"What are you talking about?" Weslie asked in a panicked tone. "Are you crazy? Haven't I established the fact that they could not be defeated???"
"Oh! No worries, Weslie. Trust him, he can defeat them in a blink of an eye. Besides, our master, who was way weaker than him, managed to defeat Keyrin and Spiky." Gold answered, and Weslie was extremely confused.
"Your Master? Defeated the Thunder Ram Demon and the Altered Transforming Spider Demon?! What is happening?" Weslie questioned, but Kraft interrupted them.
"Gold, you know how to do that necromancy whatever shit ritual, right? You probably will have to redo it since those demons are going to die soon." Kraft as he stretched a little before he asked if Sebastia was ready. When the latter nodded, Gold asked Weslie to teleport the two of his comrades.
"No! I am not going to, even though I have an obligation to do so!" Weslie refused, and Kraft sighed.
"We do not have much time. Seems like Jin is stuck with something major and it's best to take her away before more nuisances arrive. My anti eavesdropping inscription does not last that long, it's a cheap one. You want to ask your girlfriend to hurry it up?" Kraft asked, and suddenly both scholars' faces turned red.
"She is not my girlfriend!"
"He is not my boyfriend!"
The two disagreed with Kraft simultaneously. They felt embarrassed, and it made the other two laugh together while averting away from each other's gaze.
"Look at you two! Already so synchronised! Just like an old married couple! Alright, just teleport me, and you two can enjoy your catch up chat. Gold don't forget to take her collection with you afterwards." Kraft teased them before getting serious.
"Please teleport me as well." Sebastia did not wish to remain as the third wheel in the following conversation.
Gold scratched his head as he glanced at Weslie's eyes and later looked away immediately. And then he turned back and asked her to trust them. "I assure you that they will be alright. They can put things right. Soon you will be out of this accursed loop."
Gold's constant pleading drove Weslie into a dilemma. She initially wanted things to end for her because there was nothing more than suffering. However, long after she had already accepted her fate, she was suddenly given the opportunity to finally rest… But now she hesitated.
Especially because Gold, the one Weslie lost all chances to be reunited with, was in front of her and somehow he did not mind her to die. Still, that trickster looking guy did command Gold to recreate a necromancy ritual. Why was Gold that desperate to remove her? She could not understand a single bit. And he was so confident that things would go alright.
Still, did she really wish to be bonded to Gold for the rest of her life? Hell yeah. He had been nothing less of a gentleman, a loveable attitude with an inquisitive outlook. To her, she did not mind going through the river of death again just for him. But still, did Gold feel the same for her?
Would she become a burden to Gold?
As much as Weslie wanted to be with him, she did not know whether this was the effect of isolation or if these were her true feelings.
Sometimes, the Scholar of the West felt that Gold was merely accommodating her, and he admitted once that he did not do much to get her attention, as if implying that he treated her as just a friend.
"…Fine. But I have a lot of questions, and you better be prepared to answer them! I am not willing to die for good just yet!" Weslie said as she cast a teleportation spell on both of them and left Gold and Weslie alone. (But not before Kraft released another anti eavesdropping inscription in the area.)
"What do you wish to know?" Gold dragged two chairs in front of them and Weslie sat down.
"You can start by telling me how you got involved with those people," Weslie demanded, and Gold started recounting their encounter with Jin and what followed after. (He had been very apt at explaining this since more and more people kept asking him the very same question. At this rate, he could have written a bible on his lord and saviour, the System.)
——
"Ahhh finally out of the awkward situation," Kraft spoke as he took out his trusty No Mercy revolver. His mouth turned into a wicked grin. He could not help it since every time he took out this weapon, a blood bath was imminent.
"They have too many things to sort out. Our fight may not give them enough time for that. Both of them obviously want each other at the same time, but seem to believe that they both are just treating each other as friends." Sebastia sighed.
"Scholars are a weird bunch of people. They should be wise, yet in some ways, they are no more mature than our 'young' Master." Kraft said as he heard the flowing of water and cracking of fire in the distance.
"Anyways, go enjoy some exercise first. Once you have had enough, I will enter the fray. Otherwise, it will all be over too soon."
"Thank you, Bellator Kraft. Please do give me your thoughts on my techniques as well." Sebastia bowed formerfully as the snake's head emerged from the snowy ground.
"Sure, why not. It will buy those clumsy scholars some time to sort their feelings. But remember. After I intervene, please keep whatever you see to yourself. I've not revealed my true strength to Jin yet. Just keep it as a surprise for now." Kraft said, and Sebastia promised.
"Same goes to you System. I'm looking forward to Jin's shocked face, so don't you dare spoil my fun!" Sebastia added as she cracked her knuckles while the Burning Lion was seen charging from afar.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Get working! Mr Fox does not have all day!" Kraft sniggered as the Water Snake Demon went forth towards Sebastia immediately.
——
"So…you were killed and resurrected?" Weslie did not expect Gold to act so rashly which he eventually admitted his own mistakes.
"Well… technically no. At least not at that point in time. Please keep it to yourself, but unlike Grey, Brown, Yellow or the rest of them, I submitted to Jin, when he promised me that I would see all of them again, just by letting myself hit by his metal box (phone)."
"Sigh. But can you fully blame me? Master Jin, or more accurately his hidden power, is an anomaly, that none could have foreseen. His subordinate Zeru had broken into one of our hideouts and stolen some freshly acquired Living Armour Plates seeds.
"We had to pay a hefty price to get them in the first place and could have used the money to fund our operations for months… or at least prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. But hey! As you can see I am still alright! Fine and dandy and I achieved the impossible and the envy of all the past Scholars." Gold said with a slightly arrogant, filthy tone which made Weslie laughed.
"Immortality," Weslie said with a smile despite her cloak hiding her eyes.
"With conditions!" Gold smiled widely before he again tried to lower her cloak down. "Don't worry. It's just the two of us here. " Her peaceful, delicate eyes along with that sweet looking mouth was a sight for sore eyes as Gold curled her hair behind the right ear where the flesh and bones were apparent.
Weslie retracted her head a little and Gold apologised, thinking that without the skin, touching the muscle would have hurt her, but she shook her head furiously. After multiple suicide attempts, she felt very little at all.
"….I want you to join us. To see the world we live in and many more. To meet Jin and all those whose life your spell has saved. My Master has even granted us a mansion with a farm in front of it, tended by all of us. You could finally live out the simple life a lot of people dream about." Gold said, but Weslie could see that he was struggling to say something out. It was not until he took a deep breath.
"…I …I missed you. I really did. Not a day went by where I did not regret that I was unable to protect you." Gold confessed while looking straight into her eyes.
"I always regret not able to say it as I grabbed onto your nearly cold corpse as we fled away from the Compass Tower…I promise I will absolutely slaughter the North and South Scholars for defiling your corpse." Gold then realised he might have been a little too emotional as he saw her eyes were flooded with tears. He remembered how West used her last breath to teleport Gold even further away from the scene as he had already used the last of his mana to fight against the mutiny.
"As I thought, that my life was over at the fight, my last thought was hoping you would be safe. When I awoke once more, I was looking forward to meet you again… but then I saw what they did to me. What they forced me to do since then…" Weslie felt those nightmarish memories were ever recurring.
"Every time I created a new weapon, I wished that none of them would be used against you. Each and every day, my heart ached, and it grew numb by the consistent demands of North and South. I am sorry. I am so sorry! I tried to undermine them. I really tried." Tears flowed like an unending river and Gold attempted to come closer and put his shoulder around her, but she took the initiative first.
"I will only get uglier, you know? Even if you manage to recreate that necromancy ritual! I may look worse! I might even be a different person than what you see now! You know the repercussions of re-resurrecting a dead person!" Weslie cried, and Gold sighed because it seemed like she did not remember whatever they discussed a while ago.
"So please, let me be yours. Not because I owed you. Not because of the guilt that I have. But because I really did like you. – No, I still do! Please let me be in your arms until the end of my life." Weslie wept.
Gold never thought that a logic driven lady like Weslie could fall into the traps of emotions and act way beyond reason. But he understood the fear…even though it was just a little. Since he too had experienced death. Not once nor twice but like a frequent traveller going through the customs. All he could do now was to comfort her until she experienced the System's resurrection herself.
"Scholar Gold, System has determined that Scholar Weslie won't require the necromancy ritual. Her soul has been tightly linked to the two Elder Demons due to various circumstances. System speculates that this was done to prevent the deterioration of her skills and abilities." The System suddenly informed Gold about it.
"Your rivals have used the highest quality of blood ritual normally performed by powerful demons. Scholar of the West, Weslie's fate is greatly intertwined with the two Elder Demons." System then provided the most optimal solution.
"To assure a perfect capture, both Elder Demons have to be killed simultaneously, or her soul may fracture."
"Roger that. Any relevant information from our cute malware Foxy?" Kraft overheard the conversation from the System Channel, and the System notified that there was nothing of note yet.
"Boring!" Kraft yawned on sight as Sebastia was working out furiously.
"Sebas, Girl! You heard the System. Just weaken, I will kill them together. Enough with the warm up, time to show off your skills, before I finish it."
"Yes, Bellator Kraft!" Sebastia smiled as she performed her Demonic Minotaur Martial Arts, Drawing the Full Moon, Dividing the Watermelon, and cutting the Water Snake's tail away despite the watery illusion it used. The Burning Lion had already received damage through its innards with her 'Noodles that Skips The Mouth and into Stomach' punch.
"Okay, that is good enough." Kraft sneered as he aimed at his No Mercy at the two Elder Demons.
———-
Suddenly, Weslie felt a strange feeling coursing through her whole body. She could feel her circulation system begin to fail her. Her breathing was getting worse along with it. "Gold!" Her eyes were trembling with even more tears as Gold held onto her.
Even though he knew that she was going to be resurrected again, Gold could not help but tear at the sight of it. "Shhh Shhh…I am at your side. Do not worry, Weslie. I am here. I am here for you. I am not going anywhere. It's just like a short dream. And once you wake up, I will still be by your side."
Weslie tried her best to cling on to Gold, but her strength was waning by the second, and she disliked that feeling a lot. For the second time in her life, she was fading away from her lover.
"At the very least…I finally confessed my feelings for him. This time he is here for me…" She thought to herself as she could see Gold sweet talking her as if encouraging her that everything will go just fine.
"You idiot. Thank you for giving me hope…" Weslie smiled weakly as she closed her eyes in peace and soon her flesh disintegrated, leaving just her cloaked robe and dust. However, within that robe, Gold could feel something heavy and went to dig into the robe.
What he found was the Litoride Gem that the Elder Demon Burning Lion and Water Snake had treasured. "Hahah, those North, South bastards…I know you were bastards. But to go the extra mile… to defile my gift to my love and use it the catalyst for her life. I am – We will never forgive you."
"But first…System suggests that Scholar Gold welcome his lover at Werejackal's home instance. System has placed her in your bed. A kiss will be sufficient to wake her up." The System notified before it automatically teleported Gold back with all the items in that basement hall.
"Damn System. I didn't know you were such a romantic."
"What are you talking about?" Weslie asked in a panicked tone. "Are you crazy? Haven't I established the fact that they could not be defeated???"
"Oh! No worries, Weslie. Trust him, he can defeat them in a blink of an eye. Besides, our master, who was way weaker than him, managed to defeat Keyrin and Spiky." Gold answered, and Weslie was extremely confused.
"Your Master? Defeated the Thunder Ram Demon and the Altered Transforming Spider Demon?! What is happening?" Weslie questioned, but Kraft interrupted them.
"Gold, you know how to do that necromancy whatever shit ritual, right? You probably will have to redo it since those demons are going to die soon." Kraft as he stretched a little before he asked if Sebastia was ready. When the latter nodded, Gold asked Weslie to teleport the two of his comrades.
"No! I am not going to, even though I have an obligation to do so!" Weslie refused, and Kraft sighed.
"We do not have much time. Seems like Jin is stuck with something major and it's best to take her away before more nuisances arrive. My anti eavesdropping inscription does not last that long, it's a cheap one. You want to ask your girlfriend to hurry it up?" Kraft asked, and suddenly both scholars' faces turned red.
"She is not my girlfriend!"
"He is not my boyfriend!"
The two disagreed with Kraft simultaneously. They felt embarrassed, and it made the other two laugh together while averting away from each other's gaze.
"Look at you two! Already so synchronised! Just like an old married couple! Alright, just teleport me, and you two can enjoy your catch up chat. Gold don't forget to take her collection with you afterwards." Kraft teased them before getting serious.
"Please teleport me as well." Sebastia did not wish to remain as the third wheel in the following conversation.
Gold scratched his head as he glanced at Weslie's eyes and later looked away immediately. And then he turned back and asked her to trust them. "I assure you that they will be alright. They can put things right. Soon you will be out of this accursed loop."
Gold's constant pleading drove Weslie into a dilemma. She initially wanted things to end for her because there was nothing more than suffering. However, long after she had already accepted her fate, she was suddenly given the opportunity to finally rest… But now she hesitated.
Especially because Gold, the one Weslie lost all chances to be reunited with, was in front of her and somehow he did not mind her to die. Still, that trickster looking guy did command Gold to recreate a necromancy ritual. Why was Gold that desperate to remove her? She could not understand a single bit. And he was so confident that things would go alright.
Still, did she really wish to be bonded to Gold for the rest of her life? Hell yeah. He had been nothing less of a gentleman, a loveable attitude with an inquisitive outlook. To her, she did not mind going through the river of death again just for him. But still, did Gold feel the same for her?
Would she become a burden to Gold?
As much as Weslie wanted to be with him, she did not know whether this was the effect of isolation or if these were her true feelings.
Sometimes, the Scholar of the West felt that Gold was merely accommodating her, and he admitted once that he did not do much to get her attention, as if implying that he treated her as just a friend.
"…Fine. But I have a lot of questions, and you better be prepared to answer them! I am not willing to die for good just yet!" Weslie said as she cast a teleportation spell on both of them and left Gold and Weslie alone. (But not before Kraft released another anti eavesdropping inscription in the area.)
"What do you wish to know?" Gold dragged two chairs in front of them and Weslie sat down.
"You can start by telling me how you got involved with those people," Weslie demanded, and Gold started recounting their encounter with Jin and what followed after. (He had been very apt at explaining this since more and more people kept asking him the very same question. At this rate, he could have written a bible on his lord and saviour, the System.)
——
"Ahhh finally out of the awkward situation," Kraft spoke as he took out his trusty No Mercy revolver. His mouth turned into a wicked grin. He could not help it since every time he took out this weapon, a blood bath was imminent.
"They have too many things to sort out. Our fight may not give them enough time for that. Both of them obviously want each other at the same time, but seem to believe that they both are just treating each other as friends." Sebastia sighed.
"Scholars are a weird bunch of people. They should be wise, yet in some ways, they are no more mature than our 'young' Master." Kraft said as he heard the flowing of water and cracking of fire in the distance.
"Anyways, go enjoy some exercise first. Once you have had enough, I will enter the fray. Otherwise, it will all be over too soon."
"Thank you, Bellator Kraft. Please do give me your thoughts on my techniques as well." Sebastia bowed formerfully as the snake's head emerged from the snowy ground.
"Sure, why not. It will buy those clumsy scholars some time to sort their feelings. But remember. After I intervene, please keep whatever you see to yourself. I've not revealed my true strength to Jin yet. Just keep it as a surprise for now." Kraft said, and Sebastia promised.
"Same goes to you System. I'm looking forward to Jin's shocked face, so don't you dare spoil my fun!" Sebastia added as she cracked her knuckles while the Burning Lion was seen charging from afar.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Get working! Mr Fox does not have all day!" Kraft sniggered as the Water Snake Demon went forth towards Sebastia immediately.
——
"So…you were killed and resurrected?" Weslie did not expect Gold to act so rashly which he eventually admitted his own mistakes.
"Well… technically no. At least not at that point in time. Please keep it to yourself, but unlike Grey, Brown, Yellow or the rest of them, I submitted to Jin, when he promised me that I would see all of them again, just by letting myself hit by his metal box (phone)."
"Sigh. But can you fully blame me? Master Jin, or more accurately his hidden power, is an anomaly, that none could have foreseen. His subordinate Zeru had broken into one of our hideouts and stolen some freshly acquired Living Armour Plates seeds.
"We had to pay a hefty price to get them in the first place and could have used the money to fund our operations for months… or at least prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. But hey! As you can see I am still alright! Fine and dandy and I achieved the impossible and the envy of all the past Scholars." Gold said with a slightly arrogant, filthy tone which made Weslie laughed.
"Immortality," Weslie said with a smile despite her cloak hiding her eyes.
"With conditions!" Gold smiled widely before he again tried to lower her cloak down. "Don't worry. It's just the two of us here. " Her peaceful, delicate eyes along with that sweet looking mouth was a sight for sore eyes as Gold curled her hair behind the right ear where the flesh and bones were apparent.
Weslie retracted her head a little and Gold apologised, thinking that without the skin, touching the muscle would have hurt her, but she shook her head furiously. After multiple suicide attempts, she felt very little at all.
"….I want you to join us. To see the world we live in and many more. To meet Jin and all those whose life your spell has saved. My Master has even granted us a mansion with a farm in front of it, tended by all of us. You could finally live out the simple life a lot of people dream about." Gold said, but Weslie could see that he was struggling to say something out. It was not until he took a deep breath.
"…I …I missed you. I really did. Not a day went by where I did not regret that I was unable to protect you." Gold confessed while looking straight into her eyes.
"I always regret not able to say it as I grabbed onto your nearly cold corpse as we fled away from the Compass Tower…I promise I will absolutely slaughter the North and South Scholars for defiling your corpse." Gold then realised he might have been a little too emotional as he saw her eyes were flooded with tears. He remembered how West used her last breath to teleport Gold even further away from the scene as he had already used the last of his mana to fight against the mutiny.
"As I thought, that my life was over at the fight, my last thought was hoping you would be safe. When I awoke once more, I was looking forward to meet you again… but then I saw what they did to me. What they forced me to do since then…" Weslie felt those nightmarish memories were ever recurring.
"Every time I created a new weapon, I wished that none of them would be used against you. Each and every day, my heart ached, and it grew numb by the consistent demands of North and South. I am sorry. I am so sorry! I tried to undermine them. I really tried." Tears flowed like an unending river and Gold attempted to come closer and put his shoulder around her, but she took the initiative first.
"I will only get uglier, you know? Even if you manage to recreate that necromancy ritual! I may look worse! I might even be a different person than what you see now! You know the repercussions of re-resurrecting a dead person!" Weslie cried, and Gold sighed because it seemed like she did not remember whatever they discussed a while ago.
"So please, let me be yours. Not because I owed you. Not because of the guilt that I have. But because I really did like you. – No, I still do! Please let me be in your arms until the end of my life." Weslie wept.
Gold never thought that a logic driven lady like Weslie could fall into the traps of emotions and act way beyond reason. But he understood the fear…even though it was just a little. Since he too had experienced death. Not once nor twice but like a frequent traveller going through the customs. All he could do now was to comfort her until she experienced the System's resurrection herself.
"Scholar Gold, System has determined that Scholar Weslie won't require the necromancy ritual. Her soul has been tightly linked to the two Elder Demons due to various circumstances. System speculates that this was done to prevent the deterioration of her skills and abilities." The System suddenly informed Gold about it.
"Your rivals have used the highest quality of blood ritual normally performed by powerful demons. Scholar of the West, Weslie's fate is greatly intertwined with the two Elder Demons." System then provided the most optimal solution.
"To assure a perfect capture, both Elder Demons have to be killed simultaneously, or her soul may fracture."
"Roger that. Any relevant information from our cute malware Foxy?" Kraft overheard the conversation from the System Channel, and the System notified that there was nothing of note yet.
"Boring!" Kraft yawned on sight as Sebastia was working out furiously.
"Sebas, Girl! You heard the System. Just weaken, I will kill them together. Enough with the warm up, time to show off your skills, before I finish it."
"Yes, Bellator Kraft!" Sebastia smiled as she performed her Demonic Minotaur Martial Arts, Drawing the Full Moon, Dividing the Watermelon, and cutting the Water Snake's tail away despite the watery illusion it used. The Burning Lion had already received damage through its innards with her 'Noodles that Skips The Mouth and into Stomach' punch.
"Okay, that is good enough." Kraft sneered as he aimed at his No Mercy at the two Elder Demons.
———-
Suddenly, Weslie felt a strange feeling coursing through her whole body. She could feel her circulation system begin to fail her. Her breathing was getting worse along with it. "Gold!" Her eyes were trembling with even more tears as Gold held onto her.
Even though he knew that she was going to be resurrected again, Gold could not help but tear at the sight of it. "Shhh Shhh…I am at your side. Do not worry, Weslie. I am here. I am here for you. I am not going anywhere. It's just like a short dream. And once you wake up, I will still be by your side."
Weslie tried her best to cling on to Gold, but her strength was waning by the second, and she disliked that feeling a lot. For the second time in her life, she was fading away from her lover.
"At the very least…I finally confessed my feelings for him. This time he is here for me…" She thought to herself as she could see Gold sweet talking her as if encouraging her that everything will go just fine.
"You idiot. Thank you for giving me hope…" Weslie smiled weakly as she closed her eyes in peace and soon her flesh disintegrated, leaving just her cloaked robe and dust. However, within that robe, Gold could feel something heavy and went to dig into the robe.
What he found was the Litoride Gem that the Elder Demon Burning Lion and Water Snake had treasured. "Hahah, those North, South bastards…I know you were bastards. But to go the extra mile… to defile my gift to my love and use it the catalyst for her life. I am – We will never forgive you."
"But first…System suggests that Scholar Gold welcome his lover at Werejackal's home instance. System has placed her in your bed. A kiss will be sufficient to wake her up." The System notified before it automatically teleported Gold back with all the items in that basement hall.
"Damn System. I didn't know you were such a romantic."
