"Do you agree, princess?"
Immediately after, crisp footsteps echoed as the black-clad princess, graceful as a night lotus, stepped out from the shadows.
"Anastasia..."
Seeing the princess, whose demeanor had drastically changed, Ryou's face revealed a helpless expression.
Great.
No need to ask—clearly, this was his fault again.
It seemed he had already taken up the mantle of some burden of this world and was now racing down the path of the King of Burdens.
When he entered this dungeon world, he could feel a deep malice emanating from the universe itself.
The once-adoring Anastasia now looked at him with cold eyes, as if he were a stranger.
Sensing the overwhelming murderous intent from both sides, Ryou took a deep breath. His muscles tensed, like a drawn bowstring.
"If we're enemies, then there's no need for words. Come at me together."
Ryou's expression hardened.
Under the meticulous training of Scathach, he had learned to draw strength from intense battles.
Ryou was no longer the shut-in from a peaceful era; he was now a seasoned warrior.
Though he felt guilt toward Ayame and Anastasia, it wouldn't stop him from taking their lives.
Ayame carried a mechanical bow, while Anastasia had just used frost magic to ambush him—both were ranged attackers. Close combat would be the best strategy.
I possess EX-level magic resistance, so their spells pose little threat. Priority: eliminate Ayame...
In an instant, Ryou's mind worked like a finely tuned computer, processing the situation at high speed.
"Father, I'm going in," Ayame said, bowing respectfully, her demeanor polite. In contrast, Anastasia, born of royal blood, remained cold and indifferent.
But what Ayame said next sent chills down his spine.
"Rest assured, Father. I'll take your head, seal it with magic, and keep it with me always... so you can stay with me forever."
Ayame's tone was cheerful, but her words were terrifying.
Behind her, Sakura wore a malicious smile. Ayame was, without a doubt, her finest creation.
Father and daughter, turned against each other. Humanity lost.
For the already deranged Sakura, this scene was intoxicating, like a drug.
Ryou frowned deeply. Ayame appeared normal on the outside, but her mind had been severely twisted.
It was clear that during her upbringing, she had been deeply influenced by the madwoman, Sakura.
Normal in appearance, broken inside.
Ryou was no expert in matters of the heart. The only thing he could do now was release Ayame from her suffering.
Ryou suddenly lifted his head and glanced at the silent Anastasia. A scorching solar beam shot from his pupils, straight toward her forehead.
Without waiting to see the result, he infused his body with magic and launched himself like a cannonball toward Ayame.
His movements were swift and decisive, showing no trace of sentimentality.
Rather than alarmed at his cold-heartedness, Sakura was delighted.
The closest of bonds turned to ruthless enemies, fighting to the death.
She relished it.
Whether Ryou killed Ayame or Ayame killed Ryou, Sakura would savor the outcome. Even if Ayame died, taking Sakura with her, she wouldn't care.
If Ayame was broken in spirit, Sakura, in her state of living death, was rotten to her core—her soul corrupted beyond salvation.
Just as Ryou was halfway through his charge, Ayame smiled sweetly, drew her bow, and aimed directly at Medea, who was lying on the ground.
Ryou's face immediately darkened. He quickly stopped and positioned himself between Medea and Ayame.
The mechanical bow in Ayame's hands emitted the whistle of steam-powered machinery, and white mist spewed from its exhaust vents.
Ayame released the string, and under immense power, a pitch-black arrow shot forth like black lightning.
The air groaned under the pressure, and the storm created by the arrow's passage carved deep furrows into the hard concrete.
With just one arrow, the destructive power was terrifying!
Yet, Ryou's expression remained calm. His small frame stood as still and unyielding as a mountain.
Behind him was his woman, and that was all that mattered.
"Master..."
Medea's voice carried a hint of pleading. She didn't want to be a burden to him, but before she could speak, he cut her off sharply.
"Stay there and don't move! This will be over soon!"
Without turning his head, Ryou threw a punch at the incoming arrow.
Amplified by Mana Burst and World Ruler, his strength was magnified several times over.
In the next instant, the fist met the arrow.
Boom!
A deafening explosion echoed through the sky over Fuyuki City. A white shockwave, like a tsunami, swept outward, sending everything in its path flying. The earth itself trembled for a moment before calming.
As the dust slowly cleared, the scene emerged.
The surrounding concrete had been scraped away in thick layers, but the area behind Ryou remained intact. Behind him, Medea stood untouched at the center of a fan-shaped area, the only sign of the battle being the gentle breeze.
Ryou, however, looked battered.
His clothes were torn and tattered, barely hanging on. His body seemed as if it had been corroded by acid, and his arms were riddled with cracks, blood streaming from the wounds.
He quickly downed a healing potion and combined with his natural vitality, his wounds began to heal at a rate visible to the naked eye.
At that moment, hundreds of black arrows rained down on him like a storm, and from another direction came a barrage of ice spears.
It was clear that Sakura and Ayame wouldn't let him recover, while Anastasia, who had summoned an ice wall to block the solar beam from his eyes, was now commanding the ice to attack.
As the black arrows rained down, Ryou remained calm. He raised his hands, deflecting most of the arrows. The few that got through couldn't penetrate his defenses.
The pursuit of rapid-fire had severely weakened the arrows' power, and Ayame quickly realized this.
As for the ice spears launched by Anastasia, they bounced off his body as soon as they touched him, leaving him unharmed. EX-level magic resistance was no joke.
The two girls exchanged a glance and immediately switched tactics.
Ayame began consciously reducing her attack frequency, increasing the charge time to augment the power of each arrow.
After realizing that regular spells were ineffective, Anastasia decisively began incorporating the power of the Abyss into her magic.
This corrosive force was so powerful that even Ryou's EX-level magic resistance couldn't fully defend against it.
Though he continued to knock down arrows with his palms and shatter frost spells, while simultaneously using Brahmastra to shoot solar beams in an attempt to disrupt their offense, he couldn't defend forever. His old wounds had not yet healed, and countless new injuries were accumulating.
Before long, Ryou was covered in blood, looking tragically heroic.
Medea bit her lip hard, her eyes shimmering with tears as she stared intently at his unyielding back.
Anastasia kept her gaze fixed on the heavily injured Ryou, her expression cold, as though the admiration and longing she once held were for someone else entirely.
Ayame, on the other hand, inspected his wounds as if admiring her handiwork, then let out a maniacal laugh.
"Hahaha! Father, all the wounds on your body are my love for you! Can you feel the overflowing love I have for you?"
Her once elegant and beautiful face was now twisted like a demon from hell.
Amid her frenzied laughter, arrows infused with even more Abyssal power flew toward him one after another.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Violent energy storms erupted around Ryou as if hundreds of cannons were simultaneously firing at him.
Was he trapped in a desperate situation?
Not quite.
Ryou's heart was as calm as water. His combat system was already established: a typical defense-counterattack strategy.
Although he appeared pitiful, this was the necessary process of accumulating the power needed for his revenge power.
The Reversal War God wasn't just an anti-personnel Noble Phantasm; it could also transform into an anti-army or even anti-fortress weapon at his will.
These days, a Heroic Spirit who couldn't fire a big attack beam wasn't worth pulling.
Despite Ayame and Anastasia attacking freely, they hadn't dealt any serious damage to him.
Even if a fatal strike did land, it would only trigger his other trump card: Desperate Counterattack.
Desperate Counterattack completely compensated for his weaknesses.
Even if his opponents were stronger than he was, as long as they weren't overwhelmingly powerful like true gods, Ryou had confidence in facing even formidable demigods head-on.
The only obstacles he needed to overcome were patience and the frustration of waiting before the counterattack.
As the power of revenge within him continued to rise and was about to reach the point where he could severely injure both of them—
They suddenly stopped attacking.
"Ah~ So boring. Father, don't just sit there waiting for me to show my love. How about giving me a response?"
Ayame's voice called out loudly, her expression one of frustration.
But Ryou keenly noticed a glint of cunning in Ayame's eyes—she had seen through his plan.
Ayame put away her mechanical bow and began playing with the ends of her ponytail.
"Forget it, let's call it a day."
It was as if the mask of madness had been removed from her face, and Ayame reverted to the dignified and elegant noblewoman she once was.
She lifted the corners of her skirt and curtsied like a lady.
"Father, I shall take my leave for now."
On the other side, the surging power from the Black Princess seemed to calm down as well.
"You come and go as you please—what kind of world do you think this is?"
Ryou shouted sternly.
The blood-red power of revenge surged from his body, roaring like a bloodthirsty beast.
A terrifying aura rushed forth, causing Ayame's expression to shift slightly.
But instead of reacting with caution or fear, Ayame's response was bewildering. Like someone with severe self-destructive tendencies, she opened her mouth wide, overjoyed, almost ecstatic.
Compared to her, Anastasia's reaction was far more reasonable. She furrowed her brows slightly and, without hesitation, channeled her magic, summoning walls of ice that stood like fortresses in front of her.
"Ah~! Such violent, such brutal power! Is this Father's love?"
Ayame laughed, spreading her arms wide as if welcoming an embrace.
Ryou's expression remained calm. The more he interacted with Ayame, the more he realized her mind was completely broken.
She was the epitome of yandere.
When dealing with someone this mad, normal reasoning was futile.
As cruel as it was, the only way to release her from her suffering was to destroy her completely.
This was also the first time Ryou saw the Abyss—the very force that had corrupted her—reveal its cruel nature.
Today, it was his estranged daughter—tomorrow, it could be the girls he cherished.
I'm not strong enough! I have to become stronger!
The thought burned more intensely in his mind than ever before.
Suddenly, Ryou punched the ground.
Boom!
The earth shook violently, and the hard concrete suddenly turned into rolling waves, surging up and down.
The terrifying power of revenge traveled underground for some distance before bursting forth, transforming into a blood-red tidal wave.
The wave expanded rapidly in all directions. Everything in its path—street lamps, trash bins, shipping containers, even cranes—was consumed by the flames of revenge, melting into charred lumps of metal.
Faced with the terrifying wave, Ayame lowered her arms, a look of disappointment crossing her face.
"Not enough! Not enough! It's not enough! Father, this little bit of affection is nowhere near enough! And you're too distracted—you should focus entirely on me!"
Without any visible movement, black metal gathered from all directions in front of Ayame, forming an enormous shield.
Ryou ignored Ayame's crazy rant and increased the output of his revenge power.
Within seconds, the blood-red wave crossed over a hundred meters and slammed fiercely against the defenses built by Ayame and Anastasia.
Crack!
A faint sound echoed, and countless tiny cracks appeared on the black ice wall in front of Anastasia. The entire wall trembled violently.
Forced to retreat, the Black Princess lifted her skirt, stepping back while continuously summoning new ice walls to shield herself.
With a sound like massive glass shattering, the first ice wall quickly crumbled into shards of ice, followed by the second, then the third...