Warning: Sexual content in this chapter.
Chapter 71 Part 2
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Luke and Olivia departed soon after a carriage arrived to pick them up. Luke had to go to bed early tonight because he had to leave the city early tomorrow morning.
This supposed journey was something Sebastian had done with Arnold in the past as well. He wouldn't just have Luke fight with monsters but many of the people he met with over the years.
One couldn't improve unless one competed with experienced martial artists. That was the whole point.
Expanding Luke's horizons.
'I'm all for it but what worries me is the fact that Luke awakened earlier than me.'
Arnold von Berkley didn't just obtain his power through hard work and talent. He was born as a Transcendent just like the Hero and just like Lauran. You could say he was blessed as well.
Their powers needed time to manifest and grow.
The Hero Party weren't just some backally thugs after all. They were talented geniuses like no others.
The hero, the strongest of them all, would be the one who led them.
Arnold was glad that Luke and Lauran were stronger now but he was worried that it could be a kind of sign.
Why did they awaken early?
Was something going to happen that was much larger than the monster in the School Arc?
'Fuck, fuck, fuck!' Arnold shouldn't have been so complacent just because he knew the story.
He should've been out there searching for any threats to the storyline.
If the hero died as a result of whatever might happen…
The world would be taken over by the Demon King or even the Star Beast.
No one besides the Hero and his companions could stop those World-Level threats.
The Holy Sword of Song and Light would have no master. Thus it would forever remain a lump of metal to be used as a practice sword or be sold by a shitty store in the slums.
The real truth of magic arts would remain buried in the Void of the Timeline Gods if the Archmage was gone.
Swordsmanship would never become one with its user if Flora didn't become the new Master Swordsman.
Finally, the empire would never move to become the greatest military power in the world if Olivia died.
All of this could all be lost if Arnold's worries were true.
Yes, Arnold was happy but he couldn't think of this as being like anything other than a premonition.
"I can't keep sitting on my ass either. I need to become stronger."
His demon lord power was his trump card for when he met an adversary as powerful as Lancelot or if his life was in danger. He wouldn't abuse that power so long as he didn't know the risks involved.
The first step was to challenge that dungeon.
"What was it called again? [The Tomb of the Forgotten]?" He wrote it down as a mental note to head there as soon as he could.
"Huh?"
When Arnold opened his door to enter his room to take a rest, he could see someone inside.
That someone was sitting on his bed.
"Al?"
Victoria's voice flowed into his ears. He opened up the curtains to let the moonlight shine through.
Her appearance was a complete mess. Her hair was unkempt, her clothes ripped in some places and her makeup was staining her face.
Her eyes had dark circles around them which probably meant that she was crying.
'Is that… her spear?' He spotted an ominously blood-red spear laying on the ground next to her. There was dry blood on the blade.
Arnold went towards the bed and sat down.
The two silently looked out the window.
The full moon was at its biggest tonight. There were no stars in the sky that could outshine its light.
"I heard what happened… Thank you for saving my sister."
"...I can't believe you would thank someone with that harsh mouth of yours," she responded with a wry smile, "I did what I could. But lives were still lost."
"Was anyone in the family hurt?"
"No. Your mother only suffered from mana exhaustion and light bone fractures."
"I see…"
Silence.
'What's wrong with her? Why does she look so gloomy?'
Victoria's eyes were dead and her voice was similar to someone who was tired. The gentle aura he always felt when interacting with her was gone.
"Did you hear what I did in the empire?"
"The fact that you killed the suspects? I heard of it, yes."
"What did everyone else say…?"
Victoria looked at him, "Miss Claudia thinks you're a monster. The others didn't react that much when we heard. We tried our best to make sure that young master Jack and young lady Melina doesn't hear of this."
"Right. The image they have of me would change. But what good will that do? They'll find out eventually."
Melina would probably become scared of Arnold because of what he did. His relationship with Jack was the same as two strangers. The two of them had never even spoke that much in the past.
'I forgot buy them souvenirs…' Arnold thought in regret, 'Well, I'll be going to the academy anyway. I'll buy them something then.'
Victoria went towards the window.
She unfurled her hair which was in a ponytail.
She asked in a small voice, "I could've saved you many times in the past then you wouldn't have suffered so much. Aren't you at least curious about why that was the case? Why I stood by silently? So I ask you once again… Do you hate me for hiding my past?"
He couldn't see her face so he didn't know what her expression was like.
"No." Arnold said clearly.
Victoria silently turned around.
How could he hate her? He had loved her ever since he could remember—well, that was the original Arnold. But since Liam had taken over Arnold's body, couldn't he be a little selfish and declare those feelings as his own?
He could hear Victoria's breathing halting.
"If anything, I love you," Arnold couldn't look her straight in the eyes so he turned his gaze away from her face.
"But I could've done something when you were in danger…" Victoria continued, "I… I almost lost you to that man."
'Did my fight with Lancelot have this big of an impact?'
Only Sebastian, Victoria and Flora knew about that day. Sebastian didn't seem particularly worried since Arnold was still alive and well. Flora probably didn't care what happened to him since he was the bastard that blackmailed her.
But why did it have such an effect on Victoria?
"Victoria… Were you the one who saved me that day we were ambushed?" He felt like it was a stupid thing to ask since all the evidence pointed to that specific answer.
"…." She didn't answer.
"Seeing as how my own father is denying hiring guards for me, I can't help but be suspicious that he also knew of your power."
"…" She closed her eyes after nodding, "…That was the first time I really cared for the life of anyone. I always saw you as a brat who let his father's power get to his head. A nobody who was lucky enough to be born talented unlike the rest of us. Yes, I am powerful but that was something I obtained through my own blood, sweat and tears."
"…."
"I envied you. You had a loving family. A home where you could do whatever you wanted, live however you wanted. Somewhere down the road my hatred slowly changed into something else. You were the little boy I nurtured since childhood. We were together nearly every day of my life. I wanted to protect that."
Arnold smiled silently.
"Marry me! Marry me! That was what you always said to me whenever you got the chance. You even went through extra lengths just to prove that you loved me. And you would always follow me around," Victoria clenched her fists as if she made up her mind about something, "I always saw it as troublesome and annoying. There were so many women your own age who wanted to be with you yet you would turn them all down."
"Hahaha. I always said that there's only two women in the world for me. Olivia and Victoria."
"That's right…" Victoria approached Arnold and grabbed his hands. She looked into his eyes, "I never really noticed it before but you've grown taller than me. It was just yesterday that your height was near my chest. I'm happy that the little boy I cherished and protected became a young man, even if he does act like a thug most of the time."
She intertwined her fingers with Arnold which startled him.
"Um, w-what are you doing?"
"What's wrong? You always touched me without my permission so what's wrong with me doing the same?"
'No, why are you saying it so casually, miss Victoria?'
"I-I understand that but…" Arnold gulped hard, "Why are you so close…?"
Her hot breath was literally in his face. Her body was also slowly rubbing itself against him. That alone gave Arnold the hardest boner he ever had in his entire life. His pants were on the verge of tearing.
She stood on the tips of her toes and whispered into his ears, "Hey, you always wanted to have sex with me, right? I'm giving you a chance to do it with me, Al."
"W-What?"
She put Arnold's hands on her breasts and squeezed, "Like I said," she looked at him with moist eyes, "Make love to me and show that your feelings aren't some childish crush like I always thought it was,"
"…!?"
A switch flipped in Arnold's head and he suddenly pushed her towards the bed. The two of them—with Arnold on top—fell onto the bed.
They looked into each other's eyes.
"I-I'm asking this just to be clear but you said I can make love to you, right…?"
She nodded while cupping his face in her hands, "I have never known what it was like to love someone so I always thought you confessing to me every time was cute. But…" her face reddened, "I-I want to know how that feels. I want to love someone too."
"You… don't know what it feels like?"
She shook her head.
Arnold's sanity was as thin as a piece of rope now that he heard such a cute response from such a gorgeous woman. If it were anyone else then they would've ripped Victoria's clothes off and stuck it in without further ado.
"Aaah!"
Arnold ripped off her uniform's chest part, laying her breast bare. No, she was at least wearing a bra. But the bra was way too thin to be called underwear.
"Did… did you intend to have sex with me tonight?"
"W-Was I wrong to assume such a thing? As I thought, this makes you think I'm a loose woman…" Victoria wasn't even done talking before Arnold ripped his own clothes off.
"On the contrary. I'm grateful that you're so considerate. I wasn't looking forward to looking at a granny bra anyway," He bit her bra with his teeth and pulled it down. At the same time he lifted her by putting his arms under her lower back. He pulled the bra down with his teeth.
His nostrils caught the whiff of Victoria's divine scent of pheromones and sweat. His brain melted.
'Finally…'
Victoria's pink-coloured nipples appeared when he took off her bra.
'I can finally make this woman mine…'
He had fantasized about Victoria multiple times in his current and past life. She was one of the best heroines from the game and she had a fanbase that could compare to even the Villainess, Elizabeth and Icy Princess, Olivia.
But the sad part was that Victoria was never Arnold's official wife in the game.
Victoria Lurgun was now wilfully spreading her legs for him.
'Ah, I can finally break free from this cage of virginity…!' Arnold wanted to cry tears of blood.
His penis was standing tall and proudly in the air. Despite being a piece of shit, Liam appreciated that Arnold was at least handsome and had such a huge package.
'This probably made a lot of women cry. Well, I'm going to make one more cry.'
He kissed her shoulders, up until her neck. Victoria clenched the bedsheets and arched her back as his hands were massaging her breasts while he was kissing her body.
Perhaps it was because she was too sensitive but Victoria was moaning softly against Arnold. Her hands touched all around his upper body too.
"Al." She pulled his face up to meet with hers.
They stared at each other.
"Kiss me." She closed her eyes and ran her fingers through his hair.
Arnold tasted Victoria's warm and soft lips. He kissed her slowly for ten seconds before breaking away.
She looked at him with dazed eyes.
He pulled down her underwear, a trimmed bush greeting him. As he went further down, he could see a pure slid through her skin.
The untouched private part of a pure maiden. Her sweet nectar filled the entire room when her most secret place was revealed.
Arnold used two fingers to spread her lips, with Victoria looking at him with expectation and trust in her eyes.
More gooey liquid flowed out. Arnold stuck out his tongue as he plunged into the sweet forest in front of him.
A roar of pure ecstasy filled the castle, with no one there to hear it.
The quiet castle was filled with the grunts of a man and the moans of a woman a few minutes later. Slapping sounds and thumping noises also echoed.
Arnold von Berkley and Victoria Lurgun had become one that evening.
◇
You have successfully eliminated Victoria Lurgun's Death Flag!
Reward: Skill – Speed of Sound(SS)
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Epilogue
The Undead Nation's streets were devoid of any life. Selia had denied Lilith and Vetis' suggestion to have her monsters patrol the streets for safekeeping. This was to minimize the fear people held towards her.
Also, this would make it seem like they were being watched, so Selia didn't do it. Naturally, this had its own shortcomings. Crime was high because there were no Knight Order or the like patrolling the streets. Renogar was trying to train the recruits—even if they were unwilling—that were left behind after the Knight Order of this city left.
They had hopes that they'll be able to create their own Order once those knights finished their training.
Selia was feeling happy. She managed to complete the task of bringing Arnold over to their side. Well, it was a big IF but it wasn't a "no" at least.
'I can't believe I solved all our problems just by giving away a trashy dungeon's location.'
Selia was a pure warrior-type which meant that she had no need for martial arts and the like. Her power lay in her racial skills, weapons and physical power.
What need would she have for a martial art technique which she might not even use? Of course, there might be other things in that place besides the martial art but she didn't worry about it that much.
Selia had only heard from one of her guildmates about this dungeon but she hadn't gotten enough time to go explore it herself.
"Mfufufu."
'Our money troubles are over. Why do I feel like an employee who wants praise from her bosses?'
She wanted to tell Vetis and the others as soon as possible. Would they praise her and say "As expected of the strongest monster lord in this era. Our Queen is a supreme being with no flaws!".
'Well, maybe that's going a bit too far…'
Selia opened up a gate to the throne room and stepped through it.
"Huh? Why is everyone here?"
Maywolf, Renogar, Lupus, Lilith, Vetis, including many of the other NPCs she made over the years were gathered inside the throne room. The only subordinate who wasn't here was Berdark since he was outside this region of the continent.
The throne room was the exact replica of the core members' guild reception room that they had in the past. It wasn't perfect since she created it from memory but it gave her some closure whenever she entered the room.
Those feelings of closure was overwhelmed by another mysterious feeling when she looked at everyone's expressions. Of course, most of them were monsters so she couldn't tell all their expressions but she was certain that the majority of them felt the same way.
Lilith and Vetis seemed to have been talking about something while looking at the interface of the game system. Their expressions were anything but good.
"Your Majesty." Everyone bowed as Selia went over to her seat.
'Why does Vetis and Lilith look so.. scared?'
Impossible. They were level 100 NPCs. Who could possibly scare them if not for another level 100?
Selia had done a lot of research and knew that there weren't a lot of level cap people in this world. There weren't even a handful on this continent from what she knew of either.
Then what made Vetis and Lilith, Including all the others so frightened.
"Lady… Selia," Lilith spoke for everyone, "You gave me command over the entire system before leaving."
"I did. But so what?"
"I… I checked the interface regularly and found nothing strange… up until a few days ago at least," she turned the system hologram to Selia.
"What could it be—" she looked down.
Selia's throat clogged up. Her pupils shook and her body trembled.
You have a new friend request!
Afterword:
What a ride huh. There will be an intermission after this epilogue. We'll get to see the roundtable knight, Lancelot and his mysterious companion.
I had writer's block several times when finishing the planning for many of the scenes of volume 2. But I had to finish it all(if it's rougher than I intended it to be then I'll fix and edit). Did the twists surprise any of you a little bit? I'd be happy if it did. Anyway, see you in the next volume which might be soon, I hope.