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[Crossover] Ch 247: King Who Manifests at the World's End
🕑 Added 2025-09-11 17:40:55 +0000 UTC— — — — — —
Underground Library
Alice finally let out the breath she'd been holding when she saw the two Campiones leave.
She even patted her chest dramatically, muttering, "Whew, that scared me half to death. I really thought those two were going to fight right here."
Even if she was just a spirit projection, she still had a soul fragment. If it got damaged, she'd be bedridden for months.
And since her real body was already so weak she spent most of her life stuck in bed, losing the ability to roam around in spirit form would mean pure, endless boredom.
With the two Kings gone, Alice felt her whole body relax. She let herself drift lazily in the air, replaying their conversation and mumbling, "So, he really did seize control of UK, huh? Looks like sending those guys to join the Royal Arsenal wasn't a waste after all."
Alec probably thought she pushed him into developing the Royal Arsenal purely so he could pursue the Holy Grail.
But how much of that plan was actually his idea, and how much came from Alice's subtle nudges? Well—only she knew the answer to that.
Maybe it sounded strange for the White Hime-Miko to scheme like that.
But to Alice, it was the most natural thing in the world.
She might be called the "Sage Princess," and blessed with one of the most powerful witch talents in existence, but that only made her miserable.
The stronger her magical talent grew, the more fragile her body became—so fragile that she couldn't even walk on her own anymore. She was so easy to control it was laughable.
And those very same "gifts" made her the perfect puppet for her family and the royal court, who used her to manipulate the Witenagemot.
If nothing changed, she knew exactly what would happen before her body completely gave out: she'd end up as the perfect breeding tool in everyone else's eyes.
After all, someone had to pass on such a rare magical talent, right?
To be honest, Alec wasn't wrong to call her a witch.
Anyone who grew up under those conditions would probably become the kind of witch who only cared about herself.
"Let's see... by now those two should already be fighting, right? Shame I can't watch Alec get completely flattened."
Alice floated lazily in the air, sighing like she'd just missed a good show.
But the very next second, her vision blurred—and suddenly, Ryo appeared in the library, casually holding Alec by the back of his collar.
"???"
Alice's wide eyes practically turned into a string of question marks.
Alec, bloodied and battered, let out a few groans and coughed up two mouthfuls of blood.
Ryo dropped him gently on the floor and stepped back, simply standing there and waiting.
"What?! How? When?"
Alice darted over to Ryo, grabbed his shoulder, and stared at him in disbelief.
"You were gone for what—thirty seconds?!"
Not even half a minute had passed, and the Black Prince—Alexander Gascoigne, a man famous for nearly twenty years—had already been taken down.
That was way too fast.
Ryo rolled his neck slightly, his tone flat. "Just played around with him a little."
"Liar!"
Alice hooked an arm around Ryo's neck and shook him back and forth like she was trying to get the truth out of him.
"Come on, tell me! You must've found Alec's weak spot and one-shot him, right?"
"Otherwise, how'd you beat this speedy rabbit so fast?"
By now, Alice's face was only inches away, and her hands kept shaking him harder—like someone violently shaking a soda bottle just before opening it.
Ryo's expression turned oddly complicated.
Since when was Alice this... lively?
Maybe a little too lively.
Alec, now a bit more conscious, opened his eyes—and immediately saw Ryo and Alice.
"What happened...?"
Then his expression shifted, and he let out a bitter laugh. "So I really did lose..."
Alice threw her head back and laughed loudly from where she was hanging on Ryo's shoulder.
"Hah! Alec, even you have a day like this!"
She'd been playing mind games with the Black Prince for over a decade, but she'd always been frustrated.
She couldn't beat him head-on, so she had to spend months plotting elaborate schemes to trip him up.
But now? Now he'd been crushed in mere seconds.
Damn, it felt so good.
Lying on the ground, Alec saw the gleam in her eyes and knew exactly what Alice was thinking.
"Hmph. You weren't the one who beat me."
Alice smirked down at him.
"Wow, the famous 'Nobleman of Speed' not only runs fast but loses fast too. Maybe it's a good thing you are gay."
Alec didn't even flinch.
He'd been mocked for years, so this was nothing new.
Back in the day, his grand title "The Nobleman of Speed" actually started out as "The Cuckold of Speed"—a nickname Alice gleefully spread far and wide.
Sure, it might sound like just a harmless jab in English… but once she packaged it with her carefully crafted, deliberately misleading translations and broadcast it to the whole world? That was a whole new level of social death.
That used to really make him furious. But now? He was too used to it to care. Besides, this wasn't Alice's call to make anyway.
He turned his gaze to Ryo and asked, with a trace of curiosity, "Your speed—it's abnormal."
Speed that fast should've killed him outright. Alec knew better than anyone that 'speed is power.'
"I held back," Ryo said simply.
"I see." Alec nodded, his expression relaxing. "Thanks."
Thanks for sparing my life—that was what he really meant.
Ryo gave a slight nod in return. He respected Alec. After all, the man had just served as a convenient tool to take another god's power.
"You're after the Holy Grail?"
Alec narrowed his eyes, hesitating for a moment.
Ryo smiled faintly and said, "My goal isn't the Grail. It's what comes after the Grail."
"Guinevere?"
That was the first person Alec thought of, but then he immediately dismissed the idea.
Then his eyes widened.
"Wait—you're after the King of the End?"
Ryo didn't answer. He just smiled.
"I see. In that case, I'll cooperate."
Alec might not be as clever as he claimed, but he was still sharp.
He instantly grasped Ryo's meaning: He could fight for the Grail, but once the being beyond the Grail appeared, it would be Ryo's battle to finish.
Which made perfect sense.
What else would a God Slayer do except pick fights with gods?
Meanwhile, Alice was quietly watching from the side, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
The King Who Manifests at the World's End.
The being who appears whenever too many God Slayers exist, sweeping across the world and killing every last Campione to "save" humanity.
Some called him King Arthur, others said he was Jesus, or Rama from Hindu myth, or even Sun Wukong, the Great Sage.
Whoever he was, the King of the End was the ultimate symbol of the male-dominated divine order after Mother Earth was defeated.
And if Ryo was planning to challenge him...
Alice felt a shiver run through her.
Athena in near-god complete form + Ryo hunting the King of the End.
She could already see where this was going.
And if she was right?
She was about to have front-row seats to one hell of a show. Even if that "show" might end up being a global disaster.
But so what?
Alice could barely take care of herself—why should she care about the world?
...
After reaching an unspoken agreement with Alec, Ryo left him to recover in the library and turned to leave.
"Wait for me, Ryo-sama~! Don't just leave me behind like that!"
Alice called out playfully, floating after him.
The two of them left one after the other, leaving Alec lying there deep in thought.
.
.
.
