R4STWH - Chapter 96

Chapter 96

Chaser.

That was the title Elias had acquired.

When dungeons first appeared in this world and he had just awakened, Elias hadn't given much thought to how he'd obtained such a title and its associated characteristics.

However, after observing the awakening process of knights and priests, he naturally came to understand.

The title of Chaser was the manifestation of his desperate search for Ilesha, heedless of any monsters or obstacles in his path.

Due to the Chaser's traits, his senses became twice as keen towards his designated target.

Thanks to this, he could better catch Ilesha's scent and didn't miss even her smallest murmurs.

He knew her body like his own—where to touch to change her breathing, how to caress her to make her eyelashes flutter in response, what speed and force would make those beautiful eyes grow wet with emotion.

Contrary to Ilesha's expectations, Elias rarely used these abilities in dungeons.

He'd decided that if he relied on such convenient traits to move and fight opponents, he wouldn't be able to maintain the same level of skill if these abilities ever disappeared.

He only used them to verify whether his predictions had been correct after engaging in battle through his own judgment.

This approach became his shortcut to quickly adapting to the new system, and as a result, he was able to grow at a pace that even surprised Ilesha.

This remained true even in the S-rank dungeon they had entered after hearing the news.

Even faced with hordes of crazed monsters, his designated target as a Chaser was, as always, "Ilesha Tenaclad."

The family name he had once hated so much that he wanted to destroy it became somewhat lovable when paired with her name.

It wasn't just the family name.

Ilesha possessed the ability to brilliantly color the entire world around her in her own hue.

Even the blood-stained axe didn't look vicious in her hands. He only felt proud and grateful that she had survived with all her might, wielding such a heavy weapon.

Elias calmly progressed through the dungeon, listening to her angry breathing when monster claws grazed her skin and left wounds, and her excited humming when she cleanly swept away the creatures according to plan.

He rather enjoyed entering dungeons because he could see different sides of Ilesha, who usually spent her days reading books with a slightly bored expression, showing little emotional variation.

However, this dungeon, named "Memories Dwelling in Ruins," wasn't entirely enjoyable.

'It's just like our world. This is exactly how the place I lived looked.'

Her expression in that moment when she muttered those words troubled him.

While Ilesha displayed positive emotions like joy, interest, and happiness as openly as a child, she was skilled at carefully concealing negative emotions like pain, sorrow, and suffering to the point where he could barely notice them.

Therefore, the revulsion and sadness she must have felt in this place that forcibly reminded her of the past would surely be several times greater than what her expression revealed.

He had mixed feelings about wanting to know and not wanting to know about the life Ilesha had lived and the world she had existed in. He was almost afraid of the increasingly horrific environment as they progressed through the dungeon.

And as memories of her behavior since their first meeting in Ermitar's lair surfaced one by one, he began to reflect on the reasons behind them.

'I should have treated her better.'

Starting from the moment he had harshly knocked away her hand when she tried to give him what turned out to be an S-rank ring, he had misunderstood her many times, failed to trust her, and caused her distress.

Why had he been so cold to her, when he couldn't even imagine how difficult a life she must have lived?

'All I can do is give my best from now on.'

Of course, he knew well that with Ilesha's abilities, she could easily obtain anything she wanted, even the most precious treasures from the imperial vault, but as her husband and only Pair, there must be things that only he could do for her.

'Tomorrow, I'll take her to the southern empire. She's probably never seen an unpolluted ocean, so it would be nice to dip our feet in the seawater and spend time alone together under a gazebo.'

He was contemplating what else Ilesha might enjoy, recalling various resort destinations across the continent that he had passed by without much interest, when—

Dungeon-Memories Dwelling in Ruins(S)-Boss monster appears.

In the space beyond the massive door they opened.

Past the bright red warning text, he saw a familiar face along with something that had been beaten to a pulp.

"...Leonard?"

He muttered that name but quickly realized it couldn't be. Nothing about the man matched Leonard except his appearance—neither his expressions, habits, nor way of walking.

As if to prove this, the sword technique the man displayed moments later was extremely aggressive. It was completely different from Leonard's, who had learned and practiced the imperial swordsmanship since childhood and was exceedingly proper.

Elias deeply disliked this man who acted overly familiar with another man's wife, calling her by the pet name "Whitey."

He had a bad feeling about him from their first encounter, and sure enough, the intentions he eventually revealed were utterly despicable.

He harbored thoughts of somehow making her divorce so he could have her for himself.

Naturally, Elias was reluctant to leave Ilesha alone with such a man while he went to face the boss monster.

However, he was confident that the man wouldn't dare try anything with Ilesha, and since this was an opportunity to improve his skills, which were still far inferior to hers, he stepped forward without hesitation.

Of course, he didn't change his designated target this time either.

He maintained the status exactly as he had set it on Ilesha at the dungeon's entrance while facing the lizard-shaped boss monster.

'This is perfectly manageable.'

Though it was his first time facing an S-rank boss monster enhanced to its limits, he didn't think he would lose.

He could be certain the moment his sword energy, which he had become skilled at controlling in size, shape, and intensity, left a wound on the creature's body.

'I need to defeat it as quickly as possible and return to Ilesha.'

There was no time to waste, not knowing the identity of the two additional people who had entered.

Elias put all his strength into thrusting his sword into the lizard's vital points and deflecting its attacks.

As he was progressing smoothly with his strategy, suddenly Ilesha's voice pierced his ears.

'What nonsense is this?'

Though he didn't know what the man had said, he could sense bewilderment in her response.

Naturally, Elias extended his senses as far as possible in that direction. He was ready to rush over, boss lizard or not, the moment that man tried anything untoward with Ilesha. But then...

"Whitey, come to your senses. I'm your Pair, not him. You have an obligation to bear children with me."

These shocking words came from the man's mouth.

The conversation that followed involved customs from Ilesha's already destroyed world, making it difficult for Elias to fully understand.

However, he could grasp a few facts.

The being who had taken Leonard's body had been something like Ilesha's fiancé in the past, and now, after having abandoned her once before, he wanted her back.

Ilesha, who hadn't even known about the existence of a fiancé, was shocked by the man's words.

'Never... I will never allow that.'

He didn't care about fate or whatever else. It was fine even if Ilesha had mistakenly considered him her Pair due to some misunderstanding.

Ilesha had proposed to him, and he had already accepted her proposal and become her husband.

He had signed the marriage contract and made eternal vows before God's representative, so it could never be undone.

Besides, hadn't that world been destroyed in the first place? He wasn't so weak as to lose to the greed of a mere ghost.

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