Chapter 3: Escape

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Ian held an Eternal Secluded Orchid in his hand as he sat down directly across from Lilian.

While Ian appeared calm and collected on the surface, his heart was racing.

If Lilian failed to notice the Eternal Secluded Orchid, he was finished.

Fortunately, the scales of the Goddess of Luck were balanced, and this time, they finally tipped in his favor.

From the moment Ian entered the carriage and sat down, Lilian’s eyes never strayed from the flower in his hand.

“Um, Lady Lilian, what are you looking at?”

Ian asked.

However, Lilian didn’t seem to hear him.

She simply stared at the Eternal Secluded Orchid in silence, appearing to be lost in her memories.

After a long silence, Lilian finally spoke.

“This flower… where did it come from?”

“I saw it outside. I thought it looked quite nice, so I picked it up.”

“What? You found it outside?”

Lilian stood up abruptly, her expression filled with excitement.

‘It’s working.’

Seeing her reaction, Ian pressed his advantage.

“Yes. In fact, there is more than just this one. If you like them, Lady Lilian, I can go and gather a few more for you.”

Hearing this, Lilian suddenly turned to look out the window.

A familiar and nostalgic scene filled her vision, and her expression dazed for a moment.

“I’m back? I’ve actually returned?”

Lilian had never imagined she would ever see her homeland again.

In an instant, all sorts of childhood memories resurfaced in her mind.

She remembered the day her parents had sacrificed themselves to protect her and her sister, and a few tears involuntarily escaped the corners of her eyes.

If she could choose her own life, she only wanted to be that little girl who could snuggle in her parents’ arms—not a Demon Race Executive.

The happiness she prayed for had always been so modest, yet heaven had refused to grant her wish.

Suddenly, Lilian’s silhouette flickered.

She transformed into a beam of light and flew out of the carriage.

“I have business to attend to. Wait here.”

Leaving those words behind, Lilian flew away without looking back.

Watching her receding figure, Ian flashed a smile that said everything was going according to plan.

‘Excellent. The plan is halfway to success. There are 15 minutes left until we reach the destination, and the System unlock time is 1 hour and 15 minutes away. As long as Lilian returns after 1 hour, I’ll be able to survive.’

“Ian, what exactly is your goal?”

Suddenly, a familiar and melodious voice rang out.

Ian was so startled he nearly failed to react.

“You’re awake?”

The speaker was Aetherinra, who was still lying inside the cage.

Although she still couldn’t move her body, she could finally manage to speak.

“Who was that maid who just flew away?”

“And you were just discussing the Demon Race. Have you defected to them?”

Facing Aetherinra’s barrage of questions, Ian felt a headache coming on.

“You don’t need to know that much. You just need to trust that I won’t hurt you.”

“Trust you? Why should I trust you?”

“Based on the things you’ve done to me before?”

Ian’s head throbbed as Aetherinra continued her relentless verbal abuse.

However, since Aetherinra was the female lead of the game, Ian didn’t dare offend her too much.

He sighed and attempted to explain.

“Whether you believe it or not, I am no longer the person I was before. I won’t do anything to harm you again.”

“Heh, how sweet. If you release me right now, then I’ll believe you.”

“I can’t. Now is not the time.”

Ian shook his head.

He didn’t know when Lilian would return.

If she came back before the time was up and saw that he had released Aetherinra, wouldn’t he be doomed?

Aetherinra let out a cold sneer at his response.

“Hah. Scum is scum. Not a single word you say can be trusted.”

Listening to her insults was like having a mosquito buzzing incessantly in his ear.

It was incredibly annoying, so Ian decided to shut her up.

He looked around but couldn’t find anything suitable to gag her with.

Finally, Ian walked to the side of the cage and crouched down.

“What are you doing?”

Ian’s sudden movement startled Aetherinra.

“I just don’t want to hear you talk anymore.”

Because the cage wasn’t solid, Ian could clearly see Aetherinra’s appearance.

A face even more beautiful than the one in the game appeared before his eyes.

Although she was still in her growth phase, Aetherinra’s figure was already becoming curvaceous.

Her long legs, clad in white silk stockings, were pressed together, and her twin peaks threatened to spill out from her chest.

Her exquisite features, paired with her flowing golden hair, perfectly displayed her noble temperament.

However, Ian was in no mood to admire her beauty right now.

He reached for Aetherinra’s silk stocking and pulled it off.

Feeling the palm of a hand brush against her leg, Aetherinra let out an involuntary, soft moan.

A moment later, however, she became completely incensed.

“You beast! Are you really not even going to let your own childhood friend go?”

Seeing Ian lean closer, Aetherinra closed her eyes in despair.

She hadn’t expected to have her purity ruined right before her death.

She swore that even as a ghost, she would never let that bastard Ian off the hook.

But the thing she expected didn’t happen.

Ian crouched in front of her and stuffed the stocking he had just removed into her mouth, preventing her from speaking.

“That should keep things a bit quieter.”

After finishing, Ian dusted off his hands and lay back down on the carriage seat.

Realizing that Ian hadn’t actually done anything to her, a hint of surprise rose in Aetherinra’s heart.

This was different from the Ian in her memory, who always acted like a lecher.

But before she could think further, the strange sensation in her mouth made her blood boil again.

She swore that if she ever escaped, she would definitely tear Ian into 1,000 pieces.

Watching her struggle, Ian said flatly, “Stop struggling. I’ll let you out when the time is right.”

***

An hour passed in silence between Ian and Aetherinra.

Lilian’s figure suddenly appeared on the carriage like a ghost.

Seeing her, Ian immediately sat up and asked, “Lady Lilian, where did you go?”

“That is none of your business. Let’s move.”

Lilian’s cold tone forced Ian to order his attendants to resume the journey.

‘One minute. Just 1 minute left!’

There were 15 minutes left in the journey, but the System’s energy replenishment still required 16 minutes.

It seemed that he would have to use the trump cards he had been reluctant to expend.

Ian spent the next 14 minutes in a state of extreme anxiety.

When they were only 1 minute away from the border, he suddenly stood up and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Stop the carriage!”

The surrounding people were clearly unprepared for this sudden command.

The attendant immediately pulled the reins tight, bringing the carriage to a halt.

Ian quickly pulled a Magic Scroll from his Magic Bag and injected his mana into it.

In an instant, a massive protective barrier formed with Ian at the center, covering a 10-meter radius.

Holy magic flowed across the barrier, creating a unique effect against the Demon Race.

Ordinary demons would be reduced to ashes just by approaching it.

Even a powerhouse like Lilian sensed the danger from the barrier and immediately flashed outside of its range.

In that brief opening, Ian drew his sword and shattered the cage holding Aetherinra with a single strike.

**[DING! CONGRATULATIONS TO THE HOST FOR COMPLETING THE MAIN QUEST: RESCUE AETHERINRA. REWARD GRANTED: ONE-TIME TELEPORTATION SCROLL.]**

**[DING! SYSTEM ENERGY IS INSUFFICIENT. THE REWARD WILL BE ISSUED IN 2 MINUTES.]**

Watching Ian’s actions from outside the barrier, Lilian’s face darkened.

“What is the meaning of this?”

“Have you betrayed the Demon Race?”

Hearing Lilian’s question, a faint smile played on Ian’s lips.

“I never joined the Demon Race to begin with, so how can you call this a betrayal?”

“Ungrateful fool. You will regret your choice.”

With those words, Lilian circulated her demonic energy, forming a massive orb of magic in her hand before hurling it at the carriage.

The protective barrier groaned as it tanked Lilian’s terrifying strike, but its color dimmed significantly.

Lilian was visibly surprised that the barrier could withstand her attack.

Seeing the attack blocked, Ian felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth.

This barrier had been given to him for protection by his father, Duke Saint Yola.

His father was also a Tier 9 Powerhouse at the peak of the world, so Lilian wouldn’t be able to do anything about the barrier for the time being.

“I’d like to see just how long this barrier of yours can last.”

With that, countless magic orbs appeared behind Lilian, bombarding the barrier in a continuous stream.

As the barrier grew increasingly dim, Ian’s expression turned grim.

He wasn’t entirely sure if it could hold out for 2 minutes.

By now, Aetherinra had been freed from the cage’s constraints and sat on the carriage floor, watching the scene unfold.

Seeing the back of the man standing in front of her, she frowned slightly.

‘Wasn’t Ian working with that demon? Why is he saving me now?’

‘Could what he said be true?’

‘Did he really come to rescue me?’

Aetherinra was completely bewildered, unable to understand the situation before her.

Ten seconds.

Only 10 seconds left.

The protective barrier had become incredibly faint after Lilian’s barrage.

It teetered on the edge of collapse, looking as though it would shatter at any moment.

High in the sky, Lilian was charging her strongest attack.

“Die.”

“This is the fate of a traitor.”

Lilian spoke as she brought the massive magic orb crashing down.

Ian watched the sphere of light approaching him and involuntarily clenched his fists, counting down in his head.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

As the countdown ended, the pleasant voice of the System rang out.

**[SYSTEM ENERGY FULLY REPLENISHED. ONE-TIME TELEPORTATION MAGIC SCROLL HAS BEEN ISSUED.]**

At the exact moment the scroll was issued, the protective barrier collided with Lilian’s ultimate strike.

The barrier finally reached its limit and dissolved into the air.

Taking advantage of the split second where the barrier slowed the magic orb’s descent, Ian injected his mana into the One-time Teleportation Scroll.

In the next instant, they vanished from Lilian’s sight.