Chapter 692

If human thought is a tangled thread, then Ellen's thoughts were a mess right now. She didn't know where it started to tangle, so she couldn't untangle it. She didn't know what was what. She couldn't understand why the cat from back then appeared in the city of Kernshtadt, thousands of kilometers away from the temple, wearing the necklace she had thrown away. Ellen ran away without even knowing why. She just ran into an alleyway like crazy. She didn't know what it was. What happened? How did it happen until now? She thought, but couldn't find the answer. In a state where she couldn't find the answer, Ellen just ran away blindly. She ran through the alleyways like a maze, and it was exactly like her tangled thoughts. She was covered in cold sweat and running was so familiar that it was unbearable, but she was out of breath. Scary. Terrifying. Creepy. It felt like something had happened to her. It felt like she was being played with. She still felt the fear of running away from someone's clutches. The cat that had always been with her. The cat that was like a sanctuary in her heart. The cat that remained as a good memory of the difficult times became the object of terror when they unexpectedly met in this situation. Ellen ran through the alleyways, not knowing where she came from or where she was going. Was she running on the same path? Or was she going somewhere? Should she climb over the walls and buildings and quickly leave the city? "Haa... Haa..." She looked back in fear of the unknown, but nothing was following her. She ran without knowing what she was running away from. She felt like something was following her, but she didn't know what it was. Someone who seemed to know what it was. It felt like everything was being understood. She thought she was running away, but she was actually in someone's clutches. If not, she couldn't explain all of this. "Haa... Haa... Haa..." -Bang! Thud! At the end of her aimless escape, running over the garbage and boxes that filled the alleyway, Ellen saw the surroundings gradually turn white. "What... is this?" Suddenly, fog appeared. It was impossible on a sunny day. Still, she couldn't stop, so Ellen just ran around the alleyway. But as the fog approached, she felt another abnormality. She was clearly running through a dead-end alleyway. But as the fog hit her nose, everything disappeared. The walls of the buildings on both sides. Even the ground she was standing on was covered by the fog. The fog surrounded her from all sides, and all the surrounding terrain disappeared. She couldn't see or feel anything other than the fog no matter where she walked. She was seized by a chill. She couldn't even tell what kind of magic it was. Even though Ellen wasn't immune to magic, she couldn't be hurt or interfered with by most magic. However, she found herself trapped in a maze of some kind of magic without even realizing it. Ellen ran blindly through the strange space where she couldn't tell if she was going to reach the end or not. She couldn't figure out how to escape the maze and just kept running until suddenly, fog appeared. As the fog approached, everything disappeared, and she found herself in a place she couldn't recognize. She was seized by a chill and couldn't even tell what kind of magic it was. Eventually, she arrived at a beach and saw Reinhardt, who was wearing the necklace that had been on the black cat's neck. Reinhardt knew where Ellen was going and that she was heading towards the Sren Mountains, not disappearing across the northwest border. It is highly likely that Ellen had already grasped the situation from the middle. She found herself trapped in a corner and the demon lord grabbed her chin and looked into her eyes. Reinhardt knew where Ellen was going and that she was heading towards the Sren Mountains. Ellen arrived at a beach and saw an unfamiliar mansion. Reinhardt pointed out that it was the same uninhabited island they had visited during a past mission, but now with a new mansion. Ellen didn't know why she was brought there and Reinhardt didn't offer any explanation. "I have no words to say, even if I hear words full of sorrow, anger, and resentment. I have no convincing power. Reinhardt doesn't say anything to Ellen, who is afraid of what she might hear. He just picks up a thick branch among the scattered branches. -Whoosh! "......?" Ellen unconsciously accepted the thrown branch. "I don't know about anything else." Then Reinhardt also picks up a branch. "Let's have a sword fight for the first time in a long time." Reinhardt was smiling mischievously, reminiscent of the temple days for some reason. Reinhardt approaches Ellen slowly, holding the branch like a practice sword and aiming at her. However, Ellen is already sad just thinking about those days. So, "Uh...ugh..." She bursts into tears just by facing him. But Reinhardt's attitude was not playful, and he had no intention of playing around. "Oh my." Looking at Ellen crying, Reinhardt lightly kicks the sand and rushes towards her. "You're such a weakling." -Bang! "Ah...ah!" Ellen, who was hit in the head with a branch, soaked in sadness and longing, just collapsed. "Hehehe..." Looking down at Ellen, who was collapsed and crying, Reinhardt laughs. "Are you not going to come to your senses?" "...." "Who do you think you're facing right now?" The apostle of the War God. The Demon Lord of Flames. The ruler of the continent. It's Reinhardt, the Great Emperor. Of course, he's holding a branch now, but... "Get up, let's go again." Ellen stands up, trembling and sobbing, and the end of the branch she is holding shakes. What can she do? Can she go back to the way things were before by just holding a branch and staggering like this? She believes that she can go back to the way things were before. But too much has changed, and too much time has passed without each other. How can she do it? Her heart and her attitude. Ellen was too sad and couldn't concentrate. She actually wants to go back. But she can't go back. Because she can't allow herself to do such a thing as a sinner. "Reinhardt...I can't...I can't do it..." So her fingertips tremble. "Is that so?" "Uh, yeah...I can't...I can't do it...I'm sorry...I'm sorry. I was wrong. I'm sorry..." Reinhardt's gaze changes as he sees Ellen, who is barely standing, sobbing with emotions. The mischievousness disappears. He approaches the branch and it becomes a blade. "You lose." It's not a light leap. The moment she regains her senses, Reinhardt is already close to her, and the ordinary branch becomes a blade that stabs Ellen's side. She's going to die. The moment she thinks that. -Swoosh! Ellen's branch also engulfed in aura, deflects that fatal stab." "Ha, ha... ha..." Ellen takes a few steps back in shock, looking at Reinhardt with wide eyes as she catches her breath. Reinhardt chuckles and puts the branch he was holding on his shoulder. "What's wrong? You're doing well." He tells her not to make excuses if she can do it. Then he points the branch at Ellen again, saying he doesn't know what she wants, but nothing will end until he gives her an endless challenge. Ellen holds back her tears and faces Reinhardt with her branch. Reinhardt seems satisfied with her attitude and smiles.