Arknightcraft Modpack
Chapter 495: Proper Talk
"Good… I made it in time."
The final variable to enter the battlefield was not the black-haired boy Yelena and Margaret had been hoping for.
Instead, when Talulah appeared—holding Steven's signature katana in her hands—Yelena couldn't help but frown.
That guy won't even let me look at that sword normally… and now he's lending it out just like that?
Talulah, arriving late, clenched the hilt of Yamato tightly with her palm, doing her best to hide the fact that her arm was already on the verge of giving out.
She had only swung the blade once, yet it felt as though all the strength in her body had been drained in that instant. It was only now that she truly understood just how terrifying Steven's strength was, considering that he was casually using Yamato to slice fruit on a daily basis.
Still, the results had more than justified the cost.
The moment Talulah laid eyes on the monster standing opposite Alina, she knew exactly what it was.
Like the legendary, Deathless Black Snake, this being too was a creature said to exist only in myth. Talulah had even seen its likeness among Kashchey's collections—he had once said that it was no fabrication, that he had even shared a certain acquaintance with her.
In other words, this was very likely an existence on the same tier as Black Snake—a godlike entity of Ursus.
Relying on her own strength alone, even blocking that earlier attack would have been nothing more than a fool's dream.
Yet with Yamato in her hands, she had done exactly that.
Only now did Talulah fully grasp Steven's intention in entrusting her with this weapon. Without it, she would have been forced to watch tragedy unfold before her eyes—utterly powerless to stop it.
"Hmm?"
Unlike Talulah, who was panting just from that single action, Rusalka—who had barely moved at all, whose attacks seemed to come effortlessly from the waters around her—let out a soft sound of curiosity upon seeing Talulah.
Her pitch-black eyes swept over Talulah from head to toe. Even Yamato, which had just severed her attack, earned only the briefest pause of attention before her gaze returned to Talulah's face.
"For you to appear here… and to accomplish something like that… does this mean that the snake has already failed?"
The doll-like, pallid face twisted into a stiff, almost playful smile. Rusalka made no move to pursue Alina again, instead murmuring quietly to herself.
Soon enough, she returned to her earlier composure. But the murderous intent that had once filled her dark pupils was now completely gone.
"If its plan has failed, then the agreement between us is no longer valid."
"Rejoice. You've picked up a spare life."
Her voice was cold, as if delivering a final verdict. Slowly, Rusalka lowered the arm that had been pointing at Alina.
She hadn't expected it, Kashchey was infamous for its cunning and deceit, yet it had still suffered such a decisive setback.
She knew very well what Kashchey had been plotting, about the body and soul of the suddenly emerged girl. But clearly, that scheme had come to nothing.
And so, Rusalka found herself curious.
Just who was capable of shattering the old serpent's carefully laid plans?
"Draco," she said softly, turning her gaze back to Talulah.
"Would you be willing to tell me… who was helping you?"
"I am quite curious," she continued, her voice smooth and eerie, "about the one who managed to ruin the Black Snake's designs."
"What kind of person… could that possibly be?"
Talulah hadn't even seen how she moved.
Before she could react—before she even realized what was happening—the being known as Rusalka was already standing directly in front of her, so close that they were nearly face to face.
"..."
Faced with this overwhelming presence—one that her instincts screamed she could never defeat—Talulah took a sharp breath, forcing herself to calm down.
There was no killing intent in Rusalka's eyes. What she saw instead was curiosity toward the unknown.
But that didn't mean the grotesque being before her was harmless.
Talulah tightened her grip on Yamato, feeling the residual power humming through the blade. In the end, she raised her head and chose to meet the gaze of this woman who felt like the very embodiment of fear.
"The one who should be grateful… is you," Talulah said slowly.
"You should pray that he couldn't make it here for one reason or another. Otherwise, I think you'd already know what death feels like by now."
She wasn't exaggerating.
Talulah had only seen her boyfriend fight a handful of times. But the sheer presence she felt for him was unmatched by anything she knew.
"Oh?"
Rusalka's curiosity deepened, a faint glimmer surfacing in her pitch-black eyes.
"How intriguing. Does such a human truly exist?"
"You make me want to meet him myself."
She could tell that this Draco wasn't lying. At the very least, in this girl's understanding, the one who had shattered Kashchey scheme really could stand against her.
At that moment, Yelena spoke up from the side.
"Let me add something," she said casually. "According to him… it'd be an instant kill."
She even mimicked Steven's tone when she said instant kill.
That only made Rusalka chuckle softly.
How amusing.
Wasn't this blind faith taken a bit too far? One girl was already bad enough, but now there was another.
No matter how strong a human was, they were still human.
A cold smile tugged at Rusalka's lips as she turned away, clearly uninterested in explaining anything to what she saw as frogs at the bottom of a well.
The undead beneath her shifted, carrying her body away as she slowly vanished into the snowy wasteland.
Only a single, indifferent line lingered in the air—echoing in the girls' ears.
"If that is truly the case… then I very much look forward to meeting him."
"And I believe… that day is not far away."
With Rusalka's disappearance, the suffocating pressure that had blanketed the area finally dissipated.
Only then did Talulah release a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
Kashchey had really gone all out this time—actually dragging in a god of Ursus. If not for Steven's intervention, its scheme would have already succeeded.
Her trembling fingers could no longer control the restless Yamato.
The blade slipped from her grasp and fell to the ground with a dull sound.
Only after that did Talulah turn around, concern written plainly on her face as she looked at Alina—who had stood frozen, watching everything unfold.
As the centerpiece of this entire conspiracy, Alina had witnessed every reversal, every clash.
In truth, from the moment the Royal Guards appeared, she had already realized this wasn't merely something aimed at her alone.
Now that the tension finally ebbed away, her strength gave out.
Alina collapsed weakly to the ground.
No one was unafraid of death.
Especially not after she had finally, painfully learned what happiness felt like—after grasping it with her own hands. Losing it now was something Alina could not accept.
Yet, so as not to distract those protecting her, all she could do was grit her teeth and endure. Only when the danger had fully passed did she finally allow herself to relax, if only a little.
"I'm sorry… I arrived a bit late."
Talulah lowered her head apologetically toward Alina, then turned to Yelena and Margaret beside her.
"And thank you—both of you. Truly. Without your help… I don't even dare to imagine what Alina might have gone through."
Even though she usually clashed head-on with Yelena, Talulah held nothing back when it came to matters like this. Gratitude was gratitude. No matter what, if not for Yelena, Alina would never have lasted until Talulah arrived.
"I'd rather hear that from that bastard in person," Yelena replied casually.
"But fine, I'll accept your thanks for now. And if you really want to show your gratitude, how about lending him to me for a day sometime?"
Compared to Margaret, who answered politely with a just doing my duty sort of attitude, Yelena was far more straightforward. Growing up on the frozen plains tended to shape people that way—far less roundabout than ordinary girls.
Talulah, however, decisively chose to dodge that topic.
She knew exactly who Yelena was talking about—and that man wasn't even in in Ursus most of the time. Lending him out for a whole day? That was absolutely not happening.
"Could you not talk about me like I'm some rental item?"
"I've been standing right here the whole time, you know."
A familiar boyish voice suddenly cut in, breaking the awkward tension between Talulah and Yelena.
At some point unknown to them, Steven had appeared. He gently took the completely exhausted, limp Alina from Margaret's arms, smiling as he defused the brewing standoff.
Just as he'd said, he'd been watching all along.
Claiming he wouldn't interfere didn't mean he truly didn't care. In fact, when Rusalka had leaned in close to Talulah earlier, he'd nearly lost control and about to enable creative mode.
Thankfully, the ordeal ended without disaster.
Like Talulah, Alina had narrowly avoided her destined death—saved in the truest sense of the word.
Steven could tell as much from the World Acknowledgement Points he'd just received—clearly and deliberately delivered by Hypergryph itself.
Reaching down, he picked up Yamato, which had been radiating impatience and a barely concealed killing intent on the ground.
As he joked with Talulah and the others, his gaze kept drifting toward the direction where Rusalka had vanished.
Alina's matter was settled.
But his… was far from over.
Didn't she say she was looking forward to meeting him?
Perfect.
He'd been meaning to have a proper talk with her anyway.
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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