"So, basically, I didn't. I can't enter into the mortal realm for personal reasons. Hence, I can't get my hands on the VR game. But I was able to connect to my domain, but I couldn't pass through the portal to enter the game," Aria stated.
"So… how are you here…? Wait…" Zach's eyes widened in realization. "Is this related to why your form… Or rather, the avatar is different in the game and your original appearance?"
Aria nodded and said, "I used the same trick I used on you."
After a brief pause, she said, "I pulled a girl into the portal and—"
Aria stopped when she noticed something on Zach's neck.
"What's wrong?" Zach asked as though he was completely oblivious to what Aria was shocked at.
"There is another sigil on the side of your neck…" Aria muttered with a horrified look on her face.
"What is it? What does it look like?" Zach asked in a calm voice.
"There are two horns, two eyes, and two long fangs…" Aria looked into Zach's eyes and uttered, "It's a sigil of a demon."
Aria expected Zach to freak out after hearing that, but Zach simply sighed in response.
"Why aren't you shocked?!"
"Well, this was to be expected. I used my demonic eyes, after all," Zach replied with a shrug.
Aria then recalled what Zach had once told her in her domain.
'When I was born, I was blessed by many celestial beings including elder Phoenix, elder dragon, grandmaster elf, demon lord, and apparently a god too.'
At first, Aria hadn't thought much of it as she assumed Zach had received normal blessings from them.
However, now she had realized Zach's origin.
'So Zach is the 'key' for annihilation.'
Aria looked past Zach's shoulder and muttered, "Let's go check up on your friends and…"
Zach and Aria went to the gazebo and saw all the players, NPCs, and the guild members of Risen warrior had lined up to meet him.
Some of them were grateful to Zach, but some of them were frightened.
It was natural for them to feel that since they witnessed something unbelievable that they couldn't comprehend the power of Zach.
How could a player do something like that? They all thought the same.
However, the guild members of Risen warriors had already witnessed Zach's strength before in the dungeon expedition.
Zach first walked to Shay and smiled wryly at him.
"That was a cool entry," Shay said with a smile on his face.
"Thanks for letting me know about all that. I don't want to imagine what would have happened if I hadn't made it on time," Zach asserted in a calm voice.
Zach then walked to Kayden and Misha and stood before them.
He looked at the blood and a hole in Kayden's clothes and asked, "That must have hurt a lot…"
"…"
Kayden didn't reply because he had nothing to say.
Zach turned to Misha and said, "Thank you to you both for trying to save Aurora."
"But we didn't—"
Misha tried to say something, but Zach interrupted her and said, "Thank you."
Zach ignored all the players, including the guild members, and the NPCs, who had no idea what was going on with their lives.
Zach passed through the crowd and made his way to the gazebo to meet Aurora.
When he reached there, he saw Aurora sitting with her head resting on Victoria's shoulder. And the NPC nun was giving support to Aurora so she could sit straight.
Zach walked to her and smiled at her with teary eyes.
This was the first time where Zach had shown his emotions like that.
Ever since his father's disappearance, Zach had learned to endure the pain and suffering without letting it show to anyone. Years after years, his heart turned to stone, and Aurora was the one who made him feel alive again.
All the emotions he had been holding jumbled up, and some of them ended up spilling out, resulting in Zach's eyes getting teary in front of Aurora.
When Zach looked at the cracks on Aurora's body, it instantly reminded him of the last moments of his master.
He dropped to his knees so he could get on the same level as Aurora. Then, he placed his hand on her face and said, "Hey…"
Aurora smiled at him and uttered in a low voice, "H…ey…"
Her voice was lower than a whisper.
"I am here," he said.
Aurora moved her hand and touched Zach's face with a smile on her face. Tears started rolling down Aurora's eyes as she remained Lyda's words about her condition.
"It seems we will have to postpone our wedding…" she said with a wry smile on her face.
Zach kissed Aurora's hand and said, "There is no need to. You are going to be fine."
"I…"
Zach placed his finger on Aurora's lips and said, "Whatever you have to say, say it after we get married."
"…."
At the same time, Aria finally managed to get past the crowd and laid her eyes on Aurora.
She instantly covered her mouth to stop herself from gasping as she thought, 'That's the side-effect of messing with time…'
THUD! THUD!
The sound echoed around followed by the players' screams.
The fourth wave had started, and the demons started jumping from the crack. However, something was different this time.
None of the demons moved from their position and they stood with anxious looks on their faces. It was thought they were forced to jump from the back by someone superior to them.
If they were ordered by their leader, they would have no choice but to obey and follow the orders, no matter what they were.
Suddenly, they all covered their ears as though they were listening to a voice and they wanted to stop it. They thought if they couldn't listen to the orders, they wouldn't have to follow them, but it was useless.
"Zach…" Aria called out to Zach and looked into his eyes.
Zach nodded and carried Aurora in his arms. Then, he opened the portal to Aria's domain and entered it.
Then, he jumped in the air and landed on Aria's throne.
Aurora glanced around and chuckled as she said, "So this is Aria's domain? It looks terrifying."
"I know, right? I thought the same when I entered here the first time."
***
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