Dekan and His Long-Lost Friend

Croix's first reaction was to look back at the living room.

Then he continued to stare in astonishment at Dekan in the courtyard.

Logically speaking, one should always enter and exit the Shadow World from the same place.

Therefore, if Dekan successfully cleared this Shadow World that was suspected to be of the ninth rank, he should have walked out of the unstable Void Gate that temporarily appeared in Croix's living room!

Croix's expression at that moment seemed to suggest that she might have dozed off or missed something.

He had been staying in the living room lately, filled with worry and anxiety, hoping for Dekan's triumphant return.

After all, he was the one who started the Shadow World, and Dekan entered this dangerous Shadow World on his behalf!

Moreover, Dekan was his most important friend.

He found him when he was at his lowest point, most confused, and almost ready to give up. Without hesitation, he stood up for him upon meeting him, and after they became partners, he always trusted his support and protection deeply.

So until just now, Croix had been sitting in the living room waiting.

It was only after sensing the Magic Power fluctuations in the courtyard that Croix stepped out of the mansion to take a look.

As a result, Dekan inexplicably found himself sitting in his yard!

After confirming that the person in front of him was indeed Dekan, and not someone else impersonating Dekan to play a prank, Croix immediately let go of the mansion doorknob and ran to Dekan's side in the courtyard.

"Dekan! Have you cleared this ninth-tier Shadow World?"

Even though the answer was probably already clear, Croix still felt lingering fear.

"Of course, I fought Chaos God against you and even killed a super powerful Chaos God!"

Dekan said smugly, hands on his hips.

The goddess of life Sisina, is arguably the most formidable enemy Dekan has ever encountered.

She and her powers were a million times greater than those of Agamemnon, the god of magic, Menelaus, the god of matter.

Moreover, once fully developed, Sisina's strength far surpasses that of Agamemnon and Menelaus. Even Ikatinos, currently the strongest being in the world, would probably be no match for Sisina in her complete form.

In that era, to defeat Sisina, the two strongest beings of the past—the Demon King Delois and the Holy Emperor Lunn— were indispensable!

However, it was precisely their preordained, miraculous bond that ultimately became the opportunity to defeat Sisina.

Although... if we're talking about who should win the Finals MVP, even Dekan thinks it might still go to that man...

That guy really did manage to track down Sisina and trick Sisina!

What Dekan found most outrageous was that Ray could even reverse the electricity meter, stealing a life and even more lifespan from the Chaos God?!

It's possible that Clay's current possession of [Super-Speed Regeneration] is somehow related to the [Chaos Rebirth] power he received from the God of Life in his previous life!

Dekan found it both funny and exasperating. Sisina was so furious before she died; probably a large part of her hatred was directed at Ray.

She couldn't reach the lightning even when she was at her angrier.

Let alone escaping from Lunn's Illusion Barrier, even if she could pay a great price and disregard everything to briefly escape from the palace in an attempt to kill Lei, where was Lei at that time?

He was even impenetrable under protection on the top floor of the Holy Capital Tower Prison!

Recalling the battle in the Illusion Barrier, Dekan remembered several times when Sisina had inexplicable, impotent rages.

Even though neither Dekan nor Lunn Taunt her, she was already on the verge of exploding.

There is only one answer--

It's hard to say whether Sisina, who could share Lei's perception, discovered that Lei was remotely Taunt her with "Come and catch me if you dare" to mess with her mentality.

This behavior clearly shows that they look down on Sisina.

Ray likely used the exact same words that Sisina used to Taunt him after defeating him years ago, and retaliated with the exact same Taunt!

Dekan found it increasingly amusing the more he thought about it.

He decided that when he found Clay later, he would definitely ask him what he would do if he encountered a similar situation.

However, as Dekan laughed, Croix's doubts deepened.

"What do you mean by 'you and I' defeated the Chaos God?"

"I'm completely baffled, "Croix asked.

Although he had fought bishops with Dekan, he had never fought an enemy of the level of Chaos God.

Furthermore, if Dekan is referring to events that occurred within this Shadow World, then that's even more incorrect!

Do you remember Lunn?

That's all Dekan asked.

"Yes, I remember. He took great care of us."

Croix nodded; he had always admired and respected this kind and courageous lord.

Dekan: "Actually, he is you."

Croix: "???"

It took Croix a while, staring wide-eyed, to gradually understand the literal meaning of Dekan's words.

According to common sense...

In the Shadow World, there are characters that you have personally seen, spoken with, and interacted with.

They would never even consider the possibility that "he was their past life."

Even though Lunn's appearance did bear a resemblance to Croix... Croix could only wonder if Lunn was possibly her ancestor.

To Croix, Lunn was simply too dazzling.

Born with a curse and an inferiority complex, he was useless in the Shadow World and later suffered from the insults and blame of his classmates. He never thought that a great hero like Lunn, who was admired by the Holy Kingdom, could have anything to do with him.

But he looked into Dekan's earnest and affirmative eyes.

Then I recalled all the things that happened in the previous Shadow World.

And then there's the Void Gate to the Holy Kingdom that he opened in the mortal world.

The answer seemed to be becoming increasingly clear.

He simply kept the possibility of himself being Lunn blocked from even considering it.

"Was my past life really... that of Lunn, who became the Holy Emperor?"

Croix was still somewhat incredulous, staring blankly at Dekan and asking.

"That's right, so whether it's the Holy Kingdom in that era or this one, we are invaluable old friends."

Dekan sighed, feeling that it was wonderful that they had been able to become best friends from the very beginning without any suspicion between them.

Actually, putting aside their positions, Delois and Lunn got along quite well.

At first glance, they seemed more like sworn enemies than friends.

"But, but I could never have the same unwavering will as Lunn."

Croix had once wavered and considered giving up or dropping out of school, felt only ashamed of herself.

In his mind, there was no way Lunn would do such a thing!

"Tell me, what would you do if that spoiled brat Flata, who was always causing you trouble, suddenly decided to cause trouble for Claire one day?"

Dekan asked nonchalantly.

Croix thought about it, and it seemed that just imagining the scene made him angrier and angrier.

"Then I might actually come directly to you and ask what price I need to pay to get you to deal with Flata."

Finally, after a slight hesitation, Croix revealed his true, terrifying thoughts.

However, Dekan was not surprised by Croix's frankness. He immediately clapped his hands, with an expression that said, "That's right!"

"Actually, Lunn is someone who, like you, can choose to compromise and back down; he's just incredibly firm on certain principles. Sometimes, to uphold the principles that are truly important to him, he's even willing to make a deal with the devil."

Dekan shrugged and explained to Croix with a helpless expression.

"And if you really push him too far, he's capable of anything, from kicking the stove to killing people."

"... You're not still holding a grudge about when Lunn kicked over your stove in the snowy north frontier, are you?"

Croix suddenly realized the key point in Dekan's words.

Originally, Dekan was only angry at his ninth-rank father, Lunn, but now that it's confirmed that Croix is Lunn, the nature of the matter has changed.

"No, no, nobody holds grudges for the next life. If I were to scheme against someone, it would be someone like Morion or Clay, not you."

Dekan said it with absolute certainty and certainty.

"..."

Croix looked at Dekan, wanting to say something but feeling like she had a fishbone stuck in her throat.

Dekan probably never intended to screw himself over.

But it seems I've already been dragged into this mess twice by Dekan.

On the contrary, Morion and Clay, whom Dekan had wronged without any remorse, got away scot-free!

Why don't you just scam me? I'd feel more at ease that way.

Croix felt that Dekan's inexplicable confidence was too much.

Next time something like that happens... maybe it's better to stay away... we can't let Dekan score another hat trick.