房客(糙汉)何璐程曜坤

Chapter 510 166 - The "correct" timeline that should be followed (part 9)

　　"T-teacher Erest... What are you doing here...?"

　　Horeo wasn't called a prodigy by some mere coincidence.

　　"And Zoemi... Why aren't you with Miriette?"

　　"Miriette? WHERE IS SHE?!"

　　At the mere thought that his beloved master could be in danger, Zoemi freaked out and rushed to the prince. He grabbed his shoulders and shook him violently.

　　"Where is she, she's safe, right? Aspakeony took her to a safe place, right?!"

　　He shouted.

　　"W-wait...!I-I don't know what you're talking about, what Aspakeony, like, the academy?"

　　"Ah...!"

　　Hearing Horeo's genuine shock made Zoemi remember that the existence of the necromancer was a secret that was supposed to be known to the king and the royal magician.

　　Here was the first prince but certainly wasn't the king as of yet.

　　Zoemi noticed a movement behind Horeo's back and saw a new corps puppet appearing from the flash of golden light. The puppet, a gold-haired ten-year-old boy, nodded his head reassuringly to Zoemi and pulled out a mana crystal from his pocket, the next moment he raised it above his head and turned around to face the flames.

　　"Phew..."

　　Zoemi breathed out with relief, in these circumstances Aspakeony couldn't signal him any clearer that Miriette was indeed safe.

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　　|...excuse me? Of course, she could! Why didn't she send another puppet that would explain things clearly?!|

　　Zoemi groaned in disbelief trying to wave his hands in annoyance but that resulted in absolutely no visual change to the murky darkness.

　　|Shush! It's the fire sage girl.|

　　No matter how shocking it was for him, the original soul shushed him while interested in the events playing out on the screen.

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　　"Zoemi, it's Ehmi!"

　　The next thing the black-haired boy knew, Horeo was the one holding onto his shoulders and shouting at him.

　　"Huh? Where?"

　　Zoemi naively raised his brows and looked around in search of the small girl.

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　　|Small...? Then... in that timeline she stayed possessed...?|

　　Zoemi wondered, claiming down and following the original personality's example and focusing on the screen.

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　　"There! It's Ehmi! She caused that! It's her spell!"

　　Horeo shouted extremely loudly as if he thought that Zoemi went partially deaf from the explosion.

　　"What are you talking about? Don't be stupid, Ehmi's a time magician, no matter what, she's not strong enough to turn back time in the area to that extent."

　　Zoemi pushed Horeo's hands away with an annoyed expression, all that he wanted was to go to where Miriette was to ensure her safety and stay by her side.

　　"What are YOU talking about?! EHMI IS THE STRONGEST FIRE MAGICIAN IN THE WORLD! And she went BERSERK RIGHT OUTSIDE THE ACADEMY!"

　　"...!"

　　Zoemi stepped back and stared at Horeo in bewilderment and Horeo rewarded him with the exact same kind of look.

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　　|Ah. I was right.|

　　Zoemi nodded and squinted his eyes, observing the events play out.

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　　"No. Where did you even get that idea? She was always a time magician, it must be the work of someone else, like Ikarweth or something."

　　Zoemi shook his head and turned his sights to Burushitto for help.

　　The heroine just managed to pull the last projectile out of her body and was mending her wounds while continuously healing the first prince's attendants.

　　"Don't look at me. Just like you, I know that little twerp only as a time magician."

　　She spat out the rest of the blood in her mouth and glared between the prince and the attendant.

　　"I told you before, Zoemi, in the game that girl was mentioned very briefly."

　　"And now both of you are talking nonsense!"

　　Horeo clicked his tongue and refuted her in a sharp voice.

　　"...!"

　　Then, all of a sudden Zoemi straightened his back as if he realized something.

　　"Buru...Heal Horeo."

　　He said decisively.

　　"Don't, keep healing Veo and Patishi!"

　　The prince strongly opposed it.

　　"One of the stronger ones, if you can."

　　Zoemi ignored the prince and clarified."

　　"Un."

　　The heroine nodded and reached her hand towards the prince.

　　"Mega heal."

　　"I told you to not....!"

　　Horeo frowned furiously but when the spell activated and the air around him shook, his expression changed in an instant from anger to shock to disbelief.

　　"Huh...? How...?"

　　He muttered.

　　"So what is this about?"

　　Burushitto raised her brow.

　　"The effects of the time magic are registered by a body as the magic damage, and can be treated the same way."

　　Zoemi explained.

　　He didn't feel the need to explain that just before transferring him here, the presence admitted that she messed up and she cannot create another seal or something.

　　Zoemi simply realized that Horeo's words must have something to do with that

　　"What the hell? Why? I-I clearly remember meeting with Ehmi multiple times when we were younger, because she was considered another candidate for wife, just like Miriette... She was always introduced as the strongest fire magician...! I've met her so many times! She always had crimson hair and eyes! Who the fuck is that platinum-haired one?! That wasn't Ehmi! What's going on?!"

　　Zoemi was hoping that the outcome would be completely different, he expected that the presence messed with everyone's memories and made them think that Ehmi was the fire magician.

　　But the truth was exactly the opposite of that.

　　"But that would mean..."

　　Zoemi felt the blood draining from his face.

　　|That all this time I wasn't talking with Ehmi... This whole time...!|

　　"It was the presence itself...!"

　　The black-haired boy muttered under his breath and felt his insides turning inside out.

　　He was played with so much....! Why?! What for?!

　　At the same time that Zoemi was fighting the panic and fury growing inside of him, a slender white hand reached through the flames and passed through the protective film of the Aspakeony's barrier like it was nothing and grabbed the shoulder of the young boy corpse-puppet.

　　The skin, clothes, and meat evaporated in an instant, not leaving even a puff of smoke, the charred bones lasted only mere tenths of a second longer, before dispersing into fine ash.

　　The magic crystal lost its shine and melted into a pathetic puddle that boiled over and evaporated.

　　The flames breached the membrane and started spreading through the academy grounds like hungry snakes searching for their prey.

　　And from beneath the veil of flames, a tall girl walked slowly.

　　She was breathtakingly beautiful, her voluptuous body was filling the academy's uniform to its absolute limits, and the fabric around the chest and waist area was especially prone to be ripped apart from the pressure building on them from the inside.

　　The girl's long crimson hair was reaching all the way to her ankles, although now she was grabbing onto them and combining them with her fingers in a nervous motion.

　　Her big crimson eyes were full of tears that shone like liquid fire.

　　No, her tears didn't just look like a liquid fire...

　　They were straight-up lava.

　　That girl WAS the embodiment of fire.

　　She was Ehmi Gamemi Victureo.

　　The true strongest fire magician, in not only the kingdom of Bellcephora but the whole known world.

　　Noone was able to say anything. Even Valto who managed to get back into his wheelchair was lost for words.

　　Real Ehmi's eyes passed the dead bodies, injured, and alive ones alike, they only stopped when she located Zoemi.

　　"Hubby...! Where is Grazio...?! I couldn't find him, and I couldn't find you, and I went looking for you because I thought that maybe you two are training again, but...! But...!"

　　She cried and the tears of lava streamed down her face and as they did drop from her face they ignited the earth beneath her feet.

　　She started running her fingers through her hair faster and faster in an increasingly unhinged motion.

　　"I suddenly felt so ill that I fell down, and then... then... I-I realized that there was something wrong with my body! I was so small and it felt like someone was wearing me like a costume, but that someone was suddenly gone...! And my mana has run wild... and...! And...!"

　　Ehmi hid her face in her hands and her shoulders started shaking.

　　But as there was no response from others she slowly raised her head, her eyes shrunk and were burning with madness.

　　"Did those people do something to you and Grazio? Hey, Hubby, is that why Grazio isn't here"

　　Her voice trembled and she looked at each and every person in front of her.

　　"Hey, hey... Hubby... Don't worry... EHMI WILL KILL EVERYONE WHO DARES TO MESS WITH THE THREE OF US!"

　　Her voice turned into an ear-piercing shriek and the air around her trembled like water just to burst into a flaming wall of death in the next second.

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　　|It looks like that timeline doesn't have a concept of a sage, considering that it declared Ehmi to be the strongest fire magician in the world... also...|

　　Zoemi sighed after watching the crimson-haired girl appear on the screen.

　　|Also...?|

　　The original personality asked curiously as the boy hesitated.

　　|Also, I guess that I am okay with that particular Ehmi getting saved. From what it sounds like, she really got the short end of the stick... I can relate to her in some strange way...|

　　Zoemi sighed even deeper and admitted, trying to point out the desperate expression on the face of the girl shown on the screen.

　　|...my master is a child that lived far too long, but ould not grow up since the time itself cannot affect her...|

　　The original personality murmured, attempting to make an excuse for the path chosen by the presence in the timeline they were being shown.