Chapter 501.1: I Won’t Abandon You (1)

When the tides of darkness flooded in and covered the sky, in the Diamond Rivière, Charlotte lay weakly on the bed looking frailer than ever, as if she would disappear at any moment. Her fists were slightly clenched as if trying to fight against the onslaught of the curse.

She looked at the black-haired man seated by the bed with narrowed eyes, speaking words filled with nervousness but certainty.

“Is it finally appearing?”

“… It’s heading here.”

“I see… Cough cough!”

Charlotte looked somewhat nervous as she stared at Roel, but she started coughing before she could say anything. At the same time, the guards outside fell deathly silent under the immense pressure that had suddenly befallen them.

Roel wasn’t surprised by the situation outside at all. Having confronted these calamitous ancient monsters numerous times now, he was more familiar than anyone how intimidating they were. It was just that what he felt this time around wasn’t fear but swelling rage.

In the last few days, Charlotte’s curse had acted up with much greater frequency. The cunning monster was clearly hoping to weaken them as much as possible through its curse before their confrontation.

As a result, Charlotte’s condition fell to its worst-ever state since she caught the curse, hinging on the edge of eternal sleep. Despite being in such a poor condition, her eyes only reflected deep worry for the man before her.

“Darling, are you going to fight with that monster?”

“… Yes. It fears the Crown Origin Attribute. I have to go. I am the one who can fight it.”

“But darling, you aren’t in a good state.”

“…”

Roel fell silent in response to Charlotte’s question, but his eyes were unwavering.

Seeing that, Charlotte didn’t say anything else. She mustered her strength to stretch her hand toward him, but it plopped down halfway through as she ran out of strength. Fortunately, Roel quickly reached out and grabbed her arm before it could fall down.

He placed her hand against his cheek, and she smiled weakly at that.

“Darling, can you promise me something?” she asked weakly.

“What is it?”

“If you find yourself in a disadvantageous position, please don’t hesitate to take off the ring.”

As weak as her voice was, her eyes remained clear.

A year had passed before their recent reunion. Charlotte didn’t know exactly how strong Roel currently was although she knew he was bound to have become much more powerful after becoming a high transcendent. Despite that, she wasn’t too optimistic about the battle.

She could see that she wasn’t the only one in the room who had a pale face. It was clear that Roel had become severely weakened from trying to sustain her health with his life force.

Everything that had happened recently was like a fairy tale to her.

Roel was like a valiant knight rescuing her from the clutches of despair, standing steadfast by her side and doing all he could to protect her from danger. But now that they were standing before the evil dragon, she didn’t want to be the frail princess who was nothing but baggage to the knight.

She did know what it meant for Roel to take off the ring.

Without the sustenance from his life force, she would swiftly succumb to the curse and pass away. It wasn’t easy for her to accept death at all, not when the world had shown her the blissful future she could have. But more than anything else, she wanted him to win the battle and live on.

That was why she made this request with great conviction.

Roel felt a bitter tinge in his heart, and his eyes reddened. Even after a long moment of silence, he still didn’t know what to say. In the end, he could only flash her a helpless smile.

“I don’t know how much taking off the ring can help me, but it is the symbol of our love. Until you come to hate me, I’ll never take it off.”

“Darling…”

“Charlotte, don’t forget our vow. I’ll never abandon you.”

“!”

Charlotte widened her eyes. She remembered their promise to be together in life and in death, and it wavered her conviction.

Despite that, Roel couldn’t put his mind at ease. He knew that nothing he said now mattered. She wouldn’t hesitate to take off the ring the moment he fell into a disadvantageous position.

Knowing that he had to do something, he quietly channeled his mana before leaning in for a goodbye kiss. The moment their lips touched, Charlotte suddenly felt drowsiness washing over her. She stared at Roel with widened eyes.

“Darling, you…”

“Have a good sleep. Everything will be over by the time you wake up.”

In the first place, Charlotte was barely holding herself together. It didn’t take long for her to succumb to the drowsiness spell and fall deeply asleep.

Roel heaved a sigh of relief before rising to his feet.

“Goodnight, Charlotte.”

After murmuring a goodbye, he began making his way out of the carriage. By the time he stepped out of the door, the smile on his lips had already vanished. Overwhelming killing intent flowed out of him as he finally removed the lid on his violently seething rage.

Amidst the silence, a pale yellow wind gushed out.

…

The terror of the Six Calamities went beyond words.

Soldiers fighting against the deviants at the eastern border had resigned themselves to death, but fear nevertheless engulfed them when faced with those ancient monsters. That was the natural reaction when confronted with existences beyond one’s understanding.

Humans were always afraid of things that went beyond their scope of knowledge. Such were the instincts of intelligent life forms capable of deeper thoughts. That was also why Grace and the others, despite having resolved themselves to protect Charlotte at the cost of their lives, froze up at the appearance of Flooding Death.

However, that all changed when Roel appeared.

His ripple of mana immediately alleviated the pressure on Grace and the others. A pale yellow wind under the concealment of the night blew in a radius around him, forming a semi-spherical isolation barrier.

Time Devourer—that was Tempest Caller’s ability.

As one of the Six Calamities, Tempest Caller’s powers rivaled that of Flooding Death’s. Augmented by the Crown Origin Attribute, it could even inflict damage to the latter. A barrier formed from it was naturally capable of nullifying the pressure exerted by Flooding Death too.

The crowd heaved a sigh of relief, but Roel’s face remained grave.

He raised his head to sharply stare at the black clump of deathly curses in the sky across the pale yellow barrier. The latter sensed his aura as well, and two bundles of light reminiscent of eyes stared back at him.