I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 122: Not Aldriana

Theo is floating at eye level with the King.

Arthur and the other three watch him while quietly debating what the hell is going on.

"Art, Liam, you guys are crazy!" Julian whispers urgently. "Look at her! That’s Aldriana! She’s wearing the same thing since I saw her yesterday!"

Then he turns to Maeve. "Maeve, I’m not crazy, right? You also saw Aldriana, right?"

Maeve doesn’t answer. She’s staring at Theo intently, her brows slowly knitting together.

Then she blinks.

Once.

Twice.

Then a few more times, rapid and sharp.

"Hey... hey. Look." Her voice drops. "Are you seeing what I’m seeing?"

All of them focus on Theo.

The figure of Aldriana shimmers.

For a brief moment, the image distorts, like heat waves rising from asphalt. Then another image overlaps it.

A man.

As tall as Julian, broader through the shoulders. His frame is unmistakably male. The jet-black hair is gone, replaced by dark brown. His clothes are still black. The baseball cap is still there.

Everything else remains the same.

He’s still floating mid-air.

Still facing the King.

Still utterly unafraid.

Theo takes a deep breath.

He keeps his gaze locked on the King’s eyes, unflinching. The illusion he’s holding now feels thin, fragile, but for the first time since entering this dungeon, it gives him something precious.

Freedom.

He wishes he could see the image of his real face right now. To see if he still remembers it. To see if the illusion he put up is even correct.

But that will have to wait.

First, the Dungeon King has to die.

He feels Thea’s mana surging within him.

Thea’s magic resonance is incredible. Even after all this time using it, I’m still in awe. How easily it answers my call. How effortless that lightning was.

If it were me, in my old body...

Forget it. There’s no point continuing that thought.

I am using Thea’s body now.

It is what it is.

The King makes clicking noises.

"Youuu... no... sssamee..."

"Youu... sssttrrong..."

It is visibly growing anxious. It doesn’t stop moving. Its heads scan the area, as if searching for a way to escape.

"And you are different. You can talk. How?" Theo asks.

The sound of his own voice startles him.

It feels strange hearing a man’s voice come out of Thea’s mouth, even if it’s only an illusion. But the disguise has to be thorough. A man cannot speak with a young woman’s voice. He needs his own voice.

He doesn’t expect that hearing it, even as an illusion, would bring such a rush of emotion. His eyes sting.

Hold it together, Theo.

"I... sssspecialll..." the King answers.

"Massstteeee... mmakee... I... sssspeciall..."

"Master?!" Theo and Arthur say at the same time.

Arthur steals a glance at the man floating ahead. He can’t see his face, only his back.

Theo falls silent.

He knows Arthur has questions. And since he doesn’t yet understand the situation, Theo chooses to stay quiet and lets Arthur speak.

Arthur feels it. An unspoken approval.

"You have a master?" Arthur asks. "Is your master human, or another Dungeon King?"

The King shifts its gaze to Arthur.

"Massttteeee... sssttrroongg..."

It points at Arthur.

"You... no... ssstttrrooongg..."

"Is your master human or another Dungeon King?" Arthur repeats, ignoring the insult.

The King’s face twists into something grotesque.

"Uummaann... no... sssttrrongg..."

Its voice rises.

"Mmmassssttterrrr... ssssttrongg...!!"

"So your master isn’t human," Arthur murmurs.

He doesn’t know what to do with that information. If the master truly isn’t human, there’s no way to investigate further.

The King turns to Theo and points one of its six fingers at him.

"Youuuu... sssttrongg..."

Suddenly, it bows.

"Youu... Mmmassstteerr..."

Theo raises an eyebrow.

"You think I’m your master? Are you flattering me because you don’t want to die? Is that it?"

He shakes his head.

"Too bad. This dungeon will be cleared. That means you die."

Then his aura sharpens.

"And you’ve killed the humans who wandered into this dungeon, haven’t you?"

The King straightens.

"Ummaann... mmmusss... ddiiee..."

"Yeah. Humans must die," Theo replies calmly. "Well, haelions must die too."

He turns slightly toward Arthur.

"Have you finished with your questions?"

He sounds... older. Much older than me.

Arthur clears his throat.

"Are there any survivors?" He asks it directly at the King.

Theo looks back at the King.

"Are there any survivors?"

The King attempts to laugh. It comes out wrong, half horse whine, half clicking.

"Nooo... ssssuuuvviivvooor... alllll... dddeeaadd..."

"Wwweeaakkk...!!!"

Suddenly, the King fires flying feathers at both Theo and Arthur while retreating, turning to flee.

Theo intercepts them all. With a single motion, a wall of earth erupts from the ground, blocking the escape path.

Arthur looks down.

Broken feathers litter the ground.

He crouches and picks one up. It’s the same as before, broken in the middle.

It was her.

Him.

It doesn’t matter.

My oath still stands.

Arthur returns to where the other three are, carrying a broken feather.

"What’s that?" Julian asks.

Arthur shows it to them. "The whistling sounds earlier? It was the King sending these to kill us. And... our magic teacher intercepted them. That impact sound we heard? That was her." He pauses, then corrects himself. "Him." He smiles slightly as he shows them the feather.

"No way!" Julian’s eyes widen. "That was really her? I mean... him?" He exhales sharply. "Somewhere in my mind, I knew it was her... him. But I never really thought about it. Seeing it makes it real, doesn’t it?" He glances around, unsettled.

Liam looks from the broken feather to Theo, who is currently fighting the King with a crystal sword in his hand.

"He’s... really Aldriana, isn’t he?" Liam murmurs. "I mean... look at the way he moves. Exactly the same. But now it’s more..." He frowns, searching for the word. "More masculine, I guess. But it’s still her movements." He looks at his teammates.

"What do you guys make of this?"

Arthur answers without hesitation.

"If you’re asking whether that person out there is Aldriana or not, my answer is this." He looks straight ahead. "That person is my magic teacher. I don’t care if she’s a he, or he’s a she. That person saved my life. And that person has my allegiance."

Julian stares at him in disbelief.

This is the first time he has ever heard Arthur take a side this quickly. And the word he used wasn’t support. It was allegiance.

"Art... you’re serious."

"I am."

"No, I wasn’t asking," Julian sighs. "I was stating it. You’re serious. About following him."

"I thought I was alone in thinking that," Liam says quietly.

Arthur looks at Liam. He had been prepared to stand alone in his support, and he would have accepted it.

But having comrades is far better.