What's going on?
Is this a horror anime?
You Te · Balk suppressed his astonishment and looked towards the source of these familiar yet strange voices.
He saw that the person was covered by a long black dress, their appearance unclear. The sleeves of the dress were very long, but a head of silver hair and cold, pale fingertips peeking out from the ends of the hands were visible.
"I love you."
"I love you."
"I love you."
"I love you."
The black-robed girl walked slowly forward, her steps seemingly unhurried, as if strolling leisurely.
However, her speed was astonishingly fast; despite being a great distance away, she significantly closed the gap in the blink of an eye.
Time seemed to lose its meaning under her feet, and space also seemed to be easily warped.
Within a few breaths, she appeared before the two like a ghost.
"Je… Jealous Witch?" You Te · Balk looked at the person, disbelief in his eyes, not understanding why the Jealous Witch, who had been jointly sealed by the first Sword Saint, Divine Dragon, and Sage hundreds of years ago, would appear here.
He had been transmigrated to this world for some time and knew the general history.
But why?
Would she appear here?
The Jealous Witch slowly walked to Natsuki Subaru's side, gently stroking his cheek, continuously muttering one phrase—"I love you."
However, Natsuki Subaru still maintained an excited expression.
In this world, currently only the Jealous Witch and You Te · Balk could move.
The Jealous Witch suddenly fell silent, then looked towards You Te · Balk.
Although her face was completely obscured by the black hood, You Te · Balk could still clearly feel a cold, deadly gaze.
This gaze was full of savagery, like a fierce beast scrutinizing its prey.
It carried an unbridled desire for destruction, as if it could tear everything in front of it to shreds at any moment.
"Why do you know?" the Jealous Witch asked in a voice devoid of any warmth.
"Why?"
"Why?"
"Why?"
"Why?"
"Why?"
"...."
You Te · Balk broke out in a cold sweat, his breathing labored, as if he were in a world of ice and snow, his entire body's blood nearly frozen.
Why did he have to fight the strongest BOSS as soon as he met the male lead?
Indeed, he should have just drowned Natsuki Subaru in the ocean.
As the Jealous Witch continued her questioning, from the black mist, slender Unseen Hands quietly extended, like tentacles from the underworld, carrying the aura of death, striking towards You Te · Balk's heart with extreme speed.
Seeing his master in danger, the divine sword immediately burst forth with a dazzling, multicolored light, brilliant and captivating, severing all the extending Unseen Hands.
After severing the black hands, the tip of the Divine Sword pointed at the Jealous Witch.
The sword body trembled slightly, emitting a series of hums.
The hums were filled with resolve and courage, indicating that it was prepared to self-destruct if necessary.
It would never retreat, even when facing the incredibly powerful Jealous Witch.
Seeing this, the Jealous Witch fell silent again, gave You Te · Balk a deep look, then shifted her gaze back to Natsuki Subaru.
After an unknown amount of time, she slowly spoke, but her voice was no longer as cold as before.
"Please live well, do not die."
"Please take good care of yourself, do not get hurt."
"I love you."
Although it was the same voice, You Te · Balk felt it wasn't the same person.
A very strange feeling.
In the next instant, the Jealous Witch disappeared like a ghost.
She vanished without any warning, as if she had never appeared.
With her disappearance, the dense black mist gradually dissipated.
The water in the pool rippled again, shimmering, as if telling that the previous tranquility was just a brief dream.
Birds flying in the sky continued to flap their wings, soaring into the distance, their figures appearing exceptionally free against the backdrop of the blue sky and white clouds.
On the street, the residents of the royal capital were still busy with their affairs, dragon carriages still sped through the main streets, and everything returned to its usual hustle and bustle and stability.
The paused world began to move again, and the gears of time restarted.
"Guide, Guide, what's wrong with you?" Natsuki Subaru circled the dazed You Te · Balk several times, pushing him repeatedly, but there was no reaction.
Stuck?
You Te · Balk snapped back to reality, immediately bending over, hands on his knees, and began to gasp for air.
The terrifying scenes from moments ago still flashed before his eyes.
The Jealous Witch's cold, deadly gaze, the slender Unseen Hands in the black mist, and the fierce confrontation between the divine sword and the evil power—every image was deeply etched into his mind.
Jealous Witch, Satella...
"Guide, are you alright?" Natsuki Subaru was startled by You Te · Balk's sudden movements.
You Te · Balk recovered after a while, waving his hand, "I'm fine."
He paused, then continued with a somewhat strange expression, "What guide? What does 'guide' mean?"
Although both of them were transmigrators, they were far apart.
You Te · Balk had no intention of explaining their transmigration.
Was he supposed to tell Natsuki Subaru—'Dude, you're just a 2D paper character, I'm the real transmigrator'?
He was afraid that as soon as he finished speaking, something else would pop up and tell him—'Dude, you're just a 3D character, I'm the real transmigrator'.
No nesting dolls.
"Uh… then I must have misunderstood." Natsuki Subaru scratched his head, embarrassed, "Um, my name is Natsuki Subaru, you can just call me Subaru."
"This is my first time here, where is this place?"
You Te · Balk was silent for a moment before explaining, "My name is You Te · Balk, and this is the royal capital of the Lugnica Kingdom."
"Lugnica Kingdom? Indeed, indeed!"
Natsuki Subaru, carrying a bag of snacks, suddenly looked up and burst into laughter:
"A new world! Hero? Sword? Magic?"
"This is amazing, no one here knows I'm a shut-in!"
"I'm going to start from zero!!!"
By the last sentence, Natsuki Subaru's face showed a confident and flamboyant smile.
Then he suddenly stuck out his butt, pointed his index finger to the sky, striking a very chuunibyou pose.
Natsuki Subaru's eyes sparkled with fervent light, as if he himself was the hero who would save the world.
Seeing this, You Te · Balk felt his embarrassment cringe coming on.
So freaking shameful.
Japanese people are indeed perverted chuunibyous.
But...
It truly was starting from zero.
You Te · Balk took a deep breath, feeling a bit more affinity for Natsuki Subaru.
No matter what, their worldviews from their previous lives were similar.
Although he was a 2D paper character, at least they had some common ground.
More importantly, Natsuki Subaru's Authority was too strong.
Magic Witchcraft.
It was best not to antagonize him now.
Of course, this wasn't too big of a problem; as the Blessing of the Swordsman continuously upgraded, it would become the world's origin, severing everything in the world, including Authority.
This was the most terrifying ability of the Sword Holder lineage.
What You Te · Balk was most concerned about now was whether he would retain his memories after Natsuki Subaru's death save point.
He could find an opportunity to test it.
Natsuki Subaru saw You Te · Balk deep in thought, so he walked to the side and put down his snacks.
Then, he excitedly turned to a nearby large tree, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
He struck a pose, mimicking a classic move from anime, adopting the stance for a Kamehameha.
His body leaned slightly forward, hands pushed out in front, and he muttered to himself, as if gathering powerful energy.
However, the result was disappointing.
Only a single leaf slowly drifted down, and it was blown off by the wind.
"That shouldn't be right…" Natsuki Subaru rubbed his head in confusion.
Shouldn't a hero transmigrated to another world come with magic or other powerful abilities from the start?
You Te · Balk's mouth twitched when he saw this.
"Wow! Look at that person!" Before he could feel embarrassed, Natsuki Subaru suddenly pointed to a nearby rooftop and shouted.
He saw a nimble figure continuously leaping on the rooftop over there.
You Te · Balk also looked over, but didn't pay it much mind.
He was thinking about how to deal with this male lead.
Should he befriend him, or just tie him up and control him?
Forget it, after all, he hadn't done anything bad.
You Te · Balk sighed, letting fate decide.
He would adapt as situations arose.
"You Te · Balk, are you busy right now?" Natsuki Subaru asked at this moment.
"No." You Te · Balk shook his head.
"Then let's explore the royal capital together! It's my first time here, and I don't know my way around." Natsuki Subaru said, walking to the side, squatting down to open a bag of chips, then offering them, "You Te · Balk, try these, they're a delicacy from my hometown."
You Te · Balk was the first person he met after transmigrating to another world, so he felt a strong affinity.
And both of them had black hair.
Natsuki Subaru had just taken a quick look around and noticed that the nearby residents, whether human, demi-human, or other races, all had colorful hair.
Hardly any black hair.
At least, he hadn't seen any besides You Te · Balk so far.
You Te · Balk somewhat complexly took the chips Natsuki Subaru offered.
He felt a bit emotional.
In his previous life, You Te · Balk's parents had died in a car accident, so he didn't have much lingering attachment to that world. After transmigrating, he had always been very calm.
He even felt liberated, because he no longer had to stay at home alone, looking at the traces his parents had left behind.
It was just that seeing something from his previous life again still made him sigh with emotion.
You Te · Balk ate the strangely flavored chips and asked Natsuki Subaru, "Aren't your family worried that you've left home so far?"
Upon hearing this, Natsuki Subaru's body stiffened for a moment.
His expression was rigid for an instant.
But he immediately put on a playful, carefree smile and said, "My parents are amazing people. Me... I'm far from them..."
He paused, scratching his head, and continued to smile:
"Maybe they'll have an easier life without me."
"Although I'm sorry I haven't repaid their kindness in raising me..."
"But... both my parents and I..."
"Let's start from zero."