CHAPTER 307: PROTECTOR!?

"How will you help me!?" Grey asked with some doubt in his mind.

"By clones, obviously," Kurogane replied with a roll of her pupils.

"Clones?" There were more question marks on his face.

"Yeah, I can make clones that could endure the backlash."

"You can do that!?" Grey was more than surprised; he was utterly flabbergasted.

"Yeah, I can do that," Kurogane replied gently.

"Why have you never told me that?"

"You never asked, though, never underestimate a Mythical Grimoire."

"..." Yeah, it was Grey’s fault that he hadn’t ever asked about such a thing before. Taking a deep breath, he asked, "How?"

"It’s pretty easy, I make your clones."

"That’s it?"

"Yeah."

"Do it then."

"Okay," Kurogane replied and came out of his body with a flash of light, circling around him.

Then, after a moment, she paused, muttering:

"It seems it’s hard to clone you."

"What do you mean?" Grey asked with a stunned expression. Then his pupils slightly flickered with realization, ’...did she mean that...!?’

"You are stronger than an ordinary individual, right? So I can only make a clone of you in half an hour," Kurogane replied, completely clueless about his thoughts.

"Oh." Grey secretly heaved a sigh of relief. He wanted to protect his secrets as much as possible. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Kurogane, however, there was always a chance, and it was better to be prepared than sorry later.

"Do it now."

"Okay," Kurogane said and circled around him again, this time even faster than before. Almost a silver ring formed around him.

Grey, in the middle of the silver ring, felt his head hurt, almost like it was going to burst apart.

His vision blurred significantly, and in a matter of a few seconds, he was already on the verge of collapse.

Then he felt himself tear apart, almost like his skin was being ripped out of his skin.

"Ahhh–" Grey cried out in pain. His vision went blank.

After some time, his eyes snapped open, and he saw himself looking at himself!?

"Is this my clone!?" Grey calmly stood up, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Yeah," Kurogane said. "Dear, if you could write to me, then the process would be completely painless and the clone would be instantly created."

"I would have done that already if not for my reserve of spiritual Qi," Grey spoke with a grumble and in frustration.

Then he shook his head and looked at Zarek. "Let’s go, I wanna meet the person who scammed me."

A purple light shined, and Eve materialized out of the world fragment again. "The one who did it should probably be the protector."

"Protector?" Grey asked with a raise of his brows.

"That’s right," Eve spoke with a sigh. "The protector is the guardian of the world and also the big sister of all the world fragments. Ever since our birth, she has been there."

"...I see." Grey replied, thoughtful for a moment, his blue pupils swirling.

Then he walked towards the gate with Zarek behind him, and Eve followed right after him, while the clone was last. It was perfect for enduring the backlash faced when Zarek made a move.

***

"How is this possible? What kind of a monster is he?"

The protector was in complete despair at the moment. She looked on as Zarek had completely healed the world and now had even formed a gate that led to her.

Her stone body trembled uncontrollably.

She clutched the comically giant book which materialized again in her hand and desperately looked for any solution she could find as time raced in her heart.

"There it is."

Her eyes lit up, but upon reading it, a slight trace of hesitation appeared in her heart. "It is worth it as long as he doesn’t get his hands on it."

***

Grey entered the gate, and his gaze was immediately filled with a bright vision that almost seemed to blind him on the spot.

"Where am I?" he muttered in confusion. A sense of familiarity emerged in his mind, especially when he saw a throne that stood in the middle of the room, a woman with crimson hair and very minimal clothing sitting on it.

"Human, you have finally come to this place—"

"Elllen," Eve cried out.

"Huh?" Ellen looked at Eve, completely stunned, her mind struggling to process it. "What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in one of the trials?"

"Yeah," Eve giggled. "But I have already chosen myself a husband and now follow him."

’Husband!?’ More shocked than Ellen was Grey. They had only kissed until now, and now they were husband and wife? What kind of logic is that?

’Oh, well.’ Grey surprisingly easily accepted his fate.

"What happened to you, Eve? Did this bastard force you?" Ellen looked at him with a fiery gaze. In an instant, the temperature rose to a heightened degree.

"Hey, don’t look at me like that," Grey spoke with a shrug.

Eve hurriedly stood in front of him. "What are you doing, Ellen? I said he is my husband."

"...It seems he has charmed you with a Grimoire. It’s time to end him." Ellen, with a fiery temper, had the temperature reach an all-time high, till the very air seemed discombobulated, and rings of fire materialized behind her, swiftly attacking Grey.

"Noooo..." Eve cried out loud, tears streaming.

"Should I kill her, Eve?" Grey turned her around and kissed her on the cheeks. Eve felt her cheeks heat up, and she forgot to cry.

As for the ring of fire?

Well, that was pretty much taken care of by Zarek with a mere glance.

"Weak woman," he spoke with utter disdain. "If you are so weak, don’t show your fiery temper, or you might get squashed."

Ellen instantly shut up. She gulped nervously; every fiery temper she had drained away.

After some time, Grey separated from Eve and walked up to her, looking straight at her with his blue pupils. "Surrender or die."

"I... I..."