William seemed to have learned something from the vice president after seeing his fate. But no. He thought he could fight Amelia. The poor guy did not even get a chance to blink. Amelia kicked him halfway across the hall.
Experiment No. 24 threw in everything he had. Farazdak also showed off all his muscle power. Both of them were slammed by Amelia's wing as if they were bugs.
Amelia stated clearly to Malfoi that there was no match for her anywhere. Malfoi surprisingly admitted that she is stronger, and that he is jealous of it, because a human can never really reach that level.
Amelia was in no mood for chit-chat. She gave him a choice. Either kill yourself, or fight for your life.
Malfoi knew that he could not win. But he had someone who could help him, and she was someone like Elizabeth.
It seemed a month had passed. Liping was in his daily routine, but something was off. Something was missing. Even legendary heroes cannot always stay cheerful. Elizabeth also felt that something was bothering him. After several days of depression, one night Liping finally decided that he would face whatever was on his mind.
The next morning he made delicious balls of ramen for Elizabeth. Elizabeth noticed that he was behaving strangely, like someone about to drop a bombshell.
Liping started talking. He pointed out that after being together for so long, Elizabeth knows he is not a threat to her. Actually, a legendary hero and a Demon Queen can live together peacefully.
And now he had a request. He wanted Elizabeth to go back to her place, pick up where she had left off, and rule the world again.
Elizabeth felt this came completely out of nowhere. She did not understand why this, and why now.
Liping explained. When he had come to the village, he thought life here would always be peaceful. He was not sure about the fated encounter the system kept talking about. But Elizabeth herself came to him. Because of her, the village's time barrier was broken. Outside, five hundred years had passed in the blink of an eye, and everything became chaotic. The Dark Guild, Burs, Annie's mess. All of this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Elizabeth was confused as to what any of this had to do with her.
But Liping knew what deviating from the destined path meant. He could not live without her, and he could not, just because he is a farmer, ignore the chaos all around him. He wanted to be the hero everyone understood him to be.
But for Elizabeth, what really struck her was that Liping had admitted he could not live without her. This was interesting for her.
Liping said he did not want to be a useless hero stuck in a village while the world burns. Living a selfish, peaceful life was not acceptable, and if the monsters destroyed the village, he would go to the city and take a regular job.
Elizabeth finished the noodles and understood. Liping wanted her to go out and fix the mess. It is not a big deal for her. She can handle it. Liping was delighted and offered to help her pack. So sweet.
But Elizabeth had no eagerness to be forced back out into the world. She had two solutions. First, cast world-destroying magic and be done with all of it in one stroke.
Liping immediately rejected that, obviously.
So Elizabeth chose option two. Find a capable person who can rule the world, and guide him from the shadows. And the perfect candidate, in her humble opinion? Liping himself.
Liping held his holy sword tightly and wondered how he had reached this point. Elizabeth was sitting a few feet away, enjoying herself. Liping, the mighty hero who had constantly challenged her with his tricks, was now being dragged into swordsmanship training. The taste of karma is so sweet.
She acknowledged that she used to think Liping's raw power was far beyond her own. But she was proud and convinced of her mental strength and her experience. She thought he would never be able to match her.
She had been ready to leave an hour ago, when he said that he could not live without her. In her eyes, ruling the world or destroying the world are trivial matters. So she decided to just sit back and watch while Amelia deals with the Dark Guild. And she was feeling that the strange activities of the last few days and the nonsense of the morning were just excuses to get her attention.
After living together for a year, it was obvious that Liping would fall for her. Whether he admits it or not.
Liping was in deep thought. He wondered whether swordsmanship mastery actually means something as simple as swinging a sword a thousand times. He felt it was a bit too easy.
Elizabeth was barely containing herself, watching him with amusement. She was not stronger than him, but she had to struggle all the same, and it was fun to watch him do it too. She was convinced that only he could control her wild interests. Love was not her thing. But perhaps an exception may be made with Liping.
His power of creation and production, her swordsmanship and magic expertise, both together. In her mind, their future child came to mind. Surely that child will be the strongest ever. But first his father will have to sort out his life.
Poor Liping had no idea about any of this.
Then there was a small explosion, and the holy sword disappeared from his hand. In its place there was a boy. Liping stared at him. His brain was completely confused. The boy shouted that he is not a child.
Elizabeth also noticed the chaos and recognized the boy. Alpha, the holy sword spirit. Elizabeth was not happy to see Alpha, and rushed towards him with clear intentions. She gave him a kick that sent him flying. The poor boy landed with a bump on his head, like someone coming out of a boxing match.
Everyone sat down. Liping apologized to Alpha, saying that he had not known there was a spirit inside the sword.
Alpha lost it, because his appearance was supposed to happen when the hero battles the Demon Queen, not after a year of chopping firewood. He caught Liping's collar and asked for an explanation. Liping tried to work it out. Alpha did not hear it. He felt that Liping was forgetting the hero's calling and making friends with the supposed villain instead.
Elizabeth, curious, asked whether Alpha wanted to kill her. Alpha's anger disappeared immediately. He admitted that it is just the system settings, although in the current circumstances she is his savior.
Elizabeth suggested that Alpha help Liping rule the world. Alpha became confused. Liping explained that he had been idle for a very long time, and that now he had decided to take on the responsibility of the hero.
The plan was to practise first, and then save the world. Alpha pointed out that Liping had already accumulated enough experience swinging it in practice to fight a Demon King level enemy. Liping said that he has no natural talent. But Alpha said that with him and Elizabeth beside him, he can accomplish anything.
Before Alpha could say anything else, Elizabeth silenced him with magic. She asked Liping to wait. She caught hold of Alpha, who was in full panic mode and looked to Liping for help. Elizabeth dragged him away.
A little while later, Alpha returned. His face was swollen like a balloon, and he agreed that he would help Liping. All settled. At least for now.
Elizabeth instructed Liping that the journey begins, and that he should focus only on swordsmanship.
The three of them landed in Tatano Town, which was alive with people, especially around the sword saint guild area. Elizabeth claimed she had dragged Liping and Alpha here using her magical instincts, and that something big was about to happen.
Alpha felt that all of this was a waste of time, and complained until Elizabeth threatened to split him in half.