Book 4: Chapter 21 |
Leon fled with Rosvitha all the way down into the castle’s cellar.
It was relatively safer here.
The couple leaned against the wall and slowly sat down.
After catching their breath a little, Rosvitha looked at Leon.
“Are you really the other lone wolf?”
Leon pressed his lips together, then nodded.
“Yes.”
The Queen closed her eyes and let out a sigh.
“My queen, there’s a red demon outside hunting down our whole family right now. Maybe we should first think about how to team up and bring her down.”
Leon finally understood, at least a little, what those Dragon Kings he defeated back then must have felt.
That helplessness—deep, heavy, and unavoidable—right at the final moment.
Isha’s brilliance, paired with the Doctor role, meant she could swim freely in this game like a dragon in water.
To the point that General Leon could only drag his wife around to escape for now, staying temporarily out of Isha’s killing range.
“My sister is probably using those antidotes she gave us to cooperate with the ‘meeting ends’ remote-kill mechanism.”
“And her identity is ‘Doctor,’ so the kill item cards she gets must also be used in coordination with the antidotes.”
“In other words… anyone who ate those antidotes at the beginning, without exception, can’t escape my sister’s pursuit.”
“Getting killed is only a matter of time.”
Rosvitha’s voice was a little heavy.
Even if it was a game, being cornered like this still left an unwilling bitterness.
“Actually, I didn’t eat that antidote.”
“What?”
Leon pulled out a small transparent box from his pocket.
Inside was an orange-flavored candy.
Rosvitha looked at the candy.
“If you didn’t eat it, then how did you escape the infectious disease?”
“By drinking the ‘Mint Iced Tea’ you gave me, obviously.”
Leon tossed the candy aside.
“Good thing I stayed cautious back then. Otherwise, I might’ve been killed in that ‘meeting-end kill’ just now, too.”
“But Noya and I both ate the antidote. We can’t get close to my sister—her kill cards will directly kill us.”
Rosvitha said.
“Then… the only one who can strike my sister now is you.”
What the Queen said was true.
At this point, the only one who could kill a lone wolf was another lone wolf.
“But neither of us has a kill card. How are we supposed to ‘duel’ Big Sis and trade kills with her?”
The problem circled back to the start.
If you wanted to risk your life, you still needed something to risk it with.
But General Leon was “unarmed” right now, and he couldn’t even call a temporary meeting to vote Isha out.
After going around and around, was it still just a slow death?
The Princess wouldn’t survive.
And the Old Friend couldn’t leave alive with the Black Holy Stone either.
Everything—everything—would belong to that red demon, the Doctor.
Drip… drip…
Water drops echoed from a corner of the cellar, the only crisp sound here.
That cake—one bite would poison-eliminate a player—sat right between Leon and Rosvitha.
The Queen’s gaze slowly fell onto it.
Then suddenly, Rosvitha’s pupils widened slightly.
“Actually… I don’t care whether I win or not.”
As she spoke, Rosvitha pulled her main quest card from her pocket.
“My task setup is very similar to Senior Claudia’s.”
“My main mission is to help the ‘Princess’ retrieve the Black Holy Stone.”
“But I also have a hidden mission—taking the ‘Black Holy Stone’ and leaving the castle.”
“That would be my true victory.”
“Which ending happens… is entirely decided by a player’s choice in a single moment.”
“But from the very beginning… I never intended to do that hidden mission, because—”
“Because you want our precious daughter to win, right?”
Leon smiled and finished the second half for her.
Rosvitha gave a soft, amused huff and nodded.
“Right.”
“That child finally got a chance to come out and play happily with her sisters and her friend.”
“I want her to win.”
“After all, Noya’s competitive streak is strong.”
“But now both sisters and her friend have been killed.”
“All the pressure is on Noya.”
Leon said.
“Then I… want her to win even more.”
Rosvitha said.
“This isn’t just a game, Leon.”
“Think about it.”
“Years—maybe even ten years from now—when Noya looks back on this castle trip again, she’ll say proudly that she was the one who saved all of us in the end.”
“What she gains isn’t only a victory.”
“It’s an unbelievably precious memory.”
“I understand what you mean, Rosvitha.”
Leon’s lips held a smile, too.
After a pause, he looked at the silver-haired beauty beside him.
“You’ve become less like a mother.”
“Hm?”
“More like a mom.”
“Is there a difference between ‘mother’ and ‘mom’?”
“Of course there is.”
“Do you remember how happy Noya and Mu’en were when you made them change the way they addressed you—calling you ‘Mom’ instead of ‘Mother’?”
Rosvitha froze slightly, her thoughts pulled back into the past.
After a moment, she smiled knowingly.
“I get it.”
“So… you’re trying to ‘convert’ me, a lone wolf, and have me buy time for you and our daughter, dragging it out until the meeting starts?”
Rosvitha shook her head.
“No, no, no.”
“That’s too risky.”
“And…”
“And?”
She stared ahead, her cheeks quietly turning red.
Rosvitha buried half her face into the crook of her arm.
A muffled voice came from her embrace, fast and flustered.
“And I won’t make my child’s father go do something like that.”
“Can you replace ‘my child’s father’ with a two-character nickname?”
Leon asked with a wicked grin.
“No. Shut up.”
Rosvitha rolled her eyes at him and continued.
“As long as you promise me that, in the end, you’ll let Noya win… then I…”
“Then you what?”
Rosvitha seemed embarrassed.
She crooked a finger at Leon.
Leon obediently leaned in.
“Then I’ll—”
After hearing it, General Leon sprang up from the ground.
“For real?!”
“For real.”
“Alright.”
“Honestly, I already wanted to help Noya win anyway, but my motivation wasn’t that strong.”
“Now that you’ve put that condition on it, let me say this—”
“Your sister has to leave her life here today!”
“I said it!”
“Not even the Dragon God can stop me!”
Rosvitha snorted with a laugh.
“Alright, alright—stop yelling and attracting my sister.”
Leon sat back down.
“From what you just said, you’ve thought of a way?”
“Mm.”
Rosvitha picked up the poisonous cake from the ground.
“Your sister won’t eat it, right?” Leon said.
“No.”
“It’s not for my sister.”
“It’s… for me to eat.”
……
Top floor of the castle, long corridor.
Noya was forced by the “red demon” aunt to the front of a wooden door.
The door was locked from the other side.
It couldn’t be opened.
“Aiya, aiya~ Princess, there’s no road ahead anymore, you know.”
Isha pinched a kill card between her fingers.
Its effect was:
It could kill a player within five meters who had eaten the Doctor’s secret antidote.
She fanned a tiny breeze with the card, step by step, closing in on Noya, who had nowhere left to retreat.
Noya had never found her aunt this “terrifying.”
Goodness… A-Guang, in the future, you absolutely must not go to Aunt’s Red Dragon Temple to become the next Red Dragon King!
You’ll turn into this,s too!
“Aunt… w-we can talk this out properly.”
Noya tried to awaken Isha’s “conscience.”
“Sigh, sweet Noya—whatever little secrets you want to whisper, we’ll talk slowly after the game ends.”
“Right now, I need to deal with you quickly, then go find your dad and mom.”
“Be good, come here—don’t make Auntie’s life hard.”
Don’t say something that terrifying in such a gentle voice, hey!
You’ll give a kid psychological trauma!
Noya pressed herself tightly against the door.
She only had one usable item card in her hand, and that was Reincarnation’s Dead End.
But the duel mechanism of Reincarnation’s Dead End could only trigger when there were only two players left on the field.
From what Isha said, Dad and Mom should still be “alive,” so Noya couldn’t use this card.
What do I do… what do I do…?
Noya bit her lower lip hard.
Even knowing this was a game, the pressure still exploded through the roof.
At the same time, inside God’s Observation Room, three little dragon girls stood before a massive recording stone, watching the standoff between Noya and Isha.
“It’s over… Big Sister can’t get away.”
Mu’en’s voice was full of gloom.
“I thought Uncle Leon and Aunt Rosvitha were already incredible.”
“But I never expected Aunt Isha… to be even more incredible.”
Helena said.
Even the fun-loving pink-haired little dragon was sweating for her big sister.
“Big Sister, hold on a little longer—once the meeting starts, we can vote Auntie out.”
“It won’t work.”
Claudia, who was already sipping tea in the observation room, spoke slowly.
“There are still over forty minutes until eight o’clock.”
“Even Leon and Rosvitha won’t be able to last that long.”
“This game… the Red Dragon King has basically already won.”
The little dragon girls still stood in front of the recording stone, silently praying for that figure who was struggling to hold on.
……
“Noya, come over here.”
“It’s okay.”
“Auntie will carry you to God’s Observation Room.”
Isha moved closer and closer.
She was about to enter the item card’s attack range.
Noya’s heartbeat accelerated nonstop.
She knew perfectly well there was no way for her to escape Auntie’s “pursuit.”
But even so, she wouldn’t surrender obediently.
If it were Dad, he definitely would—
“Player—”
In the silent corridor, a staff member’s voice suddenly rang out.
Noya hurriedly lowered her head to look at the recording stone in her pocket.
Was it her elimination announcement?
But when she pulled it out, she found it did not react at all.
“Since it’s not mine… then it’s—”
“Player ‘Doctor’ has been ‘killed’; Player ‘Doctor’ has been killed.”
Isha froze in place.
Shock filled her delicate face.
“Why… how could this happen…?”
Creak—
The wooden door behind Noya slowly opened.
That familiar man stood behind her.
Avenger
If you witness a ‘kill’ with your own eyes, you will immediately obtain one ‘kill’ ability.
And in his hand…
was a cake with a small bite taken out of it.
…
Footnotes:
- yóu lóngLiterally, “swim like a dragon” describes moving freely and effortlessly, especially in a situation where one has a huge advantage.
- shǒu wú cùn tiěIdiom meaning “unarmed / without any tools or resources,” used here to emphasize helplessness.
- yī niàn zhī jiānIdiom meaning “in a single thought / in a single moment,” implying one decision instantly determines outcomes.
- liǎng zìLiterally “two characters”; refers to a two-character nickname (often a cute or intimate form of address).
- āiyā / āiyā āiyāExclamatory filler expressing teasing, mock pity, or playful surprise; often used in a sing-song, performative tone.
- hóng lóng shèng diànA grandiose-sounding “temple” phrase used humorously to exaggerate someone’s aura/authority; implies a dramatic, almost cult-like “headquarters” for the Red Dragon.