Chapter 203 :

Episode 39 : Victor (5)

Clone HwanGi and the siren, Idelle were sitting next to each other while the sun was about to set.

Quiet yet pleasant to view the sunset, Idelle admired the sight with her eyes peeled as if it was an unimaginable scene for her.

Not that the sunset isn't pretty, but for clone HwanGi, he was more focused on Idelle. Observing with precision while dodging Idelle's suspicion of him staring at her.

Why would clone HwanGi be so curious about Idelle to the point of staring at her with such focus? Obviously it's not gazing at her for his personal desire, it was to gasp her abilities, weaknesses, and nature.

Even if the safe zone allowed Idelle in just because she was a mute siren, it doesn't mean that clone HwanGi should let his guard down.

During this time, the matches to determine how much strength ‘The Rebels’ Guild members have acquired from training have ended.

Now, JoonChul and the rest were moving back to where clone HwanGi is, meaning they'll arrive here soon.

"How long can you stay here?" Clone HwanGi asked the siren.

Idelle, a bit surprised by the question when she was dazed by the sunset, replied by writing on the sand.

❲ I'll go back tonight. ❳ 

"Then you wouldn't mind if my friends come and greet you with a feast?"

❲ Feast? Am I allowed to join in on your and your friends' fun time? ❳

"They're all nice people, they'll understand."

❲ I don't want to be a bother to yo— ❳

Growwwlll~~

A moment before Idelle could finish writing her response, her stomach was quick to answer with a big growl to showcase Idelle's hunger.

"Are you sure?" Clone HwanGi smiled at the embarrassed Idelle.

❲ If that's what you want, then I'll gladly. ❳

"Good. You'll fit right in without a problem."

And with that, when the time came when JoonChul and the rest arrived back, it was no wonder that they were baffled by the beauty of a siren.

They were cautious of the new fellow who they thought was a mermaid but was instead a siren.

Aside from them, JoonChul and his comrades weren't surprised. They usually would think things through before attacking without reasons.

Considering clone HwanGi who is also JoonChul, his comrades already noticed that the siren isn't an enemy.

"My liege." Frostina looked at JoonChul in which he gave a smile to confirm it.

Seeing the confirmation, Raiden shouted in favor of the end of the day and also to remove the others' suspicion away. "It's going to get dark, so let's get on the ice ship and enjoy our feast!"

"Alrighty! A friend of HwanGi is a friend of mine! There's no need to be cautious over a friend, right?" Alaine exclaimed after seeing Raiden acting that way.

Being the gullible girl Alaine was, she easily trusts Raiden, actually the reason could have been that she was more focused on food rather than the new gal.

And with that, everyone was okay with the new siren being a part of the feast. But, there is always someone who dislikes this scenario.

"A.. siren!" Someone cried out with her finger pointing at Idelle as well as an expression that showed her distaste. "How can a siren get here?! There's no way a witch like her can enter this place!"

Shocked to know that the siren wasn't a mermaid, Alaine asked. "Wh-what?! A siren?! Are you sure? Cause you both looked the same to me."

"Take a look at her ears and you'll know she's a siren!" 

"Eh.. Fins? So there's a difference.. But it's not like she has done anything. What do you think, Louis?"

"I don't see a problem with that. A siren and a mermaid aren't much of a difference." Louis gave his response. "But I wouldn't let my guard down either way."

Before long, Mya asked. "Miss Etheldreda, did she do anything wrong as a siren?"

"The sirens are outcasts because they disobey the savior who saved them all. Not only did they join hands with the ‘Helpers’ to destroy the kingdom of merfolks, they even killed and bewitched the humans who they were trying to help conquer!"

The hatred and anger emitting out of Etheldreda's voice was as visible as her expression.

"They were once mermaids who had the abilities to bring harmony, yet after betraying the savior and being given a new power from the ‘creators', they were bestowed with the power of disharmony. They're no different from the pirates who are hungry for cash!! Nothing but a witch!"

Glaring like there was no tomorrow, Etheldreda was already thinking of exterminating Idelle as one can see by the water bubble forming at the tip of Etheldreda's index finger.

[‘Etheldreda’ has activated the Skill, ‘Bubble Bea—]

SNAP!!!

Immediately interrupted by the snap of a finger, Etheldreda froze as she proceeded to cancel her skill's activation, averting her glance toward JoonChul who was the one who snapped his fingers.

"Get a move on." JoonChul mumbled with disinterest. "I had expectations for you, but you're still the same."

"S-Savior?! What do you mean?! We should eliminate the siren before she bewitches you!" Etheldreda bawled.

"You're in no position to be picking a fight against a siren. You should know better."

"I—"

"We're here to eat, and that's what we're doing."

Shut so tightly, Etheldreda bit her lips when she couldn't argue with her savior, brimming with contempt toward the lucky siren who was hiding behind clone HwanGi, acting like she was a victim in Etheldreda's eyes.

In her head, Etheldreda grumbled. ‘How could the savior side with a siren..? It doesn't make sense! They don't deserve this much mercy after what they did to us, merfolks!’ 

Even though the situation was handled, the atmosphere was suffocating because of Etheldreda's clear emotion oozing out of her.

Not that JoonChul and his comrades care since they all went to the ice ship without a hint of attention to Etheldreda's emotion.

And so, the rest followed suit and went to the ice ship before Etheldreda could realize she was the last person to get on the ship.

‘Disappointing.’ JoonChul thought.

———

A couple of minutes passed when the atmosphere lightened up by and by. With Raiden and Alaine being excited, they ate as well as had fun, causing the people around to ease up from Etheldreda's visible emotion.

While the feast was exhilarating to everyone on the ship, there was something that needed to be done.

A battle that was left unfinished when Mya and Noelle fought, has resumed once more. And that was none other than Asher and Zeon's rematch.

In a cave left alone by himself was Zeon Marco. As he was looking around, he was immediately greeted with a portal above him, shocking him of what to come behind that portal.

What he expected was Asher, and yet..

‘Fur?’ Zeon tilts his head in confusion from the ball of fur exiting the portal. ‘Wait a minute, Reaper.. Did you—’

GROWWWWWLLLLL!!!

Met with a growl, Zeon jumped out of the way of a bear's claw slashing from the portal. 

Watching the bear land on the ground, Zeon sneered. "You surprised me every time, Reaper." 

Actually, a bear shouldn't be something Zeon would be surprised of since he could dispose of it like it was nothing. Instead, it was more on what type of bear this was to baffle Zeon.

"How did you get yourself an apex predator of the ‘Arctic’ World?" Zeon asked.

"And.. Plenty of them as well." 

Soon, Zeon could very well see dozens of ice bears falling out of the giant portal, rumbling the ground and cave to mark the bears' arrivals.

"You went overkill as always, Reaper." 

With that said, Zeon shrugged it off before expanding his invisible box as if he was pushing the bears toward the cave's walls to crush them.

GROWWWLLL!!!

Of course, the bears wouldn't allow such an act to proceed which was why they scratched, bashed and growled, causing the invisible wall to unravel a crack.

The moment the small crack formed, that was when Asher whooshed through the portal, piercing the crack to open up an opportunity for her to set portals all over the invisible walls.

Dumbfounded by the sheer portals everywhere, Zeon stood as he was getting a bit nervous by Asher. "You're going overboard too?"

Asher chuckled with a creepy smile below her mask. "I'm just showing you how powerful I am."

The death arms that have risen from the ground, grabbed hold of Zeon after he struggled to knock those off.

His effort was undeniably good, yet the results went haywire when Asher commanded the death arms to enter the portals she had just summoned above those death arms.

Wherever would those death arms go? It was inescapably through the portals on the invisible walls, catching Zeon off guard as he shook those arms off immediately.

"You're surprised? Gonna cry about it?"

Is it insanity or sanity if Asher starts singing with a ridiculed laughter? No, she doesn't give a damn about that.

‘Ah, this is so fun. I can't get enough of this! Hahaha!’ Her menace laughter in her head soon switched into laughing out loud. 

Zeon asked because he had noticed something odd about Asher. "Reaper.. Are you 'you'?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Asher snickered while the menacing chills greater than the death arms' raced all over Zeon's body.

‘I don't know what's going on. But something is definitely not right with Reaper.’ 

Thinking while being entrapped by Asher, Zeon seemed to be having a bit of a problem even though he doesn't look like it, minus the death arms grasping tightly onto his body.

Nonetheless, it was time to get really serious since the situation called for it.

"Ah." Zeon realized. ‘Why are the death arms stronger than usual?’

The realization came when Zeon was using his skill to solidify the air around the gaps between the death arms and himself.

But the more he tried to push the death arms away from him, the more strength was put into the clutches of those arms.

It was as if the more he struggles, the less chances he gets to escape those death arms.

‘Why is this happening?’ Zeon thought, slowly but surely getting a bit anxious.

"Hahaha!" 

Startled by Asher's laughter because of his increasing anxiety, Zeon glanced over to Asher who he was even more bewildered.

"Reaper, where is your usual mask?" 

His question was answered with a diabolical smile from Asher.

And this time, unlike when Zeon couldn't have a glimpse of Asher's grin, he was now able to see the lips that formed the deleterious smile oh so clearly.

That was a smile of death..

It was a smile that Zeon would surely understand the meaning of even with or without the mask since he stayed with Asher long enough to decipher that.

"My, who knew that I would only get the chance to see half of your face only when my death's door is as close as your scythe reaching my neck." Zeon chuckled under the near death situation.

Asher grinned yet again with a mask that can only be seen in a masquerade ball, she remained quiet as her unpleasant giggle resound the place.

‘This is definitely not how Reaper usually behaves. She isn't also this silent. What causes her to be this way?’ 

With that though, Zeon narrowed his eyes to quickly find the hidden object that was triggering Asher to act that way.

‘The only difference between her usual self and the 'her' before me is probably because of that mask.’

‘I saw her put that on before when we fought, meaning that it should either be an item or a skill.’

‘Whether or not it's an object or a skill, the effects of that mask might be what causes Reaper to behave like she is now.’

When Zeon pondered about that, he could feel the awful taste lingering on his lips as he really disliked this scenario. ‘Tsk.’

‘To use such a thing while in a rematch between the two of us, somehow that dissatisfied me.’ 

"Hey, Reaper. I don't ever get frustrated by whatever shit you do in the past, but now, I'm quite pissed off by what you've done."

As soon as Zeon uttered that sentence, he unleashed his annoyance directly at Asher to tell her more clearly that he was really really really irked by her...

And upon that moment, a one in a lifetime occurrence happened. 

[Player ‘666' has obtained the Skill, ‘Chainwork’ Lv. 1!]

Was it the sheer might of his anger that allowed him to gain a new skill? Or was it purely a coincidence? 

[Player ‘666' has activated the Skill, ‘Chainwork’ Lv. 1!]

None of it matters..

To Zeon, he only wanted to snap Asher out of the effect of the mask which was affecting her behavior.

"Once you wake up from this, it would be best to find a mask that could withstand my punch to your face, Reaper."

A bit violent to say to a lady, but Asher wasn't that fond of man being a gentleman to a lady in the first place, so she wasn't at all afraid to receive Zeon's punch.

"Ha." Asher let out a short giggle. "Hahah!"

Her laughter was her response toward the work of art in front of her. Heaps of chains circle around Zeon after having torn away the arms that grabbed hold of him.

It was magnificent. 

The ways the chains form, move and grace the air around it, signifying that despite being in a boiling point of rage, Zeon managed to be calculated with his manipulation of his chains.

BANNNG!!!

Up and down, nowhere to be unscratched by the clashes of arms and chains, it was daunting of a sight to behold inside a cave.

A cave that had corpses of beasts and screams of tyranny, collapsed bit by bit for reasons that are obvious.

Whereas Asher summoned forth beasts from her passage of portals, Zeon called forth the strength of his chains to challenge the beasts' claws.

BASH! CLASH! CRASH!

[Player ‘669’ has activated the Hidden Skill, ‘Death March’ Lv. 1!]

Along the chains that clashed the scythe of Asher's, the scent of death enraged a chilling sensation into the chains, passing that taunting feeling toward Zeon through it.

"Urgh." Although it hasn't done physical damages to Zeon, it certainly did something mentally to him.

Sending death threats through the mind of Zeon was nothing more than just whispering words, it was a mirage of hundreds or thousands of ways that Zeon could die in that moment.

‘What is—Aargghh!’ 

The more he attacks Asher, the more multiple illusions weaken Zeon's mind without any mental skills to defend his unguarded mind.

‘Damnit! Reaper..!’ 

‘This isn't good. This—’

And so weakened Zeon's mind it did.

"Reaper!!!"

Once was a masterpiece, yet was getting less and less coordinated as the work of the chains slowly dismissed beauty and replaced it with destress.

CLAAANNNNG!!! CLANNNG!

Either Zeon went crazy after losing his mind from the death hallucinations, his face showed it all. 

"UGH!!"

At that point, one can tell by the eyes of Zeon's which were blinded by the color of death that he was no longer sane, but had gone berserk.

CLANG! KLANG!!!

No one was sane in this situation. Both left inside a cave where nobody can reach or find, Zeon and Asher were..

"Hahaha!!" Asher laughed while Zeon grunted with his chains clanged toward Asher's scythe.

..not good.