"Ahh….huh?"
The young girl opened up her eyes only to see the white ceiling above her. She still felt a bit drowsy and had trouble keeping her eyes open. She tried to move but her body was quite stiff and weak.
"Ugh… what is this?"
After managing to raise her top half from the bed she noticed something. She felt that something was tugging on her left arm. When she saw a strange golden chain of some sorts was there and it was attached to someone.
"Isabella?"
Beatrice moved her hand up slowly, the chain was only a meter long so Isabella's hand was pulled up as well.
"Mmm?"
The other blond girl gave out a little grunt before she started to wake up.
"B-beatrice?"
Isabella felt almost exactly the same as her friend that was to her right side. Both of them were now in some kind of large and expensive-looking room. Both of them were wearing white pajamas that looked the same.
"Beatrice!"
Before the young girl could ask Isabella about what had happened she found herself being hugged. Both of them almost tumbled down the bed together after the quick attack.
Isabella started crying while Beatrice just continued to pet her head without really knowing what was going on. It seemed that the battle was over but she couldn't recall how. The last thing she remembered was Zhang Dong fighting the Demon Lord, then everything went blank and she woke up here.
"Isabella… you're choking me…"
"Ah excuse me…"
"What happened… what is this chain?"
Beatrice looked at her friend that's face was all red. But when she mentioned the chain that was attached to their wrists Isabella didn't really have an answer for it. Luckily for them, a certain person quickly appeared to answer this question.
"Good, you two are finally awake."
A normal-sized Zhang Dong materialized out of thin air and appeared before the two girls.
"Mr. Leigong! Did we win?"
That was what Beatrice asked while also trying to get out of bed. The moment she did though a strange sharp pain appeared in her chest area which made her lean forward.
"Beatrice!?"
Isabella called out worried.
"Try not to move, your body isn't fully healed… I'll need to explain a couple of things to you two…"
Just like Beatrice, Isabella was knocked out during the process of soul merging that Zhang Dong performed on the two. After he managed to fuse both of their souls together his power level skyrocketed, it even reached a new height. Thanks to this he could take out that presence which was later given the name 'watcher' by Bob his AI assistant.
This was achieved after absorbing the last nucleus. The name was a dead giveaway, this person was here to watch over this world. If the people called Overseers were more akin to admins then this watcher could be something like a moderator. His power was above what the people were capable of.
From the conversation, it looked like this watcher was not supposed to act. Zhang Dong forced his hand after beating the false Demon Lord and doing it himself instead of the heroes. The balance was broken and he even absorbed all of the nuclei himself to gain more energy and information.
He did pose Bob this question, it seemed strange that the Overseers didn't become suspicious. His AI reassured him that the signal was blocked due to his system being severed from the source. He was a person that was now outside of it while also being able to use some of its features to his advantage.
"So I died?"
"I'm sorry Beatrice it was due to my father…"
Zhang Dong started off by informing Beatrice about the initial stabbing. The wound from it wasn't fully healed and it would take some time for the girl to make a full recovery.
"It's not Isabella's fault, it was probably just a ruse! Right, Mr. Leigong?"
Beatrice wasn't mad at her friend, it looked that from her standpoint the one at fault was the man and not the noble house he was attached to.
"... Regretfully, it was something ordered by Isabella's father… but the real culprit was the king…"
Zhang Dong looked mad when talking about the man that almost killed Beatrice. In his eyes, both he and the Duke were equally guilty of this deed. He knew that the king had given the order and also that there was more at stake than one girl's life if he refused the order. Even then, he felt disgusted even thinking about it.
"Father…where"
"Your father? For now, he is in the dungeon, I've put him there, he already confessed. About this and other things..."
Zhang Dong looked to the shocked girls that probably didn't know what to think. The Duke had also been responsible for killing Beatrice's grandfather and with the things being like this he could be sentenced to death.
"Dungeon? W-what happened?"
"First let me talk about the condition you two are in, I'm sure that you've noticed the chain and armbands…"
The two nodded while pulling on the chain gently. It looked to have been made with some precious metals and there was a small lock on each armband. The chains radiated some magical power while also being covered in strange runic symbols that the girls weren't very knowledgeable about.
"I had to merge your souls together… The soul slaying dagger's effect proved too much for my healing capabilities. The merging process was successful but there were certain drawbacks."
"What kind of drawbacks? Will we be okay?"
Zhang Dong gave out a sigh while also moving over to the large king-sized bed.
"I won't lie to you, I'm not certain myself. I fear that your lifespans have been lowered, by how much I don't know…"
This was somewhat a lie as Zhang Dong knew that their lives were halved. Due to the corruption, Beatrice's soul had to be strengthened by Isabella's. The drawback was that the other girl's own soul was diminished and shrunk down in size.
What was left were two souls that could not function correctly if they weren't in close proximity. He wasn't sure if the process was reversible, there was a small chance that with time the souls could return to their previous size. There were no cases like this recorded in any books and he also lacked the knowledge himself.
"Ah…"
The two girls reacted in silence at the mention of their lives being shortened.
"It's all because of me… if not for me Isabella's life wouldn't have been shortened…"
"What are you talking about?"
"But…"
"Don't be an idiot, it's natural for a friend to help their friend! I would have gladly done it again!"
Isabella smiled at Beatrice but then the two were brought back to reality due to the uncomfortable chain.
"This chain though…"
"Yes, you'll have to wear it for now. Your souls have shrunk down and normally they would have ceased to be. Luckily for you, your souls are very similar so they compliment each other. As long as you remain close, you will be fine."
This was the reason for the chain being there. With time the distance would increase but Zhang Dong didn't know if the two would ever be able to live apart from each other.
"I'm sorry if I didn't rush this…"
He dropped his head down while looking at the two girls. The blame was on him, at least that is what he felt. Due to his situation, he was more concerned about returning to his own world than with his new partners. They were all forced to hastily push through all the dangers with a half-assed plan.
If he thought things through more, waited for the heroes to get stronger this might have never happened in the first place. At least the assassination could have been averted but now the two would be stuck together and live shorter lives.
"What are you talking about Mr. Leigong?"
"Huh?"
Zhang Dong looked at Beatrice that was shaking her head and actually smiling.
"You saved us all, didn't you? No one else will have to get hurt now and the demon lords are no more. Isn't that right?"
Beatrice proclaimed while looking at Isabella.
"That's right, it's unbecoming of a Great Lightning Emperor to sulk! Everyone knew that there would be consequences, we can't ask for more of you!"
He expected the two to cry, he even expected them to blame him or plea for help. Instead, they acted like mature adults and could see the bigger picture.
If you looked at it from the outside the expedition was a big success. All of the demonic lords had been killed and the true demon king was also dead. The king that controlled the lands from the shadows was revealed and the barrier to a whole new continent was also open.
For the common people, this was the time to rejoice. For thousands of years, they lived in fear of the demon invasion, never knowing if the barrier would fall one day. Now on the other hand they were finally free, it was time for them to reclaim this world for themselves.
"Is that so… think you two might have matured more than me…"
Zhang Dong raised his head while moving over and placing his hand on Beatrice's head. His connection to this world was now even stronger than before. The unification of these two souls was boosting his powers.
"You should rest now, I'll have the servants prepare some food, then we will have to talk about the future…"
After some pleasantries he left the room, leaving the two girls alone to talk things out. They didn't seem that depressed by the fact that they would need to remain close to each other. He could even feel Isabella's joy the moment he explained what the chain was for.
"Bob, how are those calculations going?"
"94%..."
"Good…"
The time was almost here, Bob was doing the last bit of calculations for his world travel. What was left to do was to create the magical formation through which he could send the heroes home. The same portal would also be used by him to leave this place but before that, there were some loose ends to tie up.
One of them was rotting in the dungeon below the castle they were in now. After the battle was done they returned to the human kingdom with the remaining forces. Without the king and with Zhang Dong being powered up there was no resistance and they established a somewhat new order.
Now came the real question, what would happen to this world if he left. Without him, there would come trouble. He felt that a civil war would take place now after the ruling monarch was gone. His children were there and they were not part of the system but could he leave it up to them to be good rulers?
"Well then, did you decide?"
"Ah, welcome Mr. Matthew."
He arrived in a certain room where three girls and one young man were sitting. They were the party of heroes that weren't able to shine much due to his involvement. After the battle, he managed to sever their connection to the system thanks to Bob and now they needed to decide.
"Will you be staying, or will you return?"