Chapter 170: Threatening the queen

Chapter 170: Threatening the queenIs it really over...?

Ash still couldn’t bring himself to believe in the calm surrounding him. Deep inside his heart, he remained skeptical, wary that his unpredictable luck or cursed fate would twist reality once more and throw something unexpected at him again.

But for the moment, there was only silence. No hidden shadows. No strange movements.

Everything seemed... quiet.

"Sir Unknown, we did it!!!!!!"

Serena’s joyful voice suddenly echoed through the space. Without warning, she leaped at him, her expression glowing with happiness and tears welling in her eyes.

Ash blinked in surprise as she crashed into him. Reflexively, he caught her, and in the next moment, she wrapped her arms around him tightly, holding him as if she never wanted to let go.

"Thank you... thank you... thank you so much... If not for you, I would have died back there... I’m really, really glad I met you..."

Her voice trembled as she spoke, her words overflowing in a stream of emotion.

She was smiling through tears, her face pressed against his chest, muttering the words over and over again, as though she feared that if she stopped, it would all vanish.

Ash stood there, completely stiff.

It was the first time in his life—other than Nancy—when a girl had hugged him.

And at that moment, a strange warmth spread across his face.

Embarrassment.

A feeling he had believed long lost to him... suddenly returned.

But it lasted for only a brief second. His rational mind took control again.

Ash placed both his hands on Serena’s shoulders. With a firm yet controlled push, he created distance between them, guiding her to stand upright in front of him.

"I’m glad you’re happy... but you need to start acting like a Queen. And don’t drop your guard so easily. And don’t do that again."

His voice was calm but cold, his gaze firm yet not cold. It was the contradiction of his words and eyes.

Without waiting for a reply, he turned his focus away from her and moved toward the sealed heart that now rested motionlessly on the ground.

Letting out a slow, controlled breath, he thought to himself, Let’s check how long this seal will hold... So far, nothing strange has happened. That means it should be over... right?

Lifting his foot, he lightly tapped the sealed heart, causing it to roll slightly on the floor like a smooth, round ball.

It was compact, heavy, and completely encased in white chains with a visible lock on its surface.

Hmm... seems safe for now...

He planted Eclipse into the ground beside him and leaned forward, picking up the sealed heart with both hands.

As soon as he held it, a faint shimmer of mana flickered across its surface, and a translucent screen appeared in front of his eyes.

Ash stared at the timer with a blank expression before exhaling sharply through his nose.

Haha... of course. My cursed luck wouldn’t let it be that easy...

The seal had barely thirty minutes remaining. That was all he had managed to achieve using the massive amount of mana he had gathered and condensed throughout the past month.

It had taken everything he had just to buy a short window of safety.

Tch... wait. Maybe there’s still another way...

A thought sparked in his mind, and he immediately turned toward Serena.

"Hey... During the fight, you used the World Tree’s power, right? Do you think you can connect to it again?"

Although it was a gamble, Ash had originally hoped the seal would last at least a full day.

If that had happened, there was a strong chance that the World Tree would have enough time to awaken on its own, and will help in sealing the heart.

It was just a theory, a hopeful assumption based on the Serena’s words, but even if the tree didn’t awaken in time, Ash had been preparing alternative plans.

Still, if Serena could make contact with the World Tree again—just as she had during the battle—then things could become far simpler.

They might even win completely.

But before he could ask her again, he noticed something strange.

Huh...? Why is she acting like that...?

Serena was standing silently, eyes fixed on the ground, her face a deep shade of red. Thin streams of steam were practically rising from her head.

She looked like she was about to combust.

"I’m glad you’re happy... but you need to start acting like a Queen. And don’t drop your guard so easily. And don’t do that again."

Hearing that, Serena’s mind froze on the spot. She realized immediately that she had done something embarrassing.

But then, a sudden memory flashed through her head.

Her thoughts drifted like smoke caught in a wildfire. Even though her head was lowered, her mind was anything but calm. It was buzzing, crackling with things she definitely should not have been thinking about at such a serious moment.

He’s a human... a real human... but what kind of human even looks like that?

That face... no, forget the face—what about that body? That body should be illegal. That wasn’t just sculpted by gods, that was handcrafted with obsession.

She covered her face with both hands, steam practically rising from her ears. Her lips trembled slightly, and her heart slammed against her chest like it wanted to burst out and run away.

And t-t-that... that thing... w-was that normal? Is it always that... that... big?

She mentally screamed, trying to force herself not to look at him again. But her brain didn’t listen. It had already opened a cursed file titled "Mr. Unknown: Visual Trauma" and was replaying the scene in crystal-clear 8K resolution.

And honestly, it wasn’t even her fault.

Raising Charm was nearly impossible. It wasn’t influenced by training or practice—it was determined by pure genetics, something no one had control over.

But Ash?

He had a Charm stat of 377.

An absurd number by any standard. And because of that, the old phrase "beauty is destruction" was no longer just a poetic saying.

It was slowly turning into reality.

Just then, she heard a voice,

"Hey... During the fight, you used the World Tree’s power, right? Do you think you can connect to it again?"

"Are you ignoring me now? There are only twenty-eight minutes before the seal breaks. Contact the World Tree and ask it to supply energy to reinforce it."

Ash spoke with a slightly annoyed tone, his voice firm but not too harsh.

Serena still didn’t look at him. She simply nodded her head quickly, like a duck bobbing along the surface of a pond, and hurriedly moved to touch the uncorrupted root in front of her, trying to initiate communication again.

Why is she acting like this all of a sudden? Did I say something that hurt her feelings? Was it because I told her to behave like a Queen? But I was just pointing out the obvious...

Or maybe she’s just embarrassed... How childish...

He ignored the fact that he, too, had felt a brief flash of embarrassment after their earlier exchange.

Serena placed her hand on the glowing root and closed her eyes, her breathing slowly calming as life energy began to wrap around her like soft green mist.

She never did explain exactly how she first learned to reach the World Tree, Ash thought. I guess it must have happened when I cut those veins—she must have heard its call then.

A few seconds passed, and then the energy quickly faded from her body.

"G-Great Mother says it will take her about an hour to cleanse all the corruption before she can send life energy back here," Serena reported, her voice steady but a little breathless.

Ash nodded and rubbed his chin. "So I need to hold this seal for an hour, plus a few extra minutes?"

She confirmed with another nod.

"Alright," he said, "I’ll return after an hour then..."

As soon as he said that, Serena’s expression changed into one of visible shock and confusion.

"Mr. Unknown... w-we can contact the Council now. With their help, holding on for an hour will be much easier. You don’t have to do this alone..."

Ash let out a deep sigh. Without another word, he stepped closer to her, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping to a cold whisper as he spoke near her ear.

"Listen to me carefully, O Queen of Elves. I don’t trust anyone. And to be completely honest with you, I’m still seriously considering whether I should kill you—because you’ve seen my real face. What do you think I should do about that? I’m stuck in a pretty serious dilemma right now."

Damn it. If I kill her now, the World Tree might refuse to share the knowledge I came for... but scaring her a little should be fine, right?

"So, I’ll just say this. Please, try not to tell anyone about what you saw. Not a single soul. Because you already know, don’t you? I can appear and disappear whenever I want, without warning."

His voice was soft, but the meaning behind the words was crystal clear.

Then, without waiting for a reply, he pulled his hand away from her shoulder, turned around, and took a few steps forward.

That should be enough to make her fear me ... I suppose...

"I’ll return after an hour," he said, his voice calm again. "Rather than trusting a bunch of unknown Council members, I’d much rather place my trust in someone I already know."

And with that, his figure blurred slightly as light bent around him, and in the blink of an eye—

He vanished along with the demonic heart.

Serena watched the spot where he’d stood, heart pounding, as the silence settled around her once more.

He was lying...