Antagonist Protection Service-Chapter 210 - Messy Reunion

210: Messy Reunion

210: Messy Reunion

It hadn’t occurred to me until now, but as it turned out, Contracts for the same Illusory World were in fact possible.

Maybe it was my fault.

Or rather, that was almost definitely what happened.

I guess, because the crown prince was infatuated with the previous Protagonist, and then the two of them were killed on the same night, her brother must have harboured suspicions and resentment towards Lucretia, leading to this outcome.

Even though I told her to just blame me for everything…

‘Although, I did say that under the assumption that I would never return…’

Surprisingly, I wasn’t as shocked as I thought I would have been.

Perhaps it was because I had already learned the truth of the Tower, and further than that, witnessed the birth of a Protagonist on Earth, that the idea of a second Protagonist emerging in an Illusory World I had already visited wasn’t so far-fetched.

Either way, wasn’t it perfect?

Not only was the Contract only 2-star Difficulty, meaning I wouldn’t have to spend so many resources focusing on clearing it, but the more I thought about it, the more Drakon-Rasa seemed the ideal place for me to sort several things out―that is, a place I can practice controlling my newly-acquired magic energy with even other people around who might be able to assist me, and not only that, but with the Holy Sword, too.

‘If I can get in contact with the guy from the church again…

Uh, I forgot his name, but he’s bound to have the right property of divine power to unlock the Sunlight Spear, right?’

Assuming he wouldn’t immediately oppose me due to my crime, that is.

“Or wait, didn’t the spirit say I could use my own divine power…?

Right, I just need someone to teach me how to control it…”

…Now that I thought about it, Lucretia could help with that too.

She shared the same divine power of the Winter Mother that I did, after all.

“Alright.

Librarian, send me in.”

‘It’s been a while since last time…

I wonder how she’s been getting on.’

It was time for a reunion.

“Roger~!

Let’s go…!”

As the white world of the Library began to distort around me, a faint, belated realisation floated around in my mind.

‘Actually, this makes both times a Red Contract, doesn’t it…?’

Before I had the time to delve any further into that, I vanished from the Library, immediately sensing something wrong upon my arrival.

In the air I detected a thick scent of divinity, and as I opened my eyes to see the world around me, I found the bright hall instantly familiar.

‘Isn’t this…?’

I recognised it to be the Sunlit Temple.

More than that, however, the place I was standing…

‘Uhh…’

Glancing at the floor before me, it was impossible to ignore those who were praying, kneeling with their hands clasped together and eyes closed.

In fact, there were so many of them that practically the entire floor of the hall was taken up; you’d have to be blind not to notice.

Except, strangely, they all had their bodies positioned to face me.

In particular, the figure right at the front of the lot, the person directly in front of me, their flowing black hair–

“I-Intruder…!”

Subtly flinching at the loud voice, I raised my head to see a robed priest, evidently shocked, pointing at me and screaming.

‘Oh shit.’

Glancing down, of course, I was still wearing the Draconic Shadow and the Villain’s Vizard from earlier.

Because it was a world I was already acquainted with, or otherwise due to the low Difficulty, there must not have been a need to assign me a disguise.

The Librarian’s regular declaration of my ‘transportation to an Illusory World’ also did not ring clear.

Not having the time to ponder why that was the case, everyone praying on the floor swiftly raised their heads at the priest’s shout, quickly jumping up or scrambling away immediately upon seeing me in waves.

Like that, everyone made rapid distance.

“…”

Except for her.

‘Ah, fuck…

This isn’t how I wanted it to go…’

“Your Highness, please get away right now!

It’s dangerous!”

Some people called out like that from the crowd, resulting in others gaining the confidence to do the same, and before I knew it, there was a whole lot roaring in concern for the girl before me, still kneeling.

Gazing down at her, I met her bright, crimson eyes like reflective rubies, noticing how they widened as she continued to stare up at me.

For just a moment, I smiled behind the vizard.

‘She seems well.

I’m glad.’

Eventually, perhaps enough time had finally passed for someone to get help, as following a chaotic murmur spreading through the crowd, a troop of knights in white-and-gold armour emerged, bearing emblems of a dragon wing crossed over a sun.

‘The Imperial Emblem…

Are they Imperial Knights?

Tsk…’

Narrowing my eyes, I spared a single glance to Lucretia on the floor.

Charging through the crowd, the four knights brandishing sharp weapons and covered in thick metal plates from head-to-toe all rushed my way, two of them stopping by Lucretia’s side with large tower shields and the others continuing towards me with halberds.

They each attacked at the same time, one thrusting the point of the weapon at me whilst the other slashed horizontally with the axe blade.

Suddenly, Heightened Senses acted to hasten my perception, causing everything to dramatically slow down as I watched the blades gradually approach by the second.

With Heightened Senses now also able to grasp and perceive mana, I could immediately tell that the weapons and armour of the knights were enchanted or blessed with magic―even with the Draconic Shadow, if I were to take either of these attacks head-on, I certainly wouldn’t come out unscathed.

So, I evaded.

Hurriedly ducking beneath the horizontal sweep, I simultaneously rotated my body to the side, narrowly dodging the spear tip by just a few inches.

At that moment, I summoned the Villainous Blade from Storage, hastily moving to step back and hit the shaft of the thrusted weapon from above, my boosted strength from the buff potion still in effect and giving me more than enough power to knock the halberd to the ground.

In fact, with the natural flow of magic power now coursing through my body, I was even stronger.

It being my first time using the Villainous Blade in a long while, I was momentarily surprised by how weighty it felt compared to the Holy Sword.

Still, in this situation, that made it only better.

Killing Lucretia’s guards was obviously a bad idea, so after disarming one, I swung again, aiming the blade towards the second knight’s halberd and swiftly knocking his too clattering to the floor.

Then, not wasting any time, I dashed forward, jumping over the heads of the two knights holding the tower shields, Lucretia still kneeling between them.

I caught her gaze drift up, following me into the air as I flew overhead, but that could only last for a fleeting moment as I smoothly landed on their other side, dismissing the Villainous Blade and breaking into a sprint for the temple entrance.

Before me now were only the countless civilian nobles, priests and priestesses blocking the way, many of them cowering as I charged in their direction.

I’m sure they must have been exceptionally frightened, seeing me in this intimidating wear come at them, but there really was nothing for them to worry about…

Leaping up to grab a hold of the top of the large archway forming the temple entrance, I lightly swung to climb on top of the temple’s front, finding myself outside with the gleaming sun shining down upon me.

Of course, because of my contrasting outfit and the ‘unusual’ position I was in, it wasn’t before I got there that horrified screams emanated from the crowd, but it only continued to get worse from there.

“Tch, why’s there so many of them…”

Muttering under my breath as I held onto the temple’s front face, the vast set of matching white stairs and paired statues beneath me, I looked out over the sea of citizens all gazing up at me, filling the streets all the way up the temple steps and causing a raucous commotion.

Although different from the Imperial Knights inside, there were even a bunch more city soldiers plastered throughout―a clear increase in security since the last time I was here.

‘Everyone looks agitated…

Ugh, is that really all because of me…?’

Lightly sighing, I knew I’d have to go even further before I was able to get a moment of respite, and so I did.

Turning away from the endless crowd, I scaled the entire front face of the Sunlit Temple, climbing all the way to the top and darting over the roof to the other side.

By that time I had already activated Sneak, and after taking a moment to survey the layout of the city before me from the tall roof of the temple, I located some secluded alleyways that should be able to hide me from any pursuers.

I took a step forward in that direction, but at that moment, my leg faltered and I fell to one knee with a groan.

“Ngh, what…?”

Introspecting for a few seconds, I quickly realised what was going on.

‘…The buff’s running out.’

The previous Protagonist’s potion was only meant to last so long.

In fact, I was lucky for it to have lasted as long as it did, but this really was unfortunate timing…

If it was just the extra power running out, that would be fine.

But, feeling all energy rapidly drain from my body, my breathing gradually getting rougher and having all my strength quickly fade more and more each second, I recalled what exactly I was told about the potion’s after effects causing my body to weaken severely for a while, and grit my teeth.

“Damn it…”

I wouldn’t be able to clear the Contract like this, but I at least needed to get to a safe place to rest until I recovered.

Glancing again at one of the closest alleys just a few streets away, I forced myself up on my feet and pushed forward.

Somehow, I felt my experience in Drakon-Rasa would differ vastly this time around.