"Ugh~... E-Enough!" Evelyn exclaimed and jumped away while panting and tidying up her clothes.
I shrugged and stopped the transfer of mana. Turning towards Evelyn, I could see her entire face was flushed and her body was filled with sweat.
Surprisingly, though, this time she managed to endure the process of mana transfer long enough to get the mana necessary to attempt the teleportation spell again. And this time, she did not get lost in lust.
"Ha... ha... ha... Boy, are you sure there is not another way to transfer the mana?" Evelyn said with a tired expression.
I smiled. "There is."
"There is!?"
"Yeah. We can make the process slower. That way, your body will not react as abruptly as now, but the process will last much longer. So, although your bodyâs reaction will be weaker, you will have to endure for longer. You can decide."
Evelyn thought for a moment before shaking her head tiredly. "Letâs leave it like this. I already know what to expect with the current method, so I barely can manage to hang on. But if we change the method and Iâm unable to endure, I fear Iâll commit a mistake."
"I donât mind it. But you will have to take responsibility afterward."
Evelyn was speechless.
"Although thinking about it, donât you think you should take responsibility for the kiss of before?"
"Claus!"
"Okay okay, you donât have to take responsibility! Iâll take responsibility instead, okay? Headmistress, when are we going to get married?"
"Damn brat! Are you having fun teasing me!?"
I thought for a moment before nodding. "I am. What? Got a problem with that?"
Evelyn gritted her teeth in rage. Her face turned completely red and I could see her hands moving as though she was going to cast a spell.
In the end, though, Evelyn took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
"Calm down, calm down. There is no need to get mad at this bastard."
"Headmistress, Iâm beside you, you know?"
Evelyn stared at me with a âthat-is-the-reason-Iâm-speaking-loudlyâ gaze.
I chuckled amusedly. Evelyn looked at me in anger, but soon her lips curved up.
Not much later, both of us were chuckling together.
"How much mana did you get, headmistress?" I asked.
Evelyn closed her eyes and felt the mana in her body. "... Iâll have to modify the teleportation spell so it can work, and that means using more mana. This is enough for three or four attempts."
I whistled in admiration. "Itâs much more than last time. You did a good work enduring."
Evelyn flushed red and shot me an angry glare.
I chuckled again and stood up. "Okay, now that we are done transferring the mana, Iâll go out for a while."
"Where are you going?"
"To get something to eat." I explained. "We have been battling and running away for a few hours. Iâm sure both of us are hungry."
"... I donât think itâs a good idea to waste mana like that."
I smiled wryly. "Donât worry, Iâm a good hunter. I promise you Iâll use less mana than the mana used in a first-layer spell."
Besides, I want to take advantage of this opportunity to collect a bit of information.
"Iâll go with you then."
"No." I refused immediately. "Headmistress, you will need to modify the teleportation spell later, so itâs better if you rest while you have the opportunity. Donât worry, Iâll be alright." I said with a relaxed expression.
Although Evelyn was a bit worried, she knew I was right. Thus, she agreed reluctantly.
But once I left the cave, my relaxed expression turned into a frown. Without hesitation, I stepped across space and appeared up in the clouds.
From up there, I observed the situation in this world. I wanted to observe the methods the immortal used to destroy this world. Maybe that way, I could learn about his identity and how to face him.
That was the main reason I came to this world after all.
Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.
But when I looked down, my frown became deeper.
This world is... finished.
Just a glance was enough for me to understand this worldâs situation completely. Filled with clouds of ashes and sulfur, electromagnetic storms roaming the lands, and strong UV light breaking through the thinning atmosphere.
Moreover, the mana was being drained at an astonishing rate. The way things were going, this world would be completely unhabitable in a few months.
Now I know why the monsters were so desperate to run away to our world.
But something about this situation is weird.
No matter how I see it, this world is not being destroyed by a special law.
No. Itâs as if the world itself was being destroyed naturally. Several factors joined together to bring forth this worldâs destruction.
The worldâs core was about to stop, and the tectonic plates were in a mess. The atmosphere was filled with pollution due to the many erupting volcanos, and the sources of water were mostly contaminated.
I wrinkled my brows. How weird.
I know of several immortals that love to destroy worlds. There is the [Immemorial Devourer of Life], who devours energy and lifeforms to evolve towards a perfect existence, the [Light of Eternal Salvation], who fools mortals amidst despair to get their most pure power of faith, the [Harvester of Soul and Pain] who preys in the collective will of civilizations in despair, the [Swallowing Oddity], who swallows worlds for dinner, and many others more.
I hoped I could use the way this world was being destroyed to identify my enemy. However, this worldâs destruction didnât follow the modus operandi of any of them.
In other words, there are two options.
One, itâs the work of an Immortal I donât know about.
Two, itâs an Immortal I know, but he is using a different method to destroy this world.
Both options are equally troublesome.
I sighed. For an instant, I thought about circling around this world to see if I could get more information, but in the end, I decided not to. Iâm currently injured, so if this Immortal realizes Iâm here and seizes the chance to attack me, Iâll probably fall into a disadvantage.
Iâm not afraid of my safety, of course. Even injured, Iâm confident of giving any other Immortal a run for their money if we fight. But with my injury, my options will be limited.
Besides, if Iâm away and the Immortal attacks Evelyn, Iâm not confident in rescuing her.
In fact, what Iâm doing now is already a bit risky. But itâs still in an acceptable range. At most, Iâll take Evelyn with me and teleport back to our world if the immortal appears.
Sigh. I hope that nothing goes wrong.
Taking another step, I was back on the ground. I then looked around to find something we could eat.
After I hunted a rabbit-like animal, I went back to the cave.
...
P4TRE0N: patr-eon.com/aidnovels