No matter how much Amelia tried to deny it, the truth was before her eyes.
Neo was dead after Clara transferred the curse to him, and her mother punished her siblings for the rebellion.
Hours passed.
Before long, Amelia stopped crying and remained motionless as she hugged her mom.
"I hate it…"
Amelia muttered.
"I hate Paul and Clara…
"I hate this country.
"I hate everyone who tried to kill you."
Her words were laced with malice and impure intentions.
"Stop it." Elizabeth spoke. "There is no need to take revenge."
"But—"
"I don't love this country anymore either. So, let's leave."
Amelia agreed to her suggestion.
But she wasn't satisfied leaving them alive after what they did to her mother.
She wanted to make them go through same, no, worse pain.
However, Amelia was weak.
Only her mother could punish the rebels and she had refused to do so.
So.
She would bide her time.
Until she was strong enough to crush this country and its people.
"When should we leave? And what about the international issues? Even if you step down, the major world powers won't accept your resignation without a proper reason."
"I know. That's why the Tyrant Queen must die today."
"…?"
"Follow me."
The Queen stood up with a stagger.
Amelia quickly moved and supported her.
"Thank you," as Elizabeth said, she flicked her finger and Neo's corpse floated behind her.
Amelia alternated her gaze between her mother and the corpse.
"We can't leave him here. It seems he resurrects in the same vessel."
After explaining, the Queen opened a hidden corridor inside the wall.
They moved through it and appeared on a hill far from the castle.
From there, the castle and the capital city of the island Mermaid Country could be seen clearly.
"The Queen went berserk and destroyed everything while killing herself in the chaos," Elizabeth said as she was supported by Amelia.
She raised her arm.
Her body quivered and a trail of blood left her lips.
As if pulling something, she brought her hand down.
In the distance, the Azure Spire Palace was flattened.
Amelia could not feel the tremors since she was too far from the Palace.
However, she could see the landscape undergoing a terrifying transformation with a single gesture of her mother.
The city sustained some damages and the palace was destroyed beyond recognition.
"With this, the Queen is dead—"
Elizabeth puked blood.
"Mom!"
"Don't worry. I just overexerted myself."
Elizabeth sat down on the grassy ground.
She could feel her consciousness slipping through her grasp.
"I'll take a short nap."
As her heavy eyelids closed, he saw Neo, who lay next to her.
Why hadn't he resurrected yet?
A few hours had gone by since he died.
Elizabeth couldn't help but worry if everything was alright.
…
Underworld
Neo wiped the sweat.
He stared at the corpses of Gulwaks scattered around.
"Splendid work, O Great Child of Monarch. You can rest now," the Grim Reaper said.
Neo suddenly lost the strength in his body and fell on his back.
Knowing he was safe, his body gave out.
His time in Underworld was almost up.
He didn't revive immediately after his death, as he knew there was going to be a lot of work in the world of living, and he did not want to deal with it, but training in Underworld was anything but easy.
'Quest,' he said in his mind.
[Quest: Save the Queen (Completed)]
[Water Affinity awakened]
[Immortal Exp +50]
'Status'
[Neo Hargraves]
[Rank: Grade 5 Awakened]
[Divine Energy Purity: Grade 1 Awakened]
[Stats]
Strength: 20
Speed: 21
Dexterity: 17
Constitution: 14
Luck: 0
[Affinity: Death, Shadow, Darkness, Void, Water]
Magic Spell: Necrotic Touch
[Bloodline: Monarch of Death]
Unique Skill: Death, Immortal
[Quest: None]
Neo gained only 1 Strength with this time's training.
It was far less than the 3 stats he gained last time.
He needed to increase the training intensity if he wanted to keep up the growth rate of the stats.
[Unique Skill: Immortal]
[Exp: 51/100]
After confirming he received the rewards, he decided to return.
"O Great Child of Monarch, we have a proposition," the Grim reaper said. "Will you listen to us?"
"Speak."
This was the first time the Grim Reaper spoke up.
Neo was curious about what he had to say.
"Since you have learned the basics of the combat and would soon begin training, we wish you would allow us to assist you."
Neo was confused.
Fighting multiple Gulwaks at once wasn't counted as training?
In the Grim Reaper's eyes, what Neo did until now was no different from a kid trying to learn crawling.
It was the basics of the basic.
"Okay," Neo nodded.
This…
He was going to regret it.
He knew, he would soon curse his past self for agreeing to the Grim Reaper's request.
But it was an opportunity to grow stronger.
His growth was already stagnating and the Demigod Academy was about to start.
Neo's current strength would place him in the bottom 10% at best.
He was weak.
So very weak.
Even though he had Necrotic Touch, he was under a constant debuff in the living world, due to which he could use the Spell not even 10 times.
'I wonder what kind of training he will prepare.'
'Since he can give a Tremor-ranked Spell like a candy, I bet his training will reap good rewards.'
Ding!
[Quest: Complete training of the Grim Reaper, Barbatos (Part 1)]
[Reward: Holy Affinity]
'Nice,' he thought when the Quest arrived.
Holy Affinity was as rare as Death Affinity.
Moreover, it was strong against Dark-type affinities.
In normal circumstances, Neo would've been weak against Holy Magic users.
However, as long as he completed the rewards, and got the Holy Affinity, he would not have to worry about it.
"I'm looking forward to the training. Goodbye."
"We wish you a happy life, O Great Child of Monarch."
Neo used the Immortal skill.
His vision went dark and he felt a pull.
It felt like he was swimming against the current.
Opening his eyes, Neo, revived, felt the Divine Energy being drained to heal his injuries.
'Ugh… I'll need to make sure I die with as less injuries as possible from next time. The energy expenditure to heal is no joke.'
Clarity returned to his eyes.
He was lying on a grassy hill.
Amelia sat on top of him, frozen, and stared at him with wide eyes.
From the position of her hands on his shirt, it seemed she was trying to unbutton his clothes.
"I... I can explain," she stammered.
Neo alternated his gaze between her hands and shocked expression.
A sigh escaped his lips.
"Sorry. I didn't know you were into necrophilia. Had I known, I would've—"