, devoid of the ethereal glow that had surrounded him moments before.

[ Oh, what's the problem? ] 

' Your message never appeared even once, so in the end, it was merely a good beginning '

[You've been thinking too much about these things for someone who orchestrated this whole scheme. You're going in the wrong direction when it comes to the small goals we chose.]

Dantalian began walking towards Freytan as he started to hear some groans of pain.

' Well, I was expecting Freytan to reach her maximum level after completely changing her future ' Dantalian thought, measuring Freytan's temperature and speaking softly, "Your body isn't responding well to your current energy..."

[Dantalian, do you think the future will be better than the original?]

' What do you mean by that? '

[Don't play dumb. You know Freytan's future. Do you think it will be better or worse now?]I think you should take a look at

[In the original, she becomes a hero of her nation, but what if it's you instead? After all, when that happens, you should be in the Dragon Kingdom.]

[But you'll need to charm the heroines of the Murim nation.]

[So, again, what do you expect from the future? Will it be worse or better?]

Dantalian noticed Freytan's temperature starting to decrease.

' I won't be the one attracting attention, it will be them. After all, I'm the bland protagonist of a gacha game ' Dantalian smiled, sitting on the bed and sighing.

[Will you act behind the scenes like you did with Echidna ? Are you sure? It seems a bit boring.]

' No, what I did with Echidna was only because I needed to and it was part of the plan. In the end, you must watch me to know what I will do. '

[So, is it going to be like this? Are you returning to your streaming habits?]

' Well, I never lost them. I just couldn't use them. But now, let me ask you a question: what do you think of the future? Unlike me, who only knows one, you see them all, right? ' Dantalian lay down on the bed next to Freytan, yawning.

[No spoilers. I don't watch anything. I don't like to ruin the surprise, otherwise, I might get bored of you hehehe]

' If you don't want to answer, you don't have to. But stop with these threats. I deserved the first one, but this one, come on. '

[Well, you did have quite an experience with Marian. It's a shame you couldn't see it. What do you think about experiencing it with your bonus?]

Dantalian smirked. ' So, you knew from the beginning that this was possible. '

[Yes, of course. After all, I won't give you something as weak as a bunch of company files. That's why you were seeing the past related to that exorcist.]

[Freytan almost died, if it weren't for her, right?]

' The purity seal. The name has nothing to do with its effects. '

[Well, she was pure until she met you, you sex demon.]

[ But a child couldn't handle that seal. Fate was kind to her, bringing the exorcist to the village seven days after Marian's attack. It was interesting to see Freytan's past and the reason for her anger.]

[And it's a shame that now you won't be able to use lust to your advantage anymore, right? You'll also have to be careful not to end up with a child.]

' Now that you mention it, it made me think of something strange... Will she change her way of being? ' 

Dantalian sat on the bed, starting to ponder about it. "I kind of got used to her being like this. At first, it was annoying, but there was nothing I could do."

[Ignore that. You're not the protagonist of an eroge. If she's still with you, it's because she wants to be. The level you increase is just for friendship, and you're the one making things more serious.]

[By the way, that's why I love seeing you getting beaten up by Scylla. It's entertaining.]

Dantalian turned his face towards the three girls, thinking about everything that had happened so far. He then focused his gaze on Freytan and spoke, "Now that Marian has been taken down, what's stopping Freytan from going to Murim?"

[Hmmmmm]

" What was that? "

[Nothing]

The entity simply knew that a certain person had awakened a few minutes before Dantalian uttered those words.