I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 230: Unfinished Business

"Alicia Lutherford’s dead older brother?" Theo’s eyebrows shoot up.

"Dead?" he repeats, incredulous.

Alex smiles awkwardly. "Erm, yes. Dead. Look, I know you don’t believe me, but time is of the essence, maybe—"

"Time is not of the essence here," Theo cuts in gently, yet unshakeable.

Alex shuts his mouth immediately. He studies Theo for a moment, then exhales.

"You’re right," he sighs. "Time is meaningless here. It’s me who’s in a hurry. I’m afraid for Ali’s safety."

"Ali? That should be Chief Lutherford, right?" Theo asks. His gaze is sharp, steady, no trace of the breakdown he had moments ago.

It is Alex’s turn to be stunned.

"Chief Lutherford?" he echoes. "That’s me. Wait. Was me. I was Chief Lutherford, the chief of Solarys Dungeon Emergency Unit."

Realization hits him. He looks at Theo with wide eyes.

"You mean Ali is the chief now? Really?"

Theo nods. "Yes. And from what I’ve seen, she’s good at it. Really good."

"Of course she would be!" Alex laughs openly, momentarily forgetting the urgency of the situation.

"Oh, thank you for telling me that. I’ve been worried about her ever since my death. It breaks my heart thinking about her. I was afraid she would feel guilty."

He pauses, his expression darkening.

"You see, she watched me die."

He shakes his head. "I’m sure she thinks she killed me. That survivor guilt nonsense. It wasn’t her fault. I chose to die so she could live."

He clenches his fist. "Big difference. And if she’s still blaming herself, help me knock some sense into her head."

Alex says it with fierce conviction.

Theo smiles faintly. "I will. Now tell me how we can help each other."

Alex straightens, the humor fading.

"Right. To explain that, I need to give you some background. How I died, and why I’m still here. Don’t worry, I’ll keep it short." He grins.

Theo likes this man immediately. Straightforward, sincere, urgent without being forceful. A man with a large heart. It feels like a tragedy that someone like him died.

"Okay," Alex says. "Short version."

"I entered a dungeon because my officers went in and didn’t come out for a long time," he begins.

"I went in, rescued everyone I could. But I didn’t know Ali had entered too. She was looking for me. Worried."

His jaw tightens.

"She got into trouble. I saved her. And I died right in front of her."

He shrugs weakly. "And then, bam. Fast forward to today."

Theo chuckles softly. "You weren’t lying. That was very short. Clear too. But there’s more."

"Of course there’s more," Alex scoffs.

"I died in this dungeon. By the same Haelion King. But back then, it wasn’t this powerful. It had smaller spider monsters."

That startles Theo.

"You said you’ve been waiting a long time. But if you died in this dungeon, that was recent."

Alex nods. "Yes."

Theo frowns. "Then Alicia was already a DEU officer when you were chief?"

Alex pauses. "What’s the date you entered the dungeon?"

Theo tells him.

Alex’s brow furrows. "That’s about eight months after I died." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Theo inhales sharply. "A dungeon this dangerous staying open that long? That doesn’t make sense. Captain Chambers said the dungeon was only just discovered."

Another thought strikes him.

"Where was the gate when you entered?" Theo asks.

Alex hesitates, confused by the question, but answers.

"On a remote island, about one hundred kilometers from St. Lucas Island. Still within Concordia waters."

Theo sucks in a breath. "That’s impossible. I entered through a gate in the heart of St. Lucas Island. They were evacuating the entire place."

Silence stretches between them.

"A moving gate?" Alex asks.

"Or two entrances," Theo adds.

Another pause.

Then they speak at the same time.

"I’ll investigate it when I’m out."

"You’ll need to investigate it when you’re out."

They grin at each other.

"Good," Theo says. "We’re aligned. But you still haven’t told me how you’re going to help me. I’m dying, remember?"

Alex grimaces. "Yeah. I saw. That spider stabbed you repeatedly. And Ali... it broke her."

Theo’s jaw drops. "So I wasn’t imagining it. I saw Alicia right before I lost consciousness."

Alex nods. "She was there. Just like when the Haelion King killed me. I looked at her, begging her to keep hiding."

Theo’s expression softens. "I’m sorry, Alex."

Alex nods once.

"You can imagine my shock when I saw her here again, leading three teams. Is she insane?"

"Captain Chambers said it was a rescue mission," Theo explains. "The previous three teams didn’t come out."

Alex scoffs. "That needs to change. Sending people in after a failed rescue is just stacking bodies."

He looks at Theo.

"And then they sent you. A team of five. I thought they’d lost their minds."

He turns serious.

"But when I saw what you guys can do, it blew my mind," Alex says. "I can’t believe people like you exist. What is it? Magic?"

Theo looks at him with the same serious expression and nods.

"Yes. It is magic."

Alex’s eyes light up immediately. Excitement bursts through his fatigue.

"I knew it! I knew it!" he exclaims. "It’s the only explanation that makes sense!"

He exhales, forcing himself to calm down, then refocuses.

"Okay. Back to the matter at hand. How I can help you."

He pauses, collecting his thoughts.

"Since I died, I somehow stayed in the dungeon instead of going wherever dead people are supposed to go. I’m stuck here. My consciousness continues to exist, but my body..." He shrugs. "It’s probably been buried. Or cremated. I don’t know."

Theo listens intently, not interrupting.

"Right after I died, I was terrified for Ali’s safety," Alex continues. "So afraid that I kind of..." He hesitates, then lets out a small laugh. "Okay, this is going to sound crazy."

Theo doesn’t react. He just waits.

"I think... no, I believe it was magic," Alex says more firmly. "I was so desperate to protect her that I felt this overwhelming need to stay. To make sure she was safe. And somehow, I did."

He clenches his fists slightly.

"I stayed. I managed to lure the Haelion King away from her. I even closed off her presence entirely, made it so the monster couldn’t sense her as human anymore."

Theo frowns deeply. From the way Alex describes it, it sounds dangerously close to Light magic.

But he has never heard of a dead magus wielding magic. Ever.

"And since then," Alex continues, "I’ve been stuck here. I can’t go anywhere. I thought I’d be trapped forever."

His gaze sharpens.

"Then I saw Ali again."

"I knew the green mist could corrupt minds," Alex says quietly. "I’ve seen it before. But when I entered this dungeon back then, it wasn’t this strong. Not even close."

Theo finally interjects, voice low.

"Did the King do anything to the smaller spider monsters?"

Alex’s eyebrows shoot up.

"How did you know?"

Theo doesn’t answer.

"You’re right," Alex continues grimly. "It ate them. All of them. Absorbed them completely. And that’s when the green mist became this powerful."